How time flies

Isn't it funny how you wake up in the morning with the best of intentions?

And then the day just gets away from you.

You've been busy all day and doing all kinds of things



But at the end of the night -- there isn't much to show for it

That's my day today. I haven't stopped all day and yet I haven't touched one single thing that HAS to get done today

Will the sky fall down if I don't get these things done?

It certainly could -- and yet I am still wasting time.

Okay.....time to focus and get cracking on the first of the month stuff that absolutely, postively has to get done today!

Brimming with pride

It always makes you feel good to hear that you're doing something right.

Expecially when you work so hard at it

And it consumes your life

And you're sharing the dream that your husband has always wanted

It's nice to see our customers rally together and take the time to vote us #1 in Houston

It's nice to read the wonderful things that they are posting about our business for everyone to see

We work hard and we really care about our business

We are proud of the job that we are doing

Because isn't that what we all really want -- to feel proud of our achievements?

I am unlimited

It's fun to think "If I had all the money in the world, where would I go and what would I do?" But money does not define my prosperity. My wealth is not limited to the dollars that I have in the bank.

I give thanks for the unlimited good that surrounds me. And I am happy now.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Took me awhile to write this one and I actually started it a couple of weeks ago. I would jot down a thing or two every day. As thoughts would come into my head about old memories I wanted to include in this, the more smiles I got. I'm sure you'll get a chuckle or two out of some of these things you might not have thought about in a long time.

Do you remember:
My earning a seat on the Tucson Junior Symphony. I remember you having to drive me every Saturday to that Music store on Speedway for rehearsals so that I could be a part of it and how you were disappointed when I didn't want to continue it any longer in junior high.

How about when I was so excited to call and tell you that first year that I made the songleading squad in high school. Once again, you had to cart me all over the place just so I could get to games, practices, part-time jobs or wherever I needed to go. I can remember you being in the stands at the football game cheering more for me than the action on the field.



There has been some REALLY funny things too:

That first time you took us to our first carnival and we rode this:



You were so brave until that ride started turning sideways. I turned around and saw the sheer terror on your face! I wanted the ride to hurry up and end because I knew you were so scared.

Remember playing miniature golf with the whole family and grandma that one night. We laughed so hard that we could hardly play. Needless to say......our skills were really bad that evening on the golf course!



How about the "girls only" trip to Seattle? That was SO much fun. My first airplane trip (and you are not the best flyer either) and how much we had laughing, shopping, sightseeing, and eating our favorite SEAFOOD every opportunity we could get.



Then of course there is always the life events: my getting married (well maybe one of those times you were happy), having grandchildren, and taking care of me when I was so sick. By the way -- you are still the only one that I wish was here to take care of me when I get a fever.

There are so many more memories that could be shared....but there's just not enough space to write it all down. But it's fun to remember some of the "funniest" times of our crazy family life.

Thanks for being a great mom and I hope that you have a wonderful birthday!



P.S. When you are trying to hide Christmas presents --- the worse place is under your bed (we always found them)!

Okay....I'll tell ya now

....we have no travel plans as of right this moment......but there is a tiny tiny small glimmer of a chance that we could take a short mini driving couple of days away kind of trip.



In case it hasn't been obvious -- we love to travel. We keep trying to think of ideas on how we can travel as a career and get paid. But if you heard some of the ideas we've come up with -- you'd think we were crazy. But just in case the Travel Channel is looking for a new travel TV show idea -- we are available to do a weekly show featuring a couple in their middle age looking for cheap places to stay on trips,cramming as much tourist activities as you can in a day, and how to handle being the very last flight at night arriving in a VERY deserted airport on every trip! We have become very good at becoming budget minded travelers!

So although we haven't made any plans yet -- those of you who know us well can anticipate that given a small opportunity -- we'll be off on another adventure!

Are we?

Are we going to get to take a last minute vacation this weekend?



It looks like the planets are aligning and the stores are staffed.

We're going a little crazy -- working 24/7 has worn us out and we're ready for a mini trip.



Where shall we go?

What will we do?



If Continental posts the right city for a $36 airline ticket today........we'll be gone!



So did we go or didn't we?

“let go' for i am ready to see life at its fullest and live to the best of myself, and for that reason i am now spontaneous,happy and feel whole.”

nicole gilbert

Travel keepsakes

I love to travel. I wish that I could do it a lot more than we do. Although I am fortunate that we have had many wonderful trips. I always like to bring back a keepsake from each of our trips. It brings a smile to my face when I walk through the house and see the little reminders of some of the great places we've been.

This is my reminder of our trip to Playa del Carmen. It still has the price tag of 85.00 pesos on the bottom. Wonder what I really paid for it?



My husband picked this up and wanted it on the same trip. I really didn't like it all that much when we first got it, but after it hanging in my home for awhile -- I found beauty in the intricate details of the bone carving. It proudly hangs in my living room now and reminds me of that cruise vacation.



These remind me of our trip to San Francisco. We bought them in Chinatown. Found them on a clearance table and we paid $2.97 for them. They really are beautiful and quite heavy -- we keep hoping that they are really good luck Chinese charms!



And these little items were found in an antique mall in Austin on our last trip there. We spent a couple of hours going through this huge warehouse filled with thousands of wonderful relics. Not sure why these caught my eye -- but I had to have them. I get to enjoy them everyday on the window sill above my kitchen sink.



I also love to collect a city souvenir plate and souvenir spoon for each place we visit. All of these travel keepsakes keep the memories alive of all the fun and excitement Paul and I have shared on our special trips.

I can't wait to see where our next adventure will be!

Rain and changes

Welcome rain! Isn't it wonderful how clean and fresh the world appears after a rain storm? My grass LOVES the rain -- remember back in March how brown it looked?



Wish I had the time to plant the flowers I always have had before. They would really love this rain too.

Dark, rainy, thunderstorm kind of day here in Houston. One of those kind of days to curl up with a good book and immerse yourself in the story. One of those guilty pleasures that are really hard to come by these days -- but I still have much to be grateful for.

Gonna be a rainy cloudy day in Houston today.
That means a busy night at both of the stores.
I should be really motivated since I'm locked inside all day...... but I'm really wishing I was on vacation somewhere else.

Like here:



or maybe even here.



Thank goodness we can use our minds to escape.

Ok....I'm refreshed now and ready to get back to work.

This is what I get.....

....for being a good wife



and I get this.......



and this.......



and I saved the best for last......I get this:



Thanks for the flowers honey!