From Chaos Comes Happiness

In an effort to simplify my life, and make a little extra spending money for our upcoming trip to Disney, I am having a garage sale to end all garage sales! I'm giving in to the demons of my past and am letting go to some valuable items that I cherished oh-so long ago. Items that have been so cherished by me, that they have spent the past 9 years in boxes in my basement. To prepare for my garage sale, I've been watching episodes of Hoarders. Have you seen any of those shows? Absolutely scary. 10 minutes into one of these shows Monday night, and I had to pause the program and go clean my refrigerator (even though I had just cleaned it the day before.) I think this show is the best medicine for anyone who wants to purge. And that is exactly what I am feeling the need to do. So PG and I spent a good part of the day on Monday cleaning up the storage area - a little spot in our basement that hasn't been touched (really) since we moved in (9 years ago). I must have 10 boxe...

Well, well!!!! BRAVO to all of you clever cookie experts!! Aren't you the most curious and creative bloggers around? MOST CERTAINLY!! After Saturday's post on my famous, TOP SECRET INGREDIENT Chocolate Chip Cookies, I found myself tickled with all of the fantastic comments by so many of you! I must say, you are a very clever and creative group in the kitchen - and there were some absolutely wonderful "Top Secret Ingredient" ideas in those comments. Here is a run down of your guesses: Potato Chips Crisco Whipped Cream Caramel bits (received 2 votes) Apricots Almond Flavoring Xanex Corn Flakes Peanut Butter Chips Butterscotch Candies (received 3 votes) Caramel Chips Walnuts Peaches Whipped Cream Garbanzo Beans  . . . blah!  ;) Ricotta Cream Cheese WOW! Now if that isn't the most creative bakers I've ever met - I don't know what is! I'll tell you - it's not the apricots or peaches guess, because that is just way to healthy for me...

At some point during this past week, I opened my email to find a message from my brother-in-law, CT. I was immediately surprised, because CT and I usually don't do the email thing. So, I opened it. It simply read. . . That was it. Uh - oh. I vaguely remember promising CT cookies. Yep, I think it had something to do with a visit to Costco that he and my sister were taking in which I convinced them to pick up a few items for me (and by a few items, I mean about 20 . . . including toilet paper . . . and for anyone who is not familiar with Costco, 20 items . . . including toilet paper . . . could easily mean multiple shopping carts. I guess 20 items would have been bad enough, but I think it really got him when I called them multiple times while they were shopping, just to add more items to my list. I know, I know. I've got some nerve. But, hey, he was getting cookies out of me - so, it wasn't for nothing!!) Ok. Back to the story. So, CT sends me that ema...

This morning, as I sat sipping my cup of coffee and listening to my husband and kids playing the Wii, I started to remember what Saturday mornings were like when I was a kid their age. A smile instantly came upon my face, as I started to recall the days of Saturdays past. If I close my eyes, I am right there in my parents home hearing the sounds of a spoon hitting a glass or of my Dad whistling, smelling the scents of coffee and pledge, and feeling the textures of my parents counter top in their kitchen. I was raised in a pretty great home with parents who worked hard and did so much for our family. I am blessed. Mom would usually be out the door rather early, doing the grocery shopping for our home and for my Grandma Josephine. Some Saturdays I would tag along with her to the Jewel and Polish deli, but most weekends she got up and was out the door while I still slept. That is, until the sound of Dad stirring his coffee cup would wake me (c...

Well, HAPPY FRIDAY!!! It is a particularly GORGEOUS FRIDAY in Chicago today. Some rough storms last night made way to a beaUTIFUL day today - sunshine, blue skies, and temps in the low '70s!!! Yes, summer is taking a break today, and offering us all a taste of the months ahead . . . FALL. Say it with me, will you?   F A L L Or, how about this one . . .  P U M P K I N   S P I C E   L A T T E Or . . .  J E A N S Or . . . C A N D Y   C O R N Ok, so candy corn really isn't a favorite of mine (I think I OD'd on it in another life - and by 'another life' I mean last year). It's really really sweet - but, oh how lovely it looks in a bowl on my counter. LOVE IT! So, here I am - feeling like it's time to update the blog header to include some pumpkins, a new HOT COFFEE cup, and some Halloween pics from last year. The air conditioning is off, the windows are open, I'm feeling so darn happy here today that it's almost sickening! I de...

A few weeks ago, my daughter asked me why I blog. I told her because I discovered that I really enjoy writing. That it allows me to express myself, and found that it was a great way to fill my creative spirit. I was wrong. I blog because of my blog friends. Because you are really the best group of friends a girl could ask for. So without going all "Hallmark" on you . . . I thank you. The past couple weeks have been full of some emotional posts from me, where I'm embracing life, where I'm discussing my fears, where I am sharing some deeper thoughts with you. And your comments, as always, just blow me away. Your support, your encouragement, your laughter. My heart is so full . . . I'm blessed for each of you. I'm amazed how I can feel so strongly for a group of people I've never even met. How strange that I feel like I have met each of you at least 1,000 times. Last week I was at a football game at our local high school and a woman walked pas...

After writing my post yesterday on Embracing Our Differences , I started thinking more and more about fear . . . how fear can control you, take over your life, cause you to become defensive, cause you to react negatively, cause you to stop yourself from doing something . . . wonderful. Often fear is unnecessary. I don’t like fear. But I have it. Monday afternoon, my oldest and dearest friend and her mother stopped at my house for a visit. I adore both my friend and her Mom. They are as much a part of my family as my own Mom and siblings are, as they have both known me for 32 years now (wow – just saying that they’ve known me for 32 years feels like they’ve been a part of my life forever, and they truly have.) They have seen me through so many chapters in my life, and have been by my side, supporting and encouraging me all the way. They sat in my living room visiting while looking through my scrapbooks, listening to my silly stories of life and the chaos of our home, talking a...