On the road again...

What's up? - I'm busy tying up some loose ends before I leave tomorrow morning. I'm heading to Sadie and Mike's first to drop off the woodsplitter so they can start stockpiling wood for winter. Then I'm going to do something I've NEVER done before - - get a manicure! There's never been a need when you are a nailbiter like me but I haven't bitten my nails for nearly 3 weeks now. My hands still look like farmer lady hands, with nicks and scrapes from working at the house but when I clean out the dirt from under my nails, they do look a little better. I'll be staying at Jenny and Nolan's on Saturday night. It's been a while since we've hung out and I can't wait to see them. They won't be there until the evening because they have a birthing class all day on Saturday--how exciting for them! I'm going to try to get some sleep on Saturday night because I'm getting picked up by two of my favorite ladies, Nola and Brenda ,at 4 a.m. Sunday for our trip to NEW YORK CITY!! YEAH!! We'll be in New York until next Friday so we'll have plenty of time for fun, fun, fun! A big shout out to Brenda for passing her physical therapy exams!
Appreciation - I'm so very thankful for all my lovely family and friends. Seeing them is what I like best in all the world!
Laughter - The other day I chatted with my sister-in-law, Kelli. She is so funny and always makes me laugh with her of the wall, almost always outrageous statements. I really love her.
Kindness - Carol and George - my inlaws - were over at the house helping me again. They never have to - they just want to! It made my job over there today go much faster and it is kind of them to help us out. Carol offered us their house to live in this winter while they're gone to Arizona. As October quickly approaches, it looks more and more likely that we'll need to take them up on their offer, at least until our house gets livable. (It will be great to have satellite TV when the Twins get to the Series!)

Goodbye rain...Hello sun...goodbye sun!

What's up? - The rain and clouds cleared out just in time for a spectacular sunset. It's so dramatic with all those dark clouds around. I wish all my love's were here to share it with me! The sun is now setting so far to the south that I can't get a good view unless I'm down at the lake. Earlier I went out to the house and took some new photos with the windows installed. We've had the windows since last year when we got a steal of a deal on them. Someone ordered the wrong size and then returned them to Lowe's. We ended up designing the south end of the house around the windows we had. This is the view as you drive up... ...and from the south... ... and from the backyard. There's still a big hole in the front where the door will go. I ordered that door yesterday along with a door for the back porch. All the posts are part of a wrap around porch that will get done eventually. Everything should be shut in by the end of the month. I found out the insulation is arriving tomorrow morning. We are trying a do-it-yourself spray foam product for the exterior walls. I hope it's as easy as the video shows on line.

Activity - I did some yoga today. I think yoga is tricky. It's so controlled compared to other exercising I've done (eg. Turbo Jam, which I also love). It's thoughtful and calming but and I still work up a sweat and I can feel it in my muscles as I sit here typing.

Laughter - I watched "Date Night" last night and I thought it was HILARIOUS! I was in tears from laughing so hard. It's a simple story and sometimes it was hard to see beyond Tina Fay and Steve Carell's television roles but I would definitely recommend it!

Kindness - Our friend Tom is in the hospital with a severe injury so some of his dentist friends are helping by working at his practice for him. That's so kind. Also I went to the Caringbridge website and read some of the kind words people have left in Tom's guestbook.

While clearing out photos from my camera...

...I came accross these pictures of Saniya. Her and I were hanging out at Jada's soccer game this spring and she was bore. She got down on the grass next to me and said,"Nana, I'll laugh and you take my picture," so that's what we did.

Labor Day Fun

The Neumann clan came to the cabin over Labor day. They spent some time out on Sturgeon Lake fishing and tubing. I think everyone caught plenty of fish - mostly small stuff - but the kids thought it was great. Savannah was determined to take her own fish off the hook.It's kind of a tradition at the cabin that the girls go for a nightime swim...sometimes skinny dip...so we got the sauna going on Saturday night. After getting nice and steamy warm in the sauna, we all make a mad dash down the dock and jump off the end into the lake. Hearing the clomping of all the feet on the dock followed by splashes and then usually screams or laughter(depending on how cold the lake is) has been a familiar, happy sound over the years. It was a beautiful starry night. Savannah provided the full moon. Jada was old enough this year to join in the fun. The first time down the dock, we all jumped in ahead of her and she chickened out and ran back into the sauna. The second time out, I made sure I was behind her so when she hesitated to jump, I was there to persuade her - yeah I threw her in! Man, did she scream but she was absolutly giddy with delight. On the third run she didn't break stride as she launched herself off the end of the dock and into the chilly water. Maybe next year we'll be able to talk Saniya into joining us! On Sunday, the weather was great for tubing... ...until they ran out of gas! Thanks Mr. Stranger for bringing my stranded sailors home.

I'm back

What's up - It's been a while since I last blogged, or been on line for that matter. I've just spent the last three hours cyber-stalking all my friends and family. I opened my chat box on facebook and touched base with everbody that would answer me so now I feel better. My absence from my computer all started on Labor day weekend when I went over to our new house project and discovered that aliens had replaced my usually managable husband with a big giant ----head! I left for a couple days out of town...luckily I didn't have my passport or I would have gone out for margaritas on a beach...in Mexico! After my return home and some discussions about more appropriate, more respectful ways of communicating - gotta love that-all is well on the homefront...at least until the next alien transplant! Everyone fights I guess and it's not fun and it's not pretty, and I really prefer when it's someone else, not me. Last year my Mom and Dad even got into it pretty good and they've been married 50 years. Cripes, I guess it just never stops. Anyway, two days turned into two weeks, and before I knew it the mail was piling up, the refridgerator was bare, I had missed hundreds of witty and not so witty status updates and it was just time to jump back into it - - life that is. There has been some good progress on the house. The roof is done, all the windows are in and most of the interior framing is done. We just ordered the insulation and it should arrive in a day or two. That will be quite a project. Finally, all of this seems insignificant in the light of some bad news I recieved today. A good friend suffered serious head injuries in an acident this weekend. It is still unknown what the outcome will be. Treasure each day!
Activity- I'm doing some yoga but I'd like to do more. Also, I'll soon be starting a 3 day/week workout program with my friend Patty.
Laughter - My biggest laugh came from my grandson Tanner. I went to visit Heidi last week and when I came in the house Tanner started giggling and when he giggles, it's infectious! When I picked him up he snuggled his head into my neck and giggled even harder. I'm sure that is the happiest anyone has ever been to see me in as long as I can remember. He just melts my heart.
Kindness - I'm afraid I've been self absorbed lately and have not paid attention to the kind deeds of others. Tommorrow is a new day to see beyond myself and do a good deed for someone else.

State Fair Time!

What's up?- What started as a simple plan to meet Heidi at the State Fair turned into two days of fun! I started out for the cities on Sunday night (Steve left for work out of town on Sunday too) because why not take the opportunity to visit my favorite daughter-in-law. I spent the night at Nolan and Jenny's house. They're in the middle of a kitchen facelift that looks fabulous so far! I had a hair appointment on Monday at noon, so spent the morning shopping...I really miss that now that I'm in the boonies...picked up a couple of new novels and a Yogafit book that my friend, and yoga instructor Nola, recommended. I've started reading it and am looking forward to getting hooked on yoga! Then on to my hair, which also turned into a pedicure, appointment. I really can't say enough about how awesome it was. My hair looks great and they made me feel totally pampered and special. I have another appointment set up for right before I leave for New York(more on that later) to get a another pedicure and dare I say it ...A MANICURE!! If there was a prize for the most devoted nailbiter alive, I would win it for sure. Well, I promised the manicure lady, Jane, that I wouldn't bite my nails or rip at my cuticles until my appointment scheduled 17 days from today. I'm not sure I can do it but sometimes it's easier to keep a promise to someone else than to yourself . Wierd huh, that I would feel worse about disappointing someone I just met than I would about disappointing myself. There's something screwd up about that and it's definitely something I'm going to work on. I picked up some cuticle oil and have dug out my previously unused Mary Kay Satin Hands from the back of my cupboard to help guarantee my success! Anyway, Monday afternoon I met Heidi and Tanner at our hotel in Roseville. Sadie and the girls joined us for a fun time at the pool. After a short night's sleep, we ended up getting to the fair Tuesday morning at about 6:45. It's awesome getting there early when things are just getting rolling. There were a few sprinkle at first but the sun came out soon enough. Tanner did his best to spread a little touch of kid cuteness wherever we went. I forgot how facinated people are with babies. Many people would talked to him to try to coax out that beautiful smile. We ate and drank our way around the fairgrounds (most interesting-Chicken Fried Bacon...most delicious- pork chop on-a-stick --yummy). I got a free book and spent some quality time in the Harlequin Romance booth - double yummy! and we ditched out about 1:00 PM when it started getting very hot and very crowded. On the way home, I had an eye appointment where I picked out some too, too cute glasses that I should have in my moisturized, not bitten and picked at, hands by next week sometime.

Activity - Doing some of the stretches and poses from the new yoga book and feeling inspired!

Laughter- I love seeing my grandkids and spending time with them. It always makes me happy and fills my heart with laughter!

Kindness - I always knew I had married a kind man but he still surprises me sometimes. Last weekend we were putting the pontoon in at the boat landing where we met a man who had lost his car keys. No big deal right, except he had lost them at the end of the dock while he was putting in his boat. He and his wife were up to their chests in the water, digging their feet into the mucky bottom while their two little kids looked on from the boat. When we got back to the cabin, Steve asked our neighbor, who in turn called a friend on the lake, who did indeed have a magnet that would help. Steve went and picked it and brought it to the stranded family and floated around on the pantoon while the guy continued searching. After about 15 minutes, the man raised both hands above his head to signal success! He retrieved his keys and Super Steve saved the day. Awe! Steve didn't have to take the time but he did. I'm proud of him.