Happy Friday!

Whoo, lot's of stuff to catch up with!

Things are back to normal - YAY!  Miss Angela is done with summer school and I went back to my regular hours at work today- 7:30 - 3:30.  I like the early stuff!  Maybe now I'll feel more motivated to grocery shop / do laundry / clean house / etc.  I don't know how people who work later in the evening function!

She got B's in both her classes, which makes me happy.  She had a class for each semester of US History that she failed.  Why didn't she do that to begin with????  It makes me wonder what the teacher did, since she'd text me during class    O_o   and tell me she was watching Pearl Harbor or 42 or Malcolm X.   But anyway, she's good to go with starting her Junior year next month!

So....classes finally started at the new studio!

Damn those are some awesome pink stripes!  

The only studio I did not paint a drop in! 

Studio C (also with those damn pink stripes on the opposite wall over the mirrors)

I spent many hours there painting.  I did Terina's entire office and well over half the lobby!  Guess that's what happens when you volunteer.    But it looks so nice & homey now.

Here is Miss Special One wearing a not-her-school sweatshirt in the lobby.

There are still a few things that need to be done, but nothing that stops classes from going on.  Hanging pictures, trim, etc.  I saw Terina having a chat with Angel - she said she needs to work on arm control this summer and she's sure to be in level 4 (the top group) in the fall!  HOORAY !!!

Last Friday, Miss Angela went home with my sister Laurie so they could go see the Conjuring.  I have no desire to see it, and Laurie did.  Win!  So when I dropped Angel off, I told Laurie that if she needed a 3rd for riding on Saturday, I was available!

It was a beautiful day - overcast & around 73 degrees and a slight breeze to keep the bugs down. 

 It couldn't have been more perfect!  

How funny is this?  I caught Princess & Kisses both rolling.  

Captain (the gray) apparently didn't feel the need to get any dirtier. 

I finally got my new camera!  I put it on layaway after my old one crapped out.  I picked it up Wednesday and went tonight to try it out.  Of course I plotted a course for 3 cemeteries after work.  One was a tiny, old place.  Very small, but I like it. The other 2 are ginormous.  I spent probably 2 hours walking around one and the other I drove around.  I took about 150 pics.   I'm saving those pics for the Countdown to Halloween posts in October on MGC.

Most of the stones were laying flat.  I wonder who brings the fake flowers in??  These people died in the 1850s!!

Tomorrow I'm going to my first Yankee Candle Boney Bunch Preview Party - I've never been to one and I've heard (from the manager) that it's crazy but fun.  I don't plan on being one of those weirdos who stand in line before the store opens, but I will be there soon after.  I'm not a crazy collector like some people - I get the pieces I think are cute & not every single one!

this is my headless horseman from 2 years ago.  

these are a 2008 re-release this year.  

It's one of the few items online as of this moment.  

Yeah.  I ordered it. 

So this should be interesting.  A decent blog post about the day if nothing else! 

So that's about it.  I hope to be done at the mall fairly quickly so I can make it to my siren test at 1.  And I have a map printed out with some other cemeteries out in that area.  My camera is going to get a workout! 

And I just found out that I'm a great-aunt again tonight!  My niece Ashley had #2 today, a big bouncing baby boy!  Congrats to her & hubby & new big sister!

13 in 13 update

Just a little late posting this - ~someone~ (not mentioning the only male in my house) was hogging my computer last night & I was already comfortable in bed when he finished. 

...last week

...last month

...last week's Activelink

I was up a tiny bit at WI last night. I'm still trying to adjust to suddenly having fewer points!

So here's my goals & how I've been doing.....

1. attend weekly WW meetings - check!  It looks like I may be switching back over to Thursday nights.  For the next couple weeks, Angel has acro (tumbling) on Wednesday and there isn't much time to make & eat dinner in that time between my meeting & her class.

2. post eTools progress report weekly - check!  See above.

3. earn at least 35 WW activity points weekly - 3/4  but the 32 from the one week is OK.

4.

5. plan meals weekly - 3/4  I need to do this & go grocery shopping.  I feel like Old Mother Hubbard.  We've been successful in emptying the fridge & cabinets, tho!

6. eat more / new veggies/fruits every week - this week has sucked here.

7. be a better blogger - I've re-designed and re-named 2 of my 3 blogs - this one included.  I feel they both fit me better now.

8. spend at least 15 minutes per day straightening up my house - I could have been better here.  I don't know how people function as Domestic Goddesses when they work late!  But now that Miss Angela is done with summer school, I am back to my regular hours which means getting off work at 3:30 pm.  Yay!

9. make time for ME!! I guess this has been OK.  When I was getting home 5 - 6 pm I'd go sprawl across the bed with the cats and just veg for a while, then go fix dinner.

10. find plans & designs for holiday displays (tomato cage trees / MGC fence / potion book) - I have general idea of what I want to make and I have found the phone # to a place within 1/2 mile of my house that is a wood recycling place and has stacks upon stacks of pallets.  I just need to call them to see if I can have a few.

11. work on RACES certification - I've started re-reading the manual.  I really hate Government-ese!  Things would be so much easier if it was in plain English.

12.

13. wean myself off pop - meh

Rebecca’s July Challenge - love your body

I think I've done well here.  I had to go buy new undies since the ones I had suddenly started driving me nuts.  A couple pairs of them, I could pull the back up to my bra strap!  I also went out and bought a couple tops that are more girly than the basic plain t-shirts I usually wear.  Sparkly stuff!  I've been wanting to wear brighter colors and I noticed that one of my snugger tops actually has wrinkles in it (aka - loose!)  I just feel a whole lot more confident in my body and how it looks. 

For August.....

I'm keeping most of my goals the same, but for #4 (which was blank) I'm adding exercise specifically for my arms & body. I took my measurements & the arm numbers haven't changed in forever.  I want to lose that skin dangle underneath.   

And Rebecca's August Challenge is to get outdoors!  I'm sure, being in Michigan, it'll be easier for me than people who live in hot & humid places.  Not sure what I'll be doing for this yet.   

****************

Just to add a note here - it irritates me beyond words to hear people talk about how fat they are when they're so obviously not.  There are 2 girls at my work (both late 20s / early 30s) talking about going to their doctor and crying in order to get prescription diet pills. Seriously?  They are probably size 2 & 4.  It's disgusting. The one has had many health issues and said she ~OMG~ gained 20 lbs when they removed her thyroid.  Wooo.  She must have been a skeleton before, since she looks OK (thin) now.  Pppft.

Friend Makin' Monday - 10 things that make me HAPPY!

A bit late to the game, but ~gasp~ I was actually busy at work today and I had to leave a bit early to get my eyes re-checked - my new contacts aren't letting me focus close up and it really sucks when you have to keep looking between a paper on the desk & the computer monitor! 

Now let’s get to this week’s topic!

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over yonder at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Ten Things That Make Me Happy

This is an easy one, since it doesn't take much to make me happy!  

1. The opportunity to go horseback riding!

me on Captain Slow, Miss Angela on Princess (brown horse) and sister Laurie on Kisses (paint)

2. Babies!

my niece's boyfriend brought this 3 week old kitten over to her grad party. He's bottle feeding her after mama kitty abandoned her.  I think it says a lot of a big guy like Drew taking care of such a tiny kitten! 

3. New underwear!  I've recently noticed how annoying my undies were - because they were too big!  So I got to go buy some new ones. 

4. iTunes - so I can listen to my favorite jams as many times as I want.  Currently listening to classic Def Leppard. 

5.  A ready & willing walking partner. 

And I'm happy that I've managed to get the hubby out walking twice with me recently! I let him choose the route & we've gone about 1.6 miles each time, just by chance. 

6. Driving fast with the windows down and radio cranked. 

7.  The thought of vacation next month. We're driving up the west coast of Michigan, spending my birthday someplace awesome. 

8. Taking Miss Angela and one of her friends to Cedar Point in 2 weeks.  I haven't been there in 24 years! Can't wait to ride some coasters, especially since I know I'll fit in the seats easily. 

9. Only 3 days left of summer school!  Not for me, but for Miss Angela  But I've had to go into work late after dropping her off the past 6 weeks, and most days leave at lunchtime to go get her.  This means making up a lot of time and that SUCKS!  I prefer my 7:30 - 3:30 schedule and can't wait to go back to it. 

10.  These cools days & nights we've been having.  It's so nice sleeping with the windows open!

bonus happy - my new blog name & look!

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions! Take time to get to know someone new this week, leave a few comments and come back and link up in the comments. Happy Monday, friends!