Laugh Break

Happy Friday!  A friend sent this to me a while back and I absolutely loved it.  Pour yourself a cup of coffee and take just a few moments to listen.  Jeanne Robertson is a professional speaker and humorist.  (Almost guaranteed to give you a few giggles!)  = )

Back in the Day...

Special thanks to my friend Looo (not a typo) for sharing!  = )

Praise the Lord and Pass the Gravy!

Last weekend, we hosted my hubby’s side of the family for two birthday celebrations. My father-in-law, Bob was turning 86 and my sister-in-law, Nancy was turning 56. I told Bob we could have any meal he wanted, but he was doing NONE of the cooking. (He typically insists on it, even on his birthday.) He told me he already had two Pork Roasts thawing for me in his fridge and with that, the decision was made.

I would have never let him know, but I was extreeeeemely nervous from the outset. You see, Bob is an amazing cook. There are a several dinners that are his specialty…one of them is roast pork. It is invariably excellent and our family LOVES this meal. I had never cooked a large pork loin before Sunday, so I asked him if he could tell me how he makes it. “No problem,” he said, “I’ll even teach you how to tie it.” Armed with his instructions and two freshly tied pork roasts, I was off to cook.

Everything went exactly as planned. After more than 2 hours of cooking time, I was thrilled to open the oven to find a roast that looked very much like one of his. He took one look and declared "BEAUTIFUL!" Upon closer inspection, he added, "cooked to perfection!" (Whew!)

By this time, the whole family had arrived and everyone literally cheered. (I think they too were a bit nervous that someone other than Bob was cooking their beloved pork roast!) The potatoes were almost finished cooking, the green beans had been in the crock pot all day, so it was time to make the gravy. I spent so much energy worrying about the pork roast, I hadn’t given much thought to making the gravy. (Are you starting to see where this is going??)

Like many families, ours tends to congregate in the kitchen. We have an island where everyone tends to hover. This often makes for extra pressure as you feel as though all eyes are upon you. Though I was thrilled the roast pork came out well, I knew I was going to be anxious until the entire meal had come together and was on the table.

I took a deep breath and began making the gravy. The natives were restless and seemingly watching my every move. The pre-dinner snacks had been consumed. Oh, the pressure! My sister-in-law, Sally was helping in the kitchen and we were both working as fast as we could, putting the final touches on dinner. The rolls were in the oven and I continued making the gravy. I had to say I was quite pleased with how it was looking.

Suddenly, we realized the rolls were burning so we immediately opened the oven to take them out. At the same time, our extremely sensitive smoke alarm (cleverly placed immediately over our stove when our house was built) began going off. The rolls were saved and we began waving a towel in the air to stop the smoke alarm. (Oh, just what we needed…more excitement and attention!) We were all laughing as I gave another glance to the gravy. It looked good, but I could see a few large lumps. I began looking for my strainer. Couldn’t find it anywhere! No worries, I thought…I’ll use my colander. I proceeded to grab my colander, sat it in my sink (in the middle of the island) and then grabbed the large pan of gravy. I quickly poured its entire contents into the colander. There was only one problem. I had forgotten to put a bowl under it. (I so wish I were kidding.) That’s right, the entire pan of gravy went straight down the drain. All that remained in my colander were the lumps.

There was a literal gasp of horror from everyone around the island and then…silence. Before I could even think, my mother-in-law (I’ve told you she was a character!) rushed over to my father-in-law to tell him what I had done. He grimaced, then grinned. I was mortified. Who ever heard of roast pork with NO GRAVY? The family who had been cheering me just a few moments before were now chuckling nervously, saying things like, “it’s ok…we don’t really need gravy.” Suddenly, I remembered buying several jars of this…
Woo-hoo!!! A few minutes later, we were back in business. While not the same as homemade gravy…this would definitely be better than NO gravy. Thank you Lord and Mr. Heinz!

As we enjoyed dinner, my family thanked me for the meal, and the pre-dinner entertainment. Needless to say, I haven't heard the end of this one! ; ) LOL!

All smiles after “the gravy incident,” here is Bob and Nancy about to partake of birthday Peach Cobbler (which turned out much better than the gravy, thank-you-very-much.) ; )

One Word Fun

Greetings! In my blogging time yesterday, I stumbled across something fun at Laurie Ann's place. Thought it might be good for today's post. Try it! It's not as easy as you might think. Your answers can only be one word in length...

Where is your cell phone? table
your hair? red
your father? helpful
your mother? caring
Your favorite thing? family
your dream last night? nada
your favorite drink? dietcoke ; )
your dream/goal? travel
the room you are in? kitchen
your fear? rejection
where do you want to be in 6 years? here
muffins? blueberry
one of your wish list items? puppy
where you grew up? Kentucky
the last thing you did? read
what are you wearing? sweats
your tv? off
your computer? red
your life? sweet
your mood? peaceful
missing someone? Brennan
your car? camry
favorite store? thrift
your summer? flowers
your favorite color? blue
when is the last time you laughed? today
last time you cried? Saturday
three people who email me? Looo, Dani, Jeannine
three of my favorite foods? Chocolate, Mom’s, Chinese
three places I would rather be right now? Beach, Shopping, Crafting

Just for Fun - The Point System

I've posted this once before, but because we're only days away from Valentine's Day...I thought what better time to share it again. God bless our sweet hubbies, trying to love us all through the month -- the good days, the in-between-days, and the days we're far from precious. In the interest of further "equipping" the men we love, I wanted to pass along the message below, sent to me by a friend. My hubby and I read it together and nearly laughed ourselves silly. Hope it brings a smile or even better, a belly laugh to your Friday!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
For thousands of years, men have tried to understand the rules when dealing with women. Finally, this merit/demerit guide will help them understand just how it works. Remember, in the world of women, one single rule applies: Make the Woman Happy. Do something she likes, and you get points. Do something she dislikes and points are subtracted. It's important to note: You don't get any points for doing something she expects. Sorry, that's the way the game is played. Here is a guide to the points system:

SIMPLE DUTIES
You make the bed (+1)
You make the bed, but forget to add the decorative pillows (-1)
You throw the bedspread over rumpled sheets (-2)
You leave the toilet seat up (-5)
You replace the toilet paper roll when it is empty (0)
When the toilet paper roll is barren, you resort to Kleenex (-1)
When the Kleenex runs out you use the next bathroom (-2)
You go out to buy her extra light panty liners with wings (+5)
in the snow (+8)
but return with something else like snack food (-5)
and no liners (-25)
You check out a suspicious noise at night (+2)
You check out a suspicious noise and it is nothing (0)
You check out a suspicious noise and it is something (+5)
You pummel it with a six iron (+10)
It's the family pet (-40)

HER BIRTHDAY
You remember her birthday (0)
You buy a card and flowers (0)
You take her out to dinner (0)
You take her out to dinner and it's not a sports bar (+1)
You take her out to dinner and it is a sports bar (-2)
And it's "all-you-can-eat wings" night (-3)
And your face is painted the colors of your favorite team (-10)

A NIGHT OUT WITH HER
You take her to a movie (+2)
You take her to a movie she likes (+4)
You take her to a movie you hate (+6)
You take her to a movie you like (-2)
It's called Death Cop III (-3)
Which features Cyborgs that eat humans (-9)
You lied and said it was a foreign film about orphans (-15)

COMMUNICATION
When she wants to talk about a problem:You listen, displaying a concerned expression (0)
You listen, for over 30 minutes (+5)
You relate to her problem and share a similar experience (+50)
Your mind wanders to sports and you suddenly hear her saying "well, what do you think I should do?" (-100)
You have fallen asleep (-200)

IT'S THAT TIME OF THE MONTH
You talk (-100)
You don't talk (-150)
You spend time with her (-200)
You don't spend time with her (-500)

I don't know about you, but this makes me want to go hug my hubby!

A Double Dose of Precious!

Psalm 100
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Friday Funnies - Best Milk Commercial

Earlier this week, a friend sent this to me and I've giggled about it over and over. Hope it brings a smile (or better yet a belly laugh) to your Friday!

P.S. As with all videos from Youtube, please realize they may suggest "related videos" at the end that could be innappropriate.

Adventures in Christmas Shopping!

I started "day-after-Thanksgiving" shopping with my sister, several years ago, when her best friend and former shopping buddy moved to Maine. They used to meet for breakfast at 3:00 am to plan their shopping strategy. I would often tease her about this and she would explain, with 5 children, this was often the only way to get them one really nice gift they wanted at an affordable price. Well, when her friend moved, I felt compelled to offer a hand. Needless to say, she welcomed the help, and a new tradition began. Our typical approach is divide and conquer…going to the earliest store openings first, we’d split up and hopefully get what we’d come for, before moving on to the next opening store, etc. We went about our shopping cheerfully, trying to encourage and help others when we could. It was so much fun that Brennan asked one year if he could come along. The following year we were joined by my niece, Brooke. Last year, Brianna and her Mom took part in our shopping adventure and this year, we welcomed my nephew, Blake to the madness. ☺

This year, my sister had already studied the store advertisements, so we skipped meeting for breakfast in an effort to “sleep in” a little. (LOL!) The first store didn't open until 5:00 am, so we didn’t have to leave the house until 4:30! By 5:30, we had the item we had come for (Hooray!) and were on the way to the next assignment. This continued on until about 8:00 or so when we stopped for breakfast. Then, it was onto Family Christian Store. Unfortunately for them, their computers crashed and they were having to process their sales manually (hand-writing every item on carbon receipts). I felt so bad for all those cashiers! In many ways, that was the best store for something like that to happen because their customers are kinder and more understanding than most. It took about 45 minutes to check out.

Brianna’s Mom had to head off to work from there, so the rest of us piled into my sister’s van and began yet another "day after Thanksgiving" tradition "the wave game." I hesitate to even tell you about this because you might lose any respect you have for me. Here is how it works…we casually look for someone walking through a parking lot, or someone next to us at a traffic light…if they make eye contact, we will get a startled expression like I know you! and we begin waving. Most of the time, they get that same startled look and then they wave back, smiling, then the look on their face changes to “who is that?” Don’t ask me why this is so much fun. Some of the hardest laughs I have ever had were during the wave game. Our kids especially love to play. This year, we approached a traffic light and waved to a couple next to us who smiled and waved back. Then, they rolled down their window and because they looked friendly, my sister did the same. They yelled over, “how’s the family?” We were cracking up as we realized they were onto us and were playing along. It was a long traffic light, so we chatted back and forth a few times then wished each other a Merry Christmas and laughed some more. Great memories.

By the time mid-day rolled around, we were all a bit delirious and made one last stop together at Target before my team (Brennan, Brianna and myself) were ready to call it a day. We were in rare form by this time, and I simply couldn’t resist capturing some of our moments on film. I can’t imagine what the people watching the store security cameras must have been thinking. Hope you enjoy our adventure!

Fun Thanksgiving Crafts & Your Suggestions Please

I can’t believe it’s been a week since I posted! It’s a crazy-busy time both at home and at work, but I wanted to share a couple of fun things you could make with your kids, while there is still a week before Thanksgiving. We had our nieces and nephew over this past weekend and made them…lots of fun!

First, we made oreo turkeys! You need Double Stuff oreos, malted milk balls, candy corn, ½ a cinnamon redhot (or you could use a red tic tac) for the waddle, and frosting. We actually forgot the beak, which is just the tip of a piece of candy corn. I think the photos are self-explanatory, but just in case… Start with 2 oreos. Twist the top off one of them (you can either eat or discard this top piece). This is the base. Take the other oreo and press candy corn into the frosting about half way around it for “feathers”. Then press the full oreo edge into the frosting of the base. Press the malted milk ball into the oreo frosting on the base. Use additional frosting to make the eyes, to add the head, waddle and beak. (I think Josh enjoyed eating these more than making them, and who could blame him?!)

We also made turkey place cards for our Thanksgiving table from finger and thumbprints. Again, probably self-explanatory, but just in case… Take orange and red stamping ink or paint and form a semi-circle of fingerprints (feathers)…first one color, then the other just in front of it. For the body, use brown ink and one thumbprint. Draw eyes, feet, beak and waddle with black felt-tip pen (or you could glue on small googly eyes). Blaire and Jordyn jumped right in to help make to make almost 30 of these (that’s a lot of thumb & finger prints!)


If we had more time, we would have made these. Turkeys from tiny clay pots, wood beads, silk leaves, raffia and a tiny sprig of craft hair, with paint for the faces. (You could add names to use these as place cards.) Adorable!

I’ve been trying to think of a special way to share what we’re thankful for during dinner on Thanksgiving. Any ideas?

Seven Random Things...

Good morning!

Both Lea of Shabby Olde Potting Shed and Kristi of KiKi’s Corner have tagged me for Seven Random Things. The rules are to share seven random things about you, tag seven friends, then visit their blogs and let them know they’ve been tagged.

I came to a conclusion while trying to think of what seven things to share…I need a little more adventure in my life! Hopefully, you will find these at least somewhat interesting. If nothing else…insight into my quirkiness. Here goes…

1. I can’t swim. I can float, but only on my stomach (strange, I know!) I’ll go into water up to my chin, but never deeper than that. (Call me chicken…it’s ok.)

2. I love to create things (ornaments, note cards, scrapbooks, etc…)

3. I’m an organizer. In fact, you could say that’s how I make my living (setting up and organizing large files and projects for a law firm). On the home front, I’m not quite as good at maintaining the organization (which somewhat defeats the purpose of trying to be organized in the first place…)

4. Due to circumstances completely beyond my control, I was 20 minutes late for my own wedding! (In fact, I had a friend who nicknamed me “10 till 8,” because my wedding, though scheduled for 7:30 pm, didn’t start until 7:50 pm!)

5. I love to color. When Tom and I were first married and money was in short supply, we bought two coloring books and a 64 pack of crayons. When we couldn’t afford dinner and a movie out (which was often), we’d fix grilled cheese sandwiches and pull out the coloring books. We spent many weekend nights coloring Snoopy and Masters of the Universe (I still have these somewhere in storage!) lol

6. When I was a little girl, I always wished my name was Julie or Holly. Most of my Barbies, stuffed animals and baby dolls were Julie or Holly. I always chose one of those two names for myself when playing school or office, too.

7. I love talking to people one-on-one, but public speaking before a group absolutely scares me to death. Just thinking about it quickens my pulse and causes me to break out into a sweat!

Still with me? Still awake? (Hope so.) These are my tagged friends…can’t wait to see their answers!

Cheryl of Hope for Each Day

Cindy of 12 Arrows

e-Mom of Chysalis

Julie of Jewelz Sightings

Krista of Krista's Chronicles and Coffee Talk

Lynn of Somewhere in the Middle

Tricia of It’s All About Him

Be a blessing to someone today…
Tracy

Just for Fun - 6 Random Things ☺

I was tagged twice just a few hours apart by Katlynn of Mirror? and Kay Martin of Thrive Christians to share 6 Random Things.

Katlynn is an awesome, Godly high school student, wise and mature beyond her years. (How I wish I could have had her passion for Christ at her age!) Her blog is titled "Mirror?" because she strives to be a reflection of Christ. Kay is a gifted communicator. Her blog seeks to transparently share insight and encouragement for living passionately for Christ. Both of these blogs are a blessing to me, and come with my highest recommendation! Please take a few minutes to visit each of them!

I’m going to bend the rules and combine them into one post of 6 random things.

1. The only bone I have ever broken is my big toe, but I’ve done it twice! Once running up the steps barefoot, and once running through our dining room barefoot. (I'm obviously slow to catch on...) We had just rearranged the furniture and I stubbed my toe against our hutch. Many years later, I can STILL remember how bad that hurt!

2. I love Christmas music and listen to it all year long. Why not!? My newest favorite is the Celtic Women Christmas CD...absolutely beautiful!

3. I love to fix and/or assemble things…the key here is “with instructions.” (Thank goodness for “diynetwork.com.”!) My last project was taking our toilet apart to replace the seal between the tank and the bowl (not without mishap I might add…) I took to heart Home Depot’s promise that I could do it and they could help. (You might notice they don’t say…we’ll help you in just one trip…) All is now well, but after numerous trips back and forth, I'm not sure I actually saved any money on a service call. Add to that my poor guys had to endure a complete meltdown on my part just before I finally got it right. = ) (It wasn’t pretty!)

4. Unlike my Mom, I’m not a very good cook. The methodical person in me can follow a recipe, but I can’t ever imagine being able to create something wonderful with "a little of this and a little of that." I’ll leave that to those of you gifted in that way! ; )

5. I have been out of high school now for 25 years! Not sure how in the world or when this happened…I don’t FEEL that old!

6. By the grace of God (and intervention of my Dad), I was rescued from the name my Mom had long planned to give her firstborn daughter (prepare yourselves…this is a keeper…) “Echo Lafawn.” No, I am not kidding. (Whew! Still thanking the Lord for that one!)

Since I’d love to know more about all of you, my bloggy friends, I invite each of you to consider yourself “tagged.” Please take part, whether on your blog or in a comment. = )

Happy Monday!

A Cheerful Heart is Good Medicine ~ Proverbs 17:22

I don’t know about you, but Fridays always find me with a little extra bounce in my step. Sweet. Blissful. Weekend! The Lord has truly blessed me with a joyful heart every day, but something about Fridays puts me in the mood to laugh and have fun!

With that in mind, I thought today I would invite you to share your favorite laugh-out-loud moments. Whether a joke, funny story, embarrassing moment, something hilarious said by one of your kids...please share it! I know you have it in you because I often laugh out loud as I make my rounds through various blogs and comments. Maybe you'd like to share something you've already posted...just leave the link in my comments. Let's laugh together today!

I want to share a fun clip with you from one of our favorites -- Brian Regan. He is well-loved by people of all ages and best of all...his comedy is clean and family friendly! = )

Have a happy Friday! =)
Tracy

More Friday Funnies...

I was visiting Marsha's blog this morning and got such a giggle out of her PMS Warning Signs video. God bless our sweet hubbies, trying to love us all through the month -- the good days, the in-between-days, and the days we're far from precious. In the interest of further "equipping" the men we love, I wanted to pass along the message below, sent to me by a friend. When I shared it with my hubby, he started laughing right away (nervously at first, until he read my mood...) When I started laughing, he relaxed and continued on, this time reading out loud, and laughing harder with every line. By the time he finished, we were both just CRACKING UP! I suspect you can possibly relate... ; ) Hope it brings a smile or even better, a belly laugh to your Friday!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For thousands of years, men have tried to understand the rules when dealing with women. Finally, this merit/demerit guide will help them understand just how it works. Remember, in the world of women, one single rule applies: Make the Woman Happy. Do something she likes, and you get points. Do something she dislikes and points are subtracted. It's important to note: You don't get any points for doing something she expects. Sorry, that's the way the game is played. Here is a guide to the points system:

SIMPLE DUTIES
You make the bed (+1)
You make the bed, but forget to add the decorative pillows (-1)
You throw the bedspread over rumpled sheets (-2)

You leave the toilet seat up (-5)
You replace the toilet paper roll when it is empty (0)
When the toilet paper roll is barren, you resort to Kleenex (-1)
When the Kleenex runs out you use the next bathroom (-2)

You go out to buy her extra light panty liners with wings (+5)
in the snow (+8)
but return with something else like snack food (-5)
and no liners (-25)

You check out a suspicious noise at night (+2)
You check out a suspicious noise and it is nothing (0)
You check out a suspicious noise and it is something (+5)
You pummel it with a six iron (+10)
It's the family pet (-40)

HER BIRTHDAY
You remember her birthday (0)
You buy a card and flowers (0)
You take her out to dinner (0)
You take her out to dinner and it's not a sports bar (+1)
You take her out to dinner and it is a sports bar (-2)
And it's "all-you-can-eat wings" night (-3)
And your face is painted the colors of your favorite team (-10)

A NIGHT OUT WITH HER
You take her to a movie (+2)
You take her to a movie she likes (+4)
You take her to a movie you hate (+6)
You take her to a movie you like (-2)
It's called Death Cop III (-3)
Which features Cyborgs that eat humans (-9)
You lied and said it was a foreign film about orphans (-15)

COMMUNICATION
When she wants to talk about a problem:
You listen, displaying a concerned expression (0)
You listen, for over 30 minutes (+5)
You relate to her problem and share a similar experience (+50)
Your mind wanders to sports and you suddenly hear
her saying "well, what do you think I should do?" (-100)
You have fallen asleep (-200)

IT'S THAT TIME OF THE MONTH
You talk (-100)
You don't talk (-150)
You spend time with her (-200)
You don't spend time with her (-500)