My Favorite 10 Girly Names

  1.  Mandy (not Amanda, just Mandy)
  2.  Bridgett
  3.  Alexis ( not Lexie, Lex, Alexandra, just Alexis)
  4.  Gabrielle
  5.  Harley
  6.  Caitlin
  7.  Shelby
  8.  Heather
  9.  Madeline
 10.  Mikaela

10 Good Things on a Monday is a weekly feature that Nina does each Monday.

Here's how it works:(1-6 is copied from Nina's blog)

1. Think of a particular group of good things you want to make a list on, does not necessarily have to be about books, e.g. your current book wish list, or your favorite book foods (you know, foods you love to eat while reading, if you're like me), or your favorite girly names, whatever you can think of, as long as it makes you feel good.
2. If you have no ideas for a list, you can always visit my blog post to check out my theme for that week and you can take a cue from my list.
3. Post your list on your blog, grab that cute ARGH button above and put it on your post too, so we'd know you're doing this meme.
4. Leave the link for your post on my own 10 Good Things post for the week, if you see others doing it, comment too and let's share our good things with everybody.
5. Everybody goes through the whole week happy!

Questions: 

1.  What are you wearing right now?
2.  Do you have any freckles?
3.  What is your favorite Lifesaver flavor?
4.  What is the last movie you saw in the theater?
5.  Would you rather live without tv or without music?
---------------------------------------------------------------
My Answers!

1. What are you wearing right now?  I am so glad that I had changed my clothes before I opened up the questions today.  Before, I had changed, I had on my pink sweats and a sleep shirt with socks.  Trust me, not a pretty site.

So when my Alexis got home from school I had her take my picture so you could see how I look today.  Not bad, but then not really great.  Today was clean day.  Nothing special.

2. Do you have any freckles?  Absolutely!  And if only my freckles would grow together, I would have a great tan.  

3. What is your favorite Lifesaver flavor?  My most favorite flavor is butter rum.  It was cherry until I tasted the butter rum and all thought of cherry flew out of my head.

4. What is the last movie you saw in the theater?  I know that it has been a while, but the last movie I went to see was with my girlfriend, because our husband's didn't want to go and sit for so long and that was the movie of Michael Jackson "This Is It!".  I never had the appreciation for him as I did after I watched the movie.  He really was a talented person.

5. Would you rather live without tv or without music?  I think that I could live without tv much more that music.  I grew up without tv some of the time and really never missed it.  I think that life had a better quality to it.    

Five Favorite Scriptures

I just came back from doing a blog hop.  I found the most delightful blog called Undeserving Grace, put together by Tara.

Today she has put out a post on selecting only five Bible verses.   Now the catch is you only choose five and these five are the ones that you would pray every morning  How hard is that?

So here is my try at it:

1.   "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, tomorrow and today and forever" Hebrew 13:8

2.   "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all
        your strength"  Mark 12:30

3.   "I can do all things through him who gives me strength"  Philippians 4:13

4.   "Give, and it will be given to  you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over,
        will be poured into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."   Luke 6:38

5.   "May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed"  Psalm 20:4

Church

     Today was a great day.

     My husband and I have not been going to the same church for the last couple of years.  The reason is not because of different beliefs, but because the church that he attends is smaller and at first did not have anything for our girls.

     So we decided that we would go to a larger one and then my mother-in-law did not like it because it was so large.  We went back to the smaller one, but the girls just were not happy.  After talking, my husband and I decided that we would go to two churches.  He and his mother and then the girls and I would go the the other.

     The one that the girls and I went to, started having a service on Saturday nights and I decided to go to that one and the girls went to the Youth service on Wednesday nights.  This has worked okay.

     Now with the mother-in-law getting worse, ever time I would get ready to go on Saturday nights, she would get nervous about my leaving and I would feel guilty about leaving.  So I decided that I would just start going with my Tommy.  Well, after making that decision, mother-in-law has been getting up at midnight ready for the day.  Which means that I have to stay up.  Last night was the first time that she has slept through on a Saturday night in four weeks.

      That being said,  that is why today was so very special.  I was not disappointed.  The presence of the Lord was so great that is felt that you could have cut it with a knife.  When I got home, I talked with the girls and told them that I wanted them to go with us as a family at least one Sunday a month for now.  Both were agreeable.  We will see how this works.  I really want them to go and for us to be a family for the last few years that we have them at home.

     For those that don't have a personal walk with the Lord, should give it a try.  It gives you a  peace that you won't get any where else.

BLOG HOP

this blog hop is hosted by

www.thelifeofrylie.com

and http://www.shibleysmiles.com/

A Bit Of Me (Me)

A Bit Of Me (Me) is a weekly blog event hosted by There's A Book.

This week's question is :  What Would Your Dream Job Be?

     My dream job of course would be surrounded by books.  But not only books, but a  corner that had a bakery that housed cookies, cupcakes and cakes that are full of calories.  Nothing that spoke of low calorie.   I would have a section that children could come and enjoy looking at books and not be afraid that they were going to get yelled at.

     I would for sure have my apartment upstairs.  Cozy, with a window seat.  Fireplace, small kitchen, extra bedroom for my grandchildren to stay for as long as they desired.  Of course I would have a space for my husband.  And while we are dreaming, I would have a nice bathroom, nice size tub, with ledge for lots of candles.  Oh, it is so awesome to dream.

Six Word Saturday

A Sweet Yellow Succulent Blossom Surprise

     After another Saturday of working down at the trailer, I came home and was looking through the sun room window.  Now this is something I try to do once a day.  I always look at my succulents in the sun room, but I have found that going outside and looking from the outside in, I often find new treasures.

     Well, today was one of those days.  I almost missed it.  I thought that I had saw a little yellow and I went back and looked and yes.  There it was,  tiny, but there.  My plants can make me so happy.  Sometimes, I think I should just let my Mandy have all my plants.  She does so well with them.  But then they make me smile and I realize that without them, I would need something else.

I am not sure what this little plant is, but I am sure my Mandy would.  Should we ask her?

    One would ask, how can a little plant make one smile?  I don't really know, it just does.  So if you need a smile, you might give those little succulents a try.  I started with the little baby butts ( called lithrops) and little toes.  But beware, they can be addicting.

So here's the question: Do you have a particular TV show that you like to watch regularly? American Idol, The Office, Glee, or those CSI type shows?

There are so amdnythat I really like to watch, so here goes:

  1.     CSI

  2.    NCSI

  3.    Blue Bloods

  4.    Criminal Minds

  5.    Hawaii Five-O

  6.    CSI NY  7.    CSI Miami

  8.   NCI

  9.   How Do I Look?

10.   Cupcake War

11.    What Not To Wear

Fill In the Blank Friday

1.   I am currently obsessed with     wanting everything to have a place.  It seems that as soon as I find a place for everything in my kitchen, someone brings more items in.  Like my darling husband.  He will clean his office, which is right beside the kitchen and of course his office is clean.  It is all in my kitchen.   What is a body to do?

2.  Today I am  ticked  because,  I thought I had all the laundry done.  But, oh, no, Gabrielle cleaned her room up and you would think that she also cleaned her closet and drawers out.

3.  The age I am is    56    and the age I feel is   according to how much sleep I had last night,and more important is my gray showing! it is amazing how much better I feel when I have my hair colored.

4.  My favorite place is    Can I really be honest here?  It was my home, but for the past months when I began to loose my space, I really began to not enjoy my home anymore.  I am one that enjoys my quiet time and that has mostly been taken away.  I smile alot and know that one day my life as I know it will return.  But until then I wait until late at night and hope that all sleep.

5.  Something I have been procrastinating is  sanding my kitchen walls and cabinets.  I want to paint the cabinets some color of red and the walls a Tuscany color.  We live in the country and I think that would give me the country feel that I am after.  I have a rather large kitchen, so I think that this would look good.    

Gabrielle, Payton and Alexis

6.  The last thing I purchased was    shirts from "The New Black" a consignment shop for Payton.  They had some shirts come in from the store "BUCKLE" and that was a store that his Dad always shopped at. And then I got some shirts for Gabrielle.  Payton is a young man that lives with us and is finishing high school in December.  He is like the son, we never had.  He definitely keeps the young men that come around to see Gabrielle on their toes.

7.  The thing I love most about my home is       the bigness of it.  It is over 3,400 sq ft., two story and plenty of room for all the kids.  I love my kitchen the most.  It is large and when family come for gatherings we have plenty of cooking space.  The kids always enjoy the pool and the granddaughter has learned how to drive on the golf cart.  We live on 15 acres, and have 5 trailers on the place, with family living in at least 3 of them.  WE have four horses, bikes, go-carts, volleyball, fishing, and a paddle-boat.  So no one should be bored when they are here.  Oh, an a trampoline and swings.  What's not to love.  Except the clean-up!

Five Question Friday

1. Can you drive a stick shift?

    
   Yes, I can.  My first car had a stick shift and it was on the steering column.
    I remember my Daddy taking me out to drive and I was at the intersection       

    of Avenue Q and 34th Street in Lubbock, Texas and the light turns green.    
    Dadd said, "Okay, go."  Well, I had not had to make a turn at a major    
    intersection yet, so I take a deep breath and put my hand on the gear shift.  
    I start out smooth and then my car starts chugging.  Oh, how I wished that 
    the road would open up and swallow me whole.  But My Daddy just sat 
    there and smiled.  Finally, we made it across the intersection.  His way of

    of teaching his kids, was just to sink or swim, so to speak.


   I am so glad that I never asked him to teach me to FLY!!!!

2. What are two foods you just can't eat?

    a.To this day I can not stand to eat boiled squash.  My Mother loved the

    stuff.  It was her policy that if is she had it on the table, you had to at

    least try it.  So what if you tried it the last time she fixed it, it was a new

    day.  Oh, how slimy.  Now I love squash casserole and fried

    squash, but please oh, please do not offer me boiled squash!

    b.Oysters.  On Sunday, we would go out to eat at Seven Seas in Lubbock, 

    Texas.  My Daddy would always get the oysters and once   he had me try 

    them.  You know, pretty shell, salt, why not.  WHY?  Because they also are

    yucky and slimy.  How my Daddy could enjoy those things are still a

    mystery to me today.

3. Do you buy Girl Scout Cookies? What is your favorite kind?

    My favorite type of Girl Scout Cookie was the Mint.  But with 

    my husband on this low carb way of living, cookies are the way

    of the past.  But really, if I wanted some, I suppose I would but some.  The

    last time I did though, I felt cheated.  I wished that I would have just given

    some money as a donation and went into the store and bought cookies.

    There were hardly any cookies in the box for the money.  I know that the

    cookies are good, but there are just not many for the money.   I

    would just feel better giving them money.  So that Is what I would rather

    do now.  But they do make great cookies and I do believe that  the

    Girl Scouts are a great organization for our girls.

4. How do you pamper yourself?

    PAMPER, what is that?  Now, if I were to pamper myself, I would get my 

    sister, Tammy and we would go to a all day spa.  Now this would not be

    a plain spa.  This would be one that did our hair, nails, feet, massage our 

    body.  And in all the midst of this, no phones and no kids.

    But to get down to real life, just a couple of hours in Half Priced Books,

    with my Mandy, in San Antonio, will do for now.

5. What is your nickname and how did you get it?

    As of now I have found out that my youngest daughter, Gabrielle(my little

    pita) has me as PANDA in her cell phone.  And her friends also have me 

    listed as PANDA.  So I am hoping that this is not meaning something ugly.

    But with an almost 15 year old, what can one say.  Hopefully, it doesn't

    mean that I am fat, but cuddly.

You Capture/Things That Start With "L"

This weeks assignment is about things that start with "L".  So this week I choose the word LOOPING.

I love to sit out on the front porch and watch the horses out in the pasture.  Especially when the weather is cool.  Today two of the horses are out on a trail ride with Alexis and Tucker.  So they are in a frenzy, wanting out to join the others.

We have four in all,  Cisco, Ginger, Trick and Yoshee.  They girls have seasons where they ride and then they will not ride for a while.

Also, this is the season not only for riding, but for new loves.

Top 2 Things I've Learned From My Parents or Grandparent's

1.  From my Daddy:  Always set my goals so high that I would have a hard time reaching them.  For when your goals are reachable you tend to quit too early.






2.  From my Grandmother Shindoll:  I never heard her say a bad word about anyone, she always believed the best in everyone.

Deadly Ties by Vicki Hinze

Vicki Hinze is a delightful author, who takes the reader on a  journey of emotions.  The characters are full of personality.  Throughout the story, you will find life changing truths that one could apply to their own life.  This was a new author for me and I will be looking to read more of her writings in the future.  I would rate this book 5 stars and would highly recommend it to my friends.

Lisa Marie Harper lost her loving father at the early age of seven to death.  The man, Dutch Hauk, that her mother later marries, turns out to be anything but a loving father to Lisa.  To protect Lisa from the cruelties of Dutch, Annie gives full custody to a close friend.

Twelve years later, not being allowed to see Lisa, except for stolen glimpses.  Lisa and Annie are now taking the chance to be apart of each others lives.  Except, that neither one can fathom the depths of Dutch's anger.  Determined to keep them apart, Dutch enlist his associates in the crime world, that are feared beyond fear itself.  Lisa though, has Mark Taylor in her life and he has special connections to his own team of Special Operations.

Can this team of Mark's stand up against the reputation of Dutch and his special connections to NINA?  Will Lisa and her mother find that place of having a home together or will it be too late?

I received this copy to do a review and I am so embarressed to admit it, but I have lost the paper that had the people who sent the book to me.  As soon as I find it, I promise I will post it.

Today, Friday, Feb. 25th, I was looking through my desk and found a folder titled "Reviews".  Now why I did not look here before, is beyond me.  Yes, the info was there and now I can say that this book was reviewed for free from WaterBrook Multonah Publishing Group.

Five Question Friday

1. Have you worn the same outfit more than one day in a row? Only if I am staying home.  But I have been known to wear the same thing more than once, especially my jeans.

2. If you had to choose any LARGE city to live in, which would it be?  San Antonio, TX.  

3. Fly or drive with the kids on vacation?  Absolutely drive, I can not imagine having to carry all their stuff.

4. What is your idea of "spring cleaning"?  Starting in the laundry room and clean out everything and ending up with the base boards. Then on to the other rooms.  This is a great time to purge.

5. What is the best book you have ever read?  Aside from the Bible, I love would have to say that almost all the books I read would fall in the category of great.  What can I say, I love to read.

  Join this blog hop at fivecrookedhalos.blogspot.com

Six Word Saturday

My Tommy accessing the termite damage

Those little termites do a great job of eating

the new floor carpet tiles

A PRODUCTIVE DAY AT THE TRAILER


Today, my husband and I spent the entire day working on a trailer that we are getting ready for Payton to move into.  We started about 9 in the morning and finished up about 6.  Husband worked on repairing the back door, where termites have had a field day.  Those little creatures can really destroy.  Where do they put it all?  They are so small, you would not imagine how much they eat.

paint looks so much better than panelling

While husband was working on the outside, I was putting the carpet down in the main bedroom.  I found a great deal at a yard sale awhile back.  They are the carpet squares and the are so easy to put down.  And the total cost was only $15.00.  Can you beat that?  So after the floor, I finished the bath wall.  The walls were fairly bad, so I took tissue paper and wallpapered the walls.  Looks great.  Then on to the main bedroom, where I hung the blinds and put the curtains up.  I need to hem them, but they will do.

On to the kitchen, where I took off the bottom cabinet doors and finished painting the cabinets black.  The bottom will be a china red.  That is after I get the facing replaced and doors.  I would have pictures to post, but my little pita(My 14, almost 15 year old daughter) took off with my camera.

Payton loves the Saints

All in all, the day was a success.  Now on to tomorrow.

Fill In The Blank Friday

This comes from The Little Things We Do.  Lauren does an awesome job keeping us on our toes and our brains thinking.  Skip over to her blog and join in the fun.

1.   I am  in love with the Master of the universe, JESUS, 56 years young, married to the best husband, who has put up with me for the last 37 years, four enchanting daughters, two exquisite granddaughters and one animal loving grandson and a TEXAN from my head to my toes (although my abode is now Alabama)

2.  The bravest thing I've ever done was  Leave my oldest and adorable Mandy in Texas when we moved back to Alabama.

3.  I feel prettiest when    I am in my jeans and a nice shirt.  It doesn't hurt to have my hair colored and no gray showing and perhaps a little makeup.  The saying that an old barn looks good with a fresh coat of paint, applies here.

4.  Something that keeps me awake at night is   when I am about to take a trip and I want to make sure to get up on time.  Right this moment my lovely mother-in-law is keeping me awake at 1:45 in the morning.  She is dressed for the day.

5.  My favorite meal in the entire world is    the chicken fajitas at the Alamo Cafe in San Antonio, TX.  It is a good thing that I don't live there.  I would for sure have to have a gym membership.

6.  The way to my heart is      quality time and pure unadulterated honesty.

7.  I would like to    spend a whole seven days all alone with a clean house, Julio chips, hot sauce, Diet Dr. Pepper and my vast array of books at my side.  I am not asking for much, am I?????  After this, I would for sure need the gym!