Know & Tell Friday

Question 1
What is your favorite fairy tale?

I think my favorite fairy tale is Snow White. It might have been the first one I saw when I was little and it made an impression on me. I also like the 7 Dwarfs.

Question 2
If you could be guaranteed a spot on the reality show “Survivor”, would you go?

No, I really would not want to expose myself to the elements in that way. I’m past my physical prime and I wouldn’t want to be without my hormone pills. 🙂 I also wouldn’t want to be at the whim of the producers manipulating and exposing me in a bad light.

Question 3
Meanest thing you ever did to a sibling??? I know…. what kind of question is this 🙂

This one is easy for me. I would hide in the closet or under the bed and when my older sisters would come home from dates I’d grab at their legs from under the bed or I’d grab their hand when they reached in the closet for their nightgown! Made them scream bloody murder every time.

Question 4
Best Fashion Era… 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s or now…

I think the 60’s were great. I loved the classic Jackie Kennedy look.

 

Question 5
Have you ever skipped to the end of a book before you finished reading the book?

Maybe once. It is not a habit of mine to do that. If the book drags on at the end I might skim through to get to the end.

Bonus Questions (I found these questions through a website, and boy are these challenging…)  ~

Question 6
What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year? ~

To be able to move back to Seattle. ~

Question 7
What is one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God? ~

Talk to Him like He’s real and my best friend.  ~

For more Know and Tell click over to To Know Him.

Happy Birthday Little Brother! 50 Years Young Today!

Happy Birthday Dear Brother Tim! These first photos are from your very first Birthday Party in January of 1959 at 4635 Oak Street, Pico Rivera, California. This area was known as Montebello Gardens at the time or Jardines as our Hispanic friends called it…

 

Talk about a blast from the past. Look at the cousins around this table. The Loscutoff’s, The Bogdanoff’s, The Shvetzov’s and the hosts of the event the Bagdanov’s.  I wish the photo clearly showed Dedushka at the end of the table sitting next to Pop. Look at you so pleased with your cake!

 

Here you are in a classic 50’s highchair enjoying your cake with Mom watching.

 

Time for presents with cake still on your face and your older cousins Alex, Bill, brother Fred, Walter, and Jim surrounding you. Vera on the right…

 

Spring forward to the present! It was fun celebrating with you and Letty at the California Grill in Camarillo on Saturday night.

Dear and Ellen b
Happy 50th Birthday Tim
You are a wonderful brother, always ready to help us and any of your siblings and friends. Thank you for your compassion and kindness. We appreciate you! And did I mention that I can remember the day you were born and how happy I was when Pop told us we had a new baby brother! Enjoy your day…
Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Walking with Lovella and Company ~

So I joined an online walking club over at What Matters Most with fellow bloggers. Most everyone has pedometers but so far I do not so I am figuring it out on averages and how many steps I take on average in a minute. Sounds complicated but it’s not too hard to figure out. Anyway the point is to try to get out and walk more. Here’s my first weeks average. I am calculating 6 days and taking Sunday off.

Monday ~ 7900
Tuesday ~ 8680
Wednesday ~ 9980
Thursday ~ 3500
Friday ~ 9000
Saturday ~ 12,350 (woohoo)

Total 51,410 divided by 6 = 8568

I’d like to get to over 10,000 steps a day….

Show & Tell ~ Wedding Shower Favors?

Ellen b. is not known for being one to sit around making crafts. In fact I have a reputation for being not so crafty. That however does not mean I never get inspired to try to make something “cute”. I was inspired by Vicki at Windows to My Soul when she posted a great Christmas gift idea. A whisk stuffed with candy kisses wrapped in cellophane and tied with a pretty ribbon. On the card she wrote “Whisking you a Merry Christmas”. Here’s what the Christmas ones looked like.

I decided I wanted to do the same thing but with smaller whisks and for a New Year’s Gift for my Mom, Sisters and Nieces since we weren’t together on Christmas but we are having dinner together this week. These would also make great party favors for a wedding shower. Here’s the process I went through to make these.

 

I was making twelve so I got the big bag of Kisses. The pre-made bows I bought at Target at their after Christmas sale for 75% off. Yippee. The whisks were purchased at Business Costco in Washington State. They were very reasonable ($2.25) for the small ones.

You gently pull apart the whisk and gently stuff the head with Kisses.

You can use this food wrap to seal the head of the whisk or you can buy that fancy cellophane that you use for making gift baskets.

 

Tie the bow on with a gift card and you have a cute gift or party favor. And if you are me not only is it a gift that is cute but it is also a gift that causes a bit of a shock that I actually put them together. Fun all around…

Here’s how they looked at the place settings for our dinner.

For more Show and Tell head over to Kelli’s!

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Surfers Point ~ Ventura, California

A HIGH SURF ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST SUNDAY. SURF 6 TO 8 FEET WILL PERSIST ALONG EXPOSED WEST FACING SHORES.
62°F at 2:00 pm

We took a short drive up the 101 Fwy to Ventura on Saturday morning. We parked at Seaside Park and started our walk along the beach at Surfers Point.

 

We walked along the Promenade.

 

The Surf was exceptional today and there were tons of surfers and photographers waiting to catch the perfect wave.

 

 

The waves were so much more dramatic than my photos can show.

 

We were on the pier for these shots. The foam tells the story of the power of these waves.

 

Some of the waves were high enough to spray onto the pier.

 

The calm before the next set of waves. This is on the Ventura Pier looking back on Ventura.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

What color flower are you?

It’s Saturday and time for some Saturday fun. Dear and I are off for a walk along the beach this morning. Have a great day!

You Are a White Flower


A white flower tends to represent purity, simple beauty, and modesty.
At times, you are dignified like a magnolia.
And at other times, you represent great ecstasy, like a white orchid.
And more than you wish, you’re a little boastful, like a white hydrangea.

What Color Flower Are You?

Let me know if you take this quiz! I’d like to see some other flowers out there.

5 Things Meme

It’s time for some Saturday fun and let me tell you I started my Saturday fun by staying in bed till 8:00! I don’t know the last time I did that. So I’m drinking old coffee (Dear made it 5:00 am). We’re experiencing lots of clouds and rain here in the Southern California area so I just might pretend I’m a Hobbit and stay in my Hobbit Hole and watch the Seahawks game and try not to eat too much… Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

I found this fun meme and totally stole it from Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

 

1. Five things found in my room (I’m in the Dining Room)

Table & 4 chairs (which is our eating table, my computer table, my bill paying desk, etc. in the Condo)

Wall candle sconce

A tin sign that says Blessed

An antique mirror

A framed self-portrait my daughter sketched

2. Five things I’ve always wanted to do.

Ride a horse on the beach

Go to Ireland

Be able to speak in front of people without shaking in my boots

Have a professional chef come into my home and make a meal for me and close friends.

Pay off all my and my kids debts

3. Five things found in my hand bag.

My digital camera (I’m a blogger after all!)

My wallet

My cell phone

My clip on sunglasses

My Hankie

4. Five things in my wallet.

license

credit cards

checkbook

photos

grocery store cards

5. Five things I’m currently into.

Blogging

Reading the new Jan Karon book (I just finished it!)

Trying to cut down on calories

Trying to walk everyday

Reading Ephesians every day for 20 days

If you decide to post this meme on your blog let me know so I can come see….

Happy New Year!

A very Happy New Year to all!

We’re headed to the airport to fly back to Southern California from Washington early on New Year’s Day. We’ll be in the air and on the road for a large portion of the day. Today I have to totally de-Christmas my house and try to pack everything I want to take back to Cali with me. I won’t be back in Washington till Easter. The last few days of 2007 were spent with family and friends celebrating our daughter’s 22nd birthday and then just celebrating our friendships. It’s been an eventful busy year. Looking forward to what 2008 holds. Blessings…

The Birthday Party

The Cake

The Soup Party the next night…

 

It’s always good to have a tupperware drawer way down low…

Photobucket has blacked out all my photos and is holding them hostage. I’m slowly cleaning up my posts to remove the ugly black and grey blocks that photobucket has inserted instead of my photos.

How Much Do You Know About Christmas?

So it’s Saturday and for anyone who has time for some fun I’m posting this little quiz for you. Dear arrived safe and sound from LAX (LA) to SEATAC (Seattle) last night. It is so good to have him here. Today he’s doing last minute shopping with our daughter and bending a hoop for Dan’s rollcage (Blazer restoration) while I walk my 6 miles with my buddies. Hope you have a light and merry heart today!

You Know a Lot About Christmas


You got 6/10 correct
You know tons about the history and traditions surrounding Christmas.
When you celebrate the holidays, you never forget their true meaning – or all the little fun details.
Random Christmas fact: Thomas Edison has the first Christmas lights, three years after he invented the electric lightbulb.

How Much Do You Know About Christmas?