All good things must come to an end....

Yes folks, this is the last day of my vacation (insert heavy sigh here!). Though I was on vacation, my days were jam packed with things. My "to do" list didn't get very much crossed off it, but that is alright. I just need to remember to look at it every week and try to accomplish something from the list every weekend. I'll feel like I'm making progress and my house will be all the better for it.

I served at coffee fellowship this morning, which is always nice. I find myself chatting up a storm with whomever is working the kitchen with me. Normally we're rushing around at 10:30 trying to wash dishes and put things away to make the 10:45 service, but today was a small crowd; most of them had left by 10:00 am and we had pretty much everything cleaned up at 10:10.

I hit the market after Church for some essentials and came home to do some laundry and get things ready for my first day back to work tomorrow. It is my early week also, which really bites! I know that I'll have tons of email to answer and paperwork stacked high to process. I already have a plan of attack formulated in my mind! The bright spot is that I'll teach yoga this week. Friday is my 1/2 day AND the facility employee Christmas party (party one!).

I just received some bad news on the family home front. My older brother just called a few minutes ago to tell me that my nephew Brad is getting a divorce and will have full custody of Hayden (thank the Lord!). He and Paula tried to make things work but her addictions were too much to overcome. There comes a time when you have to say "enough is enough" - especially now that little Hayden is in the picture. I feel bad for Brad but I'm glad that he has made the decision that he has made - for both him and Hayden. I give him my love, support, and prayers.

I'm so stuffed......

Still.....after almost 24 hours, I feel as stuffed as the turkey was yesterday! Good heavens! I tried to contain myself, I really did.....but it was all so good! My stuffing was delicious and moist, the potatoes were whipped to perfection, and the turkey was moist and tender. About 3:00pm I had this moment of euphoria (maybe it was a turkey coma or the coffee and Kahlua I was sipping on at the time), where I just had a warm fuzzy feeling of "life is good."

Anyway, I stepped on the scale this morning and decided I won't eat for another month (yeah, like I can stay away from food that long!). It wasn't too bad and could have been worse - but I seriously need to jump on the treadmill bandwagon SOON! ~L~

What is on the agenda today? Gonna do some yoga, clean up a last few items from yesterday, get ready to go in to town this afternoon to see my niece Karen and then take my mother-in-law to the Holiday Razzle-Dazzle parade!

The last days of my vacation are going too fast! (pouts).

Today......

I'm sitting here looking out my office window and smiling at the beautiful sun peaking through the tree branches. Morning is such a quiet, calm time of the day. A time to set the intention for the day, perhaps say a prayer for those on our minds and in our hearts, or to adopt a moment of gratitude for everything good and wonderful in our lives.

All too often we get caught up in the rush of starting the day that we forget what a precious gift a new day is. Think of it as a canvas on which we can paint the beauty of a single day in our life.

Today is a day that we cannot live again - no do overs. It can either be a good day or a bad day - only your attitude determines which it will be.

Paint life - your day - on the canvas.

Clutter

Yes, I just completed my 90 minute yoga practice, sitting here blogging about it (See other blog) and drinking a cup of coffee (1/2 caff), I'm wondering what is going on in the working world today. NOT! (hahahaha). Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I am so enjoying my time off today. I had a fabulous yoga practice and now I'm ready to tackle a project on my "to do" list. I have to be in town for an appointment at 3:30pm today, so the project won't be anything major - perhaps straightening up my office.

It is amazing how cluttered this room can get. I almost hate walking in here when it is so cluttered. I have to find a better way of managing it. I find myself strapped for time and will walk in to the office, lay a piece of paper down and say, "I'll deal with it when I get time." Two weeks (hmmm, maybe months?) later, I have these piles of paper sitting on the desk, chair, and spare bed - that I swear grow faster than the national debt!@ Sheeesh!

I've decided that I need to get a system down. Now, isn't THAT original! ~LOL~

I just need to figure out what it is going to be. A stack for yoga papers? A separate stack for T's papers and one for me, and yet another stack for "do this later" (which is what gets me in trouble to begin with).

I heard the other day that the average American gets 41 lbs of junk mail a year. Wow! No doubt about that one....I sweat that I'm looking at all of that and more!

So, this is my grand plan. I'm going to clean the office today and organize everything in to "stacks". ~L~ (Wait a minute, I already HAVE stacks!)

Then I'm going to a store to buy those little organizer thingies and label them - then proceed to put my stacks of stuff in to the organizer thingies. Hey! At least my stacks will look neat and tidy and everything will be in one place. It's a start, right? (Work with me here people!!) ~S~


I better get to it if I want to accomplish this before 2:00 this afternoon (I need time to beautify before my appointment at 3:30!) ~hahahaha~


Later!! :-)

Vacation Mode!

Oh yeah......it's vacation time for little ol' me! Wooooooooo Hoooooooo! Do I have anything planned? Am I going anywhere special? Nope and Nope! Well, I do have some things that I need to get done, like cleaning and bookwork. Oh, and getting ready to cook Thanksgiving dinner, but other than that...nadda! Not even teaching yoga this week. How sweet it is!

The bad thing is - the growing list of things that I want to get done in the next few days will probably not get done. I'm going to try and not sweat it. Anything accomplished will be one less thing to worry about later on.

I had already decided that I'm not going to do deep-down, crevice, nook-and cranny cleaning this fall. I'm going to leave that all for my spring vacation. Hmmm, do you see a pattern developing here? ~hahaha~ I rarely go anywhere on vacations; it's spent at home tending to things that don't get done during the work week or on weekends. I imagine that I'll find time to read a book or maybe watch a movie, do some yoga, etc... but most of all, I'll enjoy just being home and putsing around at my leisure.

Remembering Vic

By now, everyone has heard that Vic passed away on Saturday night aroung 6:51 pm. He was home with his wife Sharon and his mother, and went quietly in his sleep. Sharon called me to let me know of his death and quietly added, "the last time he opened his eyes was for you." I'm so glad that I was able to spend time with him earlier that day. It doesn't make the sadness go away, but it does dull the ache a little bit.

I spent some time with Sharon on Sunday, helping her to clean and get the hospital bed and oxygen equipment ready to go back to Hospice. We talked quite a bit about Vic's life and how they lived their life together. They truly had a great relationship.

Vic will be laid to rest on Wednesday. He'll be honored by former co-workers and friends as special pallbearers and the JRCC Honor Guard. A fitting salute to such great man.

Life

I visited Vic and Sharon today. I cried. Sharon had told me a few days ago that Vic was going down hill fast, but I didn't comprehend what she was saying until I saw with my own eyes today. The change is so drastic frome my last visit with them lat week.

He is non-responsive now. I got real close to him and whispered, "hey ornery, it's me, Sherry...I've come to give you a little grief." He did open his eyes - briefly - and made an attempt to squeeze my hand, but that is all. It is so sad to see a good friend go through this pain and suffering. I said a prayer for him this morning and asked the good Lord to "ease his suffering and bring him home."

Sharon is a the epitome of a rock. She has been by Vic's side - non wavering. She held me while I cried, it should have been the other way around.

Words, at a time like this, are just words. We all mean well, but it doesn't ease the pain and helplessness of having to watch a loved one die. I've asked Sharon to call if she needs anything, but she quietly looked at "pops" and said, "I have everything I need right now."

Life - it truly is something to be lived and treasured.

What does it mean...

when you are driving down a city street, in the dark, and as you pass each street light, it goes dark??

Do I have a guardian angel telling me something?

Do I have that much positive energy that the electricity flowing from me interrupts the power flow around me?

That happened to me this morning while driving in to work. One by one the street lights went dark as I passed by. I didn't think much of it until I hit the 3rd one and it too went dark. As I exited town, the lights were coming back on, one by one.

Spooky.....

Someone, somewhere, was trying to tell me something I think.

Hellooooooooooooooo

I'm back! Reality bites after spending and awesome weekend absorbing knowledge and wisdom from a master yoga trainer. Alhough my body is tired and sore, my mind is energized and ready to instruct. Too bad I have to wait until tomorrow night!

I'm working on catching up on laundry, dishes, and house cleaning. Leaving hubster in the house alone for 3-days isn't such a good idea - even though he did his best to keep things neat and tidy.

It's good to be home though - housework aside.

Will write more later on, but need to go fold towels and sweep the floor.


Later folks!

I Salute Thee.....

Today is not just another holiday with a day off from work. Today is a salute to our nation's veterans, the men and women who have fought for this great country of ours. Those that fought to keep our nation free and enjoy the personal freedoms we have.

If you haven't thanked a Veteran for their service, please do so today. Let them know how much we appreciate the sacrifice they made for us.

Know what sucks???

When your furnace takes a dump and it's single digit temperatures outside!

NOT a fun way to start the day for sure. All started on Saturday when T kept accusing me of turning down the furnace cause it was 68 in the house. Now, I know I have been getting hot flashes, but seriously, I never turned down the thermostat.

Woke up on Sunday morning and it 60 in the house. No WAY was I taking the blame for that one! Yeppers, the furnace took a nose dive.

We are lucky enough to have a good friend who comes over and services the furnaces/air conditioners at the three houses. He came over yesterday - in the middle of deer hunting (what a guy!) - and confirmed our worst suspicions.

The good thing is we have a little electric heater that throws off a lot of heat, plus he brought one of his over for us to use.

The bad news is the parts for the furnace won't be available until next week. Yikes!

I guess it could always be worse though - like -20 degrees outside with a 40 mph wind.

Needless to say, I wasn't running around the house in my skivvies this morning! Ha!

Another National Holiday

Although it is not shown on the calendar, there is another national holiday observed in the north land: Deer Hunting Opener!

Yep - Friday, at precisely noon, all the men folk (and some women too) took to the country roads, dressed in their orange finery, holding their well cleaned and oiled guns in search of the elusive buck or doe for which they have license to shoot. With itchy fingers poised and ready to pull the trigger as they walk through stubble and pasture lands, eyes focused in on anything that moves, they wait with baited breath for "the one" to put their tag on.

Schools (some of them) in the area actually close on this day. Preparations start two days ahead of time: gas (check), sandwiches and snacks(check), gun cleaned and oiled (check), orange clothing (check), license (check), binoculars and two-way radios (check), beer (ummm, better get some more! check).

I live on a fairly well traveled road. However, at precisely 6:45am this morning it turned in to an interstate. I counted no less than 7 trucks (fully loaded with men in orange) traveling north, their loud mufflers proclaiming their intent to roust out the deer. Now, I ask you....what is the point of stealthily sneaking up on a deer when you drive a truck with loud mufflers?

I got to thinking that if I were an enterprising woman, I should get myself a little stand at the end of my driveway and sell hot coffee and Carmel rolls in the morning. Then at noon, set out sign that says "brats, chips and pop $2.50". I think I could make some money out of this national holiday that lasts for three weekends! (note to self, check in to this for next year!)

And please....that "one that got away" was because you couldn't shoot straight! But, if it makes you feel better to say that your gun got jammed, I understand...I'll play along with you.

I've grown up with hunting all of my life. Not only does it provide good eating, but it also helps to control the deer population, for which I am eternally grateful if it keeps one of those pesky things from jumping out at me at night or early morning.

I don't condone senseless "trophy hunting" - please, if you're going to shoot for the pure thrill of getting the trophy set of antlers to mount, at least be considerate and donate the meat to a family in need. You'll still get your trophy and a needy family will be appreciative of the meat filling their freezer.

Come Monday morning, the stories around the water cooler will be filled with exaggerations and half truths about the hunting weekend. Some will have filled their tags, while others will go to bed at night dreaming of the elusive buck that escaped only to be the target of the chase the upcoming weekend.

Good luck hunters. Use your head and be smart in the hunt, but most importantly, be SAFE!

Today......

I know we are all busy - we have work, children to cart back and forth to school activities, yoga classes to attend, etc. We can all make excuses....but today is one day that is most important and today there should be no excuses.

I do not care who you vote for.....just vote. Exercise your right as an American to go to the polls and help select the leadership of this country and this state.


Your vote DOES count and it IS important to this great country of ours.

So please, no excuses today.......VOTE.

Daylight Saving Time....

Don't know about you folks, but I don't like this time change! It's dark at 6:00pm! An extra hour of sleep? Yeah right, I woke up on schedule with that blasted internal alarm clock of mine - at 4:30 this morning (normally 5:30am)! Now THAT sucked!

I know, I know, we go through this every year and we get used to it, but for this first day, let me rant and rave, ok? Ok ~L~

Well, as promised, I said that I'd write more when I had time. I spent the majority of the day outside because it was absolutely gorgeous out! I'm taking advantage of it before all of the crud hits us later this week (according to the news reports).

The last few weeks have been hectic, crazy busy for me. Our hearts are heavy with the loss of our friend and neighbor, Ron. T was pallbearer for his good friend and it hit him especially hard. We spent a considerable amount of time with Ron's family on Thursday and Friday night, the prayer service on Sunday, and the funeral on Monday. The prayer service was touching as people stood up and shared their stories of Ron. Earlier on this blog I wrote of attending Ron's 59th birthday party and how they had a video of "Ron, this is your Life" showing during his birthday party. The same video was played during his prayer service and it was especially touching. I'm glad I got the chance to view it with Ron when he was alive. The funeral was hard - as was the interment. They played "taps" and had a five-gun salute. I'll never get used to hearing that.

Saturday was my family reunion at The Bunker. Goodness did we have fun. With all of the food we had, we could have fed a small starving nation! Lordy! I KNOW I gained all of 4lbs! We had chili, knephla, bean & ham, and vegetable soup (along with all of the fixings!) The "grazing table" was outstanding this year - of course, it is every year. We had so much food, but darn! it sure was good!!! We were missing Dennis (SD), Glenn and Randy this year, but we had some guests. Karen brought her roommates Amy and Suzie!. They are such lovely young ladies and they were a hit with everyone. Amy was cute, she wouldn't shake hands with anyone when introduced, she just wrapped them in a hug! ~L~ Rock on Amy! Suzie is a sweetie too. I hear that she's a marathon runner and does quite well at it. She even ran around our fair city the morning of the reunion. Hopefully they'll be able to make it next year. My hubster said, "sure is nice to meet someone when you feel you've known them all of your life." He was especially pleased with the group hug from Karen, Amy, and Suzie at the end of the day. Where WAS my camera! ~L~

General consensus in the family is to hold the reunion at same place, same time of year, and same type of food! Rock on! (It's already planned! ~L~)

I was supposed to go to a yoga certification that very same weekend, but it was cancelled. As much as I yammered about them cancelling yet another of my certifications, I've learned that everything happens for a reason. Had I been gone attending my certification, I wouldn't have been here for Ron's family, for T, and for my family reunion. Lesson learned - take everything in stride, because there generally is a reason why things happen the way that the do.

I have another good friend who is dying of cancer. Vic has been told that they are stopping chemo and giving morphine for pain maintenance now. They've found another tumor in his brain and liver. He was told to plan for end of life around Thanksgiving. I spoke with Sharon on Friday and she said that Vic's plan is to make it through to Christmas. He's ornery enough that he'll stick to his plans. Vic, Sharon, if you are reading this...know that I love you guys and would do anything for you.

Well, it's supper time here and I need to get the taters out of the oven before they burn to a crisp. Of course, when food is burnt around here, it generally means that supper IS ready! ~LOL~

More later this week.

PS: For those I owe an email to - and you know who you are - be watching for something this week. ~L~ Really! No foolin! ~S~