unconcious mutterings...

Free association is described as a "psychonanalytic procedure in which a person is encouraged to give free rein to his or her thoughts and feelings, verbalizing whatever comes into the mind without monitoring its content." Over time, this technique is supposed to help bring forth repressed thoughts and feelings that the person can then work through to gain a better sense of self.

That's an admirable goal, but for the purposes of this excercise, we're just hoping to have a little fun with the technique. Each week I'll post ten words to which you can respond to with the first thing that comes to mind.

"Rules are, there are no rules." There are no right or wrong answers. Don't limit yourself to one word responses; just say everything that pops into your head.


I say ... and you think ... ?

Spit it out ::
Shadow ::
Database ::
Expression ::
Boss ::
Baby ::
Mystic ::
Kate ::
Boobies ::
Raid ::

unconscious mutterings

say what you think...

Free association is described as a "psychonanalytic procedure in which a person is encouraged to give free rein to his or her thoughts and feelings, verbalizing whatever comes into the mind without monitoring its content." Over time, this technique is supposed to help bring forth repressed thoughts and feelings that the person can then work through to gain a better sense of self.

That's an admirable goal, but for the purposes of this excercise, we're just hoping to have a little fun with the technique. Each week I'll post ten words to which you can respond to with the first thing that comes to mind.

"Rules are, there are no rules." There are no right or wrong answers. Don't limit yourself to one word responses; just say everything that pops into your head

1. In love ::


2. Be my guest ::


3. Number one ::


4. Swallowed whole ::


5. 50 percent ::


6. Made in ::


7. Supplement ::


8. Right for ::


9. Endless ::


10. Ceramic ::

forwards

we all get TONS of forwards everyday and if you don't like them, by all means delete them or skip over.

though sometimes God sends these chain letters to us for a reason.

my life of late has been UNREAL and the emotions my children and myself are experiencing have been like a roller coaster...i don't forward most of the things i receive, but what i do, and what i have posted to this blog have helped me and my children in ways some of you may understand, many will not.

if you have an open mind keep reading this blog if not then please, by all means close the window...but know no matter how meaningless the words maybe to you...

one stupid forward maybe all it takes to change someones day, week or even life.

have a FABULOUS weekend!!! and please use this day as what it is meant for, a memorial of some FABULOUS men and women.

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your friends

Change all the answers so they apply to you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8:30a

2. Diamonds or pearls? pearls


3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? NO IDEA


4. What is your favorite TV show? ghost whisperer


5. What do you usually have for breakfast? special k and coffee


6. What is your middle name? ann...a product of the 70's

7. What food do you dislike? not much


8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? no time


9. What time is it right now? 11:40p



10. Favorite sandwich? turkey ruebens


11. What characteristic do you dislike? liars


12. Favorite item of clothing? jeans



13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you Go? any place warm and sunny

Where's #14?

15. Where would you retire to? anyplace warm and sunny



16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? the big 30

Where's #17?

18. Furthest place you are sending this? the internet is endless


19. When is your birthday? april 21


20. Morning person or a night person? NIGHT

Where's #21 & 22?


23. Pets? 2 kitty cats and soon a puppy


24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with your friends? NO i am NOT pregnant again!!!


25. What did you want to be when you were little? a vet

26. How are you today? EXHAUSTED


27. What is your favorite flower? daisies

28. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? i like any friday the 13th's


29. What are you listening to right now? family guy


30. What was the last thing you ate? reese's peanut butter cup sundae



31. Do you wish on stars? always



32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? In my house, if I were a crayon, I’d be naked and broken under a piece of furniture


33. How is the weather right now? Cold and rainy


34. Last person you spoke to on the phone? my husband

35. Favorite soft drink? fresca

36. Favorite restaurant? john henry's

37. Hair color? dark brown


38. what was your favorite toy as a child? my bike



39. Summer or winter? Summer


41. Chocolate or Vanilla? vanilla



42. Coffee or tea? depends on the time of day



43. Do you want your friends to email you back? Well that is just a dumb question…



44. When was the last time you cried? wed


45. What is under your bed? GIANT dust bunnies

46. What did you do last night? laundry

47. What are you afraid of? robbers


48. Salty or sweet? Both if it’s PMS time, otherwise I try to avoid them


49. How many keys on your key ring? 2 – car and house


50. How many years at your current job? almost 10


51. Favorite day of the week? Friday


52. Do you make friends easily? yup...very chatty


53. How many people will you send this to? check my blog



54. How many will respond? ?



55. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? again very chatty ;)

strawberries, raspberries, blueberries...oh my!!!

Yay!!! I am so looking forward to this weekend...though the weather people keep saying rain, the last 2 days the temperature has been in the mid 70's and today was HORRIBLE...the sun kept hiding here and there!!! :)

The pumpkins and I are planning our gardens and plantings for this year, we decided that because we love fresh fruit so much and the farm market stands are sadly disappearing quickly in our area that we would try our hand at planting some of our favorites to pick fresh.

Last year Quentin and I put in some strawberry plants and we were lucky enough to have quite a few berries sprout. Sadly though we would see plump, round, white berries on the vine excited to have edible berries awaiting us the next morning only for him to awake every time, run out to pick the fruit and GONE! The (rein)deer (as the girls call them) did it EVERY time. I cannot even begin to tell you how many flowers we have lost to the deer and bunnies, a drawback of living in such a beautiful area. So needless to say a topic VERY soon will be regarding safe, all natural deer deterents...be on the look out.

This weekend we are planting some blueberry bushes and red raspberry bushes.

As well as adding to the beauty of our yard, we are looking forward to some natural barriers to keep the girls out of the neighbors yards and enjoying the healthy, organic, tastey fruits...HA!...of our labor.

If any of you have natural recipes for jams, spreads or various other uses for these fabulous berries please send them right over, we may not have enought this year but we are looking forward to in the future

A few great places to find fuit as well as many plants are:

Cottage farms (I buy through QVC)

Spring Hill Nurseries

Have a FABULOUS week!!!

kiddie picnic

potterybarn kids

Well last week i talked about how we have been bringing out our "good" china for regular dinners, even for when we barbeque and my husband liked it but...then he asked about all the really cool everyday plates, bowls and cups i use for the kids normally. So I have to tell you about the great melamine items we use and you can find, we pick these awesome sets and pieces up wherever we see them, the foodstore, potterybarn kids, etc. and they are great because they dress up the table, are (usually) unbreakable, and they are RE-USABLE!!! When any of our four kids has a party, we use these in place of traditional paper plates and such.

The only real draw back is the clean up, but we have learned if you have the sink emptied except for water with some dish soap, most people will toss the dishes right in and the major work (soaking) is done while you enjoy the party.

Then we have the plasticware, but not just any, we have these awesome little animals...zoo pals, the kids love them and they are again washable to be re-used.

hefty zoo pals


As far as drinks, I stay away from juice boxes and I am even buying more frozen juices for less waste, i make the juice in a great container from rubbermaid and use adorable little tumblers...these are from crocodile creek

and for the baby we use the first years take and toss sippy cups (we don't toss though) and i am happy to say these are BPA-free

Most of the time the kids will pick a theme for their party, we will buy the party ware to match and then we use the cups, plates and utensils as part of the childs "goody bag", they LOVE it!!!

I really wanted to mention the cloth napkin thing here also, we are begining to use them here, with four little ones I'm sure you can all understand how much laundry this is now producing!!! This is such a great idea because they are re-usable, you can change them up for the seasons and holidays, and they make every meal feel special...just like at a grownup restaurant!!!

let's shop...

maybe it's just because i love, love, love this boutique SO much, ;) but i had to let you all know pretty little pumpkins has new sale items!!! we are so happy to tell you our FAVE line...misha lulu is one of the many FAB lines marked down along with appaman, knuckleheads clothing and even sckoon organic baby...some items as low as 65% off!!! check out the delicious deals at...

pretty little pumpkins

breast cancer petition

See link below to sign up for the petition. I just did it and it only took about 1 minute.

From a nurse:

"I'll never forget the look in my patients eyes when I had to tell them they had to go home with the drains, new exercises and no breast. I remember begging the doctors to keep these women in The hospital longer, only to hear that they would, but their hands were tied by the insurance companies.

So there I sat with my patients, giving them the instructions they needed to take care of themselves, knowing full well they didn't grasp half of what I was saying, because the glazed, hopeless, frightened look spoke louder than the quiet 'Thank You they muttered.

A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a Mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure.


Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important .. Please take the time and do it really quick!


Please share this link with everyone you care about. If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times.

There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require Insurance Companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the 'drive-through mastectomy' where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their Web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on."


PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the Web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code number.


http://www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php


PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and family, and on behalf of all women, THANKS.

spring dining

Although we have had a spring set back and the temperatures have fallen again i am still dreaming of spring. Oh the fresh fruits and veggies, the barbequeing!!!

Sadly most people associate their grill and picnics with disposable flatware, plates and cups...BREAK THE CYCLE!!!! Not only is it so much better for the condition of landfills to use our everyday china but think about using your beautiful "good" china. We love to dress up our dining room with our seldom used wedding place settings, the kids get a kick out of being able to use wine glasses (no alcohol included!!!) and lighting candles for an uneventful tuesday night dinner of takeout chinese or daddy cooking steaks on the grill!!!

checkout some beautiful settings to brighten up your spring at :

pfaltzgraff

lenox

add some beautiful stemware with:

Orrefors

and finish off with your flatware!!!

oneida

Have a FABULOUS week!!!

veronica turns 4!!!

i can not believe it...veronica turned 4!!! after 2 and a half years of trying for our second baby she turned four on easter. it is so hard to believe, it seems like yesterday i was getting ready for bed and went into the bathroom and sat on the toilet and my water broke...totally convenient right?!?!? the was the begining of the end.

we now have 4 babies and love them all SO much but it is too funny that vernoica was the one that we tried SO hard for (the others were wanted but came unexpectedly) and she has become the BOSS!!!

today she went into my room, AGAIN and took many pieces of my jewelry out of my box and misplaced some and broke others then she went into her fathers drawer and took his prescriptions and lost them!!! (we found ALL of them)

it's just another blink and she will be off to college...

craziness!!!

it's been awhile since a post...in case you couldn't tell :) but i am getting our CHAOS under control...four kids will do that to ya!!!

but check out the pumpkin vine for some new additions to pretty little pumpkins

green goes mainstream...

i was recently thinking about why, if it has become so "in" to be green, haven't mainstream companies joined the bandwagon. major companies that sell lines of cleaners have name reconginition and most of the time buyer loyality behind them so why are they not getting into the action?

fast forward to my finally laying on the sofa with a weeks worth of sale flyers and catalogs...i open my bj's wholesale club flyer (when you have 4 kids you buy in bulk) and i was pleasently surprised to find pages and pages offering natural and organic foods as well as cleaning products!!!

not only is clorox offering it's own line of cleaners called "green works" but marcal now offers "sunrise", a line of recycled paper products!!! these items are still a little pricer than their "un-green" counterparts, but as i tell my husband, "the more the demand, the more offered, the lower the price"

check out greenworks toilet bowl, all- purpose, dilutable, glass and surface and bathroom cleaners at all major stores where cleaners are sold; as well as sunrise products in shoprite, pathmark, a&p, superfresh, food emporium, foodtown, king kullen, d'agostino, price chopper, p&c, big y, farm fresh, ukrops, earth fare, jewel, woodmans, meijer stores, hannaford brothers, grisdetes and many others.

imagine if every family made one small change...

coupon code

as a special offer for the readers of from the pumpkin patch i would love to offer you all a coupon code for 15% off any purchase of $50.00 or more at pretty little pumpkins.

check out the new items and the new markdowns, including up to 75% off in the clearance area!!!

and don't forget to use code "vine15" to save

how simply sweet is this little fashion accessory?!?!? pretty little pumpkins is so excited to debut the new line from leila and ben!!! check out the funky ties for boys...fresh dresses for girls and for baby HOT HOT HOT little cow print sleep sacks (complete with little pink zipper to resemble the little cow belly!!!)

hot new accessories coming soon...

check out these hot little fashion accessories for your sweet little pumpkins!!!

within the next week prettylittlepumpkins childrens clothing boutique will be offering these adorable little belts from gigi belts for both boys and girls!!!

...and i always wondered why the heck baby pants have belt loops...yea, know i know ;)

sisters

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day,
drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As
they talked about life, about marriage, about the
responsibilities of life and the obligations of
adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her
glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance
upon her daughter

'Don't forget your Sisters,' she advised, swirling
the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll
be more important as you get older. No matter how
much you love your husband, no matter how much you
love the children you may have, you are still going
to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now
and then; do things with them.'

'Remember that 'Sisters' means ALL the women...
your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other
women relatives too. 'You'll need other women. Women
always do.'

What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman
thought. Haven't I just gotten married?
Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a
married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely
my husband and the family we may start will be all I
need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact
with her Sisters and made more women friends each
year. As the years tumbled by, one after another,
she gradually came to understand that her Mom really
knew what she was talking about. As time and nature
work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman,
Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world,
here is what I've learned:

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.
BUT.........

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how
many miles are
between you. A girl friend is never farther away
than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you
have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life
will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on,
praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on
your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the
valley's end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk
beside you...Or come in and carry you out.

Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters,
daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers,
Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended
family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and
neither would I. When we began this adventure called
womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or
sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we
would need each other.

Every day, we need each other still. Pass this on
to all the women who help make your life meaningful.
I just did. Short and very sweet:

There are more than twenty angels in this world.
Ten are peacefully sleeping on clouds. Nine are
playing. And one is reading her email at this
moment.

Send this message to ten of your friends including
me. If you get 5 replies, someone you love will
surprise you.

Happy days!

Don't break this; it's working