Just returned home...

from, guess where??? Yep, you know me well, the lake is correct! Ryan is the best hubby. On Sunday morning, he said honey, my regional and district managers are with me this week. You should just stay here if you want to because I am going to have lots of work to do when I get home to get ready for them. He also has to entertain them in the evenings. Tonight they are going to a Cardinals game. So, he twisted my arm, we stayed at the lake for a couple of extra nights. Yesterday we hung out on the dock for most of the day. Harley was swimming like a mad dog. She likes to run up and down the dock barking at fish, and occasionally, she jumps in after one. The water hasn't quite been warm enough for her up until now. Apparently, the temperature is perfect. Of course after I went up and got my camera, her swimming time was over. Maybe next time. Isn't this the cutest picture of little Barkley????

If you look to the left of this picture, you can see our new hammock! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! I had a couple of relaxing moments on it at night after the weather cooled down.

We returned to the dock last night to watch the sun set. Just beautiful and so peaceful! And, that is why I love being at the lake.

After the sunset last night, I watched some reruns of one of my favorite shows of all time. Anyone recognize these girls???

Well, hope everyone is having a terrific Tuesday! I am going to work on some little projects tonight while Ryan is at the game with his bosses. I am behind on everything because of all the time I have been spending at the lake. So I have to get to it!!!

Some pics from Oklahoma

I ended up getting so many good pictures when I was at home. I love the ones of Shelton. He is so cute, and it is so easy to get him to smile. Gotta love that!

Kylan and I were worn out! My brother picked up my camera and snapped pics of us sleeping in the recliner.
Kylan is always making funny faces. She is very spirited!

Just look at how determined she is for Shelton to take the pacifier in the bottom picture. Too funny! Hope everyone is having a good week.

Home Again!

Yes, I am actually at my own house!!! This has been a crazy month. I don't think I have slept here more than 5-7 times in the past month. I came back to Springfield on Friday evening, met my friend Jessie for dinner, came home, slept, woke up and headed to the lake. I came back here yesterday afternoon (Monday). It feels good to be here. I didn't ever find my ring. Very sad deal! But I am hopeful that at some point, the ring will just fall out of a cabinet or a drawer, or something like that. I must say that everyone's nice comments are encouraging. I had decided I was the only girl in the world who takes off her wedding ring that often. Apparently, it's not just me!!! Ryan has been really good about it too. I think we both know that there isn't a thing we can do about it. It is out of our control. I have got to go find a picture of it to email the police department. We had to file it missing in order for any insurance to kick in. What an ordeal! I mean, it's not even about the money, it's my wedding ring. Ryan had it designed for me based on all the things I had pointed out on rings as we had looked at them. It was really special, and I'm obviously still pretty sad about it because I am almost in tears as I type this.

However, I must say I am happy to be home. I have lots of pics to post later when I get them uploaded. The ones on here are just random, but they make me smile. When Rach was here, she walked in her room, and found Barkley, just laying in her suitcase!!! Hope you all have a happy day!!!

Just a note...

to say hello:) Mom is doing a little better, becoming more independent. I am going home on Friday. I miss my puppies and my hubby right now. Since I have been here, I have lost my wedding ring. That has really had me down a little because I have absolutely no idea where it could be. I had it on Saturday, but Saturday night, I started to realize it was missing. I am really weird about my ring. I take it off every time I put on lotion, clean the kitchen, shower, go to bed, swim, etc. It is kind of like closing the garage door when I leave my house. It happens subconsciously. Since I have been here, I have been so busy taking care of mom, cooking for everyone, cleaning, etc. It has been a wild week. Saturday night, I made queso and tacos for everyone. I remember taking my ring off when I was making the queso. I was afraid I was going to get cheese in it. But it's nowhere to be found. I have had to make myself come to grips with the fact that this SUCKS!!! But, I still have a lot of things to be thankful for. It's taken a few really hot baths and lots of self-talk, but I know that worse things could happen. I will keep you filled in on this saga.

I have gotten to spend a lot of time with my niece and nephew since arriving. I have seen them most of the days I have been here. I have gotten some super cute pictures that I can't wait to post and play with after I have some time. Tomorrow my sister-in-law is bringing Shelton over for me to watch while she and my brother go fishing for the day. I'm gonna try to get some more pics of him. He is so adorable! Anyways... I've gotta run! I need to get some zzzzzzzzzz's.

Consider Yourself Challenged blog....

is up and running!!! All of us design team girls from Scrapbook Generation are putting together a bi-weekly challenge blog. (hence the name:) Our first challenge will be posted tomorrow, along with our versions of the challenge. We will pick a winner each month. That person will receive a nice little goodie bag. You should go check it out, and play along with us!!!

For everyone who has emailed or posted, my mom is making it okay since her surgery. She is in lots of pain though, and she is not able to do anything on her own. Thanks to all of you who have asked about her and said a prayer. I really appreciate it. I will try to post some pics later. I am doing this in quite a rush!!! Hope you all are having a happy day!

10 Random things about me

I had to post some pics along with my "tag". The neighboring subdivision at the lake puts on a Fourth of July Golf Cart Parade each year. They go all out. I thought I'd share some of the fun with everyone. They throw candy and all!!!

So, I've been tagged by a couple of people to compile a list of ten random things you may not know about me. Then I have to tag ten people to do the same things. Here goes:

1. My favorite junk food snack is Lay's wavy mesquite bbq chips with french onion dip-YUM!!!

2. My Grandma June is a retired Special Education teacher, and she still teaches adults how to read through a local literacy program. I think that is really neat. I think that is where I found my love of helping people who need a little extra boost.

3. My Grandpa Jim served on the Oklahoma House of Representatives for seventeen years, ran the department of transportation for the state, and was the Corporation Commissioner in Oklahoma for years. I remember making family commercials at their house each election year. These commercials are hilarious for us to watch!!! We get to see the whole film instead of the edited versions.

4. I love to watch The Young and the Restless.

5. The part I hate the most about getting ready is blow drying my hair. I have to though, or it just isn't pretty.

6. Jack Johnson, John Mayer, and Kenny Chesney are my favorite music artists.

7. I am extremely stubborn and very hard-headed-just ask my husband:)

8. I have a strange fetish for designer jeans. I LOVE them!!! Seven For All Mankind, Citizens of Humanity, and Grass are some of my favorites.

9. I don't like sweets very much.

10. Last, but not least, I'm Sooner born, and Sooner bred, and when I die, I'll be a Sooner dead:)

Boomer Sooner!!!

Okay, number ten probably isn't that surprising, but I had to throw in something about my Sooners!!!

Here is who I am tagging. I'm only tagging six though, because most of the other people I would have tagged have already done this. What can I say? I don't mind bending the rules a little here and there:) If you don't have a blog or a myspace page, email me your list.

Tiffany Cooper

Rachel Dorsey

Kindra Eddings

Bethany Arie

Allison Davis

Jessica Springfield

Hello!!!

Hi there old friends! I have been gone for quite some time. I must say that it does feel nice to know that I have been missed:) We have been at the lake for the past 10 days, then came home, and couldn't get access to the Internet...YUCK!!! Can I even begin to tell you how annoying that has been for me??? That is the only thing I miss when I am at the lake, besides my scrapbook room, of course. So I got to be home for two whole days, then tomorrow I am heading to Oklahoma because my mom is having surgery. This has been some summer, I must say, and the worst part is that it is halfway overwith. I can't tell you how sad that makes me. I am taking my scrapping supplies to OK with me though. My poor parents have to deal with me overtaking the dining room. Anyways, in other news, I thought I would show you guys pics of my new table, chairs, and bench that we got for the lake. I LOVE them!!! Now I can scrap at the lake:) I usually take stuff to make cards, and use our trays to work off of. Now I will have a whole table. I took some other pics too, so you can see why we like being there so much. Our view is INCREDIBLE!!! I will tell you though, I cleaned up to take the pictures. It usually looks more like a lake house than this. During the fall and winter, the lake is unbelievable from our house because the trees are bare. Anyways, I am so thrilled with our new table, chairs, and bench. They go perfectly with my "tropical paradise" in the middle of the woods. I will post some more pictures later. Right now, I am off to check some blogs...

It's Just a Lazy Day Afternoon:)

Rachel and I have been having a great time since she got here on Monday. Today it is all rainy outside, so we're just at home having a lazy day afternoon!!!

You can kind of see Barkley's haircut here, but it looks much different in real life. He's still a cutie!

Hi!!!

So, I still haven't posted pics of Barkley with his new haircut. I just can't seem to get a good shot. But, Ryan and I both agree that he looks kind of funny. We liked him and his furry little body. He definitely feels better though. I have been at the lake since Thursday with my mom. We got to spend a nice relaxing day at the dock on Friday, then we shopped Saturday and Today. We got some REALLY good shopping in!!! She left tonight, and I just got my house (in Springfield) kind of straightened up for Rachel, who arrives tomorrow at 12:30:) I just can't wait!!! Tomorrow, our new chair and table also arrives:) So I guess this Monday will be a very happy one for me! I hope everyone else has a happy Monday as well:) I will post pics next time, I promise!!!

Barkley Is Getting a Haircut Today

So say goodbye to all this cute fur. He is just so hot. I'll post pics after we get back.

I hope he still looks this cute:)

Pictures from Oklahoma

My nephew, Shelton, is just the sweetest little baby. He hardly cries at all, and he just likes to snuggle. You can tell my mom loves that!!! Notice his bib. I got that for him. If you can't read it, it says, "my aunt loves me". He is so cute! Kylan is getting so big, and man, she is one spunky little thing! Look out world! She is tiny, but full of spirit! She is eighteen months, and there are only two or three pounds between her and my three month old nephew. She loved playing with Barkley too!!! Speaking of, I had to put the picture of him with his head out the window on here. It cracks me up! Hope everyone has a happy day! I am going to try to do a little bit of scrapping today. I made a page yesterday that I loved, and then I think I messed it up. I'm going to assess the damage, and see what I can do to fix it!

Pictures from Bricktown

Here are some of the pictures I took Friday in Bricktown. It was really cloudy outside, so the pics look a lot better in black and white than they do in color. I could kick myself for not taking a picture at Chelino's when we had lunch. It was sooooo yummy!!! I think my favorite parts are the homemade (very thick) tortillas with butter and their wonderful cheese sauce. I have to figure out how to make this stuff. It's different than queso, maybe made with evaporated milk??? If anyone knows this secret, I would love for you to share this knowledge with me:)

Happy Monday!!!

Who knew...

that I had so many blogging friends who are okies??? I guess I never realized how many of us are okies in some way or another. Anymore of you guys out there? I took some cool pics at Bricktown this weekend. Ryan and I had a good day Friday, just hanging out at places we used to love to go to. When we lived in Norman, we went to Bricktown all the time. It was so fun to be there and see all the new stuff, but to still feel the comfort of old places that feel like home, even if you haven't visited them in years. When we go to Oklahoma, we usually just hang out with my family the whole time because there are so many people to see, and our trips are so rushed. Since Ryan took the day off on Friday, we were able to have a day to do run around by ourselves, which is what we did most of the time when we lived there. This weekend reminded me of lots of good stuff I had kind of forgotten about:) I will post some pics later tonight or tomorrow. Hope everyone had a good weekend! And, if you're an okie, or have ties to The Sooner State, let me know:)

I'm Back!

I don't know if I have ever gone this long between posts on my blog! I have been at the lake since Friday morning. Ryan has been in Chicago for work this week, so I figured the dogs and I would just chill at the lake! We did too...I sure wish we hadn't had so much rain. But I made about 30-35 cards while I was there! I didn't have much else to do. I took bags of leftover paper from pages, and I whipped out quite a batch of cards. I love it when I get rid of all that paper! My leftovers have become rather out of control lately, so I feel a lot better having gotten rid of some of them:) My design team buddies will even see some of that fantastic paper from our application kit that we loved so much:) Sorry for the blurry pictures, but I have to hurry today!

Well, I need to start packing. Ryan took off work tomorrow, and we are driving to see my family in Oklahoma tonight. Tomorrow, he and I are going to play in Oklahoma City. Sometimes we miss a lot of that. There was just so much to do there, neat places, Bricktown, Penn Square Mall, and the yummiest Mexican food that you can imagine. I should have been starving myself this week to prepare for all the cheese and tortillas I plan to eat at Chileno's. Ryan and I won't even eat at Mexican restaurants here because there is no comparison. Needless to say, we have learned to make some pretty mean fajitas and guacamole! But this weekend, all we have to do is order:) Can't wait!!! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Sorry, I can't get my link to work. If you would like to see Bricktown, go to:
www.bricktownokc.org/p/8065/Default.aspx

Two New Pages

For some reason, I keep going back to white cardstock lately. These are two more Vegas pages. So fun!!!

So Glad...

that our dogs love the dock as much as we do:)

Natural Beauty

I never tire of evening boat rides at Table Rock Lake. The sunset is always amazing. We see it almost every single weekend, but I keep taking pictures of it. It is just so naturally beautiful, and when I see these pictures, they just remind me of how special simple things like this can be. I guess the quote "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away", certainly applies here.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I know we sure did. We were at the lake (obviously), and the weather was pretty yucky. Our whole subdivision ended up just hanging out on the dock together, and those days are always some of my favorites. I'll post more pics this week. I got some super-cute shots of Barkley. Have a great week!!!