This 'n' not much of That

Not much has been going on lately.....just enjoying each day.

Funny thing happened the other day. Shannon and I took Jaden to the mall to play. They have the cutest little play area. (that's not the funny thing.) After playing, we have a few minutes before meeting Mike for supper so we decided to go through the Disney Store. This is a corner of the mall that many parents and grandparents would try to avoid. Well, when we get in there I see they have their little stuffed characters on sale for just $5. I decide to treat Jaden to a small gift.....she is in her stroller and I start showing her cute little stuffed characters.
"Do you want Pooh?" she pushes it away!
"Awwww, look Jaden, Piglet is soooo cute!" she pushes it away!
"Tigger! boinnng...boinng" I get no response.
Then I find the perfect one! "Look Jaden! It's Ty!" and I show her the cute white Aristocat. Looks like her kitty, Ty, except Ty is a he, but she doesn't know that yet. She does hold on to this one, but not a big interest.
We continue through the store and when we get to the back I see their large stuffed characters are on sale too! Just $8. Oh I KNOW she will want one of these.
She won't have anything to do with Mickey, Minnie, Pooh, Piglet, even characters Shannon and I didn't know. Then I found a large Aristocat...and soooooo soft and cuddly!
She did take to this one, kinda.
This new kitty has become her bedtime friend along with her other kitty. I gave her the name Ty, but she changed it to "Jude-Ty" It's what she calls her two cats. (Jude and Ty)
Funny thing about that whole ordeal.....here we are in Disney Store where kids are usually begging, "can I have this, can I have this" over and over. Not the case for us. Shannon and I are TRYING to get Jaden to like something and she just shakes her head.
I am not gonna give up on this girl.....we will teach her the art of shopping!

Ingenious Idea

I have a great idea....inspired by Shannon.
And since I haven't figured out a way to sell it, I am gonna share it with you at no charge!

How many of you have a birthday in the winter and wish it was summer? Is your birthday too close to another holiday that it gets lost in the shuffle? Are you sharing your birthday with someone else and wishing you had your own day? Have you gone to a birthday party and thought, "I wish this was my birthday, it's the perfect time of the year!"?

Well I have the solution: You get to pick the month you celebrate your birthday each year! There are a few rules though:
1. You have to decide at the start of the calendar year what month you will be celebrating.
2. You have to celebrate on the numerical date of your actual birthday.
3. If your "new" birthday falls after your given birthday, you are not allowed to receive gifts from your immediately family on your given birthday. However, casual friends and relatives you see on a limited bases are welcome to send you well wishes and shower you with gifts.
4. If your "new" birthday falls before your actual birthday you MUST remind your immediate family and friends that you already had your birthday when your actual birthday rolls around!
5. Each year you get to choose your month to celebrate as long as you always abide by the above rules.

I am sure you are saying, "So how did Shannon inspire you to come up with thins Ingenious Idea?" Well, I am glad you ask. Shannon's birthday is Jan. 9 and Mike's birthday is Dec. 15. As you can imagine their birthdays can get lost in the holiday celebrations. Not to mention the two big holidays of the year fall within weeks of each other. So they decided their gifts to each other would be to pick anything, anytime and call it a birthday present. He chose wrestling match, she chose Vera Bradley. Now when their birthdays roll around they will still celebrate with friends and family but their gifts to each other are done.

And of course this idea wouldn't have come to mind if her idea hadn't gotten me to thinking about my own birthday. The time of year of my birthday is ok, it's May, the weather is usually nice. However, my birthday is on the 13th and it always falls on or within days of Mother's Day. Given a choice, I would spread the "special" holidays throughout the year. I doubt I could convince the nation to change Mother's Day, so I could just change when I celebrate my birthday.
This brings me to my last thought.....when is the perfect time for a birthday, or for my birthday?
January? nah, too close to Christmas
February? Valentine's Day
March? not a bad idea, but in Indiana it could mean blizzard!
April? I'll let Jaden have this month until she decides to "choose" her new birthday.
May? as I said, Mother's Day.
June? it's ok, but not much change for me.
July? ok, maybe too hot, but it would be fun to have a cookout on my birthday!
August? Max gets first dibs on this month.
September? If Shane wants to share the month I think this could be the next to perfect month.
October? This is my pick! I love the fall....I love getting the hooded sweatshirts out....I love curling up on the sofa wrapped in a blanket....I love my fleece robe!
November? Nope, this is the month for my favorite holiday.
December? Gonna leave this month for Christmas parties!

So now I bet you are thinking....why didn't I think of that idea? Well I am happy to share my idea. But just remember, if you make any money on this ingenious idea, i get royalties!

Heck, maybe I can sell this idea to Hallmark....."Happy Perfect Birthday" "Happy Choice Birthday" "Happy Unbirthday" hmmmmmm.....think I gotta work on that!

Super Saturday....

Saturday was a day jam packed with fun!

My day started with a pancake breakfast at Eastside Park, just behind our house. It was a chilly morning, frost on the ground, but the brisk morning air was nice....and just made the hot pancakes and sausage taste even better! The event was a benefit for Vascular Disease. Mom and Dad were helping with the event so I was happy to support it....and everyone knows that Grampa Wayne makes the best pancakes!

Following breakfast it was on to the zoo! Shannon and Jaden took me as their guest for a final trip to the zoo this season. Thanks, Miss J, I had a blast. It was a beautiful fall day and the zoo is decorated for their annual fall halloween festival. The animals were very active too. The cutest thing was how Jaden pretty much lead the tour! She sure knows her way around that place. She even helped by pushing the wagon....which basically was just to hall around our stuff. Also along on the trip was Jaden's cousin-to-be, Marissa. The two girls are just too cute together.

Feeding the ducks was one of the highlights of the day.....Jaden started "quacking" before we even got to the duck pond!

After the zoo we met up with Marissa's mom, Kelly, at Pizza Hut. Just the mention of pizza had Jaden chanting "pizza, pizza" while pumping her fists in the air! That was enough to do the little girl in, it was back to their house for a little nap. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of the lucky ones to get a nap.

The third event of the day was the District Marching Band Contest at Homestead High School. I have been trying all season to get to one of Tabitha's competitions. (It brought back a lot of memories from when Shannon was in marching band. ) Tabitha, you were great....you have a great band that is going to continue to get better each year! Congrats on the Gold....good luck at Regional!

You would think that was enough for one day....heck, enough for two Saturdays, but nope....after band competition we went out for supper, glad you were able to join us, Max!

Gee....did I just have 3 meals out today?

Then we ended the night with some dominoes at Mom and Dad's. It was just before midnight when we got home so the day was definitely jammed packed with fun!

Then to finish off the weekend, Sunday Shannon, Jaden, and I made another trip to the Vera Bradley sale! We got in line at 8:40 with about 500 people in front of us. Jaden showed she was a real trooper learning the ropes of shopping. She stood, sat, played in line for an hour and half with us. Then she zipped around the place in her stroller....she caught on quickly too, she was pulling things off the table like a veteran! And a smart shopper too, she got a cell phone holder to match her Vera Bradley purse!

Phew.....that wraps up my weekend as I sit here on the couch watching Desperate Housewives. I do believe it is time to say Good Night!

Say Cheese!!! :D

Friday night was our monthly meeting of our Scrappin' Club! Hey, girls, we really have to come up with a name for "the club". We had a new scrapper this month...hope you had fun, Kelly! Also joining in the fun was Krista, Laura, Shannon, Mom and me....oh and Jaden and Seth were guests for awhile!

It was another fun filled day! We met at the studio again.....and as in the past, plenty of good food! Funny thing....many of us were "cheesy". We had so much cheese......Shannon made strawberry cheesecake, Kelly made a cheeseball, Mom also made a cheeseball, Krista made a veggie pizza that had the cream cheese base, and I brought sliced cheeses and meat roll-ups filled with, yep, cream cheese! Jerry (of Tom & Jerry) would have been in heaven! Thanks to Laura we had some variety....she made peanut butter chocolate bars....think Reese's Peanut Butter cups. Late in the evening we made a run to Dunkin Donuts for an Iced Latte. Kelly didn't have her fill of cheese....she ordered a pizza!

But it was a night of scrappin too....and boy can some of these girls scrap! Krista was flipping through the pages so fast she didn't even take time to ring the bell......I think she finished 17 pages! I know Shannon was in double digits too and Laura might have been too. Mom and I had a little trouble getting into gear.....I completed 2 whole pages and mom did two pages and a couple of cards. I should get double credit though because Krista copied my two pages.

Overall.....fun times and already looking forward to next month at Krista's!

And to top off the weekend I am in Columbus, Ohio at a "Pottery Painting Camp". Mom is with me and boy are we getting a lot of great ideas and new techniques to bring into the studio just in time for the holidays! I will post some pictures once I get my samples fired.

Small Claims saga continues....

If anyone needs representation in small claims court......by the time I am through I will be a professional! Getting my degree from "School of Hard Knocks" (Ashley I would be happy to give you some help with your LSATS! ;)

I had my court date.....and as i figured, she didn't show. Heck, I didn't even get to see the judge.....all those hours watching Judge Judy....wasted!

Ok, so she is in contempt of court for not showing and I win by default! I figured this means I get the money, right? uh..yea...if only it were that easy! Let me tell you right now, if you are going to file a claim in small claims court you better be ready to invest a lot of time: paperwork, notification, tracking down info, and many trips to the courthouse!

Well if you know me, I finish what I start. I have learned to choose my battles wisely, but once the fight begins we will take it to the end! This one has become principle now. If I just let it go from here it ends....I don't get anything, she gets off the hook, and the court just files the paper away.
I choose to battle so.....I sent her a letter telling her she is in contempt, please pay, or I will follow the next steps the court allows. Court says I have to allow her 10 days. Those days have come and gone and then some! I decided to go to court yesterday and file the next papers....so I called the courthouse. No answer. hmmmmm....am I missing a holiday? It's noon so I figured being a government building they all just walk away from the phones for their lunch hour. (Not surprising they have no reason to be convenient for tax payers but that's another blog). I give up on the phone call....I'll worry about it another day. Then for the heck of it I decide to give this lady who stuck me for over 100 bucks a call....she never answers my calls but I figure I can leave a nice little message again!
Lo and Behold....she answers!!! Well to keep a story that is already long, less long......she says she will be in on Tuesday to pay! She gives me this song and dance about it was a bad time and by the time she had the money I had already filed. right....I gave her 30 days and several options. So do I hold my breath? heck no! But I can't help I am an optimist and I think she will pay up. I won't cry when she doesn't show up.....I will just go to the court house and be one step closer to the body attachment!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!!!

50 Fabulous Years!!!

On September 6th Mom & Dad celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary! Wow...50 years of memories!!! Congratulations!!!


To celebrate this special milestone we had a very special dinner on an amish farm. This was a dinner like no other! We had a private feast, fixed just for us at this family's home. The dinner started with a delicious salad and homemade bread and jelly, followed by the main course of pan fried chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, homemade noodles, fresh corn. Dessert was choice of peach, apple, or cherry pie and ice cream! Needless to say we all needed a walk around the farm before our drive home. Even the coffee and lemonade was better than your average. There is something to be said about the simple life!






Sure was nice that everyone was able to make it home or get off work for this special day. It's not often that we get everyone together, in one place, AND long enough to snap a picture!

After the dinner we all went to mom and dad's for a second dessert, dad has become quite the baker....yummy chewy chocolate chip cookies!

I think Max summed it all up with a champagne toast:
"Here's a toast to Pat & Wayne whose example showed us how to be great parents and grandparents! Cheers!"

...the rest of the Tennessee story!

One of the best parts of the vacation was having a home cooked meal every night. We decided each couple would be in charge of a night. From start to finish, fixin' to cleanup....you had to do it all! Was a bit comical to see how each couple interacted together in the kitchen!

The first night chefs were Shannon and Mike. They had a Mexican theme...enchiladas, Spanish rice, and salsa. It was delicious!!! In fact, I was one of the lucky ones to get a leftover enchilada for lunch one day. Nice work guys!

Day two was Max and I....you all know how much I love the kitchen! We opted for a true American, midwest favorite: T-Bones, corn on the cob, and cinnamon applesauce. Sorry I don't have the proof, and many won't buy it, but I really did cook! The steaks were cooked to perfection and the corn couldn't have been sweeter!

As you can see, we did talk the guys into helping a little with the prep. Thanks Shane and Mike for helping clean the corn. (Sorry, Mike, you were just late for the picture, but I will back up your story if you back up mine.)

Shannon contributed dessert for this night by making a birthday cake for Max!! A late Maxmas celebration....Thanks, Shannon!

The final evening was Shane and Ashley....we were very impressed with the young chefs. They made their version of Chicken Cordon Bleu and fresh asparagus. We had a few ears of corn left so we threw those in too! It took Max and I a little getting used to seeing Shane eat something green! You're doing good, Ash! ;)

This is where I had my coffee every morning....I was up about 7 each morning, grabbed my book, coffee and blanket and headed for the porch! That's what relaxing is all about! And then Jaden always joined me.....mom and dad even got to go back to sleep a couple mornings, I think. Jaden and I would take a little walk near the woods out back....as you can see, getting dirty is taking a little getting used to!

And one of my favorite parts of the whole vacation was spending time with the kids playing games. Jaden and I had fun playing dominoes! She has the one...two...three down! But she would knock down the dominoes before i could get a string going. We had fun though....Jaden, you are such a sweetie!!!

After Jaden went to bed, we moved upstairs to the theatre room and played games until after midnight. Shannon and Mike brought "Balderdash" that was a hoot!! Had us literally rolling on the floor sometimes! And then another night Shane and Ashley taught us Mexican Train Dominoes. My new favorite game....sure hope Santa brings me a set....hint, hint, Shane-o!

Of course there was a lot of fun in between these times like.....a trip to Gatlinburg (Jaden and I only liked the ice cream shop). Way to commercialized and touristy! The kids took a trek through some trails at Smoky Mountain National Park. Max and I stayed back at the cabin and made a small trip to some outlets in Pigeon Forge. Again, the only part Jaden and I liked was the ice cream!

I am already looking forward to another trip back soon!

Thanks kids and Max for making it a super, fun, relaxing vacation!!!