Happy Valentines Day...Happy Birthday Woobie!

Happy Valentines Day...bushels of hearts and hugs to all...may this day of showing love to your special family and friends be full of LOVE!


To family near and far....


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ROB ROY ~ "WOOBIE" 8 yrs. old today


cute little pupper...



Patriotic Devil Dawg - USMC Fido


Daniel Boone


HO HO HO


Scary Thunder!!!


Sweet Dreams..

Hugs to all...have a lovely day!

Merry Monday

Merry Monday to you once again. This week ushers in Valentine's Day..a day of L*O*V*E! Smiles are twice as nice...This little guy is delivering a sweet smile along with some red roses shaped for your Valentine. Don't forget that smile today.



Several months back I did a post that included some favorite quotes of mine. One was by Mark Twain....

Last week when I stopped at a thrift shop...guess what was sitting right there on a shelf...staring at me...



and now...it has a new home...right here in front of me in my computer nook...my own personal space ~ reminding me that age is not the monumental thing...it is the youth of the heart...the joy of the spirit...the attitude of the mind. Yes. Don't mind aging...It is the continuing journey of something that started many many years ago when you were born...A life with a purpose. A person with a task to complete. A mindset that intends to make a difference.

A smile can make anyone beautiful...no matter what age.



So Smile........You are lovely. :-)



Hugs to ALL who drop by. Have a very Merry Monday....xoxoxo

Wednesday Waxing and Waning

Today is simply an entry into my online "E-journal"....thoughts coursing through my mind and coming from my heart....

It is February 8, 2012, a Wednesday. It is chilly and the sun is rising outside. Temperature is 22 degrees. Some snow flurries yesterday, not amounting to much. The streets are white. The leftover of the past snow is almost gone. The pups don't mind the windchill.




It has been five days since Kobe's surgery and he is doing well. No more pain meds. The three dogs are with me in my room as I type...as usual.

I am listening to Adagio for strings as I journal. ~ such a moving piece. I am grateful for beautiful music to listen to.

Today is my Dad's birthday. He is 78 years old. He doesn't act or look it, so it is hard to comprehend this fact. He stays active and busy. I am sad that I will not be there to help celebrate the occasion. Usually this always involved a chocolate cake. I miss seeing him. **of course he is playing a golf game today...continuously taking advantage of the warm weather still happenin' in NC...60's....


this time last year...Triple layer chocolate cake...


I am missing communication with my Marine. Sea training off the coast on a Naval ship with soldiers and sailors from other countries. Usually I will have texts from him when the signal is good, but his brand new phone was stolen from his truck the night before they boarded ships to leave, so this time I am not hearing from him....:-(



My Kit Kat girl texted me a few times and called Monday to get some instructions about the way I prepare asparagus and baby spuds...she is cooking more and more lately because she is motivated ....yes....got a "beau" in her life ...*would love to meet him. Nothing more motivating for a gal to brush up on culinary skills than to have a man's stomach to please... ;-)


Stir fry

Missing both my girl and Jonny too. Try to touch base every week to keep up with them. Happy that they live together.


a photo Kat sent of Jonny - wearing a shirt she bought for him.

Kam had another out-of-town game last night....so I did not see him until LATE. (**they won!) Sometimes it is close to midnight when he opens the back door and I have gone to bed...I will be glad when basketball is finished!!!



Number 33 is missed at home!!! (Did have a home game Saturday. The regular season is about to wrap up and then finals begin...first game at home!)



Carrot please...mommy?


Divine Double chocolate cupcakes - oh my rich...
http://talefromthecoopkeeper.blogspot.com/2012/02/best-chocolate-cupcakes-period.html


Watched this Reece Witherspoon chic flic Monday night. It was good. A comedy love story.


Can you say Serendipity??? Found the twin to the Toile Neck Roll pillow... one year later, 1000+ miles away... in a different thrift store. THIS is why I love Thrifting...it is a veritable smorgasboard of surprises... Now the settee is complete!


There are days...I am happy to surrender to "faux" flowers for the cheer they bring in the Wintertime. See that snow still frozen out there?

Ending with a thought for Today...



hugs and hearts....

Merry Monday

A very Merry Monday to you...it's here again.

Time flies when smiles are shared all week. Today we have a little model who is going to show you how to add "dimples" to your masterpiece.



Looks like she's got it down pat...and I have to say, it pulled a big smile out of me. So if you want some extra glam in the smile department, there ya go!

The snow going across Iowa did NOT reach Cedar Rapids...so we are continuing the Melt-Down! rah!

Hugs to all. Like the U S Postal Service, ~ In rain, snow, sleet, or hail... may you always have a smile to give away!...a "Special Delivery" package that puts an unexpected ray of sunshine in someone's otherwise dreary day.

Merry MONDAY!!!

Kobe is HOME...Resting.

The cowboy dawg is home. He had a tough day. Very happy to see "mama" coming to pick him up.

Thanks for prayers! It is awesome to know there is a community of caring sisters in our lives both near and far... not only in our actual physical world but in the virtual blogger world too. What a blessing.

Hugs to all. Have a great weekend.

Friday's FAVORITES Feature

It's Friday again...wow! Today I am picking an "edible" for one of my Friday Favorites. For the last year, I have been working on my eating and exercise habits. I have been concentrating on my goals to get healthier and to be in better shape entering this midlife season!

During this whole year of learning to cut back and cut out certain foods, there has been one SNACK that has become my GO-TO regular EVERY SINGLE DAY...If I run out...I am LOST!!!! I literally HAVE to go get more.

Baby Carrots! No Kidding. ;-)

I am addicted to them. Every morning I set them out on the counter, put an ice cube or two on top, and every night I stick them back in the frig. (refilling as needed)



They are crunchy, and a little sweet, and filling, and obviously healthy for you...and I haven't turned orange....(yet).



Every two weeks (payday) I go to Sam's Club and buy two of these 3 pound bags of baby carrots...and that's about right around the time that they run out...so I know I must be eating a lot!! (but just to set the record straight, Gideon helps me. He LOVES carrots, too!)

That's my FAVORITE for Friday and I wouldn't want to have to get through a week without them!!!! :-)

And in closing, for any canine lovers out there, you know how special our furry family members can be...I am asking if you might would say a little prayer for Kobe and our new Vet here in Cedar Rapids. He is going in early Friday morning to have a growing benign fatty tumor removed, and it shouldn't be too serious a procedure, but it is always the administering of anesthesia to a dog in his older years that can make one worry. The older they get the more dangerous it can be to put them under with it. So I just want everything to go okay for our Kobe man....we Love him so much.





Thanks so much. Everybody have a Fabulous Friday. We have snow coming in for the weekend...so here we go again.... HUGS!


WELCOME HOME LANCE CORPORAL JUSTIN SIMMONS! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY! GOD BLESS YOU AND GOD BLESS AMERICA...OOO-RAH 1/6!!!!!!!!! SEMPER FI!

Heritage...

HERITAGE - relating or referring to something one has come into possession of as a right or a divine portion, usually from an ancestor...a passing on to the next generation...

Recently I did a post on old mirror trays...a personal "like" of mine. In one of the photos I remarked that the tray was on what I think of as my "Heritage Photo" table. It is in the dining room here in Cedar Rapids.



All of these pictures are special. A few are "favorites." Amongst all the thoughts that circle in my mind when I glance at these photos.... of what it was like back then, the world situation, the economy (depression years), wars, childhood play, family life...the ONE thought I always end with is GRATITUDE for the Heritage of FAITH that is represented in those lives pictured there.

I have more pictures, but all will not fit on this table, so there are three generations represented for now.

These two men are great grandfathers. (on my paternal side)
professor - my Papa's dad


train conductor - My Grandmother's dad

Men of faith - passing on the Christian faith they knew and practiced to my grandparents.


my Dad's mama - "A Favorite" of mine. she was so precious! curls and ruffles - born in 1900.


a young woman with her parasol


on her wedding day - she looks like a China doll, such a petite little thing. *another Favorite!


my Dad's Dad. born in 1896. (looking like he's trying hard not to smile) Angus Robertson Shaw, Jr. In this line lies my Scotch-Irish heritage. :-) Maybe that's why I like Tartan plaids, Scottish Terriers, and Irish Brogues so much????????



my Dad..in what looks to be a pram... - born in 1934. still alive and well today!


My dad and his brothers. Robert (Bob), Richard (Dick) , and Angus III (Trey)
*another favorite - love all the sailor outfits for this photo and the shared reading.


MY Mama's Mom - a college graduate photo, I think. so pretty. Frances (Frankie) I was given her name as my middle name. :-) Loved her immensely...a farmer's wife.


MY Mama as an infant. always the smile...always. she went to be with the Lord Thanksgiving 2010.

There are more. I am thankful to all of them for a foundation of Faith - for teaching Christian principles and Biblical values to their children...salvation in Christ Jesus. Where would I be....really!?? - if not for them....All of us who have children walk this same generational path of raising children and passing on a legacy of something greater than ourselves. I hope that as my four treasures walk this same path on earth, that when it comes time to make the choice, they will continue the legacy to be men and women of God, pass it on, and be on a future generation's Heritage Photo table.

an entry into my e-Journal today. With a heart of gratitude for my heritage of godly men and women.

Hugs to all my blogger sisters today. Have a wonderful Wednesday!