Bottom Line - my daughter's first paying job is killing my wallet!

Seriously, she gets paid and then says "let's go to the mall!" What am I going to say, no? Well, I mean I could say no, but who doesn't love a trip to the mall? :)

My vacation

As promised, here are a few of the pictures from our vacation!  Cheyenne, Wyo.

Wide open spaces!

At the rodeo.

My men!

My daughter lovin' her new boots!

Mom and my daughter.

My son rockin' the cowboy look.

The four of us.

My attempt at a self portrait.

More wide open spaces!

The clouds were maganificant!

Before we went to Wyo. we stopped in Colorado do visit friends Andy and Meggan (thank you).  This is their oldest daughter Murrie and her shoes!

I. Want.  

Seriously, why don't they make these for adults?

And this is Murrie! 

Sorry for the long post with lots of pictures.  I am trying to catch up on things since we have been gone. I  have many blogs to catch up on. I am also feeling like my muse is returning......perhaps I will get some time to bead soon.  I have so many wonderful beads to play with.

Andrew Thornton! and his four year anniversary giveaway

Seriously, please go over and check it out!

If I could make this picture larger, I would!!!! Look at all this wonderfulness.

Friday Joy!

Ok, it's a day late. The Wi-Fi here in the hotel is not the greatest! We are in Cheyenne, Wyo. for Frontier Days (promise a long list of pictures later). It is so beautiful, wide open spaces! Lovely.  Well, without further ado, here is my Friday Joy, taken at dinner last night.

My two kids eating a most delicious dessert!

And my parents.  My joy is all being together.

And one beautiful, wide open sunset for good measure.  May you weekend be wonderful

So Ready for Vacation!

I had every intention of posting my last post yesterday but we got hit with one of the most intense, strongest storms I have experienced.  We live in the DC area and have had some of the hottest weather going.  There was a front moving through yesterday afternoon around 3 pm that brought horrible thunderstorms. We had rain, thunder, lightening, 70 mph winds.  We lost many limbs from our trees. One of them ended up in our neighbors yard - bad news. Our back yard looked like this.....

And our neighbors.......

We all spent 4 hours sawing and hauling. So ready for vacation!!!!!

National Building Museum and the Lego Exhibit

Well, I did get my car out of hock with the mechanic, just in time to have hubby's go in. His driver side window went down and didn't come back up.......big sigh.  This happened on the way back from our excursion down to the National Building Museum where we went and say the Lego exhibit.  There were about 10-12 buildings built, mostly of Chicago buildings. These are magnificent! We all were amazed! But, the best part was the room just next to the exhibit filled with tables and lego pieces! So many dads and kids just a sittin' and buildin'.

The National Building Museum is one of the most beautiful museums!

Friday Joy!

Friday Joy - driving my husband's car (mine is still in the shop), folding the visor down and having $16 fall into my lap! Found money! Drove right to Dunkin' Donuts for a large skim hazelnut latte! Thanks sweetie!

Wednesday update

No surprises met me yesterday when I got home! However the CRV had to be towed to the mechanic for treatment ~ the car is sick, so sick!  Huge chunk of change, but what can I do? It's my car.......

Arg, really?

In order to properly tell this, I need to back up to the weekend. The rest is my week, and it is only Wednesday! Arg, really?

Had the kids in the car (my CRV), driving along and we hear thmp, thmp, thmp, like a flat, but no flat. Get home and don't see anything wrong with the tires. (yea, I know, doesn't bode well) I have my hubby look at the tire on Sunday and sure enough there is not a nail, but a BOLT in my front right tire. Nothing happening though. So, I go about my business.

Go to work on Monday and park. (in a 4 level underground parking garage) and go to leave and, nope not the tire, my car won't start. Try to jump it but nothing. I grab a ride home with a co-worker who lives near me. The plan is that my hubby will drive me to work on Tuesday and I will get someone to come and take a look at the car. Tuesday morning hubby's blackberry goes off at 4:30 and he has to go to work, early so I take the other car (jeep) to work, thank goodness we have an extra. I get our miracle worker at work to look at my dead car and some how he jiggles the battery cables just right ( I tried that!) and the car starts! Now I have 2 cars at work and am only one person. I have to go explain to security that I have another car that will need to lodge in the garage overnight. Glad that it is summer and the garage is not full. I am thinking, what are the odds that he will have to go to work early again.......Oh, get home to discover that one of the dogs has gotten sick on the carpet in 3 places.

This morning, Wednesday, I get up and am getting ready to go for a run and come down to discover yet more puke on the carpet.  I clean that up, hear something on the news that makes me go upstairs to tell hubby to read his damn blackberry. What are the odds?????  Comes down and says that he has to go in early - so I get my breakfast ready. We were going to have breakfast together at Panera and then he was going to drive me into work.  I am just about to pour the milk on my cereal and he comes in and says that now he doesn't have to go in! Yeah, breakfast saved!   Get ready to leave and find more dog puke on the carpet.

So I am driving my daughter to work/son to camp and feel the car pulling. As I get out to change places with my daughter (she is learning to drive) I see that my front right tire is, yup, almost flat. Crap!  Do I drop it off at the mechanic or put air in the tire and wait until the weekend to go to a tire place and get them replaced.  I decide to put air in the tire and hope for the best. It will sit in the driveway as our jeep is at my work and hubby will drive me into work today.  Ok, sounds like a plan. Then ~ the "check engine" light comes on. Really?  I can't wait to see what is waiting for me from the dogs when I get home today.........

Dessert!

I know, crazy title for a Monday morning post. But, we went to the farmer's market on Saturday and grabbed some beautiful peaches and blueberries. The peaches were so fragrant, mmmm.  We decided to try Smitten Kitchen's Peach Blueberry Cobbler. Amazing and easy.  If you haven't been to her site, you really must go and see what she is cooking up. Here is the finished product, before dessert last night........

I am trying very hard to resist this morning. I am thinking that it would be great with a cup of coffee....but I did run this morning and am trying to be good.

I know that I haven't posted any pictures of work lately. I seem to have hit a block and have given myself permission to not feel guilty about not creating at the worktable. In my head I kept saying that I would have lots of time this summer to work but nothing is flowing.  Why do I have to give myself permission? Also struggling with that question, and the guilt for not creating.  Ugh.  I have started taking more pictures - I know, another hobby.  But, I figure that I do need to know how to work this blasted thing so I can take great pictures of my pieces. HA!  Perhaps tonight....... ;)

Here's to a great, productive Monday. May it be wonderful for you all also.  Off to work I go.  Bye!