PERSONALIZED

Oh sweet weekend. Three days to be exact. Too bad it's already almost over. Still, I am awake so incredibly early in the morning. At least I can get some shopping done online, in peace. Any more, it's just easier than going to the actual store. I still wish someone would set a site up for ordering groceries though! I did find a cute little site that let's you create your own personalized gifts. I am thinking there are a few items I would love to get for baby Izzy this Christmas!! You can just visit personal creations if you like this kind of stuff too. I think it's a lot of fun for the kids - and I wish I would have thought about it before I tried to write their names on a hundred pencils for school!

SO MUCH TO DO

"Grandmas' Bird Bath"

My phone has been ringing off the hook lately. Everyone wants pictures taken. I have a photo shoot lined up for Saturday, and about 4 more I need to make time for. Not to mention I need to take pictures for my own little Grandbaby! She is three months old today, and we need to stuff her in my little baby dress and get some pictures. I just hope the dress will hold up - it's almost 40 years old, so it has seen better days.
This work week will at least bring a 3 day weekend when it's over. I am looking forward to that! The days seem to just run together with everyone so busy, and I need a little break. Of course the man would love to shop for a newer vehicle for me, and look at truck rims for his. What is it with boys and their stupid tires anyways?? Oh well.
The photo up there is one I took while we were visiting my Gramma in Tennessee. I loved her little bird bath, and the girls had gone around picking little flowers - then tossed them in there so the birdies would have "decorations". LOL! So sweet those girlies!

HUMMINGBIRD MOTH

I like to sit outside early in the mornings and watch the sun come up. The other day, I was sipping my coffee when this little guy showed up to have a bite to eat. I believe he is what they call a hummingbird moth - huge for a moth for sure! He hovers over the flowers, and has a really long tongue thingy that he uses, like a beak, to get at the flower nectar. It was so neat to watch!

If you make the picture full size, you can see the motion of his wings. He must have stayed around for a good thirty minutes before moving along, but I was grateful he came. I have thought about entering a photo of him in the fair, but I honestly don't think I will have time to put anything in this year. Life has gotten so incredibly busy, and I haven't had the time to sort through photos and decide if this year has given me anything good enough to really bother with. It seems like work kind of sucks up most of my time - though I am super happy about having a real job. It just doesn't leave much time in the day for anything else. The only thing I really don't like about working - is the sitting on my butt too much. I'm going to have to look for the best diet pills on the market if I am going to spend the rest of my life sitting down! So far my pants still fit, but I was used to running around all day, and the transition has been a little rough on the ol' diet!! Or maybe I'll be like my little friend up there - just eat flowers!!

I AM SIGNMAKER....

So, this is my new job title! I am a sign maker - and I love it!! I didn't make the ones up here, but I took these photos of this particular store when I first started so I would know what in the world I was doing. I work for the brand of beer on the sign. :)
I actually AM the graphics department at my company, so most of the signage and things that you would see inside the stores would be something I made. In our area anyways. Sometimes it can get pretty hectic, and it sure has made the summer go by quickly. I think I have finally gotten used to the whole 40 hours a week thing, but it has taken some adjusting for sure. I don't have a lot of time for myself anymore, thus the reason I am up at 4 in the morning. But I sure do LOVE that paycheck!! LOL! As a matter of fact - I will be speaking with an Energy subwoofer speaker seller this weekend, so I can make my living room my own personal concert station! LOL! I was able to buy my kids school supplies and school clothes without worry, and the bills are all caught up. And yes - we were able to go on vacation. Much better than the struggle that was my life before. I am still picking up little freelance jobs here and there, but now I can say no if I need to. I like that option. And I get paid to color! Yes!!

RODEO!!

I went with my family to the rodeo last night! I have been to a very small one before, but this one I can call my first "real" rodeo!! It was so much fun, and I had the absolute best seats in the house thanks to my job!! My employer gave my tickets for box seats, so we sat right above the chutes where the cowboys come out! My kids were in awe the whole time. I was wondering how these boys can get up off the ground when they fall down - OUCH!! I think I took a bazillion photos too. Cowboys - are hot! LOL!

BABYSITTING......

Oh my. So here I am, babysitting my granddaughter. Holy shite. It's 116 degrees outside and they dress her in black. Cute and all, but no. First things first - stripped to the diaper. Fed, changed and burped. Still fussy. Tired, and fussy. I don't remember my babies ever being this fussy. Maybe nature does that to us mommies so we will still like babies when ours grow up. I dunno. Swing - yes - they brought the swing. Oh thank you jesusss. She's asleep. Maybe now I can go pee...... I'm not sure how I am gonna get supper cooked though. I wanted to grill so I didn't have to heat up the house. At this point I think everyone is shoving blocks of ice in the outdoor fireplaces and gathering around them to stay cool. Or literally crawling into the freezer. Oh yeah, I have the big one in the garage. I could take out all the shelves and sit in there a spell. But I can't. I'm babysitting....... Jeebus it's hot......

FISHING DERBY

Fireworks were not the only fun we had over the Fourth Of July Holiday this year! The kids took part in a fishing derby out at one of our favorite little lakes. Riley actually got quite a few bites, but neither one of them caught anything this time. It was a lot of fun watching them though - I remember fishing with my Daddy when I was a little girl - and it was the best..... I hope my kids remember these times as well.
I have to make a trip out to the stores after a bit - hopefully before the horrific heat sets in - I am thinking it's a good day to bake a cake in the car. I bet it will be done before I get out of the grocery store it's so hot here! I found a bunch of graduation stuff on clearance the other day, and I am going to hoard some of it in the hopes that I will be able to use it some day. Plus I have some coupons I have been dying to use up before they expire. Free stuff is always good. Stay out of the heat if you can, and have a great weekend!!

NO TIME FOR ME

Here's a photo of the start of our fireworks show from the fourth.... I still have had absolutely no time to do any editing of the pictures. As a matter of fact, now I need to figure out how to use photos like these in CorelDraw. What I need to be able to do is blow up a digital photo I have taken with my camera, up to the size of a billboard. I don't know for sure if this is where using RAW images comes into play, or keeping it in JPEG mode will work as well. I don't know if I even have enough memory on this old desktop to work with the RAW anymore. What I really need to do is take a course, but there aren't any being offered at the college here. Gah!!
So it's another busy day for me at work today, gotta do some grocery shopping, pay some bills and buy adapexin for a little experiment I am going to try. I wish I knew how to fit everything I need to get done into one day, but so far I am not having a whole lot of luck!!

TO FIND THE TIME.....

My garden - is all but dead. The house is a disaster from the weekend still. I forgot to mail the rent..... There's just so much to do and not enough time to do it all. I did manage to get out and get some photo time in, and now I need to find the time to upload all the fireworks shots I got! Thankfully the work week is short by a day, as there is much to do this coming weekend as well. Rye has a birthday party to go to, and I have no time to go shopping for that. We scanned the web together and found a spot to make personal birthday gifts at Personal Creations. This will be cute, and a time saver for me. The little birthday girl is having a baking party (She loves cupcakes as much as Rye does apparently) so we will be able to customize the perfect little gift - and have it delivered. I wish everything were so easy - like please ship me my toilet paper and laundry soap too! Hopefully this week I can find the time to get some fireworks shots up here - I got some really nice ones this year, and even my kids managed to get some very cool and creative ones as well! Riley used her DSi to snap a few, and they were very artsy!! I hope everyone has a great, shortened week!!

NAUGHTY SUUUSHIIIIII.....

I went out for a sushi supper.

This is what I got......

CLOUD WATCHING

Here are some photos of the clouds around here over the course of the last week or so. It has been really neat to see all the different patterns, and out of all of it, we only had one day of rain!

This one is soooo weird - how the sky just seems to have a straight line right down the middle! I don't know what causes that, but it sure was neat!

Dead center of this photo, the clouds were rotating! Kinda cool, but also time to leave!

This batch of clouds turned severe, after it passed us of course!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY YA OL' GRAMPA!!

Awwwwwww, what a softy! The kids are up early this morning, making Daddy some cards for Father's Day. They are hoping to surprise him when he gets off work. That's the hard part about the 3rd shifters' life - you miss a lot. But I will help them with the special breakfast cooking, and later we will be going to Gramma's house for cake. I thought about having an organic fruit basket delivery made to his work from the kids, but then remembered that it's awful hard to stash anything without it being snagged by someone else. I mean it's one thing to offer to share, but quite another to have your goodies just go completely missing. But - it would be a really nice gift for my step-dad. He's watching his health more closely these days since his heart surgery, and chocolate would probably not be the best gift anymore! We have a busy day ahead, and an even busier week! Hope everyone has a great day!!

LOVE THE RAIN!!

It sure has taken some getting used to, this 40 hour work week thing. I have been really tired lately, no so much from the work itself, just from trying to fit everything I need to into my day. Tonight after supper, we went for a drive towards a nice wall cloud, just to have a peek at it. Before too long though, it was time to go, and it seems to have followed us home. To the right of that tree line, we saw some serious rotation going on, and that was so neat, but also our signal to get back on the road.
Now that we are back, it's back to the supper dishes, back to the kids and all their wants and needs. My son wants an xbox wireless adapter now, - like right now - so he doesn't trip over all the cords. My daughter, wants everything that has been on tv in the last twenty minutes, and I want my hair colored! I don't get a paycheck however, until next Friday. Ughh.... It will be a tight week for sure, but we've made do with less. I'm just glad that things are finally starting to look a little brighter in the money department. Tired or not, it will be well worth it.

Well, here comes the hail again!

Oooh. Big Hail!!! Bye Bye!!!

IZZY IZBOURNE

Love Love Love

I can't believe I am finally a Gramma! Let me tell you - there is nothing like it in the world! I am completely smitten by this little tiny human, and every single day, I think she gets even more beautiful....

I am a bit tired, but I think my poor daughter is just exhausted. I am so proud of her though - she's just amazing. I don't think she's had more than a couple hours of sleep since she's been home from the hospital. I would love to talk her into coming over to Gramma's house to get a nap, but for now I think she is content just trying to figure things all out in her own home. I remember those days....

Just love. It's oozing from my soul!

GOOD GRIEF ALREADY

Still no baby. I have cleaned the house, gotten the lawn mowed, done all the laundry, and finished printing postcards for work. I have done everything I can think of to keep my mind occupied. I have called Halie a hundred forty two times, and still nothing. I really wish she would go into labor already and give me my grandbaby. Gawwww!! I don't think it was this bad waiting on my own children to arrive. Or maybe it was - and I just can't remember - thus the reason I have three kids instead of just one. It looks like rain is coming again today, but it's hard to tell. It's been clouding up like this for a few days in a row now, but it hasn't produced anything. Kinda like Halie. Contractions that produce - NOTHING! LOL!

Maybe, she will get the baby for HER birthday! She turns 20 on Monday.
Keep your fingers crossed!!

STILL NO BABY BUT HERE'S A SENIOR

Since we are still waiting for the Grandbaby to arrive, I suppose we will just have to make do with some senior pics instead of the newborn pics! LOL! We have been trying everything we can think of to get this baby to come out, but it has been exhausting for this Gramma-to-be! Right now I am trying to figure out how to get rid of dark circles under my eyes!! I don't know how many more nights in a row I can go without much sleep. Yesterday we went walking in the park, then we came home and I made the daughter a special salad. I even used Balsamic Vinegar straight from Italy in the salad dressing. Then for a drink it was the traditional Raspberry Tea. But alas. Here we are on Friday morning - and still no labor. She did go to the doctor yesterday, and she has been scheduled for inducement on Tuesday. Still - I hope this child comes into the world on her own!!

LOOKS LIKE A GOOD STORM DAY!

Well..... the Weather Channel gives us a 7 out of 10 (Or 70% Chance) of a tornado in our area today. The area in the middle, or first inside circle, is where I live. There is a chance for not only tornadoes, but large hail as well, as indicated by the red circle. Hmmmm. It feels fairly cool outside right now, but the air is that sticky kinds of air that makes your skin crawl just a little. We shall see what unfolds I suppose. The tales around my town say that a tornado will never touch down inside the city limits, as we live in a "gully" of sorts. All my life, I have never seen one here. I have watched the radar as storms got close, then "POOF" - they fall apart - then come back together once they have gotten East of us.... I do remember a few times in my life where I was actually pretty scared, but mostly I was a young child, and had no way of knowing that which I know now. But - I don't necessarily believe that we will never be affected. I think it's only a matter of time......

So the day brings me out to harvest a few heads of broccoli from my garden for supper tonight. I'll be keeping a close eye on the sky, and I must go to work and try to talk my boss into at least looking at this inetsoft business intelligence software. The kids are almost done with school for the summer, with only part of the next week to go. Needless to say they are quite restless at this point. I also need to finish the baby blanket I started back when I first found out I was going to become a gramma. So much to do, so little time!