One of my cool gifts from Deb and Bud...it is a hot pad with a mitten sewed on and inside the mitten are some cute little recipe cards.....it's just so dang cute!

Aunt Deb knit each of us a scarf...so here we are posing!

Just in case you missed it on my Sister's art blog...this is the adorable little calendar that she made for us. When Paige saw it she said "Oh look Auntie turned us into fariy's" We love it ...and we will cherish it forever & ever & ever!

Just call Rebel....Evander now....as you can see Rowdy (Tyson) took a nip out of Rebel's ear. It is hard to beleive all the blood that came out of that tiny wound. It was all pretty comical...Bud and Deb had just gotten here for brunch and Christmas gift exchange. Rowdy was excited to see Deb and Rebel was just excited. At first I thought Rowdy had just nipped at him as usual then Megan says Mom their are red spots on the floor. There were so many read spots I had to get the mop. Mike cornered Rebel in the dining room but not before he shook his head...and got drops of blood all over the carpet...luckily none landed on the seats of our chairs (they have light beige fabric) and we own a carpet cleaner. Mike had to go wash Rebel in the basement sink...we got the bleading stopped...first we put neosporin on it and finally a dab of flour. Think he will be fine...just has a silly story and his ear looks like someone got him with the pinking shears. P.S. bandaids stay on a puppies ear all of about 45 seconds!

Yesterday Megan and I went over to take Joe for a walk, when we got back they had a little snuggle.

This is one of my many coats....living in Ohio one tends to have a coat collection. Got this one from Mike and the girls for Christimas 2005. I had seen it at Meijer's of all places and I kept talking it up....told them the size, location even showed Paige the coat when we were on errands. I love the color...it reverses to quilted black but I never have reversed it...I love the buttons, the length, and the cute little felt flower Deb happened to get me for Christmas too matches perfect. p.s. I took the photo myself with the timer, thanks for the inspiration Sis!

Here are my two new gardening snow couple that my sister sent from California. They have found a home on top of the T.V. cabinet. There are 3 other snowmen on the opposite side and a little pine tree with hearts on it. Thanks for the new additions Sis, they make me smile:)

Did I mention that I can procrastinate? I made these canvases for Paige over a year ago and just hung them up the other day. They had been sitting on my desk....so I just went and grabbed my hammer and a couple of nails and hung them up...didn't even bother to use a level!
I plan to make another one for her with pictures of her and Rebel......and I promise I will hang it up...a.s.a.p.!!

Just call me Ms. Procrastinater

I whipped this little picture frame up today. I think I do some of my best work when I have a deadline. Ya see we are exchanging Christmas gifts with Deb and Bud this Sunday...so I thought I better get Joe's gift done. I am also making a cookbook for him and that is about 1/2 done. I will share pictures of that too...but for now I need to make me and Megan lunch...let the pups out and go back to scrap til it is time to pick Paige up from school and go off to ballet class.

Rebel found a warm spot.

Last night when I went upstairs to get ready for bed Rebel followed me to our room. He was snuggled against my pillow when I went in the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I came out he was no where to be found so I went on puppy patrol. I was expecting to find him in trouble somewhere, maybe chewing on a sock or a stuffed animal. This is what I found...he went across the hall to Megan's room and snuggled up to her bottom. I had to run and get the camera because Megan is always complaining that Rebel never gets to sleep in her bed. The reason he usually does not get to sleep in her bed is that when it is her bed time he is still wound up and wants to bite and attack her many stuffed animals.
It made me happy to see him all snuggled up and looking so innocent when I was expecting to find him in Rebel trouble. It reminded me to look for the positive...he's a good little pup!

Rebel with both ears in floppy mode I took this picture on Saturday 1-20-07. What a difference a day makes.....this morning he has one ear (his left) up and the right down. He has a perpetual look of "Hey what's going on?" When he gets tired both ears flop down. We used to call Rowdy's ears his energy indicators...because when he was wide awake they would both be up then when he was tired his ears would get floppy. Rebel was 4 months old last Sunday...the same age that Rowdy was when we got him.

Rebel with one ear up and one still in floppy mode. Sunday 1-21-07

I love my dog....Rowdy is a good ol dog. He still has his playfull moments and he loves playing fetch. He also loves to have his ears rubbed and in the morning he rolls over on his big blanket covered bed that is on the floor next to my bed and he gets his tummy rubbed. He has a good life and he makes me happy....I hope that he knows how much I adore him.

P is for Paige and her Pup!

I couldn't pick just one picture....so today you get a series of shots of these two sharing some puppy love. You should see how excited he gets when he sees a school bus. He thinks every school bus will deliver Paige home. I am so glad that they adore each other.

Bored Puppy + Open Bathroom Door = Toilet Paper Strewn Down the Stairs!


I took a picture of this yesterday (after I already posted my picture of the day) so the kids could see the mischief that Rebel made after they went to school. He was actually doing this little trick while I was posting on my blog. Now we have a reason to keep the bathroom door closed. I am surprised that he had not done this sooner....this was Rowdy's favorite trick when he was a pup.

I took the camera out to the bus stop this morning....it was a frosty 19 degrees...brrrrr! I love this picture of Megan with the sun shining on her....rosy cheeks......blue eyes...pouty lips...love that face!

Chihuly at the Franklin Park Conservatory.

Since it was so chilly today and Paige and Megan had the day off from school (teacher work day) we went to the Franklin Park Conservatory to see Fiori A Chihuly Garden of Glass. It was fun to walk around and see all the art, orchids,and other plants. It is a huge glass conservatory and it has different rooms dedicated to different climates...there is the Himalayan Mountains, Tropical Rain Forest, Dessert, and Pacific Island Water Garden, along with a Court of Palms. Go to my main blog to see more pictures!

This is a very rare sighting.... Rowdy and Rebel resting together! Ya see miracles do happen...and when they do quick grab the camera!

Our Snow Shrine!
If the mercury would just drop another 7 degrees we would have snow instead of this steady nonstop rain. It is the middle of winter but it feels like the middle of spring , my poor little tulips are even confused they are poking their little green tips up as if it were March already. If anyone spots ol Jack Frost please send him our way!

These tulips are for all of you out West that are braving the colder than usual temps. I dug into my photo archives and found these cheerful yellow-orange tulips from my garden last April. I hope they brighten your day.
It has been raining here ALL day, and 39degrees. Our backyard is a swamp. So when the cold finally hits us we will have an ice rink...the kids will love that....but not the pups!

This year I took a chance and put ankle height boots on my Christmas list. I did not have any particular boots in mind because I had not even gone out looking but I knew I would like some. The day after Christmas Mike said lets go up to the mall. While at the mall we stopped in The Natralizer store and they had their boots on sale, plus a store wide buy one get one 50% off sale. So that is how I got not one but two awesome pair of leather boots for Christmas. They are very comfortable and they make me feel a little more stylish and taller. Love these boots!

This is pretty self explanatory but for those of you who don't know and I'm not sure who that would be it is a W--->. It is my dad's mark....it is on his cowboy hat, Jeep, truck, tools, belt buckle, fence post and trees up in the hills of Northern California, Nevada, Oregon and many other places ....and we joke that he has it tattooed on our butts....but that is just a joke. This one is on the sidewalk down by our driveway, we also have one on our walkway leading up to our front steps. I happened to stop by the house the day they poured the concrete almost 5 years ago....found myself a stray nail and inscribed them for posterity. There is also one in the garage at the Turpin's old N. Parkview home in Bexley, OH and one in the garage at the house they had on Stanley Ave. Must be in our genes....wet cement just begs for a W--->.

SILLY PUPPY IN THE SNOW!

We got just a little dusting of snow over night. Rebel LOVES it...he just wants to lick it and run around crazy like a jack rabbit. Rowdy on the other hand is not impressed...he has had 9 winters of experience so he does not enjoy getting cold paws. I hope we get some real snow so Rebel can really be a snow dog...while he still gets a thrill from it.

This is my Christmas gift from the Anderson's this year! They marked the Christmas stuff down to 75% off yesterday. So when I was at work I got this $99.00 snow globe for $22.00 that was the price after my discount....plus I paid for it with the $25.00 gift card that I got for Christmas from the Anderson's. Also got a gallon of milk! Whooo hooo The girls love the penguin and snowman, I knew they would. We are all about penguins!

GO BUCKEYES!



Unless you live under a rock or on another planet...I am sure that you know that The Ohio State Buckeyes are playing the Florida Gators in the Fiesta Bowl out in Arizona tonight....at 8:30 p.m. (e.s.t.). Unfortunately I have to work tonight....but I have a feeling by 8:15 there will be no one in the store except employees. I told the girls I want them in bed before kick off, that way Mike will not miss any of the game. I also told them they could have pizza for dinner and buckeyes for dessert. Buckeyes are peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate, they look like buckeye nuts and taste like Reese's.


GO BUCKEYES!

Meet Mr. Icee

Mr. Icee is Paige's shape snowman. Her 3rd grade class will begin a geometry unit next week. Her teacher asked that we make this as a family project and they will be displayed in the hallway at school. The instructions said that the snowman could be made out of any shape except a circle. So Mr. Icee is made from a polygon, decagon and oval/elipse. His hat is made from a rectangle and square and his nose is a triangle of course. If you look closely you can see that we made him some ice skates by adding a paper clip blade to his boots. We can pose him since we connected him with brads (thank goodness for Mom's scrapbook supplies). I like that he is all decked out in neon colors....He looks cool!

This is my favorite Christmas card that I received this season. It is from my dear friend Denise...one of the first people I met when I moved here from California. She moved away a little over a year ago...she is in sunny Florida. I think of her so often and I miss our lunches and chats. She is a wise, beautiful woman and this card just captures her spirit so well!

Had these little beauties on my honey-nut Cheerios this a.m. They tasted as good as they looked....here's the thing about strawberries if they don't smell like strawberries then they probably won't taste like strawberries...so always give 'em a sniff prior to purchase. Oh and these most definately smelled like strawberries. Mmmmmmmm

Megan and I baked banana bread this morning after breakfast. I have this recipe memorized because I have been baking it for so many years. The recipe is from a "Sunset Ideas and Recipes for Breakfast and Brunch", copyright 1982. It has a sale sticker on it for a buck ninety eight...best two bucks I ever spent. Everyone loves this recipe...it is easy...plus the bread is moist and tasty. I used to add chopped pecans but then Paige decidec she does not like nuts in her bread...so fon now my b. bread has no nuts.

Moist Banana Bread

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon each salt and baking soda
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (I just use 3 medium or 4 small bananas)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
plus I add a dash of pure vanilla extract (our secret ingredient)

Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl and set aside to cool. In a large bowl mash bananas and sugar, add vanilla and egg and stir to combine.
In another bowl combine flour, salt and baking soda.
Add butter to banana mixture then add flour mixture..and mix just until moistened. Pour batter into greased loaf pan. You can make one large regular loaf or 4 mini loaves.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 45 to 55 mins. Until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto rack to cool completely before slicing.

ENJOY!

This is how my conversation went with Megan (age 5 1/2) yesterday while I was combing her hair. "Mom why do fairies have pointed ears?" (referring to her Disney Fairy dolls...Tinkerbell, Rainy and Beck). "Hmmm I'm not sure, that is just the way they are." (pushing her hair back behind her left ear) "Mom I think this ear is kinda pointy." giggle giggle giggle :) Now you be the judge....does this look like a fairy ear? Sorry it is a little fuzzy think I zoomed too close.

I thought I would post twice today since I just found out about this photo blog that we are doing...guess I am a day late and a dollar short! Oh well, these are my thank you cards that I made on 12/31. Now I need to write them and send them....thanks for looking :)

This is one of my little snow-woman displays....I keep it up after the holidays hoping that it will still snow. I got the two snow girls on top after Christmas a few years ago....they were 90% off. At first I thought I would save them for a Christmas gift but then I decided to gift them to myself!