Thursday Thoughts!

Oh my, cooler weather has arrived and that is after we were on the beach in 88o weather yesterday. It's been rainy more then not this past week, it's like one day it's warmer then usual and sunny, then rain sets in for the day. Weirdness, maybe this is winter Florida style. It's the dampness I am not fond of and we have had plenty. But the warm days thrown in make it doable...especially since my NE friends have just had THREE snow days and it was -9 at 10 a.m. this morning, yeah, I am not complaining :)

Even lil'blue had a snow day yesterday.

It's already after 8 and it's been a week already, so I am thinking early to bed this evening. We had the honor of being able to attend the retirement ceremony of MiB's brother on Tuesday. Wow, ARMY STRONG, he's been all over the world, he knows five languages and went from green to gold and served our country proudly, he is now a retiree. Seems unbelievable! He's a great guy and was an asset to the USA, he will continue to serve but will no longer wear the rank of a major; he will be serving in one of the "stans". He will continue to make a difference, we are proud of him, thanks for your dedication and service MM!

Thoughts:

• I like lemon bars!
• I really need to watch my eating better...
• LilBlue will arrive in 10 days :) if you were counting.
• Hmmm...retirement, maybe not as far off as I once thought!
• I am thinking sand is not as bad as snow, but snow is prettier!

DECEMBER...and already the 3rd!

Well, December is here, believe it or not...I enjoy the Christmas holidays, but seems like they have come quickly this year.

I do have all my shopping done with the exception of picking up a few more stocking stuffers, all gifts are wrapped minus one, which is waiting on some attention from MiB before proceeding and the house is decorated except the main tree which we will do the night lil'blue arrives so it's not an issue that the holidays are here, it's that Decmeber is here; it just seems like the year has gone by too quickly.

I am super excited for lil'blues arrival in just 16 more days-(not that I am counting or anything :), we will have her for 15 short days, so much to do, share, create in so little time...but we will be living each day to the fullest!

Thursday Thoughts!

• Lots to do in so many areas
• Being pulled in ALL directions
• Everyone seems to want some of me
• I feel a lil' teensy weensy bit OVERWHELMED
• I'm so thankful we celebrate the true reason for the season

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Blessings abound, take time to be thankful and savor all that you are blessed with, the list is endless...

Thankfulness

Tomorrow is the day, I absolutely love, love, love Thanksgiving, it is a great day always spent with those we enjoy, sometimes with family we love. This year it will our first without lil'blue in our midst, that is tough; she will be in MO with the family so it's all good in the big scheme of things but we will still miss her...I am so thankful that MiB is here, there have been several years he has been away. It is a dreary day here in FL and the fact that we will not be spending Thanksgiving with family makes me a bit sad. MiB is still en route to be home for tomorrow. He had to stop in at the SMART dealer for a back glass latch fix and is now on his way home from MCO after his second "L.A." trip this month or third depending on how you look at it.

When I think about being thankful I think in terms like how blessed I am. I have been provided a very nice house to live in with great A/C, I have a bed to sleep in with wonderfully soft sheets, two cars in my garage that are paid for, no real worries. I am wonderfully blessed by a loving husband, a beautiful daughter, a great family. All things but I am blessed through them, I am also blessed by my surroundings...the beauty of God's creation like the ocean across the street, palm trees in our front yard, the alligator in the pond out back (okay, maybe not him) but definitely the manatees over at the marina!

I am a fortunate American, I love our country, I hope others take time to be thankful for all that they have. We are a nation who lives in abundance. We are a nation at war. I try to not get wrapped up in the materialism that bombards me every single day; it's hard. And I am not even one that would be considered a materialistic person; however, sometimes the media can really suck us in. It's a constant struggle to remember our abundant wealth, to be content with what we have, to love each other and not things. It is one of my goals to do more with less, by living below our means and be thankful for all things in all circumstances, it's not easy, it's downright hard on some days, but I continue to make it a priority.

One time my second sister said Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday because it is all the great food and family time without the hoopla of the gift giving frenzy that Christmas brings. On many levels I agree with her. Unfortunately, I have come to kind of dread the Christmas gift giving tradition, seems the real meaning of the season has gotten lost in the commercialism of America.

Anyway, my noodles are drying, the pies are baked, the sweet potatoes are candied and I am taking a quick cyber break. Tomorrow we will take food over and serve to the on duty Defender's then go on over to serve our nation's best and brightest Airmen in the dining facility before coming home to sit down to an evening gathering with "three doors down" and anyone else who was invited that chooses to join us. We will eat way too much I know, but I can't wait! It will be yummy :)

Tonight we are attending the inter-faith Thanksgiving service at the chapel followed by a pie social, it is usually a great service since so many different faiths come together for this event and are represented. I am excited to go, it's always good to get together to be thankful for all that we have been provided and to worship the one who has provided it all!

So I wish you a HAPPY, HAPPY Thanksgiving and remember at my house there will be no turkeys, only a fabulous ham :)

Oh my...

yeah, well, it's not Thursday and here I am posting, you are surely as shocked as I am!

I missed last week since we were in L.A. and I wanted to atleast note we are back. Well, maybe I should clarify that "we" as in we were back and one of us has gone again...back to L.A. but not the one in California, the other L.A. the one that we affectionately call lower Alabama. That's right MiB is back in Montgomery he was there a few days before we left, and now is back. A lot of things are wrapping up before the holidays really kick in that he needs to attend. As a matter of fact if it would not have been Thanksgiving week, I would have went as well. Maybe next time :)

So the California trip was good, less jaw dropping this time since it was my second go 'round, but it was still a great time, learned some new things and got to have Sprinkles again!!!! And believe it or not the cupcake eating made me think of this lady, who is always so super sweet and pops in on me regulary with encouraging, uplifting words! Thanks Susie.

BTW I had three of those super delicious cupcakes over three days this year...carrot, which by far was my favorite, pumpkin, close second, lemon and milk chocolate, good, very good, but nothing to really get overly excited about! Whoops, guess I had four!!!! It was all I could do NOT to tear into the ones we brought home for "three doors down" Their flavors were strawberry, which I have never had, pumpkin, chocolate marshmallow and milk chocolate.

On top of that we stopped back in at this little piece of heaven where I enjoyed with my MiB a Passionfruit/Coconut swirl with toppings of blueberry, strawberry and pomegranate seeds. Oh, it was wonderfully delicious.

We also had great burgers and fries at the Beverly Hills Diner on Thursday night, which is on the corner of Santa Monica and Beverly Drive. For the middle of BH it was a great little place with just what we were looking for, nice semi greasy burgers and crispy, hot, fat fries. They also had milkshakes that looked incredibly good, but we knew we wanted PinkBerry so we passed, which was really tough cause the people behind us had one and they were HUGE.

Lunch on Friday was another treat for our tastebuds as we dined with the Bird on Italian fare. Soooo good, I was totally impressed with this place, without a doubt the best I have had since leaving Italy. DaPasquale's nailed not only the food but the cappuccino, it was fabulous! We will definitely go back if we have the opportunity.

On Thursday evening after our diner meal we also strolled down Rodeo Drive which was pretty neat. They already have their Christmas decorations up so it was very nice to take it all in with the holiday visuals and especially in the evening hours. By far we loved the penguins in the fountain with their holiday ties on the best, that was super cute! But the late breaking news is that when we went back to stroll on Friday afternoon we actually made a purchase at the COACH store...yeah, I know, I couldn't believe it either; and get this, it wasn't even for me!! MiB needed a new wallet so we came out with one that should last awhile. He doesn't get it until Christmas but so worth the wait...it's a very nice wallet.

The sad thing about this trip is that I took pictures only with my phone so I don't have any uploads, but the good news is that a new camera is on the top of my Christmas list so I think MiB will need to go shopping...

Enough from me; I am so tired and so ready to be in my jammies and do some before bedtime reading before I slip off into dreamland. It's been a long day and I am very much looking forward to a good night's sleep. Night!

Oh Happy DAY!

It's once again Thursday, but it is not just ANY Thursday, it is the day after Veteran's day, which I am very proud of the Veteran's in my life, one of whom has a birthday today...Happy Birthday J! I know you are celebrating BIG and having all the sweets A will allow, which probably include but are not limited to, cake, pie, cobbler, ice cream, probably even someone brought you donuts this morning and without a doubt if there is pudding to be had I know you are having some :) I am so honored to know you and pleased that you have been such a huge part of my life from as far back as I can remember. I am thrilled that you are my dad's best friend, you two are a riot and it's always fun when we are all together, I am only sad that you no longer live in Nevada but it is what it is and the best part is we will all spend eternity together. Again I wish you a very, very HaPpY bIrThDaY today and as many more as the Lord sees fit to bless you with!!!!

I am in the midst of packing for the Cali trip...this is no small undertaking when you consider every day of this trip has me in two different wardrobes. The dress for the conference each day is business attire, then each evening is another style from Sunday night's smart casual, to Monday evening being semi formal, then on Tuesday is it semi casual, Wednesday is cocktail attire, then Thursday it is back to smart casual. Friday is the all out formal for the AFA sponsored AF Ball. It is so hard to really know what to take that will work because even with the guidance I am given there will be those who really dress to the nines and those who have on totally inappropriate attire (like the guy who wore shorts and flip flops to the smart casual event). I try to be comfortable in my skin and in the mix of what qualifies for the guidelines given me by protocol and not embarrass myself! Of course, I am also trying to mix and match my wardrobe pieces but the shoes for each type of clothing is really throwing me off. However, I think I am finally getting it narrowed down! Also we are touring the Boeing facility on Thursday morning and the requirements for that little adventure are long and tedious!! No exposed skin between your pants and your shoes, no perfume, no open toed shoes, no hair accessories, no clothing that sheds, heels that are less then 2 inches and that have at least a one inch minimum surface to name a few and on top of that we will put on "clean suits" and will not be allowed to take notes, purses or electronic equipment to include a camera. I cannot remember the last time I had so many rules for a tour! Sometimes, I wish I had a uniform like MiB then there would be no question of what to wear for the majority of events!!!!

Anywho, I am really looking forward to the trip; even though it is a full schedule it is a fun one! MiB will be briefing this year and that is always fun for me to get to be in on! There will be much to be learned, lots to bring back, along with friendships to rekindle and new ones to forge. What a great way of life the USAF provides, we know it's a small world and each year of this life in the blue we are amazed at how much smaller it gets! How neat it is to see who we will know and who we will get to know.

Oh, and we musn't forget we are again privileged to be able to stay at that swanky hotel again this year!!! The one that we had a room in the pool cabana, with our own "pool boy" who brought me water while I napped on the lounges. Oh my, I am looking forward to that again, what a place!

Thoughts:

• I don't like turkey :(
  
• I really am a traditionalist...
• I am enjoying a cup of Earl Gray!
• I love the brisk fall like weather we are having today!
• I am a petite, which makes clothes shopping challenging.
  

Thursday Thoughts!

So what does a girl say on the day after her birthday? Not much...it was a pretty low key affair, I baked a lovely carrot cake in the a.m. had coffee with a new friend, then piddled in the afternoon. Dinner was in, my choice, since it had been nearly two weeks since we have been able to sit down and eat at our own table, I though it was a great idea! Menu was my choice as well, meatloaf, mashed potatoes w/gravy, and corn, YUMMY, comfort food. It was nice to get phone calls, texts and cards throughout the day, but the best part was just sitting at the table enjoying easy conversation and yummy food. The schedule has been really full the last few weeks so those times have been fewer and fewer and with the upcoming holiday season they may become extinct for the time being.

The days are still quite warm here, but I know the calendar shows we are in November. I really like it, however, it is a bit odd. Although I did pull out a denim jacket the other day while I ran out to an evening meeting. I didn't really need it for the outdoor environment, but with the A/C in the building it was nice to have.

I find myself wondering what I do, but then I look at my calender and see I do many things because there are many things listed on it, but some days I wonder what I really do...something I have been pondering amongst the many meetings, volunteer commitments, social engagements, church, graduations, proclamations, "fill in the blank" drives, promotions, tours, launches, retirements, etc.that I attend. I do feel like sometimes my garage door goes up and down more then the stock market as I dash in and out going to and fro and at the end of the day I wonder what did I do today? It is my intent to do those things that be glorifying to my God. So I smile as often as possible, give an encouraging word, hopefully, bring a smile to someone else, lighten a load, lend a hand, offer experience and be a friend to the friendless. I do not aim to be in the midst of the hubbub, I prefer the background, I so do not want to make someone else feel uncomfortable, or unworthy or out of sorts because of my presence, I desire to be approachable, friendly and received with no pretenses. These are not easy things to achieve, these are not extraordinary things that most of us would not want, but I find myself struggling to keep my life in perspective, to not get up in arms over things that are out of my control, to be gracious in my many circumstances, to be positive, to be a good role model. I trust God for my wisdom, strength and my salvation and I find it incredible that others make it in life without Him, I know I could not, I don't even want to try, I thank God that He loves me, day in and day out in spite of my many shortcomings.

My thoughts today are...

• I am thankful for life!
• I am thankful for a new friend.
• I am thankful for getaway trips!
• I am thankful for iced pumpkin spice coffee :)
• I am thankful for the protocol staff who keeps me in line!