Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Does he really NEED it?

He's obviously excited about it...
It's in a huge box and Rollei's interested too...

A new photo printer! Yay for him! It can print up to 17 inches wide. Just what the photography business needs. Right?

And now on to color choices:
I am leaning toward the one on the far left. Todd likes the one or the far right. The bottom middle one is too dark. The middle one is too light. The top middle one is a mix of the lower 2. The block on the right side of the picture is also the mixed color. I know each monitor is different, so it's hard to tell the colors unless you see them in person.


Friday, November 14, 2008

New Car! Well, new to me!

We bought me a new (to me) car. Yes, that means a new car payment right after we just finished paying off Todd's car. But with a plan, we will have this one paid off quickly!! I'm finally excited about it. It's pretty. Silver. Bigger. Comfortable. Mercury Mountaineer.


I like it.

Monday, September 8, 2008

So Much to Say

So much has been going on around here since my last post. I'll try to keep things brief.

1. Grandma D., after being diagnosed with aggressive lung cancer (never smoked) and a several-week stay in ICU, died Friday, August 15. I can't even begin to describe how special a person she always has been to her whole family and many friends. I have many fond memories from distant past to recent that will always be a treasure. Most recently, this summer before she was very sick, I had the chance to stay with her on 2 separate occasions. For one, Todd was out of town, I went to pick blueberries with some school friends, then decided to load up Rollei and head to Grandma's house to make blueberry muffins and stay the night. We had a really special time together, just the 2 (well, 3 if you include Rollei) of us. For the first time, she got out her book of poems and shared those with me. Today, at school, I read the book "Love You Forever" to my kids. I have never had a problem reading this book before, but, as it talks about rocking a child that grows up, and in turn the child rocks the parent when she becomes old and sick, I couldn't make it through the end of the story. I had to trade classes with another Kinder teacher so she could finish it for me. Grandma loved to rock. She has many rocking chairs in her house. Before she died, she told me I could have one of the chairs that she rocked her babies in whenever I wanted to take it to my house. I took it after she passed and have it in my living room. I love sitting in that chair. It fits me and always makes me think of her. This is a picture of that rocking chair in my living room.

2. School started!! My class this year has been great already! I have never had a group that, even at the end of the year, can work in centers so quietly, clean up so neatly, walk in line with such good manners, and listen in lessons so well. (Although some classes have come very close! ) We have fun, but then when it's time to be serious, they are. I'm really excited about how things are going to far, and I hope they keep up the good work. I am so proud of all my classes (past & present)... they each have their own makeup and personalities. It's fun to be a part of the kids little lives. And I just melt with those big, tight hugs at the end of the day. About hugs: A funny story... One of my little girls, on Friday of the first week, reminded me many times throughout the day that I need to give her an extra tight hug at the end of the day because she was going camping and I would miss her. I did give her a big hug. How sweet is that? :-)



3. Rollei got a dog door! I know, "big whoop", but for us, it is! We can finally leave him out of his kennel if we are gone for several hours in the evenings and not have to worry about him being locked up too long. He still stays in his kennel during the day. It's what he's used to and likes. He goes to his kennel without being told as part of his morning routine. Anyway, life is a little easier for us, and Rollei is a little more free. Good for both.

4. Todd's Mom, Sister, niece, and nephew got to come for a visit a few weeks back. They weren't able to stay long, but we had a good time just hanging out. Also, about Todd, his photography business has been getting busier. His number of HS Seniors increases each year. He really likes doing the photography... school is another story this year, but he's adjusting and will do well, as always.




5. The Office starts back on Sept. 25, 8:00, NBC. I'm beyond excited. I can't wait to see an episode where I don't know what happens next. I bought the Season 4 DVD on the release day, Tuesday last week. I even took a special trip to Target after school to get it! I would really like to have a premier party, but we don't have much seating in our living room. Would that hold anyone back from coming? I can bring in chairs. Whatcha think?



6. I finally got to visit Nikki in Tennessee this summer. Took the trip with my dad. We had the best of times! She was about 8 months pregnant when I visited, but now she and her husband have welcomed a little girl, Julianne into their nest. Congratulations!! And I'm anxious for pictures!
Traveling with Dad...And his incredible sense of style...


7. Todd's Birthday! He got some really cool presents, but I don't think he enjoyed any that I gave him as much as the handmade birthday cards from my nieces and Chick-o-sticks!



8. Oh, and we went to an Astro's game, too. Not the greatest picture of us... Oh well.

I guess I'll stop here. Sorry everything is out of order, but that is the norm for me. I probably left a lot of things out, but will catch up next time. I hope the beginning of the school year has been good for all of you.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

*Bonus* Free movie Wednesday

Today's code:
Y72LR2
Monday codes are still found on the sidebar. I don't know if Wednesday will become a regular thing or not yet.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

PAID



I am so glad to announce that I just wrote a check to pay off Todd's car! We have been working really hard and strictly budgeting to pay extra on it each month. We paid it off 35 months early!! Todd is off to buy new tires this morning. We now own 2 cars free-and-clear! Yay! Next up: paying off the small home loan that we took out for our floors and stuff. Hopefully, that should only take about 4 months.


And the other car that has been paid for: My Tracker in Aug. 2007.
Thank you, Dave Ramsey!!!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Here's the deal...

I like the idea of being set to private, but after some more consideration, I have decided to allow all viewers again. Here's why if you're interested in my reasoning...
  • I don't like that every page that is set to private must be logged into individually. That's a real pain.
  • Some of my readers were having difficulty creating an account and signing in to view my page.
  • I don't really post any revealing pictures of me, my family, or my students. Although, I will be considering weather or not I will post any student pictures at all.

I used to be opposed to MySpace, but have recently found out that it has some advantages to Blogspot. For one, no matter how many of your friends are set to private, you only have to log in once to view your friends pages. I could go on, but the point is, I have reset this page to public viewing... and I have a MySpace page now, too. If you are so inclined, you could go visit it. Yes, you have to have a MySpace account. If/when you go to my page, you will find that it is set to private. You have to be my "friend" to view the page. Click "Add To Friends". It will send me a message, and when I accept you, then you can view my page.

www (dot) myspace (dot) com/MyNatalieSpace

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Paint the House: Exterior

Here's Todd getting his new sprayer ready to work. Todd's the official painter this time.
My job was to roll out of bed... and tape. (This has to be the first picture ever taken of me as an adult without make-up on!)
And tape, I did. Those doors took for-ever! Todd didn't like waiting, so as you can see, he went around me. Notice the gutters? We had power washed and bleached them, and they were still black with stains.
Climb up. Spray. Climb down. Move ladder. Repeat.
Tape.
We finished the whole house in just one day. Todd rocked with that spray gun. Todd got me this docking station for my MP3 player for our anniversary. It was nice to have some music to work to. Since my player is not an "I Pod" (It's a Sansa), we lovingly call it my "Pseudo Pod"
BEFORE:
AFTER: (Excuse the grill.)
Our work on this project is still not done. I still have to paint the down spouts. Todd needs to mount the new house numbers.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Diaper Cake for Jana Kay

I finished this a few weeks ago, but couldn't post pictures until after the shower.

Monday, June 23, 2008

FREE Movie Monday & Rollei News


Today's Free Movie code is:


44KBV9


I know Rollei news is not very exciting to all readers, but here it is....
Rollei was bitten by a copperhead again last night. Yes, this makes the 3rd time in 3 years. Could be more, though. We had to rush him to the emergency vet and spent too much $$ on shots. Hopefully, this will not happen again any time soon.
Here is a before & after:
(Sorry the second one is blurry.)

Monday, June 16, 2008

FREE Redbox Rental


Every Monday, Redbox has a free rental code.


Today's code is:

S8U5N2


This code is good for one free movie and you can use it until midnight tonight.


~If you want to rent more than one movie for free, bring more than one credit/debit card. You can use the same promotional code, you just need different cards to charge it to. The charge will be zero as long as you return your movie on time the next day.


~When entering in your free movie code, you need to enter it on the FIRST screen before picking the movie. Click the small "Rent with Promo" box on the bottom left of the screen. Enter in the above code and then make your movie selection.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Wedding Weekend

Lots of Rehearsal & Wedding Pictures at Random


Steven & Grandma D.

Jim's Mom & Dad
Grandma D. & Jim's Dad
Jim watching Annie walk to him.

Jim & Annie
Beautiful gown!
Mom & Steven
Some of my family...
Good advice from his dad, I'm sure.
Jim's mom watching...

I felt like I was pretty annoying with my camera all weekend. And even so, I still didn't get but the one of Jim & Annie together!

This wedding was just lovely. Everything was so beautiful and meaningful to the new couple.
Everyone had a great time!!

CONGRATULATIONS JIM & ANNIE