The Sands of Time

Today is Thankful Thursday and I am thankful for fate, destiny or perfect timing - whichever analogy you choose.



Many of us are creatures of habit. We do roughly the same thing, every day, in our routine of getting up in the morning, our route to work, or our daily schedule of whatever it is we do to fill our day and occupy our time. Sometimes we deviate from the regular routine and do one thing just a little bit different. That little change can make all the difference in the world.



Yesterday there was a horrible, fatal accident on my sister's regular ride to work at the very time she would've been traveling that fateful route. She was a couple minutes later than usual because she stopped to set the warmer on her passenger seat so the coworker she carpools with could be warm on the "Florida-frigid" ride to work. She changed her route when she saw the multitude of flashing lights blocking where she would normally turn. The horrible accident was all over the news yesterday.

We get so wrapped up in everything we do each day, that sometimes we don't stop to think of fate and destiny and how a little change in our regular routine can have such an impact on our life.

Perhaps if she didn't stop to warm that seat, or pause just a moment longer, she could have been at a fateful moment in time. I am thankful that, for a fraction of a second, my sister made a choice that determined the sands of her time. It is so interesting how things go. Why is timing so good for some and not for others? It is a question we will never have an answer to.

Destiny is a predetermined or inevitable course of events. Fate is a final result. Listen to that little voice that guides you through your day. And be thankful always.



Thank you to Rhondi for hosting Thankful Thursday each week. Be sure to visit other Thankful Thursday participants for a dose of gratitude from our fellow bloggers.

I am also exceedingly grateful to Rue, whose beautiful blog you can visit here, for teaching me how to do links!!

Okay, Now It's Cold In Florida

It was 55 degrees when I woke up this morning and tonight it's going down into the 40's!!!! Is that cold enough in Florida for some of your northern bloggers??? I'm a Jersey girl so I'm used to the cold, well, uhmmm, I used to be used to the cold. It's brrrrrrrrisk here!!!


Hopefully we'll get back up to 80 by the weekend!!!

Anyway, enough dreaming . . .

I got tagged with such a fun tag!!! Sherry from Edie Marie's Attic (a truly wonderful blogspot blog) tagged me and I'm so excited. What you have to do is go to your pictures folders, pick the fourth folder and then the fourth picture and write about it. Let's go see what it is . . .



Oh gosh! It's my little Lacie!!! I'm holding her face to snap a good picture because she is a poodle and only does what she chooses to do, when she chooses to do it.

Mmmm. I was hoping for a more "creative" picture than that. Let's go cheat. How about the 8th picture in the 8th folder. Let's see what this is . . .



Oh this is a good one. That's my 18 year old son, Logan, on graduation day, with his dad teaching him to tie his tie. I've shown a variation of this picture before in one or two of my posts and I just love it. Nope, don't think boys are born knowing how to tie a tie. This is a keepsake to add to the many other keepsakes I've accumulated on my journey.

I am going to tag the four lovely ladies listed below as I am always so intrigued by whatever they post.



Theresa - Take A Sentimental Journey
Chris - Refining Life
Deb - Garage Sale Gal
Mo - Mo's Cottage I still don't know how to do links, so forgive me. Each blog above is a blogspot blog and they are all linked on my sidebar so you can click there and go right to their beautiful blogs. Can't wait to see their 4th picture in their 4th folder . . .
unless they cheat like I did . . .



Don't worry, though, if you have other posts in mind or you can't do this. It is fun and I would love to see what you come up with, but it is entirely up to you. I'm happy that Sherry tagged me. This was fun!!! Thanks Sherry!!!

Finally Fall in Florida

It was seventy-four degrees in South Florida today! Yippee!!! Fall is upon us! Our skeleton and Suzy Scarecrow peek out through the palms.

Halloween is just four days away and while our decorations won't win any decorating contests, we feel festive and want to share some photo's.

Happy Halloween To You!



Our dining room table with the nifty ceramic pumpkin I made in 1984. The china cabinet will be spruced up with Christmas dishes this weekend so don't look too closely now.



Some candles on my kitchen counter . . .

Can you see my pilgrim family on the stove in the background? I have a nice little collection of that little pilgrim family that I've been adding onto over the past few years. The napkin holder is on the counter and a coordinating towel is hanging on the stove. I have the matching mugs in my china cabinet, serving bowls just waiting to be filled on Thanksgiving and pretty little matching napkin rings as well. This is a nice collection that has been available for the past five or six years at our local grocery store, Publix. They've discontinued this collection, but they used to have the cutest commercials with this little pilgrim family on Thanksgiving. This set was always a big hit with many of us going nuts each year when the merchandise first hit the shelves because you just had to have whatever new piece they added to the collection!


I love the cute little boy and girl pumpkin witches I bought at Home Goods this past summer.



Shelf sitters . . .



My Lenox Halloween tree - I wonder if they sell replaceable ornaments for other holidays. It would be fun to keep this out all year and change to Christmas, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter and all the patriotic summer holidays. Must check that out. Isn't this tree great?



Maybe you can get a better view in this picture . . . umm, or maybe not . . .



I've been told I'm a witch . . . but you can't believe everything you hear . . .



I found this little turkey couple in the hospital gift shop where I used to work. I found them right before my dad passed away, which was a sad time, but when I take them out each year I think of how my dear father loved to come to my house for Thanksgiving dinner, so I feel happy when I see them.


Thanks for checking out some of my favorite "Halloween stuff". I know there are a lot of people that do not recognize or celebrate Halloween. It was always a fun time growing up at my childhood home as my brother's birthday is on Halloween. He will be 57 this year. We have many fond memories of his birthday as children and I have tried to pass the fun parts of the day on to my children as well. I've always thought of Halloween as my brother's day, yet we always wound up with treats too!!

These "Boots" Were Made For Walking

I've not been a good blogger this past week. Can't believe I haven't posted since last Thankful Thursday, but my day would certainly be missing something if I did not share my thankful thoughts today.



I am the type of person that is always doing something, always going somewhere, always involved in this or that. Now that I am getting older than dirt, I'm getting tired of always being on the go and I want to slow down. Many of you know that it is hard to teach an "old dog" new tricks. Even with all that I do, or maybe because of all that I do, I tend to neglect some of the things that I really should do.

While this is not part of my everday routine . . .

I am proud of myself today and thankful to my sister, Lisa, for encouraging me to get out with her last night and walk, walk, walk.

We brought my daughter, Rachel, to her soccer practice and then set out walking around the whole perimeter of Village Park at a decent rate of pace. It took us about 35 minutes to walk the path around the park. I had such a nice time doing that because there were so many youth teams practicing football, soccer and hockey. It was so nice to see so many people brought together, involved in such great activities. We passed many along the way, everyone pleasant and happy to be where they were. Lisa and I really enjoyed sharing that time together in such a productive way.

I read that a consistent 21 days of any activity creates a habit, so I am going to try my best to get into the habit of walking. It will not only inspire me to get into a more healthy lifestyle, but it will give me time for me, whether I share that time with my sister, or use it to let my mind wander to the happenings of the day or hopes and dreams for the future. And while I may start with baby steps . . .


It is our journey, not always the destination, that makes us who we are. Happy Thankful Thursday one and all and thank you to Rhondi at www.rhondisrosecoloredclasses.blogspot.com for encouraging us to express our thankfulness.

May we always leave our footprints on the sand . . .

Little Boys and Their Toys

Today I am thankful for little boys and their toys. In a blink of an eye, they are grown men, never to play with their toys again.

My eighteen year old son, Logan, decided to clean his room. I don't mean dusting and vacuuming, though that was done also. He decided that it's time to get rid of things that have taken residency in his room for years. Like dusty lego's . . .

And building blocks . . .

Remote control cars . . .

Fire trucks . . .


And the dancing Homer Simpson Santa he just had to have . . .



These were all part of a little boy growing up.


He gave me a multitude of happy memories . . .


That I will cherish forever . . .


And while it is so nice to see Logan become a man . . .



The years of watching that little boy learn about life have been some of the best years of my life. And while little boys and their toys fill your life with such cheer . . . the day will surely come, when playing with those toys is done . . .

And I will be forever thankful for being blessed with Logan, my wonderful son.

Be sure to visit Rhondi at www.rhondisrosecoloredglasses.blogspot.com to visit all of the other Thankful Thursday participants. Thank you Rhondi for hosting Thankful Thursday!!

My Three Girls

Excuse the goofy mom, but had to share a picture I took tonight of my three favorite girls. My darling daughter, Rachel, is holding my almost 3 year old poodle, Lacie, and our newest addition to the family, 11 week old, Bella. All three of these little lasses bring joy and happiness to my days, but Bella is not making my nights too pleasant when she speaks her mind at 4am!!! Love her anyway, though!! I usually stink at taking pictures, but I was using Rachel's camera and timing is everything, right? I guess the subject matter helps also!!

Home Goods Hurrah!!

I love to go to Home Goods!!! Sometimes you're lucky and sometimes you're not. This past weekend I was lucky!!!



Aren't these plates just beautiful?!! There were four dinner plates and four dessert plates. Two of the dinner plates had noticeable chips so I left those behind and I felt horrible leaving them alone like that. I contemplated leaving all four of the dinner plates, but decided that I could always use two of them as a cake or pie plate while serving on the matching dessert plates. I just love them! I love the border and the soft, muted colors. I do not have Thanksgiving plates, so while this does not make a complete set, it is a great starting point. I'll have to keep my eyes open to add on to this set. Oh and I almost forgot! The best part of this little find of mine is that I paid just about $8.00 total!! They were having a great Columbus Day sale and I think I got a real bargain!!




I bought a couple of other things that I have not photographed yet, so I'll have to share them at another time, but I was just thrilled with these Thanksgiving plates and had to share.

Hope your week is off to a great start!!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for all of my blogging friends that leave me comments.



When we each started our blog, there was a definite excitement as to what to post, will I attract readers, will I get comments. Can anyone deny that? Sure, our blogs are our own masterpiece. We write about what stirs our heart and touches our soul whether it be stories about our most special place - our home, or pieces that we have "fixed", crafts we've made, places we've gone to, family, friends, joys, sorrows, whatever it is that inspires us on any given day. We open ourselves to the world, not knowing whether today will be a day for adoration, commendation or condemnation. Who doesn't get excited to see new comments on your posts? I really don't think anyone is immune, whether you are one that gets two comments to a post or 73, they are all fun to read. I thank each of you for leaving me comments. Your comments bring joy to my heart and soul and I thank you.



Thank you to Rhondi for hosting Thankful Thursday each week. Be sure to stop by www.rhondisrosecoloredglasses.blogspot.com to read more Thankful Thursday posts.

With Pen In Hand . . .

I love to write! I have always loved to write. I have kept a journal since I was a little girl. I believe I got my first diary when I was nine years old. It was a red leather 5 year diary with a lock. I got it for Christmas. It was truly the best gift I got that year!! I faithfully made my journal entry every night before I went to bed on the few lines dedicated to each day of the year - five years worth on each page. I never missed a day. I was a bit goofy back then in what I wrote about, but it was what was important to me at the time and I cherish that diary to this day.


When I was a teenager, I would write about boys and how I loved the boys!! I lived out in the country so most of my time was spent with my family. I loved going to school because that was my time to socialize and I found boys to be interesting and fun! I did learn, though, that it is best not to write all your thoughts in your diary, lest someone read the secrets of your heart.



I took creative writing classes in college and loved them immensely. It was so exciting to see where the instructor would encourage us to go in our thought process and it was a thrill to put those thoughts to paper. Those classes helped to expand my horizons.



One year I even sent away for information to write children's books. Have you ever done that? I'm sure they think everyone has potential as I never heard of anyone that was discouraged from participating in their writing program.



As I've travelled farther along life's road, I have learned that it is a good thing to nurture our talents as it is a wonderful way to bring pleasure to your life. I have found, though, that I was always hesitant to pour out my heart in my journaling as an adult because I just may have some feelings that might not be exactly what someone else may feel. I would never want to hurt anyone, so I've only written things where, should I ever get hit by a bus, feelings would never be hurt.



When pondering life this past weekend, I have decided to write from my heart once again and I feel renewed!! I started blogging with the intention of writing something every day, but I only want to blog when I am inspired to blog and when I have time to blog.



I am now journaling on paper as I am inspired and I am writing my heartfelt thoughts. I am so happy that I am opening up and writing like that once again. It helps me put my feelings into perspective in a better way than just tossing thoughts around in my mind and trying to make sense of them. That little red leather 5 year diary opened up a wonderful world to a nine year old girl that sparked years of creativity without her even knowing it.