December Update!

Well, I've had quite a little bloggy break, haven't I!

I had planned (in my  head) to post a lot during 

December, but obviously that did not happen.

So, before the new year starts,

here's a quick update for December!

Maddie turned 18!

She is seriously the sweetest girl ever!

We love her so!

She's working very hard at school this year and

very hard at training Frannie to 

be a good little Doodle-dog.

Maddie and her uke! Look at that big bug on her top!

Maddie and I worked again this year at a lovely store 

(Von Maur) as seasonal gift wrappers!
I also work in the Rickster's office, but can
leave early to get to this other job! :)

It's a fun little job and gets very busy as you might

guess since gift wrap is free - totally free -- and they have very

nice wrapping paper, ribbon and tags.

We really enjoy working with the other gift wrappers!

Plus, working 3-4 hours at a time is generally manageable.

Of course, standing for that long on my poor

old feet got a little tiring.

But it was fun, even though it did put us behind in

our own gift wrapping.

I was slapping post-its on our gifts before our celebrations!

Rickster had surgery.  Yes, again he had a holiday surgery!  

This time, it was due to arthritis in his

hands.  I can't recall the technical procedure name,

but it involved scraping out all the bad arthritis around his thumb 

and putting in a piece of tendon.

He said the doc told him it would be a piece of cake

and not painful.

He LIED!

It's been extremely painful and since it was his

right hand (he's right-handed), it has impacted

everything as he has a large cast/split on

that he finally has removed tomorrow.

He had planned to have the other hand done in a month or two,

but is now re-thinking that plan.

Growing fast (November 2019)

Miss Frannie Doodle continues to grow and be a delight . . . 

most of the time!

Really, she's a great pup and we are enjoying  having her 

in the family.

If you have Instagram and want to 

follow her page, it's @little.frannie.doodle

New Red Sweater for December!

We had a fun Christmas celebration with the family on

Christmas Eve and Christmas.

(Is it bad I have a million photos of Frannie, but none of the family???)

Looking forward to 2020 -- yay for an even-numbered year!

Hey 2020 -- we're looking for good stuff from you!

Happy New Year!!

Stock Market Challenge

A couple weeks ago, Maddie and her classmates

from The Career Academy (TCA) 

participated in The Stock Market Challenge

where they try to make a bunch of money

on the stock market -- definitely

sounds like a challenge!
Maddie attends the dual high school/college credit classes (known as TCA)
 in the afternoons
after spending her mornings in classes at Pius.

She said it was a wild time just like on the real stock market exchange!

Maddie's group from TCA came in 5th Place out of

60 teams!  

Add to that,  they came in 1st Place as Best Dressed!

What an outstanding performance!

Our Early Non-Traditional Thanksgiving Feast

Happy Almost Thanksgiving!

We had an early celebration last weekend since my son, 

Philip, and his family are busy on Thanksgiving.

We don't really care for turkey -- I know -- sacrilege on Thanksgiving, right?!

But . . . we love the sides like stuffing, mashed potatoes

 (thanks Lisa K for the recipe many years ago), 

fruit salad, jello, dinner rolls, pie and fudge.
Yes, fudge is Thanksgiving food!!!

So, I called it our Non-Traditional Thanksgiving feast!

We had chicken strips, mashed potatoes, salad (fruit and green)

strawberry jello, pie and a first for us on Thanksgiving --

chicken enchiladas!

Oh my word, those enchiladas were SOOOOO delish!
I patted myself on the back for days about how good they were!

The original Boucher clan

Since we also have Miss Frannie Doodle now, the kids

ate fast and ran outside to play with her!

Bingo -- kept the pup and the kids busy!

I also baked some carrot cake muffins (from scratch, no less)

and they were not good - awful -- blech!
 In fact, I tore the recipe up

and threw it away. 

Definitely should have stuck with brownies!

Pappa Rickster and the youngest -- Gloria

I'm not sure what the Rickster, Connor, Maddie and I

will have on the real Thanksgiving, but again,

it won't be turkey!

More on Frannie!

Of course, we have more to say 

about Frannie and more photos

to post!

She's a bit of a clothes horse and with it getting cold 

out so so fast this year (2 degrees this morning) 

she's almost always in a sweater!

She wears her favorite llama sweater to puppy daycare almost every day.

Yes, she goes to daycare!

I go to work, Maddie goes to school, Frannie goes to daycare.

If she didn't, I'm sure the house would be an even larger

disaster than it already is!

I'm kind of one of those messy people and Frannie is contributing

a lot to the messiness!

My excuse lately is that Frannie is keeping me busy and

that is true!  Maddie and I take her on long weeks

when the temp is above 5 degrees.  Frannie refused to go on

a walk last night -- way too chilly even with her sweater!

Being a puppy and a model is tiring!

Asleep on her feet!

Last weekend, she made it her mission to devour

and try to carry home every large stick she could find.

When will those sharp puppy teeth fall out???

OY!

We're also doing puppy training classes! 

Oh my word, those are a hoot!

Frannie is very smart and a quick learner, but . . . 

she gets distracted by the other pups

and the rubber mats on the floor,

the door opening, the other 2 puppies, 

and everything else.

She's 14 weeks old now.

Final exam Thursday -- let's hope she passes!

Hello Frannie!

As I'm always saying, I can't believe this month

zipped by so fast!

Seriously -- it really did.

And I kind of hate for it to be over.

Trees are turning color here in Nebraska and are stunning!

Breeder Little Paws of Iowa Photo (probably 6 weeks old)

 It's been a busy month as we welcomed a puppy this month.

I really didn't think we would  welcome another dog so soon, but our hearts were

broken and we were so sad when Muffy died.
The house felt empty and lonely without her.

Our new pup, Miss Frannie, is a Mini-Goldendoodle.

She's a little bundle of energy and is working

overtime healing our broken hearts.

She's almost 12 weeks old now

and probably around 10 pounds.
The breeder estimates she will be 25 pounds full grown.

She's a fast learner and puppy classes are helping her learn new tricks
and how to behave herself.
Stay tuned!  The Adventures of Miss Frannie Doodle will continue!

Part 2 -- The Photographer

Part 2 and some more senior photos -

bear with me please and/or jump to some other

blog if you like!

One of Maddie's pastimes this past summer was working

on honing her photography skills.

In order to improve her people photo-taking 

[she already had worked extensively on dog and bandana photos], 

she recruited friends and volunteered to do photo shoots for them!

As everyone knows, a girl can never have too many new photos 

for social media accounts, right!

She had a load of fun, improved her 

photography and her editing skills!

So, when Meg asked her what props she'd like to

bring for senior photos, she grabbed her camera!

Some weekends Mads was booked both Fridays and

Saturdays and Sundays!  At least 3 or 4 girls used photos Maddie took

for their senior yearbook photos.

She took one girl's senior photos for her - spending

3+ hours doing photos in 3 different locations all over Lincoln!

Then she spent another 3+ hours editing and sending 

the photos out!

It was a fun time for her and she really enjoyed it!

I was her assistant -- somebody needs to

hold gear and the light reflector thingy.

Since it's getting cold and dark out earlier now, there are

not too many photo shoots scheduled.

However, she hopes to keep improving and may have it as a part-time gig

in the future.

Smile pretty for the camera now!

 

Senior Photos - Part 1

Attempting to jump back into the blog scene 

and planning/hoping to get some updates done one of these days!

Once again, I am wayyyyyy behind!

Last month, I teased you all with a sneak peek

at Maddie's senior photo shoot.

I have more to share now that we received

the photos from Meg Slattery.

Maddie opted to do one hour of photos in one outfit

at one location.

Most seniors are doing 3 hours in 3 different outfits

at 3 different locations.

Oy -- that's a lot of picture-taking!

So, I was delighted that my girl was more

rational and restrained for her senior photos!

We met at a great outdoor park and Meg and Maddie 

had loads of fun.  They both laughed so much!

Ahhh - that's the low-key, no stress way to

do senior photos!

 Isn't she adorable?!

Will share more in a Part 2 as Meg got some of 

Maddie with her uke and her camera - her two favorite things from

high school.  I wanted to bring along her sewing machine, but

that might just be a little weird in an outside photo!

Stay tuned!

Hello October!

Hello October!

Hoping it is a better month than September.

Definitely starting out on the extremely rainy side -

yesterday we had nearly 3 inches of rain.

Raining buckets as I was driving and I could barely see -
you know I'm not a confident driver in bad weather!

That was scary -- but saying Hail Mary's out loud

always helps me and I made it through the deluge.

I think cooler temps and lovely days are in the forecast

in a day or two -- more rain today.

Looking back at the life of our sweet pup - Muffy Mei!

Adorable little pup in 2010!





She loved chewy sticks and treats!




Brave girl went down the slide!





Modeling for the bandana business!




Maddie and Muffy featured in our neighborhood magazine!




Yes, we were those people -- we got her a pet
stroller and were able to use it a couple times when
she was too worn out to walk.
Muffy died a week after her cancer diagnosis on September 20, 2019.
We loved that sweet dog so much.

What a Week!

Last week!  It was one that I don't want to repeat

any time soon!

First, Maddie woke up with a bat in her room on Saturday!

EEEEK!!

She and I both hyperventilated!  We were able to 

throw a box over it so that -- you know -- Animal Control

could pick it up to test for rabies!  Since it had been in a room

of a sleeping person for who knows how long --Animal Control

will provide that service!  Then a long wait as the bat person

was out on Monday.  It wasn't until late Wednesday that

we were informed "no rabies."  

Did we google bats and rabies?  Oh yes, you bet we did and

that made us all more nervous.  No one wants to have rabies

shots - happy we were able to avoid those.

I'd insert a cute photo of a bat here - but no such thing exists --

there are no cute bats!

New dishwasher - 2019

That same day, Mr. Tennis informed me that my dishwasher

was leaking!  Why is that appliances belong to me when they break?

Anywhooo - I've  had my dishwasher since 1995!  Wow-- they

made them to last back then.  No parts available so it was

off to dishwasher shopping. It's arriving today - fingers

crossed for easy installation.

Muffy puppy - July 2010

The bat issues and broken dishwasher were nothing 

compared to the news we received on Thursday.

Our darling Scottish terrier, Miss Muffy, is very ill.

She has cancer in her spleen and liver.  Her pancreas is

inflamed and her poor belly is extended and very tender.

As you would guess, the prognosis is not good.

The cancer is a fast-growing one. 

 She is severely anemic which is the answer to why she has been so incredibly tired 

the last couple of months.

We are keeping her comfortable,

taking her on short walks (she really can only walk very short distances), 

and giving her treats and love.

We are simply heartbroken.
Best. Dog. Ever. 

We love our sweet Muffy!

Recent Happenings!

This happened recently!

Senior Picture time!

It was such a fun evening!

Meg Slattery took Maddie's senior photos a couple weeks ago at Pioneers Park. 

They had so much fun together.

I think Maddie and Meg laughed the whole time!

What a blast!

We waited somewhat impatiently and just received photos yesterday.

Some photos have been shared already on FB and IG,

but more will be coming here soon!

Stay tuned!

P.S. How Can She Possibly Be a Senior in High School?!!!

More Summer Wrap-Up

Ahhhh - I did not mean to go so long without posting on the blog, but time got away from me again!

I have all these posts floating around in my brain,

 but haven't taken the time to put pen to paper --

really I mean, fingers to keyboard to blog (!!) and post something!

It's time for me to put on my granny panties and buckle down!

 Hotter in Lincoln than at my sister's in Florida in July!

That is just not right!  

Maddie had a couple of adorable swimsuits this summer with . . . 

bigger bottoms -- you guessed it . . .  kind of granny panties!  

She looked adorable and asked if I wanted her to order me a "granny panty swimsuit! 

Ummm, no thanks on that. 

The granny panties I need are the spanx ones 

and I'm not showing you those!

So, a little more on summer!

Weather-wise - it was an odd summer with some very hot days and tons of rain!

Good for the lawn and water bill, but

not so good for pool time, but we hit the pool 

when we could and especially on the last day!

And now it's really hot and humid again and

the pool is closed!

So, saying goodbye to summer and the pool!

Fall temps we are ready and waiting for you!

Yes or No on Monograms?

Now that school is in full swing,

August is nearly over and

cooler temps will be here soon (hope),

we're in the hunt for long sleeve t-shirts.

Long sleeves work great for M to wear

with jeans or whatever and she can wear under 

her school uniform polo shirt for extra warmth!

Because, you know, high schoolers don't

wear coats! 

We LOVE Monograms and all of these items can be personalized

with a monogram -- who doesn't love a monogram?

We've bought these long sleeve t's

in the past and they are good quality.

I always wait for a sale and they have sales often.

In case you would think I'm becoming an "influencer blogger"

[I wish!]

who gets paid for posts -- nope -- we just like these and so 

I wanted to share!

Here are a few favorites!

This one is so Maddie -- she LOVES the Hallmark

movies and has me addicted as well!

This sweatshirt and sweat shorts look perfect too.

I kind of want this myself!

The curlicue monograms are adorable, are they not???

Miss M was thrilled that PSL is back at Star*bucks and

this t-shirt would get worn a lot, I'm sure!

Maddie has this t-shirt and actually  needs a new one as it has been 

worn so many times.  Star*bucks and Chick-fil-A* are her 

favorite places!

In case you or someone you know needs a monogrammed

t-shirt, here's the website for United Monograms! 

Fall sale going on currently!

Have a wonderful long weekend.

Happy Labor Day!

Summer Wrap-Up

Since summer activities are winding down 

with the opening of school books, 

here's some of what Maddie did during the summer.

She completed all of her senior service hours!

Pius X (Maddie's school) requires seniors to perform 36 hours of

volunteer service work at school and/or in the community.

While 36 hours may not sound like a lot, when you're 

only getting a couple hours here and there, it takes a while to get to 36!

Maddie did all of her hours working in the Pius uniform shop!

It takes a lot of unpacking and organization to sort and have polos, shorts,

shirts, pants and sweatshirts ready to sell and package up for over 1,200 students!

After working mornings Mondays through Thursdays at the

uniform store, she spent Friday mornings playing and reading

with the Littles!  They had so much fun together and

it was great for her to spend time with them

and to give Philip and Catherine an extra pair 

of hands!

She also got some fabulous photos of the kids!

They are growing up fast!

Jane - 9 years old (4th grade)

Walt - 8 years old (3rd grade)

Harry - 6 years old (kindergarten)

Dorothy - 3 years old (preschool)

and

Gloria - 5 months old 

Aren't they just adorable! 

 Maddie had so 

much fun with them during the summer!