Love Leigh Things

Happy Thanksgiving!

I was sitting here dreaming of this

 

 
 

and seeing upcoming temperatures of 24 degrees, in the south shocking!  I wondered what to do around the busy-ness of the holiday season approaching (a little too fast).

 

Then I got these in the mail!

 
 

My latest goodies from the WONDERFULLY talented Alicia Paulson!  I can't wait to get started.  She sure knows how to get me in the spirit of the holiday!

 

Then hubby gave me a great (keep her busy so she doesn't start on me about shopping) giftie!  An IPad!  I do believe I am an Apple lover after this.  We are thinking of converting all of our computers now!

 

Now for the big news and bragging on my part!  Hubby has retired after proudly serving our country for 30 years!  He reached the highest rank possibly for an enlisted person, Command Sergeant Major!

 

 
 

I will have to devote an entire post to him soon. 

 

We are excited about his new opportunity/career!  I know he will be a huge success at this endeavor, just as he was in the military! 

 

Finally, Bentley and I want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!  We will be back weighing a few extra pounds next week.  Love you all!

Disney, Birthday Giftie and Happy Halloween

 

The family and I had the best time at Disney World!  There is nothing like having your birthday there, even for us ladies of a certain age, teehee!

 

 

 

 

Okay, I was a big kid princess!  You just do not know how close I came to going to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique and getting my princess makeover!

 

 

The boys had a great time at Legoland.  Can you believe all of these things are made of Lego's?

 

 

 

 

 

Bentley had the greatest time at Animal Kingdom

 

 

 

until....

 

 

he seen these....

 

Hubby threatened to feed him to the tigers for whining a bit to much.

 

He was not happy about riding this

 

 

nope, not happy at all!

 

Boy 1 and I especially adored Epcot!   I will share our adventure soon!  It was great to get to go to Japan, England, and other places!

 

Now on to more happiness.  I was so excited to get a birthday goodies from the creative and kind Kai!  (I am sorry for being so late with my thank you!)

 

 

I really appreciate it so much, Kai!  I just love him.....but....

 

 I did not get to keep him long!

 

I hope everyone has a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

 

Don't let the ghosties scare you!

 

 

 

 

 

More Great Mail and More Spring Cleaning......

I am one of the luckiest bloggers ever!  Thanks to blogland I have met three lovely princesses from across the pond!  If you don't believe me, I have proof, just look at the stamp on the package I received from them, teehee!

I am talking some serious goodies, in this package from the royal girls!  Just look!

I LOVE everything!  I was so excited, I almost wet myself! Please remember that I have had two children it can happen!) I was squealing!  WOOHOO!

Then for some total inspiration!  I know what you are thinking!  But, I will be able to do more than scarves one day, I will!

I was so perky at this point, I am pretty sure that hubby thought I needed to be sedated!

Oh yeah, my first ever English tea!!  Delicious!!  Uh Ah, ribbon bits, LOVE them too!!

Can there be more, you bet ya!  Needles and my weakness, babies!!  The red needles are gorgeous!  The smaller pack holds my first DPN's!  Yes, I am a little intimidated, but that has never stopped me!   

The larger of the two babies is a Little Schmoo, (I think I got that right!)  I  have wanted one since The Queen (aka Scarletti) made her first one!  I tried to convince her to sell her goodies, she is a total talent I tell ya!  So, I AM TOTALLY EXCITED TO HAVE ONE OF MY VERY OWN!!  The smaller of the two, is just perfectly adorable!  I have named her Dimity.  She has lavender in her from an English Garden!!!

With all of that being said, you must hear the rest of the story!  Yep, Bentley had to get involved!  Can you imagine?

Wait!  What is this?  No jealousy?  Instant love?  Hey monkee, what is up?  Oh, I get it!  He loves their accent!  It does not hurt that they are pretty girls that like hugs!

The very next morning they had to show him that they arrived the same way that he did

What a cute trio!

Now I have to tell you the best and the most horrible part of this story!  There were two more things in that package.  Bentley's and my favorite things to be precise!

He got this very own artwork card!

He even let us read it!

I am pretty sure this is one of the sweetest things that Bentley ever got in the mail (me too for that matter).   

All was great, until......

l got to read the second card!  It was for me too!  I was thrilled, more so than getting a bloggy-award-thrilled, I tell ya!  But, that brought up an issue!  Bentley refused to share.  He said that it was his, all his!

I am here to tell you that under that little primate hand it says Leigh, it does!  So now we battle!  I put the cards out for everyone to see, and he steals them.  I find them, put them out, he steals and hides them!  I will win! 

Rose, Saffron and Alice - Bentley and I thank you girls so much!  Your artwork is gorgeous!  We do love the cards and ya'll too. Charlotte, thank you for the goodies, offering your shoulders and being my psychic twin!  I am in our parallel universe giving you the biggest hug ever!

Let's see, is there a way to get Leigh to excercise more?  I do believe hubby found the way!

Isn't she gorgeous?

I have a white basket to go on her, that way YaYa and Bentley can go too.  But, I really want a wicker basket!  Yippee, thanks and love ya honey!  I hope I have time to ride on her this weekend!

Now for one of the scary parts of my life......

All of this, plus more not shown came out of Boo's closet!  I am still cleaning out the house.  It is going to take me longer than expected.  Please bear with me until Spring cleaning is over and I am back to blogland in force.  In case you are wondering.  We got his closet all cleaned out, nice and neat!

Leigh = Broken record.  I have more doctor appointments this week.  This sounds like last week.  I thought I would be through cleaning and having tests ran but I guess not.  I will be around soon though, love ya and thanks for putting up with me till this is over!

 

Introducing Lola

For me?!?!?!?!?

You gotta love any man who gets you a pink computer and mouse! I have a habit of naming everything.  So here is Lola......  My new baby!

Her screen is even pink!

I am in love with hubby and Lola!!!  I know that a lot of you are not pink fans, but boy I am!  So this is perfect!  If only I could see it through non-allergic eyes!  Even though we have a laptop, it is connected to tons of things, this one makes me portable, teehee!

To brag on my man a little more, he also got me these!

They opened beautifully!

Things were made even brighter, when I received my giveaway from Wee Wonderfuls!

WOOHOO!

Isn't she the cutest?!?!?!?!?!?  She is going to have a great home here!!!  Thank you again, Hillary!!!!!!!

Now for the much anticipated in my own mind Bentley Meme!  The tags came from the lovely and talented Jan and beautiful and sweet Rue.  Thank you both for thinking of me and Bentley!

   

I asked him 10 questions and here is his response!

L.  What is your favorite song?

B.  I am sure this was written just for me, so of course I adore it!

L.  What is up with you and sharing?

B.  Life is too short to share.

L.  Do you have any girlfriends?

B.  Yes, many.  But, each one thinks she is the only one, so I will go on record as saying I have one.  I even get fan emails.

L.  Have you ever thought of starting a fan club?

B.  Yes, I am not opposed to being close to my fans.  I am not your typical famous primate.

L.  Where did you get your name?

B.  Charles Dickens, Bentley's Miscellany, get it, somewhat of an orphan from England.....Well, do you?  If not, try this one on.  My humans are named...BENjiTyLeighjeffrEY.  See, the caps spell Bentley.

L.  Do you like your humans.

B.  I have seen worse.  I have spent a lot of time training these, too late to get new ones.

L.. Do you enjoy having so many pictures taken of you?

B.  People really need to lay off this, I am tellin' ya the camera adds 10 lbs.

L.  What do you do all day?

B.  Next question.

L.  What is your favorite drink?

B.  ummm..... milk?  But, do not ask Janice she knows the truth! 

L.  Is there anything the world needs to know about you?

B.  I wish everyone had more of a sense of humor, grace and compassion.  Oh and watch out, monkees are going to take over the world!

If you want to play along, just email me!  I will post about it!!!  I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

More Eggcellent Mail!

Get it, eggcellent, Easter, arghahaha!  Okay, I am over myself.  I am so thrilled, I am really not to blame for my gushing silliness!

You have to love anything that comes in a package that says this.....

I ordered this STUNNING piece of Jewelry from GoddessFindings!  I have several relatives that are jewelers and I worked for my uncle for years, so I know well made goodies when I see them!  This is not only gorgeous but extremely well constructed!!!

Please take into consideration, this is a self arm portrait.  They are not as easy to take, as you would think. 

Isn't it just sooooo lovely???

Then just to see if southern girls really swoon, Janice sent these....

I did not swoon but came darn close!  I LOVE them too!!!

Then my Pay It Forwards arrived!  Both of them, no waiting for, up to a year here!  I have some big shoes to fill!

This little package from CurlyPops came all the way from Australia!

Oh yummy, look it is pink and pretty stuff!

Oh not only did she send an apron but a headband as well!  You know, I am all about the headband/scarves thing now!!!

I tried self portraits of the headband.  However, the photos would scare small children so you just have to assume it is gorgeous!  I just love it all, thank you Cam!!!!!

If I did not know better I would swear that Jan was my neighbor, she knows me so well!  This PIF from Daylily Lane was spectacular!  Even the box was pretty, those butterflies were too cute!

Check out these goodies!!!!!

This is a magnet!  I do not know if you can tell, but those are three of the prettiest ink pens wrapped up in there!

I love butterflies and spring, just look at what else Jan sent!

Plus, she made me some friendship cards!  Wow, they are GORGEOUS!!!!!!  Some lucky folks will be getting these in the mail!!!

But, the cutest and funniest thing ever was that Bentley received a PIF from Jan too!

He was thrilled, just look at what he got!  Yep, that is his fav, Curious George hanging there with some fabulous banana candy!  Isn't that so creative!

All was right with the primate world!  Until.....

I made him share!

Bentley and I cannot thank you enough Jan!  You have brought a ton of smiles and laughter to our home!  You really do rock, love ya!!!!

I am sorry if I missed telling anyone, but Happy (late) Saint Patrick's Day!

Now don't you know, I really turned hubby on wearing these babies!

I will be away from blogland until next week.  So I want to leave you with some Easter and spring photos. 

Can you believe that I have had this egg for over 20 years, it is made out of sugar and icing!

I hope you have a wonderful Good Friday, weekend, Easter, and spring!  Til next week!  Lots of Love!

Total Randomness

I am a mail junkie!  I wish the bills went somewhere else, but alas, I have to take the good with the bad!  But, in my blogworld there is no bad, so I will share my good mail from the last few weeks! 

These little goodies came as a total surprise!  I was shocked when a box arrived from wonderfriend Kai!  Everything in it was soooo perfect!

The teacup is a candle holder, the card was beautiful and the monkey is magnetic!  He was immediately named Nac Nac, after his Godmama!  However, right after the opening there was a commotion...

The B man was not happy!  There was disdain, and jealous shock.  But, after a brief talk amongst the primates in private, Bentley decided he really liked Nac Nac.

I have to wonder what was said????  That Nac Nac sure looks like he is going to give Bentley some well deserved aggravation!  The B Man is a little angry at me right now, he feels this photo shows his love handles a a little too much!

Next came some goodies that I ordered!  I had to have these cards from Jan of course!

Um, a little extra something as a thank you.....

Oh my, they are bunnie cards!!!  Now how cute is that?  Thank you, Jan!!

Next, up from the beautiful Laura came my wallets!

Look more lagniappe items!  Hostess matches!  I am so thrilled!

Here is my wallet, that I am using as a business card holder.  I can't show the other wallet, as it is a gift and I want it to stay wrapped up all nice and pretty!  Don't you just love those birds! Oh thank you, Laura!!

I cannot say enough good things about Cherie my swap partner!  She totally outdid me, and yes I have offered her cash to make up for her goodies being soooooo much better than mine!  Check this out!

Is that not the cutest fish ever?  I would have been thrilled with just the card!

That pretty paper had a Koma wrapped in it!

Someone else was as fascinated as I was, the colors are amazing!  It is too bad the photos do not show them!

Woohoo, I ordered my CoCo pattern from Mumistitches!  I hope to get started on it very soon!

Seriously, this is one of the clearest, cutest patterns I have ever seen!  I hope there are more to follow!!!

Two very yummy books arrived as well!

I am showing off my knitting now, teehee!

See way over there on top of the pillows, with only the best side showing!  Yes, I hid a large portion of them!  They are some of my scarves!  Please if you have a heart do not blow this photo up.  Just assume they look perfect, teehee!

I got this little bit of yarn out of a sale bin, gotta love sales!

   

I know that one day, I will need more than a few skeins for bigger items and I will have to pay full price. But, for now I love finding yarn at great prices!

Okay, my new thing is head scarves worn like head bands, love them all!  I got these two yesterday!

Aren't those colors gorgeous!  They may even make my hair look pretty!

I wanted to share one of the cutest easiest tutes with you all!  Mary Ellen has one for felted chicks that is GREAT!  Thank you Mary Ellen for letting me share this!  I am in love with them!

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend!  Love ya!

A Wonderful Raffle and a Little Painting

I know that everyone is jealous of "The B Man" and wanting their very own Monkee from MonkeeMaker!  Well, now is the time to get one.  Kerry is having a raffle to help a most precious, little sick girl raise money!  You can't go wrong, trying to win a goodie and help someone!  There are lots of great items waiting to be won, go check it out!!

Here is a gratuitous shot of Bentley, just to get you in the monkee wanting mood.  He is watching his favorite show Curious George.  This is his favorite episode 00 Monkey/Spy Monkey!

My family is feeling very fortunate, because this little illness is now laryngitis and with an earache, ugh!  Although they deny it, I think they like it when I can't talk.  I knew it would return when I bragged that I was over it.

I did finally give my mum the last of her birthday goodies.  I think I am caught up now.  Her birthday was in November but better late than never right?

Okay, it is probably a painting only a mother could love, but I am trying!  I am just glad I am not the one standing beside that wobbly lighthouse!

Last but not least, mumistitches is having a giveaway!  She just finished writing her very first pattern and is listing it on her ETSY shop!  Although, I really do not want any competition, I think this is awesome and wanted to share!  Her Coco is just one of the cutest critters ever!!! 

My Little Something on Saturday

was a knitting party!  I had a local instructor come in for a few hours and try to teach the lot of us how to knit.  Everyone was at a different level.  Some did better than others, teehee!  My mama (Lesley's mum) needs a little more practice!  I told her I was going to share that!  Bless her heart, I think she knitted a lollipop!

It was really cool when I realized that we were all family and I had three generations of men!  My hubby, son and hubby's step-father.  By the way my father-in-law was the one that really did the best!  All of the men seemed to do better than the women, ugh!

Now in Mum's defense she did bring the cutest cake!

Sorry, I got a little overzealous and started hacking into it before I realized a photo was in order!  Yes, it did say knitting not kitting!  I am pretty sure some of us just kitted though!

Bentley was definitely there. Once he realized that no one would ever be able to make duplicates of him, thanks to "not a lot" of talent he loosened up and had a great time.

He rivaled the cake for being the hit of the party.  He would have outright won but there was extra icing you know! 

Today is Laura's birthday!  If you get a chance pop over with a BD greeting! 

Aren't These Too Cute???

They are calling card holders! 

These are some of the goodies I have been making with my new fabric stash.  They really are easy to make.  They also have a ton of uses,  business cards, gift cards, etc...  My mother wants me to make a larger one for her camera.  (Hey look Kai no sewing!)  I got the instructions from the too talented NastyWench!

I am just so thrilled, I got two more awards!!  I can't help it, no shame here, I adore getting them!!  They really can make ones day!!  These are from one of the best bloggers ever, Lesley!  Now you know that I love Lesley but there is a problem!  My mama, now to only be referred to as MUM, is wanting to adopt her.  Yes, my VERY southern MUM thinks Lesley is her long lost child and is requesting we call her by her new moniker.  Because that is what Lesley called her!  Will somebody just shoot me if my mother ever starts to blog or if I am replaced in the will!  Seriously, if I could give the awards back they would go straight to Moogsmum aka Lesley!

I want to pass this award on to Deserae because she really helped when YaYa got a booboo!  Sincerely, thank you Des!  Plus YaYa is in love with doggie internet dating her Simon and Teddy.  I am sending it to Kai as well, because she sent me one of the sweetest emails ever! Laura gets it for the best blog line!  Kai and I agree on this one! Go to her post for January 11, 2008 and read about her lips!  I am still loving it!!! NastyWench gets it for the fantastic ideas on her blog and helping me find scalloped shears for the calling card holders above!  Jan started her very own ETSY shop this week!  So for taking the leap she deserves it also!!!  Fiberjinx and babysaurus get it for the post and photo on January 22, 2008! Jane because she has the best Christmas holiday photos and a monkey hat that I am trying to bribe out of her, haha! Alison because she has one of the most adorable blogs ever!  JenaVeve because she did not know what a blog was six months ago either!  Plus she appreciates the friendships through them!  Scarletti because she can be creative while sick and needs a gold star!  Samantha because she has her first apron as well!! 

I love comments, who doesn't!?!?  I want to pass this next one on to everyone who comments!  Because, they really do cheer me up!  So congrats and take your award to your bloghome and enjoy it, you earned it!!

Be sure to pass the awards on!!  With all of the blog love flowing in this post, I will share some flower goodies with you!

Enjoy!  I have a little something going on tomorrow.  I will post all about it soon!  Let's just hope Bentley can behave!

Christmas MeMe And A Gift Banner

Look up!  At the banner!  WOOHOO, it was a lovely emailed gift from Barb!  She took my girls and made them into a too cute banner.  Now how nice is that?  Thank you so much Barb!

What is a Christmas MeMe without a picture of goodies from the other ME, Mary Engelbreit? 

A few goodies Michaels had in the sale bin!  Gotta love that!!

Now for my MeMe.  My all time favorite Christmas ornaments are all of the ones made by my boys!  I adore the song Silver Bells!  If you ask me the best sentimental Christmas movie is, It's A Wonderful Life.  The funniest, A Christmas Story.  You knew I was going to say that after the Leg Lamp post!  You would get tired of reading if I told you about my favorite memories, but they all involve my Grandparents!!!  They were the best with lots of character and big ole hearts!! I have never met a gift I did not like, if it came with love and or caring.  My favorite food at the holidays in King Leo soft peppermints dipped in milk.  Do not say yuck unless you have tried it!  I do not know why I only eat that around the holidays?

A few of the last minute felt goodies goodies that I have been working on.  Thankfully, (keeping my fingers crossed) I have a few hours of free time to finish these up before the big day!

Just in case life gets busy, and you do not make it back here in the next few days. I want to thank you all for the blog love and wish you A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!