Happy Halloween

There is no trick or treating in our neighborhood. It is not a rule, just a known fact.

The houses are so far apart the kids would be limited to about 5 houses.

If only the Ice Cream man would deliver Halloween candy, I would not have to leave the house....

We will go to a friends house again this year. They live in a "normal" neighborhood. Where the kids can hit about 75 houses in 16 minutes.

They do a nice dinner every year. It is all very fun and festive.

Lo is done with dressing up. That ended the year before last.

We may be able to bribe ($$) her to walk with the younger kids this year.

Linds is a bumble bee. How cute right? Ironic? Mom....busy bee....

I will post some pics this weekend. She had a trunk or treat last night with girl scouts, we have actual trick or treating tonight and she has a costume birthday party/sleepover tomorrow.
I hope this Bee getup we made will hold up.

It just would not be a holiday around her if we didn't dress up the dogs....

I am going to (attempt) to bake a nice dessert for tonight. Something with Pumpkin....

I am not a big baker, or even really good at it, but I do try. I have this fabulous cookbook that my Mom gave to me a few years ago. We make a lot of stuff out of it, the girls and I. Everything has been good. It is kinda like a cookbook for dummies.

and I is the dummie.

I noticed this morning some of the pages are falling out. Only the ones not covered by sticky sugary substances. Those pages will never come out. :)

BFF tag....

Awwww shucks....I was asked to play a game of Blogging Best Friend Tag by Big Hair Envy. And here I thought I might be to old for besties. Thanks BHE.
If you have not read her blog, you are missing out on some Fun. With a capital F.
She is one sassy southern girl who enjoys life. And I like that. No complaining, just good stuff.
Plus, she is a former spiral perm addict. AND I used to give spiral perms for $$$ back in the working days.
So we are pretty much kindred "hair" spirits.
Her comments can make me spit out my morning of coffee.


The funny thing is, she was given this Tag by Suz @ Alive in Wonderland. (wonderland is Orange County, CA for those NOT in the know) Suz is a fabulous photographer and the reason I found this funny is because Suz kinda/backhanded/sorta tagged me for this recently and I was not sure if I should do it or not. Well, the stars have spoken and I shall. Plus, Suz has a wonderful name. Her Mom and my Mom both have good taste when it comes to naming babies. And she leaves very funny comments that always make me laugh.


Here are the rules:
1. Only five people are allowed.
2. Four have to be dedicated followers of your blog.
3. One has to be someone new or recently new to your blog, and live in another part of the world. 4. You must link back to whoever linked to you.

This is different in the fact that you can ONLY have 5 people...what a bummer.

How can I pick??? Oh, randomly, like me.

When it says the person has to live in another part of the world, well that is just plain crazy. Everyone knows I live in my OWN world. Heck, I could pick
this good friend and she lives just around the corner from me. She most likely won't pass this on, she is a shy blogger. Go give her a visit though and tell her to get out more. Stop working so much and why in the world are you spending so much time trying to change this world???
Oh, cause YOU are da'bomb that is why!!! After Nov 4th, she will have more free time.


Laurie at Kellers on The Prairie has such a lovely blog. She shares her part of the world with everyone. I love her pictures and I have a feeling that her camera is glued to her hand...she takes it everywhere. She and her love moved away from the big city back to her home town and are having a lovely life. Her love has just recovered from a nasty accident, but I think he is on the mend with all her care and attention. Plus, she can grow all kinds of tasty produce. If she were closer, I would take my reusable shopping bags to her back yard and fill em' up.



I suppose I could consider Clippy Mat being from a different part of the world too...she is a Canadian, originally from England. She gives some insight to the cultures of both countries.
Did you know Canadians have a Thanksgiving? Those pilgrims got around ...She is funny and witty She writes what she thinks and she ain't scared to say too much of anything.
Don't even think of going to her house of Halloween for some tricks OR treats. She is very against that holiday and most likely she will be downstairs line dancing anyway.


If I ever get myself back to Texas I am going straight over to the "compound" and visiting with Grandma J. I love people who socialize and Grandma J is "social People." You never know what she is going to come up with, or what kind of trouble she will create....good trouble though. Fun stuff. (Like a pole dancing teddy bear?)
I always look forward to her posts and her comments. She is genuinely a nice person and anyone who converses with her realizes this. Check her out, she will make your day!

One of the most recent blogs I started reading is Baby Favorite . A working mom way over on the left coast. She recently wrote about her brother's terrible accident and it really touched me. (I have thought of this daily now)
I lost my brother years ago, she still has hers, but not like she would care to.
She always has something nice to say and is in a really bad place right now herself. You see, in her little town they only have 3 good shopping stores and wouldn't you know it, one of them is closing down. Damn bad economy. For a woman, that is tragic. She has been in my thoughts and prayers lately. I hope she can overcome this too. :) Really though, check her out.
She has some good stuff to say!!!

If you don't pass this on, that is ok. I won't hold it against you. (for too long)

The day I lost my flippin' mind

It started off as a typical weekend day.

I slept in.
I had my cup of coffee.
Checked on the girls, they were being typical as well.
One on the couch watching TV, one on the computer watching You Tube.

I made our bed. Coach left a few hours earlier for softball practice.



I went out to the back yard and fiddled with my compost.
I found several ant piles en route and went back and treated them.

I cleaned the guest bathroom.

I sent the girls to their rooms to clean.

I took the dogs out to the driveway to run a bit.

That was right before I started to lose my mind.



I heard something down the street. I knew what I heard. But I was not sure it was real.

It was a sound that I had not heard in a hundred years.

My heart started beating fast.

I was getting a weird feeling in my head. In my hands and feet too.


It was not right. I was losing it.



I had to get the girls' attention.
I could not even be bothered with going back into the garage, through the mudroom door to get them. I needed them NOW.

I started calling for them from the yard. Lo.....Linds!!!!!

I ran to Lindsay's window and started banging, screaming her name. LINDSAY!!!!

The dogs looked at me like I was a crazy person. And I was.

Linds pulled the blinds back and looked at me like I was a crazy person. Because I was.

I screamed to her through the window:

THE ICE CREAM MAN IS COMING!!!!!!

She pursed her lips and said: You are lying.

I screamed through the window:
No, I am not, he is really coming...he is coming down the street!!!


Get out here NOOOOOOWWWW!!!

In a flash, she came out the garage with my wallet in hand.

I suppose she believed me now.

Then, I looked at her and remembered her Sister had been fooling around with a flute earlier...maybe that was what I was hearing. Was I overreacting?
Am I really hearing the ice cream truck???

I asked Linds this...she said she can hear it too.



She started jogging down the driveway and then stopped....

This is when she realized she still had on her Hello Kitty boxer shorts and decided to change.

I almost lost it then.... I shouted: THERE IS NO TIME FOR CHANGING!!!!!

She ran back into the house.



I just knew she was going to miss this golden opportunity.


It was as if I had injected with a shot of adrenaline. I was a crazy person.

I started yelling into the house....Run Run, Hurry up, Run Linds, HUUUUURRYYY !!!!!!
By now Lauren came out and looked at me like a crazy person too.

I said to Lo:
Hurry and run down to the street and get an ice cream.
The ice cream man is commmmmmming!!!


She Just stared at me, kinda scared at this point. She did not want to go.


Lindsay came out and I could just see the front of the ice cream VAN coming into view.


I told her to run down there before it passes byyyyy !!!

You would have thought the ice cream man was giving away money, or even baby dolphins the way I reacted to his arrival...

She Ran down opened the gate and met the ice cream man in the street.


I had such a huge grin on my face by now, but my blood pressure was still very high.

I ran into the house for the camera. Knowing that this may never happen again.

The person driving the van saw me taking the pictures and most likely thought I was a crazy person too.

That is ok. I am alright with being a crazy person by now.

Lindsay came back in and we had a good 15 minute laugh about the whole thing.

I came to my senses and realized what a kook I am. This made me laugh all the more....


You see, we don't ever have an ice cream truck here. We live in a semi-rural area.

They just don't come around.
Or, if they do, we may be inside and we would never hear them coming.


Later on, after the incident Lauren said she thought someone was breaking into the house and I was telling Lindsay to run for her life.

Lindsay told me that the neighbors must think that I am insane.

She said I made it sound like someone was chasing her down the street with a knife.

Because I was telling her to run run run.


I explained to the kids that as a child we had the icecream truck coming by all the time...we could hear it blocks away. Of course we could not hear our parents in the next room telling us to do something, but that truck...that truck was music to our ears.


Then it dawned on me. I wanted an ice cream and in all the craziness, I did not get one.


I called Jeff and asked him to pick me up a push-up pop on his way home.
He did. No questions asked. (that is a good husband)

If there was ever a thought that I was a normal person, well that is out the window with this little incident.

What makes you go loco?

A picture is worth a thousand....

memories of birthday surprises....

Four days in NYC for my 40th (2007)

A weekend full of friends and endless surprises...

Farm Aid to see some of my favorite musicians


Birthday dessert at the Mandarin Oriental.





All planned in secrecy for me; by my love.

The birthday by which all others will pale in comparison.

*sigh*


**This was 9/10/2007**

Oh, it is the little things that make my day....

Today I am thankful for:

*actually not having to get out of bed until 7:20 am. I did not sleep straight through, but I didn't have to wake up teenager, or shoo her out the door. (Thanks Coach) I am a much better person with good sleep behind me.



*Hubby took care of dog situation. ie: potty time and breakfast.



*being able to put on my white fluffy robe because it was actually cool this morning.



*having a cup of coffee on the sundeck watching the dogs play, while in my fluffy white robe.

(hello neighbors)



*getting the Mud room counter top cleaned off....looks SO much better. Nothing can bring me so much joy as a clean counter top. weird. I know.

*laughing with Linds as she eats her cheerios & trying to teach Ozzie how to Sit.

*starting a load of laundry and then realizing how lucky I am to have a working washer.

"I heart you washing machine"

*knowing in a few minutes, I will be trimming trees in the yard and I may not sweat instantly.
It will take 30 minutes as opposed to 5 to bring on the drench.



*remembering that it is Tuesday. That means Linds has 2 hours of dance this evening and I will be picking up Jason's Deli for dinner. yeah!! (I will try to remember when I call in our order to ask for coach's sandwhich as the "club royal sandwich and not the "casino royale sandwich" like I did last week.)



*everyone is healthy and well today. right down to the animals.



*Life is good. I wish everyone a good day today too.




“Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live.”

anonymous

My new sweet baby - GeorgeAnne!

What do you think about my little new baby GeorgeAnne?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

My husband makes better looking babies than George Clooney!!!
I knew I made the right choice way back when......
This is just bizarre.

My new sweet baby - JeffAnne!

What do you think about my little new baby JeffAnne?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

This is freaky...it does not look like either of our girls. And she kinda looks boyish but very cute. I would take her home from the hospital for sure.
Check it out, see what your babies will look like.

Irony

Of all the books and magazines sitting around this house, why do you suppose this was the one to take a bite of and rip off the cover.

I can almost hear the dog conversation between Ozzie and Cocoa:

"We don't need no stinking training..."

Playing in the yard....some more....

Some pictures from the home front....

A gorgeous Florida Sunset.

Global warming most likely caused the lovely purple hue.

Ixora blooms

When I was little I used to pull off the individual flowers and use them as garnishes on my mud pies.

Martha Stewart Who?

Pink Hibiscus.

These are lovely to tuck in your hair, but be warned they usually have ants in them.

I was a Hawaiian girl for Halloween when I was about 10. I know about ants in the hair.

With all the summer rains we still have an abundance of baby frogs around the house.

This little guy thought about coming in the house until I told him of the 3 cats waiting for him.

Can you imagine my surprise when I ran into this Llama in the yard????

Just kidding. that would be really weird.

Lindsay is obsessed with Llamas. She wants 2.

They shall be named: Tina and Larry and they will have their spitting function removed.

This, That and The Other Thing....

This:
I found this organic wine called Our Daily Red, it's from California and it is tasty.

I get it from the Total Wine store for about $9.
On their website it says you can get it from Trader Joes a bit cheaper.
I really want a Trader Joes to open near me. Do you hear that TRADER JOES???

anyhoo, if you like a nice, light red wine to sip, this one is a keeper. No sulfites. yeah!!
Plus the Name is quite "heavenly"


That:
What do you think it means when I dream that I am in a Manhattan Townhouse, cooking with Katie Holmes? It was so crazy. We were cutting up some large leaves of basil, and we were actually doing this on my craft table. I will never know how it ended because one of the cats woke me by crying and scratching on the lanai door.
I am not even a fan of hers.

I am happy that Tom was not there though, I no likey Tom.
Maybe I was concerned because I think I may have seen our new Ozzie pee on my Basil plants on the porch....

they are being replaced asap.

I have many rules. One is: No pee on my mozzarella tomato salad.

The Other Thing:
Driving on our street the other afternoon three graceful deer crossed the road in front of me. I wish one of the kids had been with me.
When we first moved into this house 10 years ago, we would see them almost daily out our back windows. Now, there is so many more homes built, they are running out of space.
Poor bambi.
That reminds me that the first few years in this house someone living near us had a rooster.
What we learned is: roosters do their "cockadoodledoo" many times during the day and night.
It is just a myth that they are morning alarm clocks. ;)
Eventually, he kicked the bucket. We have not heard from him in years.
I am pretty sure he died of old age. right?

Playing in the Yard....

Well, enough of my complaining about how hot it is here. It has finally cooled off a bit.

85 degrees at high noon is awfully nice.

I found this bug on the front column by the entry way...

I don't know what he is.

I asked him, but apparently he is the silent type.

I just found out I had this Macro button on my camera, don't you feel lucky?

The orchids that I continually ignore bloomed again.....

The family is mourning the loss of this "canary island" palm tree.

He has been in this spot for 10 years and somehow caught a disease.

With all the birds, squirrels and snakes I have seen coming and going in it over the years, it could be an STD.

Protection is key here.

See how all the fronds are drooping down...so sad. When it is trimmed up properly it looks like a pineapple. The girls and I call it the pineapple tree.

Now, we call it the dead tree and we make sad faces every time we pass it in the car.

Partly because the fronds hit my car as we drive by it now.

It will cost an arm and a leg or two to have it removed and we would have to sell the children to replace it with one of similar size. Since I finally have the children trained so well, I am keeping them.

I think a rose bush will work when the time comes.

This is the other Pineapple Tree in our yard.

It is much smaller, but gives you an idea of what a healthy one looks like.
This guy is in need of a trim too. The fronds sway in the wind and tap at my bathroom window. It makes me think I have a peeping Tom.

But maybe it is just this guy with the binoculars:

Lil' perv.

Our Newest bundle of joy "Ozzie"....

Maybe I should have thrown MYSELF a baby shower???

Our new addition:

He was picked up as a stray and spent some time in the pound. He was rescued from there by a Boxer rescue rep. He was then sent to live with a foster family while he recovered from several things....heart worms, malnutrition, an injured leg.
He was only45 lbs when he was picked up. He was not neutered either. So that snipping was taken care of before we got him.

The foster mom took him in and fattened him up and he is all sorts of happy.

She had him for the last 3 months.

He is very healthy and a perfect 60lbs now.
He is about 5 years old.


The foster Mom gave him a name, that we don't really like...Spanky...shhh don't tell her we renamed him.

That was only his name for 3 months and no one knows what it was before.

What I do know.....he is extremely sweet.
He likes people a lot. Especially me, although Lindsay swears he likes her best, he likes me best.
He is happy when we give him the slightest amount of attention and unlike Cocoa, he does not pounce on us when we enter the house.

He just gives us the boxer wiggles with the traditional kidney bean waggle thrown in.

He is not even interested in lounging on the furniture...ummmm...like some other dog I know....


And he does play so very good with Cocoa.

They run all over the yard and then come in and sleep for a few hours before running all over the yard again.
He follows me everywhere. Cocoa follows him everywhere. We have our own little train going through the house.
He does not give the cat's much trouble either. A good sniff here and there.
I am sure they are not the least bit happy to have another canine in the house though.

And I forgot to ask them beforehand. darn it.

He has a nice comfy bed in our bedroom that he sleeps peacefully on each night.

Did I say peaceful?

Boxers snore. Must be that short little snout of theirs.

Times that by 2 and add my wonderful husband....His snout is a bit bigger though.

Thank the good lord for the person who invented earplugs. hallelujah. Amen

He enjoys having his teeth brushed. (thank you foster Mom for spoiling him)
I will add that to my daily list of chores now.....

But I also realized he has bad breath.

SO I guess the teeth brushing will be good. I may also add a Tic Tac and some scope to his daily routine.

He has no interest in toys right now. That may change though.

I just keep wondering what his life was like before he was picked up???

Did he have a happy home?

Was he a runaway or was he disposed of?

No one came looking for him at the pound.

The people who had him took the time and expense to have his ears done, but did not microchip or neuter him. That makes me wonder....

My Mom thinks he may have been a stud.

But her mind is usually in the gutter like that.

Just kidding

not kidding.

Play, Play, Play, Play, Play

Sleep, Sleep, Snore, Sleep, Snore, Sleep

A picture is worth a thousand

Wonderful Memories...

Linds and I
Mothers day luncheon 2007

Robbed of the Title: Mother & Daughter Look-a-Like contest winners.

Yes, there was an uproar

Girl Scout judges are not to be trusted.

The investigation continues....

My Fall....

I love the Fall.
The term "Fall" is so different here in South Florida.
Fall means:

Fall craft supplies at Joann's' are on sale.

The grass goes from being a deep lush green needing mowing every 5 days to a light green needing mowing every 9 days.

Pumpkins are on display at the churches.

Publix has huge displays of canned pumpkin and marshmallows.

Our A/C bill will go down about 18 dollars.

I do love getting out my fall stuff.

The colors of fall go so well in our house since I keep most everything neutral all year round and then add color during the holidays.

Heck, even my animals are fall colored, orange, tan, brown.

I am just too coordinated for my own good. Don't hate.

Some shots around the house because I am avoiding laundry, exercise and showering right now...

A great girl scout project from a 100 years ago...those girls loved to use a glue gun...

Below is our "Thankful Tree"

I know, it appears to be something out of the blair witch project, but it is not.

Each year I have the girls cut out leaves...before Thanksgiving dinner we have everyone present write what they are thankful for...we hang them on the tree. After Dinner and dessert we have the kids read them aloud and try to guess who wrote them. This past year, I was out of time and did not get the strings on them, so they are just scattered.

Some great memorable leaves of thankfulness: Grandma Bev's Chocolate pie; good plumbing; airplanes; turkey with gravy; of course family is a regular note on the leaves too....a great idea for a nice family touch.

My dining room centerpiece...

Notice the leaves changing colors on my Christmas Tree palm?

Yeah, me neither...

I think I'll crank the a/c down to 74, put on a sweatshirt and have some hot cocoa.....

Cigars for everyone!!!

We have a new baby boy in our family!!!

Details to come...including his name.

Cocoa is so in love. He is as sweet as pie.

They are a good match.

What the Hey?

Is it just me????

It seems that sometimes I need a computer to figure out the word verification letters ....

Seriously, there are times I can't tell what they are, and I have to refresh a few times to get a more legible set.

P.S I just had my eyes checked and my RX is still good.

"People think computers will keep them from making mistakes. They're wrong. With computers you make mistakes faster. "

-Adam Osborne

I like to eat...

and I think this is the bestest Salad in the entire world.

Field greens or Baby Romaine

Crumbled Gorgonzola Or Bleu Cheese

Chopped walnuts

Poppy Seed Dressing (the "cold" stuff from the produce section)

Your fave Seasonal fruit (green apples, peaches, nectarines, pears- I am using Nectarines here)

Crasins (dried cranberry rasins)

It is the cat's Pajamas, the bee's knees... all that and a bag of chips too!

And no, I have not traveled the WHOLE world (yet) But I am pretty darn sure that this is the bestest!!

"Vegetables are a must on a diet.

I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie."

~Jim Davis

I am a good Mother. Yes I am

I had to say that FIRST...

Phrases constantly Repeated (mostly by me) around our house.....

I will shank you.

Are you INSANE?

Let's go, we are going to be late.

Did you brush your teeth?

Have you been shanked lately?

Time to get off the computer.

Am I the only one who knows how to load the dishwasher?

Did you finish your homework?

Did you put it in your backpack?

Who ransacked your room? Didn't you just clean it yesterday?

Girl, I will cut you.

Oh, no you didn't!

I would use a prison bathroom before I would use yours.

Would someone please clean the cat box(s) or I swear, I will send those cats out the front door.

What did you comb your hair with? The leg of a chair?

In case anyone does not know what a shank is: here is the urban dictionary
explanation: "a handmade weapon made out of the only stuff you recieve in prison,
sharpened to perfection. essentially made out of toothbrushes and spoons."

Don't all Mothers threaten to shank their kids? No?

Maybe I watched too many prison moves in the past.

The girls recently learned how to make a shank out of a toothbrush on some crazy show they watched with their Dad. (maybe that is why they leave their toothbrushes out?)

Yes, shank is our most favorite word. Weird, I know.

And still, the Mother of the year Award has not been awarded to me.

I don't know why.....

Now don't get all crazy and go calling the family protective services people...they are much too busy to worry about little ol' me.

This, That and the Other thing

This:
We passed the home/family visit withe the Boxer adoption Rep. We are just waiting now to see if we can meet and greet a few different boys to make sure they jive with Cocoa.
She gets along well with all dogs, we just need to make sure the other dog feels the same way.

Cocoa (right) and her BFF Zack (2 years ago.)

That
I am thrilled that the gas prices are finally going down. Today I saw it for $3.17.
Quite a bargain for our area.
But what really gets my goat, chafes my backside, gets under my skin is filling up my tank at 9:00 am. and then driving back by the EXACT same gas station at 12:00 noon and the price dropped 3 cents.
I feel like I got ripped off. Even more than I am already getting ripped off.

(I just realized there is no cents sign on this keyboard. are they all like that? Maybe they took it off like that "any" key)

The other thing

One of my all time pet peeves.....I am sure I am not alone in this.....It is so wrong....

Men who highlight their hair.

uggghhh.

Men should not spend more time in the salon than I do. There should be a law.

That is all I am saying....

The Other, Other Thing

My most favorite comment recently is this one from Wixy's gone Bananas regarding my LoLo's homecoming picture.:

"Is this your sister? you don't look old enough to be her mother"

thanks Cliff. I heart you, bunches!

And NO, I am not the least bit vain. ;)

A picture is worth a Thousand....

Wonderful High School Memories

Homecoming Dance

Hair and makeup was done by me. I even threw in some highlights a few hours before

(while she was at her desk finishing mandatory history homework or she did not go to the dance at all )

I promised NOT to make her look too much like street walker.

She appreciated that very much.

trying to hide the green cast.....too bad it was not black or silver.

Nonstop texting to friends....

have you left yet? no. have you left yet? no. have you left yet?

Dog wondering...why have we not left yet?

Happy Birthday My Love

What a cute little booger

Happy Birthday to the best Boyfriend ever.

You are a wonderful Husband, father and friend.

My most favoritest Coach in the world.
And I don't play "favorites"

Basically, you just ROCK!!!

(He's the BOMBAY)

My husband is a man of very few needs....but he gives SO much.

Basically he can live and be content with the following:

Me. (who couldn't live without me?)

His oh, so precious and comical girls.

They bring daily humor and love to his life.

The Cocoa-nator. She worships him in every way.

The feeling seems mutual.

The Miami Dolphins.

No fair-weathered fan here...he has stuck by them for 43 years.

Even in their crappiest seasons....

Coaching softball. His passion. I won't ever "get it" but I accept it. :)

Good food. In particular some "meat".

His famous quote is: I did not build this body on veggies alone."

(something like that)

Crystal Lite Raspberry iced tea.

He has the kids and most of our friends hooked on it too.

We should buy stock in it.

Carvel Ice cream cake....I try to get one each birthday.

The carvel franchises are fading fast though...

Good music. And varied.

From Stevie Ray Vaughn, Charlie Daniels, Beastie Boys and Metalica...all over the place.

And I can't forget about the "crackBerry"

I know it is integral in his work and softball life...sometimes it drives me nuts.

The good thing is, when he is home, the crack berry stays in the mudroom. It only comes out when we leave the house...

Notice I put me first. That was on purpose.