another fun meme

Found this meme over at another piece of the puzzle. Thot it looked fun, and a bit different from some of the other meme’s out there.

Out to Lunch (or Dinner)

1. When you go to a restaurant, do you usually order the same thing? Not always, tho there are a few favorites that I like.
2. What is your favorite fish dish? I rarely order fish in a restaurant, but if I do, it would be halibut or tuna.
3. What is your favorite meat dish? I absolutely LOVE prime rib! I also like ribs, steak and esp lamb.
4. What is you favorite vegetable? Corn on the cob.
5. How often to you eat out? it depends on how much money we have, but usually its only about 3-4x a month.
6. Do you usually order dessert? If yes, what? Again, depends on the restaurant. If it’s a restaurant known for good desserts, then yes. We will usually split a dessert. Something chocolate-y, or cheesecake, or crème brulee, or ….
7. Do you like a particular after dinner drink? No, not usually.
8. How far would you drive to go to a favorite restaurant? I might drive an hour. Maybe …
9. Do you like to dine with just one person or a group? I always enjoy eating out with my husband. And I also enjoy eating lunch with my sister or a girlfriend. With a group, it has to be the right group of friends.

Thankful Thursday

Sept 11
what a day to write my list of thankful thots! in some ways hard, as this day reminds of a dark day in our history. yet, a great day to be thankful since we have not had another attack in 7 years! come join me today as i express my thankfulness to a Great God, who is Sovereign. others are also thankful today and joining up over at Sting My Heart. go visit and you'll be blessed.

Lord, first off on this infamous day, i am so thankful for your protection. on me, on my family, on our nation. thank you for keeping us safe from other attacks in the last 7 years.

Lord, thank you for the faithful soldiers who are fighting far from home, to ensure that our world is a safer place. thank you for their sacrifice. and thank you for their families who endure so much hardship in their service to this great country.

Lord, thank you that we can worship you when and where we want, in freedom. thank you that we can share about you freely with others without fear of reprisal.

Lord, i thank you for the date nite that hubby and i were able to enjoy last weekend. thank you for our friendship with each other as well as with others.

Lord, thank you for the little boys in joe's class who invited him to play tag this week. thank you for their tender hearts towards my non-verbal son. thank you that joe was included and all the boys had fun. Lord, i pray that this will be the beginning of some true friendships for my son.

Lord, i thank you that we are finally feeling like we are getting settled here in boise. it always takes me some time, but i really am starting to feel like this is home.

and Lord, thank you for our friends who are bringing up a few more things from our house this weekend. help us to find space for the items, or new owners for them.

isnt' being thankful great? it just lifts your spirits, calms your soul, and energizes you throughout your day.

on another note, go over to a celebration of our journey and read her tribute to 9/11. it touched me mightily. she also has a video on her site. now i'm not a big one for watching videos. i never seem to have the time, and my computer's sound system is flaky, but this one is worth it. take the extra moment.

Special Exposure Wednesday

5 Minutes for Special Needs hosts special exposure wed every week and its something i love to participate in. i guess i'm just partial about photos of my son. so heres some more pics of my #1 son.

MAMA MIA!

(spoiler alert! if you are planning on seeing the movie you may not want to read past the first paragraph)

(i have been trying to add photos to this blog all day and blogger is not cooperating with me! ugh. so i'm going to post now and if later i can add pics of the movie i will do so. sigh ...)

my hubby told me last week that he wanted to take me out saturday nite. what fun! a date, instigated by him, no less. since i am the social secretary for our family this job falls to me most often. we decided to go see the movie mama mia. a couple different people told us they had liked it so we thot, why not? it has some good actors and the plot looks enjoyable enough. what no one had told us was that it was a musical! we have nothing against musicals, in fact, we kinda like them. but to see the actors break into song kinda caught us off guard!

hubby was a good sport, since it really is a chick flick. there were a group of women behind us, probably 5 or 6 laughing loudly and making a ruckus. but we were laughing too. it is hilarious, and touching too. the friendship between the women is what draws one in.

there are questionable parts to the plot from a christian point of view: promiscuity leading to a pregnancy. but in light of sarah palin's daughter being pregnant, one line stood out to me. where meryl's character says that when she told her mom that she was pregnant, her mom told her to never come home. i was struck by how sad that kind of judgement is. for the daughter, for the mother, for the family as a whole. what a difference from the palin family who is gathered around bristol and her fiancee and giving them moral support to get thru this challenging time in their lives.

and for the romantic in me, i loved the ending where the "old boyfriend" and donna get married after 20 years. ahhhh! we left the theatre singing "waterloo" all the way home.

I Need A Haircut!!!

it has been way too long since i've had my hair trimmed. i really, REALLY need a haircut. my hair is brown, and its past my shoulders. i wear bangs and glasses. so i'm thinking of going into a salon and asking for sarah palin haircut! do you think the hair stylist would even know who she is?

my need for a haircut is part of a bigger issue tho. i haven't really settled into a new, fall routine since the move. the month of august was upheaval. with joe out of school and limited help for him, trying to get settled and unpacked, getting michael ready for his classes. whew! now with both boys in school i have a bit more time to get settled, tho it still seems like its slow going.

i have yet to make out a weekly dinner menu as is my custom. my grocery shopping is sporadic. on the plus side, i have been able to use my breadmaker a couple times and yes, we are eating every day. but i have high standards for myself.

so next week i've promised myself that i will find a salon and get a haircut. and maybe i will ask for the sarah palin haircut!

Sarah Palin

did you see Sarah speak last nite? Sarah Palin, VP nominee for the GOP? Govenor of Alask, Sarah Baracuda, bulldog in heels and lipstick Sarah Palin?

wow--what a gal. what a firecracker. a gal who doesn't hold back, who delivers the punch with a smile. what impressed me was that she was telling the truth in a very down to earth, common sense way. that we, normal people from flyover country can understand. she's one of us.

and she endeared me forever when i found out that she has a newborn with special needs and she calls him a joy! and then she blew me away when she said she'd be a friend and an ADVOCATE to all us parents with special children when she is VP. do you know how long we have been waiting for someone in the white house to say that? to have someone who knows what we go thru everyday with our children!

i like that she's a go-getter and wants to do something, not just say something that sounds good.

this is my first dip in the political blogging pool, so don't be too hard on me in the comment section. i've debated whether to blog about politics, but after seeing others blog about sarah i thot i'd join in. why? cuz i'm so excited. i'm a bit of a closet political junkie, esp around election time. but i have never been as excited about a candidate as i am about sarah palin.

so what say you? did you see sarah palin's speech? what did you think of it?

Thankful Thursday

wow--where did this week go? its thursday already and that means its thankful thursday day. is that redundant?

Lord, we have so much to be thankful here in America. i often wonder how my life would have been different had i been born or grown up in a different country. i am thankful to have been born to christian parents in America. to have grown up attending church and hearing the Word of God preached. it is a privilege i never want to take for granted.

Lord, i'm thankful for the beautiful fall weather we are having here. i'm thankful that where i live i don't have to deal with hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, or floods. i pray that you would be with those people who have been displaced and have suffered loss.

Lord, i'm thankful that my hubby is enjoying his college classes and is focused on going forward with his new career. i'm thankful that the commission for the blind is footing most of the bill to allow us, a couple with limited resources, to pursue this new track in our life. we don't take it for granted that we are being helped by our govt's generosity. and i'm thankful that my hubby studies hard and wants to get straight A's.

every thursday Iris over at Sting My Heart hosts this thankful thursday. if you'd like to join in, or see what others are thankful for, head over to Iris' blog. you'll be blessed.

Special Exposure Wednesday

our son loves his root beer. he would drink root beer every day if he could, but he can't cuz we are mean parents. and he loves drinking out of a straw. he was 4 or 5 when he finally was able to suck strongly enough to use a straw. we had many trips on the road, and many trips to the fast food places that were aggravating, cuz he couldn't use a straw ( he didn't do well with sippy cups either) this photo reminds us that good things do happen and our kids do accomplish great things, including learning to sip thru a straw!

there are more great photos of special kiddos over at 5 minutes for special needs. go check it out!

What's Better than a New Purse?

i'm coming out of the closet ... with my large collection of purses. yes, its true, i LOVE purses! small purses, big purses, black purses, colorful purses, totes, satchels, clutches and all the rest. so imagine my glee when i found that momdot is hosting a contest to win a cute, raspberry colored purse. did i mention that it is cute? actually its adorable!

i dont' really NEED another purse, as my hubby would tell you, but you see i have this addiction. i dont' buy alot of clothes or shoes, but i could buy a new purse every week if i had bill gates daughters trust fund. which i dont'.

i have alot of black purses. i love black, cuz it goes with everything, i have a tapestry purse my mother in law gave me. i have a great red purse which makes me happy. i have a felted black, red and taupe purse that my dear friend made for me last Christmas.i bought 2 black and white polka dot purses this summer. and my most recent purchase was a black and white striped ditty. oh so cute!

did i mention that i change my purses out often too. i may use one purse for a week or a month, but then i need to change to a different purse. its in my blood. purses are accessories and i need change!

my passion goes so far that i've even been trying to sew purses! trying is the operative word here. the first one was a bust but that is ok, cuz i was just using scrap fabric. but the 2nd one (same pattern) is on hold, cuz i'm stuck. and i really like the black tweed-y fabric. i REALLY WANT this one to turn out. but if i win this raspberry beauty i may be passified for awhile.

now you know i'm going to win this purse, but if you want to go ahead and enter to win (all the time knowing you wont' win, cuz I'M going to win) head on over to MomDot and enter. but don't say i didn't warn you, cuz I'M GOING TO WIN!!!

This n That

here's some random this n that thots:

**our car battery died yesterday. we were planning on going to the Y to go swimming and the car wouldn't start. not even a bit. we changed plans, watched tv and walked over to a local pizzaria and had the best pizza we've had in a long time. yummmm!

**today hubster replaced the battery and that seemed to correct the problem on our speedy silver bullet. we took a drive up to the ski area outside of town and got to see some beautiful vistas. again, i forgot to take my camera. when i realized that, i told the hubster to remind me each time we get ready to go on an outing.

**sister in law (brother's wife) called and invited me out for coffee this morning. we had a great time relaxing over mochas and lattes. then we headed over to the new joanne fabrics on the east side of town. great fabrics, great patterns, great ambiance. i bought a shirt pattern and a coat pattern. i think i already have some fabric to make the shirt up, gotta find my stash, but i may have to buy some coat fabric this fall. also got a new knitting brochure with 12 dishrags to knit up. i love knitting up dishrags and seem to have lost the one i had in the move.

**i made up a tentative fall schedule for myself. subject to change if life changes. but so far, i think this may work well. exercising at the Y in the mornings, writing on the blog and other writing projects and creative projects in the afternoon. i know if i dont' get my workout in first thing in the morning, it usually doesn't get done. i have grand intentions, but not so grand follow thru.

**we still haven't found a church, and i think we're both getting a little tired of the hunt. any words of encouragement as we try to find a good church that works for our family dynamics would be appreciated.

Random Pics from the Last Month

Haven Swap Show & Tell

carrie of with all that i've been given and monica of the homespun heart have been having shoebox swaps since i've been reading their blogs. for whatever reason, i was unable to participate til now! and it has been so fun.



my swap sister was mary ann and she was so generous and creative. i don't know if you can see all the tags but she put a tag that she wrote words of encouragement and scriptures on each of the wonderful gifts she sent. included in the box she sent were: a jar of m&m's (mmm!) an apron in bright colors (fits perfect even over my curves) a Mary Engelbreit magnetic notepad (love, love, love ME) a homemade mix of chocolate peanut butter cookies (my boys are going to be in heaven!) a jar of walnut whip handsoap (mmm!) a ME magnet that says CELEBRATE! It's a good life (great sentiment) a special CD of music from her fav stash including my #1 fav song that i don't have in my collection "Bring the Rain" by Mercy Me. thank you Mary Ann!!! and a bunch of fall accorns all wrapped up in a cute black photo box with a black and white ribbon.

i am overwhelmed by her generosity and her creativity. mary ann has been fun to get to know over the last few weeks and a great gal. go visit her blog and get to know her yourself.

ps: i'll let mary ann share what i sent her.

What I'm Thankful For

for todays thankful thursday, i have a million thots going thru my brain. this may be kind of random, but here goes!

** thank you Lord for my boys new school year. how energized michael is going back to class and studying. for joe's new teacher and aide and their willingness to do their best with him.

** thank you Lord, that there are so many good churches in boise and that you know just the right one for us to attend.

** thank you Lord for our YMCA and being able to use our bodies as you designed them. for machines, and pools and people to help us get fit, stay fit and treat our temples wisely.

** thank you for the beautiful park right down the road from us where we can take family walks in the cool of the evening.

** thank you Lord for the internet to stay connected with family far away and friends we've left behind. thank you for telephones and longdistance plans. for snail mail and for prayers that know no distance.

** thank you Lord for the great sofa we found on craigs list and for the dirt cheap price that fit into our student budget. thank you for the way it fits into our living room, how comfy it is, and the neutral yellowish-beige color that goes with everything.

** thank you Lord for taking care of us. taking care of our physical needs, and caring for us as people, children of You! and blessing our lives here on earth and giving us a hope for an eternal future with You! what a wonderful gift You are and You give. words fail to express my gratitude to you for all that You are, and all that You do.


for more thankful thursday blogs, check out Sting My Heart. what are you thankful for today?

Special Memories

today over at 5 minutes for special needs our theme is special memories. here are a few pics of our time at cannon beach oregon a couple summmers ago. love that place, and love to see my boy play in the sand. enjoy!





there are more photos of special kiddos and special memories over at 5 minutes for special needs. go check it out!

First Day of School

Both my husband and my son started back to school today. Hurray, hurrah!

I set the alarm for 7:05, and boy was i tempted to go back to sleep when it blared in my ear. but hubby came in to see how we were doing. so i got up and went to make my mocha.

the hubster left early to go get our yearly parking pass and then go on to class, and i got the #1 son ready for school and drove him over. we don't have bus service figured out yet, but i'm hoping by wed he'll be ready to ride and i won't have to be his taxi driver.



we are in a new town, and this is a new school, teacher and classmates for the boy. for the first time ever, he seemed a little unsettled about going to school. being non-verbal i can't be quite sure, but i tried to reassure him that he would have friends, and have fun at school.

saw the hubster at lunch and he was jacked. he is so pumped up to be in school again. he had already read one chapter for one of his classes and after lunch laid on the couch and read from another text book. he is currently at his late afternoon class and will be home later. he was ready for summer to be over and to get into the learning mode again.



and i had the house to myself for most of the day. i got lots done, and i had time to think! funny, how when my boys are home, i don't feel like i can think much. guess i'm trying to keep them happy and am interacting with them.

Weekend Meme

i found this meme on the internet. thot it looked fun, so i'm playing along.

LAYER ONE:
– Name: gail
– Birth date: 12/19
– Birthplace: WA
– Current Location: Boise, ID
– Eye Color:Brown
– Hair Color: Brown
– Righty or Lefty: Righty

LAYER TWO:
– Your heritage: American (dutch, scottish, german)
– The shoes you wore today: none yet
– Your weakness: indecisive
– Your fears: insignificance
– Your perfect pizza: haven't found it yet
– Goal you’d like to achieve in life: glorify God in all that i do

LAYER THREE:
– Your most overused phrase on AIM: don't do AIM
– Your first waking thoughts: more sleep, need more sleep!
– Your best physical feature: eyes
– Your most missed memory: childhood summers

LAYER FOUR:
– Pepsi or Coke: COKE!
– McDonald’s or Burger King: MickyD's
– Single or group dates: married!
– Adidas or Nike: neither
– Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: yuk!
– Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate
– Cappuccino or coffee: mocha's

LAYER FIVE

– A famous person, dead or alive, would you interview: pres bush
– Movie can you watch and say the lines along with the actors: the princess bride
– Name two of your passions in life : travel & crafting
– Least favorite time of day: Morning

LAYER SIX

– Use hairspray or gel: rarely
– Your favorite meal: mexican
– Color is the inside of your head when you close your eyes: dark
– Listen to classical music: rarely
– Ever said LOL in real life without thinking about it: Nope.

::END::

if you want to play along, consider yourself tagged. and let me know so i can see your answers.

What I'm Thankful For Today

i'm back again with my thankful thursday post. the last few thursdays have been crazy with the move. but i was determined to post my thankful thursday this week.

so without further ado, here's what i'm thankful for.

** i'm thankful that the move is over and we are somewhat settled in our new dwelling, that it went somewhat smoothly, that we had friends who helped on either end, that we have found what we have needed immedietly and besides not finding our hammer we have pretty much all we need.

** i'm thankful that our son has been able to go to his program a few times, giving us, his parents, a much needed rest and time to get things done without having to watch him.

** i'm thankful that we have joined the Y and have already had hours of fun in the pool, and hubby and i have worked out together producing sore muscles.

** i'm thankful that my son and hubby are both starting school on monday!! woohoo!!! and i will have some time alone to get my cozy apt organized.

if you want to see what others are thankful for, go visit iris over at sting my heart. and join in the fun by adding your list of thankful things

Special Exposure Wednesday

this week is SOOC: straight out of the camera. no editing. just life as it is. here's joe goofing off, messy shirt and all. our daily life includes messy shirts everyday. he uses them as his napkin, he drools over them, he dribbles food on them. that's life. but he's also happy and laughs and we embrace that too. take the rain with the sunshine ...



there's lots more pics over at at 5minutes for special needs. go check it out!

Try This Tuesday

our son is 10 but with this disability he still is not toilet trained overnight. during the day he is 95% dry when taken on a regular time schedule. yahoo! but at night we use pullups. being 10 yrs old, you can imagine his bladder can hold alot! so when he has an accident at night (ie overflow) it is a big deal.

my hubby came up with the idea of waking joe up early when my hubby gets up, usually 5am. taking him to potty and then putting him back to bed. so far the mornings we've remember to do it it has worked out great. no more accidents! we are still hoping he will one day be dry all night long, but until then this works for us.

for more try it tuesday suggestions, go over to 5 minutes for special needs. you'll find great ideas from all the moms and dads.

8 Fav TV Shows

with the olympics starting on 8-8-08 there is alot of talk about 8's. and with michael phelps just winning his 8th gold medal i thot it was time for a cre*8*ive take on the number 8. interesting that it is such a great number in the chinese community, huh? i saw this meme on a couple other blogs and since i have nothing else for you,i thot i'd play along

my 8 fav shows:
(in no particular order)

1) burn notice
2) chuck
3) american idol -- new for me this year, i know, i'm late to the party.
4) special report with brit hume
5) psyche
6) star trek voyager
7) our local nightly news on channel 7
8) serenity

this n that

we joined the Y here in boise--did i already mention that? i'm so excited to get back to exercising. i went there by myself this morning and walked on the treadmill and then hopped on the eliptical. boy, is that machine a bruiser! but after i was done i felt good.

tomorrow we have a day trip planned up north and this time i will bring my camera and i will be sharing photos with you all.

the tips of my fingers have been tingling the last few days. anyone else have that? yes, i do some typing and i do some clicking around with the mouse, but is that all it is? is it the start of carpal tunnel?

i finally was able to sneak away and go visit our library. i think it will be a great place to explore. and do some serious reading.

more later ...

I Missed It ... Nat'l Lazy Day

here is an excerpt from the GGIP blog

Today, Aug. 10, is National Lazy Day!


From the Holiday Insights Website:

"Lazy Day is your chance to goof off, and definitely not work. And, it definitely comes at a good time. Hot, muggy weather makes it easy to kick back and be lazy for a day. If summer chores are not done by now, they can just wait one more day. It is best spent on a hammock, long with your favorite summer beverage.

Whoever said "There's no lazy days...just lazy people." Well, we respectfully disagree. Today is proof positive. It is indeed a Lazy Day. And, we consider that a good thing."

so how did i miss it? i am most definitely up for a lazy day. aaaahhhh! does that mean i need to wait til next year? oh i hope not.

Our Move

where do i begin? we did our actual move 10 days ago or so. the loading went well, the unloading as well, the drive not bad. but things were left behind, boxes went into rooms where they didn't belong, with joe being home and not in his new therapeutic program progress was slow. going from a 2000 sq foot home to a cracker jack box student apt was a lesson in downsizing.

unfortunately, stuff is sentimental to me and i have a hard time letting go. but it is done. the stuff left behind is getting sold or being donated to the thrift store. in the near future we will be buying a small sofa for our living space. right now we're making do with a few chairs as we watch the olympics.

but we are loving being in boise. in a more urban area with lots of things to do, family and friends in the area. we've already walked around the campus a few times in the evenings. we've driven north and found a rustic campsite on the river. it had a sandy beach and rocks and joe had a blast playing in the sand and water. michael and i had a relaxing time talking and watching joe have fun. we've found the n'borhood public pool (that i wrote about last week). and there will be more to discover in the days and weeks ahead.

we've found a couple coffee shops, found our nearest grocery store, are finding our way around the city and how to avoid traffic. its a good move for us and even with all the headaches of moving we are glad for the direction that the Lord has given us.

Special Exposure Wednesday

happiness .... joy .... laughter .... loving life ....

joe's special gift that he spreads everyday without a word spoken


head over to 5 minutes for special needs to see who else is participating. you'll be blessed by these kiddo's and their families.

Swimming

it was another hot day in boise yesterday so we took a break from unpacking and took our son swimming. one nice thing about boise is it has alot of outdoor pools. public pools that are in different areas of the city. ivywild park and pool is close to the university and one of the newest city pools. it was wonderful! we took to the cool, almost cold water immedietly. it is definitely a kids pool. not too deep, with slides and mushrooms?? that drizzle water onto you. our son didn't want to go near that dripping water but we finally coerced him into it. we spent a couple of fun filled hours there and were pleasantly tired when we got home.

now today its back to unpacking and spiffing up our new home.

We Made It ... I think ...

last friday we traveled up to boise and picked up our keys to our small 2 bedroom apt and signed our lease. there was actually more stuff we had to do at the university than we realized so we didn't get home as early as i had hoped. we did some last minute packing, but still had lots of stuff that didn't get into boxes.

sat was a mildly hot day, but we had lots of help and the loading went pretty smooth. we got up to boise that afternoon and after some rest and sustenance we started in on the unpacking with our friends who live in town. wow, what a lot of boxes! the next few days were spent unpacking boxes and trying to find places to store in a small apt. we went from a 2000 sq foot house to a tiny cracker jack box, so you can imagine what we are dealing with. even tho we had 2 yard sales, didn't bring everything with us and gave alot away we still have too much STUFF! why do we accumulate STUFF? i guess after being married for almost 25 years and having a son with his special needs we are bound to have STUFF. and since i'm a crafter i have STUFF of my own, and we're both readers so we have lots of books.

yesterday we went back to our house and picked up some bookcases that inadverdently got left behind, a dresser, some shelves, a cd rack and other STUFF. we are still up to our eyeballs in boxes both opened and taped up that need to be gone thru and put away. but i'm ok with that. it'll come, it'll happen.

we are still working on getting our computers connected at our apt, so it may be a few more days before i'm back to blogging regularly. but i will return. thanks for those of you who have been thinking of us during this move and sending your prayers and good thots our way. (well, the prayers go up to heaven!)