Which Superhero Are You?

I am Wonder Woman



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Too funny since I always wanted to be her when I was growing up...lol!

Heirloom Christmas Gifts

A gift I received for Christmas this year is probably by far the best gift I have ever received. Last Christmas we decided the adults would not exchange gifts. (Actually, my brother and I only exchanged one year. We decided to just put that extra money toward a gift for our parents. We were both young and still living at home rent free so why not give our great mom & step-dad a little something extra for putting up with us...lol!) Anyway back to my story, that rule only lasted one year. My mom is giving gifts again. I guess old habits die hard...lol!!

My brother and I are each handed a gift bag. In his was my grandpa's (dad's dad) old Miller Brewery Zippo lighter. He was a pipe smoker, but even when he wasn't lighting a pipe he would be sitting in his chair with that lighter in his hand. Along with the lighter were two of grandpa's badges from his days as head of security for Miller Brewery.

You won't believe what was in mine! It was her wedding ring!! My parents divorced when my brother & I were VERY young. I was 7 when the divorce was final, but they seperated when I was 5 & my brother 3. I have always loved that ring. It isn't a big beautiful stone, but I love it because it was mom's. Even though I haven't seen it on her hand for about 30 years I can still picture it. Strange the things that are etched in our memories.

My mom decided each Christmas she is going to pass along to us things she would want us to have after she is gone. Some of them may be things we wouldn't know the story of if she didn't pass them along. The things from this year were very obvious! :)

Thank you, Mom! I love the ring and know Scott loves Grandpa Brewer's things.

First picture is Grandpa Brewer sitting in his chair. He is holding something, but I don't think it is the Zippo here...lol!!

Second picture is my mom and dad on their wedding day May 6, 1967.

Thursday Thirteen #1

While reading one of the blogs I visit occasionally, I ran across Thursday Thirteen.

I think it sounds like fun so I may join in for at least a few weeks to try it out! Not sure if I will be able to come up with a theme every week (lol), but I will give it a try! Here it goes:

Thirteen Things about ME
1. I am 36.
2. I am married.
3. I have one 13 year old daughter.
4. I have a 6 year old Black Lab/Shepard.
5. I have a 3 year old Lab/Chow.
6. I am a SAHM (Stay-at-home Mom).
7. I live in Southeastern Wisconsin.
8. I have three brothers.
9. I have two step-sisters.
10. I knew all my grandparents.
11. I have NEVER flown on a commercial airplane.
12. I attended Trinity Bible College.
13. I am a neat freak, who tends to procrastinate.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens! my 2 cents alisonwonderland chickadee Jenny Ryan jo melissa guusjem caylynn Leave your link in comments, I'll add you here.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

What is the Thursday Thirteen?

Thursday Thirteen is a blog meme with one purpose - to get to know bloggers better. Thirteen is the magic number - because Thursday Thirty is too many!

Every Thursday, bloggers jot down thirteen things about their week, Thirteen secrets they’ve never shared before, Thirteen random things about themselves or their lives that give the reader a better idea of who they are. Then the fun begins, you go bloghopping! Find other Thursday Thirteeners, spend some quality time getting to know your fellow bloggers, interact with them through their lists and invite them to yours!

Is there a theme every week?

Nope! Your Thirteen Things can be about whatever you want. Just remember, most of your fellow Thirteeners expect to learn more about who you are or what you’ve been up to that week! If you do a themed list, you may want to keep that in mind.

The Silly Girl

Olivia is really good at making goofy faces and/or poses when she sees a camera comes out. Yesterday, was no exception. I caught this one of her while we were opening gifts over at my mom's. I love this pic because she was being silly, but had no idea the picture was going to be taken.

All Wrapped Up

I am proud of myself. *snicker* ALL the gifts were wrapped before the clock struck midnight! I was actually ready for Christmas before Christmas morning! Woohoo!

Merry Christmas!!

I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with love and many special memories! See you all on Tuesday, when I will be back to my regular blogging schedule!!

Back in Arizona

We had a really nice time with Bob's parents Sunday, and the food turned out perfectly! They are back home in Arizona now. The ten days they were here went WAY too fast. Frankly, I don't like them living so far away. It was nice to hop in the car and be to their house in five minutes.

We hope to make it out there for a visit in March. It all really depends on Bob's workload as that time gets closer.

Speaking of work and vacation, you can probably tell we didn't make our pre-Christmas trip. Bob was so busy the last two months and it put us behind with things around here. Namely, Christmas shopping, decorating, etc. We decided these days would be better spent taking care of the shopping. Wouldn't want Olivia to wake up with nothing under the tree Christmas morning...lol!

We got most of the shopping for her done Monday. Today, I will do the rest while Bob goes into work DURING his vacation.

Brittany the Elephant Gets New Friend

She has been alone at the Milwaukee County Zoo since Lucy died in September. She now has a new friend!

Milwaukee County Zoo Elephant Gets New Friend
December 15, 2006

A 26-year old African elephant named Ruth just arrived at the zoo from her former home in Brownsville, Texas.

Ruth will be company for Brittany, who has been alone since her companion Lucy died at the Milwaukee County Zoo in September.

"We wanted a good companion for Brittany, and Ruth met all that criteria, and more. It turns out that Ruth's companion had died, and so Ruth needed a companion also. So it was a perfect match," a zookeeper told 12 News.

Ruth will be kept in quarantine for 30 days while she gets used to things.

The two elephants can already see and hear each other from their separate enclosures, and they are starting to get acquainted.

source: TheMilwaukeeChannel.com

Change to the Sunday Meal Plan

My grocery store only had the flavored pork tenderloins yesterday afternoon. So I had to change my meal plan slightly. That's okay this change will me a little less work for me. :) The new plan:

Meal:
Honey Mustard Pork Tenderlion
Brown/Wild Rice
Fresh Green Beans w/EVOO & garlic pepper

Dessert:
Triple Chocolate Bliss Cake (I made this cake this morning and it smells SO good.)

Sunday Meal Plan

Meal:
Pork Tenderlion w/Cranberry Sauce
Wild Rice
Fresh Green Beans w/EVOO & garlic pepper

Dessert:
Triple Chocolate Bliss Cake

Jeff Gordon's Going To Be a Daddy

from: nascar.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. --- On Wednesday, Jeff Gordon announced that wife Ingrid Vandebosch is pregnant.

"We're obviously very excited," Gordon said in a statement that appeared on his Web site. "Christmas came early for us this year.

"This is a very special gift for us -- one that we're both looking forward to. The due date is early July, and Ingrid and I can't wait to be parents.

"We've known for a little while, but we couldn't wait any longer to share the good news with our friends and fans."

Gordon, 35, married Vandebosch in a small, private ceremony in Mexico on Nov. 7.

Gordon and Vandebosch have been together since 2004. They appeared in the movie Taxi, in which the 37-year-old model played a bank robber and Gordon made an uncredited cameo appearance at her invitation.

Gordon announced his engagement to Vandebosch in Sonoma, Calif., in June and then won the Nextel Cup race the next day.

Christmas Comes Early This Year

At least for us! Bob's parents are in town -- woohoo. They arrived Saturday afternoon. Olivia & I went out to dinner with them and Bob's brother's family Saturday evening. Unfortunately, Bob wasn't able to make it because of all the craziness at work.

Friday evening we are taking them to The Packing House, one of our (and their) favorite places to dine! Sunday afternoon we will be together at our house for our Christmas celebration!

Oh no, Sunday is only a few days away! I need to wrap their gifts, bake a little something, and plan a meal! I better get moving!! *snicker*

Procrastination Turns to Motivation

The photo taking and digital scrapping I have been doing lately was at first me trying to put off things I know need to get done in preparation for Christmas. Well, it has turned into motivation! I don't know how, but working on those photos and pages recently has put me into the mood to get things done!

Must bring back the wonderful memories of Christmases gone by! I am looking forward that family time. Bob has been SO busy with work that Olivia and I have hardly seen him in the last week or so. It will be so nice to have that time together!

Here's a "motivation" layout:

New Profile Pic

I rarely like seeing pictures of myself, but I like this one. I guess the key is to take it myself while looking in the mirror with only the Christmas tree lights on in the room...LOL!! Here's a version with less cropped out! :)



I love the softness of the light and colors in this photo.

Scared of Santa?

I think these kids are...lol!

Cool Advent Calendar

At harpold.com/advent each day contains Chrismas memory, a holiday link, and something special. I found this link at this stop in my blog travels! :)

Gearing Up for 2007

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. ~ William Morris

I know I have mentioned before wanting to simplify! I have made some progress during this year, but I want to make even more next year! I am mapping out a plan for my ring-in-the-new-year declutter! First up, the basement! It will be perfect because that is where we store the tree and ornaments. So just before I take the tree down I can begin that project!

Happy Birthday Jim

I'm a baaaaaad sister-in-law! I almost forgot to post a happy birthday to Bob's brother, Jim!

Happy Birthday, Big Guy! We love ya!

I Call This Procrastination!

I should be doing laundry, dusting, or writing out a few Christmas cards, but I needed a little break. I decided to look at some old pictures. I saw one of my favorites and had to scan it to play a bit!

They are 5 & 3 in this picture!
Where has all that time gone?

Grandmas Say the Darndest Things

My grandma has trouble pronouncing a few words most of them see to be french. My mom and I always spend alot of time with her and some of them are words that come up often enough that we have to think before we say them so we don't say them incorrectly...lol!

Somedays we laugh so hard with her when she says a new one. I have told grandma I am going to write a book entitled Guide to Speaking with My Grandmother or an English to Grandma Minnie translation dictionary.

Well, this morning during our morning phone call a new one came up. She was talking about watching this. It is a repeat of Episode 1 and shows the preparation for a visit from France's President Chirac. She told me they were preparing to show a shortened version of Les Miserables to the guests at that event. Only grandma called it less missle robels. She is one cute lady! I love you grandma! :)

On Making Friends

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. ~ Dale Carnegie

Sad News Day!

James Kim's body found after massive search. I had been following this story since I first read about it here.

Three people killed in Falk Corporation Explosion. We live at least 15 miles south of this factory and could feel and hear the blast at our house. Bob was upstairs getting ready for work, and I thought what the heck is he doing up there.

Girls-Only Blogthings

Recently, I ran across a cute site in my web travels called girls-only blogthings!

Your Celebrity Style Twin is Gwen Stefani
Trendsetting, unique, and stylish.

Who's Your Celebrity Style Twin? Take the quiz and tell me your celebrity twin style! :) Be very careful though...lol!! The first time I was there I think I spent about 25 minutes taking those little quizzes.

Editing to Add: My celebrity style twin has signed a fragrance deal with Coty! Read about it here.

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum

How lovely are thy branches...

Thank goodness for Target! I decided to pick up purple, turquoise, and green ornaments. They are GREAT jewel tones and from a collection called Holiday Couture! They fit in nicely with the golds we already had.

Just a fun shot!

I left this image larger than I usually do for blog entries.
If you click on the image, you can see the ornaments a little better.

It's hard to see the in the pictures, but the new ornament have gold glittery designs on them. I still want to find some floral picks to add to the tree, but other than that I am finished! Woohoo!

Holly Hobbie

Did you know Holly Hobbie had a makeover?

I had no clue until this morning while out shopping for my niece, Caitlyn. Won't she just love this little girlie? I sure hope so!

Holly sure has come a LONG way from when I had a Holly Hobbie bedroom, dish set, lunch box, etc! It's fun to see the popular dolls from when I was growing up making a comeback!

As you can probably see, I got a tiny start on my Christmas shopping. Three people down. I think that leaves about ten or twelve -- yikes. I better make my usual tracking list so I don't skip anyone! At least only 5 need to be done for this weekend!

The Blizzard of 2006

Now it's really beginning to look alot like Christmas! We got about 13 inches of snow today, and it fell in about ten hours! Woohoo!

All schools in the area were closed. Bob went into work, but found out shortly after he got there the Milwaukee office was closed. Think they could notified at least one of the area stations who announce school & business closings? Instead he got an email about 45 minutes after getting to work. NICE!

I spent most of the day in the house working on our tree. It is a pre-lit that decided it doesn't want to be pre-lit anymore. I am not sure my fingers will ever be the same after taking off all those little doodads they use to attach the lights to the tree. Some new lights are back on now. I will decorate it a little later tonight.

I did clear off the deck so the dogs weren't bringing in all that snow and kicking more in as the doggy door swung back and forth. Ever try letting the dogs use a doggy door with a foot of snow outside it? I will tell you it is not pretty! Still have to tackle the driveway, but will wait for Bob to get home so he can share in that joy...lol!

I will add some photos of our winter wonderland later. I need to hit the shower and figure out what I am making for dinner.

Here is one to hold you over until then...lol!!

Chevy looking out the patio door.
I think he is wondering
what is all that white stuff,
and do I really want to go out there?

Oh, did I mention we were in the 60s Monday, Tuesady, and Wednesday?