YARD WORK!

If a yard ever needed work it was ours. We are refinancing and needed to do a little yard work to get it up to snuff. Monday we threw out 4 garbage cans and 14 bags of yard waste. I went home yesterday after work and started raking. Jeff started bagging when he got home from work. So by the end of last night we had another 13 bags of yard waste. These are the full-size hefty yard bags. Man...and believe it or not there's plenty more to do. And this is just the front yard! We bought lots of little decorative things for the yard - it looks a million times better already. Mom came down and really helped put it all together. I'll try and go home today and take a picture and post it.

New & Old

Well, it's been about as busy as it can be here. There's been so much going on and it seems like there's a lot of changes. In the "New" category: Addison has gotten a couple of yard jobs this past week. He's worked 3 times and made $56 - he's so excited. I hear he's a terrific worker. I'm so proud of him. He's excited to have money to put into his savings account to - I think he's saving to get an IPOD. He's really into music right now. I went and got my hair cut. It was at an "Aveda" salon on University. When I was in beauty school one of my girlfriends worked for an Aveda Concept Salon in Phx. She was awarded the "Aveda Makeup Artist of the Year" Award that year. She was a very talented esthetician. It just kind of made me miss her walking into that salon and seeing all the product. It was kind of wild being back in the serious "salon" mode...I missed it for a bit. Even thought, geez, maybe I should get my license in CA for just doing nails - and stick with just doing manicures and pedicures - all natural - no acrylic. Ahhhh...doing nails all day in a fancy salon...doesn't that sound like fun?! Fun hair cuts - fun people - I really do love the salon environment. Oh well...in the "Old" category I've dropped 40.8 of my old pounds...hopefully to return no more. I need to keep going - I can't believe I'm doing so well...it almost feels like I don't have to think about it too much anymore. I skip aisles in the grocery store that used to be my old haunts and I don't even miss them. I don't feel like I'm being cheated out of anything - it's just that I don't really want that stuff anymore. I'm so glad I finally got it together and started doing this. I'm so proud of every pound my family has lost. Jeff has lost 40 lbs., Addison has lost 17 lbs., mom has lost 51 lbs., Jenn has lost 23.9 lbs., I'm not sure how much Aunt Cindy or Margie have lost - but I'm so excited for everyone - everyone is looking terrific. I hope whatever you're doing today - you can do it with a smile. I wish for you wonderful, peaceful, rests on a wonderfully shaded hammock above a thick, cool, lush, bed of grass...(that wish of course comes equipped with a wonderful novel and a terrificly cold glass of tea!)

We're Back

Ok, we survived it. Actually, we LOVED it. Vacation was awesome. We always have a great time on vacation. We're the type who get excited about seeing the "World's Largest Rocking Chair"...if you are too, you can see it just outside of Canon City, CO. We went and spent a couple of days with my girlfriend Krissie and her husband, Mike. What fun! I miss that chick already - wish you could all know her - she's a blast. On our trips I love to take pictures of all the old barns we pass on the side of the road - I love them. I got a ton on this trip. I'll try and get some pictures up soon. Since we've been home we've been working on cleaning out the house - throwing stuff away. So of course the scrapbook room is being worked on again. It's been rearranged and gone through. I am actually getting to the decorating portion now. Whooo hooo! Word is my sister is coming down for Labor day - can't wait. I've only seen her once this year - doesn't seem right! Well hope this day is a productive one for you all.
Love,
Aub

Vacation Countdown

I CANNOT WAIT FOR VACATION!!! I'm so ready to be out of here. Out on the road. Seeing the sights. Taking pictures. Enjoying God's country. It's going to be great. Everything at home is plugged in being charged. Cameras, game players, music players, etc... I need to stock up on magazines and books for our trip. I think we're going to try to make it very picnic style if we can. It should be a lot of fun - I'll be sure and share pictures as we go.
Aub

Get Up - Get On Up...

It's a James Brown kinda day. I couldn't sleep at all last night. I finally napped around 4:30 AM for a little less than an hour - and when I did wake up it was with James Brown's song "Sex Machine" in my head. You know the one...

Get up, (get on up)
Get up, (get on up)
Stay on the scene, (get on up), like a sex machine, (get on up)

And then, shake your money maker,
Shake your money maker,
Shake your money maker,
Shake your money maker,
Shake your money maker,
Shake your money maker,
Shake your money maker

So I've been Shaken my money maker over and over in my head! Ughh! "Right on! Right on!" All that being said, I get to church this morning to count the tithe and Buffy is there to help and I keep singing/humming that song and by the end of counting she says "Oh great now I'm singing it too!" Oh well, at least it's a good song (Don't know that it's church office appropriate but oh well.) At least today is cooler. It's almost 10 AM and it's 75 degrees out. Not too bad considering what it's been lately. I hope everyone is "Getting On Up" today and doing something worthwhile!
God Bless You!
Aubrey

Freaky Friday

Ok SOOOO Lame, but I've been wanting to use that title FOREVER! I'm super tired, have had an ear ache for over a week - am SUPER grumpy, but other than that feeling great. I got to talk to my best friend Ginnie today - that always puts a HUGE smile on my face. Love her! We can sit and chat like no one can! I need to pull myself out of this weird funk I'm in. I am tired (did I say that already), I have a pile of dictation to do (and I feel like that's all I've been doing lately)...we've got guests coming to town this weekend and the house isn't clean. Aaahhh... Actually I know how to get out of it, quit focusing on all that - focus on getting it done and quit bitching about it right? Ok, I get it. In separate news today is my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday mom! I have yet to call her, but it's on my list. I wish I could go visit for the weekend, but we're having company. Eric and his wife Mikki are coming down for the weekend. Addison's so excited. Them coming down means a deep-sea fishing trip for him. (And pictures for me! Yea!) Ok, I'm getting ready to leave work, thought I'd send a little blurb out and say Hi!
Hope everyone is well!
Aub

Slacking!!!

Ok guys - I've been slacking. My room isn't done. I have cleaning up to do - and there are things that are just about done, but not quite finished. I can't wait for it to be finished. I'm so excited about it. I've been a little tired this last week and I just took on a new client. His name is Dale - he's a crack-up! Tonight I'm going to scrapbook with my friend while Addison is at youth group - looking forward to that. Nothing else too much to report here - it's overcast out today, those are my absolute favorite days. I hope this note finds you all well.
May the Lord Bless You!
Aubrey

Scrapbook Room

I've been working on decorating/organizing/cleaning up my scrapbook room. (Excuse the terrible photo! - Click on the photo to get a bigger picture.) I finally got my "room title" up. (Courtesy of my fabulous sister, Jenn!) I've had these things for a while - only just got 'em put up. I did pick up the flower over the weekend at Target in Yuma - they have so much more at that store than we have at ours here. I've been told I should alter these in some way - paint or decorate, but I'm kinda afraid. I'm sure I could do something to make them look cute, but what if they look good now, and then I don't like them in 6 months! Plus the wall is so busy - the way it's painted - I kind of like the starkness of the white. Maybe I'll add some ribbons to some of them. That way if I get tired of the color - or want a change - it'll be easy enough to swap out. Wish me luck on getting this room done. I'm hoping to have it complete by this weekend.

CLEAN UP!!!

I went to Yuma this past weekend to help my mom clean out her garage. She's just recently moved and, like the rest of us - or maybe it's just me, hasn't gone through all the boxes yet. We worked all day Saturday on it (6AM-9:30PM). It looks much better now. This was good. It gave mom more space in her garage - it gave the homeless shelter 3 truck loads of donations, and it gave me some exercise. I've been working on cleaning out my office/scrapbook room. The local scrapbook store is having a garage sale Saturday and I've signed up for a spot to sell my things. All this cleaning and purging is really making me feel good. I feel like I've been buried under "stuff" for a long time now. I can't wait to finish getting it cleaned, sorted, organized, and decorated. It's going to be so nice it that room! I'm about 3/4 of the way done. My goal is to have it done by Saturday. Wish me luck! To all of you out there Spring Cleaning - I hope the end result brings you much happiness.
Blessings to you!
Aubrey

Easter Sunday

Harns Happenings
How was everyone's Easter? Ours was nice. We went to Church Sunday Morning. Then drove to Pine Valley after for lunch and took the back way home. It was so pretty out. I love it when everything is green. I didn't get any pictures - I kind of feel guilt about that - but it was nice to just go and enjoy the day. When we finally got home we sat down and played Monopoly together (Jeff kicked mine and Addis' butts!). It was nice. We'd spent Saturday cleaning the house (Addison ended up having his friend come over and then going home with him - he got home around 9:15 - so Jeff and I went and ran some errands). It was just a nice weekend. Cleaning was work, but it's always so nice when it's done. We've actually started our Spring Cleaning - we've gotten rid of 3 big trash cans full of stuff this week. We ended up re-arranging the office; it's finally coming together. Maybe I'll post some pictures when we're through.
Hugs everyone!
Aubrey

It's A Cold One!

Well it's Thursday. It's TOTALLY cold out tonight. Word on the TV is it might snow here. Can you believe it? Addison's totally praying for snow. His gym teacher told him if it even snowed a little they were going to cancel school. (He's on bended knee!) Jeff had me put the camera on the charger tonight - just in case. The dogs all came in early - we have a fire going and are snuggling under blankets - who knows, I may even cave and make some hot chocolate! Today was nice and quiet at work - I was the only one there and we only had a couple of phone calls so it was a nice easy day - I enjoyed it. I did a little scrapbooking today. I did my very first mini-album. I never had much use for them - I always thought they were kind of cute but looked at them more as clutter than anything. Well now that I've done one I love it. It's about our dogs. We have 4 dogs: Shelby, Roscoe, Mugsy, and Hanna. I love, love, love it! I made it for the Design Team at the Poway Scrapbook Store - I hope no one steals it. Small books have a tendency to walk off. I'd like to get this one back. I'm going to make a mini-album for my mother. (Not of our dogs of course) This one will be all about her Grand-babies. I guess I ought to go - get back up to that fire - it's cold here in the office! I'll write more later!
Hugs,
Aubrey

Harns Happenings

Wait, It's March?!
Ok, so much for being diligent about updating this on any sort of regular basis. I am so envyous of those ladies who can do this every day. You know the ones...the one's who wake up, read their bible, do the dishes, run a load of laundry -- all before they wake the kids up and get them off to school. HAGS! Always wanted to be one - never will be. I'm more of a "oh I've got 30 minutes before I have to be there - that means I can sleep for 15 more!" Speaking of which, I guess I ought to get into service. We're supposed to be in there in 3 minutes - I better get out of the office. I will write more (sooner - rather than later!)
Love,
Aub

February Already??!!

Can you believe it's February already? January went by so quickly - perhaps it's because I was buried under a mountain of work?! I guess the good thing is though, that I conquered the mountain (which is a good thing - it's the only "mountain" climbing I've done in years!) Not too much is going on. The boys have a trip planned for camping in the desert over president's day weekend. I plan on going to the Scrapbook Expo with my friend Crystal next weekend. I can't wait to see all the latest and greatest scrap stuff. I actually managed to get 8 LO's done in January - almost 9 - can you believe it?! Of course I haven't done a darn thing in February. I've got some ideas though. Addison is doing terrific in school and Jeff took a much needed break Saturday. He went for a day ride with his friend Randy. Jeff's been working really hard and has been a little stressed out - I think the ride did him some good. I hope this little note finds you all well & knee deep in the Lord's blessings!
Love,
Aubrey

Harns Happenings

Harns Happenings
Ok, so it's been a while since I've written anything. We've been busy. Christmas and New Years were wonderful. We went to Yuma to my mom's house for Christmas. Then spent New Year out in the desert riding ATVs. I absolutely love being out there in the desert riding around on the quads. I love the exploring, camping, hanging out -- no TVs! It's so much fun to ride and play and visit. I look forward to it each year (this was the third year we've gone out). When I ride I borrow one of my cousin's quads. Jeff and Addison have their own bike (in fact Addison got a new bike for Christmas). I think I'm going to be so bold as to state I want my own bike and I'd like to have it by this time next year. I guess I'll have to start saving my pennies! I haven't got any scrapbooking done in a while & I have things due for Design Team. Ughh...someone out there throw some creativity my way. I've got a DT crop tomorrow night and I'm not prepared at all. I guess I better get to it when I get home this afternoon. I better get back to work and I'll try and be more diligent in updating my blog.
God Bless!
Aubrey