Five On Friday

A belated Five On Friday!

I've been so very busy at work that I didn't even realize it was time for Five On Friday!
So I'm going to do my Five on Friday on Saturday.  I was planning to base my post on Valentines Day so I wasn't too far off by posting on the actual day.  I am joining fellow bloggers for Five On Friday for one more week.   A different group of bloggers taking five  minutes from their day to enjoy five things.  At the bottom of this post you will see who else is joining in this week.  Our host Amy at Love Made My Home is adding a button to her Five On Friday program.  I thoroughly enjoy doing this post and like the fact that we'll be able to post 5 on Friday randomly. 

First off we had a Valentines Day celebration at work.  We were supposed to wear red or pink colors and we could wear jeans.  I had to laugh because one of the young guys in our office wore red jeans.  We work in a corporate environment and most people are pretty conservative so he stood out with his red pants.  It was bold and brought some energy to the office.  That's one of the things I love about working with the younger generation, the energy they bring.  I remember when I was their age and was full of energy and excitement and promise.  Fun memories.

Well, back to our Valentines Day celebration.  I thought we were supposed to bring a treat to share.    So I baked my red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting which is an office favorite.  It's funny because they rave about them all the time when I make them.  I never take credit for them because I use a BOX mix, Duncan Hines Red Velvet.  However, I always make homemade cream cheese frosting.  Maybe that's what makes them special.  I decorated them with sprinkles and set them out around 9am.  They were wiped out by 10.

 

 

It's a frosty cold Valentines Day this year.  It's 5 degrees and an icy cold wind is blowing.  I'm hoping we start to see a warm up soon.  My husband has made reservations for us to go out for sushi tonight.  I really don't want to go outside in the cold but the Sushi is totally worth it.

 

 

My son is in college so he doesn't have much money, well he has NO money because he doesn't work while in school.  His little girlfriend is so sweet and because neither of them has much money they decided they wouldn't get each other anything for Valentines Day.  Now I love my son very much but I will tell you that little girl has earned a Valentines Day gift by putting up with my son.  So I went to the store and picked up a couple of things for her.  I had a heart box from last year and put the candy in it.  He later went out and bought her a bottle of her favorite wine. 

 

 

 



 

I love Pop Rocks.  I remember buying them at the corner store on the way to school.  I couldn't resist picking up a package for her gift.

I put together this silly cloche for VDay.  It's a bunch of cute little pink and red rubber duckies!  Usually my son makes fun of my decorating ideas but this time he didn't say anything.  I guess that's a good thing.

 

To close off the day Mr. Saylor ordered flowers to be delivered to my office. I always find it a little embarrassing having flowers delivered to work.  Everyone makes such a big fuss over it.  They were very pretty though and I wanted to bring them home since they would have to sit there all weekend. At least I can enjoy them at home, that is until my little cat tries to eat them.

 

 

 

 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day! 

 

am joining in Five on Friday, taking five minutes from our day to enjoy five things.  Please go and visit the other people who are also blogging about Five on Friday this week.

 

Amy from Love Made My Home
Helen from Woollybluebells
Gina from Fan My Flame

Joanne from A Whole Plot of Love 

Rosie from Corners Of My Mind
Lil from House With Hearts 

 

Five On Friday

I am joining fellow bloggers for Five On Friday this week.   A different group of bloggers taking five  minutes from their day to enjoy five things.  At the bottom of this post you will see who else is joining in this week. My post is very late on Friday this week because my work schedule is crazy busy but I didn't want to miss thinking about 5 things today.

Since we're in a deep freeze here in the Chicagoland area I decided to focus my Five On Friday on five things I love about Winter.  I could probably come up with at least 5 things I hate about winter but to get me through this time of the year I thought I'd focus on the positive.  Wintertime is a magical time of year, it's cold and snowy, sometimes brutal and cruel and yet can be beautiful and serene.  I thought the best way to face the harshness of winter is to embrace the positive!

What five things do I love about Winter?

Promise

 

The best part about winter is that it doesn't last forever.  When we are facing temperatures 15 degrees below zero we know that it's only for a little while.  We know that in a few short months the temperatures will be rising and the snow will be melting.  The promise of spring is always there.  In winter things go dormant, trees stand tall and brace themselves against the cold brutal winds.  They signify strength and the promise that better days lie ahead.  Soon the sun will shine warmly, their leaves will begin to bud and they will flourish.  I think that's a great metaphor for all of us when we are facing challenges in our lives.  We can look at a cold spindly wintertime tree and know that someday soon that tree will be full of life again. 

 

 

Resiliency

 

The cold harsh winters remind us of just how resilient we can be.  I can remember walking to school in the city as a little girl along with my two brothers.   We used to tease him and if he cried little ice crystals would form on his eyelashes.  Looking back now I think how cruel we were but we were just kids.  The fact is we never missed school on those days and our schools rarely closed.  Today the schools close all the time when we have sub zero temps or heavy snows.  I suppose it's a good thing but what is it teaching the next generation about commitment?  I made it to school every day in the cold and I grew up into an adult who doesn't miss work due to weather.  The newer generations are different.  I will admit however that there was nothing more exciting than a "snow day"!  It was so rare back then, today the kids expect it!

 

 

Beauty

 

The first snow falls are beautiful.  Our worlds are covered in a blanket of pure white that glistens in the sunlight.  We know that the snow signifies the holidays are near and our worlds become a Christmas card.  I love that time of winter but after the holidays is the time when I start to hate the snow.  Then a big snowfall comes through and it's beautiful all over again.

 

 

 

 

 

Anticipation

 

After months of cold weather and snow my anticipation for Spring starts to happen.  Things slow down in the later part of winter.  I can't do much outside and so I start my spring planning.  I order some special seeds for the garden and start to make plans for what and where to plant.  I love to go into the stores and see the Valentine's day décor and spring gardening merchandise starts to pop up and the winter seems to get that much easier.  I start to anticipate the first signs of new life.  The snow puts everything to sleep and when it melts it nourishes the plant life waiting below the ground.  The first sign of spring bulbs popping through the ground is exciting and rejuvenating. 

 

 

 

Hibernation

 

The cold winter sends us all indoors for the season.  As I write this post the temperature outside is 5 degrees.  The wind is cold and chills you through to the bone but there is nothing more comforting than to come inside our warm house and snuggle under a blanket like a bear in a cave with a cup of hot chocolate.  What's comical is that in the spring all our neighbors start to come out of their homes and it's as if we haven't spoken for months.  It's just it's so darn cold during the winter that we run from our cars into the house.  I love it when the weather breaks and the neighbors kids come out to play. It's amazing to see how much they have grown in the winter.  It really is like we're all a bunch of hibernating bears coming out of our caves. 

 

 

I hope my Five on Friday helps you get through the winter if you're feeling the cold weather like we are here in the Chicagoland area!

 

I am joining in Five on Friday, taking five minutes from our day to enjoy five things.  Please go and visit the other people who are also blogging about Five on Friday this week.

 

Amy from Love Made My Home
Helen from Woollybluebells

Gina from Fan My Flame

Joanne from A Whole Plot of Love 

Rosie from Corners Of My Mind
Lil from House With Hearts