My SIL Gets her Masters Degree and we celebrate - 12/12/08

This is my hubby's sister, my SIL, who just graduated with her Masters' Degree and you may not be able to tell it from this picture (sorry about that A.) but she was very excited. My MIL (her mom) hosted a lovely party for her at her home to celebrate on December 12, '08 and invited friends and family to help her celebrate this great achievement. Congrats A.!This is her brother, my hubby, eating candy at the party; you see, he can do that and still never show it, unlike me; I'm so jealous of that! But then again, he's a hard working painter who works off more calories by lunchtime than some people do in a week so he can eat candy, lucky devil!

This is their aunt and uncle on their dad's side, Aunt I. & Uncle G., and you'd never know it but he's 81 and she's 78 and both still doing amazing. Uncle G. plays golf still several times a week and I love them both to pieces as they're a lot of fun and I wish we saw them more...they live just minutes from us but we don't see them that often. I guess we need to work on that in 2009...

This is our nephew B.; I love him and can't believe that in a mere matter of days he's going to be legal to drive! We're so proud of him and he's very talented in school and in Tae Kwon Do where he's a triple black belt (I hope I got that right B.) and he has grown up before my eyes and he's another person that I don't spend near enough time with. He's become a very handsome young man and I'm very proud of him.

This is B.'s mom and dad, my SIL & BIL and they just opened their own Tae Kwon Do school and I think that they're very brave and smart to invest in something they love so much; good luck B & R!

This is my SIL's best friend from grade school, K., and she owns her own hair salon in our fair city and was very proud of her best friend for graduating and brought her cute little son with her to the party where he had fun crawling around on the floor being a typical little man!

This is our Aunt G. on my hubby's side, she is married to my MIL's brother and it was so nice of her to just fly in for this occasion. We don't get to see her or her hubby, Uncle P. near enough. Thank you for coming Aunt G.!

This is my MIL and my SIL's dear friend S. who worked at the hospital with her and we were glad that S. could come and be with us. She had more guests but unfortunately I didn't get pictures of them but we really enjoyed meeting her neighbors that we'd heard a lot about. Congrats again A. and good job on the chili party M..

We love to deck the halls with lots of jolly...Part 1

These are just a few pictures of the corners of our home as we began to decorate for Christmas. The hubby and I love to decorate and it's a bit of an illness of mine. It's one thing I can definitely attribute to my mom as she goes all out as well...so, you see, I inherited the addiction, but I do love it. As you can see from these photos, we go all out and I'll share more with you in another blog entry.

We have approximately 20 something storage bins (yep, the large ones...) out in our storage building, so, you see, there's plenting of "decking the halls" to be done. I do the bathrooms, shower curtains, towels, cookie jars, pillows on the couches...

okay, you get the picture, right?

This is our cute Frosty flag that hung out front of our home and in the background you can see the awesome colored orbs (balls....) that hung from our tree. The hubby and I love snowmen; you'll notice them throughout our home. I guess we love them because we never get to make one here in the sunshine state! Oh yeah, I'm updating this blog on Christmas and I just had to turn the air conditioner down in our house as the hubby is back there sleeping as I blog and sweating on his pillow....
These are vintage little shadowboxes in our dining room that I try and put vintage salt and pepper shakers in and you'll see a little paper house in the lower right hand corner that has a cute bottle brush tree in front of it. I have fun looking for little 1950s speghetti confetti type figurines to put in these. I love these reindeer that me and my good friend T. made several years ago from those cardboard type reindeer that are normally just spray painted gold. She got the idea out of a magazine and shared it with me and we both made us a pair for our homes and I love them. I get so many compliments on them and I'm quite proud of how they look. I add evergreen garlands, with beads and lights and some trees that I bought at TJMaxx and Marshall's and I think it just makes my cabinet in my living room. Don't you agree?

The wall shelf below is also in our dining room and I had to "Christmas" it up as well. Look at the Christmas mugs, holly garland, and 50's table runner that are there. I found this wall shelf, of course, at a yard sale for $5.00 and my hubby painted this turquoise for me, the canisters I got at the 65 mile yard sale (you know, the one where my friend got bitten by the donkey?!), the red and green pitcher from a yard sale for $5.00 and the green and gold mid century pitcher on the right off ebay (I think) for about $15.00. Oh, and that cool metal 50's red fan; yep, auction, $10.00.
I'll share more of these shots with you so stay tuned to other blog entries.

My Nephew Comes to Town to see us and get a free dinner...

See this face?! I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this young man, my nephew, who is so much fun that his Aunt M. loves him to death! He's made me laugh since he was born and I feel privaleged that he STILL loves to spend time with me and I love to spend time with him! He and I are so close that he came over (he lives about an hour from the hubby & I in the town where I grew up) and let us take him and his girlfriend out to a free seafood dinner.

What I should tell you is that I found out last night, Christmas Eve, that they've already broken up as she wanted to keep tabs on my little ramblin' man a little too much so he's already ditched her. She seems to be a sweet girl but he's definitley not a young man who wants to "report" in to anyone yet...sorry about that J.; he's just a little heartbreaker and can't help it!

Thanks J. for letting me be your "favorite" auntie! I love ya!

It's Christmas Day 2008!

Merry Christmas to all of you this blessed day of 2008!

As I sit here late on Christmas night and thinking of all that I have to be grateful for, I do know that I really am blessed. I am so thankful that in these crazy times that we're currently living, I still have my health (that I'm struggling to improve and need all of your prayers as you know sweets are my downfall and they don't go well with being diabetic...); I have my wonderful husband, I have family that I love and who love me, I have a wonderful home that I'm proud of, and I have great friends and lots, and lots of laughter in my life and most importantly, I have a God that loves me and that gave us his son for which we celebrate the Season. These are truly all the gifts that I need.

So. as you see my sad looking little bare awesome aluminum Pom-Pom Sparkler 1950's Christmas tree above, don't worry, as it did get decked and there were tons of presents under there that have now been given to my friends and family and I'll catch you up on all of that very, very soon. I just wanted to take a moment, now that things have slowed down a bit and I prepare to go out tomorrow and look for after Christmas sales, to reflect and tell you all, how much I'm thankful for all of it and for all of you. I hope you all had a blessed and beautiful Christmas and I look forward to the New Year with all of you! Merry, Merry Christmas!

Tis' the Season to Help Others...

If you remember me telling you from an earlier blog, about some Christmas treasures that I found at an estate sale, I volunteered on behalf of my Garden Circle, yep that's right, my Garden Circle, to make a Christmas wreath or swag for our local Sr. Citizen Center for a fundraising Silent Auction that they were having and this is it. I thought it turned out pretty good and especially based on the fact that almost everything I used for it was found at one estate sale, including the nice faux pine swag, ornaments, premade, and even the pretty blue bow!

I made this on November 29 as it had to be done by December 1st for their event on the 4th (I think...). The nice woman who coordinated the event even came to my office and picked it up and sent me a lovely note thanking me and telling me what a success the event was. Glad I could do my little part to help the Seniors! They said the event was a huge success!
Note to my friends: We should all help others a little more every day as this really did make me feel better that I could help out others...

Surf City and Friends a Plenty!

How cool is this place? Well, actually; it's pretty darn cool! This is one of our local favorite restaurants and we truly love it. It's got these awesome vintage surfboards hangin' from the ceiling and they don't allow ties here after 5:00 p.m. and you may think this is in California but it's not. This place is located in the fair city of our state's capitol in Florida and if you're ever in this area, go and check it out, it's called Cabo's and it's home to awesome food and an even better place to meet friends and have a drink and unwind.
See these fries? Don't they look like another thing that I'm not supposed to eat?! Well, for those of you who know me; you guessed it...they were yummy! They're homemade and cooked to order and they have the skins on and that makes my hubby so happy; gotta have 'em if you go here...no way to avoid it...mmmmmm....

Look, it's my friend T., she and her hubby D. came and met us and our other friends L. & K. and we had a really nice time catching up with each other. T., K., and I all grew up together in a small town near here and went to high school together and I feel truly blessed that we're still friends and will always be. And now, our group is more special because we have our spouses and they just make us better people and we feel blessed to have them. We all hadn't seen each other in awhile so it was time to catch up, unwind, share like experiences (as L.'s parents have a lot of health issues like my dad does and unfortunately, we have a lot of things in common when it comes to dealing with all of the things that go along with that so it's great to see her and share that stuff...).

This is L., and that's her hubby K. at then end of the table who just happened to wobble in on crushes since he'd had ANOTHER basketball injury...so I guess it's true K., that we REALLY aren't as young as we used to be! Glad to hear they don't think you'll have to have surgery, we'll keep you in our prayers. I'm so proud of this guy and all the accomplishments he's made in his life, his career and his family. Their family has had a horrible week this week and I'm so sorry guys and you all are in our prayers...we love ya!

They have the best wait staff here and we go so often that they kind of feel like family; now we know how Rita felt on Cheers. We have hardly ever had someone that didn't catch on here; and they better catch on quick, as they stay busy all the time. Do you wonder; did you see those home made french fries? Oh, and did I tell you about the brunch they have on Sunday's with the best chocolate chip wheap pancakes....? Oh my gosh, it's to die for if you can get in between the church crowds...

Well, okay, you'll see a continuiing pattern here as this shot of my adorable hubby is a little out of focus, oops! I wanted to catch up with my blog and put these pictures on here, so I didn't try to touch them up before I posted them so I apologize. But, he's still absolutely adorable and handsome, and kind so I can get over a little fuzziness...and oh yeah, that could have been the mudslide taking this picture...LOL!

Cheers to the "Has Beens" and Good Friends!

I know, I know, I've gotten soooooo far behind on my blog and don't worry, it's been bugging me too as I know the more I get behind, the less likely I'll be to catch up, but here goes!

When I went to FSU, (Go 'Noles!) back in the day, I was truly blessed to make some awesome lifelong friends. Part of that group, came to call ourselves the "has beens" since we've all gotten a little older and even maybe a little wiser (but that, too, can be questioned on occasions when we all get together...) but still think we can "hang with the big dogs"! On November 28th, one of our dear ring leaders, R., asked us all over to his house for chili and cocktails and we had a great time.
My dear, dear friend M., who now lives in Hotlanta with his awesome wife S., and 2 girls, came in town and was one of the main reason for this get together. He also, you should know, is the original owner of the Snorkel glass, and it was he, who bequethed it to me, based on the fact that I could drink enough to earn one, and we won't go into just how much that required, but I will tell you, it was a lot! I love him dearly and count him as one of my best friends; even though he has been the cause of many hangovers!
This is M. & M.J., two of the original members of the "Has Been" gang; they played high school football together and then went on to FSU together which is where I met the both of them. It was so good to see "J" as it's been about 20 years since I saw him.

You may not be able to read what I put on this picture but this is a still shot from a video were watching of us all on a trip to New Orleans about 20 years ago. I, after having a few snorkels too many, had gone to my room to take a nap, when my dear friend H. (from Atlanta now) decided to let the fellas in the room to give me a spankin'! Thanks for that H.!
So, do you think this is B.'s way of telling us all that it was time to go home; I think this is an Italian symbol for something not so nice...LOL! Thanks for having us in your beautiful home and for sharing the flood and fire stories with us, you really are a survivor!

This is most of us (in this shot), including S., the beautiful young lady on the left in white, who was home from Chicago and is R.'s daughter, who we've all watched grow up and become a successful and beautiful young lady in spite of her "has been" dad, who we affectionaly call "Dickhead"! Thanks for having us!

Thankful for friends & family - Nov. 2008

So, like a lot of my friends and the rest of our country, we spent Thanksgiving with family. We drove over to the small town where I used to live, and where a lot of my family still lives and had Thanksgiving lunch with my family, or the ones of us who could be there for lunch anyway. And oh, that cute face above, is my new second-cousin Grayson, who I was seeing for the first time that day. Isn't he cute? And, he gave me lots of sugar and let me take him outside and walk around my aunts yard and look at flowers as it was beautiful weather here that day. He has two older brothers and an adorable sister; their mom, is my first cousin and they live several hours from me so I don't get to see them very often and I'm glad I did on this day; another thing for which I am truly thankful.

This is my hubby, just before we were about to say the blessing, as we always do before we eat because we know that God provides for us and we feel blessed, can you see the glimmer in his eye of sheer anticipation for that table to the left of him that is loaded down with food...Yummmmmm! He is so happy on days like this and you can bet that he brougth his "to go" containers to make sure he could help the women out by taking some of it "off their hands"! Don't you think from the looks of these two pictures below that we had plenty of food?! Can you believe my aunt said "that she wasn't sure she'd have enough"; c'mon now...Needless to say, we all had more than plenty! I made the deviled eggs and a marinated overnight vegetable salad and it was all wolnderful.

Okay, look at this picture above here and you'll see my aunt's cream style corn; you see it? Doesn't it look golden yellow and nice and creamy? Well, it should as it's about the best cream style corn I've ever eaten and we always (especially my hubby) beg her to make it whenever we come to eat with her - and yes, she was sweet and caved and made the corn! Gosh it was good, I ate 2 helpings (needless to say, I've been off the diet again...gotta get back on track...)
This picture below is my cousin and her hubby and 3 of their kids at my aunt's house; it was so good to see them and I was shocked at how big the kids have gotten! Here's the next to the youngest and the youngest posing for me; can you tell her sound B. is so camera shy....yeah right...

I stopped on our drive back to T. to eat with my MIL and the hubby's family for dinner, and took another shot of the town square which surrounds the county courthouse; I love this building and look how pretty the sky was that day.
This old Coca Cola mural on a downtown brick wall, which for years was a drugstore where you could go to the counter and get a soda at the soda fountain and I used to love to go here and get a vanilla diet coke with crushed ice and real vanilla syrup. My mom went to this same drugstore when she was in high school with her friends too after school for a milkshake.... I think the original one was done in the 1920's as we think that's when that bottle style came out. Doesn't it take you back though...I swear, I was born in the wrong time...
Well, we didn't get to see my brother and his family and my niece and NIL today, as they ate with my SIL family so we really missed them. I hope they, and all of you, had a blessed Thanksgiving and that your familes were all safe and full of Thanksgiving for what each of us has as we know, we're truly blessed and are praying for those whose lives are more difficult. Happy Thanksgiving and this year, as always, I am thankful for lots of things; some of those include the following: wonderful friends, a family that I love, a job that I truly appreciate and love; a roof over our heads, and a man who I love more than anything.

Showered by gifts and good friends...Jennifer's getting hitched!

This is the court house in the center of the small town where I lived (which is about an hour from where I currently reside in North Florida) and I have always loved it. I love how the whole "downtown" is built around it and the old palm trees around it. I went here on Saturday for a bridal shower for a very dear friend from high school's daughter. I hadn't seen my friend or her daughter for a very long time so it was good to see them and enjoy spending time with friends from my past that I don't get to see that often but that I miss and feel like when I see them, that no time has passed at all; that's how you know they are good friends to have...

This is my friend (on the far left) and her two daughters are the one in the brown zebra print and the bride to be in the center. That's her sister to the right of the bride and her mom on the right who I love dearly!

Centerpieces on the tables.... The bride's grandmother, aunts and friends primarily from her dad's side of the family; and oh yeah, I grew up with her dad too and of course consumed a few adult beverages with at some points in time and enjoyed "steak night" with at their house years ago...we should do it again soon.

She got lots of beautiful things and I wish her well when she gets married on December 6th!

Estate Sale Treasures on Friday 11/21/2008

Look at all the brand new, awesome Christmas decorations that I got at an estate sale that was held by that company that I like to follow this past Friday, November 21, '08. I thought I had a Christmas addiction but this lady was by far, way, way, way out of control! It was a 6000 square filled house and she literally must have decorated every square inch! And, if you look close, you'll see that almost everything I bought still had the tags on it! I think that every year she threw out last years' decorations and just started over! Must be nice, but fa la la la la for me! I got all this stuff for a little over $50.00 and even some more stuff that I couldn't squeeze into this chair to take the shot!

I'm going to use some of this to make a swag arrangment to donate to the local Senior Citizen center as I volunteered on behalf of my Garden Circle . The Sr. Ctr. holds a charity auction and I'll have fun making it and was going to do it tonight; but, considering the fact that I spent two hours in Walmart buying all of my Thanksgiving food...I'm sure that I wasn't the only woman in there wishing I was somewhere else...

Ho, Ho, Ho, can't wait to use this cute Metal Santa Claus in an arrangement and I got him for $1.00 and the cute set of Santas made from chandelier bulbs I got a set of 6 for $3.00 and may use them on the wreath I'm making.

Stay tuned and I'll post pictures of the wreath/swag I make for the Senior Center.... I'm also gearing up to start my Christmas decorating over the weekend and we'll go to all of our family gatherings and stuff too so I wish all of you a time of truly realizing how blessed we all are and of peace and lots of laughter over the holidays. I'm looking forward to more time with friends and family in the next few days and will post pictures soon!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!