So proud of my BLITZ kids :)

well it's been a long day and I'm hardly ready for work tomorrow but it was totally worth it.

The kids from church got together this afternoon to shop, and pack for our Operation Christmas Child mission. Together we purchased, and packed 11 shoe boxes. What was totally cool was that we really only had about 4 good shoe boxes when we started, so the kids had to walk around the neighborhood and convince unfriendly strangers to give them their shoe boxes. What a testimony of perseverance when we live in a society of people who are so untrusting of strangers. Some people didn't open the door for the kids, but most did. We got a few boxes we couldn't use, and a ton of boxes we could :) Hence the 11 shoe boxes packed... but the good thing is we did it - and it's going to be a blessing for kids all over the world. That's twice as many as we did last year! I'm so proud of my kids.

Completely in love

with a new website I found called www.ravelry.com - which is a place for knitters and crocheters! Wow I never knew such heaven existed and I am having a blast looking through all the new patterns for scarves. Buyers beware - I have entered a whole new world of crochet glamour! :)

In the meantime, the garden is completely put up for the winter, I've started two new leave composts, and I'm starting the process to get ready for my annual Christmas party which is just 4 weeks away. The girls arrived home from Colonial Williamsburg last night safe and sound, and life returns to semi-normalcy as we know it again this morning. For now, I'm enjoying the hush of the early morning as everyone still sleeps and I am off to get ready for work.

Work.

Where I now have 8 days to move our offices, get electrical in, and figure out which bills to pay and what furniture we need. what a great day... lol

Deep breath - here we go! :)

Sooo sad

that my camera is broken. I'm looking now to see what can be done about it by the manufacturer, but somehow I don't think there is much they will be able to do :( I feel so naked without it. I'm ready to run out and make an impulse buy, but If I wait till after Thanksgiving, I'm sure I can get a better deal. in the meantime here are a few of my Haiti pictures while I was there...

some of the broken buildings that have had no clean up. Could you imagine? a building like this hanging around in the US for over 10 months?

The epicenter of the earth quake which literally cut one of the biggest mountains there in half...

The Feeding program. Over 200 children every day receive a hot meal and school because of the sponsorship program :)

A little girl at the small school we visited, with her new backpack full of school supplies.

Haiti October 2010

less than 24hrs

Well in 24hrs I will be well on my way to Port au Prince, Haiti! I have my 2 bins that i'm taking mostly packed, and I am still working on my suitcase because I thought I could bring 2 small ones, but it appears I can only take 1, and 1 personal bag (i.e. purse, laptop bag, or other small bag). My adventure will take me to Chicago, Miami and then finally Haiti. I have lots of supplies to take, though not as much as I would have liked :) Mostly, extra computer components is what I'm taking, some stuffed animals, and a bin full of school supplies. I can pack 50lbs each, and each extra bag/bin I take will cost another $100 - or I can overpack them up to 70lbs for $50. So many rules! Attached are a couple of pictures of some cards I made as thankyou's for my friends and family who helped me get to Haiti. I can't say it enough - you guys ROCK. God is going to do amazing things in my heart, and the hearts of others :)

Cards are mostly The Paper loft paper, Prima Flowers, CTMH ink's and stamps, and misc brads/stickers... :)

this n that

The Hastas are really coming in now :) I'm so glad. They get limited sun in the morning, and I see the neighbors having great success in more sunny area's, but I imagine by July that these will look fantastic. I hit them with some miracle grow on Sunday, and will repeat this saturday or Sunday, and I think that really helped them along! :)

Just a quick shot of my deck box. I actually have 2, but need to get a 2nd set of rails for the other box, which has petunias in it. It's not growing as thick and full as these are, but arent they fun? Don't mind the mess around the deck, it's kind of my storage/work space! LOL
These I believe, are the Russell Lupine's I put in this year. They will grow 3-4' tall and have lovely pinkish purple blooms - long and narrow. I was instructed to plant them at least 18" apart, so the other one is about 3' away... but they will add a nice splash of tall color I believe.

Our new seating area. In the past we utilized the more central area of the yard which is directly behind the back door, and looks directly into the neighbors yard. I realized last year that I truly wasn't enjoying my yard anymore back there, since it is quite 'busy' in the neighbors yard. This year I set us up on the side of the house, which, with the trees actually feels very homey and cozey. Tye loves it and has sat out there 3 out of the last 4 nights reading. I pulled some stakes I bought several years ago which were supposed to be candle holders, and am using them as cup holders instead for our drinks. Kinda artsy fartsy but I really like it! :)

Azaela's 6 days later...

Six days later and the light pink Azaela's are blooming! The two plants together look amazing! I love it! I'm thinking of seperating them a little bit, so that they will grow a little bigger, but I'm not sure. I really like their compact size, with all the amazing blooms they have on them. I'm so blessed to have them coming in so nicely :)

Today we went to home depot and bought 4 Patriotic Red Adirondack chairs, which we put in the side yard near the bird feeder and off to the left of the deck. We tried to have a litle fire tonight but it didn't go so well. The fire wouldn't really start, and the neighbors were a little disruptive. Oh well we can try again another night. I am really excited about the chairs though! :)

Garden Visitor, or is it home?

Well, here we have a very pretty little garden snail. Actually he's not all THAT little - he's probably about 2" long. I was highly surprised to find him, and am quite pleased that he chose my lilacs for a resting place. Though I doubt after the agressive trimming I gave them this morning he'll stay for long. He was so well hidden and I believe I've removed just about all of his covering!

The pictures really don't do him justice. His chosen shell has a creamy yellow base coloring, with brilliant brownish red stripes. He's very lovely! I figured I'd better snap a picture quickly since by afternoon I'm sure he'll be gone. Hopefully he'll take the rain with him!

I don't have a picture but I REALLY trimmed back the lilacs. A gardener's magazine I read last year highly suggested it. So I did it last year, and yeilded twice the amount of blooms this year, over last year. Now I've trimmed them back significantly and am hoping to train them more towards the garage than towards the fence.... There is a ton of new growth coming in from the bottom which would be great as well since I want to keep it more of a bush than a tree.

yeap - the yard is coming along, slowly but surely! :)

Jilly in the Kitchen

You naughty doggie! You know you don't belong in the kitchen! Can't hardly blame you though - it IS the best sun spot in the whole house ;)

Garden update & Prom

Ok so the flowers that I have no idea what they are, that are coming back up are starting to bud. I can't wait to see what they turn out to be. Then I will take pics so I can remember for next year. There is actually some room to the left of these flowers that I can extend the garden about another foot or foot and a half. I might build over and around it :) We'll see!

These are a bit of a surprise, 3 yellow tulips with red stripes. We've lived in this house since July 2007 and I don't ever remember these coming up before. My mom found them last weekend when she was here - and I am waiting for them to die then I'll transplant them to the back yard with the fire & ice tulips.

These are the Azaleas I planted last year. The first set is starting to bloom, even though the back plant has buds, nothing is peeking yet. Still they both look pretty :)

Ok and here is what you're waiting for - Shiori in her prom dress! Isn't she stunning? Oh she was the belle of the ball - how beautiful is she? I just love her :) So cooperative and sweet. I was very proud of her.

This is just a fun, whimsical picture of Shiori and her date, Ignacio, from Chile. It was too cute so I thought I'd share. She had a great time last night, and doesn't hate me for making her go either :) Which is a really good thing!

We got lots of traditional shots of the two of them. We both agree that this is one of the best ones. We really liked the flowers behind them.

For sale - two adorable tart warmers! $25 each

Fresh milk hanging wax warmer - Yankee candle Item # 19548Features a cute little cow standing near a picket fence and a sign that says "Fresh Milk". Is approximately 10" tall by 6" wide.


2nd one is a Hanging bird house was warmer Yankee Candle item # 1121691 Features three adorable little bird houses perched near a white picket fence, a bird bath and 2 sweet little potted plants. Is also about 10" tall, by about 8" wide.

Both are brand new in the box and have never been used. They've been stored in a closet, hoping for a permanent home somewhere in the house but we were never able to find one. They'd make a great gift for a loved one! :)

All funds are being used towards my 'passport' fund so that Tye and I can take a trip to Haiti :)

If you're interested, I take Paypal and/or personal check or cash is always good if you're local :) email - sunflowergal74@yahoo.com or reply to this note :)

Prom season!

This one is Shiori's favorite, I really like it, but I think it's a bit too casual for prom. Of course, the colors go well with both Shiori's dark hair, and her date's complexion... so it might be the winner...

We also like this one, but we feel it's got a bit too much "chesty" going on up top... from the front, you really getta whole lotta boobs goin on... so maybe, not.

This one was my favorite. Long, sleek and elegant. Her dark hair sets it off beautifully... I love it. However, her date might not be keen on pink... so we'll see. You can tell from her face, how much SHE loves the dress (NOT!) I'll let you know Saturday which one she picks! :)

Girl's day out...

The nice weather is still holding out - and I'm so glad. Shiori and I took advantage of it by driving out to the Marilla Country Store, and then to East Aurora where we picked up my friend Robin, went to "Taste" for lunch and Viddlers. Food was great and the treasures we brought home were so cute! Shiori wasn't really into the "country" in the country store, but she liked Viddlers very much, so we'll have to make a return trip there before she goes back to Japan.

We did find some fun things - I got the cutest little tart warmer that is a cast iron skillet on a small stand, and some little wooden blocks that say "Faith, Family, Friends" for my hutch in the kitchen - I saw the best Amish made country furniture. All country colors and distressed, and beautiful!

At Viddlers I didn't really get anything fabulous - just a coffee pot cleaner solution, a plate stand, and some little gadget to keep your brown sugar soft. Which is good :) I do think that there are several things I'd like to go back and get. especially from the marilla country store.

Now we're all hanging out watching "Did you hear about the Morgans?" which is really funny!

ah spring

We've been having some pretty fantastic weather the last couple of days. It's really unheard of but, I sure am enjoying it! Yesterday it got up to 76, and today it's supposed to hit 80. Again, unheard of for Buffalo, in April, but I'll take it!

This morning I made pancakes for breakfast then headed out to the yard to continue working on getting it set up to enjoy for the spring/summer months. Watered the garden which needs some serious soil and mulch build up. I'm wondering if my hastas are going to come back up. I feel like they should at least be peeking out and they are not. Of course, the bed they are in was so dry it was like desert soil... can't think of the last time they received any real moisture. I have to be careful with that particular bed to make sure it's getting watered alot, unfortunately as it's sheilded from most of the elements.

My Black eyed susans look like they are ready to come back, and my daisies do as well.

The Azaela bushes faired well (They are still tiny, which I think they always will be) - and are starting to bud, but what I'm most pleased to see making a come back are my Lilacs. I have these 2 really pathetic lilac bushes which I didn't really know how to care for. They were neglected big time when we first moved in, and I was trying to nurture them back to health the first 2 yrs we lived here. Well I found out last year that as soon as they are finished blooming you are supposed to cut them way back without abandon. So I did! Wow, they have easily 3 times as many blooms on them this year as they did last year and I cannot wait till they start coming in and I can walk by and smell their beautiful scent. I fondly remember that from my grampa's garden when I was a kid.

Anyway I also pulled the grill out for dinner tonight and tomorrow, and put a bird feeder outside the dining room window. A few birds have found it - including a really pretty red headed one - of course I have NO idea what kind of bird it is, though I might hit the library for a little bit to find a couple gardening books :)

Happy spring people - I'm feelin GOOD about this year!

busy busy busy

but definitely looking forward to spring. The snow is starting to melt, thanks to some warm and sunny days which I'm told will continue for the next several days, and I'm thankful for that.

Saturday I ran over to the library and picked up a couple books on gardening and attracting birds into your garden. I'm excited to implement some of the cute ideas they had. There was even a cute little tea cup birdfeeder that you can make out of old tea cups and saucers, and a recipe for make at home suet, which is nice because suets can get pretty expensive when you have greedy birds like I do in my yard. Of course there was no help in the book on getting rid of crows and pidgeons which seem to love my yard no end. And then they scare away the pretty birds! So it's March 8th, and Shiori has been with us now for 7 months, give or take a couple days. It dawned on me the other day that she is only with us another 3 months and then she goes back to Japan. I am going to miss her so much - I know I'll cry when she leaves. I am really enjoying having her here - even though she sneaks in the bathroom and never comes out - when i have to get ready for work!

Next weekend is Zoey's birthday. My friend Lisa and I took Zoey, and Lisa's daughter Riley to Chuck E. Cheese this weekend. It was Zoey's first time, and it was quite the madhouse. Still, the best $10 I ever spent, as we split a pizza, drinks and 30 tokens. You'd be surprised how long 15 tokens per 3 yr old can last! :) It was awesome. Here's just a cute picture of Zoey. She likes to read at bedtime, and usually falls asleep. This time she didn't even get to the first page, poor thing! Isn't she just precious? Love her!

Apple Picking!

Two saturdays ago I joined friends out at Baker Farms to do some apple picking! YUM. Lisa and Riley Jo came to which is great - since Zoey and Riley are the best of friends. Here's some super cute pics of the little ladies at work! :) Kisha

Checkin out the local Produce :)


Zoey hangin out in the bounce house while we wait for all of our friends to come :)

We've got our baskets, we're ready to go!


First picking! This is hard work, getting those apples off the trees!

I did it! :)