Rhonna Farrer's {21} Day Challenge

I joined Rhonna's {21} day challenge. Here is how she describes in on her blog:

What *is* The {21} Challenge?It's a challenge that is based on 2 ideas:
1. The idea of creating or breaking (conquering) a habit in 21 days. Studies have shown that it takes 21 days to change. So, choose a habit you want to create or conquer in these 21 days. 2. The idea that art is therapy. We take the 'art journal' angle on this to create for 21 days & journal our feelings,triumphs, failures, etc. It makes the 21 days go alot faster doing something we love.

My habit that I am trying to "break" is...Procrastination!! And here we are four days into the challenge and I'm already behind, I've only made one lo!! I didn't find out about the challenge until Monday so I give myself one day to be behind and Wednesday's are one of Charlie's off days and we usually do family stuff. So I guess I'll just have to catch up today :0) I am really excited about this. I have so ideas running around in my head of what I want from this challenge and how I want to create my journal.
Please keep checking back with me as I embark on this journey. Does anyone else want to join me? I've seen some really talented and beautiful work so far.
If not, watch the threads and give all the ladies some encouragement. We could all use more of that.
Off to work on the challenge :0)
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*SOUP OF THE DAY*
We are, each of us angels with only one wing; and we can only fly by embracing one another.
~~~Luciano de Crescenzo
*DESSERT OF THE DAY*
#1- Compliment three people every day
#30- Be a student in some kind of class
#177- Learn to recognize the inconsequential; then ignore it.
#379- Forget committees. New, noble, world-changing ideas always come from one person working alone.
~~~H. Jackson Brown, Jr
The Complete Life's Little Instruction Book

Daring To Be Yourself

I've just started reading a book by Alexandra Stoddard "Daring to be yourself". Although I've read some chapters before, I haven't really sat down and attempted to apply her principals to my life. Now that I have "retired" and have alot of time on my hands, I have realized that my dream of owning a shop is stronger than ever. But I feel as if my life isn't in order, so how can I be a shop owner?
I need to develop my own sense of style. After visiting many wonderful blogs and seeing other's creativeness, I'm am trying to discover my own style. I would be ashamed to let anyone see my home in the state that it's in. But as I look around at the "clutter" I realize that one of my downfalls is that I see beauty in the most mundane and ordinary objects. I see a wonderful little storage container out of a used holder of Pringles! A vintage cracked plate can be a mosaic birdbath. I have all these ideas and say that "One day I will make this or that" and then life happens and things get pushed back farther and farther. And I don't even want to get into the scrapbook lay out thing LOL. So I am on a quest to accomplish some of these projects.
I learned to make candles when we lived in Texas and I haven't made a single one since we moved to Florida. I also learned to make the cutest flip-flops, I have about 5 pair just waiting to be made. I was going to sell them, but I have to make them first :0) I have cross-stitched for 22 years and as of right now, there isn't a single x-stitched piece in our home! I have wanted to make a birdhouse (using recycled building materials) for a long time now.
So I am attempting to use this book to help me pinpoint my true style and learn how to creatively express it. I now that making things and being surrounded by beautiful things (at least beautiful to ME!) is what makes me happy. So bear with me, I might be doing alot of rambling in the next few weeks/months? as I attempt to find out who I want to be when I grow up!
Ciao for now!

*SOUP OF THE DAY*
There may be areas of your life in which you are stuck and others where you are gliding. When you understand what you want to do, you will experience an increased flow of natural energy. This feeds you and gives you the drive to go on. You sour in your own orbit once you move in the direction of self-discovery. You find out most about your essence by taking action.
~~~Alexandra Stoddard

*DESSERT OF THE DAY*
To thine own self to true.
~~~William Shakespeare

*BEAUTIFUL BOOKS*

Beautiful Books.
1. What is the most beautiful book you own? 2. In what way is it beautiful? Is it the illustrations, the binding, a combination of these, or something else? 3. How often do you look at it, browse through it, read it?

Oh how I love Books!! I have loved books my whole life. All kinds. I can read just about anything. But the most favorite are craft and decorating books. And decor mags. I truly have a magazine fetish. In an attempt to help control all the ideas that I was finding, I started journals. One for out "Dream" home, one for gardening, one for fashion and so on. It at least helps me have a place to put things that inspire me. And there is so much that inspires me. That why it is so hard to answer this challenge. The most beautiful...Okay I'm going to say...Tracy Porter's "Inspired Gatherings". I say this because I can sit and look at every page of this book for hours. Days. Weeks. The pictures, her words and how she finds inspiration in so many different places. How she uses every day items and makes them look so festive. How she can turn a simple dinner into a magical gathering. There are beautiful illustrations of her artwork and some pages look as if they came straight out of a scrapbook. My nightstand has a bookshelf and I keep books there that I use for reference/inspiration. This is one of them.
But I must also mention my favorite magazine. Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion. Whatever would I do without it. It is my soul source of inspiration on an almost daily basis. Charlie just can't seem to understand how I can look at the same magazines over & over again. They are my muse.

Challenge 3-22-06

List the things you dream about doing during the last few years of your life. This is a very introspective subject. Take your time. Think.. if you live to a ripe old age, what do you dream of?? that you would be doing during your final years?? Taking into acct, that your health etc would be just fine!
I dream that my "Dream Home" is built and paid for, Dane is married with kids (grandkids!) and secod child(which we don't even have yeet ;0) is hanging around. Having alot of land, at least 10 acres (Ashley Judd has 1,000 !!!) with a menagerie of animals. I can see myself in the kitchen baking cupcakes for all the grandkids and their friends. Then taking a couple to Charlie, who would be out playing a round of golf on his little private golf course :0) Later in the day, getting on our boat and cruising around the Gulf. But even with all these fancy dreams I can't forget that I just hope I'm as happy as my grandparents-my grandmother-Gigi-is 92 years young and although it's getting harder for her to get around she still enjoys entertaining people. We were just at their house last weekend and she bought two cakes-one for Charlie and one for Dane. Then invited my MIL and SIL along with her two kids. 11 people unexpectedley showing up and she couldn't have seemed happier. And the stories my grandparents can tell! I love hearing all of their tales about their life together. I guess I really need to write some of them down. That would make for an awesome album!

Procrastinate...Who...ME??!!**??

Okay, this is the story of My LIFE!!! Why, I don't know. I always have tons of things I want to do, but as for actually "doing" them is another story. Sometimes, I think it's because I think of too much. I mean the ideas just keep coming. And I start one and then another comes and I want to start it. I've really been trying to finish something once I start it. And Charlie has been great about it. He accepts me as I am and gently tells me when I've fallen behind. Also, I've joined a wonderful website called Fly Lady . She has a really useful program that has helped me tremendously. Last Thursday, 3-16, was my two tear flybaby anniversary ;0) I still have a long way to go though.
I've been trying to post some more pics of the little shop I found, Nostalgia, but either I'm messed up or blogger is!
I'll try again later.
Hope everybody has a great day :0)

*SOUP OF THE DAY*
Sitting silently, doing nothing, Spring comes and the grass grows by itself.
~~~Osho


*DESSERT OF THE DAY*
From The Complete Life's Little Instruction Book by H. Jackson Brown, Jr
#1551-Live simply
#1552-Think quickly
#1553-Work diligently
#1554-Fight fairly
#1555-Give generously
#1556-Laugh loudly
#1557-Love deeply

*Happy Spring 2006*

I would like to wish everyone a "Happy Spring" today! I have had the windows open for the last couple of days, it was so nice outside. But today looks a little cloudy. And we were going to try and work on the fence some today. Oh well.

BonnieRose had a challenge today:
Scrapbooking and Music.
What kind of music do you listen to while scrapbooking? Any? What genre? What are your faves? Does music soothe you as u sb, or is it a distraction??
I love music. Right now in my CD player, I have "Elevation". Love that sound. I can't be creative with the tv. But music, that's different. It's funny, Charlie falls to sleep on the sofa with the tv on, but I can't sleep with it on. But turn the radio on and I can fall asleep in a second!
As for genre, I love Enya style music for somethings. But other times, I can listen to AC/DC, and still other times, Dance. We have DirectTv and they now offer XM on the music channels. Lately, I've even be known to listen to some country. I bought Sara Evans cd, there are some really great songs on there. One I was even thinking about using in a lo.
Overall, the answer is: I love music. Different music for different occasions, but music for me ;0)

Catch of the Day 3-18-06

NOSTALGIA

I have found a wonderful little shop here in Tallahassee that I wante to share with everyone. As alot of you know, I have dreamed of opening a shop for a long time and this is a perfect idea of how I want it to look. There are so many changes going on in my life right now, but lately I've been thinking alot about a shop and in the last couple of days have seen a number of articles regarding goal planning. So I thought that I might just start an album/journal about my "little shop" and list goals that could bring me to accomplish this. Humm...maybe set aside a few minutes each day to play in my journal and work on reaching these goals. After I finish fixing our house so we can sell it. And move 200 miles away. And buy another house to live in. And DH and I start an appliance business. And we start buying real estate. Yeah, I can do it. I am WOMAN!! :0)
Anyway, hope you enjoy the shop.

*FrIdAy FuN FaCTs*}

I had something altogether different for the fun fact, but after reading BonnieRose's challenge, I decided to change. I have decided to use Michelle's friday fun fact as inspiration for an "About Me" album. I've wantedto do one for a long time, and have had a few ideas as lo's, but never started(story of my life:0). So since I have to think of something for the fun fact about Me, I thought it only fitting that it also be something I could use as a lo. Thanks Michelle! And you're still #1 in my HOF!!!!

Friday Challenge: List your personal mottos or inspired words you choose to live your life by. List as many as come to mind to you.....
Friday Fun Fact: I love quotes and sayings!!

As most of you know, I list two quotes a day on my blog. I try to have the Soup quote to be a thoughtful and inspiring quote. Something that has meaning to it. To nourish the soul, like soup! The other quote is Dessert. Something fun, witty, short and sweet, like dessert! I have collected quotes for a very long time. I have a journal that I started writing them in that I've had for almost 15 years. I have written all sorts of stuff in there. It's not really a diary(never really did those). Just things that I've read that I liked and wanted to remember. This brings me to the challenge today. I guess I've always been the kind to think of a quote or saying for most occasions. So, I tried to thing of some that I felt I could live by. Here goes:

1) Be who you are and say what you feel, because the people who mind don't matter and the people who matter don't mind. (This is my motto for this year!)

2) It's never too late to be what you might have been.~George Eliot

3) Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.~Ralph Waldo Emerson

4) If you see a chance to be happy, grab it with both hands and the hell with the consequences. The only things in ths life that you really regret are the risk you didn't take.~Jack Lemon in "Grumpy Old Men"

5) I can do everything through him who gives me strength.~Philippians 4:13

6) In everything...he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.~II Chronicles 31:21

I'm sure I could come up with a bunch more. But I think this is enough for now. Hope you enjoyed them.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Day 2 of Potty Training

It's day two of the potty training. So far, it's be alright. I told Dane no tv until he learns to go potty. So it's been real quite. The only show he's asked for is Power Rangers. He did go pee-pee about four times all by himself yesterday. he'd come running into the room and say "Come look Momma" so of course I had to go and give him a big {hug}.
Today has been a little off schedule. Had to run to Lowe's for some stuff to finish off the bathroom. New chrome doorknobs, hinges and I got some joint compound. Our walls aren't smooth, they are rough in spots, but not all over like texture. So I'm going to try and create a texture so maybe (hopefully) it will blend. I thought it would give the bathroom an old world feel.
Just had to do today challenge from BonnieRose.

5-10 Most Fav Snacks

1)Popcorn-We love watching movies and we just can't watch a movie w/out popcorn!!

2)Cheesecake-any kind!!

3) Ice cream-again, any flavor

4) Kahlua ice cream pie-from On The Border-totally to die for!!

5)Ruffles and onion dip

6) Rotel dip and tostitos (w/ Smirnoff Ice ;0)

7)Hot tamales-love eating a bunch of these right after I eat popcorn, don't ask me why!

8) Clausen pickles

9)Milky Ways

10)Peeps-I love peeps-especially since they now make them for all the holidays. I found some at the Dollar Tree in the shape of large easter eggs. Good thing I'm making my own Easter basket :0)

I could probably go on, but I'll stop now so I don't look like a total PIG!! Well, I'm off to go paint some more. And to wake a sleeping little boy. Hope you have a great day!!

*SOUP OF THE DAY*

All of us are watchers-of television, of time clocks, of traffic on the freeway-but few are observers. Everyone is looking, not many are seeing.

~~~Peter M. Leschak

*SOUP OF THE DAY*

Seek the greater vision.

~~~Plotinus

OH MY~How Time Flies!!!!

I can't believe that it's been over a week since my last blog! We had been planning on a trip back home to Mobile, and I had alot to do to get ready. As usual, I didn't get everything done. The one thing that I did get accomplished was a cross-stitched sampler for my niece, Alyssa. She was born on my birthday, December 12!! I had tried to stretch the canvas myself, but that wasn't going to well. So on Saturday night, my MIL and I went to Michael's and they were only going to charge $12 to stretch it. So I left the piece with them. The only down side is that it will take them two weeks, but at least it's finished. I am hoping to get a picture of it after it's finished. Over all, we had a nice weekend going home. It was nice seeing everyone and letting everyone seeing how much Dane is growing and all the funny things he says.
Speaking of Dane, we have started potty training this week. This being my first child and no further expierence with siblings or anything, I got some pointers this weekend and now we are on our second day. Hopefully we can get this done by the end of the week.
Also, Charlie and I found out some information about us starting our business. We might be moving sooner than expected. We want to put an ad in the phone book for the Eastern Shore and it has to been in by April 28 and the phonebook comes out in June. So we would have to have our house ready to sell AND have a house to purchase in Pensacola by sometime in May. This should be interesting :0) I started working in the bathroom last week painting the vanity. It was a boring brown (originaly to house) and I bought a nice white (Sawyer White). I think it looks good. I need to put one final coat on today, and get some new hinges and a knob. Then I want to caulk the trim and paint it. But the biggest project I want to do is learn to lay cermaic tile! I think that would add so much value to the house! I'll post some before and after pics later.

Just want to say that I'm glad I'm back. It feel weird being out of the blogging "loop" for a week. But I'm back! I know I've got alot of catching up to do!

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*SOUP OF THE DAY*
Delicious candles, patterns that dance, restful white spaces, glistening tea cups, the texture of moss, the color of sea snimals...Just a bunch of nonsense? or perhaps the closest thing to a formula that I can offer as explanation of my design process.
~~~Tracy Porter

*DESSERT OF THE DAY*
No man is a hypocrite in his own pleasure.
~~~James Boswell

My First RAK !!!!

On Saturday I got my very first RAK from Bonnie Rose. Charlie always brings the mail in and I had just happened to see the envelope. My heart skipped a beat. Isn't it funny how excited we get when we know we've gotten some goodies :0)
She sent me a really sweet little package of goodies-A very talented lady that Bonnie Rose!! Thank you Bonnie Rose!

If everything goes as planned today, after Charlie and I finish nailing one side of the privacy fence that we are doing BY OURSELVES,(barring no WWIII arguments) we are going to try and attend a Seminoles baseball game. I figured, since we live here, why not enjoy some of what Tallahassee has to offer. Besides, I'm sure it would be fun for both Charlie and Dane. Gonna take the camera~never know when that great pic will happen.

As I was browsing on 2peas , came across Lisa G's blog with this link. This was fun!


HEIDI SWAPP DESIGN TEAM!
Just like Heidi, you are a believer. You are a

dreamer.You are an artist.You are a teacher.
You are a designer and you have a vision.


What scrapbook company should you design for...?
brought to you by Quizilla
Not the answer I was expecting. Not that it's a bad thing, love HS but I would have never thought that my design style would fit under her profile. That really gives me some inspiration!! I am feeling the need for SCRAP TIME!!

Friday Blog Challenge

Thanks to Bonnie Rose for the challenge today. I hope you are feeling better Bonnie Rose:0)

Blog Challenge for Friday on 2peas: List 10 or more things that almost always make you laugh/smile:
1)Hubby calling just to day "I Love You"
2)Finding something I think I've lost
3)Comments on my blog!!!
4)Completing a project~scrapbook, cross-stitch, altering
5)Smelling frech baked Blackberry Cobbler
6)Hearing some of the funny things Dane says. He's been trying to ask us what are we doing, but it comes out sounding like "Duba-do-in Mama?"
7)COFFEE!!!
8)When I sell something on ebay-it makes me feel good. And then I get to wrap it real pretty and add a little note-:0)
9)Finding a treasure (see prev post on star fence)
10){{{Hugs}}}
11)Knowing God loves me no matter what. And that I can love him just as much!!

SOUP OF THE DAY:
Sacred space and sacred time and something joyous to do is all we need. Almost anything then becomes a continous and interesting joy.
---Joseph Campbell
DESSERT OF THE DAY:
All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.
---John Gunther

Where,Oh Where,Have you Been...

Where you wondering what happened to me? I was asking myself that same question!! I'm staying at home now and still it doesn't feel like there is enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished. And today is going to be worse. Charlie is off today and we already have three appointments not counting all the other things we do on his off day. So I'm posting early and I'll try to get back later and read everyone else's.

We have 9 days until we take a little R&R and go to Mobile~can't wait to see everybody! And I have so much to do before then. Presents to make, pages to make, 3 dogs to figure out what to do with, a charm bracelet I want to get made, I need a haircut (and color too :0) and we are stopping in Pensacola to look at houses. It's going to be hectic.

Did you enjoy the recipe the other day? I love having theme nights with dinner (love Rachel Ray). I'll try to have a new recipe on Sundays (don't hold me to that :0). Hopefully it will give someone some inspiration.

And now for the Day's Features:

SOUP OF THE DAY:
Years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
---Mark Twain

DESSERT OF THE DAY:
You are in complete charge of coloring your own life.
---Alexandra Stoddard

Recipe of the Week

I made these Saturday night. It was two recipes that I found and I thought they would go together. I sliced the pork and layed on top of the rice and sprinkled the top with the toasted almonds. Not sure about the chocolate taste of the rice but the cherries added a nice touch. The pork was great, very moist and tender~you could use your fork to cut it. Enjoy!!

Cider Pork Roast

1 bnls pork loin roast (2lbs)

2 cups apple cider or apple juice-divided

3 sprigs fresh rosemary

1/2 cup dried cherries

5 tsps cornstarch

salt & pepper to taste

Sprinkle pork with salt & pepper. In a nonstick skillet coated w/ cooking spray, brown pork for about 4 minutes on each side. Pour 1 cup apple cider in a 3-qt slow cooker. Place 2 sprigs rosemary in slow cooker: top w/ meat & remaining rosemary. Place cherries around roast. Cover & cook on low for 5-6 hours or until thermometer reads 160'.

Cherry Almond Rice Mexicana

1 (15 oz) can pitted cherries

2 cups instant brown rice

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp chili powder

2 tblsp semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup chopped almonds, toasted

Drain canned cherries, reserving juice. Coarsely chop enough cherries for 1/2 cup and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, add reserved cherry juice(approximatley 2/3 cup) plus enough water to equal 2 cups. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Stir in remaining ingredients, except chopped almonds. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in chopped almonds.

---Recipe courtesy Sandra Lee

*FrIdAy'S FuN FaCtS 2-24-06*

Since this just happened last night and is fresh on my mind, I'll let you in on a fun fact about me. I eat raw dough!!! Yeap, last night I made Garlic Cheese Biscuits using Bisquick and made a little extra so that after I put the dough in the pan to bake, there was some left in the bowl to eat! When I was little and my grandmother or mom would make pancakes with Bisquick, I would eat the dough. I also will nibble on raw biscuits from the can. Fun or weird? Don't answer that. I've also eaten from the can of eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk. The kind you use to make cheesecake with. This stuff is so yummy. As Martha would say "It's a good thing". :0)

SOUP OF THE DAY:
The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.
---Norman Schwarzkopf

DESSERT OF THE DAY:
Smile! Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday!
---from a bookmark I had a long time ago :0)

Catch of the Day

Just wanted to share some cool things I picked up over the weekend. I found the fencing at a salvage yard. There are two pieces. Just love the stars!!
I lucked up on the magazines at a yard sale. 1953~Better Homes & Garden, 1956~Household, 1955~Woman's Day,1957~Ladies Home Journal and a 1953 Scrabble game--All for $2!!! Can't wait to start scrapping/collage.

Weekend Catch Up

I liked this challenge from Bonnie Rose from the weekend.

Q1: Do you ever have epiphanies, moments when things become so abundantly clear that you're left wondering what in the heck you were thinking up until that point in time
~Actually, I've had a few of these. Two that I can say are quite clear. First was when Charlie & I were dating. We had been dating for a couple of months and were living together. Then one morning I remember waking up and thinking "the father of my children was lying beside me". It was if I had heard the words in my head. At first, it was unnerving. But the more I thought about it and spent time with him, I realized that I really had found the "Man of the Dreams"!
Second is about my old job. I had spent 18 years of my life working for this company. And since coming to Tallahassee, things had just gotten so unbearable. I prayed so much for some guidance that I was doing the right thing by quitting. I had finally accepted in my heart that this was what I needed to do. It was as if the Lord was trying to tell me"Hey, how can I take you some place else, if you don't trust me to quit from here?" Then on my last day, as I was walking across the frontend, I spotted a penny on the floor. I believe that pennies are from heaven with the quote"In God We Trust". A little something to say that He's there. As I picked up the penny, I looked at the year and it was 1968-the year I was born! I kept it in my pocket all day and was even thinking about making a lo with it!

Q2: They say every one of us has at least one in our lifetime... Without revealing something you're not comfortable sharing, have you ever had what you believed to be a million dollar business idea?
~My problem is that I have alot of these!! The first one I can think of (not million dollar) was when I was about 15 yrs old. I was out with my dad and we had stopped to look at an old house that was being used by a local garden nursery for storage. It was a small house, but had a big picture window in the front and was located on a main street. I told my dad that I thought that it would make a great location for a little retail shop. About a month later, someone bought it and turned it into {a little retail shop}!
I've had this happen to me with alot of different things. And I'm trying to make myself believe that I should go with what I feel. But sometimes, it's just so scary! I guess that's why I decided that my motto for this year is:
Be who you are and say what you feel, because the people who mind don't matter and the people who matter don't mind.

DESSERT OF THE DAY:
One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.
--- Johann Wolfgang van Goethe

DESSERT OF THE DAY:
Truth should be highly valued.
--- Plato

FrIdAy'S FuN FaCtS

Michelle had a great idea. Each Friday, post a random fun fact about yourself. So for this Friday, I'll let you in on a little secret ( my stepdaughter, Krystin, is really gonna get a kick out of this). When I was pregnant with Dane, Krystin (14 yrs) went with me to register at Target for the baby shower. Krystin's mother remarried and had two more girls, so she knows all about baby stuff. Well, as we were looking at things, she would point out certain things to get and things not to get. When we got to the diaper section, I made a statement to which she about died! I told her I had never changed a diaper before!! Yeah, here I am, pregnant with my first child, shopping with my stepdaughter and I have never,ever, ever changed a diaper!!! I didn't have any siblings or close cousins, never did babysitting, so it just never happened. Sad, I know, but true!

SOUP OF THE DAY:
Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered, for they are gone forever.
--- Horace Mann

DESSERT OF THE DAY:
Keep your face in the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you.
--- Irish Proverb

A combo, please

I always read Michelle's and BonnieRose's challenges and today I thought I would combine the two! Both had very thought provoking challenges and I felt that they were related.

BonnieRose-List your immediate family members, young and old -- and share what you admire most in them.

Michelle-Let's face it, no parents are perfect, they all do things we swear never doing it to our own kids. What's some on your no-no list?

I am an only child so my immediate family is very small. And this is the #1 thing on my No-No list-Not to have an only child! And yes(wink) we are working on it!

Charlie~My Love-He never stops to amaze me. Last night for example. His work has been relentless the last couple of weeks. I knew he didn't get a chance to get me anything for V-day. But here he comes, walking in the door last night with a dozen roses, big box of chocolates and a funny card. I was completely surprised. I also admire his ability to see the positive side of things. I like to think of myself as positive but sometimes I get so overwhelmed with life. He always manages to make it all seem so small and insignificant. I love this man!

My Mother-A very quite woman but I owe alot of my creativeness to her. I also owe my love of animals and gardening to her. My mom stayed home with me until I was in high school. It was good to have her home. I'm trying this now with our little one. Maybe try to work a little from home.

My Dad-My Dad!! What a guy. Always the life of the party. Complete opposite of my mom. To him I owe my love of reading. My dad has done alot of things in his life & he always reads about any new thing before he starts. He also has a gift to talking to people and they always open up to him and tell him all kinds of stuff. On the No-No side-For a couple of years, my dad have to work out of town alot. He'd spend a whole week out of town. This really put a strain on my parents relationship. And now when Charlie has go out of town, we both insist that he comes home each night. As for my parents, now you can't get them away from each other :0)

My Grandmother~Gigi-What an inspiration- 92 and still going strong! A very extraordinary woman. To her I owe my red hair(even if I have to help it along), love of cooking,and fashion. My grandmother's real name is Grace-hence my name "Bella Grace".

My Grandfather~Papa-I owe my love of nature to Papa. He's always outside working in the yard or in his workshop building a birdhouse or something. I guess some of the creativeness comes from his also.

I guess I don't have a long list of No-No's. Just want to make sure that both of us are able to be with our kids whenever they need us. And listen to them. And encourage them to be true to themselves.

SOUP OF THE DAY:
And now forgive the past and accept the present, be gracious and merciful to me and do not deprive me of sight, or take from me the art of love.
--- Plato
DESSERT OF THE DAY:
And now abideth faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. --- Corinthians

And the answers are...

1. I've been robbed at gun point-yes, working at Sam's Club in Mobile, AL while working in the cash office. Not fun-very scary
2. I've had a rat & a snake as pets-YES! We had a boa constrictor named "Huggy". Because of the snake, we started raising rats. I keep one as a pet and fell in love with them. They really are smarter and sweeter than any hamster. The last one was named "Jinx". I had her when my hubby & I started dating. He was a little freaked out about it, but he got to know her and now he knows how interesting they can be. And to think, they only cost $1.99!!
3. I drink coffee every morning-Yeap! And I love flavored Coffemate-yum
4. I was born in Italy-Do I wish! My dream is to visit Italy-soon :0)
5. I graduated from college with a degree in Art History-My best friend,Kimberly
6. My husband is a racecar driver-He wishes! Ashley Judd's hubby is-and he's Italian! P.S. They got married on my birthday-Good Marriage
7. I taught myself to cross-stitch & have been doing it for 22 years-How sad is that. Seriously, I love to cross-stitch. I just wish it didn't take so long. I'm working on a piece now call "The Kiss". Can't wait to finish.
8. I met my husband at a bar-When I first met Charlie, he was the manager for a sports bar. He was dating some blonde and I was dating a guy. Then, 8 years later, Yes 8 YEARS, we were both out one night at a bar and ran into each other. Started talking, he asked me to dance, I had had one too many drinks and as we were dancing, I just decided to kiss him!! He hasn't left me alone since :0) I love my hubby
9. I love to read-True, true
10. I won an ice skating contest-Never even been ice skating, or skiing. I can't even roller skate, sad


Did you guess right?? Thanks for playing :0)