Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Story Tellers, Part 1



Welcome to the first weekly edition of Story Tellers hosted by A Southern Belle with Northern Roots. (This post will typically be done on Wednesdays, but I am a little early this week) This weekly feature has been the perfect motivation for me to document a story that I've wanted to share for quite some time. Before I begin, I should give you a brief background...the story behind the story so to speak.

A few years ago the postman dropped off a package at my front door. It was from my aunt Mary, my fathers sister. When I opened the large envelope there wasn't a note or any explanation, just this...


My aunt Mary, who is the youngest of my father's siblings, has always been the family's record keeper. I assumed that she had made an audio history of the Bunker family. So, I went into the living room and popped the tape into the stereo we had which thankfully still had a cassette deck component.

The first few seconds of the tape is just white noise. I could tell that someone was recording, but there was no voice. But then, the voice began. It was my grandfather, my fathers dad, Andrew Louis Bunker Sr. My mom heard it from the kitchen and came in, we were both a little stunned. My grandfather had passed away in the late 1980's when I was only 4 or 5 years old. I have no actual memories of him. The only memories I have of him are from what I've seen in photo's. So, you can understand why I would be a little shocked at the sound of his voice. Although I have no recollection of it, I knew, unmistakably that the voice was his.

I sat in the living room for the better part of an hour listening to the tape. I cried but I was not sad. I was thankful for this amazing gift of family history as told by my grandfather that I never got the joy of knowing while he was living. The tape is more than a family history. It is one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever heard and it's more powerful and moving than the best fictional romance novel I have ever read.

For years I have wanted to sit down and transcribe the tape onto paper. I have started many times, but time has always gotten the better of me and I have packed the tape in a box more than once. Then, last week I learned about the new weekly feature called Story Tellers and it sparked my desire to transcribe it again.

So, I invite you to read this story as told by my grandfather and transcribed by myself. When reading, keep in mind that his voice has a "texture' to it that I can not even begin to translate onto paper. It is aged but genuine. He also has a classic New England accent, so words such as 'Bar Harbor' sound more like Ba Ha-Ba. I have tried to be as authentic to the tape as possible, representing small pauses in speech with a coma and longer pauses with (...). Paragraph separations represent when the tape recorder was turned off/on. The first section contain many names and I have attempted to spell them the best I can, but as you will see some of the names are very unusual and I have spelled them phonetically. Oh, I should also mention that he recorded this, to the best of my knowledge, in the early 1980's for his son Paul, my uncle,who needed it for a school project.

This is a picture of my grandfather, my uncle Paul, and my aunt Mary. I imagine that this picture was taken near the time of the recordings.
Thank you for joining me and I hope you enjoy. Here we go...

Paul, this is the old Champ with the history of the Bunker Family, as best as I can recall it. I started wr…couple of days ago, but I couldn’t seem to put on paper what I had in my head, what’s left of it, so I thought I’d try putting it on tape. It may not be in the correct order that you want it but, huh, you can pick out what info is useful, is as to you and I hope that most of it is. So, I’m going to ramble on and leave you with the task of picking out what information is useful to you.


Okay, lets go. We’ll start with my father, name was Frances Robert Bunker, he was born July 23 1896 in Franklin, Maine… small town on the shore of Frenchman’s Bay located in the region of Bar Harbor. He died November 3, 1972 in Concord, New Hampshire as a result of a stroke. My mother Evelyn Cologne Bunker was of French decent, she was born March, 21 1891 in Concord, New Hampshire and she died June 5, 1960 in Manchester, New Hampshire. She died of cancer of the stomach. My Grandparents on my father’s side was Walter Bunker, a stone cutter by trade. My grandmother was Clara Phillips Bunker, her father Phillips, I forget, I don’t recall his first name, was a native of England, an Englishman and he came here and fought in the Civil War. His decedents in England came from Scottish people and English. My grandparents on my mother’s side was Louis, L-O-U-I-S, Cologne and my grandmother’s name was Marie Cologne. They were natives of Canada, being born in the town of Three Rivers Quebec, a town on the St. Lawrence river between Quebec and MontrĂ©al, I say on the St. Lawrence, it wasn’t to far from there. My father was the eldest of five children, following him was born his sister Hildred, who now I say is about 85. Then came brother Lawrence who must be in his late 70’s, then came his sister Ester who also in her 70’s, and last came his brother, Alba the youngest, who died in June of 1977. Some where between there, between my fathers birth and possibly Lawrence, was born to his parents, huh, two sons, Raymond and Andrew, be my fathers brothers but they never survived beyond their second birthday, one having passed away from pneumonia in infant hood and Andrew, I believe my father told me, died from dypheria shortly after he was born. He doesn’t remember either one of them so they must have died while he was still maybe 4 or 5 years old. I am named after his brother Andrew.

On my mothers side, she has… she was one of five children. She had a sister named Rose, who was a half sister, half brother Dolfus but as whom I recall calling Joe, Joseph, Uncle Joe, as we called him for what reason I don’t know, I think it was simpler to say than Dolfus. She had a brother named Marshal and Fredrick all of these people are now deceased. Now, as far as my fathers back ground is concerned, I can only say that he was born and raised in Franklin, Maine and was educated in Franklin, Maine. He went to the eighth grade, completed grammar school. He went to high school for exactly two days and he told me on the third day that he went fishing with the teacher’s brother who was about his own age. They hooked up a horse and buggy and took off into the woods for 2 days, came back with a tremendous load of fish. That was the extent of his education.

*******

On the back of the photo above is written, "Grampa Bunker", which I assume is, by the age of the man and the age of the photo, my great-grandfather, Francis Robert Bunker taken sometime before he passed away in 1972.

Please join me next week for the next installment. The tape contains some very humorous moments as well as some heart warming ones. I found the small bit about the extent of my great grandfathers education funny. It also reminds me how far we have come with technology and modern day conveniences such as transportation in the last 100 years. Can you imagine skipping school to take a horse and buggy to go fishing?  Please hop over to see A Southern Belle with Northern Roots and check out the other stories that have been shared.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

"Where do you blog?" Link Party

Centsational Girl is hosting a fun little link party 
and wants to know

She wants to know the good, bad, and ugly about where we sit down, stand up, or kneel to write our blogs.
I know I've been curious to see other people's spaces...it's like when you drive/walk by a home and the curtains are open...you know you want to sneak a peak!

Here is a little glimpse into where I curl up and type.


Looks comfy right? Not really. Here's why...


I pointed just in case you didn't notice that my bum has the power to part the cushions and sink down to the metal bed frame below. It's a sleeper sofa, which I must say is quite comfy as a bed...not so comfy as a couch.

If I hadn't mentioned it before, we live in a little rental guest house that has about 800 square feet of space. After the original apartment we had arranged for fell through at the last minute, we found this cute little cottage like guest house. It was and is perfect for us, especially since the place came furnished. We could buy a new couch and ask the homeowner to remove this one but we wont for several reasons...#1 the path to get to the guest house is very narrow and quite a distance from the road which means we would have carry old couch out and new couch in threw this tight space. #2 we would have to move the couch back OUT when we find a new place next year #3 we have our eye on this really beautiful chocolate brown sectional and are trying to save $ until we have a place to put it that is ours. Anyway, enough about the bum couch...pun intended!

You may be wondering..."what the heck is that behind you?". I'll tell you. My husband is a special effects make-up artist and a huge fan of horror movies. So, the poster behind me is one of the 5 Nightmare on Elm Street posters that hang in the living room. The 'things' behind me are sculptures and a movable zombie head.

Make sure you hope on over to Centsational Girl and look into other peoples windows too!


Fall Favorite #1

The Smell
I bet everyone will have this on their fall favorites list! No matter where you live or what traditions your family celebrates, you can't deny that the smell of autumn is intoxicating!

Of course many of the smells of autumn come drifting through the house from the kitchen. My all time, hands down favorite smell is fresh baked

Apple Pie
or is my favorite Apple Crisp?


I could eat either of these apple filled delights for breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the fall.
The best way to eat them of course is with a scoop of French Vanilla Ice Cream! Yummy!
30 minutes to make it...1 minute to devour it!

It's too hard to decide which smell I love the most! I am not a fan of pumpkin pie but I do LOVE the smell of pumpkin pie spice. Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Orange, Hot Cider, Hot Cocoa, Pure Vanilla
Just naming all those scents makes me feel COZY.
The smells transport me home to my family even when I'm 1,000 miles away.
I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry.
Okay, maybe a little crying, but the good kind, not the ugly kind.

Since I just baked an apple pie here, my house smells wonderful! I am thankful that my home is so small because it allows the scent to drift into every room. If I could bottle that smell and send it to you in the basket I would, but instead I'll do the next best thing.

Take a look at what is going into the basket today...

*My special blend of spices for Apple Pie with the recipe. All you need is a pie crust and apples and your home will smell just like mine! *My special blend of spices for Apple Crisp with the recipe. All you need is butter and apples and your nose and stomach will be happy! *Fresh Vanilla beans *An antique silver pie server *An antique 'Mrs. Smith's Mello Rich Pie' tin *2 small scented candles *2 vintage cookie cutters

The basket is getting full already and I'm only on Fall Favorite #1!


I hope my Fall Favorite #1 has gotten you in the mood to fill your home with your favorite fall smells! If your favorite smells are anything like mine they will taste as good as they smell!

Thank you for joining me!
Fall Favorite #2 will be here soon so stay tuned!

Friday, August 27, 2010

5 Fall Favorites Link Party & Giveaway

Living & Loving in California
 is proud
 (and super excited!)
to announce the


Summer is coming to a close as kids head back to school, the weather starts cooling off (unless you live in Southern California like myself), leaves start changing, stores start putting out Halloween, Thanksgiving, and even some Christmas decorations on the shelves, and we start preparing ourselves for all the joy autumn brings. Can you tell that Autumn is my favorite season?

Autumn is my favorite for many reasons but if I could sum up my feelings about fall in one word, my word would be COZY.  To celebrate I am hosting the 5 Fall Favorites Link Party and Giveaway! And this giveaway will be HUGE!

The Link Party and Giveaway starts with this...


I know what you're thinking...
"Cortney, that's just an empty basket"
Well, it wont be empty for long! Actually, it will be overflowing soon and here's how:

The official start of Autumn is September 22. Between now and then I will be featuring 5 separate blog posts that each highlight one of my fall favorites. At the end of each post I will be adding THAT favorite item/thing to the basket...plus some other goodies along the way.

Now, for the part you are all waiting for...how to participate and win! It's easy, just follow these easy steps.

  1. Become a follower if you aren't already.
  2. Tell me which word best describes fall for you by leaving a comment here.
  3. Write a blog post about your 5 Fall Favorites and link it back up here between September 22 and September 25. (I will post a McLinky tool on 9/22)
That is SO easy! I will draw the winner on Sunday, September 26th.

*EXTRA ENTRIES*
Please leave an extra comment here with the links
+1 for writing a blog post about the Link Party & Giveaway
+1 for posting the Link Party & Giveaway on your sidebar
+1 for posting this on Facebook or Twitter
+1 for leaving a comment on the other 5 Fall Favorites posts coming soon!

I'm going to make a spread sheet to keep track of all the extra entries because I have a feeling this is going to be HUGE! Actually, I know this is going to be HUGE because I know what I'm putting in the basket!

I can't wait to share and enjoy Fall with all of you!
Thank You!

Did I mention how excited I am?

Friday Night Field Trip

Welcome to Friday Night Field Trip
FNFT is a little feature that highlights our experiences exploring our new surroundings in California.

This week we just strolled up the the street for Burbank's

Be-boppin' in the Park

The town of Burbank closed Magnolia Blvd. between Hollywood Way and California St and lined the road with pre 1972 Vintage Cars. Also along the strip were games for kids, information stands about the town, food vendors, and a live band with a dance floor in the middle of the street.



We started our vintage inspired day with a good ol' classic Coke.

We've had a mild summer, but on this day it was super hot.

Carl and I made our way down the street checking out all the beautiful car's.
These are two of Carl's favorites from the show. His all time favorite car is the 1960 Impala but there wasn't one at this show.


Carl use to own 2 vintage cars (one was a Bel air, the other was an Impala) and he had worked on them for years restoring them. He made the decision to sell them in order to help pay for school so he could pursue his dream. He is now working his dream job and living in his dream location because he went to school. His new dream is to be able to own another vintage car one day.

This was my favorite vintage car, an old VW Van. Look what they did to the interior, so cute!




We also liked the vintage police car and fire engine.



Even though we live within walking distance of Magnolia Blvd., we haven't gotten to explore all the stores that line the street. Thankfully, all the stores along the strip were open and we got to visit many of them. There is a new  vintage inspired dress store called Audrey K and I love it! All the pieces are beautiful and if I could I would fill my closet with them.

I just had to stop and stare and then pet this HUGE Great Dane that was trying to enjoy the show but ended up enjoying all the attention. This picture doesn't do it justice, it's head was bigger than mine and I can only imagine how tall it would have been have it stood up on it's back legs!

We ended our day with a trip to Rocket Fizz to pick up a bunch of sweet treats and soda's before we retired for the evening to the couch where we curled up and watched a movie. It was a beautiful day and other than lunch it didn't cost us a penny.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed our FNFT as much as we did.
We are still crossing our fingers for a beach trip before school starts so stay tuned!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Support Pink Saturday

Now that I've dried my eyes, I can share this very special post with you.

My aunt, Roberta from Con-tain-it, participates in a weekly feature called Pink Saturday hosted by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound. This Saturday is a very special Pink Saturday.




I can not even begin to duplicate the amazing post that Roberta has dedicated so much time, energy, and creativity into writing. It is so special and inspirational that I encourage everyone who visits my blog to please go read Pink Saturday: Miracle Make Over and Giveaways Party posted at Con-tain-it.

Not only is this Pink Saturday post for an amazing cause, but there are tons of giveaways associated with the party. There are too many to list here, but I will share one of them with you.

As part of her Pink Saturday, Roberta is giving away this beautiful Vintage Vanity Set. The set comes with a frame, trinket box, and bud vase all made out of a creamy, white porcelain with pink porcelain bow accents.


Please, take a few minutes and check out Pink Saturday at Con-tain-it. Warning- you may need a box of tissues near by...I did.


Think About It Thursday

Think About It Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at 1001 Books. Each week she will post a reading related question that leaves us pondering and posting.

This weeks question
Is there a character that reminds you of yourself or some one else? Why?

I actually can't answer this one. I thought about it long and hard and about every book I can remember and I just can't find myself in any of the books I've read. I think maybe it's because I read to escape from myself. Not that there is anything wrong with my reality, but sometimes it's nice to step out of it. Books can take me on an adventure I may never be able to go on myself. For instance, I will obviously never be able to be in King Henry VIII court, but through books I can pretend I know what it was like.

Sorry, I had kind of a lame answer this week. I look forward to reading everyone else's answer!
To participate, just hop on over to 1001 Books, grab the link, post, and link back up with Rachel.
OR, if you don't have a blog just leave your answer in the comment section!

Until next time, Happy Reading!

Monday, August 23, 2010

His & Her Dinner #6

Fear not, it is the return of...

It's been awhile since I've written for 'His & Her Dinner'. I admit, I haven't been doing much cooking lately especially since Carl's work schedule has been so crazy lately. If you've never read a 'His & Her Dinner' before, welcome! This episode will be a little different than usual. Typically I show you how I make 2 meals out of the same base ingredient...but this time I will be featuring my husband and I enjoying one of our famous 'Fend For Yourself' nights.

We went to the grocery store late in the day yesterday and we didn't really have a plan of attack when we went. This resulted in us both grabbing whatever we were craving at the moment. We really only needed coffee and paper towels, but $110 later we left will all kinds of goodies.

It's rare that Carl and I drink, it's even more rare for me to drink but Carl was in the mood for a beer (or three) last night so he picked up a 6-pack of Bass. I thought, 'what the heck, I'm going to try some wine'. After reading a few bottles, I picked up a Rose wine by Yellow Tail. It said that it went well with appetizers and looked like a good stating point for someone who doesn't usually drink.

So, His & Her Dinner started off with these fine beverages.
And since we are such classy people this is how I had to drink my wine...

That is the only glass we own...other than a coffee mug. We had wine glasses at one point in our lives, but when we downsized to move to CA, any unneeded glassware had to go. Since we don't usually drink, the wine glasses went first. Oh well, tastes the same no matter what you drink it from right?

Now, on to the entrees...

Hers: Basil pesto and fresh mozzarella bites


His: Tater tots

I told you 'Fend for Yourself' night usually results in him eating some kind of potato product!

And there you have it folks, a classic 'Fend for Yourself' Night. Might I add that shortly after my husband finished his tater tots he proceeded to open a bag of potato chips and chomp away. Typical!

I hope to return to the kitchen soon and create a few new dishes with a little flavor since my husbands taste buds are expanding (see previous post), until then

Long Live the Tater Tot!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

My husband ate what?

If someone had told me 7 months ago that my husband and I were going to eat at a Thai restaurant I would have said, "You must be looking in a cloudy crystal ball...because that is never going to happen". SURPRISE, it just did! In the last few months a miracle has happened and thanks to some very persuasive co-workers, Carl has eaten and enjoyed pizza, Mexican and Peruvian food, and now Thai food.

I thought I was going to pass out the day he came home and said, "Guess what I had for lunch today...pizza". A few weeks after that he came home and said he went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch. A few weeks after that he was super excited to come home at tell me he ate Peruvian food for lunch. I admit, we eat out way too much, but with his crazy work schedule it's hard to coordinate lunches and dinners everyday. PLUS, if going out to lunch everyday results in expanding his taste buds, then I will continue to foot the bill.

On Friday we made plans to meet up with some friends for dinner and then catch the Stranger Than Fiction Show at LA Connection (read Friday Night Field Trip to learn more about the STF Show). We had worn out our usual dinning spot and wanted to try something new. Our friends suggested we try Thai...and Carl actually agreed. We met up at a place called Thai Jasmine located on Van Nuys Blvd. in Sherman Oaks. It was fabulous!

Our friends ordered Thai Egg Rolls as an appetizer. With very little encouragement, Carl tried one and LOVED it! He even tried the sauce with the egg rolls and enjoyed the spicy kick it had.
For his main dish Carl ordered Thai Beef Jerky. Although the flavor was good, the meat was a little tougher than he had expected.
Since Carl wasn't thrilled with his dish he tried his friend Steven's dish. Shocking! Steven had ordered Pad Thai...I thought Carl would have been turned off by the look of the dish, but he actually said he liked it.
As a Thai first timer, I ordered cautiously and got Curry Fried Rice. It had pineapple, raisins, egg, chicken, and cashews in it and was seasoned with curry. I actually couldn't even taste the curry which was a little disappointing since I have recently developed a taste for it. Carl also tried my food and enjoyed it.

After dinner we headed over to the LA Connection for the Stranger than Fiction Show.(We skipped the show last week to go to Bob's Big Boy for the Friday Night Car Show) This week's STF was one of the best one's they have put on! The cast performed a few new sketches that we hadn't seen before and it was hilarious. There is nothing better than spending a Friday night with good friends, good food, and great comedy!

Stay tuned, we have made plans to eat at a Sushi restaurant next week!

Friday, August 20, 2010

We are the Champions!

That's right! Team XIV has won and have been declared the Summer Thursday 890 League Champions!
From left to right: Jeff, Carole, Me, Suki, and Tony
We didn't come up with a name for our team, so we were just known as Team XIV.

We received these very nice plaques.Carole and Jeff hang theirs in the bathroom where they work, but mine will find a home some where on the wall over my desk.

I also won a trophy for bowling the highest female handicap game.


I received a pin and magnet for bowling a 250+ game too!

If you don't know much about bowling, especially league bowling you may be scratching your head thinking, 'How did she get a 311 when the best you can bowl is 300?' Well, I'll tell you.

This league is a handicap league which means that to even the playing field a little bit, everyone gets handicap pins added to their scratch score. All leagues calculate the handicap pins differently and may use different formulas. Handicap pins equal 80% of the difference between your average and 220. For example, my average is 155.

220-155= 65, 65x 80%= 52 handicap pins

So, on the night that I bowled a 311 I really bowled a 262 scratch and then 49 handicap pins were added bringing my total to 311. Ah, the magic of bowling. My average went down a little bit this season, but it's a lot higher than what it was when I started bowling years ago.

I am seriously contemplating bowling 2 nights a week in the fall. I look forward to it so much each week and the people that I met have been really wonderful. Also, I can justify spending and extra $20 a week bowling since I am smoke free now and save way more than that on NOT buying cigarettes.

Next Thursday is the meeting for the start of the fall league. It should be interesting...at the last meeting there was a lot of bickering over the formula to calculate the handicap. Some of these people are highly competitive and I admit, I am too. (Thanks mom!) After the meeting there will be a tournament and I'm hoping to do well. Wish me luck!

Until then...


Pay It Forward Update

I just wanted to give everyone an update on Pay It Forward. Jill, Maggie, and Shirley have signed up to participate, so I'm full! Also, I am almost done with my first homemade gift ahead of schedule!

These lovely ladies still have openings in their PIF's!
Remember, you have 1 year to send out your PIF, so you have plenty of time to participate once you sign up!

Angela at Sew Loquacious


Shirley at her blog 'Prayers for my mom'

Maggie at From Monarchs to Ladybugs

Thanks again for stopping by and I hope to hear from you all soon!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Think About It Thursday


Think About It Thursday is a brand new meme hosted by Rachel at 1001 Books. Every Thursday she will post a bookish related question that makes you think a bit. So, congratulations to Rachel and here we go!

This weeks question
What is your earliest memory of reading and was it a positive or negative experience?

This certainly did make me think because I don't actually remember reading anything until the 5th grade. Is that bad? But, since the 5th grade I have so many reading memories and some have been positive and some negative.  This is too hard so instead of leaving a simple answer, I will make a list. I like lists.

  1. 5th Grade- the school librarian recommended I am Regina by Sally M. Keene. This is the first book I remember reading because it was a positive experience for me. This book is still one of my favorites even as an adult. POSITIVE
  2. 5th Grade- my 5th grade teacher (Mrs. Federspeil) attempted to make the class read Johnny Tremaine by Esther Forbes. The only thing I remember about it is that he burned his hand in the first chapter...that's all I remember, because that's all I read. NEGATIVE
  3. 7th Grade- forced to read The Hobbit. I hate Sci-fi/ Fantasy to this day. NEGATIVE
  4. 8th Grade- Mrs. Culkin introduced me to The Giver by Lois Lowry. This is my favorite book of all time. This was also the first time I "read ahead" of the class because I enjoyed it so much. Even today I would not be a very good book club member, because I would read ahead if I like the book...I did this in my college Literature classes and it pissed the professors off. POSITIVE
  5. 11th Grade- high school American Lit. I class on American Short Fiction- Roman Fever by Edith Wharton. This was my reading OMG moment. If you have not read it go do it now! Unfortunately I moved to another state in the middle of the semester, so I bought the text book from the school because I loved it so much! This is when I officially achieved NERD status and started eating lunch in the courtyard by myself. It was shortly there after that I spent my entire Christmas Vacation reading The Green Mile by Stephen King. POSITIVE
I think that completes my list. After high school I did a lot of reading on my own for "fun". I also took a dozen English/ Literature classes in college and have enough credits to have had a double major in English except I refused to take another year of foreign language. Did you know you have to have 3 years in a foreign language to get a minor/ major in English?

Thanks again to Rachel at 1001 Books for hosting and I look forward to seeing what everyone else is Thinking About this Thursday!


Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Tag...I'm It!

I've never been tagged via blog before! It's like adult cross country question tag!

I was tagged by Jenn at Brown Eyed Girl's Ramblings

So, here I go...prepare yourselves, you may be next!

1. What is your favorite beverage?
Diet Coke. Sometime I crave it in various forms, for example, sometime I like to drink it out of a small glass cup without ice, other times I like it over ice with a straw in a plastic cup, I rarely like DC out of a can, but my most favorite way to drink DC??? Warm...it makes the bubbles super fizzy! And yes, DC tastes different depending on the type of container you drink it from.

2. What is your must have item when you leave the house?
That depends on where I'm going, but I always have my sunglasses...except at night of course.

3.) What is your favorite vacation spot?
Carl and I just talked about this! When we lived in NC we loved going to Boone and staying at this place called The High County Inn. There was an excellent home-style breakfast place right next door, I think it was called Sunny Side Grill, it is one of those places that has all different kinds of coffee mugs so you feel like you are having your morning coffee at home in your "own" mug.

4.) Vanilla or Chocolate?
I am forever a Chocolate girl.

5.) Where do you spent most of your time outside of work/ home?
That's a toughie because when I'm not at one I'm at the other. But in the event of a natural disaster and I couldn't go to either, I would go to Barnes and Noble.

6.) Are you a reader? Is so, who is your favorite author?
Yes, I'm a reader but it is hard to narrow down a favorite so here are my top 3 authors/ books. 1.) Lois Lowry- The Giver, 2.) Sally M. Keene- I am Regina, 3.) Anne Easter Smith- A Rose for the Crown. However, I did read 99% of all of Nicholas Sparks books until a few years ago...I am now behind by about 4 books.

7.) Other than blogger, what is your favorite website to visit?
I enjoy facebook.

8.) Who was your childhood best friend? Are you still friends?
Here is the problem and still is a problem...anyone I've ever considered a 'best friend' has moved away and then eventually I was the one to move away. So, I keep in touch with most of my former 'bests' via facebook and e-mail now.

So, I guess now it's my turn to tag people and ask my own 8 questions. Here's the deal, I will let you decide if you want to be tagged, if you want to participate, just answer the following questions in a blog post and send me the link! Is this cheating?

  1. How did you create the name/ title of your blog?
  2. Describe your blog in 3 words.
  3. Do you follow people back when they follow you?
  4. Do you actually read all the blogs you follow?
  5. Do you write your blog on a laptop? If so, where do you sit when you blog?
  6. Which post did you enjoy writing the most and why? (put a link to that post here)
  7. Which post written by someone else did you enjoy reading the most and why? (put a link to that post here)
  8. Why did you choose to follow me? How did you find me?
I hope that a lot of you participate, I can't wait to read your answers!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Summer Celebration!

Welcome to the
Summer Celebration Link Party

hosted by Bloggerette Sorority Sister Nelly at Bella Nella's

Let's get the party started!

First, I thought I would share my favorite summer picture of all time.
That is a little me, 20+ years ago. I shouldn't be proud of my very white bum, but I just love how funny my mom thinks it is!

Next, a summer couldn't go by without sending out a Happy Birthday wish to my older brother.

Happy 29th Birthday Wes! (August 19th)

And, my favorite summer memory? The first and only time I ever went to sleep away summer camp.

My dad dropping me off for 2 weeks!

Good times, good times. Can you find me? I'm dead center standing up making a monkey face and muscle  arms.

Okay, now on to the Summer Celebration Challenge. I thought about what I could create, so I began by thinking about what I enjoyed the most about the summer. Two things kept coming to mind. 1.)Reading books and, 2.)Crossing my fingers that Carl and I would be able to go to the ocean and see a sunset at least once.

Here is what I can up with...


I hope  you can see it okay. It's a book mark of the sunset using various textured papers. I wanted to make something practical that I could use, and this is perfect for me! Plus- I had fun making it.

I hope everyone is having a great summer and I look forward to visiting every one's Summer Celebration!
Thank you again to Bella Nella for hosting this link party!
School starts in 3 weeks, so I'm going to let the summer fun continue and hopefully I will be able to visit the ocean, sit in the sand with a good book, and catch a real California sunset!