September Acres

The weather in my neck of the woods: Hot and sunny. One of my simple pleasures: Taking a nap. On my bedside table: Still reading 'Twilight'. On my TV: nothing On the menu for tonight: hamburgers, salad, baked beans On my to do list: work, laundry, organize bedroom after newly painted dresser is dry. New Recipe I tried last week: nothing In the craft basket: nothing Looking forward to: Labor Day weekend at the (cool) mountains Homemaking tip of the week: Organize your flatware when putting it in the dishwasher - all knives in one slot, all spoons in one, etc. Makes it easier to put away. Favorite Blog post of the week: This one by Life as Mom. Favorite photo of the week: Little Miss playing dress up with the dog. That is a garter belt around his neck. I know he didn't sign up for this when he agreed to go home with us. :) Lesson learned the last few days: Just smile & nod. On my prayer list: My husband's friend, Bob, whose wife passed away last week...

to stimulate the economy. We headed out to the mall yesterday. Snagged some bargains. Cleared out the stockroom at Dillards. Stimulated the economy. First, here is part of my husband's haul. He loves Polo. Polo loves him. It fits, he likes it. It's a win-win. And the Polo department is right at the door we always use when we go to the mall. (I am a creature of habit. I always use the same door when I go shopping anywhere. I find a place I like and that's it. Please don't try to confuse me and make me use another door. I usually try to get the same parking spot, too. Or within the same area. I am sure this is some kind of illness. And I am sure there are meds out there for it.) If he ever wears the shorts and orange T together I won't lose him. Oh, the best part: each item = $8.99. I felt guilty. A glimpse at what Little Miss came home with. I am seeing the skirt with a pink top or turtleneck, jean jacket and her pink Uggs. That's the nice thing about living he...

When I pulled in the driveway yesterday after picking up Little Miss from school the thermometer in my car read 119 degrees. Yes, it did. It had cooled off for a while - we even had rain last weekend. I thought summer was on it's way out. Silly me. It's starting up again apparently. My usual 'cocktail' of choice is a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot but in this kind of weather I need to be cooled off. Luckily we had purchased some Corona Light for my friend Julie when she came over for my dad's birthday. Even luckier is that she didn't finish them all. So until it cools off you will find me with a cold one (just one) around dinner time. I am not sure how to get the lime out of the bottle for recycling though. Guess I'll cut it smaller tonight...

We are going on day five of my husband having no tobacco. He is crabby. That's all I'll say. Crabby. This on top of the fact that it is health insurance renewal time and we received our new rates today. This always makes the hubby happy - I mean crabby. We could buy a small island with the amount we have spent on health insurance since we have been married (I am sure many of you can say the same). Let's just say that we will now be paying more per month than the monthly mortgage payment on our first house was. But health care reform will fix it all, just wait. (She says with much sarcasm and not meaning to offend.) An update on the 2nd grade drama here. As I posted the other day , the mom of LM's friend P called me about a situation between the girls. Well, get this, my friend L called me yesterday afternoon and said that she saw P's mom in the morning before school (I didn't take LM to school that day) & P's mom told her 'everything'...

I love to watch the View. My favorite days are the 'hot topic' days. I love Elisabeth Hasselbeck. I cheered her on as she faced up to that bully Rosie O'Donnell. Darn her for being on maternity leave. I saw this little gem of info on MSN. Now we have to see Kate as a co-host on Sept 14 & 15. I have said in the past that I am pretty much indifferent to her. I rarely watch 'Jon and Kate plus 8'. I don't know about her relationship with Jon. And I don't want to. I know that I think they are getting to the point of exploiting their kids in the name of their 'future'. But it's none of my business - it's their life, their choice. They will reap what they sow. I hope they are sowing more good than bad. So I am not really interested in seeing her for 2 hours chatting with the girls from the View. It will be Regis and Kelly those days for me. The other co-hosts filling in for Elisabeth are supposed to be Meghan McCain (the senator's daughter)...

You take them both and there you have The Facts of Life. This isn't a post about 'The Facts of Life'. But it is one of my all time very favorite TV shows. Gosh, how I wanted to be Blair (I've grown up a lot since then!) No this is a post about taking the good with the bad. Little Miss has a 'best friend', P. I would not choose her as a best friend but I am not 7. She is nice enough, her parents are nice enough. Just not sure how great of an influence they are. Mom (in her 40's) dresses like she is 20 - all the time. Even my husband who is, well, a guy thinks she dresses inappropriately for her age & occupation (SAHM). P, gets her hair highlighted. Dad encourages this all. They really are nice people. It's weird. So we just try to have LM be around her in moderation. And we like her to come to our house. That way we can keep an eye on things. That's the bad. The good: P gets her hair highlighted and it is always perfectly coiffed....

' Smart Board' is the buzz phrase at our school this year. Is it the same in all school districts? When Little Miss was in Kindergarten our school had one for the 5th graders to share. This year it sounds like each grade has one to share. But the PTA wants to keep buying more until each classroom has one. I am interested in sitting in on a class to see how they work. I know they are interactive but I really want to see how this helps the kids learn better. When LM's class gets their turn I am definitely going to check it out. Since the PTA is buying these you know what that means: Fundraising Time. Yippee. In a few weeks we start selling 'Yankee Candles'. Not horrible at all. I am looking forward to seeing what the fundraiser will offer. Too bad the zillion dollars we pay in taxes doesn't cover smart boards. But I guess I can always use another candle. Another fundraiser idea (not mine, obviously) is to have the kids pay $1 on Friday to wear someth...

I have never been into watching "Dancing with the stars" in the past but I saw the list of 'contestants' for the upcoming season and I think I will be watching. Donny Osmond is going to be on so I don't think I can resist! The new season premieres September 21st. Check out this blog for a wonderful Lilly giveaway. Really cute! Today is usually my scrapbooking day but I think I am going to just stop by and say hi to the girls so I have time to get some running around done before LM gets out of school. There's much to do here and I have not been motivated AT ALL to do much for the past few weeks. I think I am turning a corner so I want to take advantage of that while I am motivated. A while back I bought a new vacuum. Hate it, just hate it. Plus I broke a little piece off and it works but is broken, if you know what I mean. The canister falls off if I hold it just the right way. Not fun. At all. So I am heading to Lowes in search of something new....

We don't technically have a dining room. It's more like a dining 'area'. Or you could call it an eat-in kitchen (a big eat-in kitchen). Just like pot shelves are popular in Arizona, dining rooms are not. I am not sure why. Even my friends who have big (5000 sq ft +) homes don't have formal dining rooms. I guess it's an Arizona thing. We actually used ours in our old houses. Our small townhouse in Virginia had a formal dining room. So did our house in NC. I miss it. The window to the left of the table with the oh-so-lovely vertical blinds (I know we need to get rid of those) is a sliding glass door leading out side. There used to be a 'pony' wall (hate 'em) right under the light switch between the two windows. It was a happy, happy day when my husband knocked that down! The curtains are 'faux silk' Martha Stewart (I spared no expense - haha). I actually like them since they are machine washable and were a fraction of the cost ...

Last night my husband and I went to see David Cook in concert. I would highly recommend going to one of his concerts if you remotely like him. He puts on a great show. He and his band were probably on stage for an hour and 15 minutes or so. They had an opening act, The Crash Kings, who were also really good. Below are a few photos. Not the greatest. I clearly didn't miss my calling as a photographer. This one was a bit dark but fairly clear. We were in the 13th row, center. Really great seats and as an added bonus we were on the end which meant I could get up and dance around in the aisle. Closer up but a little more blurry but all in all, not bad. We didn't get to meet David even with my little plan to have my husband wear his Southeast Missouri State t-shirt. David and my husband are both from Missouri so I thought he might notice him and start talking about 'home'. As it turns out, row 13 is good for watching a show just not good for reading t-shirts in the dark. M...

It's never too late to practice some frugal ideas. I love Frugal Fridays w/ Life as Mom . She always has fabulous tips and you will find tips from other bloggers there, too. With so many people either getting hours/commissions cut or out of a job all together sharing frugal ideas can be really helpful. Just one great idea can change your outlook on your financial life. It really can. So pop over to her website and check out her great ideas as well as others'. I may have mentioned this before, maybe not. But I think the one thing that has made a difference for us is paying cash at the grocery store. Not a check or debit card but cold, hard cash. Each payday I take 2 weeks worth of my budgeted grocery money out of the bank and put it in an envelope labeled 'groceries'. I just use an envelope I get from the bank (free) but you can get all kinds of fancy envelopes if you so desire. I used to take out a week at a time but decided taking two weeks out worked bette...

My husband and I are off tomorrow to see this cutie in concert. Today I'll be busy packing and getting Little Miss ready to go stay at Grandma's. Looking forward to a fun time, a little break and some cooler weather. "Only" forecasted to be 98 at the concert. I'll be back with a full report over the weekend.

One Fabulous Mom offered us a look into her beautiful living room yesterday and asked others to join in so we can check each other's rooms out. So here you have it. My living room. Below is what you see when you walk in the door. The red chair was just recently recovered (it was a pale floral). Since I had that recovered I needed to change a few things. I have done some things but it's still a work in progress. The small tables on both sides of the red chair were freebies for helping some friends move. The recliner is my husbands. He takes great pride in it. It cannot be moved. Ever. Below is our 'pot shelf'. Pot shelves are very popular in Arizona. To me they are just dust collectors (so don't look too closely as I rarely get up there.) But if you have a pot shelf you need to do something with it. So this is what I have come up with. Most of the items came from a small home store in town. Or Pier One. Or Target. The big shiny spot in the middle is a sky light. He...

The weather in my neck of the woods: Do I need to say it? Hot and sunny. Actually it is cooling down some - 'only' supposed to be 105 today! One of my simple pleasures: Reading the Sunday paper in one sitting (doesn't happen much anymore). On my bedside table: Still reading 'Twilight' - hope to finish it this week. On the menu for tonight: Quesadillas , salad On my to do list: clean up after the weekend, run to the bank, work a bit, maybe read a bit New recipe I tried last week: nothing In the craft basket: nothing right now but it will soon be time to start Christmas things so I am not overwhelmed in November! Looking forward to: Seeing David Cook this week in concert. Homemaking tip for this week: Keep a running list of groceries, toiletries & cleaning supplies you need when you go to the store. This helps you not forget to put it on your shopping list. I keep a list on the fridge - I have a magnetic notepad and I list things as I run out. If your kids are o...

Thank God it's Football Season!

We have had Smokey for two weeks. He is getting more comfortable here each day. He apparently thinks he is a chihuahua. Why else would he jump up on the couch, on top of me? All 74.2 lbs of him. The other night we were watching tv and I was laying on the couch. Smokey wanted to sit on the couch too. So why not just jump up and find a comfy spot? Here he is all comfy like laying on the couch, I mean me. (Please excuse my tired look - I had just gotten out of the shower after swimming with LM all afternoon and was in my jammies .) I am not a fan of pets on the couch so we are working on this. He usually just wants to be up there if I am there so I may have to stick to sitting in the chair. But I am confident we can train him to stay off the couch. Last night LM stayed at her friend's house overnight. My husband and I went to the mall. I got a dress for my cousin's wedding and then we went to the movies. We saw ' A PerfectGetaway ' .REALLY good - definite...

So, I am going through my mail today and see an envelope from the credit card company (I don't want to say the name but it isn't with our bank). I just got and paid the bill so I knew it wasn't that. I opened up the envelope and there was a lovely note saying that the interest rate was going from fixed to variable (which means up). WHAT? They are also raising different fees. Due to the 'economic climate'. My husband has very little interest in the financial goings on in the household. I am okay with that as I enjoy doing most of the bills, etc. And I like knowing what is going on. I always leave all the bills for him to look at when he gets home. So, I left this lovely note for him to look at so he would know what is going on. Did you hear him yell when he opened it?? Yep, he was loud. Not a happy camper. Now, we don't have a balance on this card (we recently paid it off after having a small-ish balance for a few months, so the rate change doesn't really aff...

The weather in my neck of the woods: Hot & sunny One of my simple pleasures: a ripe, fresh summer tomato (if I have already said this one week, I apologize. But is does bear repeating as it is THAT good!) On my bedside table: 'Twilight' by Stephanie Meyer On my TV: nothing On the menu for tonight: Spaghetti, salad On my to do list: work @ my husband's office New recipe I tried last week: Pineapple Bread posted by Laurie. YUM! In the craft basket: still nothing Looking forward to: my stamp club today (my husband has been kind enough to let me take off a couple of hours to attend!), scrapbooking w/ friends tomorrow. I haven't seen this group of friends expect to say 'hi' since school was out in May so it will be fun to catch up. Homemaking tip of the week: Get the kids to pitch in. Even the little ones can help you carry laundry, fold it, take off the sheets, dust lower levels, unbreakable items. They may not make it to the finish line with you but every li...

Here is Smokey's new 'spot' during the day while I work. Luckily, I don't need a ton of leg room! We took Smokey to the vet yesterday. He is a big dog - 74.2 pounds! Montana was about 45 at her heaviest so this is a change for us. Our vet thought we made a good choice getting Smokey. So far we do, too.

Little Miss was looking for shoes to wear to school yesterday when this conversation took place. Me : 'Go get your socks and shoes so you'll be ready to leave for school.' LM : 'I don't have PE today so I don't have to wear tennis shoes.' Me : 'Okay, you can wear your white sandals.' LM : (picking up a pair of flip flops) 'Mrs. R (her 1st grade teacher) said if we tie a string around our flip flops it will count as a back on our shoes and we can wear them to school.' Me: ' Did Mrs. R mention that doing that is tacky?' LM: 'No.' Me: 'I didn't think so.' So, tennis shoes it was...

I'm the one hanging over the lifeguard chair! I don't know if it's the heat (112 today-again!) or what but I am not motivated to do anything. Anything. It's so hot - indoors and out. I don't remember feeling like this last summer or any of the summers before. Maybe I am just getting old... No, that can't be it. Little Miss had a good first day of school yesterday. No tears when I dropped her off, thankfully. Her teacher is really nice but sent the kids home with homework... for the parents! I forgot about all the beginning of the year stuff we have to fill out. This is the time I am happy I only have one child. Smokey did well on his second full day with our family. He is such a sweet, well behaved dog. Hopefully my next post will be a little more exciting...

The weather in my neck of the woods: Hot and sunny One of my simple pleasures: morning coffee in the peace and quiet On my bedside Table: 'Twilight' by Stephanie Meyer On my TV: nothing On the menu for tonight: Quesadillas On my to do list: clean up from weekend (this should take all day-ugh), call vet to make appt for dog's first visit. New recipe I tried last week: Southwestern soup - 2 cans of tomatoes, 1 can black beans, 1 cup chicken stock/bouillon, 1 cup frozen corn, 1/2 cup chopped peppers (red, green, yellow, orange - one or all), half a package of onion soup mix. Combine all ingredients in pot, bring to boil. Garnish with cooked chicken, shrimp,steak, sour cream, avocado, crushed tortilla chips, grated cheese - whatever you have on hand. In the craft basket: nothing Looking forward to: pedicure this week , scrapbooking on Saturday w/ friends - all day! Homemaking tip for this week: With my house looking like this I have no business giving out tips. ...

Yesterday we got a new dog. It has been 6 months, almost to the day, that we put Montana to sleep. We have talked about getting a new dog, sometime. My husband noticed an ad in the paper that the animal shelter was having an adoption fair at PetSmart on Saturday and maybe we should stop by and see if there were any dogs that we would like. There were about 5 or 6 dogs there, most puppies and very active. Not what we were looking for. Then we saw Smokey. He was sitting quietly w/ one of the volunteers. He is 2 and recently graduated from the Friends of the Pen training program. The program fits dogs with inmates who, for 8 weeks, train the dogs. Smokey is really well behaved - it seems like the training really worked for him. He doesn't run off, understands commands, comes when called, etc. We had a good first night with him. He slept next to my bed all night. Right now he is sitting by my chair while I type this. We think he is going to be my shadow. I would not hav...

Thursday was my dad's birthday. We decided to have cake and ice cream at our house after dinner. That was all. Until Little Miss got in on the action. She nixed my mom's idea to get cupcakes at Cold Stone. No, what Grandpa needed was a Spongebob cake with all the trimmings. There were Spongebob plates and napkins, streamers, balloons and games. We also invited a couple who does not have any kids (they are about the age of my husband and me). Thank goodness they like us and don't mind the parties LM plans. They keep coming back for more. We played 3 balloon games before cake. The winner of each game got a gumball from LM's new gumball machine. After cake we played 'Disney's Scene It' game. Amazingly, the adults did well. We got a gumball for each question we go right. We put the gumballs in the goody bags. I'm telling you, LM runs a party like a pro. My birthday is next. I wonder what she has in store for that...