Birthday Cake

I have been wanting to redesign my blog for a long time.  I have finally figured out how to do it "the way I want to do it"  and it was right under my nose all this time.  Once I get started there is no telling what you might see pop up on this page.  Bear with me.

Speaking of right under my nose!

Yesterday was my birthday.  So to completely spoil myself I made an Italian Creme Cake.  I just love this cake recipe.  It's from the The Cotton Country Collection cookbook.  Full of nuts, coconut and topped off with cream cheese buttercream frosting.  I even had a piece for breakfast this morning.  Yum!

My nephew Chris and I and the "Girl Scouts", share the same birthday.  Unfortunately Chris missed the cake.

Sorry Chris, I promise I'll make it up to you.

You knew this picture post was coming didn't you.

I just couldn't help myself.

You're just too darn cute!

Our Record Breaking Snow

Our record snow "12 inches" in Dallas started about 3 am Thursday morning. Fortunately the commute to work that day was easy. The roads were mostly slushy and wet, not the dreaded "ice" that sends you flying in all directions. Warning! I have been camera crazy since the snow began. This may not happen here for another 30 years and by then I may not even know what a camera is!

On the way home I made a quick stop at Walmart with everyone else.

I am about 45 minutes from work. I realized the other day I drive through 6 cities; Dallas, Richardson, Plano, Garland, Sachse and Wylie. Wow! I just now realized I have lived in all but one, Sachse.

On George Bush Turnpike

Trees out the window on HWY 78

The golf course.

The next morning I couldn't wait for daylight to see what mother nature had left us.

Out Front

Out Back

Mom was sitting at the kitchen table and said "look at that big bird in the tree".
One of these trees! 

I zoomed in (40X) with my camera and it was an owl.  Mom has pretty good eyes!!!

On my way to the store I decided to make a quick side trip to see what this place looked like in the snow. 

Remember these folks from the show"Dallas"?

The show was on from 1978 to 1991.  Can you believe it's been almost 20 years?
The ranch is still pretty.
I like Sue Ellen's yellow blouse too.

Bachelor 14

I am not happy with myself. I have been totally sucked in to the world of "The Bachelor". Every Monday I find myself looking forward to it. I don't think I have ever watched an entire series before, just bits and pieces and always the finale. I don't really like Jake much. I can't put my finger on it but there is something about him that turns me off. He is a little too sensitive for my liking, a little wimpy and I think he is looking for a woman to take care of him. I still can't get the scene out of my mind of him hiding his face in Vienna's neck right before they bungee jumped. Come on Jake how can you be scared of heights when you fly planes?

Despite all it's contrived silliness, I watch it.

(I just loved Gia's top. The color and lace fabric looked so elegant. Want it.)

Now this lady is a puzzler. She sticks out like a sore thumb next to the other girls and doesn't look well to me. Am I the only one who sees dark circles under her eyes? I am not going to say anything about the Goldilocks hairdo.

I have a feeling that they are going to try and make us actually like her. It cracked me up when she was wandering through the castle last night all scared calling for Jake. Silly girl, you weren't alone. The camera crew was right behind you!


Next week should be fun meeting the fams. Yes, I will watch.

On the other hand.

Tonight!

Now this is a show!

The final season is finally here!

Home Again Finnigan

My grandmother said it, my mother said it, and I still say it. I think it's so ingrained in me I don't even realize I say it. Whenever we return home it just spills right out of my mouth.

"On again. Off again. Home again, Finnigan."

When I came across this in the cartoon section of the newspaper many years ago I had to cut it out. I ran across it the other day and thought I'd share. It still makes me laugh.

Maybe I'm related to Charlie Brown!

A Response For Toohey

Because I found your comments rude and out of line I decided to answer your questions but only as they pertain to me.

Q. Does your family have a problem with black people?

A. Absolutely not.

Q. Do you have black friends and neighbors or do y'all live in gated, white-only communities?

A. Yes I have many black friends. My community is a mix of all races, is not gated and I am not going to run across the street and take a picture of my neighbor Shameika to post to my blog just to pacify you.

Q. The abject absence of black people in our lives.

A. There is no absence of black people in my life and never has been. Nor is there an absence of Asian, Hispanic, Muslin, gay, etc.

What you see on my blog (and I really don't write that much) is a microscopic piece of me. I am not sure how you came to your conclusions with so little information or why. Have you ever asked yourself why you are so focused on this issue? Also, why do you continue to read our blogs if this is a problem for you?

Am I prejudiced? Yes, I'm prejudiced of mean people. I'm prejudiced of people who hurt people, children or animals physically or with words. I'm prejudiced of people who judge people because of their race, creed or color or just not having all the facts about who they are.

As far as Kelly goes: I see her blog as focused on her family, friends and God. She has the biggest heart and shares her day to day events and beliefs with all people. No colors are exempted, you just didn't look close enough. Maybe your own prejudices are getting in the way.

I could have ignored this as nonsense but I'm not one to let things go. Yes I am a compassionate person. It has to do with how I was raised, the many places I have lived, the experiences I have had and the many wonderful friends (all colors) I made along the way. You may or may not see pictures of them on my blog. It all depends on what I choose to write about. I'm not doing this for your or anyone else's entertainment. It's for mine.

So...

Why don't you tell us about yourself?

Do you have a blog?

I'd love to see the pictures.

Cold Weather in Texas

The cold weather hit Texas early Thursday morning with 30 mile an hour winds, teen digits and a thin layer of ice. I envy those of you who got snow. Ice is scary to drive on. I went on in to work and saw three accidents where cars obviously going to fast, hit ice and landed on the medium with there front ends smashed into poles.

Friday morning we woke up to find our master bath sink pipes frozen. They are on a wall that faces north and it was 6 degrees outside. We knew we should let the faucets drip the night before and just didn't do it. We turned on the bathtub faucet and it worked so we just let it keep dripping. We put space heaters under the sinks trying to get them to thaw and were praying the pipes had not burst.

Saturday morning the cold water pipe to my kitchen island sink was frozen. Fortunately the sun came out and temps got above freezing. All pipes thawed and we thought we had made it without any breakage.

As I was leaving for the store I went to inspect the north wall. There was ice in all the bottom crevices and water marks all along the foundation. Panic city hit. Tom turned the water off to the house and called for help. He was absolutely beside himself with visions of brick being torn out to find the broken pipe(s). We were lucky enough to get a plumber out because Dallas is inundated with broken pipes everywhere.

The really good news is no pipes were broken. The faucet fixture to the bathtub was leaking and had been that way since we moved in. We have only used the bathtub once on the first day we moved in. Rosie had lost it from both ends in her pet carrier (thought she was going to the vet) and I had to give her a bath. Lovely way to use your tub for the first time. The tub faucet had been on since the day before, so it had been leaking underneath all this time.

Now it looks like this.

He had to pull the panel from the front and it broke. He was able to cap off the water so we could have water to the house until they can fix it on Monday.

We are supposed to get back into the teens tonight but the rest of the week we warm back up into the 50's. Until then it's snuggy time.

Stay Warm!

Why My Christmas Cards Are Running Late.

Trying to get a photo to put on a Christmas card this year was not easy for many reasons:

• I put it off too long.
• I've never tried to use my self timer before.
• I misjudged how long it would take to get them back from the drugstore.
• And.........

Finding the right spot to do it.

Checking the distance, settings, etc. with a helper.

Making sure I had time to get in the picture.

Making sure mom would show up sitting in the chair.

Not mom - another helper.

All in but ........

Someone likes to make faces.

Let's put the cats in the picture!

Bad idea.

Charlie wants to jump on mom and Jackson finds it way to funny.

Would you believe the first one I took is the one we're using! Another lesson learned.