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 |  Just my zany thoughts. |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** To my beloved husband, and very best friend Eric Wharton  You are my greatest treasure and I love you.  I am happily married and my life has been abundantly blessed with a wonderful loving family. My blog is about the tapestry of two lives that God has permanently woven together by His love and our journey through our many trials, triumphs, and the God-size miracles we have witnessed throughout our daily lives with our strong faith in Christ.
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| I just had to make another post tonight, this was too cute not to share it. After a relaxing bath, and a hot meal, my stress level has been greatly reduced tonight.  Mr.Mini Me Chatterbox (Zak) has entertained us with his new adorable saying "don't worry, be happy". This video has us laughing our butts off, I hope it brings a smile to your face too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nDClh9NpZw |
| “Some days you’re the bug and some days you’re the windshield”, and today I've felt like the bug. Do you ever have those days when you spend your entire day running around from place to place and feeling like you are not accomplishing much of anything? I'm not sick, I'm just so tired...I need to be eating more veggies, and going to bed earlier, maybe that’s part of my problem. Good luck on us getting much sleep tonight, the little chatterbox Zak will be sleeping over, and he'll be all wound up with at least 500 questions, of why, when, why, where, why, how, why, my mommy says….. I can't wait for tomorrow night to get here. I've been promised a special date for Feb 1, and I’m ready for it. I hope your day is going better than mine has been so far. I’m off to look for some Calgon to take me away for a while. |
| It’s a busy productive day around the house today. Nothing really exciting happening, we’re just doing the usual mundane household chores, laundry, repotting a bonsai tree, and re-organizing the basement, while waiting for our plumber/electrician to stop by to install a garbage disposal. I was just thinking, wouldn’t it be nice if we could just take all of our negative thoughts, and the bad parts of our lives, and dump them into garbage disposals to be shredded into tiny pieces small enough to flush through the drain into the septic lines with just the mere flip of a switch? Gone forever poof….history, just to let these machines get rid of these bad things. If that were only the case, I sure would be busy working overtime stuffing many things. Oh well, since I can’t do that, I’m gone to enjoy the rest of my day with my honey. |
| It looks like sweett and I have had some of the same thoughts on redoing our homes. As I commented to her, I’ve been contemplating lately changing the theme and color in our kitchen and repainting it. I’d like to ask for your opinions and suggestion also. Currently our kitchen has a wine theme, and I am considering redecorating it into something more colorful. Should the walls be painted from white to something brighter? If so, should I use my new dinnerware as a color guide? My first thought was to paint the room a pretty shade of red or maybe even a blue to brighten it even more. Years ago, I had navy kitchen walls against white cabinets that were stunning, so I’m not afraid of working with bright colors. I recently received a beautiful eight place setting of Pfaltzgraff Sedona dinnerware that I adore the colors of. The photo does not do the colors justice, as they are vibrant shades of reds and blues with some light yellows and soft green designs mixed in. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Red, white or blue …what color should this room be? ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** This photo of our kitchen only shows it’s shown completely bare. The nine-foot long island bar has oak high back barstools now and several decorations all across it. The room is 26 X 12 and not shown on this photo is a breakfast dinning area that's attached, and adjacent to this, is a second archway leading into a formal dinning room that is painted white, (and would stay white with the wall paper border). The first archway shown leads into the living room that is painted a deep shade of khaki. What do you think I/we should do with our kitchen, leave it as it, or repaint it? Any suggestions. I hope your day is bright and sunny, it's dreary and raining here. |
| I have always heard that the first step to solving any addiction is to admit there is a problem. I have a confession folks, so today, I need to say, Hi, my name is Debi ….and I’m addicted to an Internet game called Mahjongg. In the past dozen years that I’ve been online, I never enjoyed playing Internet games, as I am more of a reader by nature. I did try my hand at playing backgammon online a couple of times many years ago, but I could not really get interested in it. Until recently, I had never heard of this tile game Mahjongg before, and now look at me. I am addicted. It’s my honey’s fault for even showing me this game. It’s challenging and free. I can play it alone, and darn I am good at it. No wonder I’m loving it. It’s time to go do something productive and cook dinner. I’m going to try my hand at cooking a Baked Potato soup recipe for dinner. I’ll be back to play Mahjongg I mean to read later on. Maybe I should just get back to working on my 12-steps I started. |
I received a merit badge today that made me smile. Thank you Bugzy that was so thoughtful of you. You are a very special friend to me and I love you dearly too.![Merit Badge in Friendship
[Click For More Info]
For being such a dear friend. For looking out for me, offering support and friendship and unconditional love. I feel blessed with you in my life. *^*Heart*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Friendship-650.gif) We had a great sermon at church this morning and our pastor verbally (lovingly) stepped on some toes with his powerful message. I was glad he did because I often need to be reminded about what is most important in my life. I hope you all are having a good weekend – we’re off to church again tonight, and are taking Zak with us. He loves playing in the nursery there with the other children. Take care of yourselves and one another! |
| I just love the weekends.... Sleeping late Going out to eat Taking naps Spending quality time with loved ones Laughing and enjoying our families Yep I love my weekends...I only wish they were longer. Life is good Enjoy yours! |
| Due to a power outage at the time, only one paramedic responded to the call. The house was very, very dark, so the paramedic asked Katelyn, a 3-year-old child, to hold a flashlight high over her mommy so he could see while he helped deliver the baby. Very diligently, Katelyn did as she was asked. After a little while, baby Connor was born. The paramedic lifted him by his little feet and spanked him on his bottom. Baby Connor began to cry. The paramedic then thanked Katelyn for her help and asked the wide-eyed 3-year-old what she thought about what she had just witnessed. Katelyn quickly responded, "He shouldn't have crawled in there in the first place. Smack him again."  This cracked me up and I hope it made you all laugh too. Ohhhhhhh....I forgot to mention that we heard the baby’s heartbeat this past week while in MS. It was so sweet getting to share this with the kids. Proud daddy-to-be Chad recorded it and set it as his ring tone on his cell phone. |
| I have found the neatest pan ever online, and I’m thinking about buying it. However, I just can’t see paying almost $38 plus shipping for it. I’m not really sure its worth it or not. My family members love the edge and corner pieces of warm freshly baked chocolate brownies. This super cool pan is designed specifically so that each piece has two edges to it. In addition, it’s the perfect size for box mixes that I often use. It also comes with a neat spatula perfect for cutting and removing pieces from the pan. Sadly, those who prefer a center piece will be out of luck. From the rave reviews, I’ve read about it, the clean up for it’s a breeze, and everyone seems to love it. I love all kinds of neat kitchen gadgets. For me, the pan is more of a want than an actual need. If I can’t justify purchasing it to myself, I could always add it to my next years Christmas wish list. Now there is a thought. Someone tell me I don’t need this pan please.  |
| Lately, I’ve been thinking about what defines us as individuals, what our God given talents are, and this made me wonder who I am, and how others perceive me. My self-definition could be many unlimited things because I am completely different from anyone else. It’s all in our own diversity. Physically I may appear to be like others, but inside I am not the same. Am I defined by being a 47-year old white American woman? Does being a happily married woman, a daughter, a mother, a grandmother, a sister and a friend define me. I don’t believe material possessions have anything to do with who I am. I am not defined by a title from an employer or by initials behind my name from my education, or from my passion for reading or my DNA. Do my dreams and aspirations play a role in the person I will become? I feel that my roots, my experiences, religious beliefs, decisions and mistakes I’ve made all enhance the woman I am today. Every day I face new choices, challenges, and this in turn keeps me constantly changing. I am thankful I am not the same person I was three months ago, and I am sure I will not be the same person in the months to come. I think my self-definition has more to do with my personal beliefs, the way I treat people, and how I’m treated, and my reactions to others. I hope I never stop this constant journey of exploring the woman I am, while learning, and growing to becoming a strong confident individual and be all that I can be. I think it’s what I choose to believe about myself, my character, and what God wants me to achieve in life that matters the most. "It’s not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you." Rachel Dawes – Batman |
| Thank goodness, we’re finally back home safe and sound. We returned a day earlier than we had originally planned. Our 18-hour road trip turned into 22 hours, due to the unexpected heavy snowfall and bad road conditions. We saw a minimum of 25 vehicles stranded in ditches all along the interstates that were keeping towing companies busy. The wreckers were working overtime. Thankfully, we were safe and had no problems other than being delayed. At one point, I was laughing as I was thinking of Anyea and having visuals of a crib and baby stroller being pulled behind us with snow chains on them. Soon into the trip, we realized that a portable DVD player was a godsend for long drives, as Zak was very content watching his movies, snacking and napping the entire way. He was never concerned over how long the trip was taking. He was a happy camper with us. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** It was nice seeing the family again, there wasn’t enough time to spend with everyone, as we wanted to do. I enjoy visiting with everyone, and yet I looked forward to coming back home to sleep in our own bed. There is no place like home for me. Mrs. Whatsit  and I met with our families and what a joyful delight she was. Of course, she and I did our share of talking about you all, but we’ll never tell what we said. That info will go to our graves with us. Lisa is as cute as a button, and had me laughing over her funky colored socks. And I even got a picture of them just for Tim.Zak just blended right in with her children and they played as if they were long lost cousins. I wanted to kidnap her three, they were so adorable, and well mannered. And her hubby Sam was so sweet – he told me a few secrets on Lisa too.  . Seriously she and I are looking forward to them visiting us in PA on their vacation, so we can spend more time together. |
| It’s been another very busy day around the home front. It seems I always have so much to do, and such little time to get it done in. Goodness, for a homemaker, one would think I could manage my time better. It’s crazy, but I’m not complaining, I am happy and just unorganized. After my trip to the beauty shop earlier today, I almost didn’t recognize myself in the mirror, I’m now sporting a new darker brunette shade than what I’m used to, plus a really short haircut.  Yikes, my husband just might think he has a new wife when he sees me tonight.We’re leaving for Mississippi tomorrow at the crack of dawn for a long weekend visit with my family. Eric and I have bravely agreed to take along our 3-year old grandson Zak with us, as some of my family members haven’t seem him in a year. God give us strength please for this 18-hour one-way trip through almost 1,200 miles. This is the very child who recently informed us his mouth “was tired, as he had talked too much”… Little did he know that our ears were tired too from listening to his adorable pint size chatterbox voice. He talks non-stop, and the funny thing is, he makes a lot of sense he’s so smart. This ”road trip” as he calls it is going to be interesting. The reason we’re driving instead of flying down to MS is, we’re taking some things down for their baby nursery – things like a bassinet, crib, mattress, bumper pad set, sheets, blankets, swing, stroller, high chair, and nursery monitor. Our grandbaby isn’t even due until July 17, but we want to help them get prepared now and it’s hard to do living so far apart and not seeing them very often. I can’t wait to spoil it when it gets here. I nearly froze to death today, as I sat outside under a pavilion in 35-degree temperatures for 30 minutes shivering inside my coat and gloves. I had taken my vehicle to the auto detail shop, and the employees hurriedly washed, waxed, and detailed it while I waited. The wind was blowing like mad. I must be insane to have done this. I am obsessed; I just can’t stand to take long road trips in a dirty vehicle. Clean truck just always rides better I say (especially when traveling this far). We have a roof luggage carrier thingy we’ll put on the rooftop of the truck to help hold some of these items. And if you happen to see a white Trailblazer traveling on I-81 loaded down, if it looks like the those Clampet’s from Beverly Hills, it could be just us. Well folks, I have suitcases, toys, movies, snacks, baby items, and lots of other things to get finished getting packed. We’ll be back early Tuesday…we hope. Mrs. Whatsit I’ll be calling you to see what time we can get together while we’re there.We-e-e-ll doggies we’re off for the south to see some hill folks. Y'all take care.. |
| As we sit here watching America Idol right now, I don't know what to think of some of these singers... Some are shocking..not only by their singing, clothes. And some by their bad attitudes. People you know when you can't sing...sheshhhhh save yourself the embarrassment. Why put yourself through the hours of waiting in line only to be told you can't sing. I guess it makes for fun entertainment for those of us who can't sing real well either. |
| For twelve years, I’ve always preferred using a standard desktop for all of my computer needs. I’ve never really wanted a notebook, and have been perfectly happy with all of the desktop computers I’ve owned. Recently my hubby’s laptop died so I ordered him a new black Dell notebook. The look on his face was priceless when it arrived, and he opened it, and he was surprised to see he had received a beautiful pink laptop. I immediately called customer service, and the woman I spoke with understood when I explained to her that Eric wasn’t really a girly girl, but was as masculine as they get, and he would much prefer a black notebook instead of a pink one. She laughed and told me to keep the pink notebook and use it for three weeks, until his black laptop would arrive, and then later we would exchange them. Finally, the black laptop arrived and now hubby is pleased as apple pie, looking quiet handsome sitting at his desk typing away. Now, the company has offered me a great deal on the pink one if I wanted to keep it, since it was their shipping error that I can’t resist it. After debating this, I’ve decided I am going to keep it, and use it while sitting on the sofa watching TV, and when I’m traveling. So tonight, I’m coming to you live from a pretty pink Dell notebook using a weird looking wireless mouse instead of my three year old faithful desktop. I’m concerned if I’ll ever learn all this Vista stuff… but I am sure I will have fun trying anyway and in the meantime, I’ll continue enjoying being the girly girl in our family and let Eric keep on being the masculine one. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| There are some stories in the news that just ticks me off, and when I read this one, it made me so angry. I cannot believe the audacity of the father, the wife or the prosecutors. A married man leaves his 18-month-old son alone in a van outside a strip club that he is at in cold low 20-degree temperatures. – After being arrested his wife bails him out. What the heck?.... All I can say, he can be thankful that wasn’t my child he did that to.... Or the jerk hubby might be dead.... The article says the prosecutors are considering charging him... I think they should throw the book at him, and put him under the jail. Where is child protective services when they are needed? Isn't anyone sticking up for this child to protect him, why would the mother bail the father out of jail. Dang it, this makes me mad. MAPLEWOOD, Minn. -- Prosecutors in Wisconsin are considering charges after a Minnesota man allegedly left his 18-month-old son in a van outside a strip club for several hours Wednesday night. The complaint alleges the 45-year-old Maplewood man lounged inside the Cajun Club in St. Croix County while temperatures outside dipped into the low 20s. The club's manager said a customer entering the club told staff there was a baby crying in a van outside. After finding the doors of the van locked, the manager called 911. The club made an announcement seeking the van's owner, and a man came forward. Officers were waiting outside. St. Croix County Sheriff Dennis Hillstead said the boy was strapped into his car seat and was wearing socks, a jacket, and sweatpants. He was treated at a Hudson, Wis., hospital for exposure and frostbite and released. The man was arrested on suspicion of neglect of a child -- a misdemeanor -- and booked into the county jail. The man's wife bailed him out. The sheriff said the man had told his wife he was going to the grocery store for milk, but went directly to the strip club. |
| An excellent bottle of white wine, a fantastic dinner at our favorite restaurant, and listening to the precious sounds of laughter coming from two people who I dearly love (hubby and only grandson). Yep this is as close to perfect as it can get in ending this day for me. I am indeed blessed without any doubts. |
| I received this and thought I would share it. I hope you get a laugh out of it too. Summary of Life GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED: 1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats. 2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair. 3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person. 4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato. 5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food. 6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair. 7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time. 8) You can't hide a piece o f broccoli in a glass of milk. 9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts. 10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap. GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED: 1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree. 2) Wrinkles don't hurt. 3) Families are like fudge, mostly sweet, with a few nuts. 4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground. 5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside. 6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy. GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD 1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional. 2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get. 3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there. 4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster. 5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions. 6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician. 7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone. SUCCESS: At age 4 success is . .not piddling in your pants. At age 12 success is . having friends. At age 17 success is . having a drivers license. At age 35 success is . having money. At age 55 success is . having great sex. At age 60 success is ..having sex. At age 70 success is . having your teeth. At age 75 success is . having a drivers license. At age 80 success is . not piddling in your pants. Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way; BUT NEVER forget the blessings that come each day. Have a great day folks! |
| As most of you all know our son, Skyler is off in Iraq right now and is scheduled to be there for the next 14 months. I am missing him terribly. He emails often, and gets to call from time to time. Even though I have seen many maps of Iraq, and other countries, there is just something so interesting about looking at specific places on an actual globe to me. I fell in love with globes when I was in elementary school and have always been fascinated by them ever since. So I purchased one for my desk and have spent so much time staring at the numerous countries all around the world. Maybe it’s silly, (go ahead and laugh)…but just to be able to see how much distance, land and water separates us somehow bring me a teny bit of comfort – knowing exactly where he is at. I have this saying…that even though there’s eight hours time difference between us, we’re both wishing upon the same star.. I hope he gets to see the same one that I see tonight. What are the odds? |
| There is not much happening on the home front today, I’m still deliberating over working step number 4. I’m not ready to move forward on that one just yet, but I will, as there is no set deadline for me to do this. I’ve been curled up on the sofa reading a book almost all day. I can’t seem to put it down it is so interesting. We continue to get several phone calls at our home each week from callers trying to locate a grocery store who has incorrectly listed our home phone number on their website. Often the same Indian man calls repeatedly. I have tried my best to politely explain to him, this is an error, that the phone number he has called isn’t the business he is obviously looking for, and that it is a person’s residence. Yet, he doesn’t understand this and continue to call back. He sure is determined, I’ll give him that much. There is no way to contact this grocery store as no email address is listed and the website appears to be abandoned. We think the business is now closed. Their website doesn’t contain any contact info, so I am out of luck. I feel bad for those customers who drive there only to see it is possibly closed. It’s so annoying when these callers phone us early in the morning, or late at night. I would hate to change our phone number over this typo because we’ve had this number for three years. I am sure others have had this same problem. Oh well, if that’s the least of my worries, I shouldn’t complain today. I’m off to finish reading my book while I bake our chicken pie for dinner. Wish me luck, as I’ve never tried this recipe before. |
| I woke up this morning with a song in my heart, and I found myself humming as I made a pot of coffee. I decided early that it was going to be a good day. It’s all about my attitude and it’s up to me what kind of day I want it to be. We went to church and during his sermon, our pastor figuratively stepped on my toes with his loving message. I felt his words were aimed directly at my heart, and was something I needed to hear. It was an uplifting service. Our little country church feels so warm and inviting, I love being a part of it. After church, we went to lunch at a local steakhouse and enjoyed an especially delicious meal. Our steaks were scrumptious and grilled to perfection. We came home with tummies full and shortly afterwards the carbs kicked in making me sleepy. I took a relaxing nap while trying to watch TV on the sofa.  Today I am thankful for being able to enjoy lazy days and simple stress free weekends with my loved ones. |
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