Happy 13th to us!

Okay, I know you've all been waiting with baited breath to find out where the BIG & SECRET anniversary celebration was........(drum roll please)..........Galveston!

Now it's not exactly the beaches in Hawaii, California, or Florida....but it's close, it's quaint, and it's the best we could do with the time that we had!

Since this was a secret trip planned by me -- Paul woke up Monday (March 22) morning to his bags already packed and a secret envelope containing the unknown details of our trip.



Inside the envelope contained an itinerary of where we were going and the choices of things that we could do once we got there. I drove the car and didn't tell him where we were headed. He had the option to open the envelope whenever he wished -- he actually waited until we were going south on the freeway and the only place left to go was the southern end of the United States!



Rather than bore you with all the silly details of everything we did on the trip......several of the things we did do were listed on the itinerary.

The hotel was FABULOUS!! We stayed on the harbor side of Galveston (instead of the usual seawall hotels facing the Gulf). It was an old converted warehouse right in the middle of the harbor area, near the historic Galveston downtown Strand shopping district, near fantastic restaurants, and near several of the museums we wanted to visit. The room was comfy, nautical, FANTASTIC view, and perfect for a little romantic getaway. We highly recommend staying here if you visit Galveston.



Our room was second floor, second window from the dock.

Our trip was spent doing several leisurely activities - like watching a giant chess game in the Galveston strand district.



Enjoying our breakfast of bagels and croissants while enjoying the view out our window.



Watching a really BIG ship being pushed around by two very small tug boats. It was fun to watch all the different activities that occurred on a daily basis at the Galveston Harbor.




What a great way to celebrate our great marriage! Thanks to my wonderful husband for giving me such an interesting and different life. Every day with you is a journey and we never know from one minute to the next what we'll be doing, but it's always fun (well not always).

The next surprise trip is his to plan.....I think he might have a tough act to follow. I can hardly wait!

I have A.A.A.D.D.

I received this in a recent e-mail. I would have laughed at it, but it seriously describes a typical day in my life. Thought I would share.........
___________

Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study,
so I go inside the house to my desk where
I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Pepsi aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over..

The Pepsi is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and
discover my reading glasses that
I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk,
but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter,
fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I'll be looking for the remote,
but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table,
so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on to the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do..

At the end of the day:

the car isn't washed
the bills aren't paid
there is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter
the flowers don't have enough water,
there is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can't find the remote,
I can't find my glasses,
and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day, and I'm really tired.

Happy Birthday Penny!

On March 17, 1963.....my mom blessed me with a little sister. Even though I was only five years old, I can still remember the phone call my mom made to us at home announcing the great news. I remember the discussion we had on why we couldn't call her Debbie....I was so disappointed, but my mother pointed out that if she had two Debbie's we would never know which one she was calling. So we called her Penny. Growing up we always had to share a room, but there was always an age difference that put me ahead of her in a different school, so we never really had the chance to hang out.



But then we both entered adulthood and that changed everything. She was there when I was in the labor and delivery room trying to have my first son and she was the official photographer when I had my second son. In fact, she was a BIG part in naming my second son! I shared in the joy when she gave birth to her daughter and I came and visited her when she was hospitalized waiting to give birth to her son (I actually snuck her in junk food).

We have shared so many fun lunches (eating tacos), laughing about our crazy family, and sharing the joys and sorrows of raising our children. Unfortunately, most of that ended when I moved to Texas. But I truly miss spending time with her!

Now my sister has raised two wonderful kids, has a great husband, and is the best hostess in the world. She always makes us feel welcome when we visit and the time we've spent apart seems to melt away when we get together and laugh about the good times!



So on this special day, I want my sister to know how much I love her and glad that she's part of my life (albeit 1000 miles away). I look forward to sharing many more memories with you!



Thank you mom and dad for giving me such a crazy sister!

There is no better friend than a sister. And there is no better sister than you. ~Author Unknown

The joys of March

Like the previous 10 times we have lived in this house during the month of March, the leaves are falling off of the oak tree in the front yard. It looks more like Fall out there than Spring, but it happens EVERY time in March.

Since today is the first day of Daylight Savings Time (I love Daylight Savings Time), a warm and sunny 80 degrees outside, and an urge to get out and do something -- I decided to rake the leaves in the front yard. Last weekend the yard guys had the task, and they got three bags of leaves. Since they aren't coming again until next Saturday -- I decided that I would take care of it myself this weekend.

With rake in hand, I proceeded to rake up over 6 piles of leaves.



It always feels like a monumentous task when the breeze is blowing and you sit and watch the leaves continue to fall off the tree. I always hope that they are landing in one of my many piles.



But thankfully the trees are full of budding new baby leaves and it looks like only 40% of the "old" leaves are left to fall -- so maybe only one more weekend of cleaning up leaves. Of course, I always of lots of help to do my chores around here...and today was no exception!



Of course, the final reward is the "trophy" of the job well done and finished! (Don't look too closely at the grass -- next weekend will be the big job to fertilize the grass and kill the weeds!)



Next lesson will be about the yellow pollen that coats every car in Houston twice a year!

Spring fever

"Every spring is the only spring - a perpetual astonishment" ~Ellis Peters

After one of the coldest and rainiest winters I have ever experienced in 12 years of living in Houston -- these last 4 days of warm air and sunshine have been so welcome.

I love Spring. It is by far my most favorite season. The biggest reason is because of the warmer spring months (I don't like cold weather....one of the biggest reasons I live in the southern part of the United States). But also watching the brown lawns turning green and needing mowed again, the bare trees getting their leaves back, the beautiful flowers that are being planted in flower beds all over the city, and the tall weeds trying to grow in my grass!



These wonderful warm first days of Spring are not good for motivating me to stay inside my dark cave-like office and get work done. Instead, I want to be out driving in the car with the top down, the warm sun shining on me, and the temperature outside neither too hot nor too cold......what a perfect way to spend the day! Also, a wonderful time to spend the day planting flowers, sprucing up the yard, or trying to lay that brick walkway I've been trying to get done for a year now!



Spring seems like the reward for enduring the dreary days of winter. Spring in Texas means the Bluebonnets will soon be blooming.



I love Spring!

I'm Back!

After printing over 1000 doorhangers front and back; licking, stamping, stuffing, and folding letters for over 2000 envelopes; doing several months of bank statements and credit card statements -- I'm back!

Still have more to do to get caught up, but I did make a dent in some of it. The best part is that we are seeing some results from all our latest marketing efforts. We've just recently hired a new manager for the new store (last one got terminated) and he's motivated to assist us with marketing duties.

Looks like things are on track right now and that's a good feeling. Paul and I will be celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary on March 24th and we are going to take a couple of days and just do something for ourselves. Due to time (not being gone from the stores) and finances, we are not travelling far and we are lucky to live in a HUGE state with lots of places to visit.

I would tell you where we are going.....but it's a secret. In fact, it's such a secret that Paul doesn't even know. We've always wanted to take turns planning a secret trip -- so this is our first one (Our secret trips involve taking each other.....I guess politicians plan their secret trips differently, or so I hear). So I've been up late at night planning our romantic getaway and am excited about the itinerary. All the details and reservations are in place, but you'll have to come back after March 24th to find out where we went!

March 10, 1989

When I was taking my shower this morning thinking about what needed to be done, what day of the week it was, and then what date of the month it was - March 10 sure had a familiar ring to it and it took me a second to remember why. 21 years ago my first mother-in-law, Mary Lynam, passed away. So today I feel like I should remember her and share memories of her. She died when my kids were little and their memories are hard to remember.

Mary was a special person to her friends and family. She always put her family first and went over and above to take care of each of us. She was always the one person that joined every committee, went to every PTO meeting, and was volunteering to help anywhere she was needed. Not many days would go by when you'd walk into the house and not smell some delicious dinner or dessert she had been cooking that day.

We had gotten off to a little bit of a rocky start when I first married her son, but after having my first child, she and I developed a close mother-daughter bond. She was the first person I would call if the kids were sick and I needed advice. She had wanted to be a grandmother more than anything, and she certainly loved and spoiled those grandkids. The greatest compliment I had ever received from her was that I was doing a great job taking care of the kids. As a single mother, I was responsible for everything and I really felt proud that I was doing a good job in her eyes. I had always held her standards high as I watched her take care of children. So when she passed away, I felt truly sad. Sad that she was going to miss those grandbabies growing up, getting married, and having children. But mostly sad because she missed out on all those bedtime stories, warm hugs, sticky kisses, and "I Love You's" -- because these were the things I know she cherished the most.



Though we didn't know it then, this was the last Christmas that we would spend with her. We had made plans to have Grandma and Grandpa stay the night with us so they would be there first thing in the morning for Christmas Day. Before we put the kids to bed on Christmas Eve, she sat down and read them the Night Before Christmas. This is one of my most favorite photos of her and the boys.

So today Mary, this tribute is for you to let you know how much you were truly loved by all. We sure have missed you and I still hope that you think I did a great job!

My Code of Silence

Okay....I admit it.....I am MAJORLY behind in some of my Pizza Zone tasks. So far behind in fact, that there are REALLY important things that I need to get done for the accountant to do taxes, and I can't even get to that work yet. I know my time is running out.....so I've had to take a vow.

I cannot blog

I cannot read other people's blogs

I cannot post on Facebook or read Facebook (unless I'm posting for business purposes)

I cannot check the Continental website seeing what "last minute" tickets they have (I don't have the time nor the finances to go anywhere right now anyways)

I cannot do anything distracting other than 125% committment toward completing my secretarial duties

So, don't think I've finally fallen off the edge of the earth.....I'll be back just as soon as there are less piles to walk around in the office!

Memories....like the corners of my mind

Memories.....we all have them. "A moment lasts all of a second, but the memory lives on forever". So true and sometimes the simplest item will trigger a memory.

Who would think that this could conjure up a memory.....but it did!



I can remember being 12 years old in the 7th grade. We were living in New York at the time and I can remember Saturday was always grocery shopping day. Now if we were good and my mother was lenient that day -- we got a little individual sized box of Cheezits (19 cents per box). What a big deal it was to get that little box of crackers, because we didn't get those kind of treats very often. So as I ate a little plate of them this morning I remembered back to how good they tasted when I was 12 and how I looked forward to that grocery trip each week.

Another treasured memory from childhood is when I see a drive-in movie theater. Not many of those left around anymore, but they certainly have provided lots of memories before those mega theaters took over.



Going to the drive-in movies consisted of my mom making a big brown grocery bag full of popcorn she made fresh on the stove (way before microwave popcorn bags). We'd grab a few of those small bottles of coke and the five of us would pile into whatever vehicle my dad had brought home from the car lot that day. Of course Tucson summers in the backseat of a car with your brother and sister sometimes wasn't the best of conditions, but we did is somewhat obediently. Although we did have to constantly duck our heads around our parents heads so that we could see the screen. Needless to say, the kid in the middle always had the best view of the screen! Intermission not only brought those quirky boxes of popcorn and paper cups of Coke dancing with each other -- but gave us the opportunity to go to the snack bar and get an ice cream sandwich and a trip to the restroom.

So many memories to share, but we'll save some for another time!