Fun Monday: Clothes you can't part with

Our hostess for this weeks Fun Monday is HulaGirl and she has come up with a fun and creative challenge. Her instructions:

After much thought and consideration I’ve come up with the following topic….clothing…specifically clothing you can’t get rid of. We all have at least one or two items of clothing that we can’t part with, even if we can’t or don’t wear them. I want to know about yours. Show us if you have pictures or describe it in detail. Model it for us if you dare. Nothing naughty please-we don’t want to see your backside (or your front side) in that thong you foolishly bought in Cancun on vacation. Is it your old FFA jacket from high school (which my husband has)? A Grateful Dead concert t-shirt from 1978? A shirt from an old lover or that size *&! pair of jeans you hope you get into again one day? Or maybe the really large pair of jeans you wore before you lost 100 pounds or your grandma’s vintage wedding dress. Dig around in your closets and find something you want to share with us Monday.

I have an entire box full of items, so the tough part was deciding which ones to showcase.
I decided to start with a favorite of mine:

I wore this suit when I was much, much younger and thinner. I looked really hot in it, even if I do say so myself. I doubt that I will ever fit into it again (some things have grown and shifted over the years.) But I just can't bring myself to get rid of it!

I have a whole collection of t-shirts that bring back lots of memories of concerts and events of old. Like this one:
This is from my one and only visit to the Kentucky Derby. I have the matching Derby glass too. Did I pick the winner? No. Spend A Buck beat out my long shot favorite by, well, a long shot.

Then there is this one, a souvenir of my first ever rock concert date:
In case you don't remember, the band is REO Speedwagon. I saw them a couple of years ago here in NH - like me, they have aged a bit. They still make great music though!

And finally,Hulagirl, this is for your hubby:


I actually have two of them, the other is a white one from the year I was selected as Chapter Sweetheart. But the white is now more of a beige -- it hasn't weathered time quite as well as this one has.

The other items in my box include lots more concert t-shirts: Air Supply, Oak Ridge Boys, Brooks and Dunn (signed). Also some Sigma Phi Epsilon Lil Sis items as a reminder of my college days, and my old horse show clothing, which like the suit I will never fit into again.

I can hardly wait to see what everyone else has offered up!

Fun Monday - Walls

This weeks host is Jan, and she's come up with quite a challenge. Her instructions:

The subject is walls. We all have walls of some sort. What I want to hear about and see, if you're going to show off your amazing photo skills, is what is on your walls, what color are your walls, what is special about them, what is your favorite or least favorite, is it inside or outside. You get the idea, let's show and tell about walls.

When I first considered this challenge, I thought 'uh-oh, this is going to be tough.' But as soon as I began walking through my house, camera in hand, it became easier.

First, I like to showcase some of my favorite things on my walls:

I love pictures of beach chairs, beckoning me to come and sit:

What I didn't realize until I walked around, camera in hand, looking at my walls, is how much into wallpaper borders I am:

This isn't all of them - just my favorites. From left to right:
Master bedroom, Diva's room (but did I have to tell you that?) and dining room...


So: Does anybody recognize the color scheme in Diva's room?
Hint: Disney channel....

Crazy Eights

Geez, I miss a few days of reading my favorite blogs and return to find myself 'tagged' by Hula Girl. Since I don't have time to think up any topics to blog about, this works for me, so here goes:

8 THINGS I'M PASSIONATE ABOUT:

1. My wonderful family (especially Kilowatt, who is spending father's day cleaning the OUTSIDE of the house!)

2. Reading

3. Scrapbooking (and scrapbook supplies)

4. Computers and the Internet

5. Horses (and their unique healing powers)

6. Business Ethics (and leading the next generation to be more ethical than my generation)

7. Freedom

8. Music

8 THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE:

1. Write a book

2. Finish my coursework and dissertation

3. Take a world cruise

4. Spend a year traveling around the US, hitting off the beaten path attractions along with the major ones

5. Catch up on my scrapbooking!

6. See Diva graduate from college

7. Make one of my high school reunions

8. Ride a mule in the Grand Canyon

8 THINGS I SAY OFTEN:

1. "Meanwhile, back at the ranch" used when I ramble off on a tangent from the current discussion

2. "Just a sec" This one has come back to bite me, as now whenever we ask Diva to do something, the response is invariably "just a sec."

3. "Brush your hair"
4. "Don't forget to check BlackBoard" if you know what I mean, your either a college student or a college professor!
5. "I need the phone" if you are the parent of a pre-teen girl, you know what I mean
6. "Yes, my husband and I have different last names" I never dreamed how difficult this concept would be for others to accept. We are married, really!
7. "Thank you, God" Okay, I don't say it often enough.
8. "yes, I can do that" and I really need to learn to say 'no, I don't have time for that.'

8 BOOKS I'VE READ LATELY:

1. Extraordinary Circumstances - Cynthia Cooper
2. The Legend of River Mahay - Deborah Cox Wood
3. Race Across Alaska - Libby Riddles
4. Executive Orders - Tom Clancy (for about the fifth time)
5. Jade Island - Elizabeth Lowell
6. Great Family Vacations: Northeast (it's summertime!)
7. 1000 Places to See Before You Die
8. Fraud Examination (yes, professor, I read my text)

8 MOVIES I'VE WATCHED 8 OR MORE TIMES:

1. Dirty Dancing - my favorite 'guilty pleasure' movie

2. Christmas Vacation - our annual tradition

3. Star Wars (original) - and at least six of those on the big screen

4. ET - ditto

5. High School Musical - I'm the Mom of a ten year old girl, what can I say?

6. Hairspray - Diva's current favorite

7. Mulan - MY all time Disney favorite

8. Grease - Diva's past favorite

8 PEOPLE TAGGED TO PLAY ALONG:
Given that on a good day (that being Fun Monday) I'm lucky to have 8 readers, not sure how to handle this one! Can I cheat and make up names?

Only in New Hampshire

I love quirky places.  I remember as a child visiting Rockaway Beach before nearby Branson, MO became the vacation mecca is now is.  Other favorite vacation places include Weeki Wachee Springs in FL (home of living mermaids) and Talkeetna, AK (a small drinking town with a climbing problem.)  

This quirkiness is one of the reasons why I absolutely love living in New Hampshire.  From yesterdays news headlines:  "Bear Removed from Tree in Downtown Rochester."  It took about 14 hours of efforts by local police and fish and game officials to get the 200 pound bear out of the tree.  Residents were asked to avoid downtown during this time.  

Makes the deer that were munching on my garden last night look downright tame.  

Wardrobe Malfunctions

While I was avoiding work by exploring my favorite blogs, I found Hulagirl telling a great story that triggered some old memories, which led to more than one stress-busting belly laugh.  You know, the kind of laugh that supposedly makes you healthier.  

Why Denim is now blended with Spandex:

Back in my high school days, my cousin really liked one of my best friends.  So much so that he decided to buy a horse in order to impress her.  A friend of his was conveniently selling a horse, so we went out to his farm to take a look.  I was quite impressed with my cousin's friend...

When invited to hop on the horse behind my cousin's friend, I didn't need a second invitation.  I agilely jumped on just like Tonto would.  Unfortunately, my jeans were just a wee bit too tight for that sort of jump, and announced that fact with a loud "Rip."  And kids, that's why it's important to wear clean underwear without holes, and to always bring a jacket along (to tie around your waist.)  And that's why I love Spandex.  

Why Elastic is Evil:

A few years later I was a college girl, and working in a retail store selling pianos.  That was when retail store clerks still dressed up to go to work.  For me, this often involved wearing panty hose - one of mankind's most terrible inventions.  I've always hated to have anything tight around my waist, and so I developed this unconscious habit of constantly adjusting the hose to a more comfortable position.  I wasn't really aware of this, or the audible "Snap" that accompanied the adjustment, until my musically inclined boss wrote a poem for me at Christmas that year about my habit!  I'm sure I still have it somewhere, I'll have to post it if I can find it.

I saw the light:

A few more years passed, and I was a working girl (no, not that kind of working girl.)  I was teaching a class on auditing computers.  This was when instructors still dressed up to teach.  Because the class was in Atlanta, and it was 90 degrees in the classroom, and I was wearing a very long black skirt, I opted to skip the evil panty hose and almost equally uncomfortable slip. 

What I neglected to notice was that directly behind the projection screen was a full length window, which provided excellent back-lighting for myself and my co-instructor.  The black skirt was no match for the midday sunshine.  My co-instructor calls me "Lady Di" to this day, and says I have great legs.  

Stunning Swimsuits:

I was in the YMCA pool with my daughter when suddenly my one piece tank became very, very loose.  I decided I'd best get out of the water to see what was going on.  Lucky for me our big towel was right next to the pool, and we were pretty much in a corner by ourselves.  A quick trip to the ladies changing room revealed that the fabric (Lycra I think) had just given up, and was now 1) very large and 2) very transparent.  Time to go home!

I honestly can't believe how many wardrobe malfunctions I've experienced in my life, and we won't even go into wet, white shirts.   So -- am I the only one, or do you have a wardrobe malfunction to share?

Fun Monday - I Made It Myself

Sorry to be so late posting, I've been battling much of the day to get these photos to upload.  

Karisma came up with this fabulous idea for Fun Monday.  Her instructions:

I MADE IT MYSELF!

I think the title pretty much says it all, but for those of you who may still be wondering, I would like to see or hear about things you have made with your own two hands (or feet, Im not fussy!) We all have different talents and abilities, maybe you like to sew or knit, chisel or sculpt, draw or paint? Whatever your talent is, please share it with us this week.

Da Rules.....

Well there are not any really! But you know, we all know that you made your kids so lets NOT choose them this time. (After all you did not make them with your hands or feet did you?)

I didn't realize how difficult this would be for me.  You see, I have a house full of half-completed projects.  My first challenge was finding something completed.  My second challenge - I'm not really the creative type.  I still recall my elementary school art teacher telling me "you just can't draw" in second grade.  So I am very sensitive about showing my creations to anyone.  My third challenge - I'm a perfectionist.  So I can find something wrong with everything I've ever created.  Again, this makes me a bit shy about sharing my creations.  

As I walked around the house looking for something exciting I created, I pulled out the cross-stitch I started making for Kilowatt the year we met.  It isn't even half-completed, so that went back in the bag.  

Next I found this:

I was in an art class where we were given the vase, and told to carve a picture on it, and paint it.  I had never done anything with ceramics, and have never done anything since then.  The art instructor kept telling me I was taking too long - it didn't have to be perfect.  I eventually completed it and I'm pretty happy with the result.

I do scrapbook, but I couldn't find too many pages that I really felt comfortable sharing.  Mainly because they had people on them who might not like seeing their picture online. I finally settled on this one as a sample.  

Finally, I have to cheat a little bit.  Kilowatt is the talented one in this family, and happily Diva shows signs of having inherited his artist talent.  Here is one of his masterpieces - an advent calendar he made for me after I complained that I couldn't find anything American made in any store, and didn't really like the ones I found anyway.  Isn't is lovely?  He used different kinds of woods to make the doors, that's why they aren't all the same color.  

Fun Monday - Vacations

This weeks Fun Monday Hostess is Alison.  Here's the assignment she's prepared for us.  I'm really looking forward to all the great photos and stories this one should generate!

Vacations...this is the time of year when most of us go on vacations. Show us and/or tell us about your favorite vacation - where you went, what you did, etc. Pictures would be great. Let's all take a trip around a the world via our FM friends!!

I love vacations.  It's really hard to choose one as a favorite.  So I decided to go with my most recent favorite.

In July 2007, we headed North to Alaska to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary.  Kilowatt and I were married in Alaska, at the Alyeska Resort.   Ironically, we didn't visit the resort in 2007 because it was raining so hard the day we were in that area.  Alaska is hard to describe with just words, so I'll let some of my hundreds of photos do the talking.

We started out in this lower 48 city - do you recognize it?

Yes, there is a mountain in the distance.  The city is Seattle, and the photo was taken from here.

Next, we took the Amtrak Cascades to this wonderful city:

After we departed from Vancouver, we sailed North up the Inside Passage.  We stopped first at Ketchikan, where it was raining.  I've give up on ever seeing Ketchikan in the sun.  Next stop Juneau, where it was quite lovely.  We took a photography tour - of course, if  you are in Alaska, what do you photograph?  These:

And these:

And then some of these:

Next stop, my favorite port, Skagway.  We took the White Pass and Yukon railroad over some white-knuckle territory:

Once we reached our final port, we headed inland.  We only saw these at the Alaskan Wildlife refuge, although that may not be a bad thing.  Don't think I'd want to be this close to one in the wild:

We went hiking at an abandoned mine:

Participated in this:

Enjoyed a ride behind Iditarod competitor Vern Halter's dogs:

Finally, on our last day, look who peaked out to say hi.  We took a ride on a Mahay's Jetboat (a tiny one shows in the photo.) I should note here that our last visit McKinley never graced us with a view, so this was an extra special treat.

Sigh... everytime I look at these I want to go back and do it all again!