The 90's Called and Wants it's Cell Phone Back.

I am old, this I know.

For my cell phone tells me so.

I'm not a techy kinda girl.

I don't need the latest and the greatest.

I don't have an Ipad.

Or a Kindle.

Or a laptop.

Or a convection oven.

Or a sleep number bed.

or a.... well, you get it.

I just need the basics.

My husband, on the other hand,

feels that he cannot survive with only the necessities.

He requires GPS.

Satellite radio.

OnStar.

Rapala Pro Bass Fishing for the Wii.

Ronco's rotisserie oven.

It keeps our marriage interesting.

So, our contracts are just about up with our current cell phone plan.

I have one of these:

You remember these right?

You would pick it up, dial a number and talk to someone.

That was it.

It didn't take fancy pictures,

have Apps,

or cook your dinner.

And I've been fine with that.

But someone in this house is not fine with that.

Someone needs more.

Someone who doesn't know how to use the Internet needs this.

Someone who only knows how to use the computer to

 play free online poker

and search the Bass Pro Shop Clearance events

needs this fancy dancy cellular telephony contraption.

Someone who has only sent one email in his entire life

and that was to his wife.

And it said, "Did I this go throuhg?"

That was not a typo on my part.

That's what his email says.

I still have it.

God love him.

Hey! 

Remember back when we were kids

 and we got a phone call and wanted privacy?

We pulled the phone cord through the kitchen door

as far as it would reach and hid in the coat closet.

And then mom would yell at us because the

cord wouldn't coil right after that.

So, do we do this Iphone thing?

I'm afraid of what will happen if I give in.

What will be next on his list of must haves?

Holly

xxx-ooo

Sometimes We Don't Act Right.

Sometimes you go to meet other blog people for lunch.

You're not sure what to talk about.

It's awkward and uncomfortable.

Today was not like that.

At all.

I met up with Jo and Pat at Paradise Bakery.

These two women are a hoot!

I've met Jo for lunch once before and knew she would be a

forever friend.

I had never met Pat before.

Pat lives in Canada but has a vacation home here in Surprise.

It was great to get to spend the day with these two.

Aren't they cute??!!

The two girls ordered a Strawberry poppyseed chicken salad

that looked really good

but neither one of them offered me a bite.

Even though I shared my cookie with them.

What's up with that?

I think this guy kinda had a crush on Jo.

He was darling.

Even if the food was bad,

I think we'd go back just to see him.

After lunch we went to Pier 1 Imports

to look around and then to Michaels

where we couldn't resist some of the 4th of July decor.

And we went to Target.

Because that's how we roll.

And then things got a tad out of hand.

I just have to say

people are so nice.

When three bloggers are walking around

carrying three cameras

and asking strangers to take their pictures

 with three different cameras.

We were feeling very festive.

But sometimes even bloggers get tired

of having their pictures taken.

Just got home and I already want a Do-Over.

Love you Girls.

Holly

xxx-ooo

The Post Where I Talk About Food and Become Quite Snarky

Does this happen to you?

I go grocery shopping, come home hungry and can't find anything to eat.

No?

Oh, me neither then.

I'm in a food rut.

I buy the same old things week after week.

I'm never happy with my choices when I look for something to make for lunch.

I stare into the fridge believing that something exciting will materialize.

That leprechauns have come in during the night and stocked my pantry.

I get mad.

I only have myself to blame.

I do all the shopping.

So why do I keep buying the same boring stuff?

Habit?

Lack of imagination?

Fear of spending money on new food only to find it's grody?

I have no idea.

But today will be different.

I have a plan.

I'm making out my list this morning.

Going to buy the usual stuff.

Bread, milk, ding dongs, you know, the essentials.

And then I'm just going to find someone to follow and throw the same stuff into my cart that they do.

Daring, yes?

The problem is locating the right sort of person.

I don't want to follow her.

Because, like I said, I already have Ding Dongs on my list.

And I don't want to follow her.

Because obviously, she's only there for beauty supplies and I need food.

This guy may seem promising

but I'm afraid I would only come away with potatoes, okra, and chafing cream.

I'm on a mission though.

Drastic measures and all that.

I will be interested to see what ends up in my cart.

I'll keep you posted.

Holly

xx-oo

I Didn't Need to See That.

Yesterday, Katie went with me to run some errands.

We decided to stop at a thrift store.

I was looking at an old piece of furniture when I heard her voice come from around the corner.

"Jesus is in the trash!"

"What??!!"

I came around the corner and this is what we saw.

Oh man!  I didn't need to see that!

I didn't sleep too well last night.

I'm thinking I might need to go back and stage a hostage negotiation.

It kind of puts the whole "WWJD" thing into perspective since that's exactly what He did for me.

Holly

xxx-ooo

I Have Needs.....and wants.

Sometimes a girl has to take a few moments and sort things into two catagories.

Wants and Needs.

Need a new Doormat.

source

Want a Pretty Quilt.

source

Want this for cut flowers

source

Need a house, I pick this one.

source

Need this Salad again.

source

Need every single one of her books.

source

Want to Make these jam charms.

source

I have a busy day scheduled today.  Appointment with the dermatologist, where they want to burn half my face off.  I have several pre-cancerous spots on my cheeks and a mole that they want to slice off.  I need to do some grocery shopping for a mini-vacation we are taking this weekend.  I need to help my son with his taxes.  I have no idea where I'm going to fit a nap into all of this and that troubles me. 

Holly

xx-oo

The Days of My Life.

It's been a busy few days around here.

We've been dealing with the tail gate issue.

We ended up finding a tail gate on Craigslist and took it in to get painted.  It ended up costing us $800 instead of the $2000 we were going to end up paying.  I'm pretty much over it.  Sort of.

I have a cute little scrap booking shop just down the street from me and they hold classes several times a week.  All the women in there are a hoot and sometimes I just go in there to hang out.  I've been wanting to practice my stamping and watercolors so I took a card making class.  We all had a great time.  I meant to get pics of the ladies and the shop but forgot my camera.  Here are a few of the cards that I've been making lately.

I've been having a lot of fun and wasting many hours.

Yesterday, my daughter, Katie, and I both had the day off.  We decided to hang out and do some shopping.

I was excited.

So was she.

We went here first.

Love the IKEA!

Katie found some bedding she liked.

And we both needed this muffin tin with cute little liners.

Hard to imagine but we left there only spending $21.00. 

That's unnatural.

After IKEA went to Westgate.  It's a fun area next to the Cardinal's stadium full of shops and restaurants.

And we ate a the Yardhouse. 

This is the perfect place for us to eat together.  Katie is a vegetarian and just about everything on their menu has a vegetarian alternative.  I had the BBQ chicken salad and Kate had the Greek Vegetarian sandwich.
I just love the days that I get to spend doing girl stuff with my kid.
Brian has another fishing tournament this weekend.
Please say a prayer for our new tail gate.

Holly
xxx-ooo

Blogger Shame

Is there anything more shameful for a Blogger than to go to some really cool places and not bring your camera?  I thought not.

Yesterday was a super busy, fun day and I didn't take one picture.  I will steal borrow some from Google for you though so you can get the idea.

We started off at 8:00 am by running to my husband's work to pick up a dump truck, fill it full of dirt and drop it off at a friends house to fill in a major hole in their back yard.  You're jealous, right?  My husband is a truck driver and I must say it was pretty cool to watch him use the loader to fill the truck and then to drive it through a back gate with only inches on each side to drop it.  It was kinda sexy.  I liked him a lot right then.

not actually us

After taking the truck back to his shop, we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then went to the RV Show at the Cardinal's Stadium to look around, we miss our 5th wheel and have been looking around a bit but we're not quite ready to buy yet.

still not us

Then we went to the other side of town to an RV place called Little Dealer Little Prices and looked at more RVs.  After that we went to the Happiest Place on Earth (for a Redneck).

Bass Pro Shop

Brian needed to get a new reel for his tournament next weekend.  After that we went to look around the Mesa Marketplace and went into Toby Keith's I Love this Bar and Grill.  The food was wonderful and the atmosphere was a lot of fun.  I would have completely died a shameful Bloggers death if Toby had walked in and I didn't have my camera because he is just, well, he's just,  I mean, really, come on, you know, he's like just so.....anyway.

Then we went to the Tempe Marketplace where we walked around the entire place looking for new sunglasses for the husband.  Found the Oakley store and then got out of there as fast as our aching feet could carry us.
We then went to play cards with some friends of ours and I stayed up until 9:30.  That is 9:30 pm.  Those of you who don't know me, my usual bedtime is 6:00 pm because I get up at 2:00 am for work.  I was such a grown up person yesterday.  I was more than happy to sleep in this morning until 8:30.

Hope everyone has a great restful day.

There is nothing better than to have a relaxing evening after a day of doing nothing.

Love ya'll (and Toby).

Holly

xxx-ooo



Can We Talk Crotches?

I meant to say Couches.

But that wouldn't have been nearly as interesting.

My dilemma:

Our couch and love seat have seen better days.  They are worn, and dirty, and ugly.  It's time for a replacement.  My husband wants something comfortable and reclining.  I want traditional and pretty.  I'm trying to find something we both like at a price that won't kill us.

The reason they are so dirty?  Well, I'm sure I have no idea:

My husband wants one of these:



I don't.  I'm not into the over-stuffed puffy arm thing.  I do, however, love to sit on these when I go to other peoples homes because they are super comfy. 

I like this reclining couch:

It's much more traditional but my husband doesn't like the small arms.  (I have no idea when he decided he was allowed a say in the purchase of home decor and furnishings but in the case of the couch, he is undeterred by my pouting).  I'm having a problem with the $1600 price tag for this one. 

I could use some advice about fabric also.  We have a big naughty, dirty dog that will never learn to stay off the couch so don't even suggest it.  We have two cats.  (We actually have three but two sounds so much less crazy cat lady-ish).  Tell me about pet hair.  Tell me about what you use to remove it.  Tell me about the best fabric choices.  Tell me you're going to buy me a couch.   Tell me I'm beautiful and skinny.

Love Ya'll

Holly

xxx-ooo

Open for Business

I had been thinking for a while that I wanted to start selling some of my handmade aprons and vintage finds on Etsy. I opened my Etsy store a few months back but I never listed anything on it.  I'm not sure why.  It just sounded kind of complicated, which I'm sure it's not.

I was doing some shopping the other day and went into one of my favorite thrift/vintage consignment shops not far from my house.  The owners are very sweet and I always enjoy spending time in there with them.  I decided that I would rent a small space and sell some of my things there and see how it goes.  I move everything into my space today!

Here are just a few of the items that I will be listing for sale:

I have a lot of vintage linens that I'm selling and I'm also making sets of all occasion and birthday cards. 
Let's hope things go well!

Holly

xxx-ooo



ICK!!

Today is my big cleaning day.  I like to relax as much as possible on the weekends so I usually do my big cleaning jobs on Fridays.  I went to do a load of laundry this morning and when I opened the washing machine I decided that the dirty clothes were probably cleaner than my washing machine.  Gross, I know.  How is it that I never really noticed, like it just happened overnight? 

During the summer I hang my clothes to dry outside and use my homemade laundry detergent and I don't need fabric softener with that so it doesn't really get gunky.  But during the winter I use my dryer a lot and I use fabric softener, the liquid kind, the kind that smells really good, but makes a huge mess over time in the washing machine.

Go look in your washing machine.  Really look, like around the top of the porcelain basket.  Is there a ring there?  Look in your bleach cuppy thing-a-ma-bob.  I had cat hair in mine (just keeping it real), and look in your fabric softener filler-upper-thingy.  Is it goopy?  Did you really go and look?  If you did and yours is clean, then just go away and have a catty conversation with your friends about the blog lady who's washing machine was disgustingly similar to a hazardous waste dump.

(not my actual washing machine, thank you very much)

I used these:

I removed the softener and bleach cups and put them in a sink full of hot soapy water.  I filled the washing machine basin with hot water and added 2 cups of vinegar and let it agitate for a couple of minutes.  Then I turned the machine off and let it sit for about an hour.  I drained the basin and the scrubbed the inside with a paste of Mule Team Borax and water. I used my scrubber sponge and the toothbrush that the vet gave me to brush my dog's teeth.  (Like that's gonna happen).  Then I ran a full cycle on hot with about 1 cup of Mule Team Borax.  I scrubbed the cups and put them back in. 

All done.  Now my clothes are dirtier than my washing machine and I don't want to put them in there.  No laundry done today.

On a side note, I went thrifting yesterday and found this cute little vintage cake cover.  I just love that the paint is coming off the handle.  I know that I shouldn't be using my flash but I don't know how to turn it off yet and I have not yet read the manual.  (I know, hanging head in shame).

I think it looks cute with my Fiestaware plate and bowl.

It's pretty sad when your friend Kris is posting exciting details about her adventures attending cooking classes and all I have to talk about is cleaning my washing machine. 

Holly

xxx-ooo