Ten Things I Do When I Have Nothing Else To Do

As I was making this week's Ten on Tuesday list, Hubby saw my title-less list and said, "What's this? A list of how you spend your days?" Har har. I really do have lots of things to do with my days - this is what I do when I'm done with all that other busy stuff:

1. nap
2. surf the Internet
3. play a game on the computer (I'm really into Spider Solitaire right now)
4. snack
5. look over my calendar for important things that might be coming up
6. watch TV
7. pull weeds from my flowerbeds
8. read the newspaper (I try to do this every day anyway)
9. take the dogs for a walk
10. call Bubba's Mom and see what she's doing!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Space City

Having grown up in this NASA community, all things space were just a way of life to me. My daddy worked at Johnson Space Center for over 41 years - he just retired at the end of 2006. I attended the splash-down party for Apollo 11 in-utero (I was born less than 3 months later). My first grade teacher was an astronaut's wife. When Bubba and I were kids Dad used to take us to work with him sometimes. We have seen the parts of NASA that you don't see on the public tour - we've been in the shuttle simulator and seen where the astronauts train. We were never allowed in Mission Control, but Dad has been there several times. Even today Hubby and I know a few astronauts personally. They are the people we go to church with, have lunch with, and see at the grocery store. Their triumphs are our triumphs and their tragedies our tragedies. I can't even begin to explain how the Challenger and Columbia disasters rocked this community of ours. I had friends who lost parents in Challenger, other friends who dropped out of astronaut training after Columbia. You never get over those things.

But today Daughter got to experience one of the perks of living in this NASA area. In an assembly today at school, the students got to speak to one of the astronauts onboard the International Space Station (he has a kid at that school). It was a live feed and the students got to ask questions, such as "What do you do to exercise?" and "How does living in space affect your hair and fingernail growth?" Daughter was impressed with how clear it was - just like talking on the phone, yet this guy is orbiting the earth 220 miles above the ground!

I think Neil Armstrong said it best: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

And we continue to leap.

Friday's Feast #14

Happy Friday and Happy Feasting!

Appetizer

When was the last time you visited a hospital?

The last time I was in a hospital was in January when Hubby had surgery to remove the screws from his ankle (which were put in last November after breaking his leg/ankle).

Soup

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how ambitious are you?

Eh, I guess a 5.

Salad

Make a sentence using the letters of a body part. (Example: (mouth) My other ukelele tings healthily.)

Apes need kind, loving empathy.

Main Course

If you were to start a club, what would the subject matter be, and what would you name it?

I think a club to share vacation tips and info would be fun - I'd call it The Vacation Information Station! (**Disclaimer - if you already have a club named that, I'm sorry - I just thought of it off the top of my head and it's late.)

Dessert

What color is the carpet/flooring in your home?

oatmeal

The Conspiracy

I believe there is some kind of conspiracy in this world to discontinue making the products I like. As sure as I find something I really love - whether it be a cleaning product or food or whatever - they stop making it. Some examples:

• Glade Spin-Fresh toilet paper holders - a pleasant but subtle way to keep the bathroom smelling nice every time you use toilet paper
• Alpha Bits cereal - and while I'm on the subject of cereal, can I just say that while I appreciate the effort to make cereals healthier (lower sugar, sodium, etc.), doing so has made some of the oldies-but-goodies not so goodie anymore. Super Golden Crisp should have stayed Sugar Crisp. I'm just sayin'.
• Chicken by George - tender boneless chicken breasts that came in delicious flavors like Tomato Herb with Basil, Caribbean Grill, and Mesquite Barbecue; yes, they were over-packaged and a little over-priced, but they were great for a quick and easy meal!
• Scotch Brite Rescue Pads - soap-filled sponges with a scrubber side and a sponge side; while Googling this, however, I discovered that they may still be available online, so it's apparently just my local stores that are in on The Conspiracy
• Several Bath & Body Works products, including but not limited to the Stress Relief Bath Salts (the new ones aren't as good as the old ones) and White Tea and Ginger Bubble Bath (which also appears to be available online, but not in my local store)

So why does this happen to me? I can't be the only person who bought these products! Bubba's Mom has noticed the trend, too. She can't get her Revlon Moon Drops Moisture Cream anymore. What is this world coming to?

Name Game

**SCROLL DOWN FOR WORDLESS WEDNESDAY**

I stole this fun game from Stacey at JameeForever - it's silly and fun and guaranteed to make you laugh! Try it!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Muffin Venture
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Chocolate Chip Chocolate Chip! I think that should be just Chocolate Chip Squared or something....
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) J'Car
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Blue Dog
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Darlene Houston
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) Carji
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) The Red Tea
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Albert Martin
9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy) Design Whoppers (HA!)
10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Marie Albert
11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) Giglio Geneva
12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) Spring Lily
13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) Strawberry Tankie
14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) Brownie Oak
15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”) The Dancing Storm Tour!

Wordless Wednesday - Rollin' on the River

Ten Cities I Could Live In

Today's Ten on Tuesday list asks for Ten Cities I Could Live In - forever or just for a little while.....here's what I came up with off the top of my mind. Some of these places I have been, others I haven't.....

1. Austin, Texas
2. Bastrop, Texas
3. Beaufort, South Carolina
4. Hilton Head, South Carolina
5. Charleston, South Carolina
6. Savannah, Georgia
7. Natchez, Mississippi
8. Gainesville, Florida
9. San Diego, California
10. Breckenridge, Colorado

Good Answer

Friday's Feast #13

Time for another Friday's Feast!

Appetizer

Using only one word, how does grocery shopping make you feel?
tired

Soup

What is your favorite part about the season of Autumn?
cooler weather

Salad

Have you ever had any bad experiences online?
I had a virus e-mailed to me once, but other than that, no.

Main Course

Name three things that make you happy daily.

my husband

my kids

my dogs

Dessert

What one household cleansing or organizing item would you not want to be without?

my calendar (that's an organizing item, right?)

Back-to-School Bugs

The last time Daughter threw up was 2 years ago - we were in Hilton Head, SC on vacation, and something she ate for dinner didn't agree with her. In the middle of the night it all came back up. All. Over. The. Bed. It was a strip-the-bed-and-throw-the-kid-in-the-shower incident. But after that she was all better and wasn't sick anymore.

Until today.

It started at 6:15 this morning. (She did make it to the bathroom.) Since then she has thrown up 3 more times. This girlie is SICK. She's lying in her bed like a limp dishrag, trying to watch TV but dozing a bit, too. She can't even hold down water. I feel so badly for her, but I know that there is nothing I can do except hold her hair back and give her a cold washcloth - a stomach virus must run its course. This is only the second week of school - I figure all those kids came back with germs aplenty and Daughter was the lucky lottery winner of the tummy bug. Hopefully none of the rest of us get it - I'm Lysol-ing everything like crazy. Maybe I have Mommy Immunity.

Crazy Lady Say What??

***SCROLL DOWN FOR WORDLESS WEDNESDAY***

Whoopi Goldberg has started her stint on The View, and already she's stirring up controversy. She is actually DEFENDING Michael Vick! Kind-of the "he didn't know any better" defense. According to Whoopi, "where he comes from" in the South, dogfighting isn't that unusual.
"It's like cockfighting in Puerto Rico," she said. "There are certain things that are indicative to certain parts of the country." She said that for many people, dogs are sport, and it appeared it took awhile for Vick to realize that he was up against serious charges. "I just thought it was interesting, because it seemed like a light went off in his head when he realized this was something that the entire country didn't appreciate," she said.

Ummm....EXCUSE ME???? Maybe - just MAYBE - if Vick were some kid from the sticks who was being raised to fight dogs and had never known any different, this could be a plausible excuse. But this man is/was a professional athlete! A grown man who knew right from wrong! The abuse and torture of his dogs was despicable, and he had to know that. How on EARTH could anyone defend his actions? I'm from the South and I find it reprehensible, and to generalize Southerners in that way would be as bad as me saying that she's defending him because he's black. Which I'm not doing.

Come on, Whoopi - we thought you were gonna be so much better than Rosie!

**UPDATE**

Whoopi is covering her butt today, apologizing and backpedaling like crazy. Do we give her the benefit of the doubt on this one??

Wordless Wednesday - BFF's

Ten Things I'd Save In A Fire

Ten on Tuesday snuck up on me this week! Guess the holiday threw me off....

Assuming Hubby can get out safely on his own, here are Ten Things I'd Save In A Fire:

1. my kids
2. my dogs
3. my scrapbooks
4. as many photos as I could grab
5. my computer (well, the tower - the part that has all my "stuff" on it!)
6. my Bible
7. my calendar book
8. our box of important documents (no they are not in a fireproof safe - shame on us!)
9. the kids' baby books
10. my vacation spoons (collection started by my grandmother and passed on to me - very special to me!)

You like me! You really like me!

Not one but TWO awards for me this week! Wow - I'm feeling really special right now.

Misty Dawn at My Dogs Keep Me Sane bestowed upon me the Blogging Star award. She is such a neat person and takes AWESOME photos! Thank you Misty Dawn!


Stacey at Jamee Forever awarded me the You Make Me Smile Award - I am honored! She makes me smile every day both at her blog and the comments she leaves on mine. Love ya, Stacey!

I think I'm supposed to pass these along to others now, so I'm going to think about it some - I would gladly give both of them to USO Girl, but she got them, too! Lots of stuff to do today, so I'll mull on it and come back tonight to do my awarding.

Happy Labor Day Weekend everyone!

In Loving Memory

July 1, 1961 - August 31, 1997

Friday's Feast #12

After two feast-less Fridays because of no Internet, I'm back! Dig in and enjoy today's Friday's Feast!

Appetizer

Who is the easiest person for you to talk to?

Definitely Bubba's Mom, and USO Girl - aka D - she's my BFF!

Soup

If you could live in any ancient city during the height of the quality of its society and culture, which one would you choose?

the Mayans of Central America

Salad

What is the most exciting event you’ve ever witnessed?
the birth of a child

Main Course

If you were a celebrity, what would you do for a publicity stunt?
be on Dancing With the Stars

Dessert

What do you consider the ideal age to have a first child?

I was 24 when Daughter was born and I thought it was ideal!

Viral Tag

USO Girl tagged me!

Rules:
1. Copy and paste the story below, and the rules, on your blog.
2. Find out who you're going to tag. (2-3 people, or more, if you wish)
3. Write one or two sentences to continue the story, and use the titles of the blogs you're tagging or any word(s) associated with them as keywords in the links you include in your part of the story.
4. Remember to tell your taggees that you've tagged them!
5. Feel free to use this and start your own viral link story. I'd very much appreciate a link back to Mother's Home if you do. (Or a tag, if you prefer!)

Once upon a time, after the evil stepmom had put up a Barbed wire fence around everything, the Empress came and shouted: "I've come to give you A little piece of me mind!" The evil stepmom, Shelby, came out to see what all the Rambling from this Crazy person was about. The cranky, evil stepmom watched in horror as the insane person began to parade around singing "A Boy Named Sue."It seemed like forever this insane person would sing and for miles he would parade, all the while twisting and dancing to the song.

It was nothing short of sheer brilliance, though, this Empress, dancing like a wild monkey in an accordian store, waving goodbye to the evil (and I mean very evil) stepmom and heading off to her job as a Kelly Girl on a military base in South Carolina. It was there she was swept off her feet by Officer Gorgeous and signed up to be part of the USO.

It was day by day living with Officer Gorgeous. They went to dances, watched movies, star-gazed, & drank their fountain drinks from the same glass. Then, her Mother, Sister, and Friend came along.....

She hadn't seen them for years, and couldn't wait to introduce her new love to them. "This is Officer Gorgeous," she said. "He's really a misplaced midwesterner. We're crazy in love!"

"You must come all the way home with us!" her family cried.....

I tag:
The Misplaced Midwesterner
Crazy Working Mom
Whee! All The Way Home

Dancing With WHO??

This morning on Good Morning America, last season's Dancing With the Stars winner Apolo Ohno announced the lineup for this fall's show. USO Girl and I think they could have done better, so we present:

Bubba's Sis and USO Girl's Improved Dancing With the Stars Lineup:

The seasoned performers:
Instead of Marie Osmond, we want DONNY OSMOND!
Instead of Wayne Newton, we'll take DOLLY PARTON.

The TV stars:
Instead of Jenny Garth, we want ELLEN DEGENERES.
Instead of Dr. Quinn lady we want MATTHEW FOX.

The Disney star:
Instead of the Cheetah Girl we want ZAC EFRON.

The music star:
Instead of Scary Spice we want QUEEN LATIFAH.

The sports stars:
Instead of Hélio Castroneves, Mark Cuban, and “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather, Jr., we'll take PEYTON MANNING, TOM BRADY, and DANICA PATRICK (since we need to throw in a girl there).

The soap star:
Instead of Cameron Mathison, we want JOHN TRAVOLTA (ok, he's not a soap star, but he used to be on TV and he's been on Oprah!).

The hotties:
Instead of supermodel Josie Maran and male model Albert Reed, we want...letsee, gotta be 2 girls here to make it even.....how about KAT VON D (from Miami Ink) and EVA LONGORIA?? They're pretty hot.

That makes 6 guys and 6 girls, right? (We had a much easier time picking the guys than the girls! Runners up included Will Smith and Josh Duhamel.)

The Men:

• Donny Osmond
• Matthew Fox
• Zac Efron
• Peyton Manning
• Tom Brady
• John Travolta

The Women:

• Dolly Parton
• Ellen DeGeneres
• Queen Latifah
• Danica Patrick
• Kat Von D
• Eva Longoria

Now THAT'S a show!

Wordless Wednesday - Sweet!

Ten Things About My Job

I missed last week's Ten on Tuesday list - Ten Things I Hate About My Job. This week's topic is Ten Things I Like About My Job. I only have a little part-time job anyway, so I decided to split the difference and do five of each so I'm all caught up! I can do that, right? Of course I can! It's MY blog!

Five Things I Hate About My Job:

1. My office is in a file room with no windows - kind-of like a cave.
2. The ladies' restroom is just outside my file room office - and every day the woman who works in the parts department takes a big poo in there and stinks up my office!!
3. When I'm not there, people take my stuff off my desk. Not my PERSONAL stuff, but my pens or my scissors or my stapler....ticks me off.
4. My computer at work does not have Internet access.
5. I am constantly fixing stupid mistakes that people who were there before me made.

Five Things I Like About My Job:

1. It's easy.
2. I set my own hours.
3. The pay is good.
4. I get to organize things - I like to organize things.
5. The guys in the parts department are funny and keep me entertained while I'm there.

Tagged - X4!!

While I was on my two-week hiatus from blogging, I was tagged FOUR TIMES! Being a good blogger girl, I did them all. Kinda.....


Jolene over at The Middling Monettes tagged me for the 8 Things Meme - since I've already done it, I decided to do another one I saw on her blog - the Middle Name Meme:

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts.
4. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Here's mine:

D - Dog-lover
A - Anal (not a great word - I prefer "slightly obsessive/compulsive" - but no S, O, or C in my name!)
R - Religious
L - Loving
E - Easygoing
N - Nap-taker
E - Emotional

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Next, Crazy Working Mom tagged me for the 7 P's Meme - I think you're supposed to put something about yourself after each P-word:

1. Passion: Christ
2. Purpose: to raise happy, healthy children and be a good wife (OK, so that was also Tish's answer but it's a good one!)
3. Pursuit: inner peace - sounds hokey, but I want to get to a point where I really don't worry about things because I know that God is in control; I'm getting there!
4. Position: hmm - well, my favorite sleeping position is on my side
5. Pummeling: Would love to pummel smokers! And rude people!
6. Progress: see Pursuit
7. Personality: fun

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Skittles tagged me with the Image Meme - this one was fun! Here are the rules:

1) Go to Google.
2) Click on Google images.
3) Type in your name and search.
4) Re post (w/ a link) the picture of the oddest, craziest, strangest, coolest, oldest, etc. person that shares your name. Post multiples if you find a few you like.
5) Pass it on to at least 5 other people.

At first I typed in my first AND last names, and was shocked to see a picture of MYSELF come up! I forgot my teacher picture is still on the dance studio's website. So I went back and did just my first name and here is my favorite:

I really do feel like this some days.

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Finally, Michael-Lover-Of-Amy tagged me for the $50,000 Meme (I wish he'd just given me $50K, but I'll play along):

A philanthropist awards you $50,000 with the stipulation that you may use half of it for yourself and the other half you must use for the benefit of others. By "benefit of others" it can mean anything really, buying a gift for a family member or donating to a charity.

a. How do you spend the money on yourself? $25K would pay off some debt!

b. How do you use the money for others? Please be detailed, so if you say "give X dollars to charity, let us know what charity and why you select that one. There are several charities that I would split the money between - including breast cancer research, Habitat for Humanity, the SPCA, and a local women's shelter. Would also give a big chunk to my church.

c. If you were to spend part of your money to have a performer do a show for you, who would it be and why? Bon Jovi - because I love him.

d. If you were to use it on a new vehicle for yourself, what kind? probably a Chevy Tahoe, but $25K probably wouldn't buy the one I would want!

e. If you spent part of it to go to a "fantasy" camp, what type would you choose? baseball

f. If you were to use it to buy season tickets for a sports team, what team would it be? absolutely the Houston Astros!

g. If you were to use it to go on a cruise (assuming you like cruises) where would you cruise to? I do like to cruise and would gladly do the Caribbean again. An Alaskan cruise would be cool, too.

h. If you were to use it to go to NYC to see a show (or shows) what would you see? Phantom of the Opera, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Chicago

and i. Totally off subject (but since Fall is coming) what is your favorite carnival food (I was watching "Big" while writing this and saw them at the carnival)? funnel cakes!!

**Since I've just done FOUR memes, I'm not going to tag anyone specifically for these - but if you want to play along, feel free! Let me know if you do and I'll come check it out!

Happy New Year

I love this time of year. Back-to-school has always seemed like New Year's to me - this is when everything is fresh and new and you have a clean slate on the year ahead (Bubba's Mom did a great post on this - read it here). This year is especially full of fresh starts for the Bubba's Sis Family - we are emerging from a Season of Change that we never would have anticipated just a few months ago.

To begin with, we have the new house. You know about that. We love it here and we are so happy with how everything worked out. Life is good.

Tomorrow the kiddos go back to school. Daughter doesn't have to change schools since she is in a district-wide magnet program for gifted kids; tomorrow she starts 8th grade - her last year of junior high school. She is very excited. Little Son will be at a new school for 5th grade this year - his last year of elementary school - but he is looking upon it as a new adventure and an opportunity to make new friends. Coincidentally, one of his two teachers is a friend I went to junior high and high school with, and ran into at our reunion just last month - small world, isn't it? Navy Son is starting classes at the Naval Academy Prep School - he has a fresh buzz haircut and is ready to go! He even made the cross-country team at the school.

There are other changes for us as well. Daughter and I have decided to take a break from dancing. She took for 9 years at the studio where I danced growing up, the same studio I came back to to teach 5 years ago. But Daughter's passion is drama, not dance, and she has made the mature decision to focus her energy on what she loves: acting. My ankles have given me problems the past couple of years, and the fun of teaching dance was wearing thin, so Daughter's decision to move on made an easy transition for me to move on as well. I will continue to do some part-time warranty filing at Hubby's job while the kids are at school, and enjoy being home with them in the afternoons instead of running off to the dance studio four days a week. It's all good.

We celebrated a fresh start for another family today - a family from our small group at church who welcomed the Daddy home from Iraq this past week. This was his second tour of duty in Iraq, and boy are they glad to have him back home!! It was quite a celebration today, with lots of friends and family there to welcome him home. Home safe and alive. God is good.

So Happy New Year to you and yours! The best is yet to come!

Still alive!

Don't give up on me, Blogger Friends - I am still out here! Just no Internet at the new place yet (6 more days!) and very little time to get over to Bubba's Mom's house to check e-mail, pay bills, read blogs, etc. I am exhausted from the past couple of weeks, but it's a good exhausted. I love our new house. I love the location, the layout, the trees, the peacefulness of the neighborhood, my red front door, my own office, the paint that is already my colors so we don't have to paint at all, the super-great washer and dryer that came with the house and are oh-so-much better than my old ones, the gas stove (my other one was electric and I like gas better), the big bathtub, and lots more. We've lived there a week and it already feels like home.

I'll try to do better keeping up with blogs this week, but know that after August 25 I'll be back online and back in the blogosphere!

Frustration and Stupidity

That's what I'm feeling this week. Having no cable or Internet has really made me feel cut off from the world!!! How did I ever survive before I had it?!? So I can only check my e-mail and blogs and stuff at Bubba's Mom's house or - if I'm sneaky - Hubby's desk at work. And having only 2 channels to watch on the TV? Well that's just boring. Add to it that we had Tropical Storm Erin rains all day and my kids are climbing the walls.

Today during the torrential downpours I kept hearing a honking sound - like an alarm or something - coming from outside. Further investigation - and wading into the back corner of my back yard under a HUGE oleander bush - tracked the noise to the cable TV box in my yard. This has got to be bad. So I called The Cable Company - three different numbers - and finally got someone to come out and investigate this horrible honking noise. A couple of hours later - honking noise getting rather annoying now - Cable Guys show up. They slosh into my backyard in the pouring rain and tell me the source of the sound. A frog. Do I need to even say how stupid I felt???? So I batted my eyes at them and apologized profusely - then asked as long as they were here, could they just go ahead and turn on my cable?? We're not supposed to do that, ma'am. Oh pretty please (more eyelash batting)? OK. So they did it!!! I have no idea how to hook up the TV's and stuff inside but Hubby does, so - cross your fingers - tonight we may have our cable back working! If I can figure out how to get my Internet back, I'll feel connected once again! And I can do a Google search from my home on "HOW TO GET RID OF LOUD, HONKING FROGS". Oh, the shame.

No Ten on Tuesday...

No Ten on Tuesday list for me this week - I have been so busy with the move and everything, I haven't even had time to think about it. And! No Internet at my new house until Aug. 25! AAAAA! Good thing I can use Bubba's Mom's computer or I'd have SERIOUS withdrawal!!

The move went swimmingly - we still have a few things to move over, but for the most part we are "settled in". Of course we picked the hottest days of the year to move - no kidding, it was 107 degrees both days over the weekend. It was exhausting. Thank God for A/C.

More from me soon!

Moving!

I really can't believe it. After months and months of wanting to move, we FINALLY got the perfect house for us! Everything came together so smoothly, and we are moving this weekend! Not a far move - only about 10 miles. But if I don't blog for a few days, you'll know why - lots of packing, moving, unpacking, etc. to do, plus I'm not sure when my Internet will be hooked up at the new place. If I have to, I'll blog from Bubba's Mom's house - we'll only be living about 3 minutes from her now! We are all so excited!

Friday's Feast #11

Happy Friday and Happy Feasting!

Appetizer

What is your favorite kind of pie?

Oh it's hard to pick just one! I love chocolate pie, but I also love coconut!

Soup

Name something that made you smile this week.

FINALLY getting the house we want!

Salad

What do you do to cool off when the weather is hot and humid?
stay inside where it's air-conditioned

Main Course

You receive $1,000 in the mail with a letter that says you can only use the money to redecorate one room in your home. Which room do you pick, and what do you buy to spruce it up?
I would probably pick my bedroom and get new bedroom furniture and bedding; make it a peaceful, beautiful retreat!

Dessert

Fill in the blank: My _Chinese Zodiac sign (Rooster)___ says _I am an early riser and do my best work in the morning___, but I __DON'T!____.

Wordless Wednesday

Ten Things I'll Never Do Again

"Never say never" is a pretty good motto, but I did come up with a good list of Ten Things I'll Never Do Again:

1. wear a white bathing suit
2. get so drunk I puke
3. get an adjustable-rate-mortgage
4. get pregnant
5. smoke a cigarette (for the record, I only ever tried it ONE TIME)
6. evacuate Houston with millions of other people running from a hurricane
7. shave in the bikini area
8. work for a lawyer
9. buy fudge for Hubby (I did this several times before I remembered he doesn't like fudge!)
10. watch the Astros play in the Astrodome

Why I Love Country Music

Yeah, it's Monday - but this will make you laugh:

The Kiss

Drama Daughter has wrapped up her stint as Ariel in The Little Mermaid - it was four weeks of fun, frustration, fame, and, well, DRAMA - onstage and off. Drama Daughter and her BFF - who also played Ariel in a different cast - learned a lot of lessons in this past month. They learned about acting, projecting their voices, how to run the lights and sound and how to pull the curtain. They learned that some actors may not have as much devotion to their part as others, and that despite having missing cast-members, the show must go on. And they learned that sometimes it is difficult to stay in character - to pretend that you are hopelessly in love with someone that in real life, you can't stand.

This is where The Kiss became a problem.

As the story goes, Ariel falls in love with a human prince. She swoons over him and sings to him - none of which were a problem for the girls, despite the fact that they found their "princes" completely unattractive and rather obnoxious. But at the end, Ariel marries the prince, which means....a kiss. Now, these are kids putting on this production, so no real kissing was expected of them. The first plan was to have them lean in for a kiss, but have a blackout just before their lips met. But the lighting crew was a little slow with the blackout, and the leaning in but not connecting became awkward. Giggling ensued. Character broken. This was not going to work.

While driving the girls home one day, Daughter's BFF was explaining how they were instructed to try the "French kiss". Whoa! I almost drove off the road! French kissing?!?!? But what they meant was the European style of kissing each cheek. Whew! So they tried that. It was silly, too. No good.

The final plan worked wonderfully - Prince Eric would hold up his cape to cover their faces and they would lean in and pretend to kiss behind the cape. Very cute! Worked like a charm and went over well with the audience. Success! Until the final performance. It seems Drama Daughter's prince - who really seemed like a nice guy but she assured me was an obnoxious boor - decided to go for a REAL kiss on the last show. The cape went up, they leaned in, then Daughter's head jerked back quickly! Not exactly the reaction of a smitten bride, was it?

As infuriated as she was, she did not break character and all ended well. Bravo!

And the grand total is.......

$890! I would say my Big Fat Garage Sale was a fantabulistic success - not only did we make some money, but we got rid of a lot of JUNK! We still have a lot of junk, but none of it is big stuff we'll have to haul away. That is good, because we may be looking at a move here in the next month, and the less to move the better!

The Texas rains stayed away during my garage sale - for which I was thankful. It was damn hot, tho - hot and humid and not a breeze stirring. But I can't complain - the customers came and they bought stuff. The rain at least waited until afternoon!

Now to get what's left organized, packed up, and given away to someone who needs it more than I do.

Friday's Feast #10

Happy Friday everyone!

Appetizer

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how polite are you?

I would say a 9 - I'm not perfect, but I'm purty darn nice!

Soup

What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?

probably something corny that I said myself - I often crack myself up; I love to laugh - it feels good!

Salad

Who is your favorite cartoon character?

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!

Main Course

Tell about the funniest teacher you ever had.

The funniest teacher I ever had was not funny in the normal sense of the word - she had a dry wit that just cracked me up, tho. I was also scared to death of her. She never cracked a smile, even when she was saying something witty. Her name was Ms. Kevan and she taught Creative Writing my senior year. Now she is one of Hubby's customers, and she still remembers me!

Dessert

Complete this sentence: I strongly believe that __Jesus Christ is the Son of God and my personal Savior__.

My Big Fat Garage Sale

Tomorrow morning - and Saturday morning - I'll be up bright and early for My Big Fat Garage Sale. Everything must go. I have so much crap out there you wouldn't even believe it - clothes, shoes, jewelry, computer monitors, tv's, printers, toys, furniture, junk.....I'm hoping to make a ton of money in the next two days! I put an ad in the paper and have made several signs to stick out around the area. Hopefully it won't rain. I've always had good luck with garage sales in the past, so hopefully this one will be good, too. But I'm kinda scared no one is going to show up and then I'll have to figure out what to do with all this stuff. Hello, Goodwill???

My First Wordless Wednesday

Ten Countries I'd Like to Visit

Oh, I do love to travel! So one would think I'd have a great list for this week's Ten on Tuesday topic of Ten Countries I'd Like to Visit. But I have this thing. This fear of flying thing. For now, it trumps any desire I have to visit another country. But I'm working on it. So, assuming I can conquer my fear of flying, here are some places I'd like to visit:

1. Canada (actually I could drive there....)
2. Ireland, to see my family's castle and learn more about my heritage
3. England, to visit my cousin who lives there and see the sights of London
4. France, to see Paris (and so I can say, "I've seen London, I've seen France, I've seen so-and-so's underpants!")
5. Australia - seems like a really neat place to visit, and I like the way they talk down there.
6. I wouldn't mind going back to Mexico - Hubby and I visited Cozumel on our cruise and it was beautiful. Cruising is not scary like flying.
7. The same goes for Grand Cayman, which is actually a British Territory. Can I count that? I guess I can - it's my blog! Another great place to arrive by cruise ship, and it is beautiful, too.
8. I would also like to see Jamaica - a colony of the British West Indies. Sounds like another country to me! And another cruise port!
9. As long as I'm cruising around to islands, let's throw in The Bahamas. I hear it's lovely there, and a Disney cruise would take me there!
10. That's all I can think of. I think I'm more of a vacation-within-my-country kind of girl. But I guess all that could change someday! We shall see...

Friday's Feast #9

Bon appetite! Here's my Friday's Feast for the last Friday in July.....

Appetizer

Describe a toy you remember from your childhood.

I used to have this little doll at my grandparents' house in Dallas (I don't know why, but she lived there) and she had a string in her back that you pulled and she talked. But she said strange, bratty things, like "I'm a perfect child!" and "I want a hamburger!" and "You're cute but I'm cuter!" I thought she was hilarious.

Soup

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest) how observant are you?

Probably a 4 - much lower than it used to be, that's for sure.

Salad

Where would you rather be at this very moment?

Disney World

Main Course

When was the last time you learned something new?

Last Saturday while watching the Astros game over at my parents' house I actually learned something about baseball that I didn't know!

Dessert

Fill in the blank: I have __flown in an airplane many times___ but I haven’t __gotten over my fear of flying_____.

Why did it have to be a snake??

So I get up this morning and it is thundering and raining (AGAIN!). I opened the back door so maybe the dogs could tiptoe outside and do their business, but just as I opened the door something came wriggling in! A SNAKE!!! Naturally, I freaked out. Using a paper towel to protect myself from its venomous fangs, I picked him up and put him in a Ragu jar (no, I don't make my own spaghetti sauce, and yes, I save the jars). I wanted the family to see him before I.....well.....I haven't decided what to do with him yet. We threw some grass in the jar with him and I decided I had to take a picture. But he just lay still in the grass, all coiled up and hissing (name that song!). So I dumped him into a Corning Ware dish. As you can see from this picture, he's huge:

And here's a close up shot of him - scary, isn't it? His tongue flickers in and out. It gives me the willies.

After I took these pics and came to put them on the computer, I went back to check on Mr. Anaconda. He had ESCAPED the confines of the Corning Ware and was slithering across the floor towards my back door! I had to freak out again. Back into the jar he went! I'll show him to Hubby when he gets home tonight, then we'll probably take him to the pond around the corner and let him go. I still get the willies every time I look at him, but I think that now I can officially consider myself a Snake Wrangler.

Stupid

The Foto Pherrets word for this week is STUPID. Not one of my favorite words. But I have to admit, this is pretty stupid:

Ten Nicest Things People Have Done For Me

First of all, let me say that I could make my entire Ten on Tuesday list this week about my parents, because they have done so much for me over the years. A lot of you would say, "Well, that's just what parents do, right?" Well, sometimes mine go above and beyond. So I've included a few examples in this list of The Ten Nicest Things People Have Done For Me:

1. When I finally found the courage to leave my abusive, alcoholic ex-husband, my parents took me (and my dog!) back in and never said, "I told you so." They totally could have.
2. When I was pregnant with Little Son, I went into pre-term labor at 32 weeks. They put me in the hospital where I stayed until he was born at 35 weeks. The first day I went in they started me on magnesium sulfate, which caused me to be very, very sick. My mother sat with me for hours in a dim room with no windows or TV while I went back and forth between barfing and sleeping. Every time I needed her she was right there. I'll never forget that.
3. A few years ago I had a hysterectomy, and the morning after was brutal. When they got me up for the first time I was sooooo sick - the nurse held my head with a cold washrag while I barfed. Her job? Yes. But I was soooooo glad she was there, and she was sooooo kind to me. How many people have held your head while you barfed?
4. I just so happened to have that hysterectomy a week or so before Thanksgiving, when literally everyone I knew was going out of town (including my parents!). I felt lonely and depressed, but USO Girl went out of her way during her holiday travel preparations to come to my house and bring me homemade cookies and Clay Aiken's Christmas CD. I cried.
5. One time my car ran out of gas - shame on me. I was in the middle of the street with a 4-year-old and a baby in the car. Some guys in a Miller Lite truck pulled over and pushed my car to the gas station for me. Darling Daughter loved telling everyone how the "Beer Guys" saved us!
6. When Hubby broke his leg last year a lot of bad things ensued. First of all, he did not have health insurance (he was, as luck would have it, switching from one policy to another and there was a lapse - great timing, huh?). He needed surgery. The wonderful doctor, who is also a member of our church, did his surgery at no charge to us. He is a kind and generous man.
7. Altho the doctor did not charge for his services, the hospital and anesthesiologist did. Our wonderful group of church friends came together and paid the surgery off for us, IN FULL. I have never been so overwhelmed by love and kindness in my life.
8. While Hubby was laid up with the broken leg, various friends brought us food, ran our errands, mowed our lawn, and paid our bills. They were truly God-sent.
9. During the ordeal with Hubby's leg, it was also discovered that he had DANGEROUSLY high blood pressure. His boss arranged for him to see his cardiologist and have a whole battery of tests run - all paid for by Hubby's boss. Thankfully Hubby's BP is under control now.
10. The cardiologist that Hubby saw was located on the 17th floor of a building in the Texas Medical Center. Knowing my intense fear of elevators, USO Girl went with us to the doctor's office, took Hubby up in a wheelchair, then came back down to walk all 17 flights of stairs with me. I love her more than you will ever know.

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope someone does something nice for you today!

I could have cried.

You've got to head over to USO Girl's blog and read her Apple Pie post! This is real life drama, folks. Be glad it didn't happen to you.

Momsense

Friday's Feast #8

Happy Friday and Happy Feasting! Enjoy!

Appetizer

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest) how much do enjoy watching sports on television?
I would say probably an 8, depending on the sport. I love baseball and some football - college football is better than professional, IMO. I even watch golf with hubby sometimes.

Soup

If you could completely memorize any one work of fiction, which one would you pick?
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Salad

What is your favorite breakfast food?

hot tea and a good pastry

Main Course

Name something fun you can do for less than $10.00.

have lunch out with a friend

Dessert

How long does it usually take you to fall asleep?

I can usually fall asleep within 30 minutes of getting into bed, but there are certainly nights I lie there for much longer! Hubby can literally fall asleep in 5 minutes. It's amazing.

Rain, rain, go away.....

“Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary.”

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Here's what it looks like where I live today (this picture was taken from a local TV studio this morning). This is also what it looked like yesterday. And the day before. In fact, we have only had four days in July that it has not rained in the Houston/Galveston area. June was just as bad! I think it might be time to start building an ark.

Broke

The Foto Pherrets word for this week is BROKE. My first thought was to post a picture of my checkbook, however I thought better of it and went with this instead - hubby's nasty, swollen and bruised ankle/leg after he broke it in two places last October....it took 2 surgeries and a long recovery to get him fixed again!

Like the corners of my mind.....

Scroll down for this week's Ten on Tuesday list!!!!!

Working on this week's Ten on Tuesday list really brought back a lot of memories for me. And I realized that it's funny the things you remember - the moments of time that stand out in your memory.......

I grew up in a time of no VCR's and no cable TV - not until I was a teenager, anyway. We saw movies in the movie theater. My Granddaddy was a Mechanical Engineer whose Dallas company built movie theaters, including the little two-screen theater in my community. (For an interesting fact about that, see #26 of my 100 Things About Me post.) So we got in to all the movies for free. I went to countless theater openings around Texas (he liked to show off his grandchildren) and the biggest fun was going to his office with him, where they had the Candy Warehouse - it was a free shopping trip for us to pick out all the candy we wanted! Heaven for a child, I tell you.

When thinking over the movies of my childhood, I could remember exactly where I saw each one - usually at one of Granddaddy's theaters (until the multi-plex opened at the mall and it became cool to go to the movies and hang at the mall with my friends). Last night USO Girl and I were talking about the various movies we remember and she mentioned Staying Alive (the sequel to Saturday Night Fever) - and this is how I remember it....

It was the summer of 1983 - I was 13 years old and had just finished 8th grade. I had one foot in childhood and another in adolescence. My grandparents drove to Houston from Dallas with Wendy Bird (my cousin), picked me up, and we all drove to Harlingen where Granddaddy was opening another theater. Those were the days we listened to "Sneaky Snake" and "I Like Beer" on the 8-track in their car; Wendy Bird and I had made a cassette of our own with cool music like "Jack and Diane", "White Wedding" , and "China Girl". We spent a week at a motel in Harlingen - Wendy Bird and I had our own room that connected to our grandparents' room. We played Barbies and swam in the motel pool - we had breakfast and lunch every day at a cafe across the parking lot called The Hot Biscuit (Wendy Bird and I called it "The HB"). I can even remember what we ate most days - grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches and vegetable soup. Granddaddy went to work every day, but in the evenings we went on adventures - including a couple of trips over the border to Mexico, where I tried frog legs for the first time (they really do taste like chicken!), Wendy Bird and I had our pictures drawn by a local artist, and we got huge sombreros from one of the many shops.

When it came time for the theater's opening, they did a run-through of the movies during the day - so Granddaddy brought Wendy Bird and I up there and we got to see Staying Alive as the only 2 people in the house. Our own private showing. We were hot stuff. That evening we dressed up and went back for the Grand Opening Event - and we got to see War Games as the first movie shown to the public in that theater. We felt so special that OUR Granddaddy built that theater and we were there as Guests of Honor (or at least we were in our eyes).

In the grand scheme of things that was probably an insignificant little trip - nothing special planned, just two girls hanging out with their grandparents for a week-long business trip. But it stands out so strongly in my memory. It makes me wonder what my children will remember about their childhood - what things that I consider insignificant will be special memories to them?

Ten Favorite Movies From My Childhood

My Ten on Tuesday list this week was a tough one - before I knew it I had 15 or so movies listed!! But then I realized that some of them were more from my teenage years than my childhood, so I pared it back to these Ten Favorite Movies From My Childhood......I included my age at the time the movie was released in parentheses:

1. Benji (5 years old)

2. Grease (8 years old)

3. Saturday Night Fever (8 years old)

4. Xanadu (10 years old)

5. Scavenger Hunt (10 years old) - no one probably remembers this movie but I do and it was hilarious!

6. Urban Cowboy (10 years old)

7. Caddyshack (10 years old)

8. Flashdance (13 years old)

9. Footloose (14 years old)

10. Ghostbusters (14 years old)

There are more.....but it is TEN on Tuesday so I will stop there. Because if I included All of Me (14 years old) that would be eleven......and Dirty Dancing and Top Gun really were more teenage movies - like my senior year in high school when I certainly was no longer a child! So I'll stick with those ten. Happy Tuesday!

Awwww - now how cute is THAT?

Happy Monday, everyone!

Friday's Feast #7

Happy Friday and Happy Feasting!


Appetizer
What is your favorite fruit?
strawberries or blueberries

Soup
Who is someone you consider as a great role model?
I think that several of the Houston Astros make great role models for kids (Craig Biggio, Brad Ausmus, etc.), and I also think Tiger Woods is a great role model.

Salad
If you were to spend one night anywhere within an hour of your home, where would you choose?
In a beach house in Galveston (everything else within an hour of my home is pretty much Houston!)

Main Course
Name something you do too often.
Nap

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I really like ___________ because ____________.
I really like eating out because I hate to cook!

A Rising Star

As you may have read over at USO Girl's blog, Talented Daughter and her Equally Talented BFF have been attending a Summer Drama Camp at a local community theater - it lasts for 4 weeks and their production will be "The Little Mermaid". They had to audition for parts - singing and reading - and while neither girl cared in particular which part they got, they just wanted an actual part and not just "Fish 2" or something like that. Today the cast was announced - four casts, actually, since there are 40 kids there - and Talented Daughter got the role of.......



Yes! Ariel! The lead! Her BFF was also cast as Ariel (in another cast) - so they can rehearse together and get their lines and blocking just right!

We are so proud of them! Way to go, girls! Have a great time Under the Sea!!!

Tagged from A to Z!

I've been tagged by Jolene for this one:

A- Attached or Single? Attached for the last 15 years!

B- Best Friend: USO Girl!

C- Cake or Pie: Yes, please.

D- Drink of Choice: Ginger Ale or Tea

E- Essential Item: my calendar

F- Favourite Color: blue

G- Gummi Bears or Worms? Neither - yuk - both are like eating rubber.

H- Hometown: Clear Lake City, Texas (suburb of Houston)

I- Indulgence: chocolates (I keep them hidden, too, Jolene!)

J- January or February: February, because it's almost spring!

K- Kids: One in the Navy and two at home - a 13-year-old daughter and a 10-year old son; they are awesome.

L- Life is incomplete without: Family and friends

M- Marriage Date: November 25, 1992

N- Number of Siblings: Just one - Bubba

O- Oranges or Apples? Apples, especially if they are cooked in a pie or cobbler or something!

P- Phobia: elevators

Q- Favourite Quote: "I'll think about that tomorrow..."

R- Reasons to smile: babies, puppies, fresh-baked muffins, not having to get up early

S- Season: Spring!

T- Tag Three: USO Girl, Skittles, Bubba's Mom

U- Unknown Fact About Me: I am a certified paralegal. After completing my certification I discovered I hated working for lawyers.

V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals? I like meat AND vegetables!

W- Worst Habit: worrying

X- X-rays or Ultrasounds? I've had both, many times.

Y- Your Favorite Foods: Mexican, Italian, and seafood

Z- Zodiac: Libra

Sing!

The Foto Pherrets word for this week is SING! Here are Talented Daughter and her BFF singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at a minor-league baseball game a few summers ago.....