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| Writing Santa a letter at Silver Dollar City |
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| Nerf gun and racecar |
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| Talon wouldn't tell me what he whispered-- he just said wait and see. He said he knew what he was getting for Christmas because he asked Santa. I explained that the surprise is part of the fun so Santa might bring something else. |
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| 4H sells pecans as a fundraiser. Oh, I'd love to have the whole shebang in the freezer. I'm dreaming of pralines and pecan pie for the holidays and brownies, chocolate chip cookies and quick breads the rest of the year. What are your pecan dreams? |
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| Can't believe how big Talon looks marching into the gym for the Christmas Program! Where does the time go? |
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| Kindergarten sang 'Ain't Gettin' Nuttin' for Christmas'-- They all held up bags of coal-- very cute! I torment Talon by saying he is only getting coal-- He gets so worked up and exclaims: It is only a song, Mom!! |
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| Story first... |
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| then presents from the teacher! |
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| Talon was thrilled with his gun with foam bullets-- he has been wanting one of those for awhile! Actually, I think the whole class has been putting bugs in Mrs. F's ear--- they all got what they wanted. |
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| Decorating cookies-- messy yummy fun! |
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| Shake Shake Shake--- Shake Shake Shake--- Shake your sprinkles! |
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| Talon's masterpiece! |
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| The cake that no one ate... |
Hay-ulp! Hay-ulp! Remember little ol' Penelope Pitstop? Rich vacuous southern belle always in peril. My East Texas Piney Woods roots qualify me as Southern but I'm way too rough around the edges for belle-dom. Vacuous? Hmm, better plead the fifth on that one. Rich? Definitely not. Peril? Not at the moment-- but I hope you can hay-ulp little ol' me with a shopping dilemma... |
| A German clay roaster! I've always wanted to try one of these. Wonder if I could make tandoori chicken in it? Do any of you have pro/con experience with clay cooking to sway me one way or the other? I mainly roast in the winter but not weekly so it would see infrequent use and take up precious storage space. But I've always wanted one and it would only cost about $10 with the gift certificate. |
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| Melmac mixing bowls! Just perfect for my yellow accented kitchen. I've been looking for a set of yellow lightweight mixing bowls for everyday use-- and believe me they would be used almost every day! The price doesn't quite use up the gift certificate so one of the following would round out the order... |
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| Rachel Ray's Bubble and Brown ramekins-- Love the shape! |
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| Baby Batter bowl-- Isn't it cute! |
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| Emile Henry mini pie dish-- Oh, this is even cuter! |
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| Microplane zester! This is the most amazing gadget ever! I have one already but it doesn't have a happy yellow handle. Silly, I know, but I do love happy yellow handles! And my old one can be passed on to a friend... |
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| My first two 2011 seed catalogs arrived last week! Yippee! Aren't they pretty! Nichol's Garden Nursery and Totally Tomatoes are two of my favorite companies. Check them out-- plotting and planning a garden is good for the soul and a terrific remedy for an early case of springfever! |
This is one of those things that makes the city girl in me sigh and laugh at the same time. Okie ingenuity at its finest!  |
| My guys stringing electric cords out to the wellhouse. Why, you ask? Why to power a lightbulb inside the wellhouse, of course! Why, you ask? Well, so the water will flow when the temps drop to the teens. The cord stretches across the field from December to March--- Looks goofy as heck and started a small grass fire once but it works. |
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| Took hubby a few years to figure this trick out! After the bulb kept the water flowing, my idea was to hire an electrician to hardwire a light fixture into the wellhouse. Nothing came of my idea yet. It has been years but I am biding my time. Just wait till the electrician comes out to wire hubby's mancavebarn... |
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| Yikes, looks like Talon is channeling Lizzie Borden! With some editing/effects, this photo would make a creepy cover for a horror novel!! What would be more eerie-- black and white, sepia, watercolor, a diffused background? Tell me what you think-- I will experiment and post your ideas! |
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| This 26 ft tall chocolate fountain at the Jean-Phillipe Patisserie in the Bellagio Casino is the largest in the world! Definitely a chocolate lover's dream! |
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| The top section is only visible from underneath. I read that the fountain circulates two tons of chocolate. Wow-- That is a lot of chocolate! Do you think it is the same old chocolate day after day or does it get replaced with fresh occasionally? |
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| My brother met us in Vegas for a couple of days. Talon was so excited-- he thinks his uncle is so cool. Well, who wouldn't with chauffeur service like that! My brother is thirteen years younger than me and I remember toting him around just like that-- How time flies! |
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| This one still makes me laugh!! |
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| Mmmm, M&M Store! |
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| Meeting Mr. Yellow M&M! |
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| Coca-Cola Store! Apparently there is a store for everything in Vegas! |
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| Aw, love this retro Ronnie Mac! |
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| Oh My! She was inside the Planet Hollywood Casino Mall looming over families lined up to see the Comedy Pet Theatre Show. Nobody paid it much mind except me, of course. I kept imagining it coming to life like in some old Sci-fi/horror film: Attack of the 50 ft Stripper!! |
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| One of the guys in Gregory Popovich's Comedy Pet Theatre Show. Isn't he handsome! The whole crew is Russian and one big talented family. See this show if you are ever in Vegas with your kids-- the juggling, acrobatics and clowning are amazing but you won't believe all the animals! Dogs, geese, rats, ferrets, parrots and cats-- yes, cats! Trained cats willingly participating in an act, who knew?! |
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| The Fun Dungeon Arcade is on the lowest level of the Excalibur Casino. Well, where else would it be? We finished off every day of gawking with an hour or two of game playing. My little boy was in hog heaven especially when he got to see the Spongebob 4D movie-- only eight minutes long but air blows, water sprays and the pickle smells! |
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| This photo was taken through the window of the top deck of a double decker bus. The day was cloudy but a bit of blue sky appeared just in time for this shot! |
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| Luxor Casino-- through a bus window! |
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| Pardon another window shot. This one is taken from our 24th floor hotel room-- Isn't it surreal? Wish you could have seen it in person-- the moon was huge! We arrived at night so only saw the bright lights of Vegas which makes for a spectacular view but when we woke up to this amazing sight-- Wow! Had no idea mountains were so close to Vegas-- and such alien looking mountains at that! |
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| swan dive right into this huge pile of stuffed animals! |
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| Where is the boy? |
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| There he is! Really that is just too much temptation for a child... Wonder how long it takes the manager to rethink this idea? |
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| This has got to be the most hilarious chicken fried steak sandwich ever! How is one expected to pick it up? Jim has a big mouth but even he was taken aback by this monstrosity! So how was it? Tasty but not spectacular-- this chicken fried steak sandwich is better. Doubt Jim will stray from Boomarang's tried and true burger basket again. |
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| My little Indian-- Cherokee to be exact! |
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| Mmm, pumpkin pie! |
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| Cheers! |
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| Too much boy for this slide, me thinks! |
