Perfectly Candid.....: 2007

Birthday Month

What does every girl in a small town need? A POLICE SCANNER, of course!

Crap! Its a scanner! I can't ask questions and they don't repeat themselves. They talk in codes! It's has been fun. I compare it to the police logs in the newspaper the following day. LOL!

Thanksgiving in Oklahoma

The weather turned cold while we were visiting. Can you believe Grandma found all of us something warm to wear?

Halloween Wedding in Hawaii

Hedi and Bluto Wedding

Halloween Reception

Quick hello from Hawaii, the big island.

Night Dive with the manta rays. I was glad they were not sting rays. If any one would have told me I would have jumped out of a boat into the ocean in the middle of the night and enjoyed myself I would have said... not me! It was amazing, hope the underwater photos come out. There were at least 15 of them swimming within inches of us.

Before the dive.

Kiss from Patty/Betty

This is a kiss (huge, face print, lol) from Patty Betty.
She left this on the window at the entry of my house.

Redskins Fan

There was a package delivered while Mark was on his last trip. He was so excited to open it when he got home. This was one of the items. Mark is SO proud! Poor guy, surrounded by Dallas fans!

OH THE PRESSURE

Oh my goodness! The pressure to keep the blog updated! I'm just not as creative as some of the bloggers I know!

I'm thoroughly enjoying my day to day life, more than I can ever remember. It just seems silly to write about it but I will give you a quick update.

I'm making a concerted effort to live a more healthy life. I start everyday with a three mile walk and fit in weights and pilates at least three times a week. Mark and I are eating more whole foods and very little of anything processed. We've cut out most sugar and have learned to love dark chocolate! I've been taking fish oil and other vitamins. I haven't had a soda since the end of July and off all medications. I don't think I've lost much weight but my clothes are fitting a little better and I feel great! I hope that eventually the new habits will result in weight loss.

The weather has been beautiful so I've spent a lot of time outside, reading. I finished a few really good books and have four more that I can't wait to get to.

Jeffery and Kristin are doing great. Jeffery is back in the swing of things now that school is back in session and still plays golf everyday. Kristin is taking a full load and doing great at State. She came over on Tuesday just to have dinner with me and watch a movie.

Aunt Rose from Tennessee was here. She and her friend Fran stayed at my house and everyone gathered here for dinner in the evenings. We saw all the sights Ruidoso, Cloudcroft, White Sands and Holloman. Lily and Mel took them to Las Cruces and Albuquerque for the Balloon Festival. It was a fun week!

I'm picking up Patty/Betty tomorrow at the airport. She's surprising everyone. I'm the only one that knows she's coming in. We'll meet Kristin for lunch and the mall in El Paso.

Jeffery just asked if we could watch a movie together. WOW! Got to go!

OH! Mark and I are going to Hawaii at the end of the month. (Wish I could take Dave and Jenn for Dave's 40th birthday but.....)

Just want you to know that I'm alive and doing very well!

Dragon's Breath

Last Saturday I was sound asleep and thought I was dreaming. I was hearing a strange sound. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I raced around the house and nothing....I finally stepped out on the balcony, in a daze, and saw hot air balloons everywhere. I'm pretty sure the people in the balloons got a kick out of seeing me staggering around with my hair sticking up and realizing, I should have a camera. This could be cool for the blog!

SO Happy Louise is back in the Southwest!

Kathy, Connie & Louise

Sunset on the drive from Alamogordo to Tucson

More Sunset

The New House

And the new pool. Just can't wait until its finished!

Our Last Trip of the Summer

Museum of Natural History

National Monument

Jeffery and Grandpa Bob

Barbara, Mark's Mom, Mark and I. We're waiting to have dinner in Annapolis, Maryland

Barbara picked flowers from her garden for my bedroom.

The Hope Diamond.

And of course, we went to an Orioles game!

After and Before

This window project took months to complete. It took several months to get the furniture and its been quite some time since its been finished.... I just forgot to show the results. The pics don't do the room or the furniture justice.

5 Question Challenge

1. If you could have lunch with one person from high school and catch up on each others lives... who would it be?
I had a great friend in Yuma Arizona, Cindy Sooy. Her Dad was in the Marines and we moved away from Yuma at the same time. As a matter of fact, her family drove me back to NM. She visited me again once, shortly after Kristin was born and although we hear from each other once a year, around Christmas time, I haven't seen her since. She had two boys and one is a cancer survivor. Just thinking of her now makes me miss her.....I owe her a visit.

2. If someone handed you a gift card worth 10,000 dollars what store would you want it to be for and what would you buy?
I would like a card from Lowe's Home Improvement. I would buy paint, tile, home improvement stuff....

3. What's a current trend or fad you just don't get?

Flat bill hats, baggy pants and huge shirts. Yuck!

4. You're having a dinner party and you can invite 3 famous people dead or alive... who would you invite?

I'm not really sure, Oprah, Elvis and Jennifer Aniston?
I would much prefer having dinner with my whole family, Uncle Fred, Aunt Gene, Kimberly and especially with my grandma. She would have loved Mark and would absolutely adore all of the grandkids she's never met. It would be so much fun to have a dinner together, the way we used to, back in the day.

5. Where's the best place you've been on vacation... and what made it the best?
My favorite place, so far, has been Puerta Vallarta. The weather has been perfect, the food was great and it was very relaxing.

Reason for the Game Room and Wii

This is the reason we put in the game room.

We've got two playing ping pong, two playing the Wii, two spectators and two more coming in the door. What more could a mother ask for? I was accused of being paparazzi, but who cares if you know where your teenagers are?

Love to hear the music and laughs coming from down the hall....

Happy Memories

I came across a stack of things that I've saved for years. When I look at each piece, I have a special memory of the days when the kids were younger and so was I.
Jeffery used to love to wear the hat with the propellers, and nothing else. I have numerous pictures of Jeffery in that hat, completely naked.
The Mickey Mouse is a sock/rattle. He would sit in his bouncy and kick his feet and when he saw me coming, especially after work, his feet would go 100 miles an hour. He was so excited to see me!
The card in the middle was a note from Kristin dated November 7, 1995. She just wanted me to know that "I am the very best ever!"
Notes from the kids written on perfectly cut pieces paper towels. That's what what they could find in the junk drawer in the kitchen, a sharpie and scissors.
A card from my best friend that says we're family...
A note from my Dad and if you know my dad, you know why I saved it.

The Last Few Days of Jacob's Visit

International Space Hall of Fame
Museum of Space History

Ping Pong King!

White Sands. It looks like snow but its miles and miles of white sandy beach with no water!

Dig in it.....

Slide Down it

And here's the plane that he jetted off in, back to Las Vegas....I watched it disappear into the clouds and had a huge lump in my throat. I really enjoyed our special time together, Jacob. Thanks for coming to visit the Land of Enchantment!

Fun Days

Practicing to play in a tournament with Dad on Friday!

The Otter's at the Zoo

Jacob's favorite

This turtle has been in the zoo for over 50 years!

Brewster's awake!

All that was left from our batch of rice crispy treats!

We had to try to work them off!

Jacob in New Mexico

Jacob says that he's having a great time so far! He's been so much fun to have around. This trip was going to be all about Jacob and he's had to do some things that were not exactly what he wanted to do but I've not heard one single complaint! He's met all kinds of extended family, visited a sick relative, helped out a new mom by giving her a break from her older two kids, helped Kristin move, went to a Rotary meeting and waited two hours while I got my hair done.

So, here are a few things he's enjoyed doing this week....Swimming at aunt Lily and Uncle Mel's house, movies, bowling, kicking everyone's butt at Wii Sports, Golfing, Ping Pong, and get this, Thrift Store Shopping. Dave taught him this. The book below was his first find and he would like to visit every thrift store in Alamogordo! I was worried about what to feed him but I suspect he will have gained some weight by the time he leaves. He's been eating constantly and enjoyed every bit of what ever I come up with for him. He's been very polite and does exactly what I ask him to do. He's picking up after himself and taking a shower and brushing his teeth too!

Tomorrow we don't have to work around anything, so its "Jacob's Day" and he is so excited. There are several things to get done before he leaves and he just can't decide what to do so we'll let you know how our week progresses.
1. Space Hall of Fame
2. IMax Theater (Walk on Mars, Dolphins and Flight Around the World)
3. The Zoo
4. White Sands
5. Thrift Store Shopping
6. Four Wheeling with Aunt Lily and Uncle Mel
7. Hang out with Aunt Nanny

He has occupied every bit of my time. I've been too tired to get on the computer. He's asleep now so that's where I'm going!