Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Zoe Bowie


This afternoon my Mom had to have Zoe Bowie put to sleep. Zoe has not been herself for a few weeks now, and last night she was in a lot of pain.
Zoe was the kindest dog I have ever known. She had such a sweet spirit and LOVED everyone.
I know she and Zorro are having a ball playing over the Rainbow Bridge.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Winter Blues

Hey Y'all,

When I come home from school everyday, the first thing I usually do is walk Mr. Pitty Pat. Then I change into some "comfy" clothes, brew a cup of tea and sit down to read my favorite blogs. One common theme that has been occurring in a few of my favorite blogs for the past few weeks are winter survival rituals.

This really made me think.

I really don't live in a part of the country that has to "endure" winter the way some places do.. we have had two "snow" events here at the beach and it has been awfully cold, but nothing like many folks have had to deal with this winter. I am not a fan of winter. If you have read this blog long enough, you know that I am happiest when my toes are in flip flops and I am sitting on the beach reading a good book or walking Pitty Pat. I love wearing t-shirts and shorts. I enjoy sitting on my back patio during the summer eating ice cream and listening to the sounds of summer, sometimes a distant rumble of thunder in the distance. I am not a fan of being cooped up inside, under blankets, surrounded by darkness by 5:00. So I started to think about what kind of winter rituals do I have to make it through until the spring?

Warm drinks. I love to have my coffee in the morning. It is nice this time of year because they have all kinds of yummy creamers out, so everyday that is a little treat. After school and at night, after supper, I like to brew a cup of tea. I add Manuka Honey to my tea each night to sweeten it.

Twinkle lights. I am always sad when I have to take the lights of Christmas down. I purposefully leave up twinkle lights on my entertainment center until the end of February. I also have two trees that have lights on them that fit perfectly inside my kitchen window. At night, I turn on my little fireplace and twinkle lights and it just somehow feels brighter in my house.

Lots of scarves and cowls. Y'all know how I feel about these! I hate to have a cold neck during the winter and the hallways at our school are REALLY cold. I haven't left the house without a scarf or cowl since December. I think in a way, they feel like a big hug in the bitter cold.

Those seem to be my winter rituals. What are yours? For some really neat posts on these ideas, check out what Katie Leigh and Tea and Cookies have to say on their rituals.

Stay warm!
:) JKP

Monday, January 17, 2011

I Likey a Good Shopping Deal!

Hey Y'all!

Well, yesterday I went out to run some errands. I ended up driving to the north end of the beach so I could check out the mall formally known as Briarcliffe and also visit The Bass Pro Shop. They had some cute clothes during Christmas and I wanted to see if they were having any sales. I tried a few things on at Bass Pro and then wandered around the mall for a bit. I am still trying to get in my 10,000 steps a day, and the mall is a great place to do that!

I don't ever really go clothes shopping for myself, because most of my take home salary goes to my mortgage and other bills. Whatever I have left over (which isn't much) goes towards medicines, food and stuff for Pitty Pat. So very rarely do I ever buy clothes. In fact, I don't think I have bought any clothing since August. My mom gave me some great things for my birthday and Christmas. So there's where my clothing comes from! I also hang onto my clothes for YEARS. I am very picky about what I wear too. So anyhoo... I wandered into several stores just browsing and getting my steps in. I wandered into JC Penney and little did I know I was about to hit the jackpot! The weather here in Myrtle Beach has been really chilly lately and I really don't have "winter" clothes. I was hoping to find a sweater or two that I could wear on the really cold days. Well. I. Found. A. Few. All of their sweaters were marked down to $5 and $8. I walked out of JC Penney with 2 shirts and 3 sweaters for under $40. Then in Belk I found a pair of jeans (PRAISE THE LORD!) and a nice wool skirt for a grand total $18. Wow. I may hyperventilate about this later, but I really found some things that I needed at really good prices. So now that I am ready for the cold weather, it will for sure turn 70 degrees next week!

Here's a picture of my savings!

Yes. This girl loves a good shopping deal!

:) JKP

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Slow and Steady

Hey Y'all!

Well, last week we did indeed have a "winter" event. Last Monday we were actually out of school for a "snow" day here in Myrtle Beach. However, all we really saw was freezing rain and ice. At one point Monday morning I had 4 different kinds of winter precipitation falling outside my house. Pitty Pat was under the sofa because he did not like the sound of sleet and freezing rain hitting the windows. But, all in all we had no accumulation and had a two hour delay for school the next day!

During our day off, I actually worked! I had an order for some baby hats from a family member that was placed at the end of last October. Well, I ended up going to a conference in November and then the dizzies hit, so I couldn't knit. Well, this past weekend I finished up her order and finally put it in the mail yesterday. You have seen these hats before on the blog, but these are for kiddies that are 3 and 4, so they are a bit larger. I am so glad I finished these up! They have been hanging over my head for a while!


This hat makes me think of flip flops and summer! Notice my new tablecloth... doesn't it just scream spring?! It is a left over from last summer. But somehow, it just chases away the winter blues!

Yummy yummy ice cream. This is a pattern that I actually created myself. It has been a big hit, even with my adult friends!

Also, here's a little peek at what I have been working on this weekend. I have declared this weekend "selfish knitting weekend." It has been a while since I knitted anything for myself and I needed a little positive reinforcement!

Whooooo do you see? Tune in later this long weekend to see him all finished!

I am off to run a few errands. Tuesday is a work day at school and I have a ton of centers to make. So I need a few office supplies to make that happen. When did cardstock become so expensive? Michael's has a deal this week, 2 packages for $5. I am so there!

Have a good Sunday!

:) JKP

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Here We SNOW Again........

Hey Y'all,

Lookie loo at what is going on with our local weather next week.




We even got an email from our school district on Friday to "beware" of the winter weather. Now y'all know me, I have been tracking and reading the National Weather Service's forecast for days. This was no surprise for me! We are in wait and see mode this weekend.

The first week back to school after Christmas Break has been a long one. Pitty Pat is not happy that I have gone back to work, and my kiddies have been sick with strep throat and a yucky tummy bug. Guess which one hit me yesterday? The tummy bug of course! I went to the store last night for a few provisions and now I have hunkered down on my sofa to rest. I am feeling better today, just very tired. Pitty Pat is more than happy to lay on my tummy to make it feel better. Luckily my cable company is having a free preview of Showtime this weekend, so I am able to catch up on some movies in between me switching to the Weather Channel for the latest forecast.

I hope everyone is having a good 2011 so far!
:) JKP