ladies and jellies beans.......

announcing KIMBER P's 100th give-a-way!! please visit her bloggy to enter:

http://justclosemyeyesnbreathe.blogspot.com/

i for one, am guessing that inside the cute lil basket might be:
1. a puppy
2. a new 2009 car of our choice!
3. a brick of gold boullion!
4. a tall, dark, handsome gorgeous guy!!
5. a private jet to take such gorgeous guy, with gold and new car on nice vacation!! (with cute lil puppy for special effects!)

Guess what we have.....Another BLIZZARD!!

Yup...another hits eastern kentucky! we have at this typing, 5 inches and still falling. today it was 60*. tonight it started out raining, turned to slushy rain, then snow, by the time i left work, we had 3 inches, now it is 5 inches, and it is still falling. i walked my little weaner dog when i got home, and it was up to her neck. bless her short little legs. she didnt even want to poop. who would of seen it? where would it fall? poor lil baby....and her brother, the 6 month old shepherd mix that towers over her, laughed right at her. like....ha ha, you are buried up to your neck, ha ha. it came up to his ankles. how mean can puppy brothers be?

well, anyway...just thought i would stop by and give a weather update and say hi. off to bed now. see you all later. have a wonderful sunday. love, jo

CHANGE, IT IS COMING

"Be the change you want to see in the world."

"Nobody can hurt me without my permission."

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

"Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love."

"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

all quoted from Mahatma Gandhi

Do I Really Need To Post....

Why is it that I feel like I have to post something each day? I don't have something to say each day. I feel guilty. I read all these wonderful, creative, witty, inspiring blogs and they fill me with awe at what I would like to do with mine, but then I get here, and blaaaaaaaaah....nothing, nada, zilch. I am I bloggarly-challenged. I admit it. Now, is there a 12-step program for it? So, for all you lucky ones out there who just write and it just spills out of your mind and comes out, (Christine) gives thanks for that gift. It is hard for us who have to work extra hard to keep up with you who have "the gift". I will post when I have something interesting to say, and I pray that it will be funny, and it will amuse you! Now...boring as that was, let's start a new game.

You don't have to play, but if you decide, just send it back to me, I will start:
10 Things I Want To Change About Myself
It must start with the letter of the day of the week we are on

1. TIGHTEN upper arms & upper thighs
2. I would THINK more before I spoke
3. THIRST more for knowledge of the Bible, the desire is here, but the action is not
4. TACKLE everyday with passion, like it was my last
5. TALK more about my faith with others
6. TAKE with a grain of salt the worries of each day
7. To be more THANKFUL for what I have
8. To be THRIFTY with resources I am given
9. TIRELESSLY pray without ceasing, for cares of the world
10. To TASTE & TOUCH life each day as God gives me one more

OK, now it is your turn, so if you want to play, just send it back to me, since I started. Copy and paste into your blog and so on. K? Have fun! Jo

A Twisty Taste of Spring

for all my bloggies who have not heard from me in the last week: well i have been off line. we have experienced up close and personal a very fine taste of spring: A TWISTER! very rare in these parts. we live in a mountainy area, very rarely does it ever see funnel activity. we have had straight line winds. but no actual funnel clouds. well, i was at work at our school last monday. we had a big storm come through the area. one touched down just above our school on the ridge. our school sits in a little valley surrounded by three sides of mountains. on one hill, we have houses and the farm, just across the river. this is where the tornado touched down. it is not even a mile from where we were. i had all my girls huddled in the cafeteria, it is partly underground. the boys are on the hill in their dorm. they huddled in their hallways on the floor. all we have is the weather station and our radios to relay to each other. good grief....it was supper time, we were all getting ready to go to the dining hall when it hit. so any way...it all lasted maybe 30-45 minutes. i actually live 4 miles away from the campus. on my little road, 5 trees were down. some of the men had to go with a chain saw and remove them before we could get home later that night. anyway...the campus had debris all over, no one got hurt. just trees down. oh...except i had no phone, cable or internet for the last week. oh well, when you look at all the crap in life, this is but a small thing. life goes on. God bless you all. jo

Finally, feels like SPRING

Well it is about time! We had a warm day yesterday, and looks like today will be another!! YES! It should make it 70* today. Wow....Can you believe just a few short days ago I posted about a snow storm? And today, as well as the next few at least, (hey, I will take what I can get!) it is supposed to be seasonably warm. Thank you, God for wonderful weather! What a wonderful way to pick up the winter blahs, mine being the second and third time being sick this season! Other than that, it hasn't been that bad, really. So, for those who have the privilege of enjoying warmer temps, get out there, go for a walk, get your hands dirty, play in the dirt, clean up the yard, wash the car, do whatever you like, just GET OUT!! It's nice and warm, don't waste it on being inside. Winter is enough for time for that. Enjoy!! Jo

Top Ten Things I Like, Oh boy, this will be fun

ok, so i have to make a list of my favorite things beginning with the letter "D". so here we go:

10. dogs, more specifically, DACHSHUNDS!! lol they are long, low, lean, lickable,(them, not me) adorable, of course they have the puppy breath when they are little, they are so cuddly, they love to burrow under the covers in the bed, they follow you everywhere, they are loyal....need i go on?

9. derriere's: i love butts. i like looking at guys butts. i like baby butts. mostly guys butts. just looking at. not naked, cuz lets face it, a guys butt naked and hairy isn't all that cute, but in the right pair of jeans or nice dress pants, oh, man you could just grab them and ....well....get the picture?

8. dreaming: anytime, anyplace, i can just float off into another dimension or era, that is why i love to read so much. it transports me there for hours. i love it.

7. dozing: yup...i can sleep for hours on end. it can be a regular night sleep, and i will snooze for 12 hours, not think anything about it, and sometimes your body just needs that! go for it!

6. drinking: no i am not an alcoholic, but i do love a beer now and then, i love the taste of it. my fave is corona with a wedge of lime, and a titch of sea salt. mmmm...

5. my DELL: ha ha! i had to get it in here some how on the list!! my computer is a BIG part of my life. it is a dell, by the way, so i did not lie. where would we be without our puters?

4. Dennis: he is my favorite brother, my one and only! i love him. we were very close growing up, and he is a twin with my sister. they aren't as close. he recently had open heart surgery last year. we went there this last Christmas, and we are even closer. my best bubba. :~)

3. driving: i can drive for hours and hours. i used to drive 18 wheelers, and the best part was just going to new places and the peace you got just being on the road. i enjoy that.

2. dining: eating, yummy...either in the house or at a restaurant. i love to eat. any or all kinds of foods. junks, candy, gourmet, everything. yup...i'm one of them.

1. daddies: my husband, the father of my kids, my father, my father-in-law, my grandfather, etc. on up the line..... but most importantly, the BIG DADDY OF THEM ALL, God the Father. I love Him the most.

there you go ladies and jelly beans, my top ten fave list. i had fun, it took me a lot longer than planned to make it. but it makes you take stock in what is big in your life. i had a good time. jo

Happy Birthday Mom

today would of been my mother's 90th birthday had she been alive. she was a wonderful mother, full of life, passion, a zest for living like no other. she could make anything out of nothing, and feed us all for a long time with it. her ingenuity got her far in rearing the four of us children alone. she was a very brave and also prideful person. i think that may of hurt her some, but she did with what she had. i loved her more for that. i miss her so much on these days. memories flood my mind. i miss our talks, our laughs, and yes, our arguments, we had some of those too. we disagreed on plenty of things. but in the important ones, we agreed on. we loved each other. we were family. we are all we had. but my heart is warm when i think of her. i will keep her there always. until we meet again, ma petite maman, je t'aime, ta plus jeune, jojo

funny puppies

i am dedicating this to my sister C, (christine) and her lady "di". they have a boxer named bella. she is just too cute. so, here, enjoy....and then there is one in there that is a kentucky boxer wanna-be....LOL!

I AM EXPECTING, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT. . .

are you kidding me? you really thought i meant that i was pregnant at my age? you silly blogger, what are you drinking? i'm having company come from italy, of course!! didn't you know that is what i meant? my baby of 24 and her baby of 10 months, she will kill me if she knew i called her that, is coming for a month in march. jennifer is my daughter, molly is my grand daughter. they will stay here for the month. molly will turn one either while she is here or a few days just before she gets here. one of the cute things they have done as you can see by the pictures is, they started calling her molly moo~moo. so people started giving her cow things. well they just continued the theme and it grew. now she is MOO everything. so, i dedicate this blog to my moo~moo molly, in her honor of just being the cutest cow. now, don't get me wrong, i love my other two grands just as much, jordan is my "lady~bug, and samuel has not gotten his label yet. but it will come! along with his blog. for now....rest assured, i must go clean and prepare my humble home for a toddler and her mommy the inspector. lol so all you grannies out there, grab up the babies and squeeze them and kiss them all since i can't, but watch out, when march gets here, or when i go down to knoxville to see my other two....there will be some major baby eating done. LOL jo I HAVE KISSES AND I AM NOT AFRAID TO USE THEM!!

Still Snowing....

It is still snowing and blowing out side. someone must of turned the snow and wind on and forgot about us! they closed offices down today in town. cancelled my dental appointment. oh well. i still have to go to work at the school. kids don't get called off. they live there. so, i will go get dressed in my longies and will let you all know when they decide to turn the snow off in our part of kentucky! lol we are up to 4 inches, which is almost disaster state now. lol no really, they don't know how to act with 1 inch, so...stay tuned my friends. jo

Winter Scenes

Enjoy these lovely scenes, keep warm, snuggle up, drink tea, watch a movie, take a hot bath, light the fire...mmm.....jo

Yeah...Another Blizzard!!

Snowflakes, snowflakes all around, swirling, traipsing to the ground. Mr. Winter I thought you'd gone, but here you are again on my lawn!

Well, really I didn't think he had left for good. I knew he would be back. But I didn't think he would leave me all this snow. I do love snow. But please, we had a few nice days, and I thought spring might be near. I knew we would get some more cold days, but not more snow! Especially not 2-3 inches! (ok, those of you in the midwest and north are laughing) but in southeast Kentucky that is a lot. It just is not heard of in these parts. Originally from upstate NY, I can handle it. It is all the other people I have to deal with when on the roads. Luckily, I only go into "town" every other week. That is 17 miles from where I live. Out in the woods. So...but I do have a dental tomorrow...oh joy...Mr. Winter...you have not beaten me yet! I have 4 wheel drive and I know how to use it! Jo ;)

Babies, Babies, Babies...never enough to eat!

all right...call me crazy, but i think that i am so blessed to have three of the most beautiful grandbabies in the whole world! my problem is they don't live close enough for me to enjoy all the time! i have one in italy, they should be coming back this year, and the other two live 3 hours away! what's a nonna to do? this is how i get my baby fixes. i impose them all on you poor people in my blogs and facebook entries, i try to scrapbook, i big gobs of pics to work with me. when i bring my laptop, people RUN, they know i have literally thousands of pictures and video clips of my babies. there is nothing more boring to another than looking at someone elses baby or grandbaby pictures!! don't get me wrong, 3-4 yeah, but a book full? so...my reason for this, and i had one, because i just spent 2 days since i was sick anyway, making a power point of one of the babies, (yes, i know, i need a life) and just showed it to my dear husband, who by the way is related to the little darling, and he was not even phased by it at all! well, it is a one year present, for the mom, our daughter....i told him. since she gave birth to our grand daughter, who will be one, i made a presentation of "a year in the life of molly". all that work , put to music, synchronized perfectly, and pffft, nothing, no response. MEN!! well, i still have my grandbabies, and i would love to nibble on them. but as i am sick, and he is watching the superbowl, i will cuddle the dachshund, and curl up in my bed with a cup of cocoa. g'night all you bloggers. keep warm, stay well. jo

Feeling a Bit Rough

Well, I have it again. And again, on my 3 day break. I can not believe that I have the darn crud AGAIN, not only on my 3 days off, but this whole last week leading to them! I feel so crappy, like I got run over by a semi. Achy, stuffy head, sinus, full ears where you can feel the liquid in them, fever....need I say any more? Geez, I have been taking benadryl, sudafed, tylenol and every homeopath friends tell me about. Zicam is like water for me. I can take 2 benadryls, nothing. My immune system must be lacking in something. This is probably my third one of the season. And I have had my flu shot! What gives? C'mon, I just wanted to stay home and clean and do junk around the house. Give me a frikkin' break! Wait!!! I don't mean that! I may end up actually breaking something! ;) Anyhoo, if that was not bad enough, as I was flossing my teeth, I pulled 2 crowns out!! So, now I get to not only go to the Dr. on my day off, but a trip to my dentist as well. Fun, fun. Sucks to be me. My one good thing I am looking forward to? The bean soup recipe I got from a fellow blogger, thanks again Ruth, I will let you all know how it turns out. The rest of you...thanks for letting me vent. It may bring the fever down. :/ Jo

Winter Wonderment

Thanks to a wonderful blogger (thank you Ruth!) I have found this, a mid-season "pick-me-up" for all you peeps out there in the middle of winter blahs! Take these pics and renew in yourself those feelings that gave you those awe inspiring murmurings you had before Christmas, when you anticipated winter. Yes...I know, this is not working like you planned. The holiday is over, the bills are coming due, but listen, make yourself a cup of hot tea, or cocoa, sit down and relax and just focus on this. Give me just a minute to paint you a little picture. K? Because I know we might have at least another couple of months of cold weather, right? So we may as well do it together, have fun, and do it relaxed.

The snowflakes gently falling outside while you are warm inside curled up on the couch, either watching a good movie with friends, loved ones, or just reading a book alone. Meanwhile, on the stove, is simmering a pot of home made soup. A fresh loaf of bread just baked, to go with the soup sitting on the counter, waiting to be cut into. Back in the family room, a cozy fire blazes to keep you feet warm, as you look over and see the the doggy and kitty all curled up together beside the hearth. The TV says the snow will keep everyone in a couple of days, but you have plenty of food in the cupboards, lots of wood, and everyone home to keep you company.

But...all is well, everyone is safe, warm and happy. Someone shouts that company is arriving. You welcome them in, they are laden down with foodstuffs to munch on for the day. You break out some games, gather around the table, shouting, laughing, eating, remembering. Ahhh, could this be any better? After a nice long day of playing hard with good friends and family, everything is put back in order. You have a sense of accomplishment, almost like a full belly, and that too! You look outside to see the snow is still falling, but not so hard. It is beautiful. Everything is so clean and crisp. You finally make it to your bed. You feel sleep taking you into another dimension of this wonderful day. Dream sweet person, you deserve your slumber! Jo

FAMILY.....The tie that binds, LOL

I have found that when family drama arises, this is the time that long distance is a good thing. But when recently, family emergencies came up, that distance was a hindrance. So...here we have a quandry. What to do? Is it good to live near family where we can help and solve things and grow closer, but also live near the heat of the problems, the drama, where we can't get away from the action. OR live away, visit when we want to, maintain that distance and perspective and just come around when absolutely necessary?

There are good points in both, I think. If you have the stamina to live and take the brunt of the hits that come with family drama, then go for it. If you have a close knit family, a warm family relationship that knows boundaries, by all means, that is probably the best thing. If you are one of those families that has one or two that like to butt in, or some outspoken person that doesn't know when to keep their mouth shut, or likes to outstay their welcome, maybe you ought to think of moving a few hundred miles away. Seems like distance may make the heart grow fonder!

For those having family problems, I am soooo sorry. I am not making light of that. We all have our skeletons in our family and have drama that we don't like to talk about. I am the first to say that. My prayers are with you. I just know that if we cannot laugh at life, what do we have? When life throws us these problems, we should take them, and know that somewhere, there is a family that is so much worse off than we are. I thank God for them, because I know I so blessed. Jo

Prayer for our Nation

after watching the inauguration, which was awesome, if you have not had a chance to see it you missed an historical event, i feel as though this country will take a turn. now i did not say for which way. i know change is coming. i just pray that it will be for the good. i am hesitant yet to say all is well now that he is elected and things will work out. that is my prayer. i would like for nothing else but to see that his promises do come about. but as the past does speak for itself, promises usually never get passed through congress, by no fault of the president. so we shall see, a new era, a new administration, change as he said is coming. so, keep praying that this is what it takes to bring our nation and possibly other nations back to where they need to be. jo

it has been 20 years now since you have died. i still can see your beautiful face. even though you were so sick and had so much trouble breathing, you were beautiful to me. i don't remember a lot about those last days. i tried hard to put them out of my memory. i remember praying to God to take you home so you wouldn't suffer anymore. maybe that was selfish of me. i wanted you to stay, but i wanted you well, and i knew that wasn't an option. i guess he wanted you more. i miss you so much. you have 4 beautiful great grandchildren. and you should see how wonderful the grandkids are with their kids. i know you would be proud. i know somehow you may be watching and i can't wait to be with you when that time is right. i guess all this is coming from going to see jim's parents. his mom fell and broke her arm and her thumb on the other hand and cut her eye really bad. we had to go home. she couldn't use either hand. his dad has symptoms of alzheimers and is dependent on narcotics for pain and we knew he couldn't help. it made me realize how life is so fragile. one minute she was standing in the driveway visiting with a lady from church, the next she is laying on the ground with both bones broke and sticking out and blood all down her face, and his dad came out and saw her like that, and the shock of it, well, he couldn't even go to the hospital with his own wife when the ambulance came. it was so pitiful. and here we are....12 hours away, and can't leave at least for 3 days! jim and i were ready to scoop them up and carry them back with us, but we know that they will never leave that place. they have lived there all their lives. so...we may move there soon. don't know when, but soon. i think about how you loved the ocean. when we lived in alabama and went to the beach in florida how you liked the sun and water. later, you didn't, but then you did. even in california, you liked to sit in your recliner by the window in the sun. gosh i miss you so much. i wish i could ask you all sorts of questions about our family. stories i never knew. stuff i just took for granted. i still have those tapes that were made of your interview right before you died. i still have not listened to them. i am afraid. and i don't have a cassette recorder....do they even exist any more? well, mommy, je t'aime ma stite crotte. i know that this is silly that i am writing to you, but it is almost your anniversary. and i didn't want to forget you. Je me Souviens....and i always will, je t'aime avec tout mon ceour! ta petite fille, jojo