You're Invited To A Party!

It's that time of year when my Birthday rolls around and this
year I want to Party with all of my new Blogging friends!


Everyone is invited to chose a special Costume to wear for
the Party. Search far and wide on the net and find something
fabulous to wear. It can be any of the following...


A costume from a favorite movie

A famous historical figure

A costume from a particular era in history

A fabulous Dress you find online or even one you own and
would like to share

Choose something you could only DREAM of wearing, something
so fancy, you wouldn't know yourself dressed up in it!
Feel free to dress up your blog and change her "outfit" too!


On the day of the party, Wednesday June 17th, post a
picture(s) of your costume and tell us a bit about where
it's from and why you chose that paticular costume or if it
holds any significant meaning to you. I'll post all the links to
other party goers and you can visit other blogs to see what
sort of costume they chose.

I am also doing a special Birthday GIVEAWAY! One lucky party
Guest will receive the following party favors in the pictures
below...


The giveaway includes: A vintage pink vase, two pretty pink
old handkerchiefs, a shabby daisy wall hook, a handmade bar
of soap that smells DIVINE, a cute little sign that says,
"Bless Our Home With Love And Laughter", and a hand held
music box you wind to play a beautiful song, sorry I don't
know the name of the song but I think once you hear it you
will recognize it.



You will have several chances to win, here's how:

1 chance if you post my Costume Party Banner on your blog
( use the smaller banner on my sidebar)

1 chance if you do a whole post on the Party and Giveaway

1 chance if you leave me a comment that you wish to participate

1 chance if you actually come to the party and leave me a
comment

3 chances, yes 3, if you are one of my followers, because you
are the best and I think you are magnificant!

That brings you to a grand total of 7 chances to WIN!

I'll make a list of everyone who has RSVP'd on my sidebar until
the big day and then I'll move them to the Costume Party Post
on Party Day where I'll list everyone and link them to make it
earlier to visit fellow participants.

Now here is an important part:

The party starts at 12:00 midnight on Wednesday, June 17th

The Party ends 24 hours later at midnight. Just imagine that
are all a bunch of LITTLE CINDERELLAS and have to leave
the Ball before the clock strikes 12:00! Therefore you must
leave your comment if you are looking for that extra chance
to win the giveaway, before midnight.


I'll hold the drawing for the giveaway on Thursday and
announce the winner on Friday.


I'm so excited and hope you can all join me! This is my first
time at Hosting, so please let me know if you can think of
anything I've forgotten or there are any problems.

I can't wait to see you all at the Costume Party!

PINK SATURDAY TURNS ONE!

Happy Birthday Pink Saturday!


What a terrific occasion for us all to celebrate, the event that
introduced a lot of us to new friends and new blogs and brings us
all back together every week. What a stroke of genius Beverly had
when she thought to bring those that love PINK together. To me
Pink Saturday is something I look forward to every week, even if
I'm trying to figure out what to post about at the last minute.

I give to you this picture below, an optical illusion. There are
two images, which do you see...



The graceful, delicate young lady or do you see the old woman,
aged with time, but needed for her experience, her wisdom, her
truths. I think both represent where Pink Saturday has started
and where she is destined to go. She is still in her infancy, fresh,
innocent, but with her passing of the years, she will gain all of the
wisdom, insight, stories, and truths that WE will tell here, and she
will hold a well-spring of knowledge. She'll hold the knowledge WE
impart upon her. What a gift we share with each other every
Pink Saturday, our treasures, our passions, families and pets,
we willingly welcome each other into our homes to come and
visit a spell, placing our trust in each other.


So I give a heartfelt Thank You to Beverly, our beautiful hostess
from How Sweet The Sound, and to Pink Saturday for giving us
all a LOVELEIGH place to gently land into Pinkness!

Awards and Roses and Blogs, Oh My...

The first rose of SPRING,

my favorite in the yard. Sweet to the core
and pretty to boot! These roses end up next
to my bed all summer so I can smell them
all night long

I was gifted this award by my Mom at A Cowgirl's Grace. I
admit she may be a bit biased since she gave birth to me, but
I will gladly accept this Loveleigh (if only it was spelled correctly
on the award, LOL) Award and display it with a heart full
of DEE-LITE!

I only encountered one teeny tiny problem in accepting this
Loveleigh Award. CowgirlJLynn, aka Mom, aka A Cowgirl's
Grace neglected to pass on the award winning rules. So, I'm
flying SOLO and makin' up my own. I'm passing this award on
to three blogging ladies I think are wonderful and have enjoyed
meeting, visiting and sharing with. Some longer than others.

They are as follows:

Lisa from PUPYLOV

Christine from Christine's Home and Travel Adventures

And last but never least, my Auntie...
The Desert Rose from jessesdesertrose


So Ladies, take your award and let your blog wear it with
pride, if you wish, and know the I think you and your blogs
are both LOVELEIGH! Feel pass it on to 10 people, 7, 3, or
none. I've seen bloggers do all three. I give you my blessing
to make your own rules like I did. Just be sure to leave a
comment on the blogs of your choice so that they know they
have been honored.

Everyone have a great weekend full of sunshine and giggles!

A Mother's Gift

I'd like you all to meet my BEAUTIFUL Mom, Cowgirl J Lynn.
My Mom has recently done something so special for herself...

She has quit smoking after nearly 40 years. Today it will be

ONE MONTH

and I am SO PROUD of her!

She made the final decision after trying several times over the
years, that this was it, she was done, she was ready to reclaim
her life from that old nemisis, the nasty little white stick,
MADAME CIGARETTE.



I would imagine, never being a smoker myself, that the ladies that
smoke believe they look GLAMOUOUS and SEDUCTIVE like the
Dame in the picture above.

HOWEVER...

Mom, I am so glad you quit before it came to THIS...

..and before your health went to the dogs. You see, we LOVE you
and we NEED you. You are the HEART of our family and the
glue that holds us all together. Without you, we would be
completely LOST. When you chose to quit smoking for yourself,
you unknowingly gave your family the greatest GIFT you ever
could... YOU!


So Mom, you are to be the first recipient of my first ever Blog
Award, because YOU ARE TREASURED. More than you could ever
imagine. I am so proud of you for doing this and I know it hasn't
been easy, but keep going. I know you can do it.

So take this Award and display it proudly knowing that it holds
nothing but the truth! Then Pass it along to one person you
find to be Treasurely and have them pass it on.

Mom, I am HONORED to be your daughter and I LOVE YOU!

Pink Saturday!!!

I recently discovered this amazing band, Pink Martini,
through my playlist searches and think they are fabulous.
I've been using one of their songs frequently on my playlist.
I thought it would be fun to share them with you today.
I think they fit the tune perfectly for our Pink Saturday
hosted by Beverly @ How Sweet the Sound. I believe
they add a bit of nostalgia and old world glamour to our
little Pink Get-Together. I've added a few of their songs to the
top of my playlist, so take a listen and let me know
what you think. If they are not to your liking, feel free to press
the pause button. I do hope you enjoy though, I know I did,
and it sooo made me wish I could Ballroom dance.
Unfortunately the dance gene passed up my family!

“Pink Martini is like a romantic Hollywood musical of the 1940s or
50s – but with a global perspective which is modern,” says founder
and artistic director Thomas M. Lauderdale. “We bring melodies
and rhythms from different parts of the world together to create
something which is new and beautiful.”

The Portland, Oregon-based ‘little orchestra’ was founded in 1994 by Lauderdale, a Harvard graduate and classically trained pianist, to play political fundraisers for progressive causes such as civil rights, the environment, affordable housing and public broadcasting. In the years following Pink Martini grew from four musicians to its current twelve, and has gone on to perform its multilingual repertoire on concert stages and with symphony orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Canada and the United States.

Lauderdale met China Forbes, Pink Martini’s “diva next door” lead vocalist, when the pair was at Harvard. He was studying history and literature while she was studying painting, English literature and theatre. Late into the night in their college dormitory on the Harvard campus, Forbes would sing Verdi and Puccini arias while Lauderdale accompanied her on piano, and their creative collaboration blossomed. Three years later, Lauderdale called Forbes who was living in New York City, where she’d been writing songs and playing guitar in her own folk-rock project, and asked her to join Pink Martini. They began to write music and lyrics together for the band, and their first song “Sympathique,” or “Je ne veux pas travailler” (I don’t want to work) became a huge hit in France.

The ensemble made its European debut at the Cannes Film Festival and its orchestral debut with the Oregon Symphony in 1998 under the direction of Norman Leyden. Pink Martini has since performed with symphony orchestras across the country including four night nights with the Boston Pops in 2005, multiple concerts with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in 2000, two nights with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on a co-bill with Sergio Mendes in 2002 and two nights headlining with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2005. Other prestigious appearances include the grand opening of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s new Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, with return sold-out engagements for New Year’s Eve 2003 and 2004; the opening party of the New York Museum of Modern Art, the Kennedy Center and the William Morris Agency’s 100th birthday celebration with soul legend, Al Green.

Pink Martini’s debut album, “Sympathique,” was released independently in 1997 on the band’s own label Heinz Records (named after Lauderdale’s dog) and quickly became an international phenomenon, garnering the group nominations for “Song of the Year” and “Best New Artist” in France’s Victoires de la Musique Awards. Seven long years later the high-anticipated follow-up, “Hang on Little Tomato,” was released and climbed to #1 on Amazon.com’s best sellers list.

I obtained all this info from the Pink Martini Website, if you

would like to obtain additional information such as concerts, CD's,

or their tour schedule.

Have a stupendously blessed Memorial Day Weekend

and

STAY SAFE!!!

Do Animal's Love?

Do you think that animals have feelings?

Some people would say no...

I am of the opinion that they do

I don't know how deeply

or in what capacity

but deep in my heart of hearts

I know that they feel

a connection, affection, love...

call it what you will

our CREATOR gave us all life, and
for what better reason...

than to find the joy in each other, the love,
the tenderness...

to know that we are NOT alone, there is an
invisible thread that binds ALL life,
connecting us to each other.


Yes, deep in my heart, I know that
animals... wild, tame, small and large
have the capacity to

FEEL


This is what I choose to believe...
for it makes the world that much
MORE amazing...


the world I choose to live in...
where animals can LOVE!

29 Years Ago Today...

A Mountain Exploded

Mt. St. Helens before the 1980 eruption

all is serene...

Back on May 18, 1980 , the landscape of Washington State was
changed forever. A mountain named Mount Saint Helens blew
it's top at a little after 8:32 am. The explosion was set off by a
5.1 earthquake, 1 mile below the ground. This immediately caused
the north side of the mountain to collapse, triggering a rapid
chain of events that caused widespread devastation.

Thirteen hundred feet of the mountain peak collapsed or blew
out sideways, causing massive mudflows that filled 24 square miles
of the valley below. The blast flattened trees, destroyed forest
and recreation land, wrecked homes and bridges and roads. But
the worst loss was the 57 lives that were ended.

After 9 hours of eruptions and ash, the mountain had done
it's worst. Complete annihilation in the nearby areas. Wreckage
that would take decades to recover from.

...and after the blast

The beautiful Spirit Lake before...

and after...

The following pictures were taken by my Grandparents home.
They lived a little over an hour from the mountain and had several
inches of ash to contend with. I was told it stayed around for months.
Everyone wore masks to protect their lungs. There was so much
ash, that to this day, there are still stockpiles that artists use to
create beautiful glass artwork from.

Today I live about 10 minutes from where my Grandparent's
used to live, but in 1980, at the age of 5, I lived 3 hours north.
I remember that we were visiting family out of town and
immediately drove home, to beat the ash I assume. I only
remember having a light dusting of the icky gray stuff
at home. I don't remember being at all scared, if it were to
happen today, I think I would be much more terrified.

I guess no matter where you live, you take your chances with
Mother Nature. Here in Washington, most of the time it's pretty
mild. We only have to worry about the occasional flooding or
a Volcano erupting every once in a while, God willing, I won't
see another one of those in my lifetime!

Mount Saint Helens
Split Image
before and after

God Bless all the families that lost loved ones on this terrible
day. Your loved ones are not forgotten, we will remember...