To be completely out of control with buying more Halloween decorations. I’ve officially overwhelmed my Honey on the quantity of tubs and boxes of Halloween stuff.

To be giddy about my little Halloween party because it’s been FOREVER since I had the space and funds to have one and also a  supportive boyfriend to let me.

To be a little pissy on the weather here in the Dallas metroplex. It’s hot and humid and I want our cool weather back that we saw briefly last weekend. My hair is HUGE today.

That I have 4 wks vacation and I’ve only taken 6 days so far. SO I’m starting this Friday to take a few Fridays off until end of year and more during the holidays. I’m actually doing a little happy dance as I’m typing this.

To be so super excited that my cousin and I are starting our own little crafting business as hobby on the side.  There will be much more details later. We’re working on our logo, etc right now.

I’m driving with 3 pallets in the back of my truck that my warehouse donated to me for the wood. Once again, enter the Sanford and Son music and I even have a red truck. LOL

I’m putting on my concert legs again for tomorrow night to see The Toadies at Billy Bob’s. I love the Toadies and so proud of them being local boys who made it big. My friend Panda went to school with one of the guys.

That I’m the only one in my office in our section that has orange Halloween lights and a Halloween banner on my desk right now. I believe that if I’m here for 9 hours (lunch too), I want to enjoy my desk and a little festive scenery.

I forgot to mention the other day that I made a very delicious bacon wrapped chicken for dinner and I am proud of myself. I don’t enjoy cooking most of the time but I had fun stuffing the chicken with cream cheese and wrapping it in bacon. YUM!!!

That I am absolutely thrilled to know that I have 138 GFC followers and however many is signed up for the email. It makes me heart happy that someone out there looks at this and sometimes even comments. I am blessed!

Have a great weekend, Y’all!

My love for animals interrupted

You hear people say that you're either a Dog person or a Cat person. Well i definitely fall under the Dog person category. Truth is that i love most all animals. I even like cats but i'm so crazy allergic to them. It's sad because when i'm around cats, its like they sense that i'm an animal lover and could possibly be their friend and they come straight to me. They weave in between my legs and my best friend's cat loves to try to jump on my shoulder the whole time i'm visiting (which isnt long once the sneezes begin).
Both my parents have never been without a dog or 2 or more and had my own furry kid for 9 years. His name was Kobi and he was a Shar-pei (one of those wrinkle dogs) but he didnt get too wrinkly which was great. I had Kobi from when he was just 6 weeks old and we were a great pair for many years. He was my companion who loved going everywhere in my car. My friends and family knew that if i came out of town to visit, that Kobi had to come with me. Once i got a job that required more traveling than being home, i asked my brother if he could take Kobi. It just so happened that their dog Sage started becoming destructive when she was left alone in the house and they wanted another dog to keep her company. Kobi and Sage hit it off perfectly and they loved each other so much. I loved that Kobi was happy in Oklahoma with my brother's family and I could see him when i came to visit.  Sharing joint custody with my brother was a wonderful arrangement. Sadly a little over 2 years ago, Jeremy called me with terrible news that Kobi had a stroke and had died in his lap on the way to the vet.
I still travel quite a bit with my job as you know from many posts on this blog and still living in the apartment life. I dont think its fair that i get a new dog and leave it for my Honey to take care of in my absence. If one of us worked from home then maybe but we dont. SO, i created a board on my Pinterest and named it Adorable Animals. These are my pets for now that also includes elephants, pigs, otters, and others.
Here are a few of my favorites:

baby polar bear-awww

Oh and i have good news: My email subscription is working now. If you currently were signed up , I need you  to re-sign up again. I apologize for any inconvenience.

I’m linking up today with The Bargain Blonde for Friday Favorites.

Here are some of my fave things that got me though this week.

First of all Starbucks. Oh how I love them so. I’m what you would say “addicted”. My favorite drink of choice is the Venti ( if only they had bigger) non-fat, no whip, no foam white mocha latte. My mouth is watering just from typing that.

Sons of Anarchy –Tuesday nights on FX. I am so consumed with this show. My honey watched it from the beginning and so when we started dating, I wanted to be caught up. We bought the first 4 seasons (it’s Season 5 now) on DVD and I watched all of them right until a few weeks before the show started now. I think Jackson Teller (aka Jax) is freaking HOT and Yummy! I especially love the music y’all. It seems like I’ve been buying a song every week from their episodes. This one is the latest I’m stuck on.

greg holden-lost boy

I’m trying to make it to the State Fair of Texas this weekend. We’re supposed to get rain here in Dallas tomorrow so maybe Sunday will be the day.

Howdy, I'm Big Tex

My Halloween decorations. I grabbed all my Halloween storage bins from my Dad’s this week where I keep them in his man-cave. I’ve started putting things out here and there this morning.

My couch so far is all i can show you.

I’m just so glad it’s Friday.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!  Holli

It's OK Thursday

That I’m in a funk- cant explain it- just wake up every day like I want to cry but I have no reason to feel that way.  It passes by the end of day (when I go to bed)

I miss my mom. With her living in Montana , I only see her ONCE a year folks.  We talk several times a week but it’s not the same. It’s getting to me.

That I had my first Starbucks this week because I’m trying to watch my budget and it was the most wonderful tasting treat this morning.

I’m so excited to go to the Texas State Fair. I know it’s super expensive just to buy a corndog  and funnel cake plus 16$ admission and parking but  hey it’s only once a year. Not sure what day we’ll end up going but I’m making it a priority.

I have dozens of unfinished crafts/projects/etc to get finished (some to get started) but when I get home I’m a slug and don’t move from the couch.

I’m so excited to work from home tomorrow so that I can sleep in by 30 minutes.

That I really don’t like anything pumpkin- not even the pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks. No pie for me please. Yuck!!

That I just lied to you on the above line because I just remembered I DO like pumpkin seeds toasted and flavored like cinnamon.

That I bitch and moan about my weight but yet continue to have either Cherry Garcia or Butter Pecan ice cream EVERY night.

I’m finally having my cousin Lauren look at my blog for me and see if she can help figure out why my email subscription to my blog isn’t working.

Oh  people, by the way, if you subscribed to receive my blog by email – um, it’s still not working. I’m on it though I promise.

I love my job so much but yet I am ready for the weekend.

That I am relieved not to travel again for the rest of the year due to budget cutbacks but I feel guilty because i wanted to get one more trip in. The flying has become part of me and I’m wondering if that’s what is putting me in a funk.

To my followers who are reading this, Thank you!! It means so much to me , you have no idea.

I am linking up to a new bloghop today. It’s called Welcome Wednesday and I found it on Happy Hour Projects who is one of the hosts. The hop is hosted by Take It From Me and Happy Hour Projects!  Welcome Wednesday is a great way to meet new people and learn new things as well as increase your blog followers! You have to follow both hosting blogs and also the featured blog of the week Stubbornly Crafty. Click on one of the host's names and add your blog to the list. I love finding new blogs to follow and also hopefully gain some new followers.

Have fun!!

Gone Junkin 2 wks in a row! Yeehaw

Last weekend my cuz Lauren and I went to Antique Alley out in Grandview. We got an early start and got out there around 8:30 in the morning. I had an exact address from Ann who also has a blog and Facebook page called Duct Tape and Denim. She lives in California but has a sister who lives in Texas. Ann makes the cutest jewelry and crafts and I was so excited to meet her in person. I actually had an order for some rings and a bracelet that she brought to me instead of having to ship it.  They had a booth set up in field called Faith Meadows and once i put the exact address in GPS, it was smooth sailing getting there.
Lauren and I both had so much fun and you should have seen my truck. Insert music to the theme of Sanford and Son and that's what you would be humming when you saw it. I bought a couple of really big picture frames that i want to use down the road for some pictures at my Dad's ranch. They were only 10$ a piece which i thought was good. I grabbed a nice, heavy window frame with all the glass intact. I cant wait to clean it up. I think i'm going to put pictures behind the panes and hang it in the hallway. I got lots of little odds and ends like some lids to mason jars that you can put a straw in, some paper straws ( to go with my lids), i bought some painted wood pieces for a 1$each, an oversize wine glass for my centerpiece, a vintage metal chair, some jewelry, an iron pig soapstand (dont judge), a few laptop covers that i love, but my one PRIZE that was my icing to the junk cake was the most enormous birdcage i've ever seen. Y'ALL, i think i need counseling for my birdcage addiction. I cant stop buying them. I am so excited for my new one but it needs some cleaning and painting before i bring it inside. It's currently sitting on my back patio. I must admit that i was a little nervous when i had to break the news to my honey that Yes i am bringing home another birdcage. LOL. He took it very gently but i have to slow down on them.
Lauren got some AMAZING deals like a vintage bed frame for : 20$. Yep, you read that correct. Crazy cheap and the lady was super nice that sold it. She said it was her grandmother's old bed. I love meeting the people and hearing the stories. Click on Lauren's name above to read her post on Antique Alley. She posted about it much sooner than i did (obviously). We found this litlle hole in the wall trailer that was turned into a burger shack. Oh my, y'all it was so delish! The burgers were mouth watering and they were hand rolled. It was nice to sit down and eat with some homemade sweet tea and get break from the heat. It got to be near 100 degrees and i was a sweaty mess. A funny part of day was that i found a big and gaudy wood Texas necklace that i bought for Lauren for .50cents. I told her she had to wear it all day and she did. Such a great sport!
Fast forward a week to yesterday and now that means it's First Monday in Canton weekend. Lauren has never been there before since she's new from Georgia but I grew up just a few towns away in high school and college. Heck, my dorm room was decorated by trips to Canton. LOL.  The temps were nothing like last weekend because we're currently having rain storms nonstop. Lauren called to ask if we were still going and i said "oh yes we are"! There are several covered pavilions to walk through out there so i wasnt too worried. The only kicker of the day was that Lauren had plans for later and had to leave Canton by 1pm. That meant we had 4 hours to conquer what we could. Now we still had to go in the rain to go from one covered area to the next. We ended up being drowned rats yesterday but it didnt slow us down. I jumped in every puddle and my feet were pruned by the time i got home. This time we didnt go home with a full truck load but we got a few fun things.  I grabbed the cutest bib for my friends son in Boston. I got some license plate signs for 5$ a piece, a Halloween banner for 7$, some fancy 10$ sunglasses, some old ribbon, and a great carry bag from one of my favorite vendors that also has a cute blog at Girls Gone Junkin.  I LOVE their stuff and have so much fun there. Lauren bought one of their decorated windows from them. I bought my big cross window from them last year and i get tons of compliments. They had a junk clearance cart and i got some fake plastic greenery with a birdnest and bird in it. Hmmm, what birdcage will get that?  There's still so much ground to cover next time we get out to Canton so hopefully it wont be pouring down rain like this weekend. I'll see if i can post some more pics from my garage sale at the Doc's but dont start your timer....
Have a blessed week my friends. Talk to ya soon.

Ann from duct tape and denim, lauren, me (wearing my skull ring)

Cute booths at AA

My awesome birdcage as tall as me

vintage Coca Cola chair i got for 10$

The sweetest pitbull baby for sale but i couldnt buy her

Lauren wearing her Texas necklace that she had to wear ALL day

My truck loaded down and not even the final result

Anyone want to buy a carriage?

My Canton goodies



awesome shirt i wanted to buy but no big enough sizes



Another funny shirt that i saw at same place but small sizes

Still moving on from loss of dear friends

Ok, so you know all about the great loss that happened a month ago when my mom’s best friend and his wife died in a house fire. I don’t know how to link up to my past posts or I would. Well, last Friday 2 of his kids (Amy and Kurt) had a garage sale with all the items that weren’t damaged in the fire. I thought that it would be nice if I could grab a few things that would be sentimental to send to mom.  I drove over there during my lunch hour to look around. You guys, I really had no idea how emotional I was going to get.  It took me by surprise when I was looking through some of the stuff, I burst into tears. I kinda thought it would be sad but nothing like how it was. Our families were so entwined over the years and I just cant imagine the grief that these kids are going through.  I don’t have any pictures of the things I bought but I can post some later. I have already sent a few things this week to Montana because Mom’s birthday is this Sunday and I included them in her gift package. I had called Mom on my way home and told her about the house, the sale, how everyone asked about her, and the items I was able to get for her. We both had a good cry on my way home. Kurt gave me something very special that he wanted Mom to have. The Doc collected all things with wolves and someone had made him a little pillow with a wolf print on it. Kurt said that his dad sat with it every night in his chair behind his back. I also found a wolf collector’s plate, a baseball cap, and a winter cap from UT Austin that I know Mom will like to have. Doc graduated from there was a HUGE Longhorn fan. Mom and the Doc used to also go every year to the Indian Art Show’s when they came to Dallas. Indian stuff was also an interest of Doc so I managed to find a picture of an Indian that seems to be a needle point and framed. That’s too big to send to mom but I told her about it. I’ll get it to her somehow (hopefully in person).

I was very surprised when Kurt handed me a flashlight and unlocked the door to let me have a walk inside the house. I think this where I had my biggest breakdown. I couldn’t help but cry while looking at the devastation and thinking of the utter terror of trying to escape the house. I took a few pics with my phone but it was very dark inside. This house is in a great neighborhood in Dallas and they lived there more than 30 years. I felt honored that Kurt let me in. It's been locked and closed off to everyone (mostly to prevent looters).

I know this isn’t the happiest post but it’s what’s on my heart.  Even though it was tough to see the house and strangers going through my friends belongings, I am appreciative of the things I bought and was able to donate more money to Kurt and Amy.

One angle of the kitchen where fire started

Fire damage

One side of kitchen





Hallway smoked out

The fridge in center had melted metal

Glasses in the cupboard-burned