Our Favorite Reads For December

Gerard's Favorite was These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf

and Karen liked it too!

The first book I read on my Kindle!

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf tells the story of Allison Glen. She's a young teen girl who was her parents' pride and joy--good grades, great athlete, had it all until an unwanted pregnancy and a chain of events changed all that. She gets a chance to get back into society but her parents shun her although she keeps trying to reach out to her sister.

WOW! This book is Good! This is a page turner that I did not want to put down. I got into it from page one! I love this author's first book (The Weight of Silence) and this one is just as good, if not better! The ending is shocking!

Karen said:
This is a sad book about two sisters, adoption, guilt, infanticide and relationships. It certainly kept my interest but had a surprise ending that I didn’t expect. This shows how far teenagers will go if they feel isolated and desperate. I think “These Things Hidden” would be a good Book Club book.

Karen's Favorite was True Colors by Kristin Hannah:

What a neat novel True Colors by Kristin Hannah is! It starts off following the lives of three sisters from when their mother died while they were teens.

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9 Things We Learned This Week (blogging, movies, reading,news, gifts, sports, health)

Funniest Christmas Present

Over at Mr. Puddy Merry Christmas and Happy New Year post, he demonstrated playing with his new toy: video games for cats on his iPuddy! It's hilarious! Now even our pets will have to work at staying active and not becoming addicted to video games!

Number Pad Does More Than Just Numbers

By holding down the ALT key and typing in numbers on the number pad at the right of the computer keyboard, you can get a whole lot of different special characters, symbols and even letters! See a whole list of ASCII Code List for Numpad Characters at CHEXED. Here are a few I might use: ♥ (alt-3), § (alt-21, Section sign), ► (alt-16), ♫ (alt-14).

Kindness In the News

Last Saturday in the PLAIN DEALER I read some 'Layaway angels" people who actually paid off individual layaway accounts that were full of toys to help out families they didn't even know. I thought that was so wonderful!

One guy at the Walmart in Cleveland Heights paid off $1,000 layaway account and bought $1,000 worth of $50 gift cards, gave them to his school age children to hand them out randomly to customers throughout the store! I love it! What a generous and wonderful thing to do and to allow the children to experience the joy of giving as well! As if that wasn't enough, the guy came back and paid off $1,700 of the store's layaway accounts.

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Christmas At Our House in 2011 (UPDATED)

Best decorated house in our Neighborhood!

Christmas morning, we slept in, then both walked Abby. Gerard wanted to show me a particular house that had really great lights and I agreed. I had a gift I wanted to "re-gift" but and was trying to think of someone to give it to when I got a brilliant idea! I would leave it at the house with the fantastic decorations as from Santa. Gerard and Abby continued on their way while I went back home to play Santa and wrap up the present with a card that said:

My secret assistants report that you have the best decorated house in the neighborhood. Thanks for brightening up this neighborhood! Santa

(I also inserted a contact card separately so they knew it was actually from a real person who they could thank.) I went back and left it next to their morning paper by the front door. It was fun being kind of sneaky and surprising someone we didn't even know!

Some of our gifts

Gerard and I both enjoy buying things for each other got lots of nice things. The few things I asked for, he got for me which I am very happy with along with some nice surprises too. I mostly got him clothes this year because that's what he needed, but he was thrilled to see I bought the Bruins book for him.

Gerard's new suit that is a fur magnet

Gerard got: winter coat, two pair of shoes, two pair of jeans (one fleece lined), folding dog dish to take on walks, Buckeye hat, candy, black suit, black shirt, Bruins book, candy.

Karen got:  Classical music CD, peanuts, binder clips, two shirts, Furry Logic books, the cute owl hat I asked for, leopard PJs, Browns dog, two big soft furry pillows, blue thermo-fit hoodie and a Kindle case.  Now to see what our pets got, read more:

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WOW! Most Amazing TD I Ever Saw!

Jerome Simpson is was amazing in the game on Christmas Eve day as proved in this demonstration of his athleticism. I was watching the boring Browns game but they interrupted it to show us this play and my jaw just dropped, WOW! I could watch this over and over again. It's that fantastic!

First of all, the guy is running and jumps over the defender who is standing right in front of him! How can he even jump that high? Not only does he do that, but he keeps holding onto the football with just one hand all the way over and into the end zone. Plus, for style points, he adds a flip and lands on his feet! I couldn't believe it when I saw this! Gerard missed it because at the time he was out walking our dog, but when I saw it on Yahoo news, I called him to show him. His reaction was WOW too!

To top it off, when he was interviewed, he was actually humble about it and when the announcers were all giving him 10s and one even 11 for his gymnastic stunt, he gave himself a 9 because he did touch down with his hand on his landing. I never knew who Jerome Simpson was before I saw this play, but now I don't think I'll ever forget him. It was just amazing, you have to see this!   Even if you aren't into sports, you have to appreciate the beautiful display of athleticism on this one.


One reason I like watching football is the athleticism and knowing that at any time, someone could make a huge play so there's always hope--yes, even for Browns fans like me.  In my book, Jerome Simpson holds the record for the most amazing running touchdown ever!  This will be hard to beat! 

The Browns did have a big play too though but paled in comparison to this one.  Josh Cribbs had a long punt return that started on the right side of the field and crossed over all the way to the left side as he ran one in for a touchdown.  It kept the Browns in the game and provided some spark for us Browns fans.


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A Fun Lunch At The Chocolate Bar

Some co-workers having lunch at The Chocolate Bar on Euclid Avenue in Downtown Cleveland.

$8.95 chocolate/strawberry crepe

The Chocolate Bar is a restaurant located in just three states:  Cleveland, Buffalo and Louisville. Last Tuesday, I went to lunch there with eight other secretaries from my floor for the first time.  We did this for our holiday floor party.  We were able to study the menu ahead online and went with just the chocolate/strawberry crepe which was very good and filling.  I tried to find something at least semi-healthy for lunch so I thought the fruit was pretty good.  I wonder what Bob, the trainer on "The Biggest Loser" would think of my choice.  I was very happy with it.

I was the only one who just went with dessert, but did you see the price?  I didn't want to spend over $12 on lunch and wanted to get something that I normally wouldn't get anywhere else that would be unique to The Chocolate Bar.  I also didn't want to over stuff myself since I normally have a light lunch.  Anyhow, three gave me their miniature Eclairs because they were so full!

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Happy Birthday, Jesus!

I find it very odd that normal church schedules are adjusted for Christmas because it falls on Sunday this year.  We had two very nice candlelight worship services Christmas Eve that were well attended.

Our church normally has three services but on Christmas, we only have one and Sunday School classes and  adult Bible Studies are canceled this week.  It's obvious the reason is that people put family before Jesus.  There, I said it.  Christians say that Christmas is Christ's birthday celebration, yet when it comes down to it, do we really put Him first?  I wonder.  I wonder what God thinks of Christians skipping church on Sunday because it's not convenient for their family plans.

I would think the churches would be full on Christmas morning this year but it doesn't seem to be the case.  I wonder why.  Just sayin'.

It's Jesus Christ's Birthday! Happy Birthday, Jesus! Take some time and watch this video, What Would Jesus Want For Christmas?

I think Jesus Wish List would look something like this:

♦The worship of all people
♦Unity among all my followers
♦People loving one another
♦Me to seek Him and do His will
♦For his followers to tell others about Him

What will you give Jesus this year for His birthday?

What do you think about this?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!  Merry Christmas everyone!

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6 Things We Learned This Week (books, brain, Ecuador, blogs)

Animal Close Encounters

I knew Betty White was an animal lover (like me) but had no idea how much she was involved with the Los Angeles Zoo until I read her book, Betty and Friends--My Life At The Zoo. She held baby koala bears, a baby gorilla, a boa constrictor, kissed giraffes, and knows many, many zoo animals by name! The photos in her book are fantastic!

Brain Activity

In Keep Your Brain Alive by Lawrence C. Katz, Ph.D. and Manning Rubin, it said on pg. 117 that

Research has shown that watching television literally numbs the mind: The brain is less active during TV-viewing than during sleep!

I find this hard to believe! TV evokes emotions and thoughts about what's going to happen, or who done it, etc. (My review of this book I got for my birthday will be up at Grab A Book From Our Stack.

Give A Book

At We Give Books for the rest of the year, when you read a book in their online library you can donate a book to a child in a friend’s name. All you have to do is fill out the simple form at the end of each book you read. They will notify your friend of your gift, and – most important – we’ll donate a book to a child who might not have one this holiday.

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Corinthians 13 Christmas

CORINTHIANS 13 CHRISTMAS

If I decorate my house perfectly with colorful bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love, I'm just another cook.

If I drop change into the salvation army bucket, but do not show love, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and glittering snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing Christmas carols, but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the ones we hold dear. Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never fails.

Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will endure.

 I can't take credit for writing this, one of my friends, Dawn, posted it on Facebook and shared it with us at the Women of Wonder (W.O.W.) meeting.  I just thought it was very good and wanted to share it with you.

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6 Different Ways To Fold Napkins

I didn't realize there were so many different ways to fold a napkin until I went to our Women of Wonder meeting this month at Parma Heights Baptist Church,  I included links to the video demonstration I made for each one. You need to use cloth napkins that are not slippery so they hold a fold.  Abby (our dog) was barking while I was doing this.  She wanted to go for her walk.  Hopefully the printed instructions here will be helpful.

Rose

Rose (easy) Rose

Fold all four corners of open napkin to center.
Fold new corners to center.
Turn napkin over and fold all four corners to center.
Holding the center firmly, reach under each corner and pull up flaps to form petals.  Reach between petals and pull flaps from underneath.

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A Surprise For My Pastor

Sometimes people can be very stubborn.  A few months ago, our Pastor nicely asked the people who attend our 8:15 a.m. service to sit in the middle section because we are so spread out.  We have a fairly large sanctuary and only about 50 people in the early service who sit all over.  My husband and I used to sit on the right side near the doors, but moved to the center the week after he asked and have sat there since.

8:15 service on Dec. 4, 2011

I don't understand why people refuse to move.  This seems like such a little request to me and yet, very few have cooperated.  I would think this would make him feel so discouraged and unappreciated.  Isn't it sad how people get so set in their ways that they refuse to budge?  I felt like standing by the door and reminding people that the Pastor would like for us to sit in the center and so I think it would be a nice surprise for him if we all did it today.  Do you think they would?

I decided to go ahead and do it last Sunday.  I wrote up a little note and handed to the people as they arrived. Here is what it said:

LET'S SURPRISE PASTOR DAN TODAY


Several months ago he asked us to sit in the center section at the 8:15 service so let's all do it today. He'd be shocked and encouraged, don't you think? It'll be fun o see his reaction and would be a cool surprise that doesn't cost us anything! --Karen Zemek

8:15 service on Dec. 11, 2011

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4 Things We Learned This Week (AAA, Kindle, Money, YouTube)

AAA

When my car battery died last Saturday, I called AAA and discovered that they sell new batteries and came right to my house and replaced my dead one--cost $113.

Amazon Kindle

I got a Kindle for my birthday and learned you need a wifi connection to get started which I found at our library--yea! Thanks for all the encouraging comments. Now I am learning how to load the books I want. I tried yesterday to borrow an e-book, but the site was down for maintenance! I did get my Kindle all charged up though.

Money

Did you hear about the lady who did and left $13 million to her CAT? How crazy is that!

Got my Christmas bonus yesterday and learned I'll be getting a raise next year. Yippee! That made my day!

YouTube

My YouTube channel got a facelift. It's a whole different layout now and can include several links. Of course, I listed all my blogs. My napkin folding post is scheduled for Wednesday (still have to add my pictures to it but my videos are done. If you can't wait, you can find them on YouTube (just search for kzemek and all my videos will come up).


Other Fragments:

It was nice getting some birthday cards that I did not expect. The one I got from Gerard was really cute and two from a couple new friends.

Took my morning pill (on the left side) instead of my evening pill (on the right side) by mistake yesterday--how nutso! Fortunately, thanks to my cat Manny knocking over the other bottle with his tail, I realized I had the wrong ones. At least I didn't take both morning pills! Skipped the evening one (which I take every other day) and will just take it tonight. Didn't want to risk combining the two. See, I'm not a complete idiot.


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Christmas Decorating (Writer's Workshop)

One of Mama Kat's Writer's workshop prompts this week is:  "Have you decorated your Christmas tree?  Share a favorite Christmas ornament."

The little boy with the snowball is probably my favorite one because my mom made it.   We have several home-made ornaments including a paper butterfly that I made in Kindergarten!  Also some made by my aunts and of course the one Gerard and me got for our first Christmas together.

We didn’t put ornaments on our tree this year though because we decided not to block our cats off from the basement where we put our tree.  I am lazy so just put it up down there because that’s where we have the space for it.  Instead of ornaments, I used our Christmas cards that we received last year which is safer for the cats.  No sharp hooks for them to step on and no ornaments they can knock off and break.  Am I practical or what!

The first year I decorated just a small tree like this just for the cats:  The Cats' Tree Is Up.  I missed the big tree though so decided to use the cards on our bigger tree this year.  The cats really like having a tree. 

The other prompt was to show your Nativity set:  Spunky Helps Set up the Nativity Set

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Look What I Got For My Birthday

I turned 58 today and got an early birthday present from our pets:

It's a doggie that has human treats inside--the head comes off.  Since Karen gives us treats, we wanted to give her some!

I opened my packages from my husband from smallest to largest.  The first was a Kindle but was disappointing because we do not have wifi and to use it, you need to connect to a wifi connection and enter some password.  I tried calling our Internet carrier (ATT) for the password and the customer rep never heard of a Kindle!  Anyway, eventually she told me I needed to get a router so they could set up a wireless connection.  When we asked about them at OfficeMax, the salesman told me it would only work for the Kindle in our house.  Gerard didn't realize it would be such a hassle.  At this point, I'm looking into returning it.


Gerard videotaped me doing my napkin folding demonstration so getting the videos ready took the rest of the morning.  Then we had a good lunch at Hometown Buffet, took a nice walk in the park and then opened my other two presents plus another one (he didn't count the Kindle since it was a bust) that was a book I had asked for:  Keep Your Brain Alive:  83 Neurobic Exercises to Help Prevent Memory Loss and Increase Mental Fitness by Lawrence C. Katz, Ph.D. and Manning Rubin.

My second present that I opened before going to lunch was an alarm clock/radio that also has a light that comes on gradually 15 minutes before the alarm goes off to act like sunrise which will be nice.  That will definitely help me wake up better.  I set it to wake with music during the week and to a sound of a river on the weekends. It has a sleep feature too that has the light go off automatically.  Spunky Doodle has already discovered the FM antennae wire so I hope we'll be able to use the radio feature.

The big package was a portable electric heater that I can use in my den. It even rotates but it has to be at least three feet from furniture and curtains so I can't use it in our computer room because it's too small with the chairs in there that the cats use. It'll be nice when I have my quiet time in the mornings up there because it's always cooler than the rest of the house in the winter..

It was nice being off work and I enjoyed the day.  Thanks, Gerard, for all the nice things and don't worry about the Kindle--I'll figure something out or else find a way to return it or sell it.  

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Christmas Ideas I Picked Up From Women of Wonder

I won this edible tree!!

Thursday I attended the Women of Wonder meeting at our church and WOW!  They really outdid themselves this time.  First off, I won a door prize!  I candy Christmas tree surrounded by Hershey kisses.  I already ate the top layer before I remembered to take this picture of it.

We had a full meal from Antonios including salad, rigatoni, chicken, pizza and three dessert choices!  What a great way to start a meeting!  Then, instead of sitting the whole time, we had three stations:  (1) ornament making; (2) hospitality tips, (3) Christmas traditions.

The Cinnamon Ornament

The dough was already made for us ahead (1 cup applesauce mixed with 1 cup of cinnamon). Roll it out 1/4" thick, use cookie cutters to make little ornaments, use a toothpick to make a hole for hanging with ribbon/string and then over a week, let it dry out remembering to flip it over every day. They smell good and also work for a package decoration.

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5 Things We Learned This Week (Eyes, Advent, napkins, Browns, animals)

Eye Doctor

Gerard was referred to another doctor because one of his tests showed he didn't have good peripheral vision on his right side. If it was up to him, he wouldn't go but I will be making an appointment for him. The doctor said I really need to make sure he goes because it could indicate some neurological disorder.

Advent

I learned that Advent has colors: pink and purple over at It's Just Life's "So What is all the Hoo Haa About Advent." Beth Ann posted a cute Advent video you should go see. I always thought of pink and purple together as just a girlie color combo.

Napkin Folding

At our Women of Wonder meeting last night, I learned there are lots of different ways to fold cloth napkins to make your table look special. Also, when done eating, the napkin should be placed to the left of your plate. Maybe I'll try doing a video demonstration next week.

Browns

I woke this morning to the sad news that the Browns once again lost 14-3 to the Steelers and were in the "Red Zone" twice and couldn't get into the end zone. Our QB, Colt McCoy took an illegal helmet hit--one of the reasons I didn't want to watch this game is because I didn't want to see Colt McCoy getting clobbered again.

Wolf Dogs

After reading Part Wild by Ceiridwen Terrill, I learned that "Wolves do what they want. Dogs ask 'What do you want me to do?'" p. 131. Wolf dogs are hard to contain because they have a natural instinct to roam, are very destructive, they are very strong and powerful and may go after other animals without being provoked, need lots of freedom and exercise, and although may be friendly as pups, can turn on their owners and become very aggressive, not to mention howling a lot which disturbs neighbors. It really made me appreciate our wonderful dog all the more!

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I Cry Every Time I See This (Writers Workshop)

Image from Amazon

“Bells of St. Mary’s” with Bing Crosby is one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies; and although I know many of the lines by heart, it never fails to make me cry at the end when the nun who loves St. Mary's and teaching there so much has to leave because she has TB.  The doctor told the priest not to tell her why because he thought it would help her recover quicker, but the nun is devastated at the thought of not being at St. Mary’s next year and not being able to teach anywhere else either.  The Priest and the nun had several disagreements during the school year so she thought O’Malley, the Priest, was just getting her out because they didn’t see eye to eye.

The Priest really respected and liked her though, and couldn’t let her go thinking that.  They have a touching heart-to-heart and he tells her the real reason why she needs to go which makes her so happy.  It’s such a touching scene that I cry every time even though I know it is coming.

What movie makes you cry every time?  Do you like this one too?  If so, what's your favorite part?

This is in response to Mama Kat's Writers Workshop prompt: "What is it about that movie that makes you cry every time?"

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Rainy Season is Here and Gerard's Ready

Rain doesn't bother me--Karen will dry me off

Over the past week or so, it seems like every time it's time to walk the dog, it's raining.  Our dog, Abby, doesn't mind walking in the rain at all.  She'll even took Gerard on an hour to an hour and a half walk in the rain when he had the day off for his birthday.

This is much better!

That's why I bought him a raincoat for his birthday this year.  He had other jackets, but not that were waterproof so he really came back soaked.  Walking in the rain isn't hear so bad if you are prepared for it.

I have a long rain coat too that is really good for rainy days.  It's not very warm, but it's big enough for me to wear a jacket under it.

Do you wear a rain coat?

Stop by Pet Pride for other post about pets.

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Color Is Good--Eat Healthy!

This is an email that Louise over at Country Pictures sent to me that I think is so good, I want to share it with my readers.

COLOR IS GOOD Yesterday I went to the doctor For my yearly physical. My blood pressure was high. My cholesterol was high. I'd gained some weight, and I didn't feel so hot. My doctor said eating right doesn't have to be complicated and it would solve my physical problems. He said: Just think in colors. Fill your plate with bright colors. Try some greens, oranges, reds, maybe something yellow, etc. and eat an entire bowl of bright colors. And Sure Enough, I Felt Better Immediately !! I never knew eating right could be so easy !! Now stay healthy, eat your colors, and have a nice day!

Are you a healthy eater? This cartoon shows the way I think!

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Eye Doctor Trip Is Birthday Downer

Necktie from Abby (our dog)--Yup, that's me on his tie! Woof!  Woof!

I never minded going to the eye doctor because it was painless and I would get new glasses so I could see better if I needed them.  Saturday was Gerard's 59th birthday and he said I should go ahead and make our eye appointments for that day.  The year is almost over so to get the benefit of our eye care insurance, we had to get before the end of the year.

We both got our eyes dilated and had to wear sunglasses because it was a nice sunny day.  The bad news was that on the one test, Gerard flunked!  The doctor said his peripheral vision on the right side didn't exist and referred him to another doctor.  This news did not set well and Gerard's initial reaction was "I just won't go."

After talking to the doctor myself, she said his eyes were healthy but . . . the peripheral vision problem could be something neurologically wrong so "make sure he goes."  The book we read, Left Neglected by Lisa Genova immediately came to mind.

This is difficult to accept, but I told him it was just like if I had said I wouldn't go see the surgeon that our doctor referred me to when the mammogram indicated I had breast cancer.  I mentioned how great it was to have those three months off from work with full pay after my surgery!

Fortunately, I guess that convinced him to go because he said I should make the appointment for the last week of this month when we are off work.  I just hope the doctor isn't taking off that week too between Christmas and New Year's.  From now on, we are not making any more doctor appointments on our birthdays!

People should go to the eye doctor every year because even if you can see, sometimes they can discover other problems from a thorough eye exam, including diabetes for one.  Have you gone this year? 

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So That’s Why They Changed The Time

Thanks to the Browns-Ravens game being switched to 4:00 p.m. today, I will have to DVR it and watch it later because I have puppet practice from 4-6 p.m. 

The Patriots-Colts are playing at 1:00 instead of the 4:00 time previously announced.  Supposedly, the 4:00 time is the prime time for the better teams, but I like the 1:00 time better.  Anyhow, it seems that the powers to be try to put the more interesting games on at 4:00 and as the season progresses, they get a better take on what games will be most interesting so they have a flexible schedule. 

They must think the Browns-Ravens game will be closer than the Patriots-Colts game so I should be happy my team is finally getting some respect, I guess.  I’ll be anxious to see if we get better announcers this week as well.  I’ve been told that the best teams get the best announcers and the bad teams get the bad announcers.  In reality, the Colts have been terrible this year and will most likely get blown away by the Patriots. 

What time do you prefer?  What do you think about this flexible scheduling?

Other sort of related post you might like: Puppets Come to Life with Helping Hands

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6 Things We Learned This Week 48 of 2011 (free, donations, Carols, hens)

Free ebooks

You can download free ebooks from www.cuyahogalibrary.org for your Kindle, Nook, Sony reader, ipad and more with no late fees and available 24/7.

Zoo Free

On Thanksgiving, we went to the zoo in the afternoon and the parking lots were pretty full. Admission if free to everyone on Thanksgiving Day!

Donate Your Bike

I learned that Wheels of Change ships used bikes from the U.S. to Africa. You can find a donation facility near you at www.wocinternational.org. If you are getting new bikes for Christmas, you might want to donate your old ones.

Get The Eggs Where You Want Them

Over at For Love or Funny I learned that if you put a glass egg in a nest, hens will lay more near it! She tried this with a dollar bill on her table to see if more money would come, but that didn't work. This is a blog that is usually funny with great pictures to go along with the posts. I visit it regularly and now she is even having a $35 Amazon Gift Card giveaway! I suggest you go visit this upcoming romance author.

Christmas Carols

I was pleased to hear actual Christmas Carols playing in CVS yesterday! At least one store still play Carols. Do you know of any others?

Comment Count

Our comments were up last month--238 which resulted in $119 more for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, our charity for November! Thanks to all of you who took time to comment.

For more Friday Fragments or to link up yours, visit Half-Past Kissin' Time.

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Comment For Charity: The Cleveland Pregnancy Center

For November, we donated 50 cents per legitimate comment on all our blogs to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. St. Jude's Children's Hospital is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay.  We had 238 comments which translated into a $119 donation!  Thank you all who took time to comment!

After hearing about all the services provided and seeing the 180 movie about abortion, the charity I chose this month is The Cleveland Pregnancy Center. During December, we will donate 50 cents per legitimate comment on all our blogs to The Cleveland Pregnancy Center which saves lives by helping mothers out so they can keep their babies or provide them with alternatives to abortion.

Here is the powerful 180 movie that I took time to watch even though it's 33 minutes long. It's worth the time and gives a person a lot to think about! I hope you will watch it if you haven't seen it yet.





We hope you will visit all our blogs and comment away (our tabs at top will take you there).

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Our Favorite Reads for November: Mudbound and Roam

Karen's favorite book she read this month was Mudbound by Hillary Jordan (Gerard liked it too!):

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan is a book that drew me into the characters.  It is historical fiction during 1946 about a black and a white man coming home from war to Mississippi to help their families on the farm.  I had no idea what this book was about from the title, but “Mudbound” is the name of the farm Henry bought out of the blue without even consulting his wife, Laura.  She is the one who named the farm because she felt trapped there.  Through great story telling by all the characters, the reader discovers the tragic story behind Pappy’s death.

Although I did not like the offensive language, it was a part of history and was used appropriately in conveying the unfairness the Blacks faced every day.  Mudbound is very well written and had lots of good passages in it.  I had a hard time choosing a teaser!  I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it if you like books with some depth that cause you to really take an interest in the characters.  I agree with Gerard that it would make a good movie.

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Unique Presentation of The Hallelujah Chorus in Alaska

This video from the small Yupiq Eskimo Village of Quinhagak, Alaska, was a school computer project intended for the other Yupiq villages in the area." I found this over at Along the Way and just had to share it with you!





I think it's amazing that none of the letters were going the wrong way by mistake and that they were flipped right on cue! A lot of work went into making this video and I really enjoyed it! Hope you will too.

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Another Disappointment For Browns Fans

Abby asks:  Why do you watch football when it makes you so upset?

I thought for sure the Browns would win over St. Louis two weeks ago, but they lost.  Here is what I yelled:   “HOLD EM!  DON’T LET THEM SCORE!  CAN YOU BELIEVE IT—THEY ARE SO BAD!  HOW PATHETIC!  UNBELIEVABLE! (Which I said when the snap rolled along the ground and we missed a field goal)  PUT IT IN THE END ZONE!  THROW THE BALL!  NOOOOOO!  STOP THEM!  GO FOR A TOUCHDOWN!  GOOOOO!”   It was like they didn't even want a Touchdown.  They kept going for field goals and had lots of penalties.

Then, last week they actually won to my surprise.  They played pretty decent against Jacksonville but just barely hung on at the end, but they did.  I was in shock!

The first time they played Cincinnati this year, they lost because they weren't even ready for the play.  They looked really foolish but today they actually played well.  They even scored a touchdown in the first quarter on a 24-yd. pass which was a first for this season!  We got an interception and actually scored a touchdown on it.  Too bad we gave one up and the Bengals did the same thing, but the Browns were actually leading the whole game until the Bengals tied it up in the 4th quarter with a field goal.  Once again, we were battling for the win in the last few minutes of the game and had a chance to pull ahead with a field goal.  Again, it was like the St. Louis game with the snap rolling along the ground!  The field goal attempt was close but no good.  The Browns kept the Bengals from scoring a touchdown but gave up the field goal and lost 23-20.

It was a heartbreaking loss just when we had a chance to start climbing back up. I took Abby for a short walk and came across some peperoni on a tree lawn which she was determined to get.  The only way I got her moving was to pick it up and lead her along with it.  I forgot to bring her treats along.  By the time we got home, I was calmed down.  I wasn't too upset because the Browns did play well today.  They didn't have many penalties at all and did score 20 points which was fun to see.  I'm sure it's even more frustrating for the players to lose games like this that they played so hard to win.

Related post:  We're Thankful The Browns Won A Game

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How We Spent Thanksgiving Day

Of course our day began with Gerard walking Abby. We both watched "Parenthood" and then I watched "The Biggest Loser" while Gerard took Abby for another long walk.  Abby got a big bone and the cats got treats.

After Gerard read his email and printed a Steak-n-shake coupon, we had our Thanksgiving dinner at The Golden Coral. It was good and we did not over stuff ourselves. They even had a chocolate fountain so I had four chocolate covered marshmallows!

On Thanksgiving, we went to the zoo in the afternoon and the parking lots were pretty full. Admission is free to everyone on Thanksgiving Day! We enjoyed watching the four grizzly bear cubs playing and enjoying their special Thanksgiving day treat of a bunch of branches.

The people were interesting too, like this couple here.

I bought some battery operated candles at CVS to place in our windows that are time to light for 8 hours and be off 16 hours.  Gerard took Abby for another walk while I set up my new candles in the front windows, scheduled this post and took care of the cats.

We finished off the evening with some reading and some TV.  What did you do yesterday?  Are you going shopping today?

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Skit On Giving Thanks With A Grateful Heart

This video is by The Skit Guys. Visit their website for more great videos!

We have so much to be thankful for! Everything we have is from God and when we realize that we are really dependent on Him for everything,we will have a thankful heart all the time, not just on Thanksgiving. Look for God's purpose in every situation and be good stewards of all the things He has given to you.

I was thrilled to see my nephew and his wife dedicate their two little children to the Lord last Sunday. Children are gifts from God and a very huge responsibility.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!  Read about My Favorite Thanksgiving!

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Busted! By Spunky Doodle

Aww, c’mon mom!  Let me stay here, PLEASE!

I almost got to be on the new chair the whole evening when Karen was on the couch with Manny watching TV.  She didn’t notice me jumping up on the chair.  It’s so comfy!  But then Gerard came in and saw me and told Karen I was up there so he made me get off.  After he left though, I went back on without Karen noticing; pretty sneaky, huh?  I am getting good at that!  I know they think I might vomit and mess up the chair because I do sometimes do that, but not too much lately and usually not in the evening.

Karen didn’t notice until she got up to go to bed so then she made me get off.  I didn’t mind then because I sleep with her in the bed anyhow.

Do you think they’ll ever give in and leave me in peace when I’m on the new chair?  I can be very persistent!  Is there a place at your house where you are not allowed to go?

Go visit Bozo over at Pet Pride to link up your pet post or find more.

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