Bella

I purposely did not go to see this movie while it was still playing in theaters. 

I even avoided it after it came out on DVD.

Why?

Probably because I'd heard that it was supposed to be REALLY REALLY good and it was all "Pro-Life." 

Those, of course, are really actually good reasons to see a movie.

I guess I was afraid of being dissapointed.

I wasn't dissapointed at all.

Quite the opposite.

I really can't do much other than tell you to see this movie. 

I don't want to give away the story.

But, I can tell you that you will probably want to hug your children when you're done watching.

You'll probably weep.

You may look differently at the people around you.

You may feel like going out of your way to smile at a random stranger.

You will definitely look at YOUR life through different eyes.

This story is truly beautiful.

Attention, ATTENTION!!!

We interrupt this blog to announce that my little brother (not really little anymore) now has his own blog!

so, check him out!

Joe's Blog

TGIF!!!

I don't really know why... but I am SO glad it's Friday!!!

So glad the weekend is here!!!

Bridal Shower

I've never hosted a bridal shower before, but it turned out to be tons of fun!

Here is the blushing bride :)

The bride's Aunt loaned us her back patio, complete with a tent, so the shower was pool side on a lovely afternoon!

Plenty of chocolate!

Opening Gifts

Bride's Mother, Bride, Me!

We're in the Army now...

We're not behind the plow...
We few, we happy fortunate few

Literary Meme

I was tagged by April
Who is your all-time favorite author and why?
This totally completely depends on what month you ask me...

Right now, I'm on an Agatha Christie kick, but 3 months ago I was gobbling up Frank Beddor's Looking Glass Wars, and the month before that I had just discovered Alexander Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, so I was in love with that... and next month I may be into Dickens. I just can't narrow it down to one all time favorite!




Who was your first favorite author and why? Do you still consider him/her to be among your favorites?
My "first" favorite... the first books I remember reading and absolutely LOVING, were Bodie Thoene's books. I think they were my first "grown up" books. I also remember the first book I read by Charles Dickens. That was amazing. I had a new knowledge of how much I LOVED reading after I read A Tale of Two Cities.

Who is the most recent addition to your list of favorite authors, and why?
Agatha Christie. Why? because every. single. mystery is different. I love that!!! I've also learned to LOVE Dorothy Sayers (I'm on a mystery kick right now) Hmmm.... maybe I should retake this meme in a few months and see how much my answers have changed :)

If someone asked you who your favorite authors were right now, which authors would first pop out of your mouth?
Right now? OK. Charles Dickens, C.S. Lewis, Agatha Christie, Victor Hugo.... ummm... yeah, there are a LOT more...
ok, I'm going to tag people that I think might actually want to do this... if you don't want to, that's ok...

I tag:
Serena
Debbie
Between the Stacks
Maureen
Valerie

Rules

• Link to the person that tagged you.
• Post the rules somewhere in your meme.
• Answer the questions.
• Tag six people in your post.
• Let the tagees know they’ve been chosen by leaving a comment on their blog.
• Let the tagger know your entry is posted.

Random Cute Things

Little people say the funniest things sometimes!

Our local newspaper interviewed the future class of 2020. They asked the kids what they wanted to be when they grow up. My favorite was the little boy that said:
"I wanna be a farmer, and have lots of horses and cows, and, if I can get one, a donkey too. Are donkeys real?"

lol!!

oh, and Sarah Beth's latest word? "Humongous!"
"Look it! Look it! I made it! (a tower of blocks) It's HUMONGOUS!"

Curb Appeal

The planters in front of my house...

Small is Tall.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness...

Scavenger Hunt

Remember when kids used to go on Scavenger Hunts that involved the whole town?

You might not remember because it's been a long time since kids did that sort of thing for some good clean fun.On Friday night I drove a Suburban full of high school girls on an old fashioned scavenger hunt

Based on the BibleFun!

We Film a Skit

With Spies :)Of course, I can't tell you anything else... if I did... I'd have to... you know...We have WAY too much fun

Bouquets

Red Gerbera Daisy's. 6 of them, handtied. Simple.

The underneath side is cool too :)

I have to say, I LOVE orchids.This is one of the prettiest Bridal bouquets I've seen in a long time.

Casablannca Lilies, Green Hydrangea, Dendrobium Orchids, Bells of Ireland, Caspia

New Look

New Blogger Template...

what do you think?

Storms in the Midwest

We haven't had nearly the disasters some areas in the Midwest have experienced.

But, we have had some whopper thunderstorms.

Awesome Find!

Have you seen this website?

COPYKAT RECIPES

They have some awesome recipes all based on famous restaurant selections.

Check it out!

Question:

If you could take a trip through time would you?

If you did, would you go to the future?

Diagnosis

I've been sick again for a while... and I finally went to the doctor yesterday.

So, I have strep. So, I have penicillin. So, I'm going to get over it.

yeah!

Dr. Jak's Black and White Facts

The black and white of it is:

No two colors set each other off as well as black and white.

Black and White are also the "formals" on the color wheel.

Any outfit is dressier in these colors.

As a rule, patterns should not be worn together. However, in some cases different patterns worn together can add a fun element!

Graphics

Back on one of those snowed-in days last winter Katie created a monster. :) She showed me the basics of creating my own graphics!
I thought I'd share some of my favorites with you all!

These are all from my favorite BBC miniseries. Robin Hood. I may have mentioned it before... :)

The Man :)

Weekend To Do List

• Write
• Clean house
• Read another Agatha Christie :)
• Write
• Get a hair cut :(
• Write
• Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully plant the garden
• Take some pictures
• Write
• Write
• Spend some time with my babies :)
• Write
  

Construction

I am literally surrounded by construction almost every moment of my day.

I wake up in the morning to the sounds of the Walgreen's next door being built.

I go to work, where the street in front of our shop is torn up and big "yellow dragons" move dirt around and drill holes and turn off our water...

I come home and construction continues next door... until dark... or later...

These guys don't take weekends off either! They're getting overtime. And a bonus for every day they finish early. And a fine for every day they're over...

My life is a hard hat zone.

Wednesday

Today I work all day, but have the evening free!! yippee!!! so, I'm hoping to get in some reading tonight and maybe watch an episode of Foyle's War? wouldn't that be fun!

Also, I have big plans to beat this sore throat/ear infection once and for all... so, that's my big plans for today!

Tuesday

It's Tuesday. Which means:

• Work at Mom's this morning, entering bills
• Try to get to the bank to deposit my check
• Work at the flower shop this afternoon
  
• Inhale something for dinner so I can go to
• a camp planning meeting tonight

did I mention that the sore throat that turned into swollen tonsils, double ear infection, body aches, fatigue and a fever last week and put me on the couch for two days... is back. Why?!? I don't know... Antibiotics aren't helping. I can't miss any more work, people!

Media break

Here's some recommendations for you all!

If you haven't seen Cranford yet, you must! Drop everything you're doing and get the DVD! It is the BEST costume period drama I have seen in years! Funny, Heartwarming, tear-jerking... Watch it! you'll LOVE it!!!Bleak House. I'm a huge fan of Charles Dickens, and this is one of the best adaptations of a Dicken's novel I have ever seen. If you're not willing to invest the time into reading the novel, this miniseries is an excellent substitute.Foyle's War. I know I've mentioned it before... but I really do love it!

I'm noticing a trend here... they're all BBC dramas... hmmmm..... :)

I just finished Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, which was quite fascinating.

Prince Caspian, by C.S. Lewis. Another very recent read, not to mention the movie, which I already reviewed HERE

The Chestry Oak. *sob* Read it.