Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Ten on.....Wednesday?

Yes, I know...I'm late. It's been a crazy week around here and I didn't get this up yesterday. Better late than never, though, right?

Per Crayl's instructions, I submit ten silly or odd (some really aren't quite so odd) things that make me happy:

1. Mary Poppins. That movie always makes me happy.

2. Office Supply Stores. Glorious.

3. My Carmex. Not a brand that I would normally buy; my sister-in-law picked it up for me when we were in Palm Springs this past October. When I see it on my nightstand, I am reminded of such happy times.

4. Gravy. Specifically, when it comes out right. Whenever I make it, I kind of hold my breath and keep my fingers crossed...so many things could go wrong! Last night, I rocked!

5. Alphabetized DVDs. I know that this was an example that Crayl gave, but it is true; they must be alphabetized. Even on Christmas morning, after someone has received a new DVD, I can't just set it on the shelf. I need to switch things around until it has it's place.

6. Seeing somewhere in Germany or Italy that we visited show up on TV. Andy and I always yell out, "We were there!" It makes me smile.

7. Mail. A sure way to make me happy is to send me something.

8. Seat Warmers. I love that my Sequoia has a butt warmer.

9. When someone (anyone) helps me with the dishes without being asked.

10. Espresso Truffle. My new favorite holiday drink at Starbucks was permanently added to the menu. Yippee!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Sniff, Sniff

Last night I was in a hurry to get out the door.

While the kids were at Awana, Andy watched a movie and I spent the time working on a photo album. We cut it pretty close and I knew that we needed to get going so that we weren't late to pick them up.

I changed clothes, we got outside and into the car when I realized that I needed to get John a shirt. We were planning to go to In n Out to grab dinner, and he doesn't like to wear his Awana shirt out and about (I don't blame him). I exclaimed something about not getting there on time, jumped out of the car, ran back into the house and headed up to the boys' room.

I hadn't actually been in their room all day...I quickly discovered that it was a mess. There were clothes everywhere! (I think there's something in the eleven and twelve year old brain that makes it impossible to use a hamper.)

Still in a hurry, I headed over to John's dresser, looked around on the floor, picked up the first half crumpled shirt that I found and...I sniffed it! Yep, I totally did. It was passable, so I ran out the door and we headed off for the rest of our evening.

As I was thinking about this later, two things really bothered me.

1. That I actually did the Sniff Test. I mean, really...who does that? College guys in 80's movies? Seriously. I have no idea what possessed me to sniff a shirt from the floor when I could have easily opened his third drawer and pulled out a clean shirt.

2. Even more disturbing to me is the fact that I have a child old enough and big enough that I have to do the sniff test. How did this happen? When did John get taller than me? When did he start turning into a man? Where did my baby go??

Sigh. Time. It just keeps on ticking....

Friday, January 23, 2009

1991, With Apologies

I'm terribly sorry, readers. I don't have any pictures of 1991. I just looked through the album and really...I've got nothing. There are only three pictures there and none of them are blog-worthy. It's possible that my mom has some; if I find some at her house, maybe we'll revisit 1991 next Friday.

As for what I did in '91, there were a few events:

I turned 16.

I got my first job; I worked for an ENT.

I had a boyfriend.

I got a car; a sweet, 1991 Ford Escort.

It seems like I should have some pictures to prove all of that. Sadly, no. This week, you're just going to have to take my word for it.

Once again, I offer my deepest apologies.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

January 21, 1995

At exactly this moment, fourteen years ago....

This girl...



...and this boy...


...became husband and wife.


I love you, Andy.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Random Thankfulness

I don't do random very well; nor do I do spur of the moment. I like to plan and organize and lay things out. However, my buddy challenged me (and you too!) to come up with ten things, without a particular theme, that I'm thankful for. So here you go:

1. My red, Swingline stapler. It sits near me on my desk and makes me happy.

2. 9 Days. That's how long I have to wait until my braces come off. Can't wait! SO thankful!

3. Mondays Off. I think that every Monday should be a day off. The work week should be Tuesday through Friday.

4. Cows. I'm such a red meat eater, I'm very thankful for cows.

5. When It's Quiet Outside. We have noisy neighbors with stupid noisy yappy dogs. I love the rare occasion when all is quiet and I can hear the wind blowing through the trees.

6. The internet. Need I say more?

7. Slippers. I wore them all day.

8. The Smell of Rain. Tonight when I was going to Blockbuster, I could totally smell the rain coming. One of my favorite smells...

9. Jeff and Jer. They've been making me laugh for a lot of years...

10. Never A Dull Moment. It's my face scrub from Origins. I feel so clean and refreshed after I use it, and it smells so wonderfully yummy! Makes me feel happy!

Happy Tuesday!

Friday, January 16, 2009

1990

I've got quite a few photos to share with you today. A word of caution before we dive in; you are about to witness, along with some fun pictures, an abundance of green. Green walls, green appliances, green curtains, green carpet, green-ish linoleum... My folks purchased their house in the 70's, and these pictures were clearly taken before the remodel! Anyhow, on with the show...


Since my last two posts included Winter Camp photos, I thought I'd sneak one in of camp in 1990. It was so cool; someone made a mistake and overbooked the place. Since we were the last to arrive (yes, we were late) we were placed in one of the vacant "staff apartments". We had so much fun! We went to a grocery store in town and bought stuff so that we could fix our own meals instead of eating camp food. This was spaghetti night.


I received my first dozen roses this year. They were delivered to me at school. Loved 'em.


I started 10th Grade. Apparently, I stood out here every year for Mom to take a picture...


I went to Homecoming. I don't have a full body shot from the front, so I thought I'd show you the back. You can just imagine what the front looked like. Frankly, I think I like the back better, butt bow and all!


Displaying a clear lapse of judgment, I was a pumpkin for our youth group Halloween party. What the heck was I thinking???


On a sad note, Taffy (my wonderful dog!) died in July of 1990. She was seriously the best dog ever. We'd had her since I was 5 years old...it was pretty hard on all of us. We all loved her so very much. This photo wasn't taken in '90, probably several years earlier, but it's one of my favorites.


While Taffy could never be truly replaced, we did move on. In November of '90 we couldn't resist bringing home these sweet sisters. This was taken the night we brought them home. Ruddy is on the left, Dusty is on the right.


It was clear from the beginning that Dusty was going to take an easy-going, relaxed approach to life...


...and that we'd have to keep our eyes on Ruddy! Yes, that's my nose in her mouth.


I'm not really sure why, but for some reason we all thought that my Granddad needed a dog too. So, in December we told him that we were all going out Christmas shopping. Mom, Dad, Grandma and I piled into the car and headed out. We brought him home a puppy. It was the best thing we could have done! Widget was his best friend until he died in 1998; they did everything together. The night he died, I'm totally not kidding, she curled up and went to sleep in his room like she was waiting for him to come back. I'm so glad we bought her!


Hope you enjoyed 1990; it was a good year. See you in 1991!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

The 4th

My friend called me out; I had to do it.
Here are the rules:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder
3) Explain the picture
4) Tag 4 people to do the same


This is from almost five years ago; it's at John's 8th birthday party. (He's on the right.) Can you believe how little he was? And how about Matt (on the left), he's only six!!! Such sweeties! We're at the club, having a pool party complete with hot dogs, juice boxes, Doritos and cupcakes.

Sadly, John's two best buddies don't live here anymore. Jacob (in the orange) moved to Yuma less than a year after this was taken; I think they're in Palm Desert now, but I don't have an address. Justyn (blue shirt) lives in Hawaii now. He competes in triathlons; he's actually quite good. We're keeping our eye on him, I think big things are ahead!



Okay, I've done it. I'm not going to tag four people, but I will call upon Amy at Reality or a Reasonable Facsimile Thereof and Jaime at The Coffman Crew. We'll see if they respond!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Hooray For H!

I have come full circle. I started a while ago (well, 25 weeks ago!) with the letter I and now I've come around to H. So unless I can think of another series to start, this could be my last Ten on Tuesday.

So, for your enjoyment, ten H things that I am thankful for...

1. Habits. I am such a creature of habit; I thrive on habits and routines.

2. Happy Days. A great show; always fun.

3. Hebrew Nationals. My hot dog of choice. In fact, the only hot dog I'll eat!

4. Hope. "In every pothole, there is hope." Amen!

5. Half Orders. Most of the time, a half order is enough. I'm pleased when that option is available.

6. Holiday Inn. One of my must-see Christmas movies each year.

7. History. I'm a history geek.

8. Halloween. It is the official start of the holiday/decorating season. I love Halloween!

9. "Happiness." The final song of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. Perfection.

10. Heath Ledger as the Joker. I liked him in many of his movies, but I honestly didn't see what all the hullabaloo was about his last film. I mean, face it...none of the Batman movies are that good. However, once I saw The Dark Knight, I changed my tune. Heath is absolutely brilliant as the Joker, brilliant.


And with that, my alphabet is complete.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

"There's an avalanche a-coming, and I do not feel prepared!"

I'm sure that I will set out to do a great many things in 2009, some of which will be successful, others which my not turn out exactly according to plan. There is one thing, however, that I will not fail on this year...

I will never not know the date!

Observe...


I have three, count them...three calendars sitting next to me at my desk. I thought about putting one or two of them elsewhere, but since I spend so much time at my desk, I really wanted them here so that I can enjoy them all.

The one on the left is a calendar of Rome that I purchased when I was there in June. Each month has a different site, I was at all of them! It'll be fun to remember.

The one in the middle is one that I've wanted for several years. It's fabulous quotes from The Office. AC got it for me for Christmas. Each morning I'm quite excited at seeing what's next.

Finally, on the right we have a calender of Berlin. It's similar to the Rome calendar except that it's, well, Berlin! Again, I picked it up when I was there this summer. I think there are two sites out of the twelve that we didn't make it to, this month's being one of them. Still, fun memories.

In closing... my house may not be cleaner at the end of the year than it is now, I may not be thinner, I may not be rich, but darn it - I'll know the date!

p.s. A million bonus points to the first person who tells me what movie my title quote is from. Without looking it up!!! :-)

Friday, January 9, 2009

1989

While I'm not back to full blogging form, I do have a few offerings for you from 1989. Some are a bit different this time, they don't all have me in them. They're all special to me though; I hope you enjoy them.


I mentioned to you in my 1988 post, I was finally old enough for Youth Group. Well, one of the perks? Snow Camp!!! Man, we had fun. Some might say a bit too much fun...we almost didn't get to come back the next year! he he he



Same snow camp. This was the first time that I'd ever been in falling snow. I will never forget how beautiful it was.

(The two hunky guys certainly added to the fun! Sadly, I don't recall much about them. I think the one in the puffy jacket was named Mike. Don't even remember the name of the other one.)


From the snow to the beach... In the summer of '89, the youth group went on a mission trip to Hermosillo, Mexico. Somewhere along the way (in Mexico), we stopped for two days of fun before getting to the missions work. We stayed in a condo right on the beach!


Back before Michael's was around, the big craft store in town was LeeWards. My mom and I got the bee in our bonnet to take a cake decorating class. This is my first cake. Not too shabby for a beginner, eh?


I've mentioned Bisbee before. In 1989, we found ourselves back for a family reunion. Pillows, jackets, kleenex, walkman. We're set!


For a while, my cousin, Brett, worked at the main Hershey site in Hershey, Pennsylvania. When he came out for Christmas in 1989, he loaded his car FULL of candy for us all. Seriously, I've never seen that much candy in my life. Grandpa was the lucky one who received the giant Hershey bar!


Since I posted a picture of Grandpa H. (my mom's dad), I also had to post a picture of Grandma and Granddad (my dad's folks). I have always liked this picture of them. I miss them so very much!!!


Talk about your hunky guys.... I didn't take this one, I didn't even know that I had it. It's got my (at the time) best friends' writing on the back so either she took it or it was given to her. My, how we were in love with John and Andy! If someone would have told me then that in six years I'd be married to the dreamboat in the white shirt, I'd have never believed them!

That's all I've got for today...see you in 1990!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

From the F to the G

I didn't post a list last week; I knew I wouldn't. It was the day we came home from vacation and by the time we got home and unpacked, I was wiped. Maybe now that the new year has come and we're out of vacation mode and back to real life, just maybe I'll get around to blogging more. Ha! We'll see!

For today, however, you get a treat! You get two lists; the F list that I missed from last week as well as today's G list. Enjoy!


Fabulous F Words:

1. Fireworks. A good fireworks display makes me happy inside.

2. Fried Chicken. I loooove fried chicken.

3. Farkel. Quite a fun game.

4. Family. I love my family. All 5 of them!

5. Friends. The TV show, the cheesy MWS song and most importantly, the ones that get me through the day.

6. French Fries. Life is better with french fries.

7. Football. I'm so sad that football season is almost over. Seriously, I love it that much.

8. Friday. Easily my favorite day of the week.

9. Facebook. A great way to keep in touch with everyone, especially the out-of-towners.

10. Fight Club. In my top ten, easily. Probably in my top 5...


And now, today's G list:

1. Gifts. I love to give gifts. Receiving them is fun too, but I really do love to give them.

2. Gaither Vocal Band. I know I'm a goofball, but I like good ol' southern gospel every now and then.

3. Games. I really do enjoy playing games. I wish AC did too...

4. Grapes. Super cold, red and seedless. Yum. (Or, as a friend suggested, aged in an oak barrel isn't bad either!)

5. Giraffes. One of my favorite zoo animals.

6. Google. I like to look up random things and see what comes up.

7. Gerbera Daisies. One of my favorite flowers.

8. "Great Caesar's Ghost!". One of my grandma's often-used exclamations. Makes me smile.

9. Gibson, Mel. This may be technically cheating a bit, but I really do love him, so I had to include him!

10. Germany. Loved my trip over there this past summer, many memories were made. I can't wait to go back.


Whew! I made it through two lists!! Check out Crayl's list to see what other people are thankful for today!