Show Me Your Favs!

I found this idea on, of all people, Sandra Dodd's blog! It was the first time I visited there and I really enjoyed it.

Ok.. everyone.. you are invited to do this, too. Yes, I know, I said I was away from the computer for Advent. But I got sick, and then now that I am well, I have a quiet Sunday evening to do what I want, and this is it. :)

I do suggest taking your time, as there are lots of images, cutting and pasting, so you don't want to be in a hurry. A glass of wine would really help, too!

I added a category or two. Have fun finding your pictures. I am about to open another window, fire up my Google Image searcher (and pic library) and post mine.

Have fun!

1. My age next year:

I was kind of depressed thinking I was going to be 49 until I saw these firemen. :)

2. Place I'd like to travel:

The Upper Room.
I just got home from Mass. I am thinking so much about Jesus and his work here, his redemption, his coming. Oh, I would also like to go to Alaska, New Zealand and Ireland, but the Upper Room won out. I just want a good guide... what a trip that would be!

3. Favorite Place:



It's home. People I love are here. I am happy.

4. Favorite Object(s): ( you only have to do one.. I got carried away!)


So I can talk to all of you!


So I can talk to my friends, though I am not a good phone person.





When I cook/bake I feel I am loving my family. :)



When I paint or create, I feel like I am in another world... I can't explain. It is like going to a different dimension.. lovely!




The religious icons and objects I have that remind me of our beautiful faith. What joy.

5. Favorite Food



6. Favorite Animal(s):



and



Pitiful, ain't it?

7. Favorite Color:



8. My Nickname:


9: Bad Habit:



10. Good Habit:


Loving my friends.

Can't wait to see your list!

A Virus Got Me

No, not a computer virus.. but a stinky old sickness virus.

So, all week, I have been coughing, sneezing, moping, schlepping around, trying not to complain, but boy am I frustrated.

I think I am finally over the hump, going back toward the world of the well, after a week of this.

So I have not been able to workout, which is a major frustration, but I had time to dwell on frustration. Like immersed in it and seeing what maybe God is trying to tell me. Like, I am not in control? Yeah, that. :0

But, I have had computer time back, the computer time I was giving up during Advent. Because I have no energy to do much else, so have caught up on some things here.

I have done some researching to help my 17yo with college thinking. He still has lots of time, but wanted to begin to see what is out there. So I have been doing some phone/computer research on that.

I have been able to catch up on a few friends' blogs, too. That was nice.

Ok.. back to my regularly scheduled life. We have a new dog sitting customer I get to visit today! Yippee!

Have a good week everyone!

Hugs,
Cindy

When do you sing?

I sing around the house all the time, and usually it is about my dogs. I used to sing to/about my boys when they were little but now I sing to/about the dogs and often in my mind substitue my sons' names.

Like:

"He's my sweetie...he's my little sweetie... love my lit----tle boy! I just love ______ so!"

Now do you see why I don't put my 17yos's name in the blank of the verse? Oh the eye rolls I might get. But I do hug them and call them sweetie pie sometimes in the morning when they are too sleepy to register. :)

Today I worked out and ran some quick morning errands, and upon remembering my next stop, broke into song. I get to see Jasper, my favorite Basset Hound today who just happens to live on the route between Lowes and Krogers!

I get to do mid-day visits for him today and tomorrow as his owner (who works from home) is out all day each day.

So, as I twisted the key in the lock to Jasper's back door, I stepped in his kitchen singing...

"Jassppppper! Jasper-poo! How is my sweetie?"

I hear rumblings, bumps and grunts from the laundry room which soon turned into snuffles, yawns, short barks and then baying! Whoopie! We get to play!

I threw him a treat (first things first) then grabbed the leash as Japser impatiently panted and bayed. He knew what was coming.. potty break!

On our walks I sing to him. He loves it. Then we sat on the flagstone patio and listenend to the birds on the beautiful day. He doesn't usually like going outside, but if I coax and sing he will.

We sat out for a while and he managed to cover me in doghair, nose juice and saliva. What a sweetie.

Can't wait to see him tomorrow and sing some more....!

(P.S.- Where but on google could you search images for 'singing basset hound' and get one back in a nano second? Isn't that a great picture? lol)

Doggie Times

Ok, what to post about? This has been such doggie times for us I have to put up a few pictures. We are watching these two lovely Cocker Spaniels for 10 days. Abbey a 6 year old sweetie and Jordan who is 14 and so sweet. I told my family I want to be like Jordan when I am old. He can barely see and hear but is so sweet and kind and patient. That is a good goal!

Ok, following are some things overheard in the Kelly house the past week and then some random pictures. If you don't care much about dogs, you can skip this! But this is our house as of late.

All I need now are pictures of all the contractors giving quotes, doing work etc. lol

Do you think the Eastwoods would mind if we kept Abbey and Jordan?

Jordan, you are such a good boy.

Boomer, you are such a pig!

We need to get Jordan to teach Ralphie some manners.

Abbey is the most agreeable dog I have ever known.

Want to go Potty? Potty??

Come on, Jordan! Over here, Jordan! Come on Jordan!

(while waving arm in a semi circle to direct)

Come on doggies! Follow me!

(A trail fof 4 dogs ensues...)

Are you hungry? Come on, you can eat! Are you hungry?

(to Abbey and Jordan)

You are such pigs!

(to Boomer and Ralph)

Abbey, get the squirrel!!

Where is Jordan's bed?

(we move it to the room he wants to be in)

What is Abbey chewing? Oh Abbey!

Yes, there is enough room for Abbey on the couch.. come on up!

Abbey! Time for bed!

Who wants some puppy love?

(while sitting on the floor and soon am enveloped with 4 sweet canines)

Ralph!! Quit barking!!!

Where's Jordan? Oh in here. He is looking for us. We should train
Ralhpie to be his seeing and hearing eye-dog!

Miss Roxy is Leaving Us!

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Happier At Home! Pet Sitters (um, that is Stephen, Bryan and me..)is so sad... we are losing a customer, as Miss Roxy and her family are moving to Tulsa. I am even sadder to see my friend Diane go- Diane started as my aerobics instructor and became a petsit customer and friend.

It is a great job move for her Dh, but we are still sad they are leaving.

Bye Miss Roxy! I hope you find a sitter up there who loves you just as much as we do.

Miss Roxy is leaving us

Happier At Home! Pet Sitters (um, that is Stephen, Bryan and me..)is so sad... we are losing a customer, as Miss Roxy and her family are moving to Tulsa. I am even sadder to see my friend Diane go- Diane started as my aerobics instructor and became a petsit customer and friend.

It is a great job move for her Dh, but we are still sad they are leaving.

Bye Miss Roxy! I hope you find a sitter up there who loves you just as much as we do

What Kind of Homeschooling?

Lovely post by Donna, here.

Expressed much of my life and feelings about our homeschooling journey. Thanks, Donna!

Want a Joyful Break?

Go check out
Donna's site today... just makes me want to go over to her house, sip wine and watch the tomtatos grow!

I loved it when she talked about what she did when she got a bit down in the dumps. Went and created something. What wonderful advice.

Another Doggy Family

(titles are not working on blogspot this morning...!)

Boys and I met a homeschool family who just moved here. Get this: They love dogs maybe more than we do!

Very nice family and they have 3 boys, aged 13-17. The 17yo is a dog groomer and they just bought a shop nearby and he bascially runs it. He has been grooming since he was 13- really neat kid.

We plan to take Boomer and Ralph there when they are due for their next pedicures... :)

Yesterday we went to their house and they have 4 dogs! (used to have 5..) And the mom has a favorite.. and I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.. this dog reminded me so much of Boomer. Older, big brown eyes, but he is a beagle. A bit chubby and creaky like Boomer, named Mr. Beagle.

As my friend showed me around their house, Mr. Beagle followed her everywhere. I inquired and it turns out they have a very similar relationship to Boomer and me. If she sews, he is under the table. If she moves to the office, he follows. He has Mommy Radar just like Boomer!

We enjoyed a nice afternoon and the boys have several common interests... Video games, Star Wars, LOTR, history. The 17yo introduced the boys and me to the world of miniatures- little figure from LOTR or Star Wars, which you paint and then play strategy games. Very interesting.

Think one or more of the boys will join us as the guys start up a new disucussion group... on Star Wars. They are trying to decide whether to do books, movies or both.

I enjoyed meeting them so much- a very unschooly family and full of interests and life.

Also enjoyed hearing how she is decorating her house... lots of fun to see her ideas, and also check out their bookshelf! The oldest is a Civil War buff, so we saw many favorites.

I hope they enjoy it here in Houston.. she told me they were SHOCKED at the cheap housing prices (compared to Virginia..) she was online and kept thinking the site had errors when she saw our prices! Now, that is a GOOD thing about Houston! lol

A Weekend Back to the Future

Speaking of my last post (Life After Kids) and the changes life bring us...

I am preparing for a little mini-vacation/girls weekend with two old friends I have known for years.

GE is a friend I have had since I was nine.

CA is a friend that GE and I met in college and we were a tight trio all through those days. We were in each other's weddings. We always said we would be friends.. forever and ever. :) We planned to take a vacation together every year for the rest of our lives.

We made it to Cancun once, in 1991. Oh well, once is better than nothing. And we have visited each other's homes a few times.

GE lives on the other side of this big city, so we keep up well. CA lives in another state, so we see each other maybe once every 5 years.

That said, I am doing laundry, packing, juggling schedules, (dh is leaving town on one day before I return, so getting all that straight..) and making some food for my two bottomless-pits of sons. I thought I would post this as I wait for my capri pants to dry....

I am thinking about how much my life has changed since we all shared our college daze. The paths we have taken. The families we all have. I wonder if we will have as much in common, or how (especially my far away friend) has fared, as her youngest just left for college last week.

I relized that God has each of us on a path. These paths do not cross by chance. Every intersection is a chance to be a servant. And laugh and play and enjoy who he puts in our path.

So, just a few reflections. Back in college we would sit in our little house and talk and talk. I can remember us specifically talking one time about how one day we would all be 40. 40!!? We could not imagine, but we tried.

Now we are all almost 50...:0

And we would be married, we would have careers and we would have kids. Well, we all do, and though my career was supplanted, we all did ok. We have all been married just one time and have strong marriages. We all are healthy, relatively. And we all are proud of our kids.

So off to the past.. and the future! Funny thing is none of us look gray. How could that be?

It should be a fun weekend..... talk to you Sunday!

Life After Kids...

A rather shocking title to many of you I know out there. Maybe God is having me go through this way before many of my friends to help prepare you for this rocky journey.

I know, I know, live in the moment. Enjoy every blessing. Don't look forward and don't look back... :) That is all true and it is all scriptural, too. However, having two soon to be grown boys, I can't help think about life when they are gone.

I want them to grow up, of course. And be independent and have happy, healthy lives (God willing) and be what God wants them to be. But, as they become more independent and need me less, I see it takes quite a bit of will and magnaminity to be the mom who is that wind beneath thier wings, so to speak.

When they leave, there will be a very, very big hole in our lives. I have had to face this, think about it, imagine it and feel it. Because I know it is coming. When I have cleaned out closets and found pictures or scribbles they did when they were six, I thought my heart would burst. I miss those days so much. It is a grieving process. But I think at least I know it.

And I know that I can trust God to fill my life back up again. Probably with something I won't even expect. Trust, that is what it all comes down to.

I had a friend tell me this week that life after kids is glorious. Her children are grown and gone and she is expecting her 2nd grandbaby soon. Her relationship with her husband has blossomed and she is finding that is deeper and happier than it was before kids. That is something nice to think about.

I know God is preparing me and just as my heart finds little nuggets of joy, I am finding bittersweet moments, too. It is like small little vignettes to let me know it is time to step back. He is letting me see in little bits how my life is changing, my role is changing and my family is changing.

Some of these are milestones, other are just little markers along the way of life.

Ones that have stuck in my memory are:

The first time I heard the toliet flush by itself when my oldest was 3.

The sound of lunch plates automatically being carried into the kitchen after weeks of habit-reminding.

Every little milestone of when I could leave the house for a minute, then for a bit longer, then with cell phone for an hour, then all afternoon, and now all day if I need to.

The Saturday afternoon that I left for errands and no one seemed to notice. It didn't cause a major wave in anyone's life that I was gone, they (all three) had become self sufficient. (You remember baby todder stage, when dh and you had to tag team...)

When my son(s) began explaining things to me that I didn't understand.

The day my oldest was taller than me.

The day my youngest was taller than me.

All the little things I have handed off- from reminders to change underwear to bring down laundry. It is all being done by these grown up boys.


Yesterday was one of those moments, when I realized my life is appreciably changing.
Boys were occupied with a friend visiting at our house. A friend of mine was taking her 6 kids to the roller rink and would be sitting and coloring with her youngest so invited me to come chat.

So, I entered the crowded roller rink, sans children. We talked above the din. Another homeschool mom showed up and we chatted and she asked were my children were.

At home. I said.

She looked surprised! Such a foreign concept to be doing something *without* your kids! I know it was foreign to me until a couple of years ago. But now I am finding though our lives are intertwinned, my dh, boys and me all have different interests, too and levels of social needs and we are all together, yet independent.

It is new and I am open to it, waiting for what God has. Life is exciting and it is not scary..... as long as I remember to trust...

More Highlights as I Google my Crafting..

Found this quote... love it!

To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. - Thomas A. Edison

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Later the same day:

Well, just an addition here to say how true this bore out to be!
I am now in search of a pile of junk. Cheap junk. Let me explain...

Today I did a lot of legwork, getting the basics I need to make my mosaic pot. Went to Lowes and got all the supplies.. then to the tile department to see if they would give me some broken tile. They did, but all neutrals. Which is good for background, accents, but I am looking for color, design, etc.

Then home and thinking. I realized it may take me a while to collect enough plates and things to smash to make my mosaic. Garage sales are hit and miss. So off to the craft store to see what I could buy.

As I suspected the prices of 'mosaic tile' were kind of high. As I stood pondering, reading a mosaic idea book a lady walked up and, glancing at the book, asked if I did mosaics.

I told her I was just beginning..

She smiled and said I will soon be hooked! She has convereted the third bay of her garage to making mosaics and we talked and talked! She told me where to get great plates, how to smash them, what kind of adhesive.. everything! Then she invited me to come to her house sometime and see all she has done (she lives about 45 min away in the town of my friend).

It was like the way the world USED to be... people friendly and willing to share and help. It just made my day. There are still lots of beautiful people in the world. Sometimes I get discouraged, but then something like this happens, and I know that God's grace is working through people.

Now, as I found out from my new Mosaic Friend (MF) I DO need a pile of junk to be creative. Most especially plates. So, my next mission is to find my ceramics and china! MF told me to try thrift stores and dollar stores along with garage sales. Soon I will have buckets of pieces to choose from. And the best part is you get to SMASH them! She is really sweet.

I told MF I am blogging some of my crafting. She says she doesn't blog... she is always out in the garage making things. Maybe that will be me, soon, too... :) Well, I don't know, I still love blogging. It is a very creative release for me, too. Even if nobody is reading.

If nobody is reading, just don't tell me. I know I have my loyal friends who will comment once in a while so I don't feel too bad.. :) 0--- (no pressure, you understand...)

Switching gears.... try and keep up!
In the meantime, I bought the makings for wreath for my front door. I have some seasonal ones, fall, Easter, Christmas.. but wanted one for summer. I know I can make one-- and the ones I liked pre-made were big, bountiful and very expensive.

I love the idea of a wreath... big, circular, welcoming. Right now my door has an empty wreath hanger since Easter is over.

I knew exactly what I wanted in my summer wreath, too. This is not usual for me. But everytime I see Maria's blog and those sunflowers it makes me happy. She took that picture herself ya know... (check it out..)

It also makes me think of summer. So that is the look I am going for. If you want to have fun with your kids, plant some Giant Sunflowers one summer. They get 6 feet tall and are beautiful!

Ok, I am going to be really bloggy and post my before picture. Here are my supplies. They were all half price... yeah! We shall see about the 'after".

Hiawassee Trip

I thought I would post this photo... When I lived in Ohio and the boys were ages 18 months to 5 years, I lived in a wonderful neighborhood. These ladies were my running buddies... :) Running to preschool, playing at the park. And their kids were my boys' friends. Back then our kids were in preschool and kindergarten.. now they are in high school and college!

One dear friend Mary Rose,(second from the right) contracted breast cancer and we did what we could to help her family. We didn't do a lot- but were just there for her as much as we could be. She was cancer free for years until now, as it is back and they are not very hopeful at this point.

Well, we all got together at one friend's lakehouse north of Atlanta. Here we are.

And Stephen photoshopped us all together... we had to take turns taking pictures of all of us, so he took two photos and got us all in together.

Here we all are-- after not having seen each other in some cases for over 8 years!
Please pray for Mary Rose and her family. Thank you-

My Catholic Momma Friends

Great new pic of my SA Sisters at their blog...
here! S- is gonna have the baby soon!!