Poncho Weather is Here!!

Jumping for joy -- sweater weather has arrived!!

Morning temps in the 40s this week!

Yippee!

Now if only I was a bit more organized, I would have all

our fall gear ready to wear!

Maddy wearing a poncho- October, 2015

Sooooo, while I'm trying to dig out our fall sweaters and

long-sleeve tops, I've been 

looking at some of my favorite sweater ponchos on-line and

thinking about doing a little retail therapy!

Raise your hand if you love a good poncho too!

Macy's.com 

Besides being so adorable, they cover all kinds of flaws for

middle-aged Moms like me!

Love how the cowl neck ponchos do the work of scarves and cover

up my neck -- no need
for a neck-lift when you've got a great cowl neck poncho!

Bonus -- ponchos are a long enough to cover the dreaded mid-area -- 

a saving grace for me when I don't want to squeeze into some of the
dreaded spanx!

And who doesn't love what I call the football blankie poncho!!

Ooooh -- I love her boots too!

Another one from Macy's.com

My favorite poncho is one in a blast from the past -- 

Miss Maddy at 6 years old!  

I'd like to tell you that I knit that poncho 

for her myself, but you know, I don't lie to my friends!

Enemies yes; friends no! 

Welcome Fall Temps -- 

now, show me your ponchos!  :)

Hello Fall, Hello Weekend!

Hello Fall!!!

Attention - Mother Nature:

Guess what --
Fall means cooler temps, sweater weather, falling leaves and pumpkins!
 So MN (Mother Nature), what is the deal with the high temps and high

humidity????  

Stop it right this instant!

Sooooo, even though we're not enjoying cooler temps and sweater weather,
we are still loving all the pumpkins showing up at
our local pumpkin patch

and garden stores!

Love the gnarly gourds!

Sadly, we don't usually buy many for decorative purposes on
our front porch because the ravenous squirrels take
that as an invitation to a feast and make an
incredible ugly mess!
Bad squirrels!!!

Any weekend plans???
Friday night lights tonight and little Granddaughter Janie
will be "performing" with the cheerleaders!
We can't wait for that as she has spirit overload!

Happy Weekend Friends!

Flashback Friday Foto - Fall, 2011

Watermelon Pizza anyone??

Maddy has been trying to eat healthier for a while now -

which I'm guessing is a little difficult when your mother (moi) insists

on having some chocolate (sometimes a lot) every day

starting at breakfast!

Not kidding -- I didn't have any yet today (9 AM) 

and I am suffering!!!

Anywhoooo (love that word - HA!) -- we took a little

food class this summer and one

of the items the dietitian made was

Watermelon Pizza!

We pulled that together fast!

Can you figure out the recipe?

Watermelon slice on the bottom; then a layer of

Greek yogurt (vanilla) then blueberries or strawberries -

whatever you have on hand!

This fruit pizza is tasty and much better for you

than the fruit pizza with the cookie crust!

I think if only we dipped those strawberries

in chocolate, 
this tasty treat would move up on my list  

and would really be a winner! 

Mini-Golf Finally!

Throughout the summer, Maddy and I had talked

about going mini-golfing.

It's the only type of golfing I feel athletic enough to attempt!

But, we had the craziest summer weather -- it was either blasting hot + humid 

or raining like crazy + humid!

As you know, humidity and I do not get along.

We have a hate/hate relationship! 

From spring until the first frost - my hair is

in "bad hair day" mode!

I know, I know, I should be grateful I have hair, blah blah blah,

but seriously -- when my hair puffs up and frizzes into

a monstrosity, it makes me very cranky.

Monica and I could be twins with our big hair!

I should see a therapist, right -- hair should

not impact me so much, but it does, so my hair

and I try to somewhat peacefully co-exist during the rainy and 

hot and humid seasons.

Lately, even my extremely hot flat iron has not helped much.  :(

Back to my golfing story -- I got distracted thinking about

my hair again! ;)

On Labor Day weekend, the heavens smiled upon us,

a cool front blew in and the humidity level went down for the entire day!

It was our chance -- to go mini-golfing!

Surprise, surprise, the course was not crowded!

Maddy and I don't keep score.  

Why bother when we

make par or better on each and every hole??

Maddy made a hole in one!

We're hoping to hit the course again before winter -

it all depends on the humidity level, of course!

Homecoming . . . The Dance!

The next big event after the homecoming football game was . . .

you guessed it - 

the Homecoming dance!

Homecoming was really early this year due to football scheduling and gym

availability which, of course impacted dress availability!!

Locating an appropriate dress that met the requirements was tricky!

Yes, there are requirements.  

Dresses cannot be too short or too revealing. No cut-outs allowed, no short skirts, no slits!

The length determination is measured by a convoluted credit card measuring formula!

Seriously!! :)

Anywhoooo -- we had a tough time finding a dress for Miss M.

We located an absolutely adorable dress on Macy's.com!

However, when it arrived, she deemed it " meh, just ok."

The search was back on!

Luckily, we found another appropriate dress and bonus --- it was on sale!

Maddy went with some friends from elementary/middle school.  Really, there is no need to date as freshmen, sophomores, juniors or seniors --
am I right?  Dating can wait for college!
These girls have been friends all through elementary school.

Sweetest girls ever!

Our Penny Bridge in our neighborhood -- in the old days,
 the trolley charged a penny to go over the bridge!
The bridge was rebuilt a few years ago.

The girls had a fun time though said the gym was
super hot!

Homecoming No. 1 is in the books!

Friday Night Lights Report!

I know you've all been waiting for the cheer

report for the first Friday Nights football game, haven't you???

YES!

It happened last Friday and it was not only the first home

football game, but it was also Homecoming!

The freshie cheerleaders cheered along with the JV and Varsity

for the first half of the game!

Can I be the first to report

they were . . . 

Fabulous! Adorable! Spirited! Incredibly Cute!

I'm not biased, at all! :)

Back row - 2nd from left

Prior to the game, the school had a "tailgate" 

(sorry, no beer or alcohol, of course!)

with  food and bouncy houses and cotton candy

for littler fans!

My sons and Philip's family both came to the game and my 

cousin's daughter did too!  

She recently moved to our fair city after she graduated

from law school and is clerking

for the Supreme Court Justice.  

We are so happy to get to know her better!

So, cheering at various sports has started!

This week she's cheering at softball and volleyball; next week tennis and football!

Miss M has a very busy schedule as does her driver!  

It's all good -- we are having so much fun!

GO BOLTS!

P.S.  The Bolts won that first home game - 31-13!

Photographer in Training!

One of Maddy's favorite things to do over the summer

was to take our Scottie, Muffy, out for photos!

Maddy was determined to build up Muffy's Instagram account and

had a goal to obtain a certain number of followers

She met and exceeded her goal.

Muffy now has over 7,000 followers!! 

Dogs are very popular on IG!

We love following all the Doodle pages!

 Maddy spent a good part of every day this past summer

with her hand-me-down camera capturing the essence

of a Scottish terrier who did not always appreciate

having her photo taken.

Bonus -- that Instagram "fun" goal has turned into a real

interest for her.  She has applied to be the

photographer for choir at school this year.

Even if she doesn't get it, she is looking forward to 

taking some photography courses in high school.

The other bonus of Muffy's popularity on IG, Muffy has

won a few contests!

So far, her prizes have been a new bandana and

a new collar. 

 Muffy is thrilled with both!  :)

And I was able to sneak in a few photos of my high schooler

recently too!