And the Winner is............

I waited until Monday to write the names of those of you who entered my giveaway on pieces of paper, and asked my hard-working middle son to sit in front of the Christmas tree, feel around the bowl and select a winner:


I think it was meant to be! Here is my Hurley T-shirt wearing son who pulled the name of this blogger winner, Elucig, who lives in Colorado, is a teacher, and has twin boys who love the outdoors and have Irish names. Congrats! I will send you an email to find out if you'd like a necklace for you, or the twins!? Oh, and plus she is a coffee fanatic.

We brought my mother-in-law back with us from Florida on Saturday and she left today. I had not one moment's rest since the prior weekend but the good news is that Saturday night we took her with us on our family tradition of picking out the Fraser fir from The Home Depot....and my decorating is done prior to December for the first time in history. Sunday Hubs put up the outside lights and she helped me decorate the tree, the stairway, and the mantle. Plus she and my youngest son decorated the tree we put on the screened porch with its orange and blue ornaments (oh yeah) while I made two chicken pot pies. Then at 9:20 p.m. I was determined to spend two hours on the couch watching a dvd even if it meant going to bed at midnight. Crazy. But that's because a really, really super-special full moon is coming in a day or so. Stay tuned.

Thanks everyone for entering and hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend.

I'm Thankful We Live Here

I got that panicky feeling during the past weekend and during my lunchtime today that I have lots to do. I still need to clean out my refrigerator, clean the oven and pack for Florida. We've been cleaning for days because when we head back home on Saturday we are bringing back my mother-in-law. I don't think the oven is going to get cleaned. We should be heading to bed soon but Hubs is even doing another load of laundry (the boys wear their jeans once and throw them in the wash--that bugs me). I always get way too little sleep during Thanksgiving. After getting up at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow and driving 7 hours there will be a second annual girls night out to see a Twilight movie (what if we put Edwards face on Jacob's body?). Then up early Thursday to walk on the beach and then put together my two appetizers and salad and drive another hour to join a gathering of 18 adults and 7 kids. And then up at 4:30 a.m. on Friday to hit Target and have breakfast out. And then Friday night is another get together at another house with almost all of the same crew. And then up early to drive back home on Saturday.

We are so very lucky and I am grateful for so many things. We are lucky to have jobs, to have our health and to have our home and each other.


We are lucky that our kids can play war games, but not live right in a war torn country.



I feel grateful to be living here in this country.


Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

My First

So what's the occasion? Have I been blogging for a year? Nope. Am I at my 100th post? Are you kidding me? I'll get there sometime next year (I have about 70).

The celebration is that one year ago I first started reading blogs. And all of you have added a lot to my life. Kept my mind busy. Learned lots. Made me laugh, and also made me reflect.

This morning I stopped into Starbucks to get a latte and a muffin for my son's teacher whose birthday was today. I didn't know what she liked but I have read on other blogs how many people are enjoying a pumpkin spice latte. So I bought one for her (and a muffin) and one for me. It was 7:00 a.m. and normally I am not out of the house this early. Normally I have a couple cups of Dunkin Donuts coffee at home starting at 7:30 a.m.

So I get to the school and the teacher was thrilled and Hubs and I had a conf about Youngest son and I sip my latte, and ......wth....Yuck! I did not like it all! I guess I was expecting coffee with a little flavor. Anyway I only drank half of it and then I went back home and made some regular coffee. And felt kind of sick until lunchtime. So I guess I am just not with it. Or maybe it was something to be sipped at night with a good book or chick flick and not at 7:15 a.m. in a little kid chair at a little kid table.

But clearly I am in the minority on this and even though my cup of pumpkin brew got trashed, perhaps it is your treasure. So I want to give a caffeine-addicted reader a $10 gift card to:
But wait, there's more!

I want to make you a necklace. I have this green one that I can give you (I have all of the same materials to make another one):
(how do you like the model here wearing my necklace? I had a photo of myself wearing it from when I posted about this necklace in August but two out of three boys just told me that I didn't look so great in that photo after I asked them).

Or, if green is not your thing I can make you one like it but in a different color.

Or if you have boys I can send you a boy necklace. This was is in brown "natural" colors and my 13 year old wears it sometimes (and I have all the same materials on this one too to make another for you). He's told his friends, "My mom made me this necklace" and they say, "Oh cool". (That is the extent of their conversations. Seriously, you should hear them on the phone -- the calls are over and done with in 5 seconds).
So here's the deal: leave me one comment on this post by Saturday, November 28 (midnight). On Sunday I will draw a name and announce the winner. Tell me in your comment what time on Thursday you'll be eating your Thanksgiving dinner. And at whose home?

P.S. Here I am at age 13--and I loved talking on the phone. My hair wasn't this blonde--it's just the light.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pad

About a year ago I discovered the joys of reading blogs. And a few months after that I started my own. I don’t write in my blog as often as I wish I would and I am working on making that change. But I sure do read. I really, really love to read your blogs. And one thing about me is that I remember just about everything you write.

One of the first blogs I discovered a year ago is Laura from My Life is a Piece of Cake. She makes me laugh about her life in L.A. with her four (I mean 134) kids and her gorgeous cake making skills and her big heart. One day her words can make you laugh and the next, can make you cry.

Anyway, back to my incredible memory. A couple months ago Laura wrote a funny post (click on the blue) about a woman who uses homemade menstrual pads and lots of comments followed. And then a couple of weeks ago she received a (joke) gift in the mail from one of her readers and Laura asked us other readers to guess who sent it and to guess what the gift was (click on the blue for her post). I knew right away who sent it because I’m all stalkerish in my memory-skillz ability of what blogs Laura likes to read. And then it took a couple of tries but I guessed what the gift was.

Her gift was this pretty menstrual pad (but in pink and brown) and Laura listed many possible uses for it (except not to really use it as intended). I told Laura I didn’t need a prize for guessing but that she should send me the pad and we’d call it the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pad. Laura asked her readers if they thought it sounded like a good idea and they did (click on the blue for her post). It will be mailed from woman to woman, perhaps with a journal, and with a place for you to post. But not to use it.

We're making plans for this pad...... So let me know your thoughts and then stay tuned because like Laura wrote -- the pad can be coming to your pad soon.

Daily Desserts

I am powerless in a household of boys who love desserts—just anything sweet—they are not discerning most of the time. They are this way because of Hubs, I’m sure. He has to have something sweet to eat at night. It seems whenever we go out to eat, before we get home he mentions how he needs some dessert. I think that 98% of the time after eating out we don’t go home until we’ve walked through the grocery store for cookies or ice cream (see, it does not have to be special—just dessert).

Let’s back up to how we were each raised. When I was growing up there was not dessert every night of the week, nor was it served as part of the meal. If we were having a regular dinner or a special holiday meal, we would clear away the dishes and then leave the dining area and relax for a long time before venturing back to get dessert. Or—and this is a key detail—if there was a box of cookies it would last. Or if there was pudding my brother and I would know which ramekin was ours—it would remain in the fridge for a couple days till we ate our own.

On the other hand my Hubs is the youngest of 6 kids. Dessert was made and brought out EVERY night, immediately after dinner. And everyone would eat it then and there on top of dinner, because if you waited till later it would be gone. I have been a daughter-in-law for 22 years and this still amazes me. No sooner is the last bite of dinner swallowed and my mother-in-law brings out more dishes and silverware and three different varieties of dessert to the table. I am always asked what I want for dessert and I always reply, “I am too stuffed now but maybe later, thanks!” And I’ll chat of course and help clean of course but I just can’t enjoy dessert until I have digested dinner.

Have I mentioned I was really slim when I got married? There I’d go to the grocery store and buy a week’s worth of groceries including dessert stuff. And Hubs would proceed to dig into it, within an hour back from the store, completely clashing with my concept of making food last a week.

And eventually we had our three boys and like clones they are dessert lovers too, asking about it just about every night. Many times I say good-naturedly, “Wait—do we need to have a dessert EVERY night?” (and Hubs will say, "And the problem would be????") and we all laugh. It’s only when we eat dinner on the late side and there’s only time for showers and bedtime that no one is looking for dessert.

Except this past week, no one asked me about dessert. The Breyer's chocolare chip ice cream has been untouched in the freezer. And here is the trash can that is located next to just one boy's bed:
Halloween candy gives me a week off of keeping the cupboards stocked with dessert!

Full Beaver Moon

So today is officially the full moon. I almost forgot since it is just a Monday and at 6:00 p.m. I am normally inside whipping up dinner. But with the time change I was getting home and saw the incredible moon glowing yellow against the sky. I pulled in the driveway, ran inside to get my camera and drove up the street to get a good shot. Batteries were dead. Back home, rinse, repeat. And I am so getting a new camera because why is this shot so dark??!! It's called the Full Beaver Moon because this is the time to set beaver traps before the streams freeze over to ensure a winter of warm furs.
(After a beaver coat was about 5 years old it became the perfect fur for a beaver hat--they sold tons of these in England in the 1800's).

I never knew until this past summer how significant fur trapping and trading was to our country's Western Expansion. I never knew till this year that the Gateway Arch in St. Louis represented where Western Expansion began with the Lewis and Clark Expedition. I never knew that Sacagawea's son, Jean Baptiste, went to live in St. Louis with William Clark when he was 6 years old and when he was 18 he toured Europe for 6 years. Once back in the U.S. he became a fur trapper. I guess you cannot take the mountain out of the man.

But back to my drive home at 6:00 p.m. Apparently this neighbor was a very busy beaver today:
(It's November 2nd and they are lit for the Christmas Holidays).

Spongebob says, "I'm Ready, I'm Ready"

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Halloween weekend. I ate all of the roasted pumpkin seeds out of this pumpkin. For the first time in history I took the boys trick or treating with friends while Hubs stayed home. And no one came to our house (not many kids on our street and so the kids go to another 'hood) so no one but us and y'all got to see Spongebob on a pumpkin.

But more candy for me. Oh, and I purposely waited until today to buy candy and bought 5 bags from Target along with my usual week's worth of stuff. Then saw an accident in the Target parking lot in the pouring rain. No one hurt, but a big crash at the end of my aisle with a car plowing into the side of a van.

Due to the rain tonight I couldn't see the almost full moon--did anyone see it? It is officially the full moon on Monday night. And a full extra hour of sleep tomorrow. Yes!(mine are the escaped convict, the werewolf and the Gator Fan).