From Spider Webs to Cake

I took last Friday off to have a long weekend before all hell breaks loose at work. There will be a couple people missing, one on a medical leave and one that quit and is not going to be replaced very quickly, so things at work are going to be stressful. I figured I would take a three-day weekend, some calm before the storm so to speak!

Anyway, the previous weekend we had purchased a new washing machine. The corner in the basement where the washer and dryer sit was pretty dirty. I don't think it had been cleaned out since we moved in there almost 9 1/2 years ago. The new washer was being delivered on Saturday, so I wanted to clean that corner up, take the dryer apart and clean it out and just get it ready for the new washer. So that's what I spent part of my day off doing! Ugh! Vacuuming all those spider webs and egg sacs and dead bugs was just gross! Serves me right for neglecting it for so long!

I also bought a new little cart to go between the washer and dryer. I had to put it together, and this is how the screws came:



All stuck in a little square of Styrofoam!

So here is my new washer and the new cart, all cozy in the cleaned up corner! The washer is a high-efficiency top loader. Works like a front loader but a lot less expensive!



Wednesday is my mother-in-laws birthday. She is 91 years old. Sunday we all went to the nursing home to help her celebrate. They had a delicious-looking cake and I didn't eat a bite of it. Everyone else was enjoyng cake and ice cream, I was eating popcorn!

I can't wait for Lent to be over!

200th Post

This is a special post because it's number 200!

I can't believe that I actually found enough to write about to generate 200 posts!

I started back in November, 2007.

In my very first post I introduced my son's dog, Lou.

I taught you How to make it rain.

And how to make an awesome peanut butter pie.

And you got to meet all six of our cats!

You helped me remember my Mom on her birthday.

Went with me on some great vacations.

And stuck with me during a couple home renovations.

It's been a blast doing this blog and I have enjoyed every minute of it, and all of the wonderful people that I have met online because of it. I only wish that I had more time and knowledge to devote to it!

Anyway, to celebrate my 200th post I am giving away these (sort of) nifty bookmarks, hand made by yours truly!




Just leave me a comment if you want one. I have five of them to give away.

Thanks for being my friends and I look forward to posting the next 200!

Brenda Photo Challenge--The Eyes Have It

A big thanks to Brenda of Whats Up Down South for hosting this challenge! It was a fun one!

Beanie Baby Eyes.


Curious Eyes.


Smiling eyes.

Wide eyes.

Little Road Trip

Saturday morning Marie and I went to breakfast. After that we went to Penneys, Hobby Lobby, and WalMart. It was nice to get together with her since it had been several weeks since we had a chance. Next week we start walking again. I am so glad the weather is warming up and we can get back to it.

When I got home we packed a little bag and drove up to Mt. Pleasant to have a little overnight getaway. We stayed at the Hampton Inn, which was very nice. They had a pretty neat shower.



It was just a continuation of the floor with a little hump between to keep the water from going all over the bathroom and a two drains. I had never seen a shower like that before. I don't particularly like to shower in hotel bathrooms so I didn't use it, but Rich did. He said it was pretty good. He also thought that the little bottle of lotion that they give you was conditioner and he put it in his hair..but I didn't tell you that OK? :)

There was some kind of basketball tournament going on up there this weekend. Our hotel was filled with kids. We went for a swim in the hotel pool and all I have to say is: Is it really necessary for kids to screech at the top of their lungs when their swimming? Jeez, I know they were excited but gimme a break! We enjoyed our dip in the pool and soak in the hot tub, though.

We also went to the Soaring Eagle Casino up there. It's a beautiful casino with a gorgeous hotel. We actually have stayed there a few times and it's was very nice. We didn't win anything significant but we were able to stay and play for quite a while.

We left pretty early and were home today by 12:30. Here I am playing with the camera on a boring 2 hour drive!



I have already gone to the grocery store, vacuumed my car and done a few loads or laundry. It's really nice out so I plan on taking a walk sometime this evening.

DPS Book Depository Building

This is a picture of the Detr0it Public Schools B00k depository building I took on the way downtown last week. It's not a very good picture, but it's not a very attractive building, either.



Now it's not uncommon to see empty and abandoned buildings in the inner city. They're all over the place. But this particular building to me seems to personify everything that is wrong with the city of Detroit. Greed and mismanagement.

This building was used as a warehouse for the school supplies for the public schools. In 1987 there was a fire and subsequently the DPS abandoned the building. The sad thing was that they left millions of dollers of supplies in the building to rot. Alot of the supplies were damaged by water, but the majorith of them were not damaged and still usable.

One local blogger did a post about what happened and you can see the full story here

It's just so sad.

Tomorrow we are going to Mexican Village to celebrate my dad's 77th birthday. Then on Saturday, Rich and I are going to Mt. Pleasant for a little overnight getaway. We will be celebrating our 32nd wedding anniversary on the 18th.

In just a few more entries and I will have my 200th post.

I am planning a special one and my first giveaway!

Wet Weekend

Had a nice weekend considering it rained almost the whole time! Actually, any time that I am not working is nice, rain or shine! Plus I'm glad it didn't snow all weekend!

Saturday we went to the MGM Grand casino with Tom, Judy, Jackie and Tim. It was Jackie's birthday. Nobody won any significant amount of money but we had fun. Then we went to dinner and they came over to our house for a while. It was nice to spend time with them. We don't do that often enough.

Speaking of the MGM Grand casino, this is their billboard on the way downtown for some promotion they have going on.




There is a lot of controversy going on right now surrounding this billboard. Someone on the city council wants it taken down because it looks "evil"! If you click on the picture and enlarge it you get the full effect!

I think it's pretty cool looking myself!

The Brenda Photo Challenge-Flip That Photo

A big thanks to Cindra of Knits & Pics & Favorite Things for hosting this challenge! I just did a simple edit so it wasn't too intimidating going out of my comfort zone!

Rich took this picture the other morning when the rising sun was a big ball of orange in the sky.



I edited this picture using Picnik. All I did was up the contrast but I like the effect.

Happy March!

It's March finally! Spring is officially here in 3 weeks.

Daylight Saving time starts next weekend.

Winter is finally ending! Can't wait for warm sunny days and balmy nights!

Friday night Shauna and Brad went to dinner with us. It was nice to see her. We hadn't seen her since the cruise! She's a busy girl between school and work (and Brad!)

Yesterday I had to go to a Service Excellence class in the morning. It was actually pretty good and the theme was Service Excellence to our coworkers! It was all about how to treat your fellow employees.

Today is a pretty lazy day. I did some cleaning and organizing. Bought a storage tub to put all of the travel information I collect in anticipation of wonderful vacations to come!

Also hung a couple of pictures. Brad gave us this plaque for Christmas. I hung it on the end of the kitchen cupboard (with a 3M Command hook) so you can see it when you first walk into the kitchen. I think it's a good place for it!



We picked this picture up in Cozumel. I thought it looked pretty with our brown bedroom wall.



After all of the snow melted we had these weird spots on our lawn in the backyard. They were not there last fall.



They're not exactly dead grass, more like the grass has been bleached! Very strange.

So far I am doing good with the giving up of sweets for Lent! It's been tough sometimes, especially after a meal, but I'm hanging in there!

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday!