My 200th Post and My First Award! Woohoo!

I'm so excited! My buddy, Linda from A La Carte, gave me my first award! LOOK! Linda is a vintage girl with a great sense of humor. Just go visit her blog and you will see!

So, In order to accept this award, I have to tell ya'll seven things you don't already know about me. I think I have already told you all of my embarrassing stories! It might be a struggle for me to come up with seven more things that aren't BOR-ING!

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Okay, here goes...
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1. When I was in labor with Will, the TV was on in the background. The same commercial played over and over. I can still sing it..."I love eggs. From my head down to my legs. I love eggs." Wonder if this was the start of my chicken obsession?

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2. I have known Bonnie since kindergarten. When we were in middle school, we went to the beach with her family. A mama possum was hit by a car and killed, but the babies lived. We rescued them. What we really did was prolong their death. They eventually died because we had no idea what baby possums needed to eat, how warm they needed to be, etc. However, I do remember they did not smell good...alive or dead.

3. I have no idea what my natural hair color is! Since college, I have been coloring my hair. It has been any range of blonde, white, red, copper, brown, green and blue (the last two colors being unintentional.) Thanks to friends' children, I found out the back of my head was bright green or blue. Friends, for future reference, if you see me with blue or green hair, it is NOT on purpose. Tell me! Apparently, ash blonde and well water are never to be mixed. I learned once, forgot the lesson another time, and have a note taped inside my bathroom cabinet reminding me that ash blonde (green or blue) is NOT my color.
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4. I am easily distracted. Last night, I started out fixing dinner, grabbed the vacuum to suck up some pieces of broken glass, ran out to put the chickens in the house, discovered a box of Christmas ornaments tipped over by Miss Cora, put the chickens away, finished cooking dinner, cleaned up the garage, wrote a blog post, got ready for bed, found the vacuum still lying in the floor of the kitchen and dirty dishes piled on the counter. I really thought I had taken care of these chores. Or maybe, I just completely forgot about them (they aren't my favorite chores). I think I was wishing the fairies would come (in the form of any of the three males that live with me) and, seeing something what needed to be done, help out! Oh, well, a girl can wish!

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5. I went to college with Sandra Bullock. I didn't know her, however, she worked at Hank's Ice Cream. I was a regular customer. I'm sure I never looked my server in the eye. I was focused on the flavor of ice cream and the special toppings I wanted to fill my waffle cone!

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6. I want to learn how to weld. I love empty gas tanks turned into flying pigs. (But does the idea of an empty gas tank and a welding flame make you as nervous as it makes me?) I want to make my own wind art. To my husband's dismay, I would fill my yard with stuff that looks like this...

Vollis Simpson, a local NC wind artist, made this.

I want to learn how to make this and more! Wonder if he would take on a 40-something student with a pile of junk and no skills? Hope he doesn't mind that I borrowed this photo from the Internet.

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7. My bedroom is orange. Well, not like hunting orange or basketball orange. It's more like orange sherbet. And the attached bathroom, the one where my orchids spend the winter, is the color of lime sherbet.

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Now that I have given you my 7 things you didn't know, I am challenging these funny, vintage girls to do the same. I bequeath upon you this fabulous Kreativ Blogger award...

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Chris from I'm Not Old, I'm Vintage. She knows her vintage glassware and has a wicked sense of humor to boot. I'm betting there are very few things on this earth that Chris hasn't tried!

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Barbara from if I didn't have a sense of humor... cracks me up with her vintage ads. She writes the funniest stories to go with these highly entertaining ads. You have to laugh!

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Pam from One Gal's Trash is one of the luckiest thrifty shoppers ever. She always posts the coolest stuff she finds. Her birthday is March 1. She would like to have 500 followers by then. She will be giving away a cool set of skeleton keys to a lucky follower (PICK ME! PICK ME!), so if you aren't a follower yet, pop on over and reduce my chances to win!

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Thanks Linda!

Perfect Timing

Do you ever have those cravings you just can't shake? I had one this afternoon. I wanted some decadent chocolate. The problem was, I had eaten it all! Nabisco chocolate chip cookies just didn't have any appeal. Instead of caving to the craving, I called my neighbor and went for a walk. This was much needed after a week of sitting in my favorite purple chair!

With a two mile walk behind me and an exhausted Riley Dog on the porch, I ran to the mailbox before setting off to run errands. Look what was inside!

My buddy, Chris, from I'm Not Old, I'm Vintage, had a Valentine's Contest. She sent out 15 prizes. That is not a typo! FIFTEEN! I won a prize in the category of "You Make Me Feel Good Reading Your Blog." Woohoo! Just so you know, this award goes both ways! Only, Chris didn't get a package of chocolate in the mail from me!

And LOOK! Somebody knew I was having a craving and timed the arrival of this package perfectly. And Chris sent the good stuff! Lindt truffles, jelly candy, coconut dumdums! Ya'll don't need to know how many pieces are left and whether or not I shared....of course not!

And not just edible goodies! The cutest little lady bug filled with bubble bath and yummy smelling bath gel and lotion and the cutest rose shaped scrubber that will never see water for fear of ending it's cuteness! I'll have to clear the orchids out of my bathtub (they spend the winter in there) so I can pamper myself and eat that last piece of chocolate.

Chris, this smooch is for you! Thanks for making my day and ending my craving! You're the best!

The Great (and Mostly Snow-free) Outdoors

The snow is mostly melted. (Hallelujah!) And goodies have appeared beneath the snow!

The chickens have been release from the hen house after a whole week of snow-enforced isolation.

They have checked out every spot in the yard! The wire-y mess hiding the chickens is forsythia. It's hard to believe it will be a mass of yellow in just a few weeks.

In a photo last week, the big chickens were poking through the snow. I knew the chicks were underneath. They are finally visible again.

Other goodies in my yard have been revealed by the melting snow. This crazed sugar dish was in my garden. I think something was growing here a few months ago. The sun doesn't quite reach this corner of the garden in the winter.

This pretty bowl has daisies and a mish-mash of other flowers growing from it in the summertime. Right now, the bowl is a focal point.

This little dwarf resides under my snowball bush. The chickens check on him quite often and have been known to kick dirt over top of him as if they are afraid he will grab the grub they just dug up. I had to uncover him before I could get a photo!

On a green note...I was surprised to see these jonquils looking healthy. They seem to have no damage from a week under snow!

These irises, even with snow patches still surrounding them, look like they will be giving me lots of purple and gold around June.

A few weeks ago, I walked outside at just the right time. This blue bottle tree is in Neighbor Terri's yard. It's been there for years and I've always thought it was pretty. And then, the light hit them just right and they were gorgeous! They looked like they had fire inside of them. Don't worry, Zoe's tail was safe!

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To those of you who got buried by this weekend's snow storm, I hope you are safe and warm with a big pot of soup in the fridge and plenty of crafts to keep you entertained.

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Enjoy the Super Bowl!

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Go Saints!

Good Quote

I'm not feeling very creative today, so I'm going to pass along a quote I got in an e-mail today. I hope it's one I can live up to...

"I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one." Maya Angelou

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What is the quote you live by?

Boob Smash: The Sequel

Last week, I got a call-back letter from my mammogram. One of the films wasn't clear enough. Of course, they didn't tell me that in the letter which scared the crap out of me! Anyway, I went back for a second boob-smash, but just on the left side. I swear, the Torture Technician had me on my tip-toes one time! After four massive squishes, a doctor behind several closed doors looked at the films and saw no problems. He sent Ms. Torture Tech back to tell me all was well and see you next year. I scooped my left boob off my kneecap, tucked it in my bra and pulled all of my layers back on.

I had told Will I would give him a call when I was headed home. Here's how the conversation went...

Me: Hey Sweetie, I'm headed home.

Will: Okay, where you been?

Me: I had a boob-smash appointment.

Will: silence...more silence...

Me: Will? Anymore questions?

Will: Rick, Mom wants to talk to you!

Rick: Will says to ask you where you've been.

Me: I had my boob smashed.

Rick: Aw! I just woke up.

Tonight, I asked Will to tell Tony where I had been today. Will left the room. I can't wait to have my next pap smear so I can torture him with the details of that!

Oh, No! No! No! No! NNNNNOOOOO!

I feel like I have been dropped in the middle of a snow globe and somebody keeps picking it up and shaking it violently! Tomorrow, for the third day in a row, school is cancelled. Maybe they'll get to go Thursday, at least for half a day. And that damn weatherman had the nerve to say that snow is expected on Friday and Saturday. I can't take it!! I don't like snow! I live in North Carolina! We don't do snow!

World's Largest Snow Globe


To add insult to the pain in my backside, that rodent, Puxatawny Phil, had the nerve to see his shadow this morning, guaranteeing us six more weeks of winter! Surely, we won't have snow for six weeks. I promise... If the snow just melts and doesn't come back, I won't whine about the cold temperatures. I'll bundle up and take Riley Dog for a walk, even if the high temp of the day is only 22! Just please don't make me put my snow boots back on!

That Rodent


This morning, I was desperate to get out of the house. I had a package to mail to Hope for winning my frog contest. I had no books on CD to listen to. And, I just can't eat chili for another meal! For the sake of my sanity, I decided to terrorize Wake County with my snow driving! Getting out of the garage was the toughest part. I had to jump over a foot-high pile of frozen snow. The driveway was a little slippery. Our street was still covered in snow from the storm on Friday night and Saturday morning. But once I hit the main roads, it was smooth sailing! If anybody flipped me the bird, I was too busy looking for black ice and didn't see them!



Freezing rain is falling now. Glad I have a pile of books and more projects. Hope's package is in the mail. And, we have enough food to get us through the weekend should somebody grab that snow globe and start shaking it! They just better not let me catch them!

Flower Frogs and Snow Days

Remember these?

A couple of days ago, I asked you which one of these things is not like the other.

The answer is Number 3. It's a furniture coaster! Thanks to Auction Dave, I didn't try to shove flowers in it. On my behalf, I think I would have figured it out, but it made me think this would be a good contest for my blog!


These girls got it right!




Since I had such a good time when Cora drew a winning name last week, I thought I would let Skippy give it a try. Since we have lots of snow, the girls and Skippy (Hazel, too, but I still think of him as a girl) were still in the hen house.



When I opened the door, the chickens were having a little snack inside. It's just too cold to venture out! I can't say I blame them!


I gathered the pieces of folded paper in my hand and held them out to Skippy. He kept looking at me as if to say, "That is not food."


But eventually, he did snag one of the names. (Stupid Blogger is flipping my photos again!)

The winner is...

Hope at Pixie's Ponderings. She's my first overseas winner!

Woohoo! Thanks everybody for playing!

Am I the only person who collects flower frogs? I'll have to show you some of my favorites, sometime soon. I haven't taken photos yet and don't want to get out of my chair right now! Lazy girl, I am!

While I was out torturing Skippy, I walked around my yard and got some photos of the snow. Isn't it funny how snow makes everything look so clean?

This metal bird used to hover among my roses until they all got yucky and I dug them up and gave them to Pretty Sam!

Last year, the top of this tree broke off when we had freezing rain. It's still gorgeous!

I was surprise to find the newspaper at the end of the driveway, especially when our road looks like...

THIS!

Knowing that we will eventually want to get out of the house, Will took a turn shoveling snow. Tony and Rick worked on it yesterday, but more snow fell after they were done!

If I could clear some of the crap out of my garage, my truck might fit inside!

My cement chickens tickled me. Under the snow somewhere are three cement chicks! Gives new meaning to the term "frozen chicken"!

After lunch, we decided to take a family walk up to the main road to see if it looked any better than ours. It did not.

Of course, Stunt Boy had to ride his bike and pop wheelies almost the whole mile long walk! I have already told him we can't get out of the driveway to get to the emergency room, so if he needs stitches, I'll be doing them with pink cross-stitch thread and a needle held over an open flame for sterilization! I don't think he believes me!

Just look at that blue sky! None of the animals were in the pasture on the right. In the distance I could see about 6 peacocks roosting in a tree, but couldn't get close enough for a photo. From where I was, they looked like trash bags had blown up and caught on limbs!

Tony told me I had too many clothes on before we went on the walk, but since I'm always cold, I didn't believe him. I was ready to strip down when we got back to our driveway!

Time for hot chocolate for Rick, a rug in front of the fireplace for Riley Dog, and Will is off for more sledding and Stunt Boy behavior. Check his forehead next week for those pink stitches!