LAST FAMILY 'HURRAH'

We braved the elements yesterday and took out the boat for our planned family sail. My husband, oldest daughter and her beau, middle daughter and our son and I ventured out for a 'three hour' tour.... a three hour tour....
We missed our middle daughter's beau, as he had an obligation with his family, that I'm sure was much warmer!! However, we had FUN. But, we always have fun, we are a fun group.

I purchased some runners winter wear (like I'm going to run) and layered up with my favorite big wool sweater covering it all giving me a rather rotund look. We really had a nice day, the sun was shining, and as we were dressed for the cold, and were warmed from within... it wasn't so bad.

Next week, she comes out for good. So would it be too much to ask that EVERYONE and I mean everyone channel good vibes our way for a small heat wave?


Enjoy the photos, we do look kinda funky..... and I am NOT as fat as I look... really.

cold, cold, cold......

Hello.... it's October, not January here.

We still have our boat in the water. In Lake Michigan, which I am sincerely hoping isn't frozen solid, with one lone sailboat stuck there....

A while ago, I suggested we have one last family hurrah aboard panache.... As my middle daughter and her beau work retail, they needed a month to secure the day off. So we selected tomorrow, thinking October, Illinois, could be beautiful. Well, it's not- at least that's the prediction. It's supposed to freeze tonight. So it's highly unlikely it'll warm up to comfortable 'on the water' temps. But, MAYBE there'll be sun. Maybe.

But, we are salty ole sailors (not me, or the girls), and we are going anyway. Instead of grilling on the boat, however, we are going to partake in a bar my husband has had a hankering to visit. It's a sailor's bar. Hopefully we won't run into Brutus, while Popeye and the fam are drinking hot totties. What is a hot tottie?



Stay tuned for the frozen photos from tomorrow's event and send warm thoughts my way..... anyone know where I can buy cute long underwear?

I TOLD YOU IT WAS CUTE....

It's FREEBIE FRIDAY!
Today's Freebie is Oliver! YEE HAW - isn't he cute? Oliver is free for you today and you will have him emailed to you today or tomorrow once you have gone into the store and ordered him. He can be sent to you in jpeg or pdf file format. Please let us know which you prefer in the comments section when you order. Remember, Oliver is only FREE today, October 9th. After that he will be available in the store for purchase.

headache.....

Once years ago, and I mean years, I had a conversation with someone about her 'tenant' in a crummy apartment building. This person went to introduce herself as the new owner of the building, knocking on door after door meeting people. She came to this lady's door, introduced herself and said, as we are all wont to do..... 'hi,I'm blah, blah, I'm your new landlord, how are you?' To which this lady answered,' well, I'm sick'..... the friend said, 'oh my, well I do hope you feel better soon' to which her new tenant replied, ' well, I've been sick since the 60's'. This was the 80's, she looked fine, just unkempt and lazy. We laughed. I've become that woman with this damn headache.

I've had a headache since the 80's, I'm sure. Hum, I got married and had kids in the 80's- maybe there's a correlation here???? Seriously, it's a malady that I suffer from regularly. I don't want to complain- but c'mon, enough is enough. I've done everything you can think of with a headache.... and I'm sick of it. So I'm off, in a drug haze- to deal with 300 loud little mouths.

So, with that little rant over, and no, I don't feel better, I've got to go to work today, early, for a meeting, before school, with a headache. Maybe I should go back to the 60's and think about that kind of haze.... that might just knock the headache....

....then again, it might make it worse. Look what it did for Janis Joplin - I'll be she had headaches too.

A YUMMY GIVEAWAY!!

Sweet B's Sweet Giveaway

Click to join the fun. I love a good giveaway- found this on one of my favorite blogs, and joined in- you should too!!!

DIVIDE AND CONQUER....or THE PLANT part two

We went to Home Depot, bought some dirt and a couple big pots and tackled the beast. My husband, somehow managed to extract the thing (on it's side) from the pot and we began hacking at the dirt surrounding the root ball. Much to my delight, it was several still large plants that made up the ginormous one. We were able to fairly easily divide it into 2 really BIG plants, one fairly big plant, and two nice size plants.

Now I still have 2 big plants to find homes for, but at least Mr. Universe doesn't have to come over to move them in. As a matter of fact, we already rolled one in, and it's sitting in the living room, and I'm wondering what to do with it.... anyone in need of a roommate? As that's really what the big ones are the size of.

THE PLANT

Ok, bear with me on this tale.

Last spring, my husband was gone, and I was bored, playing online, and eventually morphed over to looking on Craigslist (no not at the sexual services). Some how, I'm still not sure how, I ran across an ad for a giant jade plant. I had one YEARS ago, that I was very fond of. Actually had it for probably 8 years, with no issues.

We (my husband and I) were gone and my kids hosted a party, as kids will do when you are gone, and lo and behold, it got broken. NO ONE knew what happened, or HOW this could have happened, innocent faces and all. But it did. I was sad.

So when I saw this ad, my plant came to mind. I promptly emailed the lady and said I wanted it. She warned me that it was really big. Sure I thought. She wasn't lying. I sent my son and a friend went to get it, I should have known when he called me and said, 'Mom, it is a huge monster- I mean ridiculously huge, I don't know what you are going to do with it huge'. Oh, my God, was he right. It is a MONSTER.

My son, a big strong kid, one of his buddies an even bigger dude and some random acquaintance driving by and coerced into helping struggled and I mean struggled to get it on my front porch. It is easily as tall as me, and probably 5 feet or so around. It won't fit in my house, with out a chain saw enlargement of the door, and that isn't happening, nor is the proposed sun room that it could live in if only we'd build it happening. So, what am I going to do with it?

It's 24 years old. I can't let it die. But what am I going to do with it???? The pressure's on... it's getting cold. I think we are going to try to divide it, if we can get the chain saw started.... stay tuned, for part two of "Little Shop of Horrors"- Trumpystyle.