Kathy Leverenz "Life is Good"

When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.....I will miss you dear friend and every time I hear or see the words "Life is Good" I will think of you with a smile.  Rest in peace....Kathy Leverenz - November 12, 1954 - April 3, 2011.

Carmen

What can I tell you about Carmen?  She's a wife, mother, grandmother, sister, co-worker, friend and a FIGHTER!  Carmen has ovarian cancer and is scheduled for surgery on February 17, 2011.  Before Carmen got sick, NO, let me rephrase that, Carmen doesn't get sick or at least when she does she fights her way through it, before Carmen found out she had cancer she was a different person.  The person she is now was always inside her, just afraid of coming out.  Most of her life she's been this tiny little flower bud, unable to open but this dreaded disease has given her more freedom than she ever imagined.  She has bloomed into this remarkable person full of vim and vigor, love, kindness and emotion (something you never saw before Cancer).  She has learned that by giving a little of yourself you open yourself up to get so much more in return.  And I have learned that YOU CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS (Carmen was my mountain), you can find dear friends in the most unlikely of places and in the most unlikely of ways. There is power in prayer, pray for Carmen, my friend.

It's a New Year!

Well, it would seem that I have taken a bit of a break from blogging, was hard to find the time while I was working two jobs.  Normalcy is relative and for me normal is working one job, coming home to find my hubs waiting on me, going out for dinner or staying in, watching a little tv, hitting the mattress and being half asleep before my head hits the pillow knowing I've had another wonderful day in my life.

On January 23rd we headed for Hoosier Park, aka loosest slots in Indiana, well I suppose that depends, the only money falling into my hand on that day was the money I was taking out of my purse to put into the slots.  Personally I'm an old-fashioned kind of girl, I like making my selection and pulling that long metal lever with the big ball on the end, these new-fangled digital/video slots just don't get it for me BUT it was fun seeing the casino.

And so it goes on January 24th we went to Emens Auditorium and saw Rain (a Beatles Tribute band) - totally awesome!  They put on quite a production, if they are ever in the area again I highly recommend getting tickets.

Steve and I both enjoy museums, all kinds, so last Sunday, January 30th, we headed to Indy to participate in Devour Downtown (this was our 3rd experience and just as enjoyable as all the rest).  We ate at Sahm's Cafe and Tavern in downtown and I tried something I've never had before, bread pudding--who knew I liked bread pudding!  Then we headed to the State Museum where for 2 1/2 hours we walked off our delicious lunch!

I have to admit I really love this time in our lives.  Not a lot of work pressure - we are very blessed, neither of us has to drive out of town for our jobs, our evenings and weekends are pretty much ours to do with what we want.  We love to experience new things together and Steve is always thinking of new and interesting things to do.

In just a few short days I will be taking off with two girlfriends on a short 4 nite, 5 day cruise, this will be a first for me as I've never cruised without my husband. I'm looking forward to this time with the girls but I'm sure I'll be ready to come back home to NORMAL......

Oops!

Ok, you now how you're driving along and then all of a sudden you realize the car or truck in front of you is up and down in speed, drifting from the center line to the edge of the road?  Well, last night the hubs and I were on our way to Muncie and somewhere just outside Winchester a couple of miles we came up behind a truck (the name on the truck will not be disclosed) that was clearly marked with the business name.  Anyhow, we followed this truck for 30 miles and finally, I said to my husband, "I'm not calling the police but I am calling the business and report this driver."  Much to my surprise when I called the business and indicated I wanted to report one of their drivers the person on the other end of the phone said "are you in the black GMC behind me?"  WHAT, how does he know who's calling him?  Turns out, the owner of the business was the erratic driver and YES, my phone call went directly to him!  Turns out he got overheated and was having trouble keeping his wits about him.  He was very kind, thanked me for the phone call and indicated after I suggested that he pull over and allow us to take him to the hospital that he actually was starting to feel better.

Crafting

Well, I certainly have been enjoying my craft room during these extraordinarily hot dog days of summer.  I recently had the opportunity to go shopping with a friend of mine who is a bit of a 'fashionista' and she has  convinced me that accessories really do finish an outfit.  In an attempt to find pretty but inexpensive jewelry to accessorize with I came across fractured marbles on a website.  Now, the website didn't mention making jewelry out of fractured marbles but I decided, why not? First you bake the marbles at a very high temperature for 20 minutes and then you shock them in ice cold water.  Here's a sampling of the marbles after fracturing and here are a couple of the necklaces I have made.  I'm so behind, I'll post pics later.

MONTE COMES HOME and IT'S A BUSY WEEKEND!

My brother, Monte, who lives in Arizona, actually flew into Indy on the 1st of August.  He spent 4 days in Indy for training and then headed to our parents home for the weekend.  What a great weekend it was!!! It started off with me taking Friday off from work, spending the morning with my niece and then the afternoon at my parents with my sister, brother, niece, nephew and parents.  Later that same evening we met up again at Pizza King in Winchester because Monte has to have a Royal Feast Pizza King pizza when he comes to Indiana.  On Saturday morning we had a burial ceremony for my Grandpa Gegenheimer who recently passed away, instead of mourning his death we celebrated his life.  On Saturday afternoon there was a 'huge' cookout at mom and dad's, both sides of our family showed up, what an awesome time it was catching up with everyone.  I enjoyed ever minute of my long weekend but the best part was realizing how much love and laughter my family brings to my life!

My Day with Rebecca

My ever so precious niece and I spent the morning together on Friday, August 6, 2010.  I took her to a local nail salon, Mimi's, to get a mini-pedicure, well, it turns out that she got a mini-pedi AND her nails done. All I can really say about children is that they are a 'hoot' to be around.  They take things at face value, they are so very honest and they think that growing up is really cool!  We had a blast, I spent the majority of my time laughing because I just love all the little stories she told me and I love hearing her answers to questions I might ask.  At one point in the day she said "I don't know what I want to be when I grow up" and I said "maybe you'll be a nurse just like your mommy" and she said "or maybe I'll work at Kroger".  Oh the innocence of a child!  After the mini-ped and nail makeover we met Thad for lunch at our local mexican restaurant where I learned that Rebecca LOVES salsa!  Not necessarily the tomatoes but the 'juice' of the salsa :)  I look forward to creating many more memories with that little sweetheart!!!!