Denton Community Market

Last weekend (or was it the one before?) we went to a very cool "happening," the Denton Community Market. I don't know what else to call it since it was a combination flea market/craft fair/farmer's market with live music. Denton is a small college town about 30 minutes north of us. It's much groovier than I ever thought. I got so excited that I didn't remember to take any pictures. The market was fairly small - we walked through it in about 30 minutes. While we were there I learned about the Denton Etsy Barn Sale, which I will definitely also be attending!

I bought two bags and a super cool coat hook. This picture only has one bag because I sent the other one to Chicken Little. It's oil cloth on one side and cotton on the other. You can take your stuff to the pool and keep it dry. Then, on the way home, when everything is wet, turn the bag inside out and put the wet stuff in it. CLEVER!!

The coat hook is upside down in the picture. It looks a bit spidery, but it's much neater in person. We're going to hang it on the wall outside by the pool. Perfect for holding suits and towels - yea!

If you're ever in the area on the second Saturday of the month, check it out.

Wordle

Is anyone else hooked on making word clouds at Wordle.net? I found this website through Maryann at Domestically Speaking, and have spent so much time there making these super cool pictures! Love them!!

This is the first one that I did using words that remind me of Fall. I totally stole this idea from Maryann. The trick is the more times you use the words, the bigger they will show up in your "cloud".

Then, I made this one using words that remind me of Chicken Little and sent it to her. I knew that she would love this site better than anyone. Of course, she promptly went and made her own pictures and posted them on her blog.

I think maybe I need to cut down on the number of words I use. That would probably make them a little more graphic because they wouldn't be so busy. It's free, so you can experiment like crazy until you get it just the way you like it. You can also change the colors to fit the theme. FUN STUFF!

You could literally spend HOURS (and maybe I have) playing around here. I'm sitting here thinking I need to go and create something for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then Valentine's Day. Also, wouldn't these be fun to create as birthday presents for all your kids, nieces, nephews, etc.?

Gratitude Friday

That's our dog doing her very best pig impression. She's got her face smushed into the couch begging for food (goldfish crackers or chips, most likely). It's gross... Thank you to Chicken Little for this picture. It makes me laugh.

This week I'm thankful for:

1. Saturday

2. Online pizza ordering (it's been a really busy week). :-)

3. Buttercream frosting (don't ask).

4. Cool mornings and warm afternoons.

5. The public library! How long has it been since you've been to one? Did you know that you don't even have to make a trip to the actual building any more? At least with our library you can now "check out" and download audio books electronically! It downloads right to your ipod and its FREE (of course)! Woo hoo!!! LOVE THAT!

Spirit Week??

I don't know how I ended up being the leader of the Employee Engagement initiative for my company, but I was the lucky winner of this task. Among many other programs that I'm launching for this, my boss wanted to have a company "Spirit Week".

Needless to say, I have very little time for picture taking or blogging this week. Here are a few pictures I've been taking at the office.

Monday was "Hats Off to You" day. This is the group that wore hats. I'm the one on the far left wearing my "church-lady" hat. I especially loved the girl's pirate hat - that was my favorite! :)

Yesterday was wear your Green day (our logo is lime green), and the picture above is our local HR team (I'm on the far right) in all our green-glory. We celebrated with green cupcakes and custom m&m's in the afternoon.

Today we're having a global culture (celebrating our diversity) potluck...

I find it extremely ironic that I am leading this since I am probably the MOST UN-spirited person in the company. I also am not a party-planner. I'm really terrible at the details. This would have been fine except that in addition to the global program launch, I'm the site leader for our office in Plano. This means that I actually have to coordinate some activities for this office during this week. Argh! (plus I have to continue to do my REAL job!)

I did have enough sense to put out the call for volunteers to be on an Event Committee. I only got two victims, uh I mean, volunteers. These wonderful people have really stepped up to do the bulk of the planning and executing. THANK GOODNESS!

Hope you are all having a spirited week of your own. I'm eager to catch up on all my blog reading this weekend.

I Wanna Win!

I promise, this will be my last Fall decoration post...at least from my house.

I'm LOVING the pumpkins I put on the porch and in the yard the best of all. We have a Yard of the Month contest in the neighborhood, and I. Want. To. Win!

I just hope that they do the judging when all of the mums are blooming. There aren't any pictures of those because they haven't opened yet. I think by next weekend they should be out in all their glory. I know, I know, I shouldn't care that much, but I just can't help it. I've seen those other winners and they are not anywhere near as pretty as mine... ahem...in my humble opinion. :-)

Anyway, here's the porch...

I just love my shiny pumpkins. I'm hoping that the Mop 'n' Glo helps preserve them as well as shining them up. (If you want shiny pumpkins, read here for how to do it.)

So that was my little tiny porch, and then I put these pumpkins in the corner of one of the front flower beds. The other side has the mums that are about to open, so no room for pumpkins over there. The mums on this side didn't fare as well - the ones in the picture are the only ones that came back this year.

Hmmm... looking at this last one, I'm thinking we need to put down fresh mulch...maybe that's what the judges are looking for. And if they don't pick our yard this year, then it will be painfully obvious that they have no taste at all. ;-)

And the Fall Love Continues...

Ok - so now I admit that I'm being a little self-indulgent at this point, but I've got a just a few more pictures of my Fall decorating. These pics are from the kitchen table and island.

Same decorations, but I took the picture from opposite ends of the table - gotta get both viewpoints, right?

I LOVE this pumpkin. I think it was called Long Island Cheese (or something like that), or I could be WAY off - doesn't really matter, I just really love the squatty-ness of it and the color is great.

And one more angle.... I'm ready to paint the kitchen. It's a deep eggplant, and I still like it, but I think I'm ready for something a little lighter.

I just put this bowl of gourds on the island. I wanted to keep it simple and easy to move out of the way.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Gratitude Friday

This week I am grateful for:

1. Sunsets like this. The colors were not vibrant, but the subtle yellows and grays were amazing and the clouds looked like they were painted up there taking broad strokes with a mostly dry brush. Amazing!

2. My summer garden is in recovery. Everything had shriveled and wilted in the heat of August, but now that the air is getting cooler and there is a little crispness in the mornings, all of the plants seem to be perking right back up. This hibiscus and the fern right next to it are loving their little corner of the world - they have gotten huge! Before the first frost, I'll have to move them into the garage if I want to keep them alive. That is going to require cleaning out at least one small corner of the garage - let's not think about that part right now. :-)

3. Most of the mums that I planted in the front flower beds last year have come back. They are about to go crazy blooming and I can't wait.

4. Guilty pleasures - Glee and Biggest Loser have started their new seasons and I LOVE those shows!

5. The comfort that comes from knowing that God has a bigger plan for us than even we can dream. All will be well.