Wordless Wednesday - Haunted Mansion

Shock and Dismay

Tonight Sabrina Bryan was eliminated from Dancing With the Stars. She was, hands down, the best dancer on the show. How did this happen?!?

Birthday Bubba

Everyone stop over at Bubba's Blog and wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY today! He's the best brother anyone could hope for - I love him so much!

I'm still Mom and Dad's favorite, tho.

Happy Birthday, Dude.

Ten on Tuesday the Halloween Version

I'm not sure what's going on over at the Ten on Tuesday website, but it appears to be malfunctioning again. So I'm doing my own list again this week! I present to you:

Ten Halloween Costumes My Children Have Had

1. Garden Fairy (by far Daughter's cutest costume - she was 19 months old)
2. Pumpkin (Little Son's first - he was such a cutie!)
3. Dipsy the Teletubby (Little Son's second - again, too cute!)
4. Black Cat (Daughter - she was 2!)
5. Scooby Doo (Little Son)
6. Harry Potter (no, not Little Son, but Harry-Potter-Fanatic Daughter - even with the glasses and scar people thought she was Hermione. Ticked her off.)
7. Lady Knight (Daughter - she got on a knight kick, too, reading a series of books about a lady knight)
8. Pirate (Little Son)
9. Astronaut (Little Son)
10. Sandy from Grease (Daughter, who loved this movie in her pre-High School Musical days)

This year Daughter is going as a vampire cheerleader and Little Son as Phantom of the Opera. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Is my mommy gonna get lucky tonight?

It was several months ago, I believe - the USO Family and the Bubba's Sis Family were out together and decided to go to Barnes & Noble. We all head our separate ways in there - the men go one way, the women another, the kids yet another. So D and I are browsing about and we come across a table of High School Musical Magic 8 Balls. Cool! We decide to ask the Magic 8 Ball a question (come on, you know you would, too!). D picks one up and jokingly asks, "Am I going to get lucky tonight?" Her answer: "All signs point to NO." We giggle. Then we hear it. Unbeknownst to us, Daughter had walked up to the table, too, and thought she'd have better luck with another Magic 8 Ball....

"IS MISS D GONNA GET LUCKY TONIGHT?"

D and I just looked at each other, trying so hard not to laugh. Then Lamb joins in.

"IS MY MOMMY GONNA GET LUCKY TONIGHT?"

By now D and I are hysterical with laughter. Those sweet, innocent little voices asking such questions of a Magic 8 Ball! And not in a bookstore-quiet voice! People were starting to stare.

Apparently the girls couldn't get a satisfactory answer, so they kept asking,

"IS MY MOMMY GONNA GET LUCKY TONIGHT? IS MISS BUBBA'S SIS GONNA GET LUCKY TONIGHT?"

Now we are literally sitting in the floor, doubled over with laughter, tears rolling down our faces. The girls think we are upset because we're not going to get lucky. "Don't worry," they tell us. "You'll get lucky soon!"

If only they knew we were perfectly happy with "All signs point to NO!"

Someday, when they are much, much older and know what "getting lucky" really means, we will remind them of this incident. I can't wait to see their faces.

Drama Queens, Act II

Yesterday Drama Daughter and her BFF competed in the second Drama Festival of the school year - again, they competed in the same five events: Prose, Poetry, Storytelling, Group Acting, and Individual Improv. This time they each received FIVE Superior ratings (blue ribbons) and the coveted Five Star Trophy!

I expect Hollywood to be calling any day now.

Their next undertaking: UIL One-Act Play. They're doing Twelfth Night. I'm sure it will be fabulous!

Of Apple Pies, Orphan Trains, and Dancing Dogs

Because it's against the law to cook dinner at home on a Friday night in Texas (well, that's what I heard), D and I have taken to a Ladies' Night Out on most Friday evenings. Well, usually we take the kids with us, but not always. Tonight we did, but they sat at a different table across the aisle from us. We pretend we don't know them. D and I usually pick our restaurants based on the dessert choices. Our favorite is apple pie, and lately we have been jinxed in the apple pie department (both at Cheddar's, where they dropped it on the floor, and TGIFriday's, where they "just took it off the menu yesterday". Seriously. We almost cried.). Tonight we chose Chili's, even tho they don't offer a hot apple pie dessert. We just like Chili's. Much to our delight they now offer "mini desserts" - a small dessert in a shot glass - and one of the choices was caramel apple cheesecake, or something to that effect. Brilliant! So after snarfing up our Southwestern Eggrolls we each ordered one. Rather disappointing. NOT hot, full of raisins, and only fairly delicious. Oh well. Back to Cheddar's next time. Surely we won't be jinxed a third time, right? Right??

Apparently D and I take a long time to eat. It can't be all the talking we do. But for some reason all four kids finish up their meals WAAY before we do, and subsequently become bored. Now, they are very well behaved children - never make noise, complain, even get up from their table (which is how we can pretend we don't know them). But tonight's ploy to get us to hurry was long, sorrowful looks. Lamb pretended to sleep on Daughter's shoulder, while Daughter gave us her most pitiful expression. And they think WE embarrass THEM in public! D said they looked like they were on an Orphan Train. This made us crack up even more and take even longer to finish eating. That'll teach 'em.

Back at D's house, I was showing her my super-nifty new mp3 player I got for my birthday - she plugged one earbud into her ear, and I had one in mine. Surfing thru the songs, we started belting out "Raspberry Beret". We could totally be the next American Idols. D's dog Ty even started dancing along, pumping his body perfectly to the beat. I was impressed! Wait a minute. He's not dancing. He's......going to throw up! A hissy fit ensued, trying to get him outside before he barfed (didn't work), then trying to bribe one of the kids to clean it up ($5!! Also didn't work.) In the meantime Bear and Little Son are wandering about the house, needing scissors, tape, and "something heavy we don't need". Never a dull moment around here!!

Next time I'll tell about our precious daughters asking the Magic 8 Ball if their mommies are going to get lucky tonight.....

Friday's Feast #20

My 20th Friday's Feast!! Bon appetite!

Appetizer

Name a great website you would recommend to others.

The Breast Cancer Site - see the button on my sidebar!

Soup

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how often do you dream at night?

Um....a 12! I dream every night VIVIDLY. Sometimes I wake up exhausted. I even dream if I take a nap!

Salad

Did you have a pet as a child? If so, what kind and what was its name?

We had a miniature schnauzer named Chamois. I guess I just love schnauzers because now I have two!

Main Course

If you had the chance to star in a commercial, what would you choose to advertise?

Disney World!

Dessert

What is your favorite kind of hard candy?

Life Savers

Wordless Wednesday - Snuggle Puppy

Ten Random Thoughts

The official Ten on Tuesday site has gotten off schedule - or I have gotten off schedule. Either way, I've already done this week's list, and next week's. So here's something else for your reading enjoyment - 10 random thoughts of mine:

1. I think Halloween has gotten totally out of control. The decorations, the costumes, the marketing. It's nearly as big as Christmas.
   
2. Speaking of holiday decorations, I really hate those big inflatable things people put in their yards.
   
3. I got an mp3 player for my birthday (the big surprise) and I L-O-V-E it! I have 710 songs on it and I like to just put it on "shuffle all" and then I never know what's coming up next. But I know I'll like it because I put it on there!


4. I am already bored with Survivor. The challenges are pretty cool, but there are no good "characters" on the tribes. Where's the Colby, the Rupert, the Jonny Fairplay? These people are boring, and now that Aaron is gone, not even good to look at.


5. In fact, I'm bored with several of the shows I started out watching this fall. I'm whittling down that list on my sidebar.


6. However, I am excited that The Amazing Race is coming back next Sunday (November 4).


7. I want to be Julianne Hough when I grow up.




8. I thought I might miss teaching dance this fall. I don't. But I do miss dancing, and I think my body misses the exercise. Gotta do something about that......


9. I thought I would hate having a part-time job at Hubby's work. I don't. It's not so bad.


10. Little Son's school is asking for money again. Why don't I just arrange to have our paychecks directly deposited into the PTA's account??

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Fall has arrived!

We finally got some cooler weather today - we woke up to temps in the 70's, but a front blew through, bringing some rainy, windy weather - and temps dropped to the lower 60's! Tonight it's supposed to be in the 50's!! Now some of you may not think that's too chilly, but that is 30 degrees colder than what we've been having the past few weeks, so to us....BRRR!

Friday's Feast #19

Happy Feasting!

Appetizer

If you were a dog, what breed would you be, and why?

I would just be a mutt with good characteristics of several breeds - loyal, loving, well-behaved, smart, and cute!

Soup

What does the color purple make you think of?

Oprah Winfrey

Salad

Approximately how long does it take you to get ready each morning?

30 minutes or less - I am very low-maintenance

Main Course

How many cousins do you have, and are you close to them?
I have three cousins - one on my father's side and two on my mother's side (one of which is Wendy Bird). I am very close to Wendy Bird - she's more like a sister than a cousin!

Dessert

Take your initials (first, middle, last) and come up with something else those letters could stand for. (Example: SFO = Sweet Funny Otter)

Just Damn Cute!

Wordless Wednesday - Kisses

What's your name?

Found this on USO Girl's blog and it looks fun!

RULES: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...they have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up! You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

What is your name? Jill (gasp! I just revealed my real name!)
4 letter word: jump
Vehicle: Jaguar
TV Show: Jeopardy!
City: Jackson
Boy Name: Jacob
Girl Name: Jolene
Alcoholic Drink: Jack Daniels
Occupation: jockey
Something you wear: jeans
Celebrity: Johnny Cash
Food: jelly beans
Something found in a bathroom: Johnson's baby powder
Reason for Being late: jinxed
Cartoon Character: Jessica Rabbit
Something You Shout: Jackass! (I've been known to shout this at other drivers...heh heh.)

My Ten Favorite Halloween Candies

Trick or treat! It's Ten on Tuesday!

1. Laffy Taffy - banana is the best!
2. Tootsie Pops
3. Tootsie Rolls
4. Special Dark minis
5. Reese's cups
6. Butterfingers
7. Whoppers
8. Milk Duds
9. Skittles
10. Now & Laters

Change

When I was in high school I was friends with a brilliant young man who wrote a sonnet in my senior yearbook; here is an excerpt:

"Before the last tear falls away
A final word I'd like to give.
So take my thoughts and from this day
Fly forward and in bliss do live....

To win the war 'gainst pain and strife
Accept CHANGE as a way of life."

I much prefer the mantra, "Change is bad. Change is bad. Change is bad..."

Change is hard for me. Perhaps it is the Libra in me that doesn't like my scales to be thrown out of balance. I do understand that change is necessary in life, but it seems like things just change too fast! New neighborhoods and shopping centers pop up overnight, changing the landscape of the town I grew up in so fast I can barely keep up. Stores where I regularly shop remodel and move everything around so I go in and am immediately lost. My children are growing up much too fast - and I love who they are becoming, but I miss those baby days, too. Couldn't I have just had a little bit longer? And my body is changing. Bubba's Mom always told me it would when I got to be about this age (I think I can hear her snickering). Nothing drastic, mind you. But things are shifting, wrinkling, pooching. Why can't I just stay the way I have always looked? I liked my 24-year-old body!!

Things change at Hubby's work - not always for the better. Things change at our church - puts everyone in a tailspin. But change is necessary for growth, and if you're not growing, you are dying. I may not embrace change, but I must accept it.

But why does it always have to be so scary?

This is my cat.

Yes, it appears that this IS going to be my cat after all. However Mustachio turned out to be a girl kitty, so now her name is Delilah. We fed her and she was voracious - now she gets a little bit of milk every morning and some Fancy Feast every evening. She loves me.

Hey, there Delilah....

Friday's Feast #18

It's Friday already? Time for Friday's Feast!

Appetizer

When was the last time you were surprised?
when I opened my birthday presents last Sunday!

Soup

Fill in the blanks: My eyes are ________, but I wish they were __________.
My eyes are A PRETTY BLUE but I wish they were LESS WRINKLED AROUND THE SIDES.

Salad

If you were a Beanie Baby, what would you look like and what would your name be?

I would be a cute, furry sloth with a crown and my name would be Queenie! Right, D????

Main Course

Name two things you consistently do that you consider to be healthy habits.
get yearly checkups and mammograms, eat my veggies

Dessert

What brand of toothpaste are you using these days? Do you like it? Why or why not?

I actually had to go look! It's Crest. Toothpaste is toothpaste.

Wordless Wednesday - Night Light

Ten Things That Worry Me

What, me worry? My Ten on Tuesday offering for this week:

1. Breast cancer
2. Alzheimer's
3. my children - their health, their safety, their futures, everything
4. money
5. Hubby's health
6. Hubby's job
7. the lump on Good Girl Dog's side - what if it's a tumor?? She is 7 years old today.
8. that cat hanging around my house, thinking he lives here, meowing at my door every night
9. my upcoming flight to Florida in November
10. not living up to others' expectations of me

This is not my cat.

But he/she REALLY wants to be my cat. Here he/she is at the window beneath my kitchen cabinets crying, "Let me in!"

This cat belongs to somebody around here, altho he/she has no collar. The kids and I happened across (we'll say him) one day out on the driveway. We petted him and stuff. We said he should be named Mustachio because of the funny black moustache he has. Then we went on our way. Mustachio decided he liked us. A lot. Sometimes he sits at the front door and meows. Sometimes he comes and looks in the windows. I promise I have not fed him anything. He just loves me. And I can't stand to be cruel to him and shoo him away. Besides, he just comes back.

I am not really a cat person. Ask D. I pretend to like her cat because that's what friends do. But I must admit, this little guy is pretty friendly. Very loving. But I DO NOT NEED A CAT! I have two doggies who do NOT like this kitty hanging around!

Is it possible to be adopted by a cat?

Na na na na na na - YOU SAY IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY! Na na na na na na - IT'S MY BIRTHDAY, TOO, YEAH!

Thank you to everyone for the Happy Birthday wishes - and to Tish over at CrAzy Working Mom for this beautiful cake!! Everyone have a piece - it's delicious!

This isn't a "milestone" birthday for me - but in a couple of years it'll be the Big 4-0. Still, here are some interesting things about the day I was born....

(Info courtesy of this site, which I found via Dawn at Coming to a Nursery Near You)

7 October 1969

Your date of conception was on or about 14 January 1969 which was a Tuesday.
Nice to know, but no one likes to really think about their conception, do they?

You were born on a Tuesday under the astrological sign Libra.

Your Life path number is 6. (This is pretty accurate if you read the description...)

Your fortune cookie reads: Be direct, usually one can accomplish more that way.

Life Path Compatibility:

You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 3, 6 & 9. (Hubby is also a 6! As is Bubba's Mom! Daughter is a 3!)

You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 4, 8, 11 & 22.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 5 & 7. (NOT true - my BFF is a 1, and we love each other very much! Both my sons are 5's. Hmmmmmm.....)

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2440501.5.

The golden number for 1969 is 13.

The epact number for 1969 is 11.

The year 1969 was not a leap year.

Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 2/17/1969 and ending 2/5/1970. You were born in the Chinese Year of the Rooster.

Your Native American Zodiac sign is Raven; your plant is Ivy.

You were born in the Egyptian month of Choiach, the fourth month of the season of Poret (Emergence - Fertile soil).

Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 25 Tishri 5730. Or if you were born after sundown then the date is 26 Tishri 5730.

The Mayan Calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.17.16.2.17 which is 12 baktun 17 katun 16 tun 2 uinal 17 kin

The Hijra (Islamic Calendar) date of your birth is Tuesday, 25 Rajab 1389 (1389-7-25).

The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 6 April 1969.

The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 13 April 1969.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 19 February 1969.

The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 25 May 1969. The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 1 June 1969.

The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Saturday, 13 September 1969.

The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Thursday, 3 April 1969.

The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 18 February 1969.

As of 10/7/2007 11:39:14 AM EDT -

You are 38 years old.

You are 456 months old.

You are 1,983 weeks old.

You are 13,879 days old.

You are 333,107 hours old.

You are 19,986,459 minutes old.

You are 1,199,187,554 seconds old. (NOW I feel old!)

Celebrities who share your birthday:
Shawn Ashmore (1979)
Rachel McAdams (1976)
Toni Braxton (1967)
Thom Yorke (1968)
Simon Cowell (1959)
Michael W. Smith (1957)
Yo-Yo Ma (1955)
Vladimir Putin (1952)
John Cougar Mellencamp (1951)
Bishop Desmond Tutu (1931)
R.D. Laing (1927)
June Allyson (1917)
Vaughn Monroe (1911)
Andy Devine (1905)
Niels Bohr (1885)

Top songs of 1969
Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In by Fifth Dimension
In the Year 2525 by Zager & Evans
Get Back by Beatles (with Billy Preston)
Sugar, Sugar by Archies (I happen to know this song was #1 the day I was born!)
Honky Tonk Women by Rolling Stones
Everyday People by Sly & the Family Stone
Dizzy by Tommy Roe
Wedding Bell Blues by Fifth Dimension
I Can't Get Next to You by Temptations
Crimson & Clover by Tommy James & the Shondells

Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 5.4320939334638 years old. (I'm younger than Good Girl Dog!)

Your lucky day is Friday.

Your lucky number is 6.

Your ruling planet is Venus.

Your lucky dates are 6th, 15th, 24th.

Your opposition sign is Aries.

Your opposition number(s) is 9.

Today is not one of your lucky days! (Oh, great.)

There are 366 days till your next birthday on which your cake will have 39 candles. Those 39 candles produce 39 BTUs,or 9,828 calories of heat (that's only 9.8280 food Calories!). You can boil 4.46 US ounces of water with that many candles.

In 1969 there were approximately 3.7 million births in the US.

In 1969 the US population was approximately 179,323,175 people, 50.6 persons per square mile.

In 1969 in the US there were approximately 1,800,000 marriages (9.3%) and 479,000 divorces (2.5%)

In 1969 in the US there were approximately 1,712,000 deaths (9.5 per 1000)

In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.

In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.

Your birthstone is Opal.

Your birth tree is Rowan, the Sensitivity - Full of charm, cheerful, gifted, without egoism, likes to draw attention, loves life, motion, unrest and even complications, is both dependent and independent, good taste, artistic, passionate, emotional, good company, does not forgive.

The moon's phase on the day you were born was waning crescent.

There are 79 days till Christmas! (Yay! More presents!)

Tora! Tora! Tora!

The Wings Over Houston Airshow is this weekend - a 2-day event featuring some pretty awesome aerial demonstrations. This year the Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be showing off their precision acrobatics in the sky, the Texas Air National Guard F-16's will be doing fly-by's, there will be re-creatings of WWII battles, including the Tora Tora attack on Pearl Harbor, plus much more to delight the crowd.

I live about 2 miles from the runway. Every so often my house shakes with a fly-by. It's going to be a loud weekend.

Friday's Feast #17

My feast offering for this week.....

Appetizer

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you look forward to your birthday?

An interesting question - my birthday is Sunday! I would say probably an 8 - I think the day you were born is pretty special.

Soup

What is one word you don’t like the sound, spelling, or meaning of?

slacks

Salad

Do you wear sunglasses when you’re outside? If so, what does your current pair look like?

deep red plastic frames - not too big but not too small - scratches on the lenses of course

Main Course

If you were to write a book, to whom would you dedicate it?

my mom - the strongest woman I know

Dessert

Name a beverage that you enjoy.

Sometimes there's nothing like a cold beer....

Wordless Wednesday - Three Generations

Sucker Punch

That's what a cancer diagnosis is. A sucker punch. Life can be going along just fine and then BAM! You're battling a serious disease. In the past year I have known five people who have gotten a cancer diagnosis. Two of them have already passed on. It's downright scary.

Not all of the cancers I've brushed up against lately are breast cancer - but October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and that's the cancer I'm most afraid of. I've seen Bubba's Mom - MY mom - fight it twice. She's a survivor. I'm so very proud of her.

Today she was sucker punched again. I'm right beside her to fight Round 3. She's going to beat it once again. Cancer, be damned.

Ten Television Shows I'd Like to Have on DVD

This week's Ten on Tuesday list really made me think - I'm not one to watch TV shows - or even movies - over and over. I don't own any TV shows on DVD. But these are some of my favorites that would be cool to watch again - from the beginning....

1. Alias
2. Ally McBeal
3. All the Amazing Races
4. All the American Idols
5. Dallas
6. All the Dancing With the Stars
7. E.R.
8. Friends
9. Lost
10. Will & Grace