I was tagged by Jen

So, Jen from over at One Moms World tagged me to share 6 random things about my life right now. Here goes.....

1.) I love Kellogg's Corn Pop cereal....I was craving it and bought the Economy size.
2.) I need a dye job and trim right now.
3.) I decided 5 min. before leaving for work this morning to get my crock pot out and put a roast
in for dinner tonight. I am a spur of the moment kind of gal. Live on the edge.
4.) I sleep in an Epilepsy walk T-shirt and flamingo p.j. bottoms. I do wash them regularly.
5.) I am looking forward to seeing my newest grand-daughter, Ivy, next month...I will be at
the home birth....so exciting. I just realized I should have listed this as my first thing.
6.) I would love to work for Make a Wish Foundation or volunteer at Children's Hospital.
If you would like to share 6 random things about your life right now, please play along.

Over 75 and still counting! No, not my age!

I received so many Birthday Wishes from bloggers all over . I came home after work and counted all of the Bloggers that sent me messages and I counted over 75, and they are still coming in. I am trying to reply to all of you. I just want to say, I feel so blessed to have received ALL of them. This picture was taken on my lunch hour yesterday. I felt the need to meditate at a lake near where I work after running a few errands. I just thanked God for all of the Blessings he has given me. I am saying Thank you in this picture.....I am really not a vain person. I don't usually go around taking pictures of myself. Thanks Steph & Crooked Eyebrow for the touching posts and inviting people to send me wishes. Love you both!

Wordless Wednesday

I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. Psalm 9:1

Great Food, Concert & Gal Pal's

Thanks to CE, I had the time of my life Sunday night. My daughter, crooked eyebrow's mom & I went to see Neil Diamond in concert in Chicago. Our evening started out with dinner at a French restaurant, Marche, a few miles from our concert. It was the best meal I have had in a long time. I ordered the ravioli stuffed with artichoke & Brie cheese topped with lemon poppy sauce....for dessert a yummy brownie layered with cheesecake ice cream and other fancy ingredients. As you can see by the pictures it was divine! Her mom and I share the same birthday, even the year, so it made it so special meeting a new friend born on the same day. We have so much in common, the best is our lovely daughters. The four of us acted like silly high school friends, taking pictures in the bathroom of the restaurant and dancing at the concert. We had the best seats at the concert, overlooking the band and Neil even waived at us silly girls a few times. His songs brought back so many memories. I am getting his latest CD soon. I will never forget that night. Thank you again CE for the tickets and even driving us, even though we got to see more of the city than we expected!

Pretty Birthday Girl

Happy early birthday, Mom!

I hope you like your new look!

I love you.

Love,
Steph

Watch out Neil Diamond, Mother's & Daughter's on the loose

So, this week as I am driving to work I am listening to the radio and if you are the 10th caller you could win tickets to see Neil Diamond in concert for this weekend.......I grab my pink cell phone and start dialing and almost ran off the road! I get a busy signal so I keep trying for a few minutes, to no avail. Oh well, I thought, It wasn't meant to be. I have always loved his music and have wanted to see him in person. So, when I got to work yesterday, I was reading a few blogs (on my 15 min. break, of course) and saw that crooked eyebrow was going to see Neil Diamond in concert this weekend. I commented on her blog that I would LOVE to see him.....the next thing I knew, she emailed me that she just happened to have 2 more tickets and the best part was, they were FREE.....and Bingo, I was invited to go! She asked if I wanted to invite my daughter, Steph.
Of course she wanted to go cause she is a fan also and heard me play and sing his songs growing up. The NEAT part is, crooked eyebrow is taking her mom who just so happens to have the exact Birthday as mine. Same day and year! July 30, 1956.................Her mom and I will be meeting for the first time and I am so looking forward to our night out. I can't thank CE enough for making one of my dreams come true and making this a super exciting Birthday for me. I will be crawling into work on Monday morning from a late night, but it will be so worth it! We plan on dining at a French restaurant before the concert. Now, What to Wear? I have 29 hours to decide.Isn't he good on the eyes?????

Fat Free Birthday Cake

We watched the boys at our house last night while Steph & Jeff went to see a movie. Since my birthday is next week, they made me a play-dough (play-doh) birthday cake. I found these little candles in my drawer and lit them and they sang to me and of course, they blew them out. We did this a few times.
Three proud little boys, proud of their creation. Noah, Gray & Carter. 6 colors mixed together to make this delicious fat free birthday cake. They even baked it in Abby's little kitchen stove. These are 3 creative minds. We had a lot of fun and it didn't even involve a video game! I love these mini men....

Fun in the Sand

We all headed for the beach tonight. It was a little on the chilly side, but that didn't stop us from playing in the sand. Abby had a good time getting sand everywhere.

She is a cool little gal in these sporty sunglasses. Even though the sun was in and out, at least they kept the sand out of her eyes. I can't believe she's already 16 months old.

Her daddy, my son Nate, dug a giant hole and Abby thought it was neat to stand in it.

The cute little family........
Daddy & Daughter....She is her daddy's buddy......

My Niece Dayna's Baby Bump

Let me introduce to you, my Niece Dayna's Baby Bump at 13 Weeks. Isn't it precious? My sister, her mom was visiting us back in May when she found out she was expecting. I will never forget the phone call that evening when Diane answered her cell phone, as I was standing by her side. The look on her face when Dayna told her was sheer delight! We both jumped up and down in our parents kitchen late that night screaming and clapping. Our dad comes walking down the hallway thinking that something bad happened ....he was half asleep, I think we woke him up...Diane couldn't wait to fly back home to hug her daughter and share in this excitement.
Dayna & Rob are very anxious to become parents. She is due January 22, and it can't come sooner for her. I am so excited for her to become a mommy. I know she will make a great one. My sister is so excited and can't wait to rock her new grand-baby. She will find out soon if it is a boy or girl.....then we can go shopping! Hooray!

Silly Abigail

While watching Abby this week I caught her climbing on the inside lid of my broken dishwasher. Yes, Mimi has had a broken dishwasher for a long time. I use it now as my pan drawer. Hopefully one day I will get a new one. Here she is in the pedal car. I had to change her pretty dress shortly after this picture cause she played in the dog water and splashed it all over her. Here she is in Barnes & Nobles trying on a back pack. She knows exactly how to wear it. I adore my little Abber Dabber. She did have on cute jeans but they got wet.

"Remembering Hannah"

Today I am remembering a special little girl, named Hannah.
1 year ago today, she went up to Heaven after a tragic accident.
I have learned so much this past year from reading her mother's daily journal. She loved nature and sparkly things. This little girl has made an impact on so many lives. Thank you little Miss Hannah!

Look at Her Now!

I will never forget the day I found out that I was expecting my first child. After almost 2 years of marriage, Mike and I knew that we were ready to become parents. We really wanted a child. So, we were in the planning stage. After a few months I scheduled a doctor visit to have a pregnancy test done, since I was experiencing some mild morning sickness and tenderness in some places. We didn't have the quick tests back then. I was working at a brand new Day Care Center in our church as a pre-school teacher at the time. I can remember looking in the mirror in the bathroom when I would take a break and holding my top tight against my belly to see if I was growing. I think I wore maternity clothes immediately cause I was so proud. I wanted to share with the world, this blessing that was growing inside of me. Some of my cravings were FISH, of all things....and to this day, I hate seafood... I could live on Long John Silvers. I had heard that fish is brain food (believe it, cause it's true!) Steph is very smart! Mike would stop a lot and pick up fish on his way home from work. Some of my other cravings were tomatoes with salt. My nursery theme was Raggedy Ann & Andy. Not knowing the sex of the baby, we chose something for either. When I was in labor we were still discussing names for this boy or girl I was about to deliver. We were set on Tiffany if it were a girl. When I delivered her, she looked into my eyes and it just melted my heart and I immediately thought, she is not a Tiffany, she is a Stephanie! So, my husband agreed with me and that was that! Long story short, I am so proud of my daughter. I knew back then that she was destined for Great things. She has taught me so much. Enjoy Sunny California Steph!

Saturday Night with Great Friends!

Last night was the NWI Bloggers meet up at a Very nice Restaurant. We had our own private room with piped in Irish music. Crooked Eyebrow was our Hostess with the mostest. She took a Zillion pictures....check them out at her site. She treated to delicious appetizers and had a special treat by each place setting. I felt so blessed to meet such wonderful women. I met the sweetest, craziest mother & daughter bloggers. Thank you again Crooked eyebrow for a Great night out. It was also nice sharing the table with Sunny Side too. Her new hair looked amazing. Oh, I can't forget my side kick Amy sat at our table too. I think our table was the loudest....We don't get out much and we really enjoyed this night. I really like this picture of my daughter, Steph and I also.
Sorry I didn't mention everyone there, but Love you all! Can't wait til next meet up! Thanks for making me feel young again!

Summertime and "Fried Green Tomatoes"

So, my favorite food in the summer is the famous "Fried Green Tomato" I can literally eat them every day and never get tired of them. I usually fry them in Olive Oil to make them a little healthier. I planted this tomato plant at the end of last month and it started out at about 6 inches tall. It is called an "early girl". I love to watch tomatoes grow. My garden consists of this one lonely plant.

Fooled you..........I bet you thought this was my home grown tomato........I stopped at the market on my way home from work and bought some. I just wanted to practice to see how it would look on my plant. Pretty soon, I will have my own home grown tomatoes......Here is my recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes for those interested.

1. Rinse off the green tomato, the larger the better.

2. Slice in 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices......the thicker they are the longer the cooking time.

3. Combine 1 egg and about 1 cup of milk, stir with fork until blended.

4. Combine flour and yellow cornmeal together, equal parts. Sprinkle with Mrs. Dash or sea salt.

5. In non-stick frying pan, pour enough oil to measure about 1/2 inches. You can use Canola too.

6. Heat oil on medium heat.

7. dip tomato slices in egg and milk batter, then dip in flour & cornmeal mixture, place in pan.

8. Cook until golden brown on both sides. Usually done within 15 to 20 min.

9. Take out and place on paper towel to soak up oil.

10. They are delicious dipped in hidden valley ranch dressing or any of your favorite dips.

If you don't like to cook but want to try them, Bennigan's Restaurant has the best around.

Happy 6th Birthday Carter!

Today is a very special day. It is my Carter Bear's 6th Birthday. Carter is my 2nd born grand-son. We celebrated his birthday at Red Robin on Sunday with the family. I felt so special when he asked me to make his favorite dessert for his birthday cake. He didn't want a fancy bakery cake, he wanted Mimi's Pistachio Torte. The funny part is, he only eats the whip cream and mini chocolate chips that are on top. Gray, Carter & Noah.....My 3 favorite little boys! Abby Loves her Cousin so much!

July 4th Parade

Noah is one happy boy.....He picked up candy that was thrown for 1 1/2 hours. We sat at the halfway mark, so there was plenty of candy and even frozen popcicle treats they were passing out.Noah, Gray & Carter......waiting for treats to be thrown their way.....How precious is this picture? Brotherly Love.Baby Girl even enjoyed the parade.....Steph said she was kicking a lot. Gray on "Bumpa's" (Grampa's) shoulders....The best seat in the house. I couldn't believe it when I saw this drive by.........The "Smart" Car that Amy and I want.........We both fell in love with this car while researching cars one day, on our break (of course) at work. It is a 2 passenger car and very good on gas. It is safer than you think.......Check out her blog to read all about it. I would love it in Yellow or this color blue. This is our new friend "Eyore" we met at the Fireworks..........It was a Great 4th!

Let Freedom Ring, It's Independence Day!

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Happy 4th of July! Let Freedom Ring! God Bless America! Thank you to all of the men and women who serve our Country, so that we might experience Freedom in this Great United States of America. I am praying for your safe return.

The Bachelorette

Ok, so I admit it, I watch "The Bachelorette". Next week is the final week and I have no clue who DeAnna will pick to be her Dearly Beloved. I like the final two still standing, even though they are so different. Jesse is free spirited, lots of fun, knows how to treat a lady and I think DeAnna is crazy about him cause he is different from any other guy she has dated. I guess I am old fashioned cause I would like to see him with a shorter hair-style. I do like him a lot, but I am torn between the two.

Jason is a Nice guy, handsome, terrific father to his 3 year old son. He would be a great catch. He has a stable career. This will be such a hard decision for her to make. They both have wonderful families. If you watch the show, who is your choice?