Friday, March 28, 2014

Quack, Quack Here......

I guess I will forgo the introductory sentences about the pollen and my allergies every time I step outside this time of year to say that today just seemed like a beautiful day to go to the park and feed the ducks!! The sun was out and nature was calling! Brooklynn and I pass this stretch of pond on our way home from school three times a week and discuss how much fun it would be to visit the creatures that call it home....
Well, today was the day!
Such joy just connecting with nature!  


These duck were not like our "lake ducks" who swop in take the bread and flee.  These ducks were up close and personal and Finley became best friends with the whole flock!
Armed with fistfuls of whole grain wheat bread she and Brooklynn learned the difference between ducks, pigeons, and cranes.  



We even found a friendly rooster who must have snuck out of his pen to hang out in the park.



The best part of the day.....
Watching Gramps have more fun than the girls!
He is already planning his grocery list for our next visit....
sorry goldfish, you are going to the birds.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Child Labor........

Isn't it nice when they think this is fun??!!!




Saturday, March 22, 2014

It's Official!!!!.....

It is official!!!
Our confirmation papers arrived in the mail and we are on the list!!!
Little did we know that securing a spot on the pilgrimage to France would be an actual race to get the deposit in quickly.   The tour will only accommodate 40 travelers and there were at least twice that many at the informational meeting.
I believe this is an answered prayer.  It is the trip we have never taken, to a destination that is more that a dream come true, with new friends who I have grown to love.  
All of us going with a tour guide, Father Timothy, who is sure to make it an experience we will treasure always.
The sheer beauty of this all is that we just pay and "GO".  There is no planning , research, or thinking!
The journey is planned from the moment we board the plane until we land back home at DFW ten days later.  Hotels, meals, sights, sounds, art, culture, mausoleums. chapels, cathedrals, and everything is mapped out for us by experts.  We just follow the yellow brick road!!!
The first night we stay at the amazing Mount St. Michel.  All guest are sent home from here at dusk...but not us.  When evening comes the tide rolls in making this an inaccessible island. This will be our home for two days.  Just our home!!!  Alone with 40 members of our church in this incredible place.
Normandy, Cabourg, Tours and the Loire Valley come next.
The wonder of being in the basilicas and chapels daily as Father Timothy celebrates mass will be a spiritual journey that few get to take.  God has granted us an opportunity I never dreamed I would experience.
Finally, after nine days of the wonder and amazement of France we will dine with our group at the Eiffel Tower and then cruise on the Seine River.
On Tuesday October 14 we will board this huge aircraft to return home.
I am already full of thankful prayers for finding this in our path when I did.  The timing was perfect....all part of Gods plan.
 I really do not want to ask for too much, but if we had enough miles to upgrade to this mini apartment on the flight there I would be totally sure I had died and gone to heaven

  Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Just Happy!!!!.....

Today is all about happy things!!
As of 11:51 this morning it is officially the first day of spring. 
 We really cannot depend on the weather to tell us this because the weather the last two months has been simply psychotic.  We have a new and much overused phrase...POLAR VORTEX...that describes whatever  the weathermen cannot otherwise describe when it comes to the various mood swings on our weather map.
BUT, today is beautiful as the first day of spring should be!
It is also International Happiness Day.
The United nations came up with this in 2012.  
I think it is a bit weird that we have to have a day to tell people to be happy but if it works one day a year then I am all for it!
How can these faces not make a person happy???
Balls and bubbles are the things of smiles.
Yesterday we discovered that all of our bubbles contained their own rainbow.
No wonder bubbles make us happy!
Happiness is also knowing that the Bergeson part of our family will be back in Texas soon.
We miss them.  Life seems incomplete without a Bergy fix!

The Bradford Pear trees are blooming and I am dragging out Easter decor....
just more things to smile about.
So, I did some research on things that can help us be happier not just on International Happiness Day.
* Be kind to yourself, wish yourself well every morning!
*Take in the good.  Like really stop and enjoy the good things everyday.
*Read....things that cause you pleasure even if that is a cookbook!
*Be grateful, be curious, and laugh!
*Breathe....slowly.  Close your eyes and take some deep breaths.
*Sleep!
*Do one thing at a time and enjoy whatever that one thing is.
There were more but I liked these.
As I look over the list and think about it, I know that actually I am really happy.  My life is GOOD.  I find new things everyday that bring me joy.  I decided when I turned 50 that it was a new phase of my life and I think it just keeps getting better.  So much less to worry about now. Today I am smiling not because the UN says to, but because I can't find a reason not to.  Maybe today would be a good day for Putin and Obama to get their happy on...
If you go to the store today buy your check out clerk a candy bar!  Pick the one that looks the most stressed.  Tell them the United Nations says "Be Happy Today"!!!

Sunday, March 16, 2014

News From The Horn.....

The Horn of Africa that is....
 Tim finally had an opportunity to get off base and see the sights in Djibouti.
It is hard to believe that this could actually be the "norm".
Brooklynn and I sat together and went through all of the pics her dad sent.  
If I was amazed that the goats roamed freely through town, then you can imagine what happens in the mind of a four year old!
Question #1...."How can Daddy walk around in all of that goat poop?"
I supposed that Gramps pooper scooper would not even make a dent in that mess.
Question #2...."How come those kids don't have any toys to play with?"
That is really not all they don't have, but it is hard for us to even relate to that degree of poverty.
.
I am guessing that there are probably not 30 cereal choices on the grocery aisle.  
Does their DVR have ON DEMAND so they can watch Barney and Sesame Street?  Oh wait...they probably do not even have television!
Exactly what do they do with all of those goats that roam freely?  
Is standing in the middle of the street totally acceptable because I don't see any of those automobiles navigating the roads.
No matter what life in Djibouti may look like to me, being off base obviously agrees with Tim.  

Any change of scenery outside of a barren base and the four walls of a storage building he calls home  makes for the greatest kind of Zanax ever!!

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Oh Jerry!!!.....And Other Things

I do not think it is any secret how I feel about Jerry Jones.....
Yes, I believe he did build a fabulous stadium and then failed year after year to build a team that could be proven winners in that stadium.  He is the decision maker and I have to stand with Dale Hansen in agreement that he is about the worst decision maker there is.  His record proves that...and today...well just add another check mark under that dumb moves column.
Demarcus Ware is no longer on the Cowboys roster.  He is the teams ALL TIME leading pass rusher and seven times pro bowler.  Nope, I did not know that but I do now.  Every news article I have read confirms that fact.  He is probably paid too much...so is Romo but no one let him go.  For Ware it is probably a good move.  He may now be able to sign with a team that wins and he deserves that.  It is not his winning stats that make me a fan.  It is his character.  He is one of the best.  He is a family man and a team leader.  He is not an egotist...he is just good.  
I will get over it, unless they find a reason to drop Jason Whitten.  Then I simply will not know how to respond.
As for the other things....like my Lenten resolutions....
I am not craving diet cokes or candy.  I do not miss them at all.  
Facebook...that is another matter all together.  I am at a loss.  I am missing Facebook more than my family is missing the wine they have given up..oh yes REALLY!!!
What I have discovered is that I do not know anything at all about anyones life if I do not access social media.  No one talks anymore.  If you do not check Facebook then the world just passes you by.  My five minutes a night is worthless.  I have to scroll rapidly through anything worthless and get quickly to real news.  In the five minutes I allow myself I have discovered that there is no way you can read the comments on anyones posts...and that is the crucial part of the news, like the really good part.  My good friend had a new grand baby one day, and then another one the next day.  That is news!!!  I missed baby #1 and barely caught baby #2.  Another friend's son is missing.  I do not know the outcome.  I had a lunch invitation...almost missed it.  Betty's husband fell off the ladder while cleaning the gutter.  He broke his hip.  Not sure how he is doing.  
Has this been a successful or life changing resolution?  
I have managed to read more.  I do not live with my face in the phone.  I talk to my family at meals.  From that point, this is a good thing.  But, to know that so much of our contact is something you have to see on a computer screen or on the face of your phone...not good.  I fear what is 10 years ahead of us.  
I have way too many days to go and it is a sacrifice.  Sadly I will probably jump right back in to it on Easter Sunday, but maybe with moderation.  Maybe if I had it do do over I would never have gotten hooked in the first place.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

See You Later......

It is here.....
Ash Wednesday that is.
I have given a lot of thought to the next 40 days.  
Last year I decided to skip the denial process and focus on something that I hoped might improve my spiritual life....daily Mass.
Actually, there was a bit of denial in that decision because it meant getting up much earlier than I like to.  Since retirement sleep has actually been one of my most treasured commodities.
So...I added an extra few days of worship to my agenda and it was really one of the best decisions I have ever made.
This year was a bit of a quandary, wanting to focus on some positive things  but knowing denial is also part of the season.
I decided that until Easter Sunday there will be no more....
Candy of any kind.....

Diet Coke.....

And Social Media for only 5 minutes each night.
Big sacrifice, huh?  
Yes, it will be.  I read everyone's Facebook posts on an hourly basis.  
And, as I read earlier in the week, it is harder for an alcoholic to take one drink and stop than to deny oneself entirely. That being said I am allowing myself that precious 5 minutes each night, carefully timed.  We will see how fast I can get through everyones news.
I am an addict...a social media addict.  This will be tough.  I am leaving the apps on my phone. Having them right in front of me everyday and not being able to check them at every stop light on the road will kill me!  It will be like a sealed bottle of Vodka in front of an alcoholic.  As for the candy and Diet Coke, yes, that will be tough to. It is an addiction also.
 In all of my reading about the season of Lent I discovered it was all about attitude.  If you are going to sacrifice and complain about it everyday then you have lost the whole meaning.  It is not just about what you are doing but why you are doing it.  Like Christmas....Jesus is the reason for the season.  We are sacrificing as He sacrificed for us. 
I am going to replace Facebook with a book with some redeeming value.  I hope to replace candy and coke with healthier choices (not cake and Dr. Pepper)!
Lent should be a time to refocus our lives.  We are not making a New Years resolution that we pretty much know we will forget by March.  We can attack something we can actually accomplish...and maybe grow in the process.



Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Frozen.....

"FROZEN "... is not just simply the name of the current Disney hit at the box office.
"FROZEN" is our state of being here in the metroplex once again.
:(
I am pretty much tired of it.  I find myself singing the favorite song from the same Disney movie ...
"LET IT GO"
....but I am singing only about the weather.
Enough.....
We are home , school and work cancelled once again.  At this rate the kids will be in class until mid June, and as as retired teacher I know that that time will be really productive...NOT!!!

Once again, we went from air-conditioning to heat!
A little fire simply for the effect!
And because the day just happened to be National Pancake Day, we whipped up a few in the shape of Mickey Mouse just for fun.  Truth is Gramps just could not get much more creative than that!
We had a little snuggle time in bed with the Kindle....
Did a little artwork....

Had a puppet show....
Beautified all of the girls with a mani/pedi....

And created pizza masterpieces for lunch!!!!!

Papa John's...these girls are ready to run the show!
The best part of the day?
Brooklynn's game of let's play house....
"I will be the mom, and Gramma you be the dad.  You do what dad's do while I fix dinner....just go sit on the couch and watch TV.  Here's the remote."
That is classic!