The Royal Wedding, Princess Beatrice and the Ugly Hat

I got up at the buttcrack of dawn today to watch the Royal Wedding and I am not ashamed to admit I LOVED EVERY SINGLE MINUTE OF IT!!!!!

And I will say that I am SUPER annoyed with the grumbling of those who were not interested in the wedding.  For Pete's sake, with all the horrible tragedies that have happened lately, there was actually something joyful and HAPPY to watch that was happening in the world today, can ya NOT poop on my parade, PLEASE??  After today all the hoopla will be over and we can get back to all the depressing news in the world!  SHEESH!

I thought Princess Catherine looked stunning - I LOVED her dress!!  I can't even imagine the primping and preparing she must have gone through - manicure, pedicure, facial, blackhead removal, the works!  I thought the Queen looked lovely too in her very cheerful yellow outfit.  Everyone was smiling and just looked so happy, I'm glad I got up and watched it.  A very beautiful and happy event.

The only person, in my opinion, who did not look fabulous, was Princess Beatrice.  She's Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's daughter.  I can't believe what a stupid, ugly hat she wore.  It's so bad I can only wonder if she wore something this ridiculous and attention getting in response to the fact that her mother was not invited.

And her makeup - was she going for the "undead" look made so popular by Twilight, or what???

Look - she couldn't even sit up straight in the car because of her ridiculous, dumb hat:

Did you watch the wedding?  What did you think?
And don't even tell me you like Princess Beatrice's ugly hat!  LOL...

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P.S.  You're not going to believe this - there's a FACEBOOK PAGE for the hat!  --->  Princess Beatrice's Ridiculous Royal Wedding Hat Facebook Page

A Few More Pics From our Weekend at Our Adirondack Cabin

Well, several people have asked for more pictures from our weekend, however, I feel like I don't have anything too great to show you, LOL.  For example, there's our "living room" pictured above - we have a couch to bring up, but haven't done so yet, so we brought up our lawn chairs to at least have a place to sit and relax.

Here we have our daughter's bedroom set up - notice the swanky cardboard box nightstand and the blanket we won at the county fair like 15 years ago as a "rug":

 

Here's our "master suite", LOL!  (We're hoping to "scaff" some actual bedroom furniture at some point.)

Here at least is a more picturesque picture - this is "our" lake - still mostly frozen over!

Next time we go up maybe the weather will be nicer, and of course we'll bring more "stuff", so I'll take more pictures to share.  The husband threw down some grass seed to try to get something growing in our yard before the rain washes all of our yard away, ha ha, so I'm curious to see if any of that took...

I was actually going to post about something different today, but the husband has the camera so I couldn't get the pics.  We had quite the household "adventure" on Saturday.  By day the husband is a computer programmer, but on Saturday he played the role of "HVAC / Plumbing Technician" and I was his "assistant".  Don't worry - the story thankfully has a happy ending, but I'll tell ya, there's never a dull moment around here.  Sometimes I wish there were!!!  LOL...

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We Had My Truck Packed So Tight...

...this last trip to our cabin, that there was barely room for Texdog.  However, he seemed to find a way to make himself perfectly comfortable.  :-)

When we left for our trip, my truck was packed to the gills.  THEN we stopped at Hannaford (groceries) and Lowe's (grass seed) on the way up.  We had no room for any more stuff, but somehow the husband found spots for these additional things, mostly in around himself and his seat!  *He* ended up being packed in so tight himself, that when we stopped for a bite to eat at Panera, we had to get it to go, because it would have been to much effort to get him out, then packed back in, LOL!

The weather was cold and rainy all weekend.  But we didn't care 'cause THE CABIN IS FINALLY FINISHED AND WE ACTUALLY GET TO USE IT, WOO HOO!  :-)  We were able to bring enough stuff with us to make the place fairly habitable.  In fact, we made pancakes and bacon for breakfast Saturday morning as our inaugural meal.  Our realtor (Rachel Zuckerman, who was fantastic, link in right sidebar) had given us a bottle of local maple syrup when we originally closed on the property, and we saved it to have with our very first breakfast in our place.  It was delicious, but made all the more sweeter as we enjoyed our cabin.

More about our weekend to come...

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Our First Weekend at the Cabin and We Almost Couldn't Get in the Door!

On the bright side, I guess our roof sheds the snow really well!  :-D  It's hard to tell from this photo - I should have taken a side view - but there's sort of a "gully" between the road where I stood to take the pic, and our front door.  The snow pile is bigger than it looks in this pic.  That may not be all from our roof - I think snow may be apt to drifting there too.  In any event, our daughter climbed up the snow and unlocked the front door, then went around to the side of the porch and let me and the husband in.  We also brought Mr. Texdog as well this time, and he was pretty much scared to death of our new place.  We left him in there for a minute while we went back and forth to the truck to bring in the 3,000 things we brought, and oh he cried and whined like we left him in a death chamber or something!  So sorry Mr. Texdog that we brought you to this horrible place, our beautiful, brand new vacation cabin, LOL!!  By the end of the weekend he seemed to be calming down, but we were joking that when he got home and the cats asked him where he was all weekend, he probably told them that we took him to this scary, horrible place and they should be glad they stayed home, ha ha....

More about our weekend to come...

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If Twitter Had Been Around During Jesus' Time...

Have you seen this?  It's the Easter story told as if Twitter were around at the time.  I've heard and seen the Easter story told and dramatized many ways over the years, but this is a new one for me.  The video is only about 5 1/2 minutes long, I thought it was pretty cool - check it out: "Follow".

Enjoy!  :-)

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Two Thousand Dollars Later...

Our new "lifetime guarantee" Peerless Indirect Water Heater

Handsome, isn't it?

Sorry I've been MIA.  We had some very dear friends come and visit us for the weekend (they are actually my best friend's parents).  Not only are they really fun to visit with, and the easiest guests ever, BUT, "Mr. F." is like an engineering genius.  I would challenge anyone to find something this man cannot fix.  Every time they visit, he tells my husband to come up with a list of projects we need done/fixed around the house, and he'll bring his tools and expertise and get them done.  Is this amazing, or what?? 

I'm not going to go into the gory details, but, we had noticed our water heater was leaking.  Upon further investigation, it was determined the thing had nearly rusted through in a few places and we were a hair's breadth away from a major leak of spurting hot water all over our basement.  Turns out the crappy plumbers who did the plumbing in our house put in a cheap a$$ water heater - we haven't even lived here 10 years yet, and the thing was already in need of replacement, nice eh?  Anyway, between the water heater itself and all the copper pipes and other supplies, it ended up costing about $2,000.  On the one hand, we sure didn't need to be spending $2,000 all of a sudden, but on the other hand, if that water heater had sprung a major leak, it would have cost us WAY WAY MORE than $2,000 if we'd had to hire someone to come and replace it.  They had to cut pipes and solder and all that.  Took hours.  So I THANK THE LORD the thing hung on 'till the husband and Mr. F. could replace it.  And we thanked Mr. F. profusely 'cause he sure saved us a ton of money, and just does it 'cause he's a super nice guy, and he enjoys doing stuff like this.  I'm telling you, we have some really wonderful friends who are truly a treasure!

And just as a side note, one project that did not get done was replacing the O2 sensor on my truck.  But it sure wasn't for lack of trying.  Apparently that thing is stuck in there like nobody's business.   Even my big brother-in-law came over after going out to dinner with his family, to try to help with it.  He is another person who has helped us out like, a million times, just out of the goodness of his heart.  We owe him like, a million favors.  He is another treasure, truly we are blessed!!!

And I don't want to leave out my best friend's Mom, Mrs. F - she is a loving, fun, giver-of-great-advice, super thoughtful person and I just absolutely love her company, as does our daughter.  She introduced us last year to fondue dinner (which we did again this year, so awesome!) and this year, she got me hooked on the show "Monk" - what a great show!  I so look forward to enjoying her company and the talks we have.  My best friend is really terrific to let us "borrow" her parents once a year.  :-D

Anyway, we're back to our regularly scheduled lives. $2,000 poorer.  LOL!

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More Thoughts Too Short For a Whole Blog Post

Angel Kitty on the window seat

I have just discovered that today is "National No Housework Day" - say what??  I'll have to send a memo to the dishwasher full of clean dishes and the dog hair tumbleweeds.

On the one hand, I like how these days the "dress code" in general has eased up.  I like how nurses uniforms these days can be tops with fun and cheerful prints with colorful pants.  Generally, I like how business people usually wear khakis and button downs instead of suits (less intimidating and more comfortable).  I REALLY like it that I don't have to put on a skirt and pantyhose to go to church.  As a kid, that was something I really, truly hated about going to church - having to dress up, in what was to me, uncomfortable clothes.  On the other hand, now we have people who go out in their pajamas and slippers to the store or the bank?  It's your pajamas, people!  LOL....  Whatever floats your boat, I guess.  It does look comfy...  :-P  (I presume if you go out in your pjs, you haven't showered...  Do you brush your teeth & comb your hair before going out in pajamas?  What exactly is the protocol on this?  :-P )

I just experimented and I can make a "Two Bite Brownie" last for five bites.  Yeah!

There's this rabbit outside, scampering all over our backyard, and the movement keeps catching my eye.  I think he must be one of the Easter Bunny's minions, casing the joint.

I think this idiom is very true: "You can catch more bees with honey than with vinegar."  I mean, think about it.  How often does pissing someone off benefit you?  Does it make your friendships better?  Get you promoted at work?  Help you succeed in business?  Strengthen family bonds?  (I will admit, on rare occasions getting mad can be effective in getting what you want, but it won't endear you to anyone.  And there *is* a time for "holy anger", but again - those times are a lot rarer than most people think, I think!)  I myself was reminded recently that rarely does it come to any good, to say or do things that cause strife.  "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."  Proverbs 16:24  *Forehead slap*  I wish I would remember that.  In the bible it says, "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." Proverbs 3:3  On the tablet of my heart?  I think I need them written on a sign that hangs directly in front of MAH FACE.  :-P

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Do You Wave To Your Kid on the Bus in a Zombie Costume??

Well this Dad does!

In fact, he's on day 140 of wearing different costumes to wave at his teenage son's bus as it drives by in the morning.  Luckily, his son is a good sport and thinks it's pretty funny, as do his friends on the bus.  Best yet, each day the costume is documented on the blog, Wave At The Bus - check it out (although you might want to avert your eyes when you get to the Tinkerbell one, and I haven't looked at every single photo - I pray there are none in french maid costumes!).  On the right hand side there's a short video that you can watch that was on the local news explaining a little more about the story, how the Dad came to lose his leg, and what the son thinks of it all.

What is not explained (as far I as can tell, but if someone knows or I missed it, pipe up), is where does this guy get all these costumes from?  Do they own a costume shop?  Do they just have enough money to buy all these different costumes?  I don't know, but it's a fun blog to visit to bring a smile to my face.

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A Missing Blog...Found!

Were you a follower of the blog "Small Pines"?  The blog about the guy who left NYC, bought a piece of land in the Adirondacks and plunked an RV on it to live in?  Gave up his life in the City That Never Sleeps - the land of suits, conference calling, bright lights and every modern amenity you can think of, to live "in the pines"...

Then early this year, he moved into town, into a charming little home....then he stopped posting...then one day, the blog was GONE?

Well, Small Pines has re-appeared, and it has been reborn as:

Holz Bourdon

If you were an old friend, go visit, and find out what the new name is all about.  If you weren't, go visit and make a new friend!  :-)

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Gray, Gray Go Away...

My backyard this morning.  Taken BEFORE it started raining.  Gah!

Do you know it is so gray and gloomy today my FLASH went off when I took that picture this morning OUTSIDE?  Good grief.

I am ready for sunny and green.

Here is one gray thing, however, that I would never want to go away... :-)

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A Couple of Cool Giveaways...

Ok, don't laugh at me, but I kinda hate blogging and tweeting about contests I'm trying to win, because now there are going to be MORE people competing against me to try to win the prizes I'm going for...  It's like, which is better for my chances to win?  To blog and tweet about it to get the extra entries, or should I forfeit those entries to reduce the number of other competitors??  LOL....

Well, there are currently two giveaways I'm trying to win, and since they are both from great blogs, even at the risk of losing out to one of you people, I'm going to tell you about them.

The first giveaway is from Jay's Musik blog.  He's got THREE Mary Mary CDs to give away.  (He also has some other giveaways going on as well, so be sure to check through his recent posts in case you want to enter any of the other ones.)  Check out Jay's giveaway here:  Mary Mary's Something Big CD Giveaway

Also, check out the links in his left sidebar - there you can see tons of reviews and news about other Christian artists.

The second giveaway I'm trying to win is at the blog, A Glimpse of Beautiful, and Renee is giving away the new Rebecca St. James CD, I Will Praise You.  She reviewed the CD here:  I Will Praise You Review  You can check out that giveaway here:  Rebecca St. James I Will Praise You Giveaway

Renee's blog also has book reviews and frequent giveaways as well - be sure to check out her other posts while you're there.  Plus, isn't her blog header beautiful??  :-)  (Now you have to go look, ha ha...)

You will see about 3,000 comments from me under each of their giveaway posts because not only are these CDs I'd really like to win, BUT, these are also bloggers I trust, that I know will run honest contests and can be relied upon to promptly send the prizes to the winners.  I rarely enter "giveaways" because of a couple of "bad" experiences I've had.

Good luck!  (But not really!)  :-D

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"Mom Hearts the Hawk"

Hawk Nelson Performing at the Revolve Tour.  We had great seats on the floor!

So I spent Friday and Saturday at the Revolve Tour in Hartford, CT with my daughter and a group from church.  "Revolve" is a conference for tweens/teens put on by the same folks who put on the Women of Faith conference.  There are speakers (Jenna Lucado Bishop, Chad Eastham) and a drama team, and concerts (Hawk Nelson, Group 1 Crew, Britt Nicole, Jamie-Grace and their own praise and worship band).  It was our first time going, although I've been to Women of Faith a couple of times. Both conferences are fairly similar in format, although of course the topics covered at Revolve are relevant to young girls (self image, friendship, dating, learning to trust in God, etc.).  You can find out more here if you're interested - I thought it was great and so did my daughter:  Revolve Tour.  (It's held in large arenas, it's not a revival under tents or metal buildings or anything like that, LOL.  In Hartford, it was at the XL Center.)  Tickets run $70-80 (plus hotel if you have to stay overnight), and you could not ever complain after going to this, that you didn't get your money's worth.

Anyhoo...I had heard the music of the group Hawk Nelson before but I had never seen them. I made the mistake of saying when the lead singer came out (Jason Dunn), "Oh, he's kinda cute."  What was I even thinking?  Anyway, they sold a t-shirt that said, "I Heart The Hawk" and so the rest of the conference my daughter thought it was hilarious to keep saying to me, "Mom Hearts The Hawk"...

Have you been to Revolve or Women of Faith?  Or any other big Christian conferences, or festivals?  I've looked into the big Kingdom Bound festival in Darien Lake, NY but woo, expensive!

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So My Husband's Car Was Sideswiped on Friday...

...on the way to work, but, thankfully it was very minor.  It was a case of the other driver not checking their "blind spot" and they went to change lanes right into my husband.  Fortunately, the other driver was honest and responsible and pulled right over, and when the cops came, they totally took responsibility.  So, it was upsetting, but certainly could have been much worse.

Husband had to go and get a couple of estimates, and of course even though the damage is minor, the estimates were both about $2,000.  Ya ever notice that?  Any time there's ever a little dent here or there, or scratch, or fender bender, it's always like, $2,000.  Kinda like Chinese food is always ready in "ten minute".  Anyway, the other person's insurance will be paying for it, which is good since our supply of gold bars is running low, hardy har har...

Speaking of my husband and accidents... He used to have the nickname "Crash".  The running joke was the guy never had a car long enough to ever need to sell it - his cars always ended up totaled.  He actually *has* only ever sold one car... (Honda CRX - what a fun little car that was!)  But in his defense, only the very first accident where his car was totaled, was his fault.  All the rest were the other driver.  He's also hit deer three times.  The running joke was that instead of hunting deer with a gun, Husband uses his car. 

Other than a couple of really minor incidents, I've never been in a major accident.  The worst thing that ever happened to me while driving was that I spun my car around on the highway trying to drive home in a terrible snowstorm when we lived in Binghamton.  Miraculously, my car did not hit a thing, and two very nice gentlemen (one of them worked at the same company I did and was trying to make his way home just like me) pushed my car back on the road and I was able to continue on, and I did eventually make it safely to our apartment.  Or maybe those two guys were angels.  Another items for my list of questions when I get to heaven.  :-)

Have you been in any, or many car accidents? 

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