A Return...

Hello---I'm BAAAACK! Thanks again to EVERYONE for the nice comments and thoughts. We really did appreciate them! It was nice to have a break from blogging-I think we put to much pressure on ourselves to "post" something incredible each time and I find that to stress me a little toooo much cause blogging is supposed to be fun right? Now for today's post we will have a little "SHOW and TELL." I want to show YOU what I made on Sunday. Ken and I are cleaning and organizing our garage since it somehow got out of control. In the midst of said cleaning and organizing I decided that I needed a new table cover for my potting table. So............

Here is the before picture--I had a covering with flowers and ladybugs on it.

And.....Here is the new covering that I made!

TA DA!!!!!!!! Here is my newly covered and

organized potting table! I'm very pleased with

it and I'll tell you a little secret--READY????

I didn't do ANY MEASURING!!!!!!

Now I'm ready to start planting flowers.

WOOOO! HOOOO!

~ Keep on Dreaming~

It's the Weekend!!!

Hi Everyone!

Stopping in the give you an update:

Ken will have two weeks under his belt

at the end of today! He is enjoying it

a lot. His boss and coworkers are very

easy to work with he says.

I have six more weeks of school left but

whose counting right???? Yesterday I

found out the two of my "harder"

students are moving upstairs next year.

We'll get two more with some challenges

but to a different degree than the two we

are losing.

Ken and I would like to express our

THANKS and love to everyone. Your

comments have meant a lot to us!

It is going to take some time for us to

fully get back to where we were BUT

we WILL do it! My friends-- YOU ARE

GREAT!!! Love you all.

I'll be back full time soon but will peak

in to see what you all are up to!

Happy weekend to you!

~Keep on Dreaming~

Mr. Ken

This post is dedicated to my WONDERFUL husband and I'll tell you why. It may be long and rambling so please hang in there with me. On March 27, 2009 Ken was let go from a job that he had held for the last 20 years ! Yes, I said 20 years. Ken is a "computer guru." He helped his clients get their computers and their systems back up and running. Never in my wild imagination did I think that we would have to deal with this situation. Ken came home that afternoon and went right to work on finding a job. Some days he would work for 8 hours to find something. I can't tell you how many resumes were sent out, how many online applications that he filled out and how many follow up phone calls he made. There were also interviews and rejections to deal with. It is truly amazing how many HR departments CANNOT respond to a call or email. Being unemployed is a very emotional and mental experience. Many days I'd work at school and then come home and work on finding possible jobs for Ken on one of the many on line job sites. It got so rough early on that I suggested that Ken only" job shop " 4 hours a day and then do something else. He took my idea and ran with it! Several projects received some attention but we have a ways to go. Ken is a Trooper! Below are some pics of the past year...

Ken's corn from our small garden. July brought MY first

blog post. Blogging has been a lifesaver for me!

It has been a way for me to divert my mind to something

else. I have met some wonderful friends through this and

look forward to meeting more!

We still celebrated the boy's birthday. Isn't he cute ?

Remember this birthday experience?

Mr. Contemplation.

There was a smile on Ken's face 80% of the time. Of course

there were times when he was down but who wouldn't of

been after giving 20 years dedication to one company!

We celebrated our 10 year anniversary ! It was different

than what we had invisioned in our 9th year but.... at least

there was celebrating going on!

We had a low key Christmas with some of the family.

Time was spent with friends. We couldn't do without our

super friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January brought us hope that the corner was going to be

turned. Job shopping continued and the weather drearys

were dealt with.

A visit to the ER and a smile on his face.

Eye surgery and a smile on his face.

My Valentine dinner date complete with .... a smile.

Easter was celebrated just recently. (see past posts)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After much searching, fear, not knowing, rejections and

frustrations I am happy to say that....

ONE WEEK AGO Ken was offered a JOB!!!!!!!

Hallelujah and Praise God!

Yes, he excepted their offer and he began work

this past Monday. Same type of job as before but

his Boss is a much better person than the last

one. He is kind, thoughtful and respectful of

his employees.

Today has been one week since he excepted the

job and here he is today...

Here we have Mr. Ken arriving home from WORK.

What a nice phrase to be able to say again!

There are not enough words to begin to express

how proud I am of Ken. It was a tough year and

five days but we kept it together and he stayed

pretty calm. I appreciate ALL the time he spent in

looking for a job. It wasn't easy.

I'm also proud to say the we still have our house

and cars, we are NOT in debt or behind on our bills

and we still have our senses of humor! That's not to

say that we don't have a way to go to get back to

where we were but WE WILL DO IT!!!!!

Ken---I love you! and I just want to say

THANK YOU for sticking with it. It was hard

but YOU did it! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To my readers--

I didn't post about this because it was something

we were living and I wanted my blog to be a happy

place for me to come to and for you too. This was one of THE hardest things to get through

other than losing my MOM.

I WOULD NOT wish this on ANYONE.

Thanks for listening and being there. I will be taking

"blog break" for a bit BUT I will check up on YOU and

see what going on with you.

LOVE to ALL and I'll see you soon. :)

Melinda

~Keep on Dreaming~

April Showers....

Due to the trauma and drama of yesterday's April

storms, Tuesday Trivia will be today's post topic.

April---

The birthstone is the Diamond--In ancient

folklore, diamonds protected the wearer from

enchantments as awell as attacks from enemies.

Some say the having the diamond for your birth-

stone isn't that fun. But I say "they are still my

best friend." :)

This month's flower is the Daisy. Opening and

facing the sun, yet closing at the day's end,

characterizes how the daisy was named.

"Daeges-eaye" or "days eye" from the Old

English.

The zodiac signs are Taurus--The Bull-

patient and reliable.

Aries--The Ram-Named for the constellation

of Aries.

Fun days/Holidays:

Keep America Beautiful Month

National Garden Month

1-April Fool's Day

2-National PBJ Day

3-National Chocolate Mousse Day

4-Easter (this year)

5-

6-National Carmel Popcorn Day

7-World Health Day

8-

9-First Public Library Opened

10-National Siblings Day

11-Dandelion Day

12-National Licorice Day

13-Scrabble Day--love this game!

14-International moment of laughter

day--take time to laugh out loud!

15-Tax Day

16-National Librarian Day--tell your

favorite librarian "Thank You!"

17-Blah, Blah, Blah Day-today do all the

things that others are nagging you about.

18-Look-alike-Day

19-

20-

21-Admin. Professional's Day

22-National Jelly Bean Day--"I'm there!"

and Earth Day. "Keep America Beautiful"

23-National Cherry Cheesecake Day

24-

25-

26-Hug an Australian Day-"Simone-

Here's your HUG." See Beach Vintage

27-Write an Old Friend Day--get out some

of yoir favorite paper, a happy pen and

send a letter the "old fashioned" way.

28-Take Our Children to Work Day

29-The Zipper was Invented

30-National Honesty Day

Birthdays:

1--Ali MacGraw 2--Marvin Gay

3--Doris Day 4--Robert Downey Jr.

5--Gregory Peck 6--Billie Dee Williams

7--Russell Crowe 8--Betty Ford

9--Paulina Porizkova 10--John Madden

11--Joel Gray 12--Vince Gill

13--Tony Dow 14--Loretta Lynn

15--Emma Watson 16--Ellen Barkin

17--Harry Reasoner 18--America Ferrera

19--Al Unser Jr. 20--Luther Vandross

21--Charlotte Bronte 22--Peter Frampton

23--Sandra Dee 24--Barabra Steisand

25--Renne Zellweger 26-Bobby Rydell

27--Casey Kasem 28--Jessica Alba

29--Dale Earnhart 30--Willie Nelson

Is this your month to celebrate? !

~Keep on Dreaming~

Easter Sunday at Our House

Happy Easter to you and yours. We hope it was a spectacular day. The bunnies came by for a visit and wanted me to show you them.

AND now on to the delish part of the day...

The buffet table with the new pink tablecloth on it.

Roasted Vegetables.

Grilled hamburger "sliders."

Dijon mustard potato salad.

Here is the deck table all dressed and ready.

Aren't the flowers pretty?

I made place cards with plastic eggs--we aren't THAT

formal but I thought they were too cute not to do.

Here is THE crew:

L: Ken's Dad, brother, our niece and Ken--guess where

I am? "Don't forget to save room for dessert!"

Well, that was our Easter--thanks for stopping in--

hope you had a good time! WE did!!!

HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE!!!!!

~Keep on Dreaming~

BESS The Guest

Good Morning:

My name is Bess and Melinda has asked

me to be her guest today on this beautiful

Easter Saturday. Tomorrow will be a busy

day so I'm posting for her today.

According to my friend Nicholas I was

unable to join the tour because I was

"lost." WRONG! (see previous post if you

don't know what I'm talking about)

Anyway, I was simply doing some

shopping while we were on the Plaza.

You know it's very hard to catch some

free time when you are visiting with the

kids and adults walking by.

Melinda is very busy getting ready for

tomorrow's family gathering at their

house. You know the routine--getting the

house ready, grocery shopping + errands

and since tomorrow is supposed to be in

the 70's here, they will be dining on their

deck --so it will need to be Easter ready .

Melinda and Ken would like to wish you

and your families a BLESSED Easter

filled with fellowship, family and FUN!

May your day be filled with the promise

of the Easter message.

Have a wonderful day! Bess :)