Friday Fluff

First up: The Cookie Dance



Followed by: Puppies Galore



And then Pictures of the yard: Sorry about all the Tulip and Daff pictures but it's all we have right now. And since they are brand new to my yard I'm a little overly enthusiastic!

*Blushing Newt*

My blog world “Mom” Betty nominated me for a thinking blogger award. Awww shucks, blush.

I decided to call her that for a few reasons:

~Her blog makes me laugh
~And she always manages to make me think about something wonderful from my past that I had forgotten about. I am not sure why that is but often during one of her stories I catch my self going “Oh, I totally forgot about the time when…………..”
~She has marvelous children
~And I would have loved to have had them for siblings.

So it just seems natural for her to become “Mom”

AND

My friend Gray Mama nominated me. Awwwwwww.

Gray Mama is a wonderful and incredibly thoughtful and generous person. And she has the darn cutest little guy in the world whose exploits always make me smile!

So to pass on the tradition I want to nominate the following:

J-Funk
She’s a genius and she has a fun blog to read.
Always something different to talk about. I love to stop by just to see what is up.

Trish

She was one of the first blogs I ever read.
I just love everything about her.
And you never know what to expect from her next post.

Mike

He’s cynical, he’s funny, and he knits!
And he’s my other soul mate.

Michelle

She’s wonderful, funny, and totally entertaining. She's found the man of her dreams and they have a most wonderous love affair. And I get a kick out of her work exploits. And one of these days I'm going to get out her way and visit her. Or stalk her perhaps since she doesn't know that is my plan.

Tink
Yep, she was nominated already, but I want to give a nod to her story writing side.
Twisted Tink (currently under re-writes) has been entertaining me for a long time.
A cup of coffee and a new chapter are the highlight of my day.

Here are the rules, in case you wand to give this award to your favorites.

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,

3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog).

Random Newtness

Perfect housewife? Yeah, that I am NOT
I prefer a good book to a dust buster
Or a cuddle with the Caleb
Or a frolic in the back yard
Or a frolic in bed
Or weed pulling for that matter

An English accent - yeah, I'm a total sucker for one

I'm reading the very large The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
It's wonderful. I want to take a vacation from life so I can read it undisturbed for hours

When Lily is curled up on her chair or actually anywhere if you look at her she wags her tail, even if it's tucked under her you can see little bits of fur waving. It's the greatest sight in the world.

My yard is exploding with plant life - and not all of them are weeds. It's wonderful

I went and had Noodles and Co. with Girl J today - she makes the work day fun.

I mowed the lawn tonight. We have a push mower. It's a bit of a workout. It felt really good. Grass between my toes. My muscles working. The dogs were playing. The air was warm. And the air smelled like Lilacs and fresh cut grass. It was almost orgasmic

A woman got up out of her seat on the bus to let the person next to her off for their stop. As she did so the bus jerked to a stop and she fell backwards. I put out my arm and steadied her so she could regain her balance. She thanked me. I really didn't think anything of it, and went back to reading my book. But when she got off she turned to me again and said thank you so much. Sometimes we forget that the simplest things might mean the world to someone. Even if it's as simple as helping them get their balance.

I'm finding something out about the world around me by riding the bus. I'm not quite sure what it is but I feel like I'm learning things. Maybe I'm learning to be kinder, more thoughtful, or maybe more thankful. I don't know. But it's changing my perspectives a little.

Right now as I type this Lily and Caleb are playing with toys. Tug, steal the toy, chase, it's pretty funny. I wish you were here to watch it with me. You'd be laughing too.

Sophie and Socs are sitting on the back of the couch watching out the front window. Well, Socs is watching out the front window, Sophie is watching the dogs playing. She's so cute sitting up there.

Yep, you really should be here hanging out with me. You'd get a kick out of the craziness in my world. Of course, you'd also see for yourself what a horrible housekeeper I am

And you might run away afraid....................

I've had strange and realistic dreams the last few nights. I wake up exhausted. As if I never slept but lived a different life.

Of course none of those dreams involved Gerard Butler, a beach, and...............

Those types of dreams I wouldn't complain about no matter how tired I still felt in the morning

Hugs to all

Photo Monday

Pretty spring flowers in my yard.

And, some video amusement for you:

Lil Ol Lady with moxie

Her Majesty came to the states and I just have to say, she is adorable. And even me the ungirly girl gets all giddy and blushing at the thought of a real queen in our country. It's so traditional, so Renaissance, so princess and the pea. Just so cool. With a dignity and charm no American has EVER been able to achieve. Sure they have their ghosts to hide, their eccentricities, their politics. But the bottom line is they have something we will never have. And I'm not sure we could ever have it. The American spirit has never focused on tradition and dignity. We have focused on taming the wild and doing the impossible. And that's great, don't get me wrong. But I don't think we can ever be what I would call dignified.

We are too obsessed with being on whatever bandwagon happens to currently stand in the 15 minute spot light.

I once read that Paris Hilton thought she was the closest thing we have in this country to royalty. Oh yeah, I SO want that to represent the best we can do for royalty.

I can't even think of one person that I would classify as being close. Can you?

My goal as I grow older:

Have a style all my own

Not blend

Leave people a little confused

But also delighted

Not be crabby

But be eccentric

Have a little dog with a bow in her hair

And a purse with a big flower on it

And maybe a matching hat

And great shoes

I want people to wish I was their grandma

And the guy at the local market to know my name

And when I die

For people to say that I enjoyed life

And surely seemed to get a kick out of everything

Here's to you Queen Elizabeth. You adorably royally you..............

Art mirrors reality

Does anyone else out there relate their world and the people they meet in it to characters from the Simpsons?

Just curious.

If I said that I found it sweet to watch a “Cletus” walk his “Brandine” to the bus stop and give her a kiss good-bye could you totally picture the scene?

Or the Marge that rides the bus with me only she has raven black hair that tumbles down her back in soft curls could you picture her too?

I’m just say’n………………………….

Girl J gives good gift

Yesterday Girl J surprised me with this: she saw it at a thrift store and HAD to get it for me. It's the vinyl version (complete with protective paper sleeve) of the album my Dad raised me on at Christmas time. How sweet is that????? Of course I had to call dad and tell him. And he thought that was the COOLEST thing.

And then, THEN the girl comes up to my desk today to tell me that she was at the post office and stopped at this really cute gift shop. And in the window she saw something that she had to get me. How FABULOUS a purse is this? Hmmm? It's too cute. And so very GIRLY!

And because Girl J has been asking me if I blogged about it yet:

A Minnesota "Nice" Moment:

So, Monday morning I head for the bus and realize sadly and to my horror that my Ipod is out of power as is my back-up battery pack. Dang it! It was just fine Sat. night. What the heck????
So, it's a tuneless walk to the bus and worse, gasp, sigh, a tuneless ride into work. But there is a HUGE silver lining to this.

A woman got on the bus and sat down. As she was getting comfortable in her seat her bus pass dropped out of her bag and landed in the isle. Two people leaned down to pick up her pass for her. TWO people! The woman that got it handed it over to the lady.

Lady: "Thank You so much."
Other lady: "Ya you betcha."

Yes, that's right she actually said "Ya you betcha."

I had to hide my head in my book to keep the giggle to myself. It was just so, so, so midwest.
I loved it.

Look below, if you haven't done my Daemon survey give it a go. Tink says it's addictive.