Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Happy New Year

 
So here we meet again. The end of another year. Amazing how that flew right by, huh? I am really looking forward to this year, 2014. I love the number seven and this year will have two of them! Double sevens! Seven plus seven, equals fourteen. Get it? Come on.... It's lucky!! Anyway...five years ago I started this blog. The first year was just a challenge to post a daily picture for a year. I loved it so much that at the end of the year, I wanted to continue, but also include little tidbits and stories of my adventures. Well, adventures might be a little stretchy, but silly, boring life isn't very exciting now, is it?  But, as time goes on, life changes and so do my interests. I have been working on a book on and off for quite some time, and find that I really would like to tackle it head on. I just don't seem to either find the time (Lame excuse) or I can't focus, as I have too many other things that I am "working on and thinking about." (Closer to the truth excuse) This past year, I have been slowly but surely eliminating and cutting back in many time consuming areas, learning to say no, and simplifying my life. One by one, letting go and moving on, making space. One of the things that I am letting go of, is this blog. I have taken it as far as it can go. It filled a need to write and post pictures, and it was a wonderful adventure. However, now it is time to close this chapter and start a new one. A new need. A new book. My book. The one I've been working on forever and really would love to finish. O.k. I guess that makes it an old book. Not a new book. Well an old, new book. Oh, you know what I mean! Anyway...Starting tomorrow. New years day. The first brand new, fresh, crisp, day of the year. I will turn the page and start a new chapter. (Geez...it's getting a little sappy here. Somebody stop me, already!)
 
 
Anyway....I am ready. I feel lucky. (This IS the lucky year!) I feel good. The stars, the moon, and Twinkie boxes are all lined up just right. (I'm so happy they brought back Twinkies, aren't you?)    It's time. I thank you all for coming along on this five year ride with me, and for sending me your funny and thoughtful (And sometimes not so funny or thoughtful!) emails and notes and sharing your stories too, with me. I loved them all. I will always remember those who took the time to do that, and you can bet that I will make sure that you all get an autographed copy of my new book, when it's finished. Please read it. All 5,677,777 pages. There will be a quiz. Oh come on now, relax your tighty whities. Ya know I'm just kidding. (Kinda) Anyway, here's to happy endings and new beginnings and all the funky, fun stuff that goes on in between.
 
God bless your little pea pickin' hearts,
and your garbanzo bean friends and family,
Love Always,
Desiree
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Merry Christmas!


 
Merry Christmas!
Love,
Tim, Desiree, Landon & Grandpa Al
 
 


Your Christmas Cards Have Been Shipped! Well....Maybe

O.k. so here's the deal. I've been wanting to "not" send Christmas cards anymore, as they really stress me out. Every year I struggle. Finding the perfect picture of the three of us, is darn near impossible. I am not crazy about the brag letters, as I don't have anything to brag about. And just a plain ol' regular card simply isn't done anymore. (Why not? Why the heck not?) I have been trying to simplify my life over the last few years, and I am finally getting there. One small step at a time. Christmas cards are one of those steps. Anyway, what I'd like to know is, how in the world do you stop sending them, without hurting/offending anyone? How do you let them know that you didn't drop them from your list, that you just decided not to even have a list? I have been fretting about this for several years now. This year however, I decided that this was going to be the year to end the Christmas card nightmare! Then at the last minute, I chickened out and ordered photo Christmas cards online. I paid the extra shipping so that they would arrive in time to get them signed, licked, stamped and delivered by Christmas. A few days later I received an email saying, "Your order has been shipped!" The estimated arrival date was a couple of days later. Well, a couple of days later....nothing. A couple of days after that....nothing. I called the card company and pressed a bunch of numbers, followed by the # sign and 3,444 minutes later.... nothing. No one was available to speak to me, so I was instructed to try again later. Yeah, right. So, I went to the card website and looked at my order. It said it had been shipped, but no tracking was available. Why in the world would a major company ship out orders at Christmas time, without a tracking number? Unbelievable. So, the next thing I did was call the post office to see if maybe they had accidentally kicked my package under a table or something, and do you know that they have perfect employees there and that never happens? They are so perfect, that the lady on the phone could tell me that my package was not there without even checking! Amazing, huh? I have to admit, I wasn't a very happy camper and said a few choice words to the lady at the post office, "after" I hung up the phone. (I'm just nice like that.) It was at this point that I decided to throw in the towel, and I thought that maybe this was my sign that it was time to hang up the card sending nightmare after all. Just when all was well with my soul and I had made peace with my decision, I received another email. It said, "We are sooooooo sorry! We don't have a clue where your cards are, but we are going to make it right, reprint them and ship them out to you! Not only that, we won't charge you anything! Aren't we wonderful?" Great. Just great. Now, I get to send out Christmas cards with a note (more work!) explaining why they are just now receiving them, whenever they decide to arrive. Merry Valeneastermas!
P.S.
Just in case they never do arrive.....here's a copy of our card from the order form. Hmmm...this just might be the way to go next year....



 





Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Christmas Tree Skirt

My Aunt Ida Mae, takes beautiful wedding gowns,
and transforms them into incredibly, gorgeous, Christmas tree skirts!
I am the lucky owner of this stunning beauty.
 


Elves On The Shelves

This is our version of "Elf on the shelf." These little guys used to hang on my mom's Christmas tree when she was a little girl. They also hung on mine! Here's what they do during the day...


 
And here's what they do at night!
 
 

My Handsome Son

 
I am so proud of Landon.
He is growing up to be a fine young man.
All decked out here, for his 6th grade
Christmas Concert.
Fa La La La La....

Happy Thanksgiving!

 
My Aunt, Ida Mae came for Thanksgiving!
Pictured left to right...
Monica, Me, Dad, Sam, Ida Mae, Carol
Blessed.
 
Home Made Lefsa!


Today

TODAY
Today like millions of other Americans
I went to work. I didn't design a beautiful skyscraper,
I didn't write a proposal to save an endangered species,
and I didn't drive a bus or fly a plane,
or write a crucial bill that would someday become a law.
However, I did spend time with some very important people.
I read a story to an attorney,
I sang the alphabet song with a Supreme Court Justice.
I ate Lunch with a pastor,
and patted the back of an engineer until he fell asleep.
Taught a policeman how to tie his shoes,
and introduced an astronaut to the color red.
Tomorrow, who knows whom I'll meet,
but one thing is for sure.....
They will be very IMPORTANT
For they are our precious children,
and the hope of our very future.
~~~Author Unknown~~~


Happy Halloween!



Happy Halloween
Siegel Style!


Friday, October 18, 2013

Just Sayin'

 
I make a motion that we triple all teacher's wages
and have school all year 'round.
Cheers?
 


House Bunnies. Not!



So, I walked into our kitchen to find...this!
Apparently, Landon thought because
 there was a tornado warning close by,
 he should bring his bunnies in the house!
Wrong. That idea lasted about two seconds! 


Cousin Carol!

 
My cousin Carol,
surprised me at a purse show!
We hadn't seen each other since we
were little kids. What a wonderful surprise!!
 


Front Page News!

 
 


Sunday, September 15, 2013

Metal Mouths

 
 

 
The Siegel cousins all have braces!

Just a' Swingin'

 
 
 
 
 
If you give a kid a rope...
He will take his deer stand ladder and climb the tree to tie a rope around a limb.
Then he will take a cat carrier and set a tire on it to tie the rope to the tire...
 
 
 
 
 
 
And make an awesome tire swing!
 
 
 
 
If you give a kid a can of paint....
He will jazz that baby right up!!
That's my pride & joy, talented,
one & only son, Landon!!!
Love that kid!
 

MOA!

 
 
 
A little Mall Of America Fun!
 
 

Back To School!


Sixth grade.
How did that happen?
My little boy is turning out to be a fine young man.

Bunnies!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This is what happens when you let the "big kids" get involved. Remember the nice little chicken wire frame (It's in the lower right hand corner of the picture here) that was "suppose" to be the cover for the bunny cage? Well, it's about four sizes too small now!
 
 
The next thing I knew....there were real live bunnies in that cage!
Man...
Brownie and Nosy.
(Nosy was Shadow, but because he has a white spot on his nose...it was changed.)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
At first I was upset, but it's been about a month now, and Landon
has proved over and over he is a responsible bunny owner.
They are cute and cuddly and he loves them dearly.
Hope he still loves them when it's 20 below out
and he's gotta go change the litter!! Hahaha...
Oh yeah, he will.


Thursday, August 8, 2013

Rummage Sale Jackpot!

It's no secret I love facebook. I've mentioned before, how I love to correspond with my 5,777,443 facebook friends, without ever having to fix my face, do my hair, clean my house or bake a cake. Love it! But, there is something else I love about facebook. Our little town an a few other nearby towns, has a little rummage sale page. Here I have purchased many toys for my daycare at super fabulous prices, and sold many household items that might have otherwise taken a trip to the local boys ranch. It's a wonderful page. A couple of days ago, I purchased an item for myself. It was a super cool jean jacket. I loved it because it had a fun and pretty embroidered and blingy (gotta have a little sparkle!) emblem on the back. Check it out.

 
Now, how cool is that?
The price?
$15
I know!!
Incredible, huh?
 
BUT WAIT!!!
Here's the best part.
Tucked underneath the back collar,
a little tag was sewn on,
with the words...
 
 
ATTEMPT THE ABSURD
ACHIEVE THE IMPOSSIBLE
 
I love facebook. I love rummage sales.
And I love my new jacket.
 I'm sorry, but I have to tell ya...
You will never, ever see this jacket on the rummage sale site.
It has my name on it.
ABSURD and IMPOSSIBLE.
Yep. That's me.
It you don't believe me,
ask my husband!
 
 
 

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Dumont Saints

Photo
 
If you're gonna go to a Saint's game....ya gotta have a Saint's hat!
 
Landon had already bought his cap a while ago,
but they caught their grandma at a week moment and she sprung for Jack's cap! 

Candy Crush Cousins

My cousin Debra had an awesome idea for the three of us cousins,  to surprise our Aunt IdaMae, with pictures of us in "straightjackets" as she had told us that the paddy wagon was coming for us because we seemed to be addicted to Candy Crush. (Not at all! ha!) It went off without a hitch and as you can tell from the comments, yes indeed....she was surprised!
Love a good laugh and a good laugh was had by all.
 
 
 
 
Photo
 
 
Debra
 
Photo
 
 
Carol
 
Photo
 
I haven't a clue...
 
 
Here are a couple of IdaMae's comments when she found the pictures...
 
OMG OMG ... now I just laughed so hard the tears are running down my leg ! ! ! Debra and Carol, they're probably commin' for you cuzin's next...LOCK THE DOOR! OMG...
WAY WAY TOO COOL !
 
I JUST FOUND THIS ONE...YOU GIRLS REALLY ARE TOTALLY NUTZ! ! ! AND THIS OLD AUNTIE LOVES IT ... HOW DID YOU ALL SWING IT...BEST JOKE EVER PLAYED ON ME !
 
 
 


Look What I Made!

Photo
 
Landon went to the fairgrounds to check out a little 4-H class that was going on today. He came back with a frame/chicken coop wire/ hanging board he had made. I was happy too as I love chicken coop wire. When I asked him where we should hang it, he replied....
"Mom. We aren't going to hang it anywhere.
It's the perfect top for the rabbit cage I'm going to build!"  
  (We don't have a rabbit, but we have lots of wild ones hopping around....)

Give A Boy A Hammer

Photo
 
One rabbit cage, coming up!
 
Photo
 
Photo

The Big Kid

Photo: This is what happens when you let the "big kids" get involved. Remember the nice little chicken wire frame (It's in the lower right hand corner of the picture here) that was "suppose" to be the cover for the bunny cage? Well, it's about four sizes too small now!
This is what happens when you let the "big kids" (Tim) get involved.
Remember the nice little chicken wire frame
(It's in the lower right hand corner of the picture here)
that was "suppose" to be the cover for the bunny cage?
Well, it's about four sizes too small now! 

All Done!

Photo: All done!
 

Fat Cat

Photo: This is fat cat. Years ago, my mom sent him to me in the mail for my birthday. I love him!!
 
This is fat cat.
 Years ago, my mom sent him to me in the mail for my birthday.
 I love him!!
 
 
His normal home is tucked under my ladder of quilts,
but I always thought he deserved something better than that.
 So, I had a brainstorm and decided to send out a ISO (in search of)
to all my facebook friends to see if they might have an old birdcage.
 
Yep. I said, birdcage.
Almost instantly, Janette Schmidt replied with this picture,
 and said I could have it if I wanted it. Did I want it? You bet I did!!
 It was perfect!! And the best part was it had a stand too!
 






Tim made the mistake of stopping by the house this morning. I only have three little dc girls today who all adore Tim. So, I hollered, "You're in charge!" to Tim as I flew out the door with my two cans of spray paint and did the world's fastest spray paint job ever! He didn't mind having his ego boosted for a few minutes and the girls were thrilled to have his undivided attention.


Sigh....I can sense trouble already....
Lucky seems to think there might be room in there for him too!
Thank you, Janette Schmidt!! It's perfect!!
 Now, I just need a little feathered birdie to set on top of the cage....
Anybody got one of those??


Wild Kingdom

July 26th
This morning as I walked through my darkened living room, half awake, headed towards my beloved coffee pot....I spotted Lucky and a hairball laying on my brand new carpet. With a sigh, I bent down to pick up the hairball (As a mom and dc provider, I've picked up worse and it was 5:30 A.M.) .....and the hairball MOVED!!!! Lucky's foot shot out and pinned that live hairball to the ground. It was a b...aby mouse!!!! In the 15 years I've lived here, I have always had at least two cats and I have NEVER even seen a mouse! I wasn't prepared. I have never screamed so loud in my life. Not when the blackbirds flew down my chimney, into the basement and into my face when I opened the basement door. Not when Landon put live frogs in his pockets for me to discover when I did his laundry. Not even when he chased me through the house with those said frogs. My screams brought both Tim and Landon out of their deep sleep and to my rescue. Landon thought it was soooooo funny and Tim thought it was "nothing." I beg to differ. I think the street workers last night must have stirred up something out there. That's way too big a price to pay for a little bit of blacktop. I'm awake now.
 
*Update
I am VERY happy to report, that our "baby mouse," was actually a mole, and he appears to have been an orphan with no visiting friends!!!
 
August 7th
This morning as I walked through my darkened living room, half awake, headed towards my beloved coffee pot....(Sound familiar?) I saw Lucky stretched out in the middle of the floor as usual. Suddenly, I saw something tiny, about the size of 2 Cheerio's, JUMP three feet up in the air, which made Lucky jump three feet up in the air, which made me scream a few naughty words, and go flying back up the... stairs to the safety of our bedroom. I made it about half way up the stairs and had barely gasped out the word, "frog" , when I saw a blurry vision that resembled a child, fly past me, yelling, "Frog? Frog? Where's the frog???" It took Landon a few seconds to find it as it was so tiny, and it was the same cream/tan colors as our carpet. (Clever little bugger he was!) Lucky was even still hunting him down. Landon found it, hauled it outside where it belonged, and saved the day! I hugged him, kissed him, (and told him to wash his hands!) then told him to go back to bed, as it was still very early. As he headed up the stairs, I heard him giggle and say, "wuss." It's probably the only time he will ever get away with calling me names, because it's true. When it comes to mice and frogs, yes indeed I am a wuss. I am so not cut out for this Wild Kingdom, living room living. When I retire, I'm moving to a condo on the beach, on the 125th floor!

 

The Champs!

Photo: The Champs!!
 
The Champs!

Walmart's Finest!

Photo: Who says you can't have fun at walmart? :)
 
Who says you can't have fun at Walmart?