Finished!!!

The kitchen is finished and I am so pleased with how everything turned out!! I baked my first thing in the new oven,ran the dishwasher,am loving the trash compactor and the touch faucet is great!! Christmas came early for me!! Pictures later...

Progress

A quick update, the granite is in, tile is almost finished, appliances are in, waiting on the new faucet to get here(long story, on our third one now) and then maybe I can clean a little...

I just wanted to remove the wallpaper....

Really, that is all I wanted to do back in October. So I did. Took it all down and vowed as I was doing it that I would never, ever have wallpaper again...And then we painted...And I was happy...but then...

Ed decided we should go ahead and get the new appliances before Christmas and the girls all coming home. It was October, so I agreed. Plenty of time, right? And it would have been if you weren't dealing with Mr. I have to compare and get the best deal Man!!! I swear he enjoys shopping more than I do. I always get to the point where I just say, I don't care, just buy something!! We finally came to an agreement, the appliances were purchased and a road trip to TN was in my future. My friend Cindy was going, then had back issues and couldn't, so I talked my cousin into going with me. She couldn't leave until Monday of this week, so of course TN got nearly a foot of snow on Sunday. Seriously??

Oh, but I forgot one other element. In the middle of all the appliance shopping, we decided we also needed to put new granite countertops and tile backsplash in. Yes, we are insane.

So, Ed left this morning to get the appliances, the granite guy comes tomorrow and I am left thinking, I just wanted to remove the wallpaper....

I will leave you with the current state of my kitchen...Pray for me...All of my girls will be here a week from today to celebrate Christmas with us for the first time in 8 years and I need my house back to normal.

Lessons learned

It has been said you are never too old to learn. Ed and I found this out the hard way last night...

We decided we were tired of Thanksgiving food and wanted something different. So we loaded up and headed out in search of a yummy, healthy meal. But since we live in the hills of Arkansas, that wasn't possible. Instead we wheeled into Taco Bell. The line was really long, but hey, it's better than getting out and going in, right? So, we waited thru the line, ordered our food, waited some more and then began the first lesson...

Ed reached for his wallet...not there...he looked at me and of course I began to fuss at him for driving without his license and not having any money...and then lesson two started...

I reached for my purse, all the while still fussing at him, started digging around and...no billfold...oops...it seems I had been Christmas shopping from the comfort of my sofa and had failed to return my wallet to my purse...

So, it was our turn at the window and we have to tell this very young girl, she couldn't have been over 12, that we did not have any money. And that is exactly what Ed said to her. Not, we forgot our wallets, but that we didn't have any money! Talk about humiliation...We asked her to hold the food while we went home to get money, but she said we should just come back thru and reorder, because the food would probably be soggy by the time we returned. Ed suggested that she could just let us take the food and come back to pay for it...yeah right Ed, I bet she has never heard that one before. She declined his request.

So, we drove away, food less and hungry, came all the way back home, got the money and headed back. I couldn't decide if I wanted her to be there or not. If she was there, at least she would know we were honest, but really, I didn't want to have to face her again. A very nice young man was at the window when we returned, we paid, got our food and learned a couple of valuable lessons.

1. Always make sure you have your wallet and money before getting in a drive-thru line for food.

2. If there is a possibility you didn't do #1, DO NOT chastise your partner for not doing it. Remember, what goes around, comes around...

Class dismissed.

It's a....BOY!

Well, it's official, God has a sense of humor! After only raising daughters( and doing a pretty good job, if I do have to say so myself)I am now going to have 2 Grandsons! Number 2 will be here in April.




I have so much to learn...because I don't care what you say, boys and girls are different. I know girls, baby dolls, kitchen sets, ballet classes, pretty little hairbows, frilly dresses...I know girls!

Going to need some help with these little boys, but I can't wait to know them as well as I know their Mommies!! So excited for this wonderful adventure. I am sure there will be trucks, bugs and all sorts of new things in my future.

Bring it on, this Nonnie is ready!!

The turkey that almost wasn't...

This year I brought half my house and groceries to the Baby Girl's house in the big city. She had to work and couldn't come home for Thanksgiving, so of course we loaded up and came to her. Our Tahoe looked like some of the vehicles you might see in The Grapes of Wrath...As my husband likes to say, I bring everything but the kitchen sink and after trying to wash dishes in Baby Girl's sink, I may bring that next time..but back to the turkey that almost wasn't.

Cooking was going fairly well. My goal was a 2:00pm meal, which of course meant we would be eating between 3 and 4. The turkey was cooking in the roaster in the garage and was finally ready to come out. Kaci came out to help me get it on to the platter and that's when things went way south...as in the bird went south...not quite as far as it could have gone, but let's just say it went places you would not want your beautiful bird to go. After overcoming our shock, we scooped him up, tried to straighten him out (his little body was a little crooked)carried him back into the house and surveyed the damage. It was decided that we would slice him up and no one would be the wiser.

And they weren't.

Until now....

Pray for the Christmas turkey...

We may just have ham...

Sickly....

That is how I have been feeling lately. Pretty much since we came home from Texas.

It started with a headache on Thursday that turned into a migraine. No fun...It was still lingering on Friday and the rash on my face came back. I have found thru research that the headaches I have been having more frequently may be related to the Lupus. Haven't been having as many issues with the rash, thanks to the Plaquenil and staying out of the sun, but it seems to be making a comeback.

Now I am dealing with a cough and some heaviness in my chest. Since I know lung issues are one of the big things with Lupus, I don't want to let this turn into something that could have been avoided. So I will see my Dr. tomorrow and hopefully get meds to combat it.

In between the sick, we have been busy getting our house ready for Christmas. It is a huge mess right now, but I know it will all come together in time for every one's arrival. And if it doesn't, oh well, the most important thing is we will all be together. I can hardly wait!