The Goblins have rested & we remembered to move our clocks back too! Halloween was a fun time! We had a few friends over to help pass out candy to the neighborhood children. It was a cold and drizzly evening, so we set up shop in the garage. Unfortunately the lighting was poor so we did not get a great group picture. But, this is the closest we could get:

Our party costumes were Spider & Web (Connie & Gerald), The Cakestress/Bakestress(Crystal), Scary Witch (Tracey), Queen of Da'nile (Julia), Cross dressing Tu-tu wearing Chihuahua (Nacho) & Gauze Zombie (Matt)
My Posse' The Girls

Matt really got into his costume character


At the end of our evening, the Baketress made frosting shots for us - for one last sugar rush! Cheers!

Matt, showing off, attempted to eat his sugar shot in one gulp...
He was unscessful, but enjoyed trying

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!!

A few weekends ago, at "Gold Rush Days" we picked up an adorable Halloween Tutu for Penny to wear on Halloween. Penny obviously did NOT appreciate the costume...but, she sat long enough for me to take one picture.

On the other hand (or paw), Nacho got very jealous that Penny got to wear the Tutu and he danced around barking until we let him try it on. Sometimes Tutu's aren't just for girls. Nacho LOVES to be the center of attention!

He LOVED it so much he didn't want us to remove the costume and just wanted to play fetch while wearing his tutu

It is just soooo obvious Nacho is a girlie boy:

At least the Tutu fits them both, so we can let both Penny (by force) and Nacho (our little cross dresser) take turns Halloween evening.

We are getting our "Spooky on" here with our decorations! Check out this rose vase. The spiders are taking over! Don't be Scared!!! :)


The skeleton is not real, I promise.

This weekend I co-hosted a retirement/birthday tea for a very dear friend of mine. Tea was held up in Maysville at the Burns-Telford Tea House. A tea house with plenty of character and delicious food. The group of attendees are all tea aficionados and enjoy a proper cuppa!

My plate of yummies...

Isn't this beautiful? Makes my mouth water

It's not even Halloween, but...the tree matched my hat & I couldn't resist the photo opp.

After the tea, full of cafiene, we got silly and snap happy! :) But, the photo shoot produced this cute picture.

While I was enjoying a relaxing day with friends, Matt ran "The Fast Pace 5K" in Cumming,GA! His time was 29 minutes, 7 seconds and he came in 71st place out of 140 runners! Yea Matt!! I am VERY proud of him!!!

It's Fall Y'all!!

This past Sunday we trekked up to Dahlonega, GA to participate in "Gold Rush Dayz"! One of my favorite GA Fall Festivals. LOVE, LOVE "Gold Rush Dayz"!! If you are in GA, you should check it out next year!

It was a chilly day and I relished the opportunity to put on my crocheted hat and knitted scarf!

One of the F.U.N parts in the festival experience is trying out the fair food. We just couldn't pass up trying the DEEP FRIED REECE'S CUPS. We stood in line 4-ever because the booth really wasn't ready for customers (even though they thought they were.). First they dipped the chocolate cups into funnel cake batter, then they fried them in a big vat of grease, turning until they turned golden brown. Well, that is how the cooking should have gone if the process went as planned.

Their first try at making these, their grease wasn't hot enough to fry the treats...the reece's cups just melted into a gooey mess...

What seemed like 30 minutes later, the treats were finally ready. Man, they sure looked good

But, they tasted horrible!! YUCK! A Total waste of money, just look at Matt's face for a clear idea on what he thought of them:

Not even golden on the outside, melted chocolate mixed with uncooked batter on the inside, with a frozen peanut butter center! Note to self: Don't try these EVER again!

More Columbus Day Weekend, GA Aquarium pictures

I FINALLY uploaded the rest of our pictures from our Columbus Day, GA Aquarium experience! Unfortunately a lot of my pictures did not come out as well as I had hoped. I think I should pull out the user manual from my digi camera and refresh my memory on how to take indoor pictures!

One of my favorite rooms in the GA Aquarium is in the "Tropical Diver" section. It has a huge window with waves that come over head & crash onto a coral reef. The day we were there the waves were turned off so divers could clean the tank. I was disappointed that Ed and Matt didn't have an opportunity to get the entire affect of the waves however it was neat to watch the divers clean off the glass.

Walking through the tunnel
In the "Ocean Voyager" section is a LOOONG tunnel that walks guests through the BIG tank. On one side of the tunnel is a moving floor however, we decided to walk ourselves through.

Waiting for the 3-D movie to start
We decided to pay a little extra to watch the "Deepo's undersea 3D Wonder show" cartoon. Here Matt and Ed wear their 3d glasses (it's a bad picture, but a wonderful memory). The cartoons theme was regarding how humans are responsible for the oceans welfare. And, the special effects made this 3D movie a 4D experience...chairs moved, bubbles floated through the air & water droplets sprinkled on our faces.

Newt Gingrich
As we were waiting for the break period to end, at the "Explorer Touch Pool", Ed said, "That's Newt Gingrich"!! I said, "OMG, no...no way!!" But, as usual, Ed was correct...Newt was feeding the rays and sharks with the help of his Granddaughter (in the picture, that is not his grand daughter, that was an aquarium employee.)

At first I didn't believe Ed, but later I googled Newt and pulled up pictures and sure enough, the lady standing next to us (who was also taking his picture) looked exactly like his wife!! How cool!!

I am Not Afraid!!OMG
Matt & Ed didn't hesitate to put their fingers in the water to "pet" a ray. Matt tried several times to touch a shark, but the sharks preferred to swim just out of reach, deeper than the rays.

All hands in the water, watch your finger tips...I hope the sharks got enough to eat...

this is what they were reaching for...

What Brave Miller Men I have!!

Adoption Update
A few days ago we got word, from our agency, that China has sent referrals to families with LID of March 28, 2006. Congratulations to those families! One step closer to Baby Miller :)

GA Aquarium, Columbus Day Weekend
We headed off to The GA Aquarium (Matt and Ed's first visit) this past weekend. We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon with our noses pressed to the tanks. Shark Attack is the special exhibit that replaced Titanic.



Unfortunately the Beluga Whales tank was empty, no sign was posted as to what was going on so I approached an employee to get the 4-1-1 and I was told they were in Texas (until December)!!! WHAT?!?!? Yes, a major disappointment! However, we did see Newt Gingrich feeding the sting rays in the "explorer tank"...I'll have to share those pictures later!

Lordy, Lordy, Matt is 40!!

Today we celebrated Matt's 40th Birthday with a luncheon at Buford's own 37 Main Restaurant in Old Town Buford. The music was fantastic (Matt's ipod play list), the company was fantastic (friends & family) and the food was delicious!

Check out the Birthday cake. Rhodes Bakery did a fabulous job making this special "4-0" cake! On the "four" is a sign that says "youth <----" and on the "Zero" is a hill scripted "over the hill..." and a male figure (with red hair, blue eyes, and a goatee) & notice the little chihuahua next to the figure!! Matt says "I am the Goat" and I said, "how so?" He says, "I'm the Greatest Of All Time"...LOL, yea, right; Bless his heart. ;)




Thank you to all our friends and family who braved the horrible down poor to help us celebrate this new chapter in Matt's Life- Old Age. LOL


Below are links to the 2 part video of highlights from the festivities:

Part 1:


Part 2:

Tea Party, Crystal's Birthday Celebration

Oh, how I love tea! Any time to celebrate with "the girls" requires a proper tea!


Each of us decorated our own hats for this special event. I'm afraid mine looks very similar to a swim cap! But, I'm a sucker for color and for flowers!


The front door was so pretty! Here Connie was patient with me and took tons of pictures so I could pick my favorite to share. She is so creative with her photography! A natural!

Adoption Update

The CCAA has completed the matching process for families with log in dates through March 24, 2006. Congratulations to these families!

Reminder...our LID is September 2006. Getting closer- slowly.

Ran across this just now and it is pretty funy/amazing. Enjoy!

Upside Down Pee Pee Puppy @ Yahoo! Video

Another recipe I came across that I have to share with you wonderful blog readers! If you like Margaritas You HAVE to give this one a try. I think the recipe came from "Hungry Girl" which is associated with Weight Watchers. Whatever!! Give it a try!!!

Margarita
2 cans diet white soda
1/8 cup lime juice
1 or 2 tubes of the lemonade mix-in (like Crystal Light or Kroger Brand)
10 ice cubes
1.5 oz. tequila
mix in a blender.
If you follow WW it is good to know that the whole blender is only 2pts. Makes about 3 drinks. Can be made without the tequila. Citrus vodka could be substituted for the tequila or gin with diet tonic water.

Now all we need is this beach front spot to put our feet in the sand:

Answer... "BLESS IT"



My poor honey dressed in the dark that morning and managed to arrive home around 4pm with his shirt - - INSIDE OUT - - Bless It!!

Note to contestants...the giveaway in the picture in the previous post is the button on the collar. ;P

What is wrong with this picture?


The answer will be in the next blog post.

I got this in an email that I had to share with our blog readers. I hope you enjoy!

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me..
It is the most-requested column I've ever written." My odometer rolled
over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.
Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their
journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood.. But the second
one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take
no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.
Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain .
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words -- In five
years, will this matter?
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you
did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,
we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

May you find the sunbeams in your life and share them with someone else!

OOOH, THAT smell!! Gotta Love that smell!!
Sierra and Penny have found the art of rolling in freshly cut grass to be so enjoyable they do it every dry, hot summer day! Check them out!

First, find the perfect spot...


Taking turns... me then you...


nose dive...


back roll...don't be shy


Dry grass + Back Scratch= Happy DAWG!!


Happy Dawg + Grass Clippings + another carpet will be vacuumed= priceless!!