What a long, strange trip it's been....

Hello, everyone! Without really meaning to, I have managed to take an almost four MONTH vacation from blogging. Completely accidental, I assure you! But, let me just review a bit of what's gone on during that time, and maybe you'll understand, and forgive me.....please?

In May, my sweet husband & I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary by going on an overnight trip. Four days later (no joke), our second child and first daughter, PWTH, got married. Be aware, I was still working full-time when all this happened. Oh, and the night of the wedding, I broke my pinkie toe - good timing!

Right after that wedding, our oldest, BBE, got engaged to his girlfriend. I can see right now that I'm going to have to come up with more nicknames for our new family members. That wedding is scheduled for November, just before Thanksgiving.

June gave us Vacation Bible School, where I again led the music rotation. Fun times!

In July, we celebrated third child, WD, birthday. Milestone: 21 years old! (I'm getting old). Around that time, it became apparent that barring a miracle, mi esposo & I were not going to have a vacation to Mexico the way we have for the past 7 years. Cue the grumpy music - I was NOT happy. Then, the miracle happened: we got a baby windfall, planned and paid for a trip, and left 2 weeks later. God is good! I still have some leftover tan and tons of memories from a great trip. The trip was in August, and we got back exactly ONE week before I went back to work.

Last weekend, we took our youngest child, HRH, back for her sophomore year of college. We walked into a mostly empty house and realized that we WERE on the road for the long-awaited empty nest.

To say the summer FLEW by is an understatement. To say I accomplished anything substantial would be a LIE! But relaxation was had by most, parties happened (more to come), and a good time was had by all, I think.

Coming soon to a blog near you (right here): updates on the wedding festivities, anniversary trips, birthday parties, AND a DaySpring review. See you soon, and thanks for sticking with me!

I LOVE Dayspring!!!!

Latest & greatest update: our winner has responded, and has been sent the code. Random.org chose comment #8, Suz and Allan, and they are now the blessed recipients. Thanks to everyone for participating in my giveaway; I hope that there will be lots more to come!

Update: Our little friend, random.org, has chosen a winner. I am in the process of notifying them by email; once they have responded, I will post the name.

Boy, do I LOVE Dayspring products! About a month ago, I was given the chance to review another product from these wonderful people, so of course I signed up. I got to review some of their Mr. & Mrs. line back in February, so I jumped at the chance to do it again. I wasn't sure which thing I'd get, but I knew it would be from their Ornate Metal collection. Lo & behold, last week, the UPS man delivered my "present!" It was this gorgeous metal tray, that I instantly fell in love with.
Let me tell you, peeps, this thing is SOLID. According to Dayspring, it weighs about 4.5 pounds, which is not too heavy, unless, of course, it's loaded with books. But why anyone would cover this tray with books is beyond me.... just sayin'. The entire tray (with handles) is about 20" by 12," and is NOT appropriate for direct contact with food. I'd be afraid to ruin the finish (or the flavor) anyway. It's a beautiful, antique-y tray with this deep engraving in the bottom that makes me smile every time I look at it. What will I use it for? Making me smile, of course!

The best part is the cross in the middle. When we bought & moved into this house eight years ago, we started putting crosses up - big ones on the walls, little ones above light switches, medium ones above bathroom lavatories, you get the idea. My Sunday School kids have been helping me out - every Christmas, I get at least one cross that I get to put up somewhere. I love that!

The retail price for the tray is $29.99, but right now, Dayspring's got their Ornate Metal collection on sale, so it's selling for $17.99. Deal! Plus, for this entire month, use the coupon code May20 and get 20% MORE off. Of course, you will still have to pay shipping costs, which is $6.45 if you only get this tray. BUT, if you spend $50, shipping is FREE! So, get busy, and go shopping!

Here's the fun part: Dayspring has gifted me with a $20 coupon code to give away to one lucky reader. I'd love to give it to you! Leave a comment on this post, telling me which wonderful thing you'd love to get from Dayspring, and you're entered! If you're already a follower, leave me another comment for another entry. All entries must be received by Sunday, May 15 at 6:00 Central Daylight Time, after which I will draw a winner using random.org. I'll notify the winner by email, so make sure it's listed somewhere. The winner will have 24 hours to respond, or I'll have to choose another entry. Don't let that happen! Love me, love my Dayspring! Y'all have a great day!

(Lawyer's Chorus: The Feds require me to tell you that I received this tray in exchange for writing this review. No money changed hands. The opinions are mine. If I hated the tray, I'd tell you, but I don't!)

Mother Day

Yes, I know, theres really an "s" after mother, but I'm not sure if it's 's, or s' so I left it off entirely! I'm strong that way.

Happy Mother Day to all of you! Even if you're not a mother yet, you still had one. It's like they say, "Everyone's got a mother." Good, bad, or indifferent ones, we all have one. Here on earth, still causing you grief (it's what we do best you know), or in Heaven (REALLY causing you grief). So celebrate the fact that someone gave birth to you. Celebrate the beautiful Spring weather (I hope). Celebrate life!!!!

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart..."
Jeremiah 1:5

And it's not even Sunday yet!

WHAT a weekend of ups and downs! Today is my youngest child's 19th birthday - HUZZAH!! She and her sister were coming in from the colleges they attend 200 miles away, to spend the weekend here, having a picnic, eating good food, and blowing out candles. Yesterday afternoon, we started getting phone calls from them - the weekend was falling apart because older sister, PWTH, couldn't get her shift covered for the weekend. So they stayed at college. We even went so far as to look into going over THERE to see her today, but decided not to go for a 24-hour jaunt. I did send her some pretty flowers, which cheered her up immensely this morning.

Later in the morning, she called me back to say that she was feeling oh-so-sick: 102 fever, headache, stiff/sore neck, lower back-ache. Enter mom's panic button! Her sister the saint drove the 45 minutes to take her first to a pharmacy with a nurse practitioner, then to an urgent/quick care facility. Once there, they had to wait on blood work to rule out all kinds of stuff like flu, strep, MENINGITIS. The doctor is pretty sure that she's got mono, which isn't fun, for sure, but it certainly beats meningitis.

Meanwhile, back home, mom was gathering together essentials, in case we had to hit the road to admit her to a hospital. Once the final phone call came, I could settle down and "enjoy" the remaining hour of the afternoon. All this to say, Happy Birthday to my sweet little bit, HRH!

Her Royal Highness, with her sister, then (above) and now (below). HRH is on the left in both pictures, and PWTH is on the right. I see absolutely no family resemblance, do you?

HELP Me!

Update: there is now a much smaller sized button to the right of my post, which makes me feel ever so much better. (thanks for the encouragement, Kami!) But I still haven't been able to create a "grab a button link" so the cry for help is still out there!

Bear with me, sports fans. I'm in the midst of trying to add my own button and a "grab a button" link to my blog and it's. not. working.!!!! I can't get the picture sized small enough to "fit" within the sides of the template. I changed the template, which made it look a little better (wasn't cutting off my button so much), but the button's HUGE. Not the way it needs to look. If ANYone has some suggestions to help me, I welcome them. Obviously the code I'm using is OK, as the picture is showing up, but I can't get PhotoBucket to resize the picture so I don't look like a megalomaniac. (it's a good word. look it up)

Anyone? Anyone?

True Story

Yes, it's true. The last time I was in Paris was one year ago today. You have no idea how much I miss it. The food, the music, the clothes. All these French women, slinking around in black. I may as well be in Manhattan, but the French did it first. Flying over on the Concorde, I made the trip in just over three hours, with champagne in my glass all the way. Which, of course, made going through Customs a rather surreal experience, but I digress.

You may ask me, why Paris? The answer's easy - Cancun has gotten way too familiar. THe thought of sitting on the beach there makes me yawn. Ho hum. So, Paris. The food's better; the travel time's shorter; the scenery's different.

Next year, why don't you join me? I'll be there, at the little cafe across from the Eiffel tower, having my cafe au lait and croissant for breakfast. See ya!















P. S. Check the date :)

Beware the Ides of March

Sigh. If only Julius Caesar had heeded the warnings, he'd be here with us today. OK, maybe not - he'd be forever old, and who wants to see a forever-old guy in a toga!

This is a momentous day for another reason: it's the birthday of my mother-in-law. Once I finally gelled on the fact that her birthday was the Ides of March, I managed to remember it. She's no longer with us; she went to Heaven nine years ago to join her husband. But it's always good to honor and remember your in-laws for one simple reason: they brought your spouse into the world.

I've often joked that on the day I was born, my husband was created - we're nine-months-ish apart, so it sounds good. I just went back & looked at that year's calendar, and he was born 36 weeks and 2 days after I was born. So, it's entirely possible that God reached down and literally created, him for me, on the day I was born. Gotta love Jeremiah 1:5 - "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart."

If it hadn't been for Helen Louise, I wouldn't have my soul mate; my love-for-life. Thank you, Mom.