Party Pooper

So, every party has a pooper, right? You know what I mean. There's always that one person who is a kill-joy, that doesn't want to go along with the group, or who sits and sulks because something didn't go their way. Some party poopers don't have a clue that they are pooping on everyone else's parade. However a true party pooper knows what they are and doesn't care! I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit, this weekend I might be a party pooper.

Here's the deal. My mother in law will be 89 on April 12th. This past year has been a very tumultuousness one for her, full of illness and lots of changes. Right now she appears to be over the hump and back up on the good side of the mountain. Her grand-daughter-in-law decided we should all join in to help her celebrate another year of life by honoring her with a surprise birthday dinner. Part of the surprise is the party is three days before her actual birthday. She won't have a clue when her caretakers take her to dinner tomorrow night that she will be walking into a room filled with loved ones. Especially sweet will be the presence of her middle son, his wife and daughter, and his two granddaughters, who are driving up from Florida to attend the party.

We will be meeting at Red Lobster, one of Alice's favorite restaurants. We've had many family dinners at this restaurant so it only seems right that it is where we will end up there for her birthday celebration. Here's a scrapbook page from 1999 when we ate there. Please don't judge the page, it's before I really figured out the whole scrapbooking thing. The journaling on the page reads:  An annual event in May as the Fraziers and Stettlers get together to celebrate Ken & Alice's anniversary and Ken's birthday. Remember the year Grandpa found a crab leg under his chair? dated May 22, 1999

(Side note: funny thing about my MIL, she goes by many different names: Mother, Mary Alice, Alice, Mawmaw, Grandma, Gigi .... it seems like everyone has their own special way of addressing the matriarch of the family. The current favorite is Gigi - this name was given to her when her great-grandson Jonathan was born. It was his way of shortening Great Grandma. Corky and Frank, who are her caregivers have taken up calling her Gigi and many other family members are now deferring to that new endearment.)

Peaches, the grand-daughter-in-law who is spearheading this event, has made a request to all the family. She wants everyone to bring a photo of themselves to present to Gigi (see, even I am calling her that now). I believe the plan is for Peaches to put all the photos together into a scrapbook for her so that she will have something to flip through and enjoy.

Here's the part where I am the party pooper. I HATE having my picture taken. It starts with posing which makes me feel very uncomfortable. When I feel uncomfortable I tend to start babbling ... photos of people talking seldom look good. If I'm not babbling I'm making some goofy face. Again, not for the most photogenic results. And then there's the fact that I am way over weight, which makes me feel uncomfortable knowing that me, in all my fatness, will be forever captured for all to see. People tell me to smile. I can't do it. All I can think of is my crooked lips. And don't even think about showing teeth - we just won't go there.

Prime example: everyone here looks happy except me,   well Steve looks a little serious ... but me? I look I have a bad case of gas. Face it, I'm just not photogenic.

All this adds up to is there are very few photos of me available. And the ones that exist make me look like an idiot. Consequently, I don't have a photo of me to share with Gigi, at least not one that I want to see in her scrapbook.

My husband suggested using this one that was taken two years ago at my cousin's wedding.  It's a great photo of him. And Ian. And Andrew. But then there is me .... ugh! I promise you that is NOT an attempt at a smile, it's me talking through my teeth "get this over with, take the picture dang it!"  Add to it that it was 101* outside and I had been melting for about two hours. Note the flat, stringy hair. And that dress - what was I thinking? Can we say "fat arms"?

There's this photo, also taken in 2009. Look at those chubby cheeks, and again with the chubby arms. Why do I keep wearing tops which show my flabby arms? Oh yeah, it's because I cannot stand being HOT! If I weren't so fat I'd just around naked all the time in order to cool off. Of course I wouldn't be hot all the time if I weren't so fat. Hmmmm, what's the answer here?

I found the last two professional family portraits we had taken but I'm thinking they're a little too old to use. This one was taken in 1994. Look how wittle the boys are. Ian has quite the comb over and Andrew looks like a mischievous little elf. I want to pinch those cheeks.  Look at all the dark head and facial hair Dale has. Look at those humongous glasses I have on, nice hair though. Wish it were that thick and dark now! I just look so serious, prim and proper, gah!

This photo was taken in 1998  I was beginning to get pudgy here and look at all that hair. I was however, actually smiling in the photo and looking half way normal. There's my sweetie without facial hair, looking HOT (and I don't mean in a bad way!)  The pics of the boys aren't that great. I remember I was so mad at them when this was taken. It was for our church directory and they had spent the hour before outside playing with friends. Andrew looks like a little sweat ball and Ian desperately needs his hair combed. Also, this was the time period where Ian was sporting a huge gap between his two front teeth. Unlike David Letterman, his teeth finally grew together. Of course nowadays it's seems to be quite the thing to have a gap there. I've even read of people purposely creating one. How stupid is that?

I just don't think either of these two family photos is what Peaches is asking for though so I decided to create my own, one where we look like one big, happy family. What do you think, will it pass snuff for Gigi's scrapbook? 'cause if not, I don't have a photograph to bring and I will be the party pooper.

That Darn Cat

I kept hearing this rustling noise and couldn't figure out what it was. Since the back door has been open a lot lately I decided I better get up and investigate just to make sure there isn't an unwanted critter somewhere in my house.

Well, it's a critter alright - just a domestic one. She thinks she's a goddess. I think she's a pain in ....never mind, no need for specifics. She is a CAT though, and everyone knows how I love the kitties.

Evidently Spunky didn't think I was paying bills fast enough and thought she should help out. This mess is what I found. .

Or perhaps, knowing her, she could care less about the bills and was, in reality, just trying to find a place to hunker down.  Really missy, you're a small kitty but you are NOT that small. You will NOT fit into that space, no matter how hard you try.

And for all of you who notice the details .... yes, we do play the lottery.  Not that it's done us any good. Some times we only have one or two numbers. Most times not any. But that doesn't stop us from trying.

I figure as long as we are paying our bills and eating it can't hurt to play every once in awhile. And let's not forget "the most fun a dollar can buy" is helping to put thousands of kids through college. Of course mine don't get the Hope $$ because they chose to go to school out of state.

There's also the added fun of playing the game "what will be do with all that money when we win the big one?" So far that list is long and constantly changing.

For now we haven't won but you never know tomorrow might be the day. We can always hope :)

Meanwhile the Goddess has settled down. She's found a nice comfy spot for her afternoon nap.  I am a little nervous though, she sure is giving me the stink eye!

Day 2 of the big yard cleanup

When I last blogged I told you my grand plans for more yard improvements. As noted on this photo the plans were as follows:

1. get rid of the ugly bushes
2. create a flower bed under the windows
3. purchase some hanging baskets to hang on the crook
4. get rid of the rotting address sign

And while I didn't note it Saturday, I also planned to cut down all the annoying tiny pine trees that have sprung up in the side and front yard. Before I got started I took some before shots.

 

 It may not seem like many but believe me, looks can be deceiving. I stopped counting after #50 dropped! 

Here's what it looks like now.    Now, if I were a professional yard person I would have gotten rid of the downed trees but I just left them where they dropped. Hey, I'm not getting paid for this job! Along with that cleanup what's really needed is for someone to go out there and pick up all the stupid pine cones laying on the ground. And yes, pine comes are stupid. Have you ever seen a pine cone go to college, get a job, or be recognized for a Nobel Peace prize?

Dale and I have always said that we wish someone would come up with a mechanical pine cone picker-upper. Even better, maybe we should invent it ourselves and retire on all the money that would come rolling in. 

Anywho, doesn't that look a lot better?  I can't wait for the mimosa tree to start getting it's leaves because it's looking pretty naked right now. Theres also a second one, there on the right, that I might go ahead and cute down. At the moment it's looking pretty forlorn.

I must go on the record here and admit to the world that my husband despises those mimosa trees. If he had his way they'd all be gone. I love their southern charm and refuse to part with them. It's just one of those things that we've agreed to compromise on ... I get my mimosa trees and he gets fed a home cooked meal at least twice a week. Sounds like a fair deal to me!  

In a perfect world, I will create a flower bed surrounding the mimosa. I should probably also come up with something to camouflage those tree stumps. Jackson EMC left them a few years ago when they chopped down a couple of  line-offending pine trees. It was a free cut so I guess I can't complain about the leftover stumps however unsightly they are. 

There's one major stumbling block to living in this perfect world. Well, actually there are two, no, THREE stumbling blocks. First, flower beds aren't cheap. All the flowers, potting soil, mulch, etc. cost money. And unfortunately, with all the trees on our property not one of them is a money tree. 

Second, thinking about all the physical activity it will require to create this flower bed is causing me to cringe. Right now every muscle in my body is screaming. My joints are aching, and my nose is sunburned. I'm just not sure I'm up to the job at the moment. Which leads me to my third point. 

If a flower bed is created it must be maintained. Hello! It's me, Sherri, we're talking about here. Mrs. Brown Thumb. Weeding, watering, inspirational talks ... these are not my strong suits. I try to do the right thing and can usually keep it up for awhile. But, as the weather gets warmer my sense of obligation begins to wane and before you know it, the greenery turns brown, colors fade, petals droop, weeds abound and suddenly I'm whining "who's idea was this anyway?"

At the moment, the verdict is still out on a flower beds. Time will tell.

Meanwhile let's travel on up the driveway and see how the girls are progressing.

Tacy has three blooms. Betsy however,  is still refusing to put out. I guess that makes her a good girl, huh?

Lila  is coming of age. And Bella .... well Bella is quite the floozy.

  She's definitely strutting her stuff!

Around the corner, what do we have here?  Yay! Those ugly little bushes are GONE! As is the cute little sign that was looking much too worse for the wear. 

It's hard to see but it has Bible scripture on it.  Joshua 24:15 "But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD"  I hate to take it down but it's really looking rough. Maybe I can think of something else to replace it.

 Woohoo! Look at that shrub and bush free zone. Wouldn't it look great with a flower bed? Oops. There I go again with the flower bed.

I know what would really make it look great - a front porch! I've always wanted one. With rocking chairs or a porch swing. What do you think? Do you think I could convince the husband how grand that would look? I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to build. Surely if he can build this  he can build a little front porch. Ya think?? Meanwhile I think I'll go out and buy a few hanging baskets. Right after I finish soaking my feet and sitting on the heating pad. Oh, my aching back!

A couple of weeks ago I decided that it was time to clear out part of the jungle in our front yard. It's not that I don't like the jungle because I do like the privacy that it gives us and it also helps keep the cooling bill down in the summer. However despite all  the greenery, it just looks totally unkempt as you can tell from these photos taken last fall..

We have zero curb appeal and in fact, from Spring until Fall you can barely even see our house from the street.

There's not a whole lot we can do about the very front. There are more than a dozen huge pine trees there that would cost a fortune to have removed. Covering the ground in the midst of the pine isle are bushes, sticker-vines, poison oak, and who knows what else. Some Round Up might help, but I'm thinking gallons would be needed and who's got that kind of money? No me. And frankly, if I did I would rather spend it on a week at the beach than on killing weeds!

Here's a view looking from the house towards the street.

Another month or so of spring growth and you won't even be able to see the street.

As I said, I've been wanting to do a major cleanup for a couple of weeks but life, mother nature, and other commitments kept getting in the way.  This morning I finally said enough is enough, today is the day, no excuses. I even managed to browbeat convince my husband to jump on the band wagon and help out.

It's amazing what two people, a saw, some hedge clippers, and whole lot of determination can accomplish. Look! There's a house there and it even has windows!


There's still a whole lot of pine straw and frankly I'm not so sure what to do with it. We've tried before to grow grass here but have never had much luck. Not to mention, as long as we have those ding-dang pine trees there's always going to be pine straw falling



It always amazes me that people go out and pay good money for this stuff and I have a plethora of it falling down around me. It's pretty deep too. If we were to rake it all up into a pile I know it would be higher than the house. And no, honey, no matter what you say, we are NOT going to burn it. Remember last time? The Last Big Burn



Right now I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the view.



and I might consider all the possibilities of additional things to do.



It's spring break so I have free time to do some work. Of course there's also the scrapbooking that's calling my name. And, the walls on Ian's room are screaming to be painted. There's also the floor in the dining room that desperately needs to be fixed and since we can't afford to tile right now, the plan is remove the paint that's there (what were we thinking?) and hope for the best.

The big question is ..... what task should I tackle first? Which job(s) will be the easiest, take the less time, and cause fewer aching muscles and a sore back.... cause you know what, a couple of hours of yard work today and I am so sore I can barely move! We won't talk about old age and being out of shape. We're just going to pop a few tylenol, sit with a heating pad, and chalk it up to a job well done.

I got ROSES last night! 

My husband ... he's a keeper.

One step closer

Yesterday I took another step towards getting back into scrapbooking. I cleared out space in what was first known as the Scrap Room, then the Sewing Room, and shall now be referred to as simply MY ROOM. 

Husband's computer got booted (hehe, get it - booted?) to the desk in the dining room, a new layer of butcher block on the table top for doodling and designing, totes of memorabilia and photos located, stacked and ready.

I don't have the paper organization that I had before. This  
will have to do for now.

Obviously I have plenty of paper. Markers, pens, chalks, stamps, etc have been sitting around patiently waiting on me to return.

I still have plenty of embellishments.
Hopefully I have enough adhesives to get started, something I need to check on.

Since I haven't scrapped in so long who knows what new products are out there now. However, I must refrain from spending much money. I really need to use up what I have first.

Both boys albums are pretty full so I will need to get new ones. I will have to decide whether to continue with 3-ring binders (I don't think Michaels is still carrying my brand or the page protectors) or switch over to strap hinge. I also need to decide if I want to continue in 12x12 or switch back to 8.5 x 11. The smaller size won't hold as many photos but it's easier for scanning and sharing here on the blog.  I will also need to decide if I am  going to scrap in any kind of order ie by date, by kid, by event, etc.

Lot's of decisions to make but I'm determined to not get overwhelmed by it all, to simply work and enjoy myself while doing so. I also need to stop thinking and talking about it and JUST DO IT!

Twenty-four years and counting

Twenty-four years ago I married my sweetheart, a man that I had only known for sixty-six days .... and forty-nine of those days we lived fours hours apart. Some people thought we were crazy, a few worried that we were headed for disaster, and a couple secretly placed bets on whether or not the marriage would last. Hopefully by now everyone knows that this is the real thing, a union pre-destined by God and blessed beyond measured.


 We only gave our families one weeks notice for the impending nuptials. Dale's parents were visiting from Ohio and we knew we wanted his dad to perform the ceremony. We decided it needed to be this trip because we had no idea when they would be back down here and we didn't want to wait!
 Obviously I was focusing on my happy husband and not that someone was taking my photograph. Otherwise, I would have been making a goofy face. I hate having my picture taken.
 Don't we look happy?! I bet we were really looking at each other and saying "what a crazy pose, will they ever stop with the cameras?"

 We are gathered together before God and our witnesses .... Maid of Honor and Best Man. Frances was my best friend and roommate in college and afterwards. Ken was a friend that Dale made after moving to Atlanta. His bestest buddies, Sam and David, weren't invited to the wedding because .... well, we only had a week's notice!
 Here we are with the obligatory cutting of the cake photo. While every wedding must have a cake, what I really wanted for our reception were those cheese wafers. Man I love those things and you usually only get them at weddings, why is that?

The top layer of the cake was saved, to be brought out for our first anniversary. Imagine our dismay when we took it out of the freezer and it turned to mush. Thankfully the marriage has survived much better!
 We vowed to civilized when it came to feeding the cake.
 No face smashes allowed here, though that was a pretty big piece there, bub.
 We opened gifts. I learned real quick that it is a Frazier tradition that after each gift is opened you have to have your picture taken holding the item up for show. For the record, I hate this tradition! The gift was a much needed cookbook. I can't remember who gave it to us but obviously they knew me well and that I needed all the help I could get. I still pull that thing out regularly, so if you are the gifter .... thanks so much!
 Here's a shot of us with our parents. How come I'm the only one who looks halfway happy in this shot? And wow! Look at the size of those glasses being worn. Thank goodness that style is no longer the fashion.
 Dale, surrounded by the women of his life. Good luck buddy!
 My family. It looks like whoever (whomever? where's my English major husband when I need him?) took this photo was laying on the ground - no, there was no alcohol involved at this event.
 Dale's family minus the Connecticut branch. Look how wittle the nieces and nephews are. Rebecca actually had the chicken pox and for the most part was quarantined from the rest of the guests.

So there you have it. The beginning of twenty-four years and counting.


We been through a lot - four homes, two kids, six cats, two dogs, two churches, six jobs, two job losses, several years of pre-school, four years of public school, ten years of homeschool, six automobiles, numerous additions :) and subtractions :( of extended family members, countless friends, and unending blesses from above. And through it all, we are still going strong and looking forward to the years to come.

And for the record - my mother was so afraid when we announced that we were getting married in a week's time, that people would gossip. No worries, nine months later the joke was on them - we had a speedy marriage because we couldn't wait to start our lives together...and since then, there's been NO regrets!