Melissa's Idea Garden

My friend over at Homeschooling in Illinois caught me with this clever meme. I think you will enjoy it too! Read the clues below and if one applies to you, then consider yourself tagged!

1. History is my thing....history and books and politics. And if you don't agree with me, you can take it up with my 18 year old, 6 foot tall daughter and her black belt!

2. Flying the friendly skies gives me great stories to tell my readers. Some would qualify for the show Believe It or Not?

3. My child is in preschool and I am obsessed with eggs and cute lunches!

4. I enjoy walks, riding my bicycle, swimming in the pool, helping my son with his paper route and blogging.

5. I love taking photos, I recently lost a dear friend and am looking for a substitute, and thoughts of my mom come into my life every day.

6. I have a son with Down's Syndrome. I enjoy writing and sharing my knowledge with others to help them on their homeschooling journey. I want them to know that nobody's perfect!

So, if a clue points to you, then you are tagged to join in the fun!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

My friend Jen had this fun meme on her blog, so I decided to join in. Jen lives in New Zealand and has been a great source of encouragement to me. If you get a chance, go by and visit her blog My 3 boys and I

Last Movie you Saw in a Theater:
Indiana Jones IV

What Book or Books Are You Reading?
Just finished Herlock Sholmes (very funny). Have started Never Look Back by Kathy Herman and I am doing the work in What Color Is Your Parchute by Richard Nelson Bolles.

Favorite Board Game:
I don't have a favorite, we like to play Monopoly, Life, Clue, Parcheesi, Sorry, Chess and we love card games

Favorite Smells:
Lilac, baking cookies or pies, fresh mown hay

Favorite Sound:
My daughter singing, my children playing the piano, a babbly brook, the sound of the ocean, twittering birds

Worst Feeling In The World:
Not being able to comfort my children, being on the outs with my husband, not being able to figure out what to do when a child is sick

Favorite Fast Food Place:
Long John Silver's

Finish This Statement.“If I Had A Lot Of Money I’d…”
Pay off debts, buy a new house, pay off the debts of family members, set up trust funds for my children and my nephews. Get a home at the beach and a home in the Rocky Mountains.

Do You Sleep With a Stuffed Animal?
no.

Storms-Cool Or Scary:
Very cool! And the scary part is cool too!

Favorite drink:
water, diet cherry 7-up, Venti Dark Mocha, extra pump, extra shot

Finish This Statement, “If I Had The Time I Would …..”
Exercise regularly

If You Could Dye Your Hair Any Color, What Would Be Your Choice?
Golden Brown

Future Child’s Name:
I'm not having any more children.

Do You Drive Fast? a bit faster than I should. Usually 5 mph over speed limit

One Nice Thing About The Person Who Sent This To You:
Jen is a good friend who is good at listening and gives good advice. She is also a faithful commenter on my blog!

What’s Under Your Bed?
Dust dragons and boxes that have stuff stored in them

Would You Like To Be Born As Yourself Again?
I will be born as myself again in the Kingdom of God

Morning Person Or Night Owl?
I grew up as a morning person, but I can also go late into the night. When the sun is up, I am often awake unless I am really really tired.

Over Easy Or Sunny Side Up?
Either

Favorite Place To Relax:
On the deck when the weather is nice. In a warm, snuggly bed when it isn't.

Favorite Pie:
Anything chocolate!

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:
Ben and Jerry's - Chunky Monkey, Everything But the Kitchen Sink, and Oatmeal Cookie

Tagging those that would like to do this meme

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My friend, Lizzie has tagged me with the 123 Book Tag. I did it awhile back, but since I now have a different book in hand, I thought I would go ahead and do it again:)

The rules are quite simple:
1. Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

"We understand that not everyone has a family likie ours, and we'd be exaggerating if we tried to make our family sound anything near perfect. But we hope you catch a vision for collaborating with family - if not with the family you have now, then with other families in your community and with the family you'll have someday.

One of the greatest benefits of modern technology is that it lets us connect with like-minded people regardless of location. Many of our best friends are people we know primarily online, and yet we've been able to work together on some exciting projects."

These lines come from Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations. This book has the power to change the world. And I am giving away a copy of it on my blog! So if you would like to learn more and join in the contest, check out my post about Do Hard Things.

As to the tagging part. I have seen this tag around a bit among my bloggy friends. So if you haven't had a chance to do it or you are looking for some Monday blogging material, feel free to join in! If you do, let me know and I will link to your post below.

1. You're next!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Much like in is exhibited by the Pay It Forward movement, when we do something kind for another person, then they will often go forth and do something kind to someone else.

Amanda tagged me with the Five Kind Things Meme.

Here are the rules:

1. List five kind things you do for yourself. List five kind things you do for your closest friend, partner or child. List five kind things you have done for a stranger.

2. Tag five people.

Remember, kindness begins at home. When we take care of ourselves, then we have the ability to reach out to others. And the kindnesses don't have to involve money, time and consideration are awesome ways to show kindness!

5 kind things I have done for myself:

1. Exercise
2. Carve out time each day to read
3. Make more good eating choices
4. Bought myself a Nintendo DS Lite
5. Noticed something complimentary about my appearance

5 Kind things I have done for my kids and husband:

1. Got up to date tags for my hubby's Jeep that just came out of a year in the shop
2. Helped my children to sell items they no longer wanted
3. Read stories to my children
4. Play games with my children
5. Help my hubby with business matters

5 Kind things I have done for a stranger:

1. Prayed for them
2. Let people out into the road in heavy traffic
3. Let them go in front of me at the grocery store when they have less groceries than I do
4. Held doors for people
5. Given a dollar to a lady at the grocery store who was a dollar short

I am tagging

Whoever feels like playing! I appreciate each and everyone of you who stops by my little corner of the world (that's your kindness to me), so let me share this fun tag with you!

If you play along, let me know and I will link to you here:

1. You're next!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I was tagged by Laura for What are you Reading.

The "tag" says:

turn to page 123 of the nearest book, go to the fifth sentence and post the next three! Then tag five more people.

"The sea oats belong, but the rest of that sh-- has no business growing without irrigation. Somebody better investigate, that's what I think."

"My daughter and I went exploring one day."

This comes from Duma Key by Stephen King. This is his newest book which was published in January.

I am tagging the following to share their reading material:

1. Laura at Heavenly Homemakers
2. Sherry at A Bibliomane Amidst the Butterflies
3. Lizzie at Writing to Inspire
4. Bebemiqui at Young Mom in the Big World
5. Mama Zen at The Zen of Motherhood

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Just in case you haven't figure it out, memes are kind of cool. I know there are blogs that don't do them, but I do them for two reasons. One, somedays they are the only blogging material I have and two, they are a great way to share linky love! And let's face it, linky love really does help the bloggy world go around!

So here goes: Laura at Laura Williams Musings tagged me for this viral linking meme.

Continue reading "Tagged for the Viral Linking Meme" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My buddy Laura at Laura Williams' Musings was kind enough to name me among a list of blogs that made her day. This is a high honor for me, especially since hers is one of the blogs I read every day. And not just for her wonderful contest links, but for the great tips she shares, the reviews, and just her loving and fun attitude.

Laura says this about me: "Melissa's blog is a daily stop on my reading list. She offers book reviews, fun tidbits about history, and more"

Continue reading "Blogs That Made My Day - An Award" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Kailani over at An Island Life tagged me for the 7 Random Things Meme. If you haven't visited Kailani's blog, I highly recommend it! She lives in Hawaii, is a sterwardess and her job stories and photos of her children always make for great reading. Plus she has frequent giveaways.

Now on to my 7 Random Things....

1. I was born in Fort Gordon, GA while my Dad was in the army during the time of Vietnam. Through a miracle, he was never sent overseas which was a blessing to my mother whose father passed away a month before I was born.

2. My heroes when I was growing up were: The Bionic Woman, Isis, and Wonder Woman. I wanted to be like them and save the world from itself and the evil in it.

Continue reading "7 Random Things About Me" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This is an awesome Meme. Beth at The Sassy Southerner tagged me for this today.

Here are the rules for this meme:

1) Go back through your archives and post links to five favorite blog posts that you’ve written. But there is a catch:
a) Link 1 must be about family.
b) Link 2 must be about friends.
c) Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are… what you’re all about.
d) Link 4 must be about something you love.
e) Link 5 can be about anything you choose.

2) Post your five links, and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better.

Continue reading "Archive Meme" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My buddy Laura at Laura Williams' Musings is doing this, and I thought it would be fun, so I decided to join along:)

Here’s how you play. Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following categories. They have to be real places, names, things…nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same first initial. You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question. Here goes nothing.

What is your name? Melissa

4 letter word: Move!

Vehicle: Monte Carlo SS (I owned this dream car once)

City: Moneta (where I met my husband)

Boy Name: Michael

Girl Name: Monique (my name in French class as there is no French version of Melissa)

Occupation: mother

Something you wear: mucklucks (sp? These are what mom called furry boots I wore as a kid)

Celebrity: Madonna

Food: Monkey Bread

Something found in a bathroom: Mildew

Reason for Being Late: IMonkeying around

Cartoon Character: Mickey Mouse

Something You Shout: Move it! (hmmm...that bears a striking resemblance to my first answer!

Want to play along?

Let me know if you are playing along by leaving me a comment so I can come check yours out. Leave me the link and I'll update this post with your link.

If you don’t have a blog, just play along in the comments.

1. Jen at My Three Boys and I

2. Your link here.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Many of the blogs that I visit are doing a review of their blogs previous year. Either by linking to a favorite or most commented on post for each month, or sharing a few posts that summed up that month or sharing the first line of the first post of each month.

So many choices, which to pick, which to pick...Well, since I didn't begin blogging here until the middle of February 2007 (previously I was blogging at HomeschoolBlogger). And since for the first 6 months that I blogged, I only had about 500 visitors total and hardly any comments (however, 9000 visitors have come by since the middle of August which amazes me), I decided to share the first sentence of the first post of each month and the first sentence of the last post of each month...just to be different:)

January...not here at Melissa's Idea Garden

Februrary...Introduction I have been blogging for a couple of years now. Miracle Baby Now 14 Months Old 13 1/2 months ago, Woody Lander stopped breathing for 30 minutes after suffering a massive heart attack at the tender age of 2 weeks.

March...Wii Mania If you don't own a Wii, you should definitely put it on your list! Review: Valentine by Tom Savage I haven't read any of Tom Savage's books before.

April... Review: Crash Last weekend my husband and I watched the movie "Crash" which received 3 Academy Awards in 2005, including Best Picture. Review: The Pursuit of Happyness The Pursuit of Happyness stars Will Smith and is inspired by a true story.

May...Mother's Day Project: Monet's Garden A couple of months ago, I borrowed a book from the library on Art. Fresh Air Child Update We are in touch with the local Fresh Air representative and she has put an application in the mail to us.

June... Our Next Year Curriculum I have been pretty much patchwork on curriculum over the past years. Stuffed Green Peppers I continue to make recipes from the file my mom gave me 20 years ago.

July ... Seafood Salad for 4th of July Below you will find the recipe for tonight's dinner. Homeschool Open House 2007: My Entry Tiany at Less of Me, More of Him is hosting an awesome open homeschool open house!

August...Summer of the Monkeys This evening the children and I watched Summer of the Monkeys. August Give-Away Please note that this is a sticky post and will be at the top of my page until September 1st.

September...Book Contest: The Meeting of Ani Adams Karen over at Mommy of Three is having a book giveaway for what looks to be a very interesting book: The Meeting of Ani Adams.Haiku Carnival with PrizesPlease note this is a sticky post and will be at the top of my blog until September 30th.

October... 6 Die From Brain-Eating Amoeba in Lakes I prefer to pass on happy news, but when I read this article I was shocked and felt like it was something I wanted to make more people aware of. Halloween PicturesTonight was the night...you won't believe who we saw wandering about on our deck...

November...Laura tagged me for the 10-20-30 Year Meme Laura wants to know what I was doing 10, 20 and 30 years ago. Another Question - No Follow! Would someone please explain what 'no follow' means?

December...December 1 - A History of Art - The Lindisfarne Gospels Today's art work is an example of early medieval art.2 Book Reviews: Chocolate Beach, A Dropped Stitches Christmas and a GIVEAWAY!!!! Okay, let's get the New Year started off right!

In 2007, I wrote 760 blog posts and received 868 comments! Thanks to all of you for making this fun (and for reading!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Laura at Laura Williams' Musings tagged me for this Carded Meme. I am always looking for fun blogging material and with the extra twist on this, I couldn't resist. I strongly believe in the power of prayer and I think this is a wonderful way we can support one another.

Ronie Kendig altered this CARDED meme to include a Spiritual Wish list so we can know how to pray for each other, both spiritually and physically. Isn’t that a great idea?

THE RULES:

1. Each player starts with 5 gifts that they would want for Christmas.
2. People who are "CARDED" need to write their own Blog about their 5 things & post these rules.
3. At the end of your Blog, you need to choose 5 people to get "CARDED" and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a COMMENT telling them they're "CARDED", and to read your Blog.

My Materialistic Gift/Wish List:

1. A new used car to replace mine since it has 180,000 miles and it needs a new engine.
2. Carpet for my den/dining room/living room area
3. New windows that insulate better (we live in a doublewide...bad windows)
4. An exercise bike so I can exercise without hurting my knee
5. To pay off our mortgage

My Spiritual Gift/Wish List:
1. Discipline to maintain a prayer journal and Bible reading time.
2. To stop worrying so much and trust God more.
3. To put God first and seek his will for my life
4. To show my love for my family and friends better and not get so wrapped up in my own problems.
5. More "bravery" to testify about what God had done for me. I get nervous.

I am supposed to tag five others, but most of my bloggy friends are taking off for the holidays and I don't want to add a burden. So if you have read this and feel like sharing your wish lists, please let me know. I will pray that God will work in your life and I appreciate your prayers on my behalf.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My bloggy friend, Sherry, has a fun Christmas Meme at her blog. Please go by and make a new friend this Christmas season! The meme looked like fun, so I am doing it here. I love talking about Christmas!

1.What is your favorite Christmas carol? O Little Town of Bethlehem, Joy to the World, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Silent Night...shucks, I can't think of just one!

2. What is your favorite secular Christmas song? White Christmas, Winter Wonderland, 12 Days of Christmas, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bell Rock...oops, I didn't it again!

3. What is your favorite Christmas movie? If I could only pick one movie to watch over Christmas, it would be It's a Wonderful Life. But, as I wrote earlier this week, there are a lot of movies on our holiday watch list!

4. What is your favorite Christmas memory growing up? Christmas caroling.

5. Do you shop early or are you a late shopper?. When I was younger, I was a very early shopper (done like in October), then I became a Black Friday shopper and enjoyed picking up a few things on Christmas Eve just to be out among the hustle and bustle.

6. Is your tree real or artificial? It is artificial. We prefer real. Last year, we got an artificial tree, and I honestly cannot remember why. This year, we are glad to have it because we didn't have the money to buy a tree. It's kind of a Charlie Brown artificial tree, but it dresses up well.

Continue reading "Christmas Meme" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I ran across this at my buddy, Laura's blog and thought it would be fun to do. I love sharing random things abour myself! (BTW, if you haven't been to Laura's blog, you reall should go visit! Not only is she sweet, kind, funny and helpful, but everyday she posts about contests around the blogging world...you can win some great stuff! And she was recently voted #5 out of 20 of the top contest blogs!

Okay, on with the eight Random Facts....

1. I love the quiet hours in the morning when everyone else is sleeping. It is the time I think best during the day and get the most done. Somedays, I delay starting school, just so I can enjoy more quiet!

2. I am a hands on kind of gal. When I am mixing cookie dough, I will often use my hands...best mixer I have ever found and it doesn't break or wear out! When I am gardening, I usually start out with gloves on, then I give up and switch to my bare hands. I love digging my hands into the black dirt (purchased from the store cause we all know the dirt in Virginia is red, red, red).

3. I enjoy movie marathons. You know...where you get out the Lord of the Rings Trilogy or the Star Trek movies and watch them one after the other.

4. I miss exercising. Ever since my knee gave out this summer, even walking has become difficult for me. I miss the power I used to feel striding here and there...now I walk gingerly, afraid my knee will give out again.

5. Writing is in my blood (not a secret if you have been visiting my blog for very long). I have been writing since I was about 10 years old. I have written hundreds of poems, three non fiction books, a fiction book, and many, many articles and of course blog posts. I have been in charge of newsletters at several different jobs in my life time.

6. I love snuggling under warm covers on a cold winter day....preferably with a book in hand!

7. I enjoy playing video games. Role-playing and puzzle games are my favorite. I also really enjoy the Mario Party series.

8. I used to spend nights walking through my house with a baseball bat when my husband was working out of town. Now I sleep so soundly, I don't even know it when my daugther comes and gets in bed with me in the middle of the night.

Now I am going to take a page from my friend Laura's book. I love doing Memes. Partially because it gives me something fun to write about and it is yet another way for me to get to know more about you and for you to know more about me. I don't like tagging people though...there are many people who don't do memes at all and have a 'meme free blog'. I don't understand it...but hey, I don't have to!

So, here's the scoop. If you are looking for blogging material or are wanting to share with others and get a bit of linky love in the process, write a post about your eight random facts, then send me the link. I will link to you on my blog.

1.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My friend Jamin shared seven things about her and Thanksgiving on her blog today. I am feeling chatty so I thought I would share seven things about me and Thanksgiving. Afterall...it's not like you have anything better to do than to read my mental wanderings (hee hee)!

1. I love breaking the wishbone! When I was a kid, my dad and I always did it. Now I give the honor to my kids, but sometimes I make a second turkey so that Daniel and I can give it a pull.

2. I enjoy watching the parades on television Thanksgiving morning! I am really looking forward to seeing it this year to watching them on HD TV.

3. I have never made gravy. I always buy it in a jar.

4. Part of our yearly ritual is to watch Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving.

5. We have celebrated Thanksgiving with my husband's family for most of the 17 years that we have been together.

6. I love Thanksgiving leftovers!

7. This year I am going to try a new mashed potato recipe.

So there you go...now you know more about me! Aren't you thrilled!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My good friend, Lizzie, at Writing To Inspire, wants to know 7 weird things about me. Why, I don't know...but I figure if she wants to know weird things about me, other people might too... So here goes!

1. I like to mix mustard and corn with my mashed potatoes. Please don't ask me why or where I got the idea, but I have been doing it since I was a kid.

2. I love to watch thunderstorms.

3. I love to watch movies and read books that make me want to sleep with the lights on.

4. I love to drive fast with the windows down and the radio blasting!

5. I alphabetize my movies so I can find them easily.

6. I like being the first one in the tub after I have scrubbed it clean.

7. I enjoy watching tear jerker movies. Nothing like a good cry!

BTW, if you are interested in writing, I strongly suggest you visit my friend, Lizzie's blog. She has great writing tips and resources.

I am supposed to tag 7 friends, but I am feeling lazy and pies need to be baked, so if you want to share weird stuff about yourself, please feel free to do so and let me know so I can come and read them!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My friend Laura tagged me a few days ago with a meme regarding why do I publish ads on my blog.

I have been writing since I was a child. I love to write and I have been looking for ways to turn that into a career since I was a kid. But even when I don't make money, I write. I can't help myself. I have done business and church and family newsletters. I email. I write stories and poetry. I write nonfiction articles and books. I love to write! So I was thrilled to find a way that I could use my writing talents to make some money and let others know of great products and services out there on the internet. The internet is a big place and if I can help my readers sort through the noise and make some money at the same time, I am happy.

I am also happy to be able to bring in some money to our family. I don't want my husband to feel the strain of being the sole provider. Plus I like having spending money of my own. It's more fun to buy Daniel a present with money I have earned than with money he gives me. There is freedom that comes with having a little money in my pocket to spend on things for myself, my children, the house, my friends.

So those are my reasons for publishing ads on my blog....

Continue reading "Why I Publish Ads on My Blog..." »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Amanda over at OhAmanda.com is getting in the Christmas spirit as she prepares for a big Thanksgiving with family and she wants to spread Christmas cheer. She is offering an opportunity to win one of two Christmas CDs and all she wants in exchange is for you to share what gets you in the Christmas mood.

I actually have these CDs already, but I like the idea of sharing what gets me in the Christmas spirit. Music is a big factor. The radio station that I regularly listen to while in the car has already gone to their all Christmas music program and will play Christmas music until Christmas Day. Other things that get me in the mood for Christmas are:

Black Friday (I love the hustle and bustle and the deals. I love standing in line in 30 degree weather with other people - some in their bedroom slippers - and I love being done by 9 and having a nice breakfast while some are just getting started).

Decorations. Already I have neighbors putting up their decorations and we will probably put ours up in the next week. I love the sparkle and the lights.

Church. It is always a special time of year in church. The Christmas hymns, the Chrismon tree, the Advent candle.

Baking. Baking cookies reminds me of special times growing up when my mom and I made cookies together.

Well, now I have done it....I am totally in the Christmas mood now:)

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So...some ideas of unique gifts....

1. Probably the most unusual gift I have ever given was a dreadlocks wig to my 60 year old father. For his 60th birthday I wanted to purchase him the latest Willie Nelson CD. When I went looking, I discovered it was a reggae CD, instead of his normal country music. Then my husband had the fun idea to get my dad some dreadlocks. I have to tell you it was the hit of the party! My dad also got his motorcycle license that year and he said he was going to wear it under his helmet, but I don't think he ever did.

2. A Bag of gifts.... on several occasions, I have put together a bag of gifts. For a new mother, I bought a diaper bag and filled it with things like rattles, desitin, and the like. For my best friend's 40th birthday, I gave her a bag of goodies and the reasons for them (things like chocolate, a devotional book, a pair of gardening gloves). She got a kick out of that and enjoyed the effort I put in.

3. Old time radio shows on CD. We love listening to audio stories in the car because we travel a lot. A couple of years ago, I went to ebay and bought several classics, but the biggest hit was a radio show called "Cinnamon Bear". We all really enjoyed it and even though my son is ten, we are listening to it again this week. And check out this guys store, he has lots of classics available.

4. My mother is always saying not to get her anything and quite frankly, there isn't anything she really needs. So last Christmas we took the money budgeted for them and we gave 1/2 of it to a church Christmas prison ministry, and we sent the other 1/2 to an overseas orphanage. Then we told Mom and Jim that we had done these things in their name and it was our Christmas gift to them. They were tickled over the whole idea. So pick a charity and make a donation in the name of someone this holiday season. Two people benefit that way.

5. My mother-in-law has two things that she likes me to get her. Tea towels...she loves tea towels and it is neat to her to get ones someone else has picked out. If you think about it, that is one of those items we will use until they are rags, and getting new ones is a nice pick me up that we can enjoy regularly. She and Johnny also love McDonald's gift certificates. They are doing okay in their retirement, but they stil enjoy the fact that they get to go out and get a free treat at McDonald's, then they can use their other money for other things they want or need.

6. Last year we sent my son and his roommate a huge basket of stuff from Harry and David. It was something they would never have bought for themselves, but they enjoyed having the unusual goodies and they could share them with friends (though I am not sure they did).

7. One Christmas I gave my husband a gift certificate towards flying lessons. He had always wanted to fly, and this began his training.

8. One of my most cherished gifts from my husband was when he bought me the complete collection of Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman shows and movies. They were my heros when I was a child and he actually had to get this on eBay from out of country. You cannot buy them in America because reproduction rights were never given here. So see if you can find an old cherished tv show for your loved one.

Go share your unique gift ideas with Rocks in My Dryer readers!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Laura wanted to know what was on my desktop...so I am sharing it below. She has a pretty desktop, which actually has been on my before.

Here’s how it goes:

[TAG STARTS HERE]

My Desktop Free View Instruction:

A. Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun.

You can do a screen capture by: [1] Going to your desktop and pressing the Print Scrn key (located on the right side of the F12 key). [2] Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and do a Paste (CTRL + V). [3] If you wish, you can “edit” the image, before saving it.

For MAC users: Press [ Apple] [ Ctrl ] [ Shift ] and [ 3 ]

B. Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of icons. Things like that.

C. Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.

D. Add your name to this list of Free Viewers with a link pointing directly to your Desktop Post

Here is what my desktop looks like.

So what does my desktop say about me?

1. I like Johnny Depp...what can I say?

2. I like to keep track of the day and the time and I prefer to have my little desk top icons sorted into folders instead of covering my desktop.

3. I am a multi-tasker...I am always working on several things at once. Not only can you see all the buttons on my tool bar below, but I have 6 explorer windows open concurrently!

Here is a list of the participants so far:

Francine of La Place de Cherie
Chez Francine
Bloggishi
Unchained Melody
LadyJava’s Lounge
Mariuca
Revellian Dot ComDesktop
iRonnie
Rebecca
Jon
Rolando
Speedcat
Brown Baron
Tish
Mike
Money Online
NoDirectOn
Max
Elena’s Photos
Comedy Plus
MeAndMyDrum
The Random Forest
Samir Bharadwaj
My Brain Dumper!
Go Visit Hawaii
Coming to a Nursery Near You
Pediascribe
Jamee Forever
Pregnantly Plump
Wiping Up Snot
ShooFly
An Island Life
Sherry at JustSher

Laura @ Laura Williams' Musings

Melissa's Idea Garden

Now Who to Tag....Who Do I want To Find Out What They have on their desktop?

1. Sherry at A Bibliomane Amongst the Butterflies

2. Denise at Heart N Soul

3. Amber at Trust in the Lord

4. Cindy at Our Family Adventures

5. Lizzie at Writing To Inspire

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Laura wants to know what I was doing 10, 20 and 30 years ago. This sounded like a neat idea so I thought I would try and dredge up some answers...if I can remember back that far....

10 years ago, I would have been 31. Jack would have been approaching his first birthday. During that year I spent most of my time playing with him and being amazed at his very existence. I remember nights when I fell asleep holding him, his tiny hand wrapped around my finger. I never knew such love was possible.

20 years ago, I was 21. I was a senior at the College of William and Mary. I was looking forward to a great senior year and to a wedding that I was planning. My first husband and I were married 6 days after we graduated from college.

30 years ago, I was 11. I don't know if I can remember back that far... I would have been in the 6th grade. I had only recently discovered Elvis (just in the months prior to his death). I was watching every Elvis film I could find on cable and buying up his records. I was a little late for the Elvis scene, but I was hooked!

Now...whose memories to tax ...prod...show interest in?

I have to know what my friend Lizzie was doing in the past since i didn't know her then. And I want to know more about my new bloggy friend, Jen. And I would love to hear from Karla on this one too!

There are others of you that I visit on a fairly regular basis and I am meeting new people all the time. If you want to blog on this, feel free. And let me know! I would love to learn more about you! Honest!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Jen over at My Three Boys and she is trying to get to know her readers better, so she is sharing her work experiences and asking about others. She tagged me, so here we go:)

I babysat from the time I was about 12 years old (1978) until I was about 25 years old.

When I was about 15 I cleaned house for a neighbor once every couple of weeks.

When I turned 17, i went to work at a local grocery store. I worked there for about a year as a cashier/bagger/stocker until management changed and he didn't want to work with me when I came home from college on breaks.

My first two summers and the following two Christmases I worked for First Colony Life Insurance Company. First in Cashier department and later in New Business.

When I was a Junior in College, i worked briefly at the local weekly paper stuffing ads in to newspapers. The ink made me ill and I had to quit. Then I spent the rest of my Junior year in college working for the Sociology Department as a student aide (filing, typing, gopher).

The summer of my Junior year, I got a job as a teacher at a local Montessori School. I worked with the 1 1/2 - 3 year olds and occasionally filled in with the 4 and 5 year old group.

My senior year in college, I continued working part time at the Montessori School. 1/2 way through the year, I also picked up a job at the local hospital working in the personnel office (10 hours a week).

When I graduated from college, I spent the summer working in the Emergency Room of the local hospital as a patient registrar/clinical secretary.

In the fall, I went to work as the Manager of Parking Services for the College of William and Mary and I continued to work weekends and holidays at the Emergency Room. I quit working at the Emergency Room after about 8 months. Then I picked up a part time job at the Christmas Mouse in Williamsburg.

Continue reading "Work, Work, Work ... What do You Do?" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have recently started two new memes. I don't know if they will take off or not, but I wanted to have Mr. Linky in my memes because I think that is such a great way for others to for others to share their posts! It also is a great way to spread linky love and we all like that! So I went to Mr. Linky and was looking around. I soon realized that I needed to get a subscription in order to make my own memes and to make use of everlinky.

I checked out subscription costs and I happily paid 10.00 for a whole year of Mr. Linky, and then I went to get started. Well, I am a problem child. I use Movable Type and Mr. Linky wasnt yet set up for my templates. But he has been working hard all week. First he asked if I could zip up my templates and send them to him. I looked, but I couldn't find a zipper so I asked him if we could find another way.He said he could give me step by step instructions, but he needed to know which version of Movable Type I was using.

I told him what I thought was the correct answer and within 24 hours, I had the code. Unfortunately, I had misled Mr. Linky and I really had an earlier version of Movable Type. But he very graciously said that was no problem and he sent to the Movable Type people for the correct template. Within another 24 hours, I received the code that I needed for ever-linky. It's great! A few moments of my time and now it is so easy to put Mr. Linky in the appropriate posts whenever I want.

Thank you Mr. Linky! You are the best! And for those of you who haven't visited Mr. Linky, be sure to go visit! The product is fun and the service is top notch!!!!

Keep your eye open for Monday's Act of Random Kindness and Thirsty Thursday! I would love for you to join in the fun!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)