Cuffets anyone?

A co-worker cleaned out and non used desk here at work and brought me this . Cuffets; the vynalete wave to that has YET to sweep the nation! Used to protect your sleeves. Amazing what patents you can get...LOL The add says 1958 and petty dang good shape. Wondering if anyone actually wore these?

Having a good monday

You know when your house is in order when you wake up in the morning everything runs much smoother. I do NOT have toys in my living room!! Yay!! Made a new rule! No more toys in the living room. The boys have been having major trouble picking up after themselves lately and I am sick of it. So any toys that make it to the living room gets boxed up and put away. So far only a leapster has been grounded. They have been very good so far!

Did not do too much this weekend besides housework. Did get a nice visit from a Friend Sunday! You know who you are and THANK YOU!! Worked on a project I am doing for Sarah, and finished some cards for a cards swap! Other than that just did laundry and watched Extreme Home Makeover. Cried the whole show. If any one else saw it they would understand!!

Have had lots of comments and emails on the Sr. Portraits and I want to thank you all! The icing on the cake is that she Really liked them! She has been showing all her friends and giving me good Publicity!! Keep your fingers crossed!

Got my hotel room reserved today for the night of the STONES concert!! sooooo excited for that!!

Not much else to report! Have a good Monday everyone!!

Ponderings from me...

Why is it I look forward to Fridays more than any other day of the week? Is it because its dress down day at work and I can go in jeans? Or maybe its because the BOSS is hardly here on Fridays and i can get away with slacking? No its because Friday nights is my nights to cut loose and relax with the boys. Its the one night I don't rush to get dinner and dished done and two loads of laundry before bed. I don't have to worry about taking out the garbage or scouring sinks. Its our night to kick our shoes off and watch movies and eat pizza! I LOVE that time. Even the kids have it down pat what we do Friday. Tonight we are watching "twitches" on the Disney channel and making the pizza together. Sometimes that's more fun than getting it from Dominoes. They love shredding the cheese and spreading out the dough. I plan on taking pics of them to make a page about this tradition. Do you have a tradition with your family that goes on unnoticed? Something that happens so often that its a way of life now? Have you journaled or scrapped about it? I think you should! If you want to post links to your Traditions pages please do so!

Had a dream last night about a very dear friend that I used to have. He was so close he was my "brother". His name was Josh Jones. Our Sr year he crashed and was ejected from the car. He survived but with serious brain injury, and was NEVER the same since. He became angry and bitter and mean. I wonder now where he is and if he has changed back into my Josh. Sometimes things like this makes me remember that things can change faster than you can imagine. Also, all the what ifs...What if he had put on his seat belt? What if he had died? What if he had a fight with his parents and he had never made up? If you are out there Josh, know I think about you occasionally and wish you well..........

More sr Pics....

Did these last night. In "studio" These are my favs!!! Click here to see more.

Feeling of joy

Sometimes I run across a photo I have taken that gives me a complete feeling of joy! This photo is NOT of a  human (which is my favorite thing to shoot) but of the lovely pumpkins lined up waiting for adoption at our local U-pick pumpkin patch. We have been going there for 3 years now and look forward to it every year. Last year the wind blew 60 miles an hour while we were out there so I got NO shots! This year I got a bunch!

Wondering today WHY we carve pumpkins. I know its not for the itchy orange colored hands I get after scooping out the goop, or the roasted seeds cuz I cant stand those. I know why I do it, but why do WE do it? Did a little research...

The term Jack of the Lantern first appeared in print in 1750 and referred to a night watchman or a man carrying a lantern. Previous to print, it was used to describe a strange light flickering over the marshes of Ireland. If approached, the light advanced and was always out of reach. The mysterious occurrence is also known as will o' the wisp and ignis fatuus, Gaelic for foolish fire. However, its legendary status reaches far back into Irish folklore with a story of a stingy drunkard named Jack.

Jack, an Irish blacksmith, had the misfortune of running into the Devil in a pub on Halloween. Jack had imbibed a bit too much that evening and was about to fall prey to the Devil, but the quick thinking trickster made a bargain with the Devil, nonetheless. In exchange for one last drink, Jack offered up his soul. The Devil changed his form into a sixpence in which to make payment to the bartender, but Jack pocketed the coin in a bag with a silver cross with the knowledge that the Devil couldn't revert form. Once under Jack's thumb, and in his purse, the Devil agreed not to come for Jack's soul for another ten years.

Ten years later, the Devil came across Jack walking on a country road and explained to him that he was there to collect Jack's soul. Not ready to go, Jack, pretending to comply, asked the Devil if he would climb an apple tree first and give him an apple. The Devil, thinking he had nothing to lose, climbed the tree, but as he was plucking the requested apple, Jack pulled out his knife and carved the sign of the cross in the tree's trunk. The Devil was unable to come back down and Jack procured an agreement from him. The Devil would never take his soul.

Years later, Jack finally died. He went to Heaven, but was dismissed from the gates due to his drinking, tricking, and miserly ways. He then went to Hell, but was denied entrance because the Devil remembered his promise. Jack asked, "But where am I to go?" And the Devil replied, "Back to where you came from".

The way back was dark and windy, so Jack pleaded with the Devil to at least grant him light in which to find his way. The Devil, in a magnanimous un-Devil like manner, tossed Jack an ember from the fires of Hell. Jack shielded the ember in a turnip he'd been eating and left Hell to wander back.

Ever since, Jack has been doomed to wander in the darkness alone, and his name and lantern are synonymous with a damned soul.

The fear of souls like Jack's venturing back to the warmth of their previous homes on Halloween spawned a custom that is carried on today. Originally, Irish villagers, concerned about the possibility of visits from past occupants, would dress in costume to frighten away ghosts. They also left food outside the door to appease the spirits and carved or painted faces on turnips, potatoes, rutabagas, or beets to place in windows or doors in order to chase away ghosts with the symbol of a damned soul.

The Irish Potato Famine of the mid-1800's prompted a massive immigration to the Americas. With the Irish, came their beliefs and traditions, including the use of a jack o' lantern. The Irish discovered that turnips were not readily available in the Americas and substituted the vegetable with pumpkins instead.

The jack o' lantern is easily the most recognized and used symbol of Halloween in modern age. Not only is it used outside front doors in traditional form, but it's become the veritable treat container for trick or treaters. While the face of the jack o' lantern has changed over the years with the advent of pumpkin carving kits, it's still an ongoing tradition.

So there you have it! Have fun with your pumkins this year!!!

Favs

Here are some of my favs from my photoshoot this weekend....

BANNERS!!

If anyone out there has any tricks to making the cool banners I see on all the typepad blogs I would love to find out how to do it!!!

PLEASE!!??