Week #14

This is Week 14 of my Pic-A-Day Challenge! I hope everyone had a great week full of everything they are thankful for, I know I did!

Day 92: Mom and Dad surprised me when I got home by finding and cleaning up my grandparents old (and I mean very old) treadmill! Now I can "tread" at home while watching my shows!

Day 93: Finally got rid of our Halloween pumpkins that were rotting. Dad threw them over the side of the hill in our back yard.

Day 94: On the deck on the backside of my house, I found a black pansy growing! I have never seen one before and thought it was lovely!

Day 95: I found this funny-looking pretzel I thought I'd share with you all. Your welcome.

Day 96: Thanksgiving Day! I got up this day to put the turkey in the oven at 7:30am! This was my first year taking an active role in this process. Phil helped too cause dad wasn't able to lift it since it was over 10lbs and he had just had a heart procedure done the previous day. This is a pic of my dad's famous, huge rolls that he was still able to make! So yummy, so yummy!

Day 97: It felt like day 96 wasn't even over yet cause we joined the masses at shopping for Black Friday. I had been awake for over 24 hours and we were getting a little loopy! Phil decided he wanted his picture taken in this coin operated machine... and he never wants his picture taken, so I know he was going a little crazy!

Day 98: Went to Taco Bell for the first time in forever and saw that they had two new sauces I've never seen before. And I have to say they were both really tasty!

Have a great week everyone!

The Day I Loved Hamburgers

In sixth grade, I came home from school one day and told my parents "I don't want to eat beef.". And ever since that day, I have never really missed eating it and haven't eaten it again until recently when I felt like I needed to.

Before that day back in 6th grade, my favorite place to have a hamburger was Dwight's Drive-In on 8th Street in Huntington, WV. It was a drive-in and restaurant, so you could go inside to eat or you could stay in your car to order and someone would bring your meal out to you. My mom and I would pull in the drive-in to order and I would get just a single hamburger (no cheese) and it would come with mayo and shredded lettuce. It was the best hamburger ever! I would gladly eat that beef right now if it was possible!

Dwight's opened in 1963. It was a great place which relied heavily upon the nearby college crowd for late night/early morning feedings. Unfortunately, Dwight's closed in 1995 when I was in seventh grade. This little piece of history was demolished and a bank was built in it's place.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I am very thankful for my supportive family and for my fiance who is the love of my life! I am thankful that my dad's heart is now "fixed" and okay after having a scare yesterday. I am thankful that I have roof over my head and that I have food to fill my belly. I'm thankful that my future in-laws are kind people and have welcomed me into their lives. I'm thankful that I have my blogging buddies that offer me words of encouragement. I'm thankful that I have wonderful friends who I know I can count on and will be there for me when times get tough. Thank you so much and have a great day everyone!

PPQ: Enough

God gave a loaf to every bird,

But just a crumb to me;

I dare not eat it, though I starve, --

My poignant luxury

To own it, touch it, prove the feat

That made the pellet mine, --

Too happy in my sparrow chance

For ampler coveting.

It might be famine all around,

I could not miss an ear,

Such plenty smiles upon my board,

My garner shows so fair.

I wonder how the rich may feel, --

An Indiaman -- an Earl?

I deem that I with but a crumb

Am sovereign of them all.

Prepping for Black Friday

I'm not one for going shopping on Black Friday - you know, the day after Thanksgiving. But this year I have decided to go along with Phil and his family since it is tradition for them. Last year Phil got his hand stepped on by a woman who tried to take a toy away from him, and the year before that someone repeatedly shoved a shopping cart into his butt. I do not know then why he insists on going... maybe it is because what he looks forward to outweighs the negative. My lists are sorta even so here they are...

What I am looking forward to:

• Doorbusters!
• Sweet deals
• Spending "quaility" time with Phil and his family
• Entertaining scenarios envolving people and a limited number of sale items

What I am NOT looking forward to:

• Long lines
• Feeling claustrophobic
• Seeing the bad in people come out during the time of year where you are supposed to be good!
• Waking up so early, or maybe not even going to sleep at all, mixed with dealing with people

I think that last reason could be the reason why people go insane in the stores on Black Friday. I know I won't be like those people, but I hope I won't be affected by those people too much. Maybe I'll find out that I just have to have the dancing Mickey and I'll run to the front of the line and tackle an elderly woman who is getting it for her grandson... but probably not. I will let you know the details of my shopping adventure after the holiday is over and maybe have a picture or two too!

Do you go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving?

Any advice for me?

Week #13

Welcome to Week 13 of my Pic-A-Day challenge! You can see weeks before this one here.

Day 85: This Sunday marked the 40 year anniversary of the tragic Marshall plane crash (11/14/70). Ironically enough, because I wasn't even thinking about it, I bought this kelly green Marshall shirt (one I have been looking for for a long time!) at the Marshall's department store! We will always remember... We Are... Marshall!

Day 86: I continued to clean out my childhood closet this day and found some of my old New Kids On The Block items! I loved Donny, so I have a couple of big buttons of him along with a framed poster and a hat. I seriously want to see NKOTB in concert with Backstreet Boys! My two favorite boy bands together at last!

Day 87: Since I've been doing a lot of planning for my own wedding, mom decided to bring out her veil (which I may use for my own) and I took a picture of my parents china and crystal they received for their wedding.

Day 88: The Japanese maple out front of my house looked very brilliant today, I guess since it had rained pretty hard the previous day.

Day 89: I went to the midnight showing of the new Harry Potter movie with my friends Lee & Heather! But first we went to this restaurant right next to the movie theatre which was serving a feast in honor of the movie. I got this huge turkey leg which I couldn't even eat half of, and unfortunately they ran out of butterbeer by the time we were seated.

Day 90: Phil and I continued our Christmas shopping this evening. We got these Singamajigs for his nephews and my little cousin. I actually think he and I will play with them more though!

Day 91: Phil and I went ahead and made some more Oreo Truffles for Thanksgiving! We made some that were pumpkin with butterscotch, pumpkin with chocolate, and regular chocolate with chocolate! We tasted a few while we were at it!

Have a great Thanksgiving week everyone!!!

The Day We Had A Cabin 2 / Didn't Have A Cabin

This is part 2 of last week's "The Day..." about my family's cabin in Canaan Valley.

Like I said before, we did not use the cabin as a hunting cabin like all the other shareholders did. We used it as a vacation retreat away from all the technology of the time... telephones and television mostly I guess, as well as a free place to stay. We would go to the cabin during all seasons. We'd visit the same places over and over just to see how they looked differently during each of those times. Skiing was a big thing for us and so was going to Blackwater Falls.

This is me and my friend Sarah obviously during the winter to the left of the cabin, which you unfortunately cannot see.

Me and my friend Laura at Blackwater Falls.

Remember how I told you last time that the hunters marked on the wall in the cabin about their deer? Well, we decided we'd do that with the mice we "caught" while staying at the cabin. We used our sharpie right there next to that bunkbed that was in the kitchen! haha

There were so many great memories made while staying at that cabin... bonfires, playing cards in the kitchen, sleeping on the top bunk when it decided to fall down, and looking at the stars that seemed close enough I could touch! And it's sad to me that I cannot ever go back to it. As good as I can get is to go to the area where it once stood. A few years back all the shareholders decided to sell out and my family had to too. Now the land is for sale cause whoever bought it decided it would be better to tear the cabin down.

My parents and I visited it 2 years ago and it was surreal that the cabin wasn't there. The above picture is obviously doctored by me, but this was where the cabin should have been [the bear too!]. I haven't been there since, but there is probably a new house sitting in that spot. I hope I will be able to take my kids there someday and tell them the stories I have told you.

Blog Makeover

My friend Miranda at Little Sailor Design is giving away a free blog makeover to one lucky blogger! She does some beautiful and totally cute designs! All ya gotta do is get on over to her blog to read all about it! You can see her button here on the right hand side of my blog.

PPQ: Limelight

Picture: Edenpics.com (retouched)

Week #12

Welcome to Week 12 of my Pic-A-Day challenge! This week I got better with the help of the antibiotics I'm taking so there is a little more variety in the pictures I took this week! Enjoy!

Day 78: Still feeling sick when I wake up in the morning since that is when my nose is crusty and my throat is dry. In the afternoons I feel better and on this Sunday Phil and I got some Christmas shopping done! This evening I started losing my voice though.

Day 79: My voice was partially gone today, but I felt better. So it made for a good day for mom and I to clean out my old closet from when I was little and I sort through clothes I wanted to keep and ones I wanted to give away. In this closet I found my Lite Brite and got a little too into playing with it again. This is my creation I present to you!

Day 80: I found a new gum I love! Extra's Dessert Delights is amazing! Although it does not have Xylitol in it, it is still sugar-free! The Key Lime Pie flavor is definately my favorite with the Mint Chocolate Chip coming in as a close second! I thought I would like the Strawberry Shortcake flavor the best, but it tastes a little weird to me so it is in last.

Day 81: Cut my nails and painted them black today. This is kinda a strange shot of my hand.

Day 82: Mom and I went shopping today and I wore my new ankle boots for the first time! They were really comfortable, but I would like to where them with something besides jeans where you could see them a little better!

Day 83: Went to see Phil this Friday and got some little tin candy cups to put the Oreo Truffles we are going to make for Thanksgiving (and Christmas)! Mmmmm... I cannot wait!

Day 84: Got a new Brides magazine to read, along with the next book in my Sweet Magnolia series by Sherryl Woods. I got the book at the flea market for only $3!

Hope everyone had a great week! And I wanted to give a birthday shout-out to one of my BFFs, Jeffs! I don't think he's ever read this blog, but Happy Birthday to him anyway!

The Day We Had A Cabin

Back in "The Day..." my family partially owned a cabin in Canaan Valley. It was referred to as "The Cabin" and we knew what cabin eachother was talking about. Anyway, this was not the typical log cabin of luxury you see on the Travel Channel, but it was a quaint, made of metal and not very insulated, hunting cabin. This is why it was partially owned by us, cause the other families/people that owned it used it for hunting but we did not.

Let me try to give you more of a description of the cabin. The outside of it was pea green with a silver roof. There was no assigned parking spaces, just grass and a place where we had bonfires. When you walked in the door the first thing you saw were 2 bunkbeds in the kitchen. It had an old timey refrigerator and stove, a cardtable and 4 metal folding chairs. There was a very small tv with antennae on top the fridge that we could never find a channel on. Next to the sink was a wall where all the people who used the cabin to hunt wrote with sharpies the description (their name, what point the deer was, etc) of their hunting experience.

The room next to the kitchen was bedroom #1 with another bunkbed that led into bedroom #2 with yet another bunkbed. There were no doors into each of the rooms. In #1 there were always these old wooden skiis propped up in the corner. This was the coveted room to sleep in cause it got heat from the floor heaters in all the rooms. In #2 there was a sliding door. When you opened the sliding door, there was the toilet. When you closed the sliding door to the toilet, on the other side it opened to where the sink and shower combo was! hahahaha This always cracked me up and it was SO awkward! So if someone was showering, you couldn't use the toilet without the door open. I wish I had pics of this to show you people cause I don't think you are believing me!

Writing this post makes me extremely nostalgic and I wish I could go to our cabin right now... I will continue this "The Day We Had A Cabin" post with a part two next week!

PPQ: The Moon

The Moon
©Mariah Smile

The moon shines upon my face
My hand reaches, but I cannot touch
The silvery dew that’s so far away

I yearn to be in her arms
Caressed by the night air
Stars’ reflection in my eyes

As the wind plays with my hair
She grows closer to me
But I can only hear her whisper

Up in the sky
Beams cascading down
The moon watches over me

Week #11

So I'm warning ya now that this was a really boring week and I gotta confess that I took most of these pictures right before I did this post. I've been sick with a cold all week and haven't done too much of anything. I am on the road to recovery now, so hopefully next week will be much more interesting!

Day 71: Halloween Night! This pic was taken on my way back from Phil's house. Today we went and saw the movie "Saw 3D"! We are scary movie fans and this one was pretty gruesome. I think I was looking at Phil's arm during a lot of the movie! Sidenote: Phil's nephew was sick and was around us this weekend, just like when I got sick 2 weeks ago.

Day 72: I started to feel a little yuck today, but didn't think it was anything more than my sinuses. But I did get called in to work this afternoon even though after I got there all my appointments cancelled. I got paid for those 2 1/2 hours I was there charting and standing around though! These are my goggles, the only thing I gotta take with me when I work except for myself.

Day 73: This is when I knew I had a cold. Runny nose and stopped up nose. Drainage down my throat. Headache. Fever. Cough. Yucky feeling.

Day 74: More of the same from the previous day. The computer is my friend.

Day 75: Sick still. Tissues are my friend too.

Day 76: Still sick, but Phil was here to keep me entertained. He took me to get pizza and he wore the cape his grandmother got me last year for Christmas. I told him not to wear it inside. Thank goodness he listened!

Day 77: My snot was green today... sorry for the yucky details, but from this I knew I had an infection. Phil took me to one of those express med type places to see the doc who gave me an antibiotic for my sinus infection.

Hopefully the sick will go away soon! Have a great week people!

The Day I Just Said No

My mom found some old pictures the other day and I just had to share this one with you guys. It looks like I am the D.A.R.E. poster child! See all those kids in the background? They do drugs, but I don't with my smug-looking face... hahahahaha

This photo was courtesy of 1994.

PPQ: Love

Halloween Season Highlights 2010

***Warning: Post with Lots of Pictures!!!***

As promised, here are some of my favorite pictures of this year's Halloween Season!

The tradition of picking out and carving pumpkins with Phil

Dad with a pumpkin head!

Yummy pumpkin seeds

Painting and glitterizing my first pumpkin

Pumpkin ice cream at the Pumpkin Festival

Going to the pumpkin patch with Phil's family

Getting an idea of what my wedding location will look like next year

Pretty Autumn Leaves

Making Halloweenie Candy

Carving pumpkins with Asyra

Halloween Decorations

Our only trick-or-treater, my little cousin - the pumpkin witch

Dressing up with my parents to trick and treat my cousins next door

Asyra sharing her sweet loot with us

I hope you all had as wonderful of a Halloween Season as I did this year!

• Do you have any fun Halloween stories to share with me?
• Did you get any Halloween candy?
• What's your favorite thing about this season?