AMERICA . . . MY HOME SWEET HOME

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA . . . GOD BLESS AMERICA . . . GOD BLESS OUR ARMED FORCES . . . PROUD TO BE AMERICANS!

FAIR TRADE MARKET (READY FOR HOLIDAY SHOPPING)

 There are about 15 different vendors selling mostly handmade jewelries, clothing, arts and crafts items, gifts and home decor and Christmas decorations from over 20 developing countries such as Uganda, Kenya, China, India, Mexico etc.  Do you have Fair Trade Market in your area?

I was told that these items are made by low-income women and orphans and the Market helps them sell their works with regular orders which in turn help reduce poverty and child labor.

The above display includes recycled paper jewelry, bone jewelry, and handmade bags.  Visit www.roots-n-streams.com for more information about the organization and the handicrafts.

HAPPY JULY 4TH - 2013

I pledge allegiance to the Flag, of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty, and Justice for all.

Let Freedom Ring.  God Bless America.  God Bless our servicemen and women.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE

It is always a treat to find personalized license plates that are interesting, cleverly worded and as a bonus, the owners are either active or retired military personnel.  To these and all other servicemen and women, please accept our appreciation for your service.  Thank you and God Bless You and Your Family.

TUESDAY TWO - ALL WE NEED IS LOVE

Regular readers (and a few faithful followers) know I am not particularly "thrilled" when it comes to Valentine's Day. In my humble opinion, it is just another commercialized celebration mostly for the benefits of greeting cards companies, florists and jewelers. Let's not forget the chocolate covered strawberries (there goes the diet)! I am not comfortable with "mushy" expressions or display of affecttion that just for shows. However, not wanting to be known as a "Valentine's Day pooper", I would like to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day and may all your days be filled with love and lot of love.

I thought these photos of the butterflies (taken from the Butterfly House) and the sculptures (bottom photos) at St. Louis Zoo, would be appropriate for this Tuesday Two post as well as for Valentine's Day.

Most of the snow from yesterday was gone. The sun actually came out around noon. The temperature was in the 40s but it was not windy, so the day was pretty comfortable when I went to the library and then food shopping.

The above sculpture reminds me of the movie "The Lion King". Even wild animals like tigers and lions love, protect and care for their offsprings, yet, there are people who abandon their children or worst, discard their babies simply because the option is readily available or were misinformed that it was the right choice.

EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A GLASS OF EGGNOG (BUT NOT WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING)

I made a big mistake by going to the local grocery store that has a $5 off on any purchase of $50 or more. It is a saving offered on the third Thursday of the month. To make it worse, it is the 3rd Thursday before Christmas. Everyone was there not only for the monthly savings but also to get as many items as they think they might need for Christmas dinners. Of course, everyone also wanted to get the closest parking spot and when one driver pulling out, three vehicles were waiting to take his space. That caused traffice jam which prompted one person to press her horn and then another and then another. Finally, someone who looked like he was an off-duty police officer told everyone to calm down, directed the cars and got traffic moving again!

After the grocery store (all I wanted was creamer - got to have them flavored creamer for my morning coffee), I drove to the post office to drop off a few more Christmas cards. Good thing I was already slowing down after pulling into the parking lot because a van almost hit me head-on. I had enough room to quickly moved over. The driver of the van realized that she was going the wrong way when the person behind me rolled down his window, yelled out while pointing at the sign "Enter Only". She tried to back up but could not. So we all moved over to let her out - the wrong way! I want to tell everyone to calm down, stay away from the stores if you could and after you get home safely, have a large glass of eggnog!

WILDLIGHTS AT ST. LOUIS ZOO

We went to the Zoo last night. It was our first time walking through the Christmas Light Display. The annual evening walk is opened from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thousand of lights were strung on trees, along the fences, throughout the grounds with many fun animated lightings.

It is a family event where the kids could listen to storytellers or ride the carousel. Parking is free and admission is $5 per person. The entire zoo is not opened so it takes about 30 minutes to walk around and see all the displays. The cafe is opened for those wishing to get something to eat or hot chocolate as it was about 35 degrees. It was a crisp cold night for the walk but it could be a bit freezing to the bones, even with hats and gloves.

We offered to take photos when we see families and most of the people were appreciated. It was nice to see the kids having a good time with Mom and Dad or grandparents. I used to think of my nephew and wishing he lived nearby so we could enjoy these activities together. From an experience that was "a bad idea" when we were in NYC last year, I finally realized that JL has grown up and no longer the child that would be happy just sitting next to me while I read to him. Sadly, he is more interested in computer games than interacting with his "Big Auntie". I finally learned to accept that the kind of relationship I envision and hope to built with my nephew is not what he might wish to have. It is a lesson of letting go that most parents have to do with their children. You do your best, allowing them to fly away and hope that they won't be those "boomerang" kids!

GETTING READY FOR CHRISTMAS IN ATLANTA

Yes, TOTA was very impressed with Atlanta that I kept posting and writing about the A-town and since I took so many "cheesy" photos, it would be a crime not to share with my adoring fans - haa haa. The above "Coke" tree (I would not wish to impose my religion on the readers by calling it the Christmas tree - blaah!) was on display at the World of Coca Cola. My sister was working so I went on the tour by myself and really took my time to see all the exhibits and even tried a few different taste of sodas around the world.

At Centennial Olympic Park, workers were busy putting up Christmas decorations. (There, I said it - Merry Christmas to you Mr. Grinch!)

A worker saw me pointing the camera upward in his direction, he smiled and told his co-worker, "That is TOTA from St. Louis. She takes photos of everything wherever she goes. She even took picture of a piece of gum on the street!" The co-worker asked, "What does she do with the photos?" I was very pleased to hear the response, "She posts them on her blog. It is a very well-written and popular blog and I encourage ya'll to check it out and become one of her million followers" (Then I woke up and it was just a dream - haa haa haa haa haa haa)

I thought of Qaptain Qwerty and how much he would enjoy running in Centennial Olympic Park. I wish I had more time to see all the sculptures and so many other nice features at the park. I specially like the Fountain of Rings featuring the Olympic Ring symbol that was created just for the 1996 Olympic Games. Visit www.centennialpark.com for more information.

BELLTOWER IN COLUMBUS, NEBRASKA

This is the Quincentenary Belltower at Pawnee Park in Columbus, Nebraska. The belltower was officially dedicated on April 25, 1992. It was conceived as a lasting monument to the community's celebration of the Quincentanry, the 500th anniversary of Columbus' first voyage to the New World. I thought posting these photos would be appropriate for Columbus Day.

The project was made possible by the donation of ten church bells from the collection of Leonard Fleischer (a native of Grand Island, Nebraska, co-founder of Fleischer Manufacturing, a manufacturer of farm equipment). Each of the bells has area historical significance and a plaque near each tower tells of that bell's history.

The bells toll every 15 minutes. There I stood on a beautiful sunny day, the blue sky, the flags gently waving, it was almost a heavenly feeling hearing the sound of the bells ringing.

Have a good week and thank you for visiting :)

NEW YORK IS IN MY TUMMY - WELL, NOT EXACTLY ...

Most of you probably already knew that Joey Chestnut won the 2011 Nathan Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest took place in Coney Island on Monday, July 4th. In the female category was Sonya Thomas, winning the first ever Women's Championship. Chestnut claimed his 5th straight championship. Go to www.nathanfamous.com for more details about this American tradition. The next contest will be on Wednesday, July 4, 2012. So start practicing chowing down as many hot dogs as you could in 10 minutes if you wish to be a contestant :)

I took these photos last Thanksgiving (2010) when my husband insisted that we must have a Nathan's Famous dog for lunch. Well, CP had the dog and I could only have a cheese fries. I don't know what happened but I could no longer consume hot dogs. It started about 10+ years that I would have stomach ache, vomitting and spending time in the bathroom after eating a hot dog. I thought it was just that one time but after the third time getting so sick, I decided it would be best to "pass the dog" to others.

While we were standing in line waiting to place our order, a man in his late 50s, walked thru the door and stood behind us. His light blue shirt had a few stains, his white pants seemed to be on its last wash and his shoes were covered with all kind of industrial paints. He wore a faded Yankees hat that was hard to tell what the original color was. I pulled my purse closer to my body and gave my husband a "be careful, watch out for this guy" look.

The line moved quickly with three employees taking orders. Then we heard someone said, "Here, you could have this." The man I tried to guard my purse against offered us the coupon for $2 off. We thanked him for the coupon. The man placed his order to go and waited while we sat down at a table in the corner. I watched the "nice" man walked out into the busy streets of Coney Island with his lunch. My husband gave me the "Be careful - Don't judge the book by its cover" look.

HAPPY CANADA DAY

Happy Canada's Day to all my Canadian Cousins!

Only 96 more days to the 2011-2012 NHL season. Let's do it right this time and bring Lord Stanley home :)

TOTA IS HAPPY - LIFE IS GOOD

It has been hectic yet lot of fun and excitement and the followings were what happened in my boring life.

Saturday, March 12th – I waited for this day for so long and it finally arrived! What so special about this 12th day of March? If you guessed it had to do with hockey game and my beloved Detroit Red Wings, that would be correct. There is extra special treat with both Mike Modano and Pavel Datsyuk back from injury. (Modano did not play when the Wings were in St. Louis in December and January) Madano, a native son of Michigan (Livonia), finally came home after playing 18 seasons with the Dallas Stars, plus 6 seasons with Minnesota North Stars. Modano played a total of 1,487 games, tying Wayne Gretzky, 15th on the NHL career list.
On Sunday, we went to St. Patrick’s festival at our parish. We bid on a few items. It was nice to see people were still very generous with both donations and bidding. When I last checked, someone was willing to pay $3,300 for complete dental work, braces included. One person donated a week stay at a condo in Orlando, Florida. The bid went up to $1,450. I thought of LG and wish I was able to win the bid! We were the highest bidders on two items, a set of dinner silverware and a digital pictures show plus music and videos including clock and calendar in 8” aluminum and wooden finished frames.

The snow came on Sunday night, continued into Monday morning, just enough to mess up the roads during the morning rush traffic. The rain started in the afternoon into the evening. I was so glad I did not wash Luc on Saturday. I tried not to be so obsessed with Luc (it’s only earthly possession).

Monday evening I attended the City Council meeting. I thought I should get back to my civic duty.

On Tuesday, when we got home from work, we found water all over our basement. Part of the carpet in my husband’s home office was soaking wet. The storage room had water in one corner. Good thing all my Red Wings posters were ok. We got most of the water out using the steamer and have to re-arrange all the items. This is the first time it happened. CP said because we had a lot of snow following by the heavy rain which caused the water no where to go or the ground could not absorb quick enough.

Wednesday, March 16th – Da Wings snapped the Washington Capitals’ 9-game winning streak. It was a treat to watch these two great teams play. How could I not love the game of hockey?

HAPPY (BELATED) BIRTHDAY, MR. PRESIDENT

These photos were taken during our Route 66 Adventure in June 2010. It was a two-day road trip, from St. Louis to the beginning of Route 66 in Chicago with an overnight in Romeoville, Illinois. According to the calendar, Saturday, February 12th is President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. I thought these photos would go nicely with this entry. A (very belated) Happy Birthday, Mr. President!The temperature continued to get warmer, in the upper 40s. After breakfast, while my husband went to get his beloved Mustang washed (it had to be touch less, brushless, with the interior cleaning and vacuuming), I gave the house a good cleaning. (I don’t do windows, that is CP’s department).

After all the hard work, I decided to take a nap in the afternoon. I wanted to make sure that I have the energy to help out again at the dance (Felice Cuores), a monthly party for adults with mental challenge. I got to the hall at around 6:00 p.m. to help set up the tables and chairs. After that, I signed up to serve refreshment (soda, water and munchies). This time I came prepared with a can opener and did not break any nails – haa haa

Each guest was given a nametag with their first name and a registered number. I saw one guest had #156 on her tag. The place was crowded since this month’s theme was Valentine’s Day celebration. Many came dressed up in their formal attire and had a great time dancing. I could hardly keep up between the music when almost everyone needed a cold drink. I wore plastic glove to dig up the cans from the bottom yet my fingers were freezing! I came home around 9:15 p.m. - exhausted but thankful for the opportunity to be of service.

Benjamin was very happy (but speechless) when he got to meet the President!