happy birthday brad!!!!

I'm coming to you live from my parents' house in Kentucky! I arrived in Columbus (Ohio) yesterday and Mom and Dad picked me up from the airport. Then we went to Max & Erma's and met Brad, Kari, and the precious and wonderful Braden. He is just the most amazing thing I've ever seen. He repeats everything you say, but he also just notices every single little thing in the world. If you have the tiniest little cut on your hand, he points to it and says, "Aunt Sis has an ouchie." It's the cutest thing! And he just thinks up funny things to say! Like, he just got all worked up and said, "I NEED some GWWWW-APES!" (grapes, but he doesn't always get the 'r' in there!) LOL Anyway, it was a wonderful time and I wish I could put Braden in my pocket and take him with me. :-)

So today was Brad's birthday and he's 29. Yay! We sang to him last night and Braden thought we were singing to him, of course! So cute. Anyway, happy birthday to my fabulous brother! I hope you enjoy the last year of your twenties!

Today I got up and Mom and I walked around the yard (me in my pajamas, of course) and talked about all her flowers. Then Dad and I went for a long walk in the neighborhood. The weather here is PERFECT. It's my dream weather. If I could live in a place where it was like this every day, I totally would. It's like 76 degrees or something, sunny, with a cool breeze. Perfect for shorts but not really hot.

After the walk we fooled around here and then Mom and I went through some of the clothes in their closets. Then I showered and we had lunch, and we got Dad in on the closet cleaning action. We have a nice big bag for Goodwill and hopefully we'll have more tomorrow. Then Nan and Pops came over for dinner. Mom cooked BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, homemade cornbread (she makes the BEST) and...GREEN BEANS! And not from a can either. The fresh green beans are my FAVORITE EVER and she cooks them in the pressure cooker. Yum!

But the highlight of my day was going to Barbershop practice with my dad tonight. My dad directs the Singing Kernels, the barbershop chorus here in Ashland. They sounded great! I saw more old men wearing shorts with white socks and black shoes than ever before!! HAHA! And one guy had on shorts and dress shoes (like wing tips!) with no socks! LOL But they really did sound wonderful. My dad is a fabulous director and I'm always amused when I watch him with any of his groups. They'll be singing, and I'll think, "Wow, the leads really need to watch the pronunciation of the word heaven." And they'll finish the song and Dad will go, "Leads, careful with the pronunciation of heaven!" LOL We think alike in a lot of ways about music. :-)

While I'm on the subject, I'll just brag on Dad a little more. He also sings lead in the Barons quartet. The Barons won the international championship in their division in 2003. I'm so proud of my dad and proud to be from a family with rich musical heritage. Now I could go into Dad's family and all their musical escapades and adventures, and tell you how his parents met at a singing convention, but I won't. It's late and I'm tired. Anyway, here are the Barons. Dad's on the left in the back, the one with the biggest smile. :-)
After barbershop, we came home and fooled around some more, and then Dad and I played a game of Gin rummy and Mom went to bed. Dad beat me, but I ALMOST made a comeback! But I still didn't win. At one point, he had like 400 points and I had ZERO, and then I scored THREE points, and we had a huge big laugh about that. After the game we talked about how we've always played games (cards, especially) and how it's hard for me to understand when people tell me they didn't grow up playing games! That's just about all we did - we played games and sang a LOT - and I'm so glad. We still spend the holidays playing millions of games (and singing a lot, too!) I love it. I love my family. :-)

a rather large delivery

Look what was on my porch when I got home today!!!! And then, look what happened when I brought the boxes in.
And here's all the fun stuff Brian and I unpacked from the boxes!
We sat around for like an hour, playing the tambourine, checking out the kids' materials, hitting the cymbal and the triangle, banging on drums with various mallets, and playing the resonator bars. It was great fun! We were a two-man-band! The cats enjoyed the packing paper and getting inside the boxes and jumping out at each other. All that fun stuff to play with, and they play with the box.

This is really happening, folks! I'm going to be teaching Kindermusik VERY soon! I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. And I have high hopes! I want lots of students! I've even had some inquiries already! Yay!

OK, calm...here's some really good news: I got my car back from the shop - it has a brand new air conditioner! I felt like I was driving a luxury car as I drove home from the dealership. Man, I seriously took my A/C for granted! It was miserable without it!

insomnia...again

Truly, it's been awhile since I've had a real case of insomnia, but tonight I can't sleep. I went to bed, tossed and turned until about 3:15, and then got up. So here I am at 4:45 am, listening to a book, working on cards. I'm almost finished with the cards and then I'm going to do a scrapbook page. I'm behind on my challenges and I know I'll fall even more behind since I'll be out of town next week, so I want to try to get caught up this week. I've been so busy with Kindermusik that I haven't had much time to scrap.

Brian is in there snoring away with both cats curled up beside him! I checked on them a little bit ago when I went to get some (decaf) tea. :-) Precious.

I just heard the weirdest noise and it kinda scared me, but then I realized it's just our sprinklers coming on. Whew. Nice to know they're working, I guess!

I got an email today from FedEx saying that SIX boxes will be delivered to me on Thursday! It's my Kindermusik order! The boxes weigh around 20 pounds each, except there's one measly 4-pound box. I'm trying to figure out what's in there. Maybe it's my brochures. Or, maybe it's the beach balls - they're probably light!

Well, that's about it. I don't have any mind-boggling thoughts here in the wee hours. Just thought I'd tell everyone that I'm awake.

marketing, advertising, spending money

I've spent this entire day advertising, marketing, emailing every mom's group I can find, listing my website all over the internet, placing orders, and spending money, all for Kindermusik! I'm getting a bunch of the required instruments and teacher's kits from my fab friend Paula in NY - and I'm getting those at half-price. Thanks for saving me a lot of $$, Paula! And I ordered the rest of the stuff I need from Kindermusik today, including some yard signs, stickers, brochures (that I need to drop off at pediatricians' offices, kids' stores, schools, etc.), and etc. It cost a lot. But we knew it would, and I should more than make up for it with what I make during my first semester.

So, I'm slowly but surely getting my name out there. The publications I'm advertising in will go out around the first week of August. And I'm doing a direct mailing. I bought a list of 2500 names & addresses for $75, and then I was able to get 2500 full color (both sides) postcards for $402, and they will address them and mail them for me too, and that includes postage! I thought that was an excellent deal! For $477, I will reach 2500 homes in my area that have kids from newborn to age 7. Let the calls and website hits begin!

In other news, we went to see the new Harry Potter movie on Thursday night and it was really good! AND my mouth is SO much better, thanks to that crazy mouthwash I bought! (Peroxyl) So things are going well, but I feel busy. When the instruments and stuff get here, I'll be studying the lessons, and I need to plan some demo classes too, maybe at the library. So much to do!

my poor, sore mouth

Last Wednesday, on the 4th of July, we went to see "Transformers." (It was a GREAT movie! I would highly recommend it!) During the movie, B and I polished off a great big huge popcorn, yum! (We hadn't had lunch!)

The next morning, I woke up with a swollen gum on the upper right side of my mouth. I figured some crazy little kernel had gotten stuck in there. Well, I brushed and flossed, flossed and brushed, rinsed with Listerine millions of times, and it's not any better. Well, it's some better, but I can't chew on that side of my mouth. It's now been a WEEK and I'm starting to get worried!

Meanwhile, the NEXT day, I woke up with yet ANOTHER sore on the OTHER side - the upper left side, on the roof of my mouth, right by my back teeth. It felt like something sharp had poked me, like a chip (or maybe even the popcorn!). I did the routine of the flossing, brushing, and Listerine, and it got better, but now it's back. So I'm starving because I can barely eat.

Seriously, this morning I tried to eat some fruit. SOFT fruit. Melon. And even IT hurt. For lunch, I tried a sandwich - PB&J on SOFT bread. Pain. Brian thinks I should go to the dentist. I, however, realize that a teeny bit of soft food is hurting SO bad, so that makes me have horrible visions of the dentist's sharp tools!! :-( What should I do?

I remembered today that when I had my wisdom teeth out (ages ago), I had to rinse with this stuff that was supposed to help the wounds heal. So I set out on a trip to Walgreen's - I was determined to remember what it was. I did - it's Peroxyl - Antiseptic Oral Cleanser. It says I can use it up to 4 times a day. So I'm going to start tonight and see if it helps any.

Does anyone have any advice/experience with anything like this? It's not herpes! It's not cold sores! It's not a TOOTH problem! (Is it hormonal??) I know this is a pity-party post, but I'm seriously starting to wonder what's up!!

book reviews and stuff

As you know, I've been reading lots of books this summer. So I've decided to post a few reviews, especially since I've been trying out some new authors.

"The Blue Zone" by Andrew Gross - I really enjoyed this book. Andrew has been writing along with James Patterson, and this is his first book writing alone. The story is a mystery with underlying tones of family and trust. It had some VERY interesting plot twists that I didn't see coming. And I usually see everything coming, so this was a nice surprise. There was some of what I consider to be unnecessary language, but I guess that's a given in most secular books. I would recommend this book if you like a good mystery.

"Heartstopper" by Joy Fielding - I had never read anything by Joy Fielding, so I had no expectations when I began this book. It's another mystery; I love mysteries! Anyway, right from the start she gives lots of clues as to who the murderer is...but then she gives more clues that allude to someone else than who you previously thought...and then even more clues pointing to someone else. I really liked this. At one point, I thought, "OK the murderer could be any of these people..." And then I went on to name like 15 people, and then I realized that I had just named practically every character in the book. :-) I loved that. But as it got nearer the end, I said to Brian, "I think the murderer is (a person who I won't mention here)." And I was right, even though the author TOTALLY tried to throw you off that person's scent.

This book was not a difficult read - in fact, the writing was a bit elementary for my taste. I like something a little more sophisticated. But I did enjoy it and I will probably read her again. (Even though there was also unnecessary language in this book, too.)

"Where Are the Children?" by Mary Higgins Clark - Disclaimer: I've loved everything I've read by this author. She really has a knack for storytelling, and it's often hard to guess what will happen next. I had NO IDEA who the killer was in this book until she revealed it. It was really a great read, and none of her books have any language in them, which I appreciate. What's interesting about that: she creates some really nasty characters who, in real life, would probably use profanity. But she manages to make them evil without using unnecessary language; I think some other authors (ahem, James Patterson) could take a lesson from Mary. I would totally recommend this book and anything else written by this author.

"The Sixth Target" by James Patterson - Speaking of Patterson, I might as well go ahead and review this book. I should start by saying that I am a fan of James Patterson. I've read every book he's written. It's hard to beat his "Alex Cross" series. I practically RUN to the library whenever I hear he's written something new. This book is the 6th book in his "Women's Murder Club" series.

With that said, I was pretty disappointed in this book. I felt like it was lazily written and there was lots of "filler." In other words, there were big sections of the book that didn't have anything at ALL to do with the story, and they were boring and could have totally been cut out. Maybe he was trying to make a word quota, who knows. But there were many times when I looked at Brian and said, "I don't CARE!!!! What's going on in the court room??!! Who is the killer??!! What has happened to (name of character, don't want to give anything away)??!!" I couldn't possibly care less about the main character's love life, her walks with her dog, or the details of her dinner. *rolling eyes*

I don't know if I would really recommend this one. I would, however, recommend his "Alex Cross" series and most of the other books in the "Women's Murder Club" series.

"Divine" by Karen Kingsbury - Another new author for me. This is a Christian author, so I was excited to read her. But I'm pretty picky when it comes to books, and her prologue was so long, drawn out, and boring, I almost gave up on the book. But I'm glad I didn't because it was a great story.

The main complaint I have about this book was the author's writing style. (I told you, I'm pretty picky!) This is a modern-day Mary Magdalene story. Well, this was a Christian writer trying to tell a "difficult" story and she just didn't do a good job with parts of it. At one point, there was this horrible drug-dealing pimp, and he would say things like, "Be quiet, little girl." I mean, come on. Drug dealing pimps don't say that! They slap people around, scream "Shut up! Shut up, or I'll give you something to cry about," or something.

Again, that said, this was a great story of grace and forgiveness and there were points of suspense that were well-written and exciting. I would recommend this book if you can stand a childish (my opinion) writing style.

"Body Surfing" by Anita Shreve - This is the second book I've read by her, and while she's not on my "favorite authors" list, I have enjoyed her books. Interestingly, the family in this book lives in the same house as the family in her other book I've read, "The Pilot's Wife." Several times in the book, they speak of buying the house from that family. Anyway, this is another story of family, love, and loss. It is a pretty good read. The plot was predictable at times, but I still liked the story.

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In other news, life has just been pretty normal around here. I've been working away at getting my Kindermusik business going. It costs a LOT for advertising and to order all the instruments and stuff! I wish it would hurry and start so I could MAKE some money to pay back all that I've been using to get everything going!

Oh, I almost forgot to say...Brian and I are going be an aunt & uncle AGAIN! For the FOURTH time! Jason (Brian's brother) and his wife Angela are expecting. We are SO excited at the prospect of a new niece or nephew to join Emma, Will, and Braden.

In a few weeks, I'll go visit Mom and Dad in KY. Mom and I are going to clean out, organize, throw away, and clean out some more. I'm hoping to get a good look at all her pictures. :-) I'm also hoping to get to Dayton for a day to see sweet, precious Braden (and I guess Brad and Kari too, ha!)

And lastly, I've been scrapping a ton! Scrapfest at LM REALLY SUPER motivates me! I will attach a few more recent pages:

summer reading thing update

OK, I've had to make a change to my summer reading list. I started reading "Natural Born Charmer" by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, but it was BORING, so I've replaced it with "While My Pretty One Sleeps" by Mary Higgins Clark. I just love Mary Higgins Clark. And Susan Elizabeth Phillips was one of my new authors I was trying out, so I guess I can mark her off the list! Ha! Anyway, here's my progress so far:

1 The Blue Zone - Andrew Gross
2 The Sixth Target - James Patterson
3 Main Corpse - Diane Mott Davidson
4 Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
5 Sisterchicks Do the Hula - Robin Jones Gunn
6 Sisterchicks Down Under - Robin Jones Gunn
7 The Good Husband of Zebra Drive - Alexander McCall Smith
8 Lean Mean Thirteen - Janet Evanovich
9 Being Committed - Anna Maxted
10 While My Pretty One Sleeps - Mary Higgins Clark
11 Queen of Broken Hearts - Cassandra King
12 Heartstopper - Joy Fielding
13 Body Surfing - Anita Shreve
14 Divine - Karen Kingsbury
15 Dream When You're Feeling Blue - Elizabeth Berg
16 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J. K. Rowling
17 The Note - Angela Hunt
18 Where Are the Children? - Mary Higgins Clark
19 Dedication - Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
20 Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult

BLUE = currently reading
PURPLE = finished

I will write more about life in general later. Right now, I'm busy scrapping! :-)

birthday weekend recap

It has been a wonderfully relaxing weekend, just what I wanted for my birthday. ;-) First, on Friday night, Brian put up some shelves in my scraproom for me. Here are the before and after pictures:

I am SO HAPPY with them!!!! And I did go to Home Depot and get one more shelf to add to the top, finishing it off. Thus, I scrapped some on Saturday and for most of the afternoon/evening today. Saturday evening, Brian took me out for a romantic dinner at a little Italian restaurant. I had THE BEST lasagna I've EVER had - the waiter told us everything was homemade and I can believe it. They even make their own pasta noodles. It was TO DIE FOR! And I had tiramisu for dessert, and that was delicious too! Here we are at the restaurant (me, complete with rudolph nose, I don't know why, I always wear sunscreen, *sigh*):
Thanks to all of you who called or emailed with birthday well wishes. It was a quiet weekend with my husband, just what I wanted. Fabulous!

Oh, and here's my new favorite scrapbook page! I did it yesterday (it's a partial scraplift, which means I "borrowed" an idea from someone else) - it's the title page for our cruise book: