My Latest Crafty Project

What's a girl to do when she has a husband who is gone most evenings? This girl has been spending many of her evenings being crafty. Here's a look at my craft project from last night. It's a leaf topiary.



Fun and relatively easy to make!

Molly the Attack Cat

Molly is my 14 yr old sweetie. I rescued her from a tree in my mom's backyard after I graduated from college in December of 1994. She was a scrawny kitten that had been sleeping in a cedar tree. She had become friends with our family dog and at times thought she was a dog. She was also the friendliest cat I'd ever met. She loved us at once. She would follow me around the house, the yard or wherever I went.

Molly got herself in the "family way" less than a year later. The tomcat in the neighborhood attacked her, broke her back and in the process "knocked her up"...those are the words my vet used at the time. Molly delivered her litter of kittens on my birthday and even though my mom, sister and I said NO more cats for us! We each ended up keeping one. My mom had Rudy. He was just like his mother....friendly, loving and a best friend to my mom. Unfortunately, Rudy got cancer and my mom had to end his pain last year. It was a very hard time for her. He was her companion and friend. Julie gave Thomas away long ago, but I still have CB (it stands for cry baby...because she was the most vocal of the litter). Molly has been with me through thick and thin. I'm not one of those crazy cat loving girls that will have 50 cats someday, but I do love my girls.

Molly and Sam have never been best friends. He was a rambunctious puppy and she's an older girl who likes her peace and quiet. She didn't love his running and jumping ways so she hid when he was inside. It's just been in the last several months that she's decided she is the queen of the castle and has taken back her home. If Sam gets too close, she hisses and slaps at him. He doesn't seem to mind much, he just backs off.

A couple weeks ago I was home alone working on some crafty stuff. Barry had a game so that's my time to do my thing. Sam was playful and went into his "spaz out" mode. He runs around, jumping and barking. He goes from one room to another and comes back barking at me. Well, Molly had been quietly napping in her basket when she saw Sam jump at me (in a harmless way) while he was barking. I was playing right a long with him, yelling as loud as I could. hehe Out of nowhere, Molly comes flying across the room, hissing, growling and slapping the tar out of Sam. He of course backed off. At this point, I'm intrigued. Is my cat protecting me from the dog? Or is she just annoyed that he is disturbing her sleep? I start playing with Sam and yelling at the same time just to see what will happen. Sure, enough, she comes back at him. I just couldn't believe that she was protecting me. I know what some of you readers are thinking..."yeah right!" That's exactly what Barry thought when I told him about it.

That's what he thought until one night this week when Sam was his wild, playful self again. He was barking at me and I was yelling and playing with him. Barry was on the couch and out of nowhere, Molly the Attack Cat (that's what I've nicknamed her now) came out of nowhere. She would not let up on him....as long as I screamed she hissed at him and pawed him. Lucky for Sam, she was de-clawed long ago. Sam decided to slink away and leave that crazy cat alone. Barry and I were laughing hysterically. We've decided if we ever have an intruder, Molly will do a better job of protecting us than Sam.

I Voted!

I got up early this morning so I could vote before I went to work. I was at our precinct at 6:30 this morning and was the first person in line!! I waited until they opened their doors at 7:00, proudly walked in and cast my vote. As I was leaving, I asked the gentleman working if I could get an "I voted" sticker. His response was, "I wish I could give you one, but we don't have any." How can that be? How can a voting center not have any "I voted" stickers??? It's a shame too because I was hoping to stop by Starbucks and get my free coffee. What's your voting day story? Hopefully everyone got in and out just as fast as I did!

What's For Dinner?

It's my favorite time of year!! I absolutely adore Autumn! I love the crisp, cool morning air and the way the trees sway in the breeze. Autumn in Texas isn't quite the same as Autumn in Michigan. I do miss all the explosion of color on the trees, but I must say I am loving the warm afternoons. It has been in the low 80's lately, but gets cooler at night and then we have those cool mornings. I'm sitting at my computer now, drinking a cup of coffee and putting off getting ready to go to school. I love teaching, but I also love quiet mornings.

One of my very favorite things about Autumn is soup! I love, love, love soup!!! It just comforts like nothing else can (not that I need comforting mind you). It is that warm, yummy food that I could eat bowls and bowls of....however, the waist of my pants won't allow me eat all I want. ha! Last night I made a delicious pot of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. It makes my mouth water just typing those words!! I got the recipe from the MOST amazing soup making woman I've ever met. Debbie is in our church small group that meets on Sunday nights. We met at her house last winter and instead of our usual pot luck style meal, Debbie made each meal for us. She is my hero! She is a fantastic cook! She also makes the most amazing soups. So many of us would ask her for the recipe that she started making giving us these super cute little recipe cards that she even laminated. :) I made her soup recipe last night and although it's yummy, it just isn't quite as good as hers. I'll keep trying... Maybe I just need a bigger kitchen....do you think that would do it?? I am trying to convince Barry that's what I need. I told him last night that in our next house, I need a BIG kitchen and it must have a gas cook top. He, being the sweet guy that he is replied, "whatever you want." Isn't he a gem?!!

Ok...I procrastinated way too long! I better get going so I can spend another day with all my little friends.
So tell me, what's your favorite thing to make or eat this time of year?

Sleeping In Is Hard To Do!

I have the day off today! I've been looking forward to this all week...well, really since school started. You see, I'm normally up at 5:30 every weekday morning. Saturday morning Barry is up early to go officiate football so I don't usally go back to sleep and on Sunday we get up for church. So this was the one day I thought I might get to sleep in. No such luck!

My phone went off at 6:00....it was my sister... She was sitting in line at Sonic waiting to order a Cherry Limeade. What's the big deal about that you ask? Well, today was the grand opening of the very first Sonic in town. It is actually only the 2nd Sonic in Michigan. She grabbed my nephew from his sweet slumber this morning, strapped him in his carseat and raced to Sonic to be the first person in line. (She's a freak!) And first in line she was...she had been waiting in the drive-thru line quite a while when the police showed up to get some order to the place. Apparently there were cars lined up way down the road, holding up the morning commuters. She was interviewed by the local news media....I'm anxiously awaiting that clip on their website. I hope she didn't embarres our family. She can do that...believe me! While she was waiting we chatted and I reminded her to get our mom something. Mom watches Cooper a few days a week and she was on her way to Julie's while Julie was waiting at Sonic. Her Cherry Limeades finally arrived and she was thrilled that she even received a mint....it's the small things people. She started her drive home as we ended our conversation.

Of course, I was unable to go back to sleep so I got up (Barry had no problem going back to sleep) and moved to the couch. I checked some of my favorite websites and got started on some housework.

So much for sleeping in, but at least I got to share in a rare joy for my sister!

Are You Watching?

I'm talking about today's episode of Oprah. It's all about how we can save money with times as tight as they are for so many people. I don't normally get home in time to watch Oprah...or if I am home, I am not watching TV. Today I had some stuff to do on the computer so I sat down on the couch and turned on the TV while working. I can't tell you how many great ideas I'm getting. We don't live beyond our means, we don't have any credit card debt, we don't even use credit cards, but there are soooo many other good ideas.
I know I posted about The Grocery Game before. Yeah...that didn't go so well for me. I know many of you do The Grocery Game, but I just didn't follow through with it. Today I "met" someone else...The Coupon Mom. I gotta tell ya, I love her!!! She just save 71% on a weeks worth of groceries for a family of four. 71%??? That is amazing. She said in the 15 years since she started using coupons and really planning to save on groceries and essentials, she has save $72,000! That is just amazing to me! I need to check out her website and start saving!!

What's a girl to do?

Is anyone else excited about the season premier of Grey's Anatomy? I sure am!! I had to race home after our school open house....well technically, I had to stop at Target and then race home. It's just starting so I made it just in time.

I need advice. I'm bored with my blog. I have been so busy that I haven't had much time to blog, but even when I do have more time, I'm not sure I'm loving the name of my blog. It just doesn't seem to fit. Yes, I'm blonde....but I don't feel like I post a lot of thoughts on here. It's more about our everyday life with a few thoughts thrown in. ha! So, I'm asking you....my readers....few as you are...to help me out. Should I change my blog name of just keep it? If you vote for change, what should I change it to? I definitely need a makeover or at least a new header, so that is going to happen whether I change the name of my blog or not.