Father-in-Law Day

Blog Prompt: Today is Father-in-Law Day. Describe your father-in-law if you have one or tell what you think a perfect father-in-law would be like.

I don't have a father-in-law because he passed away many years before I met my hubby. I don't know much about my father-in-law. My hubby doesn't talk about him much. I know he was in the military and that they moved around a lot.

Italian Food

Blog Prompt: Today is National Lasagna Day. Do you like Italian food? What is your favorite Italian dish?

I like Italian food. Lasagna, ravioli's, spaghetti and meatballs and tortellini are some of my favorites. I make a mean garlic bread. I love garlic bread. My Dad made the best homemade meatballs and spaghetti sauce. I loved coming home from school because the whole house smelled like spaghetti sauce. He would cook it all day. Yummy. I miss my Dad's meatballs and spaghetti sauce. I have perfected his meatballs but I haven't tried to make his sauce because he didn't write down how he made it just a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I remember we would go to an Italian Restaurant that had water going down both sides of the restaurant with gondolas in it. It looked like Venice canal. It was the best Italian food. Unfortunately the restaurant is no longer there. :(

Image via Wikipedia

Taking My Pants For A Walk

Blog Prompt: Today is Take Your Pants for a Walk Day. Go for a walk (or pretend you have gone for a walk) and tell about your walk. What did you see? What was the weather like? What smells surrounded you? What did you hear?

My pants went for a walk/jog along the Quarry trail. At the parking lot near the start of the trail I can see, smell and hear the ocean. I see the cliffs above the ocean. It is sunny and mild but a lot of the times it is foggy. I can see hawks and seagulls flying around the cliffs. I start off walking until I get to the first bench then I jog until I reach the second bench. I start walking so I can catch my breath in between jogging. As I get farther away from the parking lot it is pretty quiet except for the sound of the creek flowing into the ocean, rustling in the bushes and birds singing. I walk/jog past a few people but for the most part I have the trail all to myself. My son rides his scooter along side me encouraging me to keep jogging to the next bench and “you can make it, Mom”. The trail has a slight incline then it levels off. I make it to the other end, turn around and head back to the parking where I stretch after my walk/jog workout.

Image by uzvards via Flickr

Favorite Stuffed Animal

Fri 7/10 Blog Prompt
Blog Prompt: Today is Teddy Bear Picnic Day. Did you have a favorite childhood stuffed animal? Describe it.

When I was a child I slept with a menagerie of stuffed animals. I remember I had a Raggedy Ann and a Yogi Bear. My Mom has a picture of me asleep with all of these stuffed animals around my head. I don't remember if I had a favorite stuffed animal or not. I love stuffed bears though. I remember when I was in Girl Scouts my friend's Mom made me a Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal which I still have.

Image byandydr via Flickr

10 Favorite Movies

Blog Prompt - My 10 favorite movies

My 10 favorite movies are in no particular order:

1. Ghost -- love the pottery wheel scene
2. Dirty Dancing -- nice love story
3. Sound of Music -- love the music and the story
4. My Neighbor Totoro -- this is a great animated film
5. Kiki's Delivery Service -- another great animated film
6. Alvin and the Chipmunks -- cute story
7. Kung Fu Panda -- this is a funny movie
8. Under the Tuscan Sun -- pretty Italy scenery
9. Pretty Women -- very romantic
10. Miracle on 34th Street -- the original with Natalie Wood

There are other a lot of other great movies I like so it was hard choosing just 10.

Yummy Brownies

Today is National Blonde Brownie Day. Describe your favorite kind of brownie.

I love Chocolate brownies. They can be made with or without nuts. I don't like them with frosting. I have a really good recipe that is in my Betty Crocker cookbook that I use when I am craving Brownies. I also like Blonde brownies. I have a good recipe for Blonde brownies, too. I like my brownies that are more cake like and not too sweet. When my son was in 1st grade I made a batch of blonde brownies that I brought into the classroom for his birthday. All of his classmates loved them. A few of them wanted the recipe! lol Now I will have to go and make some brownies.

Yum Popcorn

Blog Prompt: Today is National Popcorn Day. Do you like or dislike popcorn and why?

Great blog prompt. Ok I love popcorn! My mom starting me early eating popcorn. My dad and brother could careless about it. My uncle is also a big popcorn lover. It must run in the family. My son also loves popcorn but hubby is not a popcorn eater. He will eat it if I make it or if we go to the movies. I love movie theater popcorn. It tastes better. Although we did go to a new movie theater that just opened up here a few months and their popcorn wasn't that good. I like my popcorn with a little salt and a little butter. I like Paul Newman's and Trader Joes microwave popcorn. I usually make it in a pan on the stove. I know fattening but I don't like the air popped popcorn because it is reallyyyyyyyyyyyyy dry.

Favorite Singer Who Is No Longer Living

Blog Prompt: Happy Birthday Elvis! Who is your favorite singer that is no longer living?

My favorite singer that is no long living is Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole. He had an awesome voice. The first time I heard about him was when my mom and I were vacationing on the Big Island in Hawaii. One of the employees at the hotel suggested we go see an awesome singer that was playing at the hotel. We had no idea who he was but we bought tickets to see him. He was awesome. He sang in a small banquet room so we were got to see him up close. It was magical to see him sing. It was cool that we saw him before he became really famous. I am so glad I got to see him sing live.

His medley of "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World" has been in TV commercials and movies.

Unfortunately he died of weight-related respiratory illness on June 26, 1997 at the age of 38. Hawaii flew their flag at half-mast the day of his funeral in 1997 and his coffin lay in state at the Capitol building in Honolulu. There was over 10,000 people at his funeral.

When hubby and I got married our first dance song was "In Dis Life" by Iz. He had such a pure voice. Too bad he died so young.

New Year's Traditions

Blog Prompt: It is New Year’s Day. What are some of the special foods that you eat in order to bring in the new year?

To ring in the New Year we eat broiled Mochi(Japanese sticky rice cake) we dip into soy sauce and sugar. On New Years Day we have "good luck" soup which is clear soup with mochi, pieces of chicken, shiitake mushrooms, shrimp, spinach and noodles. My MIL orders the mochi and picks it up for all of us.

The Incredible Edible Egg

Blog Prompt: Today is World Egg Day. What is your favorite egg dish?

My favorite egg dish is deviled eggs. I only make them once a year at Easter time. I also like quiches. I used to like omelettes but now I can't eat them. In the last few years something has changed but I don't know what but now I want to gag when I eat an omelette. Go figure. Hubby likes to make omelettes for breakfast. My dad used to make good omeletts and he taught me how to make them. I like scrambled egg and bacon sandwiches, too.

Spring

Wed 4/9 Blog Prompt
What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word 'spring'?

The first thing I think of when I hear the word 'spring' is flowers. I love to see trees, daffodils, tulips, sweet peas, wisteria etc in bloom. The smell of flowers and green grass. The birds are singing. The weather starting to warm up and the days are getting longer. There is a sense of renewal. Everything is coming alive with color. People are shedding their winter wear and wearing brighter colors. I love Spring!

Things That Go Great Together

Wed 4/2 Blog Prompt
Sometimes two great things get together and make something even better! Name some things that you think go great together.

Things I think go great together:

My hubby and I
Tivo and TV
Sofa and chair
Peanut butter and chocolate
Cinnamon and sugar toast
Milk and cookies
Popcorn and movies
Chocolate and strawberries
Peanut butter and celery
Hamburgers and french fries
Spaghetti and garlic bread
Spaghetti and meatballs
Tweety and Sylvester

100 Things I Love

Mon 3/24 Blog Prompt
100 Things I Love

100 things I love in no particular order:

1. My family
2. My Husband
3. My Son
4. Computer
3. Quilting
4. Knitting
5. Reading
6. My Altima
7. IPod
8. Walking
9. Ocean
10. Caribbean
11.Hawaii
12. Digital Scrapbooking
13. Working in my son classroom
14. Su Hongs
15. Chinese Chicken Salad
16. Potstickers
17. Steamed BBQ pork buns
18. Top Ramen
19. Tacos
20. Red Robin Mud Pies
21. Photography
22. Web Design
24. Blogging
25. Hanging out with my son
26. Sewing
27. Making Cards
28. Playing Bejeweled 2
29. TV Show Men in Trees
30. TV Show Side Order of Life
31. TV Show Hells Kitchen
32. TV Show Home Improvement
33. Dancing
34. Listening to music
35. Garlic Bread
36. Tokyo Teriakki
37. Corn on the Cob
38. Fresh Tomatoes
39. Friends
40. Halloween
41. My Cellphone
42. Looking out my window at the hills
43. My Stove
44. My neighborhoods
45. My neigborhood
46. Winnie the Pooh
47. Chocolate Creme Pie
48. Chocolate
49. Cherry Pie
50. Nations
51. Tivo
52. Microwave
53. Popcorn
54. Sweet Peas
55. Roses
56. Waterfalls
57. Reading
58. Snorkeling
59. Cake
60. Cinnamon Rolls
61. French Fries
62. Taco Salad
63. Playing Board Games with my son
64. Sunny Mild Days
65. Spring
66. Fall
67. Hummingbirds
68. Butterflies
69. Dragon Flies
70. Jet Boat Rides
71. Snuggling with my hubby
72. Kissing my hubby
73. Blue Jeans
74. Comfortable clothes
75. Lavender
76. Looking at the stars and moon
77. Listening to the birds sing
78. IM'ng my friends
79. Seashells
80. Baking
81. My hair
82. My hazel eyes
83. Looking at my son
84. A clean house
85. Sunsets
86. Harvest moon
87. Chocolate chip cookies
88. Bed and Breakfasts
89. Monterey, California
90. Coos Bay, Oregon
91. Santa Barbara, California
92. My Wedding day
93. Ham
94. Deviled eggs
95. The fragance of flowers
96. Tuberoses
97. Gardenias
98. Fresh herbs
99. My dad's homemade meatballs and spaghetti sauce
100. My mom's chicken and dumplings and lemon cake

Dream House

Fri 3/21 Blog Prompt
Dream House (blueprints and journaling about the house we’d love)

My Dream House would have a front porch that went across the front of the house, a bigger kitchen with more counter space and a pantry, a family room, a master bedroom with a master bath, a craft/sewing/computer room with lots of natural light, a room where I could sit and watch the ocean, a laundry room inside instead of in the garage. A little bigger backyard that is nicely landscaped with paths that meander through the yard, a pond, a place to grow vegetables and herbas and where we could entertain or just hang out. A sunroom would be cool. A room for my husband and son to tinker around in.

TV Shows

Thu 3/13 Blog Prompt
Those TV Shows

My husband doesn't like watching TV but my son and I do. I like watching Hells Kitchen, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Ugly Betty, Men in Trees, Monk, American Idol, The Closer, Side Order of Life, Dancing with The Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, King of Queens, Two and Half Men.

My son and I like watching American Idol together. Of course, we watch kids shows like Pokemon, Tom and Jerry.

I like watching reruns of Home Improvement, Waltons, Touched by An Angel, Friends.

Things I Used To Enjoy

Thur 1/3 Blog Prompt
New Year, New You #3

Is there something that you used to do and enjoy that you would like to start doing again? Tell us about it.

1. I would like to start quilting again. I haven't had a chance to quilt in a long time. I thought I would be able to quilt when my son started school but that hasn't happened.
2. I would like to start doing web design again. I have forgotten everything that I have learned so I will have to relearn how to design again. :(
3. I would like to start making grapevine wreaths again. I haven't made one in a longggggggg time. I enjoyed going to the craft store and picking out things to put on my wreaths.
4. I used to enjoy baking cookies during the holidays but I haven't done any baking for a while. Every since my Dad died in Dec of 2001, I just can't seem to get my holiday spirit back. The holidays used to be one of my favorite holidays, I enjoyed decorating the house and baking cookies. Now I feel like I'm just going through the motions. I try to make it magical for my son but it is hard.
5. I used to enjoy traveling and seeing the sites. I used to fly places. go on cruises and just taking day trips within California. Now I just want to hole up in my house and not go anywhere. I would like to take some trips and show my son some of the sites before he gets too old to want to do that. My hubby tries wants us to fly back East during ski week but I don't know.

On The Thirteenth Day of December...

Thu 12/13 Blog Prompt
On the thirteenth day of December I really wanted a hamburger with

A big juicy hamburger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle and bacon. Of course, with lots of french fries. Yum now I want a hamburger. Hamburgers are one of my favorite food groups. LOL

Fri 11/9 Blog Prompt
Since Thanksgiving is coming up here in the USA, I thought it would be fun to focus this month on things that we are thankful for. Each day I will give a specific topic and you need to name 3 or more of them that you are thankful for and tell why.

What things are you able to do are you thankful for?

1. I am thankful that I am able to help out in my son's classroom or to help out at school when they need me. When I am finished working in his classroom, I will stay and have lunch with him and hang out in the yard with him until it is time for him to go back to class.

2. I am thankful that I am able to take my son to his soccer, t-ball games and practices during the week. I enjoy watching him practice and play his games. He likes having me there.

3. I am thankful that I am able to be a SAHM and be there for my son. I love being able to pick him up after school and hang out with him in the afternoons.

Fri 11/2 Blog Prompt
Since Thanksgiving is coming up here in the USA, I thought it would be fun to focus this month on things that we are thankful for. Each day I will give a specific topic and you need to name 3 or more of them that you are thankful for and tell why.

What kitchen items are you thankful for?

1. My new stove I got for Christmas last year. It is really nice. My old stove came with the house. It didn't have real hot burners and the clock and timer failed on it. My DH and son picked out the new stove. My son told DH he should buy the stove with the double oven so that is what DH got me. My son was so excited about the new stove but a little bummed when I found out what my present was because the store called to confirm delivery. The oven doesn't take long to heat up and the burners get hot so it doesn't take long to boil some water for pasta or tea.

2. My microwave. I use it all of the time for reheating things. I sometimes use it to cook baked potatoes. They come out better in the oven but if you are pressed for time the microwave works in a pinch.

3. My dishwasher. I don't like hand washing dishes. I want a new dishwasher that is quieter though. The previous owner didn't fit it into the space very well. It has gaps on the sides.

Missing a Key Ingredient When Cooking

Fri 9/21 Blog Prompt
I'm going to deviate from the Fashion theme today and ask if you have ever been in the middle of cooking when if you realized you were missing a key ingredient and couldn't make a dash to the store? What did you do?

I have been in the middle of cooking and realized I was missing a key ingredient several times. LOL I have gone to my neighbor's to borrow the missing ingredient. I live right near the store so I also go to the store to get the missing item and I send DH out to get it if he is home.