Who Am I Casting Crowns

You gotta see this!! It's pretty amazing~

Planting

We've got a good friend from our church that has become our "landscaper" since we moved into our new home. He has done a great job and is now adding some larger ornamentals to our back yard. I am so excited. We had some trees planted: magnolias, red buds, maples and dogwoods. Now he is planting camelias, roses and azaleas. Here is a bloom from one of the camelias.

Beautiful. Isn't God so creative and good to give us all this beauty to enjoy?

TV's Top Second Banana

As much as I DO love Lucy, I have to say that in all fairness I think that part of Lucy's success was due to the incredible back up talent she had on the show. Desi Arnaz was a genius with production and Vivian Vance and William Frawley were both incredible performers. My second favorite person on the show is definitely Ethel. Ethel was such an incredible friend to Lucy; always taking everything Lucy dished out and still faithful to the end. So, this post is dedicated to Ethel Mae Potter Mertz. We love you Ethel!!

Special Birthday Greetings

Kelsey & Ave

Kelsey & Autumn

Wow, the end of February and beginning of March usher in a lot of birthdays around our house and with our friends.

My husband just celebrated a birthday (we'll just say he's older than me - ;) and our 2nd daughter, Kelsey, is celebrating her 18th in a couple of weeks. That is just hard to believe. She should be about 4 or 5, but not 18!!

Also, my assistant teacher, for the ESL class we do, and a dear friend of our family, Autumn, is celebrating a milestone birthday this year; and her sister, Ave, Kelsey's best friend is also turning 18 later in March, I think the 21st.

Happy birthday to some wonderful and special people who have blessed my life!!

Friday Fact - Coffee Beans and Perfume

Okay this fact may seem strange to you, but I find it quite interesting and for that reason am posting it.

Did you know that if you were to go to a perfume store for some serious perfume shopping you would most likely find a bowl of coffee beans close by? Why is this? Well, it seems that smelling coffee beans kinds of "resets" your sniffer so that you can keep enjoying the different fragrances. You sniff the beans, wait a minute or two, then go back to smelling the fragrances.

Which brings up another interesting fact that I didn't know. Did you know that if you were to work at Starbucks you are not allowed to wear any kind of fragrance, i.e.; cream, perfume or cologne, while on the job? The company doesn't want anything to detract from the wonderful aroma of coffee. And I guess perfume and coffee definitely are at odds are far as our sniffers go.

Thus, the reason for the beans in the perfume store.

Interesting....

When Life Gives You Lemons - Make Lemonade? NOT!!

I am posting this informative video. If you're like me, you do order lemons with your water when you eat out. Not anymore!! I also checked this out on Truth or Fiction and it is verified as true.

Funny Bunny

Friday Fact - Just Where Did Valentines Day Come From Anyway?

Every February we celebrate Valentine's Day by giving flowers, candy and cards to those we love. We do this in honor of Saint Valentine. You may be wondering, "Who is St. Valentine"?

Legend has it that Valentine was a priest who served during third century Rome. There was an Emperor at that time by the name of Claudius II. Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those that were married. With this thought in mind, he outlawed marriage for young men in hopes of building a stronger military base. Supposedly, Valentine decided this decree just wasn't fair and chose to marry young couples secretly. When Emperor Claudius II found out about Valentine's actions he had him put to death.

Another legend has it that Valentine was an imprisoned man who fell in love with his jailor's daughter. Before he was put to death, he sent the first 'valentine' himself when he wrote her a letter and signed it 'From Your Valentine', words still used on cards today.

Perhaps we'll never know the true identity and story behind the man named St. Valentine, but this much is for sure...February has been the month to celebrate love for a long time, dating clear back to the Middle Ages. In fact, Valentines ranks second only to Christmas in number of greeting cards sent.

Another valentine gentleman you may be wondering about is Cupid (Latin cupido, "desire"). In Roman mythology Cupid is the son of Venus, goddess of love. His counterpart in Greek mythology is Eros, god of love. Cupid is often said to be a mischievous boy who goes around wounding both gods and humans with his arrows, causing them to fall in love.

(information provided by Kaboose.com)

So, there you have it. Well, not really, because no one is exactly sure who was the real St. Valentine and when he was around. There are a lot of legends out there, but apparently, the Roman Catholic church has set February 14th as the day to celebrate his life and commemorate his death. That's about all we do know.

Regardless of all the unknown factors about Valentines Day, etc... there is one thing for sure and it's found in the book of I John in the Bible. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God and everyone that loves is born of God and knows God. He that doesn't love, doesn't know God for God is love."

We are commanded to love one another, not just on February 14th and not just for sweethearts but for everyone that calls himself a God-believer. Why? Because God is love!

Happy Valentines Day!!

Creativity "Looming"

I'm not a very creative person. I never have been. I would like to be, but I think that kind of thing must be "in-born". I can, however, follow directions pretty good. (Why I got a GPS maybe ??, previous post).

So, anyway, I have been in a "craftsy" kind of mood lately. I learned to crochet many years ago at the hands of some very patient friends. Turns out I only learned one stitch and got tired of doing scarves and pot holders. So, I decided to try my hand (literally) at knitting. Before you get too impressed, let me assure you that whatever I try, be it gourmet cooking, sewing or any craft work is always very easy. That's because I'm not creative, remember??

So, I saw this loom thing at the store the other day and it guaranteed me that I could make something pretty quickly and effortlessly. See, that's my problem, I want great results but don't want all the hassle that goes with it. So, I bought it - it's called a Knifty Knitter and it actually is just an oblong loom that allows you to weave and make something. The something I made was a scarf. I bought some yarn on sale (okay, I'm a cheap skate); no, actually I didn't want to spend a lot of money on something I may not like. But actually, I really like doing this. It gives me the feeling that I am creating something, not a lot of effort to it and easy enough for even a child to do.

So, I'm going to bravely post my first creation. It was a scarf. Okay, I said I was tired of doing scarves, but I had to do something simple in the beginning. I am on to bigger and better things next time. Maybe a blanket of some sort. We'll see. Anyway, please don't laugh, especially those of you that have been gifted with that inborn creative genius.

I thought that the Knifty Knitter was actually pretty nifty. So, if you see someone walking around with something around their neck that looks like a blue caterpillar, that would be me!!

New Technology for Me

Hubby bought me a GPS for Christmas and I am just getting around to putting it in the car and trying it out!! I love it!! Not only has it already proved to be very helpful, but it is so much fun just following it and listening to this little voice telling you where to go. Tomorrow I have to drive to Augusta for my son's endocrinologist appt. and I have never driven there from our new house, so I'm looking forward to getting in and telling it where I'm going and letting it tell me how to get there. It really is very amazing to me that we have these kinds of things to rely on. I also love just putting it on the "map" feature and seeing all the stuff that is around when you're driving that you had no idea was there. My husband loves seeing all the ponds and other bodies of water (since he is such a big fisherman). It knows exactly how fast I'm going, which in a way, is kind of scary. I guess when you think about it, it's kind of freaky that a satellite can track you anywhere you are at. Remember Big Brother?

I Love Lucy - French to German, German to Spanish and Spanish to Americn

This is a very funny episode of when Lucy gets thrown in the bastille in France for using counterfeit money.

SUPER TUESDAY!!

Well, it's been a while since I've posted, I think I've had the flu or something. I started out with a bit of a tickle in my throat last Tuesday night and had a pretty high fever last Wednesday. I figured it was over with on Thursday as I felt some better and went ahead and did my daily routine which included going to teach Spanish. As the night progressed, I started to feel yuck again. Friday morning I woke up to another fever and the beginnings of a sore throat and sinus mess. I stayed in bed all day Friday and by Saturday was well enough to switch from the bed to the couch to the bed again ; ) I told my husband that you know I'm really sick when I don't want to clean house, (I'm kind of a neat freak). I even stayed home from church on Sunday, which I hate to do. Even yesterday, Monday, I still was not up to par but thankfully today, Super Tuesday, I'm feeling a bit better and almost normal again!! So, today I've gotta get out and vote. Plus, I have tons of other stuff to do that didn't get done while I was sick. A big thanks to my family for pitching in and helping me out while I was feeling so "poorly". I feel blessed to have an awesome family!!

Now, let's go VOTE!!