happy Thursday and cookies!!!!

Today is Cookie Monster's bday!!  so that means we should all celebrate!
I know some parents and teachers are ready to string all the students up with duct tape somewhere and throw water balloons at them, but since they can't do that, perhaps you can share these video  clips with them and bring some laughter to their day... lol.
It's definitely a gorgeous one!

Cookie Monster's Birthday - in honor of Frank Oz, cookie monster gets two birthdays.  One is today, and another one is November 2nd.  If you have Sirie on your phone, you should ask her what 0 divided by 0 is and see what she says...  :)



National Tap Dance Day - in celebration of amazing dancers everywhere who can tap their way in circles around everyone else...one of my favorite videos...


Nerd Pride Day or Geek Pride Day - show your geekiness!!  If you know that computer stuff or can program the VCR (LOL) you're a geek everyone loves!

Red Nose Day - I didn't know it was red nose day before now, or I would have worn one to my schools 😊   I think everyone should wear one tonight so their kids are wondering what happened...  lol  If you are inclined, you might donate to their cause and bring some FUN into the world.  I'll always remember Robin Williams... one of my favorite scenes from Patch Adams...


Towel Day - in honor of the man who wrote Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy... Douglas Adams, everyone needs to remember the importance of the towel.  😊


Eat More Fruits & Vegetables Day - what Cookie Monster would never understand, lol.  I wonder if they promoted it in opposition to his birthday??  :)  Well, my sister says anything green is not for the body, lol.  I love pretty much everything green...and fruity.  

Hope you have a healthy, yummy day!!

Wednesday Sadness

Hello all my avid dedicated readers...  Hope you're doing well!  It's Wednesday!  And while that's an exciting thing, I'm feeling the sadness this morning that lingers from Monday's concert in England.  My prayers are full of comfort for their poor families and the singer.  What a terrible day that was and still is for them.  Perhaps these thoughts might bring a bright spot...

EMSC (Emergency Medical Services) Day - (well, after this first one...)

I thought this was appropriate for what is going on in England right now.  They had an excellent response team.  We have some great people on this side of the pond too, and if you know anyone who is an EMT or Paramedic, you want to be sure to thank them for taking on this job that most of us wouldn't be able to handle.  I was reading about the concert and the many children that were injured and killed...it's so sad.  But that's what makes it terrorism, isn't it?  their aim is to disrupt and make us afraid.  It just makes us angry and sad.  😞

International Tiara Day - this is something that many of those young women would enjoy...a day to pretend their princesses.  Everyone deserves to wear a tiara at one time in their lives.  But it's important if we can help them realize they don't need a tiara to make them special - they already are.  I've heard two reasons for this day - one, it's Queen Elizabeth's birthday

and it's a way for everyone to honor her, and two, it was started in 2005 by some company that was encouraging women to show their leadership qualities.  I don't care which, I know my granddaughters like to wear them.  😊

Morse Code Day - anyone know morse code?  It's pretty handy if you can wrap your brain around the dits and dots and bips...sigh.  I'm afraid it's a little much for me, I'd have to spend a LOT of time figuring it out.

And last...it's National Escargot Day - UGH.  Sorry, but I'm not into snails.  Anyone like these??  What do they taste like? just curious...please don't tell me they taste like chicken...lol
Well - have a great day.  It's supposed to be gorgeous, blue skies and plenty warm.  Great day to be outside.

Tuesday Smiles

and the weather is finally feeling like summer is near!  of course...by this weekend it's supposed to cool off again, so I guess we'll see.  😊

Anyway - not a lot to mention, but it's still kind of fun...
today is National Taffy Day!  Everyone has their favorite flavor of taffy.  Some are even brave enough to make it...but you have to have good arms.  How do you think those women kept those arms in the old days??  food work!!
now adays, it's mostly by machine. 

I think even back in the day they had crank ones...  people had taffy pulling parties, but no one does that any more.  At least not where I live... 

It's also International Turtle day...I guess if you are worried about the turtles and want to save them, today is your day.  I used to have some baby turtles, but they didn't live very long.  My sister-in-law has a couple of larger ones that were hibernating.  I wonder if they've woken up yet?  😊
 
Well, hope you have a wonderful Tuesday...find some tacos if that's your thing.  I'm thinking I need to make some crispy wheat peanutbutter bars... (same as rice crispy ones, but with puffed wheat).  I know...how very unglutten free of me.

Yes! It's Friday! And Pizza...

I could have sworn I'd written about these items already - I know I told my daughter earlier this week that it was national pizza party day, but I don't see the post!  So...  you get it again.  Sorry if you feel you're living in a loop...no this is not the Matrix...

So - today is National Pizza Party day!  Pary...party...party...  always a good reason/excuse to eat pizza.

It's also Ride Your Bike to Work Day...which you know, makes it kind of difficult when it's cold and rainy...  😉


there's always National Scooter day - which is always fun, but it's not any warmer than the bike idea, right?  There are some days I miss my scooter...

then for those of you sports enthusiasts, it's NASCAR Day - I don't know if it's racing season, though I think I heard something about Danika crashing again - though this time it wasn't her fault.  That woman has nine lives, I'm telling ya.

and for the foodie in all of us, it's Devils Food Cake Day - which is one of the best cakes in the world...

and National Baking day - so good reason to go home and bake something.  I think it would be a good day for cobbler, unless you wanted some of that Devils food cake...be honest - it's calling your name... "come eat me hollywood, Hollywood..."  
(sorry, can't be helped - flashback to Mannequin..)


Anyway - have a great weekend and hope you have much to smile about!

Mother's day joy...

Well... Mother's Day is not always the best weekend.

Personally, I liked it better when the kids were little.  They were all there because we all lived in the same house, (lol) and they usually made something fun for me at school.  They all loved me and thought I was wonderful (sort of).
Now, if they aren't living here they don't show up.  I guess I've become persona non gratta...

I woke up in the morning and reminded myself not to have too much in expectations, and decided to enjoy the day.  After all, Saturday had been a lovely day, so I fully expected Sunday to be nice too.
And it was.  My live at home kids got up and fixed the breakfast that I'd expressed a desire for (eggs Benedict and fruit salad...YUM) and then I helped my hubby make dinner for his mom and we took it to her and her sister and spent a lovely couple of hours with them before we left and came home to have dinner with my kids.  The ones that live at home, that is.
My hubby surprised me with a HUGE snoopy card...seriously, I think it's at least 2 feet tall.  It's awesome.  I thought he'd gotten it for my mother-in-law, but no - it was for me.  And he even had all the kids sign it, so it was kind of like they were all here.  It was incredibly wonderful.  :)

And he made me pie.  It's a tradition he's done every year for as long as I remember. Strawberry pie...one of my favorite things.  sigh.  And he made it from scratch (well, except the crust...that was premade)  and sweetened with honey!!  It was sooo good.  This picture doesn't do it justice, I hadn't put the whipped topping on it, but it's good, believe me.
And then my daughter send me the cutest photos of my grandson the other day...first he likes to bounce and so she got him one of those Johnny Jumpups and apparently he loved it, but he didn't do a lot of bouncing, it was more spinning around, lol.

and then she sent me another one of him at eating time.  He was
LOVING the peas...lol .  My hubby asked her where the baton girls and drum majors were...looked like he was drumming.    He's such a tank!!
Anyway - Saturday my youngest daughter took me to breakfast at Kneaders, which was yummy!  and then we went shopping at Seagull Book, which is right next door, so to speak - and I got some new books that we've read but didn't have copies of.  Then we went and got my hubbies hair cut, and I went shopping at Payless shoes while he did that and got two pair of sandals.  Still looking for something white for church, but at this point, at least I have something comfy!!  sigh.
Life is good, ya know?
I have an awesome hubby and kids and home and ...what can I say more.
Life is awesome.
Enjoy!

A Rose by any other name...

So - I mentioned I'm taking a business class, right?  And this week we are given some big challenges to fulfill.  I realize as I'm sitting here, that essentially I'm building my name.  I'm building the world of GParker Artworks, and it's a scary undertaking.  When I stepped into the bank to set up the account for it, I was almost as nervous as when asked for readers to review my books.
It's a scary thing, putting yourself out there in front of the world and hoping they don't run you over with an 18 wheeler.  So many times they're apt to, you know, and I really don't know how I'll handle it.

So far, I've gotten good feedback from the couple who have read and talked to me.  I'm still waiting on the others, lol...
But anyway - back to the name.  If I had one thing to focus on it wouldn't be as difficult. I'm not meaning to complain about the gifts I have been given, but hey - writing and painting don't always go hand in hand with each other.  :)

I think I've mentioned before that I have a hard time painting in the winter.  I think it might have something to do with light, when I give it serious thought.  So it's been easy...write in the winter, paint in the summer.  Although I've been trying to keep the writing bit going year round.

So, GParker Artwork has become kind of an umbrella for my key points of product. I decided I wanted to put that into art form...so here it is.

I kind of like it - used those brush tipped markers.  I use them a lot for my gift cards and the black is about dead.  sigh.

Anyway... so there you have it.  GParker Artworks is on.  I guess now I need to decide what my monthly goals will be...

I have two projects right now - finishing the editing on my third book of the Hibiscus ladies and getting my other book to Shadow Mountain.  

Nothing trivial...  :)

Have a great day.

Time management???

Well...so - my hubby and I have been taking some classes at night that are sponsored by the church.  There are 4 courses, and they all revolve around being self reliant.  It's a beta thing...I guess.  Although it's already all around the world.  It's just North America that's late in evolving...  sigh.  Is that a first world problem?  lol

Anyway - I wanted to take the class on business, (I'm trying to get my world growing, ya know? lol) and he wanted to take the class on finance.  He's also the ward employment specialist, so he figured he should take that to help out those who might need his expertise.  He's since wondered what he was thinking (ending up taking 3 of the 4 classes at the same time) and I've wondered where these classes were 20 years ago.  I could have really used the finance one!!!  (we go together to the 2 of them...we LOVE spending time together.  :)   )

There are two parts to this whole thing, and we have like a gospel principle that we learn about the same time we are learning other skills.  This week we were encouraged to be more wise in how we spent our time.  In the past it's been having balance in your life and the like.
One of the questions they want you to think about is in 25 years, what do you think you'll say when you look back on your life?  Are you going to be full of regrets or are you going to be happy with what you've spent your time doing?
Well...it's hard to say how I'm going to feel in 25 years, because, ya know...that's in the future.  But I know how I feel looking BACK at where I was 25 years ago.
I'm sorry to say that I do have some regrets.  Most of them have to do with how I raised my children.  I'm forced to make excuses for myself in that I really had no examples until I was in my late teens, early 20's as to what a stable happy family was like.
LONG bit of background story folks...skip to the end of you aren't interested, lol.
Many of you might not know that my mother passed away when I was 4 due to illness, and my father took his own life when I was 7.  He had remarried in between, divorced the second wife (who was almost the perfect example of the AWFUL step-mother - I'm trying to repent, really), and then was engaged to a different woman when he died.  (she was awesome, we would have been SOOO happy!  :(  )  We (my two older brothers...by loads of years, lol) were then put in foster homes.  My first foster home had one other child, a boy that they had adopted. He was about 6 months older than me, and from a very large family that couldn't afford to feed the children.  He ended up being a juvenile delinquent and breaking hearts along the way.  My grandpa died when I was 12.  My foster dad died when I was 14ish...and then my oldest brother got married in Utah.  The word ZION as all out of staters know it, lol.  I fell in love with Utah and decided California was not the place to be anymore.  Especially since my foster mother had decided religion was no longer convenient and I was the only one going to church.
The foster services decided that meant I wanted a different family in California, and sent me to a couple in northern cal that had been previously married (her three times, twice to the same man; him just once) and different sets of children were living with them.  I was right in the middle...  At least they were active in going to church, which made things easier...but they had wanted a baby - not a teenage girl.  When I was ending my junior year in high school, they decided that they wanted to spend their time building a new multilevel marketing business and all the kids were farmed out to ex's.  It was decided that I would go to Utah, despite the fact that no one really had room for me...
And it was the best thing ever.
My sister-in-law came from a family of 9 kids.  By the time I moved to Utah, they had 2 of them married, and one foster.  I stayed with my brother and sister-in-law and new little baby of less than a year old for about 2 weeks, and then her mother said I should come live with them.  I thought that was cool.  They had a nice house and lots of kids and I got along with the foster kid.  (He was part of the Indian Foster program to get the kids off the reservations.)  She found out I knew how to sew and we were great buds, sewing my own swimming suit and stuff.  She liked to paint, and found out I did too, and we did some tole painting.  When school started, she suggested I just go with her kids and we'd see what happened.  I turned 18 in October, and no one was going to take a foster kid that old.  They were very patient with the gun shy, somewhat anxious teenager that didn't like to share and clung to everything she had.  By Christmas they had decided that I was part of the family and that I just needed to stay.  It was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to me.  They have been grandparents to my children, and aunts and uncles to them.  They still are.  I am still part of the family.  But ...now to the present.  and then back to 25 years ago.

Now you see why I say my parenting skills were lacking.  I didn't know what to do with a baby...let alone what to do with a bunch of little kids.  And I had a bunch.  I have 7 of them, and the first 2 were twins.  I have no excuse other than when it comes to saying no to my hubby, it's just about impossible.  lol
I did do my best...and they have no real complaints.  But they each have their struggles.  All of them (well, okay, one is borderline) have ADHD.  Two of them are autistic - fortunately on the high functioning side and we don't have loads of health problems.  So far only one has gone on a mission.  Two are married (one for the second time already :-/  ) and I have 4 grandchildren.  The two that are married are not in the church - and aren't raising our grandchildren to know the Lord.  It's the hardest thing to see. the one's that aren't married are still living at home.  If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you'll know how I feel about that, lol.
So - I'm trying to live each day with a little less regret than the one before.
I try to remember that there are things more important than time schedules.  Grandchildren, for one - are God's gift to us for surviving our children.  lol
I'm trying to remember that the gospel is what gives me strength, and that reading and learning more each day will help me be where I want to be in 25 years.
I am so very blessed in my life.  From my wonderful husband who supports and loves me to my extended family and children.  This world is an amazing place.
Just wanted to share that with ya...  Have a great one!

Got Star Wars?

Yes, it's that time of year...the whole Star Wars take over the world, lol.  If you're a Star Wars fan you'll know what I'm talking about. 

Intergalactic Star Wars Day  (May the Fourth Be With You!) - Good day to have a Star Wars marathon, right?  Just a heads up...that means tomorrow is Revenge of the Fifth...  Not Cinco de Mayo, lol
International Firefighters Day - These guys choose a very dangerous occupation, and it's a life saving thing.  Thank all you come in contact!

National Day of Prayer - It think it's nice to think that there's a little religion in the world today - we need all we can get.  I like to think that there's actual prayer in the White House today...

National Life Insurance Day - I think life insurance is all fine and good - some people take it to extremes, lol.  I'm no expert, but I guess everyone should have enough to at least bury themselves so that's not a burden on the ones left behind.  It made me think of Groundhog day and this scene...


Petite and Proud Day - have a couple of neighbors who are very petite and proud of it.  They're darling little red-headed midgets (well, technically...) I think I would build a world around me if I were that short.

World Password Day - just a reminder - if you don't routinely change your password, you might want to do it today.  It's always a good thing to switch it up.  It's a pain...but it's a good thing, lol

National Orange Juice Day - and lastly, we have OJ day.  Good stuff...but most dieticians would tell you it's better to eat an orange than to drink juice...just sayin. 

Well...it's a gorgeous day outside!!  If you haven't been out there, you should just to enjoy the blue sky and warm temps!   Reminds me of this clip from George of the Jungle...  (the movie)

Have a great day!

May Day!

Welcome to May!  I would say welcome to spring, but that remains to be seen, lol.  We're supposed to be in the 80s by Saturday...could be an interesting time with snow melt.
Hope you all had a great weekend.  I did.  Kind of hard to come back to work this morning...  But hey, I'm here, you're here and we're raring to go, right? 


May seems to be quite the celebration month.  Especially the first day.  I thought there were lots of things mentioned on Friday and Saturday, but there are tons today.  I'll try and see if I can mention the fun ones as we don't have loads of time to sit and read, do we?  lol

Batman Day - apparently the comic book made it's first appearance in May, so they picked May 1st.  Which is your favorite?  Batman or Superman?  I think Spiderman ought to be in there too...

Lei Day - This is the islands May Day  - a day long celebration.  I like it.    I didn't realize that each island has a lei specific to them.  I'll bet you thought all lei's were just flowers too, huh?  

Lemonade Day - I think everyone likes lemonade, don't you?  And there are so many different varieties!  I love strawberry lemonade, or raspberry lemonade.  I'm going to try making some with honey instead of sugar and see how that works.  I'm not sure this is the official date, I've seen several that say it's the 7th, one that says it's the 20th...one in August - so whatever.  This is the day Brownielocks said it was, so we'll just stick with it.  Have some lemonade today!

May Day - I always grew up thinking May Day was the first day of spring celebration, May pole dance, etc.  You know, light and spring and fun.  Apparently it has grown into quite the day of protest now, and there is expected to be a big protest against the president.  I guess you can't just keep the light side of anything, huh?  Well, I'm going to celebrate May Day by having some lemonade and enjoying spring.  How about you?

Mother Goose Day - the mother of all nursery rhymes! - apparently there are several stories as to the origin of the nursery rhymes and who created them, if there was a real mother goose, etc.  I think they're fun, and most children like them, so I guess it's as good a day as any to celebrate the encouraging of imagination.  I guess Silversteen took up where she left off, huh?  With a Light in The Attic?  Or Where the Sidewalk Ends?  My mom loved those ones too.  Well, if you have children in your life somewhere, today would be a good day to read some mother goose to them.  :)

School Principals' Day - sing out for all the principals who keep the schools running!  Tough job, being a principal, but someone's got to do it, lol.  

Silver Star Day - in honor of the wounded servicemen and women around the country.  I didn't even know this day existed, did you?  Kind of cool.  Do you know someone who has been wounded in service to our country?  today would be a good day to let them know how much you appreciate what they have done for our freedoms. I guess I was fortunate in that my dad and foster dad were never injured in their service, but there are many who have been in the past 10 years.

Stepmother's Day - this is an interesting day.  I guess this way there is no competition for mother's day?  I think stepmoms get a bad rap from the movie Cinderella.  I'm hoping my granddaughter grows up to know her stepmother as a wonderful woman.

National Chocolate Parfait Day! - I was going to attach the scene from Shrek where he and donkey were talking about Ogres being like onions or parfait, but decided they weren't good enough and it was a stretch.  Parfaits are yummy, once again another treat from France, and (in my opinion) probably the basis of the Trifle...isn't that just a big parfait?  Good stuff. 

Well...that's all for today.  Hopefully it will remain lovely weather and you can enjoy spring.  Just remember to have some lemonade and a parfait for desert.  :)