Where Are The Horses?

Here's one! That's MY beautiful baby! I love her glossy coat and NOW I know what Brooke was talking about when she'd say how much she loved the smell of horses. I used to only smell stinky barn smells - you know, the manure and wet shavings. Ugh.




But since Lady has been mine and I've spent more time at the barn, the icky smells don't bother me anymore (well, Coppertox still makes me gag - I'd actually rather smell horse poop) and I now LOVE the smell of my horse. Sweet girl.

Oh, yeah. There were some other horses at the barn today as well. Somewhere. :::grin:::

New Bed for Brooke

My children are deprived. They've never known the thrill of picking out a brand new bedroom set of their very own. Up until now, they've always had second-hand furniture (not that there is ANYTHING wrong with that). Brooke picked a black sleigh bed with a chest, desk, and nightstand.

The cats approve of her choice. And they just LOVE her new silver, gray, and black covers! I just hope Brooke loves removing cat hair from it! :^D The sticky roller will be her new best friend!

What is All That White Stuff???

Could it be snow flurries? In South Louisiana?


Wait! It's not January! That's the only time there are ever possibly a few flurries. But they never stick on the ground. What is that?

Ah. Yes. Packing peanuts from the boxes that were stacked outside. Who knew a cool front would literally BLOW through? There are hundreds of packing peanuts now scattered over our backyard.

Any teenage girls want to be sassy? I have the perfect punishment. Muhahahahaha!

Beauty Treatments a la Brooke

Brooke decided to search on the internet for some homemade face masks. And she decided to make one.

She mixed half an avocado, mashed,

and 1/4 cup of honey,

warmed it just slightly in the microwave, and brushed it on. The directions said to leave it on for 10 minutes.

There. Aren't they beautiful? :::giggle:::

I guess I should have taken a REAL "after" shot.

Love is in the Air

Today I was sitting on the sofa working on my laptop. I looked over and saw a sight I never thought I'd see. Because, you see, Libby pretends like she cannot stand Stewart. She acts like she abhors the very sight of him. And poor Stewart loves her to pieces. But I caught them napping together.

I love how Libby is using my John Grisham novel as a pillow. Too funny. (Oh - and the blankets are on the sofa BECAUSE of the cats - when we decided on leather for our sofa, we never thought about our cats' back claws - we didn't think of their claws at all. The sorrier for us.)

I quietly called for Brooke to bring the camera. She took a few shots, then got the bright idea to remove John Grisham and add another, more appropriate title. Heeheehee.

I like this one best. "Man and Wife For Life." Yup. That's Libby and Stewart. Snuggling one minute. Fighting and clawing the next. Must be a match made in heaven.

Get the Disinfectant!!!

Do you remember the Peanuts cartoons where Lucy was licked by Snoopy and she'd run around like an insane person, screaming for disinfectant? Well, that was me today. But I hadn't been licked by a dog. It was worse. Much, much worse.

Today I was viciously attacked by this guy.

Oh, yeah. He may seem like he's innocent and sweet, but when I went to move Morgan's scooter, he was on the handle. And he CRAWLED UP MY ARM!!! I jumped and screamed and shook my arms until I dislocated both shoulders. (Okay, not really.) And when he was flung across the carport, he scurried as quickly as he could to the top of the storage room doorway. And sat there, looking innocent. But *I* know the truth.

Gee, I hope no one was watching me. :::sigh:::

Celebrations, Scones, and Snakes...and All Before NOON!

Today my Brooke is 14 years old! I cannot believe my little girl can be that old! Can I turn back the clock 10 years, please? Where did the time go?

First thing this morning, I surprised her with a tea party. Her best friend spent the night last night and we called Nana to come join us this morning.



Teeny gave her a great necklace - a swirly blue guitar pick that said "pick Jesus" on the front with a scripture verse from Romans on the back. And lots of yummy smelling tarts from Yankee Candle for Brooke's electric tart burner.

We had "blooming tea." My sister-in-law bought me a box of them for my birthday and I've been saving them for a special occasion. This morning, I discovered a special occasion. I let Brooke's friend pick which one and she picked "Heart of Love." It was a yummy rose jasmine tea.

I made Mango Scones. We all adore scones and Brooke adores mango. What a great combination!

Mango Scones

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

5 tbsp cold butter, cut into cubes

1 cup whipping cream (you see, this is a low calorie scone - hahahahaha)

1/2 cup peeled, chopped mango

Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly spray scone pan/baking sheet with non-stick spray. Skip this step if you use a well loved Pampered Chef pizza stone.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until crumbly. Stir in whipping cream. Add mango.

On lightly floured surface, knead dough 5 or 6 times. Roll dough into 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into triangles. Place dough triangles on prepared pan. Brush tops with either a little cream or an egg wash.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with Devonshire Cream and lemon, orange, or lime curd. YUM!

Then when I was bringing Cosette out to potty, she stopped to sniff something just off the concrete right at the back of the house. All of a sudden, she jumped back and I saw a snake strike at her. Thankfully, it missed and I immediately called her to me and put her inside. I called the girls to bring me three essential items - my keys, my cell phone, and my camera.

This is the snake. It is a southern copperhead. That is a venomous pit viper, for all you uninitiated. If they feel the least bit intimidated, they strike rather than retreat. It kept striking the whole time I was snapping pictures, calling my policeman neighbor, and watching the snake with hoe in hand, afraid to hit it for fear my blow wouldn't kill, but only make it turn on me. And his reach was about as long as mine. The policeman neighbor came with a very sharp shovel and the copperhead was separated from the copperbody. :::snort:::

Whew! Not quite noon and I was ready for a nap! Later in the day, we spent quite a while at the barn. Brooke and Morgan rode. Then it was homemade pizza and Pioneer Woman's Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever.

Now I'm off to the hospital to pick up Steve, who had to unfortunately work a 16-hour shift today.

Happy Birthday, Brookie Girl!

Remember That New Rule?

The one about "no animals on the sofa?"

Remember the one who said it? He's the one ignoring the poodles and walking out the back door. Yeah. New rule. Uh huh.

(And the blankets are on the sofa because of the CATS, who need some soft caps on their back nails.)

A Sofa!!!

Hurray! We have had only a folding camping chair and two borrowed bean bags for seating in the living room! On 10/3 our sofa arrived!!!

Steve said we needed a new rule - no animals on the sofa.

Abrial didn't receive the memo.

Queen Delilah

Look at her, lying amongst the cushions. Where are her slaves who should be fanning her and feeding her tasty morsels? (Um, I think she was taking the photo.)

Only Two Weeks

Remember little Kallie cat? Who arrived in the beginning of June? Steve said she could only stay two weeks.



Because he doesn't like cats.

Doesn't like them at all.

Your two weeks are almost up, Kallie. :::giggle:::

Brooke's Chicago Trip

Hey! We have a computer AND internet!!! Hurray!!! So I'll be trying to catch up a bit.

Here are some pictures from Brooke's trip to Chicago in September. When she was in Illinois with my mother-in-law, her aunt and her boyfriend came to visit and brought her on a day trip to Chicago.

When Steve, Morgan, and I went to Chicago last year for Joshua's Navy graduation, Brooke elected to stay home, so she was excited to get to the Windy City.

Here are some of snapshots of her exciting day.

She went to Wrigley Field.

Ate Chicago Deep Dish pizza at Dagostino's.

Went to the Tribune Tower. Saw the Nathan Hale statue.

Rode on the "El."

Saw very strange creatures...(what IS this thing?).....

....and mummies at the Field Museum.

Went to Millennium Park. Saw the "Bean."

Was AMAZED at the sheer number of people.

And fell in love with the Chicago skyline at nighttime.

I'm so glad she was able to experience Chicago. Thank you, Mike and Susie, for showing her a super time!

Where'd She Go?

I have been quite the absentee blogger, haven't I? So sorry. Our Internet service transfer to the new house was put to the back burner by the cable company, as they thought getting hurricane-ravaged areas' service back in business more important. Although I do agree. But I missed my online access!

To make matters worse, my main computer received a zap when the electricity blinked off and on two weeks ago. And the camera was plugged in when it happened, so now my computer AND my camera are not working.


Computer goes to the hospital tonight. Working on the camera issue. I'll keep in touch!