Homemade Halloween Decor

My mother in law has a great hobby,  she makes her own greeting cards.  She has been doing it for years but she doesn't just stop there.  She has made my kids some pretty awesome book marks, photo collages and she even made my 7 yr old some little cards with pictures of different boots because he mentioned to her once that he wished he had a boot to throw at his Pappy!  he was being funny so you can imagine how he laughed when he opened that envelope with the note "to throw at Pappy" and all those cards fell out.  and yes he threw them at his grandfather!

But she has been branching out even further and has been making her own Holiday decor items as well,  we usually get her different printing papers for birthdays and mothers days,  last year at christmas she made some really neat decor items from the glitter paper we got her,  and this year for halloween she made a banner for her fireplace mantle.  and it is soooooo cute I had to post some pics of it.  I wish I was as talented as she is in that area!   

This and That

once again I am taking to my blog,  it seems to be the only place where I can say EXACTLY what I want to say and if the reader doesnt like it then they won't hurt my feelings if they leave the page,  no facebook drama caused by comments left by disgruntled readers.  before you read any further if harsh language or truths offend you then leave now.

so to catch up on whats been going on my crazy life,  about a month ago Bryan, myself, Bobby, Caden and Bobbys best friend Wesley were on our way to take Wes home from spending the night at our house and we were at a stop sign waiting our turn to get on hwy 99 and a semi carrying a mobile home came speeding by,  as it passes I see coming down the hill a HUGE tire and wheel coming right at us!! (ok,  it wasnt as huge as I originally thought but at that moment it sure was!!)  Bryan saw it too and tried to back up quickly so we didnt get hit by it,  but he wasnt able to get clear and it slammed into the drivers side front door.  I was turned in the seat about to tell the boys in the backseat to cover their heads because I knew glass was going to be flying.  I wasnt able to get the first word out before the impact jerked me back and the front seat was showered with shards of glass, powdered glass, and a few large bits of glass.

when the dust settled so to speak, our main concern was making sure the boys were ok,  Caden was crying because he was scared,  Bobby and Wes were in a daze and had no idea what had hit us,  they didnt see the tire coming,  they thought the mobile home had hit us.   we got out of the car to check the damage,  the entire drivers door was destroyed,  the window gone and the windshield cracked.  the tire was still on the wheel and part of an axle was nearby,  the tire was actually smoking from what I guess was the friction of the axle breaking off.  the pilot cars with the semi stopped and came back and checked on us,  they waited for the police to arrive. 

after just a few minutes the Prague fire department arrived,  along with the OHP, Sac and Fox police, Prague police and Lincoln county sheriff and an ambulance.  we were just inside the Lincoln county side so it was unclear at first whose jurisdiction we were in,  turns out OHP had it.   the OHP trooper took a report (or so we thought at the time)  after a trip back home to change cars and take quick showers to rinse the glass off,  which actually cut us up a bit due to being rubbed off the skin,  we took Wes home,  afterwards we decided we did not feel like making dinner so we went to our towns only mexican restaraunt for dinner, Juanas if you are interested,  best authentic mexican food around!   while there I got really dizzy and sick to my stomach,  then my head, neck and back started hurting really bad.  we decided we needed to go to the ER and get checked out.  so Bryan and I went to Shawnee and the ER where all they did was shine a light in our eyes and feel around on our necks a little,  decided we pulled a muscle in our back, gave us a prescription for muscle relaxers and sent us on our way.

the next day I called our family dr who told us to go to a chiropractor he referred us to,  and when we called them they told us to come in right away.  so we did.  not going to go into all the details since a legal case is pending,  but the xrays showed some obvious damage on all of us. 

so for the last month we have been going to the chiro 2x a week,  my back is killing me most of the time and Bryan missed 2 wks of work because of it.  but after claiming they could not find the driver of the truck at first they finally admitted guilt and it will all work out eventually i'm sure.

so thats all about that. 

school has started back and so has Caden's football practice,  so we are pretty busy with practice and games,  when I am able to go that is,  this back pain has me sidelined. pardon the pun

I actually meant to write about something else,  but the whole wreck thing took all my attention.  so I guess you will have to wait for the harsh language and truths.  LOL

til next time.

Girls Getaway 2011

So this past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to go away with 5 of the most amazing ladies you will ever meet.    A few months ago I emailed each of them and asked what they thought of us getting together some weekend and renting a cabin in Beavers Bend.  (I've already heard all the jokes so don't bother.)  

To my surprise,  everybody said Let's do it!   We picked this past weekend because that gave us time to plan and save money to go.  Over the course of the summer we have all had some crazy, stressful events happen to us.  Not going into details because thats another blog entirely.   Friday we all loaded up 2 per car and headed out,  I rode with Ms. Dawn,  we had a blast!!!  We got lost  3 or 4 times,  not because we couldnt follow directions but because we were talking and laughing so much we would miss our turn.   We still managed to make it there first,  after checking out the inside of the cabin and unpacking our stuff we went back to Broken Bow to wait for the other 4 ladies.  We all made a trip to the grocery store and liquor store then with Dawn driving the lead car we headed back to the cabin,   and missed our turn.  twice.   LOL

After making it to the cabin and picking our sleeping arrangements  we all settled down in the beautiful 2 story great room and had some drinks in the oh so cool wine glasses I brought as gifts for us all.  they said "girlfriends and merlot are good to go!!"    While we were relaxing with our drinks Ms. Melissa was preparing dinner for us all,  it was THE best homemade lasagne I have EVER had!!!!  we had salad and garlic bread to go with and of course lots of wine.  Dawn , Hollie and Melissa had never met each other. so new friendships were born. maybe I should explain how we all know each other.  Lisa, Dawn, Jennifer and myself went to Jr. high and high school together,  Dawn and Jenn have known each other since birth,  Hollie and Jenn used to work together and Lisa and I have met her many times at various girls get togethers.   Lisa and Jenn have known Melissa for years and she and I have many mutual friends and we were always talking to each other on their pages and finally decided we may as well become friends.   

After dinner we hit the hot tub,   I would like to pause here and apologize to whomever were staying in the cabin closest to us.  we laughed so much and so loud I know we disturbed somebody.  and somebody in our group got very tipsy and got naked in the hot tub,  not going to say who so don't ask.  and yes there were pictures but all have been deleted by mutual consent of all 6 ladies.  LOL  

after the hot tub we watched what else?  'Hot Tub Time Machine',  we have all seen it before but its just as funny and there were a few parts that could have been taken right out of our antics so far.   and of course the soundtrack is the best!!!

we all turned in and woke early sat morning and began making a huge breakfast.  Pancakes, bacon, fruit, mimosas.   unfortunately Dawn had prior plans with her family that she couldnt break so she had to leave early,  which put a damper on the weekend because it just wasnt the same w/out her. :(    after breakfast we all got dressed and headed out to Hochatown,  which we called "Hootchie-Town"  LOL,  we went to a winery that we had all heard good things about.  'Girls Gone Wine'   the cutest place ever!   we did a wine tasting and I have to say I liked all of them,  even the dry ones which I don't usually like.   we all made our choices to buy and browsed the gift shop which has a huge selection of girly, wine oriented gifts.  T-shirts, wine glasses, wine purses,  unique gifts, candles, candy,  even doggy treats and jewelry.   

Then we went right across the street to the Grateful Head pizza place and beer garden.  cute place,  we were told they had amazing pizza but since we had plans to make dinner back at the cabin it had to go on the to do list for next year.    then we drove to the Beavers Bend nature center,  the other girls went on a hike while I waited at the car,  my back was still bothering me so I didnt think it would be wise of me to overdo it.  

then it was back to the cabin for some more relaxing and a delicious fruit pizza made by Ms. Jennifer,  we had it with a lunch of leftover lasagne. :)    and of course some more drinks!  then dinner again,  homemade chicken enchiladas made by Ms. Lisa this time,  they were fantastic!!! 

we proceeded outside to the deck and sat and enjoyed the scenery with some buttery nipple shots,  thats baileys irish cream and butterscotch schnapps for those who didnt know.  :)     afterwards we decided to watch The Hangover,  again totally appropriate movie.  we have seen many times but its always funny.

then it was hot tub time again!!!   and of course more wine. :)   then we turned in for a good nites sleep.  woke up early again and made a breakfast of Frittata, bacon, biscuits and gravy , fruit and mimosas.  

then sadly it was time to pack and straighten up the cabin and head home.   the weekend went way too fast.  even the drive home was fun ,  this time I rode with Lisa and Melissa  but we encountered Jenn and Hollie along the way from time to time.   after making it home I realized how tired I was,  but oh so relaxed and happy.   I was very happy to see my husband and sons.   while I was gone Bobby had cleaned the kitchen and it was spotless!  that was a great thing to come home to and it was very appreciated!!    

after taking a nap of course I couldnt sleep at bedtime,  so I watched some t.v. w/the boys and caught up on my DVR's I had missed while gone.    we had to get up early to drive to OKC for our dr's appts,  and lately my back has been hurting so bad I can barely move,  those nitely visits to the hot tub has helped it soooooo much,  and today I woke up and had no pain anywhere!!!    I think the relaxing weekend and hot tub eased so much stress and that helped erase the pain.    i'm sure it will be back but for now i'm so grateful!!   I didnt have any problems walking around today,  my adjustment and treatment at the back dr didnt hurt me at all this time,  and I was even able to actually get out of the car today at Caden's football practice and after sitting for 2 hrs ,  it didnt kill me trying to get up and walk like usual.    

none of the things stressing me out went away while I was gone,  but they sure don't seem as stressful now.  

and about the cabin rental place,  it was www.beaversbendgetaways.com ,    the cabin was awesome!  3 bedrooms, 3 baths,  pool table, hot tub,  washer, dryer.  the kitchen was stocked with everything we needed, they had set the table with 6 place settings and the scenery was breathtaking!  it was so peaceful and quiet.  

we all can't wait til next years getaway!  we decided to make it a yearly event,  alot of our female friends have expressed interest in going next year,  so many in fact that to make it possible we would have to rent 10 cabins!!  so we all 6 decided that next year we would have 12 ladies,  each of us 6 will bring 1 guest that does not know anybody else that will be there.  and of course they have to be of similar sense of humors and personalities and ok with drinking and be able to afford their share of the cost of the weekend.  which makes the list considerably smaller.    I know some feelings are going to be hurt,  but this was the only fair way we could think of doing it so our other friends would not feel left out.  we will change it up each year to make it fun and new.   hopefully we will be 80 yr old ladies in our handicap accessable cabin having our girls weekend!!  

hope you enjoyed the blog,  sorry its been forever since i've done one,  but if you read my FB then you know its been crazy lately.   

til next time

Love,

A.

1984

For those of you that pay attention to my posts on Facebook then you already know this,  I'm going to see the BEST band in the history of music in concert this friday night!!!!!!    and for anybody that has known me for more than 5 minutes,  then you know that the band I am referring to is Duran Duran,  Simon, John, Nick, Roger and well,  not Andy unfortunately. 

In 1984 they were scheduled to perform in Feb,  the night before the concert I went to bed with a heavy heart because the tickets were all sold out,  this was also 2 days before my 12th birthday.  I was devastated,  I could not see my most favorite band.  Cynthia whats-her-name had tickets and I was sooooo jealous!  she always got their stuff before I did,  she got a DD jacket first,  when I was excited about 'Sing Blue Silver' coming on t.v. for the first time she owned it on vhs.  Anyways,  as I was getting ready for bed I had the radio tuned to KJ103, (for my son and daughter,  yes it was around back then)  I heard the DJ talking,  he was making some sort of announcement.  Could it be????  YES!!!!  The concert had been postponed til April!!!!  That meant I had more time to find a way to get tickets!!!!  I joyfully ran into the living room and told my mom this.  She was probably very confused about my rapid mood swing.  (little did we know this would become normal later on in life)

So the next week we went down to the Myriad ticket office,  its now called the Cox Center,  I kept my fingers crossed the entire time that somebody,  anybody had refunded their tickets.  We got there and were told "sorry,  no refunds are being given"  this meant we would have to find tickets elsewhere.  this was before craigslist so that meant a scalper,  my mom would never buy from a scalper so it was starting to look bleak again.  But,  there was a women right behind us that overheard our conversation with the ticket handler.  She stopped us before we left and said she had some tickets that she could not use and was hoping to refund,  she only wanted face value for them.  YIPPEE!!!!  I was going to see Duran Duran!!!!

the night of the concert 2 of my moms coworkers that were in their 20's, Crickett and Crystal,  picked me up for the concert.  It was the greatest!!!  I don't think I sat the entire time.  And I got to get a shirt and program and everything!  (I kept that shirt for years and years)  I thought C & C were so cool to take me,  I had no idea they even liked Duran Duran.  well,  it turns out they didnt.  My mom had paid them to take me.  *LOL*

So it was a feeling of Deja Vu that this year,  days before my birthday I see a Facebook announcement on the Duran Duran page that they will be doing a concert in Oklahoma exactly 1 month after my birthday!!!  It had to be fate!! Once again my good fortune Angels were looking out for me.   I was able to get tickets in the VIP section,  lined up my inlaws to babysit that night and now just a couple more days to go............

Bryan isnt overally excited about going,  but I think he will enjoy all the screaming 30 and 40 something women.  LOL

and for those of you wondering whatever happened to Crickett and Crystal,  they became like family.  I was "aunt" to their kids,  I even tried to repay Crickett for taking me to that concert by taking her 2 daughters to see Hanson when they were little,  but it was sold out.  Just last week Crickett became a grandmother for the first time,  I called to congratulate her and offered to take her to this weeks concert instead of Bryan,  she respectfully declined.  LOL  

 Crystal passed away from brain hemmorage right before her 40th birthday.  I will be thinking of her alot this friday night.  Its only fitting.  Who knows?  maybe she will be there with us...........