Merry Monday and Kam the Man

Another Monday has arrived...Is time flying as fast for anybody else out there as it is for me????

It's Merry Monday - time to gear up and get that smile going...Hmmm...it occurred to me that maybe...possibly...perhaps...sometimes you might give out a smile and NOT get one back! Uh-oh...Me thinks maybe they need a leeeeetle bit of help. So just follow the gutsy efforts of our little friend below. Just goes to show, if we try hard enough...we can get a smile out of any body...!! :-)



LOL

I am a merry mom today. A moment of grace from any visitors I hope...I just want to say how P*R*O*U*D I am of my youngest peep! This weekend, he showed this to his dad and I...



This guy has studied so hard and committed so many hours late into the night trying to do well and earn good grades. When he first started school here, I knew it would be more than a challenge. Going from a lifetime of schooling at home and in a more relaxed style and schedule... to a more rigid classroom style with 7 classes, and a strict schedule of studying with oodles of homework was not an easy adjustment for him when he first flew out and started school. Add on to that all the other changes and adapting he had to take on and this mama was just praying MUCH for him every day.

Kudos to you Kam. You have DONE HARD THINGS!!! You inspire and motivate me. RAH!
Stay Strong! Finish Well...and as your Marine brother said..."GOOD MAN!"

A personal post of praise to my son.

To all who happen to drop in today...have a VERY Merry Monday. Keep those smile muscles flexed... Hugs to ALL!

"A merry heart does good, like medicine,
But a broken spirit dries the bones." ~ Proverbs 17:22

* * * * snowflakes falling on my sidewalk...

"Friday's FAVORITES" Feature...

For a while, I have been thinking about adding this post to my blog...Things that are FAVORITES of mine.

"Things I wouldn't want to live without!"

I am jumping right in today with my first Friday Feature.

Lip Care!

This product has literally TRUMPED all other lip balms.



I LOVE IT!

Since I started using it several years ago, I have never looked back or tried anything else. It is soft and smooth...not waxy like ChapStick. It is not too thick or glossy like some and has no flavors or nasty taste.

It lasts longer so you don't have to keep reapplying it. I wear it around the house all day...put it on first thing in the morning, right before bedtime, and put a layer on under my lipstick before I go out.

And as you can see, the WalMart in Cedar Rapids was having a two-for-one deal, so I grabbed several!!! woot! They are in the Lip Care section of the Pharmacies and Health Care Sections.

If you haven't tried this, I highly recommend it. Here in the cold Iowa winter, I am protecting my skin and lips more and more because of the Winter WINDS!!!!

*It only has a slight sheen to it, so I have even converted Kurt and Kam to it, along with Kat. I sent these over to Justin when he was in the Afghanistan desert.

This is my FAVORITE lip treatment, and I would NOT want to live without it! :-)

Have a Fabulous Friday. MORE snow coming in Iowa. I am staying warm and snug in the burrow again! Lot of snow moving across the midwest...Watch out...It's Coming!

My old stomping grounds, Charlotte, is 54 degrees with Rain!...What's up with that????
February is typically Snow month there, but that's crazy for Winter temps!!!

HUGS to all dropping by.

Happy Tale of a Birthday Dawg

Today is the Kobe meister's birthday. He is 8 years old...or so we are saying. When I was involved in Dog Rescue in Charlotte, I went down and pulled this guy from a High Kill shelter in South Carolina. His age was estimated to be 2 years.

This is the most pitiful picture. The "bag of bones" neglected (homeless?) Kobe was posted on Petfinder.com in early December of 2005 in the shelter...a Collie/Golden mix with ribs and hipbones showing...left in a pen outside the shelter overnight and found by the volunteers the next morning. (To this day he can not STAND to be in a crate with the door latched...)

At the time, I was fostering a Collie for Collie Rescue of the Carolinas, and could not go to get him....yet! By the time I pulled him out of there in January 2006, the shelter had managed to put a little more weight on him.


Here he was in the back of the van...sucking on a blankie on the seat. He still has that quirk to this day, and drags blankets and old tees and pillows/dogbeds all around the house and continues... (Linus and his security blanket?????)


He was a happy dog...a good dog!...He seemed comforted to be allowed in a home with lots of attention and other dogs to play with.


co-operated for photos to post on Petfinder online pet adoption site.



A beautiful canine...you can see why so many wanted to adopt. If his quirks had not been in the mix, we would never have seen Kobe again...

I had him with me for 11 days. We got SO many applications for him, and thought we had chosen the "perfect" family for him. In retrospect...11 days was not NEAR long enough to capture and understand the number of quirks and issues this dawg had. He left rescue and went to a family who lived in Florida. They drove up to get him. **(This was my first...last...and Only long-distance adoption for one of my FosterDogs.) NEVER again. ...LOCAL only!


an original photo of the Three Caballeros today... in January of 2006 before Kobe left for Florida. (and there's Big Sam there in the background...no longer with us)

As it turned out, right after Kobe arrived in Florida, he started having behavior problems and scratching and chewing on himself...He was taken to the vet and given topical treatments...injections of steroids, and oral meds...along with a prescription diet. He was left alone with another dog all day while the family was away...working and at school. He couldn't handle it. He got sick, and lost so much fur and had hot pink angry skin from all the chemicals forced on his system. (but I get ahead of myself) The family called and were going to give him to a rescue again, but I said no, and they had to honor the adoption contract to return him to the original rescue.


This is a follow-up photo the family sent to me from Florida right after Kobe was adopted...You can see WAY more of the Collie coloring (dark accents) in his fur here. After he lost most of his fur, those darker highlights never really came back in...

On Palm Sunday of 2006, my dear man drove me down almost halfway between Charlotte and Florida and we met the family and took Kobe back...We nursed him back to health, got his fur to grow back, and he never left our home again....He wormed his way into our hearts, especially Kurt's..


And here are those Three again, Kobe returned and all healed up...September of 2006.

And so Kobe turns 8 today. Have a wonderful day, you renegade, clown, cowboy dog..
Loved by all...quirks and craziness and all that stuff...



Kobe says prayers...


A dog and his blankie...


"Hiding" in the rock garden...smashing flowers while watching for squirrels...sigh


snow romping Charlotte


Uber HAPPY in the EXCITEMENT... because of a surprise visit from Justin!


Is this chair for me?????


WHY does she shriek when I roll in the grass after my bath???


Mom and Dad's bed is softer than mine....hmmmm


Autumn Golds in Charlotte


Why does the mean groomer put these dumb bandannas on us????


Guarding...in Dreamland


Handsome Kobe!


Happy Kobe!


Silly Kobe!


"Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog." Sidney Jeanne Seward

Happy Birthday sweet doggy. McDonalds cheeseburger coming to you for lunch!! :-)

If you consider getting a canine into your family...give Rescue a good chance!

Hugs to all visiting here today! STAY WARM!

Wednesday "What I Like" post

There are some things, every once in a while, you find yourself falling in love with...(so to speak) and your eye starts spotting them...(when you are a thrifter).

One of those "things", for me, is a mirrored tray. They do go way back. Most of us probably had a grandma who had at least one on her dresser with her atomizer perfume misters sitting on it.

I have collected a number of them over the years in my thrifting ventures, and still find some occasionally. They are scattered throughout the nest. *One of mine got broken in the move from NC to Iowa, but that's okay. :-) This post is just a picture show of those trays. It reveals to YOU something about me.

I DO like mirror trays. :-)

These two sit on my dresser.


I LOVE the blue opaque glass and design of this one! some of my earrings are tossed here everyday.


hand creams and lotions




This pretty little one is on my bedside table.

The next two are on the Master Bath vanity.


Kurt's side


My side

The next two are NOT trays...but I WILL use framed mirrors, sometimes...like a tray.

This one is on the wicker stand in the bath.


This one is a catch-all "tray" in the back hall nook.

**SO if you don't happen to have mirrored trays, you can still substitute a pretty framed mirror!


Hall guest bath

This one is a recent find. It shouted at me from an upper shelf in the Cedar Rapids Salvation Army store. I do LIKE it.



It is different in that the edge is an open scallop design...a little more vintage I think! **(those tonic/bitters bottles were also at the SA store the same visit)


Living Room - pic of little Kam and kitty Rastus.



Dining Room Hutch - I L*O*V*E me my plaid Scotty Dog salt/peppers... (I have Scotch-Irish in my heritage)



Dining Room- on my "heritage photo table." I shall have to do a post on those photos soon. THIS tray is my largest 22 inches...Salvation Army store in Charlotte. It belonged to the Aunt of the checkout gal, Mary (my sweet friend!) and she had it stored in a closet for years, and finally just turned it in to the store. She told me all this when I purchased it!

How about you? Do you like to use trays for display and holding items? Some of my trays are NOT mirrored.

If you thrift, Keep your eyes peeled...these old trays DO appear here and there. Maybe they will "shout" out to you, too! :-)

Another e-post to reveal a little about ME....what makes me tick...what I love...

Hugs to ALL visiting. Stay warm in this wintry weather...Think Spring while you hibernate in the cold...

Cheesecake Testing and Tasting...

So for Christmas, one of my gifts from the youngest was this set of spring form pans.
Now, I know some reading this post may find it hard to believe, but I have never had a set before, and I have never made a bona fide cheesecake! 'Bout time, ya think?
**I'm sure Kam had some hidden motivation behind this gift... ;-)

Monday night, Kurt had class, and Kam had a basketball game out of town, so it was just me and the three caballeros left at the nest. I thought it would be a good time to do a first attempt with a Cheesecake recipe.


Here it is right out of the oven...


And, here it is with the cherry topping added...


And, here it is with the rim/side removed.

Right as I finished putting the cherry topping on, Da Man drove in, and he was delighted to try it for me. He gave it 2 thumbs up. Kam came in after 11:30, but gave a taste test too, and said it was good. so...Success!

I love to make or bake something new and have the men in this house do a review.

How about you!?


and yes...it's snowing again in Cedar Rapids...as for myself and the dawgs?...we are gonna stay in the burrow! This Southern girl is no dumb bunny when it comes to driving in this kind of stuff. I'll let the natives enjoy their roads...!

To da Marine in VA...stay warm on those cold nights outside!

Hugs to all stopping by. Have a Terrific Tuesday!

Merry Monday and Mantel Metamorphosis

It only takes one smile....and you know what it can do for the recipient.... (honestly, didn't you smile in return at the smile above????) ...so go give one or two or three...boocoodles away...It's a Good thing...Merry Monday!

Having a mantel seems to automatically inspire change...*seems that way in blogland.* There are those who decorate and change out for every season and holiday...I guess it's a small "display ledge or shelf" in the house to do just a little work, and in return, have a large, cheerful impact in a room.

Metamorphosis - transformation, the process of undergoing a marked change in form, texture and physical appearance.

My mantel only gets changed out at Christmas!... but I have found that in the process of moving, it has taken a "metamorphosis" journey to get it right, or to it's final year-round resting state. That means it is done and will remain so!

The Living Room Mantel has been coming out of it's cocoon:


Original stage...


Change from Picture to Mirror...


Temporary Christmas Cheer stage...


Current state...

The Living Room is basically my true Blue and White room...my favorite color combo.
It has been blue and white for as long as I can remember! But I never had a mantel in the Living Room until we came to Iowa and I "installed" this one. :-) I will admit it has been fun tweaking it and feathering it with Thrifted Treasure Finds...


This pair of vases was the Christmas gift I bought for myself. :-) *do you ever do that?! When I saw these had no chips or cracks and yet someone had gotten rid of them...I was ecstatic! I love them...just fit the mantel ...



Both the artichokes and the beautiful candles were what I call a "cheap thrill" find...something you were not looking for, but there they were - lying on a shelf just waiting for YOU.



When the picture got moved to the guest room, replaced by the white mirror, I moved the red and sage decor off of the mantel, because they had accented the colors in the print. The plates had remained on the wall, and I knew they would be replaced, but just didn't know with "what"! This weekend, I took the candelabras that were in my bedroom (black), gave them a whitewash, and finally got the plates replaced. so I believe the mantel has just about arrived...



Is it fully a butterfly ...ready to go?...or will there be another tweak?...oh my...who knows...those "cheap thrill" dollar finds can cause a commotion in a metamorphosis process...and you know and I know....a girl can change her mind...

Hugs to all who drop by today...It is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday...so I have Da Man AND Da youngest peep home with me an extra day this weekend. RAH!

Have yourself a Very MERRY MONDAY, and thank you so much for saying a prayer for our military heroes...They are treasures...Never take them for granted. They do HARD things that no one else would ever want to do...


God Bless YOU!