Hartford/NYC trip

Couldn’t get my videos to upload here. To read about and see videos of the trip go to Life After Retirement blog.

The first year..

It is hard to believe that one year has gone by since my mother passed away. In some ways it seems just like yesterday that I was at her apartment visiting with her. I miss her terribly but I know that I will see her again.

At times during this year, I felt like time was dragging by and at others it was flying by. There were times when I wanted to pick up the phone and call her and ask her a simple question or just chat. When it was time for a pedi, I wanted to call. She gave the best pedicures. As I was going through her things, I wanted to call and say, “Now what did you tell me was the history of this item?” or “Who did this belong to?” I’m very thankful she was an organized person, probably overly organized. I’m also glad she wrote things down. She was a list maker for sure. There’s still a stack of stuff in my dining room that I need to sort through and organize, file or throw away. Of course, if it has sentimental value, my kids say keep it.

Dad died almost 4 years ago and that seems like forever ago. I had a wonderful father/daughter bond with my dad. Everyone would tell me, go ask your dad, he’ll say yes to you.  However, my bond with my mother was just as strong if not stronger. We really became even closer after my dad died and she and I spent a lot of time together. I am so thankful she moved to Belton the last year of her life.

But… time marches on… and I have wonderful memories..

Cruising

Bill and I have booked a cruise with our very close friends from Houston. We’ve known these people for 30 years and the friendship is still strong so who better to choose to cruise with. We will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera. Three ports and three days at sea, a totally different kind of cruise than the last one we went on with Wes & Susan.

We leave from the port of Los Angeles and stop at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. If anyone has any tips or suggestions on what to see and do or good places to eat, let us know. We have booked two excursions – one in Cabo to go whale watching and an off-road Jeep safari and beach adventure in PV. We’ve decided to do Mazatlan on our own. Of course, we will have some extra time in the other two ports to explore before and after the excursions.

Description of the Cabo excursion:

At the pier, board a motorized catamaran for an approximate 2-hour coastal cruise of “Land’s End.” Your cruise will take you to admire landscapes, miles of unspoiled beaches and private secluded coves. As you cruise along the Sea of Cortez, view golf resorts and impressive developments. Experience the sights of the Pacific Ocean coastline while your tour guide points out the various highlights.

Before heading back to town, visit the famed Los Arcos area where natural rock formations rise starkly out of the sea. This point is located at the very tip of the longest, most desolate and perhaps most beautiful peninsula in the world. You’ll also have the unique opportunity to take photographs at the Sea Lion Colony of Cabo San Lucas and view the famous “Lover’s Beach,” one of the few beaches in the world that share two seas.

Between December and March a portion of this tour will be spent searching for whales in the waters surrounding Cabo San Lucas. This area is the winter home for Minke, Humpback and the Pacific Gray Whale, which make an annual migration from their feeding grounds in the Arctic Circle to Cabo to breed and give birth. Your Captain will search for the telltale spout from a whale and once found, you’ll spend a few minutes watching these friendly and curious creatures as they rest at the surface or play with their young.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Description of the PV excursion:

Now, let the good times roll as you board your 4 person, open-air, manual shift Jeeps . You will depart in caravan style to explore the scenic countryside of Puerto Vallarta. Your experienced guide will lead you up into the Sierra Madre Mountains, while passing through typical Mexican villages along the way. Make a short stop in El Colorado, a small town that is one of the only remaining traditional farming communities in the area.

Continue your adventure passing fruit and tobacco plantations and relish in the spectacular natural beauty of the area. After your adventurous ride, you will enjoy a complimentary snack lunch and a drink at beautiful “Hacienda Dona Engracia”. Then, prepare to be pampered and relax with the sights and sounds of this exclusive beach club. Set up with tranquility in mind, spend some time at an ordinary table or sprawl out on one of the specially designed lounge beds, chock full with cushions, ocean views and soft new age music in the background where you will have time to swim, bask in the sun, play volleyball, or simply relax in a hammock while enjoying the view.

Let the good times begin!

23 Days…

WOO! HOO! Only 23 days until my next out of town trip!

♪♫♬♬♬♪ I’m so excited. I just can’t hide it.♩♪♫♬♬♬♪

Bill and I will be flying with Richard to Hartford CT in 23 days. We will spend three days seeing what he does for a living and exploring the city. Never been to Hartford. Guess I’d better start googling and see what there is to do there.

a new city to experience

After the conference, we will take a train to NYC for the next 3 days. I haven’t been back since 2003. I love the city and can’t wait to see it again. This time we will have our own personal tour guide – Richard! Can’t wait to see Rockefeller Center decorated for Christmas as well as Central Park. We will also experience Canal Street this time. Maybe take in a Broadway show..

something i've always wanted to see

will i be able to find a Louis Vuitton or Prada at a great price?

Empty Nesters… Again!

Bill and I are empty nesters… again. It was with mixed emotions that we moved Wes and Susan to San Antonio recently. The plus – we have our house to ourselves, San Antonio is not far (could’ve been farther based on some of the places they were applying for jobs), Wes has a job!, they have a great place to live, the church seems to meet their needs and they didn’t have to ’settle.’ The minus – I miss having daily contact with them and doing things with them, lost my daily workout buddy (gotta stay motivated to continue and I’m not doing a very good job of that), Susan doesn’t have a job yet, lost my Catan buddies (miss the daily game).

It has been an interesting three months. It has been hard for me to make myself sit down and blog since I’m not so good at words. Hopefully I will ‘make’ myself sit down and share my thoughts and actions more often now. After all, it only has to take 5 minutes or so…

 

 

B90X

Today is the first day of B90X… reading the Bible through in 90 days. http://www.casadeblundell.com/jonathan/faith/read-the-bible-in-90-days-b90x/
I first heard about it on twitter from a friend of mine and now there are 4 of us doing this together and tweeting about it. Come join us.

As I read through the first part of Genesis, I have a tendency to read quickly and scan for I have read this before – many times. I am making myself slow down and read for some comprehension. This is not necessarily a time of in depth study but I am tempted to make it that. Of course, then I wouldn’t finish in 90 days.

As I read, I see familiar things, many familiar things. But every so often and new idea pops out. I ask myself, “Why have I never seen that before?”

Hmmm.. I still wonder about the mark God put on Cain after he killed Abel. And where did his wife come from? And his son’s wife?

Sixth chapter of Genesis – it didn’t take long for evil and wickedness to reign over the earth.

It is interesting to read about the Bible characters I’ve heard about all my life, people who have become ‘big names’ in Bible stories and sermons. It is interesting to see their failures, their mistakes, their sins and to see how God still used them.

Helping Hands

What a great feeling. Today was my first day to work at Helping Hands Ministry. I worked the food window for two hours handing out food to clients in need. I saw lots of smiles and thankful faces. I so enjoyed it that I will try to work longer next time.

I have felt the strong desire for about a year now to help with a local ministry. God has blessed me so much that I wanted to give in return. At CBF General Assembly this past summer I heard much about serving in the local community so I made the commitment. Last week I met with the director of Helping Hands. He gave me the grand tour and told me about the needs. We decided what was best for them and me.

It does the heart good. And then I always wonder why it takes me so long to decide to serve, is that my selfish nature??

Stop by sometime if you live in the area and give a hand.
Helping Hands of Belton

Kitchen remodel — complete

The kitchen remodel is complete… to this point. We want to add accent lighting and change out the old fluorescent light in the ceiling and we need to add the new switch plate covers. But it is great at this point. I can’t believe how it changes it from the old 1980s style it was. We are still thinking about painting the cabinets as well.

Oh NO… NOT again !!!!

Credit Card Fraud

When I got home from work on Monday, I had a message on my answering machine from US Airways. They were contacting me to let me know that someone had purchased two airline tickets with my credit card and were suspecting fraud. My first reaction… “Is this for real?!!”

After I got over the initial shock, I checked my credit card balance online. There was one charge for $791 and three charges for $395.20. So to the phone I go to call US Airways. Evidently there was a group that were charging a lot of tickets that made the airlines suspicious. By now I’m angry. The $791 was for two tickets on US Airways but the agent checked and that was all for their airline. She did tell me the other charges were the cost of a ticket from Vegas to DFW probably on other airlines. All she could help me clear off my account were the tickets on her airline.

Next step… call the credit card company and explain to them the situation. My credit card was canceled and the situation was turned over to the fraud department. Now I have to wait 7-10 days to get a new card. But the real hassle comes in notifying all the accounts that I have automatic bill pay set up on my credit card. UGH!!! This just happened about 3 months ago when I was contacted and told my credit card was among a group that had been compromised. And it happened a year ago on the day before we were to leave on our Mediterranean cruise.

I’m starting to think the credit card is not worth all the air miles I accumulate with it. Debit cards sound so much easier than a credit card right now. Of course, I guess there can be problems there as well. Hmmmm…. cash only from now on??

Let the remodel begin

This is the week we get a kitchen redo. We are only replacing the countertops but it will take three days. On Wednesday the will do tear out, Thursday the new countertops go in, and Friday is the backsplash.

This weekend I am emptying all the lower cabinets. They told me I didn’t have to but that dust would settle everywhere and I would eventually have to pull everything out and dust it off. So, you got it, everything is coming out ahead of time.

We are getting a quartz countertop, tile backsplash with quartz insets, granite composite 60/40 sink and a new disposal.

Can’t wait!!

Then we think about lighting in the kitchen…. not sure what we will actually do.