exciting times

Ever since Tyler and Tony left the bank

to head to the Post Office

to apply for passports for their trip to Belize

we have been under attack.

Not that life was peaceful and easy before that...

~

It's common for us to overload our kitchen power strip;

all we have to do

is attempt to use 2 appliances at the same time

and

silence.

We turn off whatever needs turning off and flip the switch

and we're back in business.

And if we're really good

we remember to turn back on

whatever it was we turned off...

This time was different though

I couldn't just flip the switch on the strip;

I had to get into the fuse box.

And it was a little fiddly

and there weren't exactly sparks

but I did see light.

But the power came back on

so I wasn't too worried.

My friend, Lynnet, was over

and we got back to work pin-basting her quilt.

And then

it happened again

only

we weren't using any thing 'extra'.

This time, though

the power didn't come back on.

and there were sparks.

and smoke.

coming from the breaker box.

I called Tyler.

He said to leave it alone.....

We called one of our electricians

and he told us what we (Tyler) needed to do.

Tyler waited till about 10 to head up to the attic to ruin new wire

so it'd be a cool 100 or so degrees.

~

Tyler was laying across the 2x4's in the attic

while the boys were taking turns

trying to 'feed' him the wire when he wanted it.

We noticed some - um - cracking and creaking

coming from the ceiling.

I hollered up, "Be careful!" a couple of times.

As if that'd help....

At one point

Lexi wandered over by the door

and I had Brandon move her to where I was

(sitting on the couch babying my sore foot...)

about a minute or so after that

the ceiling came crashing down

2+ trash bags worth of insulation

and about 40 years of dust and mud-dauber nests

ugh!!!

made for easier attic access, though....

So

not only did Tyler have to re-wire a portion of the house

he also had to fix the ceiling.

About 26 hours after the 'smoke bomb' went off

we were back to normal.

As normal as it gets.

I think I could do with a little less excitement around here.

this

is more my speed....

these shoes were made for walking

...or maybe not...

I found these shoes last week

and wore them around the shoe department for quite some time.

Considering the shoe - they were pretty comfy

(which we all know is a deciding factor

for anything I'm going to wear)

I talked myself out of them.

I don't really need a really cute pair of heels

that I'll only wear a few times a year.

Even if they are only $8.50.

Blast it all

I thought about those shoes all week long!

Tyler and I ran to WM Sunday afternoon

to pick up some cool whip for his Baked Alaska Pie

and something made me think of them again and I said,

"I wish I would've bought those shoes!"

So he said, "Let's go buy them right now."

The man spoils me, I know.

I really didn't think they'd be there;

neither did he

but he figured he'd be a hero anyways, for trying.

But there they were

still calling me

lonely

on a shelf full of other marked down shoes.

A few months ago

I wore some shoes I'd bought on clearance at winter's end.

Heeled mules

but, with the right pants, they looked like boots.

Ya'll know

everyone was wearing boots last winter.

A friend of mine saw them and asked, "Are you wearing boots?!"

As if I were the last person on earth who would....

She wasn't being mean at all;

she just knows me as the completely unfashionable mom I've been

ever since she's known me.

When we got back in the car yesterday

with my new impracticable shoes,

I reminded Tyler that I've always been a shoe girl.

But that part of me has been buried

by the 'mom' part of me for so long

we almost forgot she existed.

I'm pretty sure though

that the shoe-girl and the momma can co-exist peacefully.

Just as soon as I build another shoe shelf in my corner of the closet...

hank the cow dog

or

rather

Lola the Farm Dog

After dropping off all the passengers

Tyler was parking the trailer

when he saw a flash of brown

out of the corner of his eye;

Lola had hopped back in the trailer.

She never wants to miss out on a ride!

See how happy she is?

a short story

Once upon a time

there was a momma

who took a bunch of her kids shopping

even though she was sick of shopping

because there was supposed to be an incredible sale

at the convention center.

The sale was lousy

so they ended up going to NBC, too

The momma's children were all very well behaved

(much better, in fact, than any other children

they came in contact with during the trip)

so she treated them to Taco Bell for lunch

and Sonic

(where they had buy 1 get 1 free shakes)

for dessert.

the end.

true story.

(Lily asked me to tell her a short story while she went potty at TB

this is a tradition of the kids - telling stories in the bathroom.

anyways.

I completely missed out on any form of story-telling gene

so this is the story I told her.

She liked the happy ending :-)

I am extraordinarily tickled

what?

You don't see anything?

Of course you don't!

That there is an invisible zipper.

~

check here in the next day or so

and I'll tell you all about it

my new furniture

just in case

some shy person is out there

just dying

to see

what

would possess me to pull a trailer

See?

makes perfect sense, now!

It needs a little love

but it's got great lines.

I can't wait to have it in my dining room!

~

Completely unrelated

but

located right next to the buffet

is the wash-tub bass

that Tyler and Lana built

5 or so years ago

just in case anybody was dyin' to see that, too

the girl has style

.... most days....

click on the picture & look closely

you'll see the dress is backwards

and the belt & socks (her brother's) are upside down

shopped out

We needed some new pool stuff

floaties, goggles

that sort of thing

so we decided to make

shopping for them

our Family Fun Night activity on Friday.

We just went to the Dollar Tree and Wal-mart

but still

it took a couple of hours.

~

Saturday morning

we headed to Penny's;

they were having - get this - a sale.

Most everyone needed an outfit or two

so the whole family went.

We started in the little boys section

and found something for Josiah

(who dearly loves getting new clothes!)

then looked briefly in the girl's section

till I came to my senses & remembered

neither girl needs anything.

Lily dearly loves new clothes, too

but she was a trooper.

The shoes, though, she had a hard time

passing up all the cute shoes!

Then it was on to Jeremiah's department.

Can you believe - all these kids

and none of their clothes are in the same dept.

After the boys 4 - 7 section

things started getting a little crazy

what with several people trying on clothes

and different ones going off in multiple directions

trying to speed up this whole shopping process.

By the time it was time for me to look in the ladies department

everyone had pretty much had it.

Especially me!

Which is what happens

every

stinkin'

time

we all go clothes shopping

!!

Tyler and I were talking on the way home:

none of the kids were bad

(even Lexi was pretty good, actually)

but there's just so darn many of us.....

and we take up so much space

and it just takes soooo long.

It's exhausting.

~

Since we didn't get a chance to look for anything for me yesterday

Tyler wanted to take me shopping this afternoon.

We spent almost 4 hours at Kohl's

and I am completely

shopped out.

We bought

7 pairs of capris / crop pants

some 'dressy', some casual, and some really casual

and 5 tops.

I don't think

I have ever bought so much clothing

for myself at one time before.

It really is extravagant

to have more than enough clothes to last an entire week

without washing or re-wearing.

Now

I just need to figure out where to put everything....

big week

41 1/2 years.

And then

I had to go and spoil my record.

Men pull trailers

it's just one of the things they do.

and

since I'm no feminist

I'm happy keeping it that way.

Except

I found this beautiful

hutch / buffet set

at Abilities

on Wednesday, aka 25% off day.

I called Tyler

hoping he could run over on his lunch break

to check it out.

He was having lunch with 'the guys'.

But

he said, "If you love it, buy it."

Now,

keep in mind

we live in a 975 sq ft house that is

wall-to-wall furniture.

He said we could stick it in the Study Shack

(which hasn't been a 'study' shack in almost 3 years)

I don't normally buy furniture by myself

and I sure don't buy furniture

on impulse.

We have rules about impulse shopping

for goodness sake.

but.

I don't normally find furniture

that is so perfect for us.

and I knew it wasn't going to last long at Abilities!

So

I happily wrote out my $176.25 check

and watched them put SOLD stickers on my goodies.

Then

I wondered,

"How the heck am I going to get these lovelies home??"

I decided Tony could go get them,

being almost a man and all.

But

Tony had to work.

I considered asking Tyler to take

1/2 a personal day

so he could go get them

but I quickly realized that was lame.

So

I did the only thing I could do.

I had the boys hook up the trailer

and I drove it.

All the way to downtown FSM

where I stood back and watched

the nice guys carefully load my precious furniture on it

and then

I drove it

white-knuckled

all the way back home.

35 mph over the Midland bridge.

..and that is how I broke

my 41 1/2 year

no trailer-pulling streak.

what's for dinner?

some of my favorites

~

grilled zucchini

(brushed with garlic infused olive oil before grilling)

sautéed yellow squash

soon we'll have tomatoes and bell peppers to add, too

cucumbers and sour cream

~

yum!!

apothecary

We made these!!

As usual

Brandon was my right-hand guy

~

I got the capsule machine last year;

I don't know why it took me so long to actually use it!

We started with just some simple cinnamon capsules

but I have plans for making my own herbal combinations.

Speaking of herbal combinations

my recipe for 'Green Stuff' has been requested.

I'll post it here

and perhaps more people can benefit from it....

Making your own 'medicine'

is pretty intimidating - until you do it

and then

you realize,

"Gee, that wasn't hard at all!"

~

correction:

I was going to type up my recipe

but the folks from the bulk herb store

have already done it for me.

(much better than I could have)

The only thing I would add to their directions is this:

their recipe calls for several herbs

and while your Green Stuff would be great made with them all

I have found that using only plantain

or a mix made of mostly plantain

with a little bit comfrey and echinacea added in

makes a very fine salve

good for pretty much any skin irritation.

~

Ordering dry herbs online is much less expensive

than buying them from the health food store

but

for your first time

I'd suggest just heading to your local store

and getting only the amount you need.

Then

when you see how fabulous this medicine you made is

you'll be happy to purchase herbs in bulk

to make more.

~

and now

I'm off to make some 'medicines' of my own

apothecary that I am...

;-)

thrifty thursday

It's been almost a month since my last trip.

I had a bunch of errands

so I didn't plan to shop long.

I ended up spending almost an hour and a half

at the Salvation Army!

I am just tickled with today's finds!

~

I thought this pillowcase would be perfect for a slip for Lily!

I love the extra detail on the hem.

~

I could not believe my good fortune;

these gorgeous vintage sheets

here

in NW Arkansas!!

I had decided all the really good ones lived elsewhere...

When I was checking out

the gal told me the linens were half-off.

I had her charge me for one more and ran back to get this gaudy thing

I don't know why I like it

but I do.

Those red flowers are about 10 or 11 inches across!

~

My favorite purchase

though

was this case

for

$1

or maybe it was these....

$1.50 for both of them!

I was so glad TJ wasn't with me;

we'd have had a fight on our hands for sure.

~

They had two totally awesome ugly vintage chairs

that I had to leave there;

no room in the inn.

maybe Lana can go snatch them up....

~

All together

I got

1 skirt to use as fabric

another skirt (perhaps wool?)

that looks like it should fit a dear friend of mine quite nicely

a pair of jammies for Lex'

almost 4 yards of floral knit fabric

3 sheets

1 pillowcase

8 glasses for the freezer, for milk - yum!

5 board things - not sure what they are

but I plan to use them as lap desks for the kids

a fabulous sturdy basket - with liner

a large square jar for ribbons for my sewing nook

sandals

the suitcase that makes me giddy just looking at it

and

those incredible card catalog steel boxes

for

- get this -

eleven dollars and fifty cents!!!

I don't know if I should believe this or not

but

my mother swears

that I was once mortified

because someone complimented an outfit

and she told them we'd got it at the thrift shop for $2.

~

sorry, Mom!

silly sisters