Maisy's Hitting the Beach

It' Official....




Maisy is OUT OF HERE.

Sandy (that's what I named the beach), here I come.

Hot sun, here I come.

Books, here I come

Ice cold beer, here I come.

Cannon Balls, here I come.

Marco Polo, here I come.

Playing Scrabble on the beach, here I come

Walks on the beach, here I come.

Laughing and just loving life, here I come.

GEORGIA, HERE I COME!

This is truly a much needed vacation.

See ya in about 10 days.....with lots of photos.

AHHHH!!!

Messy, Messy, Messy

I have been a bit busy lately.
On Saturday we leave to go on vacation.
I have the garage full of things that need to be painted...
tables, shelves, a buffet, some mirrors that I need to rehang.
Needless to say, Bill hasn't been able to park in the garage.

I think he would like to park in there because we will be gone for a week.

Guess what that means...MAISY HAS BEEN PAINTING!

When Maisy paints I get nothing else done.

Just look at what has happened...




(please feel free to click on the photos to enlarge...in case you can't read it)
I keep buying avocados with the intention to make some guacamole. The problem is I NEVER have the other ingredients.

I just put things down sometimes thinking that the big idea is going to come.
Problem with that is....sometimes it just doesn't come.

Why oh why???

What the hell....
It is all so random.

Someone once told me there is order in chaos.
I can't find it through all my crap~

Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho it's off to painting I go....
See ya on Friday...
I will be in full blown panic mode because I haven't done anything for this trip.
(order in chaos...order in chaos...order in chaos...)
Happy Wednesday~

Onsies

I have these random things in my yard.
And just one of them.



One daisy. How does that happen?
It was a pleasant surprise when I realized what it was.
My Mom's favorite flowers were daises.
She said the were cheerful, inexpensive and they last a long time.
I think she was right.
SOOOOOO.......just a few days after she passed away I went straight to the tattoo parlor and got a daisy tattoo.
No, I won't show it to you...it's in a private place.
Sheesh.....don't I get any privacy around here??

Bradley begged and pleaded for this darn $2.59 ball at Target.
I was saying that he will play with it for 5 minutes and then never look at it again.
Well....guess what.....Bradley played with it for 5 minutes and never looked at it again.
It has been in the same spot for about a week now.
I want my $2.59 back!

One lonely sock. It seems to be just waiting and waiting for it's partner.

These are the kind of things that drive Maisy CRAZY.
I can't find the other sock.
Of course Bradley has no idea where it it.
He actually goes so far as saying that he didn't take his socks off outside.
OMG....what does he think?? It was the tooth fairy hanging out waiting for him to lose a tooth.
Oh no, that's right it was Santa Clause. Dropped a sock right out of the sky.
Better yet, he can blame Asher.....NO HE CAN'T...Asher is out of the country.

All these poor lonely ones.

I better go try to find that sock again...
Happy Monday!!!

I Just Lurve These

Good Morning Ladies and the occasional Gent~

Does any one else just love Apothecary Jars?
Well I do.
You already know how I feel about cloches.

Well, I've been busy at the Market...
You know, Maisy's Market.

Check out some of the new things I have at the Market.



Can we all just take a moment and *sigh*
This is so neat.
Actually, I think they are PERFECT.
Lettered ceramic balls in an apothecary jar...seriously, Friends, I think I could be speechless.
HAHAHAHAHAHA, speechless, that was HILARIOUS!!!
That will NEVER happen~

These are vintage printing press stamps.
They are from my local newspaper.
Can I get another *Sigh*
I put them in a cloche and added the most darling plate.
So....what do ya think?
Yep, I'm still not speechless :)

~sold~
Vintage buttons in an Apothecary Jar.
These buttons are from the garment district.
The building was being torn down.
When some people went in ahead of time they found HUGE drums of buttons.
When I found this my brain said "YAHTZEE"

Woo-Hoo, YIPPEE, YAY....

Yep, still speaking away!


I always joke that if anyone put kitty little in an apothecary jar it would FABULOUS.

Pop over if you want...would love to have you drop in at the Market.

HAPPY WEEKEND.
Sheesh...I never thought it would get here. It's been quite the week.
Asher leaves for his big trip and now I must get the rest of the family ready for our beach vacation.
Again, HAPPY WEEKEND. See ya on Monday :)

All In 24 Hours

So we went to Parent's Night at Bradley's camp lastnight.

There was a very serious game of Capture the Flag...
Ya know...
Kids vs. Parents

Needless to say, I ended up in "jail."

I look to find Bill and he is limping.

I gave him the look of "come on....shake it off...get back on the field, Grandpa."
Come on...he is 10 years older than me.

He finally made it to me and said "I really think I should go to Urgent Care...I heard something pop in my leg!"

I rolled my eyes and told him "go sit down, this game will be over in about 10 minutes."

Well this is what happened......





He tore his calf muscle. Not pulled....torn.

I sure wish I could remember the medical name for that muscle.
We will all just have to settle with "calf muscle."

They loaded him up with some meds.

Please notice the plate and glass.
Through all his pain he was able to manage to get and Eclaire and a glass of milk down.
Hey, I think you are suppose to take pain meds with food.
RIGHT??

Don't worry....he was still able to use his Crack-berry!!!!

Not sure what the story is with the chinese yo-yo.
See, he is just a little boy at heart!

How bad do you think I felt when I was irritated that he hurt himself.
I think I will get a plaque made up that says...

" #1 Wife"
or
"Wife of the Year"

The side note to all this is Asher came home and told us when he was jumping off of a diving board at his friends house he hit his friends head.
I gave him an ice pack and sent him to bed.

He woke up this morning with 2 black eyes and bent nose.

Guess where he is.....YEP.....URGENT CARE!

Happy Wednesday~

New Flooring

This is the new flooring in our home.

We thought we would start with the kid's rooms.

This would be the son's new floors.
It has created all sorts of new storage in his room.

This is daughter's new floor.
The organization it has created is fabulous.



Just as an FYI....Asher has a huge closet and Haley has a walk in closet.
Most people would die for storage like that.

Nope not my kids.
They want to see everything all the time.

I just shut their doors so I don't have to look at it.
I have had the belief that it is THEIR space.
They can do with it what they wish.

The one thing that bugs me more than anything is when I do finally reach my breaking point and I tell Asher to clean his room (honestly, Haley's room is usually really picked up)I end up with all the clean clothes back in the dirty laundry.
Sheesh, you would think by now I would learn to have him do his own laundry.

I "try" to have one rule....NO FOOD IN THE BEDROOMS.
Hey, I think I see a pop can in Asher's room.
"Ohhh, Asher........"

Hey, I just had another idea.....Chalkboards in the bedroom.
It could read something like this...
"DO YOUR OWN LAUNDRY"
I think they would get the idea.

Please tell me my kid's are not the only ones that live in rooms like this.

Happy Tuesday!

ps. I have to defend Haley here.....she is a college student with a VERY busy life.
Since she has been home from school she has not been home for a single weekend.
AHHHH....to be young and carefree again!
*sigh*

Looky, Looky

.......What Maisy got this week.
(Don't you love how I talk about myself in the third person?)

Through all the good and bad that took place this past week I was able to do a bit of shopping.
Hey, I had to get Haley's birthday present...Right??

This is one of the things I purchased.
I would show ya the other purchase but it's just a serving plate.
No biggy.

It's actually double sided but I will do that when I have a party.
For now, as it sits in my kitchen, it is single sided.
Have you ever noticed how I just live recklessly like that. I am a complete rebel.

After this week this is what I need to remind myself constantly.

Oh, oh, oh, oh how I just love this part of the chalkboard stand.
*sigh*

I call this photo "Back to Back"
To be honest with you....I didn't even think about naming this photo until I was sitting here doing my post.
My goodness I impress myself.
Shocking how that just came so easily to me..."Back to Back"

Now that I am ready to start a new week I am full of energy.
We made it through the sleepover and now I'm on to help my 17 year old son, Asher, get ready to go to Isreal for 3 weeks.

So, just another busy week.
Do any of you have anything happening this week?
If so...please share. Would love to hear all about it.

HAPPY MONDAY!!!!

Goodness....another post...

Sad to say but Haley's friend, Nick, passed away this afternoon.
Please continue to keep his family in your prayers.

This is sooooo sad.
Not only does this hit waaay tooo close to my heart but Nick died on my Haley's birthday.

Thank you all for your prayers.
I know the family got them.

My Monday post will be cheerful.
I promise.
I promise.
I promise.

I am so happy that when I wake up tomorrow morning it is a whole new day.... a brand new day.
A day of new beginnings.
A fresh perspective.





On a kind of cute note....Bradley is having his very first sleep over tomorrow night.
I'm so happy for him.
This is such a big deal to him.
My little man is growing up so fast.
I'm having a ball sharing his cute life with him.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

My Girl's Birthday

HALEY TURNS 20 TODAY!!!!





I just thought I would show you a few photos of my Miss Haley.

This photo is from a dance at her sorority.

Me and Haley on one of my visits to her college.

I don't know what I did in life to end up with this most amazing young woman as my daughter(well....step-daughter, but who's keeping track).

She is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.

She is so thoughtful, she is so sweet and tender with Bradley.
She is such an amazing sister, daughter, friends, girlfriend, niece.

My heart feels so full when I think about the blessing she is in my life.
It's truly who she is that amazes me.
She inspires me to be a better woman.
Who thought that our kids would be the ones teaching us.

I have to go now.
I have to give her a huge birthday hug.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET, DEAR HALEY!!!!!!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Timing.........

This is another no photo Friday.

I have the feeling that this is going to be a rambling of thoughts.
completely informal.

please bare with me.
i thank you in advance.

this has been a challenging week.
those of you who read my blog know that last friday i wrote about my brother, david.
sad but true.

this week started with my 19 year old daughter telling me that her friend from high school was on life support from a drug overdose.
not just any friend, but a young man she spent a HUGE chunk of her weekends with during 3 years of high school.
part of her crowd.

now if you knew where i lived you would also be shocked.
the town where we live is billy graham"s college....wheaton college.
there is a verrrry strong under current of christianity in this community.
quite funny because my kids were raised jewish.
that is for a whole other post.....

it's a bit like mayberry. i am not from a town like this. i was raised in a very diversified community.
everyone was not white. there where people who practiced all different faiths.
it was actually a town of great acceptance of ALL people.
i miss that.

somewhere along the lines i changed.
i softened.
i was hoping that this couldn't happen.
especially after my brother, david's, death.
i wanted an escape.
i wanted anything other than THAT!

i wanted to raise my kids in mayberry.
it's sooo sad but drugs and alcohol even exist in mayberry.

this had brought back so, so many memories.
i feel like i have been in a constant state of prayer.
right before i did this post i actually tried to reason with God.
imagine that.
thank goodness He gets me.
that's all i have to say about that.

i just ask that you all pray, pray like you have never prayed for this young man, Nick Anderson.
pray for his mother, father, sister, friends, aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, treatment friends and just all the people he has touched in his very short life.

i am not one to do a post like this.
i realize that.

this just hits SOOOO close to home for me.
i wish life was like in mayberry.
i now realize there is no mayberry.

let's all hold our kids extra close this weekend.
let's just be grateful for the blessing we have today.

thank you for letting my get this out.
i have been so very consumed with this heavy sadness.
i can't help but empathize with this sweet family.
i can't help but want to make sure people are thinking about them.

i want that families legacy to be soooo much more than their family member died from a disease called addiction.

i want Nick to be remember for living life to the fullest. no matter what that means.
there has to be more meaning in all this. i just know there is!!!

i thank you again for accepting me and loving me as the total package.
i am so blessed everyday because of you!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Just Another Sweet Find

This is another Goodwill find for the Maisy homestead.

I couldn't pass it up.



Oh how I just love her.

Look at her detail.
All those swirlys and twirlys.

She said to me in the store...
"Take me home. Show me some love. Give me a real family."
So I did.

I'm not sure if you can read this.
It was hand made in 1979
Who would have thought that when I was 10 years old, well actually 9 years old...just days from my 10th birthday, that a perfect stranger would make a handmade item and that 30 years later it would end up in my WHITE...yes i'm still giddy, kitchen?

For some reason my brain sometimes like these sideways photos.
Shocker...huh??

So, now you ask, what was the price?









$2.99

That's right...that is not a typo.
You say "SHUT UP....did you really only pay $2.99 for that?"
I say "YEP."
Can you see me do my dance....... The I SPAVED dance??

Earth to Maisy, Earth to Maisy

Since the day Bradley stopped eating "Momma's Gold" I have made him a hot breakfast everyday.
Either waffles, eggs or pancakes.

He associates cereal with a night time snack.

Well this morning this is all I could come up with.






This is my fall back hot breakfast.
I still want it to be last weekend.

This is the effect of round one.
I wish I hadn't looked at the package.
The fat grams and calories are off the charts.
You know they have to be completely out of control otherwise I would be munchin' away.
Self control in certainly not one of my strengths.

The little man wrapped up in the best blanket in the whole world....at least I think so~
Chompin' away on some good quick cinnamon rolls.
It's funny, he loves it when I'm just not into making him the whole hot breakfast thing.
He knows I just go into the fridge and grab the old trusty cinnamon rolls.


Am I the only one totally missing this past weekend???

For some reason I can't snap out of it (may have something to do with the fact that our son, Jakob and his sweet, sweet girlfriend, Liz came home for the weekend.)

Do you hear me stomping my feet?
Do you hear me whining?
Do you see the little tear on my cheek?
Ok, now that I'm warmed up I'm about to throw a full fledged temper tantrum.

I want the weekend back, I want the weekend back, I want the weekend back!

Oh well, life must go go....
I'm off to the dog park this morning.
I want to get home to watch the Michael Jackson memorial service on TV this morning.
Stop it....stop it.....don't you make fun of me...you know you will be watching too :)

Happy Tuesday!!!!

A Weekend to Ponder

So, for many people this is a weekend to have fun.
As a matter of fact, I'm having a small get together on Saturday.

I wish I had photos to post here but I just don't.

Actually this year my heart is feeling rather heavy.
On July 5, 1982 my brother, David, committed suicide.
I was 12 years old and David was 17 years old.

I don't have very many memories of him.
One of the few sweet memories I have from over 27 years ago is him telling my other brother, Paul, to never hit a girl....especially a sister.

It's pretty sad but I really don't think about David very often.
I think that's a natural thing. This year marks 27 years since his death...
Damn, am I that old?? Sheesh.

However, a couple weeks ago I had a very vivid dream about him.
It was soooo weird. He was aged in the dream. He was heavier but still very handsome.

Ever since that dream my heart has been kinda achy.
I'm sad, pissed and also very happy I dreamt (dreamed...not sure which word it is)about him.
It was almost magical.

Because I was so young when he died I don't even have a photo of him.
Sad...right?

I think on Sunday I will go to the cemetery...bring some flowers and just sit down and talk to him.
Do ya think he will say anything back?
If he does you know damn well I won't tell you.
I'm afraid I will be committed to some psychiatric hospital.
I will just keep that one to myself.

I have to tell you...I think this is the HARDEST thing I have had to watch.
I saw, as a 12 yr old, what it did to my parents and my siblings.
I wish this upon NO ONE!!!

I just wish that I had known him better.
I wish I had more memories of him.
I wish I naturally thought of him more often.

So, David, this year I will honor you.
I will talk about you.
I will allow my heart to be heavy.
Why you ask?
Because you deserve to not be forgotten.
You deserve to be talked about.
You deserve to have a legacy.

I am the only person I know(aside from my family members) to have gone through this.
It used to be embarrassing. Now I am proud.
PROUD TO CALL DAVID MY BROTHER!!

I really hope you all have a great weekend.
I know I will!
Life it to be celebrated....now get out there and celebrate.

So, when you are having a drink...please think about having a Jack & Coke....it's sad but at 17 years old his drink of choice was Jack Daniels.
I thought originally I was going to have Mojitos this weekend.
Nope...Bartender (that's me), may I please have 2 Jack & Cokes....One for me and one for David!

Happy Red, White & Blue!!!!

Cloche Love

I have mad cloche love.
I can't help myself.
I have 13 cloches in my home.

I would love to use them in the garden but I'm just not much of a gardener.
You see, I used to be.
Then one day I realized....even when you pull the weeds they come right back.
Geez, are those weeds rude.
Don't they get the hint...
GO AWAY!

However, I feel the same way about making my bed.
Why make it when I'm just gonna get it all messed up that very night.
I know I sound like a teenager but it really is true.
Think about it......




*photo by danicanhammer*

See, I would want these inside my house.
Just look at how many there are.
Different shapes, sizes and color.
*sigh*

*photo by katnx*

I think these are just perfect.
I can't help myself....I just do!!
Fine...I said it.

*photo by Jane Milliman*

That's it....I may just have to drop one over a few weeds.
That way they will look pretty.....
RIGHT??

*Photo by Jane Milliman*

See....this photo looks like there are weeds growing in the cloche.
They still look pretty.
I think I'm onto something here...huh!

*photo my elspethbrico*

Oh, the anticipation these cloches must feel.
I bet spring can't get here soon enough .

*Photo by elspethbrisco*

I bet they have ants in there pants.
You know..the same way our kids feel when they are waiting to leave for a birthday party!

*photo by seligketisding*

I would have never thought of this.
Genius!

*photo by xobscura*

I guess when push comes to shove you could do this.


So not Maisy style.
However, doesn't that look like basil?
Wow...fresh basil.
For some reason this is the first year in 10 years I didn't plant and herb garden.
I wonder why.
Huh??

What are your favorite garden things??

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!!
YAY for hump day!
(get your mind out of the gutter...I didn't mean that kind of hump day)