Happy New Year !

I hope everyone has a nice and safe night !We had our fun and simple party here with our family and now we will just try to stay up long enough to see the ball drop. I'm sure I'll fall asleep before midnight as usual ! I took some pictures of our party and will post them as soon as I can. Happy New Year !

Tagged and Only 3 Days till Christmas !

I can't believe it's only three days till Christmas ! Hurray ! I want to do some Christmassy things this week, but not sure what.We don't have any parties or Christmas programs to go to.It's almost too cold to go out much. I think I'd like to drive around and look at lights tonight if the roads are clear enough. The side roads are still pretty messy and there is a chance of more snow tonight and tomorrow.
I finished the rest of my shopping yesterday and everything is wrapped. The kids and I went to Border's, JC Penney, Honey Baked Ham, Bath and Body Works, and Sams yesterday. We just about froze to death ~ it was way too cold. The wind was just painful ! We all wanted to come home and take a nap by the fireplace ( if only we had a fireplace)I have almost everything for our Christmas dinner. I'll have to run out later for a couple little things I forgot. This is what we are having ~ Oven Roasted Turkey Breast, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, rolls, veggies, pumpkin pie, caramel apple pie, and chocolate brownie trufflets. Just the usual basic stuff. That's plenty of food for the four of us!
Then the kids and I will be driving to St. Louis the day after Christmas to spend 2 weeks with our family there. We will be going to Big Cedar Lodge in Branson for a couple days while we are there. We love that place and are very excited to go. Hopefully the weather cooperates to drive to St. Louis and Branson. :-)Here is a link to Big Cedar It is such a beautiful place. My parents have a time share there and we've gone for quite a few years now. We either stay in a cozy cabin or the lodge. My grandma lives close by there, so she always comes to stay with us and go to a show in Branson or shopping in the outlet malls or to Branson Landing.
When we get back in January my husband Brian will be deploying for 6 months. It's nothing new for us. He has been deployed often and was gone for a year before we moved to Nebraska. So that's what the next few weeks holds for us ! Hope you all have a good Christmas week !

I have also been tagged by Teresa at Diddle Daddle Designs
Here are the rules ~

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write six random things about yourself.

4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.

5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.

6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Anyone that would like to can go ahead and grab this tag.
Let's see if I can come up with 6 more things about myself.

1. I've met the people from TLC's Trading Spaces ~ Paige, Ty, Doug
2. I can't wait to have my own house in 4 1/2 more years when we retire from the Air Force
3.I used to scrapbook and have tons of scrapbooking stuff, but haven't done it in about 4 or 5 years.
4. When I decide I want to do something, I'm very impatient and want to do it right away !
5. I like the Jonas Brothers ;-)
6. My sister and I plan on having our own prim store in Illinois someday.

There ya go ! I had to sit here a while to come up with those. :-) Thanks for the tag Teresa !

A New Prim Blog~ The Patriot Homeplace

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you know about my sister Kimberlee's new prim blog The Patriot Homeplace . Here is one picture from her Christmas slideshow. Go on over and check out her blog to see more ! Have a great night !

Sledding

We have plenty of snow here today and Paige and her friends are out sledding in the back yard of course. :-) Paige is the one coming down last from the very top of the hill.

Photo Shoot

Yesterday was the Country Sampler photo shoot day at my house. The photographer Bill Mathews and stylist Gloria Gayle arrived bright and early in the freezing cold, snowy weather. The snow was so pretty all day. You can see the snow out my windows in some of the pictures I posted here. My house is not very big and there is a lot of camera equipment that they bring with them. There was a lot of squeezing by each other all day with the equipment all over the place. It was so neat to watch them work ! All the little tricks they used to get things that they wanted in the pictures and to get the lighting just right was fun to watch. The shots they did were just great from what I saw on the computer they used here. They sure can make a room look wonderful in the pictures ! I can't wait to see all the pictures when Bill sends them to me. Of course I can't post them on my blog as it would ruin the fun of seeing them in the magazine when that issue comes out. I had lunch for them here and after a short lunch break they got back to work and finished around 6pm. It was a long day. There were 14 shots that they were supposed to get and there was no sun all day , just a wintry, gray sky, which made it take a little longer. It was just a great day and an exciting experience. Bill and Gloria were wonderful and so very
nice ! I feel so lucky and honored to get to do this and have my house in my favorite magazine ! Thanks Donna Marcel for liking my pictures and making this happen !

Cheetah Girls

Last night Paige and I went to the Cheetah Girls concert at the Quest Center in Omaha. It was a great concert and we had a very fun time ! Here is the link to the slideshow if you'd like to see it. Have a great weekend ! http://family.webshots.com/slideshow/569198311QyWeBX

Biggest Loser Fans !

Are there any Biggest Loser fans out there ? If there are I 'm just wondering who you voted for to stay as the third finalist. I voted for Ed ~ I'm not a big Heba fan ! I really wish Vicky was long gone, but oh well. I just want Michelle to win next week ! Go Michelle ! If you've never watched biggest loser you should give it a try next season. It is the most inspiring show ever ! So head over to my poll on the sidebar and show who you voted for ! Have a great night!


Go Michelle !

Secret Santa Goods

Yesterday I got my secret Santa package in the mail and boy was it fun to open ! I was so excited when I pulled out the wool penny rug candle mat with the cute snowmen on it. My first penny rug ! I just love, love, love it !Trudy from Bits of Wool was so generous and thoughtful ! The kids loved their Canada pencils and candy bags and the other goodies in the box for them.I couldn't believe all the goodies for all of us ~ even the dogs got treats ! See that little wool sheep she made ~ just too cute ! I stuck him in my Christmas tree. That chocolate pizza slice is half gone already and delicious ! In a few minutes I'll go make some of the coffee she sent and try a piece of the biscotti. I just love the little butter tin, the note pad, the lotion, the candle, the ornaments, the maple syrup , the soap, the calendar, the chocolate ~ I love it all ! What a super fun surprise ~ Thanks so much Trudy ~ you are a wonderful secret Santa!

Am I Dreaming ?

Well I sure feel like I am and that's because something so exciting has happened for me and I just can't believe it ~ Country Sampler will be here Dec. 16 for a photo shoot for the 2009 or 2010 Christmas issue. I'm just to excited ! What a huge honor ! I've always dreamed that someday I'd get to have my house in that magazine quite a few years down the road maybe~ like when I have my own home, but if they want to come now that's fine with me ! Now I'm just looking around at everything thinking that I need something here or there and what I need to change in different spots, but there really isn't a whole lot I can do besides replace a couple of broken blinds, maybe make some ornies for my bedroom tree, and sew some muslin tiers for my dining room. I also need more green picks ! Michaels here I come ! I'd like to make another snowman too ! To much to do ! I better get busy !
So, Linda and Karen, what was the day like when you had your photo shoot ? Any tips for me or anything that would be helpful for me to know ? Just curious ! I'm nervous ! Hope everyone has a great Thursday !

A Sprinkle of Snow and Two new Snowmen

We got another little sprinkle of snow last night. It looks pretty and even though there is hardly any on the ground Paige is ready to go sledding ! She's happy if the grass is just wet enough to slide down the hill ~ actually all the kids in the neighborhood are ! I finished two more snowmen yesterday and listed them in my Etsy store. They all look so cute sitting in my chair in the dining room I wish I could keep them ! I guess I'll just keep making more ! :-) Here they are ~

A Wonderful Package !

Today my goodies from the giveaway I won at For the Love of Prims arrived. What a wonderful box of goodies ! I love it all ! The room spray smells sooo good and there was a nice extra surprise that Sandy included ~ Chicken Bones ! They are a cinnamon hard candy ~ like old fashioned candy sticks with chocolate inside. Delicious ! :-) I've never had anything like them before and I can't stay out of them ! Thank you so much Sandy for all of these goodies ! Here is a picture ~

Snow Fella's

I made these two snowmen today. I love how they turned out ! They'll be in my Etsy store later tonight. Now I need to make one for myself ! We had our first snow this morning. It was so pretty and stuck on the ground a little, but is gone now. I love the snow and can't wait for more ! We get plenty of it here in Nebraska. :-) Hope everyone had a great weekend !

Christmas Giveaway Winner !

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving ! Thank you all for entering my giveaway and for all the super nice comments on my Christmas pictures ! We had a nice Thanksgiving here. Brian worked all day, so it was just me, Gabriel, and Paige here at home cooking our Thanksgiving dinner and watching the Macy's parade. It was a nice, relaxing day. We ate around 3 and then Brian ate when he got home at 6. We were so full that we didn't even have our dessert until around 8 . We watched Christmas with the Kranks , one of my very favorite Christmas movies, while we ate our pumpkin pie and chocolate cheesecake . Yum ! So I guess you are wondering who the winner of the giveaway is ! The winner is Rambling Girl ! Here is her comment ~

Oh the pics are beautiful. Love the tour of your home.
Please enter me...Wishing your family also a wonderful holiday season!

Rambling Girl, please send me your address and I'll get these goodies mailed out to you ! :-) My email is cozycoop@gmail.com
Hope everyone has a wonderful day and if you are out shopping today I hope you find some really great deals !

Homespun Christmas ~ A Giveaway and My Home

It's time for my Homespun Christmas Giveaway ! I love giveaways ! I would like to do this giveaway like Linda did her last giveaway and ask that you don't post this on your blogs. I'd like to do this one for those that regularly visit and those that just happen upon my blog and see the giveaway on their own. Just leave me a comment to be entered and if you don't have a blog make sure to leave me your email address. I will announce the winner on Friday Nov. 28. I will accept entries until 10 pm on Thanksgiving night. So here is what I'm giving away ~


You'll get a Yuletide Blessings sign, a Let it Snow pillow, a seed bag that has 1876 stitched on it, 2 sparkly stars with rusty bells, a plaid Christmas cloth,2 Gingerbread Men, a small pillow with a feather tree stitched on it , a sparkly snowman star, a stocking with a star and rusty bell stitched on it, a small tree in a painted box, a gingerbread ornament, three small candy canes ornies, and a Christmas cookie tart. I made everything except for the cookie tart, candy canes, and plaid napkin. I hope whoever wins will enjoy all these goodies ! Good luck !
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I have also finished all of my Christmas decorating . It was a nice day here yesterday, so I even did most of my outside decorations. I really just did my porch area. Paige wants more lights on the house, but we'll see. I kind of like it simple. You can click on the gingerbread men picture to go to my Christmas slideshow. I hope you enjoy looking ! Oh and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone ! Have a wonderful holiday !

Two New Awards

I've gotten two new awards over the past couple days. The Marie Antoinette is from my wonderful blog friend Gina at Cat Nap Inn Primitives. Thanks so much Gina ! One of my other blog friends Jazy at Dry Creek Primitives gave me the Uber Amazing Blog Award. Thank you Jazy ! I'd like to offer these awards to any of you great blogger friends that would enjoy posting them on your blogs. I enjoy reading everyone's blogs so much. Every morning I wake up, make my coffee and head to the computer to read up on any new posts. It's a fun part of my day that I always look forward to! Thank you all for being such great blogland friends ! Have a wonderful weekend !

$100 Magnet Street Giveaway

Go on over to Mom of One to enter this great giveaway !

Magnet Street - $100 Giveaway

Decorating by the Fire with Harry

We had a fun visit last week in Illinois and got home yesterday. My mom and I put her tree up while I was there. I think it looks so pretty . We decided to put it in an old box that she has. I think it looks so cozy ! I also had a fun day decorating with my friend Jamie at her house. Everything looks so pretty. Go check out her slideshow on her blog The Miller Homestead. My sister Kim's house is also all decorated for Christmas and looks beautiful ! I'm hoping she'll start blogging soon , so you all can see her pretty decorations ! When I got home I had a package waiting for me from Gina over at Cat Nap Inn Primitives . Gina and I did a swap and in the package was the wonderful primitive Santa that she made ! I love him~ thanks again Gina ! So this is what I'm doing today~ decorating with my fireplace DVD going, listening to my new Harry Connick Jr. cd. I lit my new Yankee Mistletoe candle and it smells so good and looks so pretty with the candle hugger I bought from KM Primitives !I wish I had a fireplace, but my DVD will have to do. It does create a cozy feel in the room and even has the crackling sounds ! :-) I love the new Harry Connick Jr. Christmas cd ! If you are looking for a new Christmas cd I would go buy this one or buy a couple of his songs on itunes! I've gotten pretty much all of my decorating done. I had to rearrange today because my dogs were bumping into my tree where I had it, causing ornaments to fall off . They ate a couple of my cinnamon applesauce ornaments that fell. I'm sure they enjoyed that treat. :-) I'll be making more anyway. I have a few small things to finish up before I take all my pictures, but here is a little preview. I included a picture of my mom's tree for you to see ! Hopefully by next Monday I'll have all my pictures done. I can't wait to see everyone's Christmas decor pictures ! Hope everyone has a great week !



My mom's tree~


Santa that Gina made ~