Noah's Ark Replica to Sail This Summer

I saw this posted on Facebook yesterday and thought it was so cool I wanted to share it here on my blog. Johan in the Neterlands built it some time ago and had it on display there for three years, but now plans to sail it to Brazil this summer. He plans to use it to tell Bible stories about God's love. I think it would be fun to go on this! He built it according to the measurements God gave to Noah. You can read the account of Noah's Ark in Genesis 6-9. I was surprised at some of the mean comments this video has received on YouTube from non-believers who obviously do not believe the Bible or that God loves them. I found this very sad. What do you think about this? (Be respectful now.)

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4 Things I Learned Recently

This used to be a popular feature on this blog and I've missed doing it so decided to try starting it up again.  Feel free to comment on what I've learned or share something you learned recently.

(1)  Lobsters grow by becoming uncomfortable and growing a bigger shell. Watch this:
I saw this on Facebook and thought it was both true and interesting about how we need to handle stress.

(2)  When reading Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, I learned about the sinking of a German ship called the Wilhelm Gustloff that  had way more people than the Titanic.

(3)  I always thought that once I deleted an email from my deleted items, there was no way to retrieve it, but I was wrong.  One of my co-workers showed my a folder tab in Outlook that says "retrieve deleted items."

For some reason I do not know, it works at work but at home, that option is grayed out.  Any explanations?

(4)  Don't trust the protective netting at ballparks to protect fans--a Rays fan was struck in the face by foul ball that managed to get through the protective netting.  See video.


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Ever Make a Mistake at Work?

I'm sure anyone who has ever held a job has made a mistake at work at some point, but I'm betting it wasn't broadcasted on the media and posted on the Internet with a video for the whole world to know about it.  Aren't you glad?  I am.

That is why I felt so bad for the Indians guy who mistakenly set off the fireworks when the other team scored a homerun.  I'm sure he felt bad enough without being booed by the fans!  As if that wasn't enough for all the people there to know about it, CBS Sports (and perhaps others) did a story about it.  I saw this on Facebook when I read my husband's page who shared it.

Where is the compassion?  I do not think this was news worthy.  By doing a story about this and spreading it on the Internet to me seems very cruel and mean.  No one is perfect, and this certainly didn't hurt anyone and was not a life or death situation.  It did cost the Indians the extra expense of the fireworks, but other than that, no damage was done. 

I am purposely not posting the link in this post because as I said, I feel bad for this man and don't want to give the original article any more attention.  

How do you feel about this?

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In Honor of Memorial Weekend: Thoughts on Prayer by Major General Olson

This is a video of the Air Force Major General's speech at a National Day of Prayer event speaking of the importance of prayer in his life and how best to pray for the military.  He is a fantastic speaker and I enjoyed listening to him share prayer examples from his own life.  He relies on God daily and gives God praise for his accomplishments. 

It is a shame that Mr. Mikey Weinstein, CEO of the civil-liberties group wants him court-martialed for speaking publicly about Jesus:  Military Hero Faces Court-Martial for Praising Jesus.  To me this is outrageous!

We thank all the servicemen, servicewomen and their families for the sacrifices made to protect our freedom and defend our country.  May God bless the USA and our nation return to Biblical values soon!


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Falling Bricks and Bus Adventure In One Day!

Some of the Bricks that fell the day before.

On Monday, when I went out walking on my break, the PNC bank building at the corner of  E. 6th and Vincent lost some bricks from the top corner of it.  They came crashing down into the street and on the sidewalk below.  I actually walk down this street sometimes when I go to work or when I go out walking on my break.  Fortunately, no one was hurt which is pretty amazing.  There was a LOT, it was a much bigger pile than what is shown in this picture above--they covered a good section of the street when it first happened.  I didn't have my camera with me Monday, so took some pictures the next morning.  I found myself walking on the sidewalk close to the street rather than right next to the buildings.

Top of the building that fell apart

You can see in this picture where the top of the building broke off.  The road was closed and emergency vehicles and police cars were all over.  Traffic going home from work was terrible because drivers would block the intersection so no one could get through.

Tall building

My bus sat for 30 minutes in traffic trying to get through the intersection.  It started raining too which did not help.  Those of us waiting for the bus cheered when it finally made it through.  It was half an hour late coming and then, we just go a couple blocks and the driver announces that her shift is over, she's not going to drive in this traffic any more and is going home.  She called for another bus driver to come but there were no free drivers available.  We just sat for about another 20 minutes or so for the next bus to come.

I didn't really mind too much because I called to let Gerard know I'd be late, I had a book to read and no plans to go anywhere when I got home.  One of the other lady passengers went on a tirade though, yelling at the bus driver saying she's the worst driver she ever had!  She kept going on and on about how if she has to work late, she does.  She kept on rambling about how awful RTA is and how she would never get away with that attitude on her job.

I thought it was hilarious. 

Joining in Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop with the prompt:  Tell us about a local news story that's all a buzz in your neck of the woods right now.

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Friday Fragments (Life, News, Books)

Friday Fragments is hosted by 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.

July

Happy Independence Day!  I am so thankful I live in America and still have freedom.  I just wish it was still a Godly nation.
  
July is a good month for us: Off for the holiday July 4, looking forward to having a mystery outing with my Sunday School class on Tuesday (off work); helping to prepare for Vacation Bible School (VBS) Treasure Island on Wednesday; then off the whole next week to help with the fourth graders in VBS. 

Cedar Point--New Ride

I saw on the news this week that Cedar Point now has the slingshot ride.  It looks quite scary and you have to pay an additional $25 to ride it!  For another $20, you can purchase a picture of you on it.  Neither Gerard or me would ride that one!  What about you?

False Alarm

I don't know quite how to describe the feeling I had when I thought I lost my cell phone on the bus Monday. I guess sad and shocked might cover it. When I went to make a call, that is all I could think of when it wasn't in my pocket. I was so distracted that I accidentally opened an envelope marked "confidential" that was for one of the attorneys I work for. Read my post: "Oh, Oh! I Lost My Cell Phone" to see what happened.

Sunset from porch

Porch Time

We've had some hot weather this past week so I enjoyed sitting on the porch in the evening. I love summer!!!!!!

Reading

We've read some very good books in June. To see our reviews, visit Grab a Book From Our Stack.

Gerard's Favorite

Karen's Favorite

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7 Friday Fragments - Feline Friday (cats, church, news, blogging, sports)

Friday Fragments is hosted by 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 to give Mrs. 4444 a break for the summer. Here we go:

Cute Screen Saver

My cousin sent me an email with lots of cute animal pictures so I saved some I especially liked. This is one of them that I am now using as my screen saver picture on my computer:

The big cat looks like my Manny Boy

Vet Visit With Manny Boy

Last Saturday Manny went in for his routine checkup and although he has the beginnings of Gingervitis, we did not have to have him get his teeth cleaned. The new vet said we could give him an antibiotic (Clindacure) just once a day for 3 days--just had to put it on his food. She said it will kill the bacteria that is making his gums red (they looked dark pink to me). Other than that, all is good, even his weight! Wish we had a third person who could have videotaped us getting him into the carrier--that's always fun!

Horrible News

Three teens in Oklahoma shot a college student from Australia because they were bored? Said they did it just for fun! These teens are despicable! Here is the link to the news story I saw on Yahoo News this week: Police Say Teen Shot Australian Student in Oklahoma For Fun. What a sick world we live in!

Good News

I always get a bit nervous when I see mail from the hospital after I had a mammogram, but was relieved to see my latest results are normal! It will be four years now the first week of September since my lumpectomy to remove the cancer.

Bible Study

I signed up for another Beth Moore Bible study at our church starting September--A Heart Like David. I really enjoy her studies so am looking forward to it. Also, our Women of Wonder monthly meetings will start up again. This year they will have a morning one as well as the Thursday night one to hopefully get more ladies involved. It is primarily a fellowship time with good food, short devotional, a craft or other fun type activity and prayer. Are you starting any new Bible Study at your church?

New Blogs To Me

This week I found two new wonderful blogs: Through following up on a commenter I discovered: Mary-andering Creatively and through the Note Card Party blog hop, I found Sue at To Live, Love and Journal Our Days. I am now a new follower of both and have added them to my blogroll. Hope you will pay them a visit too!

Question of the Day

Hope to get to 1 more game this year!

My husband asked me which I am more excited about: the Indians chase to get into the playoffs or the beginning of the Browns season. My answer is, the Indians. I look forward to the Browns starting again, but as long as the Indians are in the race, my focus will be on them.
GO TRIBE! GO TRIBE! GO TRIBE! CATCH THOSE TIGERS! GO TRIBE! GO TRIBE! GO TRIBE! CATCH THOSE TIGERS!

New Design

I like that I can choose from lots of different designs at discover.com for my credit cards. Can you guess what I picked? If you read my blog regularly, I bet you can. One is a tuxedo cat and the other is a tabby. Just got the tabby one this week!

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MLB Should Crack Down On The Dopers

I've got to wonder why using performance enhancing drugs (which is illegal) is so widespread among major league ballplayers.  It seems to me MLB really doesn't care but feels like when players get caught, they have to do something.  Personally, I think if they really wanted to put a stop to it they should suspend players for life from ever playing in the pros again.

Finally, according to USA TODAY, it seems as though they are finally getting serious.  See MLB Prepared to Ban A-Rod for Life, Suspend Eight Others.  I am excited to see that Jhonny Peralta of the Detroit Tigers (a former Indians player) is also facing possible suspension.  I never liked him.  Maybe this will slow down those Tigers.

In my opinion, using performance enhancing drugs is cheating. It spoils the game when people cheat and you have to throw a players stats out to be fair to the rest of the players who do not cheat.  I'm sure this happens in other sports as well and all of them should put a stop to it by kicking the offenders out.  It is either a rule or it isn't and if it is, then players need to abide by it.  It's just that simple.  No warning is needed because all the players are aware of the rule, I'm sure. 

Yes, I do see things in black or white.  So be it!  What do you think about this issue?

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5 Friday Fragments (news, blogging, books, vacation)

Friday Fragments is hosted by Unknown Mama for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post to give Mrs. 4444 a break for the summer. Here we go:

Iranians

I was surprised when reading Iranian-Americans and Expatriates Vote In Election (Yahoo News) that the U.S. Census figures show about 414,000 Iranians live in the U.S. California has the most. This seems quite high to me and made me wonder how that compares to other nationalities. After reading The Blood of Lambs, I am a lot more interested in the activity of Muslims in our country.

Feeling Discouraged?

Sometimes bloggers get a bit discouraged or at least disappointed when we don't get many comments; however, I suggest that at these times, you take a look at your page view stats. Just because there are only a few comments doesn't mean that those are the only people who took time to read your post. So, cheer up fellow bloggers and blog on! Also, look on the bright side, few comments mean less time for you spent in responding to them. Don't get me wrong here, we love getting comments too, just like anyone else, but I do not base the value of my blog on the number of comments we get.

Our Mayor

Our mayor's favorite genre is nonfiction. His favorite novelists are Tom Clancy and John Grisham; however, his favorite book is Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. He said "It's fun to read and it's inspirational." He even has a copy in his office! I'm adding this to my "books to read" list.

Book Giveaway

In honor of Father's Day, I am doing a giveaway of the book I wrote in memory of my dad, My Funny Dad, Harry over on our book blog.  Just be the first to comment saying you would like it.

Busy Week

5 gr. boys basketball

I had a great time helping in our Sports Camp this week coaching 5th grade boys basketball and assisting the 1st and 2nd grade boys soccer coaches, but am tired and recuperating today with a relaxing free day. We had the largest attendance ever--over 900 and for the first time had to turn people away because all the sports were filled to capacity, in both the morning and afternoon sessions.  


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5 Friday Fragments (news, scary things, books)

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:

Captain America

The filming of Captain America in downtown Cleveland causes inconvenience and traffic jams. They have the roads blocked off pretty far down from where they are actually shooting but people still like to watch.

#CaptainAmerica producers requesting workers in surrounding buildings to stop looking out windows to keep random heads out of movie. #wkyc
— WKYC Channel 3 News (@wkyc) May 20, 2013

Oklahoma Tornado

What an awful thing to happen! I feel so sorry for those people who were in the path of the tornado this week. I saw this video of a lady being interviewed that crawled out of the rubbish but was sad she couldn't find her dog. Then he wiggled out too on camera during the interview! Her prayers were answered! This brought tears to my eyes: Tornado Survivor Finds Dog During Live TV Interview.  This is worth seeing!

Scary Stuff

Image source:  Email from a friend

A friend brought this to my attention: WND previously reported on a documentary called "Homegrown Jihad: Terrorist Training Camps Around the U.S.," and how it offers evidence that "Muslims of America" operates a series of training camps in the U.S.  Kamal Saleem was trained in terror starting at age 7 at a PLO assault camp, learning to know and hate his enemies, was indoctrinated in radical Islam on his mother's knee and studied with his father how to despise Christians and Jews.  I ordered his book, The Blood of Lambs from the library to read.

Amputation

The husband of one of the bridesmaids at our wedding and a long-time friend chose to have his one leg amputated from the knee down rather than wearing a boot for the rest of his life. Here's his Facebook message: Keep me in your prayers. I am having surgery 5/21, a below the knee amputation on my right leg. I am looking forward to it. His surgery was this week and he is now in rehab for four-five days. He's had a lot of health problems and now this!

Happy Reading

Image source:  Author's Blog

I just finished reading Lynn Kellan's first book, Anything You Ask on Kindle and liked it. She writes contemporary romance and blogs at www.forloveorfunny.com.  It kept me turning pages and I was anxious to get back to it to see what would happen next!  Great job, Lynn!

I just finished reading a candid non-fiction book about a military wife and family that would be a great read for this Memorial Weekend called Dinner with the Smileys by Sarah Smiley.  It's one we both liked!

GO BRUINS!  GO TRIBE!  HAVE A GREAT MEMORIAL WEEKEND EVERYONE!

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6 Friday Fragments (news, sports, books, life, gifts, funny)

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:

Bruins

My husband learned to never go to bed early while the Bruins are playing. They were down 4-1 under 10 minutes to go, in game 7 of the playoff round. He thought (1) the Bruins had no chance, (2) was disgusted, (3) had to get up at 4:15 a.m. so missed their amazing comeback to win in overtime 5-4! He was so happy!!!

 

Missing Children

Three girls were found alive a decade later that were held captive in a house that is on a street that my bus passes. There were lots of cars around, gawkers taking pictures of the house where they were found. Our Pastor mentioned on Sunday that there are 92 missing children in Cleveland! Here is a link to a news article with more detail if interest: Police: Amanda Barry, Gina DeJesus Found Alive.

A Page-Turner

I was reading Lisa Gardner's thriller, Touch and Go yesterday in the library garden on my lunch hour. I got so absorbed in it that I forgot to check the time and got back late! It was such a beautiful day I just lost track of the time. Oh well, that's what personal time is for.  The link will take you to our reviews--this is one that my husband and I both loved!

Good Things

7 a.m. Wednesday sky on my way to work-beautiful day!

Last week I posted about things going wrong and not working, but then I also made a list of nine things that are going well! Just wanted to let you know, there are good things happening too.

(1) Get to go to an Indians game for free during work Monday;

(2) My Twitter account has been re-instated,

(3) we got our G-tech vacuum cleaner replaced,

(4) Will be getting a $50 cashback bonus from Discover Card,

(5) got two gift cards ($25 Walmart and a $50 Target),

(6) got computer speakers now at work so can hear my email notification sound,

(7) both our baseball teams are doing well and the Bruins are still in the playoffs,

(8) we are feeling well, enjoying our new porch furniture,

(9) loving the warm sunny days we had lately!

(If you missed my post about my Twitter account being suspended, it's my v-log post:  What Bothered Me This Week?)

Mother's Day Gift

My Mother's Day gift arrived: an Indians Jersey with my name on the back with a sweet card from my wonderful husband!

Funniest Post

I have to share the funniest post of the week with you that I found over at The Junk Drawer: All That and a Bag of Chips.

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6 Friday Fragments (books, news, weather, Twitter, events)

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:

WKYC Favorited My Tweet

		Karen Zemek
		@kzemek
@wkyc The Indians need to spread out their runs among several games. All wins count the same; doesn't matter how many runs scored.
05:28 AM - 29 Apr 13

Favorited by

---

		WKYC Channel 3 News @wkyc
		News, weather, sports and information for #Cleveland & #NortheastOhio. #NBC affiliate. We #SeeThePossible.

Quran Oath Controversy

Although the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress reenacted taking his oath on the Quran instead of the Bible like everyone else apparently happened back in 2006, I just heard about it this week: Quran oath controversy of the 110th United States Congress. I'm not sure how I feel about this, what do you think of it?

Weather

We've had gorgeous weather all week! I am so energized when the sun shines and is stays light longer! Temperatures were in the upper 60s to 79 all week so got outside and walked during my breaks again. My favorite walk was to the bank to deposit our tax refund checks! Here is is, May and the Twins ballgame got snowed out. Even the schools closed, it was that bad! So glad I do not live there.

Favorite Reads

love water memory

Orphan Train

Our favorite reads for April were: love, water, memory by Jennie Shortridge (Gerard's), and Orphan Train--a novel by Cristina Baker Kline which we both loved. Click the links to see our reviews.
Check out or book giveaways for HER and BUNKER HILL.

Huge Garage Sale

If you live in our area, Parma Heights Christian Academy on Ridgewood Drive is having their annual garage sale. This is huge! We donated some items, a wonderful opportunity to declutter! It is from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 4.

Funny Clothes

I think the funniest sight I saw this week when walking on my break was a man walking down the street wearing bright green pants with a red plaid shirt! I did a double-take, couldn't believe he wore that combination. The bright green pants alone would have got my attention, but with the red plaid shirt it made me wonder if he was perhaps color blind and had no wife.  This was a young guy, not an old geezer.  I would have taken a picture if I had my camera with me, but it was at my desk at work.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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6 Things We Learned This Week (animals, contests, Boston Bruins, blogging, funny)

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:

New Website

Mr. Wonderful discovered a website where you can follow authors and it lets you know when they have a new book out. It's authortracker.com. I tried registering several but soon found that all authors are not included.

My Funny Dad, Harry

I decided to re-post some of my old posts on My Funny Dad, Harry blog because I started it back in 2007 and figure there have been lots of new bloggers since then who haven't seen them. I'm still trying to figure out how to get the share buttons added over there like I have here and on our book blog.

Dog Wants Kitty

This is the funniest video I saw this week and hope you will check out adoptable kittens at a shelter near you if you could give a couple a good home. This is kitten season and shelters get an abundance of kittens in the spring. (Our Spunky Doodle was born in the spring.) Kittens are very entertaining, amusing and grow into nice cats that become great companions! It's nice to get two so they can play with each other.

Favorite Vet Contest

I first heard about this America's Favorite Veterinarian Contest over at The Conscious Cat where you can read all about it. The deadline is June 1 and I intend to enter Dr. Hart (saved our first cat, Moe) and Dr. Busack (saved our sweet dog, Abby).

Blogging Surprise

I happened to look at our blogging stats this week and was surprised we actually had readers overseas so added the translate button widget. I think this is because of the different blog hops I participate in.

Bruins Pregame

The Bruins pregame show is something to see at their first game after the Boston Marathon bombings. The Fans actually sang the National Anthem!  Boston Strong!

One more:

Followers

I just noticed my Google Connect Followers widget is empty! It saws I have no followers! Did y'all quit following me all at once??? I still see it on other blogs. Oh, never mind, now they showed up again. Wonder what's going on!

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6 Things We Learned This Week (news, work, YouTube, books)

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:

Stuffed Animals

Our gang of most of our stuffed animals with two real ones--can you find them (Manny and Spunky)

We have a lot, but not near as many as the town of Newton got: 64,000! Sent them to St. Jude and other children Hospitals.  I'm thinking, I could share our collection and highlight one a week like Beth Ann does with her teapots on Tuesdays over at It's Just Life.  What do you think?  Do you have a collection you could share?

Shocking News

Mr. Wonderful was shocked when I had no idea who Annette Funichello was that he mentioned who died because I never watched "The Mickey Mouse Club." I am familiar with the funny hats with the ears and remember some of the song, but I was a Captain Kangaroo and Captain Penny fan. I actually found the old song on YouTube--cracked me up!  I was surprised when Mr. Wonderful told me he was in the club and was pretty sure he had a pair of those ears! Did you watch the Mickey Mouse Club?

Scanning

I finally discovered our scanner at work can scan 2-sided copies automatically. Yeah! I've been doing those one side at a time manually (it doesn't come up that often).

Post Office

The latest is now that the post office will continue Saturday delivery. Wonder how the postal workers feel about this. I bet they were hoping to get Saturdays off!

History

My husband just finished reading Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline ( a novel) and learned that orphans used to be put on trains and went from town to town hoping to find a home. I learned about this when I read Orphan Train Rider--One Boy's True Story by Andrea Warren.  (Both book images from Amazon.com)

YouTube Header

I finally got my picture header for my YouTube channel right (although Abby isn't very happy with it). You can find it easily by clicking on the "Video" tab above or searching for kzemek on YouTube.

(There's still time to get HER by Christa Parravani--check out our giveaway.)

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8 Friday Fragments (animals, news, funny, sports, inspiration)

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:

Girl petting goat in Amish Country

Screaming Goats

Did you ever hear a goat scream? I didn't even know they could until I saw this funny screaming goat video that Beth Ann shared over at It's Just Life. Go take a look if you want a laugh.

Cats

Here's a fact I just learned from playing Freekibble this week: Maine Coons have water-resistant fur!

New Mini-Series

Are you going to watch "The Bible," a new mini-series on the History channel? It's by the producer of "Survivor."  We are taping it. 

Free Adoptions/Food Stamps

Best Friends will send a dog or cat to you anywhere in the U.S. at no charge if you adopt one from them.  Oh, and if you already have pets and are struggling financially to keep them fed, read about the Federal Pet Food Stamp Program that is available..

 

 

Shoes

Guess how many pairs of shoes John Lucas III (NBA basketball player for the Raptors) owns. According to Sports Illustrated, he owns 6,000 pairs of shoes! Can you imagine? He could open his own shoe store!

Baseball

The Cleveland Indians opener sold out in just six minutes! I'm surprised considering how bad their attendance was last year. Sports Illustrated actually had good things to say about this year's team and went so far as to say they may be playing in October!

The Best

My boss really made me feel good yesterday when he told me I am "the best secretary he ever had"! My goal at work is to be the best secretary I can be to bring glory to God. (And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Col. 3:23) An encouraging statement like this makes me want to work even better! I can really say I enjoyed my job this week like the Bible says to do in Ecclesiastes several times. (Find out more highlights I found in Ecclesiastes at my first Sunday Sharing: Ecclesiastes post.

Funniest Post of the Week

Our Friday Fragment host, Mrs 4444, shared one of her class episodes that is hilarious: "Eating Your Way To A New Blood Type." I was laughing all through it! If you missed it on Monday, you really should stop by and read it.  I must say, this even tops the goat video!

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10 Friday Fragments (pets, zoo, news, books, tips, computer)

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:

Please Vote For Manny Boy and Me

It's time to vote in the Valentine's Day Contest on Facebook for our entry. It is a cropped picture of Manny laying on my legs while I pet his head while watching TV. He absolutely loves this and the idea of the contest is to choose a picture that shows our love for our cat.  Voting goes through Feb. 28.  (The winner gets a $100 PetSmart gift card!)

 

  Scratch Reflex

Oh yeah!

I read in "Have A Good Day, Feb. 2013" that if you scratch a special spot on a dog's belly or flank, that it sends his leg kicking like crazy. That response is called the "scratch reflex" which is similar to when someone hits that special spot on our knee that automatically sends our leg kicking.

Zoo Addition

In 2014, the Cleveland Metropark Zoo will be getting a wildlife carousel with 64 hand-carved wooden animals on it.

Warning

Don't get Anti-Skid Ice Melt. Read our What They Don't Tell You post to find out why.

Suicide

Don't worry, we are not committing suicide, but according to USA TODAY, there are 19,000 suicides in the USA every year! Gerard's book of the month, You Before Me by Jojo Moyes, deals with this issue. It's a fantastic read! Click on the link here to see his review.

Productivity

According to USA TODAY, 44% said they are more productive at work if they go out to lunch. Gerard always eats lunch in; maybe he should go out?

Second Opinion

I never knew our immune system could actually attack our brains until reading Brain On Fire--My Month of Madness by Susan Cahala. Now I see why it's wise to get a second opinion when being diagnosed. This is a non-fiction medical thriller that's really scary! Click the link for our review--we both read this one!  We are giving this away to the first U.S. citizen who states they would like it in a comment on our review.

 

Pillows

Over at The Modern Mom I learned that if you put a flat lumpy pillow into the dryer with a couple tennis balls and run it on low heat for 30 minutes, it will perk up.

Computer War

I've had some troubles this week with my Firefox browser. I updated it and chose a Boston Bruins persona which stayed about 3 days and then it was back to the generic gray. It took me awhile to find the selections again, but I went back to the solid yellow one. I just like something more cheerful than black on top and that I can easily read. I also had trouble with some of my pictures not loading in my header and in my Note Card Party Post. If I click on the black spot where the picture should be, it does come up in another viewer so I can see it. What's going on?

Captions

In my Note Card Party Post:  Wildlife in Winter (1), we got lots of good caption suggestions for the first one I didn't have one for. I think I like "Shouldn't I be hibernating right now?" best. Which do you like best for this bear pic for a note card?  Thanks for all the suggestions and comments!

• Shouldn't I be hibernating right now?
• Let's get together for lunch!
• I can't bear to be without you!
• Unbearable Day?
• Nobody can fill your paws!
• Something got you growling?
• It's so cold out here, I can't bear it?
• Thank you for visiting my cave!

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7 Friday Fragments (news, gifts, plumpy'nut, Bible)

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:

plumpy'nut

A child dies every 15 seconds from hunger and related causes, but World Vision is using plumy'nut (a high-protein paste resembling peanut butter) to save starving children. Your gift to help save starving children is multiplied 5 times thanks to grant funds. Watch this video to see how pumpy'nut and antibiotics saved Sabiou:

Musical Chairs

According to ESPN the Magazine, there is a musical chairs championship which had 1,200 participants!

Popes

I never knew a Pope could resign, did you?

Reporters

I think those CNN reporters who stood outside in blizzard conditions deserve a bonus!

Babies

Babies being born are at the lowest level since 1920 according to USA TODAY. Who will support the elderly population?

Valentine's Day

I was really surprised when I got this cute candy special delivery car on WEDNESDAY! I was so happy it wasn't flowers! It has chocolate covered pretzels, white frosted tiny pretzels with sprinkles, gummy hearts and individually wrapped chocolate hearts with a cute dog. We exchanged cards on Thursday and my sweet husband even had the pets give me cards. It's so cute, I love when he does things like that!  Got a cold on Valentine's Day again--had a bad cold our first Valentine's Day too!

Old Age

I've really enjoyed reading the book of Ecclesiastes these last couple weeks. For a good description of old age, read Ecclesiastes 11 12.  (Sorry about that. It's the first 5 verses of Chapter 12.)

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