Fall Foliage

We have had some great color this fall. This tree is a prime example:

Just a few minutes ago, I stood on our back deck and took that picture. Last fall it had some bright color, but it definitely wasn’t that fantastic. Two years ago it was a disappointment: you could imagine it had a coppery tinge to the leaves as they went from green to brown, but it was mostly in the imagination. They clung to the tree long after other leaves had fallen, but a Thanksgiving day windstorm ripped those clinging leaves off in less than 5 minutes. That was 2007.
This year, we are enjoying the color.

To my Canadian friends

Thanksgiving is coming up in less than a week.

Happy Thanksgiving, just a little bit early!

Now, do you love your kitchen? I read over on Quilly’s blog that Maple Leaf Foods is giving away a DREAM KITCHEN to a lucky Canadian resident!  Head on over to this post to learn more. 

Happy 4th of July!

Celebrate your independence, have fun, and stay safe!

A Correction

I found the following in my comment box regarding my last post. Yes, I had a little nagging voice telling me to check out my info, so I went to truthorfiction.com.  I should have checked out Snopes as well, or at least I should have Googled!  *sigh*  Good news, it’s only her age that was wrong.  Read on…

Please know that Regina Brett, author of 50 Life Lessons, is not 90 years old (don’t feel bad – that misinformation is all over the internet), but she is indeed wise. She is actually 53 years old; she is the senior metro columnist at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland (Ohio’s largest weekly newspaper); she was a finalist in both 2008 and 2009 for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary; and she has a book based on her 50 Life Lessons coming out in April of 2010. You can check out her website by going to http://www.reginabrett.com where you will see that all I’ve written here is true !! You can also read all of her past columns, including the columns nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, at http://www.cleveland.com/brett

Blogroll

I just spent time updating my blogroll. Please look for your link there, and if I missed it, leave me a comment! I’d like to finally have my blogroll up-to-date. Thanks!

PS: If you have a successful button code to The Women’s Colony, can you send it to me? Thanks!

Road Trip

Every Thursday during the school year, I make a 32 mile trek that takes close to an hour. A few hours later, I turn around and return home again. Why do I go? I meet with other military wives for Bible study and shop at the Commissary.

It is a beautiful drive. Here are some pictures I took on the way home a few weeks ago:

staying legal!

"Smells like money!"

I got some weird looks somewhere around here, since I was driving with a camera in one hand. *Do not try this at home, kiddies!*

G-man is totally going to give me a bad time because I teased him on Tuesday about snapping and driving for his WWC pics.

looking east

looking west

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Tomorrow I’m off on a different kind of road trip: it is time for the annual girls’ weekend. This year my BB down in Dallas is hosting us. I don’t like flying, but I do love getting together with long-time friends. I’ll be back in time for the Weekly Words Challenge on Tuesday.

Have a great weekend, y’all!

Slip-slidin’ away

Yesterday’s footprints and today’s sunshine.

It was a “no footprint” morning:

2 hours late but back to school

Awwww…

I’m feeling all *hearts* today. 

I woke up inspired  to finally take the Christmas ornaments off the tree prepare to decorate the tree for Valentines Day (yes, really). 

And then I checked my e-mail and discovered that Jenn at Juggling Life has given me this sweet award: 

Isn’t that sweet? 

Jenn is a mom of 4 who also manages to work part-time AND go to school!  She juggles more than I can even imagine and almost never drops the ball.  I keep hoping some of that will rub off on me, although I’m not ready to have one of my boys morph into Grizzly Adams.

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With all the news coverage on Tuesday, I thought it would be the snapshots of elderly black women tearing up that would make me cry.  I was wrong… those photos made me smile at the the joy they must be feeling. 
This morning, however, I saw this picture of a deployed soldier watching the inauguration of President Barack Obama:

http://www.msnbc.com/modules/interactive.aspx?type=ss&launch=28753038,2&pg=17

If you can view it and feel nothing, check your pulse. 
Sorry I can’t just copy & post it as a photo — be sure to click on the link — it’s worth it! 

I scored a 55 (or, How I am NOT a Neat Freak)

I was visiting Jacki this morning and she challenged me to  take a Neat Freak Quiz. I’ve posted my score as the post title (does this make any of you want to run away screaming?), and below is what the computer-generated answer said about me (my own comments in red).

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Well you’re not Captain Cleanliness or anything, but you definitely don’t live in the presence of evil bacteria and dust bunnies. (No dust bunnies?  Um, they breed like…well, like RABBITS around here!  Pardon me while I get out the swiffer…) In other words, you like your living space to be neat and tidy (why yes, yes I do — sadly, very few people help me to keep it that way so there are days when I give up the fight), but you don’t go haywire with the cleaning agents and antibacterial sprays. Sure, you may leave dishes overnight rather than washing them after every use, but you definitely wouldn’t leave them for days! (Uh, are we talking about dirty dishes or rinsed-off dishes that need to be washed by hand in the sink?) Most things have their own space at your place — but like many households, you may have that miscellaneous “junk drawer” to keep items that don’t really belong anywhere. (I also have flat surfaces that are magnets for paper clutter.  Very STRONG magnets.) Your home and work area at school or at your job can get a little messy occasionally (occasionally??) , but you rarely let it turn into absolute chaos. (These people have NOT been in my home lately.  Trust me, the clutter monster has been projectile vomiting.) Just keep in mind that whether you like it or not, people will judge you by how clean you keep your home (OUCH), so make sure to leave a nice, lemony-fresh impression!  (This message brought to you by SuperDad, who would like to come home to a nice, lemony-fresh impression.)

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Well, folks, Evil Bacteria is not my problem (Big Relief there!!) but  clearly, I did not do very well on the rest of the quiz.  I now DARE you to take your own Neat Freak Quiz and let me know your score in the comment section!

Beginning

I’m not a Black Friday shopper (unless I am visiting my inlaws — then the womenfolk all drag me out of bed) but I am aware that the season has begun.  More specifically, tomorrow is the first Sunday of Advent.  In recognition of that which I have been in denial (the imminent arrival of Christmas!), I give you:

I’ve seen David Harsh perform and he is amazing!  He trained classically as an opera singer, then taught himself guitar, then studied with some guitar greats (Alex deGrassi ring a bell anyone?).  David is also an accomplished pianist.  Enjoy!