Five Question Friday

Happy Friday!  I'm a happy camper today thanks to a great purchase that I'll post about later.  Right now I'm gonna get my Five Question Friday post done.  You can too, just hop on over to Mama M's at My Little Life.


1. What is your favorite fall family tradition?
One of the disadvantages of living in South Florida is that there isn't a big noticeable change from summer to fall, so fall family traditions aren't as common.  There are pumpkin patches, one at a local church, but it's not something we do as a family.  I decorate the house for fall, but that's about it.

2. If money weren't an issue, how many kids would you have?
A whole bunch!  At least 6!  I love my kids, I love playing with them, teaching them, caring for them, and I hated having to leave them with a babysitter so I could go to work to afford them.  If I could have been a stay at home mom from day one, I'd have me a quiver full.

3. If you were to get a tattoo, what would it be and where would you put it?
The only way I would get a tattoo is if I were tied up and forced to get one.  I am not a fan of tattoos.  At all.  I know for some people it's a form of art, but to me it's something I might get tired of later, or will look nasty once my skin wrinkles, so I don't see the beauty in it.

4. What condiment is a must in your house?
Mrs. Dash.  I love that I can season with it as much as I want and not worry about salt content.

5. How did your spouse/fiance propose?
He didn't really propose.  We just kind of got married because it was what was needed to be done.  There's no sweet sappy story behind my marriage, unfortunately.

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch

It's a lovely day out, perfect for sitting on the porch with our friends Patrice and Wendell over at Everyday Ruralty.  Grab a cup of coffee and join us!


1. What's your favorite kind of sandwich?
I like the Subway Club.  It has turkey, roast beef and black forest ham, with anything else on it that I happen to like which would be tons of veggies.

2. Do you have more photos or artwork on the walls of your home?
I think I have an almost equal amount of pictures and artwork on the walls.  I have more photos on tables than on the walls, but I do have a few pictures on the walls, all of them pictures of my kids.

3. Do you switch your wardrobe(clothing) when the seasons change?
No, because in South Florida the seasons don't really change.  I have one jacket that I've had for years, which I wear maybe 3 times a year.  I have several sweaters and long sleeve shirts that don't get worn often either.  For the most part I can wear the same things all year long.

4. How do you keep your recipes: books, cards, computer?
I have 2 recipe books, one that I use when I print recipes off the computer, and one that I print recipes on fancy paper because it's pretty.  I do have a few cookbooks as well.

5. What are you looking forward to the most in the month of September?
Less humidity so that I can do some work in the yard.  It's been too hot this summer to do anything outside.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

It's the middle of the week, time for some Wednesday Hodgepodge courtesy of Joyce From This Side of the Pond.  Won't you give it a try?


1. In your opinion what's the most important job in the world? Oh, and parenting is a given so besides parenting, what's the most important job in the world?
The second most important job after parenting?  I would have to say teaching.  Whether it's teaching students in school or pastoring in a church, a teacher has the important job of not only imparting wisdom but also setting the example in their own lives.

2. Share a favorite or not so favorite memory from a childhood birthday.
Because we were raised in the Jehovah's Witness faith, I have no celebratory memories of my birthdays.  I do remember when I was 8 years old asking my mom if perhaps she'd forgotten to tell me I'd had a birthday because it seemed I'd been 8 years old for a very long time.  Oh, how I wish birthdays took a long time now!

3. Peanut butter-crunchy or smooth?
I do like crunchy peanut butter, but I have colon issues when I have it.  (Is that too much information?)  So now I stick with smooth.

4. William Butler Yeats is credited as saying, "Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth, We are happy when we are growing." Your thoughts?
Happiness I believe is based solely on circumstances.  When our circumstances are good, we're happy; when they aren't, we're unhappy.  We can go from happy to unhappy in a matter of seconds and through no fault of our own.  Joy, on the other hand, is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:21-22).  When the Holy Spirit lives in us, we experience joy, and the closer we are to God the more joy we experience.  Therefore, I would take Mr. Yeats's quote and replace the word Happiness with Joyfulness.

5. What's something that makes you cringe?
Bugs in general, but only if they are near enough to get on me.  I don't mind bugs, so long as they don't touch me.  That's when I cringe.

6. Name a song that always puts you in a good mood?
A song by Francesca Battistelli called "This Is The Stuff."  It talks about how we get upset over the little hiccups in life and we forget how blessed we are.

7. The answer is yes. What's the question?
Is Jesus the Lord and Savior of my life?

8. Insert your own random thought here.
I was surprised to find that, despite the heavy downpour this morning, it wasn't as hot and sticky when I took Molly for her walk as it has been.  Can it be fall weather will arrive early in South Florida this year?  Fall weather for us is warm but not humid.  It'll still be in the 80s but there's a breeze and it isn't sticky and uncomfortable.  I'm looking forward to that kind of weather again, and to have it come early is a definite bonus.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today, September 4, 2012...

Outside my window...the clouds are puffy white, and there's a breeze, but it's still pretty warm.  It'll be that way for a while yet.

I am thinking...of all the fall decorating ideas I have.

I am thankful for...the excellent sermon on Sunday about creation vs. evolution.  The founder of the Creation Studies Institute in Fort Lauderdale, Tom DeRosa, taught about some of the falsehoods taught in schools as fact and how creation itself points to an Almighty Creator.  It was very informative.

I am going...to take a shower after dinner, then do my nails.  My manicure got ruined yesterday after washing 3 cars.

I am wearing...a teal top, multi-colored skirt, and black flip-flops.  It's 88 degrees out but with 62% humidity and 73% dewpoint it feels like 96 degrees.  Still, the humidity and heat index are slightly lower than they've been for the past couple of months.  I think we're gonna be seeing a little relief soon.

I am noticing...darker mornings.  I'm typically up at 6:20am, and at 6:45 it's still dark out.  The sun is not coming up till after 7am.

In the kitchen...there's stuffed shells, garlic bread and avocado.  I know, the avocado seems out of place, but it's ripe and I'm not about to let it go to waste.

I am creating...a fall look in our home.  Seeing fall decor makes me hopeful that the weather will start to cool down.

I am wondering...if it's gonna rain.  My daughter says it poured at the church office which is only about 5 miles from our house.

I am reading...a new Nook book I downloaded, Knowing the Truth About Jesus the Messiah by John Ankerberg.  It looks at the prophetic scriptures in the Old Testament and shows how they apply to Jesus.  If you have a Nook, it's free and worth reading.

I am hoping...my son never outgrows his love of giving his mommy hugs.  I'm always a happy recipient.

I am looking forward to...getting my garage cleared out.  I'm trying to sell our old living room furniture, and I'd like to get more stuff out of there.

I am hearing...my son watching cartoons.  It's his way of relaxing when he gets home from school.

Around the house...I pulled out the fall decorations I have and put them out.  I love the oranges, reds and greens.  The warm colors of fall are my favorites.  I cleaned the guest bathroom today, and I'll do the master bath tomorrow.

A favorite quote of the day..."Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us." - Abraham Lincoln.  Sobering thought.

One of my favorite things...decorating the house for autumn.

A few plans for the rest of the week...Awana tomorrow, then after that no set plans.  We'll see where the Lord leads.

Wanna join in the fun?  Visit Peggy at the Simple Woman's Daybook.  God bless.

Monday Quiz About Me

Here's a fun blog hop hosted by Heather at Acting Balanced.  There are four questions to answer, plus the option to add a fifth question of your choosing.  Here we go!

1.  What was the toughest job you ever had?
When I was a kid, 13, 14 years old, I'd clean second hand stoves and refrigerators for my uncle.  He'd buy them used to replace broken ones in the apartments in the buildings he managed.  I got $5 for each stove or refrigerator I cleaned.  I had to scrub them with Brillo pads and them wipe them down clean.  They were down in the basement next to the boiler room, which was pretty hot.

2.  What one characteristic makes a good boss?
Integrity.

3.  How did you celebrate 'the end of summer'?
You mean summer can end? ;)  I live in South Florida.  "Winter", if you want to call it that, lasts about 2 weeks during a really cold spell, and the lowest the temps have gotten is to 35 degrees, which will usually get back up into the 50s or even 60s by midday.  So there is no "end of summer" celebration here.  Still, I like to observe the beginning of fall by putting out my fall decorations.  I have a wreath for the door, and some pumpkin centerpieces for the tables, that sort of thing.  I really do enjoy decorating for fall, it's my favorite season.

4.  Do you follow the fashion rules about Labour Day being the end of wearing white etc?
Nope.  I wear summer clothes all the time.  As a matter of fact, I'm in flip-flops pretty much all year round.  It's a beautiful thing.

And for my fifth question:

5.  What one thing brings autumn to mind?
There are lots of things that make me think of autumn, but one particular thing is the color orange.  Leaves, pumpkins, candles, gourds, all in a vibrant shade of orange.  I love putting splashes of orange throughout the house for fall!

Move It Mondays

Happy Labor Day folks!  It was nice to stay in bed an extra half hour since there's no school today.  My son is especially happy about that ;).  Poor little guy, though, his allergies have been acting up and he's got a drippy nose.  Benadryl helped him last night, but I think it's time for an extra dose.

For breakfast today, I made pancakes with sausages and bacon.  I'm gonna be making chicken this afternoon, enough so my daughter can take some to work and my son can have dinner before leaving for his job.  Unfortunately they both have to work today.

As for me, I have one load of laundry to fold, and I want to clean bed linens today.  I've slowly started putting out fall decorations, but when all the kids are home I keep the cleaning down to what's necessary so we can spend time together.  This weekend it's been mostly about helping my daughter with her project for church.  Now that that's over, I can focus on the boys.  I was thinking of washing cars today, but we'll see if E wants to do that or not.  He actually likes washing the cars, so for him it isn't a chore.  It needs to get done though, this week if possible.

We had an incredible service at church yesterday.  The founder of the Creation Studies Institute in Fort Lauderdale came to speak about creation, the theory of evolution and the lies being taught in schools, dinosaurs, fossils, and all kinds of interesting things.  E and I had been to the CSI Discovery Museum and we'd enjoyed it immensely.  I bought a DVD, Dragons or Dinosaurs? which we are gonna watch today.  Learning about creation is fascinating, and it gives us a deeper love for our Creator and all the beauty that He's made.

I hope everyone has a lovely Labor Day.  We might be getting some rain, like we did yesterday afternoon.  It was a quick shower, no lightning, but it did refresh the plants and grass.  Have a blessed week!

Observing My Senses

For Today, September 1, 2012...

I am seeing...lots of cloud cover, but they aren't rain clouds.  That's good.  Isaac dumped enough water on us to last a good long while.

I am feeling...a bit under the weather today, but thankful that I got all my errands done yesterday so I don't have to go anywhere today.

I am hearing...the click-click of my nails on the keyboard.  The boys have gone out together (what a good big brother my R is!) and my daughter is still asleep.  She got in late from work last night.

I am tasting...syrup on my tongue.  Pumpkin Spice Eggos are a staple in my house right now.

I am smelling...bacon.  Which I had with my Eggo.  Because, like butter, bacon makes everything better.

It just takes a moment to observe your surroundings.  Won't you join me?