This is it

Hello friends,

I'm shutting the store, closing up shop but I'm going to leave the goods displayed in the window. I want to thank all of you who visited and read my ramblings, kindly commented, and shared things with me. It's been a fantastic journey but it's time for me to focus on other things. I wish you all sunshine and happiness.

The Walking Dead

Yeah, tell me about it... he's really hot. His name is Andrew Lincoln and he plays Rick Grimes, the small group of survivor's leader, in The Walking Dead. At the start of the show, Rick was a small town sherriff who woke up from a coma to find that the city has been over run by walkers.

Basically, the show is a survivalist story at its core and an edge-of-your-seat drama. It follows the survivor's of an apocalyptic holocaust who are searching for a safe haven in an unfamiliar world of zombies...a.k.a walkers. Oh yeah, for those of you who may have chuckled when I mentioned that The Walking Dead was my favorite show, check out the article that I copied and pasted from Yahoo's, 'Cable TV's winners and losers.'

WINNER: "The Walking Dead" (AMC)

You know who's really terrified of zombies? Network executives. Like Michonne slicing up a walker, AMC's post-apocalyptic thrill ride has decapitated the competition this year, averaging a massive 11.4 million viewers, including a whopping 7.3 million in the key adults-under-50 demographic. That last number tops any other series on TV, broadcast or cable -- more than "The Big Bang Theory," "Modern Family," or "American Idol." That's a big deal; the fact that a cable series can outdraw even the most popular network fare represents a seismic shift in the TV landscape. See why other networks are scared now?



This is Danai Gurira and she plays Michonne. Michonne is the current lead female in the series and is the sword wielding heroine who slices and dices walkers with her trusty Samurai weapon.



Daryl's character is portrayed by Norman Reedus. Daryl is a hunter and expert tracker. He became Rick's right-hand man when Shane became more and more unhinged. His signature weapon is a crossbow.

Birthday Girl

Okay, I just celebrated another birthday and I can't believe how forgetful I'm becoming. My memory isn't anything like it used to be. It's crazy, but I'm at a point now where I have to sit things by the front door that I don't want to forget to take with me when I leave the house. Or when my husband asks me to pick something up from the grocery store, I have to write it down right then and there or it'll slip my mind. I suppose now would probably be a good time to invest in some ginkgo biloba. I guess I'd better add it to my grocery list now before I forget...lol.

Anyway, on the bright side, the day was great. I have to give it to my daughter's, they turned my birthday into an all day celebration... which was a first for me. They truly made my day and made me feel super special. Well, the morning started with a hearty breakfast. They both cooked pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon and it was good.



Then my oldest, who is a fashion diva, brought me a complete outfit, jewelry sandals and all. Since using eyeliner and chapstick is the full extent of my daily make-up routine, she gave me a makeover.



My youngest treated me to a manicure and pedicure since she says my toes scare her.

Okay, I have big, flat feet and taking pictures of them probably isn't the best idea, but this is the finished product.

We had fun spending most of the day shopping. Then we had dinner at Crimson, which is a fabulous local restaurant in York. Turns out, they have the best food there. If you're ever in the area, you've got to try it out... yum.

This is the inside of the restaurant.

These probably aren't the greatest pictures, but I was trying to avoid taking pictures of people while they were eating. So I aimed my camera at the ceiling and walls, instead.

The girl's ordered these super cheesy fries. I had a couple, but I wanted to save room for my pasta.

This is the pasta dish I ordered. I can't remember what it was called, but it sure was delicious.

Then we had chocolate cake...

... and watched Life of Pi. I have to say though, I thought it would be better. It was a long, boring, dry movie and I'm glad we only spent a little over a dollar for it at the Redbox.



I had such a great day, I just wanted to share it with everyone. Too bad my next birthday is a whole year away. Oh well, I'll sign off with a joke that I thought was really funny.

Three sisters, aged 92, 94, and 96, live in a house together.

One night, the 96-year-old draws a bath. She puts her foot in and pauses. She yells down the stairs: "Was I getting in or out of the bath?"

The 94-year-old yells back: "I don't know. I'll come up and see." She starts up the stairs and pauses. Then she yells: "Was I going up the stairs or down?"

The 92-year-old is sitting at the kitchen table having tea, listening to her sisters. She shakes her head and says: "I sure hope I never get that forgetful." She knocks on wood for good measure.

She then yells: "I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door."

The True Meaning Of Easter

Little Decks

Hello again, I believe I already mentioned that we moved in December and since spring is right around the corner, I can't wait to finally sit outside on our deck for the first time. I absolutely love sitting outside in my wicker chair, with a good book and a cup of morning coffee or an ice cold glass of lemonade. To me, it's sooo relaxing. Now I will say that our new deck is the tiniest deck that I've ever seen... no joke. As a matter of fact, it's the size of most balconies. Don't get me wrong though, I adore my little deck, it's one of my favorite features. It's just that I've been wondering how I should go about decorating a deck that's so small. I've also been wondering if entertaining more than two people at a time is a possibility, especially when the table alone can take up half the space? I certainly want to make the most of the space and use every inch of it wisely. I've been hunting around for some inspiration pictures and thankfully now, I have a ton of ideas. Hopefully, you'll be inspired, too. 

And last but not least, just when I didn't think I could find any more crazy shoes out there, I happened to come across the strangest pair ever on MSN last week. Check these babies out...LoL!

Surprise!

A couple of days ago, I was checking to see if there were any new comments since I hadn't been on my blog for a couple of weeks now. Imagine my surprise when I saw that I had received a Liebster Award from:

Sweet Auburn Life  

I had never even heard of the Liebster award, but I found out that it's an award given to a favorite blog of yours; one that is up and coming, with 200 followers or less.

I copied and pasted the rules from Sweet Auburn Life's post, (I hope that's okay).

Here are the rules...

1. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.

2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, and then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.

3. Choose 11 new bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post.

4. Go back to their page and tell them about the award.

5. No tag backs.

Ironically, in my previous post titled, 'A little about me,' there are already 9 random facts that I shared. So, since the rules state that I need 11 facts about me, I only need to include two more. So...

1. I only paint my toenails, never my fingernails.



I should say that I love the look of painted fingernails, but they chip so much sooner. I'm always washing my hands or they're in dishwater when I'm washing dishes or something. Unlike my toenails, polishing my finger nails just never last.

2. I can't resist going straight to the comic section when I read the Sunday newspaper. What can I say, I'm one of those people that prefers to hear the good news before the bad news.



Here are the questions asked by Sweet Auburn Life...

1. What was your first thought when you got this award?
I was definitely surprised. The award came at just the right time. Here lately, I've been wondering if anyone other than my daughter's were still reading my blog.

2. Tell us something about your corner of the world?



Well, we just moved right before Christmas, to New Salem, Pennsylvania. It's more quaint, with rolling hills, farmland and lots of trees. It's only about 10 minutes from where we used to live in York. Since there's only a little country store nearby with just a few odds and ends on the shelves, we still do the bulk of our grocery shopping in York.

3. Have you ever been to Ireland?
No, I've never been to Ireland, but I would love to visit one of these days.

4. Why do you blog?
Just recently, I did a post about this topic, too. I blog because it's not only fun, but it's a way to connect with people from all over the world and it's good to be heard.

5. What is your favourite cuisine?
For somebody who enjoys food as much as me, it's kind of hard to narrow it down to just one, but if you were twisting my arm, I'd probably have to go with haddock. I have a recipe for haddock that will knock your socks off... seriously.

6. What are you most afraid of?



This might sound crazy, but I'm terrified of losing my memory. Haven't you ever heard of those people that slam their head too hard and the next thing you know, it's like... who am I? Where do I live? I mean can you imagine your brain being wiped clean and forgetting absolutely everything you've ever known and forgetting everyone you love, including your children... your parent's. To me, it's such a scary thought. 

7. What are you most grateful for?
God's love.

8. What is your favourite time of year?
Autumn... it's the beautiful colors, the brisk fresh air, just knowing that my favorite holidays are right around the corner... I absolutely love it.

9. Are you introverted or extroverted?
Unfortunately, I am introverted, but I have dreamt of being the life of the party on more than one occasion.

10. What is the worst job you ever had?
When I was in my early twenties, I worked as a waitress on the night shift, from 11 at night to 7:00 in the morning, at a restaurant called Howard Johnson's. I hated it. People ran me ragged and then left $1.00 on the table or nothing at all.

11. What have you learned today?
That it's not as easy as I thought it'd be to come up with 11 people who have less than 200 follower's.

My nominations for the Liebster award...

simplymcghie.blogspot.com
thisblackbutterfly.blogspot.com
cafelynnylu.blogspot.com
annamog.blogspot.com
adadandhisboy.blogspot.com
capersandolives.blogspot.com
purespeculations.blogspot.com
theveryhappychairart.blogspot.com
superearthling.com
sanityisoverrated-videomom406.blogspot.com
simplycandycane.blogspot.com


Okay here are my questions for my nominees:

1. Are you a morning or a night person?
2. What's the last song you listened to on your MP3 player, CD player or radio?
3. What movie would you watch again and again?
4. Do you have a favorite flower?
5. Name one thing that's on your bucket list.
6. Have you ever been told you look like someone famous?
7. What's your biggest pet peeve?
8. Who is the one character on television or in your favorite novel that you simply adore?
9. If you could change your profession with the snap of your fingers, what would your new career be?
10. If you were granted 3 wishes, what's the first thing you'd ask for and you can't wish for more wishes?
11. If you were a crayon in a crayon box which color would you be?

A Little About Me

Hey there, I had an idea. I know... I know... there she goes thinking again, right? Okay, well here it is, although there's some information about me in the 'about me' section, I thought it might be nice to share a little bit more... just so that people would know me better. So for those of you that may be interested...

My Guilty Pleasure: Chocolate chip cookies 
I will take chocolate chip cookies any day over cake, pie, candy and ice-cream, (although I enjoy those desserts, too).




Something I always keep in the fridge: Cheese - I put a slice on our sandwhiches. I add a little to my scrambled eggs when I make breakfast. I top off a cracker with it... the list goes on.



Something Romantic That I've Never Done Before: Kissed in the rain. Okay, you know how at the end of some movies, what happens when the main character finally realizes what an ignoramous he or she has been for allowing the greatest love of their life just let slip through their fingers? Of course, after the realization hits, he or she races across town like a thoroughbred horse at a  Kentucky derby to stop that person from boarding a plane that was a half a second away from heading out of the country. Not to mention, it's almost always raining, but once they reunite, they kiss and... it's the kiss of all kisses, (and no, I don't watch too many movies). Now, it doesn't count if you'share a quick peck on the lips when it's lightly drizzling, that will cause major romance points to be deducted. I mean no umbrella's, no rain coat, no shelter, you're soaking wet and it's just you and your significant other locking lips in the middle of a downpour. I've never experienced it, but I see it in movies all the time and... what can I say... I'm a hopeless romantic.









I enjoy finding pictures showing Great Decor...  I can drool over pictures like these all day.









The last book that made me cry: This is how it ends, by Kathleen MacMahon.



I make a mean pan of lasagna.... I don't mean to toot my own horn, but... Beep! Beep!



Favorite TV Show: The Walking Dead... Don't judge... LoL



A quote I really like:

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on." - Robert Frost

Until next time... Have a great day.

Why?

You know, I've been blogging for almost 2 years now and I asked myself recently, why do I blog?



I will admit that I started blogging mainly because it seemed like it would be a fun way to pass the time and I was also hoping I'd meet some new friends along the way. I discovered something that was rather unexpected... once I got started, I was hooked! I found that as I continued writing more posts, I realized how much I loved sitting down to blog. I even remember the very first time I received a message in the comment section. I had been heard. Somebody was actually interested in what I had to say. I was elated!



Honestly, I realize I'm just a small speck in this great universe, but I'm also a mother, a wife, a sister and a friend. I work, I laugh, I love, I have a voice. Rambling on about the family, my day-to-day comings and goings, delicious recipes I've tried... it's a way to leave my footprints in the sand... to say that I exist. Like the Who's in Whoville, it's a way to say, I am here.



I often hear stories of people leaving items in time capsules in hopes of returning to them decades later, or even including letters so that someone in the distant future will know that they lived, who they were and what their life was like during the 50's, the 80's, or even right now in 2013 when they were on this side of the grass.



Well, that's kind of the idea... my blog will continue long after I've stopped writing.

So why do I blog?





1. To connect with people all over the world, amazing people that otherwise I would never get to know?
2. Because it's good to be heard?
3. Because it's a way to share with other's those things I find interesting?
4. Because it's fun?
5. To fill my proverbial time capsule and leave my mark on the world?
6. Because I think... therefore I blog?

The right answer is... all of the above. Blogging has become so much more to me since I wrote my very first post two years ago. Who knew?

So, now that you know my reasons, how about yours? Why do you blog?