A Quick Project

Hi Friends,

This morning I was working on the mural 

In my backyard

But the temperature reaching 95 today

Caused me to put my brushes away

And choose a more simple project

For the afternoon

Many of you know that I am 

On the Nutrisystem program

So I always have piles of food stashed in crazy places

I found this 5 drawer rack at Hobby Lobby yesterday

But it was black so it needed a quick coat of spray paint

I worked out in the front driveway

Where there was a bit of shade

And turned the above into the below

 

I didn't really care if there were a few drips

As I sanded it when it was dry

I just knew I wanted white and not black in my kitchen

 

It came with red wire baskets

So they slid right back in

 It only took about 20 minutes

And Viola

 

I know have a cute little place to keep my food

I'm sure that once I reach my weight loss goal

I will be able to use this little pretty

In my craft room/office

So, there you have it

A super quick project Complete

Here's a sneak peek of my mural

Yep, that is just a tiny peek

Hoping to have it complete next weekend :)

 

Today's JOY

Found in little projects

Where are you finding your JOY today?

The Glorious of Vacation

Hi Friends,

And now I get to share about the Glorious

Part of my road trip to Waco, TX

I went to visit my friend Susan

We met in 1990 when she and her husband 

Came to Coleville, CA 

He was a Naval Chaplin and lead the little

Church that our family attended at that time

We became fast friends and the rest is history

 

Here, we were sitting on a street corner

Enjoying a few Feta Fries at a vendor truck

Oh My Goodness, they were delicious!

And I Still lost 2 pounds on vacay!!!!

Now, my friend has been personal friends with

Chip and Joanna Gaines from Fixer Upper for about 13 years

We had hoped to get together with them while I was in town

But filming schedules and life did not allow

However,

We did visit Magnolia The Store

And YES, I did make a small purchase

 

Such a cute little store and friendly staff

 

Bill, Susan, Nora and Matthew

 

We were in a really cool vintage shop

And ... Don't even ask :)

I've always wanted to take a few shots

Walking down a railroad track

 

Hanging out on the Waco suspension bridge

 

Just having fun

 

A fun selfie in the Very Windy New Mexico Desert

Oh My Goodness, the wind was crazy strong

 

Couldn't pass up trying on hats

At another great vintage shop

What are friends for anyway, but to have fun

 

Hanging from a Longhorn Horn

He had too much fun

 

Another selfie

Sitting and relaxing on the patio

 

Sunset in far eastern Arizona

On the drive home

Truly had an amazingly wonderful time visiting my bestie

25 years of friendship is definitely a blessing

Praying you all are enjoying a wonderful week

I'm back to work and feeling so much better

Will do repeat labs in the next few days

Praying they give me some better news this time

Find JOY in something Today

3 Grueling ... 4 Glorious

Hi Friends,

I've been MIA from blogville for over a week

I took a little vacation with my son

(Much Needed)

And we are home now

So it will be a week of catching up

Very early Saturday morning 3/14

We packed up my car and headed south/west

For a 2 day grueling drive to Texas

 

We made good time the first day

Making it, not only to, but through New Mexico

 

And made it to Texas as well

It was 11 long hours of driving 

But made the next day about 7 hours

So it was worth the push

Coming home I got the idea to power through

And drive the entire 1058 miles in one day

We left Waco at 5:05 am and arrived in my driveway at 10:05 pm

Exactly 17 hours

YES - I'm still tired!!

But my feet aren't swollen today :)

 

They say everything is bigger in Texas

Well, I don't know about everything

But they surely do fly some LARGE Flags

I loved seeing them flying so boldly above many businesses

 

Over the next week I will share more about Why we went to Texas

But today I'll just share a few treasures I returned home with

The barn wood sign above was gifted to me

I LOVE IT!!!!

Purchased from Spice Village

Oh my goodness, if you ever make it to Waco

You must find Spice ... You will Love it!!!

 

When I saw this gorgeous christening gown with bonnet

For only $10, I just Had to purchase it

I think I will display it in my bedroom

I absolutely Love the beautiful lace and islet work

 

Found myself a vintage rolling pin with red handles

And, these bamboo utensils that I really needed

 

Found this cute little candle holder/birdhouse

In a vintage mall in New Mexico

 

Had a beautiful dinner sitting by the river

Absolutely wonderful evening

If you follow me on Instagram

You can see some of the fun photos I shared during our trip

Health Update

Before I left on my trip

I got a call about my lab work

We finally have a diagnosis regarding all of my pain and inflammation

I have Viral Hepatitis

I was permitted to go on trip

Although the gruelingly long 17 hour drive home

Was probably Not the smartest thing I've ever done

Anyway, some life long changes need to be made

In the weeks ahead

I'll have lab work done again this coming week

I actually did rather well on my trip

Regarding my eating

I did NOT gain any weight at all

So Excited about that!!!

So today, I'm back on program

And hoping to continue my weight loss journey

As well as taking better care of myself

Thank you for stopping by

I'll share more over the next week

About The Glorious part of my Trip to Waco, Texas

Blessings to all!!!

Joys and Thank You's

Hi Friends,

Just stopping by with a few Joys

And a couple Thank You's

My JOYS

Seem to almost always involve my 3 K's

Since it is spring break

I got to enjoy all 3 of them

I think this little red mustang

Has gotten more use this spring

Than it has in the 9 years I've owned it

j

Today

The girls decided Mr. Sam

Needed to take a ride with them

 

 I believe they all had a great time

Going round and round and round the yard

And My little Miss K-Bel

Just Adores him 

Another Joy this week

Has been a bit of fun and painting

 

No, I haven't been working on my mural this week

I was working on a 16x24 canvas instead

My BFF sent me a great poem for my birthday

It has an ocean theme and was a sheet of vinyl words

I had no idea at first how I was going to incorporate it in my office

But I got an idea and went to work

 

The above is the finished product

I painted an subtle ocean theme as a back ground

Then I carefully placed all of the words on the dry canvas

I am in Love with my own work

There is a hysterical back story to this poem

And maybe someday I'll share it

Now for a couple of Thank You's

First

Thank you to those who have been praying for me

I have been quite ill for two weeks

We still aren't sure what has been going on with me

No lab results as of this hour but

Lots of joint pain, fever, edema in my hands and feet,

As well as a petechiae rash

I'm getting better day by day

At this point we are thinking 3 options

Viral Process

Medication Reaction

Kidney Disease

So, I'm waiting for results 

And believing to be completely well very soon

And

Another thank you goes out to

Judy at 20 North Ora

She had a giveaway a few weeks ago

And I Won

 

She sent me the sweetest Easter table runner

And a darling little burlap chick

 

As well as a cute bunny banner

And this great Chick Tea Towel

Because I love her work so much

I stopped by her Etsy Shop

And picked up these 2 absolutely adorable

Burlap Pillows

I just love them

Thank you Judy for all the the wonderful goodies

You are a gifted Lady

I'm not sure how much I'll be able to blog

Over the next week

So I'm sending Blessings to All

Go out and Find JOY in something today

It will make you Smile 

 

 

Play Days

Happy Saturday Friends

Today I'm SO thankful to be feeling Great

I had the JOY of playing with 

My 3 K's for several hours today

My little K-Bel

Wanted to help in the yard

She got the rake and actually got up a lot of the weeds

 

She would drag the rake around the yard

And then put all the grass and weeds in the trash

She seemed to be having so much fun

 

All of the girls enjoyed time in the play house

And since they wanted to stay outside

 

I made them lunch

 

And they had a mini picnic 

 

Putting this playhouse together last year

Was definitely a HIT

And I'm so glad I did it

 

After the girls went home

I completed some yard work in the front of the house

Then I decided I wanted to continue playing

I got out a canvas that I purchased for a specific project

Got a few paint colors ready

And played

I'll share the finished project in the days ahead

Did you play today?

Do share...because...

I hope you never grow too old to have

Play Days

 

Meanwhile...Between Naps

Hi Friends,

Although I've been in bed for

Most of the past 3 days

Today, I have been feeling stir crazy

With spring just around the corner

I thought I'd do a quick 20 minute project between naps

I took this plain white bird house

And decided to add my favorite number to it

 

I'm sure you all guessed it would be 3

Always for My 3 K's

 

I just stenciled on the number

Waited for it to dry

Then quickly sanded it so it wasn't so stark

 

I added a tiny bee and a ladybug

Just for spring

And voila - A bit of personality

Now,

I'm off for another nap

Hoping to go to work tomorrow :)

Let The Craziness Be Over ... Please!

Hi Friends,

It has been a crazy few days

And I, for one, am ready for life

To return to 'normal' - Whatever that is

Update 1

My brother will have surgery on the 19th

Fortunately it is gallbladder and they didn't have 

To remove it urgently

He's been able to prepare for surgery

Which is better than having to do it immediately

It is SO painful to have an attack though

Glad he is feeling better

And that will soon be taken care of for good

Update 2

My health

I wish I knew what was going on

But I started having terrible body aches on Monday night

I didn't sleep much but went to work Tuesday

Only to turn around and go home after 2 hours

I slept most of Tuesday and have been home 

All day today as well

My body is still achy, just not as bad

I don't have influenza

And no other symptoms

Oops...I do have a fever now

I'm hoping to feel better very soon

And be back to having a better attitude

I've been a bit grumpy :(

I had gotten up for a couple hours last night

Just to eat and get out of bed for a bit

As I was getting ready to head back to bed

I heard this::

Circling above my house

When I peeked out my front window

I saw someone in my front yard

Dressed kind of like this:

And several of these:

I immediately made sure all the doors and windows were locked

And kept looking out front

At least 6 police officers were in between my house

And the house next door

The helicopter circled for at least an hour

The police left after about 1 1/2 hours

Through phone calls and social media

I found out that a neighbor was having his motorcycle repossessed

And evidently that didn't sit to well with him

So, he allegedly threatened with a gun

Not sure of the details but...

In the end nobody was hurt

And all ended well

That is, except for those of us who lost sleep

Oh my achy body :)

And,

Because I want to end with something HAPPY

I get to see this precious woman

In Just 10 days

Sending Blessings To All