Cousins on The Clipper!

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to take Allison, my niece, Mya, my nephew, Derek, and my sister, Alesia, on a cruise with Santa on the Gateway Clipper. For those of you who are not from Pittsburgh and do not know what the Gateway Clipper is, you can click here to find out. If you are from Pittsburgh and haven't been, I strongly recommend you take a cruise on The Clipper. It's a nice cruise up and down Pittsburgh's three rivers. I've been on several and haven't had a bad experience yet. Click on the previous link to find a cruise that suits you.

Anyway. Here are some pictures from our cruise. I hope you enjoy!

We were very lucky it was a beautiful day which enabled us to get some great outside shots.

I know I've said this before but every time I see the three of them together, I see in my mind my sister, myself and my younger brother when we were young...2 blonds and a brunette!

They were sitting on the life jacket box. My Allison was very concerned that there were 27 adult life jackets and only 10 child life jackets in there. Since it was a kid's cruise, she knew that 10 wouldn't be enough. Oh the things that pop into my kid's brain!

Here they are on the top deck almost at the point of the three rivers.

You can see Point State Park right behind them. It's going under a huge renovation but you can see the Christmas tree peeking out between the buildings.

There was lots of girl cousin fun...

...and more girl cousin bonding! Poor Derek!

There were several characters on the ship for the kids. Allison loves The Grinch so I was glad I got a picture of him!

There also was a disc jockey playing the tunes so they had fun dancing!

Even the characters danced! The kids loved it!

There was face painting on the second deck.

Here we have a poinsettia...

...and a snowflake...

...and an ornament!

I saved the best for last!

They each got to visit with Santa and receive a little toy from him!

Look at all the smiles!

I just hope he brings them what they want!

Have Fun!

Pin It

My Mug Shot!

COFFEE mug, that is!

Those of you that know us in person, knows that Curtis is a coffee freak. Seriously. He drinks 8-12 cups a day. However. He does not like travel mugs, paper or Styrofoam cups. So what does that mean? It means he takes our coffee mugs with him to work every morning and wherever else he may be going. Most times they make it home and on a rare occasion, they don't.

This kind of stressed me out in the beginning. I don't know why. Maybe because I'm a sentimental fool and I'm attached to some of them! I know. I'm a little crazy but I have never denied it!

Anyway, I knew couples fought over much less (like leaving the cap off of the toothpaste), so I needed to find a solution. First I separated what Curtis could use and what he couldn't use. This worked for a while but then our stock of mugs that he could use depleted. Well then I decided that I needed to stock up his supply of mugs. You can call me cheap but I was not about to spend $6-$10 each on mugs for daily use that may or may not make it into next week.

My answer was Goodwill. You all know I love finding treasures there! I started to pick one up every once in a while when I saw one that I liked or fit us. This proved to definitely be the best way to go since their mugs are 25 cents and some of them are 50 cents if they deemed them as collector mugs...and most of them look as if they have never been used!

Since we are close to Christmas and I can't get the lyrics "These are a few of my favorite things." out of my head, I've decided to share a few of my favorite mugs here.

I'll start with the one above. I found this red snowflake mug just yesterday at Goodwill for 25 cents...and it's never been used! This mug is totally for me and not Curtis! It think it just screams WINTER FUN!

This next one was a gift. My friend, Missy, had some surgery years ago when we both lived in Ohio. Her Mom, who lives in Louisville, Kentucky, sent this to me as a thank you for being there for her daughter. It's Louisville Stoneware and my absolute favorite mug! This one is definitely off limits to everyone else in the house except me!

This next one is one of my favorites because it's Allison's. It reminds me of her Disney Princess phase. Curtis makes awesome hot chocolate and he uses this mug for hers.

If you live anywhere in or around Pittsburgh, you'll recognize this next mug. Yes! It's a Smiley mug from Eat 'n Park Restaurant! They sell them in their restaurants for $6.99 but I picked mine up at Goodwill for 50 cents!

This last mug I picked up years ago when I lived in Northern Virginia just outside of Washington D.C. I used to love going to the National Zoo and seeing Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing. They were the Giant Pandas that China gave to the United States after President Nixon visited their country. Okay...enough of the history lesson! This mug reminds me of the inner peace I would experience when I would sit there at the zoo and watch them. However. Years later this mug took on a whole new meaning for me. Shortly after I became pregnant, Curtis had a cup of coffee sitting on the nightstand next to my side of the bed. He asked me to pass it to him. When I went to pick it up, my perception of the mug changed immediately. I didn't just see two pandas. I saw a Mother-t0-be panda on the left and a Daddy-to-be on the right. They both looked as if they were connecting to their unborn baby. Now when I pour Curtis a cup of coffee in this mug, wash this mug or put this mug away, it still jogs a memory in me. It's not the old inner peace memory I used to feel watching the pandas at the zoo. It's a new inner peace memory. It's the inner peace I felt being pregnant because I was finally realizing my childhood dream of becoming a Mother.

Have Fun! Pin It

Give My Baby a High Five!

I know it's been a couple of weeks but I'm still here. I've just had a lot on my plate and a lot on my mind. I've been thrown a curve ball of life and I'm just trying to accept it and adjust to it. I'll be fine. I always get through what's been thrown my way because I always try to remember to keep the faith. It's the only thing that keeps me going!

Anyway.

I just had to stop by and brag a little on my baby. Yes, I'm bragging. I'm allowed...it's MY blog!

Allison is in third grade this year. One thing they are doing this year is that they are learning to study at home for big tests. Allison has had trouble embracing this concept. She thinks the reading and study guides they complete in school should be enough. Our first at home study session for Chapter 1 of Social Studies went fine...so I thought. When it came time to study for the Chapter 2 test, she "forgot" to bring her book home the night before. Thankfully, I empty her book bag immediately after she gets off the bus and noticed it wasn't in there. We jumped in the van and went to the school to get it. While we were there, her teacher informed me that she didn't want to bring it home because her "Mother would make her study for an hour." Hmm...forgot? I. Don't. Think. So!

Moving right along. It was now time to study for Chapter 3 and she fussed a little but played along with my quizzing. I was a little concerned because this chapter was much larger than the first two and so much more information. It was on so many different American Indians and how they were different from each other and their types of government and their culture and how they survived and on and on and on...WHEW....I got confused and couldn't keep them straight!

Well. She brought the five page test home on Friday and received 100% on it! Her teacher had written "FANTASTIC" across the front of it. I was so proud and gave her a high five, good job, big hug and so on!

However, it wasn't until yesterday that I found out that the overall class had a very difficult time with this test. In fact, 5 of her classmates failed it. Wow! My baby really did do great!

Let's just hope she keeps it up because she informed me over the weekend that she wants to go to college for as many years as you can! Please Lord, send some scholarships our way!

Have Fun! Pin It

SPECTACULAR!

The MSG Entertainment family was right...last night was nothing less than SPECTACULAR! Alesia (my sister), Allison and myself started off our holiday season this year by going to Pittsburgh to attend the musical holiday stage show, Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring The Rockettes at the Benedum Center.

It. was. AMAZING! I don't think Allison took her eyes off the stage once. We were 5 rows back behind the orchestra and it was perfect seating. The dancing, the music, the stage, the colors of the outfits...everything was...well...SPECTACULAR!

As you can see in the picture below, Allison couldn't wait to get home and put on her souvenir t-shirt. She does love her t-shirts and this one is especially fun!

Here is Allison and Alesia at Bravo's, which is my favorite Italian restaurant! We had a late lunch/early dinner there...does that make it linner or lunner? :)

The purple girls posing outside the Benedum.

Here are some pictures I found on the internet to show you some highlights from the show.

I hope you enjoy them and if you ever get a chance, GO SEE THE SHOW! You will be happy that you did.

The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers...

...and their famous fall after being shot by a toy cannon.


The Rockettes as reindeer in the Sleighride scene.
As rag dolls during the Santa's Workshop scene.

The Christmas Dreams scene which featured a winter wonderland. This was very beautiful and you can click to enlarge to get a better view.

The Living Nativity with a mule, camels and sheep was the last scene and it was simply spiritual. It has been part of the show since the show's beginning in 1933. I don't think anyone in the whole place made a single sound during this scene. This scene made me feel like I was actually there over 2000 years ago and witnessing the birth of Our Saviour Jesus Christ. This was unquestionably my favorite scene of the whole show.

As the curtain closed immediately following this scene, a big screen appeared and scrolled the following essay across it which the narrator read to us. Please take a minute to read it yourself and see what "One Solitary Life" did for us all.

"One Solitary Life"

He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never had a family or owned a home. He never set foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never wrote a book, or held an office. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. While He was
still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends deserted Him. He was turned over to His enemies, and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had - His coat. When He was dead, He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave. Two thousand years have come and gone, and today He is the central figure for much of the human race. All the armies that ever marched and all the navies that ever sailed and all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as this “One Solitary Life.”

Have Fun and a Blessed Holiday Season!

Pin It

Getting Excited!

Allison and I can't wait until tomorrow night!

Have Fun! Pin It

Not a Good Idea!

Princess, I'm thinking this may not be a good place for a nap!

Not that the hermit crabs would notice since all they do is sleep!

Have Fun! Pin It

The Moms Get A Little Frosty!

Last night was another exciting, relaxing and fun "Mom's Craft Night Out!"

I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoy spending this time out every month. Not only do we get to be creative and snack on some yummy snacks but we get to spend a night out with some great women! I highly recommend to all of you Moms out there to set aside time every month to get together for a Mom's Night Out. You could plan a craft night like we do or if you aren't crafty, try something else. Some of my suggestions are a night of board games or cards, or a classic movie night complete with movie popcorn & candy, or with Christmas around the corner, you could get together and help each other bake cookies. The possibilities are endless. I promise you...you will not regret taking the time to put something together for yourself and your friends. You deserve it!

Okay, now onto this month's craft!

As you can see by the picture below, we made snowmen families. Aren't they adorable? They weren't hard to make but they did have a lot of steps. I found the inspiration on a blog somewhere when I was surfing a blog party. I wish I could find where I got the inspiration so I could give proper credit. You see I have a bad habit of saving just the pic in a craft document and forgetting where it came from. The craft that I make isn't ever exactly the same because, as always, I have this odd need to put my own twist on it.

I don't have step by step instructions this month because I was just enjoying myself so much that I didn't take a whole lot of pics. Dawn suggested that we video tape ourselves one time to share. OH MY! I'm not sure that I want everything that happens at MCNO to be on tape for the world to see! Now, now! Don't get the wrong idea about us! We are a nice bunch of Moms but when you accidentally stick your finger in high temperature hot glue, a not-so-nice word might just slip out of your mouth too! Just ask Susan D. ... she did it three times last night! No...not the naughty word...THAT she did only once but the hot glue on the finger....yup, THREE times!

We used a gloss craft paint on our snowman and it really gave them a nice shine. Here's Susan C. putting on the final coat of paint on her snow family.

Still finishing up the final coats but do you notice what is in the middle of the table? Yes. We can never have too much chocolate on craft night! What's that you ask...where's the other Moms? You do know that Moms are the best multi-taskers, don't you? The other Moms were practicing that skill while the paint dried. They were just to the left around the kitchen island feasting on the yummy snacks our snack hostesses brought this month.

Such concentration!

It's looking good, Susan!

Here's Susan giving her snowman's hat a little bit of fringe.

The group shot is in two pics this month because we didn't have a photographer. Well. We actually did but he was in his bed sleeping since he is recovering from having his appendix out the day before.

Left to right is Kelly, Nettie, Susan D., Sandy, Susan C., Me and...

...here's Dawn instead of me in this pic.

It's a Snowman Party!

Have Fun! Pin It

A Pretty Board Just for Me!

I have this bulletin board on a very small wall in my kitchen. I used to have a pretty picture there but soon found I needed somewhere to keep track of Allison's school stuff. I know...it's not pretty but no one can really see it but me...unless of course you are cooking or doing dishes in my kitchen. So...like I said, no one can really see it but me.

However. Although it's proven itself to be very functional, I just can stand it's ugliness any longer!

So! Enter a can of spray paint, a piece of fabric, spray adhesive, trim, a glue gun and

VOILA!

A pretty board just for ME!

This is the beginning of changing my kitchen. I just love the colors...except I'll be picking a new shade of green for the walls!

I'm linking this post up with Gina at The Shabby Chic Cottage for her Transformation Thursday blog party. Stop by her place to see other fun transformations!

Have Fun!

Pin It

A Brownie's Service Project!

A couple of Saturdays ago, Allison's Brownie troop did a service project at our local grocery store, Giant Eagle.

They were there to encourage the customers to give to the local food bank. They greeted the customers at the door and gave them a handout explaining what they were doing there. Then the girls stood at the exit door to receive any donations and put them in the big bin. As you can see in the picture, that bin was full after their 4 hour project. The customers were handing them bagfuls of groceries. It was nice to see that even though people are hurting in this economy, they still found it in their hearts to donate to the less fortunate.

All the Brownies were gracious as they were there to serve and not be a nuisance to the customers. They were perfect examples of truly wonderful Girl Scouts. I was so proud of them all!

On a side note...Can you see Allison's lips? They were blue by the end! Poor thing was so cold standing at the door!

Have Fun! Pin It