At the Starting Gate
Ramblings & Escapades of a Late Bloomer
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Tuesday Greetings
Saturday, March 1, 2025
Happy Birthday Jace!
Happy 15th
Birthday Jace!
I wish you
the Happiest Birthday EVER! I wish you a day full of happiness and
lots of love and hugs. I wish you many more of GOD’S amazing Blessings!
I am so
thankful that God gave you to me to love and to be loved by you. Thank God that
you are mine and I am yours!
Happy
Birthday my Sunshine. You light up my
life!
I LOVE you, Jace . . . “Luv-of-my-Life”!
Sunday, February 16, 2025
Kids Say the "Durness Things"
They keep you on your toes . . . Pay attention!
A chuckle or two to end your weekend. 👇TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America?
CLASS: Maria
______________________________________
TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication
on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
__________________________________________
TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
____________________________________________
TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
_________________________________________________
TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today
that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
____________________________________________
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
_____________________________________________
TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his
father's cherry tree but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his
father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the ax in his hand.
_____________________________________________
TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers
before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my mom is a good
cook.
______________________________________________
TEACHER: Clyde, your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the
same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE: No, teacher, it's the same dog.
_______________________________________________
TEACHER: Mark, what do you call a person who keeps on
talking when people are no longer interested?
Mark: A teacher
_______________________________________________
Saturday, January 11, 2025
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year 2025
My New Year's Wish for You!
May your 2025 be filled with as much love as your heart can stand, joy beyond your wildest dreams. . . and many precious family moments together.
I wish you good
health throughout the coming year. May prosperity find you and be ever present
in every moment of your life.
I wish you a
year filled with positiveness, growth, and countless reasons to be thankful.
I wish you peace
and a wonderfully BLESSED year ahead!
Happy 2025 Dear Friends!
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
True Confession
My "MUSE"
~~ Music ~~
What
gets me going? What inspires me?
What makes
me want to breathe deeper,
smile
wider, even giggle a little,
then, laugh
out loud . . . alone,
and
break out into a smooth dance step…
with my
broom,
All by
myself
. . . in
the kitchen?
It’s MUSIC!
Soul-stirring
Plain, simple
Spine
tingling
Foot
tapping, head bobbing
from
side to side,
GOOD MUSIC!
© 2008 by Leona G. Shankle - All Rights Reserved
What gets YOU going? What inspires YOU?
Friday, March 22, 2024
Something to Think About
A while
back I was reading about an expert on the subject of time management. One day
this expert was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a
point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As this man stood
in front of the group of high-powered over achievers he said, "Okay, time
for a quiz."
Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?
"Everyone in the class said, "Yes."
Then he said, "Really?"
He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks.
Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"
By this time the class was onto him. "Probably not," one of them answered.
"Good!" he replied.
He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"
"No!" the class shouted. Once again, he said, "Good!"
Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"
One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it!"
"No", the speaker replied, "that's not the point.
The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all.
"What are the ‘big rocks’ in your life? A project that YOU want to accomplish?Time with your loved ones? Your faith, your education, your finances? A cause?So, tonight or in the morning when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the ‘big rocks’ in my life or business?
Then, put the big rocks in your jar first.
Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all.
This and more can be found at Snopes.com Click Images to view Source
ANOTHER SIDE/POV to this STORY!
Friday, March 8, 2024
Friday Feelings
Finally, It's Friday. . .
Let the FUN Begin!
~ ~ ~
Friday, February 23, 2024
OLD but True. . . and funny!
You Know You're Living in 2024 when...
1. You
accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You haven't played Solitaire with
real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 4.
4. You have to LOOK through your phone
for YOUR OWN phone number because you don’t know it “by heart”!
5. You e-mail the person who works at
the desk next to you.
6. You text good morning/good night to
loved ones instead of calling them on the phone to talk.
7. Your reason for NOT staying in touch with friends and family is that they
don't have e-mail addresses or cell phones (for texting).
8. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is
home to help you carry in the groceries.
9. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
10. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first
20 or 30 (or 50) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn
around to go and get it.
11. You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee.
11. You call on the phone from your
room for someone to bring you a bottle of water from the kitchen.
11. You carry your cell phone around
in your pocket all day long . . . to have if you need it.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. :)
12 You're reading this and you’re nodding and laughing.
13. Even worse, you know exactly who you are going to share this message with.
14. You are too busy to notice there are 4 #11(s) on this list.
15. You actually scrolled back up to check how many #11(s) are on this list.
16. You walk around looking for your cell phone only to realize you're talking on it.
17. You point your cell phone at the tv to change channels.
AND NOW YOU ARE LAUGHING-OUT-LOUD . . . by yourself.
Happy Friday Night, dear friends!
Monday, January 22, 2024
A Chuckle to End Your Day
~ ~ Stupid Short Jokes ~ ~
Two
Muffins were baking in an oven. One muffin turns to the other and says,
"Holy
S-h*** it's hot in here!" The other muffin says, "Holy S-h***... A
talking muffin! 😕
~ ~ ~
"A man
entered a local paper's pun contest. He sent in ten different puns, in the hope
that at least one of the puns would win. Unfortunately, no pun in ten did.
~ ~ ~
A man: "Waiter!
This coffee tastes like mud."
Waiter: "Yes
sir, it's fresh ground."
~ ~ ~
Spaghetti
A
wealthy man was having an affair with an Italian woman for several years. One
night, during one of their rendezvous, she confided in him that she was
pregnant.
Not
wanting to ruin his reputation or his marriage, he paid her a large sum of
money if she would go to Italy to secretly have the child. If she stayed in
Italy to raise the child, he would also provide child support until the child
turned 18.
She
agreed, but asked how he would know when the baby was born. To keep it
discrete, he told her to simply mail him a post card and write
"Spaghetti" on the back. He would then arrange for child support
payments to begin.
One day,
about 9 months later, he came home to his confused wife.
"Honey,"
she said, "you received a very strange post card today."
"Oh,
just give it to me and I'll explain it," he said.
The wife
obeyed, and watched as her husband read the card, turned white, and fainted.
On the
card was written: "Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti. Two with meatballs,
one without." 🤯
~ ~ ~
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Another Year of Blessings
~ Happy Birthday Sweet Daughter! ~
You Are My Sunshine!
On this
day somewhere back in time
God smiled on me and PaPa ~dellgirl~.
He said, "I'm sending you some sunshine,
a whole lot of joy, and a treasure beyond compare!
Take care of her, love her, and above all
enjoy her. But remember this, she is mine."
With that in mind we welcomed
the world's #1 daughter, our one and only -
DuAnne aka Jordyn.
I love you, my sunshine. You light up my life!
You made my life richer and more
joyful than I could ever imagine.
Having you as my daughter is truly a
precious gift from God.
Thank you, sweet daughter, for being such an
inspiration in my life!
I hope your day was as special and wonderful as
you are.
I wish you love, peace, happiness, and
God's Goodness & Mercy forever and ever!
Happy Birthday
Love-of-my-Life!