"B"

We're soon to kiss January good-bye

which means we're another month

closer to Spring!  We've had a

beautiful January, Thank you Jesus!

Givin' credit where credit is due.

Now, here's my official

"January Accountability" report.

(I posted my goals HERE.)

I will try . . ."

. . .to Read my Bible more .
Right on target reading a chapter
in Proverbs each day.

...to have friends into my home more.
*Nope.  Not done this yet. :-(

...to eat healthier.
Doing much better:
oatmeal for breakfast & Green Smoothie for lunch
Mon-Fri.

...to take my vitamins and calcium
each day.
YES! 
Why haven't I done this for years?!
No-brainer.

...to read a book occasionally,
not just blogs.
I actually read an entire book
from cover to cover,
"Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'Easter".

...to lose some weight
and keep it off this time.
Down 4 lbs.  Not a big number,
but I'll take it.

That's 5 outta 6.
"B", doncha think?
I hope next months report will
be perfect. 
"I think I can.  "I think I can".

How are you doing on your goals?
"It's never too late to begin
to do better."  ~Sweet Tea
It's always more fun
to work toward a goal(s) if you
have some buddies who are doing
the same.  I'd love it if you'd
join me in working toward some
of your own goals.
('course I also love it if you'll cheer me on
and kick me in the rump if I begin
to be a Slacker)

Da' Plane. Da' Plane.

I know absolutely nothing about airplanes

but I certainly won't let that stop me from
telling you all about them...I live very close

to a big Air Force base, the one where

they took President Bush on 9/11.

The major work at this base is the

maintenance of the HUGE B52

Bombers. 

They are monstrous in size,

yet when I see them fly, in my mind

I refer to them as the "Gentle Giants".

Heaven only knows they are not gentle,

but as they slice through the sky they deceivingly

appear so beautifully graceful.

Yesterday, as I took my walk, the planes

were constantly overhead.  If I squinted just right

and looked into the northern sky I could see the

plane as a tiny dot, then in a matter of seconds

it would be overhead circling the city before landing.

Then, another would appear and do exactly as

the one before it had done.

It was a beautiful sight to watch.

Do you see it?

If you look in the middle of the photo,

about a 1/2 inch above the tree tops

you can see it as a tiny dot.

Then soon it was overhead.

One after one they came.

I soon lost count of how many

I saw.  There were many.

Rumor has it they are preparing to deploy.

From time to time we see Air Force One in the skies.

They must come here for maintenance too.

One never knows if it is the "actual" Air Force One,

or one of the "look alikes".

Looking skyward from the ground

Air Force One appears to be snow white in color.

It is beautiful against a clear blue sky.

I most certainly appreciate and thank the

United States Air Force

for providing entertainment

as I strutted my stuff around the park.

I saw all those gorgeous young pilots

givin' me the eye from those planes.

Those sweet young men in these

southern skies surely must love them

some SWEET TEA!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"Off we go into the wild blue yonder,

Climbing high into the sun;

Here they come zooming to meet our thunder,

At 'em boys, Give 'er the gun!

Down we dive, spouting our flame from under,

Off with one hell of a roar!*

We live in fame or go down in flame.

Nothing can stop the U.S. Air Force!"

May God continue to bless the brave
men and women who serve to protect
and keep us free!

Are you as Smart as a 16 yr Old?

When Rachel Ray interviews her guests she often asks them
the question, "If you could go back in time and
give advice to yourself when you were 16
what advice would you give?"

It's a bit of a complicated question but when
I think of it I quickly think of things
I wish someone would have told me
when I was 16.

1. Have more Fun.  You'll never again be as free of responsibility in your entire life. 
2. Revel in your beauty.  It's a gift of youth, and it will fade.
3. Don't be shy.  Jump right into the middle of things - everyone is learning at this time.
4. Realize that boys are just as nervous and curious about girls as you are about boys.
5. Try new things.  Some great times are found outside one's Comfort Zone.
6. Stand up for yourself.  Sometimes it is necessary.
7. Take notice of your parents and remember them as they are now.  They are in their prime and you will cherish these memories some day.
8. Erase "fear" from your vocabulary.
9. Take time to learn some basic life skills at home, ie do the laundry, simple cooking, etc.
10. Not everyone is meant to be your friend.  Don't waste time trying to make someone who doesn't like you (girls & boys) change their mind. 
11. Be discreet with your heart - some people will not keep your secrets.
12. Drive carefully.
13. Honor God.  You'll  never regret doing this.
14. Look around you and learn from other peoples mistakes.
15. Break a few rules so you will learn the importance of boundaries.

Please feel free to add to my list by way of your comments.  There is so much more that could be added.  I always enjoy your wisdom.  Thanks for sharing!

Boil Over

I eat oatmeal every morning.

Same oatmeal pkt.

Same bowl.

Same amount of water added.

Cooked in the same microwave

for the exact same amount of time.

But today, and today only,

"it boiled over".

Analogies?

Can you relate to this beyond the kitchen?Thoughts?

You can tell me.

This is what I see outside my window.

I'm incognito today
wearing my "Sy-Ky-a-trist" glasses
and wondering,
"How does a rainy day make you feel?"

 

Welcome to the 'hood!

When we get new neighbors
I take them Banana Bread.
So, today I baked one for them . . .

and one for us.
Yes, I gave them the larger,
prettier one.

"Welcome to the Neighborhood!"

I have only moved from one state to another
one time in my life.
After making that move I appreciated
the welcome gifts from other
neighbors sooooo much.
I vowed to be a better neighbor
once I knew how it felt to move
away from everyone and everything
I had ever known.
To quote Oprah and I hate to do that,
"when I knew better, I did better."

Have people been neighborly to you
when you've made moves?
Anything you remember in particular?
Do you greet new neighbors?

Dream Weaver

I did a little online fact-finding about dreams.

Here's a bit of what I found.

"A full 12% of people dream exclusively in black and white. The remaining number dream in full color. "

"People also tend to have common themes in dreams, which are situations relating to school, being chased, running slowly/in place, sexual experiences, falling, arriving too late, a person now alive being dead, teeth falling out, flying, failing an examination, or a car accident."

Me, personally?

I usually dream in black and white;

seldom in color.

I tend to have reoccuring themes in my dreams.

When I was a child I had many dreams

of being chased by mean dogs.

When I was in my 20's I dreamed

of being in a falling elevator,

over and over and over. . .

During prenancy(s) I often dreamed

about holding my unborn child.

These were sweet dreams

but I never saw the child's face

or knew the sex of the child.

Now, I sometimes dream of my grown children

being "kids" again. . .

My Dad passed 5 years ago.

I have had several dreams about him -

In each of the dreams he is healthy

and strong.  The dreams are always

happy and I awake comforted.

We moved from Oklahoma to Louisiana

almost 9 years ago.

Since then I have  frequent, reoccuring dreams

of being lost and unable to find my

way back home.

Sometimes I'm lost in a big city,

other times in the country.

Sometimes I'm walking

and other times I'm driving,

but always alone and searching.

Funny thing is, I love living here.

I feel "at home" here.

Bizzare.

I'm told that dreaming of flying

is a very common theme,

as is being naked in a group of people.

I only remember one dream in which

I was flying and have never dreamed

of being naked, at least that I can remember.

What about you -
Do you dream in color or black and white?
Do you often remember your dreams?
Reoccuring themes?
Naked?  Flying?

I have BIG ones!

My "go to" earrings.

I wear these 90% of the time.

I love BIG earrings.

Perhaps I'm compensating.

Ya think?

It seems if my hair is cut too short

the earrings "fill in".

Long hair?

Then why even bother to wear

earrings unless they're BIG?

No one can see earrings covered

by long hair.

Skin looking a bit sallow?

I think earrings

brighten one's face,

doncha think?

The older I get the more I like

big earrings

"I like big earrings an' I cannot lie.

You otha brothas sistah's can't deny.

That when a girl walks in wit' a itty bitty waist

(don't I wish)

And big round earrings by her face..."

Well,  maybe not this BIG. . .

or this big.

But bigger than these,

at least for me.

Do you wear earrings?

What's your preference BIG or small?

Or do you bare your lobes
and opt for au' naturale?

Show & Tell

Saw this at Hobby Lobby and had to have it!

Please don't ask me to define "Normal".

Thanks for stopping by.

I probably don't tell you often enough

how much  I enjoy your comments,

but "I do.  I do."

Not for the faint of heart!

After going with Princess yesterday to get her driver's license, we came home to find this

in the KITCHEN FLOOR!!

I called Mr. who was only 5 min. from home.

Then I stood and stared at the snake so in case he moved (the snake, not Mr.) I would know where he had gone.  Mr. came home,  killed and disposed of the unwanted houseguest. 
"Yes, Mr. is a Rock Star!"

I was jittery and jumpy all evening.  I even had to wait a bit to collect myself before I could go back into the kitchen again.

Later I was relaxing in the recliner and Mr. came through and tossed this into my lap -

my faux snake skin bracelet!
Yes.He.Did.

It startled me.

I freaked!!!!!

"Mr. is no longer a Rock Star!"

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Note:  We live in Louisiana and we live

near a bayou.  We have no idea

how the snake got inside unless he

somehow managed to slither in

when I was painting the front door

last week.  Not sure what type of snake

it was but from the marking on it's head

Mr. feels it was a poisonous snake.

This has caused me to go beyone jittery into

a full blown PANIC mode.

What's a girl to do?

Red Letter Day!

Before.

After.

Yesterday was a RED LETTER DAY – Princess got her driver’s license!  We were at the DMV at 1:00, as we had planned.  The usually calm-and-collected Princess was extremely nervous.  The line was long.  After waiting her turn she was told she needed her birth certificate.  (We thought since she had her photo driver’s permit that would not be an issue.  Wrong!)  Soooooooo, we made the 40 min round trip home and back.  By then the line was short and the process moved along smoothly.  Driving to the DMV she drove awful, scary, horrendous a little below her capability.  I was nervous for her, and rightly so.  When it was all said and done she felt she did not drive her best on the test.  He went over the test results with us and she did have some real “goof-ups”, but still scored high enough to pass.  On the way home she drove perfectly!

The only thing I remember about taking my driving test is that I was very nervous and we had to drive a long distance to get to the testing center. 
Do you remember taking your driving test?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Now you WON”T BELIEVE what happened when we got home – but that's a story for tomorrow.   For now, I'm off to get a Root Canal.  I'm just a girl who knows how to have a good time.

Seeing Green.

LOOK!
Do you remember a couple of weeks ago

when I posted (HERE)  about planting

seeds for spinach and lettuce?

Well, truth is this isn't my little garden.

I saw this garden yesterday when Princess

and I went to walk at a local park.

This house/garden flanked the walking path.

Admittedly, I have "Garden Envy".

Every day I check my little piece of dirt
but "nada" hint of green
is to be found.
Hmmmm.

These are the only greens at my house

at the moment.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

It was a breezy, 74* here yesterday - the perfect
day for a walk.  I enjoyed having Princess

and Boudxy join me.  What a beautiful,
mild, January day!

 

The "need to know"

Sometimes I look into the sky and ponder the greatness of it all.  I think about those who have come before and those who will come after.  I marvel at God’s handiwork and the beauty of it all. I’ve read that dogs see things only in black and white.  I can’t imagine a world without color. 

Then on other days, when I’m not thinking nearly as deep,  I still wonder about things.  I think I’m just naturally nosey curious; I have the “need to know”.  Today I’m wondering why so many storage unit facilities are being built all around town.  Who uses these things?  And, what the heck are they storing in these units?  Are the units mainly used by businesses or rather by individuals?  Do you use them?  Maybe I need one and I don’t even know it!
Surely someone in blogland can enlighten me on this issue.  Of all the people I know, only one of them use a storage unit.  This persons husband is a builder and they use a unit to store furniture for their model homes when the furniture is not in use.  Makes sense to me.
Maybe everyone who has a clean garage and/or an unused attic is using a storage unit for their “stuff”.  Perhaps everyone else knows something I don’t know.  I’m bordering on a bit of paranoia here, so clue me in.  Please.

Sync/Sink

I sync my ipod.

I sync my ipad.

I "sink" my dishes. . .
(before they go into the dishwasher).

I really don't mind the dishes,
the cooking,
the dusting,
the vaccuming,
the bed-making,
and the laundry,
BUT 

I  hate cleaning the bathrooms.
Blech!  Ewwww!

Sometimes I pay Princess to clean them.
She always needs the money,
so it's a win/win.

Wouldn't it be great to be able
to plug the bathroom into a can of Lysol
and "sync" it to clean itself?!
I know, "I'm BRILLIANT!".
QVC, here I come!

What's your least favorite "chore"?

Letter, "just for me".

There it was.

Right in the middle of all the junk mail -

a letter to me!

It was from our youngest Granddoll,
8 yr. old, Grace.

It was a good, juicy, newsy, type letter.

I was instructed NOT to put it on the fridge.

It contained information of a private matter

concerning school and her teacher.

It also contained the lyrics to an

original song.

It ALSO contained this beautiful piece of original
art work.  I was told I COULD display this
on the fridge.  I'm so thankful I got the OK
to show this as it brightens my heart each
time I see it.

Can you remember the last time
you got a personal letter?
Can you remember the last time
you wrote a personal letter?
I send the occassional card
with a short note written inside,
but I've not actually written a
personal letter
in fo-evah!

One more thing I need to add
to my list of things I'm gonna
try to do this year.

* * * * * * * * * * * *
Thank you for the sweet comments yesterday
in response to my toothache.
I am taking meds, and am feeling
sooooooo much better today.
48 hrs of pain sure makes one
appreciate a sunny, pain-free day.
Thanks again!

Like Needles and Pins.

I'm stepping into my BIG GIRL PANTIES today.

I.Have.A.Terrible.Toothache.

* Dentist Appointment this morning. *

God bless my family.

I spent yesterday in a medicated

semi-coma.  Mr. bought me

mashed potatoes & gravy

for dinner.  Princess took phone calls, etc.

I took medicine to help with the pain

and whined a lot (when I wasn't sleeping).

Remember this song?

I'm gonna sing it to my dentist:
"I know you
Don't know what I'm going through
Standing here looking at you

Well let me tell you that it hurts so bad
It makes me feel so sad
It makes me hurt so bad to see you again

Like needles and pins. . ."

Help Me!

edited at 1:00pm:  Completed 1st part of a
root canal.  Go back next Wed.
to hopefully finish up.

On my honor I will try. . .

I was once a Girl Scout

and I have the badges to prove it.

This is not my uniform

but I wore one like it.

I proudly wore it to school

on the days of our troop meeting.

I remember Mom and I struggling

to tie the kerchief into a square knot

each time I wore it.

"On my honor, I will try:

To do my duty to God and my country,

To help other people at all times,

To obey the Girl Scout Laws."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

No resolutions for me this year,

but I do have some things I want

to do differently, and like the

Girl Scouts,  "On my honor
I will try . . ."

. . .to Read my Bible more .

...to have friends into my home more.

...to eat healthier.

...to take my vitamins and calcium
each day.

...to read a book occasionally,
not just blogs.

...to lose some weight
and keep it off this time.

These are not things I've resolved,

but they are things I want to try to accomplish.

I think a resolution is a promise

you make to yourself,

but to try is to give it

your best effort, knowing

that you won't always get it right.

I'm pretty sure there is a difference.

Perhaps we'd all be more motivated

if we knew we'd get a badge

to show our success to the world.
Ya think?

Any things you're trying to

do differently in the new year?