in the garden ... Twin Falls

Jann needs experience with her new camera ... so I saw this ugly bear .... and being that I live in "bear creek" I had to jump into the flower bed and get a photo! I like it!! the hanging basket however placed a purple petunia right smack in the middle of my forehead!! oh well!!! I thought this ugly bear was maybe $60-65. well, actually it was $224.99 ~~~~ just think, I saved darling Douglas $225!!! just by taking a photo!!! have a great holiday!

meet ya half way!!! .... Twin Falls

okay ..... this is a lovely scrapbooking boutique where girlfriends meet, hangout and crop, learn, laugh and just enjoy doing life together. So 2 came from Idaho Falls .... and 2 came from Boise!! we met up there!! and come to be it was the only shop actually open. So we did what we do best ~~~~~~~~~~~~> S H O P and discover new things! Some awesome sales and deals!! 25% off everything!!! great ideas too.
the foursome!!! Julie (a new friend to me!), Jann (partner in crime from Idaho Falls), Jenniefer aka; IE (partner in crime from Boise) and moi ~~ me ~~~ !!!!
I guess we gotta pay ... don't we!!??!!!! fun fun fun!!! join us next time won't you?
take a look at this idea .... tags tied together in the center to create a recipe page!!! Then of course, we need much nourishment from our exhausting morning and we dined at the Garden Cafe. Yummie food for us foodies!!!
Great beginning of Labor Day weekend. Thanks girlies .... and the CCC (Camera Chic Club) is still in the making .... besides IE got the 7 gypsies carousel and she will (hopefully) have a trading card club thingy .. and we'll just have to expand that!!! m

Jann & Tom

then at the endO'the day ... we meet up with the men!!! This is Jann and her darlin' Tom. Aren't they just the cutest couple. And BTW, we laughed, dined on great food and laughed some more and just enjoyed the end of the day. (photo lesson: cropped, auto lit and sharpen) jann, I'll email you my photos. I had so much fun!!
Have a great day!!!

Jann & me .... Idaho Falls

what do 2 blondes do to have fun? we go huntin' ... to shoot our cameras .... we do a search & rescue mission for sales, deals and the sort! (we found this cute boutique in Rigby ~ Scrapalicious!) .... and we solve the world's problems!! and we also configure page layouts, laugh, talk, and all that girl stuff!!
I have tweaked these photos just a bit using Picasa (great photo software by google and it's FREE) ... PHOTO 1 all I did was sharpen effect. PHOTO 2 of course I cropped it, auto lit and sharpen effect. I love that saying "live simply laugh often and love deeply" I think that's what Jann & I discovered. and YES, I do look exhausted ..... Doug and left Boise at 4ish AM.
This is the shop. Owned by Alicia King. located at 190 North 1st West, Rigby, ID 83442 telephone: 208.745.5457 Go check it out! Tell her the 2 blondes sent ya. Oh, before I forget .... I'd like to form a CCC = Camera Chick Club.

PHOTO 3 I used the sharpen effect


and last but never ever least ...... my little shadow ~~~~> Mr. Bentley. oh, he loves me I just know it. PHOTO 4 I used the soft focus. Not that Jann isn't just drop-dead gorgeous (come to think of it ... all my girlfriends are drop-dead gorgeous!) but I wanted to highlight sir Bentley. Honestly, for Halloween Bentley needs a black tophat and an orange bowtie!! End of photo lesson. have a great day!!!

the sky ... the big sky!!

I just had to post this .... after the storm, almost 20 degrees cooler ~ it's 8:30pm (mountain time) .... LOOK at the sky!! the colors are incredible.

Auntie Em Auntie Em .... we ain't in Kansas anymore!!

doug and I were eating and we thought the cornfield was on fire .... but NO! it was a storm brewin'. Literally, within 10 minutes this storm blew through. Trees sideways, things blowing down the street.
still out there playing softball (this is my backyard) I won't say what I'm thinking about this!! It's worth clicking on the photo and viewing it up close and in large-living color! and the dust was flying everywhere.
look at this .... thank goodness I had my camera close by so that all of blogword could see it too!

it does look weird. and to top it all off .... the temperature dropped 10 degrees within 30 minutes. It was hot here today ... about 94ish but tomorrow (b/c of this storm) the high will be into the 80's. Go figure!!!

have a great tomorrow!! m

explanation !!!

here is my explanation .... in I Samuel 22 it talks about David's men going into a cave .... they were refugees (along with their wives, children and whomever!). They did whatever in THAT cave and emerged as to what the Bible calls "David's mighty warriors". Well, in analysis (yes! I do that too!!) they must've done some kinda bootcampy stuff, encouragment stuff, ICU stuff ~ healing from past wounds, definately friendship building, some construction stuff, I bet the wives even swapped recipes!! Then the left! yep! packed up and went. So as a church community the missional committee has set up 22 different "projects" for the church to "do" ... OCTOBER 3-5 ... the church will be "technically" closed b/c we've left the cave and are in our community. Cool or what? If ya wanna come serve .... cause we've gone servin' ....... let me know and you can join me at the fire houses!! hope you have a great week.

m

get out of the cave .....

Ready, Set ... GO!! I can't really go into details until after 1PM tomorrow ... but it's set!! and it will be presented tomorrow! It's exciting. Needing 500+ volunteers .... going into the community ..... as if Doug and I didn't have enough to do ... but when your working for this ~ it's way, if not more worth it!! I'll give details on MONDAY.
have a great w/e!! m

no more MEDS ... off the Rx ....

to most of you this won't mean A N Y T H I N G .... to the CLGW whom have been along this journey with me for the last year ~ it's finally done!!! Jer. 29:11 God does know the plans He has for me .... I was diagnosed as "grossly obese" (lovely words NOT!!) and the doctor said you can get off your medication if ya just lose weight. No kidding, did you go to medical school for that diagnoses???? Well, I bit the bullet about a year ago ..... and it is waaaaaaaaay hard, it is difficult ~~~ it ain't easy. TODAY at 9:00AM (mountain time) I was released off my medication!!!!! Hooray ..... hoooray ....... and I've lost a total of 65 pounds. She did whisper I could lose some more weight .... but I didn't hear her ~ I chose not to hear her TODAY. I guess God did know what He was doing .... and still knows what He is doing .... now I'm preparing to go to Lesotho and what a wild ride that IS!!! Have a great day!!

end of story!!

crop rooms ~ aka our offices/play rooms

I was going to make you guess which room was mine ..... but I'm sure you already know ~ yep, the messy one! but I'm not always this way .... I'm just busy and can't squeeze time to put away, coordinate colors etc. so I work around it. But another PIC (partner in crime) in Idaho Falls let me hang out with her. Take a look at her room!! don't get jealous, she'll let us come and play. Let me point out some highlights ~~> the glass of iced tea first of all, yummy!! the ample work tablespace, click on the photo a zoom into her closet. To describe the closet, let's just say we could hide in there and no one would know we were there. And her supplies? wowsy wow wow whoo whoo. Ribbons, paper, buttons .... and she's a good shopper ~ sales and everything. She's very talented too.

My room. There is something to look at everywhere (including floor and ceiling). I have decor from all over the USA. This is also my computer room. I have a window!! and an outside door (just in case I do decide to run away from home). and albums, many closed doors because all (most of) my goodies & tools are there. Notice the Tiffany's bag hanging on the wall? teamAFRICA's photo on my cabinet, color coordinated 12x12 papers (ROY G BIV) and inspiration in every corner, notice my pink cowgirls hat? I fondly call my office the Wildwood Room in memories of where I lived in Missouri. What do you see? You all are invited to come play any day. I'll clean up and make it respectable for ya! See ya soon PIC in Idaho Falls!! maybe my room looks this way b/c I don't have a closet. I can be very creative you know.

I shopped at Robert's in Idaho Falls ~ wow what sales and discounts. Plus, if you bought 1 circut cartridge you got a mail-in rebate for a FREE one. Check it out .... webshopping!!

House rules: whatever I gots .... you can use/have! no charge!!

sk8ters .... KKSM

these kids and ministry ROCK. King of Kings Skate Ministry. If you ever have a chance to view
their exhibit .... it is worth the wait, the drive .... take every skater you know ... take your friends ~ male and female .... take the local high school.
meet Elijah ...... he is way cool .... on fire for Jesus .... and an incredible manueverable talented skater!! and they can build stuff too. He had a bucket of at least 500 bolts and knew where they all went.
I'm telling you these boys got it goin' on!!! and they're smart too!!
set up and building day!!!

check out on the web. They've been all over the world!! how cool!! and they are heading west to Portland. Get this .... only God could've worked this out ~ they've been invited by a public correctional institution to come
and do their thing!!! Did you read that? Yep ~~~ a public correctional institution to present the Good News ... don't ya wanna just get up and do your happy dance????? oh, go on .... do it!!!!

Incredible!!

training ... teamAFRICA

I totally love casual shots. I had the chance just to grab my camera and shoot away.

laughter ..... thinking .... talking = training.

teamAFRICA ... the group photo

here we are ..... unfortunately, Mike L. couldn't make it ~ but I'll persevere and get all 30 of us going to Lesotho. Here is teamAFRICA. I did not plan on being front & center ..... how did that ever happen!! I cannot begin to thank you all for your support in so many many ways. What stories .... such support ..... such care and concern ..... YOU ROCK!!! all of you, b/c I said so!!!

m

S U M M E R heat .... get out of the kitchen

hello blogworld .... I just have a few thoughts about the endO'summer, heat, and ToDo's!! First of all ~ IT IS HOTTER THAN BLUE BLAZES here in Idaho. I have lived in the heat, haze, and humidity of St. L (shout out to all of you !!) .... and I've been in the depths of TEXAS when you couldn't even breathe b/c of the heat ..... and I've survived a few of those blue blazes places without the comforts of A/C. hhhmmmm .... just a thought wizzed by ~ do ya think God is prepping me for Lesotho in da' summertime?? And .... I do have enough blonde roots (even if some of them are out of a bottle ~ thank you Kim Kelly!!) to get out of the kitchen when it is waaaaaaay past 95 degrees. Dearest LADIES ..... listen up ~ it is a CARDINAL RULE .... that when it is past that temperature ~~~~~ NO ONE .... not any of us are required to turn on the oven or stovetop! That is smartly and accurately found in 2nd Hesitations. Call me for the verse reference!!! and my last thought .... b/c my brain is foggy due to the extreme heat ~~ back to school. Don't get me wrong .... I LOVE LOVE LOVE Summertime!!!! But, the thrill of new school supplies (for myself) and another new season ...... oh, the thought of it!!! Have a cool day ~ grab a big chilled glass of ~~~~ lemonade and sit and sip ever so slowly!!!! BTW, I am available to sit & sip with any of you all. call me!! email me!!! even snail mail will work too!!!!!! .... and the ToDo's ... doug has informed me I can (and should) create an excel spreadsheet for everloving long and gettin' longer list! oh, I know he means well .... and it would make me successful. The daunting task of creating it ~~~ oh Scarlett, ........... ToDo's ~~~ we got 'em ...... and I'm suffering over it .... I've made an executive decision NOT TO SWEAT OVER it!!! join me ~ won't you??!!!

m

p h o t o s ..... living artwork!

hey blogworld! I can't wait to get home to post my photos from this trip. Just daily living things ... but some of it spoke to my heart. I have really really .... I mean really smart friends that know how to adapt a mechanism to my laptop to convert my larger memory sticks ~~~ but we've not connected as yet. So, I'll post them on Monday. PRAYER REQUEST ... Delrine (wife of missionary that operates the orphanages in Lesotho) has been hospitalized for kidney stones. Also, another one that works for Campus Crusade for Christ ... both her mother and brother were killed in a car accident. PLEASE PRAY. Do any of you out there in blogworld have living artwork??????? ... being the photoholic that I am ~ I truly enjoy photos, the DAILYNESS OF YOUR LIVES. Let me know ..... is this thing on? hello .... hello .... hello

xoxox, m

journal..... ing

dearest girlfriends ... I stumbled upon this journal today and thought it would enhance your personal journaling, motivate you to begin journaling, and just thought provoking in general. Psssssst ~~~ if you get one for Christmas, or a bday gift, or "I'm thinking of YOU" gift ... act TOTALLY suprised!! If you have no idea how to do this ... just ask Doug! He's gotten rather good and acting totally surprised! This is how it went:
Something that touched my heart:
Something good:
Something funny:
Lesson learned:
Challenges:
Thought for the day: ................ it just "hit" my that if you dedicated 31 days to this ...it could be life changing! and very helpful. I double-dog dare ya to do it!!!! What do you think?

Rexburg/Sugar City IDAHO

So, Doug had business in Sugar City for 3 days and I decided to tag along. I never thought about the weather being much cooler but to say it is much cooler is an understatement. To the point, I will be on a search and rescue mission today in hunt for a windjacket! It's beautiful over here, and interesting. It's an hour from Yellowstone Nat'l Park. But today, I have a PIC (partner in crime) that lives over here and we are going to crop!! I have a huge project to get started on. Jann often heads to boise (b/c her darlin' beautiful daughter lives there) so I get to hangout with her today! I am so lucky!! just to "talk dirty" as the TXN's in my life would say ... the degree of temperature tis' morning was 47. They hate when I talk that way. I told them I had a sol'n to their woes...... come visit and escape the heat ~ but do they listen??!!! and BTW, that is an open invite to all of you ~ the Reader Inn is always available, just call for your RSVP! have a great day. m

a way to really live life!!

I saw this ... and it rocked my boat!! to LIVE. to SHOOT. and to SCRAPBOOK. Memories ... we all have them, we all want to make them and we all want to leave a legacy! So, tell me ~ LIVE. SHOOT. SCRAPBOOK. what's going on in your world? How are you living? How are you shooting? How are you scrapbooking ..... what a conversation starter!!! enjoy the day.

G R A N D I E .... happy birthday!!

This is my beloved grandmother. We lovingly call her "Grandie" .... you can call her that too. Her name is Hazel Maye Campbell. And today, August 11th, she is 95 years old. I swear to you she is 98 years old ~ her only surviving brother said she is 98 ... the story goes like this ~~~~ she was born waaaaaaaaaay back when on an Indian reservation ... courthouse burned down ... and we suspect she shaved a few years off her age. Now, if it were me; I would have shaved at least 10 years off my birthcertificate.
Anyways, HAPPY 95TH BIRTHDAY. Much love to you .... and I'll see you in November!

lost LUGGAGE!!!

I know that you all know that there is a black hole! that there is never neverland! that there is blogworld, that there is outter space! that there is a place where lost luggage gets bought and then resold in Scottsdale, ALABAMA. I have been informed that the airlines have NOT, and CANNOT recover my lost luggage! It's lime green (not ordinary black, or everyone owns a brown suitcase) .... it is GREEN with 4 inch numbers ~ a 5 digit number which we all know is a ZIPCODE. 83642 ...... hhhmmm, and it's NOT recoverable?!!! I went through the shock, the crying, the grief, the anger ..... and now just empty. Face value for the "stuff" really is no comfort ... how do I put a $$$ value on my bible? (YES! I've bought a new one ... and the two of us are getting used to one another ever so S L O W L Y) ... and the lost list is long!!!
Thanks for reading .... I just had to get that out!

beijing..... 2008

it's gotta be "in" them. The Olympians got "it"! Watching the competition and USA breaking records is thrilling!! what a place ... what an environment .... irony too! Just incredible. Try to catch some of it if you can!

happy FRIDAY!!

It seems as if the week flys by ... and before I know it ~ it's FRIDAY!! yea! I don't know if this is true or not ~ live longer .... EAT FISH!
But it sounds good to me!! I saw this on the back of a delivery van in Maui! I am the only fishlover in this household. So ...... here's to you all enjoying fish. Whenever I go out ... fish is a usually my vote. Happy friday ~ enjoy your weekend. m

da' bosses ..... teamAFRICA

okay ...... these boys ~ Philip & Luke are da' bosses for the Entertainment Book selling fundraiser! We had a training session yesterday. Bless their hearts ~ the meeting room was decorated with PINK linens and girly color balloons. But what a sense of humor God has b/c teamAFRICA was the big "winners" yesterday!! So, we are well on our way raising $$$$ to purchase beds for the orphans in Lesotho. The Entertainment Books are an excellent deal. Any member of teamAFRICA can sell you 1 (or 2 or 3 ~ they are excellent gifts!! for bdays, Christmas, hostess gifts etc.!!) .... so meet da' bosses. Oh, and BTW, I had a blast myself!!!

Sweet CHILDREN

Look at this .... I got photos of where I will be going and these darling sweet children. My heart skipped beats just looking at this photo. They are playing on their "playground" .... not much ... but look closer at their faces!! I will get to go and blow bubbles with these children. Those of you who know me ... know I'm a bubble-blower everywhere and now to Lesotho. m

C A M E R A .... page layout

Most of the time I do have my camera attached to me somewhere somehow .... there has been rare occassions that I have been without it and I did live to REGRET it. So, I did a quick page of me .... face hidden ... with some thoughts and of course my favO'rite green. A story to tell ......

humm ... hummm .... hummingbird

Is anyone else totally fascinated by these incredible birds? Every morning this darlin bird and I enjoy coffee by the front porch. Isn't she gorgeous? and smart? and quick? I was impressed I was able to capture her with my camera. enjoy ... the sights all around you! m