Buddy!!!

My life was forever changed when this sweet little boy was born. My "Buddy" has always had me wrapped around his finger.

There is definitely a different bond between a son and his mother. I can't explain it - I don't love my son anymore than my daughter - we just have a different bond.

He has the most caring and loving heart. Not a day goes by without him telling me - for no reason at all - "I love you mom". Those words can simultaneously bring a smile to my face and tears to my eyes.

We have such a tight and special relationship.

I'm so incredibly blessed to have him as my son.

He brings so much happiness and joy to all of our lives.

I love that boy!!! He is my little "Buddy"

She's Leaving on a Jet Plane...

It's Saturday morning and Daughter just left with the Ham's to Oahu, Hawaii. She'll be there a week. She and Hammertime have been best friends since they were in the 3rd grad and have remained best friends in high school. If she can't be with us there is no other family I'd rather her be with. They are like her second parents. I'm so happy she is able to go but I'll miss her so much!!!!

Dear Santa....

Hint, hint.....

All things that smell good. I love, love, love candles, perfume, lotions.

♥My absolute favorite candles at the moment are Capri Blue candles by Aspen Candle Company in Aloha Orchid or Volcano. Sold online and also available at Anthropologie. These are the best candles. Very fragrant and long lasting.

♥Bath and Body Works has a wonderful fragrance right now - Sandlewood Vanilla. A powdery soft and sensual fragrance that blends the warm, woody essence of sandalwood with creamy vanilla. It is not flowery or fruity - it's a great fragrance!


♥Colonial at Home Candles are great!!! I love the Cucumber Melon candle. My favorite from this line. A cool and refreshing summertime combination of crisp cucumber and sweet melon with subtle hints of Apple and Peach.


♥Taste of Home Entertaining - anything from this company. They have wonderful cookware, utensils, entertaining items, cook books, etc. I could spend hours looking through a catalog.


♥Recipes - I love all things having to do with recipes - cook books, magazine recipes, recipes on the Internet. I have collected many many recipes from friends, family, etc. I love trying new ones.

I've heard that The Barefoot Contessa cook books are great. Even though I'm not a huge fan of her show - I'd like to add one of her books to my collection.


♥♥I'd also love a couple extra hours added to each day. I would love to be able to fit going to a gym in my day somewhere but honestly have no clue how I could.

♥♥♥I'd really love to have weekly housecleaning service.... hmm perhaps that's how I can get ^

Taco Soup - One of my Favorites!

2 pounds lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans

1 (15 ounce) can black beans

1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 cup water
1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

DIRECTIONS
In a large Dutch oven, brown the beef and chopped onion over medium heat. Drain off any fat.
Add chilies, salt and pepper, beans, water, seasoning mixes, and stewed tomatoes to the beef and onion. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Top with shredded cheese, and serve with chips.

I Cried....

Today was a sad day if you are a Days of our Lives fan.

Days of our Lives has been part of my life since I was a little girl. I was brought up in a house where my mom watched "Day's" daily. I remember when I was 8 my mom excitedly said "Get dressed!!! We are going to a wedding!!!" I was completely shocked but excited too. Turned out to be the wedding of Doug and Julie - on Days of our Lives. What the heck mom?

What happened today? John Black died - aka the actor Donald Drake Hogestyn is leaving the show after many many years (since 1985).

During those years he had many "occupations"
Works for the ISA, Owns Basic Black, Owns half of Alamain Industries, Manages the Toscano Foundation, Titan Publishing Board Member, Bella Magazine Board Member, Horton Center Co-Chairperson, Salem University Board Member, Salem Police Department Investigator, Mercenary , Army Doctor , Art Smuggler and Priest (fake)

So it was a very sad day today as John Black died with his family surrounding him - his daughter Belle had me in tears - yes tears. Marlena the great love of his life was by his side as the heart monitor flat lined (original I know)


What is it about day time soaps that keeps us watching? The story lines are usually the same but with different actors, they are so predictable, they make us crazy! But I still watch daily.

So, today was a sad day in Salem. I cried as John took his last breath....

Working From Home

I'm very fortunate to work for a company that is flexible and works with my schedule. Buddy is off school for 2 weeks (year round) so I'm working from home this week. I get to do this a few weeks out of the year - thanks to my wonderful employer.

I'm very lucky to have a son that can keep himself occupied for hours so I can work. He rotates from Gamecube, Legos, Pokemon, and a little T.V.

Even though I do enjoy working from home for the short time I'm able to - at the end of the week I'm ready to go back into my little office.

Upsides to working from home:
Work in PJs (I can only do this for so long and then I get lazy)
No commute
No distractions from the office
You can throw a load of laundry in in between calls
Have lunch with Buddy

Downside:

Still thinking.....

Weekend in Review

You can definitely tell we are entering into Fall. There is a chill in the air - not much - but just enough to sense we are in October. I love the change, although it's not a huge change. October and March are my two favorite months.

Friday - we went to see the Disney movie "Game Plan" with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Surprisingly it was a really cute movie. The plot is basically an NFL quarterback living the bachelor lifestyle discovers that he has a 8-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. Dwayne Johnson is handsome as ever and the little girl that plays his daughter is adorable. She is very very cute in this movie. I truly enjoyed it. Family, The Rock, popcorn and M&Ms - can't get much better than that!

Saturday - Buddy's soccer game was not until 11:45 - a nice change from the 8:00 games. We were able to sleep in a bit (I'm not one that can sleep in so 8:00 is sleeping in for me). Was able to get a head start on my cleaning. Daughter and I walked Duncan to Simone's and enjoyed our little time together. I had my usual non-fat, sugar free Vanilla Latte and she just had a peppermint tea. Both were yummy!

I have been wanting to put up my Halloween decorations so J was a dear and rearranged the garage to get to the boxes. Note to self: Halloween comes before Christmas. Remember this next year when putting away the Christmas decorations....

Off to the game! Yay for Green Extreme! Another win and another goal for Buddy!!! The boys have worked so hard and are playing so well together. After the game we went to lunch at Mimi's cafe. Last time we went it was so good. This time it was meh - the food took a long to arrive and when it did the Blackened Chicken Caesar salad that was so good last time was awful. Too much dressing and as daughter described it - it tasted like pickle juice. As much as we love the zucchini bread and muffins - I think we will think twice about going there for a while.

Mimi's is right by the Pacific View mall so we headed over there a bit. Keeping with Sister's promise of $10 a goal Buddy quickly had a pocket that was burning with the cash! Nothing caught either of our eyes so we just headed home.

I have been craving a good Margarita for quite some time. So I finally busted out and made a couple.

Recipe - Beer Margarita

1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate
12 fluid ounces tequila
12 fluid ounces water
12 fluid ounces beer
ice
1 lime, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS
Pour limeade, tequila, water, and beer into a large pitcher. Stir until well-blended, and limeade has melted. Add plenty of ice, and garnish with lime wedges. Adjust with additional water, if needed.

I thought they were pretty good. My craving continued into Sunday - but this time I just made them with the Cuervo Margarita mix. I actually liked this one best. Not as sweet as the limeade mixture. But both were yummy!!!

It turned out to be a home improvement weekend.
A couple trips to Lowe's and we now have

New Kitchen Faucet (Saturday's project)

New Front Door (Sunday's project)

Sunday - Home improvement continued. And football was on all day. I don't know if it was the weather or what but I had zero energy and really just wanted to relax. But that is so not my nature that it's almost more non-relaxing to do nothing than to actually get up and do something. The grocery store had been on my list of things to do all weekend so I finally tackled it. I don't mind grocery shopping at all. I picked up some wonderful T-bone steaks for J to bbq. They were very good - I marinaded them in a mixture of soy sauce, teriyaki, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, garlic salt and a little olive oil. Yum!

I enjoyed my Cuervo mix small margarita, Extreme Makeover Home edition (this one was not as good as the others and I didn't even shed a tear which is rare for me) and by that time I could not keep my eyes open. So sad to miss Housewives but thank goodness for DVR!!!!
Thank was our weekend in a nutshell