Breaking News!

On Monday, our "sort of local" newspaper, thought that the following was important enough to print:

Kim Jong II (Leader of North Korea) has ordered the opening of an Italian restaurant. Apparently he is a gourmand, and had sent North Korean cooks to Rome and Naples, last year, to learn how to prepare authentic Italian Pasta and Pizza.

Now that to me, is breaking news.
Like I wouldn't be able to sleep at night without knowing this.

Speaking of food...did anyone catch Tyler Florence's show on The Food Network, Monday?
He made:

• The Ultimate Banana Split
• Parsnip Puree
• Red Onions Roasted With Balsamic and Honey
• The Ultimate Braised Brisket

I was sooooo hungry after watching this show.
I was already want'n some corned beef and cabbage, and this just put me over the edge.
I actually drooled on myself!

I'm thinking that I was supposed to post about something else today....what the heck was it anyway?


OH YEAH - My First Ever Giveaway!

So what have you got to do, to "enter", you're asking yourselves?
Well here goes:

I've been hobbling around for 4 1/2 weeks now. Anytime I'm out and about (which I must admit has been limited, but I have tried to attend church each week while I was in Florida and now that I'm back home - also I've had doctor's appointments etc.), people will ask me what I've done to my leg.
(For those of you who are new, go HERE or HERE or HERE, or even HERE to find out more than you ever wanted to know about my most recent medical saga.)

At first, I gave an accurate account of what happened, but then the hubby and I got kind of cocky, and started giving silly answers. So far we've said that I:

Had a sky diving accident.
Fell off of an elephant.
Got kicked my a camel.
Was backed over by a car in a Wally World parking lot.

Also, I've been wanting to start another blog "narrated" by George (my pug) and Gracie (my Carolina Dog).

So all you have to do is leave a comment (and please, no foul language ) with a suggestion for a silly answer for "what happened to my leg?", and/or a title for a new "dog blog".

If you have more than one "answer" and/or "title" please leave them all in one comment.

Want an additional entry (or two)?

Post about my giveaway on your blog, linking back to this post.
(Make sure that you let me know that you posted.)

Become a follower, or remind me if you're already a follower.


This giveaway is open to "all"(but you'll only get the prize package if you have a viable mailing address), and the deadline for entries is at midnight (central time) on Friday March 20th. Since I'm not sure if I can figure out how to use random.org, I may just have to throw "names in a hat". Either way...I'll announce the winner on Monday morning the 24th of March.
If you aren't a blogger, or your blog is set to private, make sure that your leave an email address, with each entry, so that I can reach you.
Remember to leave that address in code (example: you[at]yourmail[dot]com).

NOW - WHAT WILL YOU GET?

So glad that you asked!

Just take a look at this pile of goodies.

A deck of cards.

A whoopie cushion.

A note pad and pen.

A Pampered Chef Season's Best Recipe Collection Spring/Summer 2006 Cook Booklet (I've got a duplicate of this one, so I'm throwing it in).

A kid's fanny pack with zoo animals on it.

A pack of envelopes that you can write your grocery lists on, and put coupons in.

A box of PartyLite tea light candles (that to be perfectly honest, don't smell all that good - now I really like ParyLite candles, I just don't care for this particular scent - so if you are a PartyLite consultant...please don't leave me any nasty comments...okay but feel free to send samples).

A couple of Pampered Chef plastic dish scrapers that I love to use on my stone wear (the plastic bag that they're in is kind of ratty, cause it's been sitting in a kitchen drawer for a while, but I promise that the scrapers haven't ever been used).

A little plastic santa on a string, with bubbles in him.

A pack of sticky notes, with palm trees (these don't make sense to me cause it's hard to read anything that you write on them, but to each his own).

An "I'm Proud You're Mine" - from parent to child (for achievements and appreciation) kid's coupon book (with only about 6 coupons missing).

A brown leatherette "envelope" in which I will place three photo's of my dogs.

And last, but not least, an Olive Garden Gift Card with a balance of $3.17.

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I had you going there for a little while didn't I?
Did you really think that I was gonna had over that gift card?

Okay - Okay

Here's what you really get.

A pair of fresh water pearl earrings and a matching bracelet. Not the most spectacular (or expensive - it's just a plated metal of some kind) pieces of jewelry, but I think that they are pretty, and a lot like me...
...dainty and sweet ((snort, snicker))!

Good Luck!

Asking for Prayers and Provoking Thought

My friend Susan (not to be confused with my other friend Susan), and her family, have been going through a rough patch lately. Would you take a few minutes to say a prayer for them. Her husband lost his job a while back, and has been trying diligently to find work - but so far nothing has come up. Now, they have experienced smoke damage from a chimney fire. You can go HERE to read her blog called Raisin Toast. Scroll back through a few, and you can learn about what's been going on at their house over the last few months. You mom's out there, better have some tissues ready. Some of the stuff will bring tears, but you'll smile some too. Especially if you go far enough back to see some of the photo's she took of her husband, Big Bear...to put on business cards! His smile in contagious!!!

I would like all of you to go over to my friend Chele's today. She has a post that really hit a nerve with me. I tend to post "bit's of fluff" and try not to spout a lot about my conservative political views, but over the last several months my concern about the path that our government seems to be taking at this time, is growing and growing. Please just take a few minutes to go HERE, and read her post, and then think about the story. It reminds me of a saying in a "fortune cookie" that I read a few weeks ago.
It said:

Nothing in life is free...you just haven't received the bill for it yet!

AND - TADA

Come back tomorrow for
MY FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY!

Hugs and Kisses and Thanks

This and That

I want to keep you all coming back, so I'm throwing out a teaser. I think that I've decided on what to do (since I was away and "off my feet" on my first blogversary back on the 26th of February) for my very first giveaway. So make sure that you keep coming by. I'll announce the details very soon.

My friend (one of the most talented woman on earth) Jientje, at Heaven in Belgium, is up for nomination for her photo's in the Scavenger Hunt Photo series. Please check out Jientje's photo's and then go HERE to vote for her. Please? Pretty Please? Pretty Please with a cherry on top?

Also, I would be happy to accept monetary donations, from all of you, so that I can afford to go to the BlogHer Conference in Chicago. This way I can meet up with Jientje, and she won't be all alone. To read about the conference, go HERE.

My sweet Sharon over at Queen of the Macks, is a writer/artist/comedian. She would like to let everyone know about a fund raiser for Breast Cancer. You can read all about this on her blog, and then head over to HERE to see some more of these boobtactular creations. I'm seriously thinking that I might make one of these to donate - I just need to put my thinking cap on, cause it will be hard to come up with something as cool as those that have already been submitted!

Tatersmama told me to post about a giveaway, and when Tatie speaks, I listen. Head on over to Grammy2Many, and put your name in the hat for a pair of hand knitted socks. Make sure to tell her that I sent you.

And last for today...did any of you see the HGTV Dream Home special, last night? When they showed the picture of the winners home town, I just about wet my pants. Right there on National TV they showed pictures of Lake Mirror in downtown Lakeland. My Lakeland!!!
Then when they announced that the winner was a woman - oh man, my heart was racing. I got on the phone and called my friend Becky at Becky and Her Babies, and told her she better put on some make-up, cause maybe she was the winner.
She wasn't:(
But congrats to Cheryl Smith. I don't know her, but if she lives in Lakeland, she's gotta be a nice person.

Talk at ya again tomorrow.

Braces

Linnea over at Nea Bear and B-Daddy's Nest, asked for a good photo of the brace that's on my leg...so Linnea - here it is (below - sorry that I have the photo's reversed). The inside of the brace is the same as the outside. The brace doesn't usually go as high and as low, on a person's leg - but I'm a shorty. If the top piece wasn't rounded, I'd have some weird piercings going on:)

The photo above, is my newest acquisition. I've developed tendonitis. My doctor started me on some steroids yesterday. This isn't something that I would normally jump at, but since I must use the hand in order to get up and down (and to carry stuff, as my right arm has to deal with the crutch), I needed to stop the swelling, and start the healing, as quickly as possible.

Geesh - I'm pathetic ain't I?

I'd like to be able to claim that my leg is soooooooooooo big, because of swelling or padding under the ace bandages, but alas, its'cause I'm fluffy (is that word okay, Jientje?)
The ace bandages are needed to keep the brace from sliding, and from rubbing the incisions. Oh boy - does me leg ever get itchy under all of this. I looked forward to the stretching sessions each day, so that I can scratch to my heart's content!!!!

Speaking of itching and scratching. Have you ever noticed that when you start scratching one spot, you start itching in a half dozen other spots. What's with that anyway?

That's all for today. I've been at church all morning and now I need to take a nap.

(Just wondering...am I spelling tendonitis correctly? When I use spell check it comes up as
tendinitis, but that didn't look right.)

PS - anybody want to come clean my house?

Dreaming of Clean

I have this magnet on my fridge. Never before has this been sooooooooooooo true.

I love my men, but they just don't see things the way I do.

My husband is a very neat, clean person.

So is S to the 6th.

Hubby, unfortunately leaves before daylight and doesn't come home til dark-thirty each evening. The only thing he notices, is if there is something to eat, and the clock, cause that man can't function without some sleep.

S to the 6th keeps things neat & tidy, but deep cleaning is not his forte.

Big J sees clean as..........ummmmmmm...let's see....I've gotta think about this for a few minutes.

Talk amongst yourselves - I'll give you a topic... " If a mime is arrested, does he still have the right to remain silent?"

Okay - I'm back. The word clean isn't in J man's vocabulary. He still wouldn't brush his teeth or take a shower every day, if I didn't make him do it. When I got home last weekend, I asked him if he had changed his sheets regularly, while I was gone. He said " Oh yeah, S made me wash them after 4 or 5 weeks." Yuck - my skin was crawling. Gross, Gross, triple Gross, Eeeeeeeeewheeeeeee. Disgusting, with a capitol D.

I'm so glad to be home with my husband and the boys, and the dogs, but I can't help but notice everything that needs to be done around here.

I see:
Dustbunnies.
(A few are so big, I've actually named them!)
Smudges on door frames.
Water spots around the sinks.
Pesky little crumbs by the toaster.
Dryer lint in the laundry room.
Gook in the fridge.
Streaks on the mirrors.

I'm trying so hard not to let this bother me, but it does. I want to mop floors, and shine windows. I want to wet dust, and vacuum. I want to change sheets and polish furniture.

I want a maid, and a cook, and a chauffer.

But these things I can deal with , until I can do them on my own.

But for now, what I really need, is for somebody to come by to visit for a few minutes now and then. Or for somebody to call and say that they were thinking about me.
I shouldn't be complaining, but I'm pretty good at it, so why waste the talent.

I did get something nice on Monday evening. A dear woman from church dropped by. She had remembered that I said that I wear "house coats" with pockets in them, all day long. (This is so that I can carry things around.) She asked me what I did about meals. I told her that I ate whatever I could put in sandwhich bags, and that would fit into my pockets.

Well, she had made me an apron with three big pockets on it. She had filled each pocket with goodies in sandwhich bags.

A peeled orange.
Celery with peanut butter.
Chocolate and other wrapped candies.
Home made empanadas.
Cookies.

This gesture meant the world to me ...

... now if she had just brought along a maid!

Sweet Dreams to you ALL

Spunky Old Lady vs The Bank

My daughters mother-in-law just sent me the following email. I hope that I'm this "spunky" when I'm 60, much less 86. Rock on Old Lady!!!

It's said that this is an actual letter that was sent to a bank by an 86 year old woman.

Dear Sir:

I am writing to thank you for bouncing my check with which I endeavored to pay my plumber last month.
By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his
presenting the check and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honor it. I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my entire pension, an arrangement which, I admit, it has been in place for only eight years. You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account $30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank. My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. I noticed that whereas I personally answer your telephone calls and letters, --- when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become.

From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan repayments will
therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by check,addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate. Be aware that it is an offense under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application Contact which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative. Please note that all copies of his or he medical history must be countersigned by a Notary Public, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof. In due course, at MY convenience, I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I made the same number of button presses, required of to access my account balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Let me level the playing field even further...

... When you call me, press buttons as follows:

IMMEDIATELY AFTER DIALING, PRESS THE STAR (*) BUTTON FOR ENGLISH

#1. To make an appointment to see me

#2. To query a missing payment.

#3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there. #4
To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping

#5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to
nature.
#6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home

#7. To leave a message on my computer, a password to access my
computer is required. Password will be communicated to you at a later
date to that Authorized Contact mentioned earlier.

#8. To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 7.

#9. To make a general complaint or inquiry... The contact will then be
put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service.

#10. This is a second reminder to press* for English. While this may,
on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for
the duration of the call.

Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.

May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous New Year?
Your Humble Client

And remember: Don 't make old People mad. They don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to set them off.

Kreative Blogger Award

Last month I received this award from Punchbugpug at Pug Possessed Thanks so much PBP!
She's a pug nut like me!

As usual with most of these bloggy awards, there are some rules, so here they are:

List 6 things that make you happy. Pass the award on to 6 bloggers for Kreativity. Link to the blogger who gave you the award. Link to the blogs receiving the award. Notify the recipients.
Things that make me happy:
1. My family (which includes: husband, children and their spouses/ girlfriend/ fiancee, grandchildren, and my dogs)
2. My friends
3. Blogging buddies
4. Eating ;)
5. Scrap booking
6. Photography

Now comes the really hard part, cause there are soooooooooo many kreative bloggers out there!

Here we go.

Howard Pee Pugpants at Outside the Line (Make sure you check out the other links for Nancy Medina Art and the Flower Mound Studios)

Clover at Clovers Adventures (One of the cutest sweetest little pugs I've ever seen.)

Ladybird at Ladybird World Mother (Mind you - this woman doesn't even know I exist, but I look forward to every new post on her site. She has a uniquely different style of writing. And heads up - she sometimes throws in a 4 or 5 or 6 letter word now and then;)

Liz at Colour Contrast Continuity (Liz is a fabulous photographer and writer. See for yourselves!)

Sharon at Queen of the Macks (I never know what's going to come out of this woman's mouth, but I know that it will be moving, insightful, informative, or hysterically funny.)

Katie Tatie at Taters Mama's Take on Things (Just watch out if the word CRISCO is in any of her posts!)

Now, since I'm twice the woman as the rest of you (yes I am - trust my scale) AND it's my post, so I can do whatever I want to... I'm gonna pass this on to 6 more blogs!

Jientje at Heaven in Belgium must get this award. (She is probably the most overall talented woman on the face of the earth. She is a gourmet cook, incredible photographer, tour guide and get this...she makes lace. I'm not joking.)

Susan at Raisin Toast. (Writer, and painter, cook, gardener- warm, touching, honest and full of life.)

The Wife at Gizzards and Calf Fries (Make sure that you check her out - she carries a gun, so don't mess around! Make sure you mosie on over to Crazy M Photography to see more of her pictures.)

Linnea at NeaBear and B-Daddy's Nest (This woman is the sugar in Sweet. Make sure that you check out her craft and sewing blog, too!)

Snoop Dog and Heather at Snoop Dog Adventures and Heathers Eden (Now Snoop was on the job when it came to getting my Percy back ,when he was dog napped last month - by the-way, the nappers have repented, and have some more pics of my boys adventures. I've just got to get them so that I can post them at another time), so I've gotta include him. Check out Heathers site - sometimes she posts the best recipes along with great photos of the Florida that I know and love - not just white sand and palm trees.)

And last for today (and believe me I didn't really want to add her cause she's really smok'n me out with her followers - and she's often a BIG FAT LIAR - oh did I really say that? Uuuummmm - she stretches the truth now and then - yep, that's better.) is Robynn at Robynn's Ravings.

Another day, I'm gonna post the sites of some fabulous cooks - I've just gotta find/make a new award for them!