My New Favorite Quote

i found this quote the other day and i loved it.

"You should not worry too much about adversities. The world is not as powerful as it seems to be; its strength is strictly limited.: - Our Lord to st. faustina

with all the stinky things that have been happening around here the past few days...this quote was a bit of solace.

Take A Gander At The View

ok, ok, so it doesn't look half as awe inspiring on the computer as it does in real life but this is the view from the balcony on the back of our house on frequent summer nights. the small red blob you see in the sky in the middle of the picture (which looks strangely like something is wrong with the picture) is actually my feeble attempt to show you fireworks. our back balcony doubles as a wonderful seat for all of the fireworks put on by the city of lancaster and also all of those that are sent into the sky from clipper magazine stadium, home of the lancaster barnstormers. it's a part of the house that we really enjoy. no crowds, no loud noises, just beautiful sites. i wanted to mount a few of these pictures on little cards on our back balcony for house showings (since nobody has bought the stinking place yet) but since they didn't turn out to look like anything, i'm thinking they wouldn't solicit any offers.

"Worry," Who Knew?

well, lately i've been obsessed with worrying. ok. when am i not really? we all know that worrying really doesn't get you anywhere...except in a worse mood. so, today i decided that i would check out the good ol' wikipedia for a little vocab/encyclopedic lesson. here's what it had to say and can i say that i just about wet my pants? ok, we're getting a little too personal, but hey. anywho, here goes. it said that worry was one component of anxiety, the other being emotionality. "Worry refers to negative self-talk that often distracts the mind from focusing on the problem at hand." well yeah, don't we all like a little distraction from feeling beat to a pulp? but here's the definition that made me laugh/agree/sigh ah hah. "To 'worry' is what a terrier does to a rat - the dog grips the rat in its mouth and shakes the rat to death." and isn't this the exact definition as the first? when we worry about everything it's like beating a dead horse. we keep dishing the same darn thing up time and time again with all the possible most horrible variables that will probably never ever happen...but don't you know they could. even though it continually makes us feel worse and worse we continue to kick the proverbial dead horse until not only are we worrying about the original problem but now we are also worrying about our foot that hurts from kicking the dead equine we shouldn't have been kicking in the first place. so, the long and the short of it? we need to stop shaking rats in our mouths. let the big ol' rodents scurry back into the sewers where they belong. just a creepy peak into how my mind really works. there you have it.

My Monsieur Has Turned Four

"aw haw haw, zees cupcakes are zo taz-tee!" (insert your best french accent here)

happy birthday buddy! mommy loves you!

Backyard Bounty

this week has been a good one for our rather meager backyard. the lilies are in bloom. these lovely blooms were a gift from a friend's mother a few years back for easter. it started out as one small plant and this year the bulb branched out to form two stalks.
we also are getting quite a few strawberries off of our four plants this year. we have been tending these plants for five years and it is finally paying off. the plants have produced about three quarts so far. i used the first bunch of berries to make some freezer jam and some terrific strawberry bread. the jam is sooooo easy and i absolutely love the deep red color the homegrown strawberries give it.
the only thing not so beautiful in the backyard?the neighbor's dog ripping apart the fence...arrgh.

Science In The City

we live in the city...no yard..no grass...etc etc. yet, what did we see out our dining room window this morning in the most unlikely of places?...a baby bunny! i don't have a clue what he was doing up on our stone wall about three foot off the ground, but it made my kids' day.

we also made this..."what is it?" you ask. why of course it's an ant catapult. this is truly one science lesson my kids wanted to use all day long. :)

More "Pardon My French" About Me

just i'm sure y'all are biting your nails over this one...today i've decided to blog more gratuitous info about...oh...myself. yep, found it over at Don't Try This At Home.(trumpet fanfare) "my blogging story," ahem..hey you in the back...yeah you...clam up and listen will ya?

how did you start blogging?

it was a dark and stormy night...ok, not really. my husband seemed to think i should. frankly everybody, i have alot of slightly twisted ideas twirling like little fairies in my noggin. these are the little humorous things that cause people to be creeped out when i just start giggling uncontrollably to myself. hee hee hee. see what i mean? i either a.) think my husband thought me blogging these little nuances out of my head was cheaper than therapy or 2.)he is saving them up for proof...of what i'm not exactly sure but there has to be a reason. it does feel good to ramble and get them out of my otherwise crowded cerebral hemisphere.

Did you intend to be a blog w/a big following? If so, how did you go about it?

umm, no, and i think i'm doing a darn good job of keeping up with my intentions. don'tcha think? i started out completely incognito, not wanting to scare people. then i told my oldest daughter's godmother and she loved it. then i shared it with amy at fresh vintage but i told her to keep it absolute secret boy. but i left a couple of comments on friends blog and gained a few more readers. now i think i'm in my comfort zone...about four or five readers. still to this day i have not memorized my url so i'm not lying when somebody says, "where is your blog?" and i say, "geez beave, me and wally don't gosh golly gee know>"

What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog? Have you been successful? If not, do you have a plan to achieve those goals?

not go crazy...it seems to be working well so far. seriously, it just makes me feel good to get ideas out onto well...it's not really paper...before i forget them.

Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?

i have definitely become less sarcastic in my content and tone. hey, what are you snickering at? my first posts were so off the wall i have toned it down a bit for the masses.

What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?

how to post pictures. wow, my first posts were lame-o.

Do you make money with your blog?

are you serious. i could get cashola for this? well sign me up sister! i don't think i'd get to far with five readers though. i'd probably just do better holding a telethon with some big name talent.

Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it? If not, why?

ummm, no. contents may become volatile if shaken or stirred.
i did find out from my husband that my bil has read it in the past.

What two pieces of advice would you give to a new blogger?

1. blog as often as you have time
2. tell me your address so i can leave a comment, i just loooooove leaving comments!

so there ya have it skipper. the long and well...long of it. so post your own and head on over here to link your own.

Eight Things About Me? Are You Sure You Want To Know?

“For this meme, each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.”

i was tagged by Michele (with only one "l") so here goes (if i can think of eight interesting things).

1. i love cheese, all types pretty much (except blue cheese and this strange chocolate cheese my mom used to buy for my grandma every christmas). i detested swiss as a child, but now i think it might just be my favorite. but heck, why discriminate? i love 'em all. i could definitely live off of fruit and cheese platters...with maybe a little angel food cake thrown in for good measure. i want to delve into cheese making as a new hobby.

2. while we're on food...when i'm pregnant i always crave taco bell "beef" (if you want to call it that) burritos, burger king big "fish" (that's used loosely also) sandwiches, little chocolate donuts (preferably hostess) and fountain cherry coke (the can/bottle just doesn't hold the same allure)

3. just like amy, i have also been called the yard sale/garage sale/coupon/bargain queen. she's not my arch-nemesis or anything. we are just a crime fighting duo, trying to rid the world of the need to pay retail. i have been finding myself slacking a little in this department lately while being at the beck and call of three little souls (all under eight mind you).

4. i absolutely love to cook/bake/can etc. it's fine if that means cooking dinner, as long as i have the week planned ahead of time. otherwise, i hate it. my newest pursuit is filing all my frequently used recipes in a rolodex on my kitchen counter. my eighteen month old's newest pursuit is stealing the cards out of it and hiding them or ripping them to shreds.

5. i was on make the grade on nickelodeon when i was younger. i won...and got to take home $1,000 before the harsh reality of uncle sam and taxes set in at an early age. we have the episode on vhs and my husband likes to watch it periodically for a good chuckle. his favorite was the first time he showed it to the kids. now that they show reruns of it on cable some people still tell me they see me every once and again.

6. we don't have cable so i wouldn't know if i'm on in reruns or not (you see, i'm running out of interesting info so i'm bridging from one to the other)

7. i love music. singing it, playing it, listening to it...yep, all of the above. most of the "dreams i have before i die" hinge upon learning to play more instruments or recording a vocal cd.

8. hmmm, this hasn't been as hard as i thought, but now i think i may be stumped. oh, i'm a convert. i came into the Catholic Church at the age of 18. i have loved every beautiful and blessed minute of it.

well, i did it. and i think without boring you to tears. and now for the tagging. i'm going to step out of my little happy safe place for just a moment and politely tap a few people on the shoulder whom i absolutely love their blogs but they don't know me from the man in the moon. these people are BooMama, Nissa, and Suzanne (thank you for the rapunzel post!). i hope these ladies will humor me...as those whom i know personally with blogs have already been tagged and that would be, well, slightly funny yet highly unfair.

And Then There Were Sunglasses

thursday was shopping day with nana and papa before they had to head home on friday.
and everybody got new sunglasses.
are they cute or what?

Berries! Berries! Berries!

it seems every blog turn i take these days leads me to another post about strawberries. and since i think they are possibly the world's most perfect food (aside from cheese that is) i thought i would show you the delightful berries i have been harvesting from my backyard...and yes, they are as tasty as they look!

Not Too Much to Ask...Right?

on our trip we stayed at a residence inn which is hands down my favorite hotel. i'm a breakfast kind of gal and there's is second to none...especially since it's all you can eat, included in the price of your room and i don't have to cook it or clean it up. but, imagine my shock when i found in our guest room the exact style i'm looking for in a new home. i can dream...and dream some more. :)

A Visit to Phillie! (The Second Installment)

on our trip to philadelphia we also visited the st. katharine drexel shrine and the st. gianna shrine. these are two of our favorite places to visit on a trip to philadelphia. the st. katharine drexel shrine has beautiful extensive grounds and her tomb is also there. i am particularly partial to the st. gianna shrine (my second daughter is named after her). at this church they have one of her dress gloves and they allow you to bless each other with it. so, whenever i can...i take a trip out there and bless my little gianna with the glove of her patron saint! there are also many other wonderful shrines in pennsylvania (and all over the usa) that you can check out here.

A Visit to Phillie!

my in-laws came for a visit and to do something other than stare at the walls, we took a trip to philadelphia to visit the franklin institute and their king tut exhibit. it was a bit pricey (the king tut exhibit that is, we have a pass for the museum) but it was enjoyable. here's a picture of my husband, kids and in-laws in front of the giant human heart. as you can tell from the picture, my son was covering his ears and totally freaked out by the loud heart noises, but hey, what's a trip to a giant human heart without a picture?

It's Been Awhile And Things Have Been Hoppin'

it's been quite a long time since i have made an appearance here...a little too long. it's not that there hasn't been anything going on to write about. it's the fact that there has been tooooooooo much going on. and did i start enough sentences with "it's" for you? first, thank you for your prayers. the cloud has passed, the situation is not gone, but the effect i was letting it have on my life is. enough said. anyway, i'm going to try for a blogging marathon. this would have been done last night but my camera and computer seem to be having a bit of a tiff whereas the computer will not upload anything from the camera. so, dear husband was sweet enough to transfer these to his mac for me and then over to this here pc. thank you! so hold onto your seats...it's going to be a long and bumpy ride!