Never Forget

Today we went to visit the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall. I underestimated how emotional it would be....all those names, the pictures, the tears, the vets passing out flags. There was also a memorial area for the soldiers lost in Iraq. It was heartbreakingly large.

While I think my oldest was able to understand the importance of the memorial, the littles were more interested in their flags and the trucks. Jedi did enjoy hearing about the veterans in our family including both of Ken's grandfathers, his Uncle and my Uncle. We will be forever indebted to the men and women who serve our country.

Fight the Frump Friday (skin care)

Nothing makes me feel so frumpy as a giant pimple...OK, maybe ratty paint splattered sweats, but it's close! How can I feel confident and non frumpy after I don my thigh deodorant and skirt then look in the mirror to see Mt. Pustius smack dab in the middle of my forehead?!? The answer for me was Acnefree, the Wa! Mart equivalent to Pro Activ. Within 3 days of use I had an extreme improvement to my skin. My dh actually said, "wow! your skin is so beautiful...it's glowing!" The cost is $19.22 for a month supply. I've found the toner and lotion last longer than the wash. Good news though, you can buy a bottle of the wash separately.

A little something to make your kitchen less frumpy...

I recently purchased these adorable magnets from Julie of Red Hen Studios. They're recycled dominoes. She has some really adorable ones of Cinderella and more in her Etsy store. Definitely worth a look see.

Good news on Jedi...came back clear for the test. They just want us to keep an eye on him for further symptoms. He did have to get his tetanus shot though...ouch. Poor little guy was pretty upset.

W.I.P. ~ living room

I recently received my order of Drawing Room fabric by Anna Maria Horner. STUNNING. It is her new home dec. line. I am in love with it. I originally thought I'd make a skirt with the bird print but I decided my living room needed some bright colors so I put some on a 3'x4' canvas... voila! It is rather busy but my living room is fairly large...20' x 28' with cathedral ceilings and a huge barn shaped wall that is painted, yep you guessed it, barn red! I've been thinking that might not have been the best color for the wall. Every picture I take in that room has a pink tone. Live and learn.

Other news: Farmgirl starts riding lessons with a new instructor today. We're super excited. New lessons are less than half what last summers were and in a better facility...downside, it's 45 minutes away. Driving long distances is pretty much the norm up here in the sticks. Jedi has a check up tomorrow. He's been exhibited some symptoms of Type1 diabetes so he'll be tested for that. I'm really optimistic that it'll be negative but please lift him in prayer if you are so inclined.

Why you shouldn't... (ver. 4)

sit across from my husband if he's had more than 2 glasses of wine. Imagine a table filled with 16 of Ken's co-workers and their spouses. Everybody is enjoying their wine, imported specialty cheeses, candied nuts and fruit. Ken is laughing uproariously, throws his arms up and SPLOOSH...his entire glass of wine splashes across my chest and face like arterial blood in a bad horror movie. You should have heard all the women suck in their breath for an "ooooooohhhhh!"

Poor Ken felt horrible. Luckily, I was prepared with a lovely cardigan to throw over it. It's nothing a little Oxi couldn't handle!

Fight the Frump Friday

I happen to be a fluffy gal (plus sized) and had been so discouraged that I gave up trying to look nice. My uniform...sweats and tees. Over the past year I have made a concentrated effort to be presentable. One of my best weapons to fight the frump is to wear a skirt or dress nearly everyday. Even if you wear a tee shirt with a skirt you can't help but look better than if you're wearing sweats or jeans.

"Why hadn't I worn skirts before this? What was I thinking?"

Two days into my new skirty uniform...it hit me why I hadn't worn skirts...chafing. Ugh! While long underwear do work to eliminate chafing, I found they were rather hot to wear in the summer. Then I received the best tip ever...stick deodorant. (not gel or spray) My preference is the old fashioned Secret...strong enough for a man AND my fluffy thighs.

Grab a stick, sport a skirt and Fight The Frump Ladies!

The Drive-In

A driveway and a show! The kids and I love it when we have things done around the house. There's a project done PLUS we get entertainment. We've been wanting a paved driveway for the longest time. The kids have been daydreaming of rollerskating, skateboarding and chalking since we told them we were having the drive done a few weeks ago. Here, Jedi and Farmgirl (dd9) were breathing in the pungent odor of asphalt like it was sweet nectar.

This little machine was my favorite to watch...it reminded me of a Zamboni (sp?) zipping all over the place.

The kids were fascinated by the hand signals the crew used to communicate. The man giving the "thumbs up" is head of this gang. He is a man who loves his job. He exclaimed, "boy, sure does change the whole house, this drive," with a huge grin as he surveyed his handiwork for several moments upon completion. I agree, it is beautiful!




It provided the perfect background color to take a picture of my favorite flower... the gerbera daisy. No other flower cheers me up quite so much as a sunny gerbera.

Vacation Pictures...groan

I know you are all just dying to see 2 weeks worth of vacation pictures....yay! I'm only going to post about 15 of the 450 I took. ;-)

We had a fantastic time on our vacation. We stopped in Atlanta on our way to Ft. Myers to visit the aquarium. We saw beluga whales, whale sharks (super cool), pet stingrays and D9 tried to reach the little sharks but they wouldn't come close enough. Definitely worth the stop.

We spent all our time either at the beach or the pool while in Ft. Myers. There were shells to be collected...

oops...almost missed that shell

skimming to be tried...Jedi definitely has a surfer lurking inside. While the girls mostly played on the beach, Jedi spent all his time in the water.

We saw so many neat animals while in Florida. Gators, huge fish in the ocean, an otter and of course dolphins every morning at the beach. This one kept circling a group of swimmers. Off to the the side a couple of young ladies were screaming hysterically and running for shore. I don't think they realized it was a dolphin. Not that you should necessarily swim with wild dolphins anyway, but it was kind of funny.

One of my favorite things that happened was this...

wait for it....

wait...

Yep...that is Baby's Polly pocket!

We were about 100 yds from our chairs and beach toys looking for shells when D9 said, "I think that seagull has some food for his babies." Nope, it had stolen Baby's Polly from our bucket up shore. He flew over to us and unbelievable dropped the Polly by D9!

One other great thing that came from our vacation was Scuba Ken has decided we definitely need to take more vacations...next stop...cruise to Alaska!

Drum roll please...

Jedi prepares to pick a name...




This looks like a good one...




It's Jess! You win your choice of an apron, vintage styled dress or a custom sized childrens boutique outfit! I'll send you an email too.




YaYaOrchid will be winning a little surprise package too...because Jedi likes holding paper to his noggin and I love giving surprises.




Thanks for entering everybody! If you feel lucky you should head on over to my sister's blog where she's giving away an adorable apron for Wear your Apron Day!

Happy Birthday Sis!

Growing up I disliked having my birthday be one day apart from my sister's birthday. We always shared a cake, party and even received the same presents (also on Christmas) It's a running joke that we have to open our presents at the same time so we don't ruin the surprise for the other sister.

As an adult, I love having our birthdays so close. It's special. We're special.

My sister, Loral, always has sound advice, a soft shoulder and a kind word (not to mention delicious baked goods.) I love my sis very much and hope her day is filled with the things she loves most.

p.s. I will be holding the drawing this afternoon...sorry for the delay...we got home from vacation a day later than I anticipated.