Home!!!!!....

It felt like a Folgers coffee commercial....."YOU'RE HOME!!"

Yes, last night about 6:30 the old green truck with the extremely loud muffler pulled into the neighborhood and it was over. Fourteen years of commitment to the Navy had ended. On Monday Tim simply signed the final papers, dressed in his civilian clothes, and walked through the gates a free man. As he said..it was almost anti climatic. No ruffles and flourishes, no grand send off, just sign and go. So, now he is back to his Texas roots (which were always part of who he was no matter where he traveled). With him Mandy and Brooklynn..they are finally a rooted family. No more separations, no more missed birthdays, anniversaries, family gatherings, weddings, and holidays. They are here. Mandy can finally unpack the suitcases and hang her clothes in her closet. She can sleep in her own bed. Brooklynn can have her own room. Vagabonds no more. I do not know what it feels like on their end but I know as a mom it is a great sense of relief. My family is home and my son has finished his commitment. He has made us very proud and no matter what direction he goes from here, I know he will continue to bring us great joy. Upon his arrival Brooklynn was anxious to show her daddy all of the things she has learned in his absence....
I can make noises like a chicken, put together a puzzle, and just make everyone around me smile!

What a great holiday this will be. So anxious for us all to be together and start traditions that will be a constant because now they are home!

Bunko Buddies......

December brings so many of the fun things we enjoy each year, and one of my favorites is our annual Christmas Bunko gathering! It was our anniversary this year...10 years of gathering to play, eat, and exchange gifts.
If laughter is indeed good medicine, then we are all certainly healthy today! We unwrap, steal gifts, and laugh about whether our gift is frozen or not. Only a true Bunko Buddy can relate to our insanity.

I love these friends. We have shared a lot of laughter and some heartache. They are true and real. We understand each others personalities and mood swings...and we love each other anyway!

It has been 10 great years and I am looking forward to many more holiday gatherings. And by the way, I do collect bowls!

You've Got Mail.....

It is no secret how much I love Christmas. There is not a part I do not enjoy...decorating, cooking, planning, shopping, wrapping, and so on. But..one of my favorite parts is the MAIL! I am like a little kid waiting for a gift each day...checking to see if he has come....the mailman that is.

I am not a big fan of standing in line at the post office to buy stamps. There are usually about 15 people in front of me and two postal windows open. I probably complain to the person in front of me about the time it takes to get all of this done. I struggle with getting the fam together for that Christmas card pic. Everyone is living somewhere else and my times do not gel with their times. Addressing the cards is time consuming...it is the busiest time of the year and there are other things on my agenda. It is sometimes painful! But then the mail comes and I receive greetings from the friends that we might only have contact with during this time of the year...and I smile. Maybe it is not too much trouble after all. Maybe it is one of the most pleasurable parts of the season!

Let There Be Light........

I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas lights. I am not in competition with my neighbors who decorate like the Griswalds. I just want a few cheery lights to make us look like we have the Christmas spirit. This year has been a nightmare! I have strung, restrung, replaced fuses over and over and over again. I get about ten minutes of light before they blow and I have to begin again.
Today I bought the ultimate "hang your lights without nails" contraption guaranteed to keep the bulbs up without making holes in house. I hung the garland, wrapped the lights, and admired....for a minute...and then it all fell down. Okay, my persistence has come to an end. What is up is up. I will toil no more to insure the twinkle of mini lights.
I will admire the neighbors and enjoy what glows at our house now. I am done and relieved that I have let go of the need to shine any brighter that we already do!

Renewed......

Sometimes you just need a break. I love the holidays but there are days that the shopping, wrapping, decorating, cooking, and holiday cheer just gets to be too much. So for 24 hours of therapeutic recreation...you escape to the lake. It is peaceful and quiet and comfortable. It gives you a chance to regroup and clear your head. For anyone that has not been to the Tool or Gun Barrel City, Texas area let me tell you that sitting on the porch and enjoying the view is really where you want to be. Shopping is not delightful. Malls are nowhere in sight and the local Walmart is where you want to go ONLY in case of emergency!

So off I went for that 24 hour recovery period. It worked. I am home with the Christmas tunes blaring, the floor covered in paper and bows and I am happy to be here. Christmas cheer lives again in my head and heart...thanks to a brief respite at good old Cedar Creek Lake!

Play Date....

Brooklynn and I had a "playdate" on a beautiful late fall afternoon. Better to be outside enjoying some GREAT weather than to spend it inside running in circles.
So...we got out our tools and decided it was time to assemble our new toy! Grammas always have plenty of things to play with. I have been waiting for this forever so it was time to drag out that stockpile and start to use it. Little did we know that there were about 71 screws and a three page list of instructions that came with this new structure. Fortunately "B" was not only helpful, but very patient as I waded through the assembly solo. When it said "fold away for easy storage", I thought that meant that it would simply unfold out of the box so we could play immediately! UUUMMMM...NOT!! Guess it has been too long since I last put together a toy. Or...maybe things were much easier in the "olden" days!
Two hours, lots of sunshine, and plenty of laughs later we were"mission accomplished" and it was a ....

SCORE!

What a fun afternoon!!

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!