Happy New Year's Eve!!

I've seen that in Australia and other parts of the world, it's already 2008. Wow. It astounds me that it's already 2008. I was thinking the other day that I have two daughters who were born in two different centuries (1999 and 2001). How cool is that??

We don't have much planned for tonight, just cocktail weenies, kid-wine and tv. The girls have to go back to school on the 2nd, so not much partying for us. We've had a great, lazy week off. I think they're ready to get back, and I'm ready for them to get back as well! :)

I'm planning on beginning a Photo-A-Day project starting tomorrow. Hopefully I can keep up with it. I've started a blog for it at http://spanglerphoto.blogspot.com/.
Should be fun! Go ahead and begin one, too!

Let's see...nothing much else going on. Our local archery shoots have begun. I shot this weekend, but did not do as well as I wanted to. I think it was a combination of things, but the first shoot of the season is always something to get used to. I had fun anyway, and afterward we went to a place called Uno.
It was a great place and we had a blast hanging out with friends who love to shoot as much as we do.

Anyhoo...Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe NYE, and see you in 2008!!!!

I Just Made A Complete Fool Of Myself...

Luckily no one saw. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth. I was listening to my new iPod Shuffle. "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins started playing. I stayed in the bathroom for about 10 minutes listening to it over and over. I danced all over my bathroom. That song makes me happy. Dontcha just love a song that will make you move your feet? That's one of the only songs that I just HAVE to dance to...no matter where I am. Sure, I can look like an idiot while I'm the only one dancing. I don't care. When you hear a song that makes you happy, go with it!

They Scrapped

The girls wanted to scrapbook today. So, I got out a bunch of old photos, some scrapbook supplies, and let them go to town. The fun part was watching them sort through the photos.

The girls giggled as they got to certain photos. They asked a lot of questions about what they were seeing. They had a blast checking out some pictures that were taken when they were babies. They thought that was a hoot!

They of course wanted to scrap every photo. I finally had to tell them to pick photos that THEY wanted to remember and scrap those. That seemed to help them decide for and against certain photos. Sarah especially loved our activity. She got to a photo of my dad and showed it to me. She asked "Can I scrap this? I want to make this a memory." I told her "absolutely."

Say Thanks

Don't forget to say "Thanks" this holiday season!

Say Thanks

Where Have I Been??

Apparently I've been living under a rock, but I just heard of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. WOW, they're awesome!!!

Check them out here.

The End Of The Semester...

I took my last final yesterday morning at 7:45 AM. Yes, I said 7:45 AM. As in before 8 AM. Why?????? I hate exams that are held that early. I'm not even fully awake until about 9. Anyway...I'm glad it's over. Now I'm off until January 7.

Something struck me as funny and interesting the other day. We were at the bow club, of course. Saturday was the Kids League Banquet, which we have at the conclusion of the league. All the kids get their trophies for participating. After it was over and all the tables were being put away, the "regulars" (the kids who are there with their family all the time) took it upon themselves to play basketball on the range. The range is a pretty big space, so they had a lot of room to run around and make lots of noise. What struck me as funny was watching them run around the range like it was their home. And it is to these kids. We're there all the time, and anyone who's a regular there treats these kids like their own. Our club is a big family. I love that. Not a bad place for my kids to grow up, if you ask me. With the older kids of the club, instead of them being out doing goodness knows what on Friday night, they're up at the club. Shooting. With their parents. I'm talking 16 and 17 year olds. What could be better??

I thank God for the club. It's given me a sense of belonging. Of family. And of contentment. I know where my kids are. They've got a whole gaggle of "parents" looking out for them as well.

Anyhoo...

Here's a few photos from the past year.

One last thing...during this time of year I really think about my dad and miss him alot. There's a song that totally makes me think of him. I love this song. It's called "Last Date" by Floyd Cramer. You can hear it here.
What's the song that brings back memories for you??



Merry Christmas!

This is Beautiful

An Inspiration

FIRST read the story below, then click on the video link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4B-r8KJhlE

[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly] I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay For their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.

But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life. This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an Institution.''

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes Followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was Anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''

"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want To do that.''

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore For two weeks.''

That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, It felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''

And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a Single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''

How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud Getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you Think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world Record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to Be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the Time.

``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' One doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.

``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''

Wow. This story just brings tears to my eyes. The love he has for his son. What a wonderful story of love. I thank God when he brings stories like this to everyone. Maybe people (including myself) will try to be a better person.

A Little Sad Today

One of the oldest members of our archery club died on Tuesday night of Lung Cancer. Harold Richmond was a wonderful, sweet man. I had a soft spot for him because he really reminded me of my dad. When I found out about his death, I cried. Really cried. I didn't know him outside of the club, and only knew him for less than two years, but he really touched my heart by his presence and his willingness to share his knowledge and awesome hunting stories with me. I'm crying as I write this, but I know he's in a better place now. I'll just miss him.

Yay! It's Monday!! (not)

Wow, I'm tired. I hate the Monday after a holiday weekend. My house is a wreck, there's laundry to be folded everywhere, dishes to be done, and for some reason, the housekeeper fairy is still on holiday. Hmmm...guess I have to get it done myself. Luckily, I just got all my homework done a few minutes ago, and when I get home I'll start working.

It was really hard to force myself to get to school this morning. I really wanted to just sit home in my jammies and veg out. Unfortunately, that's what I did all weekend. Man, I ate SO freaking much this weekend.

Only a couple more weeks of classes, then it's final time. Nope, not looking forward to finals. I'll be glad when they're over though. I think my Pre-Calc final will be at 7:45 AM. Yes, I said AM. I won't wake up until it's almost over. Geez...nothing like sleeping through a final. Although, maybe sleeping through it will be an improvement? heheh...

Anyhoo...guess I'm goin' to get my butt home and get my house clean. If I don't return in two days, someone send a search party.

Toodles!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, and is at this moment feeling nauseous from all the calories they consumed the past few days. I know I am! I don't even want to begin to count all the calories that passed my lips this weekend. I figure that it's a holiday, and that's what it's for. Spending time with family, joking around, and eating yummy food.

Cora and Shiloh


Solomon and the Ritz


Sarah and Uncle David


Rick sawin' on the turkey

Thursday we spent at my sister-in-law's house. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, green bean casserole, ham rollups, assorted pies and of course, potato candy.
It was wonderful to spend time with family. Seems that with everyone's busy lives, it's harder and harder to get together with everyone.
The girls spent the night at their cousins' house Thursday night, and Andrew and I came home and watched tv until 2 in the morning.
Later in the afternoon yesterday, he and I went bowling. It had been years since either of us had bowled. It was a blast! I actually beat Andrew two games out of four! That's never happened before.

Then we went to his mom's house to hang out with family again. I was good until about 10:30, when I crashed and burned and totally fell asleep. I woke up around midnight when Andrew was getting ready to leave. The kids had a lot of fun playing with cousins, and getting to know their new cousin, Shiloh.

Not sure what we're going to do today. Prolly just hang out at home and head on up to the club to shoot later.

Things I'm thankful for:

That my girls are healthy and strong.
That Andrew and I are happy together.
That we have a wonderful extended family that is there any time we need them.
That, for the most part, I am at peace.

The Lord has blessed us.

How To Make Potato Candy

Ok...I figured I'd just post how to make potato candy.

It's pretty easy, actually.

First, boil some potatoes like you would if making mashed potatoes (peel them first). Once they're boiled, mash them up really well. Then, start adding confectioners sugar and mix it well. The mixture will become soupy. Keep adding sugar and mixing until eventually the mixture will turn harder and become a dough (it can take a while, and make sure you have enough sugar; it might take a lot of sugar, depending the amount of potatoes you use). Once it becomes a dough, spread it out on some wax paper ( spread some flour or PAM over the wax paper first to prevent sticking). Once it's spread out, spread peanut butter over the top. Then roll it up into a log and chill. Then you can cut into 1/2 inch pieces. As you can see, it's FULL of calories, but it's SO yummy!

Let me know if you try it! I love this stuff!

Dreams CAN come true!!!

Woot! So like, I was planning on buying a new set of limbs for my bow with my Hall of Fame money. In my last post I posted a photo of the ones I would LOVE to have, but were just too far out of my price range. Well, Andrew called around yesterday just checking prices, and he found one shop that was selling the brand new 900 CX limbs for about half of what they usually will sell for. This shop is not experienced in recurve archery, and I'm SURE got the price wrong. However, we locked them into this price with a deposit, and I'll now be the proud owner of these brand spanking newly-released limbs. I'm pretty excited.

I'll have the blue ones since my bow is blue.

Anyhoo...I can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week. The only thing I have planned to make right now is Potato Candy. I can only make it once a year because it's so rich; FULL of carbs! :) But OH SO GOOD. Yes, it's made out of potatoes. If anyone wants the recipe, just lemme know. My mom used to make it for Thanksgiving, so it makes me feel good to make it as well. Brings back nice memories of warm kitchens, parades on TV, all-night cooking, and family being together. I should scrap that.

I Have A Cold

Yup. A cold. It started on Tuesday, and I wasn't able to take anything for it until yesterday because of a medical test I was having done. I'm miserable.

I have many things to do today and not enough energy to do them with. Andrew will be coming home from hunting tomorrow. I'll be glad to see him. Ain't it amazing, I really do miss him! :) His hunting trip experience hasn't turned out how he wanted it, and he's not having a good time. Long, sordid story.

Anyway...I'm sittin' here drinking my coffee, trying to get enough gumption to go out and get new tires for the car. I had a flat coming out of school on Tuesday, so there's a donut on there now. Fun stuff.

I actually started Christmas shopping! GASP! Target had a bunch of clothes on clearance, so I got some cute stuff for the girls. They actually WANT clothes for Christmas. I'm surely happy about that, since I hate buying toys for them to leave all over their room. Cora wants art supplies and a backpack for her to put her webkinz in. She has a clydesdale named Sugar. Sarah has a pig named Alexandra. These webkinz are the cutest things.

I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving. Andrew's sister and her family are coming in from Colorado, as well as his aunt and uncle from St. Louis. Should make for a raucous holiday! I'm thankful for his family, as mine is spread all over the U.S.

Lookie what I want for Christmas:

What the heck are they, you ask? Limbs for my bow. These are the latest technology to come out of Hoyt. Nice, pretty, expensive limbs. Will I actually GET them? Highly doubtful. However, a girl can dream, right? You know you're an archery geek when you want limbs for Christmas instead of all the other girlie stuff most women want. The limbs I have now are fine, but I'll definitely want better limbs for next year's outdoor season.

Welp, I'm off of here. DayQuil is calling!

Belated Hall of Fame Win

So, I'm sure everyone has heard about the Hall of Fame drama in the scrappin' world. Well, two ladies were disqualified as winners because there were questions about whether the entrants took all the photos on their entries or not. Creating Keepsakes decided to offer those two spots to two Honorable Mentions. I was selected. I guess that means that I would have been a Hall of Famer back in March if the contest had gone as it was supposed to.

I have mixed/bittersweet feelings about being offered the title. Am I excited? Yes. Did I debate accepting? Yes. It's 7 months into the Hall of Fame year, so I've missed out on that time. Who's to say I would have gained anything by having that time. We may never know. It would have been fun to be a part of the week-long hoopla that happens every year at Hall of Fame Call time. Twenty Five anonymous posts stating they won HOF. Oh well. I'm a big girl and can handle that I didn't get to do it. I was still a part of it, even if as just a spectator.

And, I got to know 49 WONDERFUL ladies who are the Honorable Mentions. These ladies are true class acts, and I'm truly grateful I was able to rub elbows with some of the best in the industry. I've made lasting friendships that will be there long after this year is over. Love you ladies!!!

At this point, I'm happy. Do I need the validation that comes from this? Maybe, sometimes. Anyone who entered was looking for some level of validation. I love scrapbooking. I love showing my layouts to others. I love hearing if people like my work. I would still scrapbook even if I never showed these layouts to anyone other than my family. I guess accepting this title, even after 7 months, just kinda makes me feel good. Nothing wrong with that. Regardless of whether I become "famous" because of this (highly doubtful), or just ride the wave of obscurity until the next class of HOFers comes in, I'm happy. I accepted the title for reasons that are my own. I'm content to live with that. Life is good.

Whatever

I can't think of anything better to title my post with. Whatever seems to be how I feel at the moment.

Not much going on today. I have a dentist appointment this morning. That should be fun like a barrel of crackheaded monkeys!

The leaves are changing so fast here in Michigan. A lot of the leaves have fallen already. I'm going to try to get out and get some photos of the trees today after my appt.

Well, since I can't think of anything else to talk about this morning, I'll post some layouts and some photos of Sarah.

One of Cora shooting. She's so bad ass!


Now onto the layouts:









Have a wonderful day, everyone!!

I'm About All Studied Out...

I have an exam in about an hour. Am I studying for it? Nope. I'm so sick of looking at textbooks. I'm sick of reading about Photosynthesis and the Calvin Cycle.

So, I'm sitting here blogging. A much more productive use for me time! :)

It's cold today! We'll be lucky if it hits 50 degrees today. Last weekend we got sunburned with record highs, and now it's C O L D. Grrrrr...gotta love Michigan.

Hmmm...what's been going on lately with the Spanglers? Let's see...Cora joined the Chess Club at school, and is loving learning how to play. The coach thinks she's got real talent, so we'll see if she keeps it up. She's practicing for a tournament in November. That should be interesting. All I keep thinking about is the movie Searching For Bobby Fischer, where the little boy is a chess prodigy. Love that movie. I might rent it this weekend for Cora and Sarah to watch. I think they'd both like it.

What's everyone reading right now? I'm reading Black and Blue by Anna Quindlin. Apparently it's an Oprah's Book Club pick, but I started reading it before I found that out. It's a good read, something I can get through without too much brain power. I like books where I can read leisurely in between studying.

It's almost Christmas season. Now I get to think about what I want to get the girls for Christmas. Cora no longer believes in Santa. She loves the idea that she's now in on the secret with the adults, and Sarah is still "in the dark" about the whole thing. I told her that is she ruins it for Sarah, then no presents for her! :)

I think Sarah will get a Webkinz from Santa. Still thinking about what to get Cora. I don't really want to buy a bunch of "stuff" for the girls. I'd rather them get a few things and then focus on the real meaning of Christmas. Yeah, I know it's hard for kids to understand that, but it doesn't hurt to try. I don't want them to get all wrapped up in the commercialism of the season. I stopped buying all kinds of candy for Easter since that stuff has nothing to do with Easter whatsoever.

What else can I ramble about? One more year until the 2008 Summer Olympics!! I'm really hoping I can find some coverage of the Archery events. Since it's not a huge draw for spectators, it might prove difficult. Hopefully my Father-in-law's satellite provider will have some broadcasts. Speaking of the Olympics, I'm really disappointed in the news about Marion Jones. I remember watching her and thinking that she was just awesome. I took it for granted that she had some integrity and did it all on her own. I'm really bummed that she cheated to win those medals. Could she have won without the use of steroids? Maybe. But we'll never know. Loser.

Anyway...guess I'm off here to pretend like I'm studying.

Have a great day!

Happy Birthday, Dad

I miss you terribly.




Lawrence Eugene Reese
October 10, 1942 - August 17, 2005

It's Been A While...

Since I've updated my poor, neglected blog. School has kept me crazy busy. Who whoulda thunk that taking Physics and Pre-Calculus would be a wee bit hard?? HA! Holy crap it's very overwhelming. I'm trudging through, and with some luck I'll make it through both classes (plus my Biology class) with a grade good enough not to have to retake them! :)

It's been HOT here the past week. I mean, it's October, for goodness sake! I got a sunburn at Sarah's soccer game last weekend! I've loved the weather though. Today was the last of the nice weather. Tomorrow starts the rain and cool weather. Guess it IS autumn, right?

Anyway...

I leave you with a photo of Cora and Andrew. This was taken at the Fall Classic, the last big outdoor archery tournament of the year.

Woot Woot!

It's Friday! No school for me today, but my house is a disaster area. Guess I oughta clean it, eh? First I'm gonna go shoot my bow for a while. We just got it set up for shooting indoor, since the outdoor season is over.

The Archery Olympic Trials start today!!! I have a friend who is there trying to make a go of it. GO LORI!!!! I can't wait to follow it. They'll have a photographer there today taking photos, and if I see her in one, I'll post it. I'm extremely geeked for her. It's not gonna be easy, but she's got the cojones to do it!

How DO You Cure A Broken Heart?

Poor Cora. She's suffering from her first broken heart. Yes. She's only 8. However, she's had a boyfriend since the middle of last school year, and now this boy is "seeing" someone else. Poor Cora is distraught. Sure, she's only 8, and it's not really a huge deal. But it is to her. She's been in the bed crying about it. I was in there talking to her, trying to help her to understand that it's ok to be upset about things like this. To her, it's the end of the world and there are NO other cute boys in the ENTIRE school (according to her). I told her that time will change how she feels, and that all she can do is just let him go. If only we adults could use that advice in our own lives sometimes. I guess there's actually nothing I can DO for her except hold her while she cries, and listen while she talks. I pray that I'm able to do that when she's older.

Family Fun Festival

Last night the fair was in town. It's the first year Grand Blanc has had a festival, and we had a blast!

Cora is finally tall enough to ride most of the rides, and she took every advantage of this! I bought the girls the unlimited ride bracelets. Cora absolutely loved the "Music Express"; she rode that thing about 30 times. Sarah was all about the bumper cars, even though she had to ride with her soccer buddy (who was tall enough to reach the pedal). Cora rode the spider about a million times, Sarah went down the big slide about as many times.

Just watching them have so much fun made me enjoy myself too. I didn't bring my camera because I didn't expect to stay that long. It was a beautiful day, and being in the carnival atmosphere brought back a lot of memories of my dad, who used to work with various carnivals in his later years. He loved it.

Last weekend was Sarah's first soccer game. She played wonderfully, and even scored a goal!

My girls are getting so grown up! What a blast to watch them develop into young ladies. I thank God every day for the blessings he's given me in my family.

Question: What was your favorite movie of the summer? I think mine has to be Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix, but a close second was Knocked Up. I laughed SO hard watching this movie!!

I think I've caught a cold. I have had allergies for a couple weeks now, but I feel worse today. Congestion, soreness, and a killer headache. I think I'm gonna go lay on the couch and veg today. No classes today, so I can wait until tomorrow to do the homework. Bah.

I Still Remember

I couldn't let today go by without posting.

Today is a day of remembrance. A day of sadness, and a day of hope.

My prayers are with the families and survivors of September 11, 2001.

Never forget.

Ya Hear That??

*chirp chirp chirp*

That's the sound of sweet silence! Both girls started school today!!! Sarah's a big first grader, and Cora's 3rd grader who thinks she's been there done that. Sigh.

It's only a half day for them, and I can't wait for them to get home and hear about their day. I walked them to the bus this morning hoping for some photos, but the bus came earlier than expected, so I didn't get exactly what I wanted. I did get them getting on the bus.

Yeah...she loves Troy. What 8 year old girl DOESN'T??

Cora's birthday is tomorrow. We had her party on Saturday, and she had 6 girlfriends over for a slumber party afterward. Yeah. That was...um...interesting. It was so funny to watch all these girls interacting. All the different personalities clashing and meshing. Great fun. I won't do it again any time soon, but Cora had a blast.

As tradition dictates, I have to take them out to eat for lunch. Guess we'll go to Cici's, since it's their favorite place. Cici's really IS the debil, since I can't stop eating their cinnamon rolls. Ah..guess I have to take one for the team today, eh?

Sarah's first soccer game is Saturday. That should be fun to watch. Gotta love magnet-ball!

Welp, I guess I'm done rambling for today. I'll end with a few layouts I've gotten done the past few days.

Toodles!!

Lookie!!!

Woot!!!

Long Weekend...

This weekend is the bow club's Annual Fall Shoot. It's a great time, and we'll spend all weekend there. Set up is today and tomorrow, so I'm about to get ready and head on out the door.

Allergies have hit full force. I always get them around this time of year. I thought I was doing really well, since I have been outside all summer. I thought the allergies might be mild this year because of that, but I was totally wrong. Here I sit, sneezing and coughing and scratching my eyes. Ugh.

Not much else to report today except to post a couple photos I got last night.

It's Monday!!!

Yeah yeah yeah...whoopee doo! :) Looks like it's gonna be a beautiful day. Not much going on today. I really need to clean our bedroom. All of Andrew's hunting stuff is strewn all over our floor, and *maybe* a teeny bit of MY stuff is there too...

Andrew and I took the girls fishing Friday. We went to Seven Lakes State Park, which is a beautiful place. Unfortunately, the fish are pretty smart. After fishing, we took a walk on a nature trail. About 50 feet into the trail, we saw a hawk fly away from something on the trail as we walked up. The hawk was eating a rattlesnake. There's only one type of venemous snake in Michigan, and Seven Lakes is a place where they're concentrated. Being from the south where snakes are plentiful, I wasn't impressed. I have a healthy respect for snakes and figured we'd better get the heck out of there. But apparently these snakes are very shy and the least poisonous of rattlesnakes. Andrew was fascinated since he's never seen a rattlesnake.

So, that's our adventure for the weekend.

Sunday, Cora and I went to Kids Day at Crossroads Village. She earned a certificate for 4 free passes into the village through the Summer Reading Program at the library. It was a pretty good time. We rode the train, which is always cool. The car we rode in was built in 1881. Cora also rode on a carousel that was built in 1912. She was JUST tall enough to ride it alone, and she was the only one on the ride at the time. She had the carousel all to herself, and she thought that was just the coolest.

Here's a couple photos from the past week or so. I think our card reader is dying, so getting photos off the card has proven tricky.

Silly Sarah





Fishin'

Welp, I'm off to clean. Anyone wanna help me??????

A Record Is Broken

Last night, Barry Bonds broke the all-time homerun record of 755 held by Hank Aaron. Despite the rumors and allegations surrounding Barry (which have not been proven as of yet), I'm happy for him. Barry Bonds has never been a favorite of mine. Something about him just rubs me the wrong way. I'm a bit bummed I didn't witness this homerun. I watched the game that Cal Ripken Jr. played in to take the streak record. I saw Mark McGuire's homerun that took the season homerun record (which has now been taken by Bonds).

I love baseball. My dad and I used to watch the Braves play almost every night during the summer.

Anyway. Not sure what I'm saying. I can only pray that the truth about Bonds' guilt or innocence comes soon. I would love for this achievement to be pure. It would be a disappointment to me and every other baseball fan if Bonds turns out to be a cheater.

Pete Rose will most likely never be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He broke the rules and bet on baseball. Not only that, but when he was caught, he LIED about it for years and years. I was beginning to believe him about his innocence, until the day he finally admitted he actually DID bet on baseball. What as asshole (pardon my french).

So, that's my baseball sermon for today. Records are made to be broken. But I really hope that they're done legitimately.

Yes, More Archery Pictures

We had an archery tournament this weekend. Cora and I both did pretty well. Cora set a new state record, so we were all pretty excited about that.

Here's a couple pictures. Check out my new high-speed quiver!

It's been a rough month...

First of all, we've been really busy. Vacation Bible School, other activities, archery, etc. This summer has been one of the busiest I've had. I enjoy being busy, but I also enjoy having absolutely NOTHING to do.

I've been having trouble sleeping. I miss my dad. During the day, I can keep busy and not have to think about how July/August of 2005 was when my dad was here dying of cancer. But at night, I can't stop thinking about it. Maybe writing about it will help get it off my chest. I usually have upbeat posts here on my blog, but I guess a blog is supposed to be for anything, right?

It just seem so unfair. Of course, I know God has a plan for everyone, and I'm not supposed to even begin to understand why He takes certain people and not others. I trust in God's wisdom, even if I don't understand it or even like it.

There are things I'm grateful for. I'm grateful that I got to spend 5 weeks with my dad before he died. We didn't speak much, but we didn't have to. Just being with him was enough. Sometimes I feel guilty for having to put him into a hospice, but doing that was a good decision. I could not have taken care of him properly here at home. I couldn't lift him or safely get him out of bed. I don't think he would have wanted me to have to perform the duties that are necessary when someone is close to death. The hospice nurses were wonderful with him, and he even flirted with them while he could. I was there every day. And I truly think he didn't want us to be there when he died. That's just how he was.

My dad taught me some things as well. Going through that experience has taught me some things about myself that I didn't know. I'm strong. I can get through anything. Even when I'm scared witless, I can still face whatever obstacles this life gives me. My dad would be proud of that.

Anyway...I know this is a rambling post. If you got this far, Bless you! I really needed to get this out.

Have a great weekend!

PS...has anyone seen my mojo???? :)

He Restoreth My Soul

Nothing like a week of being surrounded by 300 kids who are excited by the word of God.

Like anyone else, I get run down by life. There are times when I'm not as faithful as I should be to God. I get jaded by things I see and hear. I become cynical. This past week at Vacation Bible School has restored my soul. Watching these kids jump, sing, and praise God has been a wonderful renewal for me.

I thank God for the gift of humility as I jumped, sang, and praised God right along with them.

Summers have been a bit hard for me since my dad died. This week has given me the push I needed to get back into church and to realize that life is good. The little things are what matter. Smiling at Sarah as we sit on opposite ends of the church. Hugging Cora as we pass in the hall on the way to snack. Witnessing God's work on all those kids. Priceless.

God truly does work in mysterious ways.

Lazy Days of Summer

Not! We've been crazy busy! This week is Vacation Bible School. I'm a leader, and both the girls are going as well. We're having a blast, but man, it's tiring! Tomorrow is the Ice Cream Social and the music program. The kids get to sing all the songs they've learned this week. I always love VBS.

I've been shooting a lot, trying to prepare for a tournament on August 4-5.

School starts on August 29 for me, and the girls go back on Sept 4.

I've been such a slacker with scrappin'. I haven't created a page in about two weeks! GASP!!!

Last weekend was spent reading a certain 7th book of a beloved series. Absolutely loved this book, and am rereading it to catch the stuff I missed!

Happy Day Before The Fourth Of July!

I can't believe it's almost July 4th already. This year is flying by so fast!

I guess tomorrow we're going to the parade in the morning, then to a cook out at family's house. Should be fun. Then we'll mozy on over for the fireworks. I LOVE going to the fireworks. Not sure why, but I feel really "American" watching them. Call me crazy.

Bow is fixed. Phew! The limbs were all crazy unaligned, so we had to totally re-tune the thing. PITA! Anyway, all is well as of this moment. I'm sure when I plan to go to another tournament, everything will fall to pieces again. I'm going to Indiana with a couple other shooters in a couple weeks for a tournament. I think it's going to be so much fun! Andrew will be staying home with the girls. Woot! Girl trip!!

Question:

Is there a book that you can read over and over again? My "re-read" book is The Black Swan by Day Taylor. It's a historical romance, and I just adore it. Not sure why, but I have to read it about once a year. It's gettin' to be about that time, too! :)

I'm also really staring to like books by Anne McCaffrey. She writes science fiction stuff. I'm not usually into science fiction, but her stuff, I like.

Welp, I guess I gotta bounce. Have a great day, everyone!

Of All The Days...

Of all the days my bow can choose to take a crap on itself, it chooses Saturday. I shot in a state tournament this weekend, and it was horrible. Couldn't hit anything. Same thing on Sunday. I shot about 300 points below my average, so it's an understatement to say I didn't do well. I think my bow tweaked itself, which is not uncommon. I'll be up at the club tonight trying to figure out what the heck happened. The arrows were just flying straight left out of the bow, so you should have seen the body english I was trying to pull off to hope and pray they would at least hit the bale. Ugh. I was bummed. Ok...enough lamentation on my shizzly showing at the tournament.

Cora, however, did really well. She shot in a division that's one age group above where she usually shoots, so she shot with the big girls. Imagine this little peanut of a seven year old standing toe to toe with 12 year olds about 8 inches taller than she. She's got spunk, that's for sure. She shot a personal best, and took fourth. She was a tad disappointed not to win, but I think she learned a lot shooting against competition. She's got many years ahead of her.

Anyhoo...today is a day of rest. I've been sitting on my badonkadonk, reading Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix. Gotta bone up for book 7!

A Beautiful Day!!!

It's gorgeous outside! High of 83 today and a blue sky above! Perfect day for shooting! I have a tournament this weekend that I need to get ready for. Only thing is, my shoulder hurts a bit. We'll see if shooting will aggravate it or not.

The laundry fairy is on strike again. She's such a skank! :) Guess I'll have to get it done myself. Not what I want to do today, but we have to have clean skivvies, right?

Oh yeah! I think I forgot to mention what happened to our car weekend before last. Everyone was in town for Lara's graduation. Well, Andrew's sister borrows our car to go see their dad. She didn't know that there was a big rock at the end of our driveway and proceeds to drive right over it! She was mortified. Not a huge deal, just a dent on the passenger side of the car, right under the door. She then drives over to her dad's and parks on the side of the street. Some punk kid backs out of a driveway and drags his backend across the entire two doors of the driver's side of our car. THEN he took off. Luckily someone saw him do it, and he was called back to the site. Andrew's dad took his sweet time calling the police, and the kid said he had to go to work, so Andrew's dad let him leave. Sigh. PLUS, the punk kid gave them bogus insurance info, and somehow, no one thought to get his license plate number. Geesh...accident info 101!!!! By the time all this happened, Andrew got over there to his dad's and talked to the cop. The cop was NOT happy that the kid was allowed to leave and that there was no license plate number to track the kid down. Geesh. What a SNAFU. So, now we're waiting to find out if we can track the kid and see if he has any insurance (Michigan law requires that ALL cars be insured). If we can't find his insurance, we'll have to make a claim on our insurance. Figures...the punk kid will probably get away with this, and we'll have to make a claim and possibly have our insurance rate go up. Gotta love it.

Anyway...enough ranting for me. Here are a couple layouts I did recently.

Toodles, everyone!

Lazy Sunday

Sarah woke up this morning with a stomach ache, and has thrown up since then. Poor kid. Not sure what happened to spark this, but she's laying in her bed asleep right now. Hopefully she feels better by tomorrow, because her class is going to the Detroit Zoo.

School's out on Thursday. I'm ready for them to be out. So are they. I can tell they're getting tired of school. Guess I can't blame them.

Yesterday Cora and took a walk through a local nature trail. Of course I brought my camera.

My caddy...

Queen Of The Wood Chips???

We weren't able to stay long; the mosquitoes ruled that nature trail. Guess that's summer for you. We stopped by the library before we left (the trail is right there next to the library) and Cora got The Island Stallion by Walter Farley. So far she's really into it. The summer reading club starts on Monday, so we'll see how many book the girls can read.

Oh yeah! Y'all have to check out Twitter. I've been having WAY too much fun playing with it the past few days. Simple minds, simple pleasures!

Toodles!

Coffee...It's What's for Breakfast

I never used to drink coffee. I'd hear people talk about needing that first cup before they could function for the day, and I'd think they were crazy. Now I know what they're talking about. Not sure if it's the caffeine I actually need, or the feeling of "grownupness" I have when I'm drinking it. I get my girls off to school in the morning and then I sit and drink a cup of coffee. It's totally a grown up thing. Despite my age, I don't feel grown up all the time. I'll be 31 in 20 days. WoW!

What a wild ride I've been on these past 31 years. There have been lots of tears, lots of hardship and lots of wonderful "take-your-breath-away" moments as well. Guess we have to take the bad with the good. I can only hope that my next 31 years are just as crazy and wild. That's what makes life worth living.

QUESTION:

What's the one movie that makes you cry every time?

Mine is "Phenomenon" with John Travolta. I can't watch it anymore because the part where dies with Krya Sedgewick makes me sob like crazy. I mean I'm crying hard.

There's also the episode of ER where Dr. Greene dies, and his daughter Rachel lets the balloons go after the funeral that makes me blubber endlessly. Not sure why these things affect me so much.

Anyhoo...just a bunch of ramblings from a coffee-drunk almost 31 year old. Enjoy your day.

This Weekend is OVER!

What a crazy weekend!

Andrew's sister Lara graduated from high school last night. Yeah, I cried. I was fine until they allowed the graduates to come to their families for hugs and stuff. When I saw Lara hug her mom, I was done. It was a wonderful night that made me remember my graduation. Such a milestone in a young person's life. Everything is ahead of her, and she's in for the ride of her life. Very exciting and scary at the same time. The most awesome thing was that she had all her siblings there to see her receive her diploma. That was her wish.

Two Rows of Family!

How can you beat that??

Walking to her seat


The Recessional



Lara and her mom

Anyhoo...the weekend is over. Lara is officially an adult, and she'll be going to Michigan State University in the fall. GO STATE!!!


This weekend was also the State Shoot at the archery club. I was there working registration all weekend. Very tiring, but a lot of fun watching them shoot. Sunday it rained, but they stayed out there shooting anyway.

Dude, Where's My Mojo???

Ugh. Ever since my computer died, my creativity has been zip. Zilch. Nada. I've been trying to make layouts in GIMP, but I'm not sure what's up. I just don't feel it. Maybe it's the gorgeous weather we've been having, and I want to be out shooting. I've got an "archer's tan" on my arms. Heheh...

Andrew got some really good shots of me shooting the other day.

Nothing fancy, just some shots to check my form. It's hard for me to actually know if I'm doing something different or tweaking something with my shot, so photos help me to see what I'm doing as I shoot. Purty cool.

For Memorial Day we hung out at Andrew's dad's house. Grandpa showed the grandkids how to play Crochet.

Sarah's awesome cupcake frosting mustache.

Have a great day, everyone!!

Wow...Wednesday already?

This week is flying by! Yesterday was a GORGEOUS day with temps in the 80s . I was in heaven. Today is more of the same. I'll be outside shooting all day! Woo hoo!!! I got my new grip for my bow Monday night. I put it on yesterday, and proceeded to shoot a personal best. Guess the grip works, eh? Yeah...ok...no more archery talk for now. I'm sure you're all bored to tears. But I love it. This may come as a shock, but I'm not much of a "people person". Archery allows me to become encased in my own world for a while, not worrying about what else is going on around me. The bubble, as some call it. For the most part, it's a one-person sport, and I guess that's what I like about it. When I screw up, it's myself I blame.

Anyhoo...

Just got the girls on the bus, and I'm sitting here drinking some coffee. I'm almost done with laundry!!! I have a couple more loads to wash, then it's time to start over again. Ugh...where's my laundry fairy when I need her? Prolly in the bathroom drinking a margarita. Where's my margarita??? It's 8:35 AM here, but I bet it's 5 O'clock somewhere! :) It's the perfect day to be under a palm tree hangin' on a hammock. Ah...to dream...

Ok..back to reality.

Woo! My Puter is Mostly Working!!

Dontcha just love it when a plan comes together? Well, sorta together. I'm able to get online and stuff. I am running Linux, so Photoshop and Hello are fighting the installation. We're trying to get them to run, but it's proving difficult. Luckily, Linux has GIMP, which is a program similar to PS. I've been playing around with it, trying to figure it out so I can SCRAP!!! I did a couple pages, but I still feel awkward. Not sure how the pages are turning out. *I* like them, but that could be me being goofy.

Anyway...here's one.

I'm finally getting all the photos from our Traverse City trip situated. They're mostly of the girls playing in the sand. They had a blast doing that, so I figured I'd get some shots.

Here they are running to the water when we first got there:

Cora at The Mackinaw Brewing Company for lunch:

A really cool boat on the Lake:

Sarah enjoying some one-on-one time with the beach:

Walking across the street on the overhead walkway:

Also, here's my sister-in-law, Lara, who's graduating on June 3. Ain't she a cutie?

She's goin' to Michigan State in the fall!

Ok...I'm out.