Wednesday Medley - Oreos

Today I am linking up with Terri for her Wednesday Medley!!!!

Did you know it is National Oreo Cookie Day today?

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1.  Are you able to pass by a plate of cookies and not take one or are you a bit of a 'Cookie Monster'?  I can pass it by but if I give in and eat one then I have to have another...and another...and another! I have NO off switch!!! I recently tried the Mega Oreo's and ate the entire pack within two days!! Sad but true!!! They were amazing!  It is two double stuffed Oreo's put together - serious yum!

2.  Tell us about your favorite cookie. Have your tastes changed since you were a kid?  My favorite cookie now would have to be white chocolate macadamia nut!!! They are so yummy!!!  When I was a kid I loved fig newtons - still do a little but I prefer chocolate now!!! HA!

3.  Enquiring minds want to know if you are a dunker and, if so, do you dunk in milk, coffee, or tea?  Yuck to dunking cookies but I love to dunk biscotti!! My mother makes cranberry and almond biscotti around the holidays and  LOVE to dunk them!

4.  It is that time of year and they are selling them on every corner and in front of every store!  Do you buy Girl Scout cookies and if you do, which is your favorite?  I did!!!!! My niece sells them!! Next year, I told her I am linking her sales on my blog so those that don't have a girl scout in their lives can order!!! Last year I purchased 6 boxes (2 samoas, 2 peanut butter tag a longs and 2 thin mints)! I ate them all!!!! So, this year I bought six and donated them to the troops! It was awesome - I supported my niece Madelyn and had no calories!!! Yay me!

5.  Raw cookie dough.  Yay or Nay?  I still LOVE raw cookie dough!!!! I am willing to take "that chance" every time I bake cookies! You can now buy "safe raw cookie dough" in the refrigerated section at my grocery store!!!! WHAT!?!? Game changer!!! I have to cover my eyes and run past it since I am dieting! HA!

6.  Please tell us something random about your week!  I have hit my end point with snow!!! I thought it was done...there was none at all on the forecast for the next ten days. Then, sitting at my desk at work yesterday, I looked out the window after lunch and IT WAS SNOWING!!!! I am truly DONE!!!!

Also, I am officially an adult in my own eyes! After 20 years in recovery and putting my life back together...My credit rating ROCKS, I have a decent savings in my 401K (since I have no kids to take care of me when I am elderly-HA!) and I recently opened a brokerage account to house my stocks I bought with my employee share purchase plan! Yay me to living my best life - finally!!!! I may even just stay in the condo forever since I love my new floors THAT MUCH!!!!

Life is good...I am grateful and happy EXACTLY WHERE I AM!!! I wish this feeling for everyone!!!  It feels so good!!

 Have a beautiful Wednesday and if you have not tried them yet then today is the day....buy some MEGA OREO'S...you will NOT be disappointed and you will be celebrating to the max!!!

Have you tried Oreo's Mega? What is your favorite cookie? Have you ever had a "deep fried fair Oreo"? Are you content in your life? What would you like to change in your life?

Happy Birthday My Beautiful Friend

Happy birthday to you...

Happy birthday to you...

Happy birthday Mariela...

Happy birthday to you!!!

I just wanted to wish my sweet, adorable friend Mariela Happy birthday!!!

Soon, she will be a Mom for the first time and she will be the greatest ever!! This is my friend that I went to visit in Kauai, HI. She now lives in San Diego.

I am so happy for her and proud of her for everything that she has overcome to get where she is!  She is the definition of a fighter and a winner!!

Here is a recent photo she sent holding up a few Steeler items I sent for the baby...isn't she the cutest little Mom to Be you have ever seen?!?!?

Here is the official baby announcement...

So super cute!!! 

Mariela...I am over the moon excited for you, Alex and Duke!!!!  My only wish would be that you move back to Pittsburgh, PA so we can hang out daily and I can be Aunt Annie!!!

Hugs and Happy birthday!!!!!

XOXO

Favorites from Grandma Wells - Bubby

Happy Tuesday morning!!  

All of your comments on my post this week got me thinking about how many cherished things I have from my Grandma Wells. She was my mothers Mom and she passed away a few years ago.

Anyone else might see them and think they are junk; but I see total treasures. Especially because they were hers...

This clock hung in her kitchen for as long as I can remember. It was creepy when we were kids but now, when I look at it, I am instantly back in her kitchen. The smell of her baked chicken and homemade bread are so very clear and vivid!!

She had a Siamese cat named Spike. Someone got her this stool with Spike's name on it and love it!!! This is actually what I used to cut wood on when I was doing my hardwood floors - LOL!!

This is another type of clock that was hers. When you plug it in; the fireplace lights up...It needs some work because the last time I plugged it in the fire did not work but I plan to rehab it soon if possible...

She had this ceramic nightlight on her nightstand for years beside her bed...

It is ceramic flowers on a metal base...it looks beautiful light up...

And lastly, when we were cleaning out her house I found this in her desk. I am not positive what it is but I think it was used for some type of powder. If you know; please clue me in. I just love that it was hers and at one time she held it...

It snaps closed and has a chain attached...

So, those are my cherished things that remind me of my Grandma Wells everyday!

She was an amazing woman and Grandmother!!!

I know she is resting in peace with the Lord!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!!!

What are some of your more cherished items? Do you value things just because they belonged to someone you love? 

Weekend Facetime with Madelyn - She Is 9

I have to do my Monday post explaining that I spent another weekend cleaning and and chilling with my fur babies!

It was wonderful!!! It is so nice to chill at home every now and then...but now the fun starts up again!

Next weekend my sisters girls start their dance competitions!!!! I am hair and makeup so I will bring you the updates next weekend for Columbus! Yippee!!!

So, like I said, this weekend was spent chilling and cleaning. 

MOST IMPORTANTLY - I made a mandatory Facetime call on Saturday morning at 9:12 AM to my niece Madelyn! She turned 9 this year?!?!? At promptly 9:12AM (she explained to me that she was born at 9:12 AM because she saw it on Facebook! HA!  How is it even possible that it's been nine years?!?! Wow!!!

She is the sweetest and most loving child!! She almost always has a smile on her face - she gives the BEST hugs in the world and she is genuinely so happy!!!! She loves ice skating, soccer, basketball and cats (especially her cats Kenyon and Baxter).

A skating preview (she is the one in the pink coat)...






What a sweetie!!!! I love you sweet child - this family would not be the same without you in it! Hugs and kisses for a fantastic 9th year!!!

Aunt Annie loves you so many bunches Madelyn!!!!

XOXO

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thursday ya'll!!!

Today I am joining Rebecca Jo for her Thankful Thursday as I always do. It is so important for me to remember all that I have to be grateful for!

I am thankful that we are almost to Friday!!! YIPPEE and praise the Lord!! HA!

I am thankful that I was able to have another chill night last night. I worked, ate dinner and did a little more organization around the condo...whoopie!

Let me show you...

I bought a few of these online the other night! They were very reasonable compared to the container store...

And I did this with them!!! I love that I can now see all my lipsticks and lip glosses!!! The Buxom lip-glosses on the left side are too wide to fit in the slots but everything else fit perfectly!!!

I used another one for mascara's and larger brushes...

Here is what the shelf in my bathroom looks like now...so organized!!!! Yay!!!!

I had shelving space in one of my dressers and was not sure what to use it for. I bought two baskets that fit perfectly onto the shelves and I found a purpose for them last night. The top basket hold swimsuits and coverups and the bottom basket holds all my scarves (sorry the picture is a little dark)...

There is the one with scarves pulled out...I folded them so that I can see every one!!!!

I bought this awesome dresser last year and put it in my guest bedroom. Last night I decided to swap dressers so I put a plain five drawer white one in my guest bedroom and moved this one to my bedroom. 

It is designed to hold jewelry which I love and it was a little weird having all my jewelry in the guest bedroom. So, after I swapped them out (the hardwood floors make moving furniture so easy now) I got to fill it up with my STUFF! Here is the dresser...

The small drawers on the right hold my bracelets, rings and miscellaneous jewelry...

The door on the left has two shelves...sweatpants are rolled up on the top shelf and the middle section pops out and has all of my "good" bracelets and there is the mirror on the back side of the door...

On the far left side of the piece is a hidden door...it has all of my good necklaces...

I feel even more organized now and I am so happy that I bought this piece of furniture last year! I like it so much better where i have it now and I can get so much more use out of it!

I don't know why but I have a thing for white furniture! I think every piece I have purchased has been white! HA! It feels so clean to me! 

I am thankful that for years I have been gifted with hand me downs from my family. I still have my sisters TV stand, my parents old bed, my other sister's coffee table and dinner table and my brother's old microwave! I am so grateful for the things my family have given me - it has allowed me to be back on my feet without spending a ton of money. Slowly, but surely, I am purchasing new things but I want to hang on to their things as long as they function! It feels like they are here with me in my home everyday!

I hope everyone has a great Thursday!!!!

Anyone else cherish their hand me downs? What are your decor preferences? Do you have favorite pieces or stories when or why you purchased? Have you jumped on the organization bandwagon yet?

Strawberry Wednesday Medley

Happy Hump Day ya'll!!!!! Every time I say this I think of that Geico commercial and start laughing inside!!!! "Happier than a camel on Wednesday!"

 

 

Terri has come up with another great Medley for us!!  

 

If you want to join in on the fun go get the questions here, answer, post and link up on Terri's blog!

1.  Given all that information on this National Strawberry Day, do you have a favorite recipe for strawberries? 

I do not have a recipe at all. I wash my berries, slice them and sprinkle them with a little sugar if necessary...that is it! I love strawberries just as they are!!

2.  Some people think the smaller, northern varieties are sweeter than the larger berries that grow in the south and in California.  What are your thoughts on that? 

I grow them in hanging pots on my patio and they are awesome. The smaller ones are definitely sweeter!

3.  There is a Strawberry Festival right here in Plant City, Florida (next town over from Lakeland) and it is a huge event that lasts 11 days with headliner acts each day.  Have you ever been to a Strawberry Festival? Sadly never :-(

4.  Strawberries are grown in every US state.  Have you ever grown them in your garden? 

Absolutely! I get a hanging pot every year and get to enjoy approximately one berry a day all summer - ha!!!

5.  Strawberry is the only fruit that has seeds on the outside, and technically it is not a berry but rather a fruit, and would you be surprised to learn that strawberries belong to the rose family?  Do you have any strawberry trivia to share with us?

No but thank you for sharing yours.

6.  Tell us something random about your week!! 

It's been a very long week. Things in my office are getting so sad with the looming shutdown and everyone is just kind of "existing". It is like a bunch of zombies waiting to get "the ax". We are offered 2 weeks severance for every year of service if we stick around to the end.  It is not a fun place to be anymore. It is like everyone is sitting around waiting for a hatchet...I may have to find something else sooner rather than later because it is a hard working environment right now. UGH and UGH! 

On a happy note...I have my cats, my family and my friends and life itself is still an awesome blessing!! Only 14 days until my Florida trip and 44 days until my Aruba trip! WHOOP!

How has your week been? Have you ever faced losing your job when you knew if was coming but did not know when? Do you have any vacation plans for this year yet?

Life on an Even Keel...

Happy Tuesday Morning everyone!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful start to the new week!!!

I worked, went tanning (ahhhhhh...) and then went home for dinner.  After dinner I made a necklace to mail out today (an order from My Etsy Shop) and then got lots and lots of beautiful sleep.

Nothing exciting at all. Sometimes that is the best feeling! Serenity!!! No drama, no craziness, just "even keel" life...serenity...

I have to say, I LOVE my neighbors (on my floor) right now! I live in a condo and your neighbors are SO very important in that living arrangement!

The four units on the second floor are "second floor strong"! We attend all of the condo board meetings and are all very involved on voting for the rules, etc. Everyone else (four units on the top floor and four units in the basement) just seem to not care.

One neighbor is a single woman in the same situation as myself; she lives alone too. Another is a single mom raising her son (he is 11 now) and the other is a couple that has downsized since their children grew up and moved out.

We all think alike and support each other and that is really a great situation!

If I need help moving heavy furniture or anything else that comes up; I know I can always knock on doors until I find someone home to help me...it is a wonderful living situation right now.

I have had horrible neighbors in the past so I really hope we all stay put, for a while at least - it is like Condo Nirvana right now! HA HA!

Anyone else have neighbors that make it a great place to live? What about stressful place to live? How was your Monday?