Smokin'!!! HOT!!!

Go check THIS EVER SO FANTASTIC TEE PEE PROJECT out.... NOW!!!


Oh my gosh...


Is Elise talented, or WHAT???????????

Just One Thanksgiving Pic before We Launch Into Christmas!

Thanksgiving Games
Dick and Sami racing
Life is to be lived, don't you think?

Our Thanksgiving tradition is spent with our neighbor friends.. We are a group of 'misfits' who don't have family within a 500 mile radius, so we get together and enjoy a drama free day. Yep. Drama free. We potluck it and have a great late afternoon of eating and playing games...sometimes poker, sometimes board games. Oh.. and you can't forget all the fun desserts! Yum! In addition to my garlic mashed Yukons I brought a very decadent plum ginger cheesecake!!!! Oh yeah, baby...

This year was no exception...for the fun and games and great food and great atmosphere!

We had two new games this year. But the above photo shows the one that had us all in stitches.

This game involves smacking a flower 'form' box with an orange, that is stuffed into one leg of a pair of pantyhose, that are tied around your waist. You can not touch the pantyhose when you are trying to move the orange. And, you have to be careful that the back swing on the pendulum doesn't move your block backwards! Which did happen quite a lot!

Lots of hip action.. and lots of swingin'.

And boy, was it hilarious! Our group ranged in ages from 9 to 80ish.... and everyone played! The tallest boys won..a father son team that actually went against each other and just about took out my husband in the foyer! They were hilarious!!!!

We have one guy who we call 'little Bill' that is about 6' 6" or taller. He is big. And he won! His dad almost caught up to him... Too darn funny. The dad is a brand inspector.. Got to love the hidden talents of all these guys!

OK.. Now back to your regular scheduled Christmas programming!!!

That Darn Tag Thing!

Oh boy... I am so not good at 'paying it forward' on being tagged, or answering those 20 'about you' emails, or the 'do these 5 things and great things will come your way' emails either... I can barely play the lottery (inside joke with my little sis)!!!

But I love to read them! I admit it! I always love to read about everyone else's answers!!!!

Darn it! They are addicting!

So.. in order to ease my Carma load I will cave in and play one of the last games that came my way ...

This is the 6 things that came from Deborah of the Hero Arts Flickr Group.. BTW, this chick is hilarious! Her blog has all sorts of quirky tid bits... Love reading about her... And she is so darn lucky to be alive.. She walked a way from a 'total' wreck not too long ago... amazing...and she recently was the #1 winner on the Hero Arts blog! Yahoo!!! Dang she's good!

Here are the 'rules':
I'm supposed to post 6 random things about myself, list the "rules", and tag 6 new people. But, I just don't know if I can tag 6 'new' people!!! I'll give it a try...

1. I have only had 1 cavity my entire life... Yep.. one..... That's it... My dentist thinks would love for me to be his poster child - but alas, I had to tell him I don't floss (unless I get the urge), and only brush 2x a day at the most ... and drink coffee, and love my chocolate! My theory, is cavities are mostly a hereditary gig... My grandma Marina also only had 1 cavity, and she has high cholesterol. Me too! She's 95, I hope to get that one as well... well, as long as I have a brain (if I only had a brain!)...
   
2. I rode across the country on the back of a motorcycle when I was in my early 20's..
3. I love music, candles, fall, and just being reflective via journaling when I can.
   
4. I have a Master's Degree in Natural Resources Management, and minors in Math and Computer Science.. When my kids ask if I use them.. (since I work out of our home) I tell them every single day, and never underestimate the power of an education.
   
5. I have never had a broken bone, yet, Mountain Biked (for recreation) with a motley racing crew during my college days in Chico CA! Bidwell Bump anyone??? Yahoo!!! Oh how I miss those days... biked at Moab Utah too! Rock!
   
6. I'm a trained facilitator.. This Thursday night I am moderating a meeting in town for a 'meet the canditates' forum - City Council and City Manager candidates. Dang.. They found me! Sometimes I like just 'hiding out' here on the ranch!
   

OK.. Those are my tidbits... anyone want to be tagged? I'm fresh out of 'new blood' So, if I were to tag 6 people these are the ones I would tag.. So, if you see yourself, you can play.. but don't feel pressured.. I have no expectations of you.. This is just for fun entertainment when time allows....

1. First, there is Ethel. She recently joined a design team! Go Ethel! Talk about talent!
   
2. Then, there is Dawn. Today is Dawn's birthday! Go give her some love! Wish her a great day.. I have the guilties for not sending a card - just like one of my own sisters!!!!
   
3. Then Sandy.. She is way too busy with work, Cards for Heros and creating lovely goodies... She really should slow down.. go visit her, and check out her links to CFH..
   
4. Then the Noble Pig.. MAN this girl whips out a great cocktail and snacks! Plus she has some awesome Halloween decor! I love her twisted humor... OH! And she is building a winery.. well, the place where the grapes are grown.. Vinyard! That's it! She rocks.
5. Want to meet the sweetest girl on earth? Check out Tami of Pat and Tam's Beef! Yep, that's right.. another producer doing what we do! They rock! They are genuine friends who have the belief we are all in this together and lets help each other out.. I like their attitude and wish more of us had the same! But Tami is so much fun! She cracks me up with her doses of ranch life.. Wait till you read about the emergency kit in her carhart pocket! Classic!
6. Lastly, there is my little Cousin Karen. She is a very talented quilter who happens to be dealing with MS... Karen has such a tough life with this damn disease... and she shares it with us in all it's glory.. her good days and her bad days.. You got to love a person who keeps it real.. Recently she posted that a family member could not deal with her anymore.. Isn't that the saddest thing you ever heard????? Go visit my sweet cousin.. Give her some love... Lift her up... and visit her often...

Who Loves You!

Valentine's Cards Made during Winter Stamp 08

Card I Made for the Chocolate WS Challenge
I gave this one to Jake.. See the chocolat ribbon???
Very special stuff that I got from a RAK from Ginny's Small studio!

This was for a stencil/template challengeThis card I gave to my husband...

A Vintage Valentine made for another WS Challenge...
I gave this to Sami!

Hello everyone!

Well, I'm sitting here with a box of tissues and pocket full of Ricola throat lozenges... Sore throat, runny nose... That's me... The germs my kids have been swapping with other kids decided to jump ship to an older more stable victim...me.. All the moms out there can sympathize, I'm sure... I mean, what is the justice in being your kids nurse only to have their germs turn on you??? Last night, my daughter came into our room with a high fever, bad headache, and needed some momma Love... her ailments were hinting at a horrendous ailment, I was certain.. so, to ward of the bad juju, from midnight until about 3:30 am I nursed my baby girl (who is actually 10)... Back rubs, cold wash clothes and a bath were here remedy..in addition to Children's Motrin. and momma in her bed...holding her tight...

Oh..my son went through this Sunday night...

So, today, while I was 'down' from lack of sleep, the germs attacked. And, after breaking her fever, my sweet little daughter decided she was just fine and happy as a clam... and tired of hanging out in her bed... That's her down there, watching TV and laughing... and me? Cough cough sniff sniff... can't wait till bedtime!

OK.. Back to Love...
I really should not complain.. (but my cousin Deb started it!)...
Yesterday I took a wonderful road trip to Boise.. the main purpose was to deliver a meat order, to one of my favorite Boise customers... But Boise needs to be savored! Enjoyed! Appreciated!

I talked my ever so wonderful friend Michelle into going with me and we had a great day! Here we were, 2 moms who dropped our kids off at 7:45am at school then hit the road... our husbands were in charge of picking up our kids in the afternoon while us mommies played in the big city... Such great guys!!!!

We shopped for our valentines (kids and husbands) at Cabellas and various other stores... Ate a great lunch at Olive Garden (Thanks Michelle!!!!), played at some cute fun stores and then came home... Such a great day... Girlfriends are the best!!!

Tonight I put out the gifts, made the table pretty with candles, and served my Valentines Rib Eyes, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and a salad.. we toasted our apple cider and said Happy Valentines Day! My sweeties gave me roses.. sigh... Everyone loved their gifts...nothing extravagant.. just some 'I'm thinking of you' goodies...

I'm feeling the Love.. Love of sweet friends, and my sweet family... I hope all of you are feeling the love as well... I love the fact that you come to visit me, hear my ramblings and leave little notes...

Have a beautiful evening...
sniff!

A Bella Baby Shower!!!

Bella Thank You Cards


Bella's Cake!


The front Page of New Mom Advice Album


The Advice Cards - each guest wrote tidbits of wisdom


Bella Girls At the Party
The Fairy Godmother, Me, Rebecca (mommy to be) and Lisa
- all embracing the theme!

Remember the BELLA invites from a month ago? For those of you that are new to the stamping world, the stamp of the cute mommy on the invites, as well as the matching thank-you cards and Mommy Advice cards above, are actually from a company called BELLA. Get this. Rebecca's baby to be is a girl, her name is Isabella Maria, and her nickname is BELLA! How about that??? And, isn't Rebecca the spitting image of the Bella stamp? Such a cute little mommy to be!

Our hostess, Nora, went all out. Nora and another angel, Chris, spent days making this event one that we will never forget! Bella is truly one of the most loved babies coming to join us here on planet earth. We cried (a family nursery rhyme was sung by one guest), we laughed (some girls were drinking apple juice out of baby bottles for one of the games), we were humbled (a woman from Poland make a beautiful sweater dress and booties and shared the tradition of gifting coins in the shoes for good luck), and we were honored to witness the tradition of gifting a Navaho blanket for a newborn. And, who could forget the home made salsa, tasty margarita's or Mexican Wedding Cookies? Yummy.

Many of the guests came dressed in our Bella theme, wearing pink, tiaras, wings, and even full princess attire! Rebecca's crown was special ordered by Nora, and it said 'Mommy to Be'. And, as you can see, Rebecca and I dressed just like our Bella image, even with matching nail polish!

I'll share more about the Arizona trip in another post!

Ramblings. This, That and The Jet Plane!

Just In Case Rebecca is Casing my Blog!
This Photo is a preview of what she can expect for the weekends activities!

OK. I've been up since 4am, cranking out 'tons of work' which included our Ranch Newsletter, printing labels, soliciting donations from businesses in Downtown Baker for the Haines School Chili Feed Raffle in February (say that 10 times fast!), and of course, grocery shopping, shopping, and shopping! Phew! Maybe I snuck in one adult beverage. A Corona - prep work for the weekend activities. Anyway, please be advised, I am on a rambling rose ramble!

So, Sami has just informed me she is writing a book. (wonder who she get's that from!)... Anyway, she is downstairs on the kid's computer writing a story. She said it is about a princess, who finds a bunch of other princesses, and they go off into the woods and become outlaws. ROTFL!

(side note: she wants to know how to spell 'peculiar' -which she called 'petiliar' which, again, must be her version of two words put together, and I sent her to the dictionary. Apparently the dictionary is her Daddy. Pushover!)

Hmm.. Her stories underlying theme? Like, say, City girl goes Country? Or, a coming of age story? Shedding of one's youthful bright eyed Disney-esque (I made up this word - think I'll copyright that one) and interring the stages of Preadolescence? So many possibilities! Great book idea, though. I can't wait to read it! No doubt she will publish her novel long before I do. And she is only 9!

Speaking of princesses, I am leaving tomorrow at 8:00 am, heading to Boise to catch a plane, and jet setting to the Phoenix Arizona area for the Princess Baby Shower! Yeah, baby. This is the shower for my good pal Rebecca, who is a princess. I am the Duchess. Our friend Lisa is the Countess (Rebecca emailed me and reminded me - so I do believe she is casing my blog!). Too bad I don't arrive on that Arizona soil until 5:30 pm. If all goes well in Utah! HA! Thank God I'm not flying United... Dealt with them in 2000 when they were on strike. Been mad at them ever since. Dogs.

I have lots of show and tell items to share - but will post them after the shower! I made more goodies of the Bella variety that coordinate with the invites - remember those? The packet of 60 I cranked out during SOF week? They have relatives in other forms. Too bad I can't take a paper cutter on the airplane. I'll be up for hours tonight doing some 'prep' work! Reminds me of those all nighters back in Chico, CA when I was so very young.

Back to computers: Every family member is in front of a computer right now! Sick, eh? Sami is writing her book (as mentioned), Jake is playing a game, Dick is working, and I am also working! I love this kind of work. I would have to say we are all doing something we are truly passionate about. Jake is the only one on a timer. We monitor the computer game playing thing. I should be on a timer. The artichokes have been done for well over 30 minutes, and are sitting on the stove, waiting patiently for their grand appearance. OH! And the CMA awards are on tonight!

So, eventually I have to pack. Rumor has it the temps will be in the 80s - 90s. Oh, man. The sunshine mother ship is definitely calling my name! Is this Carma? After having to deal with the central heat spider zone, our 18 degree mornings, and breaking ice for the critters, I feel that I am being handed the 'Golden Girl Ticket'! Yippy! Miss Rebs has scheduled us for pedis and minis on Friday. Should I take my cowgirl boots? They are pretty cool! Seriously. They are Ariat Fat Babys, and have an ostrich leather 'look' lower portion and sea-breeze blue upper with stars! Or how about my faux turquoise studded flip flops? Decisions, Decisions..

OK friends! I'll catch you all later when I return on Monday! Happy trails to you all!

Yep. Gotta go. The Dinner police are calling me.

Oooh Baby Baby, Bu Bu Bu Baby!

Baby Shower Invite

I have the honor of co-hosting a baby shower for my wonderful friend, Rebecca, who lives in Tempe, AZ! This is the cover of the invitations that I am 'cranking out'! ... The inside text is in a pink font- since her baby to be, Isabella Maria, is a little girl! I am so excited for her! It is sure to be a Princess celebration! (hint hint!)... Rebecca is one of those gals who is a 'modern' or 'trendy' mommy to be.. I am sure she looks exactly like this Bella image! It is so her!!!! When she, Lisa and I used to pal around in our career days with the USDA NRCS (OK they still are on the career track) we all had titles of distinction... Rebecca's was 'Princess'.. Ya know, I forget mine! Needless to say, we had lots of fun adventures... I am so looking forward to this baby shower!

Supplies: Prego Bella; Stamping Up sentiment stamp; rubons for 'Oh Baby', Basic Grey Perhaps patterned paper; Stamping Up Organdy ribbon, and stamping up markers.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Sami and Me with our Fake Hair!


Here we are again, a side view


The boys at the Clinique Counter, Good taste, eh?


Oh, yeah... Margaritaville!
And, mommy only had one drink!

OK! So, got home Monday night from our camping trip, then woke at 4am Tuesday to pack again, do laundry, clean up the camp stuff, get all my meat orders organized, deliver meat to a store, gas the rig, and hit the road for the annual school shopping trip! Did I mention I forgot my driver's license? Oh yeah. Left it w/ my fishing gear. Dang! I had to pay for a new one! I thought I was so good to notice it missing and 'wanted to do right' by getting a temporary replacement. You know, like a temporary credit card? Why on earth would I want to lose an hour drive time by going back home to get it? Silly DMV people... they made me buy a new one! RATS! And, of course the photo is horrid. I had 'leftover' hair from the previous night's shower. And I am packing 10 extra pounds! I could not tell a lie.. I haven't had to redo my license data in, well, 9 years!

Anyway, we stayed 2 nights in Boise, (Tues & Wed) and I successfully talked another mom into coming along with her kids...don't know if they had as much fun as us, but I would have to say, I love my city fix! The plan was to take in some fun as well. Roaring Springs Water Park, the Zoo, and the Discovery Center. The hotel had an indoor pool, and the kids did not want to go anywhere else, unless it involved water. Unfortunately, Boise started school a week earlier, and thus the water park was only open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Now that was a big disappointment! And I so wanted to wear my bathing suit in public and show off my thigh sharonas (wrong!).

Let's start with the fake hair. Sami and I both love to play 'dress up'. She's a girly girl. Thank you Lord! We played at this little kiosk in the mall and got dolled up. Did I buy the fake hair? Oh yeah. What can I say? I have been experiencing some serious bad hair days! Can I get it to work the way the sales chick did? Heck no! Dang! Gonna need some lessons... I'll be packin' the hair back to Boise for some sit down consultation(s)... may take a few... the hair piece resembles a dead critter when it's 'sitting' in the car. Oh. And Sami is so disappointed I did not buy her her own fake hair. WE have to share!

And who doesn't love Clinique? Man! Once every 3 or 4 years I need a fix. This trip was a definite 'fix it' trip! Just a few items: eye wrinkle stuff and new eye color. I also got some new running/walking shoes and a workout 'ensemble' for my morning walk, slash 'run a few steps' routine! Again, another once every 3 or 4 year fix.

We also got Dick his birthday goodies... a new pocket knife, diamond steel, and running/walking shoes for him! Not that he runs..just like me. More like good cozy shoes for walking about, when he's not wearing work boots. His other pair were killing him when we were hiking!

And of course, the mega school shopping. Score! Done deal. Winter coats, clothes, Jammie's, cozy clothes and soccer stuff. Off the list!

The finale. A beautiful Margarita with dinner. Love a good cocktail after a hard day of shopping.

We never made it to the zoo or the discovery center either. We did go to Petco on the way home. Sami is on another critter mission! This time she wants a little white mouse. Gads. So for being such a good shopping assistant she got a little ball to put her future mouse in. The kind that rolls about your home freely. You can also get a race track set, just for the ball. Hilarious! I'm sure our three orange cats are going to have a field day with this next critter. Jake picked out a little skateboard guy for his toy. He really wants a game boy, or computer games. Dick and I both refuse to go down the gameboy path of destruction! I know some of you moms love them for travel, or keeping kids busy at restaurants or wherever, but boy, we are not going down that road!

Anyway, we saw all sorts of critters at Petco and figured it 'was right up there' with a zoo (Phew! that was a close one!). Jake loved the tarantula. Say What??? No! You can not have a tarantula! Why? Because I said so, that's why! NO, they aren't nice little pets!

So, we hit the road to come home and get Dick's bday dinner made! Prime rib, baked potatoes, green beans and cake. Turns out we didn't' have to rush. I had dinner ready about 5:30 pm and Mr. Sexton did not get home until 7pm. He was at the stinkin' livestock sale! 'It's Thursday' after all! The Prime Rib ran out last night. Saturday. Rats. Guess I have to cook tonight...

I do love a good shopping trip, but alas, there is no place like home! Hotel rooms get a little cramped. I like my space and sure have lots of it right here on the ranch. Nothing like breathing in the fresh air, having our windows open all night, and just having our nice, peaceful life.