Cuckoo

It seems I've always had a fascination with cuckoo clocks.  When I was in 8th grade, my parents bought this little clock for me.  It doesn't actually "cuckoo", but the little bird moves back and forth.  

It's hard to believe I've had this little clock for 45 years and the only damage it sustained happened when I was a teenager.  If you look closely, some little flowers fell off.

Anyway, I've always wanted a real cuckoo clock - not one of those plastic quartz ones they have now - but a traditional one made in Germany.  I couldn't justify paying for a new one, so I started looking on Ebay and just received my recent purchase.  

If you look closely, it is missing a bird on the right, but it is really cute.  Not only does it cuckoo, but the bird(s) at the bottom feed the baby bird on the hour and half hour.  Now I just need to find a proper place for the clock where I can enjoy looking at it and hearing the gentle "cuckoo".

Amazing Grace...

These are a couple of products from an amazing line of high-end beauty products.  I usually use Suave products, so you'll understand why it was such a treat to get the Philosophy Amazing Grace Body Lotion and Shampoo/Body Wash from my sister-in-law.  I thought I'd share with you all, since I had never even heard of these products.  For more information about these products, click here.

Thanks, R.

Trader Joe's

Since I recently was in North Carolina, I decided to stock up on some item from the infamous Trader Joe's store that I have heard so much about through the years.  Colorado just got it's first IKEA, maybe we will soon get a Trader Joe's...

 I love that the mexican food is Trader Jose's

 And the Italian food is Trader Giotto's

Crawdad or Crayfish?!?

While I was in Kentucky, my husband found this little guy in our driveway...

hmmm...

Snack on the Go: Veggies in Dip

See more.

All I can say is "Yea!!"

A few years ago, my mother-in-law asked me what things of hers I would like - at the time they were thinking of going to an assisted living home.  I told her that I l-o-v-e pink and green depression glass, so she gave me a few pieces she had.  And I also told her that I l-o-v-e her blue willow dishes.

Last week my husband had a 9:00 am meeting in the town where his parents live so he decided to drive down the night before and stay there.  When he returned, I found two boxes sitting in my kitchen!!!

Vintage Johnson Brothers Blue Willow Dishes!!!

Yea!!!

Lexi, the Best Dog Ever

 This is my sweet little dog, Lexi.  She is a 10 year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi.  She is doing well now, but we very nearly lost her.  She had a terrible case of kennel cough (at least that's what the veterinarian said it was).  She didn't really cough, but several times a day she would sound like she was choking and then she would vomit.  That went on for over a month eventhough she was on antibiotics.  Apparently, one of our neighbor's dogs gave her kennel cough, because she hadn't been around any other dogs.

 I just love corgis and the silly way they sit...

Furry Friends

We found this little guy "hanging" around the cabin one night...

A Work in Progress...

 We've lived in our house for 25 years, but it seems like there is always some work to do in the yard.

 I've always wanted stairs in our backyard since we have such a slope...

 So today I started working on the stairs....

How to Clean Oven Door Glass

Here is a great tutorial for cleaning the glass on your oven door.  I haven't tried it, but is sure appears to work and who knew you could clean between the layers of glass...

How to Clean Dirty Baking Sheets

I know this is kind-of a weird blog post, but I was sooooo impressed with this blog post that I thought I would share it.

Before

After

Just check out the above link for the directions...

Grand Opening

Not much happens in this small town of ours, so when we heard about the Grand Opening of the New King Soopers, my oldest daughter and her 6 (yes, count 'em 6) kiddos were sure to be there.  Unfortunately, I didn't read anything about the Grand Opening ahead of time and was I ever surprised when we walked in and saw Terrell Davis signing footballs (and I have a football at home with Eddy Mac's autograph on it just waiting for another autograph).  I did snap a picture, though...

We were so busy inside finding samples and looking for Grand Opening specials that I forgot to take any pictures inside.  This store is amazing.  It is a huge grocery store, but also sells furniture, lamps, area rugs, well, I guess it's just about like a Super Target.

When we left they were no longer giving out samples of Meadow Gold Ice Cream (or whatever)...so we missed that,  but A won a $1 lottery scratch ticket (that could win up to $5,000) and I won a $5 lottery Bingo ticket.

All-in-all, a fun morning outing!!!

I Wish I Had a Work Area Like This...

I was recently perusing a favorite blog of mine and found these pictures of a craft area in the corner of the crafter's living room.  

I personally don't see how this would work in a living room (unless there were no little ones around), but I definitely will use this for inspiration for my own craft room!!

Totally Worth It!!!

My youngest daughter, who now lives in North Carolina, is here visiting since her sister who recently had a baby and much to our surprise, we found out yesterday that the Pioneer Woman was going to be in Denver today signing books.  We had already planned to go shopping in the Denver area, so we went to the Tattered Cover Bookstore in LoDo.  The book signing was to be from 2-5 pm.  We arrived at about 1:30 pm and found that a ticket was required.  Much to our dismay, our tickets were Nos. 318 and 319.   The first 250 people were able to sit down in a room and wait until 2 pm when Ree Drummond would speak and answer questions for about 20 minutes before the official book signing.  We were a little disappointed when people who showed up an hour after we did were able to procure tickets in the 100's.  C'est la vie!!!  We patiently waited 4 hours and briefly spoke to the lovely Pioneer Woman!!!  And we have photos and autographed books to prove it!!

11 Step Program for Those Thinking of Becoming Parents

Here is something cute to read if you have nothing to do this weekend.  It was taken from a post on Facebook...

Lesson 1

1. Go to the grocery store.

2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.

3. Go home.

4. Pick up the paper.

5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...

1. Methods of discipline.

2. Lack of patience.

3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.

4. Allowing their children to run wild.

5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.

Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)

2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.

3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.

4. Set the alarm for 3AM.

5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.

6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.

7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.

8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.

9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4

Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.

2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.

3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.

4. Then rub them on the clean walls.

5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.

6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.

1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.

2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6

Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.

1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.

Leave it there.

2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.

3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.

4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8

1. Hollow out a melon.

2. Make a small hole in the side.

3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.

4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.

5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.

6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9

Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10

Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11

Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!' Share it with your friends, both those who do and don't have kids. I guarantee they'll get a chuckle out of it. Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!

Eagles Game

My husband and I don't go out much, so it was a nice surprise when my oldest daughter and her husband gave us a "date night" for Christmas.  The date package consisted of a Gift Card for a great BBQ
restaurant near us called Nordy's, $5 cash for parking, and tickets to a Colorado Eagles hockey game!!  What a thoughtful gift!!

Here are some pictures...

 the Eagles "Fanboni"

Eagle Mascot - "Whose House?" 

"Our House" 

Introductions... 

National Anthem... 

the game... 

 the cheerleaders...

It was very interesting to watch a hockey game in person, although I was a little freaked out by all the fighting!

Unfortunately, the Eagles lost 3-6.

Christmas Gift Suggestions...

To your enemy - forgiveness...
To an opponent - tolerance...
To a friend - your heart...
To a customer - service...
To all - charity...
To every child - a good example...
To yourself - respect.
--Oren Arnold

A Concert & Some Trivia

Yesterday I went to the Holly & Ivy 2010 Concert presented by the United States Air Force Academy Band.  Apparently, (but unbeknownst to me) this band performs every December in our hometown.  Furthermore, it is a free concert!  There is a matinee and evening performance.  They performed about a dozen Christmas songs in just about every genre of music (complete with vocalists and an Irish dancer) and closed with a brief sing-along!!  The Air Force Academy Band is one of 12 Air Force bands that maintain a rigorous schedule performing all over the world for troops as well as the public.

Now, for the trivia...did you know that in 1955, there was a typo in a newspaper ad that invited children to phone Santa.  The phone calls ended up going to the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) operations floor.  In the spirit of the season, the CONAD staff answered children's queries about when Santa would arrive.  Thus began an annual tradition.  These days, NORAD carries on the custom using four high-tech systems to track Santa on his yearly journey: radar, satellites, jet fighter aircraft, and Santa-cams.  Now millions of children each year join NORAD as they track Santa - and you can too!   

Thanks B for inviting me to the concert!!

My Birthday...

This past Friday was my Birthday.  Since 2 of my daughters live thousands of miles away I decided to spend the day with the woman who birthed me (and raised me).  I have one daughter who lives about 5 minutes away and we spent some time together on Wednesday along with her 5 (soon to be 6) kiddos.  They treated me to lunch from Chipotle (one of my faves) and the kiddos sang a memorable rendition of the Happy Birthday song which I captured on video (along with the 2 oldest slugging each other...).

My husband and I drove to my Mother's house (about 35 miles away) and picked her up and headed to a suburb of Denver where there is a Krispy Kreme doughnut place.  Since it was my birthday I wanted a raspberry filled doughnut.  We insisted that my Mother go in with us to witness the making of doughnuts.  Fortunately, they were making some of the filled-type doughnuts (sans holes).  My Mother was fascinated!!  We bought 6 doughnuts and since she was with us we got the senior discount (I'm sure we would have qualified w/o her, since my husband is 60) - should have gotten a dozen.

We ate lunch at chili's and then went to a nearby World Market.  I love those stores!!!  I found the cutest little hand-painted jewelry/trinket box made in India.  My mother bought it for me for Christmas (since she had given me a check for my Birthday and she never knows what to get me).  Here is a picture...

We also went to a few other stores like Target, Michael's and I bought some different kinds of coffee to try from Sunflower Market.  I'm especially excited to try the White Chocolate/Peppermint - just in time for Christmas!!  All-in-all it was a good day and I got tuckered out as well as my little 86-year-old Mother.