Thoughts from a Late Night Rider...

I'm wide awake. Maybe it's the Sonic drink, maybe it's the long weekend. Regardless... Live from Roanoke Texas... It's Saturday night!

It's a shame when you know the gals at Sonic - by name and face. It's even worse when they know you right back. It cracks me up when they ask me if I want my "usual". They even know how to pack the ice just the way I like it.

September is going to be el-cheapo month for this Ales family. We're (I'm) curious to see how much we can live on, if we absolutely have to. It's back to coupon cutting (expense cutting), meal cooking (no eating out), Sonic avoidance (oh the travesty!!), Blockbuster membership cancellation (they upped the price, and we're trying to decide if we want/need cable), and no craft purchases (I can do it - right??). I think it'll be a good thing - and it will be interesting to see how much we can save if we set our minds to it.

Are you a Grey's fan? I SO am!! I almost had to cheer for joy when I saw the poster advertising Grey's Anatomy Season 3 DVD release. It's a sickness... but boy I do love it so. It'll be out in a few weeks. How on earth am I going to hold off on purchasing it until October?? SERIOUSLY!?

I start teaching my first classes at The Scrapbook Pad this month; Beyond Basics. Yikes! I don't know why I'm so nervous. I've taught classes for crowds much larger than our store can handle at conventions around the country. I've taught and shared my papercrafting passion with oodles of friends in my home and at theirs. Maybe it's because I love the store so much or perhaps maybe it's because I'm so attached to the store. At any route, I'm nervous as all get out.

I love reading The Pioneer Woman's blog. It cracks me up in so many ways - her humor is side splitting. Her recipes are outstanding (seriously, check them out). Her photos are breathtaking. It's addictive I tell ya - and I love it! I'm almost tempted to go find a ranch for our Ales family to live on.

Tommorrow (make that today) is family food day. Oh the fun of Sunday dinners at the Ales household. Both of the kids (that would be Thomas and Kimberlee - Steve's young siblings) are invited each week and when they come, they almost always bring friends. We never know how many to expect, so Sundays at our house are either loaded with lots of people, or it's empty and the freezer has a few extra meals for other days (oh how I love our Food Saver!).

Might the hell of our fabulous house be coming to an end? Oh, please pray that it might be so! Tuesday morning, the contractors begin the demolition and repairs on the upstairs guest bathroom. We did our final selections for tile and carpet this morning with Gayla (She is SO fabulous. She's not just a RE agent, she is an interior designer - and she KNOWS her stuff) AND... we selected the marble slabs for the kitchen countertops, island and bathrooms. Literally - we picked the slab of marble that the countertops will be made from. I'm amazed at the whole process. SO stinkin' cool! Anyway, our house is getting ready to be more of a construction zone than it is at the moment, but I'm starting to think that there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

The internet is such a cool and interesting place. Honestly, it never ceases to amaze me. I've come across friends that over the years (and moves) I'd lost contact with. A perfect example is that just a few weeks ago, I was blog surfing and over the course of a few different blog paths I came across Lanna's blog (I'd link you to her, but I don't want to link without permission). Get this chain... years ago... and I do mean years, but only 7 or so (maybe 8) I had this totally fun group of friends in Ohio. We had some really fun times as we traveled around southern Ohio attending dances, parties, shindigs, and making all kinds of crazy fun for ourselves. Anyway, in this group of friends was a tall gaggle of a guy named Ren. He's a serviceman and was transferred away. We maintained contact via email. Fast forward a few years. I'm living in Texas. Ren is living in New Mexico and is dating a woman in Utah. I had a page requested accepted for publication (December 2004). The editors name sounded unusually familiar - Lanna Carter. Long story short... Lanna was the wonderful woman Ren was dating! They ended up getting married in June of 2005. It's a big world out there, but thanks to the internet, it's a whole lot smaller!

I've been doing some SERIOUS purging in my scrapbook room/art studio/creative space. I get so overwhelmed with options - I feel like I'm drowning in choices surrounded by so many awesome products. It's been very freeing to let some of it go. Some of it is being boxed up and will go to a local charity. Some of it is being held back so that I can use it for the next Scrapbook Pad Garage Sale (fingers crossed that my ticket gets drawn for a table!). Most of it, though, is being saved for my friends to come and go through! Any local takers?

I wish I lived closer to some of my family. My parents will be moving to Texas next summer and will be halfway closer to us than they are now (and just a hop, skip, and a jump from Mexico to boot!). Last weekend really was a bunch of fun. Steve will really have to come next time. I know he would have really enjoyed himself too!

That's enough rambling thoughts for today - don't cha think?

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