My Latest Acquisition....

Hello! Did a month really slip on by me since I last posted? My sincerest apologies!

Anyway - since my time off from blogging mainly meant that I was being totally self indulgent and spending my time engrossed in a series of books that I wasn't even bothering to eat/shower/clean house, let alone fight with my antiquated computer & try to post anything new for you.

So after a few emails this morning - telling me to get off my arse and post something ;) I realized I haven't shown you this little item that I have had on layaway for a few months. Told you it's easier to explain (or not!) to the hubby when things are on a payment plan! and he has yet to notice anyway...sigh...gotta love him.

She's from the late 1800's and I just fell in love with her (my thanks goes to Vanna, of course who unknowingly got me started on a new frenzy searching out "busts" - nope, I still can't say that with a straight face!) She was purchased on RubyLane from a store called "DollMary". Mary is the owner and was so willing to let me do layaway. She has many beautiful things listed and is a real sweetheart, so click on the link and stop on by her store.

Isn't she pretty?.....

Okay - now that I am out of hibernation, I will be around to visit all of your blogs that I have missed these last few weeks. Happy Sunday!

A Little Tour of Washington, D.C......

(my daughter on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial "holding" the Washington Monument in her hands)

Last week my daughter, Mother and I went to Washington! My daughter was attending the Jr. National Young Leaders Conference. After a 4 a.m. ride to the airport and two hectic flights, I left my daughter at the airport with a few chaperone's & about 25 other kids who were patiently waiting for all attendees to arrive. Then my Mother and I headed out to our hotel in Bethesda, Maryland. I wouldn't see my daughter until 6 days later at the airport for our return flight home.

With daily text messages & phone calls to my daughter, I knew she was doing well so it was time for my Mom & I to do our own sight seeing. We had a little rental car equipped with a GPS. our saving grace! we put almost 500 miles on it! The traffic is horrific, the freeways confusing and that wasn't even the commute hour! It would take us 60 minutes to go 12 miles! But we were footloose & fancy free, no schedules - so we went where we wanted to go.

Washington Monument in the distance....

555 ft. tall...

On to the Lincoln Memorial....

Walking up the huge steps...look at how tiny the people are! It's massive!







If you read my last post as I talked about my "unsuitable California wardrobe"...well, I packed all my sweaters, turtlenecks & wool coat only to be hit with temps in the 70's! haaa! Locals kept telling us how lucky we were to have the nice weather when the previous week there had been snow. I just wish I had known beforehand - our typical California wear would have been way more appropriate! Instead I was doomed to carry around my wool jacket expecting freezing weather at any moment!


Oops! ..how did that get in here?

We took a tour of how the money is made but they wouldn't allow us to take pictures of the process...
Show me the Money!!!!

A side view of the Jefferson Memorial....

And the front steps....(can you see him standing in the background waiting?...)

You mean that's not a "monument"?....

But it certainly was a sight to see..a full warehouse of antiques!

Oh, looky here! The White House door bell.. "Ding Dong! We're here!" (ha! yeah right!)

Vietnam War Memorial...

Women's Memorial ...

Korean War Memorial....

The Capitol Building...

Oh? did you think I wouldn't go antiquing??

(In Fredericksburg, a whole block of antique shops and yes, we had tea & a slice of pie in the "Tea Room"!!)

Arlington Cemetery.....

Something like 27 funerals a day...

Kennedy's Eternal Flame....

The Changing of the Guard at the unclaimed soldiers graves...

The Amphitheater at the cemetery......

We saw 4 of the 19 Smithsonian Museums...(they say you can't see everything in all 19 museums in your lifetime!)


But this Lincoln exhibit was really memorable....




Creepy head masks from their hangings....

It really was an amazing trip. We walked our feet off. As for my daughter's experience. She would be taken on field trips during the day and classes at night, not getting back to her dorm room until 10:30 pm and would have to be up by 6:00 am ready to go the next morning - all with a 3 hour (plus one hour daylight savings) time change! I kept asking "did you take a shower yet?" because I couldn't figure when they would have time!

(my daughter in front of the Supreme Court...)

She really enjoyed the experience, seeing the sights, making new friends and learning about the ups & downs, good & bad choices of past leaders. Needless to say she slept the entire first flight home!

(The goodies I had to carry back on the plane!)

(Cups & Tray purchased separately)


(A little needlepoint pillow...)

My mother and I really enjoyed the trip as well. These are only a few of the 300+ pictures I had taken. Though I wouldn't consider it a "vacation" (i.e. no beach chairs & cocktails were involved on this trip!) it was very educational and awe-inspiring, I just wished I had paid better attention in history class when I was younger! ;) As for the boys left at home, they survived...but my house didn't! (my husband was so eager to point out that he did the laundry but he can't multitask so everything else - i.e. putting AWAY the laundry or the dishes, vacuuming didn't get done and I don't know what happened but I have the most mismatched sheets on my bed!?)... sigh... :)

Going On A Trip!

Helloooo Fellow Bloggers!!

Sorry! I have been a bit busy these last few weeks. I was in tax crunch H-E- (well you get the point). I am supposed to manage the books for my husband's landscape construction business..but whoops! time gets away from me (could be the blogging!) and I have to do in a few weeks time what I should be doing all year long.

Besides the oh-so-fun tax stuff - I have been getting ready to take my daughter to Washington, D.C. tomorrow! She is attending a Jr. National Young Leader's Conference. Our flight is at 6:20 a.m which means we have to leave around 4 to get to the airport. Yikes!

I basically have to hand my daughter over for 6 days and meet up with her again at the airport on the day we fly home. She will be staying in a dorm with other girls. She is ELEVEN (nearly 12), people! what was I thinking?! But I am dragging my Mother with us, so her and I will hit the historic sights and do our own tour.

But of course the weeks leading up to this time off for the "Woman of the House" means alot of preparation for "the boys" that will be left home alone! That's right, my boys are 9, 4 and 37! So I have been busy not only packing for myself, helping the daughter along with her suitcase (including a sleeping bag for an overnighter in a museum!) but laying out sets of clothing for my husband and two sons. You know men can't dress themselves, or use the washing machine either or cook anything other than Top Ramen noodle soup & scrambled eggs!

As I sat there admist my empty suitcase, miserably looking at my mound of unsuitable CALIFORNIA clothing to be headed into what they said was 12 degrees in D.C. last week - tieing up loose ends of school needs (juiceboxes for school party & independent study forms) trying to decipher the crumpled up, washed & dried receipts for our taxes - scrounging through the loose sock bin in search of enough pairs of socks to last "the boys" through the maids (i.e. ME) time off - it really hit me that I will have 6 days off of not doing ANYTHING for ANYONE but ME! YIPEE!! :)

So I will be enjoying this next week - whether the sun is shining or not in D.C. and will hopefully have pictures to post for you then!

The Cows Came Home...

Here I am... without a thing in the world to post about. I haven't been out antiquing, refinishing, rearranging or any other "ing". As I browse around from blog to blog, oohing and aahing over the latest vignettes, tablescapes and flea market finds, all filled with such inspiration and here I am drawing a blank.

So until I can get out of this blogger's block...this is the best I can come up with....COWS. yep. cows.

We raise cattle and most days, I am oblivious to them as they just seem to become part of the landscape.

(whoops! How did those get in here?)

Other days I am most annoyed for they usually find an opening in the fencing to come eat our apple trees.

And alot of the time - I am REALLY mad for the wandering calf who causes his Mama to MOO all night long calling for him.

But I really don't pay any attention to them at all...

I mean, sure they are CUTE when they are little....

but I don't spend my free time thinking about them...

I mean just because we live on a ranch....

Doesn't make me a "COWgirl" or anything....

So nope, I never give them a second thought....

Or glance....

Just keeping my thoughts strictly on making my home as cozy as can be...

So until I can get past this mental block, forgive me the pictures of the bovine group. ;)

Have a great weekend!

ROAD TRIP

Did you miss me? We went on a little road trip a few weeks ago. Didn't want to announce it allover the internet before hand that I was leaving my house for a few days but we took the kids to DISNEYLAND!

We left our little town and headed out for the 5 hour drive south.

(Grandma got the lucky job of entertaining the four year old on the way!)


(the older two had 3 days worth of Independent Study to complete & movies to keep them entertained - which do you think they did more of?)

All month long we had been having 70-80 degree weather..only to arrive in Southern CA with storms looming on the forecast! The first day it was beautiful weather...

And then it wasn't so beautiful....

(I'll bet the most purchased "souvenir" that week from Disneyland was their ponchos!!)

But we made the most of our trip. It definitely made the park less crowded! And we even got to go on rides continuously without leaving our seats! What's a little water from Splash Mountain when you are getting poured on anyway right?

(Do you see the small patch of blue in front of my husband? that's the four year old! ha! )

And a little "Goofiness" from Goofy's Kitchen where we got to breakfast with many characters...

With the kids being older - we got to go on more of the main attractions, like Indiana Jones, Star Tours & crazy "California SCREAMING" rollercoaster over at the California Grand Adventure park. And SCREAM I did! While the kids begged for more, I would have to pop wads of peppermint gum in my mouth to counteract my queasy stomach. When the husband and I were off doing the "wild" rides with the older two kids, Grandma would take the youngest to the more tame side of the parks. After a while, "It's a Small World" was about all I could handle! When did I get old?

So while I only posted a few pictures ( I took 158!) to save me frustration of my antiquated dial up internet system (it takes me days to upload pictures!!!), this was the first time of many visits at Disneyland that we didn't want to leave the Magical Kingdom. We truly had a wonderful time, bad weather and all! :)

Motherhood Moment

Can I brag for a moment...? This sweet, young girl is my 11 year old daughter. Today she is dressed up for GREEK Day at school. We had to sew up this costume and make a Greek food dish (we made Greek Almond Tea Cakes) to bring in. She also had to make a Greek mask and will be acting out a small skit with a few other classmates.

They will be doing Greek Olympics today - good luck with everyone dressed like this!

We had to set the alarm a little early today to manage the hairdo! Hard to see but the updo portion is braided and coiled into a loose bun.

The costume was simple enough to make but a bit more challenging when you have a houseful of sick patients and are stuffed up yourself! Yes, we have been hit with some virus that keeps circulating around the house.



But the bragging part of this post is not about the outfit but the special little girl wearing it. Not only is she smart, earning all A+'s, but her inner beauty just makes her shine (my husband and I like to "argue" on who she resembles most!) Her caring heart & compassion has given her many friendships (this little girl will draw a bath, lay out my pj's & make me a cup of tea just because she wants to pamper me - oh, I am welling up now!) and her quiet confidence & composure has allowed her to challenge herself and face any fears (she will be attending a Jr.Nat'l Young Leaders Conf. in Wash.D.C.) We feel truly blessed with our special girl.

So please indulge me...I am having a Proud Motherhood Moment! :)

I've been bad...

I have a confession to make....(gulp)..... I've Strayed!!..

I reposted pictures over at RMS. I feel like a traitor to Blogland! But hear me out... For over a year I had password trouble - no matter how many ways I had tried - I could not get access to my rooms. But now - for some reason, I was suddenly receiving emails of new comments on my spaces. It had been nearly a year since any comments had been emailed to me. When I went over to check them out, I was aghast at how outdated my rooms were! Even laughing at how "naked" they looked without all my current homey touches.

~Before~

(haa! Oh go ahead - you can laugh too, I won't hear you!)

So after a little playing around - got my password reinstated and I figured I would just update my rooms and be on my way, right? Welllllll, it took me two days to upload pictures (you remember my internet issues from before..) Then while on RMS, I noticed the whole style layout is completely different and now you can't use exclaimation points!!!!! (I mean really? that's supposed to stop the fighting?) But by then it was too late - I was in too deep.... there I was checking every 10 minutes to see if I had a new comment or a better rating. I am ashamed to admit I got SUCKED IN AGAIN!!

(before adding green checked trim to the curtains, raising the curtain rods or buying the red armchair & sisal rug - phew!)

~After~

I figured I had grown up enough to not care what anyone thought, to not be disappointed when I started to receive negative comments. I was beyond that, right? I mean, I decorate for myself & my family, not for some faceless person with a name of "9678011" right?...right?

~Before~

(before I even glazed my cabinets or added extra trim to them -see if you notice!)

~After~

Wrong! As much as I tried convincing myself that nobody elses opinion matters - it still hurts to hear (read) someone saying to "declutter" (did I title my room "Minimalist"..?? No!)...sigh... when will I ever learn? And don't even get me started on those ratings! To think someone hates your room so much that they would give you the lowest possible score so that you couldn't possibly rate even a "Good" room? To not even find one redeemable quality in your decorating?

~Before~

(no window benches & before my rooster plant died!)

~After~

Do those faceless people know the time & effort and hours of shopping (ok, that part was fun!) and the arranging & rearranging of furniture? The wrestling with my sewing machine? The dust & toxic fumes I inhaled while refinishing furniture? The arguments my husband and I had over building those window benches?.. But not everyone is bad on RMS. There were a few well wishers with some real compliments - but why do the bad remarks always erase those good ones?

~Before~

(before refinishing table & chairs or building window bench or even curtains!)

~After~

I think its perhaps I gained so much more acceptance from fellow bloggers that I thought RMS would somehow be different this time around....but some things never change...including the same kitchen posted on the main page under "Most Viewed". Come on people!

~Before~
(Look!.. No piano, screen or wingbacks!)

~After~

So while my rooms are still posted on RMS, (what are you crazy? it took me TWO DAYS to upload all those photos!?) I vow never to stray again...I found the comfort & reassurance I was looking for right here in BLOGLAND.

There are some good things that came out of RMS - I got to meet some of you there :)....and I never would have taken so many "BEFORE" pictures to laugh over now.

Now if you'll excuse me,...I am off to declutter my rooms....... Just Kidding! ;)

**P.S. - All of your comments mean the world to me! I know this subject hits a nerve and I really appreciate all of you taking the time to comment & boost my spirits! I will be by to visit with all of you & see those lovely blogs & pictures that are calling to me.... after I sew my daughter's Greek costume & make a food dish for school! ....sigh....can't wait for summer...remind me I said that when I start complaining then. :)

Giving The Husband A Hint....

Do you think this is a subtle hint that Valentine's Day is coming? I know it's a bit early but I wanted to give my husband plenty of time to notice. Remember ~ he's a bit oblivious of his surroundings...but he's a good guy!


(this cherub was reg $49.99 - I paid $14.99 @ Jo-ann's After Holiday sale)


(I updated my "faux" flowers a bit for some "Luuuvvv" colors. Don't you just adore those little sparkly hearts!?.. & the candles smell sooo good!)


Sorry not too much to post.. started way too many "Spring Cleaning" projects all at once that now I am a bit overwhelmed!! Also the kids have been keeping me busy with their school projects ...speaking of kids, looky what I found as I was loading my pictures into the computer just now....







That's from the 4 year old. Sneaky little guy figured out how to turn on my new camera & take a picture faster than I did! Give him some time and I bet his pictures will turn out better than mine too. Have a great weekend! :) ~ P.S. - Bo at Blinks n Winks nicknamed my little guy "Cherub" I think that's so appropriate - not only because he loves to run around in his underwear with his little cherub belly hanging out but he does bring love & joy to all of us around him! Thanks Bo!~

A Little Project...

I went looking for an armchair to use in our Dining & Living room. I found this one in an antique store for around $65. It had a pretty carved back and was nice & sturdy..but the finish was kind of worn, the upholstery a bit stained and the "fruit wood" tone wasn't what I had in mind..

Neither was hand-sanding for about an hour! But I had a burst of energy & sudden urge to start this project late on Saturday evening and didn't want to venture out in the dark in search of the electric sander. At about this point, I was questioning my sanity...Why did I want to do this again?

But after a coat of Mahogany stain, my faith was renewed in what I was doing....(*note to self - buy more latex gloves & hide them even better than the last time so kids don't find them and use them as balloons and you don't walk around with "mechanic's hands"* yes, I have pretty grimy fingers!)



Then on to the upholstery. I didn't want to take the time to undo 500 staples on the old fabric and I was a little leery of what I might find underneath in lieu of padding. (One antique bench I had reupholstered had horse hair in it! Ick!) Don't think this chair is all that old but I wasn't taking any chances! I just applied a new layer of cotton batting over the old upholstery.

And then my new fabric ...

After allowing the stain to dry in the sun the next morning (we had 70+ degree weather in CA this weekend!!) I re-attached the seat and Voila! My kind of project!

I have been playing around with its placement in the room and found it to be very versatile!

Over here by the window bench...

Or brought over for Piano enjoyment....

Or neatly tucked away....

What do you think......? Oh and since you are already here ;) let me show you just one or two little things that I added to combat the "No More Christmas Decor" blahs that I had previously mentioned in another post.

The black rectangular tray on the end is new. Who needs food on a buffet when you can "feast" your eyes on this? ;) (Doesn't work so well on my husband...)

And it's smaller companion on the piano...

And that cute little rose plate for $5!


That's it! Thanks for stopping by.....

Sibling Rivalry

My older two children (daughter, 11 & son 9) fight & bicker terribly. They argue from the time we wake, all the way to school in the car, upon picking them up -we aren't even out of the school parking lot and the teachers are getting an earful - mainly from me hollering for them to "Knock it off!! I'm trying to drive!" It always made me wonder why car manufacturers don't make that "limo driver window" in minivans or suburbans so Mom's don't hear all the wracket from the backseat and can safely drive their brood home.

These two, when they were younger were like buddies. Only two years apart but little "Bubba" would run to "Sissy" for hugs if he got in trouble or hurt. She was his other mother. Now this fighting has become habitual & normal and I was envisioning them grown & having to divide up the holidays spent at home!

So this morning, when another explosive moment was happening and I am in the midst of tears, wails & moans of "He jumped on my bed when I was sleeping!" & "She kicked me in the stomach!" Inspiration struck!

I said in my most authoritive voice "That's it! Both of you hug each other right now & apologize!" and then "..but wait til I get my camera first!" (ha-ha!)

They both got this stunned look, kind of like "deer in headlights" expression. My daughters teary face actually started to laugh and we had to put up with gagging noises from the 9 year old boy.

Here are those tender moments....

My daughter is always eager to pose for pictures... 2 minutes before she was crying her eyes out!..go figure...

Eww! Cooties!

Owwww! So painful the 9 year old collapsed! My daughter looks like she is sniffing an odor...

Awww! The good ole' days!


But you know it worked...at least for the time being. After this, they actually AGREED to play a Wii game together and I could hear them "asking" each other for things instead of demanding or taking control. AMAZING! Now I know I have to wield this new found power carefully so as not to abuse it's use, only reserving it for those special times - but I saw a mini miracle today! So if any of you have bickering children whom you want to sell to the gypsies, try this tactic first & let me know if it works for you. We, Mothers have to stick together! ;)