Not Much Going On

I took advantage of the lovely weather yesterday and got in a 3.5 mile walk/jog.  It was close to 60 and beautiful.

This field of daffodils is going to be STUNNING in a couple more days.  I can't wait!

 And, these guys are actually showing their sunny faces.  It was so gorgeous yesterday Lil, Sadie and Alicia all played together for almost five hours--the majority of it spent outside playing in each backyard. :o)

I'm chuckling, though, because Mother Nature is once again being funny and we're to get somewhere from 1"-3" of snow this evening.  Go figure. ;o)  I'm not holding my breath on that amount of snow, but I'll be thrilled if it comes to fruition.

Of course, it would come when we have a holiday, so no snow day for Miss Bit.  Oh well. Snow is snow is snow, after all. :o)

 While Lil played with her friends, B, Beanie and I ran a couple errands.  When we got to Martin's, there was the Wienermobile!

Crazy!  I have NO idea why it was there, but it was.  Ellie enjoyed it, I scored a wienie whistle for Lil and a sticker for Bean.  :o)

Tomorrow is a day off for the family--always a fun time.  We were hoping to go to the VLM tomorrow, but I do believe we may be staying home to play in the snow instead. :fingers crossed:

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Weekend Sparklies:

1.  Dinner last night with Mom and Dad.  We've not done a meal with them in a while and I've missed it.
2.  Lunch with them again today. :o)  It's so good to eat with them and catch up.
3.  B and I only recently discovered "Big Bang Theory" (yes, yes, we'd heard all sorts of fabulous stuff and should have and just never did--DOH!) and have spent the past two days watching season one.  Ah, good stuff.  :o)
4.  Making a couple more wreaths to give away.
5.  A snuggly day inside with my family.  Sometimes we need those. 

No milestones.

The Tooth Fairy is Going Broke and Other Happenings

Honestly, I have no idea how the child can eat anything--she has no teeth left!  Last night the bottom one there (or not there any longer) was really bothering her so she started wiggling and waggling, and out it popped! 

 Meanwhile, I'm being all crafty again.  I found this on the board of pins and decided that I must have one.

 Dani needed to go to Joann Fabric this morning and I was more than happy to go so I could look for necessary supplies: Fun Fur yarn, a spool of flower ribbons, a foam form (gonna get that from Lowe's next time--MUCH cheaper), and pink pearlized straight pins.

I think eyelash yarn is loads of fun, but worried it would all be matted down under each progressive wrap.

 Luckily, that didn't happen. :o)

It was fast going, and I had it finished in about an hour.  It took another five minutes to cut the flowers and pin them on.

*****ETA 2/18/12*****
For those interested, here are my materials:
*3 skeins fun fur (I only used about two but had the third just in case)
*1 spool flower ribbon (as in flowers that are connected into a ribbon)
*1 10"-12" foam wreath form
*1 box pearlized pink straight pins

 I added a bit of ribbon to hang it and voila! it's finished! :o)  It's pretty darn cute and I'm feeling all pleased with myself once again. ;o)

And, just to finish things up, here are some photos from the past couple of days.  Ellie the glamour girl.

 My Bitty still LOOOOOVES to watercolor.  Ellie is learning (and still coloring herself--argh!) and seemed to enjoy it.

 I was letting Holly's dog bed dry on top of the dryer.  I glanced in the laundry room and thought it looked odd.

 Upon closer inspection, I figured out why.  :oP  Silly kitty!  (Georgie, for those wondering.)

And, finally, this dratted tree is once again holding on to all it's leaves.  I just wish they would all fall down so I could finish cleaning up the backyard.  Gr.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  Anyone have anything fun planned? :o)

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Prayers for my neighbor who lost his wife this week.  My heart is so heavy and hurting for him right now.  They were married over 60 years.  :o(

Cell Phone Photo Dump

This afternoon I realized I had close to 70 photos on my phone that I needed to download.  Doh!

Look at this girl.  I can't believe how grown-up she's looking.  She's such a charming, sweet girl--even when she drives me batty. ;o)

 I purchased the outfit yesterday and she couldn't wait to wear it.  I had originally thought it to be for spring, but Dani found some leggings to go with it and paired with her favorite blue boots, it works beautifully.  That hot pink is wonderful on her.  :o)  I swear, I get a huge smile on my face just looking at this.  What a lady.

Oh, lest you think otherwise, she's still a kitty most days.  She plays kitties on the playground at school, at home, outside playing with Sadie and Alicia.  I got a killer deal on a fleece yesterday--a fuzzy, black fleece.  "It's perfect cat fur!!" Oh, my sweet, odd little duck, I do adore you and your imagination. 

The other morning she was terrified Big Foot was going to be looking in her bedroom window.  Wha...?  It seems some of the girls in our RE class had been talking about watching some "Big Foot in Virginia" show or another and Lil was afraid he was around here.  Um, yeah.  We had a bit of a talk about mythical creatures and such, and discussed the fact Big Foot has no desire to be around humans and hides himself well away up in the mountains.  So far we've had to repeat comments, so I think that took care of it.  :fingers crossed:

Ellie and I are continuing with our morning walks.  I've created a number of wonderful loops and they range in distance from 1.5 to over 3.5 miles in length.  I can lengthen them or shorten them depending on mood, weather, etc. and we walk every morning the weather is "fine" (read: not raining). 

I recently added this one to mix.  It goes around a HUGE chunk of farmland which is currently fallow.

I discovered this massive cedar (with some hurricane damage?) along the path.

There are also a couple of tractor crossing signs facing the pedestrians, and this one facing the farm equipment drivers. 

I've been running more and more on our walks.  I feel myself getting stronger each time I go out.  I love to go on Saturdays when B is home because he keeps the girls and I get a chance to get out without having to push the jog stroller.  Who knew that would make such a difference?? I can only run with one arm swinging at a time when I have Beanie with me, and while it works, it's definitely more effort. 

All this movement and careful eating has resulted in the weight coming off once more.  I was hefting Beanie up the stairs after lunch, thinking how much more work was required to to carry her than to just haul myself up.  This in turn led me to the thought that she only weighs 6 pounds more than the weight I've shed, and holy cow I've been asking a lot of my body and legs and lungs and heart.  :shakes head:  It's all a matter of perspective, isn't it? 

I plan to keep up the walking--even once school is out.  Lil can just come with us, and it won't hurt her to walk/ride her bike along with us.  :o)  I'm also looking forward to getting out and working in the yard.  The sun and the quality of the light are beginning to look like "spring" and I feel my heart getting lighter at the thought.  Too bad hot, humid summer has to follow...:oS

My goal is to keep this up, no matter the weather.  Wish me luck!
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Sparklies:

1.  Have I mentioned Miss Bean likes to help with the laundry?

Every. Single. Time.  She pulls items out and then hands them to me, identifying the owner as she does so. :o)

2.  I was struck by the light shining through the water collected on the branches. 

Icy trees look similar when the sun shines on them.  I guess I was reminded of that.

3.  Every afternoon I'm greeted with these:

Tiny rainbows on my garage door.  They bring such a smile to my face.

4.  Um, maybe notsomuch a sparkly...

 She was however quite pleased with herself.  Doh.

5.  Have I mentioned how much my children love to be under blankets? 

They get it from their daddy.  If he's sitting down watching TV--even in the dead of summer!--he wants a blanket.  The girls frequently join him.  Ellie has a blanket in her lap every morning on our walks, and if it shifts, she's none too pleased until I fix it.

6.  My fuzzy girl:

Look at that sweet face.  She's mellowed so much as she's grown older.  I know she misses Waylen, but she seems to enjoy being the only dog.  I'm glad about that because there is no way in the world we could have a puppy in the house right now.  OY!

7.  Visiting with Dani and Mom (her mom, Claire) last night.  :o) 
8.  Monster trip to the 'jay with Dani yesterday.  We hit the big one on the other side of town.  When you live in Germany and come home for a visit, a trip down every aisle of the store is in order.  :o)  I found a number of excellent deals and got some fun new duds for the girls.
9.  The sunshine--it just feels SO good on my face. 
10.  The daffodils will be blooming shortly.  I can't wait!

No milestones.

Valentine's Day

This is going to be very quick, as it's late for me to be posting.  Brien and I were able to go out to dinner--just the two of us!  Dani and Mom (her mom, Claire) came to babysit and play with the girls.  I do believe a good time was had by ALL. :o)

We went to La Plaza Azteca and shared fajitas and guacamole (so so yummy), and he gave me a new bottle of "Happy".  I was out and I was sad and not going to purchase any for myself as it is pricey (who knew the price had gone up that much?!?), and B not only got me a bottle, he purchased it during Clinique bonus time so I got the bonus too!  He's a smart boy, my honey. :o) 

The girls were excited to have two adults to play with who weren't Mommy and Daddy.  ;o) 

I'm tired and ready to curl up in bed with a good book and look forward to getting back on the regime tomorrow.  But, it was fun to blow it for a night. :oP

Making Valentines!

Lil decided she wanted to make her own Valentines this year.  She told me the colors and I cut and scored the card bases and left her to do the rest.  

Punching little hearts.

 And, punching big hearts.

A pile of hearts with which to decorate!

She folded the cards, worked the Tombo and decorated to her heart's content.

 Yes, she does indeed still stick out her tongue to work. :o) She is spending this evening writing messages and addressing her cards.  I hope they are well received as she has worked very hard on these. 

And, here's her 100th Day of School project.  She decided she wanted to string 100 beads to make a necklace.  They were supposed to come up with a unique way to display their collection.  I would say this counts as "unique", wouldn't you? 

I'm on my way out the door to meet up with Dani and take a trip to the 'Jay.  Going to the 'Jay is more fun with her around.  She's in town for the next week and I can't wait to visit!  I've not seen her in close to a year.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Valentine's Day--I know my girls will! :o)

*Finally!*

 Last night just as we were about to sit down to dinner, the wind started HOWLING and the snow came in.  Thunder snow!  I'd never really experienced such a thing, and oh my! 

We got, at most, a dusting, but it's the only snow we're likely to get this year, so we were bound and determined to enjoy it. 

If you click the following photos to enlarge them, you can see the heaviness of the downpour.

Lil asked if she could go out, and how could I deny her? 

 She bundled up and we sent her out--dinner could wait.

 Nanook of the North, anyone? ;o)

 "I have lots of Nanook of the North poses!"  (Seriously.  She said that.)

Out she went.

She found snow to sample (just like Han always did).

Snowflakes on the tongue?

Ah, this is better. :o)

You can see the pavement was wet at this point.  The temps dropped quickly, and overnight they actually fell into the 20's (I do believe the coldest they've been this winter) as the wind howled and the snow continued blow.  We had a dusting, at most, but it was windy and slick this morning. 

We skipped church (I didn't want to try out the roads or take Ellie out in the vicious wind) and Lil spent a bit of time out in the snow.  She's out there again now. 

I'm hoping to get out for a nice little walk/jog (it's SOOOO much easier without the jog stroller) while the sun is shining, but I'm not certain it will happen.  Lil has a 100th Day of School project to finish up and Valentines to make and address.  You know how it is. 

For now, we'll enjoy the brief bit of winter that has visited us and enjoy it, for it'll be in the mid to upper-50's again by the middle of the week. 
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Weekend Sparklies:

1. B  made carnitas last night and I made guac to go with them.  SOOOOO yummy!
2.  The snow!
3.  A nice walk/jog of 3.5 miles yesterday.  Just me.  It was lovely.
4.  Glitter!  We made miters in RE this morning.  It was fabulous!

No milestones.