Simple Pleasures

Living in Texas again lends itself to a few of my favorite things . . . Blue Bell Ice Cream and Sara Lee Bread. I've spent the past few days moving & unpacking (with a LOT of help from the family on Saturday!!). Yesterday, I made the 'pantry stocking marathon trip' to Super Target (yet another great thing of the south!), and then I spent the rest of the day continuing to get my apartment in order. So, last night for supper, I indulged myself . . . PBJ on some Sara Lee Bread and some cookies & cream Blue Bell for dessert. Talk about the perfect meal!!!! :-)

I'm almost finished putting everything in its place (or stuffing it somewhere in the back of a cabinet or closet when I'm not sure what to do with it). When it's completed, I'll get some pictures posted.

My 'Thin Place'

Below is a view of Virginia Beach at sunrise. In addition to God's creativity with the sunrise and waves, a group of dolphins started playing a ways offshore for everyone to enjoy. It's so much fun watching the dolphins play!!




Don't worry . . . this isn't about weight!! I haven't found a miracle diet to make us all skinny. Last night, my dad mentioned the discussion topic from his staff meeting this past Monday called "Thin Places". I'm not sure who originally came up with this concept, but it's kinda fun to ponder. This Blogger explains the topic perfectly:

"someplace where heaven seems to come down and touch Earth."

It made me start thinking about what my 'thin place' is. For me, it's the beach. The waves rejuvenates me. I love to listen to them and see how they crash into the shore. Here are a few more of my favorites. :-)

This picture is from a deck leading to Myrtle Beach. The best part of being here (other than the fact that I was on the beach!) was that rocking chairs were provided on this deck. That's right, I got to sit in a comfy rocking chair and watch the moon rise over the ocean. It doesn't get much better than that in my book!

This amazing view, compliments of Ocracoke Island, NC, made me fall in love with North Carolina!! I sat in that beautiful sand watching the perfectly blue water wash ashore for about an hour that day - a brief intermission in my lighthouse tour of the OBX.

This is a picture of the last beach I went to, Assateague National Park in VA. It's located on Chincoteague Island . . . the home of the wild horses. How cool is that to watch horses play along the shore. (or in the marshes, which is where I saw them)

Such happy memories! Have a great day. :-)

Hurricane & Birthday Parties

What a week! It's amazing what a storm can do! Just before I started nursing school, my dad moved me into an apartment on Galveston Island. On move-in day, we had the pleasure of meeting my new downstairs neighbor. What an interesting person! We arrived at my apartment around 10:30 that morning, and he greeted us holding his beer . . . already quite inebriated!! I'm not sure if it was 'drunk' left over from the night before or if he just got to an early start. As we tried to move past him, he continued whatever story he was telling us and then invited me to his next Hurricane Party. I just smiled and moved on, not knowing what the appropriate response to that invitation should be. He continued on by describing this "party" - sitting outside in lawn chairs drinking beer during the hurricane. Not my idea of fun, but I'm guessing that after enough alcohol, the wind, rain, and flooding wouldn't bother you too much!

Little did I know, that hurricane parties are a tradition on the Island! Apparently, the Poop Deck on Seawall sponsors them for the hurricanes that come to Galveston. Who knew?!? (not that it makes it a good idea just because it's restaurant sponsored, though!) Anyways, I've been searching through the online pictures to see how my apartments made it through Ike.

I was SO HAPPY to see that they're still standing, although most of the ground floors were destroyed by the high water. These apartments are on the north side of the island, so they just had the rising water from the bay side of the Island. The one tropical storm we had while I lived there had water that rose up to the parking lot from the bay, but no real damage. I can't imagine what it looked like during Ike! The boat slips are just behind where the person taking this picture must have been standing. Obviously, the water was VERY HIGH to get that sailboat up on top of the car. My old apartment was on the 2nd floor of the building to the man in the yellow jacket's right arm! HOLY COW!! It just blows my mind!!

The pictures of the destruction and devastation break my heart as I see some of our favorite places destroyed or damaged. I'm praying for my friends that still live there . . . that they all evacuated safely and that their homes/belongings weren't destroyed. I know that they would appreciate your prayers through this difficult time, too!

My roommate from Galveston, who now lives in Houston, evacuated to our house last Thursday evening. The commute was a nightmare, but we had fun once she got here. Like most people in Texas, we sat glued to the Weather Channel and Houston news websites most of the next couple of days. The pictures and videos were mesmerizing! Of course, she had SO MUCH more at stake with her home being in Ike's destructive path. She was able to go back to her home yesterday to find that it hadn't received much damage - Praise God! I think they had some limbs/trees down in the yard and maybe some missing shingles. Other than that, their house was protected. They were truly blessed!!

On to a happier topic . . .

Saturday, we celebrated my sister's birthday at a WONDERFUL restaurant in Dallas.

We were so happy that she was feeling well enough to come to the party! None of us were sure how she'd feel with the big storm on the way, but it looks like the newest treatment may be bringing some positive results!

I found a bakery that makes all their treats sugar free . . . very important for the diabetics in our family. So, we got a delicious chocolate cake from there to celebrate! To top it off, one of the waiters came to sing Happy Birthday in a few different languages. I got a little bit of it on video before my battery ran out.

We had a bunch of family there, which is always fun. Good times! I hope your weekend was safe and fun!

Family Fun Weekend

Saturday morning, we headed up to my Mamma Granny's house to celebrate her 75th birthday. WooHoo!! :-) We had a fun time visiting with the family and eating some delicious hamburgers & hot wings. (I know . . . probably not the typical 75th b-day party food, but that's what she requested)

I always enjoy visiting their place on one of the many branches of Lake Fork in East Texas. It's just gorgeous! This is a view from their backyard of the boathouse and the calm water. It doesn't get much better than that . . . unless you had that with NO MOSQUITOES!!!! :-) The water was amazingly blue that day and made me wish I could just go sit in a boat out on the lake.

Here's Granny "Vanna-ing" one of her birthday gifts. Smell good stuff is ALWAYS welcome!!

After the party, my roommate from nursing school (who'd come up Friday evening for a weekend visit with the fam) and I started out on a Target trip so she could buy her new camera. Somehow . . . still not exactly sure when/how the switch happened :) . . . we ended up at a car dealership looking for her new set of wheels. The first place we went, the salesman (a bit TOO talkative and even more 'slimy') decided Mandy & I looked like sisters. Well, for those of you who know both of us, I'm sure you're already laughing! After giving at least a 20 minute synopsis of his life and hometown back in Oklahoma & asking about the whole sister thing, he decided to ask what we she was looking for in a car. Half an hour later - after having had more than we needed or wanted of that guy!! - we were back in my car & off to the next stop! Honestly . . . WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!? Across the street, we had more luck, though. She found just what she was looking for, and she got (what we think is) a great deal. Now, neither of us had ever gone into the car buying scene without parental help, so there's no telling what we didn't ask/do right. But, it was fun pretending to be "big girls" and do this on our own! :-)

She bought a beautiful Hyundai Santa Fe! (Not that I'm partial to them or anything . . .) Mine is the "old style" since they redesigned them last year, so it was fun to see all the changes & improvements they've made in the design. Here's the very happy new car owner!!!!

Needless to say, she wasn't too sad to say 'goodbye' to the old green car! CONGRATULATIONS, Mandy!!!! :D

The weekend ended with me preparing for my first (of hopefully many!) job interview as I look for a more permanent job situation. More on that later, but please pray for me to see God's will and direction for this next step in my life clearly! Thanks!

Hellos & Goodbyes

~~ Just a note of warning . . . this turned out to be a much longer post

than I had planned, so get some coffee and get comfortable! ~~

WOW! The past week has been a bit of a whirlwind, but it has been a wonderful time. So much has happened, I'm just gonna write a little about each day to go along with the pictures.

Tuesday

Tuesday afternoon, I got to say 'hello' to my Dad & Papa Joe as they arrived in Virginia for a short visit during the last week of my contract. After getting away from the airport, we stopped for a quick dinner, checked them in to the hotel, and headed downtown for the Navy Band Concert. Since we arrived a little early, we took in a couple of the sights on the way (or at least in the same vicinity) to the Navy Memorial. The top picture is of them standing on Freedom Plaza along Pennsylvania Ave. with the Capitol in the background. After a quick supper at the Old Post Office building (the building behind them with the clock tower) food court, we headed over to hear the concert. It was completely different from the concert I went to with my sister last month, but it was still completely amazing! They have such talent!! After the Metro ride back to my car, we called it a night so we could all get rested up for a Wednesday full of sightseeing.

Wednesday

Wednesday morning, we headed downtown for some serious sightseeing! We started out at the White House (as seen with Dad & Papa Joe here). It was a little overcast that day, but it definitely kept the temperatures down. In fact, it was pretty cool in the shade making me very happy that I had brought a jacket!! From here, we walked around the Treasury Department on our way to the Washington Monument. I had never been up to the viewing deck of this before, so I followed a friend's advice and reserved some tickets online. After picking them up, we had about 45 minutes to kill (no where near enough time to visit another attraction), so we just sat on the benches around the Monument to watch the geese playing around on the grass.

When it was our turn, we rode the minute and a half elevator ride to the top for our look out. It is truly an amazing view of the area! This picture is of the WWII Memorial, the Reflection Pool, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Memorial Bridge (off to the left of Lincoln). Thankfully, by the time we got to the top, most of the clouds had dispersed making for a clear view of the sights. :-) (yea!! more pictures!!) After looking out the four sides, we went down one level to look at some of the pictures of the construction and history of the Monument. It was pretty amazing! If you're wondering why it looks like two different colors of stone on the outside, it's because there was a huge 'time out' during the construction due to lack of funds and/or workers (or something like that . . . don't remember the details). :) On the way down from the top, they slowed the elevator every once in a while to let us see some of the artwork and messages on the inside of the Monument. I took a short video clip of one portion of these, but I've somehow messed up the disk and can't seem to download it to my computer. Maybe some other day!

From here, we went to the WWII Memorial. This picture of Papa Joe is taken by one of the places he went during WWII. We hit this Memorial just after one of the Park Ranger guided tours had started, so we just attached ourselves to this group to hear about the Memorial. FINALLY, I learned about the "order" of the states on the columns. In case you haven't seen it in person, there are 50+ columns with state, province, and country names on them surrounding the huge fountains in the middle. Just looking at them, there is no rhyme or reason to the order of their placement (or so I thought!). Here goes: If you stand in the middle facing the Washington Monument (with your back to the wall of stars), the "order" starts on your right. The names on the columns are in order of their entrance into the Union. The catch is that they alternate sides . . . #1 is the 1st column on your right, #2 is the 1st column on your left, #3 is the 2nd column on your right, and so on. Once we received the explanation, it made complete sense!! (shocking, huh?!?) :-) I'm the first to admit that I don't know a lot about history and the wars we've fought in, but going through the war memorials with my Papa Joe (a person who studies and reads constantly about wars . . . especially the Civil War and WWII) was very special. He knows the names of not only the battles but of the generals, who won, how many soldiers were lost, etc. in each battle!! For example, as we walked around the WWII Memorial, he was telling me about one of the battles we "should have never fought". It was amazing to me to hear his perspective on all of this! We went on to the Vietnam Wall after a short lunch break on the way. Again, I was brought to tears listening to both my dad and my Papa Joe talk about the boys lost and still missing from that war. They have such a different perspective on these memorials than me having lived through the wars memorialized and having friends that were lost in them. Don't get me wrong, going through these is an emotional experience for anyone with the least bit of patriotism, but going through them with a veteran and someone who lost childhood friends in Vietnam puts a whole new light on them!!

Moving on, we next went to the Lincoln Monument

(my FAVORITE!!) Here, I got to hear more Civil War history and Lincoln history from Papa Joe. He's VERY MUCH the "power of the South" type person and can tell you exactly how, when, and why the South lost the BIG WAR, but he has great respect for Lincoln and the great man that he was.

The funniest part of this day (in my opinion) was the fact that we stood and watched the tile layers in front of the Lincoln Monument for at least 20 minutes before moving on to the Korean War Memorial. The workers are making a beautiful, stone tile floor to an area between the Reflection Pool and the Lincoln Monument, so my dad & Papa Joe stood and discussed their technique for a while. With all these huge monuments, memorials, and historical attractions surrounding us, we stopped to watch this. It's like my "lamppost obsession" (taking pictures of all the ornate lampposts downtown) . . . I guess I come by it honestly!! :-)

Onwards . . .

We then made it to the Korean War Memorial. I pointed out my favorite statue to them, and my Papa Joe asked me why he was my favorite. I said it's because of his facial expression. Then he said, "Oh, I thought it was because he's the medic." How strange is that that I picked the medic as my favorite?!? (at least I thought that was interesting) :) We ventured on around the Tidal Basin to have a look at the Jefferson Memorial. We didn't spend as long here because we were all getting tired and hungry at this point. I snapped a few more pictures for my scrapbook, and we headed back to the Metro station. That morning, we had caught the train during rush hour, & they got to see the "locals" on the train . . . NOT overly social! (to say the least) My Papa Joe found this funny, so on our way home that evening, he pretended to be a "local" with his paper. :-) He's TOO FUNNY!!!!

Thursday

So, Thursday was the last day for me to work during this contract. This left my dad & Papa Joe on their own . . . They caught the shuttle from their hotel to the Metro and headed downtown for some more sightseeing. They started out at the Holocaust Museum . . . an amazing & emotional experience!! (NOT for children or the weak stomach for sure!) They then got to tour the Bureau of Engraving & Printing. They enjoyed that tour and even asked their tour guide for a few free samples. Amazingly enough, they were told "NO"!! :-) (If you didn't know, this is one of the places that prints money.) On some of the printing machines pumping out sheets of $20 dollar bills or $50 dollar bills (you get the idea), someone had hung a sign reading, "If you feel bad being this close, think of how I feel. I print out my entire year's wages every few minutes!"; or the one reading, "So close, yet so far!" Great to see they have such a sense of humor with their job!! :) After a quick bite to eat, they went on the the Natural History Museum (or the dinosaur place as my little 'nephews' refer to it!). They thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the dinosaur skeletons as well as the rocks and jewels. I met up with them at the mall near my apartment after work so we could have supper and make a plan for our Friday activities. Then, it was home for everyone to rest up for our last full day of tourism!

Friday

We started out this drizzly day by visiting the National Cathedral. If you've never been, I HIGHLY recommend going the next time you're in the area! It's not really close to a Metro stop (unless you want to walk a mile or two to get there), but they do have pay parking for the visitors. The craftsmanship that the stone carvers, steel workers, and carpenters show in this amazing structure is indescribable! You really just need to see it to believe it. We went up the west towers to the observation deck to look around. Even inside here, the attention to detail was outstanding!! They had miniature replicas of some of the gargoyles stationed along the outside of the cathedral so we could see how ornate even these small parts were. Unbelievable!! They also had signs explaining the steps of building the cathedral over 80+ years it took to build. Here, they also had original (or what appeared to be original) blue prints from the late 1800's/early 1900's . The top picture is from inside this walkway looking at the 1st & tallest tower constructed over the center of the cathedral. The second picture is of Dad & Papa Joe in the walkway that surrounds the two western towers. After exploring up here, we went downstairs & joined one of the tour groups. This gave us more insight into the construction - like the fact that the entire cathedral is in the shape of a cross with the 'high altar' at the "top" of the cross, and the auditorium with all the chairs/pews is the long part under the cross beam. The tour took us down into the basement near where construction was started over 100 years ago. The original chapel . . . appropriately called the "Bethlehem Chapel" was the 1st to be built and may very well be the smallest. It was interesting to see the different architecture styles from the different periods. For the most part, the cathedral is in traditional "cathedral style" (tall ceilings, pointed arches, stained glass, etc.). A few places have rounded arches and mosaic tile work instead. It's now run by the Episcopal church, having daily services and prayer times as well as church volunteers on site to give free tours to all of the visitors.

From here, we drove over to the Spy Museum to have lunch at the little cafe there & then tour this most amazing museum! It's not free ($18/adult), but it's a small price to pay to see all the fun spy gadgets. (If, that is, you like spy/mystery stuff.) :)

Next, we went to the Marine War Memorial (also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial) near Arlington Cemetery. It, too, is an amazing tribute to the Marines and to the guys that raised the flags at Iwo Jima. Here, I played with the timer on my camera to try and get all three of us in a shot. Confession time: Yes, I've had this camera for 3-4 years now, and No, I'm still not sure how to work all the 'special features'. :) But, on this particular day, it worked (at least on the second attempt!), and we got all three of us in one picture. Yea, Me!! After this, we were all tired of touring and tired of getting rained on, so we went to supper and then home so they could pack up their hotel room.

Saturday

After a hearty breakfast, we went to one of the Civil War battlefields just down the road from my apartment. The week I moved in back in June, workers put up an orange fence around the entire park giving off the distinct "you're not welcome in here" message. So, I didn't go! :) But, a few days before Dad & Papa Joe arrived, they took down the orange fence. Papa Joe, obviously, knew immediately which battle this was, who the players were, which ones were killed, and which side won. He kept telling us that if the South had done . . . (I can't remember exactly), then they could have taken Washington and won after the 1st battle at Manassas (or Bull Run for my fellow southerners). It amazes me how he knows all of the details inside & out like he does! The county has done a remarkable job in restoring the park - new pathway, new informational signs, benches, fences, etc. We spent quite a while here walking through this park before taking Papa Joe to the airport for his return trip to Texas.

After taking care of some 'moving out details', Dad & I went to my favorite state park in the area - the one with the Great Falls. It's been SO cool in the area, many of the trees have already started changing colors and dropping leaves. This made for some nice pictures. :-) (As always . . . it's ALL about the pictures for what I've now termed the 'never-ending scrapbook of travel nursing'!!) Instead of messing with the camera timer again, I just asked some unsuspecting tourist to take our picture here. On the way back to the Metro station, we passed a little hole in the wall restaurant called "Papa Joe's Pizza". Of course, we had to stop & eat there! It was possibly the most unusual pizza I've ever had, but it was good. We then hopped on the train to meet one of my good friends from North Carolina. He'd come to the area for a day or two at the end of his vacation and was going to the Washington Nationals' game with us that night. They have a beautiful, new, high-tech stadium in Southeast (which is why I've not gone to a game before by myself!). It was a good game - going into extra innings, and the home team won. What more could you ask for?!? A good time was had by all (except possibly the Atlanta Braves since they lost the game). :) After the game, we were all herded like cattle back onto the Metro trains for the ride back home.

Sunday

Dad & I went to church Sunday morning (my last time at McLean Bible for a long while) and then to lunch at one of the best burger places in the area . . . Five Guys Burgers & Fries. Then, Dad 'got' to load all my heavy stuff into the back of Roony, and we headed to Roanoke. My dad, the master packer!! Yep, I know I took WAY TOO MUCH stuff, but that's why I drive an SUV, right?!? :-D

So, I said goodbye to the DC area. :(

We left earlier than I thought we'd get to, so it made for a very pleasant drive. Just about an hour & a half from my apartment, we reached the 1st of several mountain ranges we would pass through during our trip back to Texas. We decided not to take the famous Blue Ridge Parkway and stick to the main highway, but we were able to see some beautiful scenery. One thing that I wasn't expecting was all the corn fields. And I'm not talking about a couple hundred acres here and there. I'm talking about the majority of the 200+ miles between my apartment & Roanoke (our stopping place for the night).

Sunday night, we stayed at Hotel Roanoke. When I made the reservations, I just picked the cheapest hotel in the chain so that I get more 'frequent flyer' points. Little did I know that this particular hotel has an amazing history! It was built back in the 1800's and has housed several US presidents, foreign dignitaries, and other VIP's (including me & my dad!). :) It is a beautiful hotel design. Inside all of the lobbies, (yeah, it had a few of them) they had old pictures of the hotel from years past. It also had some artifacts from it's long history on display in the cases around the hotel. It's a very cool place to stay. I'm not really sure what all there is to do in the city of Roanoke, VA, but this hotel is very entertaining! :)

Monday

Monday morning, we headed out for our longest day of driving on the trip. We had to reach Memphis, TN, before we could stop for the night. In case your geography isn't stellar, this means that we had to leave Virginia and drive completely across the state of Tennessee. . . the LONG way! A bit ambitious looking back, but with two of us taking turns driving, we managed. We stopped at the Tennessee welcome center so I could pick up my state map for TN. While there, we saw this cut out of Dolly Parton. Dad had to get his picture with it for Papa Joe. My Papa Joe loves Dolly Parton! :-) It's such a lovely drive across the eastern half of TN. One of my favorite restaurants is Cracker Barrel - especially while on a road trip. There are probably more Cracker Barrel Restaurants in the southeastern part of the US than in the entire rest of the country! At one point, I believe we were passing them every 5 minutes! And then we reached the western side of Nashville. . . NOT the most exciting part of the drive! :) Also, the Cracker Barrels started spreading out considerably. BOO!! We did eventually make it to Memphis after a LONG delay through the Smoky Mountains due to some broken down cars and a dump truck that spilled it's contents all over the road. That gave us a good, long look at the sides of the mountains and the rocks along I-40 West. It's actually a pretty drive through that part, & I'm very happy that the delay was on the eastern half of the state! Once we arrived at our hotel in Memphis, we both just collapsed! We saw several families of Louisianna evacuee families. They all looked so helpless and worried; it broke my heart!

Tuesday

Tuesday morning, we left Memphis for the final leg of our journey back to the metropolis of Flint, TX! :D This final part of the drive wasn't very pretty, but it was doable. Then again, it didn't help things having Gustav blowing at us and dropping the occasional heavy band of rain. For the most part, he seemed to be more bark than bite . . . Thank God! He could have done SO MUCH more damage. We arrived back at my parents' house Tuesday evening around 7. We were both SO ready to get out of the car for a while!

It was a busy but great week! Thanks for going on the journey with me. :-)

Ocean Rejuvenation

Sometimes, we all need to go someplace that is rejuvenating - mind, body, and soul. For me, this place is the BEACH!! Today was one of those days. With a lot on my mind, I jumped in my car for the 4+ hour drive to Assateague Island in VA. It's actually a pleasant drive (for the most part). The road passes through a few of the more 'shady areas' of Maryland, but most of the road is through farmland. I love seeing all the crops in their straight rows and the pretty homes & barns.

This isn't the most popular beach in the area, but I searched it out specifically since it also is home to the one lighthouse in Virginia that I hadn't seen yet. As you can tell, it's currently under renovation. Hopefully I'll be able to go see it again someday once it's been completely restored.

That's right, I drove many hours today to go look at an old lighthouse in serious need of a new paint job and sit on the beach for about an hour & a half. :-) But . . . at least in my warped mind . . . it was COMPLETELY WORTH IT!!!!

Not only does this island have a lighthouse and a beautiful beach, but it also has dolphins playing in the waves. I enjoy seeing dolphins close up like in an aquarium, but there's something special about seeing them enjoying their natural habitat. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at timing pictures of the dolphins, so I don't have a picture to share.

The final great thing about this island is the Chincoteague Wild Horses. They were more in the marsh area than on the actual beach, so I couldn't get very close. If you look closely, you can see the herd of horses in the middle of the picture. All along the path, there were signs warning us not to "touch or chase after" the wild horses because they are not "tamed". Well, DUH!! Isn't that the meaning of the term "wild"?!? Obviously someone has chased after the wild animal, gotten hurt, and then tried to sue the park. In my opinion, those warnings are as much of a waste as the one on the hair dryer tag warning you to not blow dry your hair while still showering. Are these warnings seriously needed? Now, I'm not a believer in evolution, but this could be considered 'survival of the fittest'! :-)

I digress . . .

After seeing my lighthouse, looking (from a distance) at the wild horses, and sitting on the beach a while, I decided to head back home. Once I got closer to the mainland, I saw an advertisement for homemade ice cream. Well, I had to stop and try it!! :) It was delicious!!!! They make their waffle cones fresh as people come in. Mine was so fresh it was still a little warm when she handed it to me with the ice cream. Moral of the story . . . if you like ice cream and you're on Chincoteague Island in Virginia, you should definitely try this ice cream parlor!!

It was a great day! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. :-)

10 Things . . . Sunday

Several of the blogs I read do a 'Ten Things Tuesday' post about 10 things they are grateful for. It's a wonderful way to cultivate the attitude of gratitude. I was sent a great Martha Washington quote yesterday:

I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be;
for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness
or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.

It's very similar to Paul's statement in Philippians 4:12-13:

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I
have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether
well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.. I can do
everything through him who gives me strength.

It's truly about perspective, which brings me to my theme verses (at least over the past couple of years):

Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot
secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I
have a delightful inheritance. . . I have set the Lord always before
me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
-Psalm 16: 5,6,8

So, needing a bit of an attitude adjustment last night, I literally fell asleep 'counting my blessings' (or making my 10 things list). I know it's not Tuesday, but here it is (in no particular order) anyway. :-)

1. My God who loves me in spite of my unfaithfulness & grumbling
2. God fearing parents
3. Periods of time when my sister breaks through her sickness and it's like 'old times'
4. COFFEE!!
5. A job that I love and actually makes me look forward to going to work . . . most days :)
6. Incredible friends
7. Precious 'niece' (soon to be nieces!!) and 'nephews' who can make my day with just a smile
8. My 'Sam' is talking and singing now . . . and almost 4 Years Old!! What a miracle!!!
9. Did I mention COFFEE?!? :)
10. The NICU nurses of Medical City for daring me to try travel nursing

It's always amazed me how my attitude changes when I stop looking at what I don't have (& really want!) and focus on EVERYTHING that God has given to me! I have NO reason to whine!!

More Exploring :-)

I visited some new places today . . . some on purpose and some not so much. Yep, that means I got a little lost in my journeys, but I did eventually get where I wanted without venturing too far into Southeast. (yea, me!!) I went to the National Arboretum this morning. It had more greenery and fewer actual flowers than I was expecting, but it was still a pleasant 'nature hike'. (Honestly, how wrong can you go when it's sun-shiny with a high in the low 80's?!?) I did manage to find some blooms here & there, so I got some pictures. (I know, Janna, more pictures of flowers) :)

In one area, they have the columns from the original Capitol back before the 1st expansion. They're lined up like a Roman sculpture. There's also a little reflection pool near them. Lots of people were getting their pictures made with the columns. Close to the visitor's center, you can visit the 'Bonsai area' . . . which basically consists of several outdoor rooms with all kinds of trees that have been trained to grow into bonsai shapes. Some of these (like the one in the center of the back row in this picture) have been trained since the 1800's according to the sign. That's a TINY tree for being over 100 years old!

After winding my way through DC traffic and getting back on a familiar highway, I went to Arlington to visit the Iwo Jima/USMC War Memorial. I visited it back during my 1st contract, but I've lost those pictures somehow. And, as any scrapbooker will tell you, I HAVE TO HAVE pictures of EVERY PLACE I visit. Otherwise, what will I fill my pages with?!? All this to say, I got some more pictures of it today that I will hopefully not lose. :-)

Not far from this memorial is a HUGE clock tower that the Netherlands gave to the US a long time ago. When I first moved into my apartment in Arlington that 1st contract, I remember hearing this clock tower chime away the hours . . . along with the all the buglers from Ft. Myer. Good times!

Maybe not the prettiest thing in DC to look at, but it's chimes are pretty to listen to.

I'm guessing the person who rings the bells?

Something to aspire to!! :)

The more 'traditional' DC sites with the clock tower flowers in the forefront.

The Video . . . hopefully :)

I hope this works! Sorry for the noise; I'm not sure how to mute the sound on my camera while videoing. So, it's probably better to watch with the sound off!! :) Enjoy the pretty fish, and have a wonderful weekend!!

National Aquarium

Believe it or not, today was the FIRST time I've been to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. I love aquariums, but I don't love the drive to Baltimore (TRAFFIC)!! After sleeping LOTS of hours yesterday and last night, I woke up refreshed and ready for a challenge/adventure. So, I got out and braved the Beltway so I could see all the fun fish. As far as aquariums go, it's good . . . no where near the caliber of the Georgia Aquarium, but it was very enjoyable.

One of the first tanks you come to upon entering is full of stingrays - from small to ginormous!, a few sharks, and a big sea turtle (one of my favorites!). Some of the stingrays' wingspan were 5-6 feet wide! (At least that's my guess at their size. I didn't actually ask one of the workers.)

Moving on, they had displays for the different types of water in this part of the country (ie rivers/streams, lakes, oceans, etc.) Of course, I went straight to the ocean display. :-)

Beyond this "small" tank, I went to walk a path around the "big" tank. It had some other pretty fish and some more stingrays. I tried to upload a little video clip of the fish in the big tank, but I seem to be having some technical difficulties. Maybe another time. :)

After grabbing a quick lunch, I went to the dolphin show. It was great! One of the dolphins just gave birth to a calf about 3 weeks ago. It was precious to see them swimming together. :-) Obviously, neither of them were in the show, but the two performing dolphins did a wonderful job . . . jumping, flipping, playing catch, etc. It was worth the price of getting in to the aquarium just for the dolphin show (in my opinion).

Jumping through a hoop

Jumping up to touch the red ball

Jumping over one of the trainers

Missing Child . . . Camille

One of my friends from Galveston has this message posted about a friend's little girl, Camille. It seems as though the girl's mother kidnapped her and took her to South America after a court gave her husband custody of Camille. She asked us to pass it along. Please pray for this family! Thanks.

Two Thumbs Up!

On the Siskel & Ebert rating scale, my weekend has been a "2 thumbs up" already. :) Saturday afternoon, after napping for a couple of hours when I got home from work, I went to my friends' house to have "girl time with my niece and her momma". I had promised her almost a month ago that we would spend some more time together before I left Virginia, and we finally got to play yesterday.

They were already coloring by the time I got there, so I caught up by coloring in her Finding Nemo coloring book. It was great! She gave me a card she'd made me and then showed me some of her most recent artwork while we colored. I'd forgotten how much I've always enjoyed coloring. It's usually the simple things in life that bring so much joy!!

After we all finished our pictures, her mom (my 1st college roommate & a wonderful friend) and I went to see Mamma Mia. WOW!! Now, if you don't like ABBA music or (to loosely quote Harrison Ford's secretary in Sabrina) "people dancing about and spontaneously bursting into song", you probably shouldn't go see this one. :-) But, if you like any (or all) of these things, this movie is a MUST SEE!!!! I've enjoyed the use of mainstream, big name actors/actresses in musical movies in recent years. It's nice to see that some of them can sing & dance, as well as act. The talent in this movie was great! (Well, to be completely honest, I think maybe Pierce Brosnan should stick to looking pretty and acting . . . not the greatest singing voice.) The mom, Meryl Streep, and the daughter, Amanda Seyfried, were phenomenal! And, to top it off, it was set in Greece - a country I REALLY want to visit one day. The water looks SO amazing there! (In case you didn't know, I'm a huge fan of beaches!!!!) After the movie, we picked up her husband and two kiddos and went for some yummy Mexican food.

If you look closely, you can see the Olympic Rings down the middle of the road. (Atlanta, GA)

And finally, to top it off, the Olympics have started!! :-) I look forward to them every time they come around. I'm part of the group that was happy they now occur every two years - even though it's breaking tradition . . . an Aggie 'no-no!' I LOVE hearing our National Anthem played as our athletes win the gold medal. I LOVE the intensity and dedication they have for their sport. I LOVE the background stories they do on the Olympians . . . how they're "normal people doing extraordinary things". I LOVE the opening ceremonies (even though I had to work during them this time and couldn't watch). I'm the person sitting on my couch (or jumping up & down in my living room if need be) :) cheering, clapping, and crying with the athletes and their families. It's just so exciting! For example, I just watched Michael Phelps set another world record & win his 1st gold medal of the 2008 games. How cool is that?!? My favorite sports (because, yes, I have to have favorites) are swimming, diving, and GYMNASTICS! They're just so much fun to watch.

You may not pay attention to such things, but if you noticed the time of this post, you may be wondering about the crazy girl writing a blog at 5AM on a Sunday morning. :-) Well, I'm on a "half days/half nights" schedule right now. I wake up at odd hours and can't keep my eyes open at other times. Just part of the perks of working night shift and playing during the day time. But, on the bright side, I'm getting to watch some of my favorite parts of the Olympics. (just have to look for the silver lining)

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!