Merry Christmas!

One more day....

Only one more day til Christmas vacation. This week has been truly crazy:

• Staff meeting - where I unexpectedly had to make 3 presentations, rather than just 1.


• Revenue distribution - 1,000 checks generated, 1,500 pages of owner detail to print, fold, stuff and mail.


• Board meeting - presentation of budget and constant tweaks and changes over the past two days to get the slides exactly perfect. Not unexpected, just a little stressful.

Now, I can relax a little and try to wrap up a few more loose ends tomorrow....then I'm off til January 2!! My parents are coming in tomorrow and we'll spend the next several days hanging out as a family - doing a lot of nothing much, but spending good quality time together. A quick trip thrown in to visit a good friend and some down time to un-decorate my house before heading back to work to start the true craziness....closing December and preparing for the audit!

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Another photo (in the sunshine!) of my new toy

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And a Fall Into Reading update - my original post here listed 18 books. My list has been somewhat rearranged as I've looked closer at the some of books. Several of them I tried to read, but just couldn't get into. I've also added several others along the way. So, here is the wrap up:

done:
The Last Disciple...Hank Hanegraaff/Sigmund Brouwer
Cocktails for Three...Madeleine Wickham
Emily Ever After...Anne Dayton & May Vanderbilt

done - not on the original list:
The Last Sacrifice...Hank Hanegraaff/Sigmund Brouwer
Finding the Love of your Life....Neil Clark Warren
Skin...Ted Dekker
Fast Women...Jennifer Crusie
Map of Bones...James Rollins
Cosmic Christmas...Max Lucado
Unafraid...Francine Rivers

started, couldn't get into it, abandoned:
The Historian...Elizabeth Kostova
Cold Sassy Tree...Olive Ann Burns
The Thief Lord...Cornelia Funke
The Navigator of New York...Wayne Johnston
Red House...Sarah Messer
Valley of the Dolls...Jacqueline Susann
Shopaholic & Baby...Sophie Kinsella
Bergdorf Blondes...Plum Sykes
Family Trust...Amanda Brown
Everyone Worth Knowing...Lauren Weisberger

still to go:
Over Her Head...Shelley Bates
Hope of Glory...Nicole Petrino-Salter
Tuesdays With Morrie...Mitch Albom
A Bend in the Road...Nicholas Sparks
Walden and other writings...Henry David Thoreau

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I may not make it to post much over the holidays, so from my home to yours, hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Welcome to My Home!

>

BooMama is hosting a holiday tour of homes today......




























my living room:



















close-up of the snowmen on top of the TV:



















some favorite ornaments through the years:

























I'm more of a snowman girl, but I've got a collection of Santa's also - these are on the desk in my office. Several of these came from my grandma -- see the santa in green? The writing on his pedestal is 1908 Germany. Don't know if he is really that old (probably not) or a representation of Santa from the turn of the century.




















Some Christmas books I've enjoyed my whole life! Feel Santa's Beard is from my first or second Christmas and is falling apart because it has been "loved on" for so many years!


















my guest room - Santa's comin!



















my favorite Christmas blanket: a snuggly down snowflake throw from Target several years ago

























of course - the Texas flag stays in place....decorated with a metal snowflake/jingle bell garland




















This photo didn't turn out the best -- it reads "Flakey Friends Welcome" and hangs in my guest room. Thanks for visiting my home decked out in holiday style!

Party Pics + an early Christmas present

Sorry it's been so long.....crazy week. So, as promised....here are party pics.

at the beginning:

and the leftovers:

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my Phillip-in-law went with me today and I got myself an early Christmas present - a new Dodge Durango! I actually got a really good deal on a fully loaded 2007 -- the owner's wife had driven it a bit, so there are a few more miles than were on my Mazda 626 when I bought it in 2000, but it is still new (and did I mention fully loaded?) and I made a pretty good deal, so I'm happy.

Another success!

Another Christmas party come and gone....I'm too tired to try and upload photos tonight, so that will come tomorrow.....just wanted to give the headcount.....

To recap past years:

2001 = 5
2002 = 15
2003 = 29
2004 = 30
2005 = 43
2006 = 36

and drumroll, please......

2007 = 52

The crazy thing is that I can think of about 20 others who have come in recent years past who didn't make it this year and at least a handful of others who I expected but didn't make it. The numbers are getting crazy high (helped along by the 12 kids this year - whew, that was nuts), but it is sooo fun.

Dishes are washed and drying....the few leftovers are put away, and I'm headed to bed.

Today is the day!!

It's finally here!! Today is party day!! I'll post some photos later tonight.....

Soup-Tacular

BooMama asked for soup recipes....though I'm not that much of a soup eater, here are several of my favorites. If it would actually get COLD here, I might be more inclined to whip up a batch of one of these!

Black Eyed Pea and Sausage Soup (I don't like b-e peas as a general rule, but this is a way to get your Jan 1 good luck in!!)

1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, coarsely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups frozen black-eyed peas (about 1 ½ 16oz packages)
3 (14 ½ oz) cans beef broth
1 (14 ½ oz) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, oregano (undrained)
1 (16 oz) jar chipotle flavored salsa
½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Cook sausage in oil in large Dutch oven, stirring until it browns. Remove sausage, reserving drippings in pan. Add onion, carrots, garlic, celery, bell pepper; sauté over medium-high heat 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in sausage, peas, broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes. Stir in salsa, salt and pepper; simmer 10 more minutes. Yield 10 cups.

Chicken Noodle Soup (I know, there are 10 million CNS recipes out there - I pretty much hate them all....but I LOVE this one from my aunt)



4 large chicken breasts
4 T margarine
¾ C chopped onion
8 oz fettuccini
6 C chicken broth
2 small boxes chopped broccoli
1 t salt
1 lb Velveeta
6 C milk



Boil chicken in enough water to have 6 cups for soup. Sauté onion in margarine. Combine chopped onion, chicken, and broth. Bring to a boil. Add uncooked noodles. Cook 5 minutes. Add broccoli and cook 4 minutes. Add salt.


Warm milk with cheese to melt. Add chicken mixture. Makes large pot of soup. Serve with crackers. Freezes well.





Skipperlabskovs (Danish Sailor's Stew)



4 T margarine
1 lb. ground meat
3 C chopped onions
6 C boiling water
6 peppercorns
1 small bay leaf
1/8 t ground nutmeg
1 T salt
6 lg potatoes, diced
Parsley for garnish



Melt margarine in large pot. Add meat & onions; stirfry 10 minutes until meat is browned. Add water and spices (put bay leaf and peppercorns in a tea ball); cover and simmer 30 min. Add potatoes, cover, simmer very slowly 2 to 3 hours or until potatoes cook down to mush. (The Danish way is to keep the pot on the back of the stove most of the day.) Remove tea ball and serve.





Cheddar Chowder



2 C water
2 C diced carrots
1 t salt
2 C diced potatoes
3 C chopped onion
3 t pepper



Combine above in large kettle; boil 10-12 minutes. (Do not drain)



3 C margarine
2 C milk

3 C flour

2 C grated cheddar cheese



Melt margarine in microwave. Stir in flour; heat and stir until smooth. Add milk; cook until thickened, stirring occasionally. Add grated cheddar; stir till melted.



Then, stir cheese sauce into the boiled vegetables that have not been drained. Add 1 C cubed ham or bacon bits, if desired.



Enjoy!!

Better.....

Amazing what a little sleep will do for you.....yes, it is still the middle of the night, but I woke up calm and couldn't go back to sleep, so I thought I'd let you know that I'm doing much better.....thanks for the prayers!

Prayers

Normally I refrain from writing emails or blog posts when I am unusually emotional. Tonight, I think I might need your prayers just to make it through the night.

I don't really want to go into details for the whole internet, but suffice it to say, my tear ducts got going tonight and I can't make them stop.

The Menu

So, looking back into my archives, I realized that it's been a while since I shared with you the menu for my annual holiday party. So, for you new readers, here it is (red indicates I've already made it for this year):

1. party weenies
2. sausage balls
3. sausage dip
4. crab dip
5. corn dip
6. homemade salsa
7. veggies / ranch dip
8. banana bread
9. strawberry bread
10. zucchini bread
11. fudge
12. peppermint bark
13. puppy chow
14. sugar crisp chex mix (see a funny post about this from last year)
15. forgotten cookies
16. missouri cookies
17. haystacks
18. almond tea
19. apple cider
20. coffee

Yes, I make everything myself and from scratch. Thank goodness for rubber gloves - as many times as I washed dishes this weekend, my hands could be in terrible shape!! It takes some skillful planning to get everything done, but it is so worth it!

Go Eagles!!!

Abilene High beat Southlake Carroll today!!!! Here is the link to the DMN article. And here is the link to the ARN article.

The Eagles are headed to the quarterfinals now!!

So exciting!!!!

It's coming.....

It's that time again.....if you are in my area, you are invited! Mark your calendar, then contact me and I'll give you the particulars on location....

70,000

While driving home from my friend Kelly's casa tonight, my little 2000 Mazda 626 turned 70,000 miles old. It has been a very good car.....but I think it is time that I let someone else love this car.

I'm pretty sure I've decided what I'm going to get as a replacement, but I'll wait to share it with all of you until I can post photos of my Christmas present to myself! I can tell you that it will be larger than my car and able to carry many scrapbook supplies and treasures found from flea markets and yard sales.

48 degrees...and fun news!

I'm not sure how much it snowed in Dallas over Thanksgiving, but it sure was cold. Due to our crazy fall weather, I hadn't yet turned my heater on.....and so, it was 48 degrees in my house when I got home today. Brrrrr!!!

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In other news, I'm gonna be an AUNT!!! My sis and her hubby are gonna have a baby come June.....and I can't wait to spoil that baby and then give it back when it is hungry, fussy, or poopy! :-) (Isn't that the aunt's job?!?) They are waiting to find out the sex until birth - and are not sharing any name choices, so for quite a while it will just be "baby." But that is ok. Grandpa, Pearlie and Aunt Jenni are excited!

Thanksgiving Snow

We're having a slightly non-traditional Thanksgiving this year.....my sis and bro-in-law are currently at his folks house and will be coming in tomorrow. For lunch today, my parents, granddaddy and I went to have lunch with some folks from Faithworks, a ministry that provides job and life training skills in a 13-week program. While we were at lunch, it started SNOWING! It snowed all afternoon - so fun to watch while we were relaxing and watching the Cowboys game! It hasn't been cold enough for the snow to really stick and the driveways and streets are clear, so it might even be gone in the morning. But for the time being, it is so fun to have snow!!!

Michael W. Smith Christmas CD giveaway

Want a free copy of Michael W. Smith's new Christmas CD? Have a blog and are willing to write about the CD? If so, click below.....it is limited to the first 150 people who respond and qualify (so I really have no idea if I'll get one or not!) But if can't, maybe you can!

thanks to BooMama for the tip

UPDATE: got the CD in the mail while I was gone....stay tuned for the review!!

Reading Update

So, I haven't been doing so well on my Fall Into Reading list.....I had a bunch on the list that my friend Allyson gave me and they just haven't made me want to read them. And, I've gotten into crossword puzzles on the train, so I just haven't been reading as much.

Here's an update with a month to go of the challenge:

done:
The Last Disciple...Hank Hanegraaff/Sigmund Brouwer
Cocktails for Three...Madeleine Wickham
Emily Ever After...Anne Dayton & May Vanderbilt

done - not on the original list:
The Last Sacrifice...Hank Hanegraaff/Sigmund Brouwer
Finding the Love of your Life....Neil Clark Warren
Skin...Ted Dekker

started, couldn't get into it, abandoned:
The Historian...Elizabeth Kostova
Cold Sassy Tree...Olive Ann Burns
The Thief Lord...Cornelia Funke
The Navigator of New York...Wayne Johnston
Red House...Sarah Messer
Valley of the Dolls...Jacqueline Susann
Shopaholic & Baby...Sophie Kinsella

still to go:
Over Her Head...Shelley Bates
Hope of Glory...Nicole Petrino-Salter
Tuesdays With Morrie...Mitch Albom
A Bend in the Road...Nicholas Sparks
Walden and other writings...Henry David Thoreau
Bergdorf Blondes...Plum Sykes
Family Trust...Amanda Brown
Everyone Worth Knowing...Lauren Weisberger


We'll see what I get done.....(total books read to date in 2007 = 62)

Weekend update

You may remember when I moved into my house, the garage floor looked like this - a floor covering of interlocking rubberized squares (they had a workout room in the garage).
















After more than a year of driving on the rubber squares, they had seen better days. So yesterday, I spent several hours in my garage..... pulled up the squares (and squashing roach like bugs that scampered around in a few spots) and drug them to the curb. Then pulled up the carpet pad that was under the squares and glued to the concrete. Spent some time scraping up the portions of the pad that didn't want to let go of the glue. Then pried up the tack strips that were around the perimeter of the garage and nailed into the concrete floor.


Here is the pile for my trash men to pick up tomorrow morning:















And this is what the garage floor looks like now:































It only took about 2 hours, but boy am I feeling muscles today that I didn't know I had!! Thanks to my daddy, I had the right tool to do the job. It would have been much less fun if I hadn't had the right tools.

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In other weekend news, I'm about 98% decorated for Christmas. As I've mentioned before, it is not my preference to decorate before Thanksgiving. BUT, in order to get everything ready for my annual extravaganza, a strict schedule must be maintained. I didn't take any in-progress decorating photos this year, but will definitely be taking photos of the finished product for BooMama's Bloggy Tour of Homes (see the button over there on the left....).

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Now, I'm off to crawl into bed and rest my tired body.....and be very very thankful that it is only a 2-day work week!!

Crossword

I've started doing crossword puzzles.....though I'm not nearly the expert that my mother is. I also tend to get bored pretty quickly when I don't know the answers. That's why I don't ever complete most of the newspaper puzzles. My newspaper online is pretty cool in that it colors the letters red if you are wrong.

This week I was at a conference.....one thing I often do to try and stay awake while listening is crossword puzzles. This time, I even bought a couple of books at Barnes and Noble to ensure that I didn't fall asleep. They are pretty easy puzzles.....Pop Culture and Celebrity puzzles.

Today, on my way home, I was so engrossed in my puzzle and listening to soothing music on my iPod that I completely missed my train stop. Thankfully, it was only two stops before I realized my error. Got off the train, crossed the tracks and waited for the next train south. Again thankfully, it was only about 5 minutes until the next train and I made it home without further incident.

Just another train-riding commute adventure.....

Home Again

Well, I made it home safe and sound and in one piece. I was even able to hop on an earlier flight and have an entire row to myself!!

I used to be able to walk around a half-unpacked suitcase for days on end.....no more. So while my dining room table is still a mass of chaos - mail, magazines, etc - my suitcase is unpacked and everything put away.

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Udge has posted quite an interesting new meme. There are no questions to answer, no scavenger hunting to do.....just comment and you can win! The first three commenters will win some gift from me within the next year. All you have to do to win is post the same promise on your blog! (my one small caveat -- this is for my non-immediate-family readers!!) And to echo Udge's caveat - this will require you sending me your information, so if you are intent on preserving your anonymity, this probably isn't for you!

Colorado

Another trip to Colorado.....though still for work, it is a different kind of trip this time.....no early mornings, no private jet, etc.

Spent the weekend in Colorado Springs visiting my friend Rebecca and her husband Russ. I was one of Rebecca's bridesmaids 11 1/2 years ago....so hard to believe that it has been that long!!! We've never lived close (the most recent example is that they just returned from two years in Thailand!), so when I decided to come for this conference I was determined to make a visit work. Thankfully, it worked for their schedule, too!

We really just spent the weekend relaxing and catching up -- I'm not much of an outdoorsy person, so hiking or climbing didn't hold much appeal for me (though the weather was beautiful to be outside!!!). And then this afternoon, I headed out for Denver for my conference.

Hopefully, I'll learn something in the next couple of days and will be able to stay awake in the sessions!!!

Another art project

my Christmas canvas.....










and finally....my entry way has something on the wall!! (no, I didn't make this one....bought it at a fun shop called Junkadoodle that my friend Kelly introduced me to several years ago)

Internet Dating

Ok internets (as BooMama is wont to say), I've pondered all weekend whether to put this out there, but I just can't resist anymore. I've told one or two friends and they were appropriately flabbergasted and outraged on my behalf. I feel the need to share with the rest of you and see if you think I was overreacting.....or what your rationale might be. Then maybe I can forget this piece of drama.

So, some of you know that I've (albeit somewhat reluctantly) subscribed to the adventure that is internet dating. One particular site that promises to match you along so many dimensions of compatibility (vague enough for you?). I've had lots and lots of matches, but so far, very few of these guys seem compelled to talk with me. (leading me to question if this is, in fact, the method with which God will reveal my husband.....but that is a discussion for another day)

So, Thursday I received what appeared to be a promising match....and I sent him questions to answer. To my surprise and delight (and slight trepidation), he proceeded to "fast track" our communication --- which only means we skip the back and forth guided communication and move straight into actual email messages (though still through the system).

Imagine my reaction when this is the message I received:

thanks for requesting communication. I'm currently pursuing another
relationship and thus I consider myself unavailable. However, you seem interesting and I think it might be nice to just know you. Your a CPA and I'm a CFP so we both are financially oriented. We probably think a lot alike. Would you like to get together sometime and get acquainted as a friend.

To put it quite mildly, I was shocked. Flabbergasted is the word that came most readily to my mind. Really? Is he serious? What in the world did he imagine that I would say?

Well, apparently, I didn't provide a response quickly enough (or he actually proceeded to use his brain and realized he had taken a large inappropriate leap), and he closed me out before I was able to send him my well-rehearsed answer:

Thanks for your note. I appreciate your compliment, but honestly, I'm not paying for this service to just meet new friends. I'm actively searching for my husband and if you are involved with someone else, then I guess you are not him. I don't feel that it would be appropriate for us to begin even a friendship if you are involved with someone else. Good luck with your search.

So, what do you think? Did I over-react or was he just completely out of his mind??

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In slightly related news, the newest Kia commercials are offensive to me......kiamatch.com? Seriously? It may be playing on this whole trend of internet dating, but it makes me never want to give that car company any money.

Impressive

Not only is this guy wicked smart, he can paint pretty well too!! Check it out!

Homecoming

Well, here are 4/6 of the grownup girls at Homecoming last weekend, and 1/2 of the babies. Mattie had a rough morning and had finally calmed down to be put into bed right before the rest of us had to leave.

Sara is in the Wildcat shirt - Jenna is her precious baby in the carrier

Mollie is in yellow - she is Mattie's mom

Sarah is in blue - she is the friend who spent 3 years in the Philippines

We missed Katie and Dara who weren't able to make it in for the festivites....though we need to start working on them for our 10 year reunion next year!

Haircut

These photos are a little strange to me, but I felt I needed to document this particular haircut.


My whole life I've been pretty opinionated about what I want to do with my hair. Cut, grow, perm (never again, by the way), cut, grow, etc..... I still drive back to my hometown to get my hair cut -- just can't beat the price and the 15+ year relationship. She periodically asks when we are going to color my hair (which I'm opposed to doing) and is always excited when I want to do something different than just trim.


So, today I again CUT my hair....this time enough to donate to Locks of Love -- a full 10 inches from the bottom of the ponytail holder. I have thick coarse hair, so it took 3 ponytails to make it easier to cut.

I don't love photos of myself, and these aren't the greatest, but I felt the need to share with you, my blogfriends, my new much shorter 'do.

Trapped

I'm still a bit traumatized by what just happened.....of course, while it was happening, I did think "this will definitely be a blog-worthy story!"

My office building has been going through some changes....it has sold a few times in the past several years and a couple of really large tenants have moved out. As such, my company is now on the top floor -- at 28. For a while the building considered building out condos above us, but they've since reverted to intending to fill the empty floors with commercial tenants. Which leaves about 14 empty floors above.

Since there are no people above us, the elevators don't work going up. Except that somehow, today when I punched DOWN to go get lunch, the elevator took me UP. I didn't give it too much thought, but tried to push the floor again where I wanted to go. No dice, so I got off the elevator intending to push DOWN again and wait for the next elevator. Well, the button wouldn't stay illuminated. (Apparently, I should have just stayed on the elevator, but I was thrown off so much that I wasn't thinking quite straight.)

So. Now I am one floor above mine. Locked in between two sets of glass doors in the elevator bay. The elevator call buttons aren't working. There is no phone or fire alarm to pull. There was a door alarm "in case of emergency" to break the glass, so after waiting a few minutes, punching the elevator call buttons repeatedly and periodically hollering to see if anyone on an elevator would hear me, I broke the glass. Ear-piercing shrieking alarm to follow.

I expected building security to come. They did not. So. Now I can get out onto the floor. But this is an unoccupied floor. No people, no phones.

Ok. So, I'll check out the fire stairs down to my floor. Put my sandal into the door on 29 so that I wouldn't be locked in the stairway and went down to try and open the door onto 28. No dice. Locked. Went back up to 29 thinking that building security would be coming soon......

Finally decided ..... phoooey on this. I'm going down. So, I walk into the fire stairs and let the door click locked behind me. Walk down to 28. Try the door again. Locked. Start banging.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

Nothing.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

I decided to jiggle the door back and forth rather than just banging -- see sometimes, there is construction above us and we hear loud banging. I didn't want to be confused for random construction noises.

This fire stairway is located in the hallway towards our restrooms, so I figured eventually someone would have to pee and would walk by. Keep banging and jiggling the door.

Finally, our president opened the door. Whew. I told him bits and pieces of the story, barely managing to contain my tears. I held it together pretty well throughout the whole ordeal (only about 30 minutes, really), but now I'm feeling the effects. I was afraid that I wouldn't be missed for a long time -- see it happened at straight up noon -- most people were out of pocket for lunch already. They might have thought I was out for lunch and not miss me for a couple of hours.

So, now I'm waiting on a call or a visit from the building security manager to tell him the story. Hoping that my nerves settle a little first so that I don't start crying.

Totally random post to follow:

I can't even put together a full coherent sentence, so I'm just gonna make a list tonight.

• Went to Nashville for Zoe last weekend -- it is always good to get away. I saw quite a few friends from far and near -- Amy, Angie, Bret, Ofelia, Terri, Jean & Glynn, a boy named Brad from my middle school years (yikes - he has a 14 year old!!!!!!), of course Brandon, Mike, and probably so many more that I just can't remember tonight
• Sunday, I drove down to Tullahoma where I have family and spent the day with my aunt, grandma, and cousin and his family. It was a great homecooked Sunday lunch and good visiting time before I had to head back to the airport.
• On the plane to Nashville, when we parked at the gate the flight crew was extra vehement about us remaining buckled in our seats. Then 3 Nashville cops and a juvenile detention officer got on the plane and escorted a kid off in handcuffs. Don't know what the story there was, but it was definitely something different.
• Crazy, busy week because I found out that I'm taking another trip soon to count inventory....this time to our field office in Vernal, UT. Unless my memory is faulty, I don't believe I've ever been to Utah (beyond sticking my toe in at the Four Corners area). Should be very interesting, though it crunches a few deadlines in the next few weeks.
• Tonight I finally mowed my yard again -- I've been so consumed pulling out those bushes in the front that I hadn't taken the time to mow. Plus, I hacked down a bunch of plant garbage in the back yard tonight.
• Tomorrow I'm headed to the State Fair with my good friend Sarah - can't wait to see what new and unusual food there is to sample!!
• Thanks to one of the perks of my job, I'm headed to the Cowboys vs Patriots game on Sunday. Because it is such a big game, they are opening the gates early -- I'm praying that we don't have to sit through too much traffic or wait in an extremely long line to get in the stadium.

That's all for now, I think. I'm enjoying the rest of my evening relaxing on the couch and looking forward to the season premiere of Men in Trees in a few minutes.

Trimming the Hedges

Thanks to my brother-in-law, Phillip, I was able to (mostly) remove some fairly unruly hedges from my front yard tonight. I had borrowed his electric hedge trimmer to just try and tame the chaos --- and ended up 90 minutes later with five or six stumps. Yay!!!

So, does anyone have any tips or tricks on getting the stumps out? And how to protect my daylilies and iris while doing so? Should I just pull out the bulbs and replant later?





Before:
















After:

4 AM

When the alarm rings at 4 am, it is way too early.....and still oh so very dark outside.

update: yes, I am in Yuma again counting inventory.....the plane leaves at 6 am, so I have to get up way before breakfast to make it on time.....

Moving Day - revisited

One year ago today, I moved into my new house. Wow. I almost can't even believe that it has been a whole year!!! I was so very blessed to find a home that didn't require a lot of work -- not even really any painting! Still, it took a while to get settled and find a new home for all my stuff (and why do I have so much stuff?!?!).


Anyway, I am so thankful for my house. And determined to open up the doors more often this year to host family and friends.


Enjoy some before/after photos: