Back At It Once Again....

Well, after a hiatus from my blogging, I feel like getting back into it.  Since my last post, my summer has literally zipped right by.  I find it so hard to believe that we've already seen the 4th of July, Labor Day and Halloween pass by.  We're now looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Last week as I walked into Walmart to pick up a few things, I began to hum along to the music that was playing overhead.  It only took me a few minutes to realize that the tune I was humming was "Jingle Bells!"  Really?  How is it that the Thanksgiving holiday is always skipped right over and we jump to the Christmas season--and this is all before Halloween! 
The month of November is the month for people to really look at what they have to be thankful for.  I've noticed on Face Book, a few people will write about what they are thankful for, on a daily basis.  Each day they stop and think about what they have, or whom they know, or what's going on in their lives and actually state those thoughts for the world to see.  No matter how minuscule or possibly silly it would seem to you and I, they truly are thankful for them.  Do you do that too?  I'm guilty myself for not doing so.  Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for everything about my life.  I'm just terrible at making myself stop my busy daily routine to think about it and appreciate everything about my life. 
I've been quite busy with my business, Tastefully Simple.  Especially the last few weeks.  This is a great time to host parties, as people like to be stocked up on snacks and such for the holiday get-togethers with friends and family.  So my schedule has kept me on the move.  I have recently done a couple of craft fairs as well.  Tastefully Simple has a wide selection of gift collections also and my customers are taking advantage of that. 
I know that I have two more parties before Christmas and then my party schedule slows way down as people are trying to relax and recuperate from the hustle and bustle of the season.

REWIND:
At the end of July, myself and about 25 other friends gathered in Blackhawk, Iowa for a weekend of camping and mud volleyball.  Most of us had tents and we were set up in the yard of my friends' Mom, Mickie.  She has a lot of yard and we took up most of it with our tents.  It was a blast!  The heat was relentless but the evening cooled down and all had a great time. 

Our mini tent city.  Mine is on the left, the beige top and green bottom. 

Our team....I'm in the front, center. 

Throughout the course of the summer months, as you all heard on the news, the Omaha/Council Bluffs area was dealing with Mother Nature and the wrath of the flooding that hampered our area for the better part of 4 months.  I-29 was literally under water and had to be shutdown.  I-680 that is part of the metro on the north side was also shutdown due to water.  Homes and businesses near the airport (Eppley Airfield) where I work, were also under water.  The airport took extra precautions early on and put sand bags all around the terminal and other structures that are an integral part of aviation.  This was done in anticipation of the levees (that surround the airfield) breaking and the Mighty Missouri making it's way onto the airport property. 



The sandbags around our bag room.

We survived without any water getting onto the airfield.  The airport authority employees were to thank for that.  They kept a twenty-four vigil on the levees and made repairs to sink holes or weak area on the levee walls whenever necessary.  We heard many comments from pilots and passengers both regarding what they saw from the air upon arrival into Omaha.  The water literally surrounded the airport.  The end of our runways are just to the inside of the levees and the planes flew directly over the Missouri and the flooded areas. 
Once the water subsided and the sand bags were removed, we still found ourselves walking the same paths that we had to with the sand bags in place.  They had been there for so long, it became habit to go around them, even when they were gone!  We're so glad it's behind us.  The interstates are now repaired and open and things seem to be getting back to normal. 

I hope you continue to tune in and I'll try to keep this updated.  Luv ya!