Thanksgiving 2009

This is the first time we've stayed home on a major holiday and cooked for ourselves. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed cooking together and taking the pups on 2 long walks.

This was the mess from our day of cooking:

That's literally all the counter space we have. We plan to build in another row of cabinets at some point in the future. It's on our "when we have money" list.

Halloween 2009

Our neighbors planted corn in their garden this past spring. With all the birds flying south for winter, this is the scene we left to each morning. It felt like Hitchcock's movie "The Birds."

So we decorated this year for Halloween. Then it rained for 3 days and the spider webs got all gross! We had fun anyway.

You can't see it, but there are bats hanging from the basket crooks behind the trick-or-treaters.

No dressing up this year. Maybe we'll get to that next year!

Decorating...Slowly but surely

We've finally started picking out decorations for our living room. Some things we already had and just hadn't decided where we wanted them, and some are new.

We picked up these cast iron corner pieces at the Third Monday Trade Days flea market.

And we finally got a ceiling fan for the living room!! It has made a tremendous difference. Now we just need to get one for our bedroom.

Next I need to concentrate on the kitchen. Also, we just got the approval from the HOA to stain our fence, so I guess I know what I will be doing next week on my "vacation."

And the Lazy Husband Award goes to....

Mike didn't feel like standing up to iron his shirt...

Let me know if anyone else's husband can top that!

Latest Chapter in the Truck Wreck Saga

We found out yesterday that the driver of the car who hit us is not the owner of that vehicle, nor did he have a driver's license. The owner's insurance company has been unsuccessful in contacting the owner or the driver, and they are telling us that they don't know if the driver was covered by the insurance. Our insurance has totalled out the car and is handling as much as possible, but we're at the point where we don't know if we need to get a lawyer or not. As it is, probably the only way we will be able to get another vehicle is by cashing out my 401K (which I just found out is LESS than was it was on my year-end statement I just received--no surprise, really). Please continue with the prayers.

On a brighter note...

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset on Friday the 13th. I need to remember next time to walk to the north end of our subdivision. There is a church across from an open field, and I would love to catch its silhouette in the sunset one evening.

Just when things start looking up...

...life throws you a curve--or a crash in our case. We're thankful to be alive, thankful we purchased GAP insurance, but don't know where the money will come from for another car. Our credit is not a good as it was last year when we purchased this one, and it wasn't very good then, either. Please keep us in your prayers as we figure out what we can do.

Icy Blast From The Past

So I was driving through Denton right before Christmas, and I had to do a double take. I couldn't believe it!!

This is probably one of the places I miss the most from Lubbock. I didn't care that it was 30 degrees outside and my heater didn't work, I had to stop for one.

Merry Christmas to me! : )

Anyone ever done this?

We fixed baked potatoes to go with dinner the other night. When I went into the kitchen to check on them, this is what I found:

It took me a minute to figure out what I was seeing. The skin popped off of the potato on the left and landed behind it in the oven!

This is the empty potato skin. HOW CRAZY IS THAT?!

Prayers

I just got laid off, and Mike is still out of work as well. Please keep us in your prayers as we try to figure out what to do next.

Roadkill

This is Chopper's typical pose while soaking up some sun. His fur is very thin, and heat escapes from his body, so he LOVES to be out in the yard. I always think he looks dead.

Is this comfortable?

One day we were watching a movie, and I looked over to find Harley sleeping like this. Just had to get a picture!

A Wonderful Celebration

A couple of weekends ago, we celebrated my grandfather's 80th birthday and my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. It was mainly family, and I think my aunt said we had close to eighty people! My cousin put together a wonderful slide show of photos of the Strealy clan through the years. It was great to see my extended family, most of whom I haven't seen in more than 10 years.

Here I am with my cousin Jeff and my great-aunt Charlene.

Anna-Grace

Jack napped for the first hour, I think.

Jack and Anna-Grace in Mimi's backyard.

Everybody loves to play in Mimi's front window.

One final walk with Gigi before heading home.

Stolen Pictures

I stole these pics from my sister-in-law's website. It's my brother on the Jumbotron at a Braves game.

This is GREAT!

So I was randomly looking at strangers' blogs (friends of friends of friends), and came across this "game." Try it!

Down in the Dumps

Today I'm having a "woe is me" day. Mike has been out of work since the end of April and our savings is just about gone. I'm finally in worry mode. I'm the positive thinker in the family, and I'm running out of ability to stay positive for the both of us. How can I keep encouraging him if I'm having doubts myself? I just want to cry. I'm starting to think about finding a 2nd job again myself. I had really hoped those days were behind me. Please keep us in your prayers.

Before the 100 Degree Weather...

This was our yard before the grass started dying. I don't know what happened, but the area right in front of the flower pot on the left is now dead. Also, the sun has moved so the front yard gets more light and you can see the caladiums that are growing in front of the bushes in our flower bed. I'll take another pic this weekend for comparison. But I love our little house. We're the only cute little gray house. The other color choices were all earthtones, so all the houses look the same. And the only other ones who picked gray also have a lot of gray brick, so they don't look nearly as good as ours! Our neighbor to the right towers over us, but we don't mind because they block the late afternoon sun!! This really helps with our energy efficiency. : )

FINALLY

This was taken when my dad was a DJ when I was a little girl.

This was my dad and I at Disneyland.

This was a picture at my brother's HS graduation party at church, 4 days before we lost him and 14 days before John's graduation.

Memories

Today marks 10 years since my father passed away. I've thought about him a lot lately, partly because I can't believe a decade has gone by and partly because I just got married without him. It's amazing how life just goes on. You don't see how it can at the time, but it does. Time doesn't make it easier to think about, but at least you know you will make it through. I miss him and wish he was here, but I know that my life would not be what it is if he were. I doubt that I would have ever moved to Dallas and met Mike if he were, so I can't say I wish it hadn't happened. But I still miss him.

I will add some pictures when I get home tonight. This time I mean it.

A Great Way To Share Good News

Thought I'd share this. My sister-in-law sent it out a couple of months ago. It always brings a smile to my face!

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d6a597a4e5449794f48777a4e6a55334d6a45320d0a&sb=1


Hopefully tonight I'll get some new pictures uploaded and show you all how our house is looking!