After a long day of work, it was so nice to come home to a BIG box full of goodies. After a solid week of rainy days, this box certainly brought some sunshine into my home! After opening up to see what Diane sent me, my first thoughts were, "Do we know each other?". Checking her return address again, I know I have never had the pleasure of meeting anyone from Alabama. So, as I took each item out of the box, I began wondering how she could have selected such nice items just for me! In this fat box were the following items which she creatively tied our swap theme into: *A baggie full of green candy (yum) and green berry rush Hawaiian punch, and green Mojito Crystal Light (Diane, I immediately unwrapped the caramel apple lollipop!) : ) *A bag of Million Dollar Buttermint Creams. It held 20 pieces when I got it, but I think it's half full now! Can you tell I like candy? : ) *A bag of 40 flavors gourmet jelly beans - love these! *A pack of Strawberry Fields Tic Tacs. *A deck of cards with a beautiful floral design. *A large bag of Wint O Green LifeSavers. *A green expandable vase - perfect for my desk at work! *Village Naturals Therapy Mineral Bath Soak for Aches & Pains Relief with a Delicate Bath Pouf... such a nice thought! *Mandarin Orange Spice Herbal Tea - (I drink tea everyday!) *A darling 2013 Monthly planner with a floral design. *A Home Finance Bill Organizer. The cover and every page sports beautiful photographs of flowers and nature. *The Haul Helper. My husband tried to confiscate this one, but I told him hands off! I relented then when I saw his face of disappointment and said he could borrow it - once in awhile. *"Lift Your Spirits" wall calendar, which includes a small monthly planner. So colorful with lots of words of inspiration. *A little yellow canary that I think may be either a wall vase for rooting a plant or a decorative item to put in a planter to keep it moist. Diane, can you let me know? *A pack of "Dutchman Pipe Vine" seeds! I always wanted to grow these and Diane says I can grow them inside the house and outside, so I am looking forward to starting them. Thanks a million Diane for your creativity, thoughtfulness and generosity!

Specialty sports flooring (or at least area mats) is the best choice. But it should be on top of a floor system that doesn't trap moisture. See link below. (This is not an endorsement of the site. For illustration only.) Here is a link that might be useful: Sports Flooring

They used to be very popular for fitness, but I've never seen one in use.

My Dad.. my life long hero and by far the most important person in my life passed away two years ago. A sheriff chief, teacher, gardener, craftsman, devoted husband and awesome father to nine children, there was no pedestal high enough to place him on. Only a few years ago, he began falling ill and declined too rapidly to keep up with. He was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's) only one month before he passed. The loss of my father was by far the hardest thing I have ever experienced and its taken me this long to learn how to plant my feet back on this earth and move on. What gives me tremendous strength and peace is feeling a real presence of him still in my life and realizing that because he was my inspiration, all I do and say has a little piece of him in it.. and so he lives on. My father shows me in unexpected ways.. and random moments.. he is with me. Posted on my fridge is a note he wrote me just prior to losing his ability to speak and write, "tell 'em who ya are!.. ~Love, Dad", a note he attached to a job resume I had him review just prior to interviewing for the wonderful job I currently have. And just above this note on the fridge sits a growing stack of pennies I have found in the most unexpected places.. under my desk, at my foot while in line at the movies, mixed in with paper clips on my desk (never put it there).. seventeen pennies in all so far - over a three month period. My daughter, who was with my father when he passed, and who wasn't aware I was finding and saving them, came to me recently and said, "Mom, I keep finding pennies.. " ~I am a believer