Uncategorized – Long walks and dark chocolate

Farewell, 2012

December 30, 2012 7 Comments

Goodbye 2012

This picture of my granddaughter leaving Disney made me think of how our trip there resembled the year in many ways.

We had lots of fun, saw new sights, and felt the thrill of the ride. There were long walks and we are leaving tired, but happy.

There were lessons learned, we met some new people, encountered many oddities, watched life “parade” by.

We spent too much money, but the memories made were priceless.

It’s time to say adios, farewell, goodbye.

Looking forward to the New Year and new opportunities, challenges, and friendships.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Daily Prompt: Un/Faithful

December 29, 2012 9 Comments

The Daily prompt was “Tell us about the role that faith plays in your life — or doesn’t.”

I can say without a moments hesitation and with complete assurance that my faith is my everything! It’s who I am, how I love and live and exist.

My life is based on and around what I believe about how God knew me while in my mother’s womb and how even then, there was a plan for my life. There was already a purpose and it’s my desire to live that out to the fullest. This purpose is what motivates me, compels me to move forward, and learn more about what that will of God is for me. Each and every one of us is precious to God and He has a plan for all.

If not for my faith in God, in the belief that His Son, my Savior, died on a cross to redeem us all, I would not have the hope, joy, peace and love that resides within. I’m deeply grateful for that love, that peace that surpasses my understanding.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Christianity, Christianity for Seekers, Ernest Becker, Evangelism, Evangelistic Pages, God, Religion and Spirituality, Sigmund Freud

Weekly Photo Challenge: My 2012 in pictures

December 28, 2012 2 Comments

Another beautiful sunset

Happy Birthday to Me!

Dolphin behind our boat

Butterfly in my yard

Dad and baby girl in fishing tourney together

Fishing with the hubby

Stop and smell the flowers

Olympic National Park

Sunset, Big Cypress NP

Big Cypress Bear

Texas bluebonnets

Morgan at softball game

Ayda at the beach

Morgan and a FL sunset

My girls

The National Christmas Tree

This year has been a busy one, filled with many road trips, fun-filled days in the sun, trips to Indiana, California, Texas, Washington, Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia and D.C. There are always so many photo ops when you travel as much as I have this year.

When I was home, I enjoyed capturing our beautiful FL sunsets and some of the abundant wildlife. We enjoy riding around in Big Cypress NP and taking pictures, looking at the deer; I was shocked to get such a good one of a bear. The dolphins always come up behind our boat, but I have never been able to capture one in mid air, so I think that is my favorite shot this year!

My daughter and granddaughter were here with us part of the year as her husband finished up his 2nd tour in Afghanistan. We enjoyed celebrating my granddaughters 2nd birthday together. While she was here we created a butterfly garden but I didn’t begin to see butterflies until they returned to CA, so I took the photo above and asked her mom to show her. Anyone who is a grandparent will understand my obsession with photographing her.

My love and I enjoyed fishing together and we celebrated our 19th anniversary. He and our youngest entered a fishing tournament together and we spent lots of time watching her play softball and volleyball.

This has been quite a challenge; to narrow down in just a few pictures – It was a great year; lots of family time – I am truly blessed!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Afghanistan, California, garden, Indiana, Recreation, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia

Daily Prompt: Immortalized in Stone

December 27, 2012 2 Comments

Today’s challenge from “The Daily Post” reminds me of the scriptures in the bible about the potter and the clay.

The question was: Your personal sculptor is carving a person, thing or event from the last year of your life. What’s the statue of and what makes it so significant?

The sculptor in my life would be God and the carving would be me. My hopes would be the following scenario. My expression would be one of awe and reverence. My position would be a yielded and submissive one. My heart would be visible for all to see and somehow carved to show an openness, a place to give and receive love.

My hands would be shown as doing and my feet also in motion, on their way to help. There would be stages shown in this carving as I change and grow. There would always be room for improvement. It would somehow express the spiritual side of me because the physical isn’t what is important. If the carving were just to depict this past year, it would look the same as many prior years; there would be growth and change and failure and successes; all moving me towards the final me that God created me to be.

I am very thankful for this “prompt” today because it has caused me to think and reflect and meditate on this past year. I’m grateful for the positive growth in my life and the wisdom that comes with age.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Arts, Christian Living, Christianity, Crafts, Daily Post, Daily Prompt, Devotionals, God, Religion and Spirituality, stone

Oh no you didn’t!

December 26, 2012 2 Comments

“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” Saint Augustine

This may sound very strange, but today my patience has been sorely tested by people with no patience. You may say it was to be expected and is somewhat deserved. After all, it was my decision to do some shopping and fight traffic the day after Christmas.

It seems that today, the spirit of Christmas was greatly lacking by some of the road warriors I shared the pavement with today. I heard more than my share of horns honking and saw incredulous and hateful looks exchanged.

To finish out the day, I was driving in the direction of home where there is a slow zone for a few miles. I was obeying the speed limit and the driver behind me was risking life and limb trying to find a way to get around me without colliding with oncoming traffic. He finally passed about the time the speed limit returned to normal, and when I sped up to appropriate number, I found myself stuck behind him going less than the speed limit, for the most part. Maybe he just had a thing for being the first car in line? I am not going to lie, it took all I had not to put all of my 420hp to use and blow right past him, but then I would have been exhibiting the same behavior as he.

We ended up arriving at the same place at the same time which was no surprise to me. I am not without fault as far as pushing the speed limit goes and I can certainly admit to many times when I was in a hurry and pushed my luck. However, watching people today, I was once again amazed at how ridiculous full grown men and women can behave over a parking spot or a car that doesn’t have its wheels rolling within 1 second of the light turning green, or how some will risk their own and others safety due to short tempers.

I wonder if all of the honkers and passers and eye rollers behave that way all of the time or if they are just human like me, and struggle worse on some days than others?

We need to plan ahead to alleviate the stress of running late, realize that our fellow humans aren’t holding us up intentionally; there isn’t some premeditated, devious plan to keep us from getting to our destination. And finally, sometimes you just need to stop and breathe.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Christmas, Institute of Advanced Motorists, Patience, Road Safety, Roads and Highways, Speed limit, Traffic collision, Transportation

Wrapping up the 25th of December

December 25, 2012 Leave a Comment

Merry Christmas!

For most families, by this time on December 25th, there isn’t anything left under your tree, unless it’s that straggler present for someone who didn’t show up. Your outdoor trash can is full of boxes and wrappings and the bags and bows that got through the unwrapping chaos unscathed, you have stashed to use again next year.

The kitchen is clean and all the leftovers have either been shipped home with family and friends or they are nestled tightly against each other in a refrigerator full of them. If you are like my family, you won’t have to cook for at least a couple of days, but you will end up doing it anyway because you will be tired of turkey.

Most likely you are full and lazing around on the couch wishing you wouldn’t have had seconds (or thirds), or that piece of pumpkin pie. Some of us are sitting around chatting, reminiscing, and making more plans to get together more often. For others, a long drive home looms ahead.

Hopefully wherever you are and whatever you are doing you are in possession of some new, warm happy memories. We need to remember if we got only one gift or have a full belly tonight, we are more fortunate than a large percentage of the world. Count your blessings; don’t go to bed mad, lavish forgiveness and mercy, and love, love, love. Peace and Blessings!

Christmas treats

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Christmas, Christmas Eve, God, Holiday, Literature, Merry Christmas, Opinions, Pumpkin pie

Baking for dummies

December 24, 2012 Leave a Comment

Making thumbprint cookies

I hate when I’m browsing for recipes and I see a picture of something that looks perfectly scrumptious, only to click on the actual recipe to find out it is a mile long with complicated instructions. What part of “easy recipes” does Google not understand? Then they try to sabotage you with directions like “blend to desired consistency”. What exactly is that supposed to mean? My desire is that I actually end up with something edible.

In my late forties and just now actually beginning to enjoy baking, I don’t want to blast my confidence by attempting something that takes 2 hours just to assemble; it’s just not going to happen. Well, maybe someday but definitely not today (or this year, I’m guessing).

I’m having one other slight problem with baking. I can no longer hold some of the recipes (think small print on backs of semi-sweet morsel bags) far enough away to actually read them. When I get into the middle of making something, I’m too stubborn to go find my “magnifier glasses” so it’s quite fortunate that I’m not mistaking a TSP for a TBSP which I’m finding really can make a difference.

I find that I am coveting a lot of gadgets and pans and kitchen items that I only bought in the past for the Suzie Homemaker’s on my gift list. Thankfully for me, my mother in law is delighted with my new found love (or maybe like would be a better word at this point) for baking and has some of these items that she is blessing me with! I plan to hit my hubby up soon for some of the pricier things but the plan is to wait until after Christmas and until he is well over his despair of what it cost him.

Well, back to browsing for something else tasty. Maybe if I search under “really super easy” or “baking for dummies” I’ll have better luck? I do think I will attempt my mother’s red velvet cake. I’ve done it once before and it was a hit!

Happy baking and MERRY CHRISTMAS Eve to you all!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Baking, Christmas, Cook, Google, Holiday, Home, Recipe

A recipe for memories

December 23, 2012 Leave a Comment

Hershey’s thumbprint cookies; photo by Morgan

Mm mm, I love the smell of cookies baking at Christmas time (well actually at any time), but there is something special about it around the holidays. My kids always wanted to bake sugar cookies and decorate them. Thank God when they were younger I had their granny to come over and help me.

We would put my kids and whatever nieces or nephews were here all around a table in the middle of the kitchen and give them icing and sprinkles and they would create their little masterpieces. By the time they had licked their little fingers multiple times and piled icing on an inch thick, I never could make myself actually eat one, but they had fun and that was what it was all about. Oh, the mess! We’d have cookie batter and flour, and icing from one end of the kitchen to the other. Yes, there might have been a mess, but they were making sweet memories in the process.

Toll house cookies; photo by Morgan

Their favorites were the Christmas tree and stocking shapes, so we had the occasional battle over who got the next one. They would do their very best and wait for us tell them how beautiful their contribution had turned out. You had to be careful and dole out the praise very equally or one of them would notice and call you out on it. If I can be totally honest, at the time, I was usually glad when they finished and got bored with the whole baking scene and went back outside to play (this was because at the time I hadn’t learned that they would only be young a short time and the house being clean really wasn’t that important). Now I am so thankful for those precious memories and that we took the time to let them make them.

Today we did the annual cookie baking, but it was an older crew. Our youngest member is now 16. We worked together and got several batches done in no time at all. I enjoyed being in the kitchen together; the laughter and joking with one another. Well, mostly it was Kim (a family friend) and I laughing at my daughter, Morgan and her granny. They are hysterical because they are so much alike. It was different and some of the players were missing, but it was still enjoyable.

We made Hershey’s kiss thumbprints, pumpkin spice cookies, and toll house cookies with pecans. I tasted all of them and now I’m sitting here in a post-sugar haze, wishing I hadn’t. I’m sitting here reflecting on the times I made light of things or rushed through them to satisfy my selfish, control-freak personality. Gratefully and by the grace of God, I’m once again thankful for age and wisdom and the ability to realize how precious every moment spent with loved ones really is.

Won’t you do the same? Stop and consider time and its relentless passing and prioritize carefully. You won’t regret it, not for one moment.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Baking, Chocolate chip cookie, Christmas, Cookie, Cooking, Kim, Kitchen, Sugar cookie

My mother in law, my friend

December 22, 2012 7 Comments

Happy Birthday to you!

Today, my blog is dedicated to my beloved mother in law, Nancy.

You know those people who everyone loves? Seriously…you don’t know one person who dislikes them or has anything unkind to say about them. Nancy is one of those. She always sees the best in people, always gives people the benefit of the doubt whether they deserve it or not.

She is merciful, kind, loving and giving. When I lost my mom, back in 96’ she stepped in and without trying to take my mom’s place, became much more than a mother in law to me. I’ve heard all the horror stories about mother in laws, but I can happily say I haven’t lived them. Nancy has been by my side through thick and thin and loved me unconditionally. I don’t feel like a daughter in law, I feel like a daughter.

Nancy loves her children and grandchildren and the rest of her family and friends. She has dreams and hopes for all of them and prays for them continually. Nancy is one of this communities most treasured occupants and I don’t think she realizes how many people love her deeply.

Yesterday I was on the phone with my granddaughter, Ayda and she was telling me about how she got into trouble for throwing her mommies cell phone. She had spent some time in time-out over this infraction and wanted sympathy from Nana. I said, “Your mommy loves you”, and began to elaborate on who else loved her. I thought I’d go down the list. I began with “Nana loves you and Papa loves you and Momo (her name for her aunt Morgan) loves you”. She interrupted me and said, “Yeah yeah, yeah, Nana. I know. EVERYONE loves me!” Nancy could say the same thing because EVERYONE truly loves her.

Nancy, I love you. I don’t say it enough, but I do! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Family, Home, love, parents

Weekly Photo Challenge: Surprise

December 21, 2012 41 Comments

This photo challenge seemed like it might be a little difficult until I was perusing my photo albums and remembered this particular day . My little granddaughter, Ayda kept running towards the sea gulls on the beach. I think we can safely say, she “surprised” them. That was a wonderful day and we made some beautiful memories.