13 Things About Being a Homeowner

1. If the toilet seat breaks or the handle falls off, there is no landlord to call. But on the other hand it's easy to get it fixed if you show your home handyman a little leg or give him a little 'wink'!

2. You can paint the walls any colour you like - however I wouldn't suggest painting a room all red. I still have nightmares from that experience. After we took out a loan to buy the last can of paint I passed out from the shock of it all. It looks great, good thing too because I am not about to be trying to cover it up anytime soon!

3. You get have to spend a lot of time outdoors. The first signs of spring means fertilizing the lawn and then quickly to follow is weeding as those pesky dandelions make their glorious appearance well before any self respecting flower pops its head up. They're just too cocky with their whole 'frost won't get me' attitude.

4. Making as much noise as allowed by the city bylaw!!! This must be a lot considering what we hear coming from outside. I didn't know youngin's still enjoyed blasting boom boxes on the front lawn as they hollered and caroused. Dogs bark at everything, yes everything! Our neighbors Rottweiler barks at leaves blowing by, cars 2 blocks away and cats 4 doors down. Damn that dog is good.

5. It's easy to spend money on the house. I can't tell you how many times the house has demanding some new accessory. It even calls to me as I go to Wal-Mart for a jug of milk. Maybe the house really does have a mind of its own.

6. Good Fences really do make good neighbors! I wish I could fence my entire yard to keep from having to look at my neighbors unpaved mud pile that she hasn't been able to replace since she had work done on her foundation. Privacy in the backyard is the best - I love being able to sip tea in my pj's under my gazebo.

7. We've become more power conscious since owning a home. We've been replacing the light bulbs with fluorescents. It's amazing how many light bulbs we have to buy - it seems like there are light fixtures everywhere! Also, flood lights burn out quickly. The dimmer function is nice but long lasting would be preferable.

8. We actually bought a carpet shampooer. We want to keep our carpets in good condition and clean. Nothing gets me madder than a stain on the carpet. When we first moved in I was so paranoid someone would spill something or damage something. They did too, it was me! I put a little hole in a wall carrying a chair upstairs. It's probably a good thing it was me as anyone else wouldn't be here to tell the tale now.

9. I feel more safe in our home than I ever did in our rented townhouse. Not weird true, but I was convinced that I'd feel so vulnerable without the close proximity(that's for you Shelly) of the neighbors. It's great to no longer have to hear the banging of the headboard coming from next door, mmmmm hmmmm!

10. No one comes by to randomly inspect the furnace and just look and then leave again, even though the furnace is filthy....thanks for confirming it guys! The smoke alarms still work, yes sir! Can you do something about the water that is slowly leaking into the basement? No ma'am!

11. People don't wander into my yard and take bikes, wagons or bbqs. They may pop in occasionally if they accidentally throw a ball in our yard, but otherwise it's our private domain.

12. We get to pay taxes to the city! I don't actually mind though, well not too much. Every time I take a book out of the library or take advantage of another city service I know that I have contributed to the maintenance of it and I'm proud to be a contributor to such great services.

13. The best part of owning our home is that we can now have a dog - he's great. Also no one can ever come in again and tell us any of our pets have to leave. Unless of course DH finally gets those chickens he's always wanted or our DD gets a pony finally. Otherwise it's all fine and dandy!

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Happy New Home Anniversary

Well it's hard to believe but it's been one year since we took possession of our first 'Home'! We did a lot of stuff backwards so it took us a bit longer, but hey we're still young!

When we first saw our home online we just knew it would be our place. My DH loved the cedar in the bathrooms and the pine cupboards and wainscotings in the kitchen. Yes the original builder liked loved wood! Good thing too, as it really suits the place. I like our upstairs bathroom as it always makes me feel like I'm in a cottage, a great place to soak in a bubble bath. I should run one tonight to celebrate.

We were nervous asking for a mortgage - banks always scare me! Then there was dealing with the owners. They were great to deal with but initially they wanted way more for a deposit than we were prepared to give. Our money was tied up with our down payment at the bank. Thankfully God saw us through it all and they were happy to accept our down payment. I understand their nervousness too. They had been having a new home built and they really needed to sell theirs. I knew that we wanted it, that wasn't a concern. If the bank would have said no, I would have felt horrible for them. Thankfully that wasn't the case.

We had the house inspected and it turned out a few minor problems and one bigger one. The furnace needed to be replaced, it was the original one and it had a crack in its exchange. Thankfully it also had a worn belt and the inspector told the owner that it could go at anytime. He had 3 young children to worry about so he and my DH quickly made arrangements to pay half to have it installed a few days later. His cousin owns and operates one of our plumbing/heating co's so we got a sweet deal and we now had an energy efficient furnace. The rest of the stuff was minor, such as replacing our underground sprinkler valves as the owner forgot to leave the taps in the on position before winter and they cracked.

We haven't changed the house too much on the inside. Our son's room had to be painted as he was moving into a room that had baby yellow walls and a whimsical sheep border. His request for paint....red walls with black. Yeah, ummmm we should probably not speak of that again. By the time we were done we could have probably painted 3 rooms with the amount we used.

Now we are slowly making changes to the backyard. No one who has ever owned the house has planted any trees or plants. Our backyard was just grass and concrete. So far we've planted two trees and today DH is buying 2 lilacs and some Cotton Easter bushes. It's kind of fun that we have a blank slate to deal with rather than someone else's idea of a nice yard as we are able to transform it into whatever we want.

So today when we go home we'll have a nice supper and then take some Holy Water and bless all of the rooms. Thanks be to God, for this has been truly an amazing time and I know it's easy for me to forget what it used to be like living in rental properties and having demanding landlords and white walls. I want to always remember how lucky we are to have the opportunity to have our own little 'piece of the world'.

Wordless Wednesday - Backyard Addition

My dear DH bought this for our backyard - I am thoroughly enjoying it!

More Wordless Here

Oliver Update

Well my DH wrote a lovely update about our Oliver. I'm glad to say that so far he's doing great although I am paranoid every time I see him walk around - I'm terrified I'll see him limp. Hopefully I'll get over that in a bit.

No long post today - I spent a bit o' time preparing my TT and I have to get some office work done today. I'll be back tomorrow with my WW.

Knitted Give-A-Way Contest Winner Is.......

First I want to thank everyone who participatied in the Knitted Give-A-Way Contest! I would love to give you all a prize, but unfortunately there can only be one winner. I used the Random Number Generator to draw a random number for the winning prize, all of the entrants were assigned a number and the winner of that random drawing is This Eclectic Life! Congratulations on winning your prize - please contact me with your mailing address and I will have your prize mailed to you.

The prize draw grew to include 2 knitted hanging tea towels, and 5 knitted dishcloths! Perhaps we will have a picture posted of the prize from This Eclectic Life after she receives it.

Didn't win, don't despair! I had so much fun knitting the items for this prize that I will most likely do another Knitted Give-A-Way in a few weeks time, so check back off and on and make sure to get entered for the second give-a-way!!! And remember, the more people who enter the contest, the bigger the prize will be!

Link Love

I took some time yesterday to actually go through and look at some different TT'ers! I scrolled past the ones that had fav lists or fav foods. I was in a finicky mood and I wanted to be entertained. Check these TT'ers out - read their TT and a few of their other posts, I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Let them know that I sent them their way with a little Link Love!

Never a dull Moment
Her TT about Rhubarb had me roaring. I spent a bit of time at her site and found a few other posts that were also quite entertaining!

Up the Hill Gang
Her TT was quite odd and it had me laughing! Plus, I just love her blog - she's a great lady so pop by to visit and see why.

The Middline Monettes
Her TT, was all about 'buyers remorse'. Things she has bought and has wondered after 'why'. And then I read this post and and I was hooked.

Single Parents Unite
I found her TT this week quite funny and I like her blog, nuff said!

Thanks to This Eclectic Life for starting Link Love! So why not share a little Link Love of your own!

Is Society Failing Young Mother's?

In the news recently was a story about a teenage girl who gave birth to a baby alone in her apartment one cold and blustery night. She was attending university and was far from home. She got pregnant and for some reason felt that due to her family circumstances that she couldn't tell anyone. She continued attending school all the while hiding the fact that she was pregnant from all of her peers.

Alone in her apartment she delivered a healthy baby girl. For whatever reasons she felt that she was not capable of keeping the infant nor did she think she could take the infant to an agency such as Birthright. She bundled up the little baby and headed off in her car, driving around until she found a house that had it's lights on in the early morning. She heard a dog barking and knew someone was up - so she quietly walked to the back porch and left her baby on the doorstep and quickly left. She later checked herself in to the hospital and met with Police. No charges were laid in this case as they felt that the young woman wasn't in her right mind when she left the baby.

I know in some larger cities things like this are more common occurrences, but in a small province like Saskatchewan it's quite rare. That's why I was shocked to hear about the latest news story just the other day.

It seems a woman entered a Wal-Mart and headed directly for the bathroom where she gave birth to a healthy 7 - 8 lb. baby boy. What was going on her mind next, we may never know. She gave birth to him in the bathroom stall - he was found some time later in the toilet bowl by another customer. The police are releasing Wal-Mart's surveillance video of the mother entering and leaving the store in hopes that someone will come forward and tell them who the woman is.

There are so many people who would love to have a baby and cannot - people who would love to adopt a little boy or girl. Lot's of agencies that are there to offer advice, counseling and support. I have to wonder what is going wrong, where a woman feels that leaving a baby on a doorstop or even worse in a toilet bowl in a Wal-Mart bathroom!

Is there more we as society could/should be doing in order to stop these kinds of things from happening? Perhaps we need to be more supportive to young mother's? What are your thoughts?

For Contest Information Continue Reading:




Just a reminder that the contest for the Knitted Give-A-Way closes this Sunday and the winner will be announced Monday! Thanks to all of you for entering and good luck! If you haven't entered yet and you'd still like to - leave a comment at the end of the Contest post and put a link back to the contest on your blog.

Wordless Wednesday - Oliver

Six more days until Kennel Rest is over! Yay!!!!!

More Wordless

May Long Weekend

This weekend was a long weekend for us Canadians as we celebrated our Victoria Long Weekend or as some refer to it as the May Long. Whatever you call it, it was great to be able to have an extra day off. Especially since I completely forgot it was coming up - how on earth I could do that is beyond me. Ok so life has been a bit more stressful as we have our hands fullwith a puppy who needs constant care(good news, one more week to go)!

We were invited to my sis-in-law's for a bbq on Sunday. They have one of those fire pits and my brother-in-law had a big 20lb bag of Kingsford Briquettes waiting to be lit on fire. I can't remember the last time I had a bbq with old fashioned briquette's. The burgers tasted just that much better as they were charbroiled over an open fire.

The day started out raining but turned into a nice calm sunny day and we enjoyed sitting out in the evening as the little and big kids toasted marshmallows. Our 3 yo niece was eating marshmallow after marshmallow and then she'd go and play in the sandbox with her ooooooey goooooooey sticky fingers! I'll bet at bathtime those little ones left a pound of sand behind in the tub. The sand was everywhere! Their oldest was sneakily putting sand in the baby's hair all the while looking to see if anyone would notice. Later she was nowhere to be seen as their middle child, the 3 yo was immediately thought to be the sand throwing offender.

Yesterday we decided that we too must have a bbq even though it was a chilly day! Off to the store to get the fixin's for our backyard feast. I selected a nice size bag of briquettes that would fit in our old propane bbq nicely. I picked up the bag of Kingsford briquette's and I was immediately transported back in time to being a kid again. Dad would pour the lighter fluid on the coals and soon we'd all be treated to a delicious bbq'ed steak or possibly hot dogs and hamburgers. A few jellied salads and some watermelon and we had a bbq'ed heaven.

I don't usually do the bbqing at our house. There was one incident a few many years back where I tried to light the bbq after the lid had been closed and the propane turned on. Yes, I'm not afraid to say it - I am terrified of these new fangled propane beasts. Give me some briquettes and an old dome topped bbq any day!

So I bbqed all snuggled up in my sweater and hoody as DH sat nearby giving me instructions. Yes, it has been that long!

The burgers turned out fine - definitely not undercooked and we had some lovely corn on the cob and some lovely homemade storebought salads. The kids of course had to roast a couple of marshmallows but the main dessert was a treat of Fudgsicle icecream. I was standing in the ice cream novelty aisle trying to pick out a flavor when I saw it. Maybe it was being transported back in time from the Kingsford briquette purchase but that Fudgsicle Icecream just called out 'buy me'!

It was a great weekend even though Mother Nature decided to cool things down for a bit!

Eight Random Facts Meme

I've been tagged by a new blogger that I just met, it's Pooch from Yarn~Knit~Read~Lit!

I've done a few meme's in the past little bit - but I'll give it a try! I won't be tagging people but if you feel you want to do this, please leave me a comment so I can pop by and read it.

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Here Goes:

1. I met my DH when I was 18 and we were married less than a year later at 19.
2. We have a dog named Oliver, I never realized I was a dog person until we got him.
3. I have worked as a Maid.
4. I probably went to more than 25 elementary schools.
5. My son's initials are BEG - I hope that isn't indicative of what his life will be like.
6. I like to listen to old time polka music - My grandpa used to play in a band.
7. I am terrified, ok petrified of wasps and bees!
8. My Granny used to call me Missy, I always hated when anyone but her called me that - as an adult I don't mind anymore. When I was a kid I p'd the bed and well you can guess what my family named me.

I don't particularly want to tag anyone, I know how terrible of me.....but I have tagged a few people in a few days and I don't want to pressure people to play along or exclude anyone. So if you'd like to do this meme then leave me a comment and I'll pop on by and visit.

About Me Meme

I've been tagged by JennyMcB for this Meme - Think you know me? Read below to find out!

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Planning my 8th Anniversary!

What were you doing 1 year ago?

Just getting ready to move into our house. It is our first house as we did things backwards - got married young etc. So about this time I was probably coming out of my skin preparing for the 'big move'. We only moved a few blocks!

Five snacks you enjoy:
1. Hickory Sticks
2. Fruit
3. Chips n' Salsa
4. Chocolate
5. Cookies

Five songs that you know all the lyrics:

1. Beat It - Michael Jackson
2. Making Love Out of Nothing at all - Air Supply
3. Moon Dance - Michael Buble
4. Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell
5. Bad Day - Daniel Powter

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
1. Pay off the house ( with you on that one Jenny)
2. Fix up the house- driveway, siding, new windows....(same again)
3. New Car
4. Have a LogCabin built in the interior of B.C. for my retirement home.
5. Set the kids up with money for school, first home or what they need at the time.

Five bad habits:
1. Impatient
2. Laziness
3. Procrastinate
4. Being Negative(this can bring everyone around me down)
5. Perfectionist(I achieve it and when it doesn't happen then I get cranky, I think I expect perfection in others as well that is unachievable).

Five things you like doing:
1. Knitting
2. Reading
3. Blogging
4. Going for walks and bike rides
5. Family vacations - and outings.

Five things you would never wear again:
1. Plaid Clothing of any type
2. Spandex
3. Tube Tops
4. Maternity clothes ( it would take a miracle for this to happen)Ditto
5. Skin tight jeans

Five favorite toys:
1. mp3 player
2. NWN
3. Paint Shop Pro
4. Sims
5. Bike


And Now for the important stuff...

INSTRUCTIONS:
Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so:

- The blog. Yep, the blog
- Dog's Eye View
- Inside Mo's Mind
- J's Thoughts and Musings
-TeaTime Ramblings

Next select five people to tag:
Joy T - A Spot of T
Cura - CuraAnimarum
A Farmer's Wife - Farming Folks
Susie J - Susie J
If you choose to do the Meme, comment back so we can learn even more about you.
At this rate, I won't have any secrets left from you all. Will be curious to see the songs that you all know and love.

Sleepover with Granny

First I want to take the time to sincerely thank Lindsay of Splat Designs for my new and beautiful template! She did a fantastic job - and she was very easy to work with. If you are considering getting a new template - give her a try, you won't be disappointed!! I absolutely love it, and it was exactly what I had in mind when I contacted her about doing one for me.

Secondly, I just wanted to remind you all of the Knitted Give-A-Way Contest! The deadline to enter is next Sunday by 12:00 a.m. Central Time. We currently have 18 people entered. I have been increasing the prize with an item for every 10 entrants. All we need are two more people to enter to win in order to have another item added to the prize. It currently consists of two handknit hanging kitchen towels, and 4 dishcloths. I've really had a lot of fun working on this give-a-way and I'm excited to find out who the winner will be. I am also no longer using Mr. Linky for entering(I lost him when I did my new template) and I don't think I'm going to bother getting him back. All you need to do to enter is to go to the contest post, place a comment and post about the contest with a link back to me on your blog - easy as 1, 2, 3! Good Luck to you all!


It's a sleepover at Gramma's finally! Its taken some years but my mother-in-law is finally having my daughter over for a sleepover - yes my 14 yo, and my DD had to ask for the sleepover. It's sad and happy at the same time. It wasn't until my sis-in-law had her 3 girls that we really noticed there was a huge difference in how our kids were treated in comparison. With the other girls she made sure to have regular Saturday visits, sleepovers and outings. Things that never, ever happened with our kids. My DH once tried to mention this to his mom but all it did was get her angry and upset and it resulted in one outing with Papa. So this sleepover is a huge deal in our family and for me in a special way as I had several of these with my Granny and Grandpa and the memories still fill me with such joy!

I had always wanted my kids to have the fun I had as a child with my Granny and Grandpa. I'd sleepover a lot at their house and for me it was also the one place I felt completely and truly secure.

My Granny and I would prepare our afternoon apple snack - she'd always peel, core and slice the apple and we'd have them in tiny blue fruit nappy bowls. Those were the best apples ever!!! I don't even really like apples too much, but I always remember those apples. There wasn't any toys at Granny's but I always found things to do. I would go down into her basement spare bedroom that she used as her sewing room and dig through her 'big jar of buttons'. I liked feeling the buttons slide through my fingers. I'd go through those buttons and they'd look like a box of treasure. Picking out the ones with jewels I'd set them out and imagine what fancy outfit would be worthy of such a button.

Then of course there was Granny's yard. They had a big two seater swing that I could swing on for hours. When my sister and I were there together we'd pretend we were on a train, someone got to be the conductor.....'All Aboard'! Swinging the afternoon away and only taking a few breaks here and there to sneak into Granny's garden and eat some delicious peas, mmmmmm nothing like fresh peas from the garden! If we were really lucky, the strawberries would be ready for picking. I don't think Granny ever got any berries for jam, we probably picked them as soon as they were up. Sometimes I would get to help Granny put the laundry on the line, this was a lot of fun and I loved to take it off when it was dry - it smelled so fresh and clean!

We'd go for a walk down to the DrugStore that was a few blocks away and Granny would buy me a treat. Once she bought me a paper doll set - that kept me busy for a few afternoons. I loved those walks with Granny. I knew we'd be heading to the store that was across from Grandpa's old butcher shop and Granny would always talk about the shop and what it was like when they ran it. She remembered the phone ringing non-stop for orders that Grandpa would deliver. She'd always give the children a wiener when they came in to the store with their parents. I loved hearing these stories and I loved walking by the ol shop! Today that shop is now a corner store and I love to drive by and imagine when it was full of life with Grandpa and Granny and my mom sneaking in and grabbing a slice of bologna or wiener after school.

Before bed Granny would make up a little pot of porridge and I'd have a small nappy size bowl before having my bedtime bath and brushing my teeth. What were all those funky toothbrushes for in the bathroom? I always wondered about that when I was a kid, they had little pokey things sticking out at the bottom of the handle. My grandparents bathroom was a curious place full of all types of vitamins and medicines that they'd purchase at Old Fashioned Foods.

Occasionally Granny would convince Grandpa to play on his accordion and we could dance along as he played our favorites like 'Roll out the Barrel' and the 'Chicken Dance'! Of course they always had on their daily 'stories' or in the summer evenings it would be a RoughRider game on the T.V. or they'd be listening to it on the radio. The front porch door open and the big box fan whirring away, sending a cool breeze on us as we drank ice cold pic-a-pop!

There are so many memories that I could go on and on about. I really hope that my DD is able to have some of these later to cherish when her Gramma and Papa are no longer here. For me my Dear Granny is turning 92 this summer, she is spry and has her wits about her but she now lives in a personal care home. My dear Grandpa has been gone almost 3 years now, but he was gone for a long time before as he had a form of dementia and had been in a nursing home for 6 years prior. Having had such a close relationship with my Grandparents has been very rewarding and the memories we built will last forever. Although Grandpa is gone and Granny is getting older - I always have those good times to remember and when Granny too has to leave this world they will help me to always keep her in my heart.

Thursday Thirteen - Wacky Tabloid Headlines

This Blog made possible to the Newspaper Generator!

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen Link Love
Title Deleted for Security Reasons has started an idea I thought was cool. She’s adding a little “link love” to the end of her TT post listing other TT postings that interest her. Then I saw the idea at This Eclectic Life - and I'm jumping on the band wagon - yep, I'm a band wagon jumper!

1. PJ from Wild Daisies - had a great TT about Choices and Consequence - it was a very funny read!

2. This Eclectic Life - even when she says she's not trying to be creative her posts are the best. This TT, is all excuses about why she didn't create a fabulous post(pssst, it was fabulous)!

3. Word Quilts has a 'Remember When' post. It took me back a few years. I am not old enough to remember all of them, but they put a smile on my face.

Thursday Thirteen

Wordless Wednesday - BackYard Additions

Our New Purple Leaf Sandcherry Tree

Our Amur Maple Tree

And finally our new screened Gazebo - this is really going to be nice once mosquito season enters full swing!

More Wordless Here

ABC Meme

A B C Meme

Toni at Special K has tagged me with this - so I'll give it a go, I had nothing prepared for today anyhoo! Let's see if I can surprise anyone with some of my answers!

A- Attached or Single? Permanently attached - I tried to remove myself once and the crazy glue pulled my skin off, man that man is smart!

B- Best Friend- I'll probably get nailed for this one - but it's my DH! Other than that my next best friend is my friend Elaine, she's a hoot and a half.

C- Cake or Pie- That's a tough choice, for cake it has to be white cake with custard between the layers and whipped cream icing....but if I have to go for pie it has to be homemade chocolate or coconut cream.....mmmmmmm, great now I'm thinking of pie at 8:30 in the morning I can this day will not be calorie friendly.

D- Drink of choice- Hmmmmm, for alcoholic beverage it's either a vodka paralyzer or a vodka special, non-alcoholic would be pepsi.

E- Essential Items- Cell phone, computer, knitting accessories and my tinted moisturizer.

F- Favorite color- Blue - navy to be precise.

G- Gummi Bears or Worms- Gummi worms......double yuck! On occasion I have been known to eat a gummi bear but I prefer them all soured up.

H- Hometown- Can you even pronounce it? Regina.

I- Indulgence- Sweets and reality t.v., both very hard to resist.

J- January or February?- February hands down - January is such a depressing month, it's cold - Christmas is over at least February starts to show signs that winter will eventually end.....hopefully.

K- Kids- Millionaires family, one o' each.

L- Life is incomplete without- Wow, I so loved Toni's answer. Love, definitely and patience....yep that too(I just need more) and definitely laughter and you need a great sense of humor to deal with a lot of stuff that life throws at you.

M- Marriage Date- May 26, 1989 - can anyone say ‘Like Totally Awesome', ‘Gag me with a Spoon'? It was such an 80's wedding too. The DH was in a white tux with red cummerbund and my bridesmaid had the poofiest red dress ever, good thing she was my sis and she still loves me.


N-Number of Siblings- Two sisters, we are all 5 years apart. My older sis lived with my dad since I was 6, so I feel like the oldest even though I am the middle child. I've got no middle kid hang ups, that I know of.

O- Oranges or Apples?- Oranges - apples are boring unless they're in a crisp.

P- Phobias/Fears- Too many to list - I'll give you an odd one just so you can laugh. I am afraid of drains, yes I said Drains! That includes drains in the tub and drains in pools. It's a totally abnormal fear that my dear ol' mom passed on to me.

Q- Favorite Quote- "Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away"
Anonymous

R- Reason to Smile- My kids are growing up and I'm still a young thing!!!!

S- Seasons - Spring is my favorite! Not too hot but no more -40 temps to torture me and snow to shovel!!!! Cursed Snow!

T- Tags- JennyMcB, This Eclectic Life, Scribbit, A Spot of T, and Wild Daisies and anyone else who'd like to play along!

U- Unknown fact about me- When I was young and stupid I did a Penguin Dip - yep, I jumped in the lake in the middle of winter. DH never lets me forget the look on my face when I hit the water. It must have been good as they played that clip a lot!

V- Vegetarian or oppressor of animals? I wouldn't say oppressor, but ya I eat meat and I'm not going to feel bad about it. My sis is a vegetarian who speaks of the cruelty of eating meat but she has leather everything - hmmmmmm where does she think it comes from the leather fairy?

W- Worse Habit- Not minding my own business - not necessarily that I gossip, but I always want to know what's going on. If the neighbors have a cop car out front - there I am peeking through the blinds......I am so bad!

X-X-rays or ultrasounds- X-rays, every time I get an ultra sound it's not fun - the last one was an internal one - yuck!

Y- Your Favorite Food- Italian, Mexican and Greek followed by pastries(I'm sure they're a food group)

Z- Zodiac- Capricorn

Oliver Update

Some people have asked for an update on how our Oliver is doing and my DH wrote a post up that sums it up quite nicely to read it go here.

For World's # 1 Contest Winner Scroll down!

World's #1 Mom Winner Is...

Surprise we have a tie! The first winner for the World's #1 Mom Contest is Bog Boy submitted by jdoriot from Up the hill gang. This made my DH laugh out loud!!! Our second winner is from Susie J and it was entitled How do you catch a breath? DH had this to say about it: "It was a beautiful and poignant reflection on the one aspect of parenting we all suffer through but rarely talk to each other about." So I am awarding you both the 'World's #1 Mom Award', just email me at mrs_tea_mouse at hotmail dot com and I will email you the code to put this on your sidebar.

Thank all so much for playing, I thought this up last minute and I'm so glad that those of you who participated took the time to do so. I truly enjoyed reading the entries. Sorry for the delay in the results but Mother's Day got busier than I expected. I hope you all had a truly wonderful Mother's Day! Thanks also to my DH for judging all of these wonderful entries!!!!

After Church on Sunday we popped by to see my Granny, she was doing great and enjoyed the visit and the new African Violet I bought for her. I was then whisked home and my DH prepared a wonderful breakfast of waffles with strawberries and whipped cream and bacon. It was truly delicious. I got some lovely gifts and we had a wonderful visit with my in-laws and we planted two trees that we bought on Saturday.

We are in the process of building a screened gazebo that we bought on Saturday - we had to stop on Saturday to take the kids to see Spiderman 3. The movie was really good, for some reason I enjoyed it more than the other ones.

It's raining here today and we're hoping it stops so we can build the gazebo. It's quite nice 12 x 12 with screen and privacy screens on all sides and it also has a solar panel on top to charge lights that can be turned on inside at night. This is perfect - maybe we'll actually be able to sit outside this summer without having to be covered in Deep Woods OFF.....lol! It will also be nice to be able to eat supper at the patio table without all the flies buzzing about.

I'll probably post a pic when we get it set up and of my baby trees. They are so tiny now, but already it makes the yard look better - our yard was just a barren space of concrete and grass. We will slowly be transforming it into a quiet little garden.

World's #1 Mom

Scroll down for Friday's Post:

Do you like to win 'sweet awards' for your sidebar? Are you a pretty amazing mom? Have you had any hilarious stories that weren't funny at the , but later have become a funny story you share with family and friends alike? Do you have a touching story of motherhood?

If so then you qualify to enter to win this 'sweet' award. I made it just for you!

I told you it was 'sweet'

Want to know how to win? All you need to do is write a post about why you should win 'Mother of the Year'! I'm sure there will be a lot of sweet reasons, but let's get really honest mom's. There are those moments that we put up with...I'll give you an example. My son once spilled a 4 litre jug of cooking oil on my kitchen floor, yep! Do you have some reasons like that? The more creative the better!!

Secondly, place a link in your post back to this post so that other mother's have a chance to win this 'Sweet' Award! Please enter soon - the award will be awarded on Mother's Day at 10:00 p.m. Central Time. At this time I'll ask for your email address and I'll send you the code to place your 'sweet' award on your sidebar!

Thirdly, leave a comment if you plan to enter. I will post a link to all entries on my blog!

So write a post, link it to this post and comment...and I'll have my DH be a guest judge to keep me honest...lol! He's a very creative writer so he can appreciate a good story.

Are you still here? Go on, get writing. I know you want to win that 'sweet' award!

Entrants:

1. Jdoriot from Up the Hill Gang has entered with her story entitled The Bog Boy.

2. SusieJ has entered with a very touching story entitled How do you catch a breath?

3. JennyMcB has entered with a conversation she had with her son about PMS.

4. Karen has entered with two funny things she's expereienced as a mom.

My Mom

Growing up we didn't have a lot of money and yes 'gas' was actually cheap! Today we would never consider just going for a 'drive'. But back then it was the one thing we did as entertainment. Us kids would pile into the back of dads big boat and the windows would be rolled down. Bouncing in our seats we'd head off for our casual drive. I can still feel that summer breeze blowing across my facee, and the sun on my face.

When dad said 'drive' we all got big smiles on our faces and we'd run to get our flip flops on and head for the car, fighting over who'd get the coveted 'window' seat! On would go the radio, CKRM and we'd listen to some Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers or Glen Campbell. Sitting in the back seat all of us girls would sing along to the favorite country tunes. My favorite was 'Rhinestone Cowboy'. I would sing that song non-stop until I drove my mom crazy!

Mom and Dad liked to cruise through back alleys looking for discared 'treasure'. Mom was great at spotting something that was too good to be thrown out. We'd find all sorts of stuff from lamps, tables, radios and more. They'd exclaim to each other about how anyone could throw perfectly good stuff away. This was way before Garage Sales actually took off. If someone didn't want something anymore, working or not it went into the alley besides the dumpster, and Mom and Dad were great at picking through to find the treasure.

Then we'dbe off to Wascana Park. We'd drive the slow 20mph through the park and sometimes Dad would go slower. You see we were on a mission, a pop bottle mission. It was our job as kids to spot any pop bottles and then Dad would stop the car and we'd run out and bring them back. We were quite good at this and we could spot a pop bottle lying in the grass better than anyone. We'd get a little competition going as to who could spot the most pop bottles. My nickname at the time was 'Eagle Eyes', I guess I must have been good at spotting those bottles. With each shiny(yes they were still glass) bottle that was found, we started dreaming of what we'd get at the store! Freezies, Fudgsicle, Coca-Cola, Old Dutch Chips or maybe some penny candies....the possibilities were endless!

If we were really lucky some of the tennis balls from the courts would be stuck outside the courts in the trees, we'd run like crazy and get us a tennis ball! Mom was great at spotting the little green balls in the trees. We'd giggle together thinking we just found gold - the tennis ball was the ultimate 'drive' treasure!

Then mom would get that twinkle in her eye and wink to dad! We were smart enough to know what that look meant....DQ Icecream! They'd try to throw us off with driving a different route and making it seem like we were just heading home, but we knew that we'd be getting an ice cream. Mom would call out, 'who wants ice-cream'? She'd go in and come out with a paper tray full of DQ soft serve cones, and if we were really lucky they'd be chocolate dipped!

Mom always managed to make what little we had seem like a lot! From our summer ice cream drives to the little ways she'd make Christmas special by wrapping up a lot of small items and how she'd wear her couple of outfits well past when they should be worn, just to ensure me and my sister didn't go without. Somehow we were always fed, clothed and happy!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Thursday Thirteen - Mother's Day Award & More

I know you fellow bloggers out there are some pretty phenomenal Mother's! Gosh, a lot of you are SAHM and Home Schooling as well. I am a mother and I know how hard we work and it's almost never appreciated! I want to give you an opportunity to win yourself an Award that you deserve, yep...it's a Mother of the Year Award. An award that you can display proudly on your blog to let the whole world know that 'you' are the best!

Want to know how to win? All you need to do is write a post about why you should win 'Mother of the Year'! I'm sure there will be a lot of sweet reasons, but let's get really honest mom's. There are those moments that we put up with...I'll give you an example. My son once spilled a 4 litre jug of cooking oil on my kitchen floor, yep! Do you have some reasons like that? The more creative the better, my DH has an odd sense of humor and I'm going to invite him to be the judge.

Secondly, place a link in your post back to this post so that other mother's have a chance to win this 'Sweet' Award! Please enter soon - the award will be awarded on Mother's Day at 10:00 p.m. Central Time. At this time I'll ask for your email address and I'll send you the code to place your 'sweet' award on your sidebar! Scroll to the bottom and see the 'sweet' Award! The third and last thing you need to do is comment, yes I won't know that you've entered unless you leave a comment on this post.

So write a post, link it to this post and comment...and we'll see what DH decides is the best posting.

So without much further Ado, I present -
Thirteen Things I will never say to my kids.

1. Stay out as late as you like!

2. Finish that pop before you get down from the table.

3. Of course your girlfriend/boyfriend can stay the night.

4. Let's hit the tatoo parlor and get matching tatoos.

5. Don't worry about cleaning your room, no one goes in there anyway.

6. Why don't you play some more video games, you've had enough outside time for today.

7. Turn the music up!

8. If all your friends are doing it why don't you.

9. Would you like to get your tongue pierced?

10. Don't bother saving any of your money, it's more fun to spend, spend and spend.

11. You don't have to eat your vegetables.

12. Finish that birthday cake up for breakfast tomorrow - uhoh, I think I have said this one.

13. Can you wear more revealing clothing - you'll never get a boyfriend dressed like a librarian.

One more Bonus Thing! I actually had to say this yesterday - No, you cannot wear a dog collar!!!
This 'Sweet' Award Could soon be yours!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Saskatchewan that is, {sa-skach-uh-won, -wuhn} Canada's Best Kept Secret

*Scroll down for wordless Wednesday*

Saskatchewan that is [sa-skach-uh-won, -wuhn], Canada's Best Kept Secret

Can you keep a secret? If so I'll share with you 5 reasons why Saskatchewan is a great place to work, live and even vacation at. We Saskatchewanians work hard to keep this secret well hidden in order to preserve our way of life, but if you can keep the secret what harm can there be.

1. Saskatchewan has received a bad rap for many years in Canada. We were the province everyone was getting away from. They were packing their bags and heading to greener pastures or so they thought in Alberta and British Columbia. What they are now finding is that the quality of life in these larger provinces is considerably less than that of Saskatchewan. Right now in Saskatchewan a regular 3 bedroom home with garage in a good neighborhood would cost you no more than $200,000. That same home in Alberta would cost you approximately $400,000 and if you go further west to Beautiful British Columbia it would cost you a whopping $600,000 minimum. Yes folks the housing in Saskatchewan is affordable as well as our car insurance - most people do not pay more than $1,000/year for their cars and on top of that we have great provincial health care that costs you nothing. We are beginning to see signs now of people wanting to return to our beautiful province. They want to live in a city where they don't have to spend all their time commuting or working all hours just to pay their half-million dollar mortgages. With homes climbing at exceedingly high prices in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario it's easy to see where the best choice to live is.

2. The beauty of it all! Saskatchewan is home to over 100,000 lakes! If you are an outdoor person this is the province for you. We have the best to offer in fishing, hunting and camping bar-none. We have many fly-in fishing camps that are kept busy throughout the year as travelers from all over the world visit to partake in some of the best fishing around. If you are interested in fishing, hunting or camping, plan a holiday here today!

3. We have some beautiful vacation spots for those who like to be pampered and where relaxation is the key to a good holiday. In Watrous Saskatchewan we have Manitou Springs. This natural salt water spring flows into a pool at their resort. You can lay in the pool reading a magazine or book and the whole time you'll be floating calmly around.

4. Need more pampering, visit the Moose Jaw Temple Mineral Gardens, they too have a lovely pool. They have a mineral rich geo-thermal pool that flows from a natural spring 4500 feet below the earths surface. Many people ‘take in the waters' and feel rejuvenated. These waters have been known to help increase metabolism, Speed healing, relaxes and detoxifies the body. Taking in the waters is only one of many things you can do to feel refreshed and relaxed. The spa offers facials, body wraps, massages, pedicures and more. After getting all pampered up why not take in an exquisite dinner at Harwoods - their fine dining establishment. Do you need a get away, planning a honeymoon or an anniversary trip? If so check out their fabulous ‘A Little Bit of Bubbly Package', it includes an overnight stay in a luxurious Anniversary Suite, complete with fireplace, in-suite Jacuzzi, terrace over looking beautiful Cresent Park, a bottle of bubbly with keepsake flutes, decadent breakfast for two and access to the naturally heated mineral-rich geo-thermal indoor/outdoor rooftop pool. The cost for such a romantic evening will only set you back $387.39 Canadian. What a way to say I Love You, to the special person in your life!

5. Besides our great living, wonderful hunting and fishing as well as our breathtaking resorts we also have many great arts and sporting events. Regina is home to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the summer and the Regina Pats in the winter as well as we have hosted the Tim Horton's Brier. If you're into sports, we have it all! For those of you who sports isn't their thing, check out some of our local plays at the Globe Theatre, experience theatre in the round, or check our Regina Little Theatre for more plays. We are not short of fine establishments for dining or delightful hotel accommodations. We have delightful restaurants in our lovely downtown in refurbished 1900's houses. Looking for a wonderful place to stay the night, check out the Hotel Saskatchewan. Stay where the Queen stays when she visits, they keep you pampered with a lovely sleep number bed and a beautiful view of Regina's downtown Victoria Park. Experience a Sunday Brunch at the Hotel Saskatchewan or the Regina Inn, you won't be disappointed!

You see there are several great reasons to make Regina home or a great vacation get-a-way! Come for a visit, you won't be disappointed with what we have to offer.

Enter your top 5 today at Pro Blogger

Wordless Wednesday - Knitting

This is a picture of me knitting the second hanging tea towel for the prize in the Knitted-Give-A-Way Contest. Still plenty of time to enter, the moret entrants the bigger the prize.

More Contest Fun

*scroll down for my post today - it's all about our pup Oliver and his sore knee! :(

Visit Jules at Everyday Mommy for a great blog template give-a-way!

Also pop over to 5 Minutes for mom - or maybe don't, as I would really like to win the IPod...ok, you twisted my arm you can try to win too! There are other items to win there too, enter your name for each prize you'd like to win.

**Don't Forget to enter for contest ! We are up to 16 so that means I've added one more item to the prize - keep talking about it and spread the word. The more people who enter the better the prize becomes.

Puppy Love

Oliver as a baby puppy - isn't he adorable!

It's been a sad few days at our house. Our puppy Oliver has been having some on and off again limping problems with his back leg. He would limp for a week and then it would go away. Finally it appeared for yet a third time. Off to the vet we took him. I had figured he had some sprain but I was fearing worse....cancer or some other horrible disease.

It turned out to be not as serious but worse than I'd hoped for. Initially they thought he had either a bone chip on his knee, water on the knee or an ACL tear. The first two wouldn't require surgery but the last one would. All day yesterday I was a beside myself with worry of our little pup.

We picked him up from the vet yesterday and have been told to place him on kennel rest for 3 weeks!!! He also has an anti-inflammatory medicine for 4 days. After the three weeks of kennel rest, he can begin to have short leash walks and after two weeks of that he can resume normal activities...and will hopefully be healed up. If not then surgery it will be.

Kennel rest means he's in his kennel when we go to work and he can only come out to sit with us on our laps while we watch T.V. He's even getting carried to the backyard for his bathroom visits! He's only been doing kennel rest since last night and he's already getting frustrated, he must think we're the worst!

One thing this made me do is realize that we should really have some insurance for him. If he needs this surgery after his kennel rest it will cost about $1500 at the most, but if we get insurance they pay 80%. And once we have it, he's protected for all other types of mishaps and illnesses. He's part of our family and there's no way I want to see him suffer if there is a way we can help.

Chinese Freeze Tag - 10 Interesting Facts About Me

Chinese Freeze Tag - 10 Interesting Facts About Me

I've been tagged by Jenny McB to do this tag. I don't know if these are necessarily interesting, but they are all true!

1. When I was 15, I got hit by a car while riding my bike. It was another student from my school who hit me, he was a senior. This was back before bike helmets were worn and I was very lucky as I remember it happening all like I was watching it happen - I could see myself flying in the air and sliding across the pavement on my face. As I lay there on the boulevard all I kept thinking was my back was broken as it hurt so much. I was whisked to the hospital and some onlookers went and got my mom - she came running out and I'll never forget that she was wearing a yellow blouse. Two interesting things are that I never broke a bone and I didn't end up with stitches. I had a cut on my ankle but I sweet talked them into using a butterfly on it and my mom has never worn yellow again!

2. My parents divorced when I was just over a year old. After that my dad lived in another province and I barely saw him. I can count the times I saw him as a child on one hand. We didn't speak for many years and when I was 23 he called me on my birthday - we were reunited but after a couple of years, he once again dropped all contact with me. I had finally given up on the whole thing and then one day at church we had a forgiveness box in the sanctuary and I wrote up a note that explained how I had forgiven him for all that had transpired from my childhood and on. It wasn't too long after that, that he once again contacted me and we've been communicating ever since and he is a big part of my children's lives.

3. My travel experience is quite limited. My DH and I have never gone on a honeymoon, we are planning one for our 20th wedding anniversary which is two years from this month. I have never been to the United States or anywhere outside of Canada. I am really looking forward to doing some traveling when we retire.

4. I am extremely shy - and after the birth of my DS I was getting a bit of agoraphobia, thankfully that passed and my shyness has subsided a bit as well as I've been forced a bit out of my shell in the last 5 years.

5. I can't carry a tune to save my life!!!!

6. I've always wanted to sing or be in a drama production!

7. I found out that I was allergic to penicillin, after having been on it for almost 2 weeks. I ended up being covered from head to toe in huge hives, one was almost the size of a tennis ball. I ended up taking Benadryl and sleeping a whole week.

8. I'm happiest at work when I am letting my creative side out. I love to fiddle with PSP and I still have an old website up where I put up Outlook Express Stationery and I did some card designs for Hardwood Hearts.
9. I was 3 weeks overdue - I should have been born at the end of November, but I held out until December 23. I am glad I didn't go an extra day or two.

10. I love photography and I used to do a lot of it before we got our digital camera. My DH bought me an old Pentax camera and a lot of lenses that he found on Ebay. I've taken some pretty nice shots and I'd really like to hone those skills a lot more. I'm not as good when I use my digital as I find that I have a lot more control of what the shot will turn out like when I have to do everything manually.

I am supposed to tag 10 people, however most people I know have already been tagged. I'm going to tag a few people that I know and some new people that I have met through Link Love.
1. Joy T, I have just met Joy through Link Love and I just love her blog. I think she'd have a great list. 2. Mommy of 3, I'd like to know her a bit better and this would be a great way to do so. 3. Wild Daisies, another new blog I found through Link Love. She has a great blog and I'd like to learn more about her as well. 4. A Farmer's Wife, I've been reading her blog for some time and she has some pretty funny posts. 5. AGK - she's a great writer and photographer, she's shared a lot about herself already, but maybe she can find 10 more things. 6. Amy, she's got a great blog with a contest running. I've been a regular at her blog for some time and I do know quite a bit about her, but maybe she too can think of some new stuff to share. 7. MitchyPoo from Knitting & Losing, I don't know too much about her but I would like to know more. I visit her site every day and I try to participate in her online trivia challenge. 8. Lindsay at My Splatter Painted Life, I am new to reading her blog, I love all her designs. 9. Rona has been popping by for a bit now, it would be great to learn more about her. 10. Crazy Working Mom, I found her through Link Love and I love to pop by and visit her each day.

You've got the wrong number

Dear Caller:

The first time you called my cell phone and I recognized the number as a local hospital one, my heart nearly stopped beating. I answered in a panic to hear you ask for a 'Viola'. Thanking my lucky stars that it was a false alarm, I proceeded with my day as normal.

Then the cell phone rings again and my DH notices a 555-DUMB and I disregard it as one we don't know. It doesn't yet stop there.....oh no if it did that would mean life was too easy for me. I once again answer my cell to the question asking me for 'Viola', yet again I respond ever so calmly that you have the wrong number.

Now I don't know too much about dialing phones but I do know that if you get the same wrong number over SIXTEEN times that you would think to check that you are entering the number properly. Maybe you need to invest in a 'big button' phone as you obviously have a problem hitting the right numbers on your current version. Or, is it that you are incapable of dialing a number altogether, I am sure you could get a trained monkey to do it for you.

I don't know who this 'Viola' is, but she must be pretty darn popular - the phone rings for her day and night. She is probably feeling a little unloved though as I am receiving all of her calls.

I suggest you get this problem rectified ASAP, to prevent any further consequences!!

Link Love

Special K - First of all, I sooooooo love her blog look. She had a great design done by Lindsay at SplatDesigns. It's even inspired me to check out having my place all tricked out...do people say that?(my kids will kill me for saying that). From her logo 'inside this body is a skinny smart woman. chocolate shuts her up" to her hilarious rants and more, it's a great read. I'm hooked. I was reading her Ruffled a few feathers post about Rosie being on the View or as they refer to it 'the screw'. I think she is definitely worth a little blog link love. This post about the boycott is perfect.

While visiting at Special K, I stumbled upon Dana one of her blog friends. I started reading her post I'm a Bad Influence on My Kids....and I immediately connected to her. I don't know if I should say why. Ok, I get a smidge of road upset...or as DH would say she's one crazy woman when she's in the car - and he assures me that is why I can never, never have a gun. Ok, Dana isn't driving when this incident takes place, but it's close enough to how I'd feel in the situation - but she actually has gumption!

Visit PJ at Wild Daisies she's got the cutest kids that look soooooo much like her. She's also got a daughter who is very similar to mine as a baby who she refers to as K-Bop. Not to mention she has pic of Johnny on her site - so I think she must like him. She's got a great style of writing that just drew me on in. This post had me laughing!


Spot of T, naturally I had to check Joy out after she popped by my TT this week. She has a great site and her TT this week had me rolling in laughter. I loved her thankfulness with her encounter with two thoughtless ladies at Michael's. I delved in a bit further and I was thrilled to find her Things I heard in the house this Weekend, it was uproariously funny and I am glad I am not the only one with teenagers who make messes and don't clean it up and never fess up about it. What a treasure of a blog!


Lindsay at My Splattered Life in Paint, she has a great design blog and a new health nutt site as well. She shares her stories of being a mom and currently she's been experiencing some scary Texas style storms of which terrify her, I can definitely relate to that.

Thursday Thirteen - Things I L O V E

Thirteen Things that I L O V E

1. Knitting, I can't say how much joy and peace this hobby brings to me. There is something completely amazing from turning yarn into a sweater, tea towel, poncho or more. That's why I decided to do my Knitted-Give-A-Way! I love knitting for other people, it's great to hear people are happy with these gifts. This past Christmas I knit my 5 nieces each their own poncho, and a sweater for one of my nephews. I also crochet and this year I am making my kids each their own afghan. My DD is in a ripple pattern of bright colors, with complete randomness on the colors. My DS will probably be in the typical blacks and greys. It will be a bit boring to work on, but I know he'll love it.

2. Blogging - I absolutely love to blog. I remember last summer when my DH was starting a blog. I thought he was nutz! I had no idea what it was about at all. Then I started stumbling few a blogs and I found myself wanting to read about these people. At first I felt like I was peeking in through their dining room window at dinner hour. I got over that feeling pretty quick and in the last few months I've really been drawn to blog. I like to record my day to day stuff and have some fun with meme's and just be goofy.

3. My mp3 player! I got one from DH at Christmas and it's the neatest thing ever. I think it is so cool that I can have all of my favorite songs on it, all sorted into play lists for my ever so many different moods.

4. My Bedroom - since DH and I rearranged the furniture we have so much more room. The finishing touch was the closet. When we bought the house our closet was a half closet/half cupboard space. The people who lived there before had their tv there. Well I don't watch tv in bed - apparently it's not supposed to be a good idea for many reasons including romantic..lol! So we converted that side to DH's closet space and then it was all open and it made the room look messy. This weekend I bought some nice green panels with silver grommets at the top and a rod and we hung them up....wow! It looks so much better now. It's nice having the closet closed. I picked up a memory board at Wal-Mart in similar greens to put on the opposite wall. This summer I am going to buy some unfinished shadow boxes and paint them to match the green. This all goes great with our light blue walls! Next we'll have to get a new bed set and curtains!

5. Tea- Yes I absolutely adore tea! How could I be a TeaMouse if I didn't drink tea? I used to go be TeaGranny, but obviously I am no granny - but I also went by the nick name of Mickey....and I think mice are adorable. Well as long as they are cartoon mice.

I have to have a cup o' tea first thing in the morning. I used to collect tea pots and tea cups. But you know what happens when family finds you collect something? Uh Huh! You end up with a ----- load of them. So I don't actually collect them anymore but I have a lot of teacups. There is nothing like tea to completely relax me. However, I can never get good tea at a restaurant - what is up with that? They leave it sitting out - getting old, mixing with all the other restaurant smells...yuck! A nice cup of Tetley tea and I am set. I have an English friend who made it quite clear that Tetley is what the English drink after all Red Rose is only available in Canada - pity!

6. Reality T.V. - yep I am hooked. I watch American Idol(Canadian Idol is horrible), Survivor, The Amazing Race and even Big Brother(although that is getting old). I don't know what it is that draws me to it. My favorite though has got to be The Amazing Race - it's such a great competition, and it would be so much fun to do.

7. Wine! Should be pretty much self explanatory!!! DH, makes it from kits and we just love it with dinner or when we have company over. In the summer I buy the daiquiri kits and use the wine as the alcohol, a nice treat to sip on a hot summers day.

8. Blue Mountain - I absolutely love their ecard selection and I now have their print shop cards also. It's just so convenient to print off a card whenever I need one. The ecards are great, they have them for all occasions and the best part is when you send one to someone - no annoying pop ups! I get cards a lot from 123 Greetings, and it's terrible for pop ups even with my pop up blocker. The yearly subscription is pretty reasonable and they give you a free trial to see if you like it. I use it a lot instead of sending emails as there are no word limitations and the cards are so nice that it makes a nice email to send.

9. Playing on the computer. I try not to do it as often as before, but there are times when zoning out on the computer with the Sims or Never Winter Nights is just what I need to unwind. It's even more enjoyable to play a game of NWN with DH.

10. My front loading washer - it's the best thing ever! I love how fast the laundry gets done and how little water it uses. It's made a big difference on doing this chore. Add that to my new T-Fal Iron and it's a laundry ladies delight.

11. Word puzzles, I love to do word searches, Jumbles etc.

12. Chocolate! Need I say more? I love milk chocolate and dark chocolate...chocolate with nuts, raisin covered chocolate. The best chocolate I've ever had comes from a local company Bernard Callebaut. If you ever get the chance to get some of these chocolates - you should jump on it. They are expensive but worth it. The best part, they're made with no preservatives so you HAVE to eat them quick...lol! Warning - viewing their site may cause severe chocolate cravings. I hereby have no responsibility of added weight gains or chocolate stains on clothing or furniture. I will also not be responsible for any costs incurred by such cravings until further notice.

13. Cellphones. I love my cell phone - it's great to be able for the kids to reach me anytime. I think I'll really appreciate this too as I was reading in our paper today that payphones will be going up to .50/call. So much for ‘Brother can you spare a dime?' Or ‘Here's a dime, call someone who cares'. Makes you wonder when a staggering statistic released reveals that over 50% of the world's population has never made or received a phone call.

Wordless Wednesday - What's in Your Purse?

Any guesses to what the blue candies are? Update - those lil' blue candies are Ouzo candies and they are the best if you like black licorice! And I thought my purse was clean! Wanna show what's in your purse - you're tagged. Comment about it and I'll pop by and check your purse out.

The Challenge

Are you ready for the challenge? This is exactly what I need, the boost to get me moving and motivated. We will have weekly weigh in's where we post our gains/losses and buttons will be awarded for those pounds lost. Not to mention that we will be doing it together - and therefore have a ton lot of support! Are you in? Go visit Tales From the Scales to Sign Up!

Wow - I just learned how to cross out words, aren't I special...lol!

Knitted Give-A-Way Contest

*Reminder* - Make sure to put a link back to the contest at your blog, or put a button up in your sidebar. Also, make sure to enter your name with the Mr. Linky that is provided. Pretty simple rules, I didn't want to make it difficult - just to advertise my blog a bit, and meet some new people. Remember, for every TEN people that sign up an extra item will be added to the prize. This means that the more people hear about it, the better the prize gets. I'm very excited to tell you that the first items of the prize are now complete and I am working on extras.

I don't know about you but I love to win things and I also love to knit. I've decided to combine the two for my first ever contest. I will be giving away 2 knitted hanging tea towels and three knitted dischcloths in a variety of patterns using the brightest of bright crochet cotton from Bernat and have your kitchen ready for the summer months or if you'd prefer I will do a custom set for you in the color scheme of your choosing. You can't get better than that! For color options check out Bernat's site - *note, not all color choices may be available in my area.

If you choose the brights they will be shipped immediately after the contest closes - if you would like to have a custom package knit for your kitchens decor it will take about 4 - 6 weeks at the most to have them knit and sent to you.

I've been knitting my own dishcloths for the past 8 years and I will not use any other kind. They are so durable and their scrubbing power is hands down the best of any dish cloth I have ever used. The knitted towels come in handy to hang on the stove for those quick handwashes while cooking - and of course they pretty up the kitchen too! I give these as gifts all the time and now my non-knitting sister puts in an order each Christmas for a dozen cloths, even her husband wants them as a gift.

Washing instructions are to wash in cold water, no bleach and normal dry. To keep them bright but not lose their color use a bleach free brightener.

To be eligible to enter this contest simply leave a comment below and put a link to my contest on your blog, feel free to use the contest button. Contest closes at 12:00 a.m. midnight - Central Standard time on May 27, 2007. At this time everyone who has signed up will be entered for a random draw and the winner will be announced by 12:00 a.m. midnight - Central Standard Time on May 28, 2007. Spread the word so that everyone can enter and have a chance at this knitted Give-A-Way!

Updated Contest Info:
Shelly from the Eclectic Life wondered if you could enter more than once - rather that I say how about this - for every 10 entries I will add one more item to the prize...how cool is that? So the more people you tell the better the prize gets. Make sure the link is very clear on your page to get more entrants, write about in a post etc. Get creative! I love to knit and I am happy to make this prize grow and grow just for you!
Remember to be eligible to win the contest, comment below and put a link to my contest on your site.
To use a button to link back to the contest page the following code can be added to your sidebar.