Old School Blogging {June} ~ Alphabet Meme

I do miss those Old School blogging days! So I'm joining Miss Elaine-ous Life again for June's Old School blogging meme - the Alphabet Meme! It's everything you didn't realize you were wanting to know about me! :) 

Alphabet Meme
A. Attached or Single? Attached to my hubs {Married for over 20 years - woo hoo!}!

B. Best Friend? Honestly - it's my hubs.

C. Cake or pie? I gotta go with cake here. You know how I'm sure of that? In my Recipe Index - there are 40 cake recipes listed {wow} and only 9 pies - LOL!

D. Day of choice? Friday!

E. Essential Item? Can coffee be considered an essential item? Because it should be.

F. Favorite color? Red.

G. Gummy bears or worms? Gummy bears.

H. Hometown? Helena, Montana.

I. Favorite Indulgence? Fancy coffee drinks {but how can it be an indulgence if it's an essential item??}. 

J. January or July? JULY - Summertime! Woo Hoo!

K. Kids? 1 fabulous 13-yr. old {soon to be 14} son!

L. Life isn’t complete without? The essential items...like coffee. :) Seriously though - God, my wonderful hubs & son, friends & family, & sunshine. And cake.

M. Marriage date? 10/24/92

N. Number of brothers/sisters? 2 sisters.

O. Oranges or Apples. Apples. In cake. {German Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - yesssss.}

P. Phobias? No true phobias, but I really really really don't like spiders.

Q. Quotes? "You're awesome. Last thing I'm gonna say." Kung Fu Panda

R. Reasons to smile?  Way too many to list!! I find a reason to smile every day! 

S. Season of choice? Summer. I like the warm weather, the freedom, & going on trips.

T. Tag 5 People. I have never enjoyed tagging people. Anybody can do it - If you do - let me know so I can come read!

U. Unknown fact about me? Not sure if I've shared this or not - I moved away from home when I was 18. Moved from Montana to California with a friend of mine {we moved in with her grandparents until we got jobs and an apartment} in a car packed full with all of our junk! My parents thought I was crazy! But it's clear to me now that God meant for me to make that move as I met the man who would become my husband less than a month after that move! :)

V. Vegetable? Green beans, corn, peas. 

W. Worst habit? Procrastination!

X. Xray or Ultrasound? I've had plenty of both, thank you.

Y. Your favorite food? Besides cake? And chocolate? And coffee? Well then, steak. Or Chicken Caesar Lasagna. :)

Z. Zodiac sign? Aries, but I don't believe in Zodiac signs.

Okay, now it is your turn to do the Alphabet Meme!  Grab the button below and link up at Miss Elaine-ous Life.  *Oops - looks like the link collection is already closed for this month, so come back and leave your link in the comments if you post it!
 

I hope you have a blessed and lovely day friends!

Hi There.

Hi friends! Just wanted you to know that I'm still here!

Whenever life gets busy, I end up posting sporadically or not at all. In the past few weeks I've had company, then our dog was very sick and we had to put him to sleep, then my son broke his wrist, and at the same time I was helping organize a silent auction/raffle for the school's annual fundraiser {which took place this past weekend so that's one less plate to keep spinning}, and I just became the Boy Scout troop's Treasurer so have been working on learning my Quicken and getting caught up. And I've been working hard with a group of ladies doing Couch to 5K during this time - we are on Week 6 now!

So Ive ended up with very little time to blog or no mental energy left to do it. But things are settling a bit and I should be getting back on track. BUT - what to write about?? I've got no lack of posting ideas, but I don't know where to start these days. I'd love your help!

I'm going to give you a list of possible posts and you can tell me what you want to hear about first! You can tell me generally in the comments or get specific and give me 1st, 2nd, & 3rd choices.

These are in no order whatsoever - just let me know what interests you:

• Recipes: Sugar Cookies, Celery Salad, Sunflower Butter Balls, Herbed Cream Cheese Cherry Tomatoes, DIY Good Seasons Mix
• Bring back Savor 7 Saturday - redone & made simpler
• My experience at Allume blogging conference & what I learned there {3+ posts}
• Journey to Homemaker {4-5 post series on my transition from career gal to imperfect homemaker}
• Random thoughts about daily life
• My Couch to 5K experience so far
• Impulse buys
• Crocheted coffee cozy
• What do YOU want me to write about? You've been here - what are some of your favorite past posts?

I know there are more, but my brain can only handle so much when I haven't finished a cup of coffee yet. :)

Thank you for sticking around even when I don't post often! I really do appreciate all of you!

Have a blessed day friends!

{Insert Synonym For *Miscellaneous* Here}

What can I say - I needed a reason to use my Random Thoughts graphic again - LOL. ;)

I've been on two trips {the Allume conference and then a trip to the coast for our 20th wedding anniversary} and then a sickie since then. Just starting to get back to normal now. Still not totally well, but getting strength back and able to do chores again {wait - did my hubs hear that?! ;)}. But my brain hasn't been up to putting together a well thought-out post even though I have so many to do!

So how about some randomness instead? Yes??? Oh - I knew I liked you all!! :)

Life Stuff:

 ~ Being sick makes you think you deserve extra caramel brulee lattes and bowls of peanut butter cup ice cream, but when you realize that you're actually gaining weight while sick - that is a problem.

 ~ I so enjoyed our trip to the coast and will share a few pics with you here soon. SO beautiful and relaxing! Have you had a chance to get away lately?

 ~ Um, there are only about 2 weeks until Thanksgiving. 2.Weeks. I've done no planning whatsoever yet even though I am hosting. I've got to get on that.

 ~ I need to get on track at home with some sort of strict schedule. I need structure!! After being gone and then sick, I feel very ready to start fresh and really make it happen! Any helpful suggestions??

 ~ Our Basset hound, Buster, has been very sick off and on. He's currently recovered from his recent kidney infection, but still skin & bones. Since he's no youngster, he may not be with us much longer so we're keeping him as happy and comfy as we can for now. My main concern is for my son - he's an only child and Buster has been his companion. Not sure how he will deal with Buster's passing. Have your kids gone through losing a pet?

Blog Stuff:

 ~ I do have recipes to share - cake, pie, etc. Look for some yumminess coming your way soon!

 ~ I actually have some things to review {it comes in spurts} over the next month or two: a cookbook, a food product, a blog tour book, and another book by a friend. So I hope you'll forgive me for doing them all so close together and that you do find some helpful info from these reviews!

 ~ I am working on a free ebook for this blog, based on the Encouraging Bloggers series I've already done. It will be cleaned up, completely reorganized and easier to read, and some new info added. Maybe if I tell you about it right here, I will actually get it finished before the end of the year!!

 ~ I will be continuing to have Savor 7 {Saturday} every weekend and keeping it open to anyone who wants to link up a post about their blessings {even if I only get a link or two}!

 ~ Did you know that you can unintentionally do something on your blog that Google doesn't like which will cause them to drop your page rank to 0 which means you will lose all your search hits that were coming to your blog daily {mainly for recipes & decor ideas} which in my case dropped my page views by at least half? Me neither. Sigh. While I would love to pay somebody to fix it all for me, my frugal side takes over and says, "You are smart and capable enough to fix this yourself." While this is true {<-----Hmmm, that does not sound very humble - I'm just saying that *any* one of us could do it by looking up all the info, researching, and following instructions 'cause we are ALL smart and capable enough!!}, it takes me a loooooonnnng time and I don't liiiiiiiiiike it. On the silver lining side, I am learning more about page ranking than I ever wanted to know. :)

 ~ Since I went to the Allume conference, I do have some great stuff to share with you - including some Facebook page tips from a brainstorming session I went to. As soon as I can get all my thoughts together and processed, I'll start sharing some of that!

So what's happening with you?? How's life? If you have a blog, what exciting things are coming up? Do share! Let's show the blogosphere that random/miscellaneous type posts can actually get comments too - LOL!! :D

Have a fabulously blessed day friends and put your smile on {it makes you look so awesome}, even if you gotta force it!! :)

7 Random Thoughts {After Only 1 Cup of Coffee}

Sometimes my head fills up with many unrelated thoughts that need to be shared. If I don't share them, they will not leave enough room in my mind for the important stuff - LOL! Let's hope this makes sense because I'm feeling like my 1 cup of coffee wasn't quite enough. :) {Yes, I made a graphic for this because it was obviously a very productive use of my time.}

1. There are SO many cool 31-Day Series linked up over at Nesting Place!! I highly encourage you to go and find some favorites to follow! Um, I don't think you'll have a problem finding any since as of right now there are 759 of them linked up!

2. I thought about doing a 31-Day series on my blog just to get back in the habit of regular writing, but knew it would be too much as I hadn't planned on it ahead of time. I *could* have done 31 Days of Procrastinating because I would only have needed to write a post on the last day. :D But I did decide to unofficially commit to doing something for 31 days - commenting on blogs. I've been falling short in that area, so I plan on commenting on a few each day in October! Are you doing anything special for 31 days?

3. I haven't decorated for Fall quite yet...because...it's going to be 100 degrees here today. It does *not* feel like Fall! Sometime this week I will get to it! Speaking of Fall decorating, you should head over to The Inspired Room - Melissa is having her Fall Nesting Series this month with lots of opportunities to link up, starting tomorrow {linky goes live tonight actually}!

4. I was seriously just sitting here with my head in hands trying to remember the 100 other thoughts I was going to share - LOL {OK, I won't really share 100, but I could.} Facebook! That was it! I have a Facebook page for my blog - did you know that? Do you Like me?! :) Well, I am trying to make contact there a bit each day and would like to do more, but whatever I post just isn't being shared with many people. For you to see my FB posts in your newsfeed, you can interact by clicking over to my page to look around, or liking or commenting on a status, link, etc. That helps some, but the rest is up to Facebook {my posts will be seen by many more people if I'm willing to pay to promote} and sadly some of my posts are now only seen by 10 people or less even though I have over 300 Likers. That leaves me wondering if it's worth my efforts to connect there. What do you think? Any advice? Where do you prefer to connect - Facebook, Twitter, Google+, just on the blog, or somewhere else?

5.  Oh, come ON! I had my next thought and I lost it again! OH...yes...advertising. I just wanted to mention my Advertising page and let you know that I have spots open for affordable ad packages! And thank you to all the sponsors that have partnered with me in the past few months - I have enjoyed it!

6. I'll be attending the Allume Social Media conference in Pennsylvania this month! I'm very excited about it, but trying not to talk about it too much on the blog, etc. as I know what it feels like to hear all about conferences when you deeply desire to attend a specific one and it isn't going to happen. {Whether or not you attend conferences does *not* determine your value as a Blogger!} But I would like to share blessings from it - lessons I learn, new info about blogging, relationships, and more. What specific things would you like to hear about either as I attend or after I come back?

7. Hi. Insert a random thought here. Because I walked away to get a 2nd cup of coffee. :)

Have a blessed day friends!!

A Pinch of This & A Dash of That

Sometimes randomness is required on a blog, don't you think? None of these things are enough for 1 blog post, but they are all things I want you to know. Let's start off with a random pic...

 ~ LOL - I've had that fortune for a while - saved it just to show you all one of these days! Is it true?? Or could you still salvage the frosting? Or perhaps they really were going for the deeper meaning here - I'll let you ponder that for a while. :)

 ~ Congrats to the winner of my Keeplets giveaway!! It's Alicia from Confessions of a Snowflake!! Don't forget to "Like" Keeplets on Facebook if you'd like to keep up with specials and/or new products. Thank you to Keeplets for being one of my sponsors!

 ~ We enjoyed some Avodah Coffee yesterday! Have you heard of them? Started by the family of Muthering Heights, they roast the beans to your specifications and ship right out to you. Each purchase contributes to some great charities - so you're getting great coffee and helping the world at the same time. {I didn't receive free coffee or any compensation - I just think it's a great company.} :)

 ~ I'm trying to finish up homeschooling this week though we won't be as done as I'd like to be. We may finish up with some textbook reading the following week and then we'll do a few small things over the Summer so kiddo will be all ready to head back to his Christian school for 8th grade. Are you done with school yet?

 ~ OK, so maybe I'm the last person to discover this - but apparently it's not required to put 2 spaces after each period when you're typing. Please forgive me - I haven't been trying to do things the wrong way all this time on purpose! I was taught when I learned typing before high school {that would be in the 80's people} that you MUST ALWAYS put 2 spaces after each period. And even when I was in college {the 90's}, we would get points taken off on papers if the spacing was incorrect. So it's been automatic with me all this time. Sometime over the last few months I noticed that blog posts wouldn't format right if I put in 2 spaces and I thought I heard a rumor about the 1-space thing, so I started making an effort to do 1 space after periods. I finally had a chance to look it up a few days ago and I guess it's been 1 space after periods for a LONG time!! Anyway, I now have to go through every blog post I write as there's always a spot somewhere that I accidentally put 2 spaces. Have you always known this or are you old-school {that sounds better than just saying "old"} like me?

 ~ I'm looking forward to Summer!! We always work in a trip or two. We'll definitely be making a trip to Montana to visit family. Do you have any fun trips planned for this Summer?

 ~ I know I had something else random to tell you about, but I've completely forgotten what it could have been. Maybe I should write these things down...

Got any randomness to share with me?

I hope you had a lovely weekend and that you have a blessed week friends!!

Happenings Around The Blogosphere

Happy Monday morning everybody!  Occasionally I run into a few things happening and like to share them with you, so here you go...

Starting today at Like A Warm cup of Coffee is Sarah Mae's new series: Frumps to Pumps!  Since I started homeschooling, I find I need this one more than ever!  :)

Over at A Life in Need of Change, in celebration of her new Facebook page, Brooke is giving away free downloads of her book: Notes to Aspiring Writers ~ Your Dream, God's Plan (see my review here)!

Right now at The Frugal Girls, Heidi is hosting a giveaway for an ipad 2!!  She's actually giving away 3 of them (she always has awesome giveaways) - so even though it decreases my chances, you might want to hop over there.  :)

Have you been reading any of the 31-Days blog series this month?  There are SO many great ones!  It's happening until the end of this month.  Find the list of all the participants here (prepare to be overwhelmed - there are over 700)!  I think I'll pick a few to go back and read later too.

And of course, you may have seen my Encouraging Bloggers series right here on Thursdays!  There are a few more to go I think before I'm finished ('cause sometimes I am wordy!).

Got all that?  LOL!  What's happening in your corner of the blogosphere?

Have a beautiful day friends!

The Latest and Greatest

How about some bullet points (my friend Kim loves these), or in my case squiggly lines to let you know what's happening in my world?

~ My son turned 12 yesterday.  Big sigh.  I didn't realize how sentimental I would be about the number 12.  But he is turning into a young man, no longer just a boy.  And I mentioned on FB that he is close to 5'4" already and in a size 10 men's shoe.  I have had a few tears the last couple of days, but I'll be fine.  On to new adventures!

Who said this sweet little guy could grow up?

~ I don't have any more no-bake posts for you.  Shocking, I know - LOL! I gave you chocolate no-bake recipes, non-chocolate no-bake recipes, and traditional no-bake cookies - what more could you possibly need? :)

~ My giveaway for a copy of Notes to Aspiring Writers: Your Dreams, God's Plan is still open, but closing soon! Read my review and enter the giveaway!**Giveaway closed. Congrats to Mary Beth!**

~ It's R&R month over at Pennies and Blessings!  That means everybody will be taking it easy and sharing great links for you to read.  But more importantly - this is **Giveaway Week** over there to celebrate Mandy's birthday and a belated Blogiversary!!  Be sure to stop by and enter giveaways all week!

~ I plan to post an update on my baking soda hair-washing.  Yes, I don't use shampoo and instead wash my hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar.  Crazy, huh?!  I recently took pics of my hair for a week so I could show you how it turns out.  I hope to post that sometime this week.

~ Remember I mentioned that I wanted to do a blog series?  Well, I have the topics for the series figured out and the intro post mostly written - in my world of procrastination that.is.amazing. - so I want to post that Intro this week (which will then force me to get the next post done!!).  The series is about encouraging bloggers - why you should start blogging or keep blogging even if you're new, small, nicheless, penniless, etc.  Don't be intimidated by all the blogging info out there - you can do it your own way and it's OKAY!  :)

~ I'll try to post a recipe this week too - maybe Lemon Blueberry Muffins (they were yummy).  How does that sound?

~ In real life this week: more birthday celebrating for the kiddo, Boy Scouts, getting together with friends, kiddo getting his bottom braces on, and a baseball game followed by fireworks!

Got all that?  :)  You know you want to leave me a comment with your thoughts and input!  What's the latest and greatest in your life?

Have a super day friends!!

Crazy Busy Week

I know you've had weeks like those!  This week turned out to be a little busier than I thought, so all you'll get for the whole week is this post with some random thoughts!  I hope you'll survive!  ;)

~ My son started out the week by breaking (technically just fracturing) his arm!  Argh!  Poor kid - was very painful.  He fell while trying to play tennis with his dad.  So sad because he's excited about tennis and we hit a sale that very morning to get tennis rackets and balls and new tennis shoes for him ('cause his were way too small and worn out).  He and my hubs went out and found an empty tennis court nearby and started to play.  But kiddo got tripped up and fell, fracturing his left arm.  Anyway, he's back at school to finish out the last week and has his cool new cast on!

This is what happens when you say smile and he does...until you hit the button and he makes a face.

After the ER visit, *suffering* by propping arm on pillows to play video games!

~ This is the last week of school - Woo Hoo!  I'm working on homemade teachers' gifts and goodies today.  Tomorrow is a last meetup with Bible Study ladies and my last time for the year of volunteering at the school.  Then Friday is school awards assembly and I'm helping drive kids to the end-of-year rollerskating party (and son can't skate now - boo!).  Then on to Junior/Senior High graduation - our son isn't graduating, but we always attend because it's such a special event at our small Christian school with inspiring speeches.  I believe there are 11 8th grade graduates and 6 Seniors graduating.

~ I've fallen off the wagon this week for the 31 Days to Clean challenge!  I'll get back into it starting next week, our unofficial beginning of Summer!

~ I probably had more things to say, but I haven't had my coffee yet.  With cream and sugar please.  Oh - I guess I have to go get that myself.  :)

What's going on with you this week?  Have you started Summer break yet?


Have a fabulous week friends - I'll see you next week!

Saturday Happenings

I had high hopes of using this day to catch up on all sorts of cleaning since I'm so far behind on the 31 Days to Clean challenge.  It didn't happen, but that's OK - it was a nice day!  And you know what?  All that cleaning will still be waiting right here for me - LOL!!

The morning started out late - slept in - so nice.  Then hubs made me a caramel latte...

A yummy way to start the day!  And my kiddo insisted on making pancakes all by himself this morning!  Is that because I did such a good job teaching him how?  Oh no, that's because he learned how on a Boy Scout campout!  :)  (Boy Scouts rock.)  He made awesome pancakes - something I have not been able to do well in a long time for some reason.

And he surprised me with a smiley face pancake!

It's a little hard to see - but isn't that so cute and sweet?

A little later, in order to help the kiddo get signed off on a Boy Scout requirement that he needed, we went on a spontaneous outing with another family to locate some poison oak - I know, FUN - LOL!  But it was a beautiful day and nice to be in the great outdoors!

Success!  Don't get too close to your screen - that there is poison oak.

After that, it just happened to be Happy Hour at Starbucks, so we made a detour into the drive-through for some half-price Frappuccinos!  Woo Hoo!  Well, when we got ot the window to pay, the employee told us there was no charge because the man in front of us had paid for our drinks.  Sweet!!  Hubs was completely baffled by this (LOL) and I had to explain that it was a random act of kindness.  Good thing I was there or hubs might not have realized that the fun thing to do is to then pay for the car behind you - which we did!  How lovely - free frapps for us and an unexpected blessing for the car behind us. 

Now THAT'S what I call Happy Hour!!  :)

And then this evening we attended the kiddo's school Western Fair.  It was really fun!  We had some yummy food, visited with friends, played some games, and I line-danced!  Yes I did!  And hubs (who did not dance) was not even embarrassed of me...or so he says.  :)

Here's a pic of me and the kiddo before the Western Fair...

Did I accomplish what I set out to do when the day started?  Not at all.  Was it a good day?  Yes it was.  :)

How was your day?  Enjoy your weekend friends and Happy Mother's Day!

A Little Something About Me

I would still love your input on yesterday's post, but in the meantime I thought I'd steal borrow this fun little quiz from my sweet and lovely friend, the Flip-Flop Farmgirl!  :)

Age:  I'm not afraid to say it - 41 people, 41.

Bed size:  That would be a California King 'cause I have a hubs who is 6'6"!

Chore you hate:  Yes.  BAhaha - if you call it chore, then I do NOT like it.  Let's call it Display of Maintenance Skillz that I most dislike.  That would be the toilet and the dishes (and cleaning up after the dog, but I don't do that - that's what sons are for.)  :)

Dogs:  We have a Basset hound named Buster - he's a funny dog and everybody likes him!

Essential start of your day:  Getting everything ready for hubs and son to go to work and school, coffee, breakfast, reading (devotion, 2 chapters Bible, a few pages of my book for the month).  Then I can begin the day!  Well by that time the day is well begun, but that's OK. 

Favorite color:  Red!

Gold or silver:  Silver

Height:  5'5" if you round up...oh and shrinking.  Ugh.

Instruments I play (or have played):  Piano, though not that well. Way back in the day I played the clarinet and the saxophone.

Job Title:  Imperfect Homemaker

Kids:  1 very special, amusing son! Um, and tall.

Live:  California

Mom's name:  Judy (she passed away almost 10 years ago)

Nickname:  My cousins used to call me "Lee" and hubs calls me "honey" and a variety of other little names.  In fact, when he actually uses my first name it startles me - LOL!

Pet peeve:  How much time do we have?  Bad customer service is my top one and people not using turn signals.  And while other people are annoyed by people that are late, I cringe when people show up early - LOL ('cause I run late...sigh).

Quote from a movie:  I know you expect a pretty quote from Pride & Prejudice or something but no, you'll have to put up with a little Napoleon Dynamite (a movie that people either love or hate).  Hubs and I share a goofy sense of humor and love to share silly quotes.  Here's one I like when Napolean is talking to Deb in the school cafeteria:

"I see you're drinking 1%.  Is that 'cause you think you're fat?  'Cause you're not.  You could be drinking whole if you wanted to." 

I'm sorry, but it makes me laugh people!

 

Right or left-handed:  Right

Siblings:  Two younger sisters

Time you wake up:  6:45am on weekdays, as late as I can get away with on weekends

Underwear:  What is this about?  I fully support the wearing of underwear!  :)

Vegetables you dislike:   Oh dear - embarassing: broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, olives, okra, avocado and many more.  I eat some of them mixed into things or prepared certain ways.  If I am at your house and you serve any of these, I will take a scoop and eat it without you ever knowing of my dislike!  I'm that good.  :)

What makes you run late:  My poor judgment of how much time I really need and then when I actually do give myself extra time, Murphy's Law kicks in and I won't be able to find my keys or the dog won't get into his kennel or I'll get a phone call. 

X-rays you've had done:  Dental, lungs, arm, and a few more I'm sure.

Yummy food you make:  Excuse me, but everything I make is yummy - HA!  Right now with the warm weather I'm craving some yummy Tortellini-Chicken Salad.  To go with my coffee, I could handle some Double-Chocolate Walnut Biscotti or Coffee Blondies With a Shot of Chocolate.  And for extreme chocolate cravings, I gotta go with Mix-in-the-Pan Chocolate Cake.  There's just too many things to list!  (You can check out the recipe index if you want or the healthier recipes on the sidebar at my other blog.) 

Zoo animal:  Tiger - so pretty! 

Need some blogging inspiration today?  Wanna join in?  Let me know if you do so I can come and read!

Have a wonderful day friends!

What's Happening This Week

I'm gonna copy my friend Kim today and just give you bullet points of what's going on this week - so much easier that way!  She's smart that way, that Kim.  :)

So here's what's happening...

• My son's 5/6 class has their Literature Day for Hans Brinker this week and I've been coordinating the food and will be doing setup.  The kids will go to the ice rink and try skating before going to somebody's house to do crafts, games, and eat.  Should be fun for all!
• I get my hair done this week - always important - LOL!
• I'm joining in the 31 Days to Clean challenge at Joyful Mothering - and boy, do I need it!
• I'll have a new post up over at Pennies and Blessings at the end of the week - a tip and a recipe!
• Over on my other blog (Stop Eating All The Chocolates), I'm participating in Weight Loss Wednesdays with my friend Alicia from Confessions of a Snowflake.  And I'm thinking about joining in there with Reshaping It All (with Darlene Schacht & Candace Cameron Bure) which starts now and lasts for 65 days.
• I just remembered that Mother's Day is this coming Sunday.  We don't usually do much to celebrate, but I'm sure I'll get a card or two and we're trying to decide whether to eat out or if hubs is up to cooking a meal!  And I can't forget to mail a couple of gifts this week.  Do you have special plans?
• I've GOT to get to the gym many times this week and try to eat right to make up for the fact that my Dad was here last week and we ate out all.the.time.  Sigh.
• Maybe I'll actually get a blog post or two up this week!  That might be nice - LOL!  :)

What's happening for you this week friends?

Have a fabulous day!!

Just Busy

Too BUSY!!  That's my week!  How's your week?

I do hope you have a blessed week whether it's busy or relaxing!

Talkin' About Thursdays ~ 5 Things About Yourself

I'm joining up today with Genny from My Cup 2 Yours for Talkin' About Thursdays.  She's so sweet and you'll like hanging out at her blog!  Today's topic is 5 Things About Yourself.

I decided there was no need to share the silly randomness as I've done that before and you can always go look at my 100 Things to read many random things about me!  Instead I'll share 5 things that most of you do not know and may surprise you about me!

1.  When I was in elementary school, I was in a community theater production of The King and I.  I was one of the many school children.  My Mom had to make my costume and help get me ready for performances by spraying my hair black!  I loved being in the play and singing the songs!

2.  When I was in my early 20's and working for a bank, I wrote a rap about checking accounts (just for fun) and gave it to the managers.  With their help, I put on a disguise and surprised everyone in a staff meeting performing the rap as MC Lisa!  Oh the laughs!!!  Later on all the employees learned the rap and "performed" with me in a video that we sent to the regional office.  I still have that tape.  SO funny!  We knew how to have fun!  Peace out...

3.  About 10 years ago, I had an opportunity to be in a marathon back in my home state (Montana) to raise money for the Leukemia Society.  3 of my California coworkers decided to do it with me and we trained for a few months to be able to walk the whole thing.  I didn't train as much as I should have so it was brutal!  But I did walk and finish the whole 26.2 miles!!!  I wanted to give up by mile 21.  The last 5 miles involved thinking about cancer patients, praying, crying, and just moving one foot in front of the other - felt SO good to cross that finish line!

4.  Before I became a Mom, I worked in banking for several years - all the way from teller to manager.  By the end I was a typical career woman working 50+ hours a week.  I did.not.cook.  My husband cooked dinner after getting home from his job.  I barely baked anything.  If I needed to take a treat somewhere I would usually buy something.  I only had a couple of desserts that I made well.  After I had my son and God pulled me to be a stay-at-home mom, I gradually took over the cooking.  People are always surprised by that now as I cook all the time and you KNOW I like to bake and make desserts!

5.  About 5-6 years ago, I first joined Weight Watchers as I needed to lose weight that I had put on over the years.  I loved it and was very successful!  I lost 30 pounds and became a lifetime member.  Unfortunately, I stopped going and through the years I have put the weight (and more) back on.  I struggle greatly in this area but keep working on it because I did it once and can do it again!  I am back at WW and working to eat healthier and exercise.  I'm determined to get the weight off no matter how long it takes me!  I have a second blog where I talk about weight struggles and share healthy recipes.  Making connections with other women who have the same struggles helps motivate me to stay on track.

Now you know a little more about me!  Hope I didn't scare you - LOL!  I look forward to getting to know you better!  What is something surprising about you?

Be sure to stop over at My Cup 2 Yours to read 5 things about Genny and link up your own 5 things post!  I'm also linking this up to Your Life, Your Blog at Real Life - link up your fave post!

Have a lovely day and be sure to come back tomorrow for Chocolate Friday!

It Is Monday

How's that for a catchy title?! Mondays have always been hard for me, but are even harder when it's cold and gray and rainy. It truly makes me want to hibernate. So here I am trying to be alert and trying to write a post at the same time - not sure what will happen - LOL!

First of all, I should say Happy President's Day to all! Many of you are enjoying a holiday today - have a great one! My son is home today - no school - but he is currently amusing himself with Wii Fit. And perhaps if he does it enough, I will get some of the benefits through osmosis. Go, son, go!!

Do you need help getting going on a Monday? I can suggest a couple of places to start.

Stop by Like a Warm Cup of Coffee for Motivate Me Monday. I'll be stopping by there later to get motivation from some ladies who are trying to spend more time with the Lord.

Stop by Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday. I could use some new meal ideas and if I get my menu set for the week now - I'll feel like I'm starting off on the right foot.

These quotes seem to apply to me today:

"Work fascinates me" - I could look at it for hours.

From Steven Wright: The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.


That's it from me today because, after all, It Is Monday.

I hope to be back on track and caught up by tomorrow!

Stuff...'Cause Miscellaneous Sounded Too Formal

First, our prayers go out to all those affected by the hurricanes.

And now, it's Monday! Welcome to a new week! I don't normally feel very cheerful about Mondays, but this week I have the potential to accomplish a lot (Umm, I have that potential EVERY week, but it doesn't always work out, so this week can be a fresh start - LOL!).

What a great "Would You Like Chocolate With That?" we had on Friday! Thanks to everybody that linked up! I am trying to work on a graphic for it and add the announcement here and there, because I seem to have run into one or two ladies that like chocolate. :)

Here's your chocolate reminder, nice and early: Find or create a chocolate-themed post for this Friday. Please keep it family-friendly. It can be a recipe, a poem, a chocolate review, a taste test (this could be your excuse to go buy that new candy to try - you HAD to for the Friday chocolate meme), pictures, video, thoughts on chocolate, etc. - be as creative as you want! You can write something new or pull something from your archives. Though not required, I would appreciate it if you included a link to my "Would You Like Chocolate With That?" post. See you Friday with your chocolate!

Another reminder: A new theme week is coming next week, beginning Monday 9/22. In honor of Fall's official beginning, it's all about pumpkin. Pumpkin Week will have yummy recipes, pictures, pumpkin facts, opportunities to link up, and giveaways!! I am having a terrible time coming up with a name for my theme week and need one NOW so I can add the announcement in a couple of places. Can you help? Here are some I have thought of: Pumpkin Party Week, Pumpkin Pleasers Week, Pleasantly Pumpkin Week, Pumpkins On Parade Week, Pumpkinly Pleasant Week. Do you like one or do you have a suggestion? I appreciate your help!!

Hmmm...I guess that's all the stuff I have today.

See you tomorrow for Tea for Two-sday! (Did you know that I always post about tea on Tuesdays?)