9 Friday Fragments from a Wife and Husband

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. Here we go:

My Leg Pain Update

My pain is almost gone, whew! I find if I don't sit too long it's better. Some days I didn't even have any! I am happy to report I can now put my socks on standing up again, do my morning exercises pain free and was even able to run for the bus coming home from work Wednesday with no pain! Yay! Praise the Lord. Sometimes I do still need an Advil to sleep good at night. It seems I feel it most when I'm in bed now.

Funniest Post of the Week

I love to laugh and I thought Mama Sick's post, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, is hilarious. I laughed so hard that my hubby came to see what was so funny. It's a conversation with her 6-yr-old son about drawing her portrait.

Birthday Surprise

Monday my wonderful husband turns 60 and boy is he going to be surprised! I can hardly wait.


Here's Things Gerard Learned This Week:

Restaurants

It pays to apply to restaurant web sites--I got four free offers from Denny's, Perkins, Arby's and Eat and Park--Yum! Yum!

Larry Hangman

Larry Hangman passed away (Karen didn't even know who he was, do you?) I loved watching him as J.R. on "Dallas." He was a great actor!

Black Friday Shopping

I still love to shop on Black Friday early in the morning even if my shopping bag did bust open! Bath and Body Works was the most crowded store in the mall!

Happy Sunday

I like being a greeter at our church; didn't think I would like it as much as I do. I enjoy greeting people as the come and wishing them a Happy Sunday (I'm still waiting for my official greeter name tag.

Awesome Saturdays

Both Ohio State and Notre Dame went 12-0 which made me very happy--my Saturdays were awesome! Sad to see the season end.

Audio Book of the Week

Cold Ice by Tess Gerritsen was the audio book I looked forward to listening to all week. It's a thriller that I highly recommend. Click the link to see my review and find out more about it.

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A Sparkle Post (Writer's Workshop)

Although I get lots of free calendars from charities that we donate to, I actually bought one for 2013.  It's not just any old ordinary cat calendar because this one features our blogging friend, Sparkle the Designer Cat!  It has pictures of Sparkle and Binga but what makes this really special is that it has a different Rule that humans need to know about cats.  I read one of Sparkle's advice books and enjoyed it very much.  What better way to get tips on what makes cats happy than advice from a real cat?

It was the first time I ordered anything from the Zazzle store and was so excited when the package came, I opened it right away.  Then saw this:

What a disappointment!  This is not what I ordered!  (UPDATED 11/30--This is truly a personal calendar with family members featured on the months of their birthdays.  I just flipped through it today after reading the comment of a curious commenter.)  Now I have my white elephant gift for this year's Christmas party!  ARRGH!  After contacting customer service, taking a couple pictures to attach to an email, I quickly got the response I desired.  They told me I could keep this lovely calendar and immediately sent the one I requested:

Yes, I love it! I think this would be a wonderful gift for any cat owner! Better hurry to order one though, you may have to contact customer service.

This post was inspired by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt: 3.) Write a post, poem, or story that somehow incorporates the word: Sparkle

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Wordless Wednesday: Squirrel

Squirrel eating at the Cleveland Zoo

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AWW Mondays With My Manny Boy

Manny found a perfect spot, by heater, cozy, and under cover

Find more AWW Monday pictures at Aww Mondays and at Jody's Book Reviews.  Also check out Camera Critters.

So happy the BROWNS beat the Steelers yesterday--the defense was stellar getting 8 turnovers!  This is the first win over the Steelers in a long time!  The Steelers were missing their regular QB and really give this one away, but we'll take it!

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Four Friday Fragments (Food, Teaching, Thanksgiving, Pain)

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. Here we go:

Perkins

We broke out of our Saturday breakfast rut and went to Perkins for a change last week. We got three large pancakes with fruit and whipped cream and a variety of syrup. We haven't gone in a long time because the service was so bad but it looks like they got things straightened out. We will be going more often.

New Experience

Sunday, God willing, I will be teaching ladies in our Circle of Friends Bible Study group. I am just filling in for the regular teacher for one week, but it should be interesting. I'm used to teaching kids, but have never taught adults so this is a first for me! I'll be sharing some verses about animals and how they relate to some Biblical truths taken from All God's Creatures--Spiritual Lessons From The Animals Of The Bible by Gary Richmond. She asked me because she knows I am an animal lover. 

Thanksgiving Day

We had lunch at Hometown Buffet--was delicious! I enjoyed favorite foods and had 5 desserts! Then we went to the zoo and it was very crowded! It's free on Thanksgiving but usually the weather is yucky so it keeps the crowd down. Yesterday was beautiful, near 60 degrees and sunny! The elephant ate the big pumpkin in one bite!

Pain

I just switched to Actonel in the hopes of not having the side effects from the other bone strengthening drug I was on but during the night experienced pain in my right hip and thigh. By morning, I also had lower back pain and some tingling in my left fingers.  Sure enough, all these are listed as side effects of Actonel. This is NOT good! At first, I couldn't even do a jumping jack because it was just too painful. I tried some other exercises to limber up after running some hot water on my hurting hip and thigh while in the shower. I took an Advil and went off to do Christmas shopping.  Fortunately the pain lessened.   When I first got up, I'd say it was at a level 6 or 7 but now at 5:30 p.m., I'd say it's a level 1.  I just wrote about giving thanks in all situations yesterday, so I am thankful the pain was only on my right side at least. 

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Give Thanks All The Time, Not Just on Thanksgiving

“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!” (1 Chronicles 16:34, AMP)

 We should not only give thanks for all God has done, but also for the things he is going to do.  This demonstrates our faith in God's goodness and faithfulness.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.  Serve the LORD with gladness:  come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God:  it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:  be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting:  and his truth endureth to all generations. --Psalms 100

Every time we pray, we should have a song on our lips and give thanks.  Do we spend as much time thanking God as we do requesting for things?

In every thing give thanks:  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. --I Thessalonians 5:18

If you are unsure of God's will for you, giving thanks no matter what situation you are in is a good place to start.  This verse makes it plain that God's will for us is to give thanks.

Here is a cute video about giving thanks that my cats insisted I share with you.


Seriously, though, we are very thankful to God for answering our prayers this year for our dog, Abby.  When she was attacked back in January by two Rotweilers, biting her 15 times and even have a hole in her groin area, the vet did not think she would recover.  We are so thankful she has made a full recovery, the hole closed up with no complications and all her fur has grown back.

We are thankful God has been so good to us and thank him for being at work in our lives.  I am thankful He holds our future and knows exactly what is ahead for all our days and is in control.  He will help us through anything that he allows to come into our lives so we can be at peace. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERY DAY!

See Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop for more Thanksgiving posts.  This is in response to this prompt:  We’re going around the table and it’s your turn to share what you are thankful for…go!

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Wordless Wednesday: Sleepy Bunch

All ready for bed Sunday night

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We Got New Browns Shirts But They Still Lost

We got new custom Browns t-shirts made by Vista Print with Abby's picture on them. The Browns lost again yesterday, but really it was their own fault. They were on the 2-yd. line and couldn't get it into the end zone in 4 tries--just pathetic. Then, the Giants  Oops, I mean the Cowboys tied the game with a field goal sending it into overtime. The Giants  Cowboys had a long field, but the Browns gave them lots of free yards due to penalties and lost the game in the end.

This was expected; however, they dominated for three quarters. They were playing very well, the defense had I think five or six sacks!

Once again, Weeden is not good at scrambling. He always chokes when we get into the red zone and I just wish the Browns would use Colt McCoy in those situations (like baseball uses relief pitchers and closers). He would have ran the ball into the end zone himself and we probably would have won the game, but no. They keep Weeden in no matter what. Another disappointing game. C'mon Browns, play by the rules and quit giving up so many free yards!

At least the Patriots won with 59 points!  Gerard is happy and did not get stressed watching.  

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My Hubby's Post About Mops

Gerard thought you might like to know whether a dry mop or wet mop works better and wanted to show how much hair and dirt our dry mop picks up. I'm just glad he takes care of all our cleaning and hope you enjoy this short video.

Participating in the vlogging with Mama Kat:  Today's prompt was "A Product You Love."

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5 Friday Fragments: Cats, Funny, Shopping, Work, Hospital

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. Here we go:

Box Fun For Cats

At the Conscious Cat this week, I found a great idea to try for my cats: a Cat Climbing Wall. Looks like I might be building on this weekend!

Funny Dream

I thought you might find this funny--Tuesday night a dreamed Daisy the Curly Cat came to visit me and let ME pet her! When Kathy visited Daisy in Florida, she only was able to pet her for about a minute so I was thrilled. The bad news is she was small enough to run down a hole in our floor that our cats showed her and when her mom came for her, we couldn't find her! Do you ever dream about other bloggers? Have you had any funny dreams lately?

Gift Wrapping

WARNING to all: For $6, Here is L.L. Bean's idea of gift wrapping:

Here's my idea of gift wrapping:

Oh well, live and learn. We won't be paying for anymore gift wrapping from L.L. Bean!

Hospital Tests

Thanks to all who prayed for me on Wednesday when I basically spent my day off at the hospital getting a bone and CT scan. I was poked a couple times and didn't experience any side effects from the drink so it all went smoothly. When I asked what exactly these tests do, the answer was they can show us a lot of what is going on in your body. Hmpf. I'm hoping I don't hear back from the doctor because no news is good news.

New Cubicle

At work, I moved to the other side of the floor and now have a view of Lake Erie and the Browns stadium. When I got back to work on Thursday, everything had been moved for me. I didn't even have to pack up stuff! I had a crazy busy day with lots of walking around so that was good but didn't get lunch until 1:45 and missed my afternoon break. It's funny, days I really need a break are the days I'm too busy to take one! I was so glad I hadn't volunteered to help with the community dinner at church yet--I crashed on the couch with Manny and watched Survivor.


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Now I'll Think of Cows When I Hear This Song! (Writer's Workshop)

Here's something that made me smile this week. The jazz band played for the cows in France and they all came over to listen and stayed still for the entire performance. I thought it was a funny sight so hope it will make you smile too.


When I hear "When The Saints Go Marching In" from now on I'll probably think of these cows thanks to this video.

This is in response to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt: Tell us and/or show us something that made you smile this week.

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Introducing Our Pets (Vlogging With Mama Kat)

One of Mama Kat's new Vlog prompts this week was to introduce our pets. I could not resist participating in this one! I could talk about my pets all day but have managed to introduce all three (two cats and one dog) in just 6.5 minutes. I realize this is long for a video and you may not want to take the time to watch it so Gerard taped a short and sweet more concise version if you are in a hurry.

Spunky says:  This was not a good time because mom interrupted me when I was enjoying my window time.  Sorry I wssn't more amusing.  If you watch the second one, I am a bit more active.  I have starred in lots of videos that are better than these.

Manny says:  I like both these videos of me.  They both show what a close relationship I have with Karen.  The second one was done at different times because I was hiding and wasn't in the mood.  (The video camera was on while they were looking for me, but they didn't know it so it'll be a good Monday Mischief post!)

Abby says:  Woof, woof!  I sure hope you watch the first one because it shows me in action being a good dog.  The second one was right before bed so I was tired by then.  I did a better job earlier, but the camera wasn't recording so I had to do my part again.



Which one did you like better? I'm not real pleased with either but both are different. In the first, I think you see more of the pets and in the second, you see more of me talking about them. I don't think either of these videos captures how fun our pets really are. I think you can see though how much I love them.

See other Vloggers at Mama Kat's Losin' It.

I considered this to be my best post of the week so linked up with Monday Meet Up at Covered In Grace.  Find more good posts there and prehaps link up one of your own.

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How Many Different Places Do You Lay? by Spunky

When I spend most of my days lying around, it's a challenge finding new places. Here are the places I like to lay:

Towel Rack

rocking chair

Under a rug

Under a blanket

Computer Chair

Window sill

In a basket

blocking the heater

Bean bag chair

Cat Tree

With Karen in bed at night

Sunspot in den

On warm clothes right out of the dryer

On piano

the bed

On pillow on new chair (to keep me off the chair)

but this week I found a new spot:  on the Printer!

Do you have any other suggestions for me that I haven't tried yet?  It's hard for us indoor cats to stay challenged.

We are joining AWW Mondays and Cats on Tuesday.

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7 Friday Fragments

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. Here we go:

☻Last Saturday when we visited The Pleasant Care Center at Legacy Place, one of the residents told me how much she enjoyed reading My Funny Dad, Harry (the book I wrote in his memory). She isn't a reader and usually doesn't finish books, but she had a hard time putting this one down and loved it. She even enjoyed reading about his cats and she isn't a cat lover. It makes me so happy when I hear people enjoyed the book and feel as though they knew my dad too. He was a wonderful man! The book is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Click the link to read customer reviews (21). It comes in paperback or available on Kindle.

☻ Work was crazy hectic this week so I feel very productive.

☻ The sun has been shining most of this week AND temperatures are back on the rise! I feel so much better when the sun is out!

☻Our dog, Abby, is getting ten laser therapy treatments to help rebuild cells in her hips and knees to lessen the pain of her arthritis. The sessions are short and painless. We have a short video I'll get posted one of these days.

☻ Our church is doing the NOT A FAN DVD study. Some of the questions in the journal we are supposed to do every day are very pointed and really helps me reflect on my relationship with Jesus; on the other hand, some things like imagining him sitting next to me and sing a song to him are pretty ridiculous. I'm trying to do everything they suggest to give it a fair shot and try to get as much from it as I can. Are you familiar with this study? If so, we would like to hear your thoughts about it.

☻

I go for blood work tomorrow in preparation for my bone and CT scan--the insurance will cover it. Oh, and I got a new prescription from my doctor that is supposed to help strengthen my bones: Actonel. The good news is that I only have to take it once a month! I'll take it the same day I give my pets their revolution so I'll remember it.

☻ The audio book Gerard is listening to and loving this week is "The Fifth Witness" by Michael Connelly.

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Our Favorite Reads For October

Gerard loved this one--his first audio book!

Gerard's Favorite:

Into the Fire is a Firsthand account of the most extraordinary battle in the Afghan War by Medal of Honor recipient, Dakota Meyer and Bing West (New York Times Bestselling Author). This is an audio book read by Zach Mclarty. What an amazing true story it is! Dakota Meyer is a true hero. This book tells the story of the battle at Genuisal. This is what war is really all about. I was able to get the audio book and liked listening to it in the car. I think I got more out of it than if I read the book. Either way, please take time to read or listen to this account and thank our armed forces that are still fighting. Mr. Meyer, thank you for your service.
(Gerard's review, rating 5+++ stars)

Read this one, Woof!  Woof!

Abby's Favorite:

was a non-fiction book, Little Boy Blue by Kim Kavin.  This was also Gerard's close second.

Karen's Favorite:

Realistic Christian Teen Fiction

One For the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt is about being someone’s hero and showing unconditional love. Although it is considered juvenile fiction, I really liked it! The main character, Carly, has been neglected and abused but finds a good foster home while her mother recovers from a beating she took from her husband. Julie Murphy, the foster home mother, is the wife of a fireman with three boys that shows kindness and love to Carly who doesn’t quite know what to make of it. This heart-warming book has humor, a good message, and is a touching quick read. It made even made me tear up at certain parts. If you like stories about kids and family, I recommend this one! It will tug at your heartstrings.
 (Karen's review, rating 5 stars)

Here's a trailer for the book:
(This is the author's debut novel, her first draft of it received the Tassy Walden Award for New Voices in Children's Literature.)

Historical Christian fiction

My close second was Be Still My Soul by Joanne Bischof, a new author, this being the first in a series.

 Spunky's and Manny's Favorite: 

Trapped by Pete the Cat and Peg Kehret 

(Karen liked it too but Gerard missed out because he didn't read it!)

One of 3 books by Pete the Cat--we liked them all but this one best!

The links will take you to our reviews at Grab a Book from Our Stack.  Find more posts with animals at Camera Critters.

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Wordless Wednesday: Sandy Hit Close To Home

While my hubby was walking the dog just three streets away, he saw this said to me when he got home: "You have to come see this. I have a Wordless Wednesday post for you."  These were taken around 8 a.m. Saturday:

side yard

side view of front yard

Roots and all ripped out of the ground!

 

Where's the house, front view

Wow!

This is the same street where our dog was attacked back in January--Our Sweet Abby Is Fighting For Her Life.  It reminds me of when a tree fell on my car:  My First Car, A Sad Tale.

Stop by other Wordless Wednesday posts our link up yours.

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