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

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!

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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.

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"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.

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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!

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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

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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!

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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!

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A daughter's perception!

Just popping in with a picture Allison drew of me on her Magna Doodle! It's so funny what their perception is of us! Those things on my feet are the flip flops I have on. She even put the combs that I have in pulling my hair back today! What a nice break from cleaning to have her bring this to me with all smiles. LOL...I'm surprised she didn't put the dish towel that is resting on my left shoulder in the picture!


I'll be back later with another blog entry. I actually did one yesterday and then when I went to post it I got an error message and then it disappeared! UGHHH! I think I'll write it in Microsoft Word next time and then cut and paste! I hate it when you have to learn a lesson the hard way!

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"Squeek, squeek, squeek!"

Hi All! Just a couple of pics of my little mouse on Halloween. I ended up taking her trick or treating over by my parents' home since I felt more comfortable there. It was so much fun since most of the houses that we went to were ones that I went to when I was little. We met up with my best friend, Susan, her sister, Marsha and her daughter, Maria. Maria is the cowgirl...doesn't she look awesome! I asked Allison what she wanted to be for Halloween and her answer was "A mouse, but not Minnie. A pink mouse!" So a pink mouse it was!
I made her costume from a sweat suit and it was so easy! It took me less than an hour! I had just under $6.00 in it! Gotta LOVE it when you don't have to spend a ton of cash! I LOVE making her costumes but I am sure that one of these years she is going to ask for a store bought one. But for now, I am going to enjoy every minute of making them myself! If you scroll all the way to the end of the post, I've also included pictures of her costumes from previous years.

Before I go, I wanted to post a question for all of you! It was something that came up at work on Monday when we were talking about trick or treating. The question is: "What was your favorite house to trick or treat at and why?" Mine was Mrs. Betty Smyda's. She lived just a few house up from ours and was the little old lunch lady from my elementary school. She would bring us into her house and let us chose from whatever we wanted on her table. I don't exactly remember all the things she had but I remember it was a lot! She even had nickels and dimes taped onto to a little white cards too! She really made a big deal out of us coming to her house and I will remember that always.

Allison was an Angel for her first Halloween. It just seemed like the perfect costume to make.

Since Curtis loves drag racing, a race car driver was the obvious choice for Allison's second Halloween. I cut apart and reassembled a sweat suit for this costume and used part of another sweatshirt for the blue band around her waist. I downloaded baby product logos from the internet and reversed them onto iron on transfer paper. I ironed them on white fleece material to make patches out of them and then sewed them onto her "fire suit." I wanted them to appear as her sponsors. I also added the NHRA logo and an American flag to complete the patches. I love yellow roses so I put that on the patch with the name of her racing team as a sort of trademark. If Curtis gets his way and she becomes a professional drag racer when she gets older this just may be the prototype for her real life fire suit someday! LOL....but maybe not if Mom gets her way!

















It was just around her third Halloween that "sack of potatoes" would come out of her mouth whenever anyone picked her up. So, I couldn't resist and had to make her a sack of potatoes for Halloween. After purchasing some burlap, cotton material to line the burlap with, stencils, paint, etc., I set out to design and make it. You can't see it in the picture but at the bottom of her sack, it was stenciled with "20 lbs." which was her weight at the time. I used an old shirt and tea dyed it so it wasn't so stark white. I sewed the potatoes onto the shirt which were old nylons stuffed with polyester filling and sewn with brown thread. I loved the way it turned out even though it took me longer to make it than what she would wear it!


Last year's witch costume was the easiest yet. I bought the tights, hat, turtleneck and a women's small black sweatshirt. I cut v's around the neck, sleeves and bottom and then once it was on her, I tied a black satin ribbon around her waist and it was done!

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