Summer Blog Challenge

I am not, as you may have noticed, an assiduous blogger -- some of you miss my posts and some could care less. But it is time to catch up. My dear friend Fonda has issued a challenge... a "Summer Blog challenge". I thought, this would be as good a time as any to start blogging again.

Our first topic... WHAT SAYS "SUMMER" TO YOU?

Summer means so many things for me. One of them to say the least is sadness. Every time around this year, for the last 13 years, I have been reminded of that fateful day when Paul passed away. The pain of losing him is gone, but in a strange way it's still there. I still miss him. I don't think I will ever forget the day I found him laying unconscious on our front-yard. I never thought I would lose him like that, so suddenly... so abruptly. Even though his death certificate says July 14, 1997; In my heart and mind, he died July 13, Sunday.

I am grateful to God for the many blessings He has given me. My life with Paul, a beautiful daughter, and now my life with Doug. Thank you, Lord!

In Loving Memory

Paul Rene Saunders
May 5, 1959 - July 14, 1997

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."

~Psalm 116:15

I could not stay another day,
To love, to laugh, to work or play;
Tasks left undone must stay that way.
And if my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
~ Shannon Moseley, “Don’t Grieve for Me”

LIFE IS A THEATER - Invite Your Audience Carefully!

Not everyone is healthy enough to have a front row seat in our lives.
There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a DISTANCE.

It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let go of, or at least
minimize your time with, draining, negative, incompatible,
not-going-anywhere relationships/friendships.

Observe the relationships around you. Pay attention.
Which ones lift and which ones lean?
Which ones encourage and which ones discourage?
Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill?

When you leave certain people do you feel better or feel worse?
Which ones always have drama or don't really understand, know or appreciate you?

The more you seek quality, respect, growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you...the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved to the balcony of Your Life.

"If you cannot change the people around you, CHANGE the people you are around."

Remember that the people we hang with will have an impact on both our lives and our income. And so we must be careful to choose the people we hang out with, as well as the information with which we feed our minds.

We should not share our dreams with negative people, Nor feed our dreams with negative thoughts.

It's your choice and your life... It's up to you who and what you let in it.

~Author Unknown

Burrowing

It’s hard to write, when there is so much you *don’t* want to write about. Too many things to think about and plan for. All I want to do is curl up in bed hoping everything will be done and fall into place. Alas, I must get up and get on with life!

Change

I decided to change the look of my blog. I'm not sure how long I'm going to keep this design. I think it's a little busy for my liking. On the other hand, I love the new look on my Project 365!

I do like that this design is more personalized. See the little sticky notes on the side? :)

Technologically Speaking

 I just finished reading my friend Fonda's blog post and it got me thinking about the Internet, social media and this whole technology thing.

Where was I technologically speaking, 10 years ago? 15 years ago? Maybe even 20 years ago. Let's see...

I remember Paul's cellular phone, it was so big that it has it's own bag and it needed to be plugged in the car for it to work. I remember him having a pager for work and I thought he was all that (this was before we were married). In those days, only doctors have pagers!

If I remember correctly, I got my very own cellphone in 1996 or 1997. It was gigantic candy bar style cellphone compare to the size of the phones now a days. I know it was a Nokia, because I remember thinking what a strange name and that it would be great to invest in the company if I had the funds to do it. I wish I did!

In 1998, I created my very first website called "What's Up?" (very creative, huh?) when I lived in Rockford, Illinois. I had to learn and teach myself HTML, back then you had to know how to write HTML code to publish your own website. Not so anymore. I remember one of the members of my family being upset because I had posted DD and my pictures on the world wide web.

It's so strange to think how far we've come, technology speaking. We have the internet at our fingertips, we blog, we twitter and facebooking is now a verb! We can surf the internet, send email, take pictures and even make movies with our cell phones.

I wonder what's next? What about you? Do you remember your first cellphone or computer?

25 Random Things About Me

By now you’ve undoubtedly been tagged at least once for that “25 Random Things About Me” Facebook note that has spread across the social networking sphere like some kind of self-revelatory virus. Love it or hate it, its rapid proliferation is unprecedented in social networking’s young history — Facebook reports that nearly 5 million notes were created by its users during the week of January 26 through February 2, which was more than double the amount from the previous week and more than any other week in the company’s history.

But still, no one seems to be able to get to the bottom of who actually started it, or why Facebook users are suddenly so enamored with this particular means of sharing both intensely personal and highly mundane details about themselves with hundreds of friends and acquaintances in their news feeds. “We don’t have specific data on the types of Notes users are creating, but we think this growth has a strong correlation to the sharing of the 25 Random Things About Me Note,” wrote Facebook spokeswoman Brandee Barker in an email message. “Other types of content, like photos or news stories, have spread rapidly and widely on Facebook, but this is the first time I’ve noticed a Note gain such distribution.”

Complete story here.

So, should I post 25 random things about me? What about you?

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

February has come and gone. It has been a very mild winter, but I have heard that March is known for coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb. I'm hoping it will be a lamb this year. I hope we don't get any snow since I've already started taking down the plastic insulation over our windows. Apparently, this winter has been the least snowiest on record.

My spring flowers are starting to come up, I'm excited to see the bulbs I planted last Fall growing. I mentioned to DH I needed to get my tomatoes and other vegetable seedlings I want to plant this year. But, he is not as enthused about it as I am. He has put in for a couple of bids out of Washington so we are kind of up in the air right now. Regardless of were moving or not, I will have my tomatoes, eggplants and herbs this year!

I started going to a work-out class called Zumba on Tuesdays and Thursday... very fun fitness program! I have much to do as far as "Spring Cleaning" goes, I'm editing a lot of our stuff in our house. So much to do!!!

Project 365

Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm doing this project this year. I invite you to visit and encourage me to keep-up with it!

No turning this day around!

You definitely can't turn this date around. Apparently it’s only the second palindrome day of the 21st century, meaning that if you flip the day over it reads the same: 01/02/2010 or 01022010.

Palindrome days, at least in the long run, are rarer than visits by Halley’s Comet, which swings by the green planet once every 75 or 76 years. Yes, the last palindrome date wasn't that long ago, on Oct 2, 2001 – 10-02-2001, but the one before that came a full 620 years earlier, on Aug. 31, 1380, in the year Charles VI, the French king, declared no taxes forever.

The next palindrome day, which will be the third out of 12 in the 21st century, will be on 11-02-2011. The 36th and last palindrome date of this millennium will occur on Sept. 22, 2290. The next one after that will be Oct. 3, 3001. A bit spooky to think of, that.

Happy 2010

The old year has gone. Let the dead past bury its own dead. The new year has taken possession of the clock of time. All hail the duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months!
~Edward Payson Powell

A Dog's Life

Brutus has his own blog. You can read his adventures at "A Dog's Life." It's also listed on the right side column under my Friends and Family Blogs. If you know any dog lover, feel free to tell them about his site. I hope you visit his blog soon!

Meet Brutus

Our new baby... a 4 1/2 pound Shima!

I have been wanting a designer doggie for a long time! For the last couple of years, I have been looking to get a Yorkie-Poo. Tonight, DH and I decided to get a Shima, it's a cross between Shih Tzu and Maltese. He is such a cutie!!! Don't you think Brutus is a perfect name for our little fur-ball?

Brutus needs a haircut!

I ♥ Road Trips!

"Life's a journey, not a destination"

Five glorious days of antiquing, wine tasting, cheese tasting, shopping, dining out, relaxing in front of the fire... what else can girl ask for?

DH and I own a WorldMark by Wyndham timeshare and decided to spend sometime in one of the resort in Birch Bay. The resort is about 7 miles to the USA/Canada border and it's about 7 hours drive from our house. We had a wonderful time just relaxing and spending quality time together.

We walked to the beach, visited local wineries and dairy farms. We visited the nearby towns; Bellingham is a seaport and college town, and Lynden, is a cute little Dutch town. I love walking thru downtown, window shopping and looking at old-century brick building. I managed to pick-up a couple of Fenton milk glass to add to my collection at one of the antique shops. ☺

There are several berry farms in the area; there are blueberries, blackberries, marionberries and many others. Some of the berry farms look just like a vineyard, it's beautiful. Berry season was over and missed the harvest.

We drove to Canada one early morning and spend the day in Vancouver. We had lunch at one of the local pub, and walk around downtown and Gastown. I did not realized how big Vancouver is... it's a HUGE city! WorldMark has a resort in downtown Vancouver, so DH and I are planning to go back and spend a few days there.

The fall foliage are so beautiful, I can't find the words to describe it! We drove the farm roads, the coastal highway & byway, and many a long-winding road... it was a perfect time to take a drive and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

On the way home, we decided to take another route instead of our usual Interstate Hwy 90 over Snoqualmie Pass; we took US Hwy 2 and went over Stevens Pass instead. It was a longer drive and more treacherous (in my opinion) but it was well worth it. We stopped along the way to take foliage pictures and we stopped at Leavenworth, a very picturesque German town for lunch. Leavenworth is famous for it's Oktoberfest and and makes you feel as if you are in Germany. I found out WorldMark has a resort there! We're adding this place to our list of weekend get-away.



I am looking forward to our next road trip!

Ode to Autumn

This is one of my favorite times of the year. Green leaves gradually changes color to vibrant reds, oranges and yellows, transforming the natural landscape right before our eyes. What better way to celebrate the season by sharing this poem with you!



Ode to Autumn
by John Keats

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the mossed cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimmed their clammy cell.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reaped furrow sound asleep,
Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers;
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cider-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,--
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir, the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft,
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

Bayanihan Spirit of the Filipino People

Bayanihan. Pronounced like "buy-uh-nee-hun," bayanihan is a Filipino word derived from the word bayan meaning town, nation, or community in general. "Bayanihan" literally means, "being a bayan," and is thus used to refer to a spirit of communal unity and cooperation.

I'm sure you have seen the news and heard of the devastation in the Philippines cause by Typhoon Ondoy aka Tropical Storm Kestana. It's heart wrenching to see these people suffer. Watching TFC (The Filipino Channel) in the comfort of my family room, I saw many Filipino helping each other. OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) and Pinoy Expats sending help. I can see that bayanihan is alive and well in my home country!

(Photo Source)

(Photo Source)

When I called my brother to check-in on how things are with them, he assured me that him and his wife and the little girl we are adopting are safe. The area where they live is about 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Manila and has been spared from the floods. So, I breathe with a sigh of relief.

If you are interested in helping, you can donate thru the Philippine National Red Cross. It is one of the major organizations providing aid to those affected by the floods. Wherever you are in the world, you can send your donations to them through this online donations form. Choose “Typhoon Ondoy” in the Project/Activity drop down selection.

Somewhere over the Rainbow

I've been feeling melancholy lately... I don't know why. So I decided to make a playlist for one of my favorite songs.

This is a collection of many different versions of Somewhere over the Rainbow. From the classic & original Judy Garland, the blues sound of Ray Charles, the Hawaiian style of Brother Iz, sweet voice of 6 year-old Connie Talbot, to the rock and roll version of Jimi Hendrix and every thing in between.

I'm looking for Norah Jones and Whitney Houston's version. If you have it or any other version please let me know. I hope you take time to listen to Connie Talbot's version, she's a 6 year old singing sensation.

Enjoy!

Summer Round-Up

Summer is quickly coming to a close and fall season soon to begin! I'm sorry to see summer gone but I am ready for the cooler weather and I am ready to end my hiatus from updating my blog!

DH had to work a 6-day week pretty much all summer. The extra money from over-time was very nice. But we weren't able to do our favorite activity which is to go on road trip on weekends, to visit nearby towns and check-out festivals around the area. Although, we had a chance to go and explore the Olympic Peninsula while visiting his parents in Bremerton.

I have lots of photos to share, and DH just bought me an external hard drive (1Terrabyte) so I can organize my pictures. I will try and upload some photos soon.

Celebrate Growing Older

48 life lessons for my 48th birthday.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
18. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
19. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
20. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
21. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
22. The most important sex organ is the brain.
23. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
24. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
25. Always choose life.
26. Forgive everyone everything.
27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
28. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
31. Believe in miracles.
32. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
33. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
34. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
35. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
36. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
37. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
38. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
39. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
40. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
41. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
42. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
43. The best is yet to come.
    
44. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
45. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
46. If you don't ask, you don't get.
47. Yield.
    
48. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

I would like to take credit for these life lessons; but this was written By Regina Brett, a Columnist for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland , Ohio. It is the most-requested column she's ever written.

Dropping By

Sorry if updates in my blog is kind of slow (more like non-existence) but time is not on my side as I juggle to finish commitments and everyday chores.

Anyway, just drop by to say that DH and I are doing well and will try to get an update soon!

In Loving Memory

Paul Rene Saunders
May 5, 1959 - July 14, 1997

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."
~Psalm 116:15

I could not stay another day,
To love, to laugh, to work or play;
Tasks left undone must stay that way.
And if my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
~ Shannon Moseley, “Don’t Grieve for Me”