Happy Anniversary to Us!

Max and I celebrated our 28th Wedding Anniversary on Saturday!

I worked the first half of the day while Max went truck shopping.....actually we had found a truck the night before and he just had to go do the paperwork. I have joked about this being his anniversary present, but I am going to let him tell you the "100 reasons" he bought a truck.

We tossed around ideas on what to do Saturday night....where do we want to go eat, what else to do? Because we go out to eat often, and we have to be picky about where, I wanted to do something different. We ended up at Lake George in Fremont. We ate at Lake George Retreat and then hit the few stores that are left at the Outlet Mall.

It was a nice time and a chance to take the BIG truck for a drive. (Big is subjective and since he has been driving the little Hyundai, this truck is BIG)

Be sure to stay tuned and tune into Max's blog for BIG truck picture!

This...That....and the Other Thing

Time for some ramblin'

Wow how time flies....is it really mid-July already?!?! (ok, it is now August 1st, but you can see when I started this blog entry....just tells you how busy I have been.)


Studio Buzz
I have been staying very busy at the studio. I can honestly say my business is weathering the economic storm fairly well. This week we had a "Clay Open House" It went well, would have liked to have done better, but I think the ones that did come in to "play" had a lot of fun and surprised themselves with their artistic ability! If you have never tried making something from clay you really should come try it....it is more fun than Play-doh! (I haven't bought any play-doh in a long time, but I am betting it is cheaper than play-doh too.)

Also at the studio I have had Kids' Camps going on almost every week. The three day camps have been a hit this summer again. Next week will be the last week for these.


Life Buzz
Max and I continue to work out daily at the Y. Erin Dove, personal trainer, has me set up with a weight program. It was nice meeting with someone that I already knew, and more importantly knew me. And she didn't run away when I told her what I wanted to do. Thanks Erin, I can't believe I am saying this, but I actually like exercising! (ok, all you jokers that fell off your chair, can get up off the floor now because I have another shocker that will have you laughing.) Next week I am starting a Yoga class. (knew you would laugh). I don't know why but I guess its just one of those things I wanna try.

and now two weeks later......
I am still busy at the studio. I am still going to the Y.
And I am going to get this entry posted so I at least have one entry for July. It's my blog, I can call it July post if I want.

Dreams do come true!

Some of you are going to think I am going crazy.....others of you already knew that, but......

We all have dreams, right? some BIG some small.....but nonetheless, we dream...

"Someday I am gonna _________________!"

Well I got to live out one of my dreams recently! Maybe not one of my biggest dreams, but it does rank right up there, in fact, this "dream" has been at the top of my Life List.



Yep, that's me!!! I had a lot of fun playing "The Cat in the Hat" at the Ice Cream Social benefiting Kate's Kart. Although it was almost 90 degrees, that didn't stop me from putting on the fleece outfit and rubber mask!
I do have to admit that I scared a few little kids, but I gave out a lot of hugs and high fives too!

In fact, it was so much fun, I think when I retire we will become Florida Snow Birds and I can get a side job at Disney! (ok, I better run, I know the men in the white suits will be here soon to take me away!)

Do you want CHEESE with that wine?

Last weekend we had a nice family getaway weekend!

Max and I and Shannon and Jaden went to Indy for the weekend. We met up with Shane Saturday morning and headed for Vintage Indiana Wine Festival in downtown Indy. It was a lot of fun! Shane, Max and I enjoyed sampling some of Indiana's finest wines.....Shannon was our "designated driver" by default!

The weather was PERFECT......we were able to just kick back and relax.

I just have to show you what happens when I put my camera down:

Jaden became the photographer...."CHEESE papa.....CHEESE shane-o......CHEESE gramma j........CHEESE maw!" and she knew how to use the camera....hmmmmm...wonder why???? hehe

And did you notice she made sure she got a piece of herself in one of the pictures!

Looks like we have the makings for Jaden's first attempt at doing her own Scrapbook page!

Thanks kids for making this weekend so nice.....mark your calendar for next year!

Real men love to Scrapbook

There are so many things that happen on a daily basis that I think I will blog, but then the day, week, month gets away from me. At this rate I will never get to my 100th post, but I will sure have fun trying!

If you are a regular reader, you know I really like scrapbooking. I fiddle with it a little bit at home in my "apartment". (Max named it this because I have everything i need to survive in one room: computer, tv, scrapbooking set up, and even the kitchen sink...Jaden's little Strawberry Shortcake kitchen!) But I do have to say my favorite part about scrapbooking is getting together with friends and family for a full day of "scrappin". Of course we cant do our scrapbooking if we don't do a little shopping too. Recently mom and I took a 2 hour drive to Plymouth to check out a scrapbook store. To our surprise, dad and max decided to go along for the ride! The owner of this store knows how to make the customers happy:

With comfort like this....leather sofa, foot massagers.....they never knew we were there for 2 hours!

Maybe Lowe's and Home Depot should take a lesson from the scrapbook store owner.....give us ladies a place to get a pedicure, glass of wine, massage and we will be happy to tag along....heck we would probably suggest a weekly trip to the hardware!!

Doctor's orders

We went to Shannon and Mike's on Sunday for a Memorial Day cookout. Weather was perfect, food was fantastic, and had a great time playing washers, golf, and "big ball" with Jaden! Jaden was very entertaining as you are about to hear and see. I am sure most of you will recognize this favorite kid's song after a few seconds.

However, I do have a little disclaimer: This video is proof that I am not a videographer, and normally I would just trash this video since I cant flip it right side up.......but.......it is just too darn cute!! So I am chalking this up to a lesson in videoing.....NEVER turn the camera sideways for the full body shot, you can't rotate a video like you can rotate a picture.

So, sit back.....on second thought.....lay your head down on your desk and enjoy!!!

You have to watch it again and pay close attention to the hand movements.

Now as you watch it a third time....I know you already have.....can you pick out all the words?

Here's a translation:

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed.

One fell off and bumped his head.

Mom called the doctor,

The doctor said, "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

It's My Week!

That's right, of the 52 weeks, this one is mine!

Everyone knows Max has his "Maxmas Day". Recently Shane informed me, "September is my month!" (he is having a tough time adjusting to the fact he will have to share his month with a new niece!) So what the heck, I thought, I am gonna take one of the weeks and call it MINE!


Sunday was an absolutely wonderful Mother's Day! The kids came to our house for dinner. Shannon and I did the Kabob thing.....yummmmm!

Jaden (and Shannon and Mike) gave me the cutest book....a photo book of her this past year. Amazing to see how much she has changed. And Shane, I can't wait to go shopping...Thanks!!

After Jaden's nap, we all went to the park. Does it get any better than watching a 2 year old run from one thing to another? Or a 25 year old being a kid!?! Check out Shannon's blog for more pictures!

Also on Sunday we did a little pre-birthday celebration. "Thanks for the Slice cartridge Shannon and Mike. And Jaden....LOVE the stepping stone you made me!!" No doubt about it, Jaden is gonna be an artist, Shannon and I are making sure of that!

OH....back up a few posts, Easter post to be exact, I mentioned an early birthday present. This is so cool:

Thanks, Shannon and Mike for the decal. After getting this decal I have noticed how many people are using their vehicles for advertising! Look around....you'll see businesses, likes and dislikes, family members, thoughts and ideas. Decals are the new bumper stickers!!

"It's My Week" continued with a little celebration yesterday. It was my 48th birthday. The girls that work for me both needed yesterday off so I had planned to "play" at the studio all day. (I can't call it work because it's too much fun!) But Kristen insisted on working a few hours. "Thanks, Kristen!" Max and I went to Flat Top Grill for lunch and then he "insisted" we go to Michael's to see what's new in scrapbooking! "Thanks for twisting my arm, Max, and thanks for the great birthday present. I finally can trash the dinosaur computer monitor and sit back and enjoy a wider cyberworld!

The week continues....tonight I am going out to dinner with Mike, Shannon, and Jaden. Maybe I can talk Jaden into a frozen yogurt treat after dinner!

One last, but not least, "Thank you" goes to Mom and Dad for the Slice cartridge. It was fun kicking off my week on Saturday with a 12 hour scrap-a-thon with Mom, Cindy, and a whole bunch of Scrap-a-holics!

So it's been a GREAT week! Between parties I have spent a lot of time in my "apartment" scrapbooking! Leesa, I will do my best to keep the hanging basket flowering!

Thanks everyone for the Birthday wishes....you've made my week special!