I'M BAAAACK.....

For those of you that asked

Did you take

THE PEARL

on your trip..

I am happy to report

the answer is

NO..

A Big FAT

NO.

THE PEARL

and I are not on speaking terms

right now..

because she looks like

THIS

Uh-huh...Do you see MyHero smiling?

He still thinks SHE is pretty cute..

Wait til the bills start rolling in..

the bills that will "fix" her..

Because NOW she still looks

like THIS

And I want her to look like

the one that Kelly

worked her magic on

over at

Rose Vine Cottage..

Here's her dinette

And here's her

Seating Area...

Oh yeah...baby..

That's what I want..

Please, please, please..

And..

Have you seen

Kelly's blog?
Eye Candy!

And she is lovely to boot!

So...

No..

We didn't take the

GMC Motorhome

but here we are

on the balmy shores

of Lake Superior..

What a tropical paradise...Oh~ Wait...

Are you confused?

Yeah?

Me too!

That is INSIDE

the hotel..

Here is what it really

looks like this time of year...And the only way you get to

see some parts of this

country is with this

loud gas burning

smelly..did I say loud... contraption..

snowmobile.

Trust me..

I do NOT

snowmobile.

You could not

pay me

to snowmobile..

Well...maybe you could

PAY ME

to snowmobile..

but I hope you have a

fat wallet!And...after a nice
relaxing afternoon

it is always good to

top the day off with

a little treat...

Ahhhh...there she is

Dairy Queen...

A nice cold treat

for a chilly day...

Oh....No.... What? It's not OPEN?

Seriously?

Well, then...I know just the place to go

for a little treat..

It's only 40 miles on treacherous

highways...that may have been

plowed...but...you know..we go

because...

Because why? Have you been

reading my blog?

We go BECAUSE

I Drive...and He Rides.

While he stares at the lovely

buildings in downtown

Marquette..I push through the city quickly

to get to MY favorite place.

Oh- Thank you, Lord, for

the souls that braved the cold

to open the doors for

someone like me!Well, that took up most of the morning.

Soon it is time to head to

Christmas, Michigan

which is located between

Marquette and Munising

(where we are staying).

Here it is folks..

Bet you never thought

you'd see a place called

Foggy's Bar- did you?

Me either...for the first

FIVE YEARS we

went up there I

thought it was

FROGGY'S BAR

because it was

close to a swampy area..

What do I know?

(don't answer that)We stopped to watch

The Green Bay Packers

play

The Chicago Bears.

We thought we would

have lots of good camaraderie

because we were in the UP

and they LOVE the Packers.

Unfortunately for us,

the place had been taken over

by CHICAGO BEAR FANS.

They came on snowmobiles..

They came by car..

WE were the ONLY

Packer fans in the whole place.

Seriously?

Yep!

We tried to keep a low

profile as we choked down

our GO PACK GO chant..

and mumbled something..

like Good Game Guys..

as we left...

Hahahahaha-Not really..

cuz we all KNOW

The Bears Can't Play

Football worth a darn~

And...we had to rush

home this morning

so that

MyHero

could get his paper..

And the big headline read

NFC CHAMPS

Yes..it WAS fun..

but you know what I

missed most?

I missed our own

little cheerleader..

cheering on

The Pack...

I hope she changed

her underwear

for the game since

last time!

Some of the above images are Google images

I'm Off

Now- You can take this

any way you like it..

Some of you that

KNOW me

will take it one way..

Others will simply

think I mean that

I am gone.

You are ALL right.

I am OFF...

but besides

THAT FACT..

I am gone

for the

weekend.

It isn't cold

enough in

Green Bay, WI.

We got almost

up to ZERO

today...a virtual

heatwave.

So..we are headed

North...further North.

I am tatooing the word

IDIOT

on my forehead

(backwards so I

can read it)..

I will be home

late Monday.

Have a cuppa

HOT coffee for

me, will ya?

A Special Request..

I know...

I know..

Seems like I am always

asking for something..

But this is not for me..

It's for our friend,

Cindy.

Cindy is the kind, sweet

soul that gives so

much of herself

in her blog

Cottage Instincts

Cindy gives..

but never asks...

she didn't ask for this

and now I have to go

tell her that I

ripped off her pictures

to post here..

but I did it for a reason.

I did it because...

Her beautiful Mom

is pictured below.

Her Mom has chosen

to undergo some

radical surgery.

A surgery that they

hope will save her

life.

A surgery that they

hope will give her

a fighting chance

to regain

her life..

to be

a normal

wife

and a

Mom

and a

Grandmother.

Her surgery was completed

today...and she needs

a miracle.

A miracle for this

surgery to work..

A miracle for another

chance at life..

A miracle for her

family.

Please add her to your prayer list.

You can read about

her journey here.

I thank you..

and I know that

Cindy

thanks you too.

And as Cindy is fond of saying.

okay. bye.

Debbie Will Be Home Tonight~

I got an update from

Laurie over at

Heaven's Walk.

about our friend,

Debbie from

House at the Lake

Those of you that have

been following along

know that Debbie

had some very

serious surgery..

and then a setback.

Laurie talked to her

today. She is feeling much

better and is on her way home

to finish her recovery.

Laurie said she was in

good spirits and seems

to be doing well.

God bless all of you

that have prayed for her

and all of you

that will continue to do so.

She has further test

results coming up

soon. Please pray

for a good report.

Love to all of you

wonderful ladies..

out in

BlogLand.

Diana

GO PACK GO-A SweetCheeks Tutorial~

Sweet Cheeks is going to

show you

How To Be A REAL

Packer Cheerleader!

Furst you needa

uniforhm...

Just lihke this one..

Only get one in

Yoarh owhn size~

cuz thiss one wohn't

fit yoah~

Then yoah needa

MEGAPHONE

an'

Mahke shure it iss

the rwright coloarh

to match yoah

unihforhm.

First look

inside to make sure

no one has lodged

anything in there that

might slip down

your throat and choke you.

Try it on for size

in case you want to use it

as a shoe

after the game.

It makes a nice

statement as a bracelet..

And it is always nice

to check out the

competition..Okay-This is...

The Rheal Way to ussse it

Right, Nana?

Yep!

Then shout at the top of

yoah voice..

GO PACK GO..

(or my personal favorite)

STOP TALKING GUYS!And...after a hard

lung workout..

every

cheerleader needs

A BEER..

Uh...

That would be a

Root Beer.This little cheerleader

has cheered herself

out.

She is tired and

climbs into Mom's arms

for a big hug and

snuggle~

The end of a perfect

game.

And, oh yeah...

the one thing I forgot to mention..

when you wear a

short cheerleader's outfit..

you need the perfect

undergarments..

Perfect...Absolutely perfect~

Update On Debbie 1/18-Please Pray

Please continue to pray for

Debbie.

If you are new

you can find out more

here.

She has been in

tremendous pain

since her surgery

and homecoming.

She has an infection

now and is back

in the hospital...

PLEASE PRAY

for a

quick recovery.

They still don't

have all her test

results back yet either..

so say a prayer

for good results too.

Thank You~We are holding you in our hearts, Debbie....

Packing It In

Phffffttt..

Did you think you were

going to open my blog

and see me eating

a big bowl of

Macaroni and Cheese?

Cuz' we all know how

Wisconsinites like to

PACK IT IN,

don't we?

Nope..

Not today..
Remember this picture

in front of the secret storage area?

Remember me hauling all these

Christmas dishes out from

the

Hidden Storage Area

and putting them in

my built in hutch?

Well, everything has been cleared

and put away....

the trees are gone..

the Santas are gone..

and all the

Christmas decorations

are put away..

except for

The Dishes..

Time to lay those

babies to rest until

next year.

Now..here's a hint for you..

If you DO pack dishes

away...

Did you know that

coffee filters make the

perfect little

cushion between

each plate, saucer

and cup?

Huh?You can use bleached filters..

or unbleached...

take your pick..Here they are..

all packed away for next year...Going...Going..Gone...My regular china is

back in place..

with a couple of little

faux mercury

baubles to

give them a bit of shine...I am a happy camper..

well...I don't really camp.....

YET...

but that is a story for another day...

I am taking the last little lonely

Christmas towel down the steps..

I am congratulating myself

on getting all

De-Christmased..

When lo and behold..

What do I see on the

lower landing?Aw.....Crap!

Maybe I'll just leave it until next year~

Or...

Maybe not!

Here Comes The Bride(s)

As most of you know

and the rest of you can probably guess...

We have a dress up area

in our house.

It is tucked under the stairwell

to the basement....

and covered by a curtain

that changes with the season.

It houses dresses for

special occasions..

VERY special occasions..

Like Princesses balls,

And tea with the

Queen Mother

AND

most importantly...

It houses a collection of wedding

dresses that makes Dior

wonder who is stocking this shop.

We have wedding dresses

(some look suspiciously like

First Communion dresses)

to suit any style of wedding

Here are the three

Brides-In-Waiting..

watching a bit of

TV whilst

waiting for

their

Photo Shoot.First up is the

Beaming Bride,

Lovely Lulu.

Lulu poses so much like

her Mom used to that

it is eerie...

Isn't she beautiful?

Next we have the

Radiant Ria..

She has designed her own

wedding dress....

nothing on the rack

seemed

"quite right"

This involves an old silk

dress of mine and

an apron with lace edging.

She is quite happy with

her choice..

Partly because she scored

THE VEIL..

You know, the one

EVERYONE wants

but only one can wear?

And...Last but certainly

NOT LEAST..

We have the

Somber little

SweetCheeks
Whatever is the matter, SweetCheeks?

I doan't lihke my vheil cuz it hurrtses

my heahd.

Well, take it off..

No cuz then I won't be a rweal bwride.

uh..huh...I see your dilemma.

Well, SweetCheeks...I think that

you are just a

beautiful bride. Do you suppose

that someday when you get married

I can sit right up front in the first row?

Noh!

Why not...

Cuz yoah haffta sitt way in the bachk.

I don't want to sit in the back.

Welllll...thenn..yoah can sit in the

(counting and pointing now)

THURD row bachk.

How come I have to sit 3 rows back?

Cuz yoah are gonna laff or sumthin'

and yoah can't sitt up front if yoah laff.

Got it?

Yep! I got it!

Well...at least she didn't tell me I was

going to be dead this time..

like she did last time...

Things are looking up~

It's A Hairy Subject

There's our little

SweetCheeks..

She had dark hair

from babyhood on..

the only one in the family

with Daddy's hair.

(Well, it's not really HIS hair-I mean-

he does have his OWN hair..

hers just looks like his)It grew out a lot by

the time she was two..

and Mom kept it tamed by

putting it in pigtails. At three she liked it braided..

or configured into

grand hair schemes like this..

sometimes..

Or~ pulled off to the side

with a bow..But then..

Then...

THEN..

Her hair got

outta control..

Kinda like one of those

crazy wind up toys that

you put in place

and never know

WHERE it is going..

Like

CRAZY BED HEADSo, just before Christmas..

I got a surprise..

A wonderful surprise..

SweetCheeks got her first

real haircut..

She was just a little

shy showing it off

for the camera.

I think it suits her sassy little

personality.

I told her I would take her

someplace special..

so

She got all dressed up to

go to

Barnes & Nobles

with Nana..

and took Big Sister's doll..

(that was all dressed up too)

shhhhhh...What's the matter,

SweetCheeks?

Her losted hurr shoe!

Doan't leaff wiffout her shoe, Nana.

I won't don't worry..

An' doan't leaff

wiffout me!

I won't..

I would never leave without you!I won't tell you that we never made

Barnes & Nobles but we

DID

make

STARBUCKS...yes, indeedy~

So...while I love our little girl

with her

sweet new haircut..Sometimes I kind of miss

the sweet little

Princess with the

long flowing hair...Or...

DO I?