Moving Day...

Today is the day. I've made the decision. I'm moving or rather I'm joining Morning Musings From Linda with This Gal's View.

I started Morning Musings last year and I haven't kept up with it very well. Then I started This Gal's View. Then I picked up Morning Musings again...I thought I would keep up with both of them...

Well turns out I thought wrong.

So,I've decided to put all of my time and energy into This Gal's View.

And today is moving day.

I sure hope you'll join me!

Calories Count

Have you been out to eat recently? Or even just to Starbucks?

If so have you noticed the menus now list the calories by every food?

I don't know about you, but I kind of like it.

Hubby doesn't.

He says that if you're going to go out you should just enjoy. Through caution to the wind and order whatever your heart desires.

I say that doesn't work unless you only go out to eat once or twice a year.

I find that we eat a least something that we have purchased away from home at least once a week.

I can be good all week, I can watch everything I eat...I actually lose a pound or two...and one meal out and it's back to start.

I like the experience of eating out. I like to sit in Starbucks with a friend and chat for awhile. I like my food prepared and delivered to me every so often.

But I don't like never making any progress with losing that nagging 10 pounds which I have been trying to loose...well for a long time.

Now I have a chance at both worlds. I can get the experience of going out and I can choose wisely so I won't have to face that setback on the scale the following morning.

And I'm often surprised.

Foods which I would have ordered, because I thought they were the lower calorie choices...are not! And foods that I would not have ordered...well, I should.

It's really been an eye opening experience. And I think a good one.

What do you think?

The Best Of...

Sometimes all we can do is make the best of...

I learned that from listening to Dr. Laura.

We can't always control the situations around us. We can't always have it our own way. And life certainly isn't always fair.

So sometimes all we can do is make the best of...

We have to realize that we are not the center of the universe. There is a time to put others needs ahead of our own. There is a time to do the right thing.

So sometimes all we can do is make the best of...

The only thing in life we have complete control over is our attitudes and our reactions to situations.

So sometimes all we can do is make the best of...

And when we do that we will be glad that we did.

We will be glad that we took the higher road, that we did the right thing.

We will be able to be at peace with ourselves.

We will be able to look at ourselves in the mirror.

When we have made the best off...

Hello Again...

I can't believe it has been almost a year since I posted here. How time does fly by! I've had people ask me if I'm ever going to write again and I knew that I would, I just didn't know when.

It's almost apropo that it has taken me so long. The last post was an ending of sorts. An ending to the way things have been for lots of years. And I had no idea, really what was coming up next...so I suppose I can say I just wanted time and space to figure it all out.

And so that's what I've been doing this past year.

Now have I figured it all out? Kind of...

But I'm still in the process and I guess I'm ready to include others in the process too.

That's not always easy for me. I'm a very private person which goes against the grain of being a blogger. Yet I love to write and I enjoy blogging so I will attempt to navigate that middle ground.

So where to go from here. Well first a recap on where I've been or not been.

We're no longer homeschooling. Kristina is attending classes at the local community college and April is attending a 2 day a week charter high school. Now instead of planning lessons my time is more spent transporting students.

And the time in between I've been writing. At least for the last month or so. I've started a new blog. I've started a few Hub Pages. And I've submitted some articles ezine. Where will all of this lead? I don't know. Right now I'm just writing and seeing where it takes me.

And why two blogs? Well I felt like a change and I didn't want to let go of what I already had. Does that make sense?

Now my mind tends to view the world through an orderly lens. I can't be willy nilly about things. So this blog and that blog will have to take on their own meaning, there own place in the world of blog shpere.

But I haven't totally figured it out yet.

I'm thinking this one will be more musings and thoughts. And I'll do some more with Amy and Alley. The other one will be more practical. Real ideas for day to day living.

That's the plan anyway, we'll see how it goes.

Growning Pains

Remember the old TV show, Growing Pains? I used to love watching that show. It was funny. True growing pains are anything but funny. They hurt. Whether they be the ones in your legs which kept you awake at night when you were a kid or the ones in your heart as you watch your own kids growing up.

It's hard to watch as each stage goes away never to be seen again. When the baby is no longer a baby. When the toddler is no longer a toddler. When the child is slowly approaching those teen years. Running toward them as fast as they can as you do your utmost best to pull them back and hang on just awhile longer. But it doesn't work that way, does it?

Lots of things seem to not work the way I would prefer them to work.

Why is it too, that we never seem to be able to appreciate things as they are happening? It always seems to be when they are over that we realize how great we had it or how we could do it so much better if given the chance.

I remember always being so aggravated at my oldest daughter. She would always, always leave her clothes either in the washer or the dryer. It drove me crazy. Until of course the day after her wedding. When I went to put a load of laundry in the washing machine and there was a load of her laundry. But I wasn't aggravated. I was sad. I started crying. This would be the last time I would find her laundry in my washer. A milestone. A growing pain.

I remember that first year of homeschooling. It was a little daunting. I really didn't know what I was doing. Every morning as the day stretched before me I would meet it with dread. And now as I look to the last few weeks of homeschooling with that same child I'm so sad. How can it be almost over? And why didn't I just enjoy it more in the beginning?

And it hit me like a ton of bricks this past summer. Time with my kids at home is coming to a close. My youngest is almost 15! How did that happen?

Gone are the days of all those simple family outings. Things like collecting fall leaves. Trips to the pumpkin patch. Afternoons in the park. Hunting for rocks. Bird watching. Feeding the ducks. Crafting around the dining room table. Silly science experiments. Museum trips. Gardening. Made-up backyard games.

These are things that defined me for a lot of years. And now I need to find a new definition.

Is this the day I looked forward to when babies were crying and toddlers were whining? Is this the day I looked forward to when sleepless nights stacked up like pancakes? Is this the day I looked forward to when siblings argued and drove me crazy? Is this the day I looked forward to when the house was always cluttered with toys? Is this the day I looked forward to when teenagers where moody?

I think it must be, but I'm not so sure I want it anymore.

Sunday Afternoon Musings...

I'm very blessed, very blessed indeed. Sometimes it's all too easy to play the whoa as me game. That happens when we focus in too much on ourselves. Sometimes we have to stop and look out a bit further to remember how well we're doing.

I don't want to be nor do I ever think I have been the type of person who focuses on what's wrong. I usually always try to find wants right.

But sometimes it's all too easy to have that pity party. I think especially when you're getting older and you realize that there isn't as much time to make things right anymore. Maybe, just maybe, perhaps...this is it! Maybe, just maybe, perhaps this will be all there is.

I won't own a house, I don't have money put away, I won't be taking any fancy vacations...

But what I do have is so valuable. I have been married to a wonderful and loving man for over 30 years. I have 4 children who are doing well and who love me and like to spend time with me. I have a terrific father who is a part of our lives and who adds so much. I have three amazing grandchildren who love to visit. And I have a great son-in-law whom I am so proud of. We are all healthy. And when we get together we have such a good time full of laughter. I love to laugh and I love it when we are all laughing together. I wouldn't trade any of the previous paragraph for what I have just written. I value so very much all of these precious people in my life and I value so very much all that we share together!!

The Adventures of Amy and Alley...(part five)

Amy and Allie have a definite routine they like to follow. Like children they are most comfortable when they know what is coming next.

Mornings are always the same. The heater goes on at 6:45 and it's time for Amy to wake up her peeps. On the bed she jumps with many meows. Alley hangs in the hall, waiting patiently. Amy pesters until her demands are met. When Amy and I come out into the hall Alley is most excited. She may be 77 in people years and her body definitely is, but her spirit is around... oh, I'd say 4 years old. She is happy and excited that the day is about to begin. Me, myself, well I'm not quite there yet.

Amy and Alley greet with sniffs on the noses and down the stairs we all head and into the garage. We collect the can of dog food and off to the kitchen we go, single file. Alley is such the lady, her patience is to be admired. Amy does not like to wait even two seconds. So while Alley lays low on the floor Amy is meowing on the sink as I open the dog food. Half a can for Alley at breakfast, into the dish, and onto the floor. And then Amy finally gets what she has been clamoring for, she gets to stick her head into the can and lick the top of the other half. She can do this because I have a can opener that does not leave a sharp edge and because I am easy. She enjoys her licks while I make coffee. Allie goes outside, comes back in, coffee is made, dog food can is put away, and Amy's chows are poured.

Now it is time to make hubby's breakfast and to pack his lunch, drink coffee, and read the paper. Pretty much in that order. Allie has headed back upstairs and Amy waits for Gramps. She loves to sit on his lap every morning and waits anxiously for his arrival. Finally he comes in and he his greeted with many loud, demanding meows. In people speak I think she is saying..."well it's about time you woke up, now hurry, get your coffee and sit down, I've been looking forward to a lap to sit on and quite frankly I'm pretty tired of waiting". And Gramps is usually happy to oblige, although I think sometimes he'd rather just sit and read his paper in peace.

Yes, those are the mornings around here with Amy and Allie. It's a good thing I'm as into routine as they are...