Saturday, May 3, 2014

Hoping the Flower Photos Make Up for the Hints of Grouchiness, TToT Week 46

Intros are overrated.

1.  I am thankful that the blogging A-Z challenge is over.  I chose not to participate this year, but many people I know did.  Great googly moogly, that was a boatload of reading I just didn't have time for!  I'm just going to throw this suggestion out there.  How 'bout next year, instead of everyone going at the same time in April, everyone takes a different month?  The pressure of reading and writing would be off, and we read-only participants would have more time to actually read and encourage.

2.  I am thankful for the warmer weather.  Sure, it's not as warm as our springs usually are, but it's warmer than the winter.  Our saliva is no longer in danger of freezing, so I am happy.  To those who are complaining about the cool spring...People, remember the Polar Vortex.  We aren't wimps anymore, so don't act like it.

3.  I am thankful for packages in the mail.  I received a cookbook from Lizzi (full of glitter, of course) a few weeks ago, and this week I received Tibetan prayer flags from Zoe.  (I won a contest with a ridiculous obituary entry)  I have always loved snail mail, but it's so rare to get any these days.  I get so excited to find something that isn't a bill or an ad in my mailbox.

4.  I am thankful for purple.

The irises are right on time. 



Taking a photo of a lilac bush in gale-force winds is not an easy task.  You heard it here first.

5.  I am thankful that you all are still reading the blog.  I've had some funny stuff happen around here lately, but I haven't had the time nor brain power to come up with a funny, creative way to tell the stories.  Honestly, the story about getting refused service at Olive Garden should have made OJ come out of people's noses, but I could do nothing but boringly throw it in a quick take.  Thank you for continuing to stick with me.  I'll get my creative juices back soon, because...

6.  I am thankful high school volleyball is over.  Phoenix had so much fun learning a new sport, and he came a long way in his ability to play.  Plus, I really enjoyed watching the matches.  However, it's been taking a lot out of us.  It's a good time for the season to end.

7.  And, school soccer is over.  Once again, loads of fun for Buttercup and Star and me and the little boys, but it was one more thing on the calendar requiring me to drive.  I'm tired of driving.

8.  I am thankful for not-as-serious-as-it-could-be injuries.  Turken's collar bone did not break all the way through.  Since it is just a small fracture, he won't be out of commission for too horribly long.  Good thing, because the sight of him in the dugout while his team plays the field hurts my heart.  He never complained and his coach was great about making Turken feel like he was still part of the team (Turken was the 3rd base coach while his team was at bat.), but we all are hoping this recovery goes quickly.



9.  I am thankful for the non-rainy weather we had in the middle of each day this week.  There was plenty of yucky, wet weather each afternoon and evening, but the middle of the days were mostly fine.  I was able to dry lots of newly washed bedding on the line this week, as well as get some much needed mowing done.

10.  I am thankful for my mom.  We've seen a lot of her in the last month, and the kids and I couldn't be happier.  (Bryan hasn't seen her much, since he didn't go on vacation with us, nor did he go to Ohio for the tournament with us.)  She has beaten death three times in her life (a mysterious kidney ailment when I was in high school, a completely blocked artery requiring 2 heart stents 2 years ago, followed directly by a fight with cervical cancer.), so I am over the top grateful for every minute I get to spend with her.  I've been hinting that she just needs to move to Indy, but that is just the selfish part of me coming out.  I know how important her friends are to her, and that in Kentucky she is only a few miles from all of her other kids and grandkids.  I'll just be super happy for the time I get.

Now that I've made my mom tear up, I shall turn the thankful train over to you.  What has you all giddy with gratefulness this week?

Have a lovely day!

Ten Things of Thankful


 Your hosts




31 comments:

  1. Glad you won the contest! Ya gotta love a good peeing outdoor obituary! Who knows what you can come up with for the next one...better get those boys working on it now! Sorry youre feeling pooped - needing a break is understandable, not every pig story can be THE pig story! Gosh that Turken is a cutey! I mean very manly for tolerating that fracture... gosh dont tell him cutey... he will be even more bummed!

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    1. Me, too!
      Ah, but each got kicked out of Olive Garden story should be THE got kicked out of Olive Garden story. No?
      I tell him all the time that he is the cutest 6 year old I know. He's OK with it. However, don't ever tell Cuckoo he's cute. He does not take it well.

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  2. 1. I'm even more gladderer than you.
    4. I love lilacs AND irises. I need to plant both. (Who am I kidding? I hate to garden. I'll just admire yours and wish I had some of both.)
    8. Aww,Turken's FACE!

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    1. 1. We'll call it even. :)
      4. I didn't plant either the lilac or the irises. In fact, I tried to get rid of the irises when we moved here. There were so many clumped together, they wouldn't bloom anymore. I didn't know what these weird green things were that grew, so I dug them all out and tossed the bulbs into the field. Seems I didn't get them all, and they just needed to be thinned. I now have irises growing in my flower bed AND the field. :)
      8. I know!

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    2. My great aunt had a flourishing lilac bush outside her kitchen door. It was probably 8 feet tall and nearly as big around. She threw all her eggshells underneath it and swore that made it grow better. Think what YOURS could do, given all the eggs y'all go through....

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  3. While certainly grateful (or attempting to achieve such state), I can assure you that I was not, in the slightest, giddy

    lol
    hey, it seems that the season shift has extended out of the Northeast, meaning that our weather is perfectly appropriate…for 30 to 45 days ago.
    May is April as April was March.

    good to hear that all is trending towards the normal...

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    1. No, I can't imagine giddy is something you are very often. If ever. :)

      Yes, the weather is a bit behind, but at least it's moving in the right direction!

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  4. Well you made me tear up, too. I love lilacs. My Mother loves lilacs. My Grandmother loved lilacs. She had a lovely tree in her yard. The scent - and apparently the sight of them here - makes me think of my Grandmother and nearly always makes me teary. But it's an OK teary, not a bad thing.
    I will always read your blog - it's awesome. I, too, passed on the A to Z challenge and all the reading. Just too much for this Mamma!
    Have a great week. Hope Turken heals well and fast!

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    1. Aw, I'm glad the photos brought back such memories for you.
      Thank you. You are so sweet.
      He's doing well so far!

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  5. I can practically smell the lilacs--gorgeous photos! (And it is NOT easy to take photos of flowers in gale-force winds. It is nearly always windy here, so I can relate.) I'm envious. I planted lilacs, and they are supposed to grow here, but mine haven't gotten that memo, and they keep dying.

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    1. Thanks!
      I have the advantage that I did not plant this bush. It came with the house. It's pretty old and seems to be dying, slowly but surely, so I need to get another planted. I have a feeling a new one of mine won't get the memo either. We aren't so good with new plants.

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  6. Aww, that last one had me tearing up and so glad you mom did beat all and is still hear. Hope she moves soon or that you get to spend more quality time at the very least. The flowers are gorgeous and you know I love this time of year, so couldn't agree more more about the weather. And #1 sure was a killer and truly have to admit I am also selfishly glad it over for the reading aspect, too. Have a great rest of the weekend and week ahead, too :)

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  7. #1, totally agree, They were annoying. I am also thankful for purple, my favorite color, and your flowers are beautiful. Definitely understand #8, "minor" injuries are the best kind. We had several days of non-stop rain this past week, glad you got to see the sun! And very happy that you got some quality time with your mom - what a blessed woman!!

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  8. I remember those soccer mom days. Always going here and then going there. Sometimes you needed to be in three places at the same time. I'm glad you can take a break.

    I'm sorry that Turken is out of the game for now, but his injury isn't as bad as I first thought. Good on that.

    You've much to be thankful for and I always enjoy these posts.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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  9. Poor wee Turken! And good for getting to spend so much wonderful time with your Mum. That's really special :)

    Don't worry about the intros, and I look forward to catching up with you more now I have more space to NOT be writing every damn second of the day for a challenge. Hopefully I can read you a bit more, too! However, there's always the talky thing, which is totally awesome.

    YAY for you getting more snail mail. I know what you mean about only feeling like you get bills and bank statements, though I did get an AWESOME book (which I ordered) from Helena Hann-Basquiat, and a journal and an adorable Tigger from Dana, so there are high points in England, too :) Hope you enjoy the recipes (and don't mind too much about the glitter).

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  10. So jealous that your lilacs are blooming already! And lilacs...I better go check on mine! They are on the west side of the house which is not easily viewed as we approach our house by car from the east.

    I agree with your suggestion about the A-Z challenge. Why wasn't it during the Polar Vortex when I would've had days off to read?!

    And about your mother...WOW! Glad they caught the cervical cancer early enough to treat and beat. My MIL was not that lucky.

    Better move on now that I've actually got to the TTOT linky! Have a good week.

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  11. LOL I like the suggestion of everyone doing a different A to Z months. One of the biggest problems is that people miss the rule that posts should be short. I think of "short" as maybe a paragraph or two--apparently most people think of "short" as 500-1,000 words. People were also supposed to turn off their captchas. I think that should be a rule 100% of the time anyway because those things are annoying!

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  12. LOL Getting right down to business. I like it! No beating around the bush. No, blah, blah, blah. Just 1, 2, 3 down the list.
    I'm with you Chistine - enjoying the warm weather. No complaining about anything from me!
    Poor little Turken. He does not look happy but hey, tell him he's already getting coaching experience and he's got a "war" story to tell the girls when he's older:)

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  13. Lilacs are my very favorite flowers... yours are so beautiful!

    I agree with you that the number of A-Z posts was totally overwhelming. Not sure how to fix that, because it's such a fun thing to be a part of, but I didn't begin to cover the bases in reading or comment, barely getting posting done, and only managed to visit a handful of new places. Yes, maybe it could be broken up over different months somehow.

    Mothers, believe me they long to be with their children just as much as you long to be with them. Wait til yours move on some day. It sounds like you've been triple-blessed to have your Mom still with you, and I'm so glad you've been able to have more time together recently. I lived over a thousand miles form my mom in her last years, and we rarely had the money for me to travel. It was heartbreaking, at times I longed to go home. Do it now, while you can! :-) OXOX

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  14. Those flowers are so beautiful. What great pictures. This is the second blog I'm on where Lizzi sent someone a gift! She is so wonderful! I can't believe Turken fractured his collar bone. I think that would have freaked me out a bit. I'm glad it's not as serious as you all might have though. Moms are great. My mom texts and calls us and its nice to hear from her. We live about 2K miles away from her.

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  15. This surely is an interesting prompt. Read Dyanne's blog and then came to here. Good that Turken is recovering and I shall pray for ur mom. She sure is a strong lady. God bless
    Taking part in a to z is surely exhausting. Now I can peacefully read all the blogs I wanted to (which includes yours as well :) )
    The idea u gave about having challenge in different months is cool. Hope that gets implemented :)

    Hoping to be in touch
    Love
    Afshan

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  16. Whew! I'm glad that challenge is over too..I couldn't keep up with all the reading and am sad to say, I gave up. It just wasn't possible for me. The pics are gorgeous, wow! I will be glad when the sports are over for a bit here too. I'm starting to feel the overload and we could all use a little break. That photo of Turken breaks my heart! You can tell he just wants to be out there playing....I am glad the injury isn't too serious and hopefully he'll heal quickly and well! I'm sure your mom teared up because I know I did. That was beautiful :)

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  17. Your lilac is gorgeous. I love the smell. Ours isn't out yet. After an exceptionally mild winter, we've had a cold spring, so the plants are very confused - the cherry blossom came out earlier than normal, but the lilac dug its heels in.
    How lovely that you've had lots of nice times with your mom. And hope Turken makes a fast recovery.

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  18. My mom is our rock too...and I worry about her always...then she says that she feels fine. I did see yesterday for a brief moment her and my dad live about 30 or 45 minutes away depending on traffic it's always great to visit her and spend time with her too. hope your son is feeling better. love your flowers, nice job taking an action shot. We will start this weekend planting flowers and herbs...hopefully get the pool clean and running too. Here's to spring it be a bit chilly but its not the polar vortex!!!!!!
    :)

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  19. I echo your sentiments about the lack of ability to read other blogs while A to Z-ing. In fact, I have had your blog open on my tabs for nearly as long as the challenge was in progress.

    I LOVE snail mail too. Even when I know I ordered something for myself online, I still love its snail mail arrival.

    We too, have had some long needed sun! This weekend has been gorgeous. I love seeing those purple lilacs. In Minnesota they only have a 2-3 week bloom season, so I love to experience them when I can.

    Sorry to hear you have hit a rough spot, but looking forward to returning to your posts now that I have re-entered the blogsphere.

    Kate at Daily discovery

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  20. So glad to hear Turken's going to be okay, that's a scary injury!
    Those flowers are so beautiful. Purple is one of our FAVORITE colors around here!
    I'm really trying not to complain about the cold, REALLY trying. The temperatures are so misleading. Today it said 57 degrees, but I forget about the "feels like" bitter windchild ACTUAL weather! 57 felt more like a pack of lies! It was "cold as lies" :) but we were still outside most of the day and lived to tell about it!
    I can't even imagine that A-Z challenge. I could NOT keep up reading everyone. I LOVE your idea! Bloggers whose names start A-K take January....

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  21. Isn't this spring weather at long last SO GREAT? Tonight we played outside until after 7:30--it was sunny and a balmy 57 degrees outside. Heaven. And green grass to boot.
    Your schedule is twice as frantic as mine. How do you do it?
    Glad that kid's bone is healing.

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  22. OMG that photo of Turken. He looks SO grown up and serious. I'm so glad his injury wasn't serious and wow. I love your purple and am sure you're right that photographing in the wind um because I can barely do it indoors with good lighting and a good camera is big true. Sorry to hear it's been so crazy and I, too, am beyond glad that we have had mostly nicer weather because UGH to the snow and ick. I'm thankful you have your mom, too...

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