Just a bunch of Randon stuff....

This is a busy week for us...recovering from the flu, trying to stay warm, last basketball tournament of the year, lots of Polka Dot factory orders to be done, getting tax stuff finished....the list could go on and on!
Saturday, my stepdaughter, Hunter brought a friend over. I had a million things to do, so I bribed them with flower headbands if they would help me dust! I gave them each a rag and they got my whole living room done! I went in behind them and vaccummed...done with that! We went to the county basketball tournament to watch the girls championship...we lost by 2 points! Ugh! I would rather get beat by 20 points than 2!
Sunday, we went to church, then came home and snuggled by the fire! I piddled in my craft room, trying to organize a little. I am working on a mass-declutter in there...pictures to come later! I sat down with the paper and looked at the ads for this week. I made my list for Walgreens and got my coupons ready...I've been on quite the coupon kick as of late.
Monday, I shopped on my lunch hour..got a great deal, I think! I spent 33.08 and saved almost 60.00! I was so tickled! Here is a pic of my purchases...


I bought...2 cases of water, 1 lb of super bubble, 2 Kraft dressings, 3 boxes sugar free jello, 1 Almay eye make-up, 3 Suave lotions, 2 bars of Dove soap, Lrg Listerine, 2 boxes of taco shells, 2 boxes of Mac and Cheese, 2 cans of Tomato soup, Miracle whip, 2 Pantene shampoos and 2 boxes of cereal. Pretty good, huh?
Monday night, I went over to Shannon's house and we made up goody bags for our Jr. High basketball players. They are in their last tournament this week. Both our boys are on the team. We fixed them up with lots of goodies! Cross your fingers, we bring home another win! We have only lost 1 game this year...they are a good team..only 5 losses in 4 YEARS!
Today I got off work a little early, we had some machine maintenance to be done. I was a totally lazy rear, I came home and got my pjs on and went to bed. I have had a horrible sinus headache for 2 days and I felt yucky! I woke up after 2 hours! Ugh! I am thankful for a husband that cooks, he had made supper! Thanks Clint!
Well, I think that catches me up for a while!

Sicky, icky day

The flu has officially hit the Pierce house! My sweet boy came down with it on Monday...I assumed that's what it was but the Dr. officially confirmed it yesterday. I feel so bad for him! In the 6 years he has lived with his Dad and I, this is the FIRST time he has been to the doctor! Isn't that crazy! Well, I stayed home with him today and got to baby him a bit! Even at 14, he loves a little baby-ing!! We've taken our meds, drank our fluids, and rested, just like the doctor ordered. Clint picked his homework up from school today and that's what we are working on now. Luckily, he has been fever-free for about 14 hours, so I think we will be good to go on Friday for school.

I have used the day to make up some Valentine's hair bows! They turned out SOOO cute. I made a few for the salon that carries my bows, a few for my Etsy shop and a few just to have for my favorite customers! I organized my ribbons last night, it would be easy to say I could make bows for weeks and not run out of ribbon!! I function so much better with an organized stash! My goal tonight is to get some on my Etsy site, and my FB Page. V-day will be here before we know it!!!

On other news...I am getting quite efficient using coupons here lately! My work hours are being decreased for a while so I thought I could do a little to save on our grocery bill each month! It is a challenge to scope out the best deals, but I've had fun doing it! I will post one of my successful shopping trips soon!

Here's to keeping your family healthy!!!

Redland Rendevous

My niece, Sydney had a volleyball tournament this weekend in Oklahoma City. My sister invited Mom and I to come spend the weekend with her and the girls. SOOO, Friday after work, off we went! We arrived in Bricktown that evening about the same time the Wichita girls did!

We turned in early since Sydney and Tina had to be over at the Cox Convention center at 8:00 a.m. Mom, Nicole and I stayed back at the hotel until 9. She had 4 games of 2 sets each on Saturday.




They finished up about 3:00 p.m. Nicole and I had already schemed a plan to go across to the Ford Center and try to get some tickets to the Thunder game, but they were sold out! :(
We headed back to the room to freshen up for dinner. We went into Bricktown and ate at The Spaghetti Warehouse...yummy! It was so good. After dinner, Mom went to the room and Tina, the girls and I went over to Pinketzel Cupcakes!







It was such a neat place! Of course, there was a sea of teenage girls due to the tournament! We sat in the cafe and ate our cupcake and had some hot cocoa. It was SO cold and the cocoa hit the spot!


Sunday, CCVA played at 8:00 a.m. They qualified for the Gold bracket, which were the best teams in the tourney! Unfortunately, they lost their first 2 games and ended up in 4th place. But, they were proud anyway! It was the 1st tourney of the season!

Mom and I headed home Sunday afternoon. We got home and had 5 inches of snow on the ground!! The best part, I got a snow day on Monday!! Woo Hoo!!

It was a super great weekend, spent with my favorite girls!!!!


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Fresh Beginnings...

I love a new start, a clean slate, a fresh beginning! The beginning of 2011 sparks a fire in me to clean and simplify, to start new things, tidy up if you will. Not only my home but my heart too. I don't like to express "resolutions" for the new year, I prefer "hopes." SO, my hopes for the New year are.....read my Bible through, simplify my home, clear clutter in my home and mostly my mind, save money, live simply, send birthday cards to my family and friends (on time!), be a better friend, but mostly I want to draw near to God and let him guide me.
I want to be a better blogger, I have many family members that I don't get to see very often and recently they have told me...."you haven't updated your blog, what have you been up to?" SO, I can't disappoint them!
My job recently announced a cutback on hours. Starting Feb 1 we will be working 4 days a week. It's a scary thought, even though it isn't as big of a cutback as some people have faced recently, but it's enough to shake me into reality and begin trying to think of ways to save my family money. SO, as the year begins, so does the budget! Wish me luck!
Happy New Year!

Happy Veteran's Day

Today was a very emotional day. Along with honoring our Veteran's today, we laid to rest my great-uncle. He served in the United States Army for almost 30 years, he fought in WW II and loved his country until his last breath. He was buried with full military honors and the service was beautiful! It was fitting for him to be buried on Veteran's Day. Thank you to ALL soldiers and veteran's today, I LOVE being an American!


Loyd Leon Sample
1919-2010


This photo is one of my very favorites! I took it this summer, this flag flys over the battlefield in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

The never-ending "to-do" list

Seems lately my "to-do" list gets longer and the "crossing off" almost never happens! The approaching holidays have my excitement level going up! I am having Thanksgiving AND Christmas at my house this year!!! I am so excited for that! My fall decorations MAY make it until Thanksgiving! I am so ready to decorate my tree! I will try to control myself and not make my family look at a Christmas tree or listen to Christmas carols while we dig into the turkey!
I have been very busy getting ready for a Christmas show I am doing in Dec. The Polka Dot Factory has been in overdrive trying to get orders out for Christmas! I am SOOO thankful that it has been blessed this year! I hope you come see us in Antlers on Dec 3 and 4 if you are local!
Yesterday, I headed to Sam's for some netting for my wreaths. I needed some other colors besides what HL had. Clints nephew and his wife went with us and we ended up running into two other couples we know inside! We got there about 30 minutes before it closed so I was running through the isles trying to gather what I needed! I know that employees were glaring at us because we were in a big group talking and laughing. I got what I needed and enjoyed the visit too! We then ran to Target and the boys stayed in the car! Ray and I headed straight to the baby dept, they are expecting a baby in the Spring so we looked at all the cute stuff Target has for little ones, and there were some cute stuff!!! We wanted to grab something to eat before we went to a movie so Cheddars was our choice! It was delicious. I have been watching my carbs so I had the veggie plate with tortilla soup(ok, it had a few carbs) with steamed broccoli, green beans, and carrots. Yummy! It felt good to not "over-stuff."
Today, I am catching up with my house! I have a list to get through today, I am currently working on a "home-keeping" notebook with weekly lists of things I want to do. I think that will help me get ready for the holidays and not be over-stressed.

Little trip to the South

Clint and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in September! We put together a little trip with my parents, who will be celebrating their 41st in November.
We decided we wanted to get in the truck and drive - East. We landed in Mississippi. We spent 2 days visiting Vicksburg and touring the battlefields, cruising down the Mississippi River and just relaxing. One day for lunch we stopped at this little hole in the wall place. It was literally 3 "shacks" in a row. One was the cookshack, one the ?storage? and one was where you ate and paid.
It was so whimsical and quirky. There were fresh produce bins lined on every table. It was a place you could look for hours and see something new all the time! I took some pictures, actually a lot of pics! Everything was so bright.







We drove down the Natchez Trace Parkway and spent the next 2 days in beautiful Natchez! We loved it. We ate, walked, ate, shopped, and ate! Fat Mamas Tamales while watching some SEC football on Saturday, that was fun! We toured several plantations while there. We toured Rosalie, Longwood and Stanton Hall. We had brunch Sunday at Stanton Hall, fried chicken, seafood gumbo, andouille dressing, itty bitty biscuits and jelly, creole cheesecake (to die for!) and sweet tea. Oh, it was SOOO good. We had a wonderful vacation. It was so nice to get away for a few days!