The Bestest Hugs

the bestest hugs of all come from my little brother.... Thanks David!!  love you :)

One of the best things about going home, is finding things "the same".  There are so many changes in our every day world, that finding things haven't changed on the home front can be very comforting.

I had the opportunity to go home to the house my folks have lived in since 1966 - 48 years!   And while the details might change from time to time, things stay the same.  It's our home base, the place we come back to, a place to reconnect with our roots and where we came from.  And while my folks are older now, and I become the driver for errands such as groceries or shopping trips, its still the same. 

The neighbors have changed, but the street, the houses remain the same.  The trees are bigger, but once you begin to drive the familiar routes, you remember - our brains must store the things we've done over and over, no matter how long we've been away.

Family trips to Minnesota when I was growing up, I was always amazed that Dad could remember how to get from place to place, but now I understand it.  Your mind doesn't let you forget -- even when we try and second guess ourselves! 

“Home is the nicest word there is.”

― Laura Ingalls Wilder

“Happiness doesn't lie in conspicuous consumption 

and the relentless amassing of useless crap.

Happiness lies in the person sitting beside you 

and your ability to talk to them. 

Happiness is clear-headed human interaction and empathy.

Happiness is home.

 It is where, when you cross its threshold, 

 you finally feel at peace.”

― Dennis Lehane

Sinfully Delish!

OMG --- I found something sinfully delish! 

If you are a fan of York's ... and like pretzels ...
you are gonna luv these new snacks!

York peppermint slathered between two mini pretzels and dipped in dark chocolate....

You gotta try them!!!!

Happy Saturday

This is the Ahhhhhh Saturday.  My house is sparkly clean, and all the clutter is tucked away, put in its place, and its a beautiful sunny day!  so what does a Gal do on a day like this?   Sit in the sun, of course, and read a good story :)   Sadie is walked, emails answered.  And I'm enjoying a weekend marathon of American Pickers, as well. 

This was on the sidewalk when I walked Sadie this morning - it made me smile, hope it brings you a smile as well :) :) 

Love Yourself

February, the month of love.  And when it comes to love, we start at a young age, looking for that one love, the one person we can spend the rest of our lives getting to know, sharing every day life.  Some find that person, others think they have, and find out later they were wrong.   Even then, we're hopeful that the right someone will come along, and we will love again. 

I'm here to tell you that there's a person right in front of you to fall in love with -- yourself! If you don't appreciate and love yourself, who will?  We all need little reminders that our Self
is worth the time to give ourselves some lovin'. 
And February is a great month to do that in!

The word February brings up memories and images of cold, grey mornings, making the shortest onth seem the longest.  But afternoon sunshine and pink sunsets hold out promise.  Like matters of the heart, February is full of surprise, contradiction, and the spell of sensuous.

So here are a few suggestions and thoughts:  Cherish your romantic impulses.  Indulge in armchair adventures - through books or movies.  Try on fantasies.  Reconsider red:  bangles, lips, nails, even shoes!  Slip into silk.  Trade the treadmill for the tango.  Curl your hair. 
Chocolate becomes you, so show off your curves!

Remember, flirting is good for the soul.

Make peace with your past.

Lose your heart to Life!

Weds UPdates

February, the month of LOVE.  I was going to write something awesome about love, how its a part of each part of our lives.  But the words were hard in coming.  But look for something later this month.

My dad is taking a break from his chemo treatments, to let his body rest and build up.  I'm sure he's very relieved for the next couple of weeks!     Wish I was there to make sure he's eating well! Mom pulls out all the stops making favorites when there's someone else to cook for :)

It's my mom's birthday this week -- what do you get for the woman who has everything she needs, and says she doesn't want anything... *sigh*For me, that presents a challenge, and in my usual way, I created a cd of mixed songs for her to play on Sunday morning.  She likes the old hymns, so I dug into my old CDs and found a few oldies but goodies and mixed them onto a CD.

Work ... oh boy, its been kind of crazy.  Our store manager left, and we're trying to regroup into getting things back to basics, back to normal, back to how it should be.  While that adds a little bit of stress, in its own way, its a relief as well.   Who will be the new leader?  Who knows.  But it should be interesting.  :)

Workouts are going well, and I'm on track for my goal of making a mile in 13 minutes.   I started off at 14:50, and today's number was 13:45 .... yay! :)    Just a little bit more to go!  I've also gotten back to some extra strength training, and have added a glass of creatine after my workouts to help with recovery, and rebuilding muscles. 

And it seems I'm rambling, every few words and Sadie is interrupting me ..... Pet Me!  Feed Me!  Walk Me!  Play with Me!    gotta love our dogs though, even when its not easy!  So I better go pay attention to her, or I won't get any sleep tonight!  hahhaha

Power of Music

Music is a very powerful thing....  and never ceases to amaze me.  It can change our mood from bad to good, it can energize us, soothe us, and remind of us long ago days. 

In my weekend quest of cleaning house, I decided to purge through some of my old CDs (and got rid of all the cassettes!)

Some of the music I needed to purge through I've had since the 1990s... that was before some of you were even born! lol  But before I purged, I decided there were some I had to listen to first -- just to be sure.  Now, there were some CDs I didn't have to listen to -- I could tell by the handwriting on them they were like the "custom mixed tapes" we used to make back in high school for our sweethearts.  They were given to me by an ex -- and there's no need to keep that around any longer!  But the ones that fascinated me the most were the church hymn CDs. 

Back in the 90s, I was part of a local church choir - we sang at three services every Sunday, sometimes on Weds night, and performed five different "shows" for the major holidays.  What surprised me about the music was that I remembered all the words and could sing along!  Mind you, I haven't sang those choruses since 1998 when I left California- that was 16 years ago.  The power of music is simply amazing!  And so are our brains -- even when something's been filed away and never opened for years upon years, the data is still there! 


Never underestimate the power of music and what it can do for you!

“Where words fail, music speaks.”
―Hans Christian Andersen

 “Where words leave off, music begins.”
―Heinrich Heine

 “Music touches us emotionally, where words alone can't.”
―Johnny Depp

 PS:  Amazingly enough, with tunes going, I got a lot of housecleaning done, it looks amazing!  :)