Looking forward to 2008

I thought this little graphic was so appropriate for my life in 2008 with two new grandbabies on the way, one the end of March and one the end of May. I've named 2008 the year of babies. We have two coming in our immediate family and my niece is having twins (a boy and girl) in May and my nephew is also having a baby. That's alot of babies and it's so exciting, I can't wait to meet them all. You all know how much I adore my little Maddie, I can't even imagine two more little ones to love on.


There are some things I want to accomplish in 2008 also. I want to learn how to knit because there are lots of babies to make things for so I'm hoping to learn in January. I'm not sure how many journeys I'll be making next year. Right now we have our reservations for our family vacation in Hilton Head done for September so that's something to look forward to. With all of the babies and things we have to do around our house we might not get to visit a new place next year. Each year I try to visit somewhere I've never been before even if it's just around the corner. Of course I will try to lose those last 10 pounds, hahaha.......... and I am really going to try and be more organized, hahahaha.......and I really want to strengthen my back so I can carry those babies around, that is something I really need to do. And I want to get to know all my new blogging buddies better, I feel so blessed by all of you who visit me and leave such nice comments. We are just staying in tonight and grilling out. Two new grandbabies in 2008, what could be more exciting! As my new blogging friend Lille Meg from Norway would say "Godt nytt ar" which I think means have a Happy New Year.

P.S. I Love You

So I finally went and seen P.S. I Love You yesterday and was hoping I would love it. I liked it but didn't love it. I never listen to critics because there have been too many times I have gone to a movie that they have raved about and thought it was junk and most of the critics didn't like this movie. Probably because it was a very emotional movie but it did have moments of comedy. If you don't know the story it's about a grieving widow(Hilary Swank) who discovers her husband has left her a list of tasks revealed in ten messages, delivered anonymously, and intended to ease her into life without him and yes I just copied that off of the internet. LOL First of all Hilary Swank is a good actress and I also liked the actor who played her hubby. All I can say was there were parts of the movie that worked and other parts that were not as good. I loved the parts when she felt her husband was still with her and she would talk to him and I liked the parts when she went to Ireland. So it was a good movie just not a great movie in my opinion. I went to this movie by myself and I do that alot when I want to see something that I think my sweetie would not be interested in and he definitely would not have been into this movie. But anyway like I was saying I went by myself and a group of young teenagers sat about four seats from me and texted the whole time, when they weren't crying at the really sad parts. I mean why do you have to text at movies or other public functions? It didn't really bug me to death but I thought can't you just enjoy some quiet time and just watch? Is watching or reading or doing anything that doesn't involved a phone a dying art? Just made me think.......... Also right before the movie started a guy came in by himself also and sat down right behind me and cried through the whole movie. At first I thought about asking him if he was okay but then I thought what if something tragic like what was happening in the movie was happening to him. But he really did cry alot during the whole thing. I also seen the previews for The Bucket List which should be out soon and I want to see it. P.S I hope I love it. :-)

Saturday Stuff

Here's one more recipe I made on Christmas Day along with Sandi's fudge and Kat's meatballs. This one is from my BFF Paula's Christmas Cookbook and it's a keeper. It's so easy to make and if you are having company over for New Years they will eat it up fast. It only has two ingredients, so what could be easier then that?



~ Sausage Swirls~



Two 8 ounce refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1 pound ground sausage, mild for kids, hot for adults or sage if you prefer



1) Separate 1 can of dough into 4 rectangles. Firmly press the perorations to seal. Take the uncooked sausage and cut it into 8 chunks. Using 4 chunks of the sausage, spread each of the rectangles with a thin layer(about 1/8 inch thick). Starting at the short end, roll each rectangle tightly into a cylinder. Repeat with the other can of dough and remaining sausage. Place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, about 30 minutes, then cut each roll into 4 slices.

2) When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375. Place the sausage swirls 1/2 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and sausage is thoroughly cooked.

Paula said you can cook these ahead of time and reheat them in the oven. I hope Paula didn't mind but I added a little something to the recipe. Take a jar of your favorite marinara sauce and heat it up and serve it along side of the sausage rolls as a dipping sauce. Everyone loved dipping these little sausage rolls in the marinara sauce. Anyway I'll put this recipe on Leah's Recipe Exchange . I also have a link to Leahs on my sidebar so check it out for more good recipes. I have a really good recipe for cucumber sandwiches and hot artichoke dip,on the exchange so check them out also. If you serve all of these things at your New Years Party along with some pink champagne, your party will be a hit. Yes, I admit I love pink champagne, not only is it pretty but it's good. Are you really surprised that I would drink something pink? LOL Anyway, I really am not much of a cook but I seemed to do well with finger foods. Just a few ideas I thought I would share.

And just because I love this photo of Maddie. I just had to post it. She loves looking out the window and yesterday I got this shot and her reflection in the glass while she was watching out the window. Can you see her reflection in the window? I thought it was cool. Irene from Our piece of the world has been giving me pointers on working the camera. I know that not using the flash is best but my hands are not very steady and you need steady hands or a tripod when not using a flash. Anyway, check out her blog and see how good she's becoming with her camera. Longer post than I intended but have a great weekend!

Christmas Day - Christmas Eve is below this post

Here are Kat's from Just a beach Kat sweet and sour meatballs. You can go here for a step by step recipe. They are so easy to make and oh so good. My sweetie ate about a dozen while I was making them so I had to make lots more. LOL I knew they were good when he kept coming back for more. Thanks Kat!
And here's my sweetie (in the shorts) telling one of his famous stories, usually about our kids. He's great at telling these stories and always has everyone laughing. That's his brother Kevin in the photo and his sister Karen in the background and Kevin's girlfriend Sherra sitting down.
And here's a classic Christina (my youngest daughter) shot and her friend Amanda. Maddie kept going under the dining room table to play and eat so the girls thought they would do the same thing. The funny thing is and you can't see it in this photo was that Maddie was watching them and looking at them like they were nuts. LOL Crazy girls!

Sandi from Holding Patterns gave me the recipe for this fudge. It's a Paula Deen recipe and when I first read about it on Sandi's blog I just couldn't believe it. It has velveeta cheese in it! But she convinced me to try it and she was so right, this stuff is awesome! There's something about putting the cheese in there that makes it so much better. Anyway it's so easy to make and if you want to try it go here to get the recipe. Thanks Sandi!
Here's my daughter Melissa and fellow blogging buddies and real life friends Kevin & Sarah. They stopped by for a visit and also brought me some pink Pinot Grigio in a pink Santa bag. Do you think my love of pink is well known? LOL Thanks guys!
Maddie was much more interested in Cleo's(my kitty) toys she got for Christmas then in all of the toys she got. Christina and Maddie had a ball playing with Cleo's presents. Cleo couldn't have cared less about the cat toys. LOL

.

And this last photo is of me wearing sandals. Everyone thinks my sweetie and I are crazy because he wears shorts on Christmas Day and I wear sandals. I think we are meant to be in a warmer climate. It was a wonderful time spent with our family and friends and I hope I didn't overload you all with too many photos and stuff. So now comes the taking down of the decorations, which I am going to work on today. I think I'd rather go shopping or go see a movie.

Hope all of your holidays were wonderful also!

Church Christmas Service and Christmas Eve

My sweetie and I and Maddie before the Christmas show started at church. Maddie loved how the place was decorated and she came in the show with us and fell right to sleep.
Here is a photo of the choir and all the hanging Christmas trees they had on stage. There was a guy who sang gospel and he was amazing. We had a wonderful evening. But isn't it interesting how they had those trees hanging from the ceiling?
This is Christmas Eve over my sister Gail's house. This is a photo of my Dad and all of his girls. He takes care of his girls and always has. From left to right, it's Gail, June, Dad, Judy and me. I'm the youngest(okay that's a outright lie) but I always tell my sisters that. (I'm actually the oldest of the bunch)
And then we went over to my sweetie's extended family. I told you they are very Italian and it's funny because every Christmas Eve it seems like the women end up in the dining room and chat and eat. I don't think there's a sign that says no men allowed but it always ends up only women in there. My daughter Christina joined the group this time. She's the third on from the right. She's very interested in the family history and how the family came from Sicily and ended up here in Cincy. We decided to write it all down with all the aunts and uncles so we can pass it down to the next generation.

And I just had to put this photo of Maddie in the mix. She loves Christina's cell phone. Forget about the pretty pink princess cell phone Grandma got her, she wants the real thing. Doesn't it look like she's texting? Perhaps she was texting Santa with some last minute instructions. LOL

When I downloaded my Christmas photos it said I had 150 something photos and I think 140 of them were of my granddaughter Maddie. Aren't you glad I didn't upload them all? LOL

Christmas 2007 Just a short note for now

I hope this morning after Christmas finds everyone well and probably a little tired. Ours was great but we had a few mishaps at our home Christmas Eve and day. My mother-in-law took a tumble on our cement driveway Christmas Eve night. Have you ever watched a 70 something year old woman take a fall? It's pretty scary, we thought we might have to take her to the hospital because she cut her chin pretty bad but I was more worried about her breaking a bone. She's seems okay, just bruised. She just lost her footing and fell, I watched her but was helpless to do anything because it happened so fast. And then last night my son's dogs ran away, probably chasing a deer. They found them this morning, very dirty and cold and scared. So we made it through all of that and I'll share some photos later on when I have a chance to breathe. LOL But here's a photo of my favorite little elf, Maddie in her Santa dress and hat. She was so much fun! Be back later and hopefully will catch up with all of your holiday posts!

O Holy Night

Cruising around blogland it seems like O Holy Night is at the top of the list of favorite Christmas songs. It is my all time favorite also as we celebrate this Christmas and the birth of a baby. I wish all of you a time of faith, family, fun and food. Thank you for your gift of friendship. Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

All is Calm (well, sort of)

All the presents are wrapped and under the tree. Maddie opened one of hers early. This little grocery cart that she pushes around the house(look she even has her baby in the seat). We got all the food yesterday and it's ready to be cooked so I figure we're about as ready as we can be.

So my sweetie and I went out last night for a nice relaxing dinner in downtown Cincinnati. We went to Palomino's, which I think has locations around the country. Our Palomino's sits right above Fountain Square and we scored a window seat. Yea! They have made an ice skating rink in the middle of the Square and with all the Christmas lights, it was so pretty.

Here's another view from our window seat. My sweetie and I decided to make this an annual tradition each Christmas. It was so nice to sit and relax with a glass of wine and talk and have a wonderful meal. I didn't even count my Weight Watchers points last night because I'm sure the portabella mushroom soup alone busted my points for the day. But it was so worth it. And then we went to Starbucks for a latte and watched the ice skaters(fall down).

This last picture is of our Fountain on the square. It was just a wonderful way to relax before all of the hustle and bustle of running all over comes starting tonight. We are going to our church's Christmas service tonight and it will be crowded. Anyway, I'm trying to get to all of your blogs to wish you a Merry Christmas but if I miss somebody along the way, Merry Christmas to you all!

A Bunch of Stuff

Warning! This is a long post with lots of photos! The pictures are not in the order I wanted them to be, but I'm not in the mood to fight with blogger today. So you win today blogger but next time I will win.This first photo is of the dinner at my friend Mickie's house. She's the lady on the right. This lady is 8o something years old and she had a few of us over for dinner the other night. We are all travel agents and most of us work at the same agency. In fact two of these ladies are over 80 years old and still are doing travel work and traveling all over the world. Anyway, Mickie is so cute, she must have made five desserts and had so much food and she put a little stocking for each of us on the back of our chairs and we each had our own little Christmas salt and pepper shakers at our seats along with ornaments that she bought for us all when she was in Germany this summer. She lost her husband of 60 something years this past Spring and it's been hard for her and she has no children living near by. I had a great time with these ladies.

This past weekend, we went with my daughter and son in law and Maddie for brunch with Santa. This is Maddie and Grandpa watching the Grinch before we went in to eat, they both looked into to it, don't they?
Here's a photo of how pretty the dining room was decorated for the brunch, Santa came in on a fire truck.
Maddie liked Santa's elf but we didn't go near the big guy himself because he's not her favorite person.
Here is a photo of Maddie last year with Santa. She was too little to care about him.
And here is a photo with the same Santa this year. If you look close, she's crying and mommy had to get in the photo. Really if looks could kill, Santa would be long gone in Maddie's world. First she looks at him like he's taking up too much space in her world, then she starts to cry. It really is funny.

And last weekend my sweetie and I went to see this movie. I like Will Smith and he is really good in this movie. This movie has gotten mixed reviews and I tend to agree with some of the movie critics on this one. The first half of the movie had some pretty fascinating stuff. Will Smith is the last man on Manhattan in 2012 after an infection kills most of mankind. Actually it was a cure for cancer that ends up wiping out the human race. Will Smith plays a scientist and the first scene in the movie he's chasing deer with a rifle down the streets of New York. He's somehow immune to the infection. But what's cool is seeing New York with grass covering Times Square and cars everywhere and bridges blown up and no people anywhere. I mean it's pretty interesting stuff, how he and his dog follow a schedule everyday, where they hunt and go to a video store that he has put mannequins in to talk to and work to find a vaccine to cure the virus. And he flashes back to how it all happened. So that part was good, then comes the night and the mutant/zombies come out to play. Now for some reason I didn't read the part about mutant/zombies before we went to see this. They scared the you know what out of me. I'm not a fan of mutant/zombies. And these are not your average mutant/zombies, they are smart and almost super human and they come out at night and want your blood and of course to make you a mutant/zombie like them. It just felt like it was two different movies and the ending just left me feeling like something was missing. I would not take young kids to this movie. The mutants are really, really scary. I'm hoping to go and see P.S. I Love You this weekend and I really hope it's good. Hey, I just thought of something, do you think that Maddie thinks Santa is a mutant/zombie? LOL Sorry for the long post and good for you if you read the whole thing. Have a great day!

Christmas Cats

Okay, I'm a dork but it's cute!

Travel Tuesday - Travel Gifts for Christmas

Globe Ornaments from Travel Smith.

Neck Pillow and eye mask. These things really come in handy for long flights.

Travel Kit. I like little practical travel kits.


Here are some more little travel items for the traveler on your Christmas list. Travel Smith does have different price ranges on their website so even though it might be late to order, you can still get some ideas from there.
Since Christmas and New Years are on Tuesdays for the next two weeks, I am not doing Travel Tuesday again till the beginning of January. And then I am going to start it off with Hawaii. Hawaii sounds good in the middle of January, doesn't it? Hope everyone is having a good Tuesday. I know everyone is busy and so am I. I have a dinner to go to tonight at my friend Mickie's house and then the office Christmas luncheon tomorrow and I still have to do all the food shopping etc... all while dealing with extended family Christmas drama. Is it just me or do family dramas surface more at this time of year? I'm trying not to let it make me forget the real reason for this Christmas season. If I keep my focus on the Baby born in the stable everything will be okay. Have a great Tuesday!

HGTV Dream Home 2008 Florida Keys

Even the dog has a cool house. I don't even have a dog but I might just have to get one for this house. But there just one problem, would you let your dog roam around the Florida Keys outside? Aren't there lots of alligators there?

View from the outside. Look at this place!
Entertainment room. I love the furniture and all of the blue touches in this room. Looks like something I seen at the Pottery Barn and would love to have.
I just love this kitchen. I could stay here all day and I'm not a kitchen person. Love the glass cabinets.
And look there are stairs going off the kitchen. There's something cool about back stairs.
Maybe I'll skip staying in the kitchen all day and just hang out in this Master bath.

Okay, so HGTV is having their Dream House giveaway again next year. Every year my friend Vickie and I enter this faithfully everyday and have yet to win but I have a feeling that next year is my year to win this baby. LOL Not only do you win the house and everything in it but you also win a car. They say the total prize package is worth 2.2 million dollars and the lucky winner will be announced on March 16th. You can enter online once per day from January 1st through February 19th, 2008. But don't worry about entering because like I said next year is my lucky year. Here's the only problem, once you win this pretty baby all the taxes, insurance etc... are your responsibility, which means most people sell it. But before I sell it, I'm going to have a big party and all my bloggy friends are invited. It is fun to watch the tour of these dream homes and I'll be sucked into watching it again on New Years Day. If you want to see more of this beautiful home go here and check it out. I guess there's a reason they call it a Dream Home. Have a great Monday!