Friday Fill In - on Monday - 5/19/08

1. There is absolutely NO way you can get me to eat raw fish!
2. The opening of our pool reminds me that summer is almost here!
3. I cannot live without my family.
4. Yarn spinning and quilting are two things I'd like to try.
5. When life hands you lemons, put on your big girl panties and suck it up.
6. Our loud (7 kids) boisterous house is my favorite childhood memory.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to cooking, tomorrow my plans include cooking and Sunday, I want to enjoy Zachariah's First Communion!

Friday Fill in - 5/2/2008

1. Two of my favorite ingredients in a drink are spicy bloody mary mix and vodka!
2. My kids often amaze me.
3. You can keep doing that forever, the dog is sleeping.
4. Ground meat, chopped cabbage, chopped onion and rice, mix it all together and voila! You have stuffed cabbage casserole!.
5. If I had a yard with a garden, I would love to grow flowers. Oh, I do have a yard but I also have a husband with horrible allergies, so we grow veggies, lots and lots of veggies
6. Fresh from the garden tomatoes are best au naturel.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to finishing laundry, tomorrow my plans include dinner with my sisters and Sunday, I want to celebrate Sarah's 22nd birthday!

Bold what you have done . . .

I saw this list on Jerry's blog and just wondered how many I have done. 69 of 150
Someone else's Life’s To Do List
(bold what you’ve done)
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink (there were only four of us . . . LOL)
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said ‘I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris, just the airport
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 10 provinces
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone’s life

Friday fill in - 4-25-08

1. When I fell in love, I just knew it was right . . . right time, right place, right guy!
2. I really enjoy sitting on my back porch when the flowers bloom and it heats up outside!
3. Oh no! The internet connection is down, I'm going to bed!
4. CSPAN is the craziest tv show ever . . . seriously, why would anyone want to do that to their brain.
5. Cheese and crackers and wine make a great meal!
6. We will soon plant our vegetable garden. While I don't enjoy working in a garden, I do enjoy the fruits of the labor.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Zachariah and I having some time alone, tomorrow my plans include Zachariah's swimming and laundry and 4:30 mass and Sunday, I want to visit my sister and do a field trip with Zachariah and Lindsey!

28 years . . . and more . . .

So, another year has gone by, and Dave and I are celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary. Today. Amazing.

He is a truly wonderful person.

He teaches 1st grade at a Catholic elementary school in Cleveland. Whenever I am at the school and watching him, I am totally in awe. He has infinite patience with the students and their families.

He is great with our kids . . . and trust me when I say that our kids would try the patience of Job or their Mom . . . and he just rolls with it.

And he loves me . . . with all my warts and weirdness. And he likes to vacuum and make the bed and thinks I'm funny. Gosh, I am blessed.

Friday Fill In - 4-18-08

1. The last time I lost my temper I was yesterday when I got home from work and my daughters had gone shopping and left their mess in the kitchen sink . . . took a deep breath and left a cell phone message that went something like "the next time you all decide to bake, you need to clean up after yourselves . . . thanks so much for starting dinner (they hadn't) . . . enjoy your shopping . . . see you soon . . . love, Mom"!
2. STUPID, MEAN people is what I'm fed up with!
3. The next book I'd like to read is The Other Boleyn Girl.
4. Tonight, with Dave, is what I'm looking forward to.
5. If you can't get rid of the skeleton[s] in your closet, pulverize their bones and plant them in the garden . . . I hear its really good for the tomatoes!
6. The best thing I got in the mail recently was a note from a friend, a real, honest to Pete, hand-written, thinking about you, note.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary, tomorrow my plans include getting my teeth cleaned and Sunday, I want to work on and finish the Freshman banner (and why did I volunteer to do this?)!

Lusting after things . . . and is it a sin?

So, if you are lusting after something that is supposed to be good for you, is it a sin?

Okay, here's the thing. Zachariah got a bike last year. My bike is about 13 years old. Sarah's is about 10 years old. Lindsey fell on my bike last year and flattened a tire. When I went to change it, I discovered that the wheel was bent. She then proceeded to also flatten Sarah's tire (she doesn't recall how, really, she was just riding it and had put it away and the next day it was flat, really, really).

But not to worry. Sarah is getting a brand new bike from a neighbor who had bought it for his 13 year old son last year. The kid had the nerve to grow about six inches since last summer. Last year, he was under 5 feet tall. Lindsey is getting a wonderful bike from a friend who has decided that she, too, needed something smaller.

Which leaves me without a bike . . . . and thus the lusting comes in. I started looking at bikes for me. A new bike. One with big fat tires so that I don't feel like I'm flattening them out and I also don't appear to be racing. Something that says "this woman is just out riding her bike and maybe her butt will get smaller in the process." The pink bike above is a Schwinn Roxie Cruiser. Very cool.

The other one is a Schwinn Clear Comfort Bike.

I like them both. A LOT.

And, this is probably the bigger sin than lusting over a bike, neither of my girls will ride either one, especially the pink one . . . of course, according to them, they won't ride with me either, especially if I get a pink helmet and pink shorts and maybe a pink vest, oh, and with either one, I'm putting a basket on the front. After all, our most favorite place to bike to is the Library!

So, what do you think? Is lusting after a bike a sin?

Friday, May 11, Friday-Fill-In

Friday Fill-In #67
1. I love springtime in Cleveland . . . four seasons . . . its a beautiful thing!
2. Breads are foods I love to eat for breakfast.
3. It seems I'm always searching for my glasses!
4. A goodnight kiss is a great way to end the day.
5. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!
6. Coffee is what I've been craving lately.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to posting my Friday Fill In, tomorrow my plans include swimming, library and 4:30 Mass and Sunday, I want to work on the banner for the SJA Class of 2011 Banner!


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betcha didn't think I was going to get it posted!

Phew, where did March go to?

Easter weekend we had snow, gloom and gray. But March just flew by. I don't know if it was because Easter was so early or that the month was just filled with activities and travel (Lindsey to Dallas, Sarah to Tucson, me to Chicago -- all the week after Easter). The following weekend after Easter, we went to my sister's home in Kentucky to celebrate her youngest daughter's 6th birthday. Here she is getting ready to blow out her candles.

Zachariah picked out her birthday presents which included a baseball bat, glove and ball. From this photo the boys seem to think it is totally awesome. Aidan (the little boy in green) was shocked that anyone would buy a girl a bat and glove!

Mary is in kindergarten but had no problem reading her birthday cards. The only thing that threw her for a loop was that some of her relatives signed their names in cursive. Fortunately, my darlin' hubby is a first grade teacher and WE print everything (or we probably would have signed our names in cursive too!).

Last Friday, April 4, I wore my winter coat to work as the morning temperature was 32 degrees (F). Yesterday, we visited friends and spent most of the afternoon sitting on their porch. It was about 60 degrees (out of the sun) and got actually hot while sitting in the sun!

I have Zachariah's sweater done to the armholes. I keep reading the instructions to add the sleeves. Before I do that, however, I am going to have to measure the sleeves again. I noticed that some of his shirts are getting short in the sleeve so I think I may have to go back and add on to them. Sigh.