AFCVP

I am going to join the AFCVP (American Flag Code Violation Police).

I am not an ultra-patriotic, "thank you, Congress for passing the health care bill, you do the for the people part of the Constitution so well", American, but why in heck do people / businesses that fly the American flag get away with flying a tattered and torn flag?

A Peaceful Country Morning

I am up early and the morning is beautiful  I am enjoying my coffee and quiet time outside on the patio.

Until I was disturbed by the dog who lives in back of us barking.  And barking.  And barking.

This was really starting to annoy me.  And it isn’t even 7am yet.  Do people not hear their dogs barking?

Randy ventured outside to say “Good morning, Sweetheart.  I hope you slept well.  Can I get you more coffee?”

Okay, maybe that was a bit over the top for Randy first thing in the morning.  Morning person, he’s not.

A Tiny Bit of Redemption

I suck at taking good pictures indoors. I think I have the outdoor action shots down. Last night we were at Will’s game and even though I had to take pictures through the chain link fence, I am very happy with them. I worked hard at composition and used the very helpful advice from Jon. He suggested that I not zoom all the way in on the kids. That way, I would be more likely not to cut off the tip of the bat or a foot. Pictures could then be cropped around the kids. And cropping is the one thing I can do in PhotoShop Elements like nobodies business.

Raisin Bran Bread

I don't like eggs.  Eggs are nasty, gross and repulsive.  And more.  When I was a kid, I mostly ate cold cereal for breakfast.  I can remember being in the cereal isle at the grocery store every Friday and picking out my box of cereal.  Quisp was the BEST.

The Fire Ant Game

Texas has a lot of fire ants.  These critters are everywhere.  There is no getting rid of them and they are here to stay.  We all play a game called 'Let's Chase the Fire Ants Next Door'.  You may think that you win the game every so often, but you never, ever get rid of the ants.

I Adore My...

...New Purse!

My new purse is a Mother's Day gift from Shaun, Cristy, Will and Sammy.  I love it.  It is just the right size - not too big, not too small.  They picked it out because they know that I like purses and the color orange.  This purse is kind of orange, without being too orange.

Orange is my favorite color, but there are just some things that aren't meant to be orange.  Cars, for instance.  (Inferno Orange on the new Camaro is nice, though).  Everyday handbags for middle-aged grandmas are another.

Reality Television

I watch reality shows.  Dancing with the Stars, The Amazing Race, Survivor.  I admit it.  There are some that I don't care for, like Big Brother, The Biggest Loser or 'The Real Housewives of...' series.  No interest in those at all.  The Real Housewives of... shows are a bit too risqué for my puritan sensibilities.

Nobody Wins

I have varying degrees of both faith and inside knowledge that a chapter in the book of my life will be closed soon.  I have been eagerly waiting for our mail carrier everyday this week in hopes that paperwork that will arrive that will be the sign of 'The End'.  Or at least the 'Beginning of The End'.

This has been going on for about 4-1/2 years.  Though, if I allowed myself to be honest with myself, I could precisely mark the beginning as July 31, 2002.  But I really don't want to be honest with myself right now. 

Birthday Ewes and Hippos

A few days ago it was Cristy's (# th birthday.  I put her age in code.  I'm not going to be the one who tells the entire inter-web her age.

I sent her this touching, sentimental graphic that I designed using my Print Shop 2 program.

Laptops Don't Like Coffee

Here's a helpful hint:  If your computer is moving too slow for you, refrain from helping it out with a dose of caffeine.

Yesterday morning, before I was even down one cup of coffee, I managed to spill said coffee over the keyboard on my laptop.

This is annoying for a couple of reasons.  Obviously, I don't want to damage the laptop.  That goes without saying. 

I am particularly annoyed at the waste of my precious morning coffee.

Is Something Burning?

That is probably not the question that Randy wanted to ask me this morning.  

And he probably didn't want to hear me say, "Why, yes, Honey, something is burning."

I have a penchant for office supplies.  I share this penchant with my friend, Jon.  I love sticky notes, paper and notebooks and my personal favorite, pens.  The more pens, the better.  The more colors, the better.  Gel pens, ink pens, highlighters.  I love 'em.

Rocks in My Pockets

It has been windy here.  Very windy.  It's normal, much to Randy's dismay, to have the wind blow on a regular basis here.  But the last few days have been the kind of days that one needs to carry rocks in their pockets to make sure one doesn't blow away.

Which is unfortunate, because I have found it quite difficult to find much for rocks here.  Clay, yes, rocks, not so much.

Batting 50%

I gave myself two photography assignments this past weekend.

The first one was to learn how to take action pictures. Will had a baseball game on Saturday afternoon.  The perfect situation to test out the settings on the camera to take pictures of moving subjects and Will and Sammy are the only things in my life that move quick enough to worry about blurring.  I am pleased to say that I am (almost) very happy with the results.

Bob Costas and Photoshop

Not everybody knows of my fondness for Bob Costas.  I think he is cute and funny.  It used to be Jeff Renner.  Ya'll from Seattle will know who Jeff Renner is.  I still remember exactly where I was when I got a call from my friend, Laurie telling me that KING-5 had brought him back.  But Bob replaced Jeff in my heart some time ago.

"If You Don't Stop Doing That, You're Going to Get Hurt"

Randy and I have been married for 23 years today.  I know he loves me.  Know why?  Because he told me once.  He also told me once that my hair looks nice, that I am not fat and I am a good cook.

He also said that if any of that changes, he'd let me know.

Sugar - It's Such Goodness

Every morning I give up sugar.  Every morning I tell myself:

"Self, no more cookies.  No more candy. No more eating sugar with a spoon out of the canister."

Well, I don't go that far.  Unless it's brown sugar.  But I love all things sugar.  I would gladly eat something filled with sugary goodness than 'real' food.

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

I have wanted to try a recipe for Roasted Red Pepper soup that I found in a magazine.  The trouble is, Randy isn't a big fan of soup.  I thought I would be able to tempt him with adding a toasted cheese sandwich.  And to pass the soup off as tomato soup.  He wasn't falling for it.

Baby Bunnies

I was out walking on Friday afternoon and the neighbor around the corner, Bill, showed me the baby rabbits that were in his yard.  He uncovered the fuzzies on top of the nest and was poking around at them.  It looked like there were about 6 babies in there. 

When I Take Over My World

For many years I have kept notes on a subject for a book. The book would be called "When I Take Over the World". It was to be collection of pet peeves that I had, and some how, some way, when I had control, I could fix these and all would be right with my world.