Days 14 & 15

Day 14... A Photo I Love

Our oldest is a blooming photographer and this is a photo she took of our youngest at the piano a few summers ago. 

Day 15...A Bible Verse

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Zephaniah 3:17

"The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will reoice over you with singing."

Something about knowing that my God sings over me makes me feel pretty stinking special, and I like it!

Mandy

Days 12 & 13 Wrapped Into One

Day 12 comes with a loaded question...What I believe?  As far as religious beliefs, I've said before that I'm a born again, spirit filled believer.  I grew up in a pretty strict, over the top religious setting and grew up where pants were out of the question for girls as was cutting your hair and makeup.  Hallelujah my parents came to their senses and introduced us to a non-denominational church when we were in our mid-teens!  It sounds like we belonged to a cult, not so...just grew up in the United Pentecostal world.  It's amazing how much one thinks they know when they really don't know much at all.  Before I offend anyone, if that hasn't already happened, I still have friends in that religion...family as well, so my intent is not to offend at all.  We're all entitled to our beliefs and I wouldn't trade for the way I was raised because some of my core beliefs come from that, but I'm thankful for the freedom we have now. 

I believe that inside each of us, God has planted a seed for success.  It doesn't matter how you were brought up, what kind of family you come from or your financial situation.  Each one of us has the ability to make something of ourselves and be the person that God envisioned from the beginning.  Too often, people get hung up on circumstances and never reach their potential, this hurts my heart.

Now on to something a little lighter, Day 13...My Goals.

They're really pretty simple.  I'd like to be debt free (ok, I can dream can't I), and to work because I enjoy it and not because I have to.  I'd like to see my girls grow up, loving Jesus and living lives of their own that they're proud of.  I'd like to one day rid my house of all the clutter that seems to overtake it more often that I'd like.  For being a planner, you'd think I'd have more to say! 

Day 11...My Favorite TV Shows

What are my favorite tv shows?  Let's see, I have a number of them.  While the list might be long, I DVR most of them and watch them on the rare days when I have nothing to do or when Bob's hunting or fishing.  There are also those lovely days when our girls are sick and need me at home.  I'm not happy that they're sick, but an unexpected day of nothing is always welcome!

Castle
NCIS (the original and Los Angelas)
Law and Order SVU
Body of Proof
Rissoli and Ilses
The Closer
Til Debt Do Us Part
The Biggest Loser
Undercovers
CSI (all three of them)
House Hunters (US and International)
Diner, Drives and Dives

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head.  I guess the ones listed are really my favorites!  Sorry, Mother...no pictures!

Thirty Days of Me...Days 9 and 10

After this post, I'll be back on track.

Day 9 is sharing a picture of you and your friends.

Here's one of me and my friend, Rose, at last year's Flambeau parade with her youngest sneaking into the picture.





My friend, Amy and I after putting up my greenhouse, hers followed. 

I have a few other friends, but I'm not sure where their pictures are right now.  I have them on paper, but am being to lazy to scan anything today.

Day 10 is something I'm afraid of.  That's of hard because I'm not really a fearful person.  There is one thing that causes me great worry though sometimes and that is something happening to my mother.  Her mother died 14 years ago of Lou Gehrig's Disease shortly after our oldest was born.  For the longest time, anytime my mother would be on a new medication for the pesky migraines, I would freak out.  My mother can barely handle Tylenol, much less hard core meds.  I can always tell she's taken something because her speech sounds like a stroke victim.  One time I was certain they had overdosed her and was frantic because I'm 800 miles away.  One time she came in to visit me for the weekend after being on some crazy diet and I could hardly keep myself together while she was here because she was so thin and all I saw every time I looked at her was my mammaw.  I know she'll die some day, but I will handle it much better if it's just old age and not some horrific disease like my grandmother had.  This is really out of character for me because honestly I don't worry about much.  I know my children are always surrounded by and that they're always safe from harm, but for some reason the way my mammaw died just freaked me out where my mother is concerned.

I suppose I should add that I'm don't like being outside in the dark...not even in my own backyard!  That comes from watching too many CSI episodes where you never know what might jump out and get you.  Nope, I would call my mother to talk to on the phone each night this past winter when I'd go out to adjust the heater with the flashlight in hand!  If she wasn't available I'd sing out loud or make my girls or husband "help" me!  I am a chicken, I'll admit.  I also lock doors, but I consider that just plain smart.

Thirty Days of Me...Days 7 and 8

Technically we're on Day 9 of this Thirty Days of Me thingamabob,  but I'm behind so I'll tackle days 7 and 8 today and double up tomorrow.

Day 7 - My Favorite Movies

Here are a few of my favorite movies.

Dirty Dancing - I still love this movie, this is one of the few movies that I can watch over and over, even back to back if it's a marathon.  My husband teases me about it, but there's just something about this movie that causes it never to get old for me.

The Sound of Music, The King and I, Fiddler on the Roof, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.  I love, love, love musicals!!  Not new musicals that have no story line, but the old ones if you please!  I could watch these too over and over.

The Blind Side, Shall We Dance (adore Richard G.), Pretty Woman, and Grease.  Gee, the musical theme keeps popping up. 

I enjoy movies with dancing and music with a beat too like Save the Last Dance and Step it Up.

Last but not least is my thing for Elvis Presley, Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.  My all time favorite Elvis flick is Blue Hawaii, I could probably watch that as much as Dirty Dancing.  I've always had a thing for black and white movies too, still do.   

Day 8 - A place I've traveled to

When I was I think 4 or 5, my dad was moved to Turkey and he got to take the family with him.  We packed up and make the trip across whatever ocean it was and lived in Turkey for almost 2 years.  That was an adventure that I'll always remember.  I associate the diesel gas smell from city buses with the downtown streets of Turkey and that's immediately followed by the smell of fresh baked bread.  Rainier cherries are a special treat that remind me of the open markets.  Chain grocery store baklava fails to compare to what my taste buds remember from 30 years ago.  I can still count to five in Turkish and say hello and goodbye, but can't spell it so you're spared from that. 

Several years ago, my husband won a contest at work and received a trip to Cancun.  My mother came in to stay with our girls and we went off for a honeymoon that we never had.  It was absolutely beautiful with bougainvilleas that were out of this world gorgeous!

Have a great night!
Mandy

Thirty Days of Me...Day 6...A Picture

A picture of something that makes me happy is the order of the day. 

These are from last summer while our girls were at my parent's house.  Daughter #2 turned 10 on this day and for her birthday, Daughter #1 took her for the ride of a lifetime!  You can see Daughter #2 is holding on for dear life and Daughter #1 is focused and on a mission...to scare the wits out of her sister most likely!

Mandy

Thirty Days of Me...Day 5...My Siblings

Today I get to talk about my sister, Bridgett since Day 5 of Thirty Days of Me is dedicated to siblings.  My sister is fifteen months younger than me and while we're close in age, we're 180 degrees apart in personality.  She's always been bigger than me height wise, which is saying much since I'm 5' 1/4".  I mention this because her thrill when we were younger was to torture me.  One day we were by ourselves while our mother was at work and she chased me around the house with a knife.  I bolted out the front door and ran to the neighbor's house.  She wouldn't have actually hurt me, but she did a good job at pretending to.  The best I ever did was dropping a wooden block, a little 2x2 thing off the 3rd story of our treehouse (without the tree) on her head.  She wasn't hurt, but it's the closest I'd ever get to payback for the torture.  There was the time she volunteered to trim my hair when we were teenagers and she butchered it.  I think our mother was madder than I could have been about that one. 

While she liked to torture me, she has a thing for animals.  Her heart melts for an animal and she's had a ton of them.  She used to bring home stray cats, dogs, whatever she came across and my parents humored her.  She still has a thing for pets and at one point had a pig, not a little pot-bellied pig, but a full grown sow!

Bridgett has the most gorgeous naturally spiral curly hair and I have hair that's straight as a board.  She used to wear it long, but now keeps it short like the picture below.  It's funny because I have my dad's features; eyes, hands, feet, and build but I look just like our mother and Bridgett looks just like our dad.  We can't deny each other though either!

Mandy

Thirty Days of Me...Day 4...My Parents

Day 4 of the Thirty Days of Me is about my parents.  Let's see, my dad's name is Tommy and my mother's is Sherree.  They met when my dad was stationed in Lubbock, and visited my mother's church.  I'm pretty sure they were smitten with each other from the get go, but I don't remember all the details.  Here's a picture from their honeymoon.

Dates are not my specialty, but I do know that one day this month, I think it's the 12th, they'll celebrate their 37th anniversary.  My dad retired from the Air Force as a Major my senior year in highschool and my mother was usually a stay at home momma.  While I'm a little prejudice, I'm pretty sure that I've got the best parents ever put on the earth!  They raised me and my sister in a home filled with acceptance and unconditional love.

A more recent photo of the great looking couple.



Mandy

Thirty Days of Me...Day 3

Continuing with the Thirty Days of Me theme, here's day three...My First Love

When I thought about this, my first thought was, "I suppose that's the guy I dated through most of high school." But I thought a little more and thought I'd go back a little further.  When I was maybe 12 or 13, we lived across the street from this kid that was several years older than me.  I think his name was John, but what I really remember was that I was just infatuated with him.  He had the scruffy Bon Jovi hair style going and would spend hours in the street on his skateboard.  He'd talk to me, but I doubt that he knew I had a crush on him.  I don't remember if we moved first or if he did, but that was that.  Not as juicy as the high school love huh, but a lot more innocent!  

Hope everyone is having a blessed Sunday!
Mandy

Thirty Days of Me...Days 1 and 2

My Blogger Friend, Julie from A Succulent Life had this thirty day meme on her blog today that she saw on another friends blog.  I like things like this and maybe, just maybe this will help get me back into the habit of blogging everyday!  I hope others will join in, I suppose I like things like this because I'm a little nosey and enjoy learning more about people that I know.  If you're game, copy and paste the thirty days from below and post away.
Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts
Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3-Your first love
Day 4-Your parents
Day 5-Your siblings
Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7-Favorite movies
Day 8-A place you’ve traveled to
Day 9-A picture of your friends
Day 10-Something you’re afraid of
Day 11-Favorite TV shows
Day 12-What you believe
Day 13-Goals
Day 14-A picture you love
Day 15-Bible verse
Day 16-Dream house
Day 17-Something you’re looking forward to
Day 18-Something you regret
Day 19-Something you miss
Day 20-Nicknames
Day 21-Picture of yourself
Day 22-Favorite city
Day 23-Favorite vacation
Day 24-Something you’ve learned
Day 25-Favorite memory
Day 26-Picture of your family
Day 27-Pets
Day 28-Something that stresses you out
Day 29-3 Wishes
Day 30-a picture

Like Julie, I'm going to have to tackle two days today since I'm obviously a day behind.

Day 1 - Introduce, Recent Picture and 15 Interesting Facts

You know by now that my name is Mandy, the facts can tell you the rest.

This is the most recent picture I have, seeing as how I really try and avoid them!  However, these new pj's were super cute and I had to send a picture to my mother.  Yes, they're piggies...you'll learn more about that if you keep reading.  On to the "interesting" facts...

1.  I love to read, mainly Christian fiction, but have found that I really enjoy the cozy mysteries too!
2.  I enjoy Sudoku and word games, currently I'm a Words with Friends fanatic. 
3.  Growing up I always wanted to be a teacher.  The closest I got to teaching was teaching the children at church.  After trying the various ages, my favorite is the 3 and 4 year olds.  Something about that age just captivates me!
4.  I married a man that is 14 1/2 years older than me, and quite happy I have him.
5.  We got married on my 20th birthday in Las Vegas.  Both our families lived in different states at the time, and I thought this would be easier.
6.  My dream job would be owning my own bookstore with a succulent nursery attached.  My friends all say I belong in a nursery.
7.  I have been married 15 1/2 years and we have two daughters, ages 14 and almost 11.
8.  Growing up, I learned to play the piano and then the clarinet.  Never cared for sports at all until our oldest wanted to play volleyball in the 5th Grade...wow what that did to my dull life!
9.  I had my tonsils taken out at 32 and it was a walk in the park.
10.  I collect pigs and have been since I was pretty young.  Hence the reason I grabbed the piggie pj's without looking at the tag.  I'm sure I'll do a post one day (or several) on my collection.
11.  I love big words, the bigger the better! 
12.  I am a spirit filled believer, but I believe that's also a post for another day.  I'll leave it as I love Jesus and couldn't imagine going through life without Him!
13.  My tastes in music could confuse people, and my coworkers swear that I "go clubbing in secret"!  My iPod on shuffle is fun, you might go from a gospel song to something by Pitbull and then jump to Elvis followed by Yanni.
14.  I suppose because I like big words, it's only natural that I have to know the real name of all my plants.  It took me forever to get my neighbor friend to quit calling Calibrochoas "mini petunias"...they're not the same thing. 
15.  I love to laugh and sometimes will get myself laughing so hard over something that I just thought in my head that I can't breath.  Those are the moments that my husband just says, "You're mother's at it again."  Sometimes it can last a while.  What can I say, I crack myself up!! 

Wow...if you've made it through all that, you're good!  One day down and one day to go...

Day 2 - Meaning behind your blog name

I started blogging because I was googling succulent names and kept coming up on all these great blogs.  Not sure what to call it, I figured A Few of My Favorite Things was as good as any.  Succulents, books, my daughters, other plants...these are some of my favorite things.  I also love musicals and this title reminded me of The Sound of Music, a favorite movie.  It's a happy song and I'm usually a happy girl. 

Have a great weekend!
Mandy