Anniversaries

What is an anniversary?  It's what calendars were invented for!  Ha ha.  It's a day to commemorate a special occasion.  Today my husband and I have been married ten years.  I know, you're thinking, only ten?  I thought you were middle aged!  Yes, it's a second and better marriage for both of us.  Our anniversary used to signal that school was out, but now we have another week and a day.  But I have something special planned... It's a surprise!  I'm excited and can't wait to tell you all about it.

1. Wedding anniversary, obviously.  My husband and I always try to give each other a gift or token that signifies the traditional anniversary gifts people give.

2.  Work anniversaries. Some people celebrate the number of years they have been at a particular company, and some companies offer pins or gifts to signify the employee's service.

3.  Blogversaries.  The anniversary of the day you started your blog.  Mine is December 15, 2005.  Wow.  My ten year for that is coming up in 6-7 months.  Go figure!

4.  The anniversary of the date someone special died.  For me, it is October 10, 2004.  That is the day my beloved father passed away... not sick... no warning... just here one minute and gone the next, and there was nothing the doctors could do.  Not a happy anniversary, but an anniversary nonetheless.

5.  Here in Texas, we celebrate the say we won our independence from Mexico, March 2, 1836.  Perhaps you have your own state anniversary.

6. The anniversary of Bayer aspirin first being used in tablet form is January 1.  I bet they had no idea what they started 100 years ago!

7.  For the British, June 2, 1953 is an important anniversary.  Elizabeth was crowned queen, and she still "rules" today.

8.  For fans of the Beatles, January 30, 1969 is an important anniversary. This is the day of their final, public concert as a group.

9.  Many people celebrate the anniversary of their first date with their significant others.  I believe ours was January 9, 2002.

10.  Disneyland is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year.

11.  Americans celebrate the anniversary of the birth of our nation on July 4th.

12.  9/11 will likely be an anniversary Americans will remember for a long time to come.

13.  Many colleges celebrate the anniversary of their founding.  It creates pride in their institution.  It's also a great excuse for a parade or a frat party!

You can join Thursday Thirteen here!

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Wordless Wednesday

Pictures from League City Park this weekend.

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

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Tuesday's Random Post & Coffee Chat

I'm lining up with Stacy Uncorked for a little bit of random.

I know I've mentioned how I hate bicycle riders in the street, the racers who think they need to use the same lane as the cars.  I looked in my rearview mirror yesterday, and there was a man just standing there behind my car!  It freaked me out.  Well, he was not just standing there; he was on a bike.  I couldn't see the bike in my mirror, just him.  It was so weird!

My Rockets have lost three to Golden State.  At least it hasn't been a sweet.  We will have a chance, although very small.  Golden State has just been phenomenal this year!  And Stephan Curry is just inhumanly talented.  Crazy talented!  I was hoping we would at least get to the second round this year, and we go to the conference finals, so I'm not complaining.

It's raining again, here.  A week or so ago, we had heavy downpours that were so bad, it delayed the start of school by two hours the next day.  I don't mind if that happens again!  But then again, my classroom flooded when that happened.  So, maybe not.

I've been sick this weekend, but I tried a new remedy that my step-daughter brought me.  It's made by Pharmaca.  I think it's called cold and sinus blaster.  and I think it works, or definitely helps some.  It tastes terrible!  It has so many different herbs and roots in it (garlic, horseradish root, peppermint oil, goldenseal, echineacea, and about a dozen others.  You just take a few drops (with some water or juice), and I felt the peppermint oil helping right away.  My throat is not as sore.  I think these herbal remedies could really help a lot of people if they knew about them.

Wish me luck tomorrow!  I'm presenting school awards.  Hope I don't cough or sneeze too loudly in the auditorium!

It's also time for Coffee Chat with Time out for Mom!
She asks...
Are you ready for summer? What's on your playlist? -

I AM ready for summer!  Trip to Las Vegas.  Scrapbook Retreat.  Then shoulder surgery.  Not too much fun on that one, but it's necessary.

Is my body ready for summer?  NO!  Hasn't been ready for summer since I was young.  I have been going to the gym some, but mostly just to keep me from getting any bigger.  This body won't be in a bikini!

As for my playlist?  It rarely changes.  Old favorites, mostly from the 60's, 70's, and early 80's.  I tend to like classic rock, but I also like some dance music and some country music, too.

Have a happy week!

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Memorial Day Fun Facts

Happy Thursday!  I'm excited to have next Monday off school (two and a half weeks left this year).  Memorial Day isn't just about white sales, mattress sales, and discounts!  Here are some fun facts about Memorial Day.

1.  We (the United States) observe Memorial Day to remember those who have lost their lives in service to our country.

2.  The holiday was originally called Decoration Day.

3.  Decoration Day was a day to decorate or take care of the final resting places of loved ones who had passed on.

Image Credit

4.  Honoring the dead from the Civil War was the original purpose of Decoration Day.

5.  General consensus is that May of 1868 was the first Memorial Day.

6.  General James Garfield gave a speech at Arlington Cemetery that year.

7.  New York was the first state to recognize Memorial Day as a holiday.

8.  Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May.

9.  Waterloo, NY claims to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, but so do about two dozen other cities.

10.  Ulysses S. Grant was President when Memorial Day began.

Image Credit

11.  Red poppies are often worn on Memorial Day.  This is in reference to a poem written in 1915 by Moina Michael.

We cherish, too the Poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led,

It seems to signal to the skies

That blood of heroes never dies.

12.  Memorial Day is a Federal (not national) holiday created by Congress.  This applies to Federal employees and the District of Columbia.

13.  States that observe Memorial Day do so by enactment of their state's Congress.

Information about Memorial Day can be found here and here. Memorial Day is also a time of accidents:  cars, boats, swimming.  Be careful and enjoy a safe Memorial Day weekend!  You can link up with Thursday Thirteen here!

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Photo courtesy of KissinBlueKaren

Welcome to Read This, a collection of book reviews and giveaways that were posted in the past week or so from around the web. This is a collection of book reviews & contests from real reviewers. If you want to be included in the next edition start with the guidelines, then use the submission form.
Want to read more reviews? Check out Read This for a list of the latest reviews and stellar reviewers. You can also follow on twitter for the latest round ups. Read This is now accepting photo submissions for each edition.

Check my review out under thrillers!

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CONTESTS

• $15 GC courtesy A Soul to Keep by Moira Keith (5/22)
• $25 GC Courtesy Hawk MacKinney & The Cairns of Sainctuarie (5/22)
• CleisPress Giveaway: Better Sex In No Time (5/31)
• Making Your Mind Up-3 book giveaway (6/1)
• $500 Amazon GC Totally Awesome Giveaway (6/1)
• Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica (6/10)
• Three of Hearts: Erotic Romance for Women edited by Kristina Wright (6/12)
• $25 GC courtesy Grace Revealed by Greg Archer (6/23)

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NON FICTION

-SEXUALITY

• My Life on the Swingset by Cooper S. Beckett ~KissinBlueKaren

-MEMOIR

• The Year My Mother Came Back by Alice Eve Cohen ~Just Another Girl and Her Books

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FICTION

• We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas ~KissinBlueKaren

-WOMEN’S FICTION

• The Art of Baking Blind by Sarah Vaughan ~Just Another Girl and Her Books

-SPECULATIVE FICTION

• The Land Uncharted by Keely Brooke Keith ~Felita @Lilac Reviews

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YOUNG ADULT

• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green ~Just Another Girl and Her Books

-FANTASY

• The Demon’s Deadline by Tori Centanni ~Daniela Ark

-PARANORMAL

• The Secret Seekers Society and the Beast of Bladenboro by J.L. Hickey ~Angela Pratt
• Creatura (Creatura series, book 1) by Nely Cab ~Angela Pratt

-SCIENCE FICTION

• Purenet by H. J Lawson ~Felita @Lilac Reviews

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MYSTERY

-COZY MYSTERY

• Seven Threadly Sins by Janet Bolin ~Felita @Lilac Reviews

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THRILLER

• The Ice Twins: A Novel by S.K. Tremayne ~KissinBlueKaren
• Dark Places by Gillian Flynn ~Forgtfulone

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Weekly Roundup

Just a few posts to share this week.

I read a post on Mother Mag about relationships.  The number 1 problem between couples is.... not money... not sex... communication!  This post discusses a few areas that couples can identify in their own relationships to make communication less an issue.  I definitely recognize myself in some of these, and I need to work on them.

Another great read this week was from Becoming Minimalist.  Since we are moving out of the dorm and de-cluttering the home during our spring cleaning, I thought this post was interesting.  21 Surprising Statistics That Reveal How Much Stuff We Own.  If I didn't already want to do some spring cleaning, I do now!

“Pentecost” by Jean Restout II, 1732. Public domain. 

Last, not least, is a post about Pentecost.  I've heard the word all my life. I grew up in a Methodist church, and while we didn't celebrate Pentecost, necessarily, as a holy day, it was mentioned. One of my best friends growing up was Pentecostal, and my uncle was an Assemblies of God preacher, which is a Pentecostal church.  Next week is Pentecost Sunday, but I admit I never really knew what that meant.  I read an article at Patheos titled What is Pentecost?  Why Does it Matter?  It explained so well and makes so much sense now. Whether you are a Christian or not, this post is enlightening and sheds some light on the early history of the Church.

Join the Weekly Roundup at High-Heeled Love and My So-Called Chaos.  Have a great week!

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It's Just My Opinion

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a must-read for those that enjoy psychological thrillers! Gillian Flynn (author of Gone Girl) shines in her first novel. I'm surprised it wasn't more popular.

Who should read it? Anyone who...
likes a good mystery,
likes an intense story,
appreciates an edge-of-your-seat read,
loves twists and turns.

Just when you think you have a piece of the puzzle, it's two steps forward, one step back. Then, there are two twists that turn the puzzle completely upside down!

Who shouldn't read it? Anyone who...
doesn't have an open mind,
is squeamish (I'm used to reading about murder, autopsies, forensics),
wants to figure things out before the end of the book.

Libby Day is the sister who survived. Her mother and two sisters are dead, and her brother is in prison for committing the murders in what some think was a Satanic sacrifice. Libby's testimony put him away for life.

Twenty-five years later and in need of money, she meets with the Kill Club, a group of people obsessed with the murders who insist, among other things, that her brother is innocent. She begins to uncover what really happened that night, and the reader will not guess where it takes her.

Flynn alternates from different characters' points-of-view and from present time to the day of the murders and back again. This is not just a story of murder. It is about farming, poverty, the Satanic cults of the 80's, drugs, alcoholism, betrayal, abuse, and abandonment. Hold on tight: it's a wild ride!


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Prison

Another typical, busy day,
          imprisoned in illusions,
Get the kids to school on time,
          locked behind the bars of my brain,
Make appointments with the dentist,
          imagining gray walls closing in
Sweep and mop the floor and scrub the tubs,
          feeling damp and groggy,
Meet Alice at the deli for ham and Swiss on rye,
          I hear them-committing their crimes, reading my mind,
Swing by the library to get Rob's books,
          bombarded with needles in my brain.
Home by 2 to meet the plumber,
          They get to me,
Pick the kids up from school,
          They warn me,
Home again to cook dinner, but what?
          They betray me,
Help with homework and projects,
          staring at the defective shapes in my head,
Baths, bedtime stories, and prayers,
          They control my bloody thoughts!
Just another day.
          Prison.

     

The topic for Sunday Scribblings was "prison.
i'm curious to see who "gets it."  I welcome your comments.
I've been reminded lately of the difficulty there is in getting adequate mental care for people in our country, and it saddens me.  Jolene, this is for you!

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Random Tuesday

Well, it only lasted a week.  That is, my email being down to none.  It's over 100.  How do I get so many emails?  I don't want them!  Maybe I can seriously catch up this summer.

I'm having shoulder surgery mid-June.  Pretty scared about that.  I know I will have lots of help the day of and the day after, but the recovery is going to be loooong.

I drove my mom to San Antonio and back this past Saturday for her 55th high school reunion.  Driving to her house, to S.A., back to her house, then home to my house equaled about 9-10 hours of driving time.  I'm glad I got to do that for her.  55th reunion!!!!

I've been trying to catch up with The Following, but it has gotten so weird.  Resurrection got a little weird, too.  My favorite new show this season was How to Get Away with Murder.  I still enjoy Castle and Once Upon a Time, too.  What TV shows do you like?

Link up your random with Stacy Uncorked.

For Coffee Chat, we are supposed to tell something we think is SUPER!

My kids are SUPER!  My daughter has some hush-hush plans for Mother's Day.  Exciting!

The Rockets are SUPER!  Maybe not super enough to beat the Clippers, at least not last night, they they are still SUPER!

Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream is SUPER!  It would be more super if it didn't cause me to gain weight, but it's still SUPER!

My kitty-cat Lacy is SUPER!  She's so sweet, and pretty, and fluffy.  She calms me.  That's SUPER!

Have you ever noticed when you say a word over and over, it starts to sound pretty funny?  Try it!

SUPER, SUPER, SUPER, SUPER, SUPER, SUPER!  Funny, huh?

Link up your coffee chat with Time Out for Mom.

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Weekly Roundup

I only have two posts that I felt worth sharing this week.

I used to be so organizing, and as my kids are growing up and leaving the nest, I am feeling the urge to get organized again!  I love this post from Organizing and Decorating Everything about using baskets in the kitchen.

There was a great post on Popsugar:  20 Ways to Ensure Workouts Happen Every Day.  I don't work out every day, but I can use all the motivation I can get in order to work out a few times a week.  There were some creative tips.

Link up at the Weekly Roundup at High-Heeled Love (also co-hosted by My So-called Chaos).
(Photos - public domain)

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