It's Saturday.

(Griffin reading one of his favorite books)

We have many options for fun today!

What a great day to get out and experience the things our local community are offering. This is what we have to choose from.

The Easter Bunny will be at the firestation

Several local churches are having Children's clothing and consignment sales ... these are very cool. They always have a great selection of almost new clothing and toys ... great prices too!

The local High School Band is having a yard sale/flea market and BBQ at the fairgrounds

There is a petting zoo at Short Pump Towne Center

Like I said ... so much to choose from.

We are definately going to see the Easter Bunny at the firestation. After that ... I'm not really sure of our plans ... whatever we choose, it will be fun!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend too!

Sam's Club -vs- Costco

My family has a membership to Sam's Club and my friend Heidi's family has a membership to Costco. We've decided we each want to visit one another's shopping warehouse of choice to see if we might indeed like the other one better. Today is our chance to visit Costco. I'm kind of excited about it. Everytime we drive past, their parking lot is always full. I like shopping at Sam's ... I have no complaints, but sometimes it's fun to see what others have to offer.

Do you shop at Sam's Club, Costco or both? What do you like best about them? I'd love to hear your opinions.

The Sky Was Pink.

The sky was a beautiful PINK this morning ...
God amazes me everyday with His beauty.

Smile.

When I saw this picture on my camera, it made me giggle ... he's doing two of his favorite things ... swinging and holding a flower. No matter where we are, or what we are doing ... if he sees a yellow flower (in this case a dandelion) he wants to pull it up.

Have you been watching Dancing with the Stars? I have ... I'm a HUGE fan. I wasn't surprised when Paulina was voted off last night. She seemed very awkward. I thought for sure either she, Shandi or Billy Ray would go. My early favorites this year are Joey Fatone, Ian Ziering, Apollo Anton Ono and Laila Ali.

I have to admit ... I'm beginning to like Heather Mills ... and I really, really don't want to. For those of you that watched Monday night ... did you see that awesome backward walk over? Oh my gosh ... the woman has guts AND talent!! I can't wait until next week.

We are off to the gym today ... just a normal day for us. Hope you all have a great day!

The Zoo.

We went to the Metro Richmond Zoo yesterday with our friends Heidi, Ryan, & Evan. Our friends from the gym Leah, Kevin and Kenneth were there too! We had a fabulous time! I had no idea the zoo was as close to us as it is ... only 30 minutes away. We are definately going back ...


Mommy & Griffin feeding the giraffes


Griffin & Ryan head-to-head with the giraffe


This poor peacock didn't stand a chance


Whewwww ... he's safely out of harm's way


This was the tiniest little deer like creature ... so cute!


Griffin & Ryan watching the white tiger


It's time for a break ...

We had a blast ... can't wait until our next trip to the zoo!

It's Monday.

It's Monday ... the weekend is over.

We might go to the Richmond Zoo today ... we have tentative plans, it just depends on the weather. The temperature is currently 42 degrees and it is a bit overcast. So, we will just wait and see.

If not ... what to do today? Mmmmmm ... the Scrapbook Store sounds good to me!!

Will let you know what are final plans were tomorrow!
Hope you all have a great day!

By the way ... isn't this a great picture of Griffin? My friend Cyndi took this picture of him at her son's birthday party. Thanks CY!

Saturday.

Mike is home ... yaaaa!!

I'm very happy he was able to spend some time with his mother. We all get to see her next month. I've said it before and I will say it again and again. I have the BEST mother-in-law in the world ... and love her very much!

After picking Mike up from the airport yesterday afternoon, we made a stop by Sam's Club. Oh my gosh ... we picked up a couple of their already made pizzas for dinner. Mike wanted one with everything, I chose one called Ranch Chicken. Oh my gosh ... the Ranch Chicken was the BEST pizza. Instead of a red sauce, it had a white creamy ranchy sauce, two cheeses, grilled chicken and BACON! I love BACON! The best part? They were only like $7.00 each ... a bargain! We will be eating pizza for the next week ... they were huge too!

After Sam's we stopped by Michael's. I needed to find some brown ribbon. The boys stayed in the car while I ran in to get the ribbon. I found the brown that I needed, in addition I bought about 15 other rolls. They had the COOLEST new ribbons ... only $1.00 a roll! Ribbon is my 2nd favorite scrapbooking supply right behind cardstock and patterned paper.

We have no big plans this weekend. Mike does have a flying lesson this morning. It's a "cross country" flight. Basically he has to fly at least 160 miles. He is going to go along the coast towards Virginia Beach ... it should be beautiful! Other than that ... NO plans!!

I hope you all have a GREAT weekend!!

Sonny's BBQ

Mike has been in Florida the past few days spending time with his Mom.

Last night he called me and said "guess where I am" ....
mmmmmmmmm ... Could it be ????
Yes it was ..... Sonny's BBQ

I LOVE SONNY'S BBQ and I am SO jealous!!

They have the BEST sliced pork, crunchy french fries, BBQ beans, coleslaw and garlic bread.

They do not have Sonny's BBQ here ... I can't wait until our Florida visit in April.
I definately need a Sonny's fix.

For those of you with questions about Griffin's Ice Cream toy. It's basically just a two piece container. Top and bottom ... they probably sold them as a candy holder or something. They didn't have bubbles in them, but we could always play with the bubbles and then I could wash the container out.

Thank you Jen, Andi, Susie Q and Cassandra for offering to look at your Dollar Trees. I did check out the link that Cassandra provided from Ebay ... I will just have to order some of those!!

Here's wishing everyone a very happy weekend!

Happy Bday H & J & An Obsession ...

Happy Birthday to our buddies Harry & Jack ...
They are 3 years old today ...
We attended their birthday party this morning.
Griffin had a blast!


Do you see this toy???
I AM OBSESSED WITH IT!

Oh my gosh ... Griffin absolutely LOVES it!
I am constantly looking for one part or the other ...
I am worried that he is going to lose the top or bottom part ...
My friend got it from the Dollar Store (months ago) ...
Three in a pack for $1.00
Griffin is always playing with it, and has to know where it is at all times.

If anyone out there happens to run across them, could you please pick me up a pack, or two or three????

This obsession has to stop!!

And ...

I just wanted to give a "shout out" to my MIL Bett ... I just want her to know that we all love her very, very much.

Two By Two

I borrowed this fun Two By Two quiz from Cheryl's Blog.

It’s a Two-by-Two survey.
Answer with things that are relevant to you RIGHT NOW.

Put your answers in the comments section of my blog, or post to your own blog.

Two Names You Go By
1. Mommy
2. MiMi

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now
1. Top & JeansPajama pants
2. Socks

Two Things You Have in a Relationship:
1. Love
2. Trust

Two of Your Favorite Things to Do
1. Spend time with family & friends
2. Make Tear Bears

Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment
1. For Griffin to stop screaming
2. Fresh Krispy Kreme donuts

Two Pets You Had
1. Dalmatian named Wyatt
2. Orange cat named Popcorn (years ago)

Two People Who Will Fill This Out (Maybe)
1. Andi
2. Sue

Two Things You Did Last Night
1. Played outside with Griffin until dinner time
2. Watched Dancing With The Stars

Two Things You Ate Today
1. Three cups of coffee
2. Nothing else

Two People You Last Talked To
1. Griffin
2. Mike

Two Favorite Places
1. Home in Virginia
2. Florida

Two Things You're Doing Tomorrow
1. Going to Toys R Us to buy birthday gifts
2. Going to the gym with Griffin

Two Longest Car Rides
1. Winter Haven, FL to Coleman, TX
2. Winter Haven, FL to Dothan, AL

Two Favorite Holidays
1. Thanksgiving
2. Fourth of July

Two Guilty Pleasures
1. Deep massages
2. Chocolate Mocha Silk Ice Cream

Two Things that Make Me Laugh
1. Being tickled (which I hate)
2. America's Funniest Home Videos

Two Things I Last Got in the Mail
1. Package from Scraploft.com
2. Package from Gonescrappin.com

Monday.

It's Monday ... we had a pretty uneventful weekend staying home most of the weekend. Sunday we did venture out in the afternoon to Home Depot and Lowe's to try to figure out what we are going to landscape with around Griffin's playset that we will be getting in a few weeks. It's going to be a huge play area ... can't wait to get it ... we won't have to go to the park ever again. LOL ... just kidding.

Then, we went to Red Robin ... love that place, it's so kid friendly.

I'm soooo dang excited ya'll ... Dancing With The Stars is coming on tonight ... woo hooo ... it's one of my favorite shows on tv.

I will leave you with a few things I created this weekend ...

Little Red Wagon.

I've had this little red wagon many years ... since our Country Sassafras days. Country Sassafras was a little scrapbook and gift shop my sister and I owned when we lived in Florida. I used to display our Raggedy Dolls in this little red wagon ... it was always one of my favorites.

After we moved to Virginia, I put it outside on my front porch and displayed flowers in it. For those of you that REALLY know me, a green thumb I do not have. So, as I carried my flowers to what I call the "flower graveyard" the little red wagon also found it's way there too.


Guess who found it this past weekend?

Griffin had so much fun pulling it around the yard, filling it with scrap wood pieces from the addition and spinning it's wheels.

Who knew so he could have so much fun with rusted little red wagon.

And the gift goes to ...

I would like to send a great big THANK YOU to everyone who left a comment on our fun little give-a-way blog post.

This really was ALOT of fun and I do plan to have more give-a-ways in the future.


Everyone's name went into Griffin's baseball cap ...


And then he did the honors of picking a name out of the cap ...


And the gift goes to ....

Sandy !

You can visit Sandy's blog by clicking HERE

Sandy, please email (mgmh@aol.com) me your last name and mailing address so I can get your gift package in the mail to you.

Thanks everyone!

Fire Station Field Trip

Today the "Mommy & Me Play Group" had the pleasure of taking a field trip to the local Fire Station. We have Miss Sandy to thank for setting this fun outing up.

It really is a joy to be a WAHM (work at home mom) and have the ability to take Griffin to these kinds of field trips and events.

Griffin enjoyed checking out the humongous wheels on all of the trucks


He also enjoyed sitting in the ladder truck


Yippee ... we are jumping for joy ... we had such a GREAT time!

Celebrating 300!

Wow ... I'm celebrating my 300th blog post today.

It makes me so happy to blog. It brings joy to my life.
I've made some really wonderful friends by blogging.

So ... let's celebrate a little bit ...

See the fun things in the picture above?
A really cool pewter frame
Two Buttercream Yankee Candles
A package of Peanut Butter Kisses
Mary Engelbreit Stickers
Jolee's Stickers
A fun little calendar

I will be gifting this entire package to one person.

To enter for the gift drawing, simply leave a comment under this post and tell me what you look forward to when Spring arrives.

That's it ... it's that easy!

I will give everyone a couple of days (Tuesday and Wednesday) to post your comment and then Griffin and I will put everyone's name in a hat on Thursday and I will let him draw the name.

I hope everyone has a fantastic day!

299 ...

299 Blogger Posts ... tomorrow is the big 300 ... I can hardly believe I've had something to say 300 times!!

Make sure to check back tomorrow as I will be posting something FUN for my 300th post!!

I am having a total BLAST creating Tear Bear Paper Piecings lately. I made this grin, laugh, giggle one the other day ... and yes ... once again I posted it to Ebay.

Productive.

I was quite productive yesterday and actually created TWO paper piecings for Ebay yesterday afternoon. I made this BOYS Paper Piecing and I also made a repeat of my Easter Tear Bunny as well. I honestly think this BOYS paper piecing is one of my favorite paper piecings that I've ever created.

I love it when I actually have the time, energy and creative focus to make things. It's such a joy to start with nothing and then have a finished item. This BOYS paper piecing was very time consuming ... even though it may not look like it. I had the dinosaur tags on there and then wanted something "else". I tried stars and swirls and they just didn't look right. Then I took my pom pom punch and cut the punchie in half and thought it looked like grass ... and voila ... it was the exact thing I was looking for. Then on the bears ... I made little hats for them and did not like the way they looked, so the hats came off. Then I put the grass pieces behind the bears and felt I finally had a finished paper piecing.

As I type this Griffin and I are sharing my office chair. He is standing up in the back half watching Sesame Street and I am sitting on the front half doing computer stuff. The absolute best part is I'm getting hugs and kisses from my little guy without even asking. It's the best of both worlds today.

Here's wishing everyone a very happy weekend!

Autism Speaks: For Ali & Simon

Ali Edwards is a fabulous scrapbook designer and artist.

She has placed a Six Degrees Badge on her site to raise money for Autism Speaks. Six Degrees is a fabulous idea created by Kevin Bacon to raise money for various different charities. To find out more about his organization visit SIX DEGREES.

They are having a contest of sorts. Honestly, I do not know if "contest" is the right word to use. Six Degrees will honor the individual badge that collects the most NUMBER of donations with a large donation to the charity in which they are raising money. Does that make sense? It doesn't matter how MUCH money they raise, it's based on NUMBER of donations.

So ... if you are thinking about donating to a very worthwhile cause ... please consider donating to Ali's badge for Autism Speaks. Doesn't matter if it's $10 or $100 ... each individual donation counts.

Here's Ali's Badge for Autism Speaks:



If you are interested in keeping track of how Ali's badge is doing you may click HERE to do so.

If interested ... you can ADD THIS BADGE to your website or blog to assist Ali with her efforts. To get the HTML code to add to your website or blog post click HERE

Zucchini Squash Cakes.

I love Paula Deen ... I think you all know that by now.



The other day I was watching her cooking show and she shared a recipe for Zucchini & Squash cakes. I knew right away I had to try them.



What is better than FRIED vegetables ... right???



This recipe is a little bit time consuming ... but sooo worth the effort.



Here's Paula's recipe for Zucchini & Squash Cakes

1 egg
1 cup parmesan cheese
1/3 cup diced onion
1 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 cup bread crumbs
3 medium zucchini squash - shredded
3 medium summer squash - shredded

Mix the first 6 ingrediants together
Then add zucchini & squash
Make into 2" patty cakes and fry in butter/olive oil
Cook 3 minutes on each side

Missy's Tips:

1. I used Italian bread crumbs and did not have to add the italian seasoning

2. Make sure to squeeze as much water out of the shredded zucchini and squash as possible. I just took mine, put it all in a clean/dry dish towel and squeezed it out.

3. Her recipe says to cook it about 3 minutes on each side ... I think it takes a bit longer.

4. Also ... we added more bread crumbs to the mixture than she lists and it would have probably binded better with 2 eggs.

This is a DELICIOUS recipe and HIGHLY recommended!!!

Princess.

Another new creation I just posted to Ebay.

Rant.

Can I just say that my AOL Dial-Up Internet connection is the PITS.

We have no high speed internet options way out here in the country ... well ... we do have ONE option ... Hughes Net Satellite ... but it costs too much.

Arrrrrrrrggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Neighbors.

Growing up my famiily lived in a really tiny little place called Eloise, right outside Winter Haven, FL. We lived in the kind of place where neighbors looked out for each other and we, as children knew if we needed someone, we could always run to a neighbor's house.

Summers were spent bar-be-quing, playing under the waterhose and picking peas in Plant City. After we picked peas all of the neighbor ladies and kids would sit under our covered carport shelling peas (don't forget the snaps mind you). I do not have alot of memories from when I was younger ... but this is one memory that is very vivid for me. I remember those shelling peas days with the rain just coming down in buckets. Mama, Rachel Garrett, Judy Brooks, Margie McKee, Mrs. Cox, Mrs. Smith and all of us kids. Wow ... what a memory.

I also remember the day in 1976 my mother took a turn for the worst when she was at Shand's Hospital in Gainesville ... my sister Joy and my mother's best friend Rachel Garrett had taken me shopping for school clothes. We came home and all of those ladies were in our house cleaning and cooking, they had gotten the message before we did. They were there for us, when we needed them most.

You know ... that's the environment that I wish Griffin to grow up in.

I am lucky to have two very close neighbors that I call my friends. I know if I was ever in a situation where I needed them ... a simple call asking for help is all it would take. The sad thing is ... I really do not know my other neighbors. Even my closest neighbor that lives right next door ... we've lived here almost four years and I've never even been on her front porch.

I wish for more neighbors that I can call my friends. The kind of neighbors that we can get together to barbeque with. The kind of neighbors that you can call on the spur of the moment, just to drop in for a quick hello.

I realized it's a much different world than when I was a kid ... but really ... I do not think I'm asking for too much.