Elmo Birthday Party

I recently went to California to celebrate my grandson's 2nd birthday.  It had been a few months since I've seen my son and his family and it was a long anticipated trip.  When my daughter-in-law picked me up at the airport, my grandson was looking at me from the back seat of the car and said, "Nana".  It sure made me smile. :)  I got in the car and gave him a big hug and a kiss, and a present, and couldn't take my eyes off him the whole way home.

Here is my grandson watching Elmo on his daddy's phone. 

I was there to see my grandson get his first haircut.  Needless to say, it was not a pleasant experience for him! 

After the haircut, we went out for dinner and my grandson got to ride the train at the mall.

My son's a video game producer and one day soon, his son will be playing this game with him. We went to my son's work one day and my grandson loves to ride the elevator when he gets there.  As soon as he stepped off the elevator he started calling...daddy...daddy...daddy!  He got everyone's attention as they looked out of their offices and said 'Hi' to him.  Every corner he turned and down every hall, he called for his daddy. It was so cute.  My son said he heard him as soon as we got off the elevator.  

Party time!  You should have seen his face when my daughter-in-law came home with the Elmo birthday cake and balloons.  He was bursting with excitement!

He loves Elmo!

I love this little guy!  He's such a happy, good-natured little boy. 

We went for a hike up Mt. Burdell.  There were some incredible views up there.

Can't wait til the next time!

More of Chicago

I don't always post about my trips back to Chicago, and since my last trip was pretty much the same as the others, I will not say too much, and just leave you with a few select pictures.  I did get to see my awesome friend from high school, who lives in CA now, and was also visiting her daughter in Chicago.  Other than that, I was spending a lot of time with my daughter and my mom, which is what brings me back to Chicago so often.

I love looking out the window when I fly.  I will never be one of those people who choose the aisle seat.  How boring!  There's so much beauty to see, and every time it's just as amazing to me.  I always think of things while I'm looking down at the cities and small towns below.  I think of all the people living their lives in what is such a big world down there, and how miniscule they all seem from up in the sky. 

We went out one night and saw Vince Vaughn at the Hubbard Inn.  He was so close we actually made eye contact.  I could have had an awesome photo of him but my daughter wouldn't let me get out my camera.  She said, "Waaaiiittt, you can get one later".  Then in a split second his whole clan was gone!  I did manage to sneak this picture when no one was looking.

My practice plank, before I do the real thing (and I will, too!).

Trump Tower

I got up early the next day to watch the Chicago Marathon.  My daughter didn't run this year, but I still wanted to see it.  I am always amazed and inspired to see the perseverance of these athletes.

While I was watching the runners, I looked to my left and saw this advertisement.  They are all over Chicago.  It always brings a HUGE smile to my face because my son produces this video game, and I am SO proud of him!

Mom and I went out for a drive and I stopped in the road to take this picture.  Oh, I was careful to make sure no one was coming behind us!  Mom and I were engulfed in falling leaves and it brought us a moment of sheer delight.

Who can resist taking yet another picture of Lake Michigan?  I can't! 

My daughter and I had a nice evening walk along the lake.  The weather the whole time I was there was gorgeous.  I couldn't have asked for anything better.  

Since I didn't get this picture in my previous Halloween post, I wanted to post it now, because I think my daughter did an excellent job of putting together this Black Swan costume.  She looked great!

Have You Ever Been Touched By a Homeless Person?

I went to Walmart the other day, looking for toys for my grandchildren for Christmas.  I walked out of the store empty-handed.  I couldn’t find what I was looking for, and I was upset with myself for wasting my time going there.  I don't like this particular Walmart (even though I love Walmart stores in general), and I normally avoid it at all costs.  When I left the store, my daughter called out to me from the parking lot.  She had just gotten there to pick up a few things after work.  I was surprised to see her there and I walked over to her car where we talked for a few minutes.  Then I went back to my car and drove off. 

As I was leaving the parking lot I noticed a homeless woman walking along the edge of the lot, pushing a grocery cart filled about half way up with her belongings.  She was dirty. and everything in her cart was dirty.  She had on pants and a coat and a hood over her head, even though the temperature was in the 70’s.  I could see her eyes and they looked so sad. I don’t believe she made eye contact with me.  It was as if she was in her own little world, a desolate world, where nobody paid any attention to her, or her to them. 

My heart went out to this woman.  There was something about her that touched me.  My heart sank, and I knew I had to do something.  I couldn't just drive off and ignore her.  She looked like she was around my mom’s age.  But I could've been totally wrong.  She may have only been my age, but her hard life aged her.  I watched her walk in my rear view mirror and she walked so wobbly and weak.  Her knees were turning inward.  I turned my car around and drove up a little bit and parked so I could observe her, wanting so bad to help her.  She reached down and picked up something and then picked up something else.  I don’t know if it was a can or what it was.  Then she sat down on the curb and put her head in her lap.  That did it for me.  Seeing her do that brought tears to my eyes...it just broke my heart. 

I reached into my purse and pulled out three dollars, and I slowly drove up to her, thinking about what I was going to say.  I rolled the passenger window down and I called out to her and said, “Ma am, do you need any help?”  She stood up and approached my car and I could see her face well, with dirt between the wrinkles of her weathered skin.  I once again saw those sad looking eyes.  She said, “Where are we going?”  It looked like she was going to open my car door.  I said, "We aren’t going anywhere, I was just wondering if you needed anything.”  She said, “Do you know where the races are?  Are we going to the races?”  I knew she had some mental issues when she went on to say, “Is this a race car?  Are you a race car driver?”  I said no.  I asked her again if she needed any help and she backed away and started to sit on the curb again, almost like she was defeated in that I wasn't going to take her to the races, and then she said, “I could use a dollar.”  I said here, and I held out the 3 dollars, as she stood up and approached my car and reached her right hand in to take the money. 

I could swear it looked like she wanted to touch my hand.  I noticed her old, wrinkled hand was filthy, with dirt between her long fingernails.  I almost thought she was going to grab my hand.  I don’t know why, but I got scared for a split second.  She took the money and slowly sat down again.  I don’t think she thanked me, but I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was very grateful.  I said, “God bless you!” 

As I drove off, I prayed for this woman while choking back tears.  There was something about her.  I realized that there was a reason I went to Walmart after all, and she was the reason why.  I didn't do much at all for this poor woman, but she did something to me.  She has been on my mind ever since.  I see that image of her head in her lap, and her long skinny fingers reaching for the money, I just can't shake it.  After I drove down the street I almost turned back around because I forgot to ask her name.  It didn’t really matter I guess, but I wanted to know her name.  I bet it’s been awhile since anyone has asked her that. 

Today I drove through the Walmart parking lot looking for her. She wasn't there.  I drove through the lot next to it and down another street nearby, and still no homeless woman.  I'm sure she pretty much sticks to that area since she didn't look like she could walk very far.  I talked to my daughter today and she said she saw the woman that day that she saw me.  She said she saw me drive past her, but she didn't know I turned around to approach her.  She said she's seen her several times in that area because her kids go to daycare just down the street.  I told her to text me the next time she sees her.  I will go to her again, and maybe I can do something more for her.  I looked up some agencies and phone numbers for outreach programs for the homeless and I will try to get someone to come talk to her about their services.  I do know from working at a homeless agency in the past that sometimes people who live on the streets don’t want to participate in the services that are available.  They don't want any help.  But maybe this woman will welcome the help. Just maybe she can be saved from the streets and given shelter, food and medical attention.  I hope so, she is a human being and she deserves to be loved and cared for.

It All Started in Eighth Grade

I can't believe I am 55 years old! The past 43 years have flown by, just like my 8th grade social studies teacher told us would happen on our first day back to school after summer break.  He asked us if we thought summer vacation went by fast.  Pretty much everyone nodded their heads in agreement.  He then went on to tell us something that would stick with me for the rest of my life.  He said that the next two years of junior high school are going to go by very quickly, and we will suddenly find ourselves a half foot taller and sitting in a high school classroom.  Then before we know it, we will be walking across the stage at graduation, wondering where the years went.  When he said those words, I remember feeling kind of sad.  I thought, well, this is just HIS opinion.  I vowed that I will be different...I won't let that happen to me, I will make time go by slowly.  I didn't want to grow up and graduate already.  I was still just a kid!  My social studies teacher was a middle aged man, obviously a smart man in my eyes, and he had experience in this matter because of his age.  He went on to say that as we get older, life will seem to go by even faster with each passing year.  Boy, was he right.  I walked out of the classroom that day with the intention of proving him wrong.  Unfortunately, before I knew it, I was standing on stage at graduation waiting for my name to be called, and I realized my social studies teacher was right on.  And here I am now, just a few short years later, and I'm already 55.

First year of high school.

Halloween and Other Stuff

I packed up the leftovers from my yard sale last Saturday and called Big Brother's Big Sisters because they are scheduled to drive through our neighborhood this week. I made a little cash, and donated the rest. Saturday night I went to a Halloween party and I'll post a few pictures of that, along with some pictures of my grandkids in their costumes. I went trick-or-treating with my granddaughters on Monday night. The weather here is great now, and I love it! I got my new 4S iphone in the mail and got that going the other day. It has a cool feature, called Siri, which is like a personal assistant. I've been experimenting with what Siri can do the past couple of days. You just press a button on your phone and give voice commands.  Siri will even type a message or text for you, and send it. I'm not really into the newest gadgets and apps, etc., but this IS pretty cool. I haven't taken any video with my phone yet, which I'm sure I will be doing this upcoming weekend for my grandson's 2nd birthday. Tonight I went to a polical fundraising event at my neighbor's house. His friend is mayoral candidate, Greg Stanton. There were lots of people there, and lots of food, and lots of wine! My kind of party! Tomorrow I have an early morning flight to California to see my son and daughter-in-law and grandson. As I mentioned earlier, my grandson is having a birthday, and I wouldn't miss it for the world!    

Ramblings

I am joining forces with my neighbors this Saturday and doing what I thought I would never want to do again, which is, have a garage sale. I spent the past two days getting out everything I didn't want and tossing it in the garage, where tomorrow we will tag and set up everything.  I hope it's worth it! When I wasn't getting stuff ready for the sale, I was doing yard work.  The weather has cooled somewhat, which made the task much more tolerable.  Because I was doing a lot of bending over, my legs got a little sore, and I was feeling the stiffness in Zumba class tonight.  We did something different, in honor of Halloween, and we learned the dance to Michael Jackson's Thriller song.  It worked out good for me since I was feeling kind of stiff!  I don't believe I've ever done that dance before, and it was a lot of fun.  Everyone made pretty good zombies! lol  I am tired, but before I head to bed, I'll post this beautiful picture I took of the clouds...............  Goodnight!

                                              

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

Last year someone told me about this book, which describes the codes for life, according to Don Miguel Ruiz.   He describes these simple agreements for people seeking happiness, peace, freedom and love.  It's a good reminder for all of us who want to be the best person we can be to others and to ourselves, and live the best life we can. ~

Be Impeccable with Your Word

Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

Impeccable means “without sin” and a sin is something you do or believe that goes against yourself. It means not speaking against yourself, to yourself or to others. It means not rejecting yourself. To be impeccable means to take responsibility for yourself, to not participate in “the blame game.”

Regarding the word, the rules of “action-reaction” apply. What you put out energetically will return to you. Proper use of the word creates proper use of energy, putting out love and gratitude perpetuates the same in the universe. The converse is also true.

Impeccability starts at home. Be impeccable with yourself and that will reflect in your life and your relationships with others. This agreement can help change thousands of other agreements, especially ones that create fear instead of love.

Don't Take Anything Personally

Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

We take things personally when we agree with what others have said. If we didn't agree, the things that others say would not affect us emotionally. If we did not care about what others think about us, their words or behavior could not affect us.

Even if someone yells at you, gossips about you, harms you or yours, it still is not about you! Their actions and words are based on what they believe in their personal dream.

Our personal “Book of Law” and belief system makes us feel safe. When people have beliefs that are different from our own, we get scared, defend ourselves, and impose our point of view on others. If someone gets angry with us it is because our belief system is challenging their belief system and they get scared. They need to defend their point of view. Why become angry, create conflict, and expend energy arguing when you are aware of this?

Don't Make Assumptions

Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

When we make assumptions it is because we believe we know what others are thinking and feeling. We believe we know their point of view, their dream. We forget that our beliefs are just our point of view based on our belief system and personal experiences and have nothing to do with what others think and feel.

We make the assumption that everybody judges us, abuses us, victimizes us, and blames us the way we do ourselves. As a result we reject ourselves before others have the chance to reject us. When we think this way, it becomes difficult to be ourselves in the world.

Take action and be clear to others about what you want or do not want; do not gossip and make assumptions about things others tell you. Respect other points of view and avoid arguing just to be right. Respect yourself and be honest with yourself. Stop expecting the people around you to know what is in your head.

Always Do Your Best

Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

Doing your best means enjoying the action without expecting a reward. The pleasure comes from doing what you like in life and having fun, not from how much you get paid. Enjoy the path traveled and the destination will take care of itself.

Living in the moment and releasing the past helps us to do the best we can in the moment. It allows us to be fully alive right now, enjoying what is present, not worrying about the past or the future.

Have patience with yourself. Take action. Practice forgiveness. If you do your best always, transformation will happen as a matter of course.

"Comes the Dawn"

After awhile you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul, and you learn that love doesn’t mean possession and company doesn’t mean security.  And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises, and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead... with the grace of an adult not the grief of a child.  And you learn to build your roads today because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans and futures have ways of falling down in mid-flight. After awhile you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much, so you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure, that you really are strong, and you really do have worth, and you learn and you learn…with every goodbye you learn. - Virginia Shopstall
 

What Does Fall Smell Like?

Back home in Iowa everyone is looking forward to those fall days, when the air turns cool and crisp, and it's time to get out those fuzzy sweaters and favorite boots.  I remember!  It's always something to look forward to, especially after a particularly hot and humid summer.  It won't be long and the days will be getting shorter and the nights longer.  Trees and bushes will be turning vivid colors of red, orange, and yellow, and filling everyone's senses with the sights and smells of the season.  When the wind blows and the leaves rustle in the trees before falling to the ground, and when the leaves brush across the street and pile up in the lawns, those wonderful aromas of autumn fill the air.  What does it smell like?  How do you describe it?  To me it's almost like dried flowers, a burnt smell, rippened apples on the ground, wet dirt mixed with cold fresh air, I don't know...it's hard to describe.  I love the fall in the midwest. (Although raking semi-truck loads of leaves had a lot to be desired, I won't complain about that!)  I just don't like what comes AFTER that.  Well, I take that back.  The first snowfall is always exciting, and wearing my new boots and winter clothes is fun at first. Not having to mow the grass anymore is nice.  Of course, a white Christmas is what we all dream of, and then after that, I want to be some place warm.

And that brings me to my point.  I had had enough of the cold, dreary winters, of sliding on the icy roads, below zero temperatures, scraping an inch of ice off my windshield, brushing 16 inches of snow off my vehicle, always having salt from the street covering my car, shoveling snow,  shoveling snow again, gray skies, turning up the heat in the house and piling on the clothes and never being warm enough, feeling that bite in your face from the bitter cold wind, and freezing and shivering every time I went somewhere, that I decided I didn't want to live in that climate any longer.  So, I moved to the southwest, the desert, to be exact.  I have to admit, the main reason isn't because of the weather, although that had a big impact on my decision.  The main reason was to be closer to my grandchildren.  Having sunny blue skies and dry heat vs. humidity was a big bonus, too.  My hair is thanking me for it, as it looks so much better without the unruly curls and frizz caused by the humidity. 

Hard to believe, but I've been in Phoenix for almost a year and a half now!  That's two summers worth, two springs, and one winter.  I am looking forward to another winter here.  While everyone back home will be complaining of the bitter cold, I will be in glorious sunshine and warm weather.  I have to admit, it's been so hot and dry here this summer, where normally Phoenix gets some rain during the monsoon season from mid June to the end of August, we didn't see much at all.  This summer, instead of rain, we got dust storms.  The dust, or sand storms, are called haboobs.  A funny name but not a funny sight!  They say we had three, but I counted more than that.  Some of the valley area got lucky and got more rain than we did...and some areas got terrible wind and rain storms. We also had 32 days in a row with over 110 degree temperatures.  Yesterday it was 101 degrees, but today it's back up there in the 110 range again.  Yes, it gets hot here in the summer, but to me it is the lesser of two evils....if you want to think of it that way.  I'd rather have hot than cold, ANY day.  I love wearing flip flops and tank tops and never needing a sweater at night.  For the record, I do miss my hometown and the people in it, and I do miss the changing seasons, but I'm adjusting to life out here in the valley of the sun.  Fall in Phoenix doesn't have the aromas of back home, but that's what Yankee candles are for!   

Oh...Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun!

My granddaughters were over for a few hours today and one of their favorite things to do is pretend they are talking on the phone. Then we watched 5 episodes of Dora (in between, I caught some TV coverage of Hurricane Irene). We painted 'ningernails', did this little piggy 8 times...twice on each girl's toes, played ball, ring around the rosie, colored, played matching game, read a story, rough housed, tickled, counted, cleaned up spilled milk, washed crayon marks off the chair, wiped a runny nose, played with necklaces and tiaras and little people toys, and ate breakfast, twice, oh and we can't forget that poopy diaper! Nana's tired. But I wouldn't trade it for the world!

They are 3 and 1 1/2 years old.  It just amazes me how much kids at this age know, and how quickly they learn.  It is so fun talking to them and watching them.  I find myself smiling all the time.  Well, most of the time!