It's My Life

The seasons have changed. Our days are shorter. The air is crisper. The trees have started to turn colors. I have no idea when this tree turned from green to red. I did not even notice this tree, even though I drive by it every single day on my way to work. I do not think I have noticed up to this point because of the time of sunrise. It is happening later. Have you noticed? Of course you have, how could you not notice we are rising in the dark? I noticed it this week because the sun shine pours onto it first thing in the morning. The entire tree looks like it is ablaze. Any other time, it is just an ordinary tree whose leaves have turned red. But in the morning, it demands attention. The first day I noticed it, I actually slammed the brakes on!  I feel blessed that I have seen it ablaze. When it is at it's peak. So, I ask, are you seeing things at their peak?  Too many times we focus on a persons low points and fail to recognize them when they are at their peak. ...

I know I have said it before, I will say it again. I love fall. I really love fall festivals!  And I love really cool creative people that come up with new ideas at fall festivals! I found this super cool garden art at a recent fall festival. The base of this piece is a lid from a 5-quart kettle. Then a re-purposed ceiling light shade. Next is a small glass dish, followed by a disregarded vase. The pretty glass pear sits on another small glass plate.  Each piece is secured using a waterproof sealant. I have it sitting in my garden. When the sunlight hits it, it just sparkles.  Look in your cabinets. Do you have glass pieces that need a new life?

When it comes to parenting, I have done things a little bit different. By no means am I alone. There are many families like mine.  My children are years apart. I got one completely through early childhood and into adolescents and then started over. This is important to me because I have had a moment of what life will be like for me in a few years at the same time, I am charting new territory. I am muddling my way through adolescents with The Boy and I am repeating parenting a preschooler with The Short Chic. The Boy is a great sleeper...NOW. Back when I was a single mommy and he and I lived in a two bedroom house, I could not get him to sleep by himself. He told me later he was scared. He never felt safe in his bedroom.  Once I remarried and we all lived together, he immediately started sleeping in his own bed. And I got acquainted with sleep again. Then The Short Chic came along. Having had years of sleep, I liked it. I loved it! So I took the easiest ro...

I was having a so-so day.  I have a lot of work to do and I have been focused on getting it done. Then I go to check my inbox and I see this email... From:  Marni   To:  itsmylife2002@yahoo.com Sent:  Tuesday, September 20, 2011 10:32 AM Subject:  WINNER!! Congrats Pamela!!! You are the winner of the ScrapMaBob at Sassy Sites! You will now be entered into the drawing for the EZ Craft Desk!! I am SOOOO excited for you... and little jealous! :) Email me back with your address, phone number, and full name so I can pass your info on. XOXO!! _______________________________ {Marni }      Sassy Sites! Talk about turning a so-so day into a super rockin' day! I am so stinkin' excited to be a winner! What did I win, well I won a ScrapMaBob: But the most exciting thing: winning this puts me in the running to win this: A super cool, super awesome EZ Craft Desk from The Original Scrapbox. I have been dreaming about this d...

Another sign of fall; homecoming. It is homecoming weekend. I could not attend my own high school's homecoming because my son had his first homecoming weekend. The football game was last night. We won! Our home team is now 4-0. Tonight is the dance. It is so much easier to get a boy ready for a dance than it is a girl. I should not gloat too much, The Short Chic will not stay short forever. Our largest stressor getting ready for this dance; getting our dry cleaning back from the dry cleaners. We took The Boys suit and dress shirt in on Tuesday and we were told it would be back by 2:00 on Friday. When I went to pick it up at 5:30 Friday, only the suit was back. They told me the shirt would be back Saturday morning. Well it was not. So they promised me they would deliver it by 4:00 on Saturday. ONE HOUR before we were to arrive at the date's home. The rest of the day was spent doing regular household errands. We picked up the date's corsage. We grocery shopped. The Boy ...

I love pumpkin.  You can ask my husband. He rolls his eyes and starts eating out this time of the year just to avoid all the pumpkin I cook up! This morning, with a chill in the air, I dug into my pumpkin supply to make my first pumpkin treat of the year,  Pumpkin Spice Latte. The recipe comes from the  Crock Pot Girls  Facebook page (just look in the discussion boards for all kinds of yummieness!) Pumpkin Spice Latte 1 1/2 - 2 cups of strongly brewed coffee (I used my Toddy system) 4 cups milk 4 T canned pumpkin puree 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 1/4-1/2 cup sugar (I used the full half cup) 3 T vanilla Add the coffee and milk to your slow cooker. In a separate bowl, whisk pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, sugar and vanilla together. Add to coffee mixture and whisk again. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. Whisk again, Add whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon. It makes enough to share. So invite a friend over and enjoy the fall! Ha...

I have been remaking my Short Chic's bedroom. Her favorite colors are Orange and Green. It took a moment for me to figure out the whole color scheme, but I got it. We put these letters up in her nursery some four years ago. They were painted purple. She has grown out of her nursery and the purple color scheme. But,I love this letters so I had to decide what to do with them to incorporate them into her big girl room. I found  a stack of scrapbooking paper that was all pink, orange, and green. PERFECT!! The rest was pretty easy. I traced the letters onto the paper. Cut out the paper letters. Mod podged the paper to the wooden letters. Then added more mod podge. I let it dry. Trimmed it all up using an exacto knife. Then I added embellishments, which I already had on hand in my scrapbookin' stash. The end results, totally reinvented, upcylced letters for The Short Chic's bedroom! I  am looking forward to showing you all the rest of her new bedroom soon!

I do. I eat cookie dough batter. There I said it. I have to make extra cookie dough to allot for the amount I eat while baking. Somewhere in the back of my head, I always tell myself, "this is not safe for pitty sakes there are raw eggs in here!" But I eat it. Then,  Making Memories with Your Kids posted a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip a while back and I noticed it does not have eggs in it. I have been itching to make it. So last night was the perfect excuse to whip up a batch. Last night was a bit crazy. The Short Chic started dance lessons. Her Nana and Papa came home from visiting North Carolina. Her Nana left this morning for Mexico and my absolute favorite TV show was on last night, Sons of Anarchy.  Knowing we would have people stopping by and dropping in to partake in those events, I made the family a treat. Can I tell you how yummy it is! The joy of this recipe, you can eat this cookie dough dip without worry of consuming raw eggs! Of course you s...

I have been having a great day on the heels of a great weekend. Truth be known, I think I have been having a great month. Then I come home and see this on my Yahoo! News: LOS ANGELES (AP) — Andy Whitfield, who played the title role in the hit cable series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand," has died at age 39, according to representatives and family. Whitfield died Sunday in Sydney, Australia, 18 months after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, manager Sam Maydew told the Associated Press. Just like that, my world is unsteady. I am back in the doctors office a year ago being diagnosed with lymphoma.  I do not know Andy Whitfield.  I do not even know the character he plays on the Starz network. I do know from the article that he had non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and was diagnosed a short 18 months ago.  I guess my point is, I am not grieving someone in my life.  He is a virtual stranger to me.  But, I sit here on my couch as I type this, sad. Overw...

The Short Chic's best friend Little Mess is turning 4 years old. Little Mess and The Short Chic have something in common. Both of their mommies are picky. We won't let our little girls play with make up because they make too big of a mess. So, for her birthday I decided to make her some "fake" makeup. I am sure it is going to delight her. And make her Mommy happy too! The first thing you do, is buy real makeup. I would suggest not spending a lot of money on it because you are going to be throwing it away. You just want the containers. In fact, if you have makeup containers at home, you do not even need to buy new makeup. I got this makeup from Dollar General. Each one cost me about $1.50. Take a knife and scoop out the makeup. Throw it away. Then wash the containers in soapy hot water. After the containers are clean, dry the containers. And finally, the pure genius part...use real fingernail polish and pour it into each little compartment. Si...

I remember being early for work that day. It stands out because I am normally late for work. I remember the employee who called me and told me he was running late because he was watching the news about a plane crash in New York City. I remember gathering around a TV at work watching the news coverage. There was no cable. We tried to get the best picture we could through air waves. I remember the moment when I realized the totality of what I was seeing. It was not just a plane crash. It was a deliberate action. And the plane that was hijacked was full of Americans. I remember watching the towers fall. I remember I was living with my Uncle Dean and my Aunt June. They kept calling me and begging me to come home from work. I remember watching as the federal employees who worked across the street from us state employees were released and sent home. I remember hours later, the city forced us home when they shut water off to the downtown area. I remember how small and innocen...

I love fall. I love fall festivals! One of my favorite fall festivals is the Chatauqua in my birthplace, Chillicothe, MO. Today, I drove the hour and fifteen minutes northeast to attend the festival with two of my gal pals. I think The Lord gave me a small gift, The Short Chic decided she did not want to leave her Daddy's side all day today so she stayed home. I had a Mommy-free day! Why do I love fall festivals. I love crafts. I love seeing new things. Running into old friends. And trying out some new foods! I ran into this lovely lady. When I was 14 years old I was a candy-stripper at our local hospital. She worked at the hospital in the front office. She taught me to answer the phones, how to file, and many more office tasks. She is such a wonderful lady with a great heart. It did my soul good to see her today! I found new garden art. How cool are these recycled glass decorations. They had so many variations, it was really hard to select just o...

Today was a big day in our household. My Short Chic started preschool. She woke me this morning around 7:30 a.m. when she ran into my bedroom crying. (Before I go on, I feel the need to provide you with a small amount of background information so you can see how relevant the 7:30 a.m. is to me.   I am the mom who lets their child sleep with them. Sleep is very important to me and I would just rather have her comfy in my bed, safe, than get up in the middle of the night. Easy habit to get into...bad habit to break. I decided over my mini-vacation that I would break her and have her sleep in her own bed. Recognizing that ME getting up and taking her back to her bed when she climbs into mine is the KEY. So last night, she came crawling into bed with me at 1:00. I got up, carried her back to bed and thought I would lay down with her until she went back to sleep. Well, I woke up with a start when I realized I was the only person in her bed. She had crawled out and was back in MY bed...