April 30, 2010

Today I'm thankful for little pauses in parenthood.  After I got Bayleigh off to school this morning, Dave took Eli out to help him plant peppers and tomatoes, while I did my "30 Day Shred" and grabbed a quick shower.  It's nice to be able to do these normal everyday activities without little helpers, for a change.

As soon as the boys came back in, I got Eli ready and we ran to the library in hopes of finding some material to photograph for my Music in May project.  Unfortunately our small town library doesn't have much to choose from . . .

but we picked up a few items in town and headed home in the rain.

These little flowers showed up a few days ago in the front yard, reminding me that I really need to get around and mow the yard.  *sigh*  It's that time of year again, but it will just have to wait until Dave is home to watch Eli.  I don't think I'm capable of mowing the lawn AND keeping up with a very fast, and very curious three year old.

JoAnne . . . this shot is for you!  Are you sure you can't take two?  They're getting to be REALLY cute . . . lol

And I'd promised to post pictures of my retreat before the end of the month.  (Nothing like cutting it close the the wire, huh?)

I've still got trim to finish and a door to paint . . . amongst some more sorting and purging . . .

but for the most part, it's clean and ready for

the L.ayO.ut A Day challenge and Sketchapalooza!

May is going to be full to overflowing with projects and events, but I'm glad I have a notebook to jot down notes, and an Etch-A-Sketch to wipe out the craziness of TOO MUCH INFORMATION running around in my brain.

I'm looking forward to new challenges, new projects and the thoughts of what tomorrow might bring!

April 29, 2010

Today I'm thankful for simple, uncomplicated days.  The sun pulled out an appearance this morning, but it seemed to be playing hide and seek in all the clouds today.  A small glimpse here, and another there, but you really had to be waiting and watching for it.

I went to bed around 10:30 last night.  Completely wiped out.  Only to wake up at 3:15 a.m. and never really making it back to sleep before the alarm went off.  There is just too much information running around in my head right now.

Like my "Music in May" photo project.  I'm hoping to start on May first with the letter "A"; taking photos of anything music related that I can find starting with the letter "A".  I've already taken a few shots and will be trying to set up things as I go along, all throughout the month.  I'll also be sharing some tunes via facebook and youtube.  Above is a very small percentage of musicians and songs that I have been brainstorming for ideas.  This is going to be a VERY difficult challenge and I hope to make it interesting and fun.  Anyone is welcome to join in!  I'll be posting these music related photos on my "real" blog, over to your right.  If you want to join in, let me know, so I can check out your photos!

Today of all days, I couldn't get Eli to lay down for a nap.  (I could REALLY have used one, but I've found that if I just keep putting one foot in front of the other, I CAN work through the tiredness.  I may be a little grumpy from lack of sleep, but it quickly passes.  I'm lucky that way.)

I'm finally catching my second wind . . . and it's 10:30 p.m.  *sigh*  Maybe I'll get my sleep pattern lined back out this weekend.  It looks like I'll be up late tonight!

April 28, 2010

Today I'm thankful for productivity.  After going to bed at 10:30 p.m. last night, I was hoping to get a really full night's sleep.  However, when 2:00 a.m. rolled around, I was wide awake and never really made it back to sleep again, until a few minutes before my alarm clock went off at 5:00 a.m.  Go figure!

We had a pretty full moon last night, and it was going down, just as I was getting up for the day.  As I was getting Bayleigh on the bus, I saw that my little brother's cows were out (again), so I ran them out of the highway and back across the road, before I officially started my housework.

I got laundry and dishes going, and then I made all the beds and swept the floors, then moved on to the bathrooms.  After I finished up with the bathrooms, it was time for workout #2; "The Shred".  After I sweated my way through that; Eli and I went outside to play for a while, before taking our shower.  I swear the kid can find mud ANYWHERE.  And if he can't, he manages to somehow make his own.

Before we came in for a shower, we made a few wishes . . .

and checked on the outside plants to see if they needed any water.  After a shower, and lunch, Eli took a nap while I weeded through some more email.

And after Bayleigh got home from school, we went for another walk, over to my mom's house.  While Eli helped mom mow the yard, I wandered around taking pictures of the old chicken house;

which is slowly falling apart.

I also took some pictures of the flowers in mom's yard.  (Like the flowering locust tree above.)

Eli didn't want to go home.  He was having fun helping grandma drive.  But Bayleigh wanted a turn, too; so while she rode with grandma, Eli and I found a few more things to take pictures of.

An Iris bud . . .

a bird house . . .

a wasp . . .

and this cute little lady bug.  It's been a long day and I'm hoping to make it to bed at a decent hour AND sleep through the night.  We'll see how THAT works for me.

April 27, 2010

Today I'm thankful for anti-procrastination.  It took me a good portion of the afternoon, but I finished off a huge pile of paperwork that had been laying on my desk for several weeks.   

After I finished up, I realized I hadn't taken any photos today, and the sun was quickly disappearing.  So I snatched up my camera and headed outside to chore and grab a few shots.

The leaves are no longer in their "halfway" stages . . .

and the little yellow wildflowers (weeds) that had come up all over, are already starting to fade away.

When I got in from choring, I fixed supper and played a game with my oldest . . .

while Eli observed from my back.  It must be pretty comfortable back there . . . at least for him.

April 26, 2010

Today I'm thankful for the opportunity to learn new and exciting things . . .

Like learning how to use PSE to the best of it's abilities, instead of as a basic photo editing program;

and how to operate my Mac, which has a TON of VERY cool applications to play with.  I wish I had more hours in the day to soak it all up.

It's been a cool, cloudy day, but the sun finally popped out just before sunset and gave us a beautiful view, before dropping down over the horizon.

I cleaned all the bedrooms today and caught up on some of the laundry and housework.  I even managed to squeeze in some time to work on my retreat.  It's starting to look a little more organized, but I'll be glad when the weather warms up enough for me to finish painting and putting up trim around the window and door.  I will be so glad to get it all done this summer!  I'm looking forward to Sketchapalooza and L.O.A.D.  I think I'm ready to get my hands dirty again.

April 25, 2010

Today I'm thankful for answered prayers.  The kids were pretty good during Sunday School . . .

they actually sat and listened to what I read, and then they quietly occupied themselves with Play Doh and puzzles.

After church I stopped by the grocery store to pick up our usual Sunday treat of frozen pizzas (I'm such a gourmet!); we ate lunch and sacked out on the couch watching Veggie Tales movies and ended up taking a two hour nap.  After the craziness of yesterday a nap was greatly welcomed.

I finally took my Mac out of the box and fired it up.  I've managed to hook up the wireless internet, and PSE 8 and I'm slowly figuring out how to manuever through the different applications.  VERY cool.  Tomorrow I'll do a little more playing and see about getting my password changed and possibly figure out how to get my external drive set up, along with my card reader and from there I'm going to really start digging in to the photo editing.  So far the transition hasn't been as difficult as I thought it might be, and I'm quickly falling in love with my new laptop.  We'll see how long this relationship lasts. lol

April 24, 2010

Today I'm thankful for time well spent with my children.  I woke up early (on my regular sleep in day), to lots of dark clouds and a sprinkling of rain.

I wasn't sure if our 5k would be called off or not, but after my mom came and picked up Eli, Bayleigh and I headed off to see.

It sprinkled on and off until about 5 minutes before race time . . . then it proceeded to open up and literally POUR down rain.

But we were game, so we jumped in and got soaked with the rest of the crew.  At about the half mile mark, Bayleigh twisted her ankle and fell, and she asked me to stay with her through the rest of the race.  So I down-shifted on the pace, and we walked/jogged the rest of the race hand in hand.  I was so proud of her.  Even though she whined (a lot) we made it through to the very end.  She's a little trooper.  And even though there aren't any photos of us holding hands and crossing the finish line together, it will be forever imbedded in my memory. 

Bayleigh is going through a stage of where she doesn't want me to hold her hand, or show her any affection in public, but today was an exception, and something I'll cherish for the rest of my life . . . and I hope she will too.

She placed third in her age division and brought home a bronze medal.  Each of her friends got medals too!  They all did a SUPER job.  Three miles is quite a hike for these kids.

I ended up placing 6th in my age bracket, which I thought was pretty good, since the majority of the runners were in my age group.  Not to mention slowing it down for my short one.  Next year . . . they'll be eating our dirt! lol

After we finished up the awards ceremony, I ran a few errands in town and picked up Eli from my mom's house.  Then we all headed home to change clothes and dry off for our trip to Springfield.  It rained all the way down . . . 

until I hit the city limits.  I exchanged a few items at the mall and then went to pick up my new computer.

Now I'm looking for a name.  I've just GOT to name this baby . . . it will be holding all of my precious photos, so it will be like a fourth child (Bayleigh is number 1, Eli is number 2, and my Canon is number three).  Any suggestions?

I managed to get everything done in town at the exact moment the skies opened up again.

The trip home was done very slowly, due to the high winds, rain and hail pelting down, but it finally let up about the time I made it home. (Go figure!)

I was completely wiped out.  So I ended up laying on the floor playing some games with the kids before I headed outside to do the chores.  There were a few plants that caught my eye, as the sun was setting, so I grabbed my camera for a few shots.

On the way back into the house I noticed that the wind chimes on our deck, just outside our bedroom were quiet.  They haven't been still for almost a three days, with all the wind and rain coming down.  I enjoy the chimes, but I'm hoping that tonight, they'll remain at peace and I can settle in for a good night's sleep.

I also managed to work up a batch of friendship bread that hubby had brought home from work.  I had NO idea what I was doing, so I hope it turns out half way edible. 

I think I might just turn in early tonight . . . but we'll see.

April 23, 2010

Today I'm thankful for April showers.

Something about the gloomy, rainy days of Spring, just makes me want to get outside with my camera and play.

Menacing clouds, gusting winds . . .

and lots of hail.

I'm really hoping it rains a lot tonight . . . to clean off the mess the storms made to the house and garage. 

We mostly had gentle soaking showers today, but late this afternoon, it picked up a notch and we got some pea to quarter sized hail. 

I spent most of the day on the computer weeding through emails and still have around 500 to go.  I'm hoping to finish them all up sometime this weekend.  Wish me luck!

April 22, 2010

Today I'm thankful for a clean house and just enough to do to keep me happily occupied.  Today I spent a good portion of the day backing up photos and catching up on some email.

My desk was cleaned off and I could sit back in my chair uploading folder after folder in perfect form.  (Now if I just had one of those cushy reclining chairs . . .)

We had showers off and on today, and as soon as Bayleigh got home from school we headed South to meet up with Dave, and then head on to Springfield.  Him to look at suit coats and dress pants, and me to check out the MacBooks at Best Buy.

On the way down, we saw a guy driving an old clunker that was a dead wringer for Shaggy (off of Scooby Doo), so Eli grabbed his binoculars and tried to spot him in between traffic, to see if Scooby was indeed with him.  Eli is a card, and makes me laugh (and cry . . . lol) almost daily.

We finally got Dave's suit coat, slacks and shirts picked out, and I dropped by Victoria's Secret to pick up some of my favorite scent (Amber Romance).  I also had a coupon for a free pair of underwear and wasn't about to pass it up while we were in town.  I banned the boys from the store, just because they both like to embarrass me; and Bayleigh and I went in and made our purchases.  Bayleigh got to pick out her favorite scent of body spray (so she'll quit using mine), and we made it out of the store smelling like . . . well let's just say a perfume factory, and leave it at that.  lol

After clearing the Mall, we enjoyed some fine dining at the Golden Corral, and then headed over to Best Buy.

I walked in, knew exactly what I wanted and it took almost an hour and a half before we got out of the store.  Customer service wasn't in the house tonight, apparently.  I'll be picking up my MacBook Pro in a few days, and then the learning will begin.  I know absolutely NOTHING about Macs, but I'm not going to let that detur me.

We dropped Dave off at the hospital to pick up his Jeep, and finally made it home about 11:30 p.m.  I love driving at night, when the kids are sleeping peacefully in their car seats, and I have a good station playing on the radio.  But I don't like driving when I'm tired.  The drive home was a long one and I was glad to finally turn in just a little after midnight.