I miss Williams-Sonoma + a Giveaway

I did not realize how much I miss Williams-Sonoma until this Christmas season. Mr. Perfect and I always went there and picked up some treats for our kitchen around this time of the year. Their products are not the least expensive ones around. However, any time we had a problem with something we bought there, they made it right. Also, whenever you go into a W-S store between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve, there is something yummy baking or brewing. It smells so good there!

We gave this to our moms last year. I hope they are using them. If not, they should feel free to send it my way. LOL

I LOVE nutcrackers. I'd like to have a Christmas table set with this one day.

I'm afraid that if I had a box of these right now I'd eat the whole thing!

I'm thinking about trying to make this at home this year. Anyone have a good recipe?

We buy these to use December 26th after our Boxing Day dinner.

If you like to make espresso drinks at home, I recommend giving Illy a try.

In previous years, we've stocked up on mulling spices once they go on sale near Christmas. I cannot find them on the website now. I also can't find any cocktail mixers. I used to buy one each year to put in Mr. Perfect's stocking - kind of a joke since he didn't drink them, but just mixed them for me. I don't see them either. I wonder what happened? Maybe they are still in the stores. I think I'll take a drive to Augusta this weekend to check it out...


Now, for some fun: monogramchick has a super giveaway going right now. Drop on by her blog to check it out. Winners will be announced Sunday, so hurry!  Don't you love these cut travel mugs?

¡Feliz Navidad, amigas bonitas!

Georgia has a tartan...?

Did you know that Georgia has an official tartan?

 

I love it. Since I started doing genealogical research several years ago I have loved anything to do with Scotland. So, this is a very exciting revelation for me!

According to the Secretary of State's website:  The tartan commemorates the founding of the state of Georgia and combines elements in the design associated with its historic past. General Oglethorpe commanded the Highland Independent Company of Foot which, in 1746, wore the Black Watch tartan. Captain John ‘Mohr’ MacIntosh is remembered in the MacIntosh red. Georgia tartan is much in evidence at the annual Stone Mountain Highland Games held in Atlanta.


Do any of you know if your state has its own tartan?


Well, I can tell you that many, if not all, do. 


South Carolina and North Carolina share the same tartan:

Tennessee:

Utah:

California:

This one is registered with the Scottish Tartans World Register, but is not yet recognized as the official tartan of Virginia by the Commonwealth's legislature:

Aren't they pretty? If I find a good source for buying tartan fabric, I'll let you know. I think some pillows in Georgia's official tartan are in order for my new house!

I am thankful for...

I am thankful for so many things. The past year has not been at all what we expected, but it hasn't been bad. In fact, even the things that have gotten on my nerves the most have actually taught us the most. Doesn't God work in the most mysterious and wonderful ways?!

I am most thankful for my wonderful husband and two terrific boys. I don't call my husband Mr. Perfect for no reason. He is so kind and slow to anger and sweet (and, cute!). He is a great father and my best friend. Our boys are funny, smart, creative, affectionate, healthy, curious and generally nice to be around. And, also cute!

I am thankful that they are such good buddies. They love each other so much, and that makes me happy in the heart.

I am thankful that I have this temporary home, and, Lord Willing, that I will have a more permanent home in a few short months.

I am thankful for our parents and sisters. I wish we could see each other more.

I am thankful to have found a new church home, although I still miss my old one.

I am thankful that we have cars to drive and food to eat. So many people are having such are hard time these days.

I hope you all have a wonderful, blessed time with family and friends this week. Happy Thanksgiving!

House Progress

Finally,


after almost a full year in the rental house,


we have started our house-building project.


The finished product will look similar to this:

Here's what it looked like on Wednesday morning:

And, here's what it looked like Thursday afternoon:

Our house will go just about where the big pile of logs is, only further back towards the standing trees (only they will be gone by now).

We don't expect to have anything more then the foundation  completed before Christmas. The builder said he preferred not to have the lumber for framing sitting around the work site for the week they take off at Christmas, so we'll start putting walls up the last week of the year!

Football Weekend

I'm still running around like a turkey with it's head cut off (and having a great time), but I thought I should post an update anyway.  Last weekend we went the the UGA @ Auburn game. It ended about like we expected - with a loss. We had a super time anyway. It was the boys' first college game.

The night before the UGA game, we drove to the remotest part of southwest Georgia possible for a high school playoff game. We lost that game, too. But, we were so proud of our team. One of my students (and football player) told me Monday that Boy 1 came up to him after the game Friday night, shook his hand and said, "I've thoroughly enjoyed watching you play football this year." How cute!
Our business sponsored the radio broadcast of the game. The boys got to go to the radio station and help cut the ad. At the end they yelled, "Go Crusaders!"

I hope you are all relaxing as much as possible, and that you enjoy these wonderful days leading up to the "Holiday Trilogy" of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.

Catch-Up Time

    I have so missed reading blogs and playing with my blog. Last week was incredibly busy, but also very fun. It was Spirit Week, so every day I had to come up with some sort of appropriate outfit/costume for the boys and me to wear. Thursday was Costume Day at school, then tennis lessons after school, then back into costumes for downtown trick-or-treating. Also, I was in charge of Homecoming at our little school. It came off without a hitch Friday night - the girls were lovely, stood exactly where I told them to at practice, smiled and didn't fall out of their convertibles during the parade. Our guys also won the game. YEAH!

   All of the above means one thing: I am SO behind on everything: laundry, lesson plans, housecleaning, Bible study, Days of Our Lives.  I'm going to try and get myself organized and post something here by the end of the week. Here's hoping you are all doing well...

Mudroom

    Okay, so right now in our little rental house we don't have a mudroom. But, soon, very soon, we will have one. Here's what I just did with the boys' backbacks...

   I found the iron initial hooks on sale for $7.50 at Hobby Lobby. I also have one for my husband and myself, but there's no room for them right now. The frames were $6 at Wal-mart.  Right up the road from us are a James St. and Henry St.  There is also one nearby with my maiden name, and there's a town not far from here called my husband's last name.  I printed them out at home on card stock so they wouldn't be too shiny, which only cost me a few pennies each.

  So, that's about $14.00 each for a cute (in my opinion) place to hang things in our soon-to-be mudroom.

Cute

Really, he is just cute. 

    Tonight was Boy 2's first pack meeting as a cub scout...he's a tiger!  He was so proud of his uniform. Look at him posing!  Where did he learn that?   I told him to go stand outside so I could take his picture, and when I got there, this is what he was doing.



   When I told him I wanted a picture of his neckerchief from the back,  this is how he posed...

   Boy 1 left so fast with Mr. Perfect, that couldn't get a picture of him. Maybe next time...


   You all have a super weekend.

On My Mind

    Well, there's no getting around it:  I'm super ready for fall.  My brain has been tuned to the fall foods station for several days now.

    Back when we lived near Sam's Club, I kept a good stock of this pumpkin spice bread mix. They only sell it in the fall, so I bought several boxes and enjoyed them throughout the winter.  It's even better if you add a few extra chopped, toasted pecans to the mix.

    Hot or cold, it doesn't matter to me, I just love apple cider. One of my fav things to do in the fall is simmer apple juice on the stove with some of Williams-Sonoma's Mulling Spices. Again, when I lived near W-S, I bought a couple of these after Christmas when they were on sale, and pulled them out in the fall once cool weather hit.  I know apple juice and apple cider are not the same thing, but my boys don't like all those yummy pieces of apple that sneak into the cider.  So, I go with the juice.

    Soup is great, but I really only want it in the fall and winter when it's cold. One of my favorites is French Onion Soup, which I do know how to make from scratch. It takes a while, but it's so worth it.

   I know I already mentioned apple cider, but really, apple anything is great this time of year. Here's a batch we picked at an orchard last fall. There are no orchards around here, so we'll have to remember to plan a trip next year.

    I'm already wondering how many Thanksgiving lunches and dinners there will be before the actual Big Day. Between work, school, church and family, I'm sure it will be several. Who's complaining?

   What's your favorite fall food?

   I hope you all have a super day and a glorious weekend.

Kitchen Designing & a Giveaway

   I just finished shopping for kitchen cabinets. It was much easier this time than a few months ago. Why? Probably because I didn't have to do all the research again. But more likely, because I don't care that much anymore - I JUST WANT TO BUILD THE HOUSE!

   I'm thinking of going with either a red, white and brown theme OR a red, white and black theme. The red would just be in the accents, and the white is more of a linen.
This is the finish for the cabinets along the walls:   

This is the finish for the island cabinets:  or 


    I was leaning toward the black. Maybe it's the Dawg in me... However, the fabrics I'm drawn to would look better with the chocolate.  Here are a few that I'm thinking about for curtains, chandelier shades and cushions, etc.

  

   I was planning to go with neutral colors in the dining room so that I can do more seasonal decorating in there than was able to do before. So, keeping the kitchen a little more neutral than in the past would also be a good idea, I think. In our last house, I had a different color on every wall, so this is a new concept to me.  

How would this look over the breakfast table with some cute shades, Mom?

     On another note, there is a great giveaway at  How I Met Your Father that you should check out if you are at all interested in True Prep. The prize is an autographed copy of the book. Hurry, it ends this Thursday. 

The Real Squeal

   Well, it's bar-be-que time down here in So Georgia! This weekend is the Real Squeal. Cute name, right? I am boycotting it. Not because I don't like bar-be-que, but because I'm still trying to lose weight. However, Mr. Perfect went, and I told him to bring some home to me. I figure that's safe since it will only be a limited supply instead of the infinitely tempting one at the park.

    Today, I will be trading out my summer and fall clothes. I'm looking forward (but a little afraid) to see if the clothes I haven't worn for seven months will fit any better than they did before.

    On another note, at our little school, each Friday for the six weeks leading up to the Fall Festival is called Sweets Day. A different elementary grade is in charge of it each week. Families bring in candy, cookies, cupcakes, soda, crispy treats and any other sweet imaginable to sell as a fundraiser. The kids could also pay a dollar and have their hair painted. At the Fall Festival, the grade that raised the most money wins.  It was also Cheerleader Hush Day, so after school the ones that couldn't keep their mouths shut all day long got pied in the face. Let's just say that by game time last night, every kid there was completely crazy! At halftime they went out on the field and ran around like a bunch of possessed feral pigs (BBQ reference :-)) I wouldn't approve of such sugar consumption normally, but every once in a while won't hurt. Plus, it was SO funny.

Image via Wikipedia

Here are Boy 1 and Boy 2

   BTW, our guys won the game!  Also, I actually was a little cold by the end of the game. I'm not complaining - it was actual football weather - finally!
 
   I hope you all have a super weekend. We don't have to go back to school until next Wednesday!

Tennis, Anyone?

   I have officially signed Boy 1 and Boy 2 up for tennis lessons. Secretly, I'm jealous that I'm not the one taking lessons.  Boy 1 didn't want to do it. But, I told him that his school has a tennis team, and he's on it, so he had better learn to play. Miraculously, that worked. The truth is, there are no try-outs for sports at our little school, so he totally can be on the team - in about six years. By then, he should be awesome!  Maybe this awesome... ?

   On another sports-related note, we drove 2.5 hours last night to watch our team play football. It was SO worth the drive - one of the best games I've ever seen. Boy 1 and Boy 2 actually watched 4 or 5 plays before they went off to roll in the grass like two retriever puppies. And, that's exactly what they looked like - rolling, wrestling, play fighting, knocking each other over, etc. Good times were had by all.

   I hope you all have a super weekend.

My (Soon-to-Be) Patented Weight-Loss Plan

If I could write a book or get this patented or whatever, I could make a billion dollars with my new weight-loss plan. Are you ready for it?



Go get a job teaching a couple of high school classes.



That's it.

Here's why it works: Who wants to stand in front of a room full of skinny little 15 - 18 year old girls and be the biggest girl in the room? I know I don't. This gives that old phrase "the elephant in the room" new meaning. For years, I've been searching for the motivation to finally lose the 10, ok 15, alright 20 pounds of baby weight that never just fell off me like I wanted it to. I have discovered it.

I thought that my 20th high school reunion would be the perfect motivating factor. It wasn't though. The problem is that I've seen enough pictures of my old classmates on facebook to know that (with very few exceptions) they don't look any better than I do.

Also, even with my extra weight, it has always been a rare situation that I was ever the biggest girl in the room. So, I suppose I never felt self-conscious enough to do the hard work. NOW, however, I am ALWAYS the big girl in my class. It doesn't matter to me that I'm the teacher and they are mere children. These children are as tall as me and, in my mind, I should not be this much bigger than them.

There's also this: I'm old enough to be their VERY YOUNG mother. This realization was the final straw for me. Just because I'm old enough to be their mother, doesn't mean I want to look like their mother. (Not that there's anything wrong with their mothers. The ones I've met are really cute.) I AM, however, okay looking like their VERY YOUNG aunt or their MUCH OLDER sister. This is a compromise I'm willing to make.

I am happy to report that I put on a pair of jeans that I have not worn since last spring, and they buttoned just fine with no bulging over the top - at least when I'm standing up. Ya-hoo. This is real progress. I really don't care or know exactly how much I weigh, I just want my clothes to fit.


P. S. I give all credit to The Princess of Sarcasm for reminding me that I don't want to be the elephant in the room. You'll have to visit her blog to know what I mean.

Here Comes a Busy Weekend

Until our house is built, one of my favorite pastimes is finding ways to avoid our rental house. I am so excited to say that this weekend will be perfect for it. Tonight, we will travel to some small So Georgia town that I've never heard of to watch our high school football team. 

 Go Crusaders!

Saturday, after sleeping late, we will go to the seemingly unavoidable Wal-mart to find a gift for Boy 1 to take to a bowling birthday party. Parties at the bowling lanes seem to be quite popular here. There are not a lot of options, and the kids seem to really enjoy it. I imagine we'll probably have one there in December for Boy 1. Boy 2 will insist on playing a few arcade games before we leave to run errands. Afterwards, we'll pick Boy 1 up from said party.

Image via Wikipedia

We will visit one of Mr. Perfect's aunts for a while. They are all so sweet, and his parents, sister and niece are driving over, as well.
Somewhere along the way, I MUST catch at least part of the UGA v. So Carolina game. Here's hoping the Dawgs crush the Gamecocks!

Image via Wikipedia

Finally, I'm going to a Pampered Chef party at a new friend's house.

Image via Wikipedia

I've never been inside her home, but I have been to her pool for a party, and it's absolutely lovely. So is she and her entire family - especially her beautiful, sweet little girl who I think Boy 2 is a little sweet on. (He's far too young for that now, but in a few years I'll be thrilled if his taste in girls is still that good.)


I'll be actively ignoring the fact that it's still hot as stink here and clinging to the knowledge that cooler weather will be here soon.

Image via Wikipedia

Any-hoo, I hope you all have exciting plans for the weekend. What will you be doing?

Friday Night Lights

Last night, we went to our second high school football game of the season. This one was an away game. The boys are still too young to enjoy a good road trip, so the 45-minute drive was pretty boring and uneventful. Unfortunately, our guys lost. BIG TIME. It really did break my heart. About half of them are in  my classes, and they tried to be so positive at school. But, I don't think they had a really good feeling about it.

The more interesting happenings last night were not on the field, however. The elementary and middle school students were doing some serious socializing during the entire game. We want so badly for Boy 1 and Boy 2 to love football as much as we do. And, I think they will one day - but not yet. The second we sat down in the stands, Boy 2 says, "Can we go play with the other kids?" They did, and played HARD until the end of the game. At one point, the same-aged kids from the home team came over to our side, too. For a minute, it looked like that scene from Westside Story when the two gangs meet up. (That's the only part of that movie I've seen; I hate musicals.) They all sized each other up and then started playing together.

Our kids were much sweatier and dirtier than this.

On a weather-related note, I did not sweat at all. This is really saying something. It wasn't exactly my ideal football-watching weather (jeans, sweaters, hot chocolate...), but it was quite pleasant. BTW, I've now started judging the weather by how much I sweat. Sounds gross, but it's really the most practical way here. It can be 80 degrees and cloudy, but if it's really humid, you're going to sweat.