Would You If You Could?

People often say they wish they knew what the future held, but do we really? We all are writing the book of our own life, complete with successes, failures and everything in between. If you could "jump ahead" a few chapters, would you? What would you read? Part of me wants to know what the future holds and how I can make it the best it can be (control freak). Decisions made today often have a ripple effect on the future, both big and small. Sometimes we can foresee these effects and sometimes, not. It is often only in the after look that we see the whole picture. It often comes with that "Ahh haa" moment when, what was once muddled and uncertain, suddenly becomes totally clear to us. Each action does cause a reaction and, for this, we must be accountable.
If crystal balls are suddenly sold on the internet, would I buy one? Maybe yes, but, most probably, no. As painful and scary as it sometimes may be, I think I will continue to write the chapters of my life one page at a time and hope that "The End" is a long was off!

Wordless Wednesday - You Rock!

Drop Cloth Magic

Got an idea that I thought was worth sharing. This weekend, as far as our household is concerned, is the start of the summer season. I have been hunting for cute outdoor tablecloths to use for our many get-togethers and haven't really found any I like. Much of the themes for summer revolve around the good ol' red, white and blue, but sometimes you just want to celebrate lazy, long summer days with other colors as well.
I went to Home Depot and bought simple painter's drop cloths. The size I chose was about $8.00 and will easily fit the six foot tables we have out back. There are many types of drop cloths, but I chose the burlap-looking, canvas types. They are a perfect, neutral background upon which to decorate any table.
The package looks like this.
Opened, you can see they fit nicely on the table. They are thick and washable. I washed mine before their first use to make them a little softer. Now comes the fun, ever changing part.
You can use anything to decorate your table. I bought foam stars just to give you an example. I will be adding a red, white and blue flower arrangement and flags for the Memorial Day party. For another time, I also have plastic, black ants ~ perfect for a picnic theme, don't you think?
I will even use these drop cloths on the outdoor dining table with candles and sunflowers. The possibilities are endless! Use your imagination. You have extra money to buy "props" because the drop cloths are so inexpensive.
Now, my only problem is making sure my husband doesn't grab them for a job site!!

Full Moon Party

Always looking for a reason to party, I think a "Full Moon Party" sounds perfect! Full moons this summer are Wednesday, June 15, Friday, July 15, Saturday, August 13 and Monday, September 12. This gives you plenty of time to pick a date and plan ahead to enjoy dinner outside under the moon. Food is probably secondary to the wonder of nature under the full moon. It feels happy and magical and full of promise.I have fond memories of taking each grand baby outside to show them the moon. For some reason, it delighted them so much. "I see the moon & the moon sees me." was a line from one of their story books that stays with me even today.
No matter what you serve for dinner, I think moon pies are the required dessert!

Piece of Cake

These are not my words, but they moved me enough to want to share them with you..

Sometimes we wonder,'What did I do to deserve this?' or 'Why did God have to do this to me?'
Here is a wonderful explanation!
A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away. Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, 'Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.' "Here, have some cooking oil,' her Mother offers. 'Yuck' says her daughter. 'How about a couple raw eggs?' 'Gross, Mom!' 'Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?' "Mom, those are all yucky!' To which the mother replies : 'Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves, but when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! '
God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!
God is crazy about you!
Just a good thought for a Saturday morning.

Disaster or Food!

While having dinner with a dear friend last, we were discussing how much we enjoy writing our blogs and how we come up with different topics. Much to my friend's horror, I told her that I get the most "hits" or reads when I write about food (we all love to eat) or something bad happening. This has been confirmed to me by other bloggers who started writing when they had a premature baby. Giving day-by-day accounts of that little life barely hanging on, got the writer tons of hits. Now that the baby is healthy and out of the woods, readership has dropped measurably.
What is it about us that loves looking into others lives and finding out they have troubles, worries and misery? We all know, on a logical level, that no life goes unscathed. We all have setbacks, hurts and ups and downs. Why do we take some vicarious pleasure in knowing, our life may be bad, but somebody's might just be worse?? Oh, we don't say it like that at all. We tsk tsk and shake our heads and say how sad, but part of us is actually happy that it's not us. We are happy to do the mental scorecard and find we come out on top. Does this make us bad people or just people? We have all driven by the traffic accident and, try as we might to look away, we can't help but glance at it for a moment. Right afterwards, we shudder and say a small prayer for the people involved and an even bigger prayer that it's not us.
With this post, I guess I risk people thinking I am an awful person for saying such things. However, I don't think so. I think you know what I'm talking about and have felt exactly like this in your life. Again, not bad people ~ just people.

OC Wine Trolley

I am a person who always needs to have something to look forward in my life. I happened upon info about this OC Wine Trolley that runs in Old Town Orange on Friday nights. I looked into it and found out they stop at 13 or 14 restaurants. You don't get off the trolley, but people from each restaurant come out and offer you samplings from their menu. Not only that, along the way, you get to sample five wines while someone on board discusses their tasting points with everyone. It only holds 26 people and they are sold out 4 or 5 weeks in advance.
I was on a mission to put together a Girl's Night Out on this trolley. Within less than twelve hours, I had sold all 15 of the open seats for June 24th. Sometimes it's good to have Biggsuzi as a friend! I am calling it "The Fab 15" and it promises to be a night to remember! At least I hope I remember it!! :) Look for my review after 6/24.