All Of Me, On 'Virtual Friday'!

 (On The Railway Color Abstract Photography by EZieglerPhotography)

    "Hello Friday! :-) It seems like forever since I've seen you!"...Oh! I'm so glad to see the end of this week coming! It's been a long, sometimes sleepless, most times strained, busy, and fuzzy week!!...The good thing is that I still found things to smile about this week...like, hubby's singing to me...somewhat teary, and with all of his heart...the song "All of me" by John Legend...while he was giving me my nightly circulation leg massage, and I was equipped with C-Pap face mask and everything. ^_^  

     I think my 'picker' was in great working order when I picked him as a life partner! :-) ... even though I gave him an awful hard time catching me...so I could pick him!! LOL I'm thankful I have him to spend time with at the end of every week. :-) And even if one day that's not true, I'll still have tons of memories to go with me...or to wake up to!

      But as I was saying...it's Friday! :-) 'Virtual' date day! :-) And I'm planning to enjoy it!...

 (Friday Hand Painted Sign by dirtybandits)

     ...because part of the weekend may be kinda tough!...My friend's memorial talk is this coming Saturday...and I'm already being flooded by tons of 'moments' and 'memories'. I'm sure the memories are gonna get more frequent even after Saturday too. That's what happens to me every time I lose someone close to me lately. :-(

     I'll get through it though. Jehovah God will help me. And so will my friends and hubby.....Okay, enough somber talk! It's Friday!!... 

 (Gray Friday I'm in Love T Shirt by mamacaseprints)

      I've got some cooking to do...or, rather, I've got some cooking to oversee! ^_^ Hubby does the cooking these days. I'm just an armchair quarterback...so to speak. :-)) Did you get the football reference?! ^_^ Yeah! It's Superbowl football Sunday this weekend!!!...It's either gonna be a good weekend for the Denver Broncos, or for the Seattle Seahawks...."GO SEAHAWKS"!! ^_^

      The game is not until Sunday, and we need to be close to home on Saturday, so we decided to just hang out at the house this 'virtual Friday'...and cook! ^_^ Tailgating food...buffalo chicken wings...hamburger sliders...pizza...meatballs...cheese dips...finger foods...etc. YUM! :-) ... I may try to make it be romantic still...by dressing up! :-) ...

 (Handmade wool and silk Wavy Ruffled Shawl by JumiFelt)

     ...and putting on some romantic music. :-) ...

(Guitar Pillow Toy by THEHOOSERHANDMADE)

     ...or not! ^_^ We'll just play it by ear. ♥

     Well...that's Friday in our house! ^_^ What are you all doing this Friday?! O_O

Virtual trip

I really like to travel,
See the world, expand my mind.
But not getting on an airplane,
or hunting luggage I can't find!

I like a 'good ole' virtual trip.
Computer details. Music too.
Where you don't need a 'stinking' passport,
or have to wear a 'stinking' shoe!

But a little stay at home,
under covers, lock and key,
can also be expansive.
Even if it's 'virtually'.

January!...Are You Still Here?!

(Custom, Made-To-Order Art Piece by BendixenArt)

     WOW!!...look at the time!!...Where am I?!...Is it still January?! ^_^ ... I woke up very late this morning...disoriented and stiff! And I made the mistake of turning on the television to see what was going on in the world...while my muscles and bones warm up. ^_^

 (Warming Up - Cute Sisters Art Print by TummyMountain)

     Yeah, I'm the type of old girl whose body has to come to life 'in quadraints'! LOL I envy my younger days, when I used to open my sleepy eyes in the morning and bound out of the bed to open window shades and do a few situps and squats! :-)) ...Eeeeee!...I know!...I can hardly believe it myself, that that bouncing, morning exercising, 'clueless-to-her-body's-future-doings' girl was ME!! ^_^

       (I Work Out Cotton T Shirt by ThugLifeShirts)

     Anyway!...I turn on the television and what do I get?!...'Say-It-Ain't-So-...Again' stories about Amanda Knox...and yet another cruise ship that had to come back to dock early because there was a ship wide viral outbreak!...A story about yet another huge building fire here in town!...What?! Justin Bieber back in Canada to answer some more 'bad boy' allegations?!...Reports of the Ice storm deaths from the storm that hit the south over the last couple of days!...Attacks and scares about the Russian Olympics?!..The local thermometer for today saying 6 degrees!!! YIKES!...and SUPERBOWL talk!...here, there and everywhere, Superbowl talk!!! ^_^

 (Superbowl XLVIII Broncos vs Seahawks Glitter Shirt by ShoutitOutApparel)

     Now, a smarter girl would tell the other body parts, the ones still on the trend to warm up, to just stop right there!...and go back to bed! ^_^ But not this girl!..."YOU GO, BODY PARTS!! :-) I got stuff to do, and I can't do it from a laying down position!!!" ^_^ Let's get this Thursday on the road!!!!!
     And YOU have a good day!...the day before the last day of January!! ^_^ ...Be the best you can be today!! ^_^

Be The Best You Can Be

I live my life every day,
trying to be the very best I can,
so that I am not affected
by the degrading words of man.

If "I" know who I am,
then I don't care what others think;
I don't end up in some bar,
trying to hide my pain with drink.

Oh Yes! THEY have opinions
on what THEY think you should do,
on how you wear your hair,
where you should go, also with who!

I nod and give a grin,
respecting what they want to say;
but it's 'my' thoughts that will count
at the end of the day.

It makes it so much easier
when I'm being the best I can;
Then I feel good about my choices;
I don't fear words from any man!

Ears Talk!

 (Vintage Tennis Racquet Sterling Silver Bracelet by TrendyTreasures1)

     I don't usually lead my blog post with tennis talk on days 'after' a major tennis tournament has passed by. But I'm doing it this morning because I came across this cute tennis bracelet on Etsy this morning (in the header photo), and I just had to share! :-) Clearly, tennis is still floating around in the blue spaces of my brain! ^_^

     What I really wanna talk about today is not tennis, but ears...Ears Talk! :-) You know, those funny shaped things on the side of your head. Well...on humans they're on the side of the head! On animals they're......! O_O I digress.

      Back to ears!!...Have you, like myself, ever sometimes wondered if they're used for the purpose they were intended, or as much as they should be?! Case in point, when I'm trying to talk to my hubby while there is a football game on...Uhhhh...ears are useless! ^_^ He literally stops being able to hear!...Hear me, that is!...He does hear referee calls, quarterback plays being screamed, commentator's jokes, and football tackles!:-))... But not me asking him to pass the remote...or to get me a glass of water because I have a terrible...*cough! cough!*... tickle in my throat. (which he also didn't hear, even though I was hacking and coughing for 20 minutes!! LOL)

       Thankfully, I know for a fact that he does still hear though!!...^_^...as long as there's nothing beeping, flashing, or blinking at him, trying to distract him! Bad, bad gadgets!! ^_^ LOL...The truth is, my ears aren't as good as they used to be either! I'm finding that if I'm doing one thing...like writing a blog post, for instance...^_^...my husband can talk to me until he's blue!...and I don't hear him. O_O

      I used to be such an easy multi-tasker! Now...I'm like a one-handed jump-roper! LOL And when too much noise is going on I'm becoming like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs...NERVOUS!! ^_^ Deaf...and nervous! Doesn't that make getting older sound appealing?!....NOT!! LOL

      But here's the good news!...my ears are still as cute as ever!! ^_^ Especially when they're dressed up and have cute earrings on 'em! :-) And I try to dress 'em up as much as I can...to distract away from that lack-of-hearing thing! LOL..."Oh, she's as deaf as can be...but those sure are cute earrings she's wearing!"...What I hear them say is....nothing! But I see them staring at me and smiling! ^_^ That is as it should be, I say!! ^_^

 (Blue and Ocher Rustic Earring Studs by SolarBird)

 (Teal Green/Gem Romantic Brass Filigree Flower Dangle Earrings by AmberSky)

 (Abstract Art Polymer Clay Earrings by adrianaallenllc)

      One of these days, soon, I'll talk about my husband's eyes. His eyes that have an amazing 'glue'!...An amazing glue that makes them stick staringly to tv screens, football statistics that scroll across the bottom of the ESPN sports channel, and my forehead, when the story I'm telling him is not interesting to him, and is going on waaaay too long for his liking! ^_^ ... But 'eyes talk' is for another day!! LOL

       Today it's about ears. :-) Speaking of which, ears are good for music too! :-) I think I'll go and listen to some!! ^_^

(SET of 5 Best Man Groom & Groomsman Guitar Lapel Pins by PrinceWhitaker)

       Have a good day, Everybody!! :-)

Let's talk about our bad

Let's talk about what we've done bad.
Not talk about what we did right.
Let's talk about what we have messed up.
Not what's been clearly black and white.

All the photos that we''ve taken,
that we want no one to see.
All the cakes that fell apart.
Things that deserved apology.

It's easy rolling out our 'good'.
We do that every single day.
But Oooo! The 'bad' things we destroy
we quickly want to put away!

So, let's be bigger than our 'bad'.
Let's see some beauty in 'mistake'.
Let's give a pause to being 'perfect',
and give ourselves a little break!

Yes!...My Stomach Still Can Take It!!

 (Live Every day Like It's Taco Tuesday TSHIRT by odysseyroc)

     Let's talk Tuesday, shall we?! ^_^ ... I'm saying that because usually Tuesday gets a 'bad rap'. Tuesday is not Monday! ^_^ Monday being the day everybody has something to talk about, because they dread Monday so much after a good weekend! LOL

     Wednesday, the day following Tuesday, is also easy to talk about, because Wednesday is right in the middle of the week...'Hump Day' and all! ^_^ ... But I don't wanna talk about Monday or Wednesday, because it's Tuesday! :-) And I just saw something on Etsy that will make me think happy thoughts about Tuesday from now on!...

 (odysseyroc)

      It was the words "Taco Tuesday"!!!! :-) ... Who knew?!...Tuesday is taco day?! ^_^ Says who?!....Uhhhhhh.....I don't know! :-)) And why didn't I know this?! O_O ... I saw a lot of items on Etsy that proclaimed Taco Tuesday as something special! So SOMEBODY must've thought it up some time or the other, and apparently it wasn't this morning!! LOL It's just that I'd never seen or heard of it before...'Miss Oblivious' speaking! ^_^

      It's too bad that I didn't know too!...because I love tacos!!...

 (Two Taco Snack Plate by ItsAboutTimeTacoWare)

     ...And I love Tuesdays almost as much as I love tacos! :-) ...

 (White 'Tuesday' Kitchen Cloth w/Woman Doing Laundry by LittleRedHenONLINE)

     In fact, I love tacos so much that, in some circles....Uhhhh...the circle of me and my hubby. LOL...I could be called...

 (The Taco Whisperer - Pinback Button or MAGNET by BAYMOONSTUDIO)

      ...the 'taco whisperer'! ^_^ Hmmmm...and seeing that there is a pinback button with the words "The Taco Whisperer" on it (above), I guess I'm not the only taco whisperer in the world either! O_O WOW! The revelations I'm coming across today!!

     Anyway!...I'm called the taco whisperer...affectionately, by my hubby...because I never met an item a taco wouldn't like!...or a sauce that a taco couldn't use! ^_^ Imagine a pork chop taco, with egg salad, fresh ripe tomatoes, and fire sauce!....YUM!!!...I call it my 'Fiery Eggo Choppo Taco'! ^_^ ...

 (Custom Taco Bell Fire Sauce iPhone Case by MargaretTreasury)

     I could tell you of other combinations...involving meatloaf, french fries, boiled eggs, and country ribs!...but if you're not a taco whisperer like me, it might be too much for your stomach! LOL My stomach...'wibbly' as it is these days, can still take it!! ^_^

     So, I'm off to think of taco concoctions for dinner, and other stuff to make me smile...I can use all the smile-able stuff I can get my hands on this week! It's not gonna end with a smile. :-( {You know what I mean if you've read my previous couple of weeks of posts.} But I'm smiling today...and on a Tuesday no less!! ^_^

(See You Next Tuesday Coffee Mug by PickMeCups)

     I think I'll include some crochet to smile at...and maybe even some music and dancing! :-) What are your plans on this grand 'Taco Tuesday'?! ^_^ 

Dance

Life is a dance, they always say.
It has a rhythm and a rhyme,
It makes you set a pace for it,
while it flows in the stream of time.

And dancing has expressions
that I think are kinda neat,
like dancing eyes, and dance of joy,
happy dance, and dancing feet.

Whatever dance you do today,
I hope life pleases you.
It really doesn't matter how.
Just dance! I hope you do!

Goodbye Melbourne......Hello East Rutherford, New Jersey! :-)

     It's another Monday. A day following a great sports weekend for me. And a great 'virtual' date weekend too! ^_^ We went to Africa and looked at animals and played in the water. Then we popped over to Australia to see the women and men's singles finals of the Australian Open tennis matches. :-)
       In that sense, it was a great weekend...except for some moments of sadness.
      

     Rafael Nadal's moments of sadness were different from mine though. 'Baby Boy' was sad because once again an injury stopped him from being able to play to his full capacity. Although, frankly, I'm not sure his full capacity could have stopped him from being beaten this year! Stan was on fire!!!...I'll tell you more about that in a minute.
      First I wanna mention my moments of sadness. :-( I thought of my friend Nancy all weekend. (Her memorial talk will be this coming weekend.) :-( I thought about how much she liked to have fun, and travel....And I also thought about what a spiritual woman she was, and how she threw her everything into doing things for people. And how sad her former Bible students would be when they heard of her death. :-(
     Thankfully it was only moments of sadness though. Somehow whenever my mind would drift to a sad moment,  it would be followed by a happy or funny moment...like when her and I went pre-wedding shower shopping for negligees for her daughter. ^_^ Oh!...we had so much fun in that store!!!!
      And in between all of the 'moments' there was tennis. :-] ...

     I saw Li Na raise the woman's singles trophy, after beating Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets.

      And I saw Stanislaw Wawrinka, the 'Stanimal' he is now being called, beat my 'baby boy', Rafael Nadal, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in his very first Grand Slam title!! :-] And although I would have liked a different outcome, I have great respect for a good player. And Stan is a great player!!...In fact, he was putting the royal 'beat-down' on my baby boy even before the injury!
      So congratulations to Stan!! :-) ...
 

      Enjoy your victory!...for this year! ^_^ You absolutely deserve it!!! (By the way, if you wanna go to the Facebook page that the photos above came from, just click on the photos themselves.)

     With no more tennis to cloud my view, I have to move on to other sports! ^_^ And thankfully there's no shortage of sports to worry about! :-)) Next weekend is the Superbowl...football!!!! (American football...Not soccer, which is called football in other countries.)
      I'm already packing my bags for East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the Superbowl is being held this year. And I'm setting aside Superbowl finger-food and slider recipes for game day!! ^_^ It almost feels like the weekend already!!! ^_^ ... But it's NOT!! It's Monday. And don't I know it people!!! :-)) I'm like the white rabbit in 'Alice In Wonderland' already this morning...."I'm late! I'm late!...for a very important date!!" LOL
     I have some studying to do...a brooch to crochet...a package to ship out...my hair needs washing...etc....Monday stuff!...YIKES!!..Have a good day, Everybody!! See you tomorrow! ^_^

I only have one brain

There have been times when I felt I needed
an extra brain to remember some stuff.
An extra 'noggin' to handle the chaos,
when my life and my schedule got tough.

A much bigger cranium for non-essentials;
Somewhere to go when my brain wants to bail.
An extra universe inside my skull space,
where I could place all my 'Mental Junk Mail'.

But, knowing my thinking, there's no use
having two places for my mind to stretch.
Two places to toss around ideas.
Just more balls of ideas I can't catch!

My one brain is an occupied scramble.
A pink-celled, forgetful and frustrated mess!
Do I need another brain somewhere,
holding problems that I must address?

No, I have enough things to focus on.
Things so confusing and numerous to do.
So it's a good thing I only have one brain!
What in the world would I ever do with two!

Cookies.......Suet........And Other 'Good Stuff' To Look At!

     These oatmeal raisin walnut cookies...No, biscuits...are not just for show. They're mine! ^_^ Well, what's left of them! Hubby made them for me, from scratch, yesterday when I was craving something sweet, but didn't want anything that was 'too' sweet.
 

     They also had a few bittersweet chocolate chips in them...Well, a few of them did! ^_^ He only had a small amount, so most of the cookies had to go without! :-) But a few were enough!...They were delicious!!
 

     They were more like biscuits, actually. I found out why later! Apparently when hubby was measuring the flour, he did it over the bowl with the batter in it. And he over-measured the flour by accident, and couldn't remove it afterward! Sooooo...we got oatmeal raisin walnut chocolate chip 'biscuits', instead of oatmeal raisin walnut chocolate chip 'cookies'! ^_^

     Biscuit...cookie....Whatever their name, they were delicious!! ^_^ In fact, I think I like them better as biscuits! They were crunchy on the outside, kinda soft and chewy on the inside! :-) 
 

      Why am I talking about cookies today?!!.....Uhhhhh....why not! ^_^ I mean, that's what came to mind when I saw the birds at the suet feeder! :-) 
 

     I was thinking how frozen their food must be out there in that 13 degree weather! Brrrrrr! And how good the little blueberries and nuts and stuff looked, even though they must've been frozen solid!!...
 

      That made me think of my NOT-frozen-solid cookies!....and the rest of this blog post is history! LOL

     It's all about eating and looking at 'good stuff'! ^_^
 

     And just in case you don't care about looking at the good stuff me and the birdies are eating, here's a couple of things for YOU to look at! ^_^

 (Elegant Vintage Style Yellow Sapphire & Diamond Engagement Ring and Matching Wedding Band in 14K White Gold with Leafs Vine and Antiquing by AdziasJewelryAtelier)

(Butterfly With Orange Spots on Wings, Nature Photography by EyePoetryPhotography)

     Now I'm off to get a nap before my meeting. :-) More good stuff for my brain!...I hope you have a good rest of the day too! ♥

Cooking

Flipping, Frying,
Flambeing, Filleting,
Burning, Browning,
Paring, Pureeing.

Boiling, Baking,
Mixing, Making,
Simmering, Scaling,
Sifting, Shaking.

Cooking, Crackling,
Cutting, Coring,
Sprinkling, Spattering,
Patting, Pouring,

Broiling, Battering,
Steeping, Steaming,
Timing, Tossing,
Cubing, Creaming,

Slicing, Scrambling,
Turning, Toasting,
Melting, Measuring,
Rinsing, Roasting.

Dipping, Dicing,
Skimming, Sauteing,
Poaching, Peeling,
Mincing, Microwaving.

Gathering, Grilling
Basting, Barbecuing,
Hacking, Heating,
Scoring, Skewering.

Standing, Stirring,
Rough, Tough,
Kitchen, Ditching,
Had Enough!

*Yawn*......Sleepy-Time?!

(8x10 Colorado Sunrise at Sprague Lake Photography by GoodCamera)

     Hello Y'all! :-) ... Sorry for the late post, but we had a long sleep-filled night, after a wonderful and looooooong date day! ^_^ Africa to Australia! :-) Now it's sunrise....SOMEWHERE!...and that's where I want to be! LOL

     I'm not gonna talk your ear off any more....TODAY! ^_^ But I'll go and wake myself fully up...get my sleep schedule back to Massachusetts time, and see you tomorrow! ^_^ Zzzzzzzzzz! Have a good....*yawn*......rest of the day, Y'all......Whatever day or time it is where you live! :-]

A Little Doze'll Do You!

I enjoy my sleeping, and a doze,
a nap, and such.
In fact I might enjoy a snooze
entirely waaaay too much!

At any time of day,
you'll find me like a weeping willow.
Head hung low and dragging,
looking for the nearest pillow.

No, there's nothing wrong.
I'm not depressed. I've still got bounce!
And I can stay awake and be
quite witty when it counts!

But I have been awake for things
when I could have been asleep.
And now my time's so valuable
I don't treat it like it's cheap.

My sleeping, dozing, napping,
is to my life a special key.
It unlocks and refreshes
and dispels anxiety!

Most people try to fill up
every hour in the day.
But me, I'd rather be asleep
and waste it all away.

There's plenty hours left
for all the flit and play and chore.
An hour for a nap right now?!
Why not?! There's 24!!

You All Know How Much I Love.......!

 (Wooden Colourful Rainbow Photo Picture Frame by StripyKite)

     First, let me say to all of you who commented so encouragingly about my pricing issue on my blog, and through my Etsy shop email, THANK YOU!! :-) I really appreciate your taking the time to let me know your stories and experiences, and helping me to feel that I'm on the right track! ♥

     Now!....Yes...I'm actually awake enough to do a blog this morning...albeit late! ^_^ Late, because I went back to sleep after the Nadal/Federer tennis match....WOW! Was it good!!! :-] And I'll stop right here to say congratulations to my 'baby boy'...alias, Rafael Nadal! ^_^ He was fantastic!!!

      I was worried that it was gonna be the end of his Australian Open run, because of the foot issue...and the blister on the hand issue!...His serve was very hampered in the prior match he had with Dimitrov. But this match, with Roger, brought out the best in him! He served magnificently!!! :-) In fact, except for one visit from the trainer to reapply a small bandage, it was almost as if he didn't have a problem at all!!

      Anyway!...as I said, I'm awake!...as least enough to talk to you for a few minutes. ^_^ I wanted to share a few items I saw in my Etsy activity feed this morning...starting with the pretty and colorful frame in the header photo! :-) What a great place for a toddler's photo...or the family pet, huh?!

     And if you need some new walking 'kicks' (shoes), how about these new....but old vintage...ones (below)!...

 (1990's Brown Vintage Hand Made Leather Flats from mijumaju)

     How I love a shoe that looks good coming and going! ^_^

     And, as a rule, I don't use machined appliques on any of my crochet items, but these two below made me think twice about it!...

 (Set of 2 Ivory Butterfly Venice lace appliques by designdreamsm)

 (Set of 2 Black handdyed Medallion lace appliques
by designdreamsm)

     They're so cute!...and flowery! And you all know how much I love lace and flowers!! :-) 

      Along those same lines, you all know how much I love an interesting button too! :-) That's why these magnets caught my eye!...

 (Vintage Button Magnets by BluKatDesign)

     Aren't they cute?!!! :-)

     Last, but not least, you all also know how much I love words....written.....spoken....quoted....sewn on.....etched on.....in print.....or cursive....etc....etc....etc....WORDS!! :-)

      So, words on a napkin?!.....SURE!!...

(Set of 4 French Notes Napkins by ME2Designs)

     Words on a napkin could almost make eating more fun!! ^_^ Although, if my eating gets any more fun I could be in some real trouble!! LOL Speaking of which...it's time for breakfast! ^_^

     After breakfast I've got to get packed and get to the 'virtual' airport! Hubby and I are heading off for a loooooooong trip for our 'virtual date' tonight!! :-) In fact, we may be in-flight and out of earshot of anybody for the whole day!! :-] And then...we're heading off on another leg of the trip...to Australia, for the women's singles final!! :-) Cibulkova versus Na! I can't wait!!! ^_^

       Because you all know how much I love spending time with my crazy, loving hubby, you probably also know that we're gonna have a great weekend! ^_^ .... I hope YOU all do too!!! :-)

That Something Different

I like things that are different.
Things that somehow catch my eye.
Things not quite 'Just The Same'.
Things that make me want to buy.

I can't put my finger on it
as to why they move me so.
They're not whimsical or gory;
And not lavish. This I know.

Sometimes it's just their color.
Other times it's how they're worn;
Or Sometimes it's just how beautifully
they're painted, sewn, or torn.

With 'Different' as the gauge,
it could be almost anything.
I guess that's why I keep on looking.
Hoping for that 'Different' zing.

When I find that 'Something Different',
I'll pay cash or click or dial;
Or I may just show it off;
(Like I just did) and sit and smile.