Be Still My Happy Heart...

Little things can make me very happy.  Today I forgot my water bottle at home.  Need to drink at least sixty four ounces a day, ya know.  Hoped a bottle would still be left at work.  There she was...one lonely bottle just waitin' for me.  Happy.

Last Thursday the Groupon for the day was fifteen dollars worth of food at Rosie's Diner for seven dollars.  I was all about the deal but for Rosie's Diner?  It's a little place in Rockford where Keith and I went on our first non-date.

The diner is as much a piece of American tradition as baseball and hot dogs, and Rosie’s Diner is no exception. For over 100 years, diners have been an everyday piece of America, influencing the American way of life in cooking, dining out, popular culture, design, fashion, and more. From its humble beginnings, the roadside diner has emerged as an icon of classic American culture, and in the process, has helped to forge America’s distinct culture.


Rosie’s history can be dated back to 1946 when it started out as The Silver Dollar Diner in Little Ferry, New Jersey. A fixture on the east coast, The Silver Dollar Diner was chosen to be featured in a series of classic Bounty television commercials featuring Nancy Walker as Rosie the waitress. In honor of the advertisements, The Silver Dollar Diner was renamed Rosie’s Diner in the 1970’s. Rosie’s Dinner, a 1946 Paramount Deluxe Dining Car, remained in New Jersey until 1991 when Jerry Berta purchased the diner. Complementing Jerry’s existing 1947 Jerry O’Mahoney Dining Car, which served as an art gallery, Rosie’s Diner was moved to Michigan and opened for business on July 5th, 1991. Within five years, Rosie’s was proud to announce that it had served over one million customers.

Completing his collection of dining cars, Jerry purchased the Garden of Eatin’ in 1994. The Garden of Eatin’ was moved from Fulton, New York to Rockford, MI and was opened to complement the dining experience at Rosie’s. Throughout the years, Jerry Berta has sold and reacquired Rosie’s on a number of occasions; however, in January 2006, Jerry turned over the keys for the last time to Jonelle Woods who has returned Rosie’s to its original glory and status as an American icon.

As well as updating the menu, Jonelle has transformed the Garden of Eatin’ into a classic yet contemporary sports bar complete with a full service bar and modern amenities including high definition flat panel televisions and a classic mahogany pool table.

“My goal was to return Rosie’s to the authentic classic of the American roadside that it deserves to be. We have brought the classic roadside diner atmosphere back to Rosie’s.”, said Jonelle Woods.

With the ownership change and addition of The Bar at Rosie’s Diner, a new chapter in Rosie’s history has started….

 I was so surprised to find this coupon and so giddy too.  This makes my heart happy.  Cannot wait to go back.  Happy.

Oh, and when I purchased the Groupon I was thrown another fun gift.  I had free credits in my account so the coupon was FREE.  Happier.

{give me the beat boys and}" three months old...i wanna get lost in your rock n roll..."  Keith and I were in Kyle's room yesterday talking while I was getting Kyle's church clothes ready.  We both stopped mid-sentence to listen to what Kyle was singing in the shower.  It took three times to figure it out.  I love that kid!  He cracks me up!!  He was really bummed to find out he was singing the words wrong.  Happy.

Speaking of church, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my heart.  It feels good to breathe again.  I visited a new church, for all the right reasons, a few weeks ago and felt home.  I felt peace.  I felt tears.  I felt overwhelmed.  I've went back the past two weeks.  My journey isn't over yet but I've found the path leading to where I'm meant to be.  Happy.

Goodwill...twenty one bags*three boxes
Kristin...three bags
Plato's Closet...two bags
Kid's consignment...three bags
Jennie...case of Lincoln Logs*bag of car stuff*monster{large size} car ramp*bag of batman
Food Pantry...bag of food
School...bag of art supplies
Recycle Bin...2 full bins of both mags and newspapers
Shredder...one bag of paper for fire
Trash...seven bags
Transfer Station...old elliptical*ab lounger{my mom's}*mini trampoline*bunk bed ladder*weight bench

Since the stuff to the dump was in good condition, the kind man did not charge us to bring our stuff there.  Bonus.  I counted all the big stuff and boxes as a bag for easy counting purposes.  I ended up getting rid of fifty three bags.  Fifty Three Bags!!!  Happy.

I love how some things just never get old...

HAPPY!

News...

The good news is my van is almost new.  The bad news is I didn't plan to put this kind of money into it.

Remember back in December I mentioned a little run-in with a curb?  Who knew that beast could have cost me a small fortune!  I spent close to one thousand right before Christmas.  Last week I decided to have the rocker panels sandblasted and sprayed and my hood redone.  I need the van three more years.  That's the year we pay off our ten year loan on our house, pay off our other loan and give Caleb permission to drive.  It'll be a perfect year for a new vehicle.  In the meantime, I had the shop look at my back tire, which has also not been right since my incident.  Lucky me it's the hub.  A GM six hundred fifty dollar hub to be exact!  An aftermarket version runs about three hundred fifty so I purchased one at a junk yard.  Super lucky me...it's the wrong one.  This after going back and forth to make sure it was the right one.  It's only money, right?  I ordered the aftermarket part.  It'll be in and ready today.  There goes the detailing I was going to have done.  I figure, though, that no rust is a need to me and the detailing is a want.  Now I'll need Keith to detail for me. ☺ {love you and just kidding}

My guy received a mouth full of braces yesterday.  He's been pretty cute about it.  He's so big and just looking at him, I mean really looking at him, makes me want to cry.  Now I have to wear heels in order to be taller than him.  His voice is changing a little...not high, but lower...and he's such a teenager.  What a great kid.

I need someone to come over and deep clean for me.  Kris, didn't you say I can get someone like that?  Someone who will wash my windows and walls?  If anything else is thrown in, what a bonus!!

Um, I need the temp to raise.  I got as far as priming my light fixture for the bath and I'm just chomping at the bit to paint it.  I have the new globes for it and the awesome new mirror.  I bought liquid sander/deglosser and primer for it and, of course, the paint.  Now to find the perfect hardware.  A friend of mine on fb said it took five years to finish his bath.  I figure I have four good years left.  Just kidding. sort of.  I really want what I want for hardware.  Not quite ready to settle.

{disclaimer}
**Bill and Brenda...we haven't slacked since you've been in Arizona.  I know when you get back you'll want to see the finished product.  There isn't one yet but it's not because we are lazy.  We may be, but not with the bathroom project.  We just want my our perfect vision to come to fruition.  Thank you. {and we miss you. come home soon!}

True Story...

I found card number seventeen in my closet last night...

Contemplating...

What a gorgeous day!  The sun totally made me want to get out and do something springy today, so I got my van washed.  I wanted to walk but forgot my shoes so I also vacuumed my van.  While vacuuming I found my shoes. {dang}  Since there were also other treasures found, I ran out of suction time and am left with a very dirty driver's side floor.  {double dang}

I stopped at Wesco and double checked on the rewards cards.  I know the points expire but I asked to be sure. {remember the sixteen found in my house?}  The kind lady told me the points are good for ninety days but to check them online to be sure.  Doesn't it figure that the rewards section is down in order to offer better rewards?!  I could just stand at the pump after work today and swipe them, one at a time, to see if I can be that lucky.  Ha!

One last stop today was at GW Boutique.  I dropped off another three bags and a car ramp thingy.  I not only was handed a receipt but the sweet thing helping me asked if I was interested in Younkers coupons.  Heck yeah!    I forgot to keep a few things out to take to the goodwill sale at Younkers.  Bless her little heart.  She even asked how many coupons I wanted.  Look at me...I take in my junk gently used treasures and leave with three twenty percent off coupons.  WOOT!

I found some recipes in my quest for simplicity for the springtime and thought I'd share here since I'm too lazy to write them down and wanted to remember them for later. just that kind of gal. ☺  Some of these I'm really going to try.  Others are listed for someone else to try and then share a bite with me.  In no particular order...

*Crockpot Brownies {adapted from MS Everyday Food}

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

1 cup chocolate chips

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Coat the inside of your crockpot with cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper and coat the top of the paper with cooking spray. Melt chocolate and butter together in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring after 30 second intervals, until chocolate is melted. Add in sugar and mix well. Then add in eggs and mix well. Set aside. In another bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add in walnuts and chocolate chips and mix well. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour into crockpot and smooth top. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours. Uncover and cook for 30 minutes. Insert a knife edge around brownies to loosen and place the crock (out of the pot) on a cooling rack to cool for 20-30 minutes. Turn out brownies and re-invert on cooling rack to continue the cooling process.

*Crockpot Barbecue Chicken

1.5 lbs chicken breasts (or about 4 nice-sized ones)

1 18 oz bottle of barbecue sauce (I like to use Sweet Baby Ray's!)

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup Italian dressing

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

This one's easy! Place the chicken in your crockpot. In a bowl mix the BBQ sauce, brown sugar, Italian dressing and Worcestershire sauce together. Pour over chicken and set on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4. Once the chicken is fork tender go ahead and shred it up. All done!!

*Oven Fries {to go with the bbq chicken}

2-3 large baking potatoes

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 Tbsp white sugar

1 tsp olive or vegetable oil

Wash, dry and cut your raw potatoes into large pieces, steak fry size. Place cut potatoes into a large resealable plastic bag. Add in your salt, pepper, sugar and veggie oil. Seal closed and shake until all potato pieces are completely coated. Cover a baking sheet with foil and place potatoes onto your lined baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for about 30 minutes or until fries are tender and brown...yet amazingly crispy on the outside!

*Peanut Butter Cup Cookies {these warranted a pic}

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups chopped peanut butter cups

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, shortening, white and brown sugar together. Add in peanut butter, then your eggs one at a time and then the vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together flour and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to your peanut butter mixture until well incorporated. Then stir in chopped peanut butter cups. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes or until just browning. Do NOT over bake!! Let cool for 2-3 minutes before removing from your cookie sheet or they may fall apart!

*Meatloaf Muffins {don't tell Andrew I'm planning on these...he's sure he got the flu from K's meatloaf}

1 pound ground beef (or turkey!)

1 6 oz box of stuffing mix

1 cup water

3/4 cup ketchup

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large bowl, mix together ground beef, water and stuffing mix until well incorporated. Roll meat mixture into balls and press into the cups of a greased muffin tin. Make small indentations into the tops of the muffins and fill with ketchup. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Take out meatloaf muffins, sprinkle the tops with shredded cheese and return to the oven for an additional 5 minutes. Mmm...plate up those bad boys and enjoy a delicious meal with your fam.

*Chicken Salad for a Crowd {a new spin on a couple of my standbys}

4 cups shredded or cubed cooked chicken

1 cup light mayonnaise

1 cup diced celery

2 diced green onions

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1 tsp seasoning salt

1 tsp paprika

ground pepper to taste

Mix together the mayonnaise, paprika, seasoned salt, celery, onions and dried cranberries in a large bowl. Add chicken and mix until well incorporated. Season with black pepper to taste. Chill for at least one hour in your fridge. Serve with a pretty sliced up tomato, or on croissants, potato rolls or, my favorite, Hawaiian bread rolls! Ooh La La!!

*Gluten-Free Granola Bars {for Kirsten for sure}

1 3/4 cup gluten-free quick-cooking oatmeal

1 1/4 cup gluten-free crisp rice cereal

1/2 cup miniature gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup lightly packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup honey

Mix oatmeal and rice cereal together in a medium-sized bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan, mix together brown sugar, oil, and honey. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring for 1 minute. Remove from heat and pour over oatmeal and rice cereal. Stir until well-coated. Pour mixture into an 8x8 pan (I didn't even grease mine and it is lookin' good!) and lightly pat into pan. Sprinkle chips on top and press down into pan. Let cool, cut into bars and pig out!

*Fruit Salsa {my kind of salsa}

1 apple (granny smith are great but really any variety will do!)

2 bananas

2 kiwi

1-2 cups strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapes, mandarin oranges (frozen will even do!)

1 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Peel and dice your apple, bananas and kiwi and place in a medium size bowl. Mix with lime juice. Then add your additional fruit (dicing up the bigger ones into salsa-sized pieces), sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix well. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to let the juices mix. Serve with cinnamon chips and ENJOY!

*Cinnamon Chips {for scooping the fruit salsa}

1 package of flour tortillas

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 cup cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar

Mix cinnamon and sugar together in a medium sized bowl and set aside. Cut your tortillas in to chip-sized pieces. Melt butter and brush both sides of the tortilla chips and then dip into the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes. Cool and serve with fruit salsa!!

*A little side note from me to you...I sometimes don't have any butter and instead just spray my tortillas with cooking spray and then dip them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. They come out just as tasty although I will say that the butter adds a little something extra, call it a buttery-cinnamon gooey-ness if you will :)

*Crockpot Glazed Cinnamon Coffee Cake {not sure I will try...I will eat most of it...someone please do!}

Streusel Topping:

1/4 cup biscuit baking mix (like Bisquick)

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Batter:

1 1/2 cups biscuit baking mix

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup vanilla or plain yogurt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

Glaze:

1 tbsp milk plus a little more

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Grease a 4-quart crockpot. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the stoneware and press into place. Spray with cooking spray too. Blend all streusel ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Then, mix all batter ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended. Spoon 1/2 batter into crockpot. Sprinkle 1/2 streusel mixture on top and then repeat with remaining batter and streusel. Make glaze and set aside. For glaze, whisk milk and powdered sugar until slightly runny in consistency.

Line lid with 2 paper towels and cover tightly. Cook on high for 1 3/4 to 2 hours or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake rest 10 minutes and then invert onto plate, peel off parchment paper. Then invert again onto serving platter. Once cool, spoon glaze over top. Eat and enjoy with some coffee...decaf if your preggie like me :)

*Chicken Taco Soup {fo sho}

2-4 chicken breast (depending on size, about 1 pound...these can be frozen too!)

1 can no salt added corn, drained

1 can black beans

1 can chili beans or light red kidney beans

2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 12oz bottle of beer (or chicken broth)

1 1.25 oz packet taco seasoning

Place all the above ingredients into your crockpot and mix well. Set on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4. Pull the chicken out, shred, and place back into crockpot. Devour!!

Oh, and don't forget the shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and TACO Doritos chips...this makes it over the top AWESOME!


*Pizza Roll {the boys will dig this...the pic looks amazing...and they can do it themselves}

1 pizza dough recipe or store bought pizza dough

pepperoni, sausage etc.

cooked veggies of your choice

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

Spread your dough out onto a greased cookie sheet. Once it is nice and flat and stretched out add the meat and veggies of your choice. Then, sprinkle both cheeses on top. Lastly, sprinkle the Italian seasoning on. Take one short end of the pizza and roll tightly. Once it is all rolled up, pinch in the ends so nothing falls out while baking. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. Serve with a nice green salad and some tomato sauce for dipping and you have an easy meal for the family tonight. Lovely!

I am now super hungry.

You know how you want a gazillion things when you have no money? {or don't you and it's just me?}  Well I have a current list.  Okay, and you know how once you come into some money you hoard it and spend it on nothing?  Okay, that's definitely me.  It's crazy.  I'm crazy. 

Here's my current list...{from memory}

*duct cleaning
*carpets stretched
*carpets cleaned
*kitchen overhaul
*septic pumped {dreamy, huh?}
*Move for PS3 {still a BIG question mark but still made it to my list...we own the PS3}
*games for said Move
*new PS2 controller {our second one broke}
*new shoes for the fam {limited to athletic shoes. otherwise that creates a whole new list for just me}
*final road payment {who pays for their road??  just glad it's our final payment}

{notice there's not too much fun happening here}

*new basketball hoop {just bought one last year but this one will replace the "old" one}
*Kenny Chesney tickets {okay, not technically on the list but I'm happily going to his concert anyway!!}
*Hot Spot
*washer and dryer {put this on hold for now anyway but it's still on the list}
*new patio umbrella {noticed recently that mine did not get put away with the furniture this year}

So now I have money to do a big chunk of this stuff and what do I want to choose first? {or second or third}  Nothing!  Absolutely nothing!!  Since I cannot decide on what to do, I think I'm gonna wait it out awhile.  Oh, except I am doing the first three things soon.  Tax money pays for that stuff easily.  And the concert.  Definitely doing the concert.  We're gonna have a rockin' good time.  It's my mother's day gift to my hubby. ☺  He keeps wondering where the money's comin' from.  Don't worry, dear.  Gotcha covered. ♥

What would you do with my money?  {for me, of course}

Sure Sign...

A definite {slap-you-upside-the-head} sign that it's high time to de-clutter...

I found sixteen! count 'em sixteen! of these rewards cards in my house...and four more in my wallet.

Taking A Load Off {And Out}...

Hello, my squeezies!!! {I think I totally hijacked that from somewhere...}  I am having a super exciting day!!

Last night, with hours to spare before midnight, I hit my goal of Forty Bags in Forty Days!!  I did it.  Yay me.  I actually made it to forty one.  WOOT!  I've been marking them off as I go, but of course I would still have counted them nonetheless.  Anal.  I forgot to grab the list for the breakdown.  I know nobody really cares, but since this is my blog, I'll pretend you do. ☺  I make my first trip to GW Boutique today to drop off the goods.  The bags filled the entire rolling thingy, and there were too many bags to stack too high so I stacked the extras on the ground.  It felt great.  Unfortunately, looking around last night, I couldn't really see a difference.  Too much of a good thing really isn't a good thing, eh?  I'm totally freakin' stoked to get back at it.  happy dance...happy claps...

I cannot believe I totally forgot about Caleb going to a "mixed gender" party last weekend. {hehe}  I wasn't nervous about it.  I don't get stressed over that stuff.  My stress was over Caleb representing his family and his school.  Backing up, he has a girl friend who goes to North Muskegon. {not to be confused with girlfriend}  They text all the time and chat when they are around each other.  She is a neighbor of people I know and trust she comes from a good family.  {they are thought highly of by said people}  She wanted to invite Caleb to her birthday and I was thinking I might be okay with it.  But then she didn't.  {she picked herself up a boyfriend}  Kind of last minute, he was invited anyway, being told she didn't invite him originally because she didn't think he'd come or be able to come.  Anyway, I had him lined up as my sitter and didn't have anyone else but I really wanted him to be able to go.  Not because I was trying to marry him off or anything like that.  I like to sit back and observe how he interacts with girls.  I want to know that he's being influenced in a positive way and that he can handle the situation.  I allowed him to go with a group of other boys.  He was pretty excited.  I didn't meet the mom and regretted that but made sure the mom knew the boys were coming.  I also rehearsed Caleb in the whole introduction bit and reminded him to thank the mom for allowing the boys to be invited. {he's a reflection, remember?}  Blah, blah, blah.  Anyway, Caleb had a great time.  There ended up being a few other North Muskegon girls at the party, but the rest of the guests were girls and boys from Whitehall.  I thought this was hilarious!!  He texted me that it was awkward at first.  I asked him if it was because of the North Muskegon boys.  That's when he told me there weren't any there.  Too funny.  I had offered Caleb a mixed party for his thirteenth but he turned it down.  Andrew got wind of it the other night and asked if he could have one.  I told him for sure.  He wouldn't drop it.  He was in full planning mode.  I reminded him that his twelfth birthday is still around the corner so he has plenty of time to plan...I love my kids.

My Stuff...

I cannot remember the last time I updated here. {and didn't check my last post}  We've been smack dab in the middle of a bunch of stuff and I just need a breather.

The short of the long is that we had our propane tank filled yesterday.  The problem being that we weren't scheduled to do so until November...of eleven!  We needed the fill because we were empty.  Totally stinkin' {pun intended} empty.  The biggest problem of all is that we have a wood boiler and do not use propane for anything all winter except to keep the gas hot water heater's pilot lit.  The guy who wired our thermostats gave bad information and we've been heating with both propane and wood so far this winter!  Lovely.  I truly wanted to spend cash to have our heating and cooling guy come over last Friday evening.  After Ten thirty p.m!!  We like to play wealthy on television.  It's only fitting that we act it all out.  The last time I purchased three hundred gallons of propane it did not cost me eight hundred twenty two dollars.  Lesson learned.  Maybe?  Ugh.

Tomorrow is day forty of my Forty Bags in Forty Days purging quest.  The first month was slow moving.  I have truly had a hard time letting go of so many things.  I am certainly no hoarder but a pack rat??  Apparently.  The last couple of days have been very productive.  {go figure that I put this off}  I have a huge pile and a new box of trash bags sitting in the basement.  I just need to bag the stuff and get it out of my house!  I have a pretty good feeling that once I get through this, I can re-access my belongings and do it all again. {most likely with less than forty bags of stuff}  I'm actually looking forward to it.  A cluttered home lends to a cluttered mind. I think I may actually believe that.  I cannot wait to see what else I can get rid of.  This process has become very freeing.  Sigh.

The Edukators rocked the house Saturday night.  We had a great time with our friends and most of the rest of the two cities.  Holy violations left and right!  That place was packed to the rafters and packed some more.  I lost my voice.  Proof positive.  Great time.

My bigs are heading to Great Wolf with their other fam tomorrow.  They are looking forward to the trip.  Andrew purchased an ipod touch last week with money from both houses {and his birthday money from us thrown in early} and it arrived Monday...one day early!  He has been singing the "Tuesday Will Be The Best Day Ever" song and was over the moon that it was waiting for him when he woke up Tuesday morning.  I had quite a time getting it set up last night.  An evening long update fixed the problem {five hours??} and this morning he was in business.  Caleb's apps loaded onto Andrew's ipod, with the exception of the sports apps, which is what I think Andrew wanted.  Hopefully he doesn't recognize the big blue "F" because he can't have a fb account til he's twelve...and he's got over five weeks to go. ☺  Caleb is bummed that Andrew's ipod is a newer generation than his.  Andrew's cool enough to have both the video camera and webcam.  No fair!!  Kids.  Gotta love 'em.

I want spring to come!!  I want to paint something and I want to refinish the deck.  Cleaning out our basement pantry last night, I came across no less than twenty eight gallons of paint and stain, as well as fifteen quarts.  I've read that as long as it has been sealed correctly, it can all last a long time as long as it's stirred well.  Maybe I'll do some mixing or maybe somebody else wants to try a color.  I found a few that have never been opened...Zweigle, I still plan to send you that paint chip and, Kirsten, I'm stopping by soon!!

For The Love Of Money...

Damn you, Target.  Damn you.  Why must you always take one hundred dollars of my money every time I come to visit?  That's not really the hostest-

with-the-mostest thing to do now, is it?  But I heart you anyway, because I picked up some super fine loot. {and I ran into my sweet Christine.  Great trip}

I trekked to Target last night for a gift for Kyle's friend's birthday sleepover tonight. {got that?}  Kyle wanted to buy Colton some baseball cards to start his collection and a binder and pocket pages to put them in.  I knew to turn right  just beyond the dollar spot, hit the card collection aisle and scoot.  Have you ever noticed I'm not a good follower of directions?  I thought I was doing good because I skipped the back section of the store.  I hit everything else.  Good thing I did.  I snagged three, count 'em THREE, feather and down twin comforters for eight seventy four a piece...eight dollars and seventy four cents each!  The original price of ONE was thirty four ninety nine!  I actually talked out loud to myself, basically patting myself on the back for getting such a great deal!  Now I know my babies will be snugly warm.  Currently they all have quilts on their beds, loaded with fuzzy blankets.

I also found somethin' super fly for my bathroom wall.  I haven't found anything at all for the walls in there, including a towel bar.  I just want to be really picky in there, thanks to the good ol' plaster over drywall situation.  This little somethin' is actually a picture frame so I have to do some thinking before hanging it.  The background is brown but am thinking about taking the back off completely since it doesn't match at all and letting the blue show through.  Check out the leaf scroll work...

It matches perfectly great with my leaf shower curtain...

I truly wish this was all the money I spent but like I said, it's Target.  What more can I say?  Unfortunately, most of the rest was random, but I did get not only Colton's gift but some gifts for my nieces' birthdays.

One gift I did purchase for myself, with a gift card from Vic's, is super cheeky. {pun intended}

How could I not??

Game tonight.  The last of the regular season.  Working concessions with Kris.  I think we should bring along blindfolds.  And Caramel Frappes.  Wouldn't that be fun?  We can certainly does this stuff with our eyes closed.  And since Connie will be joining us, blindfolds and caffeine would cause be a riot.

The bigs are joining their Spanish Club Amigos for dinner at the Mexican joint in town.  Andrew is especially excited because he missed the first one.  He is a little nervous about ordering in Spanish and when he mentioned that to Caleb, Caleb's response was, "If you want a burrito say burrito.  If you want a taco say taco."  Andrew's response was, "I didn't know burrito means burrito in Spanish."

Tomorrow I am signing Kyle up for t-ball.  He is excited.  I am bummed.  He was fantastic to watch in soccer.  He has no idea how much slower paced t-ball is.  He really needs action.  It'll be a learning year for sure.  We are not signing Caleb up for baseball but I hope to reserve the right to be able to at a later date.  He is trying out for another team and tryouts are not until about the time pony league practices start.  He wants to play, but not both seasons. {his words}  If he doesn't make this team, we hope we can still get him to play summer league.  I'll find out tomorrow.  Andrew is so excited for tennis.  Practices start after spring break.  The receptionist at his doc's office said we just need to drop off a physical form since he's been there in the past year.  When K dropped off the form, however, he was told they need a urine specimen.  One lady said Andrew needed to come in.  Another said he just needs to pee in a bottle.  Ugh.  The left hand needs to know what the right hand is doing.  I, however, am not angry.  My left and right are usually off, too.☺

To the Chamber, baby.  Tomorrow night our teacher friends are playing in their band and we are havin' a night out.  WOOT!  Singing, dancing, laughing...cannot wait for the good times to roll.

Our ski plans are off for Sunday.  It broke my heart to have to break the news to Andrew.  He was looking forward to it the most.  I felt doubly horrible because I had just finished text inviting the Rakes to go with us when I got news that baseball practice starts the same evening.  The ski deal is also in the afternoon/evening hours.  Bummer.  I imagine we have to make other plans to ski.  We could do it locally but cross country doesn't appeal to the boys.  Grand Haven has a spot but you need your own equipment.  Boo.  Looks like we pay the big bucks to go in two weeks??  Rakes...you in?  This is the unofficial invite!

Here's something and then I'm done.  Next Friday we are having our ducts cleaned out.  I am thrilled.  We all have breathing problems, seasonal allergies, and whatnot, and pet dander is big on the list of problems.  The prior owners had a big dog and they were dirty not the tidiest of housekeepers so I know that dog hair and yuck have been blowing around our home for years.  NO more I say!  I hope this tackles the problem.  Then the living room carpet will get stretched and then carpets will be cleaned.

Ahh...spring.