Simple Woman's Daybook.....

The Simple Woman's Daybook is a lovely and refreshing site that encourages us to look at the beauty around us within each day. Even the ordinary, uneventful days. It's also fun to have a little peek into other women's lives, after all, isn't that why so many of us read blogs? To find more blog friends and see what their daily lives are like, go link up and share your own simple days.......

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...The sun is shining, it's California, it does not know what else to do! My cul-de-sac is unusually quiet and I am glad. Maybe all the little kiddies are at summer-school or camp, either way, it's very nice.

I am thinking...that I need an inspiration for my next paid article. Isn't this a good way to find ideas?

I am thankful for...my sons. Writer Son is deep in love, preparing for an October wedding. Rocker Son appears to have survived a drunken weekend in Vegas.

From the learning rooms...I am learning that not knowing the future is OK. Knowing would not affect what I do today very much anyway.

From the kitchen...tonight I am preparing a summer meal of corn on the cob and mashed potatoes. Empty Nest is a wonderful thing!

I am wearing...a new little (size large!) red sundress that I picked up this morning at Super Walmart for $7 !

I am creating...a black licorice tongue with the box of 'Good n' Plenty's' O also bought this morning!

I am going...nowhere for the rest of today. Tomorrow I will attend a staff meeting even though I'm no longer "staff".

I am reading...a fun library book called "Joy School" by Elizabeth Berg. I love it!

I am hoping...and praying that our new ministry school attracts enough students to pay me a salary in September!

I am hearing...an oscillating fan behind me and some birdsong outside my window.

Around the house...I have potted some new plants this morning and placed them on low pillars on either side of our front door and I'm very pleased with myself because it looks very warm and welcoming!

One of my favorite things...would actually be two things...reading and writing.

A few plans for the rest of the week:Not much is planned. We have tickets to see an art exhibit called "Birth of Impressionism" at the San Francisco De Young Museum. We are going to invite a couple that we love to join us for a fun evening in the city.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing.

Candace at Mi Chiamo Candace gave me

this cheerful

AWARD!

Go check her out, she's really fun!

Are They Kidding?

I saw the funniest commercial today! It was for Father's Day gifts. But the creators of the commercial have no idea how funny it is. If they knew my Hubs.....and most men actually, they would see that their new sales gimmick is all wrong, ridiculously wrong!

The commercial is trying to tell us that Fathers would push aside all other gifts if we sent them.......ready?..........an edible fruit arrangement. Really? As soon as I saw the commercial I pictured the kind of edible arrangement Hubs would really like, and it's not fruit. I am picturing big slabs of steak dipped in BBQ sauce. Or sausages dipped in gravy. I'm sure there are some men out there who love to eat healthy and I wish my Hubs did, but he somehow manages to stay slim and trim as could be while eating everything he is not supposed to eat!! Infuriating it is!!

So, just before I sat down to write this I asked him what he thought of that commercial. Guess what he said, with no additional info from me? "Yah if the arrangement was meat and BBQ sauce!" Ha! I do know my man!

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Awards are aways fun and inspiring, but this one sent to me by adorable Shawna who writes an equally sweet blog about her three daughters called, MY GIRLS, is especially rewarding to me today. She was having a really tough day, but even in the middle of feeling bad about herself she made the choice to write about how great each of her children were and how much she missed her hubby who was away for the day. That really impresses me and shows great strength and the requirements for a wonderful mother. Thank you Shawna, those little cuties will see how amazing you are one day! I will pass this on to someone another day, for today I want to honor just you!

Is a REward just an Award Given Out Twice?

Isn't that a pretty award? Yes, the adorable Shawna over at My Girls has given me the SUNSHINE AWARD! She is the mommy to three little girls and I love her Subtitle "My Girls, making me crazy and keeping me sane." isn't that great?

Thank you Shawna and I hope you are able to get the comment thingy working now.

I would like to pass this fun award on to a new friend of mine who has bigger kids like I do, Bipolar Diva. Go check her out while you are off looking in on My Girls OK?

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A Confession..........I really like my last post. It was about Rocker Son and I thought it was pretty funny. But it did not get a ton of comments.....so I am giving you all another chance to make me feel good about myself okay? Go read it, thanks!

(wow BS, why don't you just beg them to read you?)

A Fun Photo Task to Pass Along!

My new blogfriend at Chronicles of A Veteran Kindergarten Teacher passed this task on to me. Thanks for mentioning me in your blog and highlighting me as a blogger you tagged. I am excited to do this fun task! Thanks VKT!

Here are the rules:
1. Open your 1st Photo folder.

2. Scroll to the 10th photo.
3. Post the photo and the story behind it.
4. Tag 5 or more people
This pic is of some of our students in our ministry training school a couple years ago. I love twenty-somethings so much! I used to be intimidated by them because they made me feel old or out of it, but I have found that brutal honesty is a great way to communicate to & with them. They love it!

This little group are off all over the world doing very different things. Let's see Navy, youth pastor's wife, Military, In & Out Store Manager are some jobs represented here. Some characteristics of 20's...

*Love humor, the edgier the better.

*Hate fake-ness with a passion.

*Care about the environment.

*Passionate about under-privileged. Have a sense of responsibility for others.

*Love to push the boundaries in all areas, especially old church thinking.

*Have a need for more than one set of moms & dads.

*Have huge dreams of their futures but need encouragement to go for it!

*Love clothes & shoes passionately! (Not just the girls!)

*Have a beautiful view of God without too much religiosity, so it is actually FUN to follow Him!

And I get to spend my days with these amazing people!!

Ok five bloggers I enjoy among the hundreds that I love! Yikes! Here goes:

Anything Fits A Naked Man ...a fun & funny blog with a name you'll never forget!

Life With A Little One And More...Jenners was one of my first Followers & she entertains me every time!
An Inch of Gray....A lovely friend who shares about her family, good deals & wonderful do-able crafts for the home.

Sheri's World..an adorable twenty-something who loves books & travel & tells about her life adventures so far.
Gerber Days...is one of my newest followers & she looks delightful. I am looking forward to getting to know her thru her fun blog!

OK Ladies, Grab those rules, tell us about one of your photos & pass this fun task on!

PS - Gerber may or may not be my follower, but she commented me & I'm going to follow her!

Seven Things About me....

Janet Ruth over at ALONG THE WAY has awarded me with an unnamed award, but I will assume it means she like & adores my blog! I do know that I love to go to hers often! I am now supposed to tell you 7 things about me.......

1. My big toes curl up so much that I wear out the toes of canvas tennies.

2. I am trying to lose this tummy bulge before Writer Son's wedding in the Fall!

3. I love Meg Ryan.

4. My favorite foods are pizza & veggies.

5. I just learned that my mom does not color her hair! She is 75 & still black haired!! Yay for me!!

6 .I am in love with God & He is crazy about me!

7. I am seriously addicted to Face Book!!

Now there is no way I'm going to choose 5 of you to give this award to, so if you want it just grab that cute little pic at the top & tell us 7 things about you ok?

I WON!

In December Jan Mary over at Welcome To My World

had a Nativity Set Carnival

so we could all share our treasured scenes

with one another.

She had a drawing & I WON!!

My adorable PRIZE arrived this week & you see it

pictured above! I love it!

Thank Jan Mary in Northern Ireland!

Vodka Mom just posted about getting an award that asked her to list what she has learned from her boys & it is hilarious, you must go read it...but come right back OK? Isn't she funny? She mentioned that any mom of boys could steal the award & do the same. I am wondering though....do a 23 yr old & a 26 yr old count as "Boys"? My conclusion is if they still ACT like boys, TALK like boys & CLEAN like boys, they are still boys! Right? Right.

I have learned:

• Boys think that if they actually go to all the trouble of picking up something in the bathroom, that counts as cleaning the bathroom.
• Boys believe in super heroes even if they make no logical sense at all. Mutant Ninja Turtles???
• Boys leave dirty soap behind.
• Boys are more honest than girls. They are! They tell on themselves all the time, girls can be sneakier about their misdeeds.
• Boys don't really need toys to have hours of fun. Sticks, rocks & a gutter can be mesmerizing.
• Boys that really are men believe that they can iron some pants & a long sleeve shirt in about 1 minute. Actually he did, by the time I went to see if his iron had heated up enough he said he was done & had put it away!
• Sons like hugs but usually will not initiate.
• Sons get extremely uncomfortable with a women's tears.
• Sons love mom's cooking even if it's not that great.
• Sons still have messy, stinky bedrooms. (Until a wife is in the picture. ) (I hope!)
  
  

What?

The weirdest thing just happened. My Followers Blog listing on Blogger Dashboard showed about 20 postings on the same day by the same person all in a strange foreign language! I could not even understand enough to figure out if it was one of you guys or somebody who snuck onto my listing without my knowing it! And you just KNOW that there are tons of people dying to get on my favored list! :) I'm still not sure how it happened but my search led me to Bibi Has the Last Word & according to her comment section, it happened to others too.



Anyway, when I finally got it translated back to English (or got rid of the "other" writer,) I read on her recent post that she had given me an award! Awards are fun but can also be a little distracting because they make you have to write a post you weren't planning on or don't really care to answer the questions etc. But this one caught my attention cause it's this.............

Woo-hoo! I'm a sexy blogger! Who da thunk? Now I am supposed to list 5 sexy things about me! Oh man, this is not so easy but I'm gonna sit here & figure it out.

1. I usually manage to get a good tan in the summer, got one already as a matter of fact! Part real, part fake!
2. I keep my toe nails polished all year long. They feel ugly without it.
3. (This is hard, been sitting here for 10 minutes already!) I cover up my thighs, no shorts for me. Just discovered "Skimmers" Shorts that hit the knee, yay!
4. I'm not grey yet even though I am 54. Grey can be very sexy though, so that isn't a good one, but I'm counting it anyway cause I'm stuck!
5. I have a good smile. I figured this out when I was a teenager. I was sitting in the backseat of a car full of people & happened to admire the lips that I saw in the rear view mirror, thinking it was someone else's reflection, then discovered it was me! Ha! We seldom get a chance to really see ourselves objectively do we?

Ok, now on to some of my bloggy friends who deserve the sexy blog award!

Coffee Slut...because with that name it just works!
Lisa....because she is a woman who lives it to the fullest!
Tangobaby....because the Tango has got to be the sexiest dance ever!
Martini Mom.....because she just did a hilarious post regarding hairspray & erections! (And it's NOT R rated, I promise!)
Ok, I'm in trouble now cause as I look over my list of blogger friends, you ALL deserve the sexy award & I don't have time or patience to name you all. So I hereby say to you...take it & go for it all you sexy bloggers! (Now I can't even get back to "Bibi Has The Last Word" in English to give a link! Argh!)