Happy Spring & freebie!

well, here i was, waiting for my DH to upload pictures from the camera to the computer and i come to find out the pictures i was waiting on, to share, were blurry! lol
sorry, but it was only another picture of candles burning and the other was of my DS drumming on that Rock Band 'game'. Which, we will be doing again tonight! YAY! lol it seems, we ALL really enjoyed playing & singing together, cause the men came home Tuesday, asking me if i felt like 'going on tour' LOL i suggested waiting till tonight and i swear i saw their faces light up! lol MAYBE we can get a decent picture of us to share!
to make up for not having my pictures ready, i come bearing gifts this morning heheh
it was for a Color challenge over at DSO.
here's a preview and i hope you like it :D

download here 18.5 mgs
here are some of the comments left on 4shared
mary lee
Thanks for sharing!
Mar 17, 2008 7:10:25 PM
Vicki (Chickivaney)
Thanks so much!
Mar 17, 2008 7:21:04 PM
marilyn
Thanks so much for sharing!
Mar 18, 2008 1:40:39 AM
Sue
Really pretty kit, thank you so much for sharing
Mar 18, 2008 11:09:17 AM
mmikes
This is wonderful. Thanks so much.
Mar 18, 2008 7:05:51 PM
Mae
Awesome! Thank you!
Well, i am off to see what you have to share too! Have a BEAUTIFUL day and thanks soo much for visiting :D HUGS!

Happy St. Paddy's day!!

Are you wearing your green today? lol
Here are a few facts & fictions i learned :D
Fact: St. Patrick definitely lived. Where he came from is a bit of a mystery, but historians figure southern Britain. As a teenager, he was captured and brought to Ireland by Irish marauders and sold into slavery. After escaping, he left Ireland only to return as the missionary who overthrew these pagans, brought this belief system to the country and earned his patron sainthood.

Fiction: He did not charm these slithery creatures off the island of Ireland, since they weren't there in the first place. And he has no direct lineage to one of these or that cereal box mascot. (For the full story on his life, search for who was St. Patrick?)

But let's get down to business. When it comes to St. Paddy's Day, sure, we want our fun runs, corn beef hash and soda bread, but isn't raising a Guinness what we crave most? Here's a particularly useful search map to find St. Patrick's Day pub crawls in your area. And if you're new to a crawl, check out where and how to pub crawl.

Still, some of the nontraditional among us prefer their beer green. And St. Pats is the only day of the year we can get away with such a thing. And check this out: Search tipped us off to a Green Beer Day—a drinkers' holiday devoted to the emerald ale celebrated by college students in Oxford, Ohio.

But one of the most stunning green spectacles happens in Chicago. Every St. Paddy's Day, the city turns the Chicago River a glowing emerald color. The transformation happens with 25 pounds of green vegetable dye, which is gone by the next day and doesn’t harm the river's fish.

Since one search often leads to another, we got to thinking: How did Ireland's respectable holiday feast—which kicked off in the early 1700s—morph into a day of parades and beer guzzling in the U.S.?

Think: 1845, Great Irish Potato Famine, which sent an influx of Irish immigrants to America. Once stateside, on St. Patrick's Day, this disenfranchised group gathered in the streets for impromptu-style celebrations. This gradually turned into parades. Nowadays, St. Paddy's Day parades are held across the globe. They even show up in the unlikeliest of cities. This year, St. Patrick's Day is officially recognized on March 15, not its usual March 17. Some parades, like the New York City parade will still happen on March 17th; but Boston is having theirs on March 16 and Chicago, March 15. Why? Here's the scoop.

But what's St. Patrick's Day without a few jabs at the Irish, who can take a joke better than anyone. So let us suggest a search for Irish jokes to take with you on your pub crawl. And if you, um, tell a few jokes too many, then search for a safe ride home and have these hangover remedies on hand.

But maybe you won't need them. You could wake up the morning after the festivities feeling great. For that, thank the luck of the Irish.

—Tatyana Mishel is an MSN editor.

i hope you learned something there, as i sure did :D
here''s another church sign, i found, they are fun!

Have a BEAUTIFUL day and thank you so much for visiting!! Have a safe St. Patrick's day!

Another black out!

i hope you are having a WONDERFUL weekend!! here is verry cold and windy. even rained some yesterday (with a rainbow!! lol) AND we lost power!! DH and i went downtown to pick up DS after he worked all day and decided we were going to go out for dinner! YAY!! lol after arriving home, it didn't take us long to realize there was NO power! so DH & i enjoyed a book together, with him reading aloud to me but being the end of the day, it wasn't long before we lost the natural daylight too. Time for the candles to come out before it gets too dark. lol So then we sat and with boredom starting to set in for all three of us, we started pretending we were watching TV shows. LOL That turned out to be really fun!! First we orated different stories from the show Cops and it took off from there with the pretense. One show after another we did in turns! lol before one knew it, we were tired of those antics and by now it was about 9pm and with no hopes of the lights returning soon (DH called the electric company and got updates throughout the night) we retired to bed, with DS sleeping on the couch (instead of going out to his RV). Well, i usually read or have the tv on as i get ready for sleep so i asked for a story from ANYONE! lol First DH tells an AWFUL FUNNY story and of course that wound me up too much from laughing so i pleaded for another, a slower & more restful one and as DH finished off his story, DS starts one too! lol Oh my goodness, we three truly had genuine and silly fun, with no power!
Then this morning, first thing, 7:30am the phone rings, well, NO ONE felt like getting up in the COLD COLD room to answer it. of course we wondered WHO would be calling THAT early but now we are awake, well, at least DH and i. lol Sure wasn't long before the phone rang again, this time DH answered to find it was just the power company calling to let us know the power should be on here lol YAYYY!!! TURN ON THE HEAT!! lol DH took me out for breakfast and we came right back home, too windy, too cold for the swapmeet or ANYTHING!!! lol
When DS awoke (amazingly early for him) around 10:30 am and after he got awake for himself awhile he went to play a new thing he recently bought called Rock Band. What a fun game, for lack of a better word! DH was the drummer, DS the guitarist and me, the singer (again, for lack of a better word! lol) but WHAT FUN! we played for hours until DH got worn out and needed a nap! lol and that's where we are now lol DH is napping and me on the computer! lol
The wind outside seems to have died down some but still very cold out there! i will be back to edit this blog with a couple of pictures after DH awakes and gets the pictures off the camera hehe
Have a BEAUTIFUL day and thank you soo veryy much for your visit!! HUGS!!

What is this world coming to?

a few months back i believe i shared with you, links to the awful dolphin killing that is going on right now still and for SIX months YEARLY!! You can check it out again here or just type in 'dolphin killings', do your own research on it and check it out further. it's truly horrendous and horrible!!
well now i find out what China is doing to 'clean up the streets, for the Olympics' and i am again, horrified! They are killing cats by the thousands!!!! please read about it here for yourself.
i found this out through watching a tv morning show and checked out the Zootoo site for the information they were sharing on a contest for animal shelters. It's nationwide and can be available to YOUR local shelter too!! The contest is to win a million dollars to help animal shelters renovate as they ALL need to do. They will not just have one winner either!! i believe 10 or 20 shelters can win all the way down to a $10,000 prize. Personally, since there will be only 16 days left to this contest, i am emailling and calling my local shelters, in hopes that they participate and possibly WIN! :D
i care sooo deeply for animals that when i discovered the cat story, on Zootoo site, i was taken right back to the atrocities going on in Japan with the dolphins too! How much longer can this go on is beyond me! Why it is handled in such a way is even more beyond anything i can even fathom.
please consider writing your local tv news stations and urge them to investigate this matter, so that the public may perhaps boycott the Olympics! INCLUDING watching it on tv! and the Olympics athletes should be doing the same!!! How can they, even unwittingly be a part of it?! by participating in the Olympics, they are encouraging this kind of behavior to continue, whether they know about it or not! and i'd like them to be informed!!
i am not usually one for flying off the handle and boycotting something right away but this CANNOT go on, IGNORED!! My husband who has been a LONG TIME FAN of the Olympics, is soo outraged that even HE is going to boycott it and not watch it, AND write a letter to the IOC (International Olympic Committee). Japan keeps the dolphin kills as quiet as they can and don't want the publicity, maybe we can shed some REAL LIGHT on this subject in China!!
i hope you do take the time to read about this and i pray it touches your soul as it does mine! HUGS and thank you for visiting my blog and i apologize for being the messenger of inhuman activity, i usually try to keep my blog a little happier.

Social Security info

SOCIAL SECURITY:

(This is worth reading. It is short and to the point.)

Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years.

Our Senators and Congresswomen do not pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it.

You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their rare elevation in society . They felt they should have a special plan for themselves. So, many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan.

In more recent years, no congressperson has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan.

For all practical purposes their plan works like this:

When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die.

Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments..

For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7,800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275, 000.00 during the last years of their lives.

This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two Dignitaries.


Younger Dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives.

Their cost for this excellent plan is $0.00 . NADA..! ZILCH...

This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan . The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds;

"OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK "!

From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into, every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer). We can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement.

Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator! Bill Bradley's benefits!




Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made.

That change would be to:


Jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under the Senators and Congressmen. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us


Then sit back.....


And see how fast they would fix it.

If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe good changes will evolve.



With how many people CAN you share this?


Better yet......


How many people WILL you send this to ?





Please send this on to as many people as you can..


I HEREWITH FIRMLY STATE THAT I WILL NOT VOTE FOR ANY POLITICIAN, REGARDLESS OF THE OTHER ISSUES, IF HE DOES NOT SPONSOR AND SUPPORT THE FOLLOWING LEGISLATION. THAT INCLUDES EVERYONE STANDING FOR ELECTION IN 2008.
LET US SHOW OUR LEADERS IN WASHINGTON "PEOPLE POWER" AND THE POWER OF THE INTERNET.

IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT!

KEEP IT GOING!!!!
2008 Election Issue!!

GET A BILL STARTED TO PLACE ALL POLITICIANS ON SOC. SEC.


This must be an issue in "2008" Please! Keep it going.

Besides cleaning up the house, this has been on my mind!
Thank you so much for visiting today and i hope you have a WONDERFUL day where you are! :D

Piracy info

ok i am not sure if you have heard the big news around the digital scrapping world but we have discovered a new pirate!!! her name is Pattyf56 and you can read all about it here and PLEASE be sure to check patty's photobucket link to check if YOUR kits are there too!!!! i am HOPING that it is just another case of a lack of communication and not OUTRIGHT piracy! (sigh) still takes the vroom out of one's mojo to know this happens so easily. i am soo very sorry this has happened to so many WONDERFUL designers. But with people like Holly Ann watching out for us, (THANK YOU AGAIN, HOLLY ANN!!!)we can stop this sort of thing, by just keeping our eyes open and watching the backs of our designers. And if you see this happening, LET IT BE KNOWN to as many as you can, contact designers, photobucket and whatever download share they use (4shared, rapidshare, where ever that link is from!)!! it is just incredible, to me, that this happens when there are so many designers that share so freely and generously!!!
i have been a bit down about all the traffic that seems to come to my blog, without saying a word!!! you know those that just come by and read and leave, whether they download a freebie or not, no comments! but then when something like this happens, my little problem seems to not be so important anymore lol
and that is why communication is soo important!!! lets us know who has been visiting us! i have been the kind to leave a comment, whether i download something OR NOT but still those don't come leave a comment for me here. (shrugs) gets me kind of down and though i am not even sure why, it still does.
and so i will continue to visit your blogs and comment (although i didn't this week, sorry) cause i WANT you to know i care and i came by :D
it would be AWESOME to hear comments from ALL of you too!! just say hi or let me know what you think of this piracy and how can you help :D (sharing the piracy info on your blog would be a GREAT start hehe)
big HUGS to you all and i hope you have a BEAUTIFUL day!! i am off to visit you now :D (waving) See ya soon!

How was your weekend?

Here saturday was absolutely glorious and warm but then the afternoon started the winds and they continued all day sunday! Sunday was even about 20 degrees cooler than the day before too but sure TONS better than what my son and sister are getting back on the East coast! Hence, why we moved here lol
we had a BLAST at the swapmeet on saturday too! Lots of vendors and so much to look at!
i did find a $30.00 Feng Shui book i got for just a dollar!! and this really pretty & older looking cotton ball or qtip jar for just 50 cents!!! and two really nice black purses, one clutch purse for evening wear, was 50 cents and the black shoulder back was just a $1.00!! OHHH how i LOVE a GREAT deal!! lol
well, since i don't yet have those pictures available yet, lol i can share some other stuff we recently bought there! it's ALLLLLLLL good! lol
this was only a $1.00


this sun was a $1.00


$1.00 for the stump


AND it opens lol


butterfly dish was $1.00, it's all dirty because this stuff is all outside on my porch! lol


yea, i hear you, it's not at all like we NEED any of this stuff but how cool is it to find a GREAT deal? lol i think i am an addict... a bargain hunting addict!!! lol where else can ya have cheap fun, close to home? lol
Now, i thought i could share some more info fun with you :D
We ALL have heard of Bill Gates, i hope! lol
Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good,politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up,it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

If you agree, pass it on.
If you can read this - Thank a teacher

and here's another WONDERFUL email i recently received:
The Bum
========

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. (James D. Miles )

Everyone respects and helps the millionaire, the famous, the boss, those with beauty and brains. What about the bum on the street?


This is a real story.

It happened to me, the writer of MountainWings.com. I was parked in front of the church cleaning out my Jeep. I was waiting on someone. Coming my way from across the street was what society would consider a bum.

From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money.? There are times when you feel generous but there are other times that you just don't want to be bothered. This was one of those "don't want to be bothered times." "I hope he doesn't ask me for any money," I thought. He didn't.

He came and sat on the wall in front of the bus stop to wait on the bus. After a few minutes he spoke. "That's a very pretty Jeep," he said. He was ragged but he had an air of dignity around him. His scraggly blond beard keep more than his face warm. I said, "thanks," and continued cleaning out the Jeep.

He sat there quietly as I worked.? The expected plea for money never came. As the silence between us widened something inside said, "ask him if he needs any help." I was sure that he would say "yes" but I held true to the inner voice. "Do you need any help?"? I asked.

He answered in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget. We often look for wisdom in great men and women.? We expect it from those of higher learning and accomplishments.? I expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand. He spoke the three words that shook me. "Don't we all?" he said.

I was feeling high and mighty, successful and important, above a bum in the street, until those three words hit me like a twelve gauge shotgun. Don't we all? I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I needed help.

I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus fare, but enough to take a cab anywhere in the city and get food and shelter for the day. Those three little words still ring true. No matter how much you have, no matter how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you have, no matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or a place to sleep, you can give help. Even if it's just a compliment, you can give that.

You never know when you may see someone who appears to have it all.? They are waiting on you to give them what they don't have. A different perspective on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from daily chaos, that only you through a torn world can see. Maybe the man was just a homeless stranger wandering the streets. Maybe he was more than that. Maybe he was sent by a power that is great and wise, to minister to a soul too comfortable in themselves.

Maybe God looked down, called an Angel, dressed him like a bum then said, "go minister to that man cleaning the Jeep, that man, needs help." Don't we all?

i LOVE sharing them and hope you do too!! Please leave a comment and let me know you were here, it sure does cheer me up!! i LOVE reading your comments and will come visit your blog and do the same!! i hope you day is BEAUTIFUL and thank you so very much for this visit!!! HUGS!! AND THANK YOU SON for your visit to me blog!!! i LOVE that!:D