Birthday Wishes

a person who is very special to me

is celebrating a birthday today

she is one of my closest dearest friends

we did not meet by chance

because we are related

our relationship started when she was born

here I am ~ all of 2 1/2 and she a mere babe

I could fill pages with pictures of us together

as there are many

 

our grandfather called us

2 peas in a pod

yup ~ that's us

the matching shirts phase

 

at the farm on a beautiful Sunday afternoon

 

memories are made of times like this

 I was her maid of honor at her wedding

 and she was mine

we have seen each other through so much

and I am grateful that we have remained close

although distance separates us

and 

we do not get to see each other nearly enough

we share secrets

and long phone conversations

we use to send cards and letters

now most times it is chatting on line

and emails

 

so today I want to celebrate her

from the little girl she was

to the wonderful woman she is today

she is a wife, a mother, a daughter, 

a teacher, a friend

and someone I love with all my heart.

Happy Birthday Gina

I hope you have the best one yet!

 

Cheers to the memories we have made

and the ones that are yet to come.

Love you!

Friday Potpourri

Hello there ~ it's Friday...

my favorite day of the week

other than Sunday that is

I have been rather absent this week

and I apologize

with making lists

and checking them twice

I have not got around to many of my favorite reads

I must make a promise to myself

oh yeah ~ here I go again

another promise....

to take the time and relax ~ unwind and read

I will do that

a girl that I work with lost her Mom this week

the funeral is tomorrow

she had been sick for awhile

but only diagnosed 2 weeks ago ~ scary

when I saw this quote I said to myself

there ~ there is a message 

breathe.....

I have been wanting to take a picture of

my new do

but it seems morning is not my best time

and it is dark when I get home

so maybe on the week-end

I really have to get the upstairs put back together

as the office is all painted

and the flooring is done

baseboards will have to wait

I can live without them ~ right?

Saturday night we are going next door

it's game night

and may a few of these

 

I also want to give a shout out to a very special girl

who is celebrating a birthday on Saturday

right now she is traveling through India with her camera

and taking some amazing pictures

if you have not been over to see them you must go now!

Happy Birthday Kim!

are these not one of the cutest pairs of shoes you have ever seen??!!

I know some of you are planning your Thanksgiving

and 

I will be back soon with a little give-away

so I leave you now

and wish you a wonderful week-end

Cookie!!

Hello Cookies

Happy Wednesday!

Now I usually do a wordless version

but this morning I figured I would talk

yeah ~ there is a lot going on in this little brain

and I do not even have turkey on my mind like most of you!

I have pulled out my recipes

and started my Christmas baking list

now I don't bake chocolate chip for Christmas

but these pictures spoke to me

kind of like 

"get off your butt if you want some of this"

not really ~ but I could hear that in my mind....

are these not just the cutest ~ you could make those anytime of the year also

in the new Canadian Living magazine

there is a recipe for these

and I just may take the plunge 

and attempt to make them!

Now for my list ~ here are the babies I will be making

to enjoy over the holidays

 Almond Fingers

this is a recipe that has passed down through the generations

Trevor is not a fan but I love them!

 Birdsnests

another family tradition

best with raspberry jam  in the center

Peanut Butter Blossoms

I started making these a few years ago

and they are great to make for a cookie exchange

they are my "go to" recipe

these are coconut/oatmeal cookies

with dates and either cherries or dried cranberries

 Shortbread

it would not be Christmas without my grandmother's 

shortbread recipe.  I usually put them through the 

cookie press but the dough can be rolled and cut too

Thumbprint

 

another fun little addition to add to the sweet tray

Oatmeal Gumdrop

I make these all year round for a change of pace

it is the same recipe as the ones above but you add

gumdrops instead of the fruit

so these are just the cookies on my list

betcha want one now!

What are your favorites?

Do you bake for Christmas?

Are there special recipes that have passed down

that you love?

do tell.....

R*e*s*p*e*c*t

Oh ~ the holiday shopping season has arrived I think

I will warn you now

this is not a post full of pretty pictures

or kind words

it is a little vent...

yesterday ~ like every Sunday

I headed to the grocery store

I was not in a foul mood or rushed in any way

 I was checking things off my list

and checking out the sales

when a cart hit me from behind

thinking it was someone I knew

that was just horsing around ~ trying to get my attention

I turned around with a smile

and saw this little old lady

and she was not from Pasadena ~ veering around me

without a sorry or excuse me

now I am usually quite tolerant

I do respect my elders

after all

my generation was raised to do that

but I was quite perturbed when this happened

so I shrugged it off and kept on my way

fast forward 15 minutes or so and

now I am in the check out line

and I will admit

I try my best to get in a line without a 12 year old

ringing through the purchases

but yesterday I did not do that

I know they are not 12

but I think when I was 16 or 17

I knew better than to put bread and milk

in the same bag

just saying...

I had my first job at 16 and I know I was not giving

gold standard customer service by a long shot

 but I did not sigh when I was waiting on my customer

and ask them what time it was

after I was all rung through

and heading out to the parking lot

I see a man that made his own spot

so I shake my head and roll my eyes.....

I get into my car and get to thinking

the Christmas shopping season has not even started yet

and people are tearing around with no regards to 

the people around them

I feel I am fortunate

I do not have to go from store to store 

looking for the latest coolest must have toy

because I have 4 legged kids

my buy for list is relatively small

I do not have to travel far to spend time

with my family

so I made a deal with myself 

that I will treat others with respect

while we head out into the hustle and bustle

this holiday season

 thanks for listening!