40 Years.....

Four Awesome Children

One Beautiful Grandchild

That is my gift.....

Happy Day Turkeys!.....

Great day for family get togethers. Not such a great day if you are a turkey that did not get pardoned by Obama! Our meal this year included an absolutely awesome turkey with all of the sides that are traditional in our family..plus a few different ones thrown in for good measure.
You can never have too much food...or dessert as far as I am concerned!
The company was great and it is a good time to catch up on what is going on with everyone.
Baby in the house this year that actually got to enjoy some of the Shubzda favorites! Thanks Uncle Drew for hanging out. It was a good day!

Fall Down.....

Yes,

It is time to pack up the pumpkins, wreaths, and fall flowers

and.......
Put up Christmas!!!

No, I am not a department store (thanks for that line dear daughter-in-law!). I am simply a person that LOVES Christmas. I love it for a whole month. I go with the Christmas music, the lights, and the cheer from about mid November on and get sad when it is over. That is why I start early.

I am, however, married to a man that does not find my enthusiasm so entertaining. Come time to drag the tree out of the attic and he is not a happy camper. We have survived forty years of this dreaded event and we are still together, but if the holiday came more than once a year we would not survive. He would be more than happy if the stockings were simply "hung by the chimney with care", and we called it a day!

So I will continue with my passion for Christmas alone, pour a glass of wine, turn on the lights and sing "There Is No Place Like Home For The Holidays" by myself and enjoy every minute of it for a whole month!
Happy start of the Holidays to all!

My Vacation Home.....

Here it is...my home away from home, my resort, my vacation spot. For almost a year this is where I went when I needed a respite.

Pretty nice, huh?
Not only is it one of the prettiest places I have ever been but it came with family included...my family!
Yes, for the last year when I needed an escape I headed to Tampa Bay to visit. It is not fun have family 1300 miles away but when you get to go see them in a place as beautiful as this is, it cannot be all bad. So, I traveled...and when I did one of my favorite things to do was to walk with Brooklynn. We put in many miles wandering through the tree lined streets, singing, and talking and bonding. It was my time and I loved every minute of it.

My Tampa time is over. The family is moving home. Brooklynn and I took our last walk yesterday. Too big to fit in the carrier, we took the wagon. We walked the streets one more time and talked and sang and bonded.

I will miss this.

Do not misunderstand me. I am thrilled to have them back in Texas but I am grateful for the visits I had. I looked forward to my time there. The weather, the trees, the bay, the walks...all of it.

Just knowing when the plane landed that my grandchild would be waiting there to meet me was special. Seeing the milestones she had met since our last visit was exciting.

Now I can watch her grow and develop and enjoy having them close and that is good...but I have to admit, I will miss the trips. It was my vacation and the best kind of vacation to take!

So long Tampa Bay. I will miss you!

The Packers.....

It has been pretty labor intensive in Tampa Bay. The fam has been busy with packing paper and boxes, trying to get all of the loose ends tied up for the move back to "BIG D".

The cartons are packed, marked, and sealed for delivery to Texas. What a crazy time it has been for Tim, Mandy, and Brooklynn. I arrived just in time to see the end of all their hard work. Last minute items and a few odds and ends to conquer before the trip home.

So as to not feel like she did not take part in the big move, Brooklynn had her own drawers to load up. Some plastic ware, my purse and ......

A few bags of trash to tote to the curb. All in a days work for a growing girl.

Have to throw a few things in the trunk of the car for last minute travel.

My this wears a girl out.

Just one more day and all of this will be just a memory....but a great memory for sure!!!

Packed Again.....

Pleasure trip???

Well...not a cruise, or a vacation in Bora Bora, or a week long adventure in my favorite place...New York,

BUT...Yes, this is a pleasure trip!!!

I am off in the morning to help move the fam home! It has been a long 14 years. We shipped Tim off just one month after high school graduation and he has not been home since. Maybe a brief few days here and there but no extended stay and surely no home right across town that we could visit. We have learned to be okay with missing him and now Mandy and Brooklynn on holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions. We have learned in that period of time that communication is much easier. We have moved from snail mail, to email, and now to SKYPE. All of those technological advances have occurred in his absence. We have sat on pins and needles for months while he was on deployment overseas, and we have prayed endlessly for he and his comrades who have a very difficult job. BUT...the end is here. It is over!!!! They are on their way home for good.

The years have not been bad. There have been many highs in that period of time. It afforded us an opportunity to visit many places we might not otherwise have seen. Our trips to the Academy for football games ranks high on the things we enjoyed the most. Many new and wonderful friends are a result of those great times. Graduation from the Academy is something we will never forget. We stood with pride as we pinned wings on Tim. We cried on the tarmac in Lemoore as we watched his squadron return from a 6 month deployment in Iraq. The list of moments that we will always remember is endless...but it is over. I am teary as I type this because I am joyful and sad at the same time. What Tim committed to was and is honorable. It is over and now our family will all be here together...finally. We can be grandparents..not from a distance. I can enjoy my son and daughter in law...not from a distance. It is time, and I cannot believe it is finally here. I am off and I am returning with my family...that makes it a pleasure trip!

A Continual Reminder.....

Yes, they keep sending this stuff. Magazines, newspapers, insurance offers, and so on. The mailbox holds AARP literature DAILY. Like I am likely to forget I am OLD! Actually, however, I do forget....until I go get the mail. I do not wake up every morning thinking "dang, I am OLD." Yes, I have aches everywhere...arthritis inherited from my mom. That started years ago. I have gnarled hands. It slips my mind until one of my students asks me about my really crooked fingers. I laugh..not much you can do about it. I tend to blame the aches and pains on sleeping in the wrong position, or lifting something wrong. In my mind I am not there yet. I don't think it is being in a state of denial. I do not mind the numbers. I am 62...can't change that. Get a facelift? Nope, I will still be 62. But the fact of the matter is I am a senior citizen. I happens to all of us sooner or later and I guess you just keep going. My mind does not dwell on it, deny it, or even try to wish it away..it is what it is. The advantages...DISCOUNTS everywhere. And yes I take advantage of them. If the sales clerk does not offer a senior discount, I ask for it. My pride does not take over here...my wallet does. So...if you have crossed that line (and I do not know exactly where middle age turns to old age) enjoy. There a perks to being on the other side of young!

Here's Hoping!.....

It could happen!

The Cowboys could win!

Probably not but there is always a chance!

It has been an erratic football season everywhere. High schools, colleges, pros...nothing is a given anymore.

Our high school team won Friday night...first game we have won this season. North Garland has never been great but they have never looked this bad...but they won...against a team who was picked to win by a landslide. We won!

• Texas A&M beat Oklahoma. Bob Stoops probably needed CPR after that game ended!
• Texas lost to Kansas State 39-14. Mack Brown probably wanted to walk back to Texas after that humiliating shellacking (thanks Obama!)
• Texas Tech beat No. 12 Missouri after coming from 14 points behind. The Raider fans have been suffering from withdrawal since Leach left. Maybe there is hope on the horizon!
• TCU crushed Utah and is now third in BCS standings.

And so on...only proving that this has been a football season of total unpredictability. Jerry Jones will not fire Wade Phillips this season. He still believes in his head coach. Yea for Jerry Jones, the maker of wise decisions (NOT)! Maybe the team will win one for the "Gipper" today before he packs up his Cowboy wear and strolls off into the sunset.

There is always HOPE!!!

AVID Rocks...

Oh, how I love these kids! Surprised? This has been awhile coming. I have always been VERY attached to my job and my students but this year has been different. It has been a huge adjustment and I have struggled. I have given up measuring cups and taken on AVID binders and the whole process has caused me many sleepless nights.

The ultimate goal of this program is to get these kids into college. I have never been on that exact page before. My goal before was to create a human being that could function well in a kitchen and understand a little about NUTRITION...outside of a fast food restaurant. This is uncharted territory for me. Motivation has always been easy..until now. Ninth graders just do not get it..."yes, I am failing her class Mrs. Shubzda...she does not accept late work". You are right, she doesn't! They have to grow up and for 11 weeks I have wondered what I was thinking when I took this on.
Today I got it!!! Today they got it. Today it clicked. Today we ALL saw the light! Why today? I do not know...but today it happened and the kids were all excited to post their successes on the board and we laughed because it is finally happening. We are bonding. We are family and today I LOVE these kids. I walked out of the building with a smile. No nightmares this weekend! It was a great day. I am not naive enough to think the battle is over but we have made it over that first hurdle and for now that is enough.

Thanks for the thought my precious students...but today I think you ROCK!

Weekend Fun.....

This weekend was Halloween. I love the holiday and am so happy to have moved into a neighborhood that takes the occasion seriously! The afternoon started out with a D.J., a juggler on stilts, a cake walk, and multitudes of other games..not to mention plenty of food and beverage to entertain the adults!!! What a great fall day to enjoy the company of the neighbors.
After the festivities the orange buckets came out and the kids were on the move. Pails to fill, along with pillow cases for the bigger kids. I think that was the ultimate goal for my children...to see how full they could get the pillowcase and then come home and divide the candy into categories. Something magical about getting the most chocolate!
Down in Florida Mandy and Tim were out with little "B" teaching her the art of knocking on doors.
From what I understand it did not take her long to get the hang of "Trick or Treat" and oh, wow something goes in this little bag!!!
Next year she will be big enough to understand that Mom and Dad do not get all of the candy!!And next year they will be home and we will get to share the excitement of all the holidays...what a wonderful thought!