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Friday, February 26, 2010

Oh, QUITyerBELLYachin'


It's been one of those months.
not one of those days or afternoons, but one of those months.

A month where you loose focus and murphy's law has taken over..
"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong",
You start to say that "if anything else happens I think I will scream",
and something else does go wrong, and you do scream.
Well not really, but you want to.

Well it is a stormin' here folks!

Alrighty, let me get this out quick....
~The vaccum has gone on strike
(it will do wood floors but boycotts rugs).~

~The washer is holding my wet towels hostage,
the door will not open, expensive repair guy to the rescue?~

(Lets just say this guy wouldn't be bored at my house)

~My computer has a virus and is being repaired.~
I'm working off of a teeny weeny wireless notebook now, praying my pictures can be recovered.
(mmm, hmmmm, I know!)

~I cracked my coffee pot....
!!*%$#@&!!! (cheese n' crackers)~

~The microwave is making a strange howling noise.~

~The dishwasher spits back out dirty dishes......(obviously has joined in the boycotting .)~

(My future in dishes.)

~My van needs maintanance.....
even after I specifically asked her to behave until next year.

~My DVD player won't open, therefore will not play movies and is holding 5 hostage, 1 of which my 3 year old insists on watching alot, so maybe a blessing?~

~The stereo will play the first 3 songs of a cd and then gives up and shuts off.~

~I have a mouse in the house and that lil bugger is taunting me, no kiddin. Gross  right? Everything that was bleachable in my house got a bath, twice. 
Oh yes, we do have 2 barn cats, Slackers!~

That is most of it, not all, but most of it.  Just the icing.
I didn't even touch on the colds and flu bugs that have flown around our house and the......
Oh, nevermind.  I will spare you the rest in hopes
that you will one day return to read my blog.
Geesh, what a whinner! Right?~

Ugh....sigh....sooo,

Just how is a girl supposed to be a domestic diva without her modern conveniences?

You're right....could be worse.

Sorry, I just had to vent.

Life is good in my farmhouse....not always purty, but good.

There I said it, it's real and it's true.
Things break, stuff goes wrong, mice drop by, we get the sniffles and the timing is bad.
That is life, and so is getting on with it and over it, lol.

So,
On a better note......
I am healthy, so is hubs and my children.
We have a roof over our heads, food in our bellies and love in our hearts.


Amen to that.
See that? I am trying to shift focus from
the uncontrollable and frustrating,
thinking more positively and to
appreciation for what is most important.
Afterall, it is what we think about most that we attract, right?
Positive in thinking, we attract more positiveness.

(Sneaky eh?  It's working!)
  
Reminders that say "oh, would ya QUITYERBELLYACHIN' already!"
Afterall, those are little problems in the big scheme of things.
(even if they do all happen at once)

I sometimes refer back to This Post about Wise Words:

#40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
(so true)


Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.....
it is about learning to dance in the rain!
(now where did I put that umbrella)

A friendship bouquet for you.....for lending an ear...



I feel better already, thanks for listening!
My next post will be more cheerful and pretty.

I promise.
Take Care,
Dee

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Hearts Day!


And let,
your arrow go....

 straight to my lovers heart....
(nice love song, about getting shot through the heart with an arrow, lol)
I love the oldies love songs though!  They are cute and fun to listen and dance to.

I love the vintagey valentines...but...
   
Homemade Valentines....there isn't anything better!  My son made this one for me in preschool, a keepsake I will treasure forever!  I made my husband a valentine heart much like this the year I found out I was pregnant with my son...inside the heart I wrote in crayon:

Roses are Red,
Violets are Blue,
Inside of me beats
Two Hearts for you!
I think that there is nothing that says I love you more than taking time to get creative and make it
FROM THE HEART!


Valentine tea from Bigelow tea company..white chocolate black tea and cinnamon apple herbal.
mmmm, a sweet drink.

Valentine sweets for my sweets!

One of my sweethearts....all fancied up for school and ready to hand out his
valentines to his classmates.



 Valentines all ready to go to classmates with treats attached.



Valentine goodie bags I made for my daughters...This year I ordered these adorable lil Kleenex holders from my bloggin friend, Linda, over at Prairie Flower Farm, she is the sweetest soul and designs her own fabric and patterns as well as sews all kinds of homemade goodies. I have been hinting to my hubs that I REALLY want one of those cute bags she makes, (hint, hint, hint, giggle {{honey}}).

Well, I got those holders because they were just so stinkin’ ca-ute in their pretty fabrics and will all of the sniffling colds going around they were also practical....I tucked a few heart chocolates in there, a jam jar of lip gloss, pink strawberry whoppers and some purty notecards, topped the bags off with some scrapbooking paper and there you go...
I LOVE YOU to bits!
My son gets a heart shaped box of chocolates with his favorite Disney Cars on it and a few other little boy goodies...
For my husband, I am making him some Vodka Penne with Shrimp for dinner. 
A romantic dinner at home in front of the Fireplace....with our children!
Some years we get to go out, just the two of us, but most years it's the five of us, lol!

Some easy Sweet Treats...
Valentine cupcakes tucked into individual little bakery boxes
XO~Chocolate~XO
Covered Marshmallows,
If you can melt chocolate, these are easy to make and the kids really love them. 
For Valentines day I used strawberry marshmallows and white chocolate and some valentine sprinkles on top.  I dipped them in the chocolate and put them into mini heart cupcake cups for a festive look. 
You can easily put them onto lollipop sticks instead, a great project to do with your kiddos


Chocolate covered pretzels drizzled with pink and red chocolate, melted in a Wilton candy melter.  I picked one up from Michaels craft store....great deal and worth it for the chocolate projects, I use it throughout the year for alot of seasonal treats.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
On another note...
We have had several snow storms this winter, and we have had alot of fun being snowed in, all snuggled down together in the house.  We can go a few winters here on the east coast without any snow at all, but this year sure has made up for it. 


The last few pictures of Winter's seasonal beauty...


I have to now say that I am excited and ready for spring!
Looks like we have 6 more weeks to go though, (thanks Mr. Groundhog)!


HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
I wish you all lots of hugs and kisses from your sweethearts!
Take care,
Dee

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Spreadin' the love...a rather loooong Valentine post!

Love is in the air....
all throughout the Farmhouse.

 In celebration of the LOVE we share in our home...
We dress it up in some Valentine's decor....
To My Valentine
a 2' tag that hangs in the entryway of our home...

An ornament, a stamp and some ribbon....
Oh, won't you BE MINE?


What's this?  Cupid forgot his wings?.....

Some more homemade goodies perched on a shelf.

Mixed up with a few store bought goodies.
(Don't forget to Click on the photos to VIEW LARGER)
A BE MINE banner
I made from some scrapbooking paper, glittered letters
and more gingham of course.



A cute lil' couple picked up from the craft store
I made them a home under the cloche. 
More gingham ribbon, a felt heart and a tag...adds charm.

Flowers and Candy say Valentines,
I spread some faux flowers around
until the real (hint, hint, honey) ones arrive.
(Silent reminders, lol).

Hearts & Roses all in one.

I know roses are the signature Valentine flower,
but Daisies are my favorite flower of all time
My hubs knows that I would rather receive daisies instead!

The windows are splattered with paper hearts,



it looks like
the love is just bursting
out the windows!

A girl can never have too many

HEARTS around her!!


And we should always remember how....

FRAGILE those hearts can be!

A stuffed calico heart hangs from a light....
all the year, reminding us of the love of
friendship too.
What would Valentines be without Sweethearts?

Cupid the cook
waiting in the kitchen for inspiration to whip up all those SWEET TREATS!

Old fashioned Wild Cherry Hard Candies
they look Valentimey to me...
Susan Branch is another one of my favorite authors...I love her cookbooks. 
Her SWEETS to the SWEET goes out on display every Valentine's Day.  She has some good recipes and her illustrations make following them all that much more fun!


I love being snowed in and crafting! 
A couple of weeks ago I dragged out all the scrabooking stuff,
the postcards, ribbon, buttons, stamps,
you name it...
it was probably on my craft table.

A few inexpensive frames....


a little glue, a little glitter....and I threw together a few collages.
This one started out looking like this...


and ended up as this.



Well I still have to make alot of Valentines this weekend...
Planning a few treats to make this week,
now that I'm feeling a little bit better after my bout
with the icky stomach flu, ugh!

I will be resting up this evening snugglin on the couch with my hubs
to watch a few "Romantical" movies, lol. 

These are a couple favorite that are in my DVD cabinet....
Cold Mountain,
a beautiful (and a lil' bit sad) love story set amidst the Civil War...
(ummm, Jude Law's in it too, yay! :o) ).

Another one...of my favorites. 
The Notebook..
Just look at the movie poster...need I say more?
Sooo good!

So, what are your Valentine's Day plans? 
I am thinking a nice dinner at home,
still working on menu ideas though.
I have to say that I think there is nothing better than
Italian food for Valentines day, there is just something so romantic about it!
Hmmm...I love me some ITALIAN FOOD, lol, what to cook though?
Any ideas girls? 
I'll have to check back in a few days.

BTW....
Our porch was featured on
have a look see if you have a minute. 

Well thanks for stoppin by, stay warm snugglin up the ones you love!
 
Take Care now,
~Dee~