Lovin' this so much...deep in my heart!!!

New favorite quote!!!

“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”
― Thomas Campbell

Reflection...

I find myself sitting here on the couch, just sitting. Mindlessly bouncing from e-mail, to Facebook, making a play on one of the many games of "Scrabble" that I have going rather than doing things I should be - homework, and housework.

Shame on me!!!

Now, I have been totally neglecting these things. I have done and submitted one assignment, I glanced at the online portion of my Spanish class. I have bagged up trash bin overflow, which made it much easier for my husband to take outside ;). I put boxes of cereal in the "cereal keepers".

You know, it seemed like so much more as I was doing it than it does seeing it written.

I am fast approaching the year of my 6th anniversaries - "6" years (in February) since I packed up my Grand Am and moved Florida to be with the most wonderful man. The man I married "6" years ago in June, hm...the 6th month of the year. Oh, wait lets not forget in may I will have been employed with the state for - yep you guessed it "6" years! Oh, wait since returning to school I have completed "6" courses. Our cat, Lucky, will be six years old soon.

I just glanced a a couple of blogs, you know the ones you stumble upon when you hit "Next Blog", and one that my sisters ex-husband kept. They both just set my mind to wondering back through the years. It is hard for me to believe that I have been in Florida almost 6 years. I was born and raised in Lansing, Michigan. Aside from the house I grew up in, I lived in 6 other places. Of course all in the area I grew up. I sit here in the living room of the home I share with the most loving and caring man who did not give up on me, in Florida!

I do miss a lot from Michigan. Family, and friends, old haunts. But I still get to see them when we go back at the holidays, and during the summer. Eventually I will get the trek down to where it is organized and I visit and see more than I have.

With both my parents gone, it is tough. My niece and nephew now live in my mothers home. It's not the house I grew up in though, my mother bought it a few years after my father passed away.

In one of the blogs I was looking at she mentioned her "haven" was gone. That just kind of struck me. As much as Michigan will always be home, I don't really have a "haven" there anymore. Yes, there is a house there that I am part owner in, that has many of my belongings that did not make the trip down 6 years ago, or since then....where would I put it here? We live the land where houses have no storage...so...that is where my things are basically stored. Someday they and I will be in the same state. But they are just belongings.

My niece Julie, who has a huge piece of my heart. I love her like a daughter she is the other part owner of the house, and now that I think about it I guess I do have a "haven" she is my haven there.

Well, here is to 2012! Please let it be the year where I finally get myself organized. In a lot of ways I am still just spinning from the loss of my mother. When you my dad died, yeah it hurt like hell, and I missed him, and still do. But when your last parent dies it is just a great big double sucker punch! That I am having a hard time recovering from.

Thank you to my husband who has been patient with me, he knows that hurt as he has lost both of his parents as well. I sure wish I had gotten the chance to meet them, because of them, I am loved.

Okay, I confess, this was not written all on the same day...and it is quite a jumbled bit of writing. But, it has been a bit therapeutic.....so...thanks for listening.

Keep your fingers crossed - update ;)

Well, the leftover recipe from my previous post turned out okay, it tasted like Thanksgiving again.

Super easy, which is always great. It was kind of like leftover lasagna. I did not cook it quite as long as I should have so...I had to scoop it off our plates and put it back into the oven.

So, if you opt to try it...cook it as long as it says.

Hm...what other leftovers could you do this with??

Keep your fingers crossed...it included almost all our leftovers ;)

LAYERED LEFTOVER THANKSGIVING CASSEROLE

Leftovers: turkey gravy mashed potatoes stuffing green bean casserole French Fried Onions Grease a casserole dish that will fit the amount of leftovers you have. (I normally have to use a 13x9x2). Put stuffing as a bottom layer first, then place a layer of turkey. Put mashed potatoes (sweet and/or regular mashed potatoes; pour gravy over them. Spoon the green bean casserole over potatoes and gravy, then top with French Fried Onions. Heat in a 350°F oven for 20-30 minutes. Let cool and enjoy! (Great for potlucks as well.)

Beards, beards, beards - part 2!

Well, I must admit that I am amazed at how many hits my post about beards has received. Beards are pretty popular. Why is that? When you do a Google search for beards you could likely spend hours looking through the images. There are a few that jumped out at me in just a few minutes. So, is it creativity, individuality.

This one on the left, well, not just a beard thing for him now is it. My husbands theory on hair is "grow it while ya can" - this man sure is.

This one in the center, is this sideburns gone wild?

I find these curly ones especially interesting. That just has to feel weird to have something extending from your face like that. My dad had a cousin that always, and to this day has a mustache that he waxes into a curl.

This picture above is just a fun angle. I love it!

So, if ya have a minute someday and are looking for some amusement/amazement....do a Google image search for beards....it's worth a few minutes of your time.

Much too late to catch it on the big screen....

but....I do think it would have been "big screen worthy".My current class is Spanish 1. It's a 4 credit class! It could be quite useful...that is if I ever get the hang of it. In class "La profesora" had us watch - "The Mission" with Jeremy Irons, and Robert Dinero (both looking so young). She had us do a research project on the Guarani, a native tribe in South America. The movie touches on the early days when the Jesuits tried to build missions and "save" the Guarani.

I highly recommend this movie. It touched me having just researched them, but, if it doesn't touch you....well...just think about it. Yes it is a Hollywood film, but it is based upon real people. You can catch it I believe on NetFlix, or if you have Amazon and can stream it.....do it.

We had to do a short paper on the movie, answer 2 questions. The other night in class "La profesora" said to me..."Janet, your paper was so good, I have never seen anyone who struggles so much with Spanish write so well in English" ;) I am choosing to take that as a compliment! ;)

Okay, I confess…I do tend to be a bit of a name critic.

Okay, I confess…I do tend to be a bit of a name critic. On my blog I even have a “name of the week”…..well....it is more the name of…...until I change it.

On night my husband told me to look up the roster for the St. Johns basketball team. I’m a bit predictable for him. He asked me to read the names to him, I read the first one and then I paused…and he started laughing.

The first one, plain and simple and others are somewhat common. Ones you have heard before.

2011-12 St. John's Red

• Phil Greene
  
• God's Gift Achiuwa
• Maurice Harkless
• Norvel Pelle
• Nurideen Lindsey
• Jakarr Sampson
• Sir'Dominic Pointer
• Amir Garrett
• Jamal White
• Malik Stith

A couple, well, what were their parents thinking!!!!!

“God’s Gift”….yes a child is a gift from God of that I have no doubt. Why though name your child that? Surely you could find a name that means the same and go with that.

Sir’Dominic….well…makes me think the mother couldn’t decide what pizza she liked best when she was pregnant. “Sir Pizza or Dominos”, and his dad was “Nick”.

I don’t know what people think these days when naming their children. A name is really something that is pretty important. That child has to live with that name, and the harassment that it could bring.

I find it rather hard to believe that those two did not get picked on while they were growing up.

Sometimes I think that the hospitals give out “Boggle” games to expectant parents and they just shake them up and whatever comes out is what the kid gets stuck with!

I can remember sitting at the kitchen table with my dad one day. I asked him why they named us with such plain names. My oldest sister was named, Sally, the middle daughter is Judy and I am Janet. You can’t get much simpler than those names. His reply was “we named you what you were going to be called”.

My father is one of 9 children, and he is named after his father so he was called “Jack” rather than “John”. Of the 9 only my Uncle Lowell was never dubbed with a nickname, or called a shortened version of their name, or known by their middle name.

I wish more parents would think long and hard when naming their children. There is nothing wrong with giving your child a unique name, but, there is a difference between unique and “God’s Gift”…I would not want to be named something you can type into Google and get images of peoples tattoos with my name – I’m just saying!

So, thank you mom and dad, I love you and miss you both dearly and am grateful for my plain and simple name. Janet – “God is gracious”

Big screen worthy...maybe...maybe not....

Okay, so, if you have read any of my post you know that we seldom go to movies at the theater. My husband has certain guidelines that deem them either "big screen worthy" or no....

My step-daughter was down from school and had decided she wanted to see "Lion King" in 3d. So, my husband being a huge fan of baseball had been thinking of going to see "Moneyball", with Brad Pitt so we went to see that and she went to her movie.

I actually liked the movie more than he did! Though, I did not know very much about the story behind the movie and my husband did. Maybe that made the difference. Maybe not.

Though I will say that though I liked the movie, it wasn't worth the money we spent to see it in the theater. It is so sad how much it cost these days for a family to go see a movie. There were three of us and it cost close to $70 to see the two flicks....and...that is not even in a nice movie theater, with comfy seats that recline back. Here in Ocala we do not have a nice theater to go to, don't get me wrong it is not the worst I have ever been to but it is far, far from a nice theater and so very far from giving the consumer bang for their buck.

Which, is pretty sad in an economy where people are giving up entertainment outside of the house to save money. Wake up Regal Hollywood 16 of Ocala, take a few tips from Celebration Cinema.....make more movies "big screen worthy"....even if the movie is so so at least if the theater is a good one it would draw more people!

So...all that being said it was good but...."Moneyball"....maybe...but....maybe not "Big screen worthy"....

Big Screen Worthy!!

I have been remiss to mention a great movie that was deemed - "big screen worthy".

"Unstoppable" with "Denzel Washington" who I think is just a great actor. This movie it was like time stood still, it seemed longer than it was and it had you on the edge of your seat.

We went to see this in "The Villages", a retirement community south of where we live. It is one of my favorite places to go see movies, the theaters remind me of what they were like when I was a kid!

So, if you get the chance...check it out. It was big screen worthy, but don't miss out on it because it isn't in the theaters anymore....it is just plane screen worthy!

hair…hair…hair…where are the scissors?

Okay, I confess, as I age I kind of look at guys with long hair differently. Boy, am I getting old. Often when we are watching sports my husband hears me pipe up and say ---

“he needs a haircut!”

My husband’s theory on hair is – “grow it while you can”. Me – “he needs a haircut”. Which having lived through the 80’s and big hair it is not like long hair is something new to me. I am not old enough though that I don’t remember the hippie era.

I don’t know why it is that I now think they should avoid lengthening their locks and just get it cut!

For some reason I feel the need to mention that my husband does his fair share of yelling out during a game though his is usually something like “WILSON”! When Wilson Valdez is up, or makes a good play. (which scares me almost every time!)

What do you think?

”Grow it while you can”? Or....run and find some scissors!

The paths you travel...

I have come to think of life as being a series of paths.

I have many regrets in my life, have made poor choices in how to face something or what action to take. I’m quite sure that everyone has regrets they face.

I have not been known to choose what seemed at the time to be the best path to take, if I had done this I could be this by now. If I had gone there, instead of here it might have turned out better. It is one of the great mysteries in life….”woulda, coulda, shoulda”…if you do a Google search putting that in there is quite a bit that comes up.

How are we to know if our lives truly would have turned out better? How do we know we weren’t meant to be right where we are at each given moment?

Yeah, if only I had not taken a buy out from GM I could be close to retirement. Yeah, if only I had gone to college right after high school I would not have had to take as much math, and likely would be in a better paying job. Yeah, if only I had not trusted someone I would not have gotten burned. How many people really can’t say – “yeah, if only” about a few things.

Maybe there is some sort of cosmic fate that is in store for us each which guides us along the way. Maybe we really aren’t the ones making the choices…

“Robert Frost” makes one think about life with his poem:

“The Road Not Taken”.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I do think that life happens the way it does for a reason. I was fortunate to have had loving and supporting parents or my paths would have been bumpier.

I am thankful for the paths that led me to my husband. I did not marry until I was 42, which meant I missed out on being a mother, but, maybe I wasn’t meant to be one. I do have a beautiful niece that I love as a daughter. I have two beautiful step-daughters that I love very much. Maybe that is as much of a parent as I was meant to be.

This song by “Rascal Flatts” always makes me think of my life and my husband:

"Bless The Broken Road"

I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you

[Chorus]
Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

I think about the years I spent just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true

[Chorus]
Now I'm just rolling home
Into my lover's arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you.

Life is a mystery, at times it can be a maze. We all find our way out of the maze at some point in our lives, and sometimes we just go back into it at another entrance. I have been mulling this over, and over in my head and I’m not sure if all this will make sense to anyone but me. If not than it is just a little exercise for my brain. I hope though that you are reading this and maybe, just maybe seeing some new appreciation for the paths you travelled.