Fair Trade

Go Bananas for Fair Trade

GOOD
When it comes to protecting the environment, there's a reason why fair trade bananas are the best http://su.pr/1Gj9E3 with @benandjerrys

[Photo source: here]

Meet Debbie (and others!) on Monday...

It's Monday evening here...the house is quiet and I think that Dr. House is about to start so I'll get this week's meme from Java over at Never Growing Old up and on its way.

If you want to answer the questions, please do.

Getting to know each other is what makes this whole blogging thing just a

little bit better.

Here we go:

1. Crunchy or smooth peanut butter?

*and really....we have this tub, right now, in our cabinet...it's the one we jokingly refer to as

"the jar as big as Koji's head"  jar of peanut butter....it doesn't come

any smaller at CostCo.*

2. What is your favorite color Rose?

Though roses of yellow or pink will make me happy,

sterling ones? Yeah. they make me swoon.

3. Do you remove your shoes when you walk into your home?

Do not take this sarcastic, but...hello?

I live in Japan.

In the 20 years I've lived here, I can honestly tell you that maybe...maybe ...I've left my shoes on less than 10 times.  But....as I was probably wearing lace-up shoes and I had left my coffee or cell phone on the table, I always said an apology to whatever Gods were standing over me.  But, as I'm pretty sure they understood how I feel about my coffee and cell phone, I've been let off the hook.

The entrance way in our house....

4. What is your favorite season?

5. Approximately how many hours a day do you spend blogging?

The answer to this question varies.

My family will say "too many"....and sometimes, I think, "not enough".

Actually....these days, I've become a bit of a slacker, so it's probably closer

to an hour or so a day.

Have a great Monday....and may it be a sign for what the week will bring.

Saturday Snapshot - Beach Town Drama

I love taking Bella to the dog beach. We have a great time. This weekend the weather is supposed to rain. Darn it. This photo was taken just last Saturday.

Today (if you are reading on Saturday, May 14th) is a big homecoming for a local American Idol hero, James Durbin. So sad he got the boot off the show - shocking (at least to me, and no reason to watch the show any further - patooey!)

Don't you think that one guy remaining looks like Howdy Doody and GWB mixed?

photo courtesy topidolblog

Speaking of AmHairIcan...

My niece is opening up a hair salon. We've been trying to come up with catchy names. I think the name Am-HAIR-I-can I Doll is catchy though really, really dumb.

If you have any suggestions for hair salon names, post in the comments. I hope I get more comments on the salon name than I got on my Wordless Wednesday post concerning dog slobber. *snort*

Weekend Reading

So... I was a bit hesitant to suggest this as weekend reading because I am still not quite sure how I feel about this novel. My husband no longer wants me purchasing books as we have nowhere to put them and I haven't made the switch to a Nook or Kindle because the thought of them still breaks my heart. I was left with one option--the local library. I really wanted to read Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad, but alas they did not have it in stock. So I settled for Look at Me.

The concept behind this novel is really intriguing. Charlotte, a 30-something fashion model living in New York, has a horrific car accident and her face is reconstructed. She is nearly unrecognizable to even her closest friends, which is obviously upsetting to someone whose face made her famous. The second major plot line is that of a teenage Charlotte, the daughter of the model's former best friend, and her relationships with her crazed uncle obsessed with the Industrial Revolution, and a mysterious older man that she ends up in a relationship with. There is a detective/mystery feel to the story as the two Charlotte's lives start to intertwine. All of that makes for a fascinating read... however... I am still not sold. There are a lot of extra characters in the novel that just kind of seem to be there. They get a lot of time/words/action in the story but I feel like there is no depth to any of them. After hemming and hawing as to whether to blog about this novel, I decided I would, in hopes that someone else has read this and can offer up their opinion as well.

As a side note: I just started reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett and it is amazing! I will be sure to offer up a review next week!

For Your Weekend Breakfast

Banana Sour Cream Muffins with Pecans

photo and recipe courtesy of Lemon Drop.

Wordless Wednesday - Slobber Art

For more wordlessness click here.

Banana Cream Tiramisu

Image courtesy of Heather's Dish

An afternoon (here in California) pick-me-up.

Tiramisu with bananas or Banana Cream Tiramisu.

A Monday meme on Tuesday because Blogger and Debbie's computer were conspiring against her all day Monday

Since the hostess of our usual meme was taking a very well deserved break on Mother's Day, we were left to our own devises on what to do.

I hadn't done a photo meme in such a long time and found one that I tweeked a bit liked and figured it would be good to do. 

If you do this on your own blog, please  link it in your comment so we can go and see what you did.
That's the fun part of memes....finding out about your "friends".

1. Type your answer to each of the questions below

into Google Image Search (my photo place of choice) or some type of search engine for pictures

2. Using only the first page of results pick one image that best fits your answer. You cannot search forever for a certain image....pick one from what they have on that first page.

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite food?

3. What high school did you go to?

**funny enough...this really IS my high school!!!

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

6. What is your favorite drink?

if i'm drinking one with alcohol, then.....

but, non-alcohol type drink would be this....

hot or cold....i do both, but....and here is where i'm a bit of a 'green tea snob'---

no sugar. no citrus. no additives of any kind.

and please...if you use a tea bag, it's one you have put in the loose green tea yourself.

7. What is your dream vacation?

8. What is your favorite dessert?

9. What do you want to be when you grow up?

**that's 'comfortably rich', by the way!!

10. What is one word that describes you?

Have a great week, everyone!!