Life Lately

As I mentioned in Tuesday's post, life has been pretty busy the last few weeks. And with summer almost here, I'm hoping to be out and about more often as well!

My parents were here for about 10 days over Memorial Weekend and the following week. So I was spending as much time with them as I could while sneaking in work where I could as well. My dad and I had planned on going fishing, but it decided to downpour half the time they were here. So it was super muddy and the ponds were even muddy from the runoff, so fishing was out. Instead we took a day to work on Gladys to get her lights working properly...thanks Dad!

And my mom and I got to spend some time visiting friends and running errands together. I even put her to work a little as well...thanks Mom!

And we got to go on our Airboat Maiden Voyage on Sunday! The weather was perfect...blue skies and a light breeze. We've had so much rain that the river has been too high to boat safely, so we've been waiting for the right time. We're hoping to get out again this weekend as well...bring on the sunshine!!

What have you been up to lately?

Life Lately

Things have been a little quiet here on the blog. I generally update my blog with new products for sale and things going on in our life. While things have been steady business-wise, I haven't really been working on anything new. And while life is always a little crazy, we haven't really been doing anything noteworthy recently either. Nothing I've felt compelled to blog about anyway...lol.

Last week we did celebrate my birthday, which was a wonderful day! Jesse actually took 2 days off work, so we went out to eat at a new restaurant on Wednesday night called Sauced. The shrimp fettuccine alfredo was delicious and so was the wine :)

Thursday was my actual birthday and I got a manicure and massage! We decided to eat out again (twist my arm) and Jesse suggested a place we hadn't been to in a while. Good thing I was happy to go there, because when we walked in, there was a table full of our friends and family waiting to surprise me! It really was a great day!

The next day a special package arrived with carpet for my car! Jesse is full of surprises! While we may have to send it back because it just doesn't quite fit, it really is the thought that counts on this one! Jesse knows how much I want to get my car finished so I can start driving it again. My original carpet guy can't get me in until June or July...ugh!

I do have a few other posts in mind, so I'm hoping to be around a little more. And I'm hoping to work on some new items and get out of the house once it starts warming up as well!

Life Lately

I apologize for the blog being so quiet last week. The week started off a little hectic and disorganized and really never got any better. It was kind of a mess, to be honest. Things really got messy on Thursday, when the factory that Jesse works at (and where I used to work) announced that they would be letting go of 250 employees, retaining only 85 workers.

In a small town, in a small rural community, this is a huge hit! And with it being one of the best paying jobs in the area, it makes the hit even harder. Jesse was one of the lucky ones who gets to keep his job...for now. Which leaves us in an awkward situation. It's a little bit like survivor's guilt. At the same time, we know it's only a matter of time before they close the doors for good and Jesse will be in the same boat.

All my mind can think about lately is the 250 friends and former co-workers who will be losing their jobs. The 250 families who will be without insurance. The 250 jobs that this area won't be able to take on.

But I always try to look on the bright side...find the silver lining. I am grateful every day that I was able to leave the factory and pursue my dreams. Today, I am even more thankful I took the chance and made the decision I did to leave. I can't image Jesse and I losing our jobs at the same time!

So for now, we ride it out and wait to see what happens. We know the future closing of the plant is inevitable, but right now we are okay, at that's what I have to focus on.

Life Lately

As it seems to be the routine this summer, I took another blog break while things were crazy busy around here! My parents got here on the 22nd and we celebrated 3 birthdays within that time. My grandma turned 85, my grandpa turned 86 and Jesse turned 39 (the big 4-0 next year!).

We also got in tons of boating and even a little camping. We took Harley for a long weekend up to some timber that Jesse's family owns. I think it was the best weekend of his life! He even got to be off his leash out there, which never happens at home.

I spent quite a bit of time with my parents, of course. My mom and I picked up the new seats for my Rambler and I can't wait to see them in the car! It's in for paint right now, so I should have it back in about a month to get the new carpet put in and the seats will go in then as well.

My dad and I spent a day together tearing apart the car to prep it for paint. We took off the bumpers, trim and all other metal to help get it ready.

My mom and I also had a girls' day in the city eating out and getting our nails done. (of course, mine are pink).

 

And we got to take my parents out for a day on the boat as well. It was so fun getting to bring them along and show them what we do for fun all summer :)

We wrapped up the weekend with some Labor Day festivities. My town always has a big celebration for Labor Day complete with a carnival, kids games, flea market and parade.

I would say that things should be getting back to normal, but life is anything but normal right now. I've been playing catch up the last couple of days to get all my orders finished up as my shop will be closed from Sept. 11th - Sept. 16th. More on that in a couple weeks!

Life Lately

This past week/weekend was another busy one. My parents got into town on Wednesday and I spent time with them as well as enjoyed some holiday festivities.

We started off the weekend with an annual trip to the Goodguys car show at the Iowa State Fair Grounds. I'm having my old station wagon repainted this fall and I'm still trying to find the perfect color. I have a good contender, but the car above shows what I would ultimately like it to look like. (I know, pink. You're surprised right...lol)

 

And I found this fun plate on a Rambler :)

The next day was my family reunion. There were close to 100 people in attendance, all related to my great-grandparents on my dad's side.

 

After lunch and mingling with the family, we got out on the river...finally! With all the rain we've had, this is the first time we've been on the river since April. It was so nice to get out and enjoy the sun!

On our way back, we got dive-bombed by this ultralight! Everyone was out having fun :)

Now I'm playing catch up as usual. Luckily I have nothing planned all week, so I can relax a little while I get orders filled :)

Life Lately

Well, I don't have a ton of pictures to show for it, but the last 2 weeks have been super busy! My parents have been in town and we've had a lot of family things going on as well.

Two weeks ago, Jesse's cousin got married and we got a short break from the rain so they could enjoy a beautiful outdoor wedding. (sorry, no photos!) And we got to hang out outside for the first time in a while. There was music, food and games and lots of fun!

Last Wednesday my mom and I had a girl's day just the two of us in the city. We had lunch, got our nails done and did a little shopping. Then went out for dinner with a couple of friends. It was Margarita night at Mexican :)

This past weekend, my cousin got married. (again, no photos!)

And we also went to a car auction. We went to a preview on Friday, then the actual auction on Sunday. I've always wanted an original Bronco and there was a really nice one up for bid. Unfortunately it went for about twice what I wanted to pay for it, but it was still fun getting in on the thrill of the bidding!

Now life is calming down for a bit and I'm getting back into my work routine. Hopefully that means a little better blogging routine as well!

Life Lately

Life sure does have a way of sneaking by some times! I can't believe it's been over 2 weeks since I last blogged! My parents were here last week, so I spent the prior week getting as much done before they got here, so I wouldn't have to work the whole time they were here. And this week I've been playing catch up since I didn't work as much last week. The game of life...lol :)

 

So I thought a nice Life Lately post to show you what I've been up to in the last 2 weeks was in order.

We finally got our new boat on the water! I wish I had a picture of the old boat next to the new boat so you could see just how beautiful the new one is! The cage has a metallic blue paint that really shines in the sun! And I love that I get to sit up top with Jesse on the new boat. It's a little scary up there! But I'm liking it :) Hoping to get it out this weekend as well.

As I mentioned, my parents were back last week. They stay with my grandparents when they are in Iowa, so I spend quite a bit of time there when they are home. I love that my grandma feeds the birds so I can watch them. This beautiful cardinal had a mate with him the whole week too...so cute!

Last Thursday marked the 2 year anniversary of my brother's passing. I still can't believe it's really been 2 years! How does that happen?!? Like last year, we wanted to spend the day doing things that my brother enjoyed. We went mushroom hunting in the afternoon and had some pretty descent luck. Then went to supper for Mexican that night. It sure was nice being with my parents that day!

This week has been catch up week and Mother's Day prep week. Cutting boards are popular again this year, so I'm lasering away recipes like crazy. It sure is nice having both lasers running. I can dedicate one to just cutting boards and the other to all the other orders.

But it hasn't been all work. Jesse and I did take a couple hours to get out and mushroom hunt on Tuesday. We found quite a few for not being out long, but they were rather small. They still tasted awesome for lunch yesterday! Nothing better than fresh morels!

Life Lately

Life has been a little crazy lately, as I'm sure you can tell from my lack of posts. So here's a quick rundown of what's been going on...

First Spring Craft Show

 Along with filling regular orders, I've been restocking things that sold out last fall for my upcoming show on Saturday. After my last show last fall, I just put everything away so I could focus on Christmas orders. I didn't take inventory and didn't realize how low I had gotten on stock! Still hoping to get a few more pieces ready before the show (isn't that always the case!).

First Big Bridal Fair

Back to back craziness this weekend! I have my first big bridal fair on Sunday. There will be 450-600 brides attending with their entourage! I'm both excited and nervous at the same time. My display will be completely different at this show than any of my craft shows. I'm working on last minute pieces for displays and last minute giveaways and flyers. Luckily my mom is here to help me prep and will be here to help me with the show!

Family

Speaking of my mom...my parents have been in town for the last week and a half. And when my parents are in town, I try to spend as much time as I can with them. That means I get all my work done, but things like my poor blog fall to the side.

My grandpa has also been in the hospital for a few weeks now. Every time we think he's showing progress, he takes 3 steps back. So that has been weighing on my mind and I've been trying to spend time with him when I can as well.

New Laser!

To end on a good note, I also ordered a new laser! It will be here the week of the 16th and I'll have training the following week. I am beyond excited to have a bigger, more powerful laser! I can't wait to get it up and running. I better start clearing a space for it!!!

I hope things aren't quite so crazy in your neck of the woods! And I hope you're all enjoying some nice weather. I'm so glad this week has been sunny and warm!
Stay tuned for updates on all these upcoming events!

Life Lately

I feel like my blog has been a little quiet lately. I've had so much going on and not very many blog ideas to share. Today I thought I'd just give you a run down of life lately :)

Check this girl out! I brushed AND blow dried my hair...all in the same day! lol Since I've started working from home, I have to admit that this doesn't happen often. While I wash my hair everyday, I normally just pull it back in a clip while it's still wet. And on days when I "do" my hair. I just let it air dry a bit and throw in some gel. Since I needed a hair cut, I thought the hair dresser might appreciate not having to deal with all those tangles :)

I also got sick last week. I'm just glad to get it out of the way early and hope I don't get it again during the holiday rush! I actually relaxed on the couch for 2 days...that's unheard of around here! Luckily I'm feeling much better.

We also had another funeral last Wednesday. My parents were home all last week as well because of this. I didn't have any posts preplanned and family time always comes first :) So I feel like the blog has been pretty quiet.

On Saturday I had my second fall show for this year. Another great show too! I didn't get any photos of my booth this time as I had a very similar set up. While I didn't have a 3 sided booth, I used all the same displays and such.

On Sunday my mom and I took my grandparents to the airport. Lucky ducks get to spend 6 months in Arizona and avoid all this cold weather that's sneaking up on us. Mom and I spent the day in the city shopping. We also watched the movie The Best of Me...great movie! And went to a theater with recliners...so great! I tried to get a selfie of us in the recliners, but the theater was already too dark. 

That night we enjoyed dinner with my dad's family.

So things have been busy and hectic around here, but good all at the same time. And as you can see...I took hardly any photos!

How has your life been lately?

Last Week/Weekend...Life Lately

Last week brought on an unexpected bloggy break. It's been a crazy couple of weeks, so I thought a photo recap was the easiest was to show you what's been going on lately...

What kept me away from the blog was this amazing woman....Jesse's Grandma Marie. She had been in the hospital for the last couple weeks and we'd been going to see her every chance we had. She passed away last Sunday and we celebrated her life last Wednesday. She was the most positive person I've ever met and had such a great personality. I can't even express how greatly missed she is!

But with bad, must always come good. And Grandma Marie was always one to look on the positive side :) We got in a lot of family time over the last couple weeks. We hung out on this deck almost every night after she passed telling stories and drinking a few beers. (something she loved!) It doesn't get much cuter than Jesse and his nephew all cuddled up :)

For 4th of July (3rd actually), we went to Jesse's brother's and lit off fireworks. We bought tons of things for the kids to play with including party poppers. The kids had fun making wigs and scarves out of the confetti in the poppers...as Brody is modeling here :) And these red, white and blue jumping jacks were too fun not to take a picture of!

And Jesse's brother wins the Coolest Dad Award for building the kids a homemade zip line! I was a little bummed it wasn't for the big kids (aka...me!), but it was so fun watching the kids glide down to the play house! (click to see this larger)

On Friday, we went to the annual Goodguys card show in Des Moines, IA. There were over 2,200 cars preregistered for this show! The photo on the left shows just how long this truck sat in the weeds (or trees rather!). The top right photo is the color I want my car painted...only I want mine sparkly metallic! The middle photo is a truck almost just like the one my dad has. I love driving it when we go to visit. And the bottom photo is a very rare sighting. This is a 1964 Rambler Wagon almost like mine. Mine is a '63 with a 3-on the tree (stick shift on the column). Most of them have automatics. So it was lots of fun to see this car at the show!

But don't worry, I did take a little time to relax in all this chaos. I enjoyed drinking my afternoon coffee on the patio Sunday afternoon and soaking in the sun :) (as you can see...I need some sun!)

And I never pass up an opportunity to watch the sun set!

Okay, if you made it through all of that, thank you for being such a loyal reader!!! How was your 4th of July?

Life Lately - Christmas Recap

I hope all of my readers had a wonderful holiday season. It was great to take a break, spend time with family and recharge. I thought I'd jump back in with a simple Life Lately post about some of the happenings of my holiday break.

 1. Ornaments, ornaments and more ornaments! Look for a slide show of all these cuties coming soon. 2. Manicures with my mom...annual tradition. 3. The cutest Christmas present, Jesse's nephew, Brody. 4. Ornament swap...post coming soon.

5. New cutting board designs from custom orders. 6. Getting in the holiday "spirit". 7. & 8. Sledding on Christmas day.

I have lots of posts planned and can't wait to update you on everything else that's been going on around here.

Happy New Year!