First of all I have to do this being from Louisiana and all:

     THE  SAINTS WON THE SUPER BOWL

 OK now that that is off my chest, lol, I can move on to what a great weekend we had. My daughter Kristy and her fiance Brad are in the process of buying a new home. So knowing that was coming I told her that she had a choice for Christmas and her birthday, she could get several little items for these occasions or one big nice item for her new home. She choose the nice big item lol. Her item was an antique fireplace surround with mantel. It's not too cold down here in La so not many houses come with fire places. So we got up early Saturday morning and hit a few garage sales, every thrift store in three towns, and all antique shops. She was starting to loose hope WHEN there is was in the back room of the last shop we were able to find. I peeked into an open door and noticed it leaning against a wall with bed frames on top of it. I went the owner of the shop to see  if it was for sale. He said no because it was so old, he would have to do some work on it, he wanted to paint it. I asked him if we could look at it. He showed it to us and my daughter fell in love with it. He saw how much she loved it so asked us if we would purchase it as is. I looked at her and she was shaking her head up and down with joy in her eyes. (she gets overly excited about her antiques) I made him an offer, he countered, I countered and I got it for $100, way below what I was expecting to pay for one. So with that I told her she could get a few other things if there was something else that she liked. She also got two very old large crocks. One for $35 and the other or $27.  We also had lunch at the Olive Garden, one of our favs. And not mention that I got to spend the whole day with her. So Saturday was wonderful.

    Sunday morning started with breakfast for the family. Lunch was sandwiches and then off to a couple of Mardi Gras parades.  The weather was so nice I actually didn't mind being out there. Got to visit with relatives and enjoyed seeing friends that I have not seen in a while. So it was nice.

  Then we came home and I started preparing food for our Super Bowl party last night. I kept thinking I was going to have too much food and so much left over. Well NO I did not, which I should have figured. Football and food go together in this house. They ate it all. As a matter of fact all they had left over was some fruit off the fruit tray and a few peices of cheese, which I just ate for breakfast. 

After the game we sat on the porch and watch a little firework display for the game going our way. People in Louisiana get excited over everything. LOL

Today I have to run to walmart to get some sinus medication and tissues, oh and some bread. My son and I both have sinus infections this morning, so Im hoping to nip that in the bud quickly. So I hope everyone has a great week. Thanks for visiting.

            HEAVEN'S ENTRANCE EXAM

            A man dies and goes to Heaven. Saint Peter 
            meets him at the pearly gates  and says, "Ok,
            here's how it works. You need 100 points to
            make it into Heaven. You tell me all the good
            things you've done, and I'll award you a certain
            number of points for each item, depending on
            how good it was. When you reach 100 points,
            you get in."

            "Okay," the man says...."I was married to the
            same woman for 50 years and never once
            cheated on her, even in my heart."

            "That's wonderful," says Saint Peter, "That's
            worth three points!"  "Three points?" he asks.

            "Well, I attended church all my life and
            supported its ministry with my tithes and
            service."

            "Terrific!" says Saint Peter, "That's certainly
            worth a point."  "One point?!!   

            Hey, I started a soup kitchen in my city and
            worked in a shelter for homeless veterans!"

            "Fantastic, that's good for two more points, "
            Saint Peter says.  "Two points?!!" the man
            cries.

            "At this rate, the only way I'm going to get
            into Heaven is by the Grace of God!"

            "Bingo, 100 points!  Come on in!"

.........and if we had a fire it would so be delightful. My next house will have a fireplace. Who am I kidding, lol. Speaking of fireplaces, my daughter and her fiance are in the process of buying their first new home together. She is so excited, it's all she can talk about. She works as a data entry clerk for a home health care business, but her true passion is decorating homes, especially her own. lol I have to say though, she has a real knack for it. She is all country charm and shops at thrift stores  and garage sales to find her decor. What this girl can do with other peoples thrown out items is unreal. They have been searching for a new home for several months now, so when Christmas and her birthday, which was actually this past Sunday, rolled around I told her that I would put aside the money that I would have spent on her for those two occasions and buy her something really nice and big for her new home. She was all for that. So the fact that the house they are buying doesn't have a fireplace and she wants one just for looks, I am getting her an antique wooden fireplace surround. I've seen them at antique shops around here now and then. But now that Im actually looking for one, I can't find it. Isn't that the way it always is. This should run me around $300, which is a little more than I had in mind for a gift, but how often do you buy your first new home? Only once LOL.

   In other news Im still working on plans for a spring garden. We have a very old shed in the back yard next to an even older tree. Both have sustained major damage from the hurricanes in the past years, I think the tree is actually dead. Parts of the roof on the shed is missing, so it's time for them both to  go. So in a few weeks Im putting all hands on deck for operation "Old shed and dead tree removal". Wish me luck with that, cuz apparently Im the only one looking forward to that operation. LOL But once it's gone I will have double the room for my garden, so that makes it all worth while to me.

   School is in full force here at home with Zachary. It is so hard to keep a 17 year old boy interested in doing something other than hunting and fishing. But I think I have sound something. We started working on his very own checking account and  budget for him. He plans to get a job here at the mill working with his father and uncles and with their pay checks being directly deposited into a checking account, I figured this is something he needs to know. He is having fun with it so far but is a little worried about keeping tract of things. I actually made him his own checkbook and registar, and am using my own recipes and deposits as what he is working with. First he tells me I spend way too much at Wal-mart, which is probably true, then he noticed that the utilities bills are not as high as I "complain" they are. Well of corse not in the winter time, LOL.  Anyway, he seems to really be getting into it, which Im glad about. He still hates everything else, but at least he doesn't give me a hard time about doing it. He is such a good kid, thank you God for that. Im so blessed.

   Well it's raining outside today so I guess I'll be a hermit and stay inside where it's nice and warm and dry. The Mardi Gras season is in full swing down here right now, so Im hoping the rain doesn't hurt the parades this weekend. Im not really big into the whole parade thing, but the kids like it so I bring my fold up canvas chair, a bottle of water, and an umbrella for the sun and I sit for hours waiting for the big loud vehichles to roll by two hours late and throw stuff at me. Oh yeah, what's not to like. LOL LOL

  Well have a good day all and thanks for visiting.........

Now copy and paste this to your blog and share with us lol.

Picked this up at Gabbies blog. Looks like fun.  I've checked off the ones that apply to me.

1. Started your own blog. Check
2. Slept under the stars. Check
3. Played in a band 
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity. Check
7. Been to Disney World
8. Climbed a mountain. Check
9. Held a praying mantis Check
10. Sang a solo Check
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea Check
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch Check
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables Check
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight Check
22. Hitch hiked Check
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill Check
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb Check
26. Gone skinny dipping Check
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola
29. Seen a total eclipse Check
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset  Check
31. Hit a home run Check
32. Been on a cruise Check
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community 

36. Taught yourself a new language  Check 
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied Check
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke Check
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant Check
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight Check
46. Been inside an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain Check
53. Played in the mud check
54. Gone to a drive-in theater Check
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business Check
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies check
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason check
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma check
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 
67. Bounced a check check
68. Flown in a helicopter check
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy check
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt check
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job check
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone check
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle check
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper check
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating Check
88. Had chickenpox check
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous check
92. Joined a book club check
93. Lost a loved one check
94. Had a baby check
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone check
99. Been stung by a bee check

      First of all let me say Thank you to all who are praying for my family especially my son. He is holding on to possitive thinking, as am I. Things are starting to look up and for the most part are heading in a promising direction. I can only continue to pray that they keep heading in that direction. I think it will be sometime before everything is back to "normal". But what is normal these days? LOL. Again thanks for the prayers. I knew this was the place to come for that.

May God bless each of you for being a blessing to me.........Kitty

    I come to you ladies tonight as a mother in need of prayers for her son. The why is too long to really get into on here, but trust me when I say prayers  are very much needed. Please  ask God to keep my son Eric  safe and free from harm.

    I know this leaves many wondering, and I'm the first to admit that I hate that,  but you wouldn't believe the true story if I told you. Lets just say I will not be getting much sleep for a while. Thank you in advance. I am a firm believer in the power of prayer, that is why I come to you with this.

       Thought I'd give an update as to whats been going on around the ole homestead. The weather is much better. We are actually wearing shorts, it's so warm. But warm to us is in the 60's lol.  With the weather being as such, I am itching to get outside and start working the ground for my spring garden. I am borrowing my brother in law's tiller today and  will spend the afternoon in  that activity. Our hometown football team, the New Orleans Saints has some how managed to make it to the playoffs this year. So while the guys are inside watching that,  I will be outside doing something constructive LOL.

        This week held several bad pieces of news for me and my family. Monday night while my son Eric was at work, his home was broken into and robbed. They messed up his home with mud and broken items just  to add salt to the wound. He was so upset. Do you know how hard it is to watch your 26 year old son cry. Then to top it off, he thinks it was someone who called themselves a friend. Some friend huh? And to make matters  even worse for my son, he goes to work the next night and was layed off from his job. God is testing him big time right now, I just hopes he has enough faith to hold on through it.

        Secondly, we lost a good friend Friday afternoon to a heart attack. This man was only 43 years old. He had so much living  left to do. But God had a plan that we can not question. So if possible please keep my son Eric and Danny's family in your prayers. Thanks.

      In the kitchen: My younger son Zach and I have gone "healthy" for the new year. He is doing fantastic, he has already lost almost 20 lbs. Me on the other hand, not so much. But that's OK, I feel better, healthier. He is so gung-ho in fact, that he is finding low fat healthy recipes on the internet and trying them out in the kitchen. Friday night he made a BBQ pulled chicken on whole wheat sandwiches, and last night he made a low fat cheese burger pie. This was made with ground turkey. When I tell you how good they were. Im so proud of him for his efforts. 

     In other news my daughter and her fiance have gotten approved for a home loan. This is a bitter sweet thing for mom here. Happy that their dreams are coming true, sad that she is moving away from me. I say moving away, but she'll still be in the same town lol. I just like having her so close.  Sometimes I feel as tho my apron strings are made of steel LOL.

     We recently had some opossum problems. They were getting under our house and banging around under there. They were shaking our pipes, which are the water and gas lines. SCARY! I told my son that we had to do something about that hot mess before we blow up.  The first night of our "Operation Get Those Critters before they get Us", my son sat outside hiding in the dark with his handy dandy pellet gun at the ready. He managed to kill one. That is not something I like but something that had to be done. Well the next day as I was telling my cousin about the problem, she tells me that her husband has some traps that we can borrow. A day too late for the poor little opossum. So the next night we set the traps and low and behold we caught another one. This one we took for a ride and set free. So is there yet another critter playing under my floors, we shall see.

   Well that's about it for our update. I do hope and pray that everyone has a great week ahead. And I can't believe Im going to say this but, Geaux Saints!   Shhhh don't tell my husband. LOL

     The weather here is a bit rainy so it's keeping us indoors for a few days. My husband is cooking a large pot of beef stew for him and his brothers, and he has a lot of them,  for the big football game this afternoon. The New Orleans Saints somehow managed to make it to the playoffs, so this makes them happy. I on the other hand am not  impressed LOL. Not a big fan of football I guess.

      So with him cooking he decided that we should make a run to the grocery store early this morning. Men are not like us, they don't plan ahead and defrost, they just decide to cook at the drop of a hat. So with nothing defrosted and ready to use, off we went. BUT, I have to say that it payed off a great deal. We hit a sale in the meat department that almost bought tears to my eyes, lol. I was able to get:

5lbs. of cajun sausage = $3.34

30 lbs. of lean ground beef = $25.33

5 lbs. of gravy steaks = $5.75

3 lbs. of Hillshire smoked sausage =$5.97

25 lbs. of chicken thighs = $9.40

5 lbs. of beef stew meat -$8.76

1 pack of bologna =  .75

8 lbs. of pork chops =$6.48

I also bought 4 lbs. of ground turkey for myself for $8.00 (a little high but healthier)

So all of this for a total of  $73.78. This may not be a deal to some of you, but down here, that is a fantastic deal on meat. When broken down into meal portions it came out to 34 meals. I only cook for three, sometimes 4, so I can divide one pack of meat into two sometimes 3 portions.  So at a cost of  $2.17 per meal, I think I did OK. LOL I love finding great sales such as this one. I was also able to pick up several other items on sale such as a 14oz bag of tortilla chips for 50 cents. Good for game time snacks. So all in all a good time was had at the grocery store this morning. And I don't usually like taking the hubbs along. LOL

So now I have been asked to "whip" up something for dessert. Hum, should have figured that would happen. lol. Have a great weekend everyone and thanks for visiting.

Today we remember all of those who have lost their lives
because of the Earthquake that struck Haiti. Let us remember;
The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God,
and no torment will ever touch them.  In the eyes
of the foolish they seem to have died,   and their
departure was thought of as a disaster, their going
from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace.

    Therefore, today, I would like to dedicate this message in
remembrance of those who have lost their lives because of
that  tragedy.  I would also like to share a poem with you in
their honor.  A poem whose author remains unknown!

                                      I'M FREE

           Don't grieve for me for now I'm free,
           I'm following the path God laid for me.
           I took His hand when I heard Him call,
           I turned my back and left it all.

            I could not stay another day,
           To laugh, to love, to work or play.
           Tasks left undone must stay that way,
            I found that peace at the close of the day.

            If my parting has left a void,
            Then fill it with remembered joy.
            A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
            Ah yes, these things I too will miss.
           
            But be not burdened with times of sorrow,
            For I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
            My life's been full.  I've savored much,
            Good friends, good times and loved ones'
            touch.
           
            Perhaps my time seemed all too brief
            Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.
            Lift up your hearts and share with me.
            God wanted me now.  He set me free!