This morning we got to have breakfast with one of my Brother in law and Sister in laws!

They just had a new baby!

I didn’t hold her because I’m sick and I didn’t want to pass germs.

I think it’s the first time I’ve ever been bummed I couldn’t hold someone else’s baby.

Uncle Ben got to hold her though… At first she was concerned and then she went right to sleep.

Cooper was fascinated with her tiny hands and feet.

While we were eating she woke up and fussed, Cooper whispered in my ear.

“Did they buy her mommy? ”

I didn’t ask him why he wanted to know.

He’s NOT getting any!

Took the kids sledding Friday.

Cooper went down all alone for the first time ever.

I think he liked it, don’t you?

I missed some questions…

Jillcarmel wanted to know if I had any girlie things… Because I seem like a tom boy like her.

I have girlie things… but I only share them with my husband.

No, you know… I really don’t have anything I would call girlie. Bubble bath and nail polish?

Soonaquitter wants to know what activities I do when I’m down.

I take a bath and read a good book, or I go to Borders and get a hot chocolate loaded and just browse the books and music. Sometimes I like to go to a movie by myself. Other times I like to curl up against my honey and take a nap.

Quitelikinmyhand Whated to know If I am afraid of clowns.

No but I know someone who is!

Siennachartreuse- If you could live any place in the world, where would it be? 

 Well I think I could make myself happy anywhere. I don’t ever want to live where water isn’t readily on hand again though. I have done the desert climate thing for four years, it isn’t for me.

SO I am going to say I am happy with where I hang my hat now. As long as I can get out and see the world I will be glad I call here home.

If I have my family with me I could be glad I was anywhere though.

I look forward to asking you all questions!

Hope your having a great weekend.

Seedsower and Green Panther

Both have more doors up!

OKAY! Questions and now answers! So a lot of you weren’t willing to pick up the challenge. ( I was counting on that. ;-b ) So luckily this post won’t be too long. But I will link the people who did ask questions in case you want to go ask some of your own… Remember though… you ask and you open yourself up to questions… So if you are trying to protect your secret identity avoid question marks!

Beligirl and Mialucia both wanted to know about the buffalo! I don’t think they know that their questions COUNTED! Muahahaha… (not really but I’ll answer them anyway)

There is a huge buffalo farm in Traverse City, owned by the Olson family. The Olson’s  do a lot for the community and especially the local college that has a barbecue every year… I posted on last years HERE.  (no more Rick Rolls… promise.)  The buffalo are contained in fields with just plain old fences. Occasionally they get out and wander the woods but not often. There was a large field by my Grams house when I was growing up. My kids called her Grandma Buffalo because of it.

Lifeneedsprotection Where are their wings? These are the none flying kind of buffalo.

SEEDSOWER 

What’s you favorite food?  HARD question. I like all food. I will try anything once.  Some things I like… Key Lime Pie, Prime Rib, Crab, creme brulee… How’s that?

Something embarrassing that you said to someone.  OH BOY… Beth you know I am a big mouth broad… I say embarrassing things ALL of the time and if I kept track I would go insane.  I am constantly sticking my foot in it. I get that from my Mother. I once insisted that a college was a university… that was embarrassing.

Did you ever get caught making out? Nope…  My sister got caught making out on the couch once though and my Pop scared the wits out of the poor boy because he said “You know it’s an awful long fall from that couch to the floor, you could break your arm.” 

My Mom always said if your going to make out with a boy… the couch or the drive way is good… then if you need help your not out in the woods somewhere… that always made sense to me and I plan on telling my own kids the same.

What is something you want to learn to do? I want to learn to play the piano. I started to teach myself this year but then I ran up against a wall and decided I need a teacher, so it goes back on my list for when we have more time and money!

Gammyleg- Where the heck is TC?  Traverse City is where I live. I love it in case you couldn’t tell. It’s in the upper part of the Michigan mitten.

Winsomeone- What would your children say you are most passionate about?  My camera? I’m not sure what they would say because now their lives are so wrapped up in them. They do know that Mom takes her camera every where and they pose for me often. Wait… I just asked my daughter and she said “frogs” Apparently I am passionate about frogs. Well I like them… but they really don’t DO much for me.

Timber1977- What kind of camera and printer do you use? Well I don’t know what the printer is, but I don’t use it for photos I just go to the machine with my thumb drive. My camera is a Kodak Z710 Nothing great but it does the trick. I hope to upgrade to a Nikon of some sort and some good lenses some day but for now I keep telling myself it isn’t about the camera, anyone can take good pictures using even a disposable… It’s about what You SEE and how you SEE it. For instance THIS guy. I love his pictures.

What kind of animal do you feel like today? A leopard.

How many tattoos do you have?  One… and since you didn’t ask where… I’ll never tell. ;-b

Rewain- People live for different things. Some have children and they become their lives. Some are adrenaline junkies, others live to help other people. What drives you to do the things you do?

I want to live a happy, healthy life surrounded by the people I love. I think that’s what drives me. I want to experience it, NOT just get through it. I am trying my hardest. If I can help others along the way, all the better.

OKAY YOUR TURN!

*******************************MORE QUESTIONS ADDED***************************

Slagrunner- Given the choice would you rather be praised for your beauty, your brilliant mind, your courage or compassion? You can only choose one option.

Tough one… I would be more then please to be praised for ANY of them, wouldn’t we all… I am going to say compassion.  I guess because I admire compassionate people. Also, it is the one virtue listed there that I do not see coming hand in hand with a load of pride and self importance. Not that those are horrible things…

Super powers, Would you rather have xray vision, be able to fly, be able to become invisible or be able to drive six hours in the car without having to stop to pee? 

I used to be able to go 6 hours without peeing… I was a kid with amazing bladder control what can I say… I was proud never to beg for a stop on our road trips. I want to fly.  I suppose because it would give me a view I don’t have now… besides I can always buy xray specs if I want to see through things, invisible wouldn’t keep me from being crushed in a crowd and I’m a good hider, and the driving thing… well I’m not to worried about stopping now, besides if you never stop to pee you miss seeing some really interesting things.

SEEDSOWER- asked a few more…

 What are  your favorite movie,TV shows,CD’s and books.What magazine do you like?

Movie- A Room With A View Shows-Monk, CSI’s, Psych CD’s-Where do I start… I really do like it all lately I have been listening to a lot of Regina Spector, Dan Zanes, The Violent Femmes, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings (just found them thanks to a fellow Xangan)  Magazines- Cottage Living, Glass Quarterly,  Profitable glass, GAMES (must have every issue!)

MAHZ- WOW she went crazy with questions… here goes. lol

Starburst or Skittles? Skittles

MOP or Davines? Huh?

Dusk or dawn? Dusk and Dawn, I don’t get much sleep.

Spring, purified, or tap water?SPRING!

Blue or purple? Blue

IKEA or Urban Outfitters? IKEA

Olympus E-3 or Nikon S510? Nikon when I can afford it

Happy or content? Happy… very.

and lastly, if you were to obtain a turtle, what would you name him? We have three turtles and they are Oswald, Pooper and Shelly.

Droptop11- How did you get that picture of my wife? Yes folks he is into hairy women… and I will never tell!

Firefighterswife Wants to know if I have ever eaten buffalo! YES! Click the link above and you can see what I’ve eaten even. lol Every year we go to the barbecue and boy is it YUMMY!

OwenHiggins- wants to know if he can hug a buffalo. You could but I wouldn’t recommend it, they smell funny and can get ornery. Unless its the kind my mom is riding in the picture you can see if you follow the above link for the barbecue.

Rubymay029- Wants to know what I think Hell smells like.  When I think of the popular perseption of Hell I would go with sulfer, that rotten egg smell… But ya know I am not sure I actually believe in Hell… so…

Some more cellulite sky.

This year I think I am going to try and get some good black bird pics. They are just cool, don’t you think?

Wish I had gotten some better buffalo shots, but they were moving on.

yearinthelife

Has passed a tag on to me.

You can ask me anything and I will try to answer it.

Remember, I am NOT Marilyn vos Savante, so keep it simple!

I’m not sure exactly how this works… so I am going to say…

If you ask me a question, you have to post the tag on your site and open YOURSELF up to questions!

SO think carefully before you go there. ;-b 

***************EDIT*************

So I have only had three brave souls open themselves up to questions by asking a question…

And I think one of them only asked a question on accident.  

I am wondering what your all hiding now…

Do I have a bunch of secret agents subbed to me…

Are there bodies in your back yard?

You guys are peaking my curiosity.

What would I find if I started digging?

******EDIT*******

I’ll answer all of the questions tomorrow!

Got out and about and took some pictures today.

The sky was doing some odd things today.

Mom said it looked like the sky had cellulite.

I have more, but I don’t want to bore you.

If you want to see more…

HERE.

If you want to know WHY…

Go HERE.

Did you have a good day?

Today I am missing my Lil Sister.

I can’t wait until she comes up to stay for the summer and drags me all over and back.

I always see the coolest things and I can’t wait to share them.

Well that second one wasn’t COOL… just funny.

Oh, I want summer! I’ll take spring… I want her to GET HERE!

Other things I am looking forward to is my trip to see Beth! I am SO excited.

It feels like I am in WAIT mode.

Something that’s been on my mind that you all can help me with.
Am I the only person left in the internet world that uses LOL?

There are so many people out there that hate it…

You might be one of them, I don’t know.
I just like it… I like being able to convey that I am amused.

If I could, I would use it in real life, when I don’t really feel like laughing, I would just say…

LOL.

It rolls so easily off of the tongue.

Okay so that is taking it a bit far.

Who wouldn’t want to laugh, it feels so good.

Anyway, What is the problem? Should I stop using LOL?

Have you ever had one of those conversations you know you have had before? I’m not talking deJaVu here…  I’m talking about a conversation you’ve had once and forgotten and then you have it again. This happens to me ALL of the time and I really hate it because after I realize it has happened I feel stupid all over… AGAIN!  

Ben and I have one every year at Christmas time. We always go to the same tree farm to get our tree and every year they offer to fresh cut  the tree Ben says “No” at the same time time I say “Yes” and then we have an uncomfortable moment of disagreement… I forget… EVERY year that he likes doing that… he likes cutting the end off and trimming the bottom branches, for him it is part of the ritual that makes Christmas. So I am determined that next year I won’t do it!  I won’t have that conversation again! To help myself, I see the owner of the farm on a regular basis and I always say… “Lynn! No fresh cut. Don’t let me forget.” To which she chuckles and says she’ll try.

There is another one that has been plaguing me for about four years now. We have a friend at church who makes commercials. It’s always cool when he has one running during the Super bowl because we have something to look for, this year I didn’t even ask if  we  should watch for one  because of this stupid conversation!  Sorry side tracked… ANYWAY

A few years ago he directed the movie Glory Road. An okay flick. Since then we have this conversation, I believe this was the third time it has happened. It goes something like this.

Me- “Hey Jim. Are you going to do any more movies?”

Him- “You know, I’m not sure.”

Me-” Cause you know there is this great book! I just think someone needs to make a movie out of it.I just really like it… it would make such a great movie. It’s probably optioned already.If it is, I really wish they would get busy and make it into a movie”

Him- Trying to be polite- ” Oh yeah? What is it?”

Me- “The Persian Pickle Club~ by Sandra Dallas.Ever heard of her, she’s a great author.”

At this point he has a  really? It sounds… strange… look on his face.

Him-” The Persian Pickle Club?”

Me- “It’s about this group of women quilters during the Depression.”

His face now says Oh well that might not be so bad…

Me- “It’s just a really good book about women and how they support each other. I really want to see it made into a movie.I have the book if you want to look at it.”

Him-” No that’s okay I’ll google it and read the paragraph on Amazon.” he makes a small hand jester signifying the paragraph length.

ALL of the time we are having this conversation Ben is standing by chuckling.

There is another  half of this conversation that is even more dumb and makes me look even more stupid and I don’t remember it all but I am sure that in six months to a year we will have the whole conversation all over again and it will spring out of my mouth, probably close to word for word, and I will sound just as stupid! It didn’t occur to me until I got home that it was a conversation we have already had probably twice in the last four years.

Anyway He escapes out the door… probably running from the stupidity and I’m not actually sure if he has googled it because I forget to ask! Besides I’m sure he isn’t really interested in the first place he just doesn’t want to be rude.

Have any of you ever had this problem?  

I need it to not happen again…  How can I make it not happen again?!?

Some one REALLY needs to make the book into a movie and then I will be happy. I will stop bothering  a kind acquaintance with something he has absolutely no interest in.

SO who out there is going to make the movie? Anyone? Anyone?

It has the potential to be great, along the lines of The Joy Luck Club or Cold Mountain… I know it does.

Well for now I guess I will just put a note in the front of my bible… DO NOT HARRASS JIM ABOUT PERSIAN PICKLE CLUB… that should work until it falls out or the kids color all over it. Then I will just have to deal with  my own vacantness…  again. 

*sigh* Quick someone make me feel like less of an idiot!

Panther has put up some doors!

Shellisland has put up a door…

Sometimes in life there are things we simply take for granted. We all do it, food in our belly’s and a roof over our heads, we look at these things as our inalienable rights, although they aren’t. Not everyone has them, and it makes me sad because they should. We all should be warm through the winter and not have to wonder where our next meal is coming from or where our head will lay at night.

There are over 100 million people world wide that are homeless and if you think there aren’t any in your area or town look again. They are there.  Our community is lucky enough to have a Goodwill Inn that provides shelter for families and individuals for a short time when they are in need. I know that not every place that needs shelters has them.

THIS POST touched me and made me grateful for the people who DO, the people who share themselves with others. How hard that must be to be trying to make a dent in the problems of this world and not being able to see the benefits of your handy work immediately or to see things fall through time and again. 

I,  for one, hope they never give up. I hope to never give up. Each one of us can make this world a better place on a daily basis by doing  something as small as smiling at someone or offering them your phone in time of need . Other times we can do something as huge as organizing a homeless outreach program. I guess my point is nothing is to small, and everything is a start when it comes to our fellow man.

You may not be able to start an organization, but you can help one. It’s easy, clean out the closets, those extra blankets and coats aren’t doing anyone any good sitting in there, besides you could use the space, right? I’m not trying to guilt anyone into anything here, I suppose I am just appreciating my warmth and comfort and wishing I could spread it around. When you have it good it’s easy to want to share isn’t it? 

Please go to the link and give support, encouragement or ideas… For today your good deed could be a kind word, there can never be too many of those.