Monday Quiz

I'm joining Heather today over at Acting Balanced for her Monday Quiz event!

The 4 questions for today are these: (adding on a 5th question of my own for you to answer!)

1. Who was the last person you said 'I love you to?'

2. What was the last non-kid friendly movie you saw?

3. When was the last time you got angry about something that you felt silly about later?

4. Where is your favorite object at this moment?

5. (to be announced)

 

And don't forget to add a 5th Question on your own blog so we can answer as we hop around!

 

 1.  The last person that I said, "I love you" to would  be my 16-month old granddaughter, Allison.  I had been trying to get her to take a nap for the last 2 hours and she was really being difficult.  So, I picked her up and began singing the "Cuppy-cake" song to her and she started to calm down so I laid her back in her bed and our ritual is usually, kisses, tuck in "snug as a bug in a rug",  and "I love you".  She is sleeping beautifully at this moment.  Whew!

2.  The last non-kid friendly I watched was "Wolfman" with Anthony Hopkins.  There was quite a bit of gore and disemboweling, with it's fair share of blood.  Which I was really unprepared for, not realizing that it contained as much as it did.  Decent movie, but Benicio De Toro's acting left a bit to be desired.  He didn't convince me of his "angst".  

3.  The last time I got angry about something ... let me see ... Well, to be honest, it really takes a lot to make me angry.  My feelings get hurt before anger will set in.  The only thing that takes a split second to make me angry about is the broken promises and the abuse and/or neglect of children.  I will not hesitate to say something, do something, or react to something regarding children.  And...I usually don't feel silly about it... (unless it's with one of my kids.... sometimes I don't give them the benefit of the doubt and I'll jump in when not needed).  But I have no troubles with apologizing if needed.

4.  My favorite object, at this moment, is sitting on the shelf above my desk.  I blogged about it last year in answer to a question, and it's still my favorite. Favorite Item.

       ...and now my question...

5.  What are your feelings regarding the over-saturated "Politically Correct" society that we've become?  Do you think that it's important ALL the time? Only in certain instances? or Not necessary at all?  Explain why you feel this way.

Your thoughts...

Some days, do you find that you have so many projects and things you want to do, that you get  overwhelmed?  Boy, today is one of those days!  With new car searching, cleaning up (after my oldest daughter moved out), appointments, church activities, and some form of sleep thrown in there somewhere, when I finally get a bit of free time to work on any of the many craft projects I want to finish, I find that I've lost my "oomph" and the desire to even start anything.

(my granddaughter, Allison, giving me just the right emotion that describes that feeling!!)

If, or when, you get days like that, what do you do to combat that monster of "BLAH"?

Brownies with a twist...Who'da thunk?

My daughter and her friend were experimenting in the kitchen one night due to sheer boredom.  I don't know whether they seen the recipe online or just made it up themselves, however, the results of their experiments were really interesting and VERY tasty!

They lined cupcake pans with liners (they used paper ones but I suggest using ones with the coating on the inside) and placed a dollop of brownie batter in the bottom.  They then coated an Oreo cookie with peanut butter and placed it on top of the brownie batter in the cupcake liner.  The final step before baking them was to cover the peanut butter Oreo with more brownie batter and bake.

They cooked them a bit longer, I think, then was necessary, but they were really delicious!

One of these tasty desserts was enough to satisfy my "peanut-butter-chocolate-fix" for a good while!  Very rich and filling!

Watery Wednesday

I'm linking up with Trish over at Bluff Area Daily: Watery Wednesday

This was taken at the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis, MO.  My dad and I were up there waiting on doctors and such so we decided to check it out!  Although we did our visit in February and there wasn't a lot of color variations, there were other sites that were beautiful! This is one of the ones I took!

Wednesday Hodge Podge 1 day late

1. Chinese New Year will be celebrated on February 10th, and 2013 is the year of the snake.  When did you last see a snake?  Are you okay around snakes or do they give you the shivers?
Snakes are ok with me as long as they are on T.V. or in a securely locked environment!

2. The color red in Chinese culture usually means good luck.  Do you believe in luck?
Actually, no, I don't believe in "luck" per se., at least, that's not what I call it.  In my own personal belief system, I call it "Divine Providence".  I had a motorcycle accident when I was 18.  I died 3x and once on the operating table for almost 6 minutes.  My neck was broken in 2 places, my back was broken in 3 places, my left leg was shattered, and I had the top part of my skull caved in.  No, I was not supposed to be breathing after that, let alone walking and continuing my life.  I slipped into a coma for 19 days.  First words I heard coming out of that state of nothingness was, "You'll never walk again."  I had a 2 year old and a 2 month old, no way I was going to raise them from a wheelchair.  My point is this, luck had nothing to do with it.  It was only by the grace of God, Himself, that I was allowed to continue on with my life, without crutches, without a walker, and without a wheelchair.  I'm 43 years old now, and granted, the aches and pains are somewhat intense most days from arthritis and such caused by the accident; but, in the meantime, I've experienced the joy of giving birth to 2 more children, meeting some fabulous people, traveling, and still being young enough to get down on the floor and play with my grandchildren.  Luck? No, that was all God.

3. Sledding-ice skating-building a snowman...if given a choice, which activity would you choose?  Which of the three have you done most recently?
None of them actually!  We had a beautiful snow this year, but it didn't hang around long enough to be able to enjoy any of the icy activities.  Of the three, I would have to say building the snowman, snow-woman, and little snow babies all across the yard.  I get goofy sometimes and if there were enough snow, I'd have a snow village in my front yard.  I like the creativity I think, more.

4. Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited as saying, "The years teach much which the days never knew." Where have you seen this quote played out in your own life?
I have to agree with Joyce on this answer, "Motherhood".  As a grandmother now, I look back at my state of mind when I was a young mother.  I watch as my oldest daughter is learning to raise her children and so many times I want to jump in and "fix" the situation for her or take over for her so she can have a break.  But, I realize that wouldn't be helping her in the long run.  She has such a difficult time getting the 16-month old to take her nap but when it's just the baby and I, things are so much calmer and she'll go right down for me.  I know it's the wisdom of the years, more so than the experience of child rearing.  It's a really neat thing to watch unfold.

5.  When was the last time you ate a cupcake?
Last Monday.  I made some lemon cupcakes with Apple Pie Frosting, sprinkled with cinnamon, for my class that evening.  I was trying new flavor combinations and this one turned out fabulous!

6. What is something you can't say no to?
Wow, this is a tough one actually.  There used to be a time when the word "no"  wasn't even in my vocabulary; which caused many more problems for me than it should have.  I've since adjusted my vocabulary and it's a more frequently used word (much to the relief of my sanity!).  But the one thing that I really have difficulty saying "no" to are my grandchildren.  They never ask for things that are unattainable.  A walk in the park, crafty things, cooking, and my 6 year old grandson, Devin loves to do the dishes....How can you say "no" to that?

7. Are you a doodler?
I used to be a doodler.  I'm mostly reading and doing classwork.  I take so many notes in class that I hardly have time to doodle.  When I'm home, I'm on the computer or reading.  When I start my drawing and art class, I will most definitely be doodling a lot more.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
How come I can go into the basement or garage in the dark and not be scared, but whenever a toaster pops up, it scares the crackers out of me?

My very first Blog award!!

Thank you sooooo much from  Davonna over at http://chroniclesofnani.blogspot.com/
 Although I have no idea what I did to deserve this award!! /em does the Snoopy dance!


The rules are pretty easy:

(1) Visit and thank the blogger who nominated you.
        Check!
(2) Acknowledge that blogger on your blog and link back to them.
        Check! Check!
(3) Answer the five simple questions.
        See below
(4) Nominate blogs for the award and notify each of them.
        Also see below
(5) Display the award on your blog somewhere.
        See above
 Here are the questions:
1. If you could change one thing, what would you change?
2. If you could repeat an age, what would it be?
3. What is one thing that really scares you?
4. What is one dream you have not completed, and do you think you'll be able to complete it?
5. If you could be someone else for one day, who would it be?


My answers:


1.  I wouldn't change anything about my past...even the really bad stuff, because who's to say I wouldn't be where I am now, with my friends and family!  Everything happens for a reason and I'm content with my life, as is, where I am emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  But to answer the question a bit more selfishly, I would have to say, I wish I had a better singing voice!

2.  How about a "decade".  That's an age, right? I think I would have to say the 80's.  I loved the music, the hair, and the clothes!  That would be a blast!

3.  Dementia.  I am totally terrified of not being able to remember my friends and family...especially my grandchildren.  My heart, mind, and soul are so intertwined with my grandbabies, that I believe that it would be the worst sort of hell if I couldn't remember them.

4.  Give me a few more minutes.....I still need to wake up!!    No, just kidding!  The one dream that I have not completed is to finish my novel.  Do I think I can complete this?  Absolutely!

5.  I really can't think of anyone that I'd rather be, even for a day, but myself.  I know that everyone has a purpose, there is a purpose to everything under the sun, and I wouldn't want anyone to have to go through what I've gone through.  I'm grateful for the life I've been given, the family and friends that I've been blessed with, and the intelligence to be able to appreciate it.

Now, I would like to pass this award onto:

Stephanie over at The Enchanting Rose
Zoanna over at A Penchant for Pens
Davonna over at  The Chronicles of Nani

I chose Stephanie to get this award because she dedicated her blog to her grandmother.  Today, I'm missing my grandma pretty fiercely.  She's been gone since 2010.  So when I read that on her blog, it just kinda' stuck with me.

I chose Zoanna because her last post was a really emotional one.  I can so empathize with what she was going through and I want to make her smile!

I chose Davonna, not because she's my best friend, but because her perseverance and tenacity living with M.S. is such an inspiration to me.

I love all my blogger friends, new ones and old ones! Have a beautiful week and hope to see you all in Blog-Land!

Kelly xoxo

Spring flowers!

One of my favorite colors of Spring and I love the combination of different colors as well!

This would be an ideal place to hide my Creative Workshop!

I hope my best friend, Davonna, will take some more pics of her crocus's  and her flower bed this year, I'm dying to see how well they propagated and how well they filled up the garden bed beside her driveway!  As much as I love the snow, (sorry Nani, I know you hate it!) I'm eager to see, smell, and breathe Spring! 

A Wonderful cold-weather soup!

I was answering questions over on my best friend's blog http://chroniclesofnani.blogspot.com/ She got her questions from Heather over at http://www.actingbalanced.com/ .  One of her questions that she asked was regarding soups, seasonal? or Year-round?   So I am posting one of my favorite soup recipes!

Chunky Potato Soup

3 med. sized red potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 C. water

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 T. butter

3 T. all-purpose flour

3 C. milk

1/2 t. sugar

1 C. shredded Cheddar cheese

1 C. cubed cooked ham

3-4 slices of bacon, cooked well done, not burnt, and crumbled

Crushed red pepper flakes

Ground black pepper

Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan.  Add potatoes and cook until tender.  Drain, BUT

save the liquid.  Set the potatoes aside.  Measure 1 C. of the potato liquid and set aside.

Brown the bacon till well cooked.  Drain on paper towels, reserving approx 2 T. of bacon fat.  Melt butter in same saucepan over med. heat. Add onion, cook stirring frequently until onion is translucent and tender, but not brown.  Add flour to same saucepan, season with pepper flakes and pepper to taste.  Cook 3-4 min.  Gradually add potatoes, the reserved potato liquid, milk, sugar, crumbled bacon to the onion mixture and stir well.  Add cheese and ham.  Simmer over low heat for 30 min. stirring frequently.  

A nice warm loaf of crusty French or Italian bread goes beautifully with this soup! 

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Much love, Kelly xoxo

Six Word Saturday

My grandchildren are such a blessing!

Autumn in Michigan

I was born and raised in Michigan, and although I have lived all over the country, there isn't a fall season that I have found that I love the most but the ones in Michigan.  The reds and oranges, yellows and browns are so vibrant.  I'm sure there are other places who have equally stunning autumn colors, I just haven't seen it yet!

The underside of an autumn leaf

 This was taken in the park at the end of my sister's street.

 This one was taken at a rest stop on one of my visits to my best friend, Davonna, over at http://chroniclesofnani.blogspot.com/

 Michigan apples, nothing like them fresh off the tree!

Maybe it's just because Michigan will always be home to me so that these colors are ingrained in my genetic code!  Or maybe it's because I love these colors and MISS my home state so much?  I can't define it...but then again, should I even try?

Wednesday Hodge Podge Vol 110

1. The popular saying, 'All is fair in love and war' is originally credited to English writer John Lyly.  Is he right?
I don't agree.  Love, as well as war, are both so volatile that fairness cannot be gauged correctly.  Both have been known to turn mild and meek mannered individuals into someone so totally contrary to their characters that it's almost negligent.  (Ok, how obtuse was that?)  However, just to set the record straight, I "love" being in "love" and everyone has the capability to fight and defend that which is theirs, be it, their bodies, families, friends, rights, freedoms, etc.  How it's done is what will determine what is fair or not.

2. Are you a cereal eater?  What's your favorite kind?
I'm not a super big breakfast eater, but I do eat cereal from time to time and one of my favorites is Cinnamon Life.

3. A five year old in Pennsylvania was recently given a ten day school suspension for talking with a friend about shooting one another with a Hello Kitty Bubble gun (the gun blows bubbles).  She did not have the gun with her at school.

A psychological evaluation was also ordered and the incident was recorded on her permanent record.  The suspension was later reduced to two days and her parents are suing to have the incident removed from her file. Your thoughts?  (If you missed the story click here for details). 
Would this story have ever made it to the light of day or public knowledge if our lawmakers weren't up in arms about gun control? I don't think so.  ...(deleted)... sorry, had to get off my soap box, almost got carried away there.  Regarding the story, I think it's absolute rubbish that this has happened and I do believe things will totally get worse.

4. Whatever happened to_____________________________?
Manners.  Saying "Please" and "Thank You" or "Excuse me" has all but disappeared.  Respecting elders and those in authority has dwindled into outer space.  I see children all the time, during meals, chewing their food like a cow chews it's cud; smacking, slurping and talking with their mouths full, and I wonder how their parents can tolerate it, until I look over and see the same behavior exhibited by them.  "No respect, I tell you!" (Rodney Dangerfield)

5.  January 23rd is National Handwriting Day, billed as a day to reacquaint yourself with a pen and pencil.  Do you like your handwriting? Do you prefer to print or write in cursive?  This date was chosen because its the birth date of John Hancock. What's the last thing you signed your name to?
I love handwriting.  I use different styles depending on what I'm doing.  Notes for school or legal documents, I'm usually printing in small block capital letters.  But when I'm writing in my journal or penning a letter to a friend, it's in cursive handwriting.  The last thing I signed my name to was a release for medical records from my doctor for an upcoming surgery.

6. Speaking of John Hancock...ever been to Philadelphia? Do you have any desire to visit the city of Brotherly Love?  

I've never been to Philadelphia and someday would like to visit.

7.  Share something funny you've heard a child say. 

Omgosh!  When my granddaughter, Madison (currently age 6), was 3 or 4, we were trying to teach her the difference between left and right in regards to putting her shoes on.  I had been working with her one weekend when she said she needed to use the bathroom.  We were outside in the backyard sitting on the patio with our ice tea and chatting with other family members.  A few minutes later, she came out the back door, of course with her shoes on the wrong feet.  I called to her, with a little bit of frustration in my voice, "Maddy! You put your shoes on the wrong feet!  Change your feet!"  She stopped for a minute then looked back up at me and yelled back, "But MeMe! 'Dese da only feet I got!"  Needless to say, when the laughter died down, she had put her shoes on the right feet.  But I can't think of a time when I laughed so hard. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
Regarding my answer to question number 7:  Be careful of which words you use to instruct a child because it can come back to haunt you OR come back even a few years later and continue to make you laugh! 

Grow Your Own Blog Party

I joined this awesome Blog Party to meet more people and learn new things! I think it's fantastic!  So if you want to join... go visit http://vicki-2bagsfull.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-grow-your-blog-party-all-bloggers.html !

 

Wed Hodge Podge Vol 108

1. What is ONE thing or area in your home or life you hope to report is completely organized when 2013 draws to a close?  Do you  have a plan to make it happen?
The one part of my home/life that I intend to have completely organized is my Creativity Center.  I need to get a room or a storage unit big enough to encompass all my crafts and projects and big enough to allow me to work in.  Right now, there is so much craft stuff, yarns, fabric, scrapbooking stuff, picture frames, and much more to boot all over my bedroom and it is totally driving me to distraction.  It's pretty overwhelming. 

2. What's the worst uniform you've ever had to wear for a job?
The taco bell uniform in the 80's.  THAT was pretty bad...at least I didn't have to dress like a giant taco!  That would have been a nightmare!

3. What was your last kitchen 'mishap'?  This question comes to you courtesy of Betty who blogs over at A Glimpse Into Midlife...everyone go say hi to Betty!
I play it pretty safe in my kitchen as far as recipes and such.  But I will have to say that I tried to replace the Velveeta, Rotel Tomatoes, and Philadelphia Cream Cheese (that I use for my cheese dip) with generic replacements.........DEFINITELY will not be doing that again. 

4. How do you protect yourself from other people's negativity?

Somehow, I seemed to have developed a knack for letting negativity roll off me like water on a duck's back. Much of my life was surrounded in negativity so I finally decided that I wasn't going to go down like that!  Maybe it's the gallons of Diet Coke I drink daily or it's the hours of playtime with my grandbabies that has helped.  I have noticed though, once you have grandchildren, the world really does look a whole lot different.  A mother takes her child for a walk and by the time they return to the house, mom is ready to be committed after calling the gypsies to come take her unruly child away from her. She dumps out her "Mom bag" with a first aid kit, extra socks, an extra set of clothes, snacks, toys, books, and other various things she felt was an absolute necessity on this walk and falls onto the couch absolutely frazzled and exhausted.  Grandparents take 2 things on a walk with same child....Kleenex and Lifesavers.  It's amazing to me to see how I used to be that frazzled mother and now I'm the Grandma with the Kleenex and the camera! 

5. Who in your family do you most resemble (physically)? If you have children, who do people say they favor? Do you agree?

Apparently, my dad said that I resemble a couple of his aunts (whom I have never met) I tend to favor my dad's side of the family anyways.  Out of my four children, my two oldest resemble me, and my two youngest resemble their father! It's uncanny at times to watch my son walk into the room, or smile a certain way.

6. January 8th is National Bubble Bath Day...will you be celebrating?

Actually, I celebrated the National Bubble Bath Day a few days early.  My 1 year old granddaughter and I had fun in a bubble bath till the water got too cold and we had to end it!

7.  Some of the 'world's best winter festivals' are - Mardi Gras (New Orleans), Quebec Winter Festival (Canada), Sundance Film Festival (Park City, Utah),  Rio Carnivale (Brazil), Sapporo Snow Festival (Japan), Venice Carnival (Italy) and the Harbin Ice Festival (Northern China).  Of those listed (and if cost were not a factor) which would you most like to attend and why?

Well, Nani at Chronicles of Nani, who is my best friend, and I had made plans to hit Mardi Gras in Baton Rouge, (not New Orleans because of the crime), but Hurricane Katrina ended those plans double quick and in a hurry.  So that's still something I would like to do, someday.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
I've decided that being politically correct at all times is debilitating to your sense of who you are and I choose not to adhere so strictly to that school of thought in 2013.