If you stare at the sun too long, you will laugh hysterically.

We had an impromptu Christmas photo session on Saturday.

Testing the lighting...nope not so good.

Testing the quirkiness....perfect.

Testing the action shots....she is too quick for me. OR I am too far behind?

Guess which is the dancer and which is the softball player.

yeah, she CAN jump though!

Do you know how many years I waited to see them laugh together like this? 

 

15 years.

I said 15 years!!!! 

So, yeah, I can throw some attitude NOW!

I'm not looking at you.

I'm NOT.

Ok, I am. 

You are beautiful. Inside and out.

And you laugh just like your mom....full on belly laughs with your mouth wide open to the world.

You poor things.

They are like SUNSHINE to me...I can't help but stare!

Oh, and this cute guy was there too, who else could take us to dinner and a movie afterwards...cause we were exhausted from all the smiling, leaping, laughing and giving attitude!

Happy Wednesday. 

My wish for you is that you find something that makes you leap for joy (leaping on the inside counts) and that you laugh at least 32 times today. 

And remember, the big wide-open-mouth laughs are the most fun and they burn the most calories!

XOXOXOOX

Friends, Family and Family Spirits.

Our Thanksgiving week in a nutshell.
We shopped. We laughed. We ate. We shopped. We Laughed. We ate. We shopped.

You get the picture.

My Mom arrived last Friday and our East coast peeps arrived on Wednesday. 

Thanksgiving DAY was just lovely. A bit on the hot side...especially with that oven going all day. Next year, I am looking into one of those big roasters....that I can leave outside for the day.

The good news?  I did not injure any one.
{I tend to get a little territorial of my kitchen on holidays!}
I did however, injure myself; opening a bottle of wine.
Perhaps 10 am is too early for my wrists?

Nahhhhh.

The early bottle was for the bird.  I feel better about things if I get him intoxicated before I ruin his day.

Inside dining and outside dining. Whatever your pleasure. And no kids tables...we mix and mingle because I don't want to be the only one at the kids table. 

Linds is in charge of table decor and set up...Martha Stewart never had it so good.

Linds and Heather.

Dinner was to be at 3pm. We ate at 3:07. 

Not my first rodeo, but it was his last.
Again, he felt nothing after that cheap bottle of chardonnay.

My Atlanta peeps were not able to visit with us this year....we missed them dearly.

My Uncle Jim is usually in charge of our dinner blessing....but somebody came through for us.

Oh.yes.he.did.

quite appropriate.

We were able to get ONE family shot of the four of us. Do you see the others that tried to join in with us?

Perhaps my Grandma and Brother? They both loved Thanksgiving, and we DID have room at the tables for more. 

We've got spirit(s) yes we do, we've got spirt(s) how about you?

We had pool splashing too. Did you?

My mom had to leave on Friday. Black Friday. We were dressed appropriately.

You know I don't mess with all that shopping madness on Friday...not.on.your.life.buddy!

We had a beautiful week....I am truly blessed!

I hope your Thanksgiving left you feeling thankful as well.

I've caught the bug.

Well, not really that one. 

But I did catch him....feasting on my tomato plants.  I cussed him OUT big time. Right.in.front.of.the.dogs. 

And then I found this one IN the house...he was casually trotting down the hall, like he owns the place.

I cussed at him too. 

I am going to h*ll in a handbasket. A fashionable handbasket. 

I've got the fall, thanksgiving, spray painting bug.

Before:

 

I found these wooden pumpkins in the clearance section. I already had the orange plastic one. 

After

Metallic spray paint and (gasp) glitter. 

Usually I avoid glitter like I avoid Chinese buffets, but I gave in. Most likely, I will be ready for more glitter in a few hours. You know how that goes. 

I don't know where we will put the food. 

My best behaved child.  

Just because I put out a welcome sign, does not really mean: WELCOME. 

To really be welcome here, you have to get through security. Or hop the electrical fence. 

Unless it is YOU. I don't like it when people just walk up to your door all willy nilly thinking they are welcome. 

Unless you are in fact invited.

Did I tell you that YOU were invited?? You are. 

Those Saturday people who want to share their wonderful life with me, well, they Are NOT welcome. 

I don't go to your house telling you have fabulous MY life is. DO I???

Fall finally arrived in Florida.

That is, if falling leaves mean fall has arrived.

It is currently 83 degrees. 

Bah hummbug. 

We have cranked the thermostat down to 73...trying to fake fall and to keep Florida Power and Light in business. 

Thats me, always giving. 

And thanks to my sweet friend Jamie for making my new header for me!!!!

If we don't talk between now and Thursday, have a beautiful Thanksgiving!!!

XOXOXOXOOXOXOX

Toilet doll heads, elbow pits, a panda face and cuteness!

Are you all excited? My Mom is flying here today. Yes!!!! She has wings. 

 If you had wings...if you had wings...if YOU had wings....

I've been a busy little soul getting ready for Mom and for Thanksgiving. How many of you are coming for dinner?? It really rubs me raw when you don't RSVP.

I lied up there. I really have not been getting ready for Thanksgiving. I've just been busy doing regular stuff....and I'll worry about Thanksgiving on Tuesday. Or Wednesday.

What's the worse that can happen?? We don't eat for a day???
Oh, there is no one in this house who could not go without food for a day and not benefit from it!

I swear, I just channelled my Grandma with that last line.
I.am.turning.into.her.

It's a downward spiral from here. Soon, these will all adorn our toilet tanks.

***

Lo had blood drawn the other day...she called me and said:

"They took 5 vials of blood! It didn't hurt, but they could NOT get blood out of my elbow pit, they had to get it from my hand."

I knew exactly what she meant by elbow pit. 
Do you?

***

Someone has a flair for hair. and hats. But not hat hair.

Feelin' the fedora.

Rockin' the panda.

You'll never guess what store we were in.

I could never look that cute with a panda face on my head.

And just so you don't spend the rest of the day thinking about Doll heads on the back of your toilet tank, ELBOW PITS or PANDA faces on my head, I leave you with a moment of cuteness.

Was that a collective ahhhhhhhhh that I just heard? I thought so.

Have a beautiful weekend doing whatever it is that you do. 

When I count my blessings...I count each and everyone of YOU.

My Body Double~Trouble

Have you heard the phenomenon that humans, over time, start to resemble their pets?

Well, sadly, this is becoming reality in our house.

I noticed last week, that Cocoa and I have the same double chin/neck issue. I'm not sure who had it first, she or me?

As soon as my lips start to fall that far, we are heading to Dr. 90210. Or perhaps a Dr. in my zip code.

And even sadder, Maisy and I have the same mid-section. What's worse? She has never done a sit-up in her life....and I have done several.
 Gravity is at times, inconvenient. 

I am still working on the look of pure disgust towards all human beings.
It's harder than it looks, this girl is a pro.  

If you need me, I will be smelling every inch of our property, chasing a large bird that is 300ft in the air,   meowing at no one in particular and then I'll be curled up in front of a sunny window having a 6 hour siesta.

Happy Humpday!

Getting Chickee.

Usually I am just cheeky, but it's Friday.

Way back in 2003, we added a pool and an addition to our home. Some people would say we added a  pool and a 'home' to our home, but I don't like those people. haters. 

Coach had the bright idea to put a chickee hut on our lanai....it adds to the feel and flavor of our tropical home. And by tropical, I mean HOT with a lot of bugs.
Oh, again, with the bugs Suz?

The original men who put in the chickee hut were Native Americans. I had their card way back when...and somehow I lost it. The guy's name was Running Bear, Flying Eagle, or something cool like that.  I am NOT being funny right now. 

I have been searching for Running Bear/Flying Eagle for over a year.  {FYI: he is not on facebook.}

Anyhoo, this chickee has survived a few hurricanes and lots and lots of sun, wind and rain. It needed a bit of refurbishing. 

And I finally found someone to refurbish it a few weeks ago....amazing....the people you can 'meet' at a traffic intersection. oh.yes.I.did. 

So my new friends showed up this week...and over two days they took down all the old fronds and put up new ones. 

Out with the old. 

I was worried about him falling...I failed to ask about insurance. 

These guys were really nice...didn't speak a LOT of english, but were very polite. One of them said to me as he was waving towards our house: "You have very very grande big home"

I said as I made a sad face, 

"I am just the cleaning lady, you should meet the people who live here; horrible!!!"

The dogs were enthralled with the new palm fronds in waiting. 

Do you know why this is a chickee hut as opposed to a tiki hut??? 
The answer is obvious.

I can see clearly now

Tiki huts are polynesian.
Chickee huts were designed by Indians...you know the REAL Natives of our country.

And since we live in Florida...very close to the Seminole and the Miccosukee tribes...we'll go with Chickee.
Plus, my Great Grandmother was from the Algonquian tribe.  

If you caught that, my Great Grandmother was from the same tribe as Pocahontas. You remember her? That young girl who supposedly spared John Smith from death. Well, you can rent the movie if you don't know it already, surely it is on netflix.

I'm sure you are wondering right now: "Why isn't Suz tanner?"

All this indian talk makes me want to open a casino. Or visit one. 

Voila. 

It is done and lovely. Bring on the hurricanes.
Ok, mother nature, I was just kidding about that. 

Not so sure about the RED cap. I questioned the color...and  my friend said, "This is how we do it at the Big Cypress Reservation." I don't think I can argue with that answer, 'cause I really don't know what that means. 

And on the greener front...how about these babies??

OH YEAH!!!

Did you know Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks?

Is it too soon to start peeling my potatoes?

Happy Veterans Day...and a big shout out to my Cuz Chris who is serving another tour of duty in Afghanistan. Prayers for him and all those who serve to safely return home. 

Have a beautiful weekend!

Unsolved Mutant Mystery

No, I am not obsessed with bugs...I am not really a fan at all, yet, they seem to find me. All.The.Time.

AND this guy, well he was too cool to ignore. 

And by cool, I mean totally freakishly weird.

Not sure WHAT he is. I asked him several times: please identify, please identify.... 

 he ignored me.

See those big buggy eyes on the top of his head? The better to see you with my dear. 

He could be a leaf bug? A praying mantis? A mutant praying-leaf-lobster bug?

His undercarriage is red and his back side is green. Just in time for Christmas.

 He hung around this spot for a few hours, I think he might have been interested in me as well. 

But he did not have a camera...and hopefully he does not have a blog.  

After I came back into the house, I had the distinct feeling that a weird long legged, big eyed bug was in my hair and slowing crawling down my neck. 

Oh, I'm getting that feeling again now. 

You too? My bad.

That is all I have to share today. Carry on. 

xoxo