FF - I Love The World!

Friday Fragments is a wonderful place for me to go, let down my silvery hair, calm my frazzled nerves and relax as I reflect on the past week!  Mrs4444 of Half-Past Kissin' Time is the proud sponsor of this weekly writing event which encourages many of us to get up off our "tooshies" and write!


It's been another fascinating week in the exciting world of retail!  Semi-annual sales, long lines of tired customers, and irritable co-workers have made for an emotional roller coaster of feelings.  Thank you, God, for putting your hand over my mouth during the perturbation (look it up, dude) so I would make nice at the time, and also, when I wanted to consume mass quantities of anything and everything after the fact!  It's such a relief to not partake in that very unhealthy behavior any more!

I met my baby girls halfway between Chicago and St. Louis on Sunday!  What fun we had! I'm so blessed to have them in my life, and to know that they are making their own way...without their meddling, controlling, and opinionated mother hovering about.  Thank you, God, for showing me how to step back and get out of the way!

I no longer meddle, but sometimes I visit their social media pages just to get caught up! I found this song on one of the pages and couldn't resist sharing.  You may have seen it, but it is such a great clip, I hope you enjoy it again, and in my case, again and again and again!

                               http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC1yLD7R0ZU

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and that a special random act of kindness comes your way, or comes from you to another!  Thanks for stopping by!

Please grab another cup of coffee and visit Half-Past Kissin' Time where you can enjoy the fragments of friends who love Mrs.4444 as much as I do!  Just click on the logo below! Oh, and Happy Birthday Mrs4444!!

Dear John...I Think I Love You

Welcome to Saturday Centus, the brainchild of Jenny Matlock of Off On My Tangent.  Each week, she provides a prompt, either a picture or series of words, with which we are challenged to express ourselves in response.  This week, our prompt is "Dear John" and my story follows with the prompt in bold.

Dear John,

I just wanted to thank you for all you do...
You always have my back
My butt is always covered
Your strength sees me through the worst days and nights
You never judge
Even when I neglect you, I can always count on you being there for me
I can't imagine my life without you
Throughout the years, you have grown and redefined yourself, and my life gets better as you do
I'm so lucky to have you...I think I love you...thank you for being you

 

Please click on the Saturday Centus logo above to poop...I mean pop...over to Jenny's and read some submissions of my fellow students!  Thanks for stopping by today.  Have a great weekend!

V is for Very Interesting!

How many remember the great days of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In?  So many careers were born and revived from that show!  The multi-talented and wide array of characters never failed to delight and make us laugh out loud.  It was a show that families, well some families, could watch together and actually "get" the jokes!One of my favorite characters was the German soldier played by Arte Johnson.  He would say the words "very interesting" and sometimes follow them up with "but very schtupid!"  I can just imagine how much fun taping the show must have been for everyone!

Another great show, I think, was the Carol Burnett Show.  I recently watched an interview with Carol Burnett where she reminisced about the actors who were on the show and the many hours of ad-libs and deep belly laughs they all gave to us. What I would have given to be a fly on the wall of one of the sets of that show! I probably would have left little fly "pee" marks all over the place!

Comedy has changed dramatically over the years and although it can be very entertaining, I think that the humor in entertainment today is too raw, too insulting and only intended for certain audiences.  Don't get me wrong...there are oodles of great sitcoms out there right now.  But many TV shows, movies and live comedy seem to have aspired to a very deep low, and I hope that a more simple, clean and "something for everyone" type of funny can find its way back to us. 


Please stop over to Jenny's place and see what other V assignments have been turned in today.  Just click on the logo below and VOILA...you will be there!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Sundays - Easter Blessings!

Hello from Chicago and Happy Easter to all! I hope that however your day is spent, it is enjoyable! We plan to do some laundry, take the dog out to a public park (if any are open) and treat ourselves to dinner at one of the fine dining establishments in the area--preferably one without a drive-through!

What will be different for us this year, is the annual egg hunt and family get-together.  For the first time in 27 years, I did not stay up until midnight filling and hiding eggs, arranging baskets and setting out items for the Easter meal prep.  It's bittersweet for me.  It was actually nice to come home from work at 9:30, fall into bed, and sleep in until 8:00.  I told my children to hide their own eggs this year.  Does this qualify me for "mom of the year" status?

It's all part of the journey...subject to change at any moment.  Life is good, and I'm so very grateful to be a part of it!

I'm from Chicago. Welcome to my city!  Please hop (no bunny pun here) over to Sundays in My City to see what Unknown Mami's followers are doing today!  Just click on the logo below.

Thanks for stopping by today!  (Bunny photo courtesy of The Graphics Fairy)

Like Ribbons of Light

Welcome to one of my favorite weekend memes, Saturday Centus! This weekly writing challenge always puts me to the "imagination" test, and I love it!  Jenny Matlock from Off On My Tangent has tossed out a great idea for us this week. We are to write a piece that begins with the words, "Our Fingers Entwined Like Ribbons of Light" using our choice of expression which could be prose, poetry, lyric, etc. Our only requirement is that we use no more than 107 words.  My submission follows with the prompt in bold.  Enjoy!


Our fingers entwined like ribbons of light.  It felt incredible to experience my mother's touch again after so many years. My entire body was engulfed in the warmth of the light as I explored her face with my hands. She was so beautiful and her smile drew me closer as we embraced.  Then, in an instant, I was pulled back from her and she faded, along with the light and the warmth.  I cried out to her, but she was no longer there.  My body shook. I opened my eyes and found a masked medical team hovering above...cheering.  They just scored a three-pointer at the buzzer!


Thanks so much for stopping by today! Please click on the Saturday Centus logo below and see some great reads from other followers of Jenny's.  You won't be disappointed! Have a wonderful weekend!

Frags on Friday - Spaced Out!

Welcome to Friday Fragments #241, a weekly wind down sponsored by the magnanimous Mrs4444 (pronounced "MrsFours") of Half-Past Kissin' Time!  I love this segment of her blog as it gives one a chance to reflect, reject and renew oneself prior to the weekend!

I've had a "Space Mountain" of a week emotionally, but it's been good...great learning experience... humbled my ego somewhat, encouraged me to let go a little and trust the big guy a lot more with my silly little life!  "Oh, just surprise me, God!  I know it will be great!"

Spent last Sunday picking up the VW Bus, and praying that it wouldn't break down between Missouri and Illinois.  It ran out of gas...but it didn't break down!  What a lesson in trust.  Also got our taxes done, had lunch with my girls and was the recipient of not just one, but two, hugs from the #2 son, while #1 son was recuperating from his variety show the night before.  Next time, Boneman!  I need two hugs from you!

I was having coffee with some friends and watched one of them break a perfectly to-die-for cupcake in half, pulling the bottom half over the top so that it became a cupcake-sammich!  I began to hyperventilate and lose consciousness.  I was quickly brought back to reality when I began to gnaw on a carrot that I had been holding.  I enjoyed that cupcake vicariously through my friend, after repeating to myself...I don't like cupcakes...they are evil...they will cause me to lift off into outer space!  Somehow, the conversation changed from evil sugar to permanent make-up tips.  My other friend revealed her beauty secrets that she acquired while in one of our coastal, sunny states.  She is drop-dead gorgeous to begin with, but I was not aware that her brows were tattooed, her eyeliner was tattooed, and her lip color had been tattooed!  I sort of choked on my carrot thinking about the procedures, but then realized just how much money she has saved by "not" waxing, not buying and applying both eyeliner and lipstick.  She also described what she had done with her lashes, but I can't remember as my mind was totally mush from her description of the lipstick tattoo!


What? Too much info?  Sorry, I just wanted to share a little of my week.  Hope you've had a great one!

Please click on the logo below to visit my friend, Mrs4444, and see what some of her friends have been up to this week!  Thanks for stopping by!

Good Friends Hereafter

Welcome to Saturday Centus, #151, the brainchild of a most prolific and entertaining blogger/writer, Jenny Matlock.  Each week she challenges her readers to write a post from a prompt of her choice, or the choice of a guest blogger/writer, using a certain amount of words (normally about 100 plus the words in the prompt), and using a form of our choice (poetry, prose, fiction, non-fiction, song or rant).  This week's prompt is Thank You, Beryl! and my story follows.

Growing up, there was a family on our block from England. I was fascinated with the language, our differences and the things we had in common.  There were three kids and their parents, Jack and Beryl.  I could listen to Beryl's voice for hours.  She had a quirky sense of humor that made me laugh.  Even when she was dying of cancer, she was full of wit.  We talked shortly before she passed, and I asked her to give my love to my mom when she saw her.  She said she would.  I am sure they met and my message delivered...thank you, Beryl!

Thanks for stopping by today and humoring me.  Please hop over to Jenny Matlock's Saturday Centus page by clicking on the logo below.  See what other literary delights you may find!