tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73096406513412269092024-03-05T21:58:42.620-06:00Inyrdreemz ArtVisual Art, drawing, photography, upcycled clothing, giftsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-44088588803808594932016-07-22T10:59:00.001-05:002016-07-25T16:30:29.598-05:00Dear Dark Diary, (Gremlins... Cont.)<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">D</span></b><span style="font-size: large;">ear Diary,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Something's not right. I'm sure I forgot a significant detail. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I cleaned the trunk. With bleach. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The hammer went out in today's trash pickup.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The shovel is 20-some odd miles in a deep creek...The shovel! I forgot to wipe and sand it down!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-90491228114984897232016-06-30T19:56:00.001-05:002016-07-02T12:18:22.825-05:00Happy Window<span style="font-size: large;">I'm fortunate enough to not have to wash dishes by hand. But if I did, it would be looking out this happy little window.š</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidyyNTInHSTxGsHrK0EfMrIFbeU2rrVcAcsQcgpVGtjMl_Qip-WxTNCwWFS0UDAV9I_KAA8h_CnB10ZLat3nQ0cBP01ISKBhaNeZ2LgrrMRImPYm2VgmhVyWX0HheeAS4sL9clv9LUdHo/s640/blogger-image--171826414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidyyNTInHSTxGsHrK0EfMrIFbeU2rrVcAcsQcgpVGtjMl_Qip-WxTNCwWFS0UDAV9I_KAA8h_CnB10ZLat3nQ0cBP01ISKBhaNeZ2LgrrMRImPYm2VgmhVyWX0HheeAS4sL9clv9LUdHo/s640/blogger-image--171826414.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-84334467961429055962016-06-21T11:32:00.001-05:002016-06-22T02:43:05.592-05:00Gremlins In Suburbia?<span style="font-size: large;">She woke to a sound not at all unlike the screaming of a victim about to meet their demise in a bad <i>Slasher </i>B-movie. Turns out it was the doorbell, a service man stood outside the fortress of the front door. He was not expected, but she allowed his entry anyway.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Still shaken from the forgotten dream she'd been having seconds earlier, she heard the familiar swishing sound of the dishwasher. <i>Odd,</i> she thought, <i>I ran the dishes last night</i>. It felt like Sunday. But other evidence pointed to a weekday. <i>My phone. I'll check my phone. Siri always knows what day it is. </i>After confirming it was actually <i>Tuesday</i>, she turned on the coffee maker hoping for the clarity that caffeine brings. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Somewhere in the middle of her second cup out on the back deck, she heard a <i>real</i> blood-curdling scream in the distance. Armed with the reality that she was a slow runner and still not awake enough to be of any real assistance, she waited for the screaming to stop or the sound of police sirens.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<i><span style="font-size: large;">To be continued ...</span></i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-50663211702359958722014-08-19T01:15:00.000-05:002016-07-02T12:19:05.896-05:00Just Tangling Around<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Hello friends!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I've had a round with bronchitis this last week and wasn't, you know, I was sick. So in bed I stayed. until this fine Monday morning, where I braved the morning traffic and was only delayed by one wreck and 30 minutes. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">But on to more pressing matters: I made a bookmark for my daughter. I used the pretty but simple SpinRose pattern and colored the flowers with 2 shades of pink. For the leaves I used a glitter pencil and metallic gel pen, as well as highlighting some of the scrolls. My hands were a bit shaky this evening and it's not my best penmanship, but hey! It's free. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinibtQnblIowxVr_GcTknTZ_3jwH1beg-huw6ZnoGdGFvEGhr2I5Tq8U3WdVjV04XopCaBmttK3kUEtzMC17pJkdhf00GoEHCjBX7u9mlWBBlYyRqlxOflQ6hjvYUv7ZJrWMqfzV1iAq4/s1600/zen+bookmark10001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinibtQnblIowxVr_GcTknTZ_3jwH1beg-huw6ZnoGdGFvEGhr2I5Tq8U3WdVjV04XopCaBmttK3kUEtzMC17pJkdhf00GoEHCjBX7u9mlWBBlYyRqlxOflQ6hjvYUv7ZJrWMqfzV1iAq4/s1600/zen+bookmark10001.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The next piece is called "Infinity". It's the more complex drawing I<a href="http://inyrdreemz-thebig50.blogspot.com/2014/08/ink-and-watercolor-flowers.html" target="_blank"> mentioned last week</a>.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMGcokhY5_zuSgI_FvM_UI490QpHJC7vy7CJt0CTDnOD5eUVBKDGbL9ofivXeEUi_iA-bc4lc14uvHQMVvcbqp7bLZCHfT2ZwJul5sY16DbZeE-XkcjdixCMRzdQmdoPsAaoq3KVcYBhc/s1600/Infinity081514+v1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMGcokhY5_zuSgI_FvM_UI490QpHJC7vy7CJt0CTDnOD5eUVBKDGbL9ofivXeEUi_iA-bc4lc14uvHQMVvcbqp7bLZCHfT2ZwJul5sY16DbZeE-XkcjdixCMRzdQmdoPsAaoq3KVcYBhc/s1600/Infinity081514+v1.jpg" width="438" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I like the cool color mix. It was drawn and colored in ink and markers. Believe it or not, I resisted using gold or silver this time too! I printed it on water color paper and it came out really nice. You have to be careful with thicker papers, some of them just won't go through a printer. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Blessings!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Joanne</span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-7612868993825574872014-08-11T06:00:00.000-05:002014-08-11T07:43:32.994-05:00Ink and Watercolor Flowers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">This is one of my first attempts to blend a water color background with an ink drawing. I like the vibrant mix of colors. But, what do <i><u>you</u></i> think??</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQ8TcnXlSBT_M8rrWkhDUXYoP5GVpDK5MRxYz0D-m_WzANtwKc36ZdaFCgPbno09PTs8MIssd4T8G4foLZTpO-Nvew3XwuxmM_6JC0qIdJHL-sKz1ghMmPrmNqfkhsgdVv4FfldtuxhY/s1600/Flowers+in+Ink+n+WC+081014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQ8TcnXlSBT_M8rrWkhDUXYoP5GVpDK5MRxYz0D-m_WzANtwKc36ZdaFCgPbno09PTs8MIssd4T8G4foLZTpO-Nvew3XwuxmM_6JC0qIdJHL-sKz1ghMmPrmNqfkhsgdVv4FfldtuxhY/s1600/Flowers+in+Ink+n+WC+081014.jpg" height="640" width="441" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">I'm working on something a little more complex (but not watercolors). I hope to have it up in a few days to share with you.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">You may also like more Zentangle drawings: <a href="http://inyrdreemz-thebig50.blogspot.com/2013/11/flood-streets-with-art.html" target="_blank">here</a> and<a href="http://inyrdreemz-thebig50.blogspot.com/2013/11/handmade-and-little-zen.html" target="_blank"> here</a> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com1United States35.746512259918504 -95.976562510.224477759918503 -137.2851565 61.268546759918507 -54.6679685tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-61309923604435344422014-03-21T08:00:00.000-05:002014-03-31T23:01:17.220-05:00In Memory of My Mom<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">M</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">y mom passed away Wednesday night.
Erna Teschler died in Kansas City, Missouri on March 19, 2014 at 5:40pm CDT. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdOccuk2GFDctVlF-ZkQ9eV_UixDq7tvbajNNFa8yt0OdtjHR1yikyG_1jm_RqJlJ4T8_8Ibx9wZkJ2Pnf4J5TkE5JpRS1LdddqNpZ8IQGaZpoqDgOU1w8wOQKpKBIt3dDjMLk0OX-R0/s1600/mom1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdOccuk2GFDctVlF-ZkQ9eV_UixDq7tvbajNNFa8yt0OdtjHR1yikyG_1jm_RqJlJ4T8_8Ibx9wZkJ2Pnf4J5TkE5JpRS1LdddqNpZ8IQGaZpoqDgOU1w8wOQKpKBIt3dDjMLk0OX-R0/s1600/mom1.jpg" height="400" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Erna Teschler </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzg9wG6BKUOTNsnjyFFXBK8Df3nebckvnRYHnJOpktV7K4p6KWcw7OZ8j1ocKmnsREG2mk-Lqdl1l90MII3GAg0A9UzCXqqSsXBlCXG-St4-Uqxa9E7OLdjhM5UTv5_bMI4_i-fZUehI/s1600/2014-02-28+IPAD+dump+377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzg9wG6BKUOTNsnjyFFXBK8Df3nebckvnRYHnJOpktV7K4p6KWcw7OZ8j1ocKmnsREG2mk-Lqdl1l90MII3GAg0A9UzCXqqSsXBlCXG-St4-Uqxa9E7OLdjhM5UTv5_bMI4_i-fZUehI/s1600/2014-02-28+IPAD+dump+377.JPG" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Sitting on Santa's lap, Christmas 2013</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">After
a serious illness and a close brush with death a year ago, I moved her from
Grants Pass, Oregon to live here in Missouri with my husband, daughter and
myself. She was placed in the care of <a href="http://www.crossroadshospice.com/">Crossroads Hospice</a>, a local
agency. After mom regained her strength from proper care, good eating habits
and a loving environment, she began to thrive. Even though she spent many days
alone while we were at work, she enjoyed the companionship of a grumpy old lady
cat named Lucy. Lucy quickly became <i>her BFF</i>.
Lucy would take naps and inform my mom when it was time for her bowl to be
filled. My mom also became the ādoormanā for the other two furry family
members, Bella the dog and Reggie the <i>Hobo
cat.</i> Most evenings after work, we received full reports on how Bella had
escaped into the neighborhood and was gone for hours until some helpful
stranger brought her back home. Mom didnāt care much for Bellaās free spirit.
Mama would also report whether or not Reggie (Hobo cat) had or had not made an
appearance that day. Many days he did not, due to his (similar) wandering
nature. <i>Lucy</i> was the only animal that
received Unconditional Love from mom (because she never left the house).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxbkkRbYma9CeVkhJcz03nCpUPOWbk1xfyJeYyT5dvnvPc2tnraJhI-_WmiO1pa6gXvBcGqjgIrzE3CdJQBEE-l_2asRWsbI55GVCFdnE10qSUKP_giZ5gjWu8hcfnBZVwodgngZaFok/s1600/DSC_1207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxbkkRbYma9CeVkhJcz03nCpUPOWbk1xfyJeYyT5dvnvPc2tnraJhI-_WmiO1pa6gXvBcGqjgIrzE3CdJQBEE-l_2asRWsbI55GVCFdnE10qSUKP_giZ5gjWu8hcfnBZVwodgngZaFok/s1600/DSC_1207.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mother's Day 2013, with granddaughter Andrea, daughter Joanne (3 generations)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyB4DT3FfwsXVxSIruylXi2qVEvJ96Ez20V_w22qdyWes62KwOryVp9Gsk724VxuskqzsUHGO9jJ0aURKteuXS8iUXS-Zwdsu-W72n058QTsDvLL9qTGF22-pttlTSiW_w2xhLeLGePWs/s1600/DSC_1199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyB4DT3FfwsXVxSIruylXi2qVEvJ96Ez20V_w22qdyWes62KwOryVp9Gsk724VxuskqzsUHGO9jJ0aURKteuXS8iUXS-Zwdsu-W72n058QTsDvLL9qTGF22-pttlTSiW_w2xhLeLGePWs/s1600/DSC_1199.JPG" height="420" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mother's Day 2013, with granddaughter Stephanie</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">D</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">ue to her illness, Mom didnāt get out much;
she tired easily and was tethered to a tank of oxygen. She did enjoy spending
quarters at the casino, but only made 2 trips during the time she lived with
us. So, for the most part her days centered on the cats, the dog and whatever
TV show she was hooked to at the time. She started out being a full-blown <i>Golden Girls</i> addict, later moving to <i>CSI Miami</i>, <i>Criminal Minds</i> and most recently, <b>every</b> <a href="http://www.themoviedb.org/collection/138042-madea-collection">Tyler Perry
<i>Madea </i>movie</a> ever made. I always
thought the fascination with the <i>Madea </i>movies
was the funniest or most ironic, given her twisted and dead ex-husband was a
full-blown Nazi (seriously). She loved <i>Madea</i>
though. When I asked her why she was watching another movie again (that sheād
already seen), sheād tell me āTheyāre educationalā or āthey have good messagesā.
(Kudos to Tyler Perry). Mom was addicted to Coke, ice cream and black licorice
(Yuk). She had an insatiable sweet tooth. She was lucky because I told her if
she was fat and ever got diabetes, sheād be up Shit Creek, because I would cut
off the <i>Sugar Train</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPYqyhZPJYCKI_D2R9REhuh3a9MRTSkm1IJGzu2ilFVPgDMBHFvRvklHFLjGPPljshoaZLfHN5yeyw4lB6I9NTaRrbMvyffjn1lCgWIDGztngXbhtJa59LVbNzFH1nw_SwXvZJJV1lZ4/s1600/mom2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPYqyhZPJYCKI_D2R9REhuh3a9MRTSkm1IJGzu2ilFVPgDMBHFvRvklHFLjGPPljshoaZLfHN5yeyw4lB6I9NTaRrbMvyffjn1lCgWIDGztngXbhtJa59LVbNzFH1nw_SwXvZJJV1lZ4/s1600/mom2.jpg" height="640" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1993 her first and only trip back to Germany</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">B</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">orn in 1934, in Hitlerās Germany, my
mother lived a difficult childhood, at best. For a short time her mother was
held in a <a href="http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005263">Concentration
Camp</a> for speaking out against the Nazis. Mom met and married dad during his
Army tour of Germany, after the war. My grandparents had since divorced and
even after marrying, my mom remained with her sick mother for nearly a year to
take care of her until her death. After my grandmotherās passing, in 1953 my mom
crossed the Big Pond by ship to New York; from there she took a train to meet
my dad in San Francisco.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">T</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">wo items made the trip (over a span of
60+ years) from:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">Ā·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Germany
to NY<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">Ā·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">NY
to San Francisco<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">Ā·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">San
Francisco to Texas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">Ā·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Texas
to Hawaii<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">Ā·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Hawaii
back to Texas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">Ā·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Texas
to Oklahoma<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">Ā·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Oklahoma
to Oregon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">Ā·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Oregon
to Missouri<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">Ā·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Back
to Oregon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">Ā·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And
finally back to Missouri<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">T</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">hose two keepsakes are a vase thatās
at least 75 years old and an ink and watercolour drawing of her home town:
Marburg, Germany. I have them now and hopefully someday my kids will cherish
them as I do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_br0E6Nff8JjerQ4w2Xp6eNWKxnbiwEWMRilUQ9t-Js5YYU3uexyuhiLkAXvblNgpNre3gUq19C716qyiJHujJD5DwGboEpxn0eUwzvP5_0YreseEVFAgcDzAs7YP7F2cr_gB5lmZ0Uc/s1600/ink+dwg.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_br0E6Nff8JjerQ4w2Xp6eNWKxnbiwEWMRilUQ9t-Js5YYU3uexyuhiLkAXvblNgpNre3gUq19C716qyiJHujJD5DwGboEpxn0eUwzvP5_0YreseEVFAgcDzAs7YP7F2cr_gB5lmZ0Uc/s1600/ink+dwg.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ink drawing, Marburg, Germany</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlJsEMSMJMRjOqtIA34nIeGVJyDSOOepU1Mz87XOzfWPG5VIgrCS7gKXEcZsvvR36WgaV2eWTrx-katVHSN-tNfghwC63yPkptlF_qhg6n3PAjROgCk7j83Fh2YGBrlJWpPw6rHGFyMQ/s1600/vase.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlJsEMSMJMRjOqtIA34nIeGVJyDSOOepU1Mz87XOzfWPG5VIgrCS7gKXEcZsvvR36WgaV2eWTrx-katVHSN-tNfghwC63yPkptlF_qhg6n3PAjROgCk7j83Fh2YGBrlJWpPw6rHGFyMQ/s1600/vase.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vase</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">M</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">y mom was relatively small, about 5ā-1ā
and 130 lbs. when she was healthy. I
guess in outward appearance, she may have seemed frail or maybe even defenseless,
but as mean and tough as I <i>think </i>I am, it cannot compare to the strength and fortitude she had to leave your
home, travel to live in a foreign country where you donāt speak the language
and starting a new, successful and happy life. My mom not only learned to speak
English, she gained her citizenship before she had me, 5 years later. As easy
as it is to travel and communicate in todayās world, I still donāt know if I
could take a leap of faith like that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSf9cUbaaiUc88PGVPtY77OOb3xwPa83EOAXqHwpIiYG8khCl-soBDsLMkA6HPOTWQK7GBkaLbJiUARpnc2QmPg-PDvu3aXbF5Fmqh884GCcRHQ7mf5VSF9uMmz6iiGupHtiC-EQINQQE/s1600/2004_1013Fall0013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSf9cUbaaiUc88PGVPtY77OOb3xwPa83EOAXqHwpIiYG8khCl-soBDsLMkA6HPOTWQK7GBkaLbJiUARpnc2QmPg-PDvu3aXbF5Fmqh884GCcRHQ7mf5VSF9uMmz6iiGupHtiC-EQINQQE/s1600/2004_1013Fall0013.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oct 2004</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">E</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">rna Teschler was married to my dad for
21 years. Together, they raised three kids: me, a brother and an unexpected
baby sister (that came from Hawaii). During the three years we were in Hawaii
she also went to Cosmetology school. She worked as a Hair Dresser (Stylist) for
the rest of her working life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">M</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">om made a lot of moves in her life,
but resided in Germany, Oklahoma and Oregon all for over 20 years each. In 2004
after divorcing her second husband, I convinced her to come live with us. While
she adapted well in her early years, she did not like the bigger Kansas City as
compared to the simpler and smaller Grants Pass, Oregon and moved back a year
later. That move was much harder for me (than for her, I think) as she wasnāt
as strong and healthy and to know I couldnāt be there to take care of her or
help her out when she needed it. I thank God that he kept her well enough to
move back with us for the last 13 months of her life. She made our lives richer
and, Lucy the cat happier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9Bu9WkYwnbQWUH615PJawOTXfgz4uN0IlVnZN5QocDAHbC1n0VYO6Xkh5iJbJqlJ6aHdVMqZHQRmG9xEGkjunnxKf7ulaWCQQau3o7w8pydlwSQBPkPZEQMqh7eqSJAS_f9Jl8WObCQ/s1600/mom+w+sibs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9Bu9WkYwnbQWUH615PJawOTXfgz4uN0IlVnZN5QocDAHbC1n0VYO6Xkh5iJbJqlJ6aHdVMqZHQRmG9xEGkjunnxKf7ulaWCQQau3o7w8pydlwSQBPkPZEQMqh7eqSJAS_f9Jl8WObCQ/s1600/mom+w+sibs.jpg" height="276" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1993 (L-R) Sister Hilde, Mom, Brother Helmut & Wife Annie<br />Reunited after over 40 years</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">M</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">om was a<a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tightwad" target="_blank"> thrifty person</a> who could
squeeze 15āµ out of a dime, but was extremely generous to others. After her
second divorce she lived on a very meager budget but would share extra garden
produce with neighbors and friends. She was not a ājoinerā and preferred
staying home to driving, visiting and getting about, but was a gracious hostess
when company would call on her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">M</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">y mom is survived by two daughters,
one grandson, three granddaughters, three great-grandchildren, her favorite
son-in-law, many friends all across the country, and Lucy the Crabby Cat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">**********************</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #e06666;">I love you Mom. We miss you already.</span></i></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6gQNTzEDlVEyZva_08NedZUu8kmuz9OLvb_dMx_KVxRfBTf47yUrDE5lCOWlFx-LhACdyZqg40P6snAQ9UutE1CS8Cf9D0_bSgAFG1nmeK2XO9rEKAoHKafw536Z6yjm-fIyp4dpk7s/s1600/mom+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6gQNTzEDlVEyZva_08NedZUu8kmuz9OLvb_dMx_KVxRfBTf47yUrDE5lCOWlFx-LhACdyZqg40P6snAQ9UutE1CS8Cf9D0_bSgAFG1nmeK2XO9rEKAoHKafw536Z6yjm-fIyp4dpk7s/s1600/mom+collage.jpg" height="640" width="622" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Glamour 1950s</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">W</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">hile I do not know all of them by
name, I want to acknowledge the friendship, love and kindness of a few people I
have personally met. You all had a special place in Ernaās heart and for that
my family and I are eternally grateful:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In Oregon</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">: Tom G., Pam and Ken C., Ginger and
Staff at Laurel Hills, Dr. Burchette and Dr. Powell <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In Oklahoma</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">: Heike G.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In Missouri</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">: The Loving Staff at Crossroads
Hospice: Michelle, Stephanie, Carissa, Sandy, Bruce, Beth, Kim, Jasmine, Jennie and
Kendra. I know there were <u>many more</u> at Crossroads that helped my mother
end her life with comfort and dignity, but I did not meet all of them and cannot
remember all of them, especially during the last 2 weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her remains
are being cremated and a Memorial Celebration will be held this summer. In lieu
of flowers, we are asking that anyone inclined, make donations to:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.crhcf.org/donation-form/">Crossroads Hospice</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10810 East
45th Street<br />
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suite #300</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tulsa, OK 74146</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Tax ID 73-1620755</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="phone" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 4.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="tel:(888)%20658-4888" x-apple-data-detectors-result="3" x-apple-data-detectors-type="telephone" x-apple-data-detectors="true">(888) 658-4888</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="non-profit-info" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">501(c) (3) Nonprofit Organization. </span></span></div>
<div class="non-profit-info" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 9.85pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /></div>
<div class="non-profit-info" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 9.85pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Or <a href="https://www.crhcf.org/donation-form/">click here</a> to donate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="non-profit-info" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 9.85pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><b> ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Thank you for allowing me to share a little bit of my history. I love comments, leave yours below.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-33125928857417838072014-03-01T14:07:00.001-06:002014-03-21T01:37:06.049-05:00More Fun in N'awlinsSpent Friday night throwing beads at the throngs from the <a href="https://www.sonesta.com/RoyalNewOrleans" target="_blank">Royal Sonesta Hotel</a>.<br />
<div>
<br />
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUVZN4a1EKYuaZA2uBSlT0ctqPNXM_-sop3xwLUyTGhSVRk8FgwvD9guqyAvVQ2PChAxica3Dv9MkE9fpbckJh23RHR_s3Ue7tr96fHzKhBKHqqfk_hRzYwueFriZh60DQEXIzJBhe_s/s640/blogger-image-982646946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUVZN4a1EKYuaZA2uBSlT0ctqPNXM_-sop3xwLUyTGhSVRk8FgwvD9guqyAvVQ2PChAxica3Dv9MkE9fpbckJh23RHR_s3Ue7tr96fHzKhBKHqqfk_hRzYwueFriZh60DQEXIzJBhe_s/s640/blogger-image-982646946.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
These were my new BFFs-lovely ladies with SGS (company).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7QVYSeI5xWDW7-bfeSe1S6TAaKkdp-91BvNGmP3dDJd2tBoKQdXxVfaAMe4xfKmcEeKdNVhnNFU6BS4sBp8_ONH3MiWJl18qh_pCzyi6QtK-cCi3RLc3UxG4KZKhYLrn2A4sG68sVBLI/s640/blogger-image--1689636869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7QVYSeI5xWDW7-bfeSe1S6TAaKkdp-91BvNGmP3dDJd2tBoKQdXxVfaAMe4xfKmcEeKdNVhnNFU6BS4sBp8_ONH3MiWJl18qh_pCzyi6QtK-cCi3RLc3UxG4KZKhYLrn2A4sG68sVBLI/s640/blogger-image--1689636869.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We took a stroll through St Louis 1 Cemetery this morning.</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5lmoawsuLjY23ydPPbkKRNbys1Y1csIamDMmf16IeBVuqeuTsbwxclE5g7FAue6MgjjXIH_tt7BmlzXdT4ftcyhWfngEErXd5iEUimVY_PAWFWHhOBmqqETzCZQY2gJGGI8iQwqc8TdI/s640/blogger-image--674235909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5lmoawsuLjY23ydPPbkKRNbys1Y1csIamDMmf16IeBVuqeuTsbwxclE5g7FAue6MgjjXIH_tt7BmlzXdT4ftcyhWfngEErXd5iEUimVY_PAWFWHhOBmqqETzCZQY2gJGGI8iQwqc8TdI/s640/blogger-image--674235909.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9CWWPb3QjRR1bCyCPpBYsc8ZdPscmoq387dwhvQMEVnc3M6uz6qcts5Y07Uatf0qd13MQW0H4vQ_bamdaL3PUI6aSwioFPvQiAgP_U69WUt_mxGntadF9lzJuzMonm11X4xrlxtPdPSI/s640/blogger-image--1512819123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9CWWPb3QjRR1bCyCPpBYsc8ZdPscmoq387dwhvQMEVnc3M6uz6qcts5Y07Uatf0qd13MQW0H4vQ_bamdaL3PUI6aSwioFPvQiAgP_U69WUt_mxGntadF9lzJuzMonm11X4xrlxtPdPSI/s640/blogger-image--1512819123.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And--of course another (more subdued) stroll through the Quarter.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cEBP8O2lepbsDTSxGdKC1M6yTXTtySsgZa-3l21fl_pMxbUZAE9hwh_UCHLNzGHdixTTdui0gvy0lW3JZrHYucZmiiBaM9_T9Qezng3caemM9B2jf-sGynZwbL3lRhIN_toyKIQjt34/s640/blogger-image-362084897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cEBP8O2lepbsDTSxGdKC1M6yTXTtySsgZa-3l21fl_pMxbUZAE9hwh_UCHLNzGHdixTTdui0gvy0lW3JZrHYucZmiiBaM9_T9Qezng3caemM9B2jf-sGynZwbL3lRhIN_toyKIQjt34/s640/blogger-image-362084897.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOYr2h4WgsgvEl6zEIxfHLciViuRFng_UKloGWjNBPeF6cu5ayIbGcjcxq7cDhTz2uUn7kdLVNsr6-0tWDAIsl3sL8Q1H1p1E0QvuwhU-LKgAODXs_bNBjrkIjgM8Ps9-MAF0_8k8MAvE/s640/blogger-image--702318914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOYr2h4WgsgvEl6zEIxfHLciViuRFng_UKloGWjNBPeF6cu5ayIbGcjcxq7cDhTz2uUn7kdLVNsr6-0tWDAIsl3sL8Q1H1p1E0QvuwhU-LKgAODXs_bNBjrkIjgM8Ps9-MAF0_8k8MAvE/s640/blogger-image--702318914.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Beauty comes in all forms.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2XfU4fwXLjDYtRFFnRiQ9HVpS0-XOavDyBu8NmjZ-zL2bZqDqUtGUsl6pEoA-aWdK58fdhTBo_M2PRe8YJgaZWiaJLn_vBpGOQyFkqSq8mSivgDGOS4ar7UVp36CB7trQAHmmeikMdA/s640/blogger-image--212971253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2XfU4fwXLjDYtRFFnRiQ9HVpS0-XOavDyBu8NmjZ-zL2bZqDqUtGUsl6pEoA-aWdK58fdhTBo_M2PRe8YJgaZWiaJLn_vBpGOQyFkqSq8mSivgDGOS4ar7UVp36CB7trQAHmmeikMdA/s640/blogger-image--212971253.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
And I just want to add...</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVhSgTLbX3zPsMyGz5tlkr0Qp2AQX1qSuh2CK3TUwgoVIKVJk5WMcQ6bkOdxcNat7XQ6lzYk3NqkX0uVYQtOSKeHuQbXnRgb6UafJXrmdpUHiCUjqIS675t3FjWv4gcbbboo10KCoK-WU/s640/blogger-image--945518706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVhSgTLbX3zPsMyGz5tlkr0Qp2AQX1qSuh2CK3TUwgoVIKVJk5WMcQ6bkOdxcNat7XQ6lzYk3NqkX0uVYQtOSKeHuQbXnRgb6UafJXrmdpUHiCUjqIS675t3FjWv4gcbbboo10KCoK-WU/s640/blogger-image--945518706.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Not missing the weather back home.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Till later!</div>
<div>
Joanne</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-71613617568645529682014-02-28T09:59:00.001-06:002017-07-31T10:33:10.480-05:00Mardi Gras, a Beginners Guide<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAMUnt5XWzrtTwrSAKtH_0VOCScPi35NvrtiREpgRJvg97JUYTGug2E4X6gfOCgxmcKT035YQOmeWDDV8wXZ7swy4xAEkgJfr-CJdFJFNo47jD1nMTKSPQn_kPhYQU7Gm6uUxDfdYYYEQ/s640/blogger-image--2092040970.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAMUnt5XWzrtTwrSAKtH_0VOCScPi35NvrtiREpgRJvg97JUYTGug2E4X6gfOCgxmcKT035YQOmeWDDV8wXZ7swy4xAEkgJfr-CJdFJFNo47jD1nMTKSPQn_kPhYQU7Gm6uUxDfdYYYEQ/s640/blogger-image--2092040970.jpg" width="480"></a><br>
<br>
<br></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">2</span><span style="font-size: large;">014. My first <a href="http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/" target="_blank">Mardi Gras</a> and first time in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans" target="_blank">New Orleans</a>. Our flight left KC <a href="x-apple-data-detectors://0" x-apple-data-detectors-result="0" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true">at 8:30am</a> and I have to admit, I was somewhat annoyed with the LOUD woman that was already working hard on tomorrow's hangover. A little background on her: she's a cop and was jilted at the alter a year ago on Valentine's Day. As loud as she was/is, I never got her name, so for the purpose of this post, we'll call her Debbie. I've known more than a few drunken Debbies, and she's frightfully familiar. Before we boarded, Debbie was bragging OR complaining, that the beer she bought in the airport cost her $8. The woman is 45 years old. How does she <i>not know</i>, you can bring minis on the plane <b>and</b> they're within the TSA liquid limit??</span></span></div>
<div>
<br></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #bf9000;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span><span style="font-size: large;"> learned a few things sitting 3 rows back, not sure<i> yet,</i> how much I can actually use, but maybe it will help some of you:</span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;"><br></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Get you a mask and flash. That way you're not on YouTube-but you'll still have the "experience".</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Don't pee in public.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Don't touch the horses.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Don't show your hoohaw.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">If you don't plan on flashing - keep your money tucked into your bra.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Stay away from the religious protesters. Everybody has a right to party or not.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">AND - If you're not a professional drinker, only ONE Hurricane!</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<i><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">(updated) </span></i></div>
<div>
<br></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span><span style="font-size: large;">fter 3 days in New Orleans I'l share what I've learned about<u> what to wear and pack</u>:</span></span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Bring COMFORTABLE shoes. Even if you travel by car, you will be spending a lot of time in the French Quarter, walking. Most of the parades and <i>all</i> the good food you can't park on the streets, most streets are closed except to emergency vehicles, parking is ridiculously <u>High</u> ($50 for 10 min or 10 hours - <i>ouch, </i>right?). The drinking/partying aspect of Mardi Gras involves walking around with drink winding through the French Quarter. (That's how you get all those Beads, baby). There are LOTS, I mean <b>LOTS</b> of parades too. Parades are a big source of beads and "throws" and most people stand to watch the parades. So, comfortable shoes people. (PS: nobody looks at your feet) </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Bring a coat, hat and gloves-no matter where you're from. Weather is too unpredictable. I got a sunburn the 2nd day and </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Pack light in Suitcase No.1.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Pack a costume in Suitcase No. 2. I highly recommend you where a costume, the crazier the better. Think David Bowie crossed with Liberace + Cher (in the 80s) times 10. Oh, and throw in lots of sequins and feathers. There is <b>no such thing </b>as<b> "over the top" </b>where Mardi Gras is concerned. Overindulgence is the norm.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Now, if you choose <i>not </i>to bring a costume, that's cool too, as there are more than enough places to buy Mardi Gras adornments, masks, costumes (both extravagant <i>and</i> cheap).</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span><span style="font-size: large;">ake away: It's socially acceptable to be drunk before <a href="x-apple-data-detectors://2" x-apple-data-detectors-result="2" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true">7:30 am</a> if you are on your way to Vegas or Nawlins.</span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><br></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">C</span><span style="font-size: large;">heck back. There's plenty of pictures of and assorted debauchey to come.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-75380086823884206462014-01-01T11:31:00.001-06:002014-01-01T11:31:41.442-06:00HaPpY NeW YeAr!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk4pavVGzqow1k2lZPzNevpx5OO-NdVb_K1m3gYpwcYKH__HGvr_SYESyGhy60i-kgwKMvvMvwWkD2z8fAS5ZGej_oGk8k50bRn5ZsStp1nv2f2Bipm2BTKTkqUJ3rSQxe0e7wkr28Qxc/s640/blogger-image-1935107864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk4pavVGzqow1k2lZPzNevpx5OO-NdVb_K1m3gYpwcYKH__HGvr_SYESyGhy60i-kgwKMvvMvwWkD2z8fAS5ZGej_oGk8k50bRn5ZsStp1nv2f2Bipm2BTKTkqUJ3rSQxe0e7wkr28Qxc/s640/blogger-image-1935107864.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Helvetica;">Happy New Year my friends! Health & Peace to you all :D</p></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-65006668400284498922013-11-23T12:07:00.001-06:002013-11-23T23:19:03.777-06:00Handmade and a Little Zen<span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span> <span style="font-size: large;">hope I'm not biting off more than I can chew, <i>BUT</i>...I've really been inspired to go back to the old days (my old days) and make some of my Christmas gifts this year. I LOVE handmade myself and would rather have a gift (any gift) crafted out of time, love and thought than anything store-bought.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">M</span><span style="font-size: large;">y most treasured Christmas ornaments are over 20 years old: A star of cinnamon sticks wired together by a 7 year-old, a popsicle stick Snowman that's at least 25 years old among others. These handmade treasures always get a prominent spot on the tree. I'll take a few pictures after I get all the decorations out and post them here.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKGN4sKsUMXLSBjmNhGPFg6wCgNZGTsyTMdAdX0qOenVbdFYnEQm3iPh6rjhOqn0pbZsv6HExD9w5kyWFc10eyIdbpJWg-Yk9J-ruQZAx3itV6ZjI607IZ-NKxFpdAxg658dpxtE6wZc/s1600/Zen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKGN4sKsUMXLSBjmNhGPFg6wCgNZGTsyTMdAdX0qOenVbdFYnEQm3iPh6rjhOqn0pbZsv6HExD9w5kyWFc10eyIdbpJWg-Yk9J-ruQZAx3itV6ZjI607IZ-NKxFpdAxg658dpxtE6wZc/s640/Zen1.jpg" width="520" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Indian Sari", drawn and colored in ink. This one is for a particular family member that is almost as color crazy as I am.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span><span style="font-size: large;">his year I made a few ink drawings shown below. These are ZIA , Zentangle Inspired Art. <a href="http://www.zentangle.com/" target="_blank">Zentangle</a> is a meditative form of art that drawing that incorporates repetitive lines in ink to create patterns. I was introduced to it a couple of years ago and it has become my go-to way to chill. The only (minimum) supplies it requires are a piece of paper and some Micron ink pens. It's totally portable, so you can do it almost anywhere.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwhk7UjBnRRuRLTlhUv029Ax3gRhh7y8pSXQFQDoJWeC9DEBo8yUryLzIT1F57QZBd8ZEIu3Efjirc_b9bMeBEYeMTsRzYospdUgoM-Km7M_xoMOR60-e4hUgIY5sZp8pGmpOi64y6yg/s640/ZenGreenThing.jpg" width="490" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"Green Thing". Also done in ink with some subtle use of metallic green that adds a little punch.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span><span style="font-size: large;">'m participating in <span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://inyrdreemz-thebig50.blogspot.com/2013/11/flood-streets-with-art.html" target="_blank">"Flood the Streets with Art"</a></span>, a worldwide project that will give away all kinds of art on what is known in the US as<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)" target="_blank"> Black Friday</a>, the day after our holiday Thanksgiving. To learn more about this project, read my <a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1548912007"></span>previous post here<span id="goog_1548912008"></span></a>. The piece below will be one of my contributions to that project. If you're reading this and live in the Kansas City area, you will be able to find this at <a href="http://www.zonarosa.com/" target="_blank">Zona Rosa</a>. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip2S70Kq3COLd7KCcrktewaYUpFzQIdfINymh6LJ4Ue_cjjdV-STlYizXjY5j85OTgbvf6cAGpO3a24ycNH368n01TSzbHm14Caas4gpUjZQHgRGDRNzAwezZwQ_DDkQ64jILfFnMirfo/s1600/Zen1FSwA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip2S70Kq3COLd7KCcrktewaYUpFzQIdfINymh6LJ4Ue_cjjdV-STlYizXjY5j85OTgbvf6cAGpO3a24ycNH368n01TSzbHm14Caas4gpUjZQHgRGDRNzAwezZwQ_DDkQ64jILfFnMirfo/s640/Zen1FSwA.jpg" width="456" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">"</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Dangles" 5x7, ink. Find it at Zona Rosa, and it's yours!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-74364009618996600252013-11-19T13:53:00.001-06:002013-11-19T23:40:03.365-06:00Flood the Streets with Art!<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">C</span>alling all Artists! Join the Worldwide Event! On Nov 29, 2013, Black Friday, leave one piece of art (all kinds, any kind) in a public place. Go to Facebook ā<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/555191127888779/" target="_blank">Flood the streets with Art</a>ā to find out more (this is optional-really). Pass this on! Tell your friends! Reblog! Email! Beat the jungle drums!</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOBSjn8gXQiDz_71HHihPgZrXNrSABcnUmsHaMpArUW86XhyphenhyphenRHCLrQvXkOPGxa84sE77-eis9yDqsyHNwaHV4HjQs_v0UvjBI_udUNehZ68OUY46FBjAG7_03puYpLAsBr2P2KCWtrlMo/s640/blogger-image--600133456.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOBSjn8gXQiDz_71HHihPgZrXNrSABcnUmsHaMpArUW86XhyphenhyphenRHCLrQvXkOPGxa84sE77-eis9yDqsyHNwaHV4HjQs_v0UvjBI_udUNehZ68OUY46FBjAG7_03puYpLAsBr2P2KCWtrlMo/s640/blogger-image--600133456.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>LL artists, all Genres---Join the worldwide, <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">creative, feel-good </span>event on Nov. 29, 2013, Black Friday. Read on for details. <i>Scroll down for a look at the kind of art I will be leaving "somewhere on the streets of <a href="http://www.zonarosa.com/" target="_blank">Zona Rosa in Kansas City, Missouri</a>."</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is the original post of brain child <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PSYS01" target="_blank">Scott Wong</a> in Wisconsin USA:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3Imc9A0wNktAaLpQpq8M6bNL8da9Teuk09PJ7JhzSk-3GcfaOISNJ1i3P7R_pIlLXFPWpuM6vzNPIPiN90S50hgUFJNb3WANihyphenhyphen7fzVH_LhDZZ1bqUHJocepLtdpqxrvEnu2K32qLHw/s640/blogger-image-1834263792.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB3Imc9A0wNktAaLpQpq8M6bNL8da9Teuk09PJ7JhzSk-3GcfaOISNJ1i3P7R_pIlLXFPWpuM6vzNPIPiN90S50hgUFJNb3WANihyphenhyphen7fzVH_LhDZZ1bqUHJocepLtdpqxrvEnu2K32qLHw/s640/blogger-image-1834263792.jpg" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>his event has the potential to reach MILLIONS! No need to go to FB or sign up or any of that nonsenseāJUST DO IT!</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg97ufoEOOVmQNbkF6QAyn0Jgfs_iUzqM0HnQq6QGnt06lUgTTGlLEBVUE1HcuKFzE2i_ZQ3fagDrNQqFf9XaFJT34LFI1kmI9bQPiGV43ljPRyDV7fAljsaupAf-I55cSTg_rhjX-H24U/s640/blogger-image--698646711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg97ufoEOOVmQNbkF6QAyn0Jgfs_iUzqM0HnQq6QGnt06lUgTTGlLEBVUE1HcuKFzE2i_ZQ3fagDrNQqFf9XaFJT34LFI1kmI9bQPiGV43ljPRyDV7fAljsaupAf-I55cSTg_rhjX-H24U/s640/blogger-image--698646711.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>his is an ink drawing I did for my daughter (don't you love her long, wavy hair? Me too. I'm so jealous). It's a combination of zentangle inspired art and some wild freehand doodling. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So now, I only have one question for you dear Reader, not "Will you?" But <b><i>"Why not?!?!"</i></b></span></div>
<div>
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: x-small;"> #art #artists #random #reblog #floodthestreetswithart #worldwide #creative #photooftheday #quotes #wisdom #peaceout #passion #painters #musicians #sculptors #seamstresses #tinker #carver #photographers #BlackFriday #payitforward #gifts #feelgood #photos #zentangle #zia #pen&ink</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-size: x-small;">#kansascity #Missouri #zonarosa #blackfriday</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-75650944418505384702012-05-05T01:13:00.002-05:002012-08-11T18:33:09.958-05:00Fiesta Cinco de Mayo in Su Casa!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Itās not too late to make your
plans for an <i>at home </i></span><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Fiesta </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Cinco</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">de</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><b style="color: red;">Mayo</b>,</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> unless of course you're already in Mexico or <a href="http://www.fiestacincodemayo.com/" target="_blank">San Diego</a> and if you are-<i>I'm totally jealous! </i> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">If you live in a warm climate or
just </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">love shrimp</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">, then are you in for a treat!</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> I've had several requests for the <b>Ceviche Recipe</b>, so what better timing than Cinco de Mayo? </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Ceviche</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> is a cold main dish, itās Mexican,
itās pretty, and itās </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">super easy</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">!</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">All you do is chop, stir, chill and arrange.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1D2zB46Ii8UNzHr2YPECYz_NJYbOdsnM9M_qizXaTjZ1__GJvOxphxRusAtW8cQ1OC0VHp9qAAwznGmhr5eLsZxZdZ7hUwFf0Th5CiS7AkqeuXiu9t9PbW-lgMfARXh8GRtHKLAn22bs/s1600/Cerviche+Lg2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1D2zB46Ii8UNzHr2YPECYz_NJYbOdsnM9M_qizXaTjZ1__GJvOxphxRusAtW8cQ1OC0VHp9qAAwznGmhr5eLsZxZdZ7hUwFf0Th5CiS7AkqeuXiu9t9PbW-lgMfARXh8GRtHKLAn22bs/s400/Cerviche+Lg2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ceviche serves 4-6</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Growing up in Texas, I somehow
missed ever trying this dish, I had never heard of Ceviche till last year. That may have been due in part to the fact
that my mom was German and I didnāt learn to cook Tex-Mex till I was out living
on my own. My family loves Mexican food
and I love Mexico, its people and the culture.
A quick glance around my kitchen and youāll pick up on that real fast:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxs7o1XXUsNet9pEXpv401qHCD3YOnA52eNWhaAPFXyplks7X4ZOny9J7ieTXxPCfKqMT2rnKft7nPuGbpZs2fTUsjOo91Ac-ESRkMXr1Thiw6YmcaID_uirBkAgv0gsRJxqvrSQKbLc/s1600/WallFlowerz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFxs7o1XXUsNet9pEXpv401qHCD3YOnA52eNWhaAPFXyplks7X4ZOny9J7ieTXxPCfKqMT2rnKft7nPuGbpZs2fTUsjOo91Ac-ESRkMXr1Thiw6YmcaID_uirBkAgv0gsRJxqvrSQKbLc/s400/WallFlowerz.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clay flowers</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqlx0hPrhC6C99bwedRrCM7vVAB5DoxWfZ1r7k_3w6co6Barv9D18lDC0d5jc5dzRb6ncLErdhdvYvO22UZTtI5ZiVDPzowM7W_ZvSjK6526Z5-RxA7fGkIdmX9YsCPSkF0VAdtXpZhkI/s1600/outlets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqlx0hPrhC6C99bwedRrCM7vVAB5DoxWfZ1r7k_3w6co6Barv9D18lDC0d5jc5dzRb6ncLErdhdvYvO22UZTtI5ZiVDPzowM7W_ZvSjK6526Z5-RxA7fGkIdmX9YsCPSkF0VAdtXpZhkI/s400/outlets.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Frida switch & Talavera outlet covers </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2tAm59vASOBzWfqAilwc9_UkHP1YjsJY_Lh8BEil-eAq1H9-XCsdkuVX9ztVksh-CWqo3otr4XigisloB5QYM7GCy-73cMIxk3XvulR3wnXWjV5LwqOpWNYv4hJU11nQwvCILuB0L1A/s1600/Kitchen+tiles2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2tAm59vASOBzWfqAilwc9_UkHP1YjsJY_Lh8BEil-eAq1H9-XCsdkuVX9ztVksh-CWqo3otr4XigisloB5QYM7GCy-73cMIxk3XvulR3wnXWjV5LwqOpWNYv4hJU11nQwvCILuB0L1A/s400/Kitchen+tiles2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Floor with Talavera tile inserts</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfk9kl2G-RqCbcvf_PcsbChf1LmdWc_3DJO-ubL6KVT5NoQSCRdS1nPuDxNZrkZ_LbkRUAw2JEV1k8aQS06qVbDT6Rqu8KK1vc0Ox6wNnrAmOCnHNfc8l63pX276zFDkC7XKnkTUbMyx0/s1600/TalaveraBird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfk9kl2G-RqCbcvf_PcsbChf1LmdWc_3DJO-ubL6KVT5NoQSCRdS1nPuDxNZrkZ_LbkRUAw2JEV1k8aQS06qVbDT6Rqu8KK1vc0Ox6wNnrAmOCnHNfc8l63pX276zFDkC7XKnkTUbMyx0/s400/TalaveraBird.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Talavera Parrot</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">When I
went through the produce department at the grocery store while shopping for
the ingredients, I lucked out big time. A lot of produce (key ingredients) was on
sale and from <b>Mexico!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERMmmo6Gxbskffxp8_QSIqdHyfM8Mm1PCxZaq3I_ZVD1BfUdQkUHBAvO2v4pdkCimMwm2uAtgxTfqICJ7Qziy8A1hNk8qxlBq_y0LsHl_F2bedK5W2RO3PKF_GRJ9DHHwKC7HNnB6I4M/s1600/limes+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERMmmo6Gxbskffxp8_QSIqdHyfM8Mm1PCxZaq3I_ZVD1BfUdQkUHBAvO2v4pdkCimMwm2uAtgxTfqICJ7Qziy8A1hNk8qxlBq_y0LsHl_F2bedK5W2RO3PKF_GRJ9DHHwKC7HNnB6I4M/s640/limes+%25282%2529.JPG" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Limes 5/$1</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Q3qP5yUpOo5uGBNp_qdJm8mixlmi2au4uoGANoSjtnj_DxqzudH11QeN3THNHe3RXtEiK2lVoBW795JgGqupnp8DhodK-ZeNraXmBTL6P8rk76ccBVG2mTFLSwGaVVkrxlfDAf2HpXM/s1600/tomatoes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Q3qP5yUpOo5uGBNp_qdJm8mixlmi2au4uoGANoSjtnj_DxqzudH11QeN3THNHe3RXtEiK2lVoBW795JgGqupnp8DhodK-ZeNraXmBTL6P8rk76ccBVG2mTFLSwGaVVkrxlfDAf2HpXM/s400/tomatoes.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vine ripened tomatoes .69 lb</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinfMY2d86aIOX5wGU16Q0WU9we5xQ-NzWu_7_PaQrwV4LLUlhZZ7u58ezPYz4rI_7SmPaooqn7UQTvUX9Mf8Z4be1N39SBuwiDKrmtDSluopofBYN21yRtZJ5E_zhrbgkcg2GioXsJ4r0/s1600/Oranges.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinfMY2d86aIOX5wGU16Q0WU9we5xQ-NzWu_7_PaQrwV4LLUlhZZ7u58ezPYz4rI_7SmPaooqn7UQTvUX9Mf8Z4be1N39SBuwiDKrmtDSluopofBYN21yRtZJ5E_zhrbgkcg2GioXsJ4r0/s640/Oranges.JPG" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oranges 2/$1</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><b>Ceviche</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">This recipe
will generously feed 4-6 people</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">2 lbs. frozen cooked shrimp</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">5-6 limes (juice)</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1 c. fresh tomatoes (diced)</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1 green pepper (chopped)</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">4 T cilantro or parsley (chopped) or a small 3/4ā -1ā
bunch (discard the stems)</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ā¼ t salt</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ā¼ t pepper</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Finely minced fresh jalepeno pepper (I used about 4
thin slices but I could have doubled that, it wasnāt very hot at all)</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">2 T white vinegar</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dash of Tabasco (according to taste)</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<u><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Optional garnishes:</span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Avocado wedges</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cucumber sliced</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Black olives</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Orange slices</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lime wedges</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">-</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Ā·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Thaw shrimp in water and remove tails/shells. Cut into Ā½ā to 1ā pieces.
Marinate in lime juice overnight. This step cooks the fish overnight. If you
use cooked shrimp (like I did), you only need 30 minutes or so. Stir the shrimp
often. You can do this while you are chopping/prepping other ingredients.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ā·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Drain off most of the lime juice, leaving enough to keep shrimp moist</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ā·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Add other ingredients. Stir thoroughly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ā·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Serve on a platter with bed of lettuce (optional) and garnish as desired</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><i style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">This is a cold dish and very filling. I served it by itself with the
garnishes. If more sides are desired, I would recommend melon, fruit salad or
other cold veggies. It can also be served as an appetizer or side.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><i style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Optional: If you have leftovers on the next day, take a small amount of
olive oil, a dab of mayo and a few dashes of Tabasco. Mix together first, then
add to the Ceviche.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><i style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">This is also made with halibut filets, sea bass or red snapper or a
mixture of fish and shrimp. The lime juice overnight marinade is suppose to
ācookā the fish and if you use fish, do not add the shrimp until an hour before
serving (the shrimp will get tough). I do not care for fish, so I suggest you
surf the web and do a little research, because the lime juice is the only
ācooking agent.ā</span></i><br />
<i style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">Approx:180 calories
per serving (based on 4)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;">Low in fat, sodium
and high in protein</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Last weekend I
cut it in half since there were only 2 of us.
I also made another favorite Mexican dish, <i>guacamole</i> as a side.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimuul15dlkdzRMY1RkUlxGi3FmRz8NaFgaFfGuC1vT4gLECpL0pXrCExQ_D52_wMDxfSXgmWU1X35LuSwUzY9XvFpHMjuaNb-pji0kfyxHKDlSg6XkyGW93U152tlzvFUp4VSK8-gWVOI/s1600/Guacamole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimuul15dlkdzRMY1RkUlxGi3FmRz8NaFgaFfGuC1vT4gLECpL0pXrCExQ_D52_wMDxfSXgmWU1X35LuSwUzY9XvFpHMjuaNb-pji0kfyxHKDlSg6XkyGW93U152tlzvFUp4VSK8-gWVOI/s400/Guacamole.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Guacamole</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CAsq4aiwwZeGtue3yTPVeXi_KU03x4CoCSQD__0Zcr4l6B_jfEMHBLETq3VRJpOYuyZS1eoREUYHtIFYVZeZ0_FYp8q0ti90nZcze_VrjXL4n77Fjui12kIRCe6hTWh2R5pySd5unmI/s1600/Cerviche+for+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CAsq4aiwwZeGtue3yTPVeXi_KU03x4CoCSQD__0Zcr4l6B_jfEMHBLETq3VRJpOYuyZS1eoREUYHtIFYVZeZ0_FYp8q0ti90nZcze_VrjXL4n77Fjui12kIRCe6hTWh2R5pySd5unmI/s400/Cerviche+for+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ceviche for 2</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">This is a super easy recipe that can be altered by added other fish (see note above) or reduced to serve only 2. So, even if you don't celebrate <b>Cinco <span style="color: #38761d;">de </span><span style="color: red;">Mayo</span></b>, if you like shrimp, and easy and healthy foods, give <i>Ceviche</i> a try.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqsg2Y7sckKwsGygf2rZfZsXXOu0v7ke5aCRQDWDnv1rvNeEA8DqmVUXhKpDOaG9jcQACC8sY9XtBhHnD8OB1NyeMqdoZCgCzkKnUORotyLzDbrbrMhJHz2H7v3h-9Q8CVSsTxmaN8YkU/s1600/Paper+Flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqsg2Y7sckKwsGygf2rZfZsXXOu0v7ke5aCRQDWDnv1rvNeEA8DqmVUXhKpDOaG9jcQACC8sY9XtBhHnD8OB1NyeMqdoZCgCzkKnUORotyLzDbrbrMhJHz2H7v3h-9Q8CVSsTxmaN8YkU/s400/Paper+Flowers.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In school in Texas we used to make huge gorgeous paper flowers like these</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Till next time,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>Joanne</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mAByvDNAO02MmTxp2GCk7BAgT0Juv57BImYKP2Tb7k4/edit" target="_blank">Click to download or print recipe</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">The Frida light switch cover by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/christinafajardoart?ref=seller_info" target="_blank">Christina Fajardo</a></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-8507743118476139692012-04-27T00:50:00.001-05:002012-04-27T00:50:29.994-05:00I LOVE MUFFINS!<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwX8FLydBu0geCEBmUuDO1e_1rjxiOrZo7UzH0de7qKMUULa_0ohtOxsqmJaESRJvsWhwJW9SAcZ4Kmf4fiYmxbd6OWN3Tz2rXQhsv6f0AlB5k-PLtPfucZ0EVIqhgMpGtJM_ZM-4AZ4/s1600/Lemon+Poppy+Seed+Muffins.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwX8FLydBu0geCEBmUuDO1e_1rjxiOrZo7UzH0de7qKMUULa_0ohtOxsqmJaESRJvsWhwJW9SAcZ4Kmf4fiYmxbd6OWN3Tz2rXQhsv6f0AlB5k-PLtPfucZ0EVIqhgMpGtJM_ZM-4AZ4/s640/Lemon+Poppy+Seed+Muffins.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>About</b> 2
weeks ago I started <b><i>craving muffins</i></b>.
</span><span style="font-size: large;">Panera Bread makes these super-awesome-colossal
Carrot Walnut muffins that are a <i>mere
8000 calories</i>, and are <i>to die for</i>. Seriously, theyāre a <u>whopping 430 calories
with 21 grams of fat</u>! So if I allow my fat a55 to consume very many of
these on a regular basis, I <i>will</i> die.
<span style="line-height: 115%;">But <u>what a way to go, right?</u><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u>NOTE</u>:
If you are going to have a āsnackā or ātreatā when watching your calories, you
should try to keep it between 100-200 calories max and nutritionists say
anything over 5 grams of fat is not considered āLow Fat.ā</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>If </b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">you remember</span>,</span> Iām trying
to make some <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #990000;"><a href="http://inyrdreemz-thebig50.blogspot.com/2012/01/2012-my-manifesto.html" target="_blank">healthychanges</a></span> </span>and <span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://inyrdreemz-thebig50.blogspot.com/2012/01/manifesto-progresso.html" target="_blank">lose some weight</a> </span>this year and regular muffin consumption is
not a good way to get there. Oh sure, you can mix up the ingredients with a few
substitutions here and there for a healthier mix, and I tried that. Two weeks ago I came across a base muffin recipe using whole wheat flour and honey. I thought, āMuch healthier--Iāll try
this!ā I used the whole wheat flour/honey base and made Lemon Poppy seed
muffins <i>and</i> they were <b>disgusting!</b> A total waste of time, not to mention that it
only made my <i>muffin craving</i> worse! The muffins had a <s>bad</s> weird taste. It
reminded me of <u>cooked meat</u> and not good meat, (like steak cooked on a grill),
more likeā¦I donāt know what like, but trust me, it <i>wasnāt good</i>. Fortunately I
used a regular muffin pan (makes smaller muffins than Paneraās and most bakeries), so
I didnāt eat a lot. I ātestedā two, my
husband had one. I asked him how it was, and <i>smart man </i>that guy of mine politely said: āTheyāre <i>different</i>.ā OKā¦long story short, I am
done with whole wheat flour. I tossed 2 and a half lb. bags. They were <u>that bad</u>. I think the honey <i>may</i> have played a role in the weird taste, but Iām still willing to
give <i>honey </i>a second chance<i> </i>another time<i>.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>After
</b>this muffin fiasco, I went back to the recipe books and Good Ole Google. I found a recipe that uses plain Greek style
yogurt. I substituted plain yogurt for
the Greek kind. Greek yogurt is creamier
in texture, but Iām not really sure that would make a lot of difference in
muffins. Another change I made was to increase the zest and lemon juice, to
make the flavor <i>more lemony. </i>Also, if you choose to top your muffins
with a lemon icing glaze, you really donāt need as much powdered sugar as a lot
of recipes call for. Click here for <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1mqvWt8Z_G3IpIu3I5UnoP3Bx5NjqJBEw12ZHThO20pM" target="_blank">Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin Recipe</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Another</b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
</span></b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">way to satisfy your Inner Munchy Beast while lowering the calorie intake is to
make muffin tops vs. muffins. They have
special pans for ātopsā, but all you really need to do is only fill your muffin
tin or paper liner half as full as you normally would. Also, remember if you
use paper liners instead of greasing or spraying your pan, you also reduce fat
and calories.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Hereās
the final (2<sup>nd</sup> batch, sans whole wheat flour and honey) muffin. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9rj4fmvzmqRcONAc6s9_0EoRuNOyDsnTkeil2craNUJf1bkw_0jvLuQ8AErs0AfmsK8kAYw28DHAAzUHQnmu-t5lCDvA2Y2V-BkaExwx13NFydRxLEpuPO5yCuWM1LHMP0tYzJPOYetM/s1600/Lemon+Poppy+Seed+muffins+.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9rj4fmvzmqRcONAc6s9_0EoRuNOyDsnTkeil2craNUJf1bkw_0jvLuQ8AErs0AfmsK8kAYw28DHAAzUHQnmu-t5lCDvA2Y2V-BkaExwx13NFydRxLEpuPO5yCuWM1LHMP0tYzJPOYetM/s640/Lemon+Poppy+Seed+muffins+.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Aren't they pretty? Trust me, these were <b>much</b> better!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Do you have a guilty pleasure?</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-14949711431784614522012-04-20T00:21:00.000-05:002012-04-20T10:31:02.060-05:00Pay It Forward<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span><span style="font-size: large;">oday</span></strong> I āPaid it forwardā. I love that term, even though this has become a catchy phrase and the name of a <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0223897/" target="_blank">movie (a good one),</a> it still simply means: Do unto others as you would do unto yourself. Not talking about paying the customerās tab behind you in the drive-thru at Starbucks. Yes, thatās a nice thing to do, but <em>not really</em> paying it forward. Paying for someoneās drinks at Starbucks is like picking up the tab for someoneās Sax 5th Avenue shopping spree. If they are shopping at Sax, they can afford to. A person who can afford to stay in their car while itās running and gas is +3.75 a gallon to order a $3-4 cup of coffee doesnāt need financial assistance either. Paying it forward isnāt just about money; itās about helping someone, providing assistance, doing a kind turn for someone else. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>ām</strong> not going to tell you what I did, because Iām then the focus is on me and thatās not the point Iām trying to make. All I will say is that I learned of a strangerās need and I was in a public place and I acted on it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>n</strong> 1997, when I was newly divorced and finishing my last semester of college, I was broke, without a job, and going to school on Pell Grants and Student Loans. My ex-husband was a deadbeat dad and I was really, <em>really</em> struggling. My rent w/utilities was around $600, I had a 6-year-old in part-time daycare while I was in class, I was getting food stamps and I had to put gas in the car. That was it. No movies, no shopping, no McDonalds Happy Meals, <u>no extra anything</u>. It was hard; my divorce came at the worst time (school-wise). Being poor wasnāt new to me, but being <em>destitute </em>and kind of desperate was. But, with the help of several people, I was able to stay in school, keep my child in daycare, and graduate Cum Laude in December 1997. These are some of the things people did for me without me asking:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">My motherās husband wrote me 6 post-dated checks each for $600 dated on the 1st of each month for the last half of the year. Those checks covered my rent.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">My sister babysat my daughter for free on the one night a week I had an evening class.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">She also found me a job house cleaning a couple of afternoons a week that paid for the gas in my car.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he</strong> only help I asked for during that 6 month period was from a church at Christmastime. I could not afford presents that year for my daughter. An anonymous couple āadoptedā my daughter and provided a lovingly selected donation of gifts. This couple <em>specifically</em> <em>requested</em> a 6-year-old girl. They had a little girl who died when she was the same age and every year they adopted someone elseās at Christmas. That year my child was blessed with their In Memoriam gift. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>here</strong> were other gifts of help during that period too, some from family, some from strangers. I remember all of them and am eternally grateful. I believe that people come into our lives to help us or to teach us and if you cannot see one of those 2 things then maybe itās you who should be doing the helping or teaching. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;"><em>Can you remember a time when someone did something completely unexpected or unsolicited in your life?</em> I would love to hear about it, feel free to share your story in the comments section below. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Blessings, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="font-size: small;">Joanne</span></em> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-2371022735488777172012-04-05T01:40:00.004-05:002012-04-05T01:40:38.112-05:00Backyard Adventures Day 1<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I had an awesome day</span></strong></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"> working in the yard</span></strong> on Sunday, getting up close and personal with a
few of the thriving weeds, some stray grass, some dead stuff from last year's
garden and I planted a few things too! Read on for my first <em>Gardening</em> Show and Tell...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVFf9jTe5-sTu6-NZKZ_RNvgn7RSY2TFG61f2MkMobs1M0yk_-nbAlrJoFqPMD81tnmnQuaAjFBMfUAn8rI4MZOaMzrFpI_He5sD1pgp5Cki4p8gQaOzpfnp9gQL1Io0ujlHtnwg5jxX8/s1600/Weeds+442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVFf9jTe5-sTu6-NZKZ_RNvgn7RSY2TFG61f2MkMobs1M0yk_-nbAlrJoFqPMD81tnmnQuaAjFBMfUAn8rI4MZOaMzrFpI_He5sD1pgp5Cki4p8gQaOzpfnp9gQL1Io0ujlHtnwg5jxX8/s640/Weeds+442.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><em>A weed is just a
plant whose virtue has not yet been discovered.</em> Emerson said it.<em> I didn't.</em> But
if anybody out there knows what this 'plant' is called and what its purpose is
other than to annoy the crap out of me, please, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><em>please</em></span> tell me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thankfully, there
arenāt too many <em>other</em> weeds to pull, just mostly grass and clover.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fm9aCnvmAXRzeYuTEMcxqnDQqFUvvDZOxTuRZxFigwiY-H3zLCS_N8wWi4NyVoduMuCbUyTIp3vacW0AJxLCszNxw80caGm5LhvCdqtwpcIzvsIRJoPTinCP8-KQmK10jsZaArmfiR4/s1600/Clover+450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6fm9aCnvmAXRzeYuTEMcxqnDQqFUvvDZOxTuRZxFigwiY-H3zLCS_N8wWi4NyVoduMuCbUyTIp3vacW0AJxLCszNxw80caGm5LhvCdqtwpcIzvsIRJoPTinCP8-KQmK10jsZaArmfiR4/s640/Clover+450.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My first Honeysuckle
bloom!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-66e4yA-ElSw/T3ktspQdcoI/AAAAAAAAA3A/PfBDDtoUoY4/s1600/honeysuckle+448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="554" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-66e4yA-ElSw/T3ktspQdcoI/AAAAAAAAA3A/PfBDDtoUoY4/s640/honeysuckle+448.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With all the rain</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
weāve had in the last 2 weeks + the warm temperatures, I decided Iād better get
busy with my garden tending ācause Mother Nature aināt waiting for me. You know
what I mean? The Hostas started coming up about 3 weeks ago!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3mSK4GTyczNk-G6gb6EX5XALnhAh7BtVMjWnUcPhd_IiDgdAagiY3NdZQPuyq3FbbW4n4liIfF7GGXQ_fGjEJSX1kAg-0fr1UScsiBoLgIfc3jWnZYKuIasXTGZx79XbMIWpD0ezebrk/s1600/Hostas+440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3mSK4GTyczNk-G6gb6EX5XALnhAh7BtVMjWnUcPhd_IiDgdAagiY3NdZQPuyq3FbbW4n4liIfF7GGXQ_fGjEJSX1kAg-0fr1UScsiBoLgIfc3jWnZYKuIasXTGZx79XbMIWpD0ezebrk/s640/Hostas+440.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I still had some dead
stuff to pull and clean up from last year. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Oum7x0c6Vw/T3ktk0k_sOI/AAAAAAAAA1I/PmRhV7lyI3o/s1600/Dead+flowers+449.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6Oum7x0c6Vw/T3ktk0k_sOI/AAAAAAAAA1I/PmRhV7lyI3o/s640/Dead+flowers+449.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Besides the obvious cues</span></strong></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">from Mother Nature</span></span></strong>,
Iām definitely behind on my gardening when you compare it to the Yard Wars. The
Yard Wars are a kind of Chess game played by grown men with their lawn mowers.
No words are spoken, no bets are waged, just the incessant hum of lawn mowers
nearly every day somewhere in the neighborhood. My next door neighbor actually
mowed his yard 2 days in a row! Did it need it, you wonder? No. My husband hereto
known as the <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yard Master</span> mowed
our lawn twice in one week. Did it need it? No, probably not. I only give the
Yard Master a pass because he was going to travel early in the week and
wouldnāt be able to mow until the following weekend.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>We have two small beds</strong></span> on each side</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> of the house. I always liked picket
fences, so after we moved in years ago, we replaced the 6ā wooden fence and
gates with PVC picket and gates. Iāve had a heck of a time getting something to
āstickā and thrive in these two spots. The one pictured above with the
oh-so-lovely weeds had a trumpet vine for the last 2-3 years, which I loved
because they attract hummingbirds ā which I also love but the Yard Master did
not. He complained that the vines spread too much and made it hard to mow.
Hello! Thatās what itās supposed to doāitās a vine. So, after much complaining
and his agreement to put up a lovely trellis over the gate, I agreed to let him
remove the offending trumpet vine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This year I thought I
would try Sweet Peas in this bed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6EzhMVgsJibj4LX5c5NC9QIQOb-994ntghnT0Iy90b65wd1XEIDq5BW1LTWNpTYcdUe9mFLJpZK0bgb97dJXX6xpmIGrNUhS5Z8ZuGccOjwDNB6vI-zfFEXwM2Us2bS6G7AEhcBN-xiA/s1600/SEEDS+467.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6EzhMVgsJibj4LX5c5NC9QIQOb-994ntghnT0Iy90b65wd1XEIDq5BW1LTWNpTYcdUe9mFLJpZK0bgb97dJXX6xpmIGrNUhS5Z8ZuGccOjwDNB6vI-zfFEXwM2Us2bS6G7AEhcBN-xiA/s640/SEEDS+467.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They tend to spread
and vine and they smell delightful, but at least if they get unruly, I can tame
them without the need of a saw or ax! Yep, the Yard Master had to use a shovel,
saw and ax to terminate the trumpet vine.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I Hate LAVA ROCKS!</span></strong></span> One of the
previous owners of our house had some kind of <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">fetish</span> with red lava rocks. <br />
He put them in <u>every single</u> bed, nook and cranny he could find. They are
everywhere! I throw them away, and more come back. It's a vicious cycle.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVZDM2VWnkqpJinidMIqh4BSu9dZH8fbr9tsuSnzk-J-zryS_0nUJH8EJ7vDwNea9PDFgwuM3X8EHjGlsFS6Zsr5TWza6RADwgpmahJAvXvjX21ldV3s7N4jr3XR9UfyWq9UMNTucPLI/s1600/lava+rocks+443.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVZDM2VWnkqpJinidMIqh4BSu9dZH8fbr9tsuSnzk-J-zryS_0nUJH8EJ7vDwNea9PDFgwuM3X8EHjGlsFS6Zsr5TWza6RADwgpmahJAvXvjX21ldV3s7N4jr3XR9UfyWq9UMNTucPLI/s640/lava+rocks+443.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I put out 2 Hummingbird feeders</span></strong></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">,</span></strong> set up the jelly feeder for the
Orioles and one other seed feeder for the Finches and such. On Sunday, I
cleaned out the big squirrel-proof feeder, set up another feeder with the
gourmet blend and an orange nectar feeder for the Orioles too. Altogether, I
have 7 different feeders. I just love the birds! We love to sit on the deck out
in the Spring and Summer to listen to and watch the birds. Now that I think of
it, I like the sounds of Summer as much as the flowers and the warm
temperatures. I still havenāt seen a Hummingbird but I did see 2 Monarch
butterflies on Monday. <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">What birds have
you seen so far this Spring? </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">We
spend a LOT of time</span> in our backyard during the summer. We are blessed
with an Eastern exposure and a covered deck. A covered deck is almost as good
as a Florida Room and a hot tub, but Iām happy just the same. We have 2 major
flower beds: one surrounds the deck and a 60ā x 3ā wide bed runs along one
fence. Iāll draw you a sketch and show you the layout in my next garden post.
This bed has the Hostas from the picture above, daisies and some mums.
Occasionally I will plant a few colorful annuals that bloom early to attract
the hummingbirds, but I donāt have a lot of maintenance in this bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIag8X65az31eXRrYwltrzE97KdeROf83lLNaQzC6x-3929rJ1_2tbiECVgoenCn0IyaY1mKkbGPA-8HGp32tMAS8aRSkYL2Wcv8EzpBpTnBL_ZQ-dkpxW6mYnsGIx1b4DYf206D0C8gs/s1600/snapdragons473.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIag8X65az31eXRrYwltrzE97KdeROf83lLNaQzC6x-3929rJ1_2tbiECVgoenCn0IyaY1mKkbGPA-8HGp32tMAS8aRSkYL2Wcv8EzpBpTnBL_ZQ-dkpxW6mYnsGIx1b4DYf206D0C8gs/s640/snapdragons473.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">My Favorite Sounds of Summer</span></strong></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> (<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">in no particular order</span>):<br />
ā¢ birds<br />
ā¢ Wind Chimes<br />
ā¢ kids playing outside<br />
ā¢ The Ice Cream Man!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijP159W6XcYA0gVvYckmorg_IGsjCDGt7GGy05yxNo3GEpVO4S1qns6uWSxnsehW03RMk1cMeGn0zjlCpVGxyKrUd8rCMY2c_CR-tqmqRL7AtR8UTV5izuE_3_Szpt_UPif8RqV5G84Ac/s1600/Wind+Chimes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijP159W6XcYA0gVvYckmorg_IGsjCDGt7GGy05yxNo3GEpVO4S1qns6uWSxnsehW03RMk1cMeGn0zjlCpVGxyKrUd8rCMY2c_CR-tqmqRL7AtR8UTV5izuE_3_Szpt_UPif8RqV5G84Ac/s640/Wind+Chimes.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My husband got me these as an anniversary present a few years ago. To hear the sound, <a href="http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/seagifts/gbs.mp3">click here</a>.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><em><span style="color: #6aa84f;">What are some of <u>your
</u>favorite sounds of Summer?</span></em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I even laid my late kittyās grave</span>
marker</span></strong>. We buried her on a warm day last January in her favorite flower bed.
Itās the spot where she did most of her meditating. : ) I always plant
Impatients in this bed because itās shady and probably also the reason she
liked it too. She lived to be 13+ and I still miss her. To see her <a href="http://inyrdreemz-thebig50.blogspot.com/2012/01/12-reasons-im-not-giving-cat-back.html" target="_blank">picture click here</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjO8ikAH_yMj2TdfGL5jRlnD9NNZXfXsSZ86VA3I-NJD7uJdy875lyDcyfgHQ_UnklI3BXplceqOXvLoLW7V7-YVzhT1DoUsQXGQHnLtCeuSJEfon-qqmyb4bEwUgduux3iQPhJjI0_g/s1600/Impatients+463.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjO8ikAH_yMj2TdfGL5jRlnD9NNZXfXsSZ86VA3I-NJD7uJdy875lyDcyfgHQ_UnklI3BXplceqOXvLoLW7V7-YVzhT1DoUsQXGQHnLtCeuSJEfon-qqmyb4bEwUgduux3iQPhJjI0_g/s640/Impatients+463.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I <em>was</em> feeling a little bit guilty</span></strong></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> about not going to the gym on Sunday,
<em>but</em> after all the lifting, hauling, pullingānot to mention the butt load of
squats (pun intended) and the soreness in my legs and hind quarters AND the
sweat (ick), I think I more than made up for an hour and a half at the gym. I
made a deal with myself on Saturday: I can go to the nursery and pick up some
plants, but only after I went to the gym. So I worked out, and then went over
to Larryās Nursery in Riverside. I knew I wouldnāt get the whole yard done, so
I only bought a few annuals for the beds, but also a few plants for the pots
around the deck (because Iām so excited about the warm weather, I canāt wait
for things to bloom-I want some color <em>NOW! <o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I bought 2 hanging
pots. This one: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-69tK7DkFbMFLDGOSXtno7Mv1vp1zlWqbfa8A8a3KFr_6f1kN9f_67hqjMwAydyIL3TUC1cfib9PoGk4NxT3GVArIod0SGa3G-q97d2B8NUjOfYzJfDu8it4_v92K_vp01Lm8DdJ01Q/s1600/HangingPlant475.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-69tK7DkFbMFLDGOSXtno7Mv1vp1zlWqbfa8A8a3KFr_6f1kN9f_67hqjMwAydyIL3TUC1cfib9PoGk4NxT3GVArIod0SGa3G-q97d2B8NUjOfYzJfDu8it4_v92K_vp01Lm8DdJ01Q/s640/HangingPlant475.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And this one: </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-no-proof: yes; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_IRbpxLk0Sc/T3vlz4oFDkI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/8ygje2kqRSg/s1600/hanging+plant472.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_IRbpxLk0Sc/T3vlz4oFDkI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/8ygje2kqRSg/s640/hanging+plant472.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I got 4 of these
adorable Pansies</span></strong> for a couple of pots. These Pansies look like happy little
faces, donāt you think? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWx8vxzgbSyOjCDMmdIWsLMjqo_3btjP1E_qMcBQ3-QlW8CRe3dBlFT2UC7C60Zmr6OhUgkNZToLG47AuDzHXGKCywO9ckDF2kFXXXHDnrkVM2WWGnLmVxetk6iy3peOy99tJ_wG1jok/s1600/2+pansies+451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWx8vxzgbSyOjCDMmdIWsLMjqo_3btjP1E_qMcBQ3-QlW8CRe3dBlFT2UC7C60Zmr6OhUgkNZToLG47AuDzHXGKCywO9ckDF2kFXXXHDnrkVM2WWGnLmVxetk6iy3peOy99tJ_wG1jok/s640/2+pansies+451.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MFXuXpYZXL2zFleBzFpt6O60TZPZm2VrR6SfU8rsW9iP2Y3IzL5LvFUaw-fCVGeGmk99qBHfhduahOOGxPF4kMZ1TV-aX_NYXdpJy9jLD41gKpn1-DYIzcMlZ5nK9MuTwpJwLMVlA2o/s1600/pansies71.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MFXuXpYZXL2zFleBzFpt6O60TZPZm2VrR6SfU8rsW9iP2Y3IzL5LvFUaw-fCVGeGmk99qBHfhduahOOGxPF4kMZ1TV-aX_NYXdpJy9jLD41gKpn1-DYIzcMlZ5nK9MuTwpJwLMVlA2o/s640/pansies71.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I hope you enjoyed
this time in the garden and I'd love to hear about <em>your garden too. </em><span style="color: #38761d; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Have
a great rest of the week and weekend!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">I know I've been on "radio silence" for the last couple of
weeks. We've had some tragedy in my family and we've been dealing with some
pretty tough emotions. I've wanted to share, but just needed to process a
little before I spill. So...I will share, just not today.</span></em> </span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-23932599094226398742012-03-18T13:26:00.000-05:002012-03-18T13:26:08.108-05:00A Real Live Leprechaun! and the Rest of the Parade<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">Top o the Morning! I know I'm a wee bit late with this post but, tis because me PC has been behaving like a bad lad. So me apologies for the delay.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">For nearly 30 years North Kansas City, Missouri has been host to the Snake Saturday Parade. It is held the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day and commemorates St. Patty driving the snakes out of Ireland. Whether or not there were ever any snakes to begin with is not open to debate. The Irish and many Americans don't need truth to get in the way of lore or tradition, especially when celebrations are involved. This post is a photo blog of my first time attending the Snake Saturday parade on March 10, 2012 in North Kansas City.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">And what would a St. Patrick's Day or Snake Saturday Parade be without a Genuine Irish Leprechaun! Tis true! He'll only appear once in this post. After you've looked at the other pictures and scroll back to the top, he will have disappeared! Leprechauns do that, they're sneaky little guys.</span><br />
ļ»æ <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
ļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æ <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTUjL70dMbwFHthKQ2XZqhm_4IObDU8MOzU25Ba0WZrypbfwm0t781LghxOpZT_AeCjiYRCbe0ur7JbLXypGq7y73BTEl0LwvXS8s_QWW44Q2Am07Lw8OEFYqWWOPKcM8LKtXMeKnn6M/s1600/Leprechaun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTUjL70dMbwFHthKQ2XZqhm_4IObDU8MOzU25Ba0WZrypbfwm0t781LghxOpZT_AeCjiYRCbe0ur7JbLXypGq7y73BTEl0LwvXS8s_QWW44Q2Am07Lw8OEFYqWWOPKcM8LKtXMeKnn6M/s640/Leprechaun.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Genuine Irish Leprechaun!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
ļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æ <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
ļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æ </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJ91jEK8P-Lswn5OylOCcVUyJ5aKKAuoQYhhLgJjPPdfQecJ7pnEz8ExnfwakUwXauuurFwPCqqQms0KQfw3_78dPiCBopr1Fh5YpLWqAKX8CkJwTYbZh649m1WyJyZ49RON3QLcoCGg/s1600/Motorcade+St+Pats+parade+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJ91jEK8P-Lswn5OylOCcVUyJ5aKKAuoQYhhLgJjPPdfQecJ7pnEz8ExnfwakUwXauuurFwPCqqQms0KQfw3_78dPiCBopr1Fh5YpLWqAKX8CkJwTYbZh649m1WyJyZ49RON3QLcoCGg/s640/Motorcade+St+Pats+parade+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Opening motorcade</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
ļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æ<br />
<div align="center">
ļ»æ</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDYd4T-LDRZRmh9ukncpeEk8E4dfmImnoNGEVI8Lc8zl5XchbS0gnK4dXjIcz4viLKysmztHo4KYM1tfqyMXe9Y-rq3kUCX-viU332RTXwmvRqtsAmXFOZ51ued0NzvOV-Iqk-eUi5LE/s1600/DSC_0039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDYd4T-LDRZRmh9ukncpeEk8E4dfmImnoNGEVI8Lc8zl5XchbS0gnK4dXjIcz4viLKysmztHo4KYM1tfqyMXe9Y-rq3kUCX-viU332RTXwmvRqtsAmXFOZ51ued0NzvOV-Iqk-eUi5LE/s640/DSC_0039.JPG" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bagpipers!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN8grHmlIMMl9-Y0hGzwwgN6-vFOEVRp2m4mZccLKlwAed9UgSZJi_q7B5r99qq6FFM4JJPG2wPJ4Eiws5N8T0deUXfhqUNUyByXbpCS07B5VqCWct4-o43WnhkgXpIE9MctB68xAw7bc/s1600/DSC_0036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN8grHmlIMMl9-Y0hGzwwgN6-vFOEVRp2m4mZccLKlwAed9UgSZJi_q7B5r99qq6FFM4JJPG2wPJ4Eiws5N8T0deUXfhqUNUyByXbpCS07B5VqCWct4-o43WnhkgXpIE9MctB68xAw7bc/s640/DSC_0036.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">What's a parade without bagpipes!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center">
ļ»æ</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenPia61DiCdYT3rJLdqTtsxvbMceMX0d3OljN8mMKaJwVEa1IwT-3A_7op7eQ7DJY2Rzz3SYCVof-n7EBhxYBO7xayhZ8g6ZyX9qI5sPK2cIfhDPOeH7bdvVoqlvLGIDeLGkJd9oTuCA/s1600/2+guys+st+pats+parade+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenPia61DiCdYT3rJLdqTtsxvbMceMX0d3OljN8mMKaJwVEa1IwT-3A_7op7eQ7DJY2Rzz3SYCVof-n7EBhxYBO7xayhZ8g6ZyX9qI5sPK2cIfhDPOeH7bdvVoqlvLGIDeLGkJd9oTuCA/s640/2+guys+st+pats+parade+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Crazy Characters...check out their socks</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWi2yCflsj3iVqkfYOPrHxnG6OuxvPyFU1GCAGKCiOY7gZVmw9M_TmL0V-WcUSpfjr5Ly2FPa0yBvAQSUjMA3NDwC9KnmVDrHCPVurHo575F-xdwAzJyd4O9ZFH1_QKeKmfY-rTpbWaY/s1600/crowd+st+pats+parade+sm1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWi2yCflsj3iVqkfYOPrHxnG6OuxvPyFU1GCAGKCiOY7gZVmw9M_TmL0V-WcUSpfjr5Ly2FPa0yBvAQSUjMA3NDwC9KnmVDrHCPVurHo575F-xdwAzJyd4O9ZFH1_QKeKmfY-rTpbWaY/s640/crowd+st+pats+parade+sm1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Green hair, green hats, lots of smiles</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg48syMPZHx0El5F90nlgrli5i1t3HtlCWXn8ZTLAjcY_nkZT7TGYyGRljreYcrdvi0wR53RzRSgKx_hn40y6ukZJh0ckWmM_wUoJlbG-HGH5txPScQXfshCzIzmdL81f-NLaVlT4aI4c0/s1600/Motorcyle+Snake+Parade+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg48syMPZHx0El5F90nlgrli5i1t3HtlCWXn8ZTLAjcY_nkZT7TGYyGRljreYcrdvi0wR53RzRSgKx_hn40y6ukZJh0ckWmM_wUoJlbG-HGH5txPScQXfshCzIzmdL81f-NLaVlT4aI4c0/s640/Motorcyle+Snake+Parade+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lots of motorcycles</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQp22SzaGK1MNkvA7iEsTiKQrc9sEYORdSAQ1pnqyOSbkLTw9kqHAkPClEzkJndxL5_rET-i4fZRTKxVZ4yEChgbXl8df0WrPj4IsYr0R0iwQUwfSon_R2YXntw9zwQ_LiE9bsg0rUaU/s1600/Green+boy+st+pats.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQp22SzaGK1MNkvA7iEsTiKQrc9sEYORdSAQ1pnqyOSbkLTw9kqHAkPClEzkJndxL5_rET-i4fZRTKxVZ4yEChgbXl8df0WrPj4IsYr0R0iwQUwfSon_R2YXntw9zwQ_LiE9bsg0rUaU/s640/Green+boy+st+pats.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">No hat Mom. I want a green face and green hair! (and he's just<em> watching</em> the parade)</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_wDs3CTytZczZ1xD9g3G5cdh6JVt2T_ftiRLF8fEjJrGr62DTehjW9PhkNPyi9Cr24PLNxvg8QVksvO21ws2Q8Pe632BfnsL01puh8aDt1xHz5dXKaQwi1Iz_Uy00Licgrvkm98L7YYI/s1600/Sweet+Potato+Queens+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_wDs3CTytZczZ1xD9g3G5cdh6JVt2T_ftiRLF8fEjJrGr62DTehjW9PhkNPyi9Cr24PLNxvg8QVksvO21ws2Q8Pe632BfnsL01puh8aDt1xHz5dXKaQwi1Iz_Uy00Licgrvkm98L7YYI/s640/Sweet+Potato+Queens+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Those cutie patooty Sweet Potato Queens</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNlHmtx8biqUa-D4njB5q-MwtuvnZE6zhmgduXyfyTiJnbAF45cLcj0KShD8nDAsYAAPSjWReiyXgIt28PxFYmridWUAf8FRAAUXniNKgnTZ0L_0FymKeeIXWu7pKV7C_dWXcl8wt-SYU/s1600/WHS+band+snake+parade+2012+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNlHmtx8biqUa-D4njB5q-MwtuvnZE6zhmgduXyfyTiJnbAF45cLcj0KShD8nDAsYAAPSjWReiyXgIt28PxFYmridWUAf8FRAAUXniNKgnTZ0L_0FymKeeIXWu7pKV7C_dWXcl8wt-SYU/s640/WHS+band+snake+parade+2012+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Winnetonka High School marching band</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8DejNCD0mEqs8jKXdc_Z6QKFp638AkSbCEUG51ymBrO64Wx8h9Rq8SxprFAnlMmUvHZpFxg4HWBEp7Eqn2cH3tT_JOse_uGP9AaotimF5Bjz3NA-iSsRELU_bn2MM48MEA2CuHtpX2CI/s1600/Green+Hats+St+Pats+parade+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8DejNCD0mEqs8jKXdc_Z6QKFp638AkSbCEUG51ymBrO64Wx8h9Rq8SxprFAnlMmUvHZpFxg4HWBEp7Eqn2cH3tT_JOse_uGP9AaotimF5Bjz3NA-iSsRELU_bn2MM48MEA2CuHtpX2CI/s640/Green+Hats+St+Pats+parade+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Green hats! everyone was wearing them!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexLgeP6lPTkAHDgDdVVk7jsSA-oLAFysmoTBe8rNmb1TcDViyvV4X4lNprPHiFOyGscr0PJ-ffs9bvzMlnEkxSB5FH-Sy4lCwKR7x41qLfaD_m3iqos7twww5kFQRJUhTeonFOjN3nug/s1600/band+in+st+pats+parade+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhexLgeP6lPTkAHDgDdVVk7jsSA-oLAFysmoTBe8rNmb1TcDViyvV4X4lNprPHiFOyGscr0PJ-ffs9bvzMlnEkxSB5FH-Sy4lCwKR7x41qLfaD_m3iqos7twww5kFQRJUhTeonFOjN3nug/s640/band+in+st+pats+parade+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Oak Park High School marching band</span></div>
<div align="center">
ļ»æ</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip5rBQ1OE2Z-FZOFqx8DhgGp5qnH6YSNfyz1M2bf4Ze1MsfcxnvRxAMxwaCRaAH5_hDbl5YyVNU66Kk_KbxGvkyjPUGlm9UgrFvHcw3T7iDsEMlecehDj9nr5i5Q_vR7TYQE0baegyh1s/s1600/balloons+on+float+st+pats+parade.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip5rBQ1OE2Z-FZOFqx8DhgGp5qnH6YSNfyz1M2bf4Ze1MsfcxnvRxAMxwaCRaAH5_hDbl5YyVNU66Kk_KbxGvkyjPUGlm9UgrFvHcw3T7iDsEMlecehDj9nr5i5Q_vR7TYQE0baegyh1s/s640/balloons+on+float+st+pats+parade.JPG" width="454" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">I've lived here for 14 years, can you believe this was my <strong>first Snake Saturday Parade?</strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVubjD5CnlPZTDVWrGHv_wm6OfubuanAWuo3Ybq9LuBMAnVlecvlZhjyofxf0XzH0QHJZxE1VkWbK09RIHW13iq0WhpuyyACDOywgW083NsXlH3_v8on2xVrJo2ybj3vuSb4DdwVINujc/s1600/balloons+st+pats+parade+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVubjD5CnlPZTDVWrGHv_wm6OfubuanAWuo3Ybq9LuBMAnVlecvlZhjyofxf0XzH0QHJZxE1VkWbK09RIHW13iq0WhpuyyACDOywgW083NsXlH3_v8on2xVrJo2ybj3vuSb4DdwVINujc/s640/balloons+st+pats+parade+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Balloons always look great on floats</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrD4FEMImOF8KbFx1uB6MauxH1Mjo6O-36tGDRjyXXAcfmEZwJXK5Udo6WHkuskOpoK_yDrfKsP7SE-IR66CzYpjWZm0Tw8WvLz_OtddJfwgcFHdJamsqFHWn9vblIZfJiFEfeFZqGjaA/s1600/banner+st+pats+parade.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrD4FEMImOF8KbFx1uB6MauxH1Mjo6O-36tGDRjyXXAcfmEZwJXK5Udo6WHkuskOpoK_yDrfKsP7SE-IR66CzYpjWZm0Tw8WvLz_OtddJfwgcFHdJamsqFHWn9vblIZfJiFEfeFZqGjaA/s640/banner+st+pats+parade.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">The dogs are coming!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBlWGH3riCH5j7B1eC8TcbirxI6gqr1S4Ymz1hGI1Ol5s0YH50dQ1hQmYv3AyxX6Xqmfi8MvYgHXXtB6bvQAZt7cLL6l3ZUFIYx1kY25JeU1yeSeIuUmKIcyySt5jqJYLZIUE1ifweLGM/s1600/green+things+st+pats+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBlWGH3riCH5j7B1eC8TcbirxI6gqr1S4Ymz1hGI1Ol5s0YH50dQ1hQmYv3AyxX6Xqmfi8MvYgHXXtB6bvQAZt7cLL6l3ZUFIYx1kY25JeU1yeSeIuUmKIcyySt5jqJYLZIUE1ifweLGM/s640/green+things+st+pats+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Didn't wear anything green? No problem, street vendors can help with that.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMpuJT2z7bV1bwVowBvWrx_3CNs0NqYwcZJNCornimE0907Bo04d90gDV4urvXq_SwS7CggixuYITPJDujTnBTg-wiEG_fIXsRgsce2IQR0zcqF5CinI6KJIFgsTArz4rABuuwhbLKP4/s1600/brownie+green+balloon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMpuJT2z7bV1bwVowBvWrx_3CNs0NqYwcZJNCornimE0907Bo04d90gDV4urvXq_SwS7CggixuYITPJDujTnBTg-wiEG_fIXsRgsce2IQR0zcqF5CinI6KJIFgsTArz4rABuuwhbLKP4/s640/brownie+green+balloon.JPG" width="456" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Brownie float! Brownies are kind of like fairies and fairies are magical like leprechauns, so of course there were Brownies! Isn't she cute!?!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvZyDuSk4sZ-jv8_J-FGHBhF56W0rYdrua-qD32GslEQ_goqjyjmheGC66NWaijLqdumcwShFe8_k35tT-CuFeSRX7ZUzyqqnlSi4WYHJXgxUACJdIc1lFTtcoGcrNhv-xGi5uyHRHUA/s1600/clown+single+st+pats+parade.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfvZyDuSk4sZ-jv8_J-FGHBhF56W0rYdrua-qD32GslEQ_goqjyjmheGC66NWaijLqdumcwShFe8_k35tT-CuFeSRX7ZUzyqqnlSi4WYHJXgxUACJdIc1lFTtcoGcrNhv-xGi5uyHRHUA/s640/clown+single+st+pats+parade.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">A clown with his relationship status. Think he's <em>not</em> on Facebook?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgrlzse21WqWTTbphWZH5Ojcqzht0EajGXlgV2RtmA0rX3J126KWgzXEAVdtjZormWpLu32NiBRa4URVNr7n98ibd4zDpNZMncJHp2IEVByd8WOCXPE8PCp_S2ldjYzSEsNn52Od0ElyM/s1600/woman+in+green+st+pats+parade+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgrlzse21WqWTTbphWZH5Ojcqzht0EajGXlgV2RtmA0rX3J126KWgzXEAVdtjZormWpLu32NiBRa4URVNr7n98ibd4zDpNZMncJHp2IEVByd8WOCXPE8PCp_S2ldjYzSEsNn52Od0ElyM/s640/woman+in+green+st+pats+parade+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">More green crazy costumes!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7NamOOIE0QG9Z3-QsePEWVTibvywztnpz9iL6hrUct1k4F_nKNT7K8Kn2dGx8iaAH45wlnX8lKzG2GBaCXXOHk7ibptKZvYGGQbPUO9u1EdEirO0Mf2agWy9FVYs5VKmVhyZ6YtospI/s1600/crowd+st+pats+parade+%25282%2529+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7NamOOIE0QG9Z3-QsePEWVTibvywztnpz9iL6hrUct1k4F_nKNT7K8Kn2dGx8iaAH45wlnX8lKzG2GBaCXXOHk7ibptKZvYGGQbPUO9u1EdEirO0Mf2agWy9FVYs5VKmVhyZ6YtospI/s640/crowd+st+pats+parade+%25282%2529+sm.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There were tens of thousands of people at the parade. Most likely the biggest crowd in attendance history!</span></div>
ļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æ <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRm7XimmwPlhwKMpE4iyDawLTcPOrlRzSdMKKdO-R9u2nG_BmQaIU3zSVqIR8Z357hSsVNjKrRsShSi3iqjYpTS4ainokklu287ndkyIbk2gPU0gcwlUZx8WdfKsqIdPeui1qKaKRFvZo/s640/crazy+crowd+st+pats+parade.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">And with good reason, temperature was in the 70s. The weather was perfect!</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
ļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æ <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9uDFumc2FEzXbYQyefrn19hPegMxnrldgsWyohOi6ssRSG3PNltgaBagXc9U_VzHfYmgQ-EFjiYh2vuC5rNEUPeb9F39-_sewRes49avsiD3CExxtYTSksgW94s01oWcqeewC9EC5d0/s1600/drill+team+snake+parade+2012+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9uDFumc2FEzXbYQyefrn19hPegMxnrldgsWyohOi6ssRSG3PNltgaBagXc9U_VzHfYmgQ-EFjiYh2vuC5rNEUPeb9F39-_sewRes49avsiD3CExxtYTSksgW94s01oWcqeewC9EC5d0/s640/drill+team+snake+parade+2012+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">This Drill Team was working it!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFI6yS3z99ZnzgNMQ-luJLay08gOzm9RJy0_kEVND1i6hTadfOs-Kqdf2E-fc0l_JQrZHSxmnKWoJVlPMKQAtuwZ4RKmCvxQRRzQoCA_Uo6KOLGpgdQZeLHAEy5pPxSn5G_i9yqAvyRU8/s1600/dog+st+pats+parade.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFI6yS3z99ZnzgNMQ-luJLay08gOzm9RJy0_kEVND1i6hTadfOs-Kqdf2E-fc0l_JQrZHSxmnKWoJVlPMKQAtuwZ4RKmCvxQRRzQoCA_Uo6KOLGpgdQZeLHAEy5pPxSn5G_i9yqAvyRU8/s640/dog+st+pats+parade.JPG" width="456" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">There were lots of 'Irish' dogs. Not sure if this borders on abuse though.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
ļ»æļ»æ <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rjOrO-mMOQu0tzuWBAMf-2owb1zqI01mTW56Tz5YL0H6pnBEIxMWRCI4-xdv1OsBCsEjVJm_f35gbiwjC5PGzZronODHuWXDr7T5zj6nfvcweoeFkMsyRlJmxT_rS8diXW15iIrSRR0/s1600/cowboy+st+pats+parade.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rjOrO-mMOQu0tzuWBAMf-2owb1zqI01mTW56Tz5YL0H6pnBEIxMWRCI4-xdv1OsBCsEjVJm_f35gbiwjC5PGzZronODHuWXDr7T5zj6nfvcweoeFkMsyRlJmxT_rS8diXW15iIrSRR0/s640/cowboy+st+pats+parade.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Wave at the cowboy on the magnificent steed.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
ļ»æļ»æļ»æ <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGH_JWfCDWHdrOpRdh1jNx-i2MdVWGEhIFFPHIab9m79W7vNQAQoAfg_mflTiKGqnHp6dprfqn1M6QrEFNVYQkt3Dv1ki0h2wVM2NCGxN0-slXwE8fQFuYbw2WZbIDPcd6IwOomcn6ko/s1600/fire+engine+st+pats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGH_JWfCDWHdrOpRdh1jNx-i2MdVWGEhIFFPHIab9m79W7vNQAQoAfg_mflTiKGqnHp6dprfqn1M6QrEFNVYQkt3Dv1ki0h2wVM2NCGxN0-slXwE8fQFuYbw2WZbIDPcd6IwOomcn6ko/s640/fire+engine+st+pats.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">This city of Independence brought Engine No. 1. Isn't it a beautiful old truck?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
ļ»æ <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7l5ZOFJMFnHawzTf4jsDph2NR8onSRrmSPk1-MgoMvG3LAAR8a6W0YE8Uxf38UFq7OMsZqqwyYbOww-GsQnXc0D1BOP9VLwBYRVkWyB-vCkFWTjfBzgaA6IcXOMOqZJdHS0ffiWpp6Wc/s1600/green+beads+st+pats+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7l5ZOFJMFnHawzTf4jsDph2NR8onSRrmSPk1-MgoMvG3LAAR8a6W0YE8Uxf38UFq7OMsZqqwyYbOww-GsQnXc0D1BOP9VLwBYRVkWyB-vCkFWTjfBzgaA6IcXOMOqZJdHS0ffiWpp6Wc/s640/green+beads+st+pats+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Green beads, they're not just for Mardi Gras</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DPwLP-RNT5w/T2WCQszDVKI/AAAAAAAAAvA/w9B9Zpnf_fA/s1600/green+braids+on+motorcycle+parade+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DPwLP-RNT5w/T2WCQszDVKI/AAAAAAAAAvA/w9B9Zpnf_fA/s640/green+braids+on+motorcycle+parade+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">I don't think his hair is that long. What about you?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgef19tuu1NIcz4QyVaIq6B2FzI87Ed0-PHqn16Wu84RY1qjSD2-GR1UM3L2H9ehMxHoWd9bycJsfgpHAz_nbwuW6ZEPfGg2hM8Fp0_qp2lQeqqAyZCmOF3eEUSveuuHFmoanqeBmkycuQ/s1600/green+stripe+legs+st+pats+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgef19tuu1NIcz4QyVaIq6B2FzI87Ed0-PHqn16Wu84RY1qjSD2-GR1UM3L2H9ehMxHoWd9bycJsfgpHAz_nbwuW6ZEPfGg2hM8Fp0_qp2lQeqqAyZCmOF3eEUSveuuHFmoanqeBmkycuQ/s640/green+stripe+legs+st+pats+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Best legs in the whole parade!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ht7eFkYqnW4/T2WCV-9-XxI/AAAAAAAAAvg/1hreZwzKhQY/s1600/kids+on+float+st+pats.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ht7eFkYqnW4/T2WCV-9-XxI/AAAAAAAAAvg/1hreZwzKhQY/s640/kids+on+float+st+pats.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">They<em> are</em> angels!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjluEeb75z4Zs1AoMyvWxzhvGkmcXuIzLoXZBoXkxSGJHHySoEtApr8IeHfapNeUpHFKcDtGosuOWEHrw7pIhpw2-g6fD3rfaG1VkxGBY6RTDw4n0B1bIWf6ekh-SqggWTSLOSf6ZwEEOs/s1600/hunchback+st+pats+parade.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjluEeb75z4Zs1AoMyvWxzhvGkmcXuIzLoXZBoXkxSGJHHySoEtApr8IeHfapNeUpHFKcDtGosuOWEHrw7pIhpw2-g6fD3rfaG1VkxGBY6RTDw4n0B1bIWf6ekh-SqggWTSLOSf6ZwEEOs/s640/hunchback+st+pats+parade.JPG" width="456" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Those crazy Renaissance folk...here's the Hunchback</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YoD0rAiQGNw/T2WCW9m9xiI/AAAAAAAAAvo/HUNlZ8_dOSI/s1600/kids+st+pats+parade+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YoD0rAiQGNw/T2WCW9m9xiI/AAAAAAAAAvo/HUNlZ8_dOSI/s640/kids+st+pats+parade+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">These kids <em>worked hard </em>in this parade passing out candy</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AL51e45tvdo/T2WCY33Q0HI/AAAAAAAAAv4/4UmGTg96yDc/s1600/st+pats+float+pot+o+gold+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="425" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AL51e45tvdo/T2WCY33Q0HI/AAAAAAAAAv4/4UmGTg96yDc/s640/st+pats+float+pot+o+gold+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">A Leprechaun with his Pot O' Gold</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
ļ»æ <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nKlyrMRARwI/T2WCYRoQDxI/AAAAAAAAAvw/etvlrEQSbY4/s1600/oak+park+marching+band+st+pats+sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nKlyrMRARwI/T2WCYRoQDxI/AAAAAAAAAvw/etvlrEQSbY4/s640/oak+park+marching+band+st+pats+sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Oak Park High School marching band</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
ļ»æļ»æļ»æ <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMC9jQkqtsL4WT-ADTVYRjPbJxuIeKsiR56oblRIx26-mS538GFcH9oqt5Av9l1ucxARzC9ioH_bmK5rIntasgPgmze4Kgc5fynnmBi0zzZ2sJU1WHROlQopemAlxjHu0jF4Q0Vz4wikU/s1600/woman+green+hair+st+pats+parade.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMC9jQkqtsL4WT-ADTVYRjPbJxuIeKsiR56oblRIx26-mS538GFcH9oqt5Av9l1ucxARzC9ioH_bmK5rIntasgPgmze4Kgc5fynnmBi0zzZ2sJU1WHROlQopemAlxjHu0jF4Q0Vz4wikU/s640/woman+green+hair+st+pats+parade.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Green's a good color for her, don't you think?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
ļ»æļ»æ<br />
ļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æ <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5yAg36VOSI1COwAnUPkjO5tinq2SFeSlqJuG9dA-rpn63_kqV4Le0PzOCJ4GOsH_DjMYU9Nxg4JkR3TsbijxnhWCMbqPtt5I2XTFhyphenhyphen0DOpGj6Q_vuICCz9HAKVHky3mh5dZoIvALJuIw/s1600/clown+st+pats+parade.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5yAg36VOSI1COwAnUPkjO5tinq2SFeSlqJuG9dA-rpn63_kqV4Le0PzOCJ4GOsH_DjMYU9Nxg4JkR3TsbijxnhWCMbqPtt5I2XTFhyphenhyphen0DOpGj6Q_vuICCz9HAKVHky3mh5dZoIvALJuIw/s640/clown+st+pats+parade.JPG" width="489" /></a> <span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Check out that balloon sculpture...it's a piece of art!</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzit4WeSjgEl91BxHIqdICoEELy-7XGifS8aabbJ27Vk4AofvjWo7p0XeGpBUMJA008Lk0xmeI8BhD9AvGhemazDvFt2GnRkWlb6aiw__6ixSgcMs3hvbHaqv8TBcqlnplUGeG1_ZgRQ/s1600/Green+toenail+polish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzit4WeSjgEl91BxHIqdICoEELy-7XGifS8aabbJ27Vk4AofvjWo7p0XeGpBUMJA008Lk0xmeI8BhD9AvGhemazDvFt2GnRkWlb6aiw__6ixSgcMs3hvbHaqv8TBcqlnplUGeG1_ZgRQ/s400/Green+toenail+polish.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: small;">In case you were wondering, the photographer wore <strong>green</strong> too.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div align="left">
ļ»æ</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
ļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æļ»æAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com2North Kansas City, MO, USA39.130004 -94.562177339.1053695 -94.601659300000009 39.1546385 -94.5226953tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-57516796690420749682012-03-11T15:45:00.000-05:002012-03-11T15:45:26.888-05:00Rainy Days, DST and The Rum Diary<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I skipped</span> church this morning in favor of sitting in bed with the cat listening to the rain, while drinking coffee and writing. Sitting in bed with a cup oā Joe on a weekend morning ranks in my personal Top Ten things I love to do. Not feeling guilty about the church thing though, me and God are tight. So itās all good. But I did lose that hour last night as did a lot of the world and I have to get it back <u>sometime</u> you know. Itās not like theyāre going to <em>give me back</em> my hour at work on Monday morning! As far as that Leap Year <em>extra day</em> stuff goes, consider this: financially, you <em>only benefit if you are paid hourly</em>. I am not, so this was a 'day without pay' for me and my employer got to reap those rewards. But if you are paid on an hourly basis or you were born on February 29, Congratulations, I truly hope you had a terrific day and celebration:)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The cat finally stopped biting my feet and has settled down for a short nap, back to this postā¦</span><br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdsG2H8sRE-lQQ72wqvkCnMFC0Rne1vcPFGKl6A3A2kHBvT6AZWTEbP0_ZDRATtBkX1l6LDvTZj77BYRkKcPQfdMhQImz7OVDr1PqZR3CpWl0KTJDS3xMqfeMAWGj1XI-pN5AYAmJsUo/s1600/Reg031112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdsG2H8sRE-lQQ72wqvkCnMFC0Rne1vcPFGKl6A3A2kHBvT6AZWTEbP0_ZDRATtBkX1l6LDvTZj77BYRkKcPQfdMhQImz7OVDr1PqZR3CpWl0KTJDS3xMqfeMAWGj1XI-pN5AYAmJsUo/s400/Reg031112.JPG" width="400" yda="true" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_814285680"></span><span id="goog_814285681"></span>ļ»æ</div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Last night</span> we watched <em>The Rum Diary</em> with Giovanni Ribisi and of course Johnny Depp. You should know that I love Johnny Depp, but thatās not what I want to talk about this morning. Giovanni Ribisi must be one of the most underrated actors in American film and TV today. He played a crazy, alcoholic, fascist writer in this film set in the turbulent 1950s Puerto Rico. It might be classified as a drama but Ribisiās role was seriously funny and outstanding. I do not understand why he hasnāt won some kind of award yet. The Moberg character was not particularly <em>likeable</em>, but I was mesmerized watching him, the whole time wondering <em>Whatās this guy going to say/do next?</em> Of course I credit some skilled writing, but what this guy did with <strong>that role</strong> was pure poetry! If you get a chance, I highly recommend this movie.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Todayās thought</span>:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82JWuPf_1qcf8u2xk_TRniXXSNhB_nmm2h6a9ZVc4OqqtWwaVki6cDEf1GZFAM5jKLb9bcJgErtrXyfkrkgKYbHWTdN91ivdL-FW2QcRv7Y47_kfvPx3Fr57kOyG4u1oOTtvTF5gd9C4/s1600/031112Thought.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82JWuPf_1qcf8u2xk_TRniXXSNhB_nmm2h6a9ZVc4OqqtWwaVki6cDEf1GZFAM5jKLb9bcJgErtrXyfkrkgKYbHWTdN91ivdL-FW2QcRv7Y47_kfvPx3Fr57kOyG4u1oOTtvTF5gd9C4/s400/031112Thought.jpg" width="400" yda="true" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
ļ»æ</div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Earlier this week</span> I read where the US Department of Justice is looking at potential price gouging for eBook sellers like Apple and B&N. To date Amazon is not guilty as theyāve kept prices down around $9.99. I personally have only recently started using the Nook on my IPad. I (naively?) thought that once we started converting over to E-Books that the price would go down. I mean: no paper or printing costs, no store overhead and no shipping. Why shouldnāt they cost less than a hard bound? <em>What do you think?</em></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Yesterday </span>was a perfect weather day in Kansas City. We had clear skies and 69Ā° F. I watched (my first ever) the Snake Saturday Parade in North Kansas City, Missouri. Reports were that yesterday was the biggest in record attendance. I was not disappointed. Not only were there throngs of people, but the parade went on for <strong>two hours</strong>! I shot a ton of pictures and because post-processing is my least favorite part of photography, I havenāt begun to look at the shoot yet. Check back later in the week and I will post my capture of the Snake Saturday revelry. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">If you enjoyed</span> this post, click one of the like/share buttons for up in the left hand corner, subscribe by email and share with your friends. I read all and appreciate your comments and emails. <em><span style="color: blue;">Thank you, for sharing part of your day with me!</span></em></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">PS:</span> Iām not drinking out of the </span><a href="http://inyrdreemz-thebig50.blogspot.com/2012/02/adult-security-blanket.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Red Mug</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> today, itās a blue one.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilRTSQ9IA22h3urvK4YEcpbQnP8p6RhfBqWLJMgPLT5bdgDHgYFPE6h8oyVuLxHZj0ubi-IHpADOowJ5gLNkaJI8Aq7YOqwI5wrCkJ8vBUGNG-54xrY74COKk0w0UgPuOCjMu2B84tFXE/s1600/mug031112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilRTSQ9IA22h3urvK4YEcpbQnP8p6RhfBqWLJMgPLT5bdgDHgYFPE6h8oyVuLxHZj0ubi-IHpADOowJ5gLNkaJI8Aq7YOqwI5wrCkJ8vBUGNG-54xrY74COKk0w0UgPuOCjMu2B84tFXE/s400/mug031112.JPG" width="298" yda="true" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
ļ»æ</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-33398002638276412762012-02-29T23:49:00.000-06:002012-03-01T00:52:57.579-06:00A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">HellO Alaska!</span></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I want to give a special <u>shout out</u> to readers up in Alaska. Hi guys! Glad to have you. Drop me a line and introduce yourself.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;">WTH? Sticker Shock</span></strong><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I had to stop at the grocery store last night for some of my foo-foo coffee creamer and some lettuce. Either this just happened or I may have not noticed the last time I went grocery shopping, but, a 32 oz of creamer set me back over $4.50! It takes me a month to go through one of these and Iām pretty sure the last one I bought was at least $1 cheaper. I can only assume that the price of gas is a major factor. What price hikes have taken a bite out of your wallet?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Spring has Sprung --- Yay!</span></strong></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Last night we had thunderstorms, 60mph winds, tornadoes in Kansas and Missouri, and itās only <em>February 28! </em>Iām digging the 60+ degree temps myself. You wonāt hear me complain. Nope. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">Daffodils and tulips are budding and have been inching their way up out of the dirt for weeks. The trees are budding and the birds are especially LOUD these days. Iām so excited! I can start playing in the dirt soon. Bring on the Warm, the tulips, the rain, the Easter Eggsā¦<em>We Are Ready!!</em></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">They Call it Voice Mail!</span></strong></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">It really ticks me off when a business leader leaves his phoneās ringer on during a (his business-wide) monthly meeting and actually walks out to take a call and then proceeds to tell the person calling, āIāll call you right back.ā <em>Excuse me</em>, your +$400 smart phone comes with a handy feature called Voice Mail! Send me your management faux pas.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>Donāt you hate it whenā¦? </strong></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">Youāre on the way to work, passed the halfway point, you cannot turn around and you have the mini panic attack because you fear you forgot to put on deodorant? I did that this morning and because I was flying at 70 mph and wearing a coat, I couldnāt do the hand under the shirt thing to check. Fortunately, I have forgotten the anti-perspirant a few times in my life so I keep some in a drawer at work and a spare in the car for occasions such as this. Weird part was when I finally did check, I didnāt forgetābut, I only applied it to <em>one arm!</em> Surely I'm not the only one that's done this?!?</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Davy Jones</strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>1945-2012 RIP</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Donāt think I can sleep tonight without mentioning that Davy Jones was my official first crush. At the tender age of 8, I fell head over heels in <em>True Love</em>. Back in the day, with only 3 channels of television and still in B&W (at my house), we garnered much of our knowledge from fan magazines. Issues of <em>Tiger Beat</em> and <em>16</em> were filled with pictures and interviews of Davy Jones. Every picture I could get my hands on would be carefully cut out and taped or tacked to my then growing shrine dedicated to the <em>cute</em> <em>and perfect</em> Davy Jones. I even wrote him a fan letter. That literary masterpiece oozed of love and adoration from a goofy looking, freckle faced 10-year-old girl from Texas. I just knew that once he received my letter, he would be convinced that he should wait for me until I was 18 and we could begin our Happily Ever After. <em>Ah, memoriesā¦</em></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/nU615FaODCg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-48466059331636986532012-02-26T01:27:00.000-06:002012-02-26T01:33:48.636-06:00Adult Security Blanket?<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This is my favorite coffee mug. It's a heavy stoneware mug, holds 16 ounces of that hot and delicious caffeine elixir I require mass quantities of to become human each day...<em>and </em>it's <strong><span style="color: red;">Red!</span></strong> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5MyvVYEcZSeC0WIkWrFk-dxOvoA8z6z7PPs3akdfTqYdNfPrD8U5owASD2wHuyaXRvYI6JcWyQWvBuzaKGb7F0YHGrchtV4oxnQ7uv_vIUTJJadZxiDoj4a9Xssln40gZhArhjOgAx0/s1600/mug.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="476" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5MyvVYEcZSeC0WIkWrFk-dxOvoA8z6z7PPs3akdfTqYdNfPrD8U5owASD2wHuyaXRvYI6JcWyQWvBuzaKGb7F0YHGrchtV4oxnQ7uv_vIUTJJadZxiDoj4a9Xssln40gZhArhjOgAx0/s640/mug.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I remember when I was a teenager, and had only been drinking coffee for a few years; my grandfather (we called him Papa) had his <strike>special </strike>favorite coffee cup. We didn't have mugs in the old days and I doubt Papa would have drank from a mug anyway. He liked his coffee with a cup and a saucer. He drank it with cream (real cream) and <u>3 spoons of sugar</u> (yep, real sugar too)--then he stirred it. <em>Clink, clink clinkety clink</em>, over and over. After stirring for what seemed like<em> forever</em>, he would pour a little out to cool in the saucer and sip it straight from the saucer. Then after a bit, after it was cooler, he'd drink from the cup. This whole ritual with the coffee drove me nuts! He lived with us, so I witnessed this routine <strong>a lot</strong>. When he was finished drinking coffee in the morning, he would go to the sink, rinse and wash his special cup and saucer then place them right next to the coffee pot. Like somebody else would actually want to use his cup! </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I did not get it. I did not understand what the big deal about the stupid coffee cup was until...until my love affair with the brown brew had taken hold of me and I was no longer able to sleep 12 hours at a time, in one night. I wonāt go so far as to say, I canāt drink my coffee with any other cup/mug. But, maybe a favorite coffee mug is like the adult version of a security blanket. Any thoughts? Do <em>you </em>have a special mug? </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-14067452180140076812012-02-24T02:30:00.000-06:002014-04-12T10:18:11.350-05:00Vegetarian Easy & Yummy Oh My!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Last night after getting in late from the gym-<em>again</em>, I had one of my favorite and famous <strong>Avocado Sandwiches</strong>. </span></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGh1T_4uZuAyZqH5ZzB8cFc8shyphenhyphenGUmAlv69TF4AEEw4pv-Ef8PFoYHG08aEYqGfRjsEei908Cxw442gduDgcZHmIMDJZG3Mhj6BieYD5bs_zepGDr47r1qquHLJyZgcOc045xb2t9pz-U/s1600/DSC_0193+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGh1T_4uZuAyZqH5ZzB8cFc8shyphenhyphenGUmAlv69TF4AEEw4pv-Ef8PFoYHG08aEYqGfRjsEei908Cxw442gduDgcZHmIMDJZG3Mhj6BieYD5bs_zepGDr47r1qquHLJyZgcOc045xb2t9pz-U/s640/DSC_0193+copy.jpg" height="424" lda="true" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Famous you ask? Yeah, yeah, weāre all <em>legends in our own minds</em>. But seriously, it <em>is</em> a favorite at our house. Iāve learned there are a couple of drawbacks to being a decent cook: 1) You donāt get as many breaks from the duty of cooking if yours is actually <em>better</em> than the other fine folks that share your abode and 2) A lot of the things I cook are so much healthier for us, because I cut way back on the salt and the fat so we eat at home more often than we used to. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Where was I? Oh yes - Dinner. Along with the sandwich I made an Edamame Salad, both healthy <em>and</em> yummy. I got this recipe from the the Yeggie Yogi and tweaked it a bit, as it had a little too much oil and even though it is Grape Seed oil which is one of the <em>healthier</em> oil choices, itās still fat and had the highest individual amount of calories of all the ingredients in the salad. Another bonus of this salad is that is it absolutely <em><strong>Gorgeous!</strong></em> This salad could also be served as an entrĆ©e. Make sure and look at the calorie count below, you wonāt believe that something this pretty could be so good for you too. One more thing, the sandwich and salad are easy to make,<em> super easy</em> and <em>fast!</em></span></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Avocado Sandwich </span></strong><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What you need:</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">2 slices of bread, toasted </span><span style="font-size: small;">(I only used white bread because I didn't want the big slices of whole grain bread)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 T Neufchatel cream cheese (1/2 less fat)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ā½ c radish sprouts</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ā½ avocado </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What you do:</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Toast the bread. This is so it doesnāt fall apart with the heavy ingredients. Spread the cream cheese on one slice.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1l_5SODr8lgBa2vLWn32jri4_oxuk1R230UzqnEAAqExE57ZF7n7NAQ2YN-ju-Bz7BjtJ8zzk261KCk_rAKMzpQlt8ka6qgvsrDa1vwsZ9MwkzwCQHT0GhNjpryGA5aCx6bzP1-7c5A/s1600/DSC_0186+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1l_5SODr8lgBa2vLWn32jri4_oxuk1R230UzqnEAAqExE57ZF7n7NAQ2YN-ju-Bz7BjtJ8zzk261KCk_rAKMzpQlt8ka6qgvsrDa1vwsZ9MwkzwCQHT0GhNjpryGA5aCx6bzP1-7c5A/s640/DSC_0186+copy.jpg" height="424" lda="true" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Top with sprouts. ļ»æ</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_TOn49L4Hf6sZ_0K_q-ggV5EIIr7ac7Nf9cJ2_x7-uepzYFuBjK3lJ1vv3xwUID5A9SLZ1wDuM7vwCgHC1cSRjte0oUDCP0mx6H5l2B2rzvhzzB8N4GaPCP2Fao71hYfb9D3U7aYXffU/s1600/DSC_0188+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_TOn49L4Hf6sZ_0K_q-ggV5EIIr7ac7Nf9cJ2_x7-uepzYFuBjK3lJ1vv3xwUID5A9SLZ1wDuM7vwCgHC1cSRjte0oUDCP0mx6H5l2B2rzvhzzB8N4GaPCP2Fao71hYfb9D3U7aYXffU/s640/DSC_0188+copy.jpg" height="424" lda="true" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
ļ»æ</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Thinly slice Ā½ avocado on the other slice of toast.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwsxNW07c47EhEVp0g2uJIYiRRKz8WYvSGd0fuybT8r5CMZ_OiW0uuythm2th3tswD5-JuwTrmIaL8CJE9UWURcLqs9PAvoS1kphN6hAw64j0aKAcyvK3j5nK2bDZ1M_FSU-2cArt5Bc/s1600/DSC_0190+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwsxNW07c47EhEVp0g2uJIYiRRKz8WYvSGd0fuybT8r5CMZ_OiW0uuythm2th3tswD5-JuwTrmIaL8CJE9UWURcLqs9PAvoS1kphN6hAw64j0aKAcyvK3j5nK2bDZ1M_FSU-2cArt5Bc/s640/DSC_0190+copy.jpg" height="424" lda="true" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
ļ»æ</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Slightly mash the avocado so it doesnāt slide off the bread.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAF4LqhRgZHwzakOrsFPGpqjH0aQq6tP1npOoCnSEKL0sMskWFBT8DvvkapuMq7SENidWCGKKOsIoziHtUlrev3UAcAphKgQTQ8VvA9_Xf0F6b4DJjHpHz08s6EwDsKIL84TMN_UQVclA/s1600/DSC_0191+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAF4LqhRgZHwzakOrsFPGpqjH0aQq6tP1npOoCnSEKL0sMskWFBT8DvvkapuMq7SENidWCGKKOsIoziHtUlrev3UAcAphKgQTQ8VvA9_Xf0F6b4DJjHpHz08s6EwDsKIL84TMN_UQVclA/s640/DSC_0191+copy.jpg" height="424" lda="true" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
ļ»æ</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Slap your bread together and cut in half.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Edamame Salad </span></strong><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What you need:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 C edamame beans </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 C corn </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 C cherry tomatoes sliced in halves</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 C black beans </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1/4 C red onion</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Handful of cilantro, finely chopped</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What you do:</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Combine the ingredients in a bowl. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTjHGoSb8yAET-SHHDNVMRoCr5vxpVUGrO5bBWCoKKaF6yAxJ3YOKy3KDuO67R59vXovcbmOVCt1TyEtZupwURGkoFP7ckJTlTEfOwpEl1eg6NtOVnb-h2xx_wAIiguzo92KrAoVtHSas/s1600/DSC_0196+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTjHGoSb8yAET-SHHDNVMRoCr5vxpVUGrO5bBWCoKKaF6yAxJ3YOKy3KDuO67R59vXovcbmOVCt1TyEtZupwURGkoFP7ckJTlTEfOwpEl1eg6NtOVnb-h2xx_wAIiguzo92KrAoVtHSas/s640/DSC_0196+copy.jpg" height="424" lda="true" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Helpful hints:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">ā¢ I used frozen edamame. I soaked the beans in a bowl of water and by the time the rest of the ingredients and dressing were assembled, they were thawed but cool and perfect for the salad. If you are using frozen black beans and corn, you can soak all at the same time. Just be sure and rinse after the soak!</span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">ā¢ Canned beans and corn may also be used, but rinse through a colander. This does 2 things: removes extra sodium and keeps the mix clean (and pretty!)</span><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dressing</span></strong><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What you need:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1/8 C red wine vinegar 0 c</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1/8 C lime juice 0 c</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1/4 C grapeseed oil 245 c</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 T honey 64 c</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Cayenne or cracked pepper to taste</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What you do:</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Whisk thoroughly. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilk5i_PhshibPqpub_0P-gjax-aSuVatifJErL-CxsJKmWQGBWfO9CJkFC0z4CU1KI1hNDAe5vq4uiYcgF1CNUXgl_Yj4lrYHa7DU-prtb7DJL2zBI3WIfJdx5YycfzM1wB3gadiDNrCo/s1600/DSC_0200+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilk5i_PhshibPqpub_0P-gjax-aSuVatifJErL-CxsJKmWQGBWfO9CJkFC0z4CU1KI1hNDAe5vq4uiYcgF1CNUXgl_Yj4lrYHa7DU-prtb7DJL2zBI3WIfJdx5YycfzM1wB3gadiDNrCo/s640/DSC_0200+copy.jpg" height="424" lda="true" width="640" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-size: large;">ļ»æ</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Pour over, mix into salad and serve.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3tYvsIzhQA8a_NkEsUKT9KYxd5dwHkK9MT9wdqIUqFOHKTqZevf-RZIqY9sOs8nnC746l7UR-pmDOL2FmnlNWPGMA-WGc1d6xl59eba37TAMCnq5tCGv3IyhZNVM-Y_5e4DgQhrNW0rs/s1600/DSC_0201+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3tYvsIzhQA8a_NkEsUKT9KYxd5dwHkK9MT9wdqIUqFOHKTqZevf-RZIqY9sOs8nnC746l7UR-pmDOL2FmnlNWPGMA-WGc1d6xl59eba37TAMCnq5tCGv3IyhZNVM-Y_5e4DgQhrNW0rs/s640/DSC_0201+copy.jpg" height="424" lda="true" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Helpful Hints:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">ā¢ The honey is the heaviest liquid and will sink to the bottom. Make sure your bowl or container is deep enough to capture it during the whisking.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXCIHnbTBKHM42rmmOtvi32f2W91QWVRWk-ao4o1jBevjTD6bzd4kyP06H_o7eKvkdDI0ROICPl23k6J7B9DBa8qylkar4v-afE-eWfKECHZfx5ixPlfTljbAx2LVQt891O2gY-P7xYk/s1600/DSC_0197+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXCIHnbTBKHM42rmmOtvi32f2W91QWVRWk-ao4o1jBevjTD6bzd4kyP06H_o7eKvkdDI0ROICPl23k6J7B9DBa8qylkar4v-afE-eWfKECHZfx5ixPlfTljbAx2LVQt891O2gY-P7xYk/s640/DSC_0197+copy.jpg" height="640" lda="true" width="424" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">ā¢ As I mentioned earlier, I cut back on the oil used in the original recipe and based on what settled at the bottom of the mixing bowl, you could probably cut the amount of oil in half again if you really need to cut calories. Another option and one that will not alter the taste is to use a slotted spoon to serve with, making sure to let the excess dressing stay in the serving bowl versus your plate.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">ā¢ The pepper is optional. I have been trying to incorporate cayenne more into my diet as it is a natural aid for weight loss and a metabolism booster and has many other beneficial properties, so I use it whenever I can.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tFySl9k8uUZiVRtHRX3PwZsWQZVdcIZLU3mQPRoMIfUo-Kb_2YTGRr4dtua3vX2eXiA03PzKeU6zpoXCAq3UisW4lqzqtiL4NVfDtTscdMn7MUmOmYfNXigBaO9oA1bHqfrgA0CpY7U/s1600/DSC_0202+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tFySl9k8uUZiVRtHRX3PwZsWQZVdcIZLU3mQPRoMIfUo-Kb_2YTGRr4dtua3vX2eXiA03PzKeU6zpoXCAq3UisW4lqzqtiL4NVfDtTscdMn7MUmOmYfNXigBaO9oA1bHqfrgA0CpY7U/s640/DSC_0202+copy.jpg" height="424" lda="true" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Calorie count:</strong></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Salad</strong> (with dressing)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ā½ C serving (as a side) = 113 calories</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1 C serving (as an entrƩe) = 226 calories</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Sandwich</strong> = 320 calories</span></blockquote>
</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAurO6GPRwyrS_tTHq50824g2Scbx2thYKDy_vbNRyBoV8QL2DVJDbRNkFq3WRxoFEd61aITeI2FVe8NvNUHDTxBbuzszFPyAn02C84uoM-QbgYBL6sdXF6xEpCO6eYcdsCBbuf99NHDA/s1600/DSC_0203+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAurO6GPRwyrS_tTHq50824g2Scbx2thYKDy_vbNRyBoV8QL2DVJDbRNkFq3WRxoFEd61aITeI2FVe8NvNUHDTxBbuzszFPyAn02C84uoM-QbgYBL6sdXF6xEpCO6eYcdsCBbuf99NHDA/s640/DSC_0203+copy.jpg" height="424" lda="true" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Meal total only 433 Calories! Yummy, pretty and <u>good for you</u>! Oh My!</span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So, what do you think? Maybe something Vegetarian on <em><strong>your</strong></em> menu this weekend? </span><br />
<br />
Not intended to be a single guide for nutrition, but if you would like further information on some of the ingredients used, you may want to check here:<br />
ā¢<a href="http://www.cayennepepper.info/cayenne-pepper-weight-loss.html" target="_blank"> Cayene</a> <br />
ā¢ <a href="http://www.buzzle.com/articles/benefits-of-grape-seed-oil.html" target="_blank">Grape Seed Oil</a> <br />
ā¢ <a href="http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/avocado-advantage" target="_blank">Avocados</a><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">The <a href="http://theveggieyogi.com/" target="_blank">Veggie Yogi</a> can be found </span><a href="http://theveggieyogi.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">here</span></a><span style="color: #38761d;">.</span><br />
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-34858460725292436892012-02-22T01:12:00.000-06:002012-02-22T01:12:51.266-06:00How Keith led me back to JohnSometimes I get more done when I donāt follow a completely organized and prioritized <strong>To Do</strong> list. On Sunday I finally got around to packing up the Christmas ornaments. Donāt judge. Itās not like my tree was up in the living room or I to take down a bunch of lights off the roof. No, this year or last year I should say, since we werenāt going to be home on Christmas, I downsized the decorating at our house. I had a small 4ā prelit tree and a basket and a few large glass jars filled with ornaments. I had already taken them down to the basement, but had yet to pack them away. Since Iāve been hitting the gym most nights after work, I donāt get home till 7:30 or later and then all I want to do is sit, surf and watch a little TV.<br />
<br />
My basement is actually a very large bedroom and bathroom that used to belong to my daughter. Since she moved out it is used for company and a place to <em>store things</em>. I had been <em>storing</em> things out in the open down there for quite some time and Sunday I finally felt like packing up the little tree and 8 boxes of ornaments along with a few assorted trinkets. Once I had the <em>Christmas</em> put away, I began (again) going through some drawers and two large boxes that came āhome from collegeā and were still sitting there collecting spiders.<br />
<br />
Iāve planned to clean and straighten the basement every weekend since Christmas, but just hadnāt gotten to it. I think I have flashes, noā<em>floods</em> of Adult <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002518/" target="_blank">ADD</a>. You know where you go to the kitchen to get a drink of water and end up cleaning out the vegetable drawers in the fridge? OR, go to empty the wastebasket in a bedroom and see a magazine and start reading. I also call it: <em>Look-Squirrel!</em> or <em>Chicken!</em> This happens to me a lot, and that my friends is the reason my Christmas decorations were still out at the end of February. <br />
<br />
Anywho, back to the cleaningā¦I managed to fill up 4 large lawn bags of old clothes for donation and clear out those 2 boxes too. In the process I found:<br />
<br />
ā¢ one missing 3 lb and two 2 lb weights (lost for at least 2 years)<br />
<br />
ā¢ my yoga book (lost for at least a year)<br />
<br />
ā¢ AND a copy of Grimmās fairy tales didnāt even know I had<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLcKAIGzTEs7CCW2mbznV2bTFaYisYvy2hy7s28Xw1bMV9SYeo2jndHKKeJJ55nlQ600BXkvAvKf3pc2kztgFZwYwKF3K1U63e9lgSdwUaIjmq-JiZ4LknKn9IYv2csdkFec5p_FpROwo/s1600/Grimms.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLcKAIGzTEs7CCW2mbznV2bTFaYisYvy2hy7s28Xw1bMV9SYeo2jndHKKeJJ55nlQ600BXkvAvKf3pc2kztgFZwYwKF3K1U63e9lgSdwUaIjmq-JiZ4LknKn9IYv2csdkFec5p_FpROwo/s320/Grimms.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
I wasnāt looking for these items, but it was definitely a bonus! The Grimmās book was an especially sweet find. Since weāve been watching the new show <a href="http://www.nbc.com/grimm/" target="_blank">Grimm</a>, weāve noticed the creators have taken poetic license with some of the stories and it seems Iāve forgotten a lot of them anyway. I was planning to re-read the stories and refresh my memory. So, now I have the book! <span style="font-size: x-small;">Yeah!</span><br />
<br />
After the cleanup, I had a robust workout with my stability ball, foam roller, hand weights along with some yoga. Somewhere between the workout and the cleaning I remembered I wanted to change out a few CDs in my carās player and thought some <a href="http://www.keithurban.net/" target="_blank">Keith Urban</a> would be a nice change of pace. When I went to our CD shelves, I ended up filing about 20 or so CDs that werenāt back where they ought to be (ADD). While I was putting CDs away I also found a brand new, unopened <em>The <a href="http://www.johnlennon.com/" target="_blank">John Lennon</a> Collection</em> CD!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbVYlHujuysbp33D1E1F39lyv2t_dLiVxo1J-pRNjnpCM-fK1nmi1OkZzruZWm-pvh7QLPbp1dm59OfaF8bSwvDjy5Drqq9HAZ5xyM5z5kOkE0YN-2C73wBdMSs_wHT0RqHdrLwQU77Y/s1600/JLennon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" lda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbVYlHujuysbp33D1E1F39lyv2t_dLiVxo1J-pRNjnpCM-fK1nmi1OkZzruZWm-pvh7QLPbp1dm59OfaF8bSwvDjy5Drqq9HAZ5xyM5z5kOkE0YN-2C73wBdMSs_wHT0RqHdrLwQU77Y/s320/JLennon.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
Until Sunday, I forgot I had this. <em>Bonus! Bonus!</em> I never was a diehard Beatles fan, (please, no hate mail, I promise you, I am American AND normal-most of the time) but I liked them much better individually after they broke up. And you know whatās even better?? I picked up <u>this CD</u> at a garage sale for $2! 2 BUCKS. Score! I <strong>love</strong>, I mean <em><strong>LOVE </strong>Starting Over</em>, <em>Woman</em>, <em>Beautiful Boy</em> and Johnās <em>Stand By Me</em>. If you need a walk down memory lane, give it a listen:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://3.gvt0.com/vi/O4_ghOG9JQM/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/O4_ghOG9JQM&fs=1&source=uds" />
<param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" />
<embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/O4_ghOG9JQM&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>
<br />
I immediately popped it in the player, usurping my husbandās Allison Kraus (for a change) and have been listening to it at work today and yesterday. When I hear an old song or songs that I have loved and not heard for awhile, I listen to them over and over for a month or so. Does anybody else do that, or is that another <em>Joanne</em> thing?<br />
<br />
So now you know <em>how Keith led me back to John</em>. <span style="font-size: x-small;">I told you I had Adult ADD.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
ļ»æ</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-68323325255733706172012-02-14T06:00:00.000-06:002012-03-20T00:10:23.439-05:00Valentines For You! AND Chocolate Dipped Strawberries!<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Saturday night I made Chocolate Covered Strawberries for the first time. They were super easy too. No, I didnāt eat them, but I ātestedā two, because theyāre not exactly on my diet right now, strawberries-yes, chocolate-not so much. But they were awesome! I was at the store and they had some gorgeous quarts of berries for $1.99. Is that a great price or what? I really hadnāt planned on dipping them, but when I got home I remembered that I saw a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips in the pantry, I also remembered the Sunday School kids at church were having a program following regular services, and thought (if they turn out) Iāll take these to church as a little Valentineās treat. As I said they were very easy. Look how pretty they turned out: </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcN7v1rVBrCUcXUgmxIBg57rp5AiRVK1kEfzOifXBHInw7ak-L9R_58iTIUsNWOruAavAVszTTiL_wddrQI_t_btJfVm2YWQO6QoPCl_x6eFU2Ne6Jq7OAYdA5G_Ocr9o_yEFTUT7PEpw/s1600/choc+strwby1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcN7v1rVBrCUcXUgmxIBg57rp5AiRVK1kEfzOifXBHInw7ak-L9R_58iTIUsNWOruAavAVszTTiL_wddrQI_t_btJfVm2YWQO6QoPCl_x6eFU2Ne6Jq7OAYdA5G_Ocr9o_yEFTUT7PEpw/s400/choc+strwby1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u><strong>What you need:</strong></u></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A carton of fresh strawberries. Wash, drain and allow to thoroughly dry before dipping. You might need to blot them on paper towels to make sure they are completely dry</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A bag of chocolate chips (dark chocolate is best and better for you).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 T of paraffin. Paraffin kind of seals them and helps to prevent melting, or so Iāve read. Personally, I think this is optional. BTW: I used a soy wax and they turned out fine. </span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u><strong>What you do:</strong></u></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Melt a bag of chocolate chips (with the paraffin) in a deep microwave dish on high for 1 minute.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Stir the chips and paraffin. It will not be completely melted, but the melted chocolate will speed the melting of the remaining chocolate.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Microwave on high for another minute. Stir the chocolate till smooth without lumps.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Start dipping. Hold the strawberries by the green tops. You donāt have to completely cover them either. That also helps keep the chocolate off your hands. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Place the dipped strawberries on parchment or wax paper to set. </span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEQFpN4AJcF3PFg67rdm04Qqyu5Th6Qi4SjdvcZfhOmf00qU5bKv6ix-OQrOZtpG-H8JiUzF3bmbptfsaFa9ZQDBcILfiiZv7qG4MKSZrvli-aByPZBMnRm46QlJbgPYwHUS93JHdAiiA/s1600/strwybry3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEQFpN4AJcF3PFg67rdm04Qqyu5Th6Qi4SjdvcZfhOmf00qU5bKv6ix-OQrOZtpG-H8JiUzF3bmbptfsaFa9ZQDBcILfiiZv7qG4MKSZrvli-aByPZBMnRm46QlJbgPYwHUS93JHdAiiA/s400/strwybry3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
ļ»æ</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When all the chocolate is hardened, arrange on a plate or platter. I swirled a little chocolate syrup on the bottom of the plate before arranging the strawberries. </span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4_YOjeV6d5rrZR5CO0ot4urLf4ljdy-ghrGwHZW_bL26d_QdEvEAA8QesLPa7OLXW0UwCNgqFVtovGsGTS5RWcWl2HGBWiIgrm_6RArwK9h8IE_4n_rhoQJWap6QGHgJznGe0QeSoVc/s1600/choc+strwby2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4_YOjeV6d5rrZR5CO0ot4urLf4ljdy-ghrGwHZW_bL26d_QdEvEAA8QesLPa7OLXW0UwCNgqFVtovGsGTS5RWcWl2HGBWiIgrm_6RArwK9h8IE_4n_rhoQJWap6QGHgJznGe0QeSoVc/s400/choc+strwby2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
ļ»æ</div>
<ul></ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I also love to take pictures and took a few Valentiney photos this week. You may use the Chocolate Covered Strawberries or this: </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsf9Ce71hNPYa8Lq8sRA-JrZLs3xjoG7r9h8F3ZAogSrQ54G1poDyZ-o45-oIU02_9drxz9BCLR_Jbf7XdDZ-jmp6d5in-RzA2huY6zVhs655NqtGoslQuAhpVPyVsQwYNQ9xKiJ8XBVI/s1600/multiroses.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsf9Ce71hNPYa8Lq8sRA-JrZLs3xjoG7r9h8F3ZAogSrQ54G1poDyZ-o45-oIU02_9drxz9BCLR_Jbf7XdDZ-jmp6d5in-RzA2huY6zVhs655NqtGoslQuAhpVPyVsQwYNQ9xKiJ8XBVI/s400/multiroses.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
or this:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_2yUVzcHG4Z0hsfqQeLJCKSDsUnIbRmoOIfEsZCPcum_yDn_UtkBQVBPncD5McZ5hEIU_qs-KPW4nUiMgPYSIV-Bbv7Ue_ByTUpXyOZbFFwAw_wSPs7ZBHt9uNqcWZzNQn-GlVl_UkI/s1600/DSC_0176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_2yUVzcHG4Z0hsfqQeLJCKSDsUnIbRmoOIfEsZCPcum_yDn_UtkBQVBPncD5McZ5hEIU_qs-KPW4nUiMgPYSIV-Bbv7Ue_ByTUpXyOZbFFwAw_wSPs7ZBHt9uNqcWZzNQn-GlVl_UkI/s400/DSC_0176.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">or maybe this:</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There are more on my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12843208@N03/sets/72157629311516681/" target="_blank">Flickr page here</a>. Please feel free to download what you like to use as computer wallpaper, to print and use for your own Valentineās Day cards or maybe to send a with a text message for an E-Valentine. Don't forget to leave me a note -- I would love to know that you used them. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><span style="color: red;"><strong>Happy Valentineās Day!</strong> ~~Joanne</span></em></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3ofcVd1yJOq2F30ex5J6FEER0ZCpOn7WCi3pAdyCQLVAMpSmZWY609zxpjTcwyQxUvbzFC77Uj86ks5syFVQA1cRFj2B_jXPn3aTF0fgGpysuyjnVMbslc3yclvblIzPhXE5ou_xKjY/s1600/BOWL+O+HRTS4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3ofcVd1yJOq2F30ex5J6FEER0ZCpOn7WCi3pAdyCQLVAMpSmZWY609zxpjTcwyQxUvbzFC77Uj86ks5syFVQA1cRFj2B_jXPn3aTF0fgGpysuyjnVMbslc3yclvblIzPhXE5ou_xKjY/s400/BOWL+O+HRTS4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
ļ»æ</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-87009742526216805662012-02-12T06:15:00.000-06:002012-02-12T06:15:00.829-06:00Pre-Valentine's Dinner<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Last night we had a special Pre-Valentineās Dinner. My friend Linda gave me this recipe a few years ago and itās become a family favorite. The best thing about it (besides being easy and fast) is that itās pretty low on the calorie and sodium scale, two things we look for at our house. Another cool thing about the Chicken Walnut Salad with Maple Syrup Vinaigrette is you can switch it up by adding or leaving out ingredients as you prefer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My mom recently sent us some walnuts from Oregon. I know, sounds a little weird, my mom sends nuts. But sheās retired, and cracking nuts keeps her off the streets at night.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtXTeetcf34ySaPidevxcJagC7FDlci7O-1SFkoLjRqCu5xNVsMbGj04tImpa1nYwjCn5Hi_qjYiNbHnbta3IbIQZ-zb9p1LJbmagSzd_TG60zLqx4GaBJ2M07yS-CWFgj1FpVn9c4lw/s1600/walnuts.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtXTeetcf34ySaPidevxcJagC7FDlci7O-1SFkoLjRqCu5xNVsMbGj04tImpa1nYwjCn5Hi_qjYiNbHnbta3IbIQZ-zb9p1LJbmagSzd_TG60zLqx4GaBJ2M07yS-CWFgj1FpVn9c4lw/s320/walnuts.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh walnuts from Mom - with love</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Anywho, she called because I forgot to tell her we got them and to thank her for them ā my bad. So I remembered this recipe and I love āSalad Suppersā because they donāt take much time to fix.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhUMyCmQlp7CDr50rKsPtlNssVOWubK8_9552TcPLfokD_ui5tbCfNSnRMxvJBflOTrMA_QLYGi_svWN797z74ZZPnyB4bZ5ZPG6DD_j-qFyISitfcg-eSkbOiNa_trDH7lnpST2tQHGc/s1600/Chkn+Walnut+Maple+Vingtt+Salad+Recipe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhUMyCmQlp7CDr50rKsPtlNssVOWubK8_9552TcPLfokD_ui5tbCfNSnRMxvJBflOTrMA_QLYGi_svWN797z74ZZPnyB4bZ5ZPG6DD_j-qFyISitfcg-eSkbOiNa_trDH7lnpST2tQHGc/s400/Chkn+Walnut+Maple+Vingtt+Salad+Recipe.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right click to save copy of recipe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This recipe makes enough for 3 large servings. I boiled 3 chicken tenders, but you can use grilled, leftover fried or roasted chicken. Of course if you want to go vegetarian, skip the chicken. </span><br />
<ul><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHgWFxx0_hJ9lBOe-1A8tTyECVVupoP1o0wIegK7SfZfS-YvrJ66H4_5NmMDm_GoqYtKvuw26y1nzp0sAZKW8uqY2_w-PX5O4btBNeIIRps5Kjli-rkRl1PMTV-MaWGlDaKQpnMnOJ9g/s1600/chkn.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHgWFxx0_hJ9lBOe-1A8tTyECVVupoP1o0wIegK7SfZfS-YvrJ66H4_5NmMDm_GoqYtKvuw26y1nzp0sAZKW8uqY2_w-PX5O4btBNeIIRps5Kjli-rkRl1PMTV-MaWGlDaKQpnMnOJ9g/s320/chkn.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chop chicken into bite size chunks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Use cooled or cold chicken chopped into bite size chunks. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Coarsely chop the nuts.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In a bowl add the lettuce, chicken, walnuts and apples (1/2 cup chopped, not necessary to peel).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Make the Vinaigrette and shake well in a covered container. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Pour the Vinaigrette over the salad and toss. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Thatās it. Normally we donāt add the dressing to the salads, but this is really a light dressing, not heavy at all.</span><br />
ļ»æļ»æ <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwKxfz-Pp4FH2qvxd9gAX9wv0cbLHoms_8r9V3QWqUWQJ9cpoR5jxv4K_X5YLUHvCKxh6BnYmtslrtOMQQwmcaO5FCdk7y8z-rI1LuXLnnjuMDkCGw4S_R-W326Ixx5nQo147OtF_8Ic/s1600/salad.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwKxfz-Pp4FH2qvxd9gAX9wv0cbLHoms_8r9V3QWqUWQJ9cpoR5jxv4K_X5YLUHvCKxh6BnYmtslrtOMQQwmcaO5FCdk7y8z-rI1LuXLnnjuMDkCGw4S_R-W326Ixx5nQo147OtF_8Ic/s400/salad.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicken Walnut Salad with Maple Syrup Vinaigrette</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
ļ»æļ»æ<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">One aside: the original recipe calls for <u>apples</u> and I think itās better with them, but oddly enough, I bought 2 apples night before last, took one for lunch and tonight when I went to make the salad, the remaining apple was gone. Two people in the house, I ate one and the other one <em>mysteriously</em> disappeared. My husband has āno recollectionā of the other apple. No worries, Iām good at improvising. I also bought some gorgeous strawberries yesterday and in the spirit of Valentineās Day, I thought what the heck, so I used strawberries instead and they worked. And isnāt it pretty too, the little touch of red?</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-64337472912215553912012-02-10T12:13:00.000-06:002012-02-10T12:13:41.661-06:00Self Designated Informants<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Unless you are an orphan who was raised by wolves or a nomad, your family most likely has at least one Self Designated Informant (SDI), also known as the Tattle Tale or the Town Crier. You probably already know which of your siblings or offspring this is. Not sure? The SDI can fall anywhere in the sibling or offspring hierarchy, but is (most times) not the oldest. The oldest usually has the responsibilities as well as the freedom to do a lot of things the younger kids are not allowed to do and does not concern themselves with what the others are up to. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The SDIās job is to make certain the Parents know that the āothersā are doing something they shouldnāt be, something they are going to do ā but shouldnāt, or something they have already done but shouldnāt have. The most important thing to remember is that the SDI is not being and intentional butt head. Remember when I said, that the SDI is usually not the first born? The SDI does what they do primarily as a means of getting attention. When they are very young, itās obvious when they bust on another, and goes something like: āMommie So-and-So did this.ā When they are older, the prelude to the dish might be a phone call or a text that starts: āHave you talked to So-and-So lately?ā or āYou didnāt hear this from <em>me</em>, butā¦ā</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Having a reliable SDI is a good thing and often one of the best tools in a Parentās bag of tricks. But, itās important not to necessarily act on the information, at least every time. Remember the dishing is primarily a means of getting attention or maybe (as in older kids) just needing someone to talk to. I have a niece (letās call her Niece #2) who busts on her cousin to me fairly regularly. Niece #2 is also not the oldest in her family, but I believe the main reason she keeps me in the loop is long ago when she was around 13, I caught her smoking and believed her when she <em>made me think</em> it was one of the other kids. Which was the reason I stayed so mad, not about the deed itself, but about blaming the wrong kid, and as a result, everybody got punished. Which is funny in hindsight when I think about it, if they were all so willing to take the fall, they were all probably doing <em>something else</em> that I didnāt catch them at. I think Niece #2 has been trying to make it up to me ever since.</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There are also Self Designated Informants in the work place as well. We usually call these guys <em>Brown Nosers</em>, in school they were <em>Teacherās Pets</em>. These people are also looking for attention, but are much more dangerous. If youāve worked anywhere for any length of time you know to be wary of these folk and whatever you do, <em>Donāt piss them off!</em> </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">What brings this to my mind today is Daughter #5 sent me the classic text message above about a sister. While the information was valuable, it was not vital, more importantly because I know her so well; I knew something else was going on. Daughter #5 had broken up with her boyfriend and it had gotten really scary. Translation: <em>She needed someone to talk to</em>. I love all my kids and I hope that I can continue to read the signs correctly when they need me. Itās easy when your kids are young to get in the habit of saying āStop being a Tattle Taleā, but try to remember all they probably need is some one-on-one, a willing listener and a hug. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Note: Iāve got something a little different and special planned for you this weekend. Check back for a Valentine surprise! </span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309640651341226909.post-89503033617225061932012-02-07T17:44:00.000-06:002012-02-07T17:44:28.698-06:00Heading West, Destination Unknown<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Wow! The strangest thing happened to me this morning on the way into work. About 4 miles from my turn off the interstate I had the wild and crazy idea to keep driving, <em>all-the-way-to-Colorado-keep driving!</em> This urge to keep going was so ālightning boltā, so āwild hairā, so āun-Meā. Not that Iām <em>not </em>spontaneous, but spontaneous enough to drive 400 or 500 miles for no reason whatsoever? Seriously, if I had freedom in my job, like say I didnāt have an office or had a few days extra of vacation to burn ā I truly think I would have done it!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOK7OeU28oGRDqZ8Ord7RLn5JWdWfZjFrZholPvfJfFGnD3J4PUYFbkfv3kOI57Yq6HvH7dE10cFmQEg6flHumMCPDn9IfamaH1xRdhNMeksm9Rr8I1goss06IOFFieRc01yjjypm0sRA/s1600/logo_i70sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOK7OeU28oGRDqZ8Ord7RLn5JWdWfZjFrZholPvfJfFGnD3J4PUYFbkfv3kOI57Yq6HvH7dE10cFmQEg6flHumMCPDn9IfamaH1xRdhNMeksm9Rr8I1goss06IOFFieRc01yjjypm0sRA/s1600/logo_i70sign.jpg" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Itās not really about running away either, though I have run away many times (according to my mom). When I was 2-ish, my mom said I would ārun awayā to the neighbor ladyās every day. I donāt think I hated home so much as I loved our neighbor. In fact, my mom has a number of pictures of Little Joanne walking down the sidewalk away from the camera heading to Auntie Reeās house and she loves to tell those stories. But thatās probably only because I always came <em>back home</em>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now I keep thinking of what was running through my mind at the time when that thought hit me and the only thing I can remember is Billy Joelās <em>Big Shot</em> on the radio. Iām not making a connection with that though, except that Iām an adult and an adult is kind of a big shot, maybe, maybe not so much.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Then I have run all the scenarios where I actually had to <em>call someone</em> (like work or my husband) saying āIāll be back tomorrowā¦maybe.ā I kind of think it would have been easier to pull it off with work, my husband would have required much more explaining. And exactly how do you explain, āI think Iāll drive for awhile and see where I end up.ā I mean, Shit! This aināt the 60s or 70s! Iām not a hippie (anymore). I have responsibilities. Iām the one that would be the <u>most pissed off</u> if a spouse or kid would have called me saying: <em>Hey, guess what Iām doingā¦?</em> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But Iāve got to tell you, the more I think about the possibilities of making a Wild Hair trip like that, the more it sounds like fun. To be truthful, I kind of think that if only I had my camera with me, I might have actually done it. <em>What about you?</em> Have you had any ātotally out of characterā ideas? Have you acted on them? Leave me a comment, I want to hear about it. </span><br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now, I said āColoradoā, but it could just as easily been the <em>ends of the earth</em> Kansas, or Nebraska. The urge wasnāt so much about the destination as it was the idea of just to <strong>keep going</strong>. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17844117555770172151noreply@blogger.com2