The Bug & The Valentines

I bet your wondering what the two have to do with one another, huh??

The BUG is what I have had for the past week or more! You know... the one that make you feel really crummy! Yep. That's the one. In my mind he looks something like this...

And makes me feel like this...

 Pitiful, huh?? But kinda' cute! **Smile**

I haven't felt like writing or even reading blog posts. --- A HUGE sign that I reallllly don't feel well! I just haven't had the energy. I think I am starting to improve. I started with a cold and then now I think it's more of a sinus infection. Blech! ... I know!

I can almost guarantee where I got this BUG! I am a preschool teacher and well.... I wipe noses all day! I won't go into the graphic details. I will spare you of those. But, I am pretty darn sure that this is where that nasty bug came from!

I stayed home Tuesday from work to take meds and rest. I went back yesterday and then worked today. I am happy to not have to work tomorrow! (I only work Tue/Wed/Thurs) This will hopefully give me a chance to get rid of this nasty BUG!

Ok. Now you are wondering what the Valentines part of this post, is. Well, being that I don't work tomorrow or Monday, we had our class Valentine's party today! Sounds like fun, huh?? Well, picture this and tell me if it sounds like fun...

Twelve kids (7 boys & 5 girls) -- Two teachers (one who felt like POO! -- Me!) -- Cupcakes and sugary cookies with LOTS of icing! -- Red, heart bags made from construction paper with handles that were constantly ripping! -- Valentine cards & candy being given out in turn (which took forever!) -- Parents wanting to take pictures during all the chaos -- Impatient kids wanting to eat the candy as soon as it is put in thier bags -- Kids whining because their handles ripped -- And... plenty of noses still needing to be wiped!

It was quite a day!

Remember when giving a Valentine was just giving a simple little card, like this??

Things have changed quite a bit! Now, instead of just a cute little card... kids (well... parents) are giving out full-blown "Goodie Bags" filled with candy and toys! It's quite different from when I was growing up.

All in all, I guess I can't complain too much. I lucked out and got lots of "Goodie Bags", too! **Smile** Chocolate makes me feel better ANY day of the week!

Battle of the Sexes

Have you ever heard of this game?? --- I tried to download a photo of the game, but couldn't.

Anyway.... For the past two Sunday's, I have been leading a lesson on Adam & Eve in my Sunday School Class. The college students and I, have had some interesting discussions and I believe the lesson went well. I decided that it might be fun to play the game that my family owns, called... "Battle of the Sexes" this coming Sunday as something fun and different to do in class.

So... I asked Miranda to pull the game down off of her shelf so that I could go through the questions and make sure that they were "appropriate" for church. I soon learned that the "question cards" were missing from the game! If you know of this game, then you know that the questions are the most important part of the game!! ALL of the other pieces are there, but the questions are missing. The question cards must have been pulled out to be used by themselves at some point, and then never returned to the box. I have NO IDEA where these question cards are!! So...... I am racking my brain, trying to come up with questions that we can use.

By searching online and also looking at trivia questions from other games, here are a few that I have come up with ----

Questions for the guys:

1) What color is the flower of a dandelion?
2) Oprah Winfrey starred in the movie "The Color _______".
3) Which Disney character sang, "Someday My Prince Will Come"?

See how they are geared more toward things that "girls" will know and the guys probably won't? This is how the game is played.

Questions for the girls:

1) How many outs are in a double play?
2) What Nintendo star has appeared in the most video games?
3) How many axles does an 18-wheeler have?

See how these are geared more towards what the guys will know and the girls probably won't?

The object of the game is to race to the other side of the board by answering questions.

If you would like to submit some questions for my game, I would LOVE IT!!!!!  If you send some, please mark if they are for the guys or the girls.

Forgive me if this post is confusing. I have not felt well and can not think straight!

I've Linked In Over at Tablescape Thursday!

I have successfully linked my previous post to Susan's site -- Between Naps on the Porch. YAY!  If you have the chance... please check Susan's site out and all of the other beautiful tablescapes!

"Love Is In the Air" - Tablescape

Well, I finally finished my Valentine Tablescape!! I was going to call it my "Febrauary Tablescape", but I don't think I will leave it up for the whole month. I DO love it, though!

Here are some photos of it along with a few others. For some, I used my "flash" and for others, I didn't. My photography skills are still something that I am working on!

I used my same silver chargers that came from Michael's that I got for $1.99 each. The white plates are the same ones that I bought from the Dollar Tree for $1.00 each (They are great!!). The red plates are the ones that I bought right before Christmas at Target with my gift card. They were $4.99 for a set of 4, I think. (I bought 2 sets so that I could have 6 plates) The little white bowls are new. I spotted those at Michael's for only $1.99 each! -- No. I don't have any silverware or glasses on my table. This is something else that I need to work on! We DO, however, use glasses and silverware when we sit down to eat! **Smile**

 A closer look! The napkins were "freebies" from preschool that someone left on the "freebie table" at school, so I snatched them up!

Here is my Valentine Tree! I got this idea off of another blog. The vase is one that I picked up at Goodwill. (You can view that blog post - HERE) The branches are from my own yard and the hearts, I cut out of tissue paper. Easy!

The heart-shaped doilies are from Hobby Lobby. They were only $2.99 for a package of 6. I got the rose petals there, too! And if you look real closely... you can see a couple of "words" mixed in with the rose petals. One says "Kiss" and one says "Love. Those were another find at Hobby Lobby for $2.99 (Click HERE to view that post) The red votive's are from Christmas. Part of a gift from the teacher that I work with. The little pink cherub is one that I have had for years. Not sure where he came from.

Here is the jar that I bought at Ross a few weeks back. (Click HERE to see the blog post) I had seen one at this same store that was decorated for Valentine's Day, but then I saw this one and decided to decorate it myself! Here is my finished product! I bought a spool of this beautiful red ribbon at Michael's on the Christmas clearance shelf (paid like $1.00 for it!), then I bought this wooden heart and painted it myself. (David drilled the hole for me!) Inside of the jar, I cut out some hearts from cardstock and wrote "Love notes" on them! I thought it turned out rather cute! ~ What do you think??

This bowl is "Fenton", I believe -- or at least a look-a-like! My mother-n-law gave it to me for Christmas one year. I love it! I filled it full of yummy Valentine Hershey Kisses!

The candle is one that I bought back at Christmas. The stand is new. I got it from Michael's. (Oops! I forgot to take the sticker off of the bottom!)

The next couple of photos show a "work in progress" because ... a) they are not finised yet and b) I am not happy with how they look.

My hutch. More doilies and that beautiful ribbon bowl that I got from Marshall's. (Click HERE for that blog post) I still haven't changed out the ribbon yet!

This is David & I after my high school graduation -- June 1982! The little red rosebud vase is the one that I got from The Dollar Tree for $1.00. And the sign is the one that I picked up at TJMaxx for $2.50! I repainted it, like I said I would. (Click HERE for that blog post) ~ What do you think??

And, this is the frame that I bought at Hobby Lobby for $3.40. (Click HERE for that post) I was going to "make" a puffed heart to go into the frame, but then found a package of these red ones at Michael's for $1.99. I thought it turned out great! The angel is one that I've had for a while. It was a gift from my good friend, Cindy. The little bear was a gift from my good friend, Diana.

My mantle... for now! I am still working on it. You can see the red vase that I got from Ross and the little heart frame that I got from Goodwill. (Click HERE & HERE) I'll post some more photo's of my hutch and mantel after I finish with them AND I'm happy with the way that they look!

6 More Weeks of Winter???

Today is Ground Hog Day. Everyone relies on a groundhog to make the prediction whether or not the country is going to see six more weeks of winter, or not.



Photo was taken from THIS SITE.

Punxsutawney Phil... as he is affectionately called... lives in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania at Gobbler's Knob. Somehow, I think we can all predict that "Phil" WON'T be seeing his shadow today!  Check this out!

This is today's weather that is predicted for this area of Pennsylvania.


And here's the weather RIGHT NOW, there.

Nope. I don't think he is going to see his shadow!

Does this mean that Spring is just around the corner??? --- Probably not. Phil apparently isn't always right with his predictions. Poor Phil has only been correct about 39% of the time.

You can go to Groundhog.org to watch Phil's LIVE prediction!! Haahaaa!! I'm watching it now and it's so funny! They take this stuff seriously!!! The people in the audience are wearing raincoats, so.......

Nope. I don't think he's going to see his shadow! Of course.... with all of those FLOODLIGHTS that they have shining on him..... he probably WILL see his shadow!! LOL!

If you want to know more about Groundhog Day and the history behind it... click HERE for some great facts!

I just heard that Phil will make his prediction in one hour. That should be.... 7:30am, EST.  I'll have to check back then. Hope you will, too!

Happy Ground Hog Day to you all and I'm crossing my fingers & toes that Phil does NOT see his shadow!!!

Another Award! How fun!

** I must say, first, that this award was given to me last week and I am just NOW getting around to posting about it! To tell you the truth, I forgot about it and then... I started working on this post and then forgot completely that I had started it!! Oops!

My sweet, sweet friend Thisisme over at Southhamsdarling has blessed me with another award!! I had no idea there were so many awards even out there, and yet here I go receiving ANOTHER ONE! Thank you so very much, Thisisme!

If you have not popped in over at her blog, please do so! You won't be disappointed! She lives in England and has so many wonderful stories to tell. She is a fascinating person and I am thrilled to have her as a Blogging Buddy!

Along with this award... comes... yes, you guessed it... RULES!! The first rule is to tell 7 things about yourself. The second is to pass the award along to other blogger friends. Both of these things are getting harder to do, especially the "passing of the award". There are so many wonderful blogs out there!!

Well, let's start with the first rule and worry about the second a bit later.

1) I attended the Art Institute of Atlanta for a short time. I enjoyed art very much and thought that I would like to become a comercial artist. After a year of being a student there, I became discouraged and dropped out. -- Yes. I am a college drop out. :(

2) I absolutely LOVE rollercoasters!!! I have often thought how fun it would be to be in one of those clubs where the people go all over the country and ride different ones!

3) I'm only afraid of heights when there is no barrier between me and the edge! If there is a barrier there... I can look down and I am not afraid at all.

4) I don't like to cross streams that have stepping stones to get across. My sense of balance goes right out the window and I fall right in just about every time!!

5) I don't like to be in places that don't have windows for very long. I have to be able to see out. I may be a wee bit claustrophobic. Although.... being in a movie theatre doesn't bother me. I guess it is because I am too busy watching the movie!

6) I do not like the sound of metal scratching on metal (or anything else!). To me... it's like fingernails scratching a chalkboard!! It makes me cringe!!! I don't like to replace light bulbs because of this reason.

7) There are two tastes that I reaaalllly don't like. They are bananas and tea. Most "southerner's" love iced tea... "sweet tea", that is. But, nope. Not me. And bananas, I have never liked them. I can't even eat a banana popcicle!! Blech!!

Now, to pass this award on to some deserving blogger friends. (The directions didn't specify how many to pass it along to, so I just picked a few of my favorite ones!) I know that not all of these sweet ladies accept blog awards, but I want to recognize them anyway!!

Heather at Mrs. C's Life

Susan at KardKornerKrib

Marti at A Stroll Thru Life

Linda at A La Carte

Melissa at Greener Grass

I love all of your blogs very much and enjoy visiting them often! Keep up the wonderful work that you do with them!

Just Listen

I have a friend that is going through a very rough time right now and I, as their friend, am having a hard time knowing what to say. It's hard for me to see my friend hurting and to hear their sad words.


I have learned through my training as a Stephen Minister, that all I can really do is listen to someone that is hurting. As much as I want to fix the problem for my friend, or give them advice, I could do them more harm by doing this.

But still.... this is MY friend and it breaks my heart to see them hurting and I want to FIX everything so that they can be happy again!! 

I almost feel guilty for being happy in my own life. But, I also know that I can not let myself "wallow" in my friend's unhappiness. I can not let them bring me down. I also know that my friend would never willingly do that to me.  

So, I will continue to listen to my friend and be as supportive as I can. I will also pray to God for peace and happiness for my friend, and for them to make "wise choices" during this difficult time. That's about all I can do.