A Special Birthday Party

In a previous post about my Special Valentine I did not post any pictures of my son because the scanner was down (it still is...arghh!) and since he has lived out of town for several years I didn't have any recent pictures of him. We had his birthday party last Saturday and I finally got some pictures! It was so much fun spending this special time with family and my son's friends. My son has always had the most amazing friends and they all have been close for many years. I kept thinking that I knew these adults when they were just wee ones. They are now in their late twenties and early thirties (insert feeling old here).

Kevin has been trying to get into law enforcement for the last two years. Since most counties have been cutting back he has not had any luck. A couple of years ago he was two weeks away from his final interview for the San Diego County Sheriff's Deptartment when they had major budget cuts. I felt SO bad for him because I cannot even begin to tell you how hard he had to work to get that far. It was many months of hard work. But as a Mom deep down I was relieved. It is getting so dangerous for our law enforcment anymore.

Here is my handsome 30 year old son, Kevin




This cutie patootie is Shauna, my son's girlfriend. They have known each other since 7th grade! And yes, she is as sweet as she looks. She and Kevin are two peas in a pod. I hope I will soon be posting about a wedding. So is Shauna (wink, wink)

I couldn't resist orderding these cupcakes and I didn't tell Kevin because I was sure he would have tried to talk me out them (a Mom has to do what a Mom has to do). Even though I ordered them after Valentine's day they still had these heart rings. He was with me when I picked them up and I was bracing for the "OH MOM" comments but he said, "OH COOL!" (insert a shocked look on Mom's face here)

YES, he is all grown up and Mom is a little weepy at the moment.

xoxo to my wonderful and sweet friends, Sue

Spring...She's A Commin'...Really

I took a couple days off from work this week. Actually I was sick with the flu but fortunately it was not that flu where you were sure the world was coming to an end. By the 2nd day I was tired of laying around so I grabbed the camera and wanted to see if I could find some signs of Spring. Since I didn't want to scare my neighbors because I looked...well let's just say it was NOT PRETTY I stayed at home and didn't wander the neighborhood. Now I could have shown you the biggest sign of Spring at my house which is the abundance weeds that have shown up in the last couple of weeks but I wanted to show you the fun signs of Spring.

This is my Japanese Maple. I am seeing little buds.


I planted Mums in a pot last year and they reseeded into the bed this year. Seeing them was a pleasant surprise. The allysum comes back every year.


I can't take credit for growing these beauties. I purchased the Hydranga last weekend at Costco. I am going to plant her where I had a Camellia bush that up and died on me last year. Still cannot figure out what happened since it had been planted for a few years.

I know many of my blog friends are enduring some of the worst weather ever and many are suffering from cabin fever. So here is a little something that will help with the thoughts of Spring and to brighten your day with a few flowers. Now the only thing that you will need are crayons or colored pencils...




Just print this out and color away. I don't know about you but I still like to color every once in awhile. Although these days I only color when the grandkids are visiting but I find it very relaxing. I can color away and not think about anything and sometimes we need that.

I hope you are seeing signs of Spring too.

xoxo, Sue

A Special Valentine and a Big Wish!

God graced me with the most special Valentine ever. 30 years ago on Feb. 14th my son Kevin was born. I never thought a child could bring a mother so much pride and joy. Every Valentine's Day is extra special for me.

Happy Birthday my beautiful, handsome son. I am so proud of the person you have become. You are the sweetest, kindest person that I know. This is not just Mom saying this either because everyone that knows you says the same thing. People that meet you immediately like you. That has always amazed me. And you are pretty darn fun to hang out with too! You have not just been my son but you have also been my "best buddy, of course along with your brother. There are no other people in the world I would much rather hang out with than you and your brother! You two crack me up when you guys are together. Where you get your personality and humor from is beyond me because you know your Mom has such a serious, no-nonsense side to her! I am glad that it did not rub off on you!

Happy Birthday and Happy Valentine's Day!
Love Mom

P.S. I would have posted some pictures but the scanner is down! Actually the message I am getting says it is off-line. Now how in the world does that happen out of the clear blue? Ugghhh! I will do a follow-up post.

Cupcake Love

The package simply said Vanilla Cupcakes. Hmmm but are they good? Then the scent of vanilla smacked me in the head. It was all over. Now how fast could I get home? Forget that I haven't had lunch. Sometimes a girl just has to do what she has to do.


The song "I am Going Out of My Head Over You" is playing in my head. Oh wait, it is playing. I am not kidding it really is. I have the 60's music station on right now. Yes, this is a good Saturday!

Big sweet indulgent hugs, Sue

Christmas, Valentines, Easter and Beyond

I kept the decorating minimal this last Christmas. I knew I wasn't going to put our beloved tree up. Our four legged furbaby Elwood unexpectedly and happily came into our lives and NO WAY, NO HOW was I going to put up the tree with a kitten in the house. I wanted to decorate with a few pieces but didn't want to bring out all of the boxes to search for just a few things. So what does this girl do? She goes out and does what she does best...SHOPS! I stopped by Pier 1 not really sure what I was looking for then I saw a lovely wreath on a stand that was up on table. At that moment I knew what I was going to do.

SH really liked this wreath and he usually doesn't comment either way when it comes to the decor so we bought it. Between me and you I think he liked it because it looked like chrome. I will save the chrome story for another post.

I liked the look so well and the idea of the wreath stand that I went back to Pier 1 the following week and got another stand and another wreath which is below.
This is on my cradenza just inside my front door.

I think these stands are so versatile. I would like to keep them out all year and change out the wreaths and put up seasonal wreaths. I can see a darling Valentine's wreath up on the cradenza in front of the mirror. The mirror beautifully reflected the wreath. It really created a lot of depth in the space.



For Easter I think this would be so cute. This wreath is at Victotian Trading Co. My all time favorite catalog.



I know, I know, I am a little late, O.K. a lot late posting about my Christmas decor but I really wanted to share the wreath stand and this super cute PINK wreath.

Big hugs, Sue