There are always so many things to be thankful/ Righting it down helps. I keep a gratitude journal and I write 3 things for each day. I use the Notes app on my Iphone. Then I transfer it to my journal.

I am thankful to be home after our vacation.  I am thankful for air conditioning!

Thankful for the chance to get solar panels to offset the high cost of running the air.

I am thankful for my daughter and her family who watched our dog Minnie while we were on vacation.

I am thankful for having lunch with our son Daniel, and a delayed Father's day visit.

Thankful that my son Andrew's family is recovering from Covid and that he can work from home.

Thankful that we did not get Covid.

I am thankful for the beautiful vacation we took. It was put off for 2 years because of Covid and fires up in the area we were going to. So, in spite of high gas we drove 450 miles to get to Lake Tahoe. We had the whole time share to ourselves.

I thankful that my husband did the driving. 

Thankful for the beautiful places we saw. 

Thankful that we could make most of our meals at the timeshare. 

Thankful to be able to drive around the lake.

1. Lake Tahoe is the deepest lake in California, the second deepest in the U.S.—secondary to Crater Lake—and the 16th deepest in the world. 

2. 2/3 of the lake is on the California side, and 1/3 is on the Neveda side.

3. The lake is almost 1700 feet deep. 

4. The area gets about 215 square feet a snow and was home to the 1964 winter Olympics.

Thankful for pictures to capture memories. plan to make a page for this vacation. 

Tuesday 4

We had a great vacation, and I am resting today. I hope to post pictures of our trip in the next couple of days. 

1. What music were your parents listening to when you were a kid?  Does that music bring back memories for you? My parents loved music. They always had a stereo system of some sort. They liked Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Eddie Gorme. They also liked big band that was popular while they were in grade school. I remember watching American Band Stand with my mom. My parents loved musicals and took us to The Sound of Music, Fiddler on The Roof and Mary Poppins. I have a very clear memory of being around 4 or 5(1959-60) My dad would play his patriotic album and we would march around the living room. My parents were in their 30's when we were in out teens, so we listened to lots of the same music. They also taught us how to slow dance. I will always remember my dad dancing with my mom the last year of her life while she could still stand. She loved it and the music.

2. What was your favorite meal and beverage as a teenager?  Is it still or have things changed for you? It was my mom's tacos, and it is still one of my favorite meals today. My mom was a great cook. I also liked her beef stroganoff. 

3. As a teen did you live in a city, country, small town?  What was it like for you there? Tell us about your hometown please? I lived in a small city.  I will always consider Santa Ana to my original hometown because that is where my family is from, and I lived there for 35 years. But I live in Corona Ca for almost 25 years, and it is the city my kids call their hometown. W moved here in February of 1990 when the population was 76,095. We decided to move from Santa Ana in Orange Country because hubby wanted to live near hills, and we wanted to have better schools for our kids. Corona is the first city you enter as you leave Orange Country into Riverside Country. We live about 25 minutes from Disneyland, about 35 minutes from the beach, and hour from the desert and hour and half from Big Bear mountains or San Diego. The 2012 census says we have a population of 158,391.

4. Would you like to live in your hometown today? Why or why not? My kids are all out this way, so Corona is our hometown. It is the only city they remember living in. We do go to the cemetery out there because our relatives are there. I have great grandparents there. My husband was from the next city over and we still like to go to the Old Town area out there. It is always nice to get home after a vacation!

Tuesday 4

Sleep

1. Do you have a set bedtime that you stick to? I try to get to bed by midnight. Last night I decided to read before bed and stayed up later. I woke up at 4am and had a hard time going back to sleep. I woke up at 7:30 but fell back to sleep until 10:00am. I was busy with my grands yesterday. I think I was super tired. I normally wake up around 8:00am.

2. What kind of sleep attire do you prefer and why is that? I wear a 2-piece short pajamas in the summer and a two piece long leg pajamas in the winter.

3. Do you have a night time routine  before bed?   Wash.. brush teeth.. snack? I have to have my last snack 3 hours before bed. I usually watch tv for awhile. I get up wash up, brush my teeth and take a shower if I need one. I turn on my diffuser with lavender oil and my fan. I like the sound of the fan. Once I am under the covers, I play Word with Friends, then read. I try to turn the lights off by midnight. 

4. Quilts? Coverlet? Fluffy comforters? Woolen blankets? What do you need to sleep comfortably?

I have a light quilted cover on right now and sheets. In the winter I use a heavier comforter. I also have a small blanket that I use if I need it.

We leave to Lake Tahoe tomorrow at 5am. It will take about 10 hours to get there with a few stops. It is 464 miles going the way we are going. 

Find the red star down by the palm trees to see where I live.

Sunday Stealing and more.

The grands have been here the past few weeks, so we have been pretty busy. Sometimes just 2 and sometimes all 4.  I have also been busy working on my Gr8tful Project notebook that started back in the fall of 2021. I finally got my new glasses, and I can see distance much better. I got bifocals, but I know the next pair I get will have 3 distances. I have to wear different glasses for the computer.

Here are a few pictures from the week. Sunday Stealing is below the pictures.

My middle son took Eddie fishing this week.

We keep a tent up in the family room for the kids.

Bible journaling from the book of Jonah in the Bible.

Father's Day on Saturday since my grandson has a basketball tournament on Sunday.

The link is here.

1. If you could live in a house shaped like anything what would it be? A U shaped home would be nice. 

2. What do you think is in outer space? Whatever God put out there. Planets, moons, sun/stars and maybe more. My mind focuses on the Creator more than what is created.

3. Where is the most wonderful place you’ve ever been? Hawaii

4. If you were invisible for a day, what would you do? Go to Disneyland!

5. What is the worst smell in the world? vomit

6. If you could, what animal would you be? A dog, so I could talk to my dog.

7. What is the greatest thing ever invented? ancient times - Wheels. Modern times - internet.

8. What is your favorite word? Why? Amen! It makes me thing of God and what He has done for me.

9. Who is someone in history that you’d like to be friends with? Why? I can't think of anyone right now. If I could, I would go back and spend more time with my parents and asking them as many questions as possible.

10. If your pet could talk, what would it say? Don't leave me alone.

11. Were there dinosaurs on Noah’s ark? Maybe baby ones?

12. What makes you cry? mostly scenes from movies.

13. Have you ever played a joke on someone? What was it? I am not really a jokester. 

14. What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do? Say goodbye to my parents.

15. What is the most important appliance in your house? The refrigerator. 

Tuesday 4, Summer!

♬ ♫ Summertime and the Living is Easy. ♩ ♪

1. What gave you the most fun in summer as a kid or as an adult? 

Life was much simpler when we were kids. I remember laying on the sidewalk after playing in the sprinklers. I can still here a plane flying in the blue sky. We would ride our bikes with the neighbor kids and play in each other's yards. We could get a popsicle from the ice cream man. Better yet, there was the Thrifty's ice cream cone for 5 cents! It was riding my bike to the park to play games and sports with the neighborhood kids. The best times were spent with the cousins in either of my grandparent's backyard. Later it was hanging out with friends. it was listening to music and sometimes going to someone's pool. There was more planned out vacations in the summer. Our kids could still play with the neighbor kids, usually hanging out at each other's home. Kids were now playing with electronics inside and spending less time outside. I did encourage my kids to read and play with Legos. 

Now as grandparent, we have the grands here for many summer days. We try to limit the electronics. The younger grands were play with the hose today and our older grandson went in the spa after basketball practice. Our older grand girl is in Palm Springs with school friends. We are planning a beach day at the end of the week.

Every end of summer our family went to church camp.

Once we got into Jr. high, we got to sleep in the teen bunkhouse.

We always enjoyed hanging out at the pool.

This is my favorite summer day. The beach with the family!

2. Does summer heat get to you? How do you cope? It can get pretty hot here in the summer. We can go from the 90's-100's from July through September. Thank God for air conditioning. Beach days and pool days are the best!

3.  Do you have summertime foods and drinks you really enjoy eating?   Does your menu change in summer? I drink a lot of fruit infused ice water. I don't drink soda's. I enjoy my Snapple diet peach tea. We eat more salads in the summer.

4. Do you enjoy sitting outside or on the porch in summertime? How about some photos of where you enjoy being in summer. It is hard to stay outside to enjoy the cooler evenings when mosquitos are biting. These new ankle biters are so small that they actually can bite all day and the seem to follow people into the house! 

My hubby and I are leaving on vacation next week to Lake Tahoe. Much cooler there.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Let Me Love You Tonight (1980)

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

 

1) Pure Prairie League was a country rock band signed by Casablanca Records in 1980. The label, known for disco hits, wanted to expand their client roster in case disco died. (Which it did, and Casablanca ultimately went bankrupt.) Disco can be a polarizing topic among music fans. Do you love it or loathe it? I loved it and even went dancing a few times!

2) In this song, lead singer Vince Gill encourages his girl to hold him tight. Who did you most recently hug? My granddaughter Jazzy.

 

3) Vince Gill left The Pure Prairie League in 1982 and went on to be a solo success. Tell us about a job you were glad you left. The Postal Service that I retired from in 2010. I did not like how it ended, but I am glad I left when I did!

4) He says his favorite song is the country classic, "He Stopped Loving Her Today." Do you often listen to country? No, I did not grow up listening to it and can't get into it. I do like a few country singers.

5) Vince joined The Eagles on tour after the 2016 death of Glenn Frey, taking over Frey's guitar solos. Do you have a favorite Eagles song? Best of my Love.

 

6) Vince met future wife, singer Amy Grant, when she performed on his Christmas TV special. Have you ever had a workplace romance? No.

 

7) In 1980, when this song was popular, The Love Boat was a hit. Have you ever taken a cruise? If yes, where did you go? Yes, 3 of them. A 3 day to Ensenada with friends from church. A week in Alaska in 2006 and a week on a New England Cruise, 2008 with my parents. Hubby and I want to go on another one.

Last day of New England cruise and coming back to the tail end

of a hurricane coming up the Eastern coast.

The whole trip can be seen here.

Does virtual cruising count?

This is the 3rd virtual crafting cruise for me.

8) 1980 also gave us the Post-It Note. What did you most recently write on a Post-It? A reminder to put some chairs in my car for my Bible journaling class.

9) Random question: You find yourself one of three strangers trapped in an elevator. Would you rather the other two people be a man and a woman, two men, or two women? One man and one woman.

Tuesday 4

Hello! Glad you are back for more of Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4..   If you knew Toni you would know that coffee was one of her great pleasures in life.  So friends, let's talk about those two popular drinks tea and coffee. Okay?  Let's go....

1. What is/are your favorite coffee? (brand or flavor)  If you are a tea lover, which tea is the best for you? We buy Folgers 1/2 decaf, 1/2 caf blend. I have to limit my caffeine intake. I use to drink a lot of tea. I can't have mint anymore. I drink more tea in the winter in the evening. I like a honey chamomile blend.

2.  How do you take your coffee or tea? Sugar, cream , flavoring? I do like to add creamers to my coffee. I really need to cut back on my sugar now. I added a vanilla sugar free syrup today with vanilla oatmilk and I enjoyed it. I do like my tea sweet and I add a bit of local organic honey.

3. Do you go out for coffee/tea with friends?   Ever enjoy a real tea room or a  tea party? Yes my friends and I have coffee together at our weekly Bible study. We also go out to tea one to two times a year a teahouses.

Spring 2021

Xmas 2021

I have also hosted a lot of women's teas with different theme. Here is the link to my Minnie themed tea.

4. If you could design a coffee shop or even a coffee/tea station in your home, what would it be like?

For Today

For Today...

Outside my window... sunny, slight breeze and 83 at 3pm.

I am thinking... I want to go in the spa, but I am relaxing on my bed.

I am thankful for... a beautiful day!

I am remembering... how much I enjoyed the cruises I went on.

On my mind...5 weeks until my Cutie Camp Retreat in Texas.

I am pondering these words...Make memories and document them.

From the learning rooms....the post cards I made from my virtual crafting cruise. 

 From the kitchen... Lots of leftovers from the weekend!

I am wearing...denim shorts.

I am creating...bookmarks for my Bible journaling group.

I am going...get up after this to get more water.

I am reading...Marks Story (Gospel of Mark)

I am hoping...join the gym again.

I am hearing...my granddaughter practicing the piano.

Around the house...calm

One of my favorite things...This laptop where I can communicate with friends and

find things to use for Bible journaling and crafting.

A few plans for the rest of the week...Grands will be here during the summer. Vacation Bible school is also this week.

 Here is a picture thought I am sharing... Eddie promotes to Hisch School

 and Audrina to Middle school.