Friday, December 30, 2011

Happy New Year

jscreationzs'
The start of a new year and the chance to good in the world!!! I woke up with thoughts for a better year. We'll start this year with a bang as we plan the benefit for The Old Loxley Hotel.  Jim and I are doing great things to remodel that building and it will be a great asset to the community.
The rest of my family is doing great things as well--
Sarah and Drew are moving into a house with 2 acres which includes a horse stable. Sarah is very excited to have chickens, goats and horses.
Naomi and Jon are looking for a new house to move into permanently as they prepare for the birth of their second child.
Isaac and Rebekah will be starting new jobs in a new undisclosed location. More on that later.....
Tasha and Matt are working away at their jobs with Arthur and Sadie in tow.  Tasha should be graduating this coming up year with a bachelor's degree.
Caleb will be finishing his associate degree here in Baldwin County and going off to the military.
Eliot will continue doing great things in Albania and possibly other places as well.
Lydia will be graduating in May and then going off to school in Art Education.
Moses will be on the down side of working towards his Eagle Scout award and decide on a project.
Last but not least---Henry.....he will be working on school and doing what he does best--play board games.
You all have great things to contribute to the world!!!! Have a great year!!!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Early Memories: A Run In with a Snow Sled and a Dog named Snoopy

         I grew up in New Jersey during the 60's and 70's.  I loved New Jersey's farms and rural areas--but it hasn't stayed that way for long.  New York City has been thrust upon New Jersey as it is just across the river and many people moved to get away from the city (including my parents) to make a better life for themselves.  Now in present times, New Jersey is so corrupt, I could never go back to live there. From Brooklyn we moved to what was a small town at the time by the name of Clark. 

        I came from a family of large noses.  So it wasn't much of a surprise to know that one of my earliest memories in Clark was a run in with a snow sled.  It wasn't my fault.  My older sister and I were exploring in the garage when we discovered a rope hanging down from a shelf.  She pulled on it and I was standing right underneath it so I was the one who got smacked on the bridge of my nose with the front blade of the snow sled.  I was only 3.

  My mother had to take me to the doctor right away and they made her stand outside the door while they sewed me up.  It was not pretty. You can still see a slight scar.  I suppose that first experience might be an indicator of what was to come in life. Although I am not accident prone, funny things just happen to me. 
      
       I don't really feel so bad now about the whole sled thing. My father would take us sledding at a park down the street that had a fantastic hill next to a river.  Every year we would take our sled there and take off down that hill with him steering.  One year, it was one of the earlier sledding experiences; my sister decided she wanted to go down by herself.  She sat head first with gloved hands on the steering mechanism. As she descended the hill, she realized it was a bit too much for her and closed her eyes.  I don't know what she was thinking, because those sleds don't steer by themselves.  She then ran smack into a tree towards the bottom and fell off the sled.  She was lucky not to break her nose in the process but all was well after we realized she was okay.

      Another winter when I was about 8 or 9 years old, we owned a rather hyper dog.  My sister and brother and I thought we could keep control of this rather obnoxious animal but that wasn't always the case.  We named him Snoopy but he was not anything like his cartoon counter part. It was my turn to take Snoopy for a walk on a cold winter's afternoon and I wore a large furry hat with furry pom-poms on the end of the ties.  These furry balls must have seem very attractive to Snoopy because as we walked along on the sidewalk, he kept jumping up to grab them.  I would push him down and attempt to keep walking.  He was persistent and finally caught them in his mouth.  

             If you have ever tried to take something away from a dog with an steel trap jaw--you know it is impossible to open. I was dragged by Snoopy all the way home by these pom-pom balls. He was uncontrollable and I was trying to stop him.  I wasn't very strong so there was no contest.  I finally made it into the house when Snoopy pulled harder and I was dragged on the wooden floor.  My mother, hearing the commotion came running and tried to break open the jaws of an iron clad mouth of this wild animal or at least get the hat off my head but to no avail.  I was dragged around by the neck gagging and my mother started to laugh.  I know she didn't mean to, but I'm sure the picture of this dog pulling the pom-pom ties to my hat with my head stuck in the middle was a funny sight and she couldn't help it. I don't remember what happened after that but somehow I managed to break free and I never wore that hat again.  (At least not with Snoopy around).  I guess I should feel lucky that I didn't lose my nose in all of that struggle.


       


Thursday, December 8, 2011

Eclectic Book Catalog For Christmas

Looking for a gift for the person who has everything??? Look no farther.  A catalog of 43 wonderful books including clean romances, inspirational non-fiction and more.
Check it out:

Find books for Christmas


Holiday Eating Tips

Credit: cartinafinland.fi
A friend of mine sent me this to me a long time ago and it has always just tickled my funny bone..
A humorous look at our crazy Christmas traditions......


1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table
knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave
 immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

 2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare. You can't
 find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an
 eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me.
 Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

 3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy.
 Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

 4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or
 whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car
 with an automatic transmission.

 5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your
 eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other
 people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

 6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's.
 You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the
 time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while
 carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

 7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted
 Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near
 them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of
 attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them
 behind, you're never going to see them again.

 8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if
 you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have
 three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

 9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory
 celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

 10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or
 get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips;
 start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.



Saturday, December 3, 2011

Lovely Blog Award

The lovely Joyce Smith of  Zany G's (Grandma)
 has honored me with the lovely blog award and I am to write seven interesting facts about myself. Here they are:

  1. I never liked to admit that I’m not good at finding the right direction. I don’t give up easily so it is not unusual that I would drive around some places for hours until I find it.
  2. I’ve been lost in Pensacola, Florida, New York City, Chicago, New Orleans, and Houston.
  3. Once I went with a group of YSA in New Jersey to a dance in Manhattan and we ended up driving through all five boroughs of New York City to get there.
  4. When I was in 5th grade I was chosen as one of three children to be a special escort in the ceremony for the laying of the flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington D.C.  Unfortunately, since I got my directions mixed up—I went the wrong way during the ceremony. (In front of about 100 people)
  5. I use to work as a greens keeper on a golf course in New Jersey three summers in a row.
  6. I never liked playing golf.
  7. I consider myself very patriotic.
  8. I love to write.
  9. When I was little—my parents would put my sister and I in front of all the family at reunions and had us sing songs. (I actually liked it)
  10. When my children, husband and I lived in a farmhouse in Foley Alabama, we were visited by six teenaged pigs.
  11.  I once saw two mice dance together on their hind legs while I was watching TV in the house where we were visited by the teenage pigs. (No one ever believed me)
  12. We once caught 23 mice in traps while living in the farmhouse in Foley that was visited by six teenaged pigs.
  13.  I once swam a race in an Olympic sized pool and came in third place.  (There were only three people in the race)
  14.  I love living in Loxley though we have never been visited by pigs. Only mice.
  15.  One time when I was younger, my sister and I went trick or treating and a neighbor gave us dog poop instead of candy wrapped up in a napkin.
  16. Most people can never guess my age.
I actually wrote a few more than seven as I have written this funny piece about myself a while ago and wanted to use it for this blog.
The other requirement is to pick 15 to 17 other blogs to receive the Lovely Blog Award.  So here are they are:
5. Stephanie Albany: http://stephaniereadthat.blogspot.com
6. Jennifer Wolf:  http://wolftalez.blogspot.com
7. Anne Bradshaw: http://annebradshaw.blogspot.com
8. Liz Adair: http://sezlizadair.blogspot.com
9. Rachel Brooks:  http://rachelbrookswrites.blogspot.com
10.Tanya Parker Mills: http://www.tanyaparkermills.com
11. Bonnie Harris: http://bonnieharris.blogspot.com
12. Theresa Sneed: http://theresatalks.blogspot.com
13. Karen Adair:  http://karenadair.blogspot.com
14. Gabriela Lessa:  http://aspiringwriterworld.blogspot.com
15. Dede Smith:  http://designzbydede.blogspot.com

Now in order for all of you fifteen lovely blogs to accept this award please do the following:
copy, cut, & paste the above award and put in your pictures folder. Then paste in preferred design format of your blog. Answer the seven random facts about yourself and post 15-17 new blogs that you think are deserving of the award on your next blog... wallah, you're now a lovely blog recipient! Congratulations!!!