Keep Calm and Carry On

Sprint Center: The College Basketball Experience

2013-03-29T07:19:00.001-05:00

Max and Mia are over spending a couple days of their spring break here in KC. Along with Mom, Dad, Jill, and Trisha we headed down to Power and Light to check out this cool exhibit.

I got bit by a Flea!

2013-03-24T20:13:00.001-05:00

Not just any flea, but a fleeting flea

This Saturday Jeff and I went to the Fleeting Flea Market - that pops up a few times a year in Overland Park.

Some unique Flea Market finds =

A wreath made out of the linings of men's ties...all white and gorgeous

Wooden Pepsi crate

Bird with nest

This place was overflowing with creativity, I was inspired by so many ideas. Prices were amazing.

We also checked out The Ridge Antique Mall that I found disappointing, Seemed like a lot of garage sale rejects at high prices.

Yummy lunch at Mi Ranchito and home before the snow hit.

Today (Sunday) has been spent at home with the Fur Babies

Happy Weekend

Awesome Tie Wreath

Pepsi Crate - LOVE the Yellow color!

*Pics taken with my new Nikon COOLPIX camera from Pepsi - thanks J

Is it too late to post Christmas Pics??

2013-03-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

Yeah...........I know it is. LOL
Oh well, I am trying to get back into blogging.
But still wanted to share my Christmas Pics.
Enjoy!

The Theme inside and outside the house was.....SNOWFLAKES.
A new collection I have started. Love them! Found many pretty snowflakes at Dollar Tree!

Pics of the mantel not so good, too dark, flash exposed. Looked better in person.

Gorgeous, Glittery, Deer taking flight in my shabby chic planter, filled with ice and snow greenery.
Deer came from the Dollar Tree.

Super Skinny Christmas Tree in the upstairs Hallway. I had three Christmas trees set up this year. This is my all "White" tree.

Mason Jar Snow Globes. Easy and fun to create.

Another Christmas Tradition/Collection I started last Christmas - Vintage Christmas Ornaments.

My Milk Glass Bookshelf got into the Christmas Cheer as well.
Scrapbook paper with vintage looking snowflakes acted as the backdrop.
White trees, and houses took place with the Milk Glass.

Wire tress from Dollar Tree, just spray painted white with a dusting of glitter. Vintage clip earring dresses up the Milk Glass.

Better late then never, Right? You can look for my Spring and Easter pics sometime next fall. LOL

Plaza 2012

2012-12-11T22:18:00.000-06:00

Christmas came early this year, for the Stockstill/Gregory/Chitty Group that is. We celebrated the first weekend in December. Festivities were held at at the Plaza this year. At sunset we took a Limo ride, to take in the sights in style! The tour took us around the plaza and surrounding neighborhoods. We even had milk and cookies waiting for us! This was Mia's first time in a limousine and sassy girl was EXCITED! She took about hundred pictures, no I'm not kidding a hundred pictures! Max rode in a limo in Vegas when he was a toddler, so this was old hat to him!! LOL Great time!
Good food followed and gifts. Thanks again everyone!

Merry Christmas Stockstill/Gregory Family!!

Plaza Lights Fun Facts

The Plaza Lights started with a string of 16 lights over a doorway in 1925. The first Plaza Lighting took place in 1930.
“In 1925, Charles Pitrat, head of the Nichols Company maintenance operation, placed a single six-foot strand of sixteen colored light bulbs across the doorway of the Suydam building, the Plaza’s first building. …The tradition grew just the way the Plaza did. As buildings were added, so were lights. When the Plaza Theatre was completed in 1928, Pitrat strung lights across 47th Street to reach the theater building. The next year he outlined the buildings and towers with lights. And so it went, adding more lights to frame more buildings. Putting up those first lights took one man and a ladder. The chore is definitely more difficult today.”
Tower lights are always one color. For example, The Time Tower, at Broadway and Ward Parkway, is always red.
A lights test occurs on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (the day before Thanksgiving) from 2 to 6 am, which has become a popular tradition for families to have a “sneak peek” of the Plaza Lights.
The only time that the Plaza lights were not in operation occurred in 1973 when President Nixon called upon all Americans to curtail the use of Christmas lights to reduce dependence on foreign oil imports.
Guests that have been invited to turn on the Plaza Lights include: George Brett, Trent Green, Kate Spade, Olympic sprinter Maurice Green, Paul Rudd, Walter Cronkite, Derrick Thomas, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Marcus Allen, Buck O’Neil, Jason Sudeikis, David Cook, Lee Greenwood and Oleta Adams, Thomas Jones & Jamaal Charles and Eric Stonestreet in 2011.
LED lights are currently used on all single-color green towers: Nichols Tower, Zoom tower, Granfalloon and Ingredient towers, the two Balcony towers and McCormick & Schmick’s dome/tower.
Each stringer is made to fit in one exact spot – the same spot every year. The installation crew from Capital Electric uses a “secret code” on aluminum tags to identify where they belong. Each stringer has a series of numbers, corresponding to the building, the location on the building and height at which it is hung.
Every Plaza light comes down each year and is tested individually on a work bench and inspected for damage. Installation of the lights begin in early August, they shine from Thanksgiving through mid-January and are removed by April.
Lights are maintained daily to keep all burnt out bulbs replaced. They’re turned into souvenir bulbs that are used to top gifts at Plaza Customer Service. Several thousand bulbs have to be replaced annually.
The big switch on the stage at the Plaza Lighting Ceremony really does turn on all the lights. The child chosen from the audience is always chosen at random

Election 2012

2012-11-07T23:09:00.000-06:00

The election is over and in my opinion the better candidate won. That being said, I hope to see newly elected politicians put a side their differences and work together. Bipartisanship people!

We have become such a divided nation. With social media and the Internet people have become so disrespectful of each others political views. I have heard of several people defriending each other online, because of opposing politics.......wow. We should all be so grateful that we live in a country where we are allowed to vote and express our views. While we don't have to agree with each other, we should be respectful of each other. I know that political conversations can become heated, there is a lot of emotion. I should know I have had a few! But I am learning that raising my voice and becoming angry is not a productive exchange. (I said I am learning, but I can have a temper that gets the better of me!)

I am also tired of Political TV/Radio hosts and shows. I don't listen or watch them (liberal or conservative). Guess what, I have my own thoughts and my own beliefs. I do not need to hear grossly overpaid talking heads spew their agenda. Whew!

This is just the opinion of one Independent Blogger. (Yep, registered Independent)
I am hopeful for the future and to a more united country.

Happy Halloween

2012-10-31T23:53:00.001-05:00

Our house was a happening place tonight! We had 50+ trick or treaters with 4 pieces of candy to spare. Kids were out early this year. Our first round of treaters were at the door around six, and we turned off the lights at nine. We had so many compliments on our outside decor, I will post indoor and outdoor photos in the next couple of days.

Side note - I just spent half an hour uploading indoor decor pics to my blog and nothing saved! What the??? So annoying, but will post them again later.

Here are a few pics of the cutest banana ever......Gus!!

Yep that's right, Gus was a big Banana for Halloween.

Amos attacks Big Banana. (Just Playing)

Only Pic I could get of him wearing the hat, too big and he did not like wearing it.

"Really? Now I have to wear bats on my head." Amos was trying to pull the bats off of Gus's head. He has pulled the bats off before and ran away with them!

What a guilty face!! Amos is not interested in wearing anything but a bandana. He goes crazy when I dress his brother up!!

Gus was such a good sport. He wore his costume long enough for pictures. Although he probably would have worn it all night, but he gets too hot.

Soccer Stars

2012-10-24T09:45:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday I attended Max and Mia's last soccer games of the season. They both played great games!

Way to go Mia! GO # 21!!

Go Max! Jason/coach is in the red shirt on the sideline.

October Catch Up

2012-10-16T13:29:00.000-05:00

October/Fall is my favorite time of year, love everything about it. We decorate pretty heavy at our house, but anytime you decorate a smaller house it really seems that way.

Half of October is gone -yikes! I need to play catch up on October happenings and projects.

First weekend of October my parents brought over Max and Mia for a sleepover and visit.
Here are a few pics to take you through the weekend-

Max's Face painting - "Dragon Eye"

Painting Pumpkins with the kiddos

Movie Night with Alexander from next door.

Carolyn's Pumpkin Patch outside of Liberty, MO

Crazy ~~Cows~~ Kids!

Mia feeding the goats

Duck Races

Lasso

Digging up Dinosaur Fossils

Always fun hanging with these two. They keep me constantly laughing!!

Belated Birthday

2012-09-15T21:22:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday was Jeff's Birthday. We celebrated with his Mom on Sunday and on Tuesday my parents were in town to take us to dinner. We ate at Mike and Charlie's Italian restaurant located inside Harrah's Casino. The food was amazing. Jeff and Mom ordered the lobster bisque soup with their meals, and it was delicious. After dinner we tried our luck with the slot machines, until our ~~luck~~ money ran out. Happy B-Day J!

In other unrelated, belated news.....
It has been a week since I started using the cpap machine again. This time the machine is for keeps, no more rental. The longest I have slept with it on is 4 hours, I fell asleep without it last night. Trial and error for a while I guess.

I've had a chronic cough for a month now. I have been coughing so hard, and for so long that I have pulled muscles in my ribs. I felt so bad that I went to the doctor last Tuesday. Not much she could do, she did put me on antibiotics for the start of a sinus inflection and gave me cough syrup. It's Saturday night and my darn ribs still hurt.

Three State Heist

2012-09-05T01:25:00.000-05:00

Missouri + Kansas + Nebraska = Fun Three State Day Trip
(The heist was having vendors knock off a few bucks!)

First stop - Sparks Antiques and Collectibles Flea Market located in little Sparks, KS. This was a great flea market, with more then 500 dealers. I found a shabby chic item, and a blue mason jar with a zinc lid. It was HOT. We parked half a mile away and walked around for over two hours. Guess who got overheated and a bit cranky............ME!! I also got anther one of my weird sunburns on my arms and face (red w/ a rash) I have the greatest farmer tans of all time, and a few new freckles on my nose. Jeff did fine, he handles the heat so well. But I have that boy beat in cold weather!

A blasting AC car ride to White Cloud, KS was refreshing. So was the lemonade and snack we got while we were downtown. We didn't check out the flea market in White Cloud, but we did drive up to The Four-State Viewing Platform, and took in the spectacular views of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa.

We past two massive sunflower fields in Kansas and Nebraska, I had to take some pics. These are Nebraska sunflowers.

"Daisy Bell" on the Missouri River. I love the name!!

One last flea market stop on the way home.

Happy Treasure Hunting!

Crazy Coop

2012-08-31T13:24:00.000-05:00

Jeff got a bit of a surprise when he was getting in the truck the other night...............

Cooper finds the craziest places to take naps! Look how long he is....like half of the dashboard!!

Jeff's R and R Vacation

2012-08-29T01:53:00.000-05:00

Last week was Jeff's vacation, he has been in need of some serious rest and relaxation. It was so great to have him home all week. A few highlights of the week...........

The three amigos from Columbia stopped by for a couple of days. (Mom, Dad, and Jill - who was on vacation as well). We checked out the Sea Life Aquarium. I thought this was a very nice little aquarium, I could just sit and watch those aquariums for hours. Loved the Stingrays, so amazing.

We ate a hardy lunch at the award wining - Oklahoma Joe's BBQ. The food was delicious. We tried one of their original BBQ sauces - Night of the Living Bar-B-Q Sauce - Smoky chipolte peppers give this sauce a unique "Sweet/Hot" taste sensation.......yummy!

Jeff and I spent one night at the Drive-In, we had a great cool evening for it. We saw The Campaign and The Watch, both fun flicks!

Friday evening we checked into the Westin at Crown Center. We explored all three levels of Crown Center and had yummy Cheeseburgers for dinner. The Westin is such a lovely hotel, with such great views. I have always loved the five-story waterfall in the lobby. Later that night we snuggled up in the king size world-renowned Westin Heavenly Bed® to watch The Hunger Games. Great movie and super comfortable bed.

For Breakfast we ate at this fabulous little restaurant called, Magnolia's - cuisine of the American South.
I had -
Red Velvet Waffle Evangeline - Red velvet waffles with fresh berries, served with smoked bacon, sweet potato hash and eggs. The sweet potato hash was amazing, I have to try to make it.

Overall vacation was great. It started out and ended not so great, but we made the best of it, I threw my back out and ended up in the ER Monday night, Saturday morning Jeff and I woke up with awful colds. I still can't shake this nasty cold & cough - Yuck!

LOL!

2012-08-21T23:24:00.001-05:00

This is so Gus!!

A Healthy Hound

2012-08-01T21:33:00.000-05:00

I took Amos to the Vet today for his yearly vaccines and to have a heart worm test. As you might remember Amos was heart worm positive when we adopted him in September. He went through a very aggressive treatment process, and has had his monthly heart worm pill ever since.

Amos is no longer that sick, underweight pup we brought home last fall. He is now Heart worm FREE!! Big boy now weighs in at a perfectly plump 58 pounds.

He does not like being there and has no problem letting Dr Larry know how upset he is. Dr Larry is a great Vet for Amos, he is patient, and puts up with the guy. Amos cries while getting shots, and if he knows he's having blood drawn...forget about it!! He cries from the time he sees the needle to a good 2-3 mins of sobbing after the whole darn thing is over!! OH the drama he gives to his Momma!

Stumbled upon a couple of pics of Amos and Gracie back in March.

Ouch, Amos whacked Gracie in her sweet little noggin!

Used a pic of Gracie and tried a couple of effects. Gosh, I miss my girl. I miss all my guys that are no longer here..

Old Door Knob Hook

2012-07-26T12:51:00.000-05:00

This is a simple project -

Old door knob
Old shabby chic piece of molding or wood

I have this hanging by my front door - for hats, bags, coats and such.

I found this pic on Pinterest - dream living room! Love all white, and I love all the little collections neatly displayed in the bookcases.

Hostas and More!

2012-07-24T21:47:00.000-05:00

I love Hostas, but this summer heat has been so hard them. They usually look great summer through fall. Hostas are such hardy plants, they can take a beating that's for sure.

Here are a couple pictures from Pinterest of some lovely Hosta gardens.

I love pops of color in the garden and on the patio, check these out........(from Pinterest)

Gorgeous!! Love the colors!

This makes me smile! :)

Meditation

2012-07-21T14:47:00.000-05:00

Amy and I took a free meditation class on Thursday evening. I really liked it and would like to practice it more. The hardest thing for me is clearing my head, because I am always in my head!! My thoughts go elsewhere and I have a hard time focusing. Such a wonderful and diverse group of people attended.

Mediation for dogs? Amos was crazy wild last night (shocker I know!) He was out of breath and could not calm himself down. So I got down on the floor in front of him with Zen Master Gus in my lap! I looked him in the eyes and took several deep breaths while using a calming voice. It worked!

But really I think Amos was just too freaked out by his new age, hippie Mom to move! Well, whatever works! LOL

Lets make some Art!

2012-07-19T00:30:00.001-05:00

Max and Mia came over Friday to stay with us for a couple of days.

Sunday we took them to the Nelson Atkins's Museum of Art, they had a kid's art day.

"A giant picnic blanket took shape Sunday, July 15, 2012, during the making of "The Picnic Project" art installation on the south lawn of the Nelson Atkins-Museum of Art.Kansas City Art Institute instructor of fiber Alison Heryer led the project which made a 10,000 square foot gingham pattern picnic blanket on the museum lawn. The public was invited to help place the 400 printed light colored tiles to complete the piece." CHRIS OCHSNER/The Kansas City Star

We took part and staked down our tile. It was so pretty, but it was just too darn hot to enjoy it.

Crappy cell phone pic, and poor Max looks miserable.

Some ice cream and a trip to Crown Center brightened every one's mood!

Dinosaur Exhibit at Crown Center - Great time with the kiddos!

This old heart of mine is just fine!!

2012-07-07T00:03:00.001-05:00

Thursday I went in for my nuclear stress test. Today they called and said everything was fine, I am heart healthy! I knew this would be the result, but it is still reassuring to hear.

I did enroll in the Cardio Wellness Clinic. I go next Tuesday and meet with my coach/nurse practitioner to go over my health. I had blood drawn last week and together we are going to sit down and go over the results. Then we will come up with an exercise and meal plan. I am excited to meet with her, I am not very excited to get weighed and measured and find out my BMI. (Body Mass Index) ........Wish me luck!

Backyard Produce

2012-07-01T21:44:00.000-05:00

Here is some of our bakyard's produce...............

Gladiolus & Tomatoes

Some Backyard Art......

Old Lamp turned Birdfeeder

Breathed some new life into this old broken sunfllower.

Bamboo used for new stalk

Golden dragon tears to dress it up

The flower pot holders Nancy gave me adds a pop of color with Rose Moss.

I used a box of unused tiles for the border

The RUST spot! I love old rusty things, and they have found a home in this corner of the yard.

DIY - Laundry Hamper

2012-06-21T15:41:00.000-05:00

DIY = Do it yourself. I saved this old laundry hamper from the curb a couple of months ago. It was destined for the landfill. I took it home, disinfected it thoroughly, and painted it purple.

Before

After

Birthdays and Baseball

2012-06-07T22:19:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday (June 3rd) we headed out to see some baseball. We got free tickets from Pepsi and two great parking passes. June third is Jason's B-day and Trisha and Jason's anniversary! June 5th is is Dad's B-day. So we had some celebrating to do! This was Max and Mia's first game and I think they enjoyed it. I hope you guys had a great day, Jason and Dad, Happy Birthday!! The Royals WON!! Awesome day at the K.

Meet Gus

2012-05-31T13:16:00.000-05:00

Gus came to live with us about a week and a half a go. He is a sweet boy. Gus comes to us all the way from Georgia, so I can only imagine that he speaks with a deep southern dialect!! Gus spent the first two years of his life locked in a garage. After two years the people who kept him decided to move, however, they did not take Gus with.them. A sweet elderly neighbor took him into her home, for a few years but after visiting her Son and Daughter-in-law, she decided that Gus was becoming a bit much, financially, and physically. So she agreed to leave him with her son in Belton and made him promise to find him a good home. Well, they found him a home and we are so happy it's with us!

Welcome to the Zoo Gus!!

Guster Facts..

Had never been around cats, but loves ours and their food!
Likes to wrestle his brother
Scarred of Thunder and lighting
Barks at the ice cream truck and doorbells he hears on the television
Becoming more independent, but he still pretty much follows me everywhere
He is a Border Collie, he is a herding dog bread. So he's probably not following me around, but just
herding me!
Does not get on furniture and sleeps on the floor
Had his "boy" surgery a week ago - doing well
He loves kiddos
He is so smart, he only learned to walk with a leash a couple of weeks ago and is doing great
His name was Domino but we changed it to Gus

Welcome Gus

He had a rough start in life, but we promise he has found his forever home, where we will love him forever!

Anniversary - May 25, 2012

2012-05-26T00:07:00.002-05:00

Today is our 10th wedding anniversary. Tonight we went to Parkville's Final Fridays to celebrate.

We had a yummy dinner at Frank's Italian Restaurant. Established 1931. The food was delicious!!

Parkville Final Fridays

Reserve the last Friday of every month for after-hours fun in Historic Downtown Parkville. Enjoy the creativity of guest artists and musicians, plus special evening events at participating shops and restaurants.

We walked all around town. Listened to great live music, and popped into a few shops.

At dark we joined a crowd and released sky lanterns. The lanterns were being released for Memorial Day. I released our sky lantern in celebration of our anniversary. I wrote our initials on our blue lantern and the year we were married. Then carefully it drifted off to the heavens.

(Cell Phone pics) That's me on the right getting ready to release it.

Lift off!!

Going....Going....Gone....

The pics just don't do it justice, but it was amazing. So breathtakingly beautiful. I had a wonderful anniversary.

K + J

2002

Collections

2012-05-16T00:05:00.000-05:00

Milk Glass
I love collections. I love searching out and finding that one item that belongs to that particular collection/family. My largest collection is my Milk Glass collection. I got my first milk glass vase after my Grandma passed away. It had been hers for as long as I can remember, and as a kiddo I always liked it. That simple white vase always seemed so fancy to me. About a year or so after I got married, I truly started the collection then. And this was an affordable collection to begin, as I found several from a dime to a few bucks. I have also received a few as gifts from family. Love My Milk Glass Collection.

Pyrex

I started collecting Pyrex last year, and my collection is slowly growing. Mainly thanks to my Mom!! My Aunt gave me a couple of dishes too.

So colorful!!!

Love this color.

Mason Jars
I started collecting mason jars about two years ago, although I don't really have them on display. I use them all around the house and most recently turned two into solar lights. I traded an old (non-working) sewing machine from my Grandpa to a lady in Lee's Summit for a box of Mason Jars. It was a good trade! My favorite is the aqua mason jars with zinc lids.

HAPPY COLLECTIONG!!

(Pics came for Pinterest)