F*R*I*E*N*D*S GIVEAWAY!

We are thrilled to jump in on the F*R*I*E*N*D*S GIVEAWAY! You can have a chance to win a Friends prize pack with two over sized cappuccino mugs and a picture frame just like the one on Monica’s door.  Isn't that too cool?  I know that JD would just freak out to have this frame on the door to her apartment. She has the complete 10 seasons on DVD already.  But now she can upscale her collection by getting the new Warner Bros Friends: The Complete Series Blu-ray Box Set!  She has watched the ones she has til they are totally scratched to pieces.  

Would you like a chance to win?  Well join in with Partners Hub, Crazed Mind and Warner Bros.  Just do the following below to enter!


30 Days of Friends: Trivia Challenge! Come back everyday to earn a different Friends character badge, unlock hidden badges, and earn awesome Friends content along the way.   If you leave a comment telling me what badges you have found then it will count as an entry.  Just use the app below!

Mashup Clip Countdown! Relive all your favorite Friends moments in these fun clips. Each week a new clip will be unlocked. Come back week after week to check them out!  Leave me a comment below telling me what the clips are and it will be counted as an entry!



Which Friend Are You Most Like Quiz! Everybody loves the characters of Friends for their distinct and quirky personalities. Chandler’s wit, Monica’s OCD, and Phoebe with her free-spirit. Take the quiz to find out what Friends character you are most like!  It is on the bottom right of the first 'widget' up there!  Leave me a comment as to which character you most like and the % calculated for an entry to win.

Get Social! Tweet  
Win #FRIENDS: Mugs & Frame from Warner Bros Friends: The Complete Series Blu-ray Box Set  from @CrazedMind http://theysayimnuts.blogspot.com/2012/11/friends-giveaway.html
Leave me the link to the tweet in the comments below for an added entry.  You can do this one every day!

Good Luck!  Thanks once again to Partners Hub and Warner Bros for sponsoring this giveaway. I did not receive anything to post this giveaway.  Just the chance for you to win!  Yeah, I am cool like that.

Guest Post: Phyllis Scheiber & Girlfriends

We are so lucky to have a guest post today from Phyllis Schieber. Phyllis visits Sharing with Writers. She has a blog outreach campaign where she will visit a wide variety of blogs and discuss many topics, relevant to all women, but especially to the older, mature woman. (That's me now!) Today she is sharing about her relationships with her girlfriends. I am so happy to have her here. I know my girlfriends are my strength and soul. For more information about Phyllis and her books Willing Spirits and The Sinners Guide to Confession: visit her site. Now on to Phyllis.............

Next week, I will celebrate my thirty-sixth wedding anniversary. I was married at twenty-one, and while I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that my husband is a fine and decent person, a good father, a good husband, and an all-around nice person, he is simply not a woman. I do not know any other way to explain the difference between my relationship with my husband (whom I have known for forty years) and any of my girlfriends. It is not a question of love; it is merely the reality of the differences between the sexes. I am a wife, the mother of a son, a sister to a brother, the daughter of a father I adored, and quite fond of men. Nevertheless, I cannot think of one man I would choose to have lunch with over one of my girlfriends. I know some will balk at this confession, but it is true. Mind you, I would happily have lunch with any or all of the men aforementioned, but it simply would not be the same as lunch with one of my girlfriends. The details matter so much with women, and we savor them shamelessly. Everything matters. The best men (in my view) are the ones who recognize their deficiencies and genuinely work to compensate. It just does not seem to come as naturally to them. They have to work at it. I say all this with a nod to a male friend who offered this to me today: “Talk to me.” It nearly took my breath away, but they are words I would have expected from a woman friend. And that is the difference. I have a circle of women friends who sustain me, keep me sane, remind me of my worth, and reassure me that I am treasured. We say, “I love you,” at the end of every conversation; we unashamedly sign off our emails with a series of xoxoxox for kisses and hugs, and we embrace and affirm our love for each other each time we meet. I think it is because women spend so much of their lives nurturing—their children, their husbands, their partners, their ailing parents, their students, co-workers, the list is endless—that they understand the need to let each other know how much they matter. My girlfriends are my support, my secret keepers, my cheering section—they mean everything to me. I cannot imagine how any woman survives without close woman friends. I know that I would not be able to get through my day without some contact with my girlfriends. In her essay, “Women Are Just Better,” Anna Quindlen quotes the observation of a friend who says, “Have you ever noticed that what passes as a terrific man would only be an average woman?” And that’s when, as Quindlen describes it, “A Roman candle went off in my head… What I expect from my male friends is that they are polite and clean. What I expect from my female friends is unconditional love, the ability to finish my sentences for me when I am sobbing, a complete and total willingness to pour out their hearts to me, and the ability to tell me why the meat thermometer isn’t supposed to touch the bone.” It’s so true. I know for certain that it is exactly what I expect and invariably receive from the women friends in my life. And they rarely, if ever, disappoint me.

Willing Spirits was written to honor and to celebrate the friendships women share. I describe what it is like when the novel’s protagonists, Gwen and Jane, find themselves “falling in love” shortly after they meet: Yes, women do fall in love with each other. Differently, of course than they fall in love with men. Falling in love with a man is a feverish experience. There is little control. But falling in love with a woman is much more serious. It guarantees so much more for the investment. For it is from other women that women are nurtured. It is from other women that they hear what they hope to hear from men. I understand. I know how you feel. I’m sorry for your pain. I care about what you think: Words that need no prompting. In that circle, women tell each other things that men and women tell each other first with their hands and lips and tongues before they can tell each other with words. Women comfort each other with touch that is meant to heal, rather than to excite. The mysteries of love are less complex between women. The hidden passages are easier to negotiate. And the dangers do not seem as great as when the same journey is taken with a man. Around each dank and frightening corner, women hold out their hands to each other and form a human chain that is, quite simply, spiritually different. The lucky ones find men who (and it is a deep and well-kept secret between women) are more like women. My friends are my mainstay. I have women friends from various stages of my life. One friend in particular has been my friend since she was twelve and I was ten (I continue to point out our age difference at every opportunity!) We met at sleep away camp and in the almost fifty years that we have been friends, we have been through everything together. Several years ago, she found out she had lung cancer. It has been a long and challenging battle that she blessedly seems to have won, but we take nothing for granted. We speak every morning, exchange news, reassure each other we are still here, and remind ourselves how lucky we are to be friends, to have each other yet one more day. We always, always have something to talk about, secrets to share. We are always still girls together. And I love that about us. In The Sinner’s Guide to Confession, the protagonists, Kaye, Ellen, and Barbara, are very different from each other, yet their bond is unshakable. They are girlfriends. They may disagree. They may disapprove. But they are there for each other. It is the one certainty they can depend on in their otherwise unpredictable lives. Their bond is solid, and it strengthens each of them, making possible for them to navigate the unforeseen complexities that come their way. They are girlfriends together. I close the acknowledgments in Willing Spirits with the following statement: “Mostly, however, I am indebted to my friends, the women who embrace me with their open hearts. They nourish me with their love and goodwill. I have been blessed to be surrounded by women who indulge my moods, allow my eccentricities, listen to my complaints, and applaud my triumphs. I cannot imagine how I would thrive without any one of them. They never disappoint me.” Girlfriends. My girlfriends. My husband will often ask, incredulously, “What do you have to talk about every single day?” My answer is always the same, “Everything. We talk about everything.”

Pulling the Knife Out

What do you do when you have been stabbed in the back?

Image by antwerpenR via Flickr

Do you try and be polite and find a delicate way to get out of the situation?

Or do you say no way and react?

Well I can say Thank You to Ann of My World for bestowing this award to me. Ann, as you can see I needed this right now. Thanks so much for recognizing me. It is greatly appreciated. And is the perfect pick me up for right now!

Happy Early Birthday to Me

Today I was sitting on the front porch writing a letter to my brother when the Fed Ex guy showed up. Now that is not new as he is here often with Nessa living across the street. She is always receiving a new book or something to review. Actually I am finally getting a few myself. But today the Fed Ex guy seemed a lil confused. So I asked if I could help. Was he here for Nessa? Nope it was for my address. He then asked if I was expecting a large or small package. Honest I was not expecting any package so I was a bit baffled. He dug in the front, he dug in the side and finally dug around some more in the back. I was ready to go and help him dig too!

He pulls out this really good size box. Says yep this is the one for me. "No-no-no, I don't think so" I replied. Yeah had my name and address on it. But why oh why would I receive a box from . . .

Image via Wikipedia

DELL?

Yeah, DELL. I sign for the box and pull open the packing label first.
WOW!
It is from my very best friend of 35 years.
She sent me a new DELL tower hard drive.
WOW!
And now I am sitting here typing to you via the new DELL.

I am shocked, awed, amazed and blown away.
Wouldn't you be!

Blitz the Game

This last weekend we had a neighborhood bar-b-que with all the fixings. Now if your like us you know that it is not a good weekend hang out with just food, friends and great conversation. No you have to have the game! Yeah, the game! This weekend we had the neighborhood baseball game. But it was a lil different than before. Why? Well we were also trying out the Blitz Ball. Our younger players had a blast hitting it "out of the park" while our older guys found the "tricks" were neat to learn. I am glad we had so much fun while bringing both generations together for a game. And it was challenging to both at the same time.
The Original Blitz Ball (tm) was created by Aaron Kim. And can do things that most lil ol base balls could dream of. First it is made of a light weight plastic that is ideal for player ages 8 and up so we also used a good 'ol plastic bat so we would not damage it. And if you study the way to throw this lil 'ol thing you can get fastballs, curve balls, and knuckle balls that would make any player jealous! Our younger players loved the extra home run distance while the older players it loved the speed and curving action.

You can find the Blitz Ball here for just $11.99 for 4 balls

What's Up with This?

Tonight my husband has a date.

And it is with a much younger woman.

The hardest part about it is that I am asked to be the chaparone.

Which I have agreed to since I feel I need to know what is going on.

Also my college girl is going out tonight with a much older man.

I want to warn her of this folly.

But you know when your 22 what does your mom know.

So what should I do.

I think I am going to ask Nessa to help me out.

She is so much wiser than me in ways to handle family problems.

I think that it is time for me to uncover my wicked ways.

As your well aware I adore my husband.

But I have set him up.

Yeah with my daughter.

LOL

Tonight we are going to "The Last Picture Show" Drive In Theater.

It is a request my daughter wanted.

She pointed out that it was something that her generation does not have.

So we found one in Gatesville Texas.

And a fantastic bargin too.

The double feature this weekend is "UP" and "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" .

At only $10.00 a car load.

We have asked Nessa and her gang to join us.

So what are your plans this weekend?

Just like starting over

Good Morning Everybody!

Well today is the last day of my mini-cation.

I have so enjoyed being with my best friend again.

Especially feeling like the years in between have fallen away.

She is still just as beautiful as ever.

I am happy to see her smile in her eyes again.

And to hear her laugh is better than hearing any wind chime.

She has made me giggle.

She uses convience stores....I mean really goes to them like I would the grocery store.

Well I guess she understands the meaning of convience.

Giggled the first night when she said we needed to go to the TRUCK STOP to buy dinner supplies.

She has made me think.

What would I do in her shoes.

Facing difficult decisions.

Has a strong mind set and knows that she is in control of her life.

But none of us ever want to know we are going to be wearing that "pink ribbon" for ourselves.

Her daughter is a whirl wind of words, laughter and tumbling around.

She is a princess (just ask her) and a tom boy too!

And as she floats, skips, jumps and twirls by you an infections laughter bubbles out.

I am again getting to visit with my mom mentor.

My friends mother was my idol of what a mom is like.

I have thought of her often in her gentle ways while guiding us as we grew up.

You knew she could be firm but always with a gentle hand.

I love her and pray she knows that her love kept me safe in many ways growing up.

My friends hubby is a big bear of a guy.

You know like gentle ben. LOL

Sure he could growl if needed but still has the big arms to hold my friend and their lil lady.

He works hard but plays just as hard.

Keeps life interesting.

Well today before I head back I get to hook up with another dear lady.

This one is my latin teaching baking queen friend that I was with last month during the death of her partner.

Remember!

Well she turns 51 today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

We are going to enjoy a variety of wonderful baked goods and coffee.

So there goes my diet.

Pray the fat gods have forgotten my name.

Surprises in the Mail

Well today is much slower for me. No wonder when I feel like I have ran and ran all week. College Girl's baby sister spent the night with us last night. She would just yell and scream when her sissy would try and leave her at home. So we were happy to accommodate her and have her as a guest a little longer. So this morning she joined us on our breakfast outing. Afterwards CG and I took some food out to Dear Hubby since his eating has dropped off. I then needed to get to Mary's Bed and Bath to open up for her. And we also picked up some food too. When I returned home at lunch time then it was put up food and flop down to do my post.

So like I said a lot slower today. No I did not get to Curves yet but will try this afternoon. I did have a wonderful surprise from my best and oldest, dearest friend. She sent us a gift from Omaha Steak Company. WOW! We have Ahi Tuna, stir fry veggies, rice and Apricot Mango Wasabi Sauce. There was also some sirloin burgers in it too! I was amazed. I can not wait to call her this evening and tell her thank you. Isn't it wonderful to get surprises in the mail!!!!!

On my Front Porch Once Again

Hello all, I am home again. And ever so glad. This last week has been the most stressful I have had for some time. It was good to see my friend the Latin Lady. But I have had to do things that most people do not do it a normal course of a day. The circumstances are a bit odd in her relationship that has just tragically ended. Her boyfriend had estranged himself from most people including his own child. So this week I have had to find and contact an old friend of his and advise that she was the executrix of his estate and he was at deaths door. This is after a 2 year gap since she had heard from him. I also had to FIND and contact his daughter. Let her know from a complete stranger who hardly knew her father that he has been ill for some time now, has been in the hospital and is at deaths door while leaving the message on an answering machine. Not the way you do things. By the time she returned my call he had passed. So then I was telling her of that. And that she had to make two quick decisions. One did she wish to donate his body to science as he wished and if so please call the medical center ASAP as she is the only relative. And two, that his apartment will need to be vacated in one week and she is the one to inherit his estate. I felt so sorry for this woman. She did not ever get to make peace with her father. Never did get to say good bye and she had strangers advising her of a tragic time in her life. Horrid events.

Also this week I had cleaned my Latin Lady's home for her. She is a very ADD lady while I am so OCD in return. We had a meal with a neighbor who became very drunk and argumentative. All the other guest left and I was stuck cleaning up while trying to keep the peace with someone I did not even know so that no repercussions would come to my friend. My vehicle died and my DH drove 200 miles one way to come and fix it. He is such a wonderful man. The lady who was the executrix of the estate accidentally took my car keys and I had to find her again and retrieve them. Oh it was just really unreal. I was so stressed that by Thursday all I could do was keep my self from throwing up all day. Finally on Friday all was settled so it could be handled by the ones now in charge. My friend handles death quite well. She is amazing on the uptake. So I felt safe to leave her to her own resources and return home.

I was racing down the highway to get back to my family and friends here. I thank Nessa for helping keep all afloat here too. My mom helped with the house and meals. She planted lots of herbs for me too. How loving. My DH worked his lil self to pieces so he deserved all the loving he got last night. My CG let me pick her up on the way home and bring her here for the weekend. And I even found home made peach ice cream being sold on the side of the highway too.

Thank you dear followers, fans, stalkers and friends for hanging in there. And life will return to normal soon. Wait wait, is there a normal?

My Rocks

These two ladies are my rock. They have been beside me for over 30 years. These women are the ones that I can call to scream, laugh, cry or just share with. We are all food junkies too. Good food junkies!

We all use to live in Dallas Texas area. These last few years have tossed us around and now we are all over Texas. So instead of once a month feast (yes feast!) we get together only twice a year. The in between times feel like famine.



I just wanted to share my bestest of friends with you. Aren't they a scream!



BTW-- the lil lady in the middle is the most sensible one!

Who Am I?

I read a blog the other day that was saying how our surroundings detailed who we were. Well I can't disagree with that.
But
It got me to thinking more about what is around me.
And more important why.
I know I surround myself with those things that I love the most.

I am sure that is true of the majority of people.

So here is who I am but what is around me.

One I am home all the time.
I do not work elsewhere and go out rarely.

So the best thing of each day is this!

My DH coming home from work.
He works two jobs and most of the time 7 days a week.
I get very little time with him.
So the time he is home is precious to me.
He always kisses me good bye and hello.
Never fails to tell me he loves me every time we talk.
Weather it be on the phone or just from running an errand and back.

Next is my greatest joy in my life.

CG is the soul of my soul!
She is what has been my focus for 21 years and will continue for the rest of my life.
I could not ask for a better daughter.
CG is always there for me.
Loving me, laughing me (and at) me and sharing in the good and bad.
She has been my reason for living and my goal for growing.
I adore her and will always be her #1 fan.

Then I have some amazing friends across the street.

The ever active boy who reminds me of Alfred E. Newman of Mad Magazine.
He is about as mischievous.

The cutie pie of the bunch.
She is a fellow bibliophile. (look it up)
And her effervescence lights up a room.

And of course,

NESSA
My good friend, partner in crime and fellow blogger!
I simply adore this woman.

Their home that I see every day from my front porch and windows.
I love all the rock work around it.

And my home sweet home!

This is our lil country abode.
It is almost 100 years old and may be broken down to most.
But I love the large front porch, 9 foot ceilings and the "at home" feeling it has.

This is where we hang out and have coffee, wine and chat about this and that.

Now for the inside.
I wish I could say it was as fancy as my favorite Tea Set.
It was a Christmas gift that I treasure.
It has the grace that I have always felt inside that I believe has never shown on the outside.

On my dresser has some of the couple figures that me and DH collect.
And my favorite book of Cinderella?
My DH is my Prince Charming.
And we collect these couple figures to celebrate that a couple we are now and always.

Here is my view from kitchen window.

I adore seeing the horsey swing that my granddaughter and CG's sissy loves to play on.
And my lil knick knacks that only I could explain why they mean anything.

Coffee Central is my favorite part of my kitchen.
I adore, love and worship my coffee.
Sweet and light with all kinds of flavors.

I also love natural sunlight in my home.

And the beautiful plants my Mom grows ever so well.
I do not have the green thumb.
She tends to them and enjoys seeing them thrive and bloom.
Can you believe these are looking so good in January?

Okay, I collect stuff.
Mostly oldish? (is that a word)
This is my dining room wall.

Knick Knacks all around.
Old bottles, cookie jars and just a general "country at grandma's" feel.

And most of all.
You see this in my home.
Everywhere (if you noticed)

Photos!
Of my family, friends and loved ones.
Old and new.
Young and young at heart.
I surround myself with pictures of those that I adore.
Who adore me.
And who came before.

So who am I?

A family oriented woman.
A wife and mother.
A friend.
A heart that sings inside and is quiet on the outside?
A down to earth person.

What is your opinion?

Dear Crazy Friends

*This post is not about the above pictured friends. Well not the drama and all part but yes the love them to pieces part is here. Just that these are good crazy friends of mine who made a great pic that I had to use.

I want to take this time to tell you,

OMG your out of this world nuts!

Yes, you! Don't turn around and look at others. You know I am talking to you. Your not the angels your pretending to be------are you?



I can not believe that you live your life on the edge of chaos all the time.

I would not be able to handle all the DRAMA. How do you do it?



And just when things are calming down and you can take a breath. Life starts to get quiet and calm (just the way I like it).

Then you start all over again. This last week has been the loudest, most hectic, in and out, up and down that I have experience in over 6 years.

Whew. When you left the house I was deafen by the enormity of the silence that surrounded me.



And to know that your going to be right back here again. Oh my!

I am so glad that I love you with all my heart. And that when you walk in my heart takes a leap.

So bear with my eye rolls, my shocked looks and just walk into my arms and let me hug you again.

*and these friends did a great job of showing the love for me.

I love you dear friend.

Self Esteem Sunday

Melody over at Pennies In My Pocket
has started this lovely weekend tradition.
Self-Esteem Saturday or Sunday

What are friends for?

I received a phone call last Thursday that one of my good friends was going to come and see me. I was so excited as I have had any time with her (more 15 min in 6 months). She lived with me for 7 years and we grew into a bond better than sisters. So when I moved away 6 years ago she was one that I was aching for on a daily basis.
Friday morning I woke at 4:30 in the morning and started cleaning house. Working fast and furious, I had it all done by 7 a.m. Then I started making banana bread for dessert that night. (Also made some for college girls theatre bake sale) I took out fish to thaw for a fish fry that night and was also working out the rest of the meal when my friend called. She was not coming. Well she might come? Upset tummy and not sure. DISAPPOINTED? YEAH! She called back 2 hours later to say yeah she would make it. Ok, back to game day of cooking and preparing. New call, she would be late. See me at 6 pm instead of 3 pm. OK, more time to prepare. 5 pm another call. She is not feeling well and not coming at all.
I felt like poopy. I miss her. I want to see her. I worked all day for her.
Ok I know she is ill so......swallow my disappointment the best I can.
Then Saturday rolls around. Time for garage sales with my mom. Last week was a dud so we should find something good this week. WRONG! Week two of nothing to buy. Money must be burning a hole in our pockets. Well we are leaving the last sale, hop into my mom's van, turn the key and . . . . . . . . . . .
NOTHING.
We are stranded. Hubby at work alone so he can not leave. Ex (college girl's poppa) also is at work. Wait there is Nessa and her hubby. My good neighbors. Sure enough a phone call and they come flying to our rescue. Love the super hero capes they keep for these occasions. We get the van home, go to a celebratory lunch out, get some chores done together (Nessa is feeling much much better) and I remember. What are friends for?
Being there.
Sharing happiness and aggravations.
Cheering you on and holding you up.
Knowing you and still liking you.
Accepting your help, advice (even when not asked) and listening to your concerns.
Thanks Nessa for being my friend, your DH for being my friend and your super kids for being my friends.
I called to check on my friend back home. Hoped she was feeling better. Guess so as she was out and could not answer her phone. Fingers crossed and will check on her today again.
*************************************************

What is a family?

Ok am I just odd or do others do this?

Adopt families? I don't mean go and get yourself a new child. I mean your friends are great. You love them. Your interested in the same things. You decide to just make them your family too. I have more "friend family" members then I do family family members. And I am one of 5 kids myself.

We have family reunions (and one is coming up this weekend for hubby's family) that are more friends than family. (my side not hubby's) For example my dear neighbor Nessa and her hubby and two kids just celebrated her daughter's birthday. To me it is normal to have them here, combine a dinner and have a party. No it is not their house but I feel like it is also their home? Did you or do you have a friend's that is a home away from home? One that you know you don't have to knock on the door to go inside. One that you can go to anytime ANYTIME and know there is someone there for you? Well this is my home. And I have had many friends who have made it their family home too. Actually I am honored that others can feel that comfortable here.

Well the reason for all of this is due to meals. I proposed that we combine meals for dinner here. Currently my friend is stoveless. So she is doing major MAJOR crockpotting for dinners. Cool yes, but not always easy. We have full larders of food currently. I am a food junkie. And it is cheaper to cook for a larger group than a smaller one. Or so I see it. I know that they will want some meals alone. Time to do their thing. But I think to combine several meals a week would be more economical for both families. What do you think?