Catching up...

How quickly the last 30 days passed! I did not pass my class, number one. We enjoyed a wonderful visit with our youngest daughter, from Maine, over Thanksgiving, number two. I did not cook for Thanksgiving. Our third daughter with help from two of her sisters, cooked. It was delicious! I took the class over and passed, but my GPA fell to a 3.50, sad. I enrolled in the second concentration for my Bachelor of Business Administration degree with Health Care Management and Management. Say a prayer! Mill Run looked this way in November. It, still, looks this way in December; however, the temperature at night is in the thirties. It feels like Christmas! Will we have a 'white Christmas', probably not. My oldest and youngest, one in NH - one in ME, certainly will! Neither one is coming home for the holidays. The house will feel empty. This weekend will be spent putting up the tree, the house is divided on where to put it. I will try and upload a photo of it and its location and post here. My wish for you and your family is a warm, wonderful, respectful, and peaceful Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of baby Jesus! Merry Christmas from my place to yours!

Monday, good morning sunshine!

Monday, another beautiful day out in the 'boonies'... The weekend was simply gorgeous, a little warmer than normal and some rain showers - a perfect break before beginning another week. One week from Thursday is T- Day, our youngest daughter is flying in this Friday from Portland, Maine for the Thanksgiving holiday. This is a first in a long while; normally, the girls gather with us at Mill Run for Christmas, but it will be a Thanksgiving feast this holiday season. We are hoping it will be less stressful and less hustle and bustle. We will decorate the Christmas tree Thanksgiving weekend and get the Christmas decorations out, which will give a longer time to enjoy them! It seems we have put it off in the past and would be trying to decorate the day before Christmas! Not good for the blood pressure or the family dynamics... My favorite hunter, my hubby, had a good weekend with his huntin' buddies. He and one other buddy bagged a deer on Friday, so the weekend was successful! If you are wondering if the photo above was taken on the farm (my hubby wishes it was!), no, it was not, but I am sure this is the vision dancing in my hunter hubby's head! For those pondering why I haven't gushed about my graduation from AIU - a 'slight' glitch in my academic plan - internet hell and not getting assignments completed and submitted by Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 11::59:59 pm, CST soooooo, I am still in MGT485... with a new completion date in December.. Sure, I am disappointed, but God's plan is my plan and I am at peace with the delay. My new professor is very good and extremely funny! A nice change from the previous one. I hope your Monday will be filled with Thanksgiving plans and thoughts. Be safe and remember... "Y'all come back, ya' hear!"

Friday the Thirteenth...

Today was Friday the Thirteenth. I am not superstitious, but ... knowing it, does make me stop, listen, look over my shoulder, and then hurry to where ever I am going! Why? I am not quite sure, probably because you hear the tall tales and see the people who are superstitious go through their rituals. It may be that Halloween was only a couple of weeks ago. It could be the current state of our world - poor economy, unemployment rising, older folks worrying, a tenseness in the air - but, I am not superstitious! Yesterday was my birthday. I am now sixty... it was not that long ago that I would have said sixty was OLD. Well, not anymore! I am a believer now - you are only as old/young as you feel. To be sixty feels pretty darn good on Friday the Thirteenth. I bet you wondered how I was going to connect those two thoughts, didn't you? My girlfriend turned sixty the day before I did. We celebrated today with a yummy lunch at Applebees and a coffee at Starbucks. It was a nice birthday. Sixty may be all right after all. Oh my, 1:00 AM ... and still, much to do before I can sleep. I hope you have a great weekend! Remember, "Y'all come back, ya' hear"

Fall is here...

well... Almost! We did have a taste of cooler weather, crisp nights, feel of football in the air, and then... 86 degrees today! Is this "Indian Summer"? And what the blazes IS Indian Summer? Indian summer is H.U.M.I.D.I.T.Y - warm - confusing for plant life - irritating, for sure! The calendar says Autumn arrived September 21, could someone tell me where? Today is October 9 - with temperature near 90, come on that is Summer, not Autumn temps! I have waited patiently. I have saved my fall wardrobe - all three outfits. I have not put any fall decorations out. I have not purchased a pumpkin. BUT... I want to! Now. Today. I hear the Farmers' Market calling me..." Come, please come and buy our pumpkins, fall veggies, crisp apples, and a variety of our orange, yellow, rust colored Mums..." So, I will wait a little longer, but I do not like waiting - I may grumble and complain, but what choice do I have? Remember, "Y'all come back, ya' hear!"

Thoughts, Actions, Result

The week was long, but so productive! A true blessing from Above... My friend, fellow Diva LSJ, and I spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in Charleston, SC at the Medical University of SC's teaching hospital having her hearing aid implant removed. An out-patient procedure (amazing what modern medicine is capable of doing), which was successful. A feeling of relief, yet sadness, too. Relief that the removal was relatively easy for the physician and a minimum of pain for my friend. Sadness over the device not producing the desired results. This is not a complaint or a commit to influence any one's decision to try the method to increase hearing ability. This column deals with opinions of the author and that alone. Understand? Normally our road trips are business and / or medical, with a smidgen of fun mixed it... we were to tired to venture out of the motel, this trip; however, we played SCRABBLE! What a great game. It mixes fun with learning while keeping those brain cells active. This is really important for the 50+ crowd, my peer group.

Thursday the 13th, what does that mean?

Absolutely nothing! The number 13. Why the superstitions about a number... My least favorite resource, Wikipedia says, Unlucky 13 Main article: Triskaidekaphobia The number 13 is associated with bad luck in some countries, and even has a specifically recognized phobia, Triskaidekaphobia, a word which was coined in 1911. Friday the 13th has been considered an unlucky day since the 1800s, as a combination between an unlucky day, Friday, and the number 13. Lucky 13 In Sikhism, the number 13 is considered a special number since 13 is tera in Punjabi, which also means "yours" (as in, "I am yours, O Lord"). The legend goes that when Guru Nanak Dev was taking stock of items as part of his employment with a village merchant, he counted from 1 to 13 (in Punjabi) as one does normally; and thereafter he would just repeat "tera", since all items were God's creation. The merchant confronted Guru Nanak about this, but found everything to be in order after the inventory was checked. April 13 also usually turns out to be Vaisakhi every year, which is the Sikh New Year and the major Sikh Holiday. Several successful sports figures have worn the number 13. Ozzie Guillén, manager of the 2005 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox, has worn the number throughout his baseball career. Alex Rodriguez began wearing it upon joining the New York Yankees (three, the number he had previously worn, is retired by the Bronx Bombers to honor Babe Ruth). Dan Marino, an American football player known for passing the 2nd most yards in NFL history, wore the number 13, although pundits in the sport have often cited him as the greatest quarterback never to win an NFL championship. Basketball great Wilt Chamberlain wore the number 13 on his jersey throughout his NBA career. Also, FIBA rules require a player to wear the number in international competitions (only numbers from 4 to 15 could be worn, and as there are 12 players, one must wear 13); Chris Mullin, who wore #20 in college and #17 in the NBA, wore #13 for both (1984 and 1992) of his Olympic appearances. Shaquille O'Neal wore #13 in 1996, Tim Duncan wore #13 in 2004, Steve Nash is currently wearing it for the Phoenix Suns, Yao Ming wore it in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and Mats Sundin and Bill Guerin wear 13 in the NHL. One of Iceland's all time best handball players, Sigurður Sveinsson, wore the number 13 when he played for the national team. In association football, both Gerd Müller and Michael Ballack have favoured the number 13, among others. In Italy, 13 is also considered to be a lucky number, although in Campania the expression 'tredici' (meaning 13) is said when one considers their luck to have turned for the worse. Colgate University also considers 13 to be a lucky number. They were founded in 1819 by 13 men with 13 dollars, 13 prayers, and 13 articles. (To this day, members of the Colgate community consider the number 13 a good omen.) In fact, the campus address is 13 Oak Drive in Hamilton, NY and the all men a cappella group is called the Colgate 13.

And if you like to read about mystery and folklore, you might enjoy this book,

BOOK of the week

The 13th Floor: A Ghost Story by Sid Fleischman ages 8 and older

Have you ever noticed that buildings, even really tall buildings, usually don't have a 13th floor? That's because so many people think 13 is an unlucky number. Put Buddy Stebbins, the main character in this slightly scary, very fun ghost story, in that group. When Buddy gets off on the 13th floor of a rickety old building, he finds himself on a leaky pirate ship off the coast of New England in the late 17th century. He meets up with one of his ancestors, an adventurous girl named Abigail. While Buddy and Abigail encounter witches, ghosts, pirates and treasure, Buddy must also figure out how to get back to the 13th floor and back to his home.

Although Wikipedia is not an acceptable resource for most instructors, it is a starting point for basic information. Always check the information you find there for accuracy, as anyone can edit, add to, or delete information. Now that I have given the site some free word of mouth advertising, how funny is that? Any how, it was a little background on the number 13.

I hope your Thursday has been a fun day and that you have made plans for a restful weekend!

Until next time ... Smile, God love you! Me, too!

Baby birds, rain, cooler weather, barking puppies ...

Those are the sights, sounds, and smells of my world for the past few days. They rejuvenated my tired 'almost sixty-year-old-body' to get up and move around a little - successful, but neuropathy is still a part of my daily life. For all you youngsters out there - make the right choices concerning the food, drugs, and the environment you place in and around your body because you will reap the rewards (or punishment) from your choices. Do not click away from Life after SAHM - I am not going to nag or preach to you. Just a 'little nudge', OK? See that did not hurt a bit!

Oops. did anyone notice this photograph almost goes with post, but not quite?

This is the view from my home office ... God is good ... such a sweet life ... such a blessing! Spring, a time of new beginnings - the baby birds; rain ... water for growth; cooler weather ... time for renewal; and the barking puppies ... being brought back to reality Another day in the life after a stay-at-home-mom! This is a getting-back-in-the-swing-of-things post. Thanks for putting up with my lame attempt at humor (I did see the smiles.) So, until next time ... remember to savor the moments whatever they might be.

Hump Day

Hello bloggers everywhere!

 

Good morning, have a blessed day.

Happy Valentine's Day

From my heart to yours...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

FRIDAY !

Got my coffee,

Got my cigarettes,

Got my computer,

and took my prozac.

It's gonna be a great DAY!

     

T. G. I. F.

Enjoy this weekend with family and friends.

Come back on Monday, OK?

Tuesday? What happened to Monday?

Has that happened to you? You wake up, realize a new day is here, but you can not for the life of you remember what you accomplished yesterday... it feels really weird - like someone stole something from you, but you can't remember what!

Sixty is running after me and will catch me this year... could that be the culprit? Getting older? My goodness, I hope - because then I am doomed to forever forgetting! Shucks, I want to remember all this craziness, don't you? 

Oh, the "A+" is not for my forgetting, but the rating I give my life so far. How do you rate yours?

I'll be back tomorrow ... unless I forget I was here today and told you I would be back tomorrow. Life can be very confusing sometimes, can't it?

Until next time, "Keep smiling!"

WHAT A YEAR!

WHAT A NEW YEAR'S EVE IT WAS! JUST THE TWO OF US, A GOOD BOTTLE OF THE BUBBLY, GOOD MOVIE ON OUR NEW HDTV, MY HUBBY MADE IT TO 12:15 AM... THEN OFF TO BED, TO RISE BEFORE DAWN FOR THE LAST DAY OF HUNTING SEASON... JUST ME AND THE PC AND THE DOGS AND CATS AND PUPPIES, OH WELL... THAT IS THE LIFE OF A WIFE OF A DEER HUNTER! MAYBE HE WILL GET THE "GREY GHOST!" HAVE ANOTHER GLASS WITH ME, OK?

2009!

Happy New Year...

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