A new look for a new season....

I got up and walked outside this morning for my daily view of the mountains and it was cool. That can only mean one thing.... No matter what the calendar says the date is, fall is almost here. To me, that means I have a right to change my blog to fall now instead of waiting till some date determined by the sun/moon/planets/calendar, whatever determines it.

I love every season, but fall is my favorite time of year. The cooler temperatures. The apple harvest so everybody can make apple butter.

The leaves start changing. And believe me, in the Great Smoky Mountains we get some beautiful views of the leaves changing.

It's football time in Tennessee so that means a sea of orange everywhere you go. They couldn't have picked a better color for the fall.

Pumpkins are starting to pop up in the pumpkin patches and at the stores for sale.

Mums galore everywhere you look.

Yes, fall is my favorite time of year.

We remember...

Sentimental Saturday

My sister recently posted on Facebook a picture of those beloved (dreaded) sponge rollers from our childhood. We had our hair washed on a regular bases, but Saturday we got the full treatment. Mom would wash our hair and roll it on those old pink sponge rollers.

Sometimes they were left to dry naturally and sometimes we sat under Mom's hair dryer.

It was always Prell shampoo and sitting quietly while we watched The Lone Ranger and Sky King. 

And many times, I can remember we got a Tootsie Pop to lick on while we watching those Saturday favorites.

And if you got one with the Indian on the wrapper it would bring you luck.

Oh what sweet memories those pink curlers brought to mind.

Friday Foto Friends

Hooking up today with Ms. Debbie at Friday Foto Friends on Jeremiah-2911.com.

It's that time of year when all things fall get me so excited. I am going to spend the day putting my fall decorations out in the house. Going to wait closer to October to do the outside so this horrible heat won't get my mums. But I did put a vase of fall flowers on my coffee table yesterday.

I was so excited the other day. On my way to work I stopped at the three story Corningware Outlet in Pigeon Forge. Lo and behond, there was my new Pyrex bowl with the black cats I've been looking for. It was even on sale so I got it for a little over $3.00. Even though it isn't Halloween yet, I just had to gather my stuff for my favorite fall snack mix.

You simply pour in your candy corn into your container. 

Leave enough room to cover the top of it with some honey roasted peanuts.

Stir it around really good. The end result is a chewy salty snack mix that tastes exactly like a Pay Day candy bar. This is my go to snack for fall. 

I did some shopping yesterday and will share that a later day. But this one item was too good not to tell you about today. I found this small vintage Spice of Life Corningware piece at Farmhouse Antiques. It was just $2.00. I was thrilled. I get it up to the counter and realized it was chipped. So I told her I didn't want it after all. The chip was small and on the outer part of the rim. She said, "That was in my booth. I didn't realize it was chipped. I never sell pieces that aren't in perfect shape so I will just be throwing this away. Do you just want it for free?"  Well, DUH! YES! Best buy of the day. I will use it for display but won't cook in it.

Where did today go?

What happened to Thursday? Where did it go? I got up with full intentions of blogging. Decided to go to Farmhouse Antiques. It is near Walmart so I figured I might as well make a Walmart run. All that was in Jefferson City, a neighboring town. As I was driving back to my town, I decided to go get a haircut. Came home and decided to stop at store for my weekly shopping. Came home put up groceries and laid down for a minute (I have a head cold). Woke up two hours later and decided to eat. Decided to see if I had any posts on today's blog....that is when I realized it is 9:00 at night and I never even wrote a blog today. So now you know why I'm asking "Where did Thursday go?" Reminds me of a scene from Top Gun.....

We've been lied to....

Our whole life, they have taught us that diamonds are a girls best friend.

They were wrong. In my book, pajamas are a girls best friend. I love a good day off when I plan on spending most of my day in my p.j.'s decorating my house for fall and working on a few crafts. Those are my plans for today.

And before you judge me wearing my p.j.'s all day, keep in mind that the most comfy pajamas nowadays is a pair of lounging pants and a t-shirt.  

But even if I get to spend my days in jammies, I will spend my evening in a different pair. Just can't work around the house and relax at night in the same jammies.

But whatever time of day it is, I love my jammies.

Finding the good...

I was web searching for something the other day and this sign popped up in the search. What an amazing statement.

What if we only focused on the good in our life each day? What if as evening draws nigh, we reflect and find ONE good thing that happened to us that day. Nothing major. Just something simple that made you smile. Some challenge you faced and overcame. Something that could have been negative that you turned into a positive. 

Yes, we are not in control of what happens every moment of our life. But I serve a God who IS in control. And no matter what is thrown my way, I have been noticing that there is usually a ray of sunshine even in the gloomiest days. 

I woke up feeling really bad this morning with a headache, sore throat and just the general blahs. I am heading into work for my sixth day straight. Two of those days were 10 hour days. Needless to say I am worn down and exhausted.  It's one of those, "don't-feel-like-going-to-work-but-not-sick-enough-to-stay home" days. 

So I decided to look back over the past few days in my memory to remember some of the moments in my day that made me feel good.

1. There was a day when I had to interact with a group of about 13 Chinese women who couldn't understand English and definitely couldn't speak it. One lady and I were able to converse a little with a lot of hand motions and pointing. As I was speaking with her I tried to ask if they had been doing any shopping while they were in town. Thirteen heads jerked around my way. Thirteen smiling faces beamed from ear to ear and 13 women all started nodding and saying "Tomorrow. We shopping tomorrow." You just had to smile.

2. I went to Krispy Kreme to get me one original glazed after my lunch the other day. I pulled to the window and the lady said $1.29. I handed her my money and she says "I'm going to do something to make you happy." And she handed me a box with one dozen Krispy Kreme glazed donuts in it. She smiled and said for me to pay it forward. I took them to work and shared them with everyone. She made a dozen people extremely happy.

3. And yesterday I was assisting a couple who were listening intently to me. Then the lady says "You speak very fast and I am French and couldn't really understand what all  you were saying." She was so sweet about it that we all had a good laugh. I slowed down and she asked questions and we were able to overcome the accent barrier. I never really spoke to a real French person before and that is one place I have always wanted to travel so it was really nice meeting her. Even though the main thing I associate with France is my love of French toast which it turns out has nothing whatsoever to do with France. 

See how simple that was? I thought about the past few days and found three things that happened to me to make me feel good. You should try it. It's a lot better than focusing on the things that are negative in your life!