Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Spring In Wisconsin Wildflowers 2!

Yes I have found the names of some more wildflowers to share with all of you. The pictures of the wildflowers are all from Colonial Park in Racine Wisconsin. I could not believe how many wildflowers we found out in one park.

This is a Bulbous Buttercup. This is really pretty and if you look there is a bulb for one more to bloom.


This is a Jack-In-The-Pulp-It. The come in purple or white flowers. Since I have taken this picture I see them all over now.


This is a Lily of the Valley. I really like this flower because it is very different and very pretty.


This is a Little Sweet Betsy Toadshape Trillium. This is really different and very hard to find the name of this flower.


This is a Robin's Plantain. Yes is some ways it does look like a daisy and also pretty.


This is a Sharp Lobed Hepatica. This flower was really hiding and I almost missed it in between bushes.


This is a Small Red Morning Glory Redstar Starflower. Yes a long name for this one. It is also a vine that is growing on a bush. This was at the beginning of the park and I seen it as we came into to the park. I had to have this picture.


This is Wild Rhubarb. I could not believe I seen this in the park and so much of it. I do have a picture of just a leaf and I think some of the leaves are about two feet long.

I know there are a lot of pictures but I just wanted  to share them all with you. I hope you enjoy the pictures just as much as I am enjoying going and taking them. You are more than welcome to leave any comments!♥

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Happy Memorial Day!


I can't believe it is Memorial Day weekend already. I would like to thank all the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States. This is the U.S. Army, U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Coast Guard. They have all put their own lives on the line to make sure we are all safe everyday. I would also like to thank the families of the people in the Armed Forces for believing in them to do what they are doing for our country.


I also want to thank the men and women that have lost their lives serving for our country. Here in Arlington National Cemetery there are 400,000 graves of men and women that have lost their lives protecting our country. There are some headstones with no names on them it is the unknown soldiers. Hundreds of soldiers walk through 70 sections of the cemetery to place an American flag by each headstone on Memorial Day weekend. To the families that have lost their loved ones I am deeply sorry for you loss.


Yesterday Drew and I took a drive down to Illinois to put flowers and the flag by my dad's grave. I have not been down there in a very long time. It was so nice to go and do this for my dad. My dad served in the Army during the Korean up rise. My dad is buried next to his mom, dad and sister. In September my dad will have passed away sixteen years ago. I still miss him to this day and I will always miss him.

Drew's dad was also in the Army he was in the Vietnam war. The first time I went to go and meet his mom and dad the first thing I noticed was the Army flag flying on the flag pole when I pulled in the driveway. I thought that was great. It is the American flag on top and then the Army flag below it.

Happy Memorial Day to everyone and please be safe this weekend and enjoy it with your families!♥

Friday, May 25, 2012

American Idol Finale!

Can you believe it this week is the finale? I could not believe this is the last week of the show. The season has gone by so quick this year.

They were at the Nokia Theater in L.A.. Over 7,000 fans were there. 

Tueday Night:

Themes for this week:
Simon Fuller picks, Contestants favorite performance and The song the will release if they win.

Round 1: Simon Fuller Picks-
Jessica- She sang "I have Nothing" by Whitney Houston. This was alright not her best.
Phil- He sang "Stand by Me" by Benny King. This song I really like a lot and he did an awesome job with it.

Round 2: Contestants Favorite Performance-
Jessica- She sang "The Prayer" by Celine Dion. This is the song that got her into the top 24. This time it was alright.
Phil- He sang " Movin' Out" by Billy Joel. He sang this for Billy Joel week. Both times he has done an awesome job with the song.

Round 3: The Song They Will Release If They Win-
Jessica- She sang "Change Nothing" by Pedro Costa. Great performance.
Phil- He sang "Home" by Dierks Bently. Awesome.

Jason sang "Undefeated" the coke song. It was alright.
Scotty McCreary sang "Please Remember Me" I love this song.

Wednesday Night:

Over 132 million votes came in.

Opening song was with the top ten tehy sang "Runaway". That was Great.




Phil sang with John Fogerty from Creedence Clearwater Revival they sang "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" and "Bad Moon Rising" they sang awesome together.

Joshua and Fantasia they sang "Take Me To the Pilot" by Elton John. I didn't like this performance at all.

Top 10 Girls sang "Ain't Nobody" and "I am the Woman". They did alright.

Rihanna she sang "Where Have You Been" I didn't care for this.

Skylar and Reba McEntire they sang "Turn on the Radio" This was awesome. If you looked at the two of them sing it looked like mother and daughter.

Jessica she sang "I Will Always Love You" it was alright.

Top 10 guys and Neil Diamond they sang "Coming to America", Play it Now" and I'm a Believer". This was so awesome.

Jennifer Lopez she sang "Goin' In", Step Up Revolution" and "Follow the Leader". I didn't care for this.

Jordon Sparks and Hollie sang " You'll Never Walk Alone" it was alright.

Top 10 guys sang Bee Gee songs in memory of Robin Gibb. They sang "How Deep is your Love"How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" and "To Love Somebody". They did an awesome job with all the songs.

Jessica and Jennifer Holiday they sang " I am Telling You I am not Going". I did not like this performance at all.

Aerosmith they sang "Legendary Child" and "Walk This Way". I really love this band and I am going to see them at Summerfest. They had an awesome performane tonight.

Jessica and Phil- They sang "Love Lift Us Up Where We Belong". This was awesome.

Runner up is Jessica.

Season 11 Next American Idol Winner is Phillip Phillips.I had to put one of his goofy pictures here.


Scotty McCreary handed him the statue. Then Phillip sang "Home". while he was singing he broke down crying and stopped singing. Then he went down into the audience by his family. I was picking him to win since the top 24. Because he can sing any song you give him and make it his own song. You are more than welcome to leave any comments.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

A Revue on the Bee Gees!


Yes I decided to do a revue on the Bee Gees this time. I did listen to their music a lot and I had most of their albums. I really like the music, it was like soothing music for me not like at the time the hard rock.

The Gibb brothers are Barry born 1946 he played the guitar and did vocals, then the twins Robin  born 1949 he did only vocals and Maurice born 1949 he played keyboard and did vocals. They did have a younger brother Andy born 1958 and passed away in 1988. Andy had a solo career of singing.

 From 1958 - 2003 they sang as a group. Then from 2009 - 2012 they were active with writing music and solo careers. 

They lived in Manchester England for a few years then they moved to Redcliffe, Queesland Australia. In Australia is when they got their music career started. The record label that they started out with was Festival Records. This was with only a couple of songs then they went to Leedon Records with the Bee Gee name in 1963. While with this record company they had a pop act the hit voice on the albums was Robin's voice.

Then in 1966 the band was on the verge of being dropped from the record company they met Nat Kipner. Nat is a songwriter and producer for Spin Records. Nat made a deal with Leedon Records to put the Bee Gees on his label.

Then in 1967 they auditioned for Polydor Records and signed a five year contract with them. Polydor Records would be the label in the United Kingdom and ATCO would be the distributor on the United States. With this label the Bee Gees have a pop act for their music. In the last 1960's - early 1970's it was Robin's voice with the hits for early music.

The late 1970's that was the prominent time for them to change to the disco music. Then at this time for this type of music it was Barry's voice that was the hit for the music from the late 1970's - the 1980's. In 1978 they co-starred with Peter Frampton in the movie Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band. In 1979 the brothers decided to put all royalties for the song "Too Much Heaven" into a charity called UNICEF. From 1979 - 2007 the royalties totaled more than $11 million dollars. Then the summer of 1979 they did a concert tour called "Spirits Having Flown" tour. They sold out over 38 concerts between the U.S. and Canada.

In the 1980's they would write songs for other singers. Barry was working on a album with Barbara Streisand. The album is called Guilty and they do have a couple of duets on the album. In 1983 they wrote the song "Island In The Stream" for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. This I never knew about. I really like this song very much. They also wrote songs for Dionne Warwick.

1990 they had a boxset come out called "Tales From The Brother Gibbs: A History In Songs" This boxset has rare B-Side, Unreleased tracks and some live music. In 1997 the brother were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by none other than Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. That was an honor in itself to have Brian Wilson induct you.

The biggest tragedy struck the brothers that was Maurice having a heart attack Jan. 12th, 2003. The sad thing is he passed away that day from the heart attack. After that Barry and Robin decided to retire the Bee Gee name because it was meant for the three brothers. On Feb. 23,2003 the Bee Gees received a Grammy Legend Award the people to except the award are Barry, Robin and Maurice's son Adam. In 2004 Robin was touring his solo career in Germany, Russia and Asia. Barry was writing songs for Barbara Striesand's new album.

In Feb. 2006 Barry and Robin reunited for a charity concert in Miami. It was for the Diabetes Research Institute. This was the first public performance since the death of brother Maurice. Then celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Bee Gees they made an appearance on Dancing with the Stars Nov. 17, 2009.  In Oct. 2010 Robin announced that there will be a Bee Gee movie coming out. It will be their life journey with their music. Steven Speilberg will be producing and directing the movie.They also made an appearance on American Idol Season 9 Finale show. They sang "How Deep Is Your Love". If I am right this is the last time that they sang together.


This is another tragedy for the brothers. Robin found out he had liver cancer Nov. 20, 2011. He had to cancel some shows because of the pain and he was losing weight too. On April 14th, 2012 Robin was in the hospital with Pneumonia and went into a coma. He came out of the coma six days later and then he passed away on May 20th, 2012. Rest in Peace Robin we will miss you.

The only living brother is Barry. We know how much he will miss his brothers.

The Bee Gees sold over 200 million records Worldwide.

I found this video and I thought it would be the perfect one. It is the two brothers together and I just think this is an awesome way to close out this post. Please feel free to leave any comments!♥

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Spring In Wisconsin Part 2!


I was driving through town around three different detours of construction to go and pick up Drew from work and one day on the way I seen this. I just had to take a picture of it for a post. This was on Carlton Dr.. The first time when I past it I didn't have my camera with me and then I said to myself I have to keep the camera with me. I pointed this out to Drew when I was taking him to work one morning. He can't figure out what they are suppose to be. Both the top picture and the bottom are from the same house.



In the top picture I know there is a frog's head in the middle and I don't know what the other two are. The bottom picture the first one looks like a dinosaur and the middle looks like a bear or dog. I really like this it is really something different.




This is a lilac bush we seen this while driving around. This picture was taken on 16th st. last month. I have seen lilac bushes on 4 mile rd. too. Then when I went past them yesterday and all the flowers are off of the bush already. I just couldn't believe that with in a month the flowers came off the bush. I love the smell of the lilac flowers in the summer.



We went walking one day through Shoop Park. I came across this bush and I thought it was really pretty so I took a picture of it. Come to find out during my search on the computer this is a Climbing Prairie Rose. I thought this was a good picture with all the buds on the branches too. I am sorry that the picture is a little out of focus.

I am really having fun taking the pictures and sharing them with everyone. I do hope all of you are enjoying this right along with me. I do have a lot more to look up and post for you. The hard part is when I am out trying to remember all the pictures I have taken already. Feel free to leave any comments!♥

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Happy Two Year Anniversary Babe!


I am two weeks late in posting this. It was May 4th two years ago that we first started to talk to each other.

Yes it has been two years with Drew. The most wonderful two years of my life with such a loving man. It just doesn't seem like it has been two years to me.

I can still remember the first time that we met. That was the day I knew he was the one and only man I wanted to be with. When I first seen him I felt so safe and I never felt that way before. I still feel that way to this day and I would never give that up for anything.

The only thing that Drew wants is for me to be happy all the time. I am very happy because I am with the most wonderful man in the world. He not only let me in his life with open arms but he also let my kids in his life with open arms. That itself says very much for him. He loves my kids like they are his own and does not treat them any different then his own son. He has so much love inside him, he is very kind, he is very caring, he loves to joke around and he is very handsome.

To this day when I am not at work he still calls me on his breaks and his lunch just to make sure I am alright. Just hearing his voice during the day makes me so happy. Knowing he is calling to let me know how much he loves and cares about me.

This past weekend my older daughter graduated college and I was not the only one crying watching her cross the stage. Drew was crying too because that is step-daughter. She talks more to Drew then she does her own father and he knows that. When she has a problem she will call us to talk to us. Drew vacation time off of work for her graduation.

My son calls and talks to him also about music. You can not stop them two when they start to talk about this. They do talk about other things also. He is also grandpa to my son's daughter. You should have seen him talking pictures of our granddaughter over the weekend. We are going to have our granddaughter for a weekend this summer. I know grandpa is going to spoil her and he says no but I know better.

My youngest daughter lives with us and you should see them teasing each other and joking around. But then there are days that are not good. But the most part is really good between them. He was there for her when she graduated high school and her dad was not. I think that meant so much to my daughter. She is going away to college this August and I know it will hit him hard because he so used to her being here. It will hit both of us because this is my youngest going away.

Drew is very much family oriented and I love him for this. I could not ask for a better man than him and I love the man I have in my life right now. He is the one and only man I want to be with for the rest of my life and I will love him for the rest of my life.

I just want to say Happy Two Year Anniversary to the most wonderful man in the world and I love you with all my heart Babe!♥

Friday, May 18, 2012

American Idol Top 3!

Yes I know  I have missed last weeks. Hollie was sent home last week. I am sorry about that I was not home and not by a computer.

So now we are down to three contestants for this week.

Wednesday Night:

Theme- Songs picked by the judges, contestants get to pick a song and Jimmy gets to pick a song.

Judges Picks:
Joshua- He sang "I'd Rather go Blind" by Etta James. It was alright not what I thought he would sing for a night like this.

Jessica- She sang "My All" by Mirah Carey. It was alright not her best song for a night going to the finals.

Phil- He sang "Beggin'" by Madcon. This was awesome and this is the kind of song you want for a night like this.

Contestants Picks:
Joshua- He sang "Imagine" by John Lennon. This was an awesome song for him to pick. I just loved it and he did an awesome job with it.

Jessica- She sang "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith. She did a great job with the song and pick the right time to sing it.

Phil- He sang "Disease" by Matchbox 20. I think he did an awesome job with the song like always.

Jimmy's Picks:
Joshua- He sang "No More Drama" by Mary J. Blige. This was a great performance just what he needed.

Jessica- She sang "I'll Be There" by The Jackson 5. This was alright not a song for her.

Phil- He sang "We've Got Tonight" by Bob Seger. This was an awesome song for him and an awesome performance. It showed his sensitive side that we needed to see.

They went back to their hometowns here they are:
Joshua is from Westlake, Louisiana. 
Jessica is from Chula Vista, California.
Phil is from Leesburg, Georgia.

Thursday Night:

The opening song was done by the three contestants they sang Gotta Get You Into My Life by the Beatles. They did a really good job with the song. 

Lisa Marie Presley sang You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet. This was alright and this was also the first time she was on the show.

Adam Lambert sang Never Close to Our Eyes. This was really good and he actually looked decent for a change. He was on Idol three years ago.

Results:
Jessica- Safe
Phil- Safe
Joshua- Went home and he sang Man's Man World.

The finale will start on next Tuesday and Wednesday. They will be at the Nokia Theater in L.A..
The top 11 will be there.
The new coke song will be performed that night.

Also found out there will be auditions in Chicago, Il on July 12th.

So next week will be the last of American Idol and the last for this post. I am say my prediction and I am hoping to win is Phil. I would really like to know who you are going for on Idol. Please feel free to leave your comments!♥

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Spring In Wisconsin Wildflowers!

This part is pictures I have taken from up north over the weekend. It is pictures of wildflowers and the names of them. I was able to get these pictures in between getting wildlife pictures, visiting Drew's family, cookout by my son on Saturday for Mother's Day and my older daughters graduation.

Yes while driving around looking for wildlife I was looking for the wildflowers so I could get pictures of them. Drew's mom showed some of them to me by their house that she has coming up too. I was having fun walking around the yard and taking pictures of the flowers with his mom. Then she showed me a wildflower book she has so we could look up the names of the flowers. I could not believe how many different wildflowers that are out there.


This is a Bird-Foot Violet. This was found up north by Drew's mom and dad's house. This has the larger blossom of the wild violets. They are a very pretty violet flower too.



This a Broom Snakeweed flower. This is really different and hard to find the name but a very pretty flower. This was also found by Drew's parents house. I found out on the computer that this can come in a bush of flowers or in singles.



This is a Wood Violet it was also found in the yard of Drew's parents. This violet can be found all over the world. It is a very common flower. I have not seen this violet down here at all and we have been driving around all over down here.



This flower is a Trillium. Yes this is a very common flower are here but this was taken in the driveway of Drew's parents. Driving around up north you will see these flowers and it looks like a very light blanket of snow with these flowers on the side of the roads. They are a very pretty flower.



This flower is a Viola Sororia it is in the family of the Violets. This is also Wisconsin's State Flower. This flower comes in many different colors. They are also a family of the Pansy being tri-colors. This is another flower found by Drew's parents house. The flower below is another Viola Sororia that I had taken. I just wanted you to see the different colors of them.



Yes all the pictures here was up north when we visited Drew's parents. We had a really nice visit with them and I really enjoyed walking around the yard looking at the different wild flowers they have growing. I already miss being up that way with it being so quiet and just driving around on the country roads. Yes I also miss the families. I did get to see my granddaughter that is another post by itself of some pictures of her. I hope you all enjoy these pictures just as much as I enjoyed taking them!♥

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Happy Mother's Day!


I just want to wish all the mom's a very Happy Mother's Day.

Yes I do know this is early but I am not going to be by a computer this weekend. I am going up north to see my older daughter graduate college. That is why I am posting this very early this week. We are leaving today to go up north. I am writing this in between all my packing.

Saturday my son is having a cookout for Mother's Day and I get to see my granddaughter. I can't wait for that one.

I am sorry I haven't posted anymore flower or tree pictures. I will be getting more pictures from up north. Then I will post more pictures on here. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend!♥

Friday, May 4, 2012

American Idol Top 4!

Yes it was another bad week for American Idol. Another awesome contestant went home last night. I will let you know what I think of the person that went home this week at the end of this post.

Wednesday Night:
Theme this week was the 60's and Britt Pop.

Mentor this week was Steven Van Zant from Bruce Springsteen's band.

First Round 60's:
Hollie- She sang "River Deep Mountain High" by Tina Turner. It was one of her better performances and yes I did like it.

Phil- He sang "The Letter" by The Box Tops. This was awesome and yes he did it again.

Skylar- She sang "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. This was another one of her awesome performances.

Joshua- He sang "Ain't To Proud to Beg" by The Temptations. This was a great performance by him.

Jessica- She sang "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. This was not a song for her and the outfit was not one for her to be wearing it made her look to old.

Round 2 Britt Pop:
Hollie- She sang "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis. It was alright not her best.

Phil- He sang "Time of the Season" by Dave Matthews. Another awesome performance by him.

Skylar- She sang "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" by Dusty Springfield. This was so awesome I loved it.

Joshua- He sang "To Love Somebody" by Bee Gees. It was so great I really like it.

Jessica- She sang "You are so Beautiful" by Joe Cocker. I did not like this one for her. The song is not one for her.

Duets:

Phil and Joshua- They sang "Lost That Loving and Feeling" by Righteous Brothers. This was awesome I really enjoyed it by them.

Skylar, Hollie and Jessica- They sang "Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher" by Jackie Wilson. This was really good I did like it.

Thursday Night:

Carrie Underwood sang "Blown Away". Debut from her new album, she was also the winner from 2005 American Idol. The song was awesome I really like it.

Coldplay- They sang two songs "Paradise" and "Is A Waterfall". I really never heard their music before and I really like their music.

Over 60 million people voted this week.

Results:

Joshua- Safe
Skylar- Bottom Two
Phil- Safe
Jessica- Safe
Hollie- Bottom Two

Bottom Two:
Hollie- Safe
Skylar- Went home. She sang "Gun Powder & Lead" before she left.

I said I was going to say how I feel about this week. The one that should have gone home was Hollie. She is not doing her best on the show. Skylar puts a 110% in every performance every week. If you ask me this is a bunch of B.S.. This is three weeks in a row that the good people are leaving. I am talking about Colton, Elise and no Skylar. Then Hollie is still there, this is not fair at all. 

 Please feel free to leave your comments!♥

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Spring In Wisconsin!

I was talking this over with Drew telling him I wanted to do something really different on my blog. I wanted to let everyone know what different kinds of trees, wildflowers and plants are around Wisconsin. I am not going to be posting all the pictures in one post, it will be in very many different posts as I go out and get the pictures.

Drew and I like to go out for drives around are area. We are also going to be going up north by our families to visit so I will be taking some more pictures from up there also. I am having fun getting this going and probably making Drew crazy with doing this also. When we are out driving I see something I would like to take a picture of and I tell him to stop.

Drew is also doing something different on his blog it is about wildlife around here. I can't wait to see how he gets his going. I know that is going to be really good. We are both taking pictures for each other. So some of the pictures are going to be by him or I. Believe me I will not remember what pictures are from him or I.

This is at Pricthard Park. With the fountain there are Crimson King Maple Purple Leaf Trees. I really like this picture with the fountain.

This was taken by Drew's work while I was waiting for him to come out. This is a Cherry Blossom Tree. When I am sitting in the car waiting for him to come out of work I always see the birds in the tree.

This picture is of a Sargent Crab Apple Tree. This was taken right outside our place. Yes I get to see this beautiful tree every day and the birds in it too.


This picture was taken on Four Mile Rd. on my way to pick Drew up from work. This is a Weeping Cherry Tree. I thought it was really pretty.

This is the start of my post and I really hope everyone enjoys this. I am having fun going around and getting the pictures to share with all of you. Feel free to leave your comments and I will read them.

Have a great day to all of you!♥