I'm Leaving...On A Jet Plane ♪♪♪

The Mister is letting me loose!

I'm off to spend 5 days with my sweet uncle

(remember Alan's doppelganger?) in

Sarasota. Have a wonderful Easter weekend

my friends! I'll be back next week...tan,

refreshed, and rested! Pray for The Mister

if you think of him...he's gonna try to be me

for a few days. LOL! Actually, he does a

pretty good job. :)

I'm especially looking forward to this view!

See you soon!

Easter Dove

This is my entry to Mr. Toast's Creative

Tuesdays! The theme is Easter.

They aren't due until April 4th, so if

you would like to join in you still have a

week. If you like to draw, sketch or

doodle, click HERE.

How I Spent My Sunday

Sunday afternoon was filled with powdered sugar,

mixing colors and tasting the samples!

Daisies and Easter egg cookies sure make it

feel like spring! :)

Sepia Saturday = Dad with His Mercury

(click on picture to enlarge)

This is The Mister's Dad, Bill Brock. (1925-1988)

He's standing beside his 1940 Mercury Club Coupe.

Bill loved cars, and passed that love on down

to three of his sons...The Mister being one of them.

There aren't any dates on the picture but I'm

guessing it was taken around the mid 1940's.

I wish they still made cars with all that style!

*****

Be sure to visit my friends at sepiasaturday.com

Fighting Stress

We all have stress, right? I know I do!Raising triplet boys with autism would certainly cause anyone some stress! But it's not just that. In the past couple of years I've lost relationships that were dear to me...a best friend (the relationship had become emotionally abusive) and some of my close family chose to 'pull the plug' as they called it. In reality, emotional hurts are more stressful than anything else, in my opinion. Three of my dearest friends are experiencing unbearable stress presently. Stress does take a toll on us! I can tell I'm overly stressed when I grind my teeth at night or clench my jaw to the point I have a nerve that goes spastic in my cheek! Or if I find myself woofing down 3 Snickers bars in one sitting...I tell myself that I'm overly stressed! Some of you may have seen this Yahoo news story about foods that help us fight the negative effects stress has on our bodies....What a great idea...we usually want to eat when we are stressed anyway, right? And there's chocolate! Yea! LOL!

♥♥♥Dark Chocolate High in flavonoids, which are lauded for their relaxing properties (chamomile tea is another great source), chocolate also contains phenethylamine, a chemical that enhances your mood. The darker the chocolate, the more healthy substances you're getting in your diet, so look for bars that are 70 percent cacao or higher.

♥♥♥Milk One study found that women who drank four or more servings of lowfat milk every day were about half as likely to experience stress-related PMS symptoms than those who drank less than one serving a week.

♥♥♥Oatmeal Carbs help you produce serotonin, a calming hormone that helps fight anxiety's negative effects-which is probably why many of us crave them when we're stressed. Oatmeal is high in fiber, which means that your body will absorb it slowly. In one fell swoop, you'll prolong the serotonin boost, keeping yourself feeling full for longer and making sure your blood sugar's in check.

♥♥♥Salmon Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids-abundant in fish like salmon-can help reverse stress symptoms by boosting serotonin levels, and that an omega-3-rich diet can also help suppress the production of the anxiety hormones cortisol and adrenaline.

♥♥♥Walnuts They've been shown to help lower blood pressure, which is critical for those whose hearts are already working overtime thanks to high adrenaline levels. In fact, research so strongly backs their health benefits that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration goes so far as to recommend 1.5 oz per day.

♥♥♥Sunflower Seeds A good source of folate, which helps your body produce a pleasure-inducing brain chemical called dopamine.

♥♥♥Spinach Studies show that magnesium, which you'll find in leafy greens like spinach, improves your body's response to stress.

♥♥♥Blueberries Their antioxidants counteract the effects of stress hormones like cortisol on your body.

Now, how easy is that? You can fit these all into one day! Have oatmeal with some walnuts for breakfast, blueberry yogurt for lunch and salmon with a spinach salad sprinkled with sunflower seeds for supper. Dark chocolate for a snack. :) I also found that prayer, some exercise and a good night's sleep helps a lot, too! So, how do you fight stress?...apart from eating icecream right from the container with the freezer door still open. LOL!

Theme Thursday = Sign

• Signal or visible clue
• Indicating you should heed the
• Given
• Notice

And some are more humorous than others!

Visit my friends at Theme Thursday HERE!

all photos from googleimages.com

Words to Live By...

~~Bloom where you're planted~~

♥♥♥

"The miracle, or the power, that elevates the few

is to be found in their industry, application,

and perseverance under the prompting

of a brave, determined spirit."

Mark Twain 1835-1910, American Humorist, Writer

♥♥♥

If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I would pick the trait of persistence. Determination. The will to endure to the end, to get knocked down seventy times and get up off the floor saying, ''Here comes number seventy-one!''

Richard M. DeVos 1926-, American Businessman, Co-founder of Amway Corp

I cried today, as I hugged a 30 year old widow. Her

husband...strong, healthy, and athletic....dropped dead

from a heart attack a few days ago. She's left with

three young kids and a broken heart.

♥♥♥

I got to thinking later today, that even though I had

sobbed uncontrollably while driving home, that by evening

I was pretty much back to my normal self and

settled back into my routine. Isn't that how it usually is

when we grieve for others? It isn't that our sorrow isn't

genuine, but it's short-lived compared to theirs.

Today I was at the peak of my grieving while

she hasn't even really begun. She is still in a

stunned whirlwind...in shock...with the loss still

to become real in the weeks and months to come.

We all know some one who lost a loved one in

the past year. And while we have most likely

moved on, they are still hurting. Wouldn't it be

kind of us to contact them and remind them of

our love and concern!

"F" Is For...

Frothy lattes.... Fireflies... Fireplaces...

Fish 'n Chips...

Flowering trees...

Full moons...

and French Onion Soup!

photos from googleimages

Falling

This feather is my entry to Mr. Toast's

Creative Tuesday! The theme is 'falling'.

Thank you to one my parakeets,

Mr. Bird, for the inspiration. :)

♪♪♪

If you like to draw or doodle why

don't you join in! Click here

for details and to see other entries!

Yes, I like to play with my food.... and I've

been known to see faces in fruit before!

Sometimes it's goofy! The men just

roll their eyes at me! LOL!

Sometimes it's pretty! Then the men ask

if I need a 'taste tester'. ha.

Theme Thursday = Breakfast

• Bagels with
• Raspberry preserves.
• Eggs of any variety...
• And don't forget the
• Krispie Kremes!
• French toast with butter
• And
• Syrup. Scones with coffee or
• Toast with tea!

Or....left over chocolate cake! LOL!

For more breakfast themes, check out my friends at themethursday.blogspot.

Oxymorons

I haven't posted a word game in a while!

Remember pleonasms?...those redundant phrases like 'tuna fish' or 'actual experience'?

Or how about anagrams?...those words that can be jumbled around to say something different but similar...like Debit card = Bad credit or School master = The classroom.

And let's not forget Idioms....those common phrases or sayings whose meanings cannot be understood by the individual words or elements...such as 'eat out of my hand' or 'raining cats and dogs'.

Well...do you know what oxymorons are?

Ever noticed that it's simply impossible to find oxymorons online? The only choice is to ask one of those paid volunteers at the library – the ones in the long-sleeved T-shirts – for an original copy of some obviously obscure documents that were found missing amongst some paperwork almost exactly one hundred years ago.

Notice anything strange about the paragraph above? It makes some sort of sense, yet it's riddled with contradictions (in black). These are oxymorons! Here are some more:

• jumbo shrimp
• same difference
• definite maybe
• pretty ugly
• found missing
• deafening silence
• living dead
• clearly confused
• plastic glasses
• genuine imitation
• freezer burn
• only choice
• virtual reality ~one of my dearest friends says this almost every time we talk! :)

Aren't those fun? Can you think of any more? Ooooh...just thought of another...'alone together'...haha! Seriously funny, huh? ...oooh...that's one, too! LOL!

info from fun-with-words.com, picture from googleimages.com

Lemon Bars

I've entered this recipe for Sweets For A Saturday

on 2-25-11. Click HERE to see a few hundred more

wonderful sweet dishes!

Lemon Bars

♥

1 lemon boxed cake mix

2 eggs

1 stick butter, softened

Blend with electric mixer and press into

a greased 9x13 pan, set aside.

***

4 c powdered sugar

8 oz. cream cheese, soft

3 eggs

3 t lemon extract

Blend sugar and cream cheese together,

then add eggs and extract...mix well

and pour over crust.

****

Bake 325 60 minutes...dark golden top.

Cool completely before cutting.

Enjoy!

♥

Yum!

I love coconut! So, when I bought my boys a bag of

Dum-Dum suckers this week and noticed that there

was a new coconut flavor, I had to try it!

It's named Ashlynn Coconut because a little girl

named Ashlynn won a drawing where the winner

got to pick a new sucker flavor! Well, smart girl!

And I'm in love...yum...I wish they weren't such

small treats...they are gone WAY before I want

them to be! LOL! One lick and

I was immediately transported to

some place tropical, sipping on a pina colada,

with coconut scented sunscreen slathered all

over my body. Ahhh...and how appropriate since

just this week I bought my ticket to fly to

Sarasota, Florida for Easter! The gulf-side

coastal beaches are calling me! And you know,

I DO deserve a vacation if I say so myself! :)

Sepia Saturday = Four Generations

I thought I'd share some of my side of the family

for a change this week! The Hanna's originated in

Scotland and can be traced back to the 1200's to

Sorbie. All four men here were born and raised

in Howard County, Indiana.

Far left is Palestine T. Hanna, 1856-1938

Far right is his son, Glenn Hanna, 1891-1982

Center is Glenn's son, Chester L. Hanna, 1914-2007

The baby is my father, Donald G. Hanna, 1936-present.

My grandpa Chester, and his wife Alice, had 5 children in

all, but no men went on to give birth to sons, so the

bloodline/name ended after all those centuries! All good

things must come to an end, I guess! Looks like Palestine

died about a year after this photo was taken.

A group of handsome looking men, wouldn't

you say? :)

♥♥♥

To see more sepia pictures, visit my blog friends

at sepiasaturday!

Lucky Necklace

A while back Sandy at Reluctant Entertainer

hosted a giveaway from Lisa Leonard

and I won! It was a hand stamped leaf Christmas

ornament! Well, I turned it into a charm for a

necklace and added a few trinkets...perfect for

March, don't you think? The shamrock is dried

and pressed...maybe it will bring me some luck! :)

I really should have worn it today as it poured

rain on me while I was out shopping AND I lost

a hubcap to the minivan! Ugh. LOL!

Theme Thursday = Hat

My four sons have always been hat wearing guys.

Some a little more goofy than others, but I've

always love them in their hats!

*****

"I wore goofy hats to school and did musical theater.

Most people thought I was a dork.

But if you have a sense of humor about it,

no one can bring you down." ~~Zac Efron

*****

To visit other Theme Thursday bloggers and

their hats, click HERE!

Mini Pecan Tarts

Mini Pecan Tarts

****

1 c butter, soft

6 (six) oz. cream cheese, soft

2 c flour

1 egg

3/4 c brown sugar

1 T melted butter

pinch salt

1 t vanilla

1/2 c chopped pecans

****

Cream butter, cream cheese. Add flour.

Chill 10 minutes until easier to handle.

Divide into 48 balls. Press into greased mini

muffin pans.

Whisk remaining ingredients and spoon into

crusts, filling half way. Filling puffs up

while baking. Bake 350 20-25 minutes

until light golden. Mine took 20 minutes.

Yum!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Part 7

Because some days you need more than others, and in the spirit of keeping it real, here's a glimpse of last week!

****

Harry....is attempting to pour his

own drinks! Apparently, he still needs

a little practice! See the salt shaker...yes,

it was open when the juice spilled!

It's now one solid block of red salt. ha.

Spencer... gave The Mister a handful of

buttons from his winter coat when he

got out of the van one morning!

Apparently he decided on the way to

school that he didn't want buttons anymore!

Alex...helped himself to jalapeno cornbread

one morning before any one else was awake!

Apparently he thought his fingers were the

best way to take a piece!

As for the good....I made it through 25 dozen

goodies for an order for a wedding shower!

Whew! The best part was when they were

all done..that..and sampling each kind! :)

Yes, I'm laughing...so laugh with me!

I'm SO glad it's a brand new week!

Hope you're having a great start to yours! :)

Now, let's put the kettle on and have a treat!