PPQ: Wrinkles

Happy Birthday To My Baby!

Today is Phil's Birthday! I'm so lucky to have him in my life, he means so much to me!

I love you baby!

Week #5

Week 5 of my Pic-a-Day challenge is here! Go here to see previous challenge posts!

Day 29: Today we had a family birthday party, that we have a few times a year, to celebrate mine, my uncle's, Phil's, and my cousin's wife, Arianna's birthday! It gives us a good excuse to get together and catch up with eachother even though we live right next door. My little cousin, Asyra, is way too cute. She has a little 3 year old crush on Phil. She kept saying "I like Phil.", "I missed Phil, I was worried about him." and "He's part of our family.", it was heartwarming. I loved how she sat in my lap and cuddled me while we all sat around making our family fantasy football teams. It makes me that much happier that I can be around home and see her more often.

Day 30: I made a delicious meal for me and my parents! I had wanted something noodley and creamy and this is what I came up with. I sauteed some peppers, onions, and carrots. Added the broccoli and cauliflower from the microwave bag (didn't have fresh) and a can of diced tomatoes. I then poured in a jar of the Ragu Light Alfredo Sauce and added half a box of cooked macaroni noodles. I seasoned with garlic, dill, salt, and pepper! I had some leftover for my lunch the next couple of days too.

Day 31: I've heard other people complaining about these so called "stink bugs" this year, but it wasn't until about a week ago that they started to come inside our house! I found like 5 in our kitchen the other day... ewww!

Day 32: Today my mom, aunt, and I went to an estate sale near our house. I've always wondered what this house looked like inside so this gave me an excuse to find out! Mom and I ended up leaving with this director's chair and Marshall helmet clock! Can't wait until I have a house to decorate!

Day 33: Mom and I went to buy some of her favorite flowers, mums! I love them myself, especially the rusty orangey ones like these.

Day 34: Some Fridays I drive to Phil's house to spend the weekend with him and his family. I always look forward to the drive on nice days so I get to listen to 99.9 FM cause it usually plays a good mix of old and new songs. Sundays, when I drive home, I like to listen to Delilah no matter how cheesey it can be!

Day 35: Phil and I decided to take a drive to Point Pleasant, WV which isn't too far from his house. This is the home of the Mothman and the Mothman statue! I found out that the weekend before we were there that they had the Mothman festival... too bad we missed that! You can learn about the Mothman here, there was even a movie called "The Mothman Prophecies" based on it!

• So I had a pretty good week! Did you do anything fun this past week?

The Day I Got In Trouble

The one time I ever remember getting in trouble at school was when I was in kindergarten. My classmates and I were seated at our tables, my table had blue chairs, one had red and the other had yellow. They sorta looked like these...

...well, whichever had the quietest table with their heads down got to go out on the playground first. In my mind, that was all that mattered! The red chair table got to go first... "I can't believe she picked them!" said my 5 year old mind. I was so upset that I slowly eyed the teacher, while still keeping my head down, and stuck my tongue out at her. She saw me! Panic went through every cell in my body. That meant that the yellow chair table got to go next and then finally the blue chair table, my table, but not me!

I was lectured and made to sit on the wall during recess while I watched all my classmates have so much fun. How terrible is that!? My teacher also told my babysitter, who picked me up at the end of the day. I remember begging her not to tell my parents, but that didn't work very well even though she felt sorry for me. Well, it must have taught me a lesson though because I never got in trouble in school from here on out!

PPQ: Rouge Gagne

'T is so much joy! 'T is so much joy!
If I should fail, what poverty!
And yet, as poor as I
Have ventured all upon a throw;
Have gained! Yes! Hesitated so
This side the victory!

Life is but life, and death but death!
Bliss is but bliss, and breath but breath!
And if, indeed, I fail,
At least to know the worst is sweet.
Defeat means nothing but defeat,
No drearier can prevail!


And if I gain, -- oh, gun at sea,
Oh, bells that in the steeples be,
At first repeat it slow!
For heaven is a different thing
Conjectured, and waked sudden in,
And might o'erwhelm me so!

If You Know The Notes To Sing...

I hope everyone has a Happy Tuesday and first day of Fall! Found this over at a new blog I found called Thoughtful Day.

Now, I knew Julie Andrews and The Sound of Music could bring a smile to your face!

Week #4

To see previous Pic-a-Day posts you can go here.

Day 22: Sadly, this was the season 3 finale of True Blood. Now I have to wait all the way until next summer to see it again! I've been thinking that I will now have a True Blood marathon since I own seasons 1 & 2 and have 3 on my TiVo. Did I tell you this already? Cause I think I may be repeating myself, but oh well... I love True Blood!

Day 23: These are some pretty flowers mom and I got the previous week that were still really pretty! They felt really fall-ish to me!

Day 24: Apparently, Kroger thinks it is National Ice Cream Month. So to verify it, I looked it up and Ronald Reagan declared July National Ice Cream Month in 1984 and National Ice Cream Day is the Third Sunday of July. Kroger, I enjoy your eagerness to have ice cream recognized every month because I am ice cream's biggest fan! I declare it National Ice Cream Year every year!!!

Day 25: So as you can probably tell, I did forget to take a picture this day. But I can tell you mom and I went to go see the movie "Eat Pray Love". It was pretty good, but it didn't inspire me enough to wanna go out and buy the book to read.

Day 26: Yay! Pumpkins are out at the Kroger, along with their friends the mums and cornstalks!

Day 27: This is the third time I went to Kroger this week! This is what Phil and I found in the international aisle... yes, it says "Spotted Dick" and apparently it is a pudding... ew.

Day 28: Chilifest! I tried so many chilis and each was really good and it was for a good cause - The Ronald McDonald House! Phil got some chili too and this one guy asked if he wanted extra hot sauce in his and of course Phil said yes. So this guy proceeds to put a heaping teaspoon of this black sauce on his chili and Phil stirs it in! Phil took 2 bites, threw it away, bought and chugged a bottle of water until I told him to eat some crackers. I've never seen him not like something spicy so much!

So yeah, I went to Kroger 3 times this week... and I really did cause the first time mom and I went, then I went to pick up some stuff mom and I forgot to get, then Phil and I went cause we wanted to make quesadillas for dinner but didn't have some stuff I needed for a recipe I found online. I think it is my official record, but that could be broken! Hope everyone had a great week and I'll try to remember next week to take a pic every day!!!

The Day I Won The Lottery

When Phil and I first started dating he was working at a gas station. I would come visit him some evenings since he worked the midnight shift. While he was working I would get kinda bored and decide to play a quarter machine that sort of looked like this:
They then took out the quarter machine so I turned to the vast array of scratch-off lottery tickets! Now, don't get me wrong, I am definately not a hard-core gambler of any sort. I would usually play one quarter, get a couple out of the machine, play them for a long time and stop before I ended up losing money. The same with a scratch-off, I only bought one or two in a month's time, if that.

So one night I was visiting Phil and decided I wanted to play a scratch-off. I got a $1 ticket first and won back my $1. So I decided to go for a $2 Keno scratch-off ticket next, and unfortunately lost that one. This night I was feeling lucky so I went to buy another $2 one, a TV Guide Crossword one to be exact, and Phil tried to talk me out of buying it. I got it anyway and ended up scratching off 9 words to win $700! Here is an example of what it looked like:


I had to go to the Lotto office in Charleston to claim my check, along with WV Lottery t-shirts and hats! Don't play as often anymore since Phil no longer works at a gas station, but occasionally I'll purchase one with a delicious Jolly Pirate donut and a best friend!

PPQ: Friends

Week #3

This is Week #3 of my Pic-a-Day I challenged myself to for my 28th year. To see previous Pic-a-Day posts you can go here!

Day 15: This was one of those glorious days you get at the end of the summer that feels like autumn is right around the corner! Phil and I drove around the back roads around where he lives with the windows down and listening to live music on the radio (oxymoron, I know).

Day 16: Labor Day! Phil and I decided it was a good day to wash our cars at his house. Rain-X is wonderful!

Day 17: My new alarm clock! Those bright blue numbers were super bright and lit up my whole room in the dark! I'll get used to it soon, I hope.

Day 18: This is the new toilet my dad got: "Two Flush Options" (!?) "Liquid and Solid" - sounds so gross, but it interested me... guess that's why he got it.

Day 19: Made some shish kabobs Thursday night! Pretty delish if I do say so myself.

Day 20: This was the day of the Coal Bowl, held this year in Huntington. I did not go to the game, but watched on tv from home and made an assortment of screeches and groans towards the players like I was actually there. Marshall pretty much kicked WVU's butt, and in the last few minutes and OT of the game WVU won. My rant is that there are so many Marshall fans that are only fair-weather fans, that only like MU when they win. But I bleed green people and was surrounded by WVU fans for 3 years and still a Herd fan! What I don't get is that there are people who grew up in Huntington and were fans all throughout their life, but then went to WVU and magically switched teams! How can you not root for your home team??? Anyway, Marshall did a great job against this big team and gives us hope for a win down the road. Thank you for listening, or I guess reading.

Day 21: Saturday Phil and I went to the Ashland Mall. While in a store Phil pointed out this sign. I don't think that it is a good deal for a hat to be 12.99 originally and then marked down to 12.99... hmmmm

Hope you all had a wonderful week!

The Day I Got A Note

Okay, I'm sure everyone here most likely sent notes and received notes when they were younger, it's something really nostalgic for me and I have a bunch in a shoebox somewhere that I kept. They were mostly from middle school which was the height of note passing for me and were usually folded into houses and triangle footballs.

Anyway, I was in 8th grade the day I got this particular note and was walking to the band room. One of my friends gave me this note and said they want me to read it by myself. So I walked down the hall a little ways and unfolded the note shaped like an envelope. On the outside it said: "Mariah Private". The note began with a "Dear Mariah" then went to talking how we'd been friends now for a while and how he'd really given this some thought. It said that in the beginning he liked me but then other people swooped in there and started dating me first. Then last night he had a dream where we were dating and it brought it all back. It ended with, and I quote: "So now I'll pop the question: Mariah, will you date me? Cause honey you must be tired you been running through my mind all day long." And it was signed with his name which will not be disclosed since many people reading this blog may know who he is! I randomly think of this note and it always makes me laugh! It's like a guy in a bar throwing out pickup lines, but so innocent since we were so young!

Isn't that note so middle school?
Did you ever pass notes?
Were you ever asked out in a note?

PPQ: Wise Words

For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness,

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people,

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry,

For Beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day,

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.

— Audrey Hepburn

No Luck Yet

So I didn't get that job I interviewed with last week (what's wrong with you people for not crossing enough limbs for me!?!? haha j/k), but the dentist did say it was between me and the girl he picked out of 5 people. He also said he gives everyone a 30 trial period so he may still be calling me if she doesn't work out. I'm not above being seconds!

I am sad I didn't get it, but it was good experience and leaves me with some hope! He also said I could use him as a reference anytime. I just feel like I let everyone down, even though they say I don't. I know Phil was wanting me to get this job so badly so we'd have some more money and get an apartment together quicker. And my parents like to analyze and over analyze every situation, so that just aggravates me. My time will come I believe and everything will be great!

I do feel good right now cause I just got finished working out! I'm starting this weightloss program at the Y so I hope that will get me where I want to be for now.

(Picture depicts how I am happy for experience and feel good for burning some calories, and sad I feel like I let people down, have messy hair, and ultimately do not have money. I promise I did not have a stroke.)

Happy Tuesday everyone - I want some soup!

Week #2

Week 2 of my pic-a-day challenge! You can see the first week here.

Day 8: The rainbow of lovely books at the bookstore! Now to pick which ones not to buy!

Day 9: This was the last pop I had left in my refrigerator and I'm not buying anymore... at least for now, but everytime I have them at home in my fridge, I drink way too much.

Day 10: This is where I spent most of Tuesday. I took a 3 hour nap and read my book forever right here! BTW that's Jambi in the plaid pjs!

Day 11: Mom and I went to Ashland today to visit with my babysitter I had when I was younger. This was the temperature it was... yuck!

Day 12: I had my very first interview as an RDH Thursday! Keeping my fingers crossed! I'll know Tuesday if I got the job but there were other people being interviewed.

Day 13: So, on my last trip to the drugstore I picked up some lovely new nail polish by Revlon in the color Minted. I knew I had to have it cause I've been looking through bridal magazines like crazy and ran across these shoes I only wish I had enough money to afford! They are Tiffany's/Audrey-inspired by Hey Lady and can be found here!

Day 14: Phil and I went to his grandma's house again this Saturday. We thought we were going to help her spread some gravel around her huge gorgeous fish pond, but she decided to do it herself during the week before. This is a picture of some of her ginormous coy fish... so pretty!

• Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! Wasn't the weather awesome?!?!

The Day My Papa Passed Away

The day my Papa passed away I got 110% on my organic chemistry exam. Given, I had already taken the class two times before (3rd time's a charm, right!?) and it was the first exam of the semester, but I believe he had something to do with it too. Everyone in my family felt his presence around them the days following his death. My dad was going to get a suit for the funeral when all of a sudden his car honked at him. He was in the store and noone was in the car, but it still honked. And it's not a car with a car alarm on it. A little weird, but we like to think things like that are the people we miss communicating with us in little ways.

My Papa was unique in that he wrote his own obituary. Here it is for you to read. The last part my Aunt wrote. I'm hoping you'll be able to click on it to make it bigger so you can read it easier.

And in case you can't click on it to read it, I typed it out for you:

"I am 80 years of age today, I am still alive, and hope to live longer. However, I would like to leave a parting word, other than the usual words. I wish to speak about common sense (surely, there are people who don't think I have any), but I'm trying again to speak about common sense. When I was 20 years of age, just a few days from being 21, I was drafted to enter World War II. I had a job at the Nickel Plant making guns and other war materials. I didn't have to enter the war, but I wanted to stop Hitler. Enough said, I became a crew member on a B-24 Liberator Bomber, doing 24 combat missions before being shot down, having parachuted and losing 5 of my buddies (crew members) that day. The theme in those days was to stop Hitler! I was 21 and was sure Hitler was the cause. Slowly, over the years, my common sense finally began to awaken!!! It wasn't Hitler alone, because it takes many to create an abomination. Evil has no gender, nationality or race. It takes thousands, if not more, of evil people to band together to steal lands, enslave and persecute others. Let us hope today that we use our common sense to not become followers of evildoers. Evil is the absence of good. It is the void of light (knowledge) in the hearts of men. As I have told my children, God made billions upon billions of people, and each with a different brain. He wanted us all to be different. However, it takes the approval of a lot of people by silence or by actions to make evil... Malcolm"

HUGH MALCOLM HINSHAW became a prisoner of war for 14 months that day in World War II. He saw the sorrows, as did many young soldiers. Survived by his wife, Mary Rose Martin, they were married for 56 years. They had worked hard to build their first home together (he dug the basement by hand and she pushed the wheelbarrow), raised their three children Cheryl, Hugh and John, and loved their daughters-in-law Marcia and Sandy, and three grandchildren, Mariah, Nate and Zach. As he would like to say, he was a one-house builder until he joined forces with his sons to form a company. Retired at the time of his death, he continued to enjoy the gift of life. Funeral services will be conducted 2 p.m. Thursday, January 31st, 2002...

Cross Fingers, Toes, Anything You Can Or Will Try To Cross...

Soooooo... after being eligible for a job now for 2 months, I finally have an interview today at 2pm! I am so excited, nervous, and READY to get this job! I talked to the dentist on the phone and he seemed really nice. He also told me he had some interviews yesterday and will have one this morning before me. Please wish me mucho luck cause I gotta pay the bills some way people!

P.S. Happy Birthday Uncle Abbie!!!

PPQ: Feeling Summer

Feeling Summer

©Mariah Smile

Lightning bugs shared their glow

In the back yard that night

Blankets on the dewey grass

People scattered in my sight

Beautiful smell of the barbeque

Fireworks in the air

Laying on the ground, looking up

At the stars, my feet are bare

I felt your hand clasp in mine

But we didn’t say a word

The paper lanterns in the wind

Was the only sound we heard