Christmas Decor 2008!

This parrot is one of my most recent bird decor finds.

A lovely cardinal

Amazing flamingo

A fun red bird

I truly love this piece of peace.

From the original bird decor purchase a soft penguin.

Another timely sentiment

Lots of jolly penguins

Love these lil birds

A dangly penguin

Mr. snowman with wee penguin

A useful picture frame penguin

One of my first purchases of the season

Our flat penguin

I had fun searching for and finding bird theme items to decorate our home for the holidays this year. At first the majority of bird related pieces I found were penguins. I resently found some other fun birds to add to our collection.

I hope that all who read this have a very peaceful, loving, healthy and joyful holiday and New year.

Reaching Goal Weight!!

That was then Feb. 17, 2007.

This is now

At Goal Weight!! The last 2 photo's were taken Nov. 24, 2008

Hooray, I reached my goal weight at the Weight Watchers Mtg. weigh-in on Tues. Nov. 25. I have a great sense of accomplishment. I have lost 41.6 lbs. That's like losing over 8-five pound sacks of sugar. How awesome.

The battle is not over. Now the maintenance comes. I put the skills I am learning into practice and remember that I am living a healthier life-style and I am worth it. I will continue to attend WW Mtgs. weekly. I will be realistic. I have confidence in me. I may slip now and then but I will get right back to it.

Our Anniversary!!!

The photo was taken on October 10, 2008.

Today Jess and I celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary. Here in North Kansas City, MO the weather is 42 degrees at 1:48 PM but it is sunny and lovely. The day we got married in Salt Lake City, UT it was warm and sunny. It was an unusual Nov. 9th for SLC.

Sixteen years ago we were on cloud 11. We had many hopes and dreams for our future. We still have bright expectations for the nows and the tomorrows together. I don't count the cloud number we are on. Some days we are on the higher clouds sometimes on lower ones. After going through wonderful times, awful times and regular times we have grown even closer to one another.

We so enjoy learning together. The books Jess has shared with me are many. I feel that my whole world has been opened up to broader possibilities. We both are more confident in our own abilities and judgement. Our individual confidences have soared.

I love our weekly date nights. Usually we have gone out to eat but we are trying to think of new things to do for our dates.

Jess is my "Knight in Shining Armor" although he thinks his armor is a little dull. He is my confidant, my tease, my best friend and my completeness. I love him beyond words.

The Amazing Sun!

Our Sun is very fascinating to me. I find pictures of the Sun awesome on many levels. I am researching the effects of the Sun on our climate. So far it is very enlightening. Next I want to study our Moon's influence on Earth's climate.

Please see more exciting photos of the Sun in "My Favorite Links", entitled "The Big Picture".

Fall Whoopee!

Fall is an amazing time of year. The air feels crisp. It smells fresh. The night time moon peeks eerily from behind a haze. The trees don vibrant hues of yellow, orange, red, green, burgundy, tan and brown. It is fun to hear and experience the leaves crunch under foot. Earth seems to send out lots of brilliant colors before the cold clutches of winter begin. I love fall.

The above is how North Kansas City looks this time of year. I took these photos on October 12, 2008.

My Dancing at Greek Festival!

This is the dancing I participated in that I mentioned in my post about the Greek Festival. Through a large part of this video I am the last person in the line. Then I was second to the last. I was so much fun. I want to do it again next year.

The Greek Festival!

Loved the food!

Loved Loved Loved watching the dancers!!! Quadruply LOVE MY JESSE*!*
Roberta Jean and Jesse havin' a good time.


Nick Trivelas in background on guitar. George Antonopoulos on Bouzouki (a cousin to the Mandolin). They played and sang remarkably well.
The children were so cute.
Joanna Kartsomia a fabulous singer.



I and Roberta Jean by her apartment house on Armour St. downtown KC, MO.
On Sunday September 7, 2008 Jess, Roberta Jean and I went to the Greek Festival. Jess and I went to the Greek Festival in SLC, UT when we first dated in 1992. We went yearly for about 3 or 4 years we wanted to attend a Greek Festival again. We are certainly glad that we did.

The music performed by George, Nick, and Joanna was amazing. Their group is known as "A Night in Athens". The food was very tasty. The atmosphere was extremely enjoyable. The church was beautiful.

I even joined in on one long dance that audience members were participating in. That was way fun.

Buffalo Bob!

One of the latest projects Jess and I have done together is the touching up of the murals on Buffalo Bob that we painted in the summer of 2005. It took about three weekend days for the touch ups to be completed. The best pictures we have of what the truck looked like before the touch ups were those taken of the truck taken when we went camping the last part of June. The buffalo were really fading. The red seems to be the first color to dim in the sun over time.

In the summer of 2005 Jess and I decided to paint prairie murals on our former U-Haul truck. We absolutely love the Midwest and it's scenery. Jess painted the backgrounds including the sky and the land. He also drew the Ham Shack and antenna. He painted the clouds and stenciled the "Buffalo Bob" name and our call signs. I drew the buffalo, grass, flowers and windmill. We had lots of fun working together on Buffalo Bob in 2005 and 2008.

Before the mural touch ups

After the touch ups

Before the mural touch ups

The other side of Buffalo Bob

A closeup passenger side

Very close ups of the three buffalo on the passenger side of Buffalo Bob.