Me, Me, Me, Meme

RT Tagged me with this one, I hope I can come up with 7 facts about myself that don't bore you to tears.

Here are the rules if you decide to play along:
1) Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4) Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1) I once shook John Travolta's hand, back when he was a 'sweat-hog' on Welcome Back, Kotter. I'm pretty sure he would remember me, I was the 13-year-old girl who gawked at him. Heh. I got his autograph too, but have no idea what happened to it. We won't discuss how long ago that was.


2) I like to cook, and at times have romantic aspirations of being a caterer or restaurant owner. I've always envisioned a small, intimate setting with an outside eating area, where I would greet people and serve them personally. This past weekend, I helped make and serve food for a fundraiser for my son and his friends that was held in a $3 million mansion. I had so much fun and got to know a couple of great women better that I haven't spent any time with previously. Fabulous!


3) I married the best guy in the world. When we first started dating, I had 4 teenage children from my first marriage he had to deal with. I knew he was a keeper when he actually agreed to pick me up at home for our first offical date, even though he knew the 4 kids would be there. The first time I met his extended family, we ended up having to pick up one of my kids at the local police station later that night. I won't name names - Story for another time. But my point is, he has helped me to deal with everything that has occurred since.

4) My biggest sorrow, aside from the death of my father 6 years ago, is that we were not able to have another child after Kara.

5) My secret vice - apparently I have become hooked on both good and bad reality television. I have watched Rock of Love 1 and 2, Flavor of Love (but only the first season), Celebrity Rehab, Multiple episodes of multiple seasons of The Bachelor (season finale tonight!), Biggest Loser (fave), Celebrity Fit Club (another Fave), multiple Seasons of American Idol (I predict David Cook wins this year), etc, etc, etc. Need I go on? I think I need a 12-step program.


6) I am fascinated by alternative lifestyles such as Polygamy - not because I want to live that way but because it is difficult to comprehend. I wish I knew a woman who lives that lifestyle so I could talk to her and ask her questions, like "Why?".

7) I have always wanted to live in the country. Unfortunately Grimjack is a city boy. Since I work from home, I can live anywhere but he commutes to the city by train. So unless he gets transferred to some city in Farmland USA, I guess we are stuck in the 'burbs.


Well, that was easier than I thought it would be, and probably more than you wanted to know. I don't have anyone left to tag specifically, so I'll have to break that rule. But if you haven't done this one and would like to, let me know so I can stop by and read it. Toodles!

Groovy....

I scored a Far Out
75% on theQuiz by SheGoddess: Quick Weight Loss

I thought I would do better. But 75% is nothing to be ashamed about....wait, maybe it is...There was a lot of 70's music that was better than what is in the quiz, I should not have done this well. Thanks to Jeffro for linking it so I could steal it.

Mugshot Meme

RT tagged me with the mugshot meme. All you have to do is put up pictures of your favorite 'beverage vessels', in the words of Cowboy Blob.

So, here goes - this one I don't have often, but when I do it means I did not have to make lunch that day for Kara and I, which makes it a favorite!


My favorite coffee mugs are from our Starbucks collection. When one or both of us travel, we go to a local Starbucks (or visit one in the airport if necessary), order coffee, and buy one of their 'City Collection' mugs from that area. The only rule is that you have to actually drink coffee there. No fair just buying the mug. We have a variety as you can see. We have two of some, when we travelled together, and singles of others from when we had separate business travel. Here's a pic below. The Detroit mug is cracked so that now is only used for holding Kara's paint brushes.
They are hefty and hold a lot of coffee.


Then, this is my favorite mug for tea at night during the winter. Once the weather starts getting warmer, we usually stop the hot tea at night until the fall. I like the shape and sentiment of this mug. I think it is also a Starbucks mug.


I don't know who else to tag, so if you want to do the Mugshot Meme, go right ahead. Let me know and I'll stop by to visit.

Happy Birthday Grimjack!

Grimjack turned 45 this past week. In honor of this momentous occasion, I had 45 cows delivered for the front lawn for the whole weekend. Here's how they looked:


It was fun, but he ended up taking a half day at the last minute on Friday and they were delivered while he was here. So the surprise was lost - I really wanted to see the expression on his face when he drove up and saw them. We had a family party for him and my brother-in-law Friday night and everyone enjoyed the cows - especially Kara.


Some of you who know him may be wondering why the cow sign said 'John'. If you know him through a family member (such as Deathlok), you know him as Jack or Jackie. His whole family calls him Jack. His other friends and coworkers all only know him as John, as I do. So it was initially confusing to me when his mom would refer to him as Jack, because that is also his father's name (well, his father's name is also John, but anyway). Since I've known him as John for like 20 years, I just can't call him Jack.

The first time Deathlok called my house and asked for Jack, I told him he had the wrong number.

The name difference becomes a challenge at Christmas time, and other occasions when we send cards. If it is for his family, I need to sign Jack and Kathie, and if it is for my family, I sign John and Kathie.

Best present this year - new Flyers shirt from Lyn and Brad:


Here are some M&M/chocolate chip cookie treats we made for him for his birthday.


Happy Birthday, Dear!

My New Hobby

I renewed my interest in sewing this year, and have now started quilting as well. Remember some months ago I posted about a pair of jeans I was wearing that split - well, here is a picture of what they look like now - I had held onto them and I made a cool purse out of them. I get a lot of comments on it and I'm proud of it! All I had to buy was the leather handles and buttons.

My sister and I are doing a 'Block of the Month' quilt at a local quilt/fabric store. Here are January and February's blocks. I have not had time to do March yet. I picked Batik fabric out of the three choices they had, so my quilt will be in a variety of colors, in similar fabrics.



I made this book for one of my grandson's for Easter:
+

I am also working on a small quilt for my other Grandson, since he is transitioning into a bed from his crib. For this one, I will be putting brightly colored buttons at each corner of the blocks. This is just the inside of the top, I have not yet added the borders.





I am starting a beginner's quilting class tomorrow night, and am so excited about it. I've made myself a sewing area in the basement by reclaiming some space from my daughter's 'salon' down there. By the end of the 8 week class, I will have completed a full quilt top. Quilting takes longer than regular sewing, in that you may not actually complete a project in a short period of time, so I am trying to work on small projects too, so I can feel like I've accomplished something.

Happy Birthday Steph!

My third daughter turned 21 this past Sunday. What a milestone! This is a picture of Steph in her sister's wedding this past November.

We are so proud of her. She is a hard worker - she works full-time, second shift at NutriSystem, and then works in the hair salon on Fridays and Saturdays on her days off from NutriSystem. She went to cosmotology school and she really loves the salon, but she does not have any health insurance, etc from the salon so she has to keep a full-time job as well.

When she was really little, she was very attached to me and I couldn't walk out of a room without her screaming. I remember washing windows for her great grandmother once, and she was inside the house screaming in her infant seat because she couldn't see me. Then she could see me through the window and quieted down. It was tough for a while leaving her with other people.

She always put all of her efforts into anything she would do. She was very enthusiastic about things, and is very thoughtful and concerned about other people.

One thing she liked to do when she was little, like at 3 years old, was take things apart with a screwdriver. I remember when she tried to remove a doorknob from her bedroom door, and also she loosened the screws in a chair we had.

She always said that she would never move out of the house. Which is very funny now, since we hardly ever see her. her boyfirend lives nearby and they work the same shift, so they hang out after work, at midnight. Her stuff still lives here, though!

She sent me flowers for her birthday, and here is what the card said:

Mommy (yes, she still calls me Mommy), I wanted to thank you for everything you have done. Just think, 21 years ago, you held me in your arms for the first time. And because of you, I am the woman I am today! Thank you, Love always, Stephanie

It was a beautiful thing for her to say. As a single parent, there were many times when I thought I wasn't doing the right thing, or felt like I didn't have enough time in the day to give them each the attention they needed since I had to work to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.

Her two older sisters said "oh great, now we have to do that every year!"

Happy Birthday Steph!

Glossary for the Upcoming Election

Courtesy of The Onion:

Featured Term:
debate - A contest to see which candidate can answer the fewest questions.

absentee ballot - A form of voting that does not involve the inconvenience of having to get up off the couch and walk to a high school gymnasium.

ballot - An object recording a voter's decision that is frequently counted toward an election's outcome.

caucus - The process by which Americans are quadrennially reminded of Iowa's existence.

change - Can be found
1) In the air/wind.
2) At hand.
3) Inside us all.

convention - The best four-day-long chance a politically active, overweight Kia salesman from Tulsa has to nail one of them blond Fox anchors.

corruption - The most effective and efficient way to produce results in government.

delegate - A demented, often screaming individual who experiences intense arousal at the sight of a vertically printed placard bearing his or her state's name.

democracy - A moderately representative plutocracy.

Diebold voting machine - A sophisticated, computerized balloting terminal that electronically changes your vote into a vote for Mitt Romney.

election worker - A male or female at least 70 years of age.

electoral college - A process by which the number of states in the Union is narrowed down to the most important seven or eight.

experience - A quantitative score any politician may increase by slaying foes or solving riddles.

hope - An intangible object within every American that is destroyed every four years in November.

likability - The degree to which each candidate is able to hide the extent to which he or she is full of shit.

lobbyist - A better-paid legislator.

MoveOn.org - A company offering routine tests of your e-mail's spam filter.

platform - A list of the subjects that candidates are willing to discuss.
A raised structure, almost entirely covered by flags, upon which candidates are placed.

political consultants - Individuals who are very savvy politically, but don't have enough hair to run for office themselves.

political philosophy, conservative - A great way to meet chicks at Princeton University. U-S-A; e.g., U-S-A, U-S-A(!).

political philosophy, liberal - An ideology steeped in a proud tradition of ineffectual whining.

pollster - A person who willingly communicates with the elderly.

Rock The Vote - Something that is, apparently, still happening.

voter apathy - The reason most American politicians are able to achieve and maintain office.