So frustrating...

We are currently in job limbo as Steve's company still has not gotten the funding they had hoped for by this time. And though he is still working with a pay cut chances are looking like he may be laid off. Whether it is temporary or long term we have no idea. So in light of these events I am updating my resume and going to be looking for work. Let me say this to all, don't let your resume fall to the wayside. I am struggling to remember years when I worked for whom and how long. So I must resort to pulling out old tax files and look at my W-2's and this is a royal pain I have to say. I used to remember facts and numbers with no problem whatsoever but not anymore. It just stinks getting old...

Big Deal???

It has been all over the news here about the new IKEA store opening in Portland. The news reports were warning drivers of the upcoming traffic hassles especially for those people headed to the airport to catch flights. It seems it is the same exit for the airport that you take for the store. Well guess what? Surprise, surprise not the traffic insanity the news kept warning us viewers about. Yes, there have been people camped out there since I believe yesterday afternoon but big deal, they do that for movies and book releases too. I guess I must not be plugged in to what is "hot" and I am okay with that.

Willamette Noodle Company

Any excuse that we can come up with to eat at our favorite restaurant works for Sarah and I. We met for a second time this week to have lunch yesterday. Though I had already had plans to have lunch there on Wednesday which we had to move to Friday because I double booked myself again. This time lunch was with my dear friends Angie, Anne and Camille. Sarah and Julie decided to join us for more "Noodle" before Julie returns to California. It was fun as usual catching up and just generally chatting. We all had something different to eat and we tried the dessert of the month which featured "Fordyce Farms" blackberries. Yum...

Julie is here...

Our dear sweet friend Julie is here visiting from California. Sarah and I had lunch with her Mom Tami, her niece and nephew Marah and David and Julie of course at Willamette Noodle. Lots of fun and laughs it also was way to short a time.

A Sunday treat...

Steve and I were treated to visits from both our girls on Sunday. Sarah stopped by to visit and to go to Grandma's and pick blueberries. She had originally planned only to stay a couple of hours but her Dad went along with her to pick berries and she landed up staying almost four. He even bribed her with cherries if she helped him pick berries for me to freeze. I think it was more like he was just wanting to spend more time with his little girl. Then about two hours later Lisa sent me a text asking if we were home and that she was coming over. She was returning to Salem from the coast. She had spent the last three and a half days in Corvallis and Eugene. She was the maid of honor in her friend Sierra's wedding on Saturday. Staying first in Corvallis with her best friend Natalie then on to Eugene for the wedding. Then she went with Buck to Lincoln City to see his Dad as it was his birthday. She didn't stay long here as she had to go home and unpack from the weekend not to mention get ready to go to work today. She said she was going to need a couple days off to rest up from the wedding! One can only guess what she is going to be like when it is her turn.

Happy Birthday to my dear mother-in-law!

This picture was taken at my niece Katy's wedding last September. Norma is walking up the aisle with Michael. I would have to say that I could probably speak for all of the daughters-in-law when I say ours is pretty wonderful. She is always there when you need her whether it is for support or just great big hugs. Just saying we love you Mom doesn't quite seem like enough considering all that you do for your family. But I will say it again, "We Love You" and hope you had a wonderful birthday!

Coach Lisa...is now 29.

She is not really much of a girly girl. She has only recently (last three years) started wearing dresses and skirts on a more regular basis. It was sweatpants and large t-shirts while she was growing up. So when Sarah who complained about going anywhere with her sister decided to start commenting on the fact that she needed more girl clothes things started to change. It happened on the sly mostly happening while she was in college but it happened. This change became easier when they both started wearing the same size clothes. Sarah would decide to shop and then she would go through her closet and give her older clothes away. Lisa became the lucky recipient of a lot of Sarah's hand me downs. It still surprises Sarah though. She was shocked to see that Lisa was not only wearing a skirt last night she was also wearing a pink shirt, both things Lisa never used to do. The whole family got together for her birthday last night. First stop dinner at our favorite place, Willamette Noodle Company, then to the new Regal Cinemas at Lancaster Mall to see "Ratatouille" and finishing off the evening with ice cream at Cold Stone. Lisa opened her gifts while we waited for our dinner. Steve and I gave her a pendent with three small hearts with diamonds and rubies, Sarah gave her a "Starbucks" gift card, Grandma Norma gave her another and Buck topped us all with diamond stud earrings. I am thinking maybe the jewelry is the final push to Lisa becoming a girly girl.

The heat...

I think my nephew Robert and his sister Evangeline have the right idea. Sitting in the shade having something cool to eat or cooling off by getting wet is the order of the day. I am not planning on doing anything but sitting and reading a book, drinking lots of water and listening to music. The weatherman says it will be in the triple digits for the next couple of days, nineties till the weekend then it will cool down to the mid-eighties. I think that summer has arrived. Stay cool...

I always do this...

I am again in a time crunch as I put making birthday presents for my sisters-in-law aside to finish bridesmaids dresses. Now we are talking about picking a date to go out to dinner and celebrate birthdays and I am not finished with them, ahhh. So I will be missing in action for the next couple of days as I also am going to a scrapbook class tomorrow. Our dear Whitney at the scrapbook store will be leaving us at the end of the month and I don't want to miss her last class as it is going to be fun. She is the sweetest person. This is a photo that I took of her at the National Scrapbook Day event at the Shilo Inn.

Fun on the fourth...

I am still learning to use my camera in the manual mode and having some success. Sarah was willing to be my model so to speak. Don't know if this is the one photo she liked but I am posting it anyway. I did do some touch up on the photo as there was too much background light and it washed out her face. Though I have to say that any pictures of her for the most part don't turn out bad. She is quite photogenic, though she may disagree with that assessment. Good food and fireworks craziness occurred last night. I have more fireworks photos but I haven't finished going through and deleting the bad ones. I will post the best later.

Happy Fourth!!!

In the true "Fordyce" tradition we will be celebrating together with a barbecue at my mother-in-laws. Fireworks are definitely on the agenda as is my husbands cannon. :) Men, are just little boys at heart therefore anything that goes "boom" is just fine with them. Raymond I hear has purchased quite a bit of fireworks, so did Steve so it should be lots of fun. It is going to at least 90 degrees here today so it should still be warm this evening for the fireworks. In the years past we have huddled under blankets and jackets to enjoy the festivities. This year all we will need is bug repellent to keep the mosquitoes at bay. Our family will be smaller in numbers this year as Lisa and Buck will be going to the Volcanoes game tonight. Chris and Mike will be going to her parents because her uncle from Texas is visiting. These pictures are from last years July 4th party. If you look closely at the second picture you can see Steve amid the smoke and fireworks. Here's to a safe and fun holiday.

Sarah, I now have another addiction!!

Thanks to my wonderful daughter I now have a new addiction. Going to the the Two Peas website and looking at the gallery. You can literally spend hours looking at all the layouts. I am so amazed at the truly gifted individuals there are out there in the world. Not all are styles that I like or would pursue but looking at them just the same gives me ideas to use in some of my scrapbook pages. Sarah, you need to check out "Melane1976" and "Nura Keif" these ladies rock!

I think it is summer...

For the last couple of weeks my allergies have been driving me crazy which to me signals a change in the weather. Though we see rain (this is Oregon after all) even at this time of the year it only is enough to make your car look dirty but doesn't do much for the pollen except postpone it for a day. The weatherman says we will hit the nineties tomorrow and Thursday then it will settle down to the eighties for the rest of the week, oh fun. I have finished posting the rest of the layouts I had not put in albums on my Two Peas page. This was lots of fun and a real learning experience. So I am finally getting more comfortable with my computer and that for me is a big step. I am posting the last layout to share. Sometimes I wish they were this young again but mostly I am totally enjoying the women my daughters have become.

Yum... blueberries...

The strawberry season is almost done and we have progressed on to the next bunch of berries. The picture of the sign I posted was taken in 2004 by Sarah so if you look for this sign it isn't the same anymore.
I am all done with sewing for the time being. The last dress left here this afternoon, thank goodness with Lisa. She stopped by today with her best friend Natalie and Jen one of the other bridesmaids in Sierra's wedding. They had just returned from Portland where the bachelorette party was held last night. They wisely chose to get a room and stay overnight. The girls were very appreciative of the alterations I had done for them. The wedding is just two weeks away and will be held in Eugene. Next weekend the girls will be going to Seattle to see Kenny Chesney in concert at Qwest Field.
I downloaded the pictures of some layouts I had taken a couple of weeks ago to my computer, cropped them then loaded them onto my Two Peas webpage. At first I thought I wouldn't be able to do it because I am pretty unsure of myself when it comes to using my computer but I did it. It was only three posts but I feel like I accomplished something big. There are a couple of things I need to do when I take the pictures but now I know what I need to do. Sarah came over brought me a coffee and showed me what to do. Thank you sweetie!!