Yay! It's finally done!

Well, after looking at the peeling gray paint on our house for over 6 years now, we have finally gotten it painted. Merry Christmas to us! Here's a before pic: (I took this one after getting the new garage doors.)

And here it is today:I think it looks like a totally different house!

I had originally planned to go with more of a brown, but I liked the lighter version. It actually looks almost yellow, but I think that's good--it brightens up the place.

We had the gutters removed, because they were always clogged, even with screens over them, and they were doing more harm than good. There was some rotten wood that had to be replaced, and they had to repair some wood over the front porch where a squirrel decided to make a hole. We also had them remove the green awnings. We are going to wait until summer to see if we really need them to shade those bedrooms. If we do, I will put new fabric on them, and we will put them back up. But I really prefer the way the house looks without them. (The gutters will be hauled off this week.)

Here are pics of the back of the house:

They also painted the inside of the porch.

After replacing the screen on the porch, I will paint the boards that cover the vertical beams where the screening is attached. I think we'll also put some lattice around the bottom of the porch.

Now I'm motivated to do more stuff! But we have to wait for the funds...

Kicking off the Christmas season

I know, it's a week into December now, but with all that has been going on, we've just now gotten into the swing of things!

The school's craft fair was all day on Friday, and the Christmas program was that night, followed by the bake sale and more craft fair. I have stayed busy for a while making things to sell, and I think it went quite well! The baby bears were quite a hit with the little girls, and out of 12, I have only 1 left. And a mom wants to get it for her daughter. I will definitely be doing more of those!

The corn bags sold well too, especially the small ones that I made in pairs that can be warmed up and put in pockets to warm hands. The kids bought these as gifts for dads--I knew that dad gifts were usually in demand and hard to find at our craft fair. I will do more of these next year, especially from a variety of team fabrics.

I had lots of left-over ornaments that I sold for a quarter, along with some odds and ends, and lots of candles I got on clearance a while back. They are always good gifts. I do have a few bags that I have been trying to sell for a while, so I think I will just eBay those to get rid of them. Lee even sold the pink Alabama bag (at a discount) to a friend who is a fellow fan.

The Christmas program was very good--one of the best I've seen them do, in fact. Molly sang in the elementary choir, and her 4th grade class sang one song. Adam sang in the 7th grade choir of 12 people, and they did very well. I just wish that Adam would have stood still!

On Saturday, we went with some friends to see the Nutcracker at the Orpheum. I was looking for tickets a while back, and Ticketmaster's cheapest ones were $25 each. I stumbled across Ballet Memphis' website, and they had $5 tickets! So a friend and I got several of them. I was a little unclear about where they were, exactly, because I guess I didn't understand the layout on the screen. As it turns out, they were on the floor on the first and second row! They were way over on one side, so some of us couldn't see them if they got over on that edge of the stage, but it was incredible! If they happened to get to close to the edge and fall off, they would have landed at our feet. The people across the aisle from us paid $70 for their tickets. I took this picture from my seat:

I used a little zoom on this one:We had lunch at spaghetti warehouse before the show, and made a day of it. Molly and the two other little girls that went with us all loved it. We're going to make it a tradition from now on!
At least, as long as we can get $5 tickets!

Sunday morning was our children's Sunday School program at church. I love to see the little bitty ones singing! They were so cute. And the bigger kids did a great job on their verses and songs.

So it was a busy weekend! But lots of Christmas fun, though!

CBS Craft Fair

I've posted on my Clothed In Scarlet blog about preparing for the CBS Holiday Festival, and I've included some photos of some of the things I will be selling there.

You can see it all at http://clothedinscarlet.com

Happy Thanksgiving!

We decided to stay at home this year, since we are traveling over Christmas break. We are planning a trip to Ryans for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, since that has been our tradition the past few years when we have celebrated with Lee's parents. Adam insisted that we couldn't break tradition! Besides, I made two turkeys, gravy and homemade rolls (remember the new bread machine?) for Molly's class party/picnic yesterday, and that was all the cooking I can stand for a while. Although, I did make some more rolls this afternoon since they were so good yesterday, and I only got two.

After dinner, we have been invited to stop by the house of our friends the Allens for dessert and fellowship. (And the boys will be involved in some video games, I'm sure.) I, for one, am looking forward to a weekend with nothing to do! Of course, I'll find plenty to do. I need to get ready for our school craft fair that is coming up in a week and a half.

We have lots to be thankful for--Lee's good job, our health, a wonderful church, a good school for our kids, and most of all, our salvation and God's love and care. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, friends and family!

About us

This came from a friend's blog. Copy and paste the questions to your own blog then add your link to the bottom of this post, or just post your answers in a comment.

---------------------------------
You can either answer these questions about yourself or mix it up a little and answer them about your spouse!!

1. Sitting in front of the TV, what’s on the screen?

Lee: some kind of ESPN news, a Monk episode that he Tivo'd, or some reality show--Survivor, Biggest Loser, Amazing Race, etc.

Janey: a show that the kids are watching (usually Jon & Kate Plus 8, 17 Kids and Counting, or Little People Big World), Monk if Lee is watching it, or if I've actually found a chance to watch TV alone, it's usually something on HGTV, the Travel Channel, or some kind of archaeological or nature show.

2. You’re out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?

Lee: depends on where we are. Sometimes he gets blue cheese, sometimes ranch, and sometimes thousand island.

Janey: ranch. A no-brainer. And if anyone can tell me where to get or how to make ranch that tastes like the kind restaurants have, I'll be forever grateful! (and forever fat!)

3. What’s one food he doesn’t like?

Lee: any dish that has bread mixed with something else. The bread stays separate--always. Otherwise, it gets soggy. And he hates soggy.

Janey: most things in the vegetable category, especially raw tomatoes. Ick.

4. What is his favorite type of sandwich?

Lee: pretty much any kind that involves two pieces of bread. If it will stay in there, it can be a sandwich. But I think ham or tuna would be his favorite.

Janey: chicken, especially chicken salad, but I also like ham or turkey or whatever. Just don't put vegetables or condiments on it. Well, except maybe for ranch.

5. What would this person eat everyday if he could?

Lee: Italian--spaghetti, lasagna, etc. Oh, or a sandwich. (see #4)

Janey: cheese--any kind of cheese, particularly melted.

6. What is his favorite cereal?

Lee: he won't eat it with milk on it (remember the soggy factor), and I'm not sure what would be his favorite as a dry snack.

Janey: frosted cheerios

7. What would he never wear?

Lee: anything pink, any kind of print, unusual colors, trendy stuff, I could go on and on.

Janey: anything that makes me look fat, anything too immature, anything too trendy, anything that's not comfortable, I could go on and on there too.

8. What is his favorite sports team?

Lee: NFL--Cowboys, college football--Alabama, MLB--Cincinnati Reds

Janey: my favorite sports don't generally involve teams--gymnastics, figure skating and dancesport, if you consider it a sport. I do.

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged! My friend Heather tagged me.

Here are the rules:

Pick the 4th picture folder on your computer.
Pick the 4th picture in that folder.
Explain what the picture is about.
Tag 4 blogging friends to do the same.
Fun!

I'm using my new computer at the moment, and there aren't many pics there yet,
but I just cleaned off some disks and saved some to my hard drive this morning.
Here is the 4th picture on there:

Aw...isn't she sweet? They grow too fast.
This was July 22, 2003, just after the big storm that has come to be known as hurricane Elvis came through. You can see all the debris in the pool.
Molly decided that she needed her rainboots and umbrella to come outside and help me check things out. She was 4 at the time. Brings back memories of our power being off for 12 days.

OK, so now I'm tagging
Debbie
Tina
Tabatha
Rachel

Look what Lee brought home!

Yep--I mentioned something about a bread maker for Christmas, and I guess Lee decided that it was such a good idea, that we couldn't wait until Christmas for it! We got a few ingredients that we were missing, mainly yeast, at Aldi this afternoon, and set out to make a yummy loaf of warm, fresh bread.

I read the directions carefully for the "quick" bread which takes all of an hour to mix and bake. I put the ingredients into the machine in the proper order and turned it on. A short while later, Lee called me up, and the machine was smoking a little out the back and smelled like something was burning. Upon looking into the machine, the ingredients were really dry (looked like sand), so flour must have escaped the pan and gotten onto the burners. I guess I somehow measured something wrong--water or flour or something. So after the machine cooled, Lee measured up a batch and turned it on. An hour later, we were removing a wonderful-smelling, beautiful, crusty loaf of white bread. I sliced it up right then and there, and little of it remains. Lee used two big slices for an enormous sandwich, Molly used two small slices for a sandwich, and Adam and I just ate warm bread with butter on it. MMMMmmmmm.... Then Adam ate the rest of Lee's sandwich that he couldn't finish.

We are going to experiment with different recipes and find one that we like that doesn't cost much to make. I am going to try freezing the slices to make them last longer (no preservatives=spoils quickly). I figure I can freeze two slices and take them straight from the freezer to the kids' lunch boxes. Well, that is, if the loaf can even survive long enough to cool off good.

We have set out to find ways to save money various ways--by couponing and stockpiling, and by making our own stuff, when it is cheaper to do so. We want to make eating at home more attractive than eating out. And, since I'm not so crazy about fixing up elaborate gourmet meals, we have to work hard to keep the restaurants out of our minds. The bread machine is just another step in this journey.

Our new computer area

Finally! After months of planning (and procrastinating!), I have finished the remodeling/organizing of our computer area downstairs. I wish I had taken a "before" picture! It was a mess of old brown mismatched desks, cords, computer equipment, and just stuff. I built the desks from 3/4" MDF and painted them, then mounted the shelves and organized all the necessary computer and office stuff into baskets with labels. We splurged on two new flat screen monitors, since the old ones were so bulky and clunky. Today I finished placing and connecting the computer equipment, then hid the cables under the desks with velcro strips.

The machine on the right is my new embroidery machine. I now have a place to put it where it will connect to the computer.

Here is a picture of my sewing/jewelry/bow/whatever area on the other side of the room, which looks similar to the old computer area. (You might want to send small children from the room.)
Don't panic--it's next! You may be asking yourself how in the world I can work in this. Well, I don't, at least not lately. I've been too busy building and painting desks! Of course, some of this is stuff I cleaned out from the other side. So this is my "before" picture of this area. Stay tuned for the "after" pictures! But don't hold your breath--it might be a while. At least after Christmas.

What season is it again?

I know many of you aren't plant people, but if you know me well at all, you know I am. So humor me, OK? I went out in the backyard this afternoon to put the new water bags on the pool cover net (long story), and some of my plants are growing better than ever back there! And we never go into the back yard unless we are swimming, so we don't get to enjoy them.

Lo and behold, we still have tomatoes! I thought I had nearly killed the plants when they went for a week in hot weather without being watered when we went out of town in September.

The ginger has put out two more bunches of beautiful, sweet-smelling blooms. I wished it bloomed earlier in the year too!

The impatiens love the cooler weather.My bougainvillea hasn't bloomed yet this year, but it is looking really good now. With my luck, it will bloom right after I stash it in the garage for the winter.

The purple and green I combined in this pot has finally taken off. The coleus has suffered a bit from a lack of water, but the sweet potato vines are thriving.

The huge holly bushes (trees, really) between our house and the neighbors' are giving us a preview of the season to come, though! I like to cut off branches and decorate with them at Christmas time.

Sarah visits

My niece from Canada came to visit in October. I haven't seen her since she was about 12! (She's 24 now.) We had a great visit--we went to the Arts in the Park, toured downtown and rode a riverboat, saw Graceland, and had a good weekend visiting. (and eating!)

My sister Donna and Sarah on the roof of the Peabody:

Me, Sarah and Donna

I let Molly use my camera some when we went downtown, and it's interesting to see some of the things she decides are photo-worthy. Here is a slideshow of some of her pictures.

American Girl Store

On the last week of September, the kids are out of school for 3 days during the teachers' convention. We took the opportunity to go visit Lee's parents in Chattanooga and his sister Davida in Atlanta. Before going, I found that there is an American Girl store in the Atlanta area. Molly was thrilled! She has 2 18" dolls similar to American Girl dolls, and she picked one to go visit with us. So we went--Davida and I, Molly (armed with her birthday money) 12-year-old cousin Sylvan, and Molly (the frizzy-haired American Girl knock-off doll).
What a place that is! A little girl heaven on earth. That is, a little girl WITH LOTS OF MONEY TO SPEND heaven on earth. I cannot imagine taking a girl there without planning to buy.There is an American Girl doll/character named Molly--hence the name for Molly's brown-haired doll Molly. (Stick with me now--this could get confusing.) This is a picture of Molly holding Molly in front of the Molly display in the store. Molly decided to buy the Molly outfit that Molly wore in the movie "Molly" that the Molly doll is wearing behind Molly in the picture. It is the patriotic outfit that Molly wore in her tap dance number at the end of the movie. Got it?

Of course, as every girl does, we had to visit the bathroom while we were there. There were little silver brackets on the wall in every stall, and I had to see what everyone else was doing with them before I figured out what they were. Doll holders, of course! Every little girl in the place had a doll under her arm, so it makes perfect sense. Instead of purse holders, they have doll holders. (Yes, this is a smile, sort of. It's the face Molly initially makes every time I point a camera at her. Molly the girl, not the doll.)
We had planned to get a snack at the Bistro, but there was a wait of 1 1/2 hours. We decided against it. Note to self: make reservations!
They even have an area where they will fix and style your doll's hair. Most style were $20, so we opted not to do that. Besides, Molly's doll is not really an American Girl doll, so they probably wouldn't have done it anyway. But, boy! Does she need a hair fixing!
Molly really wanted this volleyball outfit, but she had to choose between so many things that she wanted. It was agonizing to see her have to choose based on her limited money. She had $90, but in that store, that's pretty limited. I had planned to get her the volleyball set for Christmas, but she informs me that now that volleyball season is over, she doesn't really want it any more.
Here she is making her purchases. She picked the doll high chair that goes with us to most restaurants now, the patriotic outfit that is so neatly packed in the box, a pair of glasses for Molly since her old ones broke, and a hair-styling kit complete with rollers.
This will be a regular stop any time we are in the Atlanta area now. But I will have to be sure to remind Molly that she needs to earn some money to spend first!

I had to get this picture of Molly wearing a bike helmet backwards. It was so cute! She is complaining because our can of mosquito repellent isn't spraying.

Grandparents Day

Let's see--what have we been doing since the last time I posted?

Molly had Grandparents Day at school. (It only involves elementary, so Adam didn't get a special day.) Molly's class did a short play about parents, grandparents and children. Molly was to be one of the parents. She took the opportunity as an excuse to raid my closet. She can actually wear many of my things! She picked out her favorites, including my high-heeled turquoise sandals, so she was decked out. She complained half way through the day that her feet were killing her. Yeah, sister, get used to it. Beauty comes at a price! She was relieved that I had brought along other shoes (and clothes) for her to change into.

Molly, Annie Bell, and Laura Warren as "adults."

Couples Retreat at the Wilds Oct 17-19

What a great time we had! We left around 5 a.m. Friday morning (yawn) on a tour bus that the church rented. We arrived at the Wilds Friday afternoon. We ate dinner, then went to the first service of the weekend.
After the service, we went down and played a crazy game of minigolf. Things get a little nuts when a bunch of parents have the chance to be kids instead of parents for a while! One deacon decided to do his ape imitation:
and our distinguished youth pastor did his Karate Kid imitation.
The leaves were changing, and the mountains were beautiful! The Wilds is a beautiful place--I've never been there before. On Saturday, we had two services, a split session, three delicious meals, and time to relax and play all afternoon.
We got in some gazeeball--"Throw me the ball, Steven!" Andrea even got into it.
And some human fusball, or "faceball" as it came to be known after Sapphira got whacked in the face.
I wanted to do the giant swing, but Lee wasn't going near the thing. So Woody offered to go--I think he just wanted to see if I would be scared. But I really wasn't--it was fun!
That night, they had a western theme. They had a band that played, a delicious barbecue dinner, and a skit that, I understand, is as old as the camp itself.
Then after the evening session, we played some card games, since it was too chilly for another game of minigolf.
Mitch and Kim Tibbits played Buzzword with Tim Fowler and Andrea and Steven Allen.
I played Dutch Blitz and Skipbo with Debbie Phillips and Sapphira and others, while Lee did his nails. (He was really keeping score.)
On Sunday morning, we had a service and a wonderful brunch, then boarded the bus for the trip home. It was a wonderful weekend to draw closer to God and therefore to each other, and also great for relaxing and having a good time with friends.