Last Day of Nanifest XLVI

I'm just in a Birthday Baklava mood this morning.

Today is the last day of Nanifest XLVI. As of 7:45 AM, I am 46 years and one week old. No, I don’t really count the weeks; it’s just that when Naniday is on a Sunday, the festival ends one week after my actual birthday. I took David to Coldstone during the festival. He’s not a big Coldstone fan and I got a buy one get one coupon for my birthday, so I bought him a treat so I could get mine. The Coldstone coupon used to be just a free Love-It size creation, but now it’s a buy-one-get-one coupon. That’s not a big deal since I always went with someone. Who wants to go out for ice cream alone for their birthday? Last year I cashed in my Coldstone coupon with Sheri, Tori and Rina; essentially buy THREE get one free.

Today Pop is doing dinner for the finale of Nanifest! He told me he’s doing pork tenderloin and he definitely has zucchini but he hasn’t decided how he’s going to prepare them yet. My dad prepares zucchini several different ways for grilling and they are all wonderful! He’s also got green beans, tomatoes and cucumbers that he and my uncle picked yesterday from my uncle’s garden. I tell ya, my mouth was watering last night when he was telling me about his veggie ideas to go with supper! I volunteered that we’d ring a cake. Well, we’re actually going to get a cake en route so we can have an ice cream cake. If we bought that here, we’d be lucky if it was a giant shake by the time we got there. I just don’t want to drink a huge cake-filled shake…in a box. So, yeah, there’s a Baskin Robbins and a Coldstone very close to his place.

I wanted to share a couple of awards that Edna, of Miss Edna’s Place, has honored me with! She lists me as one of her daily stops for blog reading and she’s one of mine too! It’s my morning coffee with my friend, although I confess that sometimes, usually on Mondays, it’s catching up from the weekend. When I’m home on the weekend, Saturday is usually my scrap day and David is home on Sunday, so we usually chase trains or watch baseball together. In fact, I think all the Mud Hens games we’ve seen this year have been Sunday games. I love having an affordable Minor League team so close that we can on a whim say, “Hens home today? Let’s go!” I remember that the Tigers used to be like that when I was a kid. Even with a young family income, Dad could just ask all of us if we wanted to go to a baseball game, which of course always got a “yes!” and we went. A young family of four just can’t do that anymore with a Major League team. A MLB game is an expense and an event a blue collar family has to plan for. I LOVE living in a Minor League city!
But back to the awards! See, I’m scattered on Sunday!

Edna awarded me twice recently and I want to share those awards! The first one is the Fabulous Blog Ribbon!

The rules for the award are: (1) Post the rules. (2) Name five of your most fabulous moments, either in real life or in the blogosphere. (3) Name five things you love. (4) Name five things you hate. (5) Pass the award on to five other bloggers (leave them a comment notifying them of the award.

Five Fabulous Moments:

1. Finishing my degree. It took 13 years, bit by bit, to do it, but the day that piece of paper arrived was a major accomplishment for me. Sharing it with Mom and Grandma was great. They both smiled with such pride I was the first in the immediate circle of family on Mom’s side and the second on Pop’s side to complete a bachelor’s degree.

2. Sitting in a bar in Canton, Michigan, with most of my crew who’d just shot the benefit hockey game they were showing on the big screen TV as part of the partnership we’d arranged for the event and listening to the people at the table on the level just below us talk about the game; “This is our local channel? Wow, this is good.”

3. The whole weekend of our wedding reception. I got all of the celebrity status a traditional bride gets without upstaging my leading man or supporting cast to do it. And well, a fabulous cake and baseball followed by trains and more cake; what’s not to love about that??

4. Giving the family history books I’d made to my brother and cousins for Christmas in 2008.

5. Having lunch with a writer for Headline News when I was at CNN Center on my quest in 1990. He was a wealth of great career advice and encouragement. Without his suggestions, I wouldn’t have gone to trade school, met many of the people I still call family today or eventually finished that degree

Five Things I Love

Not listing any people, or cats, because my people are so much more than things…plus five things is easy to come up with and no one gets hurt when I run out of five before I run out of people.

1. Baseball
2. Trains
3. Scrapbooking
4. Baking
5. Christmas


Five Things I Hate

1. Religious contradictions; that is people who hate in the name of their religious beliefs.  That’s one of the worst oxymorons there is.

2. Reality TV

3. Spiders; deathly afraid is hate, right?

4. People who manipulate others for their own gain.  When you manipulate people, and we all do, it should be for their gain.  Think about putting children in the direction in the position to make their own decisions but influencing them to make the best ones; good manipulation.  Conning someone for your own advancement, even if it destroys them; bad manipulation.  I hate the bad one.

5. being cold

As far as only 5 blogs that I’d give this award to, I’m taking the cop out on that one, as I often do.  I read a bunch of blogs and I choose to follow them because I enjoy them.  If you click on my “full profile” you can see the list.  If your blog is there, I’m sharing this award with you. If you have time to post about it, great, if not, enjoy knowing it’s yours all the same!

The other award Edna bestowed upon The Chronicles is The Sunshine Award!

The rules for this are simple.  (1) thank the person who gave you the award and link back to their blog  (2) answer the following questions about yourself (below)  (3) choose 10 of your favorite blogs to give the award to, and leave them a comment letting them know about it.  Last, be sure to paste the award to your blog. 

Here are the questions and answers.

Favorite Color – If I’m choosing one color it’s green – My wardrobe has lots of green and it’s usually my first choice of color in pretty much anything.    My Nook cover is green my feather dusters are green and when given a choice of colors for board games, I always choose green. 

Favorite Animal – I love squirrels, always have since I was a kid.  I like big dogs, but my heart is owned by cats, especially Kaline and Carla

Favorite Number – 17; that was my jersey number when I played hockey (9 years old) and it’s been “my number” ever since.

Favorite Drink – Depends when I’m drinking it.  Water is my usual drink any time, but I love my coffee and latte and I enjoy an occasional soda or sweet tea sweetened with Splenda.

Facebook or Twitter  - I communicate with friends on Facebook, but I hate that I get tied into political argument so I try to limit the time I spend there.  I prefer Twitter where I “watch Reds and Tigers games” with other fans.  We comment on the games and it is like a cyber-sports bar.  I also follow Justin Verlander, Brandon Phillips and several other players.  It’s a high class sports bar!

Good Book or Good Movie – How often do you read about movies here?  I talk about books a lot more because I read a little every day.  I go to a movie about once a year.

My Passion – Honestly, I’ve been kind of obsessed with Multiple Sclerosis awareness and making adjustments to life with my disease.  Maybe that’s a little selfish, but it’s something I live with the reality of every day.

Giving or Getting Gifts – Giving gifts!  I love the feeling inside when a gift , especially on for no reason, that I give is received.

Favorite Day – Today, but tomorrow is always going to be even better.

Favorite Flower – To look at roses and snap dragons.  To smell Easter lilies and carnations

As for ten people; see above

This was fun. Thanks Edna!!!  

Visit Miss Edna's Place:  http://missednasplace.blogspot.com/