Well Cat and I didn't get down to Hillbilly Holler to hang out with coffee filter birthday hats, Aunt Bea, Jen Gi and song. But that didn't stop Cat and I from having an early dinner tonight anyway. Her birthday is Sunday, so it was kinda my treat to her. I have to say I completely enjoyed this dinner, it's been far too long since Cat and I have had time to just sit and chat without kids or husbands hanging around. Kids and husbands are good, though. Just sometimes they're so amazing we don't feel we DESERVE to be around them so much, so we suffered.
The photos I have kinda stink, but the one of Cat is so pretty I think it almost makes up for her half face in the next one! And I'm being quite a good sport, because I don't know what the hey hoo (JenGi, I stole that!) was going on with my hair there! It looks a little Ed Grimley-ish..now I wonder if I left the house like this or if it just happened in the parking lot. Thanks for the mention, Cat. Not!
Onto something very cool--Angela at Mommy Bytes, being a talented knitter had a giveaway. She knitted these little hearts and I really really wanted one. I'd all but forgotten about it when she emailed me last week that I'd won one. It arrived in the mail and it's so cute I now think I have to re-learn to knit. I kinda sorta learned years ago, but knitting wasn't cool then. There are so many fun things out there now, I have to jump on that bandwagon. Angela, thanks, I heart this prize!
Finally, my friend Katja tagged me with this--how fun it this one I ask? Here is low down:
Rule #1: Copy all the links below and replace a single link under the appropriate letter of the alphabet. If your domain name, or even the title of your blog, starts with an “A,” you’d replace the link under that letter and put the replaced link at the bottom. Also, don’t forget to credit the tagger, or where you got the list from, at the end of the list with a full URL of the post, so that a pingback gets generated.
D. DadThing.com
E. everythingandanythingblog.com
H. happykeg.comI. ipentimento.com
R. rowdigrl.com
V. valmg.com
Y. yimto.com
Replaced link: Julie's Journal
Previous tagger: Skimbaco-Katja
Rule #2: You now have to “tag” at least five people and encourage them to participate so that this thing spreads like a virus. But not a virus. No no, not a virus. That would be wrong.
I'm tagging:
Louie! He's a good boy. Even if he is now deaf, digs under the muddy deck every single time he goes out, forcing me to dip his giant bear-sized paws in water before letting him in, needs out four times an hour, gets snot all over the dining room window he camps out at, and makes a louder-than-life barfing sound and nothing comes out.
He's getting old. Not too old to to chase the cats. Two nights ago we woke up and flung our bedroom door open, having heard some very noisy intruders (we were brave). No intruders, but we did find Louie. Lying at the foot of the stairs in Jack's nylon cube house thing, one short stubby leg and giant horse head through one hole, body in the middle and three legs through the other hole. See diagram below:
He'd creeped upstairs, likely to eat the cats' food (he does that) and torment poor Jack, who sleeps with Alex most nights. So when he found himself stuck, he was heading downstairs to get us and slipped and slid down the stairs. The nylon made his run quite smooth and very fast. He slid all the way down, taking out a basket of Lego's on the way, landing at the bottom of the stairs next to our bedroom door with a thud. And not a yelp from him; he didn't even look afraid. He knew the drill, we've pulled his giant head from many things over the four years we've been blessed with Louie's big giant slobbery stinky lovable self.
Alright enough Louie stories, here is where I found the older boys yesterday afternoon, both drooling oblivious to the whipping wind and snow outside (I am aware on days like this that God has blessed me greatly with shelter and warmth and I worry for the people and animals alike who are out there without):
*I'm not going to have any JenGi, Aunt Bea, Cat & Gidget photos next week. I'm afraid I had to cancel (I'm calling you today Cat, but sorry if you get this through my post). John and I feel with the ever-changing drama going on with our daughter, it's not a good time for me to leave town.
Update: I have things I need to post but.....I refuse to post another thing. I was just on the phone with GiGi (who really does exist even though it's looking doubtful), and explained how her blogging absence makes me look...well, like a weird-o stalking blogger mom who imagined the whole weekend! Who may have copied and pasted photos to appear as if I have a friend named GiGi. She laughs at this because she's been thinking y'all will think that too as she's been out running all over town and not blogging!
So not until the Gi says she had fun (and Gi, I mean FUNNNN) will I post again. She had fun, I'm telling you....fun fun fun with a capital FUN!
We went to Fritz's at Hallmark's Crown Center Friday. Fritz's serves dinner via a toy train that runs the entire restaurant and stops, delivers the meals (which were ordered at the booth on a phone!) and goes away. Then we played on the giant toys...sadly it was freezing cold this year, so we didn't play too long!
This weekend went by far too quickly for me, I miss everyone already. I can't wait to get in Cat's new Suburban and drive down to GiGi's. *sigh*
Click the video for all the pics from the second night:
Worth another peek:
Cat, Gidget at Fritz's
GiGi, J waiting for dinner...think J forgot what to do with the straw!
Trinity, I adore my bag...all the way from Indonesia. You truly are a very special friend and I adore you! And the bag, the necklace and the CD!
Do you see a pattern here with Gi & her tongue?
It's a cow, I know...Cat's modeling on a cow. Hey! We are in MO!
It's been a quiet day today..this morning our home was filled with laughter, a last minute rush to get in conversations, and then as quickly as they came, they left. GiGi and her family slid away on the freshly fallen sheet of ice. I miss her already. She's incredibly easy to talk to, I selfishly want her to sell it all and move up here to the Kansas City area. Right now.
Some of you might know that Cat and GiGi are the first two friends I made when I began blogging. Cat lives very close by, goes to the same church, and is a very dear friend I see quite a lot of. But Gi lives a few hours south, so I haven't seen her since our whirlwind hour at Silver Dollar City this summer.
As I go through the pictures, I realize to tell it right, it's going to take two, possibly three posts. If I did it in one, you'd be bored to tears, and that would be no good at all! Nope...so part one right here.
GiGi landing on our porch just after our first measurable snow arrived, which was very cool because we went through the Christmas In The Park lights display the first night, and those lights look so much more amazing in the snow. If you can take a look at GiGi's smile and find you're NOT smiling back, you might need to look into that. It's just not possible--she's that adorable.
When the lovely Cat and her family arrived, we downed some pizza and got ready for Christmas Tour Part One! We split up, guys & kids car and ladies car! Before we took off, though, we took the traditional shoe pic....
GiGi's little boys, Little Man and Gremlin, cannot be done justice if I tried. But I will try to tell you how adorable and extremely polite they were. John and I got a kick out of both of them...it's been awhile since we've had little guys that young around. They are little treasures. I don't recall ever meeting children so excited about being here, which made it just that much more fun for us. 
I didn't expect to be away from the blog for so longgggg, and I'm sorry. I'll be back in a day or two, I've probably missed some great posts, so I'll be up awhile tomorrow reading like mad!
I've been involved in something I'm excited about, I'll be back to tell you all about it soon. In the meantime, I happened across a nice little craft site, I think Cat, GiGi, and I will sit down and do some holiday crafting next week. What d'ya think of the lights?:
And if you're looking for something just right for that special little boy in your life, maybe try this:
Is this what I think it is, you ask? Yes, probably. There is an entire site dedicated to the ladies time craft. Check it out, maybe make an angel for the tree.
GiGi, get excited--and bring the supplies, will ya?
And to my dear friend, "Poirier" got your message. And yes, I've been praying all day long, and I know you'll perservere. We all walk some pretty worn out and lonely paths in our lifetimes, and you're going to come out of this one. I'm calling you tomorrow, because Savannah girls are a tight group, we're going to get together. And besides, Savannah girls had a wild streak, too; it's a great excuse to cruise for Christmas decorations. KIDDING! (but that was one very funny night back in...what, 84, 85? Are we that old? No way!) This song's for you.
I was getting worried....I was feeling sad...I was down down down this weekend. I hadn't won a darn thing. I'm hearing all about the wins my friends had, I'm happy for everyone....but still the little girl in me is saying "What about me? It Isn't Fair. I've Had Enough Now I Want My Share!". All those click and comment drunken days that left me worn out, tired and excited like a little kid at Christmas! And nothing. (Alright, I didn't really say that, but it sounds very cool, like I'm all worn out, hair whipping in the wind, a whisp of myself, driven to despair.) Until.....yesterday. That's when SarahJensSister announced the winner of the big one! I even REMEMBER thinking 'gosh this would be so cool...need that'!
Here's what I win (If you didn't win and you like hair product, don't look, it'll hurt far too much):
1 6.8 fl. oz. extrabody Paul Mitchell Thicken Up Styling Liquid
1 4.2 fl. oz. Vavoom Gold Heat Blow-In Volume Protective Lotion
1 5.1 fl. oz. JOICO Silk Result Thermal Smoother
1 8 fl. oz. designline Wave Catcher Beach Spray
1 8 fl. oz. Kenra Root Lifting Spray
I'll post the photos of my hair before and after, did you even think I wouldn't?! And Sarah, thanks, this is a very generous giveaway. And because of that, I found another fun blog, I'll be over later. GiGi, if you're reading, you can borrow my product when you're here visiting. And don't take it personally if I need to search your carry-on when you leave. Cat, you too--no big purses when you, Gigi and I are doing our hair for our Plaza tour next month. You're still going to dance for us, right? And lip-sync? And Dawn, when you do get down here in your brand new RV, I'll share with you too. And I know you won't take mine because you're wealthy now--you're the lucky!!!! You can bring us all more! Go Dawn..Go Dawn...It's Your Birthday....
Dawn showed a video of her workspace on her blog...it was reeeeal organized. And I thought it was cool enough to steal and put one on my blog. She thinks I'm techno-challenged and I am the girl who will jump over the bridge when dared--so I made the video. I hate my voice on videos quite a lot but it's fun to hear different accents. I've heard Jane's in Rhode Island and now Dawn's in New Hampshire--and they're too cute! I contend the midwest is the voice of the world--you don't hear accent here, we sound like the people on TV sound! So that's my criteria--my voice sounds most like the General Hospital crew. Gotta warn you, my voice is loud on this dumb thing, so turn your volume down (sorry!).
Memarie Lane (Marie) handed me about the cutest award out there! If you clicked on the video, you know who I gave it to. Thanks, my new blogfriend, Marie, you are a hoot, by the way! If you really wanna know what she thinks about in the movie theater, head over! Alright, I'm off to another dive meet. Then home. Then dinner. Then typing and HOPEfully I will get to watch Monk and Psych. No, scratch that--I WILL make time for that because it's been far too long! Marie, I think you might like those shows! Hope your weekend brings you happiness!
Just awhile ago I stumbled upon a new blog , Gremlin Wrangler, (new to me, that is) and she is doing a contest. Not just ANY contest, though, she's an artist. And I couldn't resist this one, I entered it! She takes photos and sketches amazing likenesses of the person in the photo and I know JUST who I'll have sketched. I love personalized things at Christmastime--there's about nothing better. She's pretty funny too, mosey over there if you're a loser on a Friday night, sitting around reading blogs. Okay, I'm a loser sitting around too, but still....go over!
This is the Country Club Plaza here in Kansas City in the Christmas season, all lit up!
And this is the courtyard at Hallmark's Crown Center at Christmas, with the ice skating rink in the background. Note the wooden toyland down there?
Yup, that'd be the one I posted pics of a few months ago, with us last December playing in the toy yard and dining in the train car.
CAT did the Crazy Eights and thought I'd enjoy it too....here goes:
8 things I’m passionate about:
8 things I say often:
8 books I’ve recently read:
8 songs I could listen to over and over:
8 things that attract me to my best friends:
8 things I’ve learned this past year:
8 people I think should do Crazy 8’s
I've been working on this digital scrapbook concept and it's taking far longer than I anticipated! I have scanned several photos, mostly Nicole, because this is for her graduation album. I've decided I'm not good at the physical concept of scrap booking, so I'm doing it digitally.
This week coming up is going to be interesting. Alex and I are taking the week off school because there are three diving meets, a school field trip with Niki, a meeting for homeschoolers, the usual Wednesday night study, Friday night and a new study we're doing at church for six weeks....and Niki's 18th birthday!
I've been thinking on this concept--my daughter is going to be 18. What does this mean? Well....at seventeen she pretty much could take off and leave and we couldn't do anything about it! At seventeen kids can leave the home and not come back if they're staying out of trouble. Problem with that is if they do get into trouble, it's back home they come. And if they wanna come back, we have to let them in!
So Niki, being clever as she is, points out that she will be 18 and can make her own decisions. I pause on this. And then I tell her this: "yes, baby you can. That's so cute. You can leave now, but then again, you could leave last year, remember, we had this conversation? Difference is this time--Mommy can lock the door behind you!" Booyah! Or however that's spelled. Yeah, who's thinking now? I think she'll hang in there for another year, lol.
Hoping to spend a little quality time with my Cat friend--we need to have a coffee break together and I'm nevah too busy for coffee. Cat--I have DD coffee here, too, so just TRY and turn that down! We can prank call GiGi. She'll like that. What d'ya think? Circle Yes if you will come and No if you won't. 
Now Eileen, I can see why you would receive this--you're always teaching me, mostly while you retell your workday. I'm not sure what I taught you, but lemme try to justify me keeping this award (because I am)!
Maybe it was my tutorial on how to avoid double-chinned photos:
Very possibly you learned what Pilot John taught me--despite what it reads, keep this t-shirt ON, do not take it off before flight! (or just that Pilot John is sky candy, idk, not sayin he is or he isn't):
That even the quietest church ladies can learn to throw up the deuces right there in front of the church if you don't tell them they may or may not be flashing gang signs (gosh it seems I have a thing about contorting my lips when I take a photograph--I'll work on that!):
That it is PERFECTLY fine to pick the best picture of yourself with your friends, and that Cat shouldn't have been trying to pick up a potato chip with her toes!:
But in case said friend doesn't like you after that, go ahead and put up a better one of her:
And finally, I do believe I can accept this award if I think I might have taught you that even if you don a fun little cowboy hat and hold your breath, you will eventually be booted off Top Momma anyway!
I think I learn something from everyone I frequent, but I have to choose a few, so for this award I'm going to pass this onto:Edit: I'm in the process of updating my blog template and have lost all my links and awards, etc. I'm rebuilding them--but it takes time. If you're not there yet, I still love ya, I just got tired.
I have been fortunate enough to make a new blogger friend this week, Trinity. She's a beautiful wife, mom and much much more over in Indonesia. This is the gal I was talking about who was hosting the giveaway in honor of all the family celebrations coming up! I'm certain she'll make sure I receive the top prize, right Trinity? Right?
Ahh, well, even better than the prospect of winning a prize, she says I make her smile. It amazes me when I read all my friends blogs, all of you, and you lift me up so high, I enjoy every single one of you, and then one of you tells me you noticed something about me. It's humbling, indeed, and I never get used to that. Listen to me, I'm sounding like a movie star accepting an award--but it's the truth. Okay, okay, I'll get on with the award (and Trinity, I'll do my tag next week, thanks for the post idea!!).
And I have the pleasure of passing this along....I think you've all met my friend Cat--you know we met online in another website for Christian moms and turned out we were practically neighbors. I met Cat for lunch, then a movie, then from that point on, she's been a dear friend of mine. She and her family have blessed our church by becoming members, and we couldn't love them more. How does Cat make me smile? Cat makes me smile mostly in our little Wednesday study we're doing with our pastor. We sit on the couch together and it's hard not to just burst out with laughter sometimes. Ask her how she spent last week sucking up to the pastor, all intellectual and stuff! Cat, you make me smile.
Another goes to a new friend I've made--Karen. Karen is new to our church family as well and what a welcome addition she is. It isn't always easy to come into a new church and slide right in, I know this, but Karen and her family have done that. She's got a blog too, couldn't believe it! It's used mostly to update friends and family on her family, and if you want to peek inside a beautiful, giving family's life, go check out Casting Crumbs.
Next, Kathleen (Coffee Mom) who STILL patiently awaits the DD coffee I have promised her--Kathleen, it is here, I promise I have not drank YOUR coffee although I'm out and I'm tempted. I will get it mailed and you will be very surprised. Kathleen lives in Canada and homeschools her children too. I can't tell you how many giggles and flat out laugh-till-I-cry moments I've had on her blog--she doesn't take herself too seriously. I like that. If I start taking myself seriously, I read her and remember I'm not all that!
Everyone I know knows Sharon. Sharon Sews--in fact, she's been so busy sewing up my pink jacket she forgot to get my mailing address to mail it to me. Email me, Sharon, I'll send it right over. Sharon is not ONLY a seamstress to be reckoned with but she's also a supermodel now (her modeling post is HILARIOUS! She's beautiful & funny.)
One more blogger has been on my mind of late. My friend Cheryl at Word Quilter. Cheryl is a beautiful person inside and out. Of late, her life's been quite jumbled with ups and downs and looks like on the uppp side of life right now, and I just adore her. She makes me smile because I've never known someone who can have so much dumped on her plate and turn around and indicate she knows for certain this will all be alright. Cheryl, love your curtains, but you need to update that blog. So here ya go!
Alright off to do housework now. I finally took the weekend off from typing--I feel so free! Tonight is bunco night for the women at church and I'm sooo gonna win prizes there. And of course, you know I'll have someone take my picture so I can post me there winning.
Kilani at An Island Life (my favorite Hawaiian flight attendant/mom/wife who keeps her cell phone in the playroom oven) is hosting a new meme, I thought it would be a light, easy Friday end-to-your-week thing. I ask a question, if you're inclined, you answer. If you wanna play, head over to An Island Life and get on board!Edit:
Going to be in and out for a few days--have some church & family obligations, but that doesn't mean I can't post--I can! (just might be slowwww, idk)
Today....I slept in, sort of. Well it was another late work night, but such a nice thing to know I can sleep in. Most of our summer I've been up at the usual 'school year time', but with swim team over for the summer, I get to do this for a few weeks.
I'm only stopping in for a sec, I'm taking Alex to piano lessons then 
housework. If there's time to blog before typing, not gonna lie, I'll be over entering the contests in the Dog Days Of Summer contest-a-looza. I've probably entered eight already, yet with sooo many to choose from and more added, I have more work to do! Ooooh! Maybe my lucky tee from Pilot John will arrive today and for sure I'll win something if I'm entering contests wearing that! I need the extra help, my friend GiGi is probably entering herself in all of them even a I type this! Cat, we can't let this happen! We have to for an alliance and enter all of them too! Can you IMAGINE the taunting posts GiGi will torture us with if she wins? Yeah. Me, too; and I don't know if I want to chance it. I figure if we show a united front, we can uppp our chances, fine tune our vibe, win win WIN! (And then...we share with our good friend Gigi.)
Back by popular demand, (or two or three friends asking, either way) here are today's VBS pics.....my friend and craft instructor CATTTT took these shots of me (Pom Pom Polly) and Coach Dribbles:
Okay. Ahhhh....what a beautiful morning...yes indeedy, sweet, sweet faces are everywhere. Everywhere I tell you! Coach D and I are rested and ready to head up to the classroom.
But first, we celebrate, we dance, we hold legs and blow whistles! (Cat kinda gets into this stuff--and her legs look good, so why not?).
We had 2nd and 3rd graders today, Coach D and I. We cram 18 of them into a 14x14 room...stories, verses and cheers are recited. The teenaged boys assigned to be helpers today incite laughter and teenaged boy conversations.....throughout much of story time.
