Saturday Shoutouts

Loaded Weapon

And Then They Ignored You

This One's For the Moms Who Fake It Until They Make It 

Hiding Behind a Mask 

For When Your Words Don't Match Your Heart 

Follow Friday!

Welcome to the 51st edition of the  

Follow Friday 40 and Over!! 

Are you a blogger over 40? Yeah, welcome to the club!
Please join in the fun and get to know your fellow bloggers!!

Got Your Tiara Ready?

Did you know today is 
International Tiara Day? 

Go put yours on and wear it proudly!

You deserve it!

Meet Me on Monday!!

                                    




1.  What is your favorite bagel flavor?  I'm not a big fan of bagels--it's like chewing on a piece of cardboard.   The best ones I've had were the mini blueberry ones.

 
2.  If you had an extra $100 right now, what would you spend it on?  Summer clothes--somehow or another, most of my capris and shorts shrunk over the winter...

 
3.  What is the last thing that you felt guilt about doing?  As my kids used to say--getting all up in someone else's cornflakes!

 
4.  Soft serve ice cream or hand dipped?  Hand dipped!

5.  Are you allergic to anything?  Honey bees--other bees don't bother me, but being stung by honey bees makes me swell up like you wouldn't believe.  A few years ago, I disturbed a hive and was stung 4 or 5 times and it didn't affect me like before, so maybe I've become immune.

100 Things to Do--Revisited

A couple of years ago, I played this little game.  Ran across it today and noticed it needed updating.  New "doings" are in pink.  Don't you want to play, too?

Do you think you’ve really lived so far?

*This is a list of 100 activities–some I have experienced (RED), some I have not (regular). See how your list matches up to mine.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Bathed in a river
7. Been to the Taj Mahal
8. Walked on a glacier in Alaska
9. Caught and held a snake
10. Spoke in front of a big crowd
11. Bungee jumped
12. Had a whirlwind love affair that broke your heart
13. Found an arrowhead or fossil
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Rescued an animal
16. Ate sweet breads, glands or tripe
17. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hiked to base camp on Mt. Everest
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Watched an animal being born
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Learned a foreign language
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Stayed up for more than 24 hours
31. Trained a dog to do cool tricks
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Can drive a stick shift car
37. Won over $1000 in a raffle or lottery
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
42. Been serenaded
43. Visited Africa
44. Walked on a beach by moonlight
45. Broken a bone
46. Started your own business
47. Quit a job because you were totally unhappy
48. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
49. Been to the Eiffel Tower
50. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
51. Kissed in the rain passionately
52. Played in the mud
53. Gone to a drive-in
54. Been in a movie
55. Visited the Great Wall of China
56. Joined a prayer group
57. Taken a martial arts class
58. Visited Russia
59. Served at a soup kitchen
60. Gone whale watching
61. Received flowers for no reason
62. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
63. Gone sky diving
64. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
65. Bounced a check
66. Flown in a helicopter
67. Saved a favorite childhood toy
68. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
69. Eaten caviar
70. Pieced a quilt
71. Stood in Times Square
72. Toured the Everglades
73. Been fired from a job
74. Seen the changing of the guards in London
75. Broken something extremely expensive
76. Been on a speeding motorcycle
77. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
78. Published a book
    
79. Visited the Vatican
80. Got a tattoo
81. Been to a coffee shop in Amsterdam
82. Seen the aurora borealis in person
83. Read the entire Bible
84. Visited the White House
85. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
86. Had chickenpox
87. Saved someone’s life
88. Sat on a jury
89. Met someone famous
90. Joined a book club
91. Lost a loved one
92. Toured the UN
93. Hiked to Machu Picchu
94. Swam in the Indian Ocean
95. Conversed with someone when neither of you spoke each others language
96. Dirty danced
97. Been stung by a bee
98. Acted in a play
99. Had more than 5 surgeries
100. Threw a surprise party for someone

Follow Friday

Welcome to the 50th edition of the 

Follow Friday 40 and Over!!

Are you a blogger over 40? Yeah, welcome to the club!
Please join in the fun and get to know your fellow bloggers!!

If Wishes Were Horses....

....then poor men would ride.

It doesn't really do any good to wish.  Or to think about the "what ifs" and "if onlys".  But sometimes you just can't help it.  Call me spoiled--you won't be the first--but I want what I want when I want it.  And if the truth were told, most people are probably that way.  I know there's supposed to be opposition in all things.  How can we appreciate the good without having some bad along the way?  Don't we appreciate the sunshine more after a period of rain?  If life was all rainbows and lollipops all the time, we wouldn't grow or learn or gain the experience we're here for.

Yep, my head knows all these things.  But my heart strains against it.  My heart doesn't want to stretch and grow.  At least not this way.

So here's my wish list, for what it's worth:

I wish my daughter and her husband could have worked out their differences and stayed together.  I wish my daughter didn't have to be an overwhelmed, tired single mother.  I wish my grandchildren weren't going across the country to live--probably permanently.  I wish my granddaughter wasn't going to have to attend her 5th school next fall when she starts 5th grade.  I wish I could wave a magic wand and make everything better.

I hope I can remain a fixture in the lives of these grandchildren--even though I won't be seeing them nearly as often as in the past.  I am so grateful for Skype--and will pay for it if it comes to that.  I hope I can give this over to my Heavenly Father and trust that His will is being done.  I hope I can learn what He wants me to learn by all this.

Meet Me on Monday

Welcome to the 45th edition of "Meet Me On Monday!" 


Questions:

1.  Crunchy or smooth peanut butter?  Not a big fan of peanut butter, unless of course it's enclosed in chocolate.  If I have to choose, definitely smooth!  When I was pregnant the first time, PB&Js were my go-to snack.  I think I ate 6--every day!

2.  What is your favorite color Rose?  Yellow

3.  Do you remove your shoes when you walk into your home?  Not until recently when we got new carpet.

4.  What is your favorite season?  Spring--it seems like the earth is waking up after a long nap.  I love the greening of the grass and trees...the singing of the birds...the colorful flowers....even the sky seems bluer.

5.  Approximately how many hours a day do you spend blogging?  Probably just one or two--depending on the post.  I will admit that looking for the images for Monday and Wednesday link parties takes me more time than it should.

Moving into the Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 26

1. How many times in your life have you moved house?  Too many to count.  Oh, you want me to count?  Okay, let me take off my shoes....  12.

2. What subject would you study if you had a year to devote to it?  American Sign Language.  I've taken classes before and love it!

3. What in this world breaks your heart?   While there are many things I could choose, the thing that breaks my heart is a very personal family situation that I can't share here--suffice it to say I've spent many a sleepless night lately.

4. What is one item that symbolizes the times in which we live? Why?  Weird weather--it just seems like the whole earth is in turmoil.

5. Share a favorite bumper sticker or t-shirt slogan.  The bumper sticker I'd like to choose would probably offend too many people, so I'll use this shirt from woot.com.

6. How do you like your spaghetti?  With marinara and meatballs!

7. What is one piece of advice you would give a recent, or soon to be recent, graduate?  No matter what the world says, money isn't everything--being happy in what you're doing is more important.

8. Insert your own random thought here.  My friend Audrey is coming to play today!  Hooray!!

By the Numbers

3 - the number of hours I worked in the yard today

12- the number of square feet of creeping phlox/crabgrass I dug up

1 - the number of wasps I fought and defeated

6 - the number of cars that ran the stop sign in front of my house while I was out there

1 - the number of Easter eggs I found (I could tell by what was inside that it was from two years ago!)

2 - the number of times I had to sit in the shade and cool off

2 - the number of items I spray painted for the porch

2 - the number of Dews I drank whilst working

3,232,534,232,543,860 - the number of times I bit my tongue to keep from cussing the crabgrass

8,233,564,776,788,434 - the number of drops of sweat off my nose

1 huge - the number of pieces of key lime pie I'm eating as I post this

Great Giveaway

Connie at Shady Creek Lane is hosting a great giveaway.  Click on that link to see what's up!

Saturday Shout Outs

Oh, How We've Changed!

Depression Can Drive Us Off the Edge


How Secure is Your Domain Name Information?

Mother's Day for the Motherless Daughter

Happy Mother's Day

Follow Friday 40 and Over!!

Are you a blogger over 40? Yeah, welcome to the club!
Please join in the fun and get to know your fellow bloggers!! And since today is my birthday, you should give me a present--by following!! ;-)

Progress!

Loving this sunshine and warmer temps!  Not to mention the fact that I can breathe again!  Still have a nagging cough, but I'm trying to ignore that.  I got outside today and accomplished some long-neglected chores.  Fired up the trusty weed eater and finished up the trim after Darrell mowed yesterday evening.  Then attacked the out of control creeping phlox.  I love this stuff and it is beautiful when it blooms.

Unfortunately, the rest of the year, it just looks shaggy.  Crabgrass has snuck into it and I can't for the life of me get it out, so I decided to just dig everything up and start over.  I got about halfway done before my energy gave out.  As my favorite Scarlett says:  tomorrow is another day.

Also crossed off a couple of spray painting projects.  I'm trying to lighten up the living room for spring, so painted a bird cage and candleholder.  The before picture doesn't do justice to the lovely gold paint job.  Now it's gray, which I think I like, but is too glossy.  Maybe a glaze to tone it down?

I also started in on a wicker chair I bought last year and plan on using in my office, but my can of Heirloom White clogged up on me and I had to quit.

Here's my inspiration photo from Ballard Design:

May Day Wednesday Hodgepodge Vol 25

1. Have you ever been served breakfast in bed? Do you enjoy that? If someone were serving you breakfast in bed this coming weekend what would you hope to see on the tray?  I've been served breakfast in bed by my hubby on many occasions.  It's usually buttered toast and hot chocolate (my favorite comfort food).  I do enjoy it, but let's just say I'm a bit of a klutz and eating in bed is not pretty when one is a klutz.  I'd rather go to a buffet--where they have a plethora of goodies!

2. What is one piece of advice you would give a new mother?  Relax and enjoy it!  They won't be little forever and you'll long for those days.

3. When was the last time you wanted to scream? Explain.  April 12...and 13.  Not my story to tell, so I can't explain.

4. Can you hula hoop?  Does the Wii count?

5. What is something people do in traffic that really bothers you?  Act like they are the only ones on the road--cutting you off, weaving in and out of traffic, tailgating.  Just calm down!  You won't save any time by getting in an accident! And to the young woman who rode my bumper through the school zone and then zoomed around me once the left lane was clear:  yes, that was me laughing as I passed you on the side of the road while the policeman wrote your ticket!

6. What do you do when people don't admit they're wrong?  Stew and vent to my husband.  Talking to them obviously won't help!

7. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word 'fun'?  Grandchildren!

8. Insert your own random thought here.  The sun is shining!  The sun is shining!  Finally!  We have a clear and sunny forecast for the next several days and I am feeling better, so I hope to make some headway in the yard.  I can't believe it's May and I haven't bought a single bedding plant or fern yet!