Alphabitty Moments:The letter F

Whimsical Wednesday

I am creating an opportunity to share stories or pictures from your family that are a bit amusing or odd. They can be current or from ages ago. My goal is laughter. Lots of it!
The rules are simple. Post a Whimsical Wednesday entry on your blog and use the button above in your post. Link your post to mine and enter your blog address in the McLinky below. Then have fun reading others whimsical memories!

This is me.

Yes, it's real.

No photoshopping here!

I am NOT afraid to laugh at myself.
I am also not afraid to laugh at others.
When they are silly, of course.
But today is my day to be laughed at, so laugh away.
It is a hideous picture.
Especially with my eyebrows raised.
Never mind the rollers or the cheesy grin.
I hate to see pictures of myself with my eyebrows raised.
It's frieky scary and not at all the picture of a quiet and gentle spirit.
But I guess I could never claim that biblical goal as one I've mastered.
Not sure if I ever will.
Oh well.
At least I've got the smile thing down.
And laughter.
I've got that down too.
Sometimes at inappropriate times.
But this was not an inappropriate time.
This was my twin sister's wedding.

  It was a happy happy day for me as I married my sister off to a great guy.
And that is wonderful cause for joy and laughter.
And a good bit of sisterly fun!

Tasty Tuesday

Nutella Dip
For apples, bananas....

1/2 cup Nutella
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sour cream

It's a "not me" Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by McMama. You can head over to www.mycharmingkids.net to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

And now for my little bit of denial:
When on the computer blogging and facebooking this week I did not tell my children I was "working." Because that would be a bit of a stretch. Possibly even a lie. And I never lie. Nope. Not me!

I did not skim a novel looking for the highlights and then read the end just so I could go to sleep instead of staying up until the wee hours finishing the book! Nope not me! I never skip ahead. And I never get so engrossed in a book that I forget to live my own life. That would be irresponsible. And I'm never irresponsible. Not me!

I did not wait till the weekend to finish my Bible Study homework when class in on Monday, because discussion leaders never do that. And I never procrastinate. Not me!

My 8-year-old did not tell my 5 year-old "Stop hovering over me!" because she has heard me say it all too often. Because I never get frustrated or need my own space. Not me!

Dinner Conversation

 Another excerpt from Emily Post as found here. No discussion is necessary. This speaks for itself! Still laughing!

ENEMIES MUST BURY HATCHETS

  One inexorable rule of etiquette is that you must talk to your next door neighbor at a dinner table. You must, that is all there is about it!
   Even if you are placed next to some one with whom you have had a bitter quarrel, consideration for your hostess, who would be distressed if she knew you had been put in a disagreeable place, and further consideration for the rest of the table which is otherwise “blocked,” exacts that you give no outward sign of your repugnance and that you make a pretence at least for a little while, of talking together.
   At dinner once, Mrs. Toplofty, finding herself next to a man she quite openly despised, said to him with apparent placidity, “I shall not talk to you—because I don’t care to. But for the sake of my hostess I shall say my multiplication tables. Twice one are two, twice two are four ——” and she continued on through the tables, making him alternate them with her. As soon as she politely could she turned again to her other companion.

The grass withers 

and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God 

stands forever.

~Isaiah 40:8

Manners

"Manners are made up of trivialities of deportment which can be easily learned if one does not happen to know them; manner is personality—the outward manifestation of one’s innate character and attitude toward life." ~Emily Post, 1922


I'd like to continue the conversation about Esther. Esther gained respect from all, and Beth Moore suggests her manners were responsible. So I researched manners. I looked up Emily Post, 1922's Miss Manners.(online for your reading pleasure here) I remember my mom having my sister and I read an ancient book of manners for homeschooling ages ago, and thought I may find some gems. I did. Some are funny. Some are thought provoking. I could use a refresher on manners. Could you?

FOR WHAT SHE REALLY IS

  Instead of depending upon beauty, upon sex-appeal, the young girl who is “the success of to-day” depends chiefly upon her actual character and disposition. It is not even so necessary to do something well as to refrain from doing things badly. If she is not good at sports, or games, or dancing, then she must find out what she is good at and do that! If she is good for nothing but to look in the glass and put rouge on her lips and powder her nose and pat her hair, life is going to be a pretty dreary affair... Beauty and wit, and heart, and other qualifications or attributes is another matter altogether.

  A gift of more value than beauty, is charm, which in a measure is another word for sympathy, or the power to put yourself in the place of others; to be interested in whatever interests them, so as to be pleasing to them, if possible, but not to occupy your thoughts in futilely wondering what they think about you.
  Would you know the secret of popularity? It is unconsciousness of self, altruistic interest, and inward kindliness, outwardly expressed in good manners.

Etiquette must, if it is to be of more than trifling use, include ethics as well as manners. Certainly what one is, is of far greater importance than what one appears to be.

Alphabitty Moments: The letter E (&D)

I've missed four letters, but I think I can catch up on this project! The goal is to scrapbook one page a week and share our pages at 4theLoveofFamily. MamaBear says:

"The carnival was created as a way to record the little things your kids do. These keepsake book pages are meant to take a closer look at the ordinary and every day moments of childhood. Some day we will look back on all the little things and realize they were really the big things."

Sometimes I'm not sure I want to remember that Madison does school in her pjs with a mess of hair in her face. She actually had a bath that morning, but no one would guess it! She just threw her jammies back on. Who can resist being all cozy? And look at how she is enjoying our garage sale find!

 UPDATE: Catching up already!

I used Mixbook.com for these pages.

Makeover Meditation/Prayer Card

I added a printable card to the bottom of this post.

A Megan Moment:

She thought it was her turn to be highlighted on the blog!

 Megan is much like me.

She loves projects.

She loves making things.

She is persistent and will not give up

until I sit down with her and her project.

Which is why I bought this book:

Though I have a creative mind, I also have a busy mind,

and those creative juices that used to overflow the banks of my mind

are now as a stream struggling after a drought.

Today Megan pestered me for a project.

So I pestered back.

I insisted she finish her schoolwork.

And piano.

And lunch.

And I needed a break after lunch.

And THEN I grabbed the book

and we did our project:

This is a Feel-Good Box;

To be opened only when we are in particular need

of  an emotional boost.

We are going to fill it with things that make us smile.

Robb's and my engagement photo.

Megan's grape lip gloss princess necklace.

(She says the smell calms her down!)

A small game.

A joke book.

Gum.

And of course, Chocolate!

I think the box is lovely.

How about you?

p.s. Yes, I recently acquired Photoshop Elements from the PRIME office.

I wonder what other gems Robb has hiding there...