About Me

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Trying to remember that there is always a reason, always something that makes you smile during the day- recognizing the event, person or situation that made you smile will make your day seem that much better.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Heading home

It has been a lovely vacation.  We are sitting in the airport getting ready to leave las Vegas and I will tell you we spent as much time as we possibly could having fun and hanging out.  Lots of laughing, late nights and lots of pictures are coming. I hope you have all been well whilst I have been away and I promise pics and to catch up soon.  May not be immediately as my flight gets in late and I have to work for the rest of the week.  Wish I could have won millions so that I didn't need to do it...but alas..lost walked away losing about half what I was willing to lose. 
Hope your corners of the world are treating you well...I will wave as I fly across the country.  Love and lots of hugs to you all.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Eleven Years ago today

I was excited and nervous and happy and emotional...and really young.
I had this idealized thought of marriage and what it meant and what happened when you were married.
I had wonderful role models in my parents who have been married for a really long time...
If you had told me eleven years ago the amount of work that goes into being married, I would have looked at you like you were nuts....we love each other...easy peasy..
Yeah right!! I have learned a lot over the last eleven years:
It's okay to laugh and cry at the same time
You and your spouse will get angry and mad and yell and scream at each other
Sometimes, walking away is the best thing to do, but horrifying to wonder if your spouse will ever come back
You have to give up a little bit of yourself to be happily married...and that's not a bad thing
A bit of independence is good
Traveling together is fabulous, but it's okay to travel alone
Not going to bed angry isn't something that your grandmother just says....you really shouldn't cause nothing gets better and you are crabby after stewing all night and that makes it worse.
A grudge isn't something you should hold on to, it gets awfully heavy
While love is a strong emotion and can get you through a lot...sometimes it's hard to find it buried in there somewhere..
Marriage has ebbs and flows...and there will be times when you can't function without your spouse and sometimes you can't function with them.
It's okay to rely on someone else
You will worry about them...constantly....and if you don't hear from them...you will start to wonder what if you have to start to picture your life without them
You will remember that worry and hopefully pick up the phone when you will be late..
Their eyes will become a window to your soul
You will make mistakes, the best part about those mistakes is when you can look back and know that you have moved passed them together.
Although they may not be able to move mountains or fix everything for you, they will ALWAYS try to make it better...
Sometimes not being able to make it better is worse than what's actually going on.
Ending every conversation with I love you should always happen
Eleven years ago today I made the most important decision of  my life...
I have been elated by it
I have hated it at times
I couldn't imagine my life any other way.
You are my everything,
You are my world.
Although it hasn't always been easy, it has been worth it
I love you deeper
I love you more
I love you in a completely different way than I loved you eleven years ago
You are the reason my heart keeps beating and part of my soul
I loved you yesterday, love you today and will love you forever.
Here's to eleven years honey.
I don't know how much time we have to share, but I am looking forward to every single minute of it.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Thursday's List

This has been a crazy week....as most of them have been lately..but lots of smiles
Getting closer to goal at work....I might actually make it..
Spending time with my hubby
Feeling accomplished this week, laundry's done and put away and the house is fairly clean
I am packed for Vegas
A new yummy drink had with my boss tonight, just some time to unwind
An invigorating presentation at work today on a new partner
Kitty is getting better again...he had a rough time last weekend with us not home but is almost 100% again
Seeing the kids and hearing Auntie Auntie for two days
Our 11th wedding anniversary is tomorrow and we are spending the night in a hotel close to the airport so that we can maximize the time we spend before I leave on Saturday
Five whole days to hang out with my brother in a city where he has never been
We are going to VEGAS baby!! Can't wait to get there...
The blog world has been quiet this week.  I hope that you are all doing well and that you are enjoying this last couple of weeks of summer....fall is certainly in the air here and I know that before we know it snow will be flying so we are sucking every last bit of summer out.
To all my east coast friends- I hope you are hunkered down because I am not sure that Irene is going to be very kind to us.  Please be safe and make sure you have lots of supplies on hand...don't forget about the furry members of your family and check in when you can.  I will think of you all often this weekend and wish you safe passage through the storm.  Hopefully Irene will decide that she doesn't like the looks of the coast and go back out to sea where she belongs...
hugs and love to you all....

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Hurricanes earthquakes and skunks

Apparently the world is trying to tell us something.
This morning started with a mad dash to rearrange plane flights for Vegas this weekend.  I was flying from Maine to Charlotte to vegas.  Well good 'ole Al Roper had my mother in a panic this morning cause the hurricane iswas supposed to hit North Carolina early Saturday morning.  So my father, in France, was rearranging plane flights first thing this morning....it was afternoon for him..but still.
So we get all that settled and then there's the earthquake.  I felt up here in Portland.  Thought that I was going crazy because my desk started shaking.  Nothing like what they felt down in DC but freaky.  Talked to my mom and she and everyone else is doing okay.  Stuff fell in the China cabinet and they are a little freaked out..but all is okay.
Tonight, after running to Wally World to replace the duffel bag that my wonderful cats peed in, I get home, have a nice dinner with my hubby and then go outside once he goes to bed to talk to my mom.  A skunk wanders out from under my porch and jumps ever so gracefully onto the porch and starts eating the cat food....for twenty minutes.  Fun times I tell you.  I  managed to get inside once it skittered away into the garage.
I am thinking that it might not have been such a good idea to put this hair dye in my hair tonight :)
I hope that everyone made it through the earthquake in one piece and that all is quiet for a little while.  I am starting to think that I might hear Chicken Little sometime in the next day or so telling us the sky is falling.
Stay safe all my friends out there.  Hopefully the earthquakes are over and maybe Irene will veer out to sea and no one will feel the effects of her....one can hope anyway right?
Love and lots of hugs out to the universe for each and everyone of you!!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Crazy week

It was a doozy...don't know if anyone else felt it but the nasty full moon reared its ugly head this week.  On Tuesday I kept thinking it was Thursday :)
The list of smiles for this week
The ability to adapt, however begrudgingly, to change
The ability to look past the change and still accomplish something, without getting mired in the details that everyone else is worried about
New opportunities abound every single day and i am more than ready to embrace them.
A few hours of time to myself this week that no one was placing demands
A pedicure
A phone call from a child who simply said i miss you and i love you
Another trip to look forward to...this one to a city where i can lose myself for a few hours
Good news for several people in my life
A hot air balloon festival that, although i will be missing it, I got to see launch yesterday morning
My hubby and my kitties who give love, even when i might not be in the best moods
Sleep, finally
We are headed north for the weekend to help my sister in law move and spend sometime with the kids...
I hope that the wind is at your back, the time you need to rejuvenate is provided and the weekend brings adventure, love and moments of peace to you all.  Hugs and love from my corner of the world to yours.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Change is in the air

Changes changes everywhere...good thing I can go with the flow..
We will see what they bring....hopefully good things...
We finished canning last night.


Lots of pickles- 41 quarts, 18 half gallons, 7 pints a combination of bread and butter, sour pickles, dill pickles, garlic dill and spicy...and just to clarify- the cucumbers weren't from my garden- I wish we had that many cucumbers- we bought them from our friends at the farm down the street.

We are headed north this weekend- I can't wait to see the kids.  It will be great to have that refresher- it's been a while.

That's all for tonight...hope that you are all well in your corners of the world...hugs and lots of love to you!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Pickling today..

Two bushels of cucumbers...
That's a lot of vegetables.
Makes a lot of pickles.
The latest count is thirty six quarts, five pints and 9 half gallon jars.
Five gallons of vinegar, two bunches of dill and a lot of garlic.
Here the starting pictures

No finished pictures yet, still waiting for them to cool and seal.
It was great quality time with my husband. 
Still have half a sink full that we need to do something with....but we are out of jars so that will wait until tomorrow.
Hope that you all had a fantastic weekend..
hugs and lots of love to you...

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Thursday's List

It has been an amazing whirlwind kinda week.
It was AMAZING to see my best friend....
We talked til all hours of the morning,
played cards,
laughed,
cried,
talked,
ate junk food
smoked too many cigarettes
took pictures
My heart is full and my soul is rejuvenated.
There is nothing quite like getting away with your best friend...
My trip home included a closed airport, diversion to alabama and my already late flight not getting in until the wee hours of the morning (try three am).  It was an early morning at work on Tuesday and trying to catch up on sleep since then...
I found myself wondering more than once why I could be up til two or three in Florida and up and ready to go the next morning and yet the same happened on Monday and Tuesday was a chore....
Work has been okay....typical week with a full moon.
Other than spending time with my best friend...it was so nice to come back to see my husband....I am a big believer in separate time to miss each other and we had that...so it's been nice to be home again...
I hope that you are all doing well.  I am catching up on your blogs along with my sleep this week...hugs and love to you alll

Monday, August 8, 2011

Found it!

I did find the phone yesterday...about twenty minutes after I wrote my post.  I swear you all have magical powers!!  
The wedding was beautiful.  The rain held off and the sunset was absolutely stunning.
Sorry for the picture quality...my camera didn't come with me to the wedding because of the computer so was taken from my cell phone

The bride and groom were perfect 
And his parents got to be part of it.
We have pictures of the bride and groom on the beach holding the computer for family pictures. 
The reception was fun....lots of dancing and general shenanigans.
We woke up this morning to rain and thunderstorms.  Not sure how we are going to keep a three year old occupied if we really have to check out at noon and we don't leave until four.
I am going to check on late check out...because I am not sure that they will be able to pack fast enough...but we will see.
I hope that you are all well and i will wave to all my east coast friends as I fly over you later tonight.
Hugs and love to you all!!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Sick to my stomach

And not from too much drinking either ( I know you all thought that :)...
I have set up my phone so that the grooms parents...my best friends parents..could see the wedding tonight as they are unable to travel at this time.
I took everything down to the beach to try it out today...
came back up to the room and my phone is no where to be seen.
I am literally sick to my stomach.
Losing my phone....big deal sure cause my entire life is on there..
Them not being able to see this wedding is devasting.
Please...if you read this...prayers, thoughts to the universe that we are able to find it are so needed right now....I am not sure that I would be able to handle the disappointment.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Thursday's List

Well..haven't I been the negative nellie over here this week...I guess sometimes life gets in the way...
There have been some really great things to smile about this week..
The garden is producing.  This is incredibly exciting...I have a black thumb.  Seriously not a good thing...but the garden is growing and growing.  We picked about a dozen banana peppers that are about as long as my forearm, two really great sized zucchini, a summer squash, six or seven red tomatoes, a handful of green tomatoes, two cucumbers and three green peppers.  Yum is really all I have to say about that.
In the same vein, my watermelon plant has actually set fruit, which is very exciting.  We didn't think it would but there are three or four teeny tiny watermelons.
Despite not getting the job, I got some really awesome feedback from some people who are incredibly well respected in our company.  I know that something will be coming along soon and that they are thinking of me for a new position.  It's an opportunity that I wouldn't have had if I didn't put myself out there...so that's amazing.
I spent a great weekend with my hubby, who dealt with driving all over creation for me to buy a bathing suit to just have me come home and order one online.
I ordered a couple of dresses and said bathing suit and LOVED everything I ordered. This is an amazing feat in and of itself because that never happens!! And it was all on sale.
My kitty, although giving us quiet a scare is cuddled up right next to me, sitting on my arm as I type this, on the mend.  I am grateful for modern medicine and the ability to take care of him the way he needs to be taken care of.  I am also eternally grateful that this was not the time to say goodbye.
The best and biggest smile, I am leaving tomorrow morning.
I get to travel alone, which I love, and meet up with my very bestest friend in the entire world in a lovely warm place at the beach.  I will be in Florida in thirteen hours and nine minutes.  I will get to spend time with someone who knows me better than anyone, who I love like a sister and who I haven't seen in entirely too long.  I have my camera packed and ready to go and am so excited about the prospect of a weekend away from everything that I can hardly think about sleep....however, I will have to be up at four am in the morning so I should probably head that way.
Hugs, love and peace to all of you....I hope your corners of the world are full of amazing moments this weekend.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Disappointed

I didn't get the job.
The feedback was amazing that I just received from the manager of the department.  Everything was good.
No one had any suggestions for things for me to work on.
They wanted someone from the outside.
I expected, I thought I was prepared.
I am really disappointed.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Enough is enough

I have always been there for you...
Through good and bad..
I listened to you cry when at eighteen you found out you were pregnant..
I gave you a place to escape the bitterness, the yelling, the disappointment.
I was excited for you when you met "the man of your dreams"..
even when you told me you were pregnant with him, despite only knowing him for mere months.
I planned your wedding when no one else would help...spent sleepless nights making everything perfect.
I held your hand as you brought that baby into this world....
I took your calls at three am when he left you alone, with a baby in the house and another on the way with no money, no way of getting anywhere.
I listened to you yell when you were frustrated because he was drinking, hanging out with his friends and ignoring his family.
I gave you a place to run to when you needed to get out of the house and away from him.
Money has exchanged hands to help you.
I supported your decision to go back to him over and over again.
We have argued about it....I don't want to see you hurt...don't want your kids to get confused.
All I have ever asked is don't shut me out.
I don't agree with all of your decisions, nor do you agree with all of mine.
You are family and I love you and your kids like you were my own.
So I don't tell you anymore that I don't approve, because it's your life and as long as you are safe, there's nothing I can do but support you.
I listened a few weeks ago when you found out he was cheating on you.
Didn't say I told you so, although I wanted to, because it didn't matter.
I offered you a place to stay, with your kids, so that you could "detox" from him...
Get away from him and the traps....
You told me you weren't going back to him..
you told me you were done.
Even if you weren't, I would still be there for you.
I don't agree with it.
I don't like it
I don't like him and I never will.
He's not willing to change
Not for you, not for the kids you share
But it's your life and as long as he's not hurting your kids, I will support you.
The only thing I have ever asked is that you are honest with me.
Please, don't change your relationship status on facebook and expect everyone to be okay with it.
I don't know what goes on in your relationship, nor do I want to unless you need to talk about it.
I will never be impartial to your situation, nor do I want to hear his side.
I love you and your kids, but right now, I have lost a lot of respect for you
Although you will never read this, here's what I want to say to you.
You are making the wrong decision...
for yourself but especially for your three kids
Your children are trying to learn about healthy relationships
You were never taught what a healthy relationship was, so you aren't able to teach them
Stop being a doormat and stand up for yourself..
want better for your kids than you had.
You are a beautiful, wonderful mother who deserves someone who respects you
Your kids deserve a father who will love them and cherish them, not forget about them when his buddies call to go out drinking or some girl catches his eye.
You deserve a partner in life, not another kid that you need to watch
I know that you don't think you can do better, but you can...
but you have to respect yourself enough first.
It's time to grow up and think about your kids...
I love you and always will, I have a special connection with you and with your kids....that will never change....but like with most family...sometimes I just want to shake you and ask you what you are thinking.

Monday, August 1, 2011

My kitty (2)

Well he's home...
and none to happy about his adventure today... the doctor did all kinds of tests and gave him all kinds of shots through his catheter in his leg.  They think that he has pancretitis and an infection.  They also say that he has diabetes.  

He is none too happy about his latest fashion accessory..."Mom, don't they know I'm a boy....I shouldn't have pink on my arm...why is it still there".  Trying to explain to him that he needs to go back in the morning for more fluids and maybe some more antibiotics...


He was unimpressed to say t he least.

But at least he's okay and this is a treatable condition.  We will have more instructions once the infections and stuff clear up....how do you think he's going to like the needles??

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers today...I'm gonna go snuggle with my baby...

My kitty

Hubby had to take my baby boy to the vet this morning.
Silly that I am writing a blog about it...but all of my cats are like kids to me..
We've had them for almost 10 years, since they were a week and a half old..
I fed them every hour when we first brought them home, taught them how to use a litter box..
Ezzy...he's my baby..he a snuggle bunny who always wants to be touched, purrs like a motor boat, loves ice cream and belly rubs and usually cries until I let him under the covers to snuggle with me before going to bed.
He didn't want to be touched last night, wasn't purring at all and was vomiting all over the place.
He didn't come upstairs last night when we went to bed, instead hiding in one of the cat cubes we have...he hasn't every been in there until last night...
He did come up to bed and was snuggled with hubby this morning when we woke up...still not purring and really not wanting to be touched.
I hope everything okay....not ready to deal with losing him yet....