MORE spending time with girlfriends!

Continuing on about getting to spend time with my girlfriends, I got to play bunco with more of my fabulous girlfriends tonight! I had once done an entry about bunco/bunko, and it told about HOW to play it. But there are so many other positive things about it!

Bunko is about EATING. Oh, yes. We take turns hosting bunko in our homes once a month. When it is your turn, you put out the spread and the booze and everyone flocks to you. Some go all out with wonderful appetizers, delicious dips and yummy sweets, topped off with a fancy drink to serve. Some order Chinese food, fill the cooler with beer and call it good. Either way, it is about getting together as girls and moms and having a good time.

Tonight’s bunko was with my neighborhood group. What a wonderful way to bond with the ladies you live by. It is great to catch up with things going on in the neighborhood! We live in a court tucked away in the back of the neighborhood. Often times we miss what is going on in the greater area. This is a great way to catch up. We talk about our kids, their schools, nice teachers/mean teachers, awful middle school and what’s going on at the high school. We talk about families, churches, aging parents and falling body parts. And we laugh. Sometimes we laugh so hard our tummies and cheeks hurt and often times we have to pee or even pee our pants. Yes, bunko is crazy, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world!

Spending time with girlfriends!

I have been so blessed to spend so much time this week with some wonderful women in my life. The holiday season is a great time to catch up with those we love. So often “life gets in the way” and we barely have time to throw quick bits of information at each other in speedy phone calls or emails.

Yesterday, I got to spend the whole afternoon with my best friend. I was kind of bummed because we could have spent the whole day together, but I didn’t feel well. First we went to a movie. We went to see “New Years Eve” as it is a nice mind mush feel good movie. Then we did a little shopping. I must admit, I hate shopping and although my best friend doesn’t, she is a shopper with a purpose. Get in, pick up what you want, and get out! It worked wonderfully for us. I finished every little bit of Christmas I needed to finish and she made a little bit bigger dent in hers.

Today I had lunch with two of my fabulous friends I had met through work. We are all at such different places in our lives now, but the underlying friendship is still there. We had a lovely time together, and even though it was just for over an hour, it gives that little boost of bond strengthening we needed. Fun to catch up on kids and grandkids, what’s happening and hopes for the future. We used a coupon too! Inexpensive and fulfilling!

It's Show Time!

My daughters like to perform. My oldest did trapeze. This about caused her mother to have a heart attack. (Me). Way up in the air, with only a thin mat to cover the concrete floor below her! Yikes! My middle daughter sings and acts, but tries not to dance, because frankly she is not good at it. It is not from lack of trying, just the way it is. My youngest sings as well. She loves to perform and took dance for years, so we will never have to worry about that.

Our most recent show is my middle daughters. “It’s A Wonderful Life” performed by the Young Peoples Theater. Quite a treat to see those 15 year olds, all greyed up with spray and acting like 70 year olds. Tee hee. I had many reservations about the performance. How in the world can you find this to be believable? But indeed they did. It was really quite enjoyable.

My daughter had been cast as a townsperson. She did a wonderful job. She was in many of the scenes, as the townspeople made up about 75% of the performance. She did have to do some dancing, but she just tried to stay in the background and smile big. The costumes were done very well and even though some of the kids were “over eldered”, on the whole it looked very good.

It was a great way to kick off the holiday season with a classic show to get you in the mood and performances were sold out at every show!

My next house

My next house will be a mansion, my next car will be a Mercedes. Hahaha! Guess I need to win the lottery.

Hmmm, let me take you on a tour of my next home. I have always wanted a light colored brick front. Maybe different shades of beige and browns. With a brown roof. Architectural shingles on it. Big windows all the way around. 

Three car garage with 5 bedrooms and a big fireplace in the master bedroom. Gotta have a giant jetted soaking tub! 

And outside a pool, a hot tub, and a huge aggregate patio below the giant deck. And all of it can overlook a big beautiful lake that you can see the setting sun in.

The kitchen must be huge. I need a big walk in pantry and a giant island. Granite would be nice, but slate or marble or even concrete countertops would be very cool. I would like stainless steel appliances, but would never like to have to clean them!

A self-cleaning house would be great! And maybe a self-cooking kitchen!

I would need lots of trees and a garden that doesn’t croak, but produces lots of gorgeous colorful food for my family. Perhaps we should throw in a few fruit trees in the landscaping too.

The master bedroom would be a master retreat and besides my big fireplace, I would like a big four poster bed and maybe a giant tv too!

All of this must, of course, be decorated by a decorator!

random

Amazing tributes to Gods beauty:

Flowers, trees, sunsets, babies. Blue oceans, toddlers, families. Eagles that soar, birds that sing, dogs that bark and kittens that meow. Baby feet, baby toes, soft baby skin. Smiles, tears. Any kind of animals. Far distances, mountains, wheat fields. Snow covered valleys, clear blue lakes with jumping fish. Volcanoes, clouds, homes.

Not sure how to make this into 250 words! Words are beautiful and yet they can be hurtful sometimes too.

Paintings from the dawn of time until now. Masterpieces of music. Horses and donkeys. 

Man made things. Jewelry, make up, movies. Hair dos, dresses, SHOES! Apples, oranges, grapes.

Hmmm, new topic. Writing for money! How do you make money by writing. I know you can freelance. I have always wanted to write a book, but could never figure out a plot. I used to write stories when I was a little girl and send it to publishing companies. One even sent me a polite rejection letter that I still have. I wonder what I was thinking as a young girl, opening that letter. Had I expected a big huge check to fall out? Probably not. I had written my book on loose leaf paper and had tied the holes together with ribbon to keep it from falling apart. They were kind enough to send my manuscript back to me and I still have that too. Wonder if I will ever get that ah ha story that allows me to create a new story that I can start and finish!

Christmas Decorating

Continuing on with decorating, lets talk about the inside of houses. I must admit, I am not a decorator. Never was. I  can match colors and make things look decent, but never decorator. My house is comfortable, but very functional! I am jealous of my friends that pull off such beautiful decorating and for very cheap!

Christmas decorating is so much fun. I like to go with a red/white theme. My husband prefers multi-color, but I overrule him! And each room in the house has a theme. Snowmen in the dining room, gingerbread men in the kitchen. The main floor bath is, of course, SANTA! The office is angels and the family room is sets of things, like sets of reindeer, sets of nutcrackers and so all. These all decorate the shelves in the family room. The tree is decorated in white lights with red beads and red bows. 

Some of my friends homes are decorator perfect. Woodsy charm, natural items decorated with bows and garlands. It is fun to visit them. Do they have a real tree or a fake tree? A skinny tree or a fat tree? Do they have gifts around the bottom of the tree, or does it have a train or nativity under it?

Some people have very sparse decorations. Some have all the busy ness and colors flying! It is fun to do snowflakes and blues, candy canes and red and whites and multi colored! You have to love the colors of Christmas!