What Is This?!

As most of you know, I am a natural redhead! HA! HA! I have a monthly date with my hairdresser to keep this fantasy alive. Every fourth week, I am amazed at what my roots look like. When I began dying my hair red over 20 years ago, I wasn't gray at all, just a mousy, boring brown. I had a doctor I had just met tell me once that my hair color (the red) suited my personality! Hmmm....fiery, bold, noticeable??

When did all this gray take over for the mousy brown? I realize that I am a grammie now, but I refuse to look like one. Rarely do I see a woman with what I would call a pretty gray color. When I do spot it, I always make a point of complementing the woman on it. I am pretty sure the gray I am seeing every fourth week is not one that would be labeled a pretty gray. It's just gray! I hope I never stop making it a priority to spend the time and money on fighting back the gray monster. Maddy made me a beautiful Mother's Day card and she drew a picture of us standing side by side. When she gave it to me she said, "You know it's us grammie, because your hair is red and mine is yellow." Man I love that kid!!!

Grown Up Kids

I have often said, when it comes to our children, we don't get to write the script for them. It is one of the hardest parts of parenting because we want what is best for them and we think, as their parents, we know exactly what that is. I have always said that what I wanted for my two children was for them to be happy, productive citizens. Looking at this picture, I can confidently say this has been accomplished! HA! Actually, they are both pretty great people. I enjoy their company and they make me laugh. I love watching the two of them tease and harass each other, knowing full well, when the chips are down, they can count on each other to be there, no matter what!! I also know, I can count on them to be there for me. Lucky us.

Winning ~ Me???

I received a phone call from the Orange County Register this week and they said I had won a $100 gift card to Cost Plus World Market! Like most people, I responded with, "I never win anything!!" There is something sweeter about money won than money earned! That must be why the lights are still on in Las Vegas!!

I turned this....


Into this...

There was something so cool about strolling around, picking out things that I could get without spending my own money that made it such an adventure. Here's what I got: three bottles of wine, two with a rating of 92 points and one that had a pink pig on the label so I had to buy it, two dipping oils, two acrylic wine glasses for poolside, four stemless red wine glasses, two stemless white wine glasses, a can of salted almonds, a can of salted cashews, a bag of potato chips, gold coins for the babies, and four battery operated paper lanterns for the backyard this summer! It was the highlight of my day...maybe even my week!

Who says money (or free gift cards) can't buy happiness?!?!?!?

Something Stinks Here

My day gets started with the newspaper and a cup of coffee. It is one of my favorite rituals. In today's paper, I was struck by two articles that ran side by side. The first one was about Kate Middleton. The perfume she wore to the wedding was announced and it promptly sold out. There is a two week waiting list for people to purchase it! Really?? Are we so desperate to "be like famous people" that we will rush out to buy a perfume just because Kate wore it?? What am I missing here? Generally, perfume takes on a slightly different scent on each person who wears it. Haven't you ever noticed a friend's perfume, loved it and went to the store to try it just to have it smell like old, musty shoes on you?!?! I wonder if some of those people on the waiting list will find out the same thing.
The second story was about Marie Osmond. She got married yesterday, to her first husband that she divorced. The part that struck me as odd was that she married in the Mormon Temple! I know very little about the Mormon religion, but really? She was married to someone else in between husband number one and remarrying him. Does the temple suddenly have a revolving door out front? Did the second one not "count" and the church always considered her married to husband #1? Is she married to both of them in the eyes of the church? You know, they hold a "families are forever" theory. Did the church make an exception because she is someone famous? Should churches make exceptions? Does that make religion a buffet that you approach and pick and choose what parts you will adhere to while ignoring others? We Catholics are famous for that approach.
Do you think Marie was wearing Kate's perfume at her ceremony?
Something stinks here...

Wordless Wednesday

Self Promotion

If you look at the right side of my blog, you will find that I have added blogs that I read and follow. You may find some of them interesting. I am hoping that people who read my blog and have one of their own, will do the same and add me to their list of favorite blogs. In this age of information coming at us from every direction, it is nice to share what matters to us. Everything I write may not interest you, but it may interest someone you know. Sharing thoughts can be a powerful tool for coping with this busy world. Finding out you are not the only one who feels that way can be like lifting a weight off your shoulders. Someone once said that Facebook is really only for two things: bragging and bitching. If you scan most posts, they do seem to fall into these categories, but occasionally, I find it to be otherwise. People share fears and concerns about friends and family. Others offer thoughts and prayers as they reach out to show someone they care how they feel. With all of our differences, we humans are also very similar in our daily struggle to find joy and meaning in our lives.

Humor

"Every survival kit should include a sense of humor."
Often I wonder, when I am long dead and gone, what will the babies remember about me? Will it be that I was always around? Will it be that I cooked awesome dinners for all of them? Will it be that I loved and supported them through all their life adventures? Among all the things they may remember, I truly hope they remember I had a sense of humor. Being silly is highly underrated! People are not silly enough, in my opinion. Silly can sustain you in a way that other things cannot. In this picture, we are all being silly ~ well, except Abigail. She is being ~ well, Abigail. She has the deadliest of looks that says it's her way or the highway. She is not out to please you, but to be herself. I hope she looks back at these faces she made when she way young and realizes, she was the silliest of us all!