A LITTLE Chuckle...

A woman was helping her husbandset up his computer, and at the appropriatepoint in the process, she told him that he would now need to enter a password. Something he could remember easilyand will use each time he has to log on.The husband was in a rather amorous mood and figured he would try for the wife's attention So, when the computer asked him to enter his password, he made it plainly obvious to his wife that he was keying in....P...E...N...I ...S... His wife fell off her chair laughing when the computer replied:***PASSWORD REJECTED. NOT LONG ENOUGH***

Weekend Wrap Up...

Saturday morning came cloudy and a bit rainy... but by noonish the sun was starting to peek out from the clouds... Michael has been DYING to get Lilley-Kate to a "new" area craft store... so we decided to head out for the day...

GARDEN RIDGE is a PLETHORA of seasonal items/decorations and every craft item/need you may want/have... we spent a generous 2 hours in there just perusing the ailse and oooooing and aaaaaaaahing over all the Christmas items/decorations and blow ups (the same CHEESIE things my BROTHER IN LAW puts in his FRONT YARD at the holidays)... they had some FABULOUS vintagey looking Halloween cut-outs... we picked up a JIONTED SKELETON for Nick's dorm room...

Typically every Sunday Michael and Lilley-Kate make a trip up to see Nick at school... Lilley-Kate and I baked him some of his FAVORITE cookies for her to take up to him...

When I came downstairs this morning after showering I found that my "all season" tree in the foyer had be "undecorated" and REdecorated by my favorite party girl... she was having a "pretend party" for her dolls and wanted to decorate the tree to match the party... it was "Lisa the Cabbage Patch Doll's" birthday...

The wind blew and blew today... all the leaves are pretty much off the trees... we had sprinkles throughout the day... I watch "Elizabeth The Golden Years" which Michael had recorded for me... and crocheted a bit this afternoon...

This week will be busy... Lilley-Kate has her Halloween Party in Tap... and her school party on Friday... not to mention pumpkin carving and Trick or Treating too...

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!!!

One FISH... Two FISH...

PINK fish... BLUE fish...

A while back I had seen the directions for these in my FAVORITE magazine... and decided they would be a FUN gift for my niece and nephew who will be turning ONE in November... they were SUPER EASY and QUICK... Lilley-Kate helped cut out the felt pieces and stuffed the bodies... I'm hoping they'll be a fun addition to their "softie" collection!

Fall... Falling... Fell...

When I first saw these at our "local" JoAnn's I fell in SERIOUS LIKE with them... but the $20.00 pricetag kept my "crush" in check... I mean I REALLY LIKED THEM... but not really $20.00 worth of like...

Today I happened to visit JoAnn's... and fell IN LOVE with them... of course the 60% OFF made it MUCH EASIER to fall!!! How cute they will look out front glowing happily on Halloween!

Falling Leaves and Fun...

This was the weekend to "winterize" the yard and cars for the upcoming season... a chill has settled in the air and the sky is that beautiful autumn blue... the cars were sent for servicing (and 4 new tires on my ride)... and Michael worked out in the yard to get things ready for colder weather to come... We had our first of many raking sessions and Lilley-Kate had fun playing in the leaves...

We had a HEAVY frost last night... this morning the thermometer read 31*!!!... We've started smelling fires burning in the fireplaces in our neighborhood... Michael stockpiled our wood (the seasoned wood goes into the garage for the winter)... it's always comforting to see that trail of smoke coming out of the chimneys in the neighborhood...

Tomorrow (Monday) I will be chaperoning a fieldtrip with Lilley-Kate's class to a Pumpkin Patch/Wagon Trail... I've got my "bag" packed... and yes... I am remembering my TYLENOL! I'm hoping the forecaster is right and it will be sunny and 60*...

One of the things that "SOLD" me on this house was the fact that it had a dogwood out front... a reminder of "home"... in the Spring it is full of blooms... and in the Fall it becomes a blaze of color...

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!!!

Don't Forget!!!!

To get on over to AMY'S BLOG to register for her WEEKLY GIVEAWAY to celebrate BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH!!! Just leave a comment!!!

Last Minute... And Ladybugs...

About 9:30 last night I got to thinking that Lilley-Kate didn't have anything "Halloweenie" to wear to the Pumpkin Patch today... and she NEEDED something to match the FABULOUS headband I won from Jenn's giveaway... Hmmmmmm... what to do... what to do... well... by 9:45 I was in the process of cutting strips to do a "quick" twirl skirt (not being a typically FAST sewer... I can get a twirl skirt done in about 1 1/2 hours)... Funny... the LESS I think about material/combos/style... the better things end up looking... so... by 11 Lilley-Kate had an appropriately Halloweenie skirt to wear today to the Pumpkin Festival...

I've been making flannel pajama pants for my pajama loving girl... after wearing a uniform all day to school... the first thing Lilley-Kate wants to do when she gets home is put on her pajamas (I have come to realize that this is her way to "unwind")... I decided to use up some of my "blanks" and have made her some co-ordinating tops to go with the pants... all her favs... ballet... butterflies... daisies... and of course... ladybugs...

At least if she's going to wear "pajamas"... they can be snazzy pajamas!!!

A Day on the Farm...

This morning dawned with another "Indian Summer Day" (we have already experienced frost here in these parts... so the warmer temps are truly "Indian Summer")... so we decided to take advantage of the spectacular day and head out to the country to a Pumpkin Festival at a farm about 1/2 hour into the country... the windy narrow backroads afforded us a nice display of Fall foliage... and soon we arrived at the farm...


We took a Hayride out to the pumpkin patch to choose a couple of pumpkins for carving closer to Halloween...


Lilley-Kate has become "obsessed" about being "measured"... so when she saw this "how tall are you" display she was happy to get her picture taken!


She even precariously stood on a wooden step to put her face in the sunflower (not before telling me though to "hurry and take the picture fast"... as Lilley-Kate didn't like the rickety wooden step)...

It was a fun day... picking out our pumpkins... seeing the goats and bunnies... playing in the hay maze... definitely a day well spent!

Get On Over There...

HURRY!!!! WALK... RUN... SKIP... HOP... however you get there just GO... AMY is having a WEEKLY giveaway to celebrate BREAST CANCER AWARENESS Month and you don't want to miss out!!!

Just How I Feel...

Going PINK... and a GIVEWAY!!!!

In honor of BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH my DEAR FRIEND AMY is asking everyone to "GO PINK"... AND she is having a FABULOUS month long GIVEAWAY!!! Go visit her blog to find out how YOU can win (and qualify for LOTS of entries for the giveaway!)

As a FUN part of the giveaway my DEAR FRIEND AMY tagged me for 5 PINK THINGS that I use on a DAILY BASIS... easy peasy (because I LOVE PINK)...

My FABULOUSLY PINK Hello Kitty CD/RADIO... I listen to our local talk radio in the morning and then syndicated talk radio throughout the day...

My FAVORITE YANKEE CANDLE... Just smelling this candle makes everything COMFY COZY!!!

My HELLO KITTY Alarm clock wakes me up EVERY MORNING (way too early!!!)

My PINK FUZZY SOX... my tootsies get cold REALLY EASY... and these are SUPER SOFT!

And my PINK Polka Dotted Folder... sits on the computer desk and keeps all my "important papers" in one spot!!!

I LOVE PINK!!! I even wore a TURTLENECK today... first time this season (hey... it was below 55* here today) that was PINK!!!

Scoot on over to visit Amy's Blog... and join in the FUN!!!

Pumpkin Patch Fun...

Yesterday we decided to head out of town to one of the best kept secrets in our area... a "somewhat local" farm/pumpkin patch... the rain moved through and the sun came out and off we went... for pumpkins, gourds, indian corn and a nice day in the "country"...

The Sunflower fields are "new" this year... the crop is going to be used for "oil" (according to the farmer's wife")... what a pretty site on both sides of the road leading up to the farm!

One of the reasons I LOVE this particular place so much... it "caters" to the OCD "shopper"... LOL... ALL the pumkins are NEATLY in rows... by size... shape... type... I LOVED IT!!!

Lilley-Kate had fun picking out some "jack sprats" and kept saying "These baby pumpkins are SOOOOOOOO cute"... picking out the Indian Corn was a favorite too... one of each "color" and then one "calico" (BTW... even the Indian Corn was OCD friendly... SEPERATED BY COLOR *SIGH*... I was in HEAVEN!!!)

The displays around the grounds were beautiful and perfect for every "photo op" you could think of!

It was a fun day! And now we are nolonger the "neighborhood outcasts"... we have pumpkins, gourds, and indian corn!!!

HAPPY FALL YA'LL...

WHEW!!!... FALL has arrived... did we even have a Summer??? As the weather starts to rapidly cool... I will be BASKING in the memories of SUNNY WARM days... This will be our 4th "Northern Fall"... and I'm STILL not use to it!

BUSY BUSY BUSY... just like the squirrels scampering about... seeing them work so furiously has me a bit nervous for what is ahead in the coming months... our week has been BUSY BUSY BUSY too... lots of school activities this week (Scholastic Book Fair and Open House)... Dance on Monday and Thursday... Michael had to make a quick trip out of town for work... ALL the FABULOUS shows that STARTED this week... and just the "normal" goings on around the house... time just keeps FLYING by!!!

My neighbors are KILLING ME... pumpkins, scarecrows, mums, and cornstalks... Lilley-Kate was getting quite irritated that we were the "only house without decorations"... I've held her off a bit with putting up a wreath on the front door... but we are off to the Pumpkin Patch this weekend for pumpkins, mums, and gourds...

ONE thing I DO like about the changing season... since it gets darker EARLIER I can justify getting my jammies on EARLIER!!!

HAPPY FALL YA'LL!!!

A Stinkin' Cute Give-Away!!!!

Scoot on over to visit my DEAR FRIEND JENN... she is having a little give-away that is TOO STINKIN' CUTE!!!

A Moment of Silence Please...

For GOLDIE and JAKE...

It was a small service attended by those who loved GOLDIE and JAKE best... each attendee made a brief statement... ME "Goldie and Jake... I will miss you... you were good fish"... Michael "Goldie and Jake... I will miss you... you were good fish"... and Lilley-Kate "Goldie and Jake... I will miss you... I will miss watching you swim around... I will miss feeding you... I will miss having you as my fish... I will miss taking care of you... you were good fish"... Michael "Goldie and Jake... you are now in a better place and bigger pond"... with that the service ended with Lilley-Kate closing the lid... she wanted Michael to "flush it"... so he did... then she turned to Michael and said "Can we go get more fish tomorrow?"... GOLDIE and JAKE... you'll be missed

She Inherited it from ME....

Lilley-Kate was awarded the GOOD LISTENER Award in school...

She also received 100% on her SPELLING TEST...

She inherited ONE of these traits from ME...

Care to guess WHICH ONE???

I see I'm not the ONLY ONE...

With generous neighbors!!! Now that the harvests of the season are winding down... seems others are reaping the benefits too!!!

One Step Ahead...

RUSH on over to POSIE GETS COZY and PRE-ORDER Alicia's adorable felt Christmas ornaments kit!!!

I already ordered mine... what a nice "chilly weather craft" to have for the days ahead!!!

GO GO GO!!!

Quite Contrary...

As the cooler temps arrive in our area... our garden is quickly become just a memory... here are some of our FAVORITES from this year....

Black-eyed Susans...

Morning Glories (new this year)...

Sunflowers... these were scattered throughout the garden accidently by the birds... you can tell what Michael put in the birdfeeder... LOL

Phlox... a FAVORITE this year...

Echinacea (Coneflower)... a Favorite of our garden visitors...

Hydrangea (Shade Loving)... It amazed Lilley-Kate that there were three different colors on the same bush...

Daisies... Our personal FAVORITE... how can you not be HAPPY looking at these out your kitchen window?...

Budlea (Butterfly) Bush... one of the BEST smelling flowers in the garden... LOVED by the bees, hummingbirds and yep... you guessed it... BUTTERFLIES...

Hydrangea (Sun Loving)... again... a totally amazing thing to Lilley-Kate this year...

And of course... as requested... the PINK PETUNIAS... Lilley-Kate's FAVORITE...

THe flowers gave us all many hours of enjoyment... Lilley-Kate has developed a LOVE of gardening and flowers and I am so happy to have her to share it with... she's already decided she wants LOTS of Sunflowers next Summer... something to look forward to through the LONG WINTER ahead!

Back To School...

Today was the FIRST DAY of FIRST GRADE!!! School started today around here and Lilley-Kate was SO EXCITED (and a little bit nervous once we rounded the corner to the school this morning)... She had a GREAT DAY and is EXCITED about going back tomorrow (because tomorrow is GYM DAY... LOL)... WE LOVE YOU LILLEY-KATE!!! Our big FIRST GRADER!!!