Mady - Diva in Training

Here's a pic of my great niece Mady.  Her mom posted this on Facebook stating she's the spitting image of me - a budding fashionista!  I'd have to agree!!!  Isn't she cute??!!!

 

I Agree!!

Blue Jacket Divas Once Again!

Last night was a great ending to a very busy and warm week!  The original Blue Jacket Divas gathered together at Diva Jan's house to break bread and catch up with each other.  It had been a long time - too long - and it was great being able to hear what was going on in each other's lives.  Jan grilled burgers and laid out a tasty buffet of potato salad, coleslaw, chips, and veggies.  Dessert included homemade berry crisp and Susan brought a Shari's cherry pie. I haven't eaten that much in a long time but it was worth it!

The highlight of the evening was when we received a surprise visit from one of the founders of the lab where we all used to work, Steve, along with his wife.  So nice catching up with him - it was like old home week from back in the day when we all worked together for so many years.

Here's a toast to old friends and good times!!!

Bonding, Bathtub, and Bathing Beauty

July 4th this year was special because it was the first time since March that I've spent the night in the same room as my love Michael.  Friday we enjoyed the holiday together where we were able to visit, relax, eat dinner together, and snooze (although in different beds) all night long.  While my bed was acceptable, it was plastic.  This meant waking up in the middle of the night with my back glued with sweat to the bed...ugh.  It was an experience and really made me proud of Michael as he endures this environment day in and day out. It's rough but we are praying he will soon his regain his strength so he can make it home.

Arriving home Saturday there was enough time for me to hit the gym for about an hour.  Sunday found me rising early to tackle cleaning my room and hanging up clothes then performing some deep cleaning on my bathroom, including the tub/shower.  It was gross and seriously needed some work for quite some time.  The small aquarium was next, which was cleaned then, with some trepidation, I moved my hefty algae eater into the larger aquarium.  He seems to be settling in just fine and will have much more room to roam.

I then cleaned and vacuumed the car, gassed it up, stopped at Target, then ran my auto through the car wash.  Arriving home, my next goal was to mow the front yard; instead, I watched Chopped on TV and took a nap, which was so worth it.  Refreshed, I mowed the yard, weeded, rearranged a few lawn items, cleaned out and set up the front fountain, then hung up my bathing beauty wind sock.

Back inside, the kitchen was next and finally, it was time to paint my nails to prepare for Monday.  I'm ready for my sunny, warm, and fabulous week - are you??!!!

Happy Independence Day 2014!!!

Have a safe and exciting July 4th!!!  

A Literal Potted Plant

Brother Todd gave me a quaint little potty chair when we celebrated our birthdays in January.  It's been sitting on the front porch; today i finally picked up some potted flowers to sit over the potty hole.  It's actually cute, rather than strange!!!  Thanks again Todd!!

Thunder in the Clear Blue Sky

My window at work overlooks the freeway....well, through brush and trees.  However, there is view enough to see if traffic is cruising along or dragging.  Today during my normal workday, I was typing along when I looked out my window and saw a huge puff of smoke or dust shooting into the air.  Then, there was a tremendous amount of noise akin to thunder.  Being that it was a sunny, clear and warm day, a miracle had to occur for thunder to sound.  Hmmm, I thought to myself as I returned to my typing.  A few minutes later, red and blue lights flickered on the freeway - police and ambulance had arrived and the freeway was at a standstill.  At that point, I ventured from my office to see what was going on.

Apparently, a semi carrying a load of logs overturned on the freeway, which caused the cloud of dust along with the thunder noise.  The following picture is from the freeway camera, which shows the extent of the wreck.  This occurred around 11am; southbound freeway was blocked for a few hours, cars were then detoured while the freeway was closed.   Close to my quitting time at 4pm, I was happy to see traffic was moving; however, when I made my way to the freeway, it was very slooooowwwww going for several miles. My 45 minute commute took me double that time to get home.  Ugh....but at least no one was hurt in the wreck.

Arriving home, I cancelled my normal trip to the gym in order to get outside and enjoy the warmth.  Tossing on my shorts and tank top, I then pulled out the lawnmower to cut the backyard.  Alas, no gas so my next trip was the gas station.  Once home, the next hour was spent mowing the backyard in the 90 some degree heat, which resulted in a serious sweat situation!  My plan was to cut the front yard as well but that shall wait for another day.

Here's to more summer weather this week!!!