No home is complete without the pitter patter

of Doggie feet! :-)
Here's a few updated pic's of "My Girl"......

"Miss Shelby" is always willing to share the love.......My sister in law loves my Girl and the feeling is mutual.

Last but not least...here's a close up of the shirt she's wearing......LOL

With her help maybe I CAN catch a man. ;-)

I am spoiled I guess....

 He said I could P-A-I-N-T.....OMG be still my heart!

Yep, My Papa (Mr. Whitewalls) gave me the O.K. to paint the entire downstairs where I live. That means, my Bedroom, the Bathroom AND my Family/Dining room. The family room I know for sure I am doing in a color at Home Depot called "A Couples Cocoa".....the rest I'm tinkering with in my brain.

I could just ShReAk! with excitement.

Now I have to call my Big brother Dan.
He's NEVER gonna believe it.

Ta Ta for now...... 

On a Monday morning THIS made me *Smile*

It's the little things......That make my heart *sing*

Ugh! I finally got started decorating for FALL, my absolute favorite time of year! :-)

I feel so far behind as I'm usually done by Aug 15th or so each year. It may seem early to you,

but my Gal Pals over at Girls Like Us say it's totally O.K. after Aug 15th. Muah!
So if they say it's O.K. , it's gotta be and I am all over it!

Here's a sneek peek of what I've done so far. Remember, I live in the basement so the lighting isn't the best,

but here's what I could get a fairly good shot of!

And here's Miss Shelby thinking she's a big helper! NOT!

Not a good pic but still cute of her. She will be TWO in 3weeks.

One of the pic's on here was this past Valentines Day. Her looks have changed and she's grown into a "Big Girl". And will always be Mama's Girl. :-)

Well I better scoot for now.....so much left to do.

Tonight is Trader Joe's and dinner with some very special friends.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend so far!

I will leave you with this quote to ponder over......

~A true friend is one that makes you laugh so hard

You PEE a little!~

Ta ta for now.....

We interrupt this program.....

To bring you a picture of what brings me *Happiness* in my new home.

This is the view I have on my patio looking out. See how green the grass is? Beautiful and totally unusual for the tail end of a Minnesota Summer. We can thank the Rain Man that has visited this year. :-) My Dad has only run the underground sprinkler once this year. Unheard of......I am going to miss being able to escape out here to relax at night. But oh! What I have to look forward to next spring! For now I am going to savor AUTUMN  and all it's glory.

Keepin it real......

Geez I've taken almost the whole week off of blogging!?! Sorry about that. Been kinda busy I guess.

I had to share this Cartoon with you all. Seriously, Maxine cracks me up! So true....so true (IMHO)

One thing I like about her is she tells it like it is! No beating around the bush....no candy coating. Honest and upfront plain and simple!

Ooops.....I think I hear my "All Men are Dogs" voice on my shoulder. LOL

So Tuesday night I attended a "Divorce Care" meeting at a local church. It wasn't just any Church, it was the church of my Father's GIRLFRIEND. Originally I was kicking and screaming I didn't want to go...but I gave in to the Father pressure! Geez haven't I had enough therapy?! Oh well.... I went, I sat, I listened, and I participated in group discussion after watching a video. I am *Proud* of me!

It really was more comfortable than I thought it would be. But Whoa! I met people whose stories were so similar to mine. Out of 13 people- 4 Men. Anyhoo..back to where I was going with this! One Gal sticks out in particular....Rochelle is her name and she is 68 years old and has been married for 49 frickin years to her Elementary School Sweetheart. Yep.....almost her entire life she has been with this man and what does he do? Somehow he took all their money (Don't have the whole story yet), and ran off with a younger woman!!
Good God...what is happening to this world?!?

I always had the dream that I would have a long and happy marriage. I wanted a love like my grandparents had. A love that lasted over 60 years. That dream was *Shattered* for me and to be honest I'm still bitter, angry, and deeply hurt. My heart was broken and I can say first hand it ISN'T easy to get over something like that. You're life as you knew it is gone in a flash and total devastation sets in. Oh....that's an ugly word
isn't it? Well it's been a long road but I've passed that part of the grieving. But crap other emotions have taken it's place.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

But I'll leave you with this to ponder.........

~Life was so much better, when Boys had Cooties !!~

Love it! LMAO

Ta Ta for now......

Are you a Bird lover?

Last night I went to my big brother Dan's house for a little birthday celebration! :-)
It was an extremely nice evening, especially since my other brother Ron was in town from Pennsylvania and my nephew Steve was in from St. Cloud, Mn!! There's something about a close family....I am blessed that's for sure!

My brother Dan surprised me with this.....

It is truly the most beautiful coffee cup I have ever seen! It's kinda 3-d as some of the items on the mug are raised. This pic does no justice really. Yep, my bro knows I love Coffee and Cardinals remind me of my dear Mother who passed away Jan 24th, 2002. He sure knows how to pick em.

Ever since my Mom passed away I have learned to appreciate even more the beauty of the Cardinal.
As I walk through my Father's upstairs everywhere I look I can't help but think of Mom. The decorative plates, the pictures, the figurines of porcelain Cardinals charm every nook. Just as she left them. Untouched.
I have found myself many times stopping in my tracks to look at a Cardinal item in a store though I rarely buy. It may sound weird, but I feel comforted when I gaze at them. I almost feel the warmth of her.......

I feel so blessed to have had her in my life even though it was not long enough by far. You see my Mom was taken suddenly at age 69....she got up from the dinner table and walked into the kitchen and dropped dead. Yep......shocker! I'll never forget that horrifying phone call. My Dad chose not to do an autopsy, but the Coroner said she most likely either had a massive heart attack or an aneurysm that burst. She concluded that she felt my Mom was dead before she hit the ground. So sad......no time to say goodbye or tell her once again I love her. But one thing I am thankful for is that she didn't have to linger and suffer with an illness. Even though sudden death was hard to take, I know in my heart I could not have survived THAT very well.

I miss her every single day...I wish I could have her back for even 5 minutes to feel her touch, to hear her voice and to kiss those soft lips one more time. *Sigh*

Man, I sure didn't intend for this post to be such a downer but it just started coming. For those of you that still have your Mother in your life.....CHERISH the moments as someday all you'll have left is the memories.
But memories can warm your heart on the coldest of days, and it's something NOBODY can ever take away from you.

Ta Ta for now......