IT'S COOKIE TIME.....

Girl Scout Cookies that is!!

My home has been turned into a mini-cookie warehouse for Briley's Brownie Troop. This is my first year to be incharge of the cookie sales and hopefully I have ordered just enough extra cases to cover us for the booth sales we've signed up for. I'm not at all the type to be interested in sitting at Wally World behind a table selling cookies, so this part of the deal I'm not too excited about, but hopefully our girls can earn enough money to plan a fun trip or learning experience.

(Thin Mints)

These are my personal favorite cookies.... What is your favorite cookie?

(Trefoil - Shortbread)

YUMMMY!!!!!

Needing a change of seasons...

I need sunshine I tell ya'...... I need warm weather and tropical sands.... green grasses and the feeling of the heat from the sun on my skin! I'm so sick of this winter weather, the dry skin and the blasting winds!! I could never survive in the Northern States and suffer through snow, I just couldn't, I would go stark raving mad.

So, in an attempt to reclaim the great feelings of summer time and memories of my favorite season I found some pictures of my vacation with Bailey and Briley from last summer in Panama City Beach, Fl.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BRIT-BRIT

Today, my sweet little Brittany is 17!! Where has the time gone? Have I taught her everything she needs to know to be ready to face the cruel world? Will she remember the words of wisdom that I have been saying to her over and over again?

Oh my.... I'm not ready for this? Am I? Is she?

Happy Birthday Brittany!

How did our grandparents sleep ...

in such small beds? This weekend as I was at home with a sick kiddo and a sick husband and as I am lying in our king size bed listening to both of them snore, I began to think about my grandmother (God rest her soul). How in the world did she ever get any sleep in such small beds? She and my grandfather were big Germans and for many years they shared a full size bed! Not to mention that they raised 4 children, surely there were nights when she had to share her bed with her husband and a child? HOW did she do it? Did she awake in the morning with a backache? Did she awake in the morning more tired than when she went to bed? Oh how I wish I could go back and ask her about this stuff? I feel like I could really identify with her more, now that I'm older and have my own kids to raise.

Not long after I was born, my grandfather moved a twin bed into their bed room and he slept in a twin bed, and my grandmother slept in the full size bed...I completely understand how and why they needed their own space! Good Grief!!!! GIVE ME ROOM!!!!!

After a few years of listening to my grandfather snore, my grandmother moved into another bedroom - which I can completely understand - that man could raise the roof after a long day of farming and gardening! LOL. After a while, it just became the norm to see them with different bedrooms and it really didn't seem to bother them either. Heck, I guess after living with someone for over 50 years, you begin to feel very comfortable within your relationship and realize that it just is what it is!

I wonder, if they had enjoyed the comfort of a king size bed, would they have continued to share their space? I wonder even now, how much longer I can continue to share my space with my husband... there are nights when a pillow over his face is very tempting! LOL There are times when I want a girly-girl bedroom with ruffles and lace, but I realize that HE would never stand for it.... sooooo.... how do you feel about sharing your sleeping space?

NEW Sewing Pattern Storage

The problem is solved!!! For months... years.... I have been moving and sorting and just basically trying to figure out a way to store my sewing patterns in a functioning fashion. Normally, I am the queen of plastic tubs and as such I have tubs in every color and shape in every closet of my home. However, I wanted something a little more tasteful and fun to store my patterns in.... sooooo.... after several months of looking and perusing through websites and various stores I finally found something that reached out and grabbed me..... The Container Store....had just what I wanted. So, Sunday Brit and I drove all the way over to Northpark, which is a good 60 miles or so from our home and after about an hour of oooohing and ahhhhing through the store and daydreaming about how to decorate her dorm room - we discovered these..... I absolutely adore these! I bought one of the middle size and one of the smaller size. My patterns fit perfectly into both! This isn't exactly the pattern I chose, but the internet didn't have my selection - which was a solid beige-ish color with off white swirls?? Yes, I stink at descriptions... but these storage totes are PERFECT!!!

The Infamous Hair Cut!

As many of you know... Bailey recently decided to take the plunge and cut her gorgeous and thick blonde hair. Now as any seasoned mother knows, a drastic cut is going to carry with it drastic repercussions... mostly from 13 year old girls!!! Regardless of how much I could have discouraged the drastic change, there was no changing her mind. She was dead set on having a new 'do' and a 'new do' is exactly what she came out of the salon with. This is a big change for all of us - the most that she ever did to her hair before was to wash/dry and throw it up in a pony tail and NOW she has to really make an effort to get it work out well :)
Here are the before and after pictures...

BUTTONS!

I love Buttons!
Not long ago, my grandmother was cleaning out her sewing closet and she came across a rather large bag of miscellaneous buttons - lucky for me - I was there and laid claim to this treasure. So many of these buttons are from clothes that my mother and her siblings owned in the '50's and '60's...I can't wait to use them on my projects.

I also love the way these buttons look in the jars, it's like I'm looking at undiscovered treasure!

What do you do with so many buttons?

What a great weekend!

Whew.... I'm exhausted, but what a great feeling! I spent the weekend with a very dear friend of mine strolling along chatting and shopping at the Canton Trade Days (http://www.firstmondaycanton.com/). We walked along and admired the many great vintage finds and the many interesting pieces of junk! LOL Not to mention the people watching - and what a variety of folks you find trading and swapping junk!

One of my most favorite finds is the Vinegar Vendor- Silver Moutain Vinegar - Oh My - if you've never had tomatoes and cucumbers marinated in these great vinegars, you are surely missing out on a treat. I make it a point each time I go, to bring back a different flavor to try out.

Perhaps the best part of the weekend is simply the opportunity to just be 'ME' and not "Mom" for a few hours was better therapy than I could have hoped for. Now I'm full of fun and exciting ideas to try at home and projects that I want to get started on. Who knows what the next few weeks will hold? I'm motivated to paint something!

It's FEBRUARY already!!

WOW! What happened to January? Have you ever experienced times... months... years in your life that just seem to fly by? I understand now the old saying about 'how time flies by as you get older'... NO KIDDING!

My daughter is going to be 17 this month, only 4 more months and she will graduate from HIGH SCHOOL! Oh MY Gosh!!! It just isn't possible that so much time could have passed so quickly.

What a sweetie-pie she is.... AT TIMES! LOL