Category Archives: Meet Me On Monday

I ♥ Mondays

Posted on by
10

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!

 

Photobucket

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.

Morning!

Posted on by
8

Spotlight Dancers

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

Meet Me on Monday

Posted on by
10

 

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!

Photobucket

Afternoon Delight

Spirit in the Sky

Thanks A-LATTE for stopping by!

 

Martha

 

 

Welcome Back Java!

Posted on by
7

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

The post that I should have posted last night but still can’t think of a title for!

Posted on by
2

Hello, how is every one doing this fine day? I hope those of you who are preparing for the holidays, are not going to crazy. I am finding that about 1 out of 10 people are CRANKY, when they are shopping. The rest are quite pleasant.
First, I wanted to take care of the business of those things for which I have been thankful for the past couple of days when I was too busy to blog!

#23 (Saturday) If you look back at #22, I was thankful for being able to order and pay for an item on line, that would then be waiting for me when I got to the store. This was great, until I found myself at another store in the same retail chain on Saturday, and found the same item (in great quantity) for $30 more. I now have to go and get them to cancel the other order and refund my money! Oh well, I tried, but I am thankful that I saved $30!!!!

#24 (Sunday) I was thankful on Sunday for Chinese Take Out. I really did not want to cook after working all day. I just wanted to come home and put my feet up!

#25 (Monday) – Since I didn’t get this posted earlier, I will get today’s cared for as well! Today, this evening, I am thankful for my BED. I am tired, and I have a big day of shopping ahead of me tomorrow! It’s not even 7pm and I’m sitting in bed watching TV, and plan on spending the entire evening (until I fall asleep) surfing the web, visiting blog friends, and playing some games! I deserve it!


Joining in on Meet Me On Monday with FIFTEEN questions to cover the next three weeks!

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both, this year it appears predominately wrapping, as Tara has been a wrapping maniac!

The fact that Tara LOVES wrapping so much is something I am THANKFUL for on this #26th day! I really don’t enjoy wrapping, and this is one day she can contribute to the holiday preparations

2.Real or artificial tree? Artificial. I would love a real tree, but they are really really heavy, and we are a house of women. In addition, we like to put it up right after Thanksgiving, and take it down around NYE.

3.When do you put your tree up? Answered above.

4.When do you take your tree down? Answered above.

5.Do you like eggnog? Yes I do and so does Tara. She LOVES it! We bought Silk (Soy) Nog that we still need to try. Tara is embracing tofu and soy these days!

6.Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, a ceramic one that my mother painted by hand.


7.Favorite Christmas Movie? Classic – White Christmas, Newer – ELF


8.Favorite Christmas cookie? Snowballs (Russian Tea Cakes)
9.Where will you eat Christmas dinner? Probably at home with just Tara and my mother.

10.Angel, bow or star on top of your tree? Angel
11.Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Commercialism. I work in retail now, and it starts so early. I really am having a hard time keeping up the holiday spirit.

12.Do you like Fruitcake? A good fruit cake yes. My friend’s John and Michael, sent me one they made a few years ago and it was heaven. If everyone had a chance to taste their fruitcake, there would be no more jokes about it!

13.What are you most excited about the holidays? Sadly, for them to be over or a week of Tara not having to get up to go to school. I’m just not all the excited for the actual holiday this year!

14.Do you open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning? Mostly Christmas morning. We have been getting together the past two years since we’ve been at home with my sister and her family, and we open those gifts Christmas Eve. This year, I still have no clue what we are doing and it is only 6 days away!

15.Will you still be wrapping presents on Christmas Eve? Maybe a couple. I hope to finish my shopping on Tuesday. Tara has been wrapping lots of stuff. Gifts she knows she’s getting and even things that really weren’t intended as gifts. She just wanted tons of packages under the tree.

Day after Day

Posted on by
3

Java hosts Meet Me On Monday each week so we can get to know our fellow bloggers better! Click on the button above and join in the fun!

1. Tomorrow I’m going to _________? Tomorrow would be Tuesday, and I am off! I have some things to do around the house, and then I am going to take my mother for a ride to Valley Forge National Park to see the “Wreaths Across America” that have been placed there again this year. Wreaths are placed by volunteers on the graves of veterans and soldiers who did not return from America’s wars and other locations. It is really quite a beautiful sight. I’ve included the link so you can see if there is a location near you!

2. Pudding or Jello? Pudding,I don’t really care for either. I used to love to make pudding parfaits for dessert when I was a teenager and would help cook dinner.

3. What book are you currently reading? Seriously? None. Sad, I know!

4. What is the first concert you went to see?
Badfinger. My high school won a radio contest if I remember correctly.

5. What is your current weather? Right now, 23 degrees. It is supposed to be partly sunny today, and a high of 46 degrees. Can’t really complain, we had a really mild November.

I’ll be catching up later today (or tomorrow) with the thing I am thankful for today! I’m running out of time!!!

Thanks A-Latte for Stopping by!

Martha

Nothing a good piece of chocolate can’t handle!

Posted on by
7

First up is my 365 Thankfulness Journal.

If you missed my post on Friday, you can read it here, but the short story is this; instead of proclaiming those things I am thankful for during November or the holiday season, I am going to share something I am thankful for each day until Thanksgiving 2012.
#3/365 (11/27) – Yesterday I was thankful for CHOCOLATE. With a teen age daughter in the house, I make sure to keep a supply on hand. Even without looking at a calendar, the way she was acting on Saturday, I knew chocolate was in order to tame the crankiness!
Right now this is my favorite, dark chocolate with a hint of saltiness! You can get a $1.00 coupon by liking Ghiradelli’s Facebook page.

#4/365 (11/28) – This morning, I am thankful for my DVR. I said from the beginning some things might be pretty superficial! Tara and I rarely go to the movies anymore. It used to be something we did often. Schedules and the ever increasing price of tickets have made moving going much more of a treat! I do enjoy a good TV show, but am not always able to be in front of the TV for every show. Case in point, Sunday night, which I work quite frequently, has several series that I really enjoy. I just record them all, and watch at my “leisure” during the week. (Quite frequently in the wee hours of the morning when I can’t sleep!)

Java hosts Meet Me on Monday every week as away of us getting to know our fellow bloggers better! I made sure instead of laying in bed staring at the ceiling at 4:30am, that I powered up the laptop so I could participate today! Stop over and visit Java and join in the fun!

1. I really need to clean my bedroom? It is so cluttered. The desktop computer is in my room (that is going to change soon) so Tara spends a good bit of time in my room. It is also the repository of all stuff that is “homeless”. I usually set aside a day off every couple of weeks and spend a good part of the day cleaning/decluttering, but it does not take long for it to become cluttered again.
ur
2. What food makes you think of Christmas? Eggnog and Pizzelles.  have many fond memories of Christmas Eve’s after any activity we might have had sitting at the table with my mom enjoying a glass of eggnog and a homemade pizzelle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be? If I knew then what I know now I think I would have stayed around 40.

4. What was your first paying job? Besides numerous steady babysitting jobs in high school, my first real job was in a small gift shop. My best friend worked there too. We always worked Friday night together and had the best time. I hated all the dusting we had to do there, but other than that it was a great first job.

5. Have you read the Twilight series? No. Tara is probably one of the few teenage girls that never got into the series of books or movies. We owned two copies of the first book. We were going to read it together. That never happened. I gave one copy to a friend!

 

 

 

We really had a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend. Although I had to work a few hours on Turkey Day, I actually enjoyed it! I was also glad this year to not have to go to Thanksgiving dinner with my family! Sometimes it is just better!

I hope everyone has a a great week! Can you believe that Christmas is just FOUR weeks away?
Which reminds me, XMAS Dolly is hosting Monday Music Makes Me Move, and for the next four weeks we get to share Christmas tunes.

Photobucket

There are so many that I love, I’m just going to pick one this week! Working in retail, I see Christmas everywhere I turn at work!

Thanks a-latte for stopping by!

Martha

The Cat’s Meow

Posted on by
12

I’m using the extra hour on Sunday to get ahead of the game for this week’s posts! Although I don’t really mind working Sunday evenings (if I have to work an evening it is the one I prefer), it does put me at a disadvantage to getting a “leg up” for the week as far as my blog. Even if I have Monday off, I wind up doing 100 other things I didn’t get done over the weekend!

Java at Never Growing Old hosts Meet Me On Monday each week. We get to learn a little about other bloggers this way!

Along the lines of never growing old, I had a funny conversation with two of the young men (18-20 age range) at work on Friday. It was just me and the boys, putting up some Christmas decorations and some how we got on the topic of age. When I reminded them I was 53 (closer to 54), they both said that they never think of me as being “that” old! They continued that I don’t look or ACT my age! I had to chuckle. I’ve always said being the older mom of a teen (and now working with young adults) is helping to keep me young at heart!


1. Are you excited for the holidays or are you dreading them? I am conflicted. I love the holidays, but every year “Christmas” starts earlier. Santa came to our local mall on FRIDAY night, that is almost two full months before Christmas. I thought the old guy used to have until Thanksgiving at the North Pole before he had to start spending time in the malls? I saw a house with their decorations up and LIT last night. Walgreens, where I work, has to have Christmas “set” by today. I wonder if I will go it after being off all weekend to find even the trees on display. I even recorded a new Hallmark Christmas themed movie last night. I think I will save it to watch it later this month! I LOVED spending time at Disney World when we lived in Orlando, they really brought the holidays alive!

2. Do you hit the snooze button or get right up? I don’t use an alarm as a rule to wake up. I have a dog and a cat who serve that purpose well. In fact, the cat has not adjusted to standard time and instead of starting his normal incessant non-stop meowing at 5am, it was 4am this morning. He is the reason I am finishing up this post at 4:15am! I don’t have a regular alarm clock/clock radio in my room. I use the DVR box to tell time, and my iPhone is my alarm if I need one!

3. Do you still have your tonsils? Yes I do. When I was in my early 20s. I had issues with them, and was on the verge of having them removed, then my chronic tonsillitis cleared up.
4. What was the last piece of candy that you ate? A fun sized Snickers Almond

5. Do you shop at thrift stores? On occasion. Two years ago Tara was really into thrift shops. We had a Goodwill store within walking distance and she would go in with friends. She found some rare Webkinz for cheap, so then we had to start hitting the other shops around. They are also a great place for used books. I had a couple clothing finds too.

Photobucket

Planning ahead really gives me time to put some thought into XMAS Dolly’s Monday’s Music Makes Me Move. This week’s them is The 80s. This was my shall we say “wild decade”. At the beginning of the decade, I was of legal drinking age, had my own car, (not always the best combination), working full time and the 2nd half of the 80s, lived in a different state than my family! The 80s brought us big hair (well some of us, mine was always short but funky), crazy clothes and some pretty funky music!
Here is one that always brings me back to my “club” nights!
Funkytown – Lipps, Inc

Here’s another party/dance tune!
Celebration – danced to this at every wedding I went to in the 80s! Actually they may have even played at my nephew’s wedding this summer!

Can’t have 80s music without some early Madonna – Borderline!

okay, and just for kicks one that my niece and nephew loved when they were kids, and a band my mother and I have seen many times in concert! Mom loves her some “Oaks”. I follow them on Twitter they are good people!
Elvira – Oak Ridge Boys

Thanks A-Latte for Stopping by!

Meet Me On Monday Moves to the Music

Posted on by
6

I’m so glad Meet Me on Monday is back. This is the first chance I’ve had to join back in! It’s a way to get to know our fellow bloggers a little better!

Questions:
1.  My favorite kind of animal is dog and cat?
I really can’t choose. I was a dog person growing up, disliked cats actually. I think it was because I didn’t “know” any cats that well. Once a kitten joined our home (it came with my sister and her kids when they moved in with us), I realized they weren’t so bad. Since 1986, there has only been a very short time that there was no cat in my home. We have just one now, but at one time we had 8 (5 were a litter of kittens) I love dogs too. They are more work, but the bond between my Princess and I is something I cherish! I miss our Yorkie Maia. She stayed behind when we left FL.

Kovu

Princess
2.  Do you like your handwriting?
No. I would much rather type than write. People have trouble reading my unique penmanship, a combination of cursive and printing!
3.  What is the last movie you saw?
In the theater, the last movie I saw was Contagion. We used to be at the theaters all the time, but the price and my teens busy schedule makes it a much rarer treat!
4.  Do you buy things on eBay?
I have not in quite some time. When we lived in Orlando, I purchased Disney pins off Ebay quite often, and there was the summer that we were always buying Pokemon!
5.  What did you have for lunch yesterday?
I tried a new chicken recipe using dried cranberries and stuffing mix. The concept sounded good, it was from Hellmanns. The end product was just so so. I will take the idea and make some adjustments and come up with a new recipe. I had hoped to share the recipe, but it is not something I would recommend. We also had local sweet potatoes and eggplant that I bought at the farmers market. They were really good!

This week over at Monday Music Makes Me Move is bloggers choice. I’ve been thinking a lot about the year 1976. The year of my high school graduation. Thirty Five freakin years ago. We have a reunion coming up soon. I would like to go, but with my “vocal challenge” having a paralyzed vocal chord, it makes it very difficult for me to mingle in a crowd. My voice has only one volume setting, soft!
In 1976 we were listening too songs like:
KC and the Sunshine Band – Shake Shake Shake – this should get you moving and grooving. 70s fashion at it’s finest!

Electric Light Orchestra – Evil Woman

Paul McCartney and Wings – Silly Love Songs

Photobucket

Meet Me On Monday

Posted on by
5


Every Sunday Never Growing Old posts five get to know you  questions so we  can all learn a little more about each and every one of us!!
1.  Who would be your dream celebrity date?  Chris Pine…. I fell for him in Star Trek!

2.  Do you have any food restrictions?  No, unfortunately not!

3.  How much time do you take to get ready in the morning?
I am pretty low maintenance.  I think that came from working at home for so many years.  I really don’t like the whole doing the hair, putting on make up thing!  I can be reading in 20 minutes on a good day!

4.  Sausage or bacon?  I like them both.. I think sausage is more versatile.  I love a good sausage sandwich or sausage and peppers… don’t it it all that often though.

5.  Do you Google, Bing or Yahoo?
I usually Google, but on occasion will Bing!  Don’t like Yahoo!  I had fun looking through all the “Google Doodles”… who knew there were so many?

Thanks A-Latte for stopping by!

Martha