Our own little weather groundhog dog...

Like the groundhog tradition, we have our own way of knowing just how long summer will hang out.

This morning he came out to let us know...

He definitely isn't a morning dog...
Only a quick belly rub...

And he is back under the blanket...

It's official, summer is gone... and the cool fall weather is here!

Poor Rudy, he loves to burrow and snuggle in his blanket, it is just torture to get him to come out when the weather turns cool, if it isn't meal time, or if you don't have treats in your hand! He isn't spoiled at all either.

Everyone else has their own bag of tricks they do for treats; we had fun laughing at them last night...

Taylor "taps for treats"...

And Morgan... well she would die for her treat....

Goldie locks...

We are having the most perfect "Goldie locks" weather here this week!

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Not to hot, not to cold... but just right!! I am so excited about it!!!

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Just in time...

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My Mom and Sister are coming in from Seattle next week for our Annual 5k Women's Walk Celebration. I just can't wait for them to get here, except for the fact that my house and life is in a complete upheaval right now.... but I am working on it and making really good progress, but in a baby step kind of way. So I need until next week to feel a little more prepared for them to be with me!

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I am so happy, I have always wanted a really cool annual "thing" to look forward to (you know other than Christmas and my birthday etc.)... this is my 3rd year so I feel like I can officially call it an "annual event" now!

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So if the weather will just hang on, I can

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dkeep my flowers in bloom until next week (so Mom can see how they turned out, since she helped me plant them last spring),

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ekeep tomatoes coming on (so I can impress my mom and sis that I actually grew them myself and they can eat them with me),

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-and we can have perfect weather to walk the 5k (really important for having optimum fun)!

Mystery Uncovered...

Thanks to my friend being so willing to let me talk to her about personal girly stuff today, I discovered what was keeping me up all night!

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Apparently, when I tried to save a few bucks by buying the generic brand of menstrual cramp medication, I didn't realize how much caffeine was in it! I took two on Monday, and when it didn't help, I didn't take anymore (I hate taking medication)... YEP MONDAY!! And I am still wired for sound... does that give you a hint how much caffeine that might be? YIKES!!

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I should have read the label, but there should also be a BIG HUGE WARNING on the bottle too!

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I called my strong silent mysterious man at work to let him know, and needless to say, he is thrilled we got to the bottom of it... WHEW! His great advice for the day... "Don't take anymore of THAT STUFF!!!" (duh!)

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Sorry, probably too much information... but at least I know "what the heck" now.

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I hope I can sleep tonight! But just in case, I picked up a big pile of the humanitarian kits so I can draw faces on dolls all night and be more productive this time.

Sensory Overload...

Do I have dark circles under my eyes?

The past two days I have had insomnia SOOO BAD! I almost feel like I have been drugged, or like I drank a case of Mt. Dew! I have no idea what the heck is going on????

Laying in bed at night, trying to go to sleep, reading, movies, dark and silent... nothing worked! The first night it was really weird, and I thought it would just pass. Maybe I just had too much on my mind or something.

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But last night again with the wide eyes and the energy boost, just like the week before my teenager was born... I am wanting to clean, organize, wash, scrub and align everything in my path (of course resisting the urge since it is 2am and my family is sleeping). So I lay there with all the intentions spinning in my head. It is just torturous!

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The first night I was able to witness some really funny things... I even got in trouble when I woke my strong silent mysterious man up from my laughter shaking the bed.... Taylor was cracking me up! She would smack her lips and tongue, making the most hilarious noises. Then she started snoring and when the air would release out, her jowls would flap (like in the cartoons)!!! I really lost it when I heard that!!!

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Then she got up, I think she sleep walks!!! She was walking around the bedroom like she was looking for something, bumped into Rudy's kennel, walked down the hall and did a fly by though the teenagers room, then came back by a load of towels I had sorted in the hallway to wash, dug in them scattering them all over, then came back to her bed and layed down and went back to snoring again! It was so funny... I am thinking I want to set up a video camera in the house at night while we sleep. We thought seriously about doing this when we leave during the day, after coming home and finding dog nose prints on a mirror that is way to high up for them to be walking by just looking at themselves.

Anyway, it was quiet last night... and I had something to keep me busy until I fell asleep. I had been to an enrichment meeting at our church.

It was a night filled with great classes from house cleaning tips, couponing, and a few crafts! I haven't done anything like this for a while, so I was almost totally overwhelmed! All the good information I was trying to absorb, learn and figure out all at once, plus trying to catch up with some of the sisters I hadn't seen in a while, or just don't have time or opportunity to talk to at church on Sundays.

I was having major "Sensory Overload"! It got better as the night went on, we divided up into smaller groups... so I could handle it a little better.

The crafts were sooooo cute... we have some of the most talented ladies in our Ward, I am so grateful they are willing to share and teach the rest of us! It really is a gift! I totally meant to get pictures last night... but all I managed was a few of the craft projects.

These little fabric scrunchie things are called yo-yo's, and there are a million and one projects you can make with them... for the fall season, these were made into a pumpkin garland... so cute! I didn't get a picture, but they had some red white and blue sewn together into a flag... I want to do that one! Loved it!

And these felt bags, what a great idea to give little treats to neighbors or teachers or visiting and home teachers.

The Pumpkin

The Black Cat

And just a tiny sneak peak at the other pattern for now... too many looky loo's here that might be on the receiving end of this one. Sorry!

We were also working on pieces and parts of some little fabric dolls for a stake humanitarian project while we were listening in the classes.... see what I mean, major multi-tasking going on. I have not "had" to multi-task for a while and when you don't use it, you definitely lose it!

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I am hoping for a good night of sleep tonight, but just in case I have another sleepless night I am armed with plenty of crafty work!

Summer Goals Review

This morning I woke up and could really feel the fall air... it's been getting a little cooler every day. We even have enough cool air early in the day to turn of the air conditioner and cool down the house playing the "chase the shade" game. Opening windows in the shade while it is cool, and then closing them up when the sun comes around.

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So feeling charitable towards "my boys" I made them some hot cocoa for their drive to work and school. Can you believe this? NO TAKERS!!!

It is the best hot cocoa ever, and nobody wanted any!!!

Oh well, it is the thought that counts. I know they appreciate me getting up at 530 am with them, and making lunches and getting them off to school and work and NOT going back to bed.

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My strong silent mysterious man even commented one day last week, that one of his workers asked him to go grab a burger with him... and he declined the burger and told him that I got up every morning to make him a sandwich and he didn't want me to quit, so he better keep eating them (I think there is a token of appreciate in there somewhere).

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By the way, just for the record, it wasn't my idea to get up with him, I would still be in bed if it were up to me, but he asked me one day if I would make him a sammie, so I did, just being nice and now I just feel guilty going back to bed... (I guess guilt inflicted charity counts) and it kind of stuck that I get allot done early in the morning and can get the teenager up and off for school by 630 am. It has become my quiet time of the morning before my daily walk.

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So with fall coming in so quickly... I decided to review my summer list to see how I did with my newly resolve to set some goals and not let life slip away, but live it with some resolved purpose!

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50 Things I want to do this summer
a1. Have a picnic and invite another family.
2. Go on a walk and take pictures of trees, flowers, dogs, etc.
a3. Have a garage sale.
4. Go for a bike ride.
5. Volunteer at the local animal shelter or library.
6. Clean under the bed!
a7. Bake some cupcakes and deliver them to friends for Family Night treat. Okay this wasn’t cupcakes, but I am counting the zucchini bread!
8. Have a game night with friends.
a9. Take the dogs for a walk.
a10. E-mail/write a friend I haven't spoken to in awhile.
a11. Practice my calligraphy
a12. Look through old family scrapbooks, photo books, and yearbooks.
13. Make a root beer float…. How did I miss this one!
a14. Go to the movies on the last day of school with Jacob.
a15. Go window-shopping Downtown.
16. Send a package to the missionary…. Working on this one for his bday, I sent letters.
a17. Can tomatoes/spaghetti sauce/fruit.
18. Give the dogs a bath.
a19. BBQ dinner on the grill.
20. Go to the $1 movie on Tuesdays for a lunch/dinner date.21. Have a slumber party in the living room and watch movies and eat pizza and popcorn.
22. Plan a vacation we want to take next summer.
a23. Plant grass seed in the bare patches in the yard.
24. Sign up for a class, and learn something new…. I might be able to count obedience class, but it wasn’t really what I had in mind for this one.
25. Have a bubble bath and do pedicures on each other with Jim.
26. Make a mixed CD of my favorite songs "The soundtrack of my life".
a27. Get a shaved ice.
28. Take BBQ and salads to the farm at Scott and Jodi’s and shoot archery.
a29. Color in a coloring book.
30. Read a book based on a movie I have seen.
31. Make a scrapbook of Jacob’s Halloween pictures… working on this one, but it’s not finished.
32. Have a craft day with Aunt Fay.
a33. Write in my journal everyday.
34. Spend the day at the library.
35. Draw or paint a picture.
36. Make a collage out of old magazines.
a37. Run around in the sprinklers.
38. Go to a Basque museum.
39. Go out for lunch with a friend.
40. Go swimming at the pool
41. Take Jim to PF Changs.
42. Make something on the sewing machine.
43. Invite friends over and have a cold drink blender party.
44. Swing on the swings at the park.
45. Tie-Dye a t-shirt or bed sheets with Kool-Aid!
a46. Make smoothies.
47. Learn how to define and spell 5 new words from the dictionary.
a48. Make homemade ice cream.
49. Put on the radio and dance.
50. Camp out in the backyard!

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I didn't do too bad on the list... for not being very good at setting and keeping goals.

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But I did find as I reviewed some of the things I did this summer that were NOT on my list, that I actually had a really wonderful summer and didn't sit around waisting it away! There were lots of fun memories, and good times. And times with my teenager and my strong silent mysterious man that I wouldn't trade for the world!

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Learned to sign "proud to be an American", spent some quality time with Uncle Fred, held a boxer puppy, slid down a human luge, saw a 3D movie, went to the fair, took a dog obedience class, made fruit leather, went to a farmers market, bbq with friends in the band, went back for a nostalgic trip to girls camp, had lunch with my strong silent mysterious man, watched the olympics, spent fathers day with family, had dinner with sister Debbie and Pat, was a drama queen at camp, survived identity theft, experienced the inside of a car wash (too fun), took my teenager to get his license, went to a Boston concert, went to a company picnic on the snake river, visited with cousins Troy and Connie, found the teenagers baptism pictures, cleaned out the garage, watched a sunset, went on a sweet 16 date with my teenager, got front row tickets to Ted Nugent, watched nephew Tali play with the Fever in Boise, survived a computer virus attack, got my boys to wear matching t-shirts with me, went for a drive to Bogus Basin, attended a baptism, celebrated my blogaversary!

Saturday at the Temple...

Saturday, my boys left for an early tee-time at the golf course... my husbands company was putting on their annual golf tournament. They reserve the golf course for the entire day and bring clients and employees out to compete. They had extra room on the teams and invited "the teenager" to come play, so he was THRILLED!

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We had a really long conversation with him the night before about his manners and etiquette, and all about remembering WHO HE IS!!! Because he was chosen to play on the team with THE BOSS!!! Oh how we prayed, there would not be any incidents!!

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So after they left, I assessed my HUGE "to do list" trying to figure out what to do first and was so overwhelmed, I just started picking up... there is always something to "pick up" at my house. Between the dog toys, and the boys and their golf balls and tee's and pens and gum wrappers... always something to be put away. I ran across a paper to fill out for later this month when our Stake does a fill the Temple Day. It crossed my mind, that I have enough time to go to the Temple.

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At our Stake Conference this past month, our Stake President encouraged us that even though WE are not perfect, to try and perfect something in our gospel lives (like prayer, scripture study, family night etc). So, while I have a few I need to work on... I had thought about all of my good intentions that I never quite get to... and decided that some of those were actually not just good intentions, but rather inspiration, or promptings, maybe encouragement from God to do something good or right at times... some are really just good intentions. But I was going to try and discern between them and really try and ACT upon the spiritual promptings that I was getting.

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So I immediately decided this thought to go to the Temple, was definitely a prompting... I should go!!!!! So I jumped in the shower and got dressed and out the door I went headed to the Temple, before something changed my mind. I knew if I had to think about it too long, I would rationalize many reasons to stay home and not go.

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I was not disappointed!! It was wonderful!!!

One of the 19 year olds in our Ward was there in preparation to go on his mission in November. So I was able to see him and his parents in the session I attended.

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Of course I had many many thoughts that this day will be coming soon for me as a mother also, those thoughts are very bitter sweet!

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I was pretty sad to find out that while I was in the Temple, I missed my hubby's sister and her family driving through our town, going home to Washington... but she would have missed her brother and the teenager... and it was the end of their trip, and if they are like me, they just want to hurry and get home at that point. I would have loved to see them, but I think it all worked out okay, anyway.

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It was a very sweet Saturday and going to the Temple made for a really special morning for me. It was just where I needed to be, and I was so glad I listened to that still small voice that encouraged me to go. The huge "to do list" is still there this morning, but I can work on it anytime; and now I can do it with a much more renewed spirit and cheerful appreciative attitude I found while I was in the Temple.