ALERT!!!!!!

I found this alert on the blog Home Is Where The Heart Is.  I finally have the reason I am "fluffy".  Please read with caution.:

Shampoo alert!

   As I was conditioning my hair in the shower this morning, I took time to read my shampoo bottle.  I am in shock!  The shampoo I use in the shower that runs down my entire body says "for extra volume and body"!  Seriously, why have I not noticed this before?  Now I understand why I am so "full-figured"!

   Tomorrow I am going to start using "Dawn" dish soap.  It says right on the label "dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove."

   It pays to read the warning labels, my friends!

See does that not explain MY problem and maybe yours also?  Hope you got a smile from this post.
Happy weekend to all.

Help

Ok, so this is a plea for help.  I am still learning this blog stuff and I want to know how to "add a sidebar".  I would like to link up to a party a SavvySouthernStyle.  However ,I need to have a sidebar to post the link.  Any one out there that can walk me through this?  I have looked at the tabs, settings, monetize etc.  Nothing looks like it is where I should be. S.O.S.  Blogger going down.......

Back To The Real World!

I was lucky enough to have not only a holiday weekend, but an extended one at that. I took a vacation day so the last day I worked was Friday and now I must return to the real world tomorrow.

This past weekend was a BEAUTIFUL Ohio weather weekend.  The hubs and I took a short camping trip, the first of this season.  So we did a little of this:

Sorry this is a photo from last year a stay at one of our favorite campsites.  We stayed at a new place and I forgot the camera.  So sorry.

We did a lot of this.  Well the hubs did the cooking, I did the enjoying!

We did a little of this.  NO Wheelies!!! Just riding.  NO THIS IS NOT US!!! I would not be sitting there waving so casually.  We both have a little sunburn.  We even applied sunscreen every hour.  Maybe it is a little wind burn mixed in. :)  Either way, it was a lot of fun and relaxing.

We also did a little dreaming.  We went "window shopping" in Cambridge for a lite travel trailer.  DREAMING is all.

I have to chuckle.  The hubs was looking at the brochures after we got home and seeing what all the options were.  He decided to price directly from the mfg and see what the markup is at a dealer.  Which is more cost effective, direct purchase or dealership with the perks.  Anywhooo, he was looking at the options and seriously asked me..... "In the kitchen, do you want Granite counter tops?" I busted out laughing and said "Honey, I do not think that ones travel trailer should be better equipped then the home you live in!!!"  What a hoot.  But, yes that is an option.  I could live high on the hog in a travel trailer, much better than what we have in our year round, stick built home.  Dreaming.......

So what did you do for your holiday weekend?  Please share.

The Place Where I am Most Happy .....Home.

I promised to show you photos of my humble abode at its finest.  The gardens are now in full bloom.  The porches are set and ready to go and the place where I am most happy and relaxed. 

Our home with "her" gardens in bloom.  Not full bloom as there are flowers to come later this summer. This is taken on Memorial Day Weekend.  Notice the vintage American Flag.  A gift to my Dad from an old neighbor.  The flag has only 48 stars.

Our side porch.  This porch is on two levels and both levels have wonderful ceiling fans.  The back bank of shutters do open to allow more breeze.  It is so nice to have the privacy and we generally keep them closed.

This is where we spend the majority of our oustide time.

A small photo of the cozy front porch.

The garden at the front porch/entry.

Another garden directly in front of the house.  We have mostly Hasta plants here with a few "bloomers".

A fun little vignette on the front entrance.

This bench was my husbands grandfathers.  I painted it and add a little handpainted bird.  (see below)

Beautiful purple/blue Hydrangea.  I love these flowers!!!!

Well that is our little abode.  Hope you enjoyed the tour.

Hope you and your family have a fun and safe Memorial Day.

Remember to thank a Veteran for all they have and will do!!

Happy Memorial Day!

Time for a change.....

Every few months I get this strong urge for a change in my life or rather in ME.  I get bored.  Need a little spice.  Anyone else get this urge?  Now don't go dropping your jaws and start to worry. I am not talking radical lifestyle changes or anything that exciting.  I am talking hairstyle changes.  Most recent for me was last August when I had a foil color weave. I like it.  I don't like the up keep, but I like the colors.  Now I need a fun, sassy, summer hairstyle.  I keep looking and teasing myself.  How do you know what is the perfect style for your face and lifestyle?  In the summer ,I am all about being outside.  So I need fast, easy and long lasting style.  Here are some styles I have been toying with.

I don't think my hair would stay that spikey without a TON of rock hardening GEL.

Love this style for summer, but I have been told my face is to "full" another way of saying Fat? Plus I have no jaw line. Bummer!!

I have this color thing going on.  I feel the top is to long and I would end up with flat hair on summer days.

This one is just.....fun and messy :)

Like this one too, but there's the "full" face and jawline thing.

So what is a woman to do?  Why do we obsess so much over our hair?  Isn't there a Bible verse about hair and it being a woman's  "crowing glory?  Is it really OUR Glory or those around us? 

So I apologize, this blog is so far off of the normal me.  I am not vain.  I just like to be presentable, clean and nice looking.  Especially at work.  Why??????

What are your reasons for change? 

MOTHER

Define Mother - For me it is - LOVE from birth to death and beyond. The one who Loves you and believes in YOU.

The person (in my case, Woman) who has been there since the beginning.  The woman who carried me from 0-9 months, gave birth and life to me -after a long delivery.  The woman who fixed boo-boos, torn clothes and broken hearts. The woman who encourage me to try new things, work hard and love unconditionally.  My Mom has done it all.  She has been and is a wonderful Grandmother to our 2 boys, now men.  She came to my 3:00 a.m calls when I could not get the newborn to sleep or stop crying from hours and hours of trying.  The lady who shortened her vacation to be there for the birth of the second grandson.  She has survived the death of my Father and her husband.  She is a Cancer survivor.  She is brave, beautiful and best of all MY MOM.  Thank you Mom for all of this.

I hope that someday my boys will look back at me and think I did the best I could at the time.  I have wonderful stories and memories of the time I spent with them from birth till now.  I hope to have more memories and someday to include grandchildren.

If you are lucky enough to have a Mom, thank her for all that she has done and is doing.  This title Mother comes with a lot of Love, hard work and yes, heartbreak.  It is something I would do again if given the chance and I have NO REGRETS for doing it twice.  I love my children. 

If your Mother is not your birth Mother, she is just as special as she CHOOSE YOU.  My Father never knew his birth Mother.  The Woman who raised him from a few short hours after his birth till his death was a true Mother in all senses of the word.  She loved my Dad and his brother as her own flesh and blood.  She too was a great woman and I am proud to have had her for MY Grandmother.  She taught me many things, as my Mother did.  She taught me about nature and the beauty of flowers.  She taught me about the importance of family and LOVE, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.  Thank you Grandma.

Mother - The one who loves you and believes in YOU.  Thank her today.

Thanks Mom.  I love you!

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL

           HE IS RISEN!