My Christmas Gardens- from EG on Facebook

For about 6 months, i have enjoyed the best game on facebook, called Enchanted Gardens.

it was not just a game. it was a creative medium, and a meeting place for some amazing people.

December 1st, the company is closing the game down, because they've been bought out by Kabam, and want to "go in other directions". we are all very upset by this. we're tired of the games that are on facebook. they're all the same. not everyone wants strategy games, or fantasy football, or spammy zynga games.

so i'm recording my gardens, and taking screenshots etc. it's not the same, but i want a record of all the hard work that went into making these gardens.

Learning that I may have been having migraines all this time. :(

i always dismissed the idea of having migraines, because i never get nauseous... but now, i'm reading that migraines can cause sinus symptoms! i wonder if i've been dealing with migraines all this time, and not had the right medicine to treat them. oh man! well, it does seem like when it gets bad, nothing i take helps. i have a feeling my shoulder and neck tension and the change in weather triggers it. i really need to get out of Cleveland. :( the weather changes every 10 minutes.

http://headaches.about.com/od/diagnosis/a/ahs_sinus_mig.htm

http://headaches.about.com/cs/druginfo/a/triptan_over.htm

too short, a little too short!

oh my word. i had a moment of insanity yesterday. i've been dealing with a really bad headache and sore shoulders and neck for a few days now. yesterday, i think i was dillusional, because i went in to the bathroom, and grabbed some handfuls of hair, and CHOPPED like 5 inches off! EEK!!! it was too short to even it up, i didn't want to make it any worse. usually i can take some off, and even it up, and it looks fine, but i just took way too much off this time.

when jeffie got home, i asked him to take me to Great Clips down the street, and the sweet girl helped me out. LOL. the shampooing was so nice, and the cut felt so good, i almost forgot my headache for a half hour.

soooo, i have shoulder length hair for the first time in, i would say, DECADES. oops. i'll get pics soon. i want to grow it out again, but i think i'm going to need to keep getting it layered and thinned out. it just gets way too heavy. it got thick and wavy after having the kids. too bad i want it long and straight like it was in college. lol.

I Wish the World Understood Sweetest Day

Every year Sweetest Day passes without much ado. A few people in Cleveland go on dates, and give cards and candy.

It makes me sad to hear that people think Sweetest Day is just another "couple's holiday" or another card company's attempt to make money. I don't know what went wrong in the inception of this holiday that the spirit of it went so awry.

Sweetest Day started out as a holiday to show kindness to others. It was a way to brighten up October with a day that was the Sweetest Day of the year.

"Sweetest Day always falls on the third Saturday in October. The first Sweetest Day took place around 1922 in Cleveland....
Herbert Birch Kingston and friends began celebrating by distributing candy and gifts to orphans, shut-ins, the disabled and other groups that were often left out of holiday celebrations. Sweetest Day then got some early promotions help from movie stars.

Ann Pennington gave boxes of candy to 2,200 Cleveland newspaper boys, and Theda Bara gave away 10,000 boxes of candy to patients in hospitals in Cleveland and to people who came to see her films at a Cleveland theater.

Within 10 years, the day had become so popular that Cleveland officially set the same Saturday in October every year as Sweetest Day. In the following years, the idea of Sweetest Day has spread though the Midwest and is largely considered a second Valentine’s Day, although the holiday is not mean to focus exclusively on romantic love. Cleveland is still the most popular place to celebrate Sweetest Day, but nearby states and bigger cities have also taken to celebrating the day every year." - Heidi Ross 10/10.

I wish I could teach the world about Sweetest Day. It has so much potential. The world needs more kindness, more generosity, more celebration of the goodness in others.

Etiquette and Manners Classes in School

Who's with me? Why don't schools still offer Etiquette and Manners classes? They scramble to pass out condoms, and teach how to have sex! Why can't they teach how to be considerate, and respectful? No one has respect for the elderly anymore. It's all me me me. I'm more important than you, and therefore, I can push in front of you, or talk rude to you, or whatever.

No one knows how to eat in public anymore. Tonight, I was a Macaroni Grill, and there were some high school kids eating before a dance. One girl kept hiking up her triangle spaghetti strap dress up at the bodice, and eating large mouthfuls of pasta. It was hard not to notice the poor girl.

I am guilty of poor etiquette, too. I tend to burp sooo much louder than I ever did when I was under my mom's roof. My mom has always been a lady. She taught me to be a lady. I have let so many bad habits slip into my everyday mannerisms, I could put my embarrassing stories in a fail blog, LOL. I have spent so much time at home, doing whatever I feel like doing, I could benefit from an etiquette class.

I do try to be considerate of people in public, especially for older ladies and gentlemen. I try to let people through in traffic, and in stores... let people go first in line. I'm always trying to remain pleasant and polite to restaurant workers and cashiers at stores. It's just a nice thing to do. I'm sure there are days though, when I probably annoy people with my brusqueness or impatience when I'm having a bad day. I know not everyone can have a good day every day.

I just wish it were more of a priority for people to act right in public.

Gabey and Giddy's Halloween Costumes 2010

We got parent points today. LOL. The kids loved their costumes. We surprised Gabey with his General Grievous costume, and he flipped out! Gideon picked out his Batman costume, and I am laughing so hard at how cute he looks. They got to try them on just now, and they were running around the house acting so tough.

My favorite time of year.

‎"October gave a party; The leaves by hundreds came-
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples, And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet, And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor Wind the band."
- George Cooper

Man, i Love autumn. We were driving on the highway yesterday, and i just wanted to bottle up all that color. just amazing! God is so cool. I can look at all this beauty, and know that He made it all happen. I just have to grin, and silently give him props, LOL. God wants to hear from us. He likes hearing us say... "Man, is that the coolest color for the leaves, God, you are awesome!" He made the earth for His enjoyment. Everyone likes caring for something. We get pets and have children, so we can care for something and watch it grow. Just like we enjoy getting positive feedback from the children and pets that we care for, God wants to hear us praise Him, and love Him. It would be so sad to raise a baby, and feed him, love him, and never have him pay attention to us, or show us love. We would be heartbroken.
We have an amazing, (beyond comprehension)Father, who made the universe, and everything in it. Yet, He can be our personal Father, through faith in Christ. We can see little personal gifts that He leaves for us every day. Each little critter that crosses our path, for our enjoyment, or a chuckle- that's God giving us a gift. Let's all give him "props" give Him the glory, give Him our admiration and love.

Deuteronomy 10:21 (King James Version)

21He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.

Happy 10/10/10

Just wanted to mark the date....
10/10/10

cool, huh?

Crazy Dream

i so wish i could remember more, but this is what i remember of my dream...

i can't remember the back story at all, but i was with a group at a table, kind of like security to this building (hospital, jail, funny farm, lol. not sure which) but this hilarious little lady came over and mentioned something about running interference.. and went up the stair well. she came down in an obvious disguise, with a pillow in her front shirt. she shuffled to the bathroom across the hall, we heard the flush, and she shuffled back, and headed up the stairs, but in the corner of my eye, i saw that she fell forward up the stairs and landed on her pillow belly. we knew she was doing all this to distract us from something down the hall.. so the dream went on...

then i remember being outside by some kind of cemetery with a group.. and some sort of ceremony. the guy leading the ceremony was trying to be all serious, but he was playing a stick like a clarinet or something, and blowing just one note while his fingers moved on the stick... then he was waving the stick in someone's face being really annoying. i was laughing so hard, and i totally got into the comedy. there was a group being punished for something, and i pretended to be crying.. and said... "that was the worst bird i ever knew" and i'm laughing, pretending to cry... and it turns out that up at the place where the people are, is this green parrot! ROTFL.

i woke up, laughing. LOL.

Morning Giggles

i was telling jeffie that i made him coffee, and gabey piped up.."you made me coffee??" i said, "noo! of course i wouldn't make you coffee." he quipped back, "well, i guess i'll have to make my own." ROTFL!!!

Morning with Gideon

I'm having a fairly nice morning with Gideon, we did a craft with the Bingo markers.. they make great dots. :) and we put stickers on it.
When we had a snack, i cut up cantaloupe into small squares and gave him a toothpick. He really enjoyed that, and said it was the "tastiest ever" in his toddler accent. when he was finished, the container i had still had some juice at the bottom. we wanted to throw it in the garbage, and he "helped" me by drinking the juice... only it was a square container, and the juice dribbled down both sides of container down his shirt. he was so proud of himself for solving the juice issue. Then when i asked him to throw it in the garbage... he grinned and said.. "throw it in the carpet?" nooo garbage... "carpet!" and he put the container under the rug! ROTFL. what a stinker.

now, as i'm writing this, he just came up to me asking for "fruitons" ROTFL!! it caught me off guard. he means croutons! ROTFL!!

Look Above the Clouds

"Look Above the Clouds"
words and melody by Shari Dippong

A New Way to Look at You....

I got a cool microphone, and started recording my songs. they're just simple acapella... but i really wanted to start sharing them. i'm tired of them sitting around in my notebook, LOL.

This is my first one... in order to share it, i kind of had to make a video out of it, so i just put some random images with it.

It's called "A New Way to Look at You" c 1997

Lava Lamp, LOL.

Lava Lamp

We went to Five Below the other day, and i finally indulged in buying myself a Lava Lamp. I've wanted one all my life. I am just memorized by it.
I thought you might enjoy a little lava lamp action too. :)

Sesame Street: Celebrity Lullabies

Autistic Girl Expresses Profound Intelligence

Sharing my Hatchlings Photo Album

Here's a link to my photo album for Facebook Hatchlings. This has photos of all the Hatchlings that I've incubated and hatched. Some of them are uuugly, so I got a picture, and then released them right after, LOL.

Shari's Facebook Hatchlings

Sesame Street: Outdoors with Jason Mraz

Crafts Using Glass Jars and Bottles Article

Another craft article. lol.

http://crafts.suite101.com/article.cfm/make-easy-crafts-using-glass-bottles-and-jars

Hatchlings Article

Here's an article on how to play Hatchlings in Facebook.

http://internet-games.suite101.com/article.cfm/fun-games-to-play-on-facebook--hatchlings

Bridgit Mendler - How To Believe Official Music Video

Trying to Do a New Article a Few Times a Week

This one's about making crafts from toilet paper rolls, and egg cartons. They're paper products that are usually just thrown away by the ton every week, especially in our home. Giddy likes wasting paper, the little rascal.

http://kids-paper-crafts.suite101.com/article.cfm/making-crafts-from-paper-products-like-bathroom-tissue-rolls

Camera Critters- The Cutest Ducklings on the Planet

I was totally enamored by these adorable ducklings when we were at Fern Hill park Thursday. My flash went off a few times, but they didn't seem to mind.

http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/ for more critter pics

Today's Flowers- West Side Market Beauties

Today, we went to the West Side Market, and we were just about to leave when i spotted these gorgeous Gerbera Daisies! My favorite!

For more flower shots visit... http://flowersfromtoday.blogspot.com/

Scenic Sunday- Rocky River Nature Center

Cool photo from one of our outings to the Rocky River Nature Center.

Article of Fun Things to do in Cleveland

We have some really fun little stops around Cleveland that we like to go. Here's a quick article about a few of them.

http://kidsactivities.suite101.com/article.cfm/fun-things-to-do-with-kids-in-cleveland

What a Corker

Daddy asked Giddy....

"Gideon, what do you have in your mouth?" (this is a perfectly reasonable question, because Gideon is always shoving random things into his 2 year old mouth.)

Giddy replied.....

"Just my teef, Daddy"

HAHAHAHA

Crafts from Coffee Filters, and Tub Toys from Craft Foam

Here's my article for Summer Snowflakes, made out of coffee filters. We had such a blast making these.

http://kidscrafts.suite101.com/article.cfm/summer-snowflakes-easy-kids-craft-fun-and-inexpensive

A little while ago, I got bored while the boys were in the bathtub, and learned that craft foam makes great shower wall decals, LOL.

http://kidscrafts.suite101.com/article.cfm/use-craft-foam-to-make-fun-tub-toys-and-other-fun-crafts

Article of Snow in July Crafts for Kids

http://kidsactivities.suite101.com/article.cfm/fun-easy-crafts-for-kids--snow-in-july-activities-for-children by Shari Dippong :):)

HUGE MAJOR AMAZING PRAISE!!!!!

This morning, just a few minutes ago, I gave Gabriel his very last chemo!!!!!

END OF TREATMENT is ON!!! Praise an amazing Lord!

God is Good ALL the time!

Exciting Week for Gabriel

This week, Gabriel had his last IV chemotherapy treatment. He had his mediport taken out last month, so this time they had to do the blood draw, and chemo administration into his arm. It was the first time he's had an arm poke since he was first diagnosed in the hospital. That was a nightmare. I am so thankful we're past it. Later in the week, he'll be done with chemo altogether!! PTL! Gabey's been in treatment for more than 3 years. It is a little nerve wracking though, because we won't have the umbrella of protection that the chemo gave. He will be getting his blood counts checked every month after this, to make sure the Leukemia isn't coming back.

Started Writing Again

I started writing some articles for www.suite101.com. Here are the links for them, if you'd like to read a bit. :)

Rabbits Info.

http://petcare.suite101.com/article.cfm/the-rabbit--in-your-home-and-in-your-heart

Leukemia Info.

http://cancer.suite101.com/article.cfm/all--acute-lymphocytic-leukemia-in-children-an-overview-of-symp

http://cancer.suite101.com/article.cfm/caring-for-children-with-all-mediport-access-chemotherapy

http://cancer.suite101.com/article.cfm/how-to-encourage-and-help-parents-of-children-with-leukemia

Fun Craft -Making a Beach in a Bottle

http://artseducation.suite101.com/article.cfm/make-a-beach-in-a-bottle-an-easy-craft-for-kids

Smile Smile Smile

Have to write these down

Oh man. I'm losing all these precious little gems that my boys are saying. I put them on my facebook updates, but those disappear. I have to remember to write them there.

This morning, I was making toast for the boys, and Gabey was so impressed. He said that it was like a Transformer, because it does waffles AND toast.

Something cool for my Fishies

I love my fish tank... it's Gabey's, in theory, but I take care of it, and all that. I felt like doing something cool for them the other day, so i cleaned out a cold coffee bottle, and made a little cave for them. I have rocks laying on it at the entrance, but there's a part that's not covered, so I can see the fish inside.

They LOVE it! the little goldfish I got recently, and the little glofish are always in there. I love watching them wander in and out. :)

Rascal Dog Litter Box

I recently ordered a Rascal Dog Litter Box for Smokey. I was very excited when I found it online at http://www.rascaldoglitterbox.com/ I knew when I first saw it, that it made perfect sense for an inside dog. Smokey is so attached to me that he won't go outside on his own. Plus, he can get out from under the fence, and he goes off trying to find me, unless I stand outside with him. With him being such a smart dog, I had a feeling if I got this litter box, he'd get the hang of it.

It's taken a few weeks, I haven't really done any major training, but he's going in the box! I'm so thankful. He was already fairly paper trained, so it has worked so nicely. I don't have to keep changing the paper all the time, and it doesn't smell. He's still making accidents, but I think that's partly because he's not neutered yet. He still won't poop in it, but he keeps it all in his room, and it's easy to just toss it in the toilet. We'll keep working on it. :)

a little catchup

HAHA, here is Smokey in his Christmas Outfit. :):)

My butterflies survived for such a long time. I still have one left, his new name is Methuselah.

We just had a mini tree this year. I was looking for minimal stress.

Here's Giddy putting the stockings on his arms.

Gabey on his favorite rock at school.

Has anyone seen the movie Parenthood? (i wouldn't recommend it now, but there was a little boy in it who put a pail on his head and was banging it into the wall.) that's my giddy.

Gabey and Daddy setting up Gabey's new DSI that he got as a Christmas present from the Cleveland Clinic.

all prepped and ready for his quarterly LP and MTX treatment in the OR.

Christmas craft

Giddy did great with the crafts. We gave them as presents from them.

Giddy in his Christmas sleeper!

This is the present Gabey gave me, he's such a sweetie.