New Hairdo!

I've had an appointment with Rachel for a haircut for a couple of weeks now.  I only just decided last night that I was going to cut my hair short and donate it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.  The hair donated is used in wigs for cancer patients, so at least it didn't just get swept up and thrown away.  My good deed for this holiday season.

Happy Birthday Linda!

My friends all beginning to enter their 50's which means I am not far behind.  Last night Linda invited several of her girlfriends to join her and share in her celebration.  She rented a limo for everyone to ride to Ah for dinner and then dancing at Solas.

The latest addition to our 'critter clan'

Her name is Nina........ she is a 5.5 pound mix...... not sure what she is a mix of, but she is so stinking cute! She is around 6 years old. I brought her home on Monday afternoon.

Garage Sale Day!!!!

Decided about 2 months ago that I was going to have a Yard Sale today.  Since it gave me enough time to plan, I slowly began going through the garage, closets, drawers and entire house gathering up everything that we don't need or want any longer.  I made signs that Matt and Boy drove around posting throughout the town.

We were up early and everything was set up by 6:45 a.m. which worked out perfectly!  We had our first customer before 7 am!  And they didn't buy anything!

Ended up making $455 today, so it was a great day!  And successful!

A new (to us) place we discovered.....

Cold Stone Creamery......

This is how the story goes. At work Matt sends me an email message with a link to this place. I click on it and see that it is an Ice Cream Shop that creates its own concoctions on an ice cold stone while you stand there. So, I send back an email suggesting we go there for dinner one night with the justification that it encompasses all of the food groups :)

So today, after we attended church, we stopped by there and made it our lunch! And what a yummy lunch it was. I ordered a small waffle cone with chocolate ice cream, that was mixed with peanut butter and Reese's peanut butter cups, and Matt ordered a large chocolate dipped waffle bowl with vanilla ice cream, mixed with heath bars, bananas, and caramel. It was yummy, but a small was plenty!!!!

30 years ago today my Dad died

I can hardly believe that it has been 30 years since my Dad passed away. I was 13 when he died and I can remember every second of that day like it was yesterday. I came home from school, Bair Middle School, and went to my grandparents house... like I had been doing for the past couple of months. Except this day was different.... and would change my life forever. When I walked into the apartment, my Aunt Vivian and Uncle Moe were there, along with my grandparents, sister, Aunt Rose, and Mother. My Mother said she needed to talk to me and took me into the back bedroom where my grandparents slept. As soon as she sat down on the bed I knew something was wrong..... she said, "Daddy died." I refused to believe daddy was gone..... it couldn't be..... we just spent the previous day swimming together in the pool, laughing and having fun. It was real.... he was gone..... forever.

Not a day goes by that I don't think about him and miss him and having a father in my life.

Camping Trip - Boy's ONLY.....

First let me say that I was invited to join them .... however, I am not an outdoor camping kinda girl, so I'm home alone. No complaints .... enjoying my house .....and my time alone ......

Here is a pic of Matt near the camping site.

The Day After

I am always tired the day ofter a party that we host. Everyone left by 1 a.m. The party was a success and those who matter were there.

Valerie and David spent the night and we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast this morning. Love that place! From there they got on the road to head home and we headed home as well. Since it is a rainy day, which is always the perfect time for a nap, which is exactly what we did. Not much better than a nap during a rainy day!

Since there were a ton of left overs, that was dinner this evening.

Tomorrow - back to work :( I need another day to put my home back together! Oh, well..... the mess will be there until I get to it!!!!

Surprise Matt!

Tonight is Matt's surprise birthday party....... lots of work for me, but I love hosting parties! I am not one to spend a lot of time with decorations or theme, but I do put the time into planning the food and drink. So the menu is:

Shrimp and cocktail sauce

Hot Chicken Dip

Meatballs in BBQ sauce

Ham and cheese sandwiches

Spinach Dip

Mexican Dip

Fruit - strawberries and grapes

Cheese squares

Vegetables - peppers, squash, cucumbers

Carvel Ice Cream Cake

There was plenty of food and drink. Later on in the evening a Poker Game ensued ..... Matt lost, but there were some big winners.

All in all, a great time was had by all!

Happy Birthday Matt!

Matt turns 42 today! WOW! Guess I can't say much since I am still older. We have a party planned for him tomorrow night at our house, but tonight we are heading out for drinks with a friend.

March 1st already! Where does the time go?

I can hardly believe that we are already 3 months into the new year. Just yesterday we were heading out to celebrate the New Year! I have been rather slack about posting a picture a day..... need to refocus. I need to refocus and get back on track with my running also...... it is very easy to come up with an excuse why NOT to run every day.....

Cruise is right around the corner, so I should have the extra incentive I need right there. Maybe trying on some swim suits will give me the kick in the pants that I need...... I'll try that tomorrow.

FJ Cruiser Photo Op = FUN!

The weather was fabulous today! Bright blue skies, perfect temperatures (60 degrees) and a slight breeze! Can't ask for a better day! We decided to take this time and get some pics of all of us and the new car. Made a couple of stops along the way and got some awesome pics!

Girls Night In

Decided to have a few girlfriends over this evening for drinks and munchies..... always a fun time!

President's Day = New Car for Matt

I had to go to the Toyota dealership today to have some work done on my car. Matt has been drooling over the FJ Cruiser since it came on the market. Since I was there I bought him what he has wanted! He is thrilled!

She went to Jared's.......

Since I wanted Matt to have a nice watch, I gave him an IOU for a watch of his choice. So we went to Jared's this afternoon to select a watch........ The final selection was an Omega and it's beautiful! He is thrilled!

Xena and Me!!!

Xena loves getting her belly rubbed..... and who could blame her! It's a dog's life!

Christian in his ROTC uniform.... How Handsome!

Christian is enrolled in the Junior ROTC class at the high school. Today was the first day he had to wear his uniform to school. Last night, he and his dad stayed up late shinning his pins and buttons and placing everything exactly where it belongs on his uniform. I know how excited Matt is that Christian is following in his footsteps with the military and the sense of pride that he feels in Christian when he wears the uniform. I am happy I was able to witness the moment between father and son.

My Early Valentine Present

This is what I found when I returned home after a weekend long crop. Matt bought me a necklace with a cross on it......and a very sweet card...... Love coming home to presents!!!

Xena defending herself against an attack pillow.....

This was the final pillow on the living room couch. I am confident that the pillow provoked Xena, in some fashion

Deer Steak Dinner with friends

We finally invited Kyle and Julie over to our house for dinner and drinks. We have been friends for so long now, but we always seem to end up at their house or in Raleigh since there really isn't must to do in Creedmoor.

So, we decided that we were going to cook for them. Matt made deer steaks on the grill (tenderloin and backstrap) both of which was awesome! I made the salad and baked potatoes for sides.

We has a great time with great friends!