“And above all,
watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you,
because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.
Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.”
― Roald Dahl





Monday, December 11, 2017

Merry Monday, Birthdays and Strays


Welcome back to Merry Monday.
How was your weekend?
I had a great one..
On Friday we went to A Christmas light display in Mesa, which is about 20 minutes away from us.
It's gorgeous! and it was cold..cold enough for us to need cups of hot cocoa to keep warm.


Have you ever made cake batter cookies?
I made some on Saturday, before we decorated our stockings.
It's so simple!
You need a box of cake mix
1/2 cup of oil
2 eggs
mix everything together
drop by tablespoon into a bowl of powdered sugar
roll into balls then set on a baking sheet
 10-14 minutes at 350 and you get soft amazing cookies!
and there's an abundance of flavors to choose from.
I made chocolate fudge..
 

 And Grinch hearts..(it's just vanilla flavored with green food color)

 

So, it was very cold ..39 degrees is heavy coat weather here in Tempe..
our summer highs are sometimes 120 degrees, so we are chilly when it goes anywhere under 50.
Well, I took out the trash and found a cat trying to get into the laundry room.
I had to bring it in..
I'd already noticed it wandering around earlier in the day.
My niece posted the cat onto some websites .
We also made 'found' posters and set them around.
While we were taping them up we read a note on the mailboxes
stating that someone else had found this cat a few days ago but
didn't want to keep it for long because it was fighting with their cats.
This person just opened their door and let it out..
knowing the temperature was going to dip very low this week!
What's worse is that I think it belonged to a family that moved recently..
So she (I'm pretty sure it's a she) was left here to fend for herself!!
No one has claimed her 😞
 
 
We have not decided on a name yet..LOL
Isn't she adorable!


 
As you may know, from last week's post..
Yesterday was my birthday.
 

 It was the best!
I always start my birthday watching Stephen King movies..and Hellboy.
Then after that, birthday doughnuts.
We made dinner here at home..
Then we drove to a beautiful place called Tempe Town Lake, 
the breeze coming off the water was absolutely delicious!
afterwards, we stopped at a drive thru coffee shop called Dutch Bros,
The drink is free when it's your birthday



I told everyone that I didn't need anything this year..But they got me gifts anyway...
Back in July I honestly thought I wasn't going to be around to celebrate this birthday.
I had large masses in my abdomen which turned out to be cysts..massive cysts on my ovaries.
I was pretty much shut out of my regular ob/gyn because 
she was unhappy with my tumor markers and potassium levels..
 so she sent me to a oncologist.
It was a frightening and painful time for all of us.
But, here we are...
celebrating another birthday and I am more grateful than I can express. 


(Rigby photo-bomb)

I really enjoy watching 'Stranger Things'
so everyone knew exactly what to get me:)






 
And something King-ish of course







 I also received gift cards and books
Everyone spoiled me!

Oh! this was in the fridge:)


We ended the evening by watching 


I really had an amazing time, everything was just perfect.




Our crafts this week were all very small..
A wand I made by adding extra garland to a star pick:






A tart tin ornament


& my favorite..salt dough ornaments..
We actually  painted and glittered a bunch,
but I thought these two would be enough to show,
The candy cane is the one we left at the lake..it has an 'believe in your dreams' 
sticker on the back, plus we added a silver ribbon to hang it.







Thank you for visiting, I really appreciate you.
I hope you have a magical week and remember..


9 comments:

  1. First: Happy Birthday! and I'm glad your medical scare turned out not nearly so bad as you feared. Every day is a joy :)

    I've never heard of cake batter cookies, but I have a coupla boxes of cake mix in my pantry closet and will definitely be trying your recipe. Thx!

    Poor kitty! But it looks like she's landed in a cozy spot. I'm happy for her. I still haven't seen "Stranger Things" but the more I hear the more I want to. I love your ornaments :)

    I'm happy to have found your blog. It adds a spark to my mornings on the internet :)

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  2. I am so glad your birthday was as lovely as you wanted it. And you have a new furry family member, huh? When I saw the pic before, I was almost sure that baby was going to stay with you. Such pretty eyes...

    Your talk of watching Stephen King movies has me yearning for one. I'm currently rereading Lisey's Story. I've yet to watch The Dark Tower. I think I'll reread it before watching it.

    Hope your week is perfect!

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  3. Bet you already have a name for your new cat.Sounds like you are celebrating a lot, nice to get unwanted gifts.I have been making everything edible I can think of.

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  4. Happy Birthday, Marfi! Wow, you've had a year, but I know that all you've been through has made this birthday extra special!

    I love the t-shirt. So cute and retro....perfect for the show!

    I have never made cake batter cookies, but I want to try them. If I do, is it okay to link back to you? If we bake them it will be this weekend.

    So happy to see your adorable ornaments. Your crafts always make me smile!

    xo,
    RJ

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  5. Another beautiful, beautiful post!
    I love the lights! How magnificent!
    I would like to try the cake batter cookies! Yummy!
    The cat who came to live with you, is so beautiful! She was meant to be yours! I'm glad she came to you, before it got too cold!
    I'm glad you got spoiled for you birthday! You deserve it girl! I was hoping my gift would have been there by now! Sorry!
    Love your cake and the crafts you made!
    Big Hugs and Much Love!

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  6. Happy Birthday! Sounds like you had a perfect day with all the goodies and great presents - isn't Stranger Things just fantastic? That is one cute birthday cake!
    I'm so sorry you had such a serious scare last summer. Health issues are so frightening but once you get through them, life seems a lot sweeter, or maybe we just appreciate it more? Glad you're ok now.
    You're little stray is just adorable, she sure is a lucky kitty.
    Thanks for the cake batter cookie recipe, can't wait to give it a try!
    Here's my link: https://calamitousbotanicus.blogspot.com/2017/12/magic-monday-on-tuesday-more-of-genes.html

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  7. I can't for the life of me imagine why I didn't see these last two entries. I guess you thought I was a fool when I said I missed your Monday post and worried about you. Blogger DID NOT update your blog. I can't figure out why not, because obviously others saw it.

    I apologize I wasn't here to wish you a happy birthday. SO, happy, happy belated birthday!

    We've set some all time high temps this past week. One day it was 68 F and the next it was 67 F. Today it's also supposed to be warm. So, I an understand why you are so cold. I'm just glad I don't get 120 F summers. I HATE the heat.

    You were so kind to take in the really adorable kitty. She has such a cute face. If and when you take her to your vet for a check-up, ask them to run a chip scan. At least you will know if she's been registered and if it's the people who moved who left her behind.

    I am going to make those chocolate cookies. They look SO good. I'll let you know when I do.

    Looks like you were really spoiled on your birthday. So glad to read that. It also sounds like a perfect day spent doing all the fun things you wanted to do.

    I can't believe I haven't thought about salt dough crafts in YEARS. Yours turned out great, and I see you are still giving out free gifts to those who deserve them.

    Hope your week is as nice as you!

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  8. Love all your shares but your new kitty stole my heart!

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  9. Happy belated birthday! I'm so glad you're better. I love your Merry Monday posts. I'm going to do one.

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thank you for your comment, I really appreciate it:)