Sunday.. in the Sun Shine State

Hello everyone.. We made it. We arrived down here around 430. I fell asleep while we were still in North Carolina around 630 am and didn't wake up till we were in Florida around 1pm. We stopped for some food and then the rest of the way in, I cleaned up in the car. That's never easy..I got a few pictures from last night and tonight. These pictures are from my phone. I have more but I am not on my laptop...in fact, I am in Mr. Jaggers home office using his wife's laptop. They have some kind of plug in Internet and I am not about to mess with that! I can get a good enough signal on mine so I am just thankful there is one I can use. Right now its 11pm and the house is silent. Marjory is in bed.. Scott is in bed and there is no tv in our room. So, I figured I would blog for a few minutes.. answer a few emails.. and then watch a movie on my laptop till I fall asleep. I am surrounded by all these family pictures right now and it makes me sad that his father is not well. He's got a entire life in these walls. It sure makes me sad. I took some pictures from today...You will not see his face in them at all. I took one but that one will NOT be up. No one knew I was taking them and I think with Scott's work, its good to have it documented, just in case.

But first, I figured I would show you guys one of my favorite all time meals..that I keep dreaming about..

After we sold Swagger - Prince Edward - I decided it was time to get some dinner..

Outback was close!!

It was 7pm and we got seated right away in the bar when I saw..

Gingerbread Martini's!! Is that not the cutest ever. I really wanted to get one but thought it might be too strong for me so I opted for a

Yummy Sangria instead..

The bread came..

and I was in heaven..

The

Ahi Tuna came and I was in heaven..

The salad came ( sorry no picture! ) and I was in heaven..

Then dinner came

I was in total heaven..I needed this meal so bad!! I loved it.. and it gave me just the energy I needed to get home and get packed.

I think I finally fell to sleep some where around 5am.. Scott had me up and 615 to get ready and get out the door.

We were in the car no longer than 20 minutes before I was back asleep.. I woke up after we had been in Florida for about an hour. I wanted food.. not fast food either.. Husby didn't want to really stop so we decided on Waffle House because it was kinda in between. The coffee was good and breakfast/brunch wasn't too bad either.

Back in the car we went.  I can't believe husby drove and drove and drove.. without any stopping. I couldn't do that. I did my best to clean up in the car but my hair was a total mess.. I just pulled it up and before I knew it...

we were in Tampa.

We made our way straight to

hospital. It was so sad seeing Mr Jaggers like that.

I felt really really bad for him and tried looking the other way as much as possible. I had a chair directly in front of him and I finally made Scott switch me because he is who should have been in his dads eye view not me.

We stayed for a while, went and got some dinner with Marjorie. She saw her new Pastor a couple tables over. He came over to say hi with his wife and when we got up to pay for dinner we found out he already took care of the bill. That just tickled Marjorie. Boy, she was on the phone calling all kinds of friends to tell them about his act of kindness. We then headed back up to the hospital for a while and then finally came home. Its hard for Mr. Jaggers to eat and he seems to get choked really easy.. even on water. Marjorie is very direct with him and I think it helps. He can talk a little but I find it hard to understand him. We all told him good night and came back here...

Scott had some time with

Fairway. She is kinda ill too but be cared for in the best way possible.

You guys all know, I am not a dog person. But this is a very gentle dog. She is a Grey Hound and the sweetest thing ever.

I don't know how long we are staying. The way the Dr is talking right now, he improved a lot through last night and he may get to go back to the Retirement Center. No one is sure of when his last moments will be but right now, we still have him and that time is very special to his kids and family. Its sad, and I know its breaking Scott's heart to see his father like this. Thank you guys for the emails you sent. I kept reading them on my phone from the hospital and it was nice to hear how so many of you have lifted him up in your prayers. And it helped.. so again.. THANK YOU from Scott and I both.

Well I have been sitting on the..

front porch enjoying this late fall Florida weather tonight. Its so calm and peaceful out there and feels so good. Its a bit cool but not too bad and today was just beautiful here. When we were crossing the bay, we put the windows down and let in the smell of that salty air and I knew I was home. I have lived here a ton of times through out the years and this is where I plan on coming back to. BTW... around here it looks more decorated for the holidays than what it does at home. I am going to try to get a video tommorow night, if we are here of it all. I cant really make this a social visit kind of trip but I do think he will drive me around some areas that are filled with lights and decorations.

Well.. believe it or not, I am going to try to go to bed and get some rest. I will talk to you guys as soon as I can.

Have a great Monday. I will keep you posted as much as possible.

xoxo

K Jaggers

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Hello friends. I should be in bed but I am wide awake.. I suppose that might have something to do with the coffee I had an hour or so ago! Husby likes to keep the house so much colder than I do and I was freezing.. I guess I should have had hot chocolate instead of coffee!

Hope everyone had a beautiful Saturday!!

I worked around the house a lot in the early part of the day..

My main goal was getting the study cleaned up for the Christmas tree.

And for the most part it's done..

That window

right there leads to the front porch..

And the good thing about putting the tree in this room is that

it has these pretty doors on it.. and will keep the kitty cats from tearing it up!

The walls are green.. which is festive however, its not the colors we put on the tree!

Anyway.. I should tell you that just a bit ago, I tried uploading the pictures I took this evening with my phone, and my memory card kept throwing errors.. Well, I was none too happy and ended up having to re format it and lost all my old pictures.

Thankfully, I got had my camera too and ended up taking a lot of pictures with that too!

So all these pictures are from my camera.

We had the most beautiful

sky tonight.

Every time I looked at it..

I was lost in the beauty.

Really enchanting kind of sky!

Anyway, we had some things to do and on our way home we stopped by this Greek/ Italian restaurant that I had been wanting to try. It took a little effort getting husby to go in because as you guys know, he doesn't like pasta.

But we got in there and this is where I wish my phone pictures because I took a lot of the restaurant but I also took some pictures of the food with my regular camera..

This salad was so much better than expected..

Scott got

wings.. Not surprising huh?

And they came with all the

stuff wings come with!

I got the..

Spaghetti Carbonara..

And it was a

HUGE plate!!

Let me tell you..

it was amazing. I was totally shocked by this food. It was so retro in there with all the wood and old jars.. I really didn't have my hopes up about the food but it was amazing!!

We came home afterwards and just kinda hung out. Not much happened the rest of the night.. I blogged some, watched tv, enjoyed huge bubble bath, and cleaned up around here. Not too exciting for a Saturday night!

I guess now is ok to kinda explain what happened with the dealership. A couple people were let go because of their own actions.. husby's boss was one of them. So now Scott is basically doing it all. Its a huge opportunity for him. I must say the car business is cut throat and they don't mess around. He's been working really hard the past week and its been hard to get any time with him when work is not taking over his every thought! I am proud of him for stepping up and doing what he knows to do. I am sure he is doing an amazing job. I won't and can't get into any details because it would be wrong but all is working out ok and we are just taking it day by day. I can't promise that we won't have to move again one day but whatever.. I will follow him any where and we will be ok with whatever situation happens. Trying to stay stable in this business takes an act of God!! One thing for sure though my husband knows the car business better than anything else in his life. He makes me so proud with how hard he works. He gives me a beautiful life and I am one lucky and blessed lady for sure! ♥

On to notes about the blog and Christmas. I got the sweetest email from a teen age girl tonight saying she does not have much money for Christmas and saw some of my gift ideas that were cheap and still really nice. She wanted to know what holiday gifts I am making myself because she needs ideas.

So, I sent the message back and now I am going to answer it on here too for you guys.

I don't know how many of these items I making but here is what I have came up with so far.

[ Homemade Sugar Scrubs in pretty jars ]

[ Drink mixes in pretty jars ]

[ Muffin mixes in pretty canisters ]

[ Movie Night in a bag ( you will have to buy a movie though for this one! ) ]

[ Special kitchen salts, like rosemary salt ]

[ dog and cat snacks ]

Now, I am not buying for a ton of people this year.. I am just not doing it. I am buying for the kids and for our parents and for Scott. I am a couple friends something too but that's about it. If you are at my house on Christmas, I will be buying for you. But for the most part, I'm not doing a ton of shopping and going into debt for Christmas. We are a single income family - well with the exception of the cattery - and we are just not going to flip out over spending tons of money. I am thinking a thousand dollars should do it.

My daughter has become really materialistic and its just not making me happy. But she has a limit.. just like the rest of the kids. I will be sending her some of the home made stuff too!

I think I will go ahead in the coming days and get the recipes posted on here for you to have in case you want to make some yourself. I am going to have to sit down and figure out who I am making what for but I figure I will be making stuff for about maybe 10 people or so.. per item.

Also I am doing some photo gifts too. Yep.. super easy and nice gifts to give anyone!

I think the home made gifts, when done right will be beautiful to give anyone.. maybe a neighbor or a teacher or anyone you don't want to spend a lot on but want them to know that you are thinking of them over the holiday. I think that's what matters most. I might even make some to give to the wives of the salesmen at the dealership. God knows, I am not giving the office girls anything but I have met some of the salesman's wives and I might just surprise them with something too.

When making the gifts above the most expensive thing will be the jars used. You can some really cute ones for next to nothing... and then some cute ribbon and things to decorate the jars with. Besides that it should be pretty easy. A lot of these gifts, I won't be making till around the week before Christmas because I want them as fresh as possible. I don't think that will really matter but.. I have everything planned out and that's when I will be making it.. I might have to change it, if I am mailing anything.. Have to wait and see! Anyway, I hope that answers a few questions for you.

And thank you for the email.. it was really sweet. I am sure your family would love some of the gifts I mentioned above. The movie night in a bag would great for your father! I haven't figured out everything I am going to include in it but its going to be a movie, snacks, popcorn and what ever else I can think of to add! And your mom would love any of the other items!!

And of course if you are making the dog and cat treats you are going to have to find a cute cookie cutter in the shape of a dog bone and maybe a fish or something.. Still trying to figure out how to make the kitty treats. Dog treats are easy.. kitty treats are harder because they have to be much smaller! And with those items you will want to get some of the clear bags back in the craft department at Walmart or a craft store and tie up with a pretty ribbon. You can also find the dog bone cookie cutters at Walmart too. That's where I saw them! Every single thing you need for any of the above gifts can be found at Walmart.. and the stuff does not cost that much.. Promise!!

Well, its late so I better be ending this. I was on the phone with my mom for a long time and that conversation kinda took over and this is being posted at 4 am!!

In bed I go.. but hope you

Talk to you in the afternoon!

Ohhh.. be sure to check out the WEEKEND NOTES because its up! Get your paper because you are not going to want to miss out on the coupons!!

xoxo

K Jaggers

♥

Blessed Dreams to ALL

Hello friends. Its a late night here - shocker huh? - and I hope you guys had a great Thanksgiving and a great Friday!!

I will try to not make this post too long, but no promises!!

For the most part, Scott and I had a very lazy day. We were lounging in the bed till after 3 pm. We had coffee, snacked up eventually ended up in bed watching tv! As you can see from the picture above, we were not too cleaned up today but I had to get a Thanksgiving picture! We don't have to look beautiful all the time.. because to each other we are beautiful every day in every moment. Cheesy but true!

We took off to town and was heading to dinner and ended up stopping by our friends, Rick and Karen's for a few minutes to say hi!

They already have..

their tree up!!

with a pretty little star on top! She was busy decorating while I was there!

We hadn't seen them in a while and it was nice hanging out. Her laptop is on the fritz and I brought it home to see if I could help... nope. I think its over heating and causing all kinds of problems. Wish I could have done more, but I feel a little better about her taking it some where after looking at it.

Anyway, Scott and I headed out to Golden Corral for dinner. It was busy there all day. We got there a little late, about an hour before closing and it wasn't too bad. I didn't want to go here. I really didn't. However, I put off finding a restaurant and making reservations so this was husby's suggestion.

But here is some fun Thanksgiving Facts..

Yep.. we are a part of that statistic this year.

I got there. Buffets as long as the building..

I got mostly " Thanksgiving Type " food but I did mix in a little Chinese too!

Plus a plate of other goodies.

I don't know what kind of veggie casserole this was..

but I loved it.

By then it was time to head to the dessert bar.

That chocolate fountain had my name all over it.

I couldn't wait to get a whole bunch of goodies!

Is this not beautiful.. All kinds of yummy things in chocolate..

Everything from pineapple, strawberry's, marshmallows, rice crispy treats, macaroons, and cake.

I was in heaven. I made a complete mess. I had chocolate all over me from my ears to my nose and it was just bliss..

Scott was just laughing left and right taking the napkin and wiping my face for me!

After the first plate was almost gone, he thought it was time to leave.. NOT.. I wanted more chocolate covered pineapple. He wanted me to leave the tip but I refused until he got me more dessert!!

Long and behold he came back with

only 3 because we got kicked out of the chocolate fountain because they were closing it. That's ok.. I had had enough and if I would have stayed longer, I would have definitely ate more chocolate! This was better than cooking and cleaning. I wasn't exhausted at all with the day. This was not the restaurant I wanted. I was thinking white liens but surprisingly it was rather good.

What I did miss was my family and Scott's family. This year we all pretty much stayed in our own areas of the country and only spent Thanksgiving with who was in our immediate lives. I have to say, I rather didn't like it and hopefully next year we will all be together. I missed the kids too. Of course I didn't hear from my father.. He better watch out, with all he's doing, he might just win the father of the year award. Sorry.. just had to say it. One I thing I have learned is that I will not treat my kids like he treats his. No way, No how. It would have been nice to hear from him but I didn't figure I would. Whore Hope was only there an hour or so, and unable to really rub off on the kids during that time. Like I said, she has her own family.. I just wish she would stick with them and leave mine alone. She might be blood but all that went the window years ago. I try to not speak of her too much anymore because she is just not worth my time or thoughts but she imposed herself tonight and that's nothing new. Glad I don't have to think about her anymore for a while. I don't really hide my feelings to anyone about her and it was kinda funny because tonight Brittany and I were just giggling about her. When all else fails.. LAUGH!!

We made our way back home and saw one of our neighbors house all

decorated up. Does that not look like the most beautiful American house. I actually think I will go back another night and video it because this picture just doesn't do it justice. Its Beautiful and I love it!

I am finishing the night off with

a wonderful glass of eggnog.

And Gizmo is

laying here beside of me all tuckered out from our big Thanksgiving day!

I am thankful for so many things. I have a beautiful family and even though we didn't all spend Thanksgiving together we all talked many times through out the day which made it easier. I really did miss my mom and I don't know if I am going to spend another Thanksgiving or Christmas without her again. I didn't like it. I almost teared up at dinner because she wasn't with me. Sounds crazy right? She can be one of the biggest pains in my ass but I sure love her to death and I don't like not spending holidays with her. Last year we were at her house for Christmas and I am really really happy this year she is coming here and next year, we will have to go back! I love Scott's family too and you know what's great is, we have just mingled the two families right together on more than one occasion and it has worked out great! I missed his mom today too. I think many of us would have given anything to have her here with us. I am sure she was with each and everyone of us in spirit. I know she was. Same goes for my grandfather and brother. They all surrounded us with love.

Even though, I missed a lot of people, my life with Scott is enough. I know if it was just US for the rest of our lives, I would be ok. I prefer our families but it is just us, that's ok too. My home is where he is and that makes me extremely thankful. My wish is everyone feels the love in their lives like I feel for him. however, he was annoying the shit out of me today with his bad tv and messes that he likes to make. He cooked himself an omelet and didn't clean anything up. But I went right behind him and got it straightened back up! Being messy is just part of my hubsy that I don't know if I will ever be able to change!

~  On To Blogger Notes ~

I got an email today about some of the pictures I have been posting lately of housewives back in the 1950's. The first wanted to know what my inspiration is or was and where am I finding the pictures at?

( I would just copy and paste the email but I am too lazy right now! )

Maybe a month or so ago I watched Mona Lisa Smile. I hadn't seen it in years and when I watched I was really taken by the time, the look, the attitudes, and I am just kinda following that lead a little bit. I have just been searching online for pictures an magazines from the 50's and 60's and the more I read the more consumed with the time, I get. I love the pen curls, the make up, the clothes, the housewife attitude, I love it all. So I am sure you will be seeing more pictures from those times. Clearly these are not my own pictures and if you like them, feel free to click on them and save. I am not near as picky as most bloggers when it comes to pictures. I don't mind a bit if someone uses something off this blog. I prefer that my exact words are not posted but I am not going to make a huge deal out of it either which way. But yes, I am finding more and more pictures from the 50's and you will be seeing them in upcoming post!

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I also changed up the blog a little bit. I took A LOT of stuff off. I was tired with how full of crap it was. I am sorry if I deleted your pets pictures but I figured they belong on the kitty blog, not this one. I also changed labels to a " cloud " and the archives of this blog are now in a drop down menu that you can find right under the " I LOVE SCOTT BLINKIE " Its a lot smaller now, you will have to look for it.

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I did get the THANKSGIVING MARRIED LIFE POST up today so if you haven't checked it out.. please do and send me your thoughts - kishajaggers@aol.com -

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Speaking of that post, I have added some new links at the top of the right hand column. You will see the link for the WEEKEND NOTES first and then you will see one for - Married Life  - , - Our Cattery -, and for our - fairytale-. Just click the pictures and you will get to the either the post or the websites. Pretty easy stuff and looks much better now instead of the way it was!

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I do think I am going to change up the big picture at the top tomorrow night sometime. I will probably leave the tree picture but add it to a new frame that I like better!

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About Black Friday.. I know its late, but I am not staying up, just to go shopping. I did post a lot of the Black Friday information for you guys but for me, I don't like to get out in the cold, early in the morning to go shop. I just don't care for it. I do have to shop tomorrow but I am hoping to miss the crowds. I am going to go to CVS and see what I can find on sale, and I am also going to do some shopping for household, and do maybe a little Christmas shopping. Not sure about that yet. I also have  to spend the evening paying bills. Yep, doesn't that SUCK!! I am just glad to be able to pay them all.. thank you baby! I wonder how many of you guys are going Black Friday shopping. I would love it if you emailed me and let me know if you found any incredible deals!

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Well friends, I am heading to bed and will talk talk to you when I get up. I will have a busy day tomorrow so I won't be doing much blogging till the evening!

Hope everyone has a GREAT FRIDAY!!

xoxo

K Jaggers

♥

What a day..

I can't even begin to tell you how stressful today was around here. I won't get into much about it.. but there is a thief that stole somethings from Scott.. which infuriated me.. beyond measure today. But we just have to deal with it.. I am seriously thinking about calling the police and reporting it.. but not till after we get back from the wedding. We had a ton of things to do today and this evening that we really didn't have time. And husby is much much kinder than I am.. I think the guy should be arrested.. and that still might happen.. Anyway.. on to better news!

We had to go shopping tonight for a dress to wear to the wedding.. So off to the mall we went.. and this is the one I settled on..

Yep.. I am wearing red.. Can you believe it!? I tried on probably over 20 dresses and I liked this one the best.. It was over $125.00  but.. the sale brought it down to a much reasonable price.

I am pairing it up with some black heals and..

beautiful black clutch. I just got this tonight too..

Love it!!

We also picked up Scott's tux and then we grabbed..

some quick Asian food on the way home..

We also stopped by Walgreens and I ended up getting..

a couple new black liquid liners.

This is one of my absolute favorites of all time.. Love the felt tip..

Will work on a review for you guys for this one soon..

I also picked up the Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen to try..

Not sure about this one so will probably do a review of it too. I did try it a few minutes ago and so far.. not crazy about it. But more to come later about that..

I couldn't decide between..

No panty hose and a little help from Sally Hansen to warm up my pale legs a little or..

Panty Hose.. So I got both.. Its a out door wedding at 630 pm so its going to be cold.. and I am not sure what I am going to do.. Can someone please tell me why panty hose has gone " out of style?" I really don't know when that happened. I know it probably wont make a huge difference in warmness ( is that a word ) but I might wear them and might not. I am not wearing pep toes so it wouldn't matter and I think they are slimming.. So maybe. I will let you know what I decided after the wedding.. But email me your thoughts about pantiy hose kishajaggers@aol.com because I would really like to you what you guys think about it.. I know my girlfriend is not wearing them but I just might! =0)

Well once we got home.. I got busy painting while husby went to bed.. At first I was none too pleased with that but I figured it was easier to do it with him out of the way than deal with him messing it all up..

I am pretty much done..I have a few things left to do in the morning..

But dress and tux is ready...along with everything we need for a couple nights!

I also had to get things ready for the dog and cats for our friends to come feed them..

Its crazy how much stuff needs to be done just for a weekend away.

I am sure Laura is excited and nervous all at the same time.. This time tomorrow she will be married!!!!!!!!!!! I am a little nervous about being around her family but I am sure it will all be fine. We are there for her.. and her only so that is our focus! I know Scott is super happy about walking his daughter down the isle.. I mean that has to be a monumental day for any father. So I am truly happy for him.

I probably didn't show it so much tonight because I was so upset over that thief. Its just a part of life I guess that sometimes people come into our lives and hurt us. I am so serious about calling the police but husby wants to give him a chance to make it right. I don't think it will happen.. I think the police is the right route. We'll see.

Well its 2 am.. I need to try to get to sleep soon.. We are leaving at 10 am.. Our friends that are going with us are meeting us here and then driving on their own but right with us. We found our hotel tonight.. and its one of the nicest ones in Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge area.. There are few 4 star hotels in the area but hoping.. hoping.. we are happy with this one. Its got a indoor pool.. which I am not sure if we will use or not... but maybe.. hopefully!! Our swim suits are packed!

Well.. I won't be blogging until after the wedding, I'm guessing.. But will post all the great wedding pictures Sunday or Monday!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

xoxo

K Jaggers

♥