It's not just a washing machine......it's not just a house!

This week has been a busy week, and it's just too bad I had to use my vacation to work so hard at home! I just about have every thing at the house done that I wanted to do before the Realtor list the house and has an open house. Weeks of sorting through belongings and a sale will be taking place tomorrow and Saturday.....and yes, I am selling SO MANY of my beloved vintage treasures. It is bittersweet knowing I have let so much go and won't be moving it and then on the flip side, I know I am ready to free myself from so much stuff.

This week was also filled with some tears as well. My little neighbor across the street just cried when I told her we were putting out house up for sale. It broke my heart to have to even tell her, but I had to let her know before the sign went in the yard. My next door neighbor keeps trying to talk me into staying every chance he gets. My heart strings are in every fiber of this house and my sweet neighbors I have had for thirty years. I have lived here all my adult life and raised my family here and it is not easy thinking about leaving. I love my house and my yard and have loved our life here. It is a inner battle I continue to fight.

I sometimes have an attachment to things and I thought about that this week as I was sorting our belongings into piles. I was reminded of an appliance that I kept holding on to for years. When Steve and I got married, his dad bought us a washing machine. I loved that darn washing machine and after a time, it began to show signs of wear. The lid of the machine had rusted out in one spot and you seriously had to remove the lid to load it and then gently replace it to wash the clothes. I refused to get another one, as this one worked fine. Steve tried for YEARS to replace it and I refused to let him. He often would say it was just a washing machine, and we need a new one but I refused to replace it. Finally, when the machine was fast approaching 20 years old, Steve had enough and we went and purchased a new machine. We brought the new one home, I sold the old one in a garage sale for $20.00 and I discovered what a fantastic thing it was to have a new machine to wash the clothes with. I wondered why I fought so hard and refused to get a new machine for so many years. I was so surprised at how great the new one was as opposed to my old, falling apart machine.

I was reminded that the move we will be making can be compared  to that old washing machine. I am still fighting it and feeling overwhelmed at the thought of leaving here. However,  just like that new washing machine, I know we will be on to better things and happier times. I just have to keep telling myself that. Now if you can imagine how hard it was for me to let go of an old rusted out, old washing machine, you should be able to understand the emotions of leaving my house of many, many years.......it truly is more than just a house.

I am counting on when the day comes and we are settled into our new house I have those same thoughts I had over that washer......."now, why did we not do this long before now......."


Send good junkin vibes my way and that all the junkers out there who will love my treasures find their way to my sale. I hope the right people who loves vintage treasures will take my stuff home and love it as much as I have. It will be a hard couple of days for me I am sure, but I just have to keep going in the direction I want to end up and this is the first huge step!

Happy New Year......Welcome Twenty-fifteen

Happy New Year!! The first day of a brand new year.......what will be different? What will be the same? How do you feel about that? What can you do to make things in your life better? Lots of questions spinning in my head the dawn of this day.


I find myself with lots of questions about these things on the beginning of a whole new year. It occurred to me that many years I have faced the prospect of a new year and hopeful some things will be different. However, when it is time to see the year out, I discover that as so many times before, things are still the same. Nothing has changed at all. Then, I play the blame game...and the only one responsible for that was myself.

Twenty-fourteen was not one of the best years in the record books, but it certainly was not the worst one either. There was lots of sadness and a huge share of unrest during the past year. That is normal on the grand scheme of things, but when looking back over the year and there are stand out moments that pierce your soul....sometimes, like it or not, there has to be a common factor for those types of stand out memories, good or bad.

Twenty-fourteen did however, have some wonderful, joyful and totally unexpected stand out moments for me as well. It's the little things that surprisingly enough make the largest impact on your day. I found that very thing this past year when a young rooster wandered into the field behind my house. A rooster of all things. I never liked birds, never wanted chickens, never had an interest in them at all, and never, and I mean never had a desire for fresh eggs. That one little rooster wrapped his feathers around my heart and I found myself to be a backyard chicken keeper. I have never looked back." The Chicken Resort" was born....I have shared a lot of this journey on facebook, but will share more here on my blog this next year. The lesson for me was don't over look the little things, because those are the things that become big things. I can attest to that..joy was surely found in my back yard and I would never have imagined it to be so. The Chicken Resort is really a stand out moment and was certainly unexpected.

Twenty-fifteen is here.....the dawn of a new year. This year I have adopted two words that I will most definitely apply to my life throughout the year. The last part of twenty-fourteen opened my eyes to a lot of things and one of them was the fact I can not keep holding on to things that do not bring happiness or make my life better.  I have held on to many things for far too many years in the hopes of all of this will make my life happier, better, or complete. I have learned finally, that just is not the case. It is now time to let go of it all. It is time to focus on what I need to do to get where I want to end up. It may very well mean changing how I think, feel or react to things things, but letting go of all the negativity that surrounds an unrealistic way of thinking should be a positive start in the right direction.

"Letting go" will certainly be the running anthem for the new year in every aspect of my life. I have decided that by doing that....I will be freeing myself from facing a new year with the same unrealistic hope that things will just change on their own. If change is to come, I have to make the changes. It will be like a breath of fresh air. Hanging on to things...and I have lots of things is first and foremost in the letting go part of my new year. Hanging on to unrealistic ideals and opinions of people in my life will go as well. If they don't bring joy or appreciate the joy I try to bring to the relationships, then they will be let go of as well or the very least scaled down.


I am hopeful for a new year that the right changes will have the most impact  in my life. For me, I get stuck in a rut and wait for someone, something to make it better. I have not lived up to my potential for several years and for the first time in my life, I see what has, or what I have allowed to hold me back. I am going to "Let Go" of all of those things, and I am looking ahead at Twenty-fifteen with a heart wide open for what is to come.

Blogging friends...I am back! Thank you one and all who certainly impacted my life during December in a huge way. You truly, TRULY have no idea of the impact you made on my heart and thoughts in the last couple of weeks. I am forever thankful for my wonderful friends from afar! My heart sisters!!

Now....stop and think about what your words will be for the New Year....no resolutions...just actions!!   Letting Go!!

Vintage Thingie Thursday: Vintage Inspired Toys ~ Christmas Gifts From Marshall's

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday

If you have a love for vintage things, well....you have come to the right place. We have a really good time each and every week!!!
If you are new to this party, please take the time to read and follow the instructions for participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday, click HERE. I try and keep things fairly simple, so please make sure you follow the instructions. Please only ONE link per week. Lastly, if you link in, LINK back to my blog, so everyone can see all of the vintage goodies on display that day. If you don't link back here, they won't know who to visit......thanks so much.

Okay, folks, I know I have just skipped all the way over Thanksgiving and went straight to Christmas this year. Guess I have joined the retail world in that regards. I will tell you however, on facebook, I am doing the 30 day challenge of posting once a day something I am thankful for, so I really did not skip Thanksgiving all together, just here on the blog!

Anyway, I wanted to share these great vintage inspired toys that are at our local Marshall's. I love that store. Marshall's always has cute and unique things for any gift giving occasion. Along with some awesome vintage inspired Christmas decor this year, they also have some neat toys this year.

Look at this cute Balloon kit...love the packaging! As a kid, I know I would have been intrigued by this toy, but I have always been a little scared of balloons popping. But I know as a kid, I would have wanted to learn to make these figures....heck, I wish I knew how today at my age!

All of these toys are from Lucky Lad, and this magic trick would totally been right up my alley. I always loved magic tricks. I asked for a magic trick set one  year for Christmas, and I know I got one and wonder if it was something like this one. You know why I was so interested in a magic trick set??

Okay, I will tell you.....my family was invited to dinner once to my dad's bosses house. Of course we were lectured on how to act, mind your manners and all that spill we  remember well our parents saying from our childhoods. My dad's philosophy was "Children are meant to be seen and not heard"  Seriously, I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard that. 

Anyway.....after dinner and before we were to leave, the boss's daughter, who was maybe my age had a table set up and she put on a magic show. The thing that stuck with me the most was my dad sat there even after he announced we were leaving, he laughed, he acted engaged and he acted like he really enjoyed that magic show. I took note of that because if it had been myself wanting to put on a magic show, it would have never happened. I was too young to realize at the time he did not really care about seeing that magic show at all. Instead, he was putting on a show for his boss, forty five years later it makes sense.

Likewise, I did get a magic set that year for Christmas, but the only ones who enjoyed the  magic show I desperately wanted to preform, were my stuffed animals. Dad never had the time to see that magic show I wanted to give. Mainly, because there were no bosses to impress at our house....he was the boss. It's sorta strange what triggers memories....this silly magic trick toy brought that to the front of my mind today as I touched the box sitting on the shelf. It was strange that after all this time, the memory still brought a sting of disappointment.

Anyway, moving right along, I also had Jacks....but the jacks I had came in little packages that were displayed on spinning display racks at the corner grocery store. I know that because my memaw bought many a Jacks set for me from the corner store. I love the box these came in.

Look at the adorable box these magic rings come in! I am thinking these would be so cute underneath a little tree. I have decided I won't buy them for myself, but I have been tempted as I thought about these today after seeing them.

Joke books were also something I enjoyed as a young kid. These practical joke gadgets are things I know I had at one time in my childhood. I remember the nail in the finger most of all!

If there is someone on your Christmas list who enjoys these types of toys, these really bring back a lot of memories...some good, some not so good, but memories of long ago just the same! I think they would make great stocking stuffers!

Happy Vintage Thingie Thursday......and in case you are wondering....Marshall's only knows me for handing over wads of cash...nothing more! I just wanted to share these today, I thought they were really a blast from the past.

" What You Don't Know, Can't Hurt You"

I don't know about you, but I tend to be one who suffers and endures things for long periods of time. I tend to do that instead of reaching deep within myself to gather the courage to do something about the issue.

Aside from blaming my problem on procrastination when it comes to health issues, most of the time the real culprit is plain ole fear of facing the truth. Or, perhaps it is the truth of the unknown or what could be discovered that cause me to endure the inconveniences that certain health problems create.

Far too long, I chose to live with the motto "what you don't know can't hurt you" and still, even today, I tend to carry that as my life anthem. That is what fear does to you folks, sad but true.

What do you think happens when you have endured all you can for months and months and it causes your life to be completely non-existent? The struggles of day to day life get so heavy, it is all you can do to make it through one day at a time.

 Likewise, ultimately, while dealing with one's own inner health struggles, slowly but surely, those around you don't get there is anything wrong. You are suddenly, and are falsely accused of not putting your family first. These same family members don't really care to look closer and even wonder if there could be a problem other than the false accusations they hurl your way. Is it a six sense that causes close relatives to turn their back on you? Never call? Funny, after months and months of that sort of treatment, you realize you really are not that important anyway to those individuals.

Finally one day, you wake up and realize the only person you are responsible for is yourself....and if you need fixing, than it is your own responsibility to get yourself fixed up and back on the road to enjoying life.  I don't always feel the need to "tell" anyone what is going on or what is wrong, simply because I carry things on my own and deal with them accordingly. One thing I have sadly learned is those that care, related to you or not, will be there even when you are not doing or acting in a way they feel they deserve from you.

A few weeks ago, I did what I knew needed to be done for a long time. I made the step into taking care of some personal health problems. I told no one, with the exception of my husband and kids and a few close friends...there was really no need, as I was worried enough for everyone. I went into that experience with the attitude, "what you don't know can't hurt you", kept it to myself and pushed myself to get it taken care of.

You had better know there is more to this story, and well, like any good storyteller, I intend to tell it in hopes of bringing a chuckle or two.

First thing to remember is this...the doctors are so very quick to tell you that your discomfort will be minimum and you will feel fine very quickly. They insist this procedure you are having has been done hundreds of times and the bounce back time is nothing. They insist in all honesty you will be back to work in less than two weeks. They say these things because they are not the ones going through any of it. That is the truth and you won't convince me otherwise. Luckily for me, my husband agrees 100% with me. Doctors promise you the moon and then shake their heads when your rocket never reaches the moon they promised to begin with.

Stay tuned for later in the week when I continue with this story and tell you how my discomfort was compared to a couple of cats by my very own doctor. I. Kid. You. Not.

Vintage Thingie Thursday: Vintage Toddler and Tiara Moments

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday. If you have a love for vintage things, well....you have come to the right place. We have a really good time each and every week!!!
If you are new to this party, please take the time to read and follow the instructions for participating in Vintage Thingies Thursday, click HERE. I try and keep things fairly simple, so please make sure you follow the instructions. Please only ONE link per week. Lastly, if you link in, LINK back to my blog, so everyone can see all of the vintage goodies on display that day. If you don't link back here, they won't know who to visit......thanks so much.

With this week being Christmas, and my daughter home for the holidays, we were watching a marathon of Toddlers and Tiaras. We love that show....the momma drama....the beauty queen drama, the whole disgusting drama, we love it!

While we were in the middle of watching a particular episode, where the moms are pushing the kids to practice for the pageant and rather unsuccessfully I might add, I had a memory.

I looked at my daughter and said, " I was in a pageant once."

daughter: as her mouth gaped open...."What?.....When?.......WHAT?????"

me: "Its true.....nanaw put me in a pageant....Little Miss Waco."

daughter: mouth still gaping open...."WHAT???? Did you win?"

me: "No, I am pretty sure I did not win....I hated it."

daughter: "What???"

So of course, I had to prove that this impossible bit of information had a shred of truth to it. I found a couple of pictures that I am assuming the pageant took of the contestants. The back of the photo said, "4 years old, 1966, First Beauty Contest"

My poor mother,  I can only imagine she just knew I was the future Miss America and this was going to be my start to fame. Yes, it was my first beauty contest and  I assure you my last. It was not for me. I was a tomboy and wanted no part of this beauty pageant thing.
 

This is the Beauty photo. And exactly like the television show, my mom made me practice in our living room. She tried and tried to teach  me how to curtsey. Even at four years old and still today, I remember I thought that was the silliest thing ever. I could not figure out how to do it correctly, and finally my mom gave up and told me just to bow at the end of the runway. Like I said, I did not win and was sure it was all my fault because I did not curtsey. I can still remember thinking that was the reason I lost, all because I did not practice that curtsey.

I have no idea what this was...maybe sportswear. Looks like a play romper and a sand pail. I do wish I still had that pail, but I don't think I liked the shoes. This is a far cry from what you see from a kids pageant today. I remember my mom telling me to stay in the middle of the stage and not close to the edge of the runway, as I could fall off......so what do you think I thought about the whole time? I was sure I was going to fall off....and embarrass myself....or worse, my mom.....or worse....hurt myself.

My poor mom was probably disappointed that I was not a pageant queen. Luckily, she did not push the issue and this was the end of my claim to fame. Maybe she figured out I was not good at it, or maybe she just decided to let me choose. Mom's today however, don't give their daughters the same options.....pageants today are so over the top I swear it is the mom's who wish to be on the stage other than the daughters.

When my daughter asked why I never put her in pageants.....I just smiled and told her I did not put her in pageants because she would have cried.....alot!!!

Hope you enjoyed the vintage "Toddler and Tiara" photos of me as a four year old....but no trophies or crowns were won....it ended really before that career ever began!!

Happy Vintage Thingie Thursday!!