Grandkids are gone and it's too quiet!

All the grandkid-lets left on Sunday and it's been so very quiet here this week. It's been rather slow at work til the last couple of days (Cash for Clunkers is CHAOS!). I've been reading blogs and envying others' way with words and their artistic abilities. Sitting in envy is not getting any crafting done at my own house either, let me tell you!

I'm reading the 'Ya-Ya' trilogy and I can't believe I've waited this long to read these books. They're wonderful! I'll definitely have to keep an eye out for Rebecca Wells' novels. My maiden name is even one of the names she uses in the 2nd book which makes me wonder if I am indeed of French heritage. I'd heard we were but noone in the family seemed to know for sure. At least noone I've ever talked with about it. Wonder if that's why I've always felt drawn to coastal Louisiana and the Cajun dialect has always held a fascination for me? If it weren't so blamed hot and humid down there I think I could be happy living down there in the N'awlins area. Not the Bourbon Street side of the city, but the old and decaying parts that reek of history and dark secrets.

I have to work tomorrow for half a day and then need to pick up some groceries. It's the 1st day of the month though which means the stores will be wild. AND to top everything off, it's no sales tax day on clothes and shoes. I don't remember ever having one of those before so that ought to be interesting. I really have no desire to fight crowds but I need to get food and STUFF.

I'm thinking of trying Alli, the fat-blocking drug that's FDA approved. I know without a doubt that if I'm taking that I will NOT over-indulge on fat because of the 'treatment effects' that may occur. They sound positively dreadful and definitely not something I want to experience while at work. I don't want to get graphic but if you want to know about Alli, go to myalli.com and read up on the program.

I have a treadmill that I haven't been on in ages which is inexcusable. It's sitting right here in the bedroom and has done nothing but accumulate dust for months, many months! Oh well, enough grousing. Before signing off I'll post some pics of the kids that were taken while they were here visiting.




Our youngest grandchild just turned 1 year old and we went to his birthday party this past weekend. Here are a couple of pics; one of Sam and one of his sister, Sara.

Found quotes I like

Catching up on blogs I follow tonight and found a new one, Art and Inspirations . It's got some amazing photos and art featured there and is well worth checking out for yourself. She has some quotes listed that really caught my attention and are now floating around in my head searching for a place to land where they'll give the most inspiration and be remembered for more than a fleeting moment.

"It is not length of life, but depth of life." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God." ~Leo Buscaglia
"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it." ~ Danny Kaye

I especially like that last one and would love to get some time to do exactly that; throw some paint (or glue, or colored pencil, etc.) around. I have been talking for so long about working in collage and mixed-media but have yet to put that 'talk' into action. It seems that every single moment is taken up with something that takes priority over my crafting. I should not let that happen so often; crafting and the act of creating something, anything, feeds my soul as well as my heart. Even if whatever I'm working on turns out horribly, I still feel gratified to have made the attempt.

DH (darling husband) and I now have 2 of the other grandkids with us; we traded Payton for his older brother and younger sister. Lance and Adelyn came late yesterday afternoon with their other great-grandparents and Payton went back home with them for the rest of the kids' stay here in MS. It's good that we live close enough to each other that we're able to do that; gives all us 'grands' and 'greats' the chance to visit with all the kids.

Lance is 6 and Adelyn is 3; both of them are much more active than their 5 year old brother Payton. These 2 definitely keep us on our toes but are so much fun to spend time with. We all went to Wal-Mart to buy groceries tonight and now I'm completely worn out. Work was not all that busy today but keeping up with those 2 younguns zapped what energy I had left. I wouldn't have it any other way.

My son and his wife, the kids' parents, will be back in MS tomorrow and will be leaving with all the kids sometime on Sunday. They'll be moving to North Carolina within the month so it will most likely be a long time before we see them again. Emails and phone calls will have to suffice for a while.

Well, enough rambling. Now I'm going back to catching up on blogs while 'Wall-E' plays in the background. Lance wanted to watch it as he falls asleep. I think this makes the 3rd time we've watched it since last night :-)

God Bless You and have a great weekend!

Important Notice

zetti_piracy
Originally uploaded by theresaashmore

Due to negative actions that a friend of mine experienced, she came up with this graphic to post on blogs, etc. of artists of all types. The link information that must be posted with the graphic is important too so if you'd like to use the graphic on your blog, please get the image and accompanying link information from this flickr site. The link if you want to cut and paste it into an email, etc. is http://www.flickr.com/groups/stopartpiracycampaign .

Take a look at the other images available at the flickr site too and remember that artists work very hard on their creations. Please don't take either the image or their ideas and claim them as your own. This is very important to anyone involved in the arts no matter what form their talents take.

I'm spending time with Payton tonight; we've watched a Thumbelina movie and are now watching Arthur and the Invisibles. These children's movies are much better than anything that's been on television lately.

God Bless and have a great evening!

Grandkids are wonderful!

payton_laughing
Originally uploaded by theresaashmore

This is our 5 year old grandson, Payton. He's staying with us for a few days while his parents look for housing in North Carolina, their next duty station for the Marine Corps.

Payton is so much fun to be around. He's always happy, always laughing. I'm certainly going to miss him, his older brother and younger sister when they're in NC rather than Alabama. NC is a much longer trip from Mississippi.

God Bless You

Granddaddy B and Addy

Granddaddy B and Addy
Originally uploaded by theresaashmore

This is a pic of my Dad and my granddaughter, Adelyn. I guess men and their 'girls' have a special bond because my Dad is a different person around his granddaughters and great-granddaughters. Addy is a delight; a very good child and easy to keep entertained.

Payton is staying with us this week and we are having so much fun. He and I are watching Spider-Man right now. Of course, I'm blogging at the same time and can handle both tasks simultaneously because I've seen Spider-Man so many times already. In fact, this copy is on VHS and I have the only VHS player in the house in my bedroom so that's where we are. Hard to believe anyone even watches anything on VHS anymore but here we are :-)

Payton's laughter is something I would pay any amount I could come up with to hear. It's infectious and one of the most beautiful sounds on this planet. All 5 of our grandchildren are extra-good kids; all of them are so very well-behaved. I guess most grandparents feel that way but we really have been very blessed. I thank God that our kids and grandkids are healthy and happy.

Work was great today; I got alot done and everyone was in a pretty good mood. I am so glad that I enjoy my job; I've worked at places that I really did not enjoy my co-workers or the atmosphere and it is a miserable experience.

Payton decided he was ready to go to bed so he's gone over to my Mom's house aka Grandma B. We're letting him sleep over there so he doesn't have to get up so early with us going in to work. Mom and Dad are retired and they love having him over there with him. He's so easy to see after that he's the easiest one for them to keep. His brother and sister are more 'lively' and harder for Mom and Dad to keep up with. Hard for this 'Nana' to keep up with too lol

God Bless and have a great Tuesday!!

Lance, Payton and Addy

Lance, Payton and Addy
Originally uploaded by theresaashmore

I actually took this photo about a week ago when the kids were here visiting. I'm just now getting around to downloading the pics off my camera and this was the best one of all 3 of them. These are my oldest son's kids and 3 of our 5 grandkids; Lance, Payton and Adelyn (Addy).

Payton is staying with us this week and we are thrilled to have him here for the week. He'll stay with my Mom and Dad during the day and when I get off work, he'll transfer across the road to my house.

I've been blowing bubbles, drawing, coloring, building with blocks and just generally having a great time since he got here. There's just nothing like waking up on a Sunday morning with one of those precious faces smiling at you. Those are memories nothing else can touch for the intensity of love I feel from and for this child of my child.

God Bless You

Found image (odd)

Mastering the Modern Art of Texting
Originally uploaded by battyward

I saw this and it's just too good not to share. I'm one of those people who didn't think I'd ever use texting at all. Then, I decided the only time I'd use it would be to send short 'call me' type missives to my immediate family. As it's turned out, I'm actually using it to have short conversations with several different people and I'm sure I'll use it more and more in the future. It still bugs me though when there's someone walking around seemingly talking to themselves until I notice they have an earpiece clipped to their ear. I do not NOW or plan to EVER use my cell phone so often that I need a permanent receiver stuck to my head.

I should have been in bed a long time ago but my oldest son's here with three of the grandkids. Son and I have been watching 'Dark Knight' because he's never seen it. He's actually been watching the movie and I've been surfing flickr which is how I came across this leggy guy texting.

I'm looking forward to visiting more with the grandkids tomorrow before they leave headed back to Alabama. My son is a Marine and has just found out he'll be stationed in North Carolina next and they have to be there within a little over a month. I've gotta get in all the 'Nana' hugs and kisses I can before they get that far away.

Now, I think I actually will go to bed. God Bless You!

Quick Share

spot_lily01p
Originally uploaded by theresaashmore

No blogging words tonight but I would like to share this image of a spotted lily. I took the photo in June but every time I see it I actually like it more. The blue sky against the brilliant orange of the lily is a really good contrasting combination for me. One of my photos that actually turned out better than I thought it would. Notice the spiderweb in lower left corner; we have some really strange spiders in our corner of the world. Maybe I'll get a pic of one of them and share it some time as well. Have a great weekend and God Bless You!

Thought to Ponder

After last night's rambling blog post, I just happened to run across this saying today at Zettiology. 'Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy afternoon'. Hmmmmm, kinda fits the way I was feeling last night when I was talking about being restless. I love to create and do 'crafty' things but sometimes I'm just not in the mood to do anything or I just don't know what I want to do. That's really what I was feeling last night.

That link to Zettiology in the preceding paragraph is worth checking out for anyone interested in altered art, mixed-media collage or anything of that nature. It's also pretty cool to explore if you're just a bit 'off the beaten path' so to speak. Go check it out and you'll see what I mean. I love to cruise through there and let my imagination roam.

Anyways, today is better in that I'm not restless. I got plenty done at work today and am actually accomplishing some things at home this evening too. My oldest son called today and said he and the 3 kids will be here for a weekend visit sometime tomorrow evening. YAY!! I get to see 'my babies' as I call them. They're certainly not babies anymore but I guess I'll always feel that way about them. I'm sure I'll have some pics to share soon since I plan on giving my Canon Digital Rebel a workout while they're here.

I do have to work Saturday morning. In fact, I have to work the next 2 Saturdays for half a day. I'm kinda looking forward to next week though as I'll be filling in for someone who'll be on vacation and it will give me a chance to do something a little different for a bit. Probably weird for me to feel that way but I enjoy changing things up sometimes. I'm sure we'll be extra busy with one person being out but it sure makes the time go faster when you're busy. My supervisor and I work together extremely well anyway and I really enjoy when it's just she and I. We always have a good time while we get plenty done too.

I'm just not in the mood to rant about anything tonight since I'm in such a good mood with the grandkids expected :-) I'll end by saying this: I do think that Michael Jackson was a great entertainer and I do enjoy some of his music. However, I will be glad when the media isn't so full of details of his death, etc. I'm ready to let him rest in peace, as I sincerely pray that he is. Just my opinion.

God Bless You!

In the 'Old Days'

What did we do before the internet? I can easily remember when I needed to know something I either had to look it up in the dictionary or encyclopedia or, better yet, find someone who knew the answer I was looking for. I spend way too much time online and am just sitting here wondering what I did in all these hours that I now spend surfing and reading blogs.

We should NEVER be bored, ya know? With all this information at our fingertips we should be ashamed if we ever find ourselves with 'nothing to do'. Yet, I (using 'I' here instead of 'we' to keep from stepping on someone's toes) do have times when I just want something to occupy my time but it's not a book or surfing the web. That's really ridiculous.

I guess now that I don't have small kids at home to occupy me and, thank God I don't have to work 2 jobs, that I'm bound to end up with blocks of time where I'm just restless. Don't get me wrong; I truly enjoy having my time to myself. Nelson's very self-sufficient and always has been. He does not have to have me right beside him all the time and I feel the same about him. We know where the other one is if we need them but we're perfectly capable of being by ourselves as well.

I'm not really complaining; just commenting on the fact that it's not necessarily a good thing that I've become so used to an 'instant' society. Where everything we could possibly want is more or less moments away. We rarely have to wait for anything anymore AND we more often than not get irritated if we DO have to wait. Not something I'm proud of, just something I had to vent about.

I know I switched from 'I' to 'we' but hey, I was in a hurry to get back to reading blogs :-)

God Bless and hope you are more patient than I am :-)

Happy Independence Day!

Just a quick note to wish everyone a happy and safe July 4th holiday. It's actually my birthday so I guess you could say that alot of people celebrate my birthday :-) Nelson and I plan to go shopping and out to eat, maybe catch a matinee of 'Transformers 2' since he wants to see it so badly. So, no cookouts or family get-togethers planned for our household on the 4th. Maybe later when it's cooled off some. It's just too blamed hot to be outside for very long!

Everyone stay safe and have fun!!