J. Crew

I finally made it out to J. Crew and used my gift card given to me by CT Prep after I won her contest. It is very springy and a comfortable button down cardigan. I really love it and thank CT Prep again!

My condolences go out to Josh Hancock's family and the baseball community. He was a relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and was killed in an automobile accident early Sunday morning. The Cardinals organization has gone through a similar situation about 5 years ago when Darryl Kyle (pitcher) died suddenly. Very sad day for all Cardinal fans.

Game Night

I am going to my first Cardinals game of this season tonight! They are playing the Cubs. If it's not too cold or doesn't rain, it should be a great game (does that make me a fair weather friend?). They are struggling this season so far but I expect them to step up soon. They have 10 wins and 11 losses. Right in the middle of the division at this time. Maybe Albert Pujols will hit a homerun tonight! I'm a big fan of his. He's just a great all around player and does great things for charity.

The new Cardinal Stadium is great and is setup for a great picture with the arch in the background. St. Louis is a fun city to visit. The zoo is the greatest, a wonderful Science Center, great restaurants and many shopping malls.

Reality TV

Somehow I've got hooked on a few Reality TV shows. I don't always sit down and watch them at the time they are airing but do record them and watch when I get a chance. Here's my picks for the following shows:

Bachelor:
Bevin and Tessa to be the last 2 girls and Tessa to win. The Bachelor, Andy Baldwin, is definitely attractive.

Survivor:
Not sure who will win but I really like Yau-Man. Who would have thought when this started that he would be a contender.

Amazing Race:
I guess I want the twins to win. This is through a process of elimination on who I don't like the least (did that make sense?). I really liked Uchenna & Joyce but they didn't make it.

Can't believe I'm keeping up with these shows! I was even watching Donald Trump's "The Apprentice" show enough to know who won and whether I agreed! Ahhhh!

Weekend Shopping

I picked up this cute Liz Claiborne purse that is teal and beige yesterday. It has pockets everywhere, inside and out. Love it!

Update on my "1001 Books to Read Before I Die": I have read the following since we received the above book:

• To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee


• Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck


• The Secret History, Donna Tartt (currently reading)

The next on my list is "The Color Purple". I also picked up the books you see in the picture that are also on the list (Mansfield Park, Jane Austen; Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton; Walden, Writings of Henry D. Thoreau; The Death of Ivan Ilych, Leo Tolstoy). Not sure I am going to get through all of these this year!

Prayers

"We pray for those who were lost and for the speedy recovery of the wounded. And we pray that America can find the strength to overcome our grief and outrage as we face this tragedy together." President Bush.

Amen. My son is a college student at a campus that recently had a bomb threat. It is scary to think about what can happen after Virginia Tech. Lord, please watch over all students of all ages. We love our children and want them to grow up to help find a way for this earth to be a better place to live.

"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows . . ." Isaiah 53:4

Nashville

We are taking a vacation to Nashville, TN over Memorial Day Weekend with our daughter and her husband. We are looking forward to the Music Night Life. Any suggestions on what we shouldn't miss and you can't go to Nashville without see this? Anyone know of local haunts that are just the best but most people don't know about it? I'm just looking forward to taking a mini vacation.

Three Things

Sisters with Style filled out their "Three Things" and tagged anyone who want to do this! And so, I'm going for it .... Like many of you, I am sure, some of these items would change depending on the day and my mood!

Three Things That Scare Me:
1. Losing family and friends.
2. Spiders and Snakes (sounds like a song title).
3. Scary movies. Won't watch any more Jurassic Park movies.

Three People Who Make Me Laugh:
1. Hubby
2. Bill Cosby
3. My children - when the joke isn't about me!

Three Things I Love:
1. God
2. Hubby
3. My children

Three Things I Hate:
1. People that won't even give you a nod or a half smile in the hallway at work.
2. Waiting on people because they are late.
3. Smoking.

Three Things I Don’t Understand:
1. Why it is so hard to put the toilet seat down.
2. Why people charge up credit cards that they can't possibly pay.
3. Cruelty

Three Things On My Desk:
1. Bottle of water.
2. Pictures of family.
3. Dell PC

Three Things I’m Doing Right Now:
1. Thinking about how I would like a snack but just drinking water.
2. Typing (duh).
3. Looking out the window seeing sunny skies and wishing that it was warmer.

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
1. Ride in a hot air balloon.
2. Go on a mission trip to a foreign country.
3. Hike the Grand Canyon - better hurry up on this one.

Three Things I Can Do:
1. Play the piano - use to be better.
2. Crochet, very relaxing
3. Edit digital pictures replacing one face for another. I liked my smile better on one picture and my hubby's smile on another.

Three Things I Can’t Do:
1. Touch my tongue to my nose.
2. Jump out of an airplane with a parachute, ok, maybe I could do it but I definitely don't want to do it.
3. Drive a motorcycle.

Three Things I Think You Should Listen To:
1. Your inner voice.
2. Your spouse.
3. Your parents, or at least my children should do that.

Three Things You Should Never Listen To:
1. Hateful people.
2. Critical people. Constructive criticism is alright, just not the constant critical remarks.
3. Sarcastic people.

Three Things I’d Like To Learn:
1. How to speak Spanish.
2. How to dance.
3. How to listen to God and know when it is him speaking to me.

Three Favorite Foods:
1. Salmon cakes.
2. Chocolate, especially dark.
3. Spaghetti.

Three Shows I Watched As A Kid:
1. Bewitched.
2. The Andy Griffith Show.
3. Hogan's Heroes.

Three Things I Regret:
1. Not having more children.
2. Not staying connected to old high school and college friends.
3. Not being a stay-at-home mom.

Blog Connection

I rely on two internet sites to help me know who I am connecting to/with on my blog. I was glad to find these sites and thought others might also be interested. A search engine to know who has your blog linked to their's: http://technorati.com/search/ and to see who is visiting your site, I use StatCounter.

Happy Easter

Today is filled with preparing for Easter Sunday. Tomorrow we will go to church and then eat with hubby's family. I am taking Orange Almond Salad, Black Bean Casserole (friend's recipe) and cupcakes. This is my skirt I am wearing along with a pink shirt and a seafoam green jacket. My fingernails have a french manicure and I'm going to look for jewelry and a purse today. The following are a couple of recipes I am using, just in case this helps out anyone looking for something to fix for tomorrow.

Black Bean Casserole

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 stick butter

1/3 c white syrup

1/3 c brown sugar (can use Splenda brown sugar)

Grease 9x13 pan or casserole dish

Saute onion and pepper in butter

Combine with beans, syrup and brown sugar

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly

Orange Almond Salad

Romain Lettuce

1 can mandarin oranges

slivered almonds (glazed with sugar)

1/4 c oil

1/2 t salt

2 T sugar

2 T Tarragon vinegar

Blend in blender or shaker and pour over romaine, oranges and almonds

Glaze: put 1/4 c sugar in saucepan and heat until dissolved. Add almonds and coat. Pour mixture onto waxed paper. After dry, break apart and add to salad.

Maybe it will warm up some tomorrow. Right now it is 27 degrees!

Stop Spinning

I woke up Tuesday morning with the room spinning. Very, very fast. Literally. Made a visit to my doctor and looks like I have water behind my ear (allergies) that is causing this. This has never happened to me before but my mother has problems with this from time to time. Not pleasant. I'm doing some better today with medication. I don't even like the carousel!

NCAA Party

Who will win tonight? Florida or Ohio State? Actually, I'm not really concerned. I picked KU to win, and so my bracket is finished. But, I do always like a reason to party! We are going over to friends tonight to watch the game (cough, talk and eat, cough). We watched the semi-finals at a different friends' house Saturday. Always fun to get together - no matter the reason! I really think Florida will win tonight -- they looked awesome against UCLA.