WARNING: HOBO update~

**PLEASE READ****

as awful as it is to think, see and read...you should be aware~

GOOD NEWS: Called the bug man....HE CAME AND NOW THE

bugs are on their way to to "bug heaven" as we speak!

BAD NEWS: The bug man found several BLACK WIDOW spider webs,

ALOT of HOBO spider funnel webs and a VERY LARGE MALE HOBO spider that

came out of hiding when the bug man started to spray the big guys hide out!

KNOWING what our bug man found just made my skin crawl...I couldn't hardly think about all

the creepy crawly's that have been lurking about in my yard and house while

I slept soundly in my bed!

The bug man said that there have been 4 reported HOBO spider bites in our area over the last few months. One just recently...this person was bit on the cheek (yes, can you imagine that spider crawling on your face in the middle of the night...EWWWW) and it wasn't treated soon enough, ended up that the venom ate completely through this persons CHEEK!!! Rotted the flesh entirely and ALL FROM a spider bite!!!

Mr. Bug Man said that HOBO spiders are quite common around these parts...I for one don't want to take the chance of meeting one again, especially if he is crawling on my face!

Needless to say the bug man will be paying our home a visit frequently to keep

the bugs, spiders and creepy things from taking up residency again...

If you are local and want the bug man to pay a visit at your

house, let me know and I will pass on his number! HE IS WELL worth it!

“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

At my age, birthdays are just not quite what they use to be when I was younger. I remember anxiously waiting for my birthday to arrive so that I could be another year older. I couldn't wait for my mom to make my favorite dinner with my favorite cake and ice cream to be served up afterwards. It was the holiday that I looked forward to all summer long. NOW that I am aging, turning another year old just doesn't have the same "HAPPY, EXCITED" effect that it had on me "back in the day".............so the last couple of years I've decided to give myself a birthday present~The gift of TIME...which in my life seems to be a very limited commodity. I take ONE day and I get to do whatever I WANT TO DO...no "have to do's", no laundry, no dishes, no cooking or cleaning...just a little R&R any which way I please! BUT in order to do that, I have to LEAVE the house (otherwise guilt overcomes me and I do what I do every day). Last week I finally got to take MY DAY and go play a little. I headed to the city for a little retail therapy and some quiet time. I got up early....got ready and headed out the door ALL in the attempt to beat the construction workers to work on that fine sunshine filled day...........BUT as you can see....they had the same plans....TO BEAT ME~

Yes...their work day was well under way when I came by! They must have been up and at it before the sun even came up!!! SO all my attempts to "HURRY up" so I could get a head start was all for nothing...I got to sit in long lines of construction anyway. Oh Well........what do you do?! Hurry up and wait seems to be the story UTAH tells during the summer months~
After sitting in construction for "some time" (20-30 minutes) I finally made it toward the canyon only to run into FOG....YES, FOG in September. CRAZY was all I could say. It was only around the lake, so it didn't last for long...but it was a little surreal...fog in September just wasn't what I expected to see!

This is looking out my window from the road...yes it WAS THICK!

Good thing it didn't stick around for long.........although, it made my stomach turn a bit knowing what was to come here in Utah in just a few months. I have to say a small part of me just wanted to keep driving to someplace that never see's snow or fog, and then stay until next spring...........but I didn't!

I had a fantastic day...and even got a new pair of boots for FREE!!! WOO HOO!!! I ate at my favorite food joint (YES, that would BE CAFE RIO!) and hung out, wandering around all my favorite stores.............yes, it was a wonderful day.

I can't wait for my birthday to come around again next year!

OUR Un-WAntED house guest....

EWWWWW....is right!

This "little" (I say LITTLE, but she really wasn't) visitor came

knocking at my basement door last night.

I will call her...HOBO

BECAUSE....

thats what the internet said HER name was!

SHE is large...larger than a quarter, more like the size of a fifty-cent piece!

SHE is VERY ugly and has fangs that come off the front of her~

AND

She IS venomous and leaves a nasty mark upon the showing of her affection~

When I spoke to her she would "lash" out at me...but MAYBE

that had something to do with the fact that I would give the bottle

a good little SHAKING when I told her HOW AWFUL SHE WAS

AND that she had creepy legs and was going to cause me to lose many hours of sleep...

as I would be worrying about her family coming to find her!

NEEDless to say...she WON'T be visiting us again...EVER, unless for some

reason she pays me a visit when I go to heaven...BECAUSE

she is NO LONGER on this earth!....

and as for HER FAMILY?....they will be joining her soon

as we WILL be calling the BUG MAN tomorrow!!!

Farewell HOBO...

may your journeys be long and full of many flies in heaven!

Rose Colored Glasses~

When I was a little girl I had a book about a cow

that wore "rose colored glasses" and everything

she looked at through these glasses had a pink tint to it....

(I won't elaborate on the story...as I am sure it would bore you, but it was a CUTE

story and one of my favorites)...NOW, whenever I look at a sunrise or sunset

I think of that story...because the beauty of a rising or setting sun, always

has that gorgeous pink, purple or orange tint to it.

I think that sunsets are one of the most beautiful creations that

we've been blessed with. I've seen many in my life, and there is just nothing quite like watching the sun go down. One of my most memorable sunsets was one that I saw in Hawaii as it set over the ocean...(you should add that to your bucket list...its a must DO for everyone)

BUT....

having said that, I don't know that it was any more beautiful than the ones

I get to experience right here at home...looking out my window or from my back yard!

...they don't cost money to see, you don't have to be anywhere elite or secluded to see them...

you just have to be observant and in the right place at the right time~

...we were just lucky enough to be on the road traveling home from a family party

when the sun started to set in the west about a week ago...I felt blessed to be out driving at the

time the sun was going down, otherwise I probably would have been home and too busy

to notice this gorgeous sight!

I'm so glad I live where I can see the sun come up,

watch the sun go down and to be able to count the stars

twinkling in the sky....what a beautiful place I get to live!

Mountain Music....

Labor Day weekend seems to be the last "HOORAY" for everyone...a close to the summer and a beginning of cold evenings, a warm bowl of chili and over sized sweatshirts! I for one want to drag on my "sandal wearing, warm nights, mosquito biting, hot sweaty....LONG DAYS" for as long as possible! SO for Labor Day we drove up to one of my favorite spots, "Mirror Lake" for a little fishing and a fun little picnic........can I just say that MOTHER NATURE decided to let me know that she was the boss (as if I didn't already know that) and she brought "autumn" in for a visit while we were picnicking...it WAS chilly! BUT we made the best of it and threw on our jackets faked like we were WARM (actually, I think hubby and Cam WERE warm...it was just me and girls that thought it was a little nippy outside).

...we walked around the lake (finding the warm SUN on the east side of the lake was the best!)

Cam was the only one that had a fishing licence so we all watched as he tried his best to catch a little fish...they were jumping EVERYWHERE, they just weren't biting...anything~

We laughed and chatted...afterall, thats what family trips

are all about....AND that is why I asked everyone to PLEASE LEAVE THEIR

ELECTRONICS AT HOME...that way WE could chat

as a family without the distractions of texts, email, internet, music and phone calls. It was a

really NICE, uninterrupted little day trip!

(I suggest that everyone tries that once in awhile...

its surprising what you can learn about each other when you actually talk)

Kim...pointing at the jumping fish~

...Cam baiting his hook so he CAN catch those jumping fish~

We bought a bucket of chicken and some side's at KFC for our family picnic...

No hassle...and yummy food...my kind of picnic!

We took in all the gorgeous scenery and soaked up every ounce of sunshine that we could!

It was a beautiful day...from sun up to sun down!

If you can't beat them....join them~

Although they look it.....

these pictures have NOT been altered....they are 100% authentic!

I have to say, this has been one of the strangest growing seasons for my garden!

FIRST my "Siamese Twin Squashes" (we went on to have 3 more sets) to NOW

having a "tubal cucumber"...ha ha ha ha

I guess the blossom was in the hole of this brick when it was pollinated and started to grow....

resulting in a VERY tight squeeze!

It's too bad I can't think of some way to "preserve" this

crazy garden find. It makes for quite a conversation piece. It would be fun to keep it around for years to come~

Oh well...at least I have pictures~

But until it wither's up, this crazy CuC is going to sit on my table for

any and ALL to look at...its hysterical!

Call it UniqUe...Call it Odd...I just CALL IT QUIRKY~

Quirky= peculiar, far out, unconventional

I think we can all be defined as a little "QuIrKY" at times...a little crazy, a little extreme and a little hysterical. I like to think that being a

little "Quirky" makes me "unpredictable" and "interesting"!

I am who I am...what you see is what you get...

This is a little bit of the CRAZY paRt of what makes me....

ME~

1. I am a little OCD...yes, I really am! I have many quirks about things that have to be "just so" or it drives me crazy. FOR instance: Before I get on the treadmill every morning, the family room (where my treadmill is located) has to be tidy, organized and the pillows have to be set on the couch just perfectly...yep-its the truth, otherwise I can't work out!

2. I can't read a book that doesn't smell good. If my nose is going to be in a book for hours or even for a minute or two, the pages have to appeal to my senses...otherwise I can't read it. Smells get to me, and you would be surprised how the smell of some paper differs from another...its not all GOOD, some paper really stinks!

3. I can eat just about anything CoLd...yes, even mac and cheese. Its amazing that some things that appeal to my taste buds when warm and wonderful, taste even better cold to me.

4. I feel super lazy if I sleep past 6:30am. Growing up, we arose in the morning around 5:30-5:45 year round. In the winter we caught the bus at 6:45 so we had to be up and going early. In the summer we had weeding (in our 5 acre garden) to do so my parents woke us up and drug us kicking and screaming to the garden. My internal alarm clock has since been set for 6:00am OR before.

5. I have a little guilty pleasure... I shouldn't share, but I will...just don't judge me! I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (carries on from my childhood too I guess). Yes, I know peanut butter is packed full of protein and that's good BUT its also packed clear full of fat too (and that's bad). Every week when I make homemade bread I just can't resist a piece smothered with peanut butter and strawberry jam OR peanut butter and Nutella.

6. I prefer water in a glass cup vs a plastic tumbler. I think water tastes better served in glass. Maybe its that I can see what I am drinking or the fact that I can't taste the plastic, I don't know...but its much better in a sparkling clean glass cup.

7. I am obsessed with TIME. I collect clocks, I LOVE them...I have big ones, little ones, fat ones, short ones, some that hang, others that stand...so you would think with at least a clock or 2 OR even 3 in a room that I would always be on time...sad to say, but I'm not.

8. I love to chew on ice. Back when we had an ice machine (it has been broken for a year or 2 now) I would set it to make the littlest ice cubes, which would be done in 10-15 minutes. Then I would fill my cup up and chew on them all until they were gone...it was a great snack!

9. I am not a competitive person. When it comes to games, I play to play...not necessarily win (although that's fun too). When it comes to looking a certain way or being something just to out do the next person....that's not me! I don't have the time or energy to worry about trying to out do my neighbor. My philosophy is...just be who and what you are...and Let's All JusT be FRieNDs!

10. Lastly.....I will always wear my hair with bangs. Not necessarily because I love bangs (because there are so many cute hairstyles WITHOUT bangs)...but because I have wrinkles on my forehead and I don't want anyone to see them....I am not a huge fan of wrinkles anywhere, but smack dab in the middle of my forehead just makes me cringe!. Wrinkles and grey hair are one of the many drawbacks of aging...and I'm going to fight them both for as long as I can.

.....there you have it, a few of the ODD things that make me who I am~