September Acres

I was catching up on my Tivo'd Nate Berkus shows this afternoon and saw the episode that Troy Dunn (from the show 'The Locator') was on. He was explaining to a viewer who was doing too much (she was like most of us-2 preschoolers, husband, home, home business, PTA board member, Friends of the library board, room mom, etc. Sound like anyone you know?) that 'a yes is a no' . What exactly does that mean? According to Troy, when you say yes to an outside activity , PTA for example, you are saying no to your husband, you kids, your house, your business . Likewise, when you say no to an outside activity you are saying YES to those things . Makes a lot of sense doesn't it? It's not like we're saying no to outside activities so we can sit on the couch eating bon bons all day. We're saying no so we can spend time on our priorities, the things that really matter. Something to keep in the back (or front) of our minds as this Thanksgiving week is here and...

It's time for Melissa's Favorite Things Party again. It was hard narrowing it down to just a few but I did it. To keep me going through the busy Christmas season I am loving the Peppermint Mocha at Startbucks . I like to think I am working off all the calories during the day as I run around like a crazy lady. We'll see next time I hop on the scale! I LOVE the Almond Oil Hand Cream @ the Body Shop. It's not too greasy and has a lovely scent. My husband and I discovered this Stoneleigh wine at a restaurant in town a while back and fell in love with the Pinot Noir . Truly the best wine I have tasted. It is from New Zealand and I am on the look out for it at the store so I can take a bottle or two home with me. Keihls eye cream with avocado is my favorite eye cream. If you are at the age where you need eye cream you should give this one a try. It feels wonderful when you put it on and that little jar lasts a long time. Pop over to see Melissa and join in the fun.

LM had a school project to do this week. The teacher sent home a clothes pin and the kids were to decorate it to look like a Pilgrim or an Indian. LM picked a Pilgrim and this is what she came up with... Very preppy, don't you think?

I am joining Kelly's Show Us Your Life series. Today is bathrooms. Hold onto your hats -our bathrooms are about as boring as they come. This is our master bath. Very small but at least we have one. Actually the 'master' bath in our last house was MUCH smaller-it had a small shower (about 4 ft square) a toilet and a very small vanity. It was pushing it to have 2 people in there. So this one is palatial in comparison. It has a huge window - it almost seems like it could have been a door. Our vanity and medicine cabinet. Close up of the vanity. Cute pics I loved at Kmart. They were $17 each and I just loved them. They were perfect for the 'theme' I wanted when we remodeled . When we bought this house the vanity was dark with a marble top and there was carpet in the bathroom -honestly, who ever thought that was a good idea? Below is LM's bathroom which doubles as our guest bath. Again, very small but serves it's purpose. It's the only room i...

Last week Oprah had a show about 'teen idols'. Her idol was Jackie Jackson (Michael's oldest brother). At 13 she planned to marry him. As we all know it didn't quite work out that way. While she and her producers were putting this show together the producers surprised her with a visit from Jackie. Can you believe that Oprah had never met him? She was like a giddy teenager when they met. When I was younger I planned on marrying Donny Osmond. My best friend Debbie also planned on marrying him. We had long discussions on what our plans were and how we would go about meeting Donny. She even tried to negotiate with me and persuade me to marry another Osmond. HA! The thing with Donny never did pan out but I had a 'plan B'. I would marry Shaun Cassidy instead. He was on Oprah last week also. He even sang a medley of his hits from back in the day. Remember 'Da do ron ron'? His concert was the first I ever went to. I must have been about 12 or 13...

Remember the Sears Wish Book? My sister and I were always so excited when it arrived each year. I would spend hours looking through it deciding what I wanted Santa to bring me. I remember this cover... I loved Barbies and while we had a lot of Barbie stuff I don't remember the gymnastics equipment. I do remember all the camping gear and I remember being sooo excited when I got my first Malibu Barbie. Don't the Malibu's have darker tans now? Look at these prices! As I got older I spent time not only looking at the toys but also the clothes. How groovy are these tops? Last Sunday there was a toy insert from Kmart in our local paper and LM enjoyed looking through it. It reminded me of our days with the Sears Wish Book. I told her how much we enjoyed looking through it and eagerly waited for it each year. 'Sears has toys?' she asked me. Yes, they do. We only have a Sears appliance store here so she doesn't know about the big Sears stores and all that t...

It's been a rough week here. It's only Thursday. Often times I think it would be great to live off the grid. Of course, LM and the hubby would have none of that so here we are dealing with all that is life in suburbia. Lots of craziness that I know we all go through. We all have good days and bad. Monday & Tuesday I was dealing with a pulled muscle in my back. On Tuesday morning I literally could barely move. Everything I did all day was a struggle. I thought about what it would be like to live like that every day of my life, as I know some people do. Knowing the muscle would fix itself I was suddenly thankful to be healthy (actually, I am always thankful for my health but in the moment I sometimes forget that) knowing that there are many, many people who do not have a fraction of what I do. So I stood up straight (as hard as it was) and carried on. Today has been much better physically but our school district is dealing with the consequences of an override not being pass...

Apparently, one of these little guys has joined our family. I heard a rustling noise yesterday morning and thought something was in a cabinet so I woke my husband up and told him to come check it out. Of course, he hears NOTHING. Isn't that the way it always is? Like when I hear a sound in the car and ask him to drive it and he doesn't hear it. It's the same thing here. So I call the exterminator, wanting them to come over and fix this situation lickety split, and have to leave a message. They call back and ask a few questions, determining that we likely have kangaroo rat (mouse) in a wall in our kitchen. Gross, I know. GROSS. I have no earthly idea how the little critter entered our home. The exterminator gave me tips on how to figure out how he entered, what traps to use etc. He said it would cost a fortune to have someone come in and do this for us. GREAT. I have done a bit of research and there are rat specialists out there so I'll call around this morning. 'Ca...

My friend H had her annual Halloween party on Sunday and all of us here at September Acres dressed up and headed over for dinner, friends and some trick or treating. Here is LM in front of the bloody pool. You can see a bit of the dry ice, too. She was a witch but quickly lost the hat. Our group of trick or treaters heading out to collect some loot. This is the first year that LM has been 'real' trick or treating. We usually go to the 'trunk or treat' at our church where people give out candy from the trunk of their (decorated) cars. With Halloween on Sunday this year our church skipped the trunk or treat in favor of a cookout and games. The kids could come dressed as their favorite saint or as themselves but not in traditional costumes. This didn't go over well with LM who had already picked out a costume (not a saint) so we decided to head over to H's party instead. While we were out LM asked my husband, 'Is this how it's done, Dad? Is...