Today's blog is a Random Rant. I am not about to delve into a deep, heated debate about a very controversial, hot topic. No thank you. I like to keep it simple and light (at least for today's blog). There are enough serious battles in life without needing to conjure up extra one's for mere sport. Hence, this little rant is about laundry.
I was doing laundry for the family this weekend and became very frustrated with an observation. I would love to know why is it that men's clothing is made superior than women's? What I am specifically referring to is 'Wrinkle-free' pants. Men's wrinkle-free pants come out of the dryer - completely without wrinkles (smooth and beautiful)! Women's, on the other hand, come out a complete wrinkled mess. This is not some new phenomenon; I have noticed it throughout my 12 years of being married. You can't tell me that they can't make an equally fabulous wrinkle-free pant for women. It appears to me that men's clothes are made sturdier and frankly overall better than women's. Is this some little sick joke on us women? As if we are the ones who have all kinds of extra time on our hands to iron our wrinkle-free shirts and pants. Ha!
Now, on the other hand, THIS would be a controversial topic between men and women...my daughters are of the age to start their 'time of the month' (by the way, growing up, I NEVER understood why people referred to them as your "friend"! I always felt that it was my enemy, not my friend; I was never happy to see this monthly visitor...that is until I was 41 and it was late...then I was ecstatic - let alone happy - when my "friend" finally arrived!). Anyways, I was discussing this wonderful topic with my daughter and she said, "Life is not fair! Boys have it so easy!", as she stomped out of my room. All I could do was laugh out loud, for I have had that exact same thought, every single month of my life, since my "friend" started visiting. :)
In Search of Equality in my Closet,
Me
Motivational Moment:
For Today's Motivational Moment, I wanted to share an exchange that made me laugh. As mentioned in an earlier post, I have been trying to eat healthier to feel better. Non-GMO foods are finally making more of an appearance here in the United States (apparently we are way behind Europe in demanding healthier food) and I have been saying it is a goal of mine to try to purchase more non-GMO foods. When I was discussing this with someone (who shall remain nameless for the sake of peace in my life), this person said "is this one of your surgically modified foods"? So I laughed and said, "People are surgically modified, not food; food is genetically modified (unfortunately). ;)
May you laugh out loud today and enjoy it!
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Bugged by Bugs
I know that we are supposed to love all of God’s creatures, big and small. But truthfully, I would love for bugs to not invade my personal space. If they could just stay off of my person, I could live in harmony with them.
As evident, I am not a lover of the great outdoors. Actually, that is not true. I love a beautiful sunny day. Wind blowing. Weather in the 70s and low 80s. That is my perfection. Whether at a beach or in a park, or even my backyard in mid-summer with the grass a lush green and the sky a brilliant blue. But these idyllic moments get ruined by bugs. I hate them. Particularly when they crawl on me, bite me, or sting me!
We have had beautiful weather this past week and I was ranting to my family that we have to spend time outside on these days because winter will be here all to soon and we will be indoor hermits.
So, after dinner, we headed out to shoot some hoops, swing, jump on the trampoline, etc. We were only out for a half hour (this is what happens when you don’t get home from work until 6:30pm, eat dinner, and have to run to the store, so you only have a half hour of time allotted for the great outdoors in the busy schedule that is life). I come in the house to head to the store, and notice that my hand is bothering me. Some bug had the audacity to invade my personal space, and inject some part of its being, into the palm of my hand. It wasn’t a mosquito bite nor a bee sting, not sure what it was, but the redness around the invasion of my being, was about the size of a quarter for a few days.
A couple of days before this bug bite, we were at an outdoor concert for the evening. At one point, I was thinking about what a nice night it was for the outdoor venue, when I thought I felt something hit my neck. I right away put my hand up to brush it away, but all I felt was my hair and my necklace. So I figured it was just the wind. Well...about a half hour later, I felt something in my shirt, right under my bra. I felt through my shirt and at first I thought I was just feeling the embroidered design on my shirt. Then I realized that the design was on my upper left shoulder, and this was below my right breast. So I immediately balled up that part of my shirt and start squishing the intruder in my shirt. I was completely freaked out, so I squished the bug like crazy! Then I lifted up my shirt and realized I had nothing I could use to get rid of the bug guts from my shirt. Disgusting!
This leads me to the previous weekend when we spent a couple of hours outdoors visiting with some out of town relatives. Unbeknownst to me, my 11 year old (daughter A) was bit/stung by something Friday evening. She showed my husband her arm that night and said it was itching. He said it was the size of a pee and was not concerned. The next day we had a very full schedule with my niece’s 18th bday spa day and a graduation party. We were driving home at 10 pm (after all of the med clinics are closed for the day) and daughter A says in frustration, “Ugh! This arm is driving me nuts!!” And I say, “what happened to your arm?” And she says, "Something bit me when we were out last night. I showed it to daddy.” I glance at the arm (it was night and I was about to pull out of my parents driveway to head home). The entire bicep looked red and swollen. So I said, "I need to look at it better when we get home, because maybe it just looks (really) bad in the car."
I look at it at home, and indeed, her entire bicep region, from her elbow to her shoulder is one big, red, swollen, warm oval. What looked like the size of a pee the previous night, was now the size of an avocado.
My natural born gift is that of a worrier (a very accomplished one, thank you very much). I immediately think of all of those horrid pictures of someone who has a flesh eating disease or a brown recluse spider bite (have you ever googled a brown recluse spider bite?? Absolutely horrific how it eats through your flesh and requires surgery to remove the infected, rotted flesh as well as antibiotics). So I asked her if it was horribly painful. She said no, it only itched badly, occasionally. It was warm to the touch and red and raised (all bad signs of infection) but due to the fact that she was not in bad pain – or even any pain at all – and was not bothered with symptoms, I deemed it acceptable to give her some Benadryl and put her to bed for the night. The next morning, you could still see the shape, but it was less red and warm. Within one more day, it had completely disappeared. What the heck was that, I ask you? Thankfully, it resolved quickly and did not require any treatment. But of course it freaks me out in wondering what it was...since it is apparently lurking in my backyard.
The previous night this same daughter had a tree thorn puncture her foot through her flip flop and then the next day she had a pencil puncture her thigh when she kneeled on one.
It is no wonder why daughter A and I do not love the great outdoors. We are bothered by bugs. It is ironic, because being outside it supposed to be so calming. Communing with nature...Absorbing Mother Earth's calming Alpha Waves...It all sounds great in theory. A beautiful day, warm weather, sun shining, looking forward to a picnic or just hanging out or laying on a blanket and reading a book...until the bugs destroy the serenity.
Entomophobically Yours,
Me
Entomophobically Yours,
Me
Motivational Moment:
"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Howard Thurman
May you know what it is that makes you come alive and be able to live it!
"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Howard Thurman
May you know what it is that makes you come alive and be able to live it!
Sunday, July 7, 2013
A little glimpse of heaven
I spent the day thoroughly cleaning my house after having a party last night. At 7:15pm, I had completed all the vacuuming and was waiting for my husband and daughters to get home from the water park so that we could go see the new Despicable Me 2 Movie at 8:00pm. I figured I had 5 to 10 minutes to sit outside and enjoy the nice weather as well as have a few moments of peace. It was 70 degrees, there was a light breeze, the sun was shining, and the sky was gorgeous. My version of perfection.
The family pulled in the driveway after about 10 minutes of my relaxation. I happened to look up at the sky and noticed the beautiful scenes that are pictured below. The sun was shining brightly behind the clouds, with the rays of sun shooting up to heaven. It was beautiful and yet so fleeting.
Today's blog is simply a short little shout out to share the beauty in our world.
Enjoy!
Simply Yours,
Me
Motivational Moment:
Today's Moment is a simple one: I wish you little glimpses of heaven every day.
The family pulled in the driveway after about 10 minutes of my relaxation. I happened to look up at the sky and noticed the beautiful scenes that are pictured below. The sun was shining brightly behind the clouds, with the rays of sun shooting up to heaven. It was beautiful and yet so fleeting.
Today's blog is simply a short little shout out to share the beauty in our world.
Enjoy!
Simply Yours,
Me
Motivational Moment:
Today's Moment is a simple one: I wish you little glimpses of heaven every day.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Parental Pride
There are many moments in a parents life when they experience a feeling of pride over their child. These moments can occur for many reasons, simple and small, over the years, such as when your child brings home a good report card, helps out a friend or a sibling, learns how to ride a bike, does a small act of kindness, plays an instrument or a sport well, etc. The list is truly endless with all the ways your child can make you feel proud.
Today, my 7-year-old truly made me smile and shake my head in wonder. My mom (who is 68 and pretty incredible, if I do say so myself), watches my kids for me in the summer (I cannot express my gratitude enough to her for this and for the fact that she loves my girls so much!). Today's agenda was a quick stop at her doctor's before going to see a $1 summer movie. She was going to have a cortisone shot in her knee. Apparently, she asked the girls if any of them wanted to come in with her. (The girls are ages 7, 11, 11, and 13.) So, of course, it was the 7-year-old that readily agreed to go into the office with her.
When I heard this story, I thought they were going to tell me that her and grandma played a game, or looked into each other's eyes during the injection. But no, that is not what occurred. My brave 7-year-old held her grandma's hand and WATCHED the injection going into her knee, while her grandma watched her! I would have been on the floor if I were in the room, let alone being the one who was receiving the injection. I asked my daughter how she was able to watch it, and she said, "Well, I didn't know it was going to be such a giant needle!!"
To truly appreciate my amazement, I must take a moment to describe how my two sisters and I are with this type of 'stuff'. See, we are total wusses when it comes to anything medical. We feel like passing out just thinking about having any kind of procedure done. In fact, the word 'procedure' alone has negative connotations and brings on fear. We could never drive ourselves to the many procedures my mom has faced alone (such as one horrific test to check out her thyroid by jamming a needle into her neck and torturous bladder tests!). We would need a driver because we would need some kind of anti-anxiety med to get us to and through any such procedures.
The ironic thing here is that our mother has no fear. She could watch any surgery; she has helped many people recover from surgery. She has had all kinds of procedures done on herself. In fact, she has had one knee replaced and has had several back surgeries, the last of which placed many rods and screws in her spine. You'd think this would make her severely limited in her movement, but it doesn't. She is always on the go and is a beautiful woman, on the inside and the out, always doing things for others.
We are not quite sure how her three daughters became complete medical wimps while she is a medical warrior. But I see that my brave, lovely, 7-year-old got Grandma's 'strong' gene. Who knows, maybe she will grow up to be a surgeon with her no fear attitude! In any event, and no matter what she decides to do, she is blessed to have grandma's genes in her!
In Amazement, Awe, and Appreciation,
Me
Motivational Moment:
Some advice for my daughters:
Live well, my daughters, for life is short!
Today, my 7-year-old truly made me smile and shake my head in wonder. My mom (who is 68 and pretty incredible, if I do say so myself), watches my kids for me in the summer (I cannot express my gratitude enough to her for this and for the fact that she loves my girls so much!). Today's agenda was a quick stop at her doctor's before going to see a $1 summer movie. She was going to have a cortisone shot in her knee. Apparently, she asked the girls if any of them wanted to come in with her. (The girls are ages 7, 11, 11, and 13.) So, of course, it was the 7-year-old that readily agreed to go into the office with her.
When I heard this story, I thought they were going to tell me that her and grandma played a game, or looked into each other's eyes during the injection. But no, that is not what occurred. My brave 7-year-old held her grandma's hand and WATCHED the injection going into her knee, while her grandma watched her! I would have been on the floor if I were in the room, let alone being the one who was receiving the injection. I asked my daughter how she was able to watch it, and she said, "Well, I didn't know it was going to be such a giant needle!!"
To truly appreciate my amazement, I must take a moment to describe how my two sisters and I are with this type of 'stuff'. See, we are total wusses when it comes to anything medical. We feel like passing out just thinking about having any kind of procedure done. In fact, the word 'procedure' alone has negative connotations and brings on fear. We could never drive ourselves to the many procedures my mom has faced alone (such as one horrific test to check out her thyroid by jamming a needle into her neck and torturous bladder tests!). We would need a driver because we would need some kind of anti-anxiety med to get us to and through any such procedures.
The ironic thing here is that our mother has no fear. She could watch any surgery; she has helped many people recover from surgery. She has had all kinds of procedures done on herself. In fact, she has had one knee replaced and has had several back surgeries, the last of which placed many rods and screws in her spine. You'd think this would make her severely limited in her movement, but it doesn't. She is always on the go and is a beautiful woman, on the inside and the out, always doing things for others.
We are not quite sure how her three daughters became complete medical wimps while she is a medical warrior. But I see that my brave, lovely, 7-year-old got Grandma's 'strong' gene. Who knows, maybe she will grow up to be a surgeon with her no fear attitude! In any event, and no matter what she decides to do, she is blessed to have grandma's genes in her!
In Amazement, Awe, and Appreciation,
Me
Motivational Moment:
Some advice for my daughters:
A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.
Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein
Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
Mark Twain
Mark Twain
The truth is you don't know what is going to happen tomorrow. Life is a crazy ride, and nothing is guaranteed.
Eminem
Eminem
You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.
Albert Camus
Albert Camus
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.
George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Simple Little Joys
I am always told by friends and family that I think too much. I think too deeply...all the time...about many different things. About how short life is; all the what ifs; why bad things happen to good people; the meaning of life; what my next step should be in life. But for the sake of a peaceful existence, the experts say you should not think too much. There is no tomorrow or yesterday - there is just right now. We are simply supposed to exist in the present; simply just BE.
I hear what they are saying. I understand that if I don't ruminate about the past or worry about the future, I will be less hampered down by worries and anxieties. That premise makes sense; however, it is alot easier said than done.
Some days though, I manage to do it for a short time. The other morning I was in the shower, and I happened to read the bottle of body wash I was using. I absolutely love the smell of it. When I read the bottle, it made me smile. This is what it said:
It is a coconut vanilla body wash from Bath and Body Works that smells wonderful (this was apparently purchased a couple of years ago, as it is now discontinued; I found it in my cabinet and just started using it; nothing like buried treasure in your own house!). It reminds me of being at the beach (it is aptly called Moana which means ocean.). It comes in a beautiful, blue bottle. What made me happy when I read the bottle is that it states the Tamanu nut oil is from the "Tree of 1000 virtues". Doesn't even the name of that tree make you think philosophically? It is such a cool sounding tree! So this is my point. I was able to get lost in the simple joy of a fabulous smell. And then the joy was increased when I read the bottle. It was a rare moment when I was truly enjoying the present. There were no other thoughts or worries racing across my mind; I was simply just enjoying the moment.
So today's blog is about some simple (and cheap - everything was $20 and under!) little joys that have made me happy the past couple of days. These are moments when I am not worrying about anything, I am simply enjoying the beauty in the present moment.
That same morning that I enjoyed my body wash, I put on one of my favorite bracelets. It is a beautiful pink color and if I remember correctly, it was around $20 from Kohl's. The color alone makes me happy (as it is my favorite color and hue of pink), but I also love all the cute little charms, as well as the initiative it stands for (curing breast cancer).
Another unexpected little joy came in the form of an inexpensive leather bracelet I came across at a little stand on the boardwalk, in Ocean City, MD (I can't find the name of the gentleman who made the bracelets.). I just love this bracelet; it is so cool!
Gorgeous pink and purple blooming flowers:
And most precious of all, an impromptu little wild flower bouquet, given to me by my 7 year old, while on a walk this beautiful summer night:
Enjoying the Little Beauties in Life,
Me
Motivational Moment:
For today's simple Motivational Moment, I liked the following two quotes from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/joy.
I hear what they are saying. I understand that if I don't ruminate about the past or worry about the future, I will be less hampered down by worries and anxieties. That premise makes sense; however, it is alot easier said than done.
Some days though, I manage to do it for a short time. The other morning I was in the shower, and I happened to read the bottle of body wash I was using. I absolutely love the smell of it. When I read the bottle, it made me smile. This is what it said:
It is a coconut vanilla body wash from Bath and Body Works that smells wonderful (this was apparently purchased a couple of years ago, as it is now discontinued; I found it in my cabinet and just started using it; nothing like buried treasure in your own house!). It reminds me of being at the beach (it is aptly called Moana which means ocean.). It comes in a beautiful, blue bottle. What made me happy when I read the bottle is that it states the Tamanu nut oil is from the "Tree of 1000 virtues". Doesn't even the name of that tree make you think philosophically? It is such a cool sounding tree! So this is my point. I was able to get lost in the simple joy of a fabulous smell. And then the joy was increased when I read the bottle. It was a rare moment when I was truly enjoying the present. There were no other thoughts or worries racing across my mind; I was simply just enjoying the moment.
So today's blog is about some simple (and cheap - everything was $20 and under!) little joys that have made me happy the past couple of days. These are moments when I am not worrying about anything, I am simply enjoying the beauty in the present moment.
That same morning that I enjoyed my body wash, I put on one of my favorite bracelets. It is a beautiful pink color and if I remember correctly, it was around $20 from Kohl's. The color alone makes me happy (as it is my favorite color and hue of pink), but I also love all the cute little charms, as well as the initiative it stands for (curing breast cancer).
Another unexpected little joy came in the form of an inexpensive leather bracelet I came across at a little stand on the boardwalk, in Ocean City, MD (I can't find the name of the gentleman who made the bracelets.). I just love this bracelet; it is so cool!
Gorgeous pink and purple blooming flowers:
And most precious of all, an impromptu little wild flower bouquet, given to me by my 7 year old, while on a walk this beautiful summer night:
Enjoying the Little Beauties in Life,
Me
Motivational Moment:
For today's simple Motivational Moment, I liked the following two quotes from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/joy.
“There are random moments - tossing a salad, coming up the driveway to the house, ironing the seams flat on a quilt square, standing at the kitchen window and looking out at the delphiniums, hearing a burst of laughter from one of my children's rooms - when I feel a wavelike rush of joy. This is my true religion: arbitrary moments of of nearly painful happiness for a life I feel privileged to lead.”
- Elizabeth Berg, The Art of Mending
“I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don't want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift.”
- Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines, Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life
Both of the above quotes wonderfully express my point of enjoying the small things throughout your day. I particularly like the title of Shauna's book: "...Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life". What a fabulous title! Thank you Shauna!
My wish for you today is that you have moments where your mind stops racing and you are able to simply enjoy the little simple joys that you come across in your day; and may there be many!
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Family Vacation
Well...I made it! I survived our annual family vacation. I find it ironic that I always get so excited to go on vacation and by the time I get back home, I feel like a survivor. I recently read a quote by Jerry Seinfeld that I think is pretty accurate of life: "There is no such thing as fun for the whole family." Isn't this true?! I mean, think about it, when you travel as a family, you have people of all ages and sexes. How on earth would anyone expect that there would be one place you could go that would be everyone's perfection? Yet, as parents, we want to find this perfect haven - both for a get away from our daily routine as well as something the kids will love.
The beach comes pretty close to perfection for a vacation spot for our family. I have three daughters who are pretty low key. We have always loved just hanging at the beach, playing in the sand or in the ocean, walking along the beach, reading books, etc. Hence, I was a little surprised on this trip when my youngest wanted to spend all of her time in the pool and not on the beach! (Kudos to my husband for indulging this child throughout this vacation).
For the record, I was by far the worst person during the 8 hour car ride to Ocean City. I am NOT a traveler; I am a home body. Always have been, suspect always will be (although I do love the ocean...might have to make that my home eventually). I was at a seminar recently where the instructor said that we are hard-wired by the time we are 10 years old. So instead of trying to change who you are, you should build on your strengths to become a successful person. Anyways, I was the only one car sick after the first HOUR of driving; it made for a VERY long 10 hour trip. I was very impressed with the kids and my mom (who also gets car sick); we were crammed in like sardines! Every time we stopped, we had to partially unload the minivan so that the kids could get out of the back of it. None of the kids complained about not having space and no one asked "Are we there yet?"!
I have to show you the cutest thing that the Ohio Turnpike service stations offer for moms with young kids: Mommy and Me Potties!! I love whomever came up with this genius idea (it had to be a mom who experienced the pleasure of trying to cram into a single stall with a young child...).
We made it through the eight hour drive (it became a ten hour trip with our stops) and this was our view from our hotel room:
There were some pretty flowers growing on the beach:
Of course, who could go on vacation without enjoying yummy candy: fudge, caramel apples, truffles, gummies! There were Candy Kitchen's on almost every block!
As luck would have it, tropical storm Andrea came to Ocean City on Friday of our vacation week. Here was the view from the hotel the first half of the day:
At one point, the fog (or cloud cover - not sure which) actually came up to our window so we couldn't even see the beach:
The next day brought fun waves:
And of course, to throw in a little excitement on our vacation, my husband hit the driver's side door on the cement pillar while backing out of the parking spot in the condo's parking garage.
Alas, I did reach my state of bliss a couple of times throughout the week (before Andrea hit):
Missing the Beach Already,
Me
P.S. I am very happy to report that, despite all of the nasty little sicknesses that were plaguing our household the entire last month of school, everyone was healthy for this trip, which was truly a miracle in itself.
Motivational Moment:
There are many good hearted people in this world. Many of us encounter them in our every day life. It can be simple, small acts of kindness, such as a smile or a kind word, holding a door open for someone, picking something up for someone who dropped it, etc. There are also many hero's that save people's lives, like firefighters, police, EMTs, organ donors, (to name a few) and all the hero's that surface during tragedies caused by people or mother nature.
This Motivational Moment is a shout out to a very kind woman who happens to love kittens and takes in foster kitties when needed. My parents have a large garage on their property and many times throughout the years, momma cats have had kittens in there. Usually the momma stays around to nurse her babies and then my mom finds homes for the kittens and gets the momma spayed (if she can catch her).
About 6 weeks ago, three kittens were left stranded in the garage (the momma cat disappeared for whatever reason). My mom took the ~9 day old kittens to the vet and found out how to care for them and nurse them around the clock. Needless to say, this was exhausting for my mom. I told her to post pics of the kittens at the local vets as well as local pet food stores asking if anyone had a nursing momma cat that could adopt these orphaned kittens.
As luck would have it, a wonderful woman, who had a momma cat at home who was just about done nursing her litter, noticed the sign at the vet's and contacted my mom. She agreed to take the kittens to her momma cat to see if she would care for them. This woman ended up keeping the kittens, much to my delight. Tonight (which was about four weeks later) she brought the kittens over for a visit. It turns out the momma cat was already too dried up to nurse the kittens, so this woman had to feed the kittens formula. The momma cat did clean them and watch over them and love them. I couldn't thank this woman enough for taking this big burden off of my mom and for caring for the kittens herself. Here are some pics from tonight's visit.
To all those people who perform small and large acts of kindness - you rock! Keep spreading your joy. To those who don't, get busy being kind; you'll be happier because of it.
The beach comes pretty close to perfection for a vacation spot for our family. I have three daughters who are pretty low key. We have always loved just hanging at the beach, playing in the sand or in the ocean, walking along the beach, reading books, etc. Hence, I was a little surprised on this trip when my youngest wanted to spend all of her time in the pool and not on the beach! (Kudos to my husband for indulging this child throughout this vacation).
This was the first time I rented a condo through VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner). I was very pleased with our experience. You can get a much bigger place for a lot less money than a typical hotel room; not to mention that we would have needed 2 hotel rooms for our party of 7. We had 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 4 TVs, 2 balconies (one beach side and one bay side), a living room, kitchen, and even a washer and dryer. There was an outdoor pool and an indoor pool. And most importantly, we were located on the beach! We went before the full regular summer season started, so we did not have any traffic issues or crowded beaches or activities. Overall, this Ocean City, Maryland vacation was a very good place to take the family, especially being there prior to the big crowds.
On a side note - I learned a lesson the hard way 5 years ago, when I planned my first vacation after having my third daughter. We went to Virginia Beach and stayed on the ocean. (BTW - that is also when I learned that there is a difference between 'ocean view' and 'ocean front'...our hotel was on the ocean...and we would have had a pretty nice "view" of the ocean (from the side of the hotel) if only the elevator shaft wasn't there, blocking said view. That trip taught me that when you are traveling with three kids - between the ages of 1 and 5 (although I don't really think age is the key here - albeit younger is easier) you should always get a suite - something with two bedrooms or at the very least one bedroom with a separate living room for watching TV. Let's just say hubby and the kids did not mix too well come evening/bed time; which made for quite the miserable experience for me...the entire week. (Like I said - chalk that one up to a life lesson learned...that will never be repeated!) Hotel room drama aside, Virginia Beach was also a very nice, family vacation location (I loved the Boardwalk).
For the record, I was by far the worst person during the 8 hour car ride to Ocean City. I am NOT a traveler; I am a home body. Always have been, suspect always will be (although I do love the ocean...might have to make that my home eventually). I was at a seminar recently where the instructor said that we are hard-wired by the time we are 10 years old. So instead of trying to change who you are, you should build on your strengths to become a successful person. Anyways, I was the only one car sick after the first HOUR of driving; it made for a VERY long 10 hour trip. I was very impressed with the kids and my mom (who also gets car sick); we were crammed in like sardines! Every time we stopped, we had to partially unload the minivan so that the kids could get out of the back of it. None of the kids complained about not having space and no one asked "Are we there yet?"!
Here are some pics from our trip:
 |
| Stuff we had to move to the front seats every time we stopped so the kids could get out of the back! |
 |
| Literally packed to the top! |
I have to show you the cutest thing that the Ohio Turnpike service stations offer for moms with young kids: Mommy and Me Potties!! I love whomever came up with this genius idea (it had to be a mom who experienced the pleasure of trying to cram into a single stall with a young child...).
We made it through the eight hour drive (it became a ten hour trip with our stops) and this was our view from our hotel room:
There were some pretty flowers growing on the beach:
My bedroom had a wall of windows that faced the ocean. I had the pleasure of seeing the sunrise two mornings in a row (it was beautiful!):
Of course, who could go on vacation without enjoying yummy candy: fudge, caramel apples, truffles, gummies! There were Candy Kitchen's on almost every block!
As luck would have it, tropical storm Andrea came to Ocean City on Friday of our vacation week. Here was the view from the hotel the first half of the day:
At one point, the fog (or cloud cover - not sure which) actually came up to our window so we couldn't even see the beach:
The next day brought fun waves:
And of course, to throw in a little excitement on our vacation, my husband hit the driver's side door on the cement pillar while backing out of the parking spot in the condo's parking garage.
 |
| Ahhh...The Good Life: Sun, surf, and a good book! |
Missing the Beach Already,
Me
P.S. I am very happy to report that, despite all of the nasty little sicknesses that were plaguing our household the entire last month of school, everyone was healthy for this trip, which was truly a miracle in itself.
Motivational Moment:
There are many good hearted people in this world. Many of us encounter them in our every day life. It can be simple, small acts of kindness, such as a smile or a kind word, holding a door open for someone, picking something up for someone who dropped it, etc. There are also many hero's that save people's lives, like firefighters, police, EMTs, organ donors, (to name a few) and all the hero's that surface during tragedies caused by people or mother nature.
This Motivational Moment is a shout out to a very kind woman who happens to love kittens and takes in foster kitties when needed. My parents have a large garage on their property and many times throughout the years, momma cats have had kittens in there. Usually the momma stays around to nurse her babies and then my mom finds homes for the kittens and gets the momma spayed (if she can catch her).
About 6 weeks ago, three kittens were left stranded in the garage (the momma cat disappeared for whatever reason). My mom took the ~9 day old kittens to the vet and found out how to care for them and nurse them around the clock. Needless to say, this was exhausting for my mom. I told her to post pics of the kittens at the local vets as well as local pet food stores asking if anyone had a nursing momma cat that could adopt these orphaned kittens.
As luck would have it, a wonderful woman, who had a momma cat at home who was just about done nursing her litter, noticed the sign at the vet's and contacted my mom. She agreed to take the kittens to her momma cat to see if she would care for them. This woman ended up keeping the kittens, much to my delight. Tonight (which was about four weeks later) she brought the kittens over for a visit. It turns out the momma cat was already too dried up to nurse the kittens, so this woman had to feed the kittens formula. The momma cat did clean them and watch over them and love them. I couldn't thank this woman enough for taking this big burden off of my mom and for caring for the kittens herself. Here are some pics from tonight's visit.
To all those people who perform small and large acts of kindness - you rock! Keep spreading your joy. To those who don't, get busy being kind; you'll be happier because of it.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Blog Award
The awesome Manic Mama nominated me for a blog award (http://musingsofamanicmama.blogspot.com/2013/04/2-awards-part-1.html )! (I can't believe a month has gone by since she nominated me - I wanted to reply the next week - it's that whole end-of-school-year-insanity zapping my time!)
The blog award looks like fun, so here goes:
The award is the Liebster Award. I am supposed to answer her 11 questions (which I love how intriguingly thought-provoking they are!), divulge 11 facts about myself, and then nominate 11 other blogs with less than 200 followers and ask them 11 questions.
Like Manic Mama, I will answer her 11 questions first.
1) What are your plans for 10 years down the road? This is an excellent thought-provoking question and it kind of reminds me of the whole 'bucket-list' concept. I don't have a bucket list. It is also similar to the question "what do I want to be when I grow up". I didn't know in high school or college - despite taking those 'career tests' and I still don't know now and I am 41! I would love to say I would be able to be retired (NOT have to work) and be able to do whatever I want and have a house on the beach for the winter months and in a northern state for the summer and fall months. But the reality of being a mom is that my hope for 10 years down the road is that I am still financially stable - even more so, that all of my daughters are healthy and happy, and that my husband and I have our health. Not very exciting, not very adventurous, but sounds fabulous to me!
2) Why did you start blogging? For the past several years I have been wanting to blog - for several reasons - I thought it would be fun, I wanted to share my random rants about life, I wanted to have a motivational aspect to it since I love all things motivational/inspirational (quotes, pictures, art, nature, etc.).
3) Are you planning on changing things up on your blog or have you already? I am slowly getting more educated on blogging. When I started (this past August), my blog was very bare bones. Now I have figured out how to add pictures and links as well as list other blogs I like. I would like to keep on building my blog - for example I would like to have tabs and list blogs by theme; I would love to be like those bloggers who get to try fabulous vacation homes for free by just blogging about them!! :)
4) Do you have any favorite "secret" obsessions? Well, I don't think these are 'secrets' by any means, but my first favorite obsession is chocolate!! I LOVE ALL things CHOCOLATE!! My second favorite obsession is romance novels. I love losing myself in a good book! And my third favorite obsession would be my 'junk food' TV shows! I love laughing through the sarcasm and innuendo of Castle, the mystery of Revenge, and the pure scandal of Scandal and Nashville! :)
5) What is something you'd like to learn more about or learn to do? This is on a pretty simple level, but I would love to be an excellent chef who could easily whip up healthy, delicious meals for my family.
6) What is something you've learned that empowers you when you're stuck in a rut? I love all motivational 'things': art, beautiful pictures of nature, inspirational quotes, pictures, stories, movies. They inspire me to stop being a slacker, if I am stuck in a rut.
7) If you had the chance to meet someone (past or present) and ask them any question, who would it be and what would you ask them? I am sure the 'proper' thing to do here would be to mention some significant person from history and ask a very intelligent question. But I am taking the more simple approach. I would love to meet Pink and ask her how she became who she is today. She seems like a woman who has no fear and her body is in amazing shape.
8) If money were no concern, what would you do differently in your life? Splurge? Travel? Hire a nanny? Save the world?
I love the fantasizing that this question inspires. If money were no object, I would have a beautiful house on the beach, as well as a beautiful house in a more tempered climate and not very crowded city. The biggest luxury I would enjoy would be to have a personal chef who makes me nutritious yet delicious meals as well as have a personal masseuse to give me daily massages.
9) What's your favorite thing to shop for? If money was no object, I would say furniture! Since that is not the case, I would say books. I love me a good book! The worst things to shop for: bra's and bathing suits! Boy - what a way to hate your body and get in a bad mood! Apparently shopping for regular apparel 'hides' the bare truth - or at least offers you some protection from it!
10) What is your favorite thing about yourself? What thing bothers you most about yourself? My favorite thing about myself is the ease of which I laugh. I love things that make me laugh and love how easily I am brought to laughter. What bothers me the most about myself is the innate worrier/fearful side of me.
11) If you had the chance to be your total opposite for a week, what do you think you'd learn? I have spent my life being a worrier, so the opposite of me would be someone who is not a worrier; who has no fear and just enjoys life to the fullest. It sounds very freeing; what a novel way to live! I would imagine I would do all kinds of things that fear keeps me from doing now - traveling the world, parachuting out of a plane, trying all kinds of different food, etc.
11 Facts About Me:
1. I am a daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend.
2. I love escaping reality in a good book or good movie.
3. I have jealousy issues. I am jealous of people who get to do their passion for a living (who truly LOVE what they do); I am jealous of rich people (people who have no concern whatsoever about money; who have an endless supply of money to do whatever they want for their lifetime!).
4. I HATE flying in airplanes. Metal tube in the sky. So many reasons that is just wrong.
5. I hate flowery perfume. I was raised in a house with a step-father who had a fit if anyone wore perfume; he said he could not breathe around perfume (I always found this extremely ironic considering he is a heavy smoker and does not believe that anyone could have a problem with breathing around second-hand smoke. I am also amazed at how non-smokers can live in the same house with smokers); so now I cannot tolerate perfume; it hurts my throat and irritates my nose.
6. My father died when I was 4. He was an alcoholic. It is the reason I never drank when I was younger because I was always terrified that I was genetically pre-dispositioned for the disease (it was those SADD classes in high school).
7. At age 41, I realize how precious life is and how short it is. The past couple of years have brought the deaths of a neighbor, a friend's husband and then her mother, and the devastating loss of my husband's parents. In addition, a friend my age is currently battling for her life with Lou Gehrig's disease. Life is short. Cancer sucks. Terminal illness sucks. All the more reason to live each day to the fullest and enjoy every minute that you possibly can.
8. I love what Manic Mama said about Twitter and I couldn't agree more. How crazy to have to communicate by short blurbs. Sounds horribly frustrating.
9. I hate being sick. I am a big baby when I am sick. (Evidently, I also have an issue with patience...or the lack of patience!).
10. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
11. I wish for world peace and the end of all the horrible, painful, terminal illnesses out there such as cancer and Lou Gehrig's Disease!
For the last part of the award - I decided to list the 11 questions that I am supposed to ask 11 other bloggers and put them out there for anyone who would like to answer one or all of them (because I really have no idea how to find out if a blog has less than 200 followers).
1. Do you love what you do? Are you doing your life's passion and able to live comfortably off of it? And if so, how did this come to be? Did you always know from a young age what your passion was?
2. What do you do for fun/leisure?
3. What is your main character flaw?
4. What is your main character asset?
5. What is your guilty pleasure?
6. Are you happily married? (It is amazing to me that I do not know many happily married people. It is sad to say, but the majority of the marriages that I know are not truly happy ones. Either one person - or both - are miserable or they are merely functioning, raising kids. This has become quite the noticeable thing during what I will say is my friends' and my "mid-life crises" years. For example, my girlfriend's husband came home from work and said: "I love you but am not 'in love' with you. Life is short, we don't know how much time we have left, so I want to be having fun.". They have been married for 18 years. Ironically, my girlfriend was not devastated. She agrees that they have just been roommates for a long time now, without many similar interests. And while I agree with his sentiment that life is short and we certainly do need to enjoy our lives, I find the reality sad that many marriages are not truly happy. Why is that? I am realizing that this is quickly turning into a blog of it's own - so I will have to delve into this topic more on some other day.)
7. What inspires you?
8. What is your favorite food?
9. What is your favorite place to vacation and why?
10. Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite book, or even favorite type of book?
11. If you had to be known (famous) for one thing (your legend per se), what would you want it to be?
Always Full of Questions,
Me
Motivational Moment:
We are getting ready to go on a family vacation to the beach! This weekend I started packing for the trip (since this upcoming week is the last week of school and dance; the dance recital is the night before we leave; our schedule is crazy for the next 7 days!).
Anyways, when I was shopping at Target (love that store!), I found the coolest journal for the girls to write in throughout the vacation (I love that my girls enjoy journaling/writing like I do). It is called The Journal of Awesome by Neil Pasricha. I bought this journal because of the cute little happy sayings scattered through it (such as: dangling your feet in water; when your pet notices you're in a bad mood and comes to see you; grandma emails; laughing so hard you make no sound at all!). I didn't happen to notice the inspirational message from the author until I gave the journals to my daughters to pack for the trip.
Here is a snippet of Neil's opening letter: "A few years ago I hit some giant speed bumps in life. Within the span of a few months, my wife told me she didn't love me anymore and my best friend lost the battle with serious illness. I was heart-broken and lonely, and my mind was all over the place. I found a lot of comfort back then in writing about one awesome thing every single day...Over time these awesome things started putting my mind in a different place. They helped me get to bed without a twisted stomach. They helped me focus on all the little things that make life so awesome."
Neil's story is very inspirational. He started a website called '1000 Awesome Things' (http://1000awesomethings.com/ ) which led to books as well as the journal mentioned above. (BTW - his website has over 51 million views!!!). Thank you Neil for sharing your story and your 'Awesome' thoughts! And congratulations for getting through such a difficult time in your life and for being in a happier, successful place now.
There is much written about people who get through truly difficult times and come to be in a better place than they were before the difficult time. There is even the thought that without the difficult times in life, we would not experience happy times because we would not have lived through the drastic differences that each experience brings.
May all of you who are going through difficult times be able to find your moments of awesome and may you get through to the other side of the difficult time to a place of peace and happiness.
The blog award looks like fun, so here goes:
The award is the Liebster Award. I am supposed to answer her 11 questions (which I love how intriguingly thought-provoking they are!), divulge 11 facts about myself, and then nominate 11 other blogs with less than 200 followers and ask them 11 questions.
Like Manic Mama, I will answer her 11 questions first.
1) What are your plans for 10 years down the road? This is an excellent thought-provoking question and it kind of reminds me of the whole 'bucket-list' concept. I don't have a bucket list. It is also similar to the question "what do I want to be when I grow up". I didn't know in high school or college - despite taking those 'career tests' and I still don't know now and I am 41! I would love to say I would be able to be retired (NOT have to work) and be able to do whatever I want and have a house on the beach for the winter months and in a northern state for the summer and fall months. But the reality of being a mom is that my hope for 10 years down the road is that I am still financially stable - even more so, that all of my daughters are healthy and happy, and that my husband and I have our health. Not very exciting, not very adventurous, but sounds fabulous to me!
2) Why did you start blogging? For the past several years I have been wanting to blog - for several reasons - I thought it would be fun, I wanted to share my random rants about life, I wanted to have a motivational aspect to it since I love all things motivational/inspirational (quotes, pictures, art, nature, etc.).
3) Are you planning on changing things up on your blog or have you already? I am slowly getting more educated on blogging. When I started (this past August), my blog was very bare bones. Now I have figured out how to add pictures and links as well as list other blogs I like. I would like to keep on building my blog - for example I would like to have tabs and list blogs by theme; I would love to be like those bloggers who get to try fabulous vacation homes for free by just blogging about them!! :)
4) Do you have any favorite "secret" obsessions? Well, I don't think these are 'secrets' by any means, but my first favorite obsession is chocolate!! I LOVE ALL things CHOCOLATE!! My second favorite obsession is romance novels. I love losing myself in a good book! And my third favorite obsession would be my 'junk food' TV shows! I love laughing through the sarcasm and innuendo of Castle, the mystery of Revenge, and the pure scandal of Scandal and Nashville! :)
5) What is something you'd like to learn more about or learn to do? This is on a pretty simple level, but I would love to be an excellent chef who could easily whip up healthy, delicious meals for my family.
6) What is something you've learned that empowers you when you're stuck in a rut? I love all motivational 'things': art, beautiful pictures of nature, inspirational quotes, pictures, stories, movies. They inspire me to stop being a slacker, if I am stuck in a rut.
7) If you had the chance to meet someone (past or present) and ask them any question, who would it be and what would you ask them? I am sure the 'proper' thing to do here would be to mention some significant person from history and ask a very intelligent question. But I am taking the more simple approach. I would love to meet Pink and ask her how she became who she is today. She seems like a woman who has no fear and her body is in amazing shape.
8) If money were no concern, what would you do differently in your life? Splurge? Travel? Hire a nanny? Save the world?
I love the fantasizing that this question inspires. If money were no object, I would have a beautiful house on the beach, as well as a beautiful house in a more tempered climate and not very crowded city. The biggest luxury I would enjoy would be to have a personal chef who makes me nutritious yet delicious meals as well as have a personal masseuse to give me daily massages.
9) What's your favorite thing to shop for? If money was no object, I would say furniture! Since that is not the case, I would say books. I love me a good book! The worst things to shop for: bra's and bathing suits! Boy - what a way to hate your body and get in a bad mood! Apparently shopping for regular apparel 'hides' the bare truth - or at least offers you some protection from it!
10) What is your favorite thing about yourself? What thing bothers you most about yourself? My favorite thing about myself is the ease of which I laugh. I love things that make me laugh and love how easily I am brought to laughter. What bothers me the most about myself is the innate worrier/fearful side of me.
11) If you had the chance to be your total opposite for a week, what do you think you'd learn? I have spent my life being a worrier, so the opposite of me would be someone who is not a worrier; who has no fear and just enjoys life to the fullest. It sounds very freeing; what a novel way to live! I would imagine I would do all kinds of things that fear keeps me from doing now - traveling the world, parachuting out of a plane, trying all kinds of different food, etc.
11 Facts About Me:
1. I am a daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend.
2. I love escaping reality in a good book or good movie.
3. I have jealousy issues. I am jealous of people who get to do their passion for a living (who truly LOVE what they do); I am jealous of rich people (people who have no concern whatsoever about money; who have an endless supply of money to do whatever they want for their lifetime!).
4. I HATE flying in airplanes. Metal tube in the sky. So many reasons that is just wrong.
5. I hate flowery perfume. I was raised in a house with a step-father who had a fit if anyone wore perfume; he said he could not breathe around perfume (I always found this extremely ironic considering he is a heavy smoker and does not believe that anyone could have a problem with breathing around second-hand smoke. I am also amazed at how non-smokers can live in the same house with smokers); so now I cannot tolerate perfume; it hurts my throat and irritates my nose.
6. My father died when I was 4. He was an alcoholic. It is the reason I never drank when I was younger because I was always terrified that I was genetically pre-dispositioned for the disease (it was those SADD classes in high school).
7. At age 41, I realize how precious life is and how short it is. The past couple of years have brought the deaths of a neighbor, a friend's husband and then her mother, and the devastating loss of my husband's parents. In addition, a friend my age is currently battling for her life with Lou Gehrig's disease. Life is short. Cancer sucks. Terminal illness sucks. All the more reason to live each day to the fullest and enjoy every minute that you possibly can.
8. I love what Manic Mama said about Twitter and I couldn't agree more. How crazy to have to communicate by short blurbs. Sounds horribly frustrating.
9. I hate being sick. I am a big baby when I am sick. (Evidently, I also have an issue with patience...or the lack of patience!).
10. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
11. I wish for world peace and the end of all the horrible, painful, terminal illnesses out there such as cancer and Lou Gehrig's Disease!
For the last part of the award - I decided to list the 11 questions that I am supposed to ask 11 other bloggers and put them out there for anyone who would like to answer one or all of them (because I really have no idea how to find out if a blog has less than 200 followers).
1. Do you love what you do? Are you doing your life's passion and able to live comfortably off of it? And if so, how did this come to be? Did you always know from a young age what your passion was?
2. What do you do for fun/leisure?
3. What is your main character flaw?
4. What is your main character asset?
5. What is your guilty pleasure?
6. Are you happily married? (It is amazing to me that I do not know many happily married people. It is sad to say, but the majority of the marriages that I know are not truly happy ones. Either one person - or both - are miserable or they are merely functioning, raising kids. This has become quite the noticeable thing during what I will say is my friends' and my "mid-life crises" years. For example, my girlfriend's husband came home from work and said: "I love you but am not 'in love' with you. Life is short, we don't know how much time we have left, so I want to be having fun.". They have been married for 18 years. Ironically, my girlfriend was not devastated. She agrees that they have just been roommates for a long time now, without many similar interests. And while I agree with his sentiment that life is short and we certainly do need to enjoy our lives, I find the reality sad that many marriages are not truly happy. Why is that? I am realizing that this is quickly turning into a blog of it's own - so I will have to delve into this topic more on some other day.)
7. What inspires you?
8. What is your favorite food?
9. What is your favorite place to vacation and why?
10. Do you read books? If so, what is your favorite book, or even favorite type of book?
11. If you had to be known (famous) for one thing (your legend per se), what would you want it to be?
Always Full of Questions,
Me
Motivational Moment:
We are getting ready to go on a family vacation to the beach! This weekend I started packing for the trip (since this upcoming week is the last week of school and dance; the dance recital is the night before we leave; our schedule is crazy for the next 7 days!).
Anyways, when I was shopping at Target (love that store!), I found the coolest journal for the girls to write in throughout the vacation (I love that my girls enjoy journaling/writing like I do). It is called The Journal of Awesome by Neil Pasricha. I bought this journal because of the cute little happy sayings scattered through it (such as: dangling your feet in water; when your pet notices you're in a bad mood and comes to see you; grandma emails; laughing so hard you make no sound at all!). I didn't happen to notice the inspirational message from the author until I gave the journals to my daughters to pack for the trip.
Here is a snippet of Neil's opening letter: "A few years ago I hit some giant speed bumps in life. Within the span of a few months, my wife told me she didn't love me anymore and my best friend lost the battle with serious illness. I was heart-broken and lonely, and my mind was all over the place. I found a lot of comfort back then in writing about one awesome thing every single day...Over time these awesome things started putting my mind in a different place. They helped me get to bed without a twisted stomach. They helped me focus on all the little things that make life so awesome."
Neil's story is very inspirational. He started a website called '1000 Awesome Things' (http://1000awesomethings.com/ ) which led to books as well as the journal mentioned above. (BTW - his website has over 51 million views!!!). Thank you Neil for sharing your story and your 'Awesome' thoughts! And congratulations for getting through such a difficult time in your life and for being in a happier, successful place now.
There is much written about people who get through truly difficult times and come to be in a better place than they were before the difficult time. There is even the thought that without the difficult times in life, we would not experience happy times because we would not have lived through the drastic differences that each experience brings.
May all of you who are going through difficult times be able to find your moments of awesome and may you get through to the other side of the difficult time to a place of peace and happiness.
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