Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Odds and Ends

I have to give credit to friends blogs, e-mails, and word of mouth for these tidbits, but they are worth your time!!!

(From Butterbean) This might be the SWEETEST stories I've read lately.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3789373

(From Butterbean) The Archway Bakery in Ashland, OH closed this fall and 300 workers lost their jobs. Lance (cracker co) bought Archway. They immediately gave 60 people their jobs back, seniority & benefits...and hope to give the rest theirs as well. In addition, the company gave all 300 employees $1500 gift cards! I wrote them an email and said that although we haven't bought Lance before, we will now b/c of their actions. What a cool way to share the Christmas spirit!!!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/23/cookie.factory.reopens/index.html

Hubby saw a story about this church and we found this site about it. BEAUTIFUL!
http://www.scrapbookpages.com/Rothenburg/Tour/JacobsChurchInterior01.html

My grandsons introduced this YouTube video today and we've laughed over and over!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdOiF_qdQLI

From my friend Jenn at Delightfully Cliche. She introduced me to this group ~ Straight No Chaser. It's an a cappella group and they are GREAT. Check them out at http://www.sncmusic.com/. I downloaded their new Christmas CD, Holiday Spirits, and have listened to it quite a bit.

Last but not least from my sister ~

Saturday, December 20, 2008

And the stockings were hung . . . .

I finished the stockings last night and am actually pleased, I hope the kids and grandkids like them!


Now I'll being wrapping packages and get some more Christmas spirit going! Our poor doggie got sick last night (all over the house actually, and I won't share the details since I love ya'll). Apparently dogs decide they need to "hide" the results of their sickness and she'd rubbed her nose on the carpet (and in other things) so much that the top of her nose was red raw. Suffice it to say, hubby would rather have taken the dog to the vet than stay and clean up. She is now in the doggie hospital with an IV and will have to stay until at least Monday. Yippee, a vet bill ~ Merry Christmas to us!!!!!!

Happy Ho-Ho to Ya'll

Monday, December 15, 2008

It's the Tour of Homes!

Boo Mama is hosting another Tour of Homes! Here are a few pics from this years decorations. Not much change from last year. I did include some pics of stockings I've made. They are made from felt and have not been "attached" to the stocking or sewn yet. They are just pics of the cutouts! Enjoy and visit more homes here! Click on any picture to enlarge it.

UPDATE ~ Stockings are completed now and hanging from the mantle. Check them out here!


The mantle looks rather sparse and boring, any suggestions in the pic, but it's beside the tree and there is a book case full of stuff to the left of it. The other pic is my kitchen window!!



Stocking layouts! They will have a little more top detail, etc.




Merry Ho Ho

Saturday, December 13, 2008

My blog wrote to me!!!!

I received an e-mail from my blog today. This is what it said ~

Dear Bitsy,
You may not remember me. I am your blog. Maybe you'd like to visit me again before Christmas. Of course, if your goal is to blog twice a month, you have 20 days left. I know you're busy, but you're wasting my super cute background. Step away from the Christmas cookies and log on.
Love,
Your blog

It's nice to know I was missed, so I answered it back:

Dear Blog,
I am really sorry I've ignored you this month. Obviously I lead a very boring, mundane life and have nothing to tell the world wide webbers. I will try to correct that ASAP!!!!! Thanks for your concern and love. Forever yours!


I WON!!!!

I got an AWARD! Or may be a wake up call!!! I am sitting here beside my pretty tree with only the computer and the tree lights. Jenn at Delightfully Cliche tagged me with this and reminded me that I LOVE Christmas. The award (and the fact that it's really peaceful sitting here) made me realize that I CANNOT freak out and get all "oh my, what am I going to do, it's 12 days until Christmas" moody. But do any of you out there realize that it's

12 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS????
Just thought I'd ask.

In accordance with the award, I must do the following: (The Rules are simple!) You must be a true Christmas lover to receive this award. The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with Christmas.You must link back to the person who gave you the award. You must list 5 things that you love about Christmas. If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space! Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 45; it's up to you. But, you must pass it on to at least one person in order to keep the Christmas cheer going!

Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving them a comment on their blog.
Okay... so the things I love about Christmas:

I love. . .

Celebrating the Christ child's birth
Giving presents (especially to grand kids)
Cookies!!!!!
Santas
Christmas music
Church celebrations (Angel Breakfast, Babies 1st Christmas, Special music presentations)
Celebrating with family and watching the little ones (actually they are getting WAY too big) play.
Surprising people with fun/special gifts
Decorations
A week off from work!!!!!!!
Now, I will link back to Jenn and tag friends Amy, Kathy, Patty, and anyone else who wants to play along!!!

Merry Ho-Ho :)

Monday, December 1, 2008

Hahahahahahahahahahaha



I work with a precious lady that is ADDICTED to Rice Krispies treats! I found this and decided I would make it for her.

Now before I reveal the results let me say: 1. I am normally a very crafty person. 2. I got up at 5:00 am this morning, after a holiday weekend to drive 3 hours to Macon for a meeting at 9:00. 3. I left Macon at 3:00 pm and hit Atlanta traffic. 4. I got home, ate dinner and decided (surely in a stupor) to make this to take to my friend in the morning. All I can say now is ~ This is the house that love built!!!


Saturday, November 29, 2008

It's Here!!!!

Has the Christmas season snuck up on you ~ or is it just me??? Didn't we just take all the decorations down and put them away? OH, and that Christmas fund . . . . where did that go? Needless to say, all my best laid plans of having the holiday season under control this year have gone terribly awry.

Did anyone brave shopping yesterday? I went late in the afternoon with a friend and her dear mom that was here from out of town ~ not to shop really, but to spend time with them! Her mom was looking for a jacket for her grandson and it was at Kohls. We walked in and the line was wrapped all the way around the store!!! About a 45 minute wait. No biggie, we weren't in a hurry and so we took turns standing in the line while the other two shopped. Ran in to a good friend who had an appointment and we offered to get her stuff, too (talk about owing us one!!!)

When standing in a line that long, at least in my neck of the woods, you become buddies with those around you who are also the only other poor, pitiful souls on the planet that are dumb enough to sacrificing their valuable time standing in a line to buy gifts for our loved ones.

The early bird specials ended at 1pm, but since the line was so long they extended it to 3pm. At exactly 3pm we were 2nd in line to the register. One of the managers got on the store speaker system to announce that very thing. The sweet, friendly, soft spoken women in front of us with her daughter apparently found that announcement to be disturbing. With hands on hips she marched up to the manager that made the announcement and told him, under no uncertain terms, and not so soft spoken, that she would be getting the early bird prices. I thought the next announcement might be "clean up on aisle nine, we've just had a good ole fashioned throw down". After a "conversation" between the two, the score was customer 1, manager 0!

Thankfully, the jacket and other things we'd gathered were not early bird pricing, so we were safe ~ unlike the gentleman behind us with the early bird priced vacuum. I have a feeling there was another "conversation".

And people say we are forgetting the reason for celebrating Christmas, getting too commercialized, I just don't know where they get that, do you?

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Turkey Quiz!

I'll never reveal my score on this ~ but if you do well and want to brag in a comment, feel free! Try it:

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Tag!!! You're it!

My friend, and blog mentor, Jenn posted her 800th post today and is celebrating with a meme!

I'm sharing my answers here and you can see her answers here!!! I would love to know yours!!!!

Disclaimer: these answers are not necessarily in order of preference!!!!

8 Things I love:
God
Family
My church
my friends
Popsicles
school supplies
M & M's
bible study

8 Things that give me the Heebie-Jeebies
dirty feet/toes
belly buttons
sour food/garbage smell
snakes
flying insects (especially june bugs)
coconut
scratchy clothes/sheets
sushi

8 places I've been to:
Dallas, TX
Austin, TX
Port Antonio, Jamaica
Albuquerque, NM
Nashville, TN
Columbus, Ohio
Washington, DC
Disney World

8 random facts:
I've gained way too much weight
I am a "never seem to say no" volunteer
I am obsessive about my e-mail (deleting, organizing, reading, answering, etc.)
I have enough scrap book, paper craft, stamping, crafty things to open a store
I love to read and listen to books on tape
Because I let my hair grow out too much, I realized this week that I am TOTALLY GRAY (took of that right quick!!!!!!)
There are tons of orange Popsicles in my freezer because I only like the cherry and grape ones in the package
After 22 years of marriage, hubs and I are still in love, actually like each other, and have a blast!

8 favorite TV shows:
Ugly Betty
Big Bang Theory
Two and a half men
Andy Griffith
Grey's Anatomy (until recently, they've gone too far)
Brothers and Sisters (they are pushing the envelope, too)
Lots of stuff on Discovery channels
Law and Order

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamont

Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamont was a great book! She is honest, humble, and shares her journey of faith with a candor that most would not. Writing openly about her life of self destructive behaviors makes her real to me because most of us do not have the courage to HONESTLY share with the world what we've done and how we've gotten where we are today. Her faith is real and she knows, like we all have to remind ourselves, that our faith is a journey. We cannot accept Christ and live happily ever after, but we can accept Christ, grow in our faith, learn from our mistakes, and keep blundering through life with an assurance that He will forgive, love, and accept us unconditionally.

Ms. Lamont quoted a friend 's response when she asked him what it meant to be saved. I hope she will forgive my plagiarism here, but this quote is worth sharing. He answered, "I guess it's like discovering you're on the shelf of a pawnshop, dusty and forgotten and maybe not worth very much. But Jesus comes in and tells the pawnbroker, 'I'll take her place on the shelf. Let her go outside again.'"

This will be a book I will read again, slower next time, savoring it a little more.

Check out more book reviews here on Callapidder Days in the Fall Reading Challenge.
Happy Reading!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Part 3 of the New Do!!!!!

We began with new floors, then new counter tops. Of course the paint and wallpaper did not look good with the new stuff, so new paint and curtains and chair cushions! All is well, right????

Of course not. Where I sit in my den, I can see the kitchen and dining room. Shouldn't they match? I don't have a before pic of the dining room, but it was a light taupe with a wallpaper border that complimented the old kitchen border, with dark green valances. Now it's painted the same toasted wheat as the kitchen and my creative daughter-in-law and I made a curtain last night with the same fabric as the kitchen!!!! She's good and I love it.





The pics don't do it justice, you can click on them to enlarge. Now for covering the chair cushions and getting some stuff on the walls. Hummmmmmmm, does the den coordinate now?

Saturday, October 25, 2008

6 year old football playoffs

Our 6 year old grandson played in a recreation department tournament today after playing in the first playoff game Monday night. Although they did not win, they got to play at a local high school stadium complete with announcers, working scoreboard and lots of screamin' mama's, daddy's, grandparents, aunts, uncles dedicated football fans. As he hugged me after the game today he said he was tired of this stuff and ready for basketball!!! He is a hoot. He was one of the captains today, #6!



Thursday, October 23, 2008

If You Can't Lose It, Decorate It!

Anita Renfroe is one of my favorite ~ if not my very favorite Christian comedians. She is SO REAL!!!!! I was fortunate enough to attend a taping in Atlanta of her Purse-onality DVD. There is a book entitled The Purse Driven Life that is also a hoot! I saw this book, If You Can't Lose It Decorate It: And other hip alternatives to dealing with reality, in the store and could not wait to read it. I have to admit, book covers attract me and this one did for sure!!! FUN!!!

I highly recommend this book. She talks about all the realities we face everyday. Helps us see the humor in it all and gives us a biblical, Godly way to handle this ride we call "life".

You might remember her Momsense song that was e-mailed all over the place. It is a classic. Check it out on You Tube here. Anita's website is http://www.anitarenfroe.com/index.htm

Check out more book reviews here on Callapidder Days in the Fall into Reading Challenge!

Monday, October 20, 2008

6 Year Old Football

Can I just tell you inter web peeps how precious 6 year old football is? Our grandson plays and he is S.E.R.I.O.U.S. about it. Saturday morning was an early game and we've finally got a nip in the air here in North Georgia. The wind was a little much and we were all complaining ~ except for him!!!!

I will also admit that I am a little bias, but he is really good. Born athlete you might say. When you see the kids lined up in a row with their pads bigger than them and see their little stick legs, our grandson's are far from sticks. He is stocky and all muscle.

Like all the other kids on the 6 year old teams (and I'm sure most high school, college and pro teams) when they do something good, they immediately look for some affirmation from the sidelines. When he played last year at 5 years old, he looked for his mom and grandparents (his Daddy helps coach). We sent thumbs up, clapped, high fives if he came to the sidelines ~ it was great.

This year however, he has apparently put aside supportive family for the other bystanders and the CHEERLEADERS (also 6 years old)!!! When he made a touchdown on Sat. he walked along the sidelines and looked at everyone as they congratulated him, and as he walked past us and we did the thumbs-up, high five action ~ we got a slight nod of the head!! He is cool, suave and debonair these days.

He has played at least 423 games (okay, maybe I exaggerate a little) but he's played A LOT of games for a 6 year old. Tonight begins PLAYOFFS!!!! PLAYOFFS people ~ at 7:30 pm. BATH TIME, right. If they win tonight, they play again tomorrow night at 7:30! Then if they win that, it's the big time at a local high school stadium for an afternoon game on Saturday.

His older brother (who is also a good football player) played 7th grade football this year and they had 5 games! FIVE, that's all ~ AMAZING!!!

Friday, October 17, 2008

It Can't Happen Here

How many times have you thought something couldn't happen in your town, your family, at your job. Well it can ~ and it did today in our town. Apparently a disgruntled gentleman decided to get his revenge of sorts with a suicide mission at a local law firm. This law firm is just across the street from an elementary school and my husband' office is on the opposite corner, and the local post office is just in front of the law firm. My husband went to his office just after the incident and thought there must have been a bad wreck and had to go around the block to get to his office ~ he soon realized it was not a wreck, and soon after, they evacuated his office building.

The gentlemen came to the firm with a bomb and tried to drive into the building. He could not drive into it and ended up out of his car and throwing the explosive into a window. One of the attorneys was badly burned and taken to a burn unit in Georgia. Two clients were injured and one is still in the local hospital. One of the assistants in the office was injured, treated and released.

It is a scary thing here in our little town and makes us realize that anything can happen anywhere. I will pray for the members of the law firm, their families, and especially for the family of the gentlemen that set the bomb and died. I am sure that they would appreciate any of your prayers lifted up for them, too. You can read about it here.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons

I am really at a loss about Anne Rivers Siddons newest book, Off Season. I LOVE Anne Rivers Siddons books and this one began that way. As is her usual style, the characters were well developed and locations were described so the reader could feel they were there. But . . .

Without leaving a spoiler for anyone planning on reading this, I must say the ending was horrible. This book began with a sweet, potentially great storyline, but the horrible discovery at the end flopped. The abruptness of it and the weirdness just shot it out of the water. I feel like Ms. Siddons handed it to someone and said, “Here, you finish this”, or the publisher called her and told her she had 5 minutes to finish it, period. OH, and the cat, PLEASE!!!!!!

Check out more book reviews at Fall Into Reading 2008 over at Callapidder Days!

I look forward to others opinions about this book. Happy Reading!!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Travis Cottrell

I cannot say enough about Travis Cottrell's new Christmas CD. I just downloaded it from iTunes and I'm sitting here listening to it with tears running down my cheeks and cold chills all over. If you are not familiar with Travis, check him out here! I was introduced to Travis the first time at a Beth Moore event. His voice is incredible and his faith and love for God come through in every word he sings.

Melanie at Big Mama is giving away autographed copies of the CD ~ check it out and enter. If you don't win it ~ or too impatient (like me) to find out ~ go to iTunes and download it today. While you're at it, Found is also a good CD!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Book Review ~ When Did I Stop Being Barbie. . .

When Did I Stop Being Barbie and Become Mrs. Potato Head?: Learning to Embrace the Woman You've Become by Mary Pierce was a great book! Mary shares real life struggles with, well, ahem ~ getting older! Mary Pierce makes getting older fun and gives healthy, Godly advice about accepting the woman we've become. Her honesty with her own personal struggles and experiences made me laugh and cry! Lots of great lessons!!!

Since I'm right around the corner from 50, I felt like I was reading my own story. I encourage any woman, especially those dealing with raging "horriblemones", to read Mary's book.

Check out more book reviews at Fall Into Reading 2008 over at Callapidder Days!

Happy Reading ~

Friday, October 3, 2008

Hangin' out with kids!

I'm going to begin hanging out with my friends girls and my grandson's all the time. Someone told me one time if I ever felt down and out to read my e-bay feedback!!! LOL

But today was the perfect day of comments from loved ones. First, my friends four year old looked sweetly at me and said, "Bitsy, you are perfect." (I only wish you could have heard it in her sweet 4 year old voice)

Then I picked up my 6 year old grandson from after school care this afternoon. He was in the back seat and asked if I would scratch and rub his legs when we got home. I said sure! It was quiet for a few minutes, then he said, "Nana, I just love you sooooo much." Be still my heart!!

And to top it all off, my 12 year old grandson (he'll be 13 next week, UGH) hugged me bye when they all left to go home and said, "Love ya Nana, you are awesome."

So you see why I'm gonna hang out with them from now on??????? What a GREAT day!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Fall into Reading List 2008

I'm partcipating in Callapidder Days Fall Into Reading Challenge 2008. I've had a hard time choosing books this time for some reason ~ but good or bad, here it is. Obviously the list is subject to change, on a whim!!!

So Brave, Young and Handsome by Leif Enger. I loved his first book, Peace Like a River and have heard this is also great. My book club might read this one, too. A rhapsodic novel about a father raising his three children in 1960s Minnesota is a breathtaking celebration of family, faith, and America's pioneering spirit.

Cross Country by James Patterson (release date: Nov. 17th). Another Alex Cross novel! I'm not always a huge fan of Patterson, but I enjoy the Cross series. When the home of Alex Cross's oldest friend, Ellie Cox, is turned into the worst murder scene Alex has ever seen, the destruction leads him to believe that he's chasing a horrible new breed of killer.


Where Do I Go: Yada Yada House of Hope by Neta Jackson (release date Dec. 9th). The Yada Yada Prayer group series was great, so I'm looking forward to this one.



Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons. For as long as she can remember, they were Cam and Lilly--happily married, totally in love with each other, parents of a beautiful family, and partners in life. Then, after decades of marriage, it ended as every great love story does...in loss.


Living Simply: Choosing Less in a World of More by Joanne Heim Whew! You can multitask like a pro—you prove it every day. But while you’re used to being pulled in multiple directions, that doesn’t mean you like it. You yearn for something more…not on your to-do list, but in the heart of daily living. Now Living Simply shows you how to make this ideal life your real life today!


Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamont. A friend told me about this, so I thought I'd give it a try. Anne Lamott shares the stories of her spiritual awakening and transformation. Her memoir is frank and sparkling as she spins out her stories in a kaleidoscope of images and poetry.



The Shack by William P. Young. This book has been heralded and hated, so we will see!







If You Can't Lose It, Decorate It: And Other Hip Alternatives to Dealing With Reality by Anita Renfroe. Anita is a great christian writer and comedian. This book just sounded too good!





When Did I Stop Being Barbie and Become Mrs. Potato Head?: Learning to Embrace the Woman You've Become by Mary Pierce






Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swenson Mysteries)
by Joanne Fluke. I've really enjoyed Diane Mott Davidson culinary mystery series and all the recipes ~ then heard about this one, so I thought I would check them out! No one cooks up a delectable, suspense-filled mystery quite like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke’s dessert-baking, red-haired heroine whose gingersnaps are as tart as her comebacks, and whose penchant for solving crimes one delicious clue at a time has made her a bestselling favorite.

Go to Callapidder Days and check out the Mr. Linky for other blogger's book lists! At some point, there will be another Mr. Linky on the site for book reviews as bloggers share what they've read.

Friday, September 19, 2008

One of my passions

As an active member of the Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs and serving in both district and state positions, I am mostly proud of the fact that we own and operate a private college prep boarding school called Tallulah Falls School. Mary Ann Lipscomb, a Georgia clubwoman, started the school in 1909 to provide an education for the children in the mountains. The school became known as The Light in the Mountains.

There are boarding students and day students at the school. We also have several international students as part of the student body. The reputation, location, and teacher/student ratio of TFS is most appealing. Check us out!!!

We are in the midst of celebrating the schools 100th year!!! As a board member of the school I am privledged to be an integral part of the celebration events scheduled throughout the year.

One of the events was this week. We had a board meeting and several committee meetings. Dinner with students and lots of fun.

The most exciting part was the ribbon cutting ceremony for our new Lodge ~ The Lodge at Tallulah Falls. The lodge is BEAUTIFUL!!!! It is a great place for a family gathering, a small wedding, a church retreat. Check out the lodge and go spend a weekend in the beautiful mountains of Northeast Georgia.

Lobby at the Lodge




King Room


Ribbon Cutting


My fellow clubwoman and traveling buddies had a great time stopping at some of the beautiful shops between TFS and home. One I have to tell you about was a hoot! It was called Goats on the Roof ~ cause there are goats on the roof. It has a country school, crafts and lots of fun ways to feed the goats.




Waiting for chow!!!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Just in time for Halloween

I walked out on my porch this afternoon and walked into this web. It was so big and strong, stretched between both posts, that as I quickly backed off of it, it just sprung right back never breaking. The spider was at the top, so I did not see it.

I waited till dark to try and take a picture. The lights on the porch brought the june bugs flying, and one was in the web. I will take a pic tomorrow with dew on it in the am if it's still there (that's if I remember of course)! I don't like spiders, but their webs are AMAZING!!!

Wish he'd stick around and be my halloween decoration!!!!!

(click on pic for better view)


Monday, September 1, 2008

Laboring on Labor Day

Usually hubby and I just veg on holidays if we don't do something with family. Not this weekend. We did eat with our kids and grandsons on Sunday after church but did NOT veg today. I got up very early and headed to buy fabric to make kitchen curtains and cover the chairs. The kitchen has been a work in progress for a while and there are only a couple of things that need to be done now!!! YIPEE!!!!!!!! First new floors, then new countertops, then new paint, and now new curtains and chair covers! Here are some before and after pics!

Old

New


New

I know that I need to clean the window! Camera flashes give everything away. Also, the walls are a great taupe color, Toasted Wheat ~ not pink like they look in these pics!

The most amazing things about all this home improvement is that I can out with only a slight scratch on my finger. I am a VERY messy crafter, painter, cook, etc. and usually end up with some type of injury. I purchased an electric stapler to recover my chairs (which was the BEST purchase I made all weekend)! I will only tell you that you have to be VERY careful when you release the safety on the stapler trigger. I shot two staples across the kitchen. One hit the dryer in the laundry room and fell on the dog and I never recovered the other one ~ but the dog is unscathed!