Ahhhhh....it's Almost Here - Can you smell it?!

Happy Hump Day guys and dolls! I am just absolutely floored that we are officially in the last day of September.  How the heck did that happen so fast? I guess what they say is true - the older you get, the faster the years fly by.  It seems like it was just December not long ago when I had to have emergency gallbladder surgery - I just don't know where the last 9 months have gone.  Anyway, I am linking up with Jessi over at Jessi's Design and Jenn over at Going the Distance for their What's Hap-Pinning Wednesday Link up party.  I just found them both today, and I can't wait to read up on the rest of their blogs! Come play along, won't you?! :)

Since we live in the Houston, Texas area, we don't get Fall here really until mid November sometime usually. It is awful....  As you well know, I am a HUGE Fall person and want everything that relates to Fall and since I have to currently live vicariously through others who are living in places that get to actually enjoy Fall weather and the changing of the leaves, etc., here are a few of my favorite Fall things:

Fall Candles - I use Fall Scents year 'round 

Fall Tablescapes - I mean, how cute is this

Yes I am - I miss being somewhere that I can enjoy these things 

Love this girl's style - it is SO me

Blanket scarves - I have this one and LOVE it

Vests - I have the one on the left and the right - guess I just need the middle one now

Oh my - I LOVE all things Plaid AND Flannel

yep - my absolute favorite view

Pumpkin Patch - need I say more

Dark nail colors - I LOVE dark nails and wear them a lot of time all year as well

Of course, what is Fall without Pumpkin and Cream Cheese

And last but not least - Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte - I try to make it at home now so that it's healthier - but man, I love this drink and can't wait for it to come back each year - maybe it's because it signals to me that Fall has officially began

What about you?  What's Hap-pinning with you? Have a great day lovies! 

Lots of love and hugs,

Hey, It's Okay Tuesday

Good morning and Happy Happy Tuesday guys and dolls.  I do hope your Monday was a good one. Mine was okay, nothing special - not good, not bad, so that's a Win Win in my book and the fact that it went by really fast made it even better! :)  Today is Hey, It's Okay Tuesday so be sure to come play along and link up with Amber at Airing My Dirty Laundry One Post at a Time.  

-- To have already started putting up my Halloween decorations inside - it's not too early, right?

-- To love the cooler temps and rain we've been having the past 2 days.  I am so over this Texas heat that I can't stand it - come on Fall!!!

-- To absolutely love, love, love the TV show, Crisley Knows Best - he is so freaking hilarious and cracks me up

-- To wish there was more time in the day to get things done when I get home from work

-- To agree with Amber on her Facebook Status post, because they drive me crazy too

-- To like Donald Trump.  I am so sick of the politics we've had for all of these years and the President and current administration that we have, that I do believe Donald Trump/Ben Carson is the right ticket for next election.  While I may not agree with all of Donald Trump's ideas, I do believe he would be a welcome change to the White House and will help get our Country back on track - it's been in piss poor management for way too long and has completely divided our Country and it just makes me sick

Well, there you have my take on Hey, It's Okay Tuesday this week.  I do hope you'll come play along and can't wait to see your list too!  Have a great day lovies and thanks for stopping by to say hello. :)

Lots of love and hugs,

Halloween Decor & Weekend Recap

Happy Monday guys and dolls. I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Besides watching our Hogs in what was yet another disappointing loss when we had the game won, hubby and I went to San Marcos and New Braunfels for the day on Saturday and did some shopping and eating - but mainly, lots and lots of shopping. We had never really been to the outlets over in San Marcos before, but OMG, all I can say is if you ever make your way there - be sure you plan a day of it before you ever go. That place is HUGE and it literally took us over 6 hours and we didn't even go in all of the stores in that place. On one side of the street is the Tanger Outlets and on the other side of the street is the Premium Outlets - wow is all I can say. We got a lot of great deals, however, so that was nice. It was also an early anniversary weekend, as my husband will be working most, if not all, of October on the weekends due to new store openings and so just in case he's not here during that time, we decided to take our weekend early. :)

On Sunday I decided to start slowly bringing out my Halloween Decor to try and see what I have and what I may need. I got a little bit accomplished, but not near what I had hoped to get done. I am going to post some pictures below in the hopes you will help a sista out and tell me some more ideas that I can do to add to it. I've looked all over Pinterest and have gathered tons of ideas, as you can imagine, but.... So, are you ready? Okay, but please don't laugh and I'm serious about helping a sista out - would love your opinions and ideas please! :)

I know the fireplace is a little plain - I just can't figure out what else to do with it. I wanted to add some small bales of hay and more pumpkins on the bottom, but those tiny bales of hay at Walmart are $8 a pop - wow, I was shocked! Do you use them? Are they worth the price? Do they last more than one season? Also, I'm thinking of adding a Happy Halloween or Spooky banner across the front of the mantle - but I know it needs more:

 Some of my Halloween decor from Yankee Candle many years ago - I love these skeletons and the candles bleed Red when they are lit:

 

 My wreath that I've not finished yet, there just happened to be a nail in the brick already, so I thought I would see what it looked like hanging up:

My kitchen table: 

 

This table is NOT done at all - I just threw extra stuff on there to see where I may want what: The sign I made many blue moons ago and it's still one of my favorite pieces:

 My craft table runneth over:

 More of my craft room:

 And yet, more:

See why I said I needed your help - LOL  I have the stuff, but am still trying to pull it all together. Well, thanks for stopping by and please let me know you were here. I look forward to catching up on all of your blogs today.  Have an awesome day my peeps! :)

Lots of love and hugs,

Beating the Odds...Mesothelioma Awareness Day

Happy Saturday guys and dolls! I hope you've been having a great weekend so far.  Wow, I just can't believe it is already almost the end of September! Sheesh, this month has just flown by, hasn't it?!  In case you didn't know, today is Mesothelioma Awareness Day. A few weeks ago, a lady by the name of Heather Von St. James reached out to me and asked if I would be willing to share her story about her experience with Mesothelioma here on my blog in honor of Mesothelioma Awareness Day. Well, of course I said yes!  

Mesothelioma is a cancer that is caused by exposure to Asbestos and the inhalation of Asbestos particles. Most individuals never know they have Mesothelioma until many years later after the exposure has occurred. You can learn more about that here.  When Heather was a child, her dad worked in drywall construction and had unknowingly exposed his daughter, Heather, to Asbestos through his work jacket. Once she was diagnosed back in 2005 at the very young age of 36, Heather was given only 15 months to live.  She worried that her husband of 6 1/2 years would become a widow and that she would no longer be around to raise and watch her 3 month old beautiful baby girl grow up - that was over 10 years ago.  I have known a few people in my lifetime who have cancer and who have died from cancer.  As a matter of fact, I currently work with 2 ladies who have breast cancer, and we just lost a co-worker who died of brain cancer.  He was only 59 years young and the ladies I work with are also in their late 50's and early 60's. It seems that cancer knows no age. I really hope that a cure will be found in my lifetime.

After reading Heather's story of triumph over her Mesothelioma, I was just in awe, literally.  Heather is a very brave woman whom I have come to admire and have a great deal of respect for all that she has been through.  Personally, I just don't know that I would ever be as strong as Heather has been if I had to go through such difficult times.  Along with telling you about Heather's story, she gave me permission to share photos of her and her beautiful family as well:

I love her spunky look and her hair - I mean, I adore it, don't you?! She's so young looking and the gray/silver hair just highlights her face and brings out her beautiful eyes and attributes even more, I think.  She is just adorable and her family is adorable as well.  If you would like to learn more about Heather and her story, you can find it here.  Also, if you would like to learn more about Mesothelioma, you can find it here. What about you?  Do you have any personal stories relating to cancer that you'd like to share, maybe that you've experienced or are experiencing now personally or with someone you know?  I would love to learn about your stories as well, so please feel free to share.  If you have a story that you'd like me to share, please let me know and I will be glad to do so.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and thanks again for stopping by to say hello and learning about Heather's and her story.  :)

Lots of love and hugs,

Friday Favorites - TV Shows

Good morning and happy T*G*I*F my friends! We've had examiners this week at the Bank and it has been a week from you know what!  Between that and being sick with Vertigo for a couple of days in a row, I, for one, am SO happy that it's finally the weekend and can't wait to relax.  As you know, one of my favorite bloggers, Becky, from The Java Mama and her friend, Kim, from Faith, Grace & Giggles have their Friday Favorites Linky Party and I am going to be playing along each week and I hope you'll come join in the fun - every week has a different topic.  This week's topic is TV Shows.

My husband and I are COMPLETE TV and Movie Junkies.  This week has finally started the Fall lineup and we're SO excited!  Here are our favorites:

1.  Scandal - OMG can you say HOOOOTTTTT??!! These two have some of the BEST chemistry I've ever seen in my life! All I can say is, Tony Goldwyn is HOT!!! OMG WOW hubba hubba!!! Is it just me or do you think he's HOT and SEXY too?  I don't know why, but I love older men and some of them with gray hair - OH MY WORD - they are just sexy to me...

2.  The Blacklist - can you say RED? We LOVE RED!! He and his partner onscreen are fabulous together but he's always been one of my favorites in ever show he's ever been in and I LOVE him!

3.  Grey's Anatomy - Dr. McDreamy - ohhh how I miss seeing his handsome self on this show!  I still can't believe they killed him off! He's another HOTTIE who happened to have that salt and pepper look going for him and those eyes - oh my word - those eyes.....

 4.  Nashville - need I say more? I love this entire cast. I don't think they could have chosen a better cast of people together for this show. And the 2 young sisters on there are so talented and sing so wonderfully.  I never knew they were sisters in real life until recently.

5.  Chicago Fire and Chicago PD - I almost forgot about these two shows.  They too, are some of our faves and the guys aren't too hard on the eyes, if you know what I mean - hubba hubba :)

6.  Agents of Shield - I completely forgot about this one until a blogger reminded me when she said how much she loves this show.  It too is a good one, though not one of my faves, it is definitely one of my husband's favorites for sure.

Some of our newest favorites that we just got hooked on:

7.  Below Deck - the people who are the millionaire clients and come on this yacht are absolute FRUITCAKES! And even some of the staff are FRUITCAKES as well - but it's a hilarious show nonetheless.  Have you watched it yet? You should look it up.  I think it's on the Bravo Channel on Dish but not 100% sure.  I do know it airs on Tuesday nights, however.

8.  Crisley Knows Best - I absolutely ADORE him and think he is freaking HILARIOUS to say the least! If you've never seen this show, you MUST go and watch it STAT!!! He tries to run his house with an iron fist, and wants things done his way. He is very anal and very specific about everything in his world.  But one of the main things I absolutely LOVE about him is that he is never afraid to admit when he's wrong about something, nor is he afraid to give a big bear hug to his kids and he tells everyone, including his personal assistant, that he loves them all of the time.  He is firm, but fair with his kids.  Although, I do not like the way that the kids talk to him and his wife at times, and blatantly do what he tells them NOT to do, and just takes the punishment afterwards - you know the old don't ask for permission, ask for forgiveness routine, I do really enjoy the show and think it's hilarious and one you would enjoy. This is also another Tuesday lineup, but I don't know what channel it's on offhand either.

So what about you? What are your favorite tv shows? And on another subject, what are your weekend plans? Anything fun and exciting?  Hubby and I are going to San Antonio on Saturday for the day to do some shopping and go to the Riverwalk.  Depending on how late it gets, depends on if we stay the night or not.  Plus our Hogs are playing Texas A&M on tv later that night at 7:00.  I don't know if we will watch or not this week, it will depend on how much fun we are having otherwise I guess. :)

Well, thanks for stopping by and have a FANTASTIC Friday and an AWESOME weekend.  Please let me know you were here so I can stop by and see you too! :) And because I'm always up for a Friday funny, I don't want to disappoint you:

 Lots of love and hugs,