Hey Stranger! and More Randomness......... Tra La La

I am off from work allllll week! YAY! So, I thought I would blog. WHOA! Shocker!

Well, my cold that I have had for over 2 weeks is almost all gone. YAY! (Keeping fingers crossed.) This has been a bad winter for illnesses for everyone.

My wedding ring is in the process of being repaired. Boo. As you can see from the previous post, one of the pesky little sapphires decided to jump out and run away. :( So, the jeweler has to find a matching sapphire and fit it to my ring. It will probably be after Christmas when I get it back. Thankfully I have my "sport wedding band" to wear in the meantime.

OK. Time to complain. I whined a little about this on my Facebook page, but I have to complain here, too. :) So, Hubby and I were out this weekend finishinig up our Christmas shopping (we are done!!! YAY!). I saw someone I know and was flabbergasted...that's right...I said flabbergasted...at their response to my smiling and waving to this person. I don't think my explanation will do justice to how she acknowledged me. She sarcastically smirked (not a smile at all) and did a quick wave. Like, "Yah, I see you....and I could care less." I was like, "What the???" Hubby? Did you see that??? What kind of response is that? How incredibly rude. Look chic. Yes, you and I aren't friends, but we do know each other and we have mutual friends. What's with the rudeness? What did I ever do to you???? I don't get it. I am like the nicest person ever. ;)

Sheesh!

So, on a final and VERY EXCITING note. The actual house building process has officially begun. I took a long time and paperwork to choose the home and at the options and stuffs that go with it. Hubby & I finally met with the construction supervisor last weekend and this week, they began!!!

UG!

If anyone has found a missing immune system AND sapphire....please let me know.

I am looking for these items.

Wow, today is a crappy day!

:(

You Will be Missed!

Love you, Nana! You will be missed. I am comforted that you are now with God, Margie, and Grandpa Chuck. I am comforted that you are in a peaceful place in no pain and looking down on all of us sending us your love and blessings. We'll see you again someday.

More Photos

Click here: More Grand Canyon & Sedona pics.

Grand Canyon & Sedona

The hubby & I had a great time with ETK & Baby in the Grand Canyon!

We stayed just outside of the park in a small town called Tusayan, AZ, and so we just a few minutes away from the South Rim. We hiked every day! The first day we did part of the South Kaibab trail, the second day we took it down a few notches (the South Kaibab was STEEP, but great) and did the Rim Trail, and the third day we hiked part of the Bright Angel trail. We tried many of the restaurants, and they were mostly mediocre at best. BUT what do you expect from a state park. ;) However, we really enjoyed the breakfast & strong coffee at Cafe Tusayan. We didn't try lunch or dinner, so not sure how those meals rate. I imagine probably not that great from what I briefly read from reviews online. BUT one does not go to the Grand Canyon for the food. You go for the BREATH-TAKING views and awesome hiking. I really enjoyed it & will definitely go back sometime. Maybe next time we'll get to stay at one of the cabins or lodges in the park. Or maybe even in the historic El Tovar.

Hubby & I spent our last night in Sedona, AZ. What a beautiful town! I wish we had spent a few more days there. Also, breath-taking views. We didn't have time to hike, but had some time to check out some of the shops and art galleries, snapped some great photos of the red rocks, stayed in an awesome hotel, and had an AMAZINGLY delicious last meal at a great Italian restaurant called Dahl & Di Luca Cucina Rustica. Very dee-lish & very romantic. We dined on the patio with an outdoor fire place & a musician. It was a great way to end our vacation.

We had a great time & were glad to share most of our time with ETK & Baby. :)

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.


Addendum to this...(Thanks for informing us, Ian!!!):

From an internet source:

William J. H. Boetcker (1873 – 1962) was an American religious leader and influential public speaker.
Born in Hamburg, Germany, he was ordained a Presbyterian minister soon after his arrival in the United States as a young adult. He quickly gained attention as an eloquent motivational speaker, and is often regarded today as the forerunner of such contemporary "success coaches" as Anthony Robbins. An outspoken political conservative, Rev. Boetcker is perhaps best remembered for his authorship of a pamphlet entitled The Ten Cannots. Originally published in 1916, it is often misattributed to Abraham Lincoln. The error apparently stems from a leaflet printed in 1942 by a conservative political organization called the Committee for Constitutional Government. The leaflet bore the title "Lincoln on Limitations" and contained some genuine Lincoln quotations on one side and the "Ten Cannots" on the other, with the attributions juxtaposed. The mistake of crediting Lincoln for having been the source of "The Ten Cannots" has been repeated many times since, most notably by Ronald Reagan in a speech he gave at the 1992 Republican convention in Houston.

There are several minor variants of the pamphlet in circulation, but the most commonly-accepted version appears below:
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
You cannot build character and courage by destroying men's initiative and independence.
And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

We Survived Ike!

Well, we survived Ike. Thankfully, my family and I got through the storm without major problems. We are ok, my parents' home is fine, and our cars are ok. We did have a lot of trees down & a lot of debris, but it is mostly cleaned up now. The house and my sister's car were JUST missed by trees. Thank God they weren't hit. The house only sustained a small hole in the roof, which is now patched and the power lines were severed, but also repaired. We had NO electricity for 2 weeks! Thankfully Dad has a generator and we were able to have the fridge plugged in, fans, cell phones, and eventually we plugged in window A/C units due to the increasing heat after the storm passed. We got electricity back on this weekend. Let me just say that I LOVE ELECTRICITY, HOT SHOWERS, AND A/C!!! These trully are luxuries that we take for granted. I sooooo appreciate them now if I didn't before. :)

My family and I sure are blessed. As you have probably heard and seen, so many people here were not so lucky. I hears some of the people I know in Galveston lost their homes or nearly lost them and much of their property. Some lost their lives. The losses are horrific. AND I AM SOOOO GLAD hubby & I had already sold our home before the storm....we don't even know yet how it did through the storm. Our old neighborhood is much closer to the coast compared to where my parents' home is. I hope it is ok... but thank God we aren't there any more!!!

Here are some of my storm pics....

We do not like Ike!!!

Big Heart

Wow! This woman has a HUGE heart!

It's people like her that I admire greatly...

Angel's Gate

Looks like we've changed plans.....