'The Reader'

I just finished 'The Reader' by Bernhard Schlink. I enjoyed the book and it is one of those that make you think. I believe it is one book that I will remember for a long time. It brings up questions that provoke serious thought and could probably cause some heated discussions in certain circles. I would recommend it as a book that most readers would enjoy. Not all, but most. Now I'm reading 'fluff' books to cheer myself up a bit before taking on another serious read.

1st Chunky Book Project (photo heavy post)

Here are photos of my 1st chunky book project. I made it for my work supervisor with some help from her daughter who provided the photos (thanks Christy!) The photos are large so may take a bit to load; I hope you think they're worth the wait. Click on the photos to see the entire image. I made more comments after the last of these 5 photos.











Sorry that last page is blurry; I didn't preview my photos too well before giving the book to Debbie.

Lesson #1 learned is that I really like flat embellishments for these books. They can still be 'puffy books' but will close easier. Lesson #2 learned is that I need to research which adhesives work best in particular situations.

I'd like now to make one of these type books for each of my 5 grandchildren. I think I'd best work in an 'assembly line' process for producing 5 at a time. I'll get all the photos together first, then all papers I want to use for all 5 books. I'd get all that put together and then add the embellishments I choose as a last step. I'd also like to work on different types of closures for books like that.

I really learned alot making this book and thorougly enjoyed creating something for Debbie. I thought it'd make a good 'brag book' to keep at work when someone asks about her granddaughter. Debbie does not have to be persuaded to talk about Savy; she's always glad to talk about her :-)

My brother and his wife and 2 of their kids are visiting at Mom's this weekend. Thomas just turned 5 years old and I make a few pics at his 'party'. He wanted a SpongeBob cake so that's what he got. Here are a couple of pics of Thomas Houston.




Have a great evening and God Bless You

Sleep does a body good

Felt so much better today after resting well last night. Found a really neat retro site today with ads for toys. Tonka Trucks, Disney characters, Hot Wheels and many others can be found here in ads dating back several decades. Go take a look and enjoy...www.toyadz.com.

I will post pics of my secret project this weekend after I give it to the intended receiver tomorrow. It turned out pretty well; practice makes perfect as they say. So maybe the next one will be perfect LOL

Have a great Friday and God Bless You

Need sleep!

I did not sleep well at all last night. I may have actually slept a total of 3.5 hours. Just could not get comfortable enough to go to sleep. I am headed to bed very soon to try and 'catch up'. No real news but I want to share a pic of my granddaughter, Addy. Her mom says Addy got bored and decided to work on a new hairstyle. God Bless Her and all of You :-)

Chiropractor to the Rescue?

I had my initial consultation today with Dr. Morris, the chiropractor. I really like him. He's very down to earth and professional. He says the muscles in my neck area are very tense and spasming. Hopefully that is where my headaches are coming from. I go back to see him in a couple of days to find out what the recommended course of treatment is and decide if I want to get started with the adjustments.

We three women in the main part of the office have to juggle our appointments around each other's lunch times and appointments. It gets tough at times to do that but we manage it pretty well. Hopefully 2 of us won't ever be sick at the same time; that would be hard to work around. I bet we figure out a way to handle it though if it ever does happen. Most of us are the type to go in to work no matter what so we'd probably just warn everyone else away and keep right on plugging away.

I did get some work done on my photo project this weekend and was planning on finishing it tonight. I'm really achy after that chiro exam today though and just don't feel like working on anything. I guess the physical exam got the fibromyalgia aches intensified. I'm kicked back in the recliner typing this and the only body parts moving are my hands and fingers. That much I can handle at the moment. That photo project is turning out very nice though so I'll definitely share pics of it here when it's complete.

I am so incredibly blessed that I feel like I sound ungrateful when I talk or even think about how the fibro makes me feel. I have many more good days than bad ones and am so thankful for my life and all the people in it. There are so many people who are much worse off than I am; makes my petty pains not even register on the scale. I pray for those who deal with so much more than I do. God is the only reason I am able to work and deal with life on a daily basis with any degree of ease. I thank Him for his grace and mercy that He showers on me and my family.

I am so ready to see our grandkids; it's been far too long. Nelson said he'll be working all weekend so I guess we won't be seeing the rugrats this weekend either. I 'think' my brother and his family will be here this coming weekend for a visit and a mini-birthday party for Thomas Houston. He'll be 5 years old; so hard to believe. Bradley's middle child, Payton, will be 5 just a few days after T.H. All our babies are growing up far too fast.

We're watching 'House' and marveling at Hugh Laurie's talent. N and I absolutely LOVE this show. He's so viciously sarcastic but so funny at the same time that he ends up being one of those characters you love to hate.

Hope to get to sleep early and ease up some of these aching muscles. Have a great Tuesday and God Bless You

Quiet few days

Been really quiet in our lives lately so nothing to write about. I've been surfing the web (for hours at a time [shhhhh, don't tell]) looking at artists' sites and blogs. There are some VERY talented people out there and I am so jealous of their abilities. I'm working on some photo projects this weekend that I hope to post here when finished. I'm feeling creative lately but can't seem to settle on what exact form to pour that creativity into.

Saw my eye doctor today and got a good report. I did have a slight change in my left eye so I have to get new contacts and glasses. I knew something was off with my vision and I'm hoping this change accounts for my recent headaches.

My 'wacky website calendar' offering for today is a 'whack a mole' game. It's a java game so it's not as sophisticated as others I've seen but it's good for older computers. The object of the game is to whack the moles before they ruin your yard. It's actually too late at my house because the moles have been having far too much fun creating underground roadways. Their buddies, the armadillo family, have been excavating some deep holes for themselves too. If you're interested in checking out the game, go to this site to 'whack a mole'. Have fun!

I'll share a couple of pics of my husband and I with 2 of our grandkids, Sam and Sara. These 2 live closer than our other 3 and we get to see them more often.




Have a great weekend and God Bless You

Paper folding, anyone?

Found an origami website that some of you may find interesting. Go here and check out the cool creations that can be made by simply manipulating paper. My youngest son loves origami and has made me some really beautiful pieces. I wish I had tons of display space so I could display alot of them in one place. Blake is really talented that way and enjoys the act of creating.

I also want to share a short video that is really funny. This guy made me laugh out loud; it's kinda corny humor but what's wrong with that? I say anything that makes us laugh is worth it as long as it's not at someone else's expense. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.



Have a great Wednesday and God Bless You

Colorful Chest?

Was sent a link to a website today that is too good not to share. Seems a quilting group got artistic with bras and the results are absolutely wonderful. It was all for a good cause too, breast cancer funding for uninsured women. I got some very positive feedback from friends that I sent this link to so I wanted to share it here too. Hope you enjoy it :-)

Happy Monday evening and God Bless You!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Nelson got me a 'singing' card and a silly green frog. The frog is also one of those 'stress ball' gadgets. I've always liked collecting frogs and Nelson has given me several over the years. We have had a nice day so far.

Nelson ended up going fishing and I stayed home to do the grocery shopping. Blake and I went to Wal-Mart to take care of that dull chore. The crowd there was intense; you'd think it was Christmas Eve by the way everyone was rushing around. Apparently, it wasn't only the men who waited til the last minute this year.

I read a wonderful story on MSN today here. There are actually several stories there but the 1st one is my favorite. It's well worth reading in my opinion.

Here's my Valentine's gift to you; I found it listed as an image in public domain. If anyone knows differently, please let me know. This image of a yam is particularly appropriate for me to share because the area I live in is near a large sweet potato community. Have a wonderful Valentine's evening and God Bless You

Experimenting with my banner

I'm trying some different images for my blog banner so if you happen to stumble in here and things look kinda weird, that's my excuse. I've been wanting to create a custom banner for a while now and thought this was as good a time as any.

I finally got blogger's border to disappear around the blog header. I used to do a lot of html work on websites but it's been a long time and I've forgotten a lot. I just fiddled around with the html here until the border disappeared. I hope it didn't mess up anything else.

I've got a beautiful digital scrapbook page kit that I want to use in creating my blog banner. I've just gotta figure out how to use my Photoshop Elements 5 program to do what I want with it. Maya at Scrapbook Graphics gave me permission to use her purchased kit in my banner and I was thrilled. She does some amazing stuff with digital artwork; you should go check her out sometime. There are lots of other designers there too (Studio Girls) and they are all so talented.

God Bless You!

I'd Rather Be Outside

That was my thought all day today because the weather was so gorgeous! I stayed plenty busy at work but it would have been nice to be enjoying the warmer temperature we had today too. I bet all the cold weather isn't gone yet though.

A routine day for the most part so I'll just give you a website that I found today on my 'wacky website a day' calendar. It's List Verse and has lists of all kinds of interesting items. Looks like one of those sites that I could get lost in for hours.

That's my main problem with surfing the web; I get sidetracked and spend hours just 'looking'. It always surprises me when I realize how long I've been online. Good thing I don't have small kids at home because I'd be an inattentive mother.

I'm glad my kids are grown for alot of other reasons too. Nelson says he can't wait to get the last one out of the house. We just have Blake still at home now and he will (please God) be at Ole Miss starting this fall.

Have a wonderful evening and God Bless You!

Early spring?

It has felt like spring the last couple of days; complete with rain showers. Luckily we missed the big rains that were forecast for us and only got a few minutes of intense rain. The wind, however, was another matter. It was ferocious most all day. You had to be careful any time you opened a door to the outside as it would be snatched out of your hand. One of the doors at work will slam back on your fingers very quickly if you're not paying attention. I avoided that door most all day.

Finally getting old files moved and new files in place. I'm almost through with all that for the files I'm responsible for. I had some good help today. One of the guys from another department helped me and it made the job go so much faster. It also saved my back alot of pain to let his younger muscles do the heavy lifting part. Just one more thing that males are good for :-)

I was headed to work one day this week and saw a huge crow on the side of the road. I couldn't believe he was so close to the moving traffic so I kept watching him while I waited at a red light. It turns out he had a small stick in his beak and I presume he was building a nest somewhere close. It made me think of how close spring really is. It also made me grateful that I don't have to rebuild my house every year like the birds do. I'm sure most of them return to old nests but they most likely have alot of repair work to do even on those. I'm glad my 'nest' doesn't require that much work to be a comfortable haven for me and my family.

I've been cruising through Flickr and some of the images there are simply amazing. I love vintage images and I could literally spend days clicking through all the offerings at this wonderful site. I salute whomever started Flickr and the wonderful contributors who keep it going. There is a group with images galore for absolutely ANY subject you can think of. It's a great resource for school reports and similar endeavors.

God Bless You and have a wonderful week!

New Inspiration

Got a couple of new Somerset Studio magazines yesterday on my shopping trip and have been engrossed in the incredible artwork that is showcased there. I always feel so jealous when I go through one of their magazines because the talent featured there is so amazing and I feel completely inadequate. I have some pretty good ideas but don't have the tools to put them into a physical form. Of course, I don't try often or hard enough either.

I bought a desktop calendar yesterday that has weird or wacky websites for every day of the year. I'll share some of them here on the blog; today's offer is www.ninjakiwi.com/bloons.html. It's described as a 'time-waster' and 'hyper-addicting'. Don't say you weren't warned.

Nelson has been itching to go bass fishing and the weather today is perfect for it. Blake even rushed out and bought himself a fishing license so he could go with him. I stayed behind to nurse a headache and finish up laundry. I'm really surprised that Blake wanted to go; it's not really his cup of tea but he's surprised me a couple of times this weekend with what he's wanted to do with Nelson and myself. I'm glad; we need to spend all the family time we can.

Hopefully Blake will be at Ole Miss this fall (maybe even this summer) working towards his goal of becoming a teacher. He's getting a slow start on a career; that's for sure. Maybe that means there will never be a question as to whether he's chosen wisely or not. He's too much like me in that he's a definite homebody. I enjoy getting out occasionally like the shopping trip yesterday but for the most part, I'm completely satisfied at home. I find plenty to do here and it's usually not cleaning like I should be. :-)

God Bless You

Shopping Day!

Went to Tupelo today with Nelson and Blake to shop and go to the MS Boat & RV Show. We had a GREAT time just spending the day together. I got some good deals at J.C. Penney's; 4 shirts and 2 pair of slacks for right at $100.

Blake and I decided that we could both LIVE in the bookstore. He enjoys reading almost as much as I do. I had to practically drag him out of Barnes & Noble when it was time to head home.

The funniest part of today was at the boat show. Of course they have dozens of boats in all price ranges on display; some into the 6 figure range. One small table was set right in the midst of all these high dollar boats with a tiny sign that read 'No-fault divorce for $150'. I guess when the wife sees the husband pull out his pen to fill out paperwork for one of the boats or RV's, she heads to the $150 divorce table LOL!

God Bless You and have a great evening :-)

Hump Day

Wednesday, middle of the week, halfway through. However you look at it, Wednesday feels like you're getting close to having a break. For those of us who work Monday through Friday, at least. Some Saturday mornings too in my case.

Very busy and productive day. Still working on end of month/first of month stuff but it's going pretty well for the most part.

2 of the grandkids have been sick with whatever cold/flu bug is going around. I sure hope they're better soon. I know their Mom Nicole is worn out from dealing with their aches and pains and not getting enough sleep. I hope she doesn't come down with it herself.

Been messing around with the blog design again. Just can't seem to find a style that I like well enough to leave alone. I think I'll leave it simple for awhile; it's easier to read this way anyway. No background to have to work around or match all the text colors to.

I finished 'The Secret Life of Bees' and it is SO good; I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to read. I've read another one of Sue Monk Kidd's books, 'The Mermaid Chair', and it is really good too. The two books are quite different but are both quite interesting. I love to read (understatement) and I have very eclectic taste when it comes to reading material. I'm interested in just about anything. Right now I'm reading 'Odd Hour' by Dean Koontz. It's totally different from 'Bees' but it's quite good too.

I tend to read the first 30 pages or so of a book and know whether I'm going to like it or not. Some books that are similar to others I've loved just don't interest me for some reason. For example, 'Sail' by James Patterson is one book that I just could not get interested in. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood at that particular time for that type book. There have been times when I simply couldn't 'get into' a certain book, yet go back a few months or possibly years later and read it and really enjoy it. Weird? I don't know but I've always been like that.

My prayers tonight are with my friend Kristen; she's expecting and due in May/June. She's been having some pain today and I sincerely hope and pray that she and the baby are safe and healthy.

Thanks for reading; God Bless You :-)

Crazy day at work

So glad to be home and off work for a few hours. You know those days when everything seems to be crazy and all you do goes wrong or takes 3 times as long as it should? Well, that describes the majority of our workday today. Computer problems, bank problems, blah blah blah. Enough already!

Watching 'Independence Day' with Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum on television. We have this movie on DVD and I've watched it at least a dozen times since it came out. It's just one of those movies that draws me in if I come across it when I'm flipping channels.

I read on Facebook that 2 of our grandkids have been sick today so we'll call and check on them in a bit. There are so many viruses going around right now that there are a lot of people sick or getting over 'the crud'.

I'm reading 'The Secret Life of Bees' by Sue Monk Kidd and am really enjoying it. I've heard so much about it that I thought I'd better read it and see what all the buzz is about. It was in the juvenile department at our local library. That surprised me but it appears to be a good book for a teenager.

Really not much happening today other than what's noted above. Have a great evening and a wonderful, blessed Wednesday.

Sudden Quiet

Brad left with the two kids not long ago and the noise level immediately went to 'zero' very quickly. We had so much fun with them this weekend. The dog is very grateful that they left; she stays very nervous when they're here. Little Bit (the dog) is just not used to small children. She can't anticipate which way they're going to move next and it makes her skittish. We keep her shut up in our bedroom most of the time that they're here.

Baked a wonderful dessert today that I'll share here. I got the recipe from Nicole, Nelson's daughter, and it is absolutely wonderful. I don't even like cherries or pineapple and I think it's one of the best desserts I've ever tasted.

Nicole's Cherry Pineapple Cobbler

1 can cherry pie filling
1 can crushed pineapple
1 butter recipe yellow cake mix
1 stick butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In medium bowl, mix can of cherry pie filling and can of crushed pineapple including juice. Pour into 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Pour dry cake mix evenly over top of fruit mixture. I push back of large spoon thru the cake mix so that the fruit mixture will bubble up more evenly to create the crust. Bake for about 45 minutes at 375 degrees or until crust has browned nicely and appears done on top. Some parts of the cobbler crust will be crunchy and some will be softer consistency. Cool before serving. I like this best when it's room temperature but most people probably like it best when served warm. Enjoy!

I got some wonderful photos of Addy and Payton today; here are two of them below:



God Bless You :-)