A Day In My Life

PROJECT

My One Little Word of the year 2012 is PROJECT. As in all the half done projects I have...including art projects, HEALTH projects, house hold projects, financial projects, business projects!  It isn't a pretty word...but it is MINE;)  My step mother always will say in times of stress, or difficulty that she "needs to get a project started" well  Bobo...here I go!

The word project comes from the Latin word projectum from the Latin verb proicere, "to throw something forward" which in turn comes from pro-, which denotes something that precedes the action of the next part of the word in time (paralleling the Greek πρό) and iacere, "to throw". The word "project" thus actually originally meant "something that comes before anything else happens".

Definition of PROJECT

1

: a specific plan or design : scheme

3

: a planned undertaking

More on my word PROJECT in the next few days!

Dancingly, Denise... Happy New Year

One Little Word

It is the time of year when many of us pick ONE word to help us focus through the New Year.  I have had some great words in the past few years: Possibilities, Created, Peace...and then this years word was HEALTHY.  I hope many of you who follow me see the irony of the word that followed me through this year.  When I chose Healthy it was covering a bunch of different aspects of my life... Physical Health, Spiritiual Health, Family Health, Financial Health and  it goes on:)

Let's look at 2011, shall we?

Scott ran into some trouble in the beginning of the year. (not my story to tell)

Lauren left her boyfriend of 6 years (a part of our family) (we still miss him, but also like her new guy)

She then QUIT school...a beauty school drop out. (She went back into a different program a month later, and is Thrilled with the results, but at the time it was heart wrenching)

I beagn having severe foot problems

I was diagnosed with Barrett's Esophagus

I was diagnosed with gout...no not gout...yes maybe gout...NOW not gout again.

Scott got injured on the job and has been out of work since August with no workers comp...unemployment...etc .

His injury is very painful.

We are fighting lawyers and companies that have no vested interest in our little family.

We are financially so far behind right now I am scraed that we will lose our home...

I still haven't been treated for my foot

Nate continues to stay healthy and relatively happy  LOL

MAYBE choosing the word Healthy jinxed me.  In the beginning I kept saying, when something would happen< well this is just bringing the need for HEALTHY right up to the surface.  By June when I was diagnosed with Barrett's Esophagus I pretty mmuch gave up on my word...seriously.

NOW, this does not go without saying some great things have happened too! 

Two days before Scott had to leave work I was offered a job at a little local Bookstore...I love it there.

My Children's dress up clothing business really took off during the Halloween and Christmas season.

Lauren graduated from Esthitician school.

Nate got his liscence.

Nate was inducted into National Honor Society.

We had elves visit us over Christmas:)

I worked really hard back in April to declutter parts of my house...ah it needs it again.

We continue to meet our morgage payment each month ...so far...by the skin of our teeth,

Our little family is a little closer.

So, it is not to say that I sit around feeling sorry for us...or anything (okay maybe some days...but wouldn't you?)  I continue to try to feel gratitude every day...and pray that things will turn around for us soon.

In the letter to Santa this year (yup my kids write to Santa...they know I will cry if they don't) My 16 year old  son wrote:

"Dear Santa: Well. I hope you've had a good trip around America and hopefully Maine wasn't too cold. We haven't asked for anything this year except for our dad to get better and our luck to change. Maybe you can help us out and have yourself a merry Christmas too." Nate P.F.

I am blessed...just not sure about that WORD!  HEALTHY.

So folks, I need to pick a word for 2012...one continually pops up in my head...but it ain't fancy...and I don't like it that much...so we shall see if I can quiet it down and find a deep philosophical word LOL.

Have a good Friday...stay tuned for my new word.

Dancingly, Denise... Diana is giving away one of my American Girl doll Super Hero capes overe at:

All Dressed Up Cape Review & Giveaway

Saying Goodbye to the Elves

Christmas eve brought the departure of Elvin and Lulu.  Lauren and Nate always get new PJ's from their Mammie and we take a few pictures underneath the tree...so we did that and included Lulu and Elvin:

(oopsies forgot to fix red eyes...ah well)

And the while we were sleeping they left a goodbye..see you next year note.  They left the kids a gift in the freezer and evidently got stuck in the freezer while they were making it.  Luckily Santa found them!

Yup, they made a snowgirl and it is STILL sitting on our tofu dogs in the freezer.

Then evidently they had a chat with Santa...or then took a nap!

and then they took a goodbye picture of themselves under the tree!

They will be missed!  It is amazing how many people I have heard from the have said they will miss hearing about their antics each day!  Maybe they will come back before next Christmas?  Interestingly so far the FAVORITE thing that they have done according to people I have heard from is ...you guessed it...fishing in the toilet! 

Enjoy you evening!

Dancingly, Denise

Gone Fishin"

YUP...this is how we found the elves this morning:)  Fishing for Goldfish in the toilet.

Dancingly, Denise

Elf Angels?

This is what we woke up to a few mornings ago.  Evidently Elvin had had enough of his sister and decided to try to sell her!  Truth be told...MANY years ago...Lauren and two of her buddies set up a similar booth and made posters and tried to sell little Nate (probably 3 years old).  They had learned the idea from a Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen song "Brother for Sale":)  Luckily nobody bought him!

Yesterday morning we woke up to a note from them saying they had been watching me bake and thought they might try it, BUT when they found the flour it reminded them so much of SNOW they forgot what they were doing and made "Snow angels" instead! What a mess!

I am not convinced they were making snow angels I think they were simply making a mess!

Ah well!  They told the kids they would have to go back to the NNorth POle with Santa on Christmas eve.  I THINK we will miss them:)

Merry Christmas Eve!

Denise

Elf and Cat fight?

Yesterday morning we woke up to a very beat up ELVIN and LULU.  The kids found a note on their bathroom mirror from them.  Evidently they decided to "hekp out".  They filled the sink up with water and my best bubble bath (grrrrrr) and thought that they would give the CATS a bath!

As you know...NOT A GOOD IDEA!  Evidently Amigo (shown in the picture) got ticked off and roughed them up a bit.  Here is where we found them "resting"

Good thing they have North Pole magic!  The healing process is fast and it appears by the looks of them this morning they are ALMOST all better!

Have a great Wednesday.

Dancingly, Denise

Dress-up FUN with the Elves

Yesterday morning we woke up to a slight problem with the elves!  Lulu had tied Elvin to a chair and was practising makeup techniques on him!  She even dressed him up in a wig and tutu!

He was smiling but I don't think he was very happy  BUT atleast she studied Lauren's esthetics book:

Poor Elvin:

When Nate saw it I thought he had a little look of panic...remembering the days that Lauren did this to him.  Although I don't think she ever tied him to a chair.

This morning we woke up and they seemed to be chilling...pictures later!  It could be the calm before the storm.  Nate though it was great that they weren't in trouble.

Have a good Monday.

A BUBBLE Bath?

We woke up yesterday morning to find Elvin and Lulu taking a MARSHMALLOW "bubble" bath...complete with rubber duckies!  I was going to USE those marshmallows!  UGH:

What next?

Dancingly, Denise

The elves have been busy!

I have been crazy busy trying to finish up tutu and super hero cape orders so I apologize for not letting you know what those dang elves have been up to!  I think Santa might want to revamp his elf squad a bit...these guys can be wuite a handful!

As you know, the last time I posted they had TOILET PAPERED Lauren's rom to decorate it for her birthday!  I wasn't home when she caught them...but I do know she grinned a bit when I asked her about it;)

They have been busy...some days peaceful...somedays UGH!

One day while the kids were at school they pulled out the kids little Christmas trees (they haven't used them in a few years) decorated them and put them in their rooms!  ELVIN must have decided he was an angel, cuz we found him at the top of the tree!

 LULU must have decided she would sit out the angel idea as we found her resting at the bottome of Lauren's tree:

One morning we woke up to find that they had been playing TWISTER all night!

And then there was the morning we found LULU stuck in Lauren's "cat door" with a box of Christmas peeps:

And Elvin was hanging out at Nate's computer with his "PEEPS"

Two days ago we found them STUCK AGAIN in another jar!  This time they had taken some mints that I had bought for a particular purpose and opened them all and filled a jar...but evidently got caught underneath it all!  They smell very minty now!

And yesterday they played I SPY or WHERE"S WALDO with themselves.  It took Nate forever to find them and I don't know if Lauren ever did. Canb you spot them?:

TODAY!!!  UGH...nate just got up a bit ago and his first words were : "Those Elves are ridiculous"!  I can't show you why, as Lauren missed them this morning I think...so stay tuned to what happened today!

Happy Elves!

Dancingly, Denise

Happy 20th Birthday!

Today is Lauren's 20th birthday.  I am everyday amazed by what a wonderful young woman she has become.

Elvin and Lulu decided to "decorate" her bedroom sometime today while she and Nate were gone.  Those little elves are very proud of their work!

Caught red handed!  ELVIN!

 YUP that is toilet paper...silly elves!

What a mess!

Pleasant dreams to my sweet baby girl! 

Love, Mom!