Check Out the new Swagger!

So, opinion poll please...

What do you think of my new header? Compliments of my daughters creative handiwork.


So very darn glad it's FRIDAY everyone, I am so tired I can hardly type. Comments on the header are welcome.

A Word Store! Not Word Whore!

Some of us bloggers are mom’s and some of us are single and some of us are skinny and some of us are not. Some of us keep their blogs constantly updated, others are slackers, more readers than posters. Some of us take awesome photo’s to illustrate our day-to-day, and some snap shots straight out of the Kodak (or Nikon or Polaroid or swipe them out of Google images). Some of us are talented writers and some of us write like we speak, and some are just plain PROs with the prose…that’d not be me. It’s the latter I speak of when I tell you. If you need some help with your WORDZ than go to the master and pop on over to my blog bud Jules, at Pankcakes and Frenchfries. She’s a talented blogger, among many other descriptions, and she’s just opened a Word Shop, freelancing for copy, and from her menu of wares, I’d say her prices are awesome – no job too small. Give her a try why don’t you!

Shower Crafts

So, I spent Saturday getting the favors, centerpieces and the table game ready for my daughter's baby shower. It's not until June 13th, but this Grandma is ready!
The centerpieces are Yankee Candles, the theme is Sweet Pea, because that's what I call the grandbaby to be. Although the ultra sound predicts a boy - we went with the color green instead of the traditional baby blue. The table game, with the centerpiece as it's prize, is something I stole years ago from a shower that I went to. Each page of the little booklet asks the reader to survey the table of ladies and see who has the longest hair, largest purse etc. Then the final rhyme winner wins the center piece at the end.

The tag on the wrapped candle has a sweet little sentiment..."To all the family and friends of mine, thank you for sharing in this joyous time. To celebrate my life on Earth, Please light this candle on the day of my birth". Cute huh?

The table will also be flanked by green and white polka dotted cupcakes. YUMMMMY! That way we'll not have to worry about cutting the cake. We can visit and generally swoon over all the adorable baby gifts. Which is what happens at most baby showers anyway, am I right?

The favors are Hershey bars wrapped in a special wrapper, thanking the guests for thier gift and their special thoughts. The honoree is a HUGE chocolate lover, and well, so am I. I ate one while wrapping them. Sorry future guest, had to try out the chocolate.

The favors will also have a hidden number on the back, for door prizes.

I'm a little bit excited about the arrival of this 1st grandson - can you tell?

Now all that's left is the invitations! Anyone care to help address them? Stamp lickers unite!

the one where we were training for disaster

It’s a really windy day here in N.W. Indiana. The kind of day that not only messes up your hair, but blows your pant leg and shirt making all of your clothing form fitting. Not always an attractive look, I will admit. It’s the high wind and warm air swirling that makes me think of tornado weather. If you live in an area that isn’t frequented by tornado’s, well, “sucks to be us”, doesn’t it? Nah, I mean, people who live in parts of the country where tornados frequent just know what tornado weather is.

I like that kind of weather. I’m a safety girl, I don’t cross against the no crossing sign, I don’t go around the gates at a rail road crossing, I don’t spit into the wind, but tornado weather, I mean come on really – what are you going to do when you see one coming. Duck.

I remember when my children were young. I prepared them for all types of disasters. (safety girl and scared young mother of three, natural worrier, that’s me) I told them that if I should alert them of a tornado’s impending peril, they were to grab a couch cushion and go into our bathtub. We had a bathroom that was placed kind of central to the house, and the kids could easily grab a couch cushion versus a mattress off the bed. A mattress off the bed can be quite cumbersome when you are three or four years old. It never happened. BUT WE WERE PREPARED, incase it did happen, so don’t laugh.
Yeah, I also had a prepared “password” that only my children and I knew, incase that I had to send someone to pick them up from school in my stead. They were not supposed to go anywhere with a stranger OR a friend posing as a concerned person who might wish to steal away my small children, kidnap them and I wouldn’t see them ever again. Pffft. Gone. Unless said friend knew the password, then my children could rest assure that I sent this person to scoop them up for me. We were prepared.

My children and I had a fire drill – so that in case of a fire, they would know what to do, what exit to take, how to get out of the house safely. See, I was worried because the kids bedrooms were on the second story of our Cape Cod style home, my own bedroom on the main level. If a raging blaze broke out and they couldn't get downstairs, they should go out of the window in my son’s bedroom that ran adjacent to the garage roof. Cool, they could sit on the roof and wait for the fireman (or mom) to rescue them. They were instructed to crawl close to the ground, yadda yadda …all that. I was a FREAK for disaster preparedness.

I labeled all the cleaning products with “Mr. Yuck” stickers from poison control. (and still my three year old son licked up some Miracle Grow thinking it was blue sugar…who knew?)
I put red stickers in the window corners to alert the fireman of the presence of small children.
I taught them how to call 911 should I mysteriously pass out and become unconscious. (Used to make my daughter Sarah cry, but I wanted them to be prepared!!!)
Freak. Now as I type this, I sound like very freaky, but better safe than sorry right? Right?
Don't be so judgey.

Ahh, young parents, relax would ya? They made it safely to their adult hood almost unscathed …well unscathed by natural disasters anyway. We had our share of emergency room visits. Don’t you all?
Any of you parents out there do similar preparation with your children?

My New Ride

I don't really care - as long as it gets me there.

That could be my motto. For my ride, you know. I don't care what it looks like, what bells and whistles it has, what color, make or model it is. I want it to get me there in one piece.

From this....

My last car I rode until stuff started literally falling off! If I went over a bump or pot hole, the armrest on the door handles in the back seat would shake loose! The body was in good shape. Indiana winter's and the salt started to erode the paint at the bottom of the doors. The heat/air conditioning worked at a minimum. It has 183,000+ miles on it. My 1998 Olds Intrigue, lovingly got me there! So, it was 12 years old - and starting to show it's age. Everyone was buggin me to get a new car...but my heart wasn't in the payment.

So, we began the search. All I really wanted was a CD player, heated seats, and a decent cup holder.

I got it! And it's a racy red color too!

To this...my new Impala!

Whew-made it past the day unscathed

Ah HA! It's the day after April Fool's day. Poissant D'Avril for you odd frenchies...{i never did understand the fish foolery}
I have come through unscathed.
See, It's taken me years of looking over my shoulder and doubting every phone call, or bit of April 1st news or gossip to finally settle down on the first of April.
I had been quite a bit of a practical joker in years past, and my children liked to take pride in "getting me back" in creative ways.

This year I went by without anyone trying to pull a prank. Whew!
With the temperature at an unseasonal 64 degrees and it's only 7:13 a.m. I'm off to have a Good Friday, off fromwork, enjoying the weather and preparing for our Easter weekend. Going to my mom's to make Easter cheese and wash her bedding. I MAY even get to hang her blankets on the clothes line outside!
Hope you all enjoy the weekend!

It's the End of the Week, and Now it's Time for a Nap!

“Whatever you give a woman she will make greater. If you give her sperm she will give you a baby. If you give her a house, she will make you a home. If you give her groceries she will make you a meal. If you give her a smile, she’ll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So if you give her any crap, be prepared to receive a ton of shit”.


I think I got that quote in one of those annoying email forwards, but I liked its content and thought I’d share it with you two readers.

No, I didn’t forward it on, kind sir or Madame. Smarty pants.

This was a rough and busy week but it flew by! Starting with 55 degree days (as compared to bitter cold and tons of snow) which melted the large dirty ugly piles of leftover snow and grungy ice. I saw groups of people enjoying the weather – sans coats and other garb. Hurray for me, job security!

I took my mom to the doctor for a second opinion on what I think might be seizure activity. She has a nonchalant neurologist, nice lady, who just “Isn’t that into HER”. So, after a few episodes of her losing consciousness, I decided to take her to the wonder doctor who helped me so much. Her being a new patient and all, he ordered a ton of diagnostic tests and appointments with other specialists, and my 80 year old mom can only handle a few hours at a time, so I spread them out over a few weeks.
I’ll be busy.

Besides the mama drama, all the ladies I work with are having personal problems. Not that they don’t hide them, they do…some do…and some need to share. I consider myself lucky that things personally are even keel. Wonderfully sane even.
We’ve got a few (three) divorces going on, one whose mother passed away yesterday, and some with personal self esteem issues that make them feel inferior to their peers and definitely interfere with their work performance. Those require alot of hand holding and support that saps you of your strength. So by today I’m spent. I decided to take the weekend off. Do some house work, do some reading, blogging or scrapbooking. Maybe hit the mall. Peace out folks, and have a pleasant tomorrow.

Truth Or Dare

I can’t even remember the content of my studies in Health & Safety class. It was a required course for all freshmen and it was BORING. I was of course at the top of the food chain in my middle school, by being a freshman, the head of the class. Our local high school was jam packed with sophomores, juniors and seniors so the freshman stayed one more year at the junior high school level and became the big cheese for one year before plummeting to the bottom again with big time teens ready to burst upon the world.

The Health and Safety teacher was also the track coach and chess club sponsor. Nice man, who wore a shirt and tie, carried a brief case full of track strategies and statistics and stood before the bored freshman to lecture about the lesson plan. For that hour, he could easily be distracted from health and safety instruction, by say one smart aleck kid asking a well thought out “track or chess question”. Turning to the chalk board he would draw out long diagrams, and the rest of us could play hangman, write love notes, draw or do our homework for 4th period - sort of a laid back study hall. He never knew.

Of course, I was not that smart aleck kid, but being creative I was known for being fun and a ring leader of sorts when trying to create an atmosphere of fun and games. So began our Truth or Dare sessions. We would engage him in the art of chess or track lectures and while his back was turned drawing a diagram of plays, we would take turns with Truth or Dare tasks. When it was my turn, I was “dared” to get out of my seat (I was at the end of the row) and slip out into the empty hallway, travel to the next floor and swipe the attendance slip off the door of my boyfriend’s English class in progress. Brilliant strategic move for the kid who wanted me to fail at a dare- so that I might have to divulge a “truth.” I slipped out of class, skipping lightly in my navy blue Charlie Brown flats. Oh, the glory of those stylish duds! They matched my red brushed denim hot pants, matching navy tights and navy turtleneck bodysuit. Hey, no digs at the duds! It was 1972 and the student council had fought for the destruction of our school’s dress code and we fully took advantage of the odd assortment of outfits we could create.

I naturally was successful, triumphant even to the task at hand – had to stand outside of the classroom until the teacher turned his back again – he never wondering why my seat was empty. I slid into my seat quietly, mission accomplished. I felt WICKED naughty, totally cool, hoodwinking that silly teacher as such and getting away with 9th grade murder. Oh, he (the teacher) got his revenge, as I was getting a “C” average in that class, learned not a Safe or Healthy thing and by the end of the semester was sequestered at home with a nasty case of mono. My friends brought me my school work and upon my return to school I had to take all of his weekly quizzes and one final test in one after school session of test taking. His version of murder. The end to that story is a whole OTHER blog post. The reason for this here post?
The moral of this story, the end-all-be-all for the reason this memory popped into my head?
Impending spring fever reminding me of school, nah.

It’s the Truth and Dare’s of life that make us go out on the ledge and live to challenge ourselves.
It’s FRIDAY – go out and live life this weekend! I dare you!

Oh, and Gah - I’ve miss you all.