Tulips are My Favorite Flowers...

......so imagine my delight when my husband surprised me with an early Valentine's Day present this week!

Menu Plan Monday 1/25/09

I decided to join the over 400 other bloggers in posting my Menu plan for the week. (we'll see how long this lasts!) Visit "I'm an Organizing Junkie" for more menu ideas!

Monday: Eat out!
Tuesday: Home Group, bring dessert, probably applesauce bars...double the recipe.
Wednesday: Leftovers and Church Group, second batch of applesauce bars.
Thursday: Chimichurri Cheesesteaks with leftover roast beef, carrot sticks and fruit
Friday: A's Enchilada's with homemade refried beans and homemade enchilada sauce and a green salad
Saturday: Breakfast: Hashbrowns, Dinner: Herbed Chicken Breasts with rice and fruit
Sunday: Super Bowl! Dinner: Burgers, oven fries and carrot sticks.

Addtl. We're bringing snacks for church on Sunday. I'm making One-a-Day banana bars, and brownies from a jar mix I received for Christmas and bringing veggies and chips/dip.

My Sweet Hubby

This is just a quick post, but I had to share. Today, I cleaned the bathroom, tub, sink, floor, etc. It is part of my responsibility, but when I shared it with Ben, he was so appreciative, he offered to bring home dinner. I said that wasn't necessary, but if he really wanted to, he could pick up a copy of The Negotiator.

The Negotiator stars Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey about a cop accused of murder, but claims he has been framed. It is rated R for violence, and maybe language, but it is filled with great acting, plus a pretty good story line. After I caught it on TV several times, it quickly became one of my favorite movies.

I had seen it on sale at a local video store near his work, but decided not to get it. I offered this suggestion early in the day, and I quickly forgot about it.

This afternoon, Ben surprised me by bringing it home! That was so sweet of him to take the time and get that for me! I cannot wait to watch it!

Our Christmas Tree

Our home is now without it's first Christmas tree. I carefully packed the ornaments away, wound the lights with the hope that I would not find them tangled next year, and Ben and I hauled the tree to the dumpster for pickup.

I posted a few pictures below to remember our Christmas tree of 2008. I hope you enjoy looking at some of my favorite ornaments too!

I decided to take advantage of the snow storm to capture some rare pictures of our Christmas tree against a white background.

Mom sent some ornaments from home. They made our tree look more like Christmas!

The snowman has my name on the back

My angel.

A handprint around age 3.

Two special ornaments that were gifts.

Our wedding ornament.

Sweet little drummer boy.

Mom asked me if I had a Christmas tree topper. I did not think I had, but then I remembered this beautiful angel a kind friend gave me. I usually hang it on the wall. This year, I strung a ribbon through a hole and placed it on the tree. It was perfect! I loved it!

We had leftover greenery when Ben had to trim the tree. I saved some to use for our table centerpiece.

Thank you for looking at my Christmas tree pictures. I hope you had a lovely Christmas! I'll be posting pictures of our winter storm soon!

Can You Relate?

My Christmas Garland

Reading Nester's blog inspired me to go out and make my own garland for Christmas this year! I wasn't as creative as some of the ladies, but I hit the after Thanksgiving sales at Michaels and picked up two strands of cheapo garland, and some swags with pine cones...all fake, so I can use it next year. I also picked up some berries, but I couldn't work them in. Thanks for looking at my handy work!


We don't have a mantel, or a fireplace. But, I thought my kitchen bar/counter worked quite well.


Ben helped me hang the garland. It tied ribbons throughout the garland to give it more color.


I love this Christmas stocking. I found it at a local bazaar (the same bazaar I purchased the cute stuffed pumpkin). I wanted to get two stockings, one for me and Ben, but I couldn't find two I liked, and this was the last one left. I decided it was large enough that we could share!


I set up my nativity scene on the counter. It was a gift from a dear church friend. I think she purchased it in Mexico. It fits perfectly with the decorations!

I ended up tying the berries with gold ribbon and placing them on the counter. I think it makes for a nice display.

Thanks for looking at my garland! To see more beautiful garlands, head over to Nesting Place and read "Your Garland is Showing!" Blessings to your Christmas season!

Our Thanksgiving 2008

As promised, here are some pictures from Thanksgiving!



I loved our Thanksgiving table setting! I had fun creating this quick and easy centerpiece for the main table. I moved our normal centerpiece for the smaller table.

Look at these cute cornucopias I made for party favors. I took sugar cones and filled them with candy corn, and fruit runts. I saw the idea on the family fun website. They were originally meant to be name cards, but I omitted that part.

I printed this Thanksgiving greeting off Country Home magazine's website.
It was perfect for our bookshelf!

Thank you for looking at my Thanksgiving decorations. I hope to have our Christmas decorations posted soon. I am still in process of decorating. We bought our tree last weekend. I enjoyed decorating it with Ben!