And Brugmancias too

The Brugmancias are blooming!

Here they are!

OK, first is a before picture from back at the beginning of July















Next is a picture of the back when it was half done.















Third is a shot of the front when it was first finished.















The final shot is the new street view.














WOW!

EDITED TO ADD (3/6/08): The shingles used on this roof were ELK 40-year Prestique 1 High Definition Dimensional Asphalt Shingles in Forest Green.

pictures of the house after ER

It's the season premiere so it'll have to wait.

I LOVE this song!

This song is loved by the kids and I - Juanes "La Camisa Negra"! I keep refreshing my own page just to that it plays again. I sang the first couple of lines today while we were inside taking a break from watching the roofers (we had already finished school). The next thing I know I've fired up iTunes and the big stereo in the living room and the three of us are dancing around the living room with the music playing so loud that we can't even hear them nailing down the shingles right over our heads. Our house is wireless networked and we can play iTunes on any computer in the house and have it play on the big stereo in the living room or on our computer or in the playroom over the stereo in there. About 30 minutes later, Thomas and Joe came home so we reluctantly but quickly shut down the party and ran over to play at the neighbor's house. They were about to leave so instead of getting to play with them, the kids hung out in their front yard watching me pulling up poison oak. See, I just got these nifty new gloves just for the purpose of ridding the hillside of poison oak and I was eager to try them out. I also got a new bottle of this which I've used before with great success but I didn't feel like putting it on today.
Well, I've got to get caught up on Torchwood so I'm gonna stop now. Feel free to play the Juanes song again and again but please refresh the page instead of scrolling down and clicking on play again - that way my statistics meter will show it as another hit - a good thing.

new roof

Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have a new roof! It's Forest Green and it looks FABULOUS!
If I wasn't too lazy to download, edit and upload a picture or 6 I would show you pictures. Instead, here is a picture from Sacramento of what the shingles look like actually installed on a real house. I'm serious, EVERYONE should have a green roof if you live in a treed area - it makes the house just disappear into the trees kind of like a tree house.
Thomas just laughed at me for being too lazy to upload pictures but yet still finding a link with a good picture.
Fine, I'll post pictures tomorrow and I promise that you will LOVE it.






The shingles used on this roof were ELK 40-year Prestique 1 High Definition Dimensional Asphalt Shingles in Forest Green.


Look at how it just blends into the trees, kind of like a gnome home!

no posts

Sorry, I just haven't felt like it lately. I'm hoping that I will at least manage to get out a Sunday Seven tomorrow but no promises.
Life has seemed a bit rushed and more stressful than usual.
Not to mention the fact that I donated blood on Wednesday afternoon and then mowed almost the whole yard on Thursday afternoon - it took all the day on Friday to recover from that. Note to self: next time wait 48 hours after giving blood before trying strenuous outdoor activity in +90 degree temps. FYI, our September/October weather is warmer than most place's Dog Days of Summer.

for Holly

Here's the latest Julieta video for your viewing pleasure
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWlHF1uljX0

still thinking

Joe and I are supposed to be spending the afternoon and evening together tomorrow without the kids. I've been given the responsibility of deciding what we do for 5 hours or so since I'm the one that never really ever gets a break from my job of mothering. I have no clue what to do. I have no idea if there is a movie that I want to see - the new horror/sci-fi movie with Milla Jovovich doesn't come out until next week and Joe's only comment about the new dragon movie was "It's rated PG" (I'm not really sure why that's a BAD thing). On our night out last year (yes, we only do this once a year) we ate at the original location of The Hyde Park Bar & Grill, had dessert at the semi-original location of Amy's Ice Cream and went for a drive around the old neighborhood. I have no ideas for this year, so far.
I'll try sleeping on it, I've still got a few hours to decide.

Inspiration

So, Tanya over at The Dairy Wife plays the sweetest songs on her Blogger blog and they keep reminding me of my favorite Randy Travis song. So in a fit of inspiration, I have ignored the TV for the last 2 hours and searched out how to embed a song on a blog and done it all. So enjoy one of the songs that we played at our wedding while reading the blog.

I promise to change out the song every week or so, I swear!

Update: The song was Randy Travis's "For Ever And Ever, Amen" from 1989

shoe shopping

So I've been checking out the end of summer shoe sales looking for the perfect pair of pumps under $40 that will make my feet happy. I've been a www.shoemall.com shopper for a few years but they don't have my size in any of the super sale shoes. So today I checked out www.zappos.com and I must say "WOW!' They don't have ANY sale pumps under $40, even not in my size. WOW their prices are HIGH! I'm sticking with www.shoemall.com and maybe a few side visits to the mall to check out Nordstrom's. I'm hoping that there will be something beautiful and cheap in October at the QVC shoe sale.
Oops, the school bell is about to ring, gotta go!

WOOSSSSHHHHHHH

Thursday I mowed the whole lawn - front and sides and back and way-back - and then trimmed/cut branches for bulky pickup (it starts next Monday).
Friday it was school all am before getting to the park at 1:45.
Saturday was another sweaty day - this time at The Market - and Jessie was over to play in the afternoon.
I took the kids ice skating for a couple of hours on Sunday - it was Free Skate day - with a 45 min drive each way. We brought Grace along, good thing too since Retta was too pooped from her 5k that morning to make it to the rink.
Monday we had school, then picked Thomas up at the airport, then more school, then I took Giselle to her first day of ballet lessons, then Paul and I speed shopped while Giselle danced, then we all came home where I cooked our weekly seafood dinner, then the kids stayed up goofing off and after they went to sleep at 8, I watched all my back episodes of The Dog Whisperer.
Is it only Tuesday today? We schooled all day and then all evening we (this time I just helped out instead of doing all the work myself) cut down more branches. I got stabbed in the leg by one - ouch.
Tomorrow I've got more branches and bushes to trim and cut down. Giselle has a new homeschool CD that she really enjoys so she can work on the computer while I'm out in the yard with Paul. Oh, I think that we're supposed to play or school with Marie!
Thursday is a La Leche League meeting in the morning.
Friday is Park Day again!

How much is too much?

I'm not sure how much is too much but I do know when enough is enough!
They are short Sunday School teachers at church since they added a second hour of Sunday School. The call is WAY out there for more teachers and aides but I'm letting it go to voice mail. I'm already a teacher to my own kids 7 days a week, I take care of the house and all, and I volunteer with 3 LLL groups - I don't need to be teaching a Sunday School class also (even if it's not my own kids' class). I'm really enjoying my 1 obligation-free hour each week to just sit in a quiet church hallway and read parenting books. I sit on a chair in front of a bright window, turn my phone to ignore and read. It's been such a peaceful time these last 2 weeks, and last week there was the bonus hour since the kids went to Sunday School for both the 10 and 11 am services. With the exception of the 2 ten-year-old boys practicing hurdles for 15 minutes in the hallway that I sit in, I was TOTALLY uninterrupted. It sounds funny since I was in a church, but I was in heaven for those 2 hours.
If only my shoes had been more comfortable...
Needless to say, I'm refusing all requests to become a SS teacher at this time. And I'll refuse to become a Brownie leader too.

Sunday Seven #20

Seven things I’m thankful for this last week ending 9/8/07
1 – Paul going to Sunday School for the first time – I got to sit and read in Fellowship hall for one solid uninterrupted hour.
2 – Grace getting to come over and play for over 3 hours on a rainy day.
3 – Having enough in the refrigerator that I didn’t need to go shopping until Wednesday.
4 – Kind friends saving clothes for me at the Annual Homeschool Clothes Swap.
5 – A GREAT Friday at the park!
6 – That dinner for 4 from Donn’s BBQ cost less than $30 ($.90 less to be exact) – OUCH!
7 – Being told by the Honey Lady that she loves Paul hanging out at their booth (they are right next to us) – he has so much fun playing with their toy bees that people stop by the booth just to watch him.


Sunday Seven is a meme designed for giving thanks for the big or little things in our lives - or to recognize the positive things going on! If you'd like to play along, please go here to find out all about it.

Sunday Seven #19

Seven things I’m thankful for this last week ending 9/1/07
1 – Getting to Dick Nibbles pool one last time for the summer season – it reopens for the Fall/Winter/Spring season on September 17.
2 – Getting to the pool party while it was still going on.
3 – A good first day of school.
4 – All of us lasting the exact same amount at the Texas State History Museum.
5 – Getting 3 hours of Park Day in before we got rained out.
6 – The kids being extra wonderful at The Market while we helped out our good friends Gayla and Edgar.
7 – A 24 hour reprieve for Joe on getting the front bedroom ready for Thomas.


Sunday Seven is a meme designed for giving thanks for the big or little things in our lives - or to recognize the positive things going on! If you'd like to play along, please go here to find out all about it.

Sunday Seven #18

Seven things I was thankful for the week ending 8/25/07
1 – A week of no La Leche League meetings.
2 – 3 days in a row at Dick Nibbles pool.
3 – Tantrums only lasting 30 minutes and never outside the house.
4 – A Park Day so fun that we never made it to the creek until we were leaving and then only to wash the dirt off of our legs.
5 – The ability to bring joy to a little girl just by passing on to her some outgrown clothes.
6 – Finally getting a noticeable tan line; “Mommy, why is your bottom whiter than your legs?”.
7 – Catching up with the helado man while leaving The Market and buying 25 La Super Michoacana paletas of assorted flavors – 4 fresa, 4 pina colada, 4 melon, 4 sandia, 2 vainilla, 2 limón, 4 mango, 1 fresa con chocolate, and one free coco because he likes us – to take home and keep in our own freezer to eat throughout the week.


Sunday Seven is a meme designed for giving thanks for the big or little things in our lives - or to recognize the positive things going on! If you'd like to play along, please go here to find out all about it.