Sweet 16. Sweet.

I threw a surprise sweet 16 party for Rosie last Friday.

She had been asking me for a surprise party since she was about 10, and had really been ramping up those requests in the last year.

I kept telling her, "I can't throw you a surprise party if you ASK me to throw you a surprise party. It kind of defeats the purpose."

Regardless, on and on she kept going about wanting one.

Little did she know I had been planning one.

And let me just tell you, in this day and age, surprising a teenager is no easy feat. What with all the tweeting and skyping and texting they do, it's hard to keep anything under wraps.

But I managed to pull it off.

We held it at the fire hall, because it ended up being pretty cheap, and no WAY was I going to have dozens of teenagers at my house eating and drinking and dancing and what not.

So friends and family helped me with...


Setting up a gift table,




Putting together dozens of pretty little candy jars




setting up the room with blue, silver, black and white decorations
(there were lots of balloons in those colors floating on the ceiling after this picture was taken)




Creating a "candy bar"




And taking lots of fun pictures.





As for Rosie?  All she had to do was have lots of fun....
















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You Had Me At Russell Crowe.

I just got word of a movie coming out called Noah.

It's about, well, Noah.

And it's starring my man Russell Crowe!

So, yeah....

Anyway, here's the word.

And a trailer.

Enjoy!!!


NOAH
Synopsis: After visions of an apocalyptic deluge, Noah, the world’s only righteous man, is chosen to undertake a divine mission to build a massive ark to save his family and all of creation before the impending rains fall and the flood waters rise.

Cast: Russell Crowe, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Trailer:


Remember, you saw it here FIRST, ladies and gents.



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Perfect Fall Day

Bella helped me in the barn with feeding, sweeping, adding bedding, cutting mats, shooing hens out of places they're not supposed to be.

The kids all marched out into the field, buckets in hand, to gather twigs from a fallen tree to add to our kindling box.

I start a fire in the wood stove, and get that sense of accomplishment that comes with watching the paper catch the kindling and the kindling catch the logs.

James is at work at the grocery store.

Rosie is at a college fair in Philly with some of her bff's, all dreaming about life after high school.

I'm making beef stew. My Mom's recipe. The smell fills the kitchen.

I look out the window at the blustery fall day, orange leaves blowing against the grey sky. I see Julie working with her horse Genevieve and Daniel working with his pony Pippin.

I stir some more.

I chop.

I watch.

I smile....

Sunrise

Sunrise over a neighboring Amish farm....

Easy DIY Fall Decor (Great Kids Project!)

A terra cotta pot.

Some black paint or a Sharpie.

Fake flowers.

Done.

It's Not You, It's Me....

It's been a while since my last post.

For all the reasons I've been giving you for why my schedule has cut back, it's now grinding to a halt.

It's not that I don't enjoy blogging.
It's not that I don't have fun putting up pictures and writing about the goings-on of my fambly.
It's not that I don't enjoy hearing from you all, and interacting with you through comments and email.

It's not you, it's me.

Work.
6 kids.
Some fluid number that I keep losing track of number of animals.
RAD.
PTSD.
Teenagers.
Cooking.
Cleaning.
Broken appliances.
Broken gates.
Runaway ponies.
Vets.
Farriers.
Doctors.
Dentists.
Orthodontists.
Medicine.
After-school activities.
And more....
      and more......
          and more.......

Sigh.

Anyway, I can't keep up with it anymore. I admit it.

I've got to let the blogging thing go, as much as I hate to.

I won't give it up completely, but I will no longer keep any kind of regular schedule.

It won't be forever. I hope to get back to blogging regularly again someday.

But today is not that day.




Thanks for always being there for me, and for all the support you've always given me! I have the best readers.

You guys really do rock.

Love ya'!

Weight Loss Wednesday

The Weight Loss Wednesday that wasn't.

I didn't go to my meeting last night.

I didn't have it in me. I couldn't do one more trip out; I had met my quota.

Here's how my day went:

Get Bella on the bus.
Take Daniel to school.
Back home.
Take Julie to her day program an hour away.
Back home.
Out to pick up Daniel.
Back home.
Out to pick up Bella.
Back home.
Out to WalMart.
Back home.
Out to drop off Rosie and pick up Julie's friend.
Back home.
Out with Fred to an appointment.
Back home.

I was done. Just done.


You ever have one of those days?







Anyway, that's it for this week. For any of you also on the weight loss path, hope you're doing well. Let me know how things are going for you!

And for anyone just joining in, you can read what I've written on this subject previously right here:


Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10



Till next week, happy weight loss!!






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Thanks!