Here We Go Again!

I can't believe it but our bowling season has begun once again! We started the 19Th of August. It seems as though we just had our banquet at the close of last season. Now here we are at the beginning of another 33 weeks.
My average isn't all that great but I ended last year with 147. The first week this year I started with an average of 179! Ish! Nothing like having a high start.....which won't last long, I'm sure! It won't take too many weeks before I bring it right back down to where it should be.
I do love it though. This is also the end of my outdoor sand volleyball. So I slide right into another sport which keeps me active all year long!
It gives me something to look forward to each week and I enjoy the company of my team of women.

Bowling isn't too tough if you can roll a ball down a long, narrow alley. The hard part is figuring out how to roll it the correct way depending on the type of ball you have and be consistent! (This is where I struggle!) Consistency for me is virtually non-existent. I think my score's for the first week would prove that! And practicing in between league nights is not an option.....

I have several relatives (that I know of) that are brave and go out each week to see if they'll be the next ones to compete on ESPN's pro tour! I'll be home cheering them all on....
If things progress for me and I actually keep a higher average, I'll let you know. But don't hold your breath!

Blessed by a Shower

Chris and Dee loaded their plates!

Mom's of the happy couple....Judy and Alvina....
Chris and Bobby, Dee's brother

Dee and Lisa...cousin's and friends

3 weeks from tonight is the big day for Dee and Chris, my friends. If you recall this, then you'll know that there has already been some celebrating going on around Omaha in honor of the happy couple!! And to help with pre-wedding festivities, Dee's sister and sister-in-law held a "couple's shower" for them. Men and women both were invited to attend. It was held at her sister's house. The evening was warm but not unbearable. We sat outside on the patio most of the night which happened to be shaded from the setting sun.

We enjoyed some home-cooked BBQ ribs and chicken that were made by Dee's own Dad, Bob.

There was also potato salad, baked beans, chips and pickles of assorted varieties. Beverages included wine, pop or beer. After taking pictures of the cake we all enjoyed some of that as well. It was marble with chocolate frosting. Very tasty!

Later all the shower gifts were opened. It was quite entertaining to see them react to each and every gift. Especially Chris as he opened kitchen items. He didn't always have the label of them correct which made many of us women folk get a huge laugh! (you had to be there!) They received many lovely gifts and gave them a big boost towards the goals they set to update their household items.

It's only a matter of days now!!!!!!!

A Simply Tasteful Move!

So.....I know that everyone loves food, right? And each of you has certain preferences which is a given. It's called individuality. Without it this world just might be a little boring....what with everyone eating the same basic food. No excitement or adventure. Now, you're probably wondering where this is going. Allow me to tell you! I have signed up to be an Independent Consultant with Tastefully Simple. I placed my order to receive my "Blast-off" kit and a week later I had everything I need to do 4 parties. After that, I will order supplies as I need them. And I have. I'm currently waiting on more products for fall. (Note: can I just say, I've never had so many deliveries from Fed Ex in my entire life as I've had in the last 2 weeks!)

It happens to be a transitional period right now as the Spring/Summer selections change over to the Fall/Winter line. I signed up under a lady that will serve as my sponsor and should I have questions, she's my man! I'm very excited about this as this venture makes it my own business. I choose the days that I work and when I don't! I only get out of it what I put into it. I will try to promote it quite a bit as the holidays are approaching. I plan to visit some of my regular business places such as Dr. offices, dentist, nearby businesses, etc., with gift box ideas. It's great for their employee gift giving! I have a catalog party going on right now, an open house at the airport for airport employees on Labor Day and a home taste-testing party booked for the 14TH. And many more have requested certain times for their own home parties. I'm stoked!

I love the products they offer and believe me, there are many to choose from! Anything from beer bread to soups to hot and cold beverages. And don't forget the assorted choices of dip mixes and seasoning. I am a long way from having tried everything in the catalog but what I've tasted, I've loved.

My blogging has fallen a little behind what with my getting aquainted with this venture. I've been to a team meeting with my sponsor and learned a few new things there. My sponsor has been to my home and gone through several things with me to educate me on the steps and processes I need to know in order to conduct home parties. Each day I am checking my email to see what orders have been shipped to me or simply to see if anyone has ordered from my web site. I love the anticipation of potential orders; it makes me feel like an excited child on Christmas morning to see what Santa Claus has left for them!

Feel free to contact me if you would like to try these wonderful products. They are created to help families with a busy schedule and make meal planning a little less work!

"Casino" Night

OK, remember me writing about Chris and Dee finally getting engaged? The big day is just around the corner. September 6TH to be exact.
Chris's parents wanted to host a "casino night", a party where people can play Blackjack, Bingo, Craps, etc., buy raffle tickets to win prizes, try their luck on a 50/50 drawing and the like. The money raised from this event goes towards the expenses of the couple for the wedding or maybe for a honeymoon. It was held on Saturday night. All of us friends helped out throughout the night either by running the gaming tables or selling raffle tickets. Some worked behind the bar or simply just partied! I myself sold raffle tickets and helped Chris's Dad with the drawings. Trisa took over for me after about 3 hours. There were so many raffle prizes to give away that we literally started at the very beginning of the night giving them away. We ended up just doing one final ticket sale and then drew for the remaining prizes one at one time only because it was almost time to close the building for the night. I'm guessing that there were maybe close to 30 donated gifts to be given away! (very rough estimate!) I myself won a large bottle of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum. I also won a bottle of wine, a t-shirt and a golf glove with ball bag. I know, I don't golf. But that's what I won! I also played bingo and won a couple of other prizes from that!
We ate alot of food. There was Sloppy Joe's, pasta salad, chips and chili cheese dip, pickles, pin wheels, popcorn, Special K bars (I made them!), brownies, mint brownies and of course the Dice Cake! Numerous beverages were also available from Iced Tea to beer, pop and water. Halli, Trisa's next door neighbor, made the cake. This is what she does for a living....can you tell? Her work is unbelievable. She is actually employed at Sam's Club in their bakery department.

It was so much fun and I know everyone enjoyed themselves. After the guests left, we helped clean up the mess and everyone headed home. Congratulations Chris and Dee! We all love you!

The happy couple!
Dee, Halli, Trisa and Chris during the raffle
Chris, Dee, Dee's Mom and Dad, Alvina and Bob

Lori, Dee's sister-in-law helping with admission.
Chris's brothers', Greg and Tim
Chris's Dad, Mark
Halli made this great cake! The dots are Thin Mints.
Tammy calling the Bingo numbers.

Lisa, Tammy, Dee, Trisa, Teresa and I. The sexy girls!

Friends forever!

Greg, Chris, Dee and Tim....the Ederer's.
Dee is too short! Her brother-in-law Ken to the rescue!
Chris's parents, Mark and Judy, Dee and Chris.
Chris, Dee, Ken and Debbie( Dee's Sister and bro-in-law). Jamie in the background!

One More Job Complete!

Today I arrived home and discovered that the damaged siding on my house had been repaired! I'd gotten used to it looking slovenly. After all, it's only been that way for 2 months and 6 days since Mother Nature decided to leave her mark on my house back on June 8TH!
Well, after coordinating with a contractor, it is now like new again! The only walls to be replaced with new siding were the two that were damaged. It's a perfect match to the other walls. If you walk around the outside of the house and try to see any differences, you wouldn't find any.
This has been a very slow process. But it's getting back to the way it used to look. Hopefully the next job to be done is replacing my living room window.

A New Feature!

One day last week, after work, I remembered (only because I had a visual on them!), that I had some landscape lights sitting in the garage. I purposely had been waiting until the main landscaping work had been done to put them in.
It was much easier than I anticipated. They are solar powered with amber bulbs. Plus, the shape of them is different than most of the lights that my neighbors have in their yards. These are just tubular shaped without the lantern type cover on the top of them. I placed them around the perimeter of the bricking to enhance the shape of the ground coverage. It amazes me how different it looks simply by adding this feature! It seems to finish the look.
What do you think?

Click on any photo to get a better look at the lights!

Your Attention Please!

I've added several posts lately. Make sure you scroll down far enough to see them all. Also....there is another poll on the right side bar. Please participate! Thanks!

Vacation...Day #6

Remember the trip I took to Wichita, KS in June? Well, this weekend was the wedding of the older sister to that bride. Yep, one family, two weddings, one summer! Sheesh!

Kari Stagl married Justin Copling. I drove to Wichita on Friday morning for the wedding that night. I arrived in Wichita around 3 PM and went directly to the church as photos of family were being taken prior to the wedding. I found my relatives and snapped a few pictures.

Then all but the wedding party left. We drove to my Aunt and Uncle's house to have a light supper. It was nice to see everyone so soon after having been there only a couple of months ago.

Matron of honor....Kari's sister Sandy Murphy
The Mom's lit the single candles for the unity candle.
The Pastor and Justin watching the ring bearer and flower girl.
Saying their vows....

The Kihle Family...Duane and Adeline. Back row: Willie, Joanne (Kihle) Stagl and Ronnie

The grooms cake...he loved Superman as a child.

The toasting glasses....combined to make one glass. Apart, they are two.

One of three types of centerpieces made by the bride.

Another centerpiece...see the Beta fish(green)? The votive cups all had a different write up wrapped around them on how each "wedding" item came to be or how they all originated. (click on the photo to read the candle)

The last type of the centerpieces.

Getting ready to cut the cake!

Me and cousin Joanne.

Once again, the wedding was beautiful. The reception and dance followed in the Atrium of the church. The meal included sandwich rolls with deli meats and cheeses, BBQ beanie weenies, chips and vegetables and dips. The cake was served along with punch and mints and mixed nuts. They also had iced tea and water.

The dance was quite fun. I even did the Jitter Bug with Joanne's husband, Paul. I can't remember the last time I got to do that dance! What a blast!

The next day several of the Kihle family would be leaving Wichita as opposed to the last wedding when everyone was able to stay until Sunday. Ron left to go home to Denver, Willie's family flew out at 0-dark-hundred in the morning on a trip to Jamaica for a mission trip, and Kari and Justin were driving back to Dallas (where they live) and would be flying out on Sunday for their week-long honeymoon trip to St. Maartin. That left Sandi and Matt and myself as far as out-of-town visitors! After having a nice relaxing day of visiting and my brief shopping trip around Wichita, Adeline, Duane and I went to Joanne and Paul's for supper and more visiting with Matt and Sandi. They were flying out early on Sunday to go home to North Carolina. I was leaving Sunday as well to drive home to Omaha.

Sandi with their cute fur ball kitty cat!

Joanne and Duane worn out from all the festivities.

Paul in the chair, Sandi and Matt...the newlyweds of two months!

On my drive home, I made a stop at a Kansas winery called Smokey Hills Winery. It's located just north of Salina and I-70. Unfortunately they were closed on Sunday's! But I was surprised at how small it seemed to be even though it's a thriving business. It's nestled into the hills and is a quaint little corporation from what I could see on the outside.

The sign right at the corner into the property.

Doesn't it look like it's just a little farm yard?

Driving up to the winery.

Some of the crops.

More rows of crops.

I had tasted the wine and knew I wanted to buy more of it but it's not sold in Nebraska. And being I was driving literally, right by for the wedding, it was convenient to make a visit right to the winery. I had been given a bottle for my birthday and was determined to get more somehow. My friends all know of it as well and had placed orders with me to pick some up for them too. But no luck. We'll have to order from the web site!

All in all, this was a great trip for another beautiful wedding and wonderful visits with extended family!