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Friday, August 31, 2007

TGIF

Thursday was out the door busy for me. I was on the go from the moment I woke up until I went to sleep that night. So yes it really is a TGIF for me!

I started off with wanting to "pop in" at the Thrift Shop for an hour to help out and ended up staying for 4 hours. I was having a a lot of fun and the time passed so quickly that I didn't notice how long I had actually been there until I looked at my watch.

Our OSC function went fairly well- there were a few glitches along the way but they were quickly taken care of. I enjoyed having volunteer organizations from the Rapid City area speak at our function, I hope that they received some sign ups. I was so busy with so many other things pertaining to the function that I did not get to really check out their tables. However- I was approached by one charity about heading up their Ice Cream Social event- I felt bad in turning her down - I just can not squeeze in one more volunteer gig and not have my home life suffer. I'm so stretched as it is with my volunteering, but yet I feel bad and want to help- why am I like that? I do see how people can make a full time job at being a volunteer- I'm living proof of it happening with my own self.

So today I'm getting things together for an HOA newsletter, tidying up my house and then maybe just maybe I might sit down relax and read a book.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

My life...or something like it

Simply Busy...That's how it's been around here, nothing more nothing less. I don't understand how people can be bored when there is always something that needs to be done...be it sweep the floor, vacuum carpet, make the beds, wash clothes or what ever. Granted, these are things that no one really enjoys doing but they need to be done none the less.

Yesterday was a very full very busy day for me. Besides doing all the things one does to take care of their family and household there's my volunteering at the base thrift shop, doing some things as Programs Director for OSC Which seems to be taking over the rest of my week. So after a full day of OSC stuff there was picking up our youngest from middle school, going grocery shopping and fixing my family and tasty and nutritious dinner- one that didn't include a lot of preparation or clean up. Alas nothing truly gourmet about the meal as it was a few slices of honey ham lunch meat with melted American cheese in a croissant and a bowl of soup. I had 4 more phone calls to contend with all while trying to prepare dinner and then I ate and went to bed.

I'm so glad that I'm going to be a home body today. To catch up on things around here. Which reminds me I need to call the sanitation companies and see when company "a" is picking up their trash cans and company "b" when they will be delivering their trash cans.

Okay folks...I need to say something....I envy all of you that can "sleep in". The only time I can do that is when I am sick. Other than that I'm up early, very early! My friends are amazed that I just wake up by 5 am, but to be honest most times I'm awake much earlier than that. Maybe it's because I try to cram so much stuff into a day. By the time my children and husband are awake I've gotten a load or two of laundry done, ironed many items and have cleaned either the kitchen or a bathroom -we have 3 and trust me when I say that one of them always needs cleaning, LOL! I've already straightened up the family room, finished putting away the groceries from yesterday (you know...the items that my family has no idea where they go are always left for me to put away), fed the cat gave some fresh veggies to the little bunny that's spending the night in our house and sent a girlfriend and e-mail. All of this BEFORE 5 am.

It's time to turn on the coffee pot and kick it into gear. I've got paperwork to read over and reports to write up- yes, it's more OSC stuff that needs to get done.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Pearls of Wisdom...

Have you ever wondered what that little saying means or is? Well it's actually a list of life's little lessons and great quotes that ring true.

Here are some of my favorites, enjoy!

How can you expect to see eye to eye with people when you look down upon them.

Live a good life and in the end it's not the years in a life but the life in the years that count.

Character- Be true to your work your words and your friends.

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Most folks are as happy as they make their minds up to be.

Whether we bring our enemies to justice or justice to our enemies, justice will be done.

The strength of our nation is based on the strength of our families.

Success is liking yourself, liking what you do and liking how you do it.

The Rapid City Central States Fair

Hannah and I did pretty good at the Fair this year. Hannah entered 5 photographs and came out with three 2nd place ribbons and two first place ribbons...not to shabby I dare say! I entered 6 photographs and only one of them won a ribbon...my white roses won a 3rd place ribbon. I feel pretty good about it, you should have seen the other photo's in the competition...they were really good!

Now my stamping is not up to the level of some of the other competitor's...these ladies are what I call "hard core" stampers, LOL! They eat, sleep and breathe stamping! I came out with "5" 3rd place ribbons, "3" 2nd place ribbons and "1" 1st place ribbon. Scrapbooking is where my light truly had shown...I came out of there with "8" 2nd place ribbons and "9" 1st place ribbons PLUS the top two ribbons..."Best in Show" and the coveted "Judges Choice". Do I feel honored, why yes I most certainly do! I'll be posting pictures of the award winning items over on http://mylooklookbook.blogspot.com in just a few minutes...once I get the pictures uploaded to my computer then transferred over to the web site. Oh how I love the modern world! Where would we be without instant gratification, LOL!

Water...or the lack of it

With all of the rain we're having you're probably wondering what I'm talking about with my post title today. Well yesterday there was a wee bit of a problem out here...a water main broke and it left our subdivision without water for a better part of the day. Hannah was the smart one and she took a shower Saturday night leaving the rest of us to shower in the morning before church. Well...I'm first to get up and surprise, the water is running at a slow trickle-oh oh something is wrong! At first we thought that we had the sprinkler system running and that is why we had zero water pressure. Later on in the morning we find out that a water main broke. It wasn't until almost 3pm until it was finally fixed and the water back on to our homes. Needless to say, we did NOT go to church, I refuse to go to church stinky!

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Rain...

I remember the little saying that my sister and I used to chat as kids on rainy days...Rain rain go away, come back another day. Now that I'm an adult and a home owner with a new lawn, I'm saying bring on the rain! And as much as I sympathised with my neighbors having to lay down sod in the rain I also was thinking...WooHoo FREE water for the yard!

The baby bunnies in the backyard and growing bigger every day. Their eyes are now open and then are getting to be quite good at hopping around the yard. They are so soft and sweet looking, today (weather permitting) I'll go out and take some pictures of them.

Hannah and her Fire Bellied Toads- well little did we know that crickets stink. Yup they certainly do! My little girl has a horrific smell coming from her terrarium and it's all because of those silly insects that her toads have to eat. The toads themselves do not smell but their live food does (go figure). I've tried Oust and it works for a little while. Maybe if I sprayed it directly on the crickets they'd stop being so darn stinky, LOL! But alas that's not right so today I'm going to get a strong smelling Yankee Candle and burn it for a few hours in Hannah's bedroom.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Happy Friday

It's the end of the work week...for most people.

I have to say it...Our neighborhood is looking good! Our neighbor and his wife are laying down sod today...I feel badly for them as it just started raining - and a pretty good down pour at that! Another neighbor (and very good friend) is finishing a room in the lower level of their house this weekend. Home improvement projects abound out here!

Our garage is almost cleared out- I've got the minivan stuffed with bags of recyclable matter to drop off on base before I head over to the Thrift Shop. I can hardly wait until I no longer have to cart that stuff on base and can recycle it right here in our own neighborhood!

Speaking of the Thrift Shop...what a blast we had yesterday! When I looked at my watch and it was 1:30- wow did the day go by FAST! We laughed all day long, enjoyed the company of good friends and rearranged merchandise to make it sell better. We're making a summer clearance rack and everything is going to be 25¢ I hope that it all sells quickly because I do not want to be packing it away for next year.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

The 1st day of school

Usually I'm happy when the 1st day of school comes around but today I'm kind of melancholy about the whole thing. As my children drove off to school this morning -no more bus for them since Andrew got his drivers license back in May, I thought to myself... Andrew is a Sophomore in High School and Hannah in the 7th grade this year, we only have 3 more years with Andrew before he goes off to college. I got kind of sad thinking about our boy going off to college. And me having PMS today isn't helping that feeling go away either, Grrr!

I have the new signage made and ready to go for the Thrift Shop- we're trying a new point of sale pricing system. Once items are on the Thrift side of the store we're going to make it easy on ourselves with the pricing. I truly enjoy having Heidi as our Thrift Shop manager, she's doing such an awesome job with the store and has many terrific ideas. I love the direction she's taking with the store- it looks fantastic and it's really become organized (something wasn't going on before she took over).

As far as the panic attack I had with not having the photo's on the layout from January...I printed them up -I can't begin to tell you how much I LOVE having a photo printer at home! I've got the layouts done, I just need the name of one person and I'm DONE!!! Whew! I'm glad that THAT monkey is off of my back!

Now to work on getting the place cards made for the OSC activities function next week. That should be easy enough, I just need to know which organizations will be there and the different chairs for our activity groups within our club...you know- like Scrapbooking, Lunch Bunch, Stitch-n-Gab, Book Club, Gourmet Club and so forth. I also need to make up some sign up sheets for the groups that I'm chairing.

Nervous Breakdown- have NOT had one yet, LOL! So I think that God knows something about myself that I didn't- that I can do all of these volunteer duties, have a home life and get it all done. I just need to manage my time better and not stress out about the little things.

I'm off to have more coffee and get a couple of things done before I'm off to work!

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Monday was BUSY!

I usually look forward to Mondays, and I started out optimistic about this one...but yesterday was something else! It was one thing after another...

From doing returns to buying fire bellied toads with my daughter to getting a home owners association news letter written, printed and delivered-whew! By 9pm I was falling into bed.

Now strange things happened along the way to make this not feel like the best of days...One of my girlfriends is going through a very tough time right now (her husband is currently away on a deployment). She broke down in tears while with me and let it out how hard it's been on her, I started crying just listening to her. I made sure to talk to her at length on Sunday and on Monday I wrote and sent to her some words of encouragement. I know how hard it can be along with the needs of ones children (and she has 6 of them) and no one coming home in the evening to tell you about their day and you about your day. Having been there a few times myself I know what it means to have a friend call or send little note cards that contain messages of encouragement. Letting you know that they are thought of and are loved by people who are not their immediate family. I've got to send her a snail mail card today too.

Okay then there's dinner time...I pull out a couple of frozen pizzas put them in the oven...no problem right? Okay I pull them out and wonder why is this one so tough to cut through? Well I have to say that this was the first time I ever baked a frozen pizza with the cardboard! Was my mind some place else? Yes it most certainly was! I thought that the funky smoke smell was from all of the smoke and haze in the air from the wild fire burning in Wyoming (we have a lot of smoke and haze and the air smells like it too). But alas...that was actually the cardboard being baked and burnt in my oven. I was shaking my head...I still can't believe that I did that.

Speaking of my mind being someplace else...I have no idea what has happened to the pictures/layouts from our chef's bingo back in January. So now I have to get more pictures printed and recreate this layout. Funny thing is...I gave the prototype away to the former base commander and his wife- eek!!! So there's THAT I have to contend with. I must be out of my ever loving mind...to think that I have misplaced those photo's...I'm so upset with myself that I could hardly focus on anything else- that's probably why the cardboard was baked with the pizza, LOL!

So yesterday was one thing after another that got me stressed out...this morning I feel refreshed and renewed. Does it bother me that after 3 hours in my craft room that I still couldn't locate the pictures with the embellishments? Yes, but it's not as thought I couldn't re-make them. So that is what I will be doing this afternoon.

I'm trying to organize the program for next week. People have until the 23rd to get their reservations to either myself or Kim the 1st VP. So far it seems like there will only be 3 charities coming to our event...there are a few more days until our cut off. Which reminds me, I need to call the club and tell them Turkey on the hot dogs, and change the date on the December function. Heck, I've got to set up 2 tables for myself...actually it will be one small one with 2 different groups, Scrapbook Group and Lunch Bunch.

So now I check my e-mail to find that my dear friend Heidi (who is an avid animal lover) lost one of her beloved dogs yesterday (Luna). I wrote to her this morning and sent that lovely poem Rainbow Bridge (I love that poem). Heidi is also our Thrift Shop manager plus her husband is currently away on deployment. I know that she is taking this loss pretty hard. My heart aches for her...I know what it's like to loss a fur baby, especially while your husband is away. It was like that for me when my beloved Cuddles died. I was heart broken for weeks on end. At that time I had my kitty for longer than I had my children. So with that in mind I need to get a few cards ready to go into today's mail.

On a lighter note...I got to talk with my girlfriend Susan for an hour last night! She's back in the states, woohoo!!! She'll be up at Minot AFB some time today! Only one state and a 9 hour drive away...I'm so very excited about that! I have invited Susan and her family to spend Thanksgiving with us, I'm really looking forward to that visit with all my heart!

Sunday, August 19, 2007

South Dakota Central States Fair


It's the little things in life that surprise me the most. Take for instance my entering items at the Central States Fair. I entered 6 photos and only one of them earned a ribbon and it was a 3rd place ribbon Hannah on the other hand earned a ribbon for every photo that she took- WOW! My stamped cards didn't fair so well, but then you should see the other entries...they were awesome examples of the craft. Scrapbooking on the other hand...oh yeah! Many 1st and 2nd place ribbons...okay So I won more 1st place ribbons than 2nd place ones. The best part is that I also won 2 of the big ribbons...Best in Show and Judges Choice. I'm speechless! The judges that were there (they take shifts) asked me if I had entered any layouts I said yes...then they wanted to know my name. I told them who I am and the most surprising thing happened...Then both got up came over to me and told me how they were dying to meet me. They wanted to let me know how inspiring they thoughy my work was. Needless to say I was amazed. I give thanks to the Lord for my many gifts, and this one is no exception!


Friday, August 17, 2007

I'm running just as fast as I can...

I know that these are lyrics to a song but oh do they represent my life lately.

Today was no exception in the business of being busy. I realized that Hannah and I needed to get our photo's printed and ready to go for the State Fair. So...first thing first...
* We sat down at the computer yesterday morning and picked out the photo's to be printed...sent those over to Walgreen's (they do such a great job with printing photos).
* Hannah and I stopped in at the Thrift Shop and stayed no more than an hour then left. I waited until it looked like we had some back up. I had to go, I had a ton of things on my list that needed to be done today!

*Picked up photo's at Walgreen's
*Bought matting materials for our photo's at Hobby Lobby
*Met my husband at Wal-Mart to look at and aquarium (long story short our daughter wants to have toads as pets, LOL)
*went to Ben Franklin as they are the only ones in town with those plastic saw tooth hangers that we need for our pictures for our Fair entries
*went to a pet store twice...to see what they had then to go back and buy the screen lid for an aquarium.
*had lunch at a Chinese Buffet

Lets talk road construction- oh my gosh do we had a lot of that going on here! Roads closed and detours galore! Lets not even talk about the highway construction that has been going on for the 4 years we've been here...and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight for it either, ugh!

Then we get home, mount our photo's, fill out all of the name tags and get our items ready for the fair. We drove into town and dropped off our items- whew! We made it in time for tonight, if we didn't get that done we would have had to do that tomorrow morning at 9am...when we need to be at the Thrift Shop.

Speaking of Thrift Shop- we're having a Bag Sale today! Fill a brown paper bag with clothing and shoes from the thrift side of the store for $3.00- now that is quite a bargain! I expect us to be very busy today, very busy indeed!

I'm excited about our little bit of news...we have a family of bunnies living in our backyard. I'm going to invite my girlfriends children over to see them- everyone loves baby bunnies! This is the 2nd time we've experienced this - talk about a blessing from above, It makes me take time to think about all of the good things that are going on in my life. How this Momma Bunny must think that our yard is the safest place around for her to bring babies into the world- wow! Maybe she knows something about our cat that we don't, LOL! Well our kitty didn't bother the nest of baby bunnies at our place on base and I'm sure that she won't bother these- then again I'm not about to take any chances so kitty only goes outside with supervision.

I'm thrilled to learn that my girlfriend Kim is also entering some scrapbook layouts at the State Fair...we jokingly teased one another with who will get the grand prize...it's a Creative Memories Album, LOL! So in real life, neither one of us stands a chance of winning it because we don't use CM albums or supplies, LOL! After last years judging, oh yeah the winner was a Creative Memories customer and it was obvious why she won...because she did her pages in a simple CM format on CM white pages- talk about biased judging, LOL! So with that said... Why am I entering my scrapbook pages in the Fair? I want to have fun and show others what a great craft and hobby it is! The more people we get to enter the more fun for all of us!

Hannah entered the photography division. I entered photography, rubber stamping and photography. I look forward to seeing what we've earned as awards.

Coffee, I need more coffee!

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Wow- Have I been busy!

Who would have ever thought that I could be as busy as I am now...and I'm not even getting paid for any of it? LOL!

*Working at the base Thrift Shop 18 hours a week takes a bit out of my week, especially since it's spread over 3 days. I like working there- the people I work with are fantastic and I'm getting to know who our regular customers and consignors are :-) There are some characters and some of the nicest people I've ever met. Yesterday I met a middle aged man (keep in mind that I don't consider myself middle aged...not yet) who much like myself collects cooks books and loves to cook. He and his wife are new to our base and the Rapid City area. I instantly told him about Someones in the Kitchen (my favorite place to buy kitchen goodies and cooking classes taught by real chefs). I think that I have him hooked on checking the place out :-)

*My flowers beds...this is going to be an all week project to say the least! Keep in mind that we have to pull the rocks away and cut into the weed mat, mix the clay ridden South Dakota soil with cow manure, peat and bone meal so my flowers will grow. It's been a real chore, but hopefully one that will pay off in a rainbow of color and the stunning beauty of nature in bloom. Today I'm going to put my Gerbera Daisies in terracotta pots along with some other very pretty flowers- I can hardly wait to get started on it!

*Trees, Yards and Gardening in general...I think that we've infected the neighborhood! Seems like everyone we know is planting something... Our neighbors J&C, M&T and A&C (3 different families) have all recently bought some beautiful trees and I mean beautiful! I have no desire to be digging the size of holes that trees of their size need- trust me it's a tough enough job with making these flowers beds. But I can hardly wait to see them how beautiful their yards will look once the trees are in the ground. As HOA president, I want to send little note cards out to the neighbors letting them know how beautiful their yards look.

*Mount Washmore...being out of the house as much as I have or just plain busy doing other things has made my laundry piles into what I like to call Mount Washmore. I sorted the laundry this morning (I've been up since 3 am) and I almost fell over when I saw that there were 10 loads that needed to be washed- eeeek! Good thing everyone here has plenty of underwear or we would be in some serious trouble! So I've got 3 load down...1 through the entire wash/dry process, 1 in the dryer and 1 in the washer.

*Plumbing issues...The plumber will be here at 7am to check on the shower head that has been leaking behind the drywall in the guest bathroom. My husband and I know that the drywall will have to be taken out so the leak can be fixed and we're ready for that. My DH will remove the groovy shower curtain rod so the plumber can work in there. Maybe while he is here he can address the water hammer issues we have with the laundry room _ really would like to have THAT fixed too!

*Sanitation issues for our subdivision have been addressed and taken care of! I've nailed a good contract WITH recycling for our Home Owners Association! Ive got roll off containers for cardboard, glass, aluminium cans, metal cans, plastic containers- woohoo! I hope that the home owners appreciate all of my hard work.

*The Central State Fair...I've got to finish up getting my entries ready for this. I'm seriously considering not entering any stamped cards this year and just concentrating on scrapbooking and photography. I just have so much going on lately that my time seems to be running out rather quickly. I'm the kind of person that wants to enter to win, LOL! If I can't put a quality project out there on display then why bother...I really mean that!

Well now for me to get out of my jammies and get some other things going on around here.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Is it hot enough or what?

Talk about a one hot day! We (husband, daughter and myself) were out and about this morning getting some last minute items before we got to work on the flower beds in our front yard. We didn't get all that far before the heat drove us inside. I checked on line and it was 102- YIKES! So with that in mind, we decided that it would be best for us to go inside for a while. So here it is, just after 7 pm and it's cooled down a bit...down to 97 degrees. I havw no desire to be out of doors in that kind of heat digging holes. So tomorrow morning bright and early before the day gets too hot, we're going to go out and get some more plants in the ground.
 
So while we were indoors, my husband installed some more lighting in my scrapbook nook- wow what a huge difference it makes too! I played around with some Bazzill flowers, Bazzill cardstock and some beautiful printed paper and made some cards. I have the best time just playing around with "stuff" in my scrapbook nook. Paints, inks, brads, flowers, cardstock and paper...the things that make me smile!
 

  

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Stop and smell the Roses



I love roses, they have to be my all time favorite flower. I plan on making a rose garden in the flower bed in the front yard nearest the street. We'll be going to a nursery today to get some plants for my various flower beds. Oh how I adore flowers!




I'm also going to be hanging "my" photos of Roses and other flowers today throughout the house. Granted, I'm no Georgia O'Keeffe (she's famous for her paintings of flowers -close up) nor am I any where near in my photographic skills as being compared to the likes of Ansel Adams (he's famous for his stunning black & white scenic photography) but I do like what I take pictures of and will have many more of my own Photographic efforts displayed in our home. I did win a 1st place ribbon at the State Fair last year for one of my flower pictures :-) I'm going to hang it in the Family Room today. My daughter Hannah won a Best in Show (plus first place) for her picture of a pink waterlily- I have it proudly hanging in my scrapbook nook :-). I need to print up some more flower pictures and get them matted & framed then hung on the walls of our home. Here on the lower part of the page you see my 3rd place picture of Cabbage Roses...this one is going to be hung in my bedroom.

Friday, August 10, 2007

17 years of Wedded Bliss

Today my husband Lucien and I celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary. And it also happens to be my older sisters' wedding anniversary. Gaby and Wolfgang celebrate 37 years as man and wife- Wow!



When I think back to all of the places we have been on our anniversary the best places were Hawaii and Germany. Granted I didn't think too much of Germany since we were actually stranded there (got to love flying space A). You know what...even though we were stranded, my best and dearest friend Susan drove out to visit us. I will always have very fond memories of her visit. I don't know if she had any clue as to how truly touching her visit was and how much it meant to all of us to see a friendly and familiar face in a foreign land.



Today my dear friend Susan and her family are moving back to the USA after their assignment in Germany. Believe it or not they will be stationed up at Minot AFB in North Dakota. I'm excited beyond words! Only 1 state away- woohoo! I hope to see her often- well more than once in 3 years, LOL!



My husband has a day of work, I'm volunteering at the Thrift Shop along with my daughter Hannah. Andrew has his first real day at work today. Since it's Sturgis Bike Rally time here in the Black Hills we are unable to dine out without a 3 to 4 hour wait. So with that in mind I'm making a fabulous dinner for my husband and children tonight.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

My Tuesday in review

"Life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're going to get". I love that saying! It's true you don't know what is going to happen but you know what...if you get lemon's then make lemonade!

I had a great day yesterday! I worked with some terrific ladies at the thrift shop on base, helped many customers find great bargains, had the opportunity to have breakfast with a very nice woman and hopefully I've managed to make some new friends along the way. To end my day I got to have a long chat on the phone with a friend who has became dear to me. She and I have so many things in common and other things that are not so in common...I love it all!

My thought on friendship is this...always let your friends know that they are loved and appreciated. I like to send notes, so every once in a while out of the blue they'll get a little card...letting them know that they are thought of and in my eyes are special. Have you done that for a friend lately? It's never to late to tell someone that you think that they are special. OOh which reminds me, I've got to send out some more cards today ;-)

No volunteering for me today! I'm off to run around and do other things...search for cookbooks on grilling, get some swiffer refills (boy oh boy, that kitchen floor of mine could use a good mopping) and maybe go to the base pool with the kids (weather permitting).


Tuesday, August 07, 2007

It's Breakfast with the Generals Wife

We have some VIP's from the Pentagon visiting our base this week, a 3 star General and his wife. With that visit comes the obligatory tours of various places on the base and meeting and greeting various commanders and spouses of commanders. This morning I have the honor (as do a small handful of others) of having breakfast with the Generals wife. I've only changed my clothes 4 times, changed jewelery twice and put my finger though a pair of pantyhose in preparation of this breakfast. I will see her again while volunteering at our base Thirst Shop.

OOh look at the time, I've got to go!

Monday, August 06, 2007

RSVP...I know it's French but what does it mean?

The term “RSVP” on an invitation is an acronym for a French phrase, repondez s'il vous plait, meaning “respond if you please.” It is a polite way of requesting a response to the invitation, not a suggestion to the invited guest to respond if he or she feels like it. Some invitations stamped RSVP include a RSVP card and an envelope to make responding even easier. The phrase “response requested,” which means essentially the same thing, may also be used.
If a party is being held locally, the invitation may be the first that you hear of it. However, if you live in a distant location and your presence would be genuinely appreciated, you should be aware of the date and location of the party before you receive the invitation, giving you plenty of time to make traveling plans. This is sometimes indicated by a “save the date” card, which is sent out before a formal party invitation to make guests aware of the upcoming event. Invitations to important events like weddings, graduations, and initiations are also sent out to distant family members as a courtesy, to alert them to the event, but these guests are not always expected to attend.
If you receive an invitation to an event which you do not plan to attend, and the invitation includes a RSVP card, it is polite to check “not attending,” and to include a brief note expressing your regrets. If no response card is included, call the phone number included on the invitation or mail a brief note in response, expressing your regrets. You do not need to delve into your reasons for not being able to attend, but you should respond within three days of receiving the invitation, so that the hosts know not to expect your presence.
If the invitation is to an event which you plan to attend, fill out the RSVP card to indicate this, and include information about who will be accompanying you. You should do this promptly, ideally within three days. Take care to read the invitation carefully, as it will provide information about who is being invited along with you. “Ms. Jones and friend” or "Ms. Jones and guest" suggests that Ms. Jones and another individual are invited. “Mr. Smith and family” suggests that Mr. Smith, his partner, and his children are invited, while “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” suggests that the children are not invited. In the above instance, Ms Jones would note that she planned to attend the event along with Ms. Dunham, and would express her delight at having been invited.
Filling out an RSVP card is a basic and important courtesy. The party hosts collect RSVP cards so that they know how many guests to expect, which will help them to make seating and catering arrangements. In addition, if hosts are inviting you to stay at a hotel or resort during the event, sending an RSVP card ensures that they will set a room aside for you. An RSVP card can also be used to convey important information, such as “my child is allergic to nuts” so that your hosts can be warned ahead of time.

Monday Monday, glorious Monday

For me, Mondays are full of things that need to be addressed (as in getting done or getting started).

*Laundry is a high priority today as I realized that we need to wash towels...I pulled out the last of the clean ones in our bathroom this morning.

*I just got off of the phone with the Sanitation company and the woman who is working our contract is checking something out for me (roll off containers with doors for recyclable items)

*High on my to do list is to tidy up various rooms in the house starting with the home office. Now, why is it that this room has tortilla chips all over the floor? This is but one of my many questions today, LOL!

*I am waiting for the protocol office to send me some information on items I want to address in our newsletter for the spouses club.

*Also the club has to get me the price list for our menu for the function so the spouses news letter can get finished up and sent out.


One of my bad points is that I am not very patient about waiting...especially when I am waiting for people to get back to me with information that I need for ah, say for a newsletter, LOL! I dislike procrastination- there are things you can drag your feet on and other items that you can't. I prefer not to wait until the last minute to get things done. I've always been this way, ask my Mother she'll tell you that I was a peculiar kind of child, there's always been two sides to me, a business side and a creative side. Yup it's that left brain right brain thing in action.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Scents that invoke happiness

I don’t know about you but I’m a floral scent person. During the warmer months I love to have the house smelling like a flower garden. Yankee Candles has the best scents followed closely by Colonial at Home and Village Candle.  I have a girlfriend who is all about the Village Candle Company where my Mom loves Colonial at home- for both of them I think that it’s more about the shape of the jar (Colonial candle co has an oval jar and Village Candle Co has a square jar). Myself, I go on scent alone. I have a  couple of different friends out here that make candles and they both have their own style and scents- one puts hers in pretty jars and the other pours hers into tins with lids. I have some of each and it is the scent not the container that draws me in like a moth to a flame!  Right now there are a couple (okay so it’s more like 3 or 4) of scents that I have going in the house…Meadow Blossoms, Summer Fresh, Honeysuckle and Citrus Sunshine.   Flowers bring me happiness, looking at them and smelling them…it’s relaxing to me. I love flower arrangements with oodles of different flowers, heck my bridal bouquet was a plethora of different flowers -none of that white roses with  baby’s breath for me I wanted color and scent and lots of it!

 

My quest for you today is to find a candle scent that reminds you of something happy- burn it for about an hour or two in a room that will be filled with that scent. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how good it makes you feel.  Aromatherapy works wonders on those that are tired, stressed and/or depressed. For me it’s sunshine in a jar just waiting to be opened and shared with others.

  

 

Friday, August 03, 2007

I'm sooooo tired!

I must have some sort of guilt complex because I couldn't leave our Thrift Shop manager down to herself and one other volunteer today. That was it, the 3 of us all day long. Another friend popped in but for only around 30 minutes. And we were BUSY today too! At first we thought that the rain would keep people away, nope that was not a deterrent what so ever.

So here I am, able to finally sit down and all of a sudden I am feeling VERY tired. I'm afraid that I do have a lot more work ahead of me though. I can put off making the pasta salad and the New York Cheesecake until tomorrow since the open house farewell isn't until Sunday. Whew, I'm glad because I am pooped! I think that if I was to have a glass of wine right now I would be asleep before I finished it.

I was able to multi-task today...I got the envelopes addressed for the charities and made some phone calls too!

I bought some frozen chicken strips and some onion rolls...depending upon how energetic I'm feeling in a couple of hours it's either sandwiches or chicken strips and french fries. I'm leaning towards the sandwiches since I'm so darn tired I worry that I might fall asleep while the oven is on, LOL!

My busy Friday

So of course I didn't get everything done that I wanted to yesterday but I did manage to get some big things done.

Volunteering at the Thrift Shop took up a big block of space. As I had planned on only being there for a couple of hours and ended up being there from just after 9am until 2:30 pm. I got home and grabbed my daughter and off we went to Wal-Mart to get school supplies. While there I was able to pick up 2 great bingo prizes...a plug in cooler and a very large stainless steel grill!

I ran over to the club for about a half an hour to set up dates and meals for the August and September functions, that was a lot easier than I thought it would have been.

This afternoon I have to bake a big ol 10 inch New York Cheesecake and start on my pasta salad. My friend Cathy and her family are hosting a farewell for our Priest from church, you see- he's retiring from many years of service to the military.

I played phone tag with the guy from Jeld-Wen windows and after a few rounds of that he finally called me back. I should have all my screen by the 14th or 15th.

Today I'm sending out letters to the various charities. My friend Kim is the 1st VP for OSC and together we are planning this first function. While we were talking on the phone she wrote up the letters and together (in person) we made a list of charities we're asking to the event. Now it's my turn to get the envelopes address and in the mail!

Now today I really can't stay at the Thrift Shop all day. I have to do other things, I have a TO DO list this is a mile long.

I walked into my scrapbook room and I'm itching to make a project but when will I have the time? I woke up at 2:30 am this morning with a ton of things on my mind. No wonder I can't keep my eyes open and that I'm in bed and asleep by 9pm, sheesh! Maybe I'll be able to get a nap later...I can only hope.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

A day in my life...

When I think about what I have ahead of me today I have to laugh. I have to make myself stick to a time schedule and I reinforce the word "stick" because I have a lot on my plate today. I'm going to take my camera with me and take pictures here and there throughout the day...I want to make a layout about a day in my life with ALL of the running around that I do.

*Volunteer at the Thrift Shop on base today

*Pick up some items for pot luck supper we're attending this weekend

*Got to go to the Club today!!! I need to set up the menu and secure dates for room for our OSC activity for August, September, October and December.

*Call Cathy B and get date and time of potluck (because I failed to write it down and my husband doesn't know).

*Jot off emails to friends to let them know I'm thinking about them even though I'm busy as all get out.

*Call Sanitation companies and see if they have their revised proposals ready yet...again!

*Call protocol office get some information on them for an article in the EE (that's the OSC news letter)

*Shop for Bingo prizes (September function) and gift basket for August & September functions

*return phone call to window company- maybe I'll get my screens some day who knows, LOL!

*Drop things off at Salvation Army

*Drop off more goodies to my LSS for Hospice House collection (they are collecting scrapbooking goodies).

*Send out letters to the various charities for our August function.

*Go to Kitchen Store, scout around for BBQ items

*Go to Wal-Mart

*go to Sam's Club (been putting this off for a while)

*go to post office mail off package for husband

*research problem with kitchen faucet and jot off e-mail to price-pfister


In-between all of that take care of my family, wash a couple of loads of laundry, make some fabulous meal for dinner, clean 3 bathrooms, mops some floors and vacuum the carpet (upstairs and down stairs). Lets face it...some days there isn't enough coffee for me to drink in order to get everything done quickly, LOL!

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

August Trivia

The sardonyx and peridot are the gems for August.  

 

                             ***  

 

The poppy and gladiolus are the flowers for the month of  

August.  

                             ***  

 

Colorado became the 38th state, August 1, 1876.  

                            ***

  

August is the eighth month, renamed by the Romans from  

Sextilis', means sixth, to honor their emperor, Augustus.  

 

                             ***  

 

August is the height of the summer time in the temperate  

zone of the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere,  

August means the winter will soon be over.  

 

                             ***  

 

An American bomber dropped the first atomic bomb used in  

warfare, on Hiroshima, Japan, August 6, 1945.               

  

 

Blog Challenge- how my blog got it's name

How my blog got its name...pretty simple there. My Scrapbook Nook is what I called my scrapbooking area in our last house; trust me it was without any doubt a nook in the truest sense of the word!  (For me)It's the place where all memories are collected and brought back to life J