Saturday, December 13, 2008

Pink Saturday FUN!!




It's PINK Saturday!! Here is a little bit of whimsy for you!! Click on the pink keyboard for some fun...take a "tour" of the keyboard for blondes...no offense to blondes mind you, as I am a "sometimes" blonde myself!! ENJOY!!


or here is the link: https://www.keyboardforblondes.com/index.cfm

For more pink fun...head on over to Beverly's, click on the pretty pink lady above and take the PINK TOUR!!

Happy Pink Saturday to you ALL!!


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ASG Christmas Luncheon

Hello to all my new ASG friends! I had a wonderful time at the luncheon and I look forward to getting to know you all better!

You may view the photos that I took at the luncheon by clicking on the photo of Kathleen's beautiful ornament, or click here:
http://flickr.com/photos/lulu2355/sets/72157611139490159/




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Friday, December 12, 2008

Got Goals?

Today is the FIRST day of the rest of your life!
(click on the painting)




It's that time of year...another year is upon us! I listen to a daily call that inspires me and yesterday the topic was setting goals for the coming year. So, I am doing a lot of thinking about the things that I want to accomplish in 2009. I love to look back on old goal lists, it's amazing how many things have come to pass.


I have divided my goals into categories and I'm thinking BIG!
Marriage, Fun/Vacation, Business/Income, Personal Development, Home Life, Spiritual, Health/Fitness, (not necessarily in that order). Hubby is making his own goals and we are going to share them on Saturday, won't that be interesting?


Do you set goals? Do you write them down? Do you share them with your spouse? I would love to hear all about it!!

Happy Friday!

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Wednesday, December 10, 2008

My Christmas Tree

06-01-09 ...Mr. Linky didn't like me.....click here for the Porch Party!


I cut my Tree in half!!

I prefer a fake tree. Years ago, I guess it was probably to save money. Or maybe I thought a real tree is messy. Someone asked me "don't you miss the smell of the pine tree?". Are you kidding? I LIVE in a forest of pine trees! I smell them all the time. And, I love it! So, I don't really need to have a tree inside, do I?

I digress. hubby pulled out the box and I went to work (and it's WORK) putting together my tree. I bought a new one last year. My old one was getting pretty shabby (not in a good way). I worked out all the kinks, put up some lights. Here is a question. Why does it seem like my lights only work for one year. Ugh. I had to get some new lights.

I just couldn't "get into" it. The tree was just sitting there waiting for me. Then one day, it struck me. It's TOO BIG! So, I got hubby to take off the bottom half and we put it on a table. This might help to keep the kitties off, it's their first Christmas, and...the doggies, they have already shown how they feel about the Tree and ornaments. TOYS TO CHEW!!

So, now with HALF the tree, I love it! I could not squeeze one more ornament on it! And so far, the animals have not wreaked too much havok...although there have been signs of efforts to do so.



We always put it right here in this window, so we can see it when we drive up.

This is what the room usually looks like...


And, here it is all ready for Christmas!


Again, before....

And, with Christmas!! What a difference a slip cover makes! I just love those pillows. They seem to go with anything!!


These are my Angels. They are always in the "Angel Corner". I read a book on Feng Shui once and all I remember for sure is that this is the Angel Corner. Fitting, don't you think? Do they need something underneath them? Any ideas? Fake snow?


Our fireplace is the focal of the entire house. All our family photos, prom pics, Christmas pics are right here in front of this fireplace. A life time of memories!


We are planning to put some molding on the wood (it's not great wood) and the new look will be white. Someday anyway. Hubby is always busy!


We are ready for Christmas!! How are you doing? All ready? I am truly enjoying visiting everyone's home for the holidays...virtually, that is!


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Sunday, December 7, 2008

My New Pin Cushion

She told me that it was on it's way and I was watching for it....you see, I won a beautiful prize on Betty's blog shessewpretty ! I could hardly wait to open the package:


I hope they didn't "smoosh" it!!



Mmmmm, doesn't this look fabulous? All wrapped up with a pretty bow!


Ta Da! This is so lovely!! Oops, I should have waited for Pink Saturday to share it...but NO, how could I possibly wait?


So many pretty details, delicate flowers and a lovely pink rose in the middle. I can't imagine sticking it with pins!


Thank you SO MUCH Betty! (...or should I say "SEW MUCH"?)
I am so happy and delighted that I won your pretty prize.
My daughter wants one too, so I will share your website with her!


There was even a wonderful little bonus in the package, some crochet trim and a pretty card. How fun to get such a terrific package in the mail!



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Saturday, December 6, 2008

Pink Angel



It's PINK Saturday!! If you love all things PINK....head on over to Beverly's and check it out, click on the pretty pink lady above and you will be transported to PINK heaven!!

I have been putting up my tree and it always seems like such a chore. Then comes the moment when I get to open the boxes with all my pretty ornaments collected over the years, and it's "hello old friends". This pretty angel is my favorite of all. Isn't she lovely? My son bought her for me at a Christmas store. It was the first time any of my children bought me a gift with their OWN money. Not from saved up allowance or money that Dad gave them to buy something for Mom. No. This was with his own money from his first real job.

I was admiring this beautiful Angel and she was just TOO expensive. My son was so proud to be able to give me something he knew I wanted, he was just beaming!


When I got her, she did not have the dress, only the lace. I wanted to place her at the top of my tree, so I made her the skirt and of course it needed to go with her PINK bows. It's been many years since she got the top spot. I'm feeling nostaligic this year, so she may grace the top of the tree once again.


There are no children here for Christmas anymore, unless you count our kitties and doggies or perhaps hubby....who loves Christmas as much as any kid....and yet our kids have left behind many precious memories for us to cherish.

Happy Pink Saturday to you!

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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I wasn't always "into" decorating. I wanted to be, but I KNEW that I completely lacked the talent for it. I'm just not one of those people who can take a few random things and artfully put them together. I envy those of you who have that knack...truly I do.

I love my house and my decorations....now. And, I love coming up with new things...now. But, it wasn't always that way. I started by collecting magazines. Well, not the whole magazine...that can be overwhelming. Every time I saw something I liked in a magazine, I tore it out and put it in a folder. As the folder got fuller and fuller, I discovered that there was a lot of similarity in what I liked. So, that is what I went with. I copied things that I saw in those pictures and what emerged was something that I feel so comfortable with. It's still a work in progress. And, now, instead of not knowing what I want...I want TOO MUCH!! Know what I mean?

Someone gave me some really important decorating advice and I follow it now. She told me to decorate for myself and not care what anyone else thought about it. So that is what I do!

Now, I am getting out my Christmas decorations. Wow. What a job! It's a task that has grown every year!! I used to put up my few little figurines on my shelves and every year, I added to the collection. Then in January, when I put them away, everything just looked so "empty".

That is when I decided to pack away my regular decorations every year when I put out Christmas. So, I first unpack all my Christmas stuff, then I wrap up all my "rest of the year" stuff and pack it away. It's a lot of work, but it is always worth it.

I've really been enjoying all the Christmas decorating pictures on the blogs that I follow and I can't wait for more! I am going to share what I have done so far. This is my dining room and a little bit of my kitchen. To see what it usually looks like and compare...click here : http://luluscottage.blogspot.com/2008/09/mmmm-cup-of-tea-my-dining-room.html





The above is something my youngest made in kindergarten. He is 21 now. I just always loved it, so I enjoy looking at it. Is that silly?




This is a bowl that I got last year and when I unpacked it was BROKEN...gasp! Darn and double darn it! I stuck it in this corner for now and I plan to glue it back together, because I just like it very much.

Happy decoration to you!! I can't wait to see all your goodies!

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