Tuesday Tagging

I've been tagged by my scrappy friend Catherine! Even though I owe her e-mail, I will still respond to her tags, LOL.

Four jobs I have had in my life
1. Mortgage loan processor
2. Cocktail waitress
3. Paralegal
4. Blackjack Dealer

Four movies I've watched more than once
1. The Shawshank Redemption
2. Mr. Mom
3. Arthur
4. Finding Nemo
(Like Catherine, I could also put at least 20 into this category!)

Four T.V. Shows that I watch
1. CSI (original)
2. Two and a Half Men
3. Boston Legal
4. House

Four places I have been
1. Columbia, So. Carolina
2. Savannah, Georgia
3. Lansing, Michigan
4. Dallas, Texas

Four people who e-mail me (regularly)
1. Mom
2. L.J.
3. Valerie
4. Colleen

Four of my favorite foods
1. Garlic cheese bread
2. Seafood
3. Chicken tenders
4. Pizza (sorta related to cheese bread, LOL)

Four Places I would like to visit
1. California
2. Canada
3. France
4. Italy

Things I am looking forward to in the coming year
1. Summer
2. MMM Contest
3. Economic stimulus check (ha!)
4. Hopefully getting a job!

Mostly everyone I know has already been tagged . . . but I will tag some who I think will respond, either on their blog or in an e-mail. I am tagging L.J., Kelly B. (sorry, Kels, being sick with influenza will not keep me from tagging you *grin*) and Valerie B. and Susie C.

You know he's sick when . . .

all he does is lay around like this:

Poor li'l John Sam. Normally he doesn't ever take a nap, but today his low grade fever got the best of him. He says he doesn't need our Throw-up Bowl, but we're letting him keep it close just in case.

Caroline is enjoying watching a movie marathon. So glad we went out in the sprinkler yesterday, cause today we need to play quietly inside.

Impossible Things

"I can't believe . . . impossible things," said Alice. And the Queen replied: "I daresay you haven't had much practice. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." (Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland)

How much practice do you have believing in things that seem quite impossible?

In the words of Chicken Little, "Today is a new day." That gives everyone the same amount of time to dwell on all things--impossible or not. Use those minutes wisely. They sure add up fast, don't they?

Creativity

Both kids are very creative in a lot of ways. John Sam's latest passion is writing songs and notes. Caroline is a champion coloring & drawing girl. Today I have the pleasure of displaying a little bit of their artwork. Look for us in a gallery or concert hall near YOU! ;-D

John Sam wrote this note on April 16 and told me the happy face was a picture of me. :) He left me another separate note that said, "Do not get ugly please." I asked if I looked ugly when I was mad and he laughed a little, and then said yes. Even though it wasn't really complimentary towards me, he didn't say it with a mean spirit, but rather, an observant one. Out of the mouths of babes . . . .



























Here is the drawing of our family that Caroline made in preschool. Her explanations are as follows. She is the purple person, because that's her favorite color. I (Mommy) am the red person, because that's my favorite color. That is my hair, not a crown. Daddy is the green person, the biggest. Brother (she always calls him that!) is the brown person, and "Whoops, Brother, sorry that I forgot to draw your legs." The black one, of course, is our dog Tokyo, who has four legs.

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day! :-D

We have so much earthly beauty all around us. Here are some gorgeous examples of Mother Nature's handiwork, right outside our front door.

Scrappy Friday

I've been sneaking in a little scrapbooking here and there! :) Here's some of the stuff I've been working on. The heart-shaped one is a mini-album I've been keeping under wraps; was going to submit it, and now I've decided not to, so I'm sharing some of it here. Enjoy, and Happy Friday to everyone!

High School Nicknames

In case anyone was wondering about how I chose the name for the blog, it's one of my nicknames from high school. My friend Ann was "Annabelle" and so that made me "Franabelle." When I started thinking about blogging, I asked family & friends if they had blogs and what the names were. Responses ranged from "What's a blog?" to "You should use Franabelle.com!" I didn't want to use only my name, and I wanted something kinda catchy, of course. Plus--I was thinking the name probably wouldn't be in use already, hehe. Somewhat boring backstory, I suppose.

While I don't use that nickname anymore, some of my, uh, older friends from back in the day still call me that! ;-D I have a few other nicknames: Narf, Frannie, even Frannie Goonie. In my junior year of high school, our homecoming theme was Urban Cowboy. The night before the game was a pep rally we called Thunder and we did a takeoff of the show "Hee-Haw." Here's a picture of me with my friend Annabelle at Thunder in 1980. Flannel--still a classic.

Friday Update - Room 6 Rockets!

John Sam got a first place ribbon today at his school's "X-Games" !!! His blue ribbon is for getting first place in the soccer kick! Wahoo John Sam! His class made their own t-shirts to wear for the event. Go Room 6 Rockets!

Friday Style

Caroline couldn't decide which shoes to wear today after her teacher confirmed yesterday that she wasn't allowed to wear Tinkerbell flip flops to school. The girl is stylish, yes? :)


Coming up this weekend: blasts from the past!

Grumpy and Cute

~This is the grumpy look I got when I asked John Sam to let me take a picture of where he lost his tooth! A little funny that he can be very grumpy and very cute at the same time. It's also highly possible that I take too many pictures.



~They always have so much fun on "Daddy's bed."






I think I finally figured out the image enlargement glitch. If I put the photos on "left alignment," suddenly, the links seem to work! Yay! Happy Thursday to everybody!

"Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret . . ."

Remember that book for teenage girls called Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume? I can't tell you how many times I read it over and over. One of the most genuine books around, at least for girls. Wondering today if God is listening to anything I say/ask/write/pray. I finally received word yesterday (after the 3rd weekend of being left hanging, no less) that I didn't get a job I'd interviewed for. I was more disappointed than I thought I'd be once I knew for sure. Seems like I keep changing what I want. But I really was sad because it would've been a great position for me. Oh, I know what I'm supposed to say "God has something better in mind" or "You know, God takes care of sparrows and He'll take care of you, too." It's hard to keep upbeat when it feels like nobody is listening. And when you don't get what you want. And when you feel guilty that you're not feeling more positive about life in general.

But the darndest thing happens, even when I feel way down in the dumps. John Sam lost another tooth last night, and Caroline still tried to beat him getting dressed this morning. The world keeps turning around, and the sun will even come up later. Life marches on, no matter what's on my mind today. I am glad I've got a lot to keep me busy and maybe by the time I get a chance to rest idle, I'll notice that someone really does listen - on His own time. I need a little more practice with that!

Piles or Stacks?

~~Should I call them piles or stacks? LOL! I know what's in each of them, the specific order in which they seem to be randomly arranged, and whether or not anybody moves or touches them! ;-D

~~Everywhere I look, I see stuff I want to do, stuff I ought to do, and stuff I know perfectly well I'm not gonna do anytime soon and should put away but I still just like having out.

~~School starts again next week and that means our routine will be more normal. Lunches, homework, singing & commuting. Not to mention laundry, housekeeping, doggy day care. Whew! Here's hoping I can get rid of some of the stacks--household or otherwise.

The View from Here

One of the "do absolutely nothing days of spring break" happened today. Took some rainy photos; by the time I got them downloaded and uploaded (LOL), it had stopped raining. Sun came out a little, but it's supposed to rain more later. The last two photos are taken from my window, the one looks as if my camera was wet, but it was just the window.

April showers = Beautiful flowers! A few nights ago, we got some nice flowers from our yard, and he who will not be named even though he is totally secure in his manhood arranged them! They look great, IMO. Very fragant and they lasted an unusually long time.

Slackers and Cousins

Not necessarily in that order! {wink} Just wanted to post these out-takes of my most recent photo session of cousins! Everybody always wants to know why I take sooooo manyyyyyy pictures . . . . it's so I can get at least one decent one! Hands down, though, the funniest ones are the in-between the poses photos.

This is the third year I've forced everyone to pose together for pictures. Those pesky kids just keep growing. Whassup with that?!