30 Days of Thanksgiving/ Day 16

Today I am Grateful:

For Dinner out with family and finally having some decent Sushi!!

Day 15/ 30 Days of Thanksgiving

Today I am Grateful:

This has been such a great year for our family. It's been a full year...Full of many changes...mostly good. We've been "Empty Nesters" for a few months now..and it's been kind of nice. We've really been enjoying each other's company. The kids are all doing well in their lives. Our move to Wisconsin has been really nice as well . It's great to be around the extended family, and I'm enjoying my new home.

30 Days of Thanksgiving/ Day 14

I am Thankful:

That we now have a vehicle that should be able to make it thru snow and ice!!!

Day 13/ 30 Day of Thanksgiving

Today I am Thankful:

For Birthdays, Nieces and their babies, and Nephews.

Three of my Nieces and one of my Nephews. The Niece in the center has a Birthday tomorrow and my Nephew has a Birthday later this month. Today was actually the Birthday of my Nephew Tony. He was the sibling of the two on the right. He passed away 4 years ago in a car accident during Spring Break. He was with 4 other friends and they got caught in a freak snow storm that came out of nowwhere. Two of the other passengers also died that day, his girlfriend and another friend of hers.

The Babies all belong to the Nieces up above....One for each..LOL

Online Shopping

We just ordered this baby for the New House! I have wanted a Farmhouse Sink for ages, but Commander was fighting me on this as they usually seem soooo expensive....but.....we found this one over at vintagetub.com...WooHoo!! I guess we'll soon see if it is worth it....

And.....we met with the Cabinet Maker today. He brought samples of the cabinet doors for the Kitchen. LOVE them!! The kitchen is mainly going to be White(more like Ivory) with an antique glazed finish. And then we'll have an island in a distressed Black. So far, we are thinking Granite counter tops. I pretty much know what I want, but we haven't actually picked it out yet.

30 Days of Thanksgiving/Day 12

Today I am Grateful:

For the life I have with the Commander. I don't always realize how truly blessed I am. I have an awesome husband that is able to provide for me and really does his best to make me happy. I don't always appreciate how hard he's worked, or how much he's sacrificed for me and our children. He is truly one of the "Good' guys!

Cougar Town

OMG! I just watched the last 5 episodes of this show on Hulu.com ....I LOVE it!!

30 Days of Thanksgiving

I am Grateful:

For Commander and his Brother, who are presently upstairs working on our new master bath, and the flooring in our bedrooms. Thanks!!!!

Days 9 and 10/ 30 Days of Thanksgiving...

Yeah I I know...I missed a day.....looking at my blog it appears I missed Thursday but I really missed Friday....I must have blogged Thursday's Post after Midnight, so it showed up as Friday. Yesterday I missed because I had planned to blog about it in the evening after I got back from bringing dinner to my "builders". (i.e. Commander and his little brother)But.....we decided to head into Appleton after instead to pick up some tiles(for the current house that we are STILL remodeling..LOL) and check on his computer that has been with the Geek Squad for a good two weeks now...argg. We didn't get home until late and I was exhausted and went right to bed, so I never got my post up. Anyway....on to the 'gratitude"..LOL ..I'll list two things to make up for yesterday. Today I am Thankful:

The roof is nearly finished on the New House...

and that CDR plans to work on the Old House tomorrow....

As I menitoned above...we are STILL in the middle of remodeling THIS house, so I'm living in a half finished wreck of a house right now...and most of CDR's time is going to the New House....so this one isn't getting better anytime soon!

30 Days/ Day 8

Today I am grateful: for Ambie....who likes to snuggle up with me each night on the couch and helps keep me warm...LOL

30 Days of Thanksgiving-Day 7

Today I am Grateful:

Following in yesterdays theme for Veterans Day. Again, I am thankful for all the Veterans who have served in our Military, including the many family and friends we have.

My Brother Ed,again....and My father who also served in the Air Force for 20 years.(do not have a photo of him in Uniform)

The Recruit in the Air Force as well.


Co-ed's boyfriend joined the Navy 3 years ago.He's a Pilot.

Nephew(In-Law) again...Serving in the Army. (in center)
CDR with Mr. Marx , an old family friend who served in the Navy in WWII.He was a Submariner like CDR.


And of course the Commander... a Naval Submarine Officer.
Served nearly 30 years in the Military. Three in the Air Force, the rest in the Navy.

Day 6/ 30 Days of Thanksgiving

Today I am Thankful:

Today as I watched the Fort Hood Memorial Service, I realized how Grateful I am for those who serve our country and keep us safe. At the moment I have two family members serving over in Afghanistan. I would so appreciate any prayers you can offer up for their safe return home.

My brother Ed is in the Air Force and will be in Afghanistan for the couple more months.
Ed with our mom at CDRs Retirement Ceremony

And my Nephew(in law) Tom has just deployed to Afghanistan . He will be there for at least a year.
Tom during training excercises
Please keep them both in your thoughts...

Day 5 / 30 Days of Thanksgiving

Today I am Thankful:

That I'm part of such an awesome company! I accidently had my recent order delivered to my old home and apparently no one seems to be able to help me get it back! But......mark. did send me a new package to replace it, FREE of charge! How cool is that!

Star Wars in Concert!!

photo courtesy of The Official Star Wars Blog


Check it out!!! Drama Teen will be performing with her JMU Chorale Group in the Norfolk showing of Star Wars in Concert tonight!! To say she is EXCITED is an understatement!! Can you tell I'M excited!?? They will also be performing in the Baltimore show on the 18th.

30 Days Thanksgiving....Day Four

Today I am Grateful for:

Finally breaking the 195 mark in my weightloss! I know this might sound silly to some...or even shallow...but it's been YEARS since I've made it below 196. I haven't really been 'trying' all that hard to lose weight these days... just trying to cut back on servings, eat more 'healthy' foods, drink more water and move around a little more. Just baby steps, which is why I'm excited to have broken a barrier that I haven't seen for years.

3rd Day of Thanksgiving

Today I Give Thanks :

For wonderful family members who come to help build my new house!!

Later we have lunch together at the Neighborhood Club House

House

Gratitude Day Two

Today I Am Grateful:

That my kids all seem to be doing really well.

Genious Boy has been in negotiations for a National Security Job. He has had phone interviews, been thru the Security Check and last week had his In Person Interview. He wont know for another month or so if he's hired but so far it sounds VERY promising. He called after this last interview VERY excited( if you knew him you'd know 'excited' is not something he gets very often). We don't get many calls from him and talking to him is usually like pulling teeth, so it was really great to have him call, happy and excited about this job prospect. He stayed on the phone with me for a good 45 minutes and then another 30 or so with his dad......( THAT is a BIG deal)

The Recruit is doing well. He is training in Pensacola at the moment and gets done in January at which time he'll be transfering to Texas. He's b een spending some time with his sister The Co-ed, who's also in Pensacola now. We are probably heading down there ourselves for Christmas and he is excited about that and then excited about coming up here to visit in January before he heads out to Texas.

C0-ed is presently in Pensacola with the Pilot( boyfriend) . They are being trasnfered to Oklahoma in January though, and seem very happy about it. They just bought their first house ( in Oklahoma). I've seen pictures and it looks really nice. She's also been looking into what she needs to do to be able to teach there, and it looks like she can take care of most of the certification process online now, and be ready to teach soon after moving there.

Drama Teen is in her second year at JMU. Things are MUCH better this year. She made it into two of the Audition Choirs. And one of the Choirs has been invited to sing with StarWars in Concert. As you can imagine, she is VERY VERY VERY excited....They'll be singing with them in their Norfolk and Baltimore shows.

I'm also grateful that it looks like I may just have most of my "Christmas Letter" written right here...LOL

26 Days of Thanksgiving?

Ok so I came across this project started by Ann over at Keeping Up with the Tatums after reading BJ's Sweet Nothings blog. I'm a little late though so instead of 30 days..it will have to be 26 days...LOL. Hopefully I can keep up with this everyday for the rest of the month!

Today I'm Grateful for:

Beautfiul Weather and the Sun Shining....after weeks of overcast rainy drizzly gloomy weather, today's SUN is a Cheerful Welcome sight.

FREE Lip Gloss!

Progress!!

I came home from my trip to Virginia to something that is starting to look like a REAL house!! It's really starting to come together! I loved the look of the trusses...they look so sculptural....so much like art!

At our "Front Door" again.....

I had such a GREAT time in Virginia...I really need to do a post.I"ll try to get one up soon!!

Happy Halloween!!

Today's Look

It's been ages since I posted my outfits....really need to get back into it. I dress so much better when I'm participating in a Fashion Blog and/or Wardrobe-Remix.

So here's today's Outfit...Earlier in the day I had to make a Menards(think Home Depot, Lowes...etc.)run to pick up some 1/2 in. Sheeting Clips( We are building a house)...so I wore comfy boots and a heavier gray cardi over the rest of the outfit.

This evening we are heading into Appleton to greet a bunch of WWII Veterans coming home from a trip to DC. One of the Veterans is an old neighbor of the Commander's. He and his wife often took care of him and his siblings when they were younger. His son wanted to get a big group together for the "Homecoming' , so we agreed to come. We'll be greeting them at the Airport. It's also special because Commander was a Submarine Officer in the Navy just like his neighbor that we are greeting.

Grey Dress-Daisy Fuentes-Kohls

Mustard Cardi-Target

Grey Cardi(first pic)-Thrifted

Grey Tights-Apt9-Kohls

Mustard MaryJanes-Target

Brown Suede boots(from first picture)-Thrifted

TurquoiseRose Necklace(no longer available)-mark.

Scripture Bracelets-National Shrine DC

Rose Cuff(no longer available)-mark.

Need to Pack

So, tomorrow I leave for Virginia and I really need to pack. But what am I doing instead? Putzing around on Facebook and such......LOL. I'm addicted, I tell ya. Anyways I'm heading to VA for my Best Friend's Daughter's Wedding. Yay! And to top it off some really good friends from my VA Church are having a Marriage Ceremony at Mass this Sunday morning, so I'll get to be there for that TOO! They've been married for 18 years but not in the Church.. so now they are having a Catholic Wedding Ceremony. I'm so excited! Two weddings in one weekend. It's going to be great! I should get to town in time for the Monthly Birthday Dinner with my old neighborhood friends on Thursday , and for lunch with my old church friends on Friday! And......I get to see the Drama Teen and Genious Boy!....she also has a wedding she's attending in Chesapeake this coming weekend...so I'll get to spend some time with her and Genious Boy(he is still living in Chesapeake) in Chesapeake over the weekend, and then I'll head up to Harrisonburg on Monday to spend more time with her.Can you tell I'm excited?...ok....so... I REALLY need to pack! As an added bonus I get to get out of this freezing weather and hopefully enjoy some WARMTH!

My Morning Cuppa

Found this really cute Halloween Cat mug at the local Goodwill. Halloween is my all time favorite Holiday. I just love everything about it...the colors ( who wouldn't love ORANGE!! and this year I'm really rocking PURPLE--which CAN be dangerous here in Packer Country-I've never lived somewhere where I had to be careful what colors I was wearing on certain(ie. football) days of the week....) The weather(ok I could have done without "snow" in October....YES it actually snowed the other day!)but I love the crisp autumn weather . And Halloween is such a fun and easy Holiday...no major 'expectations' or potential for 'disappointment"...and Candy Candy Candy...LOL

Things are Moving Along Nicely..

...on the Seven Lakes House. Floor joists have gone in and floor boards have been installed. The main floor framing has begun and is nearly finished. I'm amazed at how quickly CDR's Little Bro is getting things done. Yesterday I went over and got to help put up a few walls! Yes little ole me! Got to help build her house...granted I didn't do much...just helped lift the walls into place. But still , I'm glad I can honestly say I helped build my own house!!

CDR and Me

Posing at the "Front Door"..LOL

Funny!

Another Bit of mark. News

Win one of 100 Only Need Me Tees from the Britt Bardo for mark collection
Check out shop.meetmark.com/instyle for a chance to win from September 21st until October 31st.

mark. News

mark. also has a Promo going on until October 1st. Just enter the MAKEITBIG coupon at Checkout and you'll get a FREE Make It Big Mascara with your $10 order.

Today's Bounty

Our garden at the Two Rivers House is still going pretty strong. We have more green beans than I know what to do with...I keep giving them away...and now the tomatoes are finally coming in ...and coming in STRONG! Need to find a good recipe for Tomato Sauce and maybe Salsa too!