Celebrating Sisters

Is there such a thing as "Sisters Day"?  Well, there should be...therefore I deem today "National Sister's Day"!  Just because I want a special day to recognize my sisters.  Today is Linda's birthday and since I already shared stuff about her and how special she is...I want a chance to talk about all my sisters.  See this plate?  When Linda was in the hospital for the last time and I went down to visit her the first thing she said to me is "Lisa, go into my spare bedroom and go into the closet and there are 4 plates I made for you girls for Christmas, please make sure each of the girls get one." So, this really was a good-bye gift from her to each of her sisters....that's us!

So, today I'd like to celebrate these 4 special women in my life, "The Angel", "The Giver", "The Actress" and "The Artist".....My Sister's!

The Angel ....of course is Linda and I know that she is watching over us now that she has passed on and she keeps me in line...I feel her presence and influence in my life....she reminds me to be gentle, loving and forgiving. (she's sitting on my left in this pic, oh, I'm the one in the middle)

The Giver....That's Dorothy, she is the most giving person I know...always always doing for others...when she walks into a room I think the first thing she does is scan the place to see what needs to be done and then she does it.  She is always the first one to play with the kids and do the dishes and just do what needs to be done...she is also the most understanding person I know...and I've never told her this but she reminds me of Jennifer Aniston with her funny quirky kind of sense of humor...that beautiful comedy sort of way... i love her dearly! (she's the next in line and is the one with the longest hair in this pic)

The Actress.....That's Regina, she truly is an actress...always has been since we were young.  I remember going to her in plays in high school.  She is extremely talented in many ways.  She brought great fun into our lives as kids....always acting, dancing and singing....a real "Drama Queen"(remember "Johnny Angel"?go to my playlist and click on song#2) . She was always my protector too when I was young. Whenever she's around you can count on being entertained.  She is a lot of fun and is also a very loving person...love you Regina! (she's sitting on my right in this pic)

The Artisit....That's Theresa, we are 2 years apart and fought like cats and dogs growing up.  Now we are the best of friends! Talk to her at least twice a day.  She got all the creative talent in the family...not fair!  She really is an artist..can make just about anything and turns it all into gold!  She is my baby sister so she is just special because of that....plus I like to pick her brain for ideas as often as I can. She also has the sweetest most sensitive heart! Love you madly! 

(she's the one in the back wearing black)

 

And here we are again...We like to have a good time together, can you tell?   Linda always made sure of that!  We havent had a complete sister's weekend together since she passed on, but we need to make sure we do it again....soon.  So, here's to my wonderful, beautiful, funny, loving, and sweet sisters!  I love you guys!  Happy National Sister's Day!  You guys Rock!!

Just a couple more

Just because I knew you were dieing to see it and I felt so guilty keeping it from you....this one's for you Theresa.  The boy's bathroom where Bryce painted.

And let's not forget that I also painted the hallway, yes, the entire hallway and yes, by my lonesome and yes, I AM quite talented!  LOl!

Couldn't wait

Okay, I couldn't wait any longer to show off my fine painting skills!  Here's a view from the family room area into the kichen dining area. I love the way it makes the crown mold and baseboards pop!

Here's a veiw of the kichen area (dont forget to look up above the cabinets, yep...I did that too!)

Here's the family room area ( you can see my valances just waiting for me to alter and hang them....ugh!)

Here's a close up of what my valances and pillows look like.

And here's the fireplace area.

Okay, so nothing spectacular but, I like the way it all turned out.  I'll like it even more when I finally get my valances hung.

Thank you for visiting..Have a great day!

Happy Birthday Michael William!

Well, guess who's turning 20 today?  Actually, in Australia the 19th was yesterday.  But, in the USA  20 years ago today I went into labor with this cutie-pie!  Funny story.......We were living in Fremont with Mike's folks saving money so Mike could go back to school. It's Monday and it's President's day so Mike just happened to be off of work that day.  I wake up early in the morning with labor pains and after a conversation over the phone with my mother we decide it's time to go to the hospital, well, by the time we leave I am in hard labor.  So, my mother in law decides that she needs to drive us because Mike needs to be there for me and not driving as I am FREAKIN OUT by this time.  So, we all pile into the grey oldsmobile and off we go to the hospital to have Michael.  So, a little while later there is a knock on the door at home and it's the police...my brother in law Jeff answers the door and "say's can I help you"? ...the officer says, "does the owner of a grey oldsmobile live here"?  Jeff says, "yes, that's my mother but she's not here"...the officer says," there has been a reported kid-napping in that car....someone saw a woman driving the car and a man holding another woman down in the back seat and the woman in the back seat was struggling and crying"....Jeff just laughs and says, "oh, that's just my sister in law in labor, they're driving her to the hospital to have a baby"!  LOL! Fun Times!
Michael was born at 11:24 am on February 19, 1990 and has been a blessing in our lives ever since....and today he is just where we hoped and dreamed he would be, doing just what we hoped and dreamed he would be doing when he turned 20...so far so good!

Still at it!

Well, as you can see I'm still at it.   Here I sit on the top of my refridgerator painting the wall above the cabinets.  I tried to tell Mike last night that I couldn't reach but he just looked at me like..."ya right, and I can"...then he proceeded to show me where I could have done a little better...can you believe that....don't even go there Mr. Perfectionist!   So, I guess if he's gonna keep going to work everyday like he does then I guess I'll have to continue to find a way to get all the painting done myself.  I hate painting...but I love the way it is looking.  I have to pat myself on the back for choosing a great color.  Bryce has been helping..here and there..actually he rolled out the bathroom and did a great job.

 But today we decided to take a break and go see that new movie, "The Lightening Theif" and I have to say it was a pretty cool movie.  But then we came back home and I went back to my painting.  I know it's taking me a long time but I guess that's just the way I roll!  I'm almost done now.  I still need to alter my valances that we had made for our last house to fit the windows so hopefully that wont be too big of a projet and I may be able to post pictures this weekend.

Well, keep your fingers crossed!

Making the Pasta with Sophia's help.

Lots of Love today!

A delicious meal!

And a deck of cards (thanks Marty Party)

Makes a very Happy Valentines Day in the Nelson household.

(sending lots of love to Australia today)

5 Phases of Marriage

Through the passage of time, marriage goes through some predictable phases.

PHASE 1 - PASSION

You're head over heels in love and ecstatically happy that you've finally found your soul mate.

PHASE 2 - "WHAT DID I SEE IN HIM/HER?"

This second phase is a really difficult one. This is where reality sets in and you realize your partner has flaws, some of them serious....arguments start and you may find yourself wondering what you ever saw in your partner in the first place. Add to this disillusionment the pressures of daily life and no wonder problems start to develop.

PHASE 3 -"EVERYTHING WOULD BE PERFECT IF MY SPOUSE CHANGED"

You feel that everything would be fine if your spouse changed some annoying behavior or trait. The sad part is that some couples stay suck in the phase forever.

After a while, couples make 1 of 3 choices.

1. give up and decide to divorce

2. give up and decide to stay unhappily married.

3. decide to learn how to have a healthier and happier marriage.

PHASE 4 - ACCEPTANCE

In this phase you realize that you're never going to agree with your partner on every issue. You learn to become more tolerant and forgiving.

PHASE 5-PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE

You find peace and harmony together. You start to genuinely like your spouse and start to focus on your partners virtues rather than continue to be obsessed by his/her faults.

You feel proud of the storms you have weathered together and now have a shared history.

By now the kids are probably older and more independent. You can now focus on your marriage and eachother again.

What once looked like an insurmountable problem could be nothing more than a phase.

(I can honestly say that I have spent time in each one of these stages...Loving Stage 5!)