Mom On Caffeine

Time to catch up this morning, and toss out some randomness to the blogosphere!

 

I don’t work today, could have slept “in” until 6:15ish, but I’ve been WIDE awake since 4:30!

 

It’s a rather “nice” morning, hearing the rain falling outside. It’s been fairly rainy since May arrived, but we need the precipitation, and do LOVE listening to it rain!

 

Since last week what have I done?

Worked…. same old same old!

Home….. same old same old!

 

Friday I took Tara to get another piercing. It is her “thing”. This piercing is not something that is “in your face” or for that matter not on her face like the rest of her piercings. Judge if you like, but she is a good girl, and this is a way she expresses herself!  Well, that and the pink hair!
Here is a picture of Tara and her friend “new” Ashley at Red Lotus.  I love spending time with these two! Ashely’s little brother was with us too, so after the procedure was done, we headed to Maggie Moo’s for ice cream! It was a fun evening for all!

 Tara and I came home and watched “The Vow”. It was a good movie.

All I really wanted for Mother’s Day was to go see Dark Shadows. I love Johnny Depp. I also have memories of watching the original “soap opera” back in the day. I was 8 when it started to air… I remember coming home from school and watching it, and I remember friends whose parents would not let them watch it because it was about “occult-ish” stuff!

I started looking at show times, and decided I might best order tickets ahead of time. I’m glad I did, because the theater and show times that were my first choice were already sold out! We settled on an 11am show in King of Prussia, meaning we had to be out of the house around 10am.  We arrived in plenty of time, and at that early hour, the theater was not crowded. We enjoyed the movie and my favorite pretzels! A good time was had by all!

We then headed out for lunch at Ruby Tuesday. Tara does not eat meat, so I tried to find a place with the best sounding pasta dishes that could be prepared without the meat. We enjoyed spinach artichoke dip, and their fabulous ice teas, along with our entrees!

Later we headed to Walmart (it was pet supply shopping time) and later took an evening drive through Peace Valley Park. We saw some deer and bunnies! When we got home Tara helped me put a ziti together for Mother’ s Day dinner.

It was a good day. So many times when we are out for a day, one wrong comment about something leads us to an argument or tension between us, but Saturday really was a perfect day all around. A wonderful Day Before Mother’s Day Day!

Sunday I had to work. It was a very busy day with everyone buying their Mother’s Day cards and gifts at the last minute!  Almost 20% of our sales that day came from the Hallmark department!  I was tired when I got home, and glad that dinner was prepared and in the oven cooking!

Sunday night TV is a good night for me. There are several shows I like to watch. It was  kind of sad to see Desperate Housewives come to an end. I wonder if somewhere down the road there will be a reunion movie! They left the show ending with another housewife with a secret!!!!

I watched Survivor this season, but was not overly invested in any player, so the finale held little interest for me! I’m also loving this season of Army Wives and the new series Client List. My other Sunday favorite is The Killing on AMC! Thank goodness for DVRs and Hulu!

Monday was back to work and a quiet evening at home.

Today, I am off, and right now I’m not sure what I will be doing. Staying home doing laundry and organizing, or out for some shopping and lunch with my Mom? We shall see how the morning unfolds!

Well, I better run! The guinea pigs are “wheeking”, they want something carrots, water? I shall find out. Time to get Tara’s iced coffee ready too! She’s taking after her mom, and loves her coffee!

 

 

1. For Mother’s Day I spent the day at work. I worked from 8-4 selling last minute cards, chocolate and various other gifts for other mother’s. Tara and I did have a day before Mother’s Day “date”. We went to see Dark Shadows, had a nice lunch at Ruby Tuesday, did a little shopping and went for a sunset drive around Lake Galena.
2.  What is your favorite dish that your Mom makes? My favorite dish from growing up would have to be her meatloaf. She also makes great salmon cakes! Those are two of the things when on the menu that I let her make!!!

3.  Who are you a “Mom” too?  Tara, she’s 15!

4.  What did you have for Mother’s Day dinner? Ziti that Tara helped me put together on Saturday night so Mom just had to pop it in the freezer.

5.  What is your fondest memory of your Mom? My Mom is a VERY strong woman. She lost at son when he was 19 and my dad when he was just 62. She has done things that many women would not consider doing, including pulling a 24 foot travel trailer to many camping events! On one such trip she there was a malfunction with the hitch system, and the Suburban and trailer she was pulling flipped over. Mom was traveling with another family, who after the accident was cleared, loaded her and her “stuff” into their car and continued on her way! She didn’t tell ANY of us back home until she was back home!

Monday’s Music Moves Me

I’m running behind as usual this morning, so for this freebie week, I’m picking a couple of my “new” favorite songs that play on the loop at work. We’ve recently had our “channel” changed to a better selection, and although most are a couple to a few years old, I enjoy them!

John Mraz – I’m Yours

Emerson Hart

 

This is going to be a quick!

I was off from work yesterday (my other day off for the week was Saturday, and I spent that in Philly so I got absolutely nothing accomplished around the house this past weekend!)

I had hoped to get through the clutter and boxes in my bedroom. I got through about 1/2 of what I had hoped to. Two bags of trash later!

I did get a few loads of laundry done, so I felt pretty accomplished for the day.

I also stayed off the laptop (and my IPhone) for the majority of the day… those things are such time suckers when I am trying to get things done!

It seems whenever I have a day off during the week, Tara tries to figure out a way to stay home or come home early. You would think by this time she would be over wanting to be with me!  I just don’t get as much accomplished when she is around. I get side tracked! I did pick her up about 1 1/2 hrs early, after she went to the nurse.

We have been having such crappy weather. I wonder if we will ever see the sun again! We totally missed the super moon!

I’ve got some pictures to share and stories to tell from my adventures in Philly on Saturday, but they will have to wait until I have more time at the computer.

Tara did get to meet two of her favorite band members from the group Attack, Attack. (Never heard of them? I’m not surprised. They are not played on the “pop” stations much.)

This is Tara with Caleb Shomo. He is only 19 years old. He’s been with the band since he was 14. We ran into him out on the street near their bus, and Tara and her friends had his undivided attention for about 15 minutes. I was impressed by his graciousness and maturity. He even took the time to shake my hand and chat with me a bit! She was so happy, she cried most of the way home! Some parents might dread the thought of being the transportation to concerts for their teens, but I actually enjoy the rides too and from. I love listening to the conversations!  Helps me stayed engaged in what interests my girl! (Yes, if you don’t follow me on FB, or haven’t seen the picture before, my daughter’s hair is BRIGHT pink – she totally ROCKS it too!)

I had better run, it’s six minutes until departure time. I’m ready, just waiting on Tara!!!

 

I ♥ Mondays, at least Monday’s when I don’t have to work! Monday is also a great blogging opportunity with two of my favorite memes!

Every Sunday Java @ Never Growing Old will post five get to know you questions that you can copy and paste into your own Monday post and we can all learn a little more about each and every one of us!!
Questions:

1. I wish I could sleep through the night… just one night. One of these nights I’m going to get a room at a Hampton Inn so I can sleep undisturbed in one of their cloud like beds!

2. If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be? Wow, this is a tough one!  I guess I would say for lack of anything else coming to mind, that I would have liked to see the Beatles perform. (Note: I am pretty certain that this is something WAY more important and life changing than this… but at this hour of the morning, it’s not coming to me!!!!)

3. Do you like to cook? I do like to cook. If some one else would plan the meals, and have all the ingredients in house for me, I would be very happy to cook every meal!  I am just so over trying to figure out what to cook, especially because Tara is not eating meat. I am having to figure out meals for her and for Mom and I.

4. What do you like to do to get exercise? I must admit, I don’t get the exercise that I should. I am on my feet at work 7+ hours, 5 days a week, and many evenings, I am just too beat to do much else.

5. How tidy are you? Funny you should ask. I am off work today (Monday) and my hope is that I find the motivation to work my way through the clutter that has overtaken my room/my home! Tara is not very tidy, which in turn means that I am always trying to pick up. Things that have nowhere else to “live” find their way into my room (the smallest bedroom BTW), until I figure something out. I am OVER CLUTTER!

 

Today I’m going to share a couple songs with artists with the letter “K” (the first letter of my last name!)
K. C. and the Sunshine Band (I’m starting to forget what the SUNSHINE feels like!) – Keep it Comin’ Love

Katy Perry – Fireworks

and for your instrumental listening pleasure…. Kenny G – Breathless

Monday’s Music Makes Me Move is hosted by XmasDolly/Conductor, Lorie-The Shewbridges of Central, Florida, CALLIE – JAmericanSpice, Stacy – Stacy Uncorked, and our Cathy – Cathy Kennedy – Co-Conductors!

and if you want to check out my entry for Mellow Yellow Monday – Mellow Yellow Music, you can hop over to my Photo Blog – Photos by MAK.

 

I don’t have much time this morning, but I am really working on making time to blog at 2-3 times a week, and I love participating in Friday Fragments hosted by Mrs. 4444.

 

We have been having very strange weather this week. It is definitely MAY showers this year. I am hoping to clears up by this evening and for tomorrow. Our town is having it’s first “First Friday” of the season, which is basically a block party along the Main Street with lots of vendors and activities. I was looking forward to getting out walking around tonight!

Tomorrow I NEED good weather so I can spend the afternoon/evening on South Street in Philly while Tara is at a concert.

Tara is taking bass lessons. She also has two friends that play guitar, a drummer and another who plays the ukelele! It was funny watching their tweets last night on starting a band! DREAM BIG!  I am pleased to hear that her instructer thinks she’s a natural! Tara lives for music, so I’m glad she has a hobby that is related.

How did it get to be 9:30PM? A full day of work, and an evening out in town. I asked Mom to go along, I feel so guilty always going out (no place exciting really), and leaving her at home. She moves much slower than Tara and I. I really wanted her to go, but I soon realized that it was a mistake. She moves slow at 87, with her cane, but the sidewalks were crowded. We walked for a bit. Saw my cousin, who is a member of the local PD, and then we sat and people watched and listend to a band that was playing. I love to people watch, so I was okay with that. We got out of town right about 9:00…. Good thing – it is thundering, lightning and POURING rain. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE thunderstorms?

Tara and her friend are re-dying Tara’s hair. You might remember that it is PINK. They have made a MESS of the bathroom. I’m glad I like fuschia!

 I bought a really pretty bracelet.  I rarely treat myself! The proceeds benefit an organization in our area “Community House” which helps people in need.

Now the cat and I are relaxing… the teen are a bit rowdy!

I think that’s it for today!

 

Thanks A-Latte for stopping by!

Martha

Twenty Twelve is already one third of the way done. I feel like it was just New Years Day!  (This picture has nothing to do with anything, but I don’t like a post without pictures. We have these giant pinwheels at the entrance to our community!)

I remember in elementary school having a May Day – May Pole “celebration” . The details are sketchy, it was over 40 years ago, but I have memories of a white dress, on a sunny day, holding onto the ribbons attached to the May Pole!  I am sure there are no pictures to document the event.  Do schools still do this? I know none of Tara’s ever did.

 

I woke up early this morning (what’s new) and instead of picking up my IPhone and playing Words and Scramble with Friends, and my latest addiction, Draw Something, I picked up the laptop. I have not been making time to blog and that has been upsetting me!

 

Life is quiet and normal, and with the exception of a few “hiccups” pretty boring lately. It is hard to find things to blog about when life is just plain old life! No exciting trips, no great shopping deals, no new outfits to share, just get up and go to work every day kind of stuff! But blog I must if for no other reason, than for ME!

 

I changed my theme last night. I was attempting to get a plug in to work that I have been having trouble with, but to no avail! I did contact their development team and got back a quick response, and they will be helping me out. I really know very little about all the internal Word Press stuff! I miss the coffee cup on my old theme, but it feels new and fresh this way! There is a link on the side to my photography blog as well.

I’ve been ignoring my cameras lately as well as my blog. I want to try and start looking for photo ops each day to share! Not committing to a photo a day, that just sets me up for failure! (We can see how far I got in the April A-Z Blogging Challenge… I made it to E!)

 

It is raining today, for this first day of May. I guess the April Showers were just a little late. In fact it just thundered LOUDLY! One of the things Tara and I often comment that we miss about Florida, are the frequent thunder storms. I’m not crazy about this morning storm, and hopefully the rain will stop in time for me to drop Tara off at school!

 

I had a great three day break from work. The schedules just worked out that way, giving me Friday – Sunday off. Sometimes if I am off too many days in a row, it gets stressful around home. Tara wanting to be running all the time, or “needing” to go out and buy things that I really don’t have the money for at the moment. She was pretty content to just hang out quietly at home, just the two of us!

 

Tara likes to pick a series on Netflix to watch from start to finish. It is fun. We will usually sit and watch and episode or two after dinner. Last week she picked Married with Children. It is so funny to watch the fashions from the 80s and how different life was such a short time ago.

 

Tara’s been in a baking mood!  She has a recipe from her cooking class at school for an apple pie. She bakes a mean pie! She made brownies (from a mix the other night too). She even helped with a Vegetarian Stir Fry the other night! There is hope that she will be able to provide food for herself when the time comes for her to be on her own! Once the recipe plug in is fixed for my blog I will share some recipes I’ve been saving!

 

Join in with Stacy for Random Tuesday Thoughts!

 

Make it a great day and thanks A-LATTE for stopping by!

 

Martha

 

How exciting! I’m a SPOTLIGHT DANCER over at MONDAY MUSIC MOVES ME!
This is a free week, so I’m going to go with a morning theme! So many of us hate mornings, but without a morning, we would not have the start of a new day! I personally am a morning person. I’m not always crazy about having to be out of the house in the morning by 7:30, but I’m usually my best early in the day – after a cup of COFFEE of course!

 

Morning Songs!

Bob Marley – Wake Up and Live

Cat Stevens – Morning has Broken

Dan Fogelberg – To the Morning (this was a favorite of mine in college)

Watching the sun
Watching it come
Watching it come up over the rooftops.

Cloudy and warm
Maybe a storm
You can never quite tell
From the morning.

Chorus
And it’s going to be a day
There is really no way to say no
To the morning.

Yes it’s going to be a day
There is really nothing left to
Say but
Come on morning.

Waiting for mail
Maybe a tale
From an old friend
Or even a lover.

Sometimes there’s none
But we have fun
Thinking of all who might
Have written.

And maybe there are seasons
And maybe they change
And maybe to love is not so strange.

The sounds of the day
They hurry away
Now they are gone until tomorrow.

When day will break
And you will wake
And you will rake your hands
Across your eyes
And realize

That it’s going to be a day
There is really no way to say no
To the morning.

Yes it’s going to be a day
There is really nothing left to say but
Come on morning.

I love participating in Java’s Meet Me on Monday! It prompts me to blog at least ONCE during the week! Stop over and visit Java at Never Growing Old and join in the fun. All you have to do is answer FIVE simple questions!

1. Tomorrow I am working. I had an unexpected relaxing three day weekend. Unexpected, as in I didn’t request any of the days off, the schedules just fell that way. If you work or have worked in retail you know how RARE that is!

2. When is your birthday? Feb 22

3. What are you currently excited about? Hmmm, not much of anything. I’m in a rut. Need to get out of it! My daughter is excited about a concert on Saturday in Philly, it’s on South Street – the “hip” part of the city. I am looking forward to spending the hours they are at the concert exploring on my own. I never make the time otherwise!

4. Do you have any secrets? Sure do!

Got a secret
Can you keep it?
Swear this one you’ll save
Better lock it, in your pocket
Taking this one to the grave
If I show you then I know you
Won’t tell what I said
Cause two can keep a secret
If one of the m is dead…

5. What do you normally eat for lunch? I work at a Walgreens, and most times I don’t plan ahead and pack a lunch, so I will usually grab something from the store.

 

Thanks A-Latte for stopping by!

Martha

 

Every Sunday, Java of  Never Growing Old posts five get to know you  questions for us to answer so we can get to know each other!

I didn’t have time to visit anyone last week, I am hoping this week is better for computer time!

Questions:
1. I keep putting off cleaning and organizing my bedroom. It has become a “dumping” area for the things Tara does not want in her room, that need to get to storage.

2. What is your current weather? Rain – last time I was outside with the dog at 3:00am, it was still raining, had been since early yesterday. We need the rain!

3. What is the nicest room in your house? I guess the living room. We live in an apartment so nothing is “Home and Garden” beautiful. 

4. What jewelry do you never take off? I don’t have any that I wear 24/7. Some days I don’t wear any! Like my home, I’m not too accesorized these days!

5. Do you eat a snack before bed? On occasion. I try and not have anything to eat too late. If we had a light dinner sometimes I will have yogurt or something so I don’t wake up in the middle of the night hungry!

Much like I feel about my life right now, my answers this week are BORING. I was tempted to not participate, but I wanted to make sure that I posted at least ONCE this week!

I am very BORED with myself lately.

I said that to Tara the other day. She told me I was NOT boring. My reply was I did not say I was BORING, I said I was BORED! BORED WITH MYSELF!

Do you ever feel like that?

I mean, I can always find something to fill time – working, cooking, cleaning, driving Tara to and from various destinations, and for those times that I am just SITTING, playing Words with Friends, Scramble and Draw Something on my IPhone.

I never seem to have the TIME to get away from all of that and do something for me. Something I ENJOY. Honestly, I don’t even know what that is anymore.

I make plans in my head, for the NEXT week day I have off (when Tara is in school). I’m going to hop the train and head to Philly. Never happens. Something or someone needs my time on that day.

I don’t even take many pictures any more. I LOVE photography. I’m just uninspired! If it weren’t for my IPhone, I would hardly take any pictures!

My blog is suffering. I don’t do anything interesting to blog about!

I need to find a way out of this slump!

I’m going to share a song (okay two) for Monday Music Makes Me Move!
This week’s theme is One Hit Wonders or Music Your Grandma Loves. Sadly, I have no clue what kind of music my grandmother loved, I don’t remember ever really listening to music with her!

Afternoon Delight

Spirit in the Sky

Thanks A-LATTE for stopping by!

 

Martha

 

 

and I’m not talking about my morning coffee, although I do welcome that first (second, third, etc sip every morning!
I’m welcoming back Java of Never Growing Old and Meet Me On Monday after a long hiatus! I love this meme when I get the chance to participate!

Questions:

1. Right now I could really eat _________?
I just had an egg, polenta and guacomole, so I’m pretty full. I was looking forward to this breakfast since I bought the polenta yesterday!

2. Full length pants or capri’s? Pants…. my legs need to be hidden from public viewing at all costs!

3. The best smelling men’s cologne (women’s perfume for the guys playing) is ________?
Hmm, I sell fragrance at Walgreens, and still my favorite men’s cologne after all these years and new fragrances that have come out is Grey Flannel. Our most popular men’s cologne is Drakkar Noir.

4. What is your favorite kind of Cheesecake? Any kind of cheesecake. I remember growing up my father bringing home cheesecake from a bakery near his office. That was in the 60s. I’ve loved cheesecake a long time!

5. What TV Show do you currently never miss? I don’t miss many, as I DVR all ths shows I love, and if for some reason I miss DVRing it, they all can be found On Demand or Hulu. This is how I spend my 1/2 hr lunch break at work! My current new favorites are Touch (with Kiefer Sutherland) and Missing with Ashley Judd. There are quite a few shows I like this year and hope that they make it through the first season!

————————————————————–
Make it a great day! I have to run and finish getting ready for work! Monday got her too quickly since I had to work on Saturday!

Thanks A Latte for stopping by,

Martha

I grew up going to church and Easter was always a big event. I remember as a kid getting that new Easter dress, even going to be with curlers in my hair for that “special” Easter hair do (which more often than not turned out very bad!) Coloring eggs and Easter baskets and going to church, were all parts of Easter. In later years, I sang in the choir, and a lot of work went into the special music for the season.

Once Tara was born, Easter became more about the Easter Bunny than about the religious aspect. We slowly got away from attending church and the celebration was more about SPRING and the new life around us!

When Tara was little the EB would hide egg inside and out for an early morning Easter Egg hunt in the yard. This was much easier accomplished in the warmer climate of Florida than the early years in Pennsylvania. Filling eggs and finding little gifts took a great deal of time, as well as trying to figure out when she was really asleep so I could go about the business of helping out the bunny! Being a single parent has it’s challenges!

Coloring eggs was always a fun, but messy experience. Although I don’t so much miss the hiding and hunting of the eggs, I do miss just a little bit the coloring of the eggs now that Tara is a teen, and has other interests! This year, I got the eggs hard boiled, but “went” with the all white theme! LOL (that is we didn’t dye them!)

The only candy I bought were some rainbow colored Twizzlers.

and Tara got a Rainbow Unicorn Pillow Pet.

Whose mane, but the way, matches Tara’s hair!

I did bake a crustless Spinach and Mushroom quiche for breakfast and a nice lamp chop dinner for my mother and I. I could not bring myself to eat ham this year, I watched way too many trucks full of pigs pass by work heading to Hatfield Packing (Home of the Smiling Porker? Really what does he have to smile about), to be slaughtered for Easter dinners! Yes, I still ate meat, from a cute little lamb…. it really was all I could do to get it down! Mom enjoys lamb from time to time, so I wanted to make it special for her! I really enjoyed the guacamole stuffed eggs, pineapple casserole and asparagus. Not one of us indulged in any chocolate!

All in all this year, Easter Sunday was a very quiet day. The last day of my “staycation” and the first of Tara’s Spring break that she did not spend with friends. I like quiet days!