July 28th

Today was a normal Saturday. I cleaned the house and did the groceries. It's back to Aldi's again! Although it is further away and I don't like the produce and the cold cuts in packages, I do save a lot.

July 27th

Instruments of torture

Lol! I have spent 2 years wearing flip flops or sneakers. Now I have to dress up (at least somewhat) everyday. I think my feet are having a tough time adjusting. I have worn heels all week - tried to rotate different shoes- but my feet are so sore! Hopefully, they will be come accustomed again.

Thankful Thursday

No it isn't Thursday but I've missed 2 because of travel and my new job and definitely thought I should do this!



I am so thankful to God for :

1. Being able to instant message Ben in Iraq. I just spoke to him for an hour! He's doing great.
2. Getting a new non-stressful job. I don't think I realized how stressed and paranoid I had gotten until I had gotten out! I guess I was the frog in the boiling water. Oh and I wasn't searching for a job, God placed this in my lap!
3. Getting a new job 2 days before my husband lost his
4. Having the chance to go back to RI before Arthur lost his job. We wouldn't have be able to justify spending the money if it happened before.
5. Having my son, Andy, find a wonderful girl that truly makes him happy and getting a chance to meet her in RI. I don't mean to scare you, but I've been praying for you Christine!
6. Having a little money in the bank so that if we make frugal decisions, we should be ok for a little while for Arthur to find a new job.
7. Knowing that God has orchestrated everything so it is all in His perfect timing!
8. For these words: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" Romans 8:27-29

July 26th

Vegas

One of our residents brought in a kitten for the Property Manager, Nancy.

July 25th

Just a peaceful shot of one of my candles. Most of you know at this point that Arthur lost his job today. With all of the problems with the company, they basically split his job between 2 other managers. He was offered a job paying half his original salary. He is taking it until he finds something else but we can not make ends meet long on that. So we still need prayer that he finds a new job. He actually had a phone interview with a companythis evening that sounds promising but it would be a commute right now and eventually a possible move. Please continue to pray for God’s guidance through this situation and especially that we will be open to his will.

I'm a little overwhelmed and angry over the way it was handled - just handled very unprofessionally and just not right. But I am trusting in God that all will work out according to His plan for us.

July 24th

My new desk at work. Today I was slightly less clueless.

July 23rd

Today was my first day at my new job. I am an Assistant Manager at a townhome community! I hate started a new job because you just feel so stupid most of the time!

July 22nd

From Kudzu - The Vine http://www.yahoolavista.com/kudzu/

I've been trying to get a good picture of kudzu, also known as the vine that ate the South. But it always seems that I never see it at a good time to take a picture. Of course, it usually on the side of highways and so it is not conducive to stopping quickly. So I found this on a kudzu website. It is the weirdest stuff. I usually looks like someone dropped a big green blanket over everything.

July 21st

Blue Star Mother's of America is an organization for mothers who now have, or have had, children honorably serving in the military. Each blue star represents a service member in active duty.

July 20th

A couple of interesting things today. Today was my last day at work. I was shocked when they gave me a card, a gift and cake! With all the goings on at work, I figured me leaving was not a big deal. After 2 years at one company, it is hard leaving.


Then we went to a Brad Paisley concert at Altel Pavilion. Actually, it is Walnut Creek Amphitheater now. We went out for cheap Mexican first and got to the concert a bit later than normal. Plus we had John Deere Lawn Seats so it's first come, first serve. This is what it looked like when we got there. However, we found great seats in the "Family Section", an area with no smoking or alcohol allowed. We got to see Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Kelli Pickler, and James Ingrim (I think that's his name)



Brad Paisley. I wish my camera would take better shots!

July 19th

We have a bird that made a nest in my geranium in the screen porch. I don't know what possessed them since we are always opening the door to let the dogs in and out. I wish I had a better camera to get closer but if I moved, it flew away!

July 18th

The temperature in the loft

The air conditioner is still not working! It has been since last Thursday and all we have gotten is the run around. First they told me that my filters were dirty (without seeing them). I am fanatical about changing them with the dogs so I knew that wasn't true. Then they said we needed freon. Then they said that we had too much freon. My personal favorite was that air conditioning will not keep your house cold. Hmmm... I think they figured that we were gullible northerners that just moved here. We've been here almost 2 years. We rented a house for a year and kept the temp at 72 and lived here for a year and kept it at 72. Even in 98 degree weather, we (by we I mean Arthur) keep the house at 72! After 3 hours, with 2 men and the field manager from our development crawling around in my attic in 90 degree heat, it is fixed. I love air conditioning!

July 17th

" Have fun storming the castle!"

Now if you are a Princess Bride fan you immediately know what I am talking about; Otherwise you'll just think I am crazy .

We headed out Tuesday morning at 6 am. My Mom and Andy are saying goodbye. Lol! We made good time until we hit the North Carolina border when we hit a horrible rainstorm. We made the trip in 13 hrs this time so that wasn't bad. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until we sat down. Between too much fun and not sleeping well, it all caught up with me. By 9:30, I was miserable and not fit to be around other humans. By 10, I was out like a light. I love travelling but there is no place like home (especially your own bed!)

July 16th

Cliff Walk, Newport, RI

I joked that when we got to RI, besides seeing our family and friends, I wanted to "be a tourist". My mom suggested we go to Newport! So the ladies (my mom, me, Rachel and Sierra) went to Newport for the day. It has been ages since I've been down there. We walked through the shops, ate lunch (clam chowder again!), drove by the mansions and then along Ocean Drive. We walked a very small portion of the Cliff Walk . There is something about the RI coast that I love. Myrtle Beach is beautiful but New England has something unique. That night we went to my sister-in-laws for torpedo meat, another family specialty. Andy and Christine were able to come. My great-nephew (yes, I have a great nephew; that's how old I am ) , Elijah, just loved Andy. Check out the slide show with the pictures of them.

July 15th

Uncle Roger and Aunt Linda

Sunday, we attended Riverpoint Church. It was our "sister" church to the church Arthur pastored. It was fun seeing everyone. Right after church, we went to Uncle Roger and Aunt Linda's house for our family reunion. I thought it was appropriate that I post our hosts' picture. They have a beautiful home with a pool that they love to share. We missed last year's reunion since we had just moved. I'm so glad we were able to go back this year. After the reunion, we went over our friend's, the Blackburns, home for a late dinner. We had a wonderful visit with them.

July 14th

Waterfire in Providence, RI

Saturday, Rachel and I ran errands with my Mom. I had some shopping to do . Arthur and Andy hung out and went to a movie. Arthur and I made plans to go out with some friends, Barry and Lisa Phillips, that evening for dinner at the House of Wu. Arthur and I have been going to this Chinese restaurant since we were dating, 25 years ago. After dinner, we ended up going to Waterfire in Downtown Providence. In the 3 rivers in Downtown Providence, they have installed 100 bonfires. You stroll along the the cobblestone paths by the edge of the rivers, under the bridge archways listening to music from around the world and watching the gondolas. The funny thing is that this started in 1994 and we never went until the year we moved! Unfortunately, getting out is easier said than done so we were stuck in traffic for a bit.

July 13th

Andy and Christine

On Friday, we went to see our old house in RI. Since we sold it, it was rented out for awhile and then eventually foreclosed on. Something happened - we aren't quite sure as we've gotten different stories. Either a water pipe burst or they intentionally flooded the house. But one day the postman noticed water gushing out of the basement and then it was condemned. We got to go in the house since the back door was wide open. It was filthy and destroyed. Our poor little house... It was very sad. We visited the neighbors. There was only 4 of us on the street so we all knew each other. Then we went to Wickford, sat by the water and had clam cakes and chowder. After lunch, we visited some of the families from Lafayette Church. In the evening, we went to Wright's Chicken Farm for dinner. We got to meet Christine, Andy's girlfriend. She seems like a sweet girl and they make a good couple.

July 12th

Our journey to RI

I decided that since I didn't want to crash blogger with the 178 pictures I took and also in keeping with Project 365, I'll post one that represents our day and then change the slide show to put the RI pictures on. We left at 6 AM (ugh!) . This is definitely the most representative picture - Arthur drove and then I drove and then Arthur drove and so on. Sierra wanted her own car so she followed us. Rachel rode with her but she doesn't drive so Sierra had to drive all the way by herself. She found out that it's a lot harder to drive 14 hrs straight than she thought. We made really good time until we hit the Connecticut border. I'm sorry if anyone is from Connecticut but I dread driving through there. You just crawl for about 2 hrs and never even see what the problem is. We got to my Mom's at about 8:00 and then went to Chelo's for dinner.

Oh and at about 2:00 Dan called to say the air conditioning wasn't working. Why do things break as soon as you leave? We spent most of the weekend going back and forth with our warrenty people, the air conditioning people, Centex, and Dan trying to get it fixed.

July 11th

Another storm came through tonight. At least everything is soaked now! We are getting ready to leave for RI so I probably won't be posting for a couple days. Please pray for safe travel for us.

July 10th

Praise the Lord - It's raining! It has been so hot and dry here. They keep saying possible thunderstorms but it never seems to hit us. This is the view from the front door. It's hard to take pictures of rain!

July 9th

Monday, Monday... Mondays are never good when you work. Even if you like your job, getting up on Monday morning is never fun. I'm trying to wrap up a lot of work before I leave my job so I've been really busy. After we got home, Arthur wanted to watch a ball game in our "retreat" with the thermostat set about 2 degrees above ANTARCTICA. Since everything is in repeats, I figured out the DVD player (don't laugh, I am electronically challenged) and watched a couple episodes of Lost. Ben got me into it when he was here.

July 8th

Arthur's grape

So I'm thinking that we won't be making any wine anytime soon but we actually have grapes on the grape vine!

July 7th

PHOTO HUNTERS THEME - FAKE

Photohunters has a theme each Saturday. I figured that it might jump start my photos when I can't think of anything to take a picture of or it's just one of those boring days.

Today, we had a Ladies' Bible Study and Breakfast at the church. There was about 20 women there! Other than that, we just did some errands and took it easy. Every weekend has been so busy and next weekend we'll be in RI so it was nice to do nothing. As they said in Office Space - "I did nothing and it was all I thought it would be". Lol!

July 6th

Crape Myrtle Tree

I love Crape Myrtles. Especially at this time of year when it is so hot that most things seem to be dried up, it is wonderful to see color.

Thankful Thursday!

1. I'm thankful that today went well at work, and giving my notice didn't turn into a bigger ordeal.
2. I'm thankful that Arthur is back to being himself
3. I'm thankful that God works out everything in our lives
4. I'm thankful that Ben has arrived safely in Baghdad.
5. I'm thankful that I have a lot of friends and family that I can ask to pray for us in any situation!

july 5th

This was a big day for me at work. I gave my 2 week notice. I'm going to be working with my friend, Rose, at an apartment complex as an Assistant Manager. It is very different from what I've done but I think I'll enjoy it. The timing of everything worked out so well. I had mentioned to Rose about the problems at work; they were looking for a 3rd person in the office; it's 5 minutes from my house, etc. Today should have been our employee lunch. But Sue, our president, decided that we were all "employees of the month" (I'm probably not right now) and closed at 4:30. We all went to a Mexican restaurant near work. It was actually a lot of fun. I will miss all my friends at work.

Oh and Arthur is feeling much better now that the medicine is kicking in.

July 4th

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

We spent the day at Avril & Curtis's house (our neighbors). Well, I should rephrase that - I spent most of the day at our neighbor's house. Arthur ended up at the urgent care yesterday and it turns out he does have strep. Then today he woke up with an awful migraine. So he spent most of his day sleeping. Rachel was working; Sierra was working; And Dan went over a friend's house swimming. Arthur did come down later and tried to eat something. There was tons of food and they set off fireworks in the field behind our houses.

This is Rose and Lisa - two of my neighbors and friends.

Zachary, Rose's son having a blast on the slip n' slide.

Princess, Lisa's granddaughter. She's the sweetest little girl.

July 3rd

Ben left at 9 am this morning. At this point, he should be somewhere between Georgia and Kuwait. Please keep him in your prayers. Unless he gets extended he should be back in February.

Heading for the airplane.

July 2nd

The kids went to lunch and went shopping for some things that Ben wanted to bring back with him. I puttered around in the yard and hung up a new flag. Andrew came over for dinner and then we went to see Transformers. I'm not quite sure why I went to Transformers except that Ben wanted to see it before he left. lol!

July 1st

At Red Lobster after church.

June 30th

For the most part, we just relaxed and hung out while Ben was here.