You're as Good Lookin as you Feel!

There are some days, when I get up, that I just can't pull it all together.  My hair won't go the right way - my scale says I've gained a few pounds and I can't find anything to wear.  I hate the way my makeup looks and I just leave the house feeling less than pretty.    It's hard to get my head in the game when I start the day that way.  But at the park the other day - I saw this little guy and realized - - - it's all a mind game....

This guy, amongst all the beautiful black and white ducks and canada geese,

Sat there - like a movie star... with his red,

lumpy face....

Rockin his Elvis hair!

Beautiful Visitors

I love this time of year  when the birds come fat and happy to eat on my porch - I've seen them all winter - but for some reason with the coming spring they come with ATTITUDE 

 and I love to see it! 

Even the girls look spectacular - their fluffyness giving them a soft beauty that makes the boys squabble in wild red abandon.

Then there's the visitors from out of town - the ones I  haven't seen before - that stop by to catch a bite to eat on their trips from one place to another.  I always feel honored to catch a glimpse of these feathered friends - I had to pull out my husbands bird books to find out what kind of bird this was - we decided it was a bluebird (of some sort) - never would have guessed.... : )

My Man

Looking  through some cell phone pictures I came across this one....

Now - since it was on my husband's phone - I'm not exactly sure how this got taken - probably by my daughter at great risk to life and limb (and phone) But it made me smile - there's not a whole lot of men who would spend a saturday roller skating with his wife and daughter just because..... and I LOVE that about my man!   Not to mention the fact that he ROCKS those skates don't you think?

Eddie's the one who always takes my youngest on fun trips - to the bowling alley......

The pet store

The pet store (I think he bribes her with puppies and bunnies whenever he needs to go to Home Depot)

and our annual trip to the Tennessee Valley Fair

I love that he has such a spirit of fun and takes the time to do the little things with our daughter.... even though his life is full of kitchen remodels and fence repairs. 

Time Marches On

Getting older is not all bad - I mean - the gaining

experience part is pretty good, Getting to make

 house rules, decide what to fix for dinner, what

color to paint the living room - well -there's all

kinds of things that are good about getting older - but

the one thing that really drives me nuts is the

 memory losing part.   Take today, for instance - I 

had my hair pulled up in a wierd pony tail

 kindof thing in order to work on the house

and keep it out of my face.  It always reminds

me of this cartoon character and I was trying to

remember his name in order to tell my kids who it was. 

 I've been trying to remember his name now for about

two months to no avail so I tried to get them to

help me figure out what it was - and that's

when it happened........

His name is Ned something .... I said

 "Ned - from Ned's Declassified?"

my oldest daughter offered.....

"no - no - not  Ned  - do you really think my hair

looks like Ned?  he doesn't even have a ponytail...."

"Jimmy Neutron" - my youngest daughter chimed in

Thanks a lot - I thought - so now my hair looks

 like a giant chocolate chip.......

"NO! - I said - he's this guy that acts all goofy but

 he's not a cartoon character....."

"OH - pee wee Herman"... my oldest daughter said....

"Good heavens no - my hair REALLY doesn't look like his

 oh just forget it

I'll think of his name eventually....."

(dang my forgetful brain) - and then my husband

 hollered from the other room..... "you mean Ed Grimley

Martin Short's character on Saturday Night Live...".

OMG! - YES!  That's Exactly WHO I meant!

and then he said........ 

 "They're too young to know who that is honey!"

sheesh......

I'm so old I'm not only forgetting who I'm talking

about - but talking about people nobody knows!

Good Grief!

Memories

Yesterday I went to the funeral for the husband of a
good friend.  My heart has ached for a week and every
dayI long to do something to ease the pain I know she is
feeling and yet - this is something I cannot do for her.  
It is the hardest thing - that not knowing what to do,
what to say or how to make things better.  I know in my
 heart that with time, the sadness will ease and the happy
 memories will rise to the surface more and more. 
But I also know that there will be many dark nights
where the bitterness and anger will be overwhelming. 

It's brought back the memories of my sister in law and
all the times we went through when she died.  

The hardest part was that life just kept on going. 
It seemed to me that it shouldn't have... that the world
should have stopped... that something catastrophic had
 happened and it should have changed life for
EVERYONE 
 and the fact that it didn't was so terribly 
confusing to me.   How was I supposed to
 pick up where I had left
off as if nothing had changed - when my whole world
was upside down.... and yet - I was
 expected to do just that.

Amazingly - I did - and with this exact friends' help too. 
She was there for me in a way that no-one else could be.
As someone who had been through a situation so eerily
familiar that only God could have brought us together at
that time and place and for that exact reason - to help me
 through one of the most trying times of my life... and now,
I feel so unprepared to help her through this trial in her life. 
I do not have experience to offer her - but I do have love
and friendship and support and the promise that I will be
here for her every step of the way. I know that God will
give her "Just One Day's Grace" just like He does
me... it's all we get... just enough for one day! 


Meanwhile -   I look around me at all the people going
through their every day routines and wonder just how
many of them stop to appreciate each and every minute
they have together - then wonder if I'm actually
appreciating my minutes the way I should..... I guess
we can all benefit from a little reminder to take time to be
thankful for the people in our lives and make sure we
 let them know how we feel about them!

New Years Resolve

And bam - the new year is here - I made my new year's resolutions and pinned them in an envelope on my bulletin board in my kitchen.  It took some thinking to keep from crossing that line between challenging myself and still keeping them within reach.... but I think I haven't put any of them too far up there.... I don't think, anyway.  Except for maybe that first one....and then there's the one at the bottom of the list.... well - there's gonna be a LOT of reaching going on in the year 2011.. but with some dilligence and some list making I should at least make some forward progress.

Did I mention I didn't seal my envelope? I was going to seal the envelope so that next year I could open it and then check my progress against my list... you know - so that I couldn't cheat  - It then occured to me that with my .... advanced age.... I might actually forget what my resolutions were and thus drastically reduce my chances of success.... and so - my decision to leave the envelope unsealed.... (that - and - the opportunity to amend them JUST A LITTLE - throughout the year - might be necessary - you know - to make them a little  um - higher... ya  - that's it)     

Some days I feel like the last little leaf clinging to the uppermost branch of a very tall tree. Stress whips around me like a frigid wind and it's all I can do not to let go and fly away into the whirling gusts. But just when I think I've had all I can take, God Gives me the grace for just one day.

ABC's of Thankfulness

So, honestly, this Thanksgiving was really hard.  Not only was my family spread all over the country, but the part of my family that was together wasn't exactly getting along.   In spite of the potential for drama - our Thanksgiving was remarkably uneventful - it was the waiting for the other shoe to drop that made it so hard. 

So - in the spirit of Thanksgiving - I decided to focus on all the things I have in my life that I should be grateful for..... so here goes.... an alphabet of thankfulness (not in any particular order) to remind me of all the blessings I have in my life!

Eyes and ears that work.  I've noticed lately that my eyes aren't working as well as they used to.  In fact.... I had to break down and buy some of those... "cosmetic" glasses at 1.25 magnification "just to make it easier to see my homework". In addition .... "what?" seems to be becoming a big part of my vocabulary lately and not because I'm not paying attention but I just don't seem to hear what people are saying the first time as often as I used to.  I guess this growing older thing creeps up on us all - but it's made me appreciate how fortunate I am to have eyes and ears that, for the most part, work well.  There are so many people around me that cope with difficulties in hearing and seeing every day and manage to make it through their days with no complaints.  It is something I need to remind myself when I find my heart lacking in gratitude.

Cars- I am really grateful to have a working car right now. Although we are going through a time where all of our cars are systematically breaking down (my maxima is parked with ignition coil issues, the pt cruiser just had $600 worth of work done, the truck has a blown head, my daughter's car is currently in the shop with an estimate of $600 for power steering issues etc and my husbands car leaks water on his feet - - -we think it's the heating coil... which the shop has estimated will be around $600 - really?  I think they should get a little creative on the price... on the less than $600 side for a change - but what do I know?..) - still  - I am so glad we have our cars to get us where we need to go.  Just being without them for a day or two makes me realize just how much we depend on them to give us the freedom to come and go.  I feel so fortunate to have so many vehicles (even though they are all limpin along) between the driving adults in our family. 

FRIENDS (and Family)- Ok - all you people out there - you made my list of things I'm thankful for - and really - I need to put you in front of Cars - but I guess I need my car so I can come see you - but then - without you I'd be locked away in a little rubber room with my matching "hug myself" jacket  - with absolutely no need of a car... so - - Well - thanks to all of you who stick by me during my daily life of drama and mayhem.  I love you all and am so thankful to have you in my life.

ICECREAM - ok - really - I can think of other things that start with "I" to be thankful for - but can you think of anything better?  My crunch and heath klondike's have gotten me through a really stressful summer and I am extremely grateful!  : )

My Mom and Dad - every day with my parents is such a gift.  I remember when I was a kid and took having parents for granted.  Now I look around at other people my age and realize just how lucky I am to have two parents that love each other so sweetly still in my life.  I am so very thankful to share my days with them.

Home - I look around at my home and feel so very blessed.  Not only do I have a roof over my head this Christmas, but God has been so good to me to give me a wonderful home that I love.  I pray for those people who are struggling right now and hope that the new year will be one of new beginnings and better situations for so many people that have had a rough 2010.

Squirrels - my funny furry friends.  Yes - you'll see pictures on my blog of how much I love these little critters - they've filled my days with such delight.  Their crazy antics on my back porch as they chase each other around my deck and up and down the trees in my back yard.  I swear the reincarnation of napoleon** has taken the shape of a squirrel and eats corn on my back porch rail every day!  It brings a smile to my heart!

Quiet morning walks - This summer I had the pleasure of getting up early and walking by the lake.  The total freedom of being awake when many people were still in bed, of breathing the early morning air - of watching the sun rise over the lake, was such a gift.  It's been many years since I've been able to take the time for myself in the morning.  Just an hour with the dogs before the days craziness started.  I enjoyed it tremendously.

Katie - my sweet little girl - of course I'm thankful for her, every day  - even the hard ones.  She's not so little anymore and getting more grown up by the minute - which just makes each day more precious than the one before.

Love -  I am so grateful for those people in my life that love and care for me and that I have in my life  to love and care for back.  Life can be such a lonely place.  We have to reach out and hold on to those friends and loved ones around us and make sure they know how we feel.  Don't let a day go  by without telling the people you love how you feel!

Washing machine - my bathroom plumbing went out this summer and my washing machine (which drained through the same pipes)  was then out of commission for a couple weeks while my husband re-ran the plumbing - I can't tell you how grateful I was to get my washing machine back!  We are so spoiled in this country to be able to wash our clothes whenever we want.  I don't ever want to take that for granted!