So Much Going On

So I have started a second blog to track my change of lifestyle plan. Anyone wishing to help me out, root for me, or just lurk is welcome. You can check it out at eightypoundproject.wordpress.com.

The family is fine as a matter of fact we will be adding a new addition in November. Marshal is overseas right now but should be returning home just in time for the last couple of month's before his and Stephani's little one arrives! We couldn't be more happy for them both and are grateful for a new grandparent opportunity!

Fred has been home for a few days but leaves early tomorrow for New Jersey for three weeks and then to Tennessee for the summer. I am hoping to visit Steph this summer in South Carolina and my girl Vicki in Texas. TN seems like a good jumping off point. Of course there will be visits to see Jason and Cares in MD and trips back home to make sure the boys are taking care of business. Maddock is getting ready for graduation and looking for direction for the future, stay tuned.

Our little family is growing by leaps and bounds and I am so very proud of them! They venture out all around the globe and find their happy place and for that I can only be truly grateful!

Puppy Sitting

So, I spent the last couple of days puppy sitting for the Shepards, while they went to Vermont to snowboard. Got to visit my girl Lisa, thanks to Maddock who came down and puppy sat for me. Now back to the day to day. Fred says he will finish this job in the next two weeks and has no idea where he will go next. But, he will have a job which is something I am grateful for everyday!

Marshal has finally arrived in UAE and seems to be settling in. Stephani is working it out at home. Sometimes it is hardest on the ones left at home to hold down the fort. I speak from years and years of experience. My hubby has travelled for many years and has been away for months at a time. Sometime the sacrifice is necessary and worthwhile, sometimes not.


Tonight I am missing my family and I need a massage!

Winter Blahs

So winter is still here, everything is a shade a grey, even the snow. It is either time for a fresh coat of snow or some greenery to show itself. I love snow, but dirty, yucky snow is depressing and I find it more and more difficult to find just white, lovely, glittering snow. So ...what do I wish for now??

Snow!

More snow...and while I love the snow and how beautiful it makes everything look I begin to understand why people move to the south after a while. I look outside as it falls and think how wonderful and what a scene it makes as it covers over all the old, dirty snow and makes everything look so lovely. Then I look over on the driveway and think about shoveling and how much work that will be. Today I will focus on the lovely part...wait isn't there a line in "Gone With the Wind" that covers this? "I'll think about that tomorrow" and being from the south I believe I will take Miss Scarlett's advice and do just that!

The Joys of Family and Friends

We (Maddock and I) headed for Maryland to see Cares and J. Saturday Maddock and J hung out in Hagarstown while the new Mrs. Shep and I headed off to visit the Huntleys in VA. Lovely hanging out day! Took Carter for his basketball photos, then McDonald's for our fix of soda and chicken nuggets, then off the Carter's basketball game...which his team won!!!! Then we dropped the Carterman off and us three ladies headed to PF Chang's for a quick (2 1/2 hour) dinner. Did I say quick...for us two and half hours of eating and talking is quick. The only thing missing was Mrs. Midgley, our British contingency, Leah. She and Rik are busy getting ready for their first baby and boy did we miss her.

Then dropped Miss Lisa off at home and then onto to Frederick for Jason's little sister's 25th birthday bash. Goodness, just typing it all out makes me tired.

I am so blessed to have so many loving friends and family members close by. I miss the ones that are away but I surely do appreciate the ones close by.

Just and update, Marshal should be leaving for the UAE any day now...let the games begin!

Snowmaggedon 2010

So we have survived the snow storms! We (I should say the boys, mostly Maddock) have almost got us dugout. We have had to cancel a trip to Maryland and Virginia for two weeks due to the weather. Cabin fever has set in and now it is time to get out of the neighborhood. Still too soon to travel far (MD and VA) got more snow and they are much more congested than we are so no long trips right away. But I finally understand why people retire to the south...I believe I am beginning to see the benefits of being a Snowbird!

The Wedding, The holidays and The New Year

Post wedding, straight into the holidays and finally things are slowing down enough for me to remember that I set up this blog. The wedding was wonderful and I can honestly say that it was the most perfect day ever for a wedding. The bride was beautiful, the groom adorable, the mother of the bride a bit frantic and frazzled but everything went beautifully!

We rolled straight from the wedding into the holidays and of course, because of the wedding I had spent exactly zero time shopping for Christmas. It all came together in the end though and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. We were so happy to have time to spend with Marshal and Stephani before Marshal leaves for the UAE for six months. This Christmas Eve marked our last one for a long time. Time to do something different! But there were dinners out with family, long chats by the fireplace, music playing, baking and cooking and our house was filled with our wonderful family and great friends!

I have finally had time to sit and read a book or two and am spending some time deciding what to do next. Down to visit Cares and Jay next month and visit Miss Lisa while I am there. Planning another big trip to visit the DH in Alabama and visit some dear, old friends there! Then over to Texas to visit my girl Vicki and some other old friends. Then home to await the our youngest's graduation from high school.

The big question for me is, then what? Who knows! I am rediscovering old friends, old passions and new ones, enjoying time with my children and their companions, waiting to spend more time with mine and dreaming about the next part of my life! Let the adventure begin! And where is my gold watch?

Back Home

Well, ten days of travelling from state to state to state. Moving sofas, playing nanny to Carter, seeing movies, going to Relief Society Enrichment night in another ward, reading, finding myself with my van car seats in three different states,etc. The list goes on.

I have to commend the boys for taking care of the house so well. Things were pretty much in o.k. shape when I returned. Good job guys!

I realized, again, how much I hate unpacking and putting things to rights after a trip. I also realized how important it is to stay in touch with family members no matter how far away they are. Like my friend Lisa, my children are spread all over the nation and sometimes all over the planet. Weekly phone calls, cards, remembering birthdays, Facebook, emails, etc. are all wonderful ways to keep in touch. As children grow up and leave these tools become even more valuable. So in that vane I got a new cell phone, one that allows me to text message easily. So as I take my next step into the world of modern technology I began to wonder, is this really the direction we want our lives to go? Or is it just silly to fight the inevitable? Will we continue to develop psuedo ways of communication like email and texting and really think that they will take the place of a good old fashioned phone call, hand written letter or personal visit? In ten years will we spend more time with the ones we love or less, because we think a quick text message is communication?

I have breakfast with a dear friend of mine at least once a week, unless one of us is traveling. Now that is communication! Talking out our concerns, sharing laughs and even at our distingushed age, giggles. Planning shopping trips and movie dates. We share our memories and our futures together. Can any of this be accomplished via texting or Facebooking? As the technology speeds up our ability to communicate I have to wonder...are we really communicating at all?

As for me, I will use the technology to send quick messages and jokes but, I will also continue to plan visits to loved ones that live far away and even those who live a bit closer. I am convinced that while the technology allows us to keep in touch, it does not allow us to be in touch. It cannot replace the soft touch of my daughter's hand over the breakfast table, the smack talk with my son in law over football, the sweet moments I have share with my daughter in law and son over shared meals and pedicure appointments. It cannot replace the motorcycle ride my eighteen year old shared with his big brother. It cannot replace the simple conversations I have shared with each of my children in person, being able to try and read body language and facial cues that I have seen since their childhoods. Nope, I like technology but real person to person contact is still the only real way to make and maintain a connection with people. Facetime...not Facebook time is really the most important and best way to communicate with each other.

Out of Town

SLACKER! that's what I am a slacker...at least on this blog. Things slowed down for a minute after the wedding and then, true to form, started right back up again. Car issues, leaves falling, plumbing issues, car break in, etc. the list goes on and on.

For the next few days I have left my boys, 18 and 22 alone at home to watch over the homestead and fend for themselves. Psssst don't tell the neighbors! I am playing nanny to Carter down here in VA while his mom visits England to see Leah and Rik, who are expecting their first baby. I am loving it. We went over to MD last night to visit Carolin and Jason and got to help them get ready for their new arrival...no name yet, puppy! Yay, another grandpuppy. Pretty soon I will have more granddogs than kids. I wonder if that will make Christmas cheaper or not...hmmmm.

Going home on Friday to spend some time with my girl Sue over the weekend then back to VA to bring Carter home to his Mama. Then jetting over to MD to see Cares and J again, and bringing some of our dog stuff that we no longer use. Then home on Monday. Whew!

See what I mean! No rest for the wicked...oh I mean weary (Hah!) Now, moving onto Christmas...

My Day Today

Today was a typical day for me...

1) Dr.'s office for a blood sample
2) Bank
3) Post Office
4) Dry Cleaner's
5) Library (usually my favorite stop of the week but today I owed fines)
6) Hair Dresser's to pick up hair stuff
7) Michal's (a craft store) for stuff to finish up decorating the house for Fall
8) Grocery Store (this is my least favorite so I put it off until the boy's think they are going to starve to death)

Then back home to put all that junk away... Some parts of my life have changed drastically,like, the laundry...Maddock hauls it down to the basement, Micah sorts it, washes it and hauls it back up, I fold it and iron it, then we all put our own stuff away. Much easier than when there were five kids and tons of laundry. On the other hand, there are days like today that seem so familiar that I come home feeling like there should still be more people living here. Then I remember, the ones that live here are boys and that alone explains the $180.00 in groceries that will be gone in less than two weeks. Someday, Maddock will stop growing and soccer season will be over and he will quit eating us out of house and home. I'm not ready for someday, not just yet.

Post Wedding Week

This is the first week in months that I have not been consumed with wedding plans. Seemed strange at first but I believe I am getting over it. First a little light housekeeping and some cooking. A little shopping, finish my overdue library books, get the boys to take care of the lawn (no small feat indeed!) Spend time looking at some wedding photos and generally just taking the week off, even though there were two soccer games during the week.

Celebrated by birthday this week with loads of notes and FB messages from sweet friends. Some fizzy apple bubbly and graham flavored fish crackers, lunch with a good friend and breakfast with another and dinner out with my youngest. Some weeks just rock!

The older I get the more I appreciate the little things in life like, shoes that fit really well, so you buy two pair of them, phone calls from my kids, dinner out with friends and family, a really good book or movie, and a clean house! Oh! and my new beautiful ring from my hubby! Jewelry always makes it a good day.

So the wedding was a success! The only beautiful day of the week! The bride was stunning, the groom ecstatic! The mother of the bride exhausted! And that was only the ceremony! The receptions were marvelous. I will post more photos once we get them!

I just can't believe she is old enough to be someone's wife! Today she posted an email to me and I didn't have a clue who Carolin Shepard was. I almost deleted it! Things change!

Seven Days

Seven days...what the heck! Where did the week go...the bride is sick, the groom is hanging tough and the mother of bride is doing great! My blood pressure is finally down, I lost eleven pounds and for some reason am calm and collected. Seems strange to be so calm, I must be missing something.

Oh well, as long as they are married by the end of the day I'll be happy.

September 11, 2009

Amid all the rushing and planning for the upcoming nuptials I did take some time today to remember all that happened eight years ago. So many lost and so many more left behind to mourn for them. Only eight years ago we were a country united by a common pain and a common cause. What happened? Are our memories so short, our ability to remember so stunted that only eight years later at Bloomsburg University only seven students showed up to a memorial for those lost on 9/11.

Did you say a prayer for those lost eight years ago? Do you keep those that serve our nation here and abroad in your prayers? Did you at least stop for one moment to be thankful that you live in a nation that allows you to those choices?

Twenty-four Days

Bride's Dress - Done
Marriage License - Done
MOB Dress - in the works
Shoes - Done
Food - in the works
Chairs and misc. items - still in the works
Venues - Done
Gluten Free Desserts - Done (except for decoration)
Decorations - work in progress
Pashmina's ordered - Done
Hotel Reservations - Done
Flowers - Done

Some things are still works in process...I am tired to say the least...

39 Days

So we are now 39 days away from the wedding and receptions. 39 days until family descends, Fred comes home, the wedding site has to be decorated, the chairs delivered, the flowers delivered, the reception set up, food delivered and prepped to serve (thank you Wendy), the dresses worn, the songs sung, the toasts made...39 days until she leaves home for the last time to become someone's wife. Someones wife, there is a bittersweetness about that phrase that causes me to stop in my tracks every once in a while and remember her as the little girl that ran around in cowboy boots and diapers, with tangles and tons of blond, curls that were wildly out of control for the most part. The little girl that curled up in my arms at night as we read together. The little girl that loved Fast Sunday because it was not Long Sunday. The little angle face with the devilish smile that would lie in wait for her older siblings to bang them on the head with some toy or other and then race, laughing wildly down the hall to get away. She was here a minute ago, I could swear. It has all come to unexpectedly fast and here we are...with only 39 days.

Oh my goodness, look what I found...

A few shots of some old friends...well no so old then of course. Enjoy!

Memories!

Good gracious! The photos are coming out of the walls, boxes and boxes of them. These are a few of some dear and wonderful friends. Vick, I hope you remember some of these times. Our girls turned out beautiful and the boys just adorable! We done good girl!

Roaming The Countryside

Left Sunday (after the soccer tourney) for Maryland. Monday was the dress fitting and it was so much fun! We had lunch with the photographer Dave and Care's future sister in law to go over photo ideas. Dinner out at the Imperial Gardens (it wasn't so Imperial) but the food was pretty good and company better. The best part was the Baskin Robbin's right next door.

Tuesday, drove to Michigan go see Fred for a few days. Get in some down time, reading time, shopping time etc. before setting off to get Maddock on Sunday the down to South Carolina to see Marshal and Steph until the 7th. Then on to South Carolina, to pick up my good friend, Lisa. Drop her off in Virginia and then home.

What awaits me there is...flowers, boy's clothing, decorations for the park, linens for the reception, ordering all the rest of the food, finding a nice B&B for Care's and J's wedding night...

the list goes on and on. Now back to chillin, reading, napping, shopping...

Wedding Frazzle

O.K. so far I have been having a pretty good time with the whole wedding thing. But today, looking at being out of town for the next two weeks (no our house will NOT be empty, other people besides me live here) has caused me to have sort of a mental melt down. I do not have the flowers ordered, or the decorations for the wedding venue, or the chairs, plates, linens... I mean really, how far behind am I? If I don't have chairs can't people just stand for fifteen minutes? Can't we just let nature be the provider of the decor for the site? AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! O.K. I feel a little better now. I am so, so, very happy that God gifted me with two daughters, who are wonderful! But I am also grateful that I only have the two. Mother of the Groom, that is were it is at!