Category Archives: home

Dec16

A change in the weather

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Seems like almost everyone in blogland is getting some kind of rain, sleet or snow today. It held off for a while, but the temps are dropping to the 30s. Yesterday it got to 66 degrees! It seems to be bothering my sinuses. Bri says he feels like he has a cold too. I heard general stuffiness all around me in Walgreen’s yesterday. Speaking of Walgreen’s-they have some neat holiday decor-from purple, pink and red/green lights on the string-two for $5 to fun Frosty the Snowman and Peanut comics stand ups. I bought the red and green lights and a set of three light up large Christmas balls then promptly decorated the front edges in anticipation of Sean’s arrival. He got home right when I was wrestling with an outdoor extension cord that was buried under stuff piled in the shed. Bri isn’t one to stack nicely.
Of course I was so happy to see him. He made good time-3 hours, but said the traffic was rough.
Mom has a follow up eye appt today, so I hope she’ll just get rain. We plan to take her to a wholesale club tomorrow or the next day and help her put up her tree. She wasn’t feeling well at all yesterday.
Today I plan to do some gift wrapping. I have almost everything I wanted to get-not a lot this year, but enough. One of Bri’s gifts is on back order, so I may try and find if locally.
Stay warm and dry!
~~Thanks to all who stopped by and looked at my slideshow yesterday~~ I plan to check more out too and leave comments.
~Update-Bri came home and showed me an obituary in the local paper, it was of a teacher from Sean’s elementary school that he had briefly in first grade. She was only 52. I left this condolence-
When we think back on Sean’s time at New Garden, Vicky is definitely a stand-out in our memories. She was so sweet and her niceness was contagious. Sean had her briefly for a teacher, so we always chatted when we saw each other over the years he attended the school and if we ran into her at the store,etc. She touched many lives in a positive way, I’m glad we knew her.

Dec15

Boo Mama’s 2008 Christmas Tour of Homes

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I think this is my third year participating in this fun event-what a great idea and thanks Boo Mama! What’s neat is that I will surely add more photos as I get things the way I want them. We haven’t really decorated too much outside, I’m hoping Sean will help with that on Tuesday.
The slide show should load quickly and if you mouse over the photo, it tells you about the photo. Enjoy and please leave me a comment-I love comments!

BooMamaChristmasTour

Here’s last year’s slideshow too!
And my first share from 2006!

Dec13

Sneak Peek #2

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We are a bit out of focus-gotta get Bri to use that camera more. Plus Mr. Cosmo didn’t like posing with his hat on, the poor guy!
Used ornaments I haven’t used for years! Well you’ll see a portion of them on Monday. I found a big box of those ‘bubble’ ornaments at the Goodwill last year-about 18 of them for only $2. I was going to make photo ornaments-maybe sometime down the road, but I like them so much the way they are too. I actually have two more big crates I didn’t look in yet! I know the one is the Victorian stuff. I plan to go through and donate some of the ones I was looking at today, just not my style anymore.
I have a terrible tickle on the right side of my throat-not all the time, but enough to be annoying. I think that’s where I have post nasal drip-drip. As soon as I get out of the dust, I’ll be better! Happens every year (and I worn a dust mask the last few days).

Dec9

Oh snap!

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(exclamatory phrase) a playful indication of surprise, misfortune, or insult

That’s me describing me there-especially when I almost poked myself in the eye with the end of the dust mop today. I didn’t realize how much work this decorating stuff is now. It’s like I have to rearrange everything! ; )

I’m getting packages everyday now-yahoo! I need to do a little shopping (for church gifts) and mailing a few things soon too.
No baking yet. I don’t freeze cookies-they all go in tins. Not to say I won’t ever not consider it. Maybe to save some for Sean to take back to school.

Come Monday-for BooMama’s tour of homes tour-things should be tidied up enough so I don’t embarrass myself-that’s if I don’t break anything or show certain areas of a room.

In the meantime-still doing a little photoshopping:

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Stop by and say hello if you haven’t lately.

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Take my poll too!

Dec2

Getting ready

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Even though the night before I had a strange time with my ache caused either from indigestion or strain, I managed to take down most of my autumn decor yesterday and to make tuna noodle casserole from scratch (I had no ‘cream of’ anything soup, so I had to make a roux). I am good today, but Bri left a note that said he was awake at 4:30 feeling jumpy and not himself. Maybe we had a little bug? This time of the year, you never know.
I opened up a can of worms the other evening (Sunday) when I decided to sort through the ‘paper chase’ bag. I have a huge plastic quilt bag of receipts, bill stubs, etc.that was just plopped in my bedroom. I would pay the monthly bills and stick the papers in the bag. You can imagine why I had to take on this task-the bag was going to burst at the seams! I think I am half way through it-yeah! When I should be decorating, I am sorting through papers. It’s just something I needed to do-I am a neat freak when the mood strikes. If we need to take a look at a year’s worth of Sean’s student loan stubs-they are all together now. Makes sense to me.
Today, I’ll probably go to the store. Tomorrow I want to get my Christmas cards started. I made one last year and will take the new to the copy center. As a hint, I used a really old family photo (one of my favorites) as the card’s design.
I’m going to do a little cyber shopping now. Here’s a photo of Shirley Temple I found to put you in the holiday mood.

JS10364

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Nov16

Sunday’s I Recommend-vol. #3

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Welcome to the third edition of ‘I recommend’. As the name implies, this is a share to recommend just about anything you like or have tried. It can be a book, drink, food, movie, music CD-anything. Mister Linky will open to another page (that’s how it works on WordPress). Please add your link there and don’t forget to leave me a comment here.

Here are gadgets and an appliance that we think are pretty awesome:

Our first digital camera was a Canon Powershot S30.

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I thought it was pretty cool and so portable! It was the first camera where we didn’t have to use a viewfinder. One issue is this that the batteries need charging all the time. And you can’t shrink down the photos without making the image less crisp (that could happen with any camera though). Save your photos at their original size and burn them to a disk! I still use the camera as it has the video feature which is nice.

Brian read and read camera magazines and in December, 2006 we purchased a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi.

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So here I was faced with using camera with a viewfinder again which took some getting use to. But the photo quality is amazing! It was pricey, but a dream come true. Our camera still ranks #1 on Flickr for Canon cameras. There is a newer one out now, so if you can find the Rebel XTi second hand, you are getting a good investment. I’ve had people tell me I have a great camera just by seeing me carrying it around my neck! I can take pretty decent photos off the tv like this:

Sweet Glinda

An appliance I recommend is the GE Spacesaver Microwave.
Embossed tin back
It is so great to have a special nook for a microwave after having one take up counter or table space over the years! It has a rack if you want to heat up two things at a time (haven’t tried it yet). It reheats things well in general. I believe it was fairly inexpensive. My other appliances are Magtag. They are nice, but the dishwasher is nothing like the GE I had for all those years before we remodeled. I like the size of the frig, but sometimes it freezes my milk or other beverages if you get them in the way of vent inside.

Hope my post helps and please feel free to add your blog link and recommendations.

I just put on my CD player and it is loaded with Christmas music (from last year!). Josh Groban is singing his heart ♥ out right now!

It’s your turn:

Nov10

Like a lead balloon

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Week #2 of ‘I Recommend’ had no participates. I’m thinking Sunday isn’t a good day. Anyone have any suggestions? I thought it would be fun. You can share anything you like or have tried. A recipe, a car!, a book. Anything!! : )

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Yesterday I decided to tackle some tidying up in the bedrooms. Since your bedrooms should be the ‘cleanest’ rooms in the house ‘ *cough, cough*! I used my trusty static duster (I already recommended it a few weeks back) and went to town. I even went through old make-up and tossed eye shadows and lipstick (since I mainly wear lip gloss now). I did this because I got an all new Ulta make-up kit (pink one for $19.95) as an early birthday gift ( the store is nice, but the women who work there are so snooty). I also cleaned out a basket I keep next to the bed for books. I had really stuck a ton of stuff in it. I ran across some baby photos of me and Sean-I do think it was actually from the hospital when Sean was born! What? So I’ll scan them to share. I remember mom bringing in my baby photos to show Bri and his parents and I must have stuck it in the basket. Shame on me! Oh, even the hospital bracelets were in the envelope.

Here’s some:
With my new little guy Sean

Bri tried to get the leaves up with the attachment for the mower, but they were so wet, they were sticking in the chute that leads to the containers. He said he cut a lot of them up. To me, leaves in any form kill the grass. I’ll have to see what he did. The front yard looks ok. I wanted to know if he had added any to the garden to add some goodies to the depleted soil and he said no. Ah the joys of a too big yard with too big trees.

I’m not going to get any bloodwork done until next year either. I told myself I wouldn’t do this, but then I wasn’t feeling good most of the time. I’ll tell you it has to be stress mainly. I have my mom saying weird stuff. I can’t beg for my brothers to bother with her. They can be asses if they chose to be-I think it’s awful. Letting a 78 yr old lady take trash down a 100 ft stone driveway twice a week! And that’s just one thing they don’t do. Aren’t guys suppose to take care of their moms? I told Sean he better dang make sure he does! ; ) I was reading a forwarded email from my uncle about how a lady who had had a double mastectomy and her faithful dog ‘Lucky’ had been sorrowing after her while she slept. Lucky brought all his most cherished possessions and put them on the lady. Lucky gave her a reason to get better. My mom needs a Lucky.

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Anyone know a good gift for a second marriage? We aren’t really close to Bri’s cousin, but he invited us to the wedding. Since we missed his brother’s gala wedding a few years ago (because Bri’s dad, his uncle wouldn’t attend), we thought we’d go to this one since his dad isn’t well-so he has an excuse.

Oct19

Gadgets-I love gadgets

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Zoey over at Perennial Passion said she found some really ‘rad’ kitchen gadgets lately. It’s true, I love gadgets and have an entire drawer of them!

I noticed my static duster (a larger household gadget) was looking old and worn and the handle, made out of plastic, had broken in several places, making it hard to shake out.  Today, Bri took me out to lunch and then to a store that he collects ads from for the paper. I hadn’t been in there in years and it was much bigger than I remember. They are a bit pricey, but when I saw that chartreuse duster with the telescopic handle, I knew I was bringing it home! The handle part is metal. I have already tried it out and it reaches the corners of most of my ceilings (the family room is higher as it was the garage at one time), and holds the dust like a trap! This was my consolation for Bri not taking me to the Delaware Home Show where I could have meet Nadia Geller from the Learning Channel. She was the only reason I would have gone.

I hope you can see that I placed the duster, that looks like a broom, under my Wicked Witches’ house sign. I do live on the west end of my road. ; )

Yesterday my mom and I were in a 5 Below store (everything is $5 and below as the name implies) and I saw this waist trimmer, thinking of Bri and me. I decided to try it on and it’s comfortable. I took that photo, hello girls! LOL I guess you are suppose to make it as tight as possible. My mom was commenting on my tummy the other day and how it needed squishing. Well it’s been out of control for almost 22 yrs (with the one exception when I lost some decent weight). I guess you are suppose to ‘exercise’ wearing this thing? My tummy muscles have been really weak lately, moving involuntary like an eye twitch when I sneeze. In my mind’s eye I keep seeing Sigourney Weaver in Alien. Also, Brooke Burke, one of the celebrities on ‘Dancing with the Stars‘ wore some kind of contraption after she had her last baby and her tummy is flat as can be (it’s called ‘Taunt’, but what I linked to looks like a pricier version of what I bought). Hey, I think she’s going to win! I’m really hoping the fat gets pushed down to the butt region as it’s suppose to be better to have it there. In my dreams.