Fun Monday : Vacations

Our Hostess this week is Alison and here is her assignment: Vacations...this is the time of year when most of us go on vacations. Show us and/or tell us about your favorite vacation - where you went, what you did, etc. Pictures would be great. Let's all take a trip around a the world via our FM friends!!
As a family we have had 2 wonderful vacations other than all the other years we have gone camping. Not to make the camping trips sound bad or anything, because we love to do that. But these 2 particular vacations were kinda special.
(I can't give you pictures of these trips, because my scanner will not work. I can give you the links to give you and idea.)
7 years ago we won a trip to the Smoky Mountains of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We stayed in a very fancy hotel that had an indoor swimming pool, a gym, a spa, and a sauna. Our room was as huge as most apartments. We had the time of our lives! We did get out of the hotel a little and checked out Dolly Wood and a few other wonderful sites, but our kids had more fun at the hotel.
Our other wonderful trip was last year. I wasn't happy about it at first, because it was not our planned trip, but it landed up being Super Fantastic! Last February I had booked us a hotel in Orlando, Fl for 4 days and 3 nights, and then I had booked a hotel a little further down in Florida on a beach. I also was going to get to meet Amy from the foil hat, another home school, blogging momma. My van got put in the shop and it took them over 3 months to get my van fixed. It meant I couldn’t get to go to Florida, one place I have always wanted to go. I was madder than a wet hen! My momma let us use her car to take the kids to a water park in Philadelphia, Ms. It wasn’t Florida, but we had a time of our life! I'm not sure what our vacation is looking for this year since Dan hasn't had much work and I can't stay away from momma very long, but we are hoping to go back to Philadelphia this year.
My dream vacation would be to take a year to and travel the world!

How well do you shop

I have always considered myself to be a very careful shopper. I have found out hear recently that I wasn't watching as close as I should until here in the last year. Most people think if you buy bulk items you are getting a better bargain. Are you sure? With gas prices going up, groceries going up, my husband not working much and home schooling, trying to show the kids how to use math in real life, I have found out that buying in bulk is not always the best buy. Let me give you a few samples…
OIL: 48 FL OZ @$1.88 or just say $2 a bottle. Compared to 128 FL OZ @ $6 something a bottle or just say $7 a bottle. Should you buy 2 bottles or the bigger one? Two 48 OZ bottles are 96 FL OZ for about $4. The 128 FL OZ is for about $7. There is 32 OZ difference. You are paying $3 for that extra 32 OZ. So the two bottles are the better buy.
Toilet Paper: Should you buy the 12pack or several 4 pack rolls or double pack rolls. In my opinion the 12 pack rolls are usually the best buy. I can buy the 12 pack for $3.79, the 4 pack rolls are $1 a pack and the double rolls of 4 is $2.15.
It may take a little longer to shop, but if you use math to calculate what you buy, then you can make wiser choices for your family.
I will be back later today to visit my blogger buddies that I have missed very much!

Hello to my Friends!

Today I signed up on "mylot.com". myLot User Profile
I know I haven't been on line much, but things do seem to be calming down around here. I hope you come over and join me at My Lot.

Sorry

I haven't been able to be online. I will try really hard to come visit all my reg friend blogger buddies and Fun Monday players as soon as I get a chance to catch up.
With Momma having a broke rib and going backward, she keeps me busy. Plus, I'm still baby sitting this week. My house really needs my attention also. I could sit here and write a list for days, but don't have the time.
I know this too shall pass and I will play catch up as soon as I get a chance.
Until then, Hope you have a happy!!

Fun Monday:

Sauntering Soul is our lovely hostess this week and here is her assignment...
I know we all try to be sweet and kind to people the majority of the time. But let's face it....we also know that sometimes we can be a big jerk. It could be that you experience road rage from time to time. Perhaps you empty the coffee pot at work some mornings and don't feel like taking the time to start a new pot for the next person. Or maybe you don't return phone calls on a timely basis when you know someone needs a response from you. Have you ever "accidentally" ruined a favorite shirt of your spouse just because you didn't care for it? Come on - it's confession time! List the small things you do that make you a jerk and elaborate just a bit on each one. Please tell me I'm not the only jerk around here!
1st off I don't call my self a "jerk", I call it being "sarcastic", which at times I have been very good at. It's a family thing!
Definition: Expressing or marked by sarcasm. Given to using sarcasm.
Contemptuous or ironic in manner or wit:
As far as being sarcastic with family, it is usually done in fun. But I have been known to be very sarcastic in a few situations. I have even used my sarcastic humor to non family members with out thinking and have hurt some feeling with out meaning to. So I guess you could call it a blessing and curse.
Okay, I can’t think of nothing right at the moment, so here are a few videos to give you an idea. Hope you enjoy!


(I guess you would say my hubby is the "JERK" of our family, but I call him "MY Jack A**)

Weird Weather? & Happy Mother's Day!

Earth Quake, in Pontotoc a little after noon (Here, I have my shock face on!) And then tornadoes come through late night. (No shock face on this one.) I'm not one to get nervous over storms. Matter fact, I get real sleepy and get a good night sleep. (Here, you have on your shock face) Last night was a little different, I didn't get to go to bed and sleep. DJ had gone on a Boy Scout trip Friday night and all day Saturday and was very tired when he got home. My little brother was supposed to stay all week end with mom, but his plans got changed. So, when DJ got home Saturday, I took him over to momma's to stay with her and I cleaned her house. When the storms started coming in about 7:30- 8 PM, I started watching the weather. They said we had supper cells and tornadoes were popping up out of no where. I was about to go to sleep on the couch, then I thought I better call and check on momma and DJ. He is not normally nervous either, but when I would say, “do you need me“, he would say, “I don’t Know.” With momma having a broke rib I thought it would best if I went on over. When I got there I found out why DJ was acting a little nervous, he was sleepy and worried he wouldn’t wake up to help momma if he needed to. I told him to go to bed and I would stay a while and watch. A tornado did do some damage in Southern Pontotoc and other places, but I haven’t heard anything this morning. After that little storm went through they said on the news that a storm was coming through the center on Pontotoc, which is where we live, and it was a 9.9 on a scale of 1-10 for potential tornado. Just before this storm went through momma started having major problems breathing. I was glad I was there. The storm went through faster than the rest and didn’t cause a tornado here and soon after, momma’s breathing went back to normal. It was about 1Am then, so I wished momma a Happy Mother’s Day and went home. I even laughed and told her that I was the 1st to tell her Mother’s day.
Now, I would like to wish all my Blogging Momma's a Very Happy mother's day. Here is 2 little treats below, from me to you!

(You may have to click on 2nd picture to read)

Say Something Saturday: Float Away!

Here's Ami's Say Something Saturday Assignment
I got a phone call today from my long time friend, Red. He told me he was going across country in his hot air balloon and wanted to know if I would come along for the journey. I told him that it would be wonderful to get away. I have never been in a hot air balloon before, nor have I ever been more than 20 feet off the ground. I was a little nervous about flying so high in the sky, but life has been a little over whelming lately. I was hoping that the flight would be joyous and relaxing, instead of nerve racking, we would just have to see. I ask him where I should meet him to get on the balloon and how long would it be before he got to Mississippi. He said that he would be near me in about 2 hours and said that he could land at our local airport. (If you could call it that. LOL!) I told him that was a good idea and would give me enough time to make arrangements since we were going to be gone about a week. Those were the longest 2 hours of my life! My stomach was in knots by the time he got there. I almost talk myself out of going, but Red reassured me that I would really enjoy myself and that I really needed this trip. So, I hopped aboard and off we went. The 1st 30 minutes to an hour was a little scary, but then I got to looking at all the beauty that was below. I could not believe how breath taking it was. I was so glad I brought my camera. I took tons of pictures! Here is one…..


Isn’t it beautiful! I was so glad that I went one this trip. It was very peaceful and really helped me think about my life in a whole different view. After the 3rd day I started getting a little stir crazy sitting and standing in such a small space, but it was just the thing I needed.
When we started getting close to my home town, I had mixed emotions. I was ready to get back home to my children, but this trip was so serine, relaxing and beautiful, I hated for it to end. When we got to our air port I thanked Red for such beautiful trip and letting me see all the beautiful things our world has out there. My children were very glad to see me and couldn’t wait for me to share my story of my venture and the pictures of this trip of a life time.

(This story is complete made up, but I would love to have the chance to take such a trip!)

So busy! & a happy!

Since last Thursday, I have been so busy. I was hoping that this week would slow down, but nope!
Monday - Took all 3 of my kids to the dentist. Mom has got to feeling bad again, so I had to take her to the Dr that afternoon. Plus I'm baby sitting still.
Tuesday - Had to take JB back to the dentist. ARGH! I told him to brush! LOL! DJ had stayed the night with mom, so I had to tak KB and the 2 little ones with me. JB had a Ball Game.
Wednesday- Ran the roads all day and had church.
Thursday- Did mine and momma's shopping.
Friday - Momma fell and broke one rib! I had to go get Aron from there to baby sit, so he could baby sit, then take her to the ER.
Tomorrow- I got to clean her house and mine.
(This was just a quick run down of my week and really doesn't show all.)
My point to all this; after this week I was just wore out! Then I got a little package that I didn't know was coming! What a way to brighten ones day! Holly(Bless her little heart) sent me this...




The card was so sweet and lovely! The brown package is a cloth that she knit herself, homemade soap and a ribbon.Isn't that just sweet! Thank you Holly! You are a complete doll!!

Virtual Baby Shower!

Swampy is having a virtual baby shower for KARMYN . Pamela is the proud grandmother of this beautiful event.
<----- 1st we have a CAKE! (Got to have cake!)
Here are few of the gifts I would love to give....






I also would like to give Pamela (the proud grandma) this...

Karmyn, I send many Blessings and hope whatever you have, he/she is healthy!
Also, remember to take....

And...

You're in my heart

This song has always made me melt! I dedicate this to my loving Husband!

Smoke on the water - Ancient Japanese style

How cool is that?!?

Surprising new ways to reverse middle-aged spread

A must read artical to us that are over weight and having problems.
Boost Metabolism and Prevent Middle-Age Weight Gain

Fun Monday- Who is your hero?

This week I'm your wonderful host and this is my assignment... Tell me about the Super Hero in your life. Not from TV, but anyone that has been or is in your life that you have really looked up to or has made a impact on your life. It can one or many. You can share pictures if you like. Just have fun with it.

I know a lot of you think I'm going to write of my mom. Even thou she is one of my heroes, she is not the hero I'm going to write about this week. I would like to tell you about another very important lady. (My scanner will not work so; I can not show you her picture.)
My mom’s sister, my Aunt Shirley, is the hero of my life I would like to share with you. My Aunt Shirley was a very happy and fun loving person. She was always one of the few that really understood me. Aunt Shirley and momma would joke all the time that they got their daughters mixed up. (I should have Aunt Shirley’s and Kathy should have belonged to momma.) My Aunt is the one that gave me my nick name “Kitten.” She would call her daughter Kathy, “Kat” and me “Kitten.
(There are so many stories of Aunt Shirley I could tell, but I don’t know where to start.)(I will just tell you of the last years of her Life.)
She had worked for US Post Office for over 30 years when she passed away.
About 4-5 years before Aunt Shirley passed away, she got where she would stay very tired. My mom, being a nurse, would give Aunt Shirley vitamin B12 shots once a week. Being the lady she was, she still kept on pushing and always a smiling. I remember her breaking her leg just walking across the road to her car from work. Everybody was real worried about her, but we didn’t know what to do or what was going on. She kept on pushing and a smiling. She finally changed Drs and at the same time we finally found out what was wrong with her; she got promoted to Post Master. I remember having mixed emotions about this. Here was a lady that had worked hard for what she wanted and she had always wanted to be a Post Master. She got the job, but only got to do the job for about a week or 2. The Dr told us that Aunt Shirley had cancer and had maybe 3-6 months to live. This was a big slap in my face. (Well, everybody’s.) We found out it had started as lung cancer, went to her bones, to her blood stream, and then through her whole body. (Aunt Shirley never had smoked in her life. She would make muscadine wine once a year and only have one glass to check it.) Even through all this, she still kept her head up high and always smiling. She still was strong through all the chemo and everything else. She was the one holding my mom and Kat up. 2 days before she passed away I went to see her. As I walked in the room she sent mom and Kat out. She grabbed me and said, “I’m so glad to have a strong one here, because I’m tired of holding them 2 cry babies up” and she laid her head in my lap and cried. I set there and held her for about an hour. Then she pulled herself together and told me she was going to be okay. She told me to always be strong and hold my head up high! I never got to see her again. The night she passed a way, she had her husband call her pastor and ask him to have church at her home. They came over and while they were singing “I’ll Fly Away”, she passed.
I have noticed that I have the song “Lean on Me” 2 times on my blog. That was my Aunt’s favorite song and she always told me that they were some of the best words to live by. At times I really miss her and as I get older, I see my self paying close attention to what she had told me years ago.
In my eyes, Aunt Shirley is what defines that of a hero and always will be in my eyes!

Fun Monday: "Who is your Hero" sign up 5/5/08

I have everybody that has signed up for Fun Monday in my side bar; if your name isn't there and you would like to join us just leave me a little note.
Our assignment for this week is…Tell me about the Super Hero in your life. Not from TV, but anyone that has been or is in your life that you have really looked up to or has made a impact on your life. It can one or many. You can share pictures if you like. Just have fun with it.
(This is a sticky post and will be up till Monday)
Hope to see you then!!!!

saunteringsoul will be our host next week.

Fun & crazy Saturday!

That's a little bit of an understatement! LOL! I did have a wonderful Saturday, but had way too much crammed into one day. Let me give you the short version run down of my day, and then I'll top it off with just a few of the many pictures I took.
Dan was supposed to take KB & JB to the fishing rodeo and I was supposed to take Aron to the church and clean while he did the car wash with the teens. Well, you know nothing ever goes as planned. My nephew CR stayed the night, so after cooking breakfast I had to help Dan get all the kids to the lake because his truck is too small to carry more than 3. Aron had spent the night with mom, because of the tornadoes. We got to the rodeo and I had an hour to spare before going and get Aron. Paw Paw brought our little Eagle- Li to join us. Dan was having problems helping all the kids, so momma said she would take Aron to the church and I could go and help after the rodeo. So, that's what I did. After the rodeo I went to the church and help wash a few cars, and paint some bookshelves and toy box. JB called and needed me to come home to take more pictures of his fish, because he had caught one more after the rodeo. So, I stopped by a thrift store on the way to look for the kids some clothes and found KB a beautiful little dress. Went on home and took the pictures, then went back to the church to help clean. I cleaned the bathrooms, and helped do the finishing touches on the inside. The guy, who was supposed to bring a big mower for the yard, didn't show. Our pastor had worked all day with a weed eater & a push mower. I felt bad for him so I went and got our lawn mower to help. Another member had been out of pocket for the day, but had come by to see if anything else needed done. When he saw us using push mowers on that big yard he went and got his rider. We mowed and weed eated till about 7pm, then I came home took a bath and went to clean mom's house since I didn't get it done on Friday.





Josh won 1st place in his age group, plus they draw-ed his name for a prize. His 1st place prize was a real nice rod-n-reel and a $50 savings bond.


Katie-Beth won3rd place in her age group. She won a tackle box, and then she got her name drawn and won a canteen.


Eli didn't catch anything, but they still draw-ed his name. He enjoyed the play ground more than anything. LOL!


Caleb got his named drawn also and won a toy. He caught one fish, but enjoyed the playground much more as well.


Remember my cousin that got married Easter? This is his son. His mom found someone to bring him also. He joined in with us and had a lot of fun also. His big fish is up above.

I can't leave my Big Boy out. Even thou he didn't get to go the rodeo, he had a lot fun in spite of the work. He is raising money to go to summer camp.



They will have another Fishing rodeo in a few weeks. Hopefully that day wont so cramped packed and Aron can come and join us.

I'll be back in a while to catch up on my post reading and get ready for Fun Monday!
Hope you have a wonderful day!

Say Something Saturday (5)

Here is Ami's Say Something Saturday assignment...

Today was busier than yesterday (I'll post that with lots of pictures later)Plus, due to tornadoes yesterday and last night, I'm just getting Internet service. We wasn't hit hard, but the county above us was hit really hard.
So, that is why I haven't been on today. Well, Back to SSS....

If only I hadn't lost my temper.

If I'd refused to talk to my best friend's husband and let his stupid self tick me off and called her at a different time instead, then loosing my best friend wouldn't have happened.

(Sad to admit, this really happened this week. I think I'm more upset of loosing my temper on the phone at the check out in Wal-Mart than loosing her as a friend. But I was not going to sit there and let someone cuss me and call me a liar. Yes, I know! I should have handle it different and it's out of my character, but he just hit me the wrong way at the wrong time.)

Tidbits

Gosh! Life has been so busy! I know my life is not the only one, but here are a few tidbits from the last few days of past and future.
Yesterday was an all day thing taking mom to the Dr. (Just 2 of many) well, one is not Dr It’s where she gets her IGG treatment at the infusion center. It takes 4-5 hours for her treatment. Then we had to go to IMA, her arthritis Dr. I usually still can do a few things of my own, like blogging on them day, but not yesterday. Dan called about 11 and said his water pump went out on his truck. He had his uncle to come and haul his truck to Maw's, but that meant after I got through with mom I would have to go pick up the part, then drive all the way there. It was nice sitting there talking to maw (Dan's grandmother), but I so much needed to get home. I stayed till I made sure he had his truck running then we came home to do this......



After we got that done, I had to run and get a few groceries. I usually like to do all the shopping in one day, but because it was almost 8 pm and I had not cooked supper, I had to do just a little. I fixed something that wouldn't take too long, sit on the couch, then about 10 Dan woke me to go to bed. Today I have got to fit 2 days into one, because we have a work day at the church Saturday, a car wash for the teens and I need to do some more in the garden. So, today I will finish my shopping, do momma's shopping, pay our bills and clean momma's house. Plus on top of all that, I will be watching two of my great nephews for the next 2 weeks. I had already told their mom I couldn't, but she came back and said she couldn't find anyone else. It is going to be 2 weeks before their paper work and a place for them at the day care.
That's just a few of the things I have got to get done. I know everybody else has got a lot to do also, but I thought I would let you know what was going on in my world just in case I don't make it to visit yours or don't get to post much till Monday.
Hope you have a Wonderful Day!