Be happy...

Shared one of those bajillion cute little sayings floating around facebook today:  Life is too short to spend with people who suck the happiness out of you!

It's really got me thinking about how many people I know who are stuck in situations where they are so miserable, but they stay and suffer every day!

I've got my own health issues, but I've gotten help and am thankful for it.  I know several women who have fibromyalgia and other such "silent" diseases.  They are in pain every single day, but they refuse to let that ruin their lives.  They choose to focus on the things they are grateful for EVERY DAY, rather than falling into that pity-pit where so many others are consumed.  Life is what we choose to make it folks, so let's do our best to try to be happy and to share that happiness with those around us.

Guess I'll close with a simple yet very profound little prayer, that if understood and applied could improve the lives of SO many people I know and love:  God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Guardian Angels on overtime!!!

This past week was one of those weeks where my family and I have been bombarded with idiot encounters, but hey we survived and I'm hopeful that this week will be much better!

My son was jumped and beaten by 4 guys he doesn't even know, (just a few days before his birthday).  He got his nose broken, a mild concussion, and they stole a couple of items that were valuable to him, but which they probably couldn't care less about.  I'm trying to keep a positive attitude and remain thankful that he wasn't hurt worse, but part of me would sure like to find out who they are and knock the crap out of them one by one!

On the road the drivers have been complete morons, we've had our own close calls and witnessed others nearby.  We saw a guy turn a left u-turn on a red light!  When I turned left onto the two-laned, two-way road that leads to the high school, one of the other drivers had decided not to wait in line and was coming straight at me...he actually went up over the curb by the sidewalk after I slammed on the brakes, hit the horn and gave him a thorough cussing out!  Another fella, (yes all of these recent idiot drivers have been guys), decided to turn left from the middle lane and nearly hit the passenger side of my car where my daughter was riding!  There have been at least two more similar idiot encounters on the roads this week, but you get the picture... I dread the snow adding to the mix eventually!

Please, please don't use your cell phone, or drink while driving, too many idiots on the road and you need to have your wits about you in order to dodge them and stay safe!  Be careful out there! 

My favorite holiday...

Most of the stores have been packed with Christmas items since before Halloween, which really annoys me.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, I love that we have a day dedicated towards gratefulness.  It's too bad that it gets overshadowed by the gimme gimme monster that our society has created around Christmas...

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday, dedicated to spending time with family and/or friends, too much food, and reflecting on the many blessings that we too often take for granted in our busy lives.  I love the simplicity of it, giving thanks, yet the enormous importance of it, being grateful for all that we have.  I am not talking materialistically, but simple everyday abilities such as being able to see the new fallen snow this morning, (though honestly I'd prefer sunny and warm), being fit enough to go walking and appreciating that my mom is still around and able to share this time with me...

I could go on and on, but I need to get dressed and get my daughter off to school, so I will close with a photo of the first and probably only Thanksgiving dinner that I prepared entirely on my own, the first year of my first marriage when we were 1,000 miles away from our families:

Wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving with much to be thankful for!!!

New toy!!!

I got one of those new gizmos that transfers slides and negatives to the computer!  The quality isn't the greatest, but we finally get to see photos that've been in the back of the closet for years.  I'm lovin' it!

Here's one of my favorites I like to call my version of a room with a view:

This was on a backpacking trip in Wyoming in 1995, ya can't really see the tops of the mountains due to the snow and the quality of this gizmo, but I love it anyway!  My first and best pair of Teva's too!  :)

The Tetons, ahem the Grande Tetons!  It was so much more beautiful in real life...gotta get back there with my digital camera...someday!

Anywho, will share more as I find "treasures" in the shoeboxes and other hiding places all over my house, and my mother's too!

My Curmudgeon

My mother got my husband a sassy t-shirt for his retirement, and I really think he likes it...

This time of year he usually wears a flannel shirt over a t-shirt.  Whenever we are out in public and anyone comments about hey having a good day off, or anything similar, he announces not a day off, I'm retired!  Then if wearing the shirt, he proceeds to unbutton the flannel, (like superman in a phone booth), then peel it back to reveal:

Gotta love him!!!

P.S.  Rest in peace Andy Rooney, you've been my Curmudgeon's idol for years and we'll all miss hearing your opinions on everything...

Coyote morning...

This morning as I'm driving up to the High School to drop off my daughter, we noticed a little dachshund running along the sidewalk with a broken leash dragging behind him.  Of course we both released worried "aww" sounds in unison, and I tried to decide what I should do to try to help.  After sending my daughter on her way I parked in a nearby church lot.  I soon spotted the little dog chugging in my general direction.  Several students attempted to catch him, but we were all amazed at the speed of the little guy!  I asked if anybody knew who his owners were, but nobody recognized him, so I kept puffing along after the dashing doggie.  I nearly screamed when he zipped across a 4 lane road, but thankfully we both avoided being struck by any vehicles, whew!  Eventually he stopped on the steps of a house and he was very defensive when I got close.  I guessed that this might be his home, but I wanted to be sure, so I kept trying to coax him close enough to grab the remnants of the leash...he was having none of it.  We worked our way back to the fenced in yard and a barking pit bull appeared, a young woman came out soon after and was happy to see her little guy home.  He had escaped earlier this morning, I told her he'd been way over by the high school when I first saw him, she thanked me and as I left to regain my bearings and find my car I realized I was wearing my goofy Wile E. Coyote hat throughout this entire fiasco!  I'm surprised that nobody called the police about the crazy coyote-lady chasing the poor little wiener dog ha ha ha!