life as usual

nothing new to report....

be excited...the photo blogging is starting again after a slump.

in a funk

sorry.....in a funk...don't know why....i did take some "shopping" photos yesterday for the theme....mark is in new jersey this week....

got new stamps in the mail this week - new colors....new paper....husband said i have to make 10 cards before he comes home....

new look

i'm tired of having a blog that looks like everyone else.....so i'm messing around. i'm not totally happy with this "new look" but it will do for now.

my apathy in writing and taking photos comes from not having a blog that looks like ME. this still doesn't look like ME...but it's a start.

special delivery!!!

my mom and dad surprise me by mailing this ribbon rack! my mom and i designed, it, and they kept teasing me that it was too big to mail that i had to go home to get it (1000 miles away...)

creating

after 5 years of living in this house, i've finally almost achived organization in my art studio/craft room/office......yesterday i helped a friend layout/create/design her wedding album in it...today, i made 9 cards. i am so excited to get busy and create more!!!

here's a bad photo of some of the cards

http://www.travbuddy.com/widget_map_display.php?id=604060

photo contests

http://www1.snapfish.com/viewallcontests

http://h71036.www7.hp.com/hho/cache/498834-0-0-225-121.html



i can't enter, but some of you can.

(ya know, rules are rules....and since i'm a spouse of an hp employee. argh)

down and out

i've been down and out all week with this sunburn. nothing is getting done around my house, i can't sleep at night....i'm supposed to be at an all-day crop on saturday...was going to get ready and pack and get items together to sell......hasn't happend yet.

on a side note - we finally upgraded my laptop to vista (it came with my laptop, but we had to wait for it to ship after it was released) and well, mark somehow lost my pst file from the last 4 months...so if you emailed me asking something and i haven't responded...send again!

cards

so i'm mailing my first cards to Stampington's Take Ten issue today - i'm trying to decide if i should start a separate art related blog or just post them on here with everyday life items....here's a teaser of the few i'm sending. i'm sending a set of cards with the same stamp set from stampin up! called Country Blessings. Since it's for the Autumn issue, i thought i'd send a series of cards using that stamp set. i also sent 2 other random cards. i'm so excited about the possibility of being published! thanks so much to shona for encouraging me - and letting me know those magazines existed! i'm excited to get started on more to submit....I received the "catch up" issue in the mail yesterday.... i just love staring at all the cards!

key lime pie stand anyone?

had the ac people out today...third time in a month's period of time...good news, it's working right now. bad news, it's temporary....even worse news....they are coming tomorrow to replace the compressor which is leaking freon.....good news? manufacturer warranty for parts...bad news...labor and other misc deals is adding up to over $700. not to mention the previous 2 visits to our home.....which add up to about that amount. good news? is there any? oh yah, good news, they take credit cards. lol.

wonder if i sold pie on the corner......heh.

happy birthday rebecca (and dustin too!)

I'm so glad Rebecca wanted "Mrs. W's famous key lime pie" for her birthday! I was blessed to make this dessert for her birthday - and blessed to be a part of their family celebrations this evening! it was also her brother's birthday too! Mark snapped some of the photos so i could show off my pie - so technically these can't be in my photo blog, but it's fun to be able to write about the event some anyway! So i'm taking orders...who wants to have us over for dinner next...i'll include one of my famous key lime pies. hehehehe....

ptl

i've never really liked the cliched saying of "ptl" ...seems too normal, rhythmic.....not expressive enough at times.

well today, i have a ptl.....though, i think ptl isn't good enough....it's more of a tyl or....ag.....

my brother's car was stolen on saturday.....and they found it! he's on his way to get it...i don't know any details, so right now i'm praying that it's ok...that his cell phone is stll in there (so he doesn't have to buy a new one) that they didn't find his billfold hiding.....

6 years ago today . . . .

"A page is turned in this life, he's making her his wife

And there is no secret to the source of this much life

When the grace that falls like rain is washing them again

Just a chance to some how rise above this land" -Bebo Norman

Story of the Day: Grayson Scales the Fence

so we let grayson out in the backyard...which usually isn't a problem. there's been the occasional possum (once) and stray cat, but it's never really been a problem. we watch him, leave the door cracked and he runs in when he's scared.

well today i let him out about 6 knowing mark would be home soon...i don't like dealing with him bringing critters inside (yes, he likes to bring us presents). so on observation #1 i saw that he caught a lizard. i shut the door so he wouldn' t bring it inside and watched him play with it. when he was finished, i got my hoe (always available out the back door for emergiencies!) and flung the lizard over the fence. and grayson came inside. he then wanted out again, so being the kind owner i let him out.

about 10 or so minutes later i peeked out the window and saw that he was apparently on-guard about something. he was in the back corner of our yard and i couldn't tell what had him excited...my first thought was a snake (we've had a couple) so i went out the door, put on my flip-flops and grabbed my hoe....as i started walking towards the back corner, i saw something black....hmmm...not a snake, but what is it...oh great, a stray cat. so the stray cat RAN...and i mean booked it across the yard to the front fence (on the left side of our house) ..he was about 1/2 grayson's size. and grayson took off after him........i watched in amazement as the black cat (who has claws) scaled the wooden fence...i'm thinking...GREAT...grayson can't jump the fence, he has no claws, and he's tried before and barely can jump 1/2 way, after all the fance is taller than mark and gray never jumps higher than mark...........well, that was not the case....up jumps the black cat and over the fence, and well, there goes grayson, up and over the fance....and i scream "GRAAAAYSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

let me interrup the story by saying, i was scared...he was now inbetween our house and the neighbors, heading for the street.......or across several yards to the left or right, whichever way that black cat went ...... (as nervous as i was, i'm glad he went that way and not over the back, as we have a retention pond behind us and well...who knows how far they would have run!!)

so my heart is racing, i'm nervous and shaking and am not at all fit to go in the front yard (grubby clothes on) so i run inside the house, figuring that was better than going out the gate which was on the opposite side of where they went over...

i'm so nervous, and shaking that i can't even get the locks open on our door....and i see the black cat run......and i get the door open, and there was gray...at our front door trying to get in. i am sooooo thankful the black cat ran to the right...towards our front door...and g was smart enough to come to our door.....

wow....it took me a while to stop shaking, and calm down........i was so scared he'd run, and run and be in the street....and there was no way i could run after him.

visitor this week

my mom is in town this week - so my comments on other people's photos and blogs will be slim.....but we're enjoying looking at them and also deciding what to put on our photo blogs each day.

the week is going toooooo fast!!! tomorrow we're going to the hmfa and the science museum to see the frogs. cannot wait to see the impressionism exhibit at the hmfa.

i think we're going to hobby lobby today to look for treasures.

apparently costa rica has a hold on mark....

yes, he's still there. ....there was a bad accident outside the airport (which is only 15-20 minutes from his hotel) and him and quite a few other people missed the flight - apparently since it was an international flight, they cannot let anyone on 1 hour before take off. so weird....

so, tomorrow evening it is.

wow

so i've had the numbers wrong....this is marks 13th week traveling....to which i've seen him less than 15 days. and of those, barely any were especially meaningful....i mean....1/2 are spent packing him up for the next trip.

updates

here i sit...alone.

yes folks...mark extended his trip to friday.


it's been an interesting past few days.....woke up friday morning early as i thought i had someone stopping by at 8...well i was checking email to see if he was stopping and all the sudden i started hearing some drips. 10 and 1/2 hours later, a plumber and an AC guy....and it was fixed. i'm just thanking God that i was up and heard the drip start so i could put our buckets, yes plural...it was one drip and became more......and i could turn off the ac....i was up at 7..normally i wouldn't have been up for at least an hour, maybe 2.

saturday did a bunch of things for church.....friday i had rented 6 movies...so i've been watching them. nothing really to write home about, just some disctactions untl mark was to behome.....now i told him "guess i'm renting more movies!"

monday jake davis and crew came out to help our landscaping....poor crew....15 bags of weeds. mark had forbid me from working in the yard last summer as we had fire ants and wasps so bad.....with promises to work together this spring......but 11 weeks of travel put the damper on that so i was going to surprise him with the yard, but i decided to ask his permission first...he was elated and thankful. one big thing off his back. guess part of his supposed bonus for doing all this travel will be to fix all the broken things in our house from him being gone. jake's frind came out today to mow and do more work on the yard and then he'll be mulching later this week.

have a few more days to get my spring cleaning under control before my mom visits and friday i'm teaching card making to the little women of virtue.

looking forward to going to the airport friday night.....

photos from Costa Rica below

Christi requested that i post more photos of mark in costa rica, so they are below. after spending a week doing "business" down there in san jose, he was able to spend 4 days 2 hours away in jaco, right on the beach (pacific ocean). he had a blast, not only being in the beautiful city, enjoying being only a few steps from the ocean, but spending time with one of our beautiful families from church. how incredible it is that they are down there when mark is traveling down there?! God is great isn't he? (the Sears family is currently living in Costa Rica, returning to Houston later this spring)

mark was able to hang out with them on his first trip to costa rica, as they were already planning on being in san jose for the weekend. and this time (his second trip), mark traveled to be with them. he said he loved body boarding in the ocean, though i have no pictures to prove that he did that...he's already dreaming of where he can do that again.

monday he flies out for his third trip to costa rica...

mark's new hobby

more on jaco beach

scenic beachy from jaco, costa rica

thank you

thank you sears family for taking good care of my husband! he's falling asleep in his office chair...

squeezing everything in

picking mark up from the airport this evening - the airport and i have become good friends lately. it's quite crazy, really.

today i'm doing general cleaning of the house, not letting my wander too much of all my "todos" before i leave for tres dias on thursday. packing, laundry, finalizing powerpoint things.... remembering to pack everything.

this is truly an interesting season in our life - i never thought mark would travel so much...but God knows, and with that i find comfort.

looking forward to hearing more about his CR adventures - jealous party of one in Houston that he was on the beautful beach and enjoying time with friends...though he totally deserved it after his stressful time getting this project launched. Wonder if he'll be a little tanner? can't wait to see that smile on his face when i see him at the airport this evening. will he smell like the ocean?

looking forward to having dinner together this evening - it gets old to decide what to eat for one person. i'm excited that we're going out tonight. i'm tired of eating at home alone!

revsied schedule take 2

so, he told them he was going to go back - but only for a week....5 days...so that won't be so bad. will give me 5 days to get life back in order after tres dias and then we can enjoy our time together before my mom visits.

revised schedule

can't sleep....i'm well....mad.
home from CR on tuesday, together on wednesday
i go to tres dias thurs-sunday (he's home w/out me)
he flies back out to CR on monday for 2 weeks.

yes, my friends. this was not the last trip to CR as previously hoped.

inspired

these blogs have truly inspired me to get back into my art...i had to escape it (not really by choice) for too long. taking photos each day has focused my mind back on seeing the art in my life, and seeing all these other artists and their creations has excited me to begin creating again.

by recomendation from shona, i've ordered the stamping magazines from summerset studios and am looking forward to the challenge of being published. baby steps right?

God has given me this time - this time where im not working outside the home and where i have not yet been blessed by children. i am going to start enjoying this time more for creating. It's time to cut back on some outside activities. only a few more major "projects" and "committments" before i am able to start getting life back in order and get into a routine.

i was truly lost after i quit my job....i still am in several ways....it will take time. but time is what i have.

there are so many creative bugs buzzing about in my brain.....i'm so excited.

one week

one week from tonight and mark's back home.

got some hairs cut today, chased the cat around, sent out some emails, checked the mail, placed a stampin up order...yes, i did do some damage today. but where did all the time go?

tomorrow i'm meeting a former co-worker for lunch. i haven't seen her since i quit in july. we've kept in touch via email, but it will be interesting to meet for lunch.

friday i'm getting a raindrop massage. ..i'm counting the hours until then!

and he's off again

picked mark up from the airport about 6:30 am on saturday and "returned him" back to sender about 4:30 yeasterday. that's not even 48 hours is it? this should be the last travel time for this project. let's count the days that i've seen him lately....

1 week cali
weekend home (and by "weekend" i mean less than 48 hours!)
1 week cali
weekend + week home
2 weeks costa rica
weekend home
1 week cali
3-day presidents weekend home
1 week cali
weekend home
1 1/2 weeks costa rica (last leg hopefully!)

i don't even want to do the math on all that.


today is clean the fist floor monday! whoo-hoooo! (actually, it's not a tradition or anything, just planning my week out.) i have a lot to get done before mark gets back on tuesday evening. then we have wednesday together before....drum roll....i leave this time! insane, but i'll be going on a 4-day retreat called Tres Dias (the retreat itself is 3 days, but i'm on the team that's working on the weekend so we're there 4 days) i'm looking forward to serving on the weekend, but i'll be glad when its over and can take one more thing off my plate.

my blogging mom

my mom has started a photo blog too - she has some neat photos from the ice storm they just had up in iowa... brrrr! (it's linked over to the left)

i did it..

i finally copied everyone else and started a photo blog. it's linked over to the left....i cheated and added a few past photos. which i might have to do when i don't have a stunning photo to post - because i have some great photos in the past that i'd like to post.

wasting time...

wasting some time at Panera before i pick mark up from the airport. he arrives about 6 p.m. and i cannot wait. he'll be home for more than 48 hours - yippie! last weekend i didn't let myself get too excited about him being home, because he left me again in under 48 hours. this weekend, we have a 3 -day presidents day weekend! yay for presidents! heh. he might be returning to california next week - he has not let me know forsure yet.

i did some redecorating while he was gone - we'll see what he thinks! he has requested that we go to chuys this evening for dinner. this morning when i left for tres dias training i put grayson up, and annouced to him that when i return tonight, mark would be home with me. as much as i did not like mark bringing home that cat, he's been good company while mark is away. though annoying at times, and well, there's the litter box part that's gross....at least there's something in the house that's excited to see me - that wants attention....

i am so blessed to be a stay at home wife - but being a stay at home wife with a traveling husband can get lonely!

almost ready

well i did some more working on this blog today so it's almost ready to go. i'm not exactly sure what i'm going to go with it right now as i already have a livejournal. i also have an OLD blog that's still out there and i enjoyed reading it the other day when i found it. huge memories, and evidence of change in my life.

this is my first test post. test test test.....post post post.