can you....?

Just wondering...
can you

• tap your head with your left hand and make a circular motion on your stomach with your right hand at the same time
• say flip spud 7 times in a row really fast
• sneeze with your eyes open
• lick your elbow
• raise one eyebrow

Now to score yourself
1/5= F (where I scored- I can rub my stomach and pat my head)
2/5=D
3/5=C
4/5=B
5/5=Impossible.......supposedly if you sneeze with your eyes open they will pop right out of your head............hum......next time I have to sneeze I am going to try to hold my eyes open- If the next time you see me I am missing both my eyes you know what happened :) :)

Happy Saturday to you!!

 



the movie title.....'woodstove and the geese'

Aaaaahhhhh Fall, I love you.........your very presence brings out the cozy in most of us (except my Matt....he swears that 'he's freezing'....to which I always reply the same....'your not freezing-your fine!')
pumpkins
corn stalks
digging out the jeans from the top of the closet and praying they will still fit
socks and slippers
falling leaves
the smell of rain

Matt has been getting our woodstove ready for the winter- our house is outfitted with a brass door Avalon that has a very loud fan on it...last winter we used it as the primary source of heat and will do the same this winter- The fan will start making a rattle sound (usually it saves this special feature for the hours between midnight and five a.m.) that requires a moderate tap to the plating on the front of the stove (which is housing the fan).....
I was new to this wood stove country life last winter and found myself getting an average of 5 hours of sleep most nights- this was putting nasty black circles and a funky sag to the bottom of my eyes....Had the lack of sleep not been affecting my make up routine (Bobbi Brown concealer having to be applied both morning and afternoon and still not covering all the dark) I probably would not have taken it so seriously....I started paying attention each time I would wake up.....

A flock of Honker Geese (thank you Heather W. for informing me they are geese and not ducks- I have not forgotten) land on the lake each fall and stay until late spring- They honk all night....
Our bedroom sits on the second story of the house and has a panoramic view of floor to ceiling windows looking out over the lake (the lake sits 20 steps from our house)- The lake is 70 acres and the honkers decided on just below our bedroom window as their place of noisy chatter all night long...

You already know about the woodstove fan that missed the memo of quiet hours being 10 p.m. until 7:00 a.m.

Between the woodstove and the geese- doesn't that kind of sound like a movie title
NOW PLAYING.....WOODSTOVE AND THE GEESE
It even rhymes with Beauty and the Beast......hee hee hee heeeeeeeeeeeee!!

re-focusing after taking the movie title rabbit trail
Between the woodstove and the geese it was apparent that something needed to be done-
Our room (thanks to Target) was adorned in curtains which helped with the noise- we keep all the windows shut and run a fan every night so the honking can only be heard faintly...the type of faintly that you can tune out..
Going back to Matt getting the woodstove ready for winter-
A new fan is a couple hundred dollars....
I don't see it in the pile of 'stuff' that he has sitting by the stove
there is stuff like fire bricks and converters
but no fan

DARN!

Maybe that will be on the 'fix it' list for the winter of 2015

Newly added to my make up bag is under eye whitener- It's supposed to whiten even the darkest circles :)

Ellie is napping on the couch as I am typing this blog post.....she is so cute!

the birth announcement behind the note...

I am in the process of cleaning out an area that we use for a desk and came across a binder that we stored important adoption papers in while we were going through our Ellie's adoption process (2011).  The binder is a standard 3 inch white with clear face cover.  As the binder came out of the cubby it was being stored in, something on the clear face cover caught my eye....
It was a busy time at the hospital after Ellie was born- Lots of paper work to fill out...lots of all the things that go on in the behind the scenes at an adoption.....not much time to process all that is going on- The Lord had surrounded Heather, Ellie, Matt, and I with so many amazing nurses and doctors during the time we were in the Hospital...so many professionals that believe in the miracle of adoption...
I remember a precious nurse leaving a note for us (K. you are such a blessing that God used in a mighty way and is continuing to use mightily).....I also remember glancing at it and being thankful for her willingness to reach out....The clear faced binder went everywhere with us during our adoption process so it was instinctive that this note be placed in it- It was something that we wanted to save and show Ellie when she is old enough.
As the binder came out of the cubby and the hand written note caught my eye this afternoon, I could not help but take it out and read......Just behind the note was the birth announcement that the hospital gave us.....

Ellie Marie was born to our birth mother Heather Marie Hill...
Ellie's last name stayed 'Hill' until her adoption was finalized on December 28, 2011
A new birth certificate was issued with our families last name
Although a new last name was issued it did not change Ellie's God given biological heritage- The Lord choose for Elle's to be born by Heather.....The Lord also choose Matt and I to raise her- Two families forever bonded by a 5 pound 3 ounce baby girl born June 18, 2011.
We love you Heather!

Adoption is such a blessing

We have stayed in contact :)

Ellie's first foot prints were just under 3 inches long....SO SMALL!!

pinterest cupcake idea

cleaning ponder time and a 90th birthday family pic

When the flu visits ones home you find yourself thinking about how best to sanitize.....
Thinking of sanitizing then leads to thoughts of cleaning......
When you have been home for 2 days straight it gives you lots of 'cleaning ponder' time....
'should I wipe every door knob, light switch, toilet bowl with bleach? 'should I spray Clorox into the air randomly throughout the day just in case it's airborne.....'

If your looking for a boost in your cleaning self esteem than stay tuned my friend-

Following the 'what should I clean and how should I sanitize my house' thoughts was when the dirty grungy truth struck me (I was sitting in the tub at the time)...

I have not cleaned the bathtub in our bedroom (the one I was sitting in) since last Thanksgiving (which was not even me cleaning but a housecleaner)......Our bathtub/Shower combo is comprised of 3inch x3inch brown and orange tile that has brown grout and is 6ft long, 4 foot wide, and 3.5 feet deep- It is really a small swimming pool with 2 shower heads on each end and it's own hot water heater.  Being a visual person this bathtub/shower/small swimming pool is unrewarding to clean (I figured this out within a month of living here) because the brown and orange tile hide all the grunge so no one would know if it were clean or not.......10 months of everyday baths for this gal...Think of it as an immune builder as one is sitting in a bed of germs and Dove soap wash off....at least that's what I tell myself :)

I wonder if I should shut down my computer....go grab a chisel and some comet cleanser and get to work....

Nah...Maybe Thanksgiving of 15' I will rethink cleaning the bathtub

:) :) :)

a fun pic from my Nana's 90th Birthday party this past Thursday night (9/11)....a party that will go down as 'unforgettable' in the record books (will blog more about that later)
please excuse my family members that did not make a 'crazy' face....(except my dad, he is exempt because he is holding baby Jett and Becca is exempt because she is a classy lady from the South and they just don't do that sort of stuff......my cousin Luke, bro in law Gage, and Uncle Reid have no excuse....I know they got a crazy face in there somewhere!!)
I went with the flamingo leg/showing off the dentures look and my sis in law Erika who is just beside me had smelled my B.O. just before the pic was snapped.....hee hee hee hee

collectively loosing marbles and national days

I'm sitting on one couch in our living room and Ry is laying on the other- He with the stomach flu and I as the giver.....at least I hope I am the giver because if this is a different strain than what I had last Sunday and Monday and what Matt had on Thursday than Matt and I may collectively loose our marbles....
Can you imagine getting the stomach flu two times in a week.....
That's worse than driving the 4-wheeler by your car and hearing a scraping sound and realizing that somebody had laid a shovel on the back of the 4-wheeler horizontal.....I think a good wax and buffing will help hide the bright white streak running down the side of my car....
or worse than realizing that your daughter is holding up the back of your dress for everyone in the sanctuary at church to see....
or worse than....just kidding, I think you've got the point....smile :)

I've got to go refill a cup with 7-UP and then offer up mommy support to my sick boy- Just wanted to pop on over to my blog and say 'hey'- hope you all are having a fantastic Saturday!

P.S. A BIG HAPPY 35th  BIRTHDAY TO MY BROTHER CHRIS!!

In honor of 'National show all of your enamel' day



I totally made that up but I wonder if there is such a day :)

girl talk...make up and such

How's about a little girl talk....make up and such :)
I walked into Macy's a few months back to get the perfume I've worn for years (Coco Chanel Mademoiselle)....around here, Ulta and Macy's are the two choices to buy it from and I was closer to Macy's that day- I came in through a side door, which required a walking by the Mac counter- As I was walking by, I remembered a tutorial my faceobook friend Kayla had done about different Mac lip liners and thought I would stop and browse (I had meant to do this after her tutorial during the winter and somehow it kept making it's way farther down my to-do list until finally making it's way off...I had every intention to make my way to the Mac counter the day after her you tube tutorial posting)...
I walked away with Mac's Mahogany Liner....love!!
After buying the lip liner it dawned on me that I was just about out of blush- Mary Kay's Dessert Bloom had been discontinued (boo!!) so it was time to find a new favorite.....I checked out Clinique, Estee Lauder, and Lancôme and could not find the right color- by this time, I had circled enough of the make up section that I had brought myself to the perfume counter- As the most adorable sales lady was ringing up Coco I mentioned my quandary about finding the right color of blush....
She asked if I had ever heard of Louis Vuitton....
I was sold on whatever she was going to mention next cause this mama drools over his purses, luggage, anything and everything Louis Vuitton....
He has a make up line that is affordable- Benefit.....Benefit has the blush color 'Dallas' that has made our local Macy's biggest seller list-
I now have it in my make up bag and really like it- It's no Dessert Bloom BUT it's near close.
The same most adorable sales lady who had sold me the perfume and now the blush looked at my eye brows and said 'have I got the stuff for you!!'
We weaved around Louis Vuitton's Benefit makeup and came to the Chanel Counter- this time it was not the perfume but the make up- I sat down in the swivel bar stool and she used a #30 brow liner on my lop sided brows....
Chanel knows their perfume AND how to make an outstanding brow liner....worth every penny (can't remember how much it was)
It was a good day at Macy's.....a good day indeed!

A few other make up favorites as of late and a re cap on the recommendations above:

• Mac's Mahogany Lip Liner....it gives you color but is not over powering- it is also long lasting
• Benefit's Dallas Blush....neutral color that does not stand off your skin but blends nicely
• Chanel's #30 Brow Liner....Yes Please!!
• Bobbi Brown's Shimmer Brick Compact....My friend Michelle was wearing it just before summer started and she looked angelic....it really does make you have a glorious glow- I ordered it after seeing it on her and have really enjoyed it- It will be a staple in this chic's make up bag
• Mary Kay's 'Steely' eyeliner....it gives a nice color without standing off your lid too much
• Bobbi Brown's under eye concealer.....love love love love- it's creamy and covers without caking
• Urban Decay's eye shadow 'Snake Bite'....a deep brown that can give depth to any eye color (I have my friend Deb to thank for this little number)

I have also been using straight coconut oil as a moisturizer at night on my face and putting a honey mask on several times per week (straight honey- letting it sit for 20 or so minutes)....Would recommend both.

Hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday!
Steph




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