Monday, Monday.....

I'm having computer problems. Somehow I got a virus on my computer and it is not going to be an easy fix, sooooo I am probably going to just look into getting a new computer. *sigh* Thankfully, I have all of my pictures saved on disc.
You know, I heard of this program that saves all of your computer info online and I think it is only about $50/year. I am seriously going to look into because that would surely be easier than saving everything to a disc.
Anywayyyy....I am typing this at the library, so I have to make it quick! :-)

Below are some random pictures I've taken:


This was the view out my kitchen window on several different occasions this month! :-) It's beautiful but I am looking forward to spring!

I looked out the front door Saturday morning and saw the sun peaking over the hill onto the snow and snapped this!


AND here's Jaylon looking all big and grown-up looking through a folder of kitty pictures I made for him. He loves kitties and can go through the pictures by clicking on the right arrow! :-)


AND this is the two watches I told you all about in last week's Hodgepodge. See how similar they are? I bought myself one of them and my sister Debbie bought me the other one! :-)

Hope you all are having a wonderful January!!! God Bless!!

My Wordy Wednesday Hodgepodge!!!

Okay, you have been warned. :-) Some of my answers are a bit lengthy. I can't help myself!!! (You understand this, hm, Joyce?) :-)
Sooooo, here is my Wednesday Hodgepodge! Click on Joyce's blog to join in the fun!!



1. Do you like your name? Were you named after someone? If you have children how did you settle on their names?
Yes, I do. My full name is Jewel Bell (Peters) Cavinee. Now get this: My parents were William and Betty. My sibs, from oldest to my twin are Bill, Bev, Debbie, and Johnny. So my parents get to me and call me Jewel Bell!! Now, I don't mind at all but I just thought it was kind of strange that they all had such common names and it's like they just kind of went cahrazzzzyy when it came to naming me! :-)

Long before I met Ed, I knew that if I ever had a son, I would name him Daniel. You see, my sister Debbie had some dear friends that helped her and her children during some of the worst times of their lives. Debbie struggled with mental illness and she and the kids had very little. Dave and Brenda were a god-send to them during this time.

Well, they had a little boy whose name was Daniel. Daniel was crippled and had to wear leg braces and use crutches but he had the most radiant spirit in spite of his adversities. I just loved that little guy and just always knew that I would name my son after him.

Many, many years later, when I worked at the library, a young man and woman came into the library as I was working the checkout desk. Though I was busy, I noticed that he was on crutches and had a difficult time walking. They smiled and said hello.

When they came to check out their books, I could hardly believe it. It was Daniel!!! THE Daniel! And he still possessed that radiant spirit!! It was quite a reunion right there in the library. Though he barely remembered me, I could tell that he was quite touched when I shared this same story with him and showed him pictures of his namesake.

AND.......the Bible also says that Daniel had an "excellent spirit". (Daniel 6:3)

2. How do you define success?
To finally be comfortable with who I am. To be genuinely me and to be able to be my genuine self with others. To be comfortably confident and to feel that I am making a difference in my small part of the world, with the help of the Lord.

3. Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy?
Wheel of Fortune because I have more time to think about the answers and I just don't know that much random knowledge to be very good at Jeopardy, PLUS I'm just not crazy about Alex Trebek *sp*. I seldom watch either show but would definitely choose Wheel of Fortune. AND I might add that I AM pretttyyyy good at it BUT as Ed says, everytime I tell him he needs to take me OUT there and put me on the show......"You'd probably bomb!" :-) I've oftened wondered if I would do as well as I do here at home! I'll probably never know! :-) But it's a nice daydream!!


4. If you could own any single object that you don't have now, what would that object be?
I am really thinking about this one and having some difficulty coming up with an answer. Soooooo.......I will say a new Roland keyboard with weighted keys. *sighhhhh*


5. What is something that inspires you?
The Word of the Lord
I never cease to be amazed to find help for every situation that life presents within its pages. Thank you, Lord.

6. Meatloaf-yea or nay? If its a yay how do you make yours?
A definite "yay"! Here is my favorite recipe!

7. Which is more admirable-the ability to organize and be methodical or the ability to adapt and make do?
Well, I think there are admirable qualities to each persona, actually. I mean, if we were all methodical and organized, life would be pretty regimented and boring and t.o.r.t.u.r.e. for someone like ME! :-)
While, on the other hand, if everyone was adaptable and make-do types....like moi'.... we would be living in chaos. Not that I live in chaos. No, no. If you came to my house, you would think it was tidy and neat BUT I know where the disorganization is! Trust me on this. :-)
So, my conclusion of the whole matter is that both are good and we definitely need the two in order to live a balanced existence! :-) Thank you, Jesus. (He knew what He was doing!)


8. Insert your own random thought here.
This was taken from the back of our Sunday church bulletin this past week:
God's creatures can sometimes be illustrations of important truths. If a buzzard is placed in a small pen, it will be totally imprisoned, even though the pen is not covered. For, despite their ability to fly, buzzards always run eight to ten feet before taking off, and without that space to run, they will not even attempt to fly.
]The ordinary bat cannot take off from a level place. If placed on flat ground or on a floor, it ca only shuffle around helplessly until it comes to a slight elevation from which to launch itself into the air, where it is then able to fly with remarkable agility.
A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, because it cannot see the means of escape at the top. Instead, it will persist in trying to find a way out through the sides near the bottom, seeking a way where none exist.
People are in many ways like the buzzard, the bat and the bumblebee. We struggle along with our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up to the Lord for help.
In Psalm 121, David said: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." (KJV)
~ by Paul J. Twist

New Year's Eve Day lunch with the Sibs!

Several years ago, I asked my brothers, sisters and their spouses to join me and Ed for lunch on New Year's Eve day. They all agreed and we have been doing so now for at least 10 years, perhaps longer. I'm so thankful that everyone really makes an effort to be there. Though I wish they'd write the date and time down because I got so many calls the week prior and even the day of, wanting to verify the day, time and place! Sheesh!! :-)

We usually meet at two o'clock so as to beat the lunch and dinner crowds. We've always gone to Red Lobster, except for one year when we went to Millstone BBQ here in Logan, which we all enjoyed but Red Lobster just seems to be the place to go for all of us. Go figure. There's really no rhyme or reason for it. :-)

Soooo, once again, this year, we all met up at Red Lobster and had a most enjoyable time of food and talking and sharing and taking pictures.
And it is good to get together without kids and grandkids. Just us old folks. :-) Though we aren't THAT old. Ed, my husband, is the eldest, at 68, and he probably looks the youngest! :-) Below are some pictures of our time together:

This is me and Ed, of course!

This is my oldest sister Bev and her husband Bud! That's Johnny, my twin brother in the background! :-)

And here we have my sister Debbie , my oldest brother Bill and his wife Sandy!

This is my twin brother Johnny and his wife Cheryl!

AND...this is the dessert we all shared! It was yummy but after a delicious meal, none of us wanted a dessert all to ourselves, so this shared one was just right! :-)

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In this new year, I'm going to suggest to Daniel and Erin that they start a tradition similar to ours, of getting together with their cousins on the same day each year, be it at Christmas or Easter or in the summer. It is so important that we stay connected and not let life just kind of run away with us, keeping us from those times spent with family.
I'll let you know how my efforts turn out! :-)

Snowy Hodgepodge! :-)

It's that time of the week again when Joyce at From This Side of the Pond hosts Wednesday Hodgepodge. Just go to her blog and join in, if you like and make some new friends or get better acquainted with some old ones!! Happy Snowy Wednesday!!! :-)

1. Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English. Words may be banished due to mis-use, over-use or just general uselessness and they receive over 1000 nominations. Here are the fourteen words/phrases they'd like to see banished in 2011-viral, epic, fail, wow factor, a-ha moment, back story, BFF, man up, refudiate, Mama Grizzlies, The American People, facebook/google when used as verbs, I'm just sayin', and Live life to the fullest.
What word or phrase would you like to see banished from our everyday vocabulary in 2011? You can choose one from the 'official list' or you can get creative and come up with your own.
PHENOMENAL - I just think it is so overused when you consider that it is meant to describe something highly extraordinary according to dictionary.com and Webster's. I mean, I kind of cringe when I hear people use it! :-) What can I say?

2. Do you consider opportunity something that comes to you or something you create for yourself?

Wellllll......I think the way we live our lives has much to do with opportunities coming our way. So, I would say that it is a bit of both. :-) People do watch us and the way we live our lives on a day-to-day basis. So does the Lord, of course. :-) BUT, having said THAT, we do have a responsibility to take advantage of opportunity when it comes our way, if indeed it is something that we have desired to do.

3. Since we're all eating healthy this month, ahem, what's included in your favorite salad? Is there dressing?
We are? :-0 Oh my. :-) Where do I begin? Lettuce, as in romaine, leaf, a little iceberg, tad of spinach. Tomatoes. Onions. Cucumbers. Radishes. Green Pepper. Carrots. Dill pickle. I also like alfalfa sprouts. Boiled Egg. Crumbled Bacon. I don't care for cheese on my salad. My favorite dressing is Asian Sesame. I love, love, love it! I also like 1000 Island.

Bob Evan's has a luscious hot bacon dressing that is to die for! Oh my! :-)

Oh, and I do like grilled chicken on my salad, too!

I know, I know....I do have to be careful because salad CAN become a not-so-healthy thing! :-/

4. The fourth Monday in January is said to be Blue Monday...aka the most depressing day of the year. The date was calculated using many factors including weather, debt level, time since Christmas, time since we've failed at our new year resolutions, low motivation and feeling a need to take action. Do you get the blues this time of year and if so what is something you do to lift your spirits?
Yessss, I usually do. Believe it or not, having snow on the ground helps me alot. It makes everything so pretty and takes away the drabbiness of winter for me. Also, getting outside, whether the sun is shining or not, and breathing in the fresh air and walking around really helps, too.

My friend Barbara posted a very good article about combatting those winter blues at her blog Stray Thoughts!


5. Do you wear a watch? Any other everyday jewelry essentials?
No, I don't wear a watch, though I have one that I like very much. Actually, I have two. You see, I had just bought myself a watch from Avon that I really liked because it had large numbers on the face of it.

Well, lo and behold if my sister Debbie didn't buy me one almost identical to it! AND I had bought one for her, too!!! :-) Cahrazzzyyy, hm? :-)

Maybe it is because I've not worn one enough to get used to it, but it just kind of bugs me, having it on my wrist. I use my cellphone for checking the time. The only other jewelry I wear is my wedding ring which has been on my finger for 25 years this Feb. 15!!! :-)


6. What is something useful you learned in high school?

Typing and sewing. I use both of these skills all of the time. When I was teaching a computer class at the library, I had quite a few students who wished they had taken typing in school. Not knowing how to type really frustrated them in learning to use the computer but most of them stuck it out and pushed onward! :-)

I learned the basics of pattern reading and sewing in Home Economics, which I am so thankful for. My older sister Bev taught me many, many sewing skills and sewing shortcuts later in life.

7. Do you use an accountant when completing and filing your income tax returns or do you attempt to muddle through all by yourself?
Hmmmm.....I use a friend who is an accountant. :-) NOW, I have done our taxes in years past but I do not like math or numbers so it was a real chore for me. When I work with numbers like that I feel like my brain is being squeezed! Yuck! Sooooo, though I COULD do them, I would much rather PAY my friend to do them. It is also just one less thing I have to do, you know? :-)

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Another year I enter,

Its history unknown;

Oh, how my feet would tremble

To tread its paths alone!

But I have heard God's whisper -

I know I shall be blest -

"My presence shall go with you,

And I will give you rest."

What will the New Year bring me?

I may not, must not know.

Will it be love and rapture,

Or loneliness and woe?

Hush! Hush! I hear His whisper -

I surely shall be blest -

"My presence shall go with you,

And I will give you rest."

~author unknown~

Pictures of "You-Know-Who"! :-)

At least once a day, Jaylon goes in on my bed and commences to stacking up the pillows as high as he can get them. :-) Then he jumps on my bed and, most days, I help him! We do have ball!!!

Well, in the picture below, he had gone in for a second round, which I wasn't terribly pleased about, BUT when I saw this cute face and pose....well, how could I resist? :-)


AND, the picture below was taken of Jaylon's FIRST trip ever outside to play in the snow! He wasn't too crazy about the snow, though he loved being outside, of course!

I've not been blogging much these past few weeks during the holidays and I've noticed that some others whose blogs I follow haven't been either, for whatever reason.

But with the coming of the new year, we have begun to come back to our blogs and begin posting again. Yayyyyy!!!

I could hardly believe how good it was to see that this one or that one had posted, as it showed up on my blog reader!!! And I rushed "right over" to read your posts and comment!

Now, the amazing thing about this is that we've never met in "real" life but I have come to love you dear ladies as my friends!!! I have! Amazing, I know, but I'm thinkin' that you all feel the same way, hm? *little smile*

It especially means so much to me because I am at home ALOT, especially now that I am caring for little Jaylon and also because it is winter.

AND though I am a bit reluctant to admit this, I struggle some with the "blues" this time of year. You know, the dreary, cold weeks between January and the first signs of spring in March. The walls can kind of close in a bit sometimes.
AND it hasn't helped that last week I was sick with the stomach flu for a couple of days. I am fine now but thankfully Erin was able to come home and get Jaylon on the worst day. And now the little guy is here this morning and he is sick with vomitting and a low-grade fever but he is sleeping at the present time. Poor little thing......but he doesn't cry or fuss. He just vomits and is kind of limp and just lets grandma (me *smile*) clean him up.

I got all of the Christmas decorations down and stored away last Monday and Tuesday but now the house looks kind of drab...*sigh*......so I am trying to "spruce" it up some.


I've been experimenting with rearranging the living room to make room for a "big boy" bed for Jaylon but I don't like the present arrangement, though the hubs does. :-/

Believe it or not, I had whined to him about not liking the new arrangement and he said that he really did like it. (drat.) *grin* So I thought.......I'll give it a couple of more days to see if it grows on me. :-) But then he turns around and says......"Babe, go ahead and change it back if you want." What's a woman to do? :-)

Sooooo, I got to thinking......:-).......we seldom go into the den anymore. It used to be Daniel's bedroom. We could turn THAT room into Jaylon's room! But then I think of all that that would entail. Am I really ready to do all of this?


One REALLY big positive about doing this is that I could put all of Jaylon's toys and things in one room AND I could reclaim MY room up front which has been overrun by toys. MY room is supposed to be for my keyboard, desk and sewing/craft stuff. Not that I sew or craft much BUT at least I would have a designated place for it if I should choose to do so! :-)

AND what furniture to keep and not to keep. What to put where. Decisions, decisions. A bit overwhelming to even think about this morning. So, I won't, 'cause I have a sick little guy to hold and take care of today and love and hold and take care of.

In closing......we took Jaylon out to Lake Logan a few days ago to see the ducks, geese and swans and found them all gathered around one opening in the ice. Alot of people feed them and we are not exception. :-) They weren't paying much attention to us until I started tossing some pieces of bread out onto the ice and slowly they started making their way to us AND those big geese an swans were not in the least shy, let me tell ya!......as you can see in some of these pictures!

Okayyyyy.....so I will be posting NO pictures as my internet is unbearably slow this morning! I'll post them tonight from the library!

Have a blessed and peaceful Monday!!! We are expecting 3-6"of snow sometime between this evening and tomorrow evening. I love the snow though there are so many who have the chore of having to drive in to work but, for me, it does make winter more bearable and it makes everything look so pretty! :-)

Happy New Year to those of you who are still coming by my blog. :-)

Hey, you might even be coming by here more often than ME! :-) (This is not good.)

I don't know what is wrong with me! I have just kind of been in a blogging funk of late. I mean, I WANT to keep up with my blog but a part of me just isn't into it or inspired or sumthin'. *sigh*

I have been livin' life, let me tell ya! We had a wonderful Christmas with Daniel and Erin and little Jaylon here at our house.

They came by on Christmas Eve Day afternoon with Erin's cousin Natalie who was here visiting from Houston, Texas!

I grilled out steaks and chicken breasts and we had a delicious meal together. We then proceeded to the living room and began opening our gifts. The kids got me two wonderfully soft, snuggly robes which I really needed AND wanted.

AND because the kids already have everything, we got them each an array of gift cards, batteries and little candies. Usually I put all of this in a stocking for each of them but this year I bought two 5X5 square velvet and bowed gift boxes. I managed to stuff everything for each of them into their respective boxes so when I handed these to them, I told them that we were keeping it simple this Christmas! :-) (Oh, but there was PLENTY in those small boxes!) :-)

I know, I know, I should have taken pictures of them! I've been kind of slacking on the picture-taking lately, too. *sigh*

BUT here IS a picture of Jaylon in his Christmas present from Grandpa and Grandma:

Okay, okay.....ERIN took the picture and I swiped borrowed it from her FB page photos, okay? *sigh* :-)
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These next two pictures are not very clear but they are totally hilarious! This has got to be one of the funniest sights I have seen for a loooooong time! See if you agree!! LOL


AND now, for your viewing pleasure, here is the REAL owner of the horse in all of his two-year-old cuteness!!! :-)

Tada!!! Isn't he one adorable little guy? *sigh* I think I am going to have to go and fetch him this afternoon, as he has not been to grandma's house since LAST Thursday! We are in the process of getting him a "big boy" bed! I've been rearranging "stuff" and furniture, sorting and tossing and cleaning.....you HAVE to clean when you rearrange, hm?......where do those dust bunnies come from anyway? I am hoping to finish up today and not be too tired because I do want to get the little guy and keep him overnight. Well, I mean, I'll have him all day tomorrow, too and then Thursday and Friday but I am just missing him!

Daniel called yesterday afternoon and asked me to come up and take care of Jaylon while he went to a dentist's appt. When I tapped on the back door and little Jaylon saw me, he just started laughing and jumping!! It was soooooo precious!!! We played with his trains. Then we tossed a balloon in the air and back and forth for awhile. Then he patted the floor beside of his drums and I sat there while he played his drums for me. Next, it was on to his kitchen set where he heated me up (pretend here *smile) a cup of coffee in his little microwave and sat it on the little bar WITH a spoon. He also served me a piece of toast and a piece of pizza on a little plate. (How adorable!) LOL This being a grandma is so unbelievably awesome! :-)

Okay, I'm thinkin' I'd better get away from this computer so I can get everything done that I need to get done so I can go and fetch the boy later and that means, I am going to have to rest a little sometime between now and then!!!

AND I think Ed is having pancake-withdrawal, so that is on my list, too!

Noooo, NOT to put Ed in "pancake-rehab" but to MAKE him some pancakes for breakfast this morning!! :-)

Over and out! May you have a blessed Tuesday!!!