times

As in..... did you fall back this weekend? Complain if you must, but I love it :)

I had something really nice happen to me this weekend.

See those huge *BEAUTIFUL* roses next to my bed? 

My neighbor Tina said they were smiling at her in her garden, and they needed to come to me!

It made me so HAPPY! :)

I had a cold all weekend - Tina didn't even know! - and I had flowers to cheer me up!

THANK YOU my dear neighbor and friend!

Speaking of Tina, look at her and Ava on Halloween!

Miss Ava was the *CUTEST* little Minnie Mouse -

and Tina has a smile that lights up everyone's life! LOVE IT!

Seriously, have you EVER seen such an *ADORABLE* Minnie Mouse?! I think NOT!

And while we're mentioning roses, here are my last little blooms for the season (pink, just for Cindy!)

I hope you all had a great weekend!

boys pets toes rose

As suggested by my title, a virtual panoply of topics with accompanying photos season today's post! So much is happening this weekend! Let us waste no (more) time getting started, because I am literally shaking with excitement. Actually, I'm shaking from Exedrin and diet Coke, but I'm really excited too. I feel a little buzzed. Kind of like that time I passed out in Hot Topic. And luckily John caught me before my head hit the floor. And the Hot Topic employees were like "whoaaa". And my kids thought it was hysterical. But that's another story.

So first up, my firstborn son Daniel, the gorgeous boy in the photo above, is as I type, driving home from college! WAHOOOOO!!! Isn't that such a great photo? It is Daniel and his best, best, best friend & partner in crime Alissa, at their all time favorite place on earth, In-N-Out. They have a slight addiction. But we figure since Daniel will be spending all summer doing research in Uganda, and Alissa will be volunteering in Haiti, they will either come home broken of their addictions, or broken people - I guess we shall see. In the meantime, we are sooooo thrilled to have Daniel home for 3 weeks before he has to take off again! He needs to slap his brothers around big time.    

Speaking of which, I took this photo of Davy and Kitty a while back and forgot to post it. Kitty is the biggest, fattest, crankiest kitty on God's green earth, which is probably why Davy picked her out in the first place. Their crankiness compliments each other. Plus she's naughty. But you rarely see Kitty. In fact, most people don't even know we have a kitty at our house. She stays in Davy's room most of the time, unless he's playing his guitar or mandolin (she HATES that) or has a friend over. But she does like to lurk around the rest of the house occasionally, and announce her presence as though she were the queen and we are to treat her as such.

Here is cranky Kitty laying in the antique cradle on MY minky. She mostly likes to daydream about all the awful things she could do to make my dogs lives miserable. She thinks they are pathetic and will hit them in the nose. 

Which is why I must add this photo of Luna - the most perfect pet EVER - and say just LOOK at that sweet nose!

AND... I forgot to mention my friend Diana and I got another pedicure. Stressed? Me? Nah... :D

Now here's something I've been waiting for! If you've read my blog for a while you know I take a photo of my first rose bloom of the year. Well, here it is - and just look how GORGEOUS! I probably should have at least taken the time to adjust these pics a little, but I didn't - I was too excited to share them. HAPPY SPRING INDEED!!!

* to everything there is a season *

* bloom where you're planted *

AND HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

lasts and firsts

A new year - 2010 - a whole new decade! Wow!

I hope all of you had a happy New Year's Eve and a lovely New Year's Day to start the year out right.

Our Christmas and New Year's has been blessed with friends and family and very full hearts :)

These are the last 2 blooms from my rose bushes - particularly beautiful I thought.

I spent New Year's Day yesterday watching the Rose Parade (can't even remember the last time I did that),

and then cutting back my 17 rose bushes in order to give them a little rest to store some energy. 

Not as necessary here in California, I know... but who can't use a little rest to store up some energy?

And a few months from now, we will welcome their first beautiful blooms in the spring.

~ It is a time of renewal ~

to go, please

So good morning :) I'm sending myself and all of you some beautiful roses from my cousin Shell. I went to bed last night with one of those coughs that came along suddenly (while I was eating a tangerine at the dinner table to be exact) and you hope is just because you inhaled some kind of spore or something and it will be gone in the morning... But apparently that is not the case, because here it is this morning, still in my throat bugging me. Phooey. So I'm sucking on a honey lemon cough drop and hoping for the best. And enjoying Shell's beautiful roses :)

I'm thinking positively. I went to the dentist yesterday and that's over with (yay!). I got my antiques business taxes done yesterday and that's over with too (double yay!) - even though I have to report another loss for like the 4th year in a row and both my husband and our accountant wonder why in the name of all that's holy I'm in that business... But hey, I almost broke even this year. Besides, are they even kidding me? It's my excuse to go to Cambria. Sheesh!

But if you really want the ugly truth, I'm afraid the below picture is what I've been feeling like the most lately. This came in my e-mail from my trusty friend Leslie, who obviously knows me a little too well. Bless her. I wonder if this comes in diet? 

Have a great day everyone!

Weekend Update, Fairy Dust, and Magazine Day

Good morning! My high school/junior high kids went back to school today, and as much as I love them, and as much as we had an awesome Christmas break... I am thrilled and delighted to have the house to myself for a whole 6 hours. 

The magazines above? Those are my textbooks today. And you can tell by the covers I'm a month late reading them! I tried oh-so-many times over the break to sit down and read, but loud music, video games blasting, brawling boys, screaming guitars, kids in and out, and Christmas busyness kept me from them time and time again. I was all set to post a completely different post today - in fact, I have several terrific posts photographed and ready - but I decided to switch gears and get to those shiny pages of inspiration ASAP!

See the Mouse? See all his army gear? And the huge airsoft gun that I can hardly pick up? And the ax peeking out from behind him? And the gigantic pile of wood next to him? Well, my weekend update begins with my 13-year-old modeling the airsoft vest he saved up for AND the pile of wood that he himself chopped with that very ax.
Yes, you heard me right - the Mouse chopped that ENTIRE pile of wood, from huge logs, all on his own, with that ax. Seriously. Himself. Solo. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that. And we have enjoyed several lovely fires in the fireplace, thanks to him. Wow...
Now, I realize this is not the greatest picture, but I had to at least take a "before" so when all my roses start blooming I can remember the humble beginnings from whence they came. I already had 5 rose bushes, which I cut back when our pretend winter weather showed up for a week. The Mouse and I planted 7 more to fill everything in, and my husband helped me pour some much-needed new soil into the planter. You'd never know I had a 2 day migraine over the weekend.
And here is a project my husband and the Mouse are overwhelmingly proud of. They kept at it until we can now fit both cars in the garage. We have always been cars-go-in-the-garage people, but in moving several times and finding ourselves in a much smaller space really pulled the rug out from under us. And drove my husband insane. So the task is finally accomplished, and it only took 4 years. 
One final note - and a very exciting one! My lovely and talented friend from high school, Kim (White) Nelson, is having one of her adorable products featured today in Seattle's Daily Candy web magazine! She is the inventor and force behind Sprinkles of Magic "sprinkle dust", bringing a dose of simple, old-fashioned fun to our young ones and the young at heart. If you click on Seattle's Daily Candy you can check it all out, and if you click HERE you can read the entire write-up for Sweet Dreams Dust. Congrats Kim!

Well there you have it. I'm already late for a date with my magazines so I'm outta here :)