Today's Chuckle

I get many e-mail forwards from friends, and to be honest, I usually don't do too much with them. I may possibly read them, but most often hit the delete button. Today was a little different, I read this and thought it was cute. So, I am going to post it. If you have read it, just ignore it. If you haven't, enjoy it.

• Gentle Thoughts for Today -
• Birds of a feather flock together . . . .and then crap on your car.
• A penny saved is a government oversight.
• The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
• The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.
• The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement ..
• He who hesitates is probably right.
• Did you ever notice: The Roman Numerals for forty (40) are XL.
• 'If you think there is good in everybody, you haven't met everybody.
• If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.
• The sole purpose of a child's middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.
• There's always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it. For example I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt.
• Did you ever notice: When you put the 2 words 'The' and 'IRS' together it spells 'Theirs....
• 'Aging: Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.
• The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.
• Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know 'why' I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.
• When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth, think of Algebra.
• You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.
• One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young..
• Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.
• Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today, it's called golf.

Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth . .. . . . . . AMEN!

Remembering Summer, Take II

Writing yesterday's post opened up a flood gate of memories, so I thought I would add a few more.

Watching Dad as he sprayed lighter fluid on the charcoal and then listening to the big Whoosh as the match was thrown on.

Jumping double dutch, hula hoops, four square and dodge ball.

Being at a friend's house and swimming in our underwear.

Being allowed to play kick the can with the big kids in the street light after dark.

Wandering through the bamboo grove when it finally grew above our heads.

Playing house in the same bamboo grove.

Helping Mom hang out the clothes on the clothes line and then watching them whip in the wind.

Standing at the door calling Ju-dy, Ju-dy, instead of knocking or ringing the bell when we wanted our friends to come out to play.

Swinging so high on the swings and then jumping off to see how far we could go without hurting ourselves.

Having lunch out on the picnic table everyday so we wouldn't mess up the dinning room after mom had cleaned it.

Hurrying up to finish our chores so we could be the first ones outside.

Picking up the apples under the apple tree and then polishing them on our shirts until they shined before eating them.

Coming in when the street lights came on.

What are some more of your memories?

Remembering Summer

Do you remember catching lightening bugs and putting them into empty mayonnaise jars with holes popped in the lids?

I love summer, the sights, the sounds, the smells and the feel. With the drizzly, damp, chilly, dark day today, I am lamenting that summer is almost gone. But instead of feeling down, I started to think back to the days when we didn't have air conditioning in our house or cars, when the kids played outside instead of sitting in front of a TV or computer and when summers were old fashioned fun.

Kids riding bikes with streamers hanging off the handle bars and a playing card clothes pinned to the spoke on the back wheel making the bike sound like it was racing down the street.

Grampa sitting in a lawnchair, listening to Ernie Harwell calling the Tigers' game on the radio, while the other men in the family were drinking a cold brew, congregated around the horseshoe pits.

Hanging upside down by our knees on the crossbars of the big swing set.

Standing in the long line at the Dairy Queen waiting to get our chocolate baby ice cream cone.

Climbing the big maple tree in the yard.

Riding in the car with all the windows down and the wind blowing in our faces, smelling the diesel smell of the trucks as we passed by.

Laying in bed on a Saturday night, with the windows open, listening to the race cars racing around the track at the Mt. Clemens Race Track five miles away.

Playing tag, red rover red rover, statue and red light green light in the front yard with all the other kids in the neighborhood.

Laying down in the middle of the grass looking up at the clouds, trying to figure out what shapes they made.

Penny candy like squirrels and candy cigarettes or Mary Jane's and black licorice whips.

The smell of freshly cut grass when it was too long and playing in the big piles of grass that didn't get raked up.

Running through the sprinkler.

Shucking corn on the back porch.

Listening to the crickets chirp outside the open window.

Summer memories, they are the best.

Oh What a Morning!

I need to preface this post a bit.

For those of you who do not have dogs, will laugh like crazy and say, "that's why I don't have a dog"! For those of you with young children will say, "I understand...geesh, kids"!

Let start with this. Last year, coming off the worst time in my life, I was very lonely and wanted (needed!!!) some company during the day. We found Oliver, read here. Yes, I wanted a little doggie to love and more importantly, a little doggie to love me back. If you have been reading this blog for some time now, you will remember my past blogs about the trials of training my little Oliver. He has been something, but he is older and has turned into a pretty good dog (I thought).

For those of you who may be new to reading this blog, we have a grown man who will, unless God performs a miracle, forever be a little boy. Our Lance is disabled, read here, so it is like having a child in the house (all the time, everyday, morning and night...forever and ever...) he is our joy and full of laughter and kidding and we love him to pieces. That is why I can joke about having him here all the time. Anyway, I digress...

Back to Oliver. What I love about Oliver is that he loves people. The door bell rings and races to the door crying, he wants to greet whoever may be coming through the door. He hates to be by himself. He quite literally, lays on our feet just to be touching us, (which is hard when you are going through menopause and having lots of hot flashes). He never wants to be alone.

Lance is an early riser, but usually I am up before he is and have to wake him for school. He catches the bus at 6:33 a.m. (yes, it really is 6:33, I can't believe a driver can calculate the time to be exactly 6:33 every single morning, but he does. 6:33.)

This week Lance is on Summer break, he has two weeks off before the start of the new school year, so he could have slept in.

Kevin left extra early this morning, so I made his lunch (he packs a lunch everyday to save money) last night. That way I could sleep in a little bit later than normal.

This is what happened:

Oliver crept into my room at 5:30a.m. and began to cry. I got up and put him outside, even though Kevin had already let him out. He just didn't want to be alone. When he came back in, I told him to go lay down, it was still dark in the house and I knew he could go back to sleep. I thought...

At 5:55a.m. Lance walks into my room and tells me he stepped in something. I jumped up and turned on the light and that's when I saw it. There is was, tracked from one end of the hallway (we have a long bridge that connects the back bedrooms, across the open area of the great room, to the master bedroom) all the way into my room. (If you have certain sensibilities, you may want to skip the next word or two, or even the next few lines.)

Dog *&$%, yes, dog crap, okay for propriety's sake, doggie doo. Our little Oliver was mad at me for going back to bed and decided to show me how mad he was. And our Lance, instead of stopping and avoiding the rest of the $@#*, walked all the way to my room just to tell me about it.

So, at 6:00a.m. I am scrubbing 15, the nerd in me counted, 15 spots, regretting getting a doggie to keep me company and silently cursing a kid who can't sleep past 6:00a.m.

Now I have to decide, am I going back to bed to take a nap or do I stay up and feel groggy all day long...do I trust the two of them? Nooooo....so groggy it is.

Kids and dogs, what fodder for blogging.

Random...

Today is a day of random stuff. Articulate isn't it? Stuff, but that is what it is.

A new post over at Eat at Bett's, Pretend PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps. I wanted them and decided to find a recipe. I did and here are the results. Also, it is quite easy to convert to low fat and/or low sugar. Lot's of protein too. Yummm...

Pictures of Oliver while visiting with Little Sister, my sister-in-law's little pug.

Oliver and Little Sister looking at each other instead of the camera.

A friend was here this week visiting from Minnesota. Actually Kevin's best friend from childhood. They still stay in touch and visit whenever they get the opportunity. He and his wife lost one of their children a year ago, Jeff's just not the same. I am so thankful that they know the Lord and He is their source. It comforts me knowing that.

Found out there is a new pedicure place close by that does spa pedicures at a very good price (really, really good price). Lisa, if I had known, we would have so been there while you were here. I am calling today to make an appointment. My feet are so bad and crackly and dry and peeling, well, you get the picture. Pedi here I come!!!

Meeting with the elders of the church we have been attending for almost two years, on Sunday. We are going to become members. We love the church and felt it was time to make the big step. After we moved back from South Carolina, we took our time and prayed a lot about where to attend. This is a great move for Lance and well, for us too. So here it goes...

We are also attending Gateway tomorrow night. It is a big open house at church for people who want to join a small group. Church is about 30 minutes away, so we don't attend midweek service (traffic is terrible that time of night). It will be nice to get to know some people that live closer to us and also get in a Bible study again. I missed it horribly.

Meeting an old friend for lunch today. It will be good to see her.

Enough random stuff for now. We'll see what pops into my head over the next few days. Yea, that can be a scary thought.

By Popular Demand

I had several requests for the coconut dip and iced tea recipes that I mentioned in the last few posts, so by popular demand:

Coconut Dip

This is by far the easiest recipe you will ever make and it will bring a ton of praise.

Prepare one package of instant toasted coconut (or if it is hard to find, coconut cream) pudding according to directions. Let cool in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes. When soft set, mix with 2 cups of low fat cool whip.

Cut a pineapple in half and scoop out the fruit. Put the coconut dip in the pineapple and arrange cut fruit around it. That's it!


Lisa's famous Iced Tea

Bring several cups of water to boil and then pour over four to six tea bags (whatever kind you like) and let steep for about 15 - 20 minutes. In a pitcher, add as much sugar as you would like (no more than 1 cup, I only use two teaspoons because I do not like my tea very sweet)and two pinches of baking soda. Pour the tea over the sugar and baking soda, stir until dissolved. Add water and ice.

There you have it. So simple and so good.

A Surprise Birthday

It was such a gorgeous morning as I headed out to the airport to pick up Angela. She came in for the day to help celebrate her Grandma's eightieth birthday. We made a stop at Trader Joe's for snacks, then Kroger's for the balloons and lastly, the Hallmark store for a couple of cards. When we arrived home we commenced with the cutting of the fruit for a large fruit tray complete with coconut dip in a hollowed out pineapple. After that, we loaded Angela and Lance in the backseat of the car with the balloons and headed out. Mom only lives a few streets away, so the kids said they didn't mind the balloons in their faces. Well, Mom and Dad were suppose to be gone by then, but when we pulled up in front of the house we noticed their car still there. So we sped on past and ended up waiting about fifteen minutes down the road. Poor Angela and Lance were squished in with all those balloons.

Lance peeking out.

Angela with a great sense of humor.

Finally, Mom and Dad pulled out of the driveway and we pulled in to begin the preparations for the big surprise.

The back yard getting the needed setup. It was in the 90's by this time, boy was it hot and humid, but the prettiest day we have had all summer.


The sons, so proud of themselves for putting up the volleyball net.

Finally, Mom came home from her day out with Kevin's sister Renee (all planned of course) and she was beyond surprised. We had so much fun doing this for her!

Mom so surprised with Lance and Angela.



Kevin hugging his little mom.


It was such a fun day! A day we will all remember and treasure.