It Wasn't Me!!!!!

   I gave Greta a new lovey yesterday. This is what I found when I got home today!!!

When I asked her about it...this was her reply:  "It wasn't me!!!"

Then she went to lay by the front door thinking she was in trouble!! lol!! She is too cute!!

Greta

     My sweet baby Greta came home from the groomer's today all sweet-smelling and cleaned up! She even had a pretty neckerchief on! She was VERY happy to see me! I am in the rocking chair and she is pressed up as close to me as she can get! She would get in my lap if I'd let her!
     This picture is from last Christmas with her kitten sleeping with her! How sweet!
   

Big, fierce Greta with her kitten! lol!

Meet Me Halfway

   I found this old book today. It's called "Meet Me Halfway" by Javan.  It has some lovely writings in it...and this one really touched me...

Many people complain
     Life never gave them any chances...

              We are given Life...
               We must take the Chances

Christmas Tree Decorating!

     I have needed a new tree for a couple of years but couldn't find one in my price range that I really liked. This year I found a cashmere tree that looks very real...then it was sold out everywhere I looked! I prefer a real tree but several of the grandkids have asthma so the fragrance from a real tree is not good for them. :-(
     Anyway, I happened to go into a Big Lots store that is new to our area and there it was!!! And....they were sold out!!! The desperation must have shown on my face because the manager offered me the display model...which I quickly helped him disassemble and put in my cart! I hurried home and reassembled it and it was perfect in front of my big picture window! I didn't even decorate it!
     Friday 3 of the grandsons came over and wanted to know why my tree was "naked"! We all climbed up into the attic to find decorations and spent the next couple of hours hanging/dropping/breaking Christmas ornaments! We had a lovely time! Every time Lee dropped one he said, "It wasn't me!" in his deep 2 year old voice! Soooo cute! Here they are...Clark age 7...Criss age 5...Lee age 2.
     Oh yeah! The tree is only decorated up as high as the 7 yr old can reach...and most things are hung in big clusters all together!! LOL!!

It wasn't me!!!

Lee, Criss, Clark

Kayaking in November!

     I had a beautiful day today! Got up bright and early, put on 4 layers of non-cotton clothing, loaded my pretty little kayak in my truck, picked up Leslie, and drove 2 hours to the Green River in Kentucky! OH! Had to scrape ice off the windshield first!! By the time we got ready to paddle it was 50 and sunny...water temp 48 degrees! Let's not get wet!! Here are some pics and a good one of me for a change!

Stopped for lunch

Bundled up!

water too low to go in cave :-(

Other 3 paddlers!

Thanksgiving!

     Happy Saturday! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! I ate way too much turkey! I won't even mention the PIES! And then there was the shopping! Every year all the women hit the stores early Friday morning...except this year Mom went to Florida :-( Sooooo...all the rest of us put food away, did the dishes, and went shopping earlier than ever!! We had a blast - spent too much money - then came back to my house and ate turkey sandwiches and more PIE! Yum!!  The weird thing about my Christmas shopping is that most of the things I bought are for ME!! LOL! I did happen to pick up a few things for the grandkids - but most was really for me! I didn't take pictures...oh well! :-(

Paddling the Barren River!

  Today was an awesome paddle day!! Sunny and mid-sixties in mid-November! Wow! I paddled with a new meetup group today for the first time - in Bowling Green, Kentucky! Leslie (my kayak instructor/friend) and I met the new group and we did a "dam release paddle". That's when they are releasing water from the dam and it makes quite a ride down-river!! We paddled 15 miles today! That's the longest paddle I have ever done! I was excited and scared all at the same time!! I will do it again - and again - and again!!

Some of us getting ready - that's the tail of my boat!

Some of them in front of me - I like to paddle by
 myself - towards the back

Sunbeam in my camera - see how nice the water is flowing!

Christmas Cards!!

So I have been working in my scraproom lately! Yay me!! It's never too early to start making Christmas cards...so here are the newest ones. I am using Basic Grey Figgy Pudding line of papers and stuff!! They are not traditional colors but I like them. Let me know what you think!

More Craftiness!

   My siblings were very inconsiderate about when they chose to be born! Two of them decided that November would be a good idea...within a week of each other...AND less than 2 weeks before Thanksgiving!! The other sibling decided on the week after Christmas! Can you believe it!! I, on the other hand decided to be the thoughtful one and managed to be born in the summer...outdoor parties...NO holidays!! Jeesh! Some people! So here is a card I made for my brother.

What's funny is he lives in NYC...check out the Tim Holtz paper!

I printed the message and then stamped the dragonflies!

Craftiness!

    I finally dedicated some time to my craft room!! I went shopping with Mom on Saturday and found two Imagine carts for $7.19 (JT) and $10.23(Mr. Frosty)!!  Oh yeah! Then I used my 40% off Hobby Lobby coupon and got Copic markers skin tone set! I love Hobby Lobby!
    I went home and played...here are some pictures. I also made a birthday card for my baby sister...who turned 44 years old! LOL! Then I forgot to take a picture! Oh well, I'll make her bring it back for a picture.

Playing with markers -Santa looks like he got hit in the head!

A little family recipe book for Christmas gifts

Little notebooks I made with coasters and my Zutter!

Kayaking Weekend!

    Today I paddled on the Piney River! There were about 15 of us in all! What a wonderful day on a beautiful river!

Beautiful!

Big Rocks!

October in Tennessee!

HELLO AGAIN!

  I have been blogging on my school site and have woefully neglected this one! My scrap room has been neglected as well :-(  However, I went in there yesterday and cleaned up a little and it kind of energized me! Plus, I went to a craft type fair thingy with my mother and got some cute ideas for the holidays! I hope I can get re-energized. I need to look at new career path...and that would be a fun one.
  Here is my new toy! I've been wanting to buy a Harley Davidson motorcycle. I took a class at our local community college and passed both tests to get my license. Decided to wait for a while and practice with something not quite as powerful (or as expensive) as a Harley. I found a beautiful Yamaha V Star Custom 650 on Craig's List! I got a crazy good deal on it and I've been tooling around town getting better every day!  Here is a picture...I think it looks like a Harley. It is soooo comfortable!

Black and Chrome!

Rally for Education Tonight!

    Of all the crazy things! Our county commission decide to not fund our budget...soooo our school board decided to delay the opening of school! Today should have been the first day of school. Instead there will be a rally at the county executive building before this evenings meetings of the county education committee, the county budget committee, and the full county commission meeting! All local news channels will be there! Can you say NIGHTMARE!!! The county commission has NEVER fully funded our school budget and schools have been forced to make substantial cuts every year...last year to the tune of $5 million!! Commissioners were told then that we couldn't continue having school with this kind of shortfall...guess they weren't paying attention. I hope tonight goes smoothly with no craziness...this is about what is best for Sumner County and it's educational system...not someone's political agenda.

Back to School!

  Last night was the first of two registration nights for our county.  I think all went very well! I am back in the classroom and teaching First Grade! I am excited and looking forward to a great year! I made some special treats for both parents and students. Here are a couple of pictures. I have more on my camera...but I left it at school! Duh! Off today and then full days tomorrow and Friday...teachers only. Kids first full day is Monday!

Welcome/Goodie bags for students

Apples for the parents

More Greetings From Florida!!

  This morning started out with another rainbow! Right over the beach this time! Lots of storm clouds, brisk wind, very few people...my kind of beach! I walked for a bit and then relaxed in my beach chair to enjoy the sounds of the waves...mmmmm...sooooo relaxing~

Clouds to my left

Flip flops and waves

My chair and beach bag

Clouds over water

Hard to tell where one stops and the other starts

Greetings from Treasure Island Florida!

   You should Google search the Satellite Motel on Treasure Island in Florida. It will show you some pictures of the pool area and some of the rooms. Beautiful landscaping and right across the street from the beach! I have been coming here since I was 5 years old with my mom! We won't say how long that is!!! I am back here this year with Mom and my nephew, Adam. We arrived yesterday evening in the middle of a huge thunderstorm...then there was a beautiful full rainbow! Here is a very poor picture of it!

Grandkids!!

Question: How many grandkids can you fit in a kiddie pool?

Answer: All of them!!

 LOL! The space in the middle was for the 3 month old...but he decided to NOT cooperate! Starting at the 12:00 position in the yellow swimmy is the oldest twin...William...next in pink...his big sister..Taylor...next is Clark, then Devin, then Criss, then (standing) is younger twin James, then in green swimmy is Lee. Devin, Taylor, William, and James all belong to my son, Michael. Clark belongs to my daughter, Aimee. Criss and Lee,as well as the absent Lex, all belong to my youngest daughter, Maggie. Whew! This school year Devin will be in 4th grade, Clark will be in second grade, Taylor and Criss will both start kindergarten! Next school year the twins will be in kindergarten!

ATC Update

    Here are a few more ATCs that I made in the last little bit. I am really enjoying the little bits of stuff that I use. I have put my Creative Memories square punch to good use. I also have the circle and the heart shapes that I will be trying out soon. I am having a bit of trouble with adhesive...silicone glue is what I am hearing...I just don't know what that is! Enjoy!!

ATC Premiere!

     I went shopping with my daughter on Saturday and with my Mom today. We love to find bargains on scrapping and crafting supplies! Hobby Lobby has Cricut Imagine pattern cartridges for $19.99!! The Imagine shape cartridges are $29.99!! Plus they had a whole bunch of Artist Trading Card supplies marked way down. I have been wanting to incorporate those into my card making somehow. I got a nice selection of stuff and came home to my Scrap Room! I dug around in my scraps of cardstock and got out some small stamps and some ribbon. Here is the very first ATC that I ever - in my life - made!!!! I see many more in my future!

     Wow! It has been quite a while since my last post!  I have been trying to get through this school year and have needed all my attention on that.  I have not scrapped at all! I do have lots of pictures of grandchildren and kayaking to get going on. School is over in 5 more days and maybe I can get the evil and malevolent people out of my life and regroup and refresh!I have some big changes to make, but they will be in my best interest - just not easy. I am looking forward to the peace and relaxation I find in my scrap room. More soon.

Florida Camping....More Pictures!

     I had some time this evening to look at my pictures from the Florida camping/kayaking trip. I REALLY need to get some printed and start scrapping! I like how just looking at a couple of pictures brings so many memories back! I forgot to take a picture of the actual tent site but I do have a picture of my truck loaded down! Plus a couple of me in my pretty little kayak! I am keeping a close eye out for alligators!

Easter Festivities!

     This has been a very busy weekend! I had four days off from work...yippee! Spent a LOT of time in the flower beds. Saturday was all about the grandkids! Coloring eggs was a big hit! Check out these pictures!

Devin

William, James, Clark and Criss

My son Michael with his 4 kids and Clark

Criss and his eggs

Florida Camping & Kayaking Trip

    I got sidetracked with my new grandson arriving on the very day I returned home from my camping/kayaking trip! I will post some pictures now but I have not been able to get into my craft room to create anything yet. I am really behind with my scrapbook about my outdoor adventures! Gotta make a better plan!! These photos are from the Ft. McCoy area of Florida. The rivers are beautiful, clear water with lots of wildlife and vegetation. Sometimes you couldn't see the sky for the canopy of trees arching over the river! Unbelievable colors! Enjoy!

See what I mean!

Real monkeys!

Real alligators!

Real warning sign! LOL!