lazy Days...

Check out these comfy kitties....

look at those hands!

LOOK - Jeremy's healed! Just kidding! This was taken two days before the surgery... but it was so sweet I thought I would share it (in memory of Jeremy's hands..) He is actually doing quite well. He drove the car to work today!

Carpal Tunnel

Jeremy and I will be laying low this weekend as he recovers from Carpal Tunnel surgery in both hands. He is doing really well considering how little he can use his hands right now. Hope he recovers quick since school starts Monday for him! I know that sounds crazy but after he was diagnosed with it late this summer, there just didn't seem like a good time to do it so.... he just got it over with! I mean frisbee golf season was ending soon anyways!!!

Mom's Birthday!

Today is my mom's Birthday! Happy Birthday MOM! Here are some photos of the gifts I made her. I love making things for my mom. She has so many interests and loves all things handmade!
Below is a set of cards I made her of photos of the Lake house. After that is a needle wallet that I made her from great fabric from Home Ec Workshop. Kirsten was so kind to help me figure out how to make it. We had so much fun making one for my mom, we made one each for ourselves! My mom is very crafty too. She just finished a yo-yo quilt. I am hoping she will send me a picture of it so I can post it. It is beautiful.



I took a pillow class at Home Ec too. I made a pillow I am quite proud of. Why haven't I posted it yet? Well- it is going to be a gift for some lucky person!!!!

Martini anyone???

I met up with my sister, my mom, and and my three aunts this week for lunch at Graze, a fairly new restaurant in our area. It had a fabulous assortment of martinis to choose from. We all just had to try one! Surprisingly, the one I picked came out bubbling and smoking..... you can see it above. It is called the Valentini and I highly recommend trying it!




A little toast to my mom's birthday and that we were all able to get together!
Summer is ending quickly for me and my new job and graduate school will soon be starting. It has been such a nice relaxing summer, I am thankful I have gotten to spend so much of it with my family and friends! The kittens had their little operations this week. They are doing OK. Mabel has a little cough from the anaesthesia and is taking antibiotics.

Guess who wore the lamp shade last night?

We had some friends over for dinner last night and Roosevelt drank too much! I won't say for sure, but I think he overheard our conversation that he and Mabel will both be having surgeries this Thursday.
I guess it was one last drink to his manhood!

Zucchini Fest 2008

We grew 14 zucchini and yellow squash last week and were a bit overwhelmed with what to do with it all. You can only eat so much zucchini bread and zucchini stir-fry. Jeremy and I looked up 10 recipes and got busy one afternoon ( creating what we now refer to Zucchini Fest 2008).
Here are a few recipes we enjoyed:

Lemon Zuccini Bread

Zucchini Cornbread Casserole

Gnocchi in Pesto Sauce

What a mess!

We made 6 different recipes in one afternoon to share with company and for the weekend at the Lake house! We froze some for later dinners and all were delicious!

my new Mac

I got a new MacBook this summer to start my new job.  I have really been enjoying playing with the photo booth and iphoto editing features. Here are a few fun ones!!!

Great Garden goodness!

summer fun!

We got an old air hockey table for the summer and have put it to good use!  Everyone wants to come over and play.  We have had several drunken double tournaments.

Jeremy's sister Anna became quite skilled in the game as long as she remembered to keep her other hand off the table!
Mabel and Roosevelt love the air hockey table as well!  It  can be difficult to get through a game without a kitten landing on the table.

We have spent a lot of time with Anna.  Here is her first trip to the Iowa City public library.  We had a great time. Afterwards it was off to pizza at the Airliner and then last a splashfest at the fountain in the Ped Mall.  She loved it!

Happy Summer!!!!!

Nieces and Nephews....

Here are some sweet shots of my nieces and nephews this summer. Starting from the top is little Elaina a sleep at the Arts Festival and below is big brother Mitchell looking especially tough ! Below him is Celsie intently watching her daddy put on a roof at Grandma's house and last are Sophie and Marissa after their dance recital. Wow... summer is going by so fast!

check out these great pictures!

This just popped up outside of Mount Vernon last week.

I found these great monkeys in Rockford IL, home of the Rockport Socks which sock monkeys are made from!

my new classroom

I am getting excited and nervous about starting my new position at UNI.  I went to visit last week and I ordered my text books for my fall classes. I took a few photos of the art building my art education classroom. There are two studio rooms as well, but this is the room I will use the most.  I started writing out my first syllabus yesterday and it was challenging but exciting to make.  There is so much I want to pack into a semester!  

Stranded in Mount Vernon!

Jeremy and I are so lucky we have not had any real flooding- just more water in our basement!  We were stuck in Mount Vernon all weekend though because all the major roads were closed around us.  Highway 1 that takes you from Mount Vernon to Iowa City literally broke this week.  We finally ventured out on Sunday night to see the damage and maybe catch a movie!

Since Cedar Rapids is on a water shortage- there were some surprises when we went to the movies!

I have been volunteering at the shelter in Cedar Rapids and it tears you up to see so many people even with out a tooth brush or a pair of shoes.  It was really great though to see all the people helping and donating supplies.  There were equal amounts of flood victims at the supply center as there were volunteers! Target brought 3 semi loads of supplies there. It was really

 overwhelming to see the community pull together.

In all this mess, we helped some people move out of their houses and ended up with YES another CAT!  We are just taking care of her while my professor's house is flooded.

Meet Pork Chop....

You may be thinking now... how many animals is that?  The answer is 5!  Everyone seems to be tolerating each other fine. Roosevelt and Pork Chop do the majority of growling and Dottie and Mabel do the jumping and playful teasing.  Violet just watches everyone and sniffs at whoever new walks by.  

School's Out for Summer!!!

School is over and the end of the year was great! We had a talent show that ended with my 5th graders doing a McDonalds rap they found on YouTube. It was hilarious!

We played our annual kick ball against the 5th graders as a farewell to them as they enter middle school next year. It was a tough game, I was just happy I scored!

We tied the game- but probably should have lost!

Here my 4th grade kids are singing me a goodbye song/poem they wrote!

Goodbye to School .... Hello to Summer!

The Three Musketeers!

Darby will be leaving this Sunday to go to his new home in Cedar Rapids. It will be extra hard to say goodbye to him because I have gotten really attached to him. The three kittens have become so independent and so much fun. Look how sweet they are relaxing over Memorial day weekend!