Tuesday 4

It's time again for Tuesday 4 in memory of Toni Taddeo, our founder.

Let's talk about you this week.

1. How are you unique or different from your friends or family? How typical are you? I think we are all unique! Family love is the common thread. We have lost our parents and still stay close. We do have differences in political views but we value or love so we don't discuss politics. We are all grandparents now so we love to share about our families and celebrate each other. It was hard during Covid. I think that we are fortunate because some of our friends do not have that family closeness. I thank God for my  my family!

2.  How do you spend your spare time? books, hobbies, visiting, tv etc I like to read my Bible, do Bible journaling and crafting. I like to watch my medical programs and my husband and I like to watch certain shows together. I am usually cutting out graphics while watching tv.  

3. What was high school like for you? I actually enjoyed high school. I liked joining clubs and I loved Girls Athletic Association(GAA) which was competitive sports. I enjoyed riding on the bus to play other school. I played field hockey, basketball, baseball and enjoyed swimming. Some of the classes I had were college prep and some were hard. My worse subject was math and I bombed chemistry because of it.  I had to take a lab science and math to get into the university so I took anatomy and physiology and got an A and I got a B in geometry so that was a relief. I started dating my husband in my senior year and got to go to the dances,  prom, and grad night with him. I graduated in 1973 and hope to make it to my next reunion in a couple of years.

4. This question has multiple parts:

a. Handbag: designer style or any will do? I use to like the designer style. I use a practical, light weight purse now. I have shoulder/neck problems so I have to keep it light.

b. Pajamas or night gown? pajamas. I am wearing a Minnie Mouse Hawaiian  print short sleeve top and shorts. 

c. Shoes: sturdy or pretty ? Most of the time comfortable shoes. Mostly sandals in the summer and tennis. I rarely wear hills. I do have some boots and booties that are comfortable that use in the winter.

d. home decor: classic, modern, farm house style, traditional? Comfortable and a bit country. We have a black baby grand piano that we inherited from my mother in law. I have my china hutch but left the matching table at our other house. We kept the granite table that is more practical for grands to enjoy. I use to have the formal living room that was rarely used. I used to have several bookcases and now I have one and the others are used for the grands and my crafts. I am more about practicality. I want my family to be able to relax and enjoy themselves when they are here.

e. Movies: feel good, drama, romance, action? I like them all! Hubby and I watched Jungle Cruise last week and we want to see Respect next week. I love musicals! Saturday my grand daughter and I watched Fiddler on the Roof and my grand daughter liked it. She liked musicals too.

SATURDAY 9: FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES (1990)

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Garth Brooks tells us he wore boots to a black-tie affair. When did you most recently get dressed up? What did you wear? I wore a dress to a tea I went with my friends,

2) The lyrics refer to The Oasis, which was a real bar in Concordia, Kansas. What's the name of the last bar or restaurant where you ordered a beverage? (Yes, Dunkin' counts.) 

We went to Chilis after church and I had a mango ice tea.

3) Garth was having a stellar 2021. He kicked the year off by performing "Amazing Grace" at President Biden's inauguration in January, and then over the summer he received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor. Now that we're past the halfway mark, how's your year going?

 It is going well. I am back at church instead of online, my family is all doing well. I am working on my Bible studies, having fun in my crafting group and staying away from the news as much as possible. But I am not oblivious to what is going on in the world. Bible prophesy is coming alive.

 

4) But earlier this month, Garth cancelled the remaining August and September dates of his big concert tour. He's provided refunds for the 350,000 tickets that were sold. How do you tend to react when plans change? Are you easily annoyed, or do you roll with it? 

Depends on the situation, but for the most part, I accept it.

5) Before he sang about having friends in low places, Garth hung around in some. When he was as a struggling performer, he supported himself as a bouncer.  What's the most physically taxing job you've ever had? 

Working on the floor at the post office. Pulling full mail sacks was hard and most of the time I asked for help. Repetitive work and injuries caused me years of pain. I eventually got moved to administration and finished my last 22 years. But I did have to deal with emotional pain of being an injured employee. It was caused by management, not my immediate supervisors.

 

6) According to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), Garth surpassed The Beatles as the top-selling recording artist of the last 30 years. Who do you listen to more often: Garth or the Beatles? Neither, I mostly listen to Christian music.

7) Garth and singer Trisha Yearwood have been happily married for 15 years now. Trisha says that as much as she loves her husband, his whistling drives her crazy. Come clean: what's your most annoying habit?  I start a project but don't always complete it because of my ADD.

8) In 1990, when this song was a hit, Soviet President Gorbachev traveled first to Ottawa to meet Prime Minister Mulroney and then to Washington DC to meet President Bush. Do you have any travel plans? We want to hear about them, even if you aren't meeting any politicians or heads of state.

Going to San Diego next week, Las Vegas in October and Lake Tahoe in November. If all goes well, we will go to Hawaii next year. We were suppose to go this fall but Covid related issues made us wait.

9) Random question: Your dear friend spends weeks planning a party. After just 30 minutes, you find yourself having a terrible time. Would you leave at the earliest (polite) opportunity? Or would you stay till the bitter end out of loyalty? I would probably leave early, telling my friend I did not feel well.

I would tell her I love her and lets get together for lunch. I have never had to do this.

I would like to say how sorry I am for the young men who lost their lives in Afghanistan. Two of the were from my county, young men serving their country. God bless them and all the people who suffer.

 

Wednesday Hodgepodge, School!

1. Is school back in session where you live? Is everyone in person or does your system still offer a virtual option? Are kids wearing masks? Kid in our district went back to school 2 weeks ago. Yes the district requires mask. My older grands are doing well adjusting in Jr. High. They wear them in class but not outside for lunch as recess. There is an option for virtual learning. The younger grands are in private school and they have less than 10 kids in the class so room for spacing.

2. Something you still do 'old school'? I am in a crafting group. One of the graphic artist has created custom paper dolls. So I ordered one of me.

3. One lesson you've learned in the 'school of life'? There are classmates and there are friends. There are long life friends, and there are friends that come and go.

4. When you were in school did you pack a lunch or buy a lunch? Your favorite thing to see on the lunch menu or inside your lunchbox back in the day? In grade school you could take a lunch or buy one from the cafeteria. I liked both options. We could also buy milk and real ice cream from a local dairy 

for a nickel. 

We had the same option in Jr. High (7th-9th grade) my favorite thing to eat was the cookie tray pizza. A whole cookie sheet was covered with pizza dough, sauce, cheese and ground hamburger meat. It was so good! 

We could take a lunch in high school or buy snacks from the machines. If you were a senior, you could eat off campus. Pup N Taco was close by most of us went there. Cheap and fast. I did not eat a lot because I had PE after lunch.

5. August is National Family Fun Month. Tell me something fun you’ve done this month. Grand came over for camping, smores, and more. Family birthdays, a beach day, Luau church night.

6. Insert your own random thought here. I am so blessed! My whole family is healthy and safe. The grands did well during lock downs and are doing well in school. I have been enjoying my online Bible studies too. Learning never ends! 

First Day of school pictures

Tuesday 4, Food

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 kept in memory of her.

Let's talk about food this week shall we?

 

1. What is/are your favorite meal(meals) to eat and  to cook? My favorite thing is my mom's recipe for tacos with hamburger meat at potatoes. I don't make it as often as I use to because when we moved to this city, we discovered Miguel's.

2.How often do you cook at home and what kind of  meals do you make? Since my husband retired in 2013, he does most of the cooking. He likes to cook and I say, thank you Lord! I do have my specialties, that I have taught my husband. He will grill a chicken along with a veggie. I will make a potato and salad. The next day I will cut up some of the grilled chicken, and add it to a stir fry of veggies and serve it with some Jasmine brown rice that I made in the rice cooker. On the 3rd day hubby will make a pot of fresh pinto beans. We will make tostadas and top with some of the chopped chicken that has been seasoned with onion, garlic and cumin. I like to make soups in the winter.

3. When you go out to eat what foods do you find yourself ordering most? I usually order salads and veggies to go with my salmon or steak. Just depends on where we go. Hubby and I share a lot of meals. If we each order a meal, we usually have some for leftovers. We usually get take out once a week and go out somewhere after church. Hubby and I love seafood and we went to

4. Can you recommend a restaurant in your area?  Why do you like it? Miguel's is very popular around here. The original started in our city and have branched out to several cities in Orange Country. They started out with a restaurant, then added a fast food place. Then they added a second place in our town. You can find information here.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Woman in Love (1980)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Barbra dreams of love. What's something you've been dreaming of, or wishing for, lately? (It doesn't have to be romantic.) I am praying for my middle son and his wife to have a baby.

2) She sings that she and her lover are oceans apart. Tell us about someone who is far away, and that you wish was nearer this Saturday morning. I wish my sister was closer. She only lives about an hour away but we don't visit much because of Covid. She has a new grandbaby living with her that was born a preemie(3 months early) and the pediatrician said keep her away from people until she is about 3 months old. That will be about Christmas.

 

3) This was a #1 hit for Streisand, so popular it knocked Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" out of the top spot on the charts. Are you a Freddie Mercury/Queen fan? I enjoyed what I heard on the radio but I did not go out and buy his music. We are the Champions was my favorite. My husband and I watched the movie about him and found it interesting. I got more interested in his music after hearing some of his song on Glee. Sad that he died of AIDs.

4) This song was written specifically for Barbra by Barry and Robin Gibb of the BeeGees. During the late 1970s, when the BeeGees were riding high on the success of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, she let them know she was a fan and would love to record one of their songs. The collaboration went so well that they ended up writing not one but nearly a dozen songs for her. Tell us about something that went way better for you than you predicted it would. Retiring early. I did not go out under good terms and did't think we could afford it. But I am glad we did. I got to be there to help out with my grands and take care of my dad when he was dying. We did have to downsize and I miss my older bigger home, but it all worked out for the best.

5) Barbra traveled to Miami Beach to record this song in Barry's favorite studio. Have you ever been to Miami Beach? No and just learned their if a difference between Miami and Miami Beach.

 

6) Barbra went to Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. She had a mad crush on one of her classmates. That boy was Bobby Fischer, who grew up to be an international chess champion. Do you remember one of your big high school crushes? Do you know whatever became of him or her? One became a Fire Captain. Another got married and moved to San Jose. I recently rain into one of his friends at a funeral. He gave me the old "boyfriend's" address so I could mail him some family pictures. We were family friends and I had a crush on him but he thought of me as a sister. My husband met him and the the school friend I spoke with at the funeral. His father worked my husband's father.

7) Barbra is responsible for the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai. It's dedicated to the study of heart disease, its impact on women, and the search for more effective treatment. If you could fund a not-for-profit, as Barbra has done, what cause would you champion? Alzheimer's. My mom died from it.

 

8) In 1980, when "Woman in Love" was popular, Macaulay Culkin was born. He's best known for the Home Alone movies. Have you seen them? If yes, did you enjoy them? I watched the first two. They had some fun parts and other parts I did not like. Our family watches it at Christmas and my daughter is taking her kids to New York this December. They want to ice skate at Rockefeller Plaza and see the Plaza hotel. I saw it in 2008.  Things could change because of Covid as things are closing or requiring vaccines. Maybe she can give us her tickets!

9) Random question: On social media, people keystroke LOL all the time. When is the last time you literally laughed out loud? Friday when I turned over a fried egg and it slipped over the edge of the pan and into the burner! I told my husband I am retiring from cooking.

If you missed my last post, it was all about my engagement and wedding from 47 years ago!

My Website is at Susan's Garden of Friendship The link is to the right. Lots of inspirational pages too. 

Tuesday 4

Thank you for the birthday wishes. I wrote about it in my previous post-Aug.15th

My anniversary post was last Thursday- August 12th.

This week let's talk about engagements and marriage okay? 

1. If you are married would you share how your husband proposed to you? How long were you engaged before you got married? If you aren't married, what would be ideal for you?  We were so young! I met my husband when I was a senior in high school. I met him at church youth group. We dated 8 months when he asked me to marry him while we were playing pool at his parents house.  He had already given me a promise ring for my birthday. It was very spontaneous! Little did I know I would be married 10 months later.

2. Did you receive an engagement ring?  Not when he asked me. He asked me if I wanted to be surprised with a ring or go with him. I said I would go with him. He said he would have to ask my dad. I remember telling my mom and she mentioned I should pick out something that was at least 1/2 carat solitaire. She had worked at Zales Jewelry for many years and she knew her jewelry! So it didn't take long to pick out a ring because I knew what I wanted. We picked out matching bands and had them engraved.

2. Would you show us or describe it for us? 1/2 Carat solitaire, white god, six prong for added security. Our engagement was announced a big family Thanksgiving celebration.

3. What kind of wedding did you have? Was it big or small, formal, informal, religious or justice of the peace. Inquiring minds want to know! It was a big wedding. We were both first born and our parents wanted to invite everyone! I was going to UCI and he was working and going to college part time. Our parents decided to split the cost of the wedding which was going to be big. My mom should have been a wedding planner because she basically organized it all. The parents all got together and decided all the financial things. His dad insisted Jr, (my hubby) by my dress. I looked through some bridal magazines and found one I liked that would not cost a fortune. I found it at Buffums and in my size which I think was a 4. Mom had me register for all the china and crystal and I got a lot of it. I was shocked when I saw that it was $45.00 a place setting! But they had friends that had it sent to the home after the announcements went out. 

There was a lot of Carpenter music played at the ceremony. 

Sunrise, Sunset was played.

Eddie Espinosa sang Household of Faith.

He later went on to write the song Change My Heart O God.

We got married on August 10, 1974. We each had 10 attendants! The girls either made their dresses or had them made. We had Mariachis during the sit down dinner. Later a  popular band came in. All attendees had to bring a card to get in.  It was a beautiful wedding. 

4.Was there a honeymoon? Where did you go, how long did you stay? We had one week off. We stayed at our apartment the first night. Then we left to Hotel De Coronado in San Diego for 2 days. Then we went to Ensenada, Baja Mexico for a couple more days. We came home, then went to Magic Mountain. I celebrated my 19 birthday on August 12th. We were so young, but very responsible.  The weekend after we were married we went to my in-laws home for dinner and to open up our gifts. My family was there too. You can read more and see more pictures if you click on the siggie below.

My Website is at Susan's Garden of Friendship The link is to the right. 

Lots of inspirational pages too. I hope to see you there!

Sunday Stealing/Birthday update

1. What subjects lead you down a Wikipedia rabbit hole? My  crafty group does a virtual excursion each month. This month we are in Nashville TN. So I will look at information there and then I go from one link to another. I learned a lot of things I never new.

2. How do you like to spend your birthdays? At the beach. So this year we went to Newport Beach and sat and enjoyed the sights, sounds and smell of the ocean. We were there for about 2 hours. Then we walked to the Crab Cooker and enjoyed some yummy seafood. I had grilled shrimp and scallops skewer, Romano Cheese potatoes and Co slaw. I also had a shrimp cocktail. Hubby got the Manhattan Clam chowder and the fish/scallop/Shrimp skewer. We went to the Crab Cooker for one of our first dates back in 1973. We told them we were celebrating my birthday and our anniversary and they brought me a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. Later we met up with my family and I had bbq ribs, chicken and salad.

3. Something you might take a little too seriously? My osteoporosis. 

 

4. Describe a time you made a good decision for yourself. Staying at the Postal Service for my career. It wasn't what I went to school for, but I was able to make good money while working part time. This allowed me to stay home during the day with the kids and hubby watched them when I went to work. Social work was just to depressing for me. I started out as a mail sorter, but I end up getting hurt a couple of times. I eventually got retrained and the whole world of computers opened up for me!

 

5. Something you’ve improved/gotten better at. My Bible knowledge and my creative abilities.

 

6. What dish would you bring to a summer potluck? A salad.

7. What do you miss about Winter? Using soft warm blankets while watching tv and drinking tea.

8. Share a summer memory. When I was growing up, we would go to Newport Dunes every summer with my dad's family. My grandma would bring the whole kitchen with her. It was fun swimming with my cousins and we never had to worry about food. I think that is why I like to go with my grandkids. We don't go often, but at least we are making memories.

9. Words you misspell or misuse the most. I tend to make typing mistakes more than spelling. I have done that with  the word Bible journaling. 

 

10. Things you love to do, that can only happen in summer. 4th of July celebration. Trips to the beach.

 

11. How would you describe your sense of humor? I am freer to joke around more than I use to.

 

12. Have you ever quit a job or career? Yes I did quit two job to get a better paying job.

13. What are your favorite features of your cell phone? The camera.

14. What scents always make you hungry? Beans cooking. My husband cooks them in the morning and
the smell will wake me up. They also make me think of my grandma.

15. What are you working on right now? My crafts,  for the virtual trip to Nashville. I am also watching The Golden Girls.

Happy Sunday!

Birthday Blessings

There is so much to be thankful for! 

Hubby and I just celebrated our 47th anniversary on the 10th.

We will celebrate in November when we go to Lake Tahoe 

and Monterey California.

Our parents are in heaven and someday we will see them again!

Thankful for another year of life! Today I turn 66 

and my grand daughter turns 12!

She was born on my birthday while we 

were on vacation in Hawaii for our 35th anniversary, 2009!

Thankful that all my family is healthy and doing well.

Thankful that my extended family is doing well, with two new grand nieces!

Thankful for my Facebook groups that keep me busy with

 both Bible studies and crafting fun.

Thankful for being back at church!

Thankful for being able to Bible journal with my grands this summer.

Thankful that they all started the new school year healthy 

and praying they stay healthy!

Audrina(4th) and Elijah (2nd) started Monday at our church school.

Eddie started 8th grade and Jazzy started 7th grade.

Thankful that hubby is taking me to the beach for lunch today

because it will be 100 in our town and 77 at the beach.

Then we will meet our family for dinner to celebrate me and Jazzy.

Thankful that my family all knows the Lord!

My body is aging but my brain says to think young!

My website is at Susan's Garden of Friendship The link is to the right. 

Lots of inspirational pages too. I hope to see you there!

1. What's something you would say 'runs in your family'? Not a physical trait, but a motor is always running! Everyone likes to sleep with fans on to help us sleep. We used them with our kids and now they use then with theirs. We have them in every room! We set up a tent outside and a fan was out there too!

2. A book, song, tv show, or movie you love that is centered around family. The bible is our main book. We all like to watch Disney. Movies would be The Sound of Music and Fiddler on the Roof.

       This was taken this past Sunday at church. Grands are growing so quickly!

3. Family matters, family ties, family tree, family man, family fortune, black sheep of the family, family values, one big happy family...choose a 'family phrase' that applies to your life currently and explain.

Family matters. Everything we do matters. We like to be positive and encourage one another. 

4. Last thing you fixed for a big family dinner? If you're not the cook, last thing you were served at a big family dinner? BBQ chicken, broccoli, roasted red potatoes and salad.

5. What are three words you would use to describe your family. God, faith and love.

6. Insert your own random thought here. When it comes down to what is more important, it is God's love for us and love for each other and remember to pray to God. All our grands know how to pray out loud. I do Bible journaling with them so that they can learn the important

things from the Bible. We just did the Good Samaritan(Be kind)

and Saul's conversion.(God can use anyone to teach about Jesus.)!