Remembering The Moments

Balloons Above The Valley!

2010-12-04T07:42:00.037-06:00

Another early wake-up!

But, it didn't matter once we found out that we were definitely going up that morning! The crew from Balloons Above the Valley said it was perfect flying conditions! YAY!

Once we arrived at the launch site, we waited in groups for all of the balloons to be inflated.

I was so excited, I was doing happy dances! Mr. Mister? He was still wondering what he had gotten himself into! LOL!

It was amazing to see all of the balloons come to life. They were all so colorful.

First group taking off!

We were in one of the last groups. They were just starting to inflate our balloon.

The whole time we were standing there, I kept saying to myself, please let us have one of the pretty rainbow colored balloons. NOT the blue, black, & yellow one! But, guess what? No rainbow colors for us! We got "in your face" BOLD baby!

All of them were beautiful to watch.

Finally, we weren't just watching anymore! We loaded into our basket, felt the blast of heat on our faces, and headed thousands of feet into the sky. It was so peaceful. The ride was extremely smooth. It was AWESOME!

At times we would float higher than some of the others. LOVED the tops of the balloons!

The sun was still rising, and there was haze/fog in the San Fransisco direction, but the views were amazing.

The shadow of our balloon on the side of the hill.

Being up in the air, floating above Napa Valley, is an experience we will never forget. It was so worth it! Thank you babe, for being with me, and making it possible to check another item off my bucket list!

V. Sattui Winery!

2010-11-29T19:35:00.021-06:00

After a little rest, and some much needed nourishment, we decided to visit V. Sattui Winery before it closed for the evening.

We were honestly surprised at how early the wineries closed. I guess we thought that since it was Napa, that they would all stay open later than they did.

V. Sattui is one of the most popular wineries in Napa Valley. And for good reason!

The grounds are filled with breathtaking views.

As we walked up the pathway towards the winery, my eyes were instantly drawn to this plant laden arbor. It just seemed to go on forever.

While glancing around, taking in how lush and green everything was, I noticed that all of the pathways were edged with shrubs, and rose bushes.

It felt like we had entered a "Secret Garden."

Slowly, we continued up the path, until we came upon the most magnificent, ivy covered, cottage I have ever seen! (In real life, anyway! LOL!)

It looked like something straight out of a fairytale.

I just gotta say right now, that for me, going wine tasting isn't just about the wine, it's also about the ambiance, and the feeling that is being created.

The "photographer" in me likes seeing the "pretty" wineries, so that I can take lots of pictures, to OOOH and AAAH over, when I get back home.

Do I even need to tell you that, this winery was putting me in my "happy" place, before I even walked through the door to taste their wine. LOL!

Speaking of walking through doors.....

Once we walked through those wonderful doors, we were standing in their gourmet cheese shop and deli.

This is one of the things that makes V. Sattui so special. You can go through, pick what you would like to feast on, purchase it, and then proceed outside to have a picnic, while enjoying a bottle of wine. V. Sattui is the only winery that offers food, and a picnic area.

Mr. Mister and I, should have came here to eat, and relax, instead of grabbing some KFC, and heading back to our room! LOL!

Just past the Deli is the wine tasting room. There is a large wine tasting counter in the center of the room, and wine tasting counters around the edges as well.

I didn't take a lot of pictures inside, because we were running out of time, and wanted to get a tasting in before we left.

We tasted, we liked, we bought!!! Although, this time we were smart, and had them mail it directly to our home. LOL!

Back outside, I came across the picnic area.

AHHH! To sit there and laze away the day. PARADISE!

They also have an outdoor courtyard for weddings and receptions.

Isn't it beautiful?

Who knew that every winery in Napa Valley, and the surrounding area, would be so beautiful?

I sure didn't!

Castello di Amorosa!

2010-11-28T19:37:00.062-06:00

Since first deciding to spend our Anniversary in Napa, I knew Castello di Amorosa was the one winery I HAD to visit.

As a true replica of a medieval castle, it took 14 years to build. The masonry, ironwork, and woodwork, were all hand crafted using old world techniques. Building materials included 8,000 tons of locally quarried stone, in addition to paving stones, terra cotta roofing tiles, and approximately 850,000 bricks imported from Europe.

Many authentic features were included while building the castle. For instance, there is a moat, a drawbridge, defensive towers, a courtyard, a chapel, and a torture chamber!

I knew it was going to be an amazing tour.

I absolutely fell in LOVE with all of the doors. There is just something about huge, thick, wooden doors, that speaks to my soul. LOVE THEM!

Even the smallest details were seen to.

The tour took us into the lower levels of the castle. This was when I asked our tour guide if he was leading us to a room full of hungry vampires!!! His reply was............."You never know!" OK! Major EERIE feeling! LOL!

We walked down long hallways.

Passed, hundreds of barrels of wine.

And, caught glimpses of a room, filled with old bottles, that were locked behind an iron gate.

Then, we entered this room!

Ya know, the typical room, where the knights would store their weapons, and armor.

Except, this room had a grate, covering a hole in the ground. Curious to see what was in the hole, I looked between the iron grid work, and saw this.

A visual display of what people endured, deep in the bowels of castles everywhere!

Hmmmm! Makes you wonder what's in the next room!

(Mommy? Why don't kids ever want to come and play at our house anymore?)

Moving on.....

This is a 300 year old "Iron Maiden" torture device. Dario Sattui, the owner of Castello di Amorosa, is said to have purchased it in Pienza, Italy, for $13,000 dollars.

It consists of an iron cabinet, with a hinged front, that is tall enough to enclose a human being. It usually has a small closeable opening so that the torturer can interrogate the victim, and torture or kill them, by piercing the body with sharp objects (such as knives, spikes or nails), while he or she is forced to remain standing.

Fun times!!!

I guess it wasn't all bad, it appears they offered their own medieval form of acupuncture to help relieve some of the pain afterwards. The prisoners had their choice of the table, or a chair to relax in while the went through the procedure.

Almost through the room now, stay close please, we don't want to lose anyone down here. Sometimes, it's takes hours for us to find them again!

Keep walking......

OH LOOK! More barrels! And, long halls!

This is the barrel cellar, we stopped here for a mini tasting. Good thing, too, after all the horrors we imagined happening in the last room! We all needed a nice, long, sip.

Our tour guide, siphoning wine, straight out of the barrel.

From there, the group was ushered to it's own private tasting area.

Where our wonderful tour guide poured whatever we chose to try.

This is also where he pulled out the dark chocolate with sea salt, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven! They had worked with the Le Belge Chocolatier company to come up with special packaging of the chocolate bars, so that they had a picture of a castle on the front of them. You can also find the chocolate bars on the Le Belge Chocolatier website. They are considered one of the artisan bars.

The tasting room was combined with a gift shop. They had so many treasures to look at.

But, we tried to control ourselves, since this was our first day visiting wineries.

We only purchased a few bottles of wine.

OHHH! And, six dark chocolate with sea salt candy bars! =)

By this time, we were pretty tired of walking, and hungry for some "real" food. So we went out the side doors, and headed toward the parking lot.

Of course, I had to take a couple more shots of the castle as we made our way down the path.

It was truly AWESOME to see! Definitely worth signing up for the tour.

One more beautiful winery checked off the list. Several more to go!

Chateau Montelena Winery!

2010-11-26T15:23:00.020-06:00

Chateau Montelena is the actual winery that the 2008 movie "Bottle Shock" is based off of.

Such a beautiful place! LOOK at all of the wonderful ivy growing up the side of the building! LOVE IT! (This was actually quite common for the wineries in the Napa area.)

The grounds were so peaceful, that we could have easily spent hours, wandering around, taking it all in.

Come along! I'll give you a peak or two! (Or five, or ten! LOL)

Isn't it awesome? Are you relaxed now? We totally were! Until, we realized that we needed to scadoodle so that we could make our 1:00 appointment to tour Castello Di Amorosa!

We'll meet up with you at the next winery! OK?

Old Faithful Geyser Of California!

2010-11-23T16:43:00.040-06:00

Since we were waiting for the wineries to open, we thought it would be fun to check out the Old Faithful Geyser of California.

When we arrived, we had just missed seeing it go off. The next eruption wasn't due to happen for approximately 30 minutes, so we decided to walk around and check things out.

This is what it looks like in between eruptions.

Not really much to look at!

The geyser has several smaller eruptions as the pressure builds up. But, it likes to take it's time, and fake you out a few times, before it really decides to let loose!

There were many false alarms, where we would rush to get the camera pointed in the right direction, only to have it cough, and spit a little, then calm back down as it mocked us from it's hot, molten magma filled cavities, deep within the earth.

But, eventually, it started to bubble again!

Gurgle!! Hiss!! Sputter!! Splash!!

This might be it!

Going! GOING?

OOOOOH! It's the big one! You hear that Elizabeth?

And, there she BLOWS! Sending steam and scalding water 60 to 100 feet into the air!

LOOK! A rainbow wanted in on the action!

The Old Faithful Geyser of California is one of three geysers in the world with the designation "old faithful." These are the geysers that perform at regular intervals. A geyser exists only where conditions are right. These conditions include a natural deep subterranean supply of water, a source of heat and a series of fissures, fractures and cavities that provide a path to the surface of the earth. Surrounding rock formations must be strong enough to maintain continual onslaughts of the intense pressure of steam and water explosions. (This paragraph of information was taken from the website.)

While we were waiting, I saw this Pampas grass and couldn't resist taking a few pictures.

Isn't it GORGEOUS?

I LOVED the way the light was shining through it!

Of course, the geyser experience wouldn't be complete without seeing a few sheep and llamas!

HUH? What? Sheep and llamas?

YEP! Don't know why! But, we took pictures! LOL!

Look at those eyes!

We interrupted breakfast!

Don't forget my breakfast!

Forget breakfast! Can I get a toothbrush! PLEASE!

Still Not Done!

2010-11-21T16:59:00.015-06:00

Well, I am no longer climbing up the side of scaffolding like a monkey, but I still haven't finished all of the painting that needs to be done. The upstairs hallway is only half finished, and I have lost the desire to ever paint again! Whose brilliant idea was that anyway? Hmmmm......... never mind!

Since our last chat, my husband and I have been having some FUN! We spent our 25th anniversary in Napa, California. It was wonderful!

The day we arrived, I got to experience my very first spa treatment at Amadeus Spa. (Picture is from internet)

SO FUN! I'm not comfortable with the whole massage thing, but I did get a facial, pedicure, and manicure. Now, I'm addicted to this kind of pampering, and cannot wait to go again. My poor husband doesn't know the Pandora's box he has opened! LOL!

On our actual anniversary, we had lunch on the Napa Valley Wine Train.

When we arrived at the train station they loaded everyone up on a bus, and then we headed to Raymond Vineyards for a tour, and tasting. After we finished there, they took us to a different location, where we boarded the train.

We were seated with an amazing couple from Australia.

We enjoyed chatting with them so much during the meal, that we pretty much forgot to look at any of the gorgeous scenery rolling past our window. They were so sweet! They even bought a bottle of champagne to share with us for our anniversary.

After we got back to the hotel, I was poking fun at my husband about going on a hot air balloon ride, because while we were sitting outside eating breakfast earlier that morning, we looked up and saw several balloons floating above us. As we watched them drifting by, I told him that we should have been up there with them. He knew that going on a hot air balloon ride had been on my "bucket list" for a long time, so he told me to go to the concierge desk and book it! WHOO HOO! I don't think he even finished getting the words out of his mouth before I was out the door, and heading to the main lobby of the hotel! LOL!

The next morning we had to get up at 4:30 to be ready for our 6:00 pick up in front of the hotel. I was so stinkin' excited as we piled into the large van with Balloons Above The Valley printed on the side and started the drive toward the meeting place. There was a group of SEVEN sisters in the seats in front of us, who were just as excited as we were. They had planned their vacation together, and this was one of the main things they had wanted to do. We arrived at the building, where we were offered coffee and pastries while we waited. One of the pilots gathered us around him and started talking about how things worked. We learned that it needs to get cold at night, so that the balloons can rise. Well, it didn't get very cold the night before so I began to worry a little bit. Then he started telling us about the dangers of flying when the winds were too high, and that even though it didn't appear to be very windy on the ground, that it was actually quite windy higher up. Which lead to him saying that they didn't feel comfortable flying that day. We totally understood the reasons why they couldn't go up, but we were still disappointed. (BIG TIME!) The sisters said that they were leaving the next day, so they couldn't sign up again. But, we decided to take our chances and hope for better conditions.

Since the balloon ride wasn't happening, we needed to find something else to do until our 1:00 pm appointment to tour Castello Di Amorosa, Napa's premier castle winery. So, we decided to go see the Old Faithful Geyser, and visit Chateau Montelena Winery.

All I can say is WOW! We took SO MANY pictures, that I am going to need to break it all down into smaller, more manageable posts. Believe me, it will be total picture overload! LOL! So, PLEASE check back, because I still need to go through and resize/edit all of them.

Reach For The Ceiling!

2010-09-15T10:07:00.004-05:00

This is where I am spending all of my time right now!

No! It's NOT fun!

We realized that Home Depot was our friend when we just couldn't hop up on the ladder and reach our 22' ceiling. They rent scaffolding. YAY!

AND, it was only $71.00 for a week! You can't beat that!

Now, I am off to Lowe's to buy two more gallons of paint, because the six we already had isn't going to be enough!

Feeling A Little Woozie!

2010-09-12T16:03:00.011-05:00

A while back, Mr. Mister and I were sitting and enjoying a glass or two (OK! A bottle or two!) of wine at Hidden Lake Winery, when we saw a lady with something wrapped around her wine glass.

I stopped by her table to ask her what it was. She replied that it was a "Woozie."

You know, like a Koozie for your beer cans. But, it's made for your wine glass. I thought it was hilarious, and told Mr. Mister that I wanted one!

We checked inside the winery, but they didn't sell them. Of course, I found something else I thought was so stinkin' cute, that I just "had" to buy four of them. (You know I couldn't pass up the buy four save more deal!) LOL!

They are flip flop coasters!

Well, a couple of weeks later, we went to a wine tasting at Olivia's with the neighbors, and I was so excited when I saw that they were selling the Woozies in their store. In a FOUR pack! YAY! Now, I don't have to get Woozie all by myself! LOL!

After bringing my new treasures home, and placing them on the counter next to my previously purchased flip flop coasters, I noticed that the colors matched. So, now our wine glasses are totally making a fashion statement!

Aren't we just about the coolest, hippest people you know? LOL!

OK! I have to get back to painting the ceiling, which is definitely not as fun as drinking wine.

Honey? Is the Moscato d'Asti chilling in the refrigerator?

I promise not to drink while I'm up on the scaffolding!

It's SOUP time!

2010-09-10T11:09:00.004-05:00

YEAH! It's time to for a big pot of soup to be simmering on the stove! It's rainy and a little bit chilly today, so we have decided to have some Spicy Sausage Lentil Soup tonight. We first tried this soup at Carrabba's restaurant, and LOVED it! Once we got home, I looked online and found a "clone" recipe.

We are heading out to the store to get all of the ingredients to make it. There are a lot, but it is so worth the effort.

Of course, we will have fresh warm bread to go with it! YUM! I am drooling just thinking about it!

I am going to eat fruit & vegetables for lunch so that I can save most of my Weight Watcher's points for dinner tonight! Then, I am going to get my NOM NOM NOM NOM on! LOL!

Here is the recipe if you want to have soup tonight too. (Recipe is from Food.com)

Carrabba's Spicy Sausage Lentil Soup - Clone

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onions, chopped
3/4 cup carrots, grated
1 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb Italian sausage, spicy hot and in bulk
1/2 cup ham, diced
7 cups water
5 cups chicken broth
1 lb lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
Directions
Heat olive oil in large soup pot. Add onion, carrot, garlic, and sausage to the pot, Saute for 8 minutes, stirring often. Break up the sausage into small bits as it cooks.
Add ham and cook for an additional minute.
Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 hour.

Happy Soup Eating!

A Summer Full Of Projects!

2010-09-09T11:08:00.022-05:00

So, I still haven't made any of those delicious looking cupcakes mentioned in my last post. (YES! That was almost five months ago!) Summer is almost over, and I have been to several BBQ's. (We even hosted the 4th of July BBQ at our house.) But, NO YUMMY CUPCAKES were made!

However, I did make other things that were equally fattening, and had the taste buds groaning with pleasure! LOL!

Of course, I can't eat any of those things now, because I have started Weight Watchers for the hundred millionth time. It's a viscous cycle I tell ya! VISCOUS!

We have been super busy with projects around the house this summer.

Things like:

Digging huge holes in our back yard so that we could have a concrete pad poured.

Mr. Mister REALLY enjoyed that part! ME? NOT SO MUCH!

This is about when I started panicking! What in the world were we thinking? We will never have a semi-normal ugly backyard again! It was CHAOS! And, Mr. Mister was having a REALLY REALLY good time digging in the dirt.

He didn't even stop to get me a paper bag to hyperventilate into! The PUNK!

Obviously, I survived. And the backyard has improved immensely. We are still tweaking things to get it the way we want it. But, there is now a 13' X 27' concrete pad sitting in that area.

We also had to re-stain the deck because it looked horrible.

It's pretty much the same color, but looks A LOT better now. We bought some new furniture, and a really cool gazebo to provide some MUCH needed shade, and absolutely LOVE sitting out there now.

Especially, at night, when the candles on the chandelier are lit!

(Picture of gazebo and chandelier are from the internet.)

We took down the railings on the front porch to make it feel more open.

We also replaced our old, decrepit mailbox.

But, that's not all. When Mr. Mister went out of town I painted our bathroom, and the fireplace. (YES! I painted the ugly brick! I can hear the gasps of horror from all of the painted brick haters! LOL!) It sure doesn't look like this anymore.

Of course, after I painted the fireplace white, that led to changing the paint color in the living room, halls, and going up the stairs. Which then led to having to paint the mirror above the fire place. Now, all of the decor items need to be redone as well! It's the snowball effect! TOTALLY! All because we wanted things to be more "light and airy!"

I am beginning to think "light and airy" is seriously overrated! LOL! Just Kidding! We are actually loving the way things are turning out. As we work our way through the rest of these projects, I will take some pictures to show you.

Until then, I think I will go back to the wineries and B&B we visited, because I need another vacation!

Cupcakes!

2010-04-22T15:38:00.012-05:00

OMG! Margarita Cupcakes! I have got to make these this summer! Who's throwing the next BBQ? I know what I'm bringing! LOL!

And, I might as well make some of these Pink Champagne Cupcakes too!

Don't they look DELICIOUS? (Picture is from the Betty Crocker website!)

And, of course, everyone who knows me, knows I LOVE Baileys Irish Cream! So these are perfect for me!

Bailey's Cupcakes! (Take Them To Work Cupcakes)posted by Amanda over at Ma Wha Food. (The picture is also from Amanda's blog.)

I think I have died and gone to cupcake HEAVEN!

It's That Time Of Year Again!

2010-03-08T12:21:00.006-06:00

Let's fling open the windows, and start singing "The hills are alive with the sound of music!"

I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing the birds singing outside my window!

The weather is turning warmer, little bits of green are starting to peek through the soil outside, and one of our trees has buds on it!

Plant magazines have been showing up in the mailbox, and I've been sitting here, flipping through the pages over and over again, dreaming about what I want my garden to look like.

Spring Hill Nursery always gets me! I am a sucker for that $25.00 off when you spend $50.00 or more coupon that they plaster to the front of the magazine! LOL! (Of course, you can get that deal on-line right now as well!)

This year, they have a new a new Echinacea plant! Everyone knows how much I LOVE the different Echinacea plants! I got at least five new plants for my birthday last year! YEP! LOVE them!

The new one is called "Coral Reef Echinacea."

Here is the picture from their website.

I think I see an order in my future! They have lots of other plants I'm drooling over as well! LOL!

Catchin' Up - November & December!

2010-01-27T15:53:00.017-06:00

In November, Brat Girl and I took our very first knitting class! Our instructor, taught us the basic stitches, and we promptly started making scarves. Nope! I haven't finished mine. Of course, I decided to start a second one though! Nope! I haven't finished that one either! LOL! I wanted to make one for Mr. Mister! Why? Well, because it's COLD outside, and he NEEDS one. But, I didn't like the way it was turning out, so I ripped it all out and started over. Then, I ripped it out again! LOL! So, it's only about two inches long right now! It's definitely not helping to keep him warm and toasty! He told me the other day, that he was going to have to use it to wipe sweat from his brow this summer by the time I finished it! LOL! PUNK!

Mid November, I got to go on a weekend scrapbooking trip! My friend, Carla, has a condo at the Lake of the Ozarks, and invited several of us to come and play.

Since I haven't actually "scrapped" anything in quite a while, I used the time to start on my Christmas cards. (They took A LOT longer to make than any other card I have made before! I continued working on them through November, and well into December. I ended up making 76 cards, and still didn't make enough for everyone on my list!)

We had lots of FUN, even though it rained on us most of the time! (Carla and I even stayed an extra day to try and avoid driving home in the torrential downpours! It didn't work! LOL! We should have stayed another day!)

Thanksgiving was nice and quiet. We had family over, and played games. There is always a lot of laughter in the house when we pull out Apples to Apples!

After reading about it on Pioneer Woman's website, the Mister and I, decided to brine our turkey this year. OMG! That was the BEST turkey we have ever eaten. It was so juicy and tender! Even my son (who prefers ham on Thanksgiving) said it was amazing! I am just putting it out there now! We will NEVER not brine our turkey again! And, it made some tasty soup a couple of days later!

December brought decorations, company, celebrations, and all the wonderful things we all tend to enjoy at that time of the year! It was a busy month!

Catchin' Up - October!

2010-01-18T18:18:00.013-06:00

October was another travel month! The Mister and I flew to Las Vegas for our 24th anniversary. The day after we arrived, my uncle (who lives there) picked us up and gave us the grand tour. It was nice to go off the beaten path and see what else the Vegas area had to offer.

He took us to Red Rock Canyon, which reminded me so much of Sedona! I absolutely LOVED it out there!

The uncle, and the Mister, walked down the path to check things out! The women folk decided to stay up top! LOL!

The next day (our actual anniversary) my wonderful husband took me to see CHER!

OMG! I was SO EXCITED!! Seeing Cher LIVE was something I had always dreamed of! It was the first "real" concert I had ever been to. I sat there, amazed by at it all! The Mister kept laughing at me, because I was singing through the whole show! (Sorry, to the people sitting next to me! LOL!) It was AMAZING! It was WOW! It was UNREAL! And, it was over way too soon! I just wish they would have let us take pictures! I did TRY! LOL! With my cell phone! But, they didn't turn out very well. After the show, we walked down the strip to the Steakhouse as Bill's, and had a wonderful, relaxing dinner.

We stayed in Las Vegas for a week! The days were warm and sunny! The nights were nice and cool. Some of them were spent just being lazy, and taking in the amazing views.

You know I found the only winery in the area! Pahrump Valley Winery.

Others were spent doing the "normal" tourist type stuff. We went to M&M World, where the Mister bought two new dispensers to add to his collection. We also took a leisurely stroll up and down the strip, checking out all of the activity going on.

We spent some time enjoying the themes, and decor of the different hotels. One of them had the coolest motorcycle displayed inside.

We watched water shoot into the air, and dance magically to music. We witnessed our very first battle between pirates ships! And we were amazed that volcanoes really do erupt right on the Las Vegas strip!

We even sat down in front of a few slot machines, and gave them our money. Isn't that what you do in Las Vegas?

On our last night there, after refilling our drinks at the rhumbar, we decided to see if we could get tickets to see Terry Fator! We walked back over to the Mirage, and found the box office for his show. There were a few people standing around, and when I asked about tickets, they said the show was sold out. But, we could put our name on a wait list if we wanted to. With several people waiting already, we figured it wasn't going to happen, and walked off to check out the Terry Fator store. After taking a potty break (HEY! Those were some HUGE drinks from the rhumbar!) I decided to walk back over and check again. THEY HAD TWO MORE TICKETS! YEAH! We had to hurry though, because the show was already starting!

After opening the show with a few jokes, guess what Terry said? "FEEL FREE TO TAKE ALL THE PICTURES YOU WANT!" HUH? WHAT? That NEVER happens! But, you don't have to tell me TWICE! LOL! ( I apologize for these pictures being blurry. It was dark, and I didn't have a tripod with me, not that I could have used one in there anyway!)

In my opinion, this man truly deserved to win America's Got Talent! The range of his celebrity singing impressions, and the ventriloquism that he does, is unbelievable! We were either laughing, or saying OH MY GOSH through the whole show! This is a "MUST SEE" if you go to Las Vegas while he is still there!

Quiet Around Here!

2009-09-21T15:34:00.003-05:00

WOW! I cannot believe it's been almost a month since my lost post!

I have been doing things, just haven't taken the time to write about them.

I had pictures from another winery we visited over Labor Day weekend, but never got around to resizing them, and doing all the other stuff to post them on here.

Mr. Mister and I took a trip to the DC area again. (He had a class.) I took pictures, but they are a lot like the photographs from my last trip, so I don't know if I will post about it again.

I did make a new friend while I was there! We were both standing in the metro station alone, headed downtown to check out the sites. We started chatting, and decided to buddy up as we rode around town on a double decker bus. We even got to listen to a curmudgeon (a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man) chew the bus driver out because one of the buses broke down, and he had to wait longer than he thought he should have for the next bus to arrive. Then he got mouthy with us when we told the bus driver not to let him get to him, AND we had the NERVE to laugh about it! SHOOT us on the spot! LOL!

We actually have a busy few weeks coming up! We are heading back out the door on Wednesday to go to Ohio. The Mister is from Delaware and he wants to go back for the "Brown Jug" and to visit some friends! I have also talked him into visiting a winery while we are there! YAY! (We got our friends addicted to going to wineries while they were here!) The Mister's birthday is on Sunday. I am not sure when we will actually celebrate though, because we will be enjoying a LONG (in my opinion) drive home that day! Maybe, we will do a little celebration with all his friends while we are visiting!

Then we will be going to Las Vegas for our Anniversary in October. We will be spending a week there, so I should have LOTS of pictures when I come home. Right after coming home from Las Vegas, the Mister has to be in DC again. He has asked if I want to join him again, but I am not sure I will be going on that trip! I think I might be a bit tuckered out by then! LOL!

We shall have to wait and see what happens!

Blue Sky Vineyards!

2009-08-27T09:42:00.016-05:00

BLUE SKY VINEYARDS! There is SO MUCH I could say about this place! I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it! This is the very first winery I ever went to. It was during our trip to Giant City State Park for our 20th anniversary. That, is when I fell in love with wineries! And I didn't even drink wine at the time! But, the atmosphere and ambiance were unbelievable! I was totally hooked from that moment on!

It is what I expected ALL wineries to look and "feel" like! LOL! SO NOT the case! Over the last few years, I have seen some beautiful wineries, but they couldn't compare to Blue Sky. Blue Sky will always have a special place in my heart!

It was built to look like a Tuscan Villa! GORGEOUS!

The inside.

The mural is painted upstairs. They have two rooms you can stay in.

They have art by local artists. I fell in love with this little guy! (They have used pictures of some of the different art pieces on the labels of their wine bottles.)

The outside! I LOVE this pergola! I want it in my backyard!

Lots of seating.

A building for special events.

A pretty waterfall.

A lake.

And some cool windmills!

This is the back of the building. I was standing by the special events building & waterfall.

Mr. Mister is sitting up there. By the building on the left hand side. While I was taking all of these pictures he ordered more wine!

Darn! Now, who was going to drink all that? Can we get another order of that DELICIOUS bread & olive oil PLEASE?

The Secret Garden!

2009-08-18T12:37:00.028-05:00

We walked down the hall at Rainmaker Art Studio and out the back door. This is what we saw!

It truly was a secret garden! It was magical! It took my breath away!

Which way to go first?

There were paths leading in many different directions. But, of course, we should use caution.

Easier said than done, when all I wanted to do was run around like a little kid. Everywhere I looked was a feast for the eyes. I began snapping pictures like a crazy person, so that I could hopefully incorporate some of the ideas into my own garden one day!

Dave's sculptures were tucked into all the little nooks and crannies of the garden.

There are hidden treasures everywhere!

Dave told us that he had done all the work in the garden himself! It's his passion! All I can say to that is WOW!

Let's meander on over to the bridge.

Standing on the bridge looking straight ahead.

Take a look to the right.

And now to the left.

Over the bridge, and through the woods.....

I could have stayed out there for HOURS and HOURS!

But, the bugs were getting bad, and the were HUGE!

So we decided to head back inside and take another look around. While chatting with Dave, he told us he usually only puts the sculptures that he has made and "DOESN'T" like out there! HUH? WHAT?

I absolutely LOVED this piece!

Fun In Southern Illinois!

2009-07-30T11:09:00.028-05:00

I always LOVE going down to the Southern Illinois area! There is SO much to do there!

I had the chance to go on a quick trip, and thoroughly enjoyed myself!

The day we went out to play was very cloudy, and eventually it started raining. Of course, it kept it up the whole afternoon and evening. But, that didn't stop us! First up, was blueberry picking!

I had never been blueberry picking before. It was fun! I only ended up with about a pint though! LOL!

Moving on! Southern Illinois is known for many things, but it is the destination place for wine drinkers, because the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail is located there. There are twelve wineries on the trail! We decided to stop at Rustle Hill Winery and take a look around, since it was new to the trail. They are actually still working on this winery. They were building the amphitheater while we were there.

While, I DO NOT like that huge tree stump in the front of the building, I can definitely see the potential of this place. (You can see the winery with the tree still in front of it, on their website. Personally, I think the tree should have stayed. I sure hope they cut the stump out, it really detracts from the atmosphere they are trying to create.)

The inside is beautiful!

Back outside to check out the rest of the place.

They have a nice little lake.

Some cool art! Kind of reminds me of a bottle tree.

AND, two cabins you can stay in! I've already told Mr. Mister that we need to go back and spend a day or two! LOL!

I cannot wait to see Rustle Hill Winery in a couple of years! I'm sure it's only going to get better over time!

Back on the road again, we wandered upon a little "tourist" shopping strip. We hopped out of the car to take a look around. This is where we found the COOLEST store! It's called Rainmaker Art.

The owner is Dave Dardis.

He makes jewelry, fountains, and sculptures out of bronze and copper.

The store is very old, and quaint. When we walked in, Dave was behind the counter welding one of his art pieces. We looked around in amazement. Every corner of the store had something to catch our eye. It reminded me of something you would see in a movie. Very Pirates of the Caribbean! LOL! Then Dave said to us, "if you want to see something really cool, walk down that hallway and go out back to the sculpture garden."

So, we headed for the hallway!

I even looked to see if Will Turner was hiding somewhere in those nooks and crannies!

Unfortunately, he wasn't!

But, we found a secret garden at the end of that hall!

***To be continued....***

Jessica Sprague Class - Lesson #1

2009-07-09T16:54:00.006-05:00

I signed up to take the free Photo Editing: Frame-ups and Special Effects class from Jessica Sprague's website. The two week class started on Monday, July 6th.

I am a couple of days behind, but here is my picture for lesson one. In this lesson we learned how to add PNG frames and Word Art to our pictures.

Tennessee!

2009-07-07T13:38:00.017-05:00

We had a lot of fun visiting Mr. Mister's Mother, Sister, and family in Tennessee.

There was lots of talking, and catching up with everyone! (This was the first night we were there. There were approximately 30 people there on the 4th!)

The BBQ got a workout! Here is my brother-in-law, doing what he does best!

Come to Mama! DROOL!

Of course, we shot off some fireworks. (I really need to figure out how to take "real" firework pictures. This is what I got! LOL!)

It was a good time! And it was nice to just sit back and relax for a bit!

Honey? Can we go on vacation again THIS weekend?

The Garden In June!

2009-06-23T10:29:00.018-05:00

The garden is gorgeous right now! All of the summer flowers are blooming! I just wish it wasn't too hot to go out and enjoy them more! I had sweat rolling down my face, just trying to take a few pictures!

OH! You want a CLOSER look? OK! (Good thing I had my close up filter on the camera!)

I just LOVE those...in your face...(I mean stamen)...kind of pictures! LOL!

Glass Etching With Cricut Machine & Vinyl!

2009-06-15T16:45:00.016-05:00

I saw this really cute idea, that I fell in LOVE with, while visiting Living With Lindsay's blog. She put her dish, and hand soap into olive oil bottles and sat them next to the sink!

She boosted the "WOW" factor by sitting them on a white dish and adding a tiny vase of fresh cut roses. How COOL is that? Check out her blog to see her version of this fun project!

Well, I had been buying the smaller bottles of soap, and then refilling them, because you could see my kitchen sink area from the living room, and I really didn't like seeing the taller plastic bottles over the top of the counter. It was not attractive AT ALL! So, I decided to make my own pretty soap bottles!!

Because our dish and hand soap are both purple (or slight variations of it) I decided to take my bottles a step further by etching on the fronts of them. I made a stencil for the "H" and the "D" out of vinyl on my Cricut machine. Then I put the stencil on the bottles and applied the etching cream on top of it. I let it sit for about five to ten minutes, and washed it off! TA DA! This is the final result! I totally LOVE the way they turned out!

This one is a little blurry, but I wanted you to see the letters better, so I moved the flowers off the plate, and sat them on the counter.

And, the bottles by themselves.

I will definitely need to dilute the soap down some, but I wanted to fill them up high enough to see the color behind the letters.

The letters were cut using the Storybook Cricut Cartridge. I found the bottles at Old Time Pottery. They were sold as a set for $4.99! You can't beat that!

WICKED Clouds!

2009-06-08T21:35:00.010-05:00

This is what we saw when storms came through earlier. The pictures of the clouds are straight out of the camera. They are not black & white, and they haven't been touched up at all. Pretty WICKED!

This sign is beside the highway. This is the area that funnel clouds were reported.

From what we have seen on the news, areas just a few miles Southeast of the highway were hit up pretty hard. We haven't ventured out that far.

Too LONG!

2009-06-08T13:40:00.000-05:00

I don't want to wait five more months to see THIS!

Waiting!

2009-05-29T08:11:00.002-05:00

I'm still waiting on my Coneflowers (Echinacea) from Spring Hill Nursery. It's showing an estimated delivery date of 6/5/09 - 6/8/09. But, that keeps changing. So, we shall see.

I found most of the others that I was looking for, at a local nursery! I was SO excited, because they ended up being MUCH cheaper, and I didn't have to pay shipping and handling!

Of course, I haven't figured out where I am going to plant all of them yet! LOL! I always do that! Buy a bunch of plants, and then think "OH! Where am I going to put them?" They are all lined up outside, waiting patiently to go into the ground! Thank goodness for all of the rain we've been getting, because I was having to water them constantly!

After looking around more on-line, I found SO MANY different kinds and colors of Coneflowers that I want to get. It's going to take time to get all of them! Only bummer is that to get extra plants from the ones you grow, you have to divide the plants, you cannot use the seeds, because the plants that come from the seeds, tend to revert back to the original plant coloring.

Anyone want to come help me figure out where to plant all of my new pretties? They need to be in the sun! And need soil that drains well! So, that leaves out the most obvious place for them, which was down along the fence!

Hmmmm! Thinking.........Thinking!

OK! Enough of that! It makes my brain hurt! LOL!

Off to make a smoothie!

Birthday Fun!

2009-05-19T19:54:00.034-05:00

Sunday was my birthday, and I had a GREAT day!

Actually, I was pretty much spoiled for the whole week because of Mother's Day, and my birthday being so close together.

The kids gave me money, because I told them that I wanted to start an Echinacea (Coneflower) garden. Of course, I already have the "normal" Purple Coneflowers that you see everywhere. And I have seen White Coneflowers sold locally, so I will buy them here. BUT, I was looking through my Spring Hill Nursery catalog, and found that there are quite a few different varieties available, and I want to "collect" all of them. I hope to dedicate a spot in the yard to all the different types of Echinacea. I LOVE these flowers, and the fact that they attract butterflies, and gold finches, is a HUGE bonus!

I started with:

Green Envy Coneflower

Sunrise Coneflower

And, Sundown Coneflower

Next up, will be:

Twilight Coneflower

Coconut Lime Coneflower

And, Pink Double Delight Coneflower

All of the pictures were taken from Spring Hill Nursery's website.

Aren't they gorgeous? I cannot wait to get them! I am sure there are other varieties out there that I don't know about. So, if YOU know of any others, please let me know.

During the week, one of my friends took me to a little town nearby, to go antiquing, and eat lunch. We ended the afternoon with an old fashioned vanilla malt. (EXTRA malt please!) It was SO YUMMY!

I came home to find a box from my Mom waiting for me. Inside, was a BEAUTIFUL blue crackle glass decanter, and the cutest little crackle glass perfume bottle. My crackle glass collection is growing! YAY! The decanter is now the largest piece I own. (It's difficult to find larger pieces.) And the blue is GORGEOUS!

(Sorry! The pictures aren't the greatest! You can see the tag on that back of the decanter, shining through the front.)

I also got a delicious cake, that helped add more pounds to my rear end, but it sure was good! (We cut the cake on Saturday, because both of the kids had to work on Sunday.) Brat Girl said that she was going to have them put "Happy Birthday PUNK" on it! LOL! YEAH! I get called Punk all the time around here! (Actually, we all call each other PUNK! LOL!) But, she decided to be nice, and left it just saying "Happy Birthday."

We were cracking up, because the letters were melting SO FAST! They were collapsing all over the cake! LOL

Mr. Mister let me pick out some of the JustRite stamps I have been drooling over! I absolutely LOVE all of the different ways you can use these stamps! I will have to keep adding more of them to my collection (YES! Another collection!) over time. They have an awesome blog, with a super talented design team. CUTE! CUTE! Ideas!

As for the rest of Sunday, Mr. Mister took me to eat my favorite meal at Romano's Macaroni Grill. They have the BEST Chicken Toscana soup. And, I cannot go there without ordering the Vodka Rustica. (Recently, they took the Vodka Rustica off of the menu! I almost CRIED! But, they told me I can still order it whenever I come in, because they will always have the ingredients to make it! WHEW! You really don't want to see me blubbering in the middle of a restaurant!) After enjoying the meal, they brought over a piece of cake, and sang Happy Birthday to me in ITALIAN! It was so COOL!

Then, off we went, for another visit to the Country Wine Gardens. (Rhonda, from the Christmas Notebook, mentioned this place on her blog last year. They enjoy going there because they collect Daylilies, and this place has some huge Daylily fields.) Every year, they dig up plants from the fields, and sell them. We didn't buy any Daylilies this year, because they weren't in bloom yet, and I couldn't remember what we had bought last year. But, I did find another Yellow Coneflower ( Yellow Echinacea Paradoxa) plant, which looks like it will be darker than the Sunrise Coneflower, and Mr. Mister bought some Stargazer lilies, and some really pretty "Gold Rush" Shasta daisies.

This is what they will all look like once they bloom. These pictures were taken from the internet as well.

Now, to figure out where they are all going in the garden!

The Country Wine Gardens also has a restaurant, and (obviously) a wine tasting area. I had read on their website that they carried our favorite wine, Moscato D'Asti, so we decided to pick up a bottle, sit on their patio, and drink it while we people watched, and listened to the band for a few minutes. (YEAH! We bought a few more bottles to bring home with us! NO! We're not lushes! LOL!)

After all the fun we had, we came home to enjoy a nice, quiet, evening. It was a wonderful day!

Another Scary Night!

2009-05-15T19:15:00.008-05:00

This is what we have to look forward to again tonight! Another round of storms!

I'm in the purple area! Some wind gusts have been over 50 miles per hour! I really don't want to hear sirens going off tonight!

TOO LATE! THEY JUST STARTED GOING OFF! (They went off twice, but ended up being false alarms!)

St. Louis Zoo - Final Installment (Hopefully!)

2009-05-07T11:23:00.018-05:00

Are you tired of all of my zoo pictures yet? Well, guess what? There's MORE! A LOT more! LOL!

Let's hear it for my friends!

Posing for the camera?

MOM! Stop! They're looking!

Everyone was OOOHHING and AAAHHING over this little one! One very rambunctious little elephant who kept running in and out of the water, splashing and playing.

The older, and not quite so rambunctious!

OK! OK! Enough already!

THE END!

St. Louis Zoo - Part Two!

2009-05-05T12:43:00.006-05:00

This one's for the birds!

Isn't the eye on this bird AMAZING! WOW!

St. Louis Zoo - Part One!

2009-05-04T17:44:00.013-05:00

Brat Girl and I went to the zoo today! I took approximately 400 pictures!

I have to say, the kitties are my FAVORITE animals at the zoo. Of course, most of them were asleep! But, not the tigers! I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! I think I took at least 50 pictures of them! LOL!

They were so stinkin' CUTE! And they were playful today! They kept running after, and tackling each other. One of them was even chasing a butterfly! (You cannot actually see the butterfly in the photo below, but it was a small white one!) It was TOO FUNNY! I never thought I would EVER see a tiger chasing butterflies!

We also saw the grizzly bears! They were HUGE!

Although, we think that maybe they were were fighting with each other, because the one looked SO depressed! First, she/he was just sitting there.

Then, she/he decided to lay down. Look at that face!

Now, this guy looked irritated! LOL!

I'm thinking, I wouldn't wanna make him mad! If he kept pacing around, and looking at me like that, I would be pretty depressed too!

More pictures later! There are TOO many to post all at once!

Have You Seen My Crack?

2009-05-01T15:14:00.014-05:00

Someone STOLE my crack!

I left it on the counter, and now this is all that's left!

Crumbs!

And I'm telling you! It was some GOOD crack!

See, I was checking out this blog called Smitten Kitchen, because the owner of the blog (Deb) was hanging out with the Pioneer Woman (Ree) and I figured if Ree was inviting Deb to the lodge, then she MUST be cool!

Little did I know she was into crack!

REE! Did you know that you are hanging out with people who make crack? And then shows all of her blog readers how to make it too!

Deb's crack looks AWESOME though! I was drawn to it like a moth is to light! I mean, who can resist something as tempting as this?

YEP! That's Deb's picture! From the Smitten Kitten blog!

Now, I have to tell you, that MY crack looked WAY better than hers. Even though it never really set up, hard enough, to break into pieces (it was too warm here) and I used mini crackers because that was all I had.

I'm just saying, that it's pretty obvious by the crumbs left behind, that mine looked so much more addicting than hers does. YEAH! IT DID! I SWEAR!

As a matter of fact, I am such a good crack maker, that someone decided to take it! ALL of it! I wonder who it could have been?

I do have my suspicions though! I think it's this guy!

He looks kind of shady! Doesn't he?

He has been known to take a piece of chicken off your plate, or steal a ravioli out of your bowl, when he thinks you aren't looking.

He has even ninja crept into the room, and stole a crouton! A CROUTON! This guy isn't afraid to experiment with new things!

AND, in my opinion, anyone who enjoys drinking toilet water, is definitely not above stealing crack!

I guess that means I will have to make more! I'm beginning to feel like the neighborhood dealer! Maybe, I'll just post the directions on how to make it here, so that everyone can make their own and stop taking mine! YEAH! That sounds like a GREAT idea. So here it goes.

Cracker Toffee

* 1 sleeve saltine crackers
* 1 cup butter (NO substitutes!!)
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 2 cups milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a sturdy 10" x 15" jelly roll pan with heavy duty foil and line with the crackers, making sure to place the crackers in a single layer, edges touching. You can break some crackers to fill the pan completely if you need to.

In a small saucepan, combine butter and sugar and bring to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly with a wire whisk, for 2 minutes. The mixture will gradually combine and form a thick sauce. Be careful with this sauce; it can burn very easily. Carefully spoon the sauce over the crackers. You can gently spread the sauce to cover all the crackers with the tip of a spoon. Bake the mixture for 10-12 minutes, or until the sauce bubbles all over its surface.

Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Return to oven for 1 minute to melt chips. Then remove from oven again and, using the tip of a knife, swirl the chocolate into the toffee. Let cool completely, then break into squares. Makes about 36 pieces

I have actually read a few different recipes for this, and several people have mentioned that they used Graham crackers in place of saltines. This sounds like a DELICIOUS option! YUM! Others have said that instead of regular saltine crackers, they use Club, or Ritz crackers because they are more buttery. Matzo crackers have also been used (see the recipe that Deb, from Smitten Kitchen made) AND! There are different opinions on what to use to get this stuff out of the pan! Some suggest using wax paper and greasing the pan to make it easier. This recipe also has many different names. But, "Crack" seems to be what it's often referred to because, "DUH" it's made out of crackers, and it's easy to become addicted to it.

OK! Now, I must confess! It really wasn't our food stealing cat, that ate the rest of the crack! It was ME! YES! ME!

They say that admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery!

HEY! It's Karaoke night at the bar! Wanna sing my favorite song with me? "They tried to make me go to rehab, but I said....NO...NO....NO!" HA!

Upside Down Tomato Planter!

2009-04-19T19:54:00.008-05:00

Mr. Mister and I decided we wanted to try and grow our own tomatoes this year.

We were walking around in Sam's and saw this!

Isn't it COOL? Now, we don't have to worry about staking the tomatoes. Gravity does all the work for you. We also don't have to worry about them rotting while laying on the ground. Another plus is that you can plant herbs or even flowers on the top.

Easy peasy! HUH? We shall see!

So, my question to you is: What is your favorite kind of tomatoes to grow? Why do you prefer those?

(Pictures taken from the web)

Tagged!

2009-04-16T13:19:00.007-05:00

Carla over at Everyday Moments tagged me the other day, and I wanted to THANK her for thinking about me! It's always a GREAT feeling to know someone enjoys reading my blah blah blog! LOL!

The rules are:

1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 10 blogs.
4. Put links to their blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

I honestly don't think I have ten bloggers that I know personally, that would participate in the tag. Most of the blogs listed on the side of my page are just places I like to hang out at once in a while. So, having said that, I think I will say to anyone reading this, THANKS for stopping by my blog, and you can consider yourself tagged if you want to be tagged!

Mr. Mister Is A SWEETHEART!!!

2009-04-14T09:32:00.010-05:00

Last week, I was reading the Leslie Sansone message boards, and saw that there were six new workout DVDs being released. I was SO EXCITED! (If you have been reading my blog, you already know how much I LOVE Leslie Sansone!!!) Then I read that they were exclusive to Target, and only SELECT Targets at that. So, I went to the website and clicked on the map. Wouldn't you know it, they weren't available at our local Targets. I was so bummed.

But then, I thought for a minute (I know, hard to believe huh? LOL!) and went back to the map and clicked on Oklahoma. Why? Because Mr. Mister was in Oklahoma City on a business trip. GUESS WHAT? They showed a Target in Oklahoma City that would be carrying the DVDs.

So, I sent a message to Mr. Mister with the information, and the next day he went to check it out! He had to drive all the way across town, but he went for ME! Isn't that SWEET? And he found THEM! YAY! YAY!

He bought the two below: (Sorry for the small pictures, it's all I could find.)

Punch Up Your Walk (With Weighted Gloves)

Walk strong with this high-intensity workout that will challenge every major muscle group in your body, right in your own home. Wear the weighted gloves and FEEL the muscles work! 4 STRONG Miles! You choose to wear the gloves or just walk, walk, walk!

Walk It Off & Tone It Up (With Two Firm Bands)

5 BIG Miles to walk yourself to a slimmer stronger you! And… not 1… but 2 Firm Bands to BOOST muscle activity while you walk! Be prepared for Lots of Miles AND Lots of Sweat.

The pictures and descriptions were taken from Leslie's website.

I prefer to buy the four and five mile workouts, because I can always stop at two or three miles if I want to. But, I tend to do five miles more often than not. So, it's better to have the longer DVDs.

I've done both already, and LOVE them!

Thanks a BUNCH Mr. Mister! Big SMOOCHES!

Green Smoothies!

2009-04-08T09:41:00.010-05:00

We have become addicted to smoothies! That means a lot of experimenting with different fruits and other ingredients. This has quickly become one of our favorites.

It's a green smoothie! Doesn't it look like the breakfast of champions! LOL! No? You don't think it looks very appetizing at all! Well, neither did I, but it's really pretty good. Even though it has SPINACH in it! YEP! Bring on the baby spinach!

HEY! I'm thinkin' that anything that helps me eat "a" vegetable is a good thing. (It also helps that you can't taste the spinach. That is a HUGE plus for me!)

You wanna try it? OK! Here's what we put into this fantabulous smoothie!

1 cup Pineapple/Orange juice
1 banana
1 apple
1 cup strawberries
A big handful of baby spinach
A few ice cubes

Put everything in the blender and BLEND baby BLEND!

And what makes it even BETTER is that this smoothie is only 3.5 points when divided between two people! YEAH!

Next on our list to try is Dr. Oz's Green Drink. I keep reading wonderful things about it. I just don't know about all those vegetables though! LOL! I gotta take "baby steps" when in comes to vegetables! LOL! Although, I must admit, I pretty much like everything that is included in his drink, except the parsley. I'm not a huge fan of it, but you probably can't taste it that much once it's mixed with everything else. Anyway, here is the recipe for that one. It is from Oprah's website.

Dr. Oz's green drink.

2 cups spinach
2 cups cucumber
1 head of celery
1/2 inch or teaspoon ginger root
1 bunch parsley
2 apples
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1/2 lemon

After everything is combined in a blender, this recipe makes 28 to 30 ounces—about three to four servings.

So, everyone go out there, and get your GREEN on!

Home Again!

2009-04-03T17:30:00.006-05:00

We have made it safely back home! Although, there were a couple of times I thought our plane was going to go down, with all of the turbulence we kept hitting.

For those of you wondering, no I didn't go to Disney World or Sea World. I could have gone, but decided not to. Why? You ask. Well, because I have never been to either place, and I would like my first experience to be with my family.

So, that just means that I get to go back again!

What Are You Looking At?

2009-04-01T14:56:00.007-05:00

YEAH! I'm talking to you! Don't make me come over there!

HEY! YOU! The one with the camera! I've got my eye on you!

Who keeps letting all these TOURISTS in here? I need to talk to management AGAIN!

The Swamp!

2009-03-31T16:16:00.008-05:00

Went on a little swamp ride today! I love seeing all of the moss hanging from the trees!

I don't think he wanted to play with us!!!

I think he was wondering if we would taste "just like chicken?"

Night Time!

2009-03-30T12:02:00.006-05:00

Just a couple of pictures of the adult pool area lit up at night.

There are SO MANY areas that I want to take pictures of. I want to take the tripod down with me and just walk around taking night time shots. We'll see how far I get with that! LOL!

Mr. Mister and I have been leaving our doors wide open so that we can listen to the waterfalls all of the time. We even slept with the doors open. They have the sounds of frogs, crickets, and an occasional bird playing over the speakers. It's all SO COOL!

We Have Arrived In Orlando!

2009-03-29T18:35:00.005-05:00

Mr. Mister enjoying the view from our room!

And WOW! What a view it is!

We are staying at the Gaylord Palms, and it is AMAZING!!! Beneath their signature atriums are four-and-a-half acres of indoor gardens with three distinct Florida environments. Our room is located in the Everglades complex.

Somebody pinch me! I think I have died and gone to HEAVEN!

San Antonio Botanical Gardens - Through My Eyes!

2009-03-28T08:03:00.022-05:00

I wanted to get the pictures from the San Antonio Botanical Gardens uploaded before we head out to Florida tomorrow morning, because we all know that I will be a picture taking fool while I'm there! LOL!

I must warn you that there are a ton of photographs in this post! (20 of them! YES! 20!)

As you will see, I was really concentrating on anything that had red in it because I am going to use some of my pictures to decorate the downstairs bathroom, and red is going to be my "pop" color in there.

I hope you enjoy the pictures! Just keep scrolling down! (And down, and down! LOL!)

Still here? Are your eyes going bonkers? LOL!

San Antonio Botanical Gardens - Through Mr. Mister's Eyes!

2009-03-25T09:16:00.016-05:00

On our last day in San Antonio we decided to visit the botanical gardens. I LOVE taking pictures of nature!

But guess what? So does Mr. Mister! He keeps telling me he needs his own camera. After looking at these next few photographs, I have to agree with him! He took some AWESOME shots!

Check them out!

Makes you just want to jump right in, and cool off a bit!

I LOVE the lighting on this next one!

I used Pioneer Woman's Sunshine action on this one. It gave it that yellow hue! (YES! I tweak the majority of my photographs in Adobe Photoshop, using Pioneer Woman's FREE actions found here and here!)

Of course, EVERYONE loves butterflies!

Can you imagine how many pictures we will have? With both of us, snapping away like crazy people! LOL!

I will post some of my pictures from the botanical gardens later!

Tagged!

2009-03-21T12:32:00.012-05:00

Michelle, over at Mosaic Cottage, tagged me! UGH! I must say that I despise having my picture taken! Even more so, when I have to take it up close and personal, since I am the only one here at the moment. My only saving grace was that I had actually just finished blow drying my hair and putting my "bondo" on! NO JOKE! I really did!

So the rules of the tag were to take a picture of yourself right at that minute! AS IS! And then post it on your blog! So here it is! I am totally washed out! But, it's the best I could do at THAT moment! LOL! (I did take it into photoshop and play with it a bit. But, I couldn't change the fact that I was washed out. I am VERY pale to begin with, sooooooooooo.......)

I really cannot believe I am even putting this up on here! So please, don't be too cruel! LOL!

I am supposed to tag five others to play along with this! I decided to tag Carla, Jessica, Shannon (this blog is password protected), Ginny, & Amy. I know they will all just LOVE me for this! Sorry Girls!

Soon, I will be posting pictures of the San Antonio Botanical Gardens, that Mr. Mister and I took. I definitely want this post to start scrolling down the screen ASAP! ROFL!

San Antonio Riverwalk - Part Two!

2009-03-18T13:59:00.011-05:00

I'm back from another glorious afternoon down at the Riverwalk. I could wander around down there for hours. It's just so peaceful! Especially, in the early morning, which is when the following three pictures were taken. Once afternoon hits, it's a great place to "people watch."

These next pictures were taken outside the Hyatt Regency which sits right on the Riverwalk. This is where Mr. Mister's conference is being held. They have a garden area outside with lots of plants, flowers, and fountains. The fountains actually flow right into the hotel! GORGEOUS! (You know that I cannot resist a few close-up shots of the flowers! I feel another blog banner coming on! LOL!)

I'm hoping to take my tripod down with me at night, so that I can get some pictures while it's all lit up!

As for the Alamo, I have walked by it several times. I have even walked the area within it's walls, but I didn't feel like waiting in line to go inside, and still haven't pulled the camera out to take pictures of it.

TSK! TSK! BAD Kathy!

San Antonio Riverwalk - Part One!

2009-03-17T08:26:00.012-05:00

It's a foggy morning, so I thought I would update the blog while I wait for it to burn off. I plan on heading out to take more pictures today.

The Riverwalk is GORGEOUS! I can only imagine how breathtaking it will be when the trees have leaves!

We sat by the river while eating lunch. I was surprised that the area was so full of people on a Monday. But it is Spring break.

After lunch, I walked around taking pictures. I came across these flowers and couldn't resist snapping a few shots of that VIVID color! They were so beautiful! Everyone was commenting on them. (Of course, I had to make it my banner! It looks so "Springy" LOL!)

I am hoping to go on one of the boat tours before we leave.

Book Thongs!

2009-03-12T17:11:00.015-05:00

As many of you already know, I have been reading a lot lately.

Well, a few weeks ago, I was at Borders picking up a few more of the Laurell K. Hamilton books (The Anita Blake - Vampire Hunter Series) and while I was waiting to check out, I started looking at the bookmarks on the "spontaneous buy" racks. (Yes, I'm a sucker for those racks!) They had some really cool, beaded "book thongs" and I decided to buy one.

Once I got home, I kept looking at the bookmark and thinking to myself "I can make this!"

So, I picked up some beads, and decided to play. Here is what I've come up with so far.

The first one will most likely go to my Mother-in-Law so that she can use it in her bible.

I know! I know! It doesn't really show up that great on the white background, but you can still get an idea of what it looks like.

This next one, I will probably be keeping for myself. Blue and green are my favorite colors, so I am really liking it. And who can resist a dragonfly?

Here is how it looks inside the book.

These are perfect for the book lover in your family! They would also make GREAT teacher gifts!

Mr. Mister and I are heading out to San Antonio this weekend, and I have decided to take my supplies along. It will give me something to do when I am tuckered out after visiting the Alamo and the River Walk.

Finally! A thong that I can appreciate! LOL!

82 Degrees!

2009-03-06T14:13:00.006-06:00

OH MY GOSH!

I just checked the weather forecast on my computer and they changed the high from 73 degrees to 80 degrees. BUT! It's saying it's 82 degrees out right now!

It's unreal! We go from freezing our patooties off a couple of days ago (highs were in the LOW 30's) to the 80's! The temperature in our house is reading at 85 degrees!

All I can say is WOW!

Routines!

2009-03-03T11:40:00.003-06:00

Howdy!

Since I'm trying to get back into my Flylady routines, I haven't been spending as much time on the computer or watching television.

It's nice to see that even little increments of time are making improvements around the house.

It's also nice to know what we are having for dinner the next day, so that I can take the meat out to thaw the night before. I cannot tell you how much stress that relieves! LOL!

I threw some of my artificial plants (GASP!) into the dishwasher today to clean them. LOL! I was too lazy to try and do it by hand, and thought to myself, "HEY! Try sticking them in the dishwasher!" It worked quite well! Now, I just gotta do the rest.

OK! Off to make some lunch, and then back to work!

Menu Plan Monday!

2009-03-02T13:40:00.002-06:00

Here the plan for this week:

Monday: Chicken Sandwiches, French Fries
__________

Tuesday: Stuffed Shells, Salad, Jo's Rosemary Bread (The bread is a new recipe for us.)
__________

Wednesday: Crockpot Chicken & Stuffing, Greenbeans
__________

Thursday: Leftovers
__________

Friday: Savory Chicken Crescent Squares, Salad
__________

Saturday: Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs, Macaroni & Cheese, Corn (The ribs are a new recipe for us.)
__________

Sunday: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

For more great menu ideas, check out Menu Plan Monday!

Sunshine!

2009-02-25T09:13:00.006-06:00

What a beautiful morning!

The sun is shining, and at 9:15, it's already 47 degrees. I am so excited that it's supposed to get up to 60 degrees today. I have thrown the windows open, the curtains are blowing in the breeze, and the cats are thrilled! They have been taking turns, sitting in front of the door and watching the birds.

I have tons to do today. But, it sure makes it easier when it's not so cold outside!

I hope you are having a GREAT day too!

Menu Plan Monday (On Tuesday)

2009-02-17T13:36:00.008-06:00

OK! I'm a day late! But, I am posting our menu for the rest of the week.

Monday: We ate out
__________

Tuesday: Cincinnati Chili, Salad (We use the seasoning packets to make the chili, but I've included the recipe link as well.)
__________

Wednesday: Jambalaya, Cornbread
__________

Thursday: Tacos
__________

Friday: Chicken Casserole, Crescents, Creamed Corn
__________

Saturday: Stuffed Bell Peppers
__________

Sunday: Crock pot Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans (I use a savory herb flavored turkey breast roast.)

For more great menu ideas, go HERE!

I AM ADDICTED!

2009-02-13T13:32:00.007-06:00

To these:

They are Pink Lady apples.

Normally, I'm not a huge apple fan. And when I do eat them, I prefer Granny Smith apples, because they are tart.

But these! THESE apples are DELICIOUS! They are a cross between the Golden Delicious and the Lady Williams varieties of apples. They are tangy and sweet. And so crisp when you bite into them. I have never eaten an apple this good. I actually crave them. Of course, sometimes they are better than other times, but overall they are the best. (In my opinion! LOL!)

P.S. The picture of the apples was taken from the web.

Garden Of The Gods - Colorado Springs

2009-02-05T14:56:00.008-06:00

I have one word to describe the Garden of the Gods! AMAZING! I will let the pictures speak for themselves!

Can I get an AMEN? LOL!

I Heart Faces - Pets

2009-02-04T11:08:00.006-06:00

I decided to play along in the photo contest over at I Heart Faces.

I took this picture of Tori when I first got my new camera, and I have always LOVED it! So, I thought it would be fun to use it for the pet contest, as well as the eyes contest.

Wanna play along with all of us? Then just head on over to the website, and add yourself to Mr. Linky!

The Broadmoor Hotel

2009-02-02T11:24:00.011-06:00

While in Colorado Springs, we stayed at The Broadmoor Hotel. It was BEAUTIFUL! We were actually on the West side, so I didn't get pictures from the front of the hotel.

We're talking five star, turn your bed down at night, and leave a mint on the pillow!

They have three golf courses, fancy (fru-fru) restaurants, a spa, and all kinds of shopping available.

They also have an awesome view of the mountains!

While, I didn't go shopping, or get a facial, I did enjoy relaxing in the room, reading, taking pictures of the hotel, and eating! We ate A LOT!

On our second night there, after Mr. Mister was done working, we all headed over to The Golden Bee (because you CANNOT stay at The Broadmoor, without visiting The Golden Bee!) The Golden Bee is a English Pub. The pub was added as part of The Broadmoor in 1961. It was built with panels and fixtures from an entire 19th-century pub that had been shipped from England and reassembled in Colorado Springs.

It's a fun atmosphere, where they throw bees, that have sticky backs, at you throughout the night. You never know when the bees are going to be thrown, or where they will land. They have ended up in some very interesting places. LOL! Everyone tries to get more bees than everyone else.

They also offer the sounds of a ragtime piano, while customers flip through songbooks and sing along.

And you can get your "ale" by the yard!

Mr. Mister and Mr. H were made fun of until they bit the bullet and ordered one!

Since I am not an "ale" drinker, I was drinking "lemon drops."

WHOA! Two of those were more than enough for me!

Let's just say that we all ended the night a tad bit "HAPPY!" LOL!

BRRR!

2009-01-27T17:27:00.009-06:00

We left home yesterday as they were expecting a nice big storm! They were calling for 3" to 5" inches of snow during the night, with more ice and freezing rain today.

I'm not sure what it looks like back home right now, but Mr. Mister received a text message from our son last night saying that it wasn't snowing, but that it was monsooning with snowflakes! LOL!

We had hoped that it would be a "little" warmer in Colorado Springs, but were let down terribly! It's colder here, than it is at home. This is the view out of our window.

These were taken this morning. It's was still ZERO degrees outside at the time!

No, the building really isn't crooked like that! I'm lopsided! LOL! (Edited to say that the building really IS crooked! I have taken several more pictures and it looks like that in all of them. So, I guess I'm not that lopsided! LOL!)

These were taken at around 4:45 in the afternoon. We are still freezing! It's a whopping 18 degrees now.

I really don't know how all of the birds can stay in that water! Feathers or not! It's gotta be COLD!

Lily Peace!

2009-01-16T10:15:00.019-06:00

Back in December, Michelle at Mosaic Cottage, had a give away.

She wanted to find a new home for the adorable fairy, "Lily Peace." Lily Peace is of course, a peaceful fae. (She even has a peace sign on her chest.) She was living with Michelle in Arizona. She loved her home, and enjoyed all of the beautiful flowers out in the garden. Soon though, word spread about life at Mosaic Cottage, and more fairies started showing up. As more fairies made the gardens their home, fights began to break out between them, because there weren't enough homes for all of them. (Michelle, has been working to create more fairy houses, but she cannot keep up with the demand.) Well, Lily Peace, being a peaceful fae, didn't like all of the fighting. It made her very sad, and it scared her. So, Michelle made her a special home, and placed her into her own little glass world.

(Pictures are from Michelle's blog)

Lily Peace was still able to go out and enjoy the gardens whenever she wanted, but she preferred staying close to her beautiful, aqua colored fairy house. She had her very own glittered mushrooms, and she loved sitting on the mosaic mushroom as well. She was content inside her glass world.

As the months went by, more fairies came to the Mosaic Cottage, the gardens were overflowing with fae, birds, and many other garden creatures. Michelle, was very happy to see that the fairies were enjoying her yard, and set about making more homes and "fairy apartments" as quickly as possible.

She also made some bird houses, for all of her feathered friends.

But, she was running out of room, and Lily Peace was becoming distraught over all the fighting over new homes. Finally, Lily Peace went to Michelle, and asked if she knew of another place she could live? A place that a fae would love, but didn't have quite as many fairies flying around.

Michelle, thought about all of her blogging friends, and decided to do a give away so that she could find Lily Peace a new home.

Well! I was the person who was picked to "adopt" Lily Peace. I was SO excited when I found out. And Lily Peace was thrilled that she would be moving to a home that LOVED fairies. Of course, it's much colder where I live, than where she was in Arizona, but Lily Peace figured that would be a bonus, because some fairies don't like living in the colder climates, which meant, they all wouldn't follow her to my house.

Michelle, lovingly helped Lily Peace pack all of her belongings, gave her a kiss, and with a tear sliding down her cheek, sent her on her way to me.

I am happy to report that Lily Peace has arrived and is settling in nicely. She is already looking forward to Spring so that she can see what kind of flowers we will have blooming in our garden. I have been showing her pictures and she is VERY excited!

She wanted me to let Michelle know that she misses her very much, and that she hopes things settle down in the garden soon.

I want to say THANK YOU to Michelle! I love Lily Peace! Every time I look at her, she brings a smile to my face!

I also want all of you to check out Michelle's blog! She is so stinkin' creative! I found her blog when I was looking for cupcake related items. She makes the most adorable mosaic cupcakes! Take a look!

Obviously, Michelle has more than cupcakes on her blog. You really should take a peak at her archives to see all of the wonderful projects she has completed.

I also heard a little rumor, that soon, she may have more fairies ready to make the move to a new garden! Here is Lisa!

She recently relocated to a new home as well!

So, keep your eyes on Michelle's blog, you might just find a fairy of your own!

Believe!

2009-01-12T10:42:00.008-06:00

Ali Edwards is doing her "One Little Word" project again this year. She has chosen the word "Nurture" for her personal word.

Per Ali, "The idea behind the one little word concept is to give yourself something to focus on throughout the year."

I decided to play along. It really didn't take me long at all to come up with my word. It just kept popping in my head over and over again. I figured there was a reason for that, so I went with it.

My word is BELIEVE.

It really is amazing how this one little word, can touch so many different aspects of my life right now. There are so many things I need to work on, and believe in.

I need to believe that the choices that we've made along the way, were the best choices.

I need to believe that life always has a way of working out.

I need to believe that I do have a purpose, and that I will one day figure that purpose out.

I need to believe that every day is beautiful, and full of little treasures.

I need to believe in MYSELF, and my abilities. That, I really can do whatever I set my mind to. I need to stop being afraid of failure.

I need to believe that food is NOT MY FRIEND! ROFL!

Honestly, I could go on and on with my list. But, I don't want to bore you too much! LOL!

So, if you are thinking this sounds like a fun idea, and you want to join the throngs of people who have decided to hop on board with this little project, you can read more about it on Ali's website. She has even put up a list of all the different words that have been chosen. It's quite a list! WOW!

Still Here!

2009-01-05T16:34:00.008-06:00

YES! I'm still here!

Mr. Mister's mother is visiting right now. She will be here until this weekend.

Hopefully, once things "settle" back down, I will be able to get back to blogging more often.

Although, I must say that I have been spending a lot of my free time reading. In the past two weeks I have read seven of the books by Charlaine Harris. The Sookie Stackhouse series. These books are the ones that the HBO show called "True Blood" are based off of. I sure do wish we had HBO now. LOL! I will definitely be buying the first season when it comes out on DVD.

I also have another set of books, that Brat girl bought me for Christmas. I didn't want to start them until I was completely caught up with the others. I still need to find the eighth book in the series.

I haven't read this much is years! I am really enjoying it!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T12:14:00.003-06:00

I hope that everyone is enjoying their day!

Creating Keepsakes Ornament Drop!

2008-12-17T11:06:00.007-06:00

I was buzzing around on the internet today and saw this mentioned.

It's the Creating Keepsakes Ornament Drop.

Here's what Erin Lincoln posted about this project on the Creating Keepsakes website:

"The details are simple. Make a homemade ornament between now and Christmas. Print out our down loadable tag and leave your ornament in a public place. Before you walk away, take a photo of your ornament hanging out and just waiting to be found. Come on over to our Ornament Drop site to share your story and upload your photo. With any luck, the person who finds it will log on and tell their "Ornament Find Story". FUN!

If we all join together, we can drop ornaments all over the world this holiday season. A simple little gesture and a talent shared with others can bring a smile to the face of many. I hope you'll participate with us!"

What a COOL idea! I think it would be something really fun to do with the kids!

My New PRETTY!

2008-12-14T11:04:00.009-06:00

OK! I NEVER thought the day would come when I would fall in LOVE with a phone!

Yesterday, Mr. Mister and I, stopped by the Sprint store, and while we were waiting to be helped, we walked around checking out all of the phones. When I saw this phone, I stopped in my tracks! I'm telling you, it was LOVE at first sight! It's called the LG LOTUS. It's PRETTY, it's purple, and I WANTED it!

I have never been one to go bonkers over these types of things. I had been carrying the same phone that we started our plan with (over three years ago) and figured I would keep that phone until it was totally dead.

Mr. Mister had been trying to get me to upgrade for FOREVER! But, I wasn't having it! I kept telling him that there was "NOTHING wrong with my phone! Thank you very much!" Well, you should have seen the look on his face when I lit up like a kid in a candy store, after laying eyes on this baby! He LAUGHED at me! And he wasn't the ONLY one! The store clerk was laughing because my phone was so OLD! I'm telling ya! Where's the respect?? LOL!

I guess they are R.E.S.P.E.C.T.ing me now! HUH! ROFL! I have a COOL new phone! And everyone is jealous! NANNIE NANNIE!

P.S. The picture was taken from the Flickr website - it was uploaded by giraffeprincess.)

Christmas Garland!

2008-12-11T12:03:00.014-06:00

Last night, I stopped by Nester's blog to see what she was up to, and got so excited when I saw that she was having a Holiday Garland Show & Tell!

OH MY GOODNESS! All of the wonderful garland ideas! I still haven't gotten through all of the links. But, I knew I wanted to play along, so I got the camera out and started taking pictures of our garland. The Christmas decor in the living room has a religious theme (lots of crosses, angels, harps, etc.) and it's all done in purples, golds, and creams.

This is the first year that I have done the mantle. I LOVE how it turned out! Next year, I am hoping to have more pretties to put on top of the mantle.

Here is a close up of the center of the garland. That purple ornament is really big! Probably around six inches round.

And the ends, where the bows are.

I have looked everywhere for pearl/ivory colored doves to include on the tree, but could only find pure white. I know, I know, doves ARE white. I was just hoping to find them not SO white. LOL! (Yes, I put birds on all of my trees. Why? I don't really have a reason, I just like them.)

Anyway, since I couldn't find white doves, I found these gold and cream birds while walking up and down the Christmas ornament aisles at Garden Ridge. I fell in LOVE with them, and bought all of them. (They only had 15 left. I really need more than that, but they are working for me!)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE their pretty, curly tails! Don't you?

Of course, since moving into this house, we have a staircase that I get to put garland on. Here it is in all of it's glory!

I'm actually still working on the staircase garland. I need a really TALL ladder to get the last two areas done. I also have some glittery, purple ting tings that I want to stick in all of it. Make it look kind of "wild!" LOL!

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of our Christmas decor. Now, I'm headed back to Nester's so that I can check out everyone else's awesome ideas.

P.S. If you are wondering how to make your garland full and crazy, Nester posted a how-to on her blog. (Mine is not nearly as full as hers is, but I still LOVE it!)

December Already?

2008-12-03T11:12:00.018-06:00

WOW! I cannot believe it's December 3rd already!

Thanksgiving has flown right past us, and now it's time for the hustle and bustle of Christmas.

We had company for Thanksgiving, and the weekend after. One of Mr. Mister's friends (that he has known since Kindergarten) drove from Ohio to visit us. He brought his girlfriend with him, and we had a great time together. Saturday, we took them to see the St. Louis Arch. It was really cold and gloomy, but that didn't stop all of the tourists! There were tons of people there and the line to get inside was LONG!

We also took them to Harrah's Casino. We didn't stay long, because we lost our money really fast! LOL! And of course, since we were spending time in the St. Louis area, we had to eat at Romano's Macaroni Grill! They don't have them in Ohio, so they really enjoyed it.

I have most of the Christmas decorations up. I still need to work on a few things, but I am really enjoying having everything all lit up. I will try to post some pictures soon.

Right now, I am sitting at a desk, in a hotel room, in Texas.

Mr. Mister had to come here for a class, and he invited me to tag along with him. So, here I am! Enjoying the warmer temperatures, while feeling sorry for everyone back home suffering in the cold! LOL!

Now, I just need to figure out what to do with myself while Mr. Mister is in class all day. Although, after the crazy week we just had, I am thoroughly enjoying doing NOTHING at all.

I did buy a new book (The Secret Life of Bees) and some DVDs. So, I can totally "veg" if I want to. I tried looking for a local scrapbook store, but it would appear that the closest one has closed down. Such a BUMMER! I am sure we will find something to keep us busy during our stay here. Maybe, I will talk Mr. Mister into going to see the King Tutankhamun exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art.

That would be SUPER cool! (Hearing about him when I was younger, made me want to be an archaeologist, until I realized that I don't like dirt under my fingernails! ROFL!)

TWILIGHT!

2008-11-22T18:49:00.008-06:00

Mr. Mister took me to see Twilight today! I LOVED it! I walked out of the movie, feeling exactly like I did when I finished reading the book. Like I didn't want it to END! I wanted to keep watching Edward and Bella FOREVER!

I was kind of worried about seeing the movie, because I was afraid that they would totally change things from the way the book had been written. But, they stayed pretty true to form. (Well, as much as they could, while condensing everything into a two hour movie.) And, of course, Edward and Bella looked NOTHING like what I had imagined in my mind while reading the books. But, after a few minutes of watching the movie, I really liked the actors portraying them. (Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart)

I will DEFINITELY be watching this movie again, and again, and again! LOL!

Under The Weather!

2008-11-19T07:58:00.003-06:00

I have been down and out the last few days! I started out with the flu, while Mr. Mister had a cold. Well, the flu symptoms finally went away, but only so that I could now enjoy the cold that Mr. Mister so lovingly decided to share with me! UGH!

This is only the second day for the cold! I have been slathered in Vick's Vapor Rub, and drinking Nyquil like hot chocolate! (Not REALLY! LOL! Although, that might be a good idea! LOL!)

OBG - Update!

2008-11-14T10:46:00.002-06:00

Brandon received his box! It sounds like everyone is enjoying the cookies! Here is what he said in his email:

Kathy,

I would like to inform you that I received your package in the
mail today. The oatmeal scotchies were absolutely amazing, and I
didn't try the others yet, mainly because I was too busy eating the
oatmeal ones. But all the guys I work with said the Funfetti ones
were delicious as well. I look forward to tasting them. I will be
able to start sending pictures within the next couple of days. once
again, your generosity is greatly appreciated and the cookies are
delicious.

-Brandon

WOW! I Got An Award!

2008-11-11T20:21:00.004-06:00

I was pleasantly surprised when Anne over at Confessions Are Good For The Soul chose me as one of the people she wanted to give this blog award to.

It's nice to know that people like my blog! (I had actually been considering taking a break from blogging, because I haven't had much to say, but maybe I will just have to try harder to come up with topics.) LOL!

Thank you Anne! It was sweet of you to think of me! I really appreciate it!

Reality Check!

2008-11-10T10:20:00.002-06:00

There are only 45 days until Christmas!

It's about time to start thinking about decorating the house, planning the menu, and trying to find the "perfect" Christmas gifts.

Cookies Are On The Way!

2008-11-05T08:15:00.004-06:00

It's that time again! Time to bake and mail out cookies to soldiers serving overseas!

Brat girl and I, mailed out our cookies to Brandon this past Monday!

We are hoping they arrive quickly, and that everyone enjoys them!

I didn't take individual pictures of the cookies, because I have already posted about the kinds that we made in previous posts.

Check out Operation Baking Gals for more information.

Fall Colors!

2008-10-30T11:00:00.009-05:00

I finally got out to take some fall photographs, before all of the pretty colors disappeared! I actually went out two separate times (in the same day.) The following were from the first shoot.

This next group of photos were taken while I was out on the second shoot. Bud and I, were walking on the trails out in the woods. The first is taken at the little creek that is back there. On the next three, I was trying to get the sun shining through the leaves.

Funfetti Cookies!

2008-10-24T11:12:00.010-05:00

My son's favorite cake is Funfetti.

While poking around for new recipes to try on the Pillsbury site, I came across these cookies and knew "Bud" would love them. OMG! I was right! They were DELICIOUS! So SOFT! YUM!

(Pictures & recipe taken from the Pillsbury site.)

INGREDIENTS
1 (18.9-oz.) pkg. Pillsbury® Moist Supreme® Funfetti® Cake Mix
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 (15.6-oz.) can Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme® Funfetti® Vanilla Frosting

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. With bottom of glass dipped in flour, flatten to 1/4-inch thickness.
2. Bake at 375°F. for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.
3. Spread frosting over warm cookies. Immediately sprinkle each with candy bits from frosting. Let frosting set before storing. Store in tightly covered container.

***************

Here is a picture I snapped of "Brat Girl" the other day. I had to take one because she was eating YUCKY seaweed!

Nope! Not going there! LOL! I will stick with the Funfetti Cookies! ROFL!

A New Soldier To Bake For!

2008-10-23T08:01:00.015-05:00

This month team Spatulas & Corkscrews is baking for Brandon!

Brandon was actually submitted by my family. He is a friend of the kids. (WOW! He looks so grown up, since the last time I saw him!) Brandon went into the Navy after graduating from high school, and is now deployed in Iraq. He will be there 4-6 months. In his spare time he likes to go snowboarding, rollerblading, and mountain biking. He also enjoys listening to music, photography, and writing.

It's always hard being deployed, but it gets even harder at this time of the year. So, we wanted to help Brandon through the holidays, by sending him some home baked cookies, (his favorite is chocolate chip) brownies, Chex mix, and other yummy things that will bring a little taste of home to him, and the other soldiers deployed with him. (He will be getting so many cookies, that there will be plenty to share with everyone!) Since Brandon is a vegetarian, we will not be including a big bag of beef jerky in his box! LOL!

If you want to bake for a soldier please visit Operation Baking Gals website.

Addicted to Cookbooks!

2008-10-20T10:17:00.011-05:00

Look what I found yesterday! The cover made me squeal with delight as I snatched it from the shelf. It's just SO pretty! Isn't it?

I am a sucker for anything from Taste of Home! And this one is perfect because it has all kinds of yumminess to bake for Christmas. I began looking through it last night, while laying in bed. I fell asleep with visions of gumdrops dancing in my head! LOL! (They actually have a recipe for gumdrop cookies) I haven't made it to the bars section yet, because this book has 137 pages of recipes! YEAH!

As for my addiction to cookbooks, I'm not sure exactly when it started, but I'm beginning to think I need a 12-step program or something.

HI! My name is Kathy, and I am addicted to cookbooks! LOL!

I am blaming the grocery stores! It's their fault, that I cannot check out without buying one of these!

And, the bookstores! They get me by having all the smells coming from the deli! It makes me hungry, and I end up in the cookbook section. UH HUH! That's my story! And I'm sticking to it!

YEP! That's RIGHT! That's why I have these:

OH! Don't believe for a second that this is all I have! I have others. Including two of the exact same Weight Watchers cookbooks! OOPS! And I don't see it ending anytime soon, because I am putting these on my Christmas wish list!

I am also anxiously awaiting the Pioneer Woman's cookbook, that will be available sometime next year.

Now, if I would just get into the kitchen and COOK some of the recipes from these wonderful books! Maybe then, Mr. Mister wouldn't roll his eyes at me whenever I pick up another one! LOL!

Twilight Fans!

2008-10-17T15:06:00.006-05:00

I was catching up on Jessica's blog, and saw that she had taken this quiz over at Twilighters Anonymous to tell her which female character she would be, from the Twilight Series. So, of course, I had to take the quiz too! It would appear, that I am Bella! LOL!

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

You are observant, diplomatic and often aim to please. You are unaware of your
attractiveness and despite being uncomfortable with any form of attention, people enjoy your company. You can be impatient, stubborn and headstrong, but you are true to your word and mature for your age, often taking care of your family and enjoying a good book over chatting with girlfriends on the phone.

Well, I am definitely impatient, stubborn, and headstrong! LOL!

WAIT! That means I get EDWARD! OOOOOOH! But then there's JAKE! Do I really HAVE to choose between the two? What's a girl to do? I can't make up my mind! OK! I've got it! On Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays I will spend time with Edward. And then Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Saturdays will be with Jake! Of course, everyone knows you need to rest on Sunday! ROFL!

Shoot! I will have to figure Orlando in there somewhere!

OH! Hi Mr. Mister! What am I doing? Ummmmmmmmm nothing!

Gotta GO!

Operation Baking Gals News!

2008-10-17T11:02:00.012-05:00

Our baking group has heard from Chaplain Jones and his team!

Several emails were sent from Anna-Marie Greenfield, the assistant Chaplain to Michael Jones. She has sent thanks from themselves, and all of the soldiers that are enjoying the care packages we sent out. It appears that all of the goodies are disappearing QUICKLY! LOL!

She also included several pictures!

Here is Anna-Marie with Chaplain Jones (Chappy):

Anna-Marie:

Anna-Marie and some of the soldiers:

This is the Honor Chapel Office Team:

And, last but not least, Anna-Marie with Chapel Albertson:

It is so good to know that the boxes have arrived, and that everyone is getting a little taste of home!

I am planning to sign up again! They are now forming baking teams for round four! So, if you would like to send some LOVIN' from your OVEN, to the troops overseas, head on over to Operation Baking Gals, and choose a team. Boxes are to be shipped out the last week of October.

See ya there!

Anniversary!

2008-10-11T12:05:00.012-05:00

Mr. Mister and I have been married for 23 years! WOW!

Saturday, started with a wonderful breakfast, that Mr. Mister got up early to make for us!

He snuck out to the store and bought all kinds of yummy stuff. (All of the food pictures were taken by my son!)

We had eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and orange juice.

But, my absolute favorite, were the Belgium waffles topped with strawberries and whip cream! YUM!

Later, we headed out, to wander wherever the car took us. We had no specific plans, and ended up driving toward the river. I LOVE just taking a drive. And it was a beautiful day to do that. (The 80's in October!) Of course, since we were headed in the direction of Fast Eddie's, we had to make a stop there. Mr. Mister really enjoys eating there. We were so stuffed when we left, that we took a walk around some antique stores in the area.

It seems that we have started a little tradition in these last few years. We end up at antique stores, and I try to find some new crackle glass pieces to add to my small collection. I got really lucky this time, and found THREE pieces! Aren't they GORGEOUS!

After visiting the antique stores, we continued up the river. On our way back home, Mr. Mister ran over TWO snakes! (Accidentally!) They were out on the road, because it was so hot. EWW!

Once we made it home, we decided to go to a movie. So, out the door we went again, to see Nights in Rodanthe. It was a good movie. Although, I must say, that I didn't like the ending!

On Sunday, we went to eat at Romano's Macaroni Grill. We were actually going to go there on our anniversary, but we were still too full from eating at Fast Eddie's. We also stopped by the Home Depot to pick up a new sander, and some saw horses so that we could work on the basement.

It was a busy weekend! But, we really enjoyed it!

Scrapbook Factory Kits!

2008-10-03T12:57:00.003-05:00

Scrapbook Factory, the store that I used to work for, is now offering some of their kits online.

They have been selling kits for years now, and they have always been a favorite with customers. Whenever we participated in shows, the booth was always crowded with women who had their arms full with kits. Some scrapbookers have driven hours, anticipating what new kits would be available. (They would even call ahead to the store and have us hold anything new to the side for them.)

These kits are GREAT for everyone! People who are just starting to scrapbook like them because it keeps them from being so overwhelmed, by everything they see around them in a store. Advanced or busy scrapbookers, purchase several at a time, to quickly help them catch up on the stack of pictures they just had printed. Everyone LOVES that they don't have to spend extra time trying to plan how they want their pages to look, or sorting through all of their paper and embellishments to make sure they coordinate well with each other. The guess work is taken out of the process, because everything needed for the layout is included in the kit. (Talk about stress free scrapbooking! LOL!)

The kits also come with a color photo, as a guide to help you put the layouts together. What's even better, is that you don't have to create the layouts exactly as you see them in the picture. If you want to change things up a bit, you have the freedom to do that.

So, if you are looking for a little bit of "help" with your scrapbooking pages, take a look at the kits, I am sure they will have something that catches your eye! They can even help get you ready for all of those Halloween, Fall, and Christmas pictures you KNOW you will be taking!

Make sure you keep checking back, because the website is still very new, and they are adding more every day.

Operation Baking Gals - Update!

2008-10-01T12:18:00.018-05:00

The team (Spatulas & Corkscrews) that I am on for Operation Baking Gals, received a little information about the soldier we are sending care packages too.

I don't have a photo to show you, but hopefully we will get one of him after he receives all of it.

His name is Michael Jones and he's a Chaplain with the 10th Mountain Division, stationed out of Fort Drum, New York. He is now in Iraq, stationed at Camp Victory.

Since he is a Chaplain, we know that he will have LOTS of people to share all of our home baked goodies with.

Here's what I put in my box:

Oatmeal Scotchies

This is one of our FAVORITE cookies! I have mentioned them before.

Rice Krispy Treats

Doesn't EVERYBODY love these? You cannot go wrong with Rice Krispy Treats!

Homemade Chex Mix

This is SO good! Once you start eating it, you CANNOT stop! I used to work with a girl that made this all the time. She would bring each of us our own baggie filled with this addicting mixture. Of course, I had to get the recipe from her!

Homemade Chex Mix

Ingredients:

3/4 box Rice Chex Cereal
1 Family Size Box Cheezits
1 Family Size Box Wheat Thins
1/2 lb. (1/2 bag) Pretzel Squares
1 10 oz. Bag Oyster Crackers
3 Cups Peanuts Or Cashews

Dressing:

2 Cups Canola Oil
2 tsp. Garlic Powder
2 tsp. Dill Weed Powder
2 pkgs or 1/2 cup Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing Mix (Dry)
2 tsp. Lemon Pepper

In a large roasting pan, mix all of the crackers, cereal, and nuts together. In a small mixing bowl, thoroughly mix the dressing ingredients. Pour over cereal mixture. Stir. Bake @ 250 degrees for 30 minutes, stir mixture, and continue baking for 30 more minutes.

Note: I did not use any nuts in the batch I made, because we don't like nuts in ours. I bought some OKE-DOKE brand Corn Puffs (because we are always picking the puffy things out of the store bought Chex Mixes and eating them) and used that instead. I also had to bake this in two batches, because it makes A LOT! I didn't have a pan big enough to bake all of it in at once. I mixed it all together in a HUGE pot, then poured half of it into the roasting pan.

I finished everything up last night, and mailed it out today.

I cannot wait to hear that it has reached him!

In the meantime, I am going to start gathering stuff for the next round. I am sure they will begin teaming up again soon. Packages are mailed out at the end of every month. If you are interested in participating, please go to the Operation Baking Gals site for more information.

Operation Baking Gals!

2008-09-24T10:28:00.010-05:00

I was reading a blog today, that led me to Donna's blog, called Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases.

Last month she and twenty five other women from Operation Baking Gals, participated in sending care packages full of cookies and other things to a soldier in IRAQ. Each month they send out another care package to a different soldier.

On Donna's website she was asking for more people to join her team. So, I have sent her an email telling her that I would like to be a part of this.

I wanted to post this information here, in case any of you would like to also be a part of this wonderful "operation."

ETA: I believe Donna's team is full now, but they are accepting more requests for participation, on the Operation Baking Gals website. Or maybe, you might want to start your own team? If so, you can email Susan at bakingGALS@gmail.com and ask about doing that.

Nothing Much Going On!

2008-09-23T11:10:00.009-05:00

HI!

So, there's not much to chat about!

Just trying to catch up on some things.

Today, I've been watching QVC, because they are having the last Paper Crafting Fair of the year! Which means, they are showing all kinds of scrapbooking/paper crafting goodies. Lots of things to OOOOOOH & AAAAAH over! (NO, I'm not ordering all of it! LOL! Just WATCHING!)

I'm waiting to see Tim Holtz! He is making his debut today! I can't wait to see the kits that he is offering.

Hopefully, I can make it through the rest of the afternoon without pulling out the wallet! LOL!

Wednesday Weigh In!

2008-09-17T13:04:00.014-05:00

So, I have been on plan (Weight Watchers) for the past week! YAY ME! When I weighed myself this morning I was down 3.5 lbs. It's a START! Now, I just need to keep the numbers going down on the scale!

I also exercised EVERY day! WHEW! My body is revolting against me now! I have aches and pains EVERYWHERE! (Which is a GOOD thing!)

All of you know how much I LOVE Leslie Sansone's "Walk Away the Pounds" dvds. (I have mentioned this several times. LOL) But, I also bought another walk dvd. This one is by Debbie Rocker. It's called "Walk, Sculpt, and Tone." WOW! I am really liking it. I have been doing both of the workouts, and they are kicking my patootie!

When I first popped Debbie's dvd in, I knew right away, that it was meant for me to buy this dvd. (I had actually been looking for another Leslie Sansone dvd, and couldn't find it.)

What makes me say that it was destiny, you ask?

Well, because she is working out on the red rocks of SEDONA! OMG! I was so excited when I saw that! (Everyone around me, knows how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE Sedona!)

Look! I even took a picture of my television screen to show you! (It's a little blurry!)

Now, I am sure there are many of you thinking that I am "behind the times" because everybody knows who Debbie Rocker is. But, I had never heard of her before. Of course, I had to go and look her up on the internet. I found out that she is one of the original creators of the "spinning" classes, that everybody loves so much. She was also a professional athlete, holds a world record in cycling, and has trained quite a few celebrities. She is also the creator of the WALKVEST.

I had seen this vest a while back on Oprah. It is the same one that Valerie Bertinelli was talking about while she was on the show, discussing her weight loss. She gave the vest RAVE reviews, and I remember thinking to myself, I want ONE! LOL!

I told Mr. Mister about it, and he has given me the go ahead to order one! YAY! Now, I just need to get him to order one too, so that he can start walking with me!

Wish me luck for the upcoming week! I am trying to be good! But, sometimes those M&M's win the battle! LOL! I count them! But, they are a whopping 5 points for 1/4 cup! OUCH!