Happy Birthday Dad!

I have recently begun to realize how quickly the years slip by and that we spend too much time looking ahead and that we don't slow down enough to reflect on what got us here. Too often we take the past for granted and don't take the time to say thank you to the people that helped shape who you are. Dad, I can't thank you enough for what you have taught me.

You convinced me (against my will) that kids need rules. Our household was stricter than some but we benefited from the structure.

You let me know (on several occasions) that my curfews were not flexible. To this day I call if I am going to be late, but more importantly, I try not to be late and get where I am supposed to on time.

You taught us not to be wasteful, to be honest, truthful, and to have a good work ethic. I am happy to report that I have lived up to those expectations.

And although we had a lot of rules that I highly objected to, I am most appreciative for the love and reasoning behind all of those rules. When I look at my siblings I see a family whose members are responsible, hardworking, and successful. Not many families can claim this -- but we were fortunate to have a leader who instilled these values into us.

Although I can't be with you on this particular birthday -- please remember that my heart, my spirit and my love are with you today. Thank you for being a great father to us all (even those adopted) and have a very happy birthday!

Impatience

We all have something to work on.
This is mine.
Patience is my worst quality.

I could never do projects, because I didn't want to go through all the steps necessary to get to the end.
I just wanted to get to the finished project.
I was too impatient.

I am impatient with people who go too slow and get in my way when I'm in a hurry.

I'm impatient with people who might need an extra moment to think about something when I already know what the answer is.

I even get impatient with people who are demonstrating impatience, especially when I have already made the decision to be patient at that particular moment.

So today.....I'm practicing patience.
It's going to be a LONG day!

I'm going crazy

I'm overwhelmed. Not just a little bit......but a HUGE amount. I am behind in everything in my life that needs to be taken care of. Each day begins by organizing the piles and working on the things that are SCREAMING for attention that day and have to be done. The housework is behind, the business work is behind, and personal issues that I need to tend to are behind. I get up early each day and go to bed late each night and yet there is no relief in sight.

A vacation is needed -- but no time for that right now, because I'M BEHIND! I need to hire a secretary, a housekeeper, and a personal assistant -- applications now being accepted.

Okay -- time to face the piles another day.

Where am I?

Hi there....it's been a long time! Are you looking for me?



Here I am!

Things have been busy......

I'll be back soon!

The fruits of Spring

Yesterday at the grocery store they had a great price on fresh strawberries. Isn't it a wonderful thing when you can go from this:



To this:



And, finally to this:



I don't think there's anything more to say about this other than..............YUMMY!

What a Fabulous Week!

What a great week this has been!

Monday: Won 4 tickets to Sea World - San Antonio. Yippeeee.....a mini vacation to look forward to!



Tuesday: Did an e-mail special to our customer's trying to boost business on usually slow Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Wow....what a great response we had!



Wednesday: Bought a lotto ticket hoping to win the big one. I won!!!.......$3.00.



Thursday: Was interviewed for an article spotlighting Pizza Zone in the Constant Contact (e-mail marketing company we use). Newsletter will be sent out to over 600,000 people. Will be e-mailed on April 20th.



Friday: Just found an article in this month's Pizza Monthly Quarterly with comments from us concerning our security system at Pizza Zone! If you are interested: www.pmq.com/digital/201004/54.html



I can't wait until next week!

"Each day is a new canvas to paint upon. Make sure your picture is full of life and happiness, and at the end of the day you don't look at it and wish you had painted something different." -- Author Unknown

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!