I Am...

I thought this would be a fun little exercise since I'm fairly new to blogging for all of you to get to know a little more about me.  I'd love to see some of you do the same on your blogs - and if you do, please leave me a comment and let me know so I can stop by and learn more about *YOU*!

I am...

A great mom. A cheese addict. A passionate romantic. A worrier. Creative. Sister. Lattes.  Loyal. A reader of blogs. Not a fan of TV. Online news junkie. Outdoor enthusiast. Lover of holidays. Shy. Not a chocoholic. Vegetarian. Side sleeper. A fabulous baker. Tech whiz. Bad at math. Singer. A fan of naps. Not an early riser. A little kid at Christmas. Blessed. Short. Sarcastic. Introverted. Loves to sleep in. Not a foodie. An enjoyer of pregnancy. Reader. Soft sweater. Down quilts and fluffy blankets. Not confident. Filled with gratitude. Number savant. Photographer. Gardener. Slow to trust. A boutique lover. An event planner. Organized. Not a thrill seeker. Movie lover. Snowfalls. Resilient. Peonies and pansies.  Autumn leaves. Dusk. Boo-boo kisser. Fancy fixer. Stronger than I seem. Annoyed by arrogance. A decorator. Crackling fires. Fiercely competitive. Star gazer. Bird watcher. Fireworks. Wine lover. A hockey fan. A jokester. Lover of celebrations. Someone that loves to dance. A makeup junkie. Bad at directions. A cat lover. Quick to learn. Self concious. Resistent to change. Insistent on manicures and pedicures. Stubborn. Designer handbags. Snowman builder. Afraid of spiders. Web designer. An outwardly girly girl with a hidden tom-boy side. Sensitive. Bedtime story reader. In love. Catholic. Flip flops. A list maker. A gift giver. Family focused. Extremely resourceful. Always prepared. Slow to anger but once I am, watch out! Conscientious. An aesthetic. Outdoor cafes. Enjoys a good thriller. Quote lover. Red and white. Married to my best friend. Guarded. Love to write. Fresh flowers. Williams Sonoma. Mugs of hot cocoa. Bubble baths. Tea drinker. Shopper. Custom. Always cold. Lipstick. Sinus sufferer. Not on Facebook. Magazines. Honest. Loves pillows. Crafty. Someone that loves to cuddle. Swimmer. Fan of letters. Commitment phobic. Overly analytical. Saturdays. Blustery fall days. Tiramisu. Always late. Sparklers. Usually dressed up. A little neurotic. Love to wear skirts and dresses. Unimpressed by wealth and celebrity. Pottery Barn Kids obsessed. Shark enthusiast. Catalog fan. Good listener. A sunset watcher. Picnics. Knee high boots. A procrastinator. Salad fanatic. Someone that loves to journal. Ambitious. A dog lover. Candlelight. Sunglasses on my head. A toy picker-upper. Piping hot coffee. A hugger. Liberal. Porch swings. Generous. Diamonds. Quaint cottages. Kind to a fault. Lover of Condiments and sauces. A good cook. Caramel apples. Loves to be pampered. A leg crosser. Summer storms. Snow days. Realistic. Massages. Christmas lights. Fireflies. Afraid of lightening. Pashminas and scarves. Musicals. Spend thrifty. Faithful. Last-minute holiday shopper. Late night snacker. Leary of chickens. Present peeker. Unafraid to fly. Keeper of secrets. Loather of meanness. Secret gardens. Memento collector. Toile. A walker. Calligraphy. In need of quiet time. Painter. Victoria's Secret. Preferer of mittens. More productive under a tight deadline. An activities director. A financial planner. Caffeine addict. Lotion lover. Not the best housekeeper. Maple glazed donuts. Car rides. Vanilla. Flea markets, garage sales, ebay, and craigslist shopper. Eddie Bauer. Toter of toddler essentials. Easy to confide in. Wears heels. Sentimental. Imaginative.

...

Now tell me about *YOU*

Prepping the playhouse for fall

Halloween is almost here!  I'm getting my son's playhouse ready for fall and Halloween. 

Most of my annual wax begonias bit the dust with the frost we had Monday morning.  Time to pull them out and plant spring bulbs.  In the meantime, I put up some Halloween decorations and leaf garlands around his front door. Some glow-in-the-dark bats hang from his front porch railings.  A Linus "trick-or-treat" flag welcomes visitors and some ghosts and skeletons hang from his little tree.  The friendly Frankenstein keeps guard over the patio. My son's a little too young for the spooky decorations so I have to keep it cute.  I think I need to jazz it up with some cobwebs and some lights. My husband and I will have to put our creative heads together and see what we can come up with before Halloween gets here!

We have five garden pumpkins on his front porch (unfortunately the two biggest ones are starting to rot so we had to take an emergency trip to the pumpkin patch).  I need to get some jack-be-little pumpkins for the window boxes.


And we put some cornstalks on the deck posts...

The blue jays are having a field day swooping in for the corn!

Oh and I never showed you guys the weathervane we got for the playhouse garage rooftop!  You can just see a bit of it in the first picture.  It just came in early October! I ordered it months ago. It's a copper biplane with a brass propeller!  Isn't it cute??

Have fun with your own Halloween decorating!

If you post about it, I'd love to check it out so post a link in your comments!

Pierogies and true love

I like to pride myself on always appreciating my loved ones, but truthfully, I take them for granted just as much as anyone else does, and unfortunately I was reminded of this on Friday. 

It was one of those days - everything felt like it was going wrong.  The end of the work week always leaves me drained and exhausted which makes me cranky.  It didn't help that I woke up earlier than normal specifically to try to make it into work a little earlier than normal.  My dear husband just seemed to be getting on my last nerve with everything that he did.  He forgot to mail the bills that I had taken time to get ready the night before even though I left them right by his wallet as a reminder.  He didn't help me get our son up and dressed.  He didn't let our dog Ollie out.  With each task that I had to do myself, it was eating away the extra minutes I needed to get to work.  Then he borrowed my debit card which annoyed me further. So of course I snapped at him - more than once. 

After getting to work, my temper cooled and I felt badly.  I never like to start the day off that way with anyone, much less my husband.  I always shudder to think what would happen if he or I were in an accident and that was the last thing we said to one another.  As I sat in my office, I read an email from a dear friend of mine that lost her husband (and best friend) unexpectedly this summer.  As much as she tried to sound upbeat, her email was filled with her grief and loneliness.  It absolutely broke my heart.  I felt like a double jerk for the way I treated my husband that morning over really unimportant stuff.

That evening after work, we went out to run some errands.  I don't even remember what he did, but something he did set off my temper once again, and I snapped at him nearly the entire ride home, accusing of him of never thinking of my feelings.

When we got home and he asked me what I'd like for dinner, I was tired and annoyed.  It'd been a long week and I was ready to just relax and unwind.  Just then, he opened the refridge and said, "Maybe you'd like these!" - revealing the pierogies that he surprised me with!  For several weeks I'd been hinting at how much I wanted to get some. There's a local church that sells them only on Fridays during the school year, but because we both work some distance from there, we can never coordinate getting them (I didn't get any at all last year).  I never suspected that he got them! Apparently he picked them up before going to work just to surprise me!  The reason he didn't help in the morning is because he was busy phoning in the order.

Yup - I'm a total jerk.

And those pierogies were delish!  :)

...

even though I totally didn't deserve them :(