Feeling Fabulous!!

Thank you Deb!

I'm feeling Fabulous and in OnE day

I will be 50 AnD Fabulous!

Deb the Lavender Chick has given me my first bloggy birthday present! Thank you so much! I love it!

So here are the rules: Copy and paste the rules and instructions in your post. When posting on receiving the award, make sure you include who gave you the award and link it back to them. Post five winners and link back to them as well. Post FIVE of your addictions. Add the award image. Let your winners know you gave them an award by leaving them a comment on their blog.

Here are my five addictions...in no particular order:

1. Sweets!~I love sugar in my tea, cream and sugar in my coffee and something sweet after lunch and dinner. M&M's or a butterfinger in the afternoon around 3pm is a must!

2. Pepsi~Coke will not do it. If I have a soda...it's gotta be Pepsi.

3. Hairspray~I gotta have it to make my fabulous hair stay in place. Ask my family.

4. Purses~when I found Kathy Van Zeeland purses, I was hooked. I never pay more than $100. I look at the fashion trends and find purses at Target, Marshalls, Ross, TJ Maxx or Macy's. I love a good buy on a purse.

5. My camera and taking photographs~With digital photography, I now take and save so many pictures of everything but especially my family. I nicknamed my self paparrazzi grandma because I have the camera out every time my grandchildren are around. I also study other photography blogs to learn how to take better pictures.

6. I almost forgot blogging...so had to add #6!

Now here are the Five Fabulous over Fifty bloggers I am passing this on to in celebration of my fabulous 50th tomorrow:

1. A new blog I've enjoyed is A Hint of Home. Please go over and check her out and tell her Connie sent you!

2. Another brand new blog I have enjoyed is Just A Little Something For You. Judy is encouraging and shares the best recipes with pictures. I just want to make everything she posts. Her daughter is in Pastry school and her desserts are to die for! Remember I love sweets! Yep...those desserts are calling my name!

3. For my decorating inspiration I visit Rhoda at Southern Hospitality. She is an amazing decorator. She loves antique stores and garage sales too! I wish I had an ounce of her talent.

4. For some real fun, stop by and see Diane at A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words.

She hosts Trash to Treasure Tuesdays. Again, I wish I had some of her talent and ability to see something for what it could be!

5. My last Fabulous 50 blogger is Cindy at Consider It All Joy. She is an inspiration to me with all she's gone through and where she is today. I love her story about how she named her blog.

These women are a few of my Fabulous Friends over 50! Thanks girls for all your encouragement and I look forward to exploring the 50's with you.

I've been thinking of putting this blog to rest and start a new one now that I have hit the BIG 5-0 tomorrow. I will let ya know what I'm doing. It'll take me a little while to get it all up and running so stay tuned for something coming in the new year. Gotta do something FUN!!

Happy Birthday Nate!

My SIL is a wonderful young man. Today is his 29th birthday and he's a father for the first time.  Enjoy your day Nate and we will see you tomorrow to celebrate!  I love you and thanks for being such a good husband to Danielle, a follower of Jesus and a great friend Danielle's brothers.  

Another Thanksgiving gone!

We had a fabulous day with the hubby's side of the family and our children's families.  We had 16 adults for dinner plus 3 little ones.  Mason made his first visit to grandma and grandpas and met Great Grandma Lenie  and Great Grandpa Ray for the first time.  My SIL, Peggy and her sister, Pam and BIL, Damon and my niece Heather rounded out the group.  The food was good and I ate my fair share!  I do believe this is my favorite meal of the year.  I love pumpkin pie with cool whip too!  I am so thankful to have Ray & Lenie living nearby and this family gathering for over 30+ years.  We are thankful too for those who serve and have served our country.  

8 days to 5-0 and a Giveaway!

***I've decided to add an apron to the giveaway.  My mother-in-law makes the cutest aprons and I'm gonna have her make me one to give away.

In eight days, I will be 50!!  It's hard for me to believe.  I don't feel that old nor do I think of myself as that old.  I am really in denial BUT really it's JuST a NumBeR.  There really are signs all around me that I am aging.  I'm just not ready to believe it.  I feel a newness being this age.  I am in good health.   I am having a blast with my family and those darn cute grandbabies of mine.  Dwight and I are enjoying our freedom and have kept ourselves very busy with something happening all the time.  To celebrate with all my bloggy friends I thought I'd give you a present.  I am having my first give away.  

My family on my mom's side is German and my grandma passed on many  great recipes which are ALL very high in calories but oh so yummy!  All of my aunts and uncles are good cooks and bakers.  We love dessert as much or more than the main meal.  I've always said...."forget dinner~~what's for dessert?"   We've published two cookbooks of family recipes from my grandma, my aunts and uncles and all the cousins.  I have TWO of the second edition to give away.  The drawing will end on my birthday, December 2nd at 11:59pm.  I will draw a winner the next day.  Leave me a comment for one entry and post my giveaway on your blog for another entry.  Good Luck...you will not be disappointed!  

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to my brother, Tim and my father-in-law Ray both of whom I love so very much! Ray celebrates 89 years on this earth and Tim celebrates 44 years. Dwight and I along with Bella had dinner last night with Ray and Arlene(MIL) to celebrate since I have a softball game tonight. I talked to my brother this morning and his girls~Angela, Brie and Cassidy are so excited and thought that he should NOT have to go to work on his birthday. You can see more of the triplets here.

It's a HOT Day!

I've finally caught up with my sleep and am feeling good.  Thanks for all your kind thoughts and encouragement.  Saturday I missed seeing this sweet little one.... because this is what I ran into and they closed the freeway just ahead of me.  Yes, one of the California fires.
So today, I enjoyed this little one who was Emily Elizabeth for Halloween and....
her brother who was Clifford.  Isn't he the cutest???
I'm jealous of all of you with the weather turning like this...
We are still experiencing 90 degree days.  I know I should not complain but after experiencing the fall weather in Chicago a month ago.  I want winter to come.  I had to change out of my jeans today at noon and put on my shorts because I was HOT!

Thank you to Kim at Nothing Can Separate Me for the creative blogger award.  I feel like I'm running out of interesting things to blog about and then I click back into reality and this is really just my journal of my last 6 months to my fabulous 50th birthday!  So it is...what it is and I thank those of you who stop by regularly and have become bloggy friends.  It's so special to get a response and I love reading all your blogs about your lives, your crazy thoughts and feelings and whatever pops into your head.  I am supposed to make of list of 10 things that make me happy so here they are!

1.  My family-Hubby, daughter, son#1 and son#2...my life is so much better because of you!

2.  My grandchildren-Bella, Dylan and Mason..such joy you bring to my life!  I love the smiles!

3.  A call from my mother telling me she's okay and she loves me.

4.  My mother coming for Christmas!

5.  A lazy day sipping hot coffee or tea and snuggling in a soft blanket.

6.  Sitting on the beach watching the waves and the people.

7.  Coming home to a clean house.

8.  Cookies baking in the oven.

9.  A great photo that I took that just pops off the page!

10.  Good friends to spend time with.

Now I pass this on to.....Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee, Heidi at the Zawisza Tribune and Denise at The "Cent"sible Sawyer.  I hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I do!

Connie

Grandma again???? What??? No Way!!!

So my youngest son comes home this weekend and says...."Mom, you're going to be a grandma again!"  I look at him and say "OH No!!  I BETTER NOT BE!!!"  He gives me this big grin and his girlfriend says, "WHAAAAT DID YOU SAY???" He laughs and says.... to a new puppy!  Kayla's mom bought her a puppy!  Let me tell ya...this is not the smartest decision because Kayla is in college and lives in the dorm.  She thinks she is gonna keep him a couple nights and then Dustin will keep him the other nights and then they will bring little Milo home to grandma and grandpa every now and then.  Oh yeah, and on top of that....I'm not a dog person but this little one melted my heart right away.  Here's a picture of my newest so called grandbaby and his parents.  He is pretty darn cute!