june 3rd

katrena as carrie underwood.


summer reading program today...twice! 11 am is the little kids and the theme for today is music. we made drums out of coffee cans and construction paper and they used paint stir sticks for drum sticks. then we had story time and musical chairs. and a snack with a drink. then we ran out of stuff to do, so i took them outside and we drew with sidewalk chalk. when the reading program was done the kids went to my house to help me wash rocks. no, it's not a punishment for them... i really need help washing rocks. it's messy and dirty and takes forever! we washed for a few hours then decided to check on the garden. it's growing so nicely. i hope my green peppers grow this year! we got a wild idea to weed the entire asparagus patch that was being taken over with weeds and thistle. the girls worked so hard and quickly i treated them to ice cream. i was impressed with the red barn's ice cream shakes. they have quite a variety and are only $2 and are bigger than a blizzard at dairy queen that is almost $4 for a small one.
katrena is doing the summer reading program and tonight's theme was dress up as a famous singer. she choose carrie underwood and i curled her hair and put make-up on and she came up with the rest. at the library the kids played name that tune, sang karaoke, had a snack, and something else... i can't remember what. darn. then they got prizes too.
more tomorrow...

june 7th

me with my neck on the heat pad.

i forced myself to make it through the 4-H meeting because i'm in pain. i hurt so bad i would rather have a broken pelvis. my conclusion is that i was so tense on the bus i caused my neck muscles to tighten. and now i'm paying for it. i can't turn my head or my neck and i'm laying on a heating pad right now. i'm still glad i went last night. i can't chew much and i'm forcing myself not to yawn, but then doing this makes me want to yawn. damn. i need to get this fixed before tomorrow because i will have 30 7-9 year old kids wanting to play games at camp bethany. ouch. anyways, the 4-H meeting was good. four kids did presentations... how to grow a butterfly garden, water tubing safety, ducks and showing calves. then we had a barbeque and visited before we were done. more tomorrow...

june 5th

we took time to have some fun throughout our travels. the kids are playing on some rock things.

today i traveled more than i like to. my responsibility is to get four kids on a committee and put together a book for 4-H. what we plan on doing is making a book for a silent auction that raises money for fair and in this book we are going to have pictures of audubon county landmarks and random things in the county. we started at 10 am and went all over from the tree in the middle of the road to albert the bull...we ended at 1:15 and didn't even get to everything. we'll try to finish next week. while i was in audubon i stopped at the present company to get something for megan's shower, while i was in the present company i ran into nicole asberry seaman, a girl i went to school with. such a surprise! she's back for a few weeks and hopefully we can visit more.i did some yard work and washed some rocks. boring. i dis-like washing rocks. then katrena and i went for a walk. we left lilo at home because her back-end was really wobbly. she stayed the night and she watched "mall cop" with us and "baby-sitter club" the movie. mall cop is sooo funny. i'm a fan of kevin james and glad it didn't fall short of my hopes!
more tomorrow...

june 4th

the bethany camp sign.

i went to wal-mart is search of a wedding shower present for megan munch. i didn't find much. i'm thinking i might have to go to the tinder box or present company. later in the evening i went to the bethany barn for dinner and to plan games for the following weeks of camp. the bethany barn is a retreat camp for kids and youth and it is amazing. it makes me smile thinking about how much they do. they dedicated the month of june to camp and it's divided up by ages. the kids usually spend 3 nights and 4 days there. each day they do different activities like crafts, games, swimming in the pool, carpet ball, boating, water fights, learning about the Word, and yummy meals to name a few things! this year i volunteered to help with games. i can't wait, i think the kids will love them! i have helped with crafts in the past, so this will be a nice change...i hope.
more tomorrow...

june 2nd

my lilo doggie.

i don't think i'll be working at the paper that much longer. i'm kind of nervous about it, but i know God must have a plan. i'm not being fired, but they have found someone else to take my place since i'm starting a business. but a paycheck is a definite thing, and it's nice to know it'll be there every two weeks... i know i'll be ok. the girl or should i say young lady that i'm training is really nice and knowledgeable about the programs. so basically all i have to teach her is the order things are done in and what needs to be done throughout the day. i think she'll like it there and hope it works out for her.
for bible study tonight...i'm in charge. i have to lead and i have to bring treats. i prefer to get it done at the same time, it just works best for me. i brought grapes and cheese and dessert pizza. it was a good night!
more tomorrow...

june 1st

i'm good for 1 year!

monday. the main thing to do today after work is get new tags for the durango. somehow time got away from me and my thirty days is up and when i was cleaning like a mad woman yesterday i found them. after work i buzzed to audubon and got that taken care of. whew! tonight i watched the bachelorette, there are some creeps on there. one guy is obsessed with feet. and when he talks to her you can tell he doesn't hear a word she says but instead stares at her feet and basically drools. yuck. i hope he leaves soon.
more tomorrow.

may 31st

this is "little green"

i was in a cleaning mood today. i often wonder how two people, without children can have so much stuff. and where do it come from? i think the answer to that question is "garage sales" i collect 5 garage bags worth of stuff that need to be thrown away. matt was worried i threw away something of his he considers a "treasure" but i assured him that is was mostly newspapers, magazines and junk mail. then i thought it would be fun to use his little carpet cleaning machine on the carpet. it was fun, but not as easy as i thought. i love crossing something off my list and having a clutter free office!
more tomorrow...

may 28th

the book i'm reading.

where has may gone? time goes faster and faster the older you get!
i went to the paper for a little bit today to help out the owners with some billing questions. then off to the library to get a book. i randomly picked out "firefly lane." i'm awful, i totally judge a book bye it's cover and i really like this one.
when i got home i made dinner and then got started on planting some flowers. i now know what some people mean when they say gardening is therapeutic. i'm finding that looking at them and water the flowers brings a smile to my face. i worked in the yard until dark then relaxed a bit.
more tomorrow...

may 27th

a few lilies i planted in the front yard.

i dug some lilies today to transplant them in my yard and a sedum plant that i'm very excited to have in my yard.
i took tasha, dylan and tasha's boyfriend to youth group tonight...it's really weird seeing tash with boy. i don't mean she hasn't had boys around her before, but they really like each other and it's weird. i guess i may be having a problem accepting that she's 15. i hope God only knows what i did when i was 15 :)
i finally finished the book i started a month ago. i ended up re-reading it several times because i would forget what i had read. that drives me nuts!
more tomorrow...

may 26th

washing rocks. yuck!

today i did something that is not like me at all... i called a lady and invited her to join us for bible study. it's the new owner to the newspaper's wife. she's really nice and i thought she could use a chance to meet some amazing women. and she had a good time. i was so happy because deb, another lady that attends bible study had a baby! he's so cute too and they named him josiah lincoln. it's comforting to know everyone's prayers were answered that they had a safe delivery and a healthy baby. they haven't had the best of luck in the past with having babies. anyway... i can't wait to babysit him and his big brother, who is 2.
more tomorrow...

may 25th

the evil hole.

today went super fast. i think i am the only person who had to work today. but i guess newspapers don't stop because of holidays.
then i went home to find that matt did a lot of work outside. he's is almost done withe sealing our outside basement wall and that means we are getting closer to pushing the dirt back in and we can have a patio again!
more tomorrow...

may 24th

matt telling lilo that we wouldn't be gone to long.

luckily matt kept a secret and in the afternoon we went to megan and tj's for a surprise birthday party. he's turning 30 and megan put together a fun party for him. it was funny because he was late, and he was truly surprised. we stayed until after dark and gathered around the bonfire for a bit then i decided we better go home because lucky me, i have to work tomorrow!
more tomorrow...

may 23rd

i snapped a picture of our class brick in the park. the reason it says nicole asberry...our class was to cheap to buy a brick and she bought one in honor of our class and they added her name too. thank you nicole!

busy day!
it started with megan, tj and carter's pictures, which i had so much fun with them. then we rushed over to tivoli for the parade. after the parade matt almost passed out because he didn't feel well and he got to warm and we had to sit him down for a bit. then we rushed back home so i could get ready for the next photo session. but before that i viewed the wiemanns pictures and i was over-came with such thankfulness that i started to cry and thanked God for my many blessing and the opportunity he has given me to do something that i love. i'm still very emotional about it. then lindsy and chris showed up for their pictures with their daughter and step daughter. i manage to get their pictures done and run megan their proofs on a disc just in time for brandi and jen's graduation party. i go to the bar about twice a year and it is much better now that smoking isn't allowed... i can breathe! we had fun visiting with friends and catching up too.
more tomorrow...

may 22nd

i've been working on drinking lots of water!

when matt got home we grilled and then matt and i drove around and looked a peoples landscaping and houses. it was sort of weird but fun...we only wish we could see their backyards too.
then we ventured out to my parents house to see what they were doing and as usual they were on the trampoline, the four-wheeler and playing wii.
we went back home and watched "house bunny" and it was ok.
more tomorrow...

may 21st

an old fashioned kitchen that is about to get remodeled.

today i went to a friends house in atlantic to take a picture of her all dressed up in an old fashioned outfit in her kitchen. sharon and her husband just bought a house in atlantic and the kitchen has such character, but not exactly good in this century. so before they gut the kitchen she wanted a fun picture with it and it was fun! i was glad she decided to do that. then i did a little shopping on main street in atlantic, i like browsing thru the various little shops.
when i got home i discovered that our washing machine stopped working, but matt being the good mechanic he is saved the day. i thought i was going to have a good excuse getting out of laundry. :o)
then we used the rest of our edge pavers to go around my studio sign, it looks nice and gives it a finished look. i watered plants and leveled some dirt and prepared it for adding some more perennial to the flower bed. i can't wait to finish it!
more tomorrow...

may 20th

i want this!

i put close to 150 miles on the durango today driving around looking for an old truck to put in my outdoor studio. this is a harder task than i anticipate. most people don't want to part with a truck that is 70 years old. but i did find 2 or 3 that are possibilities. i hope to have decided which one by this weekend.
more tomorrow...

may 19th

doing some yard work and making room for the pavers.

why is it when you don't want to think about food and eating... that's all you can think about. i find it strange that a healthy breakfast makes my more hungry than if i had, say a donut for breakfast. i'm trying to eat better and work really hard on burning more calories than a take in. wow...hard, hard, hard. since i've been really watching what i put in my mouth because i don't want to add up the calories i find i'm hungrier and always thinking about food. i'm discovering that i had to remove matt's snacks from the house/cabinets because now i want them. i didn't before. i've never been a junk food eater, but i really want sweets now. wish me luck.
i went to atlantic after work and bought 36 pavers to give our front yard a finished look, those things are super heavy! i waited until in was about 7-ish to get to work on digging a path to place the pavers in. i'll finish tomorrow.
more tomorrow...

may18th

lilo's wet paw print.

such a beautiful day. i wish this spring like weather lasted a bit longer! we did yard work this evening and of course, we grilled. then we watched a comedian and i wasn't to impressed, i find it uncomfortable when someone uses the "f" word to an extreme. matt fell asleep and i didn't finish watching it. we went to bed and i read for a bit.
more tomorrow...

may 17th

lilo taking a nap on becca's chair.

darn, i slept in again and didn't make it to church. it's graduation sunday for many schools around and i'm deciding to not attend the open house celebrations because i have this issue...i LOVE cake. and i want to have more control over what i eat and i know that i don't have control when i see cake. i know, it sounds ridiculous, but it's true. so, instead i scooped rock and did yard work the entire afternoon.
more tomorrow...

may 16th

cleaned a bit today. organized some stuff and then helped katrena with a butterfly presentation she's doing for fair. then my sister angie came later in the afternoon, she's going to stay for a few weeks and we all enjoyed the ice cream cake katrena won with her drawing. it was good, but i like lydia's ice cream cakes better!
more tomorrow...

may 15th

matt and i enjoyed a nice evening together doing some shopping in omaha. it didn't start out to nice though, i decided i would drive there and matt would drive back home... a few mile on the interstate it started raining so hard i had a panic attack because i couldn't see. good thing matt is so calm and talked me through it. damn rain! we went to a camera shop, best buy, sears, the mall, nebraska furniture mart and then home.
more tomorrow...

may 14th

i don't think i can live without these!

busy, busy today. we have this weird condensation on our bathroom ceiling. we've repainted several times and tried several cleaners and other misc stuff. anyways...i scrubbed the entire bathroom top to bottom and it shines. and to make my day, it's the first thing matt noticed when he came home. little stuff means the most to me and will either make or break my day. and i'm still sad because samantha who hasn't been on!
more tomorrow...

may 13th

happy birthday katrena!

may 12th

happy birthday to matt!

may 11th

our tcby treats.

another work day...without mel.
after work i picked katrena up and she went with me to get groceries and since her birthday is in a few days we stopped by TCBY and got some frozen yorgurt and then went back to my place and then later went to the garden to do some weeding and picked some rhubarb. i'm experimenting with it and made some bars and when i get confident enough i will attempt susie's jelly recipe!
more tomorrow...

may 10th

happy birthday to mr. casey cose!
both katrena and dylan helped me at the nursing home today then i dropped them off at their house and went back home to tend to laundry...
more tomorrow...

may 7th

katrena's winning picture.

hooray! we found out katrena won the mothers day contest that she entered at the audubon newspaper. she drew my mom and i must say she did a wonderful job!

may 6th

gardening. gardening. gardening. we have thistles in the asparagus patch and i attempted weeding them out and only hurt myself in the process. i need thicker gloves.
more tomorrow...

may 5th

i don't remember much about today. sorry.
more tomorrow...

may 4th

this is what i came home to...

very dreary day. it looked like it was going to rain, but it didn't. it felt weird with melissa at work but she wasn't my boss any more. i think i might be lost without her. but, i like the new owner kevin. i think he'll bring a nice attitude to the paper. i got home and matt and dad were already tearing the sidewalk out of the backyard and getting ready to pull the cement steps out. i can't wait to re-landscape the backyard! matt and i were going to plant our garden tonight, but we'll wait until wednesday. it works out too, that way i can plan where stuff will go. more tomorrow...

may 3rd

scrap-booking stuff...

my dad and i had breakfast at the townhall today then went to church. after church i went home and gathered my scrapbook supplies and went to steffenies for an afternoon of scrap-booking. it was nice. i didn't expect her to make anything, but her mom made soup, and scrumptious veggie pizza and steffenie made a strawberry cake. i had the best of both worlds...cake, made by steffenie and scrap-booking with ladies! i had to leave early and go to a 4-h meeting though. we are going to design t-shirts for our club with the money the kids earned through the garage sale, they made $350! matt and i ordered taco pizza for dinner. and watch pay it forward. good movie. more tomorrow...

may 2nd

i found a prayer journal for 25 cents! we did it.

becca and i can finally say we got up at the ass crack of dawn and went to garage sales. 6:30 AM came early and it wasn't to bad. we covered exira first, then moved on to audubon and i suggested we swing by the egg krate before going home. it was open...finally. she has tried several times to go there and each time they were closed, on vacation or whatever. then we went to steffenies...because her cheesecake is "to die for" we went back home and enjoyed to beautiful day outside. we sat on fun little chairs that i picked up on a garage sale for 75 cents each. she attempted to help me with my website, but when you both have shit for memories it's a little hard. then she went home. matt made me dinner and i watched a movie, here on earth...it sad, but good. more tomorrow...

april 30th

i had to run a picture to the audubon newspaper today for katrena. she entered a drawing contest for mother's day, she drew my mom and i think she has a really good chance of winning. i think it's so sweet she entered.
i got home and did about 9 loads of laundry. no, i didn't have clothes piled up... i washed drapes, sheets, 4 comforters and misc blankets. i felt productive today.
we grilled as usual and enjoyed a nice quiet evening.
more tomorrow...

april 29th

my birthday picture with vera.

"they say it's your birthday..." it's my birthday! it is also mitch munch's birthday, vera dennis's birthday (she's my favorite old lady ever) and it's my mom's mom's birthday too, but i never met her. my mommy and dad made me a cake, well i think my mom did and my dad decorated it. i went to atlantic today and got a few groceries, wandered around the garden center at hy-vee and went back home just in time to pick up the kids from school. vera wanted us to visit her and have some cake and ice cream. the kids love her too, so it was fun. i got her flowers for her birthday and she cried. she was so happy. after we visited her we had to go to the church and set up garage sale things for friday and saturday. i left at 5 because i had a date with my husband to enjoy a nice evening at the redwoods and then back home to watch a movie. the redwoods was great and we watch bolt when we got home. it might be my new favorite! i laughed and had a good time.

april 28th

katrena holding a baby chick so i could pet it.

work was usual.
i was going to help kevin take pictures at the junior high track meet but it was cancelled and instead i hung out at my parents then went to bible study.
sharon, a lady that attends bible study has intrigued me to start a prayer journal. i haven't decided if i should order one online or just use a notebook? we'll see.
oh, by the way i hit a deer's leg on my way home. i know it sounds crazy, but it's true. one ran in front of me and i was slowing down so i wouldn't hit it, then i thought to myself, there are usually more than one and just then another jumped onto the highway and i hit it's leg. no damage done, just a nick in my headlight. i don't like deer.
more tomorrow...

april 27th

i want one of these trucks! it would be a perfect photo prop.

the "new guy" was at the paper today. i started training him on the program and layout design, he seems to be catching on quickly...it helps that he knows photoshop and illustrator already. he seems really nice and i hope he thick enough skin to be in the public eye. i think i'll enjoy working for him during the next few months when he plans to take over everything. matt and i grilled tonight and i was going to go to the spring concert but matt found an old truck that he wanted to show me before it got to dark. i'm in love with the truck...and to make matters better...there is two of them! so, now we have to find out who owns them and if they are willing to part with them, let's hope so! more tomorrow...

pictures coming tomorrow...

april 26th

i ushered at the salem home today. went to church. canceled a photo session. did some scrap-booking. grilled dinner. did other household things. enjoyed some ice cream and went to bed.
more tomorrow...

april 25th

we were supposed to get up early today and get stuff done. stuff being photo props made. we didn't get up early and didn't get props made. but we did go to littlefields and help make park benches. it was fun. cold, but fun.
matt and i put up barn boards in the rain in case the photo shoot i have tomorrow gets canceled.
then i went to the grand march in exira and didn't stay long. lots of pretty dresses though.
i went home and spent the evening reading and relaxing.
more tomorrow...

april 24th

turning the ugly shed into useful photo backgrounds.

i attended the salem lutheran homes volunteer appreciation luncheon for two reasons... the first being because i volunteer and the second because i had to take pictures for me. it was a nice lunch, but mostly old people. i think it's sad that not that many young people take the time to volunteer. i'm not saying i'm better than some because i volunteer, it would just be nice to see more young people help-out.
i went to atlantic to get a refill on a prescription and when i was at hy-vee i stopped by the floral shop to say hi and a lady i used to work with was there helping with prom flowers. tracy was so much fun to work with! she has a good work ethic and can enjoy her self at the same time. i miss working there. i really liked everyone i worked with. maybe someday i'll be able to help out again.
i invited my parents and the kids to our house to grill since they were going to be helping put up some barn boards, we got a lot done and matt and i will finish tomorrow.
more tomorrow...

april 23rd

i spent most of the day helping my dad tear down barn boards that are on an old shed at their house. they want the shed down and i want the boards. it was sooo windy today and that made it extra hard to get a hold of the boards before the wind grabbed them. once we got enough boards we loaded them on a trailer along with a tractor tire, a wagon wheel, 2 more old wagon wheels, logs, an old bike from the 50's and a window frame. these items equal some great photo scenes. we got everything loaded and i went home and matt and i grilled tonight and i missed samantha who again! i think i'm going to stop trying to watch it on tv and just catch it online.
more tomorrow...

april 22nd

didn't do much today. wandered around a shed at my parents looking for some rustic photo props and random things. i asked my dad if he had an old tractor tire somewhere and then he disappeared and my mom and i heard the tractor going. we didn't think to much of it and then mom went to check on dad and that's when she called me over to look what he was doing... he was stuck in the ditch, in the tractor trying to grab a tire with the lifter thing. my first reaction was to run in the house and grab the camera. then their neighbor drove by and got his tractor to pull my dad's tractor out, along with this tire. it was too funny. but he did have a tire for me. :o)

april 21st

the digging is done.

i'm sick of sinus infections! i've had one for three months and antibiotics don't seem to get rid of it completely.
we dug, and dug, and dug some more today. we're pretty much done with the digging, now all that is left is fixing the crack!

april 20th

we went to steffenies for lunch and she had this delicious chicken sandwich with salsa and avocados...yum!
the dreaded digging started tonight. he have to dig a 3 foot section on the outside of our house to fix a crack. since we had the inside of the basement fixed this winter, now we have to fix the outside. it's a good think it's only in one spot! we spent the entire night digging and then we grilled kind of late. so much for watching dancing with the stars tonight. i guess i haven't been to into it this season. there are to many shows on and i try to limit my tv time.
more tomorrow...

april 19th

matt helped me make a few photo backdrops.

i planted, i should say my mom did...planted some lettuce in a planter to set outside my door and transplanted some lily's.
a lady called me today to schedule a time for her children that with be seniors next year and they are twins... i can't wait!
later in the day matt helped me put together a photo backdrop and we both had a really good time. this week we plan to get started on a few outdoor scenes.
more tomorrow...

april 18th

we got all of the rock scooped up and some time next week we will start digging. i didn't do much today, but clean and the usual boring daily things.
more tomorrow...

april 17th

these are not clogs. they are garden shoes! i don't like clogs.

lilo had a grooming appointment today and as usual she was pissed. but, oh she is so soft and fluffy and she smelly so nice! she tried to dig in the dirt when we got home...and by we i mean her and i...i had to stop her because she just had a pedicure, silly girl. ha, my dog makes me extra nuts.
i scooped up rock most of the afternoon with the help of my dad and matt when matt got done with work. i used my new garden gloves and garden shoes that i got for $3 at orshclen's.
matt and i are pretty boring people and we like it that way... we watched house hunters and other hgtv shows all night with the windows open enjoy the fresh air and doing nothing.
more tomorrow...

april 15th

hehehe! lilo looking at me through the screen.

i spent most of the morning cleaning our windows. i absolutely love the fact that i'm able to do this and they are sparkly clean and clear. new windows are so much fun to clean too. they fold out and you can clean both sides... but i sure did learn quick on the big windows in our living room. the first time i cleaned them i got my finger stuck and i was by myself squealing and trying not to drop the window, somehow i managed to free my finger. anyways...they're clean!
more tomorrow...

april 16th

the new hair cut.

i got my hair cut today! finally. finally. finally. i grew my hair out for locks of love and i must say i don't miss my hair and i'm glad that someone else will be able to use it.
renee had to divide my hair in sections and then cut it because it was so thick and there was so much hair. so, she sectioned it, then cut it and last she braided it together. then it was gone! and i have a new style to enjoy. i can't wait to take a shower and wash my hair in half the time it took me before.
dylan had a track meet in adair and my dad, trena and i went. i took pictures for the paper since elk horn jr high was there and i took pictures of exira kids too. dylan did really well for his first track meet. i could tell he was nervous though. it lasted longer than i wanted to be there, but oh well. it got chilly fast and my fingers were numb from holding the camera.
i missed my favorite show tonight, samantha who...thank goodness for online watching!
more tomorrow...

and another picture.

april 14th

check out this cute little baby car i was parked by in atlantic.

i felt like i did a lot of "going" today. wednesday are usually my day for errands, but i want to sleep in tomorrow. i got groceries, went to the insurance company, evil walmart, the post office (which i stood in line for 25 minutes! ridiculous.) and then i had to hurry home and unload groceries and organize myself to pick up six kids for a mandatory 4-h meeting so they can show animals. i didn't forget any children and then didn't get home until about a quarter til 10 pm.
good thing i get to sleep in tomorrow.
more tomorrow...

april 13th

these are the tulips i'm trying to keep alive.

i'm going to miss mel. i'll miss our lunch dates. our totally random conversations. her dance moves. i'll miss her music choices. i'll miss bringing her cookies. i'll miss her honesty. i'll miss HER! you see, the newspaper has sold. (lets cross our fingers though) and i'm so happy for her. she's had it on the market over a year and she was beginning to feel like it was never going to sell. i'll post more when i'm able, i'm not supposed to say much. :o) matt and i grilled today and did a little more yard work. lydia rescued some tulips and i really like yellow tulips and i'm trying to rescue them back to health. we'll see how they do. more tomorrow...

april 12th

a sign of spring!

happy easter! christ has risen, he has risen indeed.
let's see... today i went to church and then to mother marxen's for lunch then to my parents in the afternoon for an easter egg hunt that was super fun! i think it may be more fun when the kids are bigger and you can hide them better and watch them hunt.
then i went home and uploaded some pictures to my smugmug.
and matt was pretending he was a photographer with my camera and taking pictures of lilo. what a goof.
more tomorrow...

april 11th

fun day! i made some graduation invites for a girl and then i had a photo session in the late afternoon. a little guy that is 10 months old and i went to high school with both parents and gosh... abby and joe's little guy austin is adorable! he's so happy and you can tell they are amazing parents. it was super easy to take his pictures too.
i don't know why, but before i take photos... i start sweating a little. i get sort of nervous, but i love taking pictures. most photographers visualize the scenes they'll use and i've tried but i can't. so when the people arrive, everything comes to me and i have no problems figuring out what i'm going to use. i don't know why i worry beforehand since everything goes smoothly. i just do, i guess.
later in the evening beth, lydia and i enjoyed some ice cream.
more tomorrow...

april 10th

this the scene of the last supper at the diorama.

blah. i pretty much did nothing all day. except working on my damn website. i'm so sick of it! i just want to be done with it. almost though, almost.
matt and i grilled some fillet-minion and grilled potatoes with peas. yum yum! matt is a good griller and i'm a good pre-prepper of the food.
and i went to good friday services with lydia and it was about the rooster. then we went to the diorama that the exira lutheran church puts on and it was a perfect night for that event, not to chilly.
more tomorrow...

april 9th

notice lilo in this picture and if you can look at what is in our front yard, the neighbors dog. it drives her nuts and with it's "evening business" in our yard is starting to drive us nuts too.

i'm so out of shape. i could barely move this morning because of all the raking i did. i did some stretches i learned ( and i must say it's amazing i remember) in therapy and then i could move.
i've had my days all mixed up this week since there wasn't lenten services on wednesday.
matt came home from work really up-set today... they laid off around 35 guys. luckily he wasn't one of them. he found out that the owner had been watching the guys and one gal all week to see who stands around and who works and he also based his decision on what guys were the most useful and which ones knew the most in each section. again, luckily matt works hard.
we talked for most of the night about how he's upset that some of the guys he became friends with were gone.
more tomorrow...

april 8th

pictures this morning!
a girl i went to school with, her little girl gracie has the most beautiful eyes! i did her pictures and went to upload them and was like, shit why aren't they showing up? then i realized my cf card took a crap! i was so embarrassed and worried! i went to atlantic to get a new one from radio shack and then back home and i explained the situation to tabby and she was sooo understanding. she brought gracie back around 6 and i took them again. lesson learned, don't use a used cf card.
i raked twigs and leaves for about 4-5 hours today and it was so nice out...but my allergies are acting up. bummer!
then matt and i loaded up the twigs/brush and leaves and hauled them to the dump.
more tomorrow...

april 7th

we worked kind of late today. we had a long lunch at the danish inn and we weren't in a hurry. i like my boss so much. she cracks me up each day we work together, with her dance moves and facial expressions.
then i went to bible study, there is a new gal that started going and i like her. she's very knowledgeable and i like to hear her opinions. next week we start a new chapter.
more tomorrow...

april 6th

the sequel.

usual day. i got the sequel to garden of lies and will have to start reading it soon.
i made matt's favorite tonight, stir-fry with lots of veggies. them after dinner i finished up a photo book that i'm making for a senior girl i photographed. i hope she'll be happy with it, i am.
blah. i'm tired.
more tomorrow...

april 5th

picture of dylan goes "here"

dylan got confirmed today and he looked so nice and he was proud. we had lunch to celebrate his milestone.
then i went home and read the rest of the afternoon and into the evening and finished my book. it was good. i'll have to get the sequel tomorrow.

april 4th

my durango up on the lift...before nathan broke it...

i slept in and enjoyed every minute of it! i had a 4-h meeting and work-shop today at littlefields. the kids made park benches and i must say that if matt, my dad and a few other guys weren't there...we never would have made them right. it was tricky. i had to leave the meeting a bit early because i had a photo session. and i must say that it was so fun! katie, i girl i graduated with has a little boy that is adorable and he's so happy! i took pictures for her and i hope she's happy with them. then, nathan was going to fix a squeak in my tire and he broke something during the process and he couldn't get the part until monday...so we decided to make the best out of the night and went to the feedlot, me, matt, becky and nathan. it was good, but not super good. i found a fish bone in my salmon and almost choked. i was up till 3 or 4 reading and i pissed matt off with the lamp on. whoops. more tomorrow...

april 3rd

the book that i'm reading...

i had to run a few errands in atlantic today and get lilo more medicine. i wish i could get her meds in bulk so i don't constantly feel like i'm going to the vet's office, but you can only get them in packs of 14...maybe people like to take them too? who knows. i read most of the afternoon, i haven't read for a while and i needed to get lost in a good book.

april 2nd

here are the shirts for the summer reading program!

i did my usual boring things today and then i went to tasha's track meet and it was frickin' windy. when i got home i went to the library in the evening to say hi to my friend lydia. she let me know of the summer reading program being held in june this year and asked for my help again...of course i will, but i love this year's theme, it's "be creative" which means, theater, music, art... i think the kids and big kids will have a good time. i realized when i got home that i missed samantha who and i'll have to catch it online. more tomorrow...

april 1st

these earrings becca gave me a few years ago and i wore them tonight. they make me smile.

i made apple strip bars for the soup supper tonight and picked katrena up after school and went to audubon to take matt's truck title to the courthouse and then i went to the present company to get dylan a confirmation present and to get the kids something for easter. the soup supper was good as usual and then we had services. i've made it to all so far and i hope to make it to maundy thursday service and good friday as well. the first week was about the fox and he revealed a homeless savior, the second was about the donkey and she revealed a peaceful savior, the third week was the dove and how he revealed and angry savior, the fourth was a camel and he revealed a warning savior, the fifth week was about a hen revealing a grieving savior and the last week was a vulture reveals a coming savior. there are three more lenten services left and i think it's the lamb, the rooster and the fish. then i took a 7th grader home for a lady and then went home and read for a bit. more tomorrow...

march 31st

here is a view of my hair. i only have an inch left before i donate it to locks of love. i'm beginning to think my hair has reached a growing point and it's starting to bug me.

i wonder if march went out like a lion today since it was cold and windy? i don't know if that saying is true or not. i was crabby today. i just want a migraine free day. it was bad today, i haven't had one this bad in a while. nothing would help it. i didn't go to bible study tonight because i took four tylenol pm and went to bed. more tomorrow...

march 30th

my name is jen marxen. my name tag for leadership training.

crap, i was late for work and good thing mel doesn't care. i was so excited to go to the pear tree for lunch and then mel told me sue, the lady who owns it, closed it for good on sunday. i guess she's really really the tug on the economy and especially in a small town. plus, she runs it by herself and she has to be tired. i know i would! anyways, she gave mel a gallon of my favorite soup that she makes, it's corn chowder. and it's so yummy. so, we went to her house and ate lunch and she showed me her flowers that were coming up. i didn't have time for much when i got home because i had to hurry and get to leadership training for 4-h. since i've attended both sessions this year i got an iowa state university mug. and training lasted a couple of hours and as usual it was fun and informative too. more tomorrow...

march 29th

lilo cheered me up.

i'm super annoyed today. i had a photo session scheduled for 2 pm. and she didn't show up. i sat around until 3:30 pm. this is the same person that was supposed to have them taken of her kids on thursday and i re-scheduled for today. i have a life too and if you can't make it, at least frickin' call me.

march 28th

katrena and i at the sock hop (i don't know what's over her eye in this picture)

busy, busy day! and i loved it.
i had a senior picture session and the girl takes amazing pictures. she's just a natural and i know that most picture sessions won't be that easy. anyway, i hope she's happy. then i had to get ready for the "sock hop." i wore a black poodle skirt, a lavender shirt with a white button top and a purple scarf around my neck. i also wore saddle shoes that my mom and i painted, bobby socks and did my hair in a high pony tail with my curls. and last but not least pink lip stick, pink blush and black eye liner. i had so much fun taking pictures and dancing. richie lee, is a 50's singer impersonator and he does a fabulous job! we got done around 10:30 pm and i had to go home and edit pictures and upload them. i didn't get to bed till around 2 am. tomorrow is going to be tough because i have another photo session. i sure hope i can handle this.
more tomorrow...