Flowers, Paint and a Little Handprint!

We have had rain for quite some time that I never thought I would be able to get my front flower bed done.

Thankfully yesterday we had a beautiful day so I quickly got to work!

My Mom had picked up some geraniums for me so all I had to do was run over to the nursery and get some filler flowers. I then had to clean out all the old leaves behind my lilac bush and arborvitae, lay mulch and plant all of my flowers. I also painted my little ice cream parlor chair a beautiful Blue Ocean Breeze by Krylon. It's hard to tell in the pic but it is so vivid!

Here is my finished project. The sun wasn't cooperating so the pictures aren't that bright but if you click on them, you might get a better look. Please ignore the shutters...the home owner's association still can't agree what to do with them! Geez! Just paint them or let us get new ones! It's not that big of a deal!

I can't wait for the flowers to grow! There are a couple of trailing flowers in the pot on the chair so when they fill in, they are going to be everywhere!

The gazing ball was my Aunt Carole's. She past away several years ago and it was handed down to me. I haven't had it out the last couple of years for whatever reason. I am so glad I brought it out. It makes me smile when I see it.

A close up of the pot and chair. As you can see, I didn't sand the chair or anything before I painted it. I love the rustic look and I can't wait for some of the rust to peek through!

I love to pack the pots full of flowers! I usually start with a geranium in the middle and then build around it with different levels of flowers. It is so beautiful when it fills in but you have to be sure to water it every day since there are so many plants in it.

I picked this pot up at a local drug store many years ago. It's one of my favorites. I didn't have a geranium for this one so I just planted all the leftover flowers from the six packs in it.

This is one of the rose bushes I received a few Mother's Days ago. I believe this one is cream colored and the other one on the other side of the chair is a salmon color. It was supposed to be yellow but I think it cross-bred with a red one that used to grow there.

We made this back when Allison was four, I think. It was a nice find in the basement since I never had it out before.

One of my lilacs. They are a very whitish-lilac in color. It's supposed to be a dwarf bush but gets bigger and bigger every year!

My Mom got me this chicken planter when we first moved in here. It's not very big so I only put one geranium in it.

This is another pot like the one on the chair except for the trailing flowers. I have this sitting in between our two townhouse doors.

A top view. I'll have to be sure to take pics later this season and post them. I can't wait for these to fill in!

Aww, Mr. Bunny is stopping by to say "Hi!"

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Tap! Tap!

Is this thing on? Is anyone out there?

I've been on an unplanned, self induced bloggy break for over a month now so I don't know how many of you have been stopping by or not.

I do know that I feel loved. Loved and cared for by many of you out there that have taken the time to email me and ask if everything was okay. You all have touched me dearly!

Yes, everything is okay...well for the most part. I'm not sick or anything...which of course is a good thing. I've just been looking for a job and it's not fun! I haven't job searched in over 17 years and boy, have things changed!

I'm not going to go into detail but most places want you to apply online these days which takes like 2 hours for each place...since they want more than just your resume. This, of course, is in addition to utilizing all the employment places on the web to find open positions. So, as you can imagine, it wasn't too long before I got sick of sitting here in front of the computer! At one point, I had enough of it and didn't feel like typing up any blog posts! It seemed like my only communication with the outside world was the few minutes that I would wonder over to facebook for a little friendship. Anyway. I haven't found a job yet and could really use your prayers, well wishes and positive thoughts. :)

I have missed blogging and I'm glad I'm back! I've had so much to share and hopefully, I'll be able to get caught up on things. Some of the emails have asked about my binder system. Yes. I will be finishing those over the next two Wednesdays. Next week will be my Home Management Binder and then I'll finish up with my Financial Binder.

I also have a ton of recipes to share on my cooking blog but I'm not sure how frequently I'll be sharing those. I'll let you know here when I post a new recipe over there. Speaking of which, I posted one there today so head on over and see what we had for dinner last night. Yummy!

Thanks again for sticking around, caring and making me feel special. I appreciate and love every one of you! Also, I am hoping to have another post up later today so if you feel like peeking into my relatively boring but happy life, stop by for another visit!

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I'm Lovin' Cousins!

It's "I'm Lovin' it Fridays" at Tidy Mom and this week,

I'm Lovin' Cousins!

This picture was taken on this past Easter Sunday. It's of my Allison on the left and my brother's daughter, Mya, on the right. They were born in the same week. Allison on a Monday and then Mya on Friday.

I love that they love each other and can't wait to see each other. We live about an hour apart so they don't get to see each other a whole lot. Hopefully this summer will be different. She has two cousins on my side and 11 on Daddy's side but they live all over the country so we don't get to see them too often. :(

I love it when they first see each other! It's squeals and chatter that never seems to stop! Since Allison is an only child, I'm glad they are building a bond because it will last her a lifetime.

We didn't live anywhere close to any of my cousins which now makes me sad. I wish we were closer to family but it didn't work out that way. Oh well, that's in the past now.

I do remember I couldn't wait for holidays! Yes, Santa and the Easter Bunny was top on my list but what I remember most was playing with my cousins when we went back home to where my parents grew up to visit family.

Good times. Good, good times!

I believe I had around 15 cousins on my Dad's side but these are the cousins I remember most. They were the same or around our ages and I can remember laughing and playing for hours!

Top row: Cousin Mark, Cousin Carla, my sister, Alesia, Cousin Bryan.
Bottom row: Me, Cousin Patti and my brother, Albert.

There were only 3 cousins on my Mom's side. This picture shows two of them since my brother and their brother wasn't born yet.

Left to right: My sister, Alesia, Cousin Kimmy, Me and Cousin Debbie.

I have wonderful memories with all of my cousins and although I don't see them or talk to them very much these days, they all hold a special place in my heart.

I can only pray for Allison to feel the same way!

Click on the button below to see what others are lovin' today!

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Home is. . .An Easter Memory!

Hey Friends!

If you are here for Part 4 of the "Binders Can Organize Your Life" Series, I'm sorry but I've moved it to next Wednesday. I tried and tried to upload the pics yesterday and last night and nothing. :( I don't have time to mess with it today so please come back next week. I promise if I have to take my sd card to Walmart, have them printed and then scan them so that I can do the entry next week, then that is exactly what I will do!

So. Today over at Sandy's Reluctant Entertainer site, it's "Home is. . ." day and the theme is an Easter memory.

There are lots of memories from Sunday as it was a wonderful and beautiful day!

However, I think the most we laughed was when Curtis, my brother, Albert, and I played kick ball with the three kids. THANK GOODNESS there are no pictures of that!

Another belly laugh moment was when I gave my sister's dog, Ginger, her treat bag. I just set it down and opened the zippered bag inside so she could smell it. She went crazy trying to get to it because, of course, Aunt Cindi gets her the best treats! I get them for her every holiday at a local pet store. Some lady sells her homemade dog treats dipped in yogurt there and Ginger just loves them!

Ooohhh! What in there?

I've got to get it out of that bag!

Hmm, maybe it will just jump out.
Come on little treat of yumminess! Come to Ma Ma!

Well, that didn't work!
I guess I'm just going to have to go in and get it myself!

Score!
Aunt Cindi is the best!

I know. . . it's a silly Easter memory but Ginger is a part of the family and the kid's loved watching her dig for her treat.

Click below to see what other Easter memories were made this year.

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Happy Easter!

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286 with Google Reader!

Yes, 286!

That's 286 blog updates that were in my Google Reader when I opened it up this morning!

If you don't know what Google Reader is, it's a website where all of the new posts from the blogs I follow are collected so I don't have to click on each blog separately. It's really been a time saver for me since I follow so many blogs. I can just zip right through them. I can also "star" items that I like for future reference. Another feature I just discovered is that I can search for an item from just the blogs that I have in my reader. . . which is really nice because it cuts out all of that extra stuff that you get when you google something.

Anyway. If you are thinking that I read 286 blogs and there are 286 posts, your sadly mistaken. I will say that I probably follow over 125 blogs which may sound like it takes up a lot of time but it doesn't with Google Reader. Did you notice that I say "follow" the blogs and not read them? If it's a post that doesn't interest me like let's say a salmon recipe, I move on to the next blog post. It's just as you would do reading a magazine or the newspaper. I also like that I can read a few and then come back at a later time and it keeps my place so to speak. I mean, I can find exactly where I left off and not click on a blog to see if it's been updated only to find out that I've read everything on there.

I guess you could say that Google Reader is sort of like a magazine or all my favorite magazines rolled into one. It has decorating ideas, recipes, gardening, crafts, family & child ideas, entertaining, tips, money saving ideas and all of my other interests all in one place . . . and all by my favorite writers that I've come to trust over the years!

Here is sort of what it looks like. I found this image on google images. It shows you on the left the items that you follow and then on the right is where each post is shown. You can click on the post to go to the site if you want to leave a comment. If there is a way to leave a comment while in Google Reader, I haven't figured that out. If any of you know out there in blogland, please let me know!

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I'm Lovin' My At Home Instant Manicure!

You know when you go to the salon to have a manicure and they rub that stuff all over your hands that makes them feel amazing? You know the stuff. That special product they have that gets rid of all the dead skin cells and moisturizes your hands with all those essential oils?

Ya, THAT stuff!

Isn't it wonderful?

Yes, I love it too but going to the salon every week for that is not in my budget nor do I have the time to spare every week either.

Not to worry, though! I found. . . well okay, my BFF, Susan, found an at home treatment that I think is even better!

Here's my pic. Yes I know. It's a bad pic. The lighting was bad, the camera wasn't cooperating and I was getting frustrated! So, I went to the company's website and "borrowed" their pics of the products. What? I know I didn't ask but I'm giving them credit so I think it should be okay. As you an see the packaging has changed a little but the product is still the same.

The first product is the "Instant Manicure" and this is the stuff that is AMAZING! All you do is open the container, stir it around with a spoon because the oils and salts settle, spoon a 1/2 teaspoon into the palm of your hand, rub it gentle all over your hands and cuticles, rinse with warm water, pat dry and apply the "Extreme Repair" hand creme below. You will be shocked at how wonderful your hands feel and smell! I keep mine by my kitchen sink and do the treatment at least once a week. You can even use the product on your elbows or feet if you like.

Photo Credit: Beauticontrol

Here's what BeautiControl has to say about their "Instant Manicure" product: "BC Spa Manicure Instant Manicure softens and moisturizes your hands and cuticles with Dead Sea salts that gently exfoliate dead skin cells. You will experience the wonders of natural oils as they nourish, moisturize and help protect your hands and nails. Made with a variety of organic oils to create a protective barrier; amino acids to promote nail growth and add strength to nails and cuticles, this product is perfect for anyone who is experiencing dry, flaky and chapped hands."

Photo Credit: Beauticontrol

And here is what they say about their "Extreme Repair" hand creme: "The skin on your hands is especially susceptible to damage. That's why we've created BC Spa Manicure Extreme Repair Hand Creme. With this amazing product, you can soften and smooth your hands while delivering moisture to protect against dehydration and the signs of future damage."

As you can see I LOVE these products! They are superb products at a great price. I don't thing you could go wrong if you treat yourself to both of these. You can order them online through BeautiControl or email me and I can hook you up with my Spa Consultant.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to stop over at Tidy Mom's place by clicking on the button below to see what others are lovin' on this Friday!

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Home is. . .

Wow! Two posts in one day! Someone alert the news!

Sandy over at Reluctant Entertainer is starting a weekly "Home is. . ." linky party on Wednesdays and I wanted to party with her. . . thus the reason for the second post. Sandy is the ultimate homemaker and hostess. She has a wealth of great ideas and information for entertaining simply on her site. You really should go check her out. She shows you that you don't have to have fancy china, crystal wine glasses, a ton of money or a caterer to entertain wonderfully. It's not about the stuff and fancy gourmet food but about the experience with family and friends! Let Sandy show you how and click on the button at the bottom of this post!

Every week Sandy is setting the theme for her "Home is. . ." party. I really love this idea! It makes you slow down, think and look at something that you may not have noticed otherwise.

So this week's theme is "Home is. . .a delicious scent."

A delicious scent. When I said that out loud to myself, I immediately thought of candles. I burn one every day. I just started burning a new one yesterday. . . Mango Cooler. Yummy!

However, I didn't want candles to be my "Home is. . ." feature today. I wanted something that I most likely overlooked before. . . something that made me appreciate something I had overlooked.

And then it hit me!

Breakfast!

Not just any breakfast but an eggs, toast and bacon breakfast!

And not just any eggs, toast and bacon but my Mom's eggs, toast and bacon!

I can almost smell it now! Yum!

Honestly, how often do you make all three in the mornings?

If you are like us, you don't. Life is just too busy that we don't have the time to dirty a pan for the bacon, a pan for the eggs and then have to clean up the stove top from frying the bacon before we scurry off to work and school.

It's also not the most healthiest of breakfasts anyway.

The picture above is of a breakfast I made for myself. It's a bacon and cheddar omelette with a side of orange marmalade toast. This is not what I'm talking about when I talk about my Mom's. She makes us dippy eggs with our toast and bacon.

What are dippy eggs? Apparently you are not from Western Pennsylvania if you have to ask. :)
Yum! They are eggs over medium and cooked just enough to make the whites not runny. . . so you can "dip" your toast into the yolk.

I don't remember how often she used to make this breakfast for us. Maybe it's more of a grown up memory because every time we go back home to visit and spend the night, she is sure to be waking us up to the smell of bacon coming from her country kitchen.

It's amazing how a little thing like a home cooked breakfast made by your Mother to make you feel like a spoiled kid again!

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Binders Can Organize Your Life Series! ~ Part 3

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Part 3 in the "Binders Can Organized Your Life Series." It's the Child Edition - Girl/Boy Scouts, Catechism/Sunday School and School Information.

If you missed Part 1, you can click on the first link below to take you there and to see why I'm doing this series and how I store my binders. The second link will take you to Part 2.

Part 1 ~ Manual & Warranties, Holiday Ideas, Decorating Ideas & My Recipes

Part 2 ~ Crafts, Gifts & Tips and Christmas Planner.

There are 2 more weeks of binders and here is the schedule for the next 2 Wednesdays:
Part 4 ~ Home Management Binder
Part 5 ~ Financial Budget Binder

Okay! Let's get started on The Child Edition!

If you have kids, you know they bring enough paper home to wallpaper the whole house. . . on a weekly basis! Seriously, it can just pile up if you don't take control.

I created binders for each activity that my daughter participates in. However, as I was taking this picture, I realized there wasn't very much inside these binders. Each activity certainly doesn't warrant having a binder of it's own. So with that being said, this week I am going to downsize it all into one binder with tab dividers. I've been needing to make a binder for her gymnastics anyway, so now I can just consolidate all of Allison's activities into one binder.

What do I keep in these? I keep anything that has to do with that activity. Phone lists, schedules, copies of forms filled out, etc. If you have more than one child, make a binder for each one. It will definitely cut down on all that paper clutter!

Let's get on to the "School Info" binder!

This binder has saved my life! Well. Not really. BUT it has kept me organized with all the goings on of school stuff. I have made one of these binders every year since Allison started school. I will tell you that I touch this binder every day! It is my most frequently used binder. I don't keep them every year because as you'll see, it's not necessary to keep all of what I put in there. I just keep reusing the binder every year. A little note here is that I use a 2" binder for this one. I use to use a 1" but as she has moved along in school, there seems to be more that comes home.

This is the cover. I have Allison's name, the name of the school, the grade, the teacher and so on. You could probably leave it plain but I like to pretty things up. :)

This is the inside front cover. In the pocket, I keep all the report cards for the quarters, any certificates, results of any assessments and any receipts for monies sent (i.e. yearbook, logo merchandise, after school activities, fundraisers, etc). I also keep anything that I haven't read yet that came from the school. As you can see there is a letter from the Principal about the upcoming PSSA which is next week. I have since read that and moved it to it's appropriate section.

Here is the right side when you open the front cover. I keep a 3 hole punch right in front. This keeps me from laying things down until I can run and get the big 3 whole punch and then never going to get it. . . and then I end up with a big pile on the counter! Under that and in front of the first tab divider is where I keep the school calendar. I just cut it apart and 3 hole punched it. We have 11 elementary schools in our district so I go through the calendar at the beginning of the school year and highlight in yellow anything that pertains to our school. If it's a very important thing like early dismissal or a no school day, I trace the outside of the yellow highlighted item in green highlighter so I will be sure not to miss it. I also transfer those important items into my calendar that I carry with me so I have it on my "main" calendar when I'm making appointments and such. Since I write notes about snow days and when we make them up, I move the page of the month we just ended to the back of the other calendar pages.

Also, behind the school calendar, is the monthly school lunch menu. Allison takes her lunch every day but I still keep it just in case and throw it out at the end of the month. This has come in handy for the 3 times she did buy her lunch this year.

My 5 tabs for this binder are: Class Info, Spelling Words, School Info, PTO Info and Handbook.

I didn't take pics of every section but here is the first section. It's Class Info and I keep any items that pertain to her class. Announcements from the teacher, family letters on what they are working on, their daily schedule, etc. The Spelling Word section is just that. . . their spelling word lists so I can go back periodically and spot quiz Allison. The School Info section is any letters or information that comes home from the school itself. . . bus assignment, letters from the Principal, etc. The PTO Info section is for all the newsletters and info that come home from the PTO. The last section is for the school Handbook. They send home a new one every year so I just tear it apart and 3 hole punch it and put it in the back so I know where it is when I need it.

The back pocket of the binder holds the PTO Handbook since it's too small to 3 hole punch it.

That's it. That's my binder! I keep it on the corner of my kitchen counter. It's just under the bulletin board where I keep the current spelling words or papers of upcoming activities before they get filed in the binder.

What? What's that you ask?
Where do I put all of the work papers and tests that Allison bring home?

Ooooh, you are asking about the 876 papers that come home in ONE DAY?

Well. Do you see that basket in the picture above?

Yes, that's the one. The pretty one.

It houses all of my active files that I use frequently. That's a whole other post but a couple of folders in that basket are for Allison's work papers and tests. I look at them when they come home and then place them in the files. At the end of the quarter, I go through them and decide what I want to keep and then the keepers get put into my file box that I keep in my Command Center. If you can throw them out, more power to you. I'm a little more emotionally attached to anything my daughter completes. I find that if I wait and have a whole stack, I become more detached to them. However, I would recommend not throwing out the tests until after the grading period. Everyone makes mistakes and a teacher can make one recording your child's grade. You want to make sure you have the back-up to support any incorrect grade.

I hope you enjoyed Part 3 in the "Binders Can Organize Your Life Series" and be sure to come back next Wednesday for Part 4.

You can become a follower or just come back to:

Works-for-me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family
or
Show and Tell Wednesday with Blue Cricket Design.

I'll be sharing this series at both places.

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A Conversation to Remember!

There are so many times during the week that Allison says something that makes Curtis and I look at each other with a "wow, how does she know that?" look on our faces.

She loves learning and her books of choice are non-fiction. She has two shelves on her bookcase that are strictly reference books. They are filled with encyclopedias, dictionaries and fact based books that interest her.

Her favorite television programs are on Discovery, TLC, History and Food Network. She could care less about cartoons, Hannah Montana or any of those other programs geared towards kids her age.

She remembers everything she reads or hears and uses that knowledge to carry on adult conversations when it's appropriate. It's like living with a little grown up!

We, obviously, are very proud of her. However, to be honest here, we sometimes forget that she's only 8 years old. Therefore, when a conversation like the following happens, it's a gentle reminder of how innocent and young she actually is.

A Conversation between Mommy and Allison while walking home from the bus stop last week.

Allison: "Hey Mom, I think when I'm 16 I'll be having a baby."

Mom: "What? Why would you think that?"
(I was calm to her but freaking inside!)

Allison: "Well. I know you get a baby by hanging around boys and I have a lot of friends that are boys so I'll probably have a baby when I'm 16."

Mom: "Well Allison. You are right that you need a boy to have a baby but you don't get a baby by just having boys as friends . . . and we'll talk more about that when you are older."

Allison: "Okay Mom. Can I play outside for a little?"

Whew! I know it won't be long until I'll have to go into more detail but for now, I would like to keep her my little girl for just a while longer.

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