THE 40S=UGHHHHHHHH

O.k I swear the day i hit 40 i started to age 20 times as quickly as i was before(really!!!!!)Soooooo we must fight back right! I got Loreal Revitalift.It has retinal in it which is supposed to work at fighting nasty wrinkles and its said to tighten the skin.I have used it about 6 days in a row so far and i cant say that i see a difference but its supposed to take 2 weeks to start noticing. I'll let ya know how it goes :. I pray it goes well cause it was fairly cheap at 16 bucks compared to 20 and up for other creams.It hasn't made my face break out which is amazing since I have sensitive skin.I'll keep ya posted ;

A HEAVENLY GIFT :]

My awesome cuz Heidi came by the other day and gave me this adorable sign for my home .I put it in my dining room where everyone I love gathers most often ."ANGELS GATHER HERE"I think maybe thats true .I feel fuzzy inside everytime I read it.Thanks Heidi ;]!!!!!!!

MAN HANDS :>

My husband is always worried that his hands look beat up from work (carpenter). I always tell him he's nuts and I mean it!To me there isnt much sexier then a working mans hands!!!Every cut ,bruise and splinter just shows me how much he loves his family .When you hold them they feel strong,solid,safe.Now thats sexy :} ,right girls! ps Boys should neverrrrrrrr get manicures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANNA

Here is Anna at her friends bowling party.She looks like shes ready to punch my lights out for takin a pic.I dont know where she gets this little toughie act from HMMMMMMM M M M' M OH YEAH,CLIFF! Lol;] Oh little James ,if you click to enlarge this pic you might be able to see the Batman stuff etc I got ya from the thrift store.I scrubbed them up and they are drying on the towel in the kitchen ;].

DEAR GOD!

Is this not hysterical or what!!!! I was like 16 ish I think in this pic(I'm in the middle;] )Its incredible how time flys and yet in what seems like a flash in time we grow soooooo much as people.Talk about not having a clue.I could have been a poster child for those words,lol.Hey dre;]thanks for the pic.I love having it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH WHAT MIRACULOUS FOOD!!!

You just cant beat Fridays potato skins,luv em.Bill went for my old fav,french onion soup.I think it goes without saying we had to pack up 1/2 of our actual dinners .We where rollin out of there and moanin the whole way back to the house (welllll the moanin actually started after we stuffed some italian ices into our bellies on the way home,lol,I had strawberry cheesecake ice which was insane(in a good way!!)Chilly Willys by me did a great job expanding there menu and the ices are wayyyyyyy better then they used to be.I'd say its my favorite ice place now.Oh why the dinner out and ices???Wellllllll lets just say sometimes ya gotta live and leave that nasty meatloaf for another night ; ].

NEW TOWELS-OHHH YEAH BABY

Is it strange to get real excited about new towels??????????I cant tell you what a thrill it was to throw a bunch of these fluffy colorful guys into my shopping cart :> .I got such a awesome deal at Target!!I am now ready to go to the beach and pools with no scruffy old towel shame looming over me !!!AHHHHH!!!

BATS

If your hangin out on my deck at dusk and you look up this is your view.We all try and spot the cool bats that start flying around at this time.They are pretty awesome.Unlike my allergies which have been wicked bad this year!!!! Locked myself in a animal free bedroom tonight with vicks vapor machine on and close to ODed on antihistamines,UGHHHHHH:/ .Its supposed to rain tonight so maybe tomorrow will be a better day for my poor nose :>.Have a great weekend all!!(p.s can ya see the black speck flying by in the sky ;] )

NEW PLANTS :}

Got a replica of last years Geranium.Love it! Got some pretty purple Pansys which I put on my deck privacy wall(2 of them,one on each side)

Same flowers hanging from deck window(put some Petunias in with this one) Heres a update on my fern.Its getting big :}

Here I took your advice Liz and planted Petunias in the little cherub :>(Hes all wet from watering : )

Creepy pic of the kids,lol

Hope ya all think I'm makin some progress on beautifying the yard ;]

UFC BJ PENN

Heres my crew at a book signing for BJ Penns new book.He is a awesome UFC fighter and according to my husband he is a real nice guy to.Keep kickin butt BJ :} Heres my bro in law Jim with BJs brother who I am told is also a nice guy(Tall to,lol) The kids loved meeting them .I think we'll start hitting more book signings now.Something cool we can ALL do together(although I confess I did not go to this one,eck :\ )

HEADS IN THE CLOUDS DREAMIN AGAIN

Hmmmmmm I wish....... for this mixer and blender.Everyones been gettin cool new kitchen aids latey .They come in such great colors . I decided to pick out my dream one and the color I want ;].I could make some awesome cheese cake with this baby and lovely smoothies etc with that blender.Heck even if it justs sat on the counter and did nothing I'd enjoy lookin at it ,its soooooooo pretty.Maybe for Christmas Cliffy Claus will bring me one,heehee .Hmmmmmm the red one matches my kitchen and is gorgeous to ,hmmmmmmmm.Tough one!

ps took the pic of the clouds at the beach tuesday.

KICKED OFF THE SHOES TODAY

Kicked off the flops today Anne and I let some sand get inbetween our toes at Robert Moses .Let me just say WOW, what a gorgeous day it was!

Took a good long walk on the board walk

All the way up to the light house and then hit the beach on the way back We couldnt resist stopping and taking in the gorgeous day.We decided to leave our mark for other beach combers to see.We made Shelly the mermaid,lol.What fun!!! Gotta say she came out pretty darn good but unfortunately the pics dont show her best side ;].Heres Anne fixing her eyes.

Anne and shelly :} And... TAA-DAAA, heresss SHELLY!!(hard to see but she has long flowing mermaid hair of course ;]

Me and Miss Shelly(or at least part of me which is how I like it,heehee) Now go kick off your shoes someplace and get creative!!(The beach,your garden,even your kitchen cooking,baking ,play ground etc etc,the point is to have fun and relax)Thanks Anne for always lighting a spark under me .Without you there would be no Shelly today!

BETTER HOMES ETC

Minnie just chillin in the sunMy sky :}

My view thru my neighbors yard My planter,hmmmmm what should I put in there this year???

My Azaleas ready to pop

Got my better homes today :>,LOVE IT !!!

HAVE A GREAT DAY ALL!!!

MIRRORS DONE !!!

Just a few differences here but important ones.A few fallin leaves(which I just realized I forgot to detail,ugh)and most important I added light,a glow to the painting.What ever streaks of light etc that you see is painted on,not a glare.Its supposed to be a harvest moon but if your like my brother Dave maybe you see a sunset.What ever makes ya happy is fine with me ,lol. How does it look on this wall ???Pretty matchy matchy right ;]

I HAD A DREAM

I had a dream last night that I was part of the breakfast club.Wow it was sooooooo real!!!I was kinda a cross between the kook and the princess,lol.What fun my dream was.There was a bit of drama but mostly just trying to look beautiful and have fun.Kinda feel like dying my hair red now and getting a great red lipstick.Have some fun today and I hope you all have a cool dream tonight ;]. Picture from site below.Thank you!!

http://www.myfreewallpapers.com/

I KNOW, I AM NUTSO!!!

What! A Christmas tree in April???Most of you are probably cringing from the sight buttttttt not me ;].I have a holiday sickness!!! Most of the year all I do is think about Halloween and Christmas and how to make them more special.This year I am focusing on a plan to cut spending and yetttt still do something OR get something special for everyone .Tall order I know.If you have any ideas that work in your family pleasssssse bring it on in the comment box.Thanks! In the meanwhile I'll keep ya posted if I come up with any great solutions.I want to really enjoy the holidays this year without all the money issues laying a shadow over everything ya know.I want it to be about creating memories that will last a life time with the ones I love .Realistically we allll love to receive and give presents so I dont want to take that away .I just want to revise it a bit to make things easier on everyone, hmmmmmmm???Sorry for the shivers,lol ITS EASY TO COMMENT SO DONT BE SHY!!!;]

MIRROR - ALMOST DONE (SORT OF:})

MIRROR (NOT DONE YET BUT GETTING THERE)

Going with a harvest moon,not the sun!Hopefully that will be more apparent when I'm done:}.

Untill next time,wish me luck!

MY YARD

Your probably like,o.k what am I looking at.Well here I am trying to impress you with my bargain buy of the weekend.4 little arborvites for 10 bucks at home depot:].Granted they are small and grow slowly but they are evergreens and I think they look adorable.I'll try and fill in abit with some blooms later in the season.(they are in front of the deck if you havent spotted them yet,tiny:]) Here is the 4th evergreen (on the left;]).This is my little side garden which will soon be jam packed with flowers and what not.My fern is kickin back in as we speak(in the flower pot,it will get huge!)to the right is a big metal fish that holds a candle in it.(side of the road find;])click to enlarge if ya want.

I like to add some romance to the garden with candles and iron work(helps to detract ones eye from the crappy grass situation I always have:)

Ohhhh my fav spot!.This strange 1/2 circle is where I am hoping the wild flowers I planted will grow(3-4 feet high).The bricks are to keep all the kitties from thinkin its a outdoor litter box,ugh.The middle entrance will get a arbor of some sort .That was my pal Annes idea .She also suggested I grow some morning glory on it,2 types so I have bloom in the morning and one later in the day.I want it to feel like a magical place when your chillin on the hammock:}.

Each corner of the 1/2 circle has a stepping stone.This one is my daughter Annabellas that she made last year.(makes me wanna cry,that weeee hand:[ )

Wish me luck!!(oh I started alot of my seeds in pots outside to and will transplant the strongs ones into the garden later,hopefully,lol)

TEENAGERS AND THEIR HAIR

For months my husband and I have been bugging our almost 14 year old son Billy to let us cut his hair.His answer was always the same.Everyone else has long hair to,I dont want it cut and he'd huff away.Well my husband Cliff took a new approach last night;].He offered my son Billy 40 bucks if he would let me shave his head on a #2.Welllll, Billy was like ,SURE...!!!! Money talks: !!!(Its not good to bribe our kids, I know but once in awhile never hurt anyone;]) FREAKY!

AWWWWWW there's my handsome guy!love those eyes kido.Gonna steal those lashes one day!