My mother-in law and Becky, my dear dear friend, are both breast cancer survivors, so this is an important subject to me.

This is the season for giving, so please give a moment of your time to the following.

Please tell ten friends to tell ten friends today! The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on 'donating a mammogram' -- for free (pink window in the middle). This does not cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate a mammogram in exchange for advertising.

Here's the web site! Please pass it along to people you know.

http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/

AGAIN... PLEASE ASK 10 FRIENDS TO TELL 10 FRIENDS. Thanks.

A New Give Away

If you have a few extra mintues, and want some good reading...

....go HERE and check out Cindy's Blog and Giveaway!

The Cost of 12 Days of Christmas

$200



$55



$45


$600

$350

$240

$5,600

$52

$4,759

$4,414

$2,285

$2,475

That's a total of $86, 609 for the Twelve Days of Christmas

Not needing to buy them- Priceless!

A Healthy Level of Insanity

I only work outside the home (as a substitute teacher at our local elementary and high school) when I feel like - But- for all of my readers who are "nine to five'rs", here's a little something to help you keep a smile on your face (or someone you love). I humbly submit the following:

How to Achieve a Healthy Level of Insanity

1. Page yourself over the intercom, buy don't disguise your voice.

2. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask "Do you want fries with that?".

3. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it "IN".

4. Put decaf in the breakroom's coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone has gotten over their caffeine addictions, switch to expresso.

5. As often as possible, skip rather that walk.

6. Order a diet water whenever you go out to eat.

7. Speicify that your drive-through order is "To Go".

8. When the money comes out of the ATM jump up and down and scream "I Won, I Won".

9. When you get into an elevator - don't turn around and face the door. Just look at all the other "passengers" and smile!

10. At lunch time, go sit in your parked car with your sunglasses on. Point a hair dryer at the passing cars - laugh when they slow down!

Have you got any Healthy Tips for Insanity? Just leave your comment here and share the therapy!

Who Says That Sugar is Sweet?

Yesterday started out well - AND THEN - I decided to clean the kitchen. This isn't a bad thing. I unloaded, then re-loaded the dishwasher. Next I wiped down the countertops, then I strolled into my panty to put the sugar canister away. Two steps into the pantry, the canister went flying out of my hands. Sugar went EVERY WHERE!!! And I mean EVERY WHERE!!!

On the floor / Into the big plastic bin with all my paper goods / Into the cases of Coke and V8 / Onto the shelves.

I immediately ran to get the vacuum cleaner. When I got back to the pantry George was licking the floor at warp speed. Fearing that he would go into a sugar coma, I picked him up and removed him from the pantry. He wasn't having any of that. Soooooooooooo, I spent the next half hour, trying to vacumm up the mess, by trying to stand on one foot while continually nudging George back out with the other foot - not a pretty site.

Everything on the floor had to be picked up and put on the counters in the kitchen (necessitating a second cleaning). Then they had to by wiped down and dried. All the while, I'm tracking sugar all over the kitchen floor. What a mess!

Next, out came the mop and 2 mop buckets. After hauling George back out of the pantry yet again! I mopped up the sticky pantry floor, and then the kitchen floor. Thinking that I was finally done. I started reloading all the stuff back into the pantry - I guess that I missed some of the sugar in one of the cases of Coke, and it spilled out onto the nice clean floor.

Soooooooooooo, I started all over again. This time it went a little easier, because George had worn his poor little tongue out, and had gone into my bedroom to take a nap! After letting the floor dry a second time. I walked back into the pantry in my bare feet - YUK - it still felt sticky!

I ended up mopping 4 times with the final round being just vinegar and water. I still don't think that I got everything cleaned, but I just couldn't do anymore. The entire episode took about 4 hours. Since it was a cold day here in the south, (the high was 57 with the wind blowing and some rain) I was miserable by the time I was done.

I have fibromyalgia and Reynauds Disease, so "cold" really does me in. When I need to use icepacks the most, is when I shouldn't use them at all. To say the least, I got very little sleep last night AND I hurt all over today. I would like to crawl back into bed with my heating pad, but I've made plans to go to Hobby Lobby and the grocery store, so a nap will have to wait.

Moral of this story - Nail on the top to your sugar canister!

Oops - I forgot George

George happened to look over my shoulder after I posted this morning. He was quite upset that he had been left out! Sooooooooooooo....................

Here is a picture of my little elves. I know that I have one of George by himself, but can't locate it at the moment. This one will have to do. Luckily George's eyes are the right color (they usully end up white when I snap his pictures), but Gracie's look a little funcky. She has the most beautiful Ice Blue eyes, but they almost always turn out red in her pictures. This time her's tuned out kinda white. I think that I need Photo Shop for Christmas!

December Madness

Hello to all from the Neas Nut Farm. Since we are down to four (from twelve [plus any grandchildren]) of us, we decided to try taking a family portrait this year. DH messed around with the new camera for a few minutes and insisted that he had figured out the timer function. Soooooooo...we gathered around - and here is what we got. Looks pretty good except that I'm blurred! Actually that's how I feel a lot of the time, so I guess that the picture is pretty accurate! We tried several more times, but couldn't get the timer to work again, so I sent everyone off on their merry way, and decided that this would do for now.

This in Percy. From now on he will be showing up often in my posts. I have to be totally honest...I stole this idea right off the "pages" of It's a Pug's Life. I have laughed so hard reading all about Punkin's adventures, that I just have to let Percy in on the fun.

Here is my son, Simon and his beautiful wife, Mindi. They came to spend Thanksgiving week with us. They were so very kind, and took Percy to New Orleans with them.

Here he is overlooking the canal. I think that he is a little nervous being so close to the water. I'm a terrible mama, as I haven't yet taught him to swim.

Being aware of the need to bring some education into little Percy's life, they took him to the Andrew Jackson Memorial.

Here they are in front of the Cathedral. At this point Percy was plumb wore out, so he was tucked away in his carrier, so that he could rest on the drive back home.

I like to put the tree up on December 1st, but Thanksgiving came quite late this year, so we put the tree up on Friday. Big J is playing peek-a-boo with the top of the tree.

Ooooh yeah - he's getting in the spirit of things!

This is the part that I hate!!! The mess. I can't stand it. Seth worked hard to help Big J. finish up, but before long...

J got entranced in the pre-25 days of Christmas tv shows.

Ta DA!

The finished tree. I think it's quite "purty" if I say so myself. I let the boys put on the big ornaments, and then I do all the finishing touches.

Thought I'd throw this pic in. I was so excited that gas prices had continued to drop. Then yesterday on the way to church, we saw that it had gone down to $1.62. I didn't have my camera with me, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Big J turned 17 on Saturday. Seth took him out shopping, and then he came home to watch the UF vs FSU game - GO GATORS!, while eating his "requested" birthday dinner meal...

...Biscuits and Gravy and Chocolate Cake.

Here he is - chowing down.

He opened his gifts during half-time.

Showing off his new clothes - Vanna White, watch out!

Gracie says "Oh Pulleeeeeease, get me out of this hat!"

I'm looking forward to the rest of the month. Our women's organization, at church, is having a dinner this Wednesday evening. I'll be going to Alabama to spend a week with Suzanne and her family. - We plan to spend the entire time baking cookies. (I will play with the grandchildren a little bit too, and I may have to take them shopping!)

Our daughter, Stephanie, is bringing "THE BOYFRIEND" home to meet us, so there will be lots of cleaning and cooking going on here once I get back to from Alabamie. I must make a good impression. Steph's already been up to New York State to meet Cliff's mom, and it seems that I have some "big shoes to fill"...Wish me luck!

See you tomorrow!