MORE THAN YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT LAURIE

If you're here to find out something about me, then you must be new to my blog, and I welcome you!  I have been blogging for almost 5 years, and if anyone had the time or the inclination, or was bored enough, they could go back through my posts, they could learn everything there is to know about me (well, almost everything). I do tend to over-share!

I live in a small town in Arkansas. I have been married to a wonderful man for over 45 years! (I know what you're thinking - nobody stays married for 45 years any more. You do if your husband is a very patient, laid back, loving guy, and somehow I was lucky enough to get him). We have a daughter and a son, both of whom have spouses that we love. We have five grandchildren, ranging in age from 5 months to 12 years.  Right now, we have one dog (we normally have several dogs, but our grand dogs make up for it, since we often dog sit for them). Elsie is an English Setter and is one of the best dogs I've ever had (yeah, I do say that about every dog I have).

I grew up in the town where I currently live. My husband and I married while we were both in college. When he graduated, he went into the military, and we were stationed in Augusta, Georgia and at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, before he was sent to Viet Nam.

My parents have both died, and when my mother died, we bought my sister's half of the house that our parents built in 1949; we remodeled it; and that is where we live now.

I am a collector. My mother was a collector. My grandmother was a collector. When I cleaned out my mother's home, it was full of her collections as well as my grandmother's collections. When we moved into the house, I had been married for 34 years and had collected a lot of "stuff". A lot of people would probably call our home cluttered (heck, I call it cluttered), but I've tried to get rid of, or put away some things, and I'm just not comfortable without all of the clutter.

When I began this blog, like so many others who have blogs, I did it just because I thought it would be fun to try to set up a blog. I did a post, which I honestly thought would probably be both my first and my last post. Unfortunately, I work five days a week, so work often gets in the way of my blogging and my blog visiting.

I had no idea how much fun a blog was going to be. I have "met" so many wonderful people through my blog. My blog has forced me to exercise my brain a little more than I might have otherwise, and because I have a blog, I look at things differently. With my camera by my side, I am much more observant than I was BB (Before Blog). I am also much bigger on the back side (from sitting in front of my lap top so much), and my house is not nearly as neat or clean as it was BB. But I do feel like I am a much richer person, because of the friends I have made all over the world; the things I have learned from bloggers all over the world; the inspiration I have received from bloggers all over the world; my renewed interest in the world around me; and the insight into myself , all of which I have gained through blogging! (I must have had a very dull life BB!)

If you've read this far, bless your heart, you must have a dull life too -- get yourself a blog! I began blogging for fun; I continue blogging for fun! Thank you so much for being interested enough to read this self-indulgent post about me! laurie
email: bargainhunr@gmail.com