A Small Accomplishment

I've basically been doing nothing but clinging to my couch since Saturday morning.

I got one of those colds that isn't just an annoying distraction, but rather a debilitating, knock-you-on-your-butt, can't breathe, can't sleep, can't move, sore throat, coughing, sneezing, headachey, nose-is-raw-from-blowing-every-2-minutes, tormenting affliction.

Not to complain. I've got a sweet husband who has been bringing me cough drops and hot herbal tea, cooking spicy food for me (to help clear everything out...plus it's about the only thing I can taste), running to the store for tissues with lotion and generally waiting on me hand and foot. And a sweet doggie who snuggles and keeps me company.

So being sick isn't ALL bad. ;)

In between blowing my nose incessantly, slathering on menthol ointment, pounding what feels like 14 gallons of fluids a day and watching WAY too much TV, I needed to find something to distract me and make me feel as though there is some merit to my snotty existence.

I decided to pull out some of the beads that Scott bought me for Christmas and try to get the creative juices flowing along with the mucus juices. (Sorry for that mental image there, but I couldn't resist - hee hee!)I combined these pink crazy agate beads with saltwater pearls and silver etched accent beads and pendant.There were enough beads to make a matching bracelet...
and earrings.I really love how they turned out. Now I just need to get feeling better so I can get out of the house and wear my little accomplishment!

Just Call Me Bessie

I wish I had four stomachs.

'Cause this is what Scott made me for dinner:

Homemade macaroni and cheese. Comfort food. Creamy, cheesy deliciousness.

(He says his secret is a touch of nutmeg and mustard.)

This will all be gone by tomorrow. I'll find room.

Helping the Economy

My girlfriend Angela and I met in Columbus this weekend for our Annual Shopping Trip. So we could, ya know, help the economy. ;) And take advantage of all the after-Christmas clearance sales. And have girl time where we get to shop to our heart's content, eat at restaurants our husbands don't like, and talk and talk and talk.

Ang is the QUEEN of Priceline and got us a 4 Star hotel room for 37 bucks! It was beautiful - it had french doors leading into the bedroom......and flat screen TV's in the living area and bedroom.We felt so fancy!

After checking in, we had lunch and then headed to Mall #1 where we shopped for about 8 hours.Back to the hotel with all of our goodies!
We were seriously pooped. We ate our traditional Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup in Bread Bowls. (Only they were out of bread bowls by the time we got there so we improvised and used their sourdough rolls.)
What's better than warm, creamy soup with crusty bread after a long day of shopping?I'll tell you what - sticking your feet in a hot tub. Neither of us had brought our bathing suits, so we just headed down to the pool area in our jammies, rolled them up and stuck our feet in! We did get one or two interesting looks, but it was totally worth it.

After a night of recuperating, we set out the next day for Mall #2.We both got some great buys and had a wonderful time together.

I'm so grateful for having such an amazing, fun friend in Angela, for serious clearance deals, and for our husbands who are so sweet to encourage us to do this.

Can't wait for next time!