Friday Funnies

Ten Things Thursday

How about some beautiful houses?

Okay, this is more of a castle--but so beautiful. That landscaping looks so perfect.

John Mellencamp isn't the only one who loves "little pink houses"! This one looks like it's right out of New Orleans.

Annabelle hydrangeas give you the most bang for your buck! This house can definitely stand alone on its beauty, but the flowers take it to the next level.

This one looks like a cute cottage. That purple door! I'm not a "purple" person, but it sure looks good here.

OMG! This house definitely makes a statement. It says, "look at me! Aren't I beautiful?" Yep, you are.

So pretty with a touch of snow.

Love this! I'm not sure which house is the "mother-in-law quarters"--but I'll take either! What a beautiful statement this makes with the landscaping tying it all together. But it only works if it blooms all season long.

I see all the beautiful landscaping in these photos. This is how I want ours to look. We just can't seem to get there!

One thing is certain, if you have a white house, you can get away with any color front door. I love this green, but it would never occur to me to use it on my front door. And that roof!!!

Very cute. Is this a thatched roof? It's kind of hard to tell. Such an inviting little place (or maybe not so little)!

I just love beautiful houses--don't you!

What I Buy Wednesday

I didn't do any shopping while we were on our trip. I am such an impulse shopper--and I don't need anything, so I'm better off staying out of the stores. 

But, there's one thing I have to buy---my Starbucks mug! I've collected them from every state I visit (or country).

It was really easy this time as our first resort had a Starbucks in it!

And then there's what I didn't buy.

While we were gone, Mitchell and Emily had some house problems and needed a place to stay while they were dealing with repairs. Of course they could stay here. 

When we got home on Sunday, we found this basket full of goodies and very sweet notes from Mitchell AND Emily!

They gave us a couple pints of homemade spaghetti sauce, two types of pasta, a garlic spread mix and a bottle of Jameson that they brought back from Ireland. 

PS The spaghetti sauce is delicious!! Thanks you two!

Travel Tuesday

We were in Hawaii last week for our family vacation. To say we had a great time is a bit of an understatement. We did so much and had plenty of new experiences. There was a lot of hiking, sightseeing, the young boys surfed, lots of sun and pool time, kayaking and snorkeling. 

And the food--plenty of that and new things too. I had ramen for the first time amidst the locals. We stopped for shaved ice on the walk back--another first for me. It was so delicious. Okay, I have to share a couple pictures!

They were so huge--we shared. Steph and Nicky got the strawberry/banana.

I don't even remember what ours had. Nicky asked--on my behalf--since that's what I always do--"Which is the most popular?" Butch and I got that. I don't remember the flavor, but it was called "Seas the Day!" It was delish--we couldn't even finish it all. 

The Hyatt Resort in Maui was so beautiful--we were all upgraded to huge rooms overlooking the ocean. It's one of the nicest resorts we've ever been to. It didn't hurt that there were many exotic animals right in the hotel--penguins, huge koi and other fish, assorted parrots, feral cats and mute swans--even a black one. The grands and I did the nature walk which was so interesting and pretty. I do love a good tour (Pearl Harbor was our favorite).

All in all another memorable trip.

Here is a sampling of family pictures.

But then, as with just about all of our trips lately, the airline nearly ruined it. I think everyone's flights went smoothly--except ours! We already had a long day to look forward to: flying from Maui to LA to Atlanta and then to Nashville. All went smoothly up until the end. We were due to arrive home in Nashville at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday (after leaving Maui on Saturday at noon--left the resort at 9 a.m.). We thought we were in the clear when we took off on time from Atlanta. Instead, we get all the way to Nashville and are then informed that we couldn't land due to heavy fog. I did not understand that as I had a window seat and the ground was perfectly clear. Next, they made the announcement that we would have to go to Chattanooga to refuel. What?? Airplanes do not travel with a full tank of gas? Atlanta to Nashville is less than an hour. How could they be out of gas? I was not happy. 

We finally made it to the house around 12:30 p.m. I am seriously thinking that I am DONE with long flights. Well, except for the trips we already have planned for next year. Costa Rica isn't all that far--maybe closer than LA. I am going with my girlfriends on the Queen Mary 2--NYC to Southhampton, England (London). That's going to be 7 days traveling! But we'll be in luxury! Still, we will have the long flight home from there. 

We'll see how I feel in a year. As for now, I am done!

Monday Mystery

Somewhere in the middle of the summer, we noticed that we had a little frog in our pond. I have never actually seen it, but whenever I walk near the pond, you can hear it jump in the water. Butch has seen it once. I pictured a tiny little thing. He said it's about the size of half dollar. There's no way we can get a picture of the frog, but here's one of the pond.

The mystery is where the heck did the frog come from? And will it survive the winter? I guess we'll have to wait and see about that. 

On another note, we have several baby goldfish. Now it's no mystery as to how they got there. Reproduction is not a mystery to us!

More on Hummingbirds

After my last post about the birds in our yard, Mindy sent me this email:

hummingbirds. I told Justin that at some point I want a tiny tattoo of a hummingbird (not sure when or where I’d get it). In the meantime, here are some fun facts about hummingbirds:

I saw your post about the birds and that you and Dad like the hummingbirds! Justin and I love hummingbirds. I told Justin that at some point I want a tiny tattoo of a hummingbird (not sure when or where I’d get it). In the meantime, here are some fun facts about hummingbirds:

-they cannot walk- they can only perch or fly (their legs are too weak for walking)

-their tongues wrap around their eye sockets and brain (they have such long tongues to get nectar from flowers)

-a group of hummingbirds is called a “charm”

-they are the only type of bird that can fly backwards

-the smallest bird in the world is a species of hummingbird in Cuba that weighs less than a penny!

We learned these facts when we went on a tour in Costa Rica, but my favorite “hummingbird interaction” was when we were in Jamaica…

As the story goes, apparently an elderly woman living on a mountain spent years patiently waiting with tiny bottles of sugar water for the hummingbirds to come to her. Finally they did. Now it’s a hummingbird sanctuary and tourists (like us) can go there. I think it was $20 and they give you little “airplane bottles” that are filled with sugar water and the hummingbirds will perch on your finger to drink it! One of the coolest experiences ever! See pics/video attached.

Well, I cannot figure out how to add a video to my blog. The video is of Justin feeding the hummingbird--live! Oh well. 

Thanks, Mindy, for these fun facts and picture.

Me on Monday

I cannot remember the last time I wore out a pair of tennis shoes. Of course, considering I have quite a few pairs, it's taken a long time. 

On one of my recent walks, I walked through a puddle and immediately felt that my "footie" was wet. I was pretty surprised by that. When I got home and took off my shoes, I saw this:

OMGosh! When did this happen? I realize that I never look at the bottom of my shoes. I had no idea that I had worn part of the sole away! And that hole! This was a pretty substantial sole at one time. Now worn clear through.

So I went upstairs to get a pair I'd been wearing on the treadmill. After only one wear outside, this happened:

I wore a hole in the top of the shoe! I'm thinking that these were probably dry-rotted. 2 pairs gone in two days.

Never fear, I have at least 4 more pairs!!