A Little Taste of Spring

In the last week, here on the East Coast, we've had at least two feet of snow dumped on us. It's been beautiful and great nesting, but now I'm sooo ready for some Spring!

I've had this basket for several years and have been wanting to do something with it.

Monday was that day :-) Picked up a few bunches of bright silk flowers at AC Moore and did a little arranging, and hung it on the front door. Such a pretty punch of color!

C'mon Spring!

Word

I love hearing about new ideas. One of them is from Clover Lane, a great blog that I follow...it attracted me mainly because I grew up on Clover Lane (a different one than the blog). Anyway, the task is to pick one word for the year and to make it your word. Work on living your word. I seem to remember a book that I read a few years back that subscribed to the same idea. Picking one word is difficult for me, as I'm sure for others, but I think I've come up with True...To thine ownself be true. Meaning for me to speak up for myself, to not explain away my opinions and try to defend them if they are not the same as some else's. To speak the truth for me. Will be printing out the word/phrase to remind myself.

2010

Welcome 2010! Hard to believe that a decade has gone by, so very quickly. Our family enjoyed a wonderful holiday season for which I am very thankful. Today, we are putting the finishing touches on getting ready for our annual Family Party set for tomorrow. My son asked me today how long we've been having this party and when I thought back about it, I determined that it's been about 20 years...20 years?! It started out as a summer pool party way back when we had a pool, and sometimes appeared as other celebrations, but for the last 6, 7, 8? years it's been our Family Holiday Party, and we all look forward to it each year. We all cram into the living room, all 20-something of us, and have a gift auction which has now become a tradition. We range in age from 4 to 82...preschoolers, middle-schoolers, college students, singles, engaged, widowed, married, retired...we all come together to celebrate our family and catch up on happenings throughout the year. Something for which I am very thankful.

Before and After Lamp

Picked up this lamp at a yard sale about a month ago. Before finding "blogland", I wouldn't have looked twice at it, but now I can look at things and see past what they are to what they can be. The shade had yellow gingham fabric that was easy to pull off, which I'd started to do when I took the before picture.

Before






After:




I'm thrilled with it...may need some trim, but for now it's good. Just need a light bulb :-)

Trash to Treasure?

I've recently started repurposing items...mainly because of all the great ideas I've gotten on the various blogs. Spray paint has become my craft drug of choice. I've done a few things, and while this isn't anything earth shattering, paint really does change the look of something. I picked up this mirror at the Salvation Army...kinda ugly, but the price was right for the mirror wall I'm trying to get started.

Here's the before...

and the after:

I did a little shabby treatment on it after this picture was taken, and it doesn't look half-bad.

The After Party

Yesterday, we continued to celebrate Michael's birthday with a Laser Tag Party. What fun! Even the parents had a blast! Some kids just never grow up :-) Being from this family, and not wanting the fun to come to an end, Michael wanted to know if we could have an "after party"...everyone back to our house. We had about 7 kids come back, plus 2 of my Mom friends. They played, ran around, begged to go to the creek, came back and consumed the rest of the remaining party food. We moms drank margaritas...nice.

My First Post

Wow! I have my own blog! Whoo hoo! I've just recently discovered blogs in the last 6 months and have become absolutely addicted to them. So many ladies out there with such amazing creativity and great ideas.

My blog name - The Eleven O'Clock Show...not in show biz or even a show, but a name my Dad gave to the second wind I would get around 11:00 pm....whether I was singing around the house, or starting to clean up my room. That was many years ago, but I still have "shows" when I get into a second wind and start straightening up or try to maintain some sort of order in this house.

Today is my son's 12th birthday. Twelve! Where has that time gone? I know all parents say the same thing, but really...wow! We spent the day getting some Spring chores done around the house, baking cupcakes for his party tomorrow, then off to his baseball game - they won and he was the closing pitcher - had a great game. Dinner at Benihana - first time there - he said it was the best birthday evah! :o)