ABCs of Me

A. Age: 41

B. Bed size: King. It's a double-sided pillow top. It sucks...worst bed ever. We've learned from this very expensive bed that we both need a firmer mattress.

C. Chore you hate. Grocery shopping. Most people probably wouldn't call that a chore, but it is to me. It's torture.

D. Dogs: LOVE them! I'm partial to big dogs....like the size of retrievers and up.

E. Essential start to your day: I don't really have anything that is essential to start my day. I very rarely drink coffee, so it's not like I have to have caffeine to get me going. In fact, I prefer to go without caffeine, as too much of it makes me uncomfortable and jittery.

F. Favorite color: Blues and greens. I don't have one favorite color.

G. Gold or silver: Silver fits my skin tone better. My wedding rings are gold. I'll wear either I guess, but because I don't wear much jewelry, it's not an issue.

H. Height: 5 feet 6-1/4 inches.

I. Instruments you play: None. I wish I could play piano, as I have the fingers for it, but never learned. I tried to play the guitar once in my life, but that didn't work out so well. Frankly, I don't have the patience to learn an instrument.

J. Job title: Medical Transcriptionist III

K. Kids: No human kids. Miss Abby is my baby girl.

L. Live: Illinois

M. Mom's name: Rose

Photographer: anankkml

N. Nicknames: Mon

O. Overnight hospital stays: Three times. Once with tonsillectomy, once with knee surgery, and once with laparoscopy. I've had just about enough of that.

P. Pet peeve: There are too many to name, and I just don't have all day. People giving unsolicited advice ranks right up there.

Q. Quote from a movie: "If life has taught me anything, it's that 95% of people are always wrong."~Edward Cole - The Bucket List. Just saw that movie last weekend--loved it!

R. Righty or Lefty: Righty

S. Siblings: Biologically - Gary, Barry, and Debra. Honorarily - Sheila.

T. Time you wake up: Alarm goes off at 6 during the week. For some reason on the weekends I keep waking up at 7:28.

U. Underwear: Yes. =)

V. Vegetables you dislike: Lima beans and black-eyed peas (that is a vegetable, right?). Nasty, nasty, NASTY! We were at Cracker Barrel a couple of weekends ago and as we were walking out, I heard some lady ask the vegetable of the day. Lima beans. Why on EARTH would a restaurant serve lima beans? I just don't get it.

W. X-rays you've had: Too many to count. I had my elbow x-rayed in the 9th grade when I slipped on the ice. I think that was my first experience with one. I've had x-rays of my neck,

back, ankle, and obviously my knee.

Y. Yummy food you make: The sugar cookies are pretty popular.

Z. Zoo animal (favorite): Bears...especially polar and panda.

Photographer: Hal Brindley

A Cookie For You!

Frost your own cookie without the temptation

(and without all the mess) at BHG.

100 Things I Have Done...Or Not

I came across this on another blog last week and decided to give it a go. The things I have done are highlighted in red. There is a lot of things on here I would love to experience...and some I don't plan on.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland/World

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning - Never again will I eat black olives from Subway

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke - NOT by myself

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business - Does being a TAC demo count (although it was a hobby)?

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox - Apparently so, even though I don't remember. I test positive for having had it, though.

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Fostered a rescue animal (adopted)

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

How lovely are thy branches.

What do you think about my Christmas tree? I know you can't actually see it yet, but you'll be able to someday. Right now it's just a tiny seed. Give it about 20 years or so and it will be a beautiful blue spruce. That is if I don't forget to water it, and transplant it, and feed it, and nurture it.

I found this little kit in the Dollar Spot at Target yesterday. It contained everything needed to grow your own Christmas tree...all for a buck, so I thought why not? I could use a project. It even came with it's very own little pot and clump of dirt. Granted the pot is only 2 inches tall, but it's plenty big enough for the 5 little seeds. I'm supposed to transplant it when it gets 3 inches tall. I wonder how long that will take.

Getting it started was pretty interesting. The dirt came as a little clump about the size of a quarter and about 1/4-inch deep. The directions said to put it in a bowl and add 1/16-cup of water. I added the water and it just sucked it up like a sponge and grew and grew to about 10 times the size it started as. It was crazy! Then I had to transfer the dirt to the pot, add the seeds, and cover them with 1/8-inch of the dirt. I have to say it was kind of fun. Guess we'll see what happens!

Get Down, Poppin' Fresh!

Click on him to see him dance!

Fifty Random Questions

1. Do you like blue cheese? Ick! Moldy cheese. No way, Jose!
2. Have you ever smoked heroin? Another no way, Jose!
3. Do you own a gun? I have dad’s BB gun. I don’t like guns.
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at sonic? We don’t have a Sonic. If we did, maybe blue coconut.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yes. My BP is always high at the doc’s…otherwise known as white-coat hypertension.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? They’re okay, but not all the time. I don’t mind them once in a while, preferably all beef and cooked on the grill.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? It's between A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol…but only the 1938 version with Reginal Owen as Scrooge and Gene Lockhart as Bob Crachet. I love that one.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? I’m never really thirsty in the morning, but occasionally I’ll drink OJ (Minute Maid) or sometimes a pop.
9. Can you do push-ups? Probably not.
10. Age? 39…for the first time.
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring.
12. Favorite hobby? Paper crafts.
13. Favorite Actor. I don’t really have one. I’ll say someone like Jimmy Stewart or Johnny Depp.
14. Do you have A.D.D.? I think everybody has a little.
15. What's one trait you hate about yourself? Shyness
16. Middle name? Lynn
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?

1. Why does my head hurt? Oh, because I'm clenching my teeth again.
   
2. I’m tired.
   
3. My ear itches.

18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday/today?

1. Pizza.
2. Salad.
3. Pop. (We didn’t go anywhere to buy anything yesterday or today except to eat.)
   

19. 3 drinks you regularly drink?

1. Diet pop.
   
2. Water
   
3. OJ

20. 3 Current worries?

1. Economy.
2. Our health.
3. Crime
   

21. Current hate right now? Driving
22. Favorite place to be. Home.
23. How did you bring in the New Year? We usually spend it at Paul’s aunt and uncle’s playing cards.
24. Where would you like to go? Hawaii
25. Name three people who will complete this.

1. Sheila.
   
2. Deb (in her head).
   
3. Lisa.

26. Do you own slippers? Yes. Black Isotoners that mom just bought for me during my hospital stay.
27. What shirt are you wearing? Purple North Carolina T-shirt.
28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Sure, but we don’t have any.
29. Can you whistle? No.
30. Favorite color? Blue or pink.
31. Would you be a pirate? No. Maybe in a movie.
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? Christmas songs.
33. Favorite girl's name? Kate
34. Favorite boy's name? Matthew
35. What is in your pocket. Nothing.
36. Last thing that made you laugh? Paul being his silly self.
37. Best bed sheets as a child? I don’t remember. I do remember having a Holly Hobby quilt.
38. Worst injury you've ever had? Broken kneecap.
39. Do you love where you live? No.
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? Two
41. Who is your loudest friend? Cindy.
42. How many dogs do you have? One.
43. Does someone have a crush on you? Not that I know of.
44. What is your favorite book(s)? Don’t have a favorite.
45. Where were you born? In the same town I live in now.
46. What is your favorite candy? Chocolate with nuts.
47. Favorite sports team? Don’t have one.
48. What songs do you want played at your funeral? That's a morbid question. One would probably be Angel by Sarah McLachlin.
49. What are you doing at 12 A.M.? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Ugh, do I have to go to work?

Just What We Needed

They're creepy and they're kooky...

Mysterious and spooky...
They're altogether ookey...
They're Cookies By Design.

Look what Paul won in the United Way raffle at work. Of course, the diabetic man wins the cookies. I knew he would win it as soon as he told me it was one of the prizes. He sent me a picture message at work showing me his prize. I answered it and told him not to open it because I wanted to take a picture to post. I never heard back from him about it. I figured that's because it was too late. As it turns out, he opened it to share with some of the guys at work, so that's fine. He brought home what was left so I could get a picture. Cute, huh? They do a really nice job.

Abby's very interested in the art of cookie photography.


As a matter of fact, it's her dream job.


If you have any cookies you want photographed, she'll gladly send you back the pictures. There's no guarantee on the cookies. Send at your own risk.

Dr. Snuffaluffagus?

At work all of the new residents start in July. This year they're all from other contries including Germany, Poland, India, Bulgaria, etc. There is one named Dr. Grover. This really bothers me because whenever I hear someone say her name, all I can think about is the Sesame Street character, who just happens to be one of my favorite characters. I don't know why...he just always has been.
Anyway, apparently Dr. Grover isn't very good at dictating. I'm not sure where she's from, but her accent is very thick. I told one of the girls today that at least her name is easy to spell. We could have ended up with Dr. Snuffaluffagus.

Beatrice

You have to see this dog. You know how I have the 365 Dogs calendar at work, right? Well the dog for July 28th is fascinating.

This is Beatrice Chi. Look at that face! She is a full-blooded blue Chow that lives in Canada. She looks like a grizzly bear. I've always loved the lion's mane look of the Chow Chow. To me, the fuzzier the dog the better! The Chow is actually one of the oldest recognized dog breeds.

Well...mojo or no mojo, I made a few cards tonight. I'm behind on my RAKs for the SCS Welcoming Committee, so I really had no choice. I would post them, but I disovered that this computer came with absolutely no photo editing software...besides Paint, of course, and unless you're working with a bitmap, you might as well forget that. I've been wanting Adobe Photoshop Elements for quite a while because it's a good program to have in regard to digital scrapbooking...so now I have an excuse to get it!

Wilson's

On of the places that everyone who visits Door County has to eat at is Wilson's Ice Cream Parlor in Ephraim. We were disappointed last year because they weren't open for the season yet, but this year they were, so we had to check it out. It has been located in the same spot since 1906. It's an old fashioned soda fountain and ice cream parlor with a plenty of nostalgia including table-top jukeboxes playing the oldies. We had intended to stop for ice cream, but it was around lunch time so we decided to try out their burgers and fries and home-brewed root beer. Unfortunately, the jukebox at our table was out of order.



Please excuse this horrible picture of me. We had been walking around in the rain...NOT good for the curly hair.

Anyway, we wound up going back the next day for ice cream and I got to play with the jukebox. Choosing songs by Frank Sinatra and the Beach Boys among others.

What's your personality type?

You Are An INTJ

The Scientist You have a head for ideas - and you are good at improving systems. Logical and strategic, you prefer for everything in your life to be organized. You tend to be a bit skeptical. You're both critical of yourself and of others. Independent and stubborn, you tend to only befriend those who are a lot like you. In love, you are always striving to improve your relationship. You have strong ideas of what love should be like. At work, you excel in figuring out difficult tasks. People think of you as "the brain." You would make an excellent scientist, engineer, or programmer. How you see yourself: Reasonable, knowledgeable, and competent When other people don't get you, they see you as: Aloof, controlling, and insensitive

What's Your Personality Type?

Ten Questions

There is no Friday's Feast this week, as the chef is taking a week off, so to appease those of you who are fans of the Feast, I found the following 10 questions:

1. When you were born, how much did you weigh?

6 pounds 6 ounces.

2. What's your sugar poison?

Yellow cake.

3. If you had to choose between meat and cheese for the rest of your life, which would you choose? Then be specific.

Definitely cheese. Everything is better with cheese.

4. What in your opinion is the worst song ever?

It's a Small World. Go on that ride once at Disney and I guarantee you will never, ever, ever want to hear that song again.

5. Who was your favorite teacher growing up and why?

My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Wood, as she introduced me to the world of books.

6. What personal activity, when performed in public, bothers you the most?

Talking on a cell phone while trying to push a cart full of groceries.

7. Ok, there's a $50 bill lying on the ground. You pick it up. Dumbfounded by your incredible luck, what do you selfishly purchase?

After making sure I'm not on some version of Candid Camera (how often do you see a $50 bill floating around), I would probably either go out to dinner or buy some stamps.

8. Do you have a recurring nightmare? If so, explain.

I don't really have one recurring nightmare, per se, but in a lot of my dreams, I am trying to make an important phone call and keep getting the number wrong.

9. Name one place on Earth you've never been but vow to visit at least once.

I would like to see the Grand Canyon.

10. You notice that question #9 wasn't really a question. You feel smart for catching such a small detail. What else can you do really well that reminds you how smart you are?

Ha! I don't know. Half the time I'm pretty clueless. Sometimes I feel smart. Sometimes I feel like I don't know anything about anything.

Hmmm....Interesting

Your Thinking is Abstract and Sequential

You like to do research and collect lots of information. The more facts you have, the easier it is for you to learn. You need to figure things out for yourself and consider all possibilities. You tend to become an expert in the subjects that you study. It's difficult for you to work with people who know less than you do. You aren't a very patient teacher, and you don't like convincing people that you're right.

What Kind of Thinker Are You?

That's all I have today. We spent a couple of hours tonight doing our taxes since the 15th will be here before you know it, so I didn't have time to play around.

I pass a tax preparation business on my way home from work every day, and this time of year they usually have people dressed up like the Statue of Liberty and Uncle Sam holding signs promoting their services. Today Uncle Sam's sign said there are 9 more days left to file. Back when it was freezing out, Uncle Sam was walking around carrying his sign while wearing a ski mask...like a robber. I'm sure not many people failed to see the irony in that.

Have You Seen Heart-kun?

This was sent to me by Paul's aunt a couple of days ago in an email. It's pictures of Heart-kun, a long-coated chihuahua with unusual markings born in Japan. There is a perfect heart shape on his back. This is too sweet for words!

Here is a video showing the little guy in action...

Ashamed

37

I should have done better than 37. I could kick myself after I saw the colors I missed. Duh! I thought I was getting fancy with colors like burnt sienna and cyan. This was fun. Made me think of those big 64-count crayon boxes...the one with the built-in sharpener on the back. Coloring with crayons was always one of my favorite things to do. I still like sitting down with the kids and coloring a picture every now and then. There is something relaxing about it.

Lucky Likes His Candy

At work I have the Page-A-Day calendar called "365 Dogs" (of course), and when you purchase one of the Page-A-Day calendars you get the code for a free online/email calendar. The online calendar I chose is "Bad Dogs." These are sometimes hilarious and sometimes stupid. Yesterday's was pretty cute. This is 7-year-old Lucky...who, like me, needs to go on a serious diet.

Caption: “What candy? I didn’t see any candy.”

I've had somewhat of a busy week, so I haven't really had a lot of time to create anything. Okay...I admit it. It hasn't been all that busy but rather I have had a lot of TV to watch. Is that sad or what? I normally don't like to watch that much TV. On top of that, we've both been trying to go to bed at a decent hour so it's not so hard to get up in the morning. Anyway, American Idol being on three days a week along with two hours of Biggest Loser per week is really cutting into my time! So what do you think of season 7 of AI? My two favorite girls are Brooke White and Carly Smithson...amazing voices! For the guys, I like David Archuleta (what a cutie!) and David Cook (who, by the way, needs a serious hair makeover!). Besides all that, we're still trying to catch up on all the seasons of 24. We just started season 6. Oh my GOSH! It's the best season EVER! We're only on episode 4, and so much has happened. They need to cut Jack some slack! Let him eat some breakfast and maybe take a nap or something! Then to find out who his brother is!! Oh my GOSH! What a show!

The Fingers are Flying

94 words

Speed test

This is at home on my regular keyboard with hardly any warm-up.
I'm faster at work on my ergonomic keyboard.

Tree Farm Pictures

Here are a couple of pictures I took during our visit to the tree farm. It was super cold that day, so I didn't spend a lot of time outside taking pictures...it's hard to get a good picture wearing gloves.

These first three are of a few of the goldens that that live on the farm.


These next two are of the reindeers, Dusty and Clarice . Don't ask me which is which. I'm going to assume the bigger one is Dusty. He must be Dasher's understudy, huh? I couldn't help but say "Helllo Claricccce" through the fence (think Silence of the Lambs). I imagine she gets pretty sick of hearing that.



They have a family of llamas, but I can't remember their names.


This is Cowboy the donkey. I think he liked Abby (whose head you see in the foreground).



They had a lot of wood carvings for sale...check out this welcome sign.


How about this purple tree...

Then of course, is my favorite of all...the pile o' puppies!


Here is a blurry picture of Santa sitting all by himself in the corner because all the kids are watching the puppies. Poor guy. I guess we know how he rates when compared to golden retriever puppies!

I've been Elfed!!!

I checked my email quickly before I left for work this morning just to see what was there, but I didn't read any of it. I noticed I had an email from Lisa that said something about elfs. As soon as I got to work and signed on my computer, Barry IM'd me asking, "Did you get Lisa's email?" He gave me all kinds of directions like, "Wait for it to load." "You might have to copy and past the URL." That got me thinking something must be up and this must be one interesting email.

Oh yeah...it was one interesting email alright. LOL LOL LOL
I swear I was laughing so hard I'm still crying! Who comes up with this stuff...and why couldn't I have found this first!!

If you want to see it, click here...I've Been Elfed.

Oh yeah...just one question, Lisa...Paul wants to know why he got the boobs and not Abby.

Lightboxes

Barry sent me an email showing off these cool lightboxes that Lisa and her sister made. He wasn't very forthcoming with the details, and even with some sly detective work, I couldn't figure out how these were made. So, Lisa...spill it sister. Inquiring minds want to know. They're gorgeous with the light and the sheer ribbon.



Edited to add: Thanks to those of you who commented giving me the details...you all are so sweet! Lisa revealed the secret. They're glass blocks from the hardware store with holes drilled in them. They put Modge Podge on them, one side at a time, and then covered them with diamond dust. They then stuffed the lights inside and added the bows. Sounds pretty simple, but the effect is definitely elegant! Great job, ladies!