Day 120

Meet Buddy the Dog. He's so black, it's hard to see his face, but you can certainly see his little white 'socks' on his feet.

Today I had a hair appointment, but unfortunately, Traci is out of commission for a few weeks following surgery. Thankfully though she has a hair-dresser friend, Susan, just up the street from her.  She also has an in-home salon and was willing to take Traci's misplaced clients for a few weeks. When she came in today, she asked if I minded if Buddy hung out with us, and I said of course not. And that's just what he did...not a peep or anything out of him. He just hung out with his us, and got a biscuit and a little love every now and again.  He was such a sweet boy!

Day 119

She's such an exhausted little pup. It's hard work to finish off a whole bowl of food you know!

I swear, Lucy is the silliest dog I've ever seen. She just makes me giggle. As usual tonight, I put her bowl of food down next to my nightstand, because that's her favorite time and place to eat. There must be something that makes her feel safe, when all of her 'people' are finally in one place in bed for the night.

When I looked down later, I found this...her all sprawled out by her dish, in front of the fan, as if eating had been utterly exhausting.  Silly girl...I just love her goofy personality!

Day 118

Do you see this? This is my phone, as I'm putting it into the charger tonight. This is me...on my way to bed at 11:40 p.m. I feel like I keep getting less and less sleep, and I'm not sure when I'm ever going to catch up on it?

By the time Rob gets home at night it's about 10:45. By the time he unwinds, eats dinner and gets ready for bed, it's between 11:30 and midnight. The problem is...my alarm clock (otherwise known as Baylee Johnson), goes off around 5:15 each and every day...Saturdays and Sundays included.

I think Rob and I both feel like we are each working the day shift, and the swing shift. He's generally up with me in the morning, and I'm up with him at night.  Although we are grateful to both have jobs and be working, our current schedule is just a little bit stinky!

Day 117

Here are the fruits of the little bit of retail therapy I had today. Mom and I did a little shopping this afternoon at Penney's, and I managed to find three cute new blouses, and a new nightshirt. I feel like I did pretty well.  It was one of those times where you don't really need anything per se, but you end up with good finds...at sale prices! If I had been on the look out for something in particular, I would have come home empty handed for sure!!

Day 116

Today Billie and I attended a 50th Anniversary party for one of her fire commissioners, Jerry Sleater. He started with Benton County Fire District No. 1 fifty years ago as a volunteer firefighter. I believe I must have met him sometime in the early 80's after Mom started working there.  Instead of retiring from the District when he was no longer able to be an active firefighter, he instead has continued to serve in the role of fire commissioner.

The District honored him at their banquet earlier in the month, but this celebration was put on by his family - his children and grandchildren threw him a party in the park down at the Wye. It really was quite a nice gathering of folks...a food spread, balloons and flowers, an incredible bunker coat cake, and Jerry and his wife Deloris traveling around on a golf cart for the meet and greet...sure to say hello to everyone.


He has seen many, many changes over the years, as you can imagine. Changes in laws, advancements in technology, not to mention changes in the roster as people have come and gone.  Congratulations Jerry on 50 years of service. It's quite an accomplishment!

Day 115

Today's prompt on the Capture Your 365 list for April was At Last! And that is PERFECT for today, because as you can see here, At Last, we have a new windshield! It's not a great picture out here in the garage, but you can certainly see that there is no crack running horizontally across the length of the windshield.

Those of you that have ridden with me in the last two years, know that crack well. It started off on the first day of summer, 2011 when I got a tremendously large rock chip. I'm not entirely sure it was even a rock that hit it, but the damage was almost dead center on the windshield. And there it stayed until January of 2012...when the snow and ice came. One day the crack went left, and the next day the crack went right...and that's where they stayed...until today. Safelight came to our house and replaced it with a nice, new windshield!  At Last!!

Day 114

Isn't it a cutie? My new wallet. I had to find something to go in my new purse, and since Macy's didn't carry the matching wallet, I had to go on a hunt. I think this one is fun and fitting for spring/summer, and has the green and aqua from my purse in the stripes. And it's big enough to fit everything in it...quite roomy!

Day 113

Happy Administrative Professionals Day! In my little world, today is the day we get to celebrate, and to be celebrated.

Each of us 'admin gals' started off the day with a group card and some sweet chocolates from one of our Battalion Chiefs and his wife...very thoughtful. To show my appreciate for Shauna, I brought her a small bouquet of spring flowers...and to show my appreciate to all my other 'peeps', I brought Starbucks!!

Later in the day, Billie's group of firefighters had a cookie bouquet delivered...it's a tradition and they never forget, and they are kind enough to include a 'Thanks a Buzzilion' Bee for all the office gals.  Yum...love those Cookies by Design! It was a very nice day, nice to feel appreciated, and any excuse to celebrate, right?!?

Day 112

So, Sunday night I was visiting a blog I check out from time to time called For Your Marriage. One of the articles I was reading mentioned the book, The Temperament God Gave Your Spouse: Improving Your Marriage by Understanding Your Spouse. I read a few pages from the book and it really caught my attention so I downloaded it onto my Kindle and started to read.  I read a little more last night, and boy am I now intrigued. So much so in fact, that today, I made all the gals in the office take an online quiz to find out just what temperament they are; AND, I also downloaded The Temperament God Gave You; The Classic Key to Knowing Yourself, Getting Along with Others, and Growing Closer to the Lord. Both of these books are written by a couple Art and Laraine Bennett - if you happen to be interested. I am hooked, and am I think I have Rob interested enough we may start reading the first book together!  Stay Tuned for updates!!

Day 111

Lucy says...Help, I'm wedged between the door and a big ol' Baylee butt! Somehow this happened tonight on the way home. Usually Lucy goes in first, and then Baylee behind her...and usually Baylee doesn't lay down, taking up a big chunk of the back seat (she must have been tired tonight). And somehow Lu went in second and got wedged up against the door. But she really didn't seem to mind, cause that's how she rolls...low maintenance girl.

Day 110

Today was one of those days when I lived in the moment...and forgot that I'm a scrapbooker! Good for me, not so good for the preservation of memories!

Today was a great Easter! Mom had a lovely ham dinner, and the Padens, Lillies and Rob and I all met over there with our sides and desserts in hand. Funny thing was, when I went to put my dessert in the fridge, that exact dessert was already in there!

I said that I would make a lemon-something for our dessert. I chose a deliciously moist lemon poke cake courtesy of Pinterest (you can find the recipe here). We just put a little dollop of whipped cream on top, and wow...yummy and refreshing. But yesterday, I was thinking that we also needed something else, so I looked up the recipe for the strawberry jello dessert, with the pretzel crust. Well, great minds think alike, because Billie did the exact same thing! I couldn't believe it. She too thought we needed a little something else in addition to lemon and looked up the strawberry pretzel dessert - some even call it a salad, either way it's light and refreshing - and a great combo if you enjoy that salty-sweet combination. (If you haven't had it, you can also find a recipe for it here.) For only 8 people, we had more dessert than you could shake a stick at!!

Kennedy, of course, received several Easter baskets today...the Easter Bunny was certainly good to her. Grandma Judy got her an I-Spy game, complete with game boards and a fun buzzer. First Fred, Christy and Mom all sat down and played several rounds with Kennedy - who turned out to be a pretty good spy! Then Aunt Billie took a turn...but shortly after it got kind of quiet. And when I looked over, I found that just Mom and Billie were the only two still at it...die hard I-Spies I guess!

It's a shame that these are really the only pictures of what was truly a wonderful Easter. It was so good to spend the afternoon with family, all of us together on this most joyous day! I hope God blessed you with as wonderful of an Easter as He did me.

Day 109

Rob has a very rare weekend off...both Saturday and Sunday...Easter weekend. How nice for us - I can hardly believe it. So this afternoon, the two of us goofy adults tried our hand at coloring Easter eggs. For really no reason other than for the fun of it. First, I tried a new method (thanks Pinterest) for cooking the eggs...I baked them in the oven. They turned out very nice, not one cracked, or damaged in any way...made for very nice coloring. The only thing that wasn't so great was the actual color itself - not like either Rob or I remember as kids. Not very dark, and trying to draw a design with a crayon...not so good. But oh, well, at least we can say we did partake in the age old tradition of dying eggs! And when all was send and done, they didn't look half bad.

Day 108

Look at that face! The face of a little angel...with two missing teeth! The Padens arrived in town this afternoon, so Mom and I stopped by Billie and Keith's for a bit this evening. As always, Ms. Kennedy has grown like a weed since the last time we saw her, and has even more personality, and more goofiness than ever. I just love that kid. She's also happy to show off her two missing bottom teeth...just ask her to show you!

Day 107

After work tonight, Mom and I stopped by a couple stores so I could finish up Ms. Kennedy's Easter Basket. I found her an Easter activity book, a stuffed Peep, some silly putty, and some pretty good candy treats to go inside too. When I got home, I put it all together in this cute little pail I had also found, with brightly colored Easter eggs all over it...too cute! Can't wait for Easter with the Padens.

Day 106

This afternoon the ladies in the office and I decided it was a good day for some frozen yogurt. So April and I headed up the street to try a fairly new place called Maui's Apple...only to discover it had already gone out of business?!?

Not to be detoured, we headed a little bit further up the street to another place I had yet to try - Finnegan's Frost...Farmstyle Frozen Yogurt. And it was just that - Farmstyle. They had about 6 basic flavors, all organic, and toppings mostly consisting of fresh fruits and nuts. All of these help-yourself frozen yogurt places that have sprouted up in recent years are awful spendy, and admittedly this one was no exception, however, it was pretty tasty. I, myself, made a 'banana split' of sorts with a little each of chocolate, strawberry and banana, sprinkled with some tasty granola on top! Minus the hit to your pocket book, I would recommend this place, and would definitely stop in here again!

Day 105

It's my new Becky Higgins Project Life Planner! It's so bright and colorful, I just love it! After work yesterday, I swung into Michael's and picked up the binder and kit, all at 50% off!  Perfect.  Then I spent last night putting in things like birthdays, events, and appointments - getting it all ready for use today. Now, I know that I'm mostly a digital or electronic girl, and having a binder you carry around seems counterintuitive for me.  But there's just something about Project Life - for me it needs organizing on paper. Somehow I need to see it at a glance I guess, and be able to jot things down here and there. I had carved out a section in my work planner for my blogging, scrapping and Project 365, but this is so much better!! Can't wait to really get to using my new 'toy'!!

Day 104

Oh these girls, they are so funny.  They are either two peas in a pod, or fighting like cats...and well, dogs I guess. This was them tonight over at Mom's, while Mom and I were eating dinner. The door to the little pantry wasn't shut, and Baylee got it open with her snout, then proceeded to lay in front of it - hoping someone would notice and give her a treat from inside. She wasn't there long before Lucy joined her...she too knows exactly what good things are inside this little closet!

Day 103

Today is the Solemnity of Palm Sunday - the day we celebrate Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and mark the beginning of Holy Week! We celebrate Mass a little differently today, beginning with a procession into the church with palm branches. There are then several readings, including a reading of the Passion itself. It's quite a moving and somber celebration.

Then, when Mass ends, everyone grabs their own palm to make a cross with. Unfortunately this year, the palms were a bit small, but I was able to make a cross out of one of them, and tuck it in behind our crucifix on our living room wall.

Happy Palm Sunday to you all!

Day 102

Our little backyard tree, all in bloom.  I realized today that our tree in the front has lost all its blooms, and they have given way to new leaves. But in the backyard, we still have three trees full of pretty pink blossoms, like this one! I wanted to hurry and take a photo while they were still around, because I'm sure they'll be gone in just a day or two. The sky was a funny mix of sun and clouds, making it difficult to capture a good photo - with my phone anyway. But thankfully, the pretty pink comes through.

Day 101

Today I spent the morning at our city's library in a Leadership Team meeting. Our city is divided into three groups; Executive Leadership (director level), Management Leadership (middle management), and Supervisory Leadership (supervisor level). Today, Cindy, our City Manager (that's her up front), called a meeting of all three groups to get together and discuss several topics, but mostly where the Leadership Team is and where it is going, in conjunction with our city's Strategic Plan.

It was a long morning, but I guess it was good for all of us to get into a room together - people from all different management levels from all different departments in the City, from garbage to fire, from library to police, and from finance to electrical.

Day 100

Oh my little Baylee girl...she's such a cutie patootie! Tonight we were over at Mom's and she was up on the couch sawing logs. I went to take a picture of her with her face smashed up against the pillow...always with her face up against something...and she rolled her up big ol' eye up at me. Now she has the doggie equivalent of red-eye. She's just still the bestest girl...love her so.

Day 99

It looks like a giant gopher has burrowed in our yard. But it's not, it's actually a plumber we've hired to disconnect us from the City's domestic water and hook us up to the City's irrigation as the supply for our sprinkler system.

When I moved into the house 10 years ago, irrigation was not available in our area, either through the City, or the County's Irrigation District. 'It should be available soon', they said.  Well, 10 years later and it finally has come to a neighborhood near us. Yay!  No more outrageous summer watering bills and/or less than green lawns due to the price of keeping it green during our scorching summer months! Once this project is complete, we can water all we like, for one low(ish) price per month!

Day 98

This is so funny. I was at Walmart tonight picking up a few things, and ran into a display of these Limited Edition Fruit Punch Oreos.  I'm not sure how they taste, but the idea made me think of Billie, so I quickly snapped a picture and texted it to her. She is always dunking things in her drinks, especially Kool-Aid, or Hawaiian Punch - usually it's a potato chip, or it could be a cookie. This made me think she certainly must not be the only one who dunks, to come up with such a combination, with a Kool-Aid like pitcher right on the front. I'm afraid I'll never know how these tastes though...this is one limited edition item I'm willing to let slip by me...

Day 97

You know I think I am seriously getting old.  Not only do I now have bifocals, I also have a weekly pill container. Really?  At least only one of the pills is a prescription - so far. The others are vitamins Mom bought for me because she thought I should be taking them. The thing is, she bought me Costco sized bottles, and they don't fit into the cupboard very well, so I keep them in the pantry, but then I forget to take them - out of sight, out of mind.  So, Mom solved this problem too...a pill container she happened to have on hand she was no longer using. So I loaded it up, and it seems to be working so far...I just can't believe it's come to this!! When did this happen??

Day 96

Say cheese Jenn! She made a bit of a whirlwind trip down yesterday afternoon after she worked for awhile. Then she went out for evening with some old high school friends. This afternoon, her and I got a chance to just chill...Rob had gone to work, she didn't bring the kids with her, so it was nice to spend some time together just the two of us.  And we actually got sucked into a movie - Pitch Perfect. She was getting ready to head back to Spokane, and I snapped her picture, just for prosperity's sake.

Day 95

It's that time of year again.  Actually, it's well beyond that time of year!  I can't believe it's the 5th, Easter is in two short weeks and I'm just now getting around to putting out my decorations. Considering my Valentine's and Saint Patrick's stuff didn't make it out at all this year, I guess it truly is better late than never.

Jenn came into town today, and we visited for a bit, and went out and grabbed a bite for dinner. But she had somewhere to be for the evening, and with Rob at work I took the opportunity to rearrange the furniture and put out the springy decor. The house is now adorned in pastels, with bunnies and eggs and lilies and tulips...at least for the next two weeks!

Day 94

So Mom and I did a little bit of shopping after work tonight. We went to the mall and to our 'new and improved' Christopher & Banks store.

Fred and Christy gave me a gift card for Christmas, and when I went to use it earlier this year, I discovered our C&B store was CLOSED! Thankfully as it turns out, it was just temporary, they were closed for remodeling... and enlarging.  The store's grand re-opening is this weekend, so Mom and I decided to check out the bigger, sleeker, well stocked store.  I didn't make a haul or anything, just a couple pairs of capri pants for the season...more gearing up for spring.  They were on sale, and with my gift card I walked away with only a few dollars out of my own pocket!  Yay!  Thanks Padens and C&B!!

Day 93

Isn't this just the cutest purse ever? It's my new Guess Jonsi bag, and it's so fun and springy - don't you think? I actually bought it on Saturday when I was out shopping with Billie and Jenn looking for something new for Granny's funeral. I had spotted this once before on a quick swing into Macy's, but today, it was on sale, and of course if you used your Macy's card, you got an even better discount. And to help with my decision, this happened to be the last one of this style and color, so I went for it and got it nearly 1/2 off...even better. Now, to find a new wallet so I get get everything transferred over...and let spring begin!

Day 92

Well we are officially ready to be Godparents! Tonight Rob and I took the baptism preparation class at church with other parents and Godparents.

We were given some light reading material, including the Rite of Baptism, which we ran through in the class - rather quickly. We were also given a couple flyers related to our discussion in the class - on the roles and responsibilities of being a sponsor or Godparent, mostly on the importance, seriousness and significance of it. We were lucky enough to have our friend, Deacon Tom, teach the class - so we even stayed after and were able to ask some questions and get some clarification from him.  This being our last step, we truly are excited and ready - as we'll ever be anyway - to be KG's Godparents. We can't wait for her baptism on May 10th!

Day 91

So...last night I had my big, fun trip to Costco. Well, one of the things that I picked up that certain was NOT a necessity was Frozen. I'm not sure why, but like most people who have seen it, I just loved it. I haven't liked an animated movie like this in quite some time. So I picked it up last night, and tonight I made Rob watch it with me. And when I say 'with' me...he was beside me, but I'm not sure how much watching of it he did. I don't think he was quite as thrilled with watching an animated, romantic comedy, musical as I was! Oh well, I still enjoyed watching again...and I might just watch it again...and again...