Thursday, February 25, 2010

Great news bloggy,froggy friends! Soon I will be doing a review and giveaway sponsored by CSNStores ! They have been in business since 2002 and are one of the top *3*  U.S. online retailers for home and office goods. They have a great collection of Kids Bedding including this



They also have a great collection of ChildrensToys. I think bath time should be fun so I am a big fan of the



Since I have a birthday coming up I have a few items on my wish list. Let's hope the hubby aka "COACH" is paying attention. It would be lovely to have this for when my girlfriends come over for coffee and conversation




I love it when Keith our mailman stops by everyday. My mailbox needs a makeover, this one is perfect




I would be leaping around the Lily Pad if I received this to add to my collection!

There are so many different products to choose from at CSNStores . I can  find that special something for everyone that I  love and care about!  Making a decision is the hard part. They have such a variety of great products. However when it comes to the upcoming giveaway, I think my froggy friends and followers will be pleased. However YOU all are just going to have to wait to see what I have picked out! (Hmmmmm, wonder if it is frog related? lol) Until then please visit CSNStores and be sure to check out their
 Kids Bedding  Also you might just want to follow them on twitter .
A little frog told me that they have a link up for another fabulous giveaway!

Friday, February 19, 2010





The spring of 2008 , my dog Shelly was getting ready to say goodbye to this world. I didn't want to deal with this as Shelly has been in our family for years. I didn't know how I was going to cope with the grief. However the universe had a surprise for me & my family. The resident neighborhood stray cat, Miss Cocoa decided to leave 4 little guys in my garage. Until we could find them good homes, we became foster parents. When you have a bunch of kittens around , there is a lot of chaos and JOY! We became very attached to them and I thought we would have trouble letting them go. Yet when each adoptive family came to pick them up, we felt happy for them. They were so delighted to have found the perfect new family member. Pretty soon we were asked to foster 2 more cats. They had been abandoned, traumatized and were losing their hair. Now they have beautiful black & white fur. They are also permanent members of our family. Sammie & Scrappy are the most laid back cats. They remind me to take it easy and also to play. I never planned on or thought I would be a cat owner. I have been allergic to cats since I was a kid. Yet my allergies aren't too bad now. Sometimes life is full of surprises. I miss Shelly aka Shellbelle. Some nights, I am positive that I hear her nails clicking on our floors. I think she comes to visit us and play with Sammie & Scrappy! She brought me much joy over the years and now my cats will too. Thanks for letting me share my Happy thoughts with you. For more info on The Happy Book go here>>>> TheHappyBook


Wednesday, February 17, 2010


This week Jamie asks: Where Do You Wish To Make a Difference?

On a global scale, I wish to someday have the financial means to be a true philanthropist.
Just being able to help everyday people with things that they need would be AWESOME.
At home I wish to be the best mom,wife, daughter, sister,aunt,neighbor and friend that I can be.
It is my hope that I can be a ray of light to others. Everyone needs a little *sunshine* in their life.

Thursday, February 11, 2010


My Daddy: Allen
1941-2008

It has been 2 years today since I last felt your arms around me. However,you are still ever so present in my thoughts. You are the greatest man I have ever known & I am going to share with my bloggy friends, what I wrote in celebration of your life, 2 years ago. Not a day goes by daddy.. I miss you..I love you..hope I am still making you proud. You are the reason I wish to Live in a "House By The Side Of The Road" (by Sam Walter Foss) and be a friend to man
Forever your little girl,
XOXO "Big sissy"

Today is a beautiful, joyous day. It is so because I get to talk about my father, Allen and the extremely abnormal family I grew up in. Now I know what you are thinking. That I am crazy. Or quite possibly over or under medicated. However please hear me out & I think you will understand.

I grew up watching the Brady Bunch & reruns of Father Knows Best , Leave It To Beaver & My 3 Sons .I loved these shows. In fact ,I thought they represented real life. What I didn’t realize was that this was far from the truth. My family wasn’t like other families.
My father wasn’t like other fathers.

When other men needed a son first, to feel like a real man, my father thought it would be great to blessed with a daughter. My brother & sister were the bonus babies

When other men viewed marriage as nothing but a piece of paper, my father loved & respected my mother & stayed committed to her for 44 years.

When other men were content to work when they felt like it. Or not work at all, my father got up every day to make sure we were provided for.

While other men were out drinking & carousing, my father was having dinner with his family & playing a game of monopoly, almost every night.

While other men took out their anger on their wives & their children, my fathers wrapped his arms around us & held us tight.

When other fathers walked away, my father helped us with homework & tucked us in at night.

While other men turned their backs on others because of their size, color or differences, my father was a friend to all that he met.

While other men said I am powerful I need no one, my father said “As for me & my house we shall serve the Lord.”


In a world where sadly, dysfunctional is now standard. & what should be is not, I had the fantasy. I grew up in the most wonderful, beautiful, fantastic, abnormal family you could ever meet. I had a dad that loved , honored & respected his family. Who also knew the importance of friendship. He loved his best friends Richard and Ralph. Our families hung out every weekend. Having pizza, swimming in the pool & doing things every family should do. Dad loved his brother Bill & his wife Pat, he liked to spend time with them & vacation with them. Last year they went on a cruise. He said it was one of the best times he & my mom had in his life. He loved his nephews, especially their sense of humor, which he was certain they inherited from him.. Family was everything to my dad. He loved being called POPPA. He loved the grandkids & was close to all of them. He loved talking sports, religion & politics with Bo-Bo picking up a guitar with Easy-E, A’s boundless energy, MJ’s creativity, Bubbles’s homemade cards & hugs & DD's ability to know when to wow the crowd or just be there for one, much like himself. He loved working in the garage & weekly home depot trips with his son-in-law Gene. And having great conversations with my sister-in-law Gladys. If he could work her into making him some pumpkin bread or coconut cake, then life was truly sweet. He loved his neighbors, his coworkers & his fellow man. He was a Redskin Fan in a field of Buccaneers, Cowboys, Dolphins, Packers & Steelers, who loved game & more importantly loved to talk Smack. He was a moderate who raised a conservative, bleeding heart liberal, & one who changed her mind depending on the tides, ties & the weather. He had a faith that could move mountains, a witty& wacky sense of humor & a way of driving a certain waitresses crazy every Friday morning(along with the breakfast club) He thought it was perfectly OK to use a chainsaw & lawnmower at 7:30 in the morning on a weekend ( for the record I think there should be a law against that), took the meaning of “one man’s trash is another mans treasure” to a whole new level, & if there wasn’t already a “Stairway to Heaven” I am positive he could have built one. There wasn’t a picture of Dolly Parton he didn’t like, a Hog he didn’t admire ( & I don’t mean the bacon), or a bluegrass channel he couldn’t find on the radio to torture his teenage daughter with on the long drives home when we lived in the country. He was known as Allen, Elwood, , Droopy Drawers, The LawnMan & Mr. Neatly. Yet To us he was just Dad. He called us Buzz Jr & Big Sissy & of course mom, his beloved Baby Duck. It was her hand he held until it was time to let go & then he took the hand of our beautiful sister, Tooter who led him into the light.

He was my Hercules, Hee Haw, Homer Simpson & my Hero. He was my Father & my Friend. Because of him I know, feel, & try to live my life with unconditional love.

Kahlil Gibran said
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.


The bible says-Psalm 30:5
"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning”

Though my heart aches because I miss him already- Today is a beautiful, joyous, day. For to know Allen is to have loved him. And as Daddy said to me on my wedding day:
My cup runneth over, & I am blessed.




Wednesday, February 3, 2010


This week Jamie asks: What story do you wish to live or let go of?

Grief has affected my life in so many ways.
I am not the woman that I used to be.
Some people may fear grief, not understand it or maybe just don't care.
I am tired of pretending that this is not a part of me.
To stay silent so others can feel comfortable. Why should I have to
jump over THEIR hurdles when I have MY own obstacle course to go through?
Why stay in the "shallows" because others can't see the big, deep, blue sea?
MY life is a journey. There is joy and sorrow. Grief and gratitude.
Laughter and tears. Sunshine and rain.
Whatever the day may bring, I wish to embrace it , be in it and not to give
"two, tinkle, tinkle wolfs, wolfs"
worrying about what other people think.


What story do you wish to live or let go of?