FIVE QUESTION FRIDAY

Simple and easy right? So go on over and join in!
This is my first time doing Five Question Friday :)

1. If you could, would you go back to high school?
If I could look the way I did in HS, yes!
If I could know what I know today, yes!

2. If a genie appeared and granted you two wishes, what would they be? (And, no saying "more wishes".)
To make sure that my children live until they are 90.
To be able to have new lungs so I could breathe and feel whole again.

3. What kids show do you secretly like?
I haven't seen or watched one in ages however I do love and watch the movies Cars and Ratatouille.

4. What is your beverage of choice?
Large glass with half ice, filled half way with water and the other half lemonade.
After 5:00pm my answer would be wine!

5. What is something that you would change about yourself (or are working to change in yourself)?

My weight is my biggest issue and I know that I would feel better all around (breathe) if I could bring it down. Now if you talking about something I would like different about myself that only surgery would take care of (which I wouldn't do) I would like a breast lift, fuller lips, tummy tuck and a little face lift to go :)

P.S. Today is National Oatmeal Cookie Day so go bake some cookies!

SNUGGIE FOR DOGS

So after bowling I went to PetSmart to pick up some food for Skye. So I noticed that the Snuggie for dogs were on clearance. Couldn't bring myself to buy them when I saw them at full price awhile back but at $3.99 I just had to have them. They only had medium in blue so I bought it for Charlie. Because I was at bowling which is about 25 miles from my house I was able to stop at my local store and found a medium in pink for Skye. So here are a few pictures from the photo shoot we had:

Enjoy!

(You can click on the photo to enlarge)

It must be really interesting to photograph animals.
They don't really listen that well!

RANDOM DOZEN

Before I start my Random Dozen I want to say that I got a letter about the tree being planted for making my blog Carbon Neutral so you should head over and do it too! Just click on the button in my sidebar.

So click on the Random Dozen and join in the fun.
Linda would love to meet you.

1. Have you ever been so lost that you were really afraid?
Yes, many years ago I was driving to Florida with a girlfriend. We got off on an exit and we were on a street that was very, very scary! I can't even remember how we turned around to get back to the highway. Thanking God for that one.

2. Have you ever been to an island?
Yes, there is an island in Florida called Caladesi Island. It's not very big.

3. Are you more of a thinker or feeler?
I have to say thinker ~ I am an OVER thinker.

4. Do you tend to see issues or situations in life as black and white or shades of gray?
Many shades of grey.

5. If you were stuck on an island, what book would you hope to have with you (Let's pretend the Bible is already there, so you can't say that.)
I think I would like to have my Academy Award book so I could remember and relive all the movies I have seen.

6. What are you most afraid of?
The death of my children and other loved ones in my life.

7. Would you rather lose all of your old memories or never be able to make new ones?
I have some beautiful memories of my children but I also have limited memories from my childhood and some really bad memories too. I am going to say that I would rather lose my old memories.

8. Pretend I'm looking at a scrapbook page about you. There are three spaces for you to drop in individual pictures. What are those pictures of, and why did you select them?
A picture of me at the beach in Florida when I was in High School. I was in a red bikini and I looked like a model. A picture of me across the table from my husband on our honeymoon and it was a sweet moment. A picture of me and my father as he walked me down the isle for my wedding. Best picture I took that day because it was real, I didn't pose for it. I feel like I am being very selfish her but it was supposed to be about me, right?

9. If you were re-doing your wedding, what would you do differently? (If you're single, tell me one thing you would do if you were planning a wedding OR huge party.)
I can't think of anything I would have done differently. It was a wonderful day. My parents gave me a budget and we tried to stay within it because we had bought a townhouse to live in. Wedding at church, dinner in the church basement and big party at my parents house. People actually stayed until 3:30 in the morning so I know they were having fun! We of course left for our honeymoon hours earlier. OMG I forgot about Mackinac Island (question #2) in Michigan, we honeymooned there. Yep, we even toured Kellogg's in Battle Creek, MI.

10. Tell me one thing you know/believe about forgiveness.
It takes the weight off your chest and gives your mind freedom.

11. You're waiting in a doctor's office. What is your favorite way to pass that time?
I am a people watcher and if I am waiting you can be sure it's pretty crowded.

12. If there were a clone of you in a parallel universe what is one way you hope she/he would be the same as you and one way you hope she/he would be better?
I would hope that she would have a heart filled with compassion and that she would be able to control her eating :) I think she would be happy with both of those.

POST IT NOTE TUESDAY

Head on over and join us. What are you waiting for?

Thank you Supah :)

SO HOW WAS YOUR WEEKEND?

Back in January I saw this recipe on a post by Thena at Patiently Waiting for Key Lime Cake and I finally tried it over the weekend. So if you want the recipe just head on over to her blog and grab it. I could only find one round pan so I made mine in a bundt pan. I only made 1/2 of the glaze recipe because I didn't think we needed allot of frosting and then I put powdered sugar on it because I just love it on a bundt cake. The cake is a nice twist on a lemon cake. I think that it would be really good with the cream cheese frosting too! I also took a few slices over to my son on Saturday. My husband asked why I was only bringing two slices saying that it wasn't enough for dessert. That's because dessert was going to be eaten at the restaurant ~ DUH!

So we went to Los Angeles Saturday afternoon to have dinner with our son and his best girl. Sadly she was unable to join us because her grandmother wasn't doing well and she needed to sit with her. We went to a place that I hadn't been to before. It was called the Westside Tavern and it was wonderful. (I didn't take my camera) My family already thinks I crazy taking picture of things I bake or cook at home :)

I had Pan Roasted Mary’s Farms Chicken Breast w/ Mushroom-Spinach Risotto & Crispy Onions which was so delicious. Before that I had a special soup of the day which was zucchini and cherry tomatoes. One of the best soups I've ever had. Then for dessert we had Warm Sticky Toffee Cake with Mascarpone Cream. I can't even describe how delicious it was. What a wonderful evening but we had wished that T could have been with us.

I have a few more flower to show you. Have you ever smelled Freesia's? They are the yellow flower in the pictures. Sweetest,most fragrant flower you will ever smell. I can pick it out in a crowd. People have tried to make lotions and colognes but nothing close to the real thing. Also in this picture is a California poppy, Helene strybing tea tree and I can't remember the name of the purple flowers. These are some new plantings which don't have pond pebbles around them yet. (sorry about the dirt)

A very dear family member is on his way home from Iraq today. He served his year and is heading home. Isn't that beautiful news......

Look at some of these homecomings:

MY BLOG IS CARBON NEUTRAL

“My blog is carbon neutral” is an initiative, originally started in Germany by the “Make it Green” programme, that has the goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. We plant a tree for your blog and thereby neutralise your blog’s carbon footprint for the next 50 years! Everyone can make a small contribution to the environment. Every tree counts!

Click on the above button and have a tree planted for your blog!

The trees are planted in Plumas National Forest in Northern California by “Arbor Day Foundation” our partner in US for the “My blog is carbon neutral” initiative. The “Arbor Day Foundation” is a non-profit conservation and education organization with the goal helping reforest 5,500 acres of Plumas National Forest with 792,000 trees.

THIS IS TODAY / CAN'T SPEAK FOR TOMORROW

So Brandy who was nice enough to make my button a few weeks ago went and sent me this adorable little scrapbook with pictures of Skye inside. Do you know how much time it took to print the pictures and do this? She is the sweetest friend and has an adorable son named Grayson who keeps her very busy. You should go over and see some pictures of him. She felt bad that it was blue and not pink since Skye is a girl. Yes she is a girl but you would never know it. She is a fearless daredevil and very much a tomboy!!!

Speaking of this little daredevil you should know what she did last weekend. Beside running outside at roadrunner speed, bumping into, knocking over and doing somersaults after hitting one of our path lights ~ she chewed a wire! So over on the side of our house she likes to chase the lizards who show up. One of them always goes over and hides behind the electrical box for the path lights. See there doesn't even have to be a lizard there, she will sit and watch this box just assuming one is behind it! She must have gotten impatient and chewed a wire. Thank God (and believe I have) that she didn't chew one of the other wires which were not low voltage. We would have found her dead for sure. So a wire box has been made around the wires.

Well we didn't have any mozzarella cheese and I forgot to use the mushrooms I had but after we decided to buy this garlic bread at Trader Joe's we thought little pizza's would be good on them. We didn't even put sauce on them. I use to make English Muffin pizza's all the time when the kids were growing up. Do you remember making those? My mom use to make us these cheese things in the broiler when I was young. She would butter a piece of bread, put on a slice of American cheese and then put cooked bacon on top of the cheese and they were so good. Anyway these little things were pretty tasty the other night.

I am kind of caught up with my reading. (well that is right now at this very moment which is 3:21 on Friday afternoon) See having my daughter here does interrupt my day with more talking but that is a good thing. We even went out to Kohl's this week for their great sale and saved $174. Well actually you have to spend money to save money ~ funny how that works. We had a great time shopping at Trader Joe's too! So being behind in reading when it means I am out of the house is a very good thing! (and in case you were wondering, everything seems to be working out pretty well with them living here with us) I am sure I couldn't have done it without your prayers and support.

BUT GOD KNOWS MY TOMORROW AND I HAVE COMFORT IN THAT,

HOW I MET MY HOUSE PARTY

I'm a little late in doing this but I thought it would be fun.

So head on over to AnNicole and join in the fun.

My husband had gotten a new job in Riverside, CA. He had been doing the normal 45 minutes to 2 hour commutes like most Californians do for about 16 years. Actually when he got the new job it was only about 20 miles from our other house but he wanted to move. It was 4 years ago and the market was good. Of course the housing prices for buying a home were high too! So we would spend weekends looking at new homes. That is so much fun and I love buying a new home. Don't get me wrong I love older homes too. Back in Chicago we bought a beautiful Tudor home that was about 80 years old when we bought it. Actually had real stucco walls inside.

So one day I was out looking and I saw these flags way up on a hilltop. I decided to drive up to the top to look. I did the model tour and fell in love but I knew it was not in our budget. So I showed my husband the brochure that evening and he thought that maybe we could swing it. So we went out the following weekend so he could look at them. It was called Lake Hills Reserve. We thought that maybe we could get one of the smaller one story homes. (3,400 sq.ft.)Well we did it but it wasn't the house you see here. It was another one (same model) down the street.

We use to go out all the time and look at the model. Each day we decided to make the drive we would discover something new in the office. This I know was done by the hand of God. When we bought the first house there were of course incentives. The next time we went the incentives were even better and we asked about them so they gave them to us. This happened a few times after that also. Then we came in one day and saw that a much higher priced lot was marked down on the sheet. Better view and bigger back yard and boy did we take advantage of that one so we switched lots. Let me tell you that after that time they no longer put the sheets out in the office!

My husband doesn't call this his "Dream House" but I know he loves it. Of course our kids were not happy that we bought the bigger house after they moved out! So we made our empty nest even bigger. (but most of you know it isn't empty right now)

Thank you for coming over and finding out how I met my house.

If your interested in seeing more you can go to THIS POST.

EARTH DAY 2010

How the First Earth Day Came About
By Senator Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day

What was the purpose of Earth Day? How did it start? These are the questions I am most frequently asked.

Actually, the idea for Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962. For several years, it had been troubling me that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. Finally, in November 1962, an idea occurred to me that was, I thought, a virtual cinch to put the environment into the political "limelight" once and for all. The idea was to persuade President Kennedy to give visibility to this issue by going on a national conservation tour. I flew to Washington to discuss the proposal with Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who liked the idea. So did the President. The President began his five-day, eleven-state conservation tour in September 1963. For many reasons the tour did not succeed in putting the issue onto the national political agenda. However, it was the germ of the idea that ultimately flowered into Earth Day. To read more you can go HERE!

". . . on April 22, 1970, Earth Day was held, one of the most
remarkable happenings in the history of democracy. . . "

RANDOM DOZEN

Head On Over and Join In The Fun.
Click on the button and visit with Linda.

1. Ever had any run-ins with the "library police?"
Maybe in High School.

2. Do you have a special organizational plan and place for wrapping paper, gift bags, etc., or do you just purchase whatever you need as you give gifts?
I have containers with wrap, ribbon, bags and tissue. Working at a Hallmark for 6 years I have lots of stuff but even before that I was always buying paper, etc. I just take it to the island in the kitchen. I do know someone who has a wrapping room that looks like something you would see at Macy's wrapping counter. Actually the other side of the room is mirrors and a ballet bar!!!

3. Have you ever been in (first-hand witness) a natural disaster?
No I haven't. Some of our earthquakes over the years have been pretty bad!

4. What's your favorite Barry Manilow song?
Well I am a huge Fanilow! I love them all but I will pick"Can't Smile Without You" because it was my mother's favorite.

5. What's the best costume you've ever worn?
I don't do costumes so I am going to say my wedding dress!

6. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?
The dictionary for sure.

7. What's your favorite breakfast food?
I don't really do breakfast. If I were to go out I would get eggs over easy, with toast and hash browns.

8. Have you ever purchased anything from an infomercial?
Not lately but I use to do it all the time.

9. Have you ever crawled through a window?
Yes I have but I can't remember why.

10. Do you believe in love at first sight?
YES I DO!

11. How many pairs of jeans do you own?
I have several but no expensive ones and actually I seem to only be wearing the elastic waist ones lately because I'm fluffy. (borrowed from Alexis)

12. If someone were going to bake a cake to honor/represent you, what would it be? (Think creatively, like Duff and Crew on "Ace of Cakes.")
Well lately maybe a lap top cause I am always here blogging or maybe a bowling alley with pins and a ball. Maybe a heart shaped cake with arms around it hugging, that would be because of my For Your Tears blog.

POST IT NOTE TUESDAY

SO CLICK ON THE BUTTON AND JOIN IN THE FUN

I CAN HEAR YOU NOW "HERE SHE GOES AGAIN !"

BLAH BLAH, BLAH BLAH, BLAH BLAH !!!!

I was going to turn off comments on this post but I know how I feel when people turn off their comments. (it pisses me off)

It seems like I am having trouble getting caught up on my reading of blogs. I am finding that I am just getting around to reading Tuesday's posts on Friday. That is just crazy.............

One problem is getting my grand dog Charlie off the computer.......... Honestly he really goes crazy if he sees a dog on the screen and don't get me started with his love for TV!

But he is not the problem, it's me!

I have hundreds of blogs in my Reader (over 700) and obviously I can't read all of them. I have about 150 who I actually try to read daily. Now if I were on vacation and wanted to check in on some blogs I would probably check on 40 of them who I can't do without. So why don't I just read them each day? Good question that I don't have an answer for! What I am realizing is that I find myself here at my computer from 7am until I finally turn it off to watch some evening TV around 8/9pm. This happens at least 5 days a week.

I am not one of those people who only read the people who comment on my blog. I know the people who only come over because I commented on their blog. I will never be that person. I read people because I like to read them. The only time I go over to a blog from a comment is when I have been asked a question and they are a no-reply or when I have a new visitor to my blog.

I also have my For Your Tears blog and I do follow each woman I have sent a handkerchief to if they have a blog. Some of them are what I call my Special Mom Friends and I try to read them each day and the others I do check in on because I like to know how they are doing. I don't always comment but it does my heart good when I see they are doing a little better or have had a Rainbow baby.

So how do you handle your reading? How many do you try to read each day? How do people who get over 200 comments a day read all of them? There use to be a time when I wanted followers but today I am happy with my count and if it never changes I want you to know that I am content. What would you do if you were one of those people with thousands of followers? It reminds me of when I belonged to my small church. We never, for 14 years, went over 250 members and I loved that. I could actually know each person. I have yet to find a new church because I like the intimacy of the small church.

So I am going to set myself a time limit each day. I am going to try an approach of having more intimacy in my reading of blogs. I am going to try to read a book for a few hours and try to get to those paint by numbers. I need to get outside with the nice weather and try to walk Skye each morning so I can get this weight off. I will be over to read you but I might be a few days late in getting there.

I leave you with a picture of some of the beautiful flowers we have in our yard. This weekend my husband is planting about 13 new plants we just bought on Friday. Enjoy!