:) My Hubby's Home :)

Jim arrived back home last night & needless to say, I'm one VERY happy camper right now :) :) This has been the longest 4 days & I'm just so glad that he is home! He wanted me to meet him at the airport because he said he wanted to see my face when he got off the plane, so that's exactly what I did. I got to the airport around 8:30 & his plane was supposed to arrive at 9:08, but it got pushed back to 9:45 since they left Dallas an hour late. Let me just add that I do NOT like Detroit Metro Airport at all! That place needs a facelift & BAD (well, at least the terminal I was in does)! I was just glad to see a lot of security guards walking around.....at least that made me feel a little bit more comfortable.

As you can see, I've kept myself busy scrapbooking while he was gone.....I got 4 pages done (click on each picture to view it larger). The first one above is my absolute favorite! I just love this picture I took of Jim coming up the stairs without his glasses on. Made me want him to get lasik surgery done even more now cause I just love his eyes :)

I'm still debating if this one needs something else.....it doesn't even really have a title, so I was thinking about using the title "Tied Together With Heartstrings" along the sides on the red (not sure if you can tell or not, but there's 2 Heidi Swapp Ghost Hearts near the bottom that I tied together with ribbons). What do you think? Should I add something else, or just leave it be?
The next one I titled "My Husband" using the same picture of Jim that I used above (told ya I loved this photo :). I used the Junkitz Teresa Collins Love Line pattern paper in both of these layouts.....I just love these papers!
Finally, here is the last layout I did using We R Memory Keepers products along with Heidi Swapp florals, ribbons & Gin X rub-ons.

Here's a picture that Jim had done of him & Brian in Corpus Christi. They were doubles partners in the bowling tournament & since some of the guys didn't want to get their picture taken for the team event, I told him he better get one of these! One of the wives did take some pictures of their team, but it won't have the banner on the bottom like this one, which is what I really wanted. Aren't their matching shirts cool? :) We bought them at Bass Pro Shop & I took them in to have their names embroidered on the back & the pro shop name on the sleeves.

Jim decided to take his other have of his personal day today so we could spend the morning together :) I know he was overly tired from having to bowl at 7:00 am yesterday & then from the flights back home. And I enjoyed waking up in his arms ;)

Gonna stop here for now.....got a lot to do around the house & then we bowl tonight.

Have a great week :)
Benita

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder???

Not hardly! Absence SUCKS! As I'm writing this entry, my husband Jim is at the airport getting ready to board the plane to head to Corpus Christi, Texas for the USBC Nationals Bowling Tournament. He will be gone until late Tuesday night & now I'm kicking myself in the butt for not going with him! I almost bought a ticket yesterday, but they were 4 times the price of what he paid for his ticket back in January, so we just couldn't see spending that much. I'm a nervous wreck right now because I'm so scared that something's going to happen. I was going to go to PA this weekend, but I woke up throwing up this morning & there's no way I'm about to drive 8+ hours when I feel the way I feel right now. So it looks like I'll just spend the weekend at home with Cassie & Shawn, maybe do some scrapbooking of these recent pics that Jim & I took last night. Plus I still need to plant flowers in my window boxes that Jim & I installed the other day. And if I really get bored & depressed, I'll go shopping.....that always seems to cheer me up :)

I took this picture of Jim coming up the stairs last night & I just love the look on his face :) I love this man with all my heart & don't ever want to imagine my life without him in it!
He is my soul.
He is my rock.
He is my best friend.
He is my heart!

Yesterday, he took off early from work & arrived home with the most gorgeous bouquet of red roses I've ever seen! Can't you almost smell the roses in this photo?

I made him hold the flowers so I could get a picture of him with them since I wasn't downstairs when he brought them home to me, hehe. I'm so glad that he has such a wonderful sense of humor & puts up with me wanting to take pictures all the time :) Have I mentioned lately how much I love this man??? Sorry, I can't tell you what the card says on it.....it's personal & very mushy ;)




This photo is a little gushy ;) But you can bet I'm going to scrap it! I guess that's all for now. Please keep Jim in your prayers for me this weekend that he has a safe trip.

Happy Memorial Day,

Benita

The Rain Finally Stops

And the sun does shine in Michigan! Above is a photo of one of my hanging Petunia baskets. I just love how easy Petunias are to care for & it's just one more way to make things just a little simplier in my life :) I also purchased 3 hanging baskets for my next-door neighbor that lost his wife recently. I hung them on his porch since he wasn't home yet & when his son went out to get the mail, I told him to have his Dad look on his front porch. He couldn't figure out what I was talking about, so I pointed to the hanging baskets. He then came over & gave me a huge hug! A few minutes later, his father came over to thank me & hugged me as well. He said that he hasn't even had time to think about getting baskets yet & I told him that I just wanted to do a little something to brighten his day......and it worked :)

On Saturday, Jim & I bowled in the Frankenmuth Annual Mixed Doubles Tournament at Bay Lanes in Bay City. Usually, we don't bowl very good when we're in tournaments together, but this time, we did :) I bowled games of 184, 201 & 174 for a 559 series & Jim shot games of 200, 214 & 196 for a 610 series. With our handicap, our total is 1433, which put us in first place by 4 pins. Since there's still 2 months left of this tournament, our first place may not hold, but we should still cash. Keep your fingers crossed for us :)

Sophia posted a challenge on 2 Peas this morning about what's on our summer agenda, so I decided to play along:
1. Memorial Day weekend: Jim will be in Texas to bowl in the Nationals Bowling tournament & I'll be going to Pennsylvania for a few days to visit my Mom as she's not doing very good. She had 2 more mini strokes & they also found some aneurysms in her brain :(
2. Jim & I will be going to the Nascar race on Father's Day at MIS.
3. Towards the end of June, Cassie's friend will be spending a week with us & we'll be going to the Nine Inch Nails concert.
4. Cassie's not-so-sweet (haha) 16th birthday is in July, so I'm sure we'll be doing something special for that.
5. In August, Cassie will be spending several weeks with Emma while Jim & I will be taking an east coast road trip, starting in Virginia to visit old friends & working our way up the coast, just stopping wherever we want along the way. Then we'll go to PA to visit Karen & Jimmy's gravesite on the 29th.

That pretty much sums up our summer plans. Great challenge, Sophia :)

Today, Cassie's school dismissed everyone early due to a search from a bomb threat from LAST week! According to the news (depending on which channel you watched) there was a fire last week at a maintenance building & 2 of the students that were suspects had their home searched & apparently, they found some evidence to warrant the search today. And people say that things like this don't happen in small towns......WRONG! It can happen ANYWHERE!

Have a wonderful week,
Benita

Mega Meet & Mother's Day

Last Thursday & Saturday, I went to the Great Lakes Mega Meet & had a WONDERFUL time! On Thursday, Cindy went with me & we spent over 5 hours just to get through the whole thing. I think I'm finally turning Cindy into a scrapbooker :) And now she's hooked on Basic Grey, just like me! Then on Saturday, Jim & I went in the afternoon & only had a couple of hours to shop before it ended, but we still had fun. We then went to The Scrapbook Zone & I found one of the Prima Daisy Racks (pictured above) & since it was the last one they had & I had a 40% off coupon, I couldn't just let them sit there, now could I? :) I'll admit, though that I was a little disappointed that the only flowers that have the cool center to them are the ones inside the cap.....the actual flowers in the bottle don't have the cool centers.....they're just 1 layer & plain. Ah well.....as addicted as I am to Primas, I had to have them! I didn't take any photos of all of my Mega Meet purchases, which is unusual for me, but trust me when I say I spent a LOT of money! I bought some CTMH stamp sets plus a storage case for them & 2 white CTMH ink pads, these really cool, HUGE chipboard alphabets from Rusty Pickle, lots of Bazzill to go with my Basic Grey, 4 packages of the new Basic Grey ribbons (I love those!), 3 packages of the Basic Grey bookplates plus a lot of other little things. I also got to meet some people from 2 Peas.....Sharyn (Torm) & Becky Thompson. Really nice ladies! I had such a great time that I'm ready for next year's Mega Meet already.....bring it on :)

As you know, this past Sunday was Mother's Day. Jim had to work part of the day, but on his way home, he stopped at the Hallmark store & brought me home this Seraphim Angel music box pictured here. He said that even though I bought a lot of scrapbooking items at the Mega Meet, he still wanted to get me something special.....aahhhh :) Yep, he's a keeper! The special thing about this angel is it plays my favorite Christian song.....Amazing Grace. I just love that song! I called my Mom at the nursing home to wish her a Happy Mother's Day & I cried because I wish I could have been there with her! She's not doing very good & it honestly doesn't look like she'll be going back home again :( And if that's the case, then my 3 sisters & I need to get together & start doing something about her house. Not sure how much longer we can just let it sit there empty.

Carrie posted another challenge on The Scrapbook Zone message boards.....we're to list 10 things we do everyday, so here are my answers (in no particular order):

1. Check my email (several times).
2. Check 2 Peas & The Scrapbook Zone message boards & galleries (several times).
3. Take a shower.
4. Eat breakfast.
5. Brush my teeth.
6. Talk to my dh on the phone during his lunch break.
7. Tell my dh & kids that I love them.
8. Work in my scraproom, either scrapping, cleaning, reorganizing or just being on the computer.
9. Let the mutts outside (several times).
10. Wash my hands (several times).

I've been wanting to do some more gardening, but unfortunately, the weather hasn't been cooperating at all! It's been raining here since last Wednesday & although our yard needed it, enough is enough! I guess I was getting spoiled the week before when the temps were in the 70's & it was gorgeous out. Ah well......welcome to Spring in Michigan :)

I'm just glad that I finally got my blog back up & running. Somehow, I lost my template & when I contacted Blogger about it, they couldn't figure out what was wrong, either, so I ended up having to pick a new template. Not sure if I like this one or not yet, but at least it's not making my slide show & links run into my blog entries like the other one was doing. We'll see.....if you notice it changing frequently, it's because I'm playing around with it :)

That's all for now.....have a wonderful week!
Benita

Top 10 Favorite Romantic Movies

Carrie from the Scrapbook Zone MB posted a really cute challenge for us to list our 10 Favorite Romantic Movies, so here are mine:

1. City Of Angels
2. About Last Night
3. An Officer & A Gentleman
4. St. Elmo's Fire
5. Sleepless In Seattle
6. Forrest Gump
7. When A Man Loves A Woman
8. When Harry Met Sally
9. Ghost
10. The Prince Of Tides

Can you tell I like Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan? :)

Just a quick entry because I'm having problems with my blog & hoping that by posting another post it will straighten things out!

Have a great night,
Benita

Sad News & A Challenge

(click on photo to enlarge)

While Jim & I were out doing some gardening yesterday, we just found out that our next-door neighbor's wife passed away back in January. We didn't know our neighbors very good as they were very private people, but hearing about this just made me cry :( He said that she was diagnosed with lung cancer & died exactly 3 months later. She was only 49 years old & never smoked a day in her life! She left behind 2 grown daughters & a 14 year old son who is really having a hard time coping. I just wish there was something I could do......anything. I'm thinking that I might go purchase some hanging baskets for his front porch since she always used to hang baskets up & took so much pride in them. I told him that if he ever needed anything at all that we were just a door away. He was talking about her with such great respect & admiration that you could just tell how much he loved her! It truly brought tears to my eyes!

The photo above is one I took the other day of my Kwanzan Cherry Tree. We planted this tree 2 years ago & this year is really the first year that it's blooming really good. Jim & I now want to purchase some more of them, but the nursery we go to is sold out right now.....just our luck! The guy said that the only time they sell is while they're blooming, but he's going to try to order some more of them.....if he can get them in, we told him that we want at least 3 more, maybe 4......that's how much I love these trees :)

I can't believe that I forgot to post about this in my last entry! This past Wednesday, our 9-Pin No Tap Bowling League started up & I was shocked at how well I bowled! I shot a 718 series with a 276 game :) Yeah, okay, so it was 9-pin no tap, but still......most of my strikes were natural strikes, not 9-pin ones. And it's my first 700 series & highest game ever :) AND I beat Rich, our teammate who averages over 200 on regular leagues! He only shot a 717 series with a 300 game ;) I'm definitely not going to let him live this down anytime soon! LOL Now if I can just maintain my 239 average for 11 more weeks :)

On to the challenge......Bonnie posted this on 2 Peas this morning & here are my answers:

Fave coffee: None.....I don't drink coffee.
Fave tea: Same as above.....don't drink tea.
Fave jam: None.....don't like it.
Fave Peanut Butter: Reeses Creamy.
Fave sandwich: Grilled cheese with bacon.
Fave fast food item: Steak & Shake cheese fries.
Fave appetizer: Applebee's cheese & bacon chips (not sure if that's the right name for them or not).
Fave summertime drink: Water (which I drink everyday) & Applebee's Raspberry Lemonade.
Fave fruit: Watermelon & Strawberries.
Fave vegetable: Baked potatoes.
Fave indulgence: I take it we're still referring to food here? ;) Jeanettes (our bowling partner) strawberry cheesecake......so YUMMY!!!

It's another gorgeous day here in Michigan, so I'm going to do some more gardening & enjoy this weather :)

Have a fabulous Monday,
Benita

Shopping, Bowling & Jeep Update

Tuesday night was our final night of bowling for our one mixed league & boy, am I glad it's over! I was surprised that we came home with $200 per person, though. But I turned around & spent that (and then some) today.....more on that below. Above are the awards that Jim & I won on this league.....his 700 series leather coaster......yippee (said in my best sarcastic voice)! When the ABC & WIBC decided to combine into one & become the USBC, they sure went downhill on their award program! If you bowl in any sanctioned leagues, you'll know what I mean. The patches are for our high averages.....Jim finished with a 204 average & I ended up with a 174 average & we both had the highest averages on the league. First time that has ever happened :) The keychain in the middle is for my 213 game, the pin below that is also for my 213 from the Detroit WBA, then I also got a keychain for Most Improved Average.....I wasn't even counting on getting that award, but I won't complain :) Then Jim got a pin for League High Series with his 715 series. The league itself was okay, but I just hated the drive.....40 minutes one way! Heck, if I'm gonna drive that far, I'll go to The Scrapbook Zone, which is exactly what I did today :)

The Scrapbook Zone in Farmington Hills was having their 4th birthday celebration today & also a HUGE sale! All cardstock was 5 for $1.00.....can't beat that! Rub-ons, clear stamps & stickers were 25% off, so I stocked up. In this photo (click on all pictures to see them larger) are the embellishments that I purchased.....the new Bazzill Wings Flowers (so pretty!), Queen & Co Fab Flowers, Tim Holtz new Distress Ink colors, Heidi Swapp Lemonade Stand ghost alphabets, Gin X alphabet rub-ons, Primas (I'm now up to 102 bottles :), Karen Foster Snap-Stamps (I've been wanting these for a while now), some plum colored frames that I may or may not alter.....they actually match my living room perfectly they way they are & finally my Mini Fasternater, which I got for free for spending $100.00.

Since the clear stamps were all on sale, I decided to buy a couple of sets of the Technique Tuesday stamp sets.....I got Back Rounds, Petal Pushers & Infinite Wisdom, which are the stamps of the month at the Zone. Then I couldn't pass up the rub-ons :) I bought 2 more sets of the American Crafts alphabet rub-ons, some of the new Chatterbox Grafik rub-ons & some other miscellaneous ones along with some Li'l Davis Designs Chipboard embellishments.


Pattern Paper was also 25% off today, so I bought a little bit of that. Probably would have purchased more if I wasn't already overwhelmed with pattern paper as it is. I got some of the new Daisy D's line, K&Company & KI Memories. Luckily, I didn't actually have any of these ones yet.....that's usually what happens to me. I buy paper & then bring it home only to find out that I already have it! Why do I do that???


Then it was on to the cardstock. 72 sheets later & here is what I bought. I just love the new Bazzill with the scallop edges. I wasn't sure what colors I even needed, so as you can tell, I got mainly purple since it's my favorite color. I had so much fun shopping today & getting to finally meet Kelley & Kevin, the owners of the Zone. Truly awesome people! If you've never been to The Scrapbook Zone before, I highly recommend it. It's definitely the BEST scrapbook store in all of Michigan!

Now, an update on the Jeep. What started out as a $6,200 estimate has now gone up to almost $8,900! It will still be several weeks before it's done getting repaired, so we probably won't have it back until the end of May. But I thank God everyday that Jim wasn't hurt! The Jeep is replaceable......he's not!

It's been a long day, so I'm off to bed. Till next time,
Benita