PHOTO ROULETTE WITH CARA!!

Today, I am linking up for the very first PHOTO ROULETTE FRIDAY with CARA over at MISCHIEF AND LAUGHS.  You never know what you are going to get when you go to a particular folder and find a particular photo based on a number.  This one happened to be a photo of something special and one that I am happy to share with you today.  It is straight from the camera....no editing necessary!

My husband and I live in the home that my parents built after I was grown and gone.  My father passed away and my mom moved on to another city and when she did, my husband and I bought this home from her.  My daddy was a big, tough Texan who loved this home and he planted the flowers shown above about 23 years ago.  Those were the only ones he planted here and every year they bloom to remind me of him.  My husband shot this photo one morning before work.  It blesses my heart every time I see  it.

Happy Friday everyone!  Hop on over and see CARA and view the wonderful entries that she has in her party or better yet, link up with us and have some fun! 

30 DAY BLOG JOURNAL - DAY 1 & IT'S FOLLOW-FRIDAY 40 & OVER TIME!

Good Morning Friends!

 

The long anticipated Friday has finally arrived.  I don't know how it is for you; but this has been the longest, hardest summer that I have had in a long time and it seems to me that Fridays take forever to get here.  For me, it could not have come more quickly.  Even though I am going in to work for a little while today, I am not rushing out of the door this morning and I'm hopeful that it is going to be a great weekend.  I am feeling more relaxed than I have in quite some time. 

 

At any given moment, I have hundreds of thoughts going through my head.  Lately, I have been thinking in terms of blogging.  I view things in my world always questioning whether or not I could blog about it.  It seems a little crazy to me; but, I don't think I am alone in this way of thinking.  Most of the people who read my blog are bloggers themselves so I feel that you are with me on this.   

 

I gather ideas and take photos all in the hopes that I can share them with you in my blog.  My problem lies in not having a lot of time to spend blogging and so most of my ideas bounce around in my head and don't actually make it to my blog.  I am sure you have, at one time or another, felt the pressure to get a blog post published and when that happens to me, I struggle with the decision on which idea or photo or series of photos to share with you that would be interesting for you.  I want to be able to share effectively my thoughts and feelings within the time constraints that I have in my life right now.   I am a perfectionist so I can't just slap something up here and feel good about that.

 

So as I was taking a few minutes to look through my Google reader, I saw a post on ERIN's blog about a 30 day Blog Journal.  Every day has a new topic and as I browsed through the topics, I found a connection and a ready answer for a lot of them so maybe I can do this!  You will learn a little bit more about me in the process and I can work on some of my other ideas in the background to share with you.  My first obstacle will be getting through the first topic on Day 1!! 

 

FAVORITE SONG! 

 

I love all genres of music.  I listen to a little of everything and my Ipod reflects that.   Sometimes I have a song that I hear that resonates with me and I listen to it often...sometimes on repeat.  That song for me this spring and summer has been

 

Free by the Zac Brown Band

 

So we live out in our old van

Travel all across this land

Me and you

 

We'll end up hand in hand

Somewhere down on the sand

Just me and you

Just as free

Free as we'll ever be

Just as free

Free as we'll ever be

Of course, this is more like it.......

I think it would be great to be able to pack up like this and travel around this great country of ours and meet people and experience life.  I would take my camera and my laptop and my flipflops and my husband would grab his guitar and off we would go.  Think of all the material to blog about that we would have....not to mention the time to do actually do that.  We could visit our kids and our granddaughter and our parents and meet new friends along the way.....and I can see some of that "ending up hand in hand...somewhere down on the sand...just me and you"  happening too.  I can see it all playing out in my dreams.  For now, that is all this is....a very happy dream....and this song takes me me to my happy place.  ha!   So in the meantime, I will continue to do what I do in the place that I do it and live vicariously through people like Alison and the sweet family over at Mali Mish. 

Since it is Friday, I'm linking up with the sweet JAVA over at NEVER GROWING OLD because I'm an Over 40 Blogger and this is a fun party!  Now if you will excuse me.....or better yet, why don't you come along with me over there and see her?  You'll be glad you did! 

 

Happy Friday Everyone!  I hope you have a safe and fabulous weekend!

JUST THURSDAY!

Hello Friends! 

It has been a heckuva week here in my little corner of the world.  I have a lot going on here and plenty of things on my mind; but there's not a lot that I can share publicly.  As such, it makes it difficult to find inspiration to post anything meaningful.  I found this cool linkup through Jenna Renee over at LEGALLY BRUNETTE.  She has a really cute blog so if you haven't been over to visit her, you really should peek in and say "hi" to her.  The linkup is hosted by ABBY who has another really cute blog that you should go visit....and while you're there, have some fun and linkup!  At least in my time zone, it's still Thursday.  

So here we go...

Outside my window.. it's dark and still very hot and humid

The time is....10:47 p.m.

Today I feel.....a bit anxious, a bit depressed and a whole lot of tired.

 

I am thinking....that tomorrow is Friday and I have a lot to do.

At the moment, I am thankful.....for a wonderful husband , air conditioning, awesome children, a beautiful granddaughter and a God who loves me more than I can imagine.

I am going.. to snuggle my husband when I finish this post.

I am wearing.. pjs

I wish....that the report would come back saying that Julz is cancer-free, that we were living close to ALL of our children and that money was never an issue for us.

I am reading....way too many blogs and I just picked up today at the library... "This is Where We Live" by Janelle Brown.  We will see how it is.  It needs to be really good or I will go back to blog reading and take the book back to the library.

I am working on.....simplifying our lives.

I am hoping.. ..that the weekend lasts a long time.

I am hearing....the television.

Around the house.....we have a lot of projects that we need to do.

I bet you didn't know.....that I have a mild addiction to hair products.

One of my favorite....foods is Mango.

My weekend plans include....hanging with my husband, spending time with my parents before they leave, maybe some shopping, definitely some cooking and I hope some napping on Sunday.

 

Have a great Friday, friends!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY!!!

 

Today is Wordless Wednesday over at The Miller Family Racing.   This is one of the my favorite linkups to participate in every week.  If you haven't participated, you should hop on over and see Tanya and linkup for this fun party.  She always has great entries!

 

This week my photo comes from a trip to the Fort Worth Stockyards.  One of the cowboys asked if we wanted his horse to smile for the camera and of course, we said "yes!".....and he did......

  

I hope you all are enjoying a wonderful Wednesday.  The weekend cannot come soon enough for me!  Have a great day!

Raw(e) -2(6)

I was catching up on my "must reads" this evening and on Diane's blog, I found a cool "new to me" photography linkup.   Sailor & Company is hosting this linkup and the rules are that you must go to your 2nd folder of photos and post the 6th photo there.  This photo can be anything at all; but you cannot edit it.  You must post it raw.  Even though this sounded like fun when I read about it and saw Diane's lovely entry, I wasn't sure that I would linkup with this at first.  I mean, who knows what I might find by going into 2(6), right?  I was relieved to find that while it's not the coolest picture ever, it is certainly not embarassing.  So here is my entry....

This photo was taken out of a car window in Houston as we stopped in front of it.  I love wrought iron fences.  I think they are an amazing subject for photography.  Hop on over HERE to view some great photography and to check out this blog. I think you will be glad you did.  I know that I am.

Signs for the Modern Woman...

I received these in email today and thought I would lighten the mood around here. 

Have a great week! 

I am loving my new makeover!

Thank you, ~Southern Mitzi~, for creating my new header!  And thank you Shabby Blogs for my new wallpaper.   This is feeling more like home all the time.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Follow Friday-40 and Over and TGIF!!

I truly didn't think this day was going to get here.  What a week we've had around here!  This Friday comes with mixed feelings for me.  On one hand, I'm happy because it's the end of a long stressful week.  On the other hand, my son's visit is drawing to a close and I've enjoyed my time with him so much.  It is going to be hard to see him leave.  He's got a lot to look forward to this year and I know that the holidays are right around the corner and I will see him at least at Christmas, if not before; but needless to say....I'm going to miss him.  He's such a blessing to me!

Me, my Son, my Grandmother and my Mom - July 2010

So, as I was saying.....It's Friday!   And Friday means that it's time to party with my new friend, Java, over at Never Growing Old. 

I have done a few blog hops since I have seriously started blogging and this one is one of my favorites.  I love finding new friends in my age group!  This is a great way to do that.  If you aren't participating in this blog hop, then I invite you to give it a try.  You will be glad you did!  I'm headed over there now.  I hope you will join me.

Have a great weekend!

REDECORATING UP IN HERE!

Good Morning!

I was forced to do a little redecorating up in here before tomorrow.  Thanks to Shabby Blogs I was able to find a little something that I can live with until I find the perfect design that fits me to a tee.  I'm not a "girly girl" so something cutesy and frilly just doesn't suit me.  I like darker, more fall colors and clean lines so finding something that would work for me was difficult.  I'm not completely sold on this design yet.  I think it needs a little pizazz added to it.....but for now, I think it is okay.  I am liking the brown and the houndstooth.  I hope you are okay with it too.

Today is my Friday so it's going to be a good day.  I've got to get rid of this headache and get busy with the tasks of the day now.  Hope you have a wonderful day!

NOTHING LIKE A LITTLE PRESSURE!

Good Morning!

Okay, this hasn't been the easiest week for me, right?  I have had a multitude of issues going on at home as I've shared with you already and I'm trying to spend some quality time with my son before he leaves early Saturday morning and my parents are coming for a visit tomorrow for a week.  I'm trying to work...and did I mention that my house is a mess after all of the stuff going on and coming back from our mini-vacation?  I've got to get that cleaned tonight after dinner and hopefully to bed at a decent hour so that I can get to work on time tomorrow.   I didn't even take my laptop out of the bag last night.  I had emails like crazy this morning as you can imagine.

I opened BLOGGER this morning and found this:

Note the top left corner of this picture.  If you click on the picture, I think you can read it better.  I had been thinking of doing some redecorating around here anyway but now I have to do it sooner rather than later.....like before Friday!  I've completely forgotten how I got this background on here in the first place.  Any tips from you professionals out there would be welcomed and appreciated!  

All I can do is laugh and pull a late night tomorrow night.  At least I'm off on Friday, right?  And I get a new design for my blog....which I wanted anyway. 

I am reminded this morning as I ponder all of things that my husband and I have been facing lately (And this is VERY minor although it is important to me!), of a particular scripture passage from the Bible.   I like how The Message says it....

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.  James 1:2-4  Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright � 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

So this morning, I do "Count it all Joy!"

Hope you are all having a wonderful day today and that wherever you are in your little corner of the world, that you, too, are counting it all Joy!

What a week and it's only Monday!

So we got back from vacation late last night and my day started with having a log replaced on the foundation of our house.   More than half the day and a hefty check written to the nice man who replaced it later, it was time to do some serious shopping.  It was one of those Wal-Mart trips where we needed everything plus gas. 

So another hefty check written later, we were off to pick up one of our cars from the shop.  We had dropped it off at the shop while on vacation to see why it was leaking antifreeze.  Another hefty check written out and we headed back home in the heat to unload the car and start dinner. 

As we finished up putting the last items away, my husband noticed that there was water coming from cabinet underneath the sink.  We opened the doors to find it flooded underneath and the pipes broken.  I began cleaning as he headed off to Lowes and True Value.  After one more trip to Lowes this evening for more parts and he has now "built it back better".  So that was my Monday.....

I wonder what Tuesday has in store besides heading back to work.....?!

Meet Me on Monday!

 

Today, I'm linking up again with Java over at Never Growing Old for the fun "Meet me on Monday" party.  It has been awhile since I linked up.  Since I have Monday off this week, I'm going to take advantage of it and stay up a little later than normal and play!  If you have never participated in this fun party before, it's really easy. 

 

All you have to do is copy the five "get to know you questions" and paste them into your own Monday post.  Once you have completed that, hop on over to Never Growing Old and link up your post (not your blog).  This is a great way to get to learn a little more about the bloggy friends that you follow on a regular basis and it is also a great way to meet new friends.   Now to get on with the fun, here are the questions for today along with my answers:

 

1. What is your favorite sandwich?

 

My favorite sandwich is actually a Steak, Cheese and Mushroom Grinder from Village Pizza in Newport, New Hampshire.   Unfortunately, I don't get these very often ; but everytime I visit New  Hampshire, I absolutely must have one of these before I leave.  Doesn't it look delicious?  Mmmmm.....I can smell the garlic from here!

  2. What is stashed under your bed/mattress? I have a box of wrapping paper under bed and also random pairs of shoes that get shoved under there as I take my shoes off every day.  In the interest of getting this blog post actually posted before bed, I will refrain from posting a photo of this mess under my bed.  The other pictures that I'm posting are already on my computer. 3. What is your favorite flower? I love all sorts of flowers; but these are my current favorites which are in bloom right now.  I love them so much that I had to take some photos of them when I was at the library recently.  The colors are just so beautiful!  

4. What is your favorite magazine?

 

I am a magazine nut.  Love them! My current favorite magazine, I think, is Health.

  5. How often do you weigh yourself? I probably weigh once a week.  Never more than that.  It's too discouraging. 

Now, I've got to go to bed.  I can hardly keep my eyes open.  I am looking forward to reading your answers when I get up! 

 

Have a great Monday, Everyone!

 

IT'S A SUNDAY SUMMER SOCIAL!

Today I am linking up for the first Sunday Summer Social over at Lucas' Journey with Sensory Processing Disorder.  This is the first one ever so I'm linking up to show some love to my new bloggy friend and maybe make some new friends.  If you haven't been over to visit this great blog, take a few minutes and check it out.....and while you are there, link up to make some new friends.  I'm going to hop over there now. 

Have a great Sunday everyone! 

SIX WORD SATURDAY!

It's been a busy weekend for us and I almost forgot to link up with this great party that I found last week.  Thanks to Jenna Renee for reminding me!  Six Word Saturday is hosted by Show My Face and the theme of this party is that you have to describe your current life in a phrase using just six words.  Now this is a very challenging thing for me because if you know me, you know that I'm quite a talker!  I'm up for the challenge though and this week, I describe my life like this....

Vacationing with my family is awesome!

Yes, we are on a mini-vacation right now and I'm snapping photos like crazy.  I hope to share some of them with you soon.  Wherever you are, I hope you are enjoying a wonderful weekend too!

FOLLOW FRIDAY- 40 AND OVER TIME!

 

I am finally getting a chance to link up again for Follow Friday - 40 and Over hosted weekly by Java over at Never Growing Old.  This week she has teamed up with Jill from Frugal Plus to host this great blog party.  This is a great way to make new friends and find great new blogs to read.   I have been missing the party for the past few weeks so this week, I'm glad to be back and looking forward to making some new friends.  If you are visiting from the blog hop, WELCOME!  Please take a few minutes to look around.  I hope that you enjoy your time here and that you will visit again and again.  If you  would like to participate in this great party, hop on over to see Java and link up.  You will be glad you did!

Happy Friday Everyone~

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MY BEST FRIEND!

Twelve years ago yesterday, I sat inside of a car outside of a courthouse in Arkansas with my best friend.  As we held hands, we asked God to bless our union and to be the center of our marriage and then we went inside and pledged our love to one another before God and witnesses that we did not even know.    It wasn't fancy.  It happened beside some filing cabinets.  There wasn't a special dress or flowers or guests.  We don't even have pictures.....but it was the best day and best decision of my life. 

We have had a busy day today and while I got this post started this morning before my dental appointment, I'm just now getting it posted.  We haven't done what most people do to commemorate such a special occasion.  We didn't go on a romantic dinner or take a special vacation together.  Rather, we have spent our day just being together, celebrating our friendship and love, doing the things that we normally do when we are off work and are together.  We spent the day laughing  a lot and enjoying our life.  We plan to go away this fall and we are looking forward to that.  But for today, just being together was enough.

I am very blessed.  My husband is my very best friend and there is not another person that I would rather spend every moment of my time with....doing whatever....than with him.  He will tell you that he is the blessed one....but you know what?  Because he feels that way just makes me even more blessed.  

So in honor of our love and friendship, Happy Anniversary baby!  Thank you for 12 of the best years of my life.  I would marry you again and again.

 

Golden Cup Award!!

What a nice surprise from the sweet Jingle!   I love presents and this one made my day. 

See, today was my Friday....which should have been a good thing, right?  I had a busy day planned at work trying to get everything done so that I could make a clean escape this afternoon.   I was at my desk working away and grabbed a healthy snack that I had brought to work with me....a Kashi Granola Bar.  One bite into that sticky mess of goodness and something felt really odd on one of my bottom teeth.  Part of it was missing!  Gone in that bite of granola bar...just that quickly.

So I had to go in for emergency xrays this afternoon and will go in for a temporary crown in the morning.  Not a great day for me....but it could have been worse. 

I am thankful that....

I was able to get in to see the dentist today instead of waiting until tomorrow.

The root is not exposed so I'm not in pain and I don't have to have a root canal.

It didn't cost me as much as I thought it would and my insurance should be pay 1/2.

So you see....an award today was just what I needed.  Thank you again, Jingle!  If you haven't been over there to see how awesome that blog is, you should.  You will be glad you did.

Wordless Wednesday - my favorite day of the week!

It's Wordless Wednesday time again!  I'm looking so forward to Wordless Wednesday that it's actually Sunday afternoon that I'm writing this and I'm already preparing....but you won't see the until Wednesday.  I thought I would be proactive this week since I know it's going to be a crazy week and I don't want to miss the fun. 

If you haven't already linked up to join the fun already, hop on over and see Tanya at The Miller Racing Family and she will get you started.  It's really easy and lots of fun.  I hope everyone is having a great week so far and that you and yours are happy and healthy!  I can't wait to check out all of the great entries that have linked up for the day.

Here are some photos of a guest we had on our back porch this past weekend.  We thought it was kind of funny that he decided to perch on the flyswatter.  He was so beautiful.  We tried to get a shot of him with his wings up but couldn't.  They were such a pretty red color.  Don't worry.....we didn't kill him or injure him in any way.  Once the photo shoot was over, we encouraged him out into our yard.  Have a happy Wednesday!