Weekend in Review + Awards!

Do you have your Christmas shopping done yet? How about started? I am about half way through and now I'm looking at the calender and realizing I only have less than three weeks and only one paycheck to finish...can you hear me screaming?!

This weekend my dog decided that he just wasn't going to behave this weekend - at all. He pooped on my carpet, chewed up a pair of undies, ran away from us outside and has just been acting like a nut. I don't know what his problem was but he was driving me crazy.

I got to spend some one-on-one time with my MIL yesterday which was pretty cool. We went out shopping for some new window treatments for her house. I was able to convince her to do something a little different and it ended up looking great and she loved them - *huge sigh!* We also stopped in Target and picked up this pretty piece by Simply Shabby Chic for her bathroom. The detail in it is beautiful and matches the mirror that my husband framed for her.

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Awards! Freddae over at Coffee, God and Me gave me The Circle of Friends Award!

5 Things I like to do (in no particular order)

1. Entertain friends and family. I love to host dinners and game nights its always so much fun!
2. Cooking and baking, especially for the holidays!
3. Scrapbooking...when I can find the time
4. Home Improvement. I love to spend time with my husband working on our home. And that includes decorating, we love to go shopping and finding the perfect pieces for our home!
5. Blogging...lately its been when I find the time but I am trying to be better at it and MAKE time.

Okay now I am going to pass the award onto 5 awesome bloggers. All you have to do is publish it on your blog, referring to the friend who passed it on. Then, share five things that you like to do. Lastly, pass it along to 5 friends!

1. Hayley at Everything in Between
2. Darby at The Ramblings of Me
3. Bridget at Yellaphant
4. Brian at Running for my Life (Brian just started his blog and I hope he keeps it going! - go over and say hi!)
5. Amy at Apples & Cheese, Please (I just started following Amy's blog - its about food and its awesome!)

Okay bloggers congrats on your awards, make sure you pick it up and pass it on!

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Thanksgiving Vacation Days 3, 4 and 5

Okay, so I missed blogging about Thanksgiving Vacation Days 3, 4 and 5….but I was busy!

If you missed Day 1 and Day 2, here is a quick recap;

I caught a show in the city on Wednesday night;

(Automatic Fire @ the TLA on South Street, Phila)

Thursday (Turkey Day) was at my Moms house and it was wonderful. It was so relaxing with just my parents, brothers, my husband and I. There was no family drama or huge mess to clean up.

We decorated Mom's Christmas tree...one of them anyway

...ate a wonderful meal and spent time together as a family just relaxing. We went to bed rather early so that we could get up with the crazies (who am I kidding...we ARE the crazies!) to do some Black Friday shopping!

Friday started at 2:30 AM (better than last year…we started at midnight then) with a large cup of Wawa coffee and lots money to burn…well not so much the lots of money part. Anyway, we made our way through a few stores stopping for breakfast along the way. We made out pretty well and got done most of our Christmas shopping. Then around 10:00 AM we dropped the bags off at home, took a nap, woke up and had lunch (turkey day round # 2) and then went back out for MORE SHOPPING Y’ALL!!!! My best buy was an awesome set of bed sheets that were $89.99. I scored them for $14.99 + 15% off of that…you figure it out. I can’t tell you what I else I got cuz it’s for Christmas DUH!

Saturday I can’t even remember but I’m sure it was good.

Sunday was great because we did this…

(Thats our house all done up for Christmas!)

My Dad brought over a bucket truck to get the lights up top. That man is like a kid with a toy when it comes to using the bucket truck...any excuse he gets I tell ya!

That brings us to today…its back to work, with a sore back/neck and a cold thats turned into a sinus infection…I guess the fun had to end sometime.

How was your Thanksgiving vacation? Is your tree up yet?

Thanksgiving Vacation Day 2...Stuffed

Stuffed, that about sums it all up! The turkey is kickin in right about now and I'm about to hit the sheets (got to get some rest for Black Friday shopping starting at 4AM!) but before I go to bed I wanted to say what I am most thankful for on this day of thanksgiving;

I am thankful for my family who supports one another and picks each other up when one is down. My family is the best thing in my life and not a day goes by that I don't think about how lucky I am to have them. I am blessed.

What are you most thankful for today?

You can read about Thanksgiving Vacation Day 1 here

Thanksgiving Vacation Day 1...Pies & Police Reports

Today is day one of my FIVE day Thanksgiving vacation AKA Pie Day. Every year my Mom and I spend the day together in the kitchen baking pies and prepping for the big meal. This year we MAY have (and by MAY I mean most definitely) went a little overboard. Our list includes but is not limited to (the day isn't over yet!);

• 4 Pumpkin Pies
• 1 Cherry Pie with crumb topping
• 1 Peach Pie with crumb topping
• 1 Apple Cobbler (homemade biscuit topping)
• 2 Loaves Cranberry Bread
• 1 Loaf Pumpkin Bread
• Stuffing
• Green Bean Casserole

Did I mention all this is for only six people? And we haven't even gotten to the good part...

As Mom and I were baking this morning the phone rang and it was the police department from a local city asking about my brothers car. The police officer stated that it was found running on the side of the road at 4:30AM. It gave us a little scare but we were able to contact my brother who is away on business to find out that he was alright. Turns out that his car was stolen from his place of business last night and stripped to the frame. And by frame I mean this;







I guess old CRX's are in high demand.

Well that's all for now. I am leaving in a few to take my brothers into the city to experience South Street and see a rock show at the TLA.

See you all on Thanksgiving Vacation Day 2....

On this day, God wants you to know...

Feeling drained, exhausted and like hell I left work and began my drive home. I had to stop by my friends house to pick something up for a project I was working on. To be honest I had been procrastinating for over a week about this project but I forced myself to drive a little out of my way and stop by their house.

My friends (we will call them Bob and Jane) were mentors to my husband and I as part of a requirement by the church before getting married. Bob and Jane were so cool and down to earth about relationships, religion and just about everything that we decided we couldn't let these people out of our life.

I stepped into Bob and Jane's house and Bob greeted me with a hug. "You look very nice, I love your new bangs" he said.

"Oh yeah right, I look awful!" I said.

I got what I needed for my project and as I was walking out the door Bob handed me a little slip of paper. "I read this and wanted you to have it" he said.

I said "Thanks" and slipped the piece of paper into my pocket.

Later that night I found the paper that was given to me and I read it. "Man, why I am so good at putting myself" I thought to myself.

The paper read this;

On this day, God wants you to know...that when people tell you nice things, stop shrugging them off as if they are nothing. The sincere compliments you receive are your jewels, - collect them in your heart, - they highlight the beauty of your being and empower you during challenging times. Never say "oh, its nothing" or shrug your shoulders when you hear a sincere compliment. Pause, breath it in, and really feel its meaning.

Wow. I find myself constantly doing that. A compliment is just an opportunity for me to dig at myself. Someone can say how nice I look and all I can think about is how FAT I look. And the person giving the compliment is left thinking...okay, that's not what I said or meant!

So I learned my lesson and now my message to all of you is just what that paper said...take compliments you receive to heart, collect them and cherish them. Don't dig at yourself, realize your self worth and beauty. You are worth it - God created you in his image!!!

Break

I am taking a blogging break for a few weeks.

Warm Regards,

Heather

Good Deal - Great Cause

This past week I have been emailing all my friends, family and coworkers to tell them about Gavin's House and the Spaghetti Dinner that we are having to help with the costs of the home. At the November 13th dinner we will be raffling off gift baskets and fun items to help raise additional money for Gavin's new home.

The first person to step up and help was my friend Lucie;

Lucie graciously offered up a basket of Mary Kay products for the raffle. In addition to the basket Lucie will donate 20% of all new orders to Gavin's House...and...give you a 20% discount on your order. So that's 20% for Gavin's House and 20% for you! You can look fabulous with Mary Kay and feel great about donating to a great cause. Please visit Lucie's website here by November 13th to place your order and use the word Gavin's House in the comments box.

For more information on Gavin and The Owens Family click here
For more information on Gavin's House and the benefit dinner click here

Thank you Lucie for helping Gavin's House!

The Road to a Friend's House is Never Long

Isn't it great when you reunite with a friend that you haven't seen in years and it feels like a day never passed in between?


This is my goofball & me almost 10 years ago...


And 10 years later...

pretty toes and AC shows

This past week I...

• painted my nails and toenails
• lost 3 lbs
• got my hair styled and added some fresh new bangs
• did some work at Gavin's house
• relaxed and recharged myself for a busy end of month

This coming week I will...

• be going to Atlantic City to do a little gambling with some friends
• catching a concert (or 2?)
• celebrating my brothers 15th birthday (a week early)
• making last minute preparations for my Halloween party
• adding a workout regimen to my diet & weight loss plan

And on a totally unrelated note...how bout them Phillies!?!?!?!

National Boss Day

“I'm friends with everybody in this office. We're all best friends. I love everybody here. But sometimes your best friends start coming into work late and start having dentist appointments that aren't dentist appointments, and that is when it's nice to let them know that you could beat them up.” Michael Scott


I was transferred to a new team within my department a few months ago and I have to say that my new boss is pretty kick ass. I consider myself pretty lucky compared to other people in my department. Anyway today is National Boss Day - so Happy National Boss Day to my boss (whom I hope never finds this blog) and all the other boss's out there...maybe you could enjoy your day like Michael Scott...






" I enjoy having breakfast in bed. I like waking up to the smell of bacon, sue me. And since I don't have a butler, I have to do it myself. So, most nights before I go to bed, I will lay six strips of bacon out on my George Foreman grill. Then I go to sleep. When I wake up, I plug in the grill. I go back to sleep again. Then I wake up to the smell of crackling bacon. It is delicious, it's good for me, it's the perfect way to start the day. "



"Today I got up, I stepped on to the grill and it clamped on to my foot. That's it. I don't see what's so hard to believe about that." Michael Scott