{ Fresh haircut and finally have bedside tables }

It is Sunday night, and I am in my bed, under the warm covers, shivering.   I am so cold!

The weather hasn't been too bad for this time of the year, we've been in the high 70's which is not normal for end of November, but today they dropped down, we had rain and high winds and all sorts of winter weather.

I will say though, we have yet to light the fire.  We try to hold out until it gets much colder so that we don't go through our wood pile too quickly.

Let me show you how I spent my weekend.

Starting with Friday morning, I dropped Jasmine off at work, then went to my commissary.  Last Friday when I got my groceries, I did a Walmart pick up, and as much as I like the convenience of it, there is always something that I order that doesn't make it to my house.  Which is ok, if they told me they didn't have the item, but they don't, they just leave it out of the order and I usually don't even realize until I'm ready to cook and am missing something.

I know, my fault too because I should check as soon as I get home, and I don't.

Anyway, some chicken, pork chops, and a few other items never made it to the pickup, and I kind of put it off for a week, but really needed them for meals, so decided to go ahead and make a trip to the store.

I managed to get everything I needed and a few extras my husband asked for, like chips.  The ground beef was also pretty cheap, so I picked up a few extra for the freezer.

Got home, got it all put away, with my trusty helper, Elliott.  He is the inspector, checks every bag, smells everything, you know quality inspector.  Hahah

Didn't do much else on Friday other than picking up my daughter from work, making dinner and cleaning the house.

Saturday morning we dropped her back off at work and then drove by Walmart to pick up the peanut oil we needed for our turkey.  Luckily for us, we spotted some really nice bedside tables for a very good price, and decided to go ahead and get them.

Got back home, and Curt got busy with his college work, he had a few papers to write.  I decided to build the furniture myself while he did that.

Love how they turned out, it is exactly what I was looking for.

While I worked on those, someone took a nap on the bed.  He is so cute, and look at just how fluffy he is.  Sweet boy!

Curt brought in some more harvest from our Fall/Winter garden.  My lettuce is going crazy out there, and so are my green onions.

I soaked everything in a water and vinegar bath, then set them out to dry on clean kitchen towels, and packed everything away between paper towels, for use during the week.

While that was drying, I worked on laundry, folded a ton while hanging out with hubby.  Look at the smile on his face hahahah  He figured out the camera was set and quickly looked back like this.  LOL

Marley sat at my feet, chewing on a piece of cardboard he ripped from a box.  He is such a gorgeous looking dog.  Love him so much.

And yes, I got a fresh hair cut.  I was trying so hard to grow out my hair but I just can't do it.  I have very thick heavy hair and it becomes a hassle for me.  I got a bob, not an asymmetrical one, just a plain bob and it already feels lighter.

And cutey Elliott sat on the couch, next to the laundry basket, pawing at every article of clothing I pulled out. 

Now let me show you Elliott's mama.  She is our barn cat, remember I told you the story of how she abandoned him in our workshop.  She took all the others and left our sweet boy behind.  

I know it's normal for this to happen, but every time I think about it, it makes me so sad.  Just thankful Curt went to the workshop that day and found them, or he would have died in there.

But, regardless of that, he looks so much like her, the face is different though and she is not fluffy like he is, but you can tell they are related.

Today, we started with rain and high winds.  I took Jasmine to work early morning and then came home, worked on editing these photos, let Marley sleep on my lap for a little and just took it easy.

Marley wasn't feeling very well today, he threw up a few times this morning and his stomach was making loud noises all morning long.  When he feels that way, he likes to lay on my lap and rest, so I let him do that.

I kind of needed that moment too.

While I was driving back home this morning, it was raining and the wind was blowing , and my little car always feels like it's being smacked around on the road.  It makes me nervous and uneasy, and so I turn to prayer and keep it going until I pull into my driveway.

But as I was driving, I was praying and listening to worship music and the tears just started to flow.  I don't know why or where they came from, but I got a knot in my throat and it just went from there.  

I started then thinking of my sweet mother in law and how she is no longer among us, how this is the first Thanksgiving without her, and it really hit me that she is gone for good.

Needless to say by the time I got home, I wanted to lay on my bed and nap all these feelings away.

And I did just that, a very short nap and then back to laundry.

Little did I know that Elliott was about to give me a huge surprise.  I had washed some bed sheets yesterday, but set them on the couch and didn't get to fold them because we got busy with other stuff.

I went to fold them today and as I started folding the flat sheet I realized that it smelled weird, and I couldn't figure out why.  I brought it to my nose, smelled it and again pulled it away.  I didn't know why it was smelling like that because I had just washed them.  That's when my eyes shifted to the couch, and a dead mouse was laying there, right where the sheet was.

  

You guys, the scream I let out must have been heard countrywide.

I dropped the sheets to the ground and ran to the kitchen.  Shoved my face under water and washed as hard as I could all the time gagging and trying to tell myself that it was ok that my nose touched the sheet that was on the dead mouse.  Hahahah

I don't know, I don't know if I can handle this mice thing with cats.  Lord knows I can't stand mice, they make my skin crawl, and now it's been 3 mice that I've had to encounter hahahah

Jesus give me strength!

Anyway, I thought that was a funny story to share and some of you cat moms can appreciate.

I am going to get this post up, then try and get some reading done before bed.  How has another weekend gone by so fast, how is it Thanksgiving in a few days?  Goodness.

Have a blessed night friends, I'll be back in the morning with our Happy Homemaker Monday.

{ A day for running errands }

Yesterday was one of those days where I was out for a while and didn't get to do much at home.

I don't mind a day like that, once in a while, but those kind of days always seem to reiterate the fact that I'm a homebody and that is where I like to be.

Housework was done in the morning and then at noon I had a hair appointment.

I was thinking about growing out my hair and actually planned on doing just that, but when I got to the hairdresser, I changed my mind, as I often do.  What happened was a choppity chop like I haven't had in many many years. 

I think the last time I had my hair this short was back in Arizona.

If you follow me on Instagram and Facebook then you probably will have seen my newest cut.  I'm still getting used to, it's a bit shorter than I wanted but it's hair and it will grow out.

{ I was given a challenge.....sort of..... }

Do not color your hair until August 23rd.

Such simple words, and yet they hit me like a ton of bricks.  Oh friends, I'm in for a big fight with myself hahahaha

Alright let me back track a bit and tell you how this came about.  And then I'm going to give you photos of my hair and show you what's happening.

I had my hair appointment this morning.  My hair is super thick, and very unmanageable if it's not cut, layered and given some texture.  It has been 3 months since my last cut and I was struggling with the unruly mop of a mess on my head.

I went to my hairdresser (who is amazing by the way) and she gave me just what I needed.  She knows my hair so well and knows what to cut, where to cut and how to cut it.  After lots of texturizing, layering, point cutting and snips here and there, I was feeling great.

Then I said to her "Hey Tara, I have a lot of grays coming in and I just hate that I have to color every 3 weeks, it's a bit annoying, wish I could do something about it.".

So she tells me that we should try some lowlights.  Here's the thing, I have been coloring my own hair for years, mainly because I don't have the money to go and get it done professionally, it's too much money.  Curt keeps pushing me to go and do it, but I just don't.

But I was thinking, you know my birthday is coming up in August and maybe that would be a gift to myself.  So I made the appointment with her, and she is always booked up so her next available isn't until August 23rd.......mind you my birthday is the 10th, BUT it's fine, still my birthday month right?

She then challenges me NOT to color my hair until then, to just let it go natural, let the grays come out and then we'll do a nice color when I see her in a few weeks.

HELP ME!!!!  According to her I'm 75% gray already.  Again, HELP ME!!!  hahahah

So I told her I would do my best to not reach for the dye bottle and try very very hard to leave it as is.  I know it's best and it will be nice to do a proper color but I'm not sure how I'll feel through this challenge.   Think I can do it?

There is no denying that I'm getting older, my wrinkles around the eyes certainly don't try to hide that fact.

I think I need to just embrace the changes and remind myself on a daily basis, that some others are not as blessed or lucky to make it to my age.  It's all about being thankful for what we have and where we are.

Doesn't make it easy though does it?  But I am going to try super duper hard to make it through this challenge.  I will let you know how I'm getting on, and I may even keep sharing pictures of my hair as the weeks go.  It will be interesting to see how much gray I really do have and how it will look after the color is done.

I guess you could say today was a me day.  Usually I start my morning on the computer, but today I kept it shut off.  After Curt had left for work, I grabbed my cup of coffee and my cereal, sat on the couch, pulled the blanket over my legs and sat and read from 7am to 10am.

3 hours of quiet, uninterrupted reading time, and wow did that feel good.  I'm not halfway through the book and already wishing it never to end.

After my hair appointment, I met up with Curt for lunch at the pizza place a few doors down from the salon and then made my way home.

Did a bit of cleaning, some dishes, played with Marley, talked to Nick for about an hour, and then made a cup of coffee and once again sat on the couch with my book for another hour.

I would never do this, because I feel so guilty just sitting and reading, but it did me a world of good and put me in such a good mood to be able to indulge in something I thoroughly enjoy, without worrying, without interruptions, and without feeling like I was doing something wrong.

Sometimes that's all we need as moms and homemakers, to sit down and indulge ourselves.

Dinner tonight was a simple Alfredo pasta with broccoli and mushrooms.  I've decided that I'm going to do a meatless meal every week.  It will give us a break from meat heavy dishes and it will be a little cheaper too with the prices of meat having gone up so much lately.

I'll share the recipe on the blog tomorrow, as I made the pasta in my pressure cooker. 

Ok, Mister Marley is giving me the cute eyes beckoning for me to get into bed.  He is ready to go to sleep but likes to have someone to snuggle with.

I better oblige him.  Have a blessed night everyone :)

{ Oops I did it again }

So not that long ago I got a hair cut, remember?

I even posted pics here and at the time I was so so with it, it wasn't my favorite cut, matter of fact as the days passed I grew to absolutely loathe it, just didn't like it, it didn't look right, it didn't feel right and it wasn't ME.
You know what I mean right?

Us women need a haircut that screams "HEY, this is totally me" and it wasn't doing that, it was more of a "Hey, 3 guesses who I am and what I like". Blech, boring.

So this morning I got up and said, that's it, I'm done, I want this impostor gone.
45 minutes later I walked out of the Hair Dresser with the biggest smile on my face, actually it was more of a grin....a naughty grin....because THIS is me, I had a friend say "that says Spunky Military wife and mommy and it completely fits your personality". BINGO!


Darn I'm dark...I tell you, you want to get a good tan going, just come and visit me for a day, that's it...ONE day.

I WUB it, yes totally WUB it. I mean, once you've gone short in the back, you can never go long again.

Yeah, this is me, this is totally me and I'm so happy.

Have you noticed that when you feel good about your hair you tend to convey a totally different vibe?

Nothing like a good haircut to make you smile.

Next on the list....coloring my hair. My grays are starting to jump out again, ugh, I can't stand them they drive me insane. So I'm going to color it, with my trusty $2 hair color...cause I'm cheap like that. HA!

So what do you think? Me? Not me? Or are you just sick of seeing my hair adventures and want me to never post a picture again? LOL

I want to know, give me one word that comes to your mind when you look at me and keep it nice, I don't want to have to unfollow anyone LOL

New Haircut!

Well I did it, I finally cut my long hair off and I LOVE it. It's so much lighter and so cute and spunky, my husband loves it too :)

So what do you think? Suits me or not?

This cold is kicking my behind!!!

Boy it's been a while since a cold has beat me down so bad. You know how it is, you get a cold and usually you can function, for the most part, as a mom you can't help BUT to continue going. Now THIS cold, this is something else, for the first time today I woke up and felt like doing nothing, I just don't have the energy.

You ever feel like that??? Like you have to coax your body into moving, "you know if you just get up and go do this, I promise I'll give you a big candy bar later". That was me this morning....trying to convince myself to get up off the couch and start the laundry. I know I know, I could leave it, but that's what I've done and now I have a ton that needs to be washed, and really, I like having the choice of clean clothes everyday, don't you???

Today was Picture Day at Jasmine's School. She insisted on picking what to wear and how she wanted her hair....guess my little girl is growing up, I just can't believe she's almost 8 years old.

I look at her at times and wonder where the time has gone, she looks so grown up, so mature and independent. I was just telling Curt yesterday that the whole idea of my kids growing up, scares the living daylights out of me.

It's funny how our thoughts and perspectives change the minute we have children. I always joke about how I've become a hypochondriac. Before I got married, I would have a headache or feel really lousy, and it didn't bother me at all....I didn't even question the thought of it being anything more than a cold or stress.
Then I got married and it shifted a bit, I would be a little more worried about it, after all I now had a husband.

I was NOT prepared however for the feelings that would arise in me, after giving birth. Every little symptom has me frantically searching for the cause....is it really just a cold??? What if I'm really sick, what if this is something serious, what would happen to my children, I couldn't put them through that. And so on....morbid isn't it??? It's actually crazy if you think about it.

It's like watching tv, or reading the news, I can sob at things that never used to upset me.
Watching the Barbara Walters interview with Terri Irwin (Steve Irwin's widow), I bawled through it all, and I don't mean just a little tear, I was just crying my eyes out. I found it extremely sad and seeing her so distraught just broke my heart, but the minute the kids pictures came up and they showed Bindi Sue's speech at his memorial, that was it for me.

But it also helps me realize just how God feels about us, about His children and the pain and heartache we go through. What's worse is that I know that I am the one bringing them on myself at times which in turn causes Him pain too. How sad, nothing like that to make me rethink my actions.

Anyway, enough about sad things, I have a haircut appointment at 1pm. I was going to cancel it but they are full for a couple of weeks and I've already been waiting for a while. I'm not doing anything drastic, I want to keep my length but just layer it. I have the thickest hair and there's no way that I can wear it one length, it's really heavy. You know what kind of haircut I want??? Like Kelly Monaco, if only I could find a good picture to show the hairdresser...oh well, maybe I'll be lucky and get one that watches General Hospital. LOL


Wish me luck though, I have the family pictures tomorrow, if they mess it up I'm in trouble!!!

I'm extremely blessed to have such a wonderful husband. I was running a fever yesterday, and even though he had just gone to bed at 9am (remember he works night shift), he got up at 2pm to go pick up Jasmine. He insisted that I stay home and take care of myself, while he took Nicholas and then picked up dinner on the way home too. How great of a guy is he huh???

I managed to take a bath while he was gone, it felt good to just relax and not worry about quickly washing up or trying to keep the kids out of the bathroom with their questions:

1. What are you doing?
2. Why are you taking a bath?
3. Can I give you my ducky?
4. Can I take a bath with you?
5. But why can't I go in too?
6. I need a drink, I need a snack!

I have to keep reminding them that daddy is just downstairs and to go ask him for stuff. Even when he's home they still come to me for everything...amazing isn't it? LOL

But anyway, I took my bath and then had dinner and went to bed. That's how miserable I felt. 5:30pm and I'm tucked into bed, slipping in and out of sleep!!!

I think I slept for two hours and then woke up at 7pm, just in time for the new show "Ugly Betty". I LOVED it, what a sweet sweet show, I really enjoyed it. Can't wait for next week :)
And since Barb mentioned it, and said she felt sorry for me for not watching survivor LOL, I went back and forth between the two. I don't know what it is, I just can't get into survivor, I find it extremely boring....but that's just my opinion. *Ducks from stones*

Anyway, I better get going, have a couple things to do before heading to my appointment. Hope you are all enjoying your Friday, and oh, here you go, some French Vanilla Coffee to take with you....nothing to eat though, sorry, I was too lazy and sick to do it :)

God Bless,





For dinner I'm fixing Portuguese Steak with Onions or better known to us portuguese people as "Bifes de Cebolada". I'm serving them with Portuguese Fried Potatoes, the recipes will be up on the food blog later.






Rachael Ray - *new* ABC 12pm

Ghost Whisperer - *new* CBS 7pm

Most Haunted - Travel Channel 8pm

Exploring three reportedly haunted sites in the city of Derby.

Most Haunted - *new* Travel Channel 9pm

Laundry
Making Budget and Grocery List
Getting Hair Cut