Just Simply Holly

Before I start “talking” I want to share a photo that I just managed to take that shows the beauty that I am surrounded with on a daily basis.

I think the way the sun is shining through from the side of the house into the woods is just beautiful!

I’m sorry that I haven’t been around the past few days, last week ended on a sort of “rough” note, and the weekend was extremely busy! My sister in law moved back to the area from Northern Michigan this weekend and finally removed herself from a very unsafe and volatile situation, so the weekend was spent helping her get moved in and unpacked. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was apprehensive about her moving back to the area, but it wasn’t until seeing her face to face that I fully realized the toll that the past 4 years have taken on her, both physically and mentally. I am truly thankful to have her back in the area and will do everything within my power to make sure she stays safe!

I hope that any of my readers that are dads had a wonderful Fathers Day yesterday. My husband and I don’t really celebrate Fathers or Mothers Day, about the only thing that we do is let the kids get us cards, and we also get a card for my Mother. But both of my husbands parents have passed away and I lost my own father almost 30 years ago, so both holidays are somewhat bittersweet for us.

This week is looking to be a very busy week! I’ll be heading out this morning in just a couple of hours to help my sister in law get things settled down here. She needs to open a bank account as well as get utilities connected and pick up a few things from the store. With the near loss of one hand from a gun accident a few years ago, getting around in her regular wheel chair is nearly impossible. So my daughter and I are going along to help her with her chair and keep her company.

Before I wrap this up I want to share another picture with you all in hopes that you can help me figure out what something is. I’m not a fan of bugs, but I do realize that since we live in the woods, amongst nature, bugs and other critters are simply a part of life. That being said, there was a very interesting looking bug on the inside of the screen of the sliding glass door this morning.

Does anyone have ANY idea what the heck this is? At first I thought it was a spider, but I’m not so sure now after I’ve looked at it a little better. The legs seem a bit “thick” for a spider and I’ve never seen a spider that has antennae either…LOL.

Sphere: Related Content

OK, it’s only been hooked up a few hours but OMG, we’re having so much fun playing the Wii and all the different games that game with it! I’ve always enjoyed video games, I used to be completely addicted to Centipede when it was in the arcades back in the 80’s, and more recently I was really into the OODLES of Pokemon games that my son has for his Game Boy. But he’s grown past Pokemon and he’s now into games that I totally don’t understand. No, not the shoot ‘em up kind of games where you’re stealing cars and killing people, more like the fantasy type games. Since I don’t understand them, even though I tried, the days of hanging out and playing video games with my son, as well as my daughter, have been over for a few years!

That was until I won my Wii! It arrived today while I was taking my son to school, and I waited for my husband to get home from work so that the two of us could hook it up. What I was expecting was for me to read the directions while he haphazardly listened, but instead he read the directions to me and I completely hooked it up on my own. OH YEAH!!

It’s been up and running ever since we hit the power button! First I hopped on and set up my Mii, then I checked out one of the games that came with it that’s called “Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree”, this is definitely the perfect game for ME! I love things that make me use my brain and I know I’m going to love this game. As much as I liked that game, I wanted to try them ALL! So I then moved on to the Sports Pack that came with the game. These are the games that you see on all the commercials, the bowling and baseball games. It also has tennis, boxing and golf. These are the games that really get you up and moving! I was totally thrilled when I scored a 111 on my first game bowling and then I hit a home run playing baseball! All 5 of the games in the sports pack are going to give the four of us HOURS of family fun!

But alas, I had to give up control so that my husband could play for a while! He had been chomping at the bit watching me play! I “thought” I was proud of my bowling score until he played a game and whooped my BUTT! He beat my 111 by almost 50 points…LOL! And although he had a difficult time when he was at bat let me tell you, he’s going to be the strike out champ in this house! He then turned over control to our 15 year old son.

None of us had ever played a Wii before, so everything we do is brand spanking new to us, but you’d never have known that watching my son play tennis! He kicked butt and won his first set! But, as much as he thought the sports games were cool, what he REALLY wanted to check out was one of the other games that came with my Wii Bundle, which is The Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess. This is exactly the type of game that he LOVES! And let me tell you, having him out here in the family room playing and laughing and just getting into a game is really cool to me! And his reaction just now when I asked him if he was going to like this game was AWESOME! My daughter hasn’t been able to play yet because she’s not home from her last track meet of the year, but my husband is on his way to get her, so she’ll get her chance soon! The other games that came with our Wii are Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Chicken Shoot.

I’ve already been to Buy.com checking out the other games that I REALLY want! I was checking out their Weekly Deals and about fell out of my chair when I seen that We Ski can be pre ordered right now for just $26.99! Check it out, it looks like a totally awesome game!

Of course, with my upcoming trip to California and the fact that my MP3 player totally took a dump a couple of weeks ago, I could snag up one of the MP3 players that they’re offering in this weeks Weekly Deals so I can listen to some of my favorite songs to help keep myself from freaking out when I’m flying home!

I’m just so glad that I won my Wii, it’s just what we’ve needed to bring us together for more family time! My daughter is home from her track meet and she’s played 3 holes of golf and is on her first game of baseball. Although she’s no where near as good as the hubby is, she’s pretty darned good, she’s been throwing 93 MPH fastballs and is on her second strike out!

Sphere: Related Content

I’m still hoping that we’ll be able to get in a “real” family vacation at some point this year. Or plans for Florida ended up getting scrapped because of bills and finances, and it really bummed everyone out!

I seen an ad online for Branson Missouri that showed a beautiful sunset over a lake and I just HAD to click on it. I have to say that I’m quite impressed with all that Branson has to offer! I knew that it was best known for all of the entertainment options that are available, but since I had never really checked it out well, I had no clue of the other options that are available.

For instance, I honestly did not know that Branson was in the heart of the Ozarks, one of the most beautiful and scenic areas in the United States. I also did not know that Branson was home to one of the award winning Stone Hill wineries, and I found the story about how the winery reopened in the 1960’s totally fascinating!

Add to those things the fact that it boasts some of the most beautiful scenery in the US, AWESOME parks, museums, and caverns as well as a HUGE outlet center, and you have yourself a vacation spot that has something to please everyone!

Branson is now at the top of my list of places to go when we do finally have the time and finances to take a much needed family vacation! If you’ve never checked into Branson and are weighing great vacation locations, you really need to check it out! I’m sure you’ll be as surprised as I was! Well, I guess I shouldn’t say surprised, I just honestly did not realize it offered so many awesome options!

Sphere: Related Content

Modern technology is great and has some awesome benefits! But imagine my surprise when a message popped up that I had an email from my daughters cell phone knowing that my daughter is home. And imagine even how much more surprised I was when I read this:

Sorry bout this but baby fell asleep on me and i dont want 2 wake her. Can u bring me a glass of white milk please?

She sent me a message from her room because she didn’t want to wake the puppy up LMAO! I think that tops the cake of the most lazy things I’ve heard of…LOL!

Sphere: Related Content

I was sitting here watching the news and they came on with a movie review segment. Although the movies they were talking about weren’t ones that I’d be interested in seeing, there are a couple of other movies out right now that I really would like to see! So maybe while the kids are on break we can take them out to dinner and a movie one night! I LOVE going to the theater to see movies, especially since they built the new theater in a neighboring town!

The whole movie theater experience is so much fun! From the arcade games, to the food stands, it’s what makes going to the movies so much fun! When the kids were little I swear they enjoyed watching the popcorn machines almost more than watching the movies. We’d always have to get to the theater early enough so that they could stand and watch them for a while before we had to be in our seats for the movie!

We try to take the kids to the movies a few times a year, and I think this would be the perfect time to go! There are several great movies showing that we all have talked about wanting to see! Now if I can just get everyone to agree on the same movie, we’ll have it made!

Sphere: Related Content

Good grief, mornings like this morning annoy the heck out of me! As you know, I’m a parent of one teenager and another that is just a couple months away from being a teenager. Neither one of them have ever been morning people, but as they get older, getting them up and ready for school on time is getting more and more difficult! First they just won’t wake up, then when they do finally wake up and get moving, they’re grumpy and mouthy! And then, when they’re running around like chickens with their heads cut off at the last minute trying to get ready so that they don’t miss the bus, they’re yelling at me like it’s my fault.

It’s mornings like this that make me wish I had a few of the funny t-shirts that I’ve seen at RoadKillTshirts.com! For instance, I would love to have this one when the kids are being grumpy and mouthy!

Rather than arguing with them I’d simply point to my shirt, smile and walk away…LOL! And I found this T-Shirt that has a saying that my husband says often…LOL

I can’t tell you how many times over the years he’s looked at me and said that, it was really cool finding it on a T-Shirt, I’m considering purchasing it for him for Fathers Day LOL!

Thankfully, they’re up and gone to school, so I have a little time to myself! I’m going to do some more baking today. I made a batch of peanut butter cookies last night and plan on making a few more kinds of cookies over the next day or two! But that’s a completely different post…LOL! Have a great day, hope you’re not hung over this morning from drinking too much green beer yesterday!

Sphere: Related Content

I was talking to my mom last night and we were telling each other about the things that we have going on this week and I reminded her once again that we’ve now been in the new house five months and she has yet to come here. Then I asked her if she was enjoying the Plasma TV that she and my step father received as a combination birthday/anniversary/Christmas gift in December. She said she loves it and that they finally had the time to change the entire living room around this past weekend so that they could hang the plasma TV mount that they had purchased after getting the TV. She said it seems strange to have a TV hanging on the wall, but that since she no longer needs a large stand to hold their old over sized TV, she actually has much more room in her living room now! Mom also said that even though it seems weird to her, she actually likes how the room looks better than she ever has before. This is a good thing considering this year will mark the 50th anniversary of her and my late father moving into the house…LOL!

It does bother me that mom has yet to see my new house, but I’m going to try and take the time this week or this coming weekend and get up to her house so that I can see how cool it looks to have a TV hanging on a wall! Maybe while I’m up there I can find the time to go visit my brother too, I haven’t seen him since December…WOW!

Sphere: Related Content

You’d have thought with sunshine and warmer weather that this would have been a great weekend for me. Especially after having such an awesome day with the kids yesterday! But with the problems that we’re having with our router and the fact that for some reason that both the hubby and I have been grumpier than heck, today honestly hasn’t been the most pleasant of days. On top of that, I feel physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted! Now I see the reasons and advantages as to why people build their own home gyms, it would definitely help with stress and frustrations and is much more convenient that having to get things around to go to the gym. I wonder if there is anyone out there that would consider trading gym equipment for my hubby? LOL

Sphere: Related Content

There are many things in life that never cease to amaze me, but I’m about to talk about something that totally blows me away! As you know, about six months ago, we helped my sister and her family move into their new home that we also helped them completely remodel. I was talking to my sister on the phone the other day and she told me that she and her husband had gotten into a HUGE argument. As with most couples, the argument started over bills and finances. But what her husband told her to do is what has me blown away! At the end of the argument, before he stormed out of the door, he told her that she needs to call their real estate agent and put their new home on the market, because he doesn’t want to have to deal with it anymore. HUH?!?! You want to sell a house that you’ve MAJORLY over mortgaged six months after you moved into it? I love when people say totally stupid things in a moment of anger because it gives me something to laugh about for a long time afterwards!

Sphere: Related Content

I wanted to apologize for not being around much this weekend. The weather has been miserably cold and I’ve been in quite a bit of pain from my back. I ended up skipping my Friday night class because of how much pain I was in. I knew that I needed to take the pain meds I take for my back, which meant it wouldn’t be possible for me to drive. Fortunately my Algebra instructor has the same class on Saturdays from 12:30 to 5:00 PM, so I was able to make up the class as well as the quiz. My back was still bothering me, but not as bad as it was Friday night.

We spent a good chunk of this weekend watching movies. I have a movie subscription so that I get DVD’s by mail and we had a couple that we hadn’t watched yet. And since my back feels better when I’m sitting up, I just kicked back in the recliner with the heating pad behind me.

While we were watching one movie last night I found myself thinking that it would be so cool if we had a room set up specifically for watching movies complete with theater seating, a big screen TV and even some of those neat home theater sconces hung on the walls, then it would feel like we were at the theater without having to pay the high price for theater tickets! I’ll keep dreaming, maybe some day it will actually come true!

Sphere: Related Content