Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Vacation.......Finally!!!
We just returned from a week at our condo down at Myrtle Beach, and it was just glorious to finally get away and not have to think about the daily grind! We did our normal trip to the aquarium, the amusement park, movies, and my favorite....the beach. I'm discovering a new love for the beach that I didn't think I would have. I love listening to the sound of the waves crashing to the shore. The wind, sand and water just make such a relaxing place to sit and think, and dream. I even found some time to do some scrapping....mostly blank layouts that I will add photos to later. All in all, we had a wonderful time, and I can't wait for out next vacation at the beach!
Sunday, July 09, 2006
The Flood of 2006
The days since the rain began have just flowed one into the next. My home was spared, but so many people have been affected by the flood waters. People have lost entire homes, some lost cherished items, and a few lost their lives. This has been such a devestating event for this little city. But it just wasn't our little city. Area all over central New York have been devestated with the flood of 2006. They are saying that this will be one for the record books. Roads are washed out and we have been under a state of emergency for several days and some places have even been washed away altogehter. It's all anyone is talking about. The river kept rising even after the rain, and parts of the city had to be shut down. Here are photos of my road at the start of everything and the playground once the water rose.
There are sections of major highways, and country roads completely washed away. The plant were Darryl works was flooded, so he spent most of his time there getting things secured and getting the clean-up underway. Families all over the city are taking stock of what they could save and have begun piling debris out on the curb for removal. It's so sad seeing families who have lost so much. The photos on the news and in the papers are just unbelievable, and it's not over for a lot of folks. The cleanup and restoration is now beginning, and in some places it will take a long time before things get back to normal.
There are sections of major highways, and country roads completely washed away. The plant were Darryl works was flooded, so he spent most of his time there getting things secured and getting the clean-up underway. Families all over the city are taking stock of what they could save and have begun piling debris out on the curb for removal. It's so sad seeing families who have lost so much. The photos on the news and in the papers are just unbelievable, and it's not over for a lot of folks. The cleanup and restoration is now beginning, and in some places it will take a long time before things get back to normal.
Peace like a River...
Life here has been crazy! Stuff just happens and I get so caught up in it all. Time slips by and I wonder what just happened!
I had my second carpal tunnel surgery at the end of June, so my parents came to help out while I recover. The boys celebrated their last day of school and summer vacation began.
David had another birthday celebration with his friends from school at a party at Mcdonalds, and all had a great time!
Darryl and I had a special night out to celebrate our 13th anniversary. The food was great, the atmosphere was great, just a great night out without the kids.
Then it began....
It began to rain the day we celebrated our anniversary....and it didn't stop. It continued to rain, and didn't let up. I had a feeling that something was about to happen, but I never would have guessed how it would all end up.
I began to notice water running through the back yard. It was running a bit harder than it ever has. The nervousness began to set in and I went into watch mode. The area where our new home is located used to be a swampy area, so I wondered if we were headed for trouble. As the trickle of water in my yard began to increase to a fast moving brook, it began to collect further down into my neighbors' yards. I went down to the basement to double check for water and found an outdoor deep window well filled with collected water, and inches away from entering my house through the window. Panic set in, and life changed in that instant for me and many of my neighbors.
We grabbed umbrellas, and buckets, and anything we could find to cover the window well. We managed to bail out the water and keep most of what was falling out of the sky from filling it up again, but I couldn't be sure it would hold with the torrential rain that was now drenching us. After dealing with that little mishap, I began to hear the rush of water in the creek behind the houses across the street, and noticed that it was coming out of its banks. As some point the rain let up and the sun came out, so I ventured out to see what was going on. Several of my neighbors did the same, so we were all shocked and amazed at what was happening right before our eyes. Water began flowing down our road and begain to rise higher. The creek that usually runs across the street, was now flowing in the street and flooding out the lower streets down from our subdivision. The school playground across the field was taking on water and streets down below us were filling up with water. The city was flooding, and there wasn't much we could do but watch and wait.
I had my second carpal tunnel surgery at the end of June, so my parents came to help out while I recover. The boys celebrated their last day of school and summer vacation began.
David had another birthday celebration with his friends from school at a party at Mcdonalds, and all had a great time!
Darryl and I had a special night out to celebrate our 13th anniversary. The food was great, the atmosphere was great, just a great night out without the kids.
Then it began....
It began to rain the day we celebrated our anniversary....and it didn't stop. It continued to rain, and didn't let up. I had a feeling that something was about to happen, but I never would have guessed how it would all end up.
I began to notice water running through the back yard. It was running a bit harder than it ever has. The nervousness began to set in and I went into watch mode. The area where our new home is located used to be a swampy area, so I wondered if we were headed for trouble. As the trickle of water in my yard began to increase to a fast moving brook, it began to collect further down into my neighbors' yards. I went down to the basement to double check for water and found an outdoor deep window well filled with collected water, and inches away from entering my house through the window. Panic set in, and life changed in that instant for me and many of my neighbors.
We grabbed umbrellas, and buckets, and anything we could find to cover the window well. We managed to bail out the water and keep most of what was falling out of the sky from filling it up again, but I couldn't be sure it would hold with the torrential rain that was now drenching us. After dealing with that little mishap, I began to hear the rush of water in the creek behind the houses across the street, and noticed that it was coming out of its banks. As some point the rain let up and the sun came out, so I ventured out to see what was going on. Several of my neighbors did the same, so we were all shocked and amazed at what was happening right before our eyes. Water began flowing down our road and begain to rise higher. The creek that usually runs across the street, was now flowing in the street and flooding out the lower streets down from our subdivision. The school playground across the field was taking on water and streets down below us were filling up with water. The city was flooding, and there wasn't much we could do but watch and wait.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Happy Birthday David!
Yesterday was my middle baby's 6th birthday! Somehow it doesn't seem like it has been 6 years since he was born. He took munchkins from Dunkin Donuts to celebrate with his class. Although he could have managed to carry them in on his own, he asked me to walk him in to class, so I did. As I was about to leave he gave me his morning goodbye kiss, but today instead of doing it in the car, he did it in front of the other students! I thought that was pretty cool! I gave his teacher invititations to his birthday party, which we will do on the 24th. When I picked the boys up at school, David came out wearing his bright yellow paper birthday crown. His present was waiting for him when he got home, and of course he was pretty pleased. Later, we did the cake and icecream and sang Happy Birthday. Overall he seemed to enjoy celebrating his special day! Even Daniel helped make the day special by not fighting with David, and making a special effort to be kind and loving. Although all that changed this morning when it was time to get up and ready for school. The battle lines have been drawn, and it's back to the normal daily chaos.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Altered Stuff!
Here's a little project I just completed. My first altered clip board! I had problems with the paper wrinkling under the Mod Podge, but it's not too noticeable. I used papers from the Rob & Bob Studio line, misc ribbon, stamps by Rhonna Farrer, diecut letters from my new Cricut, and a flower from Walmart. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.
This was a little frame I found at Walmart, and I immediately thought this could be really cute if I added a little something to it, and this is how it turned out. I used some misc cardstock and drybrushed it with a little white paint. Then I added a few flowers, a tag, and some rub-ons and ribbons, and there you have it!
Gonna get back to it!
I can't believe that I haven't made a single post since this year started. Well then, I guess I better get it going again! I've decided to use my blog to showcase what I'm doing with my scrapping along with keeping the family journal here too. It's been an interesting 6 months already. I had carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand and will get the left one done next week. So my scrapping will be limited till things start to feel better. I've been taking some of the classes over at BigPictureScrapbooking.com, and I am loving the opportunity to do the classes at home on my own time and at my own pace. I'm currently taking Stacy Julian's Library of Memories class and right now I am working on sorting and organizing my stash of photos. I'm tearing apart my magnetic albums and placing those photos into an archival photo album. I started puling my digi pics from my old computer and placing them on my laptop. They are all organized according to date, so not much organizing there. All the loose photos are already sorted chronologically and are in archival boxes, so not much to do there either.
What else has happened? We bought a vacation home in Myrtle Beach and are renting it when we're not using it. I'll put a link to it on the sidebar so check it out if you're interested.
We're in the last couple of weeks before school lets out, so the kids are pretty anxious for it to all be done and over with.
I'm busy trying to catch up on some of the interior decorating at our house. It's been almost a year that we've been in this house and we have finally finished all of the punch list with the builder. So now, I can finish accessorizing my rooms!
I've been trying to jumpstart my creativity again. My scrapspace had a makeover, and I am almost done setting it up, so the pics will be up soon! I've been spending more time chatting with more of my cyber friends on some pretty interesting message boards. I mostly hang out at DiversityDesigns.net, ScrapsAhoy.com. Scrapbook.com, and TwoPeasInABucket.com. I haven't done many challenges lately, but that's about to change. I also intend to step up my game and submit more to the various scrap mags. I'm ready to finally step back in and get inspired and create again. The fruits of my labor will be showcased here and maybe a couple other spots, so I'll try to keep things going and get back to it!
What else has happened? We bought a vacation home in Myrtle Beach and are renting it when we're not using it. I'll put a link to it on the sidebar so check it out if you're interested.
We're in the last couple of weeks before school lets out, so the kids are pretty anxious for it to all be done and over with.
I'm busy trying to catch up on some of the interior decorating at our house. It's been almost a year that we've been in this house and we have finally finished all of the punch list with the builder. So now, I can finish accessorizing my rooms!
I've been trying to jumpstart my creativity again. My scrapspace had a makeover, and I am almost done setting it up, so the pics will be up soon! I've been spending more time chatting with more of my cyber friends on some pretty interesting message boards. I mostly hang out at DiversityDesigns.net, ScrapsAhoy.com. Scrapbook.com, and TwoPeasInABucket.com. I haven't done many challenges lately, but that's about to change. I also intend to step up my game and submit more to the various scrap mags. I'm ready to finally step back in and get inspired and create again. The fruits of my labor will be showcased here and maybe a couple other spots, so I'll try to keep things going and get back to it!
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