10 On Tuesday-Sports I Like to Play or Watch

http://www.yanowhatimean.com/tuesday/

• 1. Nate has played football since he was 7, so I would have to say this has become my favorite, plus it is something Hubby and I can both watch and enjoy.
  



• 2. Baseball seems to be getting a bit boring to me, but I still love to go out to the ballpark and watch a game at least once a year. (Where else can you get a hot dog and peanuts that are that good.)
  



• 3. I like to watch hockey, but not as much as my Hubby.
  



• 4. Now on to something I like to play. I have always loved basketball (notice I didn't say good), but I do like to shoot some hoops with the kids.
  



• 5. Growing up, I played fast pitched softball for years, since I had back surgery I have not been able to play this anymore. It is a favorite of mine!
  



• 6. Is water volleyball a sport? I enjoy playing that one.
  



• 7. Ping Pong, now that is a cool sport. I like it when they get going all across the room!



• 8. We like to go to the horse races at least once a year, and I like watching the races.



• 9. I like walking (for exercise that is). I put my earphones in and head off and I lose track of time. The hard part is living in Texas when we are reaching 100 degree temps, I am not getting out in that.



• 10. I honestly can't come up with another, which makes me realize I need to get out and take up a few additional sports!

Photo Hunt: 116 Bright

Bright Colors. My son made these out of duct tape. I thought they were so neat!

Friday Fill-Ins #78

This is my first!

1. Birthdays are special and we have a special one this weekend. Happy B-Day Miss Priss!


2. Spring is my favorite season because I love the temps and everything comes to life again.


3. I feel my best when I have had plenty of sleep.


4. Olive Garden salad is my favorite food!


5. First impressions are sometimes misleading.


6. The best piece of advice I ever received was treasure evey moment with your children because they will grow up before you know it.


7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to relaxing after a long week, tomorrow my plans include going out for dinner with family to celebrate Miss Priss's b-day and Sunday, I want to go out by the pool and get some sun!

My answer's are in bold. Wanna play? Click the link below:

Thursday Thirteen #1 - Getting To Know Me

Since this is my first post on Thursday Thirteen, I thought I would take this opportunity to tell 13 random facts about me.

1. I used to blog, but I had a hard time keeping it updated. My lovely sister has inspired me to start blogging again. Participating in this I believe will help keep me going.
2. I have been married to Hubby for 19 wonderful years and we have two children, Nate and Missy.
3. We own 3 dogs. Two Black Labs (they are like 2 year olds that run all through the house) and an emotionally disturbed Bichon/Mini Poodle mix (is scared of everything).
4. I love to take photo's. Notice I did not say I am a photographer. I have a Cannon Rebel XTI which helps me take some pretty decent shots. I think with time and some additional research I will get better in time.
5. One of the fun things we like to do is go to the Casino. Now, we aren't big gamblers, but we do like to get away from life on occasion and who knows maybe someday we will hit the jackpot.
6. We are part owners of a commercial printing company in Fort Worth, Texas. So yes not only do I see Hubby everyday, but I also work with him. Many people are surprised that we have such a great relationship and are able to work so well together.
7. I was born and raised in Chicago, Ill. Moved to Texas when I was 15. Although it was hard to leave my friends behind, I love living in Texas and don't think I would ever move back.
8. My favorite color is purple
9. My favorite t.v. show is House.
10. I love it when it rain
11. My favorite time of year is spring when the flowers are all starting to bloom and before the Texas heat kicks in.
12. There is no sweeter smell than a newborn baby.
13. I am a sucker for animals. Once I sat out in a storm for 30 minutes with a dog that we chased out of a 6 lane road, he was bumped by a car at the last minute and we wrapped him with a blanket until Animal Control could arrive. If I had some land and the funds, I know that I would have it filled to rim with animals.
    

Worldess Wednesday - Evening Song

Wordless Wednesday - Wanna Play?

http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/

Cutting the Cost for Senior Year

I promised I would post some pictures of an idea that I came up with in order to cut some of the major cost of having a Senior in High School, so here it is. Everyone knows kids are expensive, but just wait until their Senior year. You know, they must have all the "Senior" items that are pushed on them by the school. It starts with the Senior T-Shirts, Senior pictures, cap and gown, graduation announcements, and so on and so on.

I refused to go in and pay to have photo's taken and pay $600-$800 for professional photo's. I have a great digital camera and what more do I love than taking photo's of my kids....nothing. We loaded up and went to the Botanical Gardens here in Fort Worth with a few change of clothes. I took the photo's in April, since I knew it wasn't going to take long for me to get the announcements done. (We own a printing company.) I also didn't want to take pictures in August and then hand them out 10 moths later, even though he was 18 he really did change alot during that time frame. Nate's girlfriend came along with us, so I was able to get some great shots of them as a couple along with taking a ton of pictures of him. Here are a few of the shots we took, we also had some really funny ones because he was at ease with me taking the photo's.

Here we told him to give us his "sexy" pose. We actually used this one on his cake at his graduation party!

This was a fun one we took with his girlfriend.

Serious shot with GF

So many beautiful backgrounds!

Even a brother and sister shot

Here is the finished product

Showing how it opens

So whatcha think?

It was such a fun day and we have so many fun memories of taking those photo's.

10 Inventions That Have Made Life Easier

This is my first post for a 10 on Tuesday:

1. It goes with out saying my number one item is my laptop. Not being tied down to the desk makes it so nice to surf the net. It has a 17" widescreen so it is not one I carry around all the time, but sure makes it nice for viewing!

2. Would have to be my cell phone. Although at times I have to remind myself that it does have an off button on it. I have been out trying to enjoy a day of shopping and the kids would call it over and over again about the smallest things!

3. Is my digital camera. What a waste of film I had before I invested in my camera. Now I just snap away and if the photo's are bad I just delete them. I think it has also helped me become a better photographer because I don't hesitate to snap all those shots.

4. The next one is not really a new item, but an improved item, so I am calling a new invention. It is the gallon sized Lipton Tea Bags. For years I have had to unwrap 4-5 large tea bags and if I made the mistake of buying the little ones, 8-10 of those. I happened on the gallon size bags and it I really don't mind making iced tea anymore.

5. I wouldn't know what I would do if I didn't have my pool cleaner. I love having a swimming pool, but I don't have much time for maintanence. This item pretty much makes taking care of my pool a breeze. We have given it the name "Alien".

6. This one is rather new to us, but I have to say the hard to get around to excercising has become a little easier with it. Let me tell you, the hula hoop on advanced will really burn some calories! It is our Wii Fit. You lose track of time also, so you spend more time "buring calories".

7. USB drives. I love being able to just grab files and go without burning CD's. Also in the print industry they are a must! (Speaking of that sis I think I left mine at your house)

8. This one kind of goes with number 3. My hubby bought me a digital picture frame and I love it! It is so nice to walk in the room and see all my photo's scrolling, it is not the same picture. Sometimes I find myself stopping and just looking at them all over and over again.

9. My vacuum! With two Labs, we have massive amounts of black dog hair that seems to just jump off those dogs. I brush them 3 times a week and use anti shed shampoo, but it is still a battle. I have a Bissell vacuum that really does it's job!

10. Panini maker it is. We love making these and it is so easy the kids will actually make their own. Anything that makes less time in the kitchen for me is a winner!!!

Wanna Play? Click the link below.

http://www.yanowhatimean.com/tuesday/

Come on sis, tell me how to get that little button on there instead of the link.

What a Weekend!

It was a pretty busy weekend here. Missy had gone to my sister's house for a few days so Friday night Hubby and I went North to the casino. After the week we had had, it was a real stress reliever. Didn't do as well as we have done in the past, but had a great time!

Read about our adventure over at http://www.yellowrosesgarden.com/ . Please make note of the picture of my bright daughter fishing on the wrong side of the sidewalk. :-) Actually she had just yanked her line out because it was caught in some plants, but the photo is pretty funny!

Sunday was a lazy day! We did manage to get our grocery shopping done, and Hubby actually went with me. I love having him go with me, it sure makes it less of a task!

I have been kicking around the idea of having a garage sale. I always say after I have one, that I won't do that again, but I have so much clutter building up at my house. Anyone have any good tips on making a garage sale less painful?

Well that is my weekend in nutshell. How was your weekend?

A Little About Me

I have always been terrible at updating information, but things have started to slow down just a bit, so I am going to attempt to stay on top of this. I guess I should start by telling you a little bit about me.
I have been happily married to my knight in shining armor for 19 years. I couldn't ask for a better husband and father to my children. We are part owners of a commercial printing company that is located in Fort Worth, Texas. That in itself is enough to keep us pretty busy, but we also have two wonderful children. Nate is 18, he just graduated high school and is trying to figure out what he is going to do with his life. Missy (her alias) is 12 going on 17 so we have lots of middle school drama that runs in our house. Also she has a major obsession right now, two words: Jonas Brothers Is it healthy for a 12 year old to eat, drink and sleep over a boy band?
To round out our family we have three dogs. Two Black Labs and a Bichon/Miniature Poodle mix. The Labs are as bad as having kids! The two get to rough housing that at times I get caught in the middle and am worried I will get knocked down.



Well that is the short version, but isn't that what a blog is about? Telling a story a little at a time.