Things that Make Me Happy

I've been tagged by Christella at Meandering Moody Memories to list 10 things that make me happy.  I recently discovered her blog - she is an extraordinary woman who writes about her life that has been filled with such rich experiences- she is well worth checking out!
I'm finding it difficult to limit myself to only 10 things, as these days I am incredibly blessed and content with a wonderful life...I'm not rich with material things, but am a gazillionaire when it comes to the things that I count as important!  Finding the world of blogging has to be added to my list somewhere, even if it makes my list longer than 10...although I've only been at it a short time, my life has been so enriched by those that I have "met"...sharing and encouraging, laughing and crying...good days and not-so-good days...it's wonderful to share my life with you, and thank you for sharing yours with me!

So here goes:

1.  Sitting on my back steps with a fresh cup of coffee in the morning, watching the sky wake up!
2.  Playing with my watercolors...and watching something come into existence that was previously only held within my mind....
3.  Splashing in rain puddles...I love the fact that part of me is still a little kid...and that I have had plenty of puddles to splash in lately!
4.  Long, hot showers...This is where I do my best thinking....
5.  Working with children and young people...they always teach me so much more than I teach them!
6.  Travel - I'd be hard-pressed to choose which makes me happier - the planning and researching a trip, or actually taking the trip...there is so much out there in the world that excites me and that I want to experience...to see the sights, smell the smells, taste the tastes, hear the different languages...right now, I'm planning a trip to Italy next July with my dear sister...her first trip abroad....we've already purchased our tickets to hear Andrea Bocelli in Tuscany!  I hear Paris calling me....maybe I can squeeze in a few days in my favorite city along the way!
7.  My daughter and her family......I could go on and on about this....
8.  Good food, good wine and good friends are a combination that fills my cup!
9.  The ocean...the smell of the air, the feel of the sand and the sound of the waves....never fails to make me smile!
10.  School....I am one of the few people that I know who has had the opportunity to be living their dream! I rather expect that I will be taking classes for as long as I am able...whether or not they lead to a degree....I love to learn!t ing
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6.  Meandering Moody Memories

It's Almost Over....

...my undergraduate coursework, that is!  Yep, I started my LAST SEMESTER this week....slogged through the rainy days to the classrooms.......AND talked my favorite math professor into allowing me to add to her class (and thereby dropping the mean math professor's class)...I only had to promise to help her grade her homework and tests from a lower-division math course (I was prepared to offer her my next-born grandchild)!  Just think...in May, I'll be one of many "gowned up" for commencement exercises...I wasn't going to participate, and then realized that I had earned it.....so, I'll be "walking" with the masses, and enjoying every second of it!  

....then on the the Credential Program...can you tell I'm excited?

Sick....

Arrgh!  Just when I thought that I was going to escape the flu season unscathed, it hit.  And I'm miserable....I don't do sick well - at all.  I'm in the FOURTH day of this junk, and have had enough!  School starts again for me on Tuesday - I'd better be better by then!  I have to stop and put it into perspective before I go stark raving mad....I know that there is an end to his, and that I could have it much worse.  So I'm stopping the complaining and starting to be grateful that it's JUST the flu and nothing more serious.

On a lighter note, I got some pics from Emma's 3rd birthday party...still haven't found the cable to my camera, but got these from Elizabeth....it was a lot of work putting it together, but so much fun!  I'm so glad that we get to do these things together!  My daughter has such a creative flair that I am in awe of her....I just show up and do the crafty and cooking things at her instruction...It was a Pink Princess Tea Party to be remembered!  I just wonder how she is going to top it for next year!

The Pink Princess Cake - Strawberry cake, of course!

Pink Macaroni & Cheese

Cupcakes

Food table

Front Door

Front Porch

Tea Party Set - One of many!

Back Deck

Driving her Barbie car...thanks Grandpa!

Decorating teapot cookies

Even the boys dressed up for the party!

A good friend even dressed for the occasion and did a story book reading!

And the kids loved it!

The birthday girl...

Baby Sister Ashlyn in matching outfit!

And a good time was had by all!

It's Been One of Those Days....

......I learned how to fix my broken toilet........it only took three trips to the hardware store.

I did laundry......and left the lid off of the liquid detergent when I went to answer the phone.....the cat jumped up on the machine and knocked down the open detergent bottle onto the floor....long story short, my laundry area's floor is so clean that you CAN eat off of it!

I'm working on a birthday project for Emma, who turns 3 next week.  She's a "girly girl" who loves ballet, princesses and the color pink.  I have an old, antique doll crib that I bought when Elizabeth was the same age....I never did get around to doing anything with it.  I dragged it out of the garage, disassembled the pieces, and am in the middle of painting them white.  I am also sewing bed linens for the crib......using the same fabrics that Elizabeth used for Emma's bed.

Am I struggling?  You betcha!  It's been YEARS since I've sewn....and my fingers are not as nimble as they used to be....I've tussled with my sewing machine, and the comforter is almost finished (just a bit of hand sewing to do)!  Next up was the "mattress"....I had the brilliant idea to lay cotton batting over the piece of wood that comprises the bottom of the crib, cover it with fabric and to staple it to the underside of the wood piece.  Good idea in theory, but I got something totally different than I expected when I finished the stapling part.....

I tried to pick it up from the dining room table......it wouldn't move.....(my closest friends will not be surprised by this...) I HAD STAPLED IT TO THE TABLE! ... and although I took pictures, I now can't find the cable to connect to my camera to download them to my computer!

 I don't care what time it is.....I think I'm finished for the day and am going to pour myself a glass of wine!

They're Gone.....

I woke up this morning all on my own....no thundering of little feet down the wood-floored hallway toward my room accompanied by a voice calling "Grammy, are you awake"?

It's been a wonderful Christmas....different than years past, because I have changed...and that is SUCH a good thing! I'm not saying that I didn't struggle...because I did...and shed tears in mourning what had been in the past.....BUT, in letting go of what had been, I was able to embrace what will be....and my heart is full.

Christmas Eve was difficult.....I wanted to have everyone here with ME....so I cried, and then hightailed it to church for a fabulous candlelight service......to a church new to me, but I had been invited by a fellow (20 year-old) classmate who has the voice of an angel.....and I thought of the angels singing when our Lord was born.....and I sang Him the Happy Birthday song that my Dad and I had sung together on Christmas Eve for so many years....I was so blessed!

Christmas morning began with tears again.....no one was here to share it with me....and I struggled with the waiting until my family arrived.....and it was good.  AND, I decided to go to David's family for dinner that evening....I made Martha Stewart's macaroni & cheese.....they all loved it, and I totally enjoyed myself!  There's something to be said about being a guest rather than a hostess!  I could get used to this...

Boxing Day was fabulous....I had my nearest and dearest here for dinner...and I kept it simple.....good food, good friends, lots of laughs!  I got to have my granddaughters for the next evening and day...along with the 14-week old puppy!  We all piled into my bed for a reading party...puppy included....chaos reigned supreme, but a good time was had by all....

Everyone left yesterday afternoon.....it was a bittersweet moment for me....times have changed....I have changed.....and the time together was ENOUGH....I am older and slower, but also older and wiser.... I am in the process of cleaning up from the debris and detrius left from my family's visit.....AND, I woke up this morning to find two raisins left over from our reading party stuck on the side of my face!

My Cup is Filled to Overflowing....

I feel as if I've already had my Christmas....the day itself will just be the icing on the cake! I got my grades....all A's and one B (in a silly science lab class that was a waste of time - and my attitude towards the class is definitely reflected in my grade).....yes, I got an A in the dreaded math class!  I am now a firm believer in the saying "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear".  I was ready to face my dreaded math demon, and had one of the best professors that I have experienced in my college career....I GOT IT!  Took a lot of hard work, but I GOT IT!  And, she WANTS ME TO BE A MATH TUTOR!  Who'd have thought it?  And yes, I will do it......if I can help just one person "get it", tutoring will be worthwhile!

My daughter, son in law and granddaughters (and new puppy, Judah) arrived last night.  I was ready for them!  We had homemade spaghetti for dinner - the sauce had been simmering on the stove all day, and was delicious.  Emma decided that she wanted to sleep "in Grammy's bed", so I had a little warm body next to me all night.  I had both girls to myself in the morning, as we let Mommy and Daddy sleep in for a bit.  Liz and Dave had gift shopping to do, so they took Ashlyn with them.  Emma and I stayed home and baked cookies.  We put on our aprons and mixed and splashed our hearts out!  While the cookies were baking, we took turns putting on song and dance shows for each other, interspersed with playtime in the back yard with the puppy and tricycle riding. We finished up the cookies after nap time - Emma was asleep before her head hit the pillow!

I am on my own tonight....the kids are all out to dinner with Dave's family.  I'm sitting in my jammies and sipping a nice glass of wine while listening to Andrea Bocelli's Christmas album.  The last batch of cookies is baking in the oven.  This year, I've stuck to my goal of keeping it simple, and it's working.  I am not frantic or stressed out - quite the opposite!  The kids will be here until tomorrow sometime, when they will leave to go to Elizabeth's dad and stepmother's for Christmas Eve.  They'll spend the night with Dave's family.  Before they leave, the girls will open their traditional Christmas jammies packages from me....this year, matching sets of red bottoms, white tops with a red snowflake, and red tutus.  Emma will be beside herself.  Me, I'll be home listening to Christmas music in my jammies and eating Chinese food (a family Christmas Eve tradition).  I'll go to church for a candlelight service, remembering my Dad. No matter what the song was, at some time during the service, he would break out with "Happy Birthday", and the two of us would sing our hearts out to Baby Jesus. (My Mom would just roll her eyes....)   I'll probably sing Happy Birthday this year, for the first time since I lost Dad.

The kids will come back Christmas morning for breakfast and gifts........they'll leave again to go to Dave's family for Christmas dinner.  I'm invited, but am not sure what I am going to do.  I kind of like the idea of sitting in my jammies with Christmas music and a glass of wine......I'll decide when the time comes!  I'm hosting a "Boxing Day" dinner on the 26th....with my nearest and dearest friends......

I'm just loving this new freedom....no self-imposed "shoulds".....I'm taking each moment as it comes and enjoying it to the max!  Simple is the way to go.....and we have the perfect example of that when we think of that baby that was born in a plain, unadorned manger......food for thought!    

Merry Christmas to all, and may your day be all that you hope it to be!

I'm Feelin' It......Finally!

My finals are finally finished.....now I just have to wait for the grades.  I'd love to settle down for a long winter's nap, but Christmas is almost here and it's time to get cracking!  My poor house has suffered throughout the semester ....it definitely needs lots of TLC.  Presents have been purchased, but are waiting to be wrapped.  Decorations are still in their boxes, waiting to be displayed.  Cookie ingredients are waiting to be mixed and baked.  Spending time with dear friends at parties and dinners is on the agenda. There is enough time to get it all done!  No stressing this year - I'm keeping it simple, and gonna love every minute of the season!