Entries tagged with lj friends

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Never-On-Time Series: Happy, Snowy, Snowmen.

Here's the story of my online life: I'm never on time. If there is an occasion that I *am* on time, you can bet your tushie that I stayed up all night long to make it that way. However, I am on time for most things in real life, and sometimes? Sometimes I'm even early!

Case/Picture in point:

These happy, snowy snowmen were a brainchild of mine back in December. You know, when people were still making lots of snowmen-themed things. But I promise you, living in North Dakota, life here is still all about the snowmen! Yes, we're dreaming of & hoping for spring, but the white, fluffy stuff still on my grass tells a different story.

So I'm on time, right? Right?!

( More story. )

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Packed with goodies.

Philip is becoming addicted to the yard sale feature on Facebook. (I already was.) I've scored a neat apron, several DVDs, some cookie cutters, and I'm currently waiting on a changing table. It's cherry wood, matching my dining room, and I've been looking for one for a while that would work well for all my cookie stuffs. At the moment, however, Philip is out buying a barely used 120gb video iPod for just $60! He is stoked!

Yesterday was a banner "retail therapy" day! I had nothing that needed "therapy," but boy, I sure managed it anyway! While the boys were in school, Philip and I headed to town. We went to the mall first, to Bath & Body Works especially. I'd been all out of wallflowers, and I stocked up big time - I bought 18 scents! I also nabbed two new wallflower units, as well as a couple jar candles.

Then, we headed to Walmart, and I ducked in really quick to return a shirt. Afterwards, we went to Menards. Philip grabbed a wall patch repair kit, and I stocked up on more rods for my second cookie cutter rack. (Yes, I've halfway filled a second rack now. It's a disease, and I'm not looking for a cure.)

Philip then suggested we stop by my favorite kitchen shop, and how could I resist?! I bought a second half-sheet pan and a second Silpat to go with it, and then I picked up just one more cutter. I also bought my fifth set of measuring spoons. I promise I needed them, as it seems that all of mine are constantly dirty. Have I mentioned that I bake quite a bit? *blushes*

When we returned home, I had two boxes waiting for me. The first was a small box of cookie cutters I'd ordered early in the week, and the second was a GIANT box of stuff I ordered from

ginky's Tastefully Simple party last weekend. Super-quick shipping, both of them! I put all those goodies away, too.

And all of this post is reminding me that I haven't even thought to check the mail today...

Current Music: Iris ~ Goo Goo Dolls

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Santa Baby.

There's just nothing sweeter than a Christmas baby miracle.

Except maybe Christmas baby cookies. ;-)

My dear friend of many years now, Heidi, was due with her fourth baby right at Christmastime. She lives across the state, and when she was scheduled for induction, I rushed to get a set of cookies to her before she headed for the hospital. They arrived in the afternoon, and she went into the hospital that night!

( See more of the set. )

She and her family loved the cookies, but I'm sure they love little baby Lucas even more!

Current Mood: 'goofy' is not a mood??

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lj friends

Don't get banned, yo.

I dreamt this morning that

traceylala was banned from LJ. I don't remember why, but I remember being shocked upon discovery. I was reading my flist, and then... no Tracey? *cries*

I'm glad you're still here, girl. :-)

Current Mood: happy

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lj friends

Those that I have as friends make up the best description of me.

I do what I do because I love my friends as dearly as they have always cared for me. It will never be enough, but I continue to try harder and harder.

I saw your post, and you are too kind. Thank you so much.

My heart is all smiley and warm and fuzzy this morning, and really? That's what it's all about. :-)

Current Mood: entertained

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lj friends

WIN.

OMG, in catching up tonight on the past day of posting from my lovely flist, I have found this:

YOU ARE MADE OF AWESOME AND WIN.

I have been grossed out, creeped, LOL'D loudly enough to bring Philip from another room, and I have also been given pause to think.

It's been a great night for reading. Thank you all. :-)

Current Mood: busy

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Bullets:

I'm so busy lately, and I keep meaning to update, but then have no time to do so. As a result, here are some bullets of the going-ons in my life as of late:

Runza was burglarized on Friday, the 26th. No one was at the store at the time (it as early morning - about 6am), so we were all safe.

But it's an "inside job," as someone used a key and also was able to open the safe to empty the contents (and said safe has a pretty complex code).

This is causing me GREAT unease. I clearly don't know someone as well as I thought I did - whether it is one of us four current staff with such access (including myself), or one of the two staff who left in the last couple months (both of whom I consider to be friends).

The fingerprint dust from the detectives all over the office caused me to have several freak-outs. Too much of a trigger from the other robberies. *sigh*

Because of the burglary, we have been piecing the store back together in the past week. I have worked a lot of hours. A LOT. And this past week contained the "end of month" stuff for my monthly bookkeeping role anyway. It has been a really heavy week.

Next week looks to be about the same for the first three days. The four of us are also now required to travel to Lincoln, to the Runza National office, to be interviewed individually by a theft committee.

We're still waiting to hear the final word on taking polygraphs. We were told originally that we would need to, we all agreed to do so, and then they decided, "No, not just yet. Let's do the committee meetings first."

I received a lovely, super-duper surprise from mostcurious! She knitted me my very own, PoA-style Slytherin scarf! I don't have pics to share yet, though. :-/

I got my hair cut on Friday night after work. I told the gal to do what she wanted, and it is VERY different! Again, no pics yet.

The boys' school pictures came in, and they are both good. A.J.'s pic is PHENOMENAL, in fact. I was very pleased, and I've been working on getting them mailed out.

I took family portraits for a friend visiting from Florida on very short notice, and she LOVES them. I'm very happy, and you can see those HERE, if you're interested. I still need to burn her a CD of the images and mail it to her...

Today is my little godson's birthday! Only he's not so little anymore - he's now TWO! Happy Birthday, Douglas!

It is OCTOBER already. How did that happen?! Seriously, Jack will have been 7 for two months already next week, and A.J.'s been 10 almost as long. That is insane! My little (not so much!) guys haven't yet decided on costumes for this year, though we keep looking...

I still need to get Halloween decorations up. Jack has been begging to put them up this year (I didn't decorate last year at all, as October was a difficult time), and I was just too darn busy this week. I'm hoping to get to it before...

bigbrain61 comes to visit on Wednesday! Dude, I'm so stoked! I've known him online for about 5.5 years now, and we'll finally get to meet in person! He'll be here from Wednesday evening to early Friday afternoon - I can't wait!

Speaking of online friends, I passed my 6th LiveJournal anniversary on 09/22. Can you believe that? Craziness! Thanks to all of you who've made this such a great place for so many, many years. *hug*

Aaaaannnnnd, in BIGGER news, Philip and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on 9/12. We marked the occasion by renewing our vows, and a handful of very close friends celebrated with us at our church. There were tears, of course, but for the first time in about a year, they were really HAPPY tears! Heather took a few pics for me, but I don't have them up yet, either...

Also in the works, Philip and I are headed to Colorado in January for a ski trip! We will be gone for five days, and it will be only the second time we've ever been alone in our entire marriage (the first was for one night last December while we were in West Virginia). We've already paid our deposits, and we're really looking forward to it. Philip will be skiing and snowboarding, and I plan to veg out in the beautiful scenery with my camera, some tatting, and good hot cocoas. We'll spend our evenings in the condo with another couple, making homemade meals and chatting and playing games - I'm so excited!

I'm sure there's so much more I need to update about, but I've got to get moving and push some more laundry through. I've got leaves to rake in the backyard, laundry to put away, dinner to fix, and a mandatory full-staff employee meeting tonight to attend as well. Go, go, go - that's me!

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Thank you.

I received a box today from

flyingwolf. Inside, I found goodies: four DVDs the boys will LOVE (documentary-type stuff, plus MythBusters!), one of her very own tie-dyed scarfs for me, a notecard of her own gorgeous picture made into pro stationary, and a whole bag of Coke caps. She is too kind, for sure.

I got a box yesterday from

magnummom, but I was expecting it. Still, I'm now the proud owner of my fourth camera lens!

The doorbell rang today while I was decluttering Jack's school papers, and it was

ctr29's husband, stopping by with a surprise flower delivery for me. Too sweet, and too gorgeous. She had written an encouraging note inside the flowers, too.

Last week sometime, I received a handmade card from

1grl_revolution - so pretty. She's really just so good at making the cards, and yet she still finds time to scrapbook!

poetlady has taken the time to check in on me almost every day, and she even called once. I heard that

purrrplekitty sent a text message as well, but since Philip always has the cell phone, I've not yet seen it. And I believe

lesliepear was the first to LJ-"nudge" me over a week ago. That says something in itself, since you can't "nudge" someone until they've not posted in a week.

And several of you have checked in on me through comments or by email:

desertmommy,

loquacis,

scarletharlot52,

mrs_picasso,

livemockingbird,

saffirebleu,

manicmomma,

chelelev... I hope I'm not forgetting anyone (please forgive me). I appreciate your keeping me in your thoughts right now. It's touching me so deeply, really.

hetterrific and

lilmissriss, thank you for being here "in real life." For making me smile, making me go do stuff, and taking my mind to other places, even if just temporarily.

Thank you all.

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Visit with Becky & family.

Oh, today has been such a good day! I'm exhausted now - so ready to hit the hay - but we've had so much fun! We met up with

mama_bec, hubby

billwith2js and their daughter Haley, who is nearly exactly Jack's age, and we enjoyed an absolutely, perfectly GORGEOUS day at the Henry Doorly Zoo. We were there for about eight hours, and we saw everything. We rode the train, took in the brand-new, just-opened-today butterfly pavilion (which was by appointment time only, even!), and took lots and lots of pictures.

After we parted ways and left the zoo, we came home to get my glasses (I'd worn my contacts, but I ended up having to throw the right one away about 30 minutes before we left - it was killing me), and then we went back out for dinner. We drove out to Catfish Lake, a seafood restaurant we'd heard about so many times in recent years. The food was good, and the portions were HUGE. A cute elderly couple came in after we'd ordered but before our food arrived, and Philip and I discussed it and then decided to pay for their dinner without telling them. The waitressing staff seemed just baffled by this gesture, and by the time we left, five of the women had come around to our table, all wanting to know why we were doing this, did we know them, etc. Hey, sometimes you just feel like payin' it forward, right? :-)

With the last bit of daylight after dinner, we headed out to Hayworth Park and worked off some of our food. Philip and I conquered the swings while the boys climbed all over the playground and chased brand-new friends. As it got dark, we left the park, then heading to Dairy Queen for ice cream cones and Dilly Bars. Once finally home, we all bathed to get the sticky, sunscreen residue, dirt and sweat off, and the boys played together in the tub for almost an hour (they usually bathe separately, so this was a treat). We tucked them into bed just after 10:30pm (over two hours past bedtime!), and I expect they'll sleep in late tomorrow. No matter - church isn't until 11am, anyway.

I have a ton of pictures I want to put up, but I'm getting so sleepy. For now, I'll leave you with this one:

Jack, Haley and A.J.

I love it when we finally get to meet friends we've "known" for YEARS! Thanks so much, guys, for coming out to see us today! :-D

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lj friends

squee-dle-dee!

It's looking like we'll get to meet up with

mama_bec and her family next weekend! Her daughter Haley is exactly Jack's age, so it'll be super-fun for the kidlets to meet, too! I'm so stoked at the impromptu change of plans (originally, it looked like they'd be in-and-out of town faster than a blink) that will now give us a great chance to meet up!

*bounces*

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Brain blossoms.

While doing nothing in particular today, I was struck by a shocking thought:

posthaste's little one, Sophie, is going to be 2 this summer! How is that possible already? It seems like I was *just* begging her not to have the babe while I was in West Virginia for a visit, as I didn't want to miss the big announcement (she did anyway, though - stinker).

Also,

welfy? I received your mail today, did my part, and am now off to shop for a postcard. I'm so honored to have now also touched something that your beloved friend Frances did as well - wow! Thanks for letting me participate. :-)

Current Music: Settle For a Slowdown ~ Dierks Bentley

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Photomosaic - in two different ways!

Last Monday (yes, over a week ago. i absolutely suck at updating sometimes. *hangs head*), I came home from work to find not one, but TWO(!) surprise packages on my doorstep.

Inside the first:

As part of the 'Pay It Forward' craft meme,

the_fishery sent me a very unique and pretty wall hanging. She picked several photos from my gallery (she did a great job selecting photos, by the way!), and then she printed them on a special fabric (I think? - I don't know anything about sewing myself). She then quilted them all into a special wall hanging for me. Isn't it just so neat?! Philip and I talked about it, and we have the perfect spot to hang it - we just need to go get a rod and the hardware to do so.

Not only that, but she included a note tucked into the newest Season's Best Recipe Collection from Pampered Chef... and there's virtually NO way she knew that I collect those! Seriously, I have a special little box just from Pampered Chef, and I have all of those little recipe booklets (two are issued each year) since... *checks quickly* ... "Fall/Winter 2001." I hadn't yet ordered one from this new catalog, and now I don't even have to! Thank you so much, Jill - for everything!

As if that weren't enough, there was still one box left to open. And that box was addressed especially to A.J. and Jack. Inside, we found this:

It was a special gift from

posthaste (well, and her daughter Sophie), and her note was so cute, mentioning that she and Sophie had been out shopping and had found this puzzle. They had decided immediately that it needed to be purchased and sent to "two of our favorite boys." It was just so sweet of them, and it made the boys feel special to receive a surprise gift as well. Thank you, Jess! Oh, and please pass on our thanks to Miss Soph as well. ;-)

Jack wanted to do the puzzle together as a family, and that meant that we finally got to it on Sunday evening, after Philip returned home from work. We'd had plans to go to the park, but it was raining by the time he arrived home, and the rain later turned to snow anyway - you really can't have better "Putting Together A Puzzle" weather. So I lit a bunch of candles, we set up a card table, and we put on Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End while we worked.

And worked. And worked and worked. We watched the previews on the DVD, and the movie itself is what? Over two hours or so? We were still working on that puzzle even after the movie (and the entire ten minutes worth of credits had played) was over. We continued to work on it for another hour before it was finished. And one point, I laughed and said to Philip, "And here I thought Jess was a friend... now I'm not so sure!"

But we got it done. We got it done, and we were so proud of ourselves. Holy cow, though - those "photomosaic" puzzles are actually pretty darn tough! We left it put together for over a day, and I finally broke it down and put it back in the box last night. Hopefully we'll be a bit faster at piecing it together the next time. ;-)

Current Mood: grateful

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Encouragement.

Several weeks ago, during a time when I was really struggling, my friend

gardenmama reached out to me with an encouraging quote. She left it for me in a comment, and I clung to its message instantly. I loved it so much that I wrote it out on sticky notes, and I stuck the message to my desk: I wanted to see the hopeful words each and every day with ease.

A couple weeks later, a surprise box arrived at my doorstep. Imagine my heart's delight and warmth as I dug through the bubble wrap to find that same wonderful quote, this time immortalized on a beautiful plaque. The plaque was a gift from Carmen as well, and she'd included a small stand. I proudly displayed the gift in my kitchen, and I think warmly of my friend each time I see it.

( See? )

Good friends can be so hard to find, yet I have been blessed with so many. I am luckier than I can ever put into words.

Current Mood: exhausted

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Roundin' the bend.

I'm still just so wiped.

I cough, and then I just feel like I can't support my head and neck any longer. It is the strangest, most instantaneous exhausted feeling I can ever remember having.

This flu has been killer. That, or I'm a real pansy.

Tomorrow I go back to work, and I'd be lying to say I'm not already worried about it. Four hours in a fast-paced environment, and I'm likely to come home in the afternoon and DIE. I mean, I feel tired just from taking a shower still. Still, it will have been eight days since I went to the doctor by then - I gotta go back eventually.

I got a care package in the mail yesterday. It was from

kristchan, and she sent me a hilarious get-well card, along with an assortment of teas: mango passionfruit tea, Moroccan Mint Green tea, rainforest treasure tea, a box of jasmine tea, and organic Echinacea. She also included a Snickerdoodle cocoa, and some jelly eggs and tattoos for the boys. (The boys were so excited because the jelly eggs came in their favorite colors: a green bag for A.J., and an orange back for Jack.) She's too good to me. :-)

Current Mood: thankful

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LUSH!

I just opened the mail (the first time I've done it this week, no less), and in it I found a strangely-shaped, duct-taped package for me. I recognized the sender as

livemockingbird, and I was giddily curious. It took me a little bit to work the scissors through the tape (duct tape is HARD!), but I finally got it. I then noticed that the strange shape was due to the 'package' actually consisting of a rolled-up brown bag. I reached inside, and I pulled out this:

"Pop in the Bath" Bubble Bar Slice

Uplifting citrus bubble bath brighten outlooks
Do you ever reminisce about summers past when you got lost in fields of flowers and had a good time? Well, then try a Pop in the Bath bubble bar. Let its soothing bergamot and invigorating citrus oils lift you out of the doldrums. We make four different-colored bouquets of bubbles, each as lovely as the next, so you never know which one you're going to get.

Mine is white, topped with a green flower with orange center. I can barely smell, but even I can smell how yummy this is! OMG, I'm so excited to try it! Soooo many of my friends rave about LUSH bath products all the time (if I recall correctly,

mama_bec's little girl Haley even made it into their catalog), but I've never experienced anything from them myself! It will be SUCH a treat!

I noticed then that the rolled-up brown bag was actually a LUSH bag. Ha, I'm such a newbie. A seasoned LUSH fanatic would've spotted that right away, I'm sure. ;-) Oh, and there was a note enclosed with the bubble bar:

For a wonderful, thoughtful, caring, loving, lovable, very-rarely-puts-herself-first kind of friend -- I can only hope this brings you at least one relaxing, think-only-about-Nicole-for-a-while-bath!

Love, Meri

Thank you SO much, girl! You just have no idea how much this means to me, and your thoughtful gift couldn't have come at a better time. I'm so geeked to take a bath now. Thank you!

Entry tags:

lj friends

A gift from Jenna.

Again. Yes, the same Jenna who made the glorious icon I'm using. She left this graphic for me in a comment earlier this week:

Isn't she the bestest? :-)

Current Mood: impressed

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PIMP!

Several of you have asked if you could make icons from my pictures of the candy conversation hearts (original post here), and I'm thrilled that you like them enough to do so. Tonight, I received notice from

aiseiri_47 that she had finished her icons.

O.M.G.

They are all SO gorgeous! Really, there just aren't enough words to express what a FANTASTIC job she did on these icons! Go HERE to see her post in her icon community - quick!

Be sure to tell Jenna how glorious her work is, and if you take any icons, be sure to give her some major credit. :-D

Entry tags:

lj friends

She's a star!

I totally just saw

takarakanashi on TV. She's in the crowd on tonight's TNA wrestling. Here's the comment I left to her in her own journal:

"I just saw you! Dude, it looked like you were turning your head and laughing with your friends the entire time SharkBoy was doing his speech. AND THEN THEY CLOSE-UP'D ON YOU (well, Adam didn't make it into shot) AND YOUR FRIENDS!!!

I was sitting about a foot from the TV screen, and I pointed you out to Philip. Then, when they did the close-up, I hit the screen and yelped, 'THERE SHE IS!'"

...

Yeah, I was a little bit excited for her. ;-D

Entry tags:

dreams,
lj friends

Dream.

I had a dream about

syven the other day. This is significant because I really know her very little, but she was fully in my dream. She is on my flist, but she is not a prolific poster, so I've yet to get to know her well.

Just wanted to make note of that before I forget.

Current Mood: amused

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If Insomnia could read...

My friend

hp5freak wrote this entry in the wee hours of the morning, and I found it HILARIOUS. I stumbled onto it at 5:30am, and I nearly peed my pants in mirth. :-) She has graciously allowed me to repost it here:

To my darling Insomnia,

Dearest one, I know it's been AGES since we've been together. Was it really last summer since I saw you? How we spent so much time together with Thoughts as we lay together in my bed....or sat on the couch...or worked at the computer.

Beloved, I miss you too, sometimes. Especially when I have TONS to do. You are one of those, along with Caffeine, who stay with me all night as I scramble to get things done. You have never cared when I've inched closer to Insanity or that I've spent time with Delusional. You've only ever been jealous of Naps....and even Naps stays away when you are here.

Baby, I cherish the times when you come unexpectedly in my time of need, but I love you more when you leave.

You see, I have another love. His name is Sleep. And I know in my heart of hearts the two of you will never get along...and it's tearing me up inside. Even more so because you've always been there with me...my companion....you were one of my first loves...

Sweetheart... I think we've drifted apart. As I get older, I look not forward to not missing a thing. But rather missing what I can so that I can be with Alert during the day, and maybe meet up with Bright Eyes and Bushy Tails (do you remember them? Our childhood friends?)

Honeybunch, you know that I will always love you...but I think we would be better off as friends now. Friends who visit occasionally and have raucous slumber parties a couple times a year. They do say Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Please, Darling, let me go. I know we will see each again....some time.

And I can say this because I love you and you love me....please leave now. I'm sure there is someone out there, better suited to your needs. I will always love you, my heart, but we both need to move on.

GET OUT, KTHNX!

Signed,

Me *ded*