The Last of Colorado for This Year!

Aren't these poppies pretty? They were outside the cabin in Colorado. Actually, they were planted all over town, and in yards all around Lake City. My mom has poppies here, but she said they die back in June when the heat gets too much for them. But, in this little utopia, they were ever blooming and GORGEOUS!!
And this was the epitome of serenity. We saw this "pond" at the very top of the mountain on our horse back excursion! And it was quite cool, literally cool!, at this point! Like about 75 degrees at 2:00 in the afternoon cool! Boy, do I miss this today--it's 98 degrees and HUMID here---sweltering is the kindest word I can conjure up! Walk outside and it takes your breath. Stay outside and your sweat glands go into overdrive!!! But sitting and looking at this picture (with the AC vent pointed at me) I can almost feel the breeze!!!


And, back to work -- this week is "gear up" for inservice and enrollment. I don't have anything to do with enrollment, but I have tons of papers to mail out, files to begin and a power point to finish for an inservice presentation. And I have no energy or enthusiasm! It's like this every year during the couple of weeks before school starts -- for me anyway. Maybe it's the heat of summer, maybe it's the regret for all those things I didn't accomplish, or maybe it's the sad realization that yet another year has flown by. Time isn't on my side!!! ha ha


So tonight, I'm going to allow myself to sit and look at just a few more magazines, and have a "couch potato" night. Tomorrow I'll --- well, I'll think about that tomorrow.


Pleasant dreams all!

The End of a Heavenly Week!!!

We're back!!!!! Once again, I uploaded the pictures in reverse order, and I don't have the patience to sit through another upload, soooo you will see these in a random order! This is my grandson & my sister feeding the horses that are residents at the ranch where we stayed. We stayed at Elk Creek Ranch in Lake City, CO. It actually is listed in Gunnison, but it's 9 miles north of Lake City and 45 miles south of Gunnison, so I'm going with Lake City. It is a working ranch (we didn't see any workers!!!), so there are two areas of horses. And they are quite friendly---especially if you take them treats!!!

We did the horseback ride again!!! Believe it or not, we got the same guide as last year. His name was Jeremy and he's in 5th year college. We were hoping he & Kelsi would bond, --- nope. They did talk the entire way tho!!! My horse was "Ace" and he was a sweetheart! Jennifer's horse was "Madonna" and it was ALL ABOUT HER!!!!! The horse didn't want to cross the stream, wanted to stay in the barn, lagged behind all the others--somehow Jennifer brings out the best in a horse! Don't remember Ashley's horse's name either, but it was a "lagger" too. And when we would stop to let them drink, it had to stay and dig for a while!!! Kelsi's horse (once again, forgot the name!), was the "leader" of our trip and was quite a well trained horse. Except it kept kicking my horse in the face; could be because mine kept "goosing" him in the butt! We were gone for 3 hours and it was pure enjoyment!
Hank had a great time on all the farm implements that were on the grounds. I thought this of him and his daddy was too cute. And aren't these mountains gorgeous??? We woke up to that view each morning.
This is the house where we stayed. One mile off the highway through 2 locked gates. No one else around for miles!!! No cell phone service---no internet. It was heaven!!! We did have TV, so my dad could keep up with CNN. Other than that--peace, sweet, sweet peace. I cooked breakfast 2 mornings---the first morning we had French Toast made with homemade blueberry-banana bread & strawberry-banana bread, eggs and bacon. The next morning--biscuits and sausage gravy!! We cooked dinner 3 nights! Had 7 friends over for dinner on Tuesday night. Believe it or not, they are from hometown, and hometown church. We had a great time. And we laughed about the fact that we had to go 14 hours away to get together. But isn't that how it is??? At home everyone is too busy to coordinate schedules.

One day while there, a juried art show was held in the town park. Wow--there were some beautiful items, and it was so relaxing. There is just a certain "attitude" in small upper mountain towns. No one cares how you dress, who you are, what you do===it's just a friendly atmosphere. Kind of like old hippies on field trips!!! Ha ha ha Without the drugs or sex!!! Now, isn't that perfect???

And little Hank was the perfect vacationer. Those long hours riding didn't upset him one bit! (love those DVD players!!! Although he was limited to 2 during trips). He interacted in conversation--think the game "Mad Gab"!! If you haven't played this, look it up and you'll understand! And he took 2 and 3 hour naps in the car!!! During our stay, whatever we dragged him to do, he loved. And staying at the ranch was great---he could play outside and be as loud as he wanted!!! And there was so much "farm" stuff for my little farmer!!!

Family vacations, where the entire family goes, can be tense, trying and totally useless---believe me, I have endured a few of those!!! But this one was good. I'm so grateful to have all of them to take, regardless of their "weird" habits---not mine!!! ha ha ha. We came back still loving each other and wanting to be around each other. That is a major feat!

Well, bloggies, I'm a bit tired (drove straight through last night) so I'll close for now, but I'll regale you with tales of Colorado later!!!!

Vacation Time!!!

I have scrimped and saved since last September, and now -- tada!!! I have our vacation lodging & car rental paid for!!! We leave Saturday morning for beautiful Lake City Colorado!!!


Now, the reason I scrimped and saved is that I challenged myself to see if I, and I alone, could finance the bulk of this trip. All this from catering jobs. And, whoopee!!! I did it!!! Even have a bit left over for gas and extras. When we get back, I begin saving for the next one!!!



Not that I don't want Big Daddy to help out with the trip expense, I just want to see if I can save money!!! ha ha ha And, if I have a goal, and set my mind to it---it works!!!


The entire family (with the exception of my son and my sister's son) are going. A & E (the sons) can't get off work. I don't think they really, really wanted to go, but this excuse is easier to digest!!!


We will spend the first night in Raton NM and drive on in the next day. This year we have rented a cabin that sleeps 15 & it's 9 miles outside of town. We plan to horseback ride, go 4-wheeling, hiking, etc. There's really not alot more to do, and that suits us just fine! We will cook at the cabin each morning and night, and are taking board games & videos. It's family immersion at it's finest. There is another family from our town, who also attend the same church as me, who will be there the same week. They have alot of common interests, so we intend to have them over for food a couple of times.


But, basically, we are there to relax and enjoy God's green mountains!!!


So, I won't be blogging til I get back. Tonight begins the "getting ready to pull out" phase--cooking, shopping for food, washing, packing, cleaning house. Needless to say, I won't even look at the computer. But I'll be thinking of all of ya, and taking great (I hope!) pictures to share.


Everyone be careful and have a good week.

Oh Yeah It's Ladies Night!!!

Well, we finally made it!!! All 6 of us were able to be together the same night!!! That's a major accomplishment for us and our busy schedules!!! This is "Girls Night" at the local Melting Pot. The last Monday of June & July, there are special meal deals and showings. So, of course, we HAD to go!!! A local women's department store had a preview of their new skin care line, a fashion show, and a make over!!! We got samples of the skin care and my sis won a bottle of wine! And we had a four course meal!! How fun--it wouldn't have been quite so pricey but we just had to have us a couple of those fruity drinks!!!
Now I think the above picture is too funny!!! Penny the Queen & I are quite, hmmm, not sure the emotion, but this the dessert course, and cinnamom flames!!! We laughed at this pic til we cried!!!
But then we regained our composure and posed for this one!!! And we let Ya Ya D join the fun!!! BTW---the bananas foster fondue wasn't nearly as good as the dark chocolate one. Not to worry tho--we disposed of them both.

Here's Ya Ya C getting her fabo makeover!!! She doesn't wear too much make up as a rule and we were just shocked by her good looks. Not really!!! She is a doll without anything, she just looked so cosmopolitian!!!
And here I am with one of my favorite things--make up!!! The gal who did the make over even commented on how good my eye make up was that I had put on at home!!! Ha ha ha She even wanted to know what brand it was! I do love me some eye paint!!!
And here's sister Ya Ya J getting her beautification!!! She always has the most perfect make up on her own, I think she just wanted the make up artists to have something to do!!
And Ya Ya D joined in the fun!!! As did Penny the Queen and Ya Ya B, but I am getting tooo "make over" happy!!!

Now, can I just tell you we had a BLAST!!! We always do and it had been such a long time (it seems) since we had all been together.. We laughed and laughed and laughed. If a psychiatrist could bottle these feelings he would have the cure for most any mental ailment!!!!

We started laughing at Ya Ya C's where she has (in front of her gorgeous home) an RV parked with the awning out and the door open!!! We deemed it the runaway room. Anytime we feel tooooo stressed we have decided to call and let her know we need our time out!!!

I know I have said this many, many times before, but if you have some gal friends and you haven't had your time together lately, DO NOT PASS GO until you round em up and have some therapy!!! I love these gals soooo much and I just can't imagine going through life without them. What a blessing!!!

Now, I'm still suffering from an over done weekend and partying late last night, so I have to close and rest before I go to bed!!!

Happy July!!!

Garden Days

Before we venture on to places out of doors, I wanted to show you the flowers my sister-in-law brought me a couple of weeks back. We were having dinner for Father's Day & I had the dinner at my house and she came in with these. Aren't they pretty? Oh yeah, this picture is SIDEWAYS!!! So tilt your head a little--now a little more--just a tad bit more---whoops, did I hear you yell "ouch"???? Hope you didn't pull anything---I'll try to remember to adjust the pics before I start downloading. Does anyone know what they are? She didn't and I can't come up with exactly what.
Ok--let's go out doors. Come & sit with me by the outdoor fireplace. As it is sooo hot, we'll burn chiminea wood and enjoy the odor wafting out towards us.
We'll listen as the urn fountains softly bubble, and watch the water cascade down.
We'll enjoy seeing the koi swim back and forth through their stream. We might even get them to eat out of our hands. Relaxing huh???


OH YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS MY HOUSE???? NOT!!!! I wish it were my backyard. I could sure see myself sitting out here in the evenings!! No, I went on a garden tour and this was one of the featured lawns. (They aren't called yards when they are on tour!!!) We visited 5 places and they were all really pretty, but this was my favorite.

Oops! Another one of those side way pics of my flowers. I don't want to go back and delete this and loose some of the others. And being the computer illiterate I am, if I start messing with this post, that's what will happen. Don't turn your head to look at this one. Trust me, they are the same flowers and I don't want you to endure any more pain!!!

Another garden tour pic. This was rather interesting. Know what those are?? Wine bottles!!! I actually think it's a rather novel idea. Don't you know they had a blast getting to this point??? "Now come on dear, we need 10 more wine bottles to make the garden complete, and company is coming in three days, so drink up." I'm amazed they were all going the same direction!!! ha ha ha
I'm falling for these waterscapes. My son worked for a landscaper when he was in college and he is quite the handy man when it comes to yard work, and he said he would put a couple in for me!! Ya hoo!!! He works as a surveyor's assistant now, so he has access to lots of LARGE rocks and boulders. I have commissioned him to help me formulate a new look in the yard.
And this pic is just too darn cute!!! This is Mabel, and she belongs to one of the gals I work with. She came to visit on Thursday and I snuck around and had another gal hold her so I can take her cute lil face and make something for her "mom".

So today I just got back from working a 50th wedding anniversary. And cooking for another anniversary across town (sounds far apart huh??? in this town we're talking a matter of 4 blocks hee hee). Sister worked the other one. BUT my puppies are yelpin!!! I need that koi pond to sit beside. Think the owners would mind if I just drive over and dangle my feet in with the fish???? Oh well, I'll just curl up on the sofa for an hour with my kitty.

Have a great evening! Oh, and today is MY anniversary!!! I'm out to eat later.

TGIF---Really TG!!!!

I didn't have a "catchy" picture to post cause I'm kinda in a hurry & I just wanted to check in with my bloggies!


I was planning to stay home all day today on my day off---no make up, old cleaning clothes and finish painting the back bedroom, clean house, and just relax. BUT---at 7:15 a.m. my mom called. She has an eye doctor's appointment and my dad isn't feeling well, so will I take her. OF COURSE I WILL!!!! Plans change soooo quickly, and truthfully, I was a bit tempted to complain & whine to everyone about how I don't have enough time anyway, etc.


BUT then I thought: hey, does anyone look at life's challenges & hindrances on the flip side?????



In that vein, I am going to end this post with 10 things I am thankful for today. You know: Thank God It's ______________-

1. I am thankful for the beautiful sunshine out there today. I woke up, no rain and it's radiant out there. Just yesterday on GMA, it was reported that people aren't getting enough Vitamin D due the trend of spending so much time undoors. So, I am going to get some Vitamin D today!!!


2. I am thankful I was able to get up out of bed on my own and in my own bed. There are soooo many people in hospitals and restricted to bed due to injuries and illnesses and I am giving thanks for my mobility and health!


3. I am thankful that I have my mom to take to the Dr. And, that she is so extremely healthy. I have many, many friends whose moms are no longer with them. And many who have moms with such health problems that limit their actions. My mom will be 75 on July 13, and she is HEALTHY--except for cataracts. Those can be removed!


4. I am thankful I have a job to go to. (Just not today!) There's alot of unemployment, people suffering from business cutbacks and such. My job may not be someone else's Dream Job, but I drive 5 minutes down the road, the people only ask that I do what I was hired to do, the dress code isn't "haute couture" and the people are great. Sure they have their idiosyncrasies (SP???) but I probably have some character traits that drive them nuts too (not really, surely not, I'm just trying to make them feel better--ha ha ha). And, my job is mine as long as I want.


5. I have a great family! My kids, my parents, my in laws, love em all. We all have disagreements, flaws, but isn't that what gives people "color"? Wouldn't it be a BORING world if we were all in agreement, all the time??????? And if we were all of one mind---yuck!


6. I serve the God who loves me unconditionally, and is with me 24/7. Enough said. He left me and everyone else a letter called the Bible. Check it out.


7. I need to loose 15 pounds. You read that right---I am thankful for that. If I didn't need to loose the weight, it might mean that I didn't have enough food to eat or that I had severe health problems. It also would be a good excuse for not exercising. And then I might just be lazy and have all kinds of "silent" diseases. So, I have been blessed with fluffiness! Now to work it off!!!


8. Good Friends!!! If one doesn't have good friends, both near and far, they are soooo disadvantaged. The medical community has written volumes and volumes about the benefits of friendship. We were created to connect. I have wonderful friends---that's another post. Just a hint---to have good friends, you must BE a good friend.


9. I am thankful for my cat & dog. Yes, I know, I am toooo close and love them toooo much --- wait I don't think that's possible! Animals are a gift from God. Yes, they are!!! God teaches me lessons through them also, and I love em!


10. I am thankful for my country---the USA, and for my small little "everyone knows everything" community. Small towns have sooooo many traits that keep us connected like family. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Ok, maybe a vacation home somewhere---ha ha



Now, I want all of you out there to think and think and think of what you have to be thankful for in your lives!!! Look at each moment in life to find an opportunity for thankfulness. Bet you can!


Have a wonderful Friday..

Oh The Things That Can Happen

It's been a "aha" day!! I went over to the little (and I emphasize LITTLE) sandwich shop behind my office to get a cup of iced tea and THERE HE WAS----Garth himself!!!! I walked right by, acted like he was just another customer, ordered my tea, talked to the cashier, started out, glanced over and he smiled !!!

He and his three girls had come to Little Town for lunch--see they live in the next community, and have been known to eat at this sandwich shop. Now I have to tell you, everyone has their "Garth sightings" except me!!! I haven't seen him at Reasor's or Kohl's or Delta Cafe, or any of the other popular "Garth" hangouts! So this was cooooollllll!!! I said something like "how are ya doin" and HE STOOD UP and SHOOK MY HAND and said "you are?" I wanted to say "A big fat dork", but I gave him my name and he introduced me to his girls---cute gals! They are middle school aged and up. One of them had the cutest hair do, and in typical gal style I said "Oh your hair is sooo cute!".

And that was it. He was very approachable, personable, and kind! And he was wearing a hat like this one and shorts. My brush with fame!

On the flip side---I don't particularly like golf-- TOOOO SLOOOOWWW!!!!

But--we did watch the US Open this weekend (it being Father's Day weekend and all) and I actually got interested!! Even watched the "sudden death" playoff at work today. I have to admit, I was rooting for the underdog, Rocco Mediate (oooo love that name Rocco!).

Does any one out there get as tired as I do????? I woke up this morning--Monday--and felt like I'd been hit by a Mac Truck!!! Just can't do the weekends like I used to! Gosh darn it I hate that about getting more mature!!! I used to have the energy of a power plant, could go for days and days at full speed. But now after a couple of full speed days---I must recharge my batteries. And they sure ain't energizers!!!

Well, off to try to make some sense of my cluttered kitchen!

Have a great evening!!