On A New "Journey"

Jim & I have been debating for a long time what to do with our Caliber since our lease was going to be up very soon. We thought about just buying it, but neither of us were really that happy with the car, other than the gas mileage was awesome in it! This week, we made the decision to just trade it in & tonight, we started our new "Journey" :) Dodge Journey, that is.
It's a 2009 & the only extras we added were fog lights, which the dealership had installed for us. Plus our one stipulation was, we wanted this particular color.....Deep Water Blue. When I first saw this color on another car, I immediately fell in love with it. It reminds me of my birthstone....Sapphire. But our dealership didn't have any in stock, so they had to trade with another dealer to get us one in this color.
Here's the inside.....the seats are so comfy & I love the dash when it lights up. It also has some really cool storage compartments in it. We didn't get the 3rd row seat because we'd never use it anyway & we need the space in the back more than we do another row of seats.
I was really surprised with how nice it rides.....so quiet & comfortable! Not at all like the Caliber, which you could hear every little noise & feel every litte (or big, as the case has been around here lately!) bump/pothole/crack. Now the hard part.....figuring out who drives which car, lol. I still love my Charger & always will, but whenever we buy a new car, I like being the one to 'break it in" ;)


Today I surprised myself at the gym & did the cycle/spin class for the first time. The instructor warned me that my butt would be sore the first few times I did it & boy, she wasn't kidding, either! OUCH! But I had so much fun doing it & really worked up a sweat. Now if I can just convince Jim to try it :)

I'm off to bed....have a great weekend!
Benita

Surrounded By The Scent Of Roses

See, I told you I had the absolute best husband in the world :) Here are some pictures of the 25 roses that he gave to me on our 20th 'anniversary' of the day we met. Yep, he's definitely a keeper! And beside, after being together for 20 years, I don't think I could ever love anyone as much as I love him! In fact, I know I couldn't!

Yesterday, we bowled with some friends in an elimination tournament where if you lost 2 games, you were out. We won the 1st game, lost the 2nd, won the 3rd & well, by the time we bowled the 4th game, I think we were all getting a little tired (okay, so maybe it was just me that was tired) & we ended up losing :( I was really disappointed in myself the last game as I felt like I had not only let the team down, but let myself down as well. The lanes had really dried out & my ball just wasn't doing anything! I wasn't the only one struggling, though....one of the guys on our team was way under his average, too. It just sucked because I was really hoping to do good! Ah well, what can you do?

Today we went to the mall & as we were leaving, we saw this guy & his 2 kids (they were probably only around 2 or 3 years old) pounding & banging on a truck with their hands that was on display inside the mall & laughing while they were doing it! I couldn't believe it! I was looking around for a security guard, but didn't see one, so I asked a guy in one of the stores if he could call security. While I was down the hallway a little, waiting to see if the security guard was going to show up, the guy proceeded to go into the back of the truck & was then banging on the bed of the truck while the kids were running all around it, pounding it some more. While I was standing there, a security guard came out of an exit door that I was near & I told him what was going on. He went up to them just as another security guard was showing up. I then turned around & we left the mall. What the heck is wrong with people??? Do they not respect other people's property anymore? I mean, come on! This father (at least that's what I figured he was) enticed these kids to do this! And he thought it was funny! Is this really how some people are raising their kids nowadays?? I'm just so disappointed right now that anyone would have their kids do something like that! And it makes me sad just thinking about it :( What is this society/world coming to.....really?

Okay, vent over.....but ARGH!!! On that note, I think I'll go to bed.

Benita

20 Years

The date: February 18, 1989. 20 years ago today, I met the man of my dreams.....my soulmate.....my life partner.....my best friend! 20 years! Dang, time flies when you're having fun :)
Don't laugh at the layout.....afterall, it is over 4 years old (gotta love those Chatterbox papers, lol). This is a 2-page layout in an album that I made for Jim for his 40th birthday present. This page reflects back on the night we met. And the picture of him is from that night, sleeping on my friend's pull-out sofa bed. He didn't even know that we took the picture until the next day ;)

Sometimes, it seems hard to believe that we've been together for 20 years. It hasn't always been easy, by any means, but somehow, we've survived. We've aged gracefully together. We've seen each other at our best......and worst! I think it's called love :) And I wouldn't change a thing!

Benita <--very happy for 20 years :)

Not-So-Happy Valentine's Day

This morning, Jim & I got up, went to the gym, worked out on the treadmill for 45 minutes & then they were having a free health screening for Valentine's Day, so we decided to stay & get that done. I'm proud to report that my blood pressure is down (even after working out) to 113/72, my blood sugar is 109 & my cholesterol is 154. Jim's BP was 121/69, his blood sugar was 104 & cholesterol is 161. We're both hoping that this means that we'll be able to get off of our BP meds when we see our doctor in the next month or two & Jim is also hoping he can get off his cholesterol medication.

After we came home & took showers, we went to look at a house for rent & while we were there, I received a phone call from my sister Donna telling me that my Aunt Betty (my Dads sister) passed away today :*( So as soon as I got home, I called my Dad to see how he was holding up. He's not doing too good.....it just happened pretty suddenly & unexpectedly & he said he was planning to go see her today. Please say a prayer for my Dad.....he was always very close to his sisters, just like I was to Karen, so I know how hard this is :(

Last night after I got off work, Jim told me that we were going to our friend's house to play cards. So we get there & he leads me out into their garage where their pro shop is & surprises me with this.....a new bowling ball for Valentine's Day! What a sweetie! It'll last so much longer than flowers, too. I haven't purchased a new bowling ball in close to 3 years & mine are pretty much dead right now, so I can't wait to try this one out! It's called the Zone Wild Ride & I love the sapphire blue color so much, that I made this my picture for the day :)

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day,

Benita

Friday The 13th

40/365 - Monday: We drove out to the mall & sadly, saw that the Hallmark store was going out of business :( I picked up this older Ty Beanie Baby from 2008 for my Mom for $1.20, hoping that I didn't already buy it for her. I tend to do that quite often.....buy things & then forget I bought it & buy it again!
41/365 - Tuesday: After my PT appointment, I decided to head to JoAnn's just to look around. I usually don't buy paper slabs anymore, but when I saw this new one by DCWV, I knew it would be the perfect match for the wedding album I'm doing for Jim of his parents! The blacks & creams will go perfectly with the black & white photos! And the flocking on some of the papers is so cool!
42/365 - Wednesday: My dd bought me this beautiful rainbow angel for Christmas. The mirror came with it & says "I Love You, Mom"! Yep, I cried when I opened it! She knows I love angels & rainbows, so this gift was perfect!
43/365 - Thursday: About 10 months ago (or more), I found these frames on clearance at Michaels for $2.00 & $3.00 each, but never could decide what I wanted to put in them. Then I purchased this sisters angel portrait last summer at an art show, having no clue where to hang it. I remembered the frames & thought it would be perfect to hang a picture of my sister next to it in the other frame. So here they are....hanging right above my computer desk in my scraproom, where I spend most of my time :)

44/365 - Friday: Mother Nature just loves to tease us! With the warm temps we had earlier in the week, 98% of our snow melted....you can even see our deck, which just last week, had over a foot & a half of snow on it! Now this morning, I wake up the the reality that Winter still isn't over! Just some light flurries right now, but we're supposed to get more snow tomorrow :( Ah well....Spring will be here one day......won't it??? Please say yes!

That's all for now. I'm gonna go do some scrapbooking & then I have to work this afternoon. Hope you have a wonderful weekend & Happy Valentine's Day!

Benita

More 365 Pictures

34/365 - Tuesday: Just a picture of a bunch of pine cones in our Blue Spruce tree out back.
35/365 - Wednesday: Gorgeous blue sky behind a tree just waiting for Spring to arrive.
36/365 - Thursday: I went shopping tonight & bought 2 pairs of Lee jeans in a size 16!!! WOOHOO!!!
37/365 - Friday: A gorgeous Cardinal in our tree. The picture 'pixelated' when I resized it to zoom in on the bird more :(
38/365 - Saturday: WOOHOO!!! 53 degrees! Come on Spring!!!
39/365 - Sunday: See that green stuff around the tree??? That's GRASS! Something we haven't seen in quite a long time!

On Saturday, I drove out to The Scrapbook Zone to pick up a few papers for the album I'm going to be doing for Jim of his parent's wedding. While I was there, I heard someone call out my name.....I turned around & didn't recognize this person at first (sorry about that :) until she introduced herself to me. It was Darcey :) OMGosh, it was so cool to finally meet you! And of all places, the Zone. We both live quite a distance away from the Zone, so this was truly a chance meeting. I always figured I'd run into you at Archivers or Lakeside Mall. The funny thing is, we talked like we had known each other for years :) Thank-you for the invite to the crop.....if I can get someone to take my shift at work that day, I am going to come. I really do need to start going to crops instead of always scrapping at home :)

I want to say Thank-you for all the nice comments & compliments regarding my layouts in my last blog post. That really meant so much to me to read all your kind comments! My blogging friends are the best :)

That's all for tonight.....it's been a long weekend & I'm pooped, so I'm going to head to bed.

Night all,

Benita

Rejection Hurts!

Yep, rejection sucks! It hurts! No doubt about it! This past week, I've been rejected twice! First one was for a job that I applied for. I had an interview last Friday & they said they would make their decision on Monday as the person they hired would need to start work on Tuesday. Well, Monday came & went & no phone call :( Granted, I had debated whether or not I really wanted the job in the first place. It would have been full-time, so the money would have been good, but the hours would have been long.....from 9:00 a.m. till 8:00 p.m. two days a week & then till 6:00 p.m. the other three days. It would have involved a long drive (40-45 minutes one way) & I would have had to give up bowling on Wednesdays (which with the way this bowling alley has been lately, that probably would have been the easiest part to do!). I said lots of prayers, asking for guidance & if the job was meant to be. Apparently, it wasn't.

Then I was rejected again this week.....this time, from a Design Team application that I submitted. I thought my entries were pretty dang good (see above picture & picture below for 2 of my entries), but obviously, it wasn't what they were looking for. I guess my style wasn't 'diverse' enough for them. And yeah, it hurts! Rejection sucks! And I'll admit, I cried when I found out that I didn't make it.

But I woke up this morning & thought to myself "self, you cannot let this get you down anymore!" Then, my wonderful husband that he is, sends me a wonderful email telling me about how proud he is of me & how much I mean to him & that he knows I'm hurting right now, but he's there for me, no matter what! And last night, he said that he loves my layouts & that's all that should matter. And yep, he's right! I definitely have the BEST husband in the world!!!

So today is a new day. The sun is out (although it's -3 degrees outside right now!), Spring will arrive (one day!) & I have a lot to be thankful for! So yes, while rejection sucks, it does make you stronger. It makes you a better person. You learn from it. You overcome it & move on. Which is exactly what I'm doing today.....moving on & being proud of who I am & happy with where I am in my life right now! A wife, a mother, a scrapbooker, a bowler & proud of it!

(in this layout, I used 3 different Hambly transparencies.....I cut out the birds & owl from one & used Stickles on them, then I stickled the swirls on the other transparency & put the picture in between that one & the graph background one. This picture is of my belated sister Karen & a real owl. None of us are sure where or when she had this picture taken, but we all absolutely love it! I did the title "Owl Collector" as that was the online name she used to have.)

Benita

February 4th

Today, this wonderful man that I proudly call my Dad turns 81 years young! My Dad & I didn't always see eye-to-eye, but we've grown so much closer over the past 4 years. We talk on the phone now & send each other snail mail (since he still doesn't have internet!). And we both like the same Nascar driver :) (note: the above picture is over 4 years old & before I lost any weight!)
Today would have been Jims' Dads birthday as well. He passed away about 2 years ago & Jim didn't even find out about it until 6 months afterwards. Jim & his Dad didn't have a good relationship at all! Very long story, but they parted ways before Jim & I met. I tried, once, to get them back together again, but it just wasn't meant to be. Sadly, today is also the anniversary of the death of Jims' Mom :( She passed away before I met Jim, which truly breaks my heart as I would have loved to meet her & gotten to know her! We don't have many pictures of either his Mom or Dad, but his sister did let me make copies of their wedding photos (shown above). I actually had to take pictures of the photos because the album is so old that I didn't want to risk damaging it by trying to remove the photos to scan them. Now I want to make a scrapbook album with them for Jim......just trying to decide what papers will go good with them as they're all black & white pictures. Any ideas?

I'm pretty happy with the way I bowled tonight.....for the most part. My first game, I had 7 strikes in a row from the 4th frame to the 10th frame for a 254 game :) But then my second game, I fell apart & only had a 154 game.....100 pins less than the first one....how the heck did that happen??? I ended with a 171 game for a 579 series. Now if I could just bowl that good tomorrow! I've been really struggling on Wednesdays for some reason. Ever since they got new owners, the shot has been awful! Even Jim hates bowling there anymore!

That's all,

Benita

The Money Winning Catch

32/365 - Sunday: I'll admit, I didn't watch much of the Super Bowl this year.....instead, I was cleaning my scraproom & putting the stuff away from the yard sale on Saturday. But when I heard Jim yelling in the living room, I figured something exciting was going on. And I was right. He said that the Steelers needed to score for him to win some money. This catch, right here, is what gave the Steelers their 6th history making Super Bowl win! I'm so happy for the Steelers, being that they're my hometown boys :)
And this picture, above, is what won us this:
33/365 - Monday: $240 baby!!! And what's cool.....he had the same numbers in the same quarter that he won with last year :)
Last Thursday, I made an appointment with a different stylist to get a haircut on Monday since my regular stylist was out of town. All weekend, I kept debating & debating if I really wanted to get my hair cut. But the ends were just so dry & frizzy, I couldn't take it anymore. She must have cut 4-5" off the length & I felt like I lost 10 pounds! LOL As she was blow-drying it, she used a big round brush & straightened out all the curl from my left-over perm. At first, I wasn't sure if I liked it.....hey, it was a BIG change for me after having curly hair for over 2 years! But it felt so good to flip my head around & have my hair move freely :) The nice thing is, if I want it curly, I still have quite a bit of perm left, except for on the top. I'll probably wear it curly most of the time since it does still frizz a little from brushing & blow-drying it. But it's nice to know that I can wear it either way now.

That's all for now.....off to get ready for my PT appointment.

Have a great day,
Benita

Catching Up

28/365 - Wednesday: I was looking out my scraproom window & saw about 6 or 7 of these big, fat birds in our tree. I think they're doves of some sort, but I've never seen orange bellies on them before? And if you look closely, you can see the beginnings of buds forming on the tree :) Does that mean that Spring is just around the corner? I sure hope so because I'm really tired of this freezing cold weather we're having!

29/365 - Thursday: I took this picture of the sun peeking out from the clouds.
30/365 - Friday: After I got off work on Friday, I drove out to Scrappy Chic to drop something off & do a little bit of shopping while I was there. I just love the font on their sign out front :)
31/365 - Saturday: I did the garage sale at Scrapbook Emporium & I'm proud to say, I did pretty dang good :) The place was packed pretty much the entire time, which I wasn't really expecting with the way the economy is. But it didn't stop scrapbookers from spending! I sold all the paper that I took as well as a lot of embellishments, some Primas & a bunch of other stuff. Gina & I had a blast, too! We met at the last garage sale that we did there & for this one, we got our tables together so we could chit-chat. Hey Gina, if you're reading this, I should have had Jim take a picture of you & I together for my blog :)
I received 2 blog awards.....the first one is from Linda....thanks girl :) I'm going to pass this award onto 5 blogs that I read all the time:

1. Lorrie
2. Darcey
3. Janet
4. Cindi
5. Aimeslee

The next award was given to me by Sarah.....thanks, Sarah :) I've received this once before, but it never hurts to get awarded twice, right? :)

The Fabulous Award Rules:
You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.
You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

I think I'll pass this one on to the same people that I passed the first one on to. Enjoy your awards :)

My 5 Fabulous Addictions:

1. Scrapbooking, of course!

2. Exercising.

3. Bowling.

4. Nascar.

5. Pizza ;)

Hey, my addictions aren't too bad, right? There's a lot worse things out there to be addicted to!

Hope you have a wonderful day. Today is Super Bowl Sunday, so Jim will be glued in front of the tv & I will either be watching it with him or scrapbooking.

GO STEELERS!!!

Benita