How Do You Spend Your Day?

I go to work. I love to go to work, well most of the time. I enjoy my job and I feel good when I am there. I have a great boss. I have great co-workers. I have what I need to do my job and it is a good place to be. I also have a good attitude and I have found that to make my life so much more enjoyable. This is a picture of my office. Not a bad place to spend a day.

I love the view out my window.

I manage a staffing office that hires healthcare professionals to work in our local hospitals. Here is where I do orientation.

This is where the computer training takes place. All of the charting and medication administration is computerized.

This is the lobby area.

This is the hallway leading out of the office to the lobby area.

This is a nice place to be and it is a nice job to have and I am thankful for it every day. I have shared the beauty of my day. I won't go into detail about the nurses I have to terminate, the counsellings I have to do, the people I have to tell I can't hire - because there is always some of that. I focus on the good that I do in giving people jobs, being able to help the hospitals when they call me because they are short staffed and having the opportunity to motivate people to go out there and do a great job. We can all have a good day, or we can have a bad day. Each day is a new beginning and we are the ones that choose how we will handle the obstacles or blessings that come our way. Hope you are having a good day today!!

These Are The Good Old Days

We plod along through our days, doing the things we need to do, the things we have to do and sometimes we get to do the things we want to do. Our family may be close, or they may be far. We are entwined with them no matter where they are. Our friends are special and those that are a part of our daily lives, contribute so much to who we are.

There are different people that are significant at different times in our life. I remember childhood friends that I played with after school. We thought those days would go on forever. My school mates helped me learn about life and love. My co-workers have had strong emotional ties as there is so much to be learned about oneself in the work environment - things you don't learn on the playground or in the classroom.

I love my friends for all they add to my life. They are non-judgemental. They accept me as I am. They encourage me when I am down. They laugh with me. They cry with me. They share holidays when family is far away. Friends are our chosen family. I love the people that add to my life at whatever time, in whatever way.

This is a photo of my son, Logan, and his good friend, Lenny (left). They have shared so much of their high school years together. Things change when you leave high school. They really don't know that yet. People come and go in our lives. The times we are together are special and cherished and will always be reflected upon warmly. These times, we thought they'd never end. Yes, these are the good old days.

Procrastinate No More!!!

I am so proud of myself!!! I hate doing my paperwork at home. I only make it worse for myself by procrastinating about it. Haven't seen the day yet where it went away because I made the conscious decision to ignore it. Well, today I set a goal for myself to once and for all, get the darn paperwork done! I did it!!! Everything is filed, shredded or tossed and I feel good!!! I updated my addresses in my contact list on Outlook. I organized all the school papers from last year - yep - last year. After all, school will be starting in two weeks here in South Florida.

Since I feel so good about my accomplishment today, I am going to show you two pictures that I love that I have had for years and years and still love as much as the day I got them. This first picture we got when we were first married. It is a poster that we bought out of the Metropolitan Museum of Art catalog. We had it framed and it has hung in every living room since 1983.

This next picture is hanging in my bathroom. This picture came with my husband, a yard sale find - the picture, not the husband:) It's in its original frame, which is fine with me. Anything more elaborate may detract from the beauty of the picture.
Both of these pictures make me feel so peaceful. Is it because of their beauty, or is it because I've had them for so long and they are such a part of me, or is it because of the special time in my life when they were acquired and that feeling of pride that comes with those early acquisitions? It's interesting the things we keep that we would never consider parting with, and those things that can be tossed without a thought. I love the special things, those items that hold a certain sentiment in our heart and in our home.

Halloween Is Still Almost 3 Months Away!!!

Oh I know it's only August 2nd, but I was at Home Goods and they have all of their Halloween merchandise out now and I just couldn't resist this little pumpkin witch girl. Isn't she the cutest?

They had a little boy pumpkin witch also and I should've bought him also, but I felt like I shouldn't have even been buying her. But now that I see how cute she looks in my house, I've got to go get him tomorrow. And even though Halloween is almost three months away, I'm keeping her right where she is because she looks adorable! Her skirt is black lace and it is just precious!

I'm so bad with holiday decorations. I just love them and I hate putting certain things away. My Santa collection stays with me year round. I have lots of red accents throughout my house and they just add to the decor. Aren't they grand?

It may have been 101 degrees outside today, but I have Halloween and Christmas on my mind. What fun!!

First Time for Everything

Do you remember some of your "firsts"? Sometimes it's hard to remember once you get so used to doing something. Do you remember your first time driving by yourself? Do you remember the first time you shaved your legs? Do you remember your first kiss? It's great to capture some of those firsts on film, so when you become a pro, you can look back and remember that first time.





Thursday, July 31st, was a special day for our family. My son, Logan, graduated high school. Yes, it's summer and most people graduated in either May or June. Well, that should've happened for us too, but unfortunately, it did not happen then. Fortunately, though, we got a second chance and Logan graduated at the summer graduation ceremony. I guess it's not when it happens, but that it happens.





Had to share a first where I laughed until I cried. You know that kind of laugh? Logan and his good friend, Lenny, were getting ready for the graduation ceremony and had to wear dress pants, shirt and a tie. A tie??? Horrors!!! How do you tie a tie if you've never tied a tie??? Now don't go taking for granted tieing a tie. Ask any man out there who has worn a tie how he tied his first tie? That is not something that you just know how to do. Well, the lesson by Logan's father was just priceless and I had to share the photo's. Logan would probably kill me if he knew I posted this, but he thinks this blogging is crazy! What does he know? I'm not quite sure he got the hang of tieing a tie, but I guess that comes with age and practice. Ah, yes, wisdom comes with age, right?




Who says 18 year olds know everything???

Dinner Party Success

Had some friends over tonight for a dinner party. I had a lovely time and I think they did too! Had to make a quick stop after work to pick up some new placemats. I have several sets, but only sets of 4. I actually do have a set of eight in cream, but there would be no contrast with my dishes. I bought a set of black placemats with matching napkins. I've never had black and had to stop and think about it for a half second, but I'm glad I got them. What do you think?

I made a new recipe, Brie Pecan Rollups with Raspberry Sauce. It was delicious and I highly recommend it! We also had baked potato's, broccoli, bruschetta and salad. Dessert was made by my dear friend, Arielle. She made yummy brownies, pinwheel cookies and snickerdoodles. It all disappeared very quickly. The chicken rollups were a little messy to make, but worth it. I don't know how to link the recipe, but you can find it on http://www.allrecipes.com/. If you've never gone to that website, please check it out. They email me a recipe every day and I have made rave-worthy items that are asked for again and again. Definitely a site to bookmark for future reference.

We had a great time tonight with our friends visiting from North Carolina. It's interesting how some people can be such a part of your life, move away, then come back for a visit and it's like they never left. I guess some people are special like that. Treasures to hold dear. Our best Florida friends were here (Hope, Whitney and Arielle), and my sister, Lisa, (my new neighbor) and my nephew, Kyle. It was like old times before the hurricanes changed our lives. Here's a picture of the gang, minus Lisa, who left before the picture was taken.

Happy Friday! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Ours was off to a great start!

Skywatch Friday

A picture outside my house in South Florida.Be sure to visit all of the other Skywatchers at www.skyley.blogspot.com to catch a glimpse of some truly outstanding photo's of the sky all around this great big beautiful world of ours.

Happy Skywatch Friday everyone. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Until we meet again . . .

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for Tara Frey from Bella Pink Cafe for all the lovely articles she wrote in Romantic Homes magazine which introduced me to the world of blogging. Yes, I've probably been living under a cozy, contented rock - having known barely anything about blogging. This is a whole new world that I LOVE!!! I've met so many nice people and I feel I am expanding my creativity in another outlet. I have gained numerous ideas from fellow bloggers. I have introduced several others to blogging and it has proven to be a wonderful means of recognition for many. Anything we do that can bring joy to others, or increased confidence to oneself, as Martha would say, "it's a good thing". Thank you all for the wonderful comments you leave for your fellow bloggers. It makes my day and I'm sure it makes yours as well. Happy Thursday to each and every one of you. Take a moment to express your gratitude as well on this Thankful Thursday. Special thanks to Rhondi from Rose Colored Glasses for hosting this thoughtful event. (http://www.rhondisrosecoloredglasses.blogspot.com/)

I LOVE BLOGGING AND BLOGGING LOVES ME!!

My Favorite Banana Bread

Have you ever tried the Bisquick Banana Bread recipe? It is yummy!!! When visiting New Jersey last Christmas, my dear friend, Peggy, served this bread and I just had to have the recipe. I've tried several different Banana Bread recipes and this has got to be the easiest, light and fluffiest and tastiest!!

Bisquick Banana Bread

2 large banana's, mashed

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 c. milk

3 Tbl vegetable oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

2-2/3 c. Bisquick

1/2 c. nuts (if desired, but I omit)

Heat oven to 350. Grease 9x5x3 loaf pan. In large bowl, mix all ingredients except Bisquick and nuts. Stir until blended. Stir in Bisquick and nuts. Pour into pan. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted is removed clean. Cool completely on wire rack.

If you have some ripe banana's that you want to use up, and you feel like making something tasty and simple, try this recipe. I'm sure you will love it!! It's a hit at my house. Thanks Peg!!

My Sanctuary

I recently half redid my bedroom. I love the way it looks and wanted to share a couple of pictures. I say "half" redid my room because I really need to remove the wallpaper and paint and just cannot bring myself to do it. I am not the greatest at removing wallpaper as I tend to gouge the walls in my impatience. Certainly not a virtue, I assure you.

My mother and I picked up this quilt, oh probably three years ago. I had it packed away and actually forgot about it until I was cleaning out a closet this past weekend and came across it. I washed it up, because I hate bed linens right out of the packaging. I did not have matching shams for the quilt, so I picked up some solid cream shams at Home Goods on Sunday.

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

My Blogging CornerMy Dresser - part of which was shown in "Our Favorite Things" postMy Lingerie Chest and the Pitcher & Bowl I made in Ceramics class in 1983!!!Where I Sit in the Morning to Do Make-up and Jewelry My Snowbabies CollectionThe Books I LoveSilhouettes of my parents and my children (ignore the hangers hanging haphazardly)The slider to my balcony - a cozy place to sit and read - and another jewelry manequinThe pillow Hope, Whitney and Arielle brought me from Chinatown in California For any of you that read my daughters blog, - Rachel's Picture Perfect, you heard how we went school clothes shopping at Urban Outfitters. Rachel was the ecstatic recipient of 8 new tops, and if you've seen their prices, you'd be ecstatic too. Had to get myself something from Urban as well, right? I just love this pillow and it looks so pretty on the new quilt on my bed, along with my Chinatown pillow above.

So that's my space. I love the way it looks and am quite sure it will look even better when I finally take care of that wallpaper and paint that is in such desperate need of renewal. It makes me feel peaceful when I enter and that is a wonderful way to feel at any time of day.

Our Favorite Things

Cindy from My Romantic Home is hosting "Our Favorite Things" weekend and I had to join. I read about this fun event at work today and couldn't wait to come home and take a photograph of my dresser in my bedroom. I just rearranged it and I just love the way it looks. The dresser runner I purchased from Rhondi at Rose Colored Glasses. I originally had it on my dining room table, but I like it so much better on my dresser. The jewelry holder was a gift from my daughter, Rachel, for my birthday. I thought it looked so pretty with the pearls on it. I get such a peaceful, contented feeling when I go into my room and I just love the way it makes me feel.

I am playing around with new photo software and found this pretty pink lace frame. I thought it was perfect for this picture. Be sure to check out all of the others that have joined in this fun weekend event. I hope I posted the link to Cindy's blog accurately (which I highly doubt:), so here it is, just in case. www.romantichome.blogspot.com. Thanks Cindy!!

SkyWatch Friday

I had so much fun participating in SkyWatch Friday for the first time last week. It was great looking at all of the beautiful blogs and the fantastic pictures people chose to share. This is such a wonderful concept and I am so pleased to be a part of it. There are two pictures I would like to share this week. The first one was taken earlier this evening outside of my friends home. I love palm trees and I just love the way they look against the beautiful evening sky.

Let your imagination soar. Can you see the dragon in the clouds of this next picture? He looks pretty intense to me!!

Happy SkyWatch Friday! Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoyed! Until we meet again . . .

New Blog Layout

How do you like my new layout? I really loved my old one - the taupe background with the bouquet of red roses. I wanted a three column blog and my daughter found this one for me. We think it looks nice and light and airy for this time of year. I'm not thinking that I want to change the look for the seasons, but I really wanted three columns and couldn't figure out how to do it without changing the whole thing. The worst part of this change was that I lost all my links and had to re-enter lots of info and I know I haven't added everything.

I really love blogging and I find it very interesting to read different things that people write. You can really get an idea of personalities by reading these blogs and there are a few people that I would choose as friends, if ever that opportunity presented itself. I have gotten so many wonderful ideas from the blogs I've read and I guess it's okay to use some of those idea's, isn't it? I love all the pictures and captions in some of the sidebars I've seen. I love the music. I love the lists. One could really spend a lot of time blogging. I feel I do not spend enough time, but I enjoy the time I spend.

What thrills me is that my enthusiasm for blogging has inspired others to take up this hobby as well. I welcome my daughter, Rachel, who has surpassed me by far, my Goddaughter, Whitney, who is leaving us for college very soon, and my dear friend, Karen, who also grew up in NJ and transplanted herself to East Florida as I have. Karen's daughter, Cassandra, may be starting a blog soon, and Whitney's friend, Jessica, has also hopped on board. It is such fun and it just adds to the blogs that I must check out frequently.

I truly enjoy my blogging time and getting to know new people and places, just like Lacie and Katie, as shown here. Thanks for your acquaintance and may we have many memorable times to come!!

Skywatch Friday

Decided I had to get on this beautiful bandwagon and join Skywatch Friday. I found the site a few weeks ago and told my daughter, Rachel. She has been posting pictures for the past three weeks and getting incredible hits and comments and I'm jealous. She is a much better photographer than I am, but she had to get some of her talent from me, I'm thinking:). So, here is my first Skywatch entry. We went to Naples on the west coast of Florida last week. We had an incredible time and had to hustle off the beach as there was a huge, typical Florida summer afternoon storm moving in quickly. Skywatch Friday has definitely made me much more aware of the beauty of the sky and I hope to improve as the weeks progress. If you happen upon my post here, I do thank you for stopping by and hope to share a moment with you again . . .

Where On Earth Have I Been???

I cannot believe I have not posted in 11 whole days!! What have I been doing? Where have I been? My goodness! What kind of blogger am I?

I have been on vacation!! I took a stay-at-home vacation so I could leisurely do the things I chose to do at the time I chose to do them. What a novel concept!! I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I cannot even begin to express my contentment. I did have a birthday last week - Wednesday to be exact. We took a ride to Naples and had a most enjoyable day. Naples is a beautiful place to be. I just love it there! It was a great day! Florida does have some of the best storms, as you will see in the second picture. We had to run between the lightening bolts. It was rather exciting!! :)

And what kind of blogger am I anyway? Not a very good one, one can see. I really envy and admire those that post regularly. I get so involved in so many other things, then it gets late and I put it off until another day. No one will ever read my blog regularly if I do not post regularly. So, if anyone is out there, please check back. I'll do better. I really do love blogging!!

The Good, The Bad, The Beautiful

Today started with chocolate chip pancakes for me and my daughter, Rachel, with her initials in the pancake. Yum! She loved it. It was a great way to start the day!!

My mother-in-law and I went browsing through Home Goods later in the day and you will never guess what I bought!!!!!! A runner!!! Like I really need one! But this one is so pretty and like no other runner I have. It's blue!!! I have no blue in my house, well, barely any blue. Check this out! Isn't it a whole different look? I just love it!!!

My mother-in-law is a very sweet person and I am happy we share the relationship we do. My biggest gripe with her, though, is that she never wants me to buy her anything for her birthday, Christmas or Mother's Day. I could not imagine not getting her something for those special days and since I am close to her, I know what she likes. Lately I have really been finding great things for her that I have been so excited to give her. For this past Christmas, I found a beautiful tapestry wall hanging. Isn't it great?

I thought is was just beautiful and I was so excited to give it to her. She really seemed to like it, though she felt the colors were better for my home, rather than hers. She couldn't wait to hang it. Days passed. Weeks passed. Months passed. The wall hanging was never hung. I just knew what was coming and sure enough, I was right. Today she gave it back to me because she felt it was better for my house. I cannot tell you how many gifts she has given back to me. When it first happened, I was so very insulted and hurt. When she gave my daughter back something she had selected for her grandma, that pretty much took the cake for me. I think I will not try to find the perfect gift any longer. Does that sound horrible?

On the bright side, though, and yes, there is a bright side. Doesn't this tapestry look just lovely in my living room?

Yes, I love it! And the colors are great!!! Even though my mother-in-law doesn't like anything I get for her, she has done a really wonderful thing for me that I will treasure all the days of my life. I found a really cute Mary Englebreit puzzle at Target, oh, probably last year some time. I have zippo patience for puzzles, so I asked my mother-in-law if she wanted to put it together for me because she loves puzzles. She has the space to put it in a seldom utilized room, so she can leave it out and come back to it often to put a few pieces in here and there. Well, mywonderful mother-in-law just finished it and presented it to me with such pride. I am thrilled!!!! I just love it!!!!

It's not the greatest picture as there is a glare, but it was worse without the flash. I'm still trying to perfect my picture-taking abilities. So, that was my day. Not bad!! I enjoyed it. Oh, and since I had to move something to hang the tapestry - though it is just temporarily hung, as it came with a beautiful rod for hanging that I'm hesitant to secure. I am one of those rearrangers, so I don't think I should secure this rod and then move things around in the Fall and have huge holes I'd have to fix. Yuck!!

So, as I just said, since I had to move something to hang the tapestry, had to share a picture of the inside of my front door with the heart-shaped wreath that relocated for the sake of the tapestry. Tough break, but someone had to do it and the wreath will be such a pretty thing to look at whenever I walk out my front door.

I had fun writing this post today and sharing all of these pictures. I have a really hard time making my post look pretty as it always posts as a big, paragraph-less blob. I am a stickler for being grammatically correct, so I hate lacking paragraphs where paragraphs should be.
When I preview the post before publishing it, it looks great, but when it publishes - yuck!!! I hope today's turns out okay. Oh me and my idiosyncrasies - we all have em!!! Some are good. Some are bad. And some . . . like a certain tapestry and a certain Mary Englebreit puzzle - are just beautiful!!!!!