Thank you...

November 10th - the 235th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps and November 11th - Veterans Day. Holidays that ooze patriotism. Did you notice? Did you display a U.S. flag? Did you take a moment to reflect on the many freedoms you enjoy? Sadly, many of us probably did not. Perhaps you only realized it was Veteran's Day because it was a holiday from work or by the gazillion sale flyers in your newspaper. The majority of us cannot fully understand the sacrifices of our veterans and their families...physical and emotional scars linger. Several days a year to honor these brave, patriotic, men and women is not enough! Yet on this day, let's seize the opportunity to thank a person in uniform and the proud retiree for their service. Let's remember to pray for the families that have lost a loved one, for the deployed and their families. Let's vow to appreciate our military 365 days a year!

What to do, what to do...

Today's Labor Day, and it's raining! :) Guess that's not such good news for those planning outdoor events, but here in parched South Texas, it's like Christmas! I've been cruising various home decorating blogs and coming dangerously close to needing an intervention...talk about addicting! Any who, I have lots of projects floating around my head but just can't seem to actually become engaged in getting them underway.

I do hope to become a bit more regular in blog posts, and get busy on new endeavors. So for now, "self", step away from the keyboard and let the creativity begin!

Enjoy the holiday y'all!

Life Walk

While driving to work early one morning this week, I happened to glance out the window and saw a mother and her young son on the sidewalk. The young boy was probably 20 feet ahead of his mother, going as fast as his chubby toddler legs would take him. He had the most joyful look of independence on his little face. And then, he paused briefly and looked back at his mother, whose watchful eyes had not wandered from her child. She too had a look of joy and parental pride on her face. That brief instant captured me...I have walked that same path (metaphorically speaking). I realized this same scenario plays out over and over for us all, whether it be parent and child, teacher and student, supervisor and employee, siblings, spouses, friends. We yearn for independence, yet need the reassurance of knowing that someone who cares for us, is ever watchful and just a few steps behind. I continued in thought, and further realized this is what our God does for each one of us, every day of our lives, AMAZING! Let us all walk this path.

Appliance Face Off

I've been searching for a new coffeemaker for several months now and finally made the purchase a couple days ago. Since I bought this new little jewel during the work week, it sat on my counter for two days until the weekend rolled around and I had time to actually read the instructions and get brewing. I hated my previous coffeemaker with a capital H! Although it was relatively new, the carafe leaked from day one, and dripped on the hot plate causing a nasty, corroded mess! Now I won't name names, but Mr., Coffee making in that #%$!**+!!! machine put me in a foul mood. So why'd it take me so long to buy a new coffeemaker, and then once I had it to actually use it? Silly as it may seem, I'd find a model I liked, but since my kitchen appliances are white, I wanted a white coffeemaker. Guess what? It's not so easy finding a white coffeemaker (or any small appliance for that matter). So, compromises were made. I'm hoping those last two days my old #%$!**+!!! coffeemaker sat on the counter seeing the new one waiting to replace it were painful!!! So, after prepping the new coffeemaker and being alerted by the alarm once the coffee had finished brewing (neat new feature), I must say that first drip-free cup of steaming hot coffee with a healthy dose of skinny vanilla latte creamer was most satisfying! Now to continue my never-ending search for the perfect wine glass...cheers!

Who Are You?

Ever have one of those moments when you casually (or maybe not so casually) stroll by the mirror and have to stop to take a second look? You boomers know what I'm talking about...when on that second glance you hear yourself saying to your reflection, "Who the hell are you and what have you done with my 30ish, 40ish, (insert your preferred decade here) self? I have no problem getting older, in fact, I rather like it...I just don't understand why the body has to age. After all, we're so much wiser than when we were younger, why can't we have a nice bod to house the intel? (Note to self: put this on the list of questions to ask God, when the time is right of course...I'm not rushing anything!)

My Funny Valentine...

Isn't it funny how things change in life? Take holidays, or more specifically, Valentine's Day. School-age Valentine's Day was all about crafting that construction paper box or paper bag to perfection in order to receive those much anticipated valentines (and possibly a heart shaped sucker) from classmates. The tween and teen years was all about receiving that Student Council sponsored carnation sale flower from someone unknown and letting your imagination run wild, Flash forward through 20's, 30's, 40's which brings me to the 50's...spouse absent for most of the day (baseball season y'all!), take out Chinese food, a bit of telly (sports of course) and the hubby calls it a night. I on the other hand, stay up a bit longer as I've got the day off thanks to President Washinton and Lincoln (YES!!!). Although this may sound terribly unromantic to some, there is a certain comfort in knowing that love isn't defined by a "mandated" day of love, nor the pressure to perform and produce the perfect, romantic gift. Love after all these years, can just "be".