Me and My Man!

Well, goodness gracious alive! It is 12:09 in the morning and I am still awake. Perhaps it's because we had such an incredible evening here in Northwest Arkansas. Hubby and I attended a fundraising banquet this evening for a local pregnancy crisis center named LOVING CHOICES. I have so much to say about it! But mainly, tonight, I just wanted to share a picture of me and my man of 23 years,10 months. Isn't he just the cutest thing? And he's all mine!

Recently, I realized there was no picture of me on my blog. Probably because I take such rotten pics. Or perhaps because I am now the proud owner of two chins. Or maybe it's that I am the primary picture taker in our family. Doesn't really matter---what does matter is that we got dressed up tonight and Bill snapped our picture.
And I wanted to share it with you all. Because...after all...you are my bloggy buddies. And I love all four of you.

Until tomorrow!
Jan

Bill cut off our bodies with this pic. Oh well...two out of three ain't bad.

Good afternoon girlfriends and my son Bill and nephew Bill (don't act like you don't read my blog because I know you do...)

It's raining cats and dogs outside and is about 50 degrees. I am loving it! I have stayed home all day today being a most excellent wife. Yes, you read it correctly. A most excellent wife.

I ironed, baked cookies, folded laundry and mailed a few cards. Wow, am I tired. But tonight is Monday, which means that I shall sit in the family room with hubby and watch Monday Night Football while I work on some embroidery. Hmmm...this is sounding more like Proverbs 31 each minute. HA HA But seriously, I did read Proverbs 21 today and a few lines smacked me upside the head. See what you think:

• It is better to live alone in the corner of an attic, than with a contentious wife in a lovely home. Prov. 21:9
• It is better to live in a desert than with a crabby, complaining wife. Prov. 21:19

I don't know about you, but the option here is pretty bad. Can you imagine living in the corner of the attic? Hmm...perhaps we really should speak kind words to our husbands and kids. What do you think?

On another completely random note, I took a few pics of my hydrangea bush. We missed the spring blossoms because of a late freeze, but it is full force this week with lots of flowers to come. Enjoy the pics! Until tomorrow my 2 faithful readers,

Jan

GOOD HEAVENS! WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT?

Good afternoon, bloggy buddies! Yesterday, I promised a picture of my incredible birthday cake. If you recall, I mentioned that it was missing a little of the icing toward the back of the cake. As you can clearly see, I was telling the truth. But there is a funny story that accompanies my birthday cake. Here it goes:

I ran a quick errand before we all met for dinner at Bizzy's. While I was away, my hubby removed the cake from the container and placed it on the kitchen table. As he added the candles, he noticed the not so noticeable (!) spot on the cake. He called Bill over to take a look.

"What do you think happened? Think someone at the bakery took a bite? Or maybe a mouse got into it at the bakery?" Upon closer inspection, Bill noticed what looked to be fork marks.

"I think Mom had a couple of bites, Dad. Look at those marks!" Upon closer inspection of my kitchen, Bill found a fork in the sink with chocolate AND lipstick. They giggled and helped themselves to a little pre-dinner dessert. (Bill's detective skills make me happy that we appear to be getting our money's worth at the U of A)

When we came home from a yummy dinner they both accused me of taking out half the cake with a fork. I proceeded to remind them that the birthday boy/girl can do anything to their cake they want. These have always been the family birthday rules.

So...I am happy to report that I had a very happy birthday and that my gifts were awesome.

On another note, I wore my Siesta tee shirt that my friend Patty mailed to me (YOU ROCK PATTYCAKE) to my bible study today. I will never wear it out in public again as long as I live unless it is to San Antonio!!! If I explained what an LPM Siesta is once, I explained it 27 times!!! And don't be telling me it can be a witnessing tool, because I can't witness to someone while they are staring at my bosom which reads: LPM SIESTAS in hot pink. I am a bit curious, though.

Have any of you other siestas been questioned when you wore your tee shirts? Let me know. This could be interesting.

Until tomorrow, jan

Happy Birthday to Me

Hey there my five? faithful readers!

I am happy to report that I am officially back in the swing of things. I had to take a break for a while but am back in full bloggity force. My 47th birthday was October 13th (Saturday) but we are in full celebration mode today. We thought my brother, Pat, would be visiting us from Mississippi, but his business plans were changed yesterday and he couldn't make it. Needless to say, I am VERY disappointed because he is my favorite brother. (Pat, if you are reading this, don't tell Mike. He thinks HE IS my favorite brother)So...Bill is coming home from the dorm, and the four of us are headed to Bizzy's for dinner. At our house, the birthday person gets to pick the restaurant. I love to eat at Bizzy's because it has something for everyone! And let me just say that it is hard to please all four of us at the same time when it comes to food.

Hubby purchased a Chocolate Caramel Cake from Rick's Bakery. It is sitting in the refrigerator as I write this. (There is, however, a bit of missing icing from the backside...draw your own conclusions.) I must say that I love birthdays. Not so much for the gifts (although hubby rocks at gift giving) but because it is the one day where pink, purple, and lime green (my favorite) flourish at a house filled with men. There are no dirty dishes and I get to wear my pink fuzzy tiara. Seriously...

So, tomorrow I will describe my birthday cake and its gooey, chocolate covered self in much detail.
Until then,
Jan

I've Been Tagged

Hello there, girls. As you may have noticed, I have not posted in a while. I have so many things to tell you! First things first! YES, Miss Kim, I know the HOGS lost to Auburn yesterday (and on my birthday of all days...) but don't get too excited there, missy, because well, we've lost to everyone except Northeast Texas and some other high school team...Aaaaaahhhhh...

Now, I have been tagged by Miss Kim. So, after absolutely no thought whatsoever, I list my fours:

FOUR JOBS I HAVE HAD

1. Advertising/marketing gal at a now non-existent trucking company (right out of college)
2. Part time flower shop girl
3. Part time quilt store girl (hence the email: quiltgirl)
4. Waitress at the Holiday Inn (college)

FOUR MOVIES I CAN WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN

1. North by Northwest (Cary Grant)
2. The Pelican Brief
3. The Thrill of It All (Doris Day and James Garner)
4. Pillow Talk (Doris Day and Rock Hudson)

FOUR TV SHOWS I WATCH REGULARLY

1. O'Reilly Factor
2. 24
3. The Office
4. Life Today

FOUR PLACES I HAVE VACATIONED

1. Estes Park, Colorado
2. Puerto Vallarta (yuk, yuk, and more yuk)
3. Naples, Florida (my absolute favorite)
4. West Palm Beach, Florida

FOUR OF MY FAVORITE DISHES

1. Fried Chicken (but only the hand battered, homemade kind)
2. Sushi
3. Cheeseburger & Fries
4. Cheese grits

FOUR PLACES I'D RATHER BE

1. The island tower condominiums at Hilton Head, South Carolina
2. My friend's house in Naples, Florida
3. My friend's log cabin in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
4. San Francisco

So, there you have it! I shall post tomorrow about my wonderful 47th birthday yesterday.

Blessings,

Jan

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaack

Good morning my five faithful readers! I just realized that I haven't posted since September 18th...no wonder my house is so clean :) just kidding. Seriously though, I have been convicted about much time I've been spending in blogland and decided that I needed to re-prioritize a bit.
So....here's an update:

• I cleaned out the garage. It was a mess and it depressed me each time I pulled in.


• I sewed. (pics to follow)


• I played substitute teacher at my son's high school.


• I watched ALOT of SEC football and concluded that I wasted a lot of valuable sewing time.


• I went to the dentist


• I went to the female doctor (fun fun)


• I ironed all of hubby's khakis and golf shirts.


• I baked.


• I spent valuable time with Bill while he was home from college one weekend


• I dragged Joe (15) to Wal-Mart and made him push the cart (he was one happy teenager)


• I went back to the gym (this was not pretty)


• I took the dog to the vet for his annual immunizations where he promptly tried to take the vet's hand off with his big canine teeth (BAD DOG...BAD, BAD DOG)


• I read three books.


• I spent alot of time with my best bud who was back and forth between here and Kansas. (She moved if you recall my lamenting in earlier posts...which proves my theory correct: Arkansas is much more fun than Kansas because she keeps coming back here. Lizzy, if you read this, don't be mad...you know in your heart that I am correct and Dorothy and Toto were highly misinformed about Kansas)


• But the best of all is that I almost completed my novel. I have three chapters left and I will have written my very first book which will probably remain in a box with a whole lot of rejection letters, but hey...if God wants it published, it will get published. Lucky for me, He has a whole lot more confidence in me that I do.

So, there you have it. That is how I spent my Bloggy Vacation. Notice the diaper bag. This is the girl's version (thank you, Captain Obvious) I also bought the blue polka dot fabric for the male couterpart. As of today, I have absolutely no one to give this bag to--but I will have it on hand when a friend's son or daughter "births" a baby girl which is happening more and more at my tender age (46). Just out of curiosity, what would you pay for a custom sewn diaper bag lined with pockets for a cell phone, diaper, bottle and wipes? Let me know. Who knows where this could lead???????