My life at 40...

It's going to be a GREAT week!

Don't you think? I am anxious to get to work this morning. It feels like forever since I have been there. I miss my co-workers & my work. Crazy, I know. It's been like this since December, when I started my new position.

Anywho...

I was off last week to attend a service conference in Hollywood, FL. While Florida has never been on my list of  "must visit" places it was nice to see it (for a couple of days) and then come home. I have a new appreciation for "dry" heat. Seriously! LOL 

I think it was in the low 80's while I was there but the humidity? Goodness gracious! I was drenched walking out of my room. Shoot, even 70 degrees was too hot in my room. I had to keep the thermostat down to 68 just to keep comfortable. What can I say, I am officially a wimp. LOL

I stayed at the Westin Diplomat Resort, have you ever been there? It's pretty nice, see...

This next picture is inside the resort, it doesn't do it justice though. This is the only picture I took of the lobby. What the heck? LOL

The next three photos are the view from the balcony outside of my room. 

 Pretty, huh? OH! And "supposedly," in the water-ways above, there were/are manatees BUT I cannot confirm that as I didn't see ANY. Nope, note a one. WHAN! 

So there you have it. Hollywood, FL in a nut shell. LOL

Before I take off, let me leave you with a card. I think it is somewhat fitting based on the above post...

Cute, huh? I think so. 

Card deets: 

• Stamps: Amuse
• Paper: Base card is from Memory Box, white
• Inks: Tuxedo Black & Copic Markers
• Misc: Glaze Pen & Oval Nesties

Alrighty then, I am off like a prom dress. See you all later!

And hey, THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!!!

And...she stamps...

I know it's past Easter but I wanted to take a minute & share the card I made...

I didn't get a chance to send it out to anyone. Perhaps next year? You know how I roll. LOL 

Card deets: 

• Stamps: Spring has Sprung from Whipper Snapper Designs
• Paper: Card base from Memory Box & White for the bunny
• Inks: Tuxedo Black & Copic Markers
• Misc: Ribbon

I am slowly working on getting back into stamping. It is a slow process for me only becuase I have had so much going over the last 6 months. I am definitely feeling the need to be more creative though. 

So what have I been up to? Well...

I started a new position with my current employer. I don't want to go into too much detail but I will tell you this...it was a PROMOTION (yeah!) and I am working less OT with a LOT less stress! (Double YEAH!!)

With my new position came a new manager, one that I have previously worked with and absolutely adore! She is determined that not only will our dept be FUN but that we will give back to the community (I love this!). That being said, my entire team went out & participated in "Rebuilding Together." Our mission? To revamp a community garden & chicken coop near a Senior Housing project. My team was in charge of tearing down the old chicken coop, moving in the new one & then painting it red with white trim.

Now, please keep in mind, we were not the only people working on the chicken coop. It was very difficult for me/us to just "let things happen" & not instruct others on what to do, tell them where to move this or that or how to paint. Or say " Hey lazy, you feel like participating or do you want to just continue to sit there looking pretty?" LOL

Enough with the small talk, here are some photos of my/our day...

This is the new Chicken Coop (I wish I would have taken a pic of the run down shack/ghetto dive the two birds were living in prior to their pretty new home...

I was amazed at the detail the contractor put into building this coop. I had to take plenty of pics so that my Sis could see every angle. What do you think Pancho? Pretty cool, huh?? :) 

Cluck, cluck... I love my new home!! :) 

When we started there were only two chickens. By the time we left, they had added 10 more chickens to the coop. The Seniors were THRILLED and couldn't stop saying how excited they were. FRESH EGGS!!

Here is a photo of my silly team...

 From right to left: Cathy Jo, Toni, Deaun, Sue & ME. 

Edited to add: You can see more photos of this FUN & REWARDING day HERE

I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed my day. The fact that we were giving back to the community & doing it together, as a team, really touched me. I can't wait for our next project/community service. Had I known what a high it was to do something like this, I would have started doing this a LONG time ago!! If you are on the fence about community service, jump off & get busy. It truly is a WONDERFUL feeling!! 

So that's it for now. I'll be back soon with another card & some more updates on what's being going on around here. Thanks so much for stopping by! I missed you!

Improved look...

Well, I gave my Starbucks Christmas tree a little face lift. Check it out: 

So what do you think? Do you like the tinsel garland & the little star? I definitely think it looks better, don't you? 

I really wish you could see it in person. So cute. So, so, CUTE!! LOL 

Alright, I better get busy. See y'all later!

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday morning yard work...

This morning I decided we weren't going to be lazy bums and that things were gonna get done around the house. I cleaned half of the house and then told Robert we needed to head outside and get the yard done before it got too hot. He put it off for a few minutes and then decided he was tired of hearing me nag him... LOL 

This is how he is handling the aftermath of this mornings yard work...

As you can see, he is not the only one who is beat...LOLOLOLOL

Meanwhile, I am finishing this quick post to my blog, moving laundry, mopping the kitchen and running the vacuum through the last room. I'm almost done, I can see the light...I can see a nap for myself, I can see a movie in my future, I can see stamping...ahhhh, THAT's the life!

Hope you all enjoy your weekend!

My view this morning...

I let the dogs out this morning to take care of their "business" and this is what I saw...

 
How gorgeous is that? I love it.

And looking to the other side...

Yes, I have a view of the mountains from my backyard. HOW FRIGGIN' COOL IS THAT??? heehee (Don't mind the lawn that needs to be mowed, Robert is taking care of that this morning!! LOL)

Alright, I am off to Home Depot to pick up a couple of things with the hubby. Plus, a quick trip through Starbucks for my morning JOLT! Then I have to get the house cleaned, start the laundry, go see Cowboys vs. Aliens and hit up Costco. Whew, I am beat already! LOL

I guess I better get busy, see y'all later!

It's gonna be a late one today...

I have to get into work super early this morning so I won't be posting until this evening. Please make sure to drop by after dinner, I am sure to have something up by then!! :)

iPad, a Love Affair.

It all started with a Nook.  I loved the Nook. Loved, LoVeD, LOVED it! And then my husband wanted an iPad, so he bought me one too. You know, to justify him having one. I let it sit there for a couple of months collecting dust. Yep, I did. I loved my Nook, not the iPad. Why did I need another digital eReader? One that was bigger, heavier than my sweet little Nook. Right? RIGHT.

Until one day...my battery was low on my Nook and I wanted to read a book. The iPad was just sitting there, all charged up, waiting for me. Waiting for me to spend time with it, hold it, love it. So...I did what I had to do. I picked it up and read my book. On my iPad. And then, then I found the App Store. And I found these Angry Birds.

 I just couldn't control myself. I was sling shotting these birds all over the place. I have all three apps...Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio. But that's not all. The darn thing just sucks me in, ALL THE TIME!! It's like I can't breathe without it. IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY!! So much that I think I need to put myself on iPad restriction. Perhaps I need to seek professional help? And, uh, is it wrong to tell my husband that I love him MORE than my iPad? Is it? Because I have told him that. Sob...

So there you have it. It's sad, I know. But...but...it's...my iPad.

Enough said...

Okay, where did I leave off?

Yesterday you saw the front of the house, the garages (boring!) and the kitchen. I really want to show you the dining area but Robert still has his computer stuff all over the table so that is going to have to go on the back burner.

So...let's check out the little desk area off the kitchen...

This is looking from the kitchen to the desk area and then the laundry room.

The lighting isn't the best in this next picture but here is the little desk area looking from the formal dining area that is now a reading room...

The window looks out over the back yard. I am sure if I had opened the blinds you would have seen Molly laying in the grass under the tree.LOL

Okay, so speaking of the reading room...here it is...this is looking from the front entry way into the room. The opening to the left is the little desk area.

That bookcase is the one Robert & I took a road trip to Yorba Linda for...it was definitely worth the trip!

The other side of the room...

Here is the front entry way...when you walk in the house, this is on the left wall, the reading room is to the right...

And here is the living room...as you can see, the kitchen is seperated from the living room but it feels like one big open room with those large openings. I LOVE THAT!!

Oh, and one more tiny little section...this is a random little nook in between the living room & reading room.

Well, what do you think so far? You really should see it in person, it looks even better in real life (if I do say so myself). LOL

Hopefully I will get pics of the rest of the house tomorrow when I get home. Keep your fingers crossed Robert gets that computer put together too!

See ya later!

Okay, okay, I am posting some pics of the house...

Not all of them, but some of them...

This is the front of the house & the little courtyard leading up to our front door:

This is the single & double car garage. Not that you care about that, but my Dad does. He asked me for pics of it. LOL

You will notice that we have TONS of storage space in the garage. Nice!!

Next is the kitchen which overlooks our great room...I LOVE THAT!! I can do dishes & watch TV at the same time. Double NICE!! LOL

I would show you the dining area but Robert is in the middle of building a new computer so the table is full of computer parts. He promises that he will have it completed by Wednesday...we'll see.

Alrighty then, I will have more pics for you tomorrow. Right now I need to STAMP and finish the laundry.

See ya all later!

The move is over...

I can now breathe a sigh of relief! THANK GOODNESS! I could not have done it without my wonderful Dad and super cool Niece ( I LOVE YOU TWO!!!) . They really ROCKED MY WORLD over the past two weeks! I am & will continue to be eternally grateful to them!

So what does this mean? I am going to start STAMPING again! YAHOO! My new office is out of this world (so is my house, heehee) and I am ready to get crafty again! I also want to post some pics of our new abode. I think you will like it. I know we do. Heck, who am I kidding, WE LOVE IT!! 

That being said, be on the lookout cause... I... AM...BACK!!! WOOT, WOOT!!!