When will the madness stop? Now it's Pajama Jeans!!!!

I have a few pet peeves, but probably the biggest one I have is when people wear their pajamas in public. I do not understand how one cannot get out of bed and get dressed before leaving their house. To me, it is the epitome of sheer laziness. Yes, we all enjoy elastic waistband clothing, especially this time of year, and we all enjoy comfort, but seriously you can't put a pair of jogging pants or blue jeans on to buy your gallon of milk? What made it even more convenient for those lazy folks, is the fact that what was once known as pajama pants are now being marketed as "comfy pants".  I must say, it's a great marketing tool to get you to wear their clothing 24/7. Old Navy is one of the biggest culprits. It used to be only teenagers doing it; however, I now see adults. I even saw a grown man the other day at QT in his pajamas. Do we really care if you like Moose, reindeer or monkeys?

Yesterday, I turn on the TV to find this hilarious commercial (see link below). 

I give up! June Cleaver is rolling over in her grave!

https://www.pajamajeans.com/flare/next?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PJOfficial&etag=pjx&gclid=CLe6qcSKl6YCFUla2god9g4xow

What a Tool!!

Hubby goes to the dentist this morning and this is what he sees on the couch in the reception area:

This teenager does not bother to get up or even move as other people come in to wait for their appointment. In fact, at one point he even falls back to sleep. My husband asked the staff if they allowed homeless people to now sleep in the reception area. What a tool!!!!

Take out tax?!?!?!?!

So I have to share my poor lunch choice in order to tell this story. I had errands to run around town and was about to get on the highway but was starving so I decided to drive through Mickey D's to grab a Happy Meal. I'm sorry but sometimes I just love those french fries, and quite honestly that is the easiest meal to eat while driving.

I placed the order, noticed the price and drove around to the window where José took my dinero. He asked for more than what was on the menu board and when reading the receipt, I discovered that McDonald's now charges a "takeout tax".  What the hell is that? Don't we pay enough taxes, not to mention all the ridiculous fees on every bill we pay such as the insane "taxes" on a cell phone bill, the ludicrous taxes on a car rental at the airport, etc.  I eat Mickey D's MAYBE twice a year and have never noticed this charge before. I wonder if there is a "eat in tax"?  Then I start thinking, is this tax going towards healthcare due to the high obesity rates from people (me excluded of course) eating McDonald's every day? 

So once I got home I went on the all knowing Internet to research this new charge on my receipt. Here is what I found from a Houston news report:

That tax is just the straight sales tax.  If you notice the next time you eat in at a McDonald's, the line will say "Dine In" or "Eat In."  It's the same tax rate, whatever your state and local sales tax rate is. Steve Lykins of McDonald's Memphis restaurants says the company has a uniform receipt software package.  He says every McDonald's in America will have the "take out" or "dine in" line-items on their receipts.  The reason, he says, is some states like California actually have a separate take out tax.  So the software has to be able to accommodate those states so their revenue departments can accurately collect those taxes.

So I brushed my ruffled feathers back into place....and started looking in the medicine cabinet for some Zantac. So much for calling it a "happy" meal..... tell that to my waistline.Oh well, as Scarlett O'Hara says, "there's always tomorrow". 

    

Mmmmm that smells so good!

I love it when I find a new discovery....I also love this time of year.  While I adore the holidays, Christmas is over.....the gifts have been dispersed, the bells and garland are packed away, and I am always excited about a new year and new beginnings. We have a fresh sheet of paper to make new memories, meet new friends, see new places, try new foods, and discover whatever else comes along our path (hopefully a new job).  I also like to make Goodwill bags, buy some new items at those January white sales and freshen up the house....  

Oh yea, back to my new discovery. So I was at Walmart this morning for groceries.  Tip if you can do it:  grocery shop on a weekday morning....you get the whole store to yourself. For those of you employed, sorry, price you pay for having a paycheck...:)

I have always loved Mrs. Meyers cleaning products - they're natural, fresh, but unfortunately expensive. However, they have a put a new line of this product in at Walmart and my new discovery today is the Countertop Spray - BASIL.  How apropos as I was shopping for ingredients to make Chicken Parmesan tonight. 

Basil is glorious.  It's part of the mint family.  It's smell and taste, though predominantly in Italian cooking, is versatile. Now apparently, Mrs. Meyer has put it in her cleaning products.  I scrubbed down the kitchen this morning, a necessary evil, and it now smells out of this world! They also have this in lanudry detergent and a candle (which I think I'll try when I'm done burning through the ones I have).

We're having friends over for dinner - so I wanted the house to have that "we're having friends over" scent.  Divine!  While usually pricey, and still higher than your standard cleaners, Mrs. Meyers is cheaper at Walmart, as compared to other stores like Sprous or Whole Foods.

Just my little tip of the day.......may your new year's blank page be filled with happy memories!  J9R

Lunar Eclipse & ADD

The lunar eclipse, the first one in 372 years to coincide with Winter Solstice happened last night, or rather this morning. Hubby says "let's set alarm and wake up to look at it!"  Okay, I think.  It's so rare, sounds good.  He's being spontaneous so I'm going with it.   

Alarm goes off which seems like minutes after I heard Jay Leno talking and we venture outside in our jammies with our unipod and camera in hand to catch this natural space odyssey and wonderment. The weather outside was amazing. You could have been camping (if one's inclined to camping), it was so lovely. Light breeze was blowing, stars were bright, clear skies, and the orange moon with a sliver of white as the eclipse started. We heard a few other doors open and shut so apparently we weren't the only star gazing geeks in the neighborhood. 

Hubby sets up the unipod (to keep camera still with night shots which are impossible to take) to start our photo session.   

"It's only a Kodak digital, I don't think we're really going to get any good pics" I say.  

"Sure we will!"  he says.

Below are our Time Magazine Pictures of the Week shots.....:)

Zoom in a bit more!

Okay, now focus!

Good Lord do you want me to do it?? 

Apparently husband was a bit nervous with my directions, or is that his finger?

Here's what it should have looked like.

We saw a few shooting stars and after our pics and viewing headed back in.

We turned on the TV, thinking we could catch some amazing video on Discovery or The Weather Channel, someone with a little better camera skills then what we were using. No such luck but we came across some absolutely hilarious TV. Let's see, Maury was still trying to make sure every baby mama across America gets proper DNA testing for their bastard children, there was a Spanish speaking version of "The View" and KERA was advertising "ADD and loving it!"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRjbjYeUI7U&feature=related WTF?!?!?!  Maybe if you got some sleep instead of watching TV at 2 am you could pay attention!

I'm going back to bed until the next lunar eclipse, not slated until June 15, 2011. Well, as soon as I get done ordering this Abdoer Twist Abs Chair. Afterall, it's almost January 1st, my new diet will be starting soon. 

"Honey, where's our credit card?"

Bears, Bangers & Boobies

Funny story - we went to an Irish pub last night as hubby wanted to celebrate his break from school (getting A's), and watch his beloved Vikings and Favre play in today's version of Ice Bowl, despite being 70 here today - and definitely not Christmas weather. We picked a great spot in front of the giant TV projector screen. Other tables were seated around us and right in front of us was a small table where a man was with a new baby (weird in bar I thought), who despite his largely elf-shaped ears, was doning a Santa Claus suit (the baby, not the man). We couldn't decide if it was a boy or girl, but since it was wearing Santa, we went with little guy. The man had the baby on the table, holding him, entertaining him, etc....and at one point we saw the mom, who was apparently playing poker in another part of the bar. (They have a free poker tourney so people can learn, watch games, drink, etc.)

When we sat down we ordered calamari to get the night going and I ordered Bangers & Mash (sausages and garlic mashed potatoes). The Bangers were delivered hot and delish, sitting proudly on top of the creamy mashed potatoes and lightly cloaked in a Guinness brown gravy.....yum! Hubby had an Inferno Burger with spicy mayo, pepper jack and fried jalapenos - all very tasty....we split the dishes as usual so we could try both.

Just as we were about to bite into our food the Mom (of Baby Claus) comes over, "Mommy's here to feed you!  Mommy's here to feed you!"  Now this robust woman was larger than life....literally.....and she plops down, whips out her boob and starts feeding old Saint Nick.  My mouth was probably hanging open with a banger falling out of it......I nudge Hubby, who's lost in his burger and Favre being slammed into the ground of the frozen tundra hearing his 40-year-old bones crack. "Hey look, she's feeding Kris Kringle."  Not giving him any specifics he looks over:  "Oh god, why did you tell me that!"  We weren't the only ones looking in subtle shock. Couples were looking, a group of "Bears Fans" there to watch the game were looking, one just couldn't help it. 

So I say, "Santa is a boob man!"  We get over it and enjoy our dinner, but ladies please note: if you need to feed your baby, you are more than welcome to do it, just please be more discreet!  Gave the definition of a "boobie bar" a whole different meaning. 

....and remember, he's had his milk, just leave him some cookies this year!

   

Urbananites in Suburbia!

I wake up every day - assuming my link to the world will be there....I grab my Droid and check email, peruse the latest news, and maybe play a word or two against my opponent's on today's version of Scrabble.....someone else somewhere across America, trying to stump me with a tough word or block a triple word move....I turn on the TV with over 300 channels and have access at my fingertips to my computer. Life is good; however, yesterday our router died and we had no internet service....WHAT?&%^$#$^&@&@!!!  Ah gees! 

Both the hubby and I had computer related things to do.....what did we do before we were all so computerized?  So we turned into urbanites today - as if we were leaving our brownstone in SoHo and we headed to the nearest Starbucks.  We ordered our liquid delicacies....he a hot chocolate and me a Salted Hot Caramel Hot Chocolate (heaven in an environmentally friendly cup!) and set up shop next to two gals studying for the MCAT's, one already in medical school. 

We wrapped up and headed to a new place, Vickery Park, http://www.vickeryparkbar.com/ an unpretentious neighborhood restaurant & bar to meet friends for lunch. I had the most yummy lunch...a  brisket sandwich with Kahlua cream sauce and smoked cheese served on a butter honey bun. Man was it good!  The side salad was also amazing chocked full of toasted pecans, fresh grated cheese and dried cranberries, no ordinary side salad.  

We continued our "urban adventure" and jumped on the train as we head to downtown Dallas to see Jeff Dunham's Identify Crisis Show at the AA Center. It's my third time to see him....he was funny as usual. A few repeat jokes from years past, but for the most part the material was fresh. 

Both places were fantastic people watching/listening places....Starbucks: a first date, sharing their life stories over a cuppa; a Dad and little girl coming in so he can read the paper and she can nosh on a cookie, then reading the grocery list together before heading to market.  Dunham's show:  Lots of different walks of life...and I mean LOTS.....Funny how they all love a guy with dolls. 

At the end Dunham turned the lights on (his hometown is Dallas so we always get an extended show). His family, parents, cousins are always in the crowd. He brought his daughter out and she shot a huge T-shirt cannon gun with t-shirts for the fans.....one guy was so determined to get that shirt that he dove, knocking a lady out of her chair (who had gotten out of her wheelchair mind you to take her seat).  After he got up, he said, "Sorry Mom."  The dude knocked over his own wheelchair bound Mom for a T-shirt. 

Luckily, it turned out the problem was a dud power cord to the router, not the router itself, so we are back in business. I don't think my tush could've taken much more on a hard wooden seat in Starbucks, though it was entertaining to watch.     

It's seasonal.......

So last week hubby and I hit Einstein's bagels for a quick breakfast.  It's fall,  the leaves are changing, weather is starting to get cool so I decide to try the Pumpkin Nut bagel and I must say it was absolutely delicious!  Toasted, fluffy cream cheese melting in middle, you get the picture.  

So running errands this morning, I think of that scrumptious little booger and I pull in on my way to Lowe's.  I march up to the counter and order my regular.....

I'll have one toasted pumpkin nut bagel with plain please.

Sorry, we no longer have that, it's seasonal.

I tilt my head like Tank the dog does when he hears me but isn't quite sure what I said....

Seasonal I say?

Yes she says, we stopped selling those on Saturday.

Another worker chimes in......Oh don't fall in love with our seasonal items, as soon as you know it they're gone!

Still perplexed I state, it's Thanksgiving this week but it's gone?  I thought this week was seasonal.

So I had to settle for a Dutch Apple, but it just wasn't the same......what kind of crap is that? 

I'm writing Mr. Einstein now - which now that I think about it, an Einstein he's not.

Tis the season.

Furry Children

I used to think people who were so into their pets were whack jobs, nuts, you know the type - talk to them all the time, dress them up, buy them a Christmas presents...weirdos......well as an empty nester, I am now one of those nut jobs. As the girls have gotten older and almost completely self-sufficient, turning into beautiful young adults, I still find a need to nurture and care for someone, something, thus my furry children reap the rewards.  

Of course I still have my human children, but they don't "need" me like when they were little. They are great fun to do things with, but they get their own food, they know how to do laundry, they drive themselves places, and now have exciting goals as their adult lives are beginning to blossom. In essence I should be thrilled as that means I did my job....but as a Mom I still miss taking care of someone.  

My furry children, Tank, Piper & Cody absolutely LOVE me....unconditionally and no matter what I say or do.  Whatever advice I dispense, they agree. Whatever I put on, they say it makes me look thin.  I get up from my computer and they pop up to follow me in case I need assistance (which I never do). My husband calls them my entourage, my minions.

Hubby and I were talking about the Royal wedding this morning, after seeing a report on TV (one of gazillions) about Wills and Kate, and we deemed that in our land, Tank would be King. While technically he's not the first born, (Cody the Cat is by four years), he would be deemed leader of the furry children. Cody just would not make a good King. He's far too lazy. Cats do good kings not make, yet they're called King of the Jungle. Go figure!  

When the commoners come knocking on my door, Cody isn't there for assistance and to alert me, it's Tank, watching over the Queen Mother and his kingdom. When in the backyard, if any trespassers should go by on their nightly walks with leashes and poop baggies in hand, it's Tank who warns them not to cross the moat or they shall face their demise. Cody on the other hand could care less, they're disturbing his slumber. When I come into the living room does Cody get up out of the recliner and offer me a seat? No, he stretches, yawns, gives me the stink eye and rolls over. When I walk into the kitchen, no matter what time of day, no matter how many times I've already fed him, he meows and meows incessantly until more food it placed in his bowl. Sometimes he eats it, sometimes he looks at it, and walks off in a huff - satisfied he worked me over like the great puppet master he thinks he is.     

Piper is our little Harry, 2nd in line and will never see the thrown, therefore we have deemed her Duchess of Amhearst Court. However, Piper would make a great Princess Diana - she adores everyone who comes her way, she is loved by the masses, and she looks great in any outfit. She's quite the fashion plate and very amenable to any outfit change. Example: We had a Halloween party (with little kids mind you) and we ourselves had no little ones to dress up, so who got it? Tank and Piper. Piper loves a great outfit.  This year she was a policewoman....our own Angie Dickinson, Veronica Mars, Helen Mirren's Jane Tennison from Prime Suspect, or 80's classic Cagney and Lacy.

She watched over all the children the entire night, especially Allison, a 5-month-old who was attending her first Halloween party ever. Piper hardly left her side all night and when Allison tugged and yanked her ears and wanted to chew on them, Piper never snapped or barked, she grimaced but eloquently wiggled her ears out of Allison's chubby little drool-covered hands, and still sat attentively by her side.    

Tank does no like the pomp and circumstance or true appreciation of a good costume or outfit, which begs to question, should he really be king? Kings must wear crowns, capes, and all the regalia fit for such a position....and he's camera shy. He does not like the paparazzi. For Halloween I put him in a cute black and orange glittered bandana, to which he took off as soon as he was out in the yard, throwing it down and running off to watch the boys at the shooting gallery. 

I took them this past spring to get a picture in the bluebonnets, a treasured Texas tradition....as the girls are past this ritual....and who cooperated? Piper - smiling and cheesing it up.  She works it like a fan is blowing on her in a photo shoot.  Tank sees a camera and he turns his head.  "Profile pics only" he says.  "I don't want a profile pic I say, I want you smiling in the bluebonnets like you're having a good time."  No such luck.  Cody standing regal as sentry guard over the scarecrow cooperated quite well for his royal portrait.  

...hmmm....too good for commoners, demands food at the drop of a meow, poses eloquently for official portraits.....maybe Cody is King after all. At any rate - they are what we coin as our furry children and we love them, just like we do the human ones..... 
      

Cody the Sentry Guard over Scarecrow

This has been Cody's post every day since Scarecrow appeared back in September.  He sat there while I took pics of him, never moving as if he were a Guard at Buckingham Palace.  Not sure where his post will be after next week.....

This sentry has been tested by time.
The first watch was a lonely time
He stood through rain and the humid heat of summer on his own.
No one around - there was no one anywhere.
He stood watch at his post guarding this place for time
This place he guarded was new to all
And that which would happen was yet to come. (Moongzr '96)

It sucks being laid off......you feel like dog doo doo.  I'm now just a statistic on the evening news.  They say when God closes a door, he opens a window......I'm looking for my new window......I hope it's a fun and exciting new adventure.



Tuesday surprises!

Don't you just love getting surprises?  The definition of a surprise:  To come upon or discover suddenly or unexpectedly. Don't good surprises just make your day? They can be little or they can be big, makes no difference. I got TWO today. SURPRISE #1:  I came home for a meeting to find my husband had left for work and had made the bed before he left.....(did you hear angels singing like I did?)  Miracles truly never cease. Small gesture - big impact!  His philosophy: We're just going to get back in it tonight, why worry about it. My philosophy: That's gross. I am going to chew my food at dinner but I still want to see it all nice and lovely on a plate before I start. 

No, this is not our bed, but it does look comfy! 



SURPRISE #2:  A dear girlfriend had come by, rang the bell, and Helen Keller here didn't hear it so she left a nice little envelope under the front porch mat. It was our wedding anniversary last week and she had a card for us. She later sent a text to advise it was there, and I ran downstairs like it was Christmas morning to see what I got. I am like this with mail, emails, birthdays, Christmas...basically anytime I get to open a surprise. I gingerly raised the mat and found a cute card with a lovely handwritten message and gift certificates to our FAVORITE frozen yogurt place......what a great Tuesday and what a great friend, as she took the time out to think of us, despite some recent dealings with a close family member's illness (hang in there Ed!). I will raise my plastic spoon in her honor and think of her fondly when I'm creating and then noshing on my glacial dairy dessert concoction.  Thank you my favorite Canadian Frostback!  

     

Lemon Harvest!

We planted a lemon bush and have watched it bloom and grow over the summer.  We finally harvested our first lemon tonight. We cut it open and the smell was absolutely amazing! Far more pungent then grocery store lemons. The smell made me want a huge vineyard and orchard in Italy. Five more lemons to enjoy! Maybe I should harvest my crop and head to Farmers Market Saturday morning....I could sell out in the first 5 minutes...:)

Ladies and Gentlemen - start your engines!

So we did what every good Texan should do at least once....and ONLY once....attend a NASCAR race.  I still do not see the allure of this "sport".  We had pit passes and infield access as hubby had posted colors with Honor Guard the day prior so we took some good friends. The day was gorgeous and we knew our people watching would be epic.  We sat in the back of our pick up truck, in lawn chairs, and watched as race cars buzzed around the track at deafening sound and lightning speed.  We left about an hour into it - been there, done that, mark it off our bucket list....but was it really ever on our bucket list?....and dare I ask, is it really a sport?  

Denton Firefighter's Memorial 2010

Hubby participated in the Denton County Firefighter's Memorial today; playing with North Texas Pipe & Drum Corps. This yearly event has all Denton County Fire Departments (31) represented, honoring those lost in line of duty the previous year. They marched around Denton's town square, and then ended up at the Denton County Firefighter's Memorial. They finished their set with Amazing Grace.  

View from Memorial of Town Square

DCF Memorial

Paying respects

Taking off to march

Austin Farmers Market

Fall is here but down in Austin it feels like a beautiful spring day! Farmers market (4th and Guadalupe) is just like the city - eclectic! Canopies were scattered all throughout the trees. The fall harvest is in full swing with local farmers, all organic, selling their wares.....peppers, squash, eggplants, farm fresh eggs, grass-fed beef, and fresh seafood. Pure fresh honey, jars of marinated feta, and little pies. Warm kolaches, spicy breakfast tacos and coffee. I had an iced chai tea that was delicious!

These radishes are out of this world!

These peppers were to gorgeous not to photograph!

Carolina on my mind

We spent last weekend with great friends and had a wonderful time on our trip to North AND South Carolina. We were lucky to attend the Univ. of South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Alabama Roll Tide. #19 USC killed #1 ranked Alabama. We enjoyed Carolina BBQ, drinks, and lots of laughter and cheer. 82,000 screaming fans, yelling GO COCKS!










The Carolinas are gorgeous this time of year - leaves starting to change, cool mornings and clear nights......



The town of Huntersville (suburb of Charlotte) was lovely....tucked off side of road was this historical marker.

In Charlotte, we hit Diner, Drive-in and Dive's recommendation of Cabo Fish Taco Seafood Grill. We noshed on BBQ mahi-mahi tacos........yum!!! http://www.cabofishtaco.com/ We also hit Red Rocks http://www.redrockscafe.com/ for lunch one day - and their food was also amazing.

The trip was fantastic and it was so good to catch up with old friends who are very dear to us. The only bobble in the vaca was coming home, our flight left an hour late from Charlotte. We had to sprint like Olympians to the next gate in Atlanta. We jumped on board and they closed the door behind us....whew!

White Rabbits, white rabbits, white rabbits!

Ever since I was a wee little lass, my Mum would make us say, "white rabbits, white rabbits, white rabbits" first thing when we woke up on the first day of each month. It was supposed to bring us good luck for the month. As I was sitting here tonight, looking at the little white bunny that lives in my front yard and comes out every night to graze, I thought to myself, tomorrow I'll be saying white rabbits.....even at my age, I still do it every single month without fail. Thanks to the internet, I looked it up - to see where it came from.....here's what I learned:

According to Wikipedia: It is a common British superstition. The exact origin of the superstition is unknown, though it has appeared in print at least as early as 1922: 'Why,' the man in the brown hat laughed at him, 'I thought everybody knew 'Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit.' If you say 'Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit'--three times, just like that--first thing in the morning on the first of the month, even before you say your prayers, you'll get a present before the end of the month.' However, some reports place its origins even earlier, into the 1800's. Today it has spread to most of the English-speaking countries of the world, although like all folklore, determining its exact area of distribution is difficult. This superstition is related to the broader belief in the rabbit or hare being a "lucky" animal, as exhibited in the practice of carrying a rabbit's foot for luck. Some have also believed it is representing a jumping into the future and moving ahead with life and happiness.

Aren't some traditions you've kept from childhood just the best? Now say it and see if you have a great October ~ J9R

Did you say tick?

So we wake up the other morning, and Tank (our oldest Mauzer (maltese/schnauzer) was laying on his back, feet up - really not ready to hear the alarm. He sleeps at foot of our bed. So A starts rubbing his belly and says, "oh my, he has two ticks under his skin, we need to get him to vet!" So, bleary-eyed, I look and disgusted think to myself, I'm not touching them so I agree I'll take him later when they open. Tank joyfully hops into the Liberty; and once there, realizes we're not going out for frozen yogurt - 'holy crap she's getting something done to me' he thinks. We go in, tell vet about our horrid tick problem, asking to please remove them from our little man as my husband had discovered them at 5:30 this morning......We go to room and wait....and wait for the vet......the vet comes in, we flip the Tankster over so I can show her the horrible critters that are about to be invasion of the body snatchers.....'uh mam, these are not ticks, these are teets.....I'm like "what!@!@!" Yep, here's one, and here's one, and here's one.....they're his boobs! So I call my boob and say, "it's a teet not a tick!" Gees.....:)

Brie & Apple Panini

I needed a snack today - and created a great one! Would be great and fast to fix on the fly before racing out to a soccer game, errands, or light lunch. I have a little panini grill, but you could use a Foreman grill if you have one - either works. I took one tortilla, put some quarter-sized slices of brie on it, and some apple slices. I didn't have a fresh apple, but sliced some out of a can of fried apples I had gotten at Walmart (Luck's brand)....sprinkled a little cinammon sugar on it, put on grill for about 2-3 minutes and viola - le snack!

Yea - Fall is here!

Kicked weekend off by hitting State Fair of Texas - hadn't been in 8-9 years. The quality has definitely improved. Besides the bevy of fried foods, there was actually a good variety. The dog stunt show was entertaining, and in food building pavilion we found some great Texas treats to take to friends on an upcoming trip to North Carolina. Saturday I hit Tilman's Roadhouse to celebrate Mom's birthday. Adrianna, a good friend of ours joined us for the fun. Tilman's has oustanding food - located in Bishop Arts District - worth the trip. So my Mom and I went to Antique Alley Texas just last week (http://www.antiquealleytexas.com/). Twice a year; the towns of Cleburne, Grandview and Mayfair & Maypearl have a 25 mile flea market! Miles & miles of people selling crafts, wares, furniture, food, ANYTHING you can imagine - some new, some old, and some making you say, "what in god's name is that and who in God's name would buy it?" But as they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure. I bought a cute little end table - talking the guy down to $10 (from the outrageously priced $15). So today, since it was glorious outside, decided I'd spruce it up with a paint job. I had seen a cute end table done up in Country Sampler magazine, so thought I'd duplicate. Headed to Home Depot this morning and bought paint gadgets to hook up to our air compressor as I thought it would look better than using brushes. After my end table, I did my little coffee station......I must say I am very happy with the end results ~ J9R