Apparently you can get here from there!

In celebration of passing the 70,000 mark on my blog, I offer you some unusual word searches that actually brought visitors to the blog:

cocker spaniel trixie little jimmy
nancy wong booty (Nancy must be very popular.)
mating blogs
october afternoon ducks in a row
what rhymes with the name victoria carr
polydactyl woman (Apparently, it’s possible. Read this.)
the coolest thing ever
obsessive crochet (Been there, done that—too much for my own good)
thrift stores on way to death valley (Ooh! Now that sounds like a fun road trip.)
kids running from bees  (Smart kids)
mom washed our hair   (Every Sunday night, right before the Wonderful World of Disney)
nun toys ugly  (hmmmm….)
using thankfully incorrectly  (Ha! My dad is going to love that one.)
sugar glider on a cat (not a safe place to be, that’s for sure)
lucky hummingbird hobo (I googled it to see what that might be. It’s a tote bag.)
ice cream chest freezer in rio grande valley (hmmm…sounds like criminal activity…should I call the police?)
lilium sweat kiss (sweet, not sweat…and it’s a Lily hybrid)
20 foot high elephant lawn ornament (Our homeowner association would have a fit!)
she wet (T.M.I.)
honey sockal loocust creeper (Definitely not a potential candidate for a spelling bee)

And the top dozen postings of “all time” on my blog are:

Concrete leaf casting (still in the #1 position, as always): 2,482 hits

Color Magic Rose (still in the #2 position, as always): 1,777 hits

Crafty room divider screen: 1,523 hits

Stuff about me: 1,128 hits

Snowberry Clearwing Hummingbird Moth: 598 hits

Spotlight on Abbie!: 592 hits

Gigglebean with parrot and sugar glider: 528 hits

Heavenly blue: 515 hits

Mina Lobata (Spanish flag): 489 hits

Monarch butterfly habitat poster: 449 hits

Then on to craft project #823: 387 hits

Bionic Woman = Cover Girl: 345 hits

Many thanks to my fellow bloggers who have sent their visitors to my blog:

Avid gardener and photographer Birgitte in Denmark

Bookkeeper, writer, cochlear implant recipient and fun-loving Abbie in New Jersey

Avid gardener, photographer, wife, and mother Jan in Virginia

Garden designer and photographer Pam in Austin, Texas

Traveler, blogger and photographer ChrisY “Visuallens” in Malaysia

Librarian, gardener and photographer Phillip in Florence, Alabama

Lovely Heather—Mom, wife, designer, lover of all animals, helpless creatures and underdogs—somewhere in the U.S.

Golden-haired, candid, open and honest, blossoming photographer Chloe in Australia

Avid gardener, quilter, and Kurt’s Mom—Aunt Debbi in North Texas

Hearing loss social network creator Senthil somewhere in the U.S.

Gardener, nature lover, and recorder-of-all-things-happening-in-the-pond GG near Atlanta, Georgia

Photographer Scott Thomas in upstate New York

Artist and photographer CheyAnne in New Mexico

Passionate gardener, daylily enthusiast and aspiring novelist Gotta Garden in Stafford, Virginia

Avid gardener and photographer Jan from Covington, Louisiana

Reluctant (but obsessed anyway) gardener Kim in Maryland

Creative photographer and lonely wanderer Wildblack in Abu Dhabi

Fotoblography Andy, somewhere in the U.S.

Web/graphic designer and photographer Stacy Tabb in central Florida

Marketing specialist and very talented nature photographer Ed Vatza in eastern Pennsylvania

Homemaker, wife, mother of five beautiful children, and cochlear implant recipient Jennifer near Nashville, Tennessee

Up-and-coming country singer/songwriter Jay Henley in Maryland

Artist, crafter, newlywed, and amazing cloudscape/Texas sky photographer Shelley in West Texas

Avid gardener, photographer, mother, wife and Army retiree Tina from Tennessee

Gardener, blogger and candid writer Gumboots in Australia

Father, writer, and soon-to-be-a cochlear implant recipient (yay for you, finally!) Ulf in Norway

Undeniably, hands-down, no contest—the best father this girl could have, The King of Texas

Thrift store couture

As I mentioned in an earlier posting, I just recently stumbled into the wonderful world of (designer brand) thrift store fashions! Yes, I knew they sold clothes at Goodwill and Salvation Army. I just didn’t think there would be such good pickins’! I found Mom her very first Ann Taylor garment and the Tommy Hilfiger shirt at a Salvation Army in San Antonio in December. Dad and I went in to look around and I decided to check out the clothing. Mom stayed in the car since she’s more a Chico’s/Coldwater Creek/Talbot’s clothes-that-have-never-been-worn kind of gal. Thrift stores don’t usually appeal to her. She would soon be changing her tune when we got back to the car.

This thrift store is in a nice neighborhood, so the donations were a little more upscale overall. When I got back to the car, I tossed the two blouses over to Mom and she was really surprised at the name labels and the condition the clothes were in. And on Wednesdays at that store, all clothes are 50% off the regular price! We went to lunch and then skedaddled back to the store so she could check it out. I asked her if she wanted a cart and she said, “No, I’m just looking.” A few minutes later, my arms draped with all her finds, I scored an empty cart and we filled it up.

Of course I bought my fair share of stuff—my major coup was finding linen shirts (for me) from Chicos, one of my favorite stores. And I bought several of the shirts that you see in the glamour shots I posted here. I bought the black Indecent Proposal-like dress for just $4 (5th row down); the stretchy lace tops (6th row, right and 7th row, left) were just $1 each; the deep blue satin blouse (9th row, left) was $1.50; and the best bargain was the beige satin blouse at the bottom of the collage. It was just 25 cents!

A few days later we were near Randolph Air Force Base and Dad took us through a “questionable” neighborhood to a thrift store he frequents. Mom stayed in the car and I ran out and held up stuff for her to approve. I bought her the form-fitting black knit Adrienne Vittadini jacket (modeled below) and a short embossed suede jacket, both for half price—$2.00 each! I also found a microfiber dress and jacket for her sister Evelyn—just $4 for that fashionable frock. And the best part—all proceeds from that store go to help animals at the local shelter!

From that point on, any time my dad announced he was going to a thrift store, I was right by his side. I had way too much fun in December!

And Mom—thanks for humoring me and modeling for these shots. You’re such a good egg.

AND NOW FOR SOME LATE-BREAKING NEWS….my mom called me this afternoon to report that she and my dad went to the Salvation Army and Goodwill after lunch. She found a beige silk Ann Taylor blouse (tags still on it—$78 retail) for $2 and a pair of Talbot’s white capri pants for $2 at the Salvation Army. At Goodwill she found a pair of dressy black Ann Taylor pants for just $3. Hmmm…I do believe we have a thrift store convert!

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.