Thank You.....

The past few weeks have been a busy blur. 

Probably no different from any of your homes during this time of the year. 

There has been a lot of baking. 

A lot of gift wrapping. 

A lot...er....too much...eating. 

A lot of good time spent with family. 

Like every year past, Christmas and New Year's seemed to sneak up on me.

And it seemed like there was a lot to do....

And very little time to do it in. 

I wish that I had taken more photos to document our holiday season.....but I didn't. 

I know....Big "L" on my forehead! 

I did get some pictures of some holiday crochet.....

Some ornaments a la Lucy.

A table doily thingy...(sorry I'm experiencing crs right now)

And the beginnings of an afghan.....

Hopefully I'll have it done by next Christmas!  

I plan to spend the next couple of days relaxing and crocheting...

Before I get started on the purging and organizing that always seems to come with every new year. 

I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a happy, healthy, and safe 2012.

And to thank you all who stopped by, lurked a little, or left a comment. 

I am so grateful for all of you!

Hopefully I will be bit more consistent of a blogger in the coming year. 

The Best Sugar Cookies Evah!

Okay, so they might not look like much

Because my decorating skills leave a lot to be desired.....ahem. 

But don't let looks fool you, they are heavenly. 

I got this recipe from my good friend, Lori. 

She has got a wonderful cooking blog that you can find here.

Check it out.  There are a lot of yummy recipes on her site.

Especially if you're a fan of cupcakes.  Yum! 

The sugar cookie recipe can also be found on her site here.

As you can see, her cookies look much prettier than mine....

but, no matter, they are oh so good. 

Take my word for it.....

No, don't just take my word for it! 

Give them a try! 

And try not to eat them all in one sitting.

Because I have never really done that :-o

Do These Make My Butt Look Big?????

In the past few months, there has been one significant thing sucking my time.....

And it can be described in just one word. 

PINTEREST. 

That's it. 

I spend a lot of time there persuing ideas

And finding little gems.....

Like this. 

Just to clarify....

This is not a picture of my back side. 

If it were my husband would be a very happy man ;-) 

And I would have a very lucrative career as a.....ahem....body part specific model. 

Oh, and I might have more than 27 blog followers.

hahahahahahahaha....thought I'd get you all on that one. 

I have to tell you that I initally thought about how I might make a pair of these. 

Then I thought who on earth would thing of this crochet idea. 

Obviously, someone with a rather flattering....er....

how should I say....

um....back side. 

Which I can tell you that I clearly do not possess. 

What I can tell you, however, is that Pinterest is very, very cool. 

If you haven't been there, you should check it out. 

If you need an invite, just drop me an e-mail. 

You won't regret it. 

I mean, seriously, can you imagine your life

without the pleasure of crocheted shorts. 

Really????

How Empty Nesters Get Their Kicks

It has been quite some time since we have had our children living at home.

Yes, Christmas is just not as exciting as when there are not children around. 

Pretty boring actually. 

So, what do I do to break up the monotony. 

It involves the animals. 

And torture. 

I don't know.....you think this is a bit much??? 

There are two things that I am certain of. 

Number One.....they were not happy with me.....AT ALL!

Number Two.....my two "human" children are rethinking their plans for Christmas morning...

Yeah, I think I need to dig up some Santa hats and reindeer ears. 

It should be so much fun! 



Two Weeks

The two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving were spent with this view.....

My rear side was planted firmly at the kitchen table typing away on my laptop.
Assignment after assignment. 
I had three of them.  Three loooooong assignments to finish up my most recent class. 
Long, as in term paper long.  They reminded me why I like Math so much more than English. 
But I got them all done.....finally. 
Of course I had a little distraction in the background.  ;-) 
That lovely rainbow of yarn that I recently received in the mail. 
I would look up every now and then, and try to visualize what I was going to do with it all. 
Eventually, I had to move it to another room.  It just became toooooo distracting! 
So that is what life has been....while I have been away. 
There were also a couple of reprieves from school work. 
Like attending a little college football rivalry game.....

A little University of Arizona-Arizona State action. 
Just for the record....I was NOT rooting for the home team (Go Cats!). 
And I was very happy to be able to celebrate a win. 
However, since I was suffering from a miserable sinus headache I was just hoping for a quick game more than anything! 

There was also some hooky stuff in the evening to clear my mind. 

Still working on this project....well, somewhat working on it. 
It will be "on break" for a while. 
For now, I'm focused on all things Christmas...
Christmas ornaments!
Christmas cookies!
Christmas cards!
Christmas music!
Christmas lights! 
Christmas shopping!
Christmas decorations!
Oh, and with a little dash of Trigonometry (yeah, how Christmasy is that?????).
 So off I go.....Falalalalalalalalalalalalalala!!!!!!

Someday I'll Learn....

How to take decent photos of my crochet projects.
For now these will just have to do......

Just a couple of pillow I made for a friend who LOOOOOOVES pillows :-D 

I love the colors but I don't know if I love the yarn even though it is called "I Love This Yarn!" 

I usually do love it but as I was working on this project I noticed it "pilled" a little more than I would like. 

Oh well!  

Anyways, I was just taking a break from my mountain of school work!  

And now it's time to go back to work.....

Toodles! 



The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I woke up this morning to a sound I had almost forgotten.....
The sound of rain pounding on the rooftop. 
We had a very brief storm blow in a couple of nights ago. 
But it was oh so brief. 
It came in at about midnight. 
Sounded loud and furious. 
And then it was gone by 12:30..... A.M. 
Humph!  Such is the life of living in Arizona. 
Which is why the rain was such a pleasant surprise. 
It is very rare to wake up to rain in this state. 
Now, the doggies weren't very happy....
Water falling from the sky got them all hyped up. 
Waaaaay out of the ordinary for them. 
But I, on the other hand, was very happy. 
I finally feel like Fall is here. 

Another thing making me happy was the annual debut of these.....

I don't know what it is about these red cups that instantly lifts my mood.
I literally feel like the heavens have opened and angels are singing when I get my first glimpse every year. 
Okay....well....maybe that's going a little overboard. 
But I do feel a certain increase on the happiness meter. 
These red cups make me want to have a latte every single day.
Now my husband would tell you I could have a latte every day....with or without the red cup. 
And he would, of course, be right.  (shhhh....don't tell him!) 

The truth is that to me this is the most wonderful, fabulous time of the year! 
And the red cup always seems to mark the beginning  :-)

Poor, Poor Pitiful Me

Did I ever happen to mention that I am surrounded by testosterone? 
Eh....maybe I did once or twice....I don't know. 
But in case I didn't mention it.....I am. 
Surrounded by testosterone, that is. 

The cat, which you have seen prominently displayed, enjoying my half finished crochet creations....
Is a boy. 
Then there are these two boys.....

Khalil

AKA Nervous Nelly

Skinny Bones Jones

 Nash

AKA Chuba Wuba

Fat Boy

Then, of course, there is my husband. 

Then if you throw my son into the mix....

I am  clearly outnumbered.....

My only source of hope is my daughter. 

But she is 350 miles away!!! 

Which brings me to my next complaint.

She is having her ultrasound next week to learn the sex of the baby. 

And it is abundantly clear to me that I am the only one hoping its a girl!! 

Which means it probably is a boy....because that is the way things usually work. 

(Do you feel sorry for me yet?????) 

Is it really too much to ask for a little more pink and cuddly added to the family?? 

And I don't want to hear that raising girls is harder than raising boys.....

Raising children is hard.  Period. 

So in the mean time I will hope and pray for pink. 

Knowing that I will probably see blue....

Like Linda Ronstadt says.....

"Oh, these boys won't let me be,

Lord have MERCY on me.....

Woe is me."  ;-) 



Just Call Him Punkin'

So last weekend I decided to crochet a pumpkin. 

I saw one on the internet and knew I just had to make one. 

I started it and got more than halfway through.

And then it just sat there on the table. 

Not surprisingly I got sidetracked by a number of other things. 

Not to mention that I was sore! 

Yes I was sore from crocheting!

My biceps and triceps were used to many types of workouts,

But not the type of workout that requires crocheting with really thick yarn. 

And that also contributed to my lack of motivation. 

Until this morning. 

When I discovered that my "half" pumpkin was being put to...er...good use? 

This is what I found.....

Hmmm.....yeah. 

I do love how the color of his lovely coat matches the yarn. 

I managed to get another photo before wielding the water sprayer.....

Yes...he is not fond of the water sprayer :-O

Anyways, he did give me the motivation to git er dun. 

And give everyone a preview of one of my weekend activites. 

Hopefully the next time the orange yarn makes another appearance

it will be in the form of a lovely Thanksgiving display. 

Thanks so much for stopping by :-)

I hope everyone has a great weekend. 

A Quarter of a Century Later

Okay, everyone......altogether now

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww....... 



Weren't they so cute?!?!?!?!?

(insert chuckles) 

Well they aren't as cute now.....

A quarter of a century later.

Well.....maybe they are cute...but just in a different way. 

But they weren't so cute at age 14.

At least to their mama! 

(They both know what I am talking about!) 

Anyways....it has been 25 years since that first photo was taken. 

Which if you are doing your math.....that makes the little guy

25 Years Old

TODAY!!!!!

Happy Birthday to my boy!!!!!



"Living" Proof That Kids DO Listen to Parents....

Well....not all the time. 

But sometimes. 

And this blog post highlights one of those "sometimes" moments. 

 

You see, while my daughter was growing up there was one thing I drilled into her brain. 

Well, actually, there was more than one thing.

You know, there was the usual...don't do drugs, don't talk to strangers, don't sit too close to the TV....etc. etc.  You get the idea. 

But there was one thing of the utmost importance. 

It went something like this.....

"I think 50 would be a good age for me to be a grandma...."

"Mom....I am not waiting until 30 to have kids." 

She maintained that stance for a long time.

And guess what happened. 

I turned 50.  And she just turned 30. 

And no baby.

So, you see, she did listen. 

And like the good daughter she obeyed....hee. 

In fact, she obeyed sooooo well. 

She granted my wish. 

And waited until I was well into 50

to give me this news that in May I would be joining a new club......

Yes!  I am going to be a grandma!

Very exciting! 

Now, my daughter is not the documenter that I am. 

So, there are no pictures of the stick she pee'd on. 

( I know....I'm weird!)

And they left the first ultrasound picture in the car where, of course, it faded.  

But there will be plenty of pictures and memories to document in the future. 

I'm looking so forward to it.

Snapshot: 10/23/2011

     snap shot: an impression or view of something brief or transitory

I had an English teacher in college who hated when you would use a definition in a research paper.
I, on the other hand, loved definitions and loved using them. 
I thought they were an easy, albeit, lazy way to open a paper. 
So it is with a definition that I start this blog post.

I provided the definition because it is going to be a snapshot of my week.
What is currently going on in my life and what is on my mind..
A snapshot of this moment in time.
So here we go.

(1)   Today is October 23 and the high is going to be 97 degrees. Seriously.
I would like to say it feels like fall but it doesn't. Not even close.
It is hard to believe that there is snow only a state away.
And here....there is not even a hint of fall.
I am really yearning for fall.....I am so over summer.
But I guess I'll have to wait a bit longer.
Or maybe if I crochet a couple of these it will feel more like fall. 

(2)   While on the topic of "90's", I got a 93 on my algebra final.
I was disappointed. I wanted a perfect score dammit.
I figure, if I'm going to teach it I should be able to ace it!

(3)  Keeping with the theme of "9".....
I am surprised at how the meaning of the number "9-9-9" has changed for me. 
Two years ago I was a police officer. 
To a police officer "999" means "officer down". 
The worse think you can hear as a police officer.   
Now...well thanks to Herman Cain it's  the big catch phrase for the pre-primary politcal season!! 
It seems to be all I hear about when I turn on the TV. 
A reminder of how quickly your life (and perspective) can change. 

(4)  The surprise of the week?  Or maybe the month? 
My husband has been watching "Dancing with the Stars".....with interest. 
Oh, and offering up his own critiques. 
And he has a pretty good eye for the proper dancing techniques. 
My husband?  A dance afficionado?  Who knew?????
I guess I can still be surprised. 
Our faves?  Ricki Lake and J.R. Martinez. 
Who are your faves? 

(5)  I'm back to my "short attention span" crochet.
I started not one, but three projects this week.
I have a very short attention span....what can I say.
Here is a peak at those projects.



Yes, I'm in a very "colorful" mood right now. 

Need to change gears to a Christmas color mood. 

Or not.   After all it does still feel like summer.  ;-)   hmmmmm.....

(6)  Although I did try to get into the mood of the season with some fall baking. 

I found the best recipe for ginger snaps HERE. 
Whipped up a batch of these babies.....

And wanted to eat every single one of them!!! 
Therefore, for the good of my waistline and cholestol count.....
I pawned them off gave them to the first person I knew of that has kids. 
I did save a few for myself though.....;-)   
If you like ginger snaps, I highly recommend this recipe. 

(7)  Lastly, on a sad note, my thoughts right now are with my friend, Lori.  Her brother passed away last week and his memorial service is today.   He was only 45 years old......way too young.    
So, right at this moment, my thoughts and prayers are with her and her family. 

Peace friends. 
I hope everyone is having a wonderful and inspired Sunday.

30 Years of Fabulous!

Today marks a very momentous occasion in my life.

It's one of those milestones that makes a person stop to take pause. 

Why?  Because it's always been really hard to wrap my mind around it.

What is it you ask???

Today is the day that I become the mother of a thirty year old. 

Oh, I know, it is probably far more momentous for her than it is for me.

But please, just let me have my moment

My moment to wonder where the heck time went. 

I remember when I brought her home from the hospital. 

One of my friends was holding her and cooing....

"Before your mom realizes it, you're going to be in school." 

In school??? 

No!  I blinked and she was thirty. 

Okay, I've had my moment.  I'm over it now. 

Now the focus is on her. 

I could tell you all about her entry into this world. 

But I did that already....last year. 

I seriously don't think she wants to hear that story again. 

I could tell you she is so very happy at this moment. 

But I would be lying. 

For as I am typing this entry, she is at Foxborough. 

At the Pats/Cowboys game. 

Brady just threw an interception. 

She, is not at all happy right at this moment. 

(Note: Yes, this is one of those postdated blog entrys!)

Hopefully the Pats bounce back and win. 
But if they don't.....I have the perfect remedy to put a smile on her face. (hee)

A little walk down memory lane.

Oh!  She's going to love this! 

I mean, really.....how could I let this occasion pass without digging up old photos. 

So,  without further ado.....

Here she is.....

Amanda. 

Through the years. 
My Panda Bear. 
My Tweety Bird.
The first person I truly fell in love with.

Here's to Thirty years of FABULOUS!!!!!! 

Enjoy!

Three Days Old

Three months old

Six months old

Those big ole eyes :-)

Me and my sweet baby girl. 

(I wish I still had that blanket!)

Amanda and Grandpa.

A true poser...

And scene stealer!



With her cousins (They'll probably love me for this one too!)

Again.....those eyes!

1st Grade

Fifth Grade

At Disneyland with little brother.  This was just the beginning of her love affair with the mouse.

She was a soccer girl. 

And a cheerleader, too.

When she graduated, Ryne stole the cap......

And five years later, she returned the favor.

A senior beauty.

And a theme park cutie.

Partying in Aruba at 24.

And sharing my birthday dessert on my 44th birthday. 

Chilling with dad. 

Giving love to our Miss Maya.

A pensive girl.

My favorite picture!

And the most current picture of her....

(Taken right off her Facebook page yesterday....I hope she doesn't get mad!)

Amanda and Laura at the Pats game. 

By the time I finished this they had won so I'm sure she IS happy! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY GIRL!!!!!

The "Bumps" and "Lumps" of Life

There has been a bit of "controversy" around these parts in the past week. 
The controversy has been over a t-shirt.  
Not just any t-shirt.....but this t-shirt. 



This is the t-shirt worn this week by the cheerleaders of Gilbert High School in Gilbert, AZ.
As part of their campaign to raise money for breast cancer awareness. 
The saying, "Feel for Lumps. Save your Bumps" was deemed as inappropriate by the principal. 
I don't know....maybe there is something I am missing here.....
But it certainly doesn't sound as objectionable as "I Love Boobies."
And that is displayed all over the place lately....
On T-shirts.  On bracelets.  On hats. 
Heck, I even saw it on a billboard. 

Now I know that school administrators have got to be careful. 
But the kids are just trying to raise money for a very good cause. 
Then again, I may be considered less than objective.....
It wasn't so long ago that  my daughter was a Gilbert High cheerleader...