Sunflowers

My favorite flowers are sunflowers. I have so many fond memories of them. When my grandpa found out that they were my favorite, he grew them in our backyard for me. My hubster thought about growing them for me, but my parents said that they're a pain to pull out. (I hope he's still considering it.) When I'm feeling down and out, my hubster brightens my day with sunflowers. The following poem about these beautiful flowers is by Eugenio Montale.

Bring me the sunflower, let me plant it
in my field parched by the salt sea wind,
and let it show the blue reflecting sky
the yearning of its yellow face all day.

Dark things tend to brightness, bodies
fade out in a flood of colors,
colors in music. So disappearing is
the destiny of destinies.

Bring me the plant that leads the way
to where blond transparencies
rise, and life as essence turns to haze;
bring me the sunflower crazed with light.

For My Mom Thanks to PostSecret

Notre Arbre de Noel

This year is the first year that my hubster and I have our very own tree. Usually, we just enjoy my parents' Christmas tree. Since I have lots of time for decorating, I thought it only fitting to finally get our own tree. I have been collecting Christmas tree ornaments ever since I was in middle school.

It's a cute little tree. Very different from my mom's grand tree starting with the mismatch ornaments down to its stubby chubbiness. My mom normally gets at least a 7 foot tree, and she decorates it with perfectly matching ornaments. Her theme colors have always been red and gold. Anything that goes on the tree has to be one of those colors. I love our tree. I can't wait for my hubster to start adding his own ornaments. He already added his own touch to it with the bright blue LED lights.

Throwback Tuesday: I Swear - All 4 One

A Lot to Be Thankful For...

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When grumpy, it's really easy for me to forget to be thankful. As my hubster is so glad to remind me, I have a lot to be thankful for. Here are just a few things...

My Parents: For helping me to become the person I am today. I am a mini combo version of my parents right down to my need to take care of every stray animal and my unfaltering sweet tooth.

My Hubster: For pushing me to be a better person and carrying me through those very gray days. Even after 11 years of being together, I love him more every day.

Our Kitties and Water Babies: For providing endless hours of entertainment and love.

My Friends: For revealing the humor in life, especially when I need it the most. Most importantly, sharing their ever changing life stories with me.

"Adventure is Out There!"

We recently watched Up a couple of days ago. I had been so excited to watch it because I loved Wall-E. I was hoping for another unexpected surprise storyline to capture my imagination once again. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. It wasn't terrible. It's definitely at the bottom of my Pixar list along with Ratatouille and and Chicken Little. The old man explorer who was about the same age as Carl was a bit too much even for me. The creepy dog army made the movie even less appealing. I thought I would love Russell would be endearing but he was a little too annoying. Dug was one of my favorite characters, and I loved the short about him in the extras. Maybe, I would have been more taken with it if I watched in 3-D.