The Big 4-0!

On Sunday, Tim will be celebrating his 40th birthday! Last night, I went to his office and decorated his cubicle. He had NO idea I was there. {I never go to his office} I told him we were going out to dinner so I needed him home at 6pm...believe it or not he was. I left a few minutes before he got home and told the kids to tell him I would be right back, I had to run an errand. Anyway, I went on my secret mission and it was a success. He normally gets to work quite early and his staff asked if I could get him to go in later so they could see his reaction. SO Maggie asked him to take her to school this morning and he did! This allowed a later arrival at work and all was well. This is a photo they took and kindly sent it on to me. My favorite part is all the '40' confetti sprinkled all over the desk :-}


We won't be having a party for him as he leaves for Brazil on his birthday but we are going out for dinner with friends on Saturday.

A Gift From Me To Me....

Isn't this just the coolest thing? I picked this out for myself for my birthday and I LOVE it!! I hope to put this in the family room of the new house...if not, I will find someplace else to hang it. {No Diana, not in your house!} lol

Hope you are having a great day.

Help Me Decide...Part 2

Ok....my dear friends and cyber friends your opinions are great! You are all solidifying what I already felt in my gut and that is another minivan. I said that is what I was leaning towards and still that is what I will most likely get. Anyway, the old man in the family {Tim} will have the sporty car so when needed I will drive that! SO, now the question is this.....should I stay with the Chrysler Town and Country or go for another maker such as Honda, Toyota???

Help Me Decide

Now that we the house taken care of the next big purchase we need to think about is a car for myself. I have been looking at various vehicles and have it narrowed down to two....

The first is a old faithful the Chrysler Town and Country minivan. Yes, I know I said I am past the minivan phase and want something different but we really could use the space that it offers.



The second choice is the GMC Acadia SUV...it does seat 7 people and has loads of space for stuff in the back but it comes at a cost.




I am looking at a 2007 model of either vehicle as I don't need 'brand new' but one only a year old with low miles is good.

At the moment, shock...gasp...no way I am leaning towards the Chrysler...it is cheaper than the GMC and I did like the one I had in the states.

HELP....which would you pick? Or better yet, talk me out of the minivan.

Happy Birthday To ME!!

Yes today is MY birthday. It is a not a big one but still it is my day! I woke this morning and Maggie gave me a beautiful card she made on her own and she is SO proud of it. I will take a photo later and make sure to post it here on the blog.
Then I was greeted by Tim with a birthday balloon and just had to show you the photo I took of him ~ he didn't want his face shown as his hair was mess {wink}.

Ok, I confess..... it really isn't Tim...he is much buffer!!

Hope your day is just as great as mine.

Anyone Else Want To Join Us???

Since Susan said she wants to go to the pool too in response to my previous post...and I am sure she does has she has endured over a week of snow days. I spent time looking through old photos to see if I had any from our time at the pool and I was SO lucky to actually still have one. {wink...wink}

*** edited to add another photo I had of Diana as she SO did not like the photo of her in the blue suit. I KNOW she wore it one day and must have then promptly sold it on EBAY!!***

One Can Dream.....

Well today the weather has improved from the last few days...it was a balmy 48 degrees! The downside to this is high winds and rain are on their way! As I was sitting here I found myself thinking of warm sunny days and floating in a pool. The new house does not have a pool but a certain someone I know.....DIANA, has one and this is what we will be doing in a few short months. So watch out pool............here we come!!

New Hire

In preparation for the purchase of the new house we needed to find someone to mow the lawn until the full move back to the area. Hmmmm....where could we find someone willing to do this? I guess we could call someone in the phone book like a lawn care company! NO, we can go one better let's ask a teenager maybe they would want some cash in their pocket. But wait, who do we know that will do this knowing we are away and cannot check to make sure it is actually done? We know who that is....NICHOLAS? Hold on, would he want to mow the lawn for us?? So we asked and guess what he said 'YES"!! Gotta love a kid who like to shop and wants the money!!

Thank you Nicholas...your hired!

Cold Snap

We are currently experiencing the coldest weather of the winter season here at our house. I know it is NOTHING like the extreme temps that Kathy has had a -24 degrees but for us it is cold. How cold you ask?? It is a chilly 24 degrees. OK, quit laughing ~ you know who you are!!
Outside it looks like it has been snowing as everything is crisp and covered with this white stuff. BUT you need to look again...it isn't snow! We are having freezing FOG!!! I will say it is very pretty and of course I had to take some photos of it. Check out the frozen spider web...it actually looks pretty cool. After the 3+ years of living here we've never experienced such a weather phenomenon.

Happy Valentine's Day

Every February 14, Valentine's Day is celebrated in the US, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia ~ candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.) Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women.

I Can't Be 20 Years??

I received an email over the weeking informing me of my 20th high school reunion. What the H*ll it hasn't been 20 years has it? Well, yes it has and wow that sure makes you feel old. I can remember thinking how exciting it was going to be when I was 16 so I could drive a car. Then it was 18 and going to college. Then 21 so you could 'legally' drink a beer! Ok 30 was a good birthday to look forward to as well ~ then we became grownups . Now they just don't seem so exciting anymore we are just OLD.

Now let's address the photo that appeared in the senior yearbook. Just looking at it again makes me mad all over again. The school didn't let us use the photos that we had taken independently for senior photos but rather this idiot who came into the school. The problem being was you had one photo taken and no matter how crappy it turned out it was used. What was I thinking? Pink frost lipstick? Someone should have told me how BAD it looked. {even in black and white it looks bad}. Obviously, the turned up collar is in homage to Don Johnson and the whole Miami Vice look. My mother really should have told me this sweater belonged in the trash rather than on me. In the yearbook the photos are in color, not sure why this one is in black and white, as it was sent to me.

So since I have shared this hideous photo with you I challenge you, my loyal readers, to post your senior photo on your blog so I can laugh at yours just as you are laughing at mine.

A Beautiful Day

This morning we awoke to bright sunshine as well as a low layer of fog/mist which made the landscape just beautiful. This is one of the sights that Tim says he will miss upon our move back to the US ~ lucky for him he can enjoy it for a bit longer than the kids and I!!

The weather throughout the day continued to be almost perfect...it was about 48 degress and bright sun. Not bad for February!

School Cross Country Meet

Today was the last day before the kids are off for their February break next week and the annual school cross country meet was this afternoon. We are lucky enough to live close to the school so I was able to watch most of it without leaving my own yard! I saw the boys start the race while standing in our driveway and watch part of the race from the backyard before going into the center of the village to see them finish the race. This year, I placed bottles of water at the end of the driveway in front of our house for those who wanted something to drink. It was the younger boys that looked like they needed the water the most.The course is just under 2 miles long. Christopher had to run the course once while Andrew had to run it twice.
**to answer Diana's question...NO, Andrew is not in dress shoes :-} His running shoes are just covered with MUD***

Something To Laugh At...

There really isn't anything new around here so I am including a little something to make you laugh or maybe not. I know of a few people who WILL laugh and that makes me smile.........ENJOY!!

It's Pancake Day!

For many Christians around the world Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent starts: the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It's a day of penitence, to clean the soul, and a day of celebration as the last chance to feast before Lent begins.

Shrove Tuesday is sometimes called Pancake Day after the fried batter recipe traditionally eaten on this day here in the UK. Lent is considered a time of abstinence, of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself. The need to eat up the fats gave rise to the French name Mardi Gras {Fat Tuesday}. Pancakes became associated with Shrove Tuesday as they were a dish that could use up all the eggs, fats and milk in the house with just the addition of flour.

Needless to say we are having pancakes for dinner tonight! The kids are thrilled and Tim... well, he is less than enthused about it!!

More Winter?

Who would have thought that a German superstition would become a huge draw for a small town Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania USA? Every year on February 2, thousands of people show up to celebrate Groundhogs Day. The tradition began when German settlers brought their tradition of Candelmas to North America in the 1700s. February 2nd is supposed to be the mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. According to legend, if the weather was good on that day, the rest of the winter would be stormy and cold. If not, the coldest season of the year would be over soon and farmers could start to think about planting their crops.

So did he see his shadow this year? The answer is YES so be prepared for six more weeks of winter.