It's on.....

I've moved...if you want to know where, please comment and I'll let you know.

Thanks :-)

Writer's Workshop time

Time to write again!

The Prompts:

1.) What is your life's anthem? You know...that song that is ALWAYS in your head. The one you'd go to sing first if someone told you to sing a song right NOW. What is it and what does it mean to you?

2.) We love telemarketers don't we!?! Describe a memorable experience you had with one.

3.) How much does focusing on weight affect your daily life?

4.) Describe in what ways you expect too much from your significant other. Do they deserve an apology?

5.) List ten things that make you HAPPY.

6.) Share a sleep walking story of your own!!

Well, I love music and my anthem would change by the minute, so not sure about that one.

I'm a bit overweight, so, while it is a thought daily, I don't obsess over it too much.

I probably expect too much from Bill, not gonna go there....lol.

I used to sleepwalk only on full moons...odd, I know.

Not sure if I could adequately come up with things that make me happy.

The one that I wanted to write about...yeah, I answered all the others, sue me... ;-) is the telemarketer story. It's not long or even that interesting, I just thought it was funny.

One day I got a call from a telemarketer. I usually listen for a bit and then, since they tend not to listen when you tell them you aren't interested, I hang up. About 2 seconds later the phone rang again and it was the same guy.....just kept on where he left off. I told him I wasn't interested and hung up. Again, he calls back and says that he thought we got cut off. I told him we didn't get cut off....I hung up on him. He was pretty speechless, not sure why. That couldn't have been uncommon. :-)

It's all good....

First off........I hate that saying, but it's all I could think of. ;-)

Good news on B's wrist. It's not broken. Not even sure if it's sprained, but he's in a removable splint. Both of us were relieved about that. He was worried it would impede him for band, but I told him even if he was put in a cast it was only for a few weeks.

I was having an odd morning. By that I mean I felt odd. Not sick, just weird. I was at the high school this morning to drop off some parkas and on the way to work I decided to do a little talking to God. Basically I just prayed for peace for myself and others around me. There is a slight bit of upheaval in a family around here that may impact mine, so I feel we all need some peace. I also happened to go online and one of the first things that was shown to me was this.... "Peace be unto you." -Luke 24:36 This was about a half hour after the prayer, so I guess someone was listening.

I want candy....

Ok, so I was lost as to what to name this post. ;-) I am sitting here eating some JuJuBes, hence the title.





It's been a long weekend. Had the boys for one extra day because of the holiday. No complaints here. :-)





Saturday: J spent most of the day with one of his friends. B, Bill and I braved the crowds at IKEA and Old Navy. My absolutely favorite chair was on sale at IKEA for $39 instead of the usual $89. So I made Bill take me. This one has a leather cushion that I didn't buy, but the colors are the same.

By the time we got to where these were, they were almost out.

Old Navy was running a one day sale on flip flops for $1. I barely got some for the boys. Just the old rubber type, but hey....$1. Bill always says I'll make us go broke saving money...lol.

When we got home, B spent the night at a friends. J came home and then Bill and I helped to get our church back to normal after a scrap booking event. During the time that B was at his friends, he injured himself. Tonight we'll find out if his wrist is broken or not. I have already taken him to the ER and they couldn't tell. Tonight we'll go to the ortho to decide.

Yesterday was the local Memorial Day parade. I walked along side the band giving them water. B just marched. Couldn't do much with his arm in a splint and sling. (Yeah, the irony of him getting drum major and breaking a bone isn't lost on either of us...)

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend and a great week.

Photo Blurb

This week's I Heart Faces contest is for their Photo Blurb Book.  Instead of Adult and Kid categories, there are Amateur and Professional.  I am a consummate amateur so here goes.

I have posted this previously, but I think that this photo shows the personalities of these 2 wonderful kids.  Especially my son.  ;-)

"I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites."

It's Monday...

..and it's time to make some friends.

From over at Kasey's...Friend Makin Monday.

You wouldn't be caught dead where?: In Tower of Terror at Disney

Do you have any hidden talents?: I can write backwards

Name two things you consider yourself to be very good at: cooking, baking

Name two things you consider yourself to be very bad at: being assertive, writing

Have you ever won a trophy?: I think so, just don't remember in what

Name one thing not many people know about you: Hmmm.... I would love to help with or start a support group for domestic violence survivors

Name your earliest memory: Being in a playpen when I was around 2.

What was your favorite musical group in jr. high?: Probably Journey

What was something the worst roommate you ever had did?: Considering the only roommates I've had have been my husbands.... Not gonna go there

When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?: Depending on the year...x-ray tech, psychologist, mom

What was your worst dating experience?: My best friend set me up with the dorkiest guy. She said he was cute, I must say I've questioned her taste in men more than once... ;-)

If you were about to die what would your last meal be?: Something with steak, salad and cake
Who is the most important person in you life?: My kids and my husband

If your house was on fire what 3 things would you grab on your way out?: Assuming my family can get out.... laptop (for pictures), painted wooden pig my dad made when he was 6, important papers...

May I introduce......

...the newest Drum Major for the SHS marching band:

As I edited in the last post, he was able to attend the banquet. I wasn't sure if they were going to announce the drum major at this event, the last part of auditions was that morning. I have no idea how many people have input into the decision. But, needless to say, we are thrilled. I almost cried. :-)

Here is the 2 of us, a bit blurry...

Busy weekend...yet again

I guess weekends do sound busy when you write them out. ;-)

Tonight is the annual band banquet. We'll be having dinner, an awards ceremony and then some of the kids have their own bands who will play. There will also be dancing and board games.

Tomorrow, our church is having a picnic...if it doesn't rain. I do have to work tomorrow, but no conflict there. At some point, weather permitting, I hope to help Bill do more work outside. Either putting up the borders for the garden or the front border on the house (not sure what to call it, a place to plant stuff...will share pics when finished).

Sunday is a baseball game in York. The band will be playing the National Anthem again. Hopefully the weather will hold.

Good weekend

J had a friend spend the night on Friday, in anticipation of his birthday party Saturday.

I have now dubbed his party the 2nd annual BBQ and slasher movie birthday celebration. This year he had 10 kids show up at the appointed time. I think it was 8 girls and 2 boys and himself. I also need to mention that I'm not really fond of this age range (14-15) in a group setting. At one point one of the boys got kicked by a girl (I don't think I need to mention where...) and because he got ticked off (not that I blame him), 3 kids decided to leave. Ok, fine, whatever....the parents were notified, not my problem anymore. Then 2 other kids showed up, so we were almost at original capacity. After that, it was cool. They ate, chased each other, played hide and seek in the dark, watched horror movies and hung out. All in all, a good day for him.

Mother's Day was nice also. The ex never helps with MD stuff (I always ask about Father's Day and his birthday, but leave it up to the kids), but that's cool. M bought me a card that she gave me before we went to church. Our church did a MD breakfast and they always play a female Christian comedienne DVD for us. This one wasn't preachy at all and was hilarious. The breakfast was delicious. After church I took a small nap and then the kids and I went to Wal Mart and Dollar General so J could spend his birthday money. B felt bad that he didn't get me anything for MD, told him he didn't need to, I was happy just being with them. But, he found a baby Shrek and gave it to me...lol. J made me a card and said I could "use" him for 2 days...lol. I still have his "slave for a day" card from my last birthday that I haven't used yet. ;-)

After the boys went to their dad's, M and and I hung out and watched the finale of Celebrity Apprentice.

This week is sort of busy with a band concert, band awards, church picnic and a baseball game. Should be interesting.

I know it's late but....Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms out there.

Say it Forward: Loyal Commenter

I found this carnival and thought that I'd pay tribute to my only a person that comments regularly on my ramblings.

Mimi stops by and comments and I suggest that you go and visit her. She takes wonderful pictures of her family and is such a sweetie.

Join the carnival at 5 minutes for moms.

Happy Birthday

Today I would like to wish my youngest, J, a happy birthday. My baby is 15 today. I won't get to see him until tomorrow (he was with me last night), but that's cool. Tomorrow night he is having a friend spend the night and then on Saturday he is having some friends over for a party. Nothing spectacular, just food and movies, but he's excited. Happy Birthday!

OMG....it's Friend Making Toy time...

Amber is hosting Friend Makin' Monday for Kasey today. So, let's get going... :-) This week we are discussing 5 toys that remind you of your childhood. Heather, Holly Hobbie's best friend:

The first time I met my half brother, Rob, he gave me one of these dolls. I still have her, she was a favorite.

Baby Chrissy:

Another fave doll of mine. You could "pull" her hair and it would grow. I think if you moved her arm it got short again.

Barbie:Of course, like any other girl, I had Barbies. I got the RV for my 5th birthday (1973), had one of the townhouses, the boat and played for hours with my friends who had the airplane and other houses. Tons of fun... ;-) Model Trains:Yeah, I'm a girl and I love trains. We had a layout that we put up every Christmas before my dad died. And finally, like any other child of the 80's.. Cabbage Patch Doll:My mom got me my first one about 3 months before the big blowup about them. I think I had 3 of them.

A smattering of photos

I have finally uploaded some of my pics onto the computer. So I will share.

Easter:

My three kids and my brother's niece.

Helping the kids (2 of them) find eggs. Not quite sure why they are all staring at me...lol.


My boys and my step nephew killing "Nazi zombies".

The boys...excited at being in church.

B and me.

M and J being silly.

I guess that's about it for now. I, hopefully, will be back with more meaningful content soon.

Have a great weekend.

:-)

That time again

It's Writer's Workshop time again. Visit Mama Kat for the others.

The Prompts:

1.) Who really helped you get over something? Write about that person.(writingfix.com)
2.) Is plastic surgery an option? Without being vulgar, write about the body part still attached to you that you would most like to dis-attach and replace with a better one. (writingfix.com)
3.) Share an interesting email exchange you've had with someone lately.
4.) Have you thought about shutting down your blog? Why haven't you and what would cause you to make that decision final?
5.) Today I will...

This week I think I'll share about #4. I don't have any plan to shut down this blog, but I have others where I came close to it.

Back in 2001 I started my blogging adventure over at Xanga.com. I wrote daily there for probably a year or 2 before anyone in my family found out. I was a SAHM who watched some kids during the day, so I had a bit of time to write. I didn't necessarily hide the fact that I had a blog, I just never told my (ex) husband. I pretty much wrote about the same stuff I do here. SSDD... ;-)

When our marriage continued to started to head south I mentioned things, not a bunch of detail, just thoughts. At some point he found out. Didn't bother me too much. He then hacked into my account, wrote horrible stuff about me and even contacted a few people that I met through Xanga. He would comment on their sites and even email them if I had their addresses. Totally horrifying and embarrassing to me.

Luckily for me, I didn't lose any friends over his asshattedness. I still have that blog, mostly read there now. So, I don't shut them down, I just move on.

It's Monday again....time to make friends

It's Friend Makin Monday again at Kasey's

“5 Senses Tag”

We are to list 4 things we love, and one thing we dislike, for each category.

Smell

Like:
1. Coffee
2. Woodsmoke
3. Baking
4. Clean Cotton candle scent

Dislike:
1. BO...lol

Touch
Like:
1. Holding hands with my husband
2. Smooth rocks
3. Yarn
4. When my kids were little and they were all warm and snuggly when they woke in the morning.
Dislike:
1. Anything scratchy

Sound
Like:
1. My children's laughter
2. Birds chirping
3. Hearing my kids play their musical instruments
4. Music
Dislike:
1. Yelling of any sort

Taste
Like:
1. Coffee *smile*
2. Sweets
3. Sour
4. ?
Dislike:
1. Tapioca

Sight
Like:
1. My kids
2. My husband
3. Sunset
4. Light
Dislike:
1. Seeing anyone being hurt

Quoting

Every day in my work email I get a newsletter that includes a quote of the day. A couple posts down I shared one. Today this one was included:

I have found that if you love life…life will love you back.

-- Arthur Rubinstein

I must admit, loving life is hard for me at times. I'm not complaining, by any means, but there are times.... I am consciously trying to live more. Not easy always, but I think it is doable. I am trying to build a better relationship with God and my family.

Friend Makin'

It's Friend Makin' Monday again. This week it's being hosted by:

This week's theme is:Who are your top five celebrity crushes? What celebrities make you drool? First up is Han Solo, or better known as Harrison Ford. He has been a constant crush since Star Wars came out in 1977. I had the Han Solo doll and everything. Major drool going on with this one.

Hugh Laurie....what else needs to be said? Hot doctor, heck of an actor and singer. Funny as hell, too.

The original James Bond, Sean Connery. I don't know what it is about him, but OMG... (Yeah, I like the older ones...lol)

Another Doctor...David Tennent. Doctor #10, to be exact, but not for much longer. *sob* M would agree with me. ;-) Love the Chucks and the Dahlecks...

Rounding out my top 5 is John Barrowman. American born singer and actor living in England. Never to die charcter in Torchwood, funny and cute.

Yeah, I like the Brits and the older ones...they know their stuff...*wink, wink* Head on over and check out the other hot guys, you'll be glad you did.

:-)

Swap at Mamarazzi's

I enjoyed the last swap I entered, so I think I'll try it again...

Thoughts

I have found many blogs lately about loss and the possiblity of losing someone dear. That just sucks. I am finding it hard, sometimes, to keep my faith in a positive light. It is so hard at times that I just break down. Who knows, it may be a good thing in the long run.

I found this quote this morning in my email....thought it fit...

Today I am grateful for all those things that go missing because their absence reminds me of how blessed I am to have had them at all.

-- Kate Nowak

Addition.....

I should have mentioned in the last post how to vote....Vote at Stonefox's.

I'm just sitting here, alone, watching NCIS and surfing the web. Also enjoying a cup of coffee and some sunflower seeds. M is at work and Bill should be home from work soon. (Yeah, it's 10pm..)

Hope all of you have a pleasant evening and a good night's sleep. :-)

In the Top 3

Ok...shameless begging coming....

I am a finalist in the Hair Dare. Please vote for me. That is all...

Passive aggressive tribute

A Jay and Deb Production. Court system Sucks Frustrating Felons abound Judges don't care Kids hurt Mine and others System needs to be changed

Howdy

I hope all of you had a wonderful Easter with family and friends.

This weekend was spent hanging out watching movies, doing a bit of shopping and being with family. Saturday the boys went with Bill and I to Target. I had a gift card and needed a muffin pan for cupcakes I was making for Sunday. (I have every other baking pan known to man almost, but no muffin pan...) While looking at the Easter stuff my boys decided to bash each other in the head with easter baskets. Yeah...I'm so proud... The funny part was when another mom looked at me and said...."Oh no...don't tell me that they don't grow out of that!!!" Nope, sorry...lol. Her boys are 12 and 14 and mine are 14 and 16....nope still going on. Then, J decides to be an ass normal little brother and comes up behind B with 2 bike horns (Not sure why these were in the Easter aisle..) and blares them in both of B's ears. About half of the moms in the FULL aisle thought it was funny...the other half glared...lol. Again....so proud...

Sunday was a full one for me. Our usual hospitality lady at church was visiting family yesterday, so I was asked to fill in. Usually this entails just keeping up with coffee before service. But, since yesterday was Easter it also entailed making coffee for the annual breakfast. Our schedule at church yesterday was:
7am: Sun-already up service
8am: Breakfast
10am: Service

I was up at 6am to get to church by 7 to start coffee. Really not a big deal...just made for a long day. We got out of there around noon.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at my brother's house. With my family (5 of us), my mom, brother's fam (4), his BIL's fam (3), BIL's IL's (2), my SIL's parents and gma (3)..it was a full house. After we ate dinner the older kids (4 of them) hid eggs for the 2 younger ones. The older ones were fighting over the eggs for some reason...M, who is 18, was wrestling my brother's step son, who is 12, over eggs... she makes me proud also.... :-) The older ones got money in eggs from my mom. The boys also were killing Nazi Zombies for most of the afternoon...another proud moment for me on Easter.

All in all it was a good weekend.

I do have pics...just not here. :-)

I'm an idiot

I just looked and I've been blogging here for a year and 3 day. I totally missed my blogoversary!! Geez.... I wanted to do something for it, but I lost track of time. I will think of something.......

Writers workshop

It's Writer's s Workshop time again.

The Prompts:
1.) Describe a moment when you realized you and your spouse were SO different.

2.) What is your role in the household?

3.) Write about how you felt when you discovered you were lied to.(creativewritingprompts.com)

4.) Describe a hard time you gave a teacher...what would you say to them today?

5.) What is an unpleasant experience you had eating? Write a poem, paragraph, or something else about the experience.(writingfix.com)

I think today I will pick #5.

Chinese buffet

Eating

Oh, look....

Man with clipboard at buffet

Hmm...looks like health inspector...

Ex says to me...

Don't worry.....just eat your rat....

Appetite.....GONE

;-)

Head on over to Mama Kat's for more fun...

One more wrestling post...

I mentioned in my last post about one I did last year.... found it.... :

May 4, 2008
The other excitement was for the boys and me. We went to a wrestling match, NCW, at the vo tech high school in York. Let me give you some background. I am a HUGE wrestling fan. From the 80's until now. The boys get fairly impressed with my knowledge of moves, wrestlers, etc.... lol. They were duly impressed that I actually saw the first Wrestlemania, albeit on PPV, but I saw it nonetheless. So last month I saw a flier for a wrestling match that featured Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart and Doink the Clown. M thought I was nuts when I started screaming....lol. So, since J's birthday is this coming Wed, I thought this would be cool. So the boys and I went. Suffice it to say that I was thrilled. I got a signed picture from Neidhart and I shook his hand...I was very happy. Then I got a signed pic from Doink. The boys went around and got autographs from the other NCW wrestlers and even Elvis Presley (who sang the National Anthem). We got to see a 10 man match and a triple tag team match that included a ton of stuff to hit people with and that also got into the stands. All in all, we had a great time.

Yeah....I'm obsessed..... ;-)

Hi...my name is Cheryl...

...and I am a wrestling addict. I admit it, I love "professional" wrestling. My son, J, now shares this love with me. I am sitting here watching WWE Raw and yelling...lol. Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of Wrestlmania. I really wish I could have at least gotten the pay per view of it, but I didn't. My favorite guys were there. Rowdy Roddy Piper, Undertaker, etc... I have never gone to an offical WWE event, but I did see the very 1st Wrestlmania at my brother's on PPV. This, alone, impresses my sons. :-)

Last year for J's birthday I finally got to a wrestling match. (I'll have to see if I can find the post from my other blog) At a local high school they have a local wrestling league. They had 2 WWE guys from the 80's there and I was in heaven. I got to shake hands with Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. OMG.....I was thrilled. ;-) Doink the Clown was also there. Actually so was one of the guys from the Rock and Roll Express. (I fully realize that the majority of my readers are women who could care less about this..lol) My boys had a great time getting autographs from the wrestlers and laughing at me.

Well....Sgt Slaughter will be in town in 2 weeks....who wants to go with me????

Friend Makin Monday

I will be doing a recap of the weekend, complete with some pics later on, but for now lets just make some friends.

Kasey, at All That is Good, is hosting Friend Making Monday. The prompt for this week is: 10 things that just really get you fuzzed up (that means makes you mad). And here we go.....

1. Other people's drama: I have enough drama in my own life, I don't need anyone else's, especially the people I work with.

2. Being ignored: Major pet peeve of mine. Not sure why though.

3. My kids' needs being ignored by a certain other party: 'Nuff said.

4. At the moment...some people that I volunteer with in the band... see #1 and #2.

5. Not being able to think of things to write for this... :-)

6. Having to tell my kids a bajillion times to do something. The cat box will not be cleaned by itself....

7. Having to explain things to my kids that they shouldn't even have to even think about. Cryptic yes, sorry.

8. People who don't take responsibility for their actions.

9. Rudeness anytime, but especially in retail settings. Many people don't realize that their attitude makes or breaks business.

10. A dirty kitchen. The rest of my house may be cluttered, but I try really hard to keep the kitchen clean. I guess it's my many years of restaurant service.

Blah...

The weather here is darn frightful. Showers, thunderstorms, wind..you name it. Annoying....

We've got a busy weekend coming up. At least tonight and tomorrow. Tomorrow is our 9th annual Jazz Fest. Our middle and high school jazz bands are playing in addition to 3 other local high/middle schools. It is a great night of music, coffee and dessert. I am the co-chair for the 3rd year in a row. Tonight is set-up and a concert by the guest clinician, who will go to both of our schools and work with the jazz band students. Bill and I will be working in the kitchen tomorrow night surrounded by cakes...mmm...

Last night Bill and I signed up at a gym. Planet Fitness is about 15 minutes from our house. We have at least 4 gyms near us, but PF is only $10 a month and has tons of cardio equipment, and is open 24 hours. Not that I'll be there at 2am or the like, but at least if I have to go later or earlier in the day, then I can. (Being around all those cakes isn't gonna help me any....)

I got my swap box from Heather yesterday. I will have to post pictures...she spoiled me. :-)

Have a great day and weekend.

I Heart Faces: Speaking of puppies..

My last post included talk about puppies. To answer a comment...not sure if we're getting one or not, if B has his way then yes.



We do have a puppy now...actually, today is his 1st birthday. His name is Camper, he was given to M at a campground while camping with her dad. Here he is...

Yada yada

Hope all of you had a wonderful weekend.

Ours was pretty good. Friday, B went and saw some bands at a club not too far from here. His friend was in one of the bands and he then hung out with him for the rest of the night. M was with her bf and other friends for the evening. J, Bill and I went to our church's Open Mic Night. We started doing this last month and are going to continue with it the last Friday of every month. Come on out...it's a fun time.

Saturday I picked B up from his friends. I'm sorry, but as soon as he got in the car I told him he smelled bad. Combined with the friends' house smell of rancid cat pee was puppy poo. Their dog just had 10 puppies. So combine 10 puppies peeing and pooping in a cage and the boys letting the dogs jump all over them.....poo covered clothes. I made him strip and take a shower as soon as he got home. But, now he wants one of the puppies....lol.

Bill and I are going to landscape the front of our house with timbers to make, basically, planter boxes bordering the front up against the house. He found 8' timbers at Home Depot for $4 a piece. So, we measured the front and he figured out how many we would need. After that we took the boys to York to look at a pawn shop (for guitars) and then to Wal Mart and dinner. We also checked out Lowes to see if they had timbers there....they didn't. We then checked out the Home Depot up there. OMG....the same timbers that were at our local HD were $1 a piece at this one. So off Bill went Sunday morning. He got double the amount of timbers he was going to get and will probably go back again. We were going to build my mom a new shed this year anyway and Bill (the builder) is going to use those to make a pole barn type of shed. Did I mention that he has studied to be a carpenter in the past??? ;-) So not a bad deal at all.

Yesterday was mainly quiet. We went to church and the kids and I got a movie to watch. J's gf called and wanted him to come over for a bit, so I took him there and then M, B and I watched "Hot Fuzz". Pretty good movie. We then had a small thunder and hail storm and then dinner. The boys went to their dad's and Bill and I went to our weekly church class...Building Strong Families.

Fun, fun, fun... :-)

Quips

If you've known me for any amount of time you will know that I adore my kids. Yeah, they can get on my last nerve, but hey...that's their job. I may be biased, but they are pretty smart too, not just brainy-type smart, but funny smart also.

When my boys were in elementary school, their teachers were amazed that my kids understood sarcasm and could dish it out as well. Now, as we all know, you can't teach sarcasm. It is good to see that my kids have some of my genes....lol.

Last week I was explaining to B how to use our bread machine. The order to put things in etc... When I got to the yeast part and told him to make a well in the flour to put it in, he questioned why. To be honest, I'm not sure of the technical answer, but I told him that I think you don't want to mix the yeast in too soon. To that he replied...."Yeah, you don't want premature fermentation..." OMG....I almost fell over laughing.

Then J, a couple years ago, around age 11 quipped during a conversation on diets like Atkins and being a vegetarian etc... "I'm a vegan on the Atkins diet...." Ok, my kids are smart mouths.... ;-)

And I couldn't be prouder...

The Assignment...

The Prompts:

1.) Somebody I'm praying for....

2.) I don't believe in prayer because...

3.) What are you putting off right now?

4.) You can go back to your childhood for one day. What day and age do you choose?

The obvious one that, I'm sure, everyone is writing about for #1 is Stellen. I don't feel that I can adequately put into words my feelings on this, so suffice it to say that I am definately praying for him and his whole family.

I do believe in prayer and I am always putting things off, so #4 should work for me today.

To be perfectly honest, I don't remember my whole childhood, who can. There is one day that is permanently etched in my mind....I would love to go back to the day before that day. I don't remember a thing about that day, though.

November 10, 1977....the day my dad passed away. I was 9 years old and in 4th grade. I do remember kissing him goodbye that morning and then heading off to school. I won't bore you with all the details after school, but I remember seeing my mom cry for the first time in my presence and having priests and friends coming in and out that day. So November 9th would be the day that I would like to have again.

Wordless Wednesday

I didn't take this picture, it was found online...can't even remember where....but, it speaks to me...

I Heart Faces: No Flash

.




I have shared this picture before. It is a favorite of mine, but I really don't know why. ;-) The theme this week is No Flash. Not too hard for me to do because I rarely need to use the flash on my camera. I do use it, but not much at all.

Once again.......

I am having a hard time coming up with stuff to write. I read the blogs on my list and feel inspired, but then I look at my blank page and go....blank.

Must have something to do with the lovely cough and sexy cig voice I've still got goin' on. That tends to distract your mind when you are coughing your lungs out while trying to have a coherent thought.

One good thing is that I'll be finally getting together with the girls tomorrow night. Doesn't matter that we all live within 10 minutes of each other, we don't see each other too much. Email helps alot. :-) We're having dinner somewhere and then we'll do something. You see, the three of us have known each other close to 30 years and we still can't make a decision ahead of time to save our lives. But that's ok. Margaritas and laughter make it all better.

Getting your twitch on.....

This is J..... This is J on Monster Lo Carb energy drink:

Oh my Lord..... Ever had one of these?

Now, J can be slightly hyper on a normal day. He wanted to try it and I actually had some of it. Tasted horrible....like someone liquified a lollipop....blech... After 5 minutes the boy was twitching... scared me to death. Never. Ever. Again.

I am feeling much better today.......although now, when I talk I have that sexy gravelly tone like I've smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day for years. And now I have a cough.....someone help me.....

Blah

i was going to write a post today. But, it seems as though my lovely oldest son has given me whatever bug he brought home, so I am just not in the mood. I will leave here soon and then go home and take a looooong nap. Who knows, I may not even get up til tomorrow morning. ;-)

Wow...

Ok, so I changed the layout a bit. It's not green, but I like it. Although, if I stare at it too long I start having flash backs to the 70's and an orange plaid couch we used to have when I was little...

I am having writer's block I think. I cannot think of one thing to say that may be riveting to anyone. I may have to just list stuff that's going on and/or happened just to see how pathetic exciting my life is....

• I got my hair cut last night (will be entering the Hair Dare shortly)
• Had a killer spinach salad at Della Rose's on Wednesday
• Got my swap partner from Whitney

Wow....very not interesting.....lol

I do have a post ready to go for my cooking blog. I don't update that one as often as I should, but my menus run pretty much the same all the time. But, B and I are planning a gourmet meal one of these days and I will document that for the blog too.

Anyway... I hope all of you have a great Friday the 13th and a great weekend.

The weekend

Not much happening here at the ole casa. But I shall recap my weekend, if you're at all interested.

Friday night B went with our youth group to Christian Youth night at the Baltimore Blast soccer game. They do this annually with a Christian band playing afterwards. This year Thousand Foot Crutch played. He had a great time. (The guy that owns my place of employment, the bank, also owns the Baltimore Blast and the arena they play in...so B was helping my career....lol)
M was hanging with friends and Bill, J and I just had pizza and hung out at home.

Saturday Bill, the boys and I headed to York to look around a bit. The boys took their electric bass to a guitar shop to see how much they could get for it. Not much, as it seems...lol. Both boys have their eyes on different guitars. I put a drum up on Craigslist to sell for J, and B is trying to save money. (Yeah, that will happen)

Yesterday was church, as usual. I am in the women's Sunday school class which gave me a bit to think about yesterday. I think I'll make that one a separate post after I get my thoughts together. J had nursery duty again. One of the little girls decided she had to sit with me during service, so that was nice. After church, the boys and I did a little grocery shopping, we had dinner and hung out until their dad picked them up.

Tonight I have a booster meeting, and Thursday I have a hair appointment, so I may play along with Hair Dare...

I guess that's it for now.....

Mad Skillz

Yesterday the training department here did a contest. They do this to build morale etc... Or have us waste time... Anyway, it was a 5 question quiz. Stuff like...how many Grammys did Lawrence Welk win over his lifetime...(answer is 0, BTW)etc... My mad Google skills garnered me the top prize of a $20 Target gift card. ;-)

Yeah, my life is soooo exciting...lol. But I did enter a swap over at Whitney's that should be fun. I will be grabbing the button and posting it on the side in a bit. I would like to get in on the giveaway/swap action, but not really sure what to do. I'll have to give it some thought.

Have a great day...the sun is out (hopefully where you are too)....smile

Bright and shiny

A Jay and Deb Production.

Today, I pay tribute to the Sun. That bright orb in the sky. Ok, odd it may be, but hey...anything that doesn't cause me to run up the electric bill and threaten to burn down my house with all the candles I burn is good in my book. I think that I suffer from some sort of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) but have not actually been diagnosed. Just a guess on my part, really. I came to this conclusion while living in Oregon for 15 or so years. The gloom that settles there at times really bothered me. Today it is around 10 degrees out but it is SUNNY! I am not feeling particularly depressed or down and that is a good thing.

So, smile and take a (careful) look up in the sky...it's there. ;-)

Let it snow........

Yeah, I'm about done with it now... It's been coming down steady most of the night and it's supposed to stop in a few hours. Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it. Snow plows didn't even head out until about an hour ago. In the parking lot here, guess which vehicle got plowed in..... that's right..mine. I should say it is just the front of my truck but hell...only my truck, not a bit infront of my coworkers truck next to me. Geez....

I saw this cartoon and thought it looked comforting....

Ask and ye shall (unexpectedly) receive...

Two "family" members of mine have cooking blogs. I won't even go into the family connection...I'd get crucified if some hear how I classify it...lol. Cheryl and Mary both posted recipes that included cinnamon chips. I do remember that one of them was an oatmeal cookie and boy, did the recipes sound delicious. So, I sent an email to Mary (who I have never actually met in person, but have communicated with before) and asked where she gets them. I should mention that both of these ladies live in Oregon. She graciously offers to send me 2 bags of the chips. I received these this week.

I must admit I laughed when I opened the package. The reason is the brand of chips. I have looked in every store around to find cinnamon chips. So, the brand of chips is Hershey. I live 45 minutes from Hershey! I just found it funny. YMMV. ;-)

Tonight is open mic night at my church. B and his band were going to play, but they didn't get enough practice time in. But we're going anyway to hear some good music.

People today....

Or maybe I should say...kids. I was over at Mariah's and she was talking about kids, not hers, and how they acted in certain situations. (I honestly couldn't explain it like she did, so I'm not gonna try...) It reminded me of a conversation at work yesterday. A customer came in and said she was helping out at her child's school and kids (elementary aged) kept coming up to her asking her to open their zip lock bags and to put their straws in their juice boxes. I'm sorry....my kids could do that by the time they were 2. She was amazed. I said that many parents (one that I know of personally) will do everything for their kids. We all do, but come on...opening a zip lock bag is not rocket science. Ok, I'm done. :-)

I'm trying out my contacts today...again. I found them...lol. I'm patiently waiting for my eyes to dry out...lol.

Yesterday, while waiting for J at the bus stop, I found the B&W setting on my camera. I've been looking for over a year...even with the book. I am thrilled beyond belief. ;-)

Wow....I am way to exciting....

Out with the old....

I need a new look around here. I'm leaning towards a green layout, now if I could just find one. :-) Or, better yet, get back into making layouts. It's been a looooong time and I need to hone my CSS skills, I think. I can do straight HTML, but need help with more. Can anyone steer me to some cheap (read free...) help? ;-)

Today is Ash Wednesday. While I now attend a Nazarene church, my Catholic roots are very strong. While reading over at the Six Pack, I was reminded that I need to read my bible more. Lent is about giving something up, but bettering one's self is good too. June has a list of readings on her site and I may look into putting something similar on mine. Join me if you wish, I'd appreciate the company.

I could give up donuts for Lent, but our newest financial advisor just brought us some Maple Donuts...my weakness (cue Homer Simpson). A diet is sure to be in my future...

Word verification...

I was informed by a couple people that the word verification on my comments went wonky yesterday. I have disabled that, so hopefully it works now.

Back later.......

Let's Make Friends

Today is Friend Making day at Kasey's. So today she wants us to list our 10 favorite things. I am not as creative today as some are so you'll have to do without pictures for this one. :-)

1. Coffee: That's a big DUH...
2. Knitting: I don't do it too often, but I do have a project in the works at the moment.
3. Reading: Another duh... I usually have one on me at all times. I actually read 3 books yesterday..lol
4. The computer: All my friends are in it.....
5. Message boards: I met all my friends there....... (MOL, PS, etc...lol)
6. Blogging: I've been blogging since 2001.
7. Photography: Not great at it, but love pictures and taking them.
8. Church: It gives me a peaceful feeling.
9. My 2 best friends: (other than my dh...) Lisa and Kim are the greatest. Even though we live close we don't get out too often, but when we do...it's a total laughfest.
10. Hmmm.... I guess I'll just add the family in for good measure..

Head on over there to meet some interesting people.

I <3 Faces: Black and White

This week's theme at I Heart Faces is black and white. I love B & W pics, of any sort. The picture, I absolutely love of my sweet Molly.

Head on over to the I Heart Faces site and see the other wonderful submissions.