Thursday, June 29, 2006

Howdy Partners!

Allison's birthday and party is just about 2 weeks away! This is my crunch time. It is the one time a year that we have our family and friends over for a get together. I wish our place was bigger because I would do it more frequently. I love to entertain!

A few months before Allison's birthday, we receive the Birthday Express catalog in the mail. Allison is sure to wear the pages out by turning the pages hundreds of times. Each year she picks the theme that seems to be her current interest. However, this year she surprised me! She picked horses! I don't know where that came from but that is what we are going with. We are having a Western party! I didn't care for the invitations they offered so I made my own. The images look a little blurry...sorry! You can click on each image to enlarge it.



This has been fun planning and I can't wait for the day to come! I'll post more pics of the planning stages as I get things done.

Have Fun! Pin It

Monday, June 19, 2006

Women over 40!

I received this in an email and it's just too good not to share!

Woman over 40

I always said something happens to a woman once she's 40.. Here is a
piece written by Andy Rooney - CBS 60 Minutes.

As I grow in age, I value women who are over 40 most of all. Here are
just a few reasons why.

A woman over 40 will not lay next to you in bed and ask, "What are you
thinking?" She doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit
around whining about it. She does something she wants to do. And, it's
usually something more interesting.

A woman over 40 knows herself well enough to be assured in who she is,
what she is, what she wants and from whom. Few women past the age of 40
give a damn what you might think about her or what she's doing.

Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with
you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of
course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you, if they
think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what
it's like to be unappreciated.

A woman over 40 has the self-assurance to introduce you to her women
friends. A younger woman with a man will often ignore even her best
friend because she doesn't trust the guy with other women.

Women over 40 couldn't care less if you're attracted to her friends
because she knows her friends won't betray her.

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a
woman over 40. They already know.

A woman over 40 looks good wearing bright red lipstick. This is not
true of younger women or drag queens.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier than
her younger counterpart.

Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if
you are a jerk if you are acting like one! You don't ever have to
wonder where you stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately,
it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed hot woman
of 40+, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of
himself with some 18-year-old waitress. Ladies, I apologize.

For all those men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk
for free." Here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against
marriage, why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire
Pig, just to get a little sausage. Pin It

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Da da da Daaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!

"Mom's Oasis" is almost done! I still have 2 things to do to it...maybe 3. Here are the pics of what it looks like today. Allison and I spent 5 hours out there today and boy was it relaxing. It's just how I imagined it. The only thing that would make it better would be if there was a cleaning fairy in the house doing my cleaning and chores while I am out there relaxing! By the way, you can click on any picture to see it larger.

The before: As you can see it's nothing special and we really never did anything with it since we've lived here.



The current state of Mom's Oasis:



This is the sitting area with a great shot of the umbrella. I love that the umbrella stand is behind us and it reaches over to shield us. The umbrella is 9 1/2 feet wide so it covers a good portion of the patio.



A shot of the sitting area from the other side. You can see how the patio mat defines the area. It's awesome because it's waterproof and you just hose it off if it gets dirty.



This pic is of the other side of the patio where we have our picnic table. I LOVE our picnic table. I found the instructions online and Curtis made if for me for Allison's first birthday party. I had to have redwood and it was perfect timing because you can't even buy redwood in our area anymore.



This is from the other side. I love the tablecloth. Originally I thought it would be too bright but it balances the colors of the flowers which are mainly on the other side of the patio.



A close up of my new patio furniture that is so comfortable and perfect for my oasis. I sat out there today with a Pepsi and a couple of magazines and wished I was on vacation so I didn't have to leave.




Here is a close up of my planters. There are that bright pink geraniums in all the pots but I picked off the dead ones today so the new buds could bloom.



The cat birdhouse. Allison picked it out at the store and told me that she wanted me to have this for my patio. She was so sweet about it that I couldn't say no and now it's one of my favorite features.



I hope you enjoyed your little tour of my patio. I'll post more pics when I get the last couple of things done and when the flowers get bigger.

By the way, if you can't find me...just check "Mom's Oasis" because I'm hoping to be there most of the summer. Pin It

Saturday, June 03, 2006

YUM!!!!!!!!


TOTAL impulse buy today at Giant Eagle!
Thinking I should have bought more than one pack of 6!

GO BUY THEM NOW!
You'll LOVE them!
Pin It

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Ughhhh!

I stopped on my way home from work today at Bed, Bath & Beyond. My goal was to purchase a couple of patio chairs and a cute little matching table for my back deck. It's my last big purchase for my oasis to come together and I finally decided these would be the perfect chairs. I was very excited to find out that they would accept both my 20% off coupons at the same time. So, I carefully picked out my chairs and table, paid the cashier and took them to my car. This where the "Ughhh" comes in. I couldn't get them in my car! If someone had a camcorder with them today, they would be in the running for big money on "America's Funniest Home Videos"! I tried and tried but no way were they going in my Taurus! I did get one in on the front passenger side and YES, it got stuck! I would have left it there and had Curtis get it out but I couldn't drive WITH A CHAIR LEG IN MY RIB! After almost 30 minutes, I gave up and returned them to the store. I don't know what I am going to do to get those chairs to my patio but I WILL find a way! I thought I could get my Dad's truck but that's not possible right now. Hmm, I'll have to think on that and get back to you all later.

Have Fun! Pin It

Monday, May 22, 2006

"Pink! Pink is my favorite color!"

That is the answer you will receive if you ask Allison what her favorite color is. So, of course, I let Allison's favorite color dictate my color palette when choosing my flowers for my patio. Okay, it wasn't really all for her. I love pink too!

My goal this year is to make our patio a relaxing, comfortable oasis. A place where we can just enjoy each others company and escape a bit from the busy, hectic world. I don't know if I'll be able to achieve exactly what I have in mind, but I am going to try my best.

I've started with container gardening and used "Hot Pink Sensation" geraniums as my main flower and built around them with shades of purple and white with a few green plants thrown in as well. I like how my pots don't look perfect. I like the haphazardness of them. Here are a couple pictures of my planted containers. You can click on the pictures to see them larger.



This is my favorite one.



That's all I have time for now! I'll keep post pictures of the whole patio when I am done.

Have Fun! Pin It

Sunday, May 21, 2006

I'm back!!!!!!!!!!

It has been forever since I've blogged! I don't want to go into the details why so I am just going to jump in as if I never left blogland!

So, here it goes!

Tonight's the night!

The 2 hour season finale of Desperate Housewives! I know this show is a stretch from reality but I LOVE it! I love that it totally takes my thoughts away from cleaning, work, laundry, bills, etc. for an hour every Sunday night for some laughs and mindless entertainment! This season went too quickly!

Let's take the housewife quiz: Which Desperate Housewife
Are You?


I am: Lynette.

It makes perfect sense to me. The working mother just trying to keep everything together!

I've got to run and get some things done before my show!

Have Fun!


Pin It

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Ringing in 2006 and New Year's Resolutions!

How did you ring in the New Year? "We had a picnic on the coffee table" is how Allison would describe it. This is our 3rd year of doing this and now our family tradition. We just sit around in our comfortable clothes or p.j.'s, watch a new movie that Santa brought and enjoy each other's company. We all have a job in our preparations. I throw a vinyl tablecloth down, make finger foods and Shirley Temples. Allison is my helper and carries everything into the living room and sets the table. Curtis is in charge of putting in the movie. It's a wonderful time and something I look forward to every year.
Before I move on, I have to share this other picture with you. It's of Allison eating potato chips and french onion dip. Can you see the pleasure on her face? She is definately a Dokish and this picture proves it! Dokish is my Mother's maiden name and it's no secret that is where the love of potato chips and dip come from! Aunt Carole was the worst. She LOVED it! There used to be a picture around of her and I laying on the floor in front of the television when I was about 6 years old or so. She has a big bag of potato chips in front of her and I have a little bag in front of me. It's so cute and says so much. I've looked for that picture since she died and I can't find it. Maybe it will show up this year during my clean sweeping of this house...one of my goals for 2006.
Speaking of goals, there is something refreshing about a new year. Along with a chance for new beginnings and new goals, it offers us a chance to reflect on the past and look to the coming year and see where we want to make changes and improvements. I don't have just one goal that I have set for myself but a whole list. Today I will write those goals down and hopefully by writing them down, I will have a better chance to achieve those goals. Along with putting them on paper, I want to write a plan on some of them on how I am going to achieve those goals. It's real easy to say "I'm going to _______." but I need a plan to help me with some of them or I'll never accomplish what I set out to do. I think it is also important not to set too many. This is something that I struggle with as I am an overachiever and when it comes to lists I always make mine bigger than it is humanly possible to complete. This year I will limit mine to 5. Whew, just thinking about putting a limit on it just panicked me! Oh well, maybe that should be one of my goals...not to do too much! Anyway, I found this list of Top Ten New Year's Resolutions on the web and I thought I would share. Are yours on there?
1. Spend More Time with Family & Friends
2. Fit in Fitness
3. Tame the Bulge
4. Quit Smoking
5. Enjoy Life More
6. Quit Drinking
7. Get Out of Debt
8. Learn Something New
9. Help Others
10. Get Organized
Have Fun!
Pin It

Saturday, December 31, 2005

Friendship, Priorities and Thanks!

Last night Allison and I went over my best friend's house so our girls could exchange their Christmas presents and us Moms could have good girlfriend time. Susan's daughter, Stephanie is almost 18, Susan's sister's daughter, Maria, is 8 and of course my Allison is 4. Here they are in front of the Christmas tree.
Every time I look at a picture of the three of them together I feel such pride. They are all beautiful, intelligent, kind, loving and just basically wonderful girls that will definitely make a positive mark in the world. Just thinking of Stephanie about to finish her Senior year of high school and going off to college makes me realize how fast life really goes. I still remember the phone call from Susan to announce her birth like it was just yesterday. I'm going to take this as a lesson to appreciate the time we have with family and friends. Someone once said to me that no one will ever say on their death bed that they could have worked more. It's always that they should have spent more time with family and friends. I guess that would depend on what is important to you as an individual. However, for me it's true. Money seems to be such a driving force in so many lives. Maybe it should be more for me but it isn't. Being the best Mom that I can be, guiding Allison through life, giving her a good solid foundation, supplying her with what she needs but not spoiling her, loving her unconditionally, teaching her independence and self-worth, showing her that you can have a traditional upbringing but still have choices in deciding what you want from life for yourself are my driving forces. I've been fortunate to have experienced and done a lot of things in my life but now God has blessed and trusted me with my most important role yet. Like anything in life, the more time and attention you spend doing something the better you become at it and more successful are the results. So, I sit here typing away while my precious angel sleeps, planning the weekend's activities with her and being thankful for my best gift ever!

Have Fun! Pin It

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

FOREVER AND A DAY!!!!!!

That is how long it's been since I've blogged! I've missed it and beginning with January, I will be blogging frequently! I would like to blog at least a few times a week. But for now, I'll post a few pictures of my holiday decor and my roses that Curtis sent to my work for my birthday. Aren't they beautiful? Yellow roses are my favorite!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas!



Christmas Eve before we opened the presents. I just love her Christmas nightgown.



After Santa stopped by:



One of my favorite parts of Christmas, my Nativity. This was the first year I felt comfortable putting it in Allison's reach. I remember my Mother's Nativity and how I loved looking at it every year.



My newest addition to my holiday decor. Isn't it beautiful? I didn't need it but I had to have it!



This is Allison's Princess tree in her room. I did it all in white and pink lights, pink shiny and matte balls, irredescent beads and I made the Disney Princess ornaments and the crown on the top because I couldn't find what I wanted. She loved it and wanted it on every night. We allowed her to have it on on Christmas Eve and when she woke up in the morning there was one single present from Santa under the tree and she flipped out. She was so excited and couldn't wait to see what was under the big tree downstairs. Christmas was definatley wonderful this year because of her!



Looking forward to blogging soon!

Have fun! Pin It

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails