Say Cheese!!! :D

Friday night was our monthly meeting of our Scrappin' Club! Hey, girls, we really have to come up with a name for "the club". We had a new scrapper this month...hope you had fun, Kelly! Also joining in the fun was Krista, Laura, Shannon, Mom and me....oh and Jaden and Seth were guests for awhile!

It was another fun filled day! We met at the studio again.....and as in the past, plenty of good food! Funny thing....many of us were "cheesy". We had so much cheese......Shannon made strawberry cheesecake, Kelly made a cheeseball, Mom also made a cheeseball, Krista made a veggie pizza that had the cream cheese base, and I brought sliced cheeses and meat roll-ups filled with, yep, cream cheese! Jerry (of Tom & Jerry) would have been in heaven! Thanks to Laura we had some variety....she made peanut butter chocolate bars....think Reese's Peanut Butter cups. Late in the evening we made a run to Dunkin Donuts for an Iced Latte. Kelly didn't have her fill of cheese....she ordered a pizza!

But it was a night of scrappin too....and boy can some of these girls scrap! Krista was flipping through the pages so fast she didn't even take time to ring the bell......I think she finished 17 pages! I know Shannon was in double digits too and Laura might have been too. Mom and I had a little trouble getting into gear.....I completed 2 whole pages and mom did two pages and a couple of cards. I should get double credit though because Krista copied my two pages.

Overall.....fun times and already looking forward to next month at Krista's!

And to top off the weekend I am in Columbus, Ohio at a "Pottery Painting Camp". Mom is with me and boy are we getting a lot of great ideas and new techniques to bring into the studio just in time for the holidays! I will post some pictures once I get my samples fired.

Small Claims saga continues....

If anyone needs representation in small claims court......by the time I am through I will be a professional! Getting my degree from "School of Hard Knocks" (Ashley I would be happy to give you some help with your LSATS! ;)

I had my court date.....and as i figured, she didn't show. Heck, I didn't even get to see the judge.....all those hours watching Judge Judy....wasted!

Ok, so she is in contempt of court for not showing and I win by default! I figured this means I get the money, right? uh..yea...if only it were that easy! Let me tell you right now, if you are going to file a claim in small claims court you better be ready to invest a lot of time: paperwork, notification, tracking down info, and many trips to the courthouse!

Well if you know me, I finish what I start. I have learned to choose my battles wisely, but once the fight begins we will take it to the end! This one has become principle now. If I just let it go from here it ends....I don't get anything, she gets off the hook, and the court just files the paper away.
I choose to battle so.....I sent her a letter telling her she is in contempt, please pay, or I will follow the next steps the court allows. Court says I have to allow her 10 days. Those days have come and gone and then some! I decided to go to court yesterday and file the next papers....so I called the courthouse. No answer. hmmmmm....am I missing a holiday? It's noon so I figured being a government building they all just walk away from the phones for their lunch hour. (Not surprising they have no reason to be convenient for tax payers but that's another blog). I give up on the phone call....I'll worry about it another day. Then for the heck of it I decide to give this lady who stuck me for over 100 bucks a call....she never answers my calls but I figure I can leave a nice little message again!
Lo and Behold....she answers!!! Well to keep a story that is already long, less long......she says she will be in on Tuesday to pay! She gives me this song and dance about it was a bad time and by the time she had the money I had already filed. right....I gave her 30 days and several options. So do I hold my breath? heck no! But I can't help I am an optimist and I think she will pay up. I won't cry when she doesn't show up.....I will just go to the court house and be one step closer to the body attachment!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!!!

50 Fabulous Years!!!

On September 6th Mom & Dad celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary! Wow...50 years of memories!!! Congratulations!!!


To celebrate this special milestone we had a very special dinner on an amish farm. This was a dinner like no other! We had a private feast, fixed just for us at this family's home. The dinner started with a delicious salad and homemade bread and jelly, followed by the main course of pan fried chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, homemade noodles, fresh corn. Dessert was choice of peach, apple, or cherry pie and ice cream! Needless to say we all needed a walk around the farm before our drive home. Even the coffee and lemonade was better than your average. There is something to be said about the simple life!






Sure was nice that everyone was able to make it home or get off work for this special day. It's not often that we get everyone together, in one place, AND long enough to snap a picture!

After the dinner we all went to mom and dad's for a second dessert, dad has become quite the baker....yummy chewy chocolate chip cookies!

I think Max summed it all up with a champagne toast:
"Here's a toast to Pat & Wayne whose example showed us how to be great parents and grandparents! Cheers!"

...the rest of the Tennessee story!

One of the best parts of the vacation was having a home cooked meal every night. We decided each couple would be in charge of a night. From start to finish, fixin' to cleanup....you had to do it all! Was a bit comical to see how each couple interacted together in the kitchen!

The first night chefs were Shannon and Mike. They had a Mexican theme...enchiladas, Spanish rice, and salsa. It was delicious!!! In fact, I was one of the lucky ones to get a leftover enchilada for lunch one day. Nice work guys!

Day two was Max and I....you all know how much I love the kitchen! We opted for a true American, midwest favorite: T-Bones, corn on the cob, and cinnamon applesauce. Sorry I don't have the proof, and many won't buy it, but I really did cook! The steaks were cooked to perfection and the corn couldn't have been sweeter!

As you can see, we did talk the guys into helping a little with the prep. Thanks Shane and Mike for helping clean the corn. (Sorry, Mike, you were just late for the picture, but I will back up your story if you back up mine.)

Shannon contributed dessert for this night by making a birthday cake for Max!! A late Maxmas celebration....Thanks, Shannon!

The final evening was Shane and Ashley....we were very impressed with the young chefs. They made their version of Chicken Cordon Bleu and fresh asparagus. We had a few ears of corn left so we threw those in too! It took Max and I a little getting used to seeing Shane eat something green! You're doing good, Ash! ;)

This is where I had my coffee every morning....I was up about 7 each morning, grabbed my book, coffee and blanket and headed for the porch! That's what relaxing is all about! And then Jaden always joined me.....mom and dad even got to go back to sleep a couple mornings, I think. Jaden and I would take a little walk near the woods out back....as you can see, getting dirty is taking a little getting used to!

And one of my favorite parts of the whole vacation was spending time with the kids playing games. Jaden and I had fun playing dominoes! She has the one...two...three down! But she would knock down the dominoes before i could get a string going. We had fun though....Jaden, you are such a sweetie!!!

After Jaden went to bed, we moved upstairs to the theatre room and played games until after midnight. Shannon and Mike brought "Balderdash" that was a hoot!! Had us literally rolling on the floor sometimes! And then another night Shane and Ashley taught us Mexican Train Dominoes. My new favorite game....sure hope Santa brings me a set....hint, hint, Shane-o!

Of course there was a lot of fun in between these times like.....a trip to Gatlinburg (Jaden and I only liked the ice cream shop). Way to commercialized and touristy! The kids took a trek through some trails at Smoky Mountain National Park. Max and I stayed back at the cabin and made a small trip to some outlets in Pigeon Forge. Again, the only part Jaden and I liked was the ice cream!

I am already looking forward to another trip back soon!

Thanks kids and Max for making it a super, fun, relaxing vacation!!!