Pictures of Flowers and Bugs

My New Passion.....*LOL*

Oh SNAP! *Hides Face from KB*

Holy Toledo! I haven't posted since the end of April??? *Gasp* KB has surely been cursin' me because my ears have been burnin'! LOL!

In my defense, I have been out of town for the last 10 days.....I know, I know what about the other 25+ days.....*whistles a tune to change the subject*

I just returned from an extended trip to my hometown in West Virginia....10 days to be exact and I've been re-rednecked! *LMAO* No, honestly...I had a great time visiting with momma and daddy and all the rest of the family. *sniff, sniff* my darlin MM is staying the summer with the grandparents.....and I miss her terribly already!!! I know she's havin a great time because she can't even take the time to talk to her ol' momma on the phone! Grrrr....little minx!

But, happily I'm back home with hugs and kisses to BBC....don't tell anyone, but I think he missed me! *grins* I can't wait to get back to the routine (I guess that says something about my severe OCD!) One of the perks of my West Virginia home, Daddy planted strawberries. He gathered 26 gallons (yes, I said GALLONS!) in TWO DAYS! Needless to say, we stemmed strawberries until our fingers were blood red! Luckily, I brought a five-gallon bucket of fresh, ripe, home-grown strawberries home. YUMMERS!

I got treated to home-made Strawberry Refrigerator Cake (if you haven't had it, I'm including the recipe and it is soooo yummy!) and also a "made from scratch" Strawberry Shortcake. (Of course, I didn't make it....umm, hello....I'm so kitchen challenged! Momma made it!) In case you are wondering, my behind is twice the size it was since I left.....hence me getting my hiney up at 5am to go to the YMCA tomorrow morning! LOL!

Momma and I visited three of our favorite stores.....Goodwill, Goodwill and yet another Goodwill! We found some fantabulous deals! (Did I need any of it? Nope....but it sure was fun!)

Anywho, my new passion.....taking very close-up pics of flowers, bugs, nature, etc in macro mode.....needless to say, I've accumulated several over the course of 10 days....not too shabby if I do say so myself! Tell me what you think of them....a few are attached.

*yawn* Time for bed.....


Earl

***Strawberry Refrigerator Cake Link: http://allrecipes.com:80/Recipe/Strawberry-Refrigerator-Cake/Detail.aspx

****Pictures of Flowers to follow....they aren't through downloading yet.....LOL!

GEEEZ.....Where have I been??????

I know, I know...I haven't updated in a while and believe me KB let me know it tonight! Update since I've been here.....my life is boring so nothing happened (DUH!) No honestly, let's see...of course a couple of weekends ago, I worked at the CK (Creating Keepsakes) show in Collinsville. Man o' man are there a LOTTT of women crazy about scrapbooking. The weekend is a blur for the most part. The good thing is, BL let us wear Cardinal PJ pants to work in. (I really think that should be the new dress code at SBF! *gigglesnort* )

Hmm, what else has happened....we kicked off the spring/summer neighborhood celebrations last weekend at our lovely neighbors (we'll just call them Canuks to protect their privacy). It was a great turnout and the kids had a ball! Of course, then it was 80 degrees and they could play in the sprinklers. (Unlike this weekend where the high today was 50's and dropped like an anvil throughout the day and the weather people are talking FROST tomorrow night!) I have the BEST neighbors ever! They are such fun to hang out with (and truthfully, we'll use any excuse in the world to get together and eat and drink and be merry!....as you can tell in the photo. That is a pic of us, the Bunco "Babes" at the St Paddy's Day edition of Bunco...complete with the green beer! LOL! )

Of course, I'm forever traumatized because of the midwest earthquake we experienced very early in the morning last week. To be honest, MM had woken me up at 1:30 am to tell me she had a bad dream. So, being a fantabulous momma, I gathered her up and we snuggled into the bed in the extra bedroom. At 4:30ish in the morning, I accused her of jumping on the bed....but to my surprise!!! I told BBC I fully expected when we moved to the Midwest to see a tornado, but he never mentioned anything about earthquakes darnit!!

My PPU have been under the weather lately with the flu! (I'm sure it's because of all this changing weather, it's cold....it's hot.....grrrr!) But, talked to Momma and they are still feeling weak, but feeling better.

Had soooo much fun tonight! Me, BL, KB and "Sumthin' Sumthin'" (LOL!) went to celebrate KB's nine-year stint at SBF and how much we miss her. We went to Luminere (the new Casino) in StL. OMG, it was so fun. Me and "Sumthin, Sumthin" stuck together cause we had no clue how to play the slots. We quickly found out and proceeded to lose $20 each! LOL, but we all had a ball. We ate at the buffet which was awesome! Really great girls night out. *Pokes KB and BL...could turn into a regular thang!!*

Ok, KB....I posted and I'm back on track!!! LOL.....*sticks out tongue*

BTW, the girls at work have taken to calling me Earl....I like it, it fits!!! LMAO!!!

7 Random Things About Me.....*Laughs* like ya need any other ammo to know that I'm wierd!!!!

I saw this on KB's blog....and it got me to thinking about random things. I decided that I would tempt fate and post twice in the same day.....if anything deserves an "Oh snap!" that does....but here goes:

1) I am a true uncouth West Virginia redneck. Most of you already know this...but I can do some unclassy bodily functions on demand and clear a room! (Aren't you glad I decided to tell ya'll these things?????)

2) I only eat the Chex in Chex Mix....I throw the rest of it away. No real reason for this except that I don't like the rest of it.

3) I'm "pee in my pants" afraid of clowns! I hate 'em. I will run, cry and scream like a girl around them.

4) I'm completely clepto with ink pens! I admit it freely. If ya got a pen that I think writes good, I WILL steal it. Although I'm too much of an honest person, and I'll replace it with one of my own from my purse.

5) Even though I'm completely OCD about most things, I'm a complete slob when it comes to my own space. Just ask my husband and he will swear I HAVE to throw my clothes on the floor even though a clothes basket is right there.....*snorts* he'll get over it! LMAO!

6) I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Juicy Pear Jelly Belly Jelly Beans. They are my absolute fave!

7) I'm a "grave hopper"....in other words, I'm a genealogy buff and love nothing more than to tromp through the brush and backwoods to find some forgotten tombstone of one of my ancestors.....*shrugs* does that make me morbid?????

There ya go....me in a nutshell......

Later Gators....

Ohhhh....my muscles, my poor aching muscles!!!!

Well, the world didn't come to an end....I worked out and *sigh* no Armageddon! (Just kiddin!) I am hurting in muscles I never knew I had after a week of work-outs....*laughs*, hence the "ouch, ouch, oh snap!" comments I make as I'm walking around.

Big weekend plans....the show is tomorrow and me and the other "gals" spent the day loading and unloading for it....we open up the floodgates tomorrow morning. Speaking of which, I was told to be there at 7:30 am....all I can say is....(you know it's coming)....OH SCHNAP!!!!

Actually, I look forward to the hustle and bustle, it's exciting (yes, I soo need a life....shuddup! LOL!)

(So totally off subject, but who cares....."Earl" was new tonight and was so blasted hilarious....*gigglesnort*!)

BTW, I have a new favorite thing......"Cornbread" in the morning! "The Cornbread Show" is on 92.3 WIL in St Louis. He is freakin hilarious and a redneck after my own heart. Here's the link to the radio site: http://www.toastedrav.com/section/cornbreadsworld

(That's for everyone but KB who complains about my redneck country station being on at work...LOL! *sticks out my tongue at KB in fun* "nana, nanna, boo, boo" (Yes, I swear I'm a grown-up!)

Anyway, I love the Cornbread Show like a fat kid loves cake....so you should check it out. Guaranteed to make the people in traffic beside you look at you like you have four heads as your laughing your butt off in traffic!.....(whew, that was a mouthful!)

And on another off-note, (have I really been "on-note" at all tonight?) congrats to my Cardinals for their win against the Rockies on Wednesday night....(rock on Ankiel and Albert! WOOHOO!) Am just so happy I could spit that Cardinals baseball is back on....and to celebrate I will share the pic of me dressed up as Albert Pujols year before last on Halloween.....all I can say is brown eyeliner is a Biatttch to get off your face after it's sat there for a couple hours.....LOL!

Later Gators.....

I'm SOOOO Proud of myself!

Been a little more than a week since I posted, *whew* has it been a whirlwind! Let's see....well, the trip to WV was probably one of the most fun and memorable trips home since we moved out to IL two and a half years ago. Probably would seem pretty boring to most people, but visited 5 cemeteries (no I'm not a morbid person, just big on genealogy! LOL!); scanned lots of family photos (think old, old photos) and best of all I got nine pages of stories and family history from my grandpa and grandma. I have NEVER heard my grandpa laugh like that and he truely seemed to enjoy telling them and having someone really interested in hearing them.

Of course, Easter was as always a great family tradition filled with great food, great family and lots of laughter and fun-filled times. In fact, I've included a couple of photos in this post, cause I'm darn proud of my family.

(By the way....I'm watching my fav show "My Name is Earl" and laughing my patootie off everytime Joy says "Ohh, S-N-A-P!" LMAO!)

Anyway, ya'll know I quit smoking about six weeks ago (pats my own self on the back...LOL!) I am very proud of myself. I've smoked since I was 16 years old (minus three months before I got preggers, during my whole pregnancy and six weeks after....I could kick myself in the arse for picking it back up after that!!!!). Needless to say, it's really is a hard habit to kick. I tried the patch, the inhaler, Chantix....but nothing seemed to do the trick. So, this year on Feb 13th I turned 35 (don't repeat that!) and I told myself that when I turned 35 that I wouldn't smoke. I'm happy to say that I haven't since then.

Back to my original thought (ADD much???), I thought since I wasn't smoking and saving money (and gaining weight like crazy) that I would join the YMCA and get into shape since I wasn't smoking anymore. Today was my first day....

I have to say, that I really enjoyed myself...now I may not be able to walk in the morning, but it wasn't as bad as I thought (even though I smell like old gym socks....LOL!) Hopefully this work-out thing will stick!!!

Anyway, quickly wanted that say glad "Peach" is feeling better and back at work, had fun working with her the other day. Big weekend coming up with the show....if I live through it, I'll continue to post....LMAO! Later gaters!

*giggles* Oh SNAP! (LOL....I had to do it!!!!)

Hello from the Hills of WV!

Hello, Hello from Wild Beautiful West Virginia! Me and MM drove allllll day, but we finally made it to my PPU's house. Boy, it was so great getting momma and daddy hugs after so long being away.

(BTW, on the offnote.....during the nearly 8-hour trip, there was a 30-MINUTE PERIOD where I DIDN'T have to use my windshield wipers on high like it was raining hellfire and brimstone!) There was sooo much flooding! At times, it looked like we were driving down the highway with rivers to each side of the car!!! Am glad that the farmer's haven't planted yet or it would be disasterous!

Anyway, am so enjoying being back at mom and dads. I believe you could be gone for years and years and the minute you walk in the door, you're "Home!" (even though I miss BBC so so so much *pouts*)....think I'll go call him and whisper sweet nothings!!! *GRINS*

Laters gaters!