Turn Up the Eagles, The Neighbors Are Listening

Thought I'd go with a very simple Choose and Defend Wednesday this week. Let's get some physical activity, shall we? As your activity leader, I want to go skating! But I will let you Choose what kind of skating you'd prefer to do...

Do you want to go -

Ice Skating

OR

Roller Skating

 

Choose and Defend and let's glide our cares away! Happy Wednesday :)

This Musical Message is For Picking Up Slack

For a Better Batter Better Beat it Harder

Welcome to CAKEday! Time to get off a quick Saturday Scavenger Shots post before this day officially ends :)

CAKE was the word chosen by Jasen @ Swamp Gas & Moonlit Reflections  Worked out good for me! I know of a few different ways to use CAKE. I mean, I considered sneaking into a men's room and photographing a urinal CAKE. Seriously, it crossed my mind. But then I went traditional.

So, let me get you some milk or coffee or tea, whatever you prefer, and have some CAKE, friends!

Here are shelves full of potential CAKE. So many brands and flavors to choose from.

All just waiting to be brought to delicious life.

 

Here is one layer of a chocolate CAKE, just out of the oven. DR made it for his brother-in-law's birthday celebration. This CAKE is striken to be caught in the nude!

 

Well. The CAKE sort of crumbled a bit. DR decided it wasn't worthy to be seen by others, so we ended up buying another CAKE to bring...although no photographic evidence exists. I was secretly just as glad, because now we will get to eat this CAKE all on our own!!!

 

Hope you enjoyed CAKEday here on the blog.  Do stop in tomorrow for one more serving of CAKE in a musical message!

 

Now all that's left is to see who Jasen tags for next week...

 

 

 

Friday 5 - Frosting

Friday 5-ing it today. How could I resist with the topic? Frosting, along with the CAKE theme of tomorrow's Saturday Scavenger Shots? I mean, come on! So, let's do this thing.

1.How much frosting do you like on a slice of cake (or on a cupcake)? It depends on the frosting. Most of the time, I feel like there is a little too much frosting...sometimes it is super-sweet and it is just too much of a good thing. At other times, the cake is uninspired and the frosting is the only thing saving it.

2.What’s something else (besides cake or cupcakes) that’s excellent with frosting? I like to put leftover frosting on graham crackers. I have even been known to eat a spoonful all on its own.

3.How close are you (or how many years removed) from your hair turning grey? I have a good little crop coming in. I've had the stray grey or two since my teens, but now it is beginning in earnest. I think my hair is greying like my mom's...she is 75 and still has some pepper in the salt :)

4.With whom would you say you have a frosty relationship? I can't really think of anyone, at present. Usually, if things get too frosty, there is no longer a relationship and I no longer worry about it.

5.What item in your freezer is most likely to be consumed next? I have my eye on an adorable little frozen pizza. I'm-a comin' for ya, tiny pizza!



Scrivener, who writes the Friday 5 says - Thanks for participating, and have a toasty weekend!
I will add that around here it is looking like it will be a very warm and toasty weekend, if today's weather was any indication. Hotty hot hot!

Now...please come back for some CAKE tomorrow as I Saturday Scavenger Shoot! kthxbi

Analyze This! #2

Let's face it, your very own blog is the only place where you can tell about that weird dream you had last night. It has been established...no one in your life wants to hear that shit. But when it comes to blogging, I think it is established that your blog is yours to do with as you like. People reading will possibly indulge you, because after all, you can't see their eyes rolling! They can make barfy noises and you'll never even know! Yeah...blogging the best and so is telling about vivid dreams :)

Here is the one I had last night - I was riding in a car. I was the passenger, but I'm not sure who was driving. We were going down a street that is familiar to me, residential, but long. We looked to our left, the driver and I, and saw a big truck...like a tractor trailer, barreling past. It was on the wrong side of the street and looked like it was out of control.  The street seemed very wide and the truck was going the same direction as us, but far against the other curb. It was approaching a stop sign at a high speed and I remember saying something to the driver of the car, that it looked like he was going to go right through the intersection. Right before the truck reached the intersection it braked hard and suddenly just sort of rolled over on its side, crushing a couple of small cars parked next to the curb.

I was momentarily surprised, but then felt relieved almost immediately. A small group of people gathered around the cab of the truck and there didn't seem to be any alarm. Everyone just began talking animatedly. The people looked sort of unusual. They were dressed in very bright colors and had sort of kooky hair, oddly colored and stiffly styled.  I started to comment on how unusual they looked to me, when all of a sudden the entire intersection was filled with similarly styled people  roaming around and greeting one another animatedly. I realized then that they were filming a movie. The whole thing had been set up, but for some reason they were letting regular traffic through too.

I remember being very excited at this realization and I wanted to get out and find out more about what was going on...but that is all I remember.

Interestingly (a relative term, of course) this is the second of only two dreams I have posted on this blog. The other one involved the street too. Don't know why these particular dreams remained so vivid upon waking. And couldn't say for sure why I brought them here for analysis. But here we are.
So...any thoughts? Do tell.

His Message Was Brutal

Choose and Defend Wednesday has come back around, finally. Sometimes weeks seem so, so long...and this is one of those weeks for sure.

I had to ponder this week's question for awhile. I know most of them are less than stellar, but they still take some  thought. Part of it is because I've been doing it for awhile now, part of it is that I might not be that creative :) Have I ever mentioned that suggestions are welcomed? They are.

Anyway, this week you get a new skill! But which one will you Choose? And how will you Defend your choice?

Would you rather be able to -

Fly 10 mph

OR

Run 100 mph

So? What will it be? Choose and Defend!

This Musical Message is For You Make Me Testify

I Was a Vision in Another Eye

Today is Saturday. Today is a work day. Those two sentences never go together properly in my mind. Still, every other week, there I am :) At least I have Saturday Scavenger Shots to console me.

Today's word is WING. I chose it because I thought it would lend itself well to Spring. Or maybe I just chose it because I was hungry for chicken. Who can say? Anyway, here are a couple of WING photos I took with my very own phone. You're welcome.

This is a cute little slap bracelet featuring a dragonfly with shiny WINGs. We must have over-ordered those at some point, because I feel like we've been giving them away for ages. The kids always love them though...such a cute WINGed creature to adorn their tiny wrists.

 

Here is my inspirational butterfly WING. I might have shown you this before. This WING features my favorite section of Max Ehremann's "Desiderata" and I have it at my desk. I find the sentiment very soothing and calming. Here is a link to the full text, if you are not familiar with it...or even if you are and just want to enjoy it again.

 

And now we travel on, into the remainder of the weekend, carried by a WING and a happy thought for peace and beauty and fun and relaxation. We want it all!

 

Now for the tag...I guess it goes, in it's circular fashion, to Jasen. And a new adventure is created :) 

Immune to Your Consultations

Happy Wednesday to you! Thanks for coming by to check out this week's Choose and Defend. Today, I decided to give you a chance to experience something new...temporarily. Which new experience would you most like to have (Choose) and why (Defend) ?

For one week, would you rather live as -

A Different Species (of your choice)

OR

The Opposite Gender

What do you think? Tell me all about it! Choose and Defend. (^.^)

With the Feelin' That I'm Gonna Love You 'Til the End of Time

BUBBLES, y'all. It was the Saturday Scavenger Shots word...and a fine one, indeed, chosen by our own Tara @ Eclectic Spaghetti. I was raring to go on BUBBLES, with a couple of fine examples...or at least a couple of adequate examples. However, I ended up not getting to it in a timely fashion. I took last Thursday - Sunday off work and commenced to neglect most of my internet obligations :) It was lovely. But here I am! Back! And here are my BUBBLES -

You can't actually see these BUBBLES, but I promise that they exist within the can of cola. Sweet, sweet BUBBLES!

Here are some little containers of solution to make BUBBLES. They are going to be one of our Summer Reading Program prizes. BUBBLES for everyone!

Here are some BUBBLES in a sink full of dirty dishes. Clean, magic BUBBLES, clean!

As you can see, I have BUBBLES coming out the wazoo! Figuratively. If I meant it literally, I'd probably be in some other line of work by now.

I hope you enjoyed my late Saturday Scavenger Shots. Now, I must go around and see if anyone else got BUBBLES on the brain this weekend. Buh-buh-buh-bye for now!

This Musical Message is For We Were Nothing Like the Rest

See, I Reckon You're About an Eight or a Nine

Hey there. Do you Choose and Defend? If you do, we should go steady. If you don't, you should. As it is that special day of the week, it is time for Choose and Defend Wednesday! 

This week I thought we could focus on our health. We all like being healthy, right? But sometimes it is a struggle to do the right things for our precious temples (that would be our bodies, dear.)  What if you only had to choose one path to healthy righteousness? Which of these things would you prefer to do in order to try and maintain a healthy lifestyle?

Eat Healthy

OR
Exercise Regularly

I will admit, I am not consistantly the greatest at either one of these things...but one is easier, or more enjoyable, for me to maintain as a lifestyle choice.

So, how about you? Choose and Defend, you healthy creature!

Another Celebration

I hope you all had a nice weekend...a nice Easter if you do that sort of thing. Most of my family went to my dad and stepmom's house for the afternoon. My son Secret Agent Man had to work, as usual. And unfortunately, DR was indisposed and couldn't join us.  Still, it was a nice day.

Here are the little bunnies and their major loot. Of course the Easter Bunny had visited their home, as well as Great Grandpa and Grandma's place...so Easter was good to those chickadees.

 

After lunch, the kids wanted to hunt eggs in spite of the drizzle. The plastic eggs had been hidden earlier, so it was no trouble for them to go ahead and hunt. I stayed dry, up on the front porch :)  You can see here that the girls gave Little Prince a head start.

 

 

My parents gave us all a very nice lunch of ham, scalloped potatoes, cucumber salad, rolls, and more. We also had news of something I'd suspected for a bit, but it was confirmed that Kick Back Dude and his baby mama Princess Diva are attempting couplehood again. They've had their troubles, but if they can work things out it would be wonderful for the kids...and for them too, really.

 

Even though DR didn't join us on Easter he did give me a gift the day before -



Skelanimal - Because dead animals need love too. Good golly.

 

 

Now onward into the week! I took a couple of days off at the end of the week, so I am actually having a three day work week. Nothing wrong with that, eh? 

This Musical Message is For You're What the Doctor Ordered

Not to Be Seen, But to See

I think that Jasen, bloggendado de Swamp Gas & Moonlit Reflections, chose a great Saturday Scavenger Shots word with INSTRUMENT. I like the idea that an INSTRUMENT is really just a means to an end.

All these phrases went through my mind: INSTRUMENT of destruction....of surrrender...of accession...of obediance.... and so on and so forth. And of course there is the musical INSTRUMENT.  Well, that is where I went. Simple and straightforward. And I have pictures :)

Every few weeks, I set out INSTRUMENTs at storytime. It often coincides with times when I don't feel like messing with a craft. We have our little music time as an alternative activity!

 

 

The kids get pretty excited to choose an INSTRUMENT. They like being told to play nice and loud! I pick a kid-friendly, rhythmic song and we have a little parade around the room with our INSTRUMENTs.

 

I've often, although half-heartedly, wished I had learned to play a musical INSTRUMENT. I realize it is not too late, but I'm not sure I'm willing to put in the time and effort. It certainly is not as though I have an iota of natural talent. It would be hard work, as most worthwhile things are. Still, I think about it from time to time and fantasize about looking sexy on a cello or something... 

 

Okay! Well...let me wish you a Happy Easter, if you indulge and a happy weekend in any case! Keep your INSTRUMENT clean and let's see who Jasen tags for next week.

All My Life You're Haunting Me

It is Wednesday, thus it is time to Choose and Defend! Last week I gave you a toughie. This week I'm going to toss it to you real softly. Sweetly and softly...that's right.  This question comes to you in honor of an upcoming holiday. I am speaking, of course, of Easter. Now, I am not a religious person, so I don't celebrate Easter in the Christian sense. More like the old school rebirth of nature...springtime...thing. And I'm in it for the candy. So, I thought I'd ask - Which do you prefer and why?

Jelly Beans

OR

Peeps

Show me your sweet tooth, darling! Choose and Defend!

This Musical Message is For the Passion Flares Again

You Can Work On Points For Style

As the chooser of today's Saturday Scavenger Shots word, I decided to follow Tara's lead from last week and choose a fun, easy word! This week's word is DOG.

First, please note how Handsome Lad enjoys both sleeping and DOGs -

Here is what I think is a very nice portrait of three of the DOG friends we've had. From left to right - Puppy, Tank, and Sage.

Remember my feline grandchild from last week? Sure you do. Well, I also have a canine one! Little Prince goes to the DOGs.

Now we are just about finished. Why not relax and have a nice hot DOG! Looks like Social Animal is ready to serve you.

That was a DOGgone good post! Or...you know...it was okay :)  Hope you enjoyed this muttley collection.  I will tag Jasen to choose for this coming week. What will it be?

I Was Never a Part of It

Choose and Defend Wednesday descends upon us again! This week, I am asking a question that is quite common in 'this or that' talks. But, surprisingly, I have not yet asked it here.

Simply put -

Blind

OR

Deaf

Neither one could be seen as a preference I suppose, but with which condition do you think you'd be better able to cope? Feel free even to mention how you would cope.

Choose and Defend and come again soon!   

This Musical Message is For We Find Ourselves in the Same Old Mess

And You're No Friend to Those With Noses

Lucky us! Tara @ Eclectic Spaghetti tossed us an easy word for this week's Saturday Scavenger Shots. The word is CAT and I had a plethora of pictures set to go :)

First, let me present my little granddaughter Love Bug...she is either cleverly disguised as a CAT or showing off a pretend CAT. Here you go -

 

 

 

 

Here is the pretty Angel CAT belonging to Love Bug and her family. Isn't she sweet?

 

 

This is a neighborhood CAT who hangs around. I got this candid shot from my doorway.

 

 

Finally, here is my best bear friend Milly taking a selfsie with her Hello Kitty phone. Hello Kitty is purportedly a CAT of some sort...but she lacks a mouth, which is tres disturbing. Still, she is a popular CAT.

I hope you enjoyed my many CAT pictures! That'll show you! That'll show all of you!!! *Insert maniacal laughter*



Thought I'd Something More to Say

Are you in the mood to Choose and Defend? I hope so. It is Wednesday, after all!  I thought I'd find out how you feel about our habit of changing the clock twice a year. Here in the U.S. we just returned to Daylight Saving Time this past Sunday. I guess it is not the same date everywhere, but does happen at some point nearly everywhere.

So which jump do you prefer, and why?

Falling Back (to Standard Time)

OR

Springing Forward (to Daylight Saving Time)

Perhaps you love them both...but you must love one slightly more...these are not your kids, you know! Perhaps you hate them both...but you must hate one slightly more...these are not your exes, you know!

Now...Choose and Defend! Please. Thank you.

Relief You Didn't Know You Needed

Lately, I have become aware of what a relief it can be when something you didn't even consciously know was bothering you is removed.

For example, when I work the closing shift on Tuesday and either Friday or Saturday, I get to turn off the Self-Check machine we have sitting on a counter at the public desk. 

 

It is a fairly substantial piece of equipment and when it is on it makes a sort of hum...just a low level sound that is always there. It is easy enough to ignore and it isn't that it is irritating...but when I turn that machine off and the silence falls, well, it is hard to describe the relief I feel!  I always want to moan a bit with pleasure at the non-sound.

I had that same sort of light feeling of relief, like a burden has been lifted, driving home last night when the sun was still out. It isn't like four or five months of the year I suffer terribly driving home in the dark...but again, I become more aware of how I dislike it when it is gone.

I was already thinking about these things when I did something to my knee this morning. My left knee has been hurting on and off, at very low levels, for the past couple of months at least. Nothing too horrible and sometimes not even there, I thought.  But this morning in bed I stretched and felt a sort of painful pop...and my knee is now pain-free in a way of which I am accutely aware. So weird.

I guess this all just goes to show...something. Not entirely sure what, but am willing to hear theories :)

This Musical Message is For It's a Revolution I Suppose

Send a Copy to My Lawyer

Mail is still coming on Saturday for the next few months, but I doubt very much that anyone has sent me a LETTER. Yes, LETTER is the Saturday Scavenger Shots word for this week. It was chosen by Jasen, ruler of Swamp Gas & Moonlit Reflections.

 

When I got word of the word my first thoughts were postal, I'll admit. Nowadays a hand written LETTER sent snail mail is a rare and wondrous thing! But I've decided to go with a couple of quick snaps of LETTER "art" that I have around my desk at the library.

 

The LETTER "L" is for lion...and love...and lust...and laura...and lablahblah.

The LETTER "L" looms large in my life :) 

 

This LETTER "G" came off a long ago cup of coffee. My best bear friend placed it on my 7-Eleven coffee. We call 7-Eleven coffee Gucci coffee because it is so fancy! So, this "G" is for Gucci. It might be counterfeit.

 

 

Thank you for coming by to see my LETTER post...not postal. Now, who will Jasen chose to chose? 

Meet You All the Way

Ch-ch-ch-choose and Defend Wednesday is slipping past me! Better get on this now. How about this?  You are going to be immortalized. How do you want it to go down?  Which of these possibly, but not necessarily, complimentary things would you prefer to happen?

Hit Song Written About You

Or

Main Character Based on You in a Best Selling Novel

What will it be, you superstar, you? Choose and Defend! Your reward will be my eternal* gratitude.

*until next Wednesday, at least!

A Party, A Reminder

Hey all. Haven't done one of my just random talky posts in awhile. It is partly that I think I am a lot busier at work and partly that I just don't seem to feel like I have much of interest to say.  Not that this will be particularly interesting, but I do have a bit of time to kill :)

Thought I'd ruminate on a nice party DR and I went to on Saturday. Since DR has been here in California the vast majority of our socializing has been with my family...sometimes his family...and occasionally my friends. Not that we do a great deal of gading about. However, on Saturday we went to this gathering specifically to see an old friend of his who was in town for a brief visit. It was kind of a family gathering. I knew nobody, even remotely, besides DR. He knew his friend, his friend's girl friend, and a few others peripherally. People from his high school days, which he spent partly in CA.  It turned out to be a nice party. The people were friendly and DR was so happy to have time to talk to his old buddy. He quite deserted me, but I had gone expecting that and ended up having a very long talk with this Cheyenne guy, a few years older than me. He was super drunk and could spin quite a yarn. He actually reminded me a bit of my ex father-in-law. When we left, DR kept saying what a good time he'd had. He was so happy. I was glad he was happy, but also felt kind of bad because it made me aware of how much he is missing....not sure how to put this....HIS kind of people. Hard to explain. Let me give an example though. No one in my family smokes. None of my friends smoke. DR does, and when he's around us he slinks off like a criminal every hour or so. At this party EVERYONE smoked. I mean, it was outdoor smoking, but lots of it. It is more than that, but again, hard to explain.

I was glad he had that afternoon and evening to feel so pleased and relaxed. What I took away from all this was the reminder of how different the two of us are in some ways. Sometimes it is hard work to bridge the differences, but I think it is worthwhile.  I hope it is worthwhile. Yeah, it probably is.

Let Me Know That You're Mine

Even though Saturday got past me, I thought I'd go ahead and do my Saturday Scavenger Shots. It's never too late for such things! This week's word was chosen by my sistah of the blog Tara @ Eclectic Spaghetti. The word is SHOUT. So...let's see if I can work up a SHOUT.

There are a few things that make me SHOUT in a good way. Here are a couple which I am willing to share on a public blog...

It is a lot of fun to SHOUT encouragement at sporting events. As a bonus, you can horribly embarrass your children at the same time!

 

There is nothing like SHOUTing and singing along at a concert. One of the best feelings ever.

 

Hope you enjoy my SHOUT out to the SHOUT. Like a scream, but without the horror movie baggage attached ;-) SHOUT it out! 

 

This Musical Message is For the Spark Before the Dark

Friday 5 - Lights

Made it to Friday, so I thought I'd reward myself with some Friday 5.  As you can see, this one is all about lights. Let me at them there questions!

1.Where’s a good place to check out some pretty lights? Locally, the best, best thing to do is take a short drive up Glendora Mountain Road after dark. Find a quiet spot facing east. Then you can just sit and enjoy the beautiful lights of the the San Gabriel Valley. It is very peaceful. 

2.How well do you sleep with the lights on? I can sleep okay with the lights on, but I do feel like a corner of my consciousness remains aware that the lights are on. So...it's not ideal.

3.What’s your favorite song with the word “light” or “lights” in the title? I am a huge Smiths fan, so I am going to go with "There's a Light That Never Goes Out" - And in the darkened underpass /
I thought Oh God, my chance has come at last / (But then a strange fear gripped me and I  / Just couldn't ask)

4.What “light” version of some food or drink is as good as (or better than) its regular version? Honestly not a fan of most "light", or more annoyingly, "lite" versions of foods. I guess the one thing I'm now accustomed to is non-fat milk. I worked my way down...2%, 1%, and now non-fat. Now full fat milk and even 2% seems rather rich.  

5.Which light in your house seems to need changing the most frequently, and which the least? It seems like the ones that needs to be changed most frequently are in the livingroom lamp. It has five heads or arms or whatever and one or the other is always burnt out.  As for least frequently...probably the ceiling light in the little hallway. I may not have ever changed that one yet, and we've lived there almost 4 years. 

There! Now you know all about my innermost hopes and dreams concerning light. Feel free to address your own light issues in comments or play along on your blog. Friday 5 is for everyone :)