While the Parents Are Away

While Jim and I were at our Small Group Sunday night, we left our children unaccompanied at home. All I can say, is it's a good thing that Duke, our dog was there to document exactly what happened.


The evening started out innocently enough with good food...



...and good drink. Wait a minute!!!


Oh, okay!



Here is where the story turns suspicious. Grace gazed into her magic mirror, which obviously gave her the incorrect notion, that more is better. Everyone knows less is better, especially when it comes to purple eye shadow and shiny lip goo!




Next David donned his Las Vegas vest and let his sisters slick down his hair. Strange, very strange indeed.


Emily actually posed for the camera! (And I must say, I love this photo!)


Then they all three posed for Duke, so he could capture the moment. Duke explained to me that all of the glitz and glamor was something they called "An Oscar Party". Really? An Oscar Party?

I suppose this is the point of the evening when Slum Dog Millionaire won.

And this would be when Slum Dog Millionaire won.

And this, Slum Dog.

So parents, consider yourselves forwarned. Never leave your kids at home alone, on Oscar night, with a bottle of bubbly cider. Unless, you have a trusty dog, that will capture the evening on film!

Playing Cards With the Ladies

I got a message Thursday morning, inviting me to play cards with the ladies. So how cool is that?! My great-grandmother played cards every Saturday night with her lady friends, and I've always thought it sounded so nostalgic! Per the instructions, I packed my lunch and headed out the door to go meet the girls. There were six other ladies and only one of them brought their lunch. And she made it there...yummy-looking fajitas! I ate my cold turkey sandwich.

Cards began about 12:30. Since I had never played before, and since there were an odd number of gals (although only a few of the gals were actually odd) I decided to watch and learn.

First, everyone draws a small stack of cards from the draw pile.

Second, you divide said small stack into two smaller piles.
Whoever divides their cards into two equal piles of 11, I think, does something. Maybe they "go" first. I'm just not sure. In fact, I'm not really sure at all how to play the game, because I never actually got to play. I had to leave early. So, this should probably not be a blog entitled "Playing Cards With the Ladies" but maybe "Watching the Ladies Play Cards" would be more fitting. I did get to snuggle with a baby, though, so it wasn't a total waste of time. And nor would it have been if said baby had not been snuggavailable. I loved getting together with these gals.

And lest you think the following photo is poorly lit because you really can't see anyone's faces, I really just wanted you to see our spectacular view out the patio door.

It was a great time of watching others play cards!

Random

A collection of what-in-the-world? photos I found on my computer.

Emily's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Weekend

Friday: Took David to see Pink Panther 2.

Lost her wallet.

Saturday: Got blamed for Silly Putty on Dad's jeans.


Went back to theater to check for wallet, "No one turned one in".


Googled "How To Get Silly Putty Out of Clothing" and got Dad's jeans clean.


Got stood up by Grace for a movie night.


Went to Outback with Mom only to find a 45-minute wait (it was Valentine's Day!) so didn't wait.
Walked all over Bozeman Pond, in the dark, in the cold looking for lost wallet. No wallet.



Called the police to see if anyone had turned one in; never got to talk to an officer.

Sunday: Called to cancel ATM card.
Hit the side of the garage when pulling in from church.


Got stood up by Grace, again, for movie night.


Developed a pain in her side. (Is it any wonder?!)

Went back to the theater a second time, and FOUND HER WALLET!

Our First Montana Wedding

Jim performed his first Montana wedding this past weekend. I knew things were different when I walked into the church lobby at 4:55 and all the guests were standing around visiting. The befuddled wedding coordinator said "This is what we do in Montana. Everyone will stand out here and talk to each other until I tell them to go sit down." So, that's what she had to do. At 5:00 she announced "We have a bride and groom that would really like to get married today, and they can't do that until all of you are sitting in there." That got them going! It was a beautiful ceremony with many precious tears from the bride.

The boutonnieres were like none I had ever seen. That's a shotgun shell.
I wonder if their theme was Guns and Roses.

The reception buffet line was complete with salads, veggies, several hot dishes and an elk trophy on the wall.

Jim and I had a table to ourselves, which was kind of nice. We didn't spend our time on small talk with folks we didn't know. Instead, we got to take lots of photos of ourselves!

The bride and groom also had a table to themselves. I have never seen this, but what a nice idea!

They had a winter theme, with silver and white decorations.
And snowflakes and icicles on their cake!

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. O!

Crashing

Will two nights of bad dreams and restless sleep make all the world appear to be hopeless?

A Really Sweet House

Today I went to a ladies meeting. We discussed what the next course will be for our Women's Bible Study. That was decided rather quickly, as our host had a great idea, and we all affirmed her decision. Since that took a whole seven minutes, and since I had never been to her house before, and since I am in the market for a home I'm looking at everybody's homes, she took me on a tour. I don't know exactly why, but I had my camera in my pocket so I asked her if I could take some photos and post them on my blog. So enjoy! I like to call her decorating style "Mary Engelbreit On Steroids!" She thought that about covered it.

Sorry this photo is sidewards, can't figure out how to turn it. This is her main bathroom with hankies on the ceiling. I thought it was a quilt at first, but they are individual hankies. The really do serve a purpose, other than making guests stand with their mouths gaping open. Apparently they cover water spots, but she really didn't need to tell me that. I was satisfied with the eye appeal and my gaping mouth!

She has a cabin in her backyard. Cool, huh? I learned they actually moved this cabin from Ennis, MT, a town about 55 miles from Bozeman. I didn't ask enough questions, because now I am wondering HOW did they move it and WHY did they move it. Other than, obviously, it's really cool to have a cabin in your backyard.

This is the inside of the cabin.

This is her office. Wall to wall circus memorabilia.

An old school-locker bin with numbers, metal cages, and hooks for locks. One of the other gals that was on the tour with me told us she had this same kind of locker in gym.

The next photos are some of my favorite red things in her house.

A red bathroom floor.

A red display of tins and flowers.

And a red child's chair, with a red-suited Sarah!