Queenies Little Kingdom

I love Texas!  I always tell people that (listen) when I'm in Texas, I feel like all my troubles are behind me.  Life slows down, scenery fades and any pressing issues blow out the window as I drive 80 mph down the road!

That's the life, huh?

The reality is that where I'm sitting in Texas it is B U S Y right now.  No one's lazin' around with a straw stick in their mouth wasting the day relaxing (well, except me….)!  The lodge is buzzing with workers, the ranch is in full-blown mowing & whatnot and a ton of new employees are busy learning all their roles in a full week of training.  Even the Hageman family is here doing their part in welcoming in the new staff and handling this & that to get this dream up and running.

In the meantime,  I'm holding babies…..watching calves stand up for the first time and petting every animal that rubs against my leg.  It's such a hard life, y'all.

Oh and seeing weird sights like "birds" sitting on the porch of the town dentist office as I drive by.  I thought it was some beautiful creature….my hubby on the other hand, laughed his head off and called it a buzzard of some sort.  Hrmph!

This isn't the best picture to identify him….but he is dark and fluffing his feathers right there as cars pass by.  Strange, right?

The big Texas view never gets old.  This area in the back of the lodge is very close to being completed.  The stone (which you cannot see) is incredible!  The WOW just gets better every single day here.

Soon, I will post pictures of some finished spaces.  

So….meanwhile, back at the ranch.

I'm doing everything except thinking of this —>

I'm living right smack dab in the middle of denial!  I'm happy there!  It's comfy.  I call it my way of COPING!  My life is in shambles right now and when life goes to pot, I go to denial!

Deal with it, y'all!

I thought I noticed a little beveling in the "new" wood floors a few days ago as I went to answer the front door.  Since I had just cleaned them the previous day I chalked it up to a glare from the window.  Cause, you know…..light illusion!!

I wish I had looked a bit closer, now.

Notice the little bumps in the seams.  Something is very wrong and there's only one way to find the problem.

Tear. It. Out.

See why I am living in denial?

This can't be happening!  We've just put these down in December.  These are all the thoughts along with WHERE IS IT COMING FROM?  The biggest mystery is still unsolved!  We've moved furniture, searched into walls, flushed toilets, ran spigots…..you name it we've done it.  We have not, however, jacked into the concrete floor.  The wet and damaged area is in the very center of the room (of course) so the only logical place the water is coming from….is under the concrete.

Do you know how a problem like that is repaired?

MAJOR CONSTRUCTION!!!!

My denial-o-meter might be at the TOP OF THE CHART!!

Best part of all this trouble?  We leave for Texas…..tomorrow at lunchtime!  For around 2 weeks!

So, I'm in a position of chewing on my own words…..DON'T BORROW TROUBLE!!  Worrying won't do any good it will just make me miserable!  This too shall pass.  Something good will come from this, right?  And if it doesn't, I'll just deny it!

God,

You see when we're buried under stress and you lavishly hand out peace.  I am in need of your mercy today.  Help me cope and please help us solve this issue.

Amen

Do you like what you see when you look in the mirror?

The 40's have a way of kicking any youthful confidence a girl might have to the curb.  Everything changes.  Especially, the skin.  Mine has always been full of freckles but the saggy skin, laugh lines and crows feet eyes have done their best to try to take over!

Recently, a friend invited me to try a nighttime product with a company she was interested in joining ranks with.  Since I never turn down a "TRY ME" product especially if it involves looking younger….I told her to send it my way!

I have been around long enough to know there are no secret potions regarding youthfulness.  If it were so, every woman with a couple bucks in her purse would be wrinkle free, right?

The box came in the mail with my product on a day that I was dragging around my emotions like an iceberg.  I needed a boost and that little package proved to be more than just a test of skin rejuvenation!

I started using Nerium AD age-defying night cream that very night.  I followed all the directions just to make sure I was doing it right and set my heart on seeing improvements….

Night after night, I did my face washing routine and applied my Nerium AD.  At first, I didn't really like the smell and the taut feeling it leaves feels a little strange.  But, after just a few days…..I didn't notice either anymore.

Matter of fact, I actually couldn't wait for bedtime just to do my new routine…again.

I've used just about everything out there within my budget to fight off the aging process.  So many nights I've gone to bed feeling like my whole face was a greasy french fry.

Face lotions do not have to be greasy to work.  Which brings me to the texture of Nerium AD.  It's so soft after it dries and I love that.  I can sleep face down on my pillow without leaving a skid mark of grease behind.  That's a nice feeling!

Now, the big question is DID IT WORK?  Which is why we try a product out in the first place, right?  For me, I liked using Nerium!  My face feels firm and perhaps a bit more youthful than it felt a few weeks ago.  Are all my fine lines erased and smoothed out?  No, not quite.  The effects are much more subtle than that.   Besides, my face has been weathered and worn for a long time.  I grew up in sunny Florida and in a time where sunscreen was for sissies.  I've had serious sunburns and done lots of squinting! 

Nerium AD is definitely worth the try and I absolutely see improvements.  Would I recommend the product?  Heck yes!  Try it! 

Here's a close-up of ME today!  Don't laugh.

That's the face of a lady who's turning 48 in 18 days !!!!

Thanks Nerium AD & Sara Jo!!!

For anyone interested in learning more about Nerium products go HERE!

*Some reviews are way more fun than others!!

You didn't think I was going to miss out on wishing the blogworld a happy first day of fall message, did you?

No way!

The weekend was amazing!  The crispy weather arrived with pumpkins and mums popping up on every porch in Indiana including mine!  I couldn't wait to take some pics of my sweet Cinderella pumpkins that I decorated with this year.  Aren't they awesome?  I can't stop myself when it comes to fall and porches!

Yesterday, I got to spend the afternoon with my youngest punk over in the most famous FALL town in Indiana….Nashville.  We call it "Little" Nashville here and also Brown County.  If you're ever in Indiana and you say either of those two names….everyone will know exactly where you are talking about.  Going there is a huge treat!  The season comes alive in that town and the people flock to visit!

We had no agenda.  That's really the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon in Brown County.  We wandered the streets and popped into all our favorite stores.  I never go to Brown Co. without picking up some Snickerdoodle candles.  So, we loaded up with 3 and then went for pizza.

On our way home….we passed the greatest pumpkin stand.  They carried every variety you could dream of, if you dream of punkin's!  Which I do!

These are the cuties that Gates picked out for the girls' apartment.  I love the white and purple, don't you?

Gates & Seth….posing!  Cause nothing says, "Cornballs" more than photo ops with your porch decorations.  I love them for being such good sports!

I don't need much to make me happy (aside from my family).  A porch pretty much fills my love tank to the brim.  I love having it!  It's not even a huge porch but that doesn't matter…..it's just enough!

I'm so happy to see fall arrive!  Aren't you?

In my head, I had this dreamy wish that someday (like, my 25th wedding anniversary) my hubby would lavish me with a blingy flashy 3 stone ring that would WOW anyone within a 25 foot radius!  When the big day came along and there was NO RINGY ON MY FINGY…..I thought the dream was just that, a dream!

Besides, we were camping!  How in the world is a man supposed to come up with a big honking diamond ring in the middle of a campground?  For the last 25 years, I have been amazed time and time again by my hubby's sneaky surprises.  He is the master of trying to blow my mind with his "great ideas"!  The only problem?  HE CAN'T KEEP A SECRET!!!  He gets way too excited!  He can't hold it in!  One of our children (no need to mention names) has the same syndrome!!!

So, as time went by on the camping excursion……sadness began to steal my joy!  I didn't whine or pout, but inside my heart…disappointment was rubbing a hole that I worried would become a huge obstacle to my happiness.  Don't get me wrong, I love my hubby even if he never gave me wonderful gifts.  It's just that the mind, it does things…..it teams up with the heart which leads to dreams and wishes.  I was wishing for a gorgeous ring.

The good thing about my relationship with my hubby is that I know there isn't anything he wouldn't do or give me if he could.  The blingy ringy?  Was probably on his mind long before mine because that's just who he is.  He's a dreamer!  He's a giver!  And he's always looking for ways to show me just how much.

So, on our way "home" from our anniversary week get-away camping adventure…..he pulled into a Jared's.  The hungry salespeople pounced on us immediately and were fetching diamonds left and right.  It was a fun experience and I found a pretty special ring that we both felt okay about.  Still…..something said, "Wait!".  We decided to go eat lunch and look around.  Inside the mall we found 6 different jewelry shops.  All of them equipped with pushy salespeople gnawing at our ankles.  I tried to tell each of them, "I'LL KNOW IT WHEN I SEE IT!".

That's the thing about dreams.  They are specific and if you know me….I'm not willing to toss out what I REALLY WANT very easily.

Finally, after hitting all the "jewelry" stores….I asked the clerk where to find the closest restroom.  She directed me down to the Macy's and off we went.  Never have I been so thankful for my old lady bladder!  As we were walking out of the Macy's we detoured through the jewelry department.  Did you know, Macy's has diamonds?  Like gorgeous diamonds?  And right now, a HUGE DIAMOND SALE?

Me either!

We spotted a few shiny darlin's that we wanted to look at but the salesclerk was busy helping a college chicky pick out some costume jewels to match some dress she had in a shopping bag.  So we waited….

And waited….

It was worth it!  I found THE ONE!

I still can't believe it!  I love it!  I love every single unique detail!  I'm overwhelmed with excitement!  I am so glad I waited and waited and waited!  But, I'm even more glad that God gave me a man who makes all my dreams come true!

Thank you Honey!  I love you and I am so proud of you.  Your hard work blesses my life!  You are the greatest gift I've ever recieved!

I think he's trying to figure out which kid to sell at this point.  Time to pay up, sucker!

Sweet sassy molassey!  It is blingy!

I can't wait for it to arrive on my doorstep!  It will be a few weeks for the sizing.  I didn't want to take it and have to carry it around then give it back forever to be sized.  Like ripping off the bandaid…..I just let it stay!  KILLING ME!!!

Good news though…it will be here before my birthday!!!  Yippee!

I wasn't so sure I'd make it to this day…..so long ago.  In between the last 25 years, my hubby and I have managed to try a million ways to sabotage all that God had intended for good.  If you think your relationship has seen some rocky days…. think again.  I do not kid when I say that we are a miracle.  This morning when I woke up and snuggled over close to my husband, I asked him, "What are you most thankful for?" and he answered that we stuck together through thick and thin.

There were a lot of thin days.

We've moved 10 times and lived in 3 different states….all of them with stars in our eyes for what the future held.  Never have we ho-hummed our way through anything.  Even job loss.  We lived and we lived in love.  Many days were dark but we never turned from one another or blamed the other for our troubles.  We may have argued or forced our feelings on one another but we never walked away from the relationship we agreed to on September 16th.

I speak for both of us when I point out the three people God created with our love.  Our kids have been instrumental in making us the family that we are and that God intended for us to be.  Each of them so unique and special…..with every new birth added to our family we rejoiced in knowing JUST HOW MUCH GOD LOVED US by sharing each of them with us.  We have loved being their parents and can't imagine ever having lived without them sucking the life out of us!    I kid!!  😉  They are our world!

During the last 25 years I've loved a policeman, deputy sheriff, undercover narcotics officer, youth pastor, preacher, IT dude and all around LEADER.  People are astonished that my hubby has held so many diverse jobs as careers.  I wonder….what's next?  There isn't anything my husband can't do!  He is something more to me and to those around us, every day!

I celebrate knowing how much he loves me!

He knew he was going to marry me the first time he saw me.  I never knew he existed!  Somehow, God moved mountains and brought us together.  I am so grateful for that!  My life is nothing like I imagined it as I stood in that beautiful prayer garden on that beautiful September day.  To say that I'm happy sounds so small and meaningless!  I am living proof that marriage can be the best thing to ever happen to you.  I want to cherish every day….

Honey

You know how much I love you and I'll never stop telling you.  Thank you for the last 25 years.  You've done everything in your power to make my life amazing!  I recognize every effort!  You have pulled up to a million doors to drop me off, you've rubbed my feet time and time again, you've wiped away so many tears that you should still be soaked and you have stood strong when I shoved you down and tried to lead in your spot!  I'm nothing without you and I never want to let you go!

I love you

Wanda

HAPPY 25th ANNIVERSARY

                                                                                   September 16, 2014