~~ They're leaving the nest, sew it's time for a trip - or two - or three...~~ D~'s bag ~9/22 ~~

[DMGeurts]

I like the pictures of you and M's mom and Allison and M, very cute!
Enjoy the time with your cousin and his girlfriend!

Thank you! It was a lot of fun! Now it's back to life and back to work!

I thought I was watching everything unfold on FB, but you sneak some extra in here
It is so neat watching Allison's adventures through you. She is one lucky girl!
Your house is just gorgeous! I love all the little extra touches you have added.

Gotta run, trying to get these two boys of mine out of the house today to enjoy our gorgeous State of Maine

Hahaha... Yes, sometimes I post more on FB and sometimes I post more here... It just depends.

I agree - I miss her so much though, but it's fun to see what she is doing and exploring.

Thanks... I look forward to finishing up the rest of the kitchen... We will need to add the last 2 coats of poly to the farmhouse table, plus I still need to paint all of the chairs and buy a bench... Then I need to find a new China cabinet at a reasonable price - and paint it... oooh and deciding on the color won't be an easy task - I have 3 that I am choosing between.

I hope you had a great day with them! Miss you tons!

How fun that you had lunch with Myrthe's parents and Allison had lunch with Myrthe on the same day

Looks like Allison is having a great time i Europe.

I hope your sewing machine is working as normal again.


St.Petersburg was ok. We didn't get robbed. We saw the Winter palace, took a canal boat ride and got to see a lot of huge palaces and nice architecture. We walked A LOT ( I was in my wheelchair). On our way home yesterday we had to fly from St.Petersburg to Stockholm where we had to wait 3 hours for the next plane. The plane from Stockholm to Oslo was one hour delayed. And we only had one hour between our flights in Oslo. So we didn't make it to our flight to Tromsø. We got rebooked to a flight the next morning (today). Got a free night at the Raddison Blu hotel at Oslo airport and got a free meal. This morning we had to get up at 05.45AM to catch our flight at 07.55AM. We checked in and went straight to the plane. I slept most of the flight back home. When I got home I had some lunch before driving to my grandmother to pick up my cat. As usual my cat didn't want to go home. So as soon as she saw me she went under the couch and she refused to come out. I had to move the couch to get her.

Thanks - it was pretty neat!

She is - it's so exciting for her to see new places.

Yes, my machine is back to normal again - thank you. It only took me a few hours to reset the timing... It's a pain, but I suspect (now) that it's been outta whack for a while. So, it's good that it's done.

Sounds like you had a good trip - but yikes on your flights!!! That is such a bummer because when you want to go home, you just want to get there. Glad you had a safe trip and eventually make it home.

Loving all the updates on Allison It looks like she is so happy which I am sure makes you happy! Victoria's hair is GORGEOUS, she is one beautiful girl . I must get back on track with better eating habits, I hope that is going better for you also!!!

Monica

Thanks - I love sharing them... I miss her like crazy! She is having a good time and enjoying herself.

I love it too - it really turned out cute... A little lighter than I would have wanted her to go - personally - but in the end, I think I like her decision better.

UGH!!! Me too... TODAY is the day for that! Remodeling mostly done... Child graduated & traveling the world... Vacation over... Another one coming... It's time to kick my own rear!

Miss you girl - and looking forward to seeing you again soon!

Allison will remember this trip FOREVER! This is wonderful! i really cannot wait to see her photo's and such a sweet thing! they are having lunch and so are the moms! Hope you ALL had a great lunch!

Hope you had a wonderful 4th!

I know she will - such a great opportunity for her! Sooo jealous myself! But - looking forward to my turn too!

We did have a great lunch - it was fun. I think we are meeting up again next week?

Thanks - I hope you did too! Miss you tons!!! Tempted to drive down for a weekend just to say hi...

So glad Allison's trip is going so well. It makes it so much easier that you can see and video chat these days. As much as technology makes us feel disconnected this is one way where it helps us stay connected.

Enjoy your time with your cousin!

It is, it's such a relief to me! I know - it sure helps me miss her less and miss her more, all at the same time. But mostly - it helps. LOL

Thanks - we had a good time!

Hi! Back from vacation....and caught up on your updates. So sad about your carpet -- I would be unhappy with the dog, too! Hopefully you'll be able to patch it so it won't be noticeable.

Looks like Allison is having a wonderful time in Europe! What an amazing adventure for her! I love that she's trying to experience the culture as a "local". And she has the most gorgeous eyelashes. Too funny that you were having lunch with Myrthe's parents at the same time Allison was eating with Myrthe!

I had to laugh about Josh's potential reaction if you paint the china hutch that coral color...LOL....my husband would have the same reaction!

I'm glad you were able to get your sewing machine fixed!

Yay! I hope you had a good time?

UGH - I know, I am still so furious about it... I need Josh to find out where we put our carpet remnants, so we can get it fixed.

She is! It's so fun to watch her learn, explore and experience new things. Awww... I'll have to tell her that... She takes a lot of pride in her "on fleek" eyebrows and lashes. Wish I could pull off that dramatic-ness at my age...

Hehehehe... Believe me, coral for the China hutch is still on my radar - it's kind of my first choice... But I haven't even taken the time to test the waters on permission for that one. I can always paint over it another color if he doesn't like it - right?

Yes - it's a relief to have it back up and running... Sometimes I wonder if I can actually maintain my own machines - but I just hike up my big girl panties and get 'er done... Going on 6 years now of doing all of my own maintenance and fixing - so I am pretty confident that I can handle most things.

I Hope you are doing well?

Playing catch up again...

I'm so glad that Allison arrived in Europe safely. She is going to have an amazing summer! Will she be visiting Disneyland Paris on her trip to France?

Sorry your sewing machine wasn't working but I'm glad you were able to fix it.

I can't believe your dog chewed a whole in the carpet. It doesn't look bad though.

Me too - LOL I escaped for a week...

Yes - it's such a relief to have her over there and with family.

She will not be doing DLP on this trip to France - it sounds like they are planning a long weekend there later in the summer? Unless plans changed? But that was the last I heard. I am looking forward to hearing about that.

Me too - it's always a relief to have it back up and running - it always hits me hard when I have to have forced down time like that.

I know - I am so mad at him for that! It's not terrible, but he still isn't allowing in the living room - which he is still pouting about.

Glad I didn't miss much while I was gone! The house in Orlando was great. Other than daily grocery runs (it's hard to shop for 13 people and not forget or run out of anything), we didn't even leave the community. We took the kids up to the community pool a couple of times, did a 500 piece puzzle, cooked, cleaned, ate, drank, did a grown up craft (menu boards for our kitchens), managed a couple of scavenger hunts and 4th of July trivia for the kids, swam at the house, played with glow sticks and sparklers, and watched fireworks from the pool and screened in patio. It was great!

We vacation with the same families for Spring Break and 4th of July each year - we are already planning next year's trips. Thinking of changing it up and maybe doing a cruise and a beach house next year. I'd like to rent a house over Spring Break in Orlando again since our kids have early Spring Breaks next year and our seasonal passes won't be blacked out! We'll see what everyone decides.

Hahaha... That's because I was gone too. LOL

It sounds like you had a great and relaxing trip to Orlando! That is so wonderful! I am glad you were able to take that time as a family and spend it with friends.

*************************************************************************************************

My guess is that some of you were wondering where I've been? Well, as it turns out - we went on a little family vacation... And true to my self imposed internet rules - I tried to maintain radio silence about it.

My cousin flew in a few days before we left - and he stayed at our house for most of the time we were gone... We discovered how well this worked out last summer, and we've decided it will be a yearly thing... He comes out here every year anyways to visit his family - and our empty house is a free place for him to stay. So, it's a win/win. Sadly - we don't get to spend much time together before he heads home, but at least we get to catch up a little bit.

So, Josh, V, the dogs and I left on Saturday morning - taking separate vehicles - headed to the lake for a week of relaxation... Josh had a few stops of his own to make and I had to stop at my Dad's, so this just worked out better for us.

We had a wonderful week, celebrating the 4th of July, Josh's birthday & reconnecting as a family of 3... It was wonderful and relaxing. Lots of pontoon rides, lots of Zorbaz pizza, lots of jet skiing, lots of paddle boarding, lots of naps, lots of food, lots of fun & 1 5.5 hour canoe trip... Then, to top it off - on Saturday, we hosted the 2nd annual "breakfast on the lake", serving 50+ of our lake neighbors and friends, it was a lot of fun! Over all - it was a great week and something we desperately needed as a family. A few photos from our week...

My bff from high school - Lynnie - was also able to come up to spend a day with us... It was so wonderful to see her and to connect with her... We are still hoping to get together one more time this summer.

While we were off at the lake... Allison was travelling to France with BMTL... They are having a lot of fun - swimming, exploring castles and also some kayaking... I'll share a few of those pictures tomorrow - as I think I am close to my photo limit for this post.

Today - it's back to work and back to life...

There were a few pictures taken of me, over the course of our lake trip, that I am not the least bit impressed with... So, today marks day 1 of another Whole30 and reset... I need it in a bad way. Hopefully I can make it the full 30 days - but at this point, I will take any sort of reset I can get. Life happens, I get that... but I am still soooo disappointed in myself.

So, working out this morning... And working all day at home - not much exciting there.

V and I are starting to get super excited about our Disney trip... We are very quickly approaching our double digit dance day - - and the closer it gets the more excited we get... I still have a lot to do to get ready for this... and I've been stalking flights like crazy - starting to freak out a little bit that I don't have those yet.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!!! Sending pixie dust out to all of you!

D~

 

[ljcrochet]

Looks like you had a great trip with the lake.

I thought of you as I was sanding down the furniture in my daughters room to paint. We painted it grey and going to use a Rustoluem glitter spray over it. I'm amazed how how much better it looks with the flat grey on it vs the wood. I'm going to do the desk top in chalkboard paint.

 

[Terkina]

How great that your cousin can watch the house while you are on vacation.

Looks like you had a great vacation.

On Wednesday 29th June NAV called and told me that the garage has started on my car
On Thursday 7th July NAV called again and told me that my lovely contact person at NAV is going on vacation for a month and that another person is taking over while my contact person is on vacation. This is a little sad because my contact person at NAV has been great and has contacted me without me asking her to just to tell me how things have been going. Crossing my fingers that the new person is just as easy to work with. My contact also told me that there will be a testing of the car while she is on vacation. I'm just crossing my fingers that it won't be this week because Ulf is on Tai Chi in Sweden and I really need his help to get 2 wheelchairs and the electrical wheel to the garage for testing. If my parents or aunt was home I could have asked them for help, but they are all on vacation so I will just have to wait one week until Ulf is back.

 

[Tinkercc]

Gotta love lake life!!! Love your pontoon boat. Our family has one on our local lake and its is just so relaxing!! So glad you had a great 4th and were able to have good family time! Have a great week!~Niki

 

[Wood Nymph]

Your week at the lake looks like it was wonderful. The breakfast for 50 sounds like a fun tradition.

There is a lot to look forward too in October with new rides, a new castle show and new fireworks. It will be lots of fun to plan the trip with Victoria.

 

[Chicago Mo]

your always welcome. Might actually take a drive up to tess?!? talking about it on the PTR.

Love your Lake photos! how is your burn now?

DOUBLE DIGIT DANCE!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

It sounds like you had a wonderful time on your lake trip. Loved the pictures.

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Love the lake pictures! That seems like a very relaxing vacation.

 

[Clio]

I thought you might have gone to the lake since you usually go around this time of year. It looks like you had a great time. The dogs look like they had a lot fun and wore themselves out. Your pictures are great. It's got to hear that Allison is having a great trip.
Liz

 

[Iamthequeen]

Glad you had a good time at the lake! Thought that's where you disappeared to. My dream is to one day have a place on the water - lake, river, whatever....

 

[WDisneyMom]

Sounds like you had a lovely and much needed time away with the family. Love the pictures and the lake looks so peaceful and perfect!

And now I want pizza. Lots and lots of pizza.

 

[DMGeurts]

Looks like you had a great trip with the lake.

I thought of you as I was sanding down the furniture in my daughters room to paint. We painted it grey and going to use a Rustoluem glitter spray over it. I'm amazed how how much better it looks with the flat grey on it vs the wood. I'm going to do the desk top in chalkboard paint.

We did - as a family, it was much needed time together. It wasn't the same with out Allison, but it was still very good.

Ooooh - I would LOVE to see pictures when you are done! A friend of mine has a glitter ceiling in her bathroom - and it's truly amazing! I love the look of it!

How great that your cousin can watch the house while you are on vacation.

Looks like you had a great vacation.

On Wednesday 29th June NAV called and told me that the garage has started on my car
On Thursday 7th July NAV called again and told me that my lovely contact person at NAV is going on vacation for a month and that another person is taking over while my contact person is on vacation. This is a little sad because my contact person at NAV has been great and has contacted me without me asking her to just to tell me how things have been going. Crossing my fingers that the new person is just as easy to work with. My contact also told me that there will be a testing of the car while she is on vacation. I'm just crossing my fingers that it won't be this week because Ulf is on Tai Chi in Sweden and I really need his help to get 2 wheelchairs and the electrical wheel to the garage for testing. If my parents or aunt was home I could have asked them for help, but they are all on vacation so I will just have to wait one week until Ulf is back.

Yes - it works out well! Thanks - we did.

Yay!!! So happy to hear that they have started working on your car! Hopefully everything works out and Ulf can be there!

Gotta love lake life!!! Love your pontoon boat. Our family has one on our local lake and its is just so relaxing!! So glad you had a great 4th and were able to have good family time! Have a great week!~Niki

Thanks - we are sure lucky that Josh's family has this place and lets us use it during one of the most often requested weeks of the year. We love it there and look forward to this every year.

I hope you are doing well and having a good summer?

Your week at the lake looks like it was wonderful. The breakfast for 50 sounds like a fun tradition.

There is a lot to look forward too in October with new rides, a new castle show and new fireworks. It will be lots of fun to plan the trip with Victoria.

Thank you - it's a lot of fun. Since this is only the "2nd annual" breakfast - it's very new to us... But we enjoyed doing it very much - since we don't live there, like my in-laws do, we don't know all of the neighbors as well, but it's still a lot of fun. We are definitely planning to do it again next year - and we will revisit each year, whether it's something we want to continue doing or not?

I need to start doing more research for this trip... Sadly - I've done almost none, my life has been consumed with house and graduation stufff. But now that we are back from the lake... I am in full-on Disney trip planning and paying mode. Sadly - I can't start packing yet (which is very strange for me) since all of my luggage is in Europe. I'll just keep a pile, and pack it all when Allison comes home.

your always welcome. Might actually take a drive up to tess?!? talking about it on the PTR.

Love your Lake photos! how is your burn now?

DOUBLE DIGIT DANCE!

Interesting!!! That should be a lot of fun if you go!

Thanks! Burn is healing slowly... Back is still a little sensitive, but getting better. It will be an awesome tan in a few days.

I know - V and I are really starting to get excited now. She put in a bag order, so I need to get to work on that, as soon as I finish all of these other side projects!

It sounds like you had a wonderful time on your lake trip. Loved the pictures.

We did - thank you very much. It's always much needed time away and together for us.

Love the lake pictures! That seems like a very relaxing vacation.

THanks! It is... Too many naps for me - I don't know what it is about the lake, but I can literally lay down and poof - 3 hours are gone from my life... Then I get used to it... LOL That's the hardest part... No 3 hour naps allowed when I get home.

I thought you might have gone to the lake since you usually go around this time of year. It looks like you had a great time. The dogs look like they had a lot fun and wore themselves out. Your pictures are great. It's got to hear that Allison is having a great trip.
Liz

LOL - I figured some of you may figure it out, can't get much past you all. LOL We did have a good time, I always feel so bad bringing the dogs back home - they love lake life, I wish we could let them stay. Cooper is so funny up there - a TRUE 7 year old boy... jumping off the dock, wet all week long, and just so much fun to watch.

Allison is having a wonderful time! I love waking up to so many messages from her - it's my favorite part of the day, hearing about her next great adventure!

I hope you had a nice 4th of July week?

Glad you had a good time at the lake! Thought that's where you disappeared to. My dream is to one day have a place on the water - lake, river, whatever....

Hehehe... Can't get much past you guys! LOL I figured that those of you that are friends on FB especially - would figure that out. LOL I hope that one day you'll get to live that dream Tess!

********************************************************************************************

I had a pretty decent day yesterday... Aside from the part where I tripped over the dog gate - landed in a downward dog position, in an effort to save the gate... Gate splintered in several locations and I ended up with a scraped wrist and skinned knee... All is good - and I need to go out and buy a new gate this morning. LOL

I was able to get a lot of work done upstairs - which is a really good thing for me right now...

My eating was mostly back on track yesterday... I am working hard now to concentrate on getting my life back in order. I let so many things, that are important to me, slip while we were redoing the house and just my overall emotions while preparing for Allison's graduation and eventual trip... I'll be the first to admit that I didn't take very good care of myself. I'll also be the first to admit - at least I continued to work out pretty religiously during that time, or things would be so much worse right now. This lifestyle change IS about LIVING LIFE, and I have to remember that... There are some things in life that we can't have complete control over all of the time, and sometimes we need to roll with the punches. So, yes, I did gain much more than I would have liked to... but it's also about not giving up and moving forward... Rather than telling myself that I am a complete failure - I never fail until I give up... So, here I am - NOT giving up. I have a LOT of good for me food prepped for this week - all of it Whole30 compliant... Even though yesterday was technically my 1st Whole30 day... I guess I have to start over today, because I wasn't totally compliant all day yesterday. But I didn't do any between meal snacking - so that is a good thing - that's something I've fallen back into a lot - and I really need to nix that out of my life fast! Looking forward to feeling good about myself again and just feeling good in general! Forward I go again... I've said it before - it seems like the rest of my life will be an endless battle of gains/losses just to maintain... There is just NO such thing as "easy maintenance" - at least not for me.

Today... I plan on working all day... I have a lot to do with work over the next few weeks - and I need to put in as many hours as I can.

I do have to run V into town this morning... I"ll probably hit Target while I am there, I need to replace the baby gate I wrecked. SC isn't totally ready to have free roam of the house yet.

Here's a few pictures of Allison and her time in France over the last week... Hopefully they are pretty self explanatory? She is having such a wonderful time with the Littles and exploring France... She said she is going to try to Skype me today... My favorite! I love seeing her - but I always cry after... I do miss her so much - there is NO denying it.

Yesterday - her and Myrthe went "splunking"... Today - they are doing something else, I wish I could tell you what it is, but Myrthe sent me a picture of the brochure - in French... So, I'll just have to ask Allison when she Skypes me.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!!! Sending Pixie Dust out to all of you!

D~

 

[Wood Nymph]

need to start doing more research for this trip... Sadly - I've done almost none, my life has been consumed with house and graduation stufff. But now that we are back from the lake... I am in full-on Disney trip planning and paying mode. Sadly - I can't start packing yet (which is very strange for me) since all of my luggage is in Europe. I'll just keep a pile, and pack it all when Allison comes home.

I did a lot of research for our June trip and many of the things I mentioned, like the new rides and castle show, opened just days after we got home. So they are now on my list for our Oct trip. Disney just released the food and wine menus, which I haven't looked at yet, and the concert series, which I have checked out.

Here's a few pictures of Allison and her time in France over the last week... Hopefully they are pretty self explanatory? She is having such a wonderful time with the Littles and exploring France...

It looks like Thomas is her special friend. What a wonderful way to travel through Europe! I would love to have a family member who knew their way around. It would make the trip a lot more fun.

 

[Clio]

Sorry about the dog gate. That sounds like something I'd do. I cut the bottom of my foot on a chip clip and Sunday I fell into the lemonade stand at the church festival. Luckily, my friends are used to my clumsiness. We went down to the National park near us Fourth of July weekend and did some hiking. It was a beautiful day. My daughter gave me a camera for my birthday and I was playing with it.
My found out that the ice cream stand near us sells Dole whips, so my daughter dragged her husband and I there. It was my first Dole whip. She said it tasted just like Disney's.
This past Sunday I worked in the fore mentioned lemonade stand and after that we went down to see the tall ships that were at a town near here. Other than that, I've been working. I did find a home for one of my vintage sewing machines. Someone at work needs a basic machine and I asked her if she wants one of the singer touch and sews. All I have to do is clean and oil it.
Have a great day.
Liz

 

[Chicago Mo]

OMG! you need to get to your research! Go get that trip of a lifetime and make TONS of memories!!!

What theme is V's bag?!?! Can't leave me hanging like that!!

Love all Allison's pictures! i know she is having a great time and i hope you are able to skype soon!!

Hey if Tess is willing to come to Chicago we can have a sewing PARTY! and you can organize-paint my house! LOL.. See win win for me!

 

[Terkina]

I'm glad to hear you didn't hurt yourself too much when tripping over the dog gate. I hope you find a new gate today.

It's not easy eating well when you don't have a kitchen. So don't be too hard on yourself for not eating as you should while you wear doing all the projects in the house.

Looks like Allison is having a good time. I can't believe how many things she will see and experience during this summer.

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

Sorry about the dog gate -- that sounds painful! Ouch!

Our vacation was lovely. It was so nice to be away. We went on a five-day lake trip with my husband's family. I tried paddle boarding for the first time and loved it...I'm trying to convince my husband that we need to buy paddle boards since we have a river that we can use them on that's only about 10 minutes from our house. Fingers crossed! It was wonderful to spend time with my husband's family and also to get to spend a few days with our daughter who is out in Utah in college....and we got to meet her boyfriend! We really like him. He's a good guy with a good head on his shoulders and he treats her so well. They will both graduate from college next year and they seem quite serious about each other so we shall see how/if things develop. She's the daughter going to Disney with me next month and I imagine we'll have a few long talks about the relationship while we're in the parks. Anyway, we spent time with family, did a bit of shopping, and talked with my in-laws about some difficult decisions that will need to be made in the next year or two since my father-in-law has both cancer and Alzheimer's. *Sigh* That part was rough. Seeing how much his personality has changed because of the Alzheimer's and how much the cancer treatments have slowed him down....he has always seemed so young up until the last few years....now he seems much older than 84 (his age).

So do you think you're going to try to convince Josh to let you paint the hutch coral? I think it would look fabulous!

I'm excited for your Whole 30! My husband and I are going to do our first round after my Disney trip in August. I'm nervous about it, but excited at the same time!

 

[DMGeurts]

I did a lot of research for our June trip and many of the things I mentioned, like the new rides and castle show, opened just days after we got home. So they are now on my list for our Oct trip. Disney just released the food and wine menus, which I haven't looked at yet, and the concert series, which I have checked out.



It looks like Thomas is her special friend. What a wonderful way to travel through Europe! I would love to have a family member who knew their way around. It would make the trip a lot more fun.

It's going to be interesting, for sure. Suzi and I did F&W last year, and I am really not a big fan, so - I am not sure we will spend much time on that? And I just have no idea where to begin, LOL... I guess I better go find out what's new? LOL

Yah - Allison and Thomas are turning into quite the pals. It is such a relief to me, to have BMTL there to show her the way and take her to the little places that most don't ever get to see.

Sorry about the dog gate. That sounds like something I'd do. I cut the bottom of my foot on a chip clip and Sunday I fell into the lemonade stand at the church festival. Luckily, my friends are used to my clumsiness. We went down to the National park near us Fourth of July weekend and did some hiking. It was a beautiful day. My daughter gave me a camera for my birthday and I was playing with it.
My found out that the ice cream stand near us sells Dole whips, so my daughter dragged her husband and I there. It was my first Dole whip. She said it tasted just like Disney's.
This past Sunday I worked in the fore mentioned lemonade stand and after that we went down to see the tall ships that were at a town near here. Other than that, I've been working. I did find a home for one of my vintage sewing machines. Someone at work needs a basic machine and I asked her if she wants one of the singer touch and sews. All I have to do is clean and oil it.
Have a great day.
Liz

Yah - it served it's purpose, we now have a new one - which has plastic hardware instead of the metal that we just replaced... I don't think this one will last at all. As we all know how I feel about plastic. LOL

Oh no!!! I hope your foot is healing OK? That sounds painful.

Otherwise - it sounds like you've had a great couple of weeks. Happy birthday - sorry I missed it! And what a lovely gift from your daughter - I am sure you will get great use out of that!

Yay for Dole Whips locally. LOL I wish!

How nice of you to pass along one of your great machines - I am convinced that more people would sew if they had a vintage machine... New and latest/greatest isn't always the best, IMO.

Thanks Liz - same to you!

OMG! you need to get to your research! Go get that trip of a lifetime and make TONS of memories!!!

What theme is V's bag?!?! Can't leave me hanging like that!!

Love all Allison's pictures! i know she is having a great time and i hope you are able to skype soon!!

Hey if Tess is willing to come to Chicago we can have a sewing PARTY! and you can organize-paint my house! LOL.. See win win for me!

Hahaha... I know - I just don't know where to start... There's too much new, considering I was just there 7 months ago.

Ummm... I can't say right now... She gave me the choice of 2, and I get to pick. I have not decided yet.

She is having a great time... I was able to skype her yesterday... Then I cried after... Miss her like crazy - can't even begin to explain it. But LOVE that she is enjoying this experience of a lifetime!

Hahahaha... Sounds like a plan to me!

I'm glad to hear you didn't hurt yourself too much when tripping over the dog gate. I hope you find a new gate today.

It's not easy eating well when you don't have a kitchen. So don't be too hard on yourself for not eating as you should while you wear doing all the projects in the house.

Looks like Allison is having a good time. I can't believe how many things she will see and experience during this summer.

Not too much - mostly healed already... The gate didn't survive though... LOL Yes - got the new gate, same exact gate we had, but they now make them with plastic hardware... Not sure this one will last too long?

True - I am trying hard not to be too hard on myself, but it's difficult... I've been at this for 4 years now - and it really makes me angry and embarrassed that 4 months can totally wreck everything... Sigh. Not much I can do, but to move forward - which I am.

She is doing great - I miss her terribly... but she is having a ball!

Sorry about the dog gate -- that sounds painful! Ouch!

Our vacation was lovely. It was so nice to be away. We went on a five-day lake trip with my husband's family. I tried paddle boarding for the first time and loved it...I'm trying to convince my husband that we need to buy paddle boards since we have a river that we can use them on that's only about 10 minutes from our house. Fingers crossed! It was wonderful to spend time with my husband's family and also to get to spend a few days with our daughter who is out in Utah in college....and we got to meet her boyfriend! We really like him. He's a good guy with a good head on his shoulders and he treats her so well. They will both graduate from college next year and they seem quite serious about each other so we shall see how/if things develop. She's the daughter going to Disney with me next month and I imagine we'll have a few long talks about the relationship while we're in the parks. Anyway, we spent time with family, did a bit of shopping, and talked with my in-laws about some difficult decisions that will need to be made in the next year or two since my father-in-law has both cancer and Alzheimer's. *Sigh* That part was rough. Seeing how much his personality has changed because of the Alzheimer's and how much the cancer treatments have slowed him down....he has always seemed so young up until the last few years....now he seems much older than 84 (his age).

So do you think you're going to try to convince Josh to let you paint the hutch coral? I think it would look fabulous!

I'm excited for your Whole 30! My husband and I are going to do our first round after my Disney trip in August. I'm nervous about it, but excited at the same time!

It was a little painful - but the poor gate suffered the worst of it. LOL

I also did paddle boarding for the first time last week - it was a lot of fun, but I am NOT the most balanced person in the world, so it was hard for me to stay centered... And we had a dead calm lake to work on... I'd love to do it more next year. V has been doing it for a few years now - so she was able to teach me... She is pretty good. I hope you are able to find one! We are now looking for a canoe - more my style - we have a lot of great rivers near us and Josh and I had so much fun canoeing.

That is so sad, I am so sorry... I can definitely relate - both Josh's Grandparents had Alzheimer's and dementia... It was so sad and very difficult for his family. I never knew his grandmother before Alzheimer's set in - but I am told some really amazing stories about her... Both of them have passed on now - but both were great people. It's so sad, and so heartbreaking to watch.

I am still undecided about the coral... I want it some days and other days - I kind of want it either light blue or light green... We'll see? I can always paint over it if I don't like it - right? LOL

Thanks - I am doing OK with it... It's definitely a modified W30... I feel like, I've already done the real thing a few times, I do allow myself a few things - rarely - that I know my body can tolerate. However, I may have to go a little more strict for a while... Just trying to settle into it again and be mindful of what I am putting into my body. I can't wait to hear how you like it... It's hard, but it's very eye opening.

*************************************************************************************************

Really nothing exciting to report from yesterday... I was able to get a lot of work done again - so that is always good.

I also got to Skype Allison yesterday.... I love seeing her and talking to her like that. It sure makes me miss her more - but it soothes my soul to see her... Life isn't the same here with out her, and I find myself always waiting on my Snapchat to ding with a message from her... but I am so thankful that I can see so many glimpses of her fun and excitement.

Yesterday, V and I went to Starbucks... I ordered our drinks - they had them made before I paid. Ran my card... Declined! What???? So I ran it again about 10 times - declined every time. I was sooooo embarrassed! The guy at Starbucks (one we never go to) finally had to give us our drinks for free, because they were already made and V was already chugging her's. I just had to tell myself that we spend so much $$ there, it was nice to finally get something free. LOL But when I got out to the car - I called my banker... So, as it turns out, my card was compromised and i was sent a new card... Didn't realize it was for that account, so I just threw it in my desk drawer... Let's just say, we are VERY lucky that it wasn't shut off while we were on vacation - or we would have had no way to get home. I was so embarrassed though... It was so annoying - but at the same time, I am glad that my bank is out there protecting me.

Alrighty - I better run, I have a LONG day at Target ahead of me... I will hit 10 years with them at the beginning of September... Where they will send me a $50 GC for my service... Which I will turn around and purchase myself a $50 Disney GC for our trip... At that time, I will seriously re-evaluate my employment there... It's getting to the paint where I really am starting to hate it.

I hope you all have a wonderful day - lots of Pixie Dust going out to all of you!

D~

 

[Chicago Mo]

oh no! I hope the bank had contacted you about the compromise? i've had that happen a few times!
people suck. Yet on the bright side at least you got it for FREE! YAY!!!

10 years! WOOHOO! congrats!!! yay for 50.00! It's something! we don't get crap working for government. boooooo BUT i am coming up to three years at Job #2 there are perks for that! So excited!

So happy you were able to talk to Allison.. I know it's hard. and your holding up GREAT!
When does she come home??

 

[gopherdame]

Good to hear you had fun at the lake, although I laughed at Josh in a long sleeved shirt. We were up the week before the 4th and it was pretty cool then too. The first Sat. was hot and we were able to swim, but then it cooled down and was windy most days. Still had a good time though. We have a Zorbaz on Crosslake too and we love it. My husband kept saying he didn't like their pizza, but I finally found out he just thought the sausage was too spicy. I don't eat sausage so how was I to know.

I worked at Target 20 years ago in their food avenue as a level 2. Well after 2 years our manager was moved to another store and the new one stunk, our level 3 hurt her back and I was getting overtime that I didn't want. We usually had 2 kids working at night and when 1 called in sick it was hard to get a last minute replacement. Usually they would have a cashier help out, but this girl had only worked one night so I had to stay. I worked open to close and never even got a thank you. That was enough for me. I still shopped there though and found out some of the kids quit too. The manager had to work so much that she quit Target and she had worked for Target almost 20 years. I then worked temp jobs for a while so I could take part of the summer off to spend at the lake with the kids. That was a great time, but eventually I had to find a full time job.

Just wondering how a 2 tone paint job would look on your cabinet. I've never painted anything like that, but you could always repaint if you didn't like it.

My grandson called to tell me my Target hit 70% off summer clearance today so I'm heading up there. Have a good day at Target!