You ain't gonna' believe this !

An update on my crafty projects - Picture frame - It's coming along good.. I've got the doorknob and had a piece of wood added to my existing 4 pane window. I sanded, painted and applied crackle to it. Today I dropped it off at the glass shop to get the panes put back in. When my vinyl lettering get here, I will be almost done. (BTW, Lana, I ordered a cricut !! ) All I need to do now is find a really cool abandoned home to take a picture of for all four seasons. Yarn thingy - As you know I packed it up and sent it to mom. It was making me say bad words - really bad words. I should have just spent the money and bought one ! But noooooo, I had to save for vacation to Tennessee !! So mom emailed me some pictures of the finished product - here it is. Not too bad, huh?

Rick and I have had a busy week and weekend. It's been raining so much here that it's made it easy to pull the weeds and of course rain makes the grass grow !! So I get to mow the yard. Rick got me all ready with the mower washed it, changed the oil and sharpened the blades so to the yard I go ! I don't like it when he mows, he seems to chop off flowers AND blow grass on the ones he don't chop ! Men !! ☺(giggles) So I'm mowing along and thought I saw a worm wiggling on the grass, nope, it was a darn snake. I HATE SNAKES ! But I had managed to almost cut him in half without even noticing. So what did I do you ask, I backed up and proceeded forward slowly , until the tire was right on top of it. Then I turned the wheel about 20 times. He's a goner, almost. I hurried up to go to the shop , on the mower might I add, and get Rick. I asked him to pick it up and lay it in the shop on the floor. WHAT ?! He thought I was nuts, OK he knows I'm nuts. I told him it was perfect for my 365 for the day ! I took it ( mom don't look) she hates snakes ! I already got yelled at by her 'cause she seen it on my flickr. Did I mention I HATE SNAKES !! I know it's small but it doesn't matter, it's wiggly !

A few days later I went stalking my bluebirds. They found their house and have set up a life there. I had seen them flying in and out and I wanted to get closer. Peep, I was being watched. I better leave them alone for a while and wait on the babies to come crawling out. I'm a bird watcher, I'm a bird watcher, watching birds fly by...oh yeah ! My lyrics to "I'm a girl watcher" (giggles) Now for my favorite birdies of all - the hummingbirds, they're back !! I took this through the screen so it's not a great shot but I didn't want to spook him away just yet. He has to get used to me ya know.

I want to be able to have the hummers sit on my hands and eat. I have seen it in magazines so I'm going to sit out in front of my house with the tripod set up waiting. I will wear a red shirt to draw them close. I'll post for sure if they come to me.

Enough already on the birds right, let's go to Missouri. On Saturday we went to an auction in Farmington, Iowa. A friend of ours and his dad run Fett Auction and they are always filling Rick in on some of the items. This particular one was a canoe. Rick told me about it but he did say it had a hole in it. Now why would anyone want to buy a canoe with a hole in it. Were they gonna sell a bucket with it to? Well Rick the fixer-upper said he could patch it and probably get it cheap. WRONG - the holey bottom canoe ended up selling for $180.00 !!! Geez people come on, let us get something cheap in this world. We only spent 6 bucks at the sell, Rick got a cooler and I got a book. Bummer ! I bet I said a hundred times, "look at all this junk ! " We decided to head to Missouri now and get some smokes. With camera in hand scouting out the ride I was able to get a shot of a fly passing us by. Just kidding ! Rick said we would stop at a couple places on the way back through. I think he said this because I was going ohhh look at that old house,

can we stop ?

Ohh look at the neat barn,

can we stop ? Then we get to the store and he said ohhh, get your camera you ain't gonna' believe this ! I turned around behind us was a car was. OK I thought, then I saw it, a buggy and an Amish lady !! Oh yeah, I was in business, Amish people at the car wash !! I figured they would hand wash their buggies ? The horse was tied up out back so I didn't get a shot of that.

This was worth the trip. I need to get out more huh ? Something about the Amish interests me. I wish I could spend a day with one of the families and learn about them. It would be even more great if they would let me take some pictures !

Well' enough blabbing today. I have to get off here and gather up yard sale stuff. Next weekend is going to be another busy one. I'm going out to supper and the casino for my birthday on Friday, yard sale on Saturday and my nieces baby shower on Sunday. That should make an interesting post. BUT before the shower I'm going to get some baby bump shots ! I can't wait.

More shots and interesting stories soon !!!! Be sure to comment and let me know what you want to hear about.

Spring has sprung !

Well so much for me staying on top of this blog ! I'm not going to post all of my 365 pictures here. They are on my slide that I have posted to the right. If you click on it you will be re-directed to my flickr site and can see them all plus more there.
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First I want to say hi Chris ! I'm so glad you have a computer at home now. We miss you at work ! Chris was one of the great receptionist where I work. She retired and is greatly missed. I loved all our funny stories we used to share. It's just not the same without you, know what I mean. (wink-wink ) ____________________________________________________________________
Today is a new day, my flowers are starting to pop up and the grass is turning green, hallelujah ! I love the Spring it seems to refresh our spirits and get us out of the gloomy stage that winter put us in. I have seen bluebirds, robins, red-winged black birds and lots of grackles. A sure sign that Spring is here. I bought a bluebird feeder now I have to get some bluebird houses made so I can keep the beauty in my yard.

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Updates on me - shoulder is coming along good. I can lift my arm all the way up and out but I'm still having trouble getting it to touch my back with a twist in it :) Women you know we need this motion ! Think about it. OK now you can stop trying this and read on. My Dr. let me take a picture of my x-ray. Yeah it's kinda weird looking at the anchors in my arm but what about that zipper. Do you remember when your parents told you to" zip it !" I'm still laughing when I look at this. I had a shirt on that zipped and the technician told me to zip it all the way up so it wouldn't mess up the x-ray. Well there it is, looks like I have a zippered neck.
___________________________________________________________________ I joined back at Weight Watchers and have lost 9.8 # these past 3 weeks. Wow, it is hard to stay focused on the weekends. Any tips ? I have started a walk at lunch date with a good friend every Tuesday. That's a start i guess ! Also my former supervisor Deb and I have set up a lunch date once a month for catch up ! We chose Chinese last month and believe it or not I chose healthy !! Deb is a great motivator, she is always telling me I'm doing great and have got such ambition ! Thanks Deb , that means a lot. Oh yeah did I mention she is an entrepreneur ! She designed and invented dining stones. They come in different color and stone choices. Here's an example of the blackberry color. They are great !! check them out here. http://www.diningstones.com/about.html If you order tell her you heard about it on my blog !
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Rick has been out of town for a week. This has given me a break from housework & cooking. I literally come home from work , eat a bowl of Special K or salad, do a little yard work , then curl up on the couch. I have only had to do one load of laundry ! Woo-hoo, I was needing a little R & R. But I do miss him when he's gone. He's in Reno for work and I'm sure some play. He calls every night telling me how much he won or lost at the casino. He said he has some really good pictures for me , I can't wait to see them but then again , it will probably mean that once I do , he will have to take me out there !
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We're going to be going to the Turkey & Deer Expo in Wisconsin next month and also get a visit in with my Aunt Sue and my cousins. That should be a lot of fun and a great time for some pictures !
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Speaking of visiting family members. I will be going back to Tennessee in May to see my family there. My dad has almost finished making me a boat for my prop collection. It will go along with this set up. I have been buying all kinds of goodies lately. I have got to stay out of Hobby Lobby ! Bunnies, greenery, a mirrored sheet of plexiglass and much more. Now all I need is a kid to put in the boat with a fishing pole and I'm all set ! Rick and I built a dock from an old pallet. To buy the boat and dock form a prop dealer or even EBay was going to cost over $400.00 yep, that's not a typo !

I've worked on a couple more self portraits that's actually more fun than serious. I'm very inspired by this couple. ( http://nacedesign.com/blog/ )

Dreams Come True One Step At a Time

When going through life and traveling in the direction of your dreams, the best way to get ahead is the simplest way: Take it one step at a time. Don't look over your shoulder; if you do, you'll feel the weight of all your yesterdays upon you. And don't worry about what lies ahead. By the time you get to the bend in the road or the crest of the hill, you're going to be better and stronger than you ever were before. Just go a step at a time, one day at a time. And you'll find a rich, thankful life you never thought you could afford. ~A. Rogers