Timber!!!!!!

Well, we've needed our trees trimmed for quite a long time and finally got around to hiring someone. Our trees are mammoth and tower over our house. They have ended up hanging in our gutters and scraping against the house. There were also two crabapple trees in our yard. Both were dying, probably from getting too little sun because of the other trees. We took one down in preparation for the Valley Greenery stand. Here's Noel working on that project:

Then, there's the guy trimming our other trees. I gotta tell you, he's a lot braver than I am! He climbs up these huge trees like a squirrel, hangs out over the branches without a care in the world. Thank goodness there's people like him to do the job, but made me nervous just looking at him! This is taken looking outside of our office at home. The pic is a little off because of the screen in the window...sorry!

He's gotta be 30-40 feet in the air at this point. Crazy!

So, with today's economy, I've taken it upon myself to teach our girls the importance of saving a buck or two. I've always been somewhat of a "thrifty" person (thanks Dad for teaching me the word budget) and am trying to pass some of that knowledge onto our daughters. Kelsey, forget it, if she has a nickel in her pocket, she has to run out and spend it. Alex, on the other hand, there may be hope yet...

Here she's clipping the coupons from the Sunday paper. Do I see a "thrifty" person in the making??

Fun Filled Day...

Well, to start off, we won the game last night! Score was 21-14. Go Indians! Here's a picture of my friend Max. Her daughter was on the homecoming court.

She obviously has issues...explains why she's my friend I guess.

Then there's Lisa.
This is what she looks like right after
her son Tim made a touchdown:
She doesn't look like the nervous mother at all, now does she?

So, that was last night's activites. Today, we spent most of the early afternoon visiting with Noel's sister Bonnie and her husband Frank, who are visiting from South Carolina. We all then attended a birthday party for our great-niece Tori. Wait a minute...there is no way we are old enough to have a great niece is there? Ugh! Anyway, look how stinking cute she is:

After the birthday party, we headed to the RCA Picnic Grounds for a benefit night. Proceeds went towards heating assistance for the needy. We mingled a bit, saw some people we haven't seen in a while and even met a few new friends. When we got home, we found one of our upstairs bathrooms to be slightly flooded. Somehow, our toilet leaked without us knowing until Noel stepped onto the wet floor. Well, I guess we're off to buy a new toilet this week!

Although our day was quite busy, everyone found time to remind me of one important thing:

Once a queen.....always a queen!

Girl's Night Out...

Thursday night (last night) was spent at Ghezzi's restaurant with two of my dear friends, Rhonda and Max. They took me out for a "Cheer Up, It Can Only Get Better" dinner. TERRIBLE week at work (except for Monday, believe it or not), and not so great in the every day arena either. Sooooo, friends to the rescue! We had dinner, drinks, girl talk and lots of laughs and didn't even count calories! We all decided that we need to do it a lot more! Wish I had taken a picture of the three of us to post, but I totally forgot. Next time!

Rhonda had a dish like in the second picture...spicy!

Max had a combo of two Italian dishes and I had the Chicken Riccotta. We all had salad and garlic bread to boot. Needless to say, we almost needed to be rolled out of the restaurant!

Tonight, we head to the football game. Of course, there's rain in the forecast! We're going to keep our fingers crossed! Go Indians!!!

Some More Contests...

In my quest to constantly save money in whatever I do, I am always on the lookout for good sites to help me do just that. Today I came across a blog that has a ton of great tips AND is hosting a contest! It's like a double bonus! Here's a link to the contest, but make sure you look around the site too!

You can win some cleaning products and a bunch of coupons:

http://wontbesoonbeforelong.blogspot.com/2008/09/stockpile-giveaway-week-one.html



If you're looking for other money-saving sites, you should check out http://www.refundcents.com/ and http://www.hotcouponworld.com/ too! Have fun and save a few bucks!!

How about a free dinner from Pizza Hut? Mom Reviews is having a contest with a prize of a free pasta dinner from Pizza Hut. Enter here: http://momreviews.net/2008/09/14/win-a-free-pasta-dinner-from-pizza-hut/ Pasta....yum! Free pasta...double yum!

Valley Greenery Produce Stand is Open!!!

Well, we finally did it!!!! We set up our produce stand this morning...



After a lot of hard work and tons of fun, it was very satisfying to see all of the wonderful produce and watch it all come together as we planned. Alex is going to be in charge of running the stand, she will make a great salesperson!

There's another reason that today is a wonderful day. I got an email from a long-lost cousin. He was always a favorite of mine and I loved hanging out with him when we would visit his family. Too bad he lives on the other side of the country! At least we've had contact and who knows, there may be a time in the future that we can see each other. Hello to cousin Tom and his family! Can't wait to catch up on the last bazillion years!!!

Here's some more pics of the stand:



You know, I can't help but think, we sure are very diverse in our world. Between Noel and I, in any given day you can find us doing such a wide variety of things that you never know what we're up to next! That's what makes our world so much fun. Never a dull moment, that's for sure! We do everything from running three businesses to plowing fields to arresting people! What a crazy life! I love it!

Another Win!

Received another win in the mail...some makeup! Yay! This contest was hosted by Self Magazine. Gotta love winning useful things!



After Noel got home from the farm, Kelsey, Alex and Allen helped unload another batch of pumpkins, gourds and corn stalks for the opening on Saturday. It looks like autumn central around here!

Thrifty action of the day: Got rid of all of Alex's clothes that she doesn't want and/or don't fit through Freecycle. Lady came to my work this afternoon and picked them all up. I love Freecycle!

Contests...

As a lot of you know, and some of you don't, one of my hobbies is entering sweepstakes and contests. Due to our hectic schedule lately, I haven't been able to keep up with them like I used to, but so far this year I have won some wonderful prizes! Our biggest one is a trip to Mexico. Here is where we will be staying:



We can't wait! It's going to be like a second honeymoon for us. We plan on traveling next year. This terrific prize is from a contest hosted by Boating Magazine.

The reason I'm telling you about this is because I thought I'd post a couple of fun contests that I came across today. They are all hosted through blogs and have some fun prizes. Good luck to you!

http://www.mommymandy.com/2008/09/lucy-giveaway.html - Enter to win a cute t-shirt:




How about winning some Marine Naturals Method Body wash and Water Flower Method hand wash at http://dannyseo.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/09/win-new-method-goodies.html?cid=130761116#comments

Corn!!!

Today, I harvested about 100 ears of ornamental corn while Noel took care of more pumpkins. This corn is so pretty! It will look beautiful displayed. I prepped it while in the field, so no extra work when it was brought in. I love autumn!!!

Fun Weekend...

We've had a pretty good weekend so far. Friday night was spent at home listening to the football game on the radio. We didn't attend because of the rain, but poor Kelsey had to go and cheer. We didn't win, but it was touch-and-go most of the game. We ended up losing by one touchdown. Yesterday Noel and I attended the 40th birthday party of a friend of ours. It was an outdoor party and luckily held under a pavillion because the rain came again on and off. They had a DJ there that played mostly songs from the 80's, along with an outdoor movie screen/projector that had the music videos. Wow, after viewing some of the 80's videos again, we decided the 80's were just plain scary! His family also made a CD of pictures of the birthday boy for the past 40 years that they played to music such as "Macho Man". Really a good time. Here's a pic of the birthday boy and his sister singing (while his daughter hams it up for the cameras). Sorry about the quality of the pic, but taken at night with the cell phone...you know how it is...



So, today heading to the farm to harvest the ornamental corn and do some more preparation for the opening of the produce stand on Saturday.

Mother Nature...

I'll tell you, Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me. Recently we have enjoyed our own produce in so many ways! I've ventured out and made my own spaghetti sauce, a co-worker brought in some fabulous zucchini crisp that was made with our zucchini, we have stashed veggies in the freezer to enjoy this winter and today we harvested about 120 pumpkins and around 30 more gourds. They are currently curing and we hope to have them ready for sale by next weekend. This year has certainly been a learning adventure for Noel and I and we hope to get bigger and better each and every year at Valley Greenery!

On my way home from the farm, Mother Nature provided me with some more beauty:

Isn't she something that Mother Nature? She sure does nice work!

Oh, the good news of the day: Alex is being called back for a second interview at a job she wants. Let's keep our fingers crossed for her!

The Big Game...

Ok, let's get it right out there....we lost BIG time! Final score was 47-7. BUT we really enjoyed the evening anyway. I love to see our town come together every year for the big rival. Houses are decorated, people are painted (yes, painted), everyone is so much fun! The day started off with the big pep rally.

Kelsey cheered...

And Alex sang the Alma Mater...

Then, off to the game. It was packed! I got there early to make sure we had enough seats. Kelsey played in the band before the game and then reported to her cheerleading post. Here she is with her friend Colette:

Noel, Mom and I were all settled in, watching the kick-off when some "late-comers" arrived at the game and sat in the row in front of us. They were the smelliest, stinkiest people on the planet! It was so bad that as soon as they sat down, three rows of people gasped. Not kidding! Now imagine, you're sitting OUTSIDE and people smell so bad, you have to get up and "get some air". By half time, the area around them got more and more sparse. We all stretched out as far as we could get for how crowded it was. Soooo bad! I just thought of something...that's probably why we lost the game! The players were overcome with the odor of B.O. and cat pee!

Anyway, my brother made it in with his clan, so we got to see them for a short while, which is always nice. We then headed home and dropped Mom off. Kelsey is sleeping at Samantha's house so Noel, Alex and I called it a night. Oh well, we'll get 'em next time!

Awesome Day...

Today was a great day all around. I truly didn't stop moving from the moment my eyes opened until about 9:00 tonight, but it was sooo nice. Work went without a hitch and I got so much accomplished. Noel had an awesome day as well. The girls had very little homework and only one activity, which ended at 5:30. Noel and I went to the farm for a while after work to get a few things done. While in the field harvesting some gourds, I looked up and saw this beautiful sky...It reminded me of a child's scribbles...



When we arrived home, Kelsey, Alex, Allen and two of Kelsey's friends were here. Good thing too because Noel and I had picked up a kitchen table and chairs that my Mom had purchased for us and they were extremely heavy! Back in April, Noel and I had given our kitchen table a new life as a desk for the girl's computer in the rec room when we remodeled. It came out pretty cool too! Anyway, we've been looking for a table since then and Mom found us one. Alex is so excited, she may not leave the kitchen:

So, overall, it was a good, productive day. Looking forward to tomorrow though. We'll be attending the big rival football game and Kelsey will be marching in the band and cheering. Mom is coming with us and my brother and his family may also attend if they get in for the weekend from New York in time. Looking forward to another good day!

Off to College...Times Two!

Well, today Kelsey started her Dual Enrollment Program at Luzerne Community College. She is taking two college classes this fall while enrolled as a junior in high school. She really enjoyed her Sociology class and already started her reading assignment tonight. Her History class...well, it IS history. She will plug away at it, I'm sure. Her boyfriend Allen started at Luzerne today too. He attended his English and Math classes tonight. Afterwards, he came to our house and our Sadie was so happy to see him.


Alex spent the afternoon job hunting with Brittany. I guess it's official. The kids are growing up. Ugh!!! I don't think I'm ready for this at all..........

Labor Day at the Farm...

Happy Labor Day and boy did we labor! LOL Kelsey had to decorate football players' houses today for the upcoming game, then had to work the second shift at the donut shop. The rest of us headed to the farm...Before I tell you about our day, let me tell you how much I loved turning onto our lane and seeing the darling couple from a few farms down roaming about on their four-wheeler. They are the loveliest people! Here was my first view approaching the farm today:

Sorry for the fuzzy pic, but it was taken with my cell phone while driving on the dirt road!

So, we arrive and get to work! Alex and I cut all the grass, which took about four hours, while Noel tended to the fields. He and I then checked on the status of the ornamental corn and look how wonderful it is...

Doesn't it look great? These will make awesome decorations for the upcoming season...

Then, I decided to take a break on a newly adopted glider/swing, given to us by another couple from a nearby farm. It is THE most comfortable thing in the world! I'was surrounded by doggies (two under the swing, one alongside) who also decided to take a break...



Then, harvest time...cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, zucchini, watermelon and sweet corn. Dang, you should taste the sweet corn...it is soooo friggin good!

Anyway, hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday and enjoyed it as much as we did!