the time has come ...

... the walrus said, to talk of many things.

and i guess i am the walrus. coo coo ca choo.

don't have much time or energy or motivation to sit here and write a long post, so i'll be quick. and i think i'll number my thoughts, so as to organized this scrambled mess of mush they call a mind.

1. i turned 50 since last we met. whoop-de-doo! it's nifty and i'm thrifty. and in the words of molly shannon's SNL character, sally o'malley: "i'm 50 years old and i like to kick and strrrretch and KICK! 'cause i'm 50 years old! 50! 50! book 'em danno, i'm 5-0."



had a good bday weekend. hubs had to work in prep for summer school so the FAGs and our FAGette tara went to austin to paint the town pink. spent saturday night in two lovely suites in a gorgeous hotel that had ... wait for it ... ROYAL SWANS swimming in the koi pond in the lobby!

there really was lots of eye candy at this hotel with a gorgeous atrium and glass elevators. great place to start a new decade of my life, especially surrounded by my best girls.

from the 6th floor, looking down at the lobby and the swans

see that gorgeous blonde in the elevator? her name is tara. :)

birthday girl dons the green (ack!) birthday hat (acquired from restaurant the night before), for The Opening of the Gifts

beautiful daughter with her old mama ... haha

jannetta hugs the birthday girl

bonnie's turn!

i'm 5-0!

group picture!

2. have been doing V. well on my Junk Flow Situation (as discussed in previous posts). selling fairly well on ebay and i shed myself of PLENTY at the last show (see previous post). i'm still working on the INFLUX PROBLEM but whatcha gonna do? a junker's gotta junk. but i'm truly focusing on scaling back and putting things back before checkout.

am in LOVE with this retro cool aqua bread bin/tin. found it at the barn for $1!!!

picked up this interesting copper set at a sale in austin on birthday weekend. i love it. but it's not budging on ebay.

3. am following american idol much too closely. am concerned about the intensity and depth of which i CARE about the show and the idols. i mean, really. i went into full-blown hysteria when casey got the boot this week (hi dee ho ... heave ho!). i find myself in a state of agitation should someone interrupt me while i'm watching. i vote more often than i should. i can't put my iphone down. just one more text vote. i worry about what will happen when the season is over. i want james to win because: A. he deserves it. he's so full of musical talent that it's oozing out of every pore. B. i'm so encouraged and heartened that someone with his disabilities can overcome sooo much and come sooo far. it gives me hope for my son ... that he can do ANYthing. asperger's, ADD, whatever ... it shouldn't hold you back and keep you from realizing your dreams.

4. said goodbye to michael scott of the office last night. yes, i actually cried. i know it's not real life (like idol ... bwahahaha) but i've watched this show for many years and i think steve carrol is one of the funniest guys out there. he WAS the office. will miss him on the show.

5. easter came. easter left. one of the first years i didn't make an easter basket for anyone. :( however, i DID receive this SWEEEEET pink vintage sewing basket for my bday from dear friend and fellow 1961 baby, mary valentine! OH!!!! and she also gave me THE BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT ANYONE could ever receive ... her first grandbaby!!! Sweet baby Olivia was born on MY birthday!!! whoop!!! congrats, grandma mary!!

isn't it lovely? and it goes perfectly with my little bunnies and chicks.

sweetness incarnate

6. had a precious afternoon with my two youngest yesterday. in an impromptu "picnic", the three of us grabbed some chick-fil-a and headed for the lake. we ate under the bridge but didn't get out of the car because there were a few fishermen (think deliverance) and three dogs roaming the area. in fact, one of them came over to our car (smelled the chick-fil-a probably) and tried to climb in the car window. he left multiple claw scratches on my dark blue camry. and no, i didn't bother to complain to their owners (see deliverance reference above).

however, we did drive around the lake to a nicer area and walked around a bit. gorgeous, sunny weather, the company of my babes and chick-fil-a.

yeah, 50 is starting out okay. :)

matt holds up a fossilized ear. nah, not really. but it's incredible how much it actually LOOKS like an ear!

tara looking cool in her shades. it was a beautiful sunny day

happy weekend, y'all.

love and hugs,
terry lee

Birthday Show and Tell

hey y'all,

not sure where to begin with this post because there's so much to show you and tell you and share with you.

so yesterday was the most important day in the universe. did y'all notice that the earth stopped rotating? the moon had a smiley face on it? the sun and stars danced around my head and all living creatures ceased their activities so they could focus upon The Most Important Event of The Year ... My Birthday?!

yes, it's true! so in case you were wondering what was going on yesterday, what with the birds, the bees, the sun and stars and whatnot, it was all My Fault. what can i say? this is what happens when there's a terry lee birthday. it's a freak of nature. heh heh

okay, all kidding aside. the world didn't really stop for my birthday (oh c'mon, don't act all surprised).

it was a fun, sweet, lovely day spent with family and dear friends.

let me back up. i was born in a little hospital in downtown killeen ... okay, wait. let's not back up that far. about two weeks ago, birthday packages began showing up in my mail.

first one was from my dear pal mary valentine (sweet, sweet name, yes?). she knows me well. lots of pink, paris-themed lovelies and other goodies. what fun! thanks again, mary. love ya!



second package to arrive was from dear friend sue, over at vintagesue. she also knows my tastes very well. she sent all manner of vintage sweetness my way. thanks so much sue!





next, i received a lovely treasure box from sweet pal dana, of dana's chicken scoop. she had ordered a vintagesue box treasure for me. naturally, it was filled with more vintage loveliness! loved it all, dana! thanks so much. (nice work, sue!)









these ladies are terribly sweet and thoughtful ... love my packages. love y'all more!

isn't it fun to start celebrating your birthday early? it's like the whole month of april is BIRTHDAY love!

so, on to my actual birthday, yesterday. woke up to dear hubby, gifts and card in hand. oh, and a CHEESECAKE (!!!) for my birthday cake!! i think that's a first. for me.

hubby knows me pretty well too. loads of blistex (ahhh!!!), body washes and what i like to call the perfect gift: folding money. it's always the right size and color! thanks, DH! love the birthday poem, too.



before the girls (jannetta, bonnie and tara) and i took off to waco for The Birthday Blast, we had another round of birthday gifts. jannetta and bonnie, who are my closest friends showered me with lots of pink sweetness and love. thanks girls.





despite the rain (ack!!) we did have a blast. first stop: the treasure city flea market. we were all waco flea market virgins, and as such, we were a little unsure of the uncharted territory.



as it happens, it was quite interesting, with a fair variety of junk ... er ... merchandise.

yes. brassieres. at a flea market. now that's something i haven't seen before.

tara proudly displays her $0.50 treasure find. jannetta and bonnie share the joy.


the flea market (tara suggested it should be called a butterfly market ... as fleas seem so, well, unseemly) is set up in a U shaped pattern. we gave it our best shot, but could only hack about half of the U. the humidity, the crazy fuzzies flying through the air (what WAS that?!) making us sneeze, aching feet and low blood sugar got the better of us.

time. to. eat!

as planned, we hit ninfa's for lunch. ahhh! it felt sooo wonderful to be inside, sitting. drinking. eating. talking. laughing. junking is great, but sometimes it's nice to sit and chillax.



after filling up on mexican food and iced tea (okay, somebody had a frozen strawberry margarita) we were ready for round dos (that's two, for you gringos).

minor crisis: hit the sally stores (salvation army thrifts) OR go next door to The Shops, which are nothing short of eye candy heaven?

The Shops won. we were there. we already knew we loved it.

if you live in central texas, it's a must-see shop. instead of blah blah blah-ing about it, i'll just let the pictures do the talking. i took so many, i decided to make a slide show ... just too many to put in the blog. all i can say is: EYE. CANDY.

a couple of hours later, it was time to head home. after an hour rainy drive down I-35, i was ready for bed.

but wait! another surprise awaited me. a beautiful arrangement of flowers from my dear sis belinda. they'd been delivered whilst i was playing in waco. they are gorgeous, belinda! thanks so much!



lest y'all think i forgot my birthday cheesecake, i did not. tara put some candles on it, she and ben sang happy birthday and a worn out, half-asleep birthday girl blew out her candles ... in one breath i might add. which as you all know, means her wish will come true! :-)





later in the evening, while checking my email, facebook, bloggity blogs, etc. i got a text from my baby. okay, he's 16 but he's the baby.

"i'm comin' over to wish you a happy birthday, mom!" (he spends the weekends with his dad)

yea!!! i get to see my baby on my birthday!

within seconds (he must've text from the front door!) he's hugging me with his big ol' self (he's a big baby) and generally loving me up. how great is that? he proudly presents me with a card that includes a gift card to starbucks. very sweet ... but he didn't have to give me a single thing. just his presence fills my heart to overflowing.

he's gone before i know it. but for the most part, my day is complete. those of you who know me well, understand that statement. but it's okay ... life is good and i have been reminded once again how wonderfully loved and blessed i truly am.

love and hugs to all,
terry lee

celebrating my virgos

hey y'all!

that time of year has arrived again. woohoo for the virgos in my life!

my hubby turned @# years old this weekend and my daughter turned 27 today. happy, happy birthday to both of you!

as i said last year, it's always a bit of a crunch for me, the birthday maker, having two special birthdays back to back.

but being the sup-p-per troup-p-per that i am, everything fell into place and the birthday boy and girl seemed to have a grand ol' time.

after the celebrating, i usually fall into bed for a week of recovery. just kidding, folks. it's only for a couple of days.

this year was more low-key. maybe because i'm older. maybe others are expecting less from me. i don't know. but i certainly don't feel the intense stress that i have in years past.

blah blah blah. enough about the birthdays.

this weekend i barnstormed and uncovered a few very nifty treasures. an awesome vintage suitcase in great shape, complete with a couple of old travel stickers still on it, one of which is from TCA (trans canada airlines, which was founded in 1936 and became known as air canada in 1965). amazing what you can learn on the interwebs. ;-)

the FAGs and i also hit a yard sale out in the cave, i mean cove, that was fantastic, if you were looking for arts and craft supplies. an art teacher was unloading all her crap and oh. my. gawd. she had some good stuff!

mod podge, stamps, old flash cards, paints and the piece de resistance, a samsonite travel bag CHOCK full of vintage (oldest from 1905-1960s) art books and magazines. i briefly perused them after i got home and they are filled with gorgeous vintage pictures!

made out like a bandit too. my total was $3.50!!

i love it when a plan comes together: junking + FAGs + bargains = happy me.

love and hugs,
terry lee

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birthday boy smiles with his cake. only used one candle due to fire safety concerns. haha
birthday girl with her cake ... so sweet.
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i simply adore this old piece. you can tell it was well used and appreciated. sue, what do i DO with it now?!

spread of awesome vintage art books

love this vintage lady!!

the oldest of the pieces, this magazine is from october 1905. woman's home companion.

great vintage ad from the magazine. uh, rust-proof corset?! what were they made of anyhow?!

cause and effect, my arse. can't believe women wore these!!
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