A boy and his sandbox...

Ahhhh. A boy and a sandbox. He overheard me telling my mom about my plans for making a sandbox.

"You're making a sandbox!?!?!"

Yes, I told him...

"FOR MEEEE!?!?!?!"

For YOU! I told him.

"OH MOM! I'm gonna be SOOOOO HAPPY!!!"

The whole time we were making it, he was telling us how his brothers would ask to play with him in his sand box...

"An' then I will tell them, Yes! You can play with me!"

He's just so sweet. How could you NOT build him a sand box? He was also telling us about how when the sandbox was all done, it would ask him,

"Macs! You wanna come play in me!?"

Of course, he planned to tell it yes. So here it is! About 7' by 4' and 1' deep! Just right for a really sweet boy and a big brother.

In other backyard news, I took out the rocks that God only knows why were put along the side of the deck and the fence. I am going to put compost there, and this will be the KID'S garden! I see peas, and cucumbers, and sunflowers growing there this summer. I am also on the hunt for purple beans. My dad grew some last year, and I think they would make a great addition to the purple carrots I bought to plant!

WHY!?

Why is it that the house goes to pot the moment you turn your eye the other way? I've been getting SO MUCH done...

O U T S I D E

and even though the boys have been outside WITH us, the house is breeding clutter once

a

G

a

I

n

blech.

Tomorrow, I am already shirking my Volunteer Duties to continue my quest with the yard. Things will not be done by tomorrow, but I am hoping they will be done enough to stop without feeling like I'm stopping in the middle of things. So... without further delay, a picture (in wide angle mommy!) of the house breeding.

Project Pictures!

Here are some pictures of my nearly finished Garden area. This first one, is the back wall of our yard. The pool is not being used, but it's got water in it again from the rain! LOL Imagine you are standing out my back door on the deck. That's where this picture was taken from. On your right, outside of the camera's eye, is the fence.

Now we are turning to your left. This is the rest of the view of the back wall, and also the side fence. along the fence, behind the trees, is where Travis wants to put a horseshoe pit. We are working on getting that area cleared out so that he can have that.
Turning to your left again, is the shed. It's sitting on what used to be a raised flower bed, but last year, we moved the cinder blocks into the front yard to level that area out, and make my flower beds. Mind you, there is not a gate big enough to fit that shed through, so Travis and I had to lift it OVER the fence to get it into the back. Notice the nice black mesh along the bottom of the deck railing. That's to keep our dogs out of the deck area when we don't want them there. The little one can fit through the cracks! SO we've been busy. Clearing out, and re organizing. Everything that we've done to the place so far has been free. Just a lot of hard work. It's looking really nice though. I'll be savoring every SIP of my Vodka Lemonades and Margaritas this summer when it comes time to enjoy the fruits of our labor!

Still to be done:

1. Construct a sandbox for Macs on the deck area.

2. Clear the grass from the right side of the driveway and fill it with gravel to widen the driveway.

3. Finish the Horseshoe pit

4. Put string up on the back fence for the beans, peas, and cucumbers to grow on.

5. Make the back deck a place for Macs to play where he can't get to the pool.

There are more things to do, but those are the ones I want to get done in the next month or so. ALSO.... Check these out! I think these are going to be such fun to eat! I found them at ACE Hardware yesterday, and I can't wait to plant them!

WHAT THAH !?!?

It's a little bit hard to see them, and they are only about 1 inch long, because I've got my hair dyed at the moment. Look HARD.

I found these beauties the other day. They weren't there before I colored. I had ONE in my temple. About 10 all together. Now I have over 7.

SEVEN.

Es-Ee-Vee-Ee-En

In JUST my temple.

They are WHITE. This, is a good thing. My great gramma had yellow. Not maybe it can pass for blond, yellow, just yellow. Funny, but seeing these new grey hairs reminds me of my gramma. (not to be confused with yellow, GREAT gramma)

My gramma hadn't gone totally grey yet, but I can remember her temples and the hair right next to her forehead. They were sprinkled with white. More and more as she got older. She used to let me comb her hair, so I know. I've already decided not to pluck one single one of my white hairs. I've earned them, I think. Thing is, I wasn't really prepared for them to just show up gang style. I thought they would arrive one at a time like dinner guests. Maybe two or three at once. NOT 7. But HEY, that IS my lucky number! LOL

Week 4 Deck of ME

Here are is my card for my Deck Of ME. Emily Falconbridge has given us YET again a wonderful prompt... A Symbol you love. I had a hard time deciding that I wanted for my symbol. I thought about a cross, my wedding ring, and some others. Finally I decided to do the masks of greek mythology for theater. Theater is the place that my life was changed in so many ways. I'll never be the same person I was before I got bit by the bug. NEVER.

OK mom.... you asked for it!

OK. You said it. That I should take a picture of the house with a wide angle so I couldn't hide the clutter! LOL Well, I did it that night, and these are the pics. Surprised, aren't you!? I really AM managing to keep things FAIRLY well under control. It's still looking pretty good today. Even though I've spent most of the day outside.

The Kitchen and the Living room. Both lived in, neither totally embarrassing...

THIS is what I've been up to today! Getting the compost out of the back of the truck! We unloaded it into Trash Cans and hauled it into the back. There isn't a place for the truck to go back there, so we had to take it all one load at a time. The truck was FULL when we started.

Have I mentioned how much I love this place lately? Our neighbors are the best. One of our neighbors is an older man. One of those twisted and gnarly white haired men who works like a dog all day long even though they are retired. He goes out gathers wood and brings it home to split it BY HAND. BY HIMSELF. Did I mention he has a PELLET STOVE? He does the wood for extra money, and to help out the widowed ladies that he and his wife know. He's the guy to go to if you need to know anything about what to plant, what to fish with, how to clam, WHERE to clam. You get the picture. Travis went over the other day, because we saw that he was unloading a pallet of pellets (say THAT ten times fast) from his truck.

Who do you think showed up with his wheelbarrow today, and dug right in? MmmmmHmm! Good 'ol Dick. I think he just wanted an excuse to see my garden spot. I've been telling him about it since I decided to put it there... He says it's just about the best spot. He imagines there won't be much I won't be able to grow there! So the compost is out of the back of the truck, and I am going to get about 5 more cans of it to do the front beds again, and finish the garden. I think 5 will do it. Hopefully, I'll be done by the end of the day tomorrow!

Wanna order with me?

I have to have a min. order of $15.00 to buy from Marah Johnson's LOVESTRUCK line. Wanna go in with me? I have a pic on my OTHER BLOG check it out. There's a link to the other things in the line! And another link to Marah's blog, where there are pictures of things that people have done. My friend Tammy Kay is a designer for Marah, and she has some great layouts done with the new line too.

A good idea?

Lookie here...

I've thought about doing the whole picture a day diary, where you take a picture a day of random things. Or one of yourself, or one of the same tree...

Yep. I thought about it.

Then I took a picture.

and

FORGOT

to take on the next day...

Then I got to thinking

Again.

I thought to myself, that IF I took that picture a day, there would be an awful lot of pictures like THIS

Now I'm thinking maybe just one a week would be good. I'll try not to take pictures of the dishes.

It seemed like a good idea at the time...

Tech, baby, TECH...

That's right... I'm officially a computer WIZ...

you know I'm totally KIDDING, right?

I did make this cute little banner today, for my on line fellow blogger buddy, Em. (not Em's real name, by the way. It's her screen name, but I found out long after she was permanently Em to me) So I made this for her because she *blushing here on my face* likes my banner, and doesn't have a scanner to make one for herself. So she sent me some pics over the Internet, and I edited them, scrapped them and made this banner with them. Hope you like it!

Most of all, I hope SHE likes it.

Macs in Boots

Here is what I found after we got home from taking Josh to school today... Mind you, the boy had his clothes ON when we were out.

He actually got INTO the closet and picked these boots out. The undies are a plus. USUALLY we are lucky to be covered in these. The little guy apparently likes the healthy breeze about that part.

Um, can you tell he helped his mommy in the garden these last few days? That dirt seems to be hanging in there. I see a bath in the future!

Better get that crumb!

Had a good photo shoot with my favorite Muse. Hope you enjoy!

Valentine's Day is my Anniversary. Travis and I will have been married for 9 years. I can't believe it. It seems like just YESTERDAY we were pregnant and in the ARMY. Now we're raising a teenager, and that baby I was pregnant with? He's SIX. The time flies so fast. Which I guess is good... that means we're having FUN, right? I mean that's how the saying goes... I actually really AM having fun. I love our life. I love the things we do together. I can't imagine one day without these people in my life.

I wouldn't trade any of our experiences either. We've been through a lot. During the time that Travis was enlisted, we lived in separate states for over a year and 1/2. I was raising a six year old and a newborn without my husband, and he wasn't over seas. Our house just wouldn't sell. That was tough. We've been through unemployment, and financial heartache. We've been through Family Crisis when more than one of our dear grandparents lost battles with cancers.

Travis has been my best friend. My strength. My shoulder. My love. I am looking forward to celebrating our marriage this Valentine's Day.

My Box of Dirt

The weather here is the BEST! It was sunny, and warm, but not hot. I got to spend an ENTIRE afternoon playing in my box of dirt! Travis helped me build the retaining wall up to the level it needs to be, and we got over half of the dirt moved to fill it. That same half is all weeded. As soon as the dump opens on Wednesday, I'm going for a load of compost. Did I mention it's free!? My plants are gonna LOVE it. I moved my Artichoke plant out of it's pot into it's spot by the compost bin. Come February, I'm hoping to get Garlic and Onion planted. Maybe Broccoli. I have to find out when I can plant some colder weather plants. Just thought you'd like this self pic of my dirtiness! Have a great night!

PS~ Do you KNOW how yummy dirt smells!? MMMMMmmmmmm I have it in my blood today...

My Deck of ME Case

I made this case for my Deck of ME. I got the idea to use the box that the cards came in from BareFeetSparkle who is also participating in Emily's challenge. Thanks for the great idea, Niki! One day, we WILL have to have that Tamale Day. I'd love to see more of your work! I cut the sides of my box off, and then put the strip together with some yummy Wild Asparagus paper. then I tied a vintage button onto the flap, and put a string through the other side to twist around the button. I might doodle a bit more on it before it's DONE... not sure yet.

Week three Deck of Me Challenge

This is my third card for the Deck of ME challenge at Emily Falconbridge's blog. This week's prompt was "I AM". I am a work in progress.

Week two Deck of ME Challenge

My Deck of ME card for week two of Emily Falconbridge's challenge. The challenge prompt was What is Powerful to you?" There are so many things that are powerful to me, but when it boils down to it, none of them matter without ACTION. So I decided that ACTION was the most powerful thing I could think of.

Week One Deck of ME Challenge

My Deck of ME cards... part of Emily Falconbridge's Challenge on HER BLOG This first week's card was to tell about something you are proud of.

My new Favorite Pic

Messing around tonight... It's 2:33 in the Morning. I'm taking pics of mysef. That's right. It's

ALL ABOUT ME.

Memory Preservationist

That's my new title. It's what I do. It sounds so important. Maybe CIA. Really, it's just
F
A
N
C
Y
for........

scrapbooker.

Shhh... Don't tell!
I like the mystery.
The intrigue.
One day, someone will ask me,
"What do you do?"
and I'll answer,
"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."
They will laugh and say,
"No really, what do you do?"
.... I'll let them wait for
JUST
l
o
n
g
e n o u g h......
"Well, I'm a Memory Preservationist, you see. It's a top level security position. You can't tell ANYONE I told you...."
They'll look at me with wonder and amazement...
"Oh! I had NO IDEA! I promise! I won't tell a soul!"
and it won' be until I'm in my grave, and they read all my stories in my Preservation Files,(that's fancy for scrapbooks) and they are talking among themselves, that they will realise that they all knew, and never told, that I was a top level security officer in the Department of Matrimony (that's fancy for MOM of my family)...
"She TOLD you!?" They will all exclaim...

Ahhhhh. That'll be the day.....

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read it.

I watched Oprah today. She had an interview with both families of Shawn Hornbeck and Ben Ownby. I'm so glad it was Oprah that got to do the interview. I doubt that there are many other television personalities that would have had the integrity that she had. Can just say that I spent the last our CRYING? There was an author on the show also. I've not read his book, Facing Down Evil, but what he said on the show was good, and I'm going to read his book. Here's what I needed to say to YOU. Go now. Go RIGHT now. Go to your library, your book store, go HERE and read Protecting the Gift by Gavin De Becker. It's a book I have said, and will say until the DAY I DIE, is a MUST for parents and adults with kids in their lives. It's about talking to your kids about abuse, abduction, predators and teaching them to listen to their GUT. If you watched Oprah today, you heard about how many people followed their gut to help find these boys. Our society teaches us to IGNORE our gut. Gavin has also written a book called The Gift Of Fear. It's a good book as well, but you don't have to read it to "get" Protecting the Gift. I wish I could stress to you how important I think this book is. Not in a scary, your kids aren't safe, and you can't do anything to protect them way. In a statistical, infomative, factual, knowlege is POWER way. You HAVE to read it. Please.
Please.
Please...

~rachel

PS~ I have other things to say about all of this, that are not related to this book. You can read them HERE

Check It Out!

In my effort to get my other blog ready for PPP, I put a post THERE to tell you about my GREAT find!

The Show Must Go On!

Christine asked for more story when I mentioned the pictures I hung on our wall had a few of Travis and I in the Theater. So...

The summer I turned 18, I got the chance to be one of the Make Up Designers for our Community College summer musical, The Wizard of Oz. I got to do the make up for my gramma Rose, who was one of the wicked witch of the west's cronies, as well as the make up for the Wicked Witch herself. I was bit. The theater will never leave my blood.

I liked being a Make Up artist so much, that I did it again. This time for the Community Theater through the college, only in the school year. I was going to school, and doing theater. Make Up ended up paying for my college. It was at the next play that I did Make Up for, I met Travis. He was also 18. We became best friends almost immediately. We spent a lot of time together. We ate lunch everyday together, went over his lines together, took acting class together, and spent our evenings backstage together. We flirted a lot, but very strongly denied to all our fellow actors who knew better, that we didn't LIKE each other. Not THAT way. We did this for two years.

The last part of that second year, we talked about taking our friendship to "the next level", but decided not to. Then Travis went to college in Ashland, OR. Before he left, he had changed his mind about being more than just friends, but I had a boyfriend by then. He visited all that year of school, and every time he came to visit, he asked me to be with him. Sooooooo... when said boyfriend (who was crappy, and just an excuse to stave off Travis) and I broke up, I knew that Travis would be there. I wrote him to tell him about BF and I.

He was there that weekend to claim me.

I've been his ever since.

Both of us would like very much to go back to the theater. I loved listening to the audience laugh when Travis delivered a funny line just right. I used to sit under the speaker at the make up counter with my eyes closed. The applause would rain down on my soul. I can smell the make up and hair spray, and the sweaty bodies. The black of the backstage swallows you whole, and you fight to find just the tiniest of light to see again. I miss the friends that loved us. Knew us. Better than we knew ourselves. They could see. That love was there. True love. I'm thankful for that theater. Without it's nurturing, and cultivating, the life I have today would not be. So.

That's my story. Our story. Look at us. We were just kids. My face is screwed up in all of the pictures we have because every time we got our pictures taken together, we would also get teased.

I was busy with the printer today...

Here's what I was up to today... I bought these frames at the Dollar Tree, and today, I scanned old photos that I wanted in black and white, and I printed out pictures that I wanted up. From here on out, I'll just add to the wall with black frames, and eventually, there will be a band of pictures in my dining room! This was a lot of fun. Some of the pictures are from Travis and My days in the theater, and some are older ones of Ian. Most of them are new. I've never been one to hang pictures on the wall. I liked them better in scrapbooks. This turned out pretty well. I can't wait to add pictures to it over time....
Next project, save my pictures to disc. Travis and I ordered a new computer today. It's going to be here in a week or so...

Let the PAIN begin!

We started our excersising today! Travis set up a mini gym in our living room, and worked my but off! I can hardly lift my arms! Then he and I went on a one mile fast walk. After THAT, Ian and I went for a walk too! So I had a two miler. I'm excited to be getting out and walking, and I think I actually like the workout in the livingroom too. We'll see how things go tomorrow! Christine, I'm feeling your pain that you blogged about the other day! LOL

In other Whetzel news, Travis and I took the last of the Christmas lights down! FINALLY! We've not had the chance to get them down because of the cold and wet here. It's still cold, but the wet has been gone for a few days, so we jumped on things, and got it all down. NEXT project, The GARDEN!

Gardening on my mind!

I've got Gardening on my MIND! I just can't stop! Last year, we moved right in the middle of planting season. Even though I was late getting my plants into the ground, I managed to get a pretty good little garden growing. I had to put everything into the flower beds in the front yard. My garden area wasn't ready in the back. I have the perfect spot. The whole back area of our yard is one long flower bed, with full sun pretty much all day long. I can't wait! There are a few things that I need to do to get the plot ready still. THAT'S what I'm itching to do. Go to our dump and get a FREE load of compost for the area. Finish raising the retaining wall. String the fence for the beans and peas. I also need to call my great resource and friend, Holly, to find out what things I can plant in the cool of the year. One BURNING question I have for her

~ WHEN CAN I PLANT MY GARLIC!? ~

Am I the only one sitting here in the snow wondering what I can do to get my garden ready for planting!? Mmmmm yep. I think so.

Are you WITH me!?

I'm hoping you are all still with me, even with the stinking advertising in between posts! On the up side, I've been blogging MORE....

So My PLAN is to have my second blog, My Mind, Your Eyes, become my PayPerPost blog. I'll be blogging both places, but maybe more down to business over there, and then put posts for PPP here that are suited for the style of writing I have here. I guess maybe I'm having GUILT. At any rate, I'd like to know if the ad thing is totally turning you off, or if it's not bothering you. Christine, Brit, Mom, I know you all love me. Em, this is YOUR fault!

LOL So- back to regular programming. This pic. Is this kid not to DIE laughing over!? The other day I told him he cracked me up.

"Thanks!" he tells me, "I try my hardest!"

He's a boy after his daddy's heart. That man is always thinking of ways to make people laugh. He's always trying to think of something funny to say. I can tell you right now, Josh is JUST like his daddy.

Not ALL Fun and Games

So.... We went to the SNOW today. The stuff at our house is still hanging around, but it's thawed, and refrozen, and the stuff is

C R U N C H Y. Not fun. So Travis drove us up to an area near up that still has enough snow to sled in. We brought our fire pit from home, roasted marshmallows, and hot dogs... it was FUN.

....except when Josh got hit in the face with that COLD snow!

Macs went down the hill all by himself!

...and every time he got down the hill, he shouted, "Go Again!"


...until he went off the side of the slope and got a goose egg hitting that big rock in front of him.

Ian seemed to be happy where ever he was. How is it that in the first picture, he looks so grown, and in the next, he looks so young?

So we got a few bumps and bruises. No one REALLY got that hurt. Ian got to bring a buddy, Macs got a teeny bit bigger, Josh decided that glasses are better when you're NOT in the snow, Travis and I got spend really GOOD time with our kids and each other and we all had a lot of fun.

Ahhhhhh! The PRUNES! The other day, Josh and Macs stayed in the tub for AT LEAST an hour. Look at those PRUNES! I told Josh I was starting to worry that they would MELT! Those two play so well together. I love it.

So. Survivor is gearing up. Have you seen? Have you looked? I have. My pic is Stacy. I'm not in a pool or anything, I'm just saying. That's who I'm rooting for. What about you? Have YOU looked?

Still COLD....

The pier in Winchester Bay with snow on it....

No new snow last night. *sigh* I really hoped for it. The temperatures were in the low 20's! I slipped and fell on the black ice in the road last night. Whoops. I didn't hurt myself, but I'm not letting the boys go to school today. The ice I slipped on is still there, and I'm not going to risk one of them falling on their way to school, or on the playground today. The temperature is not going to get THAT high. So here we sit! Home again. Only today, we won't be going out to play. I'm thinking Hot Cider, a Chicken in the crock pot, and some house cleaning. Gotta call my friend Pam too. Maybe she and her family will want to go to the mountains and play with us in the snow there. So what are your plans this weekend? Any good ideas? We're just hangin' out. Travis is off, there's no school Monday. It's just the right set up for lazy folk like us.

Wanna see how I did it?

Wanna see how I made my header? Go HERE! Be advised, you'll need a photo host like flickr to be able to follow these steps word for word. Flickr is free to use, and simple too! Go! Get an account! Get creative!

There 'Snow Day like a SNOW DAY!

Click on the picture to see the rest of our Snowy Day!

Mig Mogs

When Travis was a kid, he and his brother had made up monsters in their swimming pool. They were called Mig Mogs. They had sharp teeth, and smelly breath, and were generally to be avoided. When Josh was about 4, Trever mentioned to him as we left Travis' parents, that he should be careful not to let the Mig Mogs get him. Well, at 4, Josh was more than a little terrified about Mig Mogs. So Travis and I got crafty in telling the boys silly things about the monsters. They behave VERY badly. Like little kids who aren't listening to their mom and dad. They stink. Much like YOUR smelly farts. They are slimy. Eventually, it got to the point that now, call each other Mig Mogs when we are being silly. KelliCrowe had some VERY cute little homemade critters on her blog a while back. Today at school, Josh had something he wanted to glue onto a stuffed animal, and I got the idea to make some Mig Mogs. That's what I'm calling them anyway.

This is my copy of Kelli's "secret service" Mig Mog. This was my first attempt. Josh loves him.

This is Pirate. He is my second Mig Mog. He's Macs'. He says, "That's my fravrit!"

This is Ian's. I don't know what his name is. He's my third attempt. This time, I ran the seam along the outside so that it was easy to stuff, and so that I could be lazy when I sewed the hole closed, and it wouldn't show.

This is Skelly. She's Mine. I really like some of the skelly's that are out in the scrapping world right now, so I created her. I think she'd be really cute with a tutu. I'm going to make another.