Sunday's Seven Snapshots vol.49

When I get my hair done, I take lots of selfies.  No shame.

It's that time of year...to decorate, sing, gift, cook, celebrate, go to parties, shop, and spread Christmas cheer.  It is also the time of year when those of us who work/own retail stores are driven a little mad.

On Thursday, a friend of mine posted on facebook (rather eloquently) about being grateful and focusing on giving back to others less fortunate.  On Friday, with his words still ringing in my ears, I passed a "giving tree".  I turned around and grabbed two cards to give gifts to a couple of kids in need.  It's not much, but it's such an easy thing to do to give to others.

My girl Ivy hanging out in the bookshelf.  I'd hang out in the bookshelf too (if I could fit).

Friends & family came together to celebrate Thanksgiving with me.

I can't say enough about my guy - he made everything you see here - turkey with cranberry sauce, stuffing, corn, peas, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, homemade mac & cheese, salad with homemade honey mustard dressing. 

My mother-in-law provided all the desserts. I just got to enjoy it all!

So much to be thankful for this week.  Leftovers for a week!  I'm thankful for that too. How about you?

Sunday's Seven Snapshots vol.44

Yarn Storming in North Sydney in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month

This guy *love*

Another Gwen song for me to sing (out of tune, of course) at the top of my lungs 

My neighbor has magnificent rose bushes

I won! I won! I won the wild card prize from the Literary Ladies Book Challenge. Thanks, Kristen, Kari, and Krystal!

Fine dining it is not, but these kebabs are some tasty goodness.

I tried to take a selfie; Dolly tried to eat my face, crawl in my lap, and do anything but look at the camera.

Happy Weekend to All!

Sundays Seven Snapshots vol.43

When I got out of the bathtub, I found these two in the shower.  They look guilty of something, don't they?  My Ricky Sparkle and Ivy Lou turned two this week.  Happy birthday to my babies!

Flowers are blooming all over (one of the reasons Spring is my favorite season) - as I walked to the local store to get some provisions for my sick self, I stopped and smelled the roses.

Yep.  This week was all about being sick.  So, there was a lot of this action going down.

And, this was my food intake for a few days.

But, you know, I can always find time for a library pick-up; books and movies for the fall film challenge (I'm so desperately behind the pack, but I participate for fun, not glory.)

A lot going on in the great state of Texas this weekend, and I'm missing important moments for family and friends.  I talked about being homesick on facebook, so a sweet friend of mine brought me flowers to cheer me up.  So thoughtful.

My mama sent me this picture of my brother and niece #2 the night that she gets escorted on the football field for Homecoming Court.  *Heart swells*

My guy and I had a date night planned to see The Martian, and I was going to meet some friends' new baby boy on Sunday...instead, I'm layed up trying to get over this funky funk of illness lingering in my throat and chest.  Hope y'all are feeling fine and enjoying life!

Sunday's Seven Snapshots vol.41

Can't complain about a week that starts of with Margarita Monday.

You know, this is what we do.

Tights, tights baby

I bought this dress in a feed store in Troup, Texas. That's right...a store that sells feed for horses, cattle, and you can even buy yourself some baby chicks. And cute clothes. Doesn't everybody shop at a feed store?

$10 for the boy to try to stand in a plastic ball rolling on water?  Sure. 

Things consumed by this family at the food truck festival: mini pancakes, Nutella-filled donut & chocolate milkshake, cider, chili cheese fries, chocolate-covered frozen banana, water, sweet corn, and.......

...ice cream!

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend!

Sunday's Seven Snapshots vol.40

Sometimes, I like to show off the talents of my guy.  He designed and handmade this art deco inspired ring.  One lucky lady will be receiving this in October (not me).  Shameless plug: POLA Jewellers

I'm actually under that red blanket.  They are sleeping, I'm watching Homicide Hunter, and we're snuggling.  If I'm reincarnated, I want to come back as one of our cats.  They've got a pretty good life.

Rainy day in Sydney while the sun shines...weather is weird.

My loves...it is a rare occasion that Astro will snuggle Neil (he saves himself for me).  How did this happen?  Neil and I were snuggling, and Astro plopped himself between us.  Of course, I had to take a picture of the adorableness.

Sometimes, when I'm looking through my phone for seven snapshots for this post, I find totally dorky selfies, like this one, when I liked my make-up and was playing with filters.

Happy weekend. I'm going to finish this tasty meal & pomegranate cider now...

Sunday's Seven Snapshots vol.39

I'm supposed to be eating healthy, well-balanced meals.  I'm doing it...except...when my guy takes us to an American themed diner.  It would be rude not to eat and enjoy the meal.  These didn't stand a chance.

Some colorful feathered friends I met on Monday's walk

Ivy is the most camera shy of the bunch, so most of the time, I have to catch her at times she doesn't know I'm taking pictures like during this cuddle session.

I used Qantas points to replace my unrepairable pink ipod shuffle.  This one is gold in color, so I shall name her Blanche after my favorite Golden Girl.

This is my face on hold with our communications provider when the wifi was down.  In 25 minutes, I was passed around to 3 different people before I actually got to someone who corrected the problem.

This is my guy's favorite local Chinese food establishment.  No joke.  The name suits him :)

Bird watchers

Hope you're enjoying your Sunday!

Sundays Seven Snapshots vol.38

Surprise!  It's a picture of kitties!  (If you only knew how many pictures I take of my cats, you'd realize that I actually restrain myself from posting them all.)

After visiting the Apple Genius Bar, I learned that they can not repair my inoperable power button on my shuffle. R.I.P. my little friend

The greatest scarf in the world - it is filled with Bon Jovi lyrics, and it is made of t-shirt material, so it's nice and comfy too.

Fresh nails make me happy, and I went with hot pink because Spring is just around the corner.

This cat loves me more than I can say...and the feeling is mutual.

Hey!  Look!  It's a Rick in a Box!

A boy and his mutts. Love. 

Sunday's Seven Snapshots vol.37

Surprise, surprise.  A picture of books.  I have a local secondhand bookstore/book exchange that I love to visit.  I get to support a local small business, and I get books on my "to read" list.  It's a win.

Yep.  More books.  I picked up these three babies at the library.  Can I tell you how confused I was that the A.J. Fikry book was released under a different title here in Australia?  In the USA, it is The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, and I saw so many bloggers recommend it, I added it to goodreads but could never find it.  Finally, I figured it out.  

Last week, I told y'all about visiting a nutritionist and trying to get my healthy eating kick into gear.  I tried these vegan rice balls and sweet potato balls this week one day for lunch.  I would have never selected this for lunch.  But, guess what ~ they were tasty and filling! 

I'm just going to throw this out there...the commute for Sydneysiders has some of the best views in the world.  I took this from the train window while on my way to work.

Don't see this everyday when you're driving down the road. 

I'm ready for some football. Whoop!  Not every game is televised here, but today's is. It's on delay. So, I'm avoiding all social media & updates, and it's killing me. 

It's Father's Day here in Australia, and we had a FEAST with beef ribs, turkey, roasted veggies, salad, apple pie, and pavlova. 

Hope you are surrounded by love & happiness this weekend.