Trees on Tuesday, Vol. 5

MUST.SEE.IN.REAL.LIFE – on to the Bucket List it goes! (Pic from Facebook)

Angel Oak Tree, Johns Island, South Carolina.Photo by Magda Bognar

Manic Monday

Busy at work, busy after dinner, and busy before bedtime. Yup, manic.

Bandit's eyes looked a little manic in the 2nd and 3rd picture - how funny is that?!

Of course, being in this family, the love of popcorn is a non-negotiable requirement.

Sunday Pinterest Board

Nothing cheers a girl up like SHOES!

I've pinned 124 pairs--there's something for everyone.

Fran on Pinterest - Shoe Store

Trees on Tuesday, Vol. 4

Let's see if I can get back in the groove and stay there.

These trees are in Dickson Azalea Park, near downtown Orlando. I took the sunlight shots when I was lying on the ground.

Bandit looks like Little Rascals' dog Petey

Not a replacement for Tokyo Jones--we just have more love to give and at the same time, so happy we could save a life.

Meet Bandit Baumgardner. Some pit, and either Dalmatian or Pointer. Eight months old. His ears look like Tokyo's, and we think it's meant to be.

His Royal Highness - Zing - is still top dawg. Thinks he's the bomb that he gets to get on the couch and beds and Bandit doesn't. *canine negotiations*

Stone Tree

A tree made of bricks, rocks, stones. So creative and pleasing to my eye.....you know how I love my trees!

Originally seen here: LaBioguia on Facebook

Swimming

Great quote. Timely message.

Wordless Wednesday

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#TBT Throwback Thursday

August 2006 was the first time they went to school together. The sizes of their backpacks & lunchboxes compared to their bodies makes me giggle. The back of their hair looks adorable. And I love their shoes.

Wordless Wednesday

Trees on Tuesday

Another sunset from Wadeview Park. It looks artsy because I put the tilt shift on. :) No Instagram filters, though.

Manic Monday

I've spent the last few days resetting, fixing, recopying, and reinstalling everything on the computer so I can get back to normal with the online routine. It's hard to blog in Caroline's room, ha! I don't want to move the desktop into the kitchen and on the dining room table--being that I just got it cleaned off and all--but she needs the privacy of her own room, and some of what I write isn't for 12 year old eyes, so I need privacy, too. ;)

I have to recopy all the pictures from the blog back onto the computer, too. I am glad that I put so many on here now because I lost every photo from November 2014 forward.

Today's been so (not) manic that I've gotta turn in early. It's 9:49 pm and all's well.

xoxo

Pinterest Sunday - Angels Board

The Pinterest Board for today is

Angels

Wordless Wednesday 02.25.2015

Trees on Tuesday 02.24.2015

Saw these on Twitter. Breathtaking!

The World's Most Ancient Trees

Shifting Days - Monday edition

Because I forgot to post "Pinterest Sunday" yesterday, I'm giving the link today:

Fran's Pinterest Board "Canine Inspiration"

So much wisdom and happiness and CUTEness on this board! 

#GuaranteedToMakeYouSmileAtLeastOnce

xoxoxo

#LoveYourPet Day

I thought #LoveYourPet Day was today, but it was yesterday. I'm still going to show off these pictures of Zing. Talk about expressive! We love this goofy little guy every single day.

 

Fran-tic Friday

Fran-tic Friday is a miscellaneous, unrelated mish-mash post with a high probablity of backdating.

I saw a great link today:

Ten Famous-People with Autism

This is why I wanted to share it:

James Durbin, American singer and guitarist was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome when he was 10 years old. A finalist on the tenth season of American Idol, he says that he does not see his diagnosis as a disability. In fact, he feels that it gives him somewhat of an edge over normal people.

Two more submissions are going out tonight: one short story and three poems. I forgot about the "regular" poem I wrote a while back, so I'm submitting it with two tanka poems for one of the entries.  :)

The moon tonight is waxing crescent, 3 percent illumination. It has a tiny star friend. Couldn't resist this pic. Even at night, still in the light.

#ThrowbackThursday

I really love #tbt!

I mentioned these things when I posted the top picture on FB:
Metal tray on the high chair
Bulletin board with my colored masterpieces
Wood paneling
My mom's hair


Other thoughts from either/both photos:
I wonder how old LJ (a/k/a my younger sister) is. If she's 8 or 9 months, it'd be Christmas time or early January.
I like how in the first picture you can't see the door on the right, but in the second one you can. It shows how small the kitchen/dining room  actually was.
I'm fairly certain I see an ashtray on the table. It's round.
I definitely see a yellow butter tub, a half gallon of milk, and a Tupperware cup with a straw.
In the second picture, I love my little hands. Caroline's hands looked like that when she was younger.

Tomorrow is #Friday. And not one day too soon :)

Wordless Wednesday

Trees on Tuesday

Tuesday blog posts shall henceforth be known as

"Trees on Tuesday" 

Sunset

02.12.2015

 

CNBC vs. USA

Tuned in to USA Network to watch Westminster. Imagine my delight when WWE "Raw" was on instead. I searched my program listings, which brought up USA's showing of Night 1 that will air tomorrow at 8:00 a.m.  NOT tonight on the REAL Night 1.

Bitched about it on FB, and a friend let me know it was live on CNBC. When I looked at the listing for that channel, it was titled "The 139th Westminster......."  Who knew I should've searched "The" instead of "Westminster."

I always thought USA had the exclusive on the dog show.

At least I won't miss the sporting group like I did last year. I already have everything set to record the first run of Night 2, and both nights on the repeat showings.  Just in case. ;)

#RootingForLabradorRetrieversInTheSportingGroup!

Love Day 2015

Please have a look at my Pinterest board called

I Heart This 

These were inside the card that Caroline made me. How creative is that girl of mine? Hand-drawn Valentine confetti :)

Happy Valentine's Day to me. If you like dark chocolate but you've not tried this combination of flavors, you have to eat a piece as soon as possible. You'll thank me. Announcement:  I don't care about the fat, sodium, or other unhealthy ingredients. Bottom line: it's chocolate on Love Day.  Let me live!!

Only 8 months to wait

Caroline and I have until Oct. 31 to finalize our plans for the Taylor Swift concert. Always good to have plenty of notice.

THE tickets were hand delivered to the office, and a coworker friend took this picture. It looks like I have scotch tape or something on my red Valentine's blouse, but I really don't.

I took this picture in the car because I was in such a big hurry to put it on FB - lol

Our calendars are marked in red. I'll report back when I go on the website to find out exactly where the seats are.

:)

Mom of the Year

Thanks to MIX 105.1, a/k/a the bestest local radio station in Orlando and surrounding areas, I won tickets to the Taylor Swift concert in October. You know what this  means...... I'll be mom of the year for a while. They are going to deliver the tickets to me at work, and the fellow said they'd take pix for the website - woohoo! It'll be fun to link that and hopefully I'll get my own pix to post on Instagram/FB.  If I'd had a video of how she reacted when I told her I won, it would make your day. I'll never forget it!! The link to the best radio station is MIX 105.1

I heard it's supposed to be cold tomorrow. Actually, colder, and possibly coldest. I have to chuckle when weather people say it's the coldest night of the year. Um, we're only in February; it's not like we're deep into 2015.

I realized tonight that I have to get some more short stories finalized so I can continue to put new stuff on the new magazine's website. Nothing like a deadline to get the creative juices flowing. I am now on the front page of the magazine as a regular columnist. Just in case anybody missed the link, here it is again. Magnanimity Magazine  If you click on my picture or somewhere in the vicinity, you will get redirected to the page with my three stories.  All I can think of is how I always said I wanted to be a columnist. #RisingStar

I've been working on getting my Twitter followers numbers up. Last count I had 431. You never know, one of those 431 could be the lucky one who discovers me and my monster writing talent. I had no idea there was such a big market for erotica. I might try that if I can't get anything else published.  *snort* I am continually amazed with the poetry people create and share. Brave and talented is how I would describe them. I'ma get up in there, too, mark my words.

Check back on TGIF for cool new pictures!

Online withdrawal!

Mid-day on Sunday, our cable & internet went out. Just got back online tonight. So much to catch up on. I feel like I've been in a vacuum.

I hope my internet never, ever goes out again because I was in some serious withdrawal.

#WonderIfThatIsSymbolic?

Online NOW

I'm so excited to share this link.    Fran in Magnanimity Magazine

Yes, all three pieces are mine. Yes, I think I'm the bomb.

Wait................ I AM THE BOMB.

Modest, too.

Where are my words?

I've been wanting to blog more, but find myself with nothing but lame subjects and no pictures.  I haven't been the photography sergeant that I need to be. Kodak moments are passing me by.

Only a few ideas equals fewer words.
Fewer words = boring blog entries.

If this weekend warms up, I'll have gardening pictures. If not, I definitely need to take some more tree pictures.

Should be something to post later in the month. Ha! Hopefully later this weekend.

Activities of late:

I cleaned off the desk in "Scrapbook Center" and have been working on the laptop in there instead of at the kitchen table. I had to move a couple of piles onto the table, though, but at least we all have a spot at the place we're supposed to eat. I like having a place to work that isn't mobile. I leave it a certain way when I go to bed, and when I get a chance to sit back down, it's the same way I left it. *heart smiley here*

I sent two stories to two contests. Hope to win or at least be on the top 3 honorable mention list. I'm getting ready to put all my sections of the big story into one piece. The majority of the writing is done, but I still have a little more to finish. A few more contests have closing dates in February, so they're getting some entries from me fairly soon.

Job has been going good the last few days, better than it has been. My 90 days is up next week. Fingers crossed, lmao. Meaning, kinda sorta lmao because it's really not funny.

I've had to use Firefox as my browser since I lost my beloved Google Chrome. I believe I've already mentioned here that I can't stand it. When I'm trying to listen to iHeart Radio, it stops playing after a few minutes, and won't begin to play unless I move the mouse or touch a key. Really? That never happens on Explorer or Chrome.

This is probably a shocker, but I don't have plans for Valentine's Day. In the movie When Harry Met Sally, one character sent flowers to herself to make someone jealous. I briefly considered sending flowers to myself just because I love flowers! The money will be better spent on gasoline. Maybe some chocolate, haha.

Speaking of gas, the last time I filled up, it was $21. A while back, the same amount would've been $40. When I heard the pump shut off and looked at the total, I thought it had stopped pumping in the middle of filling up. Nope! Woohoo! Also noticed that finally Walmart and Target have lowered their milk prices within ten cents of Aldi's $3.69.

Orchids are doing well. All  have new leaves, and one is growing like crazy. I'm thinking it means that one is more acclimated to less light than the others that used to be outside. I moved them all inside at Christmas time so they wouldn't block the view of our tree. After I took the tree down, I moved them where the tree was, except for a couple that have to go back outside because they were used to more sun and need it to flourish. I'm anxious for them to bloom because I can't remember which color & variety is in which pot. My violets are freaking boss when it comes to blooms (as usual). I cut a leaf from the yellow one and stuck it in the dirt. It rooted and there are 3 new leaves poking up. That hardly ever happens. I'm trying it again with the mini violet to see if it will root also.  The rosebush in the backyard has been freed from the ferns and has been receiving coffee grounds for fertilizer. Last check it had new growth on 4 little branches, and two little rosebuds.

Picture is from April 2008, posted because I don't like blog posts with no photos. xoxo

Insomniac

I'm not one, really, but I hardly ever have trouble sleeping. When I do, I'm convinced I'll never sleep again. It just feels like that.

Today was a long day. Always rushing. it seems.

I feel tired, so I hope that will help me stay asleep--instead of waking up every time my eyes are closed for more than 45 seconds like last night.

Somebody today told me to have sweet dreams. I'm just following directions. 

:)

Trivia Texts

CG has gotten into the habit of texting me random trivia facts.  It's hilarious!  I'm not sure why she decided to started doing it or where she gets the info, but I love that my "new text message" ringtone goes off a couple of times or so each day.

Here are a few things she's sent:

• The peach is a member of the rose family.
• The coconut palm is sometimes called the "tree of life."
• Lemon and salt can be used to treat rust spots and clean copper pots.

Admittedly, I had to Google something so I could text her back.

• Butterflies taste with their hind feet.
• A cat uses its whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through.

I bookmarked the website I found because they have over 10 pages of trivia.  :)  Otherwise, I'd never be able to match her mad random facts skillz. 

I'm sure I'll have more to share later. Screen shot will be included.

Book of Days

I haven't done it the last couple of years, but this year, I'm writing all the birthdays & anniversaries on the new calendar this year. I get them from my "Book of Days."  I love being able to keep dates in one place ;)

It doesn't mean that I won't miss some, but it does mean if I do, I can feel extra guilty about it!

;)
xoxo

Pinterest Sunday

I decided Pinterest-Board-Sharing-Day is going to be on Sundays instead of Saturday, which is Small Business Saturday.  There are a few local businesses I'd like to showcase, but won't be able to get permission in time for this week's installment. 

Today's Pinterest board is  Thanks for your time

Bad Tuesday

Disprezzare Martedì , ma sarà tutto finito

#GoogleTranslate

The Mother of Teenage Angst

Glad to know I'm not the only mama who is at her wit's end with her teenager.

*Big breath*
*Baby steps*

Isn't there some type of adult angst? I believe I've come down with a bit of it, and I'm going to call it Motherhood Malaise.

Pinterest Saturday - "Listen UP" Board

I've been yammering away about Pinterest of late, so I thought I'd implement a weekly Saturday post that includes a link to some of my favorite boards instead of copying & pasting them one pin at a time.  There are cuss words on some of them. Maybe a bare bewbie or two, and quite possibly the nearly naked Adam Levine pic. Mentioning this so everyone is sufficiently warned and no one will be unexpectedly offended. This holds for all the boards, not just this one.

For the debut installment, of course, it's all about meeeeeeeee!  This board is for quotes I need/want to remember, whether they made me cry, laugh, receive a life message, or hear a different point of view. Some of them even piss me off because they're right, but I needed to hear it.  Serendipity is awesome. Who knew she liked Pinterest, too!

Listen UP

There's one that the Universe intends for me to read this day. I'm looking for it now.  :)

Some days aren't amazing

Today wasn't that good of a day. I remembered how I tell the kids all the time to look out for something amazing. Sooooooo................

The amazing part of today is that in about 20 minutes, I'll be horizontal under sheets & fleece. I already turned on the heating pad to warm up where my feet go.

Pre-heating is amazing, now that I'm thinking about it.

And peanut butter M&M's.  Deliciously amazing when combined with milk.

Here's a funny cartoon I pinned today.  ;)

Why work when I can blog?

It's too cold to work. Bummer. Sadly, employment doesn't consider good weather as a job requirement.

Wouldn't that be great?  Future bosses could offer that as a big-time benefit.  "You only have to work if it's above 70 degrees and sunny."

Nice!

Dreaming on while I pile on the coats over my sweater.

Roadside

 The Christmas tree is finally bare and the yard waste guys will pick it up tomorrow.

Yay me!

Procrastinate!

The first school day after Christmas vacation is nightmarish.  Not quite as bad as in August, but a close second.  The night of the first school day is full of drama and chaos.  By Wednesday, the routine will be smoother.  :)

In the meantime, that's the reason I did not get all the decorations down and put away. It looks like Holiday Central in the living room. Translation:  It looks like the dollar store on 90% Christmas markdown up in here.

I could put some of it away and do the rest later.  It's better to do it all at once, though. Did you catch that? Reason #2.

I noticed today that plenty of my neighbors still have their Christmas lights up, too, and it looks pretty. Reason #3.

In search of the "other" paper art I love

Pinterest reminds me over & over that I used to love scrapbooking, and that it was a healthy outlet for me.  It's visual and tactile, and with some music in the background for audio, I could get in the zone.

photosPHOTOSphotos. Pretty papers and accessories! Who doesn't love adhesive squares? Writing by hand and admitting I love my own handwriting. Contrasting colors, matching colors. Stamp pads, pens, and hand-cutting letters for different projects.

How's this for paper inspiration? So unique and classy.

Now I'm seeing projects in my mind.........to make this weekend :)

Two Thousand Fifteen

Charles Osgood will say "twenty-fifteen" on CBS Sunday Morning. :)

I am in the midst of purging pre-planning. I keep worrying that I'm a few piles away from being a 20-minute blurb on Hoarders.  I brought home a couple of boxes w/ lids from work--things I'm purging are going in those boxes before I throw them in the trash. I'll have a cooling off period before I give anything the final toss.

New Year's pics that say, "Welcome 2015!!"  JS is holding his sparkler between two fingers, and looks like he's using The Force to hold up a ball of light. CG holds hers like a wand.