50 Random Things

50 Random Things

I found this on Whispers of Renaissance blog and thought it was a good way to get to know someone. It is 50 random things about yourself. So here is goes in no specific order ...

1. I'm an only child

2. Both of my parents are only children too

3. I have four children. Two biological, born of my womb...and two adopted, born of my heart.

4. I have two dogs. A chihuahua, Riley, and a shih-tzu, Jaden.

5. We have three goldfish...in a hundred gallon aquarium. They are the last left from a bunch we used to have. I am past ready for them to go to fish heaven so I can get rid of that tank and not have to clean it anymore.

6. My favorite color is blue.

7. I am also crazy about pink...and my friend Mary loves to tease me about it.

8. I am a girly-girl...hence my love of pink.

9. I love to do laundry. I find it relaxing.

10. I hate to dust. It comes right back and it drives my allergies nuts to stir it up.

11. I love to clean the kitchen. I LOVE a clean kitchen.

12. I hate to vacuum. See #10

13. I took ballet 12 years.

14. I love thunderstorms and the smell of rain.

15. My favorite perfume is Shalimar but I usually wear Angel because it's Blue Eyes favorite on me.

16. I adore lace and pearls.

17. Crystal and the way light plays off of it makes my heart sing.

18. Hot baths rock!

19. My hair is naturally curly and black...though it is rapidly turning silver.

20. I love vintage quilts and monogrammed linens.

21. I like to polish sterling silver. It's like laundry, it relaxes me.

22. I stink at washing windows and mirrors. I can not seem to get the streaks off of them.

23. I'm not too great at ironing either. After I iron something, it rarely looks much better than before I started.  Thank God for dry cleaners!

24. My favorite snack is chips with salsa.

25. My first doll was named Two-Five. Seemed like a great idea at the time. I was two. I still have her.

26. When I grew up I always wanted to be a wife and a mommy. Wish granted!

27.  I love the smell of baby powder.

28. Stained glass is one of my favorites.

29. I was a big Barbie girl. I had tons of Barbie stuff.

30. I love garage sales, thrift stores, estate sales, etc. Upcycle is so fun!

31. I studied horticulture in school and used to own a small landscape business.

32. I love a full moon.

33.  I have a nasty temper but it takes a lot to set it off.

34. I'm tenacious when I get my mind set on something.

35. I drive a VW. Used to be a Beetle...now it's a Routan.

36. I love design.

37. I could spend hour after hour in a museum...

38. ...or a library...or bookstore.

39. When I get anxious...or sick in the pit of my stomach...I need to change my life or my path in it.

40. My favorite flower is the tuberose.

41. I like to be alone but fear being lonely.

42.  I'm complicated...Barefoot is best....but I love to buy shoes...

43. ...I rarely eat at the table...but love to love to buy table linens and dishes.

44. You can never have enough sheets...high thread count, of course.

45. Icy cold milk is the bomb...especially with hot homemade cookies or pie.

46. Wonders why any society values one skin color, hair color, gender or body type more than another?

47. I love iced tea.

48. Nothing beats an vintage cotton chenille cover for a nap.

49. LOVE naps!

50. My eyes are sometimes brown and sometimes green.


Now lets see 50 random things about you!

Dr Suess Bath- Part III

Hi to all!

Made another trip to Hobby Lobby...

Cruised by the clearance section snooping out the new bargains.

Look what I found...

...wonderful lettered hooks!

...and at only $1.60 each.

All the letters left were all thrown into a bin together.

I had to do a bit of digging...

...and play Scrabble on the floor to figure out wording that would work in a bath...

Tomorrow I'll paint them.

I can't wait to show you when they are all done.

I think they will be great to hang towels on.

I also found these boxes there too...

...only $4.00 each on clearance.

I added some 50% off greenery to them 

They look really cute with our french country kitchen.

I'll take you on a kitchen tour later.

See you again soon! 

Prayers for Ethan and Linus

Prayers are VERY MUCH needed for these two sweet baby boys.

Ethan is fighting Leukemia.

He is currently responding to his chemo,

but may be in need of a bone marrow transplant eventually.

No match has been found to date.

To get more info on Ethan, you can go here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/ethanewing

Baby Linus was born with heart problems.

Tomorrow he will have yet another surgery with a frighteningly high mortality rate.

Please pray with us that Linus is strong enough to thrive through what he must do next.

To get more info on Linus you can go here: http://astoryoftwomoms.blogspot.com/

Both of these sweet little boys and their families can use any help that you are able to offer.

Some facts about Linus:
-5 1/2 month old triplet with an identical brother, a fraternal brother & 2 moms
-as of today he's spent 93 days in the hospital (over 3 mos, more than half his life)
-critical aortic stenosis, mitral stenosis, 2 VSD (Shone's Variant)
-18 blood transfusions
...-4 heart catheters starting at 2 days of age(3 balloon, 1 diagnostic)

Dr Suess Bathroom- Part II

Back in February I told you about a Dr. Seuss bathroom I was decorating for the youngest children. 

This was the shower curtain I purchased for it.

On a recent shopping trip to Target, I found some items that should be really cute with it.

I bought a set of three, all red, for each child...less fighting later.

I also thought I might have some vinyl lettering, in a cute child's font, made for each item...

...maybe monogram the children's names on their towels.

That's for me...so I know who threw their towel on the floor instead of hanging it up.

I also made some new art to hang on the wall... 

...added coordinating borders around three images...

..and then framed them in a Home Goods frame. 

Oh, I also found three cute little white vases with black lettering.

They were in the dollar section at Target...so that made them only 33 cents each.

I wasn't sure where I would use them at first but I couldn't pass them by.

What a deal!

I took some museum putty and stuck them down on the toilet lid.

I'm hoping that will secure them from the grasp of two small children in the house. 

If you haven't ever tried museum putty, you should.

It feels a lot like Silly Putty. Sticks items to other items to prevent accidental breakage.

Release fairly easy, leaving no residue or damage to either item.

I love this stuff!

I found the flowers in the vases at Hobby Lobby for 50% off.

I have to go back for a yellow flower still...

...I bought a lime green by mistake.

Not sure why...but I thought there was some lime green in the design.

Oh well....that's for another day....

A Moment of Contemplation

Anyone who has experienced a certain amount of loss in their life

has empathy for those who have experienced loss.

~Anderson Cooper

Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself.
~Walt Anderson

 

Do not measure your loss by itself; if you do, it will seem intolerable;

but if you will take all human affairs into account

you will find that some comfort is to be derived from them.
~Saint Basil

Healing and love for those dealing with loss and pain tonight.

Remember These?

Yesterday I took the little ones to the park for some sunshine. As I sat there and watched them play I got to thinking about the park equipment now and how much it had changed since I was a child.

I used to love the horse swings...

...as well as the ones on springs.

We called this a jungle gym...

I wonder why...

maybe because we looked like a bunch of monkeys hanging off of it

This was always my favorite type of merry-go-round.

Not a merry-go round in sight these days...

kinda sad my little ones won't know that joy. 

Remember when you got all sweaty, how cold the water was in the fountain?

....and there was always a puddle at the base of it to get your feet wet in too!

No fountain now!

Better bring those juice boxes or water bottles with you.

Where did these go?

When you needed to call Mom...you did it here...and not on your cell phone 

You also had to make sure you had money when you left home...

...and didn't spend it all so you could make that call.

This was my first car.

The rear window rolled down just like the side ones.

The engine was a 454. Can you imagine buying gas for that car now?

No Thanks!

What about these?

Don't hit one of these going fast or you are going to have issues.

Circle what you want for Christmas so you can tell Santa.

This one will date you...for sure!

I had some just like these.

Not too long ago I saw them for sell again.

Things are always changing.

Sometimes you miss the old, but sometimes you appreciate the new too.

It all weighs out in the end.

Embrace the things that bring you joy today...

...and smile while remembering them tomorrow.

Vintage Glider Memories

When I was a little girl my gandmother had a glider in her backyard.

We would go out and sit in it early in the morning...

Listening to the mockingbirds sing in the trees overhead. 

My grandmother, being the wonderful woman that she was,

 would make up stories of what the mockingbirds were singing to us

I never hear a mockingbird sing...

or see a vintage glider...

...that I don't think of her and her love for me.

This is my vintage pie crust glider just waiting for a paint job.

What color do you think would make her sing?

I'm thinking maybe a blush pink...?

Linked up: Brambleberry Cottage

http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

 for Time Travel Thursday

Images of Beauty

I love art museums.

I could wander around absorbing their beauty for hours.

 The colors used,

the textures, the subject matter, the brush strokes, and the execution of an internal vision all fascinate me.

I am captivated by these images of beauty. 

Monet is my favorite. I love, love, love Monet.

If Blue Eyes would have been agreeable, I would have named the last baby girl Emerson Monet.

Two great men, one beautiful child and a poetic name...perfection. No?

Anyway, most of you are familiar with Monet so none of his paintings today.

Let's check out some other artists instead...     

                                                    
                                                             The Hammock by Boldini

The Birth of Venus by Francois Boucher

French Woman ~Unknown

                                                                              Boldini

Echo by Alexandre Cabanel

 Jessie Wilcox Smith  

Carpet Cat by Jan Sharkey Thomas

Hy Bright

Geranium by Jerry Davidson



EdMund Dulac

It's incredible how artists styles vary. 

How the eye can see the same thing...but the brain processes what the eye sees so differently...and then add the factor of the hand in....and how the hand executes what the brain tells it. 

The colors chosen to use.

The amount of paint loaded onto the brush and how it is laid onto the canvas.

The use of light to bring it all to life. 

Incredible...simply incredible.