8 Special Things

SPECIAL ENTRY - EIGHT THINGS

Playing the game...Tag You're It. I was tagged by Lynne!!

Here's the rules: mention the person that tagged you. Complete the lists of 8's. on it! Tag 8 of your wonderful blogger friends. who do i want to tag??? mmm....Go tell them you tagged them! here we go!

8 Things I Am Looking Forward To:
1. Getting rid of this cold once AGAIN!!!
2. Reaching my goal weight;
3. Getting son graduated from high school
4. Seeing DANNY win Hell's Kitchen;
5. Summer being OVER!!
6. Getting the year end closing DONE
7. Heaven and all that goes with it (I like this Lynne, Can I keep it in mine = )
8. Leasing an RV someday and travelling the USA. (this, too!)

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Took my mom's dogs to get their shots.
2. Went to lunch with my mom.
3. Took a good long nap.... and wanted to sleep the day away.
4. Went to church for a class.
5. Cleaned the kitchen
6. Went to Pollo Loco to get dinner.
7. Thanked God for such a beautiful cool day.
8. Complained all day to noone in particular about how badly I felt from head congestion and cough.

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. I wish I could fly like an eagle
2. I wish I could swim with a dolphin (I will one day!!)
3. I wish I could play the piano or guitar or a HARP... How cool would THAT be!!
4. I wish I could encourage my son more.
5. I wish I could see my name on a marquis on Broadway.
6. I wish I could defeat this weight challenge
7. I wish I could be a philanthropist of the needy, going around a making wishes come true anonymously. If I ever won a multi-million dollar lottery - I would give back. I like this one too, Lynne.
8. I wish I could be content in all things.

8 Shows I Watch:
1. Hell's Kitchen
2. American Idol
3. Lie to Me
4. Desperate Housewives (sometimes)
5. Seinfeld (reruns but still great)
6. Fringe
7. Medium
8. Bones

I was tagged, if you want to be tagged, grab this and do your own, be sure to leave me a link on the comments.

Joann

Mamarazzi's Swap

Mamarazzi's Favorite Things SWAP 3 is now UNDERWAY!!!!! WOO HOO!!

This is my first time joining the SWAP, and I'm so happy I was able to get in!!!

Check out the website for more details... although it's filled up now, you can keep watch for the next one at Dandelion Wishes!!

Joann

Mom's childhood home

Whenever I'm with my mom visiting Tucson, she likes to drive by her childhood home, the one that her father built with his own hands for his family of 10 along with a general store next door to the house.

This past visit (about two weeks ago) was no exception, only THIS TIME, there were people outside the house... and my mom jumped out of the car before I could stop her. She went over and told the people her history with the house, I was SURE they were going to call the cops on this crazy woman!!

Lo and Behold, it was the SAME people that my grandfather sold the house to in the mid 60's!!!! They STILL LIVED THERE!!!!!! An elderly couple who turned out to be the NICEST people in the world, they didn't remember my mom, specifically, but they remembered her family, and INVITED US ALL IN TO SEE THE HOUSE!!!!!!! (My mom, my son, and me.)

Of course, I didn't know the house when it belonged to my grandparents, I was like TWO last time I was there (my mom said so). But my mom was so happy to be inside the house again, she couldn't stop crying... and I don't know about YOU, but when my MOM cries, I tend to cry too!

There were ALOT of things in the house that were left EXACTLY as when my family owned it.

This is the SAME Planter from way back then!! No kidding!! I saw pics of the front porch with my mom standing there when she was little!!



This is the front porch swing that my grandfather made from old bed springs, and still it's strong enough to hold people who want to relax and reminisce. My mom has a picture of herself behind the bars of that porch window "jailed".



My Grandfather made his signature doorframe around every single window and door in the house, and they're STILL THERE today!!!



This crucifix is still above the front door after all these years!! I saw it in my mom's wedding pics!!



It was an amazing trip down memory lane for my mom, and a pretty cool visit for my son and I, too!!

Joann

My Lemonade Award & Awards

Thank you, Leslie, for my Lemonade Award!! The icon symbolizes the old saying 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!' I'm honored, because this award is for blogs that show Great Attitude or Gratitude, and I do try to keep my blog 'happy'!!

The rules for this blog award are simple:

1. Put the logo on your post or blog.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude.

3. Link your nominees within your post.

4. Let the nominees know they have received the award by leaving a comment on their blog.

5. Share the love by linking back to the person you received the award from.


So....without further ado....the nominees for the Lemonade Award are..... (and if you DON'T want to play by the rules... you STILL get the Award!!! = )

Mik ~ This guy has so much GRATITUDE in life!!! While some of the things in his life would bring others down, he is truly grateful for the blessings in his life, he keeps a smile on his face and puts a smile on faces that surround him.

Kat ~ This lady is such an inspiration to me because she stays on top of her weight loss goals, keeps us posted about her progress, and is doing very well with it. And I think she displays GREAT ATTITUDE during it all.

'On-Ya'ma ~ Talk about GRATITUDE!! This wonderful lady DEFINES it!!

Jimmy ~ You can't talk about GREAT ATTITUDE and NOT mention Jimmy!! This guy will keep you in stitches with EVERY entry he writes, be prepared... when you leave Jimmy's journal, your sides will ache!!

Ken ~ Ken always displays a GREAT ATTITUDE, even when he has to work nights!! Pop in Sundays for a quick dose of Sunday Silliness.

OK, I owe you FIVE more... but that'll have to be on part II, son will be home soon, I HAVE to make dinner!! LOL!!!

Have a great week (and a great attitude!)
Joann

Eating out less, in more

AOL posted an article today from Wallet Pop on Restaurant Tricks.

It really made me think about eating out a lot less than I do.

The article mentioned things that restaurants do to save a buck. Things like, making soups 'brothier' with less ingredients; using less salad ingredients; using more inexpensive fillers in burritos, etc.; or reducing to ridiculously smaller quantities or portion sizes.

Even adding on bill surcharges; drink charges (ice tea/soda can be $2.79 ~ $3.10 or more which can really add up for a family of four); condiment charges or watered-down condiments; substituting expensive items with cheaper imitations; and using processed meat instead of real chicken or beef.

They also use fancy names like 'old fashioned' to get you to think you'll be getting a greater value.

Not to mention one restaurant where the owner would rescue customer's unused pickle slices from the trash and re-use them for the next customer, although, I can't imagine that happens too often, but WHO KNOWS??

Times are tough, and just like the consumer, every business is looking for ways to save a dime.

I, myself, have switched to ordering water at restaurants instead of ice tea, lemonade, etc. (And NO, I don't take my own kool-aid or make lemonade out of it, I drink only the water as it's served.. LOL!!) Yeah, it may sound cheap, but it helps, it even helps me to get my daily water in. I still allow my son to order whatever he wants, but since it really doesn't matter to me that I drink water, it's no big deal.

The biggest switch I've made recently (within the last 3 weeks or so) is just eating out LESS. I haven't been going out for breakfast or lunch (which I've done quite a bit in the past), I've been taking my own breakfast & lunch to work.... I know, I should just eat the breakfast at home, but who has that kind of time... LOL!!!

The article also mentioned that STARBUCKS is NOT supposed to charge for extra caramel in that Frapuccino, but they do as often as they can. (Sorry, Marty! Oh, Wait! Marty doesn't read my blog... LOL!!) Anyway, I have yet to verify if that's true or not, but I HAVE noticed often time, the barista will say... "Oh, I won't charge you for that!" but sometimes they just do.

Anyway, if you have anything that you do to save on your restaurant bill, will you share in a comment??

Have a great next meal!!

Joann

Solvang & a 2009 Log Cabin

Hi Everybody...

Hope you are enjoying a beautiful weekend!! Mine has been great so far, I took the day off yesterday and took my mom for a drive up the coast to Solvang!! It's a very cute, very touristy little Danish town. We had a great time, the weather was PERFECT, (60's there in town, 50's on the coast) and we loved the fact that it was a FRIDAY, and there were NO CROWDS!!! Of course, we came home with baked goods, chocolates, and LOTS of wine!!



Also wanted to show you the new 2009 penny.... they've traded Lincoln's Log Cabin for the Lincoln Memorial. (And YES, it still says "In God We Trust" on the front!! = )



My son is grounded this weekend (nothing big, he just forgot to bring home his weekly progress report, this week).... SOOOO his loss is my gain... we're watching movies tonight. Just got back from the Red Box, and got Hancock; Righteous Kill; and Lakeview Terrace... like I'm gonna watch ALL THREE tonight, but hey, at $1/night, I'll just return the ones I watch and keep the others 'til Monday.

Have a great rest of the weekend!!

Joann

Tea & Windchimes!

Thank GOD for my girlfriends, and for Blogs... my son is hardly ever home anymore, and I MISS HIM... LOL!! Well that's life I guess, huh?!?! I KNEW I should've had MORE KIDS!!! LOL!! He's out with friends tonight, and I'm home, but not alone, I have YOU!! = )

Anyway, last weekend I went to a Tea with some girlfriends, I bought a beautiful windchime I wanted to share with you... but the pic doesn't do the colors justice!





and last night I went to play BUNCO with some other friends.... we had so much FUN!! It was PINK night, could you tell... LOL!! Alot of them were still wearing the pink from work where we all wore pink to let the governator know how the upcoming pink slips will affect the schools.



BUNCO BABES!!!!!!!



Well, hope you all are having a great weekend!!

Joann