Celebrate the 4th

It's the long 4th of July weekend. It's my favorite summer holiday, I love it!

The patients here in the Psych Ward do the same thing EVERY year. We spend the day at our church 4th of July Festival eating bar-b-q, shopping the Trash and Treasure sale, and playing a little bingo and other games.

Waiting in line for outdoor games:



Bingo:


Every year, I bake a cake for the cake walk, clean out my attic for the T and T sale (didn't do that this year, oops!) and buy tons of raffle tickets for a chance to win the Grand Prize of $1500!! One year, way back after we got married, I was at work at the mall and Steve called me to tell me I won the raffle and the first day that I could, I stopped by the church office and picked up my check for $1250 (the prize back then) and spent the money buying some furniture for my house!

Needless to say, the money raised (and it's a TON of money) goes to charity, the church and the school my daughter goes to and I work at.

And what do we do for fireworks???? We head back up to the church and watch the fireworks from the top of parking deck. Lots of families meet up there, let the kids play and watch the fireworks display. We all bring food and drinks and have a wonderful gathering.

What do I make for the gathering? Every year, I make homemade vanilla ice cream........ and every year I come home with an empty container...... it's the things people look forward to every 4th of July!

Here I am dipping the ice cream from the maker in the trunk in classic tailgate style:

Here are the girls getting the light sticks ready:

Lots of fun by all............ tons of fun!!!

Do you have any family traditions for the 4th of July?

Who's Invited to Dinner? The Fascinating List

We all have people who we find totally fascinating, those that we would just LOVE to sit down and have a chat with, find out what makes them tick, the things they've learned in their life and how they cope with all that is their life.

This list a very random- each of the people will bring a spark to the table. And the conversation, well, it would be so interesting!

In my first seat sits Barbara Bush:

I just adore Barbara. She is one of the classiest ladies, I think, around. She's the real deal! When I finished reading her memoir a few years ago, I just knew she would be on the top of my fascinating list even back then. Not only is she classy, but she has a wicked sense of humor. And that, my friend, is why she's at the top of my list.

The second seat goes to Ryan Adams:

When the news broke that Mandy Moore married Ryan, people were all "What is she thinking?" and I was all "I totally get it!" I fell in love with Ryan's music a few years ago and am revisiting him a lot this summer. His lyrics are beautiful and simple, I absolutely LOVE his music, it's pure. The dark stuff is dark and when I listen to it I go to my dark place. So, I have to be careful, but THAT is what makes him a song writing genius. Seriously, do a little research on him, google him, check him out on YouTube. Sure, he can come across arrogant almost in interviews (which is something I really dislike) and I think in the last few years has lost the whole arrogance thing but his sense of humor (which is something that is so subtle, you have to read between the lines) balances that out. Also, I love that he's overcome his demons and I hope it stays that way.

The third seat belongs to Michelle Duggar:

I know, I know, why would I want to invite her? I'd love to have a chat with this woman and find out what the heck she's thinking! I know what her husband is thinking (with) but, her? Why would you want to have 18 kids is beyond me. I mean, don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with big families, I have lots of friends with 5, 6, 7 kids. I love big families and wanted a bunch of kids (God had other plans) but 18?? My goodness! I can barely handle one! I'd love to hear what she has to say without her husband and any kids hanging on her. I'm thinking I would have to fix her a couple of Firefly's to get her really talking, but I'd get it all out of her!

Seat number 4 would belong to Prince Harry, "His Royal Hotness" :


All of us are fascinated with the British Royal Family. Come on, admit it! How many of us got up in the wee hours of the morning to watch Diana marry Charles? I still remember my mom coming upstairs to wake me up! And when Diana died, how many of us were glued to the news for days on end? I was on bed rest with my pregnancy so I remember it vividly. Maybe that's why I was thinking everyone was watching it! There was nothing else for me to do! So, it was Diana we all fascinated with and now it's her boys. Most people are all about his brother, not me! I love the rebel, the partier, the bad boy. I'm very glad he really got all that out during his younger years and now has come into his own. That's what's so fascinating to me and out of everyone in the royal family, he's probably the one most likely to tell me how it really is!

Rounding out my fascinating people dinner party is Dolly Parton:


Say what you want about this "Backwoods Barbie" but she is a star! I love how she has never pretended to be someone she's not... she knows where she came from and gives back to the people anyway she can. The thing I find most intriguing about her is that she can laugh at herself, much like me! I love her voice, her writing, her humor..... what you see is what you get with this one. I really like that she's been married to the same man for 43 years and we never see him! And she's the owner of one of my all time favorite quotes- "I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know that I'm not dumb. I also know I'm not blonde." She's one smart cookie!

So, there we have it.... Five people who fascinate me! Taking a look back at my list I can only imagine the conversations that would go on! I'm thinking we would laugh, talk about life and how you can overcome lots of things in life!

Who's the person I left off my list that you find fascinating?

I've Been Pink Boxed!

You know me, I've always been an admirer of Facebook...... some of my posts about Facebook have included Facebook Reunions, My Days as a Cougar, and I Need Some Corporate Sponsorship! If you haven't read those posts, take a looksy, they're some of my favorites!

Since I have a blog and all, I joined Networked Blogs on Facebook…. I joined but didn’t really know what to do with it…. I mean, I am so totally computer illiterate and just don’t get some of the “stuff”……

Well, Saturday after I did my Dinner Party post, I clicked on some thing on Networked Blogs over at Facebook (what I don’t know) but Facebook posted my newest blog post. So, I did what all attention seeking bloggers do… I shared it. That way all my Facebook friends would know it was there.

So, Sunday night I go and write on someone’s wall (that still cracks me up to say that) and I got a funky message- that I had been abusing Facebook. Really, me???? Abusing Facebook…… that just makes me laugh!

Here's the copied message:
Warning! You are engaging in behavior that may be considered annoying or abusive by other users.
Sometimes people get these warnings for simply misusing one of our features.

Which of the following links describes what you were trying to do? Clicking on a link will take you to more information on how to use Facebook's features.... Read More

Using Applications
Planning an Event
Sharing your Facebook Group/Event link
Promoting a business, product or service
Chatting with friends

Further misuse of site features may result in a temporary block or your account being permanently disabled.

I've been "Pink Boxed".....Yikes!! That sounds pretty bad, huh? Permanently disabled?? That's so...... FINAL!

Monday I ask for help, and one of my friends, the one that LOVES to be mentioned here because it makes him feel like a star (Hey! Chris), mentioned that I email facebook to see what’s going on……

And then another friend tells me this:
Susan, have you been posting several internet urls recently? If so, and you were posting another internet url, FB software thinks you may be "spamming" the FB community with "commercial links."

This is not personal. This is just a FB software script to try to identify spammers inside of FB.

As a FB gamer, if you post too many items with links you get this same message (had it happen to me too a while back).

Personal?? I'm taking it kinda personal!!! They called me annoying and abusive!

And then he continues:
Maybe you've been posting links to your blog???

Ding, ding, ding!!!!!

So, I get an email from Facebook Monday night, one totally not involved with the one I sent, that said I need to refrain from any “Wall” use…… what??

Yes, I can’t write on anyone’s walls, comment on their status update, post anything to my wall, comment on any pictures………

What about my song of the day I post?? Guess, I won’t be able to do that! And the thing that is so bad about that is that I was chatting with my old friend in Houston and he requested I post “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC because it’s been so dang hot in Houston…. Yes, they’ve gone FOREVER without rain and everyone is burning up there…… funny thing is I had been thinking of that song over the past few days….. odd, huh?

So, here’s my theory on the whole being banned from Facebook for a few days thing…. I think it was the first blog post I posted… the one about all the hot musicians I’d have over for dinner…….

Yep, that’s it…… I guess you can’t link up to your blog on Facebook if you write about hot men……… which is a total travesty…… I mean, you have to write about interesting subjects every once in a while, right??

Other people curse, post naughty videos, pictures and such..... people promote their businesses ......... and I get in trouble for parading men around on my blog like it's a meat market.... Come on..... we like a little eye candy every once in a while!

So, I guess I’ll just be lurking around looking at other people’s stuff……. I can chat with my friends there, send them Inbox messages…… but none of the really fun stuff…… which just blows!

And so, as I’m typing up this little story, my daughter is Altar Serving a funeral at church…. I’m at the library across the street from there typing this…. In Microsoft Word on my laptop because I tried to connect to the free wi-fi here….. and for some reason I can’t connect…….

Seriously, is someone trying to keep me from all the fun these days??? I can’t connect to my blog here, can’t twitter, can’t check out to see what the latest celebrity gossip is on People.com or even shop on any of my favorite sites (I can’t spend any money, but I can look, right?) and I can’t lurk over on Facebook to see if I’ve been “reinstated” or not………

Wonder how long THAT'S gonna be.........

Sad times, today, my blog friends, sad times………….

....... to be continued.

Grow Up and Join a Rock Band

I used to play the flute...... I still have it and have toyed with taking lessons, again.

There are a few things kinda keeping me from this.... time and money!

First, I would have to get the instrument re-corked and re-padded..... seems not touching the thing for 23 years will do that.

Second, I would have to find the time to practice..... soccer starts back NEXT WEEK (yikes)..... and then there's Lizzie practicing piano and now she wants to take guitar (because she wants to play and write music and all)...... and then there's my job..... can't practice much during work now can I? And then there's my limited time to read blogs, write posts..... etc........

But, once I carve out some time, get my flute ready and begin playing again, I've decided I'd love to run off, join a rock band and play the flute.

What??? Rock band??? That sounds a bit odd, doesn't it? Yes, there are lots of songs that have the flute in the music......

Sure! Jethro Tull, Moody Blues, Peter Gabriel all had songs with flute in them.

But who would I really like to run off with??? Yes, you guessed it Dave Matthews Band.... yes, I may look a little out of place, but I think I could handle it!

And since I mentioned Dave, again, in a blog post I have to post a song..... and here's one with flute in it.............



Now, I know I wouldn't look quite as cool as the dude tooting away on his flute, but I could try..... couldn't you see it? I could put my hair in some braids, break out my old Ray-Ban Aviators (of course, I'd have to FIND them) or find my own style... yes, that's it, wear some of my favorite t-shirts, shorts and flip flops and fit right in, don't cha think?

Now, let me tweet Dave and see if he's a go on the whole plan!

Who's Invited to Dinner???

I'm going to start a series of posts inspired by Jen over at Daily Mish Mash.....

Friday Jen asked us for THREE famous people we would like to invite to a dinner party..... I thought three just wasn't enough........

And there are different TYPES of people I would like to invite........ different genres, you might say..... and they don't all include hot men..... but I really like hot men! But, I'd love to have some ladies over, I'd love to have some people resurrected for one night to have a meal with me and I'd love to have to learn some new languages so I could talk to some guests........

I'm not sure how often I'm going to do these installments. I'm not going to have a particular day or time or anything....... just when I figure out the people I'll invite! Just when ever it strikes my fancy!

And I'm going to TRY to limit my guests to just five, that way I can fully concentrate on each dinner companion and converse completely with all of them! Sometimes I may not be able to stop at 5.... and that's when my dinner party might turn into a outdoor bar-b-q!

So, my first installment is going to be hot musicians...... and I don't just find these men hot for their looks.... it's for other reasons. But, you know me... they will be VERY easy on the eyes!

I picked this "dinner party" first because I LOVE music..... and second, I LOVE hot men!

So....... here we go...........

First off is Keith Urban:



Nicole is one lucky lady! Those blue eyes, the way he holds the guitar, the accent...... I could look at him and listen to him all day long. I have a thing for accents..... British is my all time favorite, but Australian is a VERY close second....... and the way his is mixed with the tiny bit of Southern Drawl..... well, it just makes me swoon! And what song would I like him to sing to me? That would have to be "Making Memories of Us".............. it's the perfect song about love...... I just love it!


Making Memories Of Us - Keith Urban

Second up is Rob Thomas:



Another lucky beauty has snatched this man up. What a gorgeous couple he and Marisol make! What do I love about him, other than his looks??? Well, it has to be his songwriting. I love how he writes, the songs just speak to me. And the one that speaks the most?? No, it's not "Smooth"...... but that's a really hot song....... it's "Push"....



Third on my list is Jason Mraz:

Yes, "Mr. A-Z", the "Geek in the Pink"..... I love this guy! It's all about the brain with this dude, the way his brain works totally intrigues me..... his songwriting is unbelievable! I think I could sit and talk to this man for hours on end. And he's from where my peeps are from, Mechanicsville, VA. My sister and I often joke about our cousin babysitting Jason back in the day...... sneaking him into bars, helping form his songwriting mind. The sweet song he could sing to me???? It would have to be "I'm Yours".... I mean what else????


Jason Mraz - Im Yours (Official Video) -

In the fourth seat at my little party would be Dave Matthews:



With this man it's not only the lyrics he writes, with most of them being incredibly hot, it's his voice. The first time I heard his voice on the radio, I knew I would love him and it didn't matter what he looked like. But, I love to look at him, he's interesting to me! The way he cocks his eyebrow up..... man, it's sexy! And he sings one of the hottest, sexiest songs EVER..... "Crash Into Me"........ when you write a song this sensual, you have to be invited to my dinner party!



The last man at my table is Adam Levine:



OK, this one is mainly because he has a dirty side... I mean, have you listened to his lyrics?? The CD "Song's About Jane" has some pretty dirty, hot lyrics..... that CD is the soundtrack for a seduction if I've ever heard one! And which one is my favorite??? "This Love" of course.......



So, there we go... my first dinner party....... and I wouldn't even make any of them sing, I would let them bring their favorite music and let me put it all on my iPod! I'm sure some would be songs I like and some would be songs I've never heard before...... but the best thing? I wouldn't even have to talk music with these men, I'd like to know who they really are, where they're from (as in, what was it like for them growing up) and what they like to do other than create some great music!

Who's the hot musician that you like for more than his looks???? And why do you find him so attractive????

The Down Side of Vacation...... Re-Entry

I'm blaming all my lack of blog posts on the re-entry back into reality from the beach...... it's been very difficult.

I can't seem to put two words together to make a thought....... something interesting to write about........

I have lots of ideas floating around in my head, but for some reason, they won't come out through my fingers when I type......

All I want to do is lay on the sofa, chatting to my twitter and facebook friends......... and wishing I were back in paradise.

Be patient with me, they will come, I just have to concentrate............

Hopefully, over the weekend they will begin to form coherent sentences!

5 Jobs I'd Like to Have

1. Moving to St. George Island and become a cleaning lady for one of the rental companies. Why would I want to do that? Because I could spend my week days on the beach and my weekends (while all the locals are crowding the beaches) cleaning houses and making money..... see it all works out.

2. If I can't clean the houses there then, I'd like to be the program director for WOYS radio. I love that station.... they play a bit of EVERYTHING! You could be listening to Queen then they switch to Barry Manilow then Bon Jovi then they'll play some local music about living at the beach..... it's a great concept. All the songs are positive, happy and usually have a word in there that reminds you of the beach..... magic, sea, starfish, happy, wonderful, etc...... I would love to just google words and find songs with that word in the lyrics....... joy!

3. I'd love to work for OPI and come up with the names of the polish colors........ could you imagine how FUN that is??? I sure can!!!

4. Chick-lit writer. I love to read..... and have a GREAT imagination. My favorite writers are Meg Cabot, Janet Evanovich, Sophie Kinsella, Jane Green, Mary Kay Andrews, etc....... My favorite characters are strong, funny and crazy.... much like me! I have some story ideas in my head and would love to go with them.... I just need the time to do it!

5. Painter/artist...... problem is I'm not original.... I can copy art and have done so with what I have in my house..... but can you say "starving artist"..... because that's what I'd be!

What job would you LOVE to have?

A Week at The Beach

Here's a slide show of my week on the beach........ wishing I could still be there........... oh, well...... enjoy............

Happy Father's Day

Last week I was at the beach with my hubby, my girl and my sister and her hubby and son......... and we had a blast.........

I tried to have my act together and have a couple of posts for you...... but forgot a very important one! The Father's Day one..........

Here we all are with TWO really great dads.........


These two men are the best dads I know..... I love them both.....

But my hubby..... I think he's the GREATEST DAD to our little girl....

He loves to spend time with her...... is so patient with her...... and loves her beyond measure.......

So, I was so happy that we could wake up on Father's Day on the beach.............

And that the week leading up to Father's Day he could sit on the beach all day looking at this..........


Fish by night.........

And have a fabulous week.......

I'm so glad God brought us together, Steve...... you're the BESTEST thing that has EVER happened to me!!!! Happy Father's Day..... you're really good at being such a great dad! I love you!!!!

National Flip Flop Day!!!

National Flip Flop day is June 19th.... and to celebrate Tropical Smoothie Cafe is giving away a FREE 24 oz. Jetty Punch Smoothie to the first 500 customers who wear their flip flops in the store and ask for the free smoothie.

So, slide your feet into your flip flops and head on over to your local Tropical Smoothie Cafe...... and enjoy a free smoothie....... what better way to celebrate summer?????