Thursday, December 31, 2009

IT'S ALL ABOUT ME!


I was in the store the other day and found this cup. I must say for me to buy a mug for $8.99 was definitely a splurge for the frugal queen. It's what's on the cup that caught my attention. "IT'S ALL ABOUT ME!" Like many of us I find myself attending to more things than what I do for myself. I have always put myself last to everything else. Before I found the cup, I would say in 2010 it's going to be all about me. (That is the forewarning that I have given my family, so they can be prepared when I am not available and they find themselves in a crisis that only I can fix.) I like to give them the benefit of the doubt, so that can't say I didn't warn them...OK. After all I do love them...ha ha.

My new years resolution

I promise to take care of me first. I believe that if I am well and at my best, the family will reap the rewards of dealing with a better me.
Last year I lost 25lbs, this year I will go for 25 more. I am taking it slow and easy so that the weight stays off. Those 25lbs lost feels wonderful! I will continue to exercise, eat well and love me more. I will take time to smell the roses. I will laugh more and still have a piece of chocolate. I will keep my dearest friend in my heart and when I say no, I will mean no.

As I sit here looking at the full moon over the back yard, I feel a kind of contentment. I realize that every year that begins and end is truly a blessing from god.

In 2009 I finally lost weight, found my best friend after 30 years, lost an icon that I grew up listening to, survived the day to day drama and found new innovative ways to express myself. Come on 2010!
Happy New Year!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

The stockings were hung by
the chimney with care.
And I had a fire that I wanted to share

The snow lady greets you when you come through the door


And these two sit perfectly, down on the floor

The angel of gold watches as time goes by

This dove looks as if it could fly


These 3 snowman are ready for the weather

And as we all know, snow friends stick together

I love this red ribbon on top of the tree


And who said that snowmen can't hit a ball on the tee

Have a Merry Christmas!


Sunday, December 13, 2009

Scenes of Winter...Burrrr!

I wanted to share with you these scenes of winter. These pictures were taken by the Queen's husband, 1 Frugal King. Winter is fast upon us this holiday season. I am sure there will be more to come. When I look at these pictures I always think of hibernating indoors with hot chocolate, fireplaces and great movies. I hope you enjoy the scenery.






















The Nutcrackers...How Sweet!

I love nutcrackers. I have been collecting them for years. I don't quite know how all this nut cracking got started, but here they are.


These miniatures are actually ornaments, but I love putting all the nutcrackers together in one location.









These are the first 3 that I collected.

This is the king of diamonds. He is one of 3 that I found in a box at a flea market. The guy let me have all 3 for $5.00

King of Diamonds


I got this one because my husband plays golf.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Kitchen Makeover Finale!

View of kitchen curtains over the sink. These are old curtains that I simply tied left over black material over. I just cut strips and tied a bow. It took me 30minutes to do the 3 windows in the kitchen.

Before

After

Over the microwave view.

Beadboard









Before

This is after we painted the ceiling and the walls. The cafe style table legs were cut lower to accommodate the black chairs. The cafe chair legs were cut too. I will show you what I did with them later. The floor was already in the house when we moved in.

Finale!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Kitchen Makeover #7


Stuff in the Kitchen
This red vase used to be blue. Two years ago I painted it red. It fits well in the kitchen. I got it at a resale show for $4.
This is a simple grape vine wreath. I added artificial foliage.

I got this cream colored vase at a resale shop for $3

This is stuff on top of the refrigerator.

Cake platter $10, Apples $1 ea, white jug from resale shop $4

Foliage on counter. Tea jar from resale shop $2.99

Rabbit, valentines day gift from hubby. Egg $1 from dollar store.

Lamp, $6 from resale shop.

My hubby made the black table for our bedroom, but I found that it works perfect in this space at the end of the counter.

View of the counter and table.

Great space for baskets. I used them when I buy fruit to put on the counters. In the summer these baskets are great for veggies from our garden.

Table view

Counter View

I re finished the seat of these chairs in a french toile material.

Kitchen table