Just Do It

Just Do It.........October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and if you haven't scheduled a mammogram for yourself........now is the time to do it! Do it for yourself, do it for your family, do it because we need to take control of our health and be on the defensive against this ugly disease. We are all so busy in our lives trying to take care of everything, our jobs, our family, our homes that we forget to take care of the most important thing which is our health.

My Mom....Helen Marie

This is how I remember her

It's a simple procedure, it doesn't hurt and you could save a life......yours. If found early it is often treatable! You're worth it! So Just Do It! Get a mammogram. I was 36 when I started my yearly mammograms, you are never too young.

14 years ago on October 28th, 1996 breast cancer took my mom. She was 67, I was 36 years old. She had been diagnosed in May of 1991, just two months after my twins were born. She went through a mastectomy, all the treatments and was given a clean bill of health.....she was in remission. Then, just when she hit her 5 year marker, she said she wasn't feeling well, she had pain in her back, it was July 1996. I urged her to make an appointment with her doctor. I will never forget that day in mid July. It was my sister's birthday when mom told us it had come back and she was terminal and was given 3 months to live. The demon was back and it was growing throughout her body, it was already in her bones. Stage 4.

All I could think was .....3 Months!!!!! That is not enough time!!! Not enough time for me to have my mom! Not enough time for her to watch my children grow! How could I possibly put a lifetime into 3 months! How could I share all the things I needed to share with my mom in 3 months. I wanted her to teach me how to make her famous homemade bread and sweet rolls, so I could make them for my children. There wasn't enough time for all the things I wanted. What I did was spend every day with my mom, letting her know how much I loved her. And almost to the day, it was only 3 months that we had left.

Please, schedule a mammogram for yourself......Just Do It!

Until Later,

Toni

Remembering

With the weather getting cooler I find myself baking more.

Banana Nut Bread.

Just a simple recipe from my 1963 McCall's Recipe Book.

But, oh so yummy.....

I love how my home warms with the delicious aromas.

My boys enjoy the fruits of my labor.....

just as I did when I was a young girl

and my mom would bake.

While I was baking my thoughts drifted to when I was young and I would come home to the smell of my mom's homemade cinnamon rolls. In the country where we lived...she was famous for them and her homemade bread. There would be bowls of dough rising on the stove, always covered with a cloth. Trays of cinnamon rolls cooling, waiting to be frosted with mom's delicious frosting. Once she rolled out the dough on our kitchen table, us kids would be allowed to help spread the melted butter, cinnamon and sugar. With her recipe she would make cinnamon rolls, bear claws and during the holidays she would twist the dough into candy cane shapes and make the stripes out of strawberry jelly and frosting........oh they were mouth watering delicious! We lived in the country and us kids attended a little two room country school. Whenever we had a class party, both teachers and all my classmates begged for me to bring my mother's homemade cinnamon rolls. She would always oblige. I remember one such occasion, I promised my class that my mom would make her cinnamon rolls, only I forgot to tell her until bedtime, which at that time was 9:00. Because she used yeast and the dough had to rise a couple of times, my mom stayed up all night making those cinnamon rolls for me and my classmates.......frosting them as she drove me to school........never once did she complain.

She has been gone 14 years next month...I miss her terribly.....and I cherish the memories of mom's famous cinnamon rolls.

Toni ♥

I'm Late...I'm Late....I'm Late....

I'm late in posting.....but, I have a really good excuse ;) These past 3+ weeks have been busy. First my sweet daddy came up to visit with me on Memorial Day weekend. I haven't seen him since I moved here almost two years ago. That's him on the right and the cowboy to the left of him is my dad's BIL...my Uncle Tip. Aunt Ruth (my dad's sister) and Uncle Tip came from Enterprise, Oregon, about 3 hours away to visit with my dad while he was here. My dad was able to stay for four days. I wish it could have been longer. He is coming back in September to visit a few more days. We had a great visit!! I miss him soooo much! I was almost ready to go back to Cali with him.






After Memorial Day weekend it was time to celebrate my youngest, Tyler's birthday. He turned 18 on June 5th. I shared his birthday in an earlier post.

In between visiting with my dad and celebrating my youngest son's milestone birthday I was trying to get ready for the sale I was participating in. "Miss Gracies" and Friends sale that was being held on June 11th & 12th. In reality......I gave myself about a week and a half to get items ready for the sale. I know, crazy huh?? I tell myself that I work best under pressure! While I was busy setting up my booth, my son Tyler was kind enough to take some photos of the wonderful treasures that were being offered ....

Here is my space in the red barn. I was working on getting it set up for the sale which was about to open in 3 hours! We were down to the wire......




Another look at my booth in progress.....

It's starting to take shape....only an hour to go before the customers arrive.....

I loved the vintage green door and wasn't sure if I could sell it.

It sold......

Many, Many happy customers with their purchases.......

LOVE this vanity.......

I think I am going to have to steal....errr....borrow this idea with the door and shutters.

LOVE it!!

Another adorable piece!.....

Beautiful.........

I wanted this cabinet and my heart nearly broke when I found out that she was not for sale.....
she was display only....

This beautiful mirror caught my eye also. My son reminded me that there was absolutely no more room for another mirror in our home.

Isn't she beautiful???

Treasures......

More treasures........This is Marilyn's booth from The Gatherings. She will be having a blog soon, which I will share with you all as soon as her blog is up and running.

More of Marilyn's booth......

Marilyn has beautiful treasures......I found a great bowl she had that I had to have ;) It can be dangerous doing these sales as I have a tendency to purchase from other vendors more than I sell!!

Rustic......Love

The green door was my favorite and sold before I could grab it!

Darn!!

I have a lot of catching up to do.....so I'll be posting more. I have missed a few weeks of Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality's Today's Thrifty Treasures. I have found some great treasures and I have a couple of projects in the works. Hope you don't mind a few more posts. I feel like I have been gone forever. I will say that I have found time over the last few weeks to visit with some of you, I couldn't miss visiting with you all ;)

Until Later,

♥ Toni

Happy 18th Birthday Tyler

Today my youngest, Tyler, is 18!!! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. I look at all of my sons and still picture them...............as when I first held them in my arms.

This is the sweet little bundle God blessed me with......I cradled him in my arms and marvelled at the beautiful little miracle I was blessed with.

In a blink of an eye he has turned into a man. A wonderful man who is thoughtful, kind, generous and very loving.........a young man I am very proud of.

From the moment he was placed in my arms......he has taken my breath away!

Happy Birthday son!!! I Love You!

Proud of you and proud to be your momma!

Until later,

♥Toni

"Big Fish"

Once again, I have to brag a little about my youngest son's latest "1st Place" win along with his "Big Fish" win! This is his second year in the Payette River Bassmasters fishing club and he is doing really well and so enjoying it. Next year he will be able to participate in the "adult" category and have the opportunity to win money....which he is really excited about. Last year was his first year of fishing and he was able to place twice ...1st and then championship.

So far this year he has placed 3rd and now 1st and Big Fish.

A wonderful past time that he really enjoys and seems to have a knack for. I hope to be able to go to some of his tournaments this year. My obligations to my ex MIL and her care have prevented me from being able to attend his tournaments.

Look at how handsome he is. Yup...that's my boy :)

Until Later,

♥ Toni

Trust Me I Can Do It

Hi lovely Blogerettes!! Today was such a beautiful day!! We just couldn't stay inside. I cleaned out my SUV, which needed it desperately and then worked on a couple of projects. While I was busy doing my thing...my son Tyler decided he was going to do a project on his own. He decided to take down a dead tree that was in our yard. Not a big tree, but a dead tree that was looking like a big ol' stick in the ground. If you look real close in the first picture, you can see it on the left. (Sorry, but once again I forgot to get a before picture). Can you see it? Yes......that thing that looks like a stick.



Ty loves to work, loves the physical aspect of it. Which is good for me, cause I can always find things for him to do ;) But this little project he volunteered for. This photo is of him putting the lawn back together :) Sorry this photo is a little out of sync.

He's working on the roots in this photo. You can see the "tree" in the background.

Adding some filler dirt to the hole.



Of course, I'm telling him to make sure to get the grass back on top and don't forget to water it so we're not left with a brown spot. He says...Trust Me Mom I Can Do It. I have to ask, when did you go from my little boy to a young man????? He smiles.

My strong son with the "tree" he just took out.

Gotta love this kid! I asked him if I could take his picture while he removed the tree, his reply "Are you going to put it on your blog?"

Yes.

Yeah, it's okay..he tells me.

Until Later,

♥ Toni