The Library

This is probably my absolute, most prized card:

It's my library card! I absolutely love the concept of a library. I've always been a reader, but have tended to go in spurts where I read a bunch for a while and then just stop until I pick it back up again. In 2007, my friend, Susan, introduced me to the author Karen Kingsbury and her Redemption Series. I fell in love with the characters and Karen's writing style. There have been a few book series that are spin-offs to the Redemption series and I have read all of those, along with all of her stand-alone titles. Her books can get predictable, but they are just so good! I love her writing style and the "Christian Love/Romanace/Feel Good Story" theme in all of her books. I will forever be thankful to Susan for introducing me to Karen!

I love to read, but am not a person to read a book twice. And I don't want to have a bunch of books on hand that just sit on a shelf and collect dust. Now, I do have a few exceptions to that statement. If I read a book that I just absolutely L-O-V-E, then I will buy it. I do own a copy of Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers. This is the best book I have ever read! Maybe I'll write more about it later, but for now, take my word for it!

All that to say I rediscovered the library when I found Karen Kingsbury's books. I wanted to read her books, but didn't want to buy any, thus the library was a perfect fit!

The Springfield-Greene County Library has a great online book search system. I can look up books online and with a click of a mouse reserve them, and even chose which location I'd like to pick up my books from! Lucky for me there's a library about a half mile from where I work, so convenient! I receive an e-mail message when my book is ready to pick up, and also get an e-mail message reminding me when the due date is getting close. Most books can be checked out for three weeks, and then renewed for another three if they are not being held for another person. Three weeks is usually plenty of time for me to read a book.

Oh I just love the library! And it's not just good for fiction books, but "hobby" books, too. Last week I checked out three books about sewing and knitting. Sure, I could go to Barnes and Noble or another bookstore to look through the books or buy them, but this way I have time to look through them and decide if I want to purchase them or not.

So yes, I am a BIG fan of public libraries! In fact, I would even like to work there someday! 

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls are one of my favorite things to eat. They are just so good, whether eaten for breakfast or a snack anytime during the day. I found a recipe from The Pioneer Woman that is easy, quick, and oh so tasty! You should definitely check out the recipe!

Mandarin Orange, Banana, and Mini-Marshmallow Salad

I have rediscovered one of my favorite fruit salads: Mandarin Orange, Banana, and Mini-Marshmallow Salad. Growing up, my Mom was always good at having some sort of fruit salad or jello item along with our dinner meal, and this one was the best! 

Ross and I most always have a lettuce salad and either mashed potatoes or a vegetable with our chicken or steak for dinner. Last week I decided I wanted fruit along with our meal and remembered this salad. We always have bananas on hand, but never mandarin oranges or mini-marshmallows, so I had to make an extra trip to the grocery store to get the ingredients. The extra trip was more than worth my time!  I enjoyed every bite of my salad and plan to make it more often. Ross wasn't quite sold on the salad, but that's okay. That just means there's more for me now!

Mandarin Orange, Banana, Mini-Marshmallow Salad

• 1 small can mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 medium-sized banana, cut into thin slices
• 1/2 - 1 cup mini-marshmallows, more or less depending on taste

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and enjoy! Refrigerate leftovers.

Master Bathroom Updates

We've been talking about painting our master bathroom for a while now and earlier this summer decided it was time to get it done! We knew it wouldn't take that long to do . . . something we say about all of our projects, but find later it usually does take longer than first thought! We joke about this a lot!

The color in the bathroom was a light sage green color. I did like it, but just wanted a change, something a little brighter. We painted it a soft yellow and also updated the hardware using an antique bronze finish. We've replaced the ceiling fan and towel bars, and plan on replacing the faucets this fall. I'm still working on decorating. I just can't seem to find the right pieces for around the tub and the wall to the right of the mirror.

Before

After

 

Before

After

Before

After

I love the wall hanging. To me it just says "happy!"

Two Rice, No Beans. No Rice, Two Beans.

Ross and I got Mexican for dinner earlier this week and I noticed something funny about our order. We both ordered enchiladas that came with one side of rice and one side of beans. I asked the waiter if I could have two rice and no beans. Ross asked the waiter if he could have two beans and no rice. This is funny to me - he takes my beans and I take his rice. :)

40 Years!!!!

Happy 40th Anniversary (a few days late) to my in-laws, Larry and Wanda Wiseman!!! Wishing you many more happy years together!

August 21, 1971

August 21, 2011

Names

I am horrible at remembering names. If I meet someone new and hear the name, it's as if the name literally goes in one ear and out the other. I just cannot remember it. This is something that I really want to work on, being able to remember names. There are a few girls who have been coming to my Monday night aerobics class for quite a while now and I'm so ashamed to say that I don't know their names! I'm sure they told me their names when they first came to class, but I can't remember. And now that it's been months that they've been coming, I'm too embarrassed to ask their names!


A few weeks ago at a work conference, one lady kept calling me Lisa. She knew my name was Libby - I was introduced to her and I had a name badge on that said Libby. Not Lisa, Libby. I and another lady she was with corrected her when she did call me Lisa, but she continued to call me by the wrong name! For some reason this really bothered me ... but then I remembered my own inability to remember names and felt a bit convicted.

I have thought about the two instances above for a while now, trying to figure out which one is worse. Is it worse to not know someone's name when you've been around them for a time, or is it worse to call someone by the wrong name? What do you think? I still haven't decided yet.

I'm A Messy Traveler

I've learned something about myself over the past few years:  I'm very neat at home and I'm very messy when traveling. Just so you can see what I'm talking about, here's a picture of my hotel room when I arrived:

And here are pictures of my hotel room after just a few days:

I would NEVER leave a mess like this at home! It would bug me way too much to let any part of my house get this messy. Sure, I throw clothes on my closet floor, but they always get picked up before the day is over. Not so much when I travel! My suitcase leaves my house with everything neatly packed, but returns home with everything thrown in and very hard to close because of the mess inside. I haven't figured out why I do this. Knowing myself, I would think the neatness of my home would translate over to neatness of my hotel room. But, as you can see, that is definitely not the case!

I Said Yes!

I love to remember dates and am pretty good at remembering what happened this time last year, two years ago, three years ago, etc. Well, two years ago today, August 21, 2009, is a day I will definitely remember forever. Ross asked me to marry him. I said yes!

Our proposal was so wonderful! I remember it like it was yesterday - getting my dinner invitation in the mail, getting ready for dinner, eating dinner together, driving to the park, walking to the bench, reading "Our Book Of Love," Ross getting down on one knee and proposing, saying yes and hugging and crying, him putting the ring on my finger, celebrating with sparkling grape juice, taking pictures, calling our family and friends.... Oh all of it was just absolutely perfect!

You can read our engagement story here.

You can see our engagement night pictures here.

Three Generations

During my recent trip to Phoenix, AZ, I not only visited my Aunt Cheryl, but also visited my Great Aunt Blanche! Aunt Blanche is my mom's mom's sister, and the only living relative from my Gramma's generation. She lives in Glendale, AZ, a suburb of Phoenix. I can't remember when the last time was that I saw Aunt Blanche. I'm sure I was just a little girl then, maybe even still in elementary school.

Over the past year I have been keeping in touch with Aunt Blanche via email, and she keeps up with me by reading my blog. Hi Aunt Blanche :)

I emailed her about getting together for dinner while I was in Phoenix, and she was thrilled about this! She arranged for one of her friends to pick me up from my hotel and take us to dinner. Our plans were set for Wednesday, August 3, 5:30pm, but little did she know I had a surprise for her:  My Mom would be joining us, too!

My Mom knew of my plans to meet Aunt Blanche and my Dad suggested that she fly to Phoenix to visit with Aunt Blanche, too. At first, Mom said NO! She was nervous to fly, especially since she would be flying alone and not with my Dad. But, after several conversations and much deliberation, she finally decided to go! They booked her flight, leaving Springfield around 9am Wednesday morning, and returning around 7:30pm Friday evening. Her hotel room was taken care of - she stayed with me! 

It was so much fun walking outside and seeing Aunt Blanche sitting in her car waiting for me! We saw each other and waved, and then she saw my Mom! Aunt Blanche has such a look of surprise on her face! It was great! What makes it even better is that Aunt Blanche had emailed Mom just a few days earlier saying she wished she (Mom) would have been able to stow away on the plane with me and visit, too!

We had a nice visit at dinner and got back to the hotel around 9pm that evening. Mom made plans to take a taxi to Aunt Blanche's on Thursday and they would spend the day together. Mom left the hotel around 9:30am and didn't get back until 8:30pm! They has such a good time visiting together!

Wanda Ward, Aunt Blanche Richards, Libby Wiseman

Aunt Blanche and Me

First Day of School

It's back to school time again! Although I'm not going back to school (so glad about that!) and don't have any kids of my own to send to school, I do so enjoy seeing everyone's back to school pictures on Facebook! My sister, Stephanie, posted Trevor and Cody's pictures on Facebook and on her blog, check it out! Trevor is nine and starting fourth grade, and Cody is seven and starting first grade. They go to school in Webb City, MO, and started on Wednesday, August 17. Here's their traditional back to school picture in front of their house:

Each year on the first day of school my Mom took pictures of Stephanie and I standing in front of the evergreen trees in our front yard. Here's a first day of school picture when Stephanie was starting ninth grade and I was starting fifth grade. Don't you love it?!

Circa 1989

 
I really don't remember much about what I did in school on all my first days, but I do remember what I did after I got home from school on the first days. My Mom had a tradition of changing the family room furniture around and making Stephanie and me our favorite dessert. Stephanie got cherry cheesecake and I got lemon surprise. We rode the bus home after school and would then tell Mom all about our first day while eating dessert. Fun memories!

I asked Stephanie yesterday if she was going to change around her family room furniture and make Trevor and Cody their favorite desserts, like Mom did for us. She didn't change the room around, but did get them their favorite iced sugar cookies from the mall. She said they LOVED it! I hope to someday carry on the first day of school tradition that my Mom had. I don't know if I'll be able to change our family room around because of the way it's set up, but hopefully I can find another tradition like that to do. But, I will DEFINITELY be making my kids their favorite dessert!

Silver City, New Mexico

On July 30, I headed west to Phoenix, AZ, for a week-long work conference, and decided to take a super quick trip to Silver City, NM, to visit my Aunt Cheryl. Aunt Cheryl is my dad's older sister who I don't get to see very often. When I realized how "close" Silver City was to Phoenix I decided I needed to visit her. I have sent countless letters to Aunt Cheryl over the years, updating her on my life, telling her what's going on with me and our family. I told her in an email before my trip that I was really excited to see her and to see where all my letters have been delivered to over the years!

I flew into Phoenix Saturday afternoon, rented a car, and started my five-hour drive to Silver City, NM. I got to her place around 6pm that evening and we went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. After dinner we walked around the town and then went back to her place for visiting with her and her boyfriend, Tim. The next morning I woke up at 7am, and Aunt Cheryl and I went on a hike that led to old rock formations with petroglyphs. This was really neat! I had never seen petroglyphs before and it was interesting learning about them, and seeing the different countryside. After the hike, we went to breakfast, and then back to her place to get ready for my trip back to Phoenix. This was a very quick trip - arriving at her house at 6pm on Saturday and leaving at noon on Sunday, but it was so worth it! It was so much fun to see Aunt Cheryl and learn a little more about her life and where she lives!

Taken from my car while driving through Arizona!

Another picture from my car!

Texas Canyon - very neat granite boulders.

More of Texas Canyon.

Finally entering New Mexico!

Petroglyphs

Petroglyphs

New Mexico terrain

More petroglpyhs

The PO box where my mail is delivered! She's such a good sport to take this cheesy photo!

Aunt Cheryl and Tim outside of their house.

Aunt Cheryl and me.

Back in Arizona on the way "home."

Sports Day 2011!

One Sunday afternoon in May 2009, Ross and I had "Sports Day." On Sports Day we rode our bikes, played tennis, and played catch. We just thought it was so funny that we did all of those sports in one afternoon, and decided it should be done again. And yesterday, Sunday, August 14, 2011, was the day! We rode our bikes to a tennis court near our house and played tennis, and then played a little catch. And, of course, we took pictures to document our day! We have so much fun together!

Sewing!

Yesterday I sewed my very first shirt, and if I do say so myself, it turned out pretty good! I've known how to sew since I was a little girl. My mom taught me and I'd sew potholders, pillows, and miscellaneous things. Last fall I decided I wanted to sew curtains for our family room and my mom gave me my Gramma's old sewing machine so I could work on the curtains at home. Everything I have sewed has just been "straight sewing," as I like to call it. Straight sewing meaning nothing complicated - basically just sewing a straight (well kind of straight :) hem and the project was done.

This year one of the goals I made for myself was to sew a shirt, or something much more involved than just sewing a hem. A few weeks ago Hobby Lobby had McCall's patterns on sale for $.99 each, so I decided it was time to start my sewing project. I thought a shirt would be a good place to start and found a pattern that seemed fairly easy, bought the material, and started sewing!

I do have to say, I was a bit intimidated once I got the pattern out and looked at it. I had no idea what all the lines, triangles, circles, etc., were on the pattern. I did a lot of research online watching sewing tutorials and asked a few people some questions and started to work.

All in all, the shirt really wasn't that hard to make ... even though I had to buy more material for the front side of the shirt. The shoulder area has pleats that just confused me. It wasn't until I sewed the fourth and final pleat that I realized I had sewed the first three incorrectly! I tried ripping out the stitching, but ended up ripping a few little holes in the shirt instead. Thankfully, JoAnn's Fabric Store is close to my house and they still had my material. :)

I am so proud of this shirt! I know it would definitely NOT win any sewing awards, but I'm very proud of it anyway. Ross said he would have thought I bought it and my Dad said it doesn't look homemade! Quite the compliments! I would like to continue sewing and eventually work up to something a little more challenging. For now, though, I'll stick with another shirt or maybe a skirt.

Getting everything ready to go.

The patterns for the front and back of the shirt.

Front and back cut out.

The back is hemmed.

The front and pleats on the shoulder.

The finished product!