Sadly...

50 of you are still subscribing to this grave yard! I thought I would give you one more nudge on over to www.sittingonanoak.com our new home on the web!

Hello, Hello, Hello

DO YOU HEAR THE ECHO? We don't live here anymore! We moved on over to www.sittingonanoak.com and if you don't want to miss all the fun you should click over and update your subscription!!!

While your there check out the KROGER mega savings event giveaway!!! You don't want to miss your chance to win!

Have you made the switch yet?

If not you might be missing out! Head on over to www.sittingonanoak.com and subscribe so you get the scoop (if you want it) cuz I don't post here anymore...

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REVIEW and GIVEAWAY

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and DON'T forget we moved....

We're Moving (sort of)

I am SORRY to say you will need to change your reader subscriptions, re-do your email subscription and/or become a new follower...I am just not technical enough to figure out how to make this seemless...

Hope to see you at our new home - http://www.sittingonanoak.com/

Not so thrilled

What a day. Farrah Faucet and Michael Jackson - and let's not forget Ed McMann yesterday.

When I was a little girl in Michigan my then best friend Brandon used to call me Farrah - he loved Charlies Angels and Chips - I in no way resemble the beautiful star but my name does rhyme and that is what kids do. Every time I hear her name I think of my friendship with those on Barnswood Lane and wonderful memories flood my brain.

Michael Jackson was the first pop star I ever swooned over. My parents took my brother and I to his concert at Mile High Stadium - I think I was 12ish. It was our first ever concert - we sat in the nose bleeds - the acoustics stunk but the concert was unforgettable. Tonight I have fought back tears, resisted the urge to play his CD's full blast like a lovesick teen and watched all the news I can. I admit, I am sad.

Last night we took a group of people to see the Jonas Brothers, our girls have also seen Carrie Underwood, Hannah Montanna, Lone Star and Clint Black - I wonder though - will they ever see anyone that even compares to Michael Jackson?

Tonight that wonderful friend from Michigan, Brandon, is working in LA as an Elite Police Officer with the LA police - I am sure he is near all the happenings surrounding Michaels Death and I doubt he even remembers how often he called me Farah - but tonight I am thinking about all those days gone by...

In closing I will put my neck out on the line and say - I do believe Michael has finally found the peace he never had in life.

Wordless Wednesday

See you tonight!

Nature Valley Nut Clusters

Last week I went to the mailbox and was greated with a box full of these

New... Nature Valley Nut Clusters

They were sent to me by My Blog Spark for review and I was so excited! I had to give my dad the Almond bag because I can't eat Almonds but the Cashew ones were TO DIE FOR! And I was equally thrilled to find out that the serving size for these clusters is 8 EIGHT 8. (just 8 not 888) but 8 IS ALOT and they were so yummy - I think I had 10!

The Cashew Clusters were my personal FAVORITE but they also have Honey Roasted Peanut and Nut Lovers! Go ahead pick up a bag - You won't regret this one!

I promise! (going corny) I am NUTS about these Nut Clusters!!!

It's never nice to gloat

But sometimes you just have to...

Today I am gloating! Remember this?

Well I got me one! Thanks to Grams! She said it was an Un-Birthday Present for always helping her with her computer stuff...I don't care what kind of a present it was...I just know I GOT ONE I GOT ONE!! And - she even bought the matching MOUSE! How cute is that? Thanks Grams!

BUT THAT IS NOT ALL FOLKS!

I also entered the Dreyers Ice Cream Essay Contest recently...and guess what?

I WON! Well, me and about 1500 other Americans! But still....we get to host a block party courtesy of Dreyers and I am SO EXCITED to have had my Essay picked as a winner!

HANG ON...Not done yet

Remember this mess? If you have to click for a reminder scroll all the way to the bottom to find the mess! I am THRILLED to report that that mess is GONE, G O N E gone! We had a garage sale, I hated every minute of it, I won't do it again and neither will "he" but we had it and when we were done we loaded both cars and took everything leftover off to goodwill! YAHOO!

And Finally (I promise)

Lauren has been very busy venturing into what you might call Kid-trepreneur Business! More on this soon but we are VERY proud of her and she made $12.00 selling her handmade items in the garage sale! Soon she will even have a website with shopping cart so...Keep you posted!

OK. That's it!

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day

He takes them bike riding, golfing and to the park.

He plays games and has even dressed a doll or two

He makes them s'mores and brownie sundaes

He helps owies feel all better

he says goodmorning and hugs goodnight

he reads stories and holds them tight

He is Dad and we love him very much!

Where's the hair?

Ballet is tough on the hair! Oh yes it is - Buns 3 to 5 times a week and for Peter Pan we were braiding, taking braids out, braiding, spraying, glittering, braiding ...

SO what did we do as soon as the show was over?

Cut it all off...

Except - Me, being the total space case I have been the last few weeks - MISSED THE FIRST APPOINTMENT...the one I had scheduled on purpose to immediately follow Peter Pan - Luckily our "Gal" had a cancellation and we only had to wait 2 days!

Wordless Wednesday

Oh to be three again...

And fall asleep immediately after my shower

And make up funny little jokes like this one:

Knock Knock

Who's There?

Yodel

Yodel Who?

Yodel Eh, Yodel Eh, Yodel Eh EE Who

This and That...

What I learned this week is hosted by JoLynn atMusings of a Housewife -

Today is one of those days that I could say so much and yet so few of those thoughts are actually coming together so I am going for the "list it" approach -

1. After having her tonsils and adenoids removed Hailey was back at the Dr. on Sunday (yes Sunday) with a double ear infection - Riddle me that one

2. After having her tonsils and adenoids removed Hailey has developed a squeak in her voice and to be totally honest - we are hoping it will go away

3. Summer break started 15 days ago and we yet to make it to the pool - first it was because of the surgery and lately it has been the weather - though I have to admit I am LOVING this cooler summer weather - I am a winter girl.

4. When scheduling a garage sale to finally take care of THIS problem...it would be smart to keep to look at your calendar and NOT schedule it over top of your daughters Post Op appt. If you do you will find yourself on the phone begging the scheduler to find something/anything that she can squeeze you in for this week so you can find out about the aforementioned squeak and more...

5. I was excited to receive some preview copies of the new TNT shows late last week. Some of them had already premiered others are premiering tonight! I am really looking forward to watching Saving Grace - this show is right up my ally, I screened Hawthorne with "him" last night and we were both intrigued - said it was "tivo worthy" but also talked about how Pilots are not usually the best - do you remember the Seinfeld Pilot? did it suck you in? Not I! And lastly if you are not totally fed up with reality TV yet - Wedding Day also premiers tonight - and while this show is NOT my cup of tea I am sure it will provide lots of viewing pleasure for many!

While Big Sis is away

I mentioned before that Grams and "he" had the pleasure of hanging out with Hailey while Lauren and I were in Peter Pan Overload! For the most part they all had a great time...I received great updates from Blackberry to Blackberry to Blackberry while we were out and this is what I got

"he" and she washed the driveway, the porch and a little of the culdesac too!

Grams and Hailey visited a local toy store for a rest (or maybe it was a couple of new balls to play with at Grams house)

They also visited the "train park"

And apparently took a picture of Hailey's Feet.

These, by the way, are the very shoes Hailey wore that evening at Anthony's Pizza. They have wooden soles, Anthony's has an old wooden floor...Hailey through a FIT and started stomping her feet because the booth had a rip in the seat...it was DEAFENING that sound of wood stomping old wood...

I took her shoes off.

Random Diva

I often refer to Hailey as a little diva - she got that name from a teacher she used to have for dance. Hailey is a steal the show kind of gal (when she wants to be), she has a tendency to light up a room (when she wants to) and one friend of mine has often said "I find it hard not to look at her". Hailey is a lucky little girl - she did not get many of her external genetics from me - (more on that another day)


Today I bring you a little bit of our random diva (all photos courtesy of my blackberry - the only way to catch all the random moments)


Hailey can't leave a store without wearing at least one of the new items purchased (notice grams in the back with the "old" shoes) and will always stop and pose for the blackberry.

Below is Hailey after a recent haircut - blown dry and loving it - she is a amazing at the salon! I think she would go daily - anyone know where I could one of those sinks and chairs for cheap?

And here you will see her outside playing in one of her best dresses and loving every minute of it. The girls LOVES her dresses!

This lovely photo is brought to you by "stop rocking so hard or you will fall)

I can't ever pass up a cute little rump view

This was the day she put on a whole new outfit before we left Old Navy - and got the shoes going in the back of my car!

This photo brought to you courtesy of sidewalk chalk and a high jumping game of hopscotch

who could forget Rock? Hailey hasn't forgotten Rock - he is still around and HE even had a baby - there is a baby rock now. Maybe it was adoption? Anyway - here she is giving Rock his bath.

This is Hailey being goofy, but I liked her hair in this photo so I had to include it.

And the final thoughts on Hailey are below. Hailey has some SERIOUS skin sensitivities and although that is a whole nother Oprah - Below you will see what happens to some of her cutest outfits.

Notice the black leggings under the cute capris and the green tinsle t-shirt under the adorable top? The pants and shirt were scratchy (fancy boutique store itch mind you)

So that was Hailey's solution - she wanted to wear the outfit but couldn't bear it on her bare skin and she went all around town with me like that...and I was ok with it.

Until she added the tap shoes and broke out her tool set and pretended to be Mrs. Handy Manny on my chair.

Diva in the making? I don't know - her sense of style is a bit off some times but she sure is needy and she does pick out most of her own clothes (because if she didn't she would go naked)

Perhaps.

Don't buy these

So often we blog about things we love. We blog about our families, things we buy, things we make and things we read...but we fail to blog about things we hate. I would like to send out a great big bloggy warning against these. And I am not going to give them a name, nor am I going to tell you where I bought them because google alerts has a funny way of picking on those things but I hate these

I have fond memories of throwing these boogers over the railing as a kid and watching them float to the ground over and over again. So when I saw them at a store I picked up a bag for the girls to have fun with (and they fit in Easter Eggs)

But they don't make them like they used to, at least not the ones I bought. When you unwind the string you are left with the plastic square, the little booger and the strings ALL ASSEMBLY required.

And assembly stinks, we all took a crack at it - even little miss Hailey (who didn't stand a chance in this war)

Lauren was the winner, she got one done - she tried it - it flopped to the ground so fast and the thingy never opened and they STUNK.

And yes I know what the thingy is and they have a name but remember google alerts could be watching and since I am TOTALLY BASHING these "can't fall to earth men" -

(PS, HI google alerts)

Knock yourself out

Have you ever thought about that saying?

Knock yourself out.

Lauren has. She even asked me about it. It went a little like this:

Lauren: Mom, what does Knock yourself out really mean?

Mom: stutter, stumble, stuck - Um Well people say it when they want you to go ahead and do whatever it is your aksing or talking about

Lauren: yeah, I get that but what does Knock Yourself Out mean

Mom: (vividly picturing a TKO with Mike Tyson in my head) decides this must be the answer - "well in boxing when a fighter knocks out the other fighter, which means hits him so hard he goes down and can't get back up, he is considered the winner and that is considered very cool - so I guess if you Knock Yourself Out that would be considered cool too.

Lauren: "Oh."

I don't think I convinced her, I don't think I explained it well and I am not even sure I got it right...so off to GOOGLE LAND I go - and here is what I got

1. knock yourself out
Equivalent to "Go for it"
"Can I have a piece of your burrito?" "Knock yourself out."

2. Knock yourself out
A term for: Do whatever the hell you want, it doesn't bother me.
"dad, can i go to the park?"

"Can you get there yourself?"

"Yeah" "well then, knock yourself out."

3. knock yourself out
Same as "go for it" or "go nuts". If you really dont care at all about a person doing/taking something you say "knock yourself out" as in to do/eat until you pass out (if you really want to). Same as "go for it" or "go nuts".
Person 1: "Hey man, can I have some beer?"

Person 2: "Yeah, Knock yourself out"

4. Knock yourself out
to work hard to achieve something, usually implying success
Wow, Mary! This is a great party. You really knocked yourself out. It seems every time you give a party you really knock yourself out.

SO there you have it - lots of examples of how to use the phrase but no real definition of Knock Yourself Out -

So if you can help me out - find me a definition to give to Lauren that will satisfy her curious mind - Go ahead - Knock yourself out!

Wordless Wednesday

*************************************************************

This was SUPPOSED to be a truly wordless Wednesday...but then I saw THIS at 5:30 this morning and laughed so hard I had to share...Please click over and ENJOY!

I can't feel my fingers

What I learned this is week is brought to you by JoLynn at Musings of a Housewife (gotta love her!)

This weeks edition is appropriately called "I can't feel my fingers" and to be honest my feet are on their way out too!

What I learned this week:

1. I could NEVER be one of those beach-side braiders in the Caribbean

2. My little feets can't handle 4 days of standing, walking and climbing several flights of theater steps repeatedly

3. Oh and family game night is not all fun and games...

If you missed it see the Peter Pan pictures below! It was a great show - just a bit hard on my body!

A ballerina in the making...

12 mini Braids (8 times)

Lipstick application and re-application

All those braids tucked neatly under the mermaid wig (secured with an ace bandage)

Those precious braids helped to create this adorable Fairy look each and every time!

Flowers, flowers and more flowers - our Mantel is full

One Happy 8 year old Ballerina

All worn out...

Peter Pan was FANTASTIC! The show was amazing, Lauren did beautifully - Her little arms are so graceful it brings tears to my eyes thinking about it...

A great big thanks to all our friends and family who came out to see Peter Pan (planned and the surprises too!) and to "He" and Grams for keeping Hailey busy while Lauren and I were living in Never Land!

What a week!

I DO believe in Fairy's

I DO! I got see a part of the Ballet tonight I had not seen yet, the only speaking part and OMG it gave me chills. I can't wait to see the whole show!!

Peter Pan is almost here. Tomorrow is Dress Rehearsal pretty much all day...(Friday) and then the shows start on Sunday! I am hoping to take lots of pictures at Dress rehearsal because we can't at the shows!

Lauren is getting very excited and it is super fun to watch her feel this way! If you have time swing by her blog and wish her luck~

In the meantime, I have had lots of emails from fellow bloggers asking where I am and even (ahem) saying they miss me this week! THANK YOU! Rest assured...I am reading your posts in my reader just don't have the time to buzz over and comment -

PS - TO all those that wondered the Dresses below are from ZaZa Couture and I can not remember where Grandma bought them but I know they came in the mail! They are great - Machine wash, Hang Dry - several times...no iron needed and they still look new!

Hailey gets puzzled

On our most recent trip to Beaver Creek Hailey joined in the puzzle fun! She has always had her own 60 piece puzzles to do but hasn't been ready to help "us" yet. This trip she not only helped she helped a lot! She put together part of the edge, the entire green spot you see below and helped in many other places! She scouted out her own pieces and really had a great time and a great attitude.

It was really fun for me to see Hailey get Puzzling with us!

This is the finished product

What a yummy puzzle!

PS - Hailey is doing ok since the surgery - she is not back to 100% yet but she is hanging tough and we are knee deep in Peter Pan this week so I am a bit absent to say the least and yes, I changed the header on the blog...I will be moving it soon if technology ever cooperates...

Snow?

Snowing?

Nope! Just a bunch a Crab Apple Trees -

How did such a pretty tree get such a crabby name?
Perhaps it is because of it's allergy inducing powers?
Regardless - they are very nice to look at.

Dam It - Part Duex

Dam, Grandpa's Damn Broke

If you haven't seen the original Dam It - you should take a peak...

Things I do for me

Anita at A wife, a woman, a mom has is starting a new series - Things I do for ME! I like the idea behind this series and plan to join in when I can!

Feel free to Join in, or at least go and Anita and see what she does for her!

To kick it off I decided to write about writing. I write for me. I have always loved to write. Way back when I was 5 I started with poems (one is framed in triplicate and resides at multiple family homes). As a teen writing became an outlet - and has been ever since.

I write poems, short stories, blog posts and more. Writing keeps me sane, writing gets things out of my brain and into my computer and this makes my brain much happier. Sometimes I even send myself emails just to get stuff out of my brain.

I also make lists, I write a lot of lists. The above list is a list of blog posts and this post is on this list and I can't wait to cross it off!

When Lauren was born, back in 2000, I started a website, on that website I kept a journal and lots and lots of photos - in 2004 when I was pregnant with Hailey life got in my way and I couldn't spend the time updating the site that I used to. It was hard, it was sad and it went on for almost 4 years. In February 2008 I plunged into blogging - I kept my blog private at first only going public in October of 2008 - I am so glad I did! I love having my blog as a writing outlet. It has been fantastic for me and all my lovely readers make it even better!

So there you have it - I write, I write for me - I write a lot and who knows maybe someday I will get the courage to pull the trigger and try to publish some of my stories. Maybe. Someday.