A Pirate to the rescue

When your down and out and in a funk, it's nice to have someone to pull you out of it. Friends are like that. I've been suffering the winter doldrums these past few days. Many of you out there in Blogland live in the south where the sunshine is starting to warm things up, my sister in Florida is telling me of 80 degree weather down there and even my husband has turned on me. He is still in TX, but having to suffer through 70+ degree days with a high tomorrow near 80. I told him not to come back unless he brought some of that with him!

Anyways.....as I was saying....I was in a funk today, but a friend pulled me out of it, if only for a few hours it was nice. He brought to mind some good old music I haven't listened to in a long time. I am a music geared person. Not that I play any instrument or have a degree or anything of that nature, it's just that music is in my soul. I have to say my favorite and most listened to, is country, but my music enjoyment is a hodgepodge of many styles. From classical to country, blues to jazz, oldies to rock, they all strike a cord with me at different moments of my life.

Today I needed some of that good rock to jolt me out of this. My Pirate friend turned me on to some good ole' Lynyrd Skynyrd. I was rocking to Sweet Home Alabama, What's Your Name (Little Girl), and my favorite - Give Me Three Steps. Then I pulled out a couple of old albums, (yes albums, NOT CD's) and cranked up the old turn table and played some Foghat, ZZ Top and even some Boston. My living room floor became my dance floor. Rockin' the night away!

I needed that today. Thanks Pirate! I owe you one.

Just clothes?

The Original The Savior, twelve disciples,
And a fishing boat.

Luke 5:4-6

I admit it, I'm pathetic

I am so ashamed. I know I shouldn’t expose this but I really need to openly confess. I am only human. I have been exposed to temptations that a woman cannot walk away from. Desires that my body hungers for. I knew it was wrong, but I was weak.

The worst part is I liked it and would probably do it again! It was like I found heaven on earth. And I waited until my husband was out of town. I am shameless.

A commitment broken….
Trust lost…..
I ask for forgiveness…..

But……………

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It was SO good!! Fried Cheesecake is absolutely delectable!
On the first one I drizzled some caramel. Mmmm!

Then, just for the benefit of you, I thought using a raspberry topping might make a better presentation so.........

They were both 'to die for'! And it is so very easy to do, but will leave your guests talking about it for a long time to come. I will post the recipe on my other site in the next day or so.

So much for my diet huh? Well I may just have to (bite my tongue) exercise. But it was well worth it! Every luscious bite!

**Update - Recipe has been posted here**

"When I grow up, I want to be...."

I'm trying to remember what I wanted to be when I grew up. I know I thought about being a lawyer at one time, but then found out how much schooling that would require and changed my mind real quick! Foolishly, I was not interested in going to college. I wish I had gone, but I can't say that I really regret that I didn't. I guess I really did get what I wanted....to be a full time mom. It's a job I have loved! Although I really would have liked a few more children, it takes two, so I think the three I have is what it was supposed to be.

I'm hoping my children have higher expectations of themselves. Not that there is anything wrong with the path I took, I would like to see them go into a career of some sort. My daughter is gifted with an artistic talent. It would be ashame if she didn't use it some way. Here is a sketch she did recently for a school report. (Click on image for a better view) She keeps a sketch book and draws in it often. She also did this painting for me when she was only about 9 or 10 yr old. Granted, it's paint by number, but she did a beautiful job with it.

My youngest son used to say that he wanted to build things. I've tried telling him he wants to 'design" the building, ie architect, but no, he wants to build it, ie construction worker. Hmmm. He does like working with his hands. He is taking wood shop in school and has made me a few nice things. Here is a picture of a few of his projects. But lately he is now considering becoming a chef. He's quite handy in the kitchen.

My oldest son on the other hand has no clue. The only 'career' that he has ever mentioned is as a sniper. Great! He's going to be a hired assasin. Maybe get on with the SWAT team. I honestly believe he'll end up going into the service, which is ok by me. He can learn some responsiblity, get an idea what he wants out of life, get help paying for school and possibly learn a career there. I think the military is a good way for many kids to go. It was the best thing that ever happened for me.

Art, good food and protection. At least I'll be taken care of in my old age!

I'm a winner!

I won! I won! I can't believe it, I never win anything. Except those concert tickets last year for being the 9th caller, and the time I guessed # of jelly beans in a jar and won a 6 foot submarine sandwich, and....ok, well I hardly ever win anything.

Boomer Chick had a contest to win a copy of her book "Romancing the Soul" All you had to do was tell her what you thought having a soul mate means to you. There were lots of good answers. Check it out I'm looking forward to getting the book but I'm a little concerned too. My husband and I have been married almost 20 years (8 more days), I hope he's my soul mate or we're in trouble!

Warming by the fire

I think I may go to Jamaica today, or maybe Cancun. Not sure which. Anyone want to join me? It might be kinda cozy though, those tanning booths are pretty much made for one. Hee hee! That is how the tanning salon my daughter goes to names their rooms. Each room is named after a tropical paradise. She went yesterday and it sounds really tempting. I am naturally tan and in the summer really get dark, but the tanning rays may temporarily alleviate these Winter blahs. I am so tired of the cold. There is one advantage to the cold weather and Winter season that I enjoy though. Here is a picture to warm all of you up. This is in my kitchen. Being an older farm house, the fireplaces were built in the kitchen. We don't have one in the den. But seeing as how this is where everyone gathers any way it works out nice. There is a fan that blows the heat out and it really helps to keep the rest of the house pretty warm. I just like the ambiance. Grab a chair and a cup of coffee and feel free to join me.

Watch out on the road!

Earlier this week I took my daughter to take her drivers test. The night before we spent in the parking lot of the local grocery store practicing parking. This seemed to be the most challenging part of driving for her. She couldn't pull into a parking spot straight to save her life. I was a bit worried for her about this part of the test but she pulled it off with flying colors. She was so proud of herself for not knocking over one flag! After that part of the test the rest was a breeze. Except for the one curb she ran over on a right turn. Ooops. But she passed. Whew! A few more gray hairs on mom. She was really upset though that the Sect. of State office was closed though and she couldn't go directly to get her license. So I let her check in late the next day to school so that we could go get it. It was Valentines Day after all, so that was my treat for her. Two down, one to go. My youngest is counting the days before he can start drivers training. Sometime in April. That is going to be an experience!

Well, it's that time of year again. Taxes! Got ours done today and we are getting back a nice little lump sum. Enough to pay for our yearly property taxes, which makes me happy. Trust me, here in MI that's not peanuts!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Peach gets physical

Okay, I"ve been stringing y'all on long enough. Basic training was really pretty cool. Drill Sargent could really rock out some great cadence! It was almost like dancing. :)

Now, back to Terry. He's the guy I took a shining to during basic. Really sweet guy, wrote me some poetry I still have. Don't know what ever happened to him, I don't know why we didn't keep in touch. Anyway....we had to be careful how we spent our time together. Uncle Sam was worse than my mom and dad! We couldn't sit with in so many feet of each other or have any physical contact what so ever. Well, needless to say we got caught sitting too close, holding hands and kissing once. Boy did I pay! Each time we got caught it was "DROP and give me 10!" Then it went to 20 then 50! I learned how to do push-ups real quick! At the end of basic there was a contest to see who could do the most. Guess who won for the females? Yep! Yours truly. I was in the best shape I've ever been when I left Ft. Jackson.

Well that's it for my Army stories for now. There are plenty more, trust me, including one about canoeing down a river losing a few articles of clothing ;) But we'll have to save that one for another day. Back to the hum-drum events of the every day house wife and mom.

Peach goes to basic training

Okay, now where was I? Oh yea…..basic training. I will never forget the morning that I left. I was all packed and ready to head down to the main station where I was to catch a bus. I said all my good byes to my family. The most difficult was leaving behind my little brother, the youngest. His name is Michael and he must have been about 4-5 yrs old. We were very, very close. He used to call me ‘mommy’, we spent that much time together. He was sitting back, in my fathers recliner, which was huge for him, watching tv. When I went in to say bye and give him a kiss, he acted like he didn’t hear me. He was SO mad at me for leaving him. He just kept his eyes straight ahead on the television and didn’t even acknowledge me. I remember crying. That was the hardest part about leaving home.

I took a bus to Ft. Jackson, SC. A bus full of new recruits headed to the great unknown. Upon arriving and checking in I realized I definitely over packed. See, one of the advantages of the military is there is no need to make any decisions as to what you’re going to wear for the day. Dress for the day is a drab brown t-shirt, camouflage shirt and pants and black boots. Each and every day. She didn’t have a t-shirt on in the poster. What’s the deal? And where’s my gun? I’m ready to do some shootin’! This isn’t going quite as I imagined.

We all line up for our first formation and receive some interesting information. We are to be used for a test case. Our unit is to be the first co-ed company to go through basic training together. Whoo hoo! Now your talking! Guys and gals training side by side. There is to be 2 platoons of females and 2 platoons of males. I was already scanning the line-up for my new bunk mate when they crushed my plans. We were to have separate sleeping quarters and shower facilities. Bummer! I knew it was too good to be true. Oh well, I will still be in the company of many cute guys for most of the day. Then they tell us there is to be absolutely NO fraternizing. Fraternizing? What’s that? Never mind, as long as I can flirt. Little did I know how much my flirting would be a large part of my training.

With much encouragement (yelling, screaming in my face, etc…) from my coach, otherwise known as ‘drill instructor’ I finally learned how to do a push up. Each one was a struggle but I managed to pump out 5 by the end of the day. Whew! This is going to be murder! We also took a nice stroll through the base. Problem is, their stroll was at a much faster pace than my feet wanted to take me. It’s called running or ‘double-time’. I don’t do ‘double-time’. A double shot maybe (tequila, schnapps, whatever), but this running is for the birds!

I made it through my first day and I remember collapsing on my cot. Again the thought goes through my head “Why did I join the Army?”

Seems like I just fell off to sleep when lights come on and some ones banging and yelling something about getting up and at ‘em! Up and at ‘em?!?! Huh? Where’s the coffee? It’s still dark out! This is not for me. Nope, no way! Where is the office so I can turn in my notice? Hah! Do you think that is an option? You have to have no pulse before they let you out of this gig.

I did mention this was a co-ed training program right? Well needless to say I wasted no time introducing myself to a few of the guys the first day, one of them by the name of Terry. That’s his real name too, no protecting the innocent here. So if this story sounds familiar and you are Terry or know Terry, I apologize now for exposing our little affair.


Well, people, again this is longer than I planned so y’all are going to have to wait for Part III – Peach gets Physical ;)

Uncle Sam want's me?! Yea, righhhht!

I am SO out of shape, I need to join the Army again. Just kidding!…..about joining the Army that is, but not about being out of shape. It was a sad site the other morning. I was attempting to braid my hair but my arms got tired and I had to bend over and rest my elbow’s on the sink while still holding sections of my hair up. Then braid a section, then rest, braid a section, then rest…….I know, pathetic isn’t it?

My arms have never been the strongest part of my body. I mean, their not flabby or anything, but I couldn’t do a chin-up to save my life!

I remember vividly the day before I was to leave for basic training for the Army. I was with my family and we were all sitting in the den. The discussion turned towards physical fitness in the Army. As everyone knows, push-ups are a must if you are to be one of Uncle Sam’s finest. “No problem” I said. Down on my hands and knees I go. I assume ‘the position’ and begin counting…..One….THUD! Uh-oh….slight problem. I couldn’t do one push-up, not ONE! What have I gone and gotten myself into?!

Let me back up just a bit. Why did I join the Army? Good question. (I asked myself this again as I lay there on the den floor) A girlfriend and I were shopping at K-Mart. While walking around we came to the poster section. Who didn’t have poster’s up in your bedroom at a young age? As we flipped through each section, we came to one that caught our attention. There, staring straight at us, a life-size female soldier. Long brunette hair falling out of her military hat and over her shoulders. She was wearing camouflage fatigues, the shirt was unbuttoned, a few buttons too many, revealing cleavage that I’ll never see in my life time. She was holding an M-16, and was sporting all the appropriate accessories - ammunition, extra clips, hand grenades clipped to her belt… etc….The caption read “The New Army” My friend looked at me and said “Lets join the Army” The rest is history. True story.

Well, there’s more to this post but I didn’t mean for it to be so long. So this is going to be part I of II. Tune in next time for ‘Peach goes to Basic Training’


“A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.”

Where oh where have my readers all gone?

Hmmm, well y'all, I seem to be losing my reader population. Not that it was a huge following to begin with, but it's been really quiet lately. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what it could be. I've been taking daily showers. I put on clean underwear. I've been using my deodorant. I even use a nicely lavender scented body lotion. I've gotten complimented on that, so I don't think it's too overwhelming.

Now, occasionally I don't always make the best appearance first thing in the morning. Flannel pajama pants and a sweat shirt. No makeup, but then again I don't wear makeup as a general rule any way. Yes, my hair is a bit on the wild side in the mornings, and I may or may not have brushed my teeth yet, but I do eventually get around to it, and gargle.

Have I said anything recently that could have offended any of you? If your from Australia I really didn't mean anything by the remark about cannibals. If you have a pet groundhog, I apologize profusely! Please forgive me for the rude names I called him. To all of my male readers, I never meant to imply that men couldn't cook. Many men are fabulous chefs! And if anythng in any of my previous posts offended you, I am terribly sorry.

If you have any suggestions I will certainly take them into consideration. I try to accept contructive criticism with a smile (more like a grin and a smirk, but at least I'll read it before I dismiss it all together ;) ).

Maybe I need to visit Victoria Secret's and invest in some different lounge attire and try a new perfume? ;)

Don't say I didn't warn you

After the hot, humid days of summer and the blazing colors of the harvest season, I look forward to that first blanket of snow. Covering the ground like a thick down blanket.

But....enough is enough! I blame that fat, furry rat. You know the one, the one I told you about a couple days ago, that stuck his beady little nose out of his hole and decided we were going to have six more weeks of winter!

Yep, it's on it's way. 4-8 inches is predicted. Not enough to really enjoy, but enough to cause the roads to be a mess. Enough to have to pull out the snow boots and gloves again and have that mess left by my kitchen door. Enough to have to pull the snow shovel back out. But yet not enough to be able to get the snowmobiles out, so I'll have to listen to kids gripe. Ugh.

Welcome to Detroit Superbowl fans!

Dreamland

Have you ever had a dream that seemed real? I mean so real that it had your heart beating faster, your hands shaking, your insides tied in knots? One, where, when you woke you couldn't go back to sleep for over an hour? I had one of those last night. I wish I had taken notes. When I woke I could remember everthing in detail, but now it all seems so very fuzzy.

The only thing I remember is that I was trying to hide. I was in a house I know I had been in many times (in my dreams). I know that I have had this dream many times before. It was almost like a rerun of an old movie. I knew the secrets of this house. A trap door in the closet that led to the basement. I was going through the basement looking for a spot to hide when I woke. None of the spots would work. I don't even remember who I was hiding from, but I knew they were going to find me.

I don't dream often, at least not that I remember. But this one was very familiar.

When I was younger, I used to dream I could fly. I loved those dreams. It was a good feeling. It left me wanting to go back to sleep and continue it. This one is not like that. I wish I could make it go away. I've never been one to put much stock into the meanings of dreams, but it makes me wonder where this one is coming from. Where is my imagination coming up with the material for this and why?

Do you have any dreams you would like to share?

A day for rodents?

Visit here for facts and trivia about Groundhog Day

We're not out of the woods yet. It seems our snow fall this year has been anything but bountiful. What good snow we got was actually in the Fall just after Thanksgiving. Since then it has been fairly mild. For Michigan anyway. But don't look for Spring just yet. My neighbor was just telling me about their winter of '96. It seems it was a day, much like today, in the middle of February. Mild temps, bare ground. Unsuspecting Michiganders went to bed without a clue what the light of day would bring them in the morning.

4+ feet of snow. Overnight. Cars were covered, roads disappeared, white piled up to the windows.

No people, don't breathe a sigh of relief yet.

All I can say is that dog-gone gopher/muscrat/mole (okay, so it's a groundhog) had better NOT see his shadow for an early Spring (or is it the other way around? I can never remember!)