Meet Me on Monday

Questions:

1.  What are you wearing right now?

My traditional work-at-home attire - lounge pants and a tee and socks to keep my feet warm.

2.  Do you have any freckles?

Yes - they show up more in the summer, especially across my nose.  My husband says he likes them.

3.  What is your favorite Lifesaver flavor?

It's a toss up between pineapple and orange.  I love tropical flavors!  Are there mango Lifesavers?

4.  What is the last movie you saw in the theater?

"Just Go With It".  I'm not a big Adam Sandler fan and wasn't expecting to like it but it was really good - highly recommend for a good laugh! 

5.  Would you rather live without tv or without music?

At least 75% of the time, when I think about relaxing and having a choice of listening to music or watching something entertaining on TV, I will choose TV. 

Only in my Mind

A couple of years ago I asked for a camera small enough to fit into my purse so no photo op would ever pass me by.  My sweet hub bought me an awesome little Canon and it's been at my side constantly since then.

So yesterday when I took my daughter out for her birthday, there were going to be many zany opportunities for pictures. 

Unless of course you forget to charge the battery.

Which I did.

And I have no pictures except in my head, so I will share the details so you can get a picture in your mind too:

Driving into downtown Atlanta (two brown haired 'girls' chatting like mad and driving in crazy traffic.  Ashley's phone constantly dinging with birthday messages)

Ashley opens her birthday presents (beautiful girl squealing with delight when she finds a Kindle in the box)

Arriving at the "AMC Fork and Screen" for lunch and a movie (getting lost, walking up to street level from the parking lot, wind blowing us to pieces, going back to parking deck to ask attendant where the theatre is and finding out we walked in the opposite direction from it)

Sitting at our little table in a dark theatre and pushing the red button to order our lunch (noshing on cheeseburger with fries and chicken sandwich with onion rings, making puffy cheeks to show how full we were of junk food)

Watching the movie "Just Go With It" (shooting each other crazy looks and cracking up!  ~Movie highly recommended, btw~)

Leaving the theatre (uneventfully) and driving to our favorite shopping spot, TJMaxx (arms full of clothes, purses, scarves, and a token ironing board for my hub's travels)

And best for last, pedicures for the weary feet (Ashley making faces because she can't stand having things between her toes.  Me sweating, because I'm, well, in that place in life right now, especially when my feet are in hot water...plus we are having an unusually warm February!)

And, oh yes, there was the two hour commute back to reality.  (Friday traffic, dropping Ashley at her car, hub calling 'where are you?' and me running to the loo as soon as I arrived home!!)

All in all, it was a wonderful day!  I love spending time with my best girl.  But MY age is showing today.  I'm exhausted!

Hope everyone is having a blessed weekend!

Only Once in my Lifetime

Twenty-nine years ago today I wasn't feeling too well.  I was in labor.

I was only a baby myself, just three weeks away from my 20th birthday.  And back in those days, there was no internet or "Baby Story" on TV to give you a glimpse of what was to come.  All I had was a copy of "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and my mother's advice.  I felt so unprepared.  I remember thinking all of a sudden that day, 'how are they going to get this baby out of me?'  I was scared!

I was lucky enough to not know how far along my labor had progressed while I was at my mother's house all day.  If I had, I probably would have panicked.  When the contractions were timeable, my mom called my husband at work and he came to take me to the hospital.  Without any drugs whatsoever, about an hour and a half later, she was born.

I had a little girl, and we named her Ashley.  And life since that moment was forever changed.

Raising her wasn't always easy.  Her father was an absent parent by the time she was 3.  I look back on those days and wonder how I did it.  I also look back now and wonder if I appreciated it enough.  It went by so fast.

I had such high hopes for my daughter.  I think most parents want their child to do better than they did.  I wanted to encourage her in a way that I never was to do well in school and to understand that her education would continue after high school.  I didn't want her to feel that limits were being put on her just because the budget was tight. 

I wanted her to be confident and secure and to have the ability to make friends easily.  I wanted her to need me but learn to become independent too.  I didn't want her to feel that she had missed out on anything.  Mainly, I wanted her to be happy.

No doubt, I made some mistakes along the way.  But somehow, there was always a level of respect there that we had for each other that kept our relationship healthy and balanced.

And she has grown up to be just as I imagined - a beautiful, well adjusted and mature young woman (who still loves Hello Kitty).  And we are the best of friends.

So, happy birthday to my girl tomorrow.  We will be spending the day together doing girly stuff.  And maybe one day soon, our outings will include a third generation.

I don't think I could have imagined it all those years ago.

Giving Him the Glory

Being spiritually minded and believing that everything happens for a reason, my hub and I have often wondered what the true reason was for our business failing last year.  We realized that we may never know for sure, but we know in our hearts that everything works together for good to those who love God and knew that we had learned some valuable lessons that we could use going forward.

We didn't know that those lessons would be put to use so quickly.  The 'failed' business experience has been invaluable to my hub as he has been navigating the new venture his company is considering.  Without this knowledge, the company could have gotten trapped into a situation that would have cost them tens of thousands.  Thanks to my hub, he's uncovered information that no one had presented before that will slow down if not stop the process completely. 

Since hub works remotely from home, he doesn't always get recognized for all of the things that he does.  Being in the main office this week he has been able to shine especially for the owner of the company, and the owner has now made some great comments.  My hub is an honest, hard worker and always puts everyone else first.  I am so glad he is being recognized for his dedication, and I'm so proud of him! 

And we give God the glory because He is guiding both of us every step of the way.

Missing my Valentine

I am thankful for my husband everyday, but especially today when there is a day set aside to express LOVE!  Happy Valentine's Day to my sweet guy, who unfortunately is away on business right now.  Our first Valentine's Day apart in 10 years, so it's bittersweet. 

Below is a picture from Valentine's Day a few years ago and one of my favorites.

Before he left yesterday, I was surprised with a wonderful box full of goodness...

If you haven't tried Fairytale Brownies, be good to yourself and order some today.  By far, the best packaged brownies you will ever eat!  http://www.brownies.com/ 

I definitely don't feel as guilty eating one (or two!) of the magic morsels rather than the full size ones they also sell...but still think I'd better get some extra activity points built up this week on Weight Watchers Online.  Sooo good!  Thanks, honey!

I hope everyone has had a blessed day filled with LOVE!

Solitude on the Horizon

When my hub and I first met in 2001, he was a busy business traveler.  We would go on a date, and then he would fly out of town for two weeks.  The boy impressed me with his travel clout (he had me driven into New York City from Philadelphia when my flight was fogged in) and then there were the travel perks (an almost free trip to Hawaii), so we made the most of the time we were together.

When we were married in 2002, our amount of time together was about the same.  We would see each other an average of two weeks each month unless I traveled with him.  I was in school and staying pretty busy with that so the circumstances were different then.   

Then in 2003 he was offered the opportunity to partner in a new company, which also meant he would not be on the road as much.  For our new marriage this was a good thing.  Aside from maybe a few days each month, we were home together.

Fast forward to 2008, along with our other business and a failing economy - travel was reduced to overnight trips.  By 2009, he wasn't going anywhere.  We both worked at home and were together ALL THE TIME, y'all.  Still are.

We are each other's best friend.  He loves me enough to eat a bowl of cereal for dinner if I don't want to cook.  He has the cutest ears ever, and I love the sound of his voice.

But I am a believer in the old adage 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'.  We could use the opportunity to miss each other and to not take each other for granted.

Hub's company is going through a metamorphosis.  The nature of the business has taken a huge hit with the economy.  Hub has been very lucky to still have a job and the partners want to make sure this continues for them all so they are diversifying.  This means lots of time in the main office, as well as traveling to a conference.  All in all, he will be gone at least eight nights on the upcoming trip.  We will even be apart, much to our disappointment, on Valentines Day.

So, for a little while anyway, I will revert to the life formerly known.  I'm a little older now and really don't like being in the house alone.  I'm busy these days but in a different way.  I will experience what it is like again to truly long for my husband.  I will think about what a good man he is, how much I appreciate him... and how maybe the dirty socks left in the middle of the floor aren't such a big deal.

And I will eat cereal for dinner.