Outside My Window

This is what it looks like through the stairwell window right now.  Every year I almost hold my breath until these lovely tri-color beech trees leaf out.  Right now they're at their peak of prettiness.  Later on in the summer the color fades as the heat intensifies.  But at this moment they're absolutely beautiful.

And I still remember the day (ten or so years ago) when The Husband and I wrestled those two trees down in the (affectionately named) amphitheater and planted them.

Spring has finally sprung today and the sight is sending our spirits soaring.



Also on the plus side, managed to check out another book from the library for my NOOK - with no technical assistance.  Wow!  Amazing! I can be awesome!      Quit laughing!

Holiday

I thought everyone was out of town.  Nope, they were all at the movies with us!  Sold out Kung Fu Panda 2 and that was just one of the theaters.

Liked the movie a lot.

Loved the popcorn....think I'd better get some (free refills on the large size - extra butter and all!)

And wow--sunshine!

Whew!

I made it!  Didn't faint, didn't bawl, didn't act too much like a dufus.  (And my headache is almost gone.)

I mostly remembered what I meant to say & tried to speak by the Spirit.

And I'm done.  Hopefully I'm good for another 10 years.

And now, after a week of almost complete sleeplessness, fussing and fretting, I'm heading to bed.  To sleep, perchance to dream.  y  a   y.......

Saturday

And I am ready for some awesome!!

Fear

I fear that my fear of "Facing The Future With Faith" is fostering fully functioning nocturnal fretfulness.

I suspect the sleeplessness will suspend once the speech's syllables have ceased.

Flowers / Rain

I know that "April showers bring May flowers" but April is long gone, it's nearly June and it is still raining.

But look what is going on inside the house!  Our orchids typically bloom for several months at a time - I'm so pleased at the second round of blooms from these plants.  

African Violets basically bloom year round.  Considering that these started out as teeny $3.49 Home Depot acquisitions a couple years ago, I think they've done very well.  Seemingly the key is to find a place where they're happy.  Much like people, if you can find happiness in your spot you do much better.


Reminds me of a quote I read:  "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings have a human experience."



Feeling a bit flumoxxed.  Wasn't ever sure I wanted an e-Reader.  Finally asked for a Nook, which I promptly received.  Decided I love it for a bunch of reasons.  Two weeks later they come out with a better, cheaper version.  Isn't that the way of things?  Looking forward to the next trip with my Nook, much better than carting around 35 pounds of books!

Reading

I often read the last page, or last few pages of a book if I'm wondering if I want to spend the time to read the whole thing.  I like things resolved, neatly wrapped up and happy endings.

Just now, reading a book on my iPad, I realized that I don't know any way to read the last page first.  The only way to get there is to read the whole thing.

Wow.  That leaves me...hmmm.

Ah!

Morning walk in the only good weather of the day.

Finishing a sewing project.

Smelling the lilacs.

Gelato.

Jammie time.

Maybe You Had To Be There:

Me:  What are you going to watch?

The Husband:  Music and the smoken word.

Punch?

Read this today:  "Never throw the first punch."

Think I'll keep that in mind, could apply to all kinds of situations.

Even Though It's Raining

I can still find a couple things that make me smile:

The Husband is home!!!  I actually got some sleep last night!

Cafe Rio tamales for dinner - yummy!

The tree we planted last year (just before my Mom died) is blooming!  And what pretty blossoms; and in spite of there being practically no sunshine for the last month.

New furnace filters...yeah, I know, weird.  (But these things cost an arm and a leg. They're special 4" thick air cleaner filters, they only have to be replaced once a year and it's a dang good thing, I wouldn't be able to afford to replace them otherwise, it takes me a year to save up for them!)

Fireplaces.  And warm socks and sweaters...even though it's May / nearly June.

Husband hugs.

Electronics

I had to laugh at myself - went to pick up the remote to find the right channel for the t.v. and had to sort through:

my iPad
my Nook
my cell phone &
the cordless phone

to find the right piece of equipment.  Oh how time changes things.  I think I got my first computer about 8 years ago and look what a nerd/geek I've become.

Empty House

The Husband is out of town (only for a few days, though it seems like it will be forever).

When he left, it felt like he took all the air from inside the house with him.

Hurry home, so I can breathe again.  (And so I don't have to carry all the phones around the house with me so that I don't miss your important calls, never knowing which number you'll call!)

What Was I Thinking?

For some unknown reason I decided to snatch up the hand mirror and take a look  to see what I look like from behind.  Oh, HORRORS!!

Never, Never, Never do that!  (at least not if you're over 40 and have any excess weight.)



This was enough to put me off my feed for a month (at least so, you'd think.  Cheesecake Factory was yummy!)

Randomness

Weird how it frustrated me that I couldn't post yesterday:  Blogspot was in a "read only" mode all day long.  Not that I had anything extraordinary to say...

Worried this morning how the day was going to go:  very first thing I dropped my phone.  Then I headed out for my bike ride (12.7 miles) and forgot to strap on my water, so the minute I hit the street the bottle went flying.

Wondered if those jogging dudes I kept passing were going to shower.  They sure needed it, they were surrounded by a cloud of horrendous body odor.  (Guess it's a good thing I couldn't smell my own b.o.)

Wasted a lot of time on the computer / iPad:  Angry Birds Rio Volleyball update, research for Nook stuff, library, etc.

Welcomed the fun opportunity to go to lunch (YAY Gandolfo's!) with my sweet BFF.  

And now am aWare that all my sentences (except this last one) started with "W".  Weird, wacky, wonderful words for a work week's end.

Thinking...

About something I heard the other day.  He said, "I thought God forgot about me."   Haven't we all felt that way at times, even when we know in our hearts that would never happen?

And then I read a sentence that contained this phrase:  "when hope is calling".

Made me realize that God provides the hope - and it's a call I hope to always answer.



And it smells like SPRING outside!

Just Call Me Grace

I've had foot issues my whole life.  One of my earliest memories is being in the hospital (at about 3 years old it might even have been just the dr.'s office, whatever, it was cold, bright lights and scary!) having a very painful infected ingrown toenail fixed.

Ever since then I've been plagued with bad toenails, blisters and pain.  Therefore, I'm very sensitive and protective about my feet.

So, this morning, I walked into a pair of shoes (seriously?  shoes?) with my big toenail and broke it.  Bad.  The whole corner, way down past the white.

And I was just getting excited to get some paint on them preparing for sandal weather!  Now I'll have an ugly toe - again (or is it still?) for the whole summer, because I'm sure it will take that long to grow out properly.

And it wasn't even 10 a.m. yet....

Mother's Day

So, knowing that this has never been my favorite day (I beat myself up too much to ever be comfortable with any accolades) I went into today telling myself it was just another day and nothing really mattered except to just enjoy the day.

And surprise!  I did.  The Husband always makes an extra effort to treat me well on Mother's day, although he tends to treat me like a treasure most every minute of every day.  

What fun to have so many conversations with loved ones that the battery in the cordless phone went dead.

What fun to have such a yummy meal that I didn't cook OR clean up from.

What fun to have hugs from the children living close enough to hug me and to hear the words I love you, that sound sincere and heartfelt.

What fun to be in Church and hear the thoughts of a couple of our YSA's as they prepare to head off to their missions, and listen to their sweet tributes to their Moms.

What fun to have something new to wear that I love- particularly knowing that I got it at 80% off!!

And what fun to realize that the things that brought my heart the most warmth today weren't things, they were my family.

YAY!!!!

for sunshine (but not the heat)

for spring flowers  (but not the dead rosebushes)

for free breakfast of french toast at Kneaders

for solar panels (and a wonderfully low power bill)

for new sandals waiting to be worn

for fresh strawberries

for cookies

for a new bottle of nail polish for the toes when wearing the new sandals

for packages/envelopes waiting to be opened ( I love surprises like that!)

for getting to spend the whole day with my BFF (thanks for finding me, don't leave without me)

for fun cars to drive

for laughter

for a grateful heart.

Heaven

Talking with someone this afternoon, bemoaning (kinda, sort of, not really, just feeling a bit inferior) how some women are always "just so": pretty, perfect hair, make-up, etc.  The kind that I feel totally inadequate just standing next to.

I wondered, aloud, about heaven and the hereafter.  Will her husband recognize her without all the makeup?  I doubt we'll have makeup in heaven.

Kind

Was caught up short by the kindness of another today.  Hadn't expected it.  Means an inconvenience to me, but so worth it, being the recipient of her generous heart.

Today's Enjoyment:

I was going to say brought to you by the letter S.  But I couldn't make everything start with the letter S no matter how much I tried.  So, I'll just list the stand-out things from today:

My morning walk on the trail.

Sunshine.

Sunroof in my car, open and loving it.

Successful Shopping.

Sewing, also successfully.

Cookies - the first I've sampled in quite a while.

Internet shopping items that arrived today, making 3 people satisfied.

Chocolate.

Alone

Happened to be home alone for a while today.  (It doesn't happen that often and it feels weird.)  Caught myself talking out loud to myself.  And my words actually echoed in this otherwise empty house.  Didn't like it.   (Next time, Husband, you're taking me with you!)

And speaking of The Husband, he finally finished off that 100 ounces tonight.  I'm glad his mug-envy was satisfied.  Of all the things I envy - none of which I should (envy isn't a good thing) - I'm happy to say that mug-envy isn't one of them.

100 ounces - really?

Visting a couple friends last night and he was slurping down on this ginormous insulated mug.  Which The Husband promptly coveted.

First thing this morning, he arrived at our door with one for The Husband, complete with 100 ounces of diet coke.  I'm thinking it's a good thing this man has ready access to any one of 3 receptacles for his tinkle, he's going to need it.

(Don't pay any attention to the flag, it was just a handy backdrop, although the fact that it was handy should indicate a sense of patriotism.  It's flown here with regularity.)

This mug needs two hands to lift, must weigh 20 pounds and surely will give The Husband a caffeine high for the next week on one fill.

I guess if one must have envy, then mug envy is harmless enough.   

Sunday's Musings

7:00 a.m. meetings?  Seriously?

I'm in a much better mood tonight than I was last night at this time, now that I have a couple weeks until I have to teach again.

Teaching the YSA's makes me a nervous wreck.

Wondered how it would be to have a flexible curling iron, one that sort of follows the curve of your head.  Sounds interesting to me.

I'm glad that I'm not the only one that gets frustrated with computers.

Already planning to be in a grumpy mood for next Sunday - Mother's (feel-like-a-total-failure) Day.  But maybe I can manage to get some chocolate out of it.  (Or at the very least a steak grilled by The Husband - Thanks, My Love!!)

Heard this today - gives me pause - I like it:  we should live up to our privileges.  Thinking I have a lot to live up to.