Zazzle You!!

Wonderful night's sleep last night...NOT!  But now that I am up and starting to move around it's time to start getting in gear and explore what's out there for my next chapter in life...time to look for the blessings hidden in the outcome of yesterday.

Now that I have a bit of spare time I'm hoping that I might 'zazzle' some of you...well okay...all of you out there with my newest venture I just started days ago.  Kind of ironic that I would venture into marketing some of my photographic art but that's just what I have done.  So...if you'd like to be 'zazzled' head over to my store 'Stuffed Monkey' located on http://www.zazzle.com/ for a look at one of kind items you wouldn't find in a retail store.  If you're into unique and individualism I'll see you at Stuffed Monkey!

Here's a link to Stuffed Monkey for your convenience getting there:  http://www.zazzle.com/stuffedmonkey 

Now...until next time...wherever you are...have a great day!!

Paying Some Dues...Again

"Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life."

~Sophia Loren~

I posted this quote earlier today on Face Book not knowing how close to the heart it would become in no more than a 30 minute span.

The past 6 months I've been contracting at a large company here in the Twin Cities and had just completed a project that lasted 5 long and sometimes horrendous weeks.  There were more than my share of bumps and bruises in those 5 weeks but not to the point where I expected the end result would not only be the completion of the project but also the end of my contract.

Almost 3 years to the day I find myself once again facing the holidays unemployed with many emotions swirling in my foggy brain.  It used to be when you heard the phrase 'tis the season' it would conjur up childhood memories.  Now, when I hear that 7 out of 10 times I find myself thinking of who got laid off or are there upcoming layoffs.

Sure didn't expect this today and I guess I will need to do some regrouping (again).  Wish mom was here but, even though she isn't I can hear what her words would have been to me as plain as day.

"Gute, things will get better."

So with some blind faith here I'm going to believe that they will and that the upcoming season is about friends and family and holiday memories.

Until next time, wherever this may find you, have a great day!! 

"The greatest glory in living does lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail."

~Nelson Mandela~

Who'da Thunk It!!

It's November 3rd and no snow yet here in 'Minnesnowta' as my Aussie friends like to call my adopted home state.  I have yet to see a snow flake this fall so far but rest assured it'll happen sooner or later...later preferably but I've no influence on the weather. 

Even though we haven't gotten any snow here where I live unbelievably Hawaii has beaten us here in the Twin Cities and the first snowfall of their season has hit the Hawaiian Islands...more specifically up at the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii's big island.  Sure the snows were at 13,000 feet + but even so...who'da thunk it that Hawaii would have snow before us? 

hhmmm...wonder what my nephew in the Air Force stationed in Hawaii thought about that?? 

Anyways...until next time...wherever you are...have a great day!!

PS...thought I'd post a pic of me at around 3-4 years old on God only knows what brand lawn mower that was but I actually do remember riding with dad on it as a little girl and just loving it!!  Dang...the world was sooo small back then!!

Tam around 3-4 years of age.

Still Hanging on to Fall

While Denver is digging out from their first snowstorm of the year and the East Coast is getting ready to be pummelled by their first snowstorm here in the upper Midwest we're doing okay...so far.  Though the peak of fall colors has come and gone it seems we are having yet a second peak with the oak trees showing brilliant reddish brown colors and the tops of the birch trees are still golden and holding on to their leaves.

Late yesterday afternoon I made a run to Springbrook Nature Area which is a 5-10 minute drive from the house and dashed around to the west end of the small lake to take in the glimmers of sun we had been experiencing off and on during the day.  Okay...dash is really the wrong word but I walked as briskly as I could through the woods on the wood chipped trails strewn with fallen leaves trying not to stumble over some hidden object on the path.  I said try...I managed to find several tree stumps that had been cut down to the edge of the ground but still managed to catch a toe.

To say I succeeded on getting to my destination in time for the primo light of the fast approaching sunset just wouldn't be true.  I missed it by just a few minutes but since I was there on the wooden walkway crossing the lake I decided to experiment with taking some pictures with the aperature remaining open for 15-20 seconds and see what I'd come up with. 

As I'd neglected to bring any of my tripods in my haste I used my cell phone case to help prop up my camera on the railing and started taking some pictures.  So here's one picture from my experimentation...I think I just might keep trying this only next time I'm gonna have to grab a tripod.

Now...until next time...wherever you are...have a great day!!

Suck it up???

I really should have known better to whine about the upcoming winter to Natalie, a.k.a. the Tour Guide, in Australia...or should I say whinge as she would put it?!  But silly me I whined about the predictions for the upcoming winter of colder & wetter than last year and her response made me laugh!

"Suck it up princess...you live in Minnesnowta!"

Nothing like getting right to the point!!  So I guess...at least until the first snow flake falls I'll suck it up but expect whining in the future! 

Until next time...wherever you are...have a great day!!

Just Not Ready Yet...

Do you ever wish you'd just shut the tv off and not pay attention to the weather?  Trust me...I love living in a part of the world where there are 4 true seasons but I just can't help grimacing and moaning and maybe...just maybe...whining a bit when the weather person mentions that first snowfall of the year and yup...it happened tonight.  This coming Tuesday night into Wednesday morning there is a fair chance of snow...not the accumulating type mind you as the ground temp is too warm yet and will melt any snow that falls shortly after it reaching the ground. 

Oh well...not much I can do to prevent snow from happening and when that first flake does fall I'm sure the voice of one of my great aunts Inger will echo in my mind..."it had to come, it did, it did." 

Now...until next time...wherever you are have a great day!!

40 Years Later...

I was the youngest of three and the only girl born into a family that pretty much lived, breathed and dreamed sports...at least it seemed that way.  My big brothers were active in about every sport offered back in the '60s and I was right there standing in as the batter so one could practice pitching baseball to the other or strapping on their oversized football pads and hiking the ball so they could practice passing the football.  You name it, if one of my brothers played it, I at least tried it and suffered many a lump and bruise for my efforts...and usually came back for more!!

My brothers had set up a modified half court for basketball up the hay mow of the barn and every fall they would make sure the hay bales were strategically stacked so that there would be enough space for that basketball court.

As there was almost 8 & 9 years between me and my brothers we never competed against each other in basketball with the exception of playing many a game of horse up in that barn.  

In my earlier years I was relegated to sitting on the haybales watching they and their buddies play by the one light bulb that dimly lit the haymow.   From time to time I'd call out encouragement, advice or even a foul which usually resulted in the person I called the foul on scrambling up the hay bales to toss me into the loose hay in mock anger.  I think I tried to keep quiet so it would be a long time before one of them would realize what time it was and send me to go to bed much to my chagrine as I idolized those guys and hated to miss out on anything.

Years later...okay...many years later I still have a love for the game of basketball and can get talked into a game of horse from time to time but the game as I grew up knowing has evolved to almost being unrecongnizable with the amazing feats of athleticism by the women athletes on the court these days.

I couldn't have been prouder this past Saturday to stand with hundreds of other basketball fans of the WNBA as we welcomed home our Minnesota Lynx as the WNBA Champions after 13 years of struggling in the league and I doubt if I was the only one who had tears in their eyes as these amazing women athletes came down the escalator at the airport to the roar of "We're Number One!!' 

The fans parted like the Red Sea for the players but in amazement I watched as the players waded into the midst of them to give many hugs, high fives, pose for pictures and sign a multitude of autographs.  At one point I watched as a little girl who couldn't have been more than 5 years old tug at Taj McWilliams-Franklin's shirt trying to get her attention.  Taj didn't feel the tug so I shouted out her name and as she looked at me I pointed downwards.  She immediately bent down to see what the little girl wanted and obliged her by autographing her tshirt and gave her a big hug.  As Taj stood up she looked at me and gave me a high five almost as if she were saying 'thank you' for pointing out the little girl.

What awesome role models these women are...so unlike many of their male counterparts in the world of professional athletics.  Who knew back in the day that I would become part of a fan base for women's professional basketball and be standing there welcoming home the WNBA champions witnessing a bit of history...and because I and countless other girls wanted to play the game at the high school and college level we would see the game slowly but surely progress to the game it is today.  Only difference now is that I am old enough to recognize and appreciate history in the making.



Alexis Hornbuckle of the MN Lynx
with the WNBA Championship trophy.

I wonder just how many little girls went to bed Saturday night still wearing their tshirts with the autographs of their favorite players?  I'll bet you there were quite a few and years from now I hope the players still remember who they are and how much of an impact they make on their fans like they did Saturday as they slowly shuffled through the crowd of people...as the WNBA champions!!

Now...wherever you...until next time have...a great day!!

What Happens With The Sisters...

DiAnn, Rosemary & Bonnie
'What Happens with the Sisters stays with the Sisters'

Several weeks ago I had a blast with three of my cousins!  All you have to do is take one look at this picture & you have a pretty good idea how great the day was.  Sixty two years ago, Rosemary was my mom's flower girl and (I think) about forty eight years ago I was Rosemary's flower girl.  So needless to say we all go back a 'few years' and when Bonnie emailed me about getting together on a Friday it really was just a no brainer that I was going to make every effort to get up to the Fargo area to join them for the day...and what an awesome day it was!!  Thanks gals for remembering the 'little cousin!'  Love you all!!

...and now...wherever you are...have a great day!!

I Swear I Only Blinked...

Seems like I only blinked since my last post and now September is in the rear view mirror and it's already the 2nd day in October. 

As a kid a day could drag by painfully slow and one couldn't wait for the next birthday to be 5 or 10 or finally a teenager and now look at the days...they blaze by like a fall day.  Some in hues of gold and reds...other days maybe not quite so bright but as I grow older each day's passing has quickened and rival the speed of light. 

So...with those thoughts I am going to run outside and enjoy the fleeting fall day and try and capture some of the colors of life.  I hope each of you do too.

And now...wherever you are...have a great day!!

Remember When You Were Awesome?

Just the other day I got an email from an old coworker & it was awesome to hear from her.  The last time we had seen each other we were at a funeral of a mutual friend last fall. 

Not only was it great to hear from her but she sent a link to a blog that I just couldn't help but smile when I was reading it.  Let's just say it took me back to a more innocent time when we were less inhibited and reserved that seems to infiltrate oneself as you become older.

I'm sharing that link with all of you today though it is geared more towards the female persuasion I do think any guys reading this can relate too...especially if they have a 'little princess' of their own.

So...with that said here is the link...and let's hope we all wake up awesome tomorrow!!

http://blog.pigtailpals.com/2011/08/waking-up-full-of-awesome/

Until next time...wherever you are...have a great day!!

It Has Been A While...

Greetings  from the great state of Minnesota!!  Just a quick shout out as it has been way too long my friends but my reprieve (or maybe it truly was your reprieve) from my ramblings needs to come to an end.  I hope the summer (or winter for my friends Down Under) has been kind to you all and this finds each of you safe and happy.  I will be back soon and until then...wherever you may be...have a great day!!

A Short Reprieve

I know I've not blogged in a bit over a week and I have decided to take a short time away from it while we enjoy the short summer time here in Minnesota.  I will be back up and running after Labor Day.

I hope you all have a wonderful few months and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for following me these past months.  It means a lot to me...but I promise I will be back! 

See you this fall!

Now...wherever you are...have a wonderful day!!

Buckling Roads

I'm not sure what happened with Mother Nature but we went from a spring struggling to appear to the depths of hot, humid summer temps as quickly as one can flip a switch.  I can't speak for any other Minnesotan but as for me....NOOOO....turn the heat off and I want my good friend 'Less Humid' to appear...now!! 

It's just way too early to be wishing for a snow flake but I find my mind wandering towards thoughts of snow as the mercury edges upward toward triple digits.  Yes...triple digits!  We broke records yesterday with the mercury topping 97 degrees (or for those of you who go by celsius 36+ degrees) and we're possibly hitting 100 degrees (37+ celsius) with heat indexes getting to 105 degrees (40+ celsius).

Which brings on the buckling road phenomenon.  You might be wondering what the ...?  Well, I don't know if this phenomenon is just something that happens here in the U.S. when temps get to extreme levels but highways/interstates, especially older concrete ones here can buckle from being unable to expand as far as they need to in high temps so the concrete/pavement crumbles and heave upwards to relieve the pressure which can be quite a spectacle, hazard and bring a rush hour to its knees and ruin your commute.

I've not experienced a road buckle first hand though have experienced more than my fair share of commuting hell resulting from a buckled road but I hope never to experience it as it happens.  I've been told it is be quite frightening at the very least and can lead to serious damage to vehicles and bodily harm to people too. 

I'd be curious to find out if this phenomenon happens in other countries...what about it readers?  Does this happen where you live?  I'd love to hear from you!

As for me I'm going to go see if I can find my friend 'Less Humid'...   he's got to be around here someplace!

Now...wherever you are...have a great day!!

Springtime Smiles

I love living in Minnesota...heck I just love living in the northern part of the U.S.  I think I could get 'planted' about anywhere in the northern part of this country and be happy even if I might have a tendency to complain and whine a bit when the temps get below 0 and the wind chills bump it even colder into the -25 to -35 degrees below 0 range. 

But there's just something about the diversity of the seasons that I like.  Not just because that's all I know as I lived in Virginia & Tennessee for a couple of years and  there just didn't seem enough of a contrast...plus the fact that I seemed forever sick in the wintertime there.

Springtime is a wondrous part of the year to me.  It's a rebirth after such a cold, long winter and one finds themselves smiling when a sight of spring happens upon them.

A couple of weeks ago I was at the MN Arboretum going around the three mile drive there and I was looking for some of those sights...and I wasn't disappointed.  About halfway around the loop I spied a family of Canada geese out for a stroll and it was a perfect photo op time.

The family seemed to not have a care in the world and kept coming down the path towards me with their brood of six goslings.  The goslings were so cute and you could actually see different personalities in each of them...the 'mommy hugger' which wouldn't let its mom out of sight to 'junior' who had to be shooshed back into line as he wandered away too busy exploring his world to remember to keep up and in line with the rest of the family.

Neither parent gave me more than a second look as they strutted by with their brood though I know that if I had gotten in between them and their brood it wouldn't have been pretty and I would have been running away.  All it took was a warning hiss from one of them to know that you were indeed encroaching on their brood.  After been chased down by an uncle's gander as a kid I did not want a reenactment of that horrifying experience...once was definitely enough!!

I don't know how one could not smile seeing a parade of babies passing them by on a lovely spring day.  Heck...we take our babies seriously here in Minnesota...after all where else can a family of geese bring rush hour to a dead standstill when they decide to take their brood across a road.  Yup... gotta love springtime, babies and traffic jams!!

Now...wherever you are...have a great day!!

I Wish You Enough...

I am not usually one of those people who will forward emails on and on especially the ones that say "you must forward to 10 people within 10 minutes of receiving this or you will have 7 years of bad luck' blah, blah, blah.

However, every once in a while you get one that you just have to share with others because, for whatever reason, it touched you.  

A few weeks after I had returned from Australia I got this in an email from an old coworker and it hit home with me and so I decided to share it today.  It is an excerpt from an original story by Bob Perks, in 'Chicken Soup For the Grieving Soul' who is a motivational speaker and it just hits the mark.

Recently I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her departure and standing near the security gate, they hugged and he said, "I love you. I wish you enough." She in turn said, "Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy."

They kissed and she left. He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say goodbye to someone knowing it would be forever?"

"Yes, I have," I replied. Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to me.

So I knew what this man experiencing.

"Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever goodbye?" I asked.
"I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is, the next trip back would be for my funeral," he said.
"When you were saying goodbye I heard you say, "I wish you enough." May I ask what that means?"

He began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone." He paused for a moment and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more."When we said 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them," he continued and then turning toward me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much
bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye."
He then began to sob and walked away."

Now...wherever you are...I wish you enough...

Another Deer Affair...

Living in a metropolitan area of approximately 3.5 million people one would not expect to see much in the way of nature with the exception of the multitude of gray squirrels that are forever tormenting the dogs from their multiple rendezvous at our bird feeders. 

 

Once in a while a stray raccoon or two strides across the top of the 6 foot wooden fence that surrounds the backyard under the cover of the night.  I cringe whenever one (or all) of the dogs put up a stink when it's dark outside and beg to go out as I am so afraid they will get into it with a boar (male) raccoon traipsing across the fence.  So far...knock on wood...that hasn't happened but it's been close a time or two.

 

Occasionally one of the mallard ducks that love the pool next door will miss and fly into the backyard but soon exit usually with a dog hot on its tail.  I've even had a turkey hen and her babies land only to leave very quickly and minus a few tail feathers.

 

But I never expected to see what I did this morning as I stepped out onto the upper deck at the house.  Looking between the branches of the sugar maple tree into the neighbor's backyard there stood a doe.  Nothing really unusual about that as I see deer quite often but I have never in my 50+ years seen a doe nursing their fawn in the wild.  I hurriedly shooshed the dogs inside...ran downstairs and grabbed my Canon camera hoping that the doe hadn't gotten too nervous by our movements on the deck.

 

Much to my relief the doe hadn't moved a step and the fawn was butting at its mama impatiently wanting more milk.  This wasn't a newborn fawn but I would 'guesstimate' maybe a week old as s/he could easily walk under its mama's belly with ample space to spare.  It was an amazing sight just standing there watching the two as the fawn nursed and mama gave it a morning bath. 

 

I could have stood there all morning watching but sadly I had to be satisfied with what pictures I had taken, put the camera down and jump in the shower and be off to work.  But that was okay cause if I hadn't been working I probably would not have been up and at 'em that early and would have missed out on this.  Just brings a smile to my face thinking about it.  Anyways...

 

Until next time...wherever you are...have a great day!!

 

On this day...

On this day, Memorial Day in the United States of America, I shall take a moment to remember all those brave men and women who are serving or have served our country throughout the ages unselfishly giving of themselves to protect us.

Fort Snelling National Cemetary, Minneapolis, Minnesota

~Thank you~

I Do Love My Flowers!

Hope you enjoy my flower picture...

Now...until next time...have a great day!!

The Fresh Smell of Spring!

Awe.... the fresh smell of springtime in Minnesota....achoo!!  Well...I guess I'll  trust what others are saying about it smelling like spring...right now I can't breath through my nose and my voice sounds like a raspy 30 year smoker.  Oh...wait...that is me...but raspy voice doesn't exactly come to my mind.

Yup...I've got the dreaded spring cold/sinus infection complicated by allergies and the slow spring here has every flower, tree, grass and mold variety all firing at once and one of my worst nightmares come true.

I've had allergies for many years now but it's been a few since nature has exploded all at once and I've only had a couple of colds in the past 4-5 years that haven't been much to speak of...until now.  So I am feeling a bit sorry for myself and have jumped straight into the pajamas the minute I've walked in the door from work the last two nights.

Oh well...this too shall pass...another week and I'll have forgotten about my red 'Rudolph' nose caused by continuous blowing which freakishly sounds like a honking goose.  I wouldn't be surprised if I saw a 'warning-infectious disease area' sign on the outside of my cubicle tomorrow.  My co-workers haven't pulled out the face masks yet...and it probably is my imagination but am I getting more instant messages versus visits to my cube lately??  But can I really blame them?!  LOL

Ummm...would someone please pass the NyQuil??


Until next time...wherever you are...have a great day!!

A Red Carpet Departure!!

I did not sleep well and was up and down a few times during the night.  I would go outside and sit for a while just looking up at the stars and whatever the constellations were that I was looking at.  Heaven knows I could only identify the moon and knew absolutely nothing about the stars in the Southern Hemisphere.  A couple of weeks earlier it had dawned on me in the middle of the night looking up at the stars that I was truly in the Southern Hemisphere when I tried locating the Northern Star and realized I knew not a single star shining in that night sky. 

Even though I wished it away morning came and it was time to head to the airport.  I am one that doesn't like to be seen getting verklempt but from time to time I had to wipe a tear away.  I'm sure Natalie probably noticed but didn't say anything which was probably a good thing as I would have lost the battle right then and there instead of later. 

Before I arrived in Australia I had given Natalie a hard time about having the red carpet treatment and a band playing when I landed.  Well of course that didn't happen and I never expected it but now, leaving Australia I had to laugh as we approached the international customs departure area.  Lo and behold there before my eyes was a red carpet at the entrance!!  It was a brief moment of humor...and then I had to say goodbye.

You never leave someone behind, you take a part of them with you and leave a part of yourself behind. 

~Author Unknown~