TWICE AS NICE


Recently two different bloggers bestowed the coveting Lemonade Award on Grandma J. I'm humbled when this happens....not that I've ever gotten the same award from two different bloggers before.

Tabitha, at I Choose Bliss, gave me this award last week when I was line dancing with Soupy Sales on the West Coast. Tabitha has just about the biggest warmest heart in the whole world. Check out her blog and you will be in awe of all the wonderful acts of kindness she does.

Then today, my BBFIA Hula Hank, bestowed the same award on me because he is infatuated with women who have large bladders long eyelashes. And for those of you who think you know me well, please don't ruin Hula Hank's image of Grandma J....no matter! Hank lives in Australia and has several Wallabies that come to his backdoor step every morning for breakfast.

I actually had breakfast with Hank one morning too....but not on his backdoor step. Hank was kind enough to invite several family members and this mutual blogger friend, and this one too.... along for the purpose of creating a party atmosphere...in the heart of LA.

Believe me when I tell you this...I hate being recognized with awards almost as much as I hate having to pick new recipients. It just makes me want to reaffirm your suspicions that I'm wonderful feel unworthy to the point of telling you all the reasons why I should never be awarded stuff....unless it's cash ice cream.

So here is what I want to do... I want to award this Lemonade Blogger Award to everyone west of the Rockies. Come get your award, and re-award it to your favorite bloggers.

Thanks again to Tabitha and Hula Hank! Now, go visit their blogs!

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL

I told you I was going to have a super special day today......and I did. But before I delve to deep into my Sunday Surprise, I have to tell you a little something about Saturday..

A really special co-worker of mine from the County, invited me and a few other friends over for a luncheon. We were buyers together and friends before that. One of the other gals was one of my first friends when I started there.....and a fellow Big Brother fan from way back to season one. She was the one who promoted me to a buyer. Then there were two other friends that worked with me in the County Surveyors office.........this was in the same building, and we all knew each other. We had a really great time....and only the two lurkers from Surveys know about my blog...so I won't be posting pictures.....

Now, for today.....I finally met my blogging friends from LA.

That's right, Jason from The Jason Show.....

and Kim from Pumpkin Delight! A super surprise was meeting Hula Hank from the land down under...that would be Australia of course, and his son and friend. Of course, I didn't know he was Hula Hank until halfway though brunch...

We had brunch at the wonderful Farm at The Grove in Los Angeles. I had never been to The Grove, before. It's really quite nice with cobblestone walks and loads of nice shops, flowers and fountains...

The fountains were a big hit with Diego.....yes! Jason brought his husband, Giancarlo and their adorable son Diego. Diego is a real charmer...who didn't want to shake my hand at first, but gave me a big hug when I left...because I told him he can come to Texas and visit me and my boa constrictor....yeah, that's what I told him.

The weekend was wonderful and way too short....thanks to everyone who shared in it with me.

FROM WHALES TO MARSHMALLOWS......

...which isn't a reference to me and John, or Gavin, or any neanderthal man. Hi Nick.

Well, I trekked by pack mule into the cozy little town of Skagway this morning to post about yesterday. The thought of Chesapeake Bay Woman selling the family estate to pay my Internet cafe fees on ship just for a picture of an old man made me scared for her children feel compelled to comply with her wishes.



Tuesday was an early morning rise in Juneau, capitol of Alaska. We were up at six, and of course I headed outside to take a picture of early morning Juneau, then on to nice sit down breakfast at seven, then head on out for a day of whale watching, tour of the Mendenhall Glacier, a nature walk then a salmon bake.

While waiting for the dining room to open, I was pleasantly surprised to see Kristie, a fellow blogger. I'd started following her daughter’s leukemia journey in October 2005, right after my grandson was diagnosed. Thankfully, her daughter has been off treatment for almost three years…..yeah, Kendrie.


We went by bus to Auke Bay, where we boarded a tri-level catamaran. This is the sun coming up as we heading up the inland Saginaw Channel. The weather was in the high fifties which was warm for Alaska.

Of course John was thrilled to be up run

ning on his umpteenth Alaskan whale watching excursion.

The girls were ready too. One nice thing is the boat had a snack bar with free beverages and snacks like bagels, salmon and pastries.

The tour guide would announce the sighting of a bald eagle, or hump back whale and the whole pack of tourists would scramble to the side of the boat with cameras and binoculars.

I caught a few pictures of humpback whales.

Today there were three of them having a feeding frenzy, which shouldn't be confused with Grandma J.in the buffet line. They were blowing bubbles underwater, causing the schools of fish to scurry away from the light and up into the darkness, which was the open mouth of a whale. The whales would surface as they scooped them up. The tour guide said it’s not that common for whales to orchestrate a “bubble feed”, and it was a rare opportunity to see. BTW, Humpbacks eat about a ton of small fish a day.

We saw Killer whales which are smaller and are actually in the dolphin family. They travel in pods, and are hunt prey twice their size, such as humpback whales. We saw quite a few killer whales, but they surface and dive back so fast, that it’s hard to get a good picture. I was going to draw one in with a sharpie…


Next we headed to the Mendenhall Glacier. It’s a fantastic sight to see. There are waterfalls, ice masses, majestic mountains and bears…lots of bears. We weren’t allowed to bring food into the area because it attracts the wildlife.

We topped the day off with a salmon bake that included ribs, chicken, corn bread, wild rice, beans, salads and a marshmallow roast. We headed back to the ship in time for a nap before dinner. Tomorrow, Skagway. Life is good in Alaska

Thank you Postcard Cindy for the BB update. If anyone who watches BB and doesn't want to know what's going on, please be forewarned that this is the only way I can keep up. I don't have access to network TV. Sorry, Heartshapedhedges. Please don't put any ideas in Beauty's head. We aren't going to the American Girl Store this time around. We will have fun getting our pedi/mani and shopping. We also have a hotel sleepover and a Disney Birthday celebration with her BBF William. Carol Z, thanks, I can't believe I won the first week of the pool, and next time I invite you to come on a cruise....just know the boys will survive! I'm also hoping to connect with Pumpkin Delight sometime today.....You there Pumpkin?

TAG, YOUR IT!
words that every blogger loves to hear
...in their dreams.

I was tagged by Kimberly over at Pumpkin Delight to do a meme. I am supposed to tell you about six quirks that I have. It will be difficult to find six things I am quirkish about...but I will wrack my brain.

1. I don't like cream cheese or sour cream. I won't eat anything that has cream cheese as an ingredient even if you can't see or taste it. If someone makes a cake that has cream cheese or sour cream in it, I won't eat it. I know I can't taste it...it doesn't matter. Now, when I'm eating something I really like, I hum. I do.

2. I have to have real butter. I can tell even in cooking if there's margarine in something. My mother Rita, used to put margarine in a butter wrapper thinking I wouldn't notice. It drove me crazy. I'd rather eat something dry than taste margarine. I'm extremely insulted when a restaurant serves margarine. I was at a steak house called Black Anus and they told me they didn't have real butter because it's bad for our health...Huh?? The next time I went there with HSH and her Honey, I brought my own cube of butter. Healthy is a matter of perspective. Some people find red meat unhealthy, or desserts.

3. I love slot machines and playing blackjack. If you go to a casino with me and you don't want to play, that's fine. Don't stand over my shoulder to bring me "good luck" because it doesn't work that way. If you ask me if I'm hungry, and I say no, please, go eat without me. Thank you very much.

4. I Can't stand clutter. I like everything in it's place. People at work used to make fun of me because the only papers on my desk were in one folder for one project. I used to wipe my desk and work area with rubbing alcohol at the end of each day. don't ask me why.

5. I sing when I drive, with the music loud, especially on the open road. I was enjoying my singing once on my way to San Diego, and a CHP on a motorcycle had to come up and cut me off to get my attention. I didn't hear his siren. I cuss at bad drivers (with the windows up).

6. I let my grandchildren eat whatever they want, whenever that want, where ever they want. We don't ever tell the parent units what we do.....ever!

7. I sleep with the TV on. I never turn it off. I also make my bed as soon as I get up, before I do anything. I like white sheets only, 400+ thread count, no flannel, no satin.

Ok, I did seven because there are several more and it was hard to pick just six. But as long as I'm on a roll, I have to say, I hate salad dressing....all salad dressing. I love salad, and don't assume that I want lots of lemons to compensate.

Now I'm supposed to tag six people. I was going to break the rules because Pumpkin took all my friends. Well, except for Hollywood and Nick. They don't have blogs. Of course there's Bossy and P-Dub, but they don't do meme, mimi, mama's. If you would like to do this quirky thing then please do! Let me know cuz I'd love to read them.

If you decide to do this meme, here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Mention the rules on your blog. (Here they are.)

3. Tell about six unspectacular quirks of yours.

4. Tag six fellow bloggers by linking them.

5. Leave a comment on each of the six blogger’s blogs letting them know they have been tagged.

ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO
...how many of you have tried one of these...are any of them worth it?

Some of you know that I get excited about As Seen On TV products. But I have the crappiest luck with them. For instance I really thought the ShamWow would be a safe bet, with Vince the pitchman telling me "ShamWow, you'll say 'WOW' every time". Yeah well as you all know, he lied to me...

Then my good friend Pumpkin Delight bought the Green Bags from Debbie Meyer. She did an experiment with bananas and documented it on-line with pictures. The results where good! The Green Bags worked. Go check it out!

Now, I have a renewed sense of trust in the products I see on TV. One item that really interests me is the Tater Mitt.

But I want to make sure I don't throw my money away on junk. I went on the internet to learn more about them and this is what I found. The ones on TV are $19.99, but....
These are from Fits My Budget for much less....
And you can get them at my favorite shopping mall in Central Texas for the same price.
Then I found these gems! Could they be the same thing? Maybe just a different color? By the way, these are all over EBay for $7.99.

Or these fancy shmancy ones for sure, because they actually say "potato"...and they can be cleaned in the washing machine or DISHWASHER!

Now, I'm asking my friends out there in blogger world.....do you have these? Which ones? Do they work?

Of course, when you Google Potato Mitts, you also get this!

Mr. Potato Head's glove!