new shoes, new shoes

i celebrated a birthday just over a week ago. no milestone, just another year older. in-laws sent birthday cash. mom-in-law said to buy something with it i normally wouldn't buy for myself. i told her i planned to buy some dressy boots. something i could wear with skirts/dresses for work, church or play. she agreed that sounded like a good idea. 


took the girls to the mall with me today to help me shop. found the boots w/out much effort. good sale + coupon = more birthday cash left to spend.


next mission was a pair of brown shoes i could wear to work with my dress slacks. saw the shoe above in brown and had to try it on. no brown in my size so they suggested i try on the black pair and if i liked them they would be able to order them in. 


oh.my.word. put my foot in and it was as if i was walking on a pillow. decided i could easily use black rather than brown so i bought them with the idea that if they feel as good after a full day on my feet as they did when i tried them on, i will be back to order them in brown too. 


now all the birthday cash is gone but i've got new shoes, new shoes!

Madison celebrated her 14th birthday with her girlfriends on Friday night. She's always had a large circle of friends which has always made birthday parties challenging for me. A large group can get pricey if you don't watch it. This year we had the birthday girl + 12 others.

She wanted an evening of water fun in our back yard so that's exactly what we did.  A slip 'n slide was on the list of activities. The commercial ones that are wide enough for at least 2 people at a time start at $35. I didn't want to buy a water toy that probably wouldn't get a lot of use given the ages of our girls. So, we improvised and made our own.

A $20 tarp and our yard sprinklers worked like a charm. The tarp came with grommets so we used the stakes from our tent to hold it in place. And, the tarp will become part of our camping gear as our old tarp needed replaced. Other activities included water gun fights ($3.00 for 12), water baloon toss and fights ($2.75 for 250 baloons) and flash light tag by the light of the moon.  Dinner was a simple meal of hot dogs on the grill, chips and water melon with birthday cake for dessert (of course). 

The girls all said the highlight of the evening was flashlight tag. It was so much fun that my girls organized a neighborhood game on Saturday night and plans for a large co-ed game on July 3. I would have never guessed that something so simple (and old fashioned) would have been so popular with the teenagers!

Birthday | Add One More

A slice of pie, a single candle, a special plate and cause for celebration. Simple becomes the norm as one grows wiser. No hoopla required.

From Tween to Teen

It's happened. My baby has grown into a teenager.

It's official. That much anticipated birthday has arrived. She is no longer a little girl. No longer a tween. She's 13 today.

Gone are the days of letting me comb her hair. Needing me to tie her shoes.

We've moved on to bigger things. Like needing a ride or cash.

I've seen many changes in her. My favorite is that her relationships with those she shares a house with are changing. We're becoming friends. She invites us to do things with her because she wants to. Yes, all of us -- Mom, Dad and Sister.

Happy Birthday, my little M&M.

A Fiery Birthday Celebration

I shared here that Alison turned 16 last week. She wanted to celebrate with her friends but didn't have a definite idea for a plan. What do 16 year old girls want to do for a celebration? Well, if you don't have a limited budget, they do outrageous, extravagent parties. Since we're on a more modest budget, I suggested a Japanese Steakhouse thinking she and her girlfriends would find it entertaining to have their food prepared right in front of them. Not to mention the assortment of fire tricks they do.


She was willing to try that and called for reservations. 16 and took one of mom's suggestions seriously? Oh my. How long will this last?






It was a huge hit complete with fire, catching shrimp and a birthday peacock.

A last minute suggestion from the birthday girl was a bonfire. Um....not something one can throw together at the last minute when you live in the city, right? Well, fortunately for her she lives in a town surrounded by prairie and it's currently the season of an annual prairie tradition. Burning. Yes, burning of the prairie.

As a farm/ranch girl, I grew up participating in this each year and to this day it is still one of my all-time favorite activities. I love the smell, the sound of the fire crackling and more than anything, the look of the hills alive with fire. If you've never seen this in person, you can't fully understand what I'm talking about nor will you appreciate it. I will suggest that if you ever have an opportunity to observe this spring time ritual, jump at it. It's unbelievable.

As the birthday girl's luck would have it, her dad was helping friends burn pasture at the family farm. And, we had to drive right by it on our way home. So she called Lawman and said we were going to stop by.

We even managed to do a little muddin' on our way there. Trust me when I tell you that it wasn't planned. I, um, took the wrong dirt (more like mud) road and soon found myself stuck. Telling a car load of 16 year old girls that you're stuck??? Not a good idea. Panic ensued but I did save the day as I got us out. Thank the Lord for my 4-wheel drive vehicle! The sound of all the mud flying off my tires as I drove on down the road? Let's just say it was pretty loud and I was saying to myself, "Thank heavens I got us out of that one. I wouldn't have wanted to call Lawman!"

As soon as we arrived at the right place, Alison and one other girl popped out of the truck and parked themselves on the back-end of the mule Lawman was driving. Talk about a happy birthday girl.

You can't top a bonfire that consumes the entire hillside!

Sweet 16

Someone at our house celebrated a milestone birthday this weekend. Alison turned 16. I can't believe it's been that long since we brought her home from the hospital. Honestly, it seems like it was just a couple of years ago and then I look at her. She's a lovely young lady who can make me smile in the blink of an eye.

Photos (top to bottom): Alison, Alison & Madison, Alison sporting a sombrero, Alison & the boyfriend, Michael

I SPY ~ Homemade

My family will be gathering for our Christmas celebration on Saturday. Our family is quite large when we all get together so this year we have rented a community facility rather than gathering at someone's home.

I thought I'd try to come up with something that could keep the littlest ones busy for a while. Here's what I did with the help of my youngest.

We filled empty (and dry, that's important) water bottles with bird seed, about halfway. Then we added little treasures which could be searched for and added more bird seed so the bottle was about 3/4 full. We added a tag with this poem:

Some pirates got it all mixed up

And did things wrong way 'round.

They put the treasure in a bottle

And buried the map in the ground!

Their treasure was some silly stuff

Like needles, screws, and beads.

Then dear old Polly Parrot

Added all her extra seeds!

So find the items hidden here

No two are quite the same.

On the backside of the tag we listed the items to be found. Here's what we used:

• paper clip
• safety pin
• cup hook
• bird (miniature from Hobby Lobby)
• feather
• rubberband
• ribbon
• marble
• button
• shoe (miniature from Hobby Lobby)
• jingle bell
• gem
• rosette
• beads

For safety reasons, we hot-glued the lids on.

I think Madison and I had as much fun making these as the little ones will trying to spy all the treasures. These would make great party favors for a pirate themed birthday party.

Note: I don't know who to credit for the idea or the poem. I read this in an email several years ago and didn't think to write that information down.

A Girls Day Out

I share my birthday with The Country Doctor's Wife, a.k.a. Rechelle. It was just another day for me but Rechelle finally joined us this year in the "40 and up Club."

Rechelle had an olive lodged in her throat. I just gave her a good whack between the shoulder blades.

Rechelle and I are lucky to have friends like Kim and Jenny. They treated us to a girls day.

They took us to the town of McPherson where we did what girls do best.

Shop...talk...eat...shop...talk...you get the idea.

Our friend, Katie showed up too. Katie and her family moved to another town about 3 years ago so we don't get to see her nearly as often as we would like but McPherson was an easy place for her to meet us. What a special treat!


We made our way up and down the street to check out the local shops.

We stopped at The Cake Lady. Check out http://www.oldmuffinfactory.com/. Wonderful, locally made baking mixes.

Blood sugar levels started hitting rock bottom so we knew it was time to find some lunch. There was a local cafe that served Mediterranean fare. Talk about a good sandwich -- the Greco -- turkey, hummus, sun dried tomatoes, cucumbers and spinach or field greens. Mmm.


We sat down for lunch about 1:00. Shortly after, the lunch line crew joined us in this back room with their sandwiches. They were all young, twenty-somethings (if that) and I'm sure we sounded like a bunch of old hens to them. They may have referred to us as the gossipy future blue-hairs. I hope we didn't sound as bad to them as I think we did.

We took in a few more stops and then decided we better have an afternoon drink. Chai tea for me please.

This little coffee shop was a great place to sit and talk awhile. Our topics of discussion covered the gammet. Not sure they were all appropriate. The lady sitting behind our group heard every word we said. I'm sure of it because when someone mentioned they were going to go find the restroom, she immediately turned around and offered directions. I bet she wanted to weigh in on our conversation at some point during the afternoon.

Must be time to head home. Rechelle overloaded on the caffine. Can't you tell that it's killing her to stay on that couch. Jenny on the other hand looks quite comfy. Just close your eyes, dear.

It was a good day. Any day is a good day when you get to spend it with friends. Thanks girls!

What You Should Have Seen Yesterday

Yesterday I mentioned that the camera and the memory card had disappeared. Well, they've been found. I do thank you for using your imaginations though as you read this post. Let's see how close you were, shall we?


So, here is what you should have seen yesterday.


The girl's bling...






...that goes with the new wheels...





...and my birthday pie.

And just for kicks, here's my birthday pie recipe. Does it not look scrumptious? I swear it's about the easiest pie you can ever make. Trust me.

Coconut Macaroon Pie

• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. margarine, softened
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1 c. milk
• 1 1/2 c. coconut, divided

Beat all ingredients but 1/2 c. coconut (keep aside for the topping). Pour into unbaked pie shell and top with remaining 1/2 c. coconut. Bake slowly at 325 for about 1 hour or until set and lightly toasted on top. Note: The pie crust will be very full. I place a cookie sheet in my oven as it is preheating. Once the oven is ready, I place the pie crust on the cookie sheet, pull out the oven rack and pour the filling into the pie crust. Carefully put the oven rack back in place and bake. I always have a little spill but let the cookie sheet soak and clean up is easy.

Bling and Wheels, Exercising My Right and a Birthday

I've got lots to share today. Can you tell by the title? Nothing that's related but newsworthy. Guess the newsworthy part depends on who you are; not everyone would think so.

B3 got some bling this weekend. (This is her new keychain -- it's her initial with lots of crystals/rhinestones. My intention was to show you a photo of it but someone has borrowed my camera's memory card and now they can't find the camera. Use your imagination.)

Wheels too. (Again, this was to be a picture of her car. Not a new one but used. Again, imagination required.)

Yep. The girl has transportation.

It was a complete surprise to her. Her dad told her he was "going down the road" with one of his buddies and when he returned, he was driving her vehicle. Oh the smile on that girl's face. Lasted for days. I would imagine her cheeks are quite sore because of it.

She drove herself to school today. Lawman gave her instructions to "park in the boonies." I also recall a couple of last minute instructions this morning from him. Something to the effect of, "Today's a big day. Don't screw it up."

She's driving on a restricted license which means she is legal to drive herself to/from work and to/from school. No more. That's the law in our State and our house. I would imagine the girl will abide by the rules considering that Lawman wears a uniform, packs heat and has sirens on his office, um, I mean patrol car. Not to mention the fact that every other patrol car in the area knows who Lawman's daughter is. Word of wrong doing travels fast in our neck of the woods.

Now, on to the 2nd item of today's title....Exercising my right. My right to vote and yes I did. This morning before work. I decided that if I was going to have to wait in line it would probably be shorter this morning than it would be at 5:30 this evening. I did have to wait. It took about 35 minutes to get to the voting booth. I would have never thought that possible in my little town. I'm not going to discuss my choices but I will say that regardless of who is our next President, history is in the making today and I was part of it.

Another thing that surprised me about our election was that the world is watching. Yes, the world. We had an exchange student from Germany living with us 2 years ago. Yesterday I received an email from her father which mentioned how they are "anxious to see the results of our election because it will effect them too." Guess I haven't thought outside the box. I've been watching our political and economic situation unfold from the American point of view. Makes me wonder if I shouldn't be paying more attention to the politics and economy of the world.

And last but not least, the birthday. It's mine. Today. And I get to share it with politicians. How lovely. It's not a big milestone, just another notch in the belt so to speak.

I was laying in bed this morning after my alarm went off, trying to force myself to get up. I heard a noise in the kitchen. It wasn't the cat because I could see him laying on the floor next to the bed. I asked Lawman if he heard it. Yes he did but he didn't move. I got out of bed to go see what it was and he said, "You better just get in the shower." What? There's an unusual noise in the house at 5:50 a.m. and you want me to get in the shower? Turns out that the noise was B2 making breakfast for me in the kitchen. She served me in bed. How sweet is that? Especially considering that she was up about 40 minutes earlier than usual. Bless her heart. B3 wanted nothing to do with it. B2 tried to wake her up and the noise errupting from the bedroom sounded like a cat fight!

Tonight I'll be having my birthday dessert. Coconut Macaroon Pie. My mother made it for me every year rather than a cake. Well, most years and if I did have a cake it was German Chocolate. I have a thing for coconut apparently. I'm gonna go get a slice right now.

A Birthday Shout-Out

It's my brother's birthday today. Rick, here's a birthday shout-out for you...HAPPY 57th BIRTHDAY! Love you. Hey, did you notice I got the age right?!

Queen for a Day

This lady got the royal treatment on Sunday.

She's my mom and she celebrated a birthday. Her 80th! That's a milestone.

She got to play the part of Queen for the day. We had a party for her. She will tell you that she doesn't like all the fuss but I do believe she enjoyed herself that day.

She had the majority of her family with her -- husband, kids, grandchildren and greats. She was also lucky enough to have her sister and two of her brothers there to celebrate with her. We had four generations representated that day, aged 6 mos. to 81 years.

B3's Birthday Cake

We're having a party at our house Friday night. A birthday party to celebrate Blonde 3's 12th birthday.

She found this cake

in this book

and thought she should have one for her party.

I can bake a mean cake but I am in no way a cake decorator. I told B3 that I thought we'd be better off making cupcakes. She didn't agree.

So, being the good mother that I am, I agreed to attempt this. What was I thinking? I think the answer is that I wasn't thinking.

I know, I know. It doesn't look at all like the picture. More like something from a Star Wars movie. Or a melting igloo. No matter. We'll be eating it with ice cream and I know it tastes good because I sneaked a little bite. And the best part is that we made a memory -- I guarantee you B3 will never forget this, nor will she let me.

Beginning a New Decade

Lawman's celebrating a milestone birthday today.....he's turning 40. Finally, he's in the same decade as me. And to use Lawman's words, "40 is the new 20." Guess that means he doesn't feel a day over 20. Happy Birthday Lawman!

My M&M is 12 today.

My M&M. She's 12 years old today.

This picture was taken when she was 6. It's one of my absolute favorites. I love the toothless grin and the fact that it is obvious from this picture that she's a very happy girl.

Happy Birthday!

*Her initials are MMB, hence the M&M.

A Blast from the Past

Here it is folks. Straight from the 1986 archive file.

What was I thinking? Oh, the horror of the 80's fashion world.

Don't you just love that enormous metalic hair bow? It's bigger than my head!

And the frosty eye-shadow? Pleeease.

You can't see my feet, but I was sporting low, black, lace-up boots with scrunched socks.

So, I'm sure you're wondering how such a rare find has managed to appear. I know I am because I was sure I had buried all evidence of the 80's.

Well, my mother has decided it's time to divide all of her photos among us kids.

My lovely sister-in-law was the lucky recipient of this treasure (her daughter is the gal on the left in the grey sweatshirt). She, being the lovely sis-in-law, that she is thought she should share this treasure. You see, the little gal in the red dress celebrated her 22nd birthday yesterday.

Hey sis....please bury this treasure and don't make a map!

(Darn blogger....it's fouling up my line spacing)

Birthday Party Update and A Family Favorite

Aren't you lucky today? You get two posts for the price of one! Oh Lordy. It's going to be a good day.

First, here's an update on Blonde 2's party. F.U.N. That's it in a nutshell. 4 girls came over for dinner at 6:00 - - tacos, chips and dip. By 6:50 they were in swimsuits and ready to hit the pool. Off to the city (ok, that's an exaggeration but we had to go to the town next to ours to find an indoor pool in early April). Of course they had to pose for pictures in their bikinis. And, how cute they looked. When you're 15, thin and adorable, bikinis are the suit of choice.

At 9:00 they loaded up and we headed home for brownies and ice cream (B2's dessert of choice - - she is her mother's daughter), opening gifts and then a Guitar Hero showdown. Oh what fun they had and at 11:00, even the birthday girl said she was tired. So we all drifted off to the land of sweet dreams.

Today we'll be shopping. B2 got some birthday money and it's burning a hole in her pocket. Can you imagine?

Now, here's todays freebie....

I want to share with you a family favorite. Homemade pizza. It's taken me years to find our favorite pizza crust. I'm not a pan or deep dish pizza crust lover. Too much bread. (But I love bread. Why is it that I want a minimal portion of it with pizza?) I prefer a thin and crispy crust. That's because I like a crunch factor! Ask my family. They think it's nuts.

Anyway, I can't even begin to tell you how many different recipes I have tried for homemade crust. Nor can I tell you how many were good, bad or ugly. What I can tell you is what we have come to know as our f.a.v.o.r.i.t.e. And had it been something that I had tried earlier, I could have saved myself a lot of work. It's readily available on the grocery store shelf and has been for years. Years I tell ya.

That's right folks. A 33 cent box of Jiffy Pizza Crust mix! Can you believe it? All you add is water. How much simpler can it get?

Can you say yum-o? Mmmm. Good.

A Double-y Good Day

You see these two pretty gals? They happen to be two of my favorite people - - my niece, Marcy on the left and my lovely daughter, Blonde 2, on the right. They are two peas in a pod. They share a birthday; same day but 17 years apart. Tomorrow, April 4, they get to add another year to their age.

I was ten when Marcy was born. Her daddy is the youngest of my brothers. In the 70's they wouldn't allow 10 year olds to see babies in the hospital. Plus Marcy arrived about 6 weeks earlier than scheduled so she spent some extra time in the hospital. I remember asking my mother what the baby looked like though when she came home from visiting at the hospital. I remember it just like it was yesterday, "She's little and pink. Just like a rose bud."

Marcy and I have been fortunate to share not only an aunt/niece relationship but also a very close friendship. Unfortunately we don't get to spend as much time together as we'd like to but thank heavens for email! Marcy, I love you and I hope you have a fabulous day!

Blonde 2's arrival changed my life. She made me a mother. She had a lot of strawberry blond hair and it was very curly when wet. I've always called her My Sunshine because her smile was like a ray of sunshine, even in the dead of night. I remember those middle of the night feedings. She would cry to tell me she was hungry or needed a diaper change but as soon as she'd see me or hear my voice, she'd smile and that made it all worth it. I didn't mind being up with her. Somehow knowing that that little tiny girl needed me made losing sleep seem like a small price to pay for that together time. Even now, during the turmoil of the teenage years, she's still My Sunshine. And, I still will do what it takes to get that together time. I love you B2 and my hope for you is that you will always feel loved and happy.

Another Happy Birthday

My great-nephew Brendan is celebrating his 4th birthday today. Here he is with his Great Grandpa at our family Christmas in December. It also happens that his Great Grandpa (my dad) was celebrating his 81st birthday the day this photo was taken. I think the fact that there's 78 years between these guys is pretty cool. Isn't it just precious?

Happy Birthday Little Man! Hope your day is a happy one.

It's a Happy Birthday Shout Out

There's a birthday today. It's Jenny's. Happy Birthday, girlfriend!

Here she is with her hubby, Bart. Now doesn't she just look like a fun girl? Well, she is! She's one of my favorite people.

Jenny and I met when their middle son and our youngest daughter were in pre-school together. Our friendship really started by chance. Lawman and I were out for dinner one evening celebrating an anniversary. By chance, Bart & Jenny came into the same restaurant that evening and were seated at the table next to us. At the end of our meal I started a conversation with them and before you know it we were all gathered around our table having a drink and watching the basketball game on the tv. That was the beginning of our friendship nearly 7 years ago. And what a great friendship it is.

So let's all give a Happy Birthday shout out to her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNY!