The Quotable Fun Monday

Some for renown, on scraps of learning dote,

And think they grow immortal as they quote. - Edward Young

This was the "quote of the day" on my home page Saturday. It made me chuckle since I have been racking my brain trying to find quotes/quotations brilliant enough to share with y'all today. Robin, at Pensieve, is the hostess for this week. This is her request. Regardless of what motivated me to choose this for a theme, next week please share words that inspire and motivate you--brief or bloviatory, silly or serious, from great world leaders to last night's Comedy Central...from a Hallmark greeting card to your favorite book.

There are, of course, a multitude of quotes that I use every day. Most of them can be directly attributed to my mother and indirectly attributed to my great-great-great-great-etc.grandmother. "Don't you look at me in that tone of voice. Because I said so. Because I'm your mother and I said so. Was I addressing you? You will not speak to me in that tone of voice. Always wear clean underwear in case you get in an accident."

The one that I would like for my daughter to attribute to me? "Know that I love you."

The one that makes me grateful every single day when I re-read it? "You do not have a soul. You ARE a soul. You have a body." C.S. Lewis

The one that I often share with my girlfriends when one or more of us are having one of those moments? "That which does not kill you is your life." with apologies to Steel Magnolias.

The quote stuck on the front of my refrigerator, given to my husband and I by a very dear friend and his wife, upon their return from a European trip? "This is my happiness. God is my Father and I am His child." Duffy has since died and there is not a doubt in my mind, nor in my soul, that he is truly happy, as are those of us who were blessed to know him and to know his lovely wife.

My new favorite is from a staff meeting the other day. One of the managers was praising all of us, saying how happy he was with our work. The other manager, in his turn, was talking about all of the things that still needed doing. Some of my co-workers were looking disgruntled. You know, that "nothing is ever good enough" look. The first manager, smoothing things over said, "We can be happy with the results but we must never be satisfied, for in that lies complacency."

and how was your day?

Shorty: How was your day, baby?

Me: Awesome. It's the first day I did not cause myself to bleed at work!

And So It Grows

Last week, lil man and I planted seeds. I have never grown anything from seeds, having the proverbial black thumb. We planted okra, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, beets, nasturtiums, mint and four-o-clocks. We used the Jiffy Plant Starter kit which has room for 72 seedlings.

3 days later, everything the boy touched is at least 2 inches high. My seeds? Struggling to break ground. I was whining about this and he informed me that he knew why.

His hands were dirty to start with so his plants got a head start! He thinks that if I just played outside more my plants would grow better.

He could be right.

Who Are You?

The other night, in class, we were discussing where we come from. The Catholic Church's history traces itself back, in a direct apostolic line, to the first Pope, Peter.


I was talking to the kids about family history and how it is important to know from whence we come. My daughter, who never ceases to amuse me (which is a good thing), claims to be Irish. OK. Works for me. My father was of German descent. My mother is of German, Swiss and French descent. Julie's paternal grandmother is of Italian descent. Her paternal grandfather was of Irish and French descent. Notice anything? Yeah, me, too. Irish is definitely not the most dominant ethnic background in Julie's history. Yet it is how she chooses to identify herself.


This caused me to wonder about Barack Obama. Barack Obama's father is a black man from Kenya. His mother is a white woman from a farm in Kansas. I do not know their ethnicity beyond this. Mr. Obama identifies himself as a black candidate. It is how he chooses to identify himself.



This is not nearly as much of an issue for me personally as the fact that he identifies himself as a Democratic candidate but I am not here to discuss politics.


I have eyes. Mr. Obama clearly looks like a person of color. I try to be understanding and compassionate and put myself in the other person's shoes. I cannot imagine growing up as the child of a mixed race marriage. It is just stuck in my brain, though, that this man, the grandchild of a Midwest farmer, is choosing not to identify himself as such but is identifying himself as the black candidate.


Maybe I have missed something and Mr. Obama has addressed this somewhere. If so, and you know where, please just point me in the correct direction.


Maybe, someday, none of it will matter. Maybe, someday, political campaigns will be decided on the written views of the candidates and not on their looks or ethnicity or sex.


Maybe. But in the meantime, I am curious. Who are you?

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful this week to be living in this time in history. The 5th graders that I teach on Wednesday night were discussing, last night, the history of their families. One little girl mentioned that her grandfather had met Rosa Parks. This led to a discussion of civil rights, equal rights, and segregation.

I grew up in a part of this country where segregation was not an issue. It was not an issue because there were no "people of color". I did not meet a black person until I was in high school and we got a new student. It was not a big deal for us - all we cared about at that time and place in our lives were grading curves, SAT scores, and whether or not the new girl was smarter than we were.

It was not until I was around 25 that I actually experienced any discrimination. It was New Year's weekend 1980. My then-husband was a horse-mounted US Park Policeman. The US Park Police are responsible for the security of our country's national monuments and for providing law enforcement services in some of the National Park Service properties. Their horse-mounted division is awesome. That year, they were performing in the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena. I flew down to surprise hubby (and I did...lol) and then I drove home with him, his partner, his partner's wife, and both horses. The other guys had driven on ahead as we had to stop at the ER for a minor problem (another story, another day).

About 1/2 way home, we stopped to eat, at my recommedation, at a restaurant my family had frequented for years. The four of us walked in and my husband gave our name to the hostess.

We waited. The people who were there before us were seated.

We waited. People who came in after us were seated.

We waited. More people were seated.

I asked if there was a problem. I was informed they were busy. I asked to see a manager. I asked if there was a problem. I was informed that they would seat us soon.

They did. I did not even know there was a table that close to the kitchen. I will admit here to being slow. I, pampered, sheltered, spoiled little girl, had NEVER been treated so shabbily. It took me more than a second or two to figure out what was going on.

My husband's partner and his wife were, I think, more embarrassed for me than for themselves. They had both grown up in the Washington, DC area and were more familiar with this insidious form of discrimination than I could ever be.

I did not react well. I did not react graciously. I did not stop to think about whether or not my friends needed me to turn into some kind of Valkyrie in a public restaurant.

Suffice it to say, we left. We did not eat. We were not served. We bought some junk food at a convenience store and went home.

What does this have to do with being thankful? I am thankful that, in the few short years (and in the grand scheme of things, 53 years is a short time) since Rosa Parks, such HUGE strides have been made in the area of civil rights in this country.

I am thankful that, when my oldest daughter was in kindergarten, that very same year, her best friend was black. Her black friend had a white mother and a hispanic father, along with an oriental brother.

I am thankful that my grandson's friends are just kids. I have NEVER heard this child identify any person by their color.

I am thankful that the kids in my class reminded me to look at the progress we have made instead of focusing on the progress still to be made.

PS: I know that the word hispanic should have been capitalized. I chose not to. I would not capitilize white or black and I do not care to call hispanics brown.

Wordless Wednesday - Palo Duro Canyon Redux

Update on my new job

I have never worked retail before. I did work for a short time in a furniture store but it was as more of a personal assistant to the owner than anything else. The store was owned by the proverbial little old lady. She had run the store for over 50 years and continued to run the store until she no longer could. I drove her to and from work, did her personal shopping, and ran errands for her. I also stayed at the store with her so that she would not be alone. The amount of retail experience that I got from this job was minimal as the store was not very busy. When a chance for a full time job at real wages came up, I took it.



That job ended in November. I was not aware that it was really ended until February. I started seriously looking for a job and, in March, went to work for the giant mass-market retailer in our town.



In the course of 1 week, I went from part time to full time and was cross-trained in lots of areas, including cashier. It is EXACTLY like playing store when you were a little kid! I love it.



There are parts of it that make me insane. There are decisions made by management for no discernible reason. It finally occurred to me that these decisions do not need to make sense to me. They are NOT my responsibility. Following directives is my responsibility.



Being friendly, courteous, helpful and conscientious is my responsibility. I excel at all of these things. I think I have found my niche.



I was not prepared for being on my feet for eight or more hours a day on concrete. The first few days I thought I had died but then I realized that if I were dead, I would not hurt so much. A friend of mine, who also works at the same store, wore a pedometer his first few weeks. His most strenuous day? 9 miles. Average? 5 miles. At least there was a reason that I was in pain.



I invested in some good insoles and life got better. I learned to schedule myself to two fifteen minute breaks and a lunch hour. I learned how to ask for help, from my coworkers and from my family. I learned how to say “no” to those people to whom I always used to say “yes”. I used muscles that I have not used in years. I familiarized myself with our products and their locations. I had my first days off and came back. I refamiliarized myself with our products and their locations. I got used to everything being moved on a regular basis.



I got my first paycheck last week. It was not what I had been making last year. On the other hand, it was a part-time paycheck. My next one will be better. There is already talk in the department where I work of a promotion.



I am still tired at the end of a day but it is a good tired. It is a fatigue brought on by hard work, some manual labor, and a LOT of walking. It is not the mental fatigue with which I had recently been plagued.



This job is not the job I thought I wanted. This job is the job I applied for while I tried and tried and tried to get the job I really wanted. This job is the job that I love.

Fun Monday - Swampy Style

Fun Monday this week turned out to be more fun than I thought it would. Amazing how often that happens, isn't it? Swampy, the incorrigible, incomparable and inherently insane Swampy, would like us to:

Choose a topic/theme and make an alphabetical list of words, phrases, photos...however you want to share your topic/theme.
Topics can range from pet-peeves, vacations, people who have influenced your life, jokes, favorites, philosopher's quotes/sayings, birds, flowers...anything. The sky is the limit. Your ABC list can be depicted with words, photos, illustrations... You are limited only by your imagination. Be funny. Be serious. Be creative. Be sarcastic. Be there, or be square.
And, yes, of course you may bend the rules. Just entertain us. If you can't do all TWENTY-SIX, do as many as you can. (If you have kiddos, let them join the fun and help with the list. Make it a family, brainstorming session.)
Who am I to give you guidelines for Fun Monday? I have bent broken most Fun Monday rules for over a year now, and all of you have been gracious enough to put me on your list. Here is your chance to bring it on. If you don't know the alphabet, make one up. In other words, just have fun and teach us something using your own set of A B C's.

I had several false starts: breeds of dogs that I have owned, known, or loved

ex and former husbands' first names

alcoholic beverages I have consumed

Then it hit me, just like a big old squishy bug on the windshield. I drove a semi truck cross-country for 14 years with my husband. I was pretty sure I could come up with a city name for every letter of the alphabet. Said city would have to be a city where we either picked up and/or delivered a load. No problem - and on the way, Shorty and I got to relive some lovely and some not-so-lovely memories. So, thanks, Swampy for a really fun trip down memory lane - the fast lane, of course.

A Arlington, TX/Albuquerque, NM/Abilene, TX/Angel Camp, CA
B Boston, MA/Blythe, CA/Birmingham, AL
C Clinton Corners, NY/Cle Elum, WA/Chattanooga, TN/Centralia, OR/Cabazon, CA
D Des Moines, IA/Dallas, TX/Dalton, GA
E Eagleton, NJ/Ellensburg, WA/Eufala, AL
F Fallbrook, CA/Frisco, TX/Forney, TX/Forest, MS
G Gainesville, FL/Grand Junction, CO
H Hialeah, FL/Houston, TX/Hazleton, PA/Helena, MT
I Issaquah, WA/Indio, CA
J Jacksonville, FL/Joliet, IL
K Keokuk, IA/Katy, TX
L Longview, TX/Long Beach, CA/Las Cruces, NM
M Modesto, CA/Moss Landing, CA/Missoula, MT
N National City, CA/Nashville, TN/Noel, AR/Nampa, ID
O Ontario, CA/OKC, OK/Orlando, FL
P Phoenix, AZ/Philadelphia, PA/Pearsall, TX
Q Queens, NY/Charlotte, NC (queen city)
R Raleigh/Durham, NC/Richmond, CA
S Sumner, WA/Salinas, CA/Santa Maria, CA
T Troutdale, OR/Talladega, AL/Twin Falls, ID
U Umatilla, WA/Utica, NY
V Villa Rica, GA/Vancouver, BC/Valdosta, GA
W Wilmington, DE/Walla Walla, WA/Wichita, KS
X Xenia, IL/Xenia, OH
Y Yakima, WA/Yankton, SD
Z Zanesville, OH/Zillah, WA

Lent is over! Alleluia, alleluia!

Lent is over and I feel like a failure. I gave up coffee for Lent. I used to drink coffee like most people drink water. Seriously. I used to drink roughly 4 pots of coffee a day.

When I gave up coffee, it was rough for the first couple of days. I went to the World Market and bought some good tea. I bought PG Tips which is not common here but evidently is in the UK, at least according to their advertising. I love it. It got me through Lent without feeling truly deprived.

I know, I know. That is not the point of Lent. We are supposed to feel deprived. And I did, truly. There were times when I would walk into a place and smell a fresh pot of coffee brewing that I nearly caved. There were times, like when I would go to the big city with my daughter and we would come home without stopping at Starbucks, that I nearly caved. There were times when I was stressed and reached for the magic elixir that I nearly caved. There was the one time, when I first started my new job and one of my coworkers graciously brought me a coffee along with hers, that I nearly caved.

Maybe I was deprived.

Anyway, this morning, after Mass, I got home and made a fresh cup of coffee. I gathered up the Sunday papers and my coffee and sat down. It tasted like crap. I did not enjoy the taste of it at all.

Now I am thinking that I did not like coffee at all. I think I was drinking coffee merely out of habit and no longer out of enjoyment.

Lent is over and I gave up something I don’t even like. I’m sure glad that God understands my heart

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter
The tomb is open, the Lord Jesus has passed through death. He is alive!

Happy Easter to all y'all from all of us!

Alleluia, alleluia!

In Honor of Chocolate Bunnies Everywhere

Happy Easter!

Friday Funny

THE TEA PARTY

When Daisy was a toddler, someone had given her a little Tea Set as a gift, and it was one of her favorite toys. Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when Daisy brought him a little cup of "tea" which was just water, of course. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, Daisy's Mom came home. Daisy's Dad made Mom wait in the living room to watch his little Princess bring him a cup of tea, because it was, "Just the cutest thing!" Daisy's Mom waited, and sure enough, here she comes down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy.

Mom watches him drink it up and then says, "Did it ever occur to you that the only place that a toddler can reach to get water is the toilet?"

THE END (I hear you laughing!)

Thankful Thursday

While praying for those folks devestated by the weather, I am thankful that our weather is as good as it gets in the springtime. It is still cool/cold in the mornings but the afternoon temperatures have been lovely. The wind? Oh, yeah, it's here.

Whenever I look at the trees in this area, which all lean in a particular direction, I am reminded of the Holy Spirit. My parish priest, with whom we are well and truly blessed, used this analogy in sermon one Sunday. The image of the Holy Spirit appearing as a "mighty wind" is one that has stayed with me.

I am thankful for this Holy Week as Lent comes to a close. I am thankful beyond belief to once again enjoy Easter.

My first husband, as many of you know, was killed in a traffic accident when I was 20. He died on Easter Sunday. For many years, Easter was not a day of joy for me.

My current husband, as many of you know, is a convert to Catholicism. He went throught the RCIA process and received his sacraments at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. Easter is once again a celebration.

Shorty's the tall one in the back.

Wordless Wednesday-Palo Duro Canyon

Fun Monday - Say What?

This week's hostess is Nikki. Nikki would like to hear, in our own words, our own words. She also would like to hear our green beer/St. Patrick's Day stories.

The first part is easy for me. The title of my blog, Myanderings, is one of my own words. It means "the meanderings of my mind".

Another word used in our family was coined by my daughter when she was just a wee thing learning to play poker at her Grandmother's knee. Juls used to get all of her cards and then go behind the sofa where no one could see her to "suitagorize" her cards.

Another word, this one in use since I was a child at least is "noodle knot". If you are not familiar with noodle knots, they look like this:

Some people call them pony tail holders.

As for the non-words? My oldest sister, at one Thanksgiving dinner with my alcoholic dad, started this one. Dad was starting in, again, and my sister just said, "Anyone who has already heard this, raise your right hand." So, if you are any where with any of us and the right hand hits the sky, we've already heard it, probably more than once.

I have no St. Paddy's Day drunk tales, although my husband and I had our first date 2 days after St. Paddy's. That would be St. Joseph's feast day, though.

Happy St. Paddy's a day early

Christ shield me this day:

Christ with me,

Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ in me,

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ on my right,

Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down,

Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every person

who thinks of me,

Christ in the eye that sees me,

Christ in the ear that hears me.”

— “The Breastplate of St. Patrick

Ed Zachary

Ed Zachary


A woman was very distraught at the fact that she had not had a date or any sex in quite some time. She was afraid she might have something wrong with her, so she decided to seek the medical expertise of a sex therapist. Her doctor recommended that she see the well known Chinese sex therapist Dr. Chang. So she went to see him. Upon entering the examination room Dr. Chang said 'OK take off all your crose. ' The woman did a s she was told. 'Now get down and craw reery, reery fass to odderside of room.' Again the woman did as she was instructed. Dr. Chang then said 'OK, now craw reery, reery fass back to me.' So she did. Dr.Chang shook his head slowly and said 'Your probrem vewy bad. You haf Ed Zachary diease. Worse case I ever see. Dat why you not haf sex or dates.' Worried the woman asked anxiously 'Oh my God Dr.Chang what is Ed Zachary Disease ?' Dr. Chang sighed deeply and replied 'Ed Zachary Disease is when your face look Ed Zachary like your ass.'


My granddaughter-in-law sent me this joke in an email. It made me laugh out loud for more than one reason.


A. It's a funny joke.


B. Julie and I heard it so many years ago that this, the boy doll, of course, was
renamed "Ed Zachary". Made lil man's momma and me laugh every time he said it!

Thing that made me smile this week

My official hire date for the (insert huge international store name here) in my hometown was March 5. I was hired as a part time employee but at a salary only a little less than I had been making before.

On March 13, I was called into personnel and asked if I would like to go to full time. Hurray! More hours and great benefits. My life is good.

The kicker? On the way out that evening, one of the greeters was talking to me. She wanted to know what department I was working in, etc. I told her and she said, "Oh, you're the young white girl they hired."

That's me. 54 years old and I am the "young white girl". I love my life this week.

Oh, and I am getting used to standing on concrete for long periods of time. Lil man only asked me once this week if he needed to hold the door while I crawled up the stairs...lol.

Update:

I'm not sure how I forgot this but my week started off smiling when Alison gave me this. She always makes me smile, too!

Thankful Thursday - my child

This post is for my daughter. I am thankful for her with every breath that I take and every beat of my heart.

When Julie was a little girl, she used to talk to Jesus in the backyard of our house. In case any of you were wondering, He has green eyes. I could not see Him, nor could her older sister. Julie could see Him, and talk to Him and with Him. She has since fallen away from religion but He is still with her, although she no longer sees him.

Her son, my lil man, loves Jesus more than any child I have ever known. He has an insatiable desire for knowledge about Jesus and a relationship with Jesus that should be the envy of us all (if envy were not one of the seven deadly sins). He has a hunger for the Eucharist that is tangible.

Tonight, the three of us were on the way home from CFC lessons. Julie, who is my assistant teaching the 5th graders, had very sternly reprimanded one of our students for being disrespectful to me during tonight's class. We were discussing this in the car and Julie made sure that lil man understood that not only do the teachers need to be respected but so does God. If you are learning about God, you should show respect to God.

Julie and I have, due to a very long separation during her child and adulthood, a very unique relationship. I am her mother. She is my daughter. We are friends - sarcastic, witchy, irreverent friends. She made sure to tell lil man that her relationship with Jesus is much like her relationship with me. She loves Him and knows that He loves her. She is not always as respectful as she might be.

This brought me to tears because I am a crier. I cry at the drop of a hat. The streetlight reflected off of my check, highlighting a tear path. She poked me and told me that I needed hormones. I told her no because they would kill me. She told me I needed BRD.

BRD? Bovine Respiratory Distress? She called me a cow?!?!?!

She laughed, I laughed, lil man laughed and she amended it to HRT. Still not happening, but at least now I am human.

I am thankful for Julie.

WW - Can You Hear the Music?

So How Much is That an Hour?

I was doing a little Fun Monday visiting and came across this at Gattina's. I was intrigued.



$4875.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth.

Fun Monday - Quotes to Live By?

Today's host for Fun Monday is the I.T. Guy (and how lame will I sound when I confess that I don't know what I.T. is?). This is his request.





I need YOU (yes, the wonderful YOU!) to pick 5 memorable lines from 5 different movies (if you could tell us which character said it and to whom, would be a bonus)...and tell us to WHOM (who in the people in your life) you could have said those lines.

From Fried Green Tomatoes, spoken by Kathy Bates as Evelyn Crouch. "I'm older and I have more insurance". Kathy's character was having a very bad overweight, hormonal day and some cute little chickies cut her off in a parking lot and then gave her some lip. I say this to myself and my family says it about me whenever I do something or act some way that lets them know that I am Towanda, a very secure woman "of a certain age". My sweetheart even calls me Towanda on occasion.







From Camelot (the Richard Harris, Franco Nero, Vanessa Redgrave version). Guinevere (Redgrave) is annoyed because her husband, Arthur (Harris), is spending all of his spare time with his new knight, Lancelot (Nero). I cannot find the direct quote and I am sure that I have morphed it through the years but it was something like - Maybe they can get a house by the sea and go shopping together. I think this one, and say it to my daughter or one of my girlfriends, whenever my husband and his brother go to wherever it is they go when they get together and forget that it's not the 60s or the 70s any more.

From Gone With The Wind, spoken by Clark Gable as Rhett Butler to Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara Wilkes Kennedy Butler. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn". This one I say under my breath or in my head whenever I just can't stand it (whatever it is) for another blessed second.

From Dirty Dancing, spoken by Jennifer Grey as Baby to Patrick Swayze as Johnny. " Me? I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you. " Aw, this is what I would love to have been articulate enough to have said to my husband when we were first starting out. We had such different lifestyles and I was so afraid of not being what he wanted. And I so wanted to always feel the way he made me feel then. I don't feel that way because fires, left burning out of control, will burn themselves out. Fires, tended carefully, will burn forever.

From Top Gun, spoken by Tom Cruise as Maverick to Kelly McGillis as Charlie. "It's classified. I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. " This just makes me smile and is my answer for whenever someone asks a question that I don't feel like answering.





And now, because I evidently have lost the ability to just play by the rules.





From The Man from Snowy River spoken by Jim to Jessica's father played by Kirk Douglas. "I'll be back for the mares (pause) and whatever else is mine." This is the line I always wanted to hear about me spoken by a man who loved me. I have come close.

I Hope You Dance

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...
It's about learning to dance in the rain.

I do not know who said this originally. I just know that it makes my heart smile. Whenever I hear this, I also remember this one.

Do not tell God how big your storm is.
Tell your storm how big your God is.

Slacker Saturday

I stole these from Rocks in My Dryer after Robin pointed me in that direction. Have fun, y'all.

myanderings-myanderings.blogspot.com

WANTED FOR THE EVIL SLAYING of a STRANGE PAIR OF LEATHER PANTS

$3600

What's Your Blog Wanted For?

I Scored a 93%!

39

PPL - March Limericks

Our assignment this month was a limerick. Robin gave us a list of target words in honor of March, Spring, and St. Paddy's Day.

This first one is in honor of my grandson who, bless his heart, loves Spam. His mom? Not so much. It is also in honor of this 1/4 Irish, 1/4 Italian, 1/2 German child who swears by all that is holy that she is Irish. Just Irish.

There once was a lass named O’Brien
Who, in March, set green eggs afryin'.
She cooked up some ham
‘cause she just hated Spam
Which set her little man to cryin’.

Thankful Thursday 030608

This one is quick folks. This Thursday I am extremely thankful that I am off to my 2nd day of orientation for my new job! See y'all when I can catch my breath. Thanks for all of your prayers and good wishes on my behalf.

WWW - Wordless, Wrangler and Witty

Wordless Wrangler

Witty

So the blonde was busily trimming her hedge, with electric hedge trimmers, while her cat prowled about the yard. Suddenly, the cat lets out a cry! The blonde has cut off the cat's tail with the hedge trimmers! Exhibiting great foresight, the blonde grabs the cat as well as the severed tail, and immediately drives to Wal-Mart. Why? "Hello! Wal-Mart is the world's largest re-tailer!"

Jeff Dunning, Denver, Colorado

There's a New Catholic Magazine for Kids

Be sure to visit this link (click on the banner) and sign up that you are interested in the magazine, so that they can show that there is interest in this kind of magazine while looking for publishers! You'll also get to download a sample issue for free!




Thanks to Angie for posting this on her site.

Mrs. Hughes

I received this in an email from a close friend - another woman of a "certain age". Enjoy and no, you don't have to wait for the kids to leave the room!

What Are Your Beliefs?

The always innovative and informative AFF pointed me in the direction of Blue Momma for this quiz.

It is truly intriguing and interesting. Wow, I must be hung up on "i" tonight. There are twenty questions about your religious beliefs. There are no right or wrong answers so you just answer what you really believe.

The quiz will then tell you which organized religion, if any, most closely mirrors your beliefs or, conversely, which organized religion, if any, you most closely adhere to.

Have fun and take it if you'd like. I will be posting my results later in the week.

Fun Monday - Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You

This week's Fun Monday hostess is Janet, dropping in from her very own planet. Here is what she would like to see:

So here's what I want to read about: Write the brief synopsis of this film that you might use to pitch this project and cast the principal players. Who would play you? You can either cast or ignore significant others, children and/or pets. This is, after all, YOUR movie about you you YOU! Illustrate as needed with casting photos or filming locations. Your life not interesting enough? Hey, this is Hollywood. Never let the facts get in the way of a good story!

So, no synopsis for me. I have been taking lessons from Swampy. However, you can have the goodies. If you want the story? Go buy a ticket!

The title?

The theme song? This is it. I am now, or have been, or will be, each and every one of these women.

I would hire, as my costume designer, whoever designed this lovely frock for Fiona. When Fiona was the Princess, the dress fit. When Fiona morphed into the Ogress, the dress fit. I NEED THIS DRESS!

The cast? So easy. I would play myself.

The supporting cast? Here they are.

Spring?

Saturday - 79 degrees

Sunday - 73 degrees

Monday at 6:00 a.m.

Bubble Boy/Bubble Man

Yesterday, while his mom was at work, Lil Man and I kidnapped his Grampits and we went to the big town. We had breakfast at the Waffle House and then we went to one of Lil Man's favorite places.

The Discovery Center is awesome. There is a ton of stuff to do there but I am just gonna share some pictures of Lil Man's favorite from yesterday.

I finally got to the end of the pictures. Here is the man in the bubble. Not nearly so easy to get the bubble to the top without it touching something!

Spring is Coming

Last May, Julie and I brought home this oak tree in the back seat of the Lincoln. So far, the dogs have not eaten it and the wind has not destroyed it.


We have had terrible winds this winter and have lost quite a few shingles off of our roof. The tree has managed to hang onto one solitary leaf.

So now we have last year's leaf and this year's new growth. I believe that spring is fixin' to spring.