When our daughter was in high school, one of her best friends who is deaf was over at our house a lot. In fact, many times we would have a whole group of kids over at our house to watch a movie. Or instead of having four at the supper table, we might have six, seven, or eight. (I learned to cook extra if I thought there was a chance extra kids might be there.) On movie nights, it was vital that we had closed captioning so that our daughter’s friend could understand the movie, too. It was wonderful to have that available so we could all enjoy the movie together!

If anyone has something they would like closed captioning added to, there are people at a company called Video Caption Corporation who can do that. That is really cool!

I was tagged by Kathy from Is 8 Enough?

Here are the rules:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

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1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was teaching first grade in public school. Our daughter had one more year of high school, so we were already doing all the things like senior pictures, etc. My mother’s health was not very good, so I would get her to all her doctor’s appointments and help her with things.

2) What are five things on your to-do list for today?

(Since today is just about over, these are on my list for tomorrow:)

Do volunteer work tomorrow morning at the Benevolent Center &  run errands.

Do laundry and start the beginnings of spring cleaning. (My mother-in-law is supposed to come visit for a week June 3rd. I have a LOT to do between now and then!)

Tutor at 4:00;  Cook supper. (something with chicken)

Do a lesson in Beth Moore’s “Believing God” study. (a group of us girls get together at a friend’s house on Thurs.nights to watch video & go over lessons)

3) What snacks do I enjoy?

Nuts which are so healthy: natural almonds are my favorite (I eat nuts every day!)

Ants on a Log which is a satisfying snack (daughter “C” and I have eaten lots of those through the years!)

Fiber One “Oats & Chocolate” Chewy Granola Bars (really good & 9 grams of fiber)

Hot-air popped popcorn drizzled with EVOO and sea salt

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire?

First, pray for wisdom in using it! I would love to help Foster’s Children’s Home and other children’s homes, missionary hospitals and schools in poor areas, and help people who come to the Benevolent Center. Of course, I’d want to set up a college fund for Baby J and give some to our kids.

5) Three Bad Habits

I stay up too late, don’t exercise regularly like I should, and sometimes slouch when I’m sitting at the computer.

6) 5 places I have lived…

Texas, Texas, Texas, Texas, & Texas…LOL (I guess I’ll always be a Texas gal.)

7) 5 Jobs I have had

Babysitter (in high school), College cafeteria worker (in college)

Teacher (Special Ed, first grade, second grade, first & second grade bridge class)

Part-time at a flower shop ( I’m supposed to work two days this week for Mother’s Day)

Private tutorer (which I do now)

Six people I want to know more about…

Valmg known for “Four Foods on Fridays” & always giving links to participants - we appreciate you Valmg! (I’d like to find out more about FFoF friends. I wanted to pick more, but maybe some of these will tag the others.)

Blueyes , Tina Kubala , Corrin , Val , & Skeet (who gets to enjoy the beauty of Hawaii every day - let’s all go visit Skeet!)

A lot of people are probably thinking about mothers day flowers delivery since Mother’s Day is a little over one week away. My mother passed away several years ago, but if she were still alive then I would give her flowers.

When anyone is buying for their mom, only the best will do. 1-800-flowers.com carries the best selling fresh flowers, and they have gifts and popular plants that are gorgeous. You can visit them for all your Mother’s Day gift needs! They even have gourmet baskets, fresh fruit baskets, and spa baskets, just to name a few. Check them out if you haven’t gotten your Mother’s Day gift.

Vista Print has so much to offer for every printing need. They not only have business cards but also checks, rubber stamps, announcements, and car magnets. All of their products can be customized! This feature adds that special touch to any product.
Vista Print also carries gift items which would be great for Mother’s Day which is just around the corner. Here are some gift ideas which I think any mother, grandmother, or aunt would like:

Their return address stickers with the customized family caricatures, including pets, are not only useful but also attractive. Our daughter has some like these and they are adorable! They also have a large number of design templates to choose from or you can create a custom design.

This notepad is not only cute but also great to write notes to a child’s teacher. This would be especially good when students have to change classes and a teacher might have a large number of students.

This would make a lovely gift for a mother, grandmother, or aunt. Who wouldn’t enjoy a calendar customized with pictures of loved ones!

These customized note cards would be great for writing notes, for thank-you notes, or even for invitations to friend & family get-togethers.

I know someone who has a horse, and she is so faithful to go to the stables daily to care for it. Her love of horses is contagious, and she is teaching a two-year-old girl how to ride horses. This little girl just happens to be our daughter’s close friend’s little girl. Now this petite, feminine, little blonde haired two-year-old has developed a love for horses. She was scared of them at first, but now she absolutely adores thems! Her mom needs to check out equestrian clothing! Wouldn’t that be cute to see this tiny little girl dressed in riding apparel!

How many of you have video games at your house? We certainly do! We’ve had several game systems for the kids through the years. We started off years ago with Super Nintendo, then Nintendo 64, then GameCube and Game Boy, Nintendo DS, and then the Nintendo Wii. As a teacher, I think there are some great games out there for kids that are good for eye/hand coordination, problem solving, memory, and other skills. Some games we have that I think are excellent include Tetris, Big Brain Academy, and Animal Crossing. They’re not only fun for kids, they’re fun and mind sharpening for adults as well! What are some other good games?

I want to congratulate our daughter, “C.” She had to take her oral exam for her master’s degree this past week, and she passed. (We knew she would!)

This semester has been an extremely hectic one for her. Besides working at her job, she took one class for her degree the first six weeks of this semester and her very last class this last six weeks of the semester. Plus, they moved in February and had boxes galore to unpack! PLUS they have an eight month old baby, who just happens to be our precious grandbaby, “Baby J,” that I refer to from time to time.

So with all that going on since January, she has managed to spend quality time with her husband and their baby. She’s blessed that she can bring Baby J to her office several times during the week, that her friend can babysit, and that she has such a wonderful, helpful, supportive husband. All of that really helped!

Now, we look forward to graduation in May!

A few years ago, we took my mother-in-law with our family to visit and do some sightseeing in downtown Chicago. My m-i-l had a new car, and she wanted us to go in it. We gladly agreed. There were so many things to do in Chicago. My husband parked the car on a downtown street, put lots of change in the parking meter, and even asked a policeman if it was OK to park there. The policeman said “Yes” and didn’t offer any other information. Well, to make a long story short, when we were through with our sight seeing (and shopping), my husband went to get the car….only it was gone. “Oh, no!” we thought, “Mom’s brand new car has been stolen, plus it has our laptop and the garage door opener in it.” We felt sick. After talking to a policeman, we found out that for two hours during rush hour, the street where we had parked turned into a “No Parking” zone. They had impounded our car! We walked all over downtown trying to find the place where it was impounded, but to no avail. We were exhausted but finally were able to get a taxi. The driver knew where to take us, but it was really a strange way to get there. We had to go down a couple of levels to a lower area that was creepy. (I felt like I was in the “Adventures in Babysitting” movie when they went to downtown Chicago.) Finally, we got the car back after paying over one hundred dollars. That was definitely a crazy vacation!
Trusted Tours & Attractions would be a great way to avoid something like that from happening on a vacation. You can sign up for the Trusted Travels eNewsletter and enter to win an IPOD Nano! Offer ends Monday, March 31st, 2008. The newsletter will give you family vacation ideas, whether it’s Key West Snorkeling or wherever you would like to vacation.

I’m so excited about this next weekend! Our daughter, s-i-l, and Baby J are coming for Easter weekend. It will have been five weeks since we’ve seen them, but it seems a lot longer than that. I’m sure there are grandmas out there who understand exactly what I mean, especially “Mamaw.” It will be so neat to see all the things Baby J can do now that he couldn’t do a month ago. He’s seven months old now, so he’s pushing up with his arms when he’s on his tummy and it won’t be long until he’s crawling and getting into things. I can’t wait to hold him, feed him, and rock him to sleep. He’s so precious and adorable!

Our daughter and I will have to get in some time shopping, and that will be fun! We used to shop a lot together when she was in high school and college, and I always enjoy our time together. She’s such a sweet daughter! Our dear son and dear s-i-l will get in some good video game time, knowing the two of them. And my husband and I will be enjoying every minute of having family home for the holidays.  We’ll also get to be with Baby J’s other grandma, “Mamaw” and Aunt L.   So, my Easter weekend plans are to be with all my family, and I feel truly blessed!

Tomorrow is moving day for our daughter and son-in-law, and we’re going to help them move. They are buying their first house, a cute, older house with three bedrooms, two baths, and a two car garage…the typical, average house. Only it’s not going to be just a house, because it will be a home filled with love from the moment they move in it. It’s a home they are thankful for because they prayed about making the right decision in their move. So on their first night in their new home, they will be all cozy with their new baby (well, he’s six months old so that’s still kinda new), their dog, and their two cats. And I am very thankful for how blessed they are!