Becky and I took a ride over to the new house Friday afternoon and I finally got some snap shots to share!   

Without further ado, these are for you:

View from across the road.  Don't you love that tree?

View from driveway

Again from the driveway, showing the back portion of the house. 

This shows 1 of about 8 storage bldgs in our yard.  They are old and they all obviously need work.  Kevin is looking forward to fixing a few of them up for use as a workshop, playhouse for Sam, lawn shed and garden shed.  One has a basketball hoop for Sami's pleasure.  

I also love that there is plenty of room for Ruby, our German Sheperd, to run!

If you look closely you can see a tire swing hanging from the tree.  It's a tractor tire and is huge, even though you can't tell from the photo.   There is also a half built tree house in that tree! 

The house lays out like this:

When you walk in the front door you are standing in a hallway with a beautiful staircase on your left side.  Off of the hall there are three rooms - we are not sure yet how we will set them up, but the rooms will be used as a living room, dining room & computer room.  As you walk down the hall you end up in a huge open-area kitchen; complete with an island and an old fashioned wood cook stove.  Behind the kitchen is a laundry area and bathroom.  The side porch (which you can see in the above picture) is off of the back of the kitchen and laundry area.      

Upstairs you will find two  bedrooms which branch off the stairs at the front of the house.  The mid section, above the kitchen open area, is a large sitting / foyer area and there are two more bedrooms off this.  There is another bathroom in the back of the foyer area.

Not to mention.... a full attic and a full basement.     

I promise to get some interior pictures for you as soon as I can!

So.....  Leave me a comment and tell me what you think? 

Myself - I'm still in shock, but I'm not complaining!

Ok - this one beats all!   Allrighty Then had it posted and I couldn't resist but to do the same.

Can you imagine the upcoming holiday's?  There might be a bit of tension, no?  I wouldn't want to be at that dinner table this year! 

On the bright side of things, at least she was nice to the hubby.  It could have been ALOT worse in that regard!  

 

CNN `Live From…’ the Ladies Room
Aug 30, 10:48 AM EST

Kyra Phillips, anchor of CNN’s “Live From…,” unwittingly upstaged President Bush’s speech in New Orleans with on-the-air analysis of her husband and the marriage of her brother — all live from a CNN ladies room.

Unaware that her wireless microphone was “live” during her break, Phillips could be heard overriding Bush’s prepared address Tuesday as he was seen marking the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

The Atlanta-based Phillips, in conversation with an unidentified woman in an echoey room, dismissed most men with a vulgar term, but called herself “very lucky in that regard. My husband is handsome and he is genuinely a loving — you know, no ego — you know what I’m saying? Just a really passionate, compassionate, great, great human being. And they exist. They do exist. They’re hard to find. Yup. But they are out there.”

A few moments later, she observed that “brothers have to be, you know, protective. Except for mine. I’ve got to be protective of him.”

Why? “His wife is just a control freak.”

At that point, another voice cut in: “Kyra.”

“Yeah, baby?” replied Phillips on hearing her name.

“Your mike is on. Turn it off. It’s been on the air.”

CNN anchor Daryn Kagan, looking flustered, then broke into the telecast with a recap of what Bush had been saying.

Phillips later apologized to viewers “for an issue we had with our mikes” and “for a little bit of an interruption there during the president.”

CNN issued its own official statement, explaining the network had “experienced audio difficulties during the president’s speech today in New Orleans. We apologize to our viewers and the president for the disruption.”

The network also apologized to the White House.

———

On the Net:

http://www.cnn.com

ONE

My mother deleted her blog last week.  All her supporters chipped in and helped her to retrieve the posts, almost 400 of them, that she lost.  She has a new blog up now and will be weaving some of her previously posted and retrieved posts from her missing blog.  A Particularly Persistent Point of View - Take Two is now open for your reading pleasure.  Do check it out!

TWO

 We are getting some big-time rain this weekend from Tropical Storm Ernesto.  I am one of the few people that love rain and storms and am looking forward to it!  The stormier, the better!

THREE

Reality based television shows are one of my favorite things.  I look forward to Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sunday's so I can watch Big Brother.  I also am watching Rockstar Supernova and am looking forward to the new season of Survivor, beginning in September!

FOUR

I enjoy playing Blog games at Michele's.  Do you?

FIVE

I also enjoy doing Thirteen Thursday.  But.... I can't, for the life of me, figure out how to get the Thirteen Thursday Blogroll up on my sidebar.  That's Tripod for you.

SIX

I am getting so very tired of paying so much for gas!

SEVEN

Becky and I looked back on some old picture albums the other night.  One of the books we looked through was when we moved to Virginia to live with Colleen.  We were 19 years young, and pretty cute too!  Where has the time gone?

EIGHT

I wish there was a way to time hop backwards!

NINE

This book is on my bedside.  It was a little slow to get into, but is becoming a page turner.  What are you reading?

TEN

My Family has an email group that we call the Love-Link.  We are able to talk to eachother, via email, in group fashion.  Some days I might only get 4 or 5 messages and other days I might find 50 messages waiting!  The nice thing about it is that it's always there when you need it!  

ELEVEN

It's the 5-year Anniversay of some sad moments for our family.  Jim and Danny's deaths and also 911.  But it's also the Love-Link's 5 year anniversary.  As I write this message # 30,129 has just popped into my in-box!

TWELVE

Message #30126 on the Love-Link was a message from my cousin Rachael.  She wanted to share her sister Danielle's portfolio.  She is VERY GOOD.  I had no idea!   

THIRTEEN

Labor day weekend is about here.  The summer has come and gone with a blink of an eye - Again!

Wow - I'm impressing myself.  I am actually posting more than once this week.  If things still look up later tonight I might even be able to get in a Thirteen Thursday for tomorrow!

Today's Horoscope is looking rather positive:

Your Aries horoscope for August 30, 2006
-----------------------------------------------------------

You should be getting along fairly well with others right now. Even if
there are lots of things for you to take care of, you probably won't mind
all that much, and you should have the stamina you need to take care of all your obligations. You're bound to feel good about everything you do today, and your cooperative attitude could pay off for you in the long run.

I wish this would have been my horoscope the other day while trying to get along with my child!  I have a 12 year old daughter.  She is a wonderful, beautiful little girl - but she is also 12.  Two nights ago we had a really big fight - it really blew me away.  I think this was the worst one yet and ranks right up there with the fights I used to have with my Mom (sorry Mom, I'm so sorry!)  School started last Wednesday for her but the kids in Roanoke haven't started school yet, so they have been still been out playing pretty late.  Sami wanted two girlfriends to spend the night on a school night.  I am usually a pretty laid back Mom and pick n choose my battles with her, but after I said "No", she threw the absolute biggest fit I have ever seen.  She started yelling & arguing with me in front of the two friends, who I then promptly asked to leave.  She then lost 1 hour of the time she had originally had to be out playing with them, which created an even bigger fit!  Holy Crap, I don't know if I can do this "Mothering a Teen" thing.  I know it has only just begun!  Nip it in the bud..... I know..... but she is so strong willed and it isn't going to be easy.

Last night Becky and I watched a 4 hour documentary on The Drug Years, which spanned the 60's through 00's.  It was excellent!  I'd recommend it to anyone who loves documentaries and such.  It was on VH1 (but we had it taped on the DVR, so I'm not sure when it actually aired).  Check it out if you get a chance. 

It's been five (5) years since we lost Jimmy and Danny - and still it seems like yesterday.  Prayers and Memories for my uncles!

Becky, Sam & I drove over to the farmhouse so I could give her the tour.    There was a guy there working on it, but he didn't mind if I showed her around a little.  He was putting down my new kitchen floor and two carpets will be going in this coming week!  Becky loved the house!  Both of us had intentions to take some pics with our phones but then forgot all about it.  Oh well - next time I'll have some to share.  I can't stay away from the place!

I have had insomnia two nights in a row.  Insomnia has got to be one of the worst things in the world.  For anyone that has never had insomnia - you don't want to have it!  I didn't sleep Sunday night and finally ended up sleeping about 3 hours Monday morning after I dropped Sam off at school.  You'd think I would have slept well last night, but nope, I also didn't sleep last night either - so..... I'm going to catch some ZZZZ's.  My schedule is way off balance but I start work on Sept. 11 so it should be back to normal soon.

Love and Peace to you all!

This weekend went by pretty quickly.  Sam spent most of her hours in the pool @ Kevin's and I just basically hung out.  Nothing all that eventful.  I did get a chance see my aunt Colleen talk at the Roanoke Valley Bookfest bookfair.  Colleen wrote The Jim and Dan Stories and is famous in my families eyes, as well as locally.  Colleen was on a panel of five local authors who spoke for about 15 minutes each.  I had known she was going to be in the fair, but with everything on my mind, it had slipped right through the cracks. 

Saturday, while checking my emails, I was reminded of it.  Ironically, Kevin's room is right next door to the library and I only had to take about 25 steps and I was there.  One of those rare, but cool, coincidences in life that worked out pleasantly well.  Because I'm in Virginia, and yes originally because of Colleen, it still feels a little strange to me when I bump into her.  My family is all in Massachusetts and there is kind of a funny feeling when we see eachother because we both live here, together, in the same little small town, yet separate.  

At the end of the bookfair session I had planned on making a comical little comment from the audience.  I was going to raise my hand during the question and answer session and mention that she looked an awful lot like my mother..... which she does....  but unfortunately I had to leave a few minutes early because a few of the speakers overspoke their time-limits.  Although I didn't get to say goodbye, I did see her coming out of the library later and Col was able to snap this excellent shot of my daughter.  And yes... that is me peeking around the edge!  

Kevin got one of Colleen's bookmarks that the library had made in honor of the event!  I have a famous aunt! 

Another cool thing happened this weekend too, at the very end of it.  At about 8:00 pm last night, I got a call that we did get that "meant to be"  farmhouse that I was telling you about in my last entry!  The house will be ready for us on the 15th and now we just have to make it happen financially!  Please keep positive thoughts that we are going to be able to make this work!              

Another week without blogging.  For some reason I don't feel like blogging when I'm not feeling "right" with things.  I have had so much on my mind but to actually spell it out in writing is way too much effort and to think of anything else to write about is hardly on my mind and even more effort.  So in silence I remain, when I'm feeling this way.  I apologize dear readers.  I seem to want to write only when my thoughts are positive.

So a positive thing finally happened!  I was offered a position today at one of the companies I have recently interviewed with.  This was some very needed good news and it does seem to be helping my outlook, somewhat...  although there still are some big obstacles I need to tackle.  I honestly don't know where I'm going in life right now and I hate feeling this way.  I'm tired of struggling along and just want peace.

I wasn't planning to tell you this story, but it ended up on my blog page, so here it is:     The week before last I had rented a little house that I thought was going to fit into my scheme of things just perfectly.  Well, this didn't materialize the way it was supposed to and fell through at the very last minute.  I moved 1/2 my stuff in and then moved the same stuff back out again.  I had already enrolled Sami in the new school, located in the county of what I am now calling the "house that never was" - so now I have to drive her 15 miles to school and then drive myself 15 miles back to the Becky's every morning and do it all over again at 2:25 p.m.  I've been doing this for three days now and it's no fun!  It is literally costing me 10.00 per day just to get her to school and back.  Doesn't sound like a lot, but when your living on pennies, it really is!  I literally rolled 7.00 in pennies to get her to school today, and they weren't even my pennies!  How pitiful is that? 

But..... remember that saying that everything happens for a reason?  I'm still trying to believe it.....  As hard as it might seem right now. 

There is another house - a huge georgous white farm house - located in the same school district - that just happened to appear right around the time I needed it.  It was just like it manifested itself when I really needed it too.  Only $100.00 more than the "house that never was" and three times as big.  It's got about 10 acres surrounding it and would be perfect for us, as well as the seemingly troublesome animals.  

Actually it's a dream house and the even funnier part about this house is that for years I have driven past this house, looking at it longingly, thinking how I would love to live there, even though it was falling apart.  I even, at one point, when I was pregnant with Sami, called the owners to see if they would consider renting it out (at the time they didn't want to).   In the past 12 years I guess they had a change of heart and there's a big FOR RENT sign in the yard and it's in the process of being restored.  I went to see it last weekend and it is georgous!  It won't be done until the 15th of September.  So now it's a waiting game.  I've submitted an application, but I've also moved alot, so I'm never all that confident when it comes to applications and such.  This application seemed a little more "formal" than I would prefer - but at the same time the owner is a 75 year old local farmer who seemed rather negotiable - so it's kind of a strange situation.  Only time will tell.  And if it's meant to be....  then this truly will prove it! 

(On the other hand, if this house doesn't come through then I need to begin a new thought pattern...  Stability must be my main focus for Sami.  Finding a home in her new school area isn't going to be easy and more than anything I want her to stay put for awhile, for the sake of school).   

So after I found out about the sparkling new job it made me feel a little better and I decided I might try to blog.  I had to check my emails first though, which I usually do daily, even if I'm not blogging.  I decided to check my horoscope that I get daily.  Sometimes I ignore it and don't even open it, but today I did and got what I think was a pretty accurate horoscope.  It seems rather fitting, don't you think?  Progress - A step in the right direction!

Aries

Despite any obstacles, you should be able to make some progress today. You still may have a few fears in the back of your mind, but you should just try to put any uncertainties aside and focus on the tasks at hand. You can
probably accomplish a lot right now if you just focus on what really needs
to get done.

Wow - I guess it has.  Where is the time going lately?  And Damn…. I missed Thirteen Thursday!  Don’t cha just hate when that happens? 

Today is the first day I’ve touched the computer in a week, with the exception of a quick pop-in to my email to check on job replies and such.  My mind hasn’t been much on computing.  I’ve been worrying a lot this week.  Probably excessively – I’m kind of in a funk right about now.  I’m tired.  Tired of worrying about everything under the sun:  Sami and upcoming school starting, school shopping, the new house and what I have to put in it, how to get my stuff out of storage, finding a job and even a few other things that I don’t want to get into on here.  I’m questioning myself.  I’m questioning my move to Virginia….  Maybe I shouldn’t have moved back here when things weren’t really all that bad in Mass.  Yes, Samantha wanted to be in Virginia and Yes, Mass is more expensive, which were my main reasons for coming back to Virginia, but life doesn’t seem to be easy anywhere anymore and I just want to feel happy!  It hasn’t been a wonderful week, put it that way.

On the brighter side of things:

I am feeling a little better today and once I started doing a little blogging it made me feel a little better overall.  I visited my families and friends blogs, all of which peaked my interest and got my mind off my own life’s issues.  After I post this, I will visit Michele’s, for some blogging games - which is always a good time!     

My Mom, who recently started doing Thirteen Thursday had an excellent post this week about 911 – she entitled it:  “Things that Just Don’t Add Up”.  #1 on her list had a link which I could spend hours reading.  I've already spent quite a bit of time there and plan to go back to read more.  It takes everything from before 911, on through, with links and proof of things that just don’t add up (didn’t I say that before?) on the whole 911 issue - putting it all together.   Go here to check out her blog:

http://ben-gal.tripod.com

Then Becky, my best friend, was telling me about a blog she was checking out that had a link entitled “Life After the Oil Crash” and how it had really freaked her out.  Today she blogged about this herself and linked the site she was reading. 

Go here to check out her blog and the link:

http://becksblog.tripod.com/Beck68sBlog/ 

When you read this article it will really make you think…….  It made me think!

Sometimes the small mundane problems might not be as big as we feel they are!     

There was a cow out grazing in our yard yesterday morning.  I awoke to the kids screaming that there was a cow in the yard!  I'm not kidding, it was just walking around, eating the grass.  It had apparently worked it's way through the fence on the land line down by the creek.  I didn't go outside because cows kind of scare me, I'm afraid they will charge.  The kids certainly were not afraid - they bravely chased this cow around the yard, trying to aim him back towards the broken fence.  It was quite a site.  I wish I had had the camera handy!

With no luck getting him back where he belonged, I sent the kids off to see if they could locate the owners of the cows.  The pasture is down behind the house, but I really had no idea who actually owned them.  They came back from the house down the road, stating that no-one was home.  The next  option was to send them to the house on the other side, which is actually on the main road.  I didn't want them walking out there on the main road (55 mph) so I gave them a ride.  We pulled up to a falling apart farmhouse.  The barn and the farming trucks were in much better shape than the actual house, which made me wonder!  It was sort of spooky.  The roosters & chickens were grazing, but not a soul in sight.  There was also a pile of kittens in the yard.  Tons of them.  At least 3 Mommy cats and probablly 20 kittens.  I tried to ignore them, as the kids knocked on the door....  there was no answer, but the kids were more interested in the kitties by now anyway.   I tried to get the kids to ignore them too, but with a 7, 10 & 12 year old, anyone knows this isn't happening!  Especially my daughter, who is all about animals and plans to be a vet when she grows up!  And of course, the first question was.... Can you guess?  My initial response:  No way!  We already have a German Shepherd puppy who can probablly swallow those kitties whole!  The kids settled for holding and playing with the kittens for a few seconds, until I got impatient.  

The owner of the farm finally came walking out from behind the house as we piled back into the car.  He looked and acted very mean at first, until he found out I was there to notify him that his "cattle", as he called them, had gotten out of their pasture. 

On the ride home my daughter was practically in tears because the kittens were in really bad shape.  They were very very thin and at least half had some sort of an eye infection and looked pretty sickly.  Their eyes were caked with gook, reminding me of conjunctivitis.  After listening to them whine about the sick kittens, Samantha and the 10 year old convinced me to let them ride their bikes over to give them some food and they also brought wet face clothes to clean the kitties eyes. 

I was hoping this would be the end of the whole issue.  But....  in the back of my mind I knew better!  And what do you think was then end result of this story? 

Yes - we have two new additions to the family!  My daughter convinced me to let her keep not one, but two.  We took one of the sickly kitties and one healthy one.  Hopefully we will be able to nurse the sickly one back to health!  She already looks better today after some good food, milk, water and cleaning up!

Meet the new members of our family.  Their names are Thunder & Lightening!  Now I just hope I can keep Ruby, our puppy Sheperd, who doesn't look much like a puppy anymore, away from these babies! 

All my free time recently has been spent searching classified ads on the internet, with the exception of this past weekend, which I spent in the bed, sick. 

I have been searching for two major life changing situations, again!  I need a rental house & a new job.  I've been searching steady for about 2 wks now.  This week things feel a little slow going.  There doesn't seem to be as much available in either catergory as there was last week.  

Last week I went to two interviews and signed up with one temp company.  Interviewing in this area is more time consuming that it was up in Boston.  People are slower to respond and take their time on all fronts.  I'm going back into the office world - I normally do Administrative work.  My recent job score, in a call-center environment, as a technical service rep, was against my better judgement from the beginning....  I should have known.... Way too much structure....  I'm a "do your own thing" type of worker.... Very independent.... I'm good at what I do and I don't like to be micro-managed!  

As far as the house hunt goes.....  We are still living with Becky- and it's been great in some ways and not in others.  Sam and I are ready to venture out on our own again - we do better that way and we definately have our own ways of living, as does Becky's family.  Merging family's can be very hard.  It's been fun, but will be better overall - we will all have our separate spaces and still be able to hang out, go fun places and visit often.  Four children, 6, 10, 12 & 16, plus to single mother's - can be a bit much - ya think?  

I live on the premise that everything does happen for a reason and this is yet another stage in our lives.  I'm grateful that I am able to be a little patient on the house hunt because I really don't want to jump into something that I am going to want to move from again in six months - I've done that way too many times.  I want the "perfect" house and the "perfect" job and I am very hopeful that both that will come my way when they are supposed to!  

Hopefully sooner than later.....        

Friday night Becky and I hung out on her front porch.  It was a georgous night and great to get some nice fresh mountain air.  We played Scattergories at the outisde table and stayed out there until about 1 a.m.  At around 10:00 p.m. I started to notice a little "yuck" feeling in the back of my throat, which to me is a sure sign I'm about to come down with something.  I went in and took a handful of Vitamin C.  But....  I didn't catch it in time.  I have been sick in bed with aches, pains, no energy, sore throat and that horrible post nasal drip in back of my throat feeling - all weekend!  I have no idea where I could have gotten this from - I don't remember talking with anyone that had mentioned such a thing...  and hopefully I'll be the only one in the house to get it.  Last night I started moving around some, because I was tired of "just being".  Today I feel a little better, energy wise, but my ear is throbbing.  It has moved into my ear now!  Little bugger!  I got an earache last year too, but before that it had probablly been 25 years since I had had one.  They are the worst, let me tell you.....  I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy! 

1.     Cold Beer

 Here's to hoping your keeping cool!

2.      Cold Day

3.     Cold Clouds

The clouds only occur at high polar latitudes in winter, requiring temperatures less than minus 176 degrees Fahrenheit. A weather balloon measured temperatures at minus 189 degrees Fahrenheit on the day the photos were taken.

Oops.....  I meant to say "chili"

12.       Cold Hearted

Note: picture of several hundred American war casualties courtesy of WhyWeHateBush.com

& stolen from my Mom's July 4th entry:

http://ben-gal.tripod.com/index.blog?entry_id=1515034

13.      Cold Cream

And this....  Dear Readers..... is your dessert!

Got back last night from a long trip to Kentucky.  I had never been and it was really a nice drive.  Lots of new scenery to see & I got quite a bit of my cross-stitch done on the way.  6 hours up & 6 hours back.  We took Becky's daughter to spend a week with a good friend of hers (she is taking a greyhound back home next week).

We ate breakfast @ the all you can eat breakfast buffet @ Shoney's.  The funny thing about the below picture is that we were actually in Belle WV,  but if you look at the sign on the front it says Shoneys of Quincy.  Maybe it was Quincy County?  I didn't even notice this when I took the picture!  Quincy MA is a place I grew up close to as a kid. 

We went over lots of these:

Going over places like this:

The hightlight had to be my Ice Coffee's!  It was about 96 degree's the whole way and Becky does not use her AC because it cuts the gas mileage by about 2/3's what it normally gets.  (Can't say I blame her)  So it was very very HOT.  I spent most of the way back looking for Dunkin Donuts signs, or Starbucks.  I can't drink any other coffee because at any other place coffee tastes like water to me, I've been spoiled living in Mass. with a Dunkins on every corner.  We found two Starbucks in the 700 mile trip and I was thrilled!  There was only one Dunkins and it came a little after I had already stopped at Starbucks.  Starbucks was fine with me and it fit the need - which is all that counts! 

I'm glad I made the trip.  Becky & I got some good talking time in, without the kiddo's (except for the one sleeping the whole way home in the backseat) and the views were spectacular!  I've gone up and down the east coast so many times.  It was nice to see something different for a change!

We went to the drive-in last night - something I haven't done for many years!  Samantha was swimming in Kevin's pool yesterday evening, when we decided to go.  I called her girlfriend Amber, on the sly, to see if she wanted to come with us - of course she did!  Imagine Sam's surprise when she got out of the pool & we told her to get her PJ's on and get ready.....   she looked at me like I was a freak - I was telling her to get ready for bed at 7pm?  Can you even imagine?  When I told her we were going to the drive-in she immediately complied, with a big smile on her face!  

Do you remember the fun of packing the car to the hilt with blankets and snacks to head off for a drive-in movie?

The girls made a "bed" of blankets in front of the car, on the grass and Kev & I tilted the seats back and relaxed!  You, Me & Dupree was a movie I have been wanting to see.  The previews looked really funny.  It stars Hate Hudson, who I love, Owen Micheals & Matt Dillon.  I expected it to be funnier than it was and I was a little disappointed with the movie.  But all-in-all it was a fun, inexpensive night!  I'd do it again in a heartbeat! 

I used to love Tripod!  Until about 2 months ago......  until they decided to change almost everything about their system.  I had no problems with it and the few people I know that use Tripod didn't either.  Why fix something that isn't broken? 

The changes begin I would say in May or June.  For a month I was unable to see comments that had been posted at my blog.  Whenever the blog felt it was time for them to appear, they would and I would have three or four comments that I had never seen - sometimes from days earlier.  My Mother, who uses a Mac, can't even post a comment at her own blog, or any other Tripod site for that matter.  Mac's don't seem to be compatable with their new pop-up commenting system!  One of my aunts, has a regular PC and she can't post comments either.  The Tripod commenting system uses a "pop up" window and I think it has something to do with that.  The only logical thing I can think of explaining this, is perhaps if you have pop-ups blocked then you can't see the pop-up window????  I don't know - but it's frustrating as all hell.  

I also am unable to submit a link.  I used to be able to post a link and name it and the post would show a hyperlink, named as I wanted it named.  Now it just shows up like a regular link - showing the website address lit up - as if you were sending a link via email.  

To top it all off, I've lost two posts this week.  The first was on Wednesday and was about Sami's poison ivy.  I hit submit and the post disappeared.  I thought it was lost and was a little frustrated, but it wasn't a long post, so I included it in my 13 Thursday the next day.  But.....  today I was peeking over this past weeks posts and I found it.  It was between Sunday's & Monday's posts.  Don't ask me how it got there, because I couldn't tell you!  (I am going to edit the date so that post shows up today - as I don't think anyone saw it!)  The other lost post was long and more than frustrating!

So - I'm changing sites over the next few weeks and need your advice:

What Blog Site would you suggest and why?

1.    Do you like speghetti, milk & butter or Tomatoe soup & noodles?  I could eat pasta at everymeal and be happy!

2.    Have you ever even heard of tomatoe soup & noodles?  It's been in my family for awhile - don't know if it's just us or if others eat it too!

3.    What is your favorite type of pasta dish?   

4.    Do you hate someone to drive behind you at night?  This is one of my worst pet-peeves.  

5.    If so, do you pull over to let them pass?   I always do.

6.  What difference does a day make?  Good question

7. Do you sleep through the night or wake up periodically?  I wake at least every hour.

8.  Ever had a brush with the law?  Pleading the 5th

9.  If you have, would you admit it?  No 

10.  Do you comment back to your commenters?  I recently started doing this but haven't been consistent.

11.  Do visit the commenters blog after they post a comment?  I recently started doing this but haven't been consistent.

12.   What is your favorite Blog?  I couldn't pick just one!

13.  Have you ever had poison ivy?  My daughter has it really bad!  So bad that I almost took her to the emergency room.  She went to her Dad's and apparently they were climbing tree's.  Sami didn't know that poison ivy likes to climb tree's too.  She does now! 

Samantha spent a few weekends at her Dad's and she came home with this:

She apparently is very allergic to poison Ivy.  Personally I can sit in a patch of it and not catch it, but I guess Sami didn't get this ability from my genes.

She was climbing trees and now she knows that Poison Ivy also enjoys climbing trees!

Yesterday we went out and bought Benedryl and Calamine Lotion and she has been sleeping on and off for a day now. 

And on another note, You simply must.......

see this:  http://duirwaighgallery.com/inspiration_aknock.htm 

I got this from Kenju @ http://justaskjudy.blogspot.com/

Thank you!

On the Blue Ridge Parkway, not far from where I live, there is a neat little spot that I like to visit if I'm driving by and have a few extra minutes of time.  We did today.  Locals call it "Beaver Dam" and if I remember correctly there used to be a beavers den downstream.  Samantha hadn't been to see it (except when she was very young) and neither had her friend Amber, who is spending a few nights with us.  I was hoping to show it to them, but it doesn't look like it's there anymore.  Regardless, it's still a nice spot to visit.  The water looks like glass, until it cascades.  I love the sound of it and watching it drop off the edge.  I wonder if the water knows it's ready to fall........... 

                    Until Tomorrow!

I drive 25 miles to work and 25 miles home.  I get out at 11:30 and truly enjoy my ride home.  It's the hightlight of my night usually! 

The road is deserted and I absorb the briskness in the air as the elevation rises, I feel the contrast between the small city and the countryside, the cooling off from the hot steamy day revives me!  

On the way home tonight..........

I admire the deer I pass, three separate sightings, perched on the side of the roadway, as I slow to be sure there aren't  brothers and sisters trailing behind.

 On the way home tonight..........

I watch the flash lightening fill the sky, wishing a tremendous thunderstorm would descend.

On the way home tonight..........

I wonder about the application that I submitted for the house.  I haven't yet gotten any final word on it, but I was called on about my "length of time at current employment."   I put four months on the application, not because I was meaning to deceive anyone, but because that is truly how long it feels like I've been there.  It was one of those moments where I just didn't think, because stuff like that really isn't that important to me, but I guess I forgot that it might be important to some.  I've been in VA for four months, but only on the job for two.  Live n' learn.  Everything in life happens for a reason.   

On the way home tonight..........

I wonder where the moon is hiding.

On the way home tonight..........

I smell homegrown marijuanna, again, as I do every evening.  I wonder if this is truly what I am smelling and if not, what exactally is it that is mimicking this scent!

On the way home tonight..........

I think about my aunt Colleen and how she introduced me to this place I live.  I think about how she and my mother inspired me to blog.  I think about how I need one of those loose-leaf notebooks, that Colleen has carried around forever, to record my thoughts.  I think about how I can now relate to that notebook.  I get home and do a google search to find the perfect picture of scratch notes.  Instead, I find............................................................

Pictures of my two aunts, as children, on someone elses blog! 

NOW HOW COOL IS THAT!

1.    My daughter - Samantha - who truly has her own personality, and is growing into a wonderful little woman - (at times I'd like to jump to her 20's though.  I can tell the teen years aren't going to be easy!) 

2.    A terrific thunderstorm

3.    A mountain breeze following a thunderstorm, which I can feel right now and it feels just great!

4.    My cross-stictch - my creations

5.    My three sisters - Molly, Beth & Kim and all the babies they have created so far and will in the future.  

6.    My parents - Mom, Oz & Dad

7.    The rest of my gigantic family - Nana & Papa, Jimmy, Kathy, Colleen, Danny, Sherry, Joey, Johnny, Bobby & Tricia - and all of their offspring! 

8.    Life-long friends - you know who you are!

9.    Any Seafood - I best not think of this right now as I am hungry and could really go for a bowl of shrimp or a lobster dinner!  Actually I love food of all kinds.... 

10.  Creating my Blog - more creation

11.  Places I'm attached to - Massachusetts & Floyd - oceans & mountains

12.  Ruby - our German Shepherd - even if she can be quite the pain at times.  Like right now.... she is carrying things off in her mouth and hiding them in one of the bedrooms. 

13.  Getting comments - so please leave me one if you visit!