I'm supposed to display the names of eight of my choices in a creative way and explain why I chose each. Which wouldn't be hard if I had any talent or creativity. Those of you who know me well know how limited I am at creative computer skills so prepare to be amazed at what I created.

My first award goes out to my Savannah friend and buddy Sandy (alias Flip Flop Floozie). Sandy is one of the sweetest, kindest, wisest women I know. She is a friend, mentor, hostess, tour guide, encourager, and prayer warrior. She enriches my life and I am a better person because of her influence and prayers.
This award goes out to my good friend Jane at Cozy Reader. Jane is a peach of girlfriend ( a Georgia Peach at that!) We are from the same tribe and same clan and I cherish her friendship and wisdom. When you first meet Jane you feel like you've have always known her and you are instantly won over by her laughter and bound together forever by her tears. There is such depth in Jane and genuineness that you never want the lunch to end.

This award goes out to the very sweet and talented Suzy of See Suzy Spin. I have known Suzy all her life (she is my daughter and claims she never gets any awards!) Suzy is a children's librarian and comes up with the most clever ideas to get kids to read. She sews wonderfully, loves acting, scrap booking, traveling and adventure .

This award goes out to my friend Barbara of Trying to Catch Up. I consider Barbara to be absolutely brilliant (thus the light bulb!) She knows the coolest places to check out on the internet, she personally created the Blog Olympics and all the games, and will walk you through every" new toy " and how to put it on your blog. What little I know about blogging I "stole" from her. I've never had the privilege of meeting Barbara but she is high on "my hit list" of people I want to meet. Barbara has a great sense of humor and is always passionate about every task she takes on. She loves graphs and charts, her family and falcons.

Carolyn of Talk to Grams is delightful and fun. She never lets her physical limitations keep her from visiting with you at least once a day. Carolyn is someone I would love to sit down with and visit over a cup of tea. She adores her family and they adore her. She is new to blogging but has already made a serious impact on our hearts. Nothing seems to discourage her and she is always a source of sunshine and inspiration.
Rosie is one of my very favorite friends (actually she's my sister .....by blog not blood!) She's the sweetest little Rosebud that Texas ever knew.....but alas she is moving back to her beloved state leaving me in a state of sadness. Rosie has a personality bigger than Texas and a smile and laugh that makes everyone in the place feel better. We have a special connection and I know she is always looking out for me. The next few weeks will really be hard for her as they pick up and relocate. Hugs and prayers coming your way sis!
This award goes out to Susan at Learning for a Lifetime. Susan is from Florida and I couldn't resist the pink Flamingo. I am so looking forward to getting to meet Susan this October. I admire her mission field of working in the public schools and love to hear of their adventures with her darling hubby and four boys. (She has taught me how to gather scallops and other delicacies from the sea.) Susan always has words of encouragement as well as some serious thoughts to ponder.
This is for my new friend Linda at "This and That". Linda is a recent find (I stole her from Floozie) and is like visiting an old friend. She makes you feel relaxed and will even entertain you with her posts. She doesn't seem to mind if you visit wearing your ratty slippers and robe while you drink your morning coffee. I like Linda, she is real and authentic.

What would my life be without the Mellinator? Able to leap to conclusions in a single bound, faster than a speeding pea from a peashooter, able to whip up liver and onions for a friends husband because his wife hates it and won't fix it for him, and who disguised as a mild manner Curves Ladies fights a never ending battle for exercise, laughter and the pursuit of happiness. You got it, the high priestess of fun and insanity Melli.

Labels: Friends, Fun, meme

Leave it to my eldest to find a site that will let you make random resolutions. The thought is that no one really sticks to the resolution anyway so why not let someone else choose something for you that you have no intention of doing anyway. It was free and it was fun and I'm thinking I might actually do this one. Give it a try !

In the year 2007 I resolve to: Procrastinate more. Get your resolution here.

Labels: Fun

It's a beautiful spring day today and Mr. Wonderful and I went to the "Folk Arts Festival" at Blue Ridge Community College this morning. It's a fun festival ( especially if you like Cloggers....there were a bunch of them preforming!)

There were lots of crafts, concessions, pony rides, blacksmiths, and even alpacas. I had never seen an alpaca before.

Apparently they are related to camels and llamas. The two that I saw had very large fuzzy heads and a long neck. They had sweet faces but looked rather comical and out of porportion with the long neck. They had been shaved for their wool. There was a display of how to spin the "Wool" into yarn which is very soft.

It always amazes me how creative people can be. I saw some very cute birdhouses made out of old Cowboy Boots and traditional bird houses with the roof portion made from pot lids. We bought a few "mother's day" gifts for me so Mr. Wonderful can surprise me with them on Mother's Day. (That's his favorite way to shop!) It wouldn't have been hard for him to choose the Daisy ear rings but this way he knows I'll like them!

I also had my first "Funel Cake!". ( Ok, I can cross that off my list now.) It was really good and interesting to watch them make them. The batter is literally poured out through a funnel into a cast iron skillet and deep fried. When the batter rises they flip it over and cook the other side and slide it on to a plate and sprinkle powder sugar on it. You have to eat it right away! Mr. Wonderful says the only downside of funnel cakes is that you end up "wearing it" the rest of the day.....the powdered sugar goes all over your clothes! Each funnel cake comes out different with very elaborate designs and lots of holes.

It was a fun outing and the perfect way to spend a spring morning.

Labels: Fun, New Hope

My Sister sent this to me in an email. You may have read these before but I thought they were funny . Check out your state.

Alabama
Hell Yes, We Have Electricity.

Alaska
11,623 Eskimos Can't Be Wrong!

Arizona
But It's A Dry Heat.

Arkansas
Literacy Ain't Everything.

California
By 30, Our Women Have More Plastic Than Your Honda.

Colorado
If You Don't Ski, Don't Bother.

Connecticut
Like Massachusetts, Only The Kennedy's Don't Own It Yet.

Delaware
We Really Do Like The Chemicals In Our Water.

Florida
Ask Us About Our Grandkids.

Georgia
We Put The Fun In Fundamentalist Extremism.

Hawaii
Haka Tiki Mou Sha'ami Leeki Toru
(Death To Mainland Scum,Leave Your Money)

Idaho
More Than Just Potatoes...
Well, Okay, We're Not, But The Potatoes Sure Are Real Good

Illinois
Please, Don't Pronounce the "S"

Indiana
2 Billion Years Tidal Wave Free

Iowa
We Do Amazing Things With Corn

Kansas
First Of The Rectangle States

Kentucky
Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names

Louisiana
We're Not ALL Drunk Cajun Wackos,
But That's Our Tourism Campaign.

Maine
We're Really Cold,
But We Have Cheap Lobster

Maryland
If You Can Dream It, We Can Tax It

Massachusetts
Our Taxes Are Lower Than Sweden's

Michigan
First Line Of Defense >From The Canadians

Minnesota
10,000 Lakes...And 10,000,000,000,000 Mosquitoes

Mississippi
Come And Feel Better About Your Own State

Missouri
Your Federal Flood Relief Tax Dollars At Work

Montana
Land Of The Big Sky, The Unabomber, Right-wing Crazies,
and Very Little Else.

Nebraska
Ask About Our State Motto Contest

Nevada
Hookers and Poker!

New Hampshire
Go Away And Leave Us Alone

New Jersey
You Want A ##$%##! Motto?
I Got Yer ##$%##!
Motto Right here!

New Mexico
Lizards Make Excellent Pets

New York
You Have The Right To Remain Silent,
You Have The Right To An Attorney...

North Carolina
Tobacco Is A Vegetable

North Dakota
We Really Are One Of The 50 States!

Ohio
At Least We're Not Michigan

Oklahoma
Like The Play, But No Singing

Oregon
Spotted Owl...It's What's For Dinner

Pennsylvania
Cook With Coal

Rhode Island
We're Not REALLY An Island

South Carolina
Remember The Civil War?
Well, We Didn't Actually Surrender Yet

South Dakota
Closer Than North Dakota

Tennessee
The Edyoocashun State

Texas
Se Hablo Ingles

Utah
Our Jesus Is Better Than Your Jesus

Vermont
Ay, Yep

Virginia
The Hams we don't cure we send to D.C.

Washington
We have more rain.. than you do..

West Virginia
One Big Happy Family...Really!

Wisconsin
Come Cut The Cheese!

Wyoming
Where Men Are Men...
And The Sheep Are Nervous

Labels: Fun

Jennifer Thorpe
Originally uploaded by Momma B.

This is our Jen. Isn't she cute? Sandy and I just adore her. She is the mother of 5 (from 13 to 3) we adopted her instantly as she could be our daughter. It was an instant bond and no one felt like we were dinning with strangers. As you can see the food was great the company even better!

Labels: Friends, Fun, Savannah

Today was a play day. Work has been so hard, and so physical lately that today we ( me and my two friends) decided that we needed to have a girl day and just play.

We divided the day into three parts and formed our own sisterhood......the first part of the day was spent in sharing prayer request and praying for each other and each of our families.

Second part of the day was lunch and a movie. Since none of us had any money we decided the best way to spend our time was to pop in a frozen batch of Chicken Lasagna while we watched "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." I must admit to being the instigator for the movie and for the sisterhood we've developed.

I read the book several years ago while packing to move to Virginia. We had lived in Savannah, Georgia for 17 years so this move meant leaving friends and family behind. I was intrigued by the cover and the title and was really in to reading anything about the company of close knit circle of friends . I loved the banter and the plot and could easily understand why the book made the best seller list. The following year the sequel came out and my good friend Sandy gave me a copy as I had talked so much about the book. Last year the third book came out.....and naturally I read that also. When I discovered they would be making a movie Sandy and I decided that we had to have a movie date. (knowing full well that our misters would take a pass on a chick flick!)

The movie came out in June and we never did get to go see it together. So now that it is out on DVD we decided it was our time to watch it . It was a good movie and perfect for escaping the care and concerns of the day. My friends also enjoyed it and for a little while we were "carefree girls" again and not wives and mothers.

We ended the day with a craft project. We made Advent Ribbons. It basically consists of wrapping individual pieces of candy to look like a package and hot gluing them on to a ribbon. The person who receives the ribbon takes the bottom piece off for each day till Christmas. We personalized the candy gifts with an encouraging message about the person wrapped around the candy.

It was fun and inexpensive but a home made gift with lots of heart.

Labels: all about Me, Friends, Fun, Movies, Sandy

It will cost your true love 6.1% more

Estimated price of '12 Days of Christmas' gift list up sharply due to gas, gold prices and bird flu.

A partridge in a pear tree will cost $104.99 this year, up 12.9 percent due largely to higher delivery costs.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The price tag of the shopping list laid out in the classic holiday song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is sharply higher this year, hit by such modern-day woes as higher energy and gold prices and concerns about the avian flu, according to an annual survey unveiled Monday.

PNC Advisors, which has charted the cost of the gifts laid out in the song for the last 21 years, put the price of the items this year at $18,348 in 2005, a 6.1 percent increase over last year.

Some presents will be difficult to get at any price this year. The threat of avian flu has restricted the international shipment of birds, thus preventing the purchase of three French hens from France, although there are domestic breeders of French hens which helped keep that gift's cost in line. But all the fowl mentioned in the song cost substantially more this year due to the increased delivery costs from higher energy prices.

Labels: Christmas 2006, Fun

What's with my picture posting ability...does this look like the Tea Room to you? So much for a picture being worth a thousand words. We were recently in Savannah and here are some of the things I really enjoyed. Seeing old friends, revisiting the historical areas, spending time with my daughter at our favorite Tea Room and bringing home some dynamite tea ( emperor's bride) that I'm sipping as I write this. Seeing my son's restaurant and hearing his boss brag and brag about what a good worker he is (music to a mother's heart) laughing with girlfriends (I'd almost forgotten what it feels like, sleeping late, shopping, lunch with my mentor, ice cream at cold stone creamery, Barnes and Nobles....guess I'm still a material girl at heart!

I guess the best treat was being treated like a returning hero. I miss being someone's best friend!

Labels: Friends, Fun, Savannah