Temporarily MIA…

I learned that it is possible.

Possible to pry my fingers off the computer and stay away for FOUR whole days.  Well, sort of.  I did read a couple recent posts of some bloggy friends – but for the most part I was MIA in bloggy land since last Wednesday.

 

Guess what?

I actually accomplished quite a bit not being online.  I spent tons of time with my kids and hubby.  We put the tree up and some Christmas decor.  We watched a couple movies.  We went to the park.  I did laundry. 

 

Amazing!

So here a some photos from last week!  Thanksgiving.  Christmas tree.  Christmas photos (well, a little sneak peek).  Pigs. Pugs. Cute kids.  Cute mom new hair cut.  Tiny teeth.  Fun stuff.

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 This is Scout right when he woke up.  Crooked smile.  Little tooth.  Sweet sissy.

Scout on Thanksgiving.  The weather was BEAUTIFUL here in Colorado.

Bella and me on Thanksgiving night. 

Bella with a marker cap, me and Scout on Thanksgiving.  Oh, Missy’s bed is to the right of me.  She likes to lay under the heat lamp.

Me and Hubby.  Oh wait – I removed the photo.  In reality it’s a good photo of us on Thanksgiving, but the longer I looked at it, the more I didn’t like my hair.  So – bye bye it went!  Daddy and Bella assembling the tree.

Said tree assembled.  A few years ago I paid $30.00 for this $300.00 tree at Hobby Lobby in one of their after Christmas sales.  Sweet!!!!!
Missy laying under her heat lamp.  Decorating tires her out.
Jerry – exhausted from all the decorating.

Jerry likes to pile into the middle of tissue and wrapping paper.

This is the 11th year I have made him sit in front of a tree for photos.  He’s a good sport.

Some ornaments.  Look closely in the gold one.
 It’s me in there!  I thought this was cool! The finished tree and fireplace! 

Stockings hung by the chimney with care….

Teeny, tiny glimpse at our Christmas photos!  Really tiny.  Heehee.  Need to show a side view of my new hair.  I like it!

Isn’t she just BEAUTIFUL????  Yes, she has a dab of lipstick on!

Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving.  We spent it with my Mother in Law and her side of the family for the first part of the day – then we went to my family’s gathering.  Lots of good food and conversation!

Well, I’m making some blog changes.  Those to happen this week!  Keep checking back for those!

 Have a great Monday!  ”I’ve got JOY like a river that’s flowing inside of me.”

Wordless Wednesday – Bella 4 Years Ago

These are from the week of Thanksgiving 2005!
My sweet Bella!  She was 4 months old!

 

CORRECTION:  I originally posted this purple dress was worn by me and my sister, but my mom left a comment that it was just worn by me at my baptism!  Thanks, Mom!

For more Wordless Wednesday links, visit: 5 Minutes For Mom

“Children seldom misquote.  In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.” 

Author Unknown

 

I’d Like To See My Drawing…

Do you remember that line from “Titanic” spoken by the ‘Old Rose’ when they boarded the ship at the beginning of the movie?

Many people have had many drawings and portraits done of themselves.  Have you?  I have.  I think it’s something everyone should have done at least once in their life.  Okay, so maybe you don’t have to go sans clothes like Rose, but have one done with clothes!

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Below is the infamous one of Rose from “Titanic”.  I wasn’t sure if I should post it if some people felt it was inappropriate – but I decided I would. 

Then there is the infamous Mona Lisa…  

 

Lucille Ball…

 

Barbara Streisand…

 

Miley Cyrus…

 

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Then there are my famous drawings.

This is me when I was pregnant with Scout.  Drawn by my lovely daughter, Bella.  Wow, look at that belly!  And that hair – gorgeous!

This is me again – as if you couldn’t tell.  This is obviously a more updated version of what I look like.  It appears I lost all my baby weight!

Thanks, Bella, for such great drawings.  I will treasure them always!

“You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing.  What!  Is it nothing to be happy?  Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long?  Never in his life will he be so busy again.” 

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762

 

Sore Throat?

Okay, so this is not my usual type of post.  Today I’m going to try to impart some health wisdom unto my readers.
You know how when you start to feel your throat get scratchy, then, it hurts to swallow, then it’s painful, then the runny nose starts, then a cough and then you spend 2 nights not sleeping because your throat hurts so bad.  Then when it starts to get better, you still have a cough – that dry cough – like an itch that won’t go away tucked right there in your throat.
Blah!


Well, a couple months ago I started to get a sore throat and I LOATHE them and I go online to look for something natural I could try to help.  I’m more into natural things anyway – which you know if you’ve been following me for any length of time. NOTHING at the store ever works.  Conventional or homeopathic – not for a sore throat.  I’ve tried most of them.  Lozenges coat the throat for about 10 minutes, then it hurts again.  Sprays are just terrible.  I wanted something that worked.
Let me back track.  The first thing I do is confess the Word – “By Jesus Stripes I Am Healed.”  I always trust God first and foremost for my healing, whatever may be the ailment.  And I believe He gives us wisdom and He has given us natural things on this earth that we can use to take care of our bodies.
So, I found a few things.  And out of all of them, I picked one to try.  It was the WINNER.  My goodness – it works.  Just this week one of my friends told me she had a sore throat and I told her what do try when she got home.  She did and she wrote on my FB wall that it ‘actually worked’.  Awesome.
I’ve done it 3 times and I always make this when I begin to feel the scratchy-ness in my throat.  The last time I did it – about 2 weeks ago, I started feeling the yuck around 4pm, but didn’t actually make the drink until 8:30pm.  By 3am the soreness was completely gone.  I never got a runny nose.  No cough.  Nothing!
So, it’s simple.  You most likely have all the ingredients in your kitchen.  And, it doesn’t taste bad, if you don’t mind cinnamon, which by the way has many healing qualities.

- 8-10 oz boiling water
- 1 tbsp honey (I use RAW honey)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp black pepper (which you don’t even taste)

Mix together and make sure to stir each time before you drink or all the cinnamon settles and you end up drinking the entire teaspoon of it all at one time.  Sometimes I’ll do 2 cups of it just for the fun of it all!
It works.  Try it if you ever find yourself getting that yucky sore throat.  If you do, tell me how well it worked!

“The longer I live the less confidence I have in drugs and the greater is my confidence in the regulation and administration of diet and regimen.” 

John Redman Coxe, 1800

Scrump.Dilly.Umptious.

food. friends. flash forward.

food.

First off – I got crafty this week ( I got jiggy with it, I tell you) and tried out the recipe I posted about last week – the mint snowmen!  Talk about yummy.  Also, talk about ‘you need to be Martha Stewart or Christina at Pooh’s Corner to have these turn out right’.

I should have used crafting tools to decorate these little guys (but didn’t have any on hand).  I did have the clean hands of a 4 year old girl who thought this was the coolest ‘craft project’ EVER.  The cool thing is the colors ended up being old time Denver Bronco colors.  Awesome!

Now, if you are person of great pride, you wouldn’t allow your bloggy friends to see how these treats should turn out.  But, I’m not that person, so here is what these yummy treats SHOULD have looked like.

Christina’s Photo

And here’s what ours looked like!

Bella had a ball and that’s all that matters, but I am going to make these for her teachers.  They are TINY, TINY, TINY – but once you taste them you can see why.  Those are power packed mint filled snowmen and I just loved them.  Yes, they are gone.  All of them.

Although when I first told Bella we could eat them when we were done, we had some water works.  She cried.  She didn’t want to eat the decorations.  Not the hats.  Not their noses.  Um, Bella,  they’re sugar, not people.  After she had a bite, she was over it and proceeded to consume more then a 4 year old should consume!

So – thanks again Christina – these were awesome and I think they will be perfect for her teachers.  They love to see the kids be creative and this shows them just that!

For the recipe go here to Pooh’s Corner!

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friends.

90. 90. 90. Woo-hoo!  Thanks to Colleen I have hit 90 followers.  That is awesome.  I enjoy making new friends and finding great new blogs!  Thanks to all of you who have recently joined up with me – and I have yet to thank you or write you.  As you most likely have read – we’re teething at our house which means my little guy is my saran wrap and he’s usually attached to some part of my body throughout the day.  Yes.  My body is no longer my own.  I’m a human kleenex, washcloth, teething toy, scratching post, ladder and milk machine – all rolled up into this tiny little 5’5” frame.  I promise – I usually respond to all my emails – even if it takes a while.  And I’m an avid reader of my bloggy friends – it just may take a while to comment – not into typing with one hand while the other is holding a 9 month old who is flinging from side to side.

Awesome for new friends!!! 90- LOVE IT!

Now, to highlight a few posts from my bloggy friends that you should visit:

 THE POWER OF LOVE is from my girl Jenny at Jenny’s Journal.  Her relationship with Jesus is beautiful and He radiates through her in all that she is and all that she does.

For all of you who have embarrassing moments, but keep them to yourself – read this post “TENNIS ANYONE?”  from Brandi at My Three Bubs – she just announces these times in her life to the whole world!  Girl, glad I wasn’t camping in Florida that night ;o)

We’ve all thought this.  You know about THE OTHER WOMAN.  This was a great post from September at One September Day.  We all have our own ‘Other Woman’ profile, but it all boils down to the same thing and I liked how she worded it.

WOODEN PHOTO BLOCKS at Oswald Cuties are an awesome gift idea – or craft idea for yourself.  Seriously – could these be any cooler! 

To read such a true to life change of how halloween use to be to how it is now read CHANGE OF SEASON….OR THE CHANGING OF A SEASON at To The Beat of Five Drums: The Rixon Family Blog.  As I was reading it I swear she was writing about my life!

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flash forward.

things to come. the hair saga continues…

HAVE A GREAT NIGHT!
(YES, THIS IS AN UNUSUALLY LATE POST TODAY!) 

“Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.” 

Voltaire

Before | After – The Highlights

So, here are some before and after shots of my newly highlighted hair – since many of you want to see how it turned out.  I didn’t alter any of the pics so you can see the true color.  One seems a little dark, but you get the point!  Also, no front views, because those are hard to get with my camera.  Much easier with a point and shoot.  With my Canon, I look like a camel or something since it takes it so close.  That’s my opinion at least.  Anyhoodle…

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

This photo below is my natural hair color.  I had white hair when I was little and over the years it has turned into this lovely dirty blonde!  Yay!  The last time I colored my hair was April 2005 – so 4 1/2 years ago.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted to put color back in, but I was tired of looking so blah in my photos. 

Ta-Da!!!!

So, I may spend big bucks to get my hair cut, but I did the highlighting myself. 

I used Tints of Nature from our health food store.  It doesn’t contain ammonia. I really like it and just hope it isn’t too difficult to touch up.  I don’t want to make my whole head bleach blonde.  I like my dark, natural undertones. 

Next Wednesday I’ll be getting it cut again.  Keeping the length in the front, but making it choppy all over in the back!  I’m a risk taker, I know ;o)

I really like it – what do YOU think?

“Women are always beautiful.” 

Ville Valo

“The rarest thing in the world is a woman who is pleased with photographs of herself.” 

Elizabeth Metcalf

“A woman can say more in a sigh than a man can say in a sermon.”  

Arnold Haultain

A Little Sneak Peek A Roo

I know, I know – everybody is on the edge of their seats just waiting.  Anticipating.  Biting their nails.  And oh so much more – all to see the history of my hair.  I’m sure you’re all on here daily waiting for the post.  Well, this isn’t it….

but

It is a little sneak peek for you!

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……drum roll please……

Like this phase where I had BLACK hair.  Yes black.  And yes that is me on the couch with Missy the pig when she was around 2 years old – I was 19.  Yes, the pig took naps on the couch.  They don’t shed, so why not! (If you look really close at her forehead you can see the heart shape from her white hair….this is why her original owners named her Valenswine.)

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Fast forward to about a year  later, Christmas 1995 and I’m platinum.  I will say I REALLY liked that color, but it ruined my hair big time.  I bleached it for 12 straight months and fried my hair like a marshmallow on the end of Bubba’s roasting stick (a shout out to Brandi at My Three Bubs and their recent camping trip for the inspiration here).  
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This has nothing to do with the color of my hair, I just like the photo.  Halloween 1993 (just right before I went black).  This is me and my friend Steph.  She was a 70’s chick.  I was a 60’s chick.  Oh yea – this shouts cool all the way!

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And even further from my hair is Missy that same halloween.  Have you ever seen a cuter pig dressed as Minnie Mouse?  Have you ever seen any pig dressed as Minnie Mouse – period???

So, there you go.  Black.  Platinum.  I was crazy like that!  More to come along with embarrassment I’m sure.  Nobody wants to admit how uncool they were, though I’m not sure I ever fit into that category – New Kids on the Block fanatic, rolled jeans and all.

And I took the plunge this last Saturday and highlighted my hair.  Must have been the snow piling up that gave me cabin fever and I just broke loose and went wild!   I should try to get a photo of me and my new hair color.  Next week I’ll get it cut again.  Man – I’m on a roll!

You all have a great Tuesday! You know I love you all and am glad you stop by to read my posts that really don’t have much meaning at all!

 That’s true bloggy friendship!

“Hair style is the final tip-off whether or not a woman really knows herself.” 

Hubert de Givenchy, Vogue, July 1985

“Life is an endless struggle full of frustrations and challenges, but eventually you find a hair stylist you like.” 

Author Unknown

“I'm not offended by all the dumb-blonde jokes because I know that I'm not dumb.  I also know I'm not blonde.” 

Dolly Parton

9 Months Already

Amazingly enough, another month has gone by and my little guy is 9 months old.  Wow is all I can say!  Just a year ago I had my little round belly with Scout curled up inside – now he’s a pistol crawling all over the place, climbing on everything – and starting to get his teeth.

I would usually have a longer post to celebrate this milestone, but my Bubba has not been feeling good this week.  His first tooth came through on October 30 – yay – and now it appears that there might be at least 2 more trying to cut through.

Last night our little guy had a fever of 102 degrees that didn’t break until 1am.  I was up until 4:30 with him and only got about 2.5 hours of sleep before Bella was up and ready to start the day.    Sleeping isn’t happening normally with him and he’s just been off all week.  We’re all a tad sleepy around here, but I just want Scout to feel better and get past this stage.

Yes, I’m sleep blogging!

 

So, a few milestones for him now are:

He is clapping his hands which is so cute.

If I ask him where mama’s nose is, he grabs my nose.

If I ask him where his toes are, he grabs his tootsies.

He has unknowingly said mama a couple times, but they were more sounds as he was talking.  He’s behind Bella in this department and I’m trying to get him through boot camp so he can say mama already!!!

He is still climbing on everything, but now he goes higher.

He adores phones.  He gets so excited if you let him play with one.

He is still a mama’s boy.  He clings to me like saran wrap.

He finally graduated to a big boy car seat.  Yep, he was too long and too heavy for the infant carrier, so we had to make the switch and he just enjoys it to no end.

Happy 9 Months, Scout!  Mama loves you!

  

“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”

Psalm 127:3