How pumpkin pie is made...
Showing posts with label Family and Friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family and Friends. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
You Go Girl!
With over 11 million views on YouTube, Susan Boyle has become a very unlikely sensation. Her performance on Britain's Got Talent brought down the house and scored an amazing three "yes" votes from the judges. Here are some lessons to learn from this:
- Don't judge a book by it's cover. It is obvious the audience and judges wrote her off before she even started to sing.
- Susan had a dream and went for it.
- Susan said her performance was a tribute to her mom, who she had cared for and is recently deceased, and what a tribute it was! Moms rule!
- Middle-aged women rock!
Susan definitely has my vote...you go girl!
To keep the YouTube views rising, click on the link below. Watching this video for the first time gave me goosebumps. It is truly amazing!
The CBS Early Show has a great follow up interview with Ms. Boyle. Enjoy!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Happy Spring!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Read Meme
I joined this Read Meme on the 23 Things on a Stick Ning. It was originally posted on Booklist Online. If you want to participate in this meme, just answer these and put them on your blog or take it to your next book discussion group (the original use for this meme).
1.Which book has been on your shelves the longest?
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
2.What is your current read, your last read, and the book you’ll read next?
Current: The Eight by Katherine Neville
Last: Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud
Next: A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
3.What book did everyone like and you hated?
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
4.Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?
The rest of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. I've gotten through Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book #4)
5.Which book are you saving for “retirement?”
Not sure. I'm not very good a saving books! Perhaps the rest of the Harry Potter series (refer to Question #4).
6.Last page: read it first or wait til the end?
I usually wait until the end, but if the book is dragging, I have been known to jump ahead just to be sure finishing it is worth my time. My husband and daughter think this is unforgivable. Sorry!
7. Acknowledgments: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?
Waste of ink. We all know that the author is grateful for the support of his/her publisher, editor, secretary, etc. I do like "dedications." They are usually short and sweet.
8.Which book character would you switch places with?
Elizabeth Bennet. Mr. Darcy, enough said.
9.Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?
Bruce's Loose Tooth by Eileen Landay. It was one of my daughter's favorite bedtime stories and will always have a special place in my heart.
10.Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.
I can't think of anything very interesting other than Christmas and birthday gifts or great garage sale or Goodwill finds.
11.Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?
I have given the book I Love You as Much... by Laura Krauss Melmed, illustrated by Henri Sorensen to several expectant mothers at baby showers.
12.Which book has been with you to the most places?
My Bible
13.Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?
I didn't really hate any high school reading. I had a really great English teacher (Mrs. Swanson) who made the reading selections very interesting. She explained each book and we had great classroom discussions about what we were reading.
14.What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?
An airline boarding pass found in a book that my daughter purchased for my husband At Sara's Table in Duluth, Minnesota.
15.Used or brand new?
I prefer brand new. It's like a Christmas gift any time of the year. However, I do cherish my collection of antique books.
16.Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?
Opiate of the masses. I can't say I'm a fan of the genre.
17.Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?
The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I'm not sure I liked these movies "better" than the book, but it's a close call.
18.Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?
Sahara by Clive Cussler. Bad, bad and even more bad! Even Matthew McConaughey couldn't save this one for me!
19.Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?
Denise
Check out these Read Meme participants blog responses:
Not Enough Coffee
Floating Lush
Librarian D.O.A.
J Wiles' 23 Things Times 2 Blog
1.Which book has been on your shelves the longest?
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
2.What is your current read, your last read, and the book you’ll read next?
Current: The Eight by Katherine Neville
Last: Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud
Next: A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
3.What book did everyone like and you hated?
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
4.Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?
The rest of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. I've gotten through Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book #4)
5.Which book are you saving for “retirement?”
Not sure. I'm not very good a saving books! Perhaps the rest of the Harry Potter series (refer to Question #4).
6.Last page: read it first or wait til the end?
I usually wait until the end, but if the book is dragging, I have been known to jump ahead just to be sure finishing it is worth my time. My husband and daughter think this is unforgivable. Sorry!
7. Acknowledgments: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?
Waste of ink. We all know that the author is grateful for the support of his/her publisher, editor, secretary, etc. I do like "dedications." They are usually short and sweet.
8.Which book character would you switch places with?
Elizabeth Bennet. Mr. Darcy, enough said.
9.Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?
Bruce's Loose Tooth by Eileen Landay. It was one of my daughter's favorite bedtime stories and will always have a special place in my heart.
10.Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.
I can't think of anything very interesting other than Christmas and birthday gifts or great garage sale or Goodwill finds.
11.Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?
I have given the book I Love You as Much... by Laura Krauss Melmed, illustrated by Henri Sorensen to several expectant mothers at baby showers.
12.Which book has been with you to the most places?
My Bible
13.Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later?
I didn't really hate any high school reading. I had a really great English teacher (Mrs. Swanson) who made the reading selections very interesting. She explained each book and we had great classroom discussions about what we were reading.
14.What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book?
An airline boarding pass found in a book that my daughter purchased for my husband At Sara's Table in Duluth, Minnesota.
15.Used or brand new?
I prefer brand new. It's like a Christmas gift any time of the year. However, I do cherish my collection of antique books.
16.Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?
Opiate of the masses. I can't say I'm a fan of the genre.
17.Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?
The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I'm not sure I liked these movies "better" than the book, but it's a close call.
18.Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?
Sahara by Clive Cussler. Bad, bad and even more bad! Even Matthew McConaughey couldn't save this one for me!
19.Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?
Denise
Check out these Read Meme participants blog responses:
Not Enough Coffee
Floating Lush
Librarian D.O.A.
J Wiles' 23 Things Times 2 Blog
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Concordia-Moorhead Closed
I'm relieved that my daughter, got home from Moorhead, Minnesota safely this evening. She attends Concordia College in Moorhead and has been sandbagging for a week (classes were cancelled). Water was shut off at the college earlier today, due to the Red River flooding. Later, the college closed completely and all students were told to leave tonight or tomorrow. They were told to pack for at least ten days. The college's website home page now is a Emergency Information Site.
This was the scene today in Moorhead, as she was leaving. To give you a glimpse of how fast the river is rising, look at the light pole in the pictures below.
This was the scene today in Moorhead, as she was leaving. To give you a glimpse of how fast the river is rising, look at the light pole in the pictures below.
Fargo-Moorhead Flood 2009 and Social Networks
The article "Social Networks Helping the Flood Effort" makes me appreciative and proud to be learning "More Things."
My daughter took these photos. I used Smilebox to create the slideshow.
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| Make a Smilebox slideshow |
My daughter took these photos. I used Smilebox to create the slideshow.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
If You're Gonna Play In Fargo. . .
My friend Sue e-mailed me this song and I couldn't resist forwarding it up to our daughter who attends Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota (Fargo's twin city). I hope you smile when you listen to it!
If You’re Gonna Play In Fargo. . .
Posted using ShareThis
Monday, January 19, 2009
Awesome Christmas Gift
Leading up to Christmas, I decided to use the direct, not-so-subtle hint, approach for giving gift suggestions to my husband.
After seeing an infomercial for a Cricut machine on tv, I decided that I really wanted one of them. I proceeded to pull up the Cricut website, found the machine I couldn't live without, lead my husband, Steve, into the computer room, sat him down on the chair, and said "all you need to do for Christmas is press the "Buy It Now" button. When I discovered a wrapped, Cricut shaped box under the tree a few weeks later, I was thrilled! Christmas Day came and the gifts were being handed out. I was excited, thinking my not-so-subtle hint plan had worked. It came to my turn to unwrap a gift. I bent down and picked up the box. To my surprise, it was really light-weight. Bummer, I thought, a Cricut machine would weight more than this. I tentatively unwrapped the gift and to my astonishment, it is one of the best gifts I have ever received!
Steve and I like to go on the Fargo/Moorhead Art Crawl each Fall. Our daughter, Signe, attends Concordia College in Moorhead and the studio tours are a great excuse to go up for a weekend visit. This year, a new artist was added to the tour. Val Halvorson of Quilt Art in Fargo. When I went in to her shop, I was so impressed with the quilts she creates. My mom was a quilter and one of Val's wall hangings was of a portrait that reminded me of my mom, who has passed away. After I left, Steve and Signe hired Val to make a quilted wall hanging of my mom and sent her a photograph to work off of. Here is the photo and the finished quilted wall hanging.
The quilt also has my dog, Cinnamon, who has also passed away. This is the first time the quilter has done a dog. Signe picked out the fabric and it includes things that remind her of Granny. The artist also included an actual necklace of my mom's around her neck. I think this is pretty amazing!
After seeing an infomercial for a Cricut machine on tv, I decided that I really wanted one of them. I proceeded to pull up the Cricut website, found the machine I couldn't live without, lead my husband, Steve, into the computer room, sat him down on the chair, and said "all you need to do for Christmas is press the "Buy It Now" button. When I discovered a wrapped, Cricut shaped box under the tree a few weeks later, I was thrilled! Christmas Day came and the gifts were being handed out. I was excited, thinking my not-so-subtle hint plan had worked. It came to my turn to unwrap a gift. I bent down and picked up the box. To my surprise, it was really light-weight. Bummer, I thought, a Cricut machine would weight more than this. I tentatively unwrapped the gift and to my astonishment, it is one of the best gifts I have ever received!Steve and I like to go on the Fargo/Moorhead Art Crawl each Fall. Our daughter, Signe, attends Concordia College in Moorhead and the studio tours are a great excuse to go up for a weekend visit. This year, a new artist was added to the tour. Val Halvorson of Quilt Art in Fargo. When I went in to her shop, I was so impressed with the quilts she creates. My mom was a quilter and one of Val's wall hangings was of a portrait that reminded me of my mom, who has passed away. After I left, Steve and Signe hired Val to make a quilted wall hanging of my mom and sent her a photograph to work off of. Here is the photo and the finished quilted wall hanging.
The quilt also has my dog, Cinnamon, who has also passed away. This is the first time the quilter has done a dog. Signe picked out the fabric and it includes things that remind her of Granny. The artist also included an actual necklace of my mom's around her neck. I think this is pretty amazing!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Quote and Video of the Day
"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."
Anais Nin (French writer)
Anais Nin (French writer)
The guy who filmed this video sure expanded his life! He must be a letterboxer or geocacher. I can't think of any other reason to hike on this trail!
Scariest Hiking Trail In The World - Watch more Free Videos
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Skype
I have known about Skype for over a year. I didn't really have much of a reason to use it, so I didn't explore it until last night. My daughter will be going to Europe this Spring and we have been looking at cell phones/plans that she can use over there. I think Skype just might be the answer. I downloaded Skype onto our HP laptop and she downloaded it onto her Mac iBook. We completed our first video call via Skype last night. Skype was really quick and easy to download. Along with the video call capability, you can "call" computer to computer with just audio and/or texting and it is FREE! Skype also allows you to call both cell phones and land lines from your computer, but there is a charge for that type of call. I would encourage everyone to try Skype-ing.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Barak Obama and Twitter
I have finally figured out a use for Twitter. I think I "get it" now!
At the TIES 2008 conference, I attended a class on using Twitter in the classroom. Through that class, I learned how to search for people with similar interests. After signing up for a Twitter account, you can go to http://search.twitter.com and type in something that you are interested in, i.e.: Web 2.0, quilting, goecaching, etc. A list of people who Twitter about that subject will come up. You can then click on their picture, look at their "tweets" and if you are interested in what they have to say, you click on the "Follow" button below their profile picture. I added the Twitter gadget to my iGoogle homepage so that I can have easy access to the "tweets" of the people I'm following.
I was pleasantly surprised when I checked my e-mail yesterday to discover that Barak Obama has chosen to follow me on Twitter! I forwarded the e-mail to impress my friends and family!
At the TIES 2008 conference, I attended a class on using Twitter in the classroom. Through that class, I learned how to search for people with similar interests. After signing up for a Twitter account, you can go to http://search.twitter.com and type in something that you are interested in, i.e.: Web 2.0, quilting, goecaching, etc. A list of people who Twitter about that subject will come up. You can then click on their picture, look at their "tweets" and if you are interested in what they have to say, you click on the "Follow" button below their profile picture. I added the Twitter gadget to my iGoogle homepage so that I can have easy access to the "tweets" of the people I'm following.
I was pleasantly surprised when I checked my e-mail yesterday to discover that Barak Obama has chosen to follow me on Twitter! I forwarded the e-mail to impress my friends and family!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Christmas Shopping
Before heading out to do some Christmas shopping today, I checked my e-mail to see if our daughter had finally sent us her Christmas "wish" list. In fact, she had e-mailed us her list and most of the items on her list were from The Hunger Site. This is a fantastic site which features fair trade, organic and artsy items. What is really great about this site is that you can select a cause that will benefit from your purchases. Hunger, breast cancer, child health, literacy, rainforest and animal rescue are the causes to choose from. It's like getting two gifts in one...getting a gift for someone you love and helping out a favorite cause! I will be making my order on this site later tonight. If the upcoming snow storm prevents you from making it to your local mall. Please remember this site!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Letterboxing and Geocaching Adventures
My friend Kathy noted that I hadn't updated my blog recently. This time of year is always busy with back-to-school and the holidays. I have been doing lots of things with family and friends. Thanksgiving weekend I spent in Des Moines, Iowa with family. I introduced all of them to letterboxing. This was the first letterbox we found near Des Moines at the Saylorville Lake and Dam.
It was really interesting to see the flood damage at this location. The roadway that you were directed to take in the original letterbox clue had been completely washed away. Luckily the clue had been revised since the Spring flooding.
This past weekend, Steve and I went to visit Signe and attended the Concordia Christmas Concert. It was awesome, as usual. On the way up to Fargo/Moorhead, we found a letterbox at a wayside rest stop off of Interstate 94. Before the concert on Saturday, we went geocaching in Moorhead and successfully found 1 of the 4 caches we searched for. We still are getting the hang of geocaching. Hopefully it will become easier the more we do it. The new GPS is fun to use!
On our way home on Sunday, the temperature was 5*F, it was snowing, windy and really, really cold. Oh, what to do on a miserable day??? You look for letterboxes! We successfully found 5 of the 7 we looked for on the way home. Quincy (our dog) even wore his jacket, much to Steve's embarrasement. We had to carry him at times because his feet were too cold.
We stopped at Loso's art sale in St. Joseph to do a little Christmas shopping before finally heading home.
It was really interesting to see the flood damage at this location. The roadway that you were directed to take in the original letterbox clue had been completely washed away. Luckily the clue had been revised since the Spring flooding.
This past weekend, Steve and I went to visit Signe and attended the Concordia Christmas Concert. It was awesome, as usual. On the way up to Fargo/Moorhead, we found a letterbox at a wayside rest stop off of Interstate 94. Before the concert on Saturday, we went geocaching in Moorhead and successfully found 1 of the 4 caches we searched for. We still are getting the hang of geocaching. Hopefully it will become easier the more we do it. The new GPS is fun to use!
On our way home on Sunday, the temperature was 5*F, it was snowing, windy and really, really cold. Oh, what to do on a miserable day??? You look for letterboxes! We successfully found 5 of the 7 we looked for on the way home. Quincy (our dog) even wore his jacket, much to Steve's embarrasement. We had to carry him at times because his feet were too cold.
We stopped at Loso's art sale in St. Joseph to do a little Christmas shopping before finally heading home.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Steve and I worked outside all day today and it was really cold and snowy. Because of this, I wimped out and didn't go to the Minnesota Mineral Club meeting tonight, opting instead to stay home, keep warm and read my latest book, "The Genesis Code" by John Case. I went on-line to check e-mail, and got a little side-tracked after reading a blog I'm following in my RSS feed. It talked about Twitter and so, I decided to sign up. I e-mailed a couple of friends to join me. I guess I'm a little confused. I thought I was going to be able to search Twitter for people who have common interests and then follow their tweets. I have not figured out how to search for people via their interests. I'm not sure I have time to keep following everyone until I find someone who posts something that interests me. Does that make sense? If you have any pointers for me, please leave me a comment. Here's a link to my Twitter profile: SZSRocks Twitter Profile
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
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