Wassup?

It's been a busy week with classes, cleaning out, organizing and trying to get out-of-town. We leave today for St. Louis and Ronnie's 60th birthday party. We're staying with Walter and Chris. Butch leaves on Monday while I stay with my sisters for a couple of days. Pam and Karolyn arrive on Wednesday. Along with Jeanne and Janet, we all head to one of our annual scrapbook retreats in Barry, Illinois. I'll be teaching my photo organization class there. 

But for now, here's what's going on:

Outside my window: Dark as it nears midnight.

I am thinking: How much I still need to do before leaving town in the morning.

I am thankful for: Ellen. I love her show. She makes me laugh. She's so kind and giving. I love that about her. I'm supposed to be getting tickets for my cousins, Judy, Chrissy and I to go in late March. I'm watching the website every day. They have left the last two weeks completely blank and now are booking tickets for April. I'm wondering now if that's when she's going to be in Australia. Anyway, I can't go in April. I'll just have to keep watching.

From the kitchen: Nothing right now. I'll be cleaning out the refrigerator in the morning before we leave.

I am wearing: My jammies.

I am hoping: To stop at my favorite scrapbook store. It's the last one anywhere between here and St. Louis.

I am reading: Out of Time. I can't say I'm lovin' it. I only get books for my Kindle that are at least 4 or 5 stars. It's just a little too "fluffy" for me.

It's about time travel, but the heroine is wasting way too much time explaining everything that's different in the last two hundred years. 

I am busy creating: Nothing at the moment, but I did get something prepared for A Year of Memories earlier. I'm all packed up for my retreat.

I am hearing: a song playing on Ellen.

Around the house and garden: We've had some terrible storms this week. The tornado sirens went off at 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The wind was howling and the rain was coming down in buckets. The next morning, we discovered that the wind had blown a patio umbrella in a wrought iron stand over---and broke it---of course. One of the lounge chairs and both cushions were in the pool. The wicker furniture on the front porch was blown in to the bushes. Limbs were down, but luckily, no big trees this time.

In other news: Jordan was accepted to Appalachian State University in North Carolina. We think she still is leaning towards University of Tennessee. 

One of my favorite things right now: I couldn't do without my blog reader. I follow quite a few so it saves me a lot of time by keeping me informed when a new post is up.

How the weekend is shaping up: We'll be going to dinner with Walter, Chris, Ed and Jane tomorrow night. Ronnie's party is on Saturday, then we'll be at Jeanne's on Sunday for a family poker game and Superbowl. Shaping up to be a pretty fun time.

Next up is Storytelling Sunday. I have my topic, but have not yet written it. I hope I can steal a few minutes over the weekend to get it ready.

Until then...

A Few Recipes

I decided that this year I would try to make two new recipes every month. Here we are at the end of the month and I hadn't made a single new one. On Monday night, I had book club, so thought that would be a good time to try something new. You know I only post the ones that are good, so you might want to give these a try.

Maryland Crab Dip
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp. Worcehstershire sauce
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp. seafood seasoning
Few dashes of hot pepper sauce
3 green onions, chopped, divided
1 can crabmeat, drained, flaked
3/4 cup Kraft shredded Triple Cheddar Cheese with a Touch of Philadelphia, divided

Beat first 7 ingredients in medium bowl with mixer until creamy.
Reserve 1 tsp. onions. Add remaining onions crabmeat and 1/2 cup shredded cheese to cream cheese mixture; mix well. Spoon into a microwaveable bowl.
Microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes or until heated through, stirring after 1 1/2 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and onions.

Serve on Ritz crackers. (I used Wheat Thins.)

Sandy's Mascarpone Cupcakes with Strawberry Glaze
8 oz. mascarpone cheese at room temperature
2 egg whites
1/4 cup oil
1 box white cake mix
1/3 cup frozen strawberries thawed and drained
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners. In large blow combine the mascarpone, egg whites, and vegetable oil. Beat until creamy. Add cake mix and 1 cup water and mix until smooth---about 3 minutes. Fill liners to just below the rim. Bake until puffed and golden---18-20 minutes. Cool slightly in tins. Then transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

Glaze
Puree strawberries in food processor. Sift the confectioner's sugar and put in medium bowl. Pour in strawberry puree and whisk until smooth. Spoon over tops of cupcakes.

I made it in to a cake. It's not pretty---and the glaze is runny (it's supposed to be like that), but it is delicious.

Chicken Ranch Roll-Ups
4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1-8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
2 cups Kraft Triple Cheddar with a touch of cream cheese
1 pkg. ranch dressing mix
1 tube crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil chicken breasts and shred (I add onion and celery, salt and pepper to the water to add flavor). In large mixing bowl, add remaining ingredients. Unroll crescent rolls and place a large spoonful of cream cheese mixture on the wide part of each crescent, using about 1/8 of the mixture on each crescent (about the size of a tennis ball). Roll up crescents and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Don't worry, it will not run all over the cookie sheet. It stays in a ball.

And there you have not 2, but 3 new recipes for January! Enjoy.

I think I made a couple of resolutions without even realizing it.

New Year's Resolution

Turns out I have a New Year's resolution I didn't even know I made! I'm determined to get Butch cooking one meal a week. On Thursday, I gave him the choice of cooking steaks, or taking me out. I told him he could decide, but if it was steaks, he had to get them out of the freezer. Out the door I went for my bridge day. When I got home, turns out he had gotten out ALL the steaks I had in the freezer.

 In his defense, he didn't realized that I had them bagged separately within a larger ziplock. We quick started texting the family to come over for dinner. Mindy travels for work, so she was out. Steph already had plans. Jordan never answered. Morgan showed up. The two leftover filets shouldn't go to waste. They're too rare for me, so it's up to Butch.

Having him cook is definitely going to take a few more "tweaks." I figure I have a 50/50 chance of getting to eat out. I reminded him of the last time we went out to a restaurant together was before Christmas---our poker dinner on December 14th. I have coupons I want to use before they expire.

Mindy is headed to Mard Gras in New Orleans in another week. She's rockin' her new wig.

My scrapbook room needs a major clean out. I took this shot after putting some class kits together, so it's still a mess. I need to get rid of a lot of stuff. Sometimes, when I'm working, I can't even walk around.

Saturday, Stephanie and Mindy came over to do the little Valentine's project I planned for my day group on Tuesday. We had a recent conversation about how I really don't like crafts. I did them all in the 1970's. I said I do them just because they love them. Steph said she only loves crafts because I plan everything, have it all measured and pre-cut. It's just a matter of assembly! That's true. I don't like to leave anything to chance. She and Mindy want to have a day with their friends to do an Easter craft. I've already got ideas.

At the same time Stephanie and Mindy were working on the kitchen, I had Morgan and crew working on the prom invitations in the dining room. There were 6 of them. After two hours, they had all the strings tied around the mason jars, envelopes sealed and stuffed, and string tied to close the envelope. 

The all had to leave, so I finished up printing all the monograms, punching them and the yellow, scalloped background. I ran everything through my xyron. They turned out pretty cute. Glad to have that over with.

Now I'm trying to get my pre-planning done for my upcoming scrapbook retreat with family and friends in 2 weeks. That's about it from here. Hope your week is going okay.

Operation Organization

How did everyone do this week? Did you get your office/desk cleaned out? I cleaned out the closet in my office sometime last year and have kept it pretty nice. I didn't have to deal with that.

 But, when I looked at the bottom, I realized that my hoarding of boxes and bubble wrap has returned. I straightened it all up, but didn't get rid of a single box. It's hard to cure problems like this. What would be best for me would be for someone else to just come in and get rid of it all. Hey wait, that's what I used to do for people! I never knew I needed to hire someone like me for myself. Maybe if I "pay" myself and turn it in to a real "job" I could get rid of stuff. I was easily dispassionate for other people---even ridiculing them when necessary---"and you need 12 bottles of celery seed because??? You need 5 years worth of craft magazines because?" It just might work.

I straightened up my desk drawers---they weren't too bad either. I purposely picked the desk/office area this week to give me some time to do a couple of things most people don't have---a mud room where we keep our freezer (although I'm not ready to tackle defrosting the freezer yet) and a cedar coat closet. I asked Butch to help me with them, so we made a "date" to do it---Tuesday at 11 a.m. Scheduling works for us. Before we began, I asked him how long he thought it would take. He said at least 30 minutes each. I said 15 minutes each, tops. I set the timer. It only took 10 minutes for the mudroom, then 31 minutes for the coat closet. It feels so good to get junk cleaned out. At one point, Butch held up a coat that was on the floor and said, "this looks like a lining for a coat." I looked at it, all puzzled, turned it this way and that, and then realized it was the quilted coat I'm using NOW. I grabbed it and hung it back up. I noticed that I didn't have a problem getting rid of any of his coats!

What can you do with five minutes:
Clean out your purse.
Unload the dishwasher. No one likes to do this, but in the scheme of things, what's 5 minutes. Plus if you don't do it, things will not be put away correctly and your newly organized cabinets and drawers will be a mess in no time at all. Just do it.
Set a timer if you don't believe me. 5 minutes--maybe less, guaranteed!

On to this week's assignment. I'm giving you a break as I have a busy week myself. I leave for St. Louis on Friday, so won't have time for any household chores this week. Do your hall closet. That's it. Easy---30 minutes tops. THEN---go back and finish something from one of the previous assignments. You have a week to get more done. I'm not sure what I'll assign next week since I'll still be out-of-town. Actually, yes I do know what I'm assigning. Think about it. What kind of assignment could I do AWAY from home?

Weekend re-cap tomorrow. Wishing you an organized week.

There's Something About Starbucks!!

I love Starbucks. I know it's overpriced---but I get the tea. As far as I'm concerned, that's Starbucks best kept secret. I get the "venti iced black tea shaken with three Equals, please!" It's under 3 bucks. I don't go every day. I don't even go every week. I consider it a little present I give myself. I'm a gold cardholder---although, I don't even need to carry my card anymore. This is my favorite thing about my iPhone:

It's so awesome. As soon as I step in to the Starbucks store, my gold card automatically pops up on my phone. I pay with a simple scan of my phone, it keeps track of the balance on my card and my "rewards." You get a free drink of your choice for every 12 drinks you buy. I could even use my free one to get a fancy, expensive drink, but I don't drink coffee. I should save my free ones and treat the girls with them. Plus, they give you a free drink for your birthday too!

This is the current view of my account.

LUCKY DOZEN.

The next one’s on us.

10

30

12Stars until your next free drink or food reward.
20Stars by 10/27/2013 to renew Gold Level for a year.
1Free Birthday reward available.
1Earned free reward(s) available.

I'm really enjoying all the conveniences of my new phone. But I have to say that what I like the best is the camera. When I take a photo, it immediately goes in to iPhoto on my computer. That's why I take so many MORE photos now. Luckily, since I consider my blog another form of scrapbooking, I don't feel compelled to scrapbook everything. I scrapbook what I want, when I want. It's way more fun that way.

In the News

Is anyone else sick of hearing about the controversy as to whether Beyonce' lip-synced at the  inauguration? We're on day 4 now. For crying out loud. Who cares? It's not like she's not an amazing singer and is trying to pull one over on us. There's no end in sight since she's going to be the half-time entertainment at the Superbowl. I guess we'll have to endure another week of the criticism after that. I could care less about the singing---I love her voice and her music, but that body and her dancing!! I'll take her any which way. That gal has Talent with a capital "T"!

What about those young women crying all over the news because their ex-boyfriends posted provocative photos of them on porn sights? Hellooooo---don't take naked pictures of yourself and you never have to worry about that! Seems pretty darn simple to me.

Wasn't the story about that darling little 3 year old who fell and her pencil jammed in to her eye and through her brain, horrifying? I could hardly look at that. Thank God for that miracle that not a single thing was damaged. And the little girl looks perfectly fine. I would have thought her eye would look injured.

On to entertainment. Did anyone catch Jimmy Kimmel last night? Matt Damon supposedly kidnapped Jimmy and hijacked the show.  It was so funny and tons of stars were there.  Check it out On Demand.

Well, I better get to my assignment for "Operation Organization." I'll get it done! I'm sure! Plus, pre-plan for my scrapbook retreat---lots to do.

Wassup?

Outside my window: It's freezing cold here in Nashville 24 degrees. There's a joke going around that we only have two seasons in Nashville---Winter and summer---sometimes both in the same week! That's definitely true of the past week---from 70's down to 20's. At least we're better off that St. Louis. They are waking up to 13 degrees today. Brrr! Happy to be snuggled up in front of the fire.

I am thinking: I have a whole day to myself. I need to get started cleaning out and organizing my office. But I want to play in my scrapbook room today. That wins.

I am thankful for: HEAT!

From the kitchen: I made some Zataran's gumbo the other night. It was good, but needed more rice. I added that and shrimp. So Butch will be having leftovers while I'm off to the theater tonight to see Catch Me if You Can. I don't think Leo DiCaprio is starring.

I am wearing: My robe---no workout in sight this morning. 

I am hoping: That my "free" day doesn't fly by too quickly. That's why I got up at 4:40 a.m.---to have a longer day. Could mean a little "doze off" at the theater.

I am reading: I am finishing a FABULOUS book recommended by Connie---Mudbound by Hilary Jordan. I have flown through it. I have only 20 pages left. So good. It's about a 5 hour read if  you have the time. So worth it. I have to warn you, it's hard to read in places. About farm life in Mississippe in mid 40's and racial relations.

I am busy creating: A Valentine's project for my day group. Very cute---in my head at least. I'll share it when I "getterdone!"

I am hearing: a song Righteous Brothers on Pandora. I've created a great playlist.

Around the house and garden: Butch has added a lot of crap to his "home office"---the kitchen table. He assures me that he's going to clean it up today. He did clean out his closet. I'll have to share a few pictures. Other than getting rid of a BUNCH of clothes, you won't be able to tell a difference. His closet is perfect all the time. His side of the bathroom---that's another story.

I put up my Valentine's banner Mindy made me for Christmas:

She strung all of the heart playing cards on ribbon and tied various bits of ribbon in between.It's really cute.

In other news: Our last local scrapbook store closes next week. Sad :(

One of my favorite things right now: Stitching in front of the tv while watching Downton Abbey with a cozy fire. Butch says I burn him out on shows because I like to watch an episode every night. Heck, I'd like to watch several episodes in a row! Started season 2. I just love it.

How the weekend is shaping up: I have those damn darn prom invitations hanging over my head. Morgan and her friends are coming over Saturday morning for the assembly. I've already pre-cut---200 mason jars and 400 pieces of string. I've cut the ends off of 200 envelopes, folded the top over and punched two holes in each. I'm leaving nothing to chance with teenagers. I still have to design and print 200 monograms, punch them out and punch a mat for them. I would hope that it will only take a couple of hours for assembly on Saturday, but I'm sure that's wishful thinking. I'll share a picture of the finished product.

That's about it from around here. What's going on in your world? Email me your list and I'll post it! I just love this little recap of daily life. Thanks, Missus Wookie, for the idea!!

Miscellaneous

I love my UGGS. I'm not particularly fond of how they look, but they are so comfortable and warm. However, I have the sweater type and they really stretched out. They are kind of loose and sloppy. I always wash things when I feel like I have nothing to lose. Well, they washed up just fine, but didn't shrink like I'd hoped they would. I put them in the dryer. They got a little tighter, but just for a little bit. Now they are all stretched out again. I might just have to let them go.

 Another thing that needed a bath. This basket was really dusty down in the cracks. After all, it is about 25 years old. I ran it through the dishwasher and it came out just fine.

I keep this on my scrapbook table. It's from Starbucks a couple years ago---but it could be my personal mission statement. 

 Morgan brought me this porcelain mug from her trip to England. Of course, I love it!

I love the Rosary she brought me from Ireland---and the fact that it's green. She also brought me a St. Patrick's medal. Thoughtful gifts for me.

I had to post this on Facebook. The parking garage at the movie theater has really narrow parking spaces. I've been blocked in more than once and I don't park over the line. I'm actually parked next to the guy that went over the line. I parked on the right of him since there was so much room. I knew I wouldn't be blocked. When I came out, this is what I saw. I would have loved to see his face when he saw that someone blocked him in anyway. (I realize it could be a woman too---but I'm pretty sure it was a man that parked that close to teach him a lesson.)

I couldn't resist this pill box at the Container Store. I don't even carry pills in my purse. But for 99 cents, I couldn't resist. I put the Sharpie in the picture so you could get an idea of the size.

Here is how I had my spices. Then I saw the tiered shelf at the Container Store. I'm not sure it's much better, but at least I can see everything a little better.

I haven't started any cleaning out in my office yet. I'm hoping it won't take that long. We'll see. I've got a pretty busy week. Mondays are usually my "work at home" day. But since it was MLK day, Connie was off work. I played instead. We went for our monthly pedicure, had lunch at Jonathans and then went and saw the movie, Broken City with Mark Wahlburg, Russell Crow and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It was really good.

Operation Organization

How did you do this week? Connie admitted that she was going to do a drawer in her bathroom that she hasn't done in 15 years---since I helped her move. There had to be a full head of hair in there after 15 years!

A little fun story about her move. I always say I work hard and fast. At one point, Connie asked if we could take a break from unpacking. I said, "NO! The work's not done." I knew she was reaching her limit when I put her on unpacking a box of kitchen dish towels and cloths. She just threw them in the drawer. I looked at her, she looked at me and said, "What?" I said, "Are you kidding me? Take those out and fold them neatly!" Then she laughed my favorite Connie laugh. I did give her a hard time about all the jars of celery seed she had. I didn't even own one and she had half a dozen. Seems she had exactly one recipe that called for it, but never could remember if she had it, so kept buying more.

Back to work. I've heard from a few of you via email that you are actually accomplishing quite a bit. Even if you don't get the whole job done, some is better than none.

This was just a mess of bags from Estee Lauder free gifts and cases from trips to the dentist. The sort of place where I throw stuff and never go back to it.

Here it is after I cleaned it all out. I used the cases from the dentist and sorted everything in to them. I got rid  of a lot of the Estee Lauder cases. Well, not really, I just moved them somewhere else. They are just too cute to throw away.

I had already cleaned out my makeup at Christmas time when I got a new eye shadow. That is a lot of mascara---much of it those little free things you get when you make a purchase. The make-up is different shades for summer, winter and in-between.

I emptied the drawer that holds all of my hair products. I neatly wound up all the cords. They will stay that way until Mindy comes back over and leaves them all tangled up again.

 A lot of odds n' ends here---bubble bath, shampoo  and my travel cosmetic bag. The after is on the right.

I cleaned out my travel bag too. Believe it or not, I pared it down to the bare necessities.

 All of my skin care products in one drawer. I have enough cleanser for about 4 years.

 Under the sink. All body, hand and foot lotions on the left. In all fairness to me, much of it has been given to me as gifts. I don't think I have a lotion multiples problem because I'm not the one who buys it.

And here is the linen closet. I didn't get to it this week. I'll try to work it in during the coming week. Now, on to our next assignment.

Right about now, you are probably dreading what I'm going to assign. You know it's going to be the master closet. Well, it's not! I don't even want to tackle my own yet. We'll wait on that.

This week, we are going to focus on your desk or home office. That means the files too. An easy way to clean out files is to take a handful---I usually grab about 10 or so depending on how full they are. Sort through them when you are watching tv. This is a really good time to use the slogan I coined: "If in doubt, throw it out!" (The exact opposite of my garden slogan: "If in doubt, DON'T pull it out.") Anything really important jumps out at you (insurance policies, tax returns, registrations, etc.) If you have to ask yourself the question, "Do I need to keep this?"---you don't. You can get a copy of just about anything these days with a phone call or email. We all keep way too much stuff. The fact is, less than 5% of what we file is ever retrieved.

Okay, I've reverted back to my organizing days. You don't need the lecture, I think you get the picture.

Take a drawer a day in your desk to make it an easier job. Though no one has taken me up on this, if you email me your photos, I'll post them. Let's get to work! Isn't this fun?

5th Time is a Charm!

I have been trying since September to get my shingles shot. First time I went to the pharmacy, my doctor hadn't sent the order. The second time, it was ONE day too close to my pneumonia and flu shots. Third time, they told me I'd have to come back after 4 because the person to administer the shot wasn't in. The fourth time they were out of the shot. FINALLY, I got it this week. By now, I turned 61 and didn't even need the doctor's prescription for it anymore.

I'm known to be impatient. I was aggravated at how long it was taking. I told the pharmacy "girl" that I would gather my groceries and come back. Fifteen minutes later, they still weren't ready. They were trying to find out if my insurance would pay for it. The pharmacist said the shot would be $229. I said that I wanted it whether the insurance would pay or not. That helped to move things along. After getting the shot, I waited while they were still processing my insurance. That's when I noticed this:

Really? They have pet medicine at "my" pharmacy? I guess it made sense. One of my prescriptions when we were trying to figure out the source of my hives, was for the Parvo virus. When I got it filled, the pharmacist said something about my dog. I asked my doctor and he said dogs get the Parvo virus too. That kind of freaked me out. I asked him if he was calling me a dog. Not really, but I did cry to him one time and sobbed, "you didn't even know me when I was cute." What was he supposed to do with that? He responded, "you're still cute!" I love my doctor.

Anyway, good news about my shingles shot. The insurance paid for it. I don't get it. I thought our coverage was really pretty crappy---mostly for emergencies and disasters. Turns out, it pays for a lot of stuff we don't expect. That's a nice surprise.

Speaking of animals---Jordan brought home a stray kitty a couple of months ago. She promised Steph that "it" would be gone just as soon as she found it a home. Well, you know how that story ended---welcome, "Rio"---dumb name for a cute little kitty. When we were over there last weekend, I couldn't resist taking a shot of her painted nails---and my favorite color too!

Steph had planned to have her de-clawed, we all were outraged. Since finding out how inhumane that is, we just couldn't let her do it. The alternative is these little "kitty claw covers." They aren't painted at all, just some sort of covering that fits over the claws. It's amazing what the vets can do. For all I know, they have been around for years. News to me. Steph said there were many colors to choose from. I have no idea how often they have to be replaced. Steph gets her nails done as a treat now and then. It'll be funny if the cat gets hers done more often!

I must leave you with this little "piggy"!

Isn't she so darn cute? Evie isn't eating, she's fingerpainting at school!! What??? Yes, they let 8 month olds fingerpaint. You know, I've never liked the idea of daycare for kids which is why I was a stay-at-home mom, but I might have to re-think that. If they have this much fun, seems like it would be way better than staying at home with mom! At least some of the time.

A Few Things

It's been a busy week. I've gotten a lot accomplished, but yet, not nearly enough. I just don't know where the time goes. Ah, yes, I, do! I "waste" a lot of time on my computer. I guest you could say that "waste" depends on how you look at it. For me, it's part of my OCD tendencies. I already can't won't am not able to travel without my computer and every place we stay must have internet access.

I have a pretty good "routine" that I follow when it comes to my computer. This is the morning routine. The evening routine is exactly the same except I'm in front of the television and do not turn on Pandora.
1. Open the lid.
2. Turn on Pandora.
3. Open email and let it load.
4. Open Facebook.
5. Open another window with "Words with Friends."
6. Open 3 more windows for blog reading.
7. Start reading blogs, one window at a time. If it looks like it's going to be a long read and I'm interested in the post, I add it to my reading list (on a Mac, it's that little set of eyeglasses on the upper left of the menu bar).
8. Continue going through my blog reader until I "reach the end." I follow over 200 blogs.
9. Play my "Words with Friends."
10. Catch up on Facebook.
11. Read and respond to emails.
By now, it's been an hour---maybe more. If I add writing my own blog post, that's nearly another hour---write, upload pictures, edit, re-read, post.

I avoid Pinterest unless I have a LOT of time. I can go there and "waste" another hour or two easily.

I have so much I want to do in the mornings. My favorite routine is to brew myself a pot of tea, sit in the living room with my computer in front of the fireplace. But that is in direct competition with what I should be doing---treadmill---first thing.

I've managed to start multi-tasking on the treadmill. I've always read while walking, but now, I say my morning prayers and a rosary before I open my book. But still, I can talk myself out of this with how much I have to do.

Today, I picked my computer instead of the treadmill. So, now my "to do" list for the day looks like this:
finish this post
straighten the house
get on the treadmill
edit and print photos
do journaling for a layout
gather materials for AYM class kits
write 2 handouts for AYM/1 & 2
clean out bathroom cabinet
clean out 2 bathroom drawers
get hair cut and colored
finish AYM layout
email TSRCC group
"catch up" on my computer reading
create another blog post with pictures from the week
shower, dressed and make-up in time for happy hour (we're going out tonight, so I need to be ready prior to happy hour)

Plus, I must have a nap. I always relax in the afternoon for about an hour. Most of that time is reading, but I close my eyes for up to a half hour to refresh myself. Most of the time, it only takes 15 or 20 minutes for the "nap" part.

I think I better turn this "to do" list in to a weekend list. I have a better chance of getting everything done that way. At least, that's what I'm telling myself. It can happen if I get off the computer. Bye!

What's Going On

Outside my window: It's a cold, grey, drizzly sort of day.

I am thinking: How happy I am to be getting caught up on all of my "computer work"---blog update, photo editing/organizing/printing, blog reading, AYM class handouts, Cricut information update, Gyspsy update, Words with Friends, Facebook, emails and I might even have a little time to browse around on Pinterest. That's such a time consuming site, that I only do it about once or twice a week.

I am thankful for: A little time alone. Butch has been out-of-town overnight. Don't get me wrong, I love that he's retired. But I do like having the tv to myself!

From the kitchen: Homemade cranberry orange muffins from the freezer---Sandy's recipe---they freeze really well. I'll be making a pot of chili later.

I am wearing: Black cords (that sounds better than corduroy) with a pink sweater, socks and my slippers, of course.

I am hoping: to finish my book this afternoon.

I am reading: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Really good.

I am busy creating: I have everything laid out to start on my AYM layout. Maybe I'll have time to start today.

I am hearing: a song from Enya on Pandora.

Around the house and garden: I haven't been out to the garden yet. Still organizing around the house. This week it's the bathroom vanity and make-up table.

In other news: Our last remaining scrapbook store is closing:(

One of my favorite things right now: Stitching in front of the tv while watching Downton Abbey. This is still my favorite from last week. I'm waiting on a couple of fibers that needed to be ordered to finish up. Very frustrating---I'm "that" close.

I haven't decided yet, whether this will be a pillow or framed as a picture. It was done on 13 count. Plus, with the heart background---which went really fast, it only took me 3 weeks.

   I have just the tiniest bit--- a half inch to go with the lime green neon rays. None of my stitching            friends had any of it either.

 This is another story. This one took me about a year. I only worked on it between my projects with Connie and Nancy.

This is about a 3" section of the flooring. It will take 15 minutes, tops---to finish. This one is going to be a picture. 

How the weekend is shaping up: After "happy hour" Butch and I will go to poker. I don't know where we girls are going to dinner. Seeing Les Miserables again and lunch with Mindy on Saturday---my birthday present from her.