The Brenda Photo Challenge-Looking Upwards

I'm early this time because we are heading off Friday and I'll be gone for a week. So here's my version of Looking Upwards courtesy of Joan of Joan's Journeys

Looking up at our kitchen light.

Looking up at the light in the hallway.


The hanging thing in the living room. This is actually very pretty but this picture makes it look kind of creepy!

Looking up at my MEOW plates. The "W" has been broken and glued a couple of times because the damn cats kept knocking it off the wall!!

That's it for me. Bright and early on Friday morning we fly to Miami and catch a cruise ship on Saturday for a week in the caribbean.

See you when I get back!

Freezing

Had a fairly uneventful weekend.

Our furnace decided to bite the dust on Friday afternoon and you know how cold it's been the past few days. We have another smaller furnace that just heats our added-on family room so we were able to keep that room warm. The rest of the house, however, which is the kitchen, living room, and the upstairs bedrooms are all heated by the broken-down furnace. When Rich called the repair people they told him they were swamped and could not come out until Monday (today) or if it was an emergency, they could come out but the charge would be double their normal fee. Well, we decided to purchase some space heaters and wait until today. We placed a few of the heaters at key locations to keep our water pipes from freezing and bursting and used the others to warm the bedroom upstairs and the bathroom. But as cold as it has been, the heaters only make it tolerable. Anyway, I guess I am a cold sleeper because I slept like a baby every night and usually I'm up once or twice.

So today they will be there to fix the furnace and all will be well again. However I think we will shut the vents to our bedroom. Seriously.

One bad thing about owning a house is that the repairs seem to be never ending and expensive. Personally, I probably would be happy renting forever and letting the repairs be someone else's problem. Especially in this economy and this housing market where owning a house is not such a great investment right now. For example, last time we had a appraisal done our house was worth $1,000 LESS than we paid for it!

Saturday morning Marie took me to breakfast for my birthday at the MGM casino and then we played video poler for a while She lost $40 and I won $250 so I was happy!
Sunday I went shopping to see if there were any summer clothes out yet. I really didn't find anyhing for myself but I did get three pairs of shorts for Rich on clearance for $21. Later we drove to the airport to see how long it took us to get there and to find the place where we will be parking our cars.

I am SO ready for a vacation!

Snow, Snow and Then Some Cold

Thanks for the birthday wishes everyone! It was a nice one, low key, but it's always nice when the kids come over! Got a DVD player hooked up in the basement so I can watch DVD's while I exercise! Darn, there goes another excuse for not exercising!!

It's snowed again here this morning. We are having a banner winter this year so far. We have 18 inches more snow than this time last year! I don't mind the snow so much as when it gets freezing cold..like tonight. It is supposed to be 2 degrees in the morning! Crap, should be a fun walk into work!

I scooped some snow for the kitties to lick but they were not very interested!


Well, time to watch some more episodes of Family Guy and wonder at how they get that show past the censors!

I leave you with a picture of Smudge and his favorite toy!

Random Stuff

It't been snowing all day. I think we got about 7 inches total. Although we are not officially "snowed in", the roads are not cleared very well and it's not worth trying to go anywhere. So here I am on Saturday night at about 8:45 and I am the only one awake in the house. Rich is napping on the couch and all six cats are sleeping! Yes, we have six cats...don't ask!!

Monday is my birthday and I will be 52 years old. I don't like it but I guess it beats the alternative! The kids are coming over tomorrow to celebrate and also to go over the documents for our upcoming cruise in two weeks.

I am making the peanut-butter pie that I made in this post last year. If you have never made this, I highly recommend it. But beware, it's sinfully delicious!

Blogger had been giving me trouble the last few times I have posted. If I don't publish my post every few minutes I lose the whole thing! Is anyone else having this problem? I am really upset because blogger is all I know and I am not computer savy enough to change or, God forbid, get my own domain name or whatever! I hope it's just them and they straighten things out soon!

Well, this post is about as boring as my evening is so I'll sign off. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

The Brenda Photo Challenge-Anything New

A new punch recipe I tried for Christmas. It was good..a little too cranberryie for my taste but everyone else loved it because it was all gone by the end of the night!


Birthday gifts because Rich and I both have January birthdays!


This pretty little salt shaker and pepper grinder was given to me by my husband for Christmas. So simple, yet one of my favorite gifts this year!


Last but not least my beautiful new kitchen!

This midweek challenge was hosted by Laura Belle of Laura's I Spy Weekly Photo's

Thanks, Laura Belle! This was a easy one once blogger stopped giving me grief about uploading pictures!

Diana 1950-2009

My sister-in-law Diana passed away Friday night.
She was probably one of the most giving people I will ever have the honor of knowing.
Her faith in the Lord and generosity of spirit knew no boundries.
Due to various health problems her quality of life was less than ideal these last few years but she always had a smile when she saw you.
She will be greatly missed.

Rest in peace, Dee.
Your finally home.

New Year's Resolutions

I normally don't bother making any New Year's Resolutions because, like most people, I tend to make them unrealistic and then don't keep them. However, I have been rather unhappy with myself for the past few months so maybe if I list some things I would like to change about myself here that will motivate me. So in 2009 I vow to do/be the following:

Take better care of myself: Like trying to eat healthy at every meal and exercising more often. I have type 2 diabetes and lately I have a tendency to just eat however I want to and exercising only 2 times a week. So far I am pretty healthy but I know that the future could be bad if I don't get control now. Plus I feel so much better physically and mentally when I eat well!

Be more frugal: Not that I waste money or buy (too much) stuff I don't need but I could be more careful with the money I spend and a little more practical, especially with the daily household expenses like paper towel, cleaning supplies, etc...

Keep my house cleaner. When you walk into my house, it looks pretty clean because there is no clutter and junk sitting around. But with 6 cats it accumulates a lot of hair and dirt and I need to keep up on that a little better. Plus the bathrooms probably should be cleaned a little more often than I do.

Consistently look nicer when I leave the house. On weekends I have a tendency to not bother wearing make-up during my daily chores and if we are not going anywhere. I don't mean I have to dress like I'm going to a wedding or something but I should put some make-up on and make sure my hair is done or my nails don't have chipped polish. Plus you never know when you are going to run into someone you know!

Ignore toxic people By toxic I mean people that make you think things or act in ways not necessarily nice. Especially a particular person who I work with who is so miserable and ungrateful all of the time it makes me want to scream. I really need to learn to tune her out!

Well, that's all I can think of for now. Even if I only make one or two little changes that would be a good thing!