Back to Life

My computer has been on life support for a few weeks now. That made life pretty difficult for me since I have come to rely on this particular piece of technology. But, she is back to normal now, and I am, for the time being, happy.

During my computer's down time, I was without my beloved MSN, which really screwed my daily life up. First of all, I didn't have access to my calendar that I have come to rely on so much. It's the only way that I can keep all of my girls' and my schedules coordinated.

I was also without my favorites. Which meant that I was unable to visit some of my daily blog reads. For some reason, there are some blogs that I visit that aren't listed on my blog roll and I'm also not following them. I should probably try to take care of that situation some time soon.

Anyhow, I got caught up on all of my blog reading today. I may not have left comments on all of them, though, since I was trying to cram a few weeks worth of reading into a couple of hours. I'm sorry if I neglected to leave you a comment during my catch-up reading.

So, there are a couple of things that I got from other blogs that I am going to share with my readers because I said I would. The first comes from Queenie Jeanie. It's a Purse Meme. Here are the rules:

1. Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you cannot go up to your closet and pull out that cute little purse you used back before you had kids. I want to know what you carried today or the last time you left the house. No cheating!

2. I want to know how much it costs =). And this is not to judge. It is for entertainment purposes only. So, spill it. And, if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I'd love to hear it.

3. Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know why the heck you're showing everyone your bag.

Since my camera needs new batteries, I'm using a stock photo of my bag.


This is my Vera Bradley "Betsey" bag in "Java Blue." It retails for $63. This bag used to belong to my mother. She said that my stepfather didn't like it and asked me to put it on eBay for her. I told her that she should just give it to me instead, and so she did. (I also own this same bag in the "Mod Floral Pink" pattern.)

As for what's in my bag, well, surprisingly little, actually. I've only been carrying this bag for a couple of days, and the bulk of my "purse stuff" is still in my other bag. The current contents of this bag are as follows: cell phone, car keys, one check book (there are still two in the regular bag), business cards, one planner (yep, there's a second one still in my other bag), albuterol inhaler, hand sanitizer, one pen (I usually have several), my sunglasses, two Mary Kay compacts (one with eye shadow, blush, and a lipstick, and one with powder and a lipstick), my Vera Bradley wallet (that matches my other bag), two Mary Kay Look Books, and a half-empty container of Tic-Tacs.

This next item comes from Tattooed Minivan Mom. What kind of dog am I? Apparently, I'm a Pyrenean Shepherd. Go here to find out what kind of dog you are.

Photo Meme

My friend, Heather, tagged me with this little photo meme. Here are the rules: Post the fourth photo in the fourth file in your Pictures file, and tell the story of it.


This photo is from my "07-2006" photo file, and was taken at Sarah's 11th birthday party. In the photo, she's posing with the fifty dollar bill that my mother gave her for her birthday.

BTW, this photo was taken shortly before Sarah started wearing contact lenses.

Tagged

I've been tagged by Joanne from Right on Q for this fun little meme.

The rules are simple.
1. Show the icon on your blog.

2. Tag seven people to partake in the fun times.

3. List 10 random things about yourself.

So, here we go:

1. I watch too much TV.
2. I have really long toes.
3. I wish I had a bigger kitchen so I could bake more often.
4. I always get told that I look younger than I am, but I feel so old.
5. I love office supplies.
6. I think my cat loves me more than my children do.
7. I love teaching CCD more than I ever thought I would.
8. I'm shy, but once I get to know you, I don't hold back.
9. I love to dress my girls up like they're my own personal dolls.
10. My favorite color is pink, and it's not because of Mary Kay.

Now it's your turn. Since I don't feel like choosing seven people to pass this along to, I'm tagging the first seven people who comment on this post.

Tagged Again

I was tagged by Tina Bug Time for this neat little meme. Here are the rules: Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 56. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the next two to five sentences on your blog along with these instructions. Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST. Tag five other people to do the same.

So, here goes... Would you believe that the closest book to me was Breaking Dawn? I have begun reading it yet, because I haven't finished Eclipse yet, so this will be my first time reading theses words.

"The music changed, and Charlie tapped on Edward's shoulder.

It wasn't nearly as easy to dance with Charlie. He was no better at it than I was, so we moved safely from side to side in a tiny square formation. Edward and Esme spun around us like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers."

Ooh! That little tidbit has got me salivating for more.

Now I have to tag five people for this meme. Here we go.

1. AFRo
2. Ashley.Unscripted
3. Mitch
4. Kaycee
5. What a Card

I'm It

I have been tagged by WepRuminations for this little meme.


7 weird or random facts about me:

1. I have lived in two different towns with the same name in two different states - Brandon, FL, and Brandon, MS.

2. I have three brothers and zero sisters. But, I have three daughters and zero sons. God made it up to me!

3. I am a HUGE fan of Gone with the Wind, and I seriously considered naming my youngest daughter "Katie Scarlett" instead of "Katie Grace."

4. I refuse to purchase a foreign automobile, in part because I want to support American companies, but mostly because whenever my old Nissan Stanza needed work, I had to listen to my step-dad bitch about Japanese cars the whole time he worked on it.

5. I am a grammar freak, and I cringe when people misuse their words. I guess I'm a grammar snob, too, because I think less of people with poor grammar.

6. I am also driven crazy by people who mispronounce words. For example, pronouncing "jewelry" as "ju-ler-ee" instead of "ju-wool-ree", and "realtor" as "ree-lit-er" instead or "real-tor."

7. I love strawberry Fruit Roll-ups, and I can eat an entire box of them in one sitting.

So, now it's time to pass this meme along. I am tagging:

1. Andrea
2. Heather
3. Karen
4. AFRo
5. Bad Mommy
6. Anna
7. Tina

Tagged

I was tagged by What A Card for this fun little meme with an attached award.


The rules are these: answer the following questions with one word answers, then pass the award on to seven others.

1. Where is your cell phone? Purse
2. Where is your significant other? South
3. Your hair color? Multicolored
4. Your mother? Crazy
5. Your father? Working
6. Your favorite thing? Family
7. Your dream last night? None
8. Your dream/goal? Comfort
9. The room you're in? Family
10. Your hobby? Crafts
11. Your fear? Unknown
12. Where do you want to be in six years? Here
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you’re not? Energetic
15. One of your wish list items? Lottery
16. Where you grew up? Riverview
17. The last thing you did? Drove
18. What are you wearing? Pink
19. Your TV? Huge
20. Your pet? Outside
21. Your computer? Reliable
22. Your mood? Good
23. Missing someone? Friend
24. Your car? OLD
25. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? Hot
28. Love someone? Truly
29. Your favorite color? Pink
30. When is the last time you laughed? Hours
31. Last time you cried? Days


I pass this along to:

1. Andrea @ One Day My Pond Will Come
2. Heather @ My Life, My Blog
3. AFRO
4. Ashley @ Ashley.Unscripted
5. Kaycee @ Life as a Mom at 22
6. Mitch @ The World According to Ray and Chay
7. Julie @ Let's Have A Nicewinter

Musical Meme

Okay, here's how it goes:
MEME Rules:
1. Put your iTunes/ music player on shuffle
2. For each question, press the "next" button to get your answer
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER WHAT
4. Post all answers on your blog and send a shout out back to this blog!Here we go!

IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY?
"Somebody Get Me a Doctor" - Van Halen

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"Summer Moved On" - A-Ha

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Jam of the Year" - Prince

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"Fade Into You" - Mazzy Star

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
"Gotta Go My Own Way" - High School Musical

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"You've Still Got a Place in My Heart" - Dean Martin

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"Wish You Were Here" - Ryan Adams

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
"Hoped For" - Big Sky

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"Karma Chameleon" - Culture Club

WHAT IS 2+2
"London Rain" - Heather Nova

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"Race with the Devil" - Stray Cats

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON IN YOUR LIFE?
"November Rain" - Guns N Roses

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Vampires Suck" - The Godrays

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW-UP?
"My Little Blue Window" - Elvis Costello

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON IN YOUR LIFE?
"The Beautiful People" - Marilyn Manson

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"Love My Way" - The Psychedelic Furs

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Hear Me in the Harmony" - Harry Connick, Jr.

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
"Rehab" - Amy Winehouse (LOL!)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"Look Where We Are Now" - Teddy Geiger

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"Return to Me" - Chris Isaak

Thanks to RPh Mommy for this fun little meme. And if you haven't gotten this one yet, consider yourself tagged.

Scattergories

So, I got tagged by Karlise to play this little word game.

SCATTERGORIES. . .It's harder than it looks! Copy and paste into a new blog. When you are done, post a comment on my page.
Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following... they have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question. -->-->-->
-->-->
-->-->
What is your name? ..........................................Melodie
4 Letter Word................................................Mask
Vehicle......................................................Monte Carlo
City.........................................................Miami
Boy Name.....................................................Michael
Girl Name....................................................Maura
Alcoholic Drink..............................................Martini
Occupation...................................................Mother
Something you wear...........................................Mittens
Celebrity....................................................Mr. T
Food.........................................................Mashed Potatoes
Something found in a bathroom................................Magazine
Reason for Being Late........................................Migraine
Cartoon Character............................................Mighty Mouse
Something You Shout..........................................Mother-F*cker
Animal.......................................................Manatee
Body part....................................................Mouth
Word to describe you.........................................Moderate

It's your turn... If you read my blog, have a blog, and haven't already done this, consider yourself tagged.

Catching Up

A few weeks ago, I was tagged by a few people to do a photo meme. I was too busy with my mother at the hospital and taking care of her when she came home to think about doing it. But now, things have slowed down a bit, so I can do it.

This is a Front Door, Back Door photo meme. What you are supposed to do is take a photo (or photos) looking out your front door, then do the same out your back door. You can explain what is being seen in the photos, too.

This first photo is looking straight out from my front door. You can see my lovely neighbor, Mrs. Smith's house, and her wonderfully kept yard. If you look closely, you'll also see her late husband's classic car in the carport.


The next photo is turning about 45 degrees to the left. In it you can see my neighbor Brian's house across the street. Unfortunately, his dogs are not in the photo, or you would see a couple of large mastiffs, too.


This is a view to the left of my front door. You can see my horrid neighbors trash all along the side of their house, as well as another box of trash out by the sidewalk. Oh, and that big, blue truck in the driveway hasn't run in over a year!


Since my garage is all you can see when you turn to the right of my front door, I went down my walkway a bit to take this next photo. In it you can see my wonderful car. Yes, she's older than all of my children, but still runs great and only has 82,000 miles on her. Beyond my car, you will notice several oak trees and one lonely pine tree. How it ended up in the middle of all of those oak trees I'll never know.


These next three photos should explain why it is that I have no grass growing in my front yard. They are looking up at the sky from my front yard.




Now, on to the backyard! Here you see directly out of my sliding glass door that leads onto my tiny back porch. On the porch you can see Phil's grill on the right. Through the screen, you can see the big plastic play set that we bought for Katie to play on. To the left of the play set is one of our orange trees.


Next is the northwest corner of my back yard. Growing back there are a couple of palm trees and several banana trees. During our first hurricane season in this house, the banana trees were all broken and Phil had to cut them down to about a foot from the ground. More than double what had been there grew back!


In this next photo you can see our larger play set. It has two regular swings and a toddler swing, monkey bars, a rock wall, a picnic table, and a big yellow slide.


In the southwest corner of our back yard (off to the left of the large play set) is our crappy little metal shed. It's not very nice, but it certainly serves it's purpose. In front of the shed is our other orange tree. You can also see our lawnmower that Phil has neglected to put back into the shed.


And last, but not least, a look out of my side garage door. Off to the left, you will see the ladder near the oak trees that I have been working on trimming with my chainsaw.


To the left of my side door, you can catch a glimpse of my other next door neighbor's beautifully landscaped yard. He's a single guy with no children, so he has plenty of time to work on his yard several times a week.


So, there you have it! My yard in all its glory - LOL!

Now, if you haven't already done this meme, consider yourself tagged!