Chatbug Karen

and they’re gonna get married. That song has been running through my head all morning and I do mean ALL morning. I got up at 6 am so I could get my hair done at the beauty shop. CRAZY! I wanted to be sure my hair would look nice because we are going to a wedding this afternoon. There will be so many people at this wedding that we have not seen for a few years. It is going to be so much fun. The location of the wedding is about 2 hours from our house so I should be able to catch a nap on the way.

I hope I don’t cry at this wedding. The tears seem to come when I have known the wedding couple since they were babies. I have known this bride since she was a baby and the groom since he was in elementary school. It is going to be a fun day. Now, I have to figure out what to wear. See ya….

You would think that 3 ladies who can read patterns and figure out how to make beautiful quilts could drive from one quilt shop to the next without getting lost. Let me say that these two let me drive to lands unknown.

We saw parts of Indiana we had never seen before. It was a beautiful day and the Spiraea were in bloom. It was a nice day to be driving the countryside. It would have been enjoyable even more had we not been intent on visiting a quilt shop before it closed for the day. We made it by a few minutes.

Val tagged me for a meme to help us get to know our blogging friends better.

Here are the rules:

* Each blogger must post these rules first.
* Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
* Bloggers that are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
* At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
* Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Here’s my eight facts you don’t know about me:
1. My favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate mint chip.
2. I prefer peach roses over red ones.
3. I cannot stand to have my feet touched.
4. Decaffeinated coffee keeps me awake at night.
5. I have trouble hearing conversations in large groups of people.
6. I attended 14 different schools K-12 due to my dad being in the service. (I went to 3 different schools in the 6th grade).
7. My favorite color is sage green.
8. I won a stereo once from a radio contest.

A good friend of our passed away last week. He was in a snowmobiling accident. He had retired from the banking industry a few years ago and he and his wife built a new house. We became friends while installing flooring in their new home. It is so sad when something like this happens.

I stopped at the card shop to buy a sympathy card and was cheered up by the cutest little girl who was shopping with her mother. The were choosing first communion invitations. I could tell how excited the little girl was while her mother tried to get her to concentrate on the task before them.

It was a nice feeling to see a young life so inspired when I felt so sad. Life goes on.

A good friend of ours was so upset with his son last night. It seems that his teenage son and a friend were goofing off in the woods behind their house when they happened upon a meth lab. They picked up some of the items from the site and brought it home for show and tell. Our friend just about blew a gasket when he saw what they had done. He called the sheriff’s department immediately.

I know that meth labs are being set up in more places than we can imagine. I hope no one decides to have one anywhere near where I live. It is a sad thing to read about how meth has ruined so many lives.

I was tagged by Laura at Laura’s Daily Life for this 4×4 meme. Basically the meme is answering 4 questions on 4 topics (thus the 4×4) and then tagging 4 people. So, here it goes.

4 Jobs I’ve Had in My Life
I drove an ice cream truck.
I was the phone operator at a bank.
I was a book keeper at a furniture store.
I was a sales clerk at JC Penney.

4 Shows I DVR (TIVO)
If I had a DVR or TIVO I would use it for these shows.
American Idol
Dancing With the Stars
Grey’s Anatomy
Simply Quilts

4 Places I’ve Been
Las Vegas
Orlando
Holland
Paradise Island, Bahamas

4 Favorite Foods
Chocolate Mint Chip ice cream
cheese cake
fried chicken
Texas Roadhouse’s rolls

4 People I Tag
Amanda
Angie
Greg
Stacy

Today was like spring. It was in the high forties and we only had to wear a light jacket. It felt wonderful. I know it won’t last and soon it will be snowing again but I sure did enjoy the warm weather today. I know that “warm” is relative to where you are and some won’t think forty is warm at all.

Do you know your neighbors? When we were first married, we lived next door to a couple who became our best friends. It was fun playing cards on the weekends and taking a fishing trip now and then. We have since moved and do not see them at all. Living in the country leads us to not really knowing our neighbors. We know who they are but don’t know much about what is happening in their day to day lives. I miss having friendships with our neighbors. One of the gals from church told me that the young couple who live not far from us had their second set of twins. I had no idea. I am glad that their Emily crib is being used for those precious babies. I need to find a gift and take it over there.

We see our neighbors more in the summer time when we go for walks. I will be glad when spring rolls around and we can get outside. The walls tend to move in on us when we have to stay inside most of the time. I did get some sewing done today. I might have even finished a purse but I didn’t want to sew while Lynn watched a movie. It was hard to hear the dialog when my machine was purring. I was using a stippling method to quilt and it gets pretty loud as I zoom across the material. It seems that the faster I sew, the more even my stitches are so I tend to put the pedal to the metal.

It seems as if this winter has been a long one. I have been thinking about the things I enjoy about summer. There are some things that make it seem like summer. Things like having friends over and barbecuing. The last time we had a barbecue at our place was Mother’s day. That was a while ago. Hubby’s brother and his family came over and we pulled out the lawn chairs and relaxed. It isn’t often that we get together with time to sit and unwind. We all felt the need to chill that day and it was so nice. Hubby likes to drink a light beer on a hot summer day. He will drink a beer or two throughout the winter but he always chooses a Corona. I notice that he almost always orders a beer when we eat Mexican food. I think that the Corona taste fits with that kind of meal whereas in the summer he likes the taste of a beer for the way it quenches his thirst. The choice of having a light beer in the summer meets his need at that time.

I can remember one summer while working out in the yard, we took a break to have a cool refreshment. His choice of light beer helped him relax as well as regain a bit of energy to dig some dirt and plant a few flowers here and there. Before we got started again though, we noticed little bitty frogs hopping everywhere in the yard. I swear, it reminded me of a plague because there were so many. It was eerie and funny at the same time. The kids had a hey day catching frogs and putting them in their bug boxes.

Speaking of Lite beer, there is a mobile survey you can participate in for a chance to win a $300 Amazon gift card. The survey will ask 10 questions about the beer you drink, with whom you drink and how said beer is partaken. To start the survey text the word beer to 247365. The survey is limited to a small number of participants so your chances of winning are very good. You can find more information about the contest at http://brandnoise.typepad.com/brand_noise/scenariodna-survey-sweeps.html .

Now, let’s hope winter flies on by and we can get to the business of enjoying summer.

If you are like me, you like to win things. It doesn’t happen very often but sometimes I do get lucky. Here is another chance to win something and the prize is very nice. Melissa is offering a contest on her blog, Melissa’s Place. There are several ways you can enter the contest so go over to her blog and check it out. You might win one of those cute little mini choppers she is giving away.

I’m not afraid of birthdays! Birthdays mean presents. Hey! Today is my birthday. Fifty two years ago my mom gave birth to a little baby girl and named her Karen.

We are just outside Orlando and stayed in an awesome Marriott Residence Inn. It is like a miniature apartment. It is just fancy enough with beautiful navy blue carpet. We are headed into Orlando to find the Randall Custom knive this morning. My husband collects custom knives.

Back to the important subject, MY BIRTHDAY!

Elizabeth, over at Table4Five tells me that something great “might” happen or it will just make me smile if I get at least 52 comments on this post. So, help me out. Shout it from the roof tops. Please. Leave a comment. Smooch.