Blog Swap ???

I must be totally stupid, because I happened upone someone's blog a bit ago who was participating in a Blog Swap.  Ok  soounds good to me, I'm in, but I can't figure out how to get my partners.  Anywho, maybe someone will help a Sister out over here.  I am cutting and pasting what I got from someone else's blog with the instructions. 

http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/66825#comment-317115


I participated in a swap on Swap-bot called Be my blog follower on Blogger. To sum it up it was a blog swap only for those of us with blogs on Blogger. It was a chance for us to get more blog followers. There was a total of 29 people to sign-up :) We each got 10 partners that we had to checkout their blogs and follow. Yay, that means 10 more followers for me and 10 more awesome blogs I get to read!! I loved all of the partners I was paired up with.
 
Stay tuned folks.  I hope I get 10 Partners from somewhere, and Sorry to those that get ME.  LOL

Thrifty Pillows and other Fabulous Finds

My Sister, doesn't really believe that Thrift Stores sanitize stuff.  Well I am of the school of thought that, what I don't know, won't hurt me.  I mean I sleep in hotel rooms and God knows what happens in them, and lay my head on those pillows.  So which is safter, do you think? I am voting for the Thrift Store pillows.   So here is what I have gotten lately:

The Blue one is  aRalph Lauren.  I am totally in love with it.

Don't you just LOVE it when you find something you really need.  How about a food scale that I was going to buy from Weight Watchers and there it was in the Hot Line Store in Kitty Hawk NC.  Along with this vase of Peony's for 2.98. 

Got this beauty for 99 Cents!  I can't wait to redo it for my kitchen.  I like the trellis on the side.  so I am thinking vintage fruit prints.  Got this one at CHKD in Williamsburg.  They had GOOD stuff in the Williamsburg Thrift Stores.  I got 2 original watercolors of some of the shops in Colonial Williamsburg that were professionally framed for 4.98 a piece.  I can't leave real art work in the stores even though I had no where to put them.  But My Brother in Law Jack, wanted them bad, so I sent them home as a surprise for him by way of Leslie. He loved them.

My Bff Susan is really into redoing bowling bowls lately. I had seen 2 in a local store and she said she wanted them, so I went back in there today, just to pick those up and look what I found!  It's a real pottery dish.  It's pretty big but you can't tell it from there.  I think its beautiful. It was 8.25 which is more than I like to pay at the GW, but I couldn't let it get away.  I also picked up an altered book of fairies someone had started.  I have been wanting to try one out, so now I have no excuse. I will just pretend it's like a Round Robin and I am next.  Amazing what some people don't want. 

I am off to OBX for the next 2 weeks.  Can't wait to see what the Thrift stores down there have for me =)

Adventures in Canning and some Psycho Babble

Being unemployed definately has its perks.  Aside from the lack of $$, I get to do things I have always wanted to do, and never had the time.   For instance last week, I snapped a couple of pounds of snap beans and cooked them with potato's in some nice fat bacon side meat, I borrowed,  (it's not really borrowing if you have no intention of returning it, is it?) and while I was snapping, I kept thinking,  this is me.  This is who I am.  This is the authentic me.  This is what I love doing.  Simple things that soothe the soul.  I guess I got caught up in the rat race, and you just push aside all those things, that make you happy and you just......exist.  Ok so enough of the psycho babble. 
I got to spend the day with Nana, canning her famous sweet pickles.  I can't hardly cook without them.  Ham Salad, Deviled Eggs, Tuna Salad, I wouldn't even bother making them if I didn't have her pickles.  It turns out Nana is a very good teacher.  She told me step by step what she was doing and why, and some things she said, I do this because this is the way my Mama did it.  I was totally afraid,   then she said, here you do this one, so I did. Then I said, here, you do the rest, then the phone rang and I just proceeded.  It's a fairly simple process, but it is time consuming and as Nana says "It's Hot work"  and that it is.  Standing by a boiling pot at the stove is definately hot work.  So I felt adventurous and got some stuff do can on my own.  I made Pepper Jelly and Strawberry Jam.  Definately more Hot work.  I had a little snafu with both of them.  The Strawberry Jam didn't set as well as it could.  This is totally my fault as I used a pan that was not quite big enough so when it came to a full rolling boil if I didn't keep stirring it was going to bubble over, so I squeezed the Certo out with my left hand and thought it was all in, but later I realized I had not gotten it all out, at all........ hence super sloppy jam that tastes awesome.  The Pepper Jelly, I didn't chop up the peppers fine enough.  So then I decided I should strain it out, then hubby comes along and says it's supposed to have some in, so I put a little in each jar and it's too big, and it all floated to the top.  What's up with that.  All my jars pinged after their hot water baths so now I am hooked.  I am searching for recipes and want to can everything I see. 
I had lunch with Donna, who had canned peaches last year, and she said she didn't use the hot water bath but turned all the jars upside down.  I had never heard of this, but I found it online and they said it's not a sanitary method for canning.  But I ate a jar of her jam and it was fine some 6 months later.  I am afraid to poison folks which is why I was afraid to can to start with. So I took the safe route.  And as it happened I had a canner with a rack in it, in  my attic.  I am pretty sure it was my Great Aunt Frances' who has been gone many many years.  She used to make amazing food.  Chow Chow and Cherry Preserves.  And Fruit Cake with a whiskey soaked piece of cheese cloth wrapped around it.  And I remember her back screened porch with boxes full of apples from her apple tree out back.  Little green apples with little black spots on them.  And her pantry in the kitchen.  See this really is who I am.  It's in my blood.  =)

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Ta Da!!!!!

The Oprah Magazine Deconstruct

Ok,   I clearly have way too much time on my hands.  But I think being unemployed agree's with me  =)   God works in mysterious ways, because while I was still employed I subscribed to 4 or  5 magazines, that were,  only $5.00 a piece on Amazon.   Oprah is one of them.  I have never seen the Oprah show that I know of.  I was always at work.  But the anniversary issue came and it was so awesome I hated to throw it out. That picture of Oprah in profile that was on the back cover, brought tears to my eyes, it was so breathtaking.   So I challenged myself to find ways to recycle it.  Here is what I came up with:

1. I cut an article for hubby on motion sickness
2. Cut an article for me from Dr. Phil about life lessons
3. Cut out the book section to take to my book club
4. Clipped some recipes
5. Clipped some coupons
6. Made a scrapbook page out of all the quilled titles that were used for the features.  
7. I made cards.  Lots of cards. I channeled my inner child and cut, pasted and glued like a mad person.  It was so much fun. I used the Martha Stewart fine glitter set that I had just bought with a half off coupon and man do I ever love that stuff.  

My Dear Darling son, Jesse, brought home a baby raccoon, that was just a few weeks old. When the Mama didn't come back, he decided he needed this little screaming thing, as his new pet, to raise.  (you have no idea how LOUD a tiny little raccoon can be, when it's hungry and the bottle you have isn't cutting it) Well  I had other plans. That little guy wasn't going to die on my shift!   I found a wildlife rescuer, and took that baby right to her.  While he was at work.  Boy was he mad at me!  I made that raccoon card special for him.  His birthday is not until January, but I am sure he will appreciate it just as much then. BTW, Jesse is 26.   I don't want anyone to think I took a baby raccoon from my 12 year old while he was at work.  LOL

Enjoy!!

The Butterfly Project

  I saw someone else's blog using the MS butterfly punch.   I had just purchased it and was punching out everything in the house.  I even (accidentally, I swear) punched a coupon for an oil change that hubby was saving.  There was a pretty picture on the back, what can I say.  So after seeing what others were doing, I decided to give it a whirl, but I personalized the ones I did, to suit the recipients.  The first one is for my BFF, Susan.  I don't remember all of the things the butterfly's represented, but I wrote them down for her, so she would.  

Some of the things that represent Susan:  A Salad, Swimming Pool Water, Some Metamucil, A round Brush, A mani/pedi, Campbell's Soup, Sand, A pair of jeans, The Outer banks, An Owl, Ummm maybe some Vagisil,  (it's a looonngg running joke, she doesn't really need it....lol)  Hearts, and some other craziness, that only she would understand.

This one was for my sister, Leslie.  I got better as I went along, clearly.  She got some Prilosec, The Outer Banks, Pringles,  Brad Pitt, Starbucks,  A panty liner, Hair dye,  A pair of jeans, A kitty cat, The sun, A reese cup, A Bible verse, A ham sandwich, Some high heel shoes, a golf course and an Oreo Cookie.   I have no idea what some of these are now. 

I currenlty have 3 more in the works. What a great gift for someone special, no?

BFF Love

I love my BFF, Susan.  I don't know what in this world I would do without her.  She is one of the most compassionate, caring and thoughtful individuals you are ever likely to find. Plus she is tons of fun. And nope, you can't have her.  God sent her special to me, I have no doubt.    We made this pillow tree together.   We saw it and knew it was a project just for her.  The pillow from a thrift store,(hope it really was sanitized, as the tag said)  the buttons at Wal Mart (yes one of the last surviving Wal-Mart's with a craft/sewing section - of course it was North Carolina )  and Aleene's Patch and Applique glue from Michaels.   It was a little messy but worth it, because she loved it and we had fun together.  She just happened to pop over after the gym and the next thing you know, I had that pillow on her lap and we were crafting and talking, and laughing.  Did I mention that I love my, BFF?

Yep,  thats her, behind the pillow, looking just like her Mother.  LOL

See that glue oozing through the botton hole's?  It eventually dried.  (We used felt for the trunk, same glue.)

Lamp Reveal

Finally I got around to downloading some pictures of what I have been up to. This lamp was my Nana's Mother's Day present. I saw some online and thought I could do it, but I attempted one at Christmas and I totally messed it up, so I gave up for a while. I got this lamp base at the Thrift Store for $3.84. The lamp already had a crackle finish, and I thought it looked good, so I left it and then I got all of the sea life from  the internet, printed and cut out. Then mod podge'd them to the lamp. I sprayed it with a sealer, once I was done. I had to buy a new lamp harp and shade. I really wanted a dark shade but Nana said she preferred this, due to the light factor. The shade came from Wal Mart for $10.00. So I invested a total of less than $25.00 and you can see by the article I clipped from house beautiful that these babies sell for (choke, choke) 2 grand.  I LOVE it, and so does Nana. I made it for her bedroom at the beach cottage but she insisted it go in the living room for people to see. I think she loves it too. I am currently working on a few others and will post once I finish. I soooo wish I had taken a picture of the lamp before I started. So here it is........Ta Da.......

Our family loves Crabs.  We get them steamed by the bushel, then all of us sit around and pick and eat and talk for hours.  Couldn't leave this guy off, and boy was he a challenge to cut out!

There is also a flounder for Nana, who loves fried flounder, and a horse shoe crab, in memory of my Pops, who was once pinched by one, when I was small, while we were crabbing.   Good memories, for sure.

Give Aways

So I finally found a link in a magazine, Real Simple, That gave me the address on how to find give aways out here in blog land.  
http://www.bloggiveaways.blogspot.com/


Here are some of the cool things I have been entering. 

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This is so awesome!  I am loving it!

Martha Stewart Bib Necklae

Hello Everyone.  I got this idea, from Martha Stewart.  (I heart Martha!)  I made it in one night for a party the next night.  I couldn't find any fancy flat gems, at my local craft store, so I worked with only the round ones.  I thought it came out awesome! The picture doesn't really do it justice.  The gems look flat, but they were sparkly in real time.

Here is the link to Martha's Instructions.  

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/sparkling-bib-necklaces

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner - OOPS

Wow has the magic carpet ride been fun.  This was my first year, and I just happened upon it, and boy am I glad I did.  So many creative people out there, and some very unusual things, and I was so inspired by so many.  I have always wanted to try an altered book and I saw so many great examples.  I even followed several blogs to Etsy and will definately be back to shop there.  Love handmade things.  So without further ado I went to the Random Number Generator and picked two winners!
A little drum roll please for:

GPC from Michigan - The lighted wine bottle

Lolly from Virginia - The mystery runner up prize

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my page.  I have to really be able to go back and look at some of your awesome blogs, now that the craziness is over.

Bloggers Really Rock!!!

Soooo I very lovingly wrapped up my gifts for th eprice and then I just checked my comments and GPC got the wrong prize!  And at this point in the game I don't know if I typed it backwards on this blog, or if I made the switch up on the piece of paper I was working off of, when I packaged the things up.  So all I can say is I'm sorry GPC and Lolly.   Did I at least have the right  names on the cards?  I mean how hard could this have been.  lol.  Ok,  let's see what I can blame for this OOPS.  My husband, I can usually blame him for something,  or maybe it was some wine, or maybe it was  those silly Chantix pills that make me have zero short term memory, the dogs, are usually good for a dose of blame, or maybe I just didn't pay attention and screwed up!  Please ladies, accept my humble apologies and enjoy your gifts. 

Thrift Store Finds

I found these awesome things at a Thrift Store in December.  Every once in a while you go in and find mad stuff, then others you come out empty handed.  So here they are. 

A wonderful cabbage bowl for .99.   Can't beat that.  It says not for food use, but I used it for food already. No one seemed to suffer any damage from the dip. 

 

Also for .99 we have this fabulously vintage deviled egg dish.  The turkey thing in the middle has little holes for, I assume, toothpicks.  I gave this lovely to my Nana and she felt like the indentations on either side probably held matching salt and pepper shakers. 

Ahhhhhhh Who was I to turn down the Blue Willow coffee cups.  They did  not have saucers, but I just wanted them.  They were .98 a piece.  So I get them home and think, what to do, what to do. I had some crocus bulbs so I started them in there.  They are sprouting now.  About 2 inches worth of growth. 

There is more to come so stay tuned.  I need to take some more pictures.

OWOH

ONE WORLD ONE HEART

What  a fabulous idea to get folks together.  I was wondering how to meet fellow bloggers and just didn't have the time to figure out how to do this.  I am grateful to A Whimisical Bohemian for picking up the ball and running with it. 

I have a really cute wine bottle with lights and stained glass grapes, as the my give away.  Hubby drills the holes and I do all the rest, including draining the bottle before hand.    Turn your head to the left to see the picture  =)  Leave a comment on my blogspot and I will draw a lucky winner from them.  Good Luck and thanks for stopping by.   Can't wait to meet everyone.

PS  After visiting so many other pages I have decided to give away another gift for every 100 posts.   I think the joy of this is the visiting and the inspiration and the giving. 
I hope I have so many posts I run out of paint =)

UPDATE:  Well I just checked and I have over 100 comments so I will be sending out a second mystery prize to another lucky winner.  Sadly, it won't be another wine bottle, because I am on the wagon.  JUST KIDDING!  Hubby burned up the drill bit on the last one, and I have to order another so it will take awhile, But it will be a good gift I promise. I'm a crafty kind of girl.  =) 

Thank you to everyone who has stopped by my blog and I hope many of you return.  

Here is the link to A Whimsical Bohemian.

New Year's Resolutions

I know they are silly, however,  I have found that if you write somethign down you are more likely to make it happen. So here goes:

1.  Read the Bible and pray more. 

2.  Quit Smoking - again

3.  Lose Weight - Yep,  I am writing it down, maybe that will help

4.  Blog more - Good for the soul

5. Pout less

6. FINISH CRAFT PROJECTS = Lamps, chair, scrabble tiles

7. Paint more. 

8. Be Patient

9. Be Frugal

10.  Be Kind

OMG PETA's gonna get me

Ok I don't know how this thing happened, but I purchased these cute little frogs for Gary for Christmas at Brookstone. A FrogOsphere! Two tiny dwarf frogs and a piece of bamboo. They are very interesting to watch and I was without a good present so I got them. Now I am reading online where PETA has investigated the place where the frogs are farmed and they are less than stellar conditions.   Not being fed, eating each others legs off, diseases etc etc.  They die as soon as you get them home, then you send away for more.  So what do all of us masses do, now that we have found out our frogs have been abused? Why we love our frogs and feed them and talk to them and nuture them back to health.
Why does PETA do this stuff? How was I supposed to know. I am heading to Norfolk now, Maybe I will stop by PETA headquarters and drop my frogs off to them, so they will feel guilty for owning them.
sheesh

Frrrozen Hot Chocolate - Recipe

Writing the year in Review Blog got me dreaming about that awesome Frozen Hot Chocolate, Susan and I had at Serendipity, in NYC. I did a little research and guess what I found. THE RECIPE. Here it is along with a picture of Susan enjoying hers. I am planning on making a batch for New Years. So much for the diet. lol

Frrrozen Hot Chocolate
Recipe created by Serendipity 3 restaurant

Ingredients:
6 pieces (1/2-ounce) chocolate , a variety of your favorites
2 teaspoons store-bought hot chocolate mix
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
3 cups ice
Whipped cream
Chocolate shavings
Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted. Add the hot chocolate mix and sugar. Stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and slowly add ½ cup of milk until smooth. Cool to room temperature.In a blender, place the remaining cup of milk, the room-temperature chocolate mixture and the ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

The Year - In Review -2009

Some really great things happened this year, and some really bad things. Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. Shall We?

My sweet Little Mama died. She was getting rehab and getting stronger and then she took a turn for the worst, as they say. They sent her from the SNF to the hospital, Leslie went to the hospital and spent the night and in the wee hours and scared the crap out of me and told me I better come. So I got up and got dressed and was 3 miles down the road and she called again and said it was a false alarm but to come on anyway. So I did and I was teasing her that as soon as she got home and laid down I was going to call her and wake her up, and Mom was up and laughing with us. She was hot all over though and kept yanking her sheet off. She was very agitated. Her body temp was low but she was hot. I asked the nurse for something for pain, and she said, if we give her anything it might take her out of here, I did not want her to suffer and even at this point didn't realize the severity of the situation. I called Leslie to come back. No joke. The morphine did nothing for her. The nephrologist came in and said the dye they used in the ER 3 days before had shut down her kidneys and she was septic, and not a candidate for dialysis. My sister said, how long are we talking? I was waiting for a week or something, I don't know. He said, 24 hours. She was gone 4 hours later. Am I angry. Yes. No one told us anything. We were totally clueless. Her stomach was distended and I had gone to a nurse on Saturday and said, look she is a little teeny person, her stomach does not usually look like that. They kind of blew me off. This dye thing we hadn't heard of until that moment either. We were in shock. She was dying and we didn't know it. I still can't think about her being gone. It comes in little spurts but not the emotional let go that I need. I am afraid it is going to happen in the grocery store or God forbid Walmart. But you know, I am blessed to have a family full of Christians and we all believe what the Bible says. And I know my Mama is with Jesus and the time in heaven is nothing like it is here. I will see my Mama again. Not here, but in a so much better place. I remember My Mama saying this to me after Gary's Mom, Janet died. I am so jealous that Janet gets to meet Jesus before I do. My sweet little Mama is free at last. And without Faith in God and Jesus I would truly be lost. She died on June 9, 2009. Just short of her 70th birthday. I will miss you Mama. Every single day.

It wasn't long after that, that my beloved German Shepherd, Beau, had to be put down. He had been sick for a long time and I just couldn't deal with it. There had been many family conversations about, is it time yet, and Gary kept saying, I can't say for you, because he is your dog. He was going downhill and losing weight, and I knew he was miserable. I didn't go, but Ronnie and Gary and took him, for me. He loved Ronnie, second best, and I was at peace with him going. Gary, he tolerated..... anyway, Ronnie took a picture with him there at the vet's office, and told me how kind the vet was, and that he said, he was sure it was cancer, and we had done all we could for him. He had never seen a case that bad..... We gave him hamburgers before he left, because he was having to eat special food that he didn't like for a couple of years. I felt good about that. Ronnie said, the vet gave him a shot to relax him and he fell against Ronnie's legs. Ronnie got in the floor with him and the vet came in knelt down and gave him his last shot. He was the best dog. He was loyal and true blue to me. He was hard headed and stubborn and determined beyond belief, and so very smart. He protected me totally. Even against Gary and the boys teasing me. He always got between us and gave a warning growl. They loved to pop me feet as they went by if I had them up over the arm of the love seat and he would get so mad at them. He wouldn't let Gary get close to my side of the bed if I was asleep and there were many arguments between the two of them. (lol) He was my good and handsome boy and I will forever miss him. I still dream about him.
For a month I mourned my Beau. I watched every SPCA sight and was looking for me a new baby. I wasn't sure what I wanted but I knew when I saw it, I would get it. Gary was opposed to this but I didn't really care. My heart hurt and I needed something to love. One Monday I was at work and my sister called with this story about this couple splitting up and they couldn't get an apartment until they got rid of the dog etc etc. So I said, Ok lets go take a look. I met her after somewhere I have never been before and as I turned down the street I could see this bullet of a golden blur running like a mad thing. She is a golden retriever (supposedly- but she had no papers and they have repeatedly not responded to inquiries and she sure doensn't look like a golden but has the personality of one. mixed maybe?) named Brandy and she was 7 or 8 months old. Well they wanted $200.00 for her so I pulled money out of every nook and cranny I my wallet and car and bra (just kidding) to come up with it, So I packed her in the front seat and off we went. I looked at her and said "this is the best day of your life that I came to get you" Her hair was sort of dull and dandruffy and she was skinny as a rail her ribs were sticking out. It was storming like crazy and lightening and thundering and she just laid in the front seat and didn't move around. I get her home and we come through the garage where Candy's bowl of food is by the door and that puppy gobbled up the entire bowl! She was so hungry. I had dinner plans with Leslie and another friend, Mike, I left the dog at home with Jesse and Gary and went. When I came back home, there was Jesse and Brandy all cuddled up on the sofa. She was laying all over him. He goes off to bed, and she goes with him. He gets up for work in the morning, she goes to work with him, and that is the end of the story. I bought Jesse a dog named Brandy. They love each other. It's insane. But she doesn't mind hanging out with us. She is sweet as pie and very flexible. she just lays all around and has to be with people constantly. She and Candy love each other too. When Brandy comes home for work at night you should just hear the huffing noises they make. (That huffing is dog laughter, or so The dog whisperer says) I still have no dog, but I am ok, for the moment.

On to some more good news. My son Ronnie's, girlfriend became pregnant this year. I was NOT a happy camper, but my Little Mama was excited. She said, If that baby is a girl I think you should name her Roxanne and call her Roxie. I just think that is the cutest name ever. Mom's middle name was Carroll (apparently there was a movie star in the 1930's named Nancy Carroll and that is who she was named after) Our Roxie Carroll was born on November 1, 2009. She is perfect in every way. And such a good baby. She hardly ever cries and is not cooing and smiling at us. She got to spend the night with BB (that's me - My name is Robbin in and I have been saying BB while spelling my name for people my whole life) two weeks ago so they could go to a party. I didn't sleep all night long. I wanted to make sure she was breathing etc. We love her. Being a BB ROCKS.

We went to Italy on a cruise this year for vacation. We left on Sept 30 and got back on October 15th. Flew to Rome spent a few days there then caught the cruise ship and went everywhere. It was simply amazing. I never thought I would be so blessed to be able to take a trip like that. I missed my Pops a lot while we were gone, because we usually cruised together. Nana, I know missed him. She was reluctant to go ona cruise with out him but this was a trip she couldn't pass up. We did so much in such a short time. We ate amazing food, saw amazing sights, I still can't believe we were there. I want to go back. Here are the girls at the Trevi Fountain. we threw some coins in, Not sure what's supposed to happen next. We had a fabulous driver that Jack found, through a company called BOB's in Rome. Lol His name was Salvatore and we all loved him. He was a character and nearly got arrested while picking us up, parking illegally and refused to show his documents to the polizio. Held us up an hour, but I have good pictures, to chronical the episode. We told him all about Thanksgiving and when he comes next year, we are going to cook for his family! There was a small incident on the cruise ship, with a can of Oust, that I might have sprayed in Gary's face by accident in the middle of the night, when I thought that a foul odor wafting in the cabin was him. The stench woke me up, 3 times, so I got the Oust from the bathroom and had it by my bedside and then it woke me up on the 3 time I just squirted and all of a sudden out of the dark I hear this voice say. "why did you spray me in the face with the Quest" Oooohh he was mad. And stomped out of the cabin in the middle of the night and slept on the deck. He got Ok though and we laughed about it the next day. In fact I am laughing now typing about it. He called it Quest instead of Oust and every now again one of us will make reference to Quest. As it turned out the stench wasn't him, after all, but some strange odors that would come through the pipes into our room. One day it was garlic. Nana and Jackie could smell it in their room too. The cruise portion of the trip actually sucked, as we were right about the Caliente Disco which boomed all night long. We didn't get much sleep. After complaining they compensated us for it, but it was still bad. They knew the rooms we were in were bad and they put us there anyway. Leslie and Jack were a mile down the hallway from us and he was in a wheelchair. Not conducive to a nice family cruise, but we managed. We really wanted the adjoining balconies but Carnival wouldn't accomodate us after they made the error. And then they lost a piece of our luggage on return. Then suddenly 6 weeks later it appears on my doorstep. My favorite jeans were in there so I was happy. We went to the Amalfi Coast which was simply breathtakingly beautiful. We had the best meal there too. Mussells for me. Just awsome. Prosecco and Limoncello and bruschetta de buffalo. Pizza, was to die for in Italy. Don't let anybody tell you it's not good. It's beyond good. I want some right now. Gelato. we tried to eat some every day. Also amazing. Leslie and I both got choked up at the Vatican. We went into that room you can pray in, and we both just walked right in, and I had tears just streaming down my face. We both got choked up at the catacombs. too. I missed Pops and I thought about all the Christians who died for what they believed in, and their bodies were RIGHT THERE. I cried again at the Sistine Chapel. I was overcome by it all. I never thought in my lifetime I would actually see those paintings and it was so unbelievable beautiful. Ok we are cry babies. I love my sister and don't know what I would do without her. I was so grateful to be able to share this trip, with her and her husband Jack, My Nana, and Aunt Jackie and my wonderful husband Gary, who has put up with my antics for the past 27 years and still loves me. ((Or at least he did, till I Quested him.))

Oh and here is some other big news of the year. Gary Retired after 34 years in the Shipyard. I was so proud of him when he brought home is plaque and flag that they flew in his honor on December 11, 2009. He has been home burning off his sick leave for the last few months. Its really nice having a house husband. He changes the sheets on the bed and does the laundry and runs errands and whatever else needs doing. He has been offered another job, but he is on the fence about it. IMHO he is way too young to retire, but if we want that lake house...........

Gary and I bought that lot on Lake Gaston. It is another dream come true. It has a boat house with a party deck on top. We got such a good deal. We had been looking and looking for years. Here and at OBX but could never find what we wanted at the price we wanted to pay. This was a, well lets look at this lot after a day of dragging all around the lake looking at everything. We offered something so low we couldn't believe they accepted it. Our real estate agent is the bomb. (Lynn Raynor at Sunset Realty in Littleton, NC) My only regret is that My Mom and Dad aren't not here to enjoy it with us. But wait, Enjoy what? Yep, we haven't even come up with a house plan we can agree on, so who knows when all this will take place. Hopefully in 2010 but you never know what the future holds. I always think about this Bible verse:

James 4:13-14Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Oh and of course this one

Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I haven't been to church since the spring time. I am lazy and I don't want to get out of bed on Sunday's and since Mom died I don't want to go and have a break down or something there. Me and my BFF Susan are going to read the Bible all the way through this year, together. Attempt it at least. I made it through one year, I can do it again. It's not as daunting as you might think. And I need to get in touch.

Susan, and I did lots of fun things, this year. I heart my BFF. She is wonderful to me, and I don't know what in this world I would do without her. She is kind, and considerate and always there for me, no matter what, and to top it all off. She's FUN. We have so much fun together and we laugh and act like we are 12 and it's all good. This year, we went to the Parrot Head Ball, where I proceeded to come down with the Norovirus and she had to get a wheelchair and get me out of our hotel room with a hurt back and drive me home and get me in the bed and get me ginger ale with a straw. Poor Susan. We went to OBX a couple of times. We stayed at her Mom's place once and we played bananagrams all weekend. And got awesome sandwiches from the Stop and Shop to eat on the beach. We went down for girls weekend and stayed at Nana's cottage with Leslie, Tracy and Donna. Drank lots of wine and laughed and laughed. Made some prank calls to ourselves using the text to land line feature. How mature was that? It was hysterical. The way that mechanical voice interprets words..... lmao. You will have to ask them what we said, because my lips are sealed. I went on all the holidays, Memorial, July 4th and Labor day and spent that with Nana and the family. In the fall, the same girls, went to Donna's Mom's house on the Eastern Shore. We took a ride around the Harbour on Capt Dan's Charter Boat out of Chincoteague. Again, lots of wine and laughing. My dear sister, and Tracy, her accomplice decided to scare Susan and I, so they waited until we got into bed then snuck outside and took one of those decorative scarecrows out of the ground and tapped it on our bedroom window! OK Even I will admit it worked, They scared the pooky out of us. Revenge my friends. That's all I am saying. We took our annual trip to New York City before Thanksgiving. We went to see a play called Oleanna and then we waited outside the theater and saw Bill Pulman and Julia Stiles up close! star struck. Yes we were. We walked 10,000 miles and went to Serendipity to eat, frozen hot chocolate. It was the best thing on the planet. Went to see the Rockettes, Magnolia bakery, Hell's Kitchen Flea Market, China Town. (got massages there) We were everywhere and had a blast. I was so tired I was actually ready to come home. Those 7 hour bus trips will kill you though. Went to Richmond for a Christmas party and then shopped all the next day. ((We only got lost a little bit, this time)) We both got Garmin Nuvi's for Christmas so I am sure we will have much better luck getting around in either car in the future. We had Cupcake Day, where we wrecked my kitchen and make cupcakes all day. And Gingerbread House Day, They were good this year. Gary built us a base out of boxes ( I know that cheating but I don't care, I just want to decorate not build) and we could just go to town this way. We started way early, and it took us 2 days, but it was worth it. Love Gingerbread Day!! We had lots of other little projects going on too. Hopefully this year, I will really blog and keep up with all these activities.
So that's my year in reveiw. Big stuff, Bad stuff, Good stuff, Life altering stuff. By the grace of God, I made it through and am grateful to all my friends and family who have supported and put up with me through this emotional roller coaster that was 2009. I am looking forward to 2010. If anybody is actually reading this blog. May God Bless us all, Everyone!!