Bring on the next thing!

hee hee, EG's ponytail.  At least it keeps her hair out of her eyes!

Ellie and I sent Jeffrey off on his long road trip back to California today...it's always a little hard to see him drive off, somehow it's easier to drop him off at the airport.  There's something so formal about him driving himself away from the front door, leaving Ellie and I behind waving and blowing kisses.  It could very well be a control thing  - when I drop him it's ME driving away from him, not the other way around.  Hmmmm...interesting. ANYWAY, I know if he COULD be here, he would be.  I just have to keep my head up and continue to see the joy and beauty that surrounds me - and there's a lot of it to be found!

To damper the feeling of loneliness that hit after my husband left, I headed over to Grandma Lene's house for some time with her.  Ellie always loves being there, and especially loves hanging out with Cassie.  She gives more love to that dog than to any other animal - or person, for that matter!  She'll cuddle up, and bury her head in Cassie's soft fur, petting and cooing.  It's just so sweet!

Oooh, I wanna go out there with you, Cassie!

Is anyone looking???

Let's GO!!!!!!

We got lucky in that Colin was also visiting and watching the game with Grandpa Ed - which meant we got a "two-fer!"  Ellie loved all the attention, and mommy liked the break!

Ellie loves having a following!

And he even lifts her up to see out the sky light! Oh man, she's one lucky little girl!

After a few hours at Granma's, it was time to head home to feed the animals, have some Mommy/Dot time, and continue packing up all the Halloween decorations - which I'm still not done with! I may need to run out and buy more storage boxes.  I collected a whole lot more decor items this year, and like to keep things packed in uniform boxes in the shop.  Having them all together and organized makes all the difference when the next year rolls around, and I'm looking for my Halloween decorations!

Still need to pack this all up!

I'm hoping to get Halloween buttoned up and my Thanksgiving decorations out this week, but am still waiting for a moment of inspiration.  I don't have a clue as to what avenue I'll take this year, and haven't seen any photos in any magazines that have called out to me. I'll probably take a walk around the property tomorrow to see if I can't find some inspiration there.  Who knows, maybe I'll find a unique branch or leaf or dried seed pod that will spark an idea.

For Ellie Graye, today was all about her Rody horse that Amy and Mark gave her for her first birthday.  She would haul it around the living room, find a spot, bounce on it for a while, fall on her face, drag it to another spot and do it again.  She loves that thing!

I'm happy to report that Ellie Graye had a wonderful bedtime tonight.  We went through our usual routine, which ends with us rocking in our rocking chair talking about the day.  We cuddled and kissed and laughed, and when I said, "Ok. I'm going to put you in your bed now." There wasn't a single protest.  She laid down, I tucked her in, said, "Goodnight; you're sweet; I love you," and that was it.  I felt so happy to have the experience be a peaceful, loving, joyful one rather than the screaming that has become the norm.  I'm sure that for little miss Graye it was nice too!

On another note, I got an email from my dad today.  You see, my father and Laora are, in their own words, "contest junkies."  Nearly two years ago, they entered a contest for an office makeover sponsored by Microsoft and Trading Spaces' Vern Yip (wait, is that his name?); they begged, stalked, prodded, requested, and bribed all their friends, and even handed out fliers at the airport to gain votes to make it into the finalists. Of course, all their hard work paid off, and wah-bam, dad had a visit way out in Wyoming from Trading Spaces and Vern, plus a redecorated office and some fun Microsoft Gear...he's got some great clips of what it's like way out in the boondocks of Wyoming if you're wanting a good laugh! Now he's doing this Starbucks one - though to be honest I have no idea what he's trying to win...still. I support my dad! So click here and give him a little thumbs up!

With that, I'm off to bed.  I'm excited about a new week with not much planned!

RANDOM PHOTOS OF THE DAY