Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays

I quit celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday two years ago.  I am Atheist but have celebrated the parts of Christmas that I love most of my life without giving it much thought.  Two years ago we had a family squabble over of all things religion, and in part, as a result of that I made my decision.  Being that I don't believe in god I really have no business celebrating a holiday that is supposed to be about god.  I will however always celebrate love, and it is something I do every day not just one day of the year. I will always celebrate trees, and colored lights simply because I love them.   In the last couple of years I have taken note of the squabbles happening on social networking sites such as Facebook where everyone is all up in arms over whether or not you say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays.  First of all, if you are celebrating Christmas as the birth of Christ, who the hell cares what other people say to you about it.  If you truly believe in your god, then he is in your heart and it doesn't make a bit of difference whether someone says Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays.  Maybe they don't believe in your god, but that should not have any effect on what you believe, or on the gratitude you should have that they chose to wish you anything at all!  We are a country of many different beliefs and non beliefs, and we should all try to get along.  I have always felt religion should be a private thing... celebrated and practiced in the home.  It has no business in politics or law or in secular public education.  Politics will always cater to majorities in order to win votes, but laws should be made to equally apply justice and liberties to all regardless of faith or non faith!  Public secular schooling is for educating all children about reading, writing, arithmetic, history and the world as it is. If you don't want your children to know what's really going on in the world around them and you would rather they be brainwashed with whatever religious dogma you choose then send them to a private school that teaches that, because in a public secular school you don't get to rewrite history so that it fits whatever religious beliefs you may have. IT IS WHAT IT IS!!! History happened, and you should not get to skew it. It should always include the truths about what really happened and who really contributed, winners and losers, gay, straight, believers, non believers,  purple, whatever.  IT IS WHAT IT IS!!! It has never been what we would all like it to be and most assuredly never will be since what we would all like it to be varies greatly.  I used to get offended when people wished me Merry Christmas... how dare they assume that I believe in their god, but it goes back to what I said earlier... gratitude. Today I am grateful that they chose to wish me anything at all.  So whatever you believe... or don't believe... I wish you all love and peace, not just today, but every day.  

Twilight Breaking Dawn part 1 movie review

I do not usually read reviews of a movie before I go to see it, but this time because I couldn't go on opening night I was too curious and gave in to that curiosity.  I have to say that I don't agree with any of the reviews I read except that the musical score was a bit too loud and often seemed intrusive.  I did however love the music.  Bella's theme is appropriately haunting and beautiful.  I suppose at this point I will have to identify as a Twi-hard.  I read the entire series of books in only two weeks and I just didn't want the story to end.  I was happy to see that they stuck to the storyline because for us that are big fans that is so important.  For us, making the book come alive on the big screen is really what it's all about.  The critics can say what they like, but I know I am not alone in how I feel and the proof is in the bottom line.  The wedding was dreamy, and it was nice to have a break from the tension in the story for bit.. to just enjoy the characters being happy for a minute.  The critics called that boring... but us fans know what's coming and appreciate the lull. I enjoyed the scenes of Bella getting ready for her big day and being surrounded by her new vampire family and her mom and dad.  I am so happy that they made it grand... it was befitting.  Some of the critics were disappointed that they didn't show more of the deflowering, but I think they showed just enough.  It's not a porno after all.  We're not stupid.. we get the idea.  The aftermath really said it all, and the sweet embraces and when Bella convinces Edward to take her again, eventhough he had made up his mind to wait until he changed her for fear of hurting her further, but gives in was priceless and wonderfully romantic.  I enjoyed the images of them playing chess and playfully interacting... just because it's a honeymoon doesn't mean it's all about sex.   I particularly liked where they ended it, and when Bella opens her eyes and they are red... well it was actually a little frightening and we realize in that moment the true nature of the decision she has made and it sort of snaps us out of our romantic delusions. LOL  I loved it.  There was a sense of forboding and of what's to come.  I was happy that they didn't shy away from the birthing scene.  It is what it is, and should not be sugar coated.  A lot of people say that the movie takes a pro-life stance, I don't agree.  It's about love, Bella wanted more than anything to have Edward's child. It was the one thing she would regret giving up to become a vampire, and although the situation was dire, she made the choice her heart wanted.  No one would have blamed her had she made the opposoite choice given the circumstances.  Luckily it all works out for her and she doesn't lose her life because of it.  We can argue all day about the message that it sends, but that's why it has a parental guidance warning.  It is up to parents to educate their kids and monitor what messages they are receiving.  I cannot wait to see more of the baby in the last movie.  It will be interesting to see how they depict her special gift.  So from the lavish wedding to the haunting and beautiful musical score on the Heart Chart Breaking Dawn part 1 gets 4 out of 5 hearts. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Best & Worst

Best:  Our wonderful anniversary campout with my sweet Cheri.  It was long overdue and the weather was nice.  A little warm one day but perfect the other days.  We celebrated 11 years together and got some great pics.  The weather as a whole has been cooling off and I love cooler weather. smiles.  We took a haunted bus tour in Ventura and got some fun ghosty pics.  Went to the RV show and saw the trailer that we want to upgrade to ; now to save for it.  One of my newest poems was very well received on a poetry site that I belong to.  We are really liking the new show (The X Factor).  Awesome.

Worst:  Our miss Cindy is leaving the L House.  She is buying a house and moving to Arizona.  We wish her well but will miss her so so much.  Asthma has been acting up a bit... sighs...  I don't like the things that are going on in America right now...banks running a fowl of the law and not being punished, creating a recession that has devastated the country and resulted in so many Americans losing their homes.  Corporations polluting and poisoning and spending lots of money to not be accountable for what can only be catergorized as legalized murder. Big pharmaceutical companies spending billions of dollars making medicines that cure some symptoms while causing others, instead of finding cures because there simply is no money it that!  Healthcare that is so expensive that only about half of America can afford it.  In my opinion it doesn't need to cost the kind of money that it does.  If every patient could pay the negotiated rates that the insurance companies pay, then many more of us could simply afford it on our own, but again...there's no money in that. 

Funniest:  Hands down our dog flinging himself off of the  little two seater bicycle car.  He hated it, and when Noelle was driving by me to go for a little round herself he saw me and flung himself, choke chain attached, flying through the air the opposite direction the bike thing was going, it all happened in slow motion.  Once I knew he was okay I/we laughed our asses off. LOL

What I learned:  That a rodents teeth can be clipped when they are too long and keeping the rodent from eating properly.  wow.  That there is a form of insomnia that results from the whistling that asthma can make.  It works something like this.... you start to nod off into sweet slumber only to be continually awakened by the whistling of your own breathing.... speaking from experience here folks...sighs... that there is a drug commonly used for erectile disfunction that when injested by females causes spntaneous abortion, very affordable in fact.

A note about banking giant (Capital One)

Today I want to inform all who will listen about the evils of the banking giant Capital One.  It has been my misfortune to have been one of their previous cardholders.  It makes me sick to my stomach every time I see Alec Baldwin on tv promoting the legalized financial rape of American consumers.  Here I will tell you my story, but I know I am not alone.  I look forward to the day when a class action suit is filed against them because  losing money is the only thing that will get their attention.  Clearly, doing the right thing, or the ethical thing is of no consequence to them.  Both my wife and I used to be Capital One cardholders.  We didn't over extend ourselves or use our cards frivolously so we did not encounter problems with them until a company without permission kept trying to charge one of my cards.  This is how it went, and I know so many of you will relate.  I purchased something online, and as is so often the case now, online companies will try to renew a purchase whether or not you have said that is your intent.  So a company I made a one-time purchase through tried to bill my card again.  When I got the statement I contacted my bank and told them I did not authorize this purchase, but because I had authorized a previous purchase and this company had my card number, Capital One told me that I had to contact the company directly to cancel something I hadn't even signed up for. I asked Capital One, if I contact the company and they don't respond and they won't stop trying to charge my card, what can I do? Capital One said: you can file a complaint with us and we will try to ascertain whether or not the charge is valid, but because you gave them your card number that means you authorized it.  I said I am telling you right now, that I am not authorizing any further charges from this company, and Capital One said, we're sorry but we have to let the charges go through.  I said but I am telling you I do not give permission, and they said that is our policy.  So I said, I would like to close my account. Capital One said no problem, but we have to keep it open for 30 days and if any more charges come through then we will have to keep it open for 30 more days from the date that a charge comes through.  I said, that's extortion! That cannot even be legal?  I am telling you I want to close my account effective immediately, and they said sorry, that is our policy.  So if this unscrupulous company that I made (one) purchase through, would not stop charging my card, then Capital One could force me to continue to be a cardholder with them, unless of course I filed bankruptcy.  Somewhere in the fine print it must have said that they can do this, otherwise there is no legal way that they could. I called every other credit card that I held at the time and they all said when you cancel a credit card it is effective immediately, but Capital One is not on the side of their customers, they only care about how much money they can extort from you.  Of course, if you never have the problem of a company trying to fraudulently charge your card, you might never run into this issue with them, but word to the wise, the mere fact that they have such a policy is reason enough not to do business with them.  Any unscrupulous online vendor who gets your card number and knows about Capital One's policies could take you for some money and cause you lots of drama.   I am today very very careful what I purchase online.  Luckily for me, the company that kept charging my card was reachable after some effort and the charges ceased once I finally got to  talk to someone, but if they hadn't I would I suppose still have that damn credit card and probably would have sued Capital One.  So we canceled our cards and told them how much we hated them and their product and that we would NEVER do business with them again.  To this day, despite repeated DEMANDS, that they stop harassing us, they send us 3 to 7 credit card offers per week and there seems to be nothing we can do to stop them.  I feel bad for the trees that have to get cut down for them to harass me with their paper shit that I don't want, and furthermore, I cannot merely discard for fear that they fall into the wrong hands.  So we have a shred pile that even as I type this is full of Capital One credit card offers.  We have to look out for each other.  Big businesses are only in it for the money.  The only way we can effect their horrible business practices  is to stop giving them our money! I am an avid player of Frontierville on facebook.  It is a Zynga online game, and Zynga has become very big very quickly.  They have recently decided to promote Capital One in two of their games that I know of.  I have written them a letter expressing my anger that they would support by accepting advertising dollars, a company that has hurt so many American consumers and that has some of the worst policies in the banking industry.  It is this promotion by Zynga, who otherwise does many good works around the globe, coupled with the relentless tv ads,  that has inspired this rant. Okay climbing down from soapbox momentarily. sighs...

Best & Worst

Best: Just had a wonderful 4 day relaxing weekend with my Sweet Cheri. smiles. Two of my poems reached "All Time Best" status on a poet site that I belong to.  Miss Cindy is home from her travels.  The plumbing issues in the pride bathroom have been resolved. WoooHooo. Thank you Randy!

Worst: My scanner stopped working again, and I am tired of re-installing my printer because it wants to update and I don't allow it to. IT'S A FUCKING PRINTER!!! It should not need to update. It's not like it's an operating system or something.  Trust me, as soon as I can replace it, it's going to the desert! It's an HP by the way. I use to let it update until the day after an update that it started printing everything mirror image. A function I did not even know I had, and still don't really understand why one would want that option, but I eventually found it and unchecked it, but it kept defaulting back to it. Un-install Re-install.  Did I mention it's going to the desert soon? UGH!!!! End of the year bills are coming due. sighs....  Vikki is still house sitting and we miss her smiling face.  My closest friend has been going through a lot of drama lately and hopefully it's over now and things will settle down. 

Funniest:  When I was in the bathroom in the middle of the night, and Noelle came to use it and didn't know I was there, and I didn't hear her coming, so I screamed and then she screamed and we were both screaming. LOL LOL

What I learned:  What a Honey Badger looks like.  That some people don't seem to change at all.  That a pair of sisters who murdered their mother when they were 15, and 16 in Canada were sentenced as juveniles served only 4 years and are now out and attending college and living their lives like nothing happened. Just wow!

Chasing Rainbows and Discovering Dreams

Chasing Rainbows and Discovering Dreams by Dani Heart

Make Your Own Book

Casitas Memories

Casitas Memories by Dani Heart

Make Your Own Book

Best & Worst

Best:  The pride bathroom turned out beautiful just as we imagined it would.  Found some new shirts that I love.. and then they went on clearance so I got them at a wonderful discount. Thank you Universe. smiles. I am gathering materials for my next photo book.  I am very excited about it.  Cindy's second foot surgery went well and she is hauling down the road to a full recovery. Yay!  Scored some fun patio furniture and a couch....FREE! It doesn't get any better than that.  Our vehicle registrations are finally coming down. WoooHooo!

Worst:  Although the pride bathroom turned out wonderful, we have sprung a leak that will require us to cut into the brand new fiberglass shower that we just installed. Holy Crap!!!!  A good friend is going through some really hard times right now. sighs...  There was a pretty bad leak at Noelle's job and she is very sore from all work on the bathroom and from helping her maintenance crew with the leak. Time for Advil the wonder drug.

Funniest:  Wrestling with Cindy in the car at Costco about whether or not I was leaving the car running with A/C for her.  Aggressive little girl took my keys out of the ignition. Laughed our butts off.

What I learned:  That you are supposed to wait behind the line when turning left at a green light! How lame is that? If there's no arrow and you wait behind the line you might never get to go???!!!! I will be doing a little re-routing now for turns with arrows.  That there is a cloth you can put around a pipe that you are sauldering with an open flame that protects the wall from catching fire. Whew!! Now that was a damn good idea someone came up with. I wonder how many fires broke out before someone came up with that one? lol

Best & Worst

Best: Cindy's foot surgery went well and she is hauling down the road to recovery. Wrote a new piece albeit sad, for memorial day. Found a new scent for my Sweet Cheri and everyone seems to llike it. smiles. Taking some fun pics lately. It appears we have reached a truce in the neighborhood parking war. Wow. The weather has been nice and cool, and I love cool, and overcast isn't bad either.

Worst: Some of us here at the L House are having some health issues and it sucks. My computer monitor seems to be going out, and it really isn't a convenient time to replace it. sighs...

Funniest: When we were watching a movie and I heard some very strange noises coming from upstairs... I texted Jeremy and asked him if he was having sex with himself, since he was all alone, and he texted back yes, and I said well carry on then. LOL

What I learned: That some people really are just baaaad to the bone.
:(

Get Low...Movie review

Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction. I loved this movie. Robert Duvall shines as Felix (Bush) Breazeale, a quirky old recluse that has become the subject of much malicious gossip among the local townsfolk. His unruly appearance does little to dispel the rumors the day he strolls into town to visit the local funeral parlor. It is there he meets Frank Quinn (Bill Murray), the parlor's owner who he enlists to arrange his funeral, while he is still alive. While I don't think Murrays character was intended to be humorous the actors comedic genious comes through none the less. I particularly love the scene where he nearly swerves off the road when he learns that Duvall's character once had a go with his characters current love interest. Priceless. The characters in this film are multi-layered and well performed. The talented ensemble cast includes Sissy Spacek and Lucas Black. At the funeral we finally learn reasons for this master carpenters self imposed isolation and it is moving to say the least. So on the Heart Chart... Get Low gets four out of five hearts ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Best Sugar Free Dessert Ever!!!

For our L House get together my Sweet Cheri made for me a decadant sugar free dessert that was to die for. OMG!!! Off the chart yummy. I am such a lucky girl. winks.

Best & Worst

Best: Sir La Table finally got the perfect color purple into their spring line. I love it. A few fun new things for our kitchen. smiles. Got new tires on Giselle. Whew! Glad that's over with. sighs.. Had a fun L house potluck dinner on Easter. Cheri re-potted our beautiful Lemon tree and it is very happy. Added some soil to the backyard and some flowers and greenery. Starting to look really nice. Had a fun garage sale and got rid of a bunch of crap. Yay! Had a nice time camping at Lake Casitas. Bandit went and for the first time didn't get sick in the car on the way or coming back. WooooHooo Got a few more pretty photos. Lots of best. Big smiles.

Worst: Found out I am not eligible for a photography book contest that I wanted to enter. Very sad. Allergies and Asthma have been bothering me lately. Not a lot of worst...yippppeeee.

Funniest: When Victoria was putting away the cutting board, she put her face right by mine and had her tongue out like she was about to do something very mischievous but I was looking the other way and did not know she was there. When I turned around I totally shrieked and everyone thought it was pretty funny. LOL

What I learned: That I am still quite capable of opening mouth and inserting foot... sighs... some things you just never outgrow. LOL

Revolutionary Road... Movie review

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet play Frank and April Wheeler in this 50's era tale of broken dreams in suburban Connecticut. Kathy Bates stars as a real estate agent, and friend, who aids them in finding the house of their dreams on the upscale and perfectly manicured Revolutionary Road. In a last ditch effort to escape her mundane life where she has become exactly what she feared most, April concocts a scheme to move the family to Paris. She convinces Frank by saying she'll work and he can find himself. Steady Frank, however, is reluctant to leave the security of a well established career and is offered a hefty promotion. The dynamic, although exceedingly well acted, I found to be most depressing. This is not a feel good movie. In fact, I was happy to switch the channel to regular tv at the movie's end and become lost in some program that would make me forget the lingering feelings of dread. The best thing about the film as a whole is perhaps that it so well illustrates what not to do. The cinematography was outstanding and brought the 50's right into our livingroom. So on the Heart Chart...Revolutionary Road gets four out of five hearts. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Spring is here...

I just wanted to upload some recent pics of the backyard.

Things are blooming and it is refreshing. I love the colors.

Our garden needs some tending, but it is beautiful. My

Sweet Cheri has been bringing some discarded plants from

work to add to the color and balance. It's looking better

than ever. So excited for the backyard this year.

World's Best Piggy Bank

This is Roxy Rockstar Pig.  I just had to post pics of her. 

It's a good thing when a girls piggy bank can make her

smile every time she looks at it.  Makes saving your pennies

a whole lot more fun.  All pigs should be this happy.

My Redwood Gardening Bench

My Noelle is pretty amazing.  She built this lovely handcrafted

gardening bench in just about a week. She is so talented and I

am so lucky to have her in my life.  Yippppeeeee.

Best & Worst

Best: I am feeling tip top once again. Yay. Another camping trip is coming up, can't wait. Got some things cleaned up in the garage yesterday, and my sweet Cheri started building my gardening bench which I know will be adorable. Can't wait to paint it. smiles. Wrote a new love poem. Made my signature enchiladas for my friends. Great reviews. I sold another book and my first royalty check is on it's way. WooooHoooo! A good friend of ours Paula Hallowell is being featured in her first art show with some of her photography. Very exciting... I can say I knew her when. We are planning a garage sale to make some extra money and get rid of more crap...LOL Camping, camping, camping....can't wait to go camping.

Worst: Had a little asthma going on this last week. sighs... It makes me sad when I have to use an inhaler. Need new front tires on Giselle, another inconvenient expense. My sweet Cheri says it's my fault cause I don't listen to her and I go around the corners too fast. I told her Giselle needs to go around the corners fast, that's what she's meant to do. smiles. You don't buy a thoroughbred and not ride her! I found the perfect camera, but I need to raise the money now to buy it. :(

Funniest: Joyce's expression to the statement No Food at Eleven. Priceless. Just like Noelle's. Amazing how much they are alike when it comes to food. LOL LOL

What I learned: That DOD stands for Department of Defense. That C.j. has a mean pinch!

Winter's Bone....Movie review

17 year old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) struggles with losing the family home and having to provide for her mentally ill mother and two younger siblings when her father apparently skips bail and is nowhere to be found. Jennifer Lawrence gives a candid tough as nails performance that has you rooting for her character from the start. Believing Jessop Dolly dead and left with no kin except her uncle Teardrop (John Hawkes) she does her best to unravel the mystery surrounding his disappearance. John Hawkes is both chilling and believable as a man who could snap at any time. Ree tells him "I was always afraid of you" and he says "that's cause you're a smart girl". This film is gritty and unapologetic. I hadn't heard of this movie prior to its Oscar nomination for Best Picture. I can say although it didn't win, it deserved the nomination. The cinematography was outstanding and the characters were frighteningly authentic. So on the Heart Chart...

Winter's Bone gets 5 out of 5 Hearts ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Best & Worst

Best: My illness is mostly gone. Yay! Had a fun day at the zoo with my sweet Cheri. Princess Raven Waves won her court case. Double Yay. Her son Julian won his first mma fight. Scary..Yay! Scary cause I wish he wasn't fighting but yay cause at least he won. Finally got our taxes filed. Enjoying our new bakeware. Making lots of fun baked things. smiles. Getting lots of laundry done so everything will be fresh and clean again by end of day. Love fresh and clean. smiles. Getting some more financial matters wrapped up for good. WooooHooooo! Worst: Our tax lady passed away so there were unscheduled delays in our tax preparations. We will miss her, but I am sure her son will do a bang up job. He is very cute and looks so much like her and seems to have her kind heart. RIP Taoma Michaud. Our son Jeremy lost his keys so we are again having the locks changed. sighs... I have a lingering cough and congestion from my illness that's really pissing me off. I mean come on!!!!!!! It's been a fucking month already!!!!!!!!! Funniest: When I got smacked right in the face by my own boobie when I was trying to get out of bed. Wow, talk about a cartoon moment. Noelle said the look on my face was priceless. Watching a female Orangutan school some parents in dealing with their obnoxious children. It was something we should have been videoing for sure. She took a switch and stuck it through the fence and was smacking at them. Loved it. I will never understand why people allow their kids to taunt the zoo animals. Of course the switch couldn't quite reach the people but it was the point of it! Go Orangutan!!!! What I learned: A new analagy from my youngest son Jeremy that made me laugh... "It's like your knee deep in zombie shit and out of ammo". LOL That Orangutans are very smart and are able to use tools like we do. To be careful when exiting the bed lest your own boobie will smack you right upside your head!!!!

Valentines Stoneware 2011

Unfortunately this Valentines Day I was very under the weather.

So we decided to celebrate well after the holiday when we were

both feeling up to it. We chose an untraditional gift for each other

this year... via The Food Network store and courtesy of Rachael Ray.

Some lovely stoneware for baking our favorite casseroles and lasagnas.

Yummmm. These beautiful dishes are a perfect addition to our rainbow

themed kitchen and we are having a blast cooking with them already.

WoooooooooooooHoooooooooooooooo

Knights Of The South Bronx movie review

This was such a feel good movie from start to finish. Ted Danson is a standout as Richard Mason an elementary school teacher who returns to teaching after being fired from his corporate job when they discover he's a whistle blower. As he begins to connect with these inter city students by teaching them the game of Chess as well as mathematics he rediscovers his passion. Strong suppporting performances include Malcolm David Kelley who plays Jimmy a young boy struggling to avoid being forced into the local gang while his father is away in prison. Clifton Powell doesn't get much screen time but he makes the most of it as Jimmy's father Cokey, a hard knocks type offering his son some much needed advice and direction as well as love during a prison visit. The exchange was riveting. Keke Palmer delivers a believable rendition as Kenya a young girl trying to make it despite her mothers drug addiction and shattered home life. A delightful cherry on top is Antonio Ortiz who plays Dawson a kindergartner who follows his big sister to Mr. Mason's class and also learns to play chess and enters the competition, and wins. The best part comes at the end when you learn that this is based on a true story and most of the real kids earned scholarships from their winnings and got to go to college, and the program still exists today. Awesome! So on the Heart Chart... Knights Of The South Bronx gets five out of five hearts. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Best & Worst

Best: Finally got some long over due blood work out of the way this morning. 4 years over due in fact. Whew! I have the best wife in the world. Worst: Unfortunately said blood work put us out to the tune of $360.00. OMG!!! It's a problem when a cash patient can't get a discount. Maybe if all citizens could get the negotiated rates that the insurance companies do we wouldn't have a healthcare crisis or the need for insurance. We might just be able to afford to go to the doctor? The lady at Quest Diagnostics wasn't very nice to me. She had my arm in an uncomfortable position and she didn't explain clearly about all the documents she was asking me to sign. Entering day 6 of head and throat infection and though the light is now peeking through the clouds I am exhausted from the lack of sleep this last week. sighs.. beautiful wife is exhausted too... from listening to me hack all night long (see best wife in the world above). All of our L girls have gotten this except my sweet Cheri...keeping fingers crossed beautiful wife doesn't get it too. :( Funniest: Mine and Noelle's head butting (three stooges) moment whan she was trying to comfort me. pretty funny. What I learned: That when chicken soup goes in...phlem comes right out. Voila!! Like magic...better than medicine. LOL That I really like the pink grapefruit flavor of Airborne. Yumm.

Wedge Salad & Cindy Sighting

This is a rare occurance here at the L House...

A Cindy sighting...and she's cooking which is

an even rarer occurance...and she's dressed up

while cooking... well you get the picture. We were

all so excited. Miss Cindy can cook by the way...she

just doesn't do it that often. WooooHoooooo

Our fantastic wedge salads made the day. Some cucumber

salad accompanies here, just couldn't get enough salad. lol

Yummmmm

Best & Worst

Best: Cooked up a storm yesterday. Made so many yummy things and my orange cupcakes debuted to rave reviews. Just need to find a better frosting I think. Something more complimentary. My Sweet Cheri started building me a gardening bench. I don't really garden, lol, but she does and it will look exceedingly charming in the back yard when she gets it finished and painted. Got some Angus top sirloin steaks yesterday at Albertsons for 50% off. WooooHooo! I just finished Melissa Gilberts book Prairie Tale: A memoir, and I have to say I wasn't disappointed at all. Very interesting and candid. It was humorous, entertaining, and informative. Loved it. I have started a series of poems based on a childhood friend and our adventures together and they are being well received. Yay Worst: STOP the presses!!!! There is no worst this week. smiles. Funniest: My mistaking the garbage can for the hamper and almost throwing out a perfectly good pair of underwear. LOL What I learned: That Facebook is a great way to catch up with old friends. That you can alter cupcake recipes without ruining them. That my best friend in the whole world has always got my back.

Best and Worst

Best: Our trip to Alcatraz island with our good friends Dee & Erika. We had a blast. It was a long drive, but so worth it. So much fun. Cross another thing off of our bucket list. smiles. Even saw some ghosties in the photos afterward. Wooohahaha. Having dinner with our son Joshua and his girlfriend Tiffani and learning about his plans for his future first hand. Very proud of him. Reading a new book Atheist Manifesto and finding some validation for many of my long held beliefs. Knowing that all but one of my sons are not sheep! Yay! Getting 4 blu-rays at Best Buy with my reward zone credits for only $6.00. You can't beat that with a stick! WoooHooo Worst: Making our deposit late at the bank and not having access to our funds for 4 days....ugh!!!! Really?....really?...I mean come on!!!!!! Funniest: Well it wasn't funny at the time, but falling flat on my face while entering the super market in front of all the little kids selling stuff for the YMCA. So embarrassing. sighs... That's leaving some bruises! What I learned: A slew of new vocabulary words...lol Just when I was feeling smart..? It's never too late to broaden your horizons. smiles.