Bourbon Country

This is on the docket for this weekend - for Jason, not for me.  I'm not much of a bourbon fan.  But it makes a pretty picture.  :)

Evening Reading Buddies

I've been doing a lot of reading in the evenings while Jason plays online video games with his buddies.  While I read, I have my own buddies!  L.B. is usually in my lap and Buddy comes over every hour or so for some scritches.  Lois Lane is usually in Jason's chair next to me.  It's nice to be loved.  :)

Selling Rubber Stamps

Yeah, this is a lame project photo but for the first time in 57 days I forgot!  BUT, I just so happened to have taken this photo to send to an eBay customer that was interested in what the back of this particular rubber stamp looked like, so I went with it.  Plus the sale when through so that was good, too!  Interested in scrapbooking items?  I'm selling off my entire scrapbooking and rubber stamping side of the craft room.

Yo Dawg, What Up?

L.B. in his new hoodie.  He really doesn't like wearing sweaters - knit or fleece - which baffles me because he's always cold.  I think maybe they make him itchy because he likes his cotton halloween t-shirt.  When it's really cold I put it on him when he goes outside, but he insists that it come off as soon as he comes back in by rubbing all over every piece of furniture he can until I either take it off or he wriggles out of it.

That last snowman I keep forgetting about...

Maybe that little snowman that I keep overlooking on top of the kitchen cabinets is what is preventing spring from arriving.  But he's so cute!  So is the rooster, which is actually a watering can and has a matching hen on the other side of the cabinets. ;)

Laila Bug

Laila is already six months old - where does the time go?!  But just look at those beautiful blue eyes!  She's growing so fast.  We got a chance to see her on Sunday while visiting with Jason's family for an afternoon lunch.  She's a happy, giggly little girl and will be crawling around and getting into trouble before we know it.  <3

60 Degrees in February

Today was BEAUTIFUL! The sun was out, the birds were chirping, the snow was all melted and it was a bit over 60 warm degrees! After doing some shopping I took advantage of the warm afternoon sun on the back upper deck to do some reading with a cold beverage.  The dogs joined me and enjoyed sunning on the warm deck boards.  Spring is on the way!  Though I know this is the usual end of winter tease...more snow and cold is on the way next week...but for now, I'll take what I can get!

Garden Succulents

Tonight after dinner we stopped in at Home Depot to pick up some succulent plants for the flower pots around the house this spring. Succulents are all in the cactus family and are fairly maintenance free once planted.  We needed something that could handle the heat of the back porch and the lack of water while we are away on camping trips.  Jason picked out many different varieties and they are very pretty!  Hopefully they do well and meet our expected purpose.

Storms Rolling In

We finally got a nice break from the snow and cold and actually got some thunderstorms!  It was very nice for a change, plus I love thunderstorms ( as long as they don't get out of hand ).  It almost got warm enough to melt off all the snow.  But between melting snow and rain, the yard is a soggy mess.  And due to 12 dog paws, my floors are a dirty mess!  But if it means warmer weather is on the way, I'll take it!

Happy Birthday, L.B.!

One year ago today L.B. joined our family.  He was then known as "Spartacus" which did not suit him at all ( nor did he know that was his name ).  They were guessing he was about three years old, so today would make it his 4th birthday since we tend to track birthdates by adoption dates added to their estimated age.  He's the first dog we've had that didn't have a holiday birthday.  So happy birthday / adoption day, Little Bit!

Getting the Camper Ready for Spring

Today got up to a balmy 60 degrees so I skipped out of work a bit early and opened up the camper.  At the end of last season, from our single trip we made, it was quite a mess.  We've purchased a lot of items for the camper and they all just kind of got thrown in there for the winter.  So today I plugged it up, put the slide out, opened some windows and started organizing.

I cleaned out  the refrigerator, which had acquired some mildew. I organized all the cabinets and drawers with organizing baskets. I put new sheets and the new comforter on the bed ( I just had to get rid of the horrendously ugly flowered bedspread - now I just need to figure out what to do with the equally ugly window valences ). I did some general cleaning to remove leaves and other debris that got tracked in by us and the dogs during our very leafy trip in November.  I hung up a calendar so we can track our trips - and because it's a pretty scenic calendar that helps make the camper look a little more home-ish.  I organized the storage areas under the camper so everything is easy to find and access and stowed away all small, loose items in baskets. And I put away all the kitchen gadgets, candles, tablecloths and other accessories I have been purchasing throughout the winter.

And now, I'm very much ready to go camping!  Come on spring!

Unorganized Mess

New bedspread to replace the one that used to match the window valances - yuck!

L.B. - New Camera Model

As promised, my new Samsung NX300 arrived today.  I haven't messed with it too much, but so far so good.  The fur kids opted to model for me ( not so willingly, but they did ).  It's very fast, so fast that I can even get a photo of Lois Lane with the flash before she blinks.  That never happens!  I still have some things to figure out - it's not exactly the same as my D80, understandably.  And I definitely want to look into getting the 50 - 200mm telephoto lens.  I got the 18 - 50mm with the camera body, which will likely be my primary lens, but I still want the zoom capability for wildlife shots.  After that I'll look into the macros, but those get pricey so it just depends on how much I really want it and if I find a good deal.  Might try the macro filter rings first.  One step at a time!

Here are a few more test shots, can't leave anyone out!  More to come...you've been warned! ;)

Buddy

Lois Lane

L.B.

Tomorrow's Expected Delivery

I know this is sort of cheating for my Project 365, but it was late and I couldn't find anything interesting around the house - plus I'm SUPER excited that this is in transit!  It's the Samsung NX300 mirrorless digital camera with an 18 - 55mm lens and lots of accessories with the bundle I purchased.  Some of the accessories include: 0.45X Wide Angle Lens, 2X Telephoto Lens; 3 piece filter kit; 32 GB memory card; memory card reader; standard slave flash (in addition to the on camera mount flash); full size tri-pod; table top tri-pod; monopod; and a few other extras.  It also has WIFI capability so I'll be able to send photos directly online if I choose to.  It will be a lot different than my Nikon D80, but I think I will like the smaller footprint while still having the changeable lens capability.

Work in Progress

This is my work in progress of the Four Seasons Bird cross-stitch project I started last week.  I spent most of the weekend watching Shameless reruns and cross-stitching while Jason spent most of his weekend gaming with friends.  It was a very nice, low key weekend for a change.  Much enjoyable!  I will work on this pattern some more tomorrow night during Jason's game night.  On Tuesday my new camera arrives so I'll likely be messing with that for a few days trying to figure out all the functions and learn how it all works.  Very excited about that!  Plus it has WIFI capability so my future instagram photos will likely come from the new camera...and I will feel better about uploading those to Flickr since they will be of decent quality.  :)

Winter Wonderland

We woke up to 6 more inches of snow, on top of the 3 inches and a layer of ice we already had. It is beautifully gorgeous, especially with the sunlight just right, but I'm so over winter and snow.  Luckily next week we will get into temperatures that will likely melt it all away.  I'm ready for it!

My Furry Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day from the furry crew!

Four Seasons Birds

Today I started a new, large (for me) counted cross-stitch project.  It's a 18" x 10" canvas with sections for spring, summer, fall and winter and various birds during that season with sticks and branches making natural frames for each season.  It will fit perfectly in my bird themed bathroom over the window once it is completed.  And as an additional perk, the birds are correct for the seasons here in Kentucky.

Here is what it will look like when completed.  The Four Seasons Birds Cross-Stitch kit can be purchased here.

How High Can You Grow?

I've had Venus Fly Trap plants before, but I've never had one sprout a bloom, much less grow to be 6" tall!  I'm very interested to see how tall it gets and if it blooms out something in the end result.

I Googled "Venus Fly Trap blooms" and it appears it is normal for them to get this tall and will eventually bloom out in a pretty white flower.  Who knew!?  I guess all my other ones died before they got to bloom out - probably because I had them when my brother and I were kids and we would feed them every bug we could find and killed them.

Cheesin' Chiweenie

You think "oh how cute!".  In reality, this was him in pre-growl mode because Buddy was coming up on the other side of the armchair and L.B. was getting ready to bite the tar out of Buddy's snout.  That's how he rolls.  Looks can be deceiving....

Shakeology No Bake Cookies

Tonight I was craving something chocolate and sweet - a craving I don't often have.  Since I'm trying my best to stick with a healthy diet I decided to try some homemade no bake cookies made with all natural ingredients, including chocolate Shakeology.  I'm very impressed with how well they turned out!  And, the best part, two small cookies satisfied my chocolate sweets craving!

Recipe for No Bake Shakeology Cookies

• 1 cup chocolate Shakeology
• 1 cup of rolled oats
• 1 cup of natural peanut butter
• 1/3 cup of honey

Simply combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  It is very thick so I recommend washing your hands, removing jewelry and digging in with your bare hands.  It's messy, but faster than with a wooden spoon.  Once all ingredients are combined, roll tablespoon size chunks into balls and place on a cookie pan.  ( I flattened mine a little bit for a more "cookie" type look. ) Place pan in the refrigerator for an hour to chill before eating for best results.  Makes about 24 cookie balls.

Organic Yumminess

Apples, Clementines and Avocado, Oh My!  All organic, all delicious!  The perks of eating healthy is that you can also eat yummy!  Brought to you by Costco.

My Fav - Tinted Burt's Bees Chapstick!

Jason says I'm addicted to chapstick.  I wouldn't call it an addiction - I'm just much happier with it.  Especially in the winter time.  Burt's Bees brand is my absolute favorite.  Especially the Burt's Bees Red Dahlia tinted lip balm.  I hate wearing lipstick, but throw a hint of color in some chapstick and you've got me sold!  My biggest issue is leaving it sitting out on the end table and coming into the living room to see one of the dogs eating it.  I need to work on that...but because of my "addiction" I always have at least 3 somewhere or another.

Birthday Girl!

This is my good friend Beth!  Beth's birthday is tomorrow so we spent the evening with Christina and Charlie, who made chili for dinner!  We had a great dinner, a few adult beverages, did some camper shopping (Beth is in the market for a travel trailer), played some cards, chit-chatted and just had a nice evening all around.  Happy birthday, Beth!  Here's to many more!

How to Sit Like a Lady - Lesson 1

Lois Lane is a funny girl.  She sits in the recliner with her back feet propped on the arm of the chair and her back feet crossed at the ankle.  Such a proper gal.  Not really, she's very much bow-legged and it just happens.  ;)

Impatiently Waiting Out Winter

This year we bought a Passport America membership to help with discounts on campgrounds we plan to visit.  I've been flipping through the catalog and yearning for spring so we can get out and about and do some camping!  I've got a closet full of goodies to get organized inside the camper, but until it decides to stop snowing so I can put the slide out and get warm enough so I can putter around in the camper, I'm stuck just waiting and dreaming.  37 Days until spring!

#tbt - Smokey Mountains 2004

Throw Back Thursday

This photo was taken in 2004 during one of our many trips to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  This was the year we owned a cabin that overlooked the city and we would take last minute long weekend trips down there when it wasn't booked for rental.  It was a very nice cabin with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two large decks, a hot tub and a pool table.  Unfortunately we purchased it during a very bad economic time and were losing money on it so ended up selling it just a year later - but it was fun while it lasted!

Icy

This sure has been a doozy of a winter.  The ground has pretty much looked like this since mid-December. I know we are overdue for it given the last two winters that were unseasonably mild, but I'm so over it.  We're just now into February and have had not one, but two, polar vortexes come through - a term I honestly had never even heard of until a couple of months ago.  We have had three snow "events" this week alone and it is almost continuously flurring snow flakes.  It's pretty and all, but I really hate the cold and I am really, really ready for camping weather since we only got to take the new rig out once before having to winterize it.  I don't think I've ever been so ready for spring in my entire life...42 more days...

Childhood Stuffies

Today's #fmsphotoaday theme was "childhood".  I have these stuffed animals from way before I can even remember.  They show their wear and tear greatly, but they are at least 38 years old now. They live in the top of my closet for their own safety - if the dogs find them they will promptly gut them and leave their empty carcasses laying about the house.

Boy's Game Night = Movie Night for Me

Monday nights are "gaming" nights for J and his buddies.  That gives me some time to watch a movie or shows that he doesn't like, read or play some of my own games. Tonight I opted to watch "Oz the Great and Powerful".  Unfortunately I was not a big fan and turned it off about half way through and opted to watch some Law and Order SVU instead.  Can't win them all!

Looks Much Different Without the Aquarium

Today we sold off the actual aquarium which led to some furniture re-arranging in the living room.  It looks so much different without the tank here and it's very weird with it being so quite and dark in here now.  It makes me really realize how much light it put off and how much of a background sound it had .  But it looks nice and spacious in here now and we can go on trips now without having to have anyone check in to ensure everything is ok.  Giant step for our RV plans!

Gerbil Huddle

This is Tilty and Cat Woman.  They usually curl up under their t-shirt pieces or under a box to sleep, but tonight they were huddled together and sleeping sitting up.  Silly rodents.