It's a Beautiful Day...

It has been so very pretty in Missouri today! A bit cool, and a tad windy, but the sunshine has been glorious.

I had to go back to work today, but I actually took a lunch hour and met a BFF for lunch today at our local Thai place. The food was good, but the conversation was better than the food by far. I hadn't seen my friend since September, when she moved to another building, and I have missed her SO much. It was a delightful visit, a delightful day, and she brought me a box of 'goodies' to send to Melissa in New York, so she'll make two Gilliam ladies smile today! She makes handmade jewelry, and I have several surprises to send in a care package! I'll take a few pictures, and after Melissa is surprised, I'll post them so you can all see her talent in technicolor!!!

Speaking of pictures, I have a friend who has been a bit sad lately, and I just wanted to put together a card to bring her a smile. I chose some Inkadinkadoo birds and words, and here's what I did to have a card ready for mailing in a hurry:

I used a Bazzill light blue card stock for the card itself, and for the matte on the front. I stamped the birds and the saying on white card stock, and stamped the birds again on a light blue paper that was patterned with clouds. I cut out the bodies of the birds from the cloud paper, and paper pieced them over the birds on the white c.s. I colored the vines with a green & orange Jelly Roll Glaze pens. I used my Stamping up "ticket" punch on the corners, then distressed all edges with my Color Box Chestnut Roan Chalk Ink. I layered a piece of patterned dotted paper, then the blue, and finally the white, adding a silk flower for an extra little 3-D 'pop'. Voila, another quick and simple card!!!

I hope the day was as good for anyone reading this as it was for me! My dh is on his way to Branson for work, but hopefully, will be back at an early hour tomorrow, and we plan to spend the New Year in front of a crackling fire for a totally relaxed day!

Cya tomorrow!

Patti J.

~There's always a lot to be thankful for if you just take the time to look for it. For example, I'm sitting here now being very thankful that wrinkles don't hurt! ~Anonomys

THE plus IRS = Theirs.....

Yup, the holidays are over, now we have taxes to pay, and W-2's to prepare, etc. Seems like we just went through that!

Our holidays were delightful. Both John and Melissa made it in for several days. We thoroughly enjoyed having them both, and are quite sad that the visits had to end. The Christmas break is the toughest, as we know it's going to be many months before seeing them again. Thank goodness for e-mail, cell phones, and landlines!

I would have made a terrible pironeer mama.

Here is a little card that I made on the spur of the moment over the holidays. (Sorry, am getting used to TAKING photo's of my work as well as uploading it - I got some file folders in my picture that weren't supposed to be there!)

I used Ivory cardstock (just a generic stock I found at Office Max). I adhered a layer of blue snowflake paper from the DCWV Winter Matstack collection. I then punched a scalloped circle from the front using the yellow Marvy punch. I punched a black circle using the same size, and a circle from the ivory c.s. using the next smalled sized circle. On it, I stamped the star with Versamark, and heat embossed using Judikins Egyptian Gold Embossing Powder (I love, love, love the sparkle you get with it!) I adhered the ivory to the black, and fit them both inside of the punched scalloped circle on the card. I then stamped a snowman image from the Angel Co. Snowmen Nativity set on the ivory c.s. I colored it with my Koh-I-Noor pencils, and blended with odorless mineral spirits. I matted it in black and Voila - a 10 minute card!

I have to go back to work tomorrow - ugh. Hopefully, me and Chat Dump Gal can meet for Thai food for lunch!

Have a blessed day tomorrow...

Patti J.

~The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends!

PS - Theresa M. - if you are reading this post, I have no idea how to reply, so thank you so much for your kind words about my snowmen/santa treats, and any others you have commented on! I loved your off-kelter card too!!!

It's all Good!

So...It seems to be all good!

I can finally start posting some photo's!

I'm going to start with a couple of before and after bathroom pictures.

You have all heard me go on for months now about our bathroom remodel.

Here is a before and after photo of our tub area (which also moved from one wall to another), and of a beautiful stained glass light fixture created by a very talented friend of mine!

The old and new vanity are pictured as well! You can see why we are so excited!

I promise not to bore you with any further bathroom photo's!

Hopefully, from now on, my uploads will all be of my paper addiction!

I want to take just a moment to thank my few readers for being patient, and to wish you all a very blessed, safe, and healthy holiday. Enjoy every single moment with your family members, and...

Cherish each precious day!

Merry Christmas, and God Bless

Patti J.

test 2

Yippee! Thank heaven for daughters that know more about blogger than I do!!! Yippee!!!

By the way - The idea for the snowmen came from Dawn Griffith's site - Dawn's Stampin' Studio. The Santa suit was my invention!

Test Message

Test Test Test :)

Good news - it worked!

Found one, lost one, one yet to get here!

Well, we got our Melissa home yesterday. It's so good to see her, and to have her back home for a week - a whole week!!!

We get to pick our John up on Wednesday night - we are so anxious to have him here as well. He has such a long trip in, and we so appreciate him coming home again.

On a sad note, Stan the man had a broken water main in Branson, so left a while ago for the 4 hour plus trip to Branson. I'm praying that he can make it in tomorrow night or Weds. a.m. The weather looks terrible again, especially for that area, so I'm praying hard for his saftety!

Melissa is going to help me try to figure out this photo issue. I received my first Gina K order last week, and I'd love to post the card I made. I would love to send it directly to Gina to thank her for such quality products, but haven't found a way yet. I'll keep trying!

Theresa M., thanks so much for your tips on the photo issue. We will try everything you suggested. If I can't make it work, we'll look for a plan 'b'!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

Patti J.

~A penny saved is a government oversight...

One more time!

Well, I am going to attempt one more time to upload some photo's. If this doesn't work, I will probably be in need of some intensive therapy!

Here are some covered Hershey Bars that I made to go into teacher mailboxes at school tomorrow. Tomorrow is our last day - Monday starts Christmas break! Yippee!



Have a great night.


Patti J.

~Some people try to turn back their odometers...Not me - I want to know why I look this way! I've traveled a lot of roads, and some of them weren't paved! ~Unknown

I give up! The kids will be in next week, and maybe they can get me straightened out! Until then, God bless!!! pg

Sunday in anticipation....

Aniticipation of what mother nature is bringing us tonight! It's gloomy doomy again, and cold! The wind has just blown and blown. We went into the city last night (almost wasted trip) to do some Christmas shopping, and it felt several times like the wind was going to lift us up into the jet stream and fly us home!



Had a successful class yesterday. I didn't advertise, just called a couple of folks. We had four, so that was plenty for a nice quiet class. I'd love to be posting photo's of the finished work, but for some reason, my picture posting is a failure. It used to work....



If you have suggestions....



Going to get busy now. Have a great Sunday - stay dry and warm!



Patti J.

~We are the people our parents warned us about.

Hope we don't blow away!

Jeepers - the wind is blowing out there and it is SO cold! Looks like our baby girl got her first large snowfall of the year in New York today. Bet our son is in California saying something akin to "muhahahaha".....




So! Got my little S'more packets finished this evening. They turned out pretty cute - thanks Shirley for the idea - I think the ladies will like them. The Angel Co. has the most perfect stamp for the project - it's a little snowman that is actually roasting a marshmallow (I used liquid applique that I heated until it puffed and poofed!). He's just too cute! I have tried and tried to add a photo to this entry and it won't let me!



Okay, I give up. I've tried off and on for several days to get photo's in here to no avail. If anyone knows why I can insert photo's one day and cannot the next, please let me know!



Have a great day everyone...



Patti J.


~I'd rather have Lockheed deliver the mail than ride around in a plane built by the post office.

Weekends are entirely too short...

Yeah, they are! Seems like we just wake up saying, "hooray, it's Saturday", and then it's time to go back to work. Oh, well...in today's crisis, I am very happy to have a job to go to each week. (did I really, really say that? lol)



Theresa M., I hope you get over your cold very soon! And your tree silhouette card is just beautiful. I got my first order of Gina K. stamps this week, and can't wait to try them out.



So Shirley, I 'scraplifted' another of your cutie-patootie ideas! For our party this week, I am creating 40 of the S'More packets. The ladies will oooh and aaaah like crazy. I will be very honest and tell them that you are the mastermind! I'll post photo's tomorrow! Need to make a SaveALot run today for some snowman peeps!



Hopefully you are all finished with holiday shopping! One of these days soon, we will 'start' ours! Probably next Saturday afternoon after I teach a class!



For now, there is paperwork to do. ugh. Enjoy your day everyone and I will post some pictures tomorrow - Patti J.

~ I used to be lost in the shuffle. Now I just shuffle along with the lost! ~Unknown

Brrr....

So, it's cold in the midwest! This morning, on my way to work, it was 20 degrees! Thank goodness for my man Stan - he takes such good care of me. My heated seats definitely felt delightful today!

It's been a while since I have been here. I am making a promise to do better. Even boring is better than nothing. The bathroom is finished, and I must say that I don't miss the old bathtub yet! I am so spoiled - tee hee!

We had the most wonderful Thanksgiving. Our son got home from California and our daughter came in from New York. We ate way too much turkey, played games at the kitchen table, watched holiday movies, listened to Christmas carols, and decorated the house for Christmas. Having the kids help with the decorating made it so much fun! Stan took pretty much the entire time off, which was delightful as well. With him working 7 days/week most weeks, having him here for even a day or two is a treasure that we cherish!

So, I thought that it would be nice to share the invitations I did for our secretarial Christmas party at work. My good friend Shirley, had sent me the cutest little Easter card last year. It was a tri-fold card about 3.5 x 3.5, and had this cute little cut out front - lots of work and time involved! And of course, it had a little bitty chocolate bunny!

I took the idea of the tri-fold card, and of course, the chocolate (Ghirardelli even!), and "easied" it up a bit! I stamped the snow angel, colored it with my Kooh-i-noor pencils, blended with mineral spirits, glittered the halo and wings with my Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust pen, and punched the ivory oval. I took my larger scallopped oval punch and matted the ivory oval. I took a 3.5 x 9.5 strip of red card stock, made some folds with my scor-pal, added the "snow much fun" stamp on a scrap of ivory, a cute little ribbon, and voila - the outside was complete! On the inside, I stamped the chocolate saying and some snowflakes, glittered them up a bit, and adhered the chocolate square.

At the bottom of the card was the invitation, printed very quickly and simply with my computer. I adhered it with removable tape. On the envelope, I attached a label that stated the invitation was adhered with removable tape, so that if one would like to 'regift' the card, they could remove the invitation and do so quite quickly!

They were a lot of fun, and 40 were made assembly line style in about two evenings.

My next project that week was a swap for November. The theme was snowmen, snowladies, snowflakes, etc. Most of what was coming in so far was in Christmas and seasonal colors - blues, greens, reds, etc. Having to be just a bit different, I opted for hot pink and black! (The colors aren't very bright here, but in real life they pop!)

I used the Zutter bind it tool to punch a scrap of pink. I attached this scrap to a piece of black that was run through the Cuttlebug using a swirly embossing folder. The stamps were from the Angel Company. I colored them with my pencils, blending with a bit of low odor mineral spirits, and the snow is made from fun flock. A bit of glitter, a snowflake brad, and a scrap of ribbon completed the cards in a jiffy!

This time of year is so much fun for paper crafters!

Have a great evening everyone - I'm off to the craft room to try to alleviate some of the stress of the day by playing with sharp objects, glue, and coloring things!!!

Hugs - Patti J.

~When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck~

I'm sorry, so sorry....

Gosh, did I sound anything like Patsy Cline? Lol... Just a note to apologize for vanishing off the face of the earth. We are down to just finishing some plumbing and electrical glitches in the new bath, and we will be able to breathe sighs of relief. However, one thing has lead to another (including moving my craft area - yikes!), and I've been very busy again this week. Finishing the bathroom has created the desire to update several other areas of the house, so things are in boxes and bags everywhere, including every one of my precious stamps!!! Egads, whatever shall I do?

My manley Stanley and one of his employees are going to move oodles of furniture on Friday, and make a few trips to the dump. I'm now up to 2 full 35 gallong plastic tubs, just full of things to get rid of, plus a few trash bags.

Jenny B., if you happen to be reading, I have a large bag of 'goodies' for you, and will have at least one more large bag or box as I put things back together in my new 'home'.

The change will be good - we will have our workplaces together - side by side, so Stan the Man can keep up with paperwork, and I can keep up with swaps, gift making, class planning, etc. It will be so good to have things put back together when the weekend is passed!!!

Hope this finds you all well! All 40 invitations were very well liked, and as soon as I can find the camera again (tee hee), you will all be bored with photo's of the invitations, as well as my last swap. It turned out cute as well. The theme was snowmen/women, etc., and you know I just have to be different - instead of shades of blues, or whites, my card is hot pink and black!

Please be patient with me!

Hugs to you all - chat dump girl - we WILL do Thai very soon - I promise - my treat!!!

~What's the use of happiness? It can't buy you money! ~Henny Youngman

Just checkin' in...

Well hello! I am going to attempt to write a few lines while some paint dries! We are very nearly getting to the end of the bath remodel! It's taken quite some time, when we can only work part of each Saturday, and part of each Sunday, it's slow going. My manley Stanley has literally worked his fingers to the bones for me. I am so lucky to have such a good man!

Just when we got off to a rip roaring great start, I had a toothache. I nursed it along and kept on scraping. Alas, it finally required a trip to the city for some oral surgery. A week later, when I thought it should be healing, it was still hurting. Ended up I had dry socket! Anyway, after some medicated packing, etc., I am back to my normal mean self, and am working every spare minute. I'm going to let myself work until 7:30 tonight, and then it's off to the craft room. I have to create and make 40 invitations to our secretarial Christmas party, and take them with me to work on Friday morning. Egads!!! Our theme is snowmen, women, etc., so it should be easy and fun! I think it shall have to include Girardelli chocolates!!! Mmm....how much fun!?!

Well, I will try to write again tomorrow or Friday, and include photo's of the remodeling, and of my invitation!

I hope you all have a great night. I must get back to painting!

Paperhugs to all! Patti J.

~ Eat a live toad in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day. Anonomys (but true!)

Cannot tell a lie...

Okay, so I cannot tell a lie! Above is a five minute card. Really. Five minutes - actually, maybe not quite that long! I folded my cardstock into a card, did a little minor distressing along the edges, cut & adhered a piece of already patterned already embellished card stock to fit, and stamped "You're Invited" at the bottom. Voila - done!

It's Saturday in Missouri! That means a trip to Lowe's to pick up things we need to work our little fingers to the bones in the bathroom! I think first on today's list is a corner strip for the drywall corner. It is so hard to be patient! Kind of like that silly prayer, "God, please give me patience, and give it to me NOW"! My personal bathroom goal today is to finish the scraping!

We had to take a rather long drive yesterday, and the tree colors were like a patchwork quilt. It was amazing to see how the leaves have changed so quickly, when we are still having temps fo 40-80 degrees. It's not dropped toward freezing or frost yet at all.

Well, I'm signing off for now. Need to make a Wal-Mart run before they get too much busier, and get back here to start on scraping. I hope that you all have a wonder"fall" day. Melissa, hopefully your piano lessons will go well, and that Monday will be the beginning of better work days for you. John, I just pray you have a good weekend and that Monday is the beginning of a better work week for YOU! Tami, wherever you are today, know that my thoughts and prayers are with you 100fold. I cannot believe that all of this is happening to you, and not only happening, but happening AGAIN! My big prayer for you this week is that you win the lottery and don't have to 'move' again on Monday. I'm so sorry girl...

Take care everyone! PJ

Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty. ~Sicilian Proverb

Help!

Okay, so this computer lingo challenged woman needs some help! I've had some folks tell me that they can't access this blog. Does anyone know if you must be a gmailer to access it? One of the ladies is a net-zero subsciber, and says she can't get it to open up.

I'd love to have advice from some of you blogging pro's!

Thanks - have a great day!

PJ

"Try to learn something about everything and everything about something."
- Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895)

p.s. the card above is another that I had published in the "Just Invitations", and the cute little guy is also stamped with TAC stamps.

Wonder"fall" weather...

What a glorious day in Missouri! It was in the mid 60's today, and it just felt totally wonder"fall" when I walked out of work. There were three deer standing out in the field to the side of the building, just grazing and enjoying the day. I couldn't help but think about it being a great day to be alive! It's very hard to realize that the snow could fall in 30 days or so!!!! (Speaking of snow, below is a photo of winter in Missouri)

I made it to the dentist today, and guess what - I survived! (so far - the night is still young!). I am such a sissy about dentists! I'm sure that our kids never knew it, but I always hated taking them to their appointments. Sort of a traitor-ish feel! I knew that even a gentle cleaning is uncomfortable, at best, and yet, had to take them AND convince them that it was good to go there. lol



Yikes, I understand from one of my readers that I really goofed yesterday! Must be the blonde pores eeking out! (is that a word?) What I did, was call one of my very good friends ( the TAC lady - Shirley), a BF. I was naive enough to think that if BFF is best friend forever, that BF must be best friend! OOPS! I was informed by this special reader that in computer lingo, BF means boyfriend. And if that wasn't bad enough, I followed up the paragraph about my BF with a paragraph about girl toys. So..... I took a lot of ribbing last night! Oh, well, hope it made you all smile! Shirley, if you are reading, you are now my other BFF!!!!!



Have I mentioned that I am missing baseball terribly? Not all baseball, but certainly the Cardinal's! I try really hard to enjoy Mizzou or the Rams, but baseball just wins over football every time. Hopefully, the Cards will have a great winter, and will come back for the 2009 season pumped up and ready to win every game! My dh and ds (that really IS dear hubby and dear son!), went to Jupiter, Fla. last year for spring training. They very much enjoyed their week together, and got to see lots of baseball.



Well, am going to go work on my Christmas card swap, and bathroom scraping - blessings to you all!



Patti J.



Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand. ~Emily Kimbrough

The purpose of life...

Robert Byrne once said that "the purpose of life, is a life of purpose". Well...here I am at 54+ years young, wondering just what my purpose is supposed to be! I sure hope I figure it out while there is still time to do or be 'it', whatever 'it' is!

I am going to attempt to insert a couple more of the photo's from the "Just Invitations" issue. Some of you have already seen them, but I have them uploaded already, so you just have to bear with me and see them again! The card is using one of my favorite stamp sets from The Angel Company (TAC). One of my BF's sells their line, and I am utterly and hopelessly addicted. Sigh... we gals can never have enough toys!

This is the card on the outside. Isn't she adorable? I paper pieced her dress & shoes, and used my Tombow markers to color her dress, bag, etc. Don't you just want to stamp her on everything? lol

Shown below is the inside of the card. The flowers are added

with pop-dots to make them irrisistably cute! Hope you like it!

Speaking of 'toys', we have set a date for my next class, and are going to be using the Zutter Bind It All. What an awesome gadget (those of you that know me well, know that I am addicted to gadgets also!!!). It makes journals, address books, photo books, mini scrapbooks, etc., look so easy! Anyway, class is October 25th, and we will play for a few hours that day! The store owner (Tracy Kocher from The Red Rooster) also asked me if I would set up a make and take table for the annual Farmington Christmas Open House on Sat., Oct. 1st. I think I probably will, as it's something I enjoy. It is SO much fun to see these ladies come in and say "I'm not talented, I can't make that", and walk out with a beautiful item that THEY made. It's fun to see them smile, and feel proud of their accomplishment.

The bathroom is coming along slowly but surely! My main man, Stan, worked his little fingers to the bone this weekend, building a closet (it is actually a home for the vacuum cleaner!). We have made contact with the drywall men that do the special hardcoat finishes. They are supposed to come out and look the job over and tell us how soon we can get it done. After that, things will move along pretty quickly, we hope! For tonight, it's back to scraping. Hopefully, I can get that part of things finished tonight. I guess thoughts tonight will be centered on my trip to the dentist at 8 a.m. tomorrow - ugh. ugh. ugh. Sometimes I think that if it didn't mean going to a dentist, I would get all teeth pulled and get some pretty new ones! lol

Well, I guess I will sign off for tonight - I have bored you all so silly, you may never come back! It's been a long, busy, and tiring day, but what can I say? "Momma said there'd be days like this..."

Until tomorrow, remember this: A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright, quoted in Reader's Digest, June 1995

Patti J.

Calgon...

There are 'Calgon take me away' days, and then there are 'Calgon, get me outa here in a hurry' days. Today was one of the latter! Sheesh, I was happy to get home! The weekend is in sight - hooray!

I have been working on inserting photo's into this blog, and am going to attempt it tonight! The card above is one of my favorite patterns. It is just a rectangle with a few score lines, and lots of patterned paper. It was published in the first ever issue of "Just Invitations" last month. I'm still pinching myself over that!

Okay, so I can't figure out how to put the photo exactly where I want it! Guess I will have to keep practicing.

The next photo's are proof of my peeling career! What a mess we've made of a perfectly usable bathroom! Too late to turn back now - must move forward!

It's nice to know that if I ever decide to not be a secretary, I have something else that I excel at!

Well, Stan the Man is home from Branson, and tired. We've had a few wings and a salad, watched the debate, and are going to turn in for the night.

Hope your Friday brings you lots of blessings!

Patti J.

Be like the flowers - Turn your faces toward the sunshine.
~Kahil Gibran

How ironic...

Tonight's thoughts while I chipped, peeled, and pulled, centered on Meli, and her visit to the dentist today.

Poor girl has had a toothache since a week or two before she ever left for China (keep in mind that she was in China for a year, and she's now been in NY for a year)!

She had gone to: 1. our family dentist who has seen her since she was a baby 2. the dentist in town that takes our dentist's emergencies when he's out of town, 3. a dentist in Festus prior to leaving for New York, and 4. a dentist in NY who wanted about a quarter of a million bucks just to look in her mouth!

Finally the 5th dentist that she has been going to now since she got moved up to Brooklyn, was able to work on the tooth today. It seems that the filling was actually cracked! So, each time she bit down on something, I guess it was like sharp shards hitting things they were not supposed to hit! Now, one has to know Meli to know just how proud we are of her for going to the dentist at all, much less going to five different dentists multiple times! lol... Anyway, glad she got her tooth fixed!

but...

Back to my 'peeling' thoughts! I was actually sort of shuddering and kind of secretly being glad that I wasn't the one at the dentist today, as I would rather have another baby than get a shot in my mouth, or a filling! I quit working about 8 p.m., put my scraper down, washed up, went out to the couch to sit for a few minutes, and up comes our little furball, Flake. She is SO excited that 'mom' finally stopped what she is doing, and has sat down! She literally BOUNDS up onto the sofa, and her head clunks my chin, driving my teeth together, and... you guessed it - I broke a tooth. Sigh.

So, tomorrow's first on the agenda is to call dentist #1 for an appt. to get a tooth fixed. This is one of the teeth that badly needs a crown, so not only am I going to have to go to the dentist, but it is probably going to end up being a thousand dollar broken tooth before it's said and done. Did I say sigh??? If not, sigh...

Other than that, it's been an okay day. Weather's been beautiful - high of 67, low of 57. I got some 'peeling' done, some painting done, and even managed to load and turn on the dishwasher tonight - am I good or what?

My handsome man is going to try to be home early enough tomorrow to watch the VEEP candidates battle it out. I hope he does, so that I have someone to yell at through the debate! Poor Flake - if he doesn't get home in time, she's 'it'!!! My gut feeling is that all of the hype about Palin having to cram 24-7 since she was named is just glorified B.S. I think that it's all been a publicity farce, and that she is going to wipe up the floor with Biden. Hope not, but afraid so. We'll see!

Signing off for tonight - Blessings to all of you!!!

Patti J.
~Even a clock that does not work is right twice a day. ~Polish Proverb

By the way...

BY THE WAY.... I am actually getting a few comments! Thanks to anyone who actually takes time out of their busy days to call up this blog and add a comment!

Hugs! Patti J.

Another one bites the dust....

Wow - another September come and gone! Where does the time go?

It's amazing how good a little bit of physical labor feels after you have been at a desk job all day!

I am very much enjoying my 'bathroom' time this week! I can't believe how many things that I think about while I am peeling tiny bits and pieces of paint off the walls. I think about the Wall Street fiasco, and the upcoming election. I think about how our 'freedom of the press' often is such a misnomer! Many times, I will hear a clip from a candidate, and stand back and shake my head, or get angry or sad. Then a bit later, I read the entire article on-line, or in the paper, and the clip means absolutely nothing like what the TV reporter made it sound. I was thinking tonight, how close we are to another Christmas! (And ice and snow!!!). I think about my BF who is going through some very serious and trying family issues right now, and pray for peace and good health for her and her family.

Mostly, I think about how blessed I am that I have such wonderful family and friends. There are times that I will, for just a split second, think, "gee, how would things have been different if I'd been a doctor"?, and then oh so quickly, I think, "gosh, I'm so glad that I'm just a simple secretary, and had time to be a good mom and hopefully, a good wife"! I don't know what I ever did to deserve such riches, but I sure am glad I did whatever it was!!!

Good night all - too tired to make any sense!

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. ~e.e. cummings

Beauty is only skin deep...

So!

We have found out that when they say "Beauty is only skin deep", they must be talking about semi-gloss paint!

The newest adventure in the Gilliam bathroom remodel, is that it seems that the paint is determined to peel off the walls. This being said, today's job for PJ has been peeling paint! (After monthly reports were caught up!) It's not too bad, except for the places that have to be 'tweezered' off - lol. Most of it seems to be coming off in sections of inch by inch or two. If you lose me in a crowd this week, I'll be the one with the sore fingertips! Actually, I tried a heat gun, and it pretty much just gunkies the paint, so my preference so far has been just trying to peel.

My main man, Stan, has worked his little fingers to the bones! Quite literally, as he seems to have cuts and scratches nearly everywhere! He's been trying to get the subfloor up, which turns out to be a nasty particle board that is crumbling, and which they nailed down, (what's up with that? folks never heard of screws???) and of course, every nail is imbedded into the wood, making it necessary to utilize, hammer, nail board thingy's, prybars, you name it.

Oh well, if we have to get dirty and dusty, we may as well have an adventure while we are at it! In the meantime, in an effort to get the bathtub off the sunporch (lol), we now have a toilet and a vanity and HEAPS of drywall, 2 x 4's, subfloor, etc., out on the driveway - lookout Mr. Foxworthy - you and your redneck friends have competition!

I still haven't taken time to figure out how to insert my creations - please be patient with me!

We heard from both coasts today - the kids seem to be doing well. The Cardinal's won today - wahoo! (I'm also trying to figure out a way to insert a Cardinal's 2009 countdown to baseball season - if anyone knows how to do that, let me know!)

Hope you have all had a great weekend - tomorrow is back to work for us all - sigh!

Good night - Patti J.

ewwww.....

So, tonight's 'job' was to go to the dungeon (oops, I meant the basement), and take down about 6 or 8 four by eight panels off of the ceiling to see what we are going to get into when redoing the plumbing and venting. Ewwww...... These panels have been there since about '70, and many little furry critters have apparently scurried around on them, leaving behind some unwanted souveniers. Needless to say, when Stan the Man said that I was no longer needed, the shower was next on my agenda! This new bathroom is going to be beautiful when it is finished, but God sure needs to send me some patience (NOW!) as twitching my nose like in "Bewitched" is not working! Will keep you posted as we progress!

G'night...Patti J.

~If you rest, you rust.
~Helen Hayes

Not Enough Hours in a Saturday!

I have tried and tried, but just can't seem to squeeze enough hours into a Saturday and Sunday to get everything done and still have time to be creative. If any of you have any suggestions, I am open to them!

It was a beautiful Saturday in Missouri - about 77 degrees, slight breeze, sunny - made you want to just sit on the porch with a cold glass of tea, and forget about chores, shopping, cooking, etc.

Speaking of cooking, the Lion's Club had a BBQ today, so I didn't have to cook!!! We picked up a couple of pork steak dinners, and they were very good!

I just finished a card swap, and am beginning to think about the one that is due the end of October. It will be a Christmas card swap, and I'm already anxious to see what the others do. There will be 12 of us for the Oct. swap. It's always fun to do a swap - you end up with 12 totally different techniques, colors, stamps, etc.

I also need to begin planning another class. I had to turn away about four people last time, and promised to schedule another class soon. Since we have begun this bathroom/kitchen remodel, it seems sinful to be gone on a Saturday when I should be here helping Manley Stanley in his intensive labor projects!

Today we bought the faucets, and they are SO un-us!!! I'm excited about them. They are a Tuscan look - very dark, with a trim of a coppery edging on them. We have always had silver or gold, and these are very unique. I know it's going to be many weeks before we are done, as we can only work a few hours a week, and I'm trying to be patient, but I am SO excited!

I must be signing off for now - going to work on some boards!

Have a good night - Patti J.

~Give someone a smile and a compliment today - you will make two people happy! (unknown)

Almost Friday!

Well, Thursday is much closer to Saturday than is Monday! - It is almost the weekend - hooray!

Poor Stan the man has a leak in Branson, and they have to locate and isolate it prior to his even starting the trip home. He never seems to catch a good break (no pun intended, really!). It's going to be a very late night for him. Send up a few prayers!

Meli's 'big event' that she is moderating is tonight in Brooklyn. Send up a few prayers for her as well. She seems a wee bit nervous! I'm sure that these folks would much rather see her moderate than I. lol

It really has the beginnings of a 'fall' feel here. It's still very warm, but the grasshoppers, spiders, flies, etc., all act like the weather is about to change. We (well at least one of we - the great hunter Stan) killed a ginormous black fuzzy spider on the carport on Tuesday that was probably 4" in diameter. Yuk. I have very much enjoyed driving home from work this week with the top down on the little car. Some days it is just too nice NOT to go topless!!!

I hope to figure out how to insert some of my creations into this blog. Hopefully, I'll find a few minutes to practice over the weekend in between monthly reports (egads, can't believe it's that time again!). I would love to share some things with my out of town family!

I am currently reading the newest John Grisham book, "Playing for Pizza". It's pretty fast reading, and pretty decent so far. It's about an NFL player who really botches a championship game, and ends up having to travel to Italy to play football. Apparently the football players in Italy play mostly for pizza, and rarely for money! Anyway, it's a good read so far - I'll let you know in a day or two if it's worth the purchase!

We are in the midst of a bathroom remodel, and Momma Pat is so excited! It seems almost surreal, as we have talked about it for several years, and suddenly it is beginning to happen! It's exciting, frightening, and expensive! However, I am very sure that the jets in the tub, and the ambiance of the new room will have me soon worrying less about the cost, and more about the urge to get water wrinkles!

I'm off to work in my craft room for a little while. Blessings to anyone who is bored enough and brave enough to log on and read my ramblings! I love you all!!!

pg

"Life was so much easier when your clothes didn't match and boys had cooties!" ---Unknown

Much too quiet

It's been a very tough week for me at work this week.

As always, in any business, change is a prevelant factor.

The 'change' this week in our workplace, included part of our program moving into other buildings within the district. This move is a good thing for the students involved, as they will certainly have more resources than we can offer, but I have to be honest when I say that I already miss the little stinkers terribly! Some have been with us a long time!

And...of course, as well as the students moving on, the staff did as well. My BFF, was one of the gals to move on. I'm excited for her, but selfishly sad for me! We have worked together since 1996, and a very close friendship came out of our working together. It was so quiet with them all gone today. I know it will be okay - I firmly believe the saying that "if God takes you to it, He'll take you through it." It's just going to take some time.

As we head into another Homecoming weekend, memories come pouring back into my mind, of our kids when they were younger. So many festivities - spirit week meant coming up with tons of 'costumes', float building meant many late nights in town at the armory, the parades included band, football, and queen candidate entries, and then there were the football games, dances, etc. When we were in the midst of it all, it seemed overwhelming. Now, looking back, it was so enjoyable! We miss those days!

Well another day has come to an end! It's going to be tough getting up tomorrow if I don't get some rest. My prayers tonight are that John is safely returned from his trip to Colorado this week, that Melissa finds some peace with her job situation (or that I get to 'slap' someone in her office!), and that my dear man Stan makes it home safely from his travels tomorrow night.

Good night all - sweet dreams!

Patti J.