Boo-Ya....SCHOOL TIME!

Today was the first day of school - yeah! Back to some order and routine for my boys. We had a wonderful summer, but they were sooooo excited to start school today, that they could hardly fall asleep last night. After dinner we packed the backpacks, then we went upstairs and picked out what they would wear this morning. I'm glad to see that they are finally taking some pride in their appearance ha! We had the clothes ready at the foot of their bed with shoes, socks, undies, belt and all. They got up early, dressed, ate, and put on cologne - can you believe they want to wear cologne already? I took the day off to be home as they only have 1/2 day of school today.

THEN....we all went outside and got them all posed and ready for pictures and my camera batteries were DEAD! UGH, I was so upset. I ran to the neighbors who let me borrow her camera so I wasn't able to get a snapshot of my younger boy with my camera. I managed to find some new batteries, and so I took pictures of my older son with his best friend who lives across the street, and who takes the later bus as he has moved on to middle school. I told our bus driver Donna to keep them in line on the bus, and she gave me the "thumbs up". She's been our bus driver since our boys started school, so it's comforting to know they are safe with her.

OK to change the subject - does anybody know what kind of tree I have in my front yard? Is this a crab apple tree? It gives of beautiful pink flowers in the spring, and look at all of the red berries that are on it right now.

Mr. M in the green chatting with his best friend and our neighbor whose family is from Jordan. This is an especially happy day for Mr. M - as his best friend attended a Muslim school all last year, and has come back to join my son this year, so they are so happy to be back together!

Mr. M wrapping a roll of gum - he's so proud he's allowed to chew gum in class now because they are mature and know that they are to throw it in the trash when done - umm RIGHT...

Bye sweetie, have a good first day!

And this is the tree - is this a crab apple tree? It's sooooo pretty!

Alright, I better take advantage of this free time alone at home. I'll have my cup of coffee and watch Oprah. Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Happy Weekend!

Ahhhh I had one of those mornings....you know the ones when you wake up refreshed and all is right with the world. Let me tell ya, I don't have those very often. The sun was shining, I had the windows down, wind blowing in my hair, and the radio blasting with this song, yep I was singing at the top of my lungs, didn't care who heard me or saw me, uh huh sure was. Have you ever really heard the lyrics to this song? Wouldn't it be amazing if this really happened to you...to me???? Ok, so I'm a bit of a sucker for romance, and now I can't get this song off my mind. Haaaa....Enjoy!



CLICK ON THE ARROW TO LISTEN, but you have to listen til the end.

OPERATION Tropic Brown...

First of all, thank you all for leaving your kind messages for my sister-in-law. They are doing as well as could be expected. They have had several contractors come out and they are all in consensus that their home is not stable, and will probably need to be rebuilt. So, that means they will not be able to live at their home for MONTHS. Pray that all will go smoothly for them.

And following up on my previous post about cancer causing countertops.....

I'll begin the radon testing on my granite countertops today. The name of my granite is Tropic Brown, and it's from Saudi Arabia. I received the radon testing kits in the mail, so my testing begins TODAY. You have to leave the envelope at breathing level for 2 full days, making sure that you seal the envelope no earlier than 2 complete days, then you mail the envelope with this hard sponge in it to the testing lab, and wait for results. I am also testing the basement where my boys spend a lot of time playing. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that this goes well. I'm almost scared to think about it.

Have a Good Week All!

Tragic Storm Damage...updated

A picture from the front page of today's newspaper.

That's my dear SIL in the peach

(and she is a PEACH)

Last night at around 9pm my niece called me on the phone, I could barely understand what she was saying....my SIL's house was struck by a tornado. My nephew was still in the house in the basement, so it was a very nerve wracking evening. The storms came in so fast, we hardly had time to prepare, but thankfully everyone is safe and sound. My nephew got out with just a few cuts and bruises, but safe. My SIL and their family lost their house in the storm, and it will be a long journey until they can be back to "normal" - so I ask that you keep them in your prayers as they recover from the storm. And thank you Lord that everyone is safe this morning.

UPDATED - 8/5/08 - 10:41pm

I went over to see the house today to get a first-hand look at the storm damage. It is so much worse than I expected. The entire subdivision looks like a war zone. People are busy working, cleaning up debris and sawing pieces of tree down to manageable sizes. It is a very sad sight, I was pretty stunned walking down the street toward SIL's house, but when they actually took me to see the inside, I got emotional. I kept thinking how lucky they are that everyone is safe, and couldn't help but wonder if the man upstairs knew exactly where they should be. They were at church helping out for their summer festival when the storm hit. Coincidence? Hmmmm....

My SIL is really heart broken, and I can understand, it was hard to see her home destroyed, so many memories, it's hard not to let it get to you....and if you knew my SIL you know that she was spared for a reason - she is truly an angel....and my niece is a doll.

We will continue to keep them in our prayers as they try to return to somewhat of a normal life.

Notice the large trees behind the house are now just a few branches bare and broken...

This is a view of their backyard standing on the deck. I was sad to see that the huge tree that was the one they used to hang the pinata during family gatherings, and all of the kids would gather in anticipation to see how much candy they could fill in their saks, was pulled out roots and all.....

I took a picture of her living room, the wall was already boarded up when I got to see the it but that wall was wide open - the tornado tore that entire wall out. We couldn't actually stand in the room because the ceiling is cracked and looked like it could cave in at any moment.

Look how the tornado ripped this huge tree
right out of the ground.... root, curb, and all!

This is part of the front of the house boarded up - I'm told there were huge pieces of wood boards that went right through those windows and into the bedrooms.

Keep them in your prayers....

Grilled Chicken Pita...

One day last week my girlfriend and I went out to lunch at a local eatery. When we walked in, the specials were written on a small board. I immediately knew what I was getting. Never had it before, but it sounded good. "Grilled Chicken Pita" -- OK that was the BEST! So, I just knew I had to make it to share with my family. And everyone agreed, this was a winner! Here is the recipe. Try it, I'm sure you will not be disappointed!

First season your chicken breast and cook on the grill. When the chicken is close to being done, brush olive oil on the pita and toast a little while on the grill.

Next put a strip of lowfat mayo across the pita

Cut up the chicken breast in strips (I used one whole boneless breast per pita)

Garnish with lettuce and tomato

Roll it up and enjoy!

IT IS YUUUMMYYYY!!!!!

Cancer Causing Countertops....

Are you kidding me? Have you all heard the latest news reports that granite counter tops can pose a cancer risk? WHAT? Yes, they are natural stones that emit radiation and radon, higher levels found in more exotic stones. Ok, this is insane. You can't tell paranoid Rose this kind of news and expect me to sit and just laugh or shake it off. Not when I've got two beautiful angels living in my house! So, yes I ordered the radon testing kit, in fact I ordered two of them, one for the kitchen and another one to check the basement. Husband sitting by nervously because HE KNOWS that if they are loaded with this stuff what is going to happen. So, he's quiet yesterday as I am telling him what I read, then starts laughing at me telling me I'm nuts. AND as I am telling him the report comes on the tv. Shhhhh he says, raise the volume....haaaaa! So, after hearing the news report he turns to me and says (voice quivering), "So, what are your plans if our counters are radioactive?" - Haaaa, rip them out of course what do you expect - (DUH I'm thinkin)? I respond. Have you ever seen real fear on a grown man's face? Yep, he had that look. Relax I said, you won't have to do it, we'll have the new countertop people pull it out. Um, that didn't change the look, or the dollar signs that reflected from his enormous pupils. So, tell me how could such beauty cause cancer? What next?

Boy, I'm really going to miss you!

Dark Wood Affair...

Well, I guess it's no secret that I LOVE dark warm woods in my decor. Never had an interest in anything else really, except I do adore the cottage chippy paint pieces too. But my true love is dark finishes on wood, something about the richness and warmth. I've had my living room tables since we were first married 18 years ago. Yet, I never get tired of the wonderful simple richness of my queen anne tables. But like anything, I like to change things around, and I've looked around at replacement tables for a long time. I'm not ready to start on that project, but when I am - boy I know exactly what I want. I found this gorgeous furniture collection at Thomasville Furniture. It's called "Coterie" - the coffee table is just stunning. And it will fit right in with my queen anne dining room. I think you will agree that this collection is simply beautiful! If I could redo my entire house I would get each and every single piece of this collection. A few "dreamy" pictures to share of my love for these pieces.

This is the coffee table I want from Santa this year!

Here is the side table to match

and we can't forget the stunning lamp table...