Awarded The Attitude of Gratitude

I was honored with the award of The Attitude of Gratitude by mimi charmante Her pictures on her blog are just beautiful. They make you want to pack your suitcase and jump on a plane to a far off place that is full of history and art. Thank you so much Kim. :)



The rules of accepting and sharing this award are:




1. Put the logo on your blog or post

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show an attitude of gratitude.

3. Link to your nominees within your post.


4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they have received this award.


5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award. Tell us how you've come to have an attitude of gratitude.



As far as my "attitude of gratitude", I am thankful everyday for the people in my life, my family & my friends. I know, thats what everyone says, but its true. If you really think about it in the big sceme of things, what really matters? If a fire blazed through your house and took everything you owned would you fall to pieces or say, Ya know, its only things and we can rebuild again but my family I can never replace. Its amazing how as you start to look at life through different eyes when life throws you a curve ball things start to come into focus in a different light. You see what really matters and what doesnt.

Im nominating the following bloggers :

1. Marva @ blessedfrugalness times two with twins
2. Christy @ Mabel + Lola
3. Kaye @ Kayes Kreative Korner
4. AnNicole @ Our Suburban Cottage
5. Jane @ Work that Wardrobe
6. Donna @ Never So Simple (shes going through alot right now, she needs big hugs)
7. Terrie @ Terries lil piece of serenity (my blog sista)
8. Rebecca @ Its 5 oclock somewhere
9. Everyday mom of one
10. A Mayberry state of mind (fellow homeschooling mom)

Tagged ... alittle bit about me

I have been tagged by the Jane over at one of my favorite blogs called Workthatwardrobe.

The guidelines are as follows:1. Respond and rework. Answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your own invention; add a question of your own.

2. Tag several un-tagged people.

What is your current obsession? Hum.. blogging and playing with my new fancy dancy camera. (Big thanks to Kim over at Mimi Charmante for helping me)


Good fika place? (That would be coffee to us non-Swedes) Starbucks of course!


Do you nap a lot? Hardly ever. Only when Im sick.


Who was the last person you hugged? My hubby


What’s for dinner? Beef Barley Soup with garlic bread (made with my dads recipe)

If you could be any rock/pop icon for a day who would it be and why? (Janes question) I can only think of a actor. I like music just not into the rockstars so I have no idea. So since Im a hippy at heart I would be Goldie Hawn. I love her kick back, let things roll off her back, easy going attitude.


If you could go anywhere in the world for a fully paid for vacation where would you go? (my question) Before I die I want to go to England, Scotland and Ireland. My hubby is irish/scottish and his gggrandfather (Might need more greats added) was a mason and built castles. I would love to find some of those. Another goal is to find the spookiest, grandest old castle and stay in it. My mothernlaw and I want to do some research for our ancestry work we've been workin on so that would be fun to do. I know I have a family member that owns a pub somewhere in London or right outside of London so that would be fun to find him.

What are you listening to right now? My hubby talking to a customer on the phone.


What is your favourite weather? WARM!!! Im always cold, my bones feel cold all the time so warm weather is my favorite. Not hot, just warm. Even though my favorite time of the year is Fall.


What’s on your bedside table? Lamp, plant, my bible, cell phone, favorite lotion, Stephanie plum series (book 14) by Janet Evanovich. Totally hiliarious series.


Say something to the person/s who tagged you. I love reading your blog. I just love seeing how your putting your outfits together and how you work them and reuse items of clothing to get a totally different look. Ive learned so much. Ive found my favorite jeans because of your blog (thank you ). I also feel a connection since since most of my mothers side of the family is from England so seeing the scenery is fun for me.



If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be? Hum... this one is hard. I live where its dry, brown and theres a ton of dirt so I want to live where its GREEN. Where grass grows on its own without a million dollar water bill every month to keep it alive. hee Anywhere its green!

Favourite vacation spot? Sequoia National Park where you find those huge huge huge redwood trees. They are so grand they take your breathe away.


Name the things you can’t live without. My family and my computer.



What would you like to have in your hands right now? Enough money to pay off my house.




What is your favourite tea flavour? Hum.. I really dont drink tea cause I like coffee better but when I do I like Peach flavored.


What would you like to get rid of? All the junk in the garage. Ive cleaned that darn garage 6 times now in the 2 years we've lived here and it keeps getting cluttered again. LOL


If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Somewhere green and warm! Probably Hawaii. My favorite island is the big island and I like the town Kona. I got pregnant in Hawaii so watch out for the black sand and jelly fish.!!! Im warning you from experience! hee


What do you miss? (This is Belette Rouge's question) Warm weather and my grandfather. I was very close to him and I miss his humor.


What are you reading right now? Havent read in weeks since Ive been so busy. Stepheanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich "Fearless Fourteen".


What do you fear the most? (Andrea’s question) Losing my family



What designer piece of clothing would you most like to own (new or vintage)? LOL Im fashion challanged so I have no idea! Im not really into designer clothing. Im a Gap, Old Navy, Jeffery Beane kind of gal.




Admit one thing you feel awful about. Once you have written it down, you are no longer allowed to feel bad. (Mervat's question) That I dont always spend time playing video games with the twins. They always ask me but I really dont like playing video games so I tell them later. Well, sometimes later never happens. I think today I'll spend alittle time playing with them :)



Heres the people I tagged:

Our Suburban Cottage

My kids Momma

Blessed Frugalness times two with twins

Kayes Kreative Korner

Mabel + Lola

Terries lil piece of Serenity

Mimi Charmante

Thoughts from an Evil Overlord

Mom of one

Ducks in a Row



PS: If anything doesnt make sense Im blaming it on the cold medicine. LOL

Im tired of being Sick!

I havent posted lastely because I have just felt icky. I got a really bad cold and now Im coughing like crazy. All that nasty stuff is in my chest and I feel so tired. Im on the upwards hill through. Im feeling alot better today. Twins arent too happy since that means no more slacking on homeschool.





On an upnote Im getting a new camera! Im so excited I get goosebumps when ever I think about it. Well, technically its for the business. We need pictures for my hubbies website and our old digital camera is dying a slow death. He walked over to my desk the other day with money in his hand that we got unexpectedly and said "Go order that camera you've been wanting". YIPPIE! So I emailed Kim over at Mimi Charmante asking for advice since I know she loves cameras and I love her pictures she posted. She was kind enough to call me with all the information. Between my coughing and hacking I got so much information and I felt that I knew what camera I wanted. So off to Costcos website to buy one. Now Im waiting. .......... I feel like a little kid at Christmas..... waiting.... waiting.... is it here yet?..... wait..... I know I just ordered yesterday but is it here yet???.....



Tic toc.....



Tic toc.....



Hum... maybe if I move the hands on the clock time will go faster??

Finally fixed the blog!

Okay, I confess, as a computer geek I cant leave well enough alone and I started messing with the blog and I wiped it out. I love working with HTML code and messing around with things and trying new things and before I knew it. BAM! GONE! Sigh! But some how, thank goodness, some of the widgets are back and intacted! YIPPIE! So I'll leave it alone for awhile. At least for a week or so. Theres just too many fun things for this computer junky to mess with or maybe mess up.

The twins are turning 12 next week. Ahhhhh, time is flying! We're having a small party with some of their buddies tomorrow then we'll celebrate it with family @ Disneyland next week on their actual Birthday.


Have a great weekend everyone! I know we will.

Need your help

The twins are turning 12 at the end of the month!

We're going to disneyland with the family on their birthday so they can get the gift card Disneyland gives out to each season ticket holder on their birthday! Im thinking they will get around $60 each. Yippie!

A week before Im thinking we'll have a sleep over. The twins can invite several friends. I would love your suggestions on what to do. My friend Debbie suggested I have a movie night and just let the kids play. Which sounds awesome to me.

If you have any fun ideas that we can do I would appreciate your help. I want to keep it simple.

Thanks everyone :)

Dreaded Taxes!!!

Finally, its OVER! The dreaded Tax appointment. Not my favorite time of the year. Of course it wouldnt have been so bad if I had kept the books up to date like Im suppose to, and if I had been watching the calendar and realized that I had a tax appointment like in 2 days!!

I only had 6 hours of sleep in two days but I gotter done!

We went to our appt. and its over with till next year. Thank goodness!

What makes your house special to you?

About a year or so ago I posted my house on HGTV rate my space and I had people asking me to please post more pictures of my home. I was too embarrassed at the time because I honestly dont feel Im all that great at decorating. A designer I am NOT. There are sooo many more lovely houses that are just so amazing and stunning. My house is alot different than most houses I see, at least I think so, and Ive noticed most people like the lighter colors of white, pink and blues. I on the other hand love dark browns, beige, golds, burgandy, leopard print and African masks . If you put me in an old Victorian home, in the library, walls covered with bookshelves floor to ceiling, tons of wood work everywhere, leather chairs, smell of pipe smoke and antiques everywhere I would never leave that room.

It got me thinking.. What in my house makes it special to ME. . So I thought I would share with you some things that I find are special.

I would love to hear from you and see pictures of your homes too. What makes it special to you. What makes you smile? What are the things in your home that are TOTALLY YOU?


Mine are....



This HUGE mirror was a Mothers Day gift from my sweet DH Its hanging in the dining room.

The leopard rug that greets you when you walk in our front door.

An African mask brought back from Africa by one of our customers.

Another African mask from a different customer. We have the best customers Im telling you !!!

The wall clock my DH bought for me when we moved in the house. He has name it our "Jack the Ripper clock" since it looks like something that would be on a London street.

Heres our kitchen fan. While the "fans" are spining the whole unit also rotates.


The other three fans in our house have leaves for blades. Their all different. Here the one in our family room


I collect old suitcases and I use them in my decorating. I find them mostly at yard sales for $1 each. When I look at them I wonder where they have traveled to.







More suitecases. My DH stuck his great grandfathers walking cane up there so thats what your seeing crossing the front of one of them.









More african masks. The wall looks white in the picture. How funny. Its actually all the same beige color.

I LOVE black and white photography. Heres one of the pairs of large pictures I have hanging in the family room. I bought the frames and pictures at World Market.

More african masks that hang over the one of many archways we have in the house. Found the masks at a yard sale for $1 ea and the picture in the background that says Africa I bought at another yard sale for $5

A New Award

Marty39 has honored me with an Award. The Best Blog Daily Thinker. Im so honored! Thank you Marty for thinking of me :)

The rules are to post it on your blog and pass it on to 10 other deserving bloggers.

Here goes:

1. My Kids Momma

2. My Suburban Cottage

3. Beautiful Orchids

4. Chantilly Charm

5. Sweet Southern Roots

6. It's 5 o'clock some where

7. Christopher and Olivia

8. Cents to Save

9. Blessed Frugalness

10. Thoughts from an Evil Overlord

I think you all are great bloggers and deserve an award!

Where I blog

I've been tagged by my friend AnNicole from Our Suburban Cottage .The idea is to show everyone the place where you blog. I also have a laptop so I blog in many places like the kitchen, family room, or bedroom. Here are a few picture of where I blog :)

This is where the twins play games and I blog or research recipes. Oops, I usually dont have the placemat under the laptop. I just sat the laptop there to quickly take picture.

Heres where I snuggle after a long day with my glass of wine. My DH calls these chairs the fatman chairs.

or Im sitting here blogging while the twins are doing their homeschooling :)

Now I'm supposed to tag five others. Once you are tagged, post a picture of where you blog. Feel free to tell us a little about your space, or explain certain items in more detail. Or not. Tag five other bloggers to show them their blogs. Im actually only going to pick four so here they are:

Marva: Another mother of twins and amazing budget dinner maker!

Elizabeth: Extremely in the know of all things. My smart friend!

Sarah: My friend from the Cafe that is extremely talented @ decorating!

Marty39: Check out her living room. The small changes are Beautiful!

Here we go..

My friend Dee encouraged me to start a blog after her and I were posting about saving money. My mother has taught me how to save and I have a ton of tips. I consider my mom the Coupon Queen! The woman is amazing. No car payments, house paid off, pantry stuffed, no late charges, no finances charges and low utility bills. I havent always followed my moms lessons and if I had I would be sitting pretty right now. Sigh. 20/20 But Im putting all those lessons into effect right now. Hopefully it will be enough.

Right now its tough with the economy. Even for us. My husband put his dog training business into full time when he was recently laid off from a 17 year old job. UGH. Talk about having the rug pulled out from under you. My security blanket is gone :(

I started coupon shopping again and I am stocked up on 90% of tolietries so now my grocery bills are all food. My goal is to get down to $200 a month for groceries. Right now Im at $400. (Use to be $800-$1000 monthly)

I have a few websites I use to help with couponing. I'll post those later too.

I'll start blogging my moms tips and tricks soon.