Fluffy Fun

One of the biggest thrills on our cruise: coming back to the cabin after dinner to find these cute little towel animals waiting for us. Seriously. It was such a silly surprise.




Hey, maybe now that I'm unemployed & have some free time, I can learn to make these myself. What do you think?



xoxoxo

Rapunzel~

30 Days of Photos, Day 17

30 Days of Photos, Day 17: A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently



Still to Come...


18. A picture of your biggest insecurity

19. A picture of you when you were little

20. A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

21. A picture of something you wish you could forget

22. A picture of something you wish you were better at

23. A picture of your favorite book

24. A picture of something you wish you could change

25. A picture of your day

26. A picture of something that means a lot to you

27. A picture of yourself and a family member

28. A picture of something your afraid of

29. A picture that can always make you smile

30. A picture of someone you miss

30 Days of Photos, Day 16

30 Days of Photos, Day 16: A picture of someone who inspires you



Still to Come...


17. A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

18. A picture of your biggest insecurity

19. A picture of you when you were little

20. A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

21. A picture of something you wish you could forget

22. A picture of something you wish you were better at

23. A picture of your favorite book

24. A picture of something you wish you could change

25. A picture of your day

26. A picture of something that means a lot to you

27. A picture of yourself and a family member

28. A picture of something your afraid of

29. A picture that can always make you smile

30. A picture of someone you miss

30 Days of Photos, Day 14

30 Days of Photos, Day 14: A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without


my beautiful girls

Still to Come...

15. A picture of something you want to do before you die

16. A picture of someone who inspires you

17. A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

18. A picture of your biggest insecurity

19. A picture of you when you were little

20. A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

21. A picture of something you wish you could forget

22. A picture of something you wish you were better at

23. A picture of your favorite book

24. A picture of something you wish you could change

25. A picture of your day

26. A picture of something that means a lot to you

27. A picture of yourself and a family member

28. A picture of something your afraid of

29. A picture that can always make you smile

30. A picture of someone you miss

30 Days of Photos, Day 12

30 Days of Photos, Day 12, A picture of something you love:



Still to Come...

13. A picture of your favourite band or artist

14. A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

15. A picture of something you want to do before you die

16. A picture of someone who inspires you

17. A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

18. A picture of your biggest insecurity

19. A picture of you when you were little

20. A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

21. A picture of something you wish you could forget

22. A picture of something you wish you were better at

23. A picture of your favorite book

24. A picture of something you wish you could change

25. A picture of your day

26. A picture of something that means a lot to you

27. A picture of yourself and a family member

28. A picture of something your afraid of

29. A picture that can always make you smile

30. A picture of someone you miss

30 Days of Photos, Day 11

30 Days of Photos, Day 11: A picture of something you hate



Still to come...

12. A picture of something you love

13. A picture of your favourite band or artist

14. A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

15. A picture of something you want to do before you die

16. A picture of someone who inspires you

17. A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

18. A picture of your biggest insecurity

19. A picture of you when you were little

20. A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

21. A picture of something you wish you could forget

22. A picture of something you wish you were better at

23. A picture of your favorite book

24. A picture of something you wish you could change

25. A picture of your day

26. A picture of something that means a lot to you

27. A picture of yourself and a family member

28. A picture of something your afraid of

29. A picture that can always make you smile

30. A picture of someone you miss

30 Days of Photos, Day 10

For personal reasons, I am skipping Day 9, A picture of a person who has gotten you through the most. I may revisit the topic later but for now, moving on to Day 10, A picture of the person you do the most fucked up things with

I don't exactly know what "doing fucked up things" actually means, but if it's being wild & crazy, that "honor" probably goes to Beren. We've certainly had some..um..interesting adventures.

30 Days of Photos, Day 8

30 Days of Photos, Day 8: A picture that makes you laugh

Beren and I found this vintage Santa costume at a thrift store for a buck! On Christmas Eve, he surprised my kids by dressing up in it. Hysterical!



Kali's (slightly exaggerated) reaction was priceless.

30 Days of Photos, Day 7

30 Days of Photos, Day 7: A picture of most treasured item

You can barely see it in this picture, but my most treasured item is a name plate necklace that my Mom gave to me when I was 19 years old. She took pieces of her old gold to a jeweler who custom made the necklace for me. When each of my girls reached a certain age, she did the same for them. We all wore our necklaces to her funeral.

30 Days of Photos, Day 6

30 Days of Photos, Day 6: A picture of a person you’d love to trade places with for a day.

I wouldn't really want to be anyone else, even for the day, but if I had to choose, I wouldn't mind stepping into Jane's life for a day....if only to stay in that gorgeous castle!

30 Days of Photos, Day 5

30 Days of Photos, Day 5: A picture of your favorite memory

Wow, seriously? My favorite memory? Of the whole 46 years on earth? That's a tough assignment. Hmm..one of the nicest moments in recent history is this one, my 43rd Birthday. All of the important people in my life were there - my whole wonderful blended family and friends. And, the highlight of the evening, Kali surprised me with a live mermaid show. It was amazing. This was less than a year before Mom was diagnosed with cancer, probably the last big celebration where she was really herself.

And that guy I'm hugging on..no, he's not Beren, but Tom my favorite bartender..a very important man in his own right. *wink*

30 Days of Photos, Day 2

30 Days of Photos, Day 2: A picture of you and a person you’ve been the closest with the longest.

This was a challenge for me because while I still maintain relationships with quite a few old friends, we aren't necessarily as close as we used to be. So I'd have to say that my eldest daughter, Kali, is the person I've been closest with for the longest time, 26 years to be exact. *smile* And, yeah, I know I'm "cheating" by posting so many pics but, seriously, you know you can't get enough of this gorgeous creature! (That would be Kali, of course).











Still to Come..

3. A picture of the cast of your favourite show

4. A picture of your night

5. A picture of your favorite memory

6. A picture of a person you’d love to trade places with for a day

7. A picture of most treasured item

8. A picture that makes you laugh

9. A picture of a person who has gotten you through the most

10. A picture of the person you do the most fucked up things with

11. A picture of something you hate

12. A picture of something you love

13. A picture of your favourite band or artist

14. A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

15. A picture of something you want to do before you die

16. A picture of someone who inspires you

17. A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

18. A picture of your biggest insecurity

19. A picture of you when you were little

20. A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

21. A picture of something you wish you could forget

22. A picture of something you wish you were better at

23. A picture of your favorite book

24. A picture of something you wish you could change

25. A picture of your day

26. A picture of something that means a lot to you

27. A picture of yourself and a family member

28. A picture of something your afraid of

29. A picture that can always make you smile

30. A picture of someone you miss

Winter Blues

Winter Witch - revisiting an old set by pixiebutt - Luv Comments! featuring tops

I guess we're all suffering from some winter blues, no? Even though I live in Florida where the sun (supposedly) shines all the time, it's still a bit dull & dreary around here. I guess the post-holiday blahs hit everyone regardless of their climate & locale.

So, what have you all been doing to chase the chilly doldrums away? I've been doing some cleaning & organizing around the Castle but that's not exactly fun now, is it? I also have pulled out my yarn basket and have been crocheting up a storm. Not only does it keep my hands & mind occupied, it also allows me to sit with Beren while he watches endless hours of football..ahem..without going out of my sports-hating mind! *wink* I've also been cooking a bit, made a really simple beef dish the other day:

Mushroom Slow Cooker Roast Beef
Ready In: 9 Hours 5 Minutes
Servings: 8

"This is tender, fall-off-the-bone roast beef with mushrooms. It's perfect as-is. Shred the leftovers for cheese steak sandwiches."

Ingredients:
1 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1 (4 pound) standing beef rib roast
1 (1.25 ounce) envelope onion soup mix
1 (12 fluid ounce) bottle beer
ground black pepper

Directions:
Place the mushrooms in the bottom of a slow cooker; set the roast atop the mushrooms; sprinkle the onion soup mix over the beef and pour the beer over everything; season with black pepper. Set slow cooker to LOW; cook 9 to 10 hours until the meat is easily pulled apart with a fork.

Beren really enjoyed this and it was so easy to make! I served it over egg noodles with green peas but it would also be great with mashed potatoes.

Now, in order to warm up this blog a bit, I thought I'd post something fun & different!

This "game" is floating around blogland, I found it on Fat, Angry Blog as well as other places, thought I'd try it here myself....

30 days of photos - Day 1

1. A picture of yourself and 15 facts:


1. I am 46 years old
2. I am a Leo (and even if the new zodiac had altered that, I'm not buying it)
3. I was a preemie, born 3 weeks early, weighed in at 4 pounds 12 ounces.
4. Kali, my first daughter weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces. She was 6 days late.
5. My parents were divorced before I was born (don't ask) and my mom remarried (a couple of times) so I now have a big ol' blended family!
6. I have 3 daughters from 2 different husbands but am now happily shacking up sans the legal stuff
7. I reconnected with my high school sweetheart after Divorce #2. We've been living together in non-marital bliss ever since (see above)
8. I love to cook but I refuse to believe that has anything to do with me gaining weight. Cooking didn't get me fat, eating did!
9. I love animals of all kinds. Especially cats. And wolves. (Loki made me add that)
10. I love to read and am starstuck by authors much more so than actors.
11. My mother died of lung cancer on February 4, 2009. It's not a happy fact but it is very much a part of who I am. (if you're a smoker, rest assured I'm gonna nag you go quit).
12. I love the color red. Big time.
13. I guess it goes without saying that I adore pin-ups.
14. I wear heels whenever possible, the higher the better, flats only when necessary and sneakers only when exercising. Otherwise, I'm barefoot.
15. When I was a little girl my mom forced me to have a pixie cut. It was not flattering. I eventually forgave her but in rebellion I grew my hair long..and longer..and still longer. I've recently cut it to a more manageable length more suited to an..ahem..woman of my age but you'll never see it shorter than it is right now. Rapunzel forever!

Still to come:

2. A picture of you and person you’ve been the closest with the longest

3. A picture of the cast of your favourite show

4. A picture of your night

5. A picture of your favorite memory

6. A picture of a person you’d love to trade places with for a day

7. A picture of most treasured item

8. A picture that makes you laugh

9. A picture of a person who has gotten you through the most

10. A picture of the person you do the most fucked up things with

11. A picture of something you hate

12. A picture of something you love

13. A picture of your favourite band or artist

14. A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

15. A picture of something you want to do before you die

16. A picture of someone who inspires you

17. A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

18. A picture of your biggest insecurity

19. A picture of you when you were little

20. A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

21. A picture of something you wish you could forget

22. A picture of something you wish you were better at

23. A picture of your favorite book

24. A picture of something you wish you could change

25. A picture of your day

26. A picture of something that means a lot to you

27. A picture of yourself and a family member

28. A picture of something your afraid of

29. A picture that can always make you smile

30. A picture of someone you miss

So, doesn't that sound like fun? You may end up knowing much more about me than you ever thought you would..or cared to. *wink*

Have a Wonderful Weekend! TGIF!

New Years Goals 2010

New Years Goals 2010, originally uploaded by Rapunzel*.

I'm not making "resolutions" this year but I am setting goals for myself. To avoid the drudgery of such goal-making, I decided to depict them with my favorite pin-ups. *wink* Enjoy!

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

A Challenge!

Annie has issued me a challenge this Saturday morning, how fun! Ok, Annie, here goes!

"If they would make a movie about your life, who would play the part of you, your true love, your best friend, your mother/parents and your worst enemy?"

Me: Jane Seymour

She's been my favorite actress since I saw Somewhere in Time 28 years ago and fell madly in love! I had the pleasure of meeting her in person several years ago and found her to be as gracious & lovely as I'd imagined.



My True Love: Richard Gere

Do I really need to explain why? Take a look at pics I've posted of Beren and you'll understand! Same deep-set brown eyes, same gray hair...swooon...I don't know a lot about Mr. Gere except that he's strong yet sensitive and stands up for what he believes in, just like My Man.



My Best Friend: Meryl Streep

This gorgeous lady is incredibly talented, strong, witty, and her statuesque beauty & style remind me so much of my friend Jersey!



My Mother: Doris Day

Doris is perky, smart, adored by everyone, and always a lady. Just like my Mom.



My Worst Enemy: Courtney Love

This one is really hard for me because I don't think I have any true "enemies" but I did have a horrible encounter with a nasty acquaintance recently. I'll never forget this woman..shudder...she was the epitome of the trashy barmaid stereotype so the first person that comes to mind is Courtney during her dark days.



I challenge Susan, Sally and my daughters Kali & Lily 'cause I'm hoping to get them blogging again!

Seven Layer Meme (aka More Than You Ever Want to Know About Me)

Life is like an onion: you peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep.
~ Carl Sandburg

To continue with the end-of-2008 ruminating/soul searching...I stole this from one of my new favorite blogs, Confessions of a Middle-Aged Suburban Diva. Please repost if you're so inclined, and leave me a comment so that I can take a peek.

LAYER ONE
* Name: Rapunzel
* Birth date: August 20
* Birthplace: Columbus, OH
* Current Location: Florida
* Eye Color: Blue
* Hair Color: Brown
* Height: 5’2”
* Righty or Lefty: Righty
* Zodiac Sign: Leo

LAYER TWO
* Your heritage: a mix of many - the only ones I know for sure are Welsh and Cherokee Indian
* The shoes you wore today: barefoot
* Your weakness: Do I have to name just one? Chocolate, Chardonnay and Romance come to mind - all have been my demise at one time or another
* Your fears: Again, too many to count but the biggie has always been: Losing someone I love, either by choice or by death
* Your perfect pizza: Every veggie known to man
* Personal goals you'd like to achieve:
To be an Excellent Mom
To be in Better Shape - mentally, physically and emotionally

LAYER THREE
* Your most overused phrases on social networking sites: awesome, wonderful, fabulous
* Your first waking thoughts: Where is Everyone?
* Your best physical feature: Ummm..with an alias of Rapunzel, what do you think?
* Your most missed memory: Huh? I guess I'd like to remember more of my kids growing up, it went so fast, it's just a blur

LAYER FOUR
* Pepsi or Coke: Coke
* McDonald's or Burger King: hate fast food in general but you can't beat McDonald's fries!
* Single or group dates: Single, just me and my man (there's that Romance thing again)
* Adidas or Nike: neither, Reebok is the only brand that fit me well
* Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: neither, either crappy Crystal Light or the real, fresh-brewed sweet tea
* Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate
* Cappuccino or coffee: Cappuccino but can't manage that daily (hmm..why not?)

LAYER FIVE
* Smoke: Never, never, never. My Mom has lung cancer..'nuff said.
* Cuss: Unfortunately, yeah
* Sing: Horribly
* Take a shower everyday: at least
* Do you think you've been in love: Oh, yeah
* Want to go to college: I used to think I did but now, not so much
* Liked high school: hated it
* Want to get married: BTDT, twice. Never say never again but...not in the near future.
* Believe in yourself: Sometimes
* Get motion sickness: Occasionally but I tend to avoid those situations whenever possible
* Think you're attractive: Today? Hell no
* Think you're a health freak: Health Conscious but am willing to toss that aside on too many occasions
* Get along with your parent(s): Yes, now that I'm an adult.
* Like thunderstorms: Absolutely, as long as everyone's home safe & sound
* Play an instrument: no

LAYER SIX
In the past month...
* Drank alcohol: Yep.
* Smoked: No
* Done a drug: No
* Made Out: Yes..swoon...
* Gone on a date: Yes
* Gone to the mall?: Unfortunately, yes *shudder*
* Eaten an entire box of Oreos?: No
* Eaten sushi: A California roll
* Been on stage: No
* Been dumped: No
* Gone skating: No.
* Made homemade cookies: Yes but they flopped!
* Gone skinny dipping: The water's too cold even if the temp is 80 degrees
* Dyed your hair: Yep, a monthly have-to
* Stolen Anything: no

LAYER SEVEN
Ever...
* Played a game that required removal of clothing: No
* Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: um..yeah
* Been caught "doing something": not since I was a teenager, but only because I've been very, very lucky!
* Been called a tease: long time ago, nowadays I tend to deliver what I promise. ;-)
* Gotten beaten up: Only emotionally
* Shoplifted: No
* Changed who you were to fit in: Not in a long time, the 40's are all about accepting myself and f**k 'em if they don't like me

LAYER EIGHT
* Age you hoped to be married: never had a set age
* Numbers and Names of Children: Kali, 24; Lily, 18; Bambi, 17
* How do you want to die: naked in bed, an empty champagne bottle and sexy man by my side
* Where did you want to go to college: The University of Florida
* What do you want to be when you grow up: at Peace
* What country would you most like to visit: France

LAYER NINE
* Number of drugs taken illegally: 2
* Number of people I could trust with my life: 5, and the funny thing is, one of those people I've only me in Real Life one time (You Know Who You Are!)
* Number of CDs that I own: not a clue but half of them are scratched, lost or otherwise inoperable..grrr..
* Number of piercings: Two -- one in each ear but I never wear earrings in the 2nd hole
* Number of tattoos: None
* Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper?: Maybe twice
* Number of scars on my body: other than the usual bumps & scratches, two major scars: one at the bikini line where I birthed my babies, the other on my inner/upper thigh where a grapefruit-sized tumor was removed. Scariest days of my life.
* Number of things in my past that I regret: No regret really, just wish the timing for various things was different

A Yuletide Meme

I saw this on my friend Susan's blog and decided to share it here as well. Feel free to copy/paste and join in on the fun, please leave me a comment if you do so that I can read your answers as well!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Although I am mostly a paper & ribbon kind of gal (real ribbon, not the plastic stuff), this year I am also using a bunch of red Target shopping bags. They're cheap, pretty, practical and most importantly, reusable!

2. Real tree or Artificial? Always, always a real tree.

3. When do you put up the tree? It varies, but never before the first of December. We've occasionally purchased it on Thanksgiving weekend but in that case it sits quietly in the corner and waits to be decorated. One holiday at a time, please.

4. When do you take the tree down? Again, it varies depending upon how many needles are covering the floor and how motivated I am to un-decorate. It's usually just after the New Year, though.

5. Do you like eggnog? I do, especially spiked with a bit of nutmeg on top..yumm...

6. Favorite gift received as a child? The one I remember most vividly is a doll my Mom let me open in the wee hours of Christmas. I was sick with a cold and sleeping in her bed, I must've been 4 years old because she was still a single mother then. I woke up in the middle of the night, feeling horrible, she consoled and comforted me by allowing me to open just one gift before Christmas morning.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My parents are hard only because they have most everything they want, we end up buying them trinkets or gift certificates.

8. Easiest person to buy for? My eldest daughter

9. Do you have a nativity scene? I have a small one but I don't put it out anymore.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Always mail, sorry but I think holiday e-cards are tacky!

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't really think of a worst.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's a Wonderful Life, I still cry every time I watch it.

13. When do you start shopping? The day after Christmas, LOL.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I can recall.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My ex-in-laws' Italian cookies..fortunately for my waist line I can rarely get my hands on them nowadays!

16. Lights on the tree? Absolutely - my mom always used the big ones, which I actually prefer to these tiny things because you need so many more and the effect is just not the same. Next year I think I'm going back to the biggies.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Winter Wonderland followed closely by Santa Baby.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Always home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Of course!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? It varies, this year it's a precariously placed silver star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?Christmas morning for the bulk of them, but on Christmas Eve we all get new pajamas to open. :-) When my kids were little they also got a Christmas book in addition to the pjs but they have outgrown that now.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? the fact that the season starts way too early, I don't want to see Christmas trees mixed in with Halloween costumes! *shudder*

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? The gold cherubs I bought when each of my children were born; each is engraved with their names, date of birth, time and birth weight. They are precious and bring back such wonderful memories of their baby days.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We have a big Italian dinner on Christmas Eve, have been doing that for 20 years or so. We never did a huge Christmas dinner, too worn out from the night before, but several years ago when going through my divorce I started a new tradition - Chinese take-out on Christmas! LOL! I did it then for practical reasons but it's become a favorite, fun part of our holiday celebration so it stuck.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? a cure for my Mom's cancer, think Santa can handle that one?

Pampered Pets

We loooove our critters here at the castle..and they are spoiled rotten as a result!

Since when do we have a pet duck? Maybe if I'm very quiet they won't notice me?

Hey, that's my water!

Jackson (yes, that's his new name) was only supposed to be visiting for the weekend while Lily and her boyfriend were away, but it appears he's made himself quite comfortable, hasn't he?

Jezebel says it's her turn

Salem waits (im)patiently each morning for us to turn on "his" water fountain

Tabitha wants to come along!

Madeleine Peyroux - I'm All Right

I rented Madeleine's latest cd, Half the Perfect World, from the library months ago..I loved it sooooo much, renewed it for as long as the library would allow and then when my overdue fines racked up higher than the cost of the cd, I bought it. *blush* Well worth it, believe me! It hasn't left my cd player ever since, perfect music to cook to, dance to, dream to....

Kali Kills Bill

Being a huge Tarantino fan, my wonderfully twisted daughter decided to do a Kill Bill theme for her bachelorette party..shaking head...what a hoot! Lily & Bambi wrote "Pussy Wagon" on the back of the cars that transported all of the gals out on the town. Mom and I joined the youngsters for a yummy sushi dinner at one of our local hot spots and then went on our merry way, allowing the rest of them to party on until the wee hours of the am. I daresay our bride-to-be might be feeling a tad hung over this morning but she had a fabulous time with her girlfriends!