Jill is having a giveaway!

This is my dear blog friend Jill, and Jill is having a giveaway!



If you'd like to be in on the fun, just head to her blog Jill's Believe it or Not and leave a comment on her giveaway post. And don't for get to tell her that I sent you!

The winner gets a $25 dollar gift certificate to one of several great establishments to use as they please!

Check out the rest of her blog too. It's heartwarming and hilarious, especially as she trades loving barbs with her sister Justine from Justine's Froggy Bloggy. Check out Justine's blog too! You'll be glad you did.

Good luck!

Stella at the Ribfest

Betcha thought I forgot all about Stella, didn't you? Well I still have her and will send her on to someone else next week. She will be going someplace fun! I'll tell you on the day I send her.

Well, I haven't been able to have fun with Stella lately because I haven't even had money to drive anywhere. Being on unemployment can suck, but it is a blessing nonetheless because I do have an income. I just have to watch each and every penny, and the traffic ticket fine plus a utility bill that was higher than I expected really put me behind. However, I did have enough money to go to a Ribfest last night in a nearby town!

We met up with my dear friend Keri who I had not seen in about a year and a half!



This picture was found on Google Images, but was a pic from last year's festivities. Don't those ribs look yummy? Those poor guys, if it was as hot last year as it was this year (88 degrees and humid) then I feel really sorry for them!


There was a huge crowd! Imagine 4 more blocks of a crowd just this thick!


There was a band playing and Stella wanted to rock out and shake her booty, and oh, did she ever! See that big smile on her face? She had a blast!


Here is the band. Sorry the pic is so dark, but it was overcast by this time and darker than usual for the time. The lead singer was hilarious! He had several different outfits, including a man-skirt, band outfit with short shorts, a cheerleader outfit, and a cocktail dress with ruffles and plunging neckline. I could never date a man like him...his legs looked better in a skirt than mine do!


Here is a pic of the band from their website. Check them out here if you'd like.


We had a great time! I didn't get more pics because my camera was being temperamental. However, Stella, my very good friend, good food, plus a good band all made for a very good time!

We also went to the Relay for Life that was also in town that night. It was very moving to walk around the track in rememberance of those who lost their battles with cancer and in support of those who are presently struggling or who have survived and are in remission. When we were walking, they were reading the names of those who had passed. It was quite sobering. The luminaries that lit our path were beautiful. Unfortunately, there were strong storms passing through the area, and everyone left the track, but it ended up only raining very lightly. Some nearby counties weren't so lucky and got quite a wallop, but here, festivities were able to continue after the scare.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

New pics

Here is a new pic of myself, taken last Friday. I can't believe how much I've changed!


Those are NOT my beers in the background! I do not drink beer. Ack!

This was me last June.


And this is me early September when I decided to start working on exercise and diet after finding out I have diabetes.


This was me several years ago when I was at my highest weight ever!


Yet here I am last week looking totally different. I am down almost 60 pounds now, and down around 80 pounds from my highest weight ever. Can you believe that when I saw this picture I almost didn't recognize my own face? I think I look darn good for being 50! That's my friend Stacy on the right. We were out watching a band and dancing for her 34th birthday!

I really do need to get a full length pic too. Working on that.

As you can see, I changed the hair too. Thanks to the forcing urging of a couple blog friends, I decided to let the awful perm grow out. Thanks Justine and Bridget!!! This is SO much better, even though it's not where I want it to be yet.

It's really odd to lose this much weight because I have never been succesful at weight loss before, but then I never really tried. In my mind, I am still that bigger girl. I still think of men looking at me like I'm much bigger. Now instead of being a proud fat chick, I am just chubby. It's weird to me. I still have 60 more pounds to go to reach my goal weight though, but if I don't reach that goal, I will still be thrilled at where I am right now.

The funny thing is that last week I joined a contest where I get a pretty darn good prize if I can lose the largest percentage of body weight. What did I do? I GAINED two pounds! lol I'm not discouraged though. It's part of the journey and last week was a crazy, stressful week. I am back on track this week.

Sorry, but no tablescape this week. I just didn't have the resources to get something around. Should be back next week.

I finally joined Facebook! If anyone wants to be my friend on Facebook, just let me know. Oh, I have NOT joined Farmtown or Yoville or any of the games on Facebook. I figure I already have too many time wasters!

More posts to follow!

The House on Bonnie Lane: Update

This is a picture of my dream home, my house on Bonnie Lane. I lived here for two years.



Then an unfortunate combination of things occurred. First of all, I was in over my head with the house payments almost from the very beginning. Chalk it up to it being my first home buying experience alone, but I didn't realize that there were extra expenses being added into my monthly payment. For a while, I kept things up, but then I started to fall behind.

Thanksgiving night, I got quite sick and ended up having to have surgery and spent 5 days in the hospital. I missed six weeks of work. Though I had insurance, I was still left with a large hospital bill. Two weeks after I returned to work, I was told that my position at work was being eliminated. A month after my last day of work, my house was scheduled to be sold at sherrif's auction. So that I wouldn't have to get an eviction notice and have only a short time to move, I chose to start moving the weekend before the auction. I was really pleased with the apartment I found. It's a duplex and the only walls that touch the other apartment are in the garage, so it feels more like a small ranch home than an apartment.

Well, no one told me that the auction had been pulled. I still don't know why. I found out several weeks after I had moved. Then it was rescheduled for mid-May, but somehow the date was changed again to June 12.

So here it is, two days later, but there wasn't an auction. There are new programs in place that may make it possible for my to keep my house! They are granting me an extension and I may know in two weeks if they will do a mortgage modification. My house payments may be reduced to half, and it would cost me the same as my current rent on the duplex apartment! Though I had resigned myself to losing my beloved home on Bonnie Lane, my hopes are now up that I will be able to move back in. Please keep this matter in your prayers! I think it would be best all around if I can keep my house, otherwise I face bankruptcy and I will probably never be able to buy a house again.

I'm almost afraid to hope too much, but at least now there is some hope.

Tablescape Thursday/ Purple and Blue

Thursday means that we get to display our tablescape talents. This event is sponsored by Susan of Between Naps on the Porch. She has a Mr. Linky list of other participants.

Well, some tablescapes come together with no problems at all, then others are more troublesome. I'm not as pleased with this weeks production as I have been with previous tablescapes.

Anyhow, this is what I came up with this week. Everything I used had to be something I already had on hand since I can't even afford Goodwill right now. I started out with my robin's egg blue plates, and ended up with a purple and blue arrangement.

I used my brown tablecloth as I got lazy and really didn't feel like swapping it out. The lace table runner is the same one that I used last week as a placemat. Home and Garden Parties made the stoneware bowl and pitcher and the candle. I always thought that this floral pattern was just the prettiest. Sadly, they don't make that pattern any more. I put a picture of my garden from Bonnie Lane in a little white easel next to the painted stand that holds the candle.

Here are my blue plates on a purple placemat. My new lilac plate is layerd on top. I used a pink paper napkin (I'm really on the cheap this week!), and the white milkglass glasses.




I drew my inspiration from this picture that I got at a garage sale a couple years ago. It has a robin's egg blue matte.


The girl is wearing a light lavender dress while sitting in a meadow of wildflowers. I thought this would tie in the purple placemats and the lilac dishes, and the matte ties in the color of the blue plates.


I thought I needed a little more pink, so I put my new Target (pronounced tar-zhay') birds on a pink depression glass oval platter.


Here is the place setting I originally planed. I found those cute paper plates at Meijer and knew immediately that they would be perfect with my robin's egg blue plates. I love the way they look with the brown tablecloth. However, nothing else seemd to come together. I just didn't have anything that went with the tablesetting. Maybe I'll try this another time.


See the pretty details in the plate?


Oh well. Sometimes everything just flows, and other times we just get it together as we can. Hopefully my tablescaping Mojo will be back next week.

I haven't been posting much. This computer is so slow and I have to fight my sons for internet time. My son is going to get a wireless router soon so more than one of us can be on the internet at the same time. I hope that will make things better.

I still have Stella. I still want to take her a couple more places, but haven't even had the gas money. That traffic ticket really set me back. However, I have some back child support that should be getting here in the next week or two and that will help immensely (haven't had any child support since January). The next person to hostess Stella has already been chosen and asked for her early on. I'll let you know who before I send her.

I'll be posting about some other events in my life in the next couple days!

Tablescape Thursday/ Everything's Coming Up Roses!

The weekend looms! Yay! Well to tide us over until then, we have Tablescape Thursday, sponsored by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. Visit her blog to get links to other participants' tablescapes.

This week I decided to do a rose theme. There's a story behind this.


This weekend, my 16 year old son Jared and I went to our old hometown to mow a lawn there. My son worked very hard, but when I took him to the local service station to get something to drink, he surprised me. As I was paying for gas and picking out a diet Dr. Pepper, he was buying something for me! Here is what I found when I got back to my van...an ice cream treat and a red rose! What a sweetheart my son is!


He even asked if I was going to post about this on my blog. I told him I sure was! He was happy about that, but didn't want his picture taken. I decided that it would be fun to build a tablescape around the rose.


The plate is one of my favorites that I have sitting on a shelf in my bedroom. I put it in the center because I like it so well. It is decorated with pink roses with a light green band. I just love the scalloped edging.


See how beautiful the rose looks on this plate?


The plate sits on a pink depression glass serving plate. It's in the open rose Mayfair pattern.


When I visited my brother this weekend, I asked if he had anything in the house he was wanting to get rid of. He offered me this beautiful pitcher and five matching glasses. Of course I wanted them! He said he was glad to free up the space in his cupboard. I had always thought this was such a pretty pitcher growing up. Can you believe that we used to use those glasses all the time?


I used last week's green napkins folded to hold the silverware and secured with a brooch.


If memory serves, I got the brooch at a big rummage sale for $4.


I added a few more things to the table to add interest. I've had the lamp for a couple years. It looks vintage, but was actually on $6. I got the little girl figure at an antique shop, but she isn't antique. Her skirt is actually a tassel.


She sure looked happy to be part of this tablescape!


Everything I used in today's table was something that I had on hand around the house. The pink tablecloth was a Goodwill find last year, the placemat is a lace runner that I've had for years, and the lace in the background is actually part of a lace window valance. The green depression glass sherbet cups are from last week's tablescape. They used to belong to my mother. The green plate under the pitcher is from last week's tablescape also.

As I was putting the tablescape together and taking the photographs, my neighbor was out mowing his lawn. I wonder if he thought I was a little nuts! Oh well. I had fun, lol.

I haven't forgotten about our Stella. I am waiting a few more days until I have some money on hand so that I can take her to a couple more fun places before I send her on. I'll be posting as soon as I do!

Happy Tablescape Thursday!

Blue Monday, Met Monday/ Painted shelving unit and cookie jars

Seems like Monday just comes around all too soon! At least something good comes out of Monday...we all look forward to Blue Monday and Metamorphosis Monday! Blue Monday is hostessed by Sally at Smiling Sally, and Metamorphosis Monday is the brainchild of Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. Please do visit them and get the list of other participants!

For Met Monday, I am sharing this display unit. I didn't even think to take a before picture!Darn it! Anyhow, picture this unpainted, in the raw. I had purchased this at a crafts fair many many years ago. Time had not been good to it. At first, it held video tapes, then when my ex took most of the videos in the divorce, I had teddy bears displayed. At my house on Bonnie Lane, it held junk in the kitchen. I had the best intentions of painting it and displaying my blue spongeware.

Well, after I lost my job and had all kinds of time, I finally got around to painting it! I used Rustoleum's Heirloom White. It took 3-4 coats, and it was not easy to paint because of all the nooks and crannys. I love the finished product though! It now looks like something special.


Two houses ago, I displayed my cookie jars, which all contain BLUE on top of my kitchen cabinets. There was no room above my cabinets on Bonnie Lane as they went to the ceiling. They never got displayed after all, and sat in boxes.

Well now that I have the display unit painted, they are happy to be out and living in my kitchen! The first is a goose jar that I bought at a garage sale. It was pretty cheap, and I just loved it because at the time, I was going to decorate with a goose decor. Never did though.


The blue and pink house was a gift from my ex husband when we began dating. He said that he knew I loved Victorian houses, but since he knew he couldn't get me one right now, this would have to do. It was sweet at the time, but it took me a while later to realize that he was never going to give me the desires of my heart, even those that didn't require money. I still loved the cookie jar though.


He also bought me the Boyd's bear cookie jar when we went to a Cracker Barrel restaurant. I love bears!


The hen cookie jar is by artist Susan Winger, a favorite of mine. I purchased this on sale when I had decided that I was going to decorate the kitchen in a theme of Susan Winget designed accessories. Never did that either, lol.



I don't really remember how I came across this house cookie jar. I don't remember if it was a gift, or if I bought it for myself. I do really like it though.


I also forget how I came across this cute little bear. I think I got it for myself years ago.


I really enjoy having my cookie jars displayed again! I was very happy that they fit so well in my newly painted unit.

Stella should be back in another day or two. I am waiting until my traffic ticket is paid before I can afford to take her on a couple more adventures, then she will go to visit the next home. I'll let you know who that is before I send her on her way, but I guarantee that she is going someplace fun, and there will be a couple little girls who will have the best time with her.

Have a great Monday!