Tuesday, July 31, 2007

tagged ~ 8 random goofy things


8 random goofy things that you may not know about me.

*We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
*Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
*People who are tagged write their own blog post about their eight things and include these rules.
*At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and they should read your blog.


1. I put things off and tend to think that I work better under pressure. (?)

2. Going down on an escalator, I get a little fReAkEd out taking the first step. A lot of the time, I have to take the elevator or stairs.

3. Wherever we'd go when the kids were little, I would get asked or told that I look like they just "knew me from somewhere." My son would say to me, "Everyone tells you that!" I told him, "I will tell you why, it's top secret though and you can't tell anyone. Can you do that?" His eyes got big while he shook his head up and down. I said, "Okay, then I will tell you. When mommy drops you off at school, she does odd jobs for the FBI, like private eye stuff." His eyes got really really big at this. You could just see the wheels in his head turning. "I help them by doing undercover work. That is why everyone thinks they know me. And you thought your momma was just staying home all day cleaning house and making cookies." His mouth dropped open. I started to laugh, which then he didn't know what to believe. But every time someone said that to me, he would immediately look at me, and I would look at him and just smile with raised eyebrow. It tickled me to think that in the back of Rob's mind when he was little, he thought "maybe."

4. I like to smell the clothes after they have been washed. If they don't smell clean to me, they get washed again.

5. When I was pregnant with my son, I would go to an early matinee movie by myself and stay all day. Sometimes, I would movie hop too. bad, bad, bad!

6. When I was in High School, my friends and I would go see the midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show. We would bring toast and throw it when they made a toast. We brought squirt guns and newspapers and squirt them with the newspapers over our head. When they would dance, we would all run down to the screen and do "the dance." When they had the wedding scene, we would throw rice. You get the scene! We had a blast!

7. My P.E. teacher would leave me in charge while she did paperwork or errands. The girls would moan when this happened. I guess I was somewhat of a Drill Sergeant, making sure they went all the way down on squats and push-ups.

8. When my daughter Diandra texts me on her phone, I can only reply one word or one letter answers. I haven't quite gotten the whole typing letters thing down yet. It takes me literally 30 minutes to an hour to get back to her a sentence or so if I do...I like to use the little faces now. It's a lot faster. It's "expression" text. Ha ha. She knows it too and will quickly type me a message back making fun of me. I'll send her a face back, but she's got a paragraph response within a moment...It's funny.
* these tags are floating around... feel free to do this one! :)

Sunday, July 29, 2007

tagged by barkfoot ~ "5 things" meme

Five things I was doing 10 years ago

1. stay at home mom.
2. getting all four kids school clothes.
3. driving all four kids where ever they needed to go.
4. managing a full house.
5. going to a lot of the kids activities.

Favorite snack food

1. peas
2. chips and salsa
3. apples and peanut butter
4. cajun trail mix
5. cold grapes

Five things I would do if I were a millionaire

1. give to church
2. pay our debt off
3. put some money away for retirement
4. invest in a cause I believe in
5. buy me that old GMC truck I have wanted

Five songs I know all the lyrics to

1. Fleetwood Mac songs
2. Sade songs
3. Stevie Wonder songs
4. Journey songs
5. Carole King songs

Five bad habits

1. crack my knuckles
2. put things off until the last minute
3. leave cupboard doors open and walk into them
4. not folding clothes as soon as they come out of the dryer
5. not getting something out of the freezer for dinner in the morning (Thank God for microwaves).

Five things I like to do

1. spend time with my hubby
2. hang out with my family and friends
3. drive in the country by myself
4. lay in bed and watch old movies
5. cuddle

Five things I will never wear again

1. bell bottoms
2. maternity clothes
3. string bikini
4. bi-level haircut
5. shoes that hurt

name five people...


you know who you are, because you will do this if you want! hee hee

Saturday, July 28, 2007

A new Love~

Breathing in
New life
Brings new love
which begins to grow
My niece Deja's feet

Friday, July 27, 2007

You Need Some Hairspray!



My daughter Diandra and I went to see the opening of Hairspray! It was a wonderful movie. My mom said,"I don't want to see it, I am afraid that it will forever change the way I see John Travolta." She missed out on a great movie. My husband made a great point and brought up the fact that a lot of movies that were great hits were men playing women, such as: Mrs. Doughtfire with Robin Williams, and Tootsie with Dustin Hoffman.

A few years back, Diandra's dance recital featured a few songs from the Broadway musical Hair Spray. So, when those few songs came on during the movie, she was fighting the urge to get up and dance in the theatre. She let it all out in the car on the way home and danced as we walked together that evening down the sidewalk...

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Blessings


Thank You For The Chores...

Lord, thank you for this sink of dirty dishes; we have plenty of good food to eat. Thank you for this big pile of dirty clothes; we have them to wear. Thank you for these unmade beds; they were all comfortable last night.

Thank you for this finger-smudged refrigerator that has served us faith-fully for a long time. Our family is grateful for the tall grass that needs mowing; we all enjoy our private yard. Thank you for that slamming door; the children are healthy and able to run and play.

Lord, the presence of all the chores awaiting me says that you have richly blessed this family. I shall do them all gratefully.

Central Christian Church ~
Waukegan, Illinois
I try to keep this poem in mind as soon as I start to grumble when the chores need to be done. It changes my whole attitude, the grumble quickly turns into a happy tune. I am so grateful for all of my chores.
Yes... all of them.
:)

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

If You Can't Go To Paris...





...Bring Paris To You!

This last Monday night (a little over a week ago), I dragged my daughter to the movies to see Paris, Je T'aime. I loved it! At one point, I leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I am going to Paris, shhhhh." She whipped her head back at me and said, "Yeah, uhhuh right!" I looked at her back with a matter of fact expression on my face and said, "Watch me!"

When I was little, I had big dreams of seeing the world... then I had a baby, got married and had more children. Money had a new meaning to me. You had to have it to do anything. Going, and seeing the world got swept under the rug, I rarely ever thought about it. Until I started blogging. When you blog, you have the opportunity to see the world. The dream that I dreamt so many years ago is alive and well. Sigh... it will happen.

Back to the movie...

It is a movie with a lot of vignettes... each one having a different director, filmed in a different part of Paris. The next morning, I went to Starbucks with a friend, I noticed the CD "Rendezvous a' Paris." I have been enjoying it ever since that morning.

This summer Paris came home to me!
;)

Monday, July 23, 2007

My Fair Lady~







Sunday, July 15th, my girlfriend Darlene and I had the opportunity to see My Fair Lady on the BIG screen. The Modesto Film Society plays old films at the Modesto State Theater. I have seen quite a few old movies in the theater there. It is such a treat for me to see these classics. I always notice things that I wouldn't on the T.V. screen. It's also something else to sit with a theater room full of people who have the same interest that you do. It's always comforting to find yourself laughing along with others at the same time. It helps me verify that I am not a nerd...you know what I mean?

Seeing a movie there at the Modesto State Theater is more than just going to see a film. There is so much more involved when they show classics such as My Fair Lady. For example, they had a contest of the "Best hat." Women came dressed up playing the part of the movie. Judges gave their vote, and decided on who was the winner. They also had a question about the movie and if you knew the answer, you were to stand up, and if they picked you, and you got the answer right, you won a bottle of wine. They also had a drawing by the seat number. If they called your seat, you got a basket full of things that were involved in the movie, such as: a tea pot with a container of tea, a bottle of champagne, flower seeds, a box of chocolates and a pair of theater tickets. I loved how they made each item won relevant to the movie and the themes or ideas within it. Isn't that fun! We had such a wonderful time, and I treasure unique moments such as this.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Happy~Happy~Happy!






Hoping that I get an e-mail from my son, I always check my e-mail first thing in the morning and right before I go to bed. Hearing from him always puts my heart at ease. Well, this morning I did my morning ritual, and he sent me PICTURES!
He wrote, "Well today things went good. A couple of days ago, I was talking to this TCN and he said he could get me food off base at this restaurant. Well, he bought me some Authentic India food. There was way to much and I decided to bring some to my favorite TCNs who I started out with at the beginning and became close with. It was so cool sitting down with them in Indian style and eating on the floor. Even though I couldn't understand them, it was like we were sharing something together but more deeper than a meal, you know what I mean. It was a neat experience. I took some pictures and sent them to you."

Woo Hooooooooooo!
My day is made as well as my week!
:)

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

*A Dandelion Wish*



A Dandelion's Song

Walking along the path, I spot
puffy white orb-
A Dandelion
a weed
Infinitely more beautiful than its
grassy fellows
endless, identical
To Me
I feel akin to this fluffy oddball
I am drawn
childlike
I grasp the delicate stem,
Bringing it near to my lips
Make a Wish
a prayer.
I wish for peace,
in the world
in my heart
I wish for love,
true love
I wish for direction,
hope
I blow with all my breath
wish with all my being-
Disperse
miniature white parachutes.
In my mind-
I Too
Detach
in a million different directions,
I Am
the hopes
the dreams
the prayers
the wishes
of a world
a generation;
my peers
my family
Myself-
I Am Blown.
Carried by a passing breeze
soft, gentle then-
Grabbed by a far more violent gust
I fall
tumble
rise
twist
Change directions.
I have traveled far-
have far yet to travel
not sure how far
I Am Not Lost-
just searching
for a purpose
a reason
an answer
a place to land
to stay-
To Take Root.

By Jennifer K. Keane

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Memories~



GHOSTS
Flames flickered in the fireplace,
As memories on the hearth of life;
Two shadows we, watching, brooding,
To catch our reflection
In a non-existent stream.

The ghost-witness of it all,
The clock brings its proofs;
Moments melt into moments,
Like notes of sad music,
Like a white cerement

Cold memories shroud our life;
Speech flees before this;
Faces turn away from each other;
The fire throws light on them;
There, too flames burn and flicker.

By DHAN GOPAL MUKERJI

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Encouragement


Reminding one another of
the dream that each of us
aspires to may be enough
for us to set each other free.

ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY

Someone
looking
out for you.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

He called!


I am flying high
above cloud nine
with the thought
that I talked
to you

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Dardanelle Bridge

Where we went camping at, was the small town of Dardanelle, population 2 (yes, that's correct, just 2), elevation 6,000 ft. It was my Grandma Bennie Jo's favorite place in the whole world. She went camping with us after my littlest sister Kiersten was born, and fell in love with the area at first sight. After her passing, our family gathered together in her honor, and spent the entire day there for the first time. While visiting, we felt her presence with us. The following year, my mom and I went back and found a rock shaped like a chair that we didn't remember from the year before. Convinced we hadn't overlooked it, we went through our pictures, which proved that it indeed was not. We like to believe that it is meant for us to sit and stay a while to enjoy the view.


This is the old Dardanelle Bridge built in 1933


The side view


Under the bridge


My Grandma's initials carved on side of the bridge; B.J. for Bennie Jo


Looking at the river standing on the bridge


Wild flower


I think that this was even an older bridge than the old Dardanelle Bridge.


This is where two iron rods are directly across from the rocks in the previous photo


Pine cones


Fern

Rock chair
Wild flower

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Pigeon Flat

The old photo that I posted in an earlier post, of my family 20 years ago, was taken here at Pigeon Flats. It is a walk-in camp ground just up the road from where we were camping at Brightman Flat, no vehicle's or RV's are allowed there, so it is very quiet and off the beaten path. Charlie and I wanted to go back, being that it was our 20th year anniversary of camping together. The flowers were growing wild where ever you looked. It was a butterfly haven, and they were flying everywhere! I met a lady camping near us, and she was carrying a camera (one I was quite envious of). We discussed the area together, both anticipating beautiful pictures we would capture. It is so calm and serene there.


Wild purple flowers


An old log resting across some rocks


More purple flowers


A lizard basking in the sun


Butterfly


I loved the gold and green hues in the jagged wings of this butterfly


The butterflies loved these purple flowers


This is the same butterfly, it moved and my camera caught it in a different light


More flowers


Another lizard. You can really see the scales in this photo.


The butterflies also enjoyed these white flowers


A different butterfly


This white flower was growing out of a rock!

Well, I hope that you enjoyed my walk through Pigeon Flat!

Saturday, July 7, 2007

The Great Outdoors!


our backdrop, of where we camped!


wild flowers, my grand daughter natalie picked for me.






*my natalie :)


one of many butterflies~


charlie... napping.


laying in the hammock, looking up!





it was so good to get away... but, it is so good to be home!