Friday's Fave Five "S"s

It's Friday once again.  Last Friday I plumb forgot what day of the week it was and didn't do my usual Fave Five posting.  This Friday, I wrote myself a note to remind me so I wouldn't forget.  The theme today is going to be around the letter "S", since all five of my notable things this week begin with that letter.  Let's take a look at what made my week memorable, shall we?

1.  Spring has arrived in all her splendor here in my neighborhood.  I've been enjoying taking walks around the subdivision and seeing all the trees in bloom.  It gave me the perfect opportunity to try out my camera.  The downside of all these flowering trees is, of course, the pollen.  My sinuses aren't behaving very well but I can put up with some sniffling and stuffiness at night for the beauty that is Spring.

2.  Sipping a delicious new coffee flavor.  I first read about this flavor on someone's blog but for the life of me, I can't remember who mentioned it.  If it was you, I'm so sorry that I didn't jot down a reminder to myself so that I could give you credit for introducing me to this coffee.  It's made by Green Mountain Coffee and the flavor is a Limited Edition flavor called "Island Coconut."  Yummy!

3.  Skyping with my extended family, including our grandbaby.  Boy, has Mika changed since she left here in February.  She even has little pigtails now and is definitely getting more of a toddler look than the infant-look she had when she left.  She insisted on standing with the aid of her parents while we talked on Skype and it was so cute to see her react to us as she peered at the computer screen.

4.  Scanning old cards and photographs - As part of my craft room reorganization attempt, I've been trying to file all the paper memorabilia that has accumulated in the drawers of my cabinets.  I have a lot of old cards, valentines, cartes d'visite, calling cards, and other memorabilia from my mother and grandparents, some dating back to the 1880's.  It's really been fun to scan them and read the old postcards particularly.

5.  Singing along with my Pandora radio stations - I just love Pandora and how you can create your own radio stations based on your favorite singers.  I have a Christian station, Celtic station, Crooners station, and Country Western station set up right now.  This week I had the Country Western music cranking through my speakers.  I don't much care for the slow, mournful tunes so I give a "thumbs-down" to those which means that my station usually plays the fast, upbeat CW music.  It's great to sing along with and really keeps me awake when I'm working on the computer, doing my digital scrapbooking for hours on end.

What have been your highlights this week?  If you'd like to join the Fave Five fun, visit Susanne's blog at Living to Tell the Story.  Have a great weekend.

An Empty Nest Easter

Did you all have a nice Easter weekend?  We crammed in a wedding in New Jersey on Saturday.  One of my former student workers got married so we made the long drive over to help celebrate in her happiness.  I was so happy that she found a young man who is a strong Christian.  Jane and I used to joke that I was her "Pennsylvania Mom" when she was attending college here.  So I still have a big soft spot in my heart for her.

On Easter Sunday, we headed off for church and enjoyed all the fellowship and celebration of serving a risen Lord.  After church, the Commander and I had decided to just go out to eat.  It didn't seem worth making a big Easter dinner for just the two of us.

When the chicks have left the nest, we're finding that a lot of our previous family traditions are getting set aside for newer, more streamlined versions.  Anyway, the Commander called the restaurant to see if they accepted "call-ahead seating."  He reported back to me that we should be fine.  "When the lady says, 'Hon, you've got nothing to worry about.  Come on over', I guess we won't have any problem with waiting," he chuckled.

Indeed, we didn't have any wait when we arrived.  In fact, we were the only car in the parking lot.  Wow!  Our waitress told us that she had opened up the restaurant at 10 a.m. and we were her first customers at 12:30 p.m.  I guess most folks were eating Easter dinner with their families at home.

After lunch, I headed over to the nursing home to visit with Mom.  I greeted her with the familiar Easter phrase "He is risen", expecting her to reply, "He is risen indeed."  Instead she smiled and said, "That's wonderful."

"No, Mom," I said.  "Don't you remember?  Every Easter, when the pastor says "He is risen', all the congregation is supposed to reply "He is risen indeed."

"Oh, OK," she said.

We had a nice visit and I read some more of our current book to her and then I wheeled her back to her room.  As I left, I gave her a big hug and said, "See you on Tuesday.  And remember.....He is risen."

"That's great," she said, smiling pleasantly.  Ah, well!

 Later that evening our daughter called us to chat.  She and her hubby were grilling BBQ chicken outside and getting ready to enjoy their Easter dinner.

"What, no ham?" I asked.

"Mom, you know I don't eat ham," she countered.  "What's wrong with BBQ chicken?"

"Absolutely nothing," I replied.  "It's just that most people have ham on Easter.  What's for dessert?"

There was silence.  "Nothing," she said.  "Well, maybe we'll have a cookie."

"Bummer," I thought.  "Not even any Easter bunny candy."
But that's probably why our daughter always looks so good and why I'm always trying to lose weight.  Gee, come to think of it, the Commander and I hadn't had any dessert at the restaurant, either.  Guess the Easter bunny and all those high-caloric treats is another holiday tradition that has gone along with the children. 

What is the world coming to when I feel like I have to go mug a kid to get a peanut butter egg?  Happy Easter!

My Easter Bunny Ran Aground

Easter is a wonderful holiday for a Christian. However, for a dieter, it ain't so hot. I belong to TOPS, which stands for "Take Off Pounds Sensibly." This past week we were challenged to create a special Easter bonnet to wear to our next meeting (which happened to be the day after Easter). To understand the theme of my Easter bonnet, you have to understand how my Eater (Freudian slip) Easter weekend went.

First, my brother arrived for a visit. Friday evening I made ham and broccoli roll-ups with a hashbrown casserole. Saturday morning I made sausage gravy and biscuits, mainly because I know he likes that and my sister-in-law usually doesn't make that for him at home. Saturday noon we went to the Waffle House which he loves to eat at when he is here. I had a waffle with crispy bacon. Saturday night I made chicken tetrazzini which was pretty good if I do say so myself. Sunday morning I attempted to squelch the excess by stuffing down some raisin nut bran cereal. Bran is healthy, right? Sunday dinner was celebrated at Carrabba's with Chicken Marsala and garlic mashed potatoes. Sunday evening we reheated the leftovers and finished those off. Monday I waved goodbye to my brother and kissed my husband as he left for work. I then opened up the pan of cream cheese and chocolate chip brownies that my sister-in-law had sent from Michigan and proceeded to eat the top halves of each one in the pan.

By now, dizzy from all the sugar, I was beginning to panic as I realized that I had to weigh in that evening AND I had to come up with an Easter bonnet. It was then that I had the brainstorm. I got to work and put a small Easter bunny in a glass, stuck a straw in the glass, glued the glass on top of two candy bars (I ate the third candy bar while I was working out the design of the bonnet in my mind) and glued the candy bars to the top of a blue paper plate. I punched holes in the sides of the plate, stuck ribbon in it and made a little sign to hang down from the front. The sign said "My Easter Bunny float ran aground on a candy bar."

Got to my TOPS meeting and weighed in and lo and behold, I had lost a pound. The empty tomb wasn't the only miracle being celebrated this Easter weekend.