I don't need it....

For whatever reason I feel the need to update my house... I guess its the whole spring thing like I mentioned before... but I am trying to stay on my tight budget at the same time-- Need VS Want seems to be working well at keeping my pennies in my pocket. Just the same its fun to window shop and dream....
On my list right now??? Take a look at these cute boxes... I saw them in a store front window today at lunch (ah the tempations I face working in old town) and googled them... how easy would it be to make theses??? And them come in lots of different colors And then I saw this... in another window in BLACK and larger.. its also available at

Pottery Barn

And then yesterday at walmart... a huge Iron wall clock... sorry couldn't find a picture... hmmmm Need Vs Want.... so hard to be frugal..

BRRRistol

Home again Home again!! I don't even know where to start-- Hightlights:

• Our wonderful extended weekend started off great with Christopher coming home to dog sit-- Bonus-- we got to spend some time with him before we left
• 6 1/2 hours of car ride well worth it to get to Bristol TN
• We relived our youth by being rednecks by day and staying in a wonderful little bed and breakfast by night.
• FOOD FOOD FOOD... our breakfasts were wonnnnnnderful... and everything in between was calories I will be working off for weeks to come....
• SNOW!! SUN!! MUD!! who goes to Nascar and has a snow delay???
• Autographs by my driver (yes I can remember his name now... Casey Meers)
• Push to talk headphones... and I thought hat hair was bad!!
• Hanging out with David and Natalie... and their crazy friends-- TN interperter required!
• Hills, shuttles, elevator rides to our seats....did I mention mud?
• Finishing off our vacation with waking up to puppy kisses and seeing my beautiful daughter... who I might add is looking wonderfully slim....

Going on vacation is always a blast... and coming home bitter sweet... but ya know It was a vacation I would do again !!!

Happy Spring

Yes this is spring... yes this is snow...

Shame on Lowes

I have been a cheerleader for Lowes for awhile.. we have bought way too much from them in the last year... refrigerators, grills, stoves, washer, dryers... you name it and its really been a good experience...but as of today... bah humbug!! We bought our washer and dryer (Maytag neptune) from them last August... and have had Maytag out about 5 times because the washer sounds like a freight train... this is not Lowes problem... but Maytags... but enough was enough... so Lowes brought us another Washer... another Neptune... well guess what .... still got a train in my laundry room... so last week they agreed to bring out A washer and Dryer ... whirlpool duet... (you gotta have a matching set) well seems they can't understand to CALL the cellphone BEFORE they come.... so no one was here... we tried again today... no phone at 9, 10 or 11... so I called them... after 20 minutes on hold, 3 hangups I finally got a manager who said they were loading the second truck and he would call me back in 15 minutes when he had the route laid out... well needless to say...no phone call... so at 4:00 I went through the phone maze again... only to be told first driver went home on an emergancy... they would call back in 15 minutes to let me know WHEN.... well guess what... 6:15 I called back... seems they tried to come by earlier... no one was home. HA!! and they would be coming by again they still had four people ahead of me... well its 8:50 and guess what... I am still waiting... I don't know weather to laugh or scream!! so I'll just sit here and wait.....

thinking ahead

So I sit here with one thought in mind... in 6 days I will have a 4 day weekend!! incredible.. I haven't had a vacation since LAST march.. and that too was a short one!! But I am ready... is my honey wisking me off to the bahamas... no off to Vegas..no... Cabo..hmmm no.. it would be Bristol TN!! yes ladies I get to go to Nascar in Lovely Bristol... We take what we can get.... but now.. how exactly does one plan for this little getaway??? What does a respectable gal like me pack??? Is spring gonna sprung for me?? or will I be bundled in a parka looking at my watch???
So many questions!!!
Now before you think that I must be the nicest (or stupidist) wife in the world... let me throw in this little diddy... I booked a lovely bed and breakfast for us to stay in... AND I get to spend a night at my daughers house... (where are my puppy kisses???) so the weekend will have its upside... and of course I do get to spend the weekend with my honey-- life is good when your married to your best friend no matter where he wants to vacation---

so back to the matter at hand... what does one pack??? and will it require me to do laundry before I go???

Boggety boggety Git er dun!!! (thats Nascar speak)

Mcdreamy

So I swore I would get back on track and do something productive tonight... but instead this is what I bring you... oh well theres always tomorrow night... yea can you tell what I watched on TV last night... alittle late I know... that darn DVR....
ok off to be productive!!!

new blogs to visit

I don't really know where the time goes when I get home at night... seems to move to fast forward... for the last few days zippo has been accomplished in my "afterhours life"..... gonna work on changing that tonight....

Today during lunch I stumbled on a new blog... yup Mr. Bazzill has hopped on the band wagon...
And another shocker... My own Amanda has been sucked into Blog world I guess none of the family secrets will be safe now!! hehehe

Look who visited me this week!

 

Nuf Said....

 


4 and 20 Blackbirds, Flint Hill VA-- 

Alittle spring in my step.... oh yes the weather is turning... doesn't take much to make me happy.... 79 degrees and watch me smile... warmer weather also gets me thinking about making changes...spring fever??? yea probably...I know it won't last... but this time of year with this weather makes me want to rearrange furniture... hang pictures...open the windows and clean... and redecorate... somehow I'm thinking I need a tapestry or maybe this clock.... don't even ask where??? and what about these shelves???
yea I need alittle something... don't ask why... its spring... and the need for change is just one of those thing... talk to me next week when its cold... I'll be back to my penny pinching self again.. no need to shop....

Thankful

Nothings better then walking into a room in your house only to find that someone else cleaned it. That's what I came home to last night... after a long day at work, a 1 1/2 hour drive to Lowes and then the drive back home. My family room was CLEAN Ahhh I do love it when the kids are home from break... the energy they bring-- the extra set of helpful hands-- and the never ending surprises... I am truly thankful for all the joy they bring us.

Weekends are never long enough... although I had no real plans for this weekend I am finding the time just slipping away... way to quick.... we went over to some friends house yesterday... I thought it was gonna be a quick visit.. Mike was just hooking tv cables.. I wore slippers... 4 hours later we ended up going out to dinner....BIG MISTAKE... with no plan in mind we ended up at KOBE's -- certainly not the place for anyone on a diet... it was 7:30 before we got seated... and I was starving... and then it went down hill... Kobes was PACKED and the service was slow at best....The other people at the table were fine... until one of them went to help the waiter (who spoke no english) and put her empty drink glass on his tray... she missed and the glass shattered all over the grill... slide across the table ... tiny tiny shards of glass everywhere!! and it seemed no one knew what to do--- afterall... they had to cook our dinner on the grill.... after some discussion.. the hostess came took everything we had infront of us away... drinks, soup, dishes silverware... we were starting from ground zero... lots of wiping, spraying and clean up.... slowly they brought back plates, drinks, soup.... then the chef FINALLY came to the table to cook.... you would think all was well at this point... and then FREAK ACCIDENT #2.... the guy sitting next to me... his dinner plate CRACKS!! totally unreal what are the chances??? all was ok... they got him another plate and dinner continued... did I mention we all wore our coats because it was so cold... Dinner finally ended at about 10:15... talk about a long night....
And I wonder where my weekend went....

Today... I have wondered the house... wanting to do something but not sure exactly which project to start.... in the end... the only thing accomplished??? laundry...

Just ask me

So very jealous of those who can just whip up a new header--I changed mine last weekend but it just doesn't fit right and is driving me crazy. I need to find more time to play with it but in the grand scheme of things it never seems to make it to the top 5 list.

Christopher was home last night... I would drop in a picture here... but lo and behold I didn't take any.... He's doing the job interview thing... And for him its the first REAL Job... remember interviewing???? Its definitely got to be one of the worst things we all go through... you sit in judgment from someone who knows nothing about you, as they try to gauge your intelligence, work ethics and your character -all by a resume and a 5 minute meeting. Some interviews go sooo well (at least in your mind) that you are ready to stop and buy business cards on the way home because you KNOW they are going to hire you only to find out that lo and behold they choose someone else.... and other interviews are such disasters that you hope they forget your name so when they are laughing it up with their friends your name doesn't get passed around!
I think we have all been to the perfect interview for the perfect new boss for the perfect company only to find out they offer something insulting as a wage... Is there really a god?
As a parent I am finding it excuriating to wait for the "perfect job" to come... seriously just call me and I will let you know how darn perfect my kid is...

Memo please

Someone didn't send me the blizzard memo.... because if they had I would have made some different choices-- like maybe driving the truck to work instead of the vette.... or maybe I would have just stayed in bed for a few more hours.... yes I did it again... I got stuck on a hill in my lil baby.... and yes I got to speak to another policeman who kindly told me I couldn't sit in the middle of the road... LIKE I WANTED TO????? I managed to slide myself nicely into a driveway... or maybe its was a yard... who could tell with all that snow... (note to self: on the way to work tomorrow... be sure to check that out) and yea I sat there for about an hour while I waited for spring to sprung... the snow stopped and I gently followed a snowplow til I hit civilization again on rt 29... which might was like hitting the lotto... just wet roads.... my kind of pavement!

well.. tonight its reindeer pants for me... scrapping, american idol and lost... what more could a girl ask for???

A new edition!

Look what sitting in my living room!! This chair is PERFECT!! I totally love the shape, size and color!! Exactly what I was hoping for!! And hoping is a great word because I have to admit I wasn't really sure what was coming home-- Amanda worked at Barnes over the summer and again at christmas... I needed a chair (my animals seem to work through furniture like its their job) anyway... I did a quick run through at the store picked a chair in like 10 minutes and then never really followed through... So Amanda picked up the ball and ran with it... I really couldn't tell you if I picked this chair or she did... but I do know she picked the legs and finish.. She brought us home fabric swatches that she thought might work and Mike and I did a process of elimination and called her with our choice!! I admire Amandas style so much that I knew she would pick something just perfect (she must have gotten that from her grandmother.. I afterall am the one who picked Orange as a wall color) She has a great eye for design and color and it really shows with this Chair... I LOVE MY NEW CHAIR>>> look at it quick because it will soon be covered with a sheet... but thats another long story!


And yea I think I will keep the tags on it for awhile.... just kidding... 

Karma is a good thing!

So I sent Madison this little sweater--every lil girl needs a new outfit for the first day of school-- and her mom tells me that she didn't wear it because she was afraid the other puppies might laugh at her~~~ well I think shes just wrong!!! everyone would be jealous!! After all they are going to school NAKED----
Its a cute sweater!! has a lovely neckline to hide the extra rolls of skin... the colors look great with her fur... what was her mother thinking?? And Maybe if she wasn't so cold in class she might have participated in the whole SIT lesson last night!! Ahhh how I do love to hear her mother was embarrassed by what HER daughter did at school.... Can you say KARMA???? hmmm does this sound like I was ever embarrassed by my daughter.... ohhh the stories I could tell... hmmm lets just say I have smiled and nodded my fair share... hehehe Karma is a good thing



Does it really matter that she looks like she's wearing crotchless panties from behind??? Seriously should those other students be looking at her behind when she has such a cute face???







****Please excuse the lack of smile in the first picture... it was taken under distress!! Madison saw her mommy taking all her stuff out to the car and was sure she was being left behind... such a sad lil girl she was

Valentines Day!

Gotta love a man who tries his best to not get you chocolate for Valentines Day!!  

a photo is worth a thousand words....

Heidi and I -- it must be early morning because look how good we look!! Yep- this weekend we went to a Crop... something I normally don't do... I mean why leave my house to scrap??? but it was fun-- lots of fun... and the real reason I went besides getting to spend time with Heidi , Leah, Janice and Sue??? ALI EDWARDS!!! I got to take a great class from ALI... Between classes and scrapping the hightlight of the day was watching and waiting for the snow to come-- and boy did it come-- I think the total ended up being around 12 inches!! Didn't get to play in it-- trugging to the car was enough!!
















And for anyone who's counting-- yes thats two count them two pictures of Heidi with her eyes open!!! hahaha!!! Thanks guys for a fun weekend!! we need to do that more often

WHY OH WHY??

So I thought I had everything planned out... Going to the Scrapbowl in Chantilly on Saturday... got my class lined up, sooo excited to see my Scrappin buddies, I even planned out what I would be working on!! and then I pull down the Heidi Swapp album that I have been saving for a special occasion... yes I am going to use it... I see the inscription on the inside... mmmm do I really want to give this away??? umm NO! but no problem I can buy another one... I will need more page protectors anyway.... hop online.... and guess what... THEY DON'T make them!! CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHY?????? No wonder there is sooo much Heidi Swapp bashing.... such a dilemma... I could go 8x8 -- tons of those available.... just don't know... I have sent out an email to a CTMH rep... Apparently they sell 9x9... UGHHH so much for being ready...
Did I mention the threat of snow on my weekend???? and that I am supposed to babysit Madison???

Ok-- so I am unloading my scrap bag so I can reload it... hey who knew all the stuff I had stashed in there.... some really cute chatterbox paper... a flag book kit I bought at GASC 2 years ago??? Some transparencies I got at the First CKU in Nashville , Club scrap paper... ahhh at least I have some stuff to play with when I get home sunday...

Oh well... I guess I can pack tomorrow night right.... its late I'm tired and really bummed out... and no I didn't do the journaling for my class yet... but I did get my pictures from the Walmart Natzi's after a week and a half.

New banner

Seriously need a new banner... hmmm gotta figure a way for it to take less time for me to whip one of those babies up....
Just a thought