Tribute to a lost friend… my friend Lars

Just a few photos of my friend Lars. We lost Lars last night / this morning. 9-18-11. I got to say good-bye to him on Saturday. I knew things were not good when I went to my parents house on Saturday. Lars always was excited to see me. His whole body would shake and he would verbally through whines and barks let me know how excited he was that I was home. It will never be the same going to their house. Lars was one of the calmest, easy-going dogs I have known. I will miss him, but am very glad that he didn’t have to suffer with people poking him trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Now he is back with his best friend and sister, they are playing in Heaven. Enjoy! RIP buddy. Love you!

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20 Years, Where Has the Time Gone?

Twenty years ago this summer I graduated from high school. A couple of weekends back, I had my twenty year reunion. I was not going to go, but through the past few weeks of talking to people (who were not in my class) and a one who was in my class. My mind was changed and I was talked into going. Go have fun and enjoy every bit of the night was the advice I got, I was determined to do just that, once I decided to go.

Friday night started with a social night at a classmates house. Once I decided to go to the event, I had to get ready, what does one wear to a gathering at a classmates house where some of the people you have not seen in 20 years… I decided on Jean Capris and a v-neck t. Finally get there and it was a great time reuniting with people that I had not seen for 20 years. While some people I had connected with on Facebook, there were many that I really had no idea what they had been up to.  One of the nicest but at the same time most frustrating complements was “Your single, have no kids and have your own house… you are a catch for any man.” Or something close to that. While I know he meant it as a complement, at the same time, he made me think what is wrong with me.  All in all, the night was fun.

As Friday night wrapped up, I had made a decision to attend the next evenings event.  Saturday night was a nicer event at a local restaurant. We were going to be on the back patio… summer time, 20 year reunion… again, what to wear. After going through my closet, I realized that I had nothing that I wanted to wear, I decided to go shopping for something new. I found a cute silky tank top which I paired with black capri pants. I arrive, get my name tag and talk to a couple of people. Saw my “best” friend from high school (totally got the cold shoulder) and talked with a couple of other classmates. As I was sitting at a table, a few husbands came up and asked if they could sit at the table. I said no problem and asked who they belonged to… I got some BS answer and had to walk away and find a drink. Funny thing is just by looking at them, one could tell that they were assholes in HS… and some people never change. The rest of the evening was spent catching up, listening to a band and having some drinks.

Once the “party” was over… we headed down the street to a local bar. Where some classmates who didn’t come to the event were hanging out… and I ran into “Guy 2” from my previous post.

While I wasn’t planning on going to any of this reunion… I am so very glad that I attended both nights. If I had any advice to share, I recommend going to your reunion.

Breakups and Paybacks

As a single woman, I have been through a variety of breakups… some on my part… and some on the part of the guy. Some have disappeared from my memory bank and some have been slammed right back to the forefront of my mind. One of the most recent “Guy 1” (not the most recent but recent) breakups I experienced was on his part… it was almost as bad as Carrie’s breakup on Sex and the City … Breakup by Post it Note. This break up was really non existent. We had been dating for 6 months, and all of a sudden, I called him after a weekend class to determine our plans, and I got a “quit stalking me”. The most recent… was a guy “Guy 2” that I went out with for two dates. Two… this one just completely stopped talking to me. This one, is where the paybacks come in. Guy 2, I met right after high school… He was 5 or 6 years older than me… and beautiful. We went out on two dates, I got scared, I was this scared little girl… and stopped talking to him. At the time, while I really liked him, I didn’t really know how to communicate my “scared” feelings, I also wanted to see the world… he was “grown” and I was just getting my wings. I while I liked him, I sure wasn’t ready to give up my future, my schooling. Fast forward about 20 years, probably exactly 20 years. I ran into Guy 2 after my class reunion. A group of us went to a bar after the reunion. As I was walking through the outside bar, I saw this beautiful man… I stopped, backed up and stared… was it him? I said Guy… and no response, Guy 2… he turned around and we locked eyes and stared at each other for a minute. We had a great few minutes talking and catching up… when all of a sudden he reminded me of our two dates and my not talking to him. As I explained to him my side… he seemed to forgive. We talked a few minutes and then I moved on into the inside of the bar to talk with some former classmates. As the evening went on, he ended up inside the bar talking with me. We exchanged numbers…. and he kissed me good-bye. Fast forward two dates later… and then nothing.

Breakups are awkward, and hard to do… but I think honest conversation is so much better than nothing….

I find it interesting that Guy 2 says he is looking for a good woman… not a psycho, no drama, a nice girl… and like I have heard guys say to women…. you say the words, but when you find one… you don’t really want her.

Sepia Sunday

Jerrod, Blake and Brad – H2O2 Tour

Some people are against country music or think country music is only for hillbilly’s or rednecks… while it isn’t for everyone, I think country music is American through and through. This was my second concert of the summer, earlier, I saw Kenny Chesney ❤  🙂

Last night I went to the Brad Paisley concert… saw not only Brad, but Blake Shelton and Jerrod Neimann. While we only saw the tail end of Jerrod and got no pictures, what we heard sounded great.

Blake Shelton was amazing, while he sang mostly his own songs, he told a great little story about growing up in a family where music was played all the time and in a huge variety of genres. The songs he played were amazing and entertaining. It’s All About Tonight and Kiss My Country A$$

Brad did an amazing job too. His opening  was so cool It really looked like we were looking at him on stage, however he actually started out in the crowd. He walked through the crowd and walked down to the stage. But this is the picture from his opening number. It looked so real, I couldn’t believe it when he was actually out in the crowd.

Some of my favorite pictures of the night:

Blake and Brad on stage together ^

Brad and memories of 9/11 ^

End of – My Love Affair with Water ^ amazing, looked like real water, and like Brad was swimming away in the “tank” below.

Some of my favorite songs Brad sang last night –  Who Are You When I’m Not Looking, Ticks, A Letter to Me, and Old Alabama.  I think the biggest surprise of my night was that I knew more of Brad and Blake’s songs than I realized.

Last picture of the night… waiting to leave the parking lot.

While it wasn’t Kenny ❤ , it was still a great night.  Who was your best concert of the summer?

A sense of accomplishment

Today, I decided to start my first painting project. My bathroom needed painting… I found the “perfect” white paint in the “oops” paint at Home Depot. If you don’t know about oops paint… a gallon for a low price of $5. I have a variety of paints for my house all from the oops paints. Check Lowes and Menards as well… if you are looking for a color, but not super picky about the shade, you can find some great colors. 🙂 I knew I wanted to paint my bathroom white from the day I closed. I think that a white bathroom is refreshing and the options I am left with are wonderful. I wanted to be able to have a variety of rugs and towels to add color to the room. If my wall color is white, I am not limited in the colors of rugs and towels.

Here is my starting point… a sort of creamy coffee color.

 

Midpoint… first coat…

Almost end point… a pretty white. The only thing I have left to do, take down the tape.

I do feel a sense of accomplishment, even if my bathroom is not 100% complete. Painting is a lot harder when doing it on ones own… especially when you have to paint around the toilet, sconces, mirrors is a small space. Right now, my rugs and towels are yellow… my other decor in my bathroom are ducks. Rubber ducks to be exact. The next thing I need to add to my bathroom is shelves for my ducks. Once I find the right ones. I will add a follow-up picture once my ducks have their own home. What have you accomplished lately?

Things I need/want

While my process of settling in my house has been a slow one, I have discovered some needs/wants. In no particular order:

1.) Treadmill / Bowflex Treadclimber: From the commercials, I really want the treadclimber, however, I know NO ONE with a treadclimber. I would like to  try it out before I were to purchase something like this.

 

 

 

 

 

2.) Full Wall Black and White Mural of Paris: My bedroom has a very french inspired theme, as I was looking on-line, I came across this great idea… however, it is a little out of my price range. Wouldn’t it be great to wake and see the city of Paris every morning.

3.) A new roof: As I am learning, roofs come in various forms… some are forever, some are not… I would like a metal roof… If I could make it fit my budget. Metal roofs will outlast the house… I think while it maybe a little more expensive in the beginning, it might be a better investment. (any thoughts?)

4.)My own landscaper: This is a dream, as I can do the work. However, I am lacking the knowledge of what to put where. I know things are moveable… so I am making the best of it and slowly making my yard mine.

5.) Hanging Daybed (outdoors): I have seen these in a variety of different magazines… I want to have one of these in my outdoor room. Eventually, I will be tearing off part of my garage to make an outdoor pergola room. When I have that room ready, this is something I would like to do.

6.) A Flat Screen TV: Would really like to pick out a new Flat Screen TV… I don’t have one picked out, but I would like one that I can hang on my wall and that fits my room, not too big, but big enough to read the print on the TV when sitting on my couch. Probably around 40″ or so.

These are the top 6 needs on my list, number 7 would be the winning lottery tickets… so I could take care of all this and then some. What are you needing?

 

What my town needs… at least in my eyes

So I have had some time to get sort of settled in my house and my neighborhood. I have some wants for my town to add to my list of things to make this little part of the world a little better. Now I know no where is perfect, however, I am loving my neighborhood. I have joined our neighborhood organization… and provided some ideas of things that I think would be fun for our neighborhood. There are also some things that I think my town needs…

1.  Trader Joes… or Whole Foods… I’m leaning toward Trader Joes, they have great cheese and wine.

2.  A wine bar or a place grown folks can go to meet other grown folks. How does one make new friends as a grown up?

3. A better public transportation system. One that runs into the evenings… so you cane be the responsible one and not drive after enjoying some of those adult beverages.

4. They need to build up the downtown area. I can tell, and actually know that at one time it was a busy city center, however with the invention of the mall, the store front stores went out. 😦 Just a sad state of the world.

5.  A real farmers market. When I lived in Kansas City, I fell in love with Farmers Markets. Here is the link to the Kansas City Market http://www.thecitymarket.org/ check it out you will see how amazing it is. It has a little bit of everything and some great produce. This could also build up the city center. Just a thought. One of my biggest frustrations is that the current farmers market is on Fridays from 8am – 2pm. Makes it very hard for a person who works to go and enjoy the farmers market.

Those are my 5 things that I think my town needs to improve the lives of those living here… mainly me 🙂 Thanks for reading!

 

My weekend in pictures… Things that made me happy

This weekend was a busy one, some of the best times from the weekend, I didn’t take pictures of… Friday night, I went to dinner with one of the coolest, strongest woman I know, didn’t take pictures. Saturday morning, had to get an oil change… during the oil change, my mom and I walked around the “French Hens Market” and then checked out the stores downtown. When that was done went out to my parents house and found a cute little tree frog in the garden. Then on to church and Cruise Night. Sunday morning, my parents headed up to my place to help me pick up a free stack of bricks. Two truck loads, loaded by hand. Did I mention that I have GREAT parents? I have no pictures from the bricks… because we were too busy moving the bricks to think about pictures. After moving the bricks, on to Home Depot… where there were no pictures taken either. Picked up some new plants, some hardware to hang some shelves, and some bug spray. Pictures from my DIY planter to come! 🙂 Check out the other pictures:

Car from the cruise night… I could see myself driving down the road, wind blowing through my hair.

Look at this little bug, check out the driver’s door…

check out the passenger’s side door… see the difference?  🙂 Love it! And the colors!

Awww the little tree frog!

Sign would look great in my bedroom!

Found in one of the downtown stores. I have an old lamp and the silk lampshade is falling apart. When I saw this, I thought what a great way to use something instead of adding it to the landfill. Watch for another DIY project to come!

Great words to live by!

Cute planter, Mom and I both liked. Looks like another DIY project in the works!

Still have a lot to do to get my house together, but things are slowly coming together both inside and out. Love the chance to get out and get ideas to do to my house.

Most Recent DIY Project

As a home owner, I am learning the joys of DIY projects. While this project isn’t done yet, I have made progress. Tomorrow it will be finished and installed. I have read enough articles about home improvements, one of the eye sores on my house was the front. There were old/tarnished/rusty brass house numbers, mailbox and lights.  Last weekend, I started the project by painting the numbers and mailbox. The lights had a lot more detail in having to play with electricity to take the lights down. I enlisted my dad’s help in taking down and he will be assisting with the reinstallation of the lights. (What a great man!)

Old Brass lights from front porch…

The rusty brass lights, glass removed for cleaning and painting.

The lights with the first paint coat…

I chose an oil rubbed bronze paint, the project took two coats. Can hardly wait to see the finished project installed. The numbers and the mailbox already look amazing, the lights will only add to the finished look. I will post the installed version. What DIY Project are you working on? A few of the other projects to come are painting my bedroom furniture (started sanding this weekend… way too muggy for that), I have painting various rooms of the house. Found my spare bedroom paint at Lowe’s oops paint for $5.00 🙂 Yeah Me! I am working on picking out other colors for other rooms. I also need to work on making the basement livable.