if the hat fits.....

Another picture of the witch's hat.....

Are you a witch?

There are two ways to decorating for October....the month of Halloween. There's the fall colors, pumpkins, leaves, scarecrows and harvest. Then there's the blood and gore, ghosts and witches, spooks and goblins. Because I have taught in private and public schools where pumpkins are allowed but not jack-o-lanterns, I have collected a little of both. I love the colors of Halloween....black, white, orange, purple and neon green. When I put my things out in my entryway, I go with a very tame Halloween. Some jack-o-lanterns and a couple of witches....nothing too gorey. Although, if Will had his way, it would look gruesome. I miss the kids being young enough to really get into the Trick or Treating and talking about their costumes for the month leading up to the big night. I dont' put near as many decorations out as I used to. I think I still decorate just to remind myself that it is October....even though it's 95` outside.

At the school where I work, each grade level takes a turn decorating the PTO volunteer workroom each month.....along with providing them treats to snack on. I am doing the decorating for the kinder team ...we pulled the month of October. So I am loading up all of my pumpkins for the Pumpkin Patch theme. Tame.....but still fun to pull it all together. I guess that's why I was inspired to craft something for me and for the PTO room...even though I am still not feeling so well.

Today, I decoupaged a couple of paper mache boxes for fall. One represents the harvest....and the other....well, it says, "if the hat fits, wear it." There have many days in my life where you could almost see my hair turning neon green and if I had had the hat, it definitely would have fit. So which are you? The Pumpkin or the Jack? The witch or the scarecrow? The Boo! or Happy Harvest!

I know that many find it offensive, but when I think of Halloween, I just think of childhood Halloween school carnivals dressed as a gypsy....with all of my mothers scarves and costume earrings hanging on me.....and having the time of my life eating all that candy and staying up late. I never saw any of it as evil. I am not sure I even knew what evil was. Boy, time's have changed.

Sorry I am rambling. I am still sick and couldn't get in to see my doctor until Monday. Feeling worse today, I just didn't think I could wait until tomorrow. So I got up today and went to Wells' Walk In Clinic. For those of you who live in the 290 and 1960 area....this is the place to go. Wells is a PA and only accepts cash ($50). I was in and out in 40 minutes with a prescription for an antibiotic and a steroid (for the inflamation of my throat and bronchial lining). I am not feeling better yet, but knowing I am starting on meds means I will soon be getting better.

Chuck is in Jackson, Mississippi (again) until Tuesday. His mother is still in ICU although it looks like she is getting closer to moving to a real room maybe as early as tomorrow. He really pulled the short straw this weekend...missing being home while I had no voice! Some people just can't catch a break.

Help! I lost my VoIcE......

It started with sneezing, then developed into a runny nose.....and now I have lost my voice as the crud has traveled south. I know you don't want details.....we've all been there, we know what it looks like.

I hung in there all week when it would have been so easy to call in and stay in bed. And now it is Saturday and I am miserable. I waited until 8:00 AM (for those of you who really know me, you know I NEVER get up this early on a Saturday)to call the doctor. Try whispering to a phone answering service. They aren't the nicest people in the world on a good day. Then if you are trying to whisper/yell your request they just get downright put-out. After attempting to ask to see a doctor this morning, Her Rudeness tells me "this is just the answering service....they haven't turned their phones over yet."

So now I am waiting patiently a few minutes to call back. I am wanting magic pills to make this go away and get better quick. Me without a voice is like....is like.....is like really quiet. What a waste!

God is all around us....

You are not going to believe this but I assure you it really happened.

Today I slept late, got up and had a cup of coffee. I decided to head over to Michael's and Marshall's for a little outing. Before I left, I swallowed my morning pills.....for high blood pressure, thyroid and hormones. On an empty stomach.....
By the time I got in Michael's and started walking around, I started feeling funny. Sweaty, clammy, whoozy, fuzzy, light-headed.....sort of like I use to feel when I would experience a little low blood sugar. I actually thought I should tell someone in case I fainted. But instead, I decided to go ahead and check out...even though I wasn't really through shopping. As I was heading to the check-out, I actually felt like I might faint. Like I think it must feel like. I thought I just needed something in my stomach like sugar. So I picked up some Reese's candy and checked out. I went to the car and ate several pieces of candy and already started feeling a little better. I decided it was just a reaction to taking my meds on an empty stomache.

I headed to Marshall's and by the time I got inside, the weird feeling was back. I was getting a basket (the thought of not shopping never entered my mind....I was "willing" the weird feeling away) and I looked up and saw my good friend, MaryAnn. I spoke to her and she came up to me. I told her I was feeling strange....she said I was clammy and pale. So we went back to the Home Decor area and I sat on a chair while she went out and got a water bottle from her car. In 15 minutes, the feeling passed and I was okay again. I thanked her for being my angel. And she laughed about saving my life. As we were leaving the area where we had been, she noticed a very cute note pad. She lifted the cover and someone had written on the first page in pencil.....


God is good. God is all around us.


See? I told you you wouldn't believe it. MaryAnn was my angel today. Thank you God for sending her to Marshall's. I love the way you work!

$400.00 Later....

When I was in highschool, you bought a cute new sweater to wear with your jeans to the Homecoming Game. The mums were real flowers with a few ribbons hanging from them. Your date bought you a coke at the concession stand. There was no dinner at a restaurant. We didn't know any different and we had fun.

And now they don't know any different. And they have fun. Will and his date posed for millions of pictures at her house, another person's house, the restaurant, the dance and then at an after party. This is my favorite.

Greeting Committee

This is the most spirited member of the Hackney Greeting Committee. Noone else around here even looks up when one of us walks in the door. But we can always count on Maggie to stop what she's doing (sleeping or sleeping)to come to us and jump for joy that we have arrived back home. Even if the trip was only to the mailbox.

whoops!

I am so new to this blogging that when I want to post a picture, it takes forever to figure that out and then my hand just randomly hits the enter key and the picture post before I have even typed the words. So read this and then scroll down to the picture of the black door. That was a screen door thrown out for Large Trash Pick-Up one Sunday evening. I backed up my suburban, put it in the back and brought it home. Chuck cut a board the size of the door. I painted the board with black chalkboard paint. After I painted the screen door with black enamel paint, I nailed the board to the back. We hung it in place of the utility room door and we now have a great door that we can use for messages, holiday decorations or grocery lists. This is definitely one of my favorite finds. When I found it, I had thought it would fit my pantry door, but it was too wide. It fits the other doorway perfectly.

Just a note to those who are reading this who don't know my husband. Chuck and I will celebrate our 24th anniversary this October 22. He is a great guy and a wonderful husband. But.....he still says, "It can't be done." when I ask him to help me with these decorating projects. We exchange words....usually, I get really loud....and then we end up doing the project. So while reading this, just remember that somewhere between the idea and the finished product is a lot of heated discussion! You would think he would learn by now.

Trash to treasure....

Paint it black...

The huge selling point of this house 8 years ago was the kitchen. All white cabinets made it look even bigger. I still have the white cabinets but almost everything else has changed. Over the last 8 years we have changed the flooring, wallpaper, backsplash, island top, island paint color (red) and knobs. It now looks more like us.

I have been tempted so many times to start painting the cabinets black just because I am tired of the white cabinets and they are beginning to chip in areas. The only thing preventing me from doing this is the thought of what a huge job/mess it would be. So on a whim one Sunday, I decided I would paint just the desk black. Chuck said no, I said yes.

An hour later and a trip to Home Depot and we started this little project. It required sawing into the molding at the top of the cabinets so we could put a trim up to make the desk look like a separate piece of furniture. Then we added a leg and painted the whole thing black. The finishing touch was covering a thin piece of wood with a black and white toile fabric to back the upper shelves.

And 6 months later, I painted the fireplace surround and mantel black. This time Chuck didn't even say no. But, I didn't ask either.

Stand still and I'll decoupage you.....

Per one of my favorite people's request, I am posting pictures of a bowl I decoupaged. I get on ModPodge kicks and look around the house for things to decoupage. I've even considered pasting pictures of Brad Pitt onto my husband's face. But then he would want to decoupage Angelina's face to mine.

This bowl was purchased to decoupage. The inspiration came from a large "coffee table" bowl I saw in a furniture store. The bowl was gorgeous and simple. And very, very pricey (I am not kidding.....$300.00). So I found a bowl not too long after that and voila! I have a gorgeous, simple and not pricey bowl($15.00 for the bowl and 1.00 for the paper). I am still on the hunt for a less expensive bowl so I can do more. The thing I liked about this bowl is the little lip around the bottom....which I glued some black & white ribbon on. The bowl should be a shallow bowl I think. At least that was the style of the $300 bowl in the furniture store.

So grab your purse, head out to Big Lots or Walmart.....look for a bowl and get gluing. And with the $280.00 you save,get yourself some new shoes!

Come on fall.....

Packed up the flags and brought out the pumpkins. Come on fall.....

I love October.....and November, my two very favorite months. But to get to those two months, you must first go through September. You can't go over it, you can't go around it, you can't go under it.....you have to go through it. So with half of it behind us, we're almost to October.

Lectures are wasted on the young....

I went to lunch with my Cypress/Paris friend today. She lives in Cypress, TX...but spent the last 4 years in Paris because of her husband's job. She has just returned to live here and we are playing catch-up.

I was sharing my story of "herding cats" with her and she told me a very funny story about her oldest son when he was 5. He had gotten in some kind of trouble and she got down in his face and began to lecture. She said he was really looking at her face and appeared to be really listening. So she went on and on with the lecture. Still, he stared at her intently. Finally, she asked him if he had any questions. He said, "Yes, I do." She's thinking, "wow, he even has a question....he's really into this."

The mom, "Okay, what's your question?"

The kid, "Do you ever wonder what you would look like if you were bald?"