Before You Click the Link...

Grab your kids...

Crank up the volume...

Now ENJOY THIS...

"Joe" KNOWS...

Life is a Garden... DIG IT!!!!

"Later" Ended Up Being TOO LATE!!!!

I decided the other afternoon to head out with Lilley-Kate after school... which meant we probably wouldn't be back before Michael got home from work...


Well... we weren't home yet... so Michael parked on the street (which allowed me to just pull into the driveway upon our return)...


I noticed when I turned the corner that Michael was parked DIRECTLY ACROSS from our neighbors (across the street) driveway (the driveways are "offset", so none are DIRECTLY across from each other) and thought to myself... "Oh... that could be problem"... so when we pulled in I beeped the horn... Michael came out to meet us in the driveway... I mentioned to him to pull the car into the driveway and he said "I'll do it LATER after dinner... it's almost ready"... Hmmmmmm... I mean WHAT could happen in the next 30 minutes right???....



Well... THIS is what happened...

Our neighbor's Father-in-Law had stopped by and pulled into THEIR driveway... while backing out... he hit Michael's car (which use to be MINE)... we were eating dinner and there was a knock at the back door... when Michael answered it and I heard our neighbor say "Well... we're 2 for 2" I knew IMMEDIATELY what had happened...

A couple years ago... our neighbor had parked across from OUR DRIVEWAY... Nick backed out and ended up hitting THEIR car!

Insurance information was gotten from neighbor's Father in Law... we got a few estimates...

We have had the car since 1993... and (I) have LOVED it (although now that it is the "MANWAGON" I just wanna CRY)... over 270,000 miles and counting... OH... and a big BOOBOO on the back passenger door...

Find The FACES...

There are 10 FACES in this picture... can you find them???

Look closely!!!..................... Good Luck!!!

ONE Word...

YUUUUUMMMMMY!!!!!

It's Simple Really...

BLOGGIE PIMP UP...

My BESTIE BEST BEST has Been working her "BLOG ELF" magic... and helping me (ok... SHE'S been doing ALL the work... but I've been making suggestions!) PIMP UP my blog... stay tuned... lots of fun changes to come!!!

Passing on THE LOVE...

of SCARVES... once the temp dips below 50* here (yes... you read that right... to ME 50* is COLD) out come my scarves... Lilley-Kate has inherited my "love"... but finds all that FABULOUS length a bit hard to manage... so... she picked out some yarn... I crocheted it up (yes... I DO "craft")... and we made her a "baby scarf" (her term) or a "scarflet" (my term)...

Now she can easily manage putting it on (without having to wrap it numerous times around her neck) and just button it up!!!

SHE'S already decided she wants to pick out some more yarn so I can crochet (yes... once again I DO "craft") her some more... AND we've decided they would make good gifts too for some of her BESTIES!!!

Look What we Got!!!...

An EDIBLE ARRANGEMENT!!!...

Our "Shy Child's" girlfriend came for a visit before leaving for Austria this Saturday (we are VERY JEALOUS as that was one of our favorite destinations when we lived abroad) for a semester... and as a "Thank You" she (and her parents) sent us an EDIBLE ARRANGEMENT!!!

Lilley-Kate was SO EXCITED (she's really into "as seen on TV" items) and I have to admit so was I (having never seen one "in person")...

The fruit was YUMMY and included CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES and BANANAS TOO!!!

Funny though... the delivery base... and hangtag was quite adamant ' Handle with care. For saefty in case of an accident, transport arrangement away from passengers, for example in the trunk. Never allow a passenger to hold the arrangement when vehicle is in motion' THANKFULLY it was delivered to our doorstep in a company van!!!

Wordless Wednesday...

As the WHITE STUFF Continues to Fall...

And fall... and fall... and fall some more... 10" TODAY (so far) to be exact...

Michael treated us to a warm and cozy fire...

It's ALMOST as good as sunshine... ALMOST...

But I am still waiting ANXIOUSLY for a break in the clouds!!!

Hope everyone is staying WARM!!!

Brrrrrrr... it's COLD Outside!!!

This was our temp reading this morning in the 11:00 hour...

I don't think I'll EVER get use to this weather!!!

Hope everyone is keeping warm!!!

Puzzles... In Progress

One of our winter-time activities is "puzzling"... I set up the "puzzle table" (just a card table really) next to a window in the Family Room and before I know it... there is a puzzle in Progress... A place to sit and relax... while working on the puzzle and keeping an eye on the falling snow outside the window...



Lilley-Kate had quite a few puzzles on her Christmas list this year... she tends to lean towards floral and bird/animal themed puzzles...



Our puzzle table went up on the 27th (I'm a "taker downer"... definitely...) and already one puzzle is complete (above)... and another is well under way (below)....

One Word...

I love coming across "new" (to me) blogs... the ideas and inspiration is exciting!


I have struggled with myself for a while... putting on a happy face when all I really wanted to do was crawl into a closet, shut the door, and let the world pass me by...


Then I came across THIS POST last night... I read it... and reread it... thought about it... and started to feel a bit better about the "whole thing"...


And then I chose my word...

Wordless Wednesday...

I'm OBSESSED...

With the QUEEN ANNE'S LACE SCARF...

Keeping Busy...

We've been busy with our Hoiiday Events...


Gingerbread Houses with Friends...

Classroom Christmas ("HOLIDAY") Crafting...

Visiting with "SANTA" (or as Lilley-Kate told me "Mom... he's not the REAL SANTA")...

And the 2nd grade HOLIDAY concert...

We still have to make cookies for the neighbors (and ourselves)...

and Go look at the neighborhood Christmas lights...

Tomorrow is the last day of school before WINTER BREAK...

And the snow continues to fall...

THIS Hot Mess...

Is at the TOP of my "TO DO" List...

Hem Hawing...

Well... it's COLD... 17* this morning... THAT is COLD...

I've been staying busy... doing a lot of things that I'm not really a FAN of doing... (this is NOT my favorite time of the year if I may offer a confession)... you know... all the HOLLY JOLLY HOLIDAY STUFF... I've been visiting LOTS of blogs and am just in AWE of all the neat crafty things people are doing for this holiday season... I think (ok... I pretty much KNOW) I was born "sans" the "I LOVE CHRISTMAS" gene... inherited (or I guess NOT inherited) from my FATHER'S side of the family tree... I mean... I don't DESPISE the whole season... just the "rush" of getting things done... having (OK.. not REALLY having... but being made to FEEL like "HAVING TO") to DO... when I don't REALLY want to... I'll get through it... but I am looking forward to Jan. 2nd already... is that WRONG???

One of the things I've been doing is HEMMING... HEMMING... HEMMING and more hemming... I don't MIND it... but I am NOT a FAN of this particular sewing "talent"... especially when the hem differs by about 1/2" on each leg (you know... the whole one leg longer than the other thing... really... I AM NORMAL)... I measure TWICE... and then TWICE more... and then one more time before I make the cut... I would like to know WHO the heck has legs as LONG as manufaturers make these pants??? (Peggy... betcha NEVER have to hem right???) So the HEMMING has come to an end for the moment... all pants/jeans/skirts DONE... something I had been wanting to mark off "THE LIST" since FALL...

On to the next thing...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

We hope EVERYONE has LOTS of things to be THANKFUL for!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY...

Wordless Wednesday...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

We woke up to RAIN this morning... Michael kept a close eye on the radar all day... and by noon all the rain had passed and by Trick or Treat time we were starting to see a bit of blue in the sky!!!

The HARDTS came over for Trick or Treating... since they live in the "country"... it's safer (and more "candy profitable") for them to come to our house for Trick or Treating... we make an evening of it... out for ToTing and then homoe to our house for some HOT CHEEZIE PIZZA and games...

Lilley-Kate was a MONARCH BUTTERFLY this year... and her friend Kylee was a BUMBLE BEE... the girls had a BLAST ToTing and saw lots of their friends in the neighborhood!

Hope everyone had a HAPPY HALLOWEEN too!!!

Wordless Wednesday...

CRAZY FOR...

CRAZY LOVE...


He's done it again... watch this... a single off his latest CD

Wordless Wednesday...

Look What I Got!!!...

Isn't it funny... it's the "littlest" things that can make a girl HAPPIEST!!!


Living in a house that is now almost 75 years old... with NO LINEN CLOSET... WHERE did the former owners in those 70 years PUT THEIR LINENS???


Well... I know WHERE I'm putting ours now... Michael "made" me a LINEN CLOSET (actually partially converted an exsisting closet in the spare room... he kept the "closet" and built around it)







The shelves sit on "cleats" and can be easily removed...

OH... the things that make us girls GIDDY!!! A place to put our towels... LOL...

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY...

Fall Fun...

Fall has "offically" arrived... Michael and Lilley-Kate spent Saturday afternoon raking up leaves in the backyard (the first of many "rakings" they will do)... we'd had a few days of damp, drizzly weather... translate... WET LEAVES... but that didn't stop Lilley-Kate from making her own pile to jump in!




Saturday was our first "sunny day" in a WEEK! A bit CHILLY... but SUNNY!!!

Today since Lilley-Kate didn't have school... we decided to try to beat the rain forecasted and headed out into the country to our (my) FAVORITE pumpkin patch... AAAAAAHHHHHH... pumpkins "gathered" by SIZE, SHAPE, COLOR... all in neat rows or stacked into BINS (You KNOW how HAPPY that makes me!!!!)

We made it there... CHILLY, MISTY, a bit BREEZY... and saw some pretty funny looking pumpkins...

We thought these "bumpy" gourds and pumpkins were hilarious!!!

I even cajolled Lilley-Kate to take her jacket off for a quick pic next to the scarecrow (it was CHILLY!!!)

We had to cut the visit a bit short... as the light drizzle turned into more... but we had a nice time....

Hope everyone had a nice weekend and Holiday!!!

Wordless Wednesday...

"SECRET" SAVER...

I (along with a couple of my "peeps") LOVE to save money... yes... I'm a "couponer"... I use them AND share them... whenever I make a shopping trip... I typically sit in the parking lot in my van before going in and go through my coupon organizer... plucking the coupons I intend to use... AND... any coupons I may have that are set to expire (within a couple days to a week) and then head into the store... as I am shopping (parusing the aisles) I tuck the "extra" coupons I have onto the shelves (or pull that plastic strip back enough so the coupon sticks straight up in front of the item) and become a "secret saver" (maybe "surprise saver" is a better term?)... I once stuck a BOGO coupon for womens razors on a shelf... and continued down the aisle... when I noticed a Mom and a teenage girl grab the coupon AND another pack of razors... they didn't know who left the coupon... but it sure made me feel good seeing someone get one of the coupons I was leaving... It doesn't take a lot of extra time... or effort (since I only clip coupons for products that I use)... and it makes me feel good knowing I MAY be helping someone else save a little "coin" during these hard times... I've even gotten friends of mine to start becoming "secret savers" too!!!


Every little bit helps...