LOLA "WIGGLE-BUTT"

LOLA ~ "Wiggle-Butt"

(pic taken 6-19-10)

ACE (youngest daughter)

has a new puppy!

I got to meet her for the first time on Friday!

I traveled to Sunnyvale 
to help ACE pack up her 

"kinder" classroom 

so the carpets can be cleaned 

& the floors waxed 

over the summer break!

LOLA was at school with ACE 
when I arrived.

She had her pen (like a playpen for dogs), 

crate (her bedroom), dog bowl w/water, 

& her playtoys.

LOLA ("Wiggle-Butt") is sooo adorable!!

She's a "brindle" (refers to the color) 
Boston Terrier...

She's almost potty trained! 
and needs

one more round of immunizations

before she can "socialize" with other dogs.

Here are a few more pictures!!!

she was listening to the birds chirp outside...

smart dog!

she loves to sleep underneath the computer desk!

sunning outside!

Don't you love her pink nose?

I'VE FALLEN IN LOVE!!

BLOSSOM PASSION ?!@!

(May 29, 2010 ~ taken in Adrienne's garden)

"Every flower is a soul 

blossoming in nature."

~ Gerard de Nerval, French poet

Taking pictures of flowers
is a passion!!

I thought it was because

FLOWERS

are the colors of the 

rainbow

 (pic taken by ACE - Long Beach Quilt Show 2008)

  
they don't move (like a child)

they have unusual borders 

 they bring "good friends" to the garden

 AND

you don't have to tell them to say "cheese"

FLOWERS

provide serenity

for MY overstimulated mind! 

How do you deal with an
overstimulated mind?

 

I'M BACK!!??!

(5/29/10 ~ Adrienne's Garden)

"The essence of true friendship 

is to make allowances 

for another's little lapses."

~ David Storey, English novelist

LAPSES??

As you may have noticed,

I've been absent from blogging!

Like this beautiful dragonfly,

I've been "flitting" from:

~ project to project

~ completing work reports

~ playing with my camera

~ visiting with family

AND

although I've been reading other blogs,

I've procrastinated 
about posting to

MINE!

I'm hoping to travel with JPE

on his work trip, later this week.

Of course, that depends on 

whether I get my "work-work" completed!?!

TODAY'S 
weather along the coastline =
"June GLOOM"
(moist, wet fog, 
temperatures in the high 60's).
So, I cleaned my car
inside & out!
I even put a coat of car wax
on the exterior!
My dad would have been proud of me. 


FEELS good to have a 
sparkly, shiny, tidy car ~
I think cars "RUN BETTER"
when they are all "spiffied" up.
What do you think?
Curious... 
Do you NAME your cars?

 

POST HERE!

Post your personality findings!!!

Quiz: What do your color preferences say about you?

In the link below, select colors you like and dislike.

Your results will be tabulated to reveal some data 

about your personality. 

http://www.testcolor.com/personalitytest/personalitytest.php

READY? 

POST YOUR FINDINGS PLEASE!

My findings 
(drum-roll please):

Today's personality score:

42% extrovert

57% introvert

SOUNDS APPROPRIATE!!

My "pie chart" showed 
my highest areas were:

Imaginative (126)

Well-thought (126)

Involved (117)

Intellectual (114)

Attuned to others (100)

Umm... "Well-thought"... 
I would say I was very careful about what 
I wanted to say before I spoke today... 

does that equate to "Imaginative"? 
I wouldn't say that! 

but I AM imagining being on 
SUMMER BREAK!

I'm trying to be "Involved" in my work which 
could be considered "Intellectual" 
(I know, it's a stretch - but working in Education
is a field where we develop 
our passion for learning new things...).

I've been very, very 
"Attuned to Others"
this is a difficult time with schools, 
agencies & organizations 

being "downsized"... 
it could be ME next year 

who would be packing up my workspace.

My employer stated that it is 

IMPORTANT to be COACH-ABLE!

Skills can be taught!

My mantra for now!

EXHIBIT KINDNESS

&

COACH-ABILITY!

I found this quiz at one of my fav BLOGS ~
"How About Orange"
http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/

Today's post include some 
cute, retro-style 
downloadable cards. 
Check them out!!

TIPTOES + 3 QUESTIONS

(SLO Tiptoes ~ pic taken 5/5/10)

"Kindness is the language
which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."

  ~Mark Twain, American author & humorist

Last week, I posted a link to a very "sweet" (as in cute, thought-provoking) video about "KINDNESS" - please click and share...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_OZUaQondo

Question 1:

What did you like about this? who will you share it with?
 

I spent this morning checking some of my favorite blogs... I've been feeling "blue" for a couple of weeks now... with little energy to post... this "blue-ness" is really nothing unusual for me at this time of the year! For me, ending the school year requires a lot of energy & focus; is task oriented; complicated by deadlines; emotions are heightened & conversations are brief... and of course, financial challenges are affecting everyone I know...

But, my "blue-ness" was triggered by several conversations... and it has me wondering about ME... how I can become a better communicator? a friend? a work partner? a wife? mother?

Wanting to post ~ but experiencing  a creative block I wandered through "blog-land" and this grabbed my interest... 

You have three names in life:

the name you were given at birth,

the name that you make for yourself,

and the name that everyone knows you by.

That last one is the most important, 
because it is the name that you must work the hardest to change.

Found on this blog... http://memoriesoncloverlane.blogspot.com/

Question 2: What are your thoughts at this moment? did this make you STOP and THINK?

My Saturday morning walk will help chase the "blue-ness" - And, I have some of my best inspirations while walking... have a fabulous day! the Central Coast is sunny, but breezy, with a chill in the air...

Question 3: What are your plans for this lovely SPRING day?

Please let me know you've visited my blog by leaving your answers, comments or just a HI! thinking of you! (it's easy to let me know you've been here by using the COMMENTS box)

If you haven't read my blog, WELCOME... 

I hope you will return often. 

My blog was started to document 

my 60th year of life

and to recognize the "silver linings" 

that make my life FABULOUS!

MOTHER'S DAY~LATE POST!

(all pics taken Mother's Day ~ 5/9/10)

"It is the WISE MOTHER who gives her child 

R O O T S   and   W I N G S."

~ Chinese proverb 

Although I didn't get to spend time (in person) with any of the significant females in my family I did feel their LOVE. I worked on Saturday, May 8th, so I changed my plans to travel out of town. BUT, I did spend time on the phone with my mom and all three daughters...

While I worked on Saturday, JPE canned 7 pints of strawberry jam. So after our Sunday morning walk, we enjoyed the "fruits of his labor" topping our Bisquick biscuits... YUM! You might be thinking he would make his biscuits "from scratch" but our family actually prefers using the recipe found on the side of the Bisquick box. 

He also made tamale eggs (one warmed tamale cut into bite-size pieces & folded into scrambled eggs) topped with cheese & salsa. I felt so pampered! and then he topped off our breakfast with a gift (a National Geographic Photography book) and card. Talk about feeling "super pampered!"

We took a drive (JPE bought his "first ever" new car  - a 2010 Mazda 3 - 0% financing) to Baywood Park & Sweet Springs Preserve. I took pictures ~ the egrets watched us; while we watched two baby turtles wrestle in the water. I'm learning to use my telephoto lense & still struggle to figure out which settings will capture the shots I see in the viewer. JPE thought they might be mating?!? I thought they were wrestling!! it was fun watching them splash & tumble about in the pond.

The day was getting windy, so we headed off to grab a cup of coffee in Baywood... and also ended up walking across the street for an early dinner (Mexican food ~ our favorite!)... Honestly, we didn't experience a "food stupor"... but it may sound like it...

It was fabulous day!

Finally, here are two additional pics of my Mother's Day bouquet... the colors & fragrance really dressed up the living room... I love taking pics of flowers (I think because they stand still ~ and I can capture the smallest detail).

THANK YOU Ms Lydia, NB & JMcG for the flowers!!!

The girls have "flown" the nest, but they never fail to remember their "roots."

THANK YOU... JPE, DA, SLE, ACE, NB, JMcG & Ms Lydia for making "MOTHER'S DAY 2010" so special!