A Last Post For 2007

I for one am glad that 2007 is only hours from being behind us. It was a hard year, but it had good times mixed in there too. I was able to hang out with some old friends, made some new friends, learned to knit, made a scrapbook album, found a church to attend, lost 35 pounds, had our 6th wedding anniversary with Travis, was blessed with Bella for the whole year, grew closer with some family members but at the same time grew really, really far apart from others. 2007 was definitely a mixed bag with everything good we had, and the not so good things like the family drama and Travis being laid off. But that's all behind us, thank goodness, and now I'm looking forward to 2008! I'm not one for making New Year's resolutions but there are some things I would like to do in the coming year.

1. Be happier!

2. Do what God wants me to do.

3. Help those in need.

4. Do work for our church.

5. Do more good deeds to bless other people.

6. Knit socks.

7. Lose some more weight.

8. Spend more time with friends & family.

9. Go on a vacation.

10. Be a more positive person.

I hope that everyone has a very happy and safe New Year!

How Was Christmas?

It was great! I got so many nice things.

I got this Fossil watch.

I also got knitting needles, a dishcloth pattern book, a doggy sweater pattern book, an Eastern Star ring, a Wood Wick candle, a Weaving Stitches gift certificate, 6 Nativity scene napkin rings, a 2 cup tea server, and $100 to name a few. I plan on taking a knitting class with part of the money though.

I also got the Vera Bradley Capri Melon Purse. I love it!!!

Since I finished up my "special project" I finally found a new knitting pattern that I am trying. It is just the cutest thing! It's called "Cables & Bits". The pattern can be found here. It involves knitting in the round, which I've never done before, so I'm hoping I can learn how and pull this one off for Bella. I'm making her's pink. I'm sure she will look darling in this.

Model: Jax; Photo by Sarah Wilson; http://www.knitty.com/

In this month's issue of Weight Watchers Magazine there is a really cool product mentioned that I just had to tell everyone about. It is called Fit N Fresh. There are several different tupperware type containers that so innovative for those of us trying to watch our portion sizes. Along with the containers there are recipes that give great ideas for healthy foods to make in them. Here are some pictures from the website. http://www.fit-fresh.com/

Just look at these layers!

This is just amazing! It has a utensil box to hold silverware! And has a dressing dispenser! The salad bowl holds up to 4 cups! And the removable ice pack keeps it cool for up to 6 hours! Do I hear my birthday rolling around??? Too bad I didn't know about these for Christmas!

There are tons of container systems to choose from. I just think it's amazing!

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas.

Knitting This & That

I was looking through some knitting blogs today just out of boredom and came across some projects I'd like to try in the coming year. I'm not sure Travis would wear this, but I think it looks very handsome. It's sort of a scarf/tie. Very stylish. This comes from a blog called Little Purl of the Orient.

I saw this picture on Chie Crochets' Blog and loved the idea. All those little knitted sweaters are just adorable as ornaments. I guess there are 12 patterns as in the 12 days of Christmas. I looked at the pattern though, and it looks rather difficult. Maybe I could tackle this after I get some more experience. Or maybe that is just procrastination hee hee.

Almost all the knitting blogs I go to have pictures of cats all over their pages! What's up with that? I'm representin' the dogs. (Oh no, that sounded like a rapper lol).

Well, that's all the time I have for now. Have a great Thursday!

A Cool Website

I wanted to let everyone know about a really cool website my cousin Jennifer told me about. It is called SkinIt. They have an out of this world selection of skins, which are like hard protective covers, for cell phones, ipods, PDA's, laptops, printers, etc.

And thanks Anna for telling me about Google Gadgets. They are very cool!

Decorating Madness

Last night I started on my Christmas gift wrapping. I need to just stay on task with it, but I keep finding myself trying to make every little detail perfect and it's driving me nuts! I think doing things like that in moderation could be a good thing if I'd only learn that. Note to self: You can't make everything perfect! Deal with it! I feel like I have so much to get ready for and I'm losing time and getting really stressed out by it. Like today, I have a special gift I'm working on but instead of doing that, I was on Myspace all afternoon uploading pictures. But as I was saying (here we go again) ...gift wrapping. Here's a picture.

We're having Travis' family over this Saturday and I decided to decorate little gift bags for my nieces. I used my Sizzix to punch out their name and little holiday figures. I think its cute, but it took a freakin hour! I guess I'm just trying to make this year special because this will be their first Christmas with us. And as you can see, the package beside it I handmade shiny bows out of ribbons. I'm sure that by the 30th package I wrap I'll be hating myself for that one. Well, that's all for my holiday rant lol.

Have a great Tuesday!

The Ash Family; A Favorite Blog

I had such a great time yesterday with my family. I was really surprised that 22 people fit into my little house! But it was great to have our home full of family. Here are some pictures of the day.

Here are the Aunts and Uncle.

Starting on the left is my Aunt Nancy, Aunt Mary Lou, then my Uncle John and his wife Diana, Aunt Jeanne and her husband Jim behind her, and then my mom and dad.

The whole gang! It was completely awesome having everyone here!

Aren't we beautiful?!On the left is my cousin Ashlee, cousin Jill, me, cousin Jacey, and cousin Jennifer.

So, in other news, as I was browsing online today I found a great blog called Hungry Girl on Yahoo! Food. As she describes, the blog says, "Hungry Girl is not a nutritionist, she's just hungry. Hungry Girl delivers fun diet tips and tricks, guilt-free food finds, low-cal recipes, food shockers, reviews, and more." I've found that alot of her content is Weight Watcher friendly. She has some good tips, so it's worth a read. She also has a great year-end post called 2007's Guilt-Free Foods of the Year, it's really impressive. I've added her blog to my fav's, so check it out.

A Holly Jolly Christmas

Tomorrow is the first party of the season at my house. I'm having over my mom's four sisters, one brother, and their families. I made each family a loaf of Banana Nut Bread, made from scratch. And yes, it took awhile. I also made chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. Ah, now I'm too tired to Christmas shop! I never thought I'd say that. But I think I'll go anyway. :-)

On Dogster they are having a Holiday Picture Party for doggies. Here is Bella's Yule-tide mugshot.

Have a great weekend!

Holiday Hostess-ing

I wanted to share some new ideas and tips I've come across for hosting a holiday party this Christmas. I am hosting two different parties this year at my house, which I'm really excited about since I really love being a hostess and cooking/baking special things for everyone. I definitely needed to do some research since I wanted to do something that everyone would remember and love. I'm not set on anything at this point, but here's some neat ideas that I might try or that's just noteworthy.

These look so good! And seem pretty easy to make. I'm sure guests would love these and they would look so beautiful displayed on a table for them to just grab up.

Chocolate Pretzels by Robin Miller- Food Network

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
User Rating: 5 of 5 stars

2 bags chocolate chips (dark or milk chocolate)
1 bag pretzels (logs work well for this, but you can try any of the medium to thick variety of twists)
Chopped nuts, for garnish, optional
Colored nonpareils, for garnish, optional
Sprinkles, for garnish, optional
Coconut, for garnish, optional
Crushed cookies, for garnish, optional

Melt chocolate in double boiler over medium heat on stove top. Using tongs, or your fingers, quickly dip pretzels in chocolate allowing the excess to run off. Place dipped pretzels on waxed paper lined cookie sheets. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, colored sugars or other toppings. Allow to harden. You may need to refrigerate for a while to help this along. Once hardened, remove from sheets and store in a cool location, with waxed paper between layers.

Tip: Package pretzels in clear cellophane bags or in vase for festive gift giving!

Ingrid Hoffmann- from Food Network tells us this cute idea.
I make cookie labels which can hang on a tree, be a place card setting or even a name tag on a gift. Cut cookie dough into label shapes, bake, and when cooled, write the guest's or gift recipient's name on it with icing.

I doubt many of us have a label shaped cookie cutter, but we could improvise by using a knife to cut out the design ourselves.

A personal recipe that is always a big hit is Banana Nut Bread. I'll be making loaves to send home with my guests wrapped in holiday saran wrap and tied with pretty ribbons.



Serves: 12 slices

1 3/4 cups All Purpose Four
3 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup White Sugar (or for a lower calorie alternative use Splenda)
1/3 cup Butter, softened (or used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)
2 Eggs
1 cup mashed Banana
1/2 cup chopped Walnuts

Grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Add butter, eggs, nuts, and mashed banana. Beat until well blended. Pour batter into pan.

Bake at 350 for 1 hr. 15 mins.
It's done when a toothpick is inserted in the center and comes out clean.

From the December issue of Kraft Food & Family Magazine there are some cute decorating ideas. It says that for a lovely last minute centerpiece put two different sizes of pretty ball ornaments in a vase or crystal bowl.

And you can make your own gift wrap with craft paper and rubber stamps. A quick and easy idea for scrapbookers to put a personal touch on gifts. Or, let the gift inspire the wrapping: for baked goods, use tea towels and fasten with raffia. You could use Christmas themed tea towels as an inexpensive touch. They are available at Dollar General for only $1.00!

You can sign up for the free magazine at Kraft Foods. They have alot of great recipes and tips. I've made quite a few great dishes from them and they're always a hit with the family and guests.

And with a husband and father who are brownie fanatics, this is a great holiday touch.

Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 50 min
Makes: 1-1/2 dozen brownies or 18 servings, 1 brownie each

4 squares BAKER'S Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup coarsely chopped PLANTERS Pecans, (I would say this is optional)
1 tsp. powdered sugar

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in granulated sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and pecans; mix well. Spread into greased foil-lined 13x9-inch baking pan.

BAKE 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not over bake.) Cool in pan.

CUT brownie in pan into 18 decorative shapes with 1-1/2 inch star-shaped or holiday cookie cutters. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Reserve the trimmings for snacking or another use.

Happy Holiday Hostess-ing!

I Love Picasa Too & This Song

My friend Anna wrote in her blog about Picasa, an awesome photo editor. I absoloutely love it! It is great for us scrapbookers. Now I can't wait to make more collages like this for an album.

Pictures from Christmas 2006

My Bella

Picasa can be downloaded for free here.

I also heard this song the other evening and loved it! It reminds me of me and Travis. And plus, I would buy him Rogaine if his hair starts to fall out :-)

Ingrid Michaelson: The Way I Am

Have a happy Monday evening!

Christmas Dishcloths

Here are the two dishcloths that I knitted for our Church's Christmas Bazaar.

"Angel of Welcome"

I think the Angel is very pretty. The pattern was free online at Knit Alittle.

"Mr. Snowman"

The "Mr. Snowman" could've been better. It turned out pretty big for a dishcloth, but oh well I guess. The pattern called for size 6 needles, but the closest I had were size 7's. The pattern is cute though. I bought it online from Knits By Rachel.

I'm hoping that after the first of the year I'll be able to start on something new, like socks, or maybe a funky scarf.

Thanksgiving; Funny Video

I saw this commercial on tv the other day and thought it was hilarious! Check it out.



Thanksgiving was great. We had alot of great food! It's our tradition to use my Grandma Warner's recipes for dressing and pies so we were able to convert most things into Weight Watcher "friendly" food. This year I made my first apple pie.

I couldn't resist having a small piece. It was delicious!

All of Travis' finals are over with. He got straight A's for the quarter!

I also wanted to let everyone know that our church, Enterprise United Methodist, on Hiland Road in Pomeroy (just over the hill from Holzer Clinic) is having it's Christmas Bazaar this Saturday, December 1st, from 9am to 3pm. There will be baked goods as well as craft items for sale to benefit the church. I'm working on knitting a dishcloth with an angel and one with a snowflake on it and I'll also be baking something, so everyone's invited to come see what all we have for sale!

A Breakthrough!

Yes, I think I've finally had a breakthrough! For about the past 3 weeks all of us have been going to church at Enterprise United Methodist in Pomeroy. My parents and I belonged there several years ago but since Travis and I were looking for a new church I finally talked them into going back. That I think was a breakthrough within itself, but a different one. In our Adult Bible study lessons we have been studying the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis. I had heard the story before but never read it for myself or studied it. It was a great story of forgiveness and it really showed how God has a sort of "master plan" for us. The story starts out that Jacob, his father, loved him more than any of his other sons. That made all the brothers hate Joseph. Then as the story goes on they become more jealous of him and sell him into Egypt as a slave. Over a period of 20 years he was a slave, thrown into prison, brought out to tell Pharaoh what his dreams meant, and in a huge turn of events made overseer of all of Egypt to prepare for 7 years of famine. So during this time God dealt with him and he came to see that God had a plan for his life and he also forgave his brothers for what they had done to him because if they hadn't hated him and sold him into Egypt he would not be there to oversee the famine and many people would have died. All that got me thinking. I have really been one to struggle with forgiveness. But this story really helped me. It's hard not to be mad and hurt about the conflicts in our family, but the story helped me realize that if we hadn't had the problem, we wouldn't have moved back to Ohio, and Travis would not be able to go to school and later have a good, secure job. So I guess I should let the past go. It happened for a reason, I'm just not sure why it's still going on. But, we are happy and not missing out on anything.

Since my last post I decided to start a project to help the animals in the Meigs Co. Shelter. I have and will be gathering blankets, toys, and treats until Wednesday. So if anyone wants to participate let me know. It's definately an ongoing project, but this trip I wanted to do as a Thankgiving project to let the animals and volunteers there know that we are thankful for them and what they do.

I had a Pepsi last night for the first time in 7 months. It tasted sooo good, but I'm feeling alittle guilty for caving in and getting it especially since I've been strong for so long. I'm going to need alot of support this week and until Christmas to keep losing weight and not pigging out on apple pie or Christmas cookies. So far I've lost 30.8 pounds. That equals 120 sticks of butter (Yuck!) or 6 bags of potatoes, or 24 medium cantaloupes. That info was courtesy www.weightwatchers.com.

Updated Blog!

I finally figured out how to get a new layout! I'm not good with HTML at all, so during the transfer I lost all my links. I've spent most of the day updating my links and icons. I made a new category called "Charities Close To My Heart" that way anyone that wants to could donate. They all mean alot to me really. The US Humane Society was key to rescuing animals devastated by Hurricane Katrina. And they are such a great organization that helps all animals in many ways. Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely love animals. And I wish that I could help every single one. I also wanted to say that on Petfinder.com usually there is a shelter wish list for local shelters and I encourage everyone to find a shelter and donate one item for a homeless dog or cat. It would be horrible to be homeless, so I'm hoping to encourage people to help me make sure they have a clean, warm place to sleep and maybe a toy to play with to make things alittle brighter for them until they get their forever home.

Here is a wish list for Meigs County's Animal Shelter:

Towels
Bleach
Mops
Blankets
Straw/hay
Fencing or pens
Cages
Toys, Collars and Leashes

We adopted Bella from a shelter and I could not imagine my life without her! She really has been my best friend through so much. So look at what people could be missing out on.

I also have on my list the American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society. Both of these are close to my heart because of my Grandma Warner. She had diabetes and had to give herself insulin shots twice a day. I wish she didn't have to suffer through sticking herself with needles everyday. So now that she's gone I want to help others with the disease to maybe not have to go through what she did. I did the Diabetes walk in Huntington a few years ago to raise money and it was alot of fun! I think Travis and I raised about $100. And I can't believe it but I walked all 5 miles! Then the Cancer Society is listed because my Grandma died of cancer. I know there is a long way to go in the fight against cancer, but maybe if there were new treatments or a cure for it I might still have my Grandma with me today. I love her very much and miss her terribly still.

Grandma Warner

In other news...Mom and I were installed as officers of Eastern Star on Monday night. I have a huge part to memorize before next month too :-( Here are a few pictures...

All The Members

Momma in her pretty dress

Me

Have a great Thursday!

Me, Me, Me....

I'm not really sure where to start with this post. It has been so long since I've felt like posting anything. As most of you know I've been battling depression for a long time now. Sometimes I'm ok, then other times I can't get myself to get out of bed to face the day. Since Travis had been laid off and we lost our health insurance we couldn't really afford to get my medicine so I decided I would go off of it for awhile. It was a really bad idea, but what else could I do? So about 2 weeks ago I started taking it again, everyday, like I'm supposed to. For the first few days it completely knocked me out. Then as I started to get used to it again I had no energy at all so I sat around all day like a zombie. I'm starting to feel alittle better now, but I just wish that I didn't have this stupid problem. Really it's embarrassing. That's why I don't really talk about it. I feel like I should be able to "snap out of it", but I can't. Then I feel like I am a weak person, strong people don't act this way. But really deep down, I can't help it. I just want to be better. I want to be able to function like a normal person. Here is a link to learn more about depression.

Yesterday was our election day. The ballot was for Syracuse village Mayor, Clerk, Council, Sutton Township Trustee, and Southern School Board. In the mayoral race it was between two people, basically a race between the lesser of two evils. Neither one fits the category of what I'd call a great mayor. The Clerk is the one I'm disappointed in. I really don't like the one who won. She has been the clerk forever and has an attitude problem. Other than that I think our local government will run as usual, unintelligently.

Travis is almost finished with his first quarter at Washington State. And I'm very very proud to announce that he has straight A's! Next week is finals, and he has his last one on the 19th. Winter quarter starts in January so he will have the holidays off which is great. I haven't gotten to spend much time with him since September so it will be nice to have him back for awhile.

I want to congratulate Angie & Joe on the birth of their son Rylan. He is such a beautiful baby. Best wishes for all of them.

Life Lessons From The Mentally Challenged

Most often we think we couldn't learn from someone who has a mental disability. Today that stereotype was proved wrong. I was having lunch with my family and there was a very nice lady who obviously had a mental impairment who was cleaning tables. She was always very polite with customers and other employees, but that's not what got me. She went to lunch, had her food, and was telling another employee how she was on her break. The other employee said, "Ok. I hope you enjoy your lunch." Then she said it. "Thank you! Thank you! I appreciate you, Jane (or whatever the name was)." I guess it really touched me because I could see that she really did mean what she said. Maybe because she didn't know any different. But it got me thinking. If only the world was mentally challenged maybe it might be a better place.

The Kite Runner

I just finished this book. It was so good! It's a fictional account of two boys and their families in Afghanistan. Some parts of it were really hard to take because of the graphic nature, but that's most likely what life is like for those people. It really opened my eyes to their way of life, their views, and what they've dealt with over the past 20 years. I'm really glad I read it. I'm getting ready to read his next novel called A Thousand Splendid Suns that is listed on Amazon.com's top 5 books.

I also read last night A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks. It wasn't quite as good as The Notebook, but what could compare to that! It was good however. I had no clue the movie with Mandy Moore was based on this book either. I have not seen it, but now I want to!

Check that. He goes NEXT FRIGGIN FRIDAY for a physical...then they will probably think about calling him back to work. I have a name for those people but I won't say it. Argh!

This probably doesn't make any sense

I can't believe it's almost the end of September already! Where did this year go??? I personally think it went down the tubes when it first began, but that's me. It's been a tough year, well couple, or four maybe, I lost track. Between layoffs to handle, family difficulites to say the least, and deployment to Iraq of all things, life hasn't exactly been what I'd call wonderful. I'm tired of it all really. Tired of all the drama too.

Travis got called back to SFS and will hopefully start back on Monday. I hate that he has to go back there, but maybe it will only be till something better comes along. Maybe I should be looking at things differently, but I'm mad at them. I guess I feel like they did this to us in a way. They are the reason that we've had to struggle so much the past few months leaving us to wonder if we'd be able to eat the next week or not. I guess I just need someone to blame.

I have probably been very difficult to be around the lately, not that anybody would know. Mostly I've been angry about everything I could be and depressed too as usual. I think the reason I went so long without posting anything is because I knew if I did it would turn out just like this.

Travis has started college at Washington State. He's majoring in Industrial Technology. I'm very proud of him. And I think he'll do great.

Is it wrong for me to want to be more than Travis' wife or Jim and Patsy's daughter? Good things come to everyone and seem to run from me. You know, money, having children, happiness...

I don't know what makes me happy anymore. I get up and every day is the same.

I've lost 24.8 lbs.

New Blocks
Here are two of the newest blocks I've knitted recently...

This one is my favorite so far.

When I get some more time, I'll post some updates.

And I want to wish Angie a very happy 26th birthday!!!

Racing News; Darfur; Global Warming

Trav, Dad, and I went to ATV Dirtdrag's last night where Travis raced in the 0-350 class. He won first place!!! I'll be posting the video on my myspace page, http://www.myspace.com/trishaigibson , for anyone who would like to see his win. I very proud of him!

You'll notice I've posted a banner and added the Save Darfur blog to my list. Tonight there was a story on 60 Minutes about the genocide in the Darfur region and I was blown away. I would like to inform my readers about it. And as a woman, I would like to help those women who are being brutally rapped as their villages are taken over. No one should have to live like that. You can find ways to help by going to http://www.savedarfur.org/.

Also I wanted to post this list of things we can all do to help reduce global warming according to the new Yahoo Green site at http://green.yahoo.com/. I know some things may be hard to do, and I'm not perfect either, but maybe we can all try to do at least one thing. I have been recycling our cans, plastic, and cardboard, and I've unplugged the appliances that I don't use all the time, like my washer, and an air conditioner.

The following is a list of simple things you can do immediately, which will start to reduce your contribution to global warming. The items in this list will cost you no money at all and will in fact save you money.

1.Sign up to a green energy supplier, who will supply electricity from renewable sources (e.g. wind and hydroelectric power) - this will reduce your carbon footprint contribution from electricity to zero

2.Turn it off when not in use (lights, television, DVD player, Hi Fi, computer etc. etc. ...)

3.Turn down the central heating slightly ( just 1 to 2 degrees C)

4.Turn down the water heating setting (just 2 degrees will make a significant saving)

5.Check the central heating timer setting - remember there is no point heating the house after you have left for work

6.Fill your dish washer and washing machine with a full load - this will save you water, electricity, and washing powder .

7.Fill the kettle with only as much water as you need

8.Unplug your mobile phone as soon as it has finished charging

9.Defrost your fridge/freezer regularly

10.Do your weekly shopping in a single trip

11.Hang out the washing to dry rather than tumble drying it

12.Go for a run rather than drive to the gym

The following is a list of items that may take an initial investment, but should pay for themselves over the course of 1-4 years through savings on your energy bills.

1.Fit energy saving light bulbs

2.Install thermostatic valves on your radiators

3.Insulate your hot water tank, your loft and your walls

4. 35% of heat generated in the house is lost through the walls Installing cavity wall installation to a medium size house should reduce your heating bills. By installing 180mm thick loft insulation you could stop about 25% of your heating escaping through the roof

5.Recycle your grey water

6.Replace your old fridge / freezer (if it is over 15 years old), with a new one with energy efficiency rating of "A"

7.Replace your old boiler with a new energy efficient condensing boiler

Travel less and travel more carbon footprint friendly.

1.Car share to work, or for the kids school run

2.Use the bus or a train rather than your car

3.Don't use domestic flights (e.g. from London to Edinburgh), use a train or a coach.

4.Take the ferry or channel tunnel instead of flying to France

5.See if your employer will allow you to work from home one day a week

6.Next time you replace your car - check out diesel engines. With one of these you can even make your own Biodiesel fuel

7.When on holiday - hire a bicycle to explore locally rather than a car

8.When staying in a hotel turn the lights and air-conditioning off when you leave your hotel room

9.Ask for you room towels to be washed every other day, rather than every day As well as your primary carbon footprint, there is also a secondary footprint that you cause through your buying habits.

If you buy foods out of season at the super market, then these will have either been flown or shipped in from far away - all adding to your carbon footprint.

1.Buy local wine i.e. if you live in the UK then buy from European countries rather than Australia, South Africa, and America

2.Buy local fruit and vegetables, or even try growing your own

3.Try to buy clothes and products from closer to home (look out and avoid items that are made in the distant lands such as China and India)

In addition there is your footprint at work. Do you leave your computer and monitor on when you are away from your desk? Do you leave the lights on when you leave the office? Do you print documents unnecessarily - and could you print two pages to a side and double sided?

Have a great week!

New Block

Here is a picture of my latest knitting block.

The pattern was really the same concept as the last block I did, so it wasn't that hard to do. Now I have July and this months pattern to do and I'll be caught up!

Puppy Update; Travis; Then and Now Pictures

I think that Bella is in the clear. Travis got her playing this morning and she coughed once, that's is so far today! That's good news. Whew!


I am very very proud to announce that Travis raced last night at the Mason County Fair and won second place in his class. Yay Travis!!!! Here's a pic...




Tomorrow is my Weight Watchers meeting. I'm hoping that I did well this week. Check this out though...

My Dad and Me taken in March 2007

Me today!

That is a huge difference in my face just from losing what I have! I couldn't believe it! Woo hoo! Horray for me! LOL.

Knitting Block; Puppy Update

Bella is still alittle sick, but not near as bad as she was over the weekend. I'm praying that she will continue to improve so we don't have to take her back to the vet.

I've had this block done for a couple weeks, but some of you haven't seen it so here's a picture of my latest knitting endeavour.

I had some trouble with this one. I actually did the whole thing two different times until I got it right. I have the other one too, I might include it in my afghan but I'm not sure yet. It was really cool because the lady from the store in Parkersburg sat down with me for awhile and helped me figure out what I was doing wrong and then had me do a few rows so that she was sure I was on the right track before I left.

In other crafting news I am excited to say that I was asked to do a scrapbook for my Eastern Star chapter. They are wanting to preserve the chapters history and have pictures of the members, which is great. I love history and scrapbooking anyways :-) Plus I can scrapbook for free basically because they are reimbursing me for all the costs.

Thanks to everyone for the welcome back on MySpace!

Could things get any worse?

Ok. Aside from Travis getting laid off, that's bad enough, right? Now we have a sick little puppy. We had to take her to the vet on Saturday. Luckily they were open until noon. She has a respiratory infection. She had been hacking and coughing like crazy, and I've never heard any dog do that before. She scared us to death! The vet gave her a shot and some antibiotics to take for a week. It's been two days now, and she has improved imensley! She is still coughing some, but mostly when she gets excited. Oh, I was so worried about her. And plus I feel really guilty. She is sick because we've had her in and out of the weather so much and where it is really hot outside and then cool in our house that is bad for her if she's in and out like that. I thought that having her outside would be good for her. Now I feel like a bad mommy.

Still no news on the job front.

I've lost 18.8 pounds, so that's alittle good news.

I don't like thinking of titles!!!

Well, well, well. Time flies from post to post. I'm still here. I really need to get on the ball and post some pictures. The front of our house is almost complete. We just need to paint the front facing part on the bottom of our porch. It looks really great though! It's a huge improvement! I have also been working the past two weeks part time on a very temporary basis for Meigs County EMA. I worked there for over a year while Travis was deployed also. It's a long story. But I am on the market for a new job. Trav and I decided that we want the extra cash. There are too many things we want to buy :-) His drag racing parts are expensive! And I would like to get a new motorcycle and a boat or jet ski. Not to mention pouring money into our house.

Speaking of drag racing. I have pictures, I just need to download them onto my computer and post them. Travis has been doing amazingly well. Every race we have been to so far he has won at least one race. I'm very proud of him! He's racing tomorrow in Fairplain, WV.

Weight Watchers, weight loss...hmmm. I'm doing ok, I should be doing alot better though. The past two weeks I gained :-( This week was only 0.2 lbs though. I've lost around 15 pounds still. My mom has lost 19.6 lbs! She's doing great! And you can really tell she's lost.

Well, that's all for now. Have a great weekend!

What I've Been Up To

I hope everyone's having a great summer so far. I haven't heard from anyone for awhile. Trav and I have been doing quite a few different things lately. He has started his drag racing season and is doing great. Last Thursday was his first race at the Kanawha Valley Dragway (www.kanrace.com). For the most part is just a chance for test and tune. He was the only four wheeler that showed up so he raced against crotch rockets. He actually beat one! I was really proud of him. I think he will race again there tomorrow night, and on Sunday he will be racing in Ripley.

We have also been in our pool alot and riding the motorcycle around town and on back roads in the evenings and weekends as a way to beat the heat. I'm loving having our own pool and being able to get in and relax and play around.

I have started walking also. I'm up to 3 miles in 1 hour now. That's good for me. I decided to do it as a way to lose some weight along with joining Weight Watchers about 8 weeks ago (www.weightwatchers.com). I have been doing really well on it. I've lost close to 15 pounds and the walking has helped me lose inches. My goal is to lose 30 pounds all together by Labor Day. I'm not sure if I'll make it or not, but it seemed like a good number to work towards.

I also joined a knitting club in Parkersburg at the store Market Street Yarn and Crafts. We are doing different blocks from a book called 200 knitted blocks. We are doing one block per month. Of course I messed mine up last month, but the ladies there are really great and helped me figure out my mistakes, so even though I'm behind now, I'm on the right track and still learning different techniques. I'm hoping to continue making blocks after the 12 we are doing in the club so I can make an afghan. I think that would be really pretty.

That's about all for now. I hope to hear from everyone!

A Month Already?

I can't believe it's been a month since I've posted anything! I guess that's what warmer weather has done to me. Trav and I have been outside almost every evening doing something. If we ever catch a break in the rain we plan on continuing to polyurethane our porch railing, then on to painting the porch and the rest of the house. I'm excited to see what it will look like when it's all done. I think it will look great, almost like a different house. We did catch a break last week. We had called the electric company to see if they would cut our tree down because it was in the power lines. They actually did too! So that saved us alot of hassle, but now we have a big stack of wood in our yard that hopefully we will be getting rid of quite soon.

In other news, we got one of those pools from Walmart last week. I'm hoping to be in it later ;-) I just thought I'd let you all know I'm still alive! Have a great week!

What's Going On

Alot has been going on around here. To start off a couple weeks ago my mom had to start walking with a cain and had to take 10 days off from work due to severe pain in her knee from arthritis. I had to take her up to St. Joseph's Hospital twice, once we got up there and the MRI machine was down, then we had to go back a few days later after it was fixed. But we are waiting to her the results of the test. She will either have to have surgery if there is something torn, or she will have to start getting shots into her knee to give extra fluid in the joint so the bone isn't rubbing together causing the pain. So either way, it's not good. I've been really busy trying to take care of her and dad the past couple weeks.

Yesterday we got some more bad news. The owner of King Kutter, the company Travis makes tillers for, has cut the pay on various pieces. Travis' tillers happens to be one of the pay cuts. So he's expected to do the same amount of work for less money. He's currently looking for another job. But we've been there. There are no good jobs here. Also, we'll be losing our medical insurance in any new job transition for at least a month if not more.

Over the weekend we got some home improvement supplies. We got new railing for our porch at Lowes and some of it at Home Depot. I also bought a new patio set.

The patio set was a great deal! We got four padded chairs and a table, and two matching fold up chairs and a small table for around $200. I really like it.

We decided that before we put up the new railing we should power wash the paint off the house in the front and off the porch itself. I actually did some too.

Here is a "before" picture of the house.

Here is what we've gotten done so far.

My Views

Be warned, this is probably going to end up being a rant post.

Ok. The whole Don Imus thing? Come on people. He apologized a zillion times, the players accepted his apology, he got fired, move on! I am so tired of seeing it on the news every single night. Dateline NBC had a special about it last night where they interviewed a group who had taken a psychological test of what race they preferred. One of the panelists was a black man who was a civil rights activist. His test revealed that he preferred white people. He couldn't have that at all! In his comment he said that his results was because when he was growing up, white people was all that was on tv, etc. That is the dumbest excuse I've ever heard! I don't consider myself racist. I am just anti-stupidity! Another black male panelist said in the interview, "European-American" when referring to white people. That offends me. Why isn't a big deal being made about that, or old Snoop Dog saying "Ho", "Nigga", or "Cracker"? Why is it ok for black people to refer to each other with those kind of terms, but when a white person says it the whole country goes berserk? Why aren't white people standing up and making a big deal out of them calling us crackers or honkies? The whole thing just ticks me off. Slavery ended about 150 years ago. If anyone is to blame for that it is our great-great-great grandfathers, not us. People are making this into a black/white issue, and I think the point is getting missed all together. It's a stupid person/stupid person issue. I say forget Don Imus. I'm sure that Snoop and 50 cent have said worse and treated black people in more of a degrading manner than white people do. Check your back yard before you blame everyone else. Oprah is having a 2 day "Town Hall" show about the issue. It's all black people on her show. How is that an "open" converstation? I find that funny because they obviously do care about what white people have to say or there wouldn't be an issue to begin with! Just my opinion.

On another topic, since when did we need to hear how Barrack Obama, President Bush, or Angelina Jolie weigh in about every single issue that faces Americans? I frankly don't care what they think.

Blog Update

As you all now know, my blog is only viewable to people that I have invited to see it. So congratulations, I must like you! Travis and I have also deleted our Myspace accounts due to the problems it has created in our family. I am hoping that by doing this it will put an end to some issues.

And just a reminder....PLEASE DON'T VOTE FOR SANJAYA TONIGHT!!!!

News

I have some great news to share with everyone. Go here.

My New Blog Header

Yeah Travis! He made me an awesome blog header....THANK YOU!!! You are awesome!

All Finished!

I got the pattern from Rachel's Knitting Corner (her blog link is under my favorite blogs). It was actually pretty easy to do.

Update on the Scrapbooking March Scripture Challenge

The contest ended on Saturday at 11:59pm. I worked my butt off and was able to post a total of 37 scrapbook pages, which is more that alot of people do in 6 months. As of midnight, I had the most layouts posted, so therefore I am the winner. Ok, here's the thing. And yes, I am VERY mad. According to the forum time, at 2:44 am or something like that, the person doing the digital layouts posts 3 more layouts giving a total of 39. They shouldn't have been counted, but they were. That gave her 2 more than me but only in a cheating way. The person that hosted the challenge said that she was counting them because the woman lived in a different time zone and she did not specify what time zone the contest was (even though the forum was central time and the host lives in eastern time). She says that we both win. But I don't care about a stupid prize. It was about winning. And it was about me overcoming a cheater who did DIGITAL layouts which isn't even the same thing! I am really disappointed that a SCRIPTURE challenge would cheat. But what can I do? Just move on. I guess on the positive side I have a great scrapbook album out of it. The principle of it just ticks me off.

Here's A Good Story

Last night I was lucky enough to hear a lady read this story...

A young lady was in an airport waiting for her flight. Since she had some time to spare she brought along a book and a bag of cookies. She sat down opened the book and the bag of cookies. A man was seated right beside her. After sometime she picked up a cookie from the bag. The man did the same. This irritated her and she was thinking, "how dare this man." But because she did not want to cause a scene she let it pass. After awhile she again picked another cookie and the man did the same. She picked one and the man did the same. She was really getting mad now but again she had to control her temper. Finally there was one piece left and she was wondering what the man would do. She did not have to wait long. The man took the cookie, and broke it in half. He ate the other half leaving the other for her. She almost exploded but managed to curb her temper. Finally her flight was called. Still fuming from her experience she went into the plane and took her seat. She opened her bag to look for something when she noticed that she still had her bag of cookies. Untouched and unopened. Then she realized that she had forgotten that her cookies were in her bag. She was eating from the man's bag of cookies. And to think that she was mad and irritated. And to think that she wanted to get mad at the man for his lack of manners. And to think that the man shared the last cookie. He did not say anything, he just broke the last cookie in half and left. She realized that she would never be able to explain what she had done. And what she felt. She felt so stupid because she realized that he not she was sharing the cookies. She wanted to apologize but the man was no longer there with her.

How wrong our assumptions can be! Have you ever jumped to the wrong conclusion about someone? It can happen easily. All the evidence, as we see it, seems to point in a particular direction.At times, these situations, like the cookie story, are embarrassing, but do no harm. At other times, however, they drive wedges between people, cause pain, hurt feelings, and bitterness. Marriage breakups, family feuds, congregational in-fighting, and synodical discord are frequently the result of faulty understanding of "evidence."Individuals, church bodies, even nations have been ravaged because of misinformation or misunderstanding. Our sinful nature thrives on gossip, loves a juicy story, and willingly believes the worst.

I really hope everyone who reads this will be able to think about this story next time they get upset or angry with someone. It's not always the other person. Just something to think about.

Nothing New To Write About

I just thought I'd stop by and jibber jabber for a few before I go to bed. I just posted on my scrapbook blog about how bummed out I am. I don't think it's just about the scrapbooking subject though, but that's what I'm blaming lol. Ah, family sucks, life sucks, my scrapbook pages suck, but I rock! Yea, I had to spice that up, I couldn't depress everyone. Anywho...Sanjaya...need I say more??? He wasn't even in the bottom 3! Unbelievable. But Blake was so awesome! I think that was the best performance American Idol has ever seen! Loved it!

Monday night Travis and I are going to be iniatied into Eastern Star. I'm excited about that. I will probably spend my Saturday shopping with my Mom for a nice outfit to wear. Yippee! I hate shopping for clothes. It's not that I don't like buying them and having new clothes, I mostly hate trying them on. That is the time I realize how much weight I've gained. Then I get mad. Then I get upset. Then I get depressed. And so on. Blah. I'm having another blah day. Great.

Oh, I almost forgot...we had a cookout with my Mom and Dad...here's some pictures.

Me and my Momma

Me and my Dad

Me and Travis

Have a great Friday!

My Weekend

I had a pretty good weekend all in all. Friday night Travis and I went out with our friends, Angie and Joe. We all went to Outback in Parkersburg for dinner. I had a great time. It's nice to have friends to go out and do things with.

Saturday I had knitting class. Anna got to go with me this week which was great. And I'm happy to say I showed my teacher a ...FINISHED dishcloth!!! And she said she was proud of me...how bout that?! I told her that I'm not going to use that one...that baby's goin in a frame! Ha ha! I started on the dreaded scarf pattern. It's more difficult to do but only because I have to really concentrate counting the stitches. But I've seen how the pattern turns out and it's actually really pretty. I figure if I can get through making this thing, I'll be darned...I'm wearing it!!!

Anna and I also went to the scrapbook store. I love it there. I just wish they would get in some new stuff. I cranked out so many pages last week I was really running low on supplies though. I did get some pretty paper. Anna said that she got alot of new supplies on her trip so I'm really anxious to see what she comes up with.

On Sunday, Travis and I went to visit his dad again. Things seem to be going really well. I don't really want to get into all of it on here, so if you're curious, just ask. Steve, his dad, is painting our motorcycle's gas tank. He was working on it while we were there and I was really impressed with his skills and the process itself. I got to see the primer coat go on it, the the base coat of black. It was a flat black paint which means no shine, but that tank looked better with that on it than it did when we took it to him! I guess now he has to tape of the designs which will take alot of time. He is so good at mixing paint too! I am really impressed! He had this can of dark green paint he pulled out while looking for a blue color for the American flag part of the design and said, I can mix something with that to work. I'm thinking, "Nah! That'll never work right." I was wrong! He grabbed a dark purple and swirled the two together and it was perfect! I told Travis he must've done really good in Kindergarten! Angie could tell me..lol. Anyways, that's all I've got for now. Have a great Tuesday...American Idol's on tonight!!! And be sure to tell everyone to vote off this guy...Sanjaya you need to go home!!!

Contest Update

You all will be very happy to know that I finished 3rd place in the Scrapbook Layout Contest. Thanks for voting for me to those of you that did. Here are the results...

love my camera 2
unforgetable 14

heroes / cowboys 1
becuase of you 85
afternoon snake encounter 1
best friends 1
blue eyed beauty 1
cincinnatie reds 0
most memorable celebration 3
crazy 2
daddy's girl 1
everyday 1
spring (2 page layout) 2
princess needs a crown 0
6 - six 0
sweet heart 0
you're beautiful 90
doodle bug (2 page layout) 0
illusive perception 6
imagine 3

Maybe someday I'll figure out how those other two got 85 and 90 votes???????? Anyways, I'm really happy that I did so well, especially since there were 20 layouts.

Vote for Me!

I know I've sent out emails to everyone, but I wanted to remind everyone to please go to http://www.serendipityscrapbookdesigns.com/sLayoutContestEntries.html and vote for my scrapbook page called "Unforgettable". The contest ends on March 15th which is only a few days away and whoever has the most votes wins a prize. I'm already so excited just seeing a page I made on a scrapbook products website, it's awesome! Thanks to everyone who votes for me in advance.

I also wanted to share this with you.

Do you know how to catch a polar bear???

You just take a can of peas, cut a hole in the ice, and line the peas around the hole. When the polar bear comes to take a pea, just kick him in the ice hole.

Ha ha! I'm sure you can tell, for those of you who know my dad, it came from him.

Later!

Bedroom Remodeling

Anyone who has talked to me lately knows that Trav and I have been relentlessly working on remodeling our bedroom. It has been a big job taking off the wallpaper, and in some places 50 years worth of it! I am vowing now to never in my life put up wallpaper!!! It is the biggest pain in my backside! Anyways, we have finally said we're done! We had to come to a certain point where we had to say we aren't putting any more money into this room for now. But I just think it's absolutely beautiful now! Here's some pictures...

This is a view of our bedroom from the door. You can see the paint color really well in this picture. It's called Ancestral. It's a pink/light purple color. I love it!

This is the new light fixture that we bought. Above the light is the ceiling medallion that we got. It really adds to the room. It also matches our molding.

Here is a close up of our molding. It has a beautiful rose pattern that goes all the way around the room. So pretty!

And last but not least because it was the hardest project in the room is the shelves. These shelves started out with about 5 or 6 layers of old old wallpaper on them. Travis worked on this for over a week. I think he did an amazing job. And I like how the boards are in the shelf backing, it makes it look more "country" styled.

On a different subject, remember the picture of my knitting that I had posted? Yea, it's wrong lol! Ahhh! I went to knitting class Saturday and I couldn't figure out why I was accumulating stitches on my needle. Hmmm, because I was doing it wrong!!! The instructor showed me what the problem was, so now I'm back on track, but a week behind everyone else. That totally figures! Most of the ladies brought in their nice little dishcloths all completed looking like they were ready to jump in the sink and start scrubbing something. Mine got torn out. :-( I told Travis that it doesn't matter how long I have to sit there and work on it, it will be done before this Saturday's class! Everyone else started working on a harder pattern that makes a scarf. I would definitely like the practice, but a scarf? I don't wear a scarf, I'm lucky if you can get a coat on me in the dead of winter. Anyways, here's a picture of my dishcloth progress.

Well, it's back to laundry. Happy Monday!