PROJECTS IN THE RAIN

Yesterday was a great day! My sister, Maureen, and my great niece, Trinity who is 7, came over and made me some cupcakes for my birthday.

While they were doing that I thought I would try to finish a project or two. So I gathered up a few things I wanted to paint white and headed outside. I took an old picture frame I got at a thrift store, the cute little cherub statute I won from Debra's Cottage and the cute cupcake holder I won on eBay. I went outside, put the plastic cover over the table and started to spray away.

Just as I finished up the with the frame and cherub statute I heard a loud crack sound! Oh no, the thunder was there. I knew it was just a matter of time before the storm I heard about was overhead. So I grabbed my things and ran inside with them still wet. I only got one coat on the cupcake holder and didn't get to finish it.

One of my gifts from my sister was a big bag of shells. So I thought I would put a candle in the cherub and put a few shells around it. I think it came out pretty cute. I am going to leave it this way for awhile at least.

You can see it in the photo along with the frame. Also in the photo is a small dish/bowl I found at the thrift store. I don't know what it was really used for. Maybe soap??? I thought a few more shells would be nice in there too.

My sister also bought me the box in the photo. I love the colors. It will go perfectly in my new redecorated bedroom.

Since I didn't get the cupcake holder done I didn't put the cupcakes in there. I'll show that to you when the rain goes away and I can finish it.

Don't forget that tomorrow I will draw the name for the winner of my 50th birthday give away. So, if you have not yet signed up, scroll down and leave a post before it's to late.

I won't be drawing the winner for the Cottage Give Away until May 31st so you still have a little time to sign up for that one as well.

Hugs,
Joanne

IT'S OFFICIAL! I'M 50!

Today is my birthday and I hit the big 5 0! Yes that is right, I'm 1/2 of a century old. I'm on the down side of that big hill of life.

I can finally sign up for AARP now. Yippee!

Well I sure have seen a lot of history in my life time. Here are a few things that I can remember that have come about since I was born.

A man walked on the moon. My mom made me watch this even though I couldn't care less at the time. She said some day I would be happy I did. I guess she is right.

TV got remote controls. The first one we got only had a few buttons. Nothing like the ones we have today. You could turn the TV on or off and the channel could be turned, one station at a time and only in one direction. But, that was OK. There were only a few channels. No cable back then. Oh, and if you turned the TV off with the remote only and not on the TV itself, it would turn back on if a plane flew over. Strange.

Microwaves were not around until I was already living on my own. Everything had to be cooked the good old fashioned way. Slowly. If you wanted to thaw something you took it out of the freezer and a few hours later you could have it thawed. If you needed it thawed quicker you put the frozen item in the sink with water in it. Still took forever though.

ATMs weren't around either. You could only go to the bank when it was opened. You wrote checks a lot more. When the first ATM cards came out people were scared to make a deposit through the machine. They worried that their money would get lost or stolen.

The world seemed smaller. You never heard of places like IRAQ, IRAN or anywhere in the middle east much. Russia was a big country that we feared. They were the bad guys. Had spies and wanted to take over us. We even had "duck and cover" drills at school. I wondered just how much safety was really under those little desks. If a bomb was dropped would that desk really help to save us from getting hurt???

Planes were much smaller and didn't go as fast as the ones we have now. So travel out of the country was not as popular as it is today. Most families would drive if they went on vacation.

There were no DVRs, DVDs or CDs. In fact cassette tapes were not even around in the first part of my life. When 8 track tapes came out they were WONDERFUL! I never could understand why the track would change right in the middle of a song though. Oh and no one listened to FM radio. Even car radios only had AM.

Home computers weren't even thought about when I was little. Once they did come out most people never dreamed they would ever buy one. They couldn't even think of a reason of why someone would need or even want one.

No one worried about eating healthy. Everything was fried in grease that you saved from cooking bacon for breakfast. Gravy was a normal part of dinner. Everyone ate meals sitting down at the table as a family. We didn't have fast food drive through places.

We were able to pray in school, say the Plead of Allegiance to the flag and even end it with "One Nation Under GOD". Teachers were respected and we had to listen to what they said. You wouldn't dream of talking back to your teacher.

People were proud to be Americans. You never heard anyone put the President down or burn the flag.

Mother's were always home when kids got home from school. They went to PTA meetings and knew your teacher.

Dogs were "just pets". They ate table scraps, lived outside for the most part, never went to the vets for check ups or teeth cleaning. There were no stores that sold doggy clothes or fancy collars. If you gave your dog a bath it was outside with the hose and there was never any special conditioner to use to make them softer.

Yes, times have change. Most things seem better now. But, not everything. It's called progress. Growing up.

I can't wait to see what the next 1/2 of my life brings.

Have a great day everyone!

Hugs to you,

Joanne

MY 50th BIRTHDAY GIVE AWAY

Well on May 22nd I will be turning the big 50 and thought it would be fun if I was the one who gave the presents. So I thought a birthday give away would be just the thing to do.

Since my birthday is in May and my birth stone is Emerald I picked the color green.
First there is a darling vintage green depression glass cake plate. The pattern in Sunflower.
Then I'm adding four cute white vintage linen napkins trimmed in lace.
There is also a green handle vintage egg better. Remember them? Also a cookie cutter with a green handle. It's in the shape of a flower.

There is even a green glass vintage hat pin. This photo doesn't show it off very well.
Then you will get four cute vintage dessert plates with darling Green roses on them and trimmed in gold. Just in case you wanted to invite some friends over for tea and cake I'm also giving some sweet blank cards that can be turned into invitations.
This is a close up of the plates.

Now here are the rules. Rather then just sign up I figured I could use a few good laughs. So leave me a post with a joke. No matter how silly, dumb or corny it is. They you will be entered.

I will draw a name this Sat so hurry. Also, let your friends know about this give away and if they tell me you sent them then you get another entry.

Oh and don't forget the other give away I have going too. Scroll down to enter if you have not already done so.

Good luck everyone.

Hugs to you all,

Joanne

SORRY

I spent the day with my brother and didn't have time to get my birthday give away together. I promise to do it when I get home tomorrow.

Joanne

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?

Well I do! I noticed that all around our house we have clocks to let us know.

There is a pretty clock on the side table. Just in case anyone wanted to know what time it was.

A clock in the other bedroom with an alarm to wake me up.

A clock in the dinning room so you know when it's time to eat.

An Elvis clock that swings his legs in the office lets me know how long I've been on the computer.

A cute little Brighton clock on the dresser lets you know how much time you have to get dressed.

The little heart clock in the bathroom will show you how long it takes to put on your makeup.

The clock on the fireplace mantel will be sure to let you know when it's time for your favorite TV show.

The other bathroom has a sweet little clock too.

Then of course if I'm outside I need to know what time it is also.

I never noticed how many clocks I have everywhere in my home. There are clocks on the phone that shows when someone called. Clocks on the DVD player and DVR that can be set to record a show. A clock on the oven and microwave that allows you to time how long to cook something. A clock on the computer that hides from me unless I click on it. Even a clock in the garage shows what time I get home.


I think I counted 16 clocks in our home. That's a lot seeing as how we just have a small three bedroom 1400 sq. foot home. Do we really need to know what time it is that often?


How many clocks do you have?


Well, it looks like the clocks are telling me I'm done with my blog post today so I will say good bye until tomorrow. But, be sure to set your clock to come back then.


My birthday is on the 22nd of this month and I thought I would be the one to give the present to you! I'll be having a birthday give away in addition to the give away I'm already having. I'll let you know what the give away is tomorrow. See you then!


Hugs to you all,
Joanne

I WON! I WON!

I got a call from Debra's Cottage saying my name was pulled out from the raffle drawing they had over Mother's Day weekend and I was a winner!

I ran right down to see what I won and it was this darling little cherub statute.

I'm going to give it a coat of white spray paint and then I'm not sure what I will use it for. To hold a candle? A small bird feeder? To hold some shells or vintage buttons? Should I glue a pretty china plate on it and use it as a serving dish?

I have no idea. Do you? I would love to hear everyone's clever ideas.

Then I got this darling cupcake holder in the mail today. I won it off of eBay! I love it. But again, I think a nice spray paint of white would make it look even a bit better. How about you? Do you think I should leave dark or paint it white?

This can also be used to hold candles. I could see small clear glass votive holders in each space and all the candles lit up.

The fun thing is there are other tops that go with this. There is a pumpkin and a birthday present. So depending on the occasion you can use whatever top is best.

It can also be turned into a one, two or three tier holder.

I have lots of different cupcake holders but this by far is the best one I have.

Now I need to make some cupcakes.

Hugs to everyone,
Joanne

EVERYONE LOVES A PARTY!

Who doesn't like a party? I sure do. I love to plan for them, buy things to decorate with, make the food, invite the people and have fun!

So I thought I would show you a few of the parties I've had in the past.

My brother in law loves to golf so the theme for his birthday was of course golfing. With a green grass table cloth, golf balls all around, a straw that shows the wavy movement the balls make when hit by people like me and of course the take away gift at the place setting. In this case it was a box with golf balls all over and full of chocolate. You can't really see it but in the vase there are tees in the water and ribbon that says golf wrapped around the top.

Even the ice cubes were made in a golf ball mold.

This year my great niece turned 7 and wanted a Paris/Pink Poodle theme birthday party. The cups are Eiffel Towers, the little boxes on the table have a pink poodle on top and are filled with pink M&M's wrapped up with an Eiffel Tower charm to take home. The plates and blowers are French Pink Poodles. So are the cupcakes.

This was a company that wanted to throw a Irish Pub party for their clients. The colors were the Green, Orange and White as that is the color of the Irish Flag.

Lots of food of course. Gold coins scattered around the table that also had shamrock lights.

No better place to throw the party then at a real Irish Pub.


My good friend and I used to have a luncheon once a month. We would take turns having it our house. This months theme was rubber ducks. So of course the plates and napkins are yellow rubber ducks. There were tea sandwiches that were cut in the shape of a rubber duck and used whole pepper corns for the eyes. I found a darling little dish that held dip that was in the shape of the duck and even little candy shaped like rubber ducks.

A Hawaiian Luau was the theme of my sister I live with. We went all out for this party as she was turning the big 60!

Everyone, even the younger guys, got with the spirit of the party and wore leis as we sat outside and ate.

This was another company party with a Jazz theme. It was held outside at night and we even had a wonderful Jazz band there.

The color scheme was pink and blue as that was the logo colors of the company.

Every year we host an Academy Award Party.

The fun starts as you walk up on a red carpet. Ok it's not really a carpet but you get the idea.

Desserts are always an Oscar theme too. This year was white chocolate Oscars that were painted with edable gold paint and the Hollywood sign also made from chocolate and cheese cake.

Goodie bags are a must at all my parties so the guests can remember the parties even after they go home.

Even the floor gets decorated with stars just like on the Hollywood walk of fame.

Another party for my great niece was dog theme. Little dog houses held a stuffed puppy for everyone to take home. The glasses were shaped like bones. Everyone had a little bowl with cookies that looked like dog food in them. The cake was in the shape of a dog house.

I think I liked this party the best of all the ones I've given.

Oh let's not forget every year there is a Halloween party for the kids. Each year is a different theme also. A pumpkin theme was this year. As the kids get older the parties become a bit more scary. I can't wait until I can do a real haunted house for them.

A Christmas tea party was given for friends and family. I had fun finding cute tea cups and saucers and tea pots in Christmas themes off of eBay. I now have a wonderful collection.

There have been many many more parties but I think you get the idea of how much I like to give parties. No matter how big or small. There is always a reason to have a party. It could be a Holiday, birthday, company party or just to sit down and share a few hours with a friend. You don't really need a reason to make every day a party day.

Hugs to you all,

Joanne