Keeping YOU in the "Know."

Yes, I am still here.

Yes, I love my job.  I have met some great people and have made new friends.

I have not been creative lately, but today will change.

I am in my studio and plan on having some scrappy fun.

In the meantime,

Here are a few photos of what has been happening around here.

Oh yeah, stay tuned and I will announce a NEW NUMBER!

Volleyball-Setters

MINE!- Setters Volleyball

SCARY CROW!

READER WINO'S!  We are awesome...

TAILGATING

Hanging out on THE HILL

Amish Market Shopping

Pumpkin Painting

Picture Taking-Self Portrait

Turned 10 and making memories

This is US in a nutshell lately.  We have been very busy and making memories is a day to day wonderful journey.  Carving out time for creativity is much harder, but we are all happy.  We are all healthy (healthier) and we are all enjoying life.

GOD IS GOOD!

My new number is 

188

Self-Portraits...embracing the lens.

You know what happens when one loses a great deal of weight?  The camera is a new friend.  Well, at least for me anyway.  I enjoy seeing the changes on a monthly basis and I am now incorporated in my memory keeping as "part" of the story rather than just the "storyteller."  We as storytelling scrappers hardly embrace ourselves within our photography.  But for me, this is going to change.  I know this because when searching for pictures of my mother...they were few and far between.  Not many exist and it is rather sad really.  So, I plan on changing this for my family and my storytelling.  I am important, too.

Embrace the lens.  A giggle is good, too.

Robin and I at Bob Trauger's Retirement Party

Carla and I at Bob Trauger's Retirement Party

Brian and I at Bob Trauger's Retirement Party

Brianna and I in the car headed home after swimming all morning

Me...after a weigh in

Brian and I at the Hot Rods Game

DITTO

DITTO

Brianna and I right before her performance at the Phoenix Theatre

In the car in my Orange Crush shirt...No, I am not mad-just did not smile

Brianna and I in our Fourth of July attire (shirts)  No MAKE UP DAY!

So, you see?  It is not selfish or egotistical to take self-portraits.  

It simply makes one part of the memory and the story.  It says,  "I WAS HERE, TOO!"

They do not have to be perfect or always in focus.  They do not always have to have you looking your best.

They simply are proof that you had just as much part of the memory as everyone else that was there.

So, go ahead...SNAPSHOT yourself into the memory, too!

Happy SHOOTING!

Reflecting back to Georgia...

Friendships and Rambling
Noise of Memories this Sunday Morning.

Things have just flown this summer for our family. The 4th of July was spent with our good friends Jon & Ronda. I have not touched on what we did for the 4th as two days later our home was being packed and we arrived in Bowling Green, KY on the 9th. I really have not had time to look at the 204 photos I took while we enjoyed good wine, bar-b-que, daiquiris, and the all time favorite summer dessert. I do miss our friends and going over to their home for great conversations and sharing our lives with one another. Our friendship started when my son, Zachary was going on a date with their daughter Aisha when they were in the 10th grade. She is in college and well, Zachary is married now and has a career in the US Army. We kept our friendship alive through church and sharing our faith with one another. We have shared traditions and holiday dinners with one another. We have gone through cancer, death, graduations, and family dynamic changes together. We have a special relationship that now miles and two states separate us. These types of friendships are real binds that last forever. So, today this Sunday, I miss my friends. I miss the giggles, jokes, and simply hanging out. My hope is that we will meet new friends here in Bowling Green that we can connect with and enjoy these same type events and evenings of conversations and sharing our lives with on a daily basis. It is hard at our age to completely uproot our lives and find these types of friendships. Most people our age have their friendship circles and it is hard to find those that are willing to open that circle and let new people in and share. We do have friends that have relocated to this area for the same reasons as we have and those are relationships that are turning into friendships but you know the old saying, do not mix pleasure with work. This can be a two edged sword. But I have found one friend that is a little older than us and I spent the weekend with her here in Bowling Green. She is single and is juggling two homes right now. She is giving herself 3 months to decide whether or not stay. I hope she stays. I need that "female" friendship to laugh and have fun with from time to time. Looking back through these fun photos I am reminded of the saying I heard Paula Deen say once, "Just because there is snow on the roof, does not mean the fire is out!" This is what I think of when I look at the gray in my husband's hair. So, I did buy a box of that "Just for Men" color treatment. He has not used it but maybe he will. He still has the best sense of humor in the world! Gotta love that.

So, I am hoping that in time...we will again meet friends here in our new State to sit down and maybe share a memory or two and create new ones..."Time Tells All Stories, Huh?"

Alive and Well in Bowling Green, Kentucky!

We have made it to Bowling Green, Kentucky. Brian is getting dressed for his "official" first day in Bowling Green at work instead of being a "visitor" conducting business. We arrived Thursday morning around 9:AM C.T. and within 45 minutes we met several neighbors that came to our door and introduced themselves to us. It was great. I feel like I live on a street from the show, "Bewitched." Everyone and I do mean, EVERYONE here seems to be very nice and sincere. Heck, just going to the grocery store was a pleasure. Everyone here has manners and goes out of their way to greet you as your eyes meet. This is NO exaggeration. It is as though we have lived here for years. The neighbors next to us we have gotten to know over a 2 hour conversation in our backyards. They are transplanted from Southern California and they would not live anywhere but here. We are lucky enough to live in the district of the number 1 school in our county as well. It is comforting to know that everyone is nice and opens themselves up for new friends here. In Atlanta, people go for years in their subdivisions and NEVER meet anyone. Smiles are rare and everyone is in a rush. But here, "rush hour" if you want to call it that...lasts about 45 minutes. By rush hour, I mean having to wait at the light and turn with maybe 5 cars in front of you. Funny, our neighbor told us the road heading into one of the main streets says it may take you 10 minutes to get to the main drag. We giggled. This is NOT traffic that is for sure. Brian only works about 5 minutes away and our neighbor told him he needed to be prepared for this morning as it may take him about 15 minutes to get to work instead of the "quick skip" as he called it. Once again, Brian snickers and says "I'll make sure I account for the time." So far, I cannot find anything to dislike about Bowling Green. This is a golden town for sure. This is what America truly is...I hope it can stay a secret for years to come. Many people come here to vacation and site see. This area is known for its grand acres of rolling fields of crops and the underground caves. Our subdivision actually has a river running underneath. Caves are everywhere. Truly amazing. Can you tell I am excited? Well, after already unpacking over 70 boxes and new furniture coming today that we purchased at Thornton Furniture (local family store), I plan on starting with my decorating. That is the fun part of moving. Not all the stuff in between. I am equally excited as our son from Fort Hood heading to Fort Carson will be taking a BIG DETOUR to come by and spend about 5 days with us and he is bringing "the girl." We are excited and we are opening our hearts to our intended daughter-in-law. I am sure we will have fun exploring our new town and creating memories with one another.

Well, this is it for now. Just wanted to pop on here and let you all know we are doing well and are excited about our new home, new town, and our new friends!

WOW, it is hot!

Yes, the heat index reached over 100 degrees yesterday. It was blistering for sure along with some serious humidity. I am gearing up this week to start school clothes shopping and then meeting up with a few scrappy friends this weekend. We are taking our friend Heather out to eat and give her a "scrappy" goodbye before she heads West of Georgia. Gosh, I am going to miss her greatly.

I have been looking at all of the CHA-Summer releases and I a can honestly say that I am so inspired to go BUY! School is around the corner for the new year session and then the holidays will soon follow. Where the heck did this year go let alone the summer? I have been scrapping and need to get some photos of things I have done recently and get them uploaded. One layout that I really enjoy is one that I did a few months ago that revolved around Christmas. It was the first time I really took an "event" and used a great deal of photos on it to display the day of happenings.

For me, this is relatively a simple layout. But I really enjoyed using up some of my Love Elsie goodies on this page.

That is all for now...have a great remaining SUMMER TIME!