And what did you do this year??

So, as I looked back on my blog to see when I last posted, I was shocked - it was just after the New Year when I last even looked here. Where has the year gone?? Why was I so busy?? What did I even do this entire year?? I got out my datebook to check it out...
- We bought a new treadmill
- We celebrated Matea's 2nd birthday
- We went to a retirement party
- We bought a new vehicle
- We flew to a 90th birthday party for Mike's mom
- We went to a blues concert in Hayward
- We went to Duluth for an Olympic's opening ceremony party
- We celebrated Carson's 4th birthday
- We went to the Mpls. Home and Garden Show
- We sat on the deck and drank coffee for the first time on May 7th
- I went out on a couple of girl's nights for dinner
- We went to Florida for two wonderful weeks!
- We sat on the beach for days on end...and loved it!
- We had daffodils in the garden on March 2, which was a first
- We spent Easter weekend in Duluth with the entire family
- We went to the Duluth Home and Garden Show in Duluth
- We made a new perennial garden in the back yard
- We redid the tree rings on the three boulevard trees out front
- We redid one flower bed off the deck
- Mike went to Eau Claire for a two-day seminar
- We babysat Maggie (one of our three granddogs) for a few days
- We both went to the Cities for a business seminar for Mike's job
- We rode the light rail downtown from the Mall of America and had dinner at The Hard Rock Cafe OUTSIDE on the evening of April 20th!
- I sold some clothes at Dannie Duluth consignment shop
- Went to South Carolina to watch my nephew graduate from college
- Celebrated Peyton's 6th birthday (from a distance)
- Went to a coworker's wedding (he was a bachelor till almost age 50!)
- Went to Duluth for a lot of weekend trips
- Went to a James Taylor/Carole King concert (finally, after 30+ years)
- Went to a Get Motivated business seminar
- Went to Duluth to see our newest (4th) grandbaby - Jolynn Victoria!!
- Planted a garden
- Mike helped Brandon move into a new place
- Had Katie and Matea here for a long girls'weekend while Mike, Aaron, and Brandon went to Chicago Blues Fest
- Planted a lot of new bushes in the yard and lots of flowers in the deck flower boxes
- Had new neighbors move in next door
- Went to the airport to welcome Jen home from her World Race trip
- Celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary!!
- Went to a Twins game courtesy of Dave and Jodi!
- Went to a welcome home party for Jen
- Babysat Peyton, Carson, and Bootsie while Aimee and Chad were in Mexico
- Had a visit from Beth, Joel, Mandie, Josh, Jodi, and Jolynn
- Fell down on an ACORN in the driveway and sprained my ankle and got scraped up! Stupid!!
- Had a surprise visit from Aaron, Katie, and Matea right after that and they brought us dinner and spent the night
- Went to the State Fair
- Had an overnight visit from Jodi and Jolynn
- Had a week and a half visit from Jodi and Jolynn
- Had a couple day visit from Brandon over Labor Day weekend
- Helped a neighbor host a Neighborhood Block Party (2nd annual)
- Went to Peyton's Victory Riders Horse Show
AND.....drum roll, please,
I collapsed after this was all accomplished!!

So, now I know what I did this summer (oh, and this doesn't include my every day typing, washing dishes, cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.) That was done in between all my galavanting around the country!

Hope you had as fun of a year as I have had!
Until next time...

Taking it Easy and Being Thankful

Today is a weird day for me. I have NO typing to do, so am doing some normal household things that I never get to do unless I am running around like a maniac trying to get them all done. Granted, they get done routinely, but not without a lot of hubbub and racing around to finish the normal household tasks (dishes, laundry, etc.). I am enjoying just being "normal" again and not trying to accomplish too much today. In some ways, that is good, in some ways that is bad. I seem to get more done when I "have to" do them, so to speak. Days like this make me feel like I need to lie down and take a nap instead of doing housework! When I have things that are under deadline (like my work), I get a lot more done. I guess I do need a few days like this every once in a while, but probably not too many! It is nice, though, sometimes to have a "free" day like this.

We had a nice Christmas and New Year's. All the kids made it home on the weekend of the 11th through the 13th, so that was when we had our Christmas. It was a fun time and I really enjoyed having all three grandbabies here at one time to hug and kiss as much as I wanted (or as much as they could stand!). We did get a nice family picture, which is now my wallpaper on my computer. I love looking at it every time I walk into my office on my big computer screen. Oh, and next year, we will actually be able to see our fourth grandbaby, since Jesse and Jodi are expecting their first baby in June! Do you think I'm excited?? I am beside myself waiting for the big event. I know they are both anxiously awaiting the arrival of their little one also. I remember those days - waiting for my first to be born and I had the wonderful blessing of having TWO babies the first time! Wow! Talk about exciting!! Anyway, I am thankful for my family and what God has blessed us all with. I am thankful for the good health He has allowed all of us to have for the most part. He has blessed us with so much. Thank you, Lord! You are so good!

I wish everyone a very Happy New Year. May God bless you richly.

What did you do today?

Thanks to some unscheduled events by the doc I work for, I did not have to do any typing today. Therefore, I was able to do some things that I wanted to do - well, actually needed to do. One of which was making some homemade pesto to freeze for the long winter ahead. I made it last year for the first time and was it ever good!! I got to the point where I was literally hoarding it towards the end of the winter because I knew it would be a long time before I had any more of the wonderful stuff! To find fresh basil here in the northland over a winter is next to impossible. (And, believe me, I tried!) At any rate, since we were in a frost advisory last night, I went out to my lowly garden plot and cut all my basil. Today, I knew I needed to get the pesto made before it wilted and went south on me. I was able to eek out six 1-cup containers of it. Oh, the wonderful smell (and taste) when it was all done! Yum! I know pesto is an acquired taste, but oh, is it ever a wonderful taste once you acquire it!! I also made a pan of lasagna for our small group potluck coming up this Sunday evening. I did a few other things, too, but my biggest accomplishment was making the pesto. I am wondering how long it will last over the winter months...not long enough, I know that for sure!

Life in the Fast Lane

I have decided recently that if I had my druthers, I would not choose to live life in the fast lane. I actually do well under pressure and get a LOT done, but I don't think my nerves do well. This summer has been a really crazy one. Last summer, we had so many things that were planned to happen (a new granddaughter, a wedding). This summer, we just kind of went with the flow, so to speak, and it turned out to be almost busier than last summer. I am having a hard time believing tomorrow it is already September of 2009! Wow, how can that be? My work has been insanely busy, and I am really thankful for the work, but sometimes I feel like all I do is type. Actually, some days, that IS all I do. I feel like a typing zombie at times. People laugh when I tell them that after typing for an entire day, when I watch TV, I find that my fingers are typing everything that people are saying on a show. I know it sounds weird, but I type what I hear. I just figured out today that over the course of this year, I have typed 132,578 lines, and that is only taking into account the typing I do for my job and get paid for. Not even the typing I do in for my timesheets, emails, Facebook, or any other time. I guess it's a good thing that I love typing, huh? I will say, however, that I don't love typing as much as I love to travel, hence, the title of my blog. The best thing about working from home is that I can do it whenever and I can also take a few minutes every once in a while to dream about traveling on my next trip. So far, I don't know when that will be, but it is still fun to dream!

In Honor of My Dad

Eight years ago today, my dad passed away. He suffered for nine months with cancer of the appendix. A very rare form of cancer, according to the doctors. Nonetheless, he never once complained nor did he let on that he was suffering. He was such a dear man. He was a very gentle and kind man and one of a kind. He lived his faith like no one else I have ever known. One man who knew him told me that he had never seen another person in his entire life (and this guy is 70 years old himself) that lived his faith like my dad did. I remember as far back as three years old when my mom's dad passed away and she, my older brother, my baby sister, and myself were leaving on a plane to fly to Ohio to be with my grandma. I remember my mom telling my dad as we walked up the stairs to the plane (there weren't jetways back then, mind you) that there were bacon and eggs in the fridge for his breakfasts when we were gone. He was definitely a meat and potatoes kind of guy. I don't even remember him eating anything like spaghetti or anything like that until I was well into adulthood. He grew up on the farm and loved his meat and potatoes. He also made a killer salad every Sunday after church for our family dinner. I also remember one Sunday night when I asked how to get to heaven, and he took me to he and mom's bedroom, we knelt by their bed, and he prayed with me to accept Jesus as my own personal Savior. What a blessed memory that is. Another special thing that I remember was that we always had a garden whenever we lived where there was room to grow one. One of my favorite memories of my dad is that we would go out to the garden and eat ripe tomatoes standing there together in the garden. Tonight, Mike and I were standing in our own garden and I ate a ripe cherry tomato in honor of my dad. What a seemingly small, but fun memory to have. He definitely taught me to appreciate the little things in life. Like love, ripe tomatoes, hard work, helping others with no concern for my time or money, and living my faith as a Christian. He and my mom were married just shy of 50 years when he died. He loved her like no one else I had ever seen. He was a wonderful dad, husband, grandpa, and friend. I am so thankful to have had him in my life for the years I did. He was one in a million. And I miss him dearly.

In Honor of My Mom

Seven years ago this past Monday (June 1st), my mom passed away. She was such a wonderful mom and such a special lady and remembering her reminds me of a lot of good things in life. One of which was all of her beautiful flowers. She definitely had a green thumb, which I was fortunate enough to have received from her. She gave me this beautiful Christmas cactus for my birthday the year before she died. It has bloomed over and over and over again and every time it does, I think of my mom. She gave me a love for plants, a love for music, a love for children, a love for gardening, a love for the simple things in life. She usually had a beautiful smile on her face (when she wasn't yelling at one of us eight kids!). I know she would have absolutely adored all three of my grandbabies! Oh, how I wish she could have met them all, but I am sure she is watching from heaven and enjoying herself seeing them anyway! She was also a real giver - of herself, of her time, of her talents (piano playing being the most famous for her), her food (she was definitely a food pusher!), and of her laughter. So many times I wondered how she did all the things she did in her life. She was a remarkable woman, not to mention a wonderful wife to my dad and a fantastic mother to us kids. My dad loved her so very much and until his dying day, he couldn't say enough good about her and all she had done for him. They set a wonderful example for us kids. Oh sure, they had their moments, just like we all do, but overall, they were deeply in love with one another and loved each other until the end. I remember when she met Mike (my own husband) for the first time - she met him the night before I did - and came home and told me what a looker he was! How's that for motherly advice?? She always liked Mike and couldn't resist teasing him once in a while when we were dating, even though he was a very shy teenage boy at that time. All my pictures of my mom are old ones and none are digital, so I don't have a good one to post here, but wanted to at least show something that reminds me of her. I am so thankful for the 70 years she was on earth, even though it seems that she was way too young to die when she did. She missed my dad so very much after he died (10 months earlier than she did). She was lonesome and wanted to be with him. I know she could have gone on without him, but she had given almost 50 years of her life to him and that was pretty much all she knew when he passed away before her. I thank God every day for the family I was able to grow up in. I know it is a blessing that many people don't have, and I know it is a very special thing. Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to have such a special mom.

Long Time, No Write...

So, I'm back again...finally! The last time I wrote here, I was looking forward to our trip to Florida. Well, it was a WONDERFUL trip and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The weather was gorgeous and I couldn't get enough of the sun. It was absolutely beautiful and very restful. We had time to spend with our friends from church also, which was nice. It gave us a lot of time to walk on the beach and visit with them. We also took in a few other adventures with them and had some great food in the meantime! We even bought some shrimp from one of the little stores down by the docks and enjoyed it for several nights, as we were able to cook in the little house we rented. That was definitely the way to go (renting a house) as opposed to staying in a motel. I still think about being in Florida most days, but am also glad to be home and thankful for a beautiful home we have. We are so blessed and I thank the Lord every day for His bounty He has allowed us to enjoy in our life!



It took me two solid weeks to catch up on my typing when I got back home from Florida, but it was well worth the time off. I am still thankful for my job. I love working from home and it has been something else I am very thankful for. If anyone had told me eight years ago I would some day have my dream job, I would not have believed them. God's timing is ALWAYS way better than anything I could have ever imagined.



Now, I am dreaming of summertime and my garden. I have two little basil plants that I have been trying to nurse along and grow. I am not sure they will make it. I also have some basil seed, lavender seed, and pepper seeds I want to start in the house, but am not sure if they will make it either. Of course, my long-time dream is to have a greenhouse...maybe some day. When we were in Florida, we stopped at a local plant sale and you should have seen the beautiful plants they had!! They had lots and lots of beautiful herbs that I would have loved to have for my own garden. I just couldn't figure out how to haul them home on the plane! Oh well, soon I will be able to plant and have my garden to work in. I am also looking forward to having some warmer weather to sit outside and enjoy our deck. That is one perk of living where we do. We have a beautiful backyard to enjoy. Oh, and the birds are back and I wake every morning listening to their beautiful songs! There was one this morning that I recognized, but could not identify. It was really loud and raucous...hmmm. Too bad my mother-in-law isn't around. She would have been able to identify the call for me.



Enough for now. I hope to keep more current on my posts. Ta!