Snowy South.

They were saying this could be a mega storm and, although not a MEGA storm, it was bad enough.  It seems in the South we get less snow and more ice, which was true for this event, as well. I'm actually listening to a truck that sounds like its stuck in the snow/ice outside. *sigh* He'll probably end up knocking on my door - I seem to attract this kind of thing.

So this has been sitting in drafts forever. Bad Bethie. Macy loved the chance to be in snow. Child loves the white stuff. As mentioned, however, it's more ice than snow. She tried to make a snow angel but didn't have enough weight to break through the top layer of ice ;) 

I'm off to post this almost a month late :) 

A Little More Kitten

Look what Katie found!
I want one with my name!!

Welcome Back! Hope your weekend was fabulous. I've been burning up my comp time and taking days off from work, so I'm all confused as to what day it is... today is my Monday.

So what happened over the weekend? Well, a lot of shopping. Mom is finally feeling a bit better (she's battling the shingles) so we went shopping after work on Friday. And again on Saturday. I'm so glad she's feeling better. She said this is the worst pain she's felt in her life. 60+ folks, get your shingles shot! :)

Sunday, we missed church AGAIN. I'm really missing church, the learning and the people. We have all been so sick and haven't made it in a while, but next week I'M GOING. Anyway, we missed this week for a family reunion.

I totally ripped this pic off from All Recipes,
but click here for the yummiest recipe.

I made squash casserole and hummingbird cake. I have the BEST recipe for squash casserole - everyone L.O.V.E.S. it. I do add garlic and Perfect Pinch to mine. And the hummingbird cake was very moist and tasty, too! Here is the recipe for it - the only change I make is to sub half the oil for applesauce.  While I'm on the subject of food, let me recommend the All Recipes app for your phone. I'll whip out my phone in the grocery store and make sure I'm getting all the ingredients I need while I'm there.  Love it.

Being cute and adorable is a tough job, so Macy was knocked out on the way home from the family reunion.  She wanted to play with the big kids so bad but they weren't interested.  But she really did have fun and ate so good! I told AH (Sweet Niece #1) we had a family reunion on Sunday and she really perked up.  "Food!" she said! Ha!!! Definitely plenty of food at a Southern Family Reunion.

Have I mentioned here that I have FIVE (1,2,3,4,5!!!) cousins who are expecting right now? I'm spending my nights sewing felt friends as part of my gift.  I'm searching for books to match the animals. Won't that be cute? I found a farm book this weekend to go with all the farm animals.

The last thing I'll bore you with - one of our election workers and I ran into each other at Walgreens (when I was buying my purple reading glasses <3!!) and I wanted this kitty cat Post-It note dispenser.  However, I would not pay $10 for it.  She's one of these guru couponers and she got it for me for $2.50!! SERIOUSLY?! YAYAYAYAY! So happy! I'm gluing a little pink bow to one ear so she'll be a cousin to Hello Kitty (which I adore, yeah, I know I'm old but I still love HK). This cat makes me so very very happy. How could you not just feel warm and fuzzy with this kitten sitting on your desk?

Ok, I'm off to concentrate and be focused.  My lunch break is over for the day.  Have a great week!

Photo Challenge Wednesday : 7

This week was quite a blur of snow, snow, ice, and snow!  Wowzers, what a whirlwind! Brace yourself for lots of snow pics because that's pretty much all I saw for several days.  I am so thankful to our SCDOT and our power company workers because they REALLY took care of us - at the expense of their own family time and such.  We had NO wrecks by the house and NO power outages. YAY! God is so good!  AND my company called off work, which I was so very thankful for because I'm terrified of driving on ice.

Ok, enjoy this past week's pics!

You can see my parents' house behind mine

Wednesday, February 12, 2014: We had been warned that the Southeast was going to be hit with quite the winter storm and on Tuesday, we really saw it coming down. Snow piled up everywhere, but thankfully the roads stayed clear until after work (another blessing!).  Snow continued Tuesday, into Wednesday - and here is a picture out my kitchen window. The sun catcher courtesy of Sweet Niece #1! :)

The trees between my sister's house and mine

Mom is under all that cold weather gear

Macy loved snowcream! :) 

Thursday, February 13, 2014:  Wednesday night into Thursday the sleet began, which was oh-so-fun. Then the snow REALLY kicked in. Of course we had concerns about power, but thankfully not a problem! Mom measured and after breaking through the layer of sleet/ice - 10" of snow/ice! Holy cow, Batman! Not the norm for South Carolina. The roads were a Hot Mess of ice.  I can't tell you how thankful I am my sister and parents live within walking distance!

Valentine's Day Cinnamon Rolls - thanks Pintrest!

Friday, February 14, 2014:  Happy Valentine's Day! :) It finally quit snowing and warmed up enough to play with Macy in the snow. She L.O.V.E.D. it and did NOT want to come back inside! She hugged and loved on her snowman, too.  We finally got onto the roads and were so thankful to see SCDOT kept us in good shape. I've never seen so many desperate men attacking the Valentine's Day candy section and cards.  hahahahaha! Later that night I heard the door and windows rattling...I jumped on Twitter to see if my suspicions were correct - and they were - EARTHQUAKE.  Heaven help... what is going on here?

Saturday, February 15, 2014:  Cabin fever officially set in and a trip to Waffle House was on the agenda.  I quickly became sick of snow food. No more soup. No more Debbie Cakes.  No more packaged crap. I needed food. Grease, to be more exact. And no one does grease like Waffle House.

Macy in her Valentine's Day dress

I confess, I didn't take this pic but screenshoted it from IG.
My sister-in-law's wreath that she made!! Isn't she awesome?

Sunday, February 16, 2014:  Finally made it back to church.  I haven't been lately with all the crud I've endured, so it was nice to be back. I wish I could say I did something exciting, but all the snow and ice made me lazy. I did nothing more than watch the Olympics and DOWNTON ABBEY.  *sigh* love it.

Sunrise reflecting in our mud puddles!

Monday, February 17, 2014:  Time to hit the ground running as we missed three days due to snow/ice. It's all good, we worked our booties off and are catching up every minute.  Can you believe we had temps in the 70's today?? It's the South, gotta love it.

I love this house on my way home, but the winter tree makes it look spooky!

Tuesday, February 18, 2014:  I can't begin to tell you how bad my butt is draggin' from staying up late watching the Olympics.  I'm so sad they didn't show the ice dancers medal ceremony with the anthem! I have only seen Bodie watch the flag rise above him, and he was a bronze (so I haven't even heard our anthem yet!). I'm so ready for them to be over so I can get some rest.


Ok, so here is a bonus: a few pics from last Tuesday when the snow started. :) You can tell the roads are clear, thank goodness.

It was beautiful, but I'm so glad it's gone.  Now, because we had a thunderstorm in the winter, the wivestale is that we'll have more snow? Or is it because it laid on the ground three days?? Whatever - I don't want anymore!!!

Photo Challenge Wednesday: 6

This is another week of sickies, but thankfully I'm feeling better.  Especially as I sit here and watch tons of snow coming down with the expectation of up to 5 or more inches over the next few days. Heaven help - I'm Southern, I don't like cold weather!

Anyway... moving on to this week's photos, starting with Wednesday, February 5...

Ready for bed... ZZzzzzz....

Wednesday, February 5: My first mostly full day back at work! Woo hoo! So happy to be feeling better and getting life back to normal. I've been sleeping for up to 10 hours at a time, so it's about time for me to get back to the ho-hum regular life.

Macy concentrating on the Ipad 

Driving to work with a pretty sunrise

Thursday, February 6: I worked ALL DAY! And saw Macy for the first time in ages (or so it feels...) She plopped herself in my lap for me to read to her. Melts my heart.

As soon as Dad laid down in the floor (with a leg cramp!) Macy hopped right on top of him,
like he was her personal jungle gym! hahaha

Driving home - isn't this tree so pretty?

Friday, February 7:  The opening ceremonies for the Olympics! I love the Olympics and thought it was a beautiful start to the games. Yes, I know the stupid snowflake didn't open, but seriously - there was SO MUCH MORE TO IT than just that! Dang... let it go already.  Best wishes for ALL athletes to be safe and compete fairly and ethically.

Susan Branch calendar!! My first, I'm so excited! 

Found this in Books a Million.  Really? Cats love it? Really?!

Saturday, February 8: Mom has been so sick and really wanted to get out of the house but hasn't felt up to it.  So we did a quick run out to pick up some felt and this WONDERFUL calendar by Susan Branch.  Don't know who she is? Oh, please visit her site and check her out. I really enjoyed the outing with Mom... glad she's doing a bit better and back to keeping Sweet Niece #2 again.

Sweet Niece #1's feet sticking out of the Princess Tent.

So good to see her this weekend! She cracks me up!

Sunday, February 9: We all skipped church with the coughs and aches. Lost power briefly, but it allowed Dad to test out the generator for the coming snow this week.  I gave Sweet Niece #1 another Valentine - MadLibs Valentines and she had a BLAST with it! We all laughed ourselves silly over her crazy valentines! She is such a joy and a lifesaver to Katie since she basically kept the baby this past weekend.  Everyone else in the house was sick!  Of course, Sunday night = DOWNTON ABBEY!!!! A.D.O.R.E. that show. 

Will you be my valentine?

Monday, February 10:  I finished up sewing these felt hearts and delivered the last batches this morning.  I counted it up and realized I made more than 50 felt hearts, which were sent all over the country.  I can't explain to you how much joy I received by sharing a little bit of handmade love with friends.  This bowl held the reminder, but now I'm down to just four. :) *love*

Cold feet? My coworkers sock-covered piggies hugging the heater.

Bye Sweet Niece! Aunt Beth has to go to work!

Tuesday, February 11:  The minute I walked out of the house, I was hit with SNOW. Fat wet flakes making the morning a little chilly.  Sweet Niece #1 wished me well on my way to work, blowing me kisses.  Once again, I'm at my desk, watching the snow pour down.  Sounds like we are in for a serious storm here in South Carolina, so I hope all you Southerners stay safe and warm.  I don't plan on leaving my house once I get in it! More Olympics tonight - Eeiikk! Ice skating, which is my favorite in the winter games.  And I so hope we won't be expected to drive in this mess tomorrow... ya'll, say a prayer because I despise driving in snow and ice.

And so, I'm scheduling this to post Wednesday morning in hopes I'll still be home in my warm bed, WITH POWER!  :)  Hope you are enjoying the photo challenge as much as I am. :)

So I disappeared for a while. ... ...

Happy Birthday to my BFF, Donna! Woop woop! I'm not sure she's had a GREAT day, so we'll just have to make up for it on Friday when we celebrate with some Japanese Steakhouse. YUM!

I'm so sorry I totally ditched ya'll for a while there.  I'm back! Sorta back, at least. :)  Where have I been? Well...

Saturday: I cleaned my house like a maniac. A friend was coming to visit who had never seen my house and there was NO WAY I was leaving it like it was. Oh no. So I about put myself in traction from cleaning. Partied that night with coworkers and just had a blast. It really was great hanging out and visiting. And you know what - we didn't even talk shop. (SHOCKER!) How cool is it that I like them enough to see them outside of work?? 

Sunday: I went to church. Partied with some family to celebrate a birthday. And I cleaned like a maniac and almost killed myself thanks to my body hurtin' so bad from cleaning the day before. Yes, I vow to never let this happen again. I love my house, so I need to take better care of it. 

Monday: My friends visited! Oh yay, it was great! I miss Paulene, she's so creative and trendy and smart and talented. Her husband is hilarious and smart and together they are a trip. We went to the Clock to eat (I LOVE ME SOME CLOCK) and visited forever. After the tour of my house, of course. Muffin refused to come out, but she sent her love. (cough cough).  That night, my family cooked out and it was sooooo very tasty. 

Tuesday: I took an extra day off to just get stuff done. Ended up taking Macy to the DR with mom. Dropped off some of Macy's clothes at a consignment shop (Go shop at the Painted Pony!!!) Went shopping. Worked on scrapbooks. Watched some tv. Read on my phone. Just relaxed and I really needed that. 

So that is what I've been doing since I ditched ya'll. I'm so sorry. To make up for it, let me share some pictures with you. 

Of course, a picture of Sweet Niece. She's "Jumping" on my bed. :)

It's hay season in the South. You see tractors chugging along and these big hay bales in just about every field.  No rain predicted until Monday, so everyone is in a rush to cut, rake and bale before more rain comes through.  

I have no idea - I was driving and trying to take a picture of something. This is what I ended up with. 

My original caption to this was, "Nothing like a cold Sun Drop on a hot day from McGill's store."  My penpal in NY asked what a Sun Drop was. :)  It's kinda like a Mt. Dew, but better. It's a local thing, or maybe a regional thing, but I think it's bottled not far from home. It's tasty. 

So there, I hope you enjoyed the random pictures and I'll try my best to do better.  I do plan on posting a tutorial either this weekend or at the beginning of next week for a craft project I did recently. So stay tuned for that! :)  Thanks ya'll!!

Muffin Monday & Snowy Weekend

Warm Kitty, Sleepy Kitty, Little Ball of Fur...

Muffin's reaction to Downton Abbey last night.  Mine was much the same - HOW COULD YOU! Then started whamming my head into the floor. Heaven help, how could they end my show this way. It was one of the tear-jerker episodes last night and I'm still tore up about it.

This was our adventure on Saturday trying to drive home from the wedding shower.  I'm a South Carolina gal and understand, we don't typically get crazy amounts of snow. But holy cow, Batman, it really came down fast and furious on Saturday.  We went from driving with just a bit of drizzle to no longer being able to see.

The roads were getting covered so quick we couldn't tell where the edge of the road and the ditches were, so it was kinda exciting.  Then the windshield started icing up, despite the wipers and defroster.

Mom was driving so I snapped pictures.  This one below is getting closer to the house - how pretty is the house and trees!  But you can really tell how dark and cloudy it got. And I can't stress enough how QUICKLY it happened.  HUGE fat wet flakes coming down so fast, it was crazy.

Below is my parents house (they live behind me) and you can see how it cleared up and become a beautiful day the next day.  I walked over to their house for a tasty breakfast of biscuits and honey. Yum yum!  So there you go, pictures of a Southern snow. :)

A Spot Of Snow

We don't often get serious snow around here, but yesterday we received THUNDER SNOW. I hope you feel the serious impact of this...THUNDER SNOW! I know, doesn't that sound fun?



Anyway, we had a snow burst come through turning the area into a winter wonderland within minutes... Mom and I were driving home, when seriously in a blink, it went from a bit of drizzle to crazy snow storm you couldn't see through.



We were most grateful to make it home! It was just such a quick change in conditions we didn't have time to prepare. Four inches is what wer ended up with, which isn't bad for this neck of the woods.



I'm not a fan of snow, but it is beautiful. I took pics asl the way home and may add them to the blog next week...



A few photos from this morning...most of the snow had melted by this evening. Tomorrow morning will be a beast with black ice. That should be a fun drive in the morning...



And a photo strip of Miss Macy because she is so cute! :)

Home Sweet Home.

Ahhh... our whirlwind trip to Charleston is back where we started 29 hours before!  It started with me leaving my walking shoes at home, so I had to make a quick dash to buy some new ones (and I love them!).

We had a great trip down, stopping in Cola to visit our wonderful and creative friend, Paulene (of Leen Machine!).  That was a much overdo visit and I'm so glad it worked out.  I was just as excited to see her as I was to see Charleston! AND we went to my favorite Columbia restaurant, LIZARD'S THICKET! Love me some Thickety goodness!

Our hotel was absolutely lovely and in the most perfect location! We stayed at the Kings Courtyard Inn, which is a small hotel with only 41 rooms. It was so quaint and unique - just a treat.  The continental breakfast was huge and the most relaxing part of our trip. Seriously, breakfast in their intimate breakfast room was worth the trip.

After that, we bundled up and toured the city we both love so much! We hit the Market (where we bought nothing), Black Market Gems (where I got the coolest bookends in agate!), Kaminsky's (SMORE'S cake and steamers to WARM UP in the crazy cold weather, three candy shoppes (for salt water taffy, fudge and chocolate cashew and pecan clusters!), and eventually, the beach! We didn't manage much else because it was CRAZY cold. Remember, I'm Southern?? I don't do cold! I hate the cold - but I really hate it on vacation with a freezing breeze making it unbearable! BRRRR...

And let me just say thanks to Willa, my GPS (that's what I've named her), because she took us over at least 4 random bridges as I tried to get from Folly Beach to Mount Pleasant. Holy cow, I need to learn how to focus better. We toured just about every island around Charleston! (Oops!) Willa always recalculated and found us a way out of the mess I had gotten us into.

I have much better photos on my real camera, but I'm not exactly sure where that is right now. When I find it, I'll upload all kinds of photos from Charleston for your enjoyment. :) For now, however, I'm heading to my nice deep bathtub and filling it full of hot steaming water before crashing into my bed with my sweet kitten, Muffin. We had a great time, but it's also great to be home! :)