i don't know where the days go............

seems like just yesterday it was last week & now it's already the end of this week!! saturday after the church stamping workshop, i came home & planted 4 rose bushes & 2 irises in the front/side flowerbeds, had the "field" mowed by some mexican guys who were mowing a yard down the street, pulled weeds in the back flowerbeds, watered the grass, washed the car, did 3 loads of laundry.....and i had a security system installed because the day before my neighbor's house was broken into. they took ALL their electronic stuff -- 2 tv's that were bolted to the walls, etc.....AND they found the car keys & drove the car right out of the garage!!!!!!!!! the police said they were "professionals" because they didn't leave a single print!!!!! i've lived here 22 years without an alarm system. the area's still one of the best in houston, but that's getting a little too close to home - literally!!!! i pray every day when i leave for work that God will protect my home - & i trust Him, but still, it feels good to have something to scare them off with. i know it's just STUFF, & it all belongs to God anyhow, but still, it's stuff He's let me have & i don't really want some jerk stranger taking it without my permission!!! the bluebonnet field is gone & the yard is back!!!!

gotta work on some weeds & fertilizing & i want to make some new flowerbeds - one of them a real flowerBED!!!! (project!!!) sunday suzanne, me & my sister in law surprised grandma with lunch at her favorite chinese restaurant for mother's day! g'ma didn't know dana was going to meet us there!!!! her face was priceless!!!! it was nice to spend mother's day with my favorite family members ----sorry, maggie, wish you had been here too!!!! tuesday was "private stamping lesson day with my 2 little old young-at-heart ladies from church!!!!! (sorry, girls, just HAD to do that!!!! i mean it all in fun---you're not old, you were just born before me!!!!!!) gonna have to find a cute name for our little threesome!!!!!! maybe we'll be "the sam elliott stampers" because we've started watching sam elliott movies while we're stamping!!!!!!!!!! it's so cute to watch them swoon over him!!!!! but he's MINE girls!!!!!!!!

isn't it cute how that black-eyed susan grew itself up in the wheel of the plow?! like it's giving it a hug!!!! bluebonnet season is over & now it's black-eyed susan season!!! i just love these "baby sunflowers"!!!!!!!! one's growing in the middle of the yard too!!! it's so cute there all by itself!!! last night was bible study & prayer meeting. i prayed silently, but just wasn't in the mood to pray out loud. i kept praying that i'd get in the mood, but didn't. my prayer life has been pretty poor this past week. God & i have been wrestling this past week. not the way He did with Jacob, but in a way i wish it would be like that. i need God to just pin me down & take control of this area. but He's given me free will & unfortunately, i've used it. i've CHOSEN to not pray sometimes, or to get distracted. and then i feel bad. i've had that "what's the use" attitude lately. i've let that stupid man, loneliness, back into my life. mr. loneliness brought a friend along with him this time, mr. insecurity. i haven't journaled my prayers in a long time. maybe i need to do that again to stay focused. today at lunch i went to the christian bookstore & found a book about ME!!!!! it's a novel -- needed some summertime reading material -- and the main character sounds exactly like me & what she's going through is exactly what's happening in my life right now!!!! of course, i know how the book's going to end - at least i hope! - & i'm praying that that's what happens in my life too!!!! it's eerie how similar it is!!!!!! i've already read almost 1/2 the book & i just started it on the way home from work!!! (i read at stop lights!!!) not gonna tell ya anymore about it right now!!!!!!

this was my swap card last weekend. there were only about 7 people swapping. i made 15 cards. i came home with 11. huh????? i don't think people knew what my card was, so they didn't take it???????? this is my "sam elliott card" -- it's a mustache for pete's sake!!!!!!!! i have several projects i want to get started on, so i'm glad it's the weekend! a couple of them are pretty big & a little daunting, but i THINK i can pull them off!!!! another is just gonna take NERVE. i'm lacking in that right now!!!! i think i'll tackle the others 1st!!!! stay tuned for pictures!!!!!