Houlihan's + Carrie = A fun time

This was our weekend to host Dinner for Eight at our house. Everyone is so busy these days, it has been difficult for us all to be available on the same date. We thought we had a day picked but then Becky & Juergen had a last minute conflict. So, we decided to make a girls night out with Karen, Carrie and myself. At the last minute, Karen had to cancel.
Carrie & I met at Houlihan's and had a great time. I had been there a couple of times before but wasn't overly impressed. Tonight was a different experience. It was very good - I am still stuffed.
We both started with a Martini Flight (3 smaller drinks), the Adam & Eve Apple was my favorite, they rimmed the glass in cinnamon, very unique. We shared 2 appetizers. Fried asparagus and Lettuce wraps (yum!) Then came the french onion soup. Nothing to brag about but still good. We were really wild and ordered two mini desserts to share. Banana cream pie for Carrie & Bourbon pecan pie for me. They were only $2.49! What a deal!
The best part of the night was spending some time with a good friend. Thanks Carrie, you were just what I needed today. Did I mention I am still stuffed??

Baby Mini Album

This is the album I made for Joy & Brad's new baby, Jayla. It is a simple little album that Joy can add her own photos to. (I couldn't avoid the glue spots on the velum but they will be covered by the photos she adds - I just wanted to clear that up because I didn't want you to think I would do sloppy work!) It was fun to make & I hope they like it.

Jayla, If you are reading my blog, close your eyes- I don't want to spoil the surprise!!

Crafting always makes a bad day better

My sweet husband came by work today and slipped me two $50 bills and told me to buy something for myself. I had a very stressful day and I knew just what would make me feel better. SCRAPBOOKING STUFF! I stopped by Target on my way home and picked up some storage for my ever growing paper collection and went to scrapbook 911 and got a few things to finish up a project I have been working on for baby Jayla.

I locked myself in the room and didn't come out until it was in tip top order. I have all of my photos from the last 25 years categorized in boxes (I didn't do all of that tonight) and sorted through all my supplies while watching the VP debate on TV. I have some before and after pictures that really don't do the room justice but you can see I got a lot done!

My disaster of a closet before:

And after. You can't see all the photo storage boxes I have on the side. That is what took the most time. (Not the fun part.)
While I was in the process of organizing my photos.

Below is what I accomplished tonight. I do need one more table and a better chair to make it super comfortable. I have everything to start on my Christmas cards (big job) and am working on a family Christmas gift. It's nice to know I now have a place to go hide when I've had a bad day.

We drove 100 miles for a steak!

Today Mike & I met Marty, Darlene and Horace at Hermann Sons Steak House in the big city of Hondo. Darlene has been telling us about it forever so we all decided to get together for lunch today after church. We all had the Pepper Steak -although we ordered various levels of heat. I was the wimp and ordered mine mild (I still thought it was hot). The salad bar was very good too. I will try the Pecan Chicken if we go again. Looks yummy! Being that the place is 52 miles from our house, it will probably be a while before we go again but it was a nice day for a drive and we had a good time. Marty even behaved!

Rocky Mountain High

Mike & I just returned from 3 super relaxing days in Colorado. When I say relaxing, I mean we did a whole lot of nothing. Thursday, I read and slept all day. I think he messed around in the basement but I'm not too sure because like I said, I slept - a lot! He said I looked very peaceful. It was great. Friday was a little more active but not much. I mopped the floor and did a load of laundry. Our neighbors, Ed & Diane invited us over for dinner. I was all for it because I wasn't looking forward to cooking. We had a great visit. She made the best asparagus dish and Ed grilled burgers and brats. Mike took them off the grill and told Ed he turned the gas grill off. Mike has never used a gas grill so needless to say, he THOUGHT he turned it off. Time went by and we were enjoying dinner and Mike glanced out the window and saw flames shooting out of the grill sitting on the wood deck! Mike grabbed a watering can on the deck and threw a little water on it. Ed was right behind him with a pot of water that calmed the flames down a bit. I would have loved to get a better photo but we were all too busy screaming! Everything was under control by the time I snapped this shot of Ed supervising the flames. Saturday, we went to Lake City to visit friends Harold & Juanita Rimmer. They were all excited because they just got up close & personal with a moose family while fishing at the Deer Lakes with their son Tim. Juanita told me it was the strangest thing. They (moose family) knew there were people around but didn't seem to mind. The cow & baby were drinking from the stream while the bull stood there looking around. I can't wait to see her pictures. There was also a moose in our neighborhood the day before we arrived. Of course, I missed that one too! I haven't seen a moose in years so I am way overdue. The bears are plentiful again this year but after my last bear encounter, I'm not too anxious to see one again. We did a little shopping and went to the soda fountain where I had a cone and Mike had his usual Avalanche. He looks happy doesn't he? The annual Wine & Music Festival was in progress in the park. We aren't big wine drinkers and we could hear the music fine from anywhere so we didn't feel the need to spend $75 each for a ticket! I think Debbie said they were $40 last year. Mike did buy me a very pretty pair of earrings and a nice set of place mats. I was a happy girl. Later on that evening we went to a pot luck dinner at our neighborhood club house. As soon as we walked in, a lady grabbed him and asked if he could assist her in opening her bottle of champagne. Her hands just weren't strong enough. I was thinking, "lady this is a pot luck, not dinner at the Ritz." Mike helped her and we got to talking, her name is Brenda and her house is 2 properties over from us. She is from San Antonio as well. Very sweet, interesting lady. I decided champagne was very fitting for her but she also seemed quite comfortable with the rest of us common people at the pot luck drinking tea & beer.

All the relaxing soon came to an end. We shut the house down and drove to Denver Sunday morning to catch a plane home. We are new to winterzing a house. The previous owner was good enough to leave us detailed step by step instructions for opening & closing the house. I got the funniest picture of Mike this morning trying to turn the pump off on the well. He couldn't see because the sun was too bright so he took a sheet outside with him and was crouched up in a little ball. He looked hilarious! This picture is of the Pottin' Shed in Lake City. They moved to a new location this past summer and added a gift shop to go along with the nursery. She has planted flowers on the porch roof and it is so pretty. You can see in the background the aspens are starting to turn gold in the mountains.

A really good read!

I picked up a book at Costco that I knew nothing about. It is titled The Shack and categorized as Christian Fiction - I approached reading it with that in mind. Let me tell you, I laughed, I cried and I just couldn't put the darn thing down! God has never made me laugh so hard. I have lent it to a friend and have promised it to someone else after that. If you choose to read it (I hope you do), remember it is a piece of fiction. So don't think I have lost my marbles and declare it to be theologically correct. It did entertain me and warm my heart. It also gave me a new perspective on suffering and forgiveness. Read it and let me know what you think! Costco also had it in audiobook if that's what you like.

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse

We attempted to go to BJ's for Mike's birthday in July but it wasn't open yet. Hayley has gone several times with her friends and wanted to go for her birthday. We had a great time and the food was very good. Mike had the California Burger & Wedge Fries. He said it was great. Hayley had the Turkey Cobb Sandwich and Wedge Salad (her usual she says), Steve had Chicken Strips and I had the Fish and Chips which I loved. I am not a beer drinker but they brew their own beers (root beer too). I would recommend the place for sure-but let me warn you, it is VERY popular. There was a wait at 1:00 today and Hayley says the evening wait can be over an hour.They do have call ahead seating & I will keep that in mind because we are definitely going back. It was exceptionally good. Some good info - their lunch menu states it is only M-F but they will honor the lunch prices on the weekend as well. We came home, opened presents and had Butternut Brownie Pie. Steve doesn't like nuts and that made Mike happy, he said there would be more for him! Who's birthday is it Mike????

Today is Hayley's Birthday!

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