Thankful for Our Veterans!

It seems like Veteran's day is another of those forgotten holidays. You know the holiday that has turned into more of a day for shopping sales or taking a day off work to play.

So I was talking with my kids last night about Veteran's Day and asking them how we should celebrate our veterans. A couple of my teenagers suggested we rent 'Call of Duty' for Wii and play it. I immediately shot that idea out of the air. No war playing games today! Ya think I would have taught my boys better by now. Guess I still have some work to do.

Instead I showed them this...



So a big Thanks to our Veteran's Today and Every Day!

Before and After the Insanity!

Insanity has been threatening to claim me this week. I happy to report that it didn't, but it was not from the lack of trying.

Remember last week when the Dishwasher and Dryer Broke on top of needing a major roof repair after I gracefully stepped through it. Well, I’m honestly laughing (yes, I am) because Mr. Murphy is piling up the home repair goodies on us. And it seems to me that he has very expensive taste because he is attacking the most costly sections of our home.

Could we possibly be living in…

The Monster House?

So this week, we investigated the Dishwasher problem and discovered some major wood-rot in both the floor, subfloor and on some support beams under the kitchen. In the spirit of my Thankful Heart Month - Let me stop right here and say that I’m Thankful that I will be the recipient of a new kitchen whether we were ready for one or not.

Then Prince Erik discovered that the freezer door was left open and this was the result...

Again I’m Thankful for a great husband who volunteered to defrost the old beast for me. It needed to be done and now it is. Check-off that To-Do!

So this morning my hubby went out to the garage to see how his frozen job had done over night, when he noticed that it was raining over the food storage. Raining indoors – that is. Seems we have sprung a new leak somewhere under the Master Bath Tub. Alas - No more baths. O.K. so who opened the flood gates because this is beyond ridiculous.

With that in mind – and it STILL being my grateful heart month – I’m thankful that our water bill will be smaller for the foreseeable future and that sometime after we fix the kitchen I will be the recipient of a new section of my Master Bathroom. Wish our favorite plumber didn't live two states away.

Wow, I feel like I just won the lottery in Lemon Houses.

Needless to say, we sat down and had a hard look at finances and I honestly shed a few tears and maybe walked around like a zombie for a few hours to boot. It isn’t anything we can’t handle but it will require that we live the whole Month of Needs Lifestyle for the next umpteen months to be able to cover these new expenses. I’m also looking at ways that maybe I can pitch in a couple of pennies here and there. You know I have the hardest time with budgets. They rank right up there with the taboo words like diet and goals. I have dreams instead. And I’m dreaming and praying that everything will work out. I know it will because God doesn’t give us anything we can’t handle – Right?

That being said, I heard somewhere that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. So I'm trying several new things with money in an effort to gain control over it. I'm shoving the credit and debit cards into cold storage and experiementing with the cash system. And no you won't get a bucket-load of cash off me should you decide to rob me, so don't get any ideas. I just think that I'll be able to have a better grasp of the whole in-and-out cashflow stuff if I see it before my eyes.

Christmas will be very green this year as I’m making most of it. I’m set on what I need to finish for my little girls (Would love some suggestions on what I could make for electronic craving teenage boys). I'm still excited as all get-up about the excuses to be creative.

I had a great day yesterday and was able to finish getting my front yard ready for winter.

Princess, and Lea and our neighbor Ethel’s Daughter helped for a solid couple of hours, raking and pushing leaves, and washing sidewalks, while I mowed the lawn. So I'm thankful for their help because they volunteered to do it without a word from me.

I loved every moment spent outside. It’s my environment. Even saw some of my friends Bambi and Faline pass by within a dozen feet or so while we were out.

Another great thing about the week was that I put the Halloween decorations away and cleaned up my costume sewing mess in the dining room. So here’s the customary before and after pics.

So the before was really the aftermath of our Wizard of Oz costume tornado hit!

And After…

I know a bit simple but I’m digging simple right now.

The best and most wonderful thing about the past week was Princess.

Hope and I spent the day at Children’s Hospital with Princess undergoing tests as a follow-up for a condition discovered last year. A condition, which could have meant surgery, if not resolved. She had to be partially sedated for one of the tests which was hard to watch because it turned her into a glassy-eyed slobber girl. The equivalent of someone so drunk they can’t walk. It seemed to effect her more than the normal kid and took an hour longer than normal to wear off.

Hope, meanwhile, had the nurses eating out of her hand (thank goodness), but if I ever have to go again, I’m getting a sitter. Don’t know what I was thinking when I decided to take her with us?

Well, the tests were all very positive and her chances of a full recovery are splendid. No surgery needed! So we are super-duper Thankful that Heavenly Father has helped heal her little body.

Can I just say that I’m extra Thankful for all of the many blessings and miracles of Health that our family has had bestowed upon us in the past two years. It really gives me hope that we will handle the all our difficulties be they finincial, or mental.

So my heart is still happy because it's still Thankful!

200 Bloomin Twiddley-wink What?

Well I did it, I survived my first 200 posts. Even better news is – So did You! I’m amazed and extremely awed by all the new bloggy friends I’ve made over the past year. You even put up with me as I expanded my blog readability from …

to…

See this old dear can learn new tricks.

In celebration of all things me (well I can, it’s my blog after all) I thought I would have my sparkley-est give-away yet! Some sweet bling-bling for you!

I even put a little thought into this one (believe it or not). So this gift is a Vicarious Fawndear Alternate Me! Things I would love but can’t really justify having because of, well, me. I know, I know I’ve probably lost you with my scattered train of thought so I’ll try and explain.

The sparkly jewelry I’d wear if I actually dressed in something other than work-out clothes (which I don’t). But if I did, I’d wear them. That and I don’t get myself too much bling-bling because if I did my little girly’s would wear it and most likely break it. This cute set I got from my friend Ethel who sells sweet twinkly wearable jewelry on the side. Let me know if you want me to hook you up with her. It pink and white crystal.

I love candles but I don’t have any (anymore) because I have a phyro-kid that might burn the house down if he saw an open flame.

I actually do have re-useable shopping bags, a trunk full of them x's two vehicles. They go with me everywhere because I do want to do my part to save the planet. Problem is, when I arrive at the store, do-Yah think I’d remember to take a few of them in? Nope (Sigh). I use them for a lot of other things though – impromptu gym bag, diaper bag, church bag, etc. One of these days I may just use them for the purpose for which they were intended. This one is darling though.

So you win this contest and you’ll be livin’ the life I think of living. I know, deep thoughts here. Maybe after this post I’ll be back to Elementary School level.

I thought I’d make the contest rules simple, cause that's me simple. Well that’s at least what I’m trying to be. I’m not going to ask you to post about this contest on your blog or explain your most embarrassing moment. All you have to do is type your favorite word. A One Word comment!

That’s all.

Here are some examples. Hope’s favorite word is ‘Dingle-Hopper’.

(From the Little Mermaid). When she wants to eat or do her hair she runs into the kitchen asking where a dingle-hopper is. And now you know how she really got those curls.

Evo-man’s word is Awesomeness,

Princess – Mommy (Oh, how sweet)

Lea - Art ,

Abner – Liberate,

T-Rev – Existentialist (O.K. for the record this kid didn’t get any smart DNA from me or Prince Erik he’s just one of those kids that plucked it out of randomness).

And my Husbands favorite word to say… ‘Your Right Dear’ (I guess that would disqualify him because it’s more than one word.)

Some of my favorite words are… dream, believe, serendipity, imagination, charity, faith, hope, twinkly.

I also like words that aren’t words like Snork, Toodles, Diddlywhop, and Bloomin-Ba-geebers .

So tell me your favorite word and you may have a chance to win my 200th Post Give-Away!

Contest ends... um, let me think… O.K. a week from tonight. So I’ll pick a winner - Thursday November 13th. Sounds like a hum-dinger of a fun week.

He's My Prince!

So Prince Erik is out of town which makes for Mommy projects and fun and messes but I really do miss him. The other night I went online and bought midnight movie tickets on November 20th to...




Man those bad vamps look wicked.

I was thinking Girls-Night-Out and All And then, Get This, I got the shock of my Life when Prince Erik decided he wanted to come with me. I about keeled over right there.

What? He wants to come to a movie where ladies of all ages and mental instability are shrieking like a bunch of schoolgirls? 'Yep', he said.

He has always been more than patient with me and this whole guilty obsession of mine.

So in honor of this special occasion I might just have to make us some matching shirts like these...

I'm so darn excited because it will be our first date since February. FEBRUARY! Why? Because we won't worry about leaving our O.D.D./Polar child with the others too much when he's fast asleep.

Thanks Prince Erik - You're the best!

I might even have to reciprocate the gesture and purchase tickets to Monster Truck Madness next time they are in town. And I could get him this shirt that says ' Crush All Competition.'

And I figure that I'd look appropriate wearing this because this is how I'd probably feel at the event.

But it's all worth it if he wants to go to a girly chick-flick with me.

Voting with Hope!

I voted with Hope today - in more ways than one.

Well it's finally Election Day! Believe it or not, I'm not going to glue myself to the news tonight listening to the media give their lopsided view's of what's going on. I'll just check out the results in the morning.

I've done my part, researched the candidates and found out which side of the fence they hung their dirty laundry on. I'm hoping other voters did their own digging as well. But regardless of the outcome I have to hang onto Hope! Hope that American's voted the issues closest to their hearts and mindful of how their votes will impact their children now and in the future. Hope that American's didn't forget the values that made our country strong.

Sometimes the news is bleak and downright depressing. Sometimes it turns my stomach and I get discouraged. But I will never give up on Hope. I will continue to teach my children values and virtues at home which I know will be attacked by the world regardless of who wins. I will continue to serve my community no matter which political party is in charge of it. I will keep my family strong because without strong families our country would really be in sore shape. I will go on living with Hope today and each and every day hereafter.

So today I'm Thankful for the Freedom to Choose! I'm Thankful for those women who paved the way so that my voice could be heard. And I Hope and Pray that my fellow American's pick the candidates who will not forget God and the Blessings he has given us to be a part of this Great Country. And I can Hope you voted Too!

The only thing left for me to do now is Pray with Hope!

Thankful for Bloggy Busy-mess!

I've decided that only on one of my posts would you get both broken eggs and pearls.

Such is my life of late. I've been soooo busy lately I'm behind on a few things. But that's nothing new.

So to begin day three of my whole Thankful heart month - Can I just tell you all Thank you for the kind words you've said to me about my latest attempt at art on my last post. I have the nicest friends in the blogging world who say the nicest things. I'm really starting to believe everything you say.

Treasure Ann was sweet and gave me a really kind Blog Award which I will post more about later when I choose my own winners.

I'm also participating in my first ever Blog Swap and my creative juices are turning full power with excitement because I want to do a good job and the other participants seem so creative themselves. You can find out more about them here.

Finally there is the sweetest give-away of this...

from Peep Toe Pumps and Pearls in celebration of her 100th post. So go check her out and tell her kindly that I sent you.

I'll get back to you real soon - well as soon as I can clean up this...

and this...

And NO - I don't have a hideously yellow bathroom. Just a camera with a broken indoor flash. But again - I'm so grateful I still have a semi-functional camera and I know where to find my magic erasers.

They are my latest in gifts left to me from one of the most influential people I have known in my life. I'll explain this in a near future post as well. Happy Thankful Blogging to you all. And again, many thanks for the comments.

A Thankful Heart

I'm starting out November trying to focus on 'A Thankful Heart' each and every day of the month. Despite all the negative news with the economy, election, world turmoil; there are still so many things to be thankful for.

So what am I thankful for – Well basically every tootin’ thing.

I ended up staying home from church today with a sick child but being cooped up in the house wasn’t all that bad of a thing. I was able to spend a few hours and play with my water color pencils again. What do ya think of my active family?

And my dream cabin with clothes line and tire swing?



I was thinking of doing a cute blog cover that included our whole family pulling Santa’s Sleigh but I’m not going to press myself because there are so many other things to do. So if this picture stays up for the rest of the year at least I tried to put the Christmas star in the top corner.



Lea was sweet and took some pictures of me doing my thing. Outlining my sketch and then...

Coloring it in. Notice my nice messy hair!

And while I was doing mommy fun the girls painted some pictures of their own. Princess is drawing in the background. They were tickled pink because I let them use my water color pencils, but only with my supervision. Otherwise they are off limits.

It rained today – all day- and pretty hard at times. So I decided to be crazy!

I tried to talk the kids into doing this with me.

But it was cold and they wanted to watch the New Tinker Bell Movie. That and they really think I’m nuts sometimes.

Regardless I went outside and…

Danced.

In the Rain.

And yes it was cold but now I can say that I’ve danced in the rain. Barefoot mind you.

Yes I am a wee bit bonkers but it was kind of fun.

This week for my Christmas Countdown.

1. I’m nailing down the budget. And since Budget is a dirty word for me I’ll rephrase and evaluate our money and its in and out patterns and see if there isn’t a way to make a memorable holiday with no extra debt.
2. I’m also going to try and finish my Christmas cards. Not mail them mind you but fill them out.

3. That and I’ve got to clean-up my Halloween mess and painting-day-off mess.

But most importantly I’m going to focus on gratitude. Here are some other blogs that are doing similar Thankful focuses.

Mel's Thougths and What Nots! - Mel was sweet and alerted me to this next lady.

South Breeze Farm who has a link to all the other people who are playing along.