Have you met my dogs?

Cuddling together

I love my puppies! They are my constant companions! Even if my giant Mitzie kills vaccumes with her long hair and Archie hair will forever be imbedded in my flannel sheets!

Chillin at the camper

My pretty girl

Let me start with my Mitzie Moo!! I am big into getting your dog at the pound. I don't need a designer dog when there are all of these dogs out there who need a good home! When I went to the pound to look at dogs they had just brought in a littler of seven puppies. They were found in an alley and they STUNK!! But the people were very kind and let us spend time with them to see if there was one we wanted. 45-50 min lafter spending time with these little fur balls we desided on Mitz. She had the most personality and Honeyman wanted a female. In IL if you get a dog from the ound they have to be fixed and they are chipped. These pups had been chipped, but not fixed so we had to wait 48 hours before we could take her home. She was just a little furball with GIANT paws! Their best guess is that she is an Australian Shepherd with some kind of Malamute (that is a snow dog). And let me tell you if you have ever seen Star Wars and know the sceen from the new one where Yoda kinally opens up and kicks some royal tail and then goes back to using his cane.... That is my Moo!! She saunters around, doesn't move very fast, but you get her out in the snow (or mention food) and this dog BOUNDS!! She is just to darn funny!! She is not so into the summer, but she loves to go camping because it means a ride in the car! We got her in the summer of 2006 and I just love this big monster!

Take it off Mama!

One of these is not like the other!

Then there is my Archibald! Little dog with the big name!! He came to us in 2008! Honeyman used to work part time for friends of ours who owned Invisible Fence. While out one of the trainers took this poor little puppy from unlivable conditions. He barely weighted five pounds!! He was nothing but skin and bones. And we believe he was abused by a man because still to this day it takes him a long time to warm up to men. Well... he is now just about 12 pounds (vet says right where he should be)!! He is a Chihuahua/ Cocker Spaniel mix! I just love his sand little eyes! He burrows under the covers in our bed and leaves dog hair that no matter how often I wash our sheets it just does not come out! LOL (Oh, did I mention our flannel sheets are a wine colour!)
I love my dogs!!
Josie

A Death in the family LOL (the story of my TV)

OK, so last month we had a death in the family!! Our old seven thousand pound TV that had a born on date (no really there was a date on the back of the TV) of Sept 1994, died. It was a huge frikin TV and had moved SEVERAL times with us. I'm not sure what size it was, but let me assure you it weighed as much as a small whale! My loving Honeyman (being a rather tight walleted man) did not want to buy a new one till this one croaked! Well it did, and for about two weeks we used a TV that my Daughters friend had given us. This TV was even worse because the jacks you plug things into were not right so in order to make them work you had to put a pencil between the plugs so they were at the right angle! So, I had a pencil sticking out of the front of my TV!! Nice right!! OK, So we did research, went to the store and bought our first ever flat screen TV!! YA!!

Well, you know I wanted it mounted on the wall... old house = plaster lath (or is it lath plaster) walls so finding a stud is nearly impossible... Honeymans cure for this.... drill LOTS of holes till you find a stud!!!And when you find out that there is only one stud smack dab in the middle of the wall... well make bigger holes to find out how close the next studs are!! Isn't this the way you would have done it!! Oh, god I love that man! But he has no patience with these things! LOL (hey don't make fun of my 70 year old wallpaper HE HE I do every day!!)

So the only option if I wanted this darn TV here was to build a fake 'stud'! So here is my Stud (in his robe) and yes my friends we drilled those bad boys into the window frames, because that is where the next stud was! They have GINORMOUS lag bolts in them and let me tell you they are not going anywhere! (Oh, my fault the TV is here, I like to be able to see out the window onto the street. call me a busy body, but I like to know what is going on!!) Oh, and putting these boards up (and the boards behind them had to make up for the 3/4 inches from the window frames) also covered the wholes my loving Honeyman made!! OK, that disaster averted, now we needed something to keep everything on. You see right below there... radiator! My solution, rip apart the coffee table we had (that was in bad shape, my parents bought in 1969, and way to big for the room we had it in) and custom fit something to go over the radiator! I still have to buy one of those cord cover things and we have to mount the sound bar. Oh, and I had to take the middle panel out of our 900 year old curtains, that disintegrated a little more every time you open them, so new curtains are in order as well!! LOL all in good time!!

During this move around I also ended up with a 'sewing room' of sorts, you see this room used to be two rooms, but the people before us took down a wall and made it one room that is 28 x 13 so I blocked off a door and this is what you got! This is a pic from my kitchen. yes now we have to use the pass through hall, but hey! I get my own little cranny for now!!  To the left is the cabinet that used to house my TV. Now bonus storage for me! I am looking for something to go in the middle of it where the TV used to be that has shelves, but I have not yet found something I like. To the right is my machine and the storage cube I use as a 'chair'! And of course this is where I hang my 'what in the world am I going to do to it next' items! LOL  I know my house is a cluttered mess, but it is me!! Love me or not! he he Oh, make sure you check me out in 5-8 business days! Wanna know what Honeyman bought for me... it's a surprise!!!
Josie

Christmas tree Horror flashback!

Can we say Cheesy!!

This morning as I was driving Kaelynn to school I was listening to our local Dj's talk about Christmas tree horror stories! (I love these guys! Dwyer and Michaels aka two dorks) Anyhow I was reminded of our Christmas tree horror story and just wanted to share! First let me say for some reason this year the Christmas spirit is just not with me. I have not yet put up any decorations, nor have I yet to buy ANY gifts! I love my Honeyman, but he is a Scrooge and does NOT like Christmas adn this year he is at the station on Christmas and works his part time job on Christmas Eve from 7AM till 7:30PM, so no help to that front. To top it off Kaelynn (16) is not really into it either! So it is just My Lillian, Darien and myself.

Cookie time w/Granny Kim

My Kids and Nieces 2007 Festival of Lights

OK So I will stop with the poor poor pitiful me stuff and regail you... So my Father was being Mr. Scrooge one year and did not want to go get a tree! My Mother LOVED Christmas and said fine we will go without you! So My Mother, sister, brother, a family friend (who was all of 5 ft tall and maybe 100lbs), her daughter and myself set off to choose a tree! Our house was old and had 12 ft tall ceilings and there was a beautiful 12 ft bay window are that we always put the tree into! When we would go tree shopping my Mother (who was 6 ft tall) would reach to the top of the tree and if she could reach the top that was the right sized tree! We got our hot chocolate from the little store there, looked at pretties, and set off into the field to find our tree! Mom, as she usally did, marked a few with pink tissues, not like we ever really went back for those LOL but...It did not take long and we all agreed on a beauty!! My Mother got down on the ground (this was normally Dad's job) and began to hack away with the little saw they give you! It took a great amount of time to finally ground this beast of a tree! We flagged down the guy on the cart to take our tree back to the store and settle up! Well this is when we should have known we were going to have a problem! You know those bailers they put the tree through...well try as they might they could not get this tree through the bailer!! So up onto the top of the old Diplomat the tree went! It took four guys to help Mom and Sandy to get the big guy up there! (now I'm sure it went through my Mother's head that SOMEHOW we were going to have to get this tree into the house without the help of these guys! but we children were blissfully unaware)

Darien loves his Santa hat!

We got home and somehow and between all of us got the tree into the house without breaking anything or anyone! Now to the tree stand... you know they come in small and large, well we had a large and the trunk was still to big!!! So first things first we had to shave down the tree trunk to make it fit!! Problem solved, right?? Nope,  standing the tree up became another problem! Remember Mom was there with four kids (I think I was in second grade) so we would have been about 6, two 7yr olds, and a 12 yr old and this tiny Sandy!! Well Sandy got in the corner to pull while Mom pushed and Mom pushed Sandy's bottom right out one of the window!!! oops! They finally wrastled that tree up and it touched the ceiling!! Not just touched but the top bent! Mom decided that since they had taken so much time to get the darn thing into the stand that it was just best to cut off the top six inches or so! No topper that year! So base trimmed and in the stand, and the top taken off, but the tree was up, till they let go! LOL the tree stand would not support the weight of this GIANT BEAST that had taken over our house!! Well when you have gone this far to get a tree up and in there is no stopping now! Mom tried to put weights on the stand, but it still would not hold! So what is the next logical step... NAILS!! Yup! My Mother nailed that tree stand right down into the hard wood floor!! She was not going to be defeated by this tree!!

Our pitiful fake tree Chirstmas morning 2010

Christmas morning!

We decorated and cleaned up all before Dad got home! It was the most spectacular tree ever! (I only wish I had the pics here maybe some other day I will make it past the troll again and get some of those) Dad was none to happy about the window or the floor, but can I just say...he never let us go get a tree without him again!!

If you made if this far! Thank you! I know I ramble! But I come from a long line of story tellers and sometimes I just have to add in my two cents!!
I hope the holiday spirit has found you all and that you can spare some for me! Josie

Do not read if you are an emotional sap like me!

Fifteen years ago today I sent an angel to heaven. When I was pregnant with my second daughter we went in for a 'routine' ultrasound, Aug 8, 1996, the day before my Mother's birthday. When I arrived I had been informed that they were having trouble with the machine and that I would be unable to get pictures. They said that my Dr. usually has another one done a little later and that they would be sure to get a good picture then. I laughed it off with the tech and said isn't that the way little hospitals are! My Mother was working that day  in the same Hospital in the OR, but in a case and unable to come with me. My huband was working and also unable to make it. You know your first everything with your first child it is all new and fun and they all want to be there for every little thing, well not so much for the second, third, or fourth. That was really OK with me! I mean, it was at least a special moment for me and that is all that really counted.
We began the ultrasound of course with the heart beat, a good strong beat, and wow does this kid move around a lot! I said MUCH more than my first pregnancy, but that, too was nothing to be concerned about. About ten minutes in the tech was looking concerned and said she had to go check something! I figured it was the machine, after all she had already told me machine problems. Twice she left and came back the second she had another gal come in and check out some things. She left a third time and said she would be back in jsut a few minutes.
Now I have to say I have always thought that I was good at reading people, but she had a pretty good game face. I suspected no trouble untill my Mother walked in. They had gone in and gotten her out of surgery because they did not want me to be alone. When she walked in I knew something was wrong, but at this point noone had said anything to me. only a minute or so she was followed in by the head of the department, a surgeon, and my OBGYN, as well as the two ladies who had been administering the ultrasound. They informed me that my baby had a birth defect.
My daughter was diagnosed with anencephaly. This is a form of spina bifida in which the brain stem forms, but the two lobes of the brain and the skull covering it does not form either. As a very neive young lady, my first question was, how do we fix this? And of course my Mother had to explain that there was nothing we could do.
They sent me to Peoria for more testing, which confimed the diagnosis, and I decided to continue the pregnancy in hopes of donating organs. You see although some of her did not form correctly all of the other organs are viable. I was not due till Mid Dec. and there was discusion as to weather or not I could mentally handle this. I told them that this was the only way I could justify this pregnancy.
One of the very common side effects of this anomaly is a condition affecting the mother called polyhydramnios, which is to much amniotic fluid. This is the bodys way of protecting the baby! Isn't it amazing that your body knows something is wrong and tries to help. I had more than three times what a 'normal' pregnancy would have. They estimated about three and a half GALLONS of amniotic fluid. At only 32 weeks my body could no longer take the pressure of what was going on inside and I went into labor. The Dr. tried to stop them and when the only alternative was to go home on a medication or let the labor progress I decided that my body must know what it needs.
On Oct. 21, 1996 My Christine Adrianna came into this world weighing only 3lbs. 4 oz. Unfortunately to donate anything she was quite shy of the 7lbs. She was born still to the world, and delivered into the hands of our Lord.
The day we burried her had been chilly and rainy, and while at the cemetary there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky.
I see her in all three of my other chlidren and love her as much today as the day I found out I was pregnant with her. To all out there who have lost a child, I feel your pain, know your love, and believe that we will join them again and be whole as a family.
Thank you for taking time out to visit me.

A gift from my Best Friend for Christmas 2007. My Angels here Kaelynn, Lillian, and Darien.

Josie

QC Marathon

So for the second year in a row my Lillian was part of the QC Marathon! An amazing group of relay runners

Sarah, Ellonyia, Laura, Carrie, & Laurel

Lillian and Laura

push special needs kids in a very special wheel chair through a leg of the race! Lillian was the first leg of the race! And I was a little scared! Her pusher was smaller than she is!! but she was amazing! Of course the first leg takes the ongest because they have to start in the back of the pack due to the wheelchair! But the first of the runners came through right at a half hour (five miles in) she was in right around 55 min!! What a trouper!!

the last bend for the first leg!

Now this would have been a great start if the wather had decided to cooperate!! We live just up the hill from where the start/finish line is so we returned home for 2 hours so I could feed my starvin kid! In that time the second leg had gone and the third hand off was a success as well!! then disasture struck in the form of Mother Nature herself!! It did not rain... it POURED!! The rain began during the third leg and the poor little guy who was being pushed was in tears! They got under shelter to see if it would let up, but alas it only got worse! Parents were waiting for him about a mile up the road so they decided to push on! The gal they had scheduled for the fourth leg had a Trach and because of the rain, and by this time the VERY cold weather, could not be pushed. So Bless the runner she had to run in the downpour and push and empty chair! (there was no other way to get it to the next checkpoint!) Her strech was nothing but rain!! But she made it through like a trouper!!
By this time the rest of us were gathered together so we could cross the finish line together! The rain stopped for the fifth leg and they were able to push the final kid in the chair! We all met up about 200 yards away from the finish line and all crossed together!!

We can see the finish!!

The crew! (minus the gal that went home due to weather but have no fear she still got a metal!)

The runner on the end is a local columnest for our newspaper (and the one who had to run in the rain)! There was a write up in the local paper and a nice pic of te team crossing the finish line! Pammy's Team article! Lillian (although they misspelled her last name Sikardi not Sikarvi) is my angel and loved every minute of it! Let's hope she gets to participate next year (she's geting a little to big) and that these wonderful people will still take their time to help!
Thanks!
Proud Mommy!! J

Door County (and more)

For Honeyman! From Dad's flannel!

It was love at first sight!

It has been a BUSY few weeks! Kids started school I had a birthday (shhh don't tell) and this past weekend was my 17 year wedding anniversary! Honeyman got me a Kindle, not sure where that thought came from! He is just full of surprises!! And I made him a computer case! Now before you get your hopes up I was short on cash and made it for free! And I have a VERY little stash!! The blue I used on the outside is incredibly thin and if I had it to do over again he might not have ended up with the blue! I did not have any batting so an old towel became my filling! There in is where the trouble lies! The terry came out the thin outer layer! The inside is an old flannel my dad brought over that was beyond worn out! I cannot believe that man was still wearing the shirt! Thank goodness my sister talked him into a few new shirts and he got rid of some old ones! (I have another that I have already began cutting prep on to use in another quilt!)
Mom and I had used towels for lining in bags a few years before she passed.. I am however sad not to have her machine! We had used a double needle and I cannot do this with my machine!
Anyway! I had insisted on Mom making me the one above! The material was from feedsacks from her parents farm! I just fell in love with it and used it all the time!

Scraps!

I drool!!

OK so I said Door County (WI). Honeyman and I took a weekend trip! It was a beautiful 6 hour drive and the weather, although blustery in the evening, was perfect! We went to Wine and cheese tasting at two different winerys and even took a haunted pub crawl! We stayed at a quaint little B&B and were only two blocks from the shops! There were only a couple dozen in the town we were in, but it did have the only quilt shop in the area! I had to restrain myself as we were going to go to a quilt show the next day and I was not sure if they would have anything there (kind of sad they had 'no photo' signs up at the quilt show so sorry).  I did grab several 1930's replica stuff (if you must know this is my FAVORITE fabric, but it is expensive so I do not splurge) well, Honeyman is much more ready to hand out teh money and does not often say no to me! (So I really try not to ask) But I have to share!! I know people are always trying to use up their 'stash'...but I do not yet have a stash! So I was more than happy to pull out of the 50 cent scrap bin! I probably could have pull ten times more and still found more! The bottom each was 6 precut fabrics 3 yds of material and there was only one more after these two! I picked it up and put it back probably three times (and now am sore with myself that I did not grab it! It was only 10.50 for 3 yds of material! stupid me!!)

Honeyman in our room! He is the love of my life!!

We stayed at the Barbican B&B in Sturgeon Bay, WI. Our room was huge, it had a BIG hot tub,  a sitting area,  a fire place and of course our hostess was just as pleasant as could be!
Yes, a great time was had by all! And now... well back to the daily grind! Hope this finds you all well and rested after a long holiday weekend!!
J

Runion weekend!!

So my weekend has been very busy and I was having computer problems so what should have been three days worth of blogs...I will do them in two however because the second will have LOTS of pics!!
This weekend was my Glasier Family reunion! That was my Great grandparents. My grandmother would have been 100 years old this year. She was one of six children and the only one of them NOT living! We lost her in 1982 (but it might have been 83)! Anyway! My Great Aunt Margory turned 99 this year and dispite failing eyesight and hearing she is smart as they come and very quick to let you know it!! I forget how old my Great aunts Irene and Reva are, but Great aunt Lillian will turn 90 at the end of this month and wow is she a spry woman with at whitty sence of humor!! My Great Uncle George (and wife Ramona) bring up the end at 81 young years!! They were our honorees at the Reunion with a special table with flowers for each of them!! I am just in aw of each and every one of them! Sometimes I am a little jelouse that I was only five when I lost my own (and only grandparent) Grandmother (Marie). But I have a HUGE family and there is a LOT of love there!! I did not take may pics at the reunion! Well there is one I have to take! My Lillian with her Great Great Aunt Lillian!!

My Lillian (11) and her Great Great Aunt Lillian (90)

My other AAHHHHH am I really ready for this... Yesterday Baby Ellie Jo started!! Am I getting to old to sit newborns?? LOL not sure but I was rather worn yesterday!  Ellie Jo is six weeks old and was born to my Friend Liz. I cave her a tough time and told her she would find a way to name that baby after me ( my full given name is Joelle) And My mother's maiden name was Conner, Liz's son is Connor!! She just can't get away from us if she tried!!
OK the next blog here is a teaser... I picked my Dad up at his house for our family reunion...My sister (the gatekeeper, the troll guarding the bridge, you know the one) was out of town!! Well I came home with treasures and she will never realize they are gone! OK onto the next blog because I can go on forever!!
I do so love family!!
J

But I'm not that old...

She hates this pic!! That's why I used it!!

So yesterday was my sister's birthday! (you may remember her as the troll guarding the bridge to my Mother's sewing room) Anyway! I left a Happy Birthday on her FB and was floored when a few hours laster my Aunt Judy posted happy 40th on there! I exclaimed WHAT!! My sister cannot be fourty!! That would mean that I am going to be... no not even!! You see I am only 26 3/4! Just ask any of my friends they will tell you! And I have stuck to that for about 4 years now! When asked when my b-day is I will tell them it is in three months and at that time I will turn you guessed it 26 3/4!! So I am always chasing my birthday and never quite really get there!!

This is the ONLY pic I could find of the two of us together in the past 10 years!!

I occures to me that she and I are never really in the same place at the same time accept when my band plays! The pic above is at one of my gigs! The guy in the back with the very puzzled look is my Honeyman and the guy in the front is Mike Sweeny (our bass player) he is another funny story! She is 'friends' with some of the other band members and feels like if it weren't for her I would not be in the band! Well to be truthfull my Baby Brother was acctually friends with the group first! And he is the one that said when they were still doing music at church well my Sister... Shhhh we will let her think she is the Bomb!! HEHE humor the old woman!
A lot of people say she and I look alike! I say WHAAAAA!! She looks JUST like our Mother and always has. I look in the mirror and more and more every day (and the rounder my face gets) my Father is looking back at me!! I jsut don't get it! My Baby Brother is like the perfect mix of Mom and Dad!
Family!! What do you do! You just wish them a Happy Birthday and remind them that you will never be as old as they are!! LOL
Have a great day!!
J

Pics galore of my new camper!!

Honeyman and Lillian chillin at the camper!!

Outdoor kitchen!!

 I just have to say I have the hardest time getting the pics in the right place and the words where they should be and I am writing this paragraph last and whew!! I hope you like my new toy! WE LOVE IT!! Thanks for spending time with me today!
Happy Monday!!
J

All in one!

TV is nicer than at home!

We spent a long weekend in the camper!! I do so love this new toy!! Some of the things I love kind of sound silly!! The outside kitchen is new to campers I think in 2010. (ours is a 2011) It has a sink, a fridge, cupboard and drawer space and under the flap there is a 2 burner stove, I percolated (oh, just found out how to spell that and I was going to put a 'u' instead of an 'o' and if you look that up it would have been a COMPLETELY different thing) my coffee on every morning! Anyway!! The other thing campers have begun to do is put the comode in the same room with the shower and sink! I know if you have never been in a camper you might be scratching your heads, but it has always been that the comode sits in this crazy narrow little room all by its little lonesome and the shower and sink are kind of hanging out in the 'hallway' between the master bedroom and the living room! Go check them out! But someone got smart and put them all together!!

Love the U shaped Dinette

And where to the doors go....

There is so much room inside to sit! The Dinette and the couch both fold into full sized beds!! The fridge inside is bigger than our last one and if you can see next to the fridge there are HUGE cupboards for food/pans/kitchen stuff! The top one is empty! LOL And where might those TWO doors go...

Pardon my mess!

 The one on the left is a big closet! It has washer/dryer hookups (if you camp that way) but there are great shelves inside!! I am just agasp at how much room this thing has! OK the other door is the kids galore room so prepare yourself!!

The very bottom left pic is the 'bunk' up over the outdoor kitchen! It has a dresser area under it and an area for a TV to hook up! I am not a fan of the TV's in the camper, but I think Honeyman is kind of leaning to a combined 'Christmas' gift for the kids! Not sure yet! That lump up on the bed is my 16 year old enjoying a little quiet time and trying to avoid my camera!!

 The very bottom right photo is the other two bed in that room all folded out ready for sleeping!! The bottom one is a couch just like in the living room and my Lillian is loveing that it is so big! The bunk above it (which is where the boy gets to crash) folds up when not in use so they can chill out on the couch and watch TV! There really is a lot of floor space when the bed is not in the way!!

I can stand up in our bedroom and not hit my head!!

Halway goin to the bathroom and 'master' bedroom.

Kaelynn's getaway!!

All made up and ready to sleep in!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where has the summer gone!!

Time to register the kids for school! Three different schools! I have just been so busy I have not had time to sit down and breathe let alone put together a square! And The next few weekends are still all busy and scheduled out! Not to mention Aug 8th I get a new baby (in daycare not me!)! Whew! It will be a busy time!
This past week was an...adventure!

My Lillian was in camp all week. Monday began well, but had a seizure at camp. This is her 4th one in as many weeks. We have added a new med on and are praying this will help keep them under control! She had a blast at camp, even though temps were up over 100!! This is her 6th year at this camp and they are so very wonderful with the kids! Every year they make a big production of presenting them with their camp shirts, and I have to say they are Lillian's prize possessions!! I just love to see all of the children there each year and how their faces just light up when they are each called out and praised for their individuality!!

We have also been working on potty training with one of my daycare kids!! She is doing great!! I told Mommy that she was ready and Mommy just looked at me like I had grown a third eye! I told her not to worry (and right now I only have one kid and if I am gonna get on it now is the time!)!! One week and I was informed only one accident over the weekend!! Yay Ella!!
         Well then there was my adventure to the ER!! No clue why! Heart palpitations and thought I was going to pass out!! Had a little high BP, and accelerated heart rate! But am glad to inform ya'll that my heart is where is should be, my lungs look great, and the kicker is, I do have a brain!! Yay!! had to laugh that every person there kept informing me that I was NOT pregnant (had a tubal 9 years ago, which was also the last time I had been in a hospital!!)!! I am a generally calm person and as I was trying to find a ride to the hospital and a place for Ella to be everyone I talked to seemed to be freaking out! I guess it is because they all know that I am not one to ask for help and if I am.... well there is something just not right! But all is well and I keep having to tell everyone that!! My Honeyman (who is a fireman and a paramedic) told me not to scare him like that again! The kicker is we think it was a reaction to vitamin B6!! A vitamin of all things! Who knew!!
    Saturday night my band played! It was the first time in a long time I have done three sets and I just have to say my chops where a screaming!! We have begun to schedule a lot more than just one saturday a month and there are a few months coming up that we have 4 gigs...in one month!! AAHHHH! Don't get me wrong I love playing (If I have never said it before I play Sax, flute, piccolo, and sing in my band) but this is only for entertainment for me! It is not a full time thing!! I am hopeing this will slow back down, too!!
I do hope the summer is trating everyone well! And I do hope I can get a stitch in...soon!!!
Keep cool, relax, and have fun,
J

Vacation part 2....and camper update!! hehe

OK so I realized that in my blog I did forget the kicker of my trip...We got a phone call on Tuesday, my Honeymans Grandmother was in the hospital...it won't be long now! Ok lets back up for a moment and qualify this! She has been on CHF for EIGHT years now! Had untreatable cancer for Three years and we have had more than our share of 'it won't be long now! Well my Father-in-law began his arguous trip hoime from Iraq, just in case. My husband told them to keep us informed. We had just gotten to TX from IL and we continued on with our vacation plans. We recieved the call Friday morning that she had passed earlier that morning. But Honeymans Father was still not home and would not get in till Sunday and with the holiday nothing would happen till Tuesday! So we continued once again with our trip and did make it home on Sunday. And my laundry, housework, stitching, and Yard work has not been touched since We got home it has been GO GO GO!! I REALLY NEED A VACATION!!! LOL
My Honeman did go out and trady our camper in on a new one!I would put pics on here, but every time I try I get an error in saving grrrr!! It is eight foot longer than our old one and we have been talking about it for About two years now! So...if you would like to look up pick it is a 2011 Keystone Sprinter COPPER CANYON 324FWBHS! We get to pick it up this Saturday! YAY!  Our old one will be missed, but we will love the new one even more!!
Happy Camper,
J

Vacation part 2....and camper update!! hehe

OK so I realized that in my blog I did forget the kicker of my trip...Wegot a phone call on Tuesday that my Honeymans Grandmother was in the Hospital! Not going to be long this time... I have to qualify this with she has been in CHF for eight years, and had untreatable cancer for three years now. This is not our first...it will not be soon now!! My father-in-law began the arguous task of trying to get home from Iraq, but we told them to keep us informed (we had just gotten To TX from IL). on Friday morning they called to inform us that she had passed at 3:00 A.M. My F-I-L was still traveling and would not be home till Sunday and with the holiday nothing was going to happen till Tuesday! We did continue with our vacation as planned. Three days later we were home. And I have not yet gotten my laundry done, not cleaned the house, it has been go go go go since the minute we got home!! LOL I REALLY NEED A VACATION!!! LOL

Living area

I cannot wa

My Honeyman did however find the time to go buy a new camper!! Trade ours in! And we will pick up the new one on Saturday!! It is 12 ft longer than the last one!! Much more room for the family! We will mis the first one, but we had been talking about an upgrade for a while! I cannot wait till this weekend to camp with my family in our new toy!!

And the big seller was the bunkhouse!! 

 Soon to be a happy camper,
J

Vacation...

I love vacation! But boy am I glad to be home! I miss my baby brother already something crazy, but can I tell you this was not a great vacation...

The solution!!

the obstical!!

My dear Lillian had not one but three siezures (one big enough we had to load her down with her special meds). My dear brother decided that the camper sopt on the side of his house would be a great place for us to stay!! Well the camper kept there before us was a pull behind not a fifth wheel!! Much much shorter!! We began our day down there with 3 hours of tree trimming!! Only to come to the realization that the AC on top of the camper was not going to clear the power lines!! So My Honeyman went to pull it out, caught the roof on the freshly cut tree...and tore a hole in it!! Yes my friends and if you know anything about camper they have rubber roofs! You don't fix them you replace them!!! I did not have the heart to tell my brother! He would have been devistated!! So we pulled out, centered it in the driveway and in less than 10 minutes it was set and ready to go!! Aftrer 3 hours the other way!! AAHHHHHH! I needed a drink! And we had no alcohol, nothing ready to feed my starving kids!! well you get the picture!! My Honeyman is out today looking at new campers! Last update he had put in a offer, and down payment on one and waiting to find out when we can pick it up!!!
Now the trip was not all bad! We did go to the Alamo, the river walk, SA Zoo and Six Flags!! There was more oh so much more (like my Brothers girlfriends insane and not very well behaved children, all five of them) but y'all know how family is! Everyone has one nut in the tree!! I love my Baby Brother, miss him like crazy, wish he lived closer, but do not know if I could put up with her children (and remember I watch kids in my home for a living!!).  I know I have rambled on today but I was gone for 10 days and I just know how much everyone missed having Mama Jo around!! hehe
More about stitchin later! Laundry now!!
J

Now where was I...

Camper is half way packed, squares ready for hand stitching...and we are off!! Well at 5:00 in the morning we will be off! I cannot wait!
But I also cannot wait to get back! I decided to do a stitch along!! Simple things ( tried to add the button, but either I was not doing it correctly or it was not cooperating)!! Carol and Kelly (ok first time I have tried to link something so I hope I did it right) are hosting it! Carol has a larger version and Kelly has a smaller! I know I will be behind, but when I get home I will be down a kid (mommy will have a baby while I am on vaction) So I should be able to make up lost time!! I have not gotten fabric, but I have my list of what I need and am hoping that San Antonio might have some shops!! YAY!!
I will miss reading all the blogs I follow, but I know when I get to my Brother's house I will be able to pop on over there!!
Can't wait to see my Baby Brother!!
J

What do I start with...

Darien and I

Well not much square work this weekend! Saturday was the Race for the Cure! My boy and I along with a rather roudy group of my girlfriends marched our way through the 5K!! The morning was VERY blustery day! But anything was better than the 2010 race that never started!! LOL We were lighteninged out!! A great time was had by all!!

Lillian camping!!

And I cannot let it go without saying that today is my Miss Lillan's birthday!! She is 11 today!! It is so hard to believe the kid grow up so fast!!  She got clothes, goggles (oh she is a fish in the pool!) and a book!
This is my Lillian last year! We went camping for a week starting on her birthday! She made that crown and wouldn't you know it she wore it EVERY day!! Did not matter where we went the 'birthday crown' came with!! I love that girl!!


Oh, have to go make burgers and sing to my birthday girl!!
J