Boy Scout Day

Today is the 102nd birthday of the Boy Scouts.  Boy Scout Day celebrates the birthday of Scouting in America. It was on February 8th, 1910 that William Dickson Boyce filed incorporation papers in Washington, D.C.  and created the Boy Scouts of America. Since then more than 110 million Americans have been involved in Scouting, including these two guys:

My husband (l) and his brother on staff at Philmont Scout Ranch 

Also, three of our nephews are recent Eagle Scouts.  I have so much respect for their commitment and dedication to these principles:
On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

Super Bowl Sunday

My head says the New England Patriots, but I think I'm cheering for the New York Giants today. You?

Love Letters

There must be millions of people all over the world 

who never get any love letters... 

I could be their leader.  

~Charlie Brown

Written any love letters lately?  I found these in the $1 bins at Target on Monday.

The package contained eight (approximately) 10 inch by 10 inch Valentines plus 8 heart shaped stickers.

I thought they were sweet and cute, and a really simple, neat idea.  Best of all, these would be so easy to create on your own (using pink construction paper or any number of cute scrapbook papers).


Step 1. Turn the paper over to the white side (or whatever side you want to use to write your note) and write something sweet and maybe even romantic (depending, of course, on exactly how you feel about your Valentine).

I kept mine strictly G-rated.  Later I decided I should have written "You have my heart."

2.  Then, turn your Valentine upside down (this one is minus the message) and fold one side in, like this

3.  Fold the other side in

4.  Fold the bottom (which is actually the top of the heart) up. Now you can see your envelope taking shape.

5.  Fold the top down to create the flap of your envelope and add a cute heart-shaped sticker to complete.

Who wouldn't love this sweet envelope with an even sweeter message inside for Valentine's Day or any day?  

Heart Month

In February of last year my cute dad had a heart attack.

It was really unexpected because he's always been active.  In fact, his heart attack followed a long afternoon of leaf raking.  Fortunately, my mom's quick thinking and a super team of EMTs got my dad to the hospital quickly where he received great treatment.  I am happy to report he is doing well; he's a super compliant patient and takes his heart health seriously.


He was so grateful for the medical care her received that he agreed to appear in an ad for the local hospital.  His photo appeared in the newspaper for a couple of months and he's since become a VERY reluctant "celebrity".  My sister managed to get him to pose in front of the ad's billboard (pretty neat, huh?).

The moral of this story: take care of your heart and no billboards will be necessary.  

Nolan Ryan's Birthday

We're baseball fans at our house.  We're also recent transplants to Texas.  So I'm thinking we have something new to celebrate this year:  Nolan Ryan's birthday; his 65th to be exact.  


Mr. Ryan, a native son,  is revered in Texas.  Here's why.  

Ranger Ballpark in Arlington, Texas

My husband and son seek a refreshing reprieve from the summer heat.

We went to our first Rangers game shortly after we moved here in July.  Aside from the heat (the temperature was over 100 degrees after 10 p.m.), the thing that struck me most was the attention that Nolan Ryan drew from the fans.  Taking a photo of Mr. Ryan (not unlike this one that I took) 

Nolan Ryan (right) chats with fellow Hall of Fame member Bert Blyleven

was obviously important to many of the attendees.  He seemed to garner as much attention (perhaps more) as star players Josh Hamilton and Michael Young.  


In addition to being the birthday boy, it's my understanding that he's a great manager and a really nice guy too.  Happy #65 to  #34!

National Carnation Day

I know that many people find carnations pedestrian, not me, I love them.  I love their simplicity, their durability and especially that they're relatively inexpensive - which means you can buy a BIG bouquet almost guilt-free.

The carnation was originally called dianthus by the Greek botanist Theopharastus.  Carnations have been cultivated for more than 2,000 years. So, you see, these flowers have stood the test of time.  

Some people believe that the name carnation comes from the word "coronation" or "corone" since the flower was often used in Greek ceremonial crowns or that the name is derived from the Greek carnis meaning flesh (kind of peach), which was the original flower's color.

Carnations in general symbolize fascination, love, and good luck. A white carnation stands for innocence, devotion, and pure love. 


You know another great thing about carnations? 

The evidence.

They're great for science fair projects!

Love Week - Cupid's Crunch

What kind of Love Week surprises am I planning?  Well, who doesn't love snack mix? Especially the kind that includes:

small pretzels (I used the small twists but the circles would be cute, too)

+

salted peanuts

+

M & Ms brand chocolate candy - in those fun Valentine Colors

+

Quaker Whole Hearts (fun heart-shaped cereal I bought at Target, but Cheerios or any yummy cereal could work too)

+

dried fruit (I used cranberries)

I didn't add these, but wouldn't they be fun?

Mini pink and white marshmallows

There's nothing magical about this recipe, of course,  add and subtract as you like.  I think granola might be a nice addition.  Here's my finished product though:

With a self-adhesive label on a nice smooth mason jar

and 

a smaller, fun-size jar with the cute tag tied on.  

Aimee and Bettijo of Paging Supermom were kind enough to give me permission to link to their post.  You can read about their delicious snack mix and even get your own copy of their fun printable.  


Hooray! Another thing to love about Love Week!