A much needed break and weigh in...

There are times when I need a break even from things I love to do. This past week was one of those times. I took a break from my computer (I hadn't touched it until now since Tuesday) and I took a break from working out (I got back to working out on Saturday but hadn't in about a week and a half) those are both two things I enjoy but just needed a break. If I could have taken a break from work last week I would have done that too!!! I will be taking some mini breaks from work soon though.

This weekend was a sad one for us. My mother-in-law had to put her dog to sleep on Saturday morning. What a hard decision to have to make but she did what she felt best for Mena. So today I include a poem in memory of a beloved friend:

Goodbye With heavy hearts; and a tear in our eyes

after all these years; we must say goodbye

Please understand; we've done all we could

if there was anything we could do; you know we would

I'm sitting right here; gently rub your ears

while I talk to you softly; trying to hold back the tears

The memories you gave us; we'll never forget

especially the ones; of the day we all met

One last hug; and one last kiss

you have no idea; how much you'll be missed

To look into your eyes; this one last time

you tell me it's ok; you know it's your time

Close your eyes now; and go to sleep

we'll pray to the Lord; your soul he'll keep

Go in peace now; our good friend

we'll stay right here with you; until the end

Dream of that special day and time

when we'll meet at the Bridge; and all will be fine

We'll run and play; side by side

with a soft warm feeling; deep down inside

Your memory will live on; in each one of us

you'll always be number 1; to all of us

Have a safe journey; through the night

I promise when you awake; you'll be in God's light

So with heavy hearts; and tears in our eyes

just for now my friend; we say goodbye

~John Quealy

On a lighter note; I bought and hung up this sign in our laundry room. I was originally going to paint the room the green color of the lettering but I didn't buy the sign the first time I saw it hoping it would go on sale. When I went back it was gone and I couldn't find it for months. Then this week I went back to Hobby Lobby and there it was and it still matched!

Also, today is weigh in day. I lost one pound but not enough to hit my 10% goal, BOO! But hey a loss is a loss and I am happy with that.

My fantastic hubby is working on a project for me that I hope to post later in the week. :)

Blooms and Easter decor

I love that everything is starting to bloom here and I love to take pictures of flowers. Saturday when we got home from our ride I noticed that our globe willow tree in the front yard had buds on it. It happened like overnight! Here is a picture of the globe willow I took yesterday.

Also, I took a picture of the buds on our Bradford pear tree yesterday.

And can you believe that today there are flowers on it.

I love Bradford pear trees. They are perfect to me. They have beautiful white flowers in the spring, pretty dark green leaves in the summer, and are the perfect shape. If we had a long driveway I would love to alternate a Bradford pear and a cherry blossom tree all the way up the drive and on both sides. There is a house here that has Bradford pears along the drive on both sides and it is so pretty.

I also put out some Easter decor. Just enough to let you know Easter is coming. I got this bunny and tree at Hobby Lobby this past week.

Now, I don't normally decorate with stuffed animals but this one is very special to me and it will be out every Easter no matter what. This bunny was given to me by my husband our first Easter when we were dating 11 years ago. On my sister's high school graduation day (we were actually getting ready for the graduation) our house caught on fire. We lost just about everything, my mom and I grabbed my sister's cap and gown, the dog, and backed the car away from the house and that was all we had gotten out at the time of the fire. We pulled ourselves together and knew there was nothing to do at the time and went to my sister's graduation. Well, there were a few things that we were able to save the next day going back to the house and my mom got my bunny out and had it cleaned by a company that cleans items that have been in a fire and gave it to me. So that is why this bunny will always be special to me.

I also made this image to put in this frame for Easter. It normally has a picture in it but I made this and changed it out for the holiday.

This is an up close picture of the spring table runner I put out on the sofa table. This was a gift from my mom when she went to Germany last summer to visit my family. It is so pretty and just says "Spring is here" to me.

This is the last of my Easter decorations.

What a wonderful weekend...

I had an absolutely fabulous weekend!!! We took off Friday and went riding on our motorcycle. It was the most perfect day to ride. Warm enough to wear short sleeves but cool enough not to be sweating. We rode out to War Eagle Mill. It is an operating mill that has been there since the 1800's. It is also the location of the bi-annual craft show. There is one in May and then the huge one in October. This is a picture of the mill:

This is inside and is a pic of the actual working grinder:

Here is just a tiny sampling of what they grind and sell there. We bought some fish fry breading and some cherry butter.

Upstairs they have a gift shop. Look at these cute salt and pepper shakers that were in the gift shop:

Also, on the third story they have a restaurant.

Outside is very pretty. Here is the water wheel:

This bridge is 101 years old:

And here is a picture of the small waterfall there:

Saturday was nice also. We met up with a couple of other friends that have motorcycles and went on an 8 hour ride. We had a lot of fun and thankfully didn't get rained on.

Sunday I did a LOT of spring cleaning (well I guess it is actually pre-spring training). I washed all the curtains in the house and scrubbed the bathroom. We actually took the shower doors apart and I scrubbed them and scrubbed the shower where they were. We are going to caulk them. They never were caulked by the builder and water gets underneath and gets yucky all the time. I also put out Easter decor after church and I will share pics of that tomorrow.

Today is weigh in day. Drum roll please...I lost another two pounds for a total of 15 pounds. I got another star on my Weight Watchers Chart and if I lose two pounds this week I should be at my 10% goal!!

Tile instructions

The first part of this post is for Lisa. She was wondering how I made the spring tile. Well it just so happens that I was going to make coasters last night so it worked out perfect for me to be able to take pictures of how I did it. It is really simple if you have the supplies. Here are the supplies:

You will need a stone tile (I got mine for 37 cents at Lowes), a stamp, a watermark stamp pad (I use versamark), embossing powder, a heat gun, pearl ex pigments, and fillable paint brush filled with liquid floor wax (I got mine from Stampin Up).

First you stamp your image on the tile with the versamark stamp pad.

Then you sprinkle your embossing powder on the tile,

Here is what the image will look like before heating it:Then you use the heat gun to heat the image until the embossing powder "melts":

Here is what it looks like after the image has been heated.

Next you dip your paint brush into the color of pearl ex you want to apply and paint the image:

That is all there is to it. Since I will be using these as coaster in the living room I did apply some spray enamel to them to protect the image.

Last night we also got to enjoy the company of a friend. He got a new bike and came over to have Ryan put on some new lights. It turned into a major event and took until almost 2 this morning!! We are supposed to have great weather the next few days. Ryan and I are taking off tomorrow to go ride our motorcycle and then Saturday we are meeting our friend and going riding together.

Spring tile

I love spring time. I would have to say that it is my favorite time of year. After the cold winter months getting to see everything turn green and the beautiful flowers come out again and the air turn warm is the best feeling. Last night I made this spring tile to put on a shelf in the living room.


Everything is going great so far this week on my WW plan. I haven't even used any weekly allowance points. Tonight we are having a friend over for dinner so my only challenge will be dessert.

Spring arrangement

Yesterday was a great day for me as far as mail goes. Mixed in with the regular daily bills and junk mail I also received my shirt I ordered from Megan for my niece. It is darling. Thank you Megan!!!!!

Also, Darlene, told us last week in her blog about Everyday Minerals and the free sample you could get. I got that in the mail yesterday too. I am trying them today and so far they are passing my inspection! :) Thank you for posting that Darlene.

Last night I decided to try making a flower arrangement. I still don't know how I feel about the outcome but I will share it anyway. I wanted a spring time arrangement that could go on our coffee table throughout spring. So bravely I am sharing a pic:

Tonight I plan to work on some Easter stuff.

So far this week everything is going good on my WW plan. Yesterday was hard for the opposite reason than what it is usually hard for. I have been feeling bad lately and yesterday I had no appetite really so I had to force myself to eat all my points. That usually NEVER happens.

Weigh-in and weekend update

Weigh-in day: I lost 2 more pounds. Hooray!! A total of 13 pounds in 6 weeks. Not too shabby.

I had a good weekend, despite being sick. I got to visit my family this weekend. I had so much fun and seeing my sweet niece was the best. Here she is being silly with her Aunt Lissa and reading stories with her Uncle Ryan.