Where has the time gone....

Okay I have to admit I have no pictures.... Could someone please tell me why I have no battery in my camera?  And if they know where it is currently being charged as the charger is missing as well.... I really think we have little gnomes who run amuck through our house.  Someone like this fellow who loves nothing more than to have a little laugh!

(courtesy of the Graphics Fairy)

Currently the winds are aloft, the sun is shining and the snow is MELTING!  Oh Happy Day!!

This week ought to be a busy one for us as the eldest is having another birthday... how dare he!!  Doesn't he know he is supposed to stay a little boy for much longer than he did??? Now we are looking at post secondary school plans, preparing for SAT's, finalizing next years class schedule... So in his honor we will be having PiZZA this week. 

AND LOTS OF IT!

My does that boy ever LOVE pizza!!!

(I shudder to admit he is no longer a boy but definite a young man.... my poor breaking heart!)

So in his honor we will have pizza (as if we NEVER have pizza, right...)

And next week,  next week is such an exciting week as we are making a trip to (insert drum roll here!)

Penzey's!

OH how I love their spices!  And to think they have a store in Indiana.... and its not too far from my favorite bookstore, the Whole Foods Market, an incredible Goodwill store, as well as Crate & Barrel, Williams-Sonoma, and Pottery Barn.  Can you say oh so happy birthday day?  And guess what I get to spend the whole day with my best friend!!!  Yep, my dear sweet hubby!!  After 20 years of marriage he is STILL my best friend and that friendship and love just grows deeper each passing day!

  

(And to think I thought there would be no pictures!!!  I just found the "missing" file of all my photos!! Yippee!!!!)

And just to let you know I am joining "megan" over at Beauty in the Attempt in her circle of friends... she is truly a lovely person and I so enjoyed meeting her in person last year....

“The Bold and the Beautiful-your blog reviewed”

Okay so you are asking what is she talking about... Well I decided to go ahead and join a very unique blog hop. Gail @My Repurposed Life and MeganDVD @ Beauty in the Attempt are hosting “The Bold and the Beautiful-your blog reviewed”.


In all honesty I haven't been blogging on an even remotely regular basis because I hate my blog!  When I started this blog it was primarily a means of keeping family and friends posted on our life in Alaska, to "showcase" the crafts I was working on, and maybe even through in a recipe or two.  Well life happened at a shockingly rapid pace... and I wasn't prepared!  Now the name bugs me, the layout just isn't working, and well... I don't know.  I'm discouraged plain and simple.  In all honesty I've been thinking of closing the blog down permanently but haven't been able to bring myself to do it.  I want this blog to work but seem at a loss.... 


So please take a look around my blog, check out the layout, pages, buttons, sidebar and gadgets. I would love for you to gently critique my blog. I’m hoping you will leave me some positive feedback about my blog. It would be great if you could give me constructive criticism but be sure to tell me what you like about my blog (if anything) too! Do you like my pictures? Does my blog load quickly for you? How about the font? All tips and tidbits welcome! 

You are welcome to join the party, it starts Thursday night and is open for a week. 

Accountability

My friends I am asking for your help... What I am about to show you will NOT get me on hoarders but things have slide a bit recently. All the "projects" I was going to accomplish over Christmas break and soon after school was back in session. Well, lets just say between colds, snow, and some really good fiction... umm yeah. No progress! In fact I would say there was a decided decline. What I'm about to show you are the living areas of our home. Okay, so all the areas of our home are the living areas but I won't show you the boys' rooms. Lets just say one is crammed full right now because of LARGE musical instruments... hmm maybe I will show you their room. It really helps to bring home a point or two. A.) We have too much stuff. B.) Organization has flown out the window. and C.) the addition will come in really HANDY due to said instruments!

The Living Room

The Kitchen

The Dining Room Corner

The Master Bedroom and Walk-in Closet

(see the small amount of clothes on the hanging bar to the left... yep that sums up about a 1/3 of my wardrobe... the rest of material/decorations/craft supplies.)   The dining room table is where I "craft" because there are no extra rooms.  I could made a craft room out of my closet but it would separate me from the family plus bring on a serious case of claustrophobia!!

Now for the accountability... I am going to ask you my dear friends to help me stay on track.  Yep I want to have all of these areas cleaned up and organized.  So that means working daily on an area,  limit internet time, sort the craft supplies, and clear out the clutter.  I am not sure how I am going to go about this but it must be done!  So look for more posts... and please leave me a comment, drop me an e-mail, say something on FB, or text me if you know me personally!!!  Yep, in other words nag me when you don't see anything new up....  I am working on a posting schedule but am not sure what it will be.  Monday, Wednesday, Friday? Monday and Thursday?  What do you think?  Do you have any ideas for the closet organization?  I am trying to avoid making any purchases (or keeping them to a bare minimum especially $ wise!) so I will be using what I have on hand which is a number of baskets, buckets, storage containers, and large tins.

Thank you for following along and please leave any suggestions you might have!!  

Joy Swap Show and Tell

Just a short note to tell you about the wonderful opportunity I had and the new friend I've made.  For the second this year I decided to participate in the shoebox swap hosted by Monica and Carrie.  This time they paired me up with a lovely young mother from Georgia, Shannon.  It was amazing how the Lord used them to to "match" Shannon and I together as exchange partners.  Who would have thought a young mother from Georgia and a "more seasoned" mother living in Indiana could have so much in common.  As it turns out Shannon and I both share a history of being raised in military families and having spent much of our youth traveling.  Our tastes are also very similar... :)  This is just some of the contents of the wonderful box Shannon sent me... I confess I ate the Almond Roca before the picture was ever taken.  (our eldest is in the middle of wrestling season so being the good mother that I am I decided to just remove the "temptation" from his sight! Don't worry I did share it with my husband and our middle son!! The youngest doesn't like nuts so he wasn't interested!)

That is Godiva chocolate in the green box (a guilty pleasure), a box of the coveted Constant Comment Decaf tea (I couldn't find it here and was down to my last bag when this showed up in the mail!!), a tea wallet filled with Stash Decaf Chocolate Hazelnut tea, an apple cinnamon crisp candle, a lovely notebook for taking notes (I've been needing a new one for church!),  the Christmas issue of Southern Lady (never seen it before but I LOVE it now!!!) and 

A lovely print for our master bathroom!

Thank you so very much, Shannon!

It was wonderful getting to know you and I so look forward to hearing from you more as time passes!  Enjoy your  Christmas as you are surrounded by family and enjoying your little ones!  

Be sure to stop by and see who else participated!www.watibg.blogspot.com/2010/12/joy-swap-show-and-tell.html

Church Fire!

We just got this news which is heartbreaking... The little church where we attend when we are working on our property in New York burned to the ground early this morning!  Bible Baptist Church of Friendship, NY is a ray of hope in the hills of the southern tier of New York and I know this has come as quite a shock to their little congregation!  I just wanted to ask everyone to please keep them in your prayers.  Thankfully no lives were lost but this tiny community has to have been rocked to its core.

 (courtesy of Wellsville (N.Y.) Daily Reporter)

Currently plans are in the works for an alternate location for this Sunday's service and Christmas eve's service!

Will they never cease to amaze me?

You know our boys never cease to amaze me.  From they athletic ability to their good natures to their ability to adapt to new situations.  Our youngest has got the funniest sense of humor, our middle son loves music and always has a tune on his lips and at his finger tips, and our eldest is the athlete.  Speaking of my eldest... I am so proud of him.  Sunday after church (after we left the building and were on the way to the car) he pointed out that he thought I might not want to wear that outfit again.  I was shocked, I mean it was one of my favorite sweaters and skirts.  Okay, he was VERY kind about how he worded it and he was very discrete but still... Then he asked the dreaded question... "How many years have you had that skirt?"  Ok, so maybe he had me there.. I mean 6 years isn't too long to be wearing the same skirt.  So maybe it is a little faded and maybe has a few snags but still its presentable (or so I thought).  I thought I had him when I said "ok, so how about we do something about it.  We'll go shopping and YOU can help me pick out some new things."  I thought I had him.... Then my dear sweet 16 year old son gets a sly look in his and says "Sure!  Why not right now?"  I was shocked!  He had thrown down the gauntlet and who was I not to accept the challenge.  So we got lunch to go and off we went.  Just the three of us.  Yep hubby joined in the fun while the younger two stayed in the car listening to music and playing games.

(Kohl's)

(imagine this in brown)

(Kohl's)

(imagine these in both brown and black but a LOT curvier!)

An HOUR later we walked out of the store with 4 blouses (one fitted white), 3 pair of dress pants, a black blazer and one sweater all of which was at least 50% off plus an additional 20% off and we had gift cards to help pay for it as well.  I knew my son had good tastes but I was not prepared for this.  I was stylish, hip, and I had actual "outfits".  Not only that but they were picked out with other clothes I already own in mind.  I mean I've seen him dress himself and he is a SNAZZY dresser!  Where did he get those genes?  I know it wasn't from me... or maybe that's it he has all my good dresser genes.  I was wondering where they had disappeared to!  NOW I know!  In all honesty it was the best gift he could have given me!  The willing gift of his time and his talent!  I love that son of mine!  He does a mother's heart good!!

christmas ornaments

After a week of agonizing we finally got some of the ornaments to dry... No leaving them sitting out or putting them in front of the heat vent just was not working.  So I got out the dehydrator, took out a few shelves, and popped these bad boys in.  Several hours later they were dry!  We ended up breaking one and the remaining five need a little more attention before we can deem them worthy but these two are lovely!

And get a look at those hooks... they make everything look wonderful!  Thank you very much Walmart... never has $2 been better spent. 

 (psssst... i'm asking for some more of these hangers for christmas.  if they are out i'll be happy for the beads to make my own! i already have the wire... you guys can even use the walmart gift card on the desk. hint, hint, honey!)

Time to go get into the glitter again.  Now to come up with something that will really wow our eldest... he has very distinct tastes which I have yet to fully discern.