Visit My New Blog

http://www.muchstronger.blogspot.com/

Danceathon For Breast Cancer ~ An Awesome Morning!

Wow, I haven't blogged since New Years day! I'm hoping to get back to it more often.

This morning was such a fun morning! The group instructors from our O'Fallon, IL Golds Gym held a Danceathon to raise money for breast cancer. We truly have the best gym and wonderful instructors here! The classes offered are great and so much fun! I love the energy and the people! They are all super, fun, awesome friends to be around and always have a blast! I am very thankful to be a part of this awesome gym community.

So at 8:30 this morning everyone arrived ready to dance and have a good time. I worked the donation table and took lots of pictures and videos. The instructors worked hard getting everything set up and ready to go. Here they are~

Mikadya, Tisha, Libby, Char, and Donna
They are all FABULOUS ladies!



Char is our Zumba/Yoga instructor and is simply amazing! We love her! She led most of the dancing this morning. She is soooo good! Go Char!

Here is Mikadya our amazing Hip Hop Hustle and Turbokick instructor. We love her too! She ended the danceathon with some super funky moves! This lady can dance!

There was a pretty good turnout and the weather wasn't bad at all. Just a little warm, but there was a nice breeze. Thank goodness!


There were even a few honks from passing cars :-)
Such a fabulous and fun way to workout and raise money for a great cause!

Tisha and Donna working hard to get the stereo to work :-)

What a cute little helper at the donation table! Such a pretty smile!

She wore my black coin belt most of the time :-)

Donna and Nicole hangin out at the table.

Shake it, shake it! Zumba is so much fun!

There was even a Drop it Like it's Hot contest. Here is Nicole with her wild and crazy moves! Whip you hair back and forth!!!!

And here is Jessica with her hot dance moves!

Here they are with their prize t-shirts! They dropped it like it was HOT!!! Woo Hoo!

Amanda, Rose, and Paige. All dressed in pink! Amanda and Paige entered the Drop it Like it's Hot contest as well and won the pink water bottles. Nice shirt Amanda, I like it! :-)


Yummy brownies for after all that dancing! Who doesn't love brownies with cream cheese frosting! Mmmmm!
Nicole looks like she's enjoying the brownies!

We raised around $245 and had a super fun time! Thank you to everyone that showed up and danced the morning away! It was AWESOME!!!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of you! I'm looking forward to 2011! Gonna make it a GREAT year! I'll be back soon with a little makeover project I'm working on! See you then!

So Fun To Dream

Isn't it fun to dream of having things that you wish you could have? From simple things to unrealistic, unnecessary things. Well, lately I have been dreaming and I'll show you some of the things I've dreamed about after I show you some things that I am enjoying this Fall season. I also want to share a yummy looking recipe I want to try from this great new cookbook I bought.
This Gooseberry Patch Autumn with Family and Friends cookbook has so many great recipes.

Here is one I would like to try~

Pumpkin-Sausage Penne

8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, cubed
16 oz. penne pasta cooked
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
16 oz. pkg. maple flavored ground pork sausage, browned and drained.
1/2 cup butter, sliced
1/2 cup milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
Optional: additional grated Parmesan cheese
nutmeg to taste

Combine cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, butter and milk in a large saucepan. Cook over low heat until cream cheese is melted, stirring frequently. Stir in pumpkin and spices, cook until heated through, stirring occasionally. Add cooked pasta and sausage, toss lightly. Serve topped with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired. Makes 8 servings.

It may sound weird to some of you, but it sounds delicious to me! :)


Now here are a few things I am loving so far this Fall.

My handmade cozy slipper socks that a friend gave me as a gift. They are just perfect for chilly mornings and evenings. So comfy!


Fire pits and making Smores!
The crisp breeze blowing in the window especially in the morning~
Of course I LOVE the so very yummy Pumpkin Spice and the new Toffee Mocha Latte's at Starbuck's. Mmmmm!
I am also loving cute Fall clothes and accessories like pretty scarves~




Super cute jackets, tall boots, skinny jeans, and sweaters~











How about some stylish hats~


Paige and I were in ULTA the other day and saw the new OPI Swiss collection. Love some of these colors~Okay, so those are the realistic things I am enjoying. Now here are some wishes!

A shiny new 2011 Dodge Charger. I would be driving all over the place if I had one of these! I might even sleep in it ha ha!



Now this is for me and my friend Jamie. New Harley's! Woo Hoo! Now I just have to learn how to ride it! Man it would be so FUN!!!!!


This one is mine~
Jamie, this is for you. Hope you like it:)

Then I would love this front porch! Jamie, you can ride on over on your new bike and sit on my porch with me. I'll serve you a nice tall glass of sweet iced tea! Isn't this porch lovely?

I'll take one of these too~
hee hee hee :) Wowwy wow wow!

Just kiddin! Well, maybe not:)

Thanks for stopping by and dreaming with me! Have a great night!

Happy Fall and a Trip to St. Charles, MO

Happy Fall!
It's been quite awhile since I have blogged. I actually haven't even thought about it for months, but I still hop on here to check out other blogs almost every day. It is such a beautiful chilly day here. I am so glad! I have really been looking forward to cooler weather. I just went for a nice walk/jog this morning at a park near here and the wind was actually a little too chilly, but it's better than hot, miserable, and sweaty any day!

I pulled out some of my Fall things the other day. I also bought some cute little gourds to use in my room. I am loving all the white and soft green pumpkins and gourds this year! I would love to buy tons of them! I don't have a whole lot of room to decorate, but I did add a couple of Fall touches to my bedroom. I really like these two little pumpkins on my pie safe~

Here is my farm table desk where I added the gourds and some bittersweet~
I ended up writing "Oh Great Pumpkin, Where are you?" on my chalkboard above the table. That was my sister Kim's suggestion:) (sorry, no pic). You can see my little 1803 Pilgrim Harvest candle below. It smells sooooo good!
As I went through my Fall boxes I found some things that I decided to sell. I am selling these things as a group for $50. Shipping will depend on how it is shipped and where it is going. If you are interested just email me at cozycoop@gmail.com. Here is what is included in this group~
6 handmade pumpkins, one primitive Jack O Lantern from Arnetts Country Store, one penny table runner(like new), one Bittersweet pillow, a prim pumpkin towel, a Harvest Blessings Redware plate framed picture, a framed Autumn Pumpkin stitchery, and a black and mustard willow tree valance. Some very nice items! (I can only accept Paypal.) If you live in this area and are interested then I would be willing to meet somewhere. Update~ These items are SOLD. Thank you!:)

This past Saturday my sister Kim and our good friend Jamie went on a GDO (Girls Day Out) to St. Charles, MO. That is such a beautiful and charming town right on the river. Here is a pic of Jamie and me as we were getting ready to start down the cobblestone streets to look in all the quaint shops~

What an awesome old cabin this was! Jamie liked the porch, so here she is posing with her bag of goodies. (Christmas goodies BTW, she got some cute things! )
Beeeautiful pumpkins on the porch stairs~

So many very neat, gorgeous buildings and homes on this historic street~


Our very favorite store of all, Cobblestone's. This place has waaay too many wonderful things. Lot's of Colonial items. I'll be honest, I was not tempted to buy anything since I am no longer decorating with Colonial or Primitive items, but I do love looking at them:) This is an awesome store~


We had such a fun day that included some yummy ghetto coffee from QT(ha ha), a delicious lunch, fun browsing in shops, and beautiful weather! I look forward to another trip there hopefully in November. Oh and I did not buy anything at all, but there was one item that I regret not buying. I may even go back and see if it's there sometime next week. It was the most adorable gray hat with a gray flower pinned on it. Sooo cute! I want it! Maybe it will still be there. Okay, that's all for this post. I'm off to drink my cup of Earl Grey Tea. Have a wonderful Monday!