Weekend Happenings

Good Friday morning!

RANDOMNESS #1 - I threatened to do it... and I did!

I took a picture of Sparkle wearing the Jamaican hat... and she looked marvelous.

However, when I tried to post the pics to the blog, my computer would not accept them. And I don't know why. And it makes me sad.

So here are just a few old pics of this and that to hold you until I figure out what is happening!

"Yeah. I'm bad. It takes two of you to hold me down!"

You cannot tell me this dog wouldn't be perfect for a Beagle Calendar. Perfect!

"Did you just say you took a picture of Sparkle wearing my new Jamaican hat? Did you? "

Can you tell Roxie is still at her Grandmother's? I'm about to dress Sparkle up in her new bathing suit and flip flops!

RANDOMNESS #2 - My favorite pins from Pinterest this week sound really fun to me.

1. Popcorn Bar - This pinner made a Popcorn Bar for a party. She had a huge basket filled with fresh popcorn, containers to "help yourself" and different flavorings and toppings to add to the popcorn. It looked wonderful.

I think this would be fun to do for an outside "movie on the garage door" party.

And I love the "help yourself" set up.

2. Lighthouse Vacation - There are 52 lighthouses on the coast of Lake Michigan. I think it would be a lot of fun for me and Mikie to take a few days and explore, photograph and eat our way around Lake Michigan.

I would say, "I think it would be a lot of fun for The Faulkner Five to take a few days... ," but I think the kids would pretty much HATE this little trip.

Well, except for the eating part. They always enjoy the eating part.

RANDOMNESS #3 - I know it isn't Blog Linkage Day, but you simply must visit these blogs soon.

1. Go to www.kellehampton.com and read yesterday's post entitled "Summer, Expired." Just looking at the pictures cooled me down a little.

2. Go to Six Sisters' Stuff on My Blog List and click on today's post entitled "25 Olympic Snacks and Party Ideas." If I had a child with a birthday during the next two or three weeks, I would SO have an Olympic-themed birthday party. Great ideas.

RANDOMNESS #4 - The Adventure of Life - Part Three - Okay. At first, I thought The Adventure of Life was trying new and exciting things during my youth. The more, the better.

Later it became apparent to me The Adventure of Life was seeing the world through the eyes of my children... watching them grow and explore the world around them.

Now it seems to me The Adventure of Life has more to do with opening my eyes and heart to new people, new places and new seasons of life.

I have no doubt I will never zipline through the rainforests of Brazil... but I'm planning on ziplining through the deep woods of Alabama sometime this fall.

There are no plans in my immediate future to ski down the slopes of the Alps in Switzerland, but I'm pretty sure I would still enjoy riding a snowmobile ALL OVER Colorado... and then soaking in a hot, hot, hot tub sipping warm cocoa at the end of the day.

I have no desire to ever willingly swim with sharks (in or out of a steel cage), but I'll still watch Shark Week in August AND ride boogie boards in the waves of the Gulf... and I'll feel a little thrill from doing so!

I believe The Adventure of Life is in the eye of the beholder. I think it may have something to do with waking up in the morning and looking forward to "what might happen during this day the Lord has made." Not dreading another long, hot day of laundry and kitchen duty.

It's an attitude, I guess. And I notice it in others many times before I notice it in myself. But I am forever assessing my here and now, and I would LOVE for my hubby, kids, grandkids and others around me to sense the "adventure" in me! Some "You never know what's going to happen when The Enchanting Belinda stops by!"

That would make me happy.

"When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen.” Winnie-the-Pooh

Here's to wearing my Big Boots all day, every day!

ANNOUNCEMENT #1 - I will be blogging on location Monday and Tuesday of next week. We're heading to Florida for a couple of days, and since the kiddos are all SO old, and I'm no longer needed to stand waist-deep in the pool to catch them as they jump off the side, I might have a little time to myself to reflect and post pictures of all the seafood I'm going to eat.

It should be fascinating.

ANNOUNCEMENT #2 - I will be announcing my 1,000th Post Contest details next week. While I do not know HOW you will be able to win, I have decided on the prize.

Are you ready?

I'm giving away a $15 Gift Certificate to one of my following favorite places:

1. Another Broken Egg
2. Original Pancake House
3. Olexa's
4. Lucia's Italian Restaurant in Helena

It will be the winner's choice!

Worth playing for? (Did I just sound like Jeff Probst from Survivor when I wrote "Worth playing for?" I thought so.)

Stay tuned for more details next week.

ANNOUNCEMENT #3 - I still haven't decided the fate of A Simple Life. This is not a teaser. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do yet.

It is driving me crazy... or "cray-cray," as Roxie says.

Weekend Happenings

Friday is a work day. Roxie's helping Grandmother. Austin will be working at the Chick. Josh will be doing lawn care and vehicle upkeep. Mike's at the office. I am in the laundry room (looking for ADVENTURE)!

These are the days of our lives...

Saturday will be much of the same except for one thing. WE'RE GOING TO BE PACKING! We're going to leave for the beach bright and early Sunday morning. We're not staying a long time, but long enough to put toes in the sand, eat fried crab claws and take midnight walks on the beach. (Or in our case, 9:30 p.m. walks on the beach.)

There was a question at some point in time about which Faulkner Five members were going to get to take this va-ca. Thankfully, thankfully, it worked out for all five of us.

As you can imagine, my camera will be working overtime, and I cannot wait!

Have a delightful weekend. I'll be blogging to you from atop my air conditioning vent in Florida first thing Monday mid-morning. (Hey! It's vacation... and I'm sleeping until 9:00 a.m.!)

Take care, and I'll talk to you next week.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting and Soon-to-be-a-Deep-Golden-Tan Belinda