Which ever way the wind blows!

Our little town of Shell Beach was hit very badly with wind last night. Fortunately, our home didn't have any damage, just a rose that was knocked down, that Mike promptly planted this morning. However, the noise was so loud, that I think I have about 3 hours of sleep running through my body! Trash cans knocking, trees whistling, and I posted a few pictures of the damage some of our neighbors have...

This house is directly across the street. The carport caved in on their car (which was inoperable anyways) and we saw a few people out there trying to figure out how to resolve the matter... my solution? Bulldozer...


These are our next door neighbors... all of her plants fell down, and in the front of her house, a few of them broke... I think this was the noise that kept me up last night!

No need for "Trading Spaces"!

So this was a weekend of great accomplishment. My MIL came into town on Friday night, and spent the weekend with us to help us get settled in to our new home. She knew I had a slew of projects to complete, so she offered to help us on what we needed, and we picked the kitchen. In light of the baking season coming just around the corner, we decided to revamp the kitchen a little to get it to a more usable state. There are a couple things we are still going to do, but here is the kitchen after a weekend of redecorating! My mom came to help, and we got most of it done on Saturday night!


This is a dark picture, but we added curtains and a towel hook, plus some of my bread baskets.

We needed to get the microwave off the counter, and added two shelves with chrome accents.

We also added two shelves here, to eliminate the wire shelving unit that was here before. Now, the dogs have an actual place for their dishes by the trash can.

And in this picture, you can see we added a utensil rack above the stove. We also reorganized the top of the fridge, so Mike can have easy access to the panini grill (which he lives for).

So not too shabby for a weekend worth of work! Still to come, we are planning on painting the kitchen and redoing the cabinets. We have all the hardware, just need the time, and with Christmas coming up, it may wait until January!

the post thanksgiving blues... or blacks

Thanksgiving is right around the corner... literally like a week away... and I, like most people am completely unprepared. So I decided really, in order to keep up with the holidays, to skip Thanksgiving, and go right into Christmas.

Okay, no, I won't skip it... we are doing the traditional fare, but with just a 14 lb. turkey, and six of us, which is a huge step down from our usual holiday.

However, I feel that if I get a jump on Christmas now, I can actually enjoy the weeks before it... trimming the tree, sending out cards, shopping, wrapping, and baking... all in preparation of my favorite holiday of the year.

So with that, I give you the hideous black friday ads... yes, I have already started scouting and scouring, hoping to find great Christmas finds... hope I don't sound too much like the all American consumer...

the babies are here! the babies are here!

The babies are here! My friend Monika's twins did indeed bless us with their presence on Friday, November 9th, at about 12:45pm (that is my estimate)... and they are beautiful! For me, this experience was surreal. To be present through this entire pregnancy, and then all of a sudden watch her as she embraces her two boys, there are no words. So now I know what all the fuss is about. And although Mike and I aren't ready to add to our family yet, at least I know, that between the both of us, we will cherish that day, above all others, when it does come.

Meet Dustin Matthew and Conor Edward

Don't drink the water!

So my friend Melanie is correct... fertility is in the air, and tomorrow will be the birthday of two very special boys that my dear friend Monika will be having. For those of you that don't know, she is currently full term with twin boys, Dustin and Conor who will be gracing us with their presence tomorrow!

And yes, through the six degrees of separation, there are probably at least a half dozen women that I know who will be having a baby in the next 8 months, not to mention the half dozen women I know who have had babies in the last year.

So with that, I pass on Melanie's Chinese Birth Calendar, (click on link), which, I do have to say, Mel, was incorrect for Monika's twins, but lets see about the rest of you! Please post a comment to show us if it was correct in predicting the sex of your child(ren).

Oh, and PS: as if it wasn't hard enough having to deal with the Bleske male sperm dominance, it looks like the Chinese have depleted my odds even more...

Halloween came and went!

Halloween came and went so fast this year, we barely had time to plan anything considering the whole moving process... but I have some great photos of Lady and Thor, and of my mom's new dog Lucy...

Here's Thor as a bumble bee...

Here is Lady Bug!

And of course, the little stinker, Lucy...