A Christmas Story Worth Reading

"The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world. They lied and stole and smoked cigars (even the girls) and talked dirty and hit little kids and cussed their teachers and took the name of the Lord in vain and set fire to Fred Shoemaker's old broken-down toolhouse."

Thus introduces one of the most hilarious families I ever read about growing up. In one of my favorite Christmas stories this group of rowdy kids, through a series of events, force their way into the church's annual Christmas pageant. The story is narrated by one of the young girls at church whose mother ends up running the pageant. She tells it like a child would... unapologetically honest. The news spreads about the Herdman's playing the main roles and soon the whole town is waiting in anticipation to see what will happen.

The book is a light read of only about 80 pages and is perfect for reading out loud. The author weaves an important lesson through so much fun! I forced David to listen to me read it to him last year. I'm sure he won't be the last one either...
;) Deanna

The Best Things...

If there is something I love it is quality time and things hand-made.

What can I say? My man knows me...

16 origami lilies. I set them on my desk at work so I can brag about him all day. =D

Deanna

A Fair Weekend

Many people feel they come from a small town. Melissa and I (Deanna) know we come from a small town. It definitely had its good points and bad. It was hard being a high schooler living 80 miles from the nearest mall, but we definitely learned how to have fun just about anywhere. I suppose, like all good country songs, we spent our life dreaming about leaving our small town and then once we leave we find ourselves drawn back. One of the best times to be drawn back to the town we grew up in is the county fair. On Labor Day weekend the population swells from 1,000 to about 18,000. The fair has all the things a good small town fair should have. This last weekend was no different. One of my favorites is the exhibit barns:

These three pigs were obviously fans of NCIS:

We were always lucky to live just a few blocks from the fairgrounds. You have to cross the river to get there and lest you underestimate the beauty of the area, I snapped this photo on the way to the rodeo:

The next night was the demolition derby. This is no small event at the fair. The whole thing usually lasts about five hours and is full of crashes, cheering and spray painted logos.

This one was hilarious (nobody was hurt). The car on the bottom actually drove underneath the car on top.

The ironic thing is that as you peer through the exhaust and dust to make out the cars, the announcer reminds you there is no smoking in the grandstands.

This little gal was having way too much fun. She was also making eyes at David the whole time and at one point threw a slurpee straw at me... I don't blame her for being jealous though...

We had a great weekend. As we headed back over the mountains, I snapped this picture of the rain in the valley.

It is Time to Dig Out Another File

It's been a pretty rough week, and there are a lot of transitions happening in my life right now, so I'm feeling off kilter. The good news is that I got a new job and will be starting next week. There has also been alot of tough stuff going on and so it's easy to lose sight of good things happening in the world. This is precisely why I have my Happy Heart File, so I can get a little lift during times like these. Here is one of my favorites. Improv Everywhere decided to make this Little League's game the "best game ever". You won't believe all the things they pull off!

If the video doesn't work, click here.

I always have a smile on my face by the end of this video.

=) Deanna

Is the Grass Greener on That Side?

I keep driving by these sweet sunflowers peeking over the fence. All I had to take a picture with was my phone so I snapped this one. They make me smile and I can't help but wonder what they're looking at.






:) Deanna

Gotta Love the Stache

Well, we managed to fit in the last outdoor movie (you may remember my description of these from last year's post). This weekend we got some action from Burt in "Smokey and the Bandit". As we set up our chairs we got to see some fun reminders of the movie.

Then we settled in for the ride. I have to admit I barely remembered the movie, but with movies like this it doesn't take long to grasp the deep characters and complex plot points. David put it something like this, "This is one of the most ridiculous movies, but it is just so fun to watch!" Well put! Of course by the end of the movie I think I had quoted every line of the song "Convoy" as well.

It brought back a bunch of memories from when we were kids and would go on road trips with our cousins with a CB radio in each car. I remember Dad's handle was Shutterbug and Mom's was "Livewire". I'm not sure I ever convinced anyone that mine was "Scooby Doo" but I was convinced in my head. Oh, but don't worry, we never were chased by a crazy Texas Sherrif, bootlegged, or drove a shiny black Trans Am... although we did have an awefully cool "heavy Chevy".

Hope you are still enjoying your summer too! There's still a little left!

We gonna back on outta here so keep the bugs off yer glass An' the bears off yer tail. We gonna catch ya on the flip-flop. This here's Scooby Doo on the side. We gone Bye, Bye...

*D*

Thrifted Treasures

Last weekend's finds...

These party dresses were only $12 a piece. Pretty much the best money I ever spent. Now I have something to wear to a wedding in November...aaaand I don't have to go dress shopping under pressure at the last minute. (The peach one's my fave.)
This is my new sunbathing chair, although I don't have much time to get a tan now! The leaves are already turning colors. *SOB!* Anyway, it reminds me of my childhood & I love it! Cost: $3. This cute mirror has found a home on an empty wall in our bathroom. Also $3.First I collected souvenir shot glasses & realized I'm not that big of a drinker, so I switched to magnets. But magnets have gotten a tad out of control on the fridge. So when I found this adorable souvenir spoon rack, I decided Spoons! Spoons will be my new thing! $3. Now this is a mug rack, but I'm going to use it above my sewing machine to hang scissors & ribbon & other sewing notions. It will be painted yellow (with the free paint). This was $2.I got $50 birthday money from my parents (thanks Mom & Dad!), so I think I did pretty good. I'll use the leftover $3 to buy my favorite pick-me-up, McD's sugar-free vanilla iced coffee, before work in the morning. Work always seems much smoother when I've had one of those.

I have a running list of items I look for when I go thrifting. This is my current list:

~ bookcase (solid wood, no particle board)

~ flour sifter in working condition (I've found many, but they're usually rusted)

~ argyle sweater vest

~ tin TV trays (with a flower motif)

~ guitar stand

~ small mirrored tray (for my perfumes)

~ birdhouse

~ large lampshade

~ cuckoo clock (I actually found one of these the other day, but it didn't keep time...so still looking)

Melissa

Night Day at the Museum

Saturday was a day at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture... or "The MAC" as most people around Spokane call it. They have an exhibit there now with costumes from all sorts of different movies and TV shows I watched growing up. They had the actual costume Robin wore in the Batman and Robin TV series, the hat worn by The Wicked Witch of the West, Indiana Jones' leather jacket, a Ghostbuster's jumpsuit and proton pack, lots of Star Wars and Star Trek costumes, the list goes on and on. Oh, and we happened to be there the day some special guests showed up. Luckily I had a Star Wars expert with me to alleviate any cultural or translation issues.

Here we are with a Tusken Raider or a sand person. They're supposedly quite aggressive and vicious. I think it must be because the sand gets into everything and chafes which can make a being quite irritable. This one looks scary, but really has a great personality...

We ran into a couple that look oddly like some friends of ours, but our friend doesn't have red skin, so it couldn't be her.

We got to see Princess Leia, Darth Vader with a young Vader in training, and possibly the cutest storm trooper I've ever seen. The helmet that's almost the size of the rest of him, the armor that's rolled up at the ankles, oh, and whenever he lifted the helmet the huge eyes and excited grin... these kids... ahem... these highly trained warriors were too fun!

We also wanted to try to connect with Mr. Vader because we figure he's probably just really misunderstood. He still wants to take over the universe, but we made some progress. I think he's reaching out...

*D*

Saturday morning breakfast & bag

My favorite breakfast...the one I ask for on special occasions...is eggs in a basket. There was no special occasion today, unless you consider Saturday a special occasion like I do!Cut with a heart-shaped cookie-cutter. I don't think it tastes the same without a heart.Whole wheat toast with real butter, please. And a glass of OJ. Gotta have OJ.Of course I can't leave the puppers out...she gets dog food topped with beggin' strips...mmm...
After breakfast, I finished sewing my new knitting bag. Instead of hauling around my projects in a plastic grocery sack, from now on I'll have this to make me look stylish (& less bag-lady-ish).And then, after photographing my new bag, I just sat there, enjoying the nice fresh summer air with Cody. I feel like I need to soak it in before its gone.

I don't think I'm ready for Fall just yet.

Melissa

Three Good Books

These are the three most recent books I've read & listened to (via audiobook from the library). Good, good & good!Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon, is actually the first in a series. And if you start this series, you better have some time on your hands. These are thick books! (and hard to put down) Outlander is about time-travel, strapping Scottish clansmen & romance...mostly romance. I'm not very good at explaining book plots, but I can tell you I couldn't wait to get back to it once I put it down. There was always something going on! Dragonfly in Amber is next in this series...& next on my "To Read" list.East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck was so thorough at detailing each character (there were many) in the beginning chapters, I was half bored. Once it got going, though, I was really hooked. I kept trying to guess what would happen next & ended up wrong every time. That made me happy. I like "unpredictable" in a book. The plot revolves around Cathy, a complete sociopath & prostitute...& Adam, the man she marries & betrays. The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls. This is one of those books that makes you feel every emotion...happy, sad, happy again, angry...but mostly you laugh. Half the time you just laugh in disbelief. The Glass Castle is an autobiography, about Jeannette, her three siblings & their crazy, self-absorbed, nomadic parents. This book's ending gave me great satisfaction.

Melissa