It's Tubbie Time

Hello everyone...

Hope all is well with the after Christmas slow-down. I've thoroughly enjoyed my past 2 days. I spent a lot of time resting and being still and being quiet. Charles is back home this evening. He will be home until very early Monday morning next week.

This is our Dizzy... having her tubbie time. She loves it. The hubby thought it was funny when he put the bubbles on top of her head for a bubble wig. The hubby then proceeded to give the other two dogs a bath. What a dog fur festival. Yipes! Gotta love them. Dogs... have three... they're small!

God bless ya'll,

Penny Sue

Lord, Thank you for rest after rambunctiousness. Thank you for sweet and gentle reminders of what December 25th is all about. I love you for loving me. I love you for forgiving me and saving me. Amen, Your girl.

My kids are here... !

You would have to understand the inside Family Joke of Colt 45.


Our son and his wife. You'll have to forgive the pics... my husband was managing the camera... and the funny part is... it's his camera.

I am such a happy Mama! My son and his wife came yesterday, we did our "Christmas" last night. Our son took us out for dinner tonight. He took us to the "Texas Roadhouse" restaurant. He has this thing for steak. We waited quite a while (even with call ahead seating) after we got there. Thankfully it was a great night outside. Just a little damp and coolish. We didn't have to wait longer that 75 minutes, which is what we were first quoted. Anyhow... it was well worth the wait. I ordered a margarita, just for kicks, because my son is not a big fan of tequila. It arrived before dinner, and it looked like a goldfish bowl. I ended up sharing some of it with my DIL... but she didn't pull her weight. So, being the "waste not want not" person that I am... I couldn't leave half of the beverage sitting there. But... it's all good... we're all OK.

Tomorrow we are having a Turkey dinner (here) and my Dad is coming to see his grandson and grand-daughter-in-law. It should be a good dinner. Even if I manage to totally burn the turkey and destroy the veggies and mashed potatoes.... it should still be a good day because Dad will be here. His happiest moments (as far as I can tell) are the ones he spends with his family. He's such a cool Dad and Grandpa. (And that is from my humble opinion!)

I need to get done with this,
God Bless,
Hugs,
Penny Suzie

What's going on?

I'm starting to get discouraged. I think no one is reading my blog... that I'm spending too much time on to get it just right. Is anyone out there? Does anyone care? Or is it just that everyone is too busy with Christmas? I'm having a bad evening. Sorry if this upsets anyone.

PS

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Well, it's the Tuesday before the Thursday of the Christmas Day. Are we all stressed out yet? I'm working tomorrow from whenever I want to go in until 6:00 pm. The market is closing early for Christmas Eve. I won't work on Thursday, because of obvious reasons, and Friday I'll be working 4-9pm. My son and d-i-l are planning to arrive Friday evening, as they both have to work the day after Christmas. They thought it would be nicer if they came after Christmas and stay until Monday sometime. If they came for Christmas day it would be here and back in one day. I'd much rather have them here for a couple days. However, my son says they are supposed to be helping his brother/sister-in-laws move. Not sure of those details or how much time that will take out of their weekend... but at least they are making the effort. Which I appreciate.



I've been shopping online for my Dad. We discussed together about a gift for him... and I had made mention of a New King James Version Bible. He said he thought about it for a couple of days, and decided that would be something he would be interested in. Aye, I had NO idea there were so many different NKJV Bibles out there. And of course, the one I selected to order, based on a lot of information gathering, is no longer available through the website. It's the first edition of the Nelson NKJV Study Bible. I have the Nelson NKJV of the Woman's Study Bible and I absolutely love this Bible. I read more scripture than I ever have in my whole life. Anyhow.. I read some reviews online about the 2nd edition of the study Bible I'm looking at for Dad and they back up a whole different theology of salvation. I'm so discouraged. At least Dad said that he didn't mind if he didn't get his gift on Christmas day, because he figured it was something I would have to order. Isn't he the sweetest? So, I'll be doing more "information gathering" tonight.



My husband and I agreed (for the sake of our non-existent budget) that we would go out shopping together after the holidays are all over and buy each other something for a Christmas gift based on our agreed upon spending limit. I like this idea... and I think he did too. So... our Holiday's will be very relaxed.



Also, I've got one last gift certificate to get for my son... which I can also do online and he will get it tomorrow. His is for Cabela's. He's got his eye on some sort of back-pack thing for camping and hiking.



Well... I hope everyone is finding some time to wind down and relax a little bit each day. In all the hustle and bustle of the "modern day" Christmas... my mind wanders back to a story from long ago... how on a silent night, an innocent baby was born in a barn, no new baby booties for His feet, no brand new crib, not even a pillow, but shepherds came and fell down and worshiped Him... and wise men traveled far to bring Him gifts fit for a King. For those wise men and shepherds knew, this tiny little baby... He was the Messiah.... who came to pay our debts of sin. I love to remember this story. How about you?



Lord, Thank you. Humbly, your girl. Amen



Hugs,

Penny Sue



PS - The pic in my profile has been updated... my hubby caught me on camera. Yep, finally, it's me. (Smile)

Happy Birthday Pictures

This past Wednesday, the 17th, was my 46th birthday... and my friends 40-something-ish birthday. I'm not going to say how old she is because she doesn't know she's about to go public on my blog. Anyhow, Mary (my friend), and I have a really difficult time getting together socially. Imagine my joy when we were able to get together for a girls-night-in on our actual birthday!!!

Mary brought this cake for us to share. It was so divine! While the candles were burning, we sang Happy Birthday to each other simultaneously. Then we blew out the candles together.

So here's the cake after wishes were made and the candles blown out. However, I must confess, it didn't look like this for so long. I asked Mary if she wanted to have a slice right then because we were drinking wine. The decision was no... so, I simply said, "Well, you're just going to have to forgive me for this." Then I took my finger and swiped it through the frosting, to my pleasant surprise, ended up being peanut butter. The cake was chocolate! Mary couldn't resist... she swiped through the frosting too. I told her I had never had peanut butter frosting. She couldn't believe it. Anyhow... Mary found a knife, and needless to say, the cake wasn't pretty in just about a minute! Wine or no wine, you can't stand between a birthday girl and her chocolate.

This is Mary, my kindred spirit sister. I'm so thankful the Lord crossed our paths in life. She is such a joy in my life. She has not had an easy life (who has, I know), but through all of it, she remains true to herself. Hardship has not changed her spirit, which is absolutely beautiful... just like her.

Evidence of the night before. (Smile)

The morning after. (Smile)

Ahhh.... Hot coffee... life in a cup.

May I introduce to you all... Dizzy. Dizzy is my middle "baby". She a pure bred Beagle. She will be 10 years old next summer. When she was a puppy... I used to carry her everywhere. She was so incredibly adorable I couldn't put her down. And she's such a lovie. But we call her "Dizzy" because she acts a little goofy. However, her goofiness should not be confused with the fact that she's a Beagle. We read, about 2 years ago, that Beagle dogs are by nature completely one-track minded. Very focused. We, being the silly humans that we are, used to think her Beagleness was "dizzy"... but she had it all figured out. She's just being who she's supposed to be.

Also, if you met her, you would think that "Dizzy" is a very appropriate name for her. My husband was a little embarrassed the first time we took her to the vet. He didn't have the heart to tell the receptionist our dog's name was Dizzy. He told her it was Daisy. Too sweet.

The above is my birthday present from the hubby. Gotta Love Giada!

And this resting beauty is my Brandy. We got her in the summer of 2001. She's a Beagle/Boxer ix. She's such a smart dog... and a lover too. Sometimes if I cry, she comes right up to me and licks my tears away. She whimpers a little bit too. Not difficult to tell we love animals.

And finally, the above picture is my best Ebay purchase ever (so far)! This is a Mary Emmerling book, Romantic Country. I got it on Ebay for $4.87 which included shipping. I had fondled this book for months at the Borders bookstore that we like to go to. But I just couldn't part with $30 to purchase it when money was and has been so tight for us. Then, one visit, it was gone. My heart was heavy. I checked if it could be ordered and found out it was out of print. Bummer Dude. I was thrilled to get this book. It arrived on Friday, the 19th. It was like a birthday thing all over again. Just like brand spanking new. So now I have two gorgeous books to envelope myself in. I love books.

Have a great day... and yes, I finally had some pics to share... that I felt were worthy of you all and all of your beautiful photography. I've a long way to go, but I'm pretty pleased with how they came out.

Lord, Thank you for birthdays. Thanks for the friend I have because of our birth date. Thank you for my dear husband that knows me well enough to know what I would like for a birthday gift. He done good. Amen, Your Girl.

Penny Suzie

Well... I suppose it's Saturday... really

I'm downstairs in the family room with my three dogs... and all of them are snoring... as well as I'm sure my hubby is snoring peacefully in our bedroom upstairs. Thank the Lord for earplugs. I'd like to kiss the inventor of earplugs. I remember the first custom made ringbearer pillow I delivered the day before the young lady was to be married (actually, she'd dated my son for some time, but it wasn't meant to be). I had purchased one of those absolutely gorgeous "hat" boxes from Homegoods, put the pillow inside, with a package of earplugs along with a card that said "The secret to a happy marriage". I thought she was going to die from laughter. It's been a while now, so perhaps she understands this old lady's wisdom.

Anyhow... the dear Husband made it home tonight in one piece. I don't know if many pay attention to the winter weather, but we are getting an overly fair amount of snow. And my husband decided to travel home tonight after work. But it wasn't as bad as it could have been. His trip is normally 2 hours from his brother's home to ours... and it took him three to get home from there. It could have been a lot worse. I'm so thankful that he made it home safely and is happily snoring his heart out in our bedroom upstairs!

Dear Lord,

Thank you for your protection of Your children. Your eye is on the sparrow, so I know You're watching me. I think it's time to go join the hubby. I miss him. And... I suppose I'm tired.

Hugs,
PS

Happy Birthday to me... Happy Birthday to me...

Actually, I'm a day late and a dollar short (what's new?). My actual birthday was yesterday, the 17th. I share this date with my best friend, Mary. She is 3 years older than I. But finding out we had a common birthdate was the beginning of the most cherished friendship I believe I will ever have. Because my husband isn't home during the week, Mary and I decided to have a girls night in. I had to work at the market until 9... which gave her time to run a few errands, come home (here) and just chill out until I got here. Then we just did an antipasti platter with all those great marinated or spicy foods, crustini, and my all time fav... cream cheese, shrimp and cocktail sauce with crackers to spread it on. We feasted like little piggies.

It was a great night. We don't get to see each other all that often. So we spent a lot of time catching up. Just relaxing and chillin' with some wine and good old fashioned from the heart conversation.

I'm a little sleepy right now, as it was going on 2 AM when we headed to sleep. Then I got up at 6 AM to beef up the fire in the woodstove so she would be certain to have hot water for her shower... and the house would be warmer than 60 degrees... burrrr.

Hope everyone is having a good day.
Hugs,
Penny Sue

Is it over yet... :)

I survived all my housecleaning... and all my company. I actually had the time to spend enjoying all of my company during their stays (different people at different times). That was one of my goals. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in "stuff" that we forget to sit and spend time with those who come to visit us. I was able to spend time with my husband's cousins. His cousin Carl and his wife Deb and their son Kyle. I had only met them once about 11 years ago... but since my husband's work life has taken him to a different county during his work week, he has been able to reconnect with these cousins. I so enjoyed just chilling and talking and having a couple of drinks to relax and unwind. It's so great when family can be friends too. It's like a double bonus.

Oh, and yes, I need to give my husband kudos for his amazing breakfast preparation for two days in a row while the cousins were here. I'm amazed... and I'm married to an amazing man. God blessed me.

Hope all is well for everyone,
Penny Suzie

A week later...

I'm so tired, I can hardly take it. I had a night-cap before heading for bed... but I'm still not tired. I've been cleaning my house, it's going on 1:00 AM on Friday morning. I've still got a lot of dusting to do. I'm just so tired of cleaning. I'm exhausted.

Hope that all is well with all my blogging friends. Enjoy the days to come. Jesus is the reason for the season. Somehow I think that all gets lost in all the commercialism of everything. I'm hoping to enjoy this coming Christmas season in a completely new way.

Enjoy your weekends,
PS