Give Me Five Meme *SPECIAL EDITION*

*Special Year End Edition of the Give Me Five Meme*

This week, I've decided to push back the Give Me Five Monday Meme until today, Wednesday, for a special year end edition. 2008 brought many small moments to reflect upon as well as the bigger moments we will never forget. So, without further ado, I bring you the topic of today's GM5:

Give Me Five of your personal favorite moments, memories, stories or photos of 2008.

1. I got to meet Kirk Cameron!!! Ok, for those of you who know me, you know I was a big fan of Kirk's back in the day. I never thought I would actually meet him this side of heaven and I did. Here's a bit of the back story on how it all came about and why meeting Kirk Cameron had such a special meaning to me.

2. Baby DJ is born! On Father's Day (June 15th) my cousin had their first baby, a boy. He's so cute and precious, it has been a real joy watching him grow these past few months. He's doing really well and thriving and getting stronger and bigger every day.

3. I discovered Setting Captives Free, a wonderful website for people who are afflicted with addictions. Mine is with food. I started 'The Lord's Table-Phase 1' and enjoyed healthy successes! Of course, I began to slack with the bible study part and soon after, the eating part began to suffer as well. I am sooooo looking forward to getting started on the study all over again and getting back to eating in a way that glorifies God!

4. Home improvements. Well, I'm still under construction but there are many great changes that have been accomplished and many more to come. The work done in 2008 is setting a great stage for a more organized and tidy 2009, much overdue too. When I was on my trip to Maryland, I visited (I tore up!) an Ikea store, purchasing lots of new styled kitchen-y type items to redecorate that space with. I'm so over the 'Americana' decor that I've had ever since I moved out of my mom's house 9 years ago. So out with the old and bring on the new! My brother has been over lately helping me put up shelves and a pot rack...I can't wait to show you pictures once everything is cleaned and put up/out! After the kitchen, it's on to the other rooms....I could really use a tv stand...oh bother, that's just getting me started! LOL

5. My recent trip to Maryland. I didn't blog about my recent trip because it was so short and sweet. But I also don't want to sell it short either! I enjoyed many things about my trip, especially when I'm in a new city just mulling about trying to find things and getting around on unfamiliar public transportation, it's incredibly humbling and yet it gives you a sense of strength at the same time. When you are taken out of your comfort zone and get to experience new things that other people take for granted. It's great, a thrill of sorts for me. I visited some museums as planned and shopped in Ikea, much to my overwhelming joy......for 5 hours! Plus we also visited the Creation Museum on the way back. It was great!

So that was a brief highlight of my 2008, of course there were many ups and downs along the way, including the bad news about my baby boy, PJ who now has some health issues we are working on. I'd like to leave this year with a thought from one of my favorite songs this holiday season. Peace on Earth is a holiday album released by Casting Crowns. A very noteworthy line in the song 'I heard the bells on Christmas day' says, "God is not dead. Nor does He sleep." Remember, there is no Plan B. He's still in control of the original Plan A!

What is the deal with the weather today?

Today is December 26th and it's literally 63 degrees outside at 1 am! I can't believe how muggy and warm it is, this *has* to be a record of some sort.

I know, let's think of some things we could do to take advantage of these unusual weather conditions that we normally couldn't do. How about, we could break out the BBQ pit and get some steaks, we could also put off some fireworks and celebrate the 4th of July early! :)

Seriously, we need to get out and enjoy the warm weather, although I heard it's supposed to rain and storm so maybe we'll have to do some healthy grilling inside instead.

All I want for Christmas...

We had great weather here in St. Louis for the Christmas holiday. We had a wonderful day visiting with family. I think despite the state of our economy these days, people have been getting quite creative with their gift giving. You'd be surprised how sentimental gifts like dad's old basketball trophies and a photo of him in uniform will really tug at your heart strings.

For me this year, all I wanted for Christmas was to come home to discover my cat had finally eaten some food. I have 2 cats and the youngest one (now 14 years old) PJ, was recently diagnosed with feline diabetes and kidney disease. Right now both are out of control but we have started him on twice a day insulin injections. Yesterday was the first day, last night was the first dose I gave him at home and I know he didn't get all of it because I pulled away before I finished pushing the meds and when I rubbed the spot, it was wet.

Basically he has been drinking more and not eating much and so on. I happened to notice he hadn't eaten much since yesterday and I know I can't keep giving him the shots of insulin if he isn't eating. I locked him in the bathroom with running water, his food dish, his litter box and a bed near the radiator. I felt a bit sad about leaving him in there as if he were in trouble but honestly, I had to know if and how much he had eaten. If I left him and his food out, the other cat could have eaten some and I wouldn't know for sure about his intake so I had to do it.

All I wanted for Christmas was to come home and find his bowl partially eaten. My Christmas wish came true :)

Give Me Five Monday Meme #45

Monday, December 21, 2008

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.
Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net


Give Me Five favorite holiday foods.

There's nothing like the holidays for creative special foods that people only make once a year. Yummy!

1. Fudge.
2. Pumpkin bread.
3. Eggnog.
4. Cheese balls.
5. Turkey.

BeccA, out!

Well today is the day, I'm outta here! I'm off on my Maryland trip for a few days. So far, so good on the inclimate weather. I keep checking the Southwest Airlines website and my flight is scheduled as 'on time'. It's supposed to start snowing again here pretty soon and I can see some flurries dancing around out there but I'm not worried. It could be worse...

I am, on the other hand, wishing I had partaken in some (Ok, alot of!) exercise or some Leptorexin or *something* to drop a couple pounds before flying. I hate being the 'fat loner chick' on the plane. Oh well, there's some incentive for next trip LOL I will try to blog while I'm gone, we'll see how it goes :) Tomorrow...the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of Crime and Punishment in Washington, DC. Woot! The weather is supposed to be in the 50's and 40's this week in the Baltimore/Washington area with showers from time to time. I'll be right back!

Give Me Five Monday Meme #44

Monday, December 15, 2008

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.
Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net


Give Me Five favorite holiday songs.

I love Christmas music, in fact, I listen to it all year long! Some songs are more special than others. Every year, I like to discover which one of my favorite artists have put out a holiday album and I buy it up, sometimes sharing it with friends as well. This year, here are my favorite Christmas songs:

1. Third Day - O Holy Night.
2. Casting Crowns - Peace on Earth.
3. Third Day - Jesus, the Light of the World.
4. Casting Crowns - While you were sleeping.
5. Third Day - Do you see what I see?
Give Me Five Participants

1. Vivian 2. amber 3. PhoenixTheBloggingMama

4. Dawn\'s Daily Life 5. The Gal Herself 6. Kwizgiver

7. Pinaymama

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Room for improvement?

Today I went to visit one of our church families who's youngest child had a double valve replacement surgery on Friday at St. Louis Children's Hospital. I'm happy to report the little guy is doing well. The family waiting room on the other hand, left a lot to be desired!

There were people/parents laying around on the couches covered up trying to sleep, other people coming in and out for the snack machines and still other people sitting around with their family members trying to have conversations that didn't disturb the sleepers. I would have thought, for a top notch children's hospital, they would have a little better accommodations for the parents of the sick kids. I mean, I don't expect them to have nice individual rooms like a hotel in las vegas but *something* better than a large communal lounge room. It just seemed so impersonal and un-family friendly to me.

Wanna get away? Me too, here's the scoop!

Only 5 days left until I'm outta here for a few days! I'm going Eastward to visit some friends and then ride back to St. Louis for them to visit here. I am planning to leave on Tuesday, flying out to Baltimore, Md. On my first full day there, depending on weather, I'm hopefully going to drop off my friend at her office, park at a train station, connect with the metro and then on into DC for a couple of museums. The first one would be the National Museum of the American Indian:

On a leisure drive through DC about 3 1/2 years ago with a friend, we drove past this beautiful organic building amidst the gray granite and marble government buildings near the Capital. It's sandstone walls seem to ungulate in contrast to everything around it. Upon inspection of the NMAI website, my anticipation grows! It has 4 levels and 2 theaters and lots of exhibits to take in. I am told that I have Cherokee Indian in my heritage, although it would be distant, I have always had an affection for American Indian culture and traditions. I'm very much looking forward to this experience.

The second one I'd like to see in DC is the National Museum of Crime and Punishment. This is right up my alley!

The NMCP website describes how the museum shows us the history of everything 'crime' from medieval knights and pirates to modern day serial killers and computer hackers! They also cover punishments, crime fighting, csi topics, the actual America's Most Wanted studio and many fun interactives from police line ups to high speed chase simulators, FBI shooting ranges to an autopsy for those of us who are forensically intrigued. You can even have your child fingerprinted for real!!!

*If* I can fit both of these museums into 1 single day spent in DC, I plan to spend day 2 of my trip more leisurely in B'more. I'd love to visit Mary Alice from Ace of Cakes at the home of Charm City Cakes. What a photo op that will be, even if I don't go inside and disturb them (I'd hate for Jeff or Duff to throw me out!) I can still go by there and snap off a couple of photos for myself and get a feel for it. *Hey, Mary Alice, if you're reading this, let me know if it's ok to stop by next Wed. Dec. 17th or Thur. Dec. 18th :)*

Next, I've discovered there's an Ikea store in B'more! Hello, I would love to wander around there for a couple of hours or so....I have a feeling I could get into much trouble there though LOL

The last couple of days will be spent driving to St. Louis, Missouri from Maryland with my friend so she can have a visit here. We plan to stop in Cincinnati overnight enjoying a short trip to the Creation Museum. I can't wait!! I've wanted to go to there since I heard about it the first time! What a privilege to be visiting during the Christmas season, too. They have a free live nativity from Dec. 12, 08 - Jan. 4, 09 called 'Bethlehem's Blessings'. I'll take lots of pics and give a full report when I get home. Pray for good weather for the trip to and from. I'll keep you updated and I'll try to post here while I'm gone too.

Reflections of God's Holy Land: a book review

Reflections of God's Holy Land: a personal journey through Israel was very much a treat to receive & review.

The cover sleeve on this book is vividly colored with intriguing photos and it’s a nice size, comparable to that of a coffee table style book. The inside is filled with glossy pages; you immediately desire to flip through wildly, your eyes wandering from every photo to its caption. This book takes you on a journey through God’s Holy land and there is much to see and experience. You soon discover the background of the two writers and what perspective they contribute to the project.

Miriam Feinberg Vamosh is a Jew who shares her vast knowledge of Israel’s landscape, history and archaeology along the way as the tour guide and interpreter. Her “Did you know?” sections offer a wonderful physical and historical impression of each sacred destination along the way.

Eva Marie Everson, a Christian, is a Bible scholar, novelist and teacher who had always yearned to see the Holy Land. She shares her own personal “Reflections” on the emotional and spiritual aspects that are invoked along the journey as she soon begins to experience how the bible stories she has studied and taught are now dimensional and tangible. She sees for herself, the impressions the events of the Bible have had on the region.

Each of the biblical sites are paired with corresponding scriptures and fantastic photographs that allow us to glean a greater sense of their experiences first hand.

Of all the stops along their way, one of them in particular spoke to me the more than the others. The Jordan River. I’ve always been a country girl at heart, growing up in Missouri which has no shortage of rivers for hot summer days’ delight. I was taught to swim in the cold and swift spring fed waters of the Current River by my grandmother who also taught me about Jesus. She would tell me stories of how they used to have ‘dinner on the ground’ services on very hot (or sometimes very cold) Sunday afternoons where new believers would be baptized in the river and they would sing songs of praise and glory! Yes, I have always been drawn to the waters of rivers and the Jordan River is no exception.

Biblically speaking, baptism is a public profession of an inward decision, a symbol of how God washes the old sins away and cleanses believers with His spirit. Miriam gives us much information about the Jordan River, from where it begins as snowmelt from Mount Hermon to its final destination 100 miles away spilling its waters into the Dead Sea. Eva on the other hand tells of being ‘drawn to the water of forgiveness’, how the murky and dark waters the Jordan River offer a symbolic view of the dirty sins that are washed away inside our hearts. Her writing is eloquent and I really enjoyed reading her words of enlightenment and spiritual revelations. This book was a very nice addition to my library and I will enjoy it over and over again as I will most likely not be able to travel the Holy Land myself any time soon.

'If money were no object' shopping

Ah yes, holiday shopping is here again. I really dislike how commercialized and consumer oriented the holiday season has become. I feel like we have lost sight of traditions and the pure enjoyment of the magical season by stressing out about what to purchase for people that we can afford on our budgets. If it's true that "It's the thought that counts." Let me be the first one this year to pick out some gifts from my heart and not my wallet. If money were no object, I'd start off with this:

My nephew is crazy about some super heroes and Star Wars and he also loves fish! What could be better than his very own 1.8 gallon R2-D2 interactive aquarium that buzzes like R2, has a rotating head at voice commands, a motion sensitive light, secret feeding compartment, filter and has a real working periscope to enjoy the underwater inhabitants!? I'd definitely get him one.

For my mom, a house of her very own, in a safe place, that is all one level so she doesn't have to do stairs with her knees hurting her. For my friend, some fine corsets to celebrate her new body with her husband. For my boss, I'd get him a paid vacation to somewhere he can't take work with him. He needs a break, 21/7 year after year after year is about to kill him. That would not be good for me or my mom or him or his family either, I suppose. Anyway, I could go on and on. It's fun shopping when all you have to do is consider the person and not your budget! So, there are my thoughts, sorry I didn't wrap them this year but I hope you enjoy it anyway! Ok, back to reality now.

Crush alert: Peyton Manning

As some of you already know, I have a HUGE crush on Peyton Manning. The guy is incredibly down to earth, funny, handsome, tall, a great football player (Super Bowl 41 MVP to say the least), the list goes on and on. Tonight while enjoying my weekly viewing of House, I watched a very entertaining commercial for Master Card starring Peyton:


So I visited the website and created a personalized suite talk greeting just to see what it was all about. Too funny!!! Peyton said my name and gave a pretty good pep talk to a friend of mine. Anyway, I just wanted to remind everyone that I have a big ol' crush on Peyton Manning, just in case anyone forgot today. Peyton, I luv ya! :)

Give Me Five Monday Meme #43

Monday, December 1, 2008

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.
Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net


Give Me Five items you purchased on Black Friday or over this past weekend for the upcoming holiday season.

As cold as it is in some areas across the country, I'm sure lots of people will say they bought a new electric blanket for themselves. I actually did buy some things for myself, taking advantage of the Black Friday sales. I actually don't buy much for people considering I am trying to break that old association of gift giving as the holiday instead of celebrating the true meaning of the season. So when I give gifts, they tend to be the kind I can make myself. People do appreciate home made gifts and this year will be no exception. I will have more on my holiday crafts after I have begun to share them with those who may read my blog ;-) So with that in mind, here is my list:

1. Kitchen cart.
2. Craft supplies.
3. Lotions.
4. Candles.
5. Decorations.

Mr. Linky may be having issues. If it's not displayed below, leave your link in the comments or come back by later on to fill in Mr. Linky. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Wordless Wednesday - A quacky statue

Great news!!!

No, I didn't discover a new acne treatment, I got hired!!!!

I applied for a concierge position at a high end retirement community center in a high end part of town and the manager called me just now to let me know I'm hired! I love the older generation, they rock!

The first thing I need to do is get trained and then I'll be all set to fill in as the other employees may need me to on the weekends. I'm excited, it pays better than I expected/hoped and if I pick up even 1 shift a week, I'm looking at almost $300 a month! Woot!

Now I just need everyone to pray I can pick up atleast 1 shift a week. If so, I'm gonna be able to quickly pay off my debt. Bye bye credit cards!!! Praise the Lord!

Give Me Five Monday Meme #42

Monday, November 24, 2008

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.
Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net


Give Me Five sub sandwich toppings &/or condiments.

When I visit my local Subway franchise I really love specific toppings for my sandwiches. It doesn't matter usually, what kind of sandwich is underneath, although my personal fave is the chicken bacon ranch, toasted with shredded cheese on any of the breads. But really my fave things to top the sandwich with remain the same, so here they are:

1. Mayo
2. Lettuce
3. Spicy brown mustard
4. Pickles
5. Black olives

Give Me Five Participants

1. Leanne 2. Forgetfulone 3. Tammy 4. Vivian

5. Kwizgiver 6. Anne A 7. Clara 8. Anna

9. Angelika\'s Blog 10. amber 11. Joy

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MySpace, Facebook, Twitter...what's the difference?

So I have this friend John, who started a blog a while back called Defending the Doctrines of Grace. It was a nice blog about books he'd read, local area information, stuff about Vermont, his faith and walk in the Lord, his running ministry, his family, you know, a nice personal blog! Well, after having discovered Facebook, he has all but abandoned his blog. What's up with that?? What's going on over there at Facebook that has caused him to lose interest in his writing? He now uses every opportunity he can to throw it in my face, that I'd know this or that 'if only I would join Facebook too.'

This got me thinking, what *is* the big deal with social networking websites? I mean, do you have to have a profile on each one? What are the differences between them? How much time do you devote to updating your page? Do I really have the time or the desire to let everyone know my minute by minute stats throughout the day? How in the world is there enough time to visit everyone else's pages that are in your 'friends' list? What is the point? Am I missing something? Isn't this just another temptation to distract us from what we ought to be doing? Isn't this just another temptation to seek out people better left unfound?
Someone please tell me, what social networking site/s do you use and why is it better than any of the other ones. Also, how much time do you devote hourly, daily or weekly to interacting on them? How is it better (or is it?) than blogging? What is 'the point' for you?

Happy birthday, me!

Today is my 35th birthday. For those of you who know me, it's like I aged 10 years overnight! ;-) I have a feeling I'll be 35 for a VERY long time so get used to it.

I've already received a few very nice cards from friends and family. I also received a gift in the mail on Monday from my friend A which I didn't open until today, of course! I opened it this morning and was very confused. The box was wrapped with beautiful purple yarn from Italy, a little memento from our trip last year. She's so thoughtful that way and I can use the yarn! Well, that wasn't the confusing part, it's what was in the box. There were all these parts and instructions but I couldn't tell just *what* it was supposed to be. After reading the assembly directions and looking over the diagrams...I discovered it's gonna rock! Her accompanying card said she uses hers every day, it gives her joy every morning. It's called the Shower Bow. (Bow like bow and arrow, not like take a bow for a good performance.)

So anyway, from their website, you can go from this:

To this!

Nice!!! This has been an issue in my shower too. Plus I shower after my mom and every bead of water left on the shower curtain turns in to tiny freezing pellets of agony just waiting to make contact with your warm naked flesh. One touch from a cold wet shower curtain sends chills throughout your entire body! This is gonna be....wait for it.....AWESOME!!!!!! Thanks A! I can't wait to get it installed and ready for use. I always wondered who could I get to come hold the curtain back off of me LOL I usually just push it with one hand while washing with the other.

When you begin to get older, the best thing to do for someone's birthday is feed them, I suppose. Today at lunch, the boss is covering lunch and will most likely bring in a cake to celebrate. That has been the tradition around here anyway. It's great but I'd rather have the cash over the calories LOL Then I'm going to visit some friends tonight, and she's making me a cake that the kids will help her decorate. Thursday mom and I were invited over to some other friends' house for dinner with them for the occasion. Saturday I'm going to lunch with my cousin for my birthday and on Sunday my dad is coming up from the country to take me to lunch for my bday. I'm gonna gain 10 lbs just celebrating my birthday! LOL No, it's fine. It's wonderful to be remembered and celebrated. Sometimes a girl just needs a little attention :) It's rare in my life and I appreciate it. Happy Birthday, me! The weather here in St. Louis is fantastic today!

Give Me Five Monday Meme #41

Monday, November 17, 2008

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.
Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net


Give Me Five staples on your grocery list besides milk, bread and eggs.

Now that I have a "new" fridge that is bigger and better, I have plenty of room to expand my grocery horizons! So of course I thought of all my GM5 friends and wondered what you and your family simply 'must have' regularly from the grocery store.

1. Hershey's Chocolate Syrup. Yes, I'm addicted alright! I really enjoy chocolate milk.

2. Four Cheese Risotto by Archer Farms. Found in the food section at Target, if you cook it just right, it's just as good as the cheese risotto I had at a French Bistro in London. Yum! And inexpensive.

3. Cheese. Sliced, shredded, melted, block. If I'm out, I'm not happy :)

4. Flour or multi grain tortilla shells. I love these things! You can make so many different things with them from snacks to meals!

5. Popsicles. I am still enjoying these frozen treats even though the summer is well over. They just hit the spot when you need a little *something* cold and sweet.

Give Me Five Participants

1. clarence 2. Leanne 3. Sherrie 4. Tammy 5. Beverly 6. Vivian 7. MomOf3 (4ToB)

8. amber 9. Misty Dawn 10. 4streegrrl 11. Debbie 12. Jen @ mommablogsalot 13. Bethany 14. Stephanie

15. Kwizgiver 16. Cat. 17. Ragtop Day 18. Pinaymama 19. Andrea 20. Joyce

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Awwwww, not again!!!

Clearly, I need to be more mindful of my speed! As many of my readers know, I have what doctors call a little bit of a 'lead foot' problem here at BeccA's Buzz. Hey, what can I say, I got places to go, things to do and ALOT on my mind! I mean, I don't sit around and think about my computer's system memory, I gotta get going, Vrrrrroom!

So last Friday night on my way to the bank after work, I was just singing and bopping along. I had no clue how fast or slow I was going, a mistake I have paid dearly for in the past. The first thing I know, I see this:

47 mph in a 35 mph zone. Great, how much is this going to cost me? $$$ Man, what a waste of money!

Then, this week in the mail I begin to get a few advertisements for local law offices. How helpful they seem...yesterday alone, I received 5 of them!

Leave me alone, people, I'll take care of this my way and it will cost me alot less! I can go to court and ask for 'traffic school', pay $50 and bring the completion certificate back to court and it will be dismissed with no points-I HOPE! I know you can only do this every so often and I just did this at the beginning of this year, so hopefully the court dates and such will work out so that it will be over 1 year.....Lord, I hope so! I'll keep you informed. In the meantime, I'll try to slow down :)

Under construction...

Popping, cracking, power saws....it's so loud in here, I feel sorry for my cats! Construction is well underway in the kitchen as they are ripping out the old flooring. I can't believe how many layers of linoleum and then more plywood and then more linoleum there was under there! I also can't believe they've gotten such a late start today. Normally they come before your prearranged time. Today it was well after 1:30 before they really started working. It's 4 pm now and they are still in the first stage, demo. I don't know if they were sleeping in, playing with toys or what!

They still have to fix and replace any of the sub-flooring and pour the concrete leveling stuff before they are finished for the evening...also, the concrete has to have time to dry before it's time for me to go to bed, there's only 1 way in to my bedroom, it's through the kitchen!

On a sillier note, It's very strange to have 2 refrigerators and a stove in my living room LOL

There's good news and there's bad news

The good news is: My kitchen is getting a much needed makeover/remodel at no expense to me!

The bad news is: I have to move everything out of my kitchen, including the refrigerator, TONIGHT, after work!

It all started with an inspection, due to the new owner taking possession. The kitchen door that goes down the back stairs to the basement drags on the floor (it's a long story) which makes it nearly impossible to fully open. So the landlord called last night to let me know they will be fixing the floor today.

There were other maintenance concerns so he agreed to meet with me this morning and after a 20 minute walk through and discussion, I'm now getting a ceramic tile floor (any color I like) in the kitchen, a new *bigger* refrigerator (well, new to me) since my old one as of last night, knocks steadily and loudly while it cycles for 15 minutes at a time on and then off, possibly a new stove and a hood/vent for it installed! Also, the radiator in my bedroom which does not work at all will be looked at to be fixed. Oh, also he's fixing the lighting in the basement so I can turn it on and off with a switch in the stairwell instead of leaving it on all the time unnecessarily. This is great, practically a brand new kitchen to use...for free!

The bad news is, there's an immense amount of things that must be done in just one evening. Especially since I will have to get up early again tomorrow (only had 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night). I will need to make many trips out to the trash and many trips down to and from the basement which is 2 floors away taking laundry back and forth. There is much to be accomplished tonight, almost an impossible task for just 2 people who aren't in the best of health/strength. Tonight there will be no time for church or to sit and contemplate which wine of the month club to give Aunt Marge for Christmas.

But won't it be worth it?! After talking with my mom, who is staying with me, I've decided to seize this opportunity to reorganize the kitchen and pantry making it much more accessible and utilize the spaces better. Right now the pantry items we use most often, live on the table because the pantry is in such a disarray. I'll need to be off work tomorrow 'just in case' I'm needed for anything, like picking out tile or cleaning the "new" refrigerator for use or anything like that. Yes, this will be alot of work but so worth it! I mean, hello, heat in my bedroom finally, after only 4 years!!!

Give Me Five Monday Meme #40

Monday, November 3 & 10, 2008

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.
Sign up for weekly reminder emails @ beccagirl@charter.net


Give Me Five techniques you use to aid in writing for your blog or for your journal...whatever helps cure that writer's block.
***There weren't many participants last week and I'm really interested in this topic. So if you already played along, we'll see you next week. If not, I can't wait to stop by and read yours!***

With writing on everyone's mind for the various National Writing month challenges taking place all around us (I'm not participating this year) I thought, why not share some inspiration? On Saturday, I took a writing/journaling workshop based on a book written by Kathleen Adams called Journaling to the Self and learned some very good techniques for getting the ideas flowing! I don't agree with some of her ideas about meditations and some other things, but the writing techniques were really pretty helpful. So naturally, my mind thought of all of you and what techniques you may use for "creating the magic"!

1. Springboards. Springboards are small prompts that get you started. You'd be surprised as to how often you come across springboards and don't realize it. The study suggested keeping a tiny note pad with you for those times when springboards come to your mind. They can be questions or the beginning of sentences that you finish. Here's a short list of suggested springboards:

• When the sun is brightly shining ___
• My body is telling me ___
• If money was no object ___
• If I knew I could not fail ___
• When I reflect on friendship ___

2. Clustering. Clusters are great, probably my favorite, actually! And when paired with a good springboard, the ideas just flow! A cluster is where you start off with an idea in the middle then branch off thoughts around the outside. Of course when you translate it into written form, each branch can be branched off with further detail and before you know it, wham! You've just written a blog post or journal entry and probably revealed some very good details about your topic. I really enjoyed learning about this technique and the study facilitator suggested doing your weekly 'to do' lists using clusters. It's a far more creative alternative than a simple list and when you are finished, you can appreciate all you've done with a nice piece of artwork if you use colored pencils and perhaps a bit of collaging materials. I found this technique to be the fastest as well.

3. Character Sketching. Descriptive vocabulary comes in handy here. You can choose a person of interest and go off in a number of directions. You can speak of the person's internal attributes, their physical appearance, their contribution to your life...you get the point. It's basically writing that paints a picture of a person so that anyone reading it would have a sense of knowing the person in the way you see them. This makes a great gift for someone too.

4. Unsent Letters. These can be very powerful and obviously not something for a public blog. I'd suggest using this technique privately. Read more about unsent letters and how they can benefit you and get down all the issues. Just be careful about writing things that you don't want read by others. I wrote one to my dad and realized I had more issues than I thought! Even down to things like how he never finished projects around the house and how that affects me even now! Writer beware...and have tissues close by!

5. Acrostics. This was big fun! Here, you take a word or short phrase, writing it down the page and then begin the writing with the first letter. As you are writing about the phrase, you move down the page finding words that start with each letter of the phrase. Any line may have a few words or just one word. They can be a bit more tricky but still a great source of writing inspiration. Here's one offered up by Wikipedia just to give you one example. They have it more as a list where the lines aren't flowing and telling a continual story but this is just one example:


You should try one with the name of your blog sometime, it could be fun!!! (Oh wait, there are 2 Z's in a row on mine.....yikes!)

Give Me Five Participants

1. Vivian 2. Kwizgiver

3. amber 4. Pinayinstates

5. Joyce T.

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