On Our Way

Chillin' on our balcony and checking out the ship. Loading our luggage on the ship...knew we should have packed less:)
There were 3,000 adults and 1200 children on this ship so getting onto the ship was an event! There were miles of the snake lines and I was wondering how R was going to hold up standing in line that long. No problem, the custom lady saw his cane and asked if we were together and we got to bypass the hundreds of people and were on board in about 20 minutes. Rule...always travel with a cane when there is a long line:) We ate lunch, checked out the ship and by 4 pm we were pulling out of port for 2 days at sea, heading for Jamaica.

Cross this off the Bucket List

We drove to Galveston for the 4th and did not dream the traffic would be so bad on the seawall! Everyone came to Galveston to see the fireworks and celebrate the 4th. We checked into our hotel and decided to eat at Joes Crabshack.We could still see a lot of damage from Hurricane Ike just 10 months ago but they have made a lot of progress.The fireworks were across the street from Joe's on a jetty. T celebrated her 18th birthday a little early at Joe's doing a Seagull dance through the restaurant. Us girls had to use the potty and the line at Joe's was really long so we thought we would just walk to a convenience store across the street, get some water and snacks for the fireworks and use their facilities. The line to the bathroom was not long and when T and I walked in and it was too late to turn back we noticed a different type of toilet paper.....newspaper! The girls were speechless and a little confused as to what to do. Sometimes you have no options! If using newspaper was on our bucket list, now it is marked off!

How to dance in Cozumel

We are home! Seven fun, sun filled days and tons of pictures. This is how 2 teenage girls have fun at Margaritaville in Cozumel, Mexico. We managed to stop at Margaritaville in Jamaica,Cayman Island, and Cozumel. They could have spent the entire time there but for us old folks a little goes a long way!

Getting on the big boat

We are leaving tomorrow for a wonderful 7 day cruise. Celebrating the 4th in Galveston,hopefully to see fireworks over the water. I want to see how Galveston looks after the hurricane last year. We set sail Sunday for Jamaica and we are so excited. Hopefully we will get to visit with our friends that have a home on the Cayman Islands on Thursday. Then is it on to Cozumel for more beach, sun, and fun. Hopefully no hurricanes will find us. We have had some hurricane effects on every cruise so far.
Happy Fourth of July!

BAM's Baseball album

Our oldest grandson has been playing baseball forever! He is travelling some this summer and thought he needed an album for all these games. His initials are BAM....neat huh!

My Bug's Cayman Relatives

I love it when my bug has relatives living on a tropical island! My friend, Ann, took these pictures of my cousins SeaShell Susie and Digicel Rita. Since I have never met these cousins personally, we are going to cruise on over to the Cayman Islands next month and see how they are doing!

Breakfast with Dodger

After a long winter Dodger came out of where ever he stays during the winter months. He has been living with us about 5 years and every May he becomes social. If we leave the patio door open, we have found him clumping on the wood floors in our house and is very content to be inside. At least 3 times a week he sees, hears, or however he knows we are on the patio, and comes scooting up to our feet. Dodger will sit at our feet until we give him breakfast. He loves corn, on the cob or off, strawberries, and grapes. Some days he will have a breakfast of hamburger meat, raw or cooked. He will eat out of our hand but I believe he prefers the throw it on the patio method of service. Once Dodger has had breakfast he turns his shell around and crawls off, it is hard to imagine that turtle can move fast but he does have a turbo mode.

911 is a good thing

This morning about 6:30 dh woke me up holding onto the wall and the bed. I thought he might have a leg cramp or his back was really stiff. That was so wrong! He said he was very dizzy and nauseated, so I got him back in bed and things went downhill from there. I called the insurance nurse hotline and once I described the symptoms he said it could be a stroke and to call 911. I did and within 3-4 minutes the fire paramedics were at our door. A minute or so later EMS arrived and 4 people were working on him. His heart rate was very low and they put him on oxygen. By the time they put him on the gurney he was very nauseated and vomiting.I followed the ambulance to the hospital and after some blood work and extensive testing they determined he was suffering from vertigo and no stroke.That was a relief! The dr. gave him Valium in his iv and he was out of it. A pill followed, plus meds for the nausea and more oxygen. About an hour later we got to go home. He slept all day and feels a little better, but movement is an issue. Hopefully, the meds will help and in a few days he will be feeling better. What a scary day but thankfully EMS was here so fast.The 911 operator stayed on the line with me and told me something that I would have never thought about, to put your pets up before EMS arrives. No, I didn't take pictures but I did save the EKG tape EMS left here, but threw all the needles, wrappers and tape away.

Emeril Lagasse Watch Out!

T has discovered cookbooks! I don't know how she found them, I try to keep them well hidden. She read the cookbooks, picked out what she wanted to make and went to the grocery store to purchase the items she needed.Amazing,I think she has cooked 3 or 4 meals this week, lovin it!There were a few learing curves, the difference between a frying pan and sauce pan, how to melt chocolate, but overall everything was a success.
She is planning the Father's Day menu, I think I really like this new person that has moved into our home!

The Advantages of Back Surgery

Since dh had back surgery in April, I have had to put on my handyman belt and believe me it does not fit:) I have replaced a belt, sensor and motor in a laser machine. I have climbed up in the attic to adjust the a/c something or other when it was 90 degrees outside. I have replaced a thermo coupling on the water heater, don't even know if I spelled that right, much less what is was.Not to worry I was very closely supervised:) T has taken over trash duties, plus helping me carry out the handyman duties. This Saturday T & I started out to trim the hedges in the front yard. Of course we had to have a lot of supervision,using a hedge trimmer. At one point I thought of another use for the hedge trimmer other than trimming hedges! Then our supervisor decided we had some tree branches that needed to come down. Not only did we trim trees in the front yard but our supervisor had us progress to the back yard. Once all the trimming was done in 100 plus degree heat we had to load them in the truck and haul the branches to the recycling center, AND unload them there, all the while being carefully supervised:)The tree we trimmed in the back yard is now going to be removed...sure glad we worked so hard on that stupid tree.We did get a lot done and the song I am Woman certainly stuck in our minds all day Saturday! Only 4 more months of this.

Hey Cupcake!

Cupcakes are so hot now and we heard about this little "store" that had the best cupcakes ever! We spent the day visiting with the soccer coach at Concordia University and decided we needed a treat. Their menu consists of about 8 different cupcakes, including 24 Carrot and a Michael Jackson! We picked 3 and they were delicious. We had frosting all over our fingers and face but the cupcakes were worth the mess. It was not raining,it was about 100 degrees, so we could use the cute pink umbrellas to have some shade while ordering and eating the cupcakes.

The things you see on I35

We went to Scrappin Good Time in Corsicana today, to deliver some product and pick up some left over from the GASC. There is always something different to see on a road trip down IH35 and today was no exception. We pulled up beside this little beauty and I could not believe what I saw. This little jewel of a car, floats on water. You can see on the front of the drivers side, the registration for a boat, but it gets better. We got behind it and low and behold, there were propellers! Love the license plate, Floats! Just another fun day down the Interstate.

Remember the vacation

Finally, finally, finally finished last years vacation album. I had lots of leftovers and just had to do a "junk" page. I used the tags from the MM line and added anything I could find. I used Tattered Angels misty stuff for my chipboard and think I have a new best friend. Just spray and let dry...no more painting. This album is done, put a fork in it:)

I tried

my hand at digital scrapping! I have been reading about this and wanting to try it and I can see why people love it. Of course this was a quick page,so not much thought involved. I do think it will be a while before I can progress to anything but a beginner.

Graduated!

T is officially out of high school!! It was certainly a special night to watch 614 seniors walk across the stage. Graduation was held at the Eagle Stadium, and it was hot with over 3000 people enjoying the ceremony. We had a family dinner at Mimi's, T. choice, and the food was wonderful. She did get to spend some time with her favorite aunt and uncle and cousins before heading off to the big night. After the ceremony she left for the lock in party and came home about 6:30 this morning. This little bird is flapping her wings and I know her flight to college will be so exciting.
Congratulations Bean, we love you and are so proud of you!

Our Home Album

I am on a roll! Not really, just trying to get some samples ready for GASC next week, almost done!

Senior Prom Word Album

Just had to do something with all these prom pictures. Added a little bling;)

This Little Indian

will graduate in 6 days. Graduation is next Friday night, finals are done, but school still continues. They have to go this week until Friday, then back to school next Monday and Tuesday, no one is happy about the Monday and Tuesday!
It is hard to believe that you will leave for college in a few months, always keep marching to your own drum!!

You are never too old

to enjoy music. This was filmed at Mayo Clinic.

Yosef, My Cousin

I am so glad I don't have to pick favorites with my bugs relatives,it would be impossible to do. Marie located my little know cousin Yosef, in a far away country, Haifa, Israel, this last week. Evidently he knows some of the best people to visit, looking at the building behind him:)I really like his tailpipes and spoiler, plus the license plate is a nice accessory.Click on the pictures for a better view.
The past few weeks, we have been the big, big,bugs on the windshield, but Monday, we became the windshield. Turned on the wipers and cleaned off all the nasty bug juice and life is once again sunny!

Prom Night

After days of prep work, the long awaited night arrived and the big event went off with just a glitch. Her date, Duncan, picked her up and they met her friends, since grade school, for pictures. The prom was held at the Bob Bullock Museum in Austin, so they had quiet a drive. He got lost and parked 6 blocks away, they walked 6 blocks in the wrong direction and 6 blocks back to the parking garage. T. loved that walk in the heels:)Then they were in one lane and he realized he needed to turn so moved over to that lane,there was a police car behind them and pulled them over. The policeman thought they had been drinking and gave him a DUI test! He passed, of course, and so got of with a warning and then the policeman helped them find their way to the big event. T said the band was lame but she still had fun. T was voted the class clown and has the crown to prove it. The first picture is my "dances to her own drum" child on her way to a concert Friday night and then on Saturday transforms into this! The group picture is funny to me, she is the rebel dresser and thinker and her date has the shortest hair, go figure.

VW album for NSD

I didn't get to do much for NSD but I did have fun working on my VW family tree album.You can click on the picture for a larger image.Here is the vw family tree album
from the beginning.The first page is the day we brought the bug home. I used Paper Loft paper, the cute little MS car punch, coredination paper (love how that sands),and MR tree and bird. I covered the tree with green flocking...what a mess. Hard to get it covered and not worth the effort!
The "announcement" was cut from chipboard, raw on this side and covered on the back.Cut the flower out of grunge board that I ran through the CB embossing folder, and the peace sign is a QK die.
The second page of the insert, MR bird,Branch and clear date thingy. Ran the bird through the CB embossing and inked. The next is an acrylic insert, with a QK sun, some acrylic hearts and the MAMBI peace bling. Threw in a few felt flowers and a little stamping. The back of the acrylic page is just a mirror of the front, and the last page was a little "flower power". At least the WIP has made some progress.