MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Christmas is just around the corner. Only 5 days left. Is your shopping done? Are your stockings hung? Are your plans squared away? Are your Christmas cookies and candies ready to be eaten? It's Christmas time!! Don't forget with all the crazy drivers and gift buying and packed schedules, to take time with the Lord and thank him for begining this wonderful season. Without God sending His Son, the time of the year would not exsist. Read the story for the 50th time and pull something different from it. Sing the carols with a smile on your face. And just remember that someone is going to open their heart to Christ this season, and it just might be because of you! Now that is something to celebrate!

Our plans:
Todd and I have finished shopping and all the presents are wrapped under our 3' tree...or should I say beside our 3' tree. Our traveling plans are set. Oh yes we are traveling, not too far away, but it's always scary being on the road around the holidays. Saturday night we will start our Christmas adventures by driving to Fort Scott, Kansas. This is where Todd's family is from (the Budy family...pronounced Booty...oh yeah). We are going to stay the night with his cool cousins, Jeremy and Amy and their cute kid, Dominick. Then we will have Christmas Eve lunch with the Budy's! Yum yum. After fun family time and lots of food (of course) we will head back to Missouri for Christmas in Cabool. The tradition (same every year and this year is no exception) is to go to the Cabool Second Baptist Church for the candlelight Christmas service and then head over to Grandma Mac's for Christmas Eve Dinner. Then Todd and I will stay at my parents house and wake up Christmas Morning to have our (just the 2 of us) Christmas. Then we will exchange gifts with my family and have breakfast (of course after Santa has already visited Logan at their house, a new tradition for the Walls' is starting). This will be awesome b/c it's the first Christmas with Logan!! Then after breakfast, Todd and I will be on the road again heading to Walnut Grove for the Ferguson Christmas and lunch. And I'm pretty sure after lunch and gifts we will all crash and hang out. And of course play with all the fun toys we get.

Please pray for safety on the road for Todd and I. Also my brother and his family (Rance, Elizabeth, & Logan) will be traveling to Kentucky, so please pray for their safety as well. We will be praying for your Christmas and your safety. God Bless!

Christmas Survey about the one and only Paige

Your Name: Paige
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate ? Hot Chocolate with marshmellows
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa doesn't have wrapping paper. His presents are too big. But if he does have wrapping paper it is brown like paper bag paper.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I love white lights. However a few people can pull of the mix of colored lights and make it look good.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? YES, from my dog's reindeer antler.
5. When do you put your decorations up? Always after Thanksgiving. I mean do you not understand that it is still pretty fall and pumpkins and leaves are the theme until the harvest. After Thanksgiving, the evergreens and red & greens start to appear.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Oh my goodness, so many to choose from. I will go with my husbands least favorite and my top favorite...stuffing!
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Ok great story...got a minute? It is Christmas morning and us kids (Rance, me and Crystal) and Mom & Dad are opening gifts. My folks give us cash sometimes b/c we would go shopping the day after Christmas in Spfld (big trip back in the day). I put all my cash in a little box on a table beside where I was opening presents. It came time to clean up and throw away all the wrapping paper and take all your goodies to your room. I was going through my stuff about an hour after clean up time and I couldn't find my little box of cash. AHH I freaked. And so did my Parents. Boy were they steaming. Well lucky for us Dad had already taken the trash to the big dumpster at my Mom's Business. So guess were Mom and I headed? Yeap! I crawled in the dumpster and started ripping open trashbags, looking for a small little box. The bumpster luckily dosen't smell it just has broken glass and paint all over it. And guess what, I didn't find the box of money. I was bawling my eyes out. We went back home and I looked through the trash can in the kitchen and I found that stupid little box of cash. Yeap I found it! By this time I felt like a total loser. Needless to say, I have learned my lesson and it is the laugh every Christmas, when cash is given.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember, however I didn't want my parents to know that I knew, just in case Santa would "stop" coming.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We have Christmas every Christmas Eve with Grandma Mac. So yes we open presents.
10. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it!!!
11. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? CHOCOLATE PIE, anything pumpkin
12. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Exchanging gifts. all the smiles and laughs.
13. What tops your tree? I have an angel with a harp on my little 3' tree.
14. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Giving is a blast. Opening gifts is fun too.
15. Favorite Christmas memory as an adult? The first Christmas Married to Todd. Just the joy of us two opening gifts by ourselves. He bought me a pair of mudd black shoes and some black socks and I still wear them today (4 years later). I'm sure he bought me something else. But who can remember every gift.

Electricity and Beyond

How important is electricity? hum? Well let me tell you. Electricity is sooo important that it went out 3 times at work this morning and by the forth time it never came back on. Oh did I mention that was in an hour time frame. Oh yes, you get up early and go to work by 7 AM and to have the other accounting dept to come in at 8. By that time the power was not coming back on. We called the owner and said the electricity was out and it was out around our area. So he sent us home!! yeah. (And for the readers who are not around the area, let me just tell you it is nasty outside. It's cold, rainy, soon to be freezing rain, soon to be snow. And the town of Springfield looks abandoned on the streets.) Electricity is sooo important, if you don't have it and the weather is bad you get to go home from work! How awesome is that?!! Awesome I tell ya! It's like a win win situation. I'm home, I don't have to work today, and I get to spend all day with my husband curled up watching movies drinking hot chocolate!! It's just too bad we are both not feeling very well, so I'm sure we will be sleeping some too and eating chicken noodle soup (yum).

Now for the Thanksgiving celebrations from the past weekend. How awesome was Thanksgiving? The weather was beautiful. I didn't wear a coat or jacket all weekend. Us sisters went shopping on Friday and I wore a big sweater, by noon I changed...actually all us girls changed into our new shopping shirt. You might of seen it, It's red and says "naughty" on it. How great is that. The boys were proud....especially my dad. hehe The first store we went to was Kohl's. We ran around and I found a few items, then we looked for the end-of-the-line. Uh I couldn't find it. The store had every isle full of people in-line to check out. Crazy. So I called my hero Todd to see if he could get those deals online....um yes he sure could. So I dropped the merchandise and we headed out of there. We went to Sam's b/c Elizabeth had to get lots of diapers and formula for Logan. Let me just tell you there was nobody there. Maybe 20 people total shopping in Sam's. Ok that never happens. Needless to say we all found some stuff to buy there. Then we headed home for a minute to check on the guys and to unload the car, then off to Target. That was a mad house. We didn't get in any fights or see anyone fighting. It was just major crowded. After Target we headed for some lunch at Panera with the family. That is were we showed off our new shirts. I don't know why everyone kept looking at us like we were naughty or something.

Oh let me tell you about the feast of Thanksgiving at Ben's house! Holy Cow Good!!!!! Smoked Turkey, baked Ham, Mashed Taters, Gravy, Stuffing, Sweet Potato Casserole (almost like a dessert), corn, bread, cranberry stuff, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin cranberry bread. I think that was it. Next year we will get him bigger plates! Now for the Walls Thanksgiving feast which was at Branson in our condo. Turkey, stuffing, Taters, gravy, green beans, G'ma Mac's Bullhorn rolls, cheese cake, pumpkin soft cookies! Oh yeah that was good too! And the answer is NO I haven't checked the scale to see how "good" the holiday was for me! I'm not that crazy.

Well this is longer than my other blogs so I will say bye. I just figured you would have time to read this since your electricity might be out!

Happy Snow Day --- it is now sleeting.

Turkey Day

Gobble Gobble Gobble

Thanksgiving! What an exciting time! You can eat all day long and no one will look at you like a pig! Well maybe an overstuffed Turkey but not a pig...unless you eat ham instead of turkey. I can't wait to sit at the Ferguson table and eat the ever so wonderful food that Todd's Dad has prepared. Yum Yum! So Thanksgiving tradition at Todd's Dad's house is to eat till you can't fit anymore in. Then rest, then eat somemore, then hope Dad lets us take some food home!!! I think I actually married Todd b/c of his Dad's cooking abilities. I say Throwdown with Bobby Flay and Ben Ferguson. Game on!!! What a blessing!
I can't wait for Turkey Dinner!!

So my sister, Crystal and my sister-in-law, Elizabeth and me are going shopping on the biggest shopping day of the year! You guessed it on crazy people shopping day, the day after Thanksgiving. Now let me just say, I have never been shopping on this day before. But we figured we would check it out this year. Good sister fun, I say!!

Usually Thanksgiving Day is when my mom has her Open House at her store (Cleea's/Cabool Florist), and all us kiddos get to help out at the store. So the old tradition is to eat turkey lunch on Thanksgiving Day, then go open the store for all the ladies (and some men) to shop during the TD Football game. Then we crash from exhaustion at home...or at G'ma Mac's for leftovers (double yum). Then on Friday we work at the store some more. So that past forever years ago I have been doing that...and so has Todd (he's a great helper outer)! And believe it or not the time flies by and it is soo much fun to see everyone! But now, Mom has put a stop to that tradition and has her open house the week of Thanksgiving (um that starts today)!! And now our new tradition is to go to Branson and relax all weekend. Fight through the traffic (not so relaxing) and go to SDC to see all the lights. So Branson is where we will be headed after us girlz get done shopping....or at least done shopping in Springfield. hehe. Oh did I mention while the girls are shopping Todd gets to watch our perfect nephew Logan! He is stoked! I think he plan is to have fun Rockin eachother's face off!

After the holiday festivities will follow on the next blog. Hopefully that post won't take as long as this post.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Don't forget to be Thankful!

What's in the Pantry?

Have you ever looked in your pantry or like me the cabinets and noticed it's full of food but nothing that goes together? Oh yes!! Last night Todd and I decided to pull all the food out of our cabinets and the freezer and see if we can get rid of the food without buying any more. That was fun. We found some cans that expired in 2004. (Trash) We put together a calendar with our meals. Today I am eating a Heathy Choice dinner for lunch and Todd is eating some leftover fish and rice. For dinner we are having grilled chicken breast atopofsome rice. yum! We have lots of rice, lots of green beans and corn, lots of beans, lots of canned tuna and frozen fish, lots of noodles. So our goal is to eat everything we have in our house. Understand that doesn't mean we can't go shopping. We will still shop for certain items to complete a meal. For instance, we have corn, grean beans, tomato juice, and diced tomatoes for stew; but we still need to get the beef, carrots, and celery. And that meal will feed us for a week. I just love having leftovers for lunch. It reminds me of home!
I had nothing else to write about today so I wrote about food. Is it time for my frozen dinner yet???

Insulation Rebate

Does everyone know about the City Utilites Rebate on Insulation??? It's a pimp deal. If you upgrade your insulation you can get back up to $300 from CU...and that doesn't include the savings on your monthly bill!! So for all the homeowners that read this interesting blog give me a call and I will hook you up with a salesman who will estimate the job for free. If nothing else it is good to know how much insulation you have in your attic.
enough of that crap...

ok so the mouse count is at 7 killed total...one set free, but it probably made it's way back in.

if you read the Ferganator's blog you will see that we have been quite busy. So stop calling!!!! Just kidding...Poker at our house on Thursday...afterall why stop when it's fun. (ok so I am not a poet like Andy, sorry)

Carlye's baby shower is this weekend!!! oh and Andy's baby shower, but he probably won't be there...will you??? Please come to the party at Christina's it will be WONDERFUL! And I do believe Carlye's folks will be here. umm if you're from Philly are your parents called folks?? thought I would ask. Come to the shower if your not halfin' to do anything else. see you there!!

mouses

Stupid Mouse...or stupid Mice?

Well guess what happened to me today....ok stop guessing you're doing a terrible job at it.

At work my coworker, Sally, found some mouse poop on her mouse pad and after some careful investigation we noticed a wet spot. Oh yes the mouse had pooped and peed on the mouse pad. Crazy funny huh.

I like to crochet and I do it during lunch time. So I have a bag with the yarn in it on the floor in my office (I left it here overnight). I keep my purse by the bag. My phone is in my purse and I reached down to get my phone and noticed movement in my bag of yarn. Not really thinking about it much I grab my yarn bag and I see a mouse inside the bag running all over the yarn! (gross, I know) I squeal b/c I didn't expect to see a mouse especially in my bag. Sally laughs and comes to my rescue and takes my bag outside and frees the mouse. She laughs at me and I laugh at me too. Todd called me and I share the story. He didn't sound too excited about it...Maybe the same way you are feeling right now. But it is my blog and I have nothing else to write about. Anyways, after I calm down, I grab my bag. Looking inside all I see is yarn. Yeah it's gone. So I'm going to dump my yarn out and see what kind of pooping party this mouse had in my yarn bag. I turn the bag upside down, the yarn falls I see poop and then out comes another mouse. I squeal louder and say, "Oh my god, there's another one!!!!!!!!!" My feet go up in the chair, I'm yelling and Sally comes running. She investigates the situation while I am curled up in my chair. What can I say I hate the suprising factor that mice bring to the table. It's like a scary movie. The mouse is currently behind the filing cabinet in my office. We placed a mouse poison bag at one of the opening on the floor. I can hear the bag moving, I think we are going to have a dead mouse on our hand. YEAH die mouse die!! And to answer everyone's question, Yes I am going to wash the yarn! Who do you think I am? Some gross person who likes mouse poop. Happy Hunting.

Results are in

Results are in for the Chili Cookoff....and I am not the winner. We had 5 completly different tasting chilis, and the winner was our Controller. He must of had the correct balance of spice, meat, beans, and yumness. Who would of figured. However a few of my coworkers have said they liked mine the best, so at least I wasn't last. It was a fun time judging and eating and socializing with coworkers. My belly is full. Oh and we had some awesome desserts. My diet is down the drain for today. I probably won't eat another thing for at least 2 hours. hehe

So tomorrow we are making pretties at Christina's!! She has asked me to bring chili, so I will take my nonwinner recipe to her house for the girls to enjoy. Then we will make some beautiful autumn weaths/centerpieces/pretties. I'm excited about the fellowship and the laughs we will all share. yeah rah

Chili Cookoff

Who Likes Chili???!!!!

Tomorrow I am having a Chili Cookoff at work. And YES I am in the competition...of course...it's competition and I LOVE COMPETITION!! I have this new recipe and I am tweeking it to put some Paigeneeze in it. I hope it turns out good! Oh I hope I hope I hopea.
The judging criteria for the cookoff will be based on 5 characteristics: Taste, Consistency, Aroma, Color, and Bite/Aftertaste. You know what that means....I have to taste it first....and Todd is a good critic so he can try some as well. Of course since we have FFC tonight the chili making will be a late one tonight. But that is what we have to do when we LOVE our friends and fellowship time. Who needs sleep anyways. However I might need to eat the chili for breakfast to give me a boost for the day. YUM
Anyone else what to have a chili cookoff. Maybe we should have one. CARLYE MAKES SOME KICK BUTT CHILI! Does anyone else? Leave a comment on your possible time frames and we will have a cookoff!

CARDINALS MADE IT TO THE WORLD SERIES

THE CARDINALS MADE IT TO THE WORLD SERIES. The Stinkin World Series I tell ya!! How exciting is this little...HUGE...factiod. Yaahoo!!! Ok so this morning we wake up at the crack of dawn (actually before then b/c it still looks like pitch black midnight outside) and the first thing Todd does is turn ESPN on. I have him record (DVR baby) while I get ready, so I can watch it later.
..confession.. I had to watch ESPN highlights b/c I didn't watch the game. Christina, Carlye and I talked and talked and talked some more while we listened to the boys get really emotional over the game. oh yeah, we would stop mid sentence to look through the fireplace to see them jump up and cheer and give eachother high fives. it was good times. (after ffc some stayed to watch the game, some stayed to talk)
So I got to see some of the highlights of the game and I will see the rest later. What I saw was awesome.

oh and for those that watch Project Runway, Jeffrey won. He's the guy with the semi-mohawk with the huge tatoo on his neck. Rock n' Roll style genius. I'm fine with the results. I liked all the final 4 contestants, b/c they were so different in style. If I was in style I would were most of that stuff. but Tshirts and Jeans work for me. So now Top Chef has started and the first episode looks promising. Wednesday night tv watching is all about competition for me!!

Halloween

Hello Everyone! Halloween is right around the corner and that means costumes and candy! I like Halloween for the fun part, not the crazy scary part. I don't do haunted houses. Paying $10 for 60 minutes of waiting in line and 10 minutes of walking through a pitch black building doesn't sound like fun. But if you like the haunted houses, good for you, let me know how it is this year. I don't do scary movies either.

My little nephew Logan is going to be a pumpkin. Oh how cute! I love seeing all the kids dressed up. Cowgirl, pumpkins, witches, clowns, cats, duct tape girl, spiderman, princess. lots of fun! In high school we would take kids trick-or-treating so the parents didn't have to. That was fun....only b/c we got to dress up and get the candy too! I miss trick-or-treating. So if you have kids and you want someone to take them...call me!

We usually make a drive downtown on Halloween to circle the square and look at all the cool cats dressed up. One year we counted like 5 different couples dressed up like the Matrix. That was crazy. (Now I want to say that the driving downtown is my idea and Todd just goes along with it to make me happy. what a sweetheart.)

Trick-or-Treat

What a Week

Is it just more or does it sound like everyone has had quite a week!! Glad it's Friday. So far this week I have made 3 Pumpkin cakes. Oh yeah. I have leftovers if you want some more!!! Todd & I have had people at our house for the past 3 days. UFC on Tuesday (awesome funness) Poker on Wednesday (oh yes I brought home the winner jackpot) Hotel Fergantor last night. It's always fun to enjoy company. But the week is not over yet! Tonight we kick off the volleyball league at church. Gotta buy some knee pads today...bruises are not cool on the ole knees. Tomorrow Todd & I have a softball tourney (burr) but I heard today they are having troubles finding enough teams...so we might not be playing. Oh well that's ok, it's been a while since I swung a bat.

For all the travelers this weekend have a wonderful safe trip!

For Angela and anyone else who loves my pumpkin cake and wants the recipe...here it is! You can use 4 full eggs but I try to cut the calories and fat so I use 3 egg whites and 1 full egg. It's still good!

Pumpkin Cake

3 Egg Whites
1 Full Egg
1 can Evaporated Milk
¾ cup Sugar
¾ cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Nutmeg
2 cans Pumpkin

--Mix all ingredients together. Place in 9x13 cake pan.

1 pkg Yellow Cake Mix
1 stick Butter (melted)
--Sprinkle cake mix on top of pumpkin mixture in pan. Pour melted butter over cake mix. Bake 58 minutes at 350˚.

Todd, the 58 minutes is for you my dear!

writers block

What in the world is writers block? Is it that empty space in your head when you are trying to think of something to write down? Is it the thoughts of everything going on in your life while you are trying to be creative and think of a story to write? Is it a disease? I don't know what it is but what it is is what it is. (read that again please) ok that reminds me of the tv show 'Top Chef' I love that show and it is going to start again pretty soon. Oh yeah, great fun. Ok so last season in 'Top Chef' the had clips at the end of the season and they showed everyone saying "it is what it is" that was hIlArIoUs. Now back to the writers block thing. I was just writing about the writers block b/c I didn't know what I was going to write about. I think I was going through what some call...a writers block. Maybe not. God Rules!

Pumpkin Goodness

Pumpkins Pumpkins Pumpkins

Who wants Pumpkin Pie? How about a Pumpkin Goodness Cake?!!! Ok well then come on over! I am in the pumpkin mood and I have to make my mom's pumpkin cake. Yes it is the offical "autumn meter." Once you have had chili and pumpkin cake it is Autumn!! Todd is cooking chili for me tonight!!!! and I will make the cake tonight to share with the UFC friends tomorrow!! So if you like the UFC, come on over. If you like pumpkin desserts, come on over Tuesday night! Yes this is your invitation to enjoy the new season and the Ferguson Mansion! And maybe if you talk nice to Todd he might make you chili for tomorrow night!?!!? But you have to ask!

Have a fantastic day!

Pink is my Favorite Color??

Pink is not my favorite color, but let's talk about the color pink. (green is my favorite...all shades)

Pink is a red and white mixture of color. Pink is romantic, and calming. It's a color for friendships, love, baby girls. It represents honor and is known to overcome evil (source: the internet). Have you ever heard of Pink the punk rock star...or how about the British rock band Pink Floyd. Pink is a color used for princesses.

I never wore pink when I was younger. I always thought it was too girly (and my room was mauve YUCK). But now I love the color. I love wearing it and seeing it. It reminds me of love and simple things in life. But I ask...and I give my opinion on my blog...
Why do you see more guys wearing the color pink?? Because it's hot! It doesn't mean the guy is queer or weak, the pink represents a hot fashionable color. I love pink on people (guys, boys, girls, women, old men). I think pink brings out the natural tones in someone's face and makes him/her look beautiful. So the next time you go shopping buy pink! It's in and it's hot!

Pictures

I will let you in on a little secret..I love to scrapbook. Yes besides that fact that our kitchen table is in the living room (gotta watch tv while I scrapbook), and the table is full of piles of paper and pictures and glue and and and lots of stick on stuff. (Boys love it) Over the weekend I have scrapbooked a fun July weekend with some High school buddies, this weekend was in 2001. I have scrapbooked my Senior Prom 2000...funny how the pictures of you and your date/boyfriend are not as precious anymore. One photo of us will do the rest will go in the trash, yes, no matter how Gorgeous I Do look! hehe (yes I am actually laughing at myself). Scrapbooked pictures from a family vacation at the beach when Todd and I were just dating (we were lean mean sexy machines WOW six pack city). I have also scrapbooked my Dad's 50th bday party 2006 Feb. And the most recent my nephew Logan! So I have tons of pages of pictures to go in albums from Multiple years. I feel like such a slacker, but then again, I'm glad I am doing this now b/c later I won't have as much time and the years will really pile up. A picture is worth a thousand words, just imagine if you can flip through pages in an album not just a shoe box of pictures. My goal is to get all caught up and not leave my living room a total disaster.

bye bye bye

Good Bye Sweet September!

September was such a busy month for Todd and me; I can't believe it is actually over. And to finish off the month Todd is going to a St Louis Cardinals game! Yeah! :) and Poor little me is doing inventory at work! Yep yeah for me! :(

But looking forward to October, I get excited. Jeremy Camp in Concert! Family Pig Roast! Halloween! Leaves changing colors! Football! Volleyball! Comfort Foods! Chili Cookoffs! Bon Fires and Weiner Roasts!

God Bless the great Autumn Days!

Garage Sales vs Auctions

I wish I could be telling you all that the auction was a success. But I cain't (yes, not can't, but cain't). It rained all night, not just rain but STORMED. And it rained until 10 or so. So the amount of people to buy at the auction was slim. The house and the business building didn't sell. That's right DID NOT sell. God must have a different plan for us, we just don't know yet. The only good thing about the auction is that all the stuff is gone. The house, barn, and store is cleared out.
So to my title. Garage Sales vs Auctions. Never have an auction (you don't have any control over the price, and if it sells for $1 you can't do anything about it. even if you bought it for $200. And you have to pay out 15% commission to the auctioneers and you have to pay for advertising). Have Garage Sales, yes it is a lot of work (not as much work as an auction), have a GS every other year. Have a GS with friends. Have a GS in a good location. OR just give it away!
The weiner roast was a lot of fun. Christina and Teresa shot a pistol. I shot a riffle and hit 2 out of 6 clay pigeons. Wyatt and Todd shot like crazy and hit just about all of 'em. Good 'ole boyz, I tell ya.
I too am excited about fall. It is time to snuggle with the one you love!! yeehaw

Pray for NO rain

As you all know my parents are having an auction this weekend. Did you also know that the forecast calls for rain. Oh yeah. Not good. Please pray for no rain in little town of Cabool. Not only for the auction but for the fun after the auction with Dana, Teresa, Wyatt and Christina. Our friends are coming to Cabool to check out the aucion and then to "play" in the wood at our cabin. It will be so much fun. Remember to bring shoe that can get dirty...last time Todd stepped out of the truck straight into a cow pie. Oh yes funny funny funny. My mom lost it and just laughed her little head off at him. My family thinks Todd is a, well, a city boy. Don't know what gave them that idea? But then he showed them that this little "city boy" can out shoot my dad at clay pigeon shooting. It was great. My family loves Todd. He is the only son-in-law that works his butt off for them. I am so proud of him.
So back to my prayer request. It would be great if the big thunderstorms stayed away for Saturday morning. Let it rain Thursday and Friday while we are setting up, but let the sun shine during the auction so people won't have to stand in the rain. God is good and we do all things for His glory. Praise God for His love. Praise God for answered prayers, even if it is not in our favor, but His. Praise God for rain.

Blogging?

Hello my blogging friends! Yes I am talking to all 5 of you who blog with the paigemon. I am writing to you from home. To some this might come as a shock, but I used to have a negative opinion about blogging. Partly b/c it's a scary world out there and I watch too many shows like CSI, Without a Trace, Law & Order SVU, Friends. You know the good shows that sometimes hit on "computer talk" with people you don't know. People lie about themselves if you don't know them. Even people you know still might lie, but at least we can ask them in person if it was true or not.

I'm not a big fan of the dating online, but then again I met Todd before that was really the thing to do. (thank God) But to me it just sounds a little odd. If you are one that met this way. kudos to you....as long as the guy/girl isn't crazy. And I'm not talking "Paige crazy" or even "Todd crazy" I'm talking wacko crazy, in the head crazy.

So back to my blogging talk. This is soo much better than email. You post stuff about you or life or whatever and people read it. It's not some funny joke that you have read over and over from your other email FWD friends. It's original. Very Original. That's what I love about blogs. You are part of someone's thinking for a bit. (I bet that is why Adam loves his job, he gets to see how crazy people think...Adam let me know if I'm right.) And that is super cool for me. I get to laugh for a couple of minutes and have happy thoughts while I read my 5 friends' blogs.

So to those that don't have to time to blog. Hey that is ok. We love you. If I didn't have time, I wouldn't do it either. I just hope you have a few minutes to read some of these blogs, they are funny at times, uplifting at times, and just stupid other times. So enjoy!

Heirlooms?

OK, So my parents are having an auction. Not because someone died but because they have lots and lots of stuff to sell. My mom ownes a florist, before the florist she owned a gift shop/wallpaper/paint etc shop, during that she owned a framing manufacturer plant. Needless to say she has plenty of "stuff" left over from those buisnesses. Plus my parents don't like to and don't have the time to set up Garage Sales. And they have lots and lots of storage places. For the past month or so we have been cleaning out storage areas that have never been touched for 20 years. WOW!So you ask...what brings on this idea to have an auction? Well my mom has terrible knees. She is having a knee replacement next June. In the mean time she is in pain every minute of every day. She has had her home (for 20 years) up for sale b/c it is full of stairs, and her 2 story business building up for sale. In a small town like Cabool, things like that don't sell fast. So why not have an auction. It will bring in people from all over the place (hopefully?!?!) that will be interested in buying a lovely home, a nice building, and lots and lots of stuff. She still has her florist, in a 1 story building. Praise God!

that was my background!

Now during all this cleaning and deciding what to auction and what to keep, we have found many neat things. It's amazing how many stories Mom and Dad have of things. Dad had a shoe box (Fila's Men size 10 box) full, I mean FULL, of...business cards. Why?? b/c my Dad is...well...weird...I guess. You never know when you might need to call someone. Then we found boxes of hotel soaps, pens, pens, match books. My dad is a collector. Bless his heart. He travels a lot for business, so he collects free things. My mom doesn't collect. She buys and doesn't throw away. She is a crafty person. We found craft supply after craft supply. Packages of craft stuff not opened, never used in every room of the house (well almost every room). Also since Mom had her own store we have lots of items from her store...yes will the price tag still in tacked. Why not take that back to the store and sell it. Afterall it was in "storage" for only 3 years. AHHH! Oh did I mention we are only talking about he house. Yes my home I grew up in for 20 years of my life. So sad it is going to be sold, but also so glad Mom can get a house with 1 level! Bittersweet. Enough of this now on to my heirloom side of the story.

Heirlooms! You know, the items sometimes small sometimes big that have a meaning that have been in the family for years. Well, when do you get rid of the heirloom item? This is something else we have been dealing with. If you don't want that "chair," and I don't want that "chair," and that "chair" is falling apart....but it was Great Great Aunt Ednas, what do you do? When do Heirlooms stop being in storage, and sold to someone that would love to have that "chair" in their house. Why not sell the "chair" and bless someone else's life with it. You are not selling the memory of that person just the brittle "chair." Please comment on your theory. If you would like more examples let me know, We have lots of cherished items "in the family." Although I must admit. While we were cleaning out the barn I found 4 coffee mugs that I remember Grandpa EA and Grandma Mac drinking coffee from. So yes I took them, for the memory. And b/c they look pretty cool, pretty unique! And you can't have too many coffee mugs, just ask my friend Carrie.

So for anyone who loves antiques, or stuff, or neat things, or me, please come to the auction. It is this weekend. Saturday 23rd at 9:30 in Cabool. Todd and I will be there. Plus an added bonus for all who attend and read this blog. You can come with us to the cabin and have a weiner roast, skeet shootin' afternoon. hope to see you there.

Please pray the the auction brings in buyers for the home and the business building. This will be a huge relief for my parents. God knows what is to come, and we just have to trust Him.

Andy!!!!

We Want YOU!!

Ok Andy It is now time for you to start your own blog. Since you have soooo much time at night, we need you to blog with us. You can report on how you are going to be a "big daddy" or how your Fish are doing or just what you have on your mind at 2:00 AM. I know you want to, you just need some encouragment.

Bye Bye Bye

Eating Right

Eating right, what a concept. Unfortunately too many people don't understand the right methods. That would include me!! I like to think I am eating right...or at least eating better. I know the foods that are good for me, and the foods to stay far far away from. However I think it is the willpower one possesses to actually do the right thing when it comes to not eating cheesecake even when it has strawberries on it. When I go for dessert (on my free day) I go all out. I'm talkin' chocolate brownies, chocolate pie, mud pie brownie ice cream, anything chocolate. Yes, if you were wondering I love chocolate. And yes, I get a free day during my dieting days to eat whatever I want. Trust me I won't go crazy...well maybe sometimes. Ok so what I do to help me eat the right things is keep a journal of the intake of foods (energy) and the outtake of calories called exercise. Keeping track really isn't as hard as I thought it might be. I am using a website called www.my-calorie-count.com and it makes it ten times easier. For all the foods I didn't know the nutrition facts on, this website has that info. So at the end of the day I can see how much fat I ate (yum) and my daily calories. So I have all my facts about me on this free website, I'm talkin' my weight, height, age, and yes measurements. I encourage you all to check out that website. It tells you how many calories you can lose playing tennis, walking, playing golf, etc. Pretty neat stuff.
Also, my husband is in this competition with Adam and since it started I have lost 3 pounds. So thank you boys for competing. You have encouraged me to do the same. Being Healthy is Awesome.

Competition

So one of the best things in life is competition. Some people are very competitive and some are well not so competitive. Which one are you?? I am very competitive. Todd and I played tennis with our friends Andy and Carlye this last weekend. And at first you just hit the ball back and forth and don't really care if you mess up or not. However once we started keeping score, I couldn't get a ball to hit over the net and inside the lines. Needless to say I was very upset at my terrible skill. I knew I could do better, but for some reason my feet wouldn't move and my eyes wouldn't read the ball fast enough to make a good play. I was very frustrated at myself.

(My competitive nature comes from my dad. We love to compete, to play, to win. And yes winning is sweeter when you have lost before.)

But as we kept playing I stopped being mad a myself. and Amazingly I started playing better. I don't remember who won in the end, but I know Team Ferguson was behind and we did catch up. But I don't remember the final game count. And yes, Carlye is pregnant so you would think it is unfair, but she is all over the place. We'll just have to see her move at 8 months. Game on!

Are you guilty of walking by someone at the mall or the grocery store and giving them a slight smile and a "silent" hi? Ok so why do we do that? We don't know the person, we really don't care about them. Why do we feel like we need to smile and say hi? Maybe it's b/c we feel like being nice, or maybe we think if we pay attention to people we don't know we are doing a good deed.

Ok so for my next question. Since we smile at people we don't know. Why don't we smile at people we DO know but just haven't seen them in a while? You have all done it. You've seen someone you went to school with or maybe even work with and you look the other way. I knew it you are smiling b/c you've done it and can only explain it with this statement. Well it's been a long time since we've seen eachother or have talked so why should I stand here by the produce and talk about life when we're not going to see eachother for another 2 years. So we dread the 5 minute conversation. Seriously how bad would it be to actually say "hi, how are you" and actually care to hear the answer.

My challenge for everyone is to care about other people. People you know and people you don't know. God says we should love our neighbors. Well I don't even know my neighbors...well maybe a couple. But I do try to smile and say hi to them. Maybe there wouldn't be so much violence in the world if everyone really cared for everyone else. Try putting your pride aside and be true to people. Stop being fake, and love people.