Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Button Button-Who Has The Button?

My little helper,
SweetCheeks,
decided to sort buttons
for me.

We set up muffin tins...
one for each color....
In between sorting and
watching Dora The Explorer
I think she was trying
to slip this one in her
shirt and take it home.
Here we go..
all sorted for future use.
These were part of
the things left behind
when
Grandmother Clara
passed away.
This is only part of them
but look at some of these beauties.
She was a horsewoman so there
are lots of "horsey" buttons...
And she was a modern woman
for her times...and liked
geometric patterns..
And she was a grand dresser
so had lots of glitzy buttons...
We found some hand made
pink ones- each one a bit different
than the next.
I think these are pretty
unique.  They have small dyed
seashells encased in plastic.
And who doesn't need at least
ONE TURTLE BUTTON?
Big...about 2" across...
So, we have this box
buttoned up, so to speak.

What?
What do you mean you thought
I was talking about
BELLY BUTTONS?

Well, here's a picture of
MY OWN BELLY BUTTON
taken after tanning in
Florida.
Last picture?
Yeahhhh....
TOTAL LIE!

However mine looks
JUST LIKE THAT ONE
minus the jewelry...
yeah...
after THAT...
I'm thinking I might be
pretty good at this game..
Anyone up for a game?
Anyone?
anyone-
your photo name

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Happy Birthday Ria


Yesterday was Ria's Birthday.
She turned 8!
How can that be?
It seems like just yesterday 
she was a tiny baby
and now here she is
8 YEARS OLD!

Her regular birthday party
will be at 
Happy Joe's Pizza place
on Wednesday
but MyHero & I
 decided to celebrate
her special day on her real birth day.

Ria is a very sweet little girl.
She is the first one to rush 
over to give you a kiss
and tell you she loves you...
Well....unless SweetCheeks
pushes her away.

Here she is at age 3
when she was a flower girl..
Look at those eyes and 
that naturally curly hair.

Last year she had her 
birthday party
at Snips & Giggles
and they made her curls
even curlier.
But last night,
everything was simplified.
Mom made spaghetti
and cupcakes
and MyHero and I 
enjoyed a little
early evening party.
Do you know what Ria likes?
Not toys!
She likes clothes!
LOVES clothes.
For her 3rd birthday and 
every birthday since
she has wanted clothes.
Oh...and shoes...
Did I mention shoes?
Can you see her owies from
wearing her flip flops in
Orlando?

We ended the night with cupcakes
and a mini-cake.
It looked wonderful-
although I didn't eat any.
Thank you, Ria,
for sharing your birthday with us.
And while you were looking up 
with Lulu and smiling
while Mom took your picture,
SweetCheeks was trying to figure
out how she could blow the candles
out before you did
without getting scolded.
Cuz she is just
THAT KID!
And she is 
YOUR LITTLE SISTER!

Hmmmmmm....
I think you should get a special
birthday present just
for that!

God bless you, honey...
We love you to the 
moon and back!
your photo name

Monday, February 27, 2012

Don't Kiss Butts -Advice From SweetCheeks

I had one day home
after vacation-
A Down Day
to get caught up on mail,
and laundry,
and readjust to
REAL LIFE.
Then,
the phone rang and there
was a DEAL in the works.
IF I would take
SweetCheeks for the day,
I would get a free
Starbucks handed to me
when I picked her up.
Hmmmm..
That amounts to about
25 cents per hour if you
want to break it down.
But the LAUGHS can't be
counted out in cash.
It sounds like a deal to me.
I pick our
SweetCheeks up.
She is accompanied by
her new best friend,
Corinda.
Don't ask...never heard the
name before myself.
At least she has dumped
her constant companion,
Rainbow!
As you can see,
Corinda likes the
that I made.
AND, one can take MORE COOKIES
if there are two people eating them.
Hmmmm..
Corinda looks like a big eater to me.
Hey- SweetCheeks-I thought you
ate YOUR cookies.
I dihd, Nana.
Corinda dusn't reahlly lihke them
but she touched 'em so now I
gotta eaht 'em.
Uh-huh...
Well, that makes perfect sense to me!
Nana?
Yes, honey?
Lookit my bayby's outfit.
Yep! That is really cute, SweetCheeks.
Doo yohu see thihs, Nana?
Lookit her buhtt.
It's goht a khissing heart on it
Really? Is that what that is?
Who told you that?
Corinda did!
Really?
Yohu know whut else, Nana?
What?
Yohu should nevefr kiss anybody's buhtt.
No kidding?
Seeeriously, Nana!
Yohu should nevefr do that cuz iht's gross.
Ehspecially a bayby's buhtt
cuz they ahlways haf poop on them.
(I start laughing)
SEERIOUSLY, Nana!
Thihs is NOTT funny!
Don't kiss buhtts!
Trust me~ I WON'T!

Yeah...and yohu shuldn't
kiss boobies, either!
Hmmm...
Do you suppose I should have told
her I have kissed a few
boobs in my life?...
and I'm not talking girls here
if you know what I mean!
your photo name

Sunday, February 26, 2012

BLOVE IT IS-I Added A Button For You To Grab

WELL!
By Golly,
I think I have done it!
 I got such a response to 
my new word that
I am just putting it out there.

BLOVE
You know there are
all different kinds of love,
aren't there?

The kind you feel for your spouse...
The kind you feel for your kids...
The kind you feel for your grand kids...
The kind you feel for your friends...

However,
that kind of love is different
than the one I feel for my 
BLOGGING FRIENDS.

It is a special kind of love
based on what the blogger shares
of herself (or himself).
A love that grows from 
words and images that appear 
on the computer.

We will probably never meet
most of the bloggers
we get to know
as they share their lives
here on the screen with us.
But as a follower,
I find that I love you all in
a very special way.
A Blogging Love way...

So, folks....
BLOG+LOVE= BLOVE..
And, Laura at
White Spray Paint
 said...
I was  Bloverly !

So..there you have it.
I have coined it
but you can 
ALL USE IT
free of charge!;>)

Now go out there and tell
others and send them over
here.
Tell them to sign up as a follower
and let me know you sent them over.
And, for doing that~
 I will do 
BLOVE GIVEAWAY.
Believe me~
It will be 
BLOVERLY!
Thanks to Tete
BeyondThe GardenGate
I have a button for you
to grab.
Please grab it and pass it on.

I don't know what it is gonna be
but all you have to do 
is sign up as a follower
and use BLOVE in a sentence.
Get creative, folks.
'Course doesn't matter
how great your usage is
your name goes in the hat
and Princess SweetCheeks
gets to draw the name.

I will close the drawing 
on St. Patrick's Day...
seems fitting seeing
as I am a bit Irish and all.

And, as always,
Thanks for reading all 
my nonsense!
BLOVE YOU!
your photo name

Saturday, February 25, 2012

WOW! What A Welcome Home

Bloggers Are The Best!
This is a couple days late
because, as most of you know,
I lost my camera.
I had to beg back the one
I gave my hubby.
It works....sorta!
When I got home and went to
pick up our mail I got a
pleasant surprise.
Two wonderful ladies
had sent me two wonderful
packages.
The first one was
from Elaine-At Home With Elaine-
She is just the dearest soul.
Pop by if you have the chance.
What did she send?
Well~
A sweet box
with these lovely things in it.
A darling frame with
Nana on it.
(Nana things are hard to find)
I have to find the perfect picture
to put in it.
Don't you love the saying?
That's not ALL that was in there.
Nope!
There was also a little notebook
to carry in my purse
and a pinwheel.
I have a special place for the pinwheel
that I shared with Elaine.
And last, but certainly not least,
the sweetest little purse with
2 Russell Stover Chocolate Caramels
in it
AND
LOOK ON TOP OF THE PURSE.
Is that the cutest thing ever?
Can you see this as a bow for
SweetCheeks hair?
Can you see a hair bow there?
I can and that is exactly what
I am going to do with it.
The second package was equally
delightful.
I got it a bit after
Valentine's Day because
we were gone.
My friend, Donna,
fondly known as
The Glitter Queen,
sent me a wonderful,
sweet, handmade
Valentine
AND
a lovely wall hanging.
She puts so much love and effort
into each and every piece of
work she does.
I have been lucky enough to be
gifted with a few of her
beautiful items.
A little close up of the card.
She uses this lovely old seam binding
on most of her projects.
And I love this little flower on the bottom.
I can't say enough
Thank Yous!
You two ladies are
something special!
I love the friendships I have
made across the miles.
What a blessing to
have friends that think about me..
that know what I like...
that care enough to
send a bit of sweet love to me.
I am always a bit taken aback...
and humbled...
and don't feel worthy sometimes.
I think I feel
BLOVE
for everyone that I have met
blogging.
Should I coin that word?
Blog+Love= BLOVE.
Do you suppose that will ever
make into Webster's dictionary?
Will they pay me to use it?
Should I quit my day job and
make up new words?
S'NOT
(ie-S'NOT a good idea to quit
my job and make up words)
See what I mean?
I feel a whole new career coming on!
your photo name

Friday, February 24, 2012

Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies- Knock Off Recipe

I did do a post on this
in my early days of blogging.
But~because I made these
again today as a
Special Treat
for MyHero,
I decided it was a recipe
worth repeating.

These are
FAST & EASY
and you only need
TWO INGREDIENTS!

First of all you need
Andes Mints.
Now, just in case there are
any NON COOKS out there,
I will say that you need to
UNWRAP all those little suckers!
Then, put them in a microwave safe dish
and nuke them until they are melted.
My oven takes about 1 minute and 20 seconds.
Stir the melted chocolate so it
is smooth, baby, smooth.

Then unwrap a sleeve of
RITZ CRACKERS.
Yes, that is right-
Ritz Crackers.
Dip each one into the melted
chocolate using a fork and
shaking off all the excess
chocolate.

DO NOT
 put them on a
cookie cooling rack.
WHY?  Did you ask me WHY?
Well, because they come off looking like this!
Yeah- live and learn from a blond!

Sooo..Instead of doing that
BUTTER a piece of tinfoil.
When cooled you can pick the
cookies up and they look like this.
The one on the left is the top,
the one on the right is the back.
Now - if you want the real thing
you can always go here.

What's the
BEST PART
about these cookies?
Watching someone eat them.
He will get right on it...
right after he finishes the roll in his hand!

Now...let's see....I made him
cookies- He OWES me.
I'll take cash or a gift card-
His Choice!




your photo name

Thursday, February 23, 2012

SweetCheeks Blog - Video

SweetCheeks has informed me
that she is going to write
her own blog.

She seems pretty excited about it.
This clip is less than
10 seconds long.

The last
SASSY WORD
for your listening pleasure
is
BRAT HEAD.
Remind me to
beat her next
time she pops over.
your photo name

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

WAIT~What Is That Noise?

One of the best parts of
being together on vacation
is the interplay
of family.
Some good.
Some REALLY good.
Some NOT SO good.
We will concentrate on the good
ones here.
Here is my sweet
daughter-in-love.
She hears something...but what?
Oh look-
It is TheBrawnyMan...
Who knew?
Hey...big guy....
Don't quit your day job just yet.

We also have another
sweet interaction.
SweetCheeks "reads" to
BigBoyE.
He is all ears but knows every word on the page.
She can't fool him.

His Daddy thinks he is pretty special, too.

The little girls got along beautifully.
But then Ria ran away...
SweetCheeks walked away
Leaving our sweet Lulu all by herself for a moment.

Don't you love her shirt?
It says
Girls Can Change The World.
I say..
AMEN.

Thank you for patiently
following my family around
on our vacation.
I might not always tell you but
I REALLY APPRECIATE
each and every one of you
that visit and take the time to comment.
I know that it is a wonderful gesture
and takes time in an already
time-stressed world.
I am grateful....
and humbled...
and think you are awesome.

Now...Read that
TShirt again
and go out and change the world...

well...except for you GUYS..
and you know who you are...
you can just sit in your easy chairs
and watch us.
Yeah...
Amen...


your photo name

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

I've Lost It- Completely Lost It- HELP

When we were part way home
I went to dig out my 
camera to take a
picture of
BigBoyE & CharlesInCharge.

NO CAMERA!
PANIC!
I had the case but
WHERE-OH-WHERE
did my camera go?

I called all the family
members first thinking
someone had picked it up by 
mistake.

NO CAMERA!
I called the resort we
had stayed at to see
if someone had turned it in.

NO CAMERA!
We checked with the
hotels that we stayed at along 
the way.

This is the last picture
I took before my
camera got up and
WALKED AWAY.

3 little girls with their Daddy.
Ria glancing back.
Did she know it was
the last time she was going
to see my camera?
NO CAMERA!

So...here's my question for you.
I need a good camera.
EASY TO USE.
EASY enough so I can point and click
if I need a quick picture.
Not too expensive.
Not too fragile.
Any ideas?
Anyone?

I guess I will have to dig
out my OLD CAMERA
and see if I can get a picture
out of that now.

UGH!
Hey- At least I have a 
NICE CASE!

I am off to Starbucks
for my morning
CUPPA CHEER.
Hope I don't lose my underwear
on the way there!;>)

ps.  I will be back around visiting
everyone after I get unpacked,
do the laundry,
and figure out how I went from
palm trees to snow.
I'm blond so it might take a while~
your photo name