Tori & Natalie

Natalie, Tori's best friend came home from Missouri where she attends college to visit for the holidays. They spent the day together shopping at thrift stores, eating Indian food at Star of India and drinking Chai Tea Lattes while talking about life.

They went up into Tori's room and decided to have a craft night. Natalie painted a pot for her boyfriend, Luke who loves to garden.

Tori worked on her Art that is due this week. She also has a paper to finish but she has been in bed all day very sick! :(

I miss these two coming and going everyday....in high school they were inseparable! They will be close friends forever!! I love you both!

You sexy thang!

I love a man with dishpan hands!!!


My man in an apron.....so sexy!!!

Doing the dishes with his daughter's so his wife and mother-in-law can rest...I love this man!!!!!

Gingerbread House

On Thanksgiving Day John made a gingerbread house with our nephews, Flynn & Elijah.
As I was watching him interact with the boys I couldn't help but think about Grand-babies. I know that they are years away but I can't wait to be involved in their lives and spoil the dickens out of them. John is going to be an awesome Pap!!!Flynn & Elijah had a blast putting the candies on the house. I think for every one candy that made it onto the house, one was put into their mouths as well.
They had to be quick because the icing dried fast.

Voila! The Gingerbread House!

When they were done naughty Uncle John squirted icing into Flynn's mouth. He was hyper the remainder of the day to say the least!!!

The bedrooms

John & I decided to tackle the girls bedrooms since they were coming home for the holidays. So last week John did Tori's room and I took on Meg's. I've told you before when Tori moved off to college the entire house got torn upside down. I also, finished the curtains for Meg's room and made the panels for Tori's. It felt so good when they were complete. If you don't mind I'm going to share some photos.

Meg's bedroom.....

The finished curtains!! The two panels in the middle are muslin and the outer two have a very delicate rose pattern. I trimmed up the ficus tree and zip tied it together in places so it looks a little better. I have yet to find the bedspread I want for this room so it's not really complete until I find that.

I displayed her dolls and her dreamsicles so it still feels like her bedroom when she comes home to visit. The closet is still full of jackets, shoes, purses etc....of hers that will go with her when she has a permanent home.This dresser is an antique find of mine. I went antiquing one rainy day just to pass the time....I found this beauty and talked the lady down to $90. The handles are leather. I think it's from the 30's.

My Holly Hobbie dolls when I was little now have a home in this room.

Tori's bedroom.....

John did an awesome job fixing up Tori's room. We decided instead of a bed to put the futon in here. This room is very spacious and it's perfect for me to do my yoga and aerobics. So a bed would have taken up to much space. John added some of Tori's art work to the walls and I made these curtains out of an old king size bed sheet that I found at a Goodwill in Destin this summer for $5.00!!

Some of Tori's cameras on display...this is how she had them when she lived her. We never touched them...John just moved the bookcase to a different part of the room. All of these are antiques. She even has the movie film camera and projector that was my parents.

This orange 70's chair was another thrifting find of mine a few years ago. I saw it and knew it was Tori....I bargained and got it for $30.00.

I really want to go to the thrift/antique stores now!!! I wish my family would wake up so we could go shopping. I want to find that bedspread...on sale!!! We are also going to see the movie, "The secret life of Bees" and eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant. I love having my girls home. Oh, we went and took family Christmas photos yesterday on an old abandoned railroad track....taking Christmas photos is a tradition we do every Thanksgiving. They came out really good. We acted like total goof balls as usual. I'm going to do a post of several of them in the next few days. Some of them are hilarious!

Happy Shopping to you all on this Black Friday!

I'm Thankful for.....

God and the wonderful relationship I have with him. Also, for him blessing us and providing for us.
My Husband of almost 21 years....we have adjusted quite well to our empty nest! I'm more in love with him today than ever before.
My Daughters who are healthy and enjoying life as young women. This is the dream John & I had for them. For the wonderful adult relationship we have with them!!
My Mom whom I have an amazing relationship with and enjoys Twilight as much as I do. :) Who also is healthy right now....thank you Lord!
My brothers and sisters.....all 8 of them!
My in-laws who we don't get to see enough but are always in our thoughts and prayers.
My best friends, Dala & Robbie and their hubbies....we have so much fun together. I love it that they love me know matter what!!!
My doggie Reeses....I can't imagine life without this little blessing. He has been a great joy to John & I.
My Fat Cat, Big Ben....he is a big cuddle bug.

A warm Home. Food on the table. Our Jobs.
Our health. Our love!!!

Gas prices falling....$1.55 here in my town.

and all my Blogging friends!!!

I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving

My First Baby

Here you go mommies - a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about you and your first baby.

1. Were you married at the time? yes

2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? I was in shock....then I cried and cried.

3. How old were you? 16

4. How did you find out you were pregnant? I went to the doctor's office and had a urine & blood test done.

5.Who did you tell first? John

6. Did you want to find out the sex? Yes! They did an ultrasound and told me I was having a boy!!! Yea, they were SO wrong!

7. Due Date? February 8, 1988

8. Did you deliver early or late? 4 days early

9. Did you have morning sickness? I puked Morning, Noon & Night!!!

10. What did you crave? Broccoli and Shrimp....sometimes potato chips dipped in onion dip.

11. Who irritated you the most? My little brother, Timothy and sister Barbara Jean. I was still living at home (parents house) because John was at Tech School in Biloxi, Mississippi.

12. What was your first child's sex? Girl

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout your pregnancy? 49...I was a chunk!

14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? At 6 months my amniotic sac started leaking. I had to be hospitilized for a week. I was on bed rest and was tilted at an angle.

15. Where did you give birth? Rebseman Medical Center, Jacksonville, Arkansas

16. How many hours were you in labor? 18 miserable hours!!

17. Who drove you to the hospital? My Mom

18. Who watched? My mom. John was in Tech School. He didn't get to meet Meg until she was 8 days old.

19. Was it natural or c-section? Natural with the help of an epidural....they also had to pull her out with forceps.

20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? Besides the epidural they gave me demerol.

21. How much did your child weigh? 7 lbs. 5 oz.

22. What did you name him/her? Megan Britt'any

23. How old is your first born today? 20 years....she will be 21 in February!!!!

Okay mommies, re-post this as My first baby and tell us about him/her!!!

I received this award from Ashley over @ The Linares Family. Thank you Ashley!! Also, from Michelle @ Tales from the Lunchroom. Thanks Michelle!!

"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I am supposed to give this to 8 bloggers. I guess I'll follow the rules this time!

Beth @ Be Still Beth has been a friend of mine for 15 years. She doesn't post everyday but when she does it's always a good read.

Becky @ In The Trenches has 4 children and by her photos she has an amazing body to have had 4! I love her posts on her baby Summer.

Aubrey @ The Fam Five is an amazing woman. She has a teen, a tween & a toddler!!! She has funny posts about the toddler.

Heather @ "This is the Day Ps. 118:24" was one of the first woman to comment on my blog! She also amazes me how she can juggle being a nurse, mother and wife and still have time to post everyday!!

Melody @ Merrie Melody is another amazing woman. She is a mom to an autistic child.....these moms need extra awards!!!! She grows beautiful gardens!

Julie @ My life with boys is a missionary wife & mother living in Hungary. Her posts are crafty and fun. Her baby Jasper is always doing something worth blogging about.

April @ Straight from the Heart is a mom of two girls as well. She shares their life from cross country to strep throat. She also has a beautiful home!

Betty @ Wiens World has a lot in common with me. We both have two girls that are in college. We are both having to adjust to an empty nest and we share the same name!

I hate picking just 8...I always feel mean not picking everyone that I love to read everyday.

how exciting

So I walk into 2nd period math class and Cindy (the teacher) showed me her new present she bought herself. A brand new Toshiba laptop. She has a Sem card that gives her access to mobile internet. So, of course I said, "Oh! I can blog"!! Let me check it out! So here I am in math class writing a post while the class is doing order of operations. How exciting huh?! Well, for me it is 'cause the firewalls here at the school prevent me from blogging on my lunch break. I just might have to bring my laptop and get me one of these Sem cards so I can blog on my breaks!!!

Gotta go to 3rd period now.

Thanks everybody!

I have recently been tagged and have received a few awards! Pamela over at Pam-fried family life gave me these two awards!! Pamela is creative herself....she has 5 children and can crochet the cutest hats!
Betty over at Wiens World gave me two as well. First the book Award....

Open the book closest to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment.

lucky by: Alice Sebold

Turn to page 56....
Write out the fifth sentence, as well as the two to five sentences following.

Mary brought her essentials inside the house,and went up to her bedroom to unpack. The idea was that we would all have an informal meal, what my mother called, "seek and ye' shall find,"and afterward my father would go back to his study to work, and I could spend time with my sister. But when mother called for Mary to come down she didn't answer.

2nd. the I heart your blog As a recipient of this award, there are rules to follow. I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and one word only! Then I must pass it on to five others! The questions are as follows:

1. Where is your cell phone?bedroom

2. Where is your significant other? work

3. Your hair color? brown

4. Your mother? Beautiful

5. Your father? missed

6. Your favorite thing? family

7. Your dream last night? sewing

8. Your dream/goal? yearbook

9. The room you're in? craft

10. Your hobby? crochet

11. Your fear? heights

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? here

13. Where were you last night? shopping

14. What you're not? lonely

15. One of your wish-list items? yarn

16. Where you grew up? New York

17. The last thing you did? coffee

18. What are you wearing? PJ's

19. Your TV? Sony

20. Your pet? Reeses

21. Your computer? happy

22. Your mood? bright

23. Missing someone? always

24. Your car? dirty

25. Something you're not wearing? panties

26. Favorite store? hobby lobby

27. Your summer? FUN!

28. Love someone? definitely

29. Your favorite color? black

30. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday (shopping with John is always a hoot....he always makes fun of things)

31. Last time you cried? yesterday (my friends daughter, Tori's best friend since kindergarten got engaged and reading Beth's blog made me boo-hoo for an hour)

Becky tagged me with this one....

Here are the rules that you agree to when you accept this award: "When you receive the prize, you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing that they were prized with 'Honest Weblog'. List [if you can and/or dare] at least ten honest things about yourself. Then, pass it on!"

Oh my goodness.....honest scrap huh!! OK here it goes....

1. I got pregnant on prom night with Meg(I was 16)....when John took me to the doctor's to confirm that I was the nurse kept talking about alternatives....I said nothing to her. I walked out the door, looked at John who was waiting in the car....by my expression he knew. We said nothing....he drove to Paradise park and parked under a tree by the lake. We both cried and hugged and then I told him what the nurse said to me....he took my chin and said, I guess we should get married". Yep, that's how I got engaged!!! Not all romantic....but he has made up for it over the last 22 years.

2. I was scared to death moving to a different state when I was 17....married and a baby! I was a baby myself!!! Honestly though being a mom and wife came natural to me.

3. I love coffee.....Costa Rican coffee is my favorite!! Meg & Tori brought me back a bag when Meg studied there this summer (Tori went for vacation) I order it on-line now!!!

4. I'm OCD when it comes to a clean house. I like it clean and organized! Good thing is John is exactly the same way!

5. I collect antique glass. Depression glass, milk glass, fenton glass, carnival....etc! I have so much of it, I had to stop for awhile because I ran out of room. :(

6. I love to bake and give it away. I'll keep a little bite or two for John & I but the rest I give away. Baking relaxes me.

7. I can't wait to have grandbabies!!! John & I were talking last night about how much we miss the girls being little. Yes, I cried! Anyway, I have a hope chest that I started to fill with toys and little outfits and whatnots for my future grandbabies!!!!

8. I have to have ALL doors shut before I get in the bed....closet & bathroom. It freaks me out if they are open. Tori is the same way.

9. I sing and dance around the house when I'm cleaning with the radio on the 80's station! Sometimes I do it when I'm cooking. It might sound silly but I'm getting in that extra cardio and burning some calories.

10. I'm always LATE for everything. When my Dad was alive he use to always say I should have named you Betty Late 'cause you are never on time.

Well, there you have it. I'm now supposed to pass these on to 7 people. Everyone knows I don't always follow the rules when it comes to awards and tags. So consider yourself tagged and this awards for you!!!

I need to go get ready for church now....as usual I am late!!!!

Twilight

Mom & I went and saw Twilight. We stood in line and listened to all the women ooooooh & aaaaaah over the books & the actors in the movie. Everyone was decked out in Twilight shirts, including me.....Becky gave me this shirt! When the movie finally came on everyone squealed and got all excited. When Edward came on the screen I thought the 4 young girls behind me were going to faint. When watching a movie after I've read the book.....I have to prepare myself for differences. You know how you envision a certain character and then they look totally different or how sometimes the movie is just totally different than the book altogether. The movie was pretty true to the book...minus a few scenes that should have been put in that weren't....there were a few changes but you have to expect that. I loved it! Did you?

Here's Blondie

You all asked for it so here it is! It's not the photo I talked about though. I found every photo from that day but the family one.
But you can still see Johnny boy with his lovely blonde hair. Here he is that Thanksgiving day with the turkey he deep fried! It was most delicious.


So after deciding to post this picture with the bird I thought to myself, why put up just one?! If I'm going to show embarrassing old photos of John with his blonde hair I might as well post more than one. hehehe (photos were taken out of my scrapbook)


Here is blondie aka John and I before heading out to a Melissa Etheridge Concert. His hair is pretty blonde here and I have on way too much make-up! 99'


Here he is summer of 98' with his little girls. He had just dyed his hair. Tori decided she was going to sport the cap on her head since daddy didn't need it. They were seeing who could touch their nose with their lips, a trait both my girls got from me. Oh, I'm so proud!

October 99' we went to Silver Dollar City for Tori's 10th birthday. That's my niece Kayla who's birthday is two days after Tori's....they have always celebrated together. We had just gotten off Buzz Saw Falls where we got soaked!
Here is a close up of blondie and me. Gosh, we were so young and thin!!!


This was 70's day at Meg's middle school. She was in the 6th grade. Daddy brought up pizza for her & 6 friends.


Christmas 99', Tori drew daddy a picture of a Mark Martin car. She has always been a great artist. I believe this is when John started letting the blonde grow out.

So there you go....you asked and I complied.

Sex, Drugs & Coco Puffs

You are probably thinking what the heck does that title have to do with family date night? Just read on. You'll see.

Last night was Family Date Night, we made the usual drive down the back roads to get there. We had to make it just a dinner night because the girls had plans. We ate at Mike's Place. We passed our forks around sampling each others meals. We had pecan crusted Grouper, Blackened Chicken, Chicken tarzen, Coconut shrimp, Scampi, shrimp with sauce, sweet potato
fries, red beans & rice, green beans with bacon, spinach with parmesan cheese and so much more. We talked over our plans for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Next Wednesday it's a date to bake at Grandmas!!!

We got done just in time to drop the girls off at their house, give our hugs & kisses and said goodbye. They had to be at the college by 7:30. It was mandatory for Meg to be there since she is a writing major; Tori just loves to read and they both love this author. They went to see & hear Chuck Klosterman speak. Although I didn't finish this book....I did read most of it and enjoyed what I read. It's quite interesting....it's all about Pop Culture.

I have Christmas Tree and Ornament shopping for the church tonight with my girlfriends. I probably won't have time to get back on and read blogs till Thursday. Oh, I can feel the withdrawals now!! I'll have so much to catch up on.

Pimp my Thanksgiving

Tattooedminivanmom is hosting a Thanksgiving recipe swap. Head on over there and check out all the yummy recipes.


My favorite Thanksgiving memories are the ones I made with my Dad & Mom in the kitchen. My dad would have me come over before the sun came up so he could teach me how to make the Yankee stuffing. We would have the best conversation as we ripped the bread apart and drank tea & coffee. I cherish those memories now more than ever; this is the 3rd Thanksgiving without him since he went to be with our Lord.

I'll never forget the time Mom & I put the turkey in the oven and put the timer on. 2 hours later we couldn't figure out why we weren't smelling that awesome bird cooking. Well, we forgot to turn the OVEN ON!!! Good laughs...good times.

Of course I have many more memories of my daughters and John. We usually take a family photo on this day and use it for the Christmas cards. One year John had blonde hair and the girls were going through their awkward stage and I just looked like crap. That photo needs to be burned!!!

On with the recipe....I have made this recipe for 20 years. It is a family favorite!


Cauliflower Casserole

1 large head cauliflower, broken into small florets
1/2 cup butter, melted ( I prefer land o' lakes)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Steam your cauliflower until soft. Put cauliflower in big mixing bowl, set aside.
   
2. In a small bowl mix together butter, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, salt, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and 1/2 cup of cheese. Pour mixture over cauliflower, stir this until all florets are coated with mixture. Pour into baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.
   
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Peanut Butter Jelly Time

I failed to mention yesterday that Tori came home for the weekend. Last night about 9:30 John jumped off the couch and looked at Tori and said,
"Peanut Butter Jelly Time"!

When she lived at home this was a tradition they did late at night.

John told Tori how much he missed this time with her.

Who knew something so little as making a PBJ would make a daddy smile so big!

They talked about the time John got all excited about his cold milk...when he took a huge sip it was sour and he spit it out in the sink cussing as he washed his mouth out with water.

Cheers!

Brown Eyed Boy

A cold front came through last night; perfect weather to make Chili. So I whipped up a huge pot, called my mom and asked if she wanted to come over for dinner. She told me she was getting my brother's son, Flynn for the day so she would be over after she picked him up from his mom's.

So since I was going to have a 6 year old in the house I had to make a batch of cupcakes. (I was good on my diet and ate only 1 mini one)

This cutie patootie brown eyed boy ate 10 mini cupcakes in two hours! He still sat down and ate a bowl of chili. He had like 4 more after dinner.
I think he enjoyed these Lemon-Up Cupcakes! I made mom take most of them home with her since Flynn was spending the night he could finish eating them in the morning.


Mom brought her gun & John and her did some target shooting in the back yard. She hit the bulls eye 8 out of 9 times!!! GO MOM! *that coat look familiar? Yeah, it's Tori's...I wore it last week on the boat* While John was cleaning the gun mom was telling the story of how her lucky number is 13. She bought her car on her mom's birthday June 13th as a birthday present for herself (my moms birthday is on the 13th as well). Then she bought this gun on November 13th. This is were it got kinda weird....John pulled out a package from the gun case....it was packed on May 13th....and was inspected by Inspector #13!!! These weird coincidences freak me out sometimes.


A quick THANK YOU to all my bloggy friends who left such sweet comments on my "Funk" post. They all lifted my spirits and made me more motivated. I have been very faithful to my food journal and have watched my portions. I've worked out and walked 2 miles everyday (except today no walking because the wind was insane)

Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da

Background/Button Tutorial

Awhile back some of you asked me how I changed my background. Well I've decided to attempt a tutorial so you guys can change your backgrounds as well if you wish.

1st. Find a photo that you want to be your background.

2nd. Go to picnik.com and upload your photo...here you can edit the photo by putting a border or change colors, etc.

3rd. Once your picture is how you want it you need to upload it on tho Photobucket.com

4th. Here is the HTML code that you are going to be using.

Go HERE to get it....for some reason blogger keeps deleting the code when I type it in. Strange. I just found this site and how cool are those Twilight backgrounds!!!!


5th. Now, grab the DIRECT LINK from your photo on photobucket. Insert it where it says, ("ENTER YOUR LINK HERE") in between the quotes. ("")

6th. Go to customize....add a gadget....go to the HTML/Javascript....it's here where you are going to put in the code.

That's it!!!!

*for code above you want to erase "no repeat" and type in repeat*


So I figured out how to make a button for my blog as well. I found a great blog that gives an awesome tutorial. Go here for it.



I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Herbie's Angel

So with the recent murder of TV Anchor Anne Pressly the women here in Arkansas are a little freaked out; especially since they have no leads on the person who committed this horrific murder. Every place that we went said women are buying guns like crazy. My mom being one of them.
Here she is Herbie's Angel.....my Dad's name was Herbert and Mom called him Herbie.
Don't mess with this woman!!!

We were laughing so hard taking these pictures. I couldn't believe I got her to let me take them.

She is serious about protecting herself! Let me tell you what...she can shoot this gun like it's nobody's business!!! She has perfect aim!!!

She bought a Walther p22 it's pink & black....it's a pretty gun. Can I call a gun pretty?



We had a good day today. We went clothes shopping, gun shopping, had lunch at Cracker Barrel & shopped at Sams Wholesale where I bought more crap that I really didn't need.
It was a FUN mother/daughter day!!!! It looks like Mom is pointing that gun at me....

1 week until TWILIGHT hits the theaters! Mom & I already purchased our tickets. We are taking off work that day and making it a Twilight Day! We are so excited!!!!!!!!