Excuse the Interruption

Some of you may have noticed that I have not written in a while. My apologies for that. I recently found out that as of the end of the year (yes right after the holidays) I will no longer have a job. I work in the construction industry and unfortunately new home sales are at their lowest point in 14 years so I will have to be let go. My boss is a wonderful lady, who at least showed me the courtesy of giving me two and a half months notice.

Because of this I have been working on a new income idea via the World Wide Web. Learning how to create websites and such is taking up the majority of my time now so I have been neglecting my blog. Again my apologies.

I will try and post more often but I ask for your understanding with my dilemma right now with needing to find a new source of income before my current one expires.

~Darlin~

A New Face on an Old Place

Previously in my blog I have talked about my local watering hole. Due to the new "anti-smoking" legislation many smaller bars have suffered and some have even had to close their doors.

But my watering hole fought to beat the system and have come out victorious. The pictures here are of the new and improved Wendy Jack's Hidaway. They have created what I can only say is a wonderful outdoor smoking area that is almost completely enclosed except for one wall that is solar screened in. These screens will hold in the A/C and heat but allows the smoke out.

A pool table, jukebox, 3 plasma TV's and karoake at night makes this a sure bet for a new hot spot on the westside of town. So pull up a bar stool, order a drink and light a smoke. Everything is as it should be again.

~Darlin~

Keith's Gifts

I think the final Helium gift has arrived and Sophie could not be more tickled about it. This one came in a big brown envelope with "Air Mail" stamped on it. She had tears in her eyes as she realized, once again, that Mama's friends on Helium were thinking of her.

She loves the book Keith. She refuses to use the pen because she doesn't want to use it up and the post cards are proudly displayed on her bedroom wall where she shows everyone that comes over.

Again I am humbled to my friends at Helium. You have all surprised me with your support and encouragement to a friend and her young daughter that you have never met. I have to be honest...Sophie did not receive a lot from our immediate family, but our family at Helium made her feel so cared for and she wanted to make you all proud with her quick recovery. She is doing very well now, she actually wants to go back to school. She should finally be able to take her brace off for the first time on the 28th of September. I will make sure and post pictures of that.

Thank you again all my friends who sent gifts and well wishes. You are greatly appreciated.

The Sunshine After the Rain

Just wanted to share with everyone a bit of why I love Arizona. I know it can be terrible hot during the summer (110 degrees +) but it is also a dry heat and very beautiful. This is a picture I took right after a really hard downpour. The colors here are like none I have seen anywhere else and I have lived/been to a lot of places. Enjoy.

~Darlin~

The Gifts Keep On Comin"

"It's here....IT'S HERE!" The words rang through the house like a bomb going off. We didn't even see it tucked behind the pillar next to our front door at first but as I returned to the car for the second load of groceries today there is was. The Helium gift.

My younger two clamored to be the one to deliver it to Sophie. They had been told it was coming and not to tell her. They amazingly did not. But soon Sophie was roused from her room by all the ruckus. "Whats here'" she asked spying the package I had wrestled away from my son.

I held it out to her and asked her if she remembered all the friends I talked about on Helium, the ones who's stories we read and who's blogs we visited. Her eyes lit up as she shook her head vigorously up and down. "This is from them," I said setting it on the counter for her to examine. I grabbed a knife and carefully (yes carefully CD) cut through the tape and held back the flaps as she pushed through the styrofoam peanuts to retrieve her present. She tried her hardest to pull the box out and finally looked at me with a lack of patience.

I pulled it out to a squeal of delight.
I think dogs started to go crazy for at
least a mile around. "Oh mama...LOOK! Its perfect. It's my
first music thing for my music room!"


Really and truly my friends you could not have done a better job on selecting a gift. It is truly something that will stay with her always....perhaps now she will even take up the drums.

Wait a minute....YOU GUYS DID THIS ON PURPOSE DIDN'T YOU?!?!?

Thanks to all who put in for this. I don't know what else I can say except you all made us feel very special and loved.

~Darlin & Sophie~