My kind of weekend

I like weekends when you go with what you feel like doing and not with what you should be doing. I spent some of my Saturday morning at a garage sale with two of my favorite bloggy buddies, a mother and daughter, Bacardi Mama & Show Some Lovin. I found some neat treasures there and even had a chance to sit and chat a while. They are only about 20 minutes away, in the next town. Then, I decided to travel to the next town to visit my daughter and the grandkids. We enjoyed sitting outside and watching Ivy walk and stubble around and the boys hitting golf balls. Then I figured it was time to go and get some groceries, if hubby and I wanted to eat, so we went to the store, came home, made lasagna and finished up the laundry.

Sunday was another fun day of meeting Steph & family for lunch and back to their house to watch the kids play and hubby to fix a bike chain. Then on to visit my folks and home. I did pick up the broom 1 time to sweep the entry way. My dishes were done, bathrooms sanitized and laundry did get finished. So what if I didn't vaccum or dust. The only thing that matters is, I didn't feel the guilt I use to feel when out of my routine. I am beginning to like weekends better these days.

I love Fridays!

Happy Friday guys and gals! I promise I will share pics of the few treasures I got from my trip to Shipshewana soon.

Vacation Day

Hubby and I are taking a vacation day tomorrow to go to Shipshewana.
It's acres of flea market, shops and fun places and it's in Amish Country. It will be a nice drive, only little over an hour from where we live. They are an hour ahead of us. I will share with you when we get back all the treasures we find. It's just nice to get away together.

The saga of the coach purse

I had my heart set on a Coach cross/body purse for my birthday. I needed a smaller purse that I could carry to places like shopping, flea markets, the fair, yard sales........Some of my family members gave me money for my birthday knowing I could get what my heart desired. I made the first trip to the Coach outlet and settled on one that was a little larger than I had wanted, but I made the purchase. I got home and my heart wasn't satisfied with it and the zipper seemed to stick (or was I using this as an excuse) at not really being happy with it. I waited 1 week, then went to return it and got the smaller one that I originally was going to get. Well, I got home with it and tried it out. I crammed my wallet, glasses case, keys and cell phone in it and couldn't even fit my fingers in it after that. I asked myself, "why would I pay a large amount of money for something that is not practical and I can't even fit my needs inside"? I am paying for the "C"? This is not me, I am a practical person and it really weighed on my mind all week. So, in the meantime, I was walking thru a Fashion Bug store and a cross/body purse caught my eye. It was calling out my name. It appealed to me. It spoke practical. It spoke affordability. It matched my body type and even came in lots of nice colors. That's when it hit me.....So, yesterday, my hubby was kind enough to drive me back out to the Coach outlet to take back the 2nd purse. I was honest and told the gal that it just didn't meet my needs and I ended up buying a very pretty pink umbrella that was on sale! I really needed a new umbrella! I went to the Coldwater Creek store and got the cutest, very much needed jean jacket, ON SALE. Don't get me wrong gals, I still like Coach purses and will continue to carry the ones I have, but until I win the Lottery, I will stay out of the Coach stores. I still have part of the refund I didn't spend. I am at Peace with my decision.

Birthday wishes to Debbie & Nettie

I have a Dear Friend Debbie and her daughter Nettie, who are both celebrating their birthdays today. I cherish their friendship and wish them the happiest day.

School days

It's that time again. The school bell will ring and class will be in session. Children will be sporting their new duds and carrying the latest fashion in back packs. Pencil sharpeners will get a work out. Gee, I miss those days as a parent and former employee. I can remember making a sign for Steph & Nate to hold up under our large oak tree that read " 1st day of 1st Grade" or whatever grade they would be in. They would roll their eyes and say "Oh mom". Thoughts and prayers are with all of my dear friends who are Educators as well as my little student friends and especially my 2 grandson's as they start back to school today. I use to work in a classroom for many years when my kids were growing up and when this time rolls around, I get a little emotional. Have a Great First Day Back to School!

don't cry over spilled tea

If you read my last post about the raspberry spill......................................
I spent Saturday cleaning behind, under, inside and even on top of my frig. Hubby put down new baseboards behind the frig because he noticed a little hole that our little friends (mice) have been using to come and visit. I also found a great sale at K-mart on new Rubbermaid pitchers, (thank you friends for the suggestions). I woke up on Sunday with every muscle in my body hurting just from cleaning the frig. It was a great work-out. I guess the morale to my story is: "don't cry over spilled tea", everything happens for a reason. I improved my health by working out AND got a clean frig in the process. So, mr. mouse, sorry we spoiled your entrance!

Raspberry tea made me late for work

Have you ever had one of those mornings? I got ready for work this morning and had some extra time, so I made hubby his 100th gallon of his favorite drink, raspberry tea and put it in the frig. I had to get back in the frig and when I opened the door, the WHOLE gallon of raspberry tea (yes, red) fell on top of my feet, drenching my white sandals, flooding the kitchen floor in front of the frig and stove. I could not believe what I was seeing. I didn't know if I should grab the paper towels or shop vac or bath towels. I just soaked up as much as I could and most of it went under the appliances. I will have to deal with that after work today. I did put some cleaner on the walking area so our feet didn't stick to the floor. I guess it's a good excuse to pull out the appliances and do some cleaning. I am glad the gallon container was not glass, so I guess it could have been worse. My blind dog, Hank, was walking thru the river of red. After giving my feet a bath and cleaning my shoes, I was out the door for work. My boss laughed at my story. I am now on a mission to find the perfect gallon container since the bottom did get bent up. I've tried the pampered chef ones with the plungers but it is hard to clean. Anyone have a suggestion?

Sweetness Monday

I babysat Jack & Abby yesterday for a few hours. Abby was so proud of her girly dress. She loves to dress up. She chose to get her ears pierced last week, just like her mommy. She is 2 years old going on 16. She is fully potty trained and when you take her to the potty she politely says "I need some Privacy Please" and she wants you to leave the room. She wants to get her hair cut. It is way past the middle of her back now and so beautiful. Jack is just as cute as can be. He does the belly laugh now for me. He is already 3 months old. They are both so entertaining.

"To Laugh is to Live"

I was lucky enough to go to our County Fair 2 times while it was in town last week. One of my favorite things to do is to get the fried veggies & lemonade and go sit on the bleachers and watch Kenny Ahern's variety show. He does not speak to the audience, but uses hand motions and facial expressions and uses the kids in his show and they know just what to do. The boys were so in awe of him. On our 2nd trip to the Fair, we were sitting at a picnic table eating and out of the blue, Kenny came walking by and just came and sat down to visit with the boys. Carter, the non-shy one, just talked to him like he was his best buddy from 1st grade. In fact, at the show, Carter did run upon the stage to be a helper. We are really not sure if Kenny did motion for him to come up, but it brought a lot of laughs from the audience and that's what his show is all about. I think our world needs more of this kind of entertainment. It is just so pure and innocent. Thanks Kenny for entertaining us! See you again next year. I will be the mimi sitting on the bottom bleacher holding a huge snow cone surrounded by 3 boys and a little girl, with spoons digging in.

My blog title is a quote from Kenny.

A Birthday Gift Treasure

My birthday yesterday was exactly how I expected it to be, plus more. This very special wooden custom made plaque was from Steph and her family. I can't tell you how much this means to me. I haven't found the perfect place to hang it yet. It will go either in my kitchen or above my picture wall. I had to kid her and ask "what if we need to add to the names" She gave me this look that sort of made me believe I will just have 6 grandkids....
I had lots of birthday wishes from dear friends, family members, went to lunch with my parents (because I chose to work) and went on my extended lunch hour, ate my favorite food for lunch at Olive Garden. After I got off work we went to the County Fair with Steph and family. She treated us to yummy fried veggies and shake up lemonade. We also sampled fried milky way candy bar, fried reese peanut butter cup, fried oreo and funnel cake. The best birthday cake!

I enjoyed watching the boys ride the rides and enjoyed looking at the piglets. I even treated myself to a cute pair of fake Coach sunglasses. The weather could not have been more perfect. As we were getting ready to leave it started to rain. We sought shelter in the horse barn until the rain let up. It was a very fun Birthday!

Happy Birthday to me

I was all set to maybe go shopping for a new Coach purse (swingpack) at the outlet mall, when, I got this massive toothache. I suffered for 2 nights and decided that pain is not my friend, so yesterday I got in to see my dentist after going to work half day. After an x-ray and being told I had an infection, he removed the bridge covering the tooth that was torturing me and proceeded with a root canal. I picked up my prescriptions for an antibiotic and pain meds and went home and crawled in my bed. I woke up this morning Pain Free. $450 later, and that's with insurance, I have no new Coach purse and I am another year older. Happy Birthday to me!
P.S. After posting this, I opened up a Birthday card from my hubby, with money inside and a note to go shopping for a new Coach purse. How Sweet!

Jillian says "Absolutely" to my home town boy, Ed

Ok, so I said I would not get hooked again on another one of these reality shows, but, I've always loved the name "Jillian", and she reminds me of my niece, Kyla. So, in the beginning of the Bachelorette, my picks were Jake, the Pilot and Kiptyn, one of the final 2. I only started liking Ed after he came back on the show from having to leave because of his job in Chicago. He reminds me of a cuddly teddy bear. I was so thrilled that she accepted Ed's proposal. I NEVER seem to get these things right, but for once I did. And, he is from my home town, Chicago, which makes it all the more exciting. ABC thought they would throw in a twist by having Reid coming back to confess his love and propose, and I have to admit, I was a little nervous, eating ice cream and any snack I could get my hands on, hoping that she would not accept. It ended just the way I wanted it to. I just hope she doesn't kick Ed to the curb in a few weeks and take Kiptyn or Reid back.

G-Force with 3 boys

Saturday morning Noah, Carter & Gray came over bright and early while their daddy went to play golf and momma was at BlogHer in Chicago. They arrived to bacon sizzling, biscuits and hash browns cooking. Would you believe out of all of this, Noah wanted yogurt and Gray wanted a poptart? They did eat some of the good stuff first though. Remember, almost anything goes at Mimi's house. They were so excited knowing we were going to see G-Force in 3-D in 4 hours, leaving an hour earlier for theater candy shopping. Noah asked me every 15 min., is it almost time to go? Now, I am not a cheap person, but when you add up 4 people going to see a movie and all of the munchies, it can be very costly, so I decided to pack bottled water and Carter's favorite lemonade in a bottle, wrapping each one with foil to keep cold. I got my Big Purse for the haul. We left an hour before show time to head over to the store for theater candy, letting each pick out 1 of their favorite. Guess what Gray chose out of a zillion kinds of boxes? Tic-Tacs. They had a 3 for 3$ special, so he did get a box of candy as well. They are so funny, choosing exactly the same candy, Krabby Patties, a Spongebob Squarepants candy, that is quite good, sort of reminds me of gummie bears and peeps.
When we got to the theater, I got 1 large tub of buttered popcorn for all of us to share, since I thought they would be more interested in the candy. Noah polished off the last of the popcorn after passing it back and forth to Carter. Gray had ALL of his tic tacs eaten before the show started, then he was on to the crabby patties. By the middle of the movie, Gray was so fidgety from all of the sugar, I told him, No More Sugar, after he was begging to open another box of candy. The movie was so cute, clever and good humor. I really enjoyed it and would give it a thumbs up. I am getting spoiled to 3-D movies now. After the show, I heard, "I'm hungry". Now, you would think after all that junk they ate, they would not want lunch for at least 2 or 3 hours. So, thank God for McD's. We drove thru and got Happy Meals and headed home to await daddy picking them up. They, of course were more interested in the little toy and Gray didn't touch his food. He took home to eat later. When Jeff came to pick them up, they were 3 very tired little guys. Of course, Carter didn't want to go and the tears started flowing, but that's our Carter Bear, very attached. It was a great morning with my 3 favorite little boys and guinea pigs.

Dreaming of umbrellas and sand

I have always been a dreamer. I might be at work today in body, but my mind and spirit are on this beach watching an amazing ocean and having not a care in the world. May your dreams be as exciting. Happy Friday!

Cheers to my Sister Vacation

We went one night while in Florida to this awesome Mexican restaurant call La Paz. As you can see, we ordered the house drink called a pomegranate margarita. Now, I am not much of a drinker (hiccup), but this was the best drink, very light and refreshing. Diane didn't finish all of hers cause she was driving, I couldn't let it go to waste and finished it for her. It was great for washing down those chips and salsa.

Jack Jack

I wanted to share these sweet pictures of Jack, taken at Carter's Birthday party, July 11. Isn't he a cutie? I love his receding hairline. He is a carbon copy of my son when he was this age.

Vacation June 26 - July 5 2009

Just call us the Fab Five. From the back is my sister, Diane, Me, Niece Kyla, Front is, Great Nephew, Corbin and Great Niece Madigan.
I flew to my sister's town in Louisiana and we drove to Sandestin Beach Florida to attend her work conference. It was about a 7 hour drive. She only had to attend 8 hours of classes the 6 days we were there. We had plenty of time to play and believe you me, we had a great time and made every second count! I love the tan I came home with.
I enjoyed every waking moment on that sandy white beach. This is before the tan.

Ok, I don't like how I look here, but hey, it's me. So I didn't lose the 50 lbs. I wanted to lose. I have another year to lose it. Maybe I will be wearing a bikini next year and fool everyone. There is a story behind this bathing suit I bought on-line from a nice store. The first time I wore it, it started falling apart. The panties were coming apart from the underneath that held the bathing suit together. Thank God I brought another one.
My pretty manicured toes.....Gee, I miss this sand. My feet and ankles were burning so I poured on the sunblock and kept them buried in the sand a lot.
Madigan & Corbin (sister's grand-kids) hanging out with me while she was in class. Madigan is 11 and Corbin is 12. They are best friends.

Here I am just chilling on the deck at the Hilton we stayed at overlooking the beach. The others went out to a race track for a few hours and I just wanted to hang out with my thoughts and stare at the waves. I ended up listening in on some guys phone conversation for about 30 min.
I can't leave out our friend "Miss Cooler" that I purchased at the dollar store when we first got there. This little friend was such a blessing on the beach, carrying our cold drinks (hiccup) and very easy to carry. I tried to fly home with it, but decided to leave it with my sister to take care of so we can take it next year. I really miss her!

I had a whole lot of things I wanted to say about this Fab vacation, but I think the pictures tell all. There were so many highlights, like when my sister brought her and I a piece of key lime pie on a china plate and linen napkin down on the beach and we sat under our $45. rented umbrella and chairs and enjoyed every crumb. Another highlight was a prayer breakfast I attended with her. They had a praise and worship team singing and a special speaker and the best breakfast buffet. It left me with an inner peace feeling that I really needed. See, God can even be with you on vacation too. Thank you sis for a fabulous time. I enjoyed every grain of sand stuck in places I care not to mention. Next year could not come any sooner.....

Happy 7th Birthday Carter Man!

7 years ago today, Carter was born. We were so excited to have another Grandson. When people would ask me if I wanted him to be a her, I said No. I really wanted a brother for Noah. These 2 boys are best buds. Carter is the comedian in our family. He is the most pleasant little guy and also speaks his mind. He has such a tender heart and is super smart!

We had a pre- birthday celebration on Wed. night at Red Robin and Carter was Thrilled to be sang to and given a special ice cream dessert & balloon. He told his mom that it was the best day of his life. Noah is cheering Carter with is fancy vanilla milk shake. Isn't this little man so handsome? I think he grew a foot while I was on vacation.
Gray is all smiles and was just the happiest little guy. He loved to dip his fries in whip cream. He was my buddy that night sticking to me like glue. He kept telling me that he loved me.

And then there is miss Thang! Ivy LaRue.....This look on her face cracks me up while looking at Carter. Carter makes her laugh. Carter is always admiring how beautiful his sister is and handles her with tender loving care.

Happy Happy 7th Birthday Carter! We will have another big celebration tomorrow. With presents and cake! Yum!

Dinner and a Show

I know I promised lots of pictures of my vacation, but would you believe I am still not completely unpacked? I have been going at full speed since coming back home. I will share my whole vacation soon! Until then, I had the best time last night with Steph, Ivy, Noah, Carter & Gray. We went to eat at Red Robin as an early Birthday celebration for Carter's 7th Birthday, which is tomorrow. They must have sang to at least 5 different Birthday people. Carter asked the server if they can sing to him. We had already arranged for that, but he was so excited and was just making sure. Then we went to see the Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs in 3-D. What a great movie. I laughed and loved it almost as much as the boys. Ivy stayed with daddy at home. I ended up dreaming last night about sleeping with 2 dino's and was afraid to move for fear of getting bit. So, if you have the chance to go see this movie it is well worth it! Especially in 3-D. Gray looked up at me during the movie and said "Mimi, I love you". Now, wasn't that worth it? Carter told his mom that it was the best day of his life. It's good to be home....I guess I will trade the beach for this any ole' day.