HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, December 31st

Well, here it is...the last day of the month, the last day of 2008 and the last day of my daily photo diary. While I did enjoy taking the pictures; it opened my eyes to look at things a little differently sometimes, I am glad it is over. I think I am addicted to the mosaics, however! I will NOT let those go!! My family is very glad it is over!

So, ( raising my proverbial glass) here's to a Happy and Healthy New Year to all my friends and family! I hope 2009 brings you all clarity and peace.

OK...nuff of that..Enjoy!!

Thanks for looking.
:0)

It's Almost Over!!

Tuesday, December 30

1. Adam Luther got a bath before going on his (solo) trip to Canada in a few days...he also got about 10 stitches in his hand!
   
2. The gas is going up again.
3. A stop at the bank drive thru ...
   
4. And then to the post office
5. Beautiful flowers at the market - I look but don't buy...too many allergies. Very pretty today!
6. A different view of the grocery carts
7. Riding pony at the market
8. Even more construction!! Have no idea what this will be yet.
9. Yay! Netflix is here!!

Thanks for looking in.
:0)

Top Ten Favorite Layouts of 2008

On SIS (Scrap In Style) a thread was posted to show the favorite top 10 layouts that you did in 2008, so I'm posting mine here. It was hard for me to choose because so many of mine had deep meaning for me and then others were just for fun.


Many of my layouts were in response to challenges found on SIS or on challenge blogs that I frequent. So, here they are...in no particular order.












As always, Thanks for looking! :0)

TWO MORE DAYS!

Monday, December 29th

1. Putting away all the Hanukkah decorations
   
2. A pretty scene from the side of the road near where I live
3. The price of gas today closest to my house
4. Yeah, I went ahead and joined...we'll see if it does any good
5. Can you believe 52 degrees at the end of December??!!
6. Scenes from inside of the car wash
7. Cleaning up all of the hostas...thankfully, Steph helped me.
8. Steph and I watched one of the neighbor babies this evening
9. Frank created a new game and we all played it tonight - it still has some bugs to work out.

Thanks for looking in.
:0)

The Last Night of Hanukkah 2008

Sunday, December 28

Now that Rob is here with Steph visiting we decided to do a total repeat of the Hanukkah dinner we had last Sunday. So we had the exact same dinner all over again! Still good! Two people couldn't come but I sent some leftovers home with Tracy.


Teagan is always fun to play with. She's very well behaved and is such a pleasure! Especially when she makes us exotic sandwiches with the play food!!

The first row of pics shows Adam Luther's holiday cards...yes, Adam Luther's! Those all came to him this year!

Then Frank and I went to see about this new fitness place near Blankenbaker Pkwy that advertised some unreal rate...and it was unreal! It was bait and I bit. I didn't join but I probably will. I really need to exercise and I just had doing it alone and at home. I get so distracted!! By what....look at the next picture. I actually got to do some scrapping today. YAY! I'm still trying to finish my travel journal of our western trip from September. I'd really like to finish it before 2009 rolls around. Don't have much time left!

3 more days to New Years!

Thanks for looking.
:0)

December Photo Diary Day 27

Saturday, December 27th

Slept late due to an early morning migraine...it was my own fault as I had some chocolate last night. Drat...and I can't say that it was even worth it!

Steph, Rob, Frank and I went to the movies and saw Valkyrie - pretty good story there. Very interesting. Didn't realize that there were quite so many attempts on Hitler's life as there were. Too bad none worked!

Also went to get some hardware for the computer so we could hook up 2 to the 1 modem. This is new for us as we hadn't wanted a router before. We hope it will work as the 2 computers are at 2 completely opposite ends of the house on 2 different floors. Good thing our computer whiz is here to put it all together! (Rob)

Finally went to Ramsis on Bardstown Rd for dinner. Love the atmosphere there and got a great pic of an outdoor fountain.

Yes, it's almost over...tonight is the 7th night of Hanukkah. Tomorrow it will be over for another year.

Thanks for looking.
:0)

The Day After...

December 26th

The day after Christmas. We go where everyone else in the city has gone...to the MALL, of course! Parking lot is FILLED!! And getting out of the parking lot is worse than getting into the lot!!

Returns at the Mall done, we head out to the Fresh Market. They are always great for great food ideas and gifty foods. Just couldn't resist their display of suckers/lolly pops (depending on which part of the country you come from). They even had a fantastic display of wonderful orchids!! - great colors and shapes!! Then off to Kroger for the rest of the groceries.

Tonight is the 6th night of Hanukkah. Steph's boyfriend has come to visit so we all sat down to play Catan - it's so much better with more people!!

Oh well...another month nearly gone. Catch you all tomorrow! Hope everyone got what they wanted from St. Nick, this year.

Thanks for looking in on my little blog.
Peggy

HO HO HO ! ! !

December 25th

So, what do we do on Christmas day? A movie and Chinese food! Yes, it is tradition. Chinese restaurants are the only ones open on Christmas day and I'll be darn if I'm gonna cook! After all, it IS a holiday. It is quite a widespread Jewish tradition (at least around these parts) to go to a movie and eat Chinese food on Christmas (What's-a-Jew-to-do-day!).

We saw the Curious Case of Benjamin Button...a nearly 3 hour movie that didn't tell much story. I liked it well enough but 2 of our group of 5 kept fidgeting and checking their watches. At the end, some people in the audience actually started clapping. Now, I liked alright it but definitely not that much! I think it could have been a whole lot shorter. The make up was excellent and I'd like to know more of that aspect.

This was the first time I used movietickets.com. I thought it would be faster and easier. It was! No lines for the Kushman family!! Of course, it did help to get there 45 minutes early, too!

Chinese dinner was pretty good and I stayed within my Weight Watcher points for the day!! YAY!!

And, of course, it is the 5th day of Hanukkah

Hope you all had a great Christmas!
Thanks for stopping by.
:0)

Christmas Eve!

December 24th

So, what does a Jewish person do on Christmas eve? Why, go shopping, of course!! But first, some essentials...go to Weight Watchers - that's my leader, Debbie (was even this week) and get my nails done.

Steph and I had planned a while ago to go to the outlets in Edinburgh, IN yesterday but the weather report was too frightening with the icy roads so we thought we'd go today. Well, the temperatures were cooperating but the blasting rain wasn't so we opted for Oxmoor mall and the Summit instead.

Just love the Santa and the Elf outside the Apple store in Oxmoor - too cute. Driving north on 22 going to the Summit, we saw a southbound accident and then caught a pic of the police car blocking the south bound lane, in my side mirror, in the rain at the light...no, I'm not taking pics while I'm driving!

I loved this bead display at Macy's...kinda retro looking, and the Summit and these cool giant dreidles on display.

Happy 4th night of Hanukkah and Happy Christmas Eve.
:0)
Thanks for looking in.

December Photo Diary - Day 23

1. 

1. Gas prices still coming down
2. The bell ringer was singing her hear out
3. The new little girl I got for myself
4. Speedy??? I think not!
5. More tests...this time an MRI
6. Just love the candy display at Meijer!! - so colorful
7. This has got to be one of the funniest tabloid headlines in a long time
8. No snow, but we've got plenty of ice...3 salt trucks out at the same time
9. The 3rd night of Hanukkah
   

December Photo Diary - Day 22

Lots of things done today. First a massage! Yummy all by itself. Then lunch with Steph, Frank and 2 of Frank's employees. Nice at the Old Spaghetti Factory in downtown Louisville. COLD, COLD, COLD...the car thermometer said 16 degrees!


I had several returns to make today...why wait for after Christmas? So, I decided to try to beat the rush and I think I did very nicely! One stop was at Hobby Lobby and they've already started putting out their spring merchandise!! Hello....Winter just started yesterday!! Then,ouch, I had to, ouch, get my, ouch, allergy, ouch, shot!! OUCH! I feel like a human pin cushion sometimes! I don't think I'll ever get used to that!

Traffic jam on the high school, Beautiful poinsettias all over Walmart, the gas price fell again today and some great Spring Garden Gnomes at Hobby Lobby. A pretty nice, peaceful, but cold, day
:0)
Thanks for looking

...On this the First Night of Hanukkah...

Almost all the gang was here. We were just missing Steph's boyfriend, Rob, who had to be home with his family...he'll be here next week. Tracy, John and their roommate Kimber and her precious little 3 year old daughter, Teagan, all came over to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah with us, whether or not they celebrated it in their own home.


To our surprise, Teagan came in excited about us lighting candles and knew all about dreidles! Nothing surprised her. We figured she must have learned about it in her preschool. Pretty cool!

I just love this photo of Teagan watching the candles!

December 21

The day was nice and easy. Steph taught Frank and me a new game called Catan and I spent most of the day getting ready for our little Hanukkah party. After dinner we opened gifts and then had doughnut holes for dessert (doughnuts are fried in oil - a tradition for the holiday)

Thanks for stopping by. Stay warm!
:0)

December Photo Diary - Hanukkah's Commin' Day 20

I have a recipe for two-potato latkes (pancakes) for Hanukkah and it says to use a food processor...I don't have one. Frank's been trying to get me to buy one for about a year or so but I've kept saying that I don't need one (well, really I don't...what did we do before they were invented, after all!). But, I finally caved and we went shopping, the day before Hanukkah, for a processor. And, I did get one. We brought it home, opened it up and the box was nearly empty! So, back we went!

But first we went bowling with Steph and to the movies. Saw 7 Pounds. Strange movie. Won't give away the ending but you have to be Very patient to sit through the whole thing just to get to the ending


Yeah, I think Steph won for the day!

BOWLING AT KINGPIN LANES

YUP, More Baking!!

December 19th

I got up this morning and, for some reason, I got this bug in me to clean out the hall closet which is part pantry, part storage and mostly a big mess! It's been bothering hubby for quite a while and, frankly, I've been losing things in it's bottomless pit lately. Soooooo, I emptied it and rearranged, trashed a few things, found expired foods (yuck!), made a shelf for my cookbooks, recycled the empty boxes, put things in other closets (we'll get to those later) and, Voila!!, an organized closet!! YAY!


Then, I just have to bake these Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Mini Muffins... They were SO easy and I got 58 of them out of the batch.

Then the mail comes...a package from Thailand with a hole in the middle. I'm surprised it actually made it here considering the conditions in that country, but just had to order that soccer jersey that Steph wanted to give to Rob for Xmas. To top it off, Adam Luther got a box with 2 gifts in it. Sorry, A.L. - you'll have to wait to open those.

Then Steph and I ran some errands and went into World Market and saw this weird drink called "Glogg"... not sure I'd want to drink that stuff.

Not a very exciting day, but productive!
Thanks for looking.
:0)

December Is Nearly Gone!!

I'm finding it's really hard to post every day so here I am playing catch up again. But, I think that's o.k. too. At least I'm still clicking on the camera! I'll be putting all of this in a mini book when the month is through (just love mini books!).

December 15th

Oh boy!, The bowling league holiday party. food, food and more food. I ate what I shouldn't have and got heartburn as a result...I should have known better...yup! We all brought a gift to exchange; the way it worked is when you got your first strike you went to the table to pick a gift...I was next to last! LOL!! Oh well, I had fun.

December 16th

Steph started out driving home from Philly yesterday with Rob and I met them in Lexington, for lunch, on this day. Steph then drove Rob to his brother's house and Steph then came home to Louisville. We did all this driving with travel advisories and winter weather warnings for freezing rain till the evening. Fortunately nothing really panned out on the road. We did have a couple of good games of Farkle that night...ever play that??

December 17th - part 1

On this Wednesday, Steph and I braved the mall (and I almost never go to the mall!). I was so overwhelmed by all the signs that I just had to do one mosaic solely with sale signs. They were practically givinng the stuff away!

December 17th - part 2

One of the things Steph and I do when we go shopping is go to Dillards and laugh at some of the fashions we see. This time, I was looking for the weirdest thing to photograph and Steph actually agreed to try it on (not knowing what "it" would be) AND, let me take a pic of her in it AND post it on line! FUN! We finally found this dress that was part sweater and part lingere! Truly weird...AND, it had it's own built in necklace too! All-In-One!! AND, all for $144!!

In the evening we went to see the Secret Life of Bees with my book club - the Queen Bees. Wonderful movie!!

December 18th

Not much yesterday...a free plumbing inspection which eventually cost me $95 (replaced a little rubber gasket!), a trip to one of my favorite stores, a trip to the doctor yielding nothing (yet) and finally Steph cooked ME dinner! Great pasta with a pesto/sun dried tomato sauce! Yum! Oh, and I finally finished a Cabbage Patch makeover for a friend so she could give her childhood CPK to her little girl...sweet!

As always...Thanks for looking in. :0)

December Photo Diary -CATCHING UP!!

We decided to take a long weekend and not tell anyone where we went...that was hubby's idea, not mine. I'm still not too sure why. So, we went to Gatlinburg, TN and had a cold but great time. I'm not going to go into detail about the photo mosaics because there's just too much but, if you go and you're looking for something to do in the evening, I will recommend the Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre...it IS funny! And, The Wild Plum Tea Room for lunch is great!!

We did antique hunting, flea markets (not good at all), outlet shopping, and one of our main reasons for going; the Arts & Crafts Loop. We also braved the elements and went up the ski lift ride (freezing!!) after we bundled up!

The last picture in the last mosaic is of my Red Hot scrappy gift from my mystery gifter from the night before we left...Thanks Phyllis!!

Thanks for looking in.
:0)

DECEMBER 11

DECEMBER 12

DECEMBER 13

DECEMBER 14

December Photo Diary - Day 10

The second Wednesday of the month means Red Hots. My friends and I get together once a month and this month means a Holiday party! Good friends, food and fun all in one place!

We're off tomorrow morning for a little mini vacation - not too far away so I won't be posting until next week. I'm having fun doing this, though. It's kind of interesting, to me. to see how I spend my days.

Nite, nite, y'all!
:0)
Thanks for stopping in.

Yay! I'm caught up! Today's pics on today's date!...

December's Photo Diary - Day 9

• Post Office - really cute mail box decoration!!
  
• Archiver's - love all the colors in a row
  
• Rainy Day - ALL DAY!!
  
• Cheap gas $1.38!!!
• Got my nails done
• Did some shopping - a cluster of gift bags at Target
  
• Got my hair cut (yuck - on the floor!)
• And a great tree at my salon...Friends in Middletown

Thanks for looking!
:0)

December Photo Diary - day 8

If it's Monday I must be bowling...these are really crappy lanes...10 lanes in all and they keep breaking down, but we keep going there. This is my first year on this league but the league has been together there for years! Nice group of ladies. I guess that's why they stay together, but why there???

Not much else to tell about - a pretty empty room in the house, filling out holiday cards, finishing up a couple of journal books for my sister and filling my gas tank for $1.44!!

Thanks for looking.
:0)

December Diary - Day 7

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday...day of rest? I think not! Up early and out to work at the Holiday Boutique or to be more exact, I was working in the Gift shop at the Temple mostly running interference with the Sunday School kids coming to spend the little money they brought. Why do they have to handle everything??? Granted, some of them did have enough money to buy gifts. There was this one little girl, so adorable, who has $2 and kept asking how much things were...I told her and tried to guide her to what she could afford but she didn't like those (of course!). She decided to pool her $ with her brother's but then they couldn't agree! Siblings! :0)

When I got home I found that Frank was grating baking chocolate!!! Oh yeah, he found this recipe in the newspaper for some "healthy" cookies! So, he gets this baking bug in him once in a while and sometimes they actually come out great. I think this one leaves something lacking, though.

Ebay sales, gifts to ship and the pile keeps growing!! 19 packages finished and ready to mail and what happens? I ran out of packaging tape. So,I really had 20 packages to take to the post office!

What a day!
Thanks for looking in. :0)

December Photo Diary - Day 6 Saturday

So, this is from yesterday, Saturday. A day that hubby and I spend together and, yes, he actually suggested we go see Twilight. No, he hasn't read the book but he's started it. Yes, he has read the rotten reviews and still suggested going with me to see it. I knew he wouldn't like it. I knew he'd be bored! But, it was his idea, after all! When we came out he didn't say much except that the acting was pretty crappy. I didn't care...I just wanted to see it, and I'm glad I did. I know I'm past 50 but I liked it!

Then we spotted this house with a huge front yard and it was FULL of Christmas inflatables!! I mean from end to end, FULL!! I couldn't get a picture from one direction so dh actually slowed down so I could get a pic on the way home...not nearly as good as from the other direction. I love taking pictures of "Tacky Christmas Houses" as we call them.

Then a quick stop at Target for a few gift cards for St. Joe's Orphanage - Tracy's office is collecting them for the kids this year so I thought I'd chip in.

Gas is still creeping down! I couldn't believe I actually saw it for under $1.50! But, that wasn't very near my house. It's only a matter of time, though!

Dear Hubby frowns on me taking lots of pictures so that's one reason why there's only 6 for today and 3 of them are gas prices!
:0)
Thanks for looking in.

December Photo Diary - Day 5

Yay, I'm finally caught up...well, almost.

Yesterday brought on another headache...I wish I could figure out why I'm getting so many all over again! Another trip to the post office...good for business. A trip to the bank for Girl Scouts...wish they were mine. And, gas came down again...always good news.

And, they chocolate spoons...got the learning curve down. This batch came out great! So, I've got some for my friends and some go into a gift basket for bowling on Monday.

Probably the best is that my Snapfish book came...the one that Oprah gave away on her show a few weeks ago. I agonized over it for a few days; I was obsessed with it, but it turned out great. I love it and can't wait to show it to my family.

Oh, yeah, got the carpet cleaned upstairs. Frank wanted that done before my other daughter and her boyfriend came home for winter break.

Thanks for looking in
:0)

December Photo Diary Day 4

Thursday...not very exciting. Small mosaic. BUT, The gas was 2 different prices at the same gas station on the same day! Now, isn't that exciting??

Adam Luther went with me to the post office and on other errands for the day - my social secretary to keep me on track. And, yes, he IS buckled is...what kind of a mother do you think I am!)

I also moved all my computer and Ebay sales stuff downstairs, now that the carpet is finished.

December Photo Diary - Day 3

The carpet stretcher guys finally came (said they would come yesterday but never showed!). They brought their "power stretcher" and did the downstairs in record time and left a big pile of scraps in their wake....just wondering where all that extra carpet came from anyway???

Wednesday means Weight Watcher day and, while the scale did go down, I wasn't brave enough to photograph the scale! - at least not yet. :0)

Then to baking! I love baking these little cookies because they are SO easy and look SO good. They are chocolate chip cookie dough baked in mini muffin pans. Then, as soon as they come out of the oven, you pop in Hershey Kisses! This time I used the traditional Milk Chocolate, and I tried the Mint Truffle and the Peppermint. All look great. I have to bring some to my bowling league holiday party on Monday and a huge amount will go to the Holiday Boutique bake sale at my synagogue tomorrow. The peppermints (red/white) are for bowling.

:0) Thanks for looking in.

I've been a little lax but I will try to be better. This mosaic is from December 2. I've decided to use my December Photo Diary to watch the gas fluctuate. I know it's weird but I've always had a habit of watching gas prices and now, for a change, they are actually dropping!!

But, on this day, we had to have our pool table moved off the carpet because the carpet needed to be re-stretched, soooo..... $165 later, it is on the linoleum and waiting for the carpet guys to come.

I was also busy on the scrapping table making 2 journal books - one for my sister's birthday and one for me for an on line challenge called Well...Scrap About It! And, yeah, hit the market for some frozen dinners...thought they looked neat in the basket all jumbled up. :0)

December Photo Diary

Here's my first December photo mosaic. Monday mornings mean bowling at Lyndon Lanes but this morning it also meant a headache. The Christmas cactus has been renamed the Holiday cactus because it doesn't matter what time of year it is when it decides to bloom...Halloween, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving...it has it's own internal calendar. Today was a gloomy, rainy day but seeing $1.58 gas brightened it up a little.

Needing a Pair of Shoes...

I am in need of a pair of Coleco sneakers with blue stripes...please contact me at pkush@bellsouth.net
Thanks.
PeggyK

Coleco Orange Jacket!!!

Had to ask this again as I really need to find one:

An orange nylon jacket that goes over the orange/white stripe shirt and jeans set. Please email me
pkush@bellsouth.net
:0)
PeggyK

LOOKING FOR...

An orange nylon jacket that goes over the orange/white stripe shirt and jeans set. Please email me
pkush@bellsouth.net
:0)
PeggyK

Lots of NEW Kids added to my READOPTION ROOM...

Including a girl in a sailboat dress!

http://picasaweb.google.com/PeggyBK01/READOPTIONROOM#

Please stop by and take a look.
:0)
PeggyK
pkush@bellsouth.net

Added to the Mega Sale!!!

YAY! I finally figured it out! Thanks for those great directions.

Anyway, I've added some kids and other things. Please check them out. I'm willing to deal!
:0)
PeggyK

Sailboat Dresses...

Are they still HTF? Are they still desireable and commanding high $$?
PeggyK

The Whole Experience - Lay Out Style

I managed to find some time to do some layouts to really express how I felt about my Saturday at the Magic Crystal Valley Museum; the day I met Xavier Roberts, the creator of the Cabbage Patch Kids.
He was a most gracious person! Each of us got private "audiences" with him and we never felt rushed. He listened to what we had to say, talked and joked with us and he made us feel very comfortable.

One of my thrills was to give Xavier the birthday card that I had made just for him. I had never made a greeting card before and I wanted it to be just perfect! He opened it and read it and made very appreciative comments about it to me. He even noticed that I had his correct birthday on the front! As if I didn't know when his birthday was!!!























This hug was incredible! I don't remember exactly what I said to him that made him hug me but boy, am I glad that he did! I will never, ever forget this!!























This was the very first time that Xavier had visited Pat & Joe's Magic Crystal Valley Museum. They got everything ready for Xavier's arrival and were only just a little nervous. Xavier was just taken back by their private collection! He arrived the day before the rest of the collectors and spent 2 solid hours inside looking at all the details! He absolutely loved it!!
























Xavier spent 3 hours with the collectors signing Anniversary Kids, cutting birthday cake, inspecting vintage soft sculpture kids that collectors brought, taking tons of pictures and just being himself. Everywhere around us were cameras snapping away. I got to see lots of old friends and met some that I'd only talked to before on line. All in all it was a great day that I will long, long remember!!

I VOTED!!

WHAT A GREAT DAY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!