Welcome Winter.....FINALLY!

I received a phone call from my sister Linda on Sunday night telling me that Mom isn't doing good at all right now. Apparently, she's not eating or taking her medications & they had to take her off of her blood thinner because her white cell count was too low. So now she risks the chance of getting blood clots. And from what Linda said, she's not in the right state of mind again, either :( They took her to the emergency room on Monday morning & while she was there, she had a spoon in her hand & asked Linda for a light.....she thought the spoon was a cigarette. So please, if you pray, can you keep my Mother in your prayers for me? Depending on how she feels today, I may leave tomorrow to go visit her for a few days. Shawn said he would go with me so that I don't have to drive alone since Jim can't go because he doesn't have any personal days available.
After having unseasonably warm temperatures lately, Winter decided to finally show it's face Sunday night. It started out with an ice storm & then last night, we got snow. The temperatures aren't supposed to get out of the 20's for the rest of the week, either. Right now, as of 11:00 am, it's a bone-chilling 16 degrees outside! Above is a picture of our River Birch (click on picture to see it better). For a few brief minutes this morning, the sun actually came out & I love the way it makes the ice just sparkle! But I doubt that the sun will be melting any of the ice anytime soon. Luckily, we weren't part of the 80,000+ people that lost power in Oakland County! Just one thing I love about our subdivision.....underground power lines :)
A close-up view of our River Birch.
This picture was taken yesterday of one of our neighbor's trees.
Here is our Clematis behind our garage filled with ice.

Cassie didn't have school yesterday due to the ice, so she enjoyed the 3 day weekend, as did Jim. We didn't get much done like we planned, though, so now I need to get busy around here. But I did work on a layout over the weekend, so that felt good :)

Till next time,

Benita

Goodies Galore & Meaningful Memories

Yesterday, I received my layout back from Scrapbook Trends along with this AWESOME package! When I first sent them my layout to be published, I was under the impression that they just sent you a copy of the magazine that your layout is in as compensation, so I was completely blown away by all the goodies that they sent....not only one, but TWO copies of the magazine, an SEI 2007 Calendar, some Calendar stamps, brads, eyelets & everything else pictured above. Now I need to start submitting with them more :)

The other day, Sophia posted a challenge for us to walk through our home & share photographs of gifts from others, things that speak 'you' in your home. I have several things that are very meaningful to me.....the first one is this clock that belonged to my Mom. Like me, my Mom loves clocks & loves hearing the chimes each hour. When I was home in August, my sisters were going through my Mom's things since the house was going to be sold & originally, Donna was going to take this clock, but she said it was too loud for her, so I asked her if I could have it. Now it's hanging proudly in my family room where I see it & listen to it every single day.

Another item that I will always cherish is this jewelry armoire. It belonged to my sister Karen & when she passed away, I asked her sons if I could buy it. I also have a few pieces of Karen's jewelry inside of it that I don't wear because I'm afraid of losing them. This armoire is in our master bedroom & although it doesn't match our bedroom furniture, I will NEVER part with it! I know I can't bring my sister back, but I can cherish the memories of her forever!

My Mom gave me these pictures a couple of years ago which I now have hanging in my scrapbook room. She had them hanging in her home for years & I remember when I was little, I always wondered who it was in those pictures. It wasn't until several years later that my Mom told me it was ME. Wasn't I a cute baby? :) And believe it or not, I still remember that dog that I'm holding.

This clown statue that my father gave me several years ago for Christmas is yet another meaningful item to me. It had no real meaning, really, other than the fact that it was a gift from my father & one I will always cherish. At the time, my father & I weren't on the best of terms with each other, so the fact that he even gave me a gift was meaningful to me! I proudly display this clown in my scrapbook room where I can look at it everyday.

These next 2 items may not seem like they would be meaningful to anyone else, but to me, they are. When Jim & I first got our granite countertops installed, I wanted a canister set that matched them. I found a set like these on ebay & since Karen sold Tupperware, I asked her if she would be able to get them. They were discontinued, but she searched & searched for me until she found me a set. I told her I was willing to pay whatever it costs for them if she found them & being the generous & loving sister that she was, she gave them to me at her cost & also found some other pieces that matched which she gave me for free. I will never part with these canisters because everyday that I use them, I'm reminded of my wonderful relationship with Karen & it brings a little tear to my eyes.

Lastly, this set of glasses is another item that sits on my countertops & they hold some very fond memories. When I was just a little girl, everytime I would go visit my grandma & grandpa, they would give me a drink in these glasses. They had several other glasses in their home, but I always had to have my drink in one of these. When they both passed away, my Mom had to have an auction to sell some of their things & the one & only thing that I asked her for were these glasses. Although I don't use them now, they bring back some wonderful childhood memories when I see them on my countertops.

Thanks Sophia for doing this challenge & letting me share some meaningful memories!

Have a great weekend......Jim is off work all weekend & on Monday, so we're hoping to get some things done around the house since they're predicting a snow storm......it's about time!

Benita

1st Pub In Print!

It's official......I'm published! :) When I got the email a few months ago from Scrapbook Trends asking me to send in this layout of my granddaughter, I was really excited! But now, after finally seeing it in print, I'm ECSTATIC! :) I went to The Scrapbook Zone on Friday for their Freaky Friday sale & they had copies of the January issue of Scrapbook Trends, so I just had to bring one home with me since I haven't received my copy in the mail yet. It's definitely a dream-come-true for me! And I just love the way they photographed the layout with the baby blanket & teddy bear.....too cute! Thank-you Scrapbook Trends for giving me this awesome opportunity & for making my dream come true! If you buy Scrapbook Trends, my layout is on page 148 :)
Here is the scan of the layout, although the edges got cut off.

Just a short entry today. Gotta get ready to go watch the new Apprentice. Have a great night,
Benita

Happy, HAPPY New Year!

2006 went out with a BANG.....literally! While driving to our friend's house for their New Year's Eve party, we had thunderstorms! THUNDERSTORMS! In Michigan in December! Talk about some wacky weather we've been having lately! And here I thought I only had to worry about thunderstorms in the summer! WRONG!

We had a GREAT time at the party! Played cards, ate, laughed, ate, toasted at midnight & ate some more :) I made over 200 Jello Shots & sadly, I still have over 100 left.....anyone want some? :) I also took a Peanut Butter Pie like the one pictured above.......LOVE these things! So creamy & yummy & extremely fattening! Oh well, time to make yet another new year's resolution to lose some weight :(

We left the party around 3:30 a.m. & took our time driving home since we knew there would be drunk drivers on the roads. I wasn't drunk, though.....I'm not really much of a drinker anyway & when I do drink, I never get drunk. Even with all the jello shots I ate, I still didn't get drunk :) We were sad to see the party end, but we knew we had to get home so that we could get some sleep before we had to pick Cassie up on New Year's Day.

Now it's time to get back into our routines, which is always hard to do at first after the holidays. The Christmas Tree is already down & most of the decorations are put away.....still have to take the stockings down off the staircase which I'll be doing today. Jim had to go back to work today & it was hard to wake up without him next to me this morning :( I got spoiled while he was home! And so did he! We would stay up till 1 or 2 in the morning & then sleep in until the dogs woke us up needing to go out. Cassie goes back to school tomorrow, but she's glad that she has an extra day off.

I'm hoping to start a new 'business' of sorts in the next few weeks. Once I get all the details worked out, I'll be sure to let you know.

Hope you have a fantastic New Year,
Benita

Merry CHRISTmas

On Saturday, the 23rd, Toni made arrangements with Jim & I to let us spend the day with our granddaughter & I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present! I haven't seen her in over 4 months, so needless to say, I was estatic! We took her out to dinner & then did some shopping to buy her a new winter coat, then we brought her back home so that she could open her presents from us. Here she is with her SpongeBob pillow & blanket.

I also purchased her some Crocs because the last time she was here, she saw mine & was walking around the house in them. You should have seen the look on her face when she opened the Crocs....it truly was priceless! She immediately took her shoes off so she could put the Crocs on. I think she was more thrilled with the Crocs than she was any of the toys we got her :)

But then again, I think the Sit & Spin was a pretty big hit, too, as you can see in this picture. I had to spin her around on it a couple of times first until she got the hang of it, but once she did, look out!

Until she tipped over! LOL. She was okay & jumped right back on it again. But don't you just love how well those bright pink Crocs go with the green, orange & blue Sit & Spin? :) I was really sad to see her go, but I talked to Toni & she agreed to let me see her once or twice a month from now on. I truly want to be a part of this little girl's life & I'm so grateful for the time that I do get to spend with her!

Santa was really good to me this year :) I got a few scrapbooking items that you can see here.....the Making Memories Grommet Set, a Making Memories Foam Stamp Set, Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 & a Prima Spice Rack of flowers. Besides the items pictured, I also got a Kasey Kahne watch, Kasey Kahne gold heart shaped pendant for my necklace, a couple of Kasey Kahne t-shirts, a Kasey Kahne jacket (see a trend here yet? :), a Kasey Kahne Pen Holder & Boyd's Bear, a Koala Bear from Build-A-Bear workshop, a Belgiun Waffle Maker (one of those professional type ones where you flip it over), 3 cd's, 2 Yankee Candles & some body wash.

Shawn came over today to spend Christmas with us & Jim & I couldn't resist playing a little 'trick' on him, hence the picture of him holding a box of condoms :) I decided to give him a gift basket with some of his favorite things (sunflower seeds, Slim Jims, a Hickory Farms beefstick, etc.) & well, I've been telling him to use protection because I don't want to be a Grandma again! Not that I don't love my granddaughter because I do, but I know that he's not responsible enough to bring another child into the world right now. So that explains the box of condoms :) I buried them in the bottom of the basket & you should have seen his face when he found them, hehehe :)





Off to enjoy the rest of the night with my hubby & to eat some dessert.....Peanut Butter Pie :) Tomorrow, Cassie goes to Traverse City for a week & since Jim is off work all week, we'll be spending some nice, enjoyable time together :)

Hope Santa brought you everything you wished for!
Benita

17 Years Ago

This wonderful, supportive, kind, caring & handsome man whisked me off my feet & became my husband :) As the years go by, I fall in love with this man more & more every single day! Sure, our marriage isn't perfect.....far from it in fact! But the bond we share, the closeness, the love, will always conquer any problems we face along the way.

It was doubted by everyone, our friends & our families, that we would ever stay together. No one thought we would make it more than a year or two! Afterall, we were both married previously & both had marriages that failed for whatever reason. But here we are, 17 years later & proving them wrong :) And here's hoping that we have another 117 years together as husband & wife!

I love you with all my heart & soul, Jim! Happy Anniversary, Babe :)

And Merry Christmas to all my blog reading friends. I hope your Christmas is very Merry & Bright!

Benita

Countdown To Christmas

Wow, it's so hard to believe that Christmas is only 4 days away! FOUR! I'm truly in the Christmas Spirit this year, even though it sure doesn't feel like Christmas because there's no snow on the ground & by the looks of things, we probably won't have a White Christmas this year. I think this will be our first year since we moved to Michigan 9 years ago that we didn't have a White Christmas :( Today it's cloudy, but instead of snow, we're getting rain. Ah well.....at least it's not ice like we had a few weeks ago!

I took some more pictures of my Christmas trees & really like the way these ones turned out (click on each picture to get a better view). I'm pretty much done with all my shopping, except I may still try to get Shawn a few more things.....he's just so hard to buy for anymore! Today is present wrapping day. I swear, next year, I'm going to wrap my presents as I buy them! I hate waiting until the last minute to wrap gifts & tell myself every year that I'm not going to do that, but then the days just fly by & before I know it, I'm wrapping all the presents in a rush again. Plus I've been so busy baking cookies, shopping, making fudge, shopping, finishing up the homemade Christmas presents, shopping....well, you get the idea :) The one thing I love is the Christmas radio station on my Sirius satellite radio.....they play some really good songs & that's the only station that's on in my car now.

Here is a picture of my 'angel' tree. I was originally going to put all my collectible ornaments on this tree, but unfortunately, I couldn't find them :( I know that they're in the basement somewhere, but the question is WHERE?! I'll probably find them after Christmas, knowing my luck! So for now, this is my tree in memory of my sister Karen & brother-in-law Jimmy. I may just keep doing it this way, adding a new angel or two each year, as a new tradition.

Here's another picture of our real tree with the flash on. I'm so glad that we decided to put our tree in our family room this year.....it's been so nice being able to actually enjoy the tree for a change :)

Two nights in a row (last Tuesday & Wednesday, the 12th & 13th), Jim almost bowled 2 - 300 games! He had the first 9 in a row both nights & then got nervous & blew it. But I was so proud of him! The 10th frame really is the hardest one to overcome when you get that close to a 300 game. He's been bowling REALLY good this year & he loves his new bowling ball. He's had 2 - 700+ series in 2 weeks as well. I, on the other hand, have been bowling like CRAP! I know it's because I'm not bowling as much as I used to.....only every Tuesday & then every other Saturday, but Jim & I are hoping to get on another league in January on Monday nights, so maybe that will bring my average up.

I did something the other day that I never thought I would do......I sold my Cricut Diecut Machine! Yep, you read that right.....sold it! All of it, including 5 extra cartridges. I really wasn't using it like I thought I would.....heck, I only used it less than a handful of times, so I just decided that it wasn't worth keeping. Now the question is, am I going to regret it? I guess only time will tell.

Tonight, Jim, Cassie & I are going to see Monty Python's Spamalot with our friends & their son. Not really sure what to expect as I don't know a whole lot about Monty Python, but it should be fun.

Off to wrap some more presents :)

Benita

Pure Beauty!

This is what I woke up to this morning......pure beauty! As I was getting ready to drive Cassie to school, I saw that the sun had just started to rise & the sky was already turning orange, so I grabbed my camera as I walked out the door. After I dropped her off at the school, I snapped these pictures in our neighborhood on my way home (click on each image to see the full beauty). Completely breathtaking! I just sat there in my car for a few minutes enjoying all the beauty because I just knew it wouldn't last & I was right.....now it's cloudy & drizzling out. One thing I've learned about living in Michigan.....if you see a beautiful sunrise or sunset, grab your camera as quickly as possible because they don't last long! Blink & the weather will change :)
I love the way the trees look like a silhouette in this picture!
And another, taken of the lake with the sunrise shining in the water.
I finally got our Christmas tree completely decorated & our Nativity set up. YAY! Jim & I purchased this Nativity set years ago when the kids were still babies & started the tradition of waiting until Christmas Eve to put Baby Jesus in the manger (although he's in the manger here so I could take a picture :). So after the kids would go to bed, the last thing I would do after Santa arrived is add Baby Jesus & each morning, before any presents were opened, the kids would look at the Nativity to see the baby. Although our kids aren't little anymore & it won't be long before Cassie moves away from home, we will continue this tradition year after year after year, even if it's only for Jim & I :)

And now, our tree, all done in purple & gold. This year, we added clear lights to go with the purple ones as last year, the purple lights alone were just too dark & I really like the result. Here's a picture of the tree using the flash & without the lights on.

And here's the tree all lit up. I probably should have waited until nighttime to take this picture, though. Ah well.....I'm impatient :) You can see our fiber optic angel at the top.....I just wish her wings would turn purple ;)

Now, onto some more blog challenges that I found recently. Feel free to play along & use them on your own blog.

The first one is a Christmas About Me challenge:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate, definitely! Don't even like the taste of Egg Nog!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? He always wraps them.....wouldn't be Christmas without wrapping paper all over place, now would it?

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? It varies from year to year, mood to mood. This year, we have clear & purple lights on our main tree & multi-colored lights on our little tree because that's what it came with (pre-lit tree). We haven't decorated the outside of the house for a few years now, but when we do, it's always colored lights.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, I get plenty of kisses from dh without needing any mistletoe ;)

5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually the weekend of Thanksgiving.....that's when we go out & cut down our tree.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Homemade cookies & fudge ;)

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? To be honest, I don't have a lot of holiday memories as a child :( The only one I can remember is the year that my sister Barb wanted a guitar for Christmas. Our Dad played a trick on Barb & got her a plastic toy guitar. Barb was so disappointed until my Dad finally brought out the real guitar for Barb & told her that the plastic one was really for me.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I honestly don't remember. I guess maybe the same year that my Dad did the above trick on my sister & I.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We never used to, but now that the kids are older, we let them each open one gift on Christmas Eve.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Our real tree is purple & gold again this year. I just purchased a 4 foot tree for our sentimental ornaments.....the ones the kids made in elementary school, ones that we've collected over the years, etc.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I love it on Christmas, but after that, it can all melt & go away until next year!

12. Can you ice skate? I used to be able to, but I haven't done it in YEARS!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Yep, my husband Jim :) We got married 17 years ago on Christmas Eve, so to me, he's the best present I could ever get :)

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? God & family.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Chocolate Marble Cheesecake that my dh makes :)

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Our Nativity Set (see above).

17. What tops your tree? A gorgeous fiber optic angel.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Definitely giving! Love to see the look on a person's face as they open a gift I gave them :)

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Silent Night......my sisters & I had to sing it in front of the whole Church on Christmas Eve years ago.

20. Candy Canes? I can live without them.....don't really care for minty stuff.

Now on to another A-Z list:
A - Available or single: Neither.....married to Jim for almost 17 years now!

B - Best Friend: My wonderful & humorous dh Jim :)
C - Cake or Pie: Cake, definitely!
D - Drink of choice: During the day, ice water. If I'm drinking alcohol: Strawberry or Banana Daiquiris.
E - Essential item you use everyday: My computer & my Charger :)
F - Favorite color: Purple & Blue
G - Gummy Bears or worms: Fish :)
H - Hometown: Born in Royal Oak, Michigan, but grew up in Williamsport, Pennsylvania & also lived in Norfolk/Virginia Beach, VA for 14+ years.
I - Indulgence: Chocolate, candles & my Select Comfort Bed :)
J - January or February: January because it's Jim's birthday month & February because it's closer to Spring :)
K - Kids & Names: Shawn Michael & Cassandra Diane Louise.
L - Life is Incomplete Without? My wonderful husband, my kids, my granddaughter & my mutts!
M - Marriage Date: December 24, 1989 (yep, we got married on Christmas Eve :)
N - Number of Siblings: 4 older sisters, Karen (deceased), Linda, Barb & Donna. O - Oranges or Apples: Don't really care for either.
P - Phobias or Fears: Spiders! Tornados, thunderstorms & lightning!
Q - Fave Quote: I don't really have one particular favorite quote.
R - Reason to Smile: knowing I have a loving, caring & very supportive husband :)
S - Season: Spring because I love seeing all the plants coming back to life & Fall for the colors.
T - Tag 3 or 4 people: Jewls, Lorrie, Kelley & Emily.
U - Unknown Fact about Me: I was published a few times in Mary Beth's Bean Bag World magazine :)
V- Vegetable You Don't Like: All of them? LOL
W - Worst Habit: Not putting hand cream on my hands often enough.....I always wait until they're already too dry because I don't like the greasy feeling.
X - Xrays: Teeth, Chest, Ankle & probably some others that I don't remember.
Y - Your Fave Food: PIZZA!!! :)
Z - Zodiac Sign: Virgo the Virgin ;)

Time to get some things done around the house. Have a great day!

Benita

Comedy, Shopping & Good Deeds

As I stated in my last post, Jim & I went to see Carlos Mencia Saturday night & what a wonderful night it was! Jim & I never laughed so hard in our lives! We both had pains in our stomach from laughing so much! Not only is Carlos an excellent comedian, he's a super sweet person IRL, too. And he really makes you think. Jim & I couldn't resist paying to have our photo taken with him, but now I know why I hate polaroid photos so much.....I look like a ghost! :) Me thinks I need to get a tan! We also bought 2 t-shirts & 3 of his DVD's. Definitely a night we won't forget!
Luckily, we were allowed to take our cameras in, but sadly, I only got one really good picture, this one above :( I used the flash on this one, but then I turned the flash off because I didn't want to piss people off with it & all the pictures that I took without the flash were really blurry :( Now if I could just figure out how to remove this guy's head from this picture. If anyone could do that for me, I would be very appreciative.

Yesterday, my good friend Cindy & I went to do some Christmas shopping & boy, did we SHOP! We went to Target, Michaels, lunch at Coney Island, Game Stop, Ulta & then to Linen's & Things where I just had to purchase 2 of these candles. They smell soooo yummy! Heck, I may not even have to bake cookies this year, hehe.

At Michaels, I purchased this 4 foot tree for $19.99. It was the last one they had with colored lights & I wanted a separate tree to put all my miscellaneous ornaments on.....the ones that kids made years ago & ones that Jim & I have collected throughout the years. This tree will be the perfect size for them.....I hope.

Jim & I both did some good deeds yesterday. While Jim was walking into work, he found a guy just laying on the sidewalk. He slipped on some ice & completely knocked himself out cold. Jim said he thought he was dead at first. Apparently, he had a cup of coffee in his hand & that ended up all over his face & Jim said that it was already frozen on his face! Jim called security & they finally got the guy to wake up, so they took him to the hospital & it turns out, he has a broken leg. I told Jim that he's truly a hero because if no one else would have seen the guy, he may have ended up freezing to death as the temps were only in the teens yesterday morning! I'm so proud of him!!! :) Then while I was out shopping, I found a credit card in the parking lot of Michaels. I called the number on the back of the card & since it was a Sam's Club card, the guy said that I could just turn it in there. But then the more that I thought about it, I thought I would try to call the person once I got home, so that's what I did. She was so appreciative & kept saying that she wants to do something for me, take me out to lunch or something, but I told her that wasn't necessary. All I needed was the feeling it gave me to do a good deed :) And I honestly believe that God put both Jim & I in the right places at the right time for these 2 things that happened yesterday.
We also got some snow yesterday while we were out shopping & I never thought I'd say this, but I miss my Durango! Okay, wake up, Benita......you LOVE your Charger! :) I just miss the 4 wheel drive. Let's just say that my Charger does NOT handle good in the snow at all! I think I'm in for a VERY long Winter :(
This morning, I found these tracks on my front sidewalk & porch. Bunny tracks, maybe? Anyone know for sure what they're from?

Here's a close-up view. I sure hope it's just from a bunny!

That's all for now. Off to take a shower, go to Walmart for some groceries & then I have to get my first oil change done on the Charger. Have a wonderful day! And if you get the chance, do a good deed for someone today.....trust me, it'll make you feel SO good inside!

Benita

Ice, Ice, Baby!

This is what I woke up to this morning.....ICE! I started backing my Charger out of the garage to take Cassie to school & when I saw the ice on the trees, I asked her if she just wanted to stay home today. Her reply: "Dumb question, Mom!" :) So back into the garage the car went. The roads are only supposed to get worse as the day progresses, too. Eventually, this ice is going to turn into snow later today, so it looks like the perfect day to stay home & either scrap or work on Christmas gifts.
My Weeping Cherry tree is weeping a little more than usual with the ice on it. I'm not too worried about my trees making it as we had a worse ice storm than this back in April of 2004 & everything survived. But then again, it melted quicker back then, too. Now it's not supposed to get above the 30's for the next week, so I guess we'll just have to wait & see.
I just hope that this storm moves quickly out of here as tomorrow night, Jim & I have tickets to go see Carlos Mencia in Ann Arbor :) We can't wait! We've been looking forward to seeing him since the tickets went on sale back in May. We'll be going with another couple from Jim's work, so it should be a blast! And hopefully, I'll be able to take my camera in & get some good pictures.

Bundle up & stay warm!
Benita