B & B

Tonight we went bowling..Mattie's first time..we found a place that charges $18.00 for an hour of bowling..up to 6 people..that is what I call cheap entertainment! Rich took Mattie out to let her "try" to bowl..she got really upset when her ball rolled away..poor baby.

She's got bowling "genes."

Trae doesn't like to put his fingers in the holes..he is always afraid they will get stuck?? So he just tosses it:)

"Mr. Grease Lightning" himself!

And for dinner tonight..Carne Asada Burritos..yummmo! I like all the fixin's on mine: beans, cheese, cilantro, tomatoes, sour cream, avocado, squeeze of lime.

Home

I finished this lo last night at the crop..yes..the only one I completed..wasn't feeling well..getting a cold. But I had fun..meeting new people and giggling. Ate lots of pizza!

This is picture of the house where I sort of grew up..age 1 - age 9 ?? Dad help me out here..
Anyhoo..lots of "good" memories here..bike riding, Thor, Andy the cat, trick-or-treating, sandbox, baking chocolate chip cookies, Nanny Greene, strawberry garden, Dairy Queen, vegetable garden, swing set, lilac bush, fun church activities, snow, race track, etc. just random things that pop into my head.

But here it is..347 N. 4th Street, West Branch, Michigan, 48661
This is how it looks today..I mean as of July 2007..when I visited last.

T.G.I.F.

The circus was a blast! It was a much deserved evening with the entire family together:) We met a man that travels with the circus..he was a very nicely dressed man in a suit..I would of never guessed he was with the circus..anyhoo..he struck up a conversation with Rich & I, he asked how old Mattie was..he was talking about his little girl..she is 22 months..he showed us a picture of her on his cell phone..what a cutie she was..he was telling us how she travels with him and his wife..they live on a train..that is how the circus travels..he is in management & his wife runs a daycare of 20-30 children while the performers practice their routine..each Barnum & Bailey train is 1 mile in length! He told us that there are actually 3 Barnum & Bailey groups and the three teams rotate. One team is blue..one is yellow..one is red (I think)..anyhoo..they travel 11 months out of the year..they do 90 shows and there are 350 performers per team, per train.
Wow!! I had no idea..how big of a deal the circus was...

I forgot my super duper zoom lens..so this was the only photo I could get..the elephants are my favorite..except for when they had an accident in the floor..my goodness..be thankful that we can just flush ours..and not have to have 4 people to clean it up with ginormous shovels..yuck!

Awww..protective brother..covering Mattie's eyes during the bright harsh lights shining into the crowd..

We were really packed in there like sardines..

Izabelle's treat for the night..a $9.00 snow cone..with a collectible cup..the cup is worth $9.00..right? *smirk*

This hat with a bag of cotton candy was $12.00..but we "had" to have cotton candy..right?

This morning we enjoyed some cinnamon rolls..and Mattie "really" enjoyed them!

So back to Friday...Rich is off today...yessssssssssssssssssssss! He hasn't had a day off during the week in months. So he is enjoying a much needed haircut right now..and he will enjoy a movie shortly with his movie tickets he got for Christmas..he is watching Rambo. He is into anything with Sylvester Stallone in it.

Later I get to go to a crop with my sweet MIL...yessssssssssssss! We haven't been to one since the last Scrap It! crop last summer. So that is where we will be from 5p-10p..I need a break from the kiddos..really need a break..oh..I already said that:) Yesterday was a doosey, except for the end of the day..the circus.

Izabelle was late coming home from her dad's..I had to get blood work done..I hate it..after 20 something years of getting it done every 6 months you would think I would be used to it..nope..not me! Izabelle didn't want a haircut yesterday..so she {did not} cooperate at the salon..she kept putting her hands in her hair during the cut..very embarrassing..we are trying to straighten her hair up from a bad experience from Great Clips..Rrrr. Then when I was paying the bill I sat Mattie in a salon chair so I could sign my visa receipt..and asked Izabelle to watch her..well Izabelle gets in the salon chair with Mattie and starts spinning....really..really..really fast..Mattie's eyes were bugging out of her head..I thought she was going to barf..I started out softly with "Izabelle please stop"..then got louder & louder with "Izabelle, I said stop!" We had an audience by then..I couldn't get out the door fast enough!

Then when we got home..I started dealing with my Avon shipment that was very damaged!

So..needless to say..I am very thankful today is FRIDAY! Whewwww.......

Ahhh! Nap time..

Aren't they just precious..when they are asleep?
So glad she is getting some sleep..'cause Richie is taking us to the circus tonight..yippee! Izabelle is pumped! Looks like one of those nights again:
Izabelle + Cotton Candy = Bouncing off the walls!

I guess she will be up late with me tonight working (after the circus)..Avon decided to go with UPS instead of their normal delivery company (a truck that delivers just Avon) and I am not happy about it at all. The merchandise gets really tossed about..I have damages this time..so it will take a while to get orders packed and invoices edited tonight..Rrrrrr!

Izzy..doing her online reading program..she is really liking this program..she looks forward to it everyday:)

Well....we are off to get Izzy's haircut..appointment at 3:45p!

17 months..already!

Whoops! Where did she go?

There she is..!

Mattie says.."The End."

P.S. {G-I-V-E-A-W-A-Y}!!! I just found this..so check it out!

Win an Insignia Bluetooth MP3 Player..click here to enter, then you will have to scroll down a bit..thanks to Best Buy! The winner will be announced on Tuesday, February 5th.

P.S.S. Another {G-I-V-E-A-W-A-Y}!!!

Win a Red '65 Mustang Pedal Car..click here to enter..thanks to Pedal Cars and Retro Collectables!

*STILL*

Yippee! Second lo finished so far this year..{don't laugh} *wink*

This one is for the OLW challenge. Thanks to my sweet friend Melissa:) She was visting this weekend and we were looking through wedding photos, lo's, etc. She asked me "Why haven't you scrapped any of your wedding photos?" I didn't have an answer, except I was afraid to mess them up?
So....wa-la....a wedding photo....scrapped....and it fits this word perfectly....I think:)

Journaling says:
"I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and STILL wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but STILL getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you."

Feelin' scrappy..

I haven't scrapped in forever. I finished this one last night. Hopefully this will be the start of something good...hopefully:)

Any trapped white space, Renee or Doris? I am not exactly sure what that means. Help!

Teapots, 'nanas, Chocolate Gravy & my "Susie Q"

What a wonderful relaxing Saturday I am having!

I just got off the phone with my {Auntie Susie-Q}..my other most favorite Auntie in the entire universe! We talked for over 2 hours:) When we realized it.. I said, "Oh, that's nothing. Aunt Cherry and I talk for 3 and 4 hours at a time. My Uncle Ernie teases her about the phone beginning to grow to her ear!" *wink*

So we had a wonderful talk! *This is the teapot I spoke of.* We were wondering if it belonged to my Grandma DePugh or not. *So let me know if you remember it.*

I decided today that I have the "DePugh hoarding gene." Not an illness..just one of those things. So next time I have the urge to shove little Cracker Barrel syrup's or Splenda packets from a restaurant table into my purse, I won't think to myself "What is wrong with me?".. I will just laugh and think to myself.."I am just a DePugh!" *smirk*


We talked a little about Chocolate Gravy & Biscuits. I was stunned that she had never experienced it..specially after being exposed to the "Hillbilly" side of my family. Yes, I am part Hillbilly & part Yankee. LOL! I made this for Trae & I a couple of nights ago. It really hit the spot!
Hey there blogger friends..don't turn your nose up just yet. Give it a try, then let me know what ya think.

Chocolate Gravy
1 c. cocoa-unsweetened
2 c. sugar
1 stick butter/margarine
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pinch of salt
4 heaping tbsp. cornstarch or all-purpose flour
3 cans pet milk or 4 c. sweet milk

Stir together all dry ingredients. Then add remaining ingredients. Cook slowly. Keep stirring. Boil just until thick.
Pour over fresh, hot biscuits and enjoy!

*Growing up this was breakfast food*




I found Mattie asleep the other day like this. It made me laugh..so of course I had to take a picture..then I covered her with a blankey.

Mattie's morning ritual: 'nanas and milk. I had just emptied this milk jug and had to open another..for some reason she didn't want me to put it in the trash can..she just wanted to hold it.

She has some kind of wild hair when she wakes up..huh?

Treasured Ornies

They aren't worth a dime..but I love them and will not part with them.

The first photo is of an ornament that has been in our family for atleast 35 years. I own two of them. My mother had them on our tree in Michigan when I was little..I think there were more, not sure where they all are. So I treasure the two of them.


I have several of these gold and silver balls..they aren't the most beautiful things in the world. But they have been around as long as the boots and really sparkle with the tree lights.

The last photo is of an ornament that I made while I was in Kindergarten! I love, love, love it:) I don't have a lot of childhood "things"..so I am very proud of this handmade ornie.
It still has the original label on it {Jill D.} to determine that it was mine.

Now..I must put the Christmas decor in the Christmas closet until November 2008.

Have a happy day!

Happy New Year!

I bought this tiara and some blow horns for Mattie to play with and thought I could snap some cute pics of her in her new pj's from "Ya-ya" & "Pa-pa"..but she wouldn't have anything to do with the stuff. So..Plan B, Toto will be good and wear the tiara! He humored me for the afternoon..bless his little heart:)

This is what I got of Mattie with her sweet pink pj's..I seriously need to read that manual thingy that came with my camera! What kind of goof spends that kind of money on a camera and doesn't read the manual? That would be me.