Saturday Night Live

Yes, that's me! Here at my computer on Saturday night, I'm still alive and it is 10:23 AND I am determined to get a post up! Here goes! :-)

We have just been so busy and then, as a result of the "busyness", pooped....in a word. *sigh* When does it ever end?!?!?!?!

One thing....well, okay, the main thing that is keeping us busy is.....besides life....is that we bought Daniel and Erin's mobile home which they had lived in next door to us before buying a home in Logan and moving about a month ago.

Well.....we have been doing some work on the mobile home, sprucing it up, cleaning, painting, etc. getting it ready to sell and also for the impending winter if we do not sell it right away. So, that is where much of our spare time has been spent.


Oh, and, yes, we are still taking care of our cute little grandson, Jaylon, every day and is he ever growing by leaps and bounds, even if he still isn't calling me anything in particular yet. But he does seem to be calling me "Mom-Mom" or something that sounds vaguely like "grandma" every once in awhile. I'm thinking maybe I'm just making myself too instantly available to the little guy and maybe if I would play a little more hard-to-get, he might come out with a definite name for me! Just my luck, he would probably say, "Hey You!" LOL
Oh, but you should hear him run through the yard yelling "Pa-pa...Pa-pa..." It is soooooo adorable!!! *sigh* Someday, perhaps, he'll run through the yard yelling, "Grandmaaaa.....Grandmaaaa...." or whatever he's decided to call me. :-)

We took Jaylon to the pumpkin patch yesterday and he had a ball!! This particular pumpkin patch has several tractors sitting around and Jaylon loooooves tractors, so he was doubly excited! He even got to sit on one, as evidenced in this picture:


BUT, even more than tractors or pumpkins or anythingggg....he loooooves rocks! As you can see here:

I am the resident picture-taker in our family, so we end up with alot of pictures of Ed and Jaylon but occasionally Ed does try to get a picture of me and Jaylon together. Here is his latest attempt:
LOL.....I told him that he is going to have to just take my camera and become friends with it!

It is now 11:30 and I need my sleep so I'll close this post with some pictures of Jaylon and Ed, traipsing about the yard midst the beauty of fall here in our little valley:

My/Our Graduation Picture

Here it is, finally!! My and Johnny's graduation picture and, you know, I think I may have been a bit too critical of myself when telling about the picture in this week's Random Dozen. It is actually a good picture of me, especially seeing as how I am not very photogenic in the first place. Now the glasses? Well, what can I say? They were in style at the time...1969-70.


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Is anyone growing weary of all the political advertisements and mailings? Good grief. It seems to be worse this year than ever! I honestly just turn a deaf ear to it all and I wonder how many others do the same thing and, if so, does this mean that all of those advertising dollars are essentially being wasted?
AND I am tired of hearing from BOTH sides. In this case, one is just as bad as the other, where the advertising is concerned. Enough already. But then I realize that I might as well save my breath because it is only going to get worse as we get closer to election day.
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And here I thought that perhaps they were going to be a little more conservative on DWTS this year because the outfits didn't seem to be quite so revealing and the dances not quite so suggestive BUT I thought too soon, hm? Whoa. Monday night a pretty steamy. And, no, I don't like the raised, round dance floor. What's the point?
And what about Bristol Palin? First of all, I just don't think she has any business being on the show in the first place, what with all of the negative press that she has gotten over the past few months, whether deserved or not. Nor does her mother. Puhleeeeease. AND did you see Sarah looking at the monitors and then, upon seeing herself, smiling and laughing hugely? Again, I say...Puhleeeease!
I know this may sound a bit terrible but I just think they all need to go back to Alaska and stay out of the limelight for awhile ESPECIALLY if Sarah is thinking of throwing her hat in the ring in the next presidential race. AND for the sake of their children! All of them!!!

ANDDDDD....The Situation? How in the world do you become famous for being who you are just because you ARE who you ARE? I've never watched Jersey Shore and surely don't plan on it but I WILL say that he did lose gracefully.
And aren't you surprised at the people who just can't dance, like The Situation (AND what kind of a name is THAT? Hello.) and Michael Bolton (oh, but it was painful to watch) and The Hoff, though I didn't have as difficult a time watching him dance, but I was surprised that he was eliminated so quickly. I thought he surely had more of a fan base than that. Oh well.
Okay, I have one more thing to say about DWTS. Florence Henderson. I've never been a fan or not a fan. I didn't watch the Brady Bunch. But what I don't care for is these older women coming on this show and trying to act sexy or whatever. Can't they just age gracefully? I almost quit watching entirely when Cloris Leachman was on. Thankfully, I could fast forward past her segments. She was an embarrassment.
By now you may be asking why I even watch the show if I am so critical of different aspects of it. Hmmmm....because there are people and parts of it that I do like. :-) One of those being the host, Tom Bergeron. Oh, and that brings me to another criticism. :-) Brook Burris? Don't like her. She preens too much and tries to act too "alluring". Get over yourself, Brook. (My, but I am being a bit harsh, aren't I?) I much preferred Samantha Harris.
And that is all I have to say about that! :-)
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I also loooooove The Next Iron Chef!!! There is alot that I don't know or understand about this level of cuisine but I do find it so interesting.
I've watched Ming Tsai when he was a judge on Top Chef and also occasionally on his TV show "East Meets West" on PBS.


He strikes me as being an eensy bit egotistical but that could be complete misperception on my part?

This past week, Ming was one of the bottom two chefs. I believe it was a real wake-up call for him. I'm very interested to see if he does indeed become the next Iron Chef!

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And lastly.....Project Runway. I loooooove this show so much. I used to sew quite a bit in my earlier years. I made the dress that I wore in my senior picture. I made alot of my clothes when I was in school but nothing on the level of Project Runway AND I just don't get some of the designs, you know? Oh, now I don't have any trouble picking out the BAD ones! Oh my!! Only to find out that the judges sometimes loooove them. But I do sometimes wonder what they see in some of outfits that don't lose or are in the top designs such as this atrocity that Gretchen got raves for, though she didn't win this particular challenge. She was one of the top three. Go figure.



But, once again, I am anxiously awaiting the next episode which is due to begin in about ten minutes, so I had better get this post up, get some snacks and get all settled in. :-)



I hope you've had a good Thursday and tomorrow is Friday! My favorite day of the week!! :-)

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Oh my! I almost posted without sharing a picture of little Jaylon!! Sooooo, here you go! I got this one this afternoon as we were out the door and getting ready to take our afternoon hike around the yard! :-)

Wednesday's Really Random Dozen! :-)

I haven't participated in the WRD for a couple of weeks because of time constraints but am determined to do so this week! :-) I think if I didn't put so much thought into the questions it wouldn't take me nearly so long but I tend to overthink things sometimes.

Anywayyyyy, below are my answers and YOU can participate, too, by clicking on Linda's blog and following the simple instructions!! :-)


1. Is there a word which you initially mispronounced? Were the circumstances in which you made the faux pas embarrassing? By the way, that's not "foax pass." (I know you know that. Just jokin' with ya.)
Why in the world I have never forgotten this, I may never know BUT when I was in grade school, I remember mispronouncing "Scioto", which is the name of a river that runs through central and southern Ohio. I pronounced it "Ski-o-toe" and was corrected by someone, though I don't remember who exactly.


2. How do you feel about the use of texting shortcuts and trends? (ex: "I've got ur notes. Get them 2 u 2morow.")
I seldom text but when I do, I still text complete words, along with punctuation. After 59 years, it's just a habit that I find hard to break and the shortcuts seem a bit juvenile, which I am not. :-)


And I have to agree with Joyce, in that if I really want to get in contact with my nieces and nephews or DIL, who do not always answer their phones (an understatement), all I have to do is send a text. Voila'! An almost immediate response! Go figure. (Does this mean I am really old?) LOL

3. Tell me about your high school senior picture. Please feel free to post.
Well, I am a twin. I have a twin brother and so many people thought it would be neat if we had our picture taken together, so we did. I think Johnny and I were also endeavoring to be considerate of our parents, as they did not have alot of money to spend on extras when we were growing up. It was one thing to pay for senior pictures for one child but two? Hello.
Anywayyyy....we had our picture taken together and it turned out pretty good but I've always thought that I look old in mine. Not one of my favorites. :-) I'll try to post the picture sometime soon but time is not on my side presently!

5. Share a high school or college homecoming memory.
I can only remember our school having one homecoming. And we only had basketball at our high school. No football. My oldest sister Bev was one of the finalists. Of course, I wanted her to win but another girl did. She was a cheerleader but had a pretty wild reputation and, in my opinion, was not attractive at all. She and some of her friends had always given Bev a rough time about being a goody-two-shoes. Oh,well, it's in the past and as my friend Pumba once said, "Ya gotta put your behind in your past". LOL

6. Linda at Mocha with Linda wants to know: "Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets?"
I think sunsets because I stand a better chance of getting to see one. And the ones in the fall are absolutely spectacular! Our church is on a small knoll and is the perfect place to watch a sunset!

7. Lea at Cici's Corner asks, "What is something you have not done that you desire to do?"
Get my photos organized and in albums. Travel out west and see the west coast. There is so much that I would love to do, it is difficult to just list one thing! :-)

8. Carol at Wanderings of an Elusive Mind ponders, "If you could come back [in another life] as an animal, which would it be?"
I would have to say a house cat. What a life! :-)

9. Joyce from The Other Side of the Pond is curious: "Where were you 10 years ago?" Please feel free to elaborate more than just your physical location.
Well, we were living here in the same place as we are now. I weighed about 50lbs. less than what I do now. I was a walking fanatic! :-) We were still home-schooling Daniel, which is such a wonderful memory that we have! I was working part-time at the library, which I absolutely loved! We had just returned to our former church and had begun working with the youth, which we continued to do for the next 7-8 years. That is just about all that I can remember at the moment! :-)

10. When you are proven to be correct in any contentious discussion, do you gloat?
No, but that is not to say that I haven't wanted to but the Lord always reminds me, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." "Be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good." "He that exalteth himself, shall be abased." Need I go on? :-)
I am so thankful for the word of the Lord that keeps me in line when I want so much to just tear loose sometimes. :-/

11. What is your favorite food which includes the ingredient "caramel?"
Oh.My.Word. On Sunday evenings after our evening service at church, we have been going through the drive-through at Dairy Queen so I can get a small caramel sundae with pecans. I am addicted. I don't know what kind of pecans these are but they are mostly whole and maybe toasted but they are to die for when mixed with the rich, creamy ice cream and the smooth, luscious caramel. Help me! I'm dying for one! LOL

12. From my 17 year-old daughter to you: "If you could be part of any fictional family, which family would you choose and why?" (She's so cute. And clever.)
The first family that comes to mind is the March family in Little Women. I just loved the book and the movie with Susan Sarandon as the mother. They were such a loving and giving family and I admired the conservative, humble way in which they lived, but I also loved the way that Jo was allowed to go forth and pursue her dream of writing in a time when women's worldly ambitions were more often than not suppressed. I see much of myself in Jo. :-)

It's Monday already!

This is surely going to be hodge-podge of a post....you have been warned....so here goes! (I have to get a post up! This is supposed to be a journal of sorts! Sheesh!)

Below is a picture of a barn that I took a few weeks ago. I was out early on a Saturday morning and was just amazed at the beautiful fall "flowers" that are or were so abundant in the fields! You know...the wild flowers that only come out in the fall? Aren't they gorgeous? I love the yellow, daisy-like flowers that just flourish around here in the fields and along the roads and the beautiful purple flowers that are everywhere.

Remember I told you about my FAVORITE apple cider? AND how expensive apple cider is? Well, my fave was on sale last week for $2.99 and I just had to have some! AND I took a picture of it to share! :-) (Do I need to get a life or what? LOL)

You know, I just can't figure out Ellie the cat sometimes. When Jaylon is here, she doesn't want anything to do with him....at all! But look at what I found her doing on Friday when he was home with his daddy! Yep, gazing into his bed as if she missed him. I picked her up and put her in his bed thinking that maybe she just wanted to lay on the softness but, no, that wasn't it. As soon as I put her in, she wanted out. So maybe she was just missing the little guy a bit. We'll probably never know, hm? :-)

Below are some adorable pictures of Jaylon AND his MawMaw Pat, as you can see in the first picture!


I just love these sober pictures of our little guy! He's all gussied up, ready to go to church! :-)

And I think I should send these pictures to Steak N' Shake to use in one of their advertisements! :-)




I took this picture last Wednesday as Erin and Jaylon were getting ready to leave for church! Aren't they both just beautiful? Erin is the best daughter-in-law anyone could have. We are so blessed!

Well, I'm going to get this posted before Jaylon arrives! May you have an awesome autumn day wherever you are!!!

Just Livin' Life to the Fullest!

Helloooooo....is anyone still out there, interested in reading my blog? :-)

We've been helping Daniel and Erin move into their new home, cooking meals for them, taking care of little Jaylon more than usual.....like we mind that at all! Not! :-).....carrying boxes, painting, scrubbing and cleaning, anything and everything that needs to be done, all the while taking care of things here at home and enjoying some activities that we like.

Below is a picture of their kitchen, which I think is just adorable. It will have more red in it, eventually, but as you can see, it is black, white, stainless and will also have red in it when finished.
Next is a picture of their little house. Well, it LOOKS little but it is like an optical illusion when you step inside because it has so much ROOM inside......two big bedrooms, one smaller one, a ginormous bathroom, two very nice-sized living rooms, one of which they are making kind of an office/study room out of, and there is a laundry room. There is also a small partial basement.
They have a spacious two-car garage that has alot of extra room for storage, an attached carport right by the back door and a rather small yard but that is good because they don't have alot of time for maintaining much of a yard anyway. Jaylon will still have plenty of room for toys and a swingset and all next summer! :-)

Jaylon just loves his new home AND his new BIG bedroom. It seems he is in their playing every time I've been there. He has so much more room now to play and all. But he hasn't been sleeping very good at night and we are praying that that resolves itself as he gets used to his new bedroom and surroundings.

Well, I have an appointment with the chiropractor in about a half-hour, so I am going to post this and be on my way!!

Oh, there are a couple of really cute pictures of the little guy down below, too! :-)

And those two cute critters laying on the doggie bed are our two grand-doggies. The boxer is Heidi and the Jack Russell is Macie.