Jolly

Here is blonde rascal after we got the tree up. It was Sunday night, he was showered, jammied & hair slicked back and sadly it was too late to get the ornaments on but he was entertaining himself with the tree anyway. He had his motorcycle rider figure guy, Ricky Carmichael, and was throwing him into the tree and laughing about how he landed all askew in the tree limbs. Easily entertained? Yes. However add to amusement the fact that "Tricky Ricky", as I like to call him, only has one arm. Could have been a motocross accident that caused this loss, sure that would be obvious. But at our house with blonde rascal in charge, the loss of a limb more likely would have resulted from being thrown onto the roof and sliding off, or rolled over by his bike, or diving into a mud hole...the possibilities are endless. Well it sure entertained blonde rascal to chunk one armed Tricky Ricky into the tree and watch him flop and flail through the branches. Weird kid. I think Tricky Ricky ended up sleeping in the tree that night.

So all of the decorations are up. I might post pictures this week. I realized I need to add tree skirts to my "to do" list of cutsie quilting projects for next Christmas. Many moons ago I had a precious Mary Engelbreit tree skirt but my cats, who were much more frisky than they are now, chewed all the embellishments off....demolished it. So then I bought a cheap Walgreens red felt skirt because I thought what the heck it gets covered up with presents. Well sure it gets covered up with presents but that does not stop the red felt skirt from being cheesy! So that only lasted one year. Then I think I started using old quilts, which looks cute but come on, now that I am an official novice quilter it is only right that I make a fabulous tree skirt!! Next year, next year I will do that!

This time last year I had 95% of my shopping done. Currently I have .05% of my shopping done. I am in funk or something. I am lacking ideas and that makes me want to procrastinate. But I can't do that because I order most of my gifts online and if I procrastinate too much then I'm sunk! I will however avoid the mall with every ounce of my being. The mall gives me I.B.S.

I put a whoop on those Thanksgiving leftovers. All in the trash, gone, buh-bye. Blech.... I think I want enchiladas or something on Christmas! A little turkey goes a long way. And sadly all the snow from turkey day has melted. Blonde rascal went through 6 dozen pairs of socks, sweats and then lost 2 pairs of gloves during the holiday snow! I found all of his gloves and took possession of my leopard trim gloves! Today I finally got all the laundry under control. Now I have another "one of those weeks" ahead. Tomorrow the much needed hair appt. The springy gray hairs must be conquered! Thursday is my machine quilting class which I am so pumped up about! Friday & Saturday we have Christmas Parties. Friday night is also scrapbook night with the girls so I will be ducking out early from the Christmas party because hanging with the girls is SOOOO much more fun than any old lame Christmas party!

Next weekend my pal Lorie is hosting her annual Christmas Cookie Exchange Party. (For those of you who might have read this blog from the beginning, this is not the same friend Lori that I had to give the alias "Jennifer Aniston". No, no THAT Lori is a shifty character, secretly involved in heaven only knows what. Actually the rumor now is that she is involved in some type of Mary Kay type cult. Anyway due to all of that she demanded an alias should she ever be mentioned on my blog to protect her identity. Christmas cookie Lorie, on the other hand, is sweet and kind and sleeps easily every night with a conscience as pure as the driven snow, she would never demand nor even need an alias. Such a good girl she is.) Whoops I got off on a silly tangent! Now I must not procrastinate with the cookie research. I have to make 6 dozen cookies...any suggestions for yummy, and ahem...easy cookies!!

That is probably more, way more, than enough ranting for one night!
Good night!

Recovery

Ouch. Someone help. I can't button my jeans. I wonder if I have any old maternity pants hiding somewhere. I need a stretchy panel. I am pregnant....with turkey, dressing, sweet p's, rolls, pie, cake, whipping cream, etc... Why? Why do I lose all self control at the Thanksgiving table? Indigestion is the name of the game for the duration of the weekend. But let's be honest...it was sooooooo good!!!!!! My MIL makes the best dressing, I could make a total meal out of it. She also made a delish pecan pie and a pumpkin cake that I will just have to post the recipe for, because it was the perfect dreamy combination of moist and flavorful. Oh my gosh you have to get Pioneer Woman's recipe for sweet potatoes. (Sorry, still have not figured out how to insert links in my posts.) I adore, and wish I could marry, sweet potatoes and let me tell you this recipe did not disappoint. It was yummy beyond belief.

I must also give a shout out for Shabee Chick's chicken noodle soup which was wonderful. It was even better the second time around warmed up. And her gingerbread...perfect-o!

We had a really great turkey day. The most delightful part was that it snowed!!!! Yea snow!!! Fabulous meal, fire in the fireplace, just a perfect relaxing day spent with family that I love so dearly!

It snowed again last night and is forecast to snow off and on today & tomorrow. Not a lot, but enough to make blonde rascal's eyes light up!

(yes he is wearing my leopard trim gloves! He had already lost one pair of his and the other pair was soaking wet!)

My parents left this morning and so today's schedule is low key... laundry and dragging the Christmas decorations out of the attic. Snow on the ground, fireplace roaring, hot chocolate and decorating for Christmas. This is good stuff people. I do know that I need more Christmas quilts. N-E-E-D them. Lots of blog land girlies have been posting pictures of their Christmas quilts and I am so jealous. The good news is that in my massive sewing room organization project I discovered that I have accumulated a lot of Christmas quilt projects, patterns and kits just waiting for me. This time NEXT year my house will bursting with cute festive quilts! With my cool new sewing machine and a lesson under my belt there can be no excuses!

Did any of you crackheads partake in the Black Friday shopping madness? Opps... sorry Judi Plumtickled. I don't think YOU are a crackhead. A no thumb having heck of a gal, sure, but crackhead no way. Go see Plumtickled's blog, she joined in the black friday ruckus and made it actually sound kind of fun! But me? Not happening. The only thing that would get me out of bed at 4am would have to be a house fire. I mean maybe, and it is an "iffy" maybe, if a store was GIVING away cars....or Matthew McConaughey... or a live in maid for the rest of my life....then maybe I would go at 4am. But to get a free game with the purchase of an X-box? No deal.

I got a weird comment on my last post from my brother-in-law...opps, no I mean a weird comment in another language. I know I come across as the serious, intellectual, cultured and no doubt multi-lingual type of gal but that is just not true. I mean, I am ALL of those things except multi-lingual. I took Spanish in both h.s. AND college and can, sadly, say that I retained "gracias" and that is about all. Anyway I guess that is a blog spam. Hope that stops! I didn't click on it so hopefully my computer won't crash or anything.

And since I just mentioned him, (if you read Pioneer Woman's blog (which I highly recommend you do because it is the most funny and interesting thing you could ever hope to find) you will recognize this borrowed phrase) I'll tell you about my "pesky brother-in-law" Mark! I was remiss in not mentioning him in my previous post about what all I was thankful for. I am indeed thankful for my pesky brother-in-law Mark because well...... um, well....... well, without pesky brother-in-law Mark then I would not have the most wonderful sista-in-law Sherri whom I adore to pieces, and 2 perfect & beautiful nieces and the most cool nephew on the face of the planet!!!!! See pesky brother-in-law Mark? I AM thankful for you!!!!

Well looky here, it is lunch time. I guess I could squeeze in one more, small, plate of leftovers. Oh, I forgot to mention I am really thankful of stretchy sweat pants. Amen.

P.S. we watched "Firewall" last night. Good one. Go rent it.

Happy Turkey Day Week!!

Geez-o-pete has it been crazy in your life too? I have not been blogging regularly due to the non-stop running around that seems to be a part of the pre-holiday routine. So here I am. I have so much to share with you, mostly nonsense but I will share it anyway! My parents will be here tomorrow so I may not post again until later in the weekend. However I could post Thursday afternoon and show you a picture of my happily distorted bulging full belly just for laughs. That is assuming I am not in a Triptophan (sp!) induced coma at that point!

So the good news is that I will not have to wear shorts starting tomorrow!!! Yeehaw!!! It has been 80 stupid degrees all of November and I am tired of it. We have a cold front blowing in tomorrow, chance of snow Friday. I say...BRING IT!!!!! Blonde rascal and I are going to try this afternoon to find what remains of our dwindling wood supply which is buried in a mess of unruly weeds, and make a stack on the porch for the weekend. Now where is my red and black lumberjack flannel shirt....?

Blonde rascal and I made some treats for his class....

Are those cute Pilgrim hats or what? I got the idea from none other than fabulous creative mom Shabee Chick. Go check her, and all of her glorious ideas, out!

Speaking of cooking, thanks to this blog network I have so many new yummy recipes to try this year! We normally fry a turkey because it is SO dadgum, well easy first of all, moist and flavorful. But I am ready for a change so this year I am going to brine the turkey and roast it, check out Pioneer Woman she will show you how! I am also using her sweet potato recipe because sweet sugary delicious sweet p's at Thanksgiving make me SOOOOO happy! Then Weds. night when my parent's arrive, and it will hopefully be COLD AS HELL by then, I am making Shabee Chick's homemade chicken noodle soup! Have mercy check out that recipe, it has heavy cream in it! Somebody pinch me, I dreaming!!! AND then I am also making her Gingerbread cake which sounds out of this world. So at the end of this paragraph it would be appropriate to say that I am thankful for....my gym membership!

While I am speaking of being thankful, look who is feeling good again...

Yep, it is my buddy Val. Here he is doing his best to look irritated and aloof as is par for him, but he was really looking for some lovin'. He is the one who had the abscess under his chin and it turns out is diabetic. So now, insulin shots 2x a day and special diabetic kitty food, and our free kitten turned very expensive cat is feeling so much better! THAT makes me happy and thankful.

I finished the table runner for blonde rascal's teacher...well almost, I still am going to do some quilting around the star.



I was back at the Goodwill store. I still did not find any sterling silver tea sets or anything like some of you lucky ducks do, but look what I did find...

A storage drawer thingy! $10 and the sewing room is on its way to being crazy organized! Well sort of. I bought some shelves to put in the closet...


This will hopefully allow a little more efficient use of that space. I need to find plastic storage boxes that will fit perfectly on the shelves.

Here is the sewing room after the closet threw up!

Hopefully, sooner rather than later, I will be taking you on a tour of a wonderfully organized sewing room. Wish me luck!

I must go and continue to prepare for the festivities but first I'll share what I am thankful for! I am so thankful for my family and friends. I mean really isn't that what life is about? People to love, who love you in return and enjoying being with them. I am thankful for the health of our family. I am thankful for this country, flaws and all, where else would we have it so good? I am thankful that in this country I can freely worship God. I am thankful that my husband is employed and we have a comfortable house with food on the table. I am thankful that I have joy in my life. I am blessed.
So all of my bloggy friends I hope you enjoy your blessings this week and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

T.G.I.....S!

What a relief it is finally the weekend! However our Saturday morning started off with hub's cell phone ringing at 5:30am, which is always worrisome...until you answer and no one is there. Then you go from worried to pissed in record time! I certainly hope the person on the other end of the line felt terrible that the groggy, gravely "h' lo" that answered was not the person they meant to call. Ugh. We both tossed and turned for a while then just got up. Hubs had an 8:00 tee time and I am just sitting here pouring coffee down my throat and catching up on some of my favorite blogs.

I had a busy week. Nothing big, just lots of little things that made each day feel like I was running from place to place. Thanksgiving lunch at school (yum!) with blonde rascal, the good ol' yearly exam (always a joy), and numerous little obligations that all seem to fall into the same week. I have 2 showers to go to this afternoon, and I think that will sum it up for my day today!

I did buy two Christmas presents yesterday! Yippee for me! It is time to get down to business, is it me or are the days just whipping by? I want to get a game plan and get ALL the shopping done, preferably all right here from my comfy chair, so then I can enjoy December. We'll see how that pans out!

That is all for now bloggies! Maybe by tomorrow I will be awake, refreshed and able to blog properly!!!

It is better to give, than receive!

With blonde rascal having no siblings close in age I sometimes worry about his ability to share. He does not have anyone at home to have to share his toys with or argue over what movie to watch or fight over what story to read at bedtime. I know those of you with more than one kid are saying how lucky for me!!! But I don't want him to be a brat and I want him to know that life is full of compromises. You win some, you loose some! So I am always looking for ways to reinforce these life lessons, when he tells me situations that happen at school or while playing outside with the neighbors and there is a tiff, then I sit him down and we discuss all of this and the right way to handle it. Probably MUCH to his dismay! But it is really a concern of mine that he is not learning these coping skills at home naturally by way of dealing with siblings. Geez, this motherhood "to-do" list of raising responsible children is a killer!

Along that note comes Christmas and all the greed and materialism that society, or more appropriately the media, forces on kids this time of year. The most important thing I want blonde rascal to realize about Christmas is that we are celebrating the birth of our Saviour....sure there is fun and gifts and traditions, but the core is the birth of Jesus. Add to that just exactly how lucky the little toot is, how there are children who may not get anything for Christmas. We are so blessed and because of that we need to share!!!!

Our church supports "Operation Christmas Child" where you fill a shoebox with goodies and they ship them off all over the place to needy children. So a few weeks ago when they announced the kick off of this event at church, I leaned over to rascal and told him that he could do a shoebox for a boy his age. Then I thought..."Hey I want to do a little girl! I could buy lots of little girl stuff...pink, fluff, glitter, dolls..." STOP and pay attention to the pastor's message!

So blondie and I had a great time picking out stuff for our friends to go in the shoeboxes. Too much fun!
How was all of this...



going to fit in this??

I did end up having to upgrade to a little larger shoebox for my girl!

Rascal was in charge of loading them up with sugar, something he ranks as very important!

Not to worry though, I got them accordingly a spiderman/ barbie toothbrush and toothpaste!

I just had to make the baby doll a little blanket....



Blonde rascal really enjoyed this and talked a lot about the kids that would get these boxes. For days he has wondered about them and talked about what they would like best out of their box. He is at the perfect age to grasp the idea and I hope it tucked away a little nugget of "sharing" in his brain!


Here is a little boy with no female siblings....

"Mom, how do you wrap up a baby doll???"

The day the magic began!

November 11, 1995

Just look at us! Both thinner, he had more hair and I did not have even one, not one of those obnoxious over zealous springy gray hairs yet! I look so peaceful, I had no idea the "fun" (see all previous posts) that was in store for me!

This morning in honor of the big day I fixed pancakes, then we rushed off to church and finally rushed out of church so hubs could....guess:
1. take me out for a glorious dinner.
2. come home and prepare a glorious dinner for me and then rub my sweet smelling feet.
3. make his 1:30 tee time.

Ding, ding, ding right-oh, it was #3!!!!

Don't gasp, it was perfectly alright with me! You see we had our anniversary date last night. We went out for a yummy dinner and had a divine time. I don't, actually neither one of us, gets into the pomp and circumstance of the big day. I know he loves me everyday, because he says so and he shows me by his actions. All of which means more than a cheesy card (that I will throw away) and a bouquet of flowers (that will die!) Now don't get me wrong, on anniversary #1 I expected a big deal and then #10 was a party for sure....and #15 better involve diamonds (big diamonds) and exotic getaways! But at heart I am a simple girl! We are simply beyond blessed just to have a happy, non-dramatic marriage.

Granted we occasionally want to wring each others necks...but who doesn't?? We are polar opposites, 100% as different as they come. He is type A and I am... I... I am TYPE Z!! All of which causes differences in opinions you might say! He likes plans and organization and time frames and structure and thinking ahead and stress. And me? I don't care for any of those things, thank you. But I believe the saying opposites attract. I mean really...if we were both like me then we could possibly be living in a VW van on a beach somewhere sitting out by a campfire every-night having a grand old time without a care in the world! And, God forbid, if we were both like him, well then our children would be orphans right now because we would both have died from strokes!!!

So it turns out this polar opposite thing works for us. I make his blood pressure inflate and he makes me laugh! We balance each other out. Honestly, I thank my God for a kind, hard working man who is both a good husband and father! He treats me right, I love him and I am so thankful to have him.

There. That is all of the sappy lovey stuff for this week. I will be back to my regularly scheduled silliness and nonsense tomorrow!

The plot thickens!

Never a dull moment around here friends, never! Early yesterday evening I walked down the driveway to the mailbox. The sun had just gone down and as I was returning, rummaging through all of the junk mail in my hands, I looked up as I approached the house. I see something in the yard and Missy runs off to investigate.



Upon closer inspection...



Sure enough some sort of rib cage/spine combo! To go along with the leg bone from the other day! How perfectly lovely!

As much as my goofy, odd little sense of humor would like to imagine some big crazy scary story, I am afraid one of you will call the police and tell them I buried someone in my backyard! So here is the conclusion we have reached...early last spring one of our steers bought the big hay field in the sky. What to do with a 600lb dead steer you ask? Well hubs had 19 year old brown haired rascal tie the sucker to his bumper and drag it down to the back corner of our property by the cotton field. You think I am kidding! By the way, THAT is the reason you have teenagers...to do your dirty work. Anywho, hubs logic was that nature would take its course and the vultures and coyotes would deal with the carcass.

(Add this to my "woe is me" list of boy stuff that I have to endure from my earlier post...dragging dead cows around behind pickups!! Calgon...the delightful city of Chicago...Jimmy Buffett....someone.... take me away!!!)

Well, now it would seem nature did indeed take its course and all that is left are the skeletal remains. Remains that we believe our next door neighbor's behemoth, fathead, year old Lab feels compelled to drag into our yard!!


I know the suspicions may run deep with some of you gumshoes out there. You are savvy detail oriented people and you think it is odd that there is always the same person at the scene of the crime...





MISSY!!!


I too feared the worse. Maybe my little poopie-kins angel is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Perhaps in reality she is a savage killer.


I questioned her about this and she assured me that she really is my poopie-kins and would never harm a soul. However, in order to stop this madness and for the safety of all involved she felt obligated to point the finger at the only true criminal, in her opinion.....













Her arch enemy Jingles!!!!!!

Books, books, books

Assuming I did not have the responsibilities of a wife, mom, human... I would read myself into oblivion.

Book club is a week from today. This month we are reading "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman which incidentally is a movie coming out and stirring up a little controversy too. I started it yesterday and for the life of me just can't get into it. I really think it is because I have read 6 Harry Potters since August! It feels similar, a magical fantasy, and I think I just need to change gears for a while before I get back in to that scene. They will still let me come to book club to laugh and drink wine, I will not get excommunicated for not reading! That is why I love book club, it gets me to read stuff I would not normally choose and always end up enjoying. However, I will probably revisit this one in a few months.

I just finished "The Quilter's Homecoming" by Jennifer Chiaverini. I have enjoyed all of her books and this one was good too.

Today I started "High Five" by Janet Evanovich. This series goes up to like 16 or something now. Boy oh boy do I LOVE these books! 100% entertainment, fluff, no-brainer but completely hilarious. I laugh out loud. I love Stephanie Plum, and her grandma, AND her hamster Rex. To enjoy these you must go into them NOT expecting any life changing moments or deep thoughts AND you must enjoy heavy sarcasm and have a somewhat irreverent sense of humor. Good stuff here folks. They are a giggle-fest.

Next up on deck, in the stack of books to read, is "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson. This book intertwines the true tale of two men in Chicago, the architect behind the 1893 World's Fair and a serial killer who uses the fair to lure his victims.
While in Chicago a few months I ago, I did do things more worthy of my time than just smoke cigars, such as take the architectural river tour of downtown. I highly recommend this if you find yourself in Chicago.
On this particular tour, our docent was this charming gem of a lady...

She had to have been every bit of 80. She was a pistol and sharp as a tack. She really made the tour. She was born and raised in Chicago and rattled off architectural details and history of so many buildings like she was reading it out of a book. Made me realize that I am certainly not using my brain to its full potential. THAT is a whole other story... anyway she was a hoot! Amongst the details and history she shared she would throw in her opinion of city officials and decisions made that she did or did not agree with, all having to do with historical Chicago and landmark buildings. It was clear that she stayed on top of everything having to do with the city she so obviously loved. She truly was a joy to listen to. All of that to say she recommended this book as she spoke briefly on how the World's Fair in 1893 changed Chicago and made it the city it is today. Of course since reading is my drug of choice and I had fallen head over heels in love with Chicago, I bought this book at the airport on our way home and am very much looking forward to reading it.

What are you reading?

I must sign off now. I have a load of wonderful clean smelling folded laundry sitting in piles on the couch...amongst which Missy the hell raiser is joyfully diving in and out of. Pardon me while I go wrestle a weenie dog away from my stacks, which are now all amok!

Girl Power!

I have nothing even remotely worthy to report today. I have not finished my table runner, nor have I started some photo-ie Christmas presents, nor have I organized my sewing room closet, nor have I started the advent calendar that will be finished by Christmas. Relax would you? I'll get them done sooner or later!

Since the start of my blog I have burdened you with my woes resulting from the unfair male to female ratio that I am overwhelmed by. This poor city girl floundering out here in the West Texas wilderness surrounded by males. Human males, horse males, male cats, male steers AND then all stuff that goes along with said males... messes, manure, guns, trucks, dirt left behind in the bath tub, bodily noises, stinky socks, ringworm, tools, more dirt, scratching, mystery stains...where does it end? If girls were the majority there would be more pink, first of all. Followed by glitter and Barbies and dress up fairy princess outfits and nail polish and sparkly costume jewelry and baby dolls that pee and and cute prissy clothes and....

Well such is not the case. I will show you the "girls" I have to bond with around here.....



First of all we all know and love Missy.

Missy and I are BFF's like Paris and Nicole. (Are they still friends?) We got her at the end of April when she was 8 weeks old.
It has been one big party since then. She and I are kindred spirits, if you will. Well, except that I can control my bladder when people come to the door to visit. She is silly and loves to have fun. She appreciates a good nap. She wants to be in the middle of all the action.



She LOVES to hang out with her friends!



And probably most significantly...

She too reads "In Style" and understands how important it is for a fun loving gal to add a little leopard print to her wardrobe!


Next on the girl list is Bianca. She is our Border Collie.

She prefers pink leopard print.


If you are not familiar with Border Collies, then let me explain that they are driven and OBSESSED with their "jobs". They are working dogs all the way, all the time. Bianca can hardly relax and there is no down time in her life. Which is not a concept I can grasp because I am ALL about down time, I am usually always on "island time" and have no desire to be obsessed with anything, well except People magazine!

You don't initially know a Border Collies "jobs" but it does not take long to pick them out. Probably Bianca's #1 job is water. She is obsessed with herding water. She will hear a sprinkler come on 5 miles away and go chase it. She will run herself to death chasing any running water.

Here is blonde rascal in the steer water trough... I know unsanitary on SO many levels, but notice Bianca who is trying to herd any and all splashes that come out of the trough. (By the way I got in the water trough too. It was AFRICA hot that day and well, I will not miss out on any fun! Neither one of us got mad cow disease or jungle fever so the water couldn't of been that dirty!)

Bianca's other jobs are chasing motors. Luckily not cars, but katie bar the door when she hears a 4 wheeler or lawn mower. Those bad boys need to be herded in her little mind! And oh Lordy watch out when the boys rope...she wants to be all over that horse running/steer chasing scene!!! While I don't understand the urgency of her work ethic, you could never ever find a more gentle or kind dog. She has a sweet soul.



On to the barn now. You remember Josie?

She understands my plight as she too is surrounded by boys. We see eye to eye, Josie and I do. She likes to run and work up a good sweat. So do I. Except I prefer to do my running without a full grown man on my back!


She also appreciates a good meal.

Own it sister!



Remember these chumps?

Gary, Patrick and Sandy? All of Spongebob fame. Sex unknown. Well upon further inspection today I saw no evidence of any manhood. So the ratio may have just gone up a little in my favor!


Lastly, while I love my friend Josie, I am not a horse rider. Beautiful majestic animals right outside my door but I just really have no desire to ride. I prefer a little more control over the throttle. I like a few more "horses" under the hood. Yeah baby, 0-60 in like 2.6 seconds! A little adrenaline rush for this demure and tranquil housewife. Here is my girl...










Come to momma!

It's Monday, and here is what I think...

I think the time change is silly. Seriously, just exactly how much energy is saved? Really. I wondered around all day yesterday wondering what time it was. I mean I changed the clocks in the kitchen and our alarm clocks of course, but the rest of them kept me on my toes!

I do love it getting dark early. It means being inside my cozy house all snug as a bug. Lamps casting their soft glow, a candle or two burning....I love that feeling. I am sort of like Sybil though. I LOVE being at home and am so happy when I don't have to leave, but then I also thrive on being with friends and having crazy fun. That is it, my self diagnosis....split personality!

I made my blog more winter/fall like...darker. And speaking of that I do believe it is time to go to the salon for a little darker shade! Sure, blonde more graciously blends in the "teenager having" induced springy gray hairs but time for a change, summer is over people!



I think Missy found a human leg bone this morning. Really. I'm serious dude.

I feel a new episode of CSI in the making!




I think I need to paint my kitchen and dining room. We bought our house 2 years ago. At that time it was only 2 years old. Which was nice because everything was still for the most part fresh and new. BUT the dining room, columns and breakfast area all have this brick/vine effect. I mean, "artistically" speaking it is incredible.


The bricks are carved out and the vines are raised. It is an artists work and I am sure it cost a fortune, but sadly it is just not my thing. When we first moved in I didn't like it and wouldn't have chosen it but it was sort of a unique conversation piece. And with Thanksgiving fastly approaching I was too busy unpacking and getting ready for the holidays to worry about it. But, that was two years ago and now I am done with the brick situation! Done!


Enough, thanks. No more.




Please, make it stop!



For crying out loud there are grapes in the breakfast area!


However as I sit around and stare at it, and it really does make the "stay at home Sybil" nutty, I can't decide how to remedy it. I mean I will have to sand it out. Then fill it in to match the rest of the texture on the wall. THEN the walls have a glaze or stain or something top coat, which I would have to match. All of which is outside of my talent range. I am cheap and refuse to hire a professional to fix it. So I thought ok I can match it, I mean the glaze would be kind of forgiving when it comes to blending right?

Well I could just sand it out, fill it in and paint a different color....BUT I am not capable of picking out paint colors. In our last house all rooms were "dusty trails" which I loved but copied from a friend's house. When I painted my sewing room yellow, I used the same color that my next door neighbor used. I can't pick out paint! I mean there are 300 gazillion choices and how do you really know what it will look like? But, oh joy, once again go to Daisy Cottage and see her "olive #4" by laura ashley. I think I really could go for that!!! The rest of the house is the usual khaki whatever color and I think the olive would blend nicely and be soothing. So, wish me luck as I continue to wrap my brain around this project. Any suggestions?



I think I was wrong about Katie Holmes! I thought she just wore Manilo Blahniks, hung out with that sullen Posh and spent preposterous amounts of money on clothes for Suri. But sister friend ran the NYC marathon yesterday!!!! Crap! Girlfriend has been running! I mean I read People and I never knew this! I guess the Cruise compound has its own track and I am sure every hotel penthouse they stay in has a private one too. Don't get me wrong, I still think her husband is a freak show but I can't hold that against her now.
She ran it in like 5.5 hours. I think I could hang with that time. Somewhere deep down running the NYC is a desire of mine. I am not competitive at all, and I don't run for speed but instead endurance, selfish "me" time, my health and to never have guilt over a yummy indulgence when I want it! I really enjoy running and NYC...it is one of my true loves. I am not a goal setter, I am too much of a slacker for that. But when the time is right, and I feel it in my soul, then I will train and do it. I need to train and run a few 1/2's first. I need a running partner...none of my friends run...any volunteers out there in blog land??!?

I think that is all of my worthless drivel soapbox for today. I will stop now! What time is it by the way?

Buh-bye bloggies!

The Weekend Wrap Up.

It has been a quiet wonderful weekend. Hubs is still out of town at a roping, blonde rascal played outside with the neighbor kids ALL day yesterday. And me? I sewed!!!

I had cut and fused down the pieces on the tablerunner for blonde rascal's teacher,

Then I blanket stitched around all the edges which was easy, thanks to that beautiful Pfaff, just time consuming!

Now I have to do some little eyeballs, "blush" their cheeks and make some hay for the manger with gold thread. I think I will have blonde rascal do the hay. Then that leaves making the star for the center and sewing that baby together!

I didn't get the sewing room closet organized....maybe today?!?!?


Blonde rascal and I did have our "slumber party" both Friday and Sat. night. Here is how it went down...

King size bed= well, it was expensive,
Bedding and sheets from Target= not so expensive (all we could afford after the bed purchase!)
Miniature Long Haired Dachshund= $400
Happy, giggly, snugly little boy in Mom's bed= PRICELESS!


What a team we make...Missy looks possessed, blonde rascal looks hyped up on Halloween candy...and me, I look exhausted!!

Blonde rascal has been coughing. Last night he coughed pretty good all night, despite medicine, vicks on the chest & feet. I heard Vicks on your feet with socks on eases coughs at night. Not so much. Then when he coughs and has drainage it makes him....throw up. Yep, that is how much fun the slumber party was for mom last night!!! So this morning he woke up at 6:30 hungry and thirsty. He had a waffle and then back in bed where he fell back asleep. THAT is not normal for my little man. Once he is up, he is UP! He feels a little crappy and will probably (hopefully) take it easy all day.

I have gotten some emails from people saying they can't post comments on here. I changed it yesterday so that it allows anyone to post a comment not just yahoo members or whatever. That may or not be the solution....so let me know if it still does not work. And all of you "blurkers" (blog lurkers) it is time to come clean....leave a comment you chickens!!!!

I learned from the masters!

After months and months of reading blogs I found the common thread running between most of the fabulously decorated homes....thrift sales, yard sales and Goodwill! These ladies find amazing treasures in the raw or they are talented enough to tweak or repurpose them! I had never been to the Goodwill store, not that I am opposed, just never gave it any thought. I had time to kill yesterday before school got out so I stopped in. I was pleasantly suprised...the Pine Sol smell wafted over me as I entered, when I expected a musty grandma's attic/garage sale smell! Let me tell you this is a gold mine for young people starting out, you could furnish an entire apartment. They have furniture, sure some of it a little dated, but overall in good shape. Nothing a slipcover couldn't fix!

So I went to browsing...I was searching for real treasures that I have read about other people finding....silver tea sets, fine china, etc... For instance go to Daisy Cottage and see how this talented ingenious woman decorated her entire beautifully lovable cottage!!!

Here is what I found on my journey...

I adore transferware, this piece is a poor attempt with the only marking on the back being "$5" written in black sharpie...but hey it is cute!!!


Then there was this little jewel...

A fun Christmas serving platter, original price tag still on it $60, I paid $10!

So my first visit to the Goodwill ended in $15 and two usable goodies! I will be going back!

Coming down off the sugar high!

It is a sunny, cooler November 1st here in West Texas! Missy found a ray of sunshine to bask in this morning.




Last night we partied hardy at the fall festival at MeeMaw's church. Blonde rascal headed directly to the hair coloring booth as he wanted to try out being a red head for the night!

I coached him as we went in to the festival, explaining that he needed to pick up some chocolate here and there for the woman who brought him into this world. He prefers all the suckers and hard candy junk. How disappointing for a mom to rummage through the candy bag, after junior is cozily tucked in bed for the night, only to find nerds, dots and blow-pops! I picked up a Twix after I crawled through a maze on my hands and knees, which I felt I completely deserved! Then I did manage to procure a few pieces of chocolate here and there which have now been stashed away for safe keeping!

MeeMaw suggested, just as any good grandparent would, as we were leaving the festival that she would love to buy blonde rascal some ice cream. I mean it makes sense for MeeMaw to buy him ice cream, after he had main lined sugar at the festival all night, since after ice cream we dropped HER off at her tidy warm quiet house....and I took him home where he was howling at the moon and I finally had to peel him off the ceiling to get him in bed!!! I am tucking that knowledge away for when I become a grandparent!

I too indulged in ice cream, after a healthy fall festival dinner of a hot dog and cheetos, and then candy here and there! However, I firmly believe life is too short to EVER pass up ice cream. I paid for my night of Halloween sins this morning on the treadmill. I have been cleansed and forgiven... by large amounts of sweat!

I am going to do a little cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping today. Hubs is going out of town to a roping this weekend. I am not leaving the house all weekend!! I have 3 "picture/scrapbooky" gifts I am making for Christmas presents that I want to get started on. I am going to buy shelves for the closet in my sewing room and hopefully get that all organized. There is my weekend gameplan in a nutshell... get a little organized, put some thought into Christmas planning & enjoy hanging out with blonde rascal. Whenever one of the parental unit is gone overnight it is "sleepover" time for him. He claims his spot in our bed! So no doubt there will also be some fun snuggle, movie watching time too this weekend!

Happy November!