I Think I Can, I Think I Can!!

Engineer Ken is here to say "I've boarded the Little Train

that Could and I am on the rail to recovery!"

He is doing much better each day--the knee is still a

little stiff and he still wears a brace at night. But he is able

to get in and out of a car better and the stairs are not as

difficult.

Thanks to everyone for your well wishes--Ken says:

"THANK YOU!"

~Keep on Dreaming~

Thank You!!!!

Today's thoughts are all about THANK YOU'S!

Catherine-le-monde-de-Catherine gave

me these two awards! She is a wonderful lady

and I have enjoyed getting to know her. It's

pretty cool to be able to say that I have a

friend in France! Thanks Catherine!!!!

Part of receiving these awards- I must tell you

7 things about me that you don't know. So

here goes:

1--I love to read.

2--I am an only child but have 1 sister and 3

brother-in-laws.

3--I am NOT a morning person.

4--The colors I'm liking right now are RED

and lime green.

5--When this horrid school year is over I

will be celebrating 10 years in the district.

6--My least favorite housekeeping chore

is DUSTING. It makes me sneeze.

7--I have flown in a hot air balloon in

New Mexico and we took a helicopter

tour in Tennessee. Both were AMAZING!

Look what came in the mail the

other day!

These delightful goodies came from Mimi-

Dandelion Wishes. I won a giveaway

on her blog! Thank You Mimi!!!!!

She sent me:

1--A garland that spells "LOVE."

2--A yummy looking candy bar that was

made in her area. It is one of her favorites.

3--A handmade Valentine card that I

can send to someone special.

4--A Valentine tag to use on a nice

little gift.

I can't wait to hang my garland and try the

candy bar!

Thanks again Catherine and Mimi--both of

you are WONDERFUL!

~Keep on Dreaming~

Our Morning Trip

For the last couple of days Mr. Ken has had a very sore knee, to the point of needing assistance to walk and get in and out of the car. He hasn't been able to drive either. I stayed home with him Tuesday. This morning the knee wasn't any better sooo I made the executive decision that a trip to the ER was needed. So I called school to let them know what was going on and then we were off to the hospital. Yes folks that is a beautiful hospital issued bracelet on Mr. Ken's arm.

And here he is--- Mr. Ken modeling his new leg brace. It keeps his knee straight and adds support to the whole leg. We came home with crutches, medication and a recommend- ation for a visit to an Orthopedist. Diagnosis- sprained knee--cause unknown?? One of those mysteries of life. Currently being well taken care of by his lovely nurse/wife. Spoiled with a capital S! :) He should make a full recovery. ~Keep on Dreaming~

Happy Birthday!

Bubble Wrap turns 50 this month!

My favorite thing to do with bubble wrap

is to pop it! I love it when it comes with

something I ordered. I find it relaxing

and fun to pop, pop, pop.

There are many websites on bubble

wrap and some have virtual bubble

wrap to pop. Which is fun too.

Next time you need to relax pick

some up and pop away!

I've also used it for art projects at

school:

****Rubbings

****Paint the wrap and place on a sheet

of paper. Turn it into wrapping paper

for Valentine's Day gifts.

What do you use this fun stuff for?

~Keep on Dreaming~

Sunday Snipet

We are back to having a cold spell this week, which

as you know stirs my "comfort food" juices. Soooo

when planning our dinner menu for the week I

chose some of my favs for us to enjoy.

Sunday--Spaghetti

Salad

Garlic Toast

Monday--Tuna Casserole w/ peas

Pears

Tuesday--Chicken--M

Italian Sausage--Mr. Ken

(No chicken for him!!!)

Roasted Potatoes

Salad

Wednesday--Tator Tot Casserole

Green Beans

Sliced Fruit

Thursday--Swiss Steak

Mashed Potatoes

Corn

Friday--My time away from the kitchen!!

****Menu subject to change if needed.

Enjoy your favs this week with those you love!

~Keep on Dreaming~

My Friends

" The only way to have a friend

is to be one."

---Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of the best things about blogging

is the new friendships we are able to

make. You are the best!!!!

~Keep on Dreaming~

National Popcorn Day !!!

***POST WARNING*** Some of this may be a

repeat for those of you that were around for

October Trivia. October is National Popcorn

MONTH. If this a repeat hang in there. :)

The origins of this national "holiday" are

unknown but--what better reason to

CELEBRATE!

Do you like popcorn?

YES/NO

How do you pop yours?

Air popped--Anyone still own an Air Popper?

Stove popped--Remember Jiffy Pop?

Microwave popped--First occurrence in

the 1940's.

What is your topping preference?

Salt/Butter

Cheese

Carmel

Cinnamon

Garlic powder

Season Salt

Where do you eat popcorn the most?

Home

Work

Movie theatre

Sports event

In the depression popcorn sold for 0.5-.10 and

was one of the few luxuries for those families with

a little less in their pockets.

As stated in October--Americans consume 17

BILLION quarts of popcorn a year and an

average American consumes about 54 QUARTS.

Microwave popcorn sales has accounted for

$240 MILLION in the 1990's.

Popcorn is an ideal snack between meals

because it satisfies and doesn't spoil an

appetite.

3C = 1 serving from the grain group.

Use it to top soups or salads.

Combine with dried fruit and nuts to create

a snack.

Make popcorn balls.

HAPPY POPPING!!!!

~Keep on Dreaming~

Helpful Handies

Today's post is featuring items that I find helpful. I hope you find them helpful too. One of the items I made all by myself! This little tray used to sit on my dresser and it held my pins for scarves or lapels. But no more it has a new job in my bathroom.

This is what is on my dresser now. In the midst of dusting

I decided to make this little cutie. Yes, I said I made it! :)

This is a bit farther back so you could see the whole

thing. I'm very pleased in the outcome of this little

cutie. I'll tell you how I made it at the end of this

post.

See these little plastic hangers? They usually come with

long scarves. I don't throw them away and the next

picture shows you why.

This is the back of our bedroom door. Instead of trying

to fold and find space for these scarves, I keep them

on the hanger. Since some are divided in half I can

put two together. Usually like colors. Very helpful

huh?

See this little notebook? It might look like a regular ol'

notebook to you BUT to me it is another hand. I keep

it close by my laptop and when I'm blog reading, I

am able to jot ideas down right then and I don't

have to go back to look for a particular blog. How's

that for an idea? :)

Teacup Tutorial---

1 teacup and saucer of your choice

1 vase

E6000 glue

Run the glue tip around the top of the vase, turn the

saucer over and place the top of the vase in the

middle of the saucer back.

Carefully turn the vase over so the saucer is face up

and the vase is standing on your table.

Run glue around the bottom of the cup and

place in the middle of the saucer plate.You should end

up with the cup glued to the saucer and the saucer glued

to the vase. Let stand so the glue can dry and then use as

you would like.

I used a teacup and saucer that I had and a vase that I had

picked up when thrifting awhile ago. Basically a no cost

project. Now your talking HELPFUL! :)

~Keep on Dreaming~

Smile--Show your Happiness!

And......Thursday Thoughts are BACK!!!!

With everything in chaos around the world I

thought we could take a moment to think about:

What makes YOU Smile? Below is a list of people and things that make me :) 1---Ken 2---Family 3---Friends 4---Holidays 5---Blogging 6---Warm Chocolate Chip Cookies 7---Fluffy towels right from the dryer 8---Fresh flowers 9---Falling Snowflakes 10---Puppies 11---Weekends 12---Me time 13---Time for crafting, sewing etc. 14---Chocolate--duh :) 15---A BIG warm quilt Turmoil is one of the best times to reflect and be thankful for what we have. Times are rough ALL over and each of us have our burdens to bear but the most important thing is that we are truly blessed. Sometime we have a tendency to look at that glass half empty instead of half full. I'm as guilty as the next person. But I think we all know how are glasses are filled. ~Keep on Dreaming~

After a Break

It's BACK!!!! Tuesday Trivia!!!

January---named after Janus--God of the door-

way. January is the door to the new year.

This is the first year in the Julian and Greg-

orian calendar.

One of the seven months with 31 days.

It is the coldest month in the Northern

Hemisphere.

The birthstone--Garnet. It comes from

the Latin word "granatus," meaning

"grain" or "seed." It also could resemble

the seeds of a pomegranate.

Flower--Carnation. Can mean love,

fascination and distinction.

Zodiac sign--Capricorn. Stable, trust-

worthy, persistent, ambitious and patient.

January is National Hobby and Soup Month.

Holidays this month:

1st--New Year's Day

6th--Epiphany

18th--Dr. Martin Luther King's

birthday celebrated (this year).

Fun days:

Festival of Sleep Day

Peculiar People Day

National Dress up your

Pet Day

Winnie the Pooh Day

National Popcorn Day

National Hugging Day

January Birthdays:

1-Betsy Ross

2-Boo Boo Bear (Yogi's friend)

Taye Diggs

3-Eli Manning

4-Dyan Cannon

5-Diane Keeton

6-Joan of Arc

7-Katie Couric

8-Elvis Presley

9-Dave Matthews

10-Rod Stewart

11-Naomi Judd

12-Kirstie Alley

13-Rubbie Duckie (Ernie's friend)

14-LLCool

15-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

16-Sade

17-Shari Lewis

18-A. A. Milne

19-Paula Deen

20-Bill Maher

21-Placido Domingo

22-Guy Fier

23-Princess Caroline of Monaco

24-Neil Diamond

25-Alicia Keys

26-Wayne Gretzky

27-Mozart

28-Sarah McLachlan

29-Tom Selleck

30-Phil Collins

31-Nolan Ryan

Were you born in January??

~Keep on Dreaming~

Ooooo La La A French Surprise!

These little delights came in the mail

today! They are from Catherine--Le Monde

de Catherine blogspot.

Catherine sent a towel with the Eiffel Tower

on it, chocolates in the cone, two rubber ducks,

two cans of chestnut spread, crackers, a book-

mark, a darling little basket with the word

"Coton" on it and it had a washcloth cupcake

and a packet of French Sachet.

I love it all!! Thanks Catherine! It was nice of

you to think of me!

~Keep on Dreaming~

with a strawberry magnet

The Twelfth Day of the Twelve Days of Christmas...

On this twelfth day of Christmas I didn't

have to go to work!!!! We had a SNOW DAY!

Our snow started around noon today and it's

STILL snowing as I type this. It IS beautiful

but the news people have cautioned us in

regard to very low temperatures and the

blowing snow.

As you may have guessed school is closed

tomorrow too. Yea, another day to do what

I want when I want!!! Can anyone say hello

crafts AND cookie making!!! YUM:)

I will be taking a bit of a blogging break for

a couple of days--I'll check in on you though.

Please stay warm and cozy. I'll see you soon.

~Keep on Dreaming~

Day Eleven of the Twelve Day of Christmas

On the eleventh day of Christmas I got my crafty groove on! As you can see by the time stamp that I've had these little pretties for several days. This project was supposed to start AND finish on the same day but ... what can I say? I picked up these wreaths at Target after Christmas in the "dollar area" for half price! (1.25) I went back to get another one because one wasn't fluffy enough. The ornaments were in the after Christmas sale! I chose all the pink, greens and purples. Some were shiny and others were less shiny. The wreaths were tied together back to back and then fluffed.

I made clusters with the ornaments. One pink--two green, one green--two pink. The two lone purple ones were paired with a pink and green one. These were then

glued into the wreath.

Here is the delightful finished product

complete with a pretty green bow!

Currently it is hanging on the back

of our front door. It is so "Happy

New Year" festive that I like seeing it.

I'm thinking it may be too full to hang

on the front of the door. Once it doesn't

feel like the "tundra" here and I can

stand at the front door comfortably, I

may try to fit it there.

I'm very pleased with the outcome! :)

~Keep on Dreaming~

The Tenth Day of the Twelve Days...

On the tenth day of Christmas it was "Back to

School" for me.

Twas the first day back from break and our

class was missing one student. The staff

returned rested (?) and ready to go (?)

We spent some time talking about what

each of us did on our break, the most exciting

news was that one of the boy's Mom had her

baby--a girl--LuLu.

We moved on to snack and then listened to some snow themed stories. After story time

we were ready for indoor recess and computer

time. NO academics today. Everyone was quiet

and that was nice for the first day back.

At last it was time for lunch, off to the

cafeteria we went, two students bring their

lunch and the rest buy theirs. Today's entree

choices were Pizza or Meatball sandwich.

Oh, which one to pick? Pizza was the entree

of choce for those buying.

After lunch we have a little quiet time with

activities at our desks--puzzles, games, books

drawing etc. Our favorite Speech Pathologist---

Mr. Nick comes today to work one on one and

in a group with the students.

Afternoon snack is on tap next and then we have

more recess. Before we know it, it's time for

the buses. Backpacks are packed and we bundle

up in our coats gloves and hats, out the door in the

cold we go to the buses. I hear them exclaim

as they get on the buses "Bye, see you tomorrow"

"Yes, see you tomorrow" as I turn to go back in

I see the buses ride out of sight!!!!!

~Keep on Dreaming~

Day Nine of the Twelve Days...

On this ninth day of Christmas--- I felt like June Cleaver. Trying to do as many things possible before I go back to school tomorrow! Today was spent getting things organized, going to the store, finishing the laundry and all the others things that needed to be done. Now I did do stuff over the break BUT some stuff got put off. Time has a way of getting away from you. I soooo could use ONE more day but then I'd want another and then another. One of the things I want to accomplish this year is getting back to being the organized person I used to be. Somewhere last year I lost those organizational skills. Time management is another important thing I want to regain. I WILL prevail and accomplish these AND many other things this year because IT IS SO IMPORTANT to ME. Thank you for your patience with this post and thanks for listening! Edited---This is NOT how I typed this post! Blogger DID IT!!!!! ~Keep on Dreaming~

Day Eight of the Twelve Days...

Here it is the second day of a new year

and I've had some time to reflect back.

2009 was not our best year but we

prevailed. We continue to learn that

there are some things that we have NO

CONRTOL over! So let's take a look at

the BRIGHT REFLECTIONS of 2009.

December--

We celebrated a blessed Christmas.

We got to see a lot of our friends and

some of the family.

Celebrated Ken's Dad's birthday!

Christmas break from school!

Winter arrived in a BIG way!

Ken and I celebrated our 10th

wedding anniversary!!!!!!!

November--

Celebrated a good friend's

birthday.

Thanksgiving with the WHOLE

family!

Celebrated my birthday!

October--

Lots of fun craft shows to check out.

September--

Visited the Lenexa Spinach Fest with

Nancy---Acorn Cottage.

August--

Back to work (school) for me. Summer

break is toooo short!

Celebrated Ken's 45th birthday!!!

July--

On the 17th, I wrote my FIRST blog

post!! Yea!!

Celebrated Independence day with

a "small town" parade, lunch with

friends and fireworks later in the

evening--Let FREEDOM ring!

June--

Celebrated Father's day with Ken's

DAD.

Friend's have birthdays.

Sister-in-law and family come up

from Oklahoma for a visit.

Enjoying summer break. :)

May--

SCHOOL'S out for the summer.

I survived! :)

Memorial Day cookout with family.

Remembering our Mom's.

April--

Remembering the Resurrection.

Easter dinner with Dad and Tom

(brother of Ken)

March--

Spring Break--WooooHoooo.

A special weekend trip to

Circle S Ranch and Inn. Great

time.

Released from Dr. after surgery.

February--

GALL BLADDER SURGERY

FOR MELINDA--overnight in

the hospital.

On the 15th-we celebrated 11yrs.

since our FIRST date. :)

VALENTINE'S Day fun. Dinner out.

Super Bowl mini party with Nancy

and Dan.

January--

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

That's a small recap of the past year.

I chose to not focus tooo much on the

negative so some things were left out.

Ken and I are blessed with a great family,

a wonderful circle of friends who we

consider part of our family, I have a

wonderful group of new blogs friends

and Ken has reconnected with old friends

on Facebook.

We are looking forward to this bright new

year and all that it holds for us. We will enjoy

the ups and survive the downs cause that's

how we roll. :)

I'm looking forward to getting to know each of

you more andsee where blogging takes me.

Love to ALL!

~Keep on Dreaming~

Day Seven of the Twelve Days...

~Keep on Dreaming~