Monday, November 27, 2006

A Christmas Journal!...



Krissy had the wonderful idea to create a Christmas journal and has lovingly prepared the first entry!  The journal is called Joy To The World!  I am Krissy's helper elf.  I will be writing when needed and am helping in the background.  She really gets most of the credit, though.  Entries will be added each day of the month of December!!  It promises to be informative and lots and lots of fun and we do hope it will bless you this Christmas season!!  Go and check out the first entry and consider putting it on alerts!  Thanks guys! xox

Sunday, November 26, 2006

"Wordplay" and Tournament...

             
              "Women and cats will do as they please, and men
                and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."

                                                                       
  -- Robert A. Heinlein



Good afternoon all my pals!  I do hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Mine was very quiet and nice.  I wanted to ask if you guys like this font type and size better?  If you do, I will use it.   I think it might be easier to read.  Let me know.

                                      

I have something fun for "Wordplay" today!  It's very easy so everyone can participate.  Visit this
link from Think.com
.  It says, "Get a Random Quote".  Press the button.  Share your quote with us in the comments section!  If you don't like your first quote, pick another.  Why did you pick this quoteIs this a serious or funny quoteAre there any thoughts you would like to share about your quote?

My quote is:  "I planted some bird seed.  A bird came up.  Now I don't know what to feed it."  by Steven Wright.  I chose this because I thought it was funny!  Do you feed it bird?  LOL  What do you think?  Tell me about your quote!

On another note, Kellen is hosting an abbreviated version of his Journal Tournament called
"Tournament Revolutionized"
.  I have participated in a couple of his Tournaments in the past and they prove to be loads of fun and I have learned a heck of a lot!  Kellen puts a lot of time and energy and creative effort into his Tournaments to make them a great time!  You can also meet new journalers in the process!  If you want to try something new and like a little bit of competition (or a lot!) give it a go and sign up!!  Now is the time to do it.  Registration runs through November 30.  Kellen asked us to put this blurb in our journals and I am happy to comply, Kellen!...

  
JOURNAL TOURNAMENT - A three task tournament between journalers,
      building community and friendly competition in J-Land.  The tournament is in
      an experimental phase... a one task 20 question Tournament Revolutionized.
      If you sign up, you will be asked to complete those 20 questions by the
      appropriate deadline, and whoever has the most points, will be declared the
      winner!  It's a great way to get involved and see if you like the Journal
      Tournament without signing up for the full three tasks.  Everyone who has
      joined the past three tournaments has had a blast!  See what it's all about...
     
http://journals.aol.com/love2sing2007/JournalTournament
  .  Now registering
      through November 30!


Have a good rest of the weekend everyone and don't forget to leave your quote!  Adios! xox

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

A Birthday, the Hunt...


Baby, who we affectionately call Boo now, because he just doesn't seem like a "baby" anymore, is two this month.  We don't know the exact day he was born.  We really don't know if he was born in November, but we are assuming.  He was given to us a little under two years ago in late December.  Boo was abandoned by his Mama when he was a little kitten and was first dropper fed by a neighbor and then bottle fed.  He is going strong at 22 pounds!!  He is full of vim and vinegar and love only when he wants to give it (and he does!).  As I was making the graphic below he was tearing the stuffing out of a kitchen chair.  LOL  Happy Birthday, Boo!!!  WE LOVE YOU!!!!

                   

Krissy is announcing the subject for the Photo Scavenger Hunt over in
her journal
this morning so pop on over.  I know I said I would do it yesterday, but I handed it over to her, since she came back earlier than expected.  Head on over and see what it is!

There is a small turkey and Thanksgiving quiz
here
if you want to give it a try.  I did poorly.   Let me know how you do if you take it.   Have a blessed day! xox

Monday, November 20, 2006

Photo Scavenger Hunt #96 Participants...


Photo Scavenger Hunt #96 Participants

This week's subject is: 
art

The following journals participated in this week's hunt.  Check them out!  It was very interesting to see how "art" was interpreted!  Thanks everyone!


     This Momma's Drama
     Photo Trek

     Mark's Daily Journal

     Footprints in the Sand

     My Spot

     Gina's Space

     Promise... Me

     Confessions of an Angel Waitress


and from last week visit here
where Linda from Linda's World did feet.

I will be back soon with this week's Hunt subject!  Hugs! xox

 

Monday Morning Question!...

         

Do you intend to shop on Black Friday?

my answer:  I would rather be hit over the head a hundred times with a hammer.  No, I would rather jump off a bridge.  No, I would rather be eaten by a pack of wolves (or eat the pack of wolves...), well, you get the picture.  I HATE shopping as it is, and to fight clawing, fighting people for merchandise seem ludicrous.  I don't care if it is lower-priced.  It will be lower-priced the next day, too.  How about you ?  If you do this as an entry in your journal, please come back and leave your entire entry URL so we all can read!  Thanks!

 

Sunday, November 19, 2006

"Wordplay"!, etc...


             
         
  
            "
He who thanks but with the lips, thanks but in part;  The
              full, the true Thanksgiving comes from the heart
.
"
                                                                                       -J. A. Shedd


Happy Sunday all my journal buddies!  Wow, Thanksgiving is in four days!  I just realized that.  I thought I had a little more time.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!  I don't think I'm doing anything special with family this year.  I may just spend it with my boyfriend at my home.  The last few years I went to Krissy and John's, but with John being so ill, I think I will just stay home.  I am not someone who likes to cook a big meal (or even a small one... LOL) too often, so we may have to go out and hunt down a Thanksgiving meal.  I don't know.  We shall see.

                                          

Time for "Wordplay"!  I thought I would talk about mnemonics today.  I have used mnemonics a lot in my lifetime as I have had memory problems from my Chiari Malformation and my shunt.  Mnemonics is defined (from Merriam Webster) as a technique for improving the memory.  I think that definition sounds too simple, but that is what it says.  Mnemonic is defined as: (n) a mnemonic device or code.  If I am out and need a few things from the store, I will often take the first letters of the few things I need and form a mnemonic code from them.  For example, if I need bananas, oranges and soup, I will take the b, the o, and the s and come up with BOS and then think of the word BOSS perhaps and then picture a boss in my head.  It doesn't have to be perfect.  I just have to remember it.  I do this in pictures, too.  If I need cat food, hamburger, laundry detergent, and a certain magazine I might picture my cat sitting on the washing machine eating a hamburger and reading a magazine.  It works!  I am familiar with two very famous mnemonic codes off the top of my head right now.  The first one is ROY G. BIV.  This represents the colors of the rainbow in order - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.  The second is My very educated mother just served us nine pickles.  These are the planets in our solar system in order.  Now that Pluto is no longer a planet, I guess we have to knock the pickles off.  LOL  I will change it to, My very educated mother just served us nachos!  We don't get served nine anything anymore.  LOL  So, do you know any famous mnemonics?  Any obscure onesDo you have any of your own personal mnemonic codes that you have made up to help yourselfIf not, can you think of one now?  Let us know in the comments section!  If you do this as an entry in your own journal, please come back and leave your entry URL so we can have a look see!

I will be doing the Monday Morning Question and listing the Photo Scavenger Hunt participants as well as a Hunt subject tomorrow because
Krissy
will be busy at the hospital with John.  I hope you all can come back tomorrow morning and see the postings!  If you can't, do have a blessed and safe holiday week!  Hugs, Val xox

 
        "
Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare.  They are 
      consumed in twelve minutes.  Half-times take twelve minutes.  
      This is not a coincidence.
"
                                                                                    - Erma Bombeck

             
                      
                    

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

MMQ, pics of Josiah...


Krissy posed a very interesting and silly, four-part Monday Morning Question yesterday.  I thought I would answer it in my journal.  The first question was: Cats:  Rule or drool?  They have ruled ever since my Dad brought in our first stray cat, Blackie, when I was a small kid.  I have been in love with cats ever since!  They are a darling animal to own, or be owned by, shall I say.  I do like dogs, too, but cats have my heart.  The second question was: Lobster: Eat or no treat?  I will say no treat, don't eat, meat too sweet.  My Dad used to buy them live when we were kids and allowed the lobsters to play with our cats.  Dad, lobsters ARE NOT playtoys for cats nor are cats playtoys for lobsters.  It was also no fun to watch them be cooked alive.  Number three was:  Ties: Wear or nowhere?  I think ties are fine, a personal preference.  I think a nice-dressed man looks sharp!  The final question was:  Escargot: slime or sublime?  I have eaten escargot before.  It was about 20 years ago.  I only had to try one bite.  It is rubbery and too garlicky and kind of slimy.  I will never try it again.

My sister, Grace, has
her first online journal!  Let's welcome her to J-Land!!  If you can pay her a visit, please do!

Chelsea sent me about ten pictures of Josiah last night.  Here are two of them.  The first one is him on Halloween...

         

The second one is him giggling from a tickle.  I can't believe he is already laughing and giggling!  He will be three months old tomorrow!...

         

Thanks for stopping by!  Take care! xox
 

Photo Scavenger Hunt #95 participants...


Photo Scavenger Hunt #95 Participants

This week's subject is:  "
feet
"

So sorry to the participants of the Hunt and those who came here yesterday looking for this posting.  I was away for a medical appointment (out of town) with my sister and her husband and did not get back until today.   Thanks to those below that participated:

     
Northern Trip

     Promise... Me

     Tammy's Scavenger Hunt Journal

     Confessions of an Angel Waitress

     A Little Left of Center

     Footprints in the Sand


Please visit  Krissy at Sometimes I Think
for next week's Photo Scavenger Hunt subject!  She should be posting it sometime today, if she has not already posted it.  Thanks!

Sunday, November 12, 2006

"Wordplay"!... it's funny!...


          "The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham
            and eggs.  The chicken is involved, the pig is committed."
                                                                            -Martina Navratilova


My cat, Baby, has been standing and staring at me since I woke up at 8:45 this morning.  It is now 11:45.  That's three hours.  He does this sometimes.  It spooks me.  Just standing there staring.  Staring.  Staring.  Why are you doing this, Baby?  He doesn't blink.  LOL  Does anyone else with cats have a cat that does this?

                                        


I received a hilarious email from
Merry and wanted to use it for "Wordplay" today.  I hope you all find it as funny as I do.  Merry, coincidentally, is celebrating a birthday today.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Merry!  I hope you have a very wonderful year!!  You are a very, very special lady!!  This email asks the age-old question, "Why did the chicken cross the road?"  I don't know the original author of this email or I would give them credit.  I would like you to read the responses below and tell me your favorite!  Let me know in the comments section, have fun, and I hope you laugh away like I did!!


   Dr. Phil
The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he
     must first deal with the problem on "THIS" side of the road before it goes
     after the problem on the "OTHER SIDE" of the road.  What we need to do
     is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his "CURRENT
     problems before adding "NEW" ones.


   Oprah
Well I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why
     he wants to cross this road so badly.  So instead of having the chicken
     learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going
     to give him a car, so that he can just drive across the road and not live life
     like the rest of the chickens.


   George W. Bush:  We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road.
     We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not.  The
     chicken is either against us, or for us.  There is no middle ground here.

   Donald Rumsfeld
Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the
     satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

   Anderson Cooper/CNN
We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we
     have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

   John Kerry
Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now
     against it!  It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the
     chicken's intentions.  I am for it now, and will remain against it.

   Judge Judy
That chicken crossed the road because he's GUILTY!  You
     can see it in his eyes and the way he walks!


   Pat Buchanan
To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

  
Martha Stewart No one called to warn me which way that chicken was
     going.  I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs
     when the price dropped to a certain level.


   Dr. Seuss
Did the chicken cross the road?  Did he cross it with a toad?
     Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

   Ernest Hemingway
To die in the rain.  Alone.

   Grandpa
In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road.
     Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

  
  
Barbara WaltersIsn't that interesting?  In a few moments we will be
     listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart-warming story of
     how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its
     life-long dream of crossing the road.


   John Lennon
Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together -
     in peace.


   Aristotle
It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

   Bill Gates
I have just released eChicken2006, which will not only cross roads,
     but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook.
     Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken.  The platform is much more
     stable and will never cra...#@&&^(C|..... reboot.

   Albert Einstein
Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move
     beneath the chicken?


   Bill Clinton
I did not cross the road with THAT chicken.  What is your
     definition of chicken?


   Al Gore
I invented the chicken!

   Colonel Sanders:
  Did I lose one?


My favorites are Dr. Seuss, Al Gore, Albert Einstein and Bill Gates.  Not necessarily in that order.  What is/are your favorite (s)Let me know in the comments section.

Baby finally stopped staring at me because I fed him a treat.  Go figure.  I will have more up-to-date pictures of Josiah for you tomorrow!  I found them on my daughter's My Space page.   Gee, Chels, why didn't you send these pictures to me???  Argh!!!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend and keeping warm.  Hugs to everyone! xox

Monday, November 6, 2006

Photo Scavenger Hunt #95 subject...


Photo Scavenger Hunt #95 will be due on Sunday, November 12, at 11:00 PM EST.

    

This week's subject will be:  "
feet
"


Krissy came up with this subject and told me to give it to you guys on the phone last night.  You can interpret this any way you wish!  Please leave full URL link to your submission in the comments section.  Have lots of fun!!

For those of you who are wondering why I am running The Photo Hunt this week, please read preceding entry
.  Thanks!

Hope everyone is having a lovely day! xox

Monday Morning Question, etc...


Good morning!  I am posting the Monday Morning Question this morning for Krissy because she and John are in Hershey again.  John was rushed there because he had a fever over the weekend and was in extreme pain.  They think he may have a blood clot in his lung.  It could be pneumonia, but they are leaning towards the blood clot.  He is in critical condition.  She called me yesterday morning and it was heart-wrenching hearing John screaming in the background.  It was just so scary.  If you want to read about it and say hello to Krissy, her journal entry is here.  Also, when Krissy goes to the hospital she stops reading journals because she becomes so busy.  She gets all of her journal news from The John and Krissy J-Land Gazette that Tammy has tirelessly run for months now.  Thanks, Tammy!  Angels ARE in human form.  If you want to send her and/or John a well-wish, a "hello",  any news, a journal entry, or even something light like a joke or something to help them get through, you can send your submission to Tammy at memes121@aol.com.  If you have any questions how to do this please email Tammy or me at valphish@aol.com.  Thanks everyone!  Now on to the Monday Morning Question...   

        

Which of the four seasons do you look most forward to?

my answer:  I think I look most forward to the Fall.  I don't like the heat of the Summer, so the Fall is very, very comforting to me.  I like the cool days and chilly nights and I enjoy the changing leaves and the smell of the air.  I love the idea of the holiday season approaching, too!  People tend to be a bit more cheery!  Spring is a very, very close second, however.  My favorite day of the year perhaps is the first day when I can open all my windows and have the smell of Spring permeating through the house.  It is heavenly!  Spring never lasts long enough, though.  It never does for some reason.  It gets hot way too quickly for me.  I like temperatures to be below 70 degrees inside and out.  I have had a lot of thermostat wars when I have lived with others all my life.  What about you?

Saturday, November 4, 2006

"Wordplay", etc."

   
   
"
Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing
        in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they beome
        in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.
"
                              
           - Nathaniel Hawthorne


                             

Good Saturday, all, and welcome to "Wordplay"!  I wanted to talk about the dictionary today and new additions to it.  Merriam-Webster will be adding nearly 100 new words to its new addition this year.  When I read this I wondered how many I knew or if I used any of them regularly.   Take this small seven question quiz and let me know how you doGo to this site and view 30 of the new wordsDo you know most of these wordsSome of themWhat percentageDiscuss any of the words you want in the comments section.  I took the quiz and got six out of seven correct.  I did know most of the words in the word list and use, or have used, about a third of them in my vocabulary at some time or another in speaking or writing. 

I wanted to say congratulations to Jennifer, a friend of mine who goes all the way back to middle school, who was the only one who was able to pick me and Krissy out of my sibling photo, and in fact, was able to identify the whole brood!  Cool, Jen!!

Voting has started for the VIVI Awards and will be over on the 6th.  Have you voted?  All you need is a valid AOL or AIM screen name.  Go
vote
if you haven't and have your vote counted!!

Chelsea called last night and said she was definitely sending new pictures of Josiah for me and to checked my email this morning!!  I got on the computer this morning to download them and there were no pictures from her!!?!!  Why do you tease me so, Chels?!!?!!  Why?  Why???  What an AWFUL thing to do to a grandma!!  Send them!!  Send them!!!  LOL  Hopefully you all will see an updated picture of the little guy soon!

I hope everyone is having a good weekend and keep enjoying the little things! xox

Thursday, November 2, 2006

A couple of pictures of Josiah...


Hello there, everyone!  I wanted to share a couple pictures of Josiah with everyone.  I miss him so very much!!  Chelsea told me that Josiah had doubled his weight by his second month appointment at the pediatrician's.  He weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces when he was born.  That means he is over 15 pounds now!!  He will be three months old in two weeks.  I haven't gotten any pictures of him since he was around six or seven weeks old!!  He must be changing dramatically!!  Chelsea said he is filling out and getting round!!  Chelsea, send me pictures!!  Chelsea hopes she and Josiah can visit me in January.  By that time he will be trying to walk and will be smiling and giggling and perhaps even trying to say some things.  He was very vocal when he was born, just like Chelsea.  He could repeat sounds his first week of life.  He was humming while I was singing and could repeat some sounds that I made.  Chelsea was like that.  She had a vocabulary of about 60 words by six months old and was saying small sentences at a year.  Here is Josiah just after I left Florida...

                                  

Here he is with his Daddy, Desi, around the same time.  I crocheted the blanket that is on him while I was visiting them...

                   

Hope you enjoyed my little guy!  Chelsea, send me more pictures!!!

Color test results, family picture...


This is my results of the color test I gave you guys yesterday.  I didn't post it then because I wanted you all to be surprised by the depth of the test.  Also, I wanted to let everyone know that NO ONE was able to pick out me and Krissy in our family photo.  From left to right the children in the photo are Grace, me, Therese, Krissy, and Carl.  Thanks for trying, though!  

                                       

You have always been on the move seeking affectionate, satisfying and harmonious relationships. Your ultimate goal has been the realisation of an intimate union in which there could be love, self-sacrifice and mutual trust. It has often been said that 'True love is just around the corner' and - if you haven't found it as yet - you possibly soon will.

At this time you 'need to be needed' and again you 'need to need'. You have had this feeling for some time now and you are looking for someone who could share a close bond in an atmosphere of shared intimacy. You have the belief that with the right person you could conquer the world.

Enough is enough - but the problems never seem to stop. They never stop. You feel, and maybe you are right, that the problems seem to go on and on and you have indeed had more than your fair share of trials and tribulations. But to give you credit - you bounce back time and time again - you stick to your beliefs because deep down you have that inner knowledge, that 'belief' system that in the end, everything will turn out OK - and you are right -it will!

You are an emotional, sincere and impressionable individual experiencing frustration and unnecessary stress. You vehemently resist any form of pressure from outside sources, insisting on your independence as an individual. You want to be a decision maker - to make up your own mind without interference. You wish to be able to draw your own conclusions and arrive at your own decisions. You detest uniformity and mediocrity as you want to be regarded as one who gives authoritative opinions. Your favourite expression could well be that 'I may not always be right but I am never wrong'. You're a perfectionist and even though you may feel that the other person's point of view may be right, you find it extremely difficult to admit that you could be wrong.

You would like to be respected and valued for yourself and this can only be achieved from within a close and harmonious relationship.

Wednesday, November 1, 2006

A "Color" Test...


Angela sent me a link to a fascinating test.  It takes less than a minute and you just may be amazed and what you will find out about yourself!   The results of this test had me pegged!  Give it a try!  If you do this in your own journal leave a link so I can read.  Thanks!