Meet Me on Monday

If you notice the date and time of this post you'll notice I'm not at work today. Why? I think you know. ;) Therefore, since I figured you didn't want to hear about why I'm not working and, really, I'm getting tired of talking about it, I'd join "Meet Me on Monday" where you get an opportunity to learn a little more about me.



Never Growing Old asks questions that you answer, questions that your friends would probably know about you. So, for today:


1. What is your favorite kind of fudge?

Anything chocolate! except not with walnuts, any other nuts are ok

2. Is there snow outside your window?

Yep! Take a look at this:
This snow has been there since Wednesday, January 12! There's an old wives tale that says if there is snow after 7 days, it's waiting for more. More came last Thursday night and again last night. (Why is it waiting? To encourage the other snowflakes to fall on the ground: "Here they come boys, get ready! Yes, yes...here we are, over here! You're doing great! Grab my hand. I've got ya. Here comes another flake. Grab his hand. Great job! Now grab that one. We're doing great!") Wonder how long it will last this week?

3. What is your favorite meal of the day?

Breakfast...hands down. Especially if we eat out! (Love eating breakfast outdoors!)

4. Do you text on your cell phone?

Yes, but not very often because we paid per text. I'm sure that will change since we've gotten a package.

5. Waffles or pancakes?

I like the taste of waffles, but don't like making them because they take too long. I usually make pancakes. (Have you had the pumpkin pancakes at IHOP? Yum!! If not, you'll have to wait until next fall because they are seasonal.)

Join in...I hear a song: "Getting to know you. Getting to know all about you!"


Have a great week!

Footprints in the Snow

My sister showed a picture of her snow covered front yard on her blog. It reminded me of a time when I was younger.

When it snowed when I was growing up, my siblings and I couldn't wait to go outside and play in the snow. We'd sled across the street in the park, build snowmen, and make snow angels. Our front yard was usually the first yard in the neighborhood to lose the snow. Oh, how I wished our yard could stay pretty with the snow like our neighbors! Maybe, I thought, when I was older.

Well, older meant kids of my own. My boys enjoyed playing in the snow. Even last year, they were out building snowmen.


The other day, I looked out my back door and saw many footprints in the snow and had to laugh. We have kids that live next door and in the house behind us. They had been playing with some type of toy gun that shoots little green balls (about the size of bbs but plastic). They must have been going through our yard.

My pretty snow was walked over and soon would be gone before the neighbor's on the other side...the neighbor without the kids. But you know what? I don't care. They were not inside playing video games. I was glad to see them playing in the snow (even if it was with toy guns).

PS: Snow day #14 and holiday on Monday. Praying we go on Tuesday...

Four Letter Words

I like playing word games, especially crossword puzzles, word search, and word scramble. As a matter of fact, the first thing I downloaded to my Kindle was "Easy Word" where you are given 6 letters and you make 3, 4, 5, and 6 letter words from those letters. If you get the 6-letter word, you unlock the next level.

So, I was thinking...what 4 letter words can I come up that mean joy and anxiety at the same time?

B O Y S (or MALE...same thing)
My boys have been a joy to me. They are funny and intelligent, thoughtful and caring (for the most part anyway). Yet they do at times cause anxiety. They have different personalities. One finds humor in pranks and practical jokes. The other has a sense of humor, it just isn't found in the pranks and practical jokes (especially if they are played on him by his brother). I do worry that they are not close; however, there is 4-1/2 years between them. And all the pranks haven't helped. Hopefully, as they grow older they will get closer.


W A L K
I do enjoy walking for exercise. It does make me anxious that I have to exercise (another four letter word, huh?) but I almost always feel better when I do.

S N O W
Most people are probably getting tired of hearing about the snow. The news stations were reporting that yesterday 49 states had snow...the only one that didn't was Florida! (They said Hawaii had snow on the highest peak on the island of Hawaii.) Well snow can bring much joy. I love the way it looks. I enjoy watching it snow. I love the way it makes the air smell so crisp and fresh (like sheets freshly cleaned). But as they say, too much of a good thing isn't good! Today was snow day number 13. We have 10 days built in with 3 inservice days that can be converted to student days. Not sure what will happen after today (we're on a 2-hour delay for tomorrow as I write this).

What four letter words can you think of?

Wednesday's HODGEPODGE

1. Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English. Words may be banished due to mis-use, over-use or just general uselessness and they receive over 1000 nominations. Here are the fourteen words/phrases they'd like to see banished in 2011-viral, epic, fail, wow factor, a-ha moment, back story, BFF, man up, refudiate, Mama Grizzlies, The American People, facebook/google when used as verbs, I'm just sayin', and Live life to the fullest.

What word or phrase would you like to see banished from our everyday vocabulary in 2011? You can choose one from the 'official list' or you can get creative and come up with your own.

My first thought: the F word!

2. Do you consider opportunity something that comes to you or something you create for yourself?

A little of both with a lot of help from God.

3. Since we're all eating healthy this month, ahem, what's included in your favorite salad? Is there dressing?

I really like Cracker Barrel's Chicken Salad Salad or their Chef Salad with blue cheese dressing.

4. The fourth Monday in January is said to be Blue Monday...aka the most depressing day of the year. The date was calculated using many factors including weather, debt level, time since Christmas, time since we've failed at our new year resolutions, low motivation and feeling a need to take action. Do you get the blues this time of year and if so what is something you do to lift your spirits?

I haven't in the past, but going to school for 6 days in the last 6 weeks is taking its toll. I'm trying to read (I got a Kindle for Christmas!) and organize my work room. I should be scrapbooking and planning lessons for when we do go back!

5. Do you wear a watch? Any other everyday jewelry essentials?

I am not able to wear any jewelry for any length of time because I break out. I am able to wear my engagement and wedding rings (good thing, because they won't come off!) and can wear a necklace or bracelet for a few hours...I have to take them off as soon as I get home. It doesn't matter what the jewelry is made out of. I do have the most fortunate opportunity to wear a lovely ID badge graced with my lovely mugshot, every day which I will sometimes wear on a lanyard or necklace or just clipped to my top.

6. What is something useful you learned in high school?

Are you kidding? It has been too long ago and most of those memories I've tried to forget!

7. Do you use an accountant when completing and filing your income tax returns or do you attempt to muddle through all by yourself?

I use my personal accountant/financial planner...aka my husband.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Oh, yes! The sun is shining in my eyes as I write this!! (Guess I need to close the blinds.)

Don't forget to link up!

If it's Wednesday, It Must be Hodge Podge!

Today's HodgePodge. Link up here and join the fun!

1. Share your Christmas Eve traditions.

Christmas Eve is relatively laid back. On Christmas Eve, one of us will get my MIL to spend a night or two with us. I'll put out a vegetable/cheese tray and some shrimp for supper. We'll then go to see the lights at the neighborhood speedway or maybe just around town. When we return, we'll see what Christmas movie is on TV and watch it.

2. What was the best book you read in 2010? (we're not going to include The Bible here)

I know I read some books this year, but cannot for the life of me remember any of them...guess they weren't very good. (I'm still trying to finish Moneyball that I started in the summer.)

3. Do you have pets and if so do you allow them on the furniture?

I do not have any pets. If I did, I would not allow them on the furniture.

4. What event from 2010 are you most thankful for?

I had to think hard about this one. I would say the weekend of April 16. L picked me up from work on the 15th and we drove to see our son play ball. Then on the 16th we headed back. But first we stopped at the Loveless Cafe to try out their biscuits since we weren't in any hurry. We then stopped about three hours from home to watch our son row on the 17th. Just getting away with L for a weekend and seeing our boys doing what they love to do was great!

5. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before.

I have never attended an international conference before this year. Not only did I attend (alone mind you), I gave 2 presentations. It was certainly an experience I won't soon forget.

6. Brussel sprouts...friend or foe?

Foe, no thought needed!

7. Who would you nominate for man/woman of the year?

I'm going to nominate the men in the Chilian mine accident and the men/women who worked so hard to rescue them.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Here are two pictures I want to share. The first, I was standing in the parking lot of a local grocery store to take this. I thought if anyone saw me they would think I was crazy. However, when I came out of the store, while I was putting the groceries in the car, I turned and saw a guy standing about where I stood, taking a picture!

This next picture is a picture of a googlie which I wrote about last Saturday in my Flashback Friday post. The tag was still very easy to read: Mattel, The googlies, 1966! Mom still has my sister's so I thought I'd take a picture.

Hope ya'll are keeping warm!

Flashback Friday (On Saturday)

Here I am again, a day late and a dollar short! Oh well, I'm playing anyway!




This week's Flashback Friday was about Christmas presents. My sister asked if I'd participate (I was planning to anyway.) If you haven't read her response, check it out here. I haven't read it yet, so you be the judge: Do you think we shared the same Christmas or not?

1961

Growing up, we celebrated Christmas on Christmas Day. No presents were opened before Christmas. Being one of ten children, we drew names. (Can you image having to get nine presents every year for your siblings!!) We also drew names with our cousins who lived in Texas. That was a hoot...getting a gift for a cousin that you really didn't know very well. Sometimes the presents were homemade but I remember most of them being bought. And I think we paid using our own money as we got older. I really don't remember Mom paying for them. We would gather around the kitchen table and wrap our presents. That's funny, isn't it, because here you are wrapping a present for a sibling that may or may not be across from you or next to you but definitely there with you.

At first, Santa didn't wrap his presents. He did, of course, have to put names on the gifts he brought so we'd know whose was whose.

1964 or 1965

Later, he did start wrapping the gifts.

1970 or 1971

There are a few things I remember getting for Christmas: a googly, a ring, a bracelet, dolls, nightgowns (that Mom usually made). My younger sister and I are close in age so it seems like we got a lot of the same thing, only in a different color...except the googly.

The googly was a type of stuffed animal that when you squeezed the stomach, the eyes, which were plastic with colored spiral cardboard in them, went around. The body was blue and the hands and feet were pick. My sister and I both got one one year exactly the same. I guess my sister wanted to be able to tell them apart so she wrote her initials on one of the feet of her googly.

I still have the bracelet I received. I was holding on to it for the daughter I never had...guess I'll keep holding on to it for my granddaughter?

My bracelet and my ring (I think that was the ring...it still fits so I'm not 100%)

And, yes, by sister got one also, only with her name on the bracelet and her birthstone!

The stockings were filled with nuts, candy, and a tangerine, always. There was usually some little toy or such as well.

Sadly, I don't remember buying my parents gifts. I know some years we went in together to buy them a gift.

I do remember there have been years when it has been chaotic on Christmas morning. But that is what made it fun!

Oh, the Weather Outside Really is Frightful!

Pictures from this morning's ice storm...not as bad as it could have been...but, snow day #6!

How do you like the natural fringe on the table?