28 Sleeps till...........

Omigosh, there are only 28 sleeps till Christmas.
I cannot believe that another year has come and gone.
It truly amazes me that its almost 2009.

I don't know about your kids, but my kids are soo excited about
Christmas this year, its really quite fun, given the youngest is 9 and the oldest is 19.
I do miss Christmas's of yesteryear when I would stay up for
hours on end wrapping toys, filling stockings with stuffers and the wild
doe eyed look on my lil ones faces when coming down the stairs.

Christmas is truly a magical time of year.
Now that we have 5 kids and toys arent the main dish under the tree anymore, December is just one of the best months of the year.

We dipped our chocolate covered pretzels this past weekend and rolled em in red, white and green sprinkles...mmmm....
I dont like all those kits out there, I mean I like the molds for the chocolate, but the actual chocolate sucks....so I use Nestle Toll House chips with a small tablespoon of shortening....works like a charm and Im a dark chocolate lover, so its truly magic on your taste buds.

I know Im all over the Christmas Spirit and we havent even eaten Turkey yet, but I cannot WAIT to stuff my face tomorrow....
I am getting up early to help my mom cook and sticking a beef tenderloin in the oven tonite...mmmm.....Why is it that the Holidays are focused around eating?? lol...

There is NOTHING in the world like a beef tenderloin, its truly succulent and soo tender you can cut it with your fork.
The eating just doesnt END...but its the holidays and I think thats a great excuse, dont you??

Everyones feeling better today, that flu is NASTY I tell you....
N-A-S-T-Y. And it lasts like freegan forever...ok, ok about a week, but it feels like forever....the muscle aches, headache, stiff joints, foaming at the mouth. Ok, ok, so Im exaggerating, so what.

I just wanted to step in and tell all my wonderful readers
to have a wonderful fattening Turkey Day and may you all feel the peace and warmth of family during this time of year.

Dont forget to make a wish if you get the wishbone in your turkey...
Dreams DO come true.

Go Bucks!

Ohio State is in the lead.

Life is sweet. Its been the greatest day....even though a few of the kids are under the weather, they all have a big game going on, determined by points that the Buckeyes score in the game today. They are making money off touchdown points. Good times.

The food has been abundant, Gary never fails there, and
the game is going as expected, with the Buckeyes in the lead.
The kids have been promised
if the Bucks win, the family goes out for Chinese Food, lol....
Funny how dinner rides on football players...oy vey!

My mom had a birthday yesterday.....I went to the bakery to get her the traditional Thrushes cupcakes...oh yummO....heaven in one big bite, ok, ok, maybe two.
Usually I get her those gorgeous cupcakes with really bright fun colors....

Not this year. Her birthday fell on the Ohio State vs. Michigan game, and the cupcake choices were simple. Blue & Yellow or Red & Gray.
Oh mercy. So the baker asks me who my Mom is rooting for, and I told her, well.....she really isn't. I just need cupcakes, lol.
So she loaded me up with team colors and when I tell you the blue frosting was blue? Oh yeah....as blue as the color can come.

And what happens when you eat blue frosting?
You look like you've eaten a Smurf.

Most of you know my downfall of sweets....and well.....
It looks like Ive eaten approximately 27 smurfs. I am permanently blue.
Try yelling GO BUCKS with a blue mouth and convincing your die hard Buckeye Family Fans that you really have NOT converted.

No really......

Go Bucks! said the lady with the really blue teeth.

Oooooo did someone say MURRINI??

Oooo, yes they did!

Ive been a busy bee this week, outside of taking care of a sick child....

And of course I ended up catching it...blah humbug!

It's amazing how a sinus infection and cold can bog the system completely down. It's like all the senses abort and your left with this infected crap that tastes like....well....I spose I should stop there, huh?

My 12y.o. has missed 6 days of school with a high fever and the sinus infection from hell. Poor kid. School sends her home, because of a 102 fever, then they call and complain that she's missing school.

You've GOT to be joking me? Nope, no joke here.....

In the interim, I kept busy mak'n handpulled murrini. Its truly beautiful, if I can say so myself. And totally FUN to make.

You'll see them on Etsy yet tonite~!

Mak'n Murinni

Can you believe it?
I actually self taught myself to make some handpulled Murinni Cane Chips.
Totally groovy and very exciting to use & sell.
I will be posting pictures later, I have tons of various color applications and will be posting it in my Etsy Store later this evening.

Miss Haleigh girl has a horrendous sinus infection....
We are off to the Doctor for antibiotics.....

She's Alive.....Alive!!

It's good to be alive....
I have been a busy lil bee unpacking all my goodies....most everything has its own home now, and for that I am happy.

You forget what a pain it is to move....until you do it twice in one month, lol.....or as Gary calls it, "Vacationing".....no matter what you label it, I shall call it "Sucks Butt Big Time"

It's amazing how life is falling into place lately. I have no complaints.
Oh I know, right? Shocker. Usually Lori is just FULL of complaints, but no. Not this time. Life is good.

Tim has a great job here in Toledo, making very good money AND he's learning how to drive! So for all my fellow Toledoans, that's your cue to stay OFF the road when he's ON the road, bwahahahahaa....
No really, he's actually doing great at it. He comes home tired from work at night now, but its good for what ails him. Transitioning to adult hood is always a scary but exciting time of life.

Now that I have everything in order, that's my cue to start sculpting and playing with fire again. I have some brilliant ideas in my head that need to come out.....so stay tuned into Tokyo....

You'll love the upcoming eye candy!

Peace -n- Hairgrease.....

No more Haunted Houses!!!

Gary and I went back over to the old house and got er all cleaned up.
There is NOTHING we miss about that place. Nothing.

Most of you that know us, know how haunted Embassy Ct., is/was.
Some of you of course are on the fence about Ghosts and Spirits, but stay ONE night in our old house and you'll be a firm believer in the Paranormal.

I am just soo glad to be out of there. That place really put havoc on our family....I cant believe how much we all simply sleep better, being away from that place! Even the dog was spooked when I brought her over with us, to get it cleaned up. When the dog is spooked, then you REALLY wonder, lol.

We had really intended on buying that home too. It was a little big, but we had started to really settle, and living on the Golf Course was soo divine.
Soo peaceful.....or at least we THOUGHT it was peaceful.
Boy were we wrong.
Unfortunately, the haunting in the belly of that evil house, made the golf course seem NOT soo peaceful anymore.

And having Ghostbusters come out was definately an experience to remember, lol.....actually they are called Paranormal Investigators.

I like Ghostbusters better, dont you??
We learned soo much about the paranormal and Gary actually became a "believer" out of all this. I think when you hear and see things that are not of the normal realm, it makes you really 2nd guess your own thinking.

And no, they didnt come out in traditional Ghostbusters Uniforms or drive the cool white ambulance hearse, lol....nor did the Marshmallow Man stalk our neighborhood with sticky goo, but wouldnt THAT have been cool?

As I finished cleaning today, I turned around to take that one "last" look,
and I was reminded of the paranormal insanity we all suffered for almost a year there. I still cannot believe we actually LIVED with all that?

The dark Shadow Person that ran thru our home, even in broad daylight, scaring all the kids, the constant door slamming without the doors actually shutting, the sound of your name being whispered right in your ear and of course the maddening feeling of KNOWING you shut off ALL the lights a minute ago, WHY are they ALL back on?? Oh, and we cant forget the nightime footsteps walking thru the house, over and over and over.

Hours at a time, it would walk at night, pacing up and down the floorboards.
You think you can "catch" someone walking, you've already blamed ALL the kids for being up, lol ....Then you run like a bat out of hell up the stairs and its dark and quiet.

The scratching within the walls of the house and the simple dark feeling that your living with "something" that you can feel is watching you. Constantly.

I could go on and on, but I wont bore you with all the ghostly details, lol....
I know most people have their own ghost stories and others just dont.
You will always have those that just DONT believe and wont bother to even try.

Gary was one of those that didnt believe. Until he came face to face with "it" on the stairway one night.

He's a firm believer now.

I am soo thankful that we moved. Soo thankful we dont come home anymore to items being moved or thrown, no more negative feelings.....
I am soo thankful that we all survived the insanity that went on in that house we once called a home.

If we can survive all that, we can survive anything.
Its a great feeling knowing that we come home now, and there is peace.

Peace is good.
Funny the things people are thankful for.
We are just thankful our new home isnt haunted, lol.....

Life is Gooooood

Well, I did it!
I drove 1000 miles with 3 kids, Kady and a U-haul, lol.
I was really dreading the move, but it ended up being really great.

It took us 17 hours, and when your the only one driving, it really feels like its taking forever, but when its over, you sigh and say...."Wow, maybe it wasnt THAT long" , lol.....

We saw beautiful leave changes, the mountains in TN and gorgeous foilage along the highways. A few people offered to fly down and help me drive back home, but I was really proud of myself to have done it all alone.
And I couldnt have done it without my kids. They are truly great.

We are all soo thankful and glad to be back in Toledo/Maumee.
You really dont realize all that you missed until you are actually away from it.

I get to spend my holidays with my Mom now, and we are soo excited.
I cannot WAIT to cook on Thanksgiving and make my famous pecan honey butter over a nice hot skillet of corn bread. If anyone has any great traditions for the holidays, Im all ears. I've always made the holidays full of memories for the kids and they look forward to it each year.

I have my office almost set up, my torch is itching to be lit and monkey babies are dancing in my head, waiting to be sculpted.
Im still unpacking and dancing around boxes, but its all worth it.

Tim got a new job today and I'm enrolling the girls in school.
They couldnt be more excited to be back home, around all their friends and back in the ho-hum of daily life.

I am soo thankful to all those that have supported me during this hardship and I realize how blessed we are that things are going so well.
Life couldnt be any better right now, and moving forward in a way I didnt think it ever would.

We are looking into going to Amish Country this month, and staying in those quaint little cottages, doing some amish shopping and chow on some authentic amish cooking......

I will be checking back with you all soon.....
Peace & Hairgrease!