Emily Bloss

The prom must have turned on some kind of girly switch in me… I discovered it’s fun to paint my nails! Here’s a design I did a couple of weeks ago – my first attempt at fingernail painting.

I actually kind of like this one – it reminds me of the Barbie dune buggy from my childhood. I’ve been getting inspiration from the designs at Schmucknagel.de – there’s some really cool stuff on there!

On his birthday this year, Trav took me to my very first prom. It was the Senior Prom, sponsored by the YMCA. We were the chaperons because we’re under 50… someone needed to keep all those senior citizens in line! Here we are, dressed for the occasion (you can click any picture for a larger version):

See that grin on my face? It was there from the time I got my hair done until way after we got home. The prep started with getting my hair styled in an updo by Sofia at Kurl Up & Dye in Spring Hill (her number is 352-836-2012). Thanks, Sofia! Everybody really liked it.

On the way home from the salon, we picked up some of the new Dominos pizza and it turned out to be pretty good. We enjoyed our simple dinner of Hawaiian pizza & beer. Then a little later we got ready to go. Here’s a closer-up shot of the happy couple! Trav is so handsome and he looked quite dapper that evening.

I felt like a princess! Trav got me a lovely corsage from Sherwood Florist. And Trav’s mom gave me some very pretty press-on nails and lovely blue earrings to wear. Plus she supplied me with some really cool nail polish for my toes.

The prom was a lot of fun. We got to hang out with a bunch of people from our dance class and nibble on cookies and punch. Trav’s name was drawn and he got to serve as one of the princes of the prom, to stand up with the king and queen as they were crowned. And we danced and danced and danced!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday filled with love and joy.

p.s. It’s a little late for this year, but I would love for you to participate in the new poll (see the right sidebar). Thanks!!

What a fun day! We were invited to a party, so we made penguins for a snack… they got to dress up, too! They were a hit at the party – people were taking them home to show and stuff. We had a lot of fun making this batch.

Also see my new page about the penguins… it has a flipbook of the best costumes.

I’ll try to get more pictures of Halloween. Here’s a good one… Trav & his mom. Isn’t his mask creepy!!?!

And here’s one of the many awesome decorations.

Best of all – WE DANCED!!! East Coast Swing and a couple of slow dances, and I practiced the cha-cha a little bit at the table. There was a lady dressed as a princess and she danced a lot and was very good at it. She was having a blast, even if she was the only one on the dance floor. I was thinking on how I admire people who will go up and dance if they want to and then realized – we were those people!

Her name is Calico, isn’t she cute!?!! She’s very sweet. It’s hard to get a good picture of her, though. She’s almost always on the move.

One of our recent projects was to replace the leaky sliding glass door. Water started coming in and managed to ruin part of the floor. Here’s what was there:

Trav & Terry got the old door ripped out and started repairing the floor (cutting the damaged part out and putting in new plywood).

After the floor was repaired, we got the door in. And then the fun started, trying to get it all level and closing right. The actual fun part was squirting in Great Stuff around the edges, to seal it up. Here’s the final result:

We really like the new door because it’s highly energy-efficient, and the blinds are sandwiched inside the glass, so we never have to dust them! It uses a magnetic system to slide the shades up and down.

Next project: 18′ x 18′ concrete pad – the start of our porch!

Bleys posted this great link on his Facebook page. Thanks, Bleys!

100 Ways to Use a Strip of Bacon

Perhaps I’ll get some ideas for our restaurant (and web site) Bacon in, Delicious out™!

Every so often I like to look at the Approver’s Choice WunderPhotos on Weather Underground. Today I happened upon this awesome picture! It’s one of the best photographs I’ve ever seen.

Dew flowers by thebige

What a wonderful way to view the world…

My friend Jane sent this, and I wanted to share… Thanks, Jane!

Written By Regina Brett of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio. Here’s a link to the original posting, and one to Regina Brett’s site. You can also get an archival quality reprint. Neat!

“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here’s an update:”

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s,we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”

Jane’s note at the end of the email she sent:
Its estimated 93% won’t forward this. If you are one of the 7% who will, forward this with the title ‘7%’. I’m in the 7%. Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves.

Today we went over to Orlando to see Bleys’ new place. “On the way”, we went to Cocoa Beach and spent several fun-filled hours body boarding.

I was pretty excited because Cocoa Beach also happens to be where the Ron Jon Surf Shop is… a place I’ve wanted to go ever since we started seeing ads for it in Florida. It was really neat! Way overpriced, though. I don’t think I will EVER pay $72 for a pair of flip flops, even if they do say Ron Jon on them. Not everything was that terribly overpriced but we were a little shocked by that one. The store was huge, with two stories, and they had a lot of cool stuff there. Apparently it’s the largest surf shop in the world. Here’s a view of the outside, including one of the statues gracing the front yard of the store.

After the beach we went to see Bleys’ place. Of course, the minute we got there, it started raining cats and dogs, so we had to sit around in the lobby and eat Dum-Dums while we waited for the rain to let up. Then they took us to see the model apartment and it was quite nice. I never had such a nice place when I was going to college! He’ll be sharing his apartment with 3 other guys so that ought to be an interesting experience. Hopefully it all goes well.

So that was our exciting day. Next we’ll rest and treat our poor poor sunburned skin! And Trav burned the soles of his feet on the hot wood of the boardwalk, can you believe it! I never saw that happen to anybody before. We’ll probably go back next week, after we move Bleys into his new pad. Can’t get that close and not stop by the beach!