Just in case you were wondering.....

Well......Bum Boogers!

Hey Yall! I am sitting here in the recliner with my friend the laptop typing away to tell you that I am depressed. Very. Why? Because Dick is in Charleston, one of my favorite places and home of the college that my oldest is now an alumni, AND because he is having dinner with two of my favorite people, John and Elaine. (sniffle, sniffle) Yes, I was asked to go on this trip, but being so near to Christmas, I just didn't think it was a good idea. I was obviously out of my mind. Completely. But then that doesn't surprise yall, does it? (sniffle, sniffle)

We had some sleet this morning. The forecast is for snow on Monday. Snow will be nice. I love it. I think it is time.

Weezie had an eight o'clock appointment at the spa.....groomers. She got a good haircut. I got home around 10:30 and immediately started tackling my mountain of paperwork that had been growing on the counter. I can stack it with the best of them! I have it all cleared now. Of course I have two bags of trash from it....one filled with the paper from shredding the top secret documents (credit card offers) and the other bag just envelopes and other papers not deemed top secret. It felt good to do this. I just wish Dick was here to experience it while it is clean. I know he wishes that also. Miss you!

I guess yall are all on pins and needles wondering if I have a sofa being delivered tomorrow.......well.......let me tell you that no, I did not find a sofa. And every time I sat down on a really comfortable, take a nap on, sofa, I started to tear up because I knew I would be going home to my midget couch where if you try to lay down your legs start cramping up and you start to lose your religion. I HATE IT! If I want to lay down, I have to go to my bed and that is just not right! We are a nap taking family and we don't go to bed to do it unless you are having a meltdown, which has been known to happen to one of us from time to time. Of course, that kind of nap requires several hours of uninterrupted sleep.....in the quiet......be by yourself room. It just makes me so sad that I don't have a nap couch. I think we are going to have to order one. Curses. I know that there is a couch out there somewhere that can be delivered to my house that is probably red, or at the very least match my family room. Don't you think?

I guess I need to go and do a little more work around the house while I have this desire to do it. Cause you know, when it passes, it is gone. For good.

Tootles.

"New" Recommendations From Frannycakes

You can all thank me later.....with gifts or cash, please.......I have added to my list of Blogs Recommended by Frannycakes. And you will want to thank me. These ladies all have some fabulous talent. Some are just decorating, some have recipes, some tell about their families and decorate and cook and....well......you will just have to go any read all about them. After I read their blogs, I am just totally exhausted! If I can just get a little bit of their talent...or even better, if I could just get them to come to my house and help me out......

Enjoy! And you're welcome!

Happy Tuesday! How's things in your part of the world? I say world because I have readers in Italy, so I don't want them to feel left out! Yes, this is a popular blog.....hahahahahaha!

As most of you know who read this fairly regularly, I decorated for Christmas the weekend before Thanksgiving. I cannot tell you how freeing that is is to know that it is done and you don't have to worry about that. It is like I have finished with Thanksgiving and my house is decorated and I can concentrate on the celebration of Christmas and not feel total stress. This morning, I was reading some of the blogs that I have started reading and they have some fabulous ideas about decorating and so there are a few things that I want to try. It is fun to do something new because you want to, not because you have to get those %@*&! decorations up! So I am excited about doing those. I have been having trouble posting pictures to my blog, but I will try and get some up after I have finished. Hopefully.

Speaking of new blogs I read......I want all of you to read these. They are really talented women who have generously put their homes and ideas on their blog. I think you will absolutely love them! I will be putting their links on my recommended reading....hopefully today. "Hope" is the theme today!

Okay....I am feeling some self inflicted stress. I want to find a new couch, recliner and chairs for the family room. Before Christmas. Like yesterday. I went to another furniture store yesterday and actually brought home a pillow to see how it went and I wanted to throw up. Yuck! The fabric did not match at all....it was repulsive. I am not going to paint. I am thinking about going to Portland to see what I can find down there. Stress.......

Went to my favorite store yesterday! Found me some treasures at the Goodwill. I am going to try and take pictures and post them.......yet again. Hopefully. I need to be a personal shopper at the Goodwills. Of course there could be a problem with that. I would have to be allowed to keep anything that I was looking for for you if I really liked it. That could be a problem.

Let me know how yall are doing and what kind of fun, beautiful, gorgeous decorating you are doing. I love getting new ideas. Of course my ideas don't always translate into actually doing them....but I file them away in my internal filing cabinet. Things have been lost there, but I eventually find them.

Talk to you later.....Tootles!

Thanksgiving is over. Dick and I drove Chris and Linley to Boston this morning for their flight. It was great having them here. We pretty much just chilled out and ate. The "children" played alot of scrabble. Since they have gotten over their cheating phase, I might actually play with them at Christmas!

I will be busy tomorrow cleaning and getting ready for the next influx of family. Of course, it will be a few weeks before they get here, but if I do in now then I won't have to worry about it then. We decorated for Christmas the weekend before Thanksgiving. I know......I used to hate people that did that. But it has taken a tremendous load off my shoulders. I don't feel that panicky feeling about having to decorate and Christmas shop. Of course, if my guys don't tell me something they want for Christmas, I won't have to go do any shopping!

It is bedtime, so I will talk to you later....Tootles!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Yall! I hope yall are as full as I am! Yesterday, Christopher and Linley flew into Boston. Julianne and I drove down to pick them up. When I was looking for cheap (hahahahahahahahahaha) tickets for Thanksgiving, flying into Boston was considerably cheaper. Considerably. A plus for them was the flight was direct from Raleigh. It was great to see them. I had not seen Chris since they were here at the end of the summer. And that is too long.

We stopped at Panera and ate. Right next door, conveniently, there was a Marshalls. A huge Marshalls! Unfortunately, I really couldn't find the things I was looking for, so I left empty handed.

We got our first snow on Tuesday! Everything was coated white and it was beautiful. Wednesday morning, it started snowing again. I think they were disappointed it wasn't still coming down when we got home from the airport. It is supposed to start again around 11 and end by morning. I hope it does. I love the snow.

Dick and Chris fried the turkey for us this year. We had a fabulous meal around 5 and I was tuckered out afterward. I went upstairs with Dick and lay on the bed while he read. I got under the covers and went to la la land. I woke up about 10 and decided that if I was going to do a Thanksgiving post, I had better get on it! So here goes....

I am thankful that I have a husband that I love and that loves me.

I am thankful for my three children and the adults that they have become. I am extremely proud of all of them and am amazed that we actually made it through the teenage years. I love yall!

I am thankful for my new daughter-in-law who loves my son and makes him happy. We love you!

I am thankful for my daughter-in-law's family who bring him into their family Thanksgiving celebration when he can't be here with us.

I am thankful for second son's girlfriend and her family because I know they will take care of him while we are so far away. Thank you so much!

I am thankful for my parents who have always loved me and wanted the best for me. I love you very much.

I am thankful for my husbands family for molding him into the man he is today.

I am thankful for my brother and his wonderful wife and beautiful children. I love yall!

I am thankful for my aunts, uncles and cousins that I don't get to see very often but still have a special place in my heart.

I am thankful for my friends who are my family by choice!

I am thankful for my blog friends who have given me much entertainment and inspiration! I hope to meet a few of you in the future!

I am thankful to live in a warm house and have plenty of food to eat.

I am thankful that I live in a free country.


That is just a few of the things I feel thankful for and I know I will think of many others later.

Happy Thanksgiving! Tootles!

The Fruit of the Gods (And Good to Decorate With Too!)

My new favorite fruit is the Pomegranate. Yum Yum. Yes I love it! It takes just a little bit of work to get the seeds out, but that is half the fun! It makes you even hungrier for it. The first time I did it, I stood by the sink and got the seeds out on the counter. After I finished and cleaned up, I looked up and my white swag curtains had pink polka dots! I about had a stroke, so I ran and got my oxyclean and mixed up a small bowl full and dotted it on the new dots and POOF!, as if by magic, they disappeared. And I am NOT exagerating one bit! If you have never used Oxyclean, run to the store and get some. It is a wonderful product.

But back to the fruit. I have big plans for using it during the holidays. I can wait. I will have to take pictures, cause it will make you want to go to get you some. While you are getting your Oxyclean, go ahead and pick up a few. Oh, and I found out that if you fill a bowl with cold water and get the seeds out that way you don't have to worry about polka dots! It works really well.

So Nancy and Tommy, if you are reading this, how about having a truck run by my house and drop me off a few pomegranates. Maine is not too far from California, is it?

Hey Yall! I bet you thought I forgot about yall, didn't you? Well, I didn't. I have just been busy and without anything much to tell you. I will do better and try not to neglect you. I promise.

As you can see in my cup of coffee on the right, I have managed to lose 36 pounds. Just a drop in the bucket to what I want to lose, but 36 lbs. is 36 lbs. So I won't complain at all. Maybe I will post an actual picture of myself one day. One day....

I am starting to get a little bit stressed. I shouldn't be, but it is just the way I get around those major holidays. I need to get the Christmas decorations from the attic and the basement. Yes, you read right. I couldn't have it in the same place. That would just be too logical and well, that wouldn't be me. I want to have the house pretty well decorated by Thanksgiving. It seems like we are always moving into a new house around this time and I can never enjoy decorating because I am having to unpack and think about buying gifts, so I am doing it early. I do need to get some ideas for Christmas presents.....you all know who you are! We are cutting back on Christmas gifts this year. It just seems to get out of hand and I doubt any of my kids can even remember what they got last year. And on top of all this, I need to start cooking and freezing some casseroles so I will have it all ready to thaw and cook. I don't like having to stay in the kitchen all the time. But to do all that cooking, plus Thanksgiving dinner, I need to make a list, check it twice, and go to the grocery store. Really, I need to get my thoughts together so I can get started. And my thoughts are partying everywhere right now!

I went to Augusta today. Michaels was on my list. Have yall been in Michaels recently? OMG! Christmas Christmas Christmas! Now I do not need ANY new decorations. But I wanted some. I wanted some craft stuff too. I wanted to start some new crafts, like beading, scrapbooking, cake decorating!!!!!!!!!! Like I have extra time to do any of that? I need to stay out of there. I ended up with just what I went in for and not much else. I can't tell you what I bought because it is someones Christmas present. Maybe later.....

I also need to find a new couch for our family room. Desperately!!! Down south, there is a furniture store practically on every corner. Not here in Maine.....I can't find more than a handful. Due to the fact that almost everything we have is damaged in some way from multiple moves, I do not want to buy an expensive top of the line sofa. Of course, I do not want one that will fall apart in a month. I can't seem to find that type of sofa. Of course, I can find exactly what I want at the Thomasville Furniture store in Portland. But that is the high end stuff and you know my reasons for not wanting to get that. I plan to go to Portland later in the week and have all intentions for finding just the right store.

I need to take some pictures of my Goodwill finds. I do love to go there. You never know what you will find. I may even start an online store to sell some of those finds. Maybe.....

I have deleted some of my recommended blogs. I don't think this will affect any of my readers though. I have found some new ones that I will be adding, so please go visit them when I do. I think you will enjoy them too.

I guess that is all my news. I will talk to you later....Tootles!

I received a comment from my Aunt Nancy concerning my post about Dick's birthday. She informed me that 50 is the new 30. I like that. I like that a lot! That means I am 28!

Life is good!

Just So You Know.....

Happy Birthday Henry!

Happy Birthday Dick!

Well, I am officially married to an old man. I never thought the day would come. It is hard to believe that the 16 year old boy I fell in love with so long ago is actually 50. Time sure has flown by. And I want it to slow down!

The Birthday Boy had an "almost" surprise......his mother and I planned for her to fly up and surprise him. Now how fun that would be! Well, nosy britches found out and so we decided to surprise her. And we did at the airport. We really enjoyed having her here. Monday night, Julianne took her daddy's keys and let herself into his office and decorated it good! He was very surprised when he got to work. He blamed everyone there.......until he noticed that a picture of Julianne had been moved to the front of his family pictures! Leave it to Julianne! After I took Gran Gran to the airport, I headed to the mill and set up a conference room with a big birthday cake. Someone got a wheelchair from First Aid and wheeled Dick from his office to the conference room! I think he was surprised. He got a gift bag of funny gag gifts for "old" people. The funny thing is he can use about half the stuff! He also got a box of candy that was popular when he was a kid. Earlier that morning, his sister Debbie sent him a bouquet of black balloons. So I think he had a good birthday at work. When he got home, we had leftovers from the night before. His mom made roast and potatoes and carrots and broccoli. And I made him the birthday cake he wanted.....Dump Cake! So don't feel too bad about him eating leftovers for his birthday! Thanks Gran Gran. And for his birthday, Dick got a new, fancy, IPOD! Of course, that is going to require some time to work with and it is budget time at the mill right now, so it will have to wait.

So Happy Birthday my love! I hope we both have 50 more together! I love you!