Packrat Confession

Isn't the first step to solving a problem admitting that it exists? Yes, it's true -- I'm afraid I'm a bit of a packrat and I'm a teensy bit embarrassed!

Once again we have a painting project going on in December! Why do we do this? It puts me way behind on decorating, shopping, partying (who me, party??).

This year's project is not a big one (like last year's) and I really did try to get it accomplished in September, October or November, but the painters had other more lucrative jobs. The project -- repainting the kitchen cabinets. So, why you ask, am I embarrassed?

Well, the painters took the cabinet doors off and opened the drawers to sand and paint. What I didn't quite realize was that all of my cupboards were so incredibly messy! Who knew that all 11 or 12 of the drawers in my kitchen were junk drawers? Yeah, some weren't closing very well, but I just didn't use those, stashing more papers and junk in the ones that would open! Clever, eh!!

Last night when I got home and saw the mini-disaster and all that "stuff" about to fall out of my cabinets, I immediately began to throw out stuff. Yay for me! Guess what the oldest "use by" date was? Give up? 2002!!!! Stuff that has a "use by" date of 2002 is still ok, right?

Oh yes, the majority of "use by" dates were 2008 and 2009, but also saw some 2007 and a few 2005. Canned goods evidently tend to move to the back and be forgotten.

Hey, I found something even older than 2002 -- a little box of "To Go Tea" from China. This amazing tea is often given to adoptive parents in China for the kiddos who are having a bit of issue with pottying due to all the trauma and stress going on. Anyway, the box looks to be dated 2000 which is a bid odd as we didn't even meet Miss Maddy until 2003. Not to worry, even if it was already outdated, it did its job. Such a cute little box, I had to keep it!

A New Pet . . . Please Welcome

Froggie!!

I could tell that Maddy and Mr. Tennis were up to something recently, but I wasn't sure what they were plotting. When I got home one night last week, I thought Janie (the fish) and her little fish bowl looked different somehow. Upon closer review, I could tell there was a new guy in the house.

Froggie, the dwarf clawed frog, moved in with Miss Janie. He is a tiny little guy, but jumps all over the place and has really pepped Janie up. Janie used to barely swim and many times, I worried she was ready for her final journey down the potty. Now that Froggie is in there with her, she's busy keeping an eye on him and moving a lot more. Note to self: Stay Alert -- Mr. Tennis and Maddy are not to be trusted when it comes to pets!

Oh So Thankful!

Can't possibly let this special Thanksgiving holiday pass without doing a little early Thanksgiving edition - Thankful Thursday. And so, I am very thankful this year for:

• My dear sweet Mother who is battling cancer and does so with grace and beauty and no complaints.


• My sainted Dad who doesn't mind that I call him "Al" and he sits waiting by the phone (so he says) for my daily calls.


• My own little family - Mr. Tennis, Philip & Catherine, Connor and Miss Maddy -- they make my life complete.


• My friends in real life, at work, my neighborhood and my bloggy friends -- so happy and blessed to have all of you.


• My twin sister who is hosting Turkey day for us and her many relatives.


• My favorite Thanksgiving dish, not turkey, not stuffing, not pie -- though I do love all of those, but Fudge, that I am making -- yum!


• My job -- thankful to have one and so many friends at work who make it a pleasure to come to work every day!


• My faith -- I know there is power in prayer and feel it, especially this year.


• Decent weather -- I know this is vain, but the cooler, less humid weather is so much kinder to me and my hair!

I could go on and on, as you can probably tell.

Best wishes to all for a very happy Thanksgiving.

Sprucing Up the Wreaths and Garland

(From Pottery Barn)

The race is on to get the house decorated for the holidays! I will admit, we have kind of a crazy street. Lovely, but crazy. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, spruces up and decorates outside. Some (and I'm not mentioning any names) have gone to the extreme and light up the entire outline of their house along with every single tree and shrub in their yard. That's a bit much for me, especially since I know we would end up tripping over extension cords everywhere. Definitely glad I don't live across from that flashing strobe light house!

Mr. Tennis has two large wreaths he puts up on the house. I don't know how since we have a brick house, but he figured it out years ago, so up go the wreaths and then we put spot-lights on them to make sure everyone sees them! (Clever, eh!!) This year, I mentioned that the wreaths with their requisite red cheesy bows were starting to look a little worn. So he got the wreaths down for me and I spruced them up with some lovely red and silver ornaments. Who needs bows when you've got giant ornaments?? And then I did the same to every other wreath we own (who knew we had so many?) and the five that he bought at Wal*Mart (yes, a little wreath crazy perhaps). Turned out great! Half-price ornaments at Hobby*Lobby, some twisty-tie stuff and voila -- gorgeous ornament filled wreaths and garland!

Now, Mr. Tennis has to figure out stringing up the lights, but we'll probably wait until it's 10-15 degrees with ice or snow to do that. No need to do everything on a warmish 50 degree November weekend, right!

Holiday Photo Cards - Revisited

It's that time of year again, isn't it? Time to figure out what to do for the holiday photo card. I like to do one every year so I can look at them later and see how the kids have grown and changed. And I love to receive them from friends and family! Anybody out there need my

real-life address?

Photo card from Christmas 2005
(Vacay in Mexico earlier that year -- that was fuN!)

This year is a little troubling for me. Philip and Catherine are married and probably doing their own card. Connor graduated from college and is living out of state working (sniff, sniff, sniff), so it's just Mr. Tennis, the Madster and me! What to do?

Christmas card 2004

Last year, only Maddy was on the card. This year, I'm considering a 3-photo card -- one photo of Maddy, one of me and Maddy and one of Maddy and Mr. Tennis. Are you sensing a theme here? Yep, Miss M rules!!! Guess what -- we don't have any photos of the three of us together! Ooops -- that happens sometimes!


Maddy's First Christmas Home, 2003

(Don't you just want to squeeze and smooch on those cheeks of hers!)

And here's another question for you -- when do you take your adult children off the signature line on the Christmas card?? It's not like they're not part of the family, but once they don't live at home, is that the time to boot them out of the signature?? What do you think?

DIY Wreath & Me!

Yes, I talked myself into another DIY project . . . why do I these things?? I should have been cleaning and decluttering, but instead I was threading a blue million ornaments onto a wire hanger! I saw the wreath featured on another blog (sorry, not sure which one) and it looked so cool and easy (famous last words, right?).

It actually took a lot more time and work than I thought it would. But since I knew I couldn't take the ornaments back, I figured I better keep going and get it done. I also ended up with glitter all over my clothes, the kitchen, the basement, just about everywhere. It still needs a few touch ups and additional smaller ornaments stuck in here and there, but I'm almost afraid to mess with it now! Ooops - just noticed, of course, it needs a bow and ribbon! See, I am a bit of a lame DIY'er -- I pretend it's totally finished before it's actually all done!

Hey, over at Kimba's blog, A Soft Place To Land it’s DIY Tuesday! Everyone loves inspiration to Do It Yourself !

Light Cooking Anyone?

Pumpkin Pecan Bread

Are you like me -- with good intentions to cook lighter, healthier meals, but sometimes just find that the old favorites are easier, even though they are maybe not quite so health-conscious?

Well, look at this -- the magazine, Cooking Light, is now on sale through amazon.com at the low, low, really low price of $5 for a whole year! I know I'm going to have that yearly resolution to cook and eat healthier come January and probably right around when my first magazine arrives! Perfecto! Check it out! Recipes for these delicious items and more can be found on their website.

Pumpkin Pie Cake!