Pumpkin's Meme

1   What's your favorite movie???

I don't have an all time favorite, but one of mine is Out of Africa. 

2    What's your favorite color???

Red--it always has been. 

3    What's your favorite ice cream flavor???

Vanilla..  Call me old-fashioned, and boring, but that's my favorite!

4    Where do you want to go on vacation??

I'm going to the Azores this summer.  One day, however, I would like to go back to Hawaii--or Italy, France...the list could go on forever. 

5    What's your favorite animal???

Leopards..they are beautiful.. 

6    What's your favorite T.V. show???

Don't laugh..but, Amazing Race.

7    What's your fav. drink???

Iced Tea. 

8    What's your favorite flower???

Roses...  I like all colors, but I'm partial to pink and white. 

9    What's your favorite pet???

Kitties. 

10   What's your favorite book???

This is hard...  Green Eggs & Ham.  :) 

To my Jland Friends...

I'm going to be taking my vacation soon, and I just wanted to give out a goodbye to all of you before I leave on vacation.  I don't know if I will be able to enter any blogs while I'm gone, or answer too much mail.  My daughter will be bringing her laptop, so I may be able to go online now and then.  I got this in an email from a friend of mine at work, and I wanted to share it with all of you because it reminded me of you: 

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are.

They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done.  The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons,
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson,
love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Thank you for being a part of my life,
whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime.

                                 

Thursday Funny

    I got the following in an email at work..  I thought I would share it with you all...

                                              

 

                          LOVE IN A MENTAL HOSPITAL

Jim and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool,

Jim suddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there.

Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled Jim out.

When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic act, she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered her mentally stable.

When she went to tell Edna the news she said, "Edna, I have good news and bad news.

The good news is you are being discharged; since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the Life of another that you have a sound mind.

The bad news is, Jim, the patient you saved, hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him.

I am so sorry, but he's dead."

Edna replied, "He didn't hang himself, I put him there to dry.

Dawn's Tuesday 12

Good morning Tuesday! 

The following has been copied and pasted from the Queen of Meme herself, Dawn!  Feel free to copy and paste and play along!  :)

I say __________, and you say ___________.

1.     Money.  "Money, Money, Money...must be funney, in a rich man's world... " (Abba)  Does anyone here remember, Abba?

2.     Voices.  In my head.  I must keep them quiet...ha ha ha..  Seriously, no--I don't here voices, just my conscience.

3.     Machine.  Oh this is funney.  I grew up in a bilingual household.  While growing up, I heard the car being referred to as the "Machine."   I know that it sounds strange, and the correct word for car in Portuguese is "carro"--very similar to the word car, I know--but it was always referred to as the "machine."  It's the old school Portuguese/English lingo apparently, because I've heard other people say it outside of the family. 

4.     Beach.  Boys.  I grew up listening to their records.  Great "sing in the car" tunes; great summer memories.   

5.     Roommate.  College.  I didn't go to college.  Must be weird to share a room in a dorm with someone you don't know. 

6.     Cyclone.  Popsicles!  Is there such a thing?  That is the first thing I thought of.

7.     Theatre.  Lizzy. (My daughter)  I miss watching her on stage.  She did a lot of it in high school.

8.     Pregnant.  Oh God...  Never again.  LOL

9.     Style.  Um..  Mom.  I got her shoes in the mail yesterday--very stylish and cute!

10.     Wrist.  band.  I remember I once knew this person who would always wear wristbands on their wrists for no particular reason.  It was in the 80's.  May be he thought they were stylish.  They always matched his clothes. 

11.     Suede.  Boots!  I remember when I was 15 my mom bought be a pair of this really pretty tan suede boots with heels.  I loved those boots.  I felt so grown up in them.

12.     Star.  Catch a falling star, and put it in your pocket!  :) 

It's a cloudy Tuesday here at the coast.  I have to run and get some coffee!!  I have clothes in the car I need to drop off at the cleaners!  I have to break the reception desk because the receptionist is having a reaction to the new medication her doctor gave her (it never ends I tell you..)  I have bags to pack and a dessert to make for a barbecue tomorrow.  WHY am I at work?!  There is far too many other things I could be doing!!!  LOL 

Because I Have Needs...

I got this from Cin's Blog:

Because I NEED

An old meme: Google "(Insert your first name) needs" and list the first 10 results:

1.  Julie needs your help!  (Yes, I needed help earlier this afternoon when I was trying to catch up with my 3 year old who thought it was a good idea to race me to the car outside of the mall, in the parking lot...wheww...) 

2.  Julie needs to work on her parenting.  (Oh this hurts!  Ouch--I almost didn't include this one...) 

3.  Julie needs a new pair of shoes.  (You must be confused with my mother on this one.) 

4.  Julie needs a good home and; she needs it ASAP.  (Yes, I'm a stray animal now..) 

5.  Julie needs a team of  committed people praying for her.  (Aw...how sweet.  Prayers are always good.) 

6.  Julie needs to sit down, make a list, and attack it.  (Yes..I make lots of lists to help me organize.  Do they work?  Not really.) 

7.  Julie needs to get a real assignment over at Homeland Security, like working on actual security.  (You got that right!  First thing I would do is make some serious changes with the passport fiasco!)

8.  Julie needs to have the spotlight on her.  (Oh please, turn that light off, I'm actually pretty shy on stage..) 

9.  Julie needs to bite the bullet and set up a new home at a site hosted under the domain that she controls.  (Hmm...that sounds really painful.)

10.  JULIE NEEDS A PH.D.!   (It would be great if I could quit my job at the ghetto!) 

I did some shopping today and bought a wedding gift for my brother-inlaw's wedding.  It's a Labor Day wedding, the day after I arrive home from vacation.  I'm glad I bought it now; it's one thing less I need to do before I leave next Sunday, and my husband won't have to go shopping for it.  He hates shopping. 

Yesterday we went to a nice barbecue at my brother's house.  It was fun.  The kids had fun jumping on my brother's trampoline, and later before we left even Tania and her boyfriend Ruben hopped on with the kids.  I'm surprised no one got bounced on the roof after that... 

I can't believe next week about this time I'll be at the airport on my way to the Azores.  Weird.  It just seems so surreal and weird.  I'm looking forward to the trip, but I don't like thinking that I'm going to have to say goodbye to hubby for three weeks.  It makes me a little sad.  I also wonder who is going to have the real vacation; me or him in a nice and quiet house....while I'm chasing the 3 year old down cobblestone streets.  Hmm... 

Don't want to go into personal details but I woke up with some relief this morning.  All the stress with the passports, medication, training at work, and the death of the family pet brought my monthly visitor early this month.  You do not know how happy I was.  It's the last thing you want to deal with on a plane.  High altitudes are extremely cruel to the system.  Believe me...it's awful.  Thank you, Jesus! 

Finally, the stress of this vacation is lifting slowly away. 

Now, Julie NEEDS a drink! 

 

At Last..

I loaded up the van with the kids, and headed out for San Francisco this morning to my appointment at the Passport Processing Department.  I am happy to report that I and the kids are ready to travel! 

Yahoooo!  We have our passports!!  Finally...

All the paperwork was there with the application so I didn't have to submit any more documents or pay more money.  After various calls to national 800# I was told it may be a possibility, but alas, it ran more smoothly than expected.  We did have to come back a few hours to pick the passports up, and that included a lot of walking up and down the streets of San Francisco, and a hour wait in front of a building.  Of course I forgot the stroller, but my youngest was pretty good, and did not complain of all the walking.  We did find a really nice park at the Yerba Buena and Embarcadero..  I wish I had my camera.  There was a really nice park area with fountains, and it was nice just to stop there and rest our wreay feet.  Nicholas had a lot of fun making wishes in the fountain.  Here are an example of some of his wishes:

"I wish to play with my friends at school."

"I wish to make cookies with Mommy."

"I wish to eat cookies."

"I wish to see the stars at night.."

The wishes go on and on..  (I had a lot of pennies in my purse.)  Hearing his simple, little wishes always seem to take me back to reality.  It's the simple things in life that most matter. 

  The fountains for wishes; Yerba Buena Garden, San Francisco  Pictures courtesy of Google.

  We left San Francisco a little past 1 o'clock with our passports.  Imagine my surprise upon opening my email to read that my passports have been "sent."  Hmmm..  Makes you wonder.  Gee...  I just picked them up, and NOW they say they are going to mail them to me?  How strange. 

This week has been a strange one.  Wednesday was a particulary bad day; our family cat was put out of it's misery, and is gone.  It was quite an emotional day; especially for my older son.  Wednesday happened to fall on the my dad passed away as well.  In a nutshell, it was not a good day.  I now hear meows at my window, but he isn't there. 

Goodbye L.A.  We love and miss you. 

Pirate for a Day

                 

I just realized I've been wearing one large hoop earring all day.  Just one.  I forgot to put the other one on my ear.  When I'm stressed; things like this happen to me.  First the shirt tucked in the underwear incident at the grocery store, and now this.  Did anyone mention or say, "Gee, looks like you are missing an earring!"  Nope. 

Oh well..at least my shoes were matching. 

I accomplished a lot today, and I'm glad I took the day off.  If I hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to do half the stuff I did today.  The house is completely clean, and I even planted flowers in the backyard (with the help of Nicholas), and also flowers in the empty pots I had in the front yard.  They were empty because the previous flowers died.  I'm terrible about watering flowers sometimes.  It gets really hot here, and I need to remember to  water them daily. 

I saw the Carson Daly episode my daughter went to--and I of course they didn't film the audience.  Lizzy was right-Carson does look sickly and orange.  He was a bit more healthier looking when he did MTV/VH1.  She is on her way home as I type this; hopefully before 9 pm.  She missed her bus of course.  Tania should be arriving around this time as well.  I was going to make cookies, but I was at Target earlier with my one earring on, and I bought boxed donuts.  I don't want to wash another dish pan, spoon, or bowl thank you. 

I'm really tired--happy that I accomplished everything I set out to do, but my head is throbbing now, and I'm just pooped!  It is hitting me that I'll be leaving in approximately 1 week and a half.  Just thinking about that makes me tired and weary.  August is finally here.  Tomorrow I'm picking up my mom's meds.  Her check for them has been sitting in my wallet since mid-June.  Everytime I see it, it stresses me out.  Finally I can just get them, and pack them in a suitcase---FINALLY.  This passport thing--for some reason, sometimes, no matter how far ahead you plan things, sometimes things just don't run smoothly as expected.   When we brought in our applications I was told by the clerk that I would receive them "plenty of time" before my trip.  Normally passports take 6 weeks to process.  Our passports have been "sitting there" for 14 weeks!  Unbelievable.  I'm not the only one in this situation.  Apparently, hundreds of people will get them within days even hours before their trip.  Hopefully, after Friday, the stress over the passports will be over with and I can just mentally "get ready" for this trip.  My excitement has just about fizzed out if you want to know the truth. 

Okay, Nicholas just ran to get a chair to find the boxed donuts..go to run!

                                  

A Little Bit of This, and That...

Hello---  I wrote a whole big long-ass entry yesterday evening, but alas, AOL ate it for a midnight snack!

                    

AOL has been particularly a pain in the butt as of late...

Anyways, I've been a little under the weather lately, but I'm feeling better today.  It's been a particularly stressful last few weeks:

No..  I still don't have my passports and I'm leaving in 11 days.  I made an appointment for Friday morning at the "Passport Processing Center" in San Francisco.  I just got off the phone and was told that I will "probably" leave there with my four passports in tow.  There still might be a possibility that it will be mailed out tomorrow.  We shall see.. 

I've been training the new employee at work, and the receptionist of course, is down with a new "allergic reaction."  Last week she had blisters on her fingers.  Monday, her tongue was "swollen."  Yesterday, she had blisters inside her mouth.  When will this all end?!  Meanwhile, as this woman is laying on her sick bed, she has been getting a lot of brown packages in the mail from Nordstroms.  I don't know if you are familiar with this store, but I guess it is one of the higher end stores on the west coast.  Like a Macy's for example, but more expensive.  In other words:  I don't shop there.  I shop at JCPenny, Kohls, Target...Mervyns..etc.  The receptionist announced that she was coming in today-even if it mean't coming in wearing a bathrobe, because in her words she is "broke" money wise.  Just doesn't make sense, does it?  Perhaps she will come in wearing a designer bathrobe.  I'm not at work right now, and I am very tempted to call just to see if she is in today..  Hold on; let me check.  She is there--just got off the phone, and her voice sounds pretty clear to me for someone who has be ravaged by mouth full of blisters... 

I got the following in the email...  I thought it was pretty funny.

I've been on overload mode--taking on far too many things at once, and it has really wore me out this week.  I have so many things to do this morning, including going to the bank, grocery store, cleaning, picking up Lizzy from the greyhound depot, AND my cousin Tania is flying in tonight!  (Tania is my cousin Manny's daughter.)  She is so sweet, and when she is here, it feels like I have another daughter at home.  I'm looking forward to her visit--I'm just hoping the boys will keep the bathroom clean and work on their aim a little better.  Eww..  I know.

We Tivo'd Carson Daly's Last Call early this morning, and I hoping to see it soon.  Lizzy called yesterday and said that seeing Carson Daly was a bit of a disappointment.  In her words, Carson looked:  "Sickly and orange."  Oh well..  Celebrities do look different in person than they appear on T.V.  Like James Blunt for example.  He looks great on T.V., and in pictures, but up in person---he looked like a skinny, wet rat on stage singing, "You're beautiful....."  And, Jay Leno--OMG..  I saw him years ago in Reno, and I swear, his head is no proportionally correct.  It's the biggest part of his body, and he is very short in real life.  Julio Iglesias however, was still very handsome, and tanned--but he came across as a bit sexually deprived during his entire show.  I'll never forget this quote:  "Dancing is like making love, while standing up."  Lovely.

Okay, I must run now..  Have a nice week!