My Life Story - by Elwood

I think I was born around April 1, 2010 but can’t be sure because you see I was abandoned on a busy street. I was very sick and approximately 11 week’s old and weighed only 1 lb. 10 oz. Even though I was sick and such a skinny little kitten I had so much spirit in me. At least that is what I have been told. I remember that June 21, 2010 was a day of confusion for me. I could not understand why I was tossed out of a car and left on that busy street but no sooner than this happened a tall blonde lady scooped me up in her arms. Little did I know at that time she would become my Momma. She held me tight and whispered in my ear that I was going to be alright. She held me for the longest time and let me snuggle in the crook of her neck. Somehow I knew I was going to be alright and this is where I needed to be.

That first day with my new Momma was a little frightening. She put me in a box and we got into her car. I screamed and screamed because I wanted out of this box. As we were driving she kept saying, “you will be alright little baby.” We eventually arrived at an office with several nice ladies who thought I was so cute. They put me and Momma in a room and she let me out of the box and I just wanted her to hold me. A lady came into the room and introduced herself as Dr. Martin. I got the once over by the doctor but I didn’t care because I was getting so much attention by people who cared about me. We soon left with antibiotics in hand and went to my new Daddy’s office to surprise him. He smiled when he saw Momma walking up to his office because he saw her with a cat carrier box and my little black and white paw was poking out. Daddy couldn’t wait to see me because you see, kitties are his favorite. Momma was very excited and happy that she rescued me and was talking a mile a minute but was so upset that I had been tossed out like trash by two horrible people. I probably should have covered my young ears when she talked about these people. Daddy took me around and showed me off all the while holding me in his big arms. After a few trips around meeting everyone I became very sleepy so we sat in his chair and I slept so soundly in those arms. After a short nap Momma and I left. She put me back in that horrible box. We finally got to what is now my home. I was introduced to Milo, my 22 pound new “Uncle.” I got the once over by this hulk of a cat and to everyone’s surprise he really liked me.

Daddy has since retired so he has been able to spend a lot of time with me. My favorite place to be in the whole wide world is curled up on his lap. Momma can’t believe that I now weigh 11 pounds and she is so happy that I no longer need antibiotics. After 6 months of antibiotics the Dr. has given me a clean bill of health. I was very sick and had been much neglected the first few weeks of my life. I spend most days playing with my Uncle Milo and making my Daddy laugh. I am so happy when Momma gets home from work because she plays with me and lets me know how happy she is to see me. One thing I haven’t figured out yet is why she doesn’t let me into her sewing room. That door is always closed. There are so many things in there that I could be getting into playing with. And last December she kept mentioning that she wasn’t going to put up the Christmas tree. I wonder why. She says that when I get older she will let me visit with her in the sewing room and that I will get to see the Christmas tree this year.

Momma, who you know by the name of Sue says she will let me post on her blog every now and then so I can let all of her sweet friends know how I am doing and what I have been up to. She says she loves all of her friends very much but just between me and you, I think she loves me just a little bit more.

I was not feeling well but I was so happy to be in my new home


I am feeling so much better. I have grown to be a handsome young man

XXXOOO, Elwood aka "Little Baby"

Confessions of a Non-Hoarder

As I peruse blogland I continually see references to the show Hoarders and how many of our fellow peeps are just the opposite. I am one of those opposites too but I must confess that I was not always that way. My "collection" of stuff was not ready to make the reality show circuit but I certainly was running out of room to store things. Fast forward to today...if I have two junk drawers I feel like I am a hoarder so I just have one :) O.K. I know that was an exaggeration. At the moment as busy as I am I want less things around me. Here is anothr confession (notice the title of this post. LOL) my aversion to having a lot of chotchkies really stems from laziness, or the fact that there are not 48 hours in a day. It's probably a little of both. I like my house clean and orderly because if it isn't, after a few days I become out of sorts and just a wee bit cranky. O.K. a lot cranky. And quite frankly when the cleaning chores come around I want to get it done lickity-split and not have to move or dance around a lot of stuff. In my mind clean means clean and that includes the areas no one even sees (a little OCD are we?). I am a "nook and cranny" cleaner. O.K. here is one more confession before I wrap up this true confessions saga...my sewing room/studio is a disaster at the moment. There is just a bit of hoarding taking place in that space and I am trying very hard to keep it from spilling over into the spare bedroom. This area is going to require at least one weeks vacation time to get it in order (again) and reorganized (again). This will be a task of epic proportions because I can't pass up sewing or crafting items at tag sales. However my rule here is, and this is a good rule, it has to be useful and it must meet my crafting needs. Here is my excuse though...sewing and crafting will be my future full-time job (it is only part-time now) and when that time comes, oh baby am I going to be ready.


This is a picture of my family room taken 4 years ago, right after we moved in. We have since gotten window treatments and that glaring empty space next to the sofa has a table. My styles will change throughout the years but my heart will always be with the Cottage style. That was my previous home's decor but when we had to stage that home to sell it and make it "neutral" I spent countless weeks clearing "stuff" out and swore that I would never put myself through that again. There was something liberating about it too. I was able to walk into the home and "breathe". Our previous 1100 square foot cottage home was just that, a little cottage and she wanted to be dressed in cottage decor and in my mind that meant lots of things were needed to fill this tiny home. My current home wanted to be Traditional. I grew up with very Traditional decor that included some strong timeless furniture pieces which my mother still has and they are still beautiful. Traditional is also what I have now with some well placed decorative pieces and for me at the moment it seems to make a little part of my life simpler which is what I desperately need at the moment. But to get my Cottage fix I am going to do the guest bedroom in Cottage style.

Big weekend hugs,

Confessions of a High Maintenance Gal - Part 1

I am not rich and I do not long for high end things (well maybe that Mercedes, pre-owned of course) but the older I get the more I want to pamper myself with not so inexpensive products. For the most part I am very practical. To me bragging rights means coming home from Macy’s after their Super Saturday sale and having $700.00 worth of clothes and spending only $150.00 or less (yes it is possible with some determination and patience, just use the Macy’s card for that additional discount but don’t forget to hop on-line and pay it off the same day!). I do want to go on record however and say that I dislike clothes shopping more than anything (I heard the gasp from here ladies). I only clothes shop when I have to, so those $150.00 worth of clothes better be practical, multi-tasking and last at least a couple of years. As far as my pampering and facial products are concerned that is a different story. I like only certain things. Do I think because it costs more it must be better? Probably, but there are just some things that really work me, but I will never go super crazy and spend $250.00 on a facial moisturizer. Paula Deen's favorite is a $250.00 Chanel moisturizer. Never, never, never! That is just obscene.

These are just a few and I mean just a few of my favorites (notice the title says Part 1)


Clarisonic does an amazing job cleaning the face. All those facial products work better when your face is impeccably clean. I highly recommend it.

Philosophy Purity facial cleanser IMHO is hands down the best facial cleanser. I use this with my Clarisonic. It even gently takes off the eye make-up.

Philosophy Miracle Worker is my new favorite facial moisturizing products. The eye treatment is a little on the heavy side and I have to wait about 10 minutes before putting on my make-up but it is worth the extra effort. It has really brightened up my eye area.

Philosophy's Amazing Grace scent is just that, amazing. I love this bath/shower gel and body lotion. It is the most light and feminine scent and I constantly get compliments when I wear it. The body lotion is really nice.

More confessions to follow!
Big weekend hugs, Sue

It's About Time

No truer words spoken, at least in my world anyway. 2010 was a whirlwind, busy, crazy year for me. Let me just say that I had to choose my battles and decide what my priorities were when it came to my precious down time. Geez, I thought when you got older things were suppose to slow down. NOT! I must be a glutton for punishment. In January 2010 I interviewed for a promotion and got the promotion. Yippee. “I am loving this job.” In April 2010, another opportunity for another promotion came along. I say to myself…”Self, you might as well go for it, you will still be doing the same job with a few more responsibilities and it is more money. After all retirement is right around the corner." Yes, I got the promotion. There is an old saying…”be careful what you wish for.”

Let's just say between working longer hours at the office, traveling for work and running a business, along with the usual everyday demands I was a tired girl on the verge of a meltdown. At the end of 2010 I guess you could call it an epiphany but I knew I had to get a grip and stop the craziness. Well I can't stop all of the daily demands but I can certainly change the way I looked at things. I did take some time off during the holidays and had that proverbial long talk with myself. I am now back on track.

I missed everyone terribly and the fact that I became racked with guilt about not visitng and not posting did not help matters any (well I did visit occasionally but did not leave any comments). I could not bring myself to even post anything because I knew they would only be whiny posts and I was not going to do that! Although we know the occasional "whining" is allowed (wink, wink). My new rules are: Try to post at least once a week (I just can't do it everyday. Besides I really don't have that much to talk about. LOL!) and to visit my blog friends 2-3 times a week. Afterall, YOU are my inspiration and breath of fresh air. You keep me sane. You always have.

Hugs and much love, Sue