I’ll Fly Away

Oh glory…lol.

Well….in about 8 hours we will be waking up and heading to the airport.   I need to finish getting my carry on bag ready…and my tote…and yet…I’m here.  *sigh* 

Here:
Chillin in front of my computer when I SHOULD be packing up my computer.  Wanting to go get another handful of candy when I don’t, I repeat, I DO NOT, need it.
Petting the dog that’s cuddled up next to me. 
Wanting the candy. 
NOT wanting to get up. 

But…well…I am going to get up anyway.  And before I go…here are two pictures I snapped today that CRACKED ME UP! 
 
Tell me about it, K-man…tell me all about it.  Oh man, that’s too bad.  Humph.

Digi Stuff

Cara of Sweet Tomato Designs is having a sale on her Spooks kit….check it out!  

Click here to see some of the pages I made with this kit.  It’s very versatile and easy to use for lots of things…love it!

Go on now…you need a new kit. ;-)  

In The Mood

I’m so not in the mood to blog tonight…it’s really the first night I’ve honestly felt that way since I challenged myself to blog every day for a month, and this is day 19, so I guess I shouldn’t complain.  LOL. 

What I AM in the mood to do right now is EAT.  Oh my word.  I’m not hungry but I am.  UGH.  Maybe I’ll go grab a handful of grapes.  At least that would be better than another handful of chocolate.  ;-)

Okay…lets see where this giant handful of grapes puts me.

Um….still not in the mood to say much actually…and now I’m restricted to one hand typing since my other hand is full of grapes… >:-/

How bout a picture…

That’s my reclaimed wreath…thank you to my MIL’s yard sale pile again.  =)  The pieces in it are from $ Tree and there were 5 bunches that I cut apart and stuck in it.  So it did cost me five bucks but it looks less cheesy than the wally world one that I saw for TEN!  LOL! 

I’m not sure if I wanna use this shot in the photo hunt or not…I’d like to find a better one but if I don’t, I guess I could fall back on this one. 

I’m still working on the photos…having a little block on that angle, too…harumph.  Just not in the mood, I guess.  LOL.  Hopefully I’ll find my groove in NY this weekend.  Maybe leaving the kids at home and just having my camera to babysit for the weekend will perk up my creative bent.  Gonna miss the kids though…Munchkin has already been asking me when we’re coming back and we haven’t even left yet.  Of course, I think she was only concerned with how long she gets to sleep in my bed, but I’m gonna pretend I don’t know that.  ;-)  *sigh* 

Okeydokey…I’m gone now.  Gotta love on my dogs for a minute before I go to bed.  =)

Whoa

This anti-inflammatory pill for my shoulder is not making my scale very happy.  Or me either, for that matter.  My MIL wasn’t kidding when she said it’s a pretty common side effect to have increased appetite!  I am stuffed to the gills and I’m still hungry.  Five pounds in five days.  YUCK! 

Anyway, since I’m talking food, we certainly eat better around here when I’m starving…lol!  Here’s what we had tonight:

Crockpot Italian Chicken
(not sure where it came from, it was just typed up in my recipe box…lol!)

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I just tossed frozen ones in…no prep…woohoo!)
• 1/2 stick melted butter (I used a whole stick…I know…naughty!)
• 1 8oz cream cheese at room temp (I used half…to make up for so much butter, plus I only us ed 3 pieces of chicken instead of four)
• 1 10.5oz can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix
• Pasta of choice and garlic bread for the side

Put chicken in bottom of crock.  Pour melted butter over, then sprinkle dressing packet over chicken.  Cook 4 hr on high or up to 9 hr on low.  30 minutes before finishing, remove chicken and place on plate.  Mix softened cream cheese and soup into juice in crock until creamy.  Put chicken back in crock and finish cooking.  Serve over pasta (rice would probably work, too). 

Verdict…AWESOME!  It almost tasted like an alfredo sauce but not quite.  Chicken was SOO moist and tender.  Everybody except K-man loved it…and he’s just weird about what he likes and don’t like, so I didn’t think anything about it.  LOL.  I totally recommend it…I’m doing it again soon…it was so easy! 

In the picture is the leftover portion…I should have taken a picture when it was on my plate…it would have been much more presentable…oh well.  It still tasted great…lol! 

Good Gravy

 

Well, I think those first two pics right there, tell a story ALL by themselves….LOL. 

I really wanted to get some good pics of the kids…several reasons actually, but I was trying to get some shots to use for bokeh for the photo hunt…I think I can check that off now…I have a couple that I think will work.  I also want to take some pics of the kids up to NY this week when KC and I fly up to see my grandma.  I hate that the kids won’t be able to go, especially since my grandma isn’t doing so well and this may be the last time we will get to see her.  =( 

Anyway, I think the kid pics were successful…these three are my favorites:

 

Only took about 20 minutes and 40 pictures.  LOL.  Munchkin wouldn’t open her mouth to smile because she didn’t want anybody to see her missing teeth, and K-man just didn’t want to open his eyes and look at me…everywhere else, but me!  LOL.  Sheesh.  Crazy kids.  But they’re cute!  =)

By the way, today is October 17th and I haven’t missed a post yet!  Am I rockin or WHAT?  LOL.  (knock on wood…lol) 

Re-use, Reduce, Recycle!

I mentioned a few posts back that KC’s mom was here and we were working on doing her yardsale stuff in my garage.  She had a lifetime (x3) of knick-knacks, curtains, kitchen pieces, country flair, wood country crafts, floral pieces from the 50’s…you name it.  WOW.  The good thing about hanging out in my garage with her and her yardsale stuff was that I had PLENTY of time to look at all her stuff and come up with some remakes.  Naturally, I kept the remakes…;-)  Even though, after I finished, she kept wanting her things back.  ;-)  I’m such a terrible daughter-in-law like that.  LOL. 

So are you dying yet?  Wanna see what I rescued? 

Well, I’ll start with this one since it’s the only one I have before/after shots of:

I snatched this one up for our master bath the second I saw it.  Sure, it had no door front, a icky country wooden heart handle, and was just sad, but I saw potential!  Sure enough, after bashing the heart off the handle (I’m so cold and HEARTLESS, my mother-in-law says…LOL!) and sanding the bugger within an inch of its life, then a few coats of paint during slow yard-sale moments, and finally, distressing the edges just a smidge and hot-gluing a strip of burlap inside the door….OH YEAH! 

And then there is the glass jar rescue.  I knew I had to find something to use them for.  Candy corner in the kitchen looks SOOO much more appealing now!  Don’t ya think? These were just dirty jars (two milk jars and two heavy duty open topped glass bowls) and all it took was a little cleanup and organization.  MMMM….wonder if it will last till October 31st…lol!   

And this sled?  Well, wood country craft…that’s all I can say for it.

I looked at it for awhile, laid it aside, thought about it awhile longer, and then decided to paint it up and then distress it a bit to make it look worn and now…

I’m thinking wintertime baby photo prop!  A white backdrop, a little fake snow, a baby in a black toboggan with tassels dangling down….yeah!  TOTALLY!  And for free, too!  ;-)  Love a little recycling!  =)  I did a few more little projects to rescue some outdated stuff (think country wreath to fall gorgeousness, glass bottle and starfish put together…you know, little stuff), but those up there were my favorites! 

What do you think…have I inspired you to rescue any old yard sale stuff yet?  ;-)

Adversity

I don’t typically talk about church stuff on this blog…for various reasons…but I’m gonna break my own rules for a moment and say how awesome Bro Mike’s lesson was tonight on adversity.  I guess that was the official topic, but if it wasn’t, that was what I got out of it… 

Anyway.  He brought some points about Paul and Silas in prison that I’d never really seen before.  Yeah, we always talk about how they were facing serious persecution and they sang and prayed in prison and the jailer was saved, but he talked about how God opened the prison and the earthquake released them.  Most of us would see that as a sign from God and a door to the exit and leave.  BUT THEY STAYED.  Because God wanted to save the jailer and his family.  The jailer was ready to commit suicide because the adversity he was facing by failing to keep the prisoners contained was too much for him.  But Paul and Silas, by staying and showing Christ in the middle of ADVERSITY instead of just walking away when the opportunity presented itself, were able to lead the jailer to Christ (giving hope instead of despair).  And not only that, they must have had some kind of impression on the other prisoners from that ONE NIGHT in jail together, that THEY didn’t leave either. 

Shoo…all I can say is, Lord, help me. 

I don’t like adversity.  I like the earthquake to open the door for me to exit.  And I don’t always have the right attitude when I’m in the middle of it either…that is TOUGH.  Lord, help me!

This song came to mind…one of my favorites:

There is hope, so hold on, there is hope
God has sent me here to tell you, there is hope
And He knows just what you’re going through and what the future holds
As long as Jesus lives, there is Hope!

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PS in regards to yesterday’s post on revenge, i really don’t have a bad attitude about that…i’m seriously trying not to do anything to provoke mr grouchy neighbor…but you know that part about what would probably happen this morning when i went to the bus stop?  well, I let my mother-in-law walk munchkin to the bus this morning (me and the dogs stayed home)….lol…i wasn’t trying to exit adversity though…HONEST!  =)

Revenge

Mr. Grouchy neighbor was standing out in his driveway this morning when I walked Munchkin to the bus at dark:thirty.  He walked halfway down and stood there until I walked by.  I pretended I didn’t see him even though the dogs were about to have a cow with growling and trying to get at him while I was busy trying to keep them as far from his side of the road as physically possible.  Just keep walking, just keep walking, walking, walking….

Ahsoka ran away right after lunch today.  She *p*o*o*p*ed in the woods this morning like a good girl, and they don’t usually *p*o*o*p* at lunchtime, but I’m pretty sure she was running a few yards down to try to squeeze one out.  She was only gone for a few minutes, and she came right back, so it’s not like she was just going exploring….who says dogs don’t hold grudges?  I wouldn’t blame her a bit. 

Tomorrow morning, he will probably be waiting at the end of his driveway with a bag of doo and a fine from the homeowner’s association or something.

*eye roll* 

In other news, the anti-inflammatory pill seems to have done a little more good today…and the advil and midol…I feel good!  Okay, not good.  But better.  LOL. 

And I’ve been working with my mother-in-law out in the garage since 8am…I stopped moving about 40 minutes ago at 9:00 when she went to bed.  She’s a slave-driver. lol ;-)  Anyways, I’m tired…so I’m out now. 

Ouch.

So my shoulder has been bothering me for a few weeks now.  I tried not to whine much about it and hoped it would go away on its own but it finally got the best of me, so yesterday I went to the doctor.  He said it’s bursitis and gave me an anti-inflamatory pill and said to please don’t lift anything heavy for a few weeks. 

Well, today I needed to fix the garage so that when my mother-in-law came for the weekend to do a yardsale, there would be enough tables and clear floor space for all her stuff.  I wasn’t going to move anything heavy.  But then I moved one table and there was a mess under it so I got the broom.  And then…well…I shouldn’t have messed with the garage but I can’t stand doing nothing.  And every stinking thing on my to-do list requires my right arm.  Vacuuming.  Painting the garage door.  Cleaning the garage.  Well…you know….

Long story short, I came back inside and took some more advil.  And it hasn’t touched it.  I didn’t think having bursitis in a person’s right shoulder would make them hurt all the way down their spine into their ankles.  I’m not sure how I managed that, and I certainly don’t want to be a whiner, but OW.  I can’t hardly move. 

Least I’m alive, right?  ;-) 

Now I’m going to go check out the bed…it hurts to sit, hurts to stand, and now I’ll go see if it hurts to sleep.  *sigh* 

On the bright side, the garage looks great!  ROFL!

Oh and on the NOT so bright side, my dog decided she had to *P*e*e* again on the way to the bus stop this afternoon.  She didn’t do it on grouchy neighbor’s yard, but she DID do it across the street…as a car was coming down the other side of the street…don’t ya know it was the grouchy neighbor…way to go, Ahsoka!  At least it wasn’t in his yard this time, so he didn’t yell at me, but I’m sure he was thinking it!  And it was JUST *P*e*e* anyway! 

Random Bits

Since I’m lacking in eloquent words again today, here’s some pics from K-man’s little party…we didn’t do anything major, but it was still fun.  =) 

In case you aren’t fluent in the force, it was a Clone Trooper Rex cake because that’s what he asked for, and we just happened across a Rex voice changer helmet on the clearance rack at wallyworld and decided he would be in love.  LOL.  He was. 














 

I think he liked it.  =)  The other day (before he got the helmet) when we were doing school, I read him the directions for what he was doing and he said, “Aye, aye, captain.”  He is too funny. 

Tonight we were playing with the kids (KC and K-man were putting together a Star Wars Lego set and Munchkin and I were making those fuse beads things) and Munchkin tells me, “Mom, yours is going to look so beautiful when you’re finished!”

A couple of seconds later, K-man says, “Mom, you’re going to look so beautiful when my man shoots him.”

Oh…okay then!  =O

Gotta Love Monday’s

Unless you’re Garfield.  Or me.  ;-)  Something about Mondays always makes me annoyed…particularly when those Mondays coincide with me needing midol.  I mean, just your average Monday means weekend cleanup, laundry catchup, not to mention the usual everyday need to get something worthwhile accomplished (not that it HAPPENS everyday, just that it NEEDS to happen everyday…lol). 

Oh well.  Life is one/seventh Mondays so I should just get over it I guess.  I really don’t want to spend one/seventh of my life being annoyed. 

I spent awhile today downloading pics off my camera.  Edited a bunch for that session I did on Saturday and had a few minutes tonight to work on some personal ones.  I have a bunch more personal ones that need editing but I’m just not in the mood right now, plus I’m running out of time.  =) 

And since I’m out of time, I’m gonna hop off here, but before I go, here’s pics from Munchkin’s school fall fest on Friday night.  ;-) 
Kids coming down the giant inflatable. ^  Munchkin just loves the camera…lol. ^

OMW!  The fangs and her expression!?! ^      Daddy and kids….awwww…. ^

They graciously offered to use my camera to take this shot and saved us six tickets…lol!   At least we’re all together and half of us are smiling…lol…the other half aren’t sure.  And K-man…I think he was ready to go find the food.  Oh well.

Sunday Linkies

Here’s a few things I’ve found on the internets this week that I like and/or want to try…  Since I’m not feeling the creative blogging urge today, I’m substituting.  *grin* 

• This leaf in the frame is from a blog called Cottage Hill…I just like the idea for decor…it’s a thrift store frame redone…I could see this as a group of three hanging in a hallway…not just for fall either…i like it!  =) 
• Here’s a second tutorial from Cottage Hill on the leaf in the frame idea…i LUV it!  Gotta try it! 
• Then there’s this sheet music lamp shade recovering…i like, i like.  It’s from Tending the Nest and she used it as a hanging light, but I could see it used as an actual lampshade, too.   Something about recreating using printed pages just hits my happy spot.  I just like it! 
• An autumn-y front entry by Cleared For Takeoff…I need to do something to ours…I’m thinking a wreath, too, but I’m just not sure what I want.  LOL.  Maybe one that says “I Miss Summer” (LOL)
• This is just a neat idea for a gift or even for personal use (subway art print from Endless Crafting)…i love the saying!
• I’ve seen it before, but I really love the block idea (these are by More Than Just Mom).  Oh and by the way, if you read my blog and get a gift from me at any time that looks similar to any of these things, pretend to be surprised, okay?  =)
• I love furniture re-do’s…they take so much time that I hate tackling them myself, but the finished products are soooo yum…check out this table redo from Hydrangea Home.  I’m totally gonna have to try something like this…SOME DAY!  *grin*  Just not any time soon.  =)

Well, there’s more I’ve been looking at, but the hubs has already hit the sack, and it’s 10:44 and I’m tired myself, so I better get a move on.  =)  Night!