Another weekend

gone. It was a nice relaxing one. We had friends come over & play the WII. We have a bunch of addicts on our hands. It is so fun to watch people play. They are so animated & really get into it.

I made Sloppy Dawgs from the Rachel Ray show. Oh my gosh they were good & a big hit. So stinkin easy to make too. You have to go over & steal the recipe & try em out.

My girlfriend's horse got sick this last week & passed. She has been so upset over it. I decided to make her one of the little pop-up albums in memory of Montana. It came out so cute. She loved it. I didnt have a ton of pics so I really had to make do. I am in love with these albums. They make great gifts. One of these days I will sit long enough to write out instructions so I can share the ins & outs of them.

I went & got my hair cut. I dont think I have had my hair this short in a very long time, if ever. I am loving the ease of it. Not much up keep at all. Would like to get some chunky blonde put in it in the next week or two.

Next week is Travis' 12th birthday. Where does the time go? He has asked if we can go to the Alligator Farm. He is nuts about animals so it didnt seem like a crazy request coming from him. So we have a day of fun planned for Saturday. Alligator Farm, the movies, lunch & who knows what else. He is excited... so I am excited. Wait till you see the cupcakes that I am making for his get together on Sunday. They are great! Will share the pics next week & the link where to find them.

Well thats about it for me. Not a lot going on. Will be back to catch up. ~Toodles

Birthday Recap *Warning Lots Of Pics*

ll the birthday went off without a hitch. He had a great day at work. Our daughter got him a huge bouquet of balloons. His co-workers got him a very nice card & Best Buy gift card. Now what man wouldn't be happy with that? The chocolate cupcakes with mocha/caramel mousse filling were a hit. In fact, I got an order for a dozen this friday. I'm rather excited! He LOVED the fish tacos too. I have to say they were the best ones to date. I haven't cared for them lately but they were delish lastnight. The white sauce was to die for. *Ü* I have to share a few pics from lastnight. Our daughter Tarynn got him a pig snout as a gag gift. Now that we live in Arkansas she is determined to make him a "Hog". He is determined to fight her every step of the way. LOL She was going to buy him a shirt but feared he wouldn't wear it. She was probably right. So she decided to get him the snout. It was hilarious. He was a good sport & we got some great pics. It amazes Jim & I how dedicated the people are here about their Razorbacks....WOW! They have their cars plastered beyond recognition as well as decked out in all the garb on game days. I have never seen anything like it. Kind of like stepping into the Twilight Zone. Hahaha

I also wanted to share a few pics of the cards we made for him. Honestly they could of been better but I didn't feel well & was kind of crunched for time. Looking at the pics I can see all the flaws. I have vowed to do better next time. He didn't notice & that was good. :) My card (the black & white one) was an adaption from a tutorial here. It was fun to make & will probably do more. I didn't get a chance to read a lot of her blog but what I saw looks fun. I will be going over & catching a few more posts & craft ideas.

I better get going. I'm making Eggplant Parm from a girlfriend's recipe tonight. It is so good. I know my daughter will be hitting my door when she finds out. She loves it too! Have a great day. ~Toodles

Happy Birthday Hubs

Today is Jim's birthday. The big 39! I cannot wait till next year....we are so throwing an Over The Hill Party! Every birthday the guest of honor gets to choose their dinner of choice. It looks as if I will be making fish tacos with all the fixins. They are soooooooo yummy.

I am so lucky to have him. He is a wonderful man that makes me laugh each & every day. He is kind, compassionate & would give the kids & I the world if he could. I have never been more happy in all my life (othe than the day my children were born). He completes me & makes me strive to be a better person. He is smart as a whip & we are constantly learning something from hist wisdom. Honey, thank you for being you & thank you for choosing me to stand beside you everyday through thick & thin. I cant wait for the day that we are sitting on that porch in the country rocking away in our chairs. I love you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Dollie Done

I finally got the dollie done for Tarynn's friend. It was going along with the black & pink pop-up album. She came out so cute. She is so tiny all of 5" total. I hope she likes the gifts. I even added a pic of the tag I made. I thought it was cute. LOL

I'm throwing in another picture of a kitty doll that I started when we were living in Idaho. I unpacked her & want to finish up her last details. She was fun to do. I completely painted her face which was a little different than my usual stitching of the features. I will take some more pics of her once she is complete.

I am about half way done with the giveaway prizes...yes you read it right...PRIZES (plural).

I wanted to do both of these projects so I figured why not. I haven't decided if one lucky person will get both or if I will draw two names.....you know, spread the wealth. Hahaha So make sure you keep checking back for the giveaway to be posted.

I had a family medical emergency that slowed things down a bit but everything is good & we are trying to get back on track.

Going to make those pumpkin muffins today along with the lattes (from my last post). I will let you know how they come out.

It has been raining here for the last two days....and I mean pouring. I love the rain & it makes me want fall/winter to get here even more. Now, if I could just get the cold weather to go along with rain, we would be doing good. Here in the south you just get more humidity & bugs. Blek!

Well I'm off to bake & craft. ~Toodles

One down

and a few more to go....Seems to be my personal motto these days. I really have strived to get things done & finished up so I can share here with you all. It seems my heart is in the right place but my motivation isn't.

I have the pop up album done for a friend at Tarynn's work. I love how it came out. I love the black, white & pink combo together. I am almost done with her lil' dollie too. Just have to paint her shoes on & scrub her cheeks. So without further delay..... Here are the pics of the album I just finished. I will be trying to get some holiday albums done for the upcoming season too.

I was on a baking binge there for awhile...I have cookies, cookies & more cookies. LOL I love it! I finally made some plain ol' chocolate chip ones for my hubs. He loves those. I also tried a pecan shortbread recipe that is out of this world. Let me know if you want the recipe. I'm thinking I may put those on the to do list for Tarynn's baby shower. They would also make a great gift. Perfect I tell you & easy peasy. I also came across a recipe for a copycat Starbuck's Pumpkin Latte. Cant wait to try it. Will let you know on that one too.

I dont have a lot to share today. I am still recovering from a cold that settled in my chest. I have been dragging here this last week. Hoping to get my groove back & in the workin mode. I haven't forgotten my giveaway. It will be ready to post shortly. Have a great day.

~Toodles

TGIF

*YIPPEE* its friday & a holiday weekend! So looking forward to spending those three days with my family. The hubs has been putting in a lot of overtime & I know I am ready for him to be home (I'm pretty sure he is ready too. LOL) We plan on doing some shopping for some home furnishings. Slowly but surely we are getting the house put together. I didn't realize how many things I tossed & have had to replace. Not that thats a bad thing. Love getting new things but it can be costly. Slow & steady! Hahaha

I tried my hand at Red Velvet Cupcakes yesterday. Oh my, they came out wonderful. I must not of used enough food coloring though because I had Pink Velvet Cupcakes. They were awesome though. It made a lot too. I made one tray of regular size & almost two full trays of the mini-bite size ones. That size works well for me. I cant have to many goodies or sugar so it's perfect. I went with Paula Deene's (I love Miss Paula) recipe for the first time figuring I could'nt go wrong with her. Without a doubt they were great. I had a friend send me another recipe to try. Maybe these will have more of the red color that I was shooting for. I'll let you know.

Here is a peek at some of the goodies that are going in my Halloween Tag/Mini Album. Cant wait to see it finished.

Well not much going on. We lost power yesterday so no computer. *Sigh* It made for a long day. So I havea ton to get to today. Have a wonderful day my friends. ~Toodles

WLS Update

I wanted to update everyone on my weight loss since surgery. It has been five months & I have lost 50lbs. I am extremely excited. It does seem a little slow, but I really cant complain. My goal now that we moved is to get active. I really need to walk & swim. So I will be scouting out some areas where I can accomplish that. My hubby takes pics every month to see my progression. Unfortunately, the shirts I have been wearing were very blousy & you couldn't see that much of a difference. I decided to take this months pic in a tighter fitting t-shirt *gasp*. I never wear anything like this. It makes me super uncomfortable but I wanted to see the difference it would make. So here is a pic before surgery (red/wht shirt) compared to 3 days ago in the black shirt.

Well not much more going on. Will be working on my Halloween Tag Book today & starting the Blog Giveaway Gift. Yay! Have a wonderful holiday weekend. Be safe. ~Toodles

Some fun listings

I finally got my Halloween/Fall Banner Garland listed in my Etsy shop. I feel a little sense of sccomplishment. I have been working on this banner for quite some time. I wanted to make it reversible. In doing that it had to be put together just right. I really love how it turned out. I only wish I had a fireplace to put it on. I have to admit again, I wouldn't mind holding on to this one. I liked how it looked hanging of my peg shelf. LOL

In other news...I went to the doctor with my daughter yesterday. We were able to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. It was oh so cool. Here are a couple of candid shots that I took during the visit. She & baby are doing well.

The hubs, Travis & I ventured up to Eureka Springs over the weekend. It was so gorgeous up there. I took so many pics that there is no way to list them all. We visited Thorncrown Chapel which is breathtaking. It sits in the woods & is mostly made of glass. My pics dont do it justice. Travis even spotted a deer on the outside when we were inside the chapel. We then ventured on up to Holiday Island to see the mini replica of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was so cool. Up on the hill from the bridge & river sits a castle. The Castle Rogues Manor is an absolute must see. I want to stay there but it is outrageously expensive. On our loop of the area we stopped on the side of the road to see what is supposed to be The World's Largest Windchime. It was quite large. My pics are a lil dark due to the sun setting. The location this was in looked a little hippyish. It was a hoot! Our last stop of the day was a castle (I use that term loosely) called Quigley's Castle. Now mind you this home & land were so pretty & I would kill to live on this hill but castle is not what I would call it. The story told by the grandaughter was that her grandmother built the home over several decades. She loved the rocks of Arkansas so she dug up rock & quartz & wheeled it up to the property. The outside & inside of this home are covered in rock. She has even made benches, birdbaths, garden arches from all the beautiful rock. Oh and more bottle trees. It must be a thing of the south. We saw our first one when we went to a plantation in Memphis, TN. They are supposed to ward off evil spirits. It was one of those things that I was glad we did but wouldn't pay money to do it again. I even got the whole back to nature experience using the outhouse for a restroom emergency. LOL I will post some random pics to share the day with you. If you get a chance visit the links & check out the sites.

Well now that I got my banner done & listed I want to start working on a blog giveaway. So please check back. As soon as I get it ready to put up we will have us a contest.

Have a great week. Happy Hump Day ~Toodles