Monday, June 30, 2008

The Great Summer Lightening Show of 2008

God does amazing things with his world! I remember how much I loved the land in Tennessee. I loved the trees, the hills, the mountains, the way the clover grew, and the way the leaves would turn colors in the fall. I don't have any great memories of the sky.

Here in Florida, the sky is where it is at! The ground is really not much to look at; flat and dry, sandy, with a scrubby trees that really don't change into pretty colors. The palms are nice, but really, even that is planned and landscaped for it to look like the postcards.

God puts on light shows in the sky. We can see the stars(at least where we live), and the rainbows are amazing! We saw double rainbows just the other night. I don't ever think I saw a double rainbow while I lived in Tennessee. The lightening shows are also mesmerizing. They are just so vivid and alive when a bolt crackles in 15 different directions throughout the sky.

You just sit back in awe as you watch it as you are leaving Busch Gardens. Then you go into your house and find that your power is out and a tree is down in the backyard. Then the power stays out for 12 hours and most everything in your fridge has to go in the garbage the next day. Of course your cable, phone, and Internet are also out, even after the electricity comes back on at 2am in the morning. Four days later, when you finally get that cable, Internet, and phone back up, you find that the lightening got your Ethernet port, so you still have no Internet. Obviously, other people have had this happen, so there is a nifty little converter to USB!
But the show was something else, the storm clouds were layered in different shades of gray and black, gorgeous! And the rain! Oh, how we needed the rain! We really needed a soaking for the 4th of July! All those fireworks are just brush fires waiting to happen!

Did I mention that my septic tank backed up and we had to get it pumped today? It was way over due anyway. I think God just wanted us to get it pumped out, we sorta procrastinate!

God has a way of pulling all things together for good!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Paradise

Summer vacation, what a beautiful and relaxing time of year. I just love lying by the pool, looking at the beautiful clear blue sky and listening to the palm trees rustle in the wind as the kids squeal and splash in the pool. It is just remarkable how the scent of sunscreen and pool water help create this little piece of paradise.

The problem is, when you have been playing and relaxing in paradise, you forget you are there. So something is bound to happen to remind you that you are in paradise. So went my afternoon.

I had enjoyed playing with BubbaLou in the pool, I even swam a few laps. We decided to get out of the pool and enjoy our picnic lunch we brought. Ham and turkey on wheat bread. We skipped the picnic table and just got comfortable in our lounge chairs. I was biting into the last half of my sandwich, when BubbaLou and I heard a flapping noise and then something dropping. Something hit my leg. I looked down, disgusted to see that I had a large white wet glop on my leg, with a trail leading to a bird making his get away.

The bird of paradise had gotten me! Ewwww!

I repeat, Ewwww!

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Not without mummy!

BubbaLou and Popsaroo made a dash for Orlando yesterday with our new Sea World /Aquatica /Busch Gardens/Adventure Island passes.

Where was I, you ask?

At work. Slaving away as my dear husband and daughter frolicked in the Florida summer heat among the sea creatures.

BubbaLou did however, miss her dear mummy. She refused to see any shows without her mummy right there to experience it with her. She didn't even want to take pictures since I wasn't there. What a kid! Is that not just the sweetest thing ever!?

Popsaroo and BubbaLou did however ride the Kraken, and loved it. Well, sorta, because according to BubbaLou, Popsaroo cried. (Shh, Don't tell anyone!) At least, they lived to tell about it.

The Kraken brings back memories to one of the most enjoyable book series that BubbaLou and I have listened to together, the Emily Winsnap series. Emily Winsnap and the Monster of the Deep is a really good kraken story, full of moments just like the roller coaster! Reading it is good, but listening to it on audio is even better!

Definitely a summer hit!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Happy Father's Day!


BubbaLou's Top Five Reasons She is Glad that Popsaroo is her Popsaroo!

1. He is funny.

2. He is fun because he plays lots of stuff and is fun on my birthday.

3. He buys me donuts.

4. He bought me a dog for my birthday.

5. He appreciates my sense of humor.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

More spare time needed

More spare time is needed to create! It might be summer for some short little folks running amuck, but for me, I still have plenty of work calling me...at least three days a week, all day long. Between those days of my nose to the grindstone, I have found a few moments, here and there to try to figure out photoshop. I have only scraped the surface of digi- scrapbooking. My work is raw and unpolished, but yet, I am making my photos into pretty little things.

This is the most recent of my efforts. I can not take credit for the page, I just dropped photos in. I got this as a free download at CottageArts. I am hoping that by paying attention to their tips, I can get a clue. Baby steps for now! I want to get to the point that I can do this from scratch.

These pics of two of my old friends were taken last year at my 20th High School Reunion. I have to say, these are my before pictures. I have since lost 35 lbs! Yay, Me!!!


Now this, was my first attempt to make a purposeful page. I am learning all about layering and such, but really at the time I was just hoping that I could get the text bigger than I did on the next picture. This page is dedicated to all those who wanted to see a picture of Popsaroo! Purty, isn't he?

I took the crazy pic of BubbaLou and put it on a fancy background to make it pop! I think it truly reflects how crazy she really can be. I couldn't figure this out a couple of days ago.


My scrapbooking efforts have found life again! I was doing so well with scrapbooking after BubbaLou was born. Well, at least until she started to crawl. Then run at 10 months! That child sure can move. She never has stopped. She turns 9 in December, and I am just now picking it up again! I have tons of pictures to scrapbook.

I feel so blessed that God has given me such precious memories to scrapbook. We each have so many memories that are special to us in our families, I can only imagine what the scrapbook that Jesus' mother Mary would have created, or the one that he would make of us.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Spare Time

Ever wonder what people do in their spare time. Spare time being the time you should proably be cleaning something, like loads and loads of clothes.


Wonder no more!


When they get Photoshop Elements 6 for their birthday, this is what they (being me) do with their spare time.

They create!




This!

All though I have figured this much out, there is oh, so much more to learn...

it boggles the mind.


This is a kind of scrapbooking I think I can really get into!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

School Is OUT!!!!

BubbaLou has announced, "I went on vacation TODAY!"

Wanna know what BubbaLou and her friends did at Mums house to celebrate and destress from the trauma of a year of school?
Blew up 3 bags of balloons and then took them outside and popped them!


I called while they were blowing them up and heard quite a few squeals of laughter. So I can only imagine...


Bless Mums and her nerves of steel!