Flour In A Can?

Good Evening ...


Well ... we did it!

We actually began decorating!

LeAnna was so excited!

I'm not finished ... but getting there ...

In the middle of "decorating" ... Nate decided to tear out "everything" in our guest bathroom ... yep ... floor and all! There's nothing like having a toilet on your deck ... especially when there's a sink right beside it! I know the neighbors are "loving" this! ha!


He says he'll be done by Saturday ... his Dad came over this evening and laid hardwood ... tomorrow evening he's planning on "re-painting" with a "washable paint" ...

I'm gonna miss those beautiful water stains near the towel rack! NOT!!!

At least he's going with brown "again" ... so I don't have to change the decor! =)

This is going to be a BUSY weekend ... with Nate's "potty project" ... I have 4 clients between Friday and Saturday ... and going to throw some family in there somewhere, hopefully for Christmas pics (while I'm set up) ... have a ladies Christmas brunch at church on Saturday morning and Nate has a work Christmas dinner on Saturday night ...

Yep ... going to be busy ...

Okay ... call me crazy ... but it doesn't take much for me! I found this really cool new product ... Pillsbury Flour in a can by Crisco! Yep ... no more flour flying all over the kitchen when baking ... =) ... and it's fat free/no carb to boot! I'm very anxious to try my new find on some upcoming holiday baking ...

Fun ...

Happy Day,

tammy

A Bundle Is Calling My Name ...

Good Morning ...

The Christmas decor actually got out of storage and made it upstairs! It's a start ... planning on decorating this afternoon .... (fingers are crossed) .... I have a funeral to attend at 1pm and we went to visitation last night ... reason we didn't get it done yesterday ...

Anyhoo ...

Made something "different" for dinner last night ... it was a recipe I saw on the food network ... but I revamped it a bit ... so here's what I did ...

Hamburger Bundles ...

hamburger meat ... season as you normally would for "you"

pat into small (silver dollar size) burgers and fry them in a skillet ... turning only once and cooking "almost" all the way done - set aside.

cut cheese slices into quarters (4 pieces) ... I use Velvetta Thick Slices

Open a can of crescent rolls ... place a piece (one quarter) of cheese on the triangle, then the burger, then another piece of cheese on top .... and bundle them into the crescent roll. Since there are 8 rolls in one can ... you'll end up with 8 bundles =)

Bake in the oven according to the directions on the crescent roll can ....

Yum - Yum ...

Oh yeah ... I also put a pat of butter on top of each bundle ...

And I made fried potatoes and baked beans ...

Nate was a very happy camper (a few of his favorite things)

Simple - and different ....

Anything bundled into a crescent roll - calls my name! ha!

Anyhoo ... I have a funeral to attend today ... our friends Dj and Karla Shoulders, his grandmother passed away ...

So I'm off to attend ...

Happy Wednesday ...

tammy

"Hunger: One of the few cravings that cannot be appeased with another solution." ~Irwin Van Grove

Too Mute For Applause ...

Good Morning ...

First off ... no ... didn't get around to doing the Christmas decorations this weekend ...

However ... it has been projected for today ... we'll see ... =)

LeAnna wants to help so bad ... and she gets out of school early today ... so we're shooting for this afternoon ...

Can you believe it's almost December? W O W ! ! !

I'm doing Christmas pictures this weekend for some clients ... and one of them includes a "Santa" ... I told LeAnna that Santa was coming this weekend to get his picture made ... So she started making her Christmas List and said she was going to give it to him ... but she wanted "me" to talk to him about it ... I'm wondering if we're going to get a picture with her and Santa together ... who knows?! We'll see how she does!

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love Hallmark! I even had a dream (at one point in my life) of owning my own Hallmark Shop ... until I found out how much it costs - just to have the name "Hallmark" on the front door! Yikes! Anyhoo ... I came across a card the other day that I loved so much that I bought it ... not to give to anyone, just to have for the verbage on it (I've done this before) ... And it usually pays off, when you're needing a card to send to someone and then remember the "stash"! ... anyhoo ... here's the "verbage" that impressed me enough to buy the card ...

"True eloquence is that which holds us too mute for applause." - Bulwer

I LOVE this quote! Wow! Ever have this happen to you? Makes you stop and think of those special moments that actually make you too mute to do anything! Much less applause!

A few of mine ...

* The moment I rounded the corner, on my Daddy's arm before walking down the isle

* The moment my Daddy placed my arm in Nathans and gave me away

* The looks we exchanged during our wedding ceremony without saying a word

* The moment we found out that I could have a baby

* The moment we signed papers on our first home

* The moment I saw LeAnna for the first time

* The moment LeAnna's surgeon walked out of surgery and said everything went great!

* The times when out of the blue LeAnna senses I need a hug, a kiss or to hold onto a stuffed animal

* The moments when I think no one cares or seems to understand - God sends someone special my way to prove me wrong

... these are a few things that have held me too mute for applause.

Happy Tuesday ... tammy

A Sweet Moment ...

Good Evening/Morning ...

I have the sweetest baby on this earth!

I was having a horrible, rotten moment today ...

And my baby "noticed" ... she went and got one of her favorite stuffed animals ... brought it to me and then gave me a hug ... then walked off ...

Wow! No sweeter words could have been said ...

Thank God for sweet moments like these ... especially at times when you need it the most!

... tammy

"Millions and millions of years would still not give me half enough time to describe that tiny instant of all eternity when you put your arms around me and I put my arms around you." ~Jacques Prévert

To Decorate or Not To Decorate ...

Good Morning ...

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving ... we had a great one! Lots of good food ... ate WAY too much!

I did NOT, I repeat ... Did NOT go shopping yesterday .... I just couldn't bring myself to wait in long lines, squeeze by people, hope to get that last item that someone else was reaching for at the same time, and let myself get irritated because of all of the above, and have to get up before the crack of dawn just to endure all of the above! No sir-ree! We did enough of all of that at Disney World! ha! The day we went to Magic Kingdom, you would have thought it was a holiday it was so busy!

Anyhoo ... I stayed home and worked all day ... No ... I didn't get the "good deals" that were only good deals until like 7am! ha! But ... I did, hopefully make a little extra money to spend on those "sold out items" that will come in on another truck next week! =)

Yes ... thinking about getting out the Christmas Decorations ... notice I said, "thinking" about it ... sounds like a really neat idea ... still trying to talk myself into actually doing it!

Fall is my most favorite time of the year ... and Christmas is my 2nd favorite time of the year ... I really do like turning all the lights out, sitting on the couch, playing Christmas music and watching the lights on the tree twinkle ... I've enjoyed this little tradition since I was a little girl ... it's "fun" to entertain the thought ... of all the special people I've done that with ... lots of family that's now just one of those "recalled moments" that I refer to frequently.

It's going to be an unseasonably warm day today ... like 72 degrees! LeAnna's got some allergy stuff going on and I know she's going to want to be out and about today ... We'll be pumping Allergy Triaminic!

Happy Weekend ... tammy

Giving Thanks ...

Good Morning ...

Happy Thanksgiving !!!!!

Yesterday's visit with the doctor went very well ...

Everything said was on a positive note ...

We heard words during the tests like ... Excellent, Great, No problem here, She's doing great! ... all positive ...

They also said that the tissue that was used to repair the hole has completely fused and is no longer considered "a hole" and no chance of a hole coming back ... also said where they "stitched" up the mytral valve has completely fused and no chance of it coming undone ... however, there is always that chance of there being an issue in that area due to the fact that there is some backflow of blood there ... which is normal for this type of defect and correction ... and something they will always keep a check on.

But for now ... All is well !!!! And we are SO thankfull!

And especially on this day, set aside to be with family and friends and reflect on our blessings and to be thankful together.

I for one, am so thankful for all the many (too many to name) blessings that God has allowed to come our way.

"Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart" ... that's me today and my heart is full!

Happy Thanksgiving ... tammy

Happy Heart Day ...

Good Morning ...

Today is LeAnna's one year check-up at the Cardiologist. Even though I think everything is fine (she has to do these check-up's every year) ... I still can't help but feel some anticipation this morning ...

The hole they closed I'm not worried about ... it's the mytral valve that they repaired ... and it's hard for me to forget those words from the surgeon ... "once we try to repair it, there's always a chance a stitch can come loose ... and if that happens, it would require immediate open heart surgery again".

Not a nice thought for my little brain to entertain! ... So ... yes, I have a little anticpation on days like this!

LeAnna's a little nervous today too ... as expected ... from what she's been through and remembers. We do appreciate your prayers today.

Here we are ... the day before Thanksgiving ... and we have a whole lot to be thankful for! I for one have SO much to be thankful for that it almost makes my head hurt to even know where to begin!

You know that "taken for granted" breath that you just took? Yep ... thankful for that!

See what I mean?! Way too much to even know where to begin!

My hope and prayer today is that you will take some time in the next few days to be thankful, not just for the big things that are obvious in your life ... but for the little things ... that more than likely, make the BIG things happen!

Happy "Reflective" Wednesday ... tammy

A School Thanksgiving ...

Good Afternoon ...

Today was LeAnna's "Thanksgiving Lunch" at school!

Nathan and I were able to attend ... it was a fun "first" ...

She was so excited that we were both there with her!

Daddy was really busy today ... but was able to stop by for a few minutes ... she made sure Daddy could attend!

Each child had home-made indian hats on and she was named "Morning Flower" ...

We had turkey, dressing, mac n cheese, corn casserole, some desserts ... yum-yum!

The most exciting part for LeAnna was when it was over ... she got to go home with me and is out of school until next Monday!

Thankful, thankful are we ...

Yes ... there were some tears on the forefront ... but I stopped them before they were noticed! Very emotional these days ... Thanking God for every moment ... and treasuring these special moments we make for the memory box!

Happy Tuesday ... tammy

.... and disaster lurked around the corner ...

Good Evening ...

Don't you hate to hear the term ....

"... and disaster lurked around the corner" ....

Well ... today it did!

On the way home from school, LeAnna asked for some ice cream ... so I went through McDonalds and ordered her a cup of vanilla!

After arriving home ... she got tired of eating and decided to place her cup of 45 minute old ice cream (almost milk at this point) on a bar stool that she had brought into the living room earlier for whatever reason (she's getting creative in her ripe age of 5!)

Princess, being the curious dog she is ... decided to investigate what was left within her reach on the barstool.

Words can't even describe what happened next! No really ... I can't begin to think of words worthy of what "lurked around my living room corner"! I couldn't speak ... I became a mute for a small measure of time ...

Let's just say that I was so upset ... that I wasn't even thinking about taking a picture! Which now I wish I had of ... only to be able to enjoy it over and over again?! Ahh ... No!

However ... after cleaning up sticky, milky, melted, ice cream from both couches, the floor, the bar stool, the carpet all the way into the dining room, the hardwood, the sliding glass doors, the wall, the deck ... mainly because ... when dogs get something - sticky, milky, melted substances like 45 minute old ice cream poured all over their head ... they tend to want to shake their head wildly, as if to shake off what just got dumped on them! Thus the previously mentioned messes!!!!!

And all the while ... breathing hard, trying to carefully choose the "perfect" words to say, in a manner that LeAnna fully understood what just REALLY happened ... she kept saying ... "But Princess made the mess!"

Oh my ... discipline was in order.

She learned a new word today .... "enabler" and what that meant!

Bless her heart ...

After sticking Princess on the deck while I tried to clean everything up ... I went back to check on her and couldn't help but laugh ... she was still dripping ... so I grabbed the camera and took a couple of pics ...

However ... these pictures do not do justice to what REALLY "lurked around the corner" today! Seeing as how most of what was on her originally was now all over my house!

Happy Monday ... tammy

The Party's Over ...

Good Evening ...

Wanted to share a few pics from Nate's party on Friday ...

Tried posting yesterday but Blogger was down for service apparently ...

It's been a long, busy weekend ... very tired ... headed to bed.

Short and sweet this is ... but hey, at least I got a blog in today ... =)

... tammy

It's Your Birthday, Oh Yeah ...

Good Morning ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO NATE! We love you bunches!

Today is Nate's Birthday ... we are celebrating this evening at Merriman's ... he's been teased about planning his own party ... he did have a little help though! ... ha!

Last night I went with my uncle Wade to a support group presented by "Mourning To Morning" with Mike Rickenbaker ... it was very good ... and I think it helped Wade out a lot ... it's just so fresh right now ... and he told me he wasn't doing well ... bless his heart ... I feel so sorry for him ...

I am so thankful for a support group such as this ... I went through the program after my Dad died ... it helped me so much ... especially to understand the grieving process that I was going through.

Some of the things he was telling me last night on the way there, were mentioned in the session ... it was almost as if I had picked up the phone and called and told them everything he was telling me!

We are going to be going to the regular sessions starting in January ... last night's session was "Hope For The Holidays" ... very good program.

Mom's church is having Christmas village today and tomorrow ... guess I'll be going there for lunch today ... It's a 20 plus year tradition ... =)

Happy Friday as I leave you with this thought ... tammy

"Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year: The same energy that God invested in you at birth is present once again." ~Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Rah Rah Ree ...

Good Morning ...

Yesterday was so horrible I don't even want to recall it ...

Let's just say that I'm glad today is a new day ... and hopefully it will be better!

Rain ... Thunderstorms ... Strong Wind ...

Makes me want to curl up on the sofa with a blanket, a diet coke, some frito pie and a good book!

ha!

OH well ... wishful thinking ...

LeAnna went to her first College Basketball game last night ... the Volunteers played at the GEC ...

Nate took LeAnna ... she got SO bored! After pizza, popcorn, soda, candy, watching Smokey the Bear and the cheerleaders (which she loves right now!) ... she said, "Daddy, I'm tired about this!" ... then she went to sleep!

When she got home I asked her how it was (half awake/half asleep) she said ... I didn't like it!

Oh well ... Her and Daddy had a night out, she had a new experience and I got a lot of work done ... thanks Nate!

I must go ... an "iron" from my fire is calling my name .... =)

Happy Wednesday, tammy

Mommy's A Horse ...

Good Morning ...

Can you say ... W O W ?!

Do you ever feel like life is in fast motion?

I found out yesterday that Thanksgiving is next week! ha!

Man ...

I sort of wish I had a "life remote" and I could slow it down just a bit ...


Vacation is over ...

and you know what I found out?

Everything was just as I left it when I returned!

Ha!

Nothing magically got done while I was gone!

Tons of work to do ... and now here we are ... Christmas just around the corner!

Wow!

Did I say that already?

Okay ... so ... a new look to the blog ...

They offered an upgrade ... and with that came some new features ... trying them out ...


Oh ... by the by ...

I lost my keys ... they went on the trip with us ... as a back up to get back in the house ...

I remember seeing them right before we left the home we stayed in ... haven't seen them since!
Spent 30 mintues looking for them yesterday morning ... to no avail ...

Thank God for a spare!

But ... they were my keys to EVERYTHING! Ugh! Not fun replacing keys to EVERYTHING!

Oh well ... just a drop in the bucket ...


So ... yes ... actually happy to be back and in a routine again ... structure somehow does make life a bit easier! At least you know what to expect for the "majority"! =)

Unlike for the "minority" of my life ... where I've just learned to "expect the unexpected" ... because it always happens!



This is LeAnna bug on her way to school this morning .... sportin' her new Minnie Sweatshirt ... she was a happy lark this morning ... unlike yesterday morning ... when she woke up with a bad dream ...


She dreamed Mommy was put behind a blanket and turned into a horse! The only thing I can figure ... is we watched a production of "Belle" and Beauty and the Beast at MGM Studios ... she hated the part where the prince was put behind the large blanket and when they removed it - out popped the beast ... must have had a major affect on her.

Okay ... I must got seize the day ...

Happy Tuesday ... tammy

Camera ... Lights ... Action ...

Good Evening ...

I would love to post some current pics of what we' ve been doing ... but we just got home from MGM Studios and I haven't had opportunity to download. So I'll post some pics later.

We did MGM Studios today ... 12 hours ... can you say ... TIRED, SORE LEGS and FEET? The kids fell asleep on the way home! Had a great time though.

Yesterday ... on our way out the door to "MGM Studios" ... Brandon (son of the family we're vacationing with) ... was trying out his new "heely's" in the driveway ... and fell ... and broke his wrist/hand/arm in two places and dislocated his growth plate ... which had to be re-set, prior to getting a cast ... and they had to knock him out to do that ...

BUT ... horror story at the hospital ... 12 hours at two different hospitals ... the first one didn't have a pediatric orthopedic surgeon that felt comfortable putting back in place ... so they were moved to another hospital ... for a total of 12 hours time spent ... mainly waiting ... horrible experience for them!

Nathan and I kept their other two children and LeAnna and we went to Wonder Works for a while ... did some shopping ... ate lunch at Johnny Rockets ... came back home and they watched a movie ... and played all afternoon ...

Tomorrow we're planning on going to Magic Kingdom ... the girls are especially excited ... because they get to meet the princesses and get their autographs ... they are taking their dress up dresses to wear when they meet the princesses.

This is the very week we were here last year in Orlando ... LeAnna's first time to go to Magic Kingdom ... she LOVED it ... couldn't believe it when she got to meet the princesses ... so she is so excited about tomorrow!

I'll post more later ...

Happy Thursday .... tammy

Shamu with Sha-Me!

Greetings From Orlando ...

Good Evening ...

It's been a few days since I blogged ..

The funeral was on Friday afternoon ... and it was nonstop from when my aunt passed away until the funeral ... '

...then...

after the funeral ...

we went to Mom's to eat dinner with family ...

then ...

went home to pack ...

and left for our vacation around 11pm ...

we drove ALL night ...

got to Orlando about 10am ...

AND ...

to Nate's surprise (not mine) ... they would not let us check in until 4pm!!!!!!!!

oh my ...

turned out okay ... but ... we were SO ready to get into this house at 4pm!

We were SO tired ... after the week I've had and then drive all night after the funeral ...

Whew ...

We went to Sea World on Sunday ... it was a beautiful day ... perfect weather ... sunny and 80 degrees .... can't beat that!

Leanna rode her first roller coaster ... "the Shamu" ... it was a little more "big girl" roller coaster than "kiddie roller coaster" ... we finally convinced her to get on it and then to our surprise, it took our bellies riding it! Oh well ... she liked it and was ready to go again!

We shopped and rested today ...

Tomorrow is MGM Studios!

The kids are having a blast!

I'm still trying to catch up on rest ...

I picked up my new glasses Friday night before we left town ... my old ones totally messed up, so I ordered replacement frames and was just going to pop the lenses in them ... which we did ... and by the time we got to Orlando (less than 18 hours) my "new" frames were already messed up AGAIN!!!! The old frames had visited, well, "re-visited" Eyemasters at least 4 times prior to this last time, when they finally re-ordered new frames! Whew!

Anyhoo ...

Needless to say ... I have NEVER had a pair of glasses get this bent out of shape to the point of falling off my ears and sitting crooked on my face ... very frustrating ... especially in the hot sun at Sea World, where they kept sliding off my face ...

OKAY ...

Enough of that!

My Mom was sweet enough to go to our house ... find my old "back-up" pair of glasses and my sunglasses (which I forgot) and sent them to me via Fed-Ex ... which I should receive by 10:30am in the morning!

So ... that's life in my little boring world!

I will blog more later ...

Happy Monday ... tammy

In Memory ...

Good Morning ...

I was able to do LeAnna's pictures Monday ... and I will post some at a later time ... the weather was perfect and the colors were so pretty.

On my way home, I received a phone call from my Uncle Wade that Mary, my aunt, was at St. Thomas hospital, very sick. I immediately made provision for LeAnna and headed up there. We stayed there all evening. The doctor said she would not recover and doubted she would make it through the night.

I did not recieve a call, so I went back up there about 8:30am Tuesday morning, to relieve Wade for a few hours to go home and shower, etc. ... stayed with her all day ... with her progressively getting worse. She has had MS for a while along with some other health issues. They determined that she had Pneumonia and her lungs were full when she arrived at the ER on Monday morning.

She passed away at 4:30am this morning.

On my Dad's side of the family ... she was the only living relative remaining, besides myself and LeAnna. Both of my grandparents and their four children (which included my Dad) have all passed away now ... and I was the only "child" from any of the kids ... SO ... I was like my Aunts' child as well.

Very weird to me ... to really sit and think about this ... my whole family is dead, on my Dad's side, except me!

Gone!

Wiped out!

Yikes!

Man ...

Weird, hard to explain this feeling almost ...

Almost as if it was another life or someone's elses I'm thinking about.

See ...

My Dad's side of the family was a very small, yet, very close family ... we were always together! Always! And always looked for an excuse to get together!

My Mom's side of the family is fairly large and everyone is spread out all over the United States ... harder to get together ... except for our Family Reunion, one time a year.

But my Dad's family all lived here ... very close.

So most of my childhood memories are of the family that is now gone ...

So when I want to reflect, I have to with people who just listen, not understanding the true recollection of the memories.

Weird for me ...

Very sad ...

Almost an "alone" feeling, of years gone by.

I still have my Mom and now two uncles who were a part of that circle. But that actual, immediate family tree is gone.

So ... today ... I'm sad, I'm definitely emotional and nostalgic all in one breath.

Lots of arranging and planning today ... arrangements will be made today, for a Thursday or Friday funeral.

We are supposed to be leaving for our vacation on Friday for Orlando for 10 days. I might be detained for a day or so.

I would appreciate your prayers for our family during this time. We're already tired, and as you know, a funeral can be very exhausting for the family.

Happy Wednesday ... tammy