Happy last day of November...and Nano is over!

And time to be starting in on the Christmas season.  I know many of you have started that already...some the day after Thanksgiving, some before then, but we're a little slower at my house.  I've got the boxes brought down from the attic, but haven't put anything out yet. 
I had to restart my phone because it was just not doing a ringtone.  Like probably most of you, I have limited space, so I'm always having to delete stuff.  I tried Zedge for ringtones and wallpaper, but it was wiggin out, so I had to uninstall it.  That made my ring tones even stranger...sigh.
So I restarted my phone so I could get the ring tones working.  Thing is, the new app, MyTinyPhone is making my phone blip out when I'm trying to change the wallpaper now.  UGH!!  Can I say how frustrating stupid cell phones are???
Anyone want to say an AMEN?  lol

Anyway - it's a gorgeous day, and we're looking at a wonderful Christmas Season.  This Sunday is the first presidencies Christmas devotional, I hope you all tune in and watch, it's always a wonderful evening.  Wednesday we're making candy...always good for chaos, and then next Saturday we're having our white elephant party.
So...it's jump in head first to holidays!
I'm not sure I'm ready for it, but you know, don't always have a choice.  I don't know if anyone is coming to the party...so may have lots of food for no one.  :)

 I finished Nano yesterday...ahead of schedule and I was kind of lazy with it this year.  I'm thinking I need to set a higher word count next year...50,000 is getting too easy, lol. 

Anyway - there's only one food item mentioned for today at theNibble...
It's National Mouse Day!  We love Mouse at my house...my hubby was the one who introduced it to me.  I think it's heavenly.  My daughter made a yummy lemon one for Thanksgiving...  We'll have to see what we can make up for today.

So...  hope you have an awesome day!

Almost there...

Hi again! I know...two days in a row, you're probably shocked.  And both short entries!  Hey...that's how I work, sometimes, lol.
So...besides the fact that we are having GORGEOUS weather today, there is only one thing I want to share today...

It's National Gingerbread day!  I figured that's good...it gets a head start on the Christmas season and the whole gingerbread house thing.  Do you do the gingerbread house?  Have you ever made it from scratch?  Well, today would be a good day to try.
Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

And...just because...I have to leave you with studio C...  Hope you're more grateful than Adam is for family and girlfriend, lol

Happy Monday...week of Thanksgiving!

I've been commiserating with teachers all morning...everyone is excited that it's Monday because we only have a 2 day week this week.  I think that's a sad state of affairs...but what can we do about it? I'm trying to be positive, lol.

So, it's a quick entry, as there isn't much to be excited about in the world (other than it's Thanksgiving week, lol)  And so, guess what food day is today?
It's National Peanut Butter Fudge day.  So - you fudge lovers, get your spoons out there and make up a batch to share with everyone.  I'm sure it will go good with the pies on Thanksgiving...
And of course, the day after thanksgiving, which everyone gets excited about - Black Friday.  My eldest daughter used to work for a medical supply company, and there were many there that actually celebrated Black Friday as a real holiday!  I'm serious.  She said that they had to have it off...it was a big deal in several families.  Go figure...

What was really neat, was last night. My youngest daughter participated in an Interfaith Christmas Program that was held at Layton high.  It was so amazing!  They had two well known artists that also participated,  one of which was Dallyn Vail Bayles.  He sang the song from Les Miserables - Bring Him Home, and it was so good.  But it was such a wonderful evening of song, we were so glad we went.  I wanted to tell everyone, next year you should come!  It's the Sunday before Thanksgiving, apparently annually, so it's now going to be our family tradition.
What traditions do you have for this time of year?
Whatever they are, I hope you have someone to share the day with.  Have an excellent day!

It's Wednesday and the weather is fine...

Isn't there a song like that?  Well, there should be!  Although I went to work with this amazing sunrise this morning.

It's amazing how fast the sky changes.  I look out the window there there's a streak of red across the clouds.  I think, man, I've got to take a picture of that.  By the time I get out the whole eastern sky is red...and by the time I get to work, it's clouds.
Crazy.
It always makes me think of that old phrase...red sky at morning, sailors take warning!  Red sky at night, sailors delight.  I'm not a sailor, but it's always there in the back of my mind.  Crazy, huh? 
oh well...
onto the day!!

There are some fun things...but some crazy ones.  I really wonder about people sometimes!!

America Recycles Day - well, I think we used to recycle more than we do.  I remember when I was a teenager and we could take glass bottles back to the store or cans back for 5 cents a can.  It was awesome.  Now you can't (course that was in California...)  and glass?  forget trying to recycle glass.  It should be cheaper to recycle than to make new!!!  puff...puff.  Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.  Anyone else feel this way?  I have tons of shopping bags in my car because I hate plastic.... okay, I'm calm now.

GIS Day (Geographic Information Systems) - according to wikipedia... (I know...but hey..) strange that they have a day to honor a system of mapping.  Have you heard of this?  I've never really heard of it...but I'm sure it's where GPS comes from.  :)  sometimes I feel very blonde...  lol

 
I Love to Write Day - yeah!!  I get a whole day dedicated to this??  Unfortunately I don't get to spend the whole day writing.  Hopefully I'll get in some tonight...after the seasoning party...did I invite any of you?  I think a couple...  My house, 7pm, try some spice in your life...food, fun...open house, yada yada.   Anyway...writing!!  do some writing!  I'm halfway through Nano...

 

National Bundt (Pan) Day - I love bundt cakes.  they manage to look fancy when they're just a box cake, or made from scratch.  Remember the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding and her mother trying to pronounce it?  I love this movie.  I haven't seen the second one yet...worth my time?   

National Raisin bran day...my daughter loves raisin bran.  I think it's okay...but I like the bunches of oats better.  although, I'm not a big cereal eater anymore...I'd rather have a green shake.  :)

National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day - well, sad that they need a day to do this.  We end up doing it every other weekend or so...just before shopping, lol.  Amazing what you find growing in the back...  UGH.  And tell me why adult kids refuse to eat the last crumb of something and put it back??  So they can claim they didn't eat it all?  sigh.

National Educational Support Professionals Day -  I think this is talking about the support staff, secretaries, or anyone in Education, come to think about it.  We're all professionals, and we all work with education.  Happy day!! 

Rock Your Mocs Day - well, if I had any moccasins, I'd love to wear them.  But, it's not just about that, apparently this was a day created to celebrate native Americans and their culture.  This site has the whole story...  and here I thought it was just a day to have comfy shoes...  silly me.

 

Well, have a good day!  You deserve it.  :)

 

 

Happy Monday!

Hi all!  Hope you had a great weekend.  Let's start the week of right and keep up a smile.  I don't remember if I've shared this already, but there's a sign in one of my school bathrooms that says this:

How to smile -
Place pencil in mouth between teeth.
Do not let lips touch.
How does that feel?
:)

 World Kindness Day -  Everyone should be kind every day, but at least there's one day they are supposed to around the world, right?  Hopefully they are being kind in the middle east with the earthquate...   If you can be kind to just one person today, do you realize you've already made the world a better place?

And World Orphans Day - which I think kind of goes along with the kindness day.  If you help take care of an orphan in someway - donating to a charity that helps them, or sending items to an organization that helps them, you will help them grow up to be happier and more contributing to society.  Good for you!!
 
National Indian Pudding day - this would be a great day for that, with it being a little chilly.  Have you had Indian pudding before?  The Nibble - which is a fun site for food trivia, has a recipe for it and some history of the item.  It's basically a pudding made with cornmeal, and nice on a cold day.

and to send you all off to do good, here's another Alex Boye song for you...  😊

Hello my Friends!

It's Friday!  It's been a crazy week...I don't know where it's gone, other than to say, you know it's NANOWRIMO, right??  so...nuf said, lol.  I'm not doing too bad, at 17,000 words, and it's the 10th...so on track.  :)

I've been counting my blessings this morning...sometimes it just amazes me how very BLESSED I am.  I am reasonably healthy, have an amazing husband who loves me, we have healthy children who currently all have jobs!!  lol.  We have a home that keeps us warm and dry, running water, electricity, food and jobs.  There are many in the world that can't say they have half as much.  There are many in California and Texas right now who can't say that (I'm sooo sorry!!).  It just amazes me that I have so much.  I keep wondering why?  You know how you hear about people that want to know why when they have trials in their lives?  They want to know why they've been 'cursed' or such.
I wonder why I'm so very blessed.  What did I do to deserve it??  I just keep hoping that I can keep deserving it...
So...in order to spread the happiness of the day, you need to dance!!!  there isn't really anything real exciting to comment on in 'national holiday' stuff, so I figured it was Friday.  That's good enough reason. 
So...here are some fun songs to watch and dance to.  If you've read my blog before, you'll recognize ALL of them, lol because I keep posting them.  What can I say?  I like to dance!  :)

This one by Alex Boye - is fun.  He did a new one with the kids at Southern Virginia University.  It's way fun...a cover of Believer by Imagine Dragon...
 
It's not really a dancing song, but it's fun.

Here's one that always gets me movin'


But no dance day is complete without some real movers...
Happy is my theme song, so to speak, lol.


and I think most everyone has heard this one...


and this one always gets my family dancing, lol








This one is a favorite from the movie Three Men and a Little Lady...  the video isn't from the movie, but the song is the end credits.  I love it.


got to have Piano Guys...




And last... (cause we do need to get some work done today...)  a couple of my hubby's favorite songs.






Because you always need a little peanuts in your day.  😊
Have a great day and weekend!

Happy Thursday...

It's November... and Thanksgiving is only 4 weeks away...   which means that Christmas is only 8 weeks away, right??  ARGH.

Okay...I'm calm.  October flew...I can't believe how fast it went.  Hope you had a great Halloween.  We don't get trick or treaters because our road has lots of space between houses, and no one likes to drive their kids up and down.  One granddaughter was Darth Vader of the feminine kind...one was Minnie Mouse again, and grandson was a skunk. 

Well...supposed to be a skunk.  Didn't think it looked much like one, lol.   We watched the World Series.  boy, what a tough one!  Those were two very evenly matched teams.  It just had to go to the 7th game, right?  I was rooting for the Dodgers though...part of the Californian left in me, I guess.

Only a couple of things to share today -

Cookie Monster Birthday: everyone likes to celebrate cookie monsters bday...that means cookies!  And we all love cookies, right? especially sugar cookies from Kneaders...  just saying.  Here is one of our favorite clips from Studio C...


 
National Men Make Dinner Day - and this is always good for exploiting - er ah, celebrating.  My daughter was fortunate in that she married a man who likes to cook.  My hubby is a great cook too, but I think we're going out to dinner tonight, so that's taken care of, lol.  Be sure and text your husband before he gets home, he'll probably pick something up so at least you won't have to cook!!

National Deviled Egg Day -  my son will be thrilled when he hears this.  He loves deviled eggs.  Those are practically his favorite food in the world.  I like them and all, but I can also live without them.  He loves Easter because we always have a plate of deviled eggs.  He is happy when someone brings them for any family gathering.  They almost have to bring a plate just for him because he'll eat all of them if we don't remind him that others are gonna want some...

Well...  have a great day and enjoy the weather - it's gorgeous. 

Back to reality....

Okay - I guess it's my fault.  I took a week with my hubby and we went to Island Park and I painted!!  It was on and off, but for 2 days, I painted!  And it was just the two of us, and we read, played games, went to Yellowstone, and it was wonderful!!  The two trips to Idaho Falls, including Pocatello we could have done without, but ya know, lol.  Had to go to Michaels and buy canvas.  Sigh.
So then we get home (driving through a snow storm most the way, with a head wind and pulling a new little utility trailer - new to us, not NEW, lol) and find the kids have been typical...no one found the list I'd left of things that needed to be done, and while nothing burned and everyone was healthy...house was a mess.  :(
I had a lesson to teach in RS...which was sooo nerve wracking.  I was up till 2 am that morning making sure I had everything ready.  We ended up taking a LONG nap that afternoon.  It was wonderful.
But anyway... get to work yesterday and it was like...why??  Why am I here?  I need to be back in Island Park and painting!  my hubby felt the same way...but reminded me that we'd have to sell everything and be broke, lol.
sigh.
Well...  such is life.
What was so much fun about Yellowstone was the buffalo.  Usually when we go through it's summer and they are still shedding their winter coats.  Now they are gearing up for winter, and they look gorgeous!
 and it was also so neat the day after we got there, it snowed during the night and we went driving through the back way from Mesa Falls and it was such a neat contrast of the fall leaves and the snow and such.

I know, that was so descriptive...  You'd wonder if I was a writer...lol

Well...  Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things.  I hope to post photos of the paintings soon.  Have a great one!

Happy Friday!!

Happy Friday!!  There are some fun things about today, not the least of which is it's Friday the 13th which some people have heartburn over... I think it's awesome.  It's Friday.  What does it matter what number of the month it is??  I guess if you're the superstitious type...  But anyway, I have been loving the fall!  The leaves are sooo gorgeous this year.   I mean...these are the leaves up in Huntsville this past weekend...

such reds...  sigh.
Anyway - onward ho.  😊

English Language Day - I think it's easier to understand simply because I speak it, I think.  But the English language is crazy.  I think there are more contradictions than anything else...and so many words that mean different things but sound the same...  I do love Weird Al's version though... he's a crack up.

International African Penguin Awareness Day - because everyone should be aware of African Penguins.  I mean, ya know.  More than other penguins...I guess they're more special?  I thought penguins were pretty much all in the endangered end of things...  Did you ever watch the movie Mr Peppers Penguins?  It's kind of fun.  Here's a clip of the actual penguins they used...

International Day for Failure - ok, so if you're all about failure, you've heard of Meet the Robinsons.  Failure is nothing to cry over, except for the frustration that you have to try again...and again...and - well, anyway.  Love this scene in the movie - I'm thinking I should have embroidered a pillow with it for my kids to remember - Keep Moving Forward!!!  

National Family Bowling Day (or Kids Bowl Free Day) - I like bowling, but we never do it anymore.  I'm not sure why, except for perhaps the cost.  It's cheaper to sit home and watch movies together, lol.  Do you like to bowl?  I even took a class in college!  For all that, my hubby is still the best bowler in our family.  He's awesome.  This is one of my favorite bowling scenes...

I tried to get the whole thing with his friend coming in and asking what was with the senior citizens, but you tube doesn't appear to have a good clip.  Enjoy!  This is one of our favorite movies.  😉

National Chess Day - another video for chess...  not quite as dangerous as the Harry Potter version, lol.  Do you like chess?  My kids like to play it... 

Navy Birthday - This should be a big thing, don't you think?  I mean, the navy is the best.  How many women fell for those uniforms in WWII??  At least that's all you see in the movies, lol.  Found a kind of fun video clip celebrating the Naval birthday.  It's been 242 years!!  wow...

Silly Sayings Day - Well, this is a great day.  How many silly sayings did you grow up with?  My hubby's family has lots of them.  "For crying tears in the sink" is one of their favorites.  My mom always told the pouty kids "don't stick that lip out too far or a rooster gonna come sit on it."

What's your favorite silly saying??  Reminds me of silly songs with Larry...from the Veggie Tales videos.  I guess it's not a silly saying, but it's silly!!

World Egg Day - have you ever heard the question, which came first, the chicken or the egg?  Well, I guess this is the day we celebrate the egg.  It's quite the thing, you know.  Lots of protein, yummy, and you can do sooo much with it!!  What's your favorite way to eat one?  I think it's a toss up between scrambled and sunnyside up with the yolk just right...dip the toast in there and yum...  😊

Friday the 13th - So...listening to the radio on the way to work this morning, Glenn Beck was talking about a flight to Helsinki Finland that flew today.  Friday the 13th, at the 1300 hour, and the code name is Hell for Helsinki.  So...if you wanted to be totally crazy, you'd hop on this flight, which is flight 666...and fly to hell on Friday the 13th.  If you were superstitious, wouldn't that just give you hives???  lol

Yorkshire pudding day - not really into yorkshire pudding, but there are loads of people that like it.  Enjoy the meat dripping pudding...  ugh.  :)

And so -thus ends our Friday edition of the silly stuff emails.  Hope you have a great day and an even better weekend.