Holiday Quiz....

I just can't resist the quizzes....here's one to check your Holiday Mood that I found at Ozarks Sew n Sews.....
Does it surprise you that I'm feeling ELVISH!!!!! (don't answer that!)


Till later, yinz crazy guys.....

This is so COOOOOL....

My niece sent me this site.....she's addicted and I think I am now too.....ENJOY!!!!

(just click below or on my sidebar)



Till next time, yinz crazy Flakes........

It's Christmas Time....

Ahhhh...the beginning of a beautiful season....the music, the decorations, the snow (yes we have flakes in the air!) As a matter of fact, the Sweetie Man and I are so excited we are literally.....

Beside OursELFs! (click for real treat)

Till next time...yinz crazy Elves........

I'm just chillin....

....and so is the turkey!!!!!

HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING!!!

Marley & Me....X 3!!

Chapter 1

GOING CRATELESS!

Okay, I took the plunge....I finally said, "It's now or never". I decided to not crate my two youngest dogs, Eros (The Mastif/Lab combo) and Chloe (Jack Russell/Terrier mix)! Katie has been crateless only because she is older and the only thing she does to amuse herself at night is lick the carpet..no harm done. (except a wet carpet)
Eros pooping in his crate (because of an overdose of rawhides over the weekend when I left him in the care of Sweetie Man...not that I haven't overdosed him myself) did sorta prompt me to go "crateless" also. (thank you for that, Sweetie Man!) The crates are so big and take up so much space now, leaving me pratically no room to have any sort of Thanksgiving dinner there, that I decided that after a year and half, it's time! I always felt bad putting them in there for long periods of time while I went to work too (even though it is supposedly their comfort zone and they never did complain)...I felt that they were mature enough to have a little freedom!!! WRONG!!!!!!!
Oh, the first night was great!!! No problems....they were quiet as mouses. Nothing was torn, chewed, thrown about....no one was hurt and even during the day when I went to work, they were angels!!! I was sooooo happy...this was was going to be easier than I planned! The second night seemed to start off well also...heard a little magazine activity but I figured, what is one Fingerhut magazine shredded if it keeps them quiet for the night....little did I know it was the beginning of disaster!!!!!
Something came over them...something possessed them when I turned my back! I think they were plotting against me for being gone so long yestereday. As a matter of fact, this is the conversation that I believe took place after the first night in my absence....

Terrier Chloe: We didn't have to be in crates last night....and we were crateless all day long...this is AWESOME!!!
Older Katie: Chloe, what's the big deal...I'm crateless all the time...shut up or I'll hump you and show YOU who's the boss around this house!
Mastif Eros: Anyone see my Kong?
Terrier Chloe: Maybe I actually did something good for once. I think I'll try and do it again and get to go crateless longer. I'll be an Angel dog all day...you do it too, Eros, and maybe we'll get another night of freedom!
Mastif Eros: Okay, Chloe, whatever you say.........you sure you didn't see my Kong?

(First night and day....dogs were obedient.....nothing out of order!)
(Second night arrives)

Terrier Chloe: Wow, we're still crateless....I don't even see the crates around.....I think it is not going to matter what we do, we are officially CRATELESS!!! FREEDOM IS OURS!!!!!! LET'S PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And poop inside if we want!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mastif Eros: I can't find my Kong anywhere........DID SOMEONE SAY "PARTY"???????
Older Katie: (licking the rug while watching younger dogs destroy the livingroom) I don't think that's a good idea, yinz guys!!!


Okay...you get the idea. Now without further explanation....my livingroom...after the Party....
First off, the magazine mess....


Well, actually I didn't really need these and they were just sitting around till Sweetie Man went through them....except for the new issue of Word Puzzles...sorry, Sweetie Man! (I did save the top half of the pages though)
Next we have...room two...


Mom, I had nothing to do with this....I told them they shouldn't do this, but they wouldn't listen to me!

And who likes Van Halen anyway....


I wonder if Eros could make the other shoe "toeless for me".......


This remote was making us a lazy....it's time we exercise a little and walk over to the TV to turn it on....

Well, you get the picture....it wasn't pretty! I'm still going crateless but I'm definately going to make the room a little more dog proof!

All toll, the amount of destruction was as follows.......

20 magazine advertisments (fingerhut, etc...)-$ 0.00
(probably a savings since we won't buy anything out of them now)

One pair of ladies dress shoes - $ 20.o0

Son's tennis shoes (he has too many pairs anyway)- $ 35.00

Son's crocks - $ 8.00

One issue of Word Puzzles - $ 6.95

Unknown CDs -$ 20.00

One Van Halen CD - $ (15.95) No Loss

One Remote Control (a late entry) - $ 10.00(?)

COST OF HAVING KATIE, CHLOE AND EROS IN OUR LIVES..........
(wait, I'm thinking about that...)

OKAY, OKAY............................................PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Till next time, yinz crazy guys....................

Welcome to the World.....

.......Baby OWEN LAWRENCE

This is the newest member of our family, my great nephew!!!! OMG.....isn't he absolutely the most perfect little sweetie you have ever seen!!!! He was born November 4, 2007 and came into the world at 8 lbs. 10 oz, 21.5 inches long and perfect in every way! Mommy is doing wonderful and Daddy is very very proud!!!! I am so happy for them!!!! I guess I do tend to get a little excited and overwhelmed when a baby is born, but to me it is the absolute most beautiful awesome event ever!
I do have some pics to show you of finished cross stitches and a little on a great cross stitch retreat I just came back from......but I just had to wait for the first pics of little Owen!!!
So with that said....
Dearest Baby Owen,
May you be healthy and happy for many many years to come, always wanting to explore, learning everything you can on this big home we call Earth, loving your family with all your heart, spreading laughter and joy to everyone you meet, and may you always love and never forget your Heavenly Father who hand picked two incredibly awesome people to be YOUR Mom and Dad!!!

We love you, Baby Owen.....WELCOME TO OUR WORLD!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN....

FROM "BABY G"

(my soon to be born great niece/nephew!)

How AWESOME is that.....we are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby G and as you can see my niece and her hubby are a little "bored" waiting also...let's just hope we don't have to see a "turkey" on that belly!!!!
Till next time, yinz crazy GHOULS!........

FYI.....

Hey yinz guys, I found some cool things on the internet that I thought you might be interested in. Maybe you know about this stuff, but it was new to me. Anyway, first off, I was recently introduced to Widgets.....those neat little boxes that sit on your desktop and let you check things out at a glance...anything from an analog clock, to weather, see when new yahoo email comes in, your own little picture frame with your pics that scroll through. You can have an ongoing game of sudoku that you can play throughout the day, keep a "bee" pet.....there are literally thousands that you can put on your desktop. I have a clock, weather and a little devotional with a bible thought for the day....it's actually sorta addicting....just go to http://www.widgets.yahoo.com/ and check it out.
Next, I just discovered the new Google Map search.....now that is awesome! I was able to travel directly to my house, up and down my street, and look at my house as well as my neighbors. Now these actual pics were probably taken in the Summer sometime as I could see the way the Goose on my porch was dressed, but it was soooo cool. I mean, if I gave you my address (which I didn't plan to by the way), you could find my house and see EXACTLY what my house looks like as well as the surrounding neighborhood.....I was stunned. There is only about ten cities or so that you can actually view but if you are fairly close to one of the listed cities, you may be able to view yours as well..... it was unbelievable. I mean, I went to downtown New York City....Central Park and followed the road in the park online. If you haven't done it, you've got to go to Google and click on the Maps tab.....I believe there is a tutorial that will help you through it....Enjoy that!
Last but not least, I got a Doc appointment today...just my 6 month routine....and I know I had not lost the weight I should have. But as I was looking at some recent pics of myself, I got really mad and figured I would try again....this time with alot of prayer and taking one day at a time. In the process of searching for something else, I fell upon this site http://www.thedailyplate.com/ You gotta go there....even if you just want to maintain your weight. Alot of these sites cost money, but the basic one here is free (you can upgrade to Gold if you want for a fee). The basic, gives you alot of things to do, for instance, really good online calorie and weight charting, how much water you consumed for the day...and all very easy too. It also has an online diary that you don't have to make public, there is a forum and message board, you can find out how many calories you need to eat to lose or maintain and an exercise chart that gives you really specific calorie burning amounts...even if you are just cleaning house. Hopefully this will be my answer...my goal is only 45-50 pounds, so we aren't talking alot here but this could be the key.
Well, now that I found things to keep yinz guys from your work, enjoy the searching and let me know what ya think.....till next time, yinz crazy guys.....

Google me this, Batman.....

Okay...now that you're all tired of looking at the pig head, I thought I would post something....actually I have no pictures to post yet....still looking to finish off the frame for my cross stitch wedding sampler...almost there....so stay tuned for that.
Oh, about my Title... I'm a big GOOGLE fan.....I go to Google for EVERYTHING!!!! I've taught everyone at work to go to Google for everything!!! 9.75 times out of 10, I find what I'm looking for. Well, tonight I go to my Youth Group at Church...I'm usually just a helper but this week I gotta teach some younger teens.....I'm not a teacher....I can pretend to be a teacher....but technically, I can't control kids....ask my son! (I can't even control my three dogs!)
So, where does one go who must teach for 1/2 hour and doesn't know how to teach????? GOOGLE!!!! And sure enough, I found what I was looking for.
Oh, and what exactly was I looking for? MOSES! Now I believe that humor is the best way to teach just about anything...which is probably why I go to the church I do, cause my Pastor always makes us laugh...ALOT! So, I figured instead of talking, I would let the kids talk....aka, do skits on Moses. So, I plan on giving a little preview on Moses then I found this great skit on what would have happened had Moses had to call 911 Emergency about the Burning Bush....a talking Burning Bush no less. It's a really cute skit, so the kids should have alot of fun with it.
I guess you could say I just added another "Hat" to my already overloaded Hat Rack....that of "Religious Youth Teacher"! Then again, after I make them do this skit......they may never want me to teach them again!


Gotta love that "Google"!!!!
Well, that's what's keeping me busy for now........so, till next time, yinz crazy guys......

Oink, oink.....

Hey, did I tell yinz, guys we went camping this past weekend? (only about a zillion times!) Anyway, we went camping this past weekend for the last time this season. We did stay in this cute little rental trailer....honest we did...I have the bump on my head (after hitting the top bunk) to prove it! It was really nice....sorta a birthday weekend for the Sweetie Man (by the way...he thanks you for all the good wishes yesterday)
Well, anyway, they had this pig roast and the Sweetie Man loves those and just had to take a picture of the pig...after roasting of course....only cause the head was still there (it's a guy thing)....


Gotta tell ya, it was DELICIOUS!!!! They also had a guy playing the guitar and singing during the picnic and the weather was gorgeous....a PERFECT weekend to say the least.
I did alot of reading and cross stitching the Sweetie Man worked on his laptop. He got this new Photo Shop program and just had to play with it. Let's just say, if the pig picture didn't freak you out, just take a look at the pumpkins in the next picture....
Yep...we're Pumpkin Heads....go figure! He was soooooo excited that he did this! I think his next adventure in photo shop is to put Eros' head on his body!
Well, anyway, that's about it for today....oh, we have a brand new Michael's that just opened about 5 miles from my house...give or take a few! I'm so excited...can't wait to check it out this weekend! I need a frame for my wedding cross stitch so I can show yinz guys finally my two year project! So, you know where I'll be dragging the Sweetie Man on Saturday!!!
Okay, back to the old grind.....till next time, yinz crazy pumpkin heads!!!!!!

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES...

what are the chances
quite slim you will see
that the love of my life
would love only me

it’s once in billion
a trillion or more
like finding a diamond
along sandy shores

you’re not even looking
you’ve given up hope
you live on an island
then in comes your boat

when pockets are empty
and you have no will
then out on the sidewalk
a ten dollar bill

but chances do happen
things do go your way
someone is saying
"Today is YOUR day"

and then in an instant
“Chance” sounds out the horn
He knew I would need you..
… my Angel was Born.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE LOVE OF MY LIFE,

MY ONE IN A BAZILLION,

MY ANGEL,

MY SWEETIE MAN

The Baby Shower....

As promised, PICTURES! As you know, my lovely niece and her hubby are having a little one in exactly one month from today...if Baby G is on time! Anyway I did manage to get presents there on time for the shower....not that I didn't work frantically in the hotel room prior....

I do work better under pressure tho!
Once finished, I donned my Baby G shirt (that I made of course) and headed off to look for the baby shower with mapquest directions in hand.

First off, I had to bring an authentic Pittsburgh T-shirt so Baby G knows where Great Aunt Lu lives....
Second, was the cross stitch pillow for "Baby G and Mommy......


Here, my lovely glowing niece shows off the ripple baby afghan I crocheted....
And the matching booties....every baby should have a choice of booty colors!
Just for the record, we don't know if Baby G is a girl or a boy, but I certainly will let you know when Baby G makes her/his arrival.
We're camping this weekend for the last time this year...the leaves are falling and starting to change and the sky is a clear blue. The best part is that the temps are perfect...not too hot, not too cold either. We're staying in a little trailer this time that the camp rents...it's adorable....I want one!!!!! Maybe when we retire, who knows!
Well, that's about it for now....I finally finished my intense wedding cross stitch that I've been showing you on and off....I'm hoping to frame it this week, take pics for yinz, then send it off to the recepients...finally!
So, enjoy your weekend and take a moment out of your day and check out the awesome fall colors (if you have them)....till next time, yinz crazy guys.....

I'm here...

Sorry, yinz guys...I haven't felt much like blogging lately even tho I have things to show you. Why?.... well I'm the sort of person who goes with my "feelings" and lately I've just been feeling really crafty and this happens EVERY year around this time. Needless to say, I've been searching for new things to do, working on old things, rummaging through my crafts, etc.... It's not that I don't like yinz guys, I've just been crafting and thinking crafting. I promise tho that in the next day or so, I'll post some pics for yinz.
We've also been sorta transfering things to our new computer and saving pics and such and I'm not real saavy on this VISTA thingy yet. I'll get there...not to worry.
So, don't count me out yet....till next time, yinz crazy guys....

Oh...almost forgot....

Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' 'bout.....

Did you KNOW that....

Just 2 Kisses a day can lower blood pressure?

Gotta be the DARK stuff tho...(is there any other????) Click above to read the latest findings!

I mean really....does life get much better than this?

Now all we need is to find out that someone's Double Chocolate Rocky Road Toll House Ice Cream lowers cholesterol....till next time yinz crazy guys.....

Ahoy, yinz guys....

Ain't that the truth.....Till next time, yinz crazy Pirates......

Something to remember.....

......so when your son calls you from college and frantically tells you that his laptop is broke, he is broke and everytime he goes to the ESPN website, he gets the "blue screen of death" (I actually don't think that website is part of his major)....just remember the above! Ah, you laugh now....but it's the truth!!
"Hope you are enjoying your new laptop, oh wonderful son of mine!!!"
Till next time, yinz crazy guys.....

Does anyone know....

...where I can buy one of these?????


I could really use one of these right now! I think I may add a stitching area tho...whadda ya think?
Busy with my niece's baby gifts so I can't show yinz anything...sorry....but after the baby shower this weekend, I'll get ya some pics!!!! So off to do more work...
till next time, yinz crazy guys....

Too cute not to share....

Hey, if any of you know Courtney you may have gotten this in your email....but honestly it is way too cute not to share...(and if doesn't make you smile, then you're having a really poopy day and you may just want to crawl back into bed for awhile..just kidding!) Enjoy...(just click on it!)

PSALM 23

Till next time yinz crazy guys...

Thought I forgot about ya, didn't ya?

I'm back...the reason I didn't post all week was because my Pastor at The River asked me if he could show the Baptism slideshow at church on Sunday...well I told him I would be honored to have him do that so I figured to make things less complicated, I would just leave that post for awhile. We were away camping for the weekend so I'll have to find out if it worked out for him or not.
Anyway, we had a great time camping as usual but it's back to the real world. I do have to tell you that we have some awesome doggy sitters that left us these little presents when we came home.....

We laughed and laughed...then we found out that they left these adorable Meerkats all over our house.....we were finding them everywhere from inside cupboards, freezer, cereal boxes, fireplace....and I'm sure there are many more! It was great because you know when you drive up to your house after a fantastic weekend and you're feeling all blah cause you gotta go back to work...well having these funny little creatures staring at you just made us realize that no matter where we are....we can laugh and have a great time!! So, till next time, yinz crazy guys....

Our Sunday Baptism...

I hope you you had the time to enjoy the music with the pictures because the song "Baptism" by Kenny Chesney/Randy Travis is absolutely awesome and was so perfect for this incredible Sunday! We are so blessed to know each and every person at The River....the food was delicious, the weather beautiful....and of course, our Baptism...well, the pictures tell it all. Till next time, yinz crazy guys.....God Bless!