O what have I been up to???

Well, it has been very busy lately. Shirts, shirts, and more shirts. More shirts than I can keep up with. But..... I am finally caught up as of today! I worked everyday last week after I got home from work, on shirts. No kidding. I am eating, thinking, and dreaming shirts. It was so nice to come home today, and not have to "work". I did shirts Monday, and last night, and today, and now I am caught up until my next 3 orders come in, then back to the grind. It is a good thing it is a favorite part of my job, but I must admit I am i little shirted-out at the moment, and the break from then over the next couple days will be much appreciated!!

I did get a small break Friday, and got to go out for lunch with my mom and aunts. It was good food, and a great time. (and very interesting stories) And I did need the break, Thanks Girls!!

Last weekend, we made a trip to Topeka for Scott's birthday lunch, a few supplies for the shop, and then we went to spend the rest of the days at our friends. It is always nice to get away, take a break, and see some of the ones closest to us. BTW, Thanks Anda for the delicious supper!! It was very good and I am going to try and make them in the near future:),

Sunday started with a little anxiety. I hate severe weather. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate a good thunderstorm as long as the threat for severe weather is low. And I mean very low. I am the child that used to run outside at the nearest thunderstorm just to hear my mother tell me I would be struck by lightening if I didn't get my butt back inside. And guess what??? Not only did I only sometimes listening, but now I do the exact thing with my kids only 10 times worse!!! They aren't allowed outside, or even near a window or door, before I am right on their tails, saying the exact same thing. Thanks Mom! To make matters worse, we had to buy new phones for the shop(all the moisture makes them last only about a year) and there were no batteries in the box. The only thing we could do was return them, so away my husband went, which only added to my anxiety. He did return safely just in time to watch it rain. And rain did we get. The official reading at our house was 4.5 in. And I knew it well, hearing the sump pump run every 5 sec. Finally yesterday it had slowed to about once a minute, and I really haven't heard it today. I am not sure who's idea it was to place it directly under out bedroom, but I wish I knew now what I knew then. It is noisy and interrupts my sleep. Not only can I hear it come on but then the gush of water which empties outside our window. Hmmm, I think with all the rain in the forecast, it will be a great idea to invest in some insulation, at least under our room. I am definitely checking into this possibility.

Baseball is right around the corner. B was supposed to have practice tonight, but due to the rain it was cancelled. Both boys will be playing this year, and since it just happens to be my favorite sport I must admit I can't wait. (I could avoid the hustle it brings with it, we are always running, But if that's what it takes, I will deal with it)

I still haven't had the chance to go meet my new nephew, which is at the top of my to do list. I am hoping maybe I can fit it in to my weekend activities.

Other than our normal routine, and me having little me time, B has some strange illness going on. Losing his voice and a little congestion for almost 2 weeks now, I decided to make him an appointment because he doesn't seem to be getting better and I really don't want to wait until the weekend to be like "Oh, I should take him to the doctor", nor do I want to pay an emergency room bill, so to the Dr. he goes. Hopefully it is nothing serious. He hasn't been running a fever though, so I am assuming it is nothing major.

I have got in some late night reading. I am on my 3rd in this series, and even though I miss sleep, I love to read and if that is what it takes, then sleep is what I will cut back on. Plus it helps me relax, especially after working late, I need a little unwind time!!

Meet Mr. Bean

Yes, another boy! I am sooo excited he is finally here and can't wait to meet him!!

Happy Birthday Mr. Bean, and by the time I meet you, you will have a new name:)

Not Your Average School Tee...

Well, yesterday as I was printing shirts (very cool ones I might add) I received a call from another business that happens yo be a good customer of mine, letting me know about some goo die bags that different people were donating to for the kids going to state music on Saturday. I of course jumped on the opportunity to get rid of some shirts cluttering up my shelves in my printing room, and to use my creativeness to making some rockin hot tees! Ok, I also enjoy doing this as a way to get my name out there, which in my way of thinking, is better than your average ad in the local paper. Really, who could disagree? You are displaying what you do, along with quality, and word of mouth just works soooo much better. So, I spent several hours working on the design, I wanted it to be nothing less than amazing. And as most people know my work tends to be a little on the flashy side; I have been told too flashy at times, but what it the point of advertising if you don't get noticed. So I almost scratched the design, thinking it was too flashy and maybe a little too much, and then changed my mind that I wanted a shirt that someone would want to wear because it was trendy and not be worn once and tossed to the back of the closet. So I went for it and I love it. It looks great on all the different colors and not just one or two. In fact I am not a big fan of yellow or even royal, colors you will never see on me, but I think I would actually wear one if it looked like this!!

We haven't done a whole lot lately other than our usual routine. I did get out and play some baseball and basketball with B yesterday. The weather was great and I knew I would be working a lot this week, so I took the opportunity to play with him while I could. His best friend is in Florida til Thursday and Nate is at his moms this week, so he is a little lonely. We are planning on visiting some friends this weekend, and Friday we are getting together with some of the family to celebrate Scott's birthday as well as other family members who had April Birthdays. He just turned the big 38 last week!!!

Here is another picture of some shirts I did yesterday. It was quite a chore to get them done, as we have a pesty neighbor who doesn't work and finds nothing better to do with their time than BUG us. I received 4 calls and Scott said he had at least the same. I understand the could be lonely or just have nothing better to do but my time is precious and especially since I know I have a lot of work to get done and will be putting in much overtime. I don't want to waste it going over the same things so not only will I get my work done, but maybe find a little time for my family and to relax as well. It seems there are never enough hours as it is and I don't have a minute to spare.

Til next time!! Hope you are all out enjoyin this beautiful weather!!

the eye-sore is gone...I am so Lucky!

I love it when I get my way!!! Who wouldn't right? Well, today the eye-sore is finally gone from the driveway! I have been waiting a year and a half to get rid of this, being known as the people with the large pile of wood in the driveway. I couldn't be more thrilled that is is finally gone. So thrilled I had to take a picture!!

This is sort of how it looked before, just last fall, only it was 3 times as long and 3 rows deep. Of course it was convenient, but ugly. And I am all about making things look nice!

The shop is coming along great! I can finally say it is done, but truly it will never be as I will be adding new things and changing them often. It is what I do best. I am a little less stressed than a week ago and things finally seem to be coming along smoothly. Here are a few pics of the inside that I took early today, but did add a hutch and a few more racks after I took the pics.

Today I took B to the dentist. He will be 9 next month and is cavity free. I wish I had been so lucky as a child and the kid rarely remembers to brush. I feel so blessed that he is so lucky! If he could share a little of that with the rest of us. In fact of all the cavities I have, 3/4 of them were probably before the age of 9. Crazy.

Not much else is happening. Nate delivered his papers today. I am glad he had such a nice day to do them. And his grades are looking pretty good this quarter. Baseball will be starting soon and they are both participating this year. It will be a hectic summer and I will be extending my hours during the summer since I won't have to worry about homework, eating early, and all the good things that come with being a mom. I actually prefer the school year as I need the routine as much as they do, but we always make it work and this year will be no different.

Beauty in Destruction

How rare. It isn't often that we can say that something destroyed can be a beautiful thing. But I found this quite interesting. My husband cut down a tree stump that had been here for quite some time. We burn wood for heat so when he split it open, we were amazed at the path of destruction those awful Big Black Ants had made. Neither one of us has ever seen anything like it. And I wasn't getting to close at first, knowing that there was still a nest of ants inside there, and I wasn't taking any chances. It is definitely a work of art, all by a bunch of black ants making their home in the tree stump.

Is there anyboody out there???

What can I say, it has been a very hectic week. Worked all weekend, and then went to a Birthday party on Sunday. Last night I worked until 10:30 and finally to bed by 12:30. Today I had a truck to letter, 4 signs, and preparing lettering for a window I have to letter tomorrow. I think I was finally home a little after five. B helped me with the shirts last night. I really enjoyed spending the time with him. It seems he is always wanting to play with friends or I am busy when he is here. It has been a few weeks since we actually spend quality time together. (I don't consider sitting around watching tv quality time, it's not like he is always gone, just not time spend wisely) We had the best conversation. The kind that just makes your heart melt but at the same time I am wondering to myself what he is thinking! He told me one of his friends moms is HOT!!! She even tans. A boy in his class licked the toilet seat and they all had a talking to by his teacher. Things he wants for his birthday, and way he likes some of his friends better than others. It was quite interesting. Life has seemed somewhat lonely. Not that anyone is here or that I don't have someone to talk to, but more of the case of it is such a whirlwind at the moment that time flies by so fast I have to really stop and think about what I did that day or plan for the next.With the economy in a downhill spiral and truckwashing not a priority, I am determined to make more money and relieve a little stress of paying bills. And even though it takes a lot of my time to keep up with work and get the shop ready, I am determined it will all be worthwhile once things get back to "normal".
On a different not I finished the last book in the Twilight series. I read the last two in less than a week. Looking back now I wonder where did I find time for that and work and kids, but I fit it in somewhere. These have been the best books I have ever read. The leave the mind wanting more and the imagination is put to full use. I was sad to have read it though I couldn't put it down, because the end is here and now I am wondering what next. Just maybe all us Twilight freaks will get lucky enough to have more books added to the series in the future. One can only hope. In the meantime I am going to start 2 other series of books. All about vampires of course, but also love stories in their own way. Who would have even know vampires would become my fetish!!!
Hoping to find a little spare time to work on the shop and then have pictures to post. The prom shirts i was working on turned out amazing, but I am not going to post those til after prom, as I do not want to give it away!! I am also thankful the weather is sort of starting to cooperate!!! Everything will fall into place and we can enjoy our spring weather NOT working:)

Did you say Rockfest?

Woohoo, I am soooo excited!! We, along with our great friends, are going to Rockfest! The best bands are going to be there, and we missed them last time they were in KC.
On another note, it has been a busy week! I made great strides today and left little on my list that didn't get finished. I am still working on getting my windows finished, the shop cleaned, and come Friday, I will have racks and displays to add to the shop. I am very excited about this, almost as excited about Rockfest! I have lots of ideas and can't wait to put everything in motion. But of course, I can't even start until I have a place to display everything. It has been a great week. Monday, I shampooed my carpet, it definitely needed it and I got a good workout moving all this heavy furniture. I cleaned the basement and did this months taxes, ugh! Have I ever mentioned the next worse thing to doing all that paperwork is actually writing the check? Horrible! Today after getting home to the much to quiet house(the boys were at church and Scott at work) I decided to detail the tahoe and clean MY half of the garage. What a mess. Who knew we had pigs!! But it is done, and I can relax! I have also been reading Eclipse. I love the series and can't wait to finish it so I can read Breaking Dawn. One more day and I will be done with this one and on to the next. Not bad since I didn't start it until Monday evening and having a more than full time job and taking care of the house, cleaning, etc. I enjoy Wednesdays though, cheese dogs! Scott and I have been doing this the last few weeks since the boys eat at church!
We have a birthday to go to this weekend, and I need to go get groceries. We will see what else the week has in store. Did I mention we are going to Rockfest???