Monopoly

Out of the mouths of babes (even if they are 15 years old):

Since our kids didn't have any sports games Friday or Saturday - and that is a rarity around here! - we decided to do dinner and a movie last night. The boys decided they wanted to stay home and play on the computer, so my husband and I took our daughter and I also asked his mother to join us.

On the way to the restaurant, my husband and mother-in-law were talking about a property in town that is for sale. They are always checking out property and houses that are for sale for a new investment. Well, my daughter piped in with, Hey, that's like playing Monopoly, and my husband said, You're right; and do you know how to win at Monopoly? And she said, Yeah, you buy lots of property and houses, ...

...and when another player goes to the bathroom, you steal all their money!

Green Acres

"...is the place to be. Farm living is the life for me." But sometimes I miss the shopping on Park Avenue ;) I've just got to drive farther to get to it now. We've been in our new house for 2 months now and are learning about country living. We got a dog and 2 horses, so we're on our way.

When I go out into the countryside and see the sun and the green and everything flowering, I say to myself Yes indeed, all that belongs to me! ~Henri Rousseau

God made the country, and man made the town. ~William Cowper, The Task

My father asserted that there was no better place to bring up a family than in a rural environment.... There's something about getting up at 5 a.m., feeding the stock and chickens, and milking a couple of cows before breakfast that gives you a lifelong respect for the price of butter and eggs. ~Bill Vaughan

I'm not getting up at 5 am, but I am getting up about the time the sun rises; everybody outside is up and ready to eat!

Favorite French Quote

Since we went to Canada this past week,

I thought I'd share one of my favorite French phrases;

it is also a very pretty song:

Je vous souhaite tout le bonheur du monde.

(I wish you all the happiness in the world.)

Our New World

Change Will Do You Good

Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.~Keri Russell

Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.~Robert C. Gallagher

Change always comes bearing gifts.~Price Pritchett

If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it'll change. If you're in a good situation, don't worry it'll change.~John A. Simone, Sr.

We will be changing our residence once again after we pack out next week. We will be setting up a new home in Florida as my husband has retired with 27 years of service to the US military. Lots of changes coming our way over the next few weeks...

Time Keeps on Slippin'

Our time is slippin' by here pretty quickly now. Twenty days until we pack up our household to have it shipped down to Florida for good.

Time goes by so fast, people go in and out of your life. You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you. - Author Unknown

Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. - H. Jackson Brown, Jr. quotes (American best selling writer, author of Life's Little Instruction Book)

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
From The Holy Bible (King James Version)Attributed to King Solomon
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sow;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war; and a time of peace.

"Clean" Quotes for the Day

I am taking a (short) break from the cleaning and purging of our house for our upcoming move in June. In the process I found some humorous "clean" quotes; these are just a few of my favorites.

I believe you should live each day as if it is your last, which is why I don't have any clean laundry, because, come on, who wants to wash clothes on the last day of their life? - Author Unknown

Do you know what you call those who use towels and never wash them, eat meals and never do the dishes, sit in rooms they never clean, and are entertained till they drop? If you have just answered, "A house guest," you're wrong because I have just described my kids. - Erma Bombeck (U.S. humorist, 1927-1996)

She who waits for her knight must remember - she will have to clean up after his horse - Author Unknown

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. ~Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller's Housekeeping Hints, 1966

8 Things About Me

I like these getting-to-know-you type tags. I enjoy learning new things about old and new friends. Here are my 8 Things (by an indirect tag from my sil Shelley).

8 Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Moving to Florida this summer
2. Building our dream house
3. Living near family
4. Working again
5. Getting back into a work-out routine
6. Flip flop and shorts weather
7. Planting a rose garden
8. Moving to Florida :)

8 Things I did yesterday:
1. Ate crêpes for breakfast
2. Played on the Wii with my family
3. Went to lunch with my family
4. Watched a lacrosse match
5. Took a nap
6. Picked up my daughter from Girl Scout camp
7. Watched The Amazing Race
8. Talked with my mom on the phone

8 Things I wish I could do:
1. Have more patience
2. Have less fear when downhill skiing
3. Water ski
4. Whistle really loudly (the kind you can hear across a football field)
5. Speak in front of a group without fear
6. Have a green thumb
7. Get rid of my pregnancy stretch marks
8. Sing

8 Shows I watch:
1. Lost
2. The Amazing Race
3. Survivor
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. Desperate Housewives
6. What Not to Wear
7. American Idol
8. 24

8 Favorite Fruits:
1. Cherries
2. Pears
3. Apples
4. Grapes
5. Pineapples
6. Tangerines
7. Strawberries
8. Plums

8 Places I'd like to travel:
1. Greece
2. Alaska
3. Spain
4. British Columbia, Canada
5. Egypt
6. South America
7. Iceland
8. Neuschwanstein ("Cinderella Castle" in Germany)

8 Places I've lived:
1. Virginia (Norfolk & Chesapeake)
2. Paris, France
3. California (Imperial Beach, Coronado, & Seaside)
4. Guam
5. Sasebo, Japan
6. Florida (Gainesville & Fort White)
7. Florida (Gulf Breeze, Pensacola, & Milton)
8. Georgia (Atlanta)

A Mother's Love

A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path. -- Agatha Christie

I would never have truly known this myself if I had not become a mother. Have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!

Keep Well

I have been sick (actually 'in bed all weekend long' sick) for the past 5 days. I've been updating my main blog Life Experiences of a Southern Rose but just have not had the energy to come update Part Deux (sorry!). I have been reminiscing about our lazy (ha!) days on the little Pacific island we lived on from 2002-2005.

Enjoy the rest of your week... and keep well!