Alphabe-Thursday - "T" is for Tutu!!

It's Alphabe-Thursday once again and this week we are honoring the letter "T". Each week, our fearless leader/teacher, Jenny Matlock, calls class to order and instructs us to post something using a letter of the alphabet. I chose "T" for Tutus!

Growing up, I loved to dance. I still do...I just do it a little slower. I always fantasized about dancing in a professional dance company. As I got older, and started to think about what profession I would choose as an adult...someone... somewhere along the line...said that dancers don't make any money...therefore, I would not be able to live on a dancer's salary. I took a different road at that point, but I never, ever have lost my obsession with dance or Tutus!

I hope you enjoy some of these. I spent an hour in Tutu Wonderland trying to choose my favorites!


Well, if it isn't Queen Amidala, herself! From the movie "Black Swan" it's Natalie Portman.


Nothing says cute better than a baby in a Tutu - don'tcha think?


They call this one "Ancient Ballet." I think it looks like a "Tutu who vants to be alone!"


A colorful and well made Tutu can take you away to a very happy place!


"Do you like our (snort) little pink (snort, snort) Tutus?


A good Tutu doesn't always need to be "fluffy!"


Okay...who let these little pixies in here? Katya and Ed go "Tutu-wood!"

Thanks for the visit! Please stop over at "Alphabe-Thursday" by clicking on the logo below and you just might learn a new "T" word!



P.S. - I was late turning in my Letter "S" homework last week. If you have a minute, please check out my "Sisters" post!

Have a great day!

Wednesday Wickedness - Ashley Judd

It's that time again...it's Wednesday and someone is feeling wicked! This week's celebrity guest is Ashley Judd. Janera Epson of Wednesday Wickedness has taken ten of Ashley's quotes and listed them. Janera has then followed up each quote with a question (italics)of her own for her faithful followers to answer.

Here is this faithful follower's responses (in bold):

1. Abstinence, being faithful and correct and consistent condom use are the only ways to successfully reach everyone when discussing HIV prevention. I believe that the abstinence message alone does not solve the AIDS epidemic. Do you think there is any realistic point of trying to teach abstinence?

I do believe there is a realistic point to teaching abstinence, but everyone has to get on the same page. This means, parents, schools, places of worship, and the media. If they all got together on this point, I think many more people would consider abstinence.


2. And when I started to get wind of the fact that they actually liked me being around. That was humbling, because Kentucky basketball is a big deal, and I am not the biggest fan - I am just the most notorious one. What are you a fan of (sport or non-sport)?

I'm a die-hard Laker basketball fan; very strong Cardinal baseball fan; and mostly strong Rams football fan. I'm also a ginormous fan of anything my kids play.


3. Both my husband and I give a lot of ourselves in what we do because that is our public lives; but in my private life, I have an intrinsic right to be left alone.
How much alone time do you need in a relationship?

I need alone time every day, at least once an hour for about 45 minutes...


4. I did a lot of hiking and I loved it. What outdoor activity is your favorite?

My favorite outdoor activities are laying in the hammock; driving to DQ; driving home from work; bringing the mail in and walking the dog.


5. I get lonely when I'm a Playstation widow. What video games are you into?

I am not into video games. I am into blogs. Same addiction.


6. I think it's easy for me to connect to some people, and I don't know if that's the same thing as falling in love whereas before, I might have said it was. Tell us about a time that you thought you were in love, only to find out that it was only physical attraction?

My first 50 dates.


7. I think that being perceptive and having interests is nothing but an asset. How perceptive are you with new people in you meet?

I think I am mildly perceptive of new people I meet. But I always second-guess myself if I think they are dorks.


8. I think that, as with marriage, you just know when it's time to have kids. If you have kids was it because you were ready? If not when did you decide that?

I thought about having kids just as I was nearing the end of my college career. I was concerned about the infamous "biological clock" ticking. The clock won out and my college career is on the back burner right now.


9. It's up to us to take pop culture back and to express quality and dignity for both boys and girls. What’s the best of pop culture that works for you in 2011?

If you mean the best way to express ideas, then I will have to say music videos. Positive ideas like quality, dignity, kindness and respect could literally change our youth, if more artists would express those ideas. I'm actually starting to listen to lyrics. Before, it was just the music, and whether or not it was easy to dance to.


10. No, I don't tolerate pressure from anyone about anything. When was the time that someone made you feel pressured?

Someone made me feel pressured two days ago. I tolerated it because it came from a family member. In my head, I simply told the person to go "do something to their self" and, believe me, I felt so much better afterward.

Thanks for stopping by and humoring me. Please click on the logo below to see how others have responded to the questions.





Happy Hump Day!

Saturday Centus - I'm Blocked!

Your mission, if you accept, is to write a piece using the prompt "I'd catch a grenade for you" in 100 words or less (with no pictures!). Thanks to Jenny Matlock Off On My Tangent, moi has had writer's block since Saturday morning. I listened to the song by Bruno Mars to see if I could be motivated...nothing. I thought about what the word grenade means to me and I could only come up with war stuff. War is way too serious for me to joke about, so I won't go there.

Then I thought about adding a few letters to the word grenade and came up with grenadine!! I'm probably breaking a rule somewhere, but here goes! (The prompt is in bold)

Grenadine, a sweet red syrup, is used in “cocktail” drinks like “Tequila Sunrise” and “A Slow Comfortable Scr** Against the Wall.” Pretty good for a non-drinker, no? It can also be used to attract hummingbirds, as well as, ants, flies and a squirrel or two.

Interestingly enough, the name "grenadine" comes from the French word grenade which means pomegranate, and was originally prepared from pomegranate or cherry juice, and sugar. I like sugar. I will eat or drink anything with sugar. Maybe that explains my womanly figure, erratic attention span and occasional writer’s block.

This is my sweet take on "I'd catch a grenade for you!"

Thanks for stopping by to read my silliness! Click on the logo below to see how other MI spies attacked this challenge!

Have a great week!!

Alphabet Thursday - S is for Sisters!

I grew up the only girl with two brothers. I always wanted a sister. I have a girl cousin who grew up with four brothers. We decided we would be sisters! We lived 3,000 miles from each other, but we wrote letters back and forth from a single digit age to the invention of the computer and beyond. We may have taken different roads, but we do our best to stay in touch. My cousin is an extraordinary artist who paints, sketches, writes, and now makes fabulous jewelry for her own company (Yasek Design Jewelry). I'd like to think my talent has been in raising my children. I'm still working at it, and it's a career that I dearly love.




My two daughters are sisters in every way. They laugh, they argue, they borrow each others things, and they stay up late many nights just talking about stuff. Their personalities are like night and day. They bring out the best and worst in each other. I see them spending the rest of their lives entwined!



Sisters can also be friends who are brought together by a common thread, like having children of similar ages, illness, support groups, or simply sharing the same dreams. I love this picture of some friends of mine who have lived their lives together through their children, through illness and through just about any conceivable emotion, good or bad. Each one of them would drop everything if another one of them needed help, especially if it involved a party!

Thank you for stopping by my very late offering for Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday. Please click on the logo below to see some really interesting and diverse "S" words!

Now That's a Whale of a Tale!

The Big Boss (School Principal) sends out a memo every Monday with a recap of the past week, upcoming events, etc. There is usually an inspirational message somewhere within. This past week, she included this picture, and the following story. I found both to be so very amazing and wanted to share them with you.


...The Whale... If you read a recent front page story of the San Francisco Chronicle, you would have read about a female humpback whale that had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth. A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off; the only way to save her was to dive in and untangled her. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around as she was thanking them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

For me, this is a gentle reminder that it's okay to get involved sometimes, when someone could use a little help.


Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week!

Sundays in My City - The Great Thaw

Three Weeks ago, this was the action of our backyard (and commons).




Today...same backyard (and commons).


I'm from St. Louis, MO. Welcome to my city!!



Please stop by Unknown Mami (who is a new Mami with chiquita poquita #2) and see who else has stopped by!

Saturday Centus - Doggone Valentine!

Cuteness abounds this weekend! Welcome to Saturday Centus, Valentine Style! Our challenge this week is to write a Hallmark card of 50 words or less using this wonderful picture as our inspiration. "Jenny Matlock Off On My Tangent" is sponsoring this very entertaining meme. Please click on the logo at the end of my entry and see what other creative pieces have been offered!


Dearest Valentine,

Run away with me to a far away land
Where we can walk hand in hand!

You are the one, and only you
Together we'll play with my lassooooo!

Don't listen to those who say not to bother
They'll never know the richness of slobber!

I love you!


Thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to give Jenny at Saturday Centus a peek and leave some Valentine love for her!

Wednesday Wickedness - Reagan Style

Once again, we can be "wicked" for a day! I love living this title out loud! Each week, hostess, Janera Jepson, selects a celebrity, shares some of their quotes and follows up with a question for us to answer. It's a lot of fun and I challenge you to join in with your own answers! This week's celebrity is our former President, Ronald Reagan, who would have been 100 years old this past week. (My answers are in bold) Enjoy!

1. A tree's a tree. How many more do you need to look at?
Are you concerned about mankind's intrusion into forests and jungles?

Hell yes! I'm just as concerned about those football fans who didn't get their seats at the Super Bowl; and just as concerned about how many days I'm going to have to camp out to get Katy Perry tickets; and just as concerned about the size of tattoo my daughter wants to get; and just as concerned...this is stressing me out! I'll stop now.



2. All great change in America begins at the dinner table.
What is the biggest change that you've seen in your lifetime with the U.S?

To be honest, I avoid thinking about change in America. While raising my children, they were my whole world. I didn't think about a lot of things. I still don't think about a lot of things, but I am concerned about the changes our current administration is attempting to make with regard to the relationship of government and the everyday person.



3. All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk.
Do you feel nuclear power is still the fuel of our future?

I think nuclear power has a place in our future, but not "the" fuel of the future. It's scary to think about people misusing the power of nuclear energy. I'm a little concerned about what would happen if another country's nuclear weapon blew up one of our power plants? Would we be toast?



4. But there are advantages to being elected President. The day after I was elected, I had my high school grades classified Top Secret. How did you do academically in high school?

I sucked in high school, academically and socially. I think I had a B or C average. I didn't apply to any four year colleges, but got in to a community college. (I think only straight "F's" kept you from getting into community college.)I almost immediately started back to school to earn my undergraduate degree. I was a lot more serious about academics then, than while I was in high school. There were also much cuter guys at college than at high school.



5. Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty. How closely have you followed the uprising in Egypt? Thoughts?

It's scaring the crap out of me! It's possible that, one by one, the countries in the middle east want to make a change in their government by free elections. Look what free elections in this area have produced so far: The Brotherhood and Hamas!



6. Democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. Do you feel a political system is worth dying for?

I think chocolate, Brad Pitt and a good mocha are worth dying for.



7. Don't be afraid to see what you see. What do you see that scares you?

Myself in the mirror; Grandpa Jack without any clothes on; my checking account balance; the size of the tattoo that my daughter wants to get!



8. Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we've ever known. Tell us about an advance that you we will see in out lifetimes that is not in existence

A Starbucks in every city of the United States; maybe...just maybe...equal pay for equal work by men and women; extermination of cockroaches; cures for every kind of cancer.



9. Facts are stubborn things. What is something that most think of as a fact that does not ring true to you?

That George Clooney is taken.



10. Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged. What do you think of politicians that use religion as justification of their beliefs?

I don't have an answer for this one; serious or sarcastic. Sorry! I think sometimes there is a fine line between church and state, and, to what extent political figures should incorporate them.



Thanks for checking out this Wednesday's craziness. Please visit Wednesday Wickedness by clicking on the logo below!





Happy Hump Day!

Friday Fragments - BRRRRRRRRR!!!!

Hi and welcome to Mrs4444's Friday post where we can share events, or present ideas for world peace, or comment on the mundane activities of our past week. Regardless, Friday Fragments is just that; fragments which are pieces of a whole post, but not as long.

We had three snow days this week in St. Louis. The snow couldn't have come at a worse time for our schools. We are in the middle of registration for next year, Parent Teacher Conferences, field trips, etc. HOWEVER, it sure has been nice sleeping in a little, flipping a coin to see who shovels the driveway, and the decision of whether to have french toast or waffles for breakfast!

My van, which has been deceased for three weeks, my have a "miracle" operation and live once more! After towing it to two separate places, it was delivered to the car hospital for diagnosis. She's had a good life during the past eight years. Trips to Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago and Austin were some of the best family outings we had. If it wasn't for club volleyball, we may never had seen such interesting places. Aside from the jammed driver side window (stuck in the closed position) and turn signals that must be manually turned off after every turn, we have wonderful memories of getting to and from in warmth, coolness and with all of our friends.

Time to prepare taxes. This is such a depressing subject, I won't say any more, except that I wish you all as large of a return as is possible!

Just a little more shoveling to do before the next storm hits us on Sunday.

GO PACK!!!!

Please click on the Friday Fragment logo to see what fascinating fragments others have to offer!

The Blizzard of the Century - Wordless Wednesday

Ice Drops Keep Falling on My Head....




Can You See Me? My Name is Albert Pujols. I can't decide whether to fly or stay and enjoy the view.




It may be pretty, but you'll need brakes on your sleds!




Even my friend, Fritz, is complaining of the cold!

The backyard photo is mine. The others are compliments of the kind citizens of St. Louis, Missouri. Welcome to Wordless Wednesday!