Feeling Blessed

Wow, not sure that's appropriate but lucky doesn't fit either..
My heart goes out to those effected by the tornado this past weekend! I am gathering up some stock piled supplies to send over.

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CRESTON, Iowa -
A tornado damaged the hospital in Creston on Saturday night.
Authorities with the Creston Police Department said the damage was reported at the Greater Regional Medical Center about 7:30 p.m.
Authorities say there were no serious injuries at the hospital. The high winds broke windows, sending flying glass into the building. The majority of the damage was to the roof, which was ripped open in places, allowing rain to enter the hospital. That also caused electrical problems.
Dozens of ambulances from around Iowa raced to the hospital to evacuate patients to surrounding communities. Hospitals in Des Moines also sent staff members to Creston to help with the evacuation.
Creston Mayor Warren Woods said power lines are down all over Creston, and much of the city is without electricity.
At Southwest Community College, roof damage was found on dormitories, and there were other reports of damage there.
Police said there were reports of injuries at the community college, including some students who were cut by flying glass. None of the injuries was serious. The storm knocked down trees and overturned a few cars on the SWCC campus.
The Lutheran church and Christian church were opened as shelters.
Daylight Sunday morning revealed several homes heavily damaged in Creston, with roofs ripped off, walls collapsed, and debris strewn across the yards.
copied entirely from http://www.kcci.com/news/central-iowa/Hospital-homes-damaged-in-Creston/-/9357080/10820290/-/v49kn2/-/index.html

5 on Friday

5 more things that made me happy this week:

**being done w/both of my part time jobs-definately appreciated having them thru the rough winter but glad to have my evenings back at home

**getting to take the littles to the park on Wednesday! even tho we just got new sand, it was still nice to get to go.

**getting the camera back out! its like a long lost friend.

**the panel w/the doggie door installed, arrived on Wednesday.


**all kinds of flowers & buds around the yard.

Ready.

I am ready.
Ready for spring!

 

Ready for fresh flowers in the yard, green grass, the smell of freshly mowed grass coming thru the open windows, the curtains fluttering in the breeze around said window, tending the new garden & then eating its produce, the farmer's market, & the lack of snow gear needed by the kids. 

I am ready to not need 2 shirts on every day, to not need hot tea in my hands each morning, to not be able to see my breath when I go outside, & to not crave big hardy meals every night. 

I am ready to be able to spend the 4 hours between breakfast & lunch outside, and then the 2 hours between snack & the end of the work day back out there again. 

I am ready to pack away the ice melt & boot trays from the entry way, I am ready to not need to mop that floor several times each day, I am ready to be soaking up some stinking sunshine, man! 

I am ready for camping weekends spent on the lake & gathered round the campfire in the evenings, I am ready to be able to smell the sunshine long after its set.

Wednesday already?! oops!!!

time to play catch up:

• first .. Friday was day 7 of my WITL so here's that collage:
• Second, the weekend was drizzly thru-out but we were able to make the best of it & get some mushroom hunting in, again more photos than shrooms found, I got 3 cavities filled, finished scrapping Tim's surprise bday '09, some boat work started, & some chillin' out done! successful weekend!
• Monday I had the day off for a dr appt & got to have lunch w/my Friend Donna :) good time as always!
• I jumped back on the treadmill yday!! I was impressed that I have already increased my speed/cutting down the time it takes to do the half mile I am requiring of myself. Monday I will increase my distance keeping the speed then increase the speed.. etc.
• I have decided on a way to make do w/my resources & make my WITL pages all black & white. I had hoped to print the pictures this morning but the photo paper is missing... so maybe tonight after our evening walk.
• I have 2 littles going on vacay today for a week. OH the list I have prepped for myself to get accomplished while they are away. amazing what a difference 2 lil heads + 4 lil hands makes :)
• I am already thinking about Summer Break plans!! I want to have atleast one planned day out & maybe 2!
• Farmer's Markets open this SATURDAY yay freaking yay!!!!!
• My brother goes in for surgery early Friday morning. please keep him in your prayers.
• OH the list of upcycles/recycles/crafties I want to accomplish on our limited budget!! funny that most if it is already laying around here :)
• ok.. going to take my list making fingers & get to making snack.. have a great day!!!

Welllll helllo there Tuesday!

I welcome you w/open arms w/your promise of a new day, sunshine & revised to-do list :)

OH how things sure can change in a day around here!! I went from having 2 full time openings coming the 24th of May, to one school age & one full time spot available in 2 weeks. Everything happens for a reason & I am done questioning most reasons. Why worry? it will all work out as its meant to if we just sit back & let it. Its so much less painful this way :)

speaking of changes :) I found these lil babies poppin up in the garden yesterday while we were on our walk!! GIDDY!!! (radishes) yummmmm the forcast last night was predicting rain for Thursday THRU Saturday.. & our garden can use a drink .. maybe not aflood tho. again...what will be will be. :)

here is yesterday's collage for my WITL entry:

Well, since it has taken 2 sits, 2 hrs & several diaper changes (on them not me) to get this typed I will sign off & go check on my bread in the machine :) Have a great Tuesday!!

Good Morning Monday!

lets try to keep it low key today shall we?? ;)

Friday I was closed due to the flu attacking me over night Thursday night. :( so sad when that happens! I managed to sleep till 10,watch 'must love dogs', The Mentalist from the weekb4 on DVR, & the Doctors that Jamie Oliver appeared on over a week ago also on DVR & nap 3:30-6 :) was finally brave enough to ingest food about 1 (soda crax & 7up please) & they stayed down! *whew* luckily we just chilled around the house all evening.

Saturday I was so much better I was able to fulfill my obligations of voluteering to help mix pancakes w/my Grandma @ a breakfast fundraiser then head to a fundraiser crop in Truro! I finished the chapter of Mom's surprise party in my '06 scrapbook!!! upon returning home Tim managed to guilt me into helping wax the boat UGH what a miserable job!!! then we went for groceries & out for mexican for supper :)

Sunday we had biscuits & gravy in bed, went mushroom hunting returning w/only photos of flowers haha, he mowed while I cleaned inside, then we went GeoCaching (tons of photos AND TICKS!!) then home to grill & bake a peanut butter cake for our weekly sweet. ending the weekend w/my shows & some scrapping(finally starting Tim's surprise party '09). ideal :)

I am participating in Week in the Life over on Ali's blog again this year & oh how it makes me take pics of the norm!! I love it!! I did it in 08 & will link some of them later in the week. :) here are the collages from the past 2 days.

Have you thought of what happens in your 'normal' daily life? Carry your camera w/you & find out!

Happy Hump Day!

We got Garden in last night! GET OUT!!!! this is the earliest we have EVER gottten the garden in the ground!! I AM GIDDY (can you tell??) LOL It was a total surprise to go over to that property (which will forever more be referred to as Ayers Lot) grumbling about having to do more clean up work (the brush has gotten out of control) & discover the garden tilled YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.. so we hustled & loaded a truck load of brush & multifloral rose, picked up our tools & headed to the tree dump. After that we swung thru Fareway for onion sets, green beans, corn & radish seeds. ahhhhhh how I love to play in the dirt!!!! love love love it!!!!!! photos to come :)

This weather is absolutely blowing me out of the routine!!! we are already on our summer schedule of playing outside all morning, w/morning snack out there, then coming in for lunch & crashing then right back outside w/another picnic for afternoon snack. altho I think I'll bum them a bit & have snack inside THEN go out. but anyway.. LOTS Of outside time & none of us were quiet ready for it so its taking some adjusting. :) currently all 8 are out COLD .. this is the first time in MONTHS I've had a totally quiet quiet-time. appreciating it!

how does your to-do list change when the weather does??

We've already done alot of work @ the Ayers Lot this week, removed the chimney from this house (removed the wood stove when we moved in but left the chimney w/false hopes of reusing it soon), we've walked almost every evening for a week, I am brainstorming flower beds @ this house as well as the veggie garden @the Ayers, I have a birdhouse I want hung, want to get hanging pot hooks for around the fence, need some hooks on the fence for their jackets & bags, need to seal said fence, want to build a bench for inside the foyer, and maybe another for the front step (while they wait for the bus), another picnic table would be nice, OH & a clothes line is a necessity!!! I need to paint my planting cupboard that's out back, its under the deck but not exactly out of the weather & made of WOOD. You most definately won't hear the word bored out of us this summer!! In our 'free time' we plan to be @ the lake every other weekend Memorial-Labor Day weekends!! yay!!!!!

So since the first of the year, I've really been sucked into blogs that reuse, upcycle, rescue, other people's 'trash'. I've been inspired yet terrified to try anything. I have created some things from the crafty blogs but nothing recycled. So while @ the Ayers Lot, I snooped around in the shed that has always been a catch all & found 4 wooden frames... hmmm I feel like I've posted about this.. ah ok.. I just checked & all I did was mention them :) so here's some photos of the frames I found.

First, here's the white/gold dude that I can't get sanded down so thinking I'll just paint him black :)

nastiness!!!! TO....................

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!! SIMPLE :) great starter project.

Wow.. they are STILL asleep!!! :) wishing I could go lounge in the sun or shut my eyes or something equally as relaxing.... oh well.. back to blog hopping!!!

YAY!!!! for FRIDAY!!!!

this is my 3rd nice easy Friday & I am definately not taking them for granted!! loving being able to finish off my to do list & leave the child care in good condition when I close up on Friday nights. So Easter is safely packed away for another year & spring has SPRUNG in our house!! :) I hope to make a couple of things in the next couple of weeks to add to it as I really don't have much besides flowers, birdhouses & pulled out the white vases + mom's yellow teapot + mom's green pitcher. Maybe I'll add some birds.. FAKE ONES! very fake ones as I have an issue w/birds in the house.. but maybe I'll find some this weekend... pics next week.

I got an AWESOME photo organizing program from Creative Memories & got it loaded yesterday. WOW!!!!!! its so fun!!!!!! I can make photo sort boxes, & files w/in those boxes for each person, place & thing in each photo then that one photo can be in each of those files!!! WHOHOOOOOOOOOOOO serious organization!!! Great for those of us that like to over organize hehe.

I made this Almond Pound Cake from Tastefully Simple last night YUMMMMMMMMMMM but I added 1/2 cup melted chocolate chips to 1 cup of batter & swirled it (need to pracatice the swirling) then topped it w/their caramel sauce YUMMMMMMM I am sure I will c it on the scale next week but it was so good :)

We are headed to the lake in the morning & then home to split wood for camping!!!!! FUN!!!!!! NOT! it is one of those jobs that I dread but then feel darn good afterward b/c I can FEEL that I did something!! :) also have a gathering of the camping crew @ the Hard Water Inn tonight, then a surprise bday party @ the Eagle's tomorrow night. YIKES!! BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!

Wishing you & yours a marvelous weekend!!!

Wow.. 3 in a row :)

OH spring!! I am sooooooooooo ready for Spring!! I am ready for flowers, farmer's market, playing in the dirt, planting, flipflops, camping, boating, ahhhhh warm weather!!!

I am really interested in joining a CSA this year. last year I toyed w/the idea but they were all full by the time I got serious. This year I am on a waiting list :) I will still be faithful to my local farmer's market & am determined to branch out & explore others nearby. Seriously cannot get enough! I liketo think I'd like it to be my full time job but I don't think I have the energy level needed for it. So I will just play w/my lil garden spot & shop the markets.

Ready for blooms!!! I love that this house came w/a ready made garden! love the lil white flowers that bloom thru the snow! & then the lil blue ones that follow.. we found 3 crocus blooms this spring in the back yard too! YAY!! The jonquils/daffodils & hyacinths I planted 2 falls ago, are blooming wonderfully! The lilac bush in back has itty bitty green buds on it as do the hydrangea bushes in the front & the iris in the back are peeking thru the dirt!! So exciting to see everything waking up after their winter nap! We are planning to expand the front flower bed around the south end of the house this year! I am dreaming of lilies, vinca, a ground cover or 2 & hoping the fire bushes we put in there will be able to wake up after their late planting. then I have 3 or 4 spots in the back yard I want to work on this year too :)

Over in the garden we are planning our regular tomato, pepper, onion, carrot, green bean, corn patch.

Good Morning Thursday!

Wow I am feeling so much better today than I have @ this time of the day in AGES! Evidently the foot pain was causing more 'pain' than I realized. Plus this is our first full week of school routine since before Christmas, maybe that has something to do w/it. Who knows. Who cares. I embrace whatever it is :) My productivity level was thru the roof yesterday. that too I embrace!

What's going on around here? in a word: ALOT

1. I am planning a trip to Cross Ministries on Saturday morning!! I have a load of things to donate! so far, 2 printers, a kitchen trash bag, & 2 boxes, AND I am adding to it daily :) both kitchens are getting decluttered one drawer, cupboard, basket @ a time. what a great feeling :) Yesterday I pulled 6!!! utensils/gadgets from a drawer that either didn't work up my expectations & got shoved to the back or just don't get used enough to justify their 'realastate' they require. then while I was cooking tacos for supper I went thru the towels, wash clothes & pot holders (I am a matchy-matchy-set girl in the kitchen) & pulled out a pile of unmatchy ones to donate :)
2. I have a Van load of cardboards to get to the recycling dumpster also Saturday morning! YAY!! I can't believe just how long I sit on some of this stuff before I finally feel free to purge. but I do love a good house purge! this weekend will be a good one! Monday will feel like a new place when I come to work (I store the recycling in the nursery & almost have a pack-n-play full. WOW)
3. I am ready to start planning the spring planting!! We want to finish the front/south flower beds & I hope to start a low maintenence one in the north/west corner of the back yard. All along w/our ever growing veggie garden @ the other property. I am also planning a more organized way of composting here & transporting to the other property. I think I have convinced him to get a bin over there instead of just throwing it on the ground. :)
4. Tim is all ready to get back to the lake! camping & boating mmmmmmmmmm warmer weather! CAN'T WAIT!
5. BUT UNTIL THEN, we have our Valentine's/birthday get away! YAY! count down has started & in full planning mode-ready to pack LOL
6. *I* can't work out for 2 more weeks so I am seriously kicking the water's A$$!!! Yesterday I chugged OVER 96OZ!!!!!!!!!!! whohooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo THAT felt GOOD!! hmmmmm maybe that has something to do w/how good I feel this morning?! hmmmm ya THINK?? water water water... that's my theme this week along w/asking how good is 'this' for my body BEFORE it goes in. (minus the brownie I inhaled last night hehe but honestly, it was my ONLY splurge for the day!)
7. Now that the temps have gotten up out of the dangerous range, the kids have gotten back out to play in the snow! AND LOVING IT!!!!!
8. I hope to get some new curtains hung in the child care this weekend & dying to start painting the unfinished sheetrock wall. Its that time of winter when I NEED change or updating in my surroundings to fight off depression/burn out. We are baking & cooking new recipes, decluttering, getting things hung on the walls, deep cleaning, moving things around & changing things up(curtains, pillows, sheets, etc). I am so thankful I learned how to take care of myself & our relationship by detecting this oncoming feeling & learning how to combat it! What a sad state I (& our relationship) was in before this knowledge!

WOW that was a lot of info you probably didn't care to know. Sorry. I hope to have a similarly productive day today & wish the same for you!!

consistantly inconsistant!

I am nothing if not inconsistant w/myself & my standards for myself. I preach consistancy for the children in my care, I do everything possible to keep myself & their surroundings consistant day to day-makes everything so much smoother when we all know what to expect & when it should happen! however.. my consistancy to myself leaves much to be desired!! I want to drop 20# & be comfortable in my jeans-not to mention skin- again & I went gung-ho in January after that goal w/upping my water intake & Wii Fit time, monitoring every morsel that crossed my lips, & being all around ACCOUNTABLE... however.... february has been month for a different story. I cannot tell you when I was last on the Fit -it will I am sure exclaim its shock & dismay when I do finally get back to it-& my water intake has dropped from 80-100 oz/day to 40-60oz. I am back to relying on caffeine as an added boost almost daily, I haven't been baking daily or even weekly, OMG! I SUCK this month!! I have no good excuses either .. just that I've been lazy about it. extremely lazy. my bad! SO w/a new month entering the picture SOON, I have officially registered on the Sisterhood site & am sticking this cutey pie blinkie sticker thingy up here to announce to all that I am really & truely going to work harder in March than February :)

isn't she cute? I would love to be able to do that pose!

On that note I am going to acknowledge here & now that March is going to be a busy month! It will be full of birthdays, training days, paperwork, worktime visitors, a wrestling meet, finishing up yoga class second session *sniffle*, a flower & plant show/sale, sorting thru outside toys & deciding what will be replaced & what just won't, planning flower & veggie gardens, getting the boat out of storage & other of the like-those are just off the top of my head.

I did get out & walked last night-seriously amazed @ how much damage a month 'off' does! I went 2 blocks that's it! @ a decent clip & was surprised to 'hear from my muscles' in my legs! the walk back was awesome.. after dark couldn't see my breath AHHHHH SPRING!!! I slept the best in ages (on a non-yoga night)!

a completely different topic: GUS. our 14 y/o boston. all of my years of bragging about 'playing w/the kids & their toys but getting to sleep all night' (the way I have jusified doing child care in our home w/o having our own children for 13 yrs) has come back to bite me (ha funny). Gus has developed a habit of needing to potty in the middle of the NIGHT! HELLO?? what the heck? & Tim is not friendly upon waking soooooo I get up & take him out -looking thru slits the whole time to make going back to sleep easier. I am finding myself mentally running thru the next day sometimes while waiting for him LOL other times I realize I have dozed off & he's barking to be let in :) thankfully everyone else in the neighborhod is still sleeping w/their windows shut so they don't get bothered by him. :)) he got an official clean bill of health from Dr. Judy yesterday so we are just dealing w/it.

so anyway... its taken 3 sittings to get this typed so I will quit rambling :) have a great sunshiny day :)