Thursday, January 30, 2014

Big hair and Plastic Plants......

Exactly WHY would this be my subject matter today???  
Because I am cleaning!
I am in purge mode...where I seem to spend a lot of time....and yet somehow the clutter and accumulation in my house never seems to be reduced.  I am serious now.  I am going to rid myself of what I do not need or will not need in the next five years. 
 Somehow I have a goal and so that brought me to this.
BIG HAIR!
 I have these pictures, which I run across every time I clean the cabinet above the computer.
I guess I have kept them for sentimental reasons, though I do not even know the name of the toga clad Tarzan I am partying with.  Oh, he was my date, I just cannot remember who he was.
What I do know is my hair was BIG...really BIG!!  
I also know that there was a period of my life when consuming alcohol every weekend was VERY high on my priority list.  
 This makes me laugh because my family, extended family, and my friends do not realize that the hairdo I have now can really get much bigger!  I am sure that it has nothing to do with the fact that I live in Texas and you know the old adage that Texas women have big hair, right???  
 Heaven forbid that I should ever have run out of that pink and white can of Aqua Net.  It was what held up that amazing do.  I was a must on my list of college necessities.
I actually had a woman at church who worked an event with me recognize me by my hair.  She sits behind me every week in mass and when she saw the back of my head she knew exactly who I was.
We should all strive to be recognized by the back of our head.
The bigger the hair, the closer to God...
I believe all things are cyclical so if my hair is not so much in style anymore, someday it will be again and I will be one up on the big hair curve!
Another pet peeve of my children...plastic plants.  I think they are silk now, but they still have the same intrinsic ugliness.  I did resolve to pare down the amount of fake ivy that adorns my home but I just seriously cannot do it.  Nothing says warmth to me like fake greenery.
I am sure it is another sixties thing...like BIG hair, and that is why I am so attached.  
Frank Sinatra keeps playing in my head...
"I gotta be me
I gotta be me"
I will never ever resort to botox or plastic surgery because wrinkles just do not bother me....
but a wig someday...maybe, because the thought of flat hair...NEVER!


Tuesday, January 28, 2014

The Drama Queen.......

It was Sara's day to shine!!!  
It is no exaggeration to say that Sara waits a year to get up on the stage for her 30 minutes of fame  and this year she was very fittingly the
QUEEN OF HEARTS!!!!
This group of precious children has joined together for ten years to present their version of the latest musical....and this time it was ALICE IN WONDERLAND , BOOGIE WOOGIE STYLE!


These precious kids give 100% every time they are called upon the recite their lines.
They might need a little prodding and there may be a little personal improvising but it is always a true reflection of who they are.
Lory Stewart (the director) is to be commended for giving so unselfishly of her time every year to train and direct these kids for weeks prior to their performance.  She builds in them self confidence and respect.  She gives them a stage of their own.  Without this so many of them would have no outlet for their own personal talents that would otherwise remain buried.  What a gift she is to not only these kids but their families.
And in attendance to watch our QUEEN OF HEARTS.....
her fan club, all dressed in hearts in total support.
What a great day it was.
Sara felt like a star....and in all honesty she is!
And the best ending to her day...
dinner prepared especially in her honor on served on the
YOU ARE SPECIAL TODAY
plate.  Actually, I think she is special just about everyday!

Sunday, January 26, 2014

And She Scores!!!!......


She practiced....A LOT.
And finally she was ready.....well, lets include not just practice but maybe a bribe or two.
Time to get serious and get out on that field and do something besides hold hands with your best friend.

 Brooklynn hit the field with enthusiasm like never before (the part of never before where contact with the ball was something she avoided at all costs).
 There was some girl talk between plays about strategy. " I say lets keep the ball completely away from the boys today, huh????"
 And it was in!!!!!!

What a winner!!!
Yes, we are all pretty proud....
There is not a cuter #15 on the planet!!

Saturday, January 25, 2014

RELIEF!!!!!!.........

A BIG
SIGH!!!!
This is it....my first hidden post.
What a sense of relief.
For the last six months this has been my idea.  I do not want to quit.  I feel like if I do I cheat any future grandkids out my view of life with them.  That may sound egotistic but I have recorded practically every event that happens with Brooklynn and now Finley.  Family times are in here.  
My erratic behavior is on file....like the guy in the Target parking lot who took $205 to NOT fix my car.
I now have five printed books that document my life and in all honesty I don't want to stop....but I want to stop sharing.  I feel like there is a timeline on how many posts I fit in a month, how clever or creative they are and how many times I write down that my grandkids are the best.
Now it is for me....and my children because it will mostly be about us.  No invited visitors at all.
This will give my freedom to say that Brooklynn is a genius in every post if I want!!
And Drew and Heather when you reproduce, I want just as many recorded times spent with you babies on paper...forever.
As far as the world is concerned, I have retired my pen.  I feel so good about that.  It frees my mind to be more open about things....without being monitored.  Sometimes you just have to move to your comfort zone...like now.
No post for today...just the explanation of where this is going.  I know this is the right way to handle this.  I feel so much better about it already.
Ready, Set, Go.....
already prepared with things that have been flooding my mind!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Calling It A Day.....

I have given this much thought since the first of the year.....
the end of this blog.
It has been four or so years of useless info and lots of pictures, but always thoughts I wanted to save.
So why quit now?
Time
I am finding that my heart is no longer in it.  I am ready to get back to the things that used to make me so happy.
I have somehow become far too tied to Facebook, twitter, blogs, and all things technology related.
It is time to retreat to the stack of books next to my bed, my sewing machine, and with spring coming working in the great outdoors.
I am grateful for all the thoughts I have saved.  As I look back it reminds me of all the good things that have happened that I might have otherwise forgotten.
Will I be sorry...maybe.  Nonetheless, I know it is time.
In a few days the past things I have saved will be closed behind a private screen, meant only to retain what I have written without incurring charges incurred in keeping it open.
Thanks to all who have taken the time to join me here.  I appreciate you!!!

Sunday, January 19, 2014

And Now She Is Two....

I am trying, I am really trying not to say how quickly the time has passed, and how two years of childhood have just disappeared before my eyes, but the fact is....
Finley James has passed the two year marker and that means that three is right around the corner....BIG SIGH!

This dark haired newborn is a strawberry blond who is still hanging on to her blue eyes.  
Her precious smile is usually some version of cheese with a totally wrinkled up nose....and cute written all over it!

Finley moved from a placid, content baby to a toddler with a vocabulary that developed about 150 new words in a week.
When she decided to get up and go, she got up and went with a vengeance.
A long trip in the car is very entertaining as she practices all of her new words on you while you are in a confined space!!!!!
It is even more fun when Brooklynn has joined us on our trip because then they recite new words in harmony...harmony that can be heard at the stop light five miles down the road,  This all causes huge giggles and nothing makes me happier than kids truly laughing!!!!!
These two little girls giggle and laugh together, and then turn around and push and pull until they have a toy in their possession that they thought they wanted.  It takes about two seconds of tears before one of them with tears in her eyes turns around and hugs the other and says "I SORRY".
Ahhhh...it is a girl thing!!
They are best of friends.....
right now they are my best friends and nothing makes me happier to have them near.
Sorry Luna Lunch Group, there are days that Chick Fil A with these precious girls  just sounds a whole lot better than the Cheesecake Factory with adults.  See you all next month!!!!
Happy Birthday Finley James!

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

It's Been Awhile...

It has indeed been awhile.  I cannot even think of an excuse for lack of creativity.  It surely is not because I have done anything.  Quite the opposite.  I have avoided every project on my list for the last week.

What I have accomplished is watching three hours of Season 4 of Downton Abbey.  Due to the fact that circumstances did not allow me to give it my undivided attention at original air time, I resorted to the DVR and watching at a later date.  I felt that Mary needed my support as she and I grieved Matthew together.  I was surely glad to see she had her feet back on the ground and is going to excert her rights as 50% owner of the estate.  Concern over this is the reason that my attentions have not been on my blog.

Then there is the matter of cheese.  With the shortage of Velvetta I have also been in mourning mode...wishing there was a shortage of pears or peaches instead.  What is a Sunday dinner without queso?  I am down to one box in the refrigerator and it is hidden under the lettuce.  I am sure that no one will think to look there.  Until I find more, I know we at least can make it another week or two without panic.

Last...lazy is at the top of my list.  I think it is the after Christmas doldrums.  The pure hectic nature of the holidays gives way to doing nothing the entire month of January.  I am justified!

And I will end with this.....





Because regardless of what month it is...silly is how we play!

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Where to Start?.....

It is put up...finally!  
Every year I seem to put the final remnants  of Christmas in the attic just a little bit later.  There are always segments of decor that seem to linger...the parts in rooms we do not use.  So what if the presents remain under the tree until January 5th?
  I really think the problem is, where to go with everything?  We keep accumulating and not purging.  It is always in with the new and never out with the old.  So, with the New Year comes the great clean out, and I promise you that when I took a look around my house I felt the need to hyperventilate in a brown paper sack.
Under the sink...ugly.  
I got a new dishwasher for Christmas.  It was a surprise, and for a girl who was ecstatic over a new weed eater one year, please know I took no offense to the fact that it was not BLING.  I would much rather have a dishwasher that did not leak than sparkly earrings!  But, what installation revealed under my sink was at least nine types of shampoo, five bug sprays and amounts of stuff I do not want to list here for public viewing.  Why, because I never dare to go more than one row deep when I clean.  So I purged...a garbage bag full of bottles and spray cans.
And then there are magazines....
and magazines....
and magazines....
and magazines
and more magazines.  
I have no reasonable explanation for the amount of magazines that are piled in my house. 
I do not read them.  I just order them.  Honestly, when they offer you a years subscription for $4.50  (a savings of 90% per issue), how can you refuse?  I apparently do not!
So, why do I have so many?   I do not ever read magazines any of the magazines. 
But, I save them because when I ride in the car I need something to do!
I know...I need therapy.
What I really need is to PURGE and rethink my need to either buy and/or collect anything that is on sale.
I have begun.  It is only a start.  It was not on my resolution list and it is a good thing, because just the word resolution means FAIL IMMEDIATELY to me.
I am determined and steadfast in my resolve to remove clutter.  I may be in the kitchen awhile, because while I am here I have a lot of magazines to read.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Since You Asked....

I have had so many inquiries about Tim.  How he is doing, and how things are in his new African home?
Well here you go!
Tim arrived in his new home in Djibouti on or about the 18th of December.  
We have only talked to him a couple of times, but he reports that it took about 32 hours to travel from Virginia to  Camp Lemonnier.  Obviously they did not travel on the Concord!  If I tell you that he enthusiastically unpacked his bags in the quarters he was assigned I would totally be lying!
I am not sure who bequeathed him the nice set of blue sheets with dinosaurs and horseshoes, but I would be willing to bet that he will pass them on the the next resident when his new sheets arrive.   As you can tell space is tight in his new four star residence.  Biggest drawback...lack of a bathroom, or even a sink in the space.  It is a 30 yard treck, towels in hand to shower or use the other facilities.
His dreams probably include phrases like, "there's no place like home, there's no place like home!"
This is an upfront and personal picture of his front door.  He has not had time to do any landscaping, but I am sure some geraniums and other potted plants will improve that curb appeal and make it feel much more like home.  Please feel free to make any recommendations you have for updating or improving the view!
Street view....really wondering how long you have to stay to get one of the better lawn chairs, or maybe that first hut belongs to the base commander.

Question asked by Sara....."Have you seen any camels?"
Response..."No, but I saw a man riding his bicycle down the street with his goat on his back".

In other news...not related to Tim's living quarters, things have been extremely busy.  With the unrest in Sudan, work has been seven days a week from 11 pm until 7 am.  Not much time to fit in any sightseeing (other than catching everyday sights like the man with his goat on a bicycle). Reports are that he is 40 days down with only another 320 to go.  That is a positive!
 Thanks to all for all the prayers and inquiries.  It is an adventure..on both sides of the globe.  

Notes of encouragement (or ideas for home improvements) can be sent to:
LCDR Tim Shubzda
PSC 831 Box 0008
FPO AE 09363-0008

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Hello 2014!!!......

Welcome New Year!
If you asked me how my year has gone so far, I would have to respond with "just fabulous"!
Not my usual kind of verbiage, but a phrase my brother used quite often, and for some strange reason he was on my mind this morning.
It is 9:00 am in the morning and I have rummaged through the paper, enjoyed a cup of coffee and some yogurt, and am thinking about cup #2 before I rise.  Yes, all of this completed from my bed, propped up with pillows, and still in my jammies.  My husband has headed to the grocery store to get the black eyed peas which I forgot, along with various other items that I missed when I was in Walmart yesterday.  Quite frankly I am surprised I even got out of Walmart with a shred of sanity left...but that is another story.  What a nice man he is....and I am thinking I will return the favor by doing the dishes for him today....MAYBE!
New Years Eve was simple.  No hot pants, party hats, and glittery make up (ahhh, 70's I do remember you).  We enjoyed dinner with Sara at a great mexican food restaurant.  Home again, we got comfy and enjoyed watching the Aggies play Duke....what a game!!!  Worth being up until 10:30 pm for!!!  It was probably the only complete football game I watched all year, but it was the best!  No, we did not stay up until midnight to greet 2014.  We simply woke up this morning to the fact that we are staring at a fresh calendar!
Now I am sitting here thinking ahead because yesterday was my day to look back.  It is a clean slate and what I want to write on it is "happy".  It is our choice everyday.  
When I think about the "happy" things I want to accomplish this year it is not much different than what I aim for each year.
My "happy" list includes....
Friends...some that have been too long forgotten.
Books piled next to my bed that I am going to read.
Family that is my reason for getting up each day.
Fabric, there is nothing that cotton and a sewing machine cannot cure!
"PAUSE" which brought me to a new mindset last year.
Jesus, who has guided me back to a place that fills me with such peace.
Pinterest...kind of random, but where I find creative inspiration.
Home...always makes my heart happy.
Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right!