Guess What???

I'm so excited I could just poop my pants!!!!
Maeve Binchy, Jodi Picoult, and Luann Rice all have new novels coming out in a few months!!!!
I'm just tickled to pieces.

My Motto....

Always remember..........
Tip your face to the sunshine and thank the Lord for the beautiful day

Resolutions

Today is New Years Eve 2008. This year has been one of the BEST years of my life. I have travelled to the Bahamas, Paris, taken many trips to Chicago, made my annual sojourn to Florida with Archie, gone on my annual chick trip with Janet to Lake Michigan, went on a long weekend with Archie to South Haven and stayed at a beautiful B & B. I met up with my darling cousin, Sharon, for a fun weekend in Indianapolis, and have been to two family reunion/parties with my Vail kin. I also went with Karin to a Christmas shopping weekend in Chicago that was WAY long overdue!!! I saw two musicals in Chicago: My Fair Lady with Bree and Dirty Dancing with Mom. I have read many fabulous books and spent hours sitting like a slob inside or outside with my nose stuck in one of my beloved books.

It has also been a sad time....I lost my cousin, Shelley, to cancer and my job that I so adored and loved so very much has taken a turn south and made me very sad.

I vow to make 2009 a fabulous year full of growth, change (good change!!!) and happiness.

These are a few of my NY Resolutions:

Buy more candles

Eat less brussell sprouts

Only clean when the mood hits me

Shop more (doesn't mean "buy" more)

Buy fresh flowers

Go on as many trips and adventures as I POSSIBLY can this year!!!

HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Books

These are the books I got for Christmas.

From Michael: The Sweet In Between by Sherri Reynolds (she wrote one of my fave books The Rapture of Canaan)

Testimony by Anita Shreve

I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass

2009 Writer's Market Book

The above 3 books were from Bree....

I am reading The Sweet In-Between right now.

Christmas 2008

Christmas was a blast, as usual, at our house!!! Bree got home on Tuesday and that night her friends, Lucy, Gabe and Gwen came over. They stayed up all night talking!!! When I got up at 5:30 to go to work, they were just leaving. Bree said they had so much fun talking and laughing and reminiscing. Bree slept til 2:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve and I worked til noon. Then Christmas Eve we went to Kevin's. It was fun! I got a $40 gift card to Fresh Market from Mom in our exchange and then each couple got a $100 gift card to Fresh Market from Mom. We'll be eatin' good!!!

I can't believe this happened, but not ONE PICTURE was taken over at Kevin's!!!!

Christmas morning arrived cold as ever and Michael showed up at 6:30 a.m. I got up at 7:30 and so did Bree and we opened presents. Santa was very, very good to Kelli Anne. I got a Tiffany necklace from Bree, a novel from Michael, car washes from Archie. Bree got me several gifts that she got when she was in Europe a few weeks ago and some books that I wanted. She got me the Roseanna pitcher I saw when we were in Nordstrom Rack too!!!!! I was delighted with everything!!!!

We had brunch and then Michael left for work. Christmas is the busiest movie day of the year!!!

This is the first year we didn't go to a movie. It was cold and we had movies here to watch. Archie got a blue ray DVD for Christmas and he got some DVD's we could watch so we decided to stay home.

The day went all too fast. It is such fun having Bree home. I have so much fun with her and she is such a great listener and has such a big heart. I wish John could have come home too, but he was with his family. Having Bree home for Christmas is the cherry on top of the hot fudge sundae.

The next day Archie and Bree left for Chicago at 6:00 a.m. as Bree had to work at 10. They got into horrible weather. 30 closed and they had to stop. Then traffic just crawled along. It took them nearly 8 hours to get to Chicago!!!! I'm so glad everyone made it safely back home!!!

Here are some pics of our Christmas!!!!

WONDERS NEVER CEASE!!

Today I fell into luck! Totally by accident and it ALMOST didn't happen!!!
I wanted to make buckeye candy today and had to go to Country Kitchen to buy parrafin wax. I made a special trip over there, got the wax, and just as I was about to check out, I spotted ROSEANNA!!! Roseanna, Roseanna, my darling Roseanna, whom I have missed for soooo long!!! Whodathunkit? There was LOTS of Roseanna plates, coffee cups, espresso cups, tea pots, little casserole dishes! Oh I nearly squeeled with delight!!! I bought a set of darling plates. I wanted to buy more but held back. What a lucky day I had.
And to think...I almost didn't go to Country Kitchen!!!!

In the Middle of the Night

Something happened to me last night that is very rare for me. I woke up at 1:00 a.m. and could not get back to sleep. I tossed and turned, got up, checked my email, read a bit, laid on the sofa in the living room, then went back up to bed. Archie was snoring next to me.
My mind would not shut off!!! I found myself thinking over and over again the same two things!!! Pete and Re-Pete, Back and Forth, Over and Over, Check and Re-Check. I was going crazy! Does this happen to other people too? I would say to myself, "Now stop this right now!!!" and then I would think the same horrid things over and over again!!!! I almost started crying I was so frustrated.
I have a game I have played ever since I was a little girl and I would not be able to get to sleep because of worrying about something....I would (in my mind) pretend that my worries/concerns/midnight demons was dust on the floor. I would take a broom and sweep up the dust into a dustpan. Pour the dust from the dustpan into a bag. Then go to the window. Open the window and throw the bag filled with the dust/demons/worries/concerns out the window. Then close your eyes and off to blissful sleep. This did not work last night.
I must have drifted off sometime. (Last time I looked at the clock it was nearing 4:00 a.m.)
Next thing I knew Archie was calling me, "Keeeeelllliiiii....Time to get up! Rise and shine!"
I clomped downstairs and got my mug of hot coffee. As I took my first sip I realized what I always do....things never seem as bad or as awful the next day over a fresh cup of joe.

I just wanted to say "I LOVE TIFFANY'S"

Roseanna

These are my new Roseanna stuff I got in Chicago. You can't tell anything really...but they are SOOOOOOOOOOOOO ADORABLE.

Thank God for candles, magazines and a good book

This morning I sat in my robe and pj's, a cat on my lap, candles burning bright, and a magazine to read. I LOVE magazines. I read them cover to cover. I enjoy every page. Magazines have always been a special treat for me. When I was in high school I got Seventeen every month --- and as I have told Bree before, back then the magazine was larger than a magazine is now and twice as thick. My girlfriends and I oohed and aahed and paper clipped pages that we would go back to over and over again. After I was married and had my babies, we were very poor and I couldn't afford to buy magazines, let alone have a subscription to a magazine! I would read second hand magazines but it was never the same as having your very own brand new copy.

A few years ago, after I started working full time, I treated myself to one magazine subscription every year. How I looked forward to that magazine coming in the mail. Its happy cover poking out amid the bills and junk mail!

Well, this year I made a BOLD decision! I decided that I would get a magazine subscription to ANY AND ALL magazines that I wanted. I told myself, "So What?" Its MY money and it isn't as if I'm out snorting crack! I've paid my dues and by God I am going to get magazines!

So a couple of months ago I got Entertainment Weekly, Country Living (one of my favorites) Coastal Living, and Good Housekeeping. I still want Midwest Living (another fabulous mag) and that will happen soon.

I received my first magazine a couple weeks ago and then yesterday I got another one. It was like Christmas!!! I was so happy!!!!

So, I will light my candles, kiss my cats, read my books and pore over my beloved magazines til the cows come home. And like I always say....its not like I'm spending money on crack or something....

Roseanna!!

The thrill of my day on Sunday was walking into Nordstrom Rack and spotting some interesting looking boxes at the front of the store. I knelt down to inspect them and for the love of God it was Roseanna pieces!!!!!!!!!!!!! I called for Bree and she came running over. All I could do was say, "Bree, my God! Roseanna!!!!" Bree, who has known my love of Roseanna plates and bought me many pieces, gasped in surprise!!! We immediately began scooping up the various boxes and squealing with joy as we opened each box to see the darling treasure inside. I bought two little dish sets --- I'll take pics of them and show you. They had a big pitcher but I didn't want to carry it.
You see, I collect Roseanna plates. They used to be easy to find. I could pick them up at TJ Maxx or Marshall's. Then it became harder and harder to find them. You had to order them on the internet. So you can see how surprised, thrilled, happy I was to see them at Nordstrom Rack!!!!
I'm going to take a pic of them right now and put them on the site.
It's the little things that make a girl happy, you know???

A Shopping Weekend in Chicago

I had such fun last weekend!!! Karin and I left FW early Saturday morning for a much needed getaway shopping weekend in the big city. We hit Michigan Avenue by 10 in the morning and shopped all day, stopping to eat lunch at Frankie Scallopini's. That night we met Bree and John for supper at D4 and had a ball. Then Bree came back to the Sheraton with Karin and I for more girl talk. We had to kick her out at 10:00 because we were exhausted!!!
Then up Sunday morning all fresh and ready to hit the streets again. We had breakfast at the Sheraton and picked Bree up at 9:30. We were at Loehmann's by 10 and shopped the day away. We found bargains galore at Loehmann's, Macy's, Nordstrom Rack. I finished my shopping (except for stocking stuffers)!!!!!!!
We hit the road home by 3:30. I hated to leave Bree. I missed her as soon as she walked away...Christmas seems so far away until I see her again.
Karin and I stopped in Valparaiso for supper and got home about 7. SUCH FUN! We laughed and talked and got all Christmas-y. The stores were decorated so beautifully.... especially the old Marshall Field's ( now Macy's ) on State Street.
I love Chicago!!! Someday I would like to live there.

This is the mantle that I just decorated. Wish the kitties would have been in the pic.

I just decorated the mantle....also Bree got me the plates on either side of the fireplace at Posh and Archie just hung them for me. You can't see them real well, but they are gorgeous!!!! This is me in front of our tree...

Kinzie and Walt --- growing up

Michael and the kids

"It's Never A Good Time"

...for die-Ting. It's not a good time for me to die-T in the summer because I can't walk because its too hot and I have water retention. Ice cream goes down so good in the summer too....and all those barbeques.
Fall is a bad time to die-T because there is Halloween and apple dumplings. Then the holidays come along and that is a terrible time to die-T because of all the parties and goodies. Then after the first of the year comes the depression -- you know, the post holiday blues. Can't die-T then either. The only thing that makes me happy is food that time of year.
So that leaves Spring. Lovely, glorious, beautiful Spring!!! That is a perfect time to die-T. No excuses.....unless you can think of one or two.
Let me know if you do....