“Never measure your life by possessions. Measure it by the hearts you’ve touched, the smiles you created and the love you shared.” ― Ziad K. Abdelnour What wonderful words to embrace and live by. I am a firm believer that our possessions don’t make us who we are or have any sort of lasting effect…
What’s the difference between a quiet person (an introvert) and a shy one? Confidence. I’m proud to be an introvert as well an almost fully recovered shy person. Most of the times I’m not shy anymore, but that self doubt does creep up on me every now and then in certain social situations. Growing up…
One of my most treasured possessions is my Bluebird of Happiness given to me by my mother in law as a wedding gift. I detested this gift as soon as I opened it for two reasons. One, I don’t like knickknacks. Two, I hate birds. They’re dirty, they poop everywhere, and they have scary, beady…
Things I learned from my dad How to be a lifelong learner. Dad finds the world around him fascinating and enjoys learning more about anything that captures his interest. I can remember him taking college courses for fun when I was a kid. He already had a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree, but just wanted…
Dinner time at my house growing up was always a boisterous event. We played games, debated, shared about our day, teased each other, laughed and reconnected. When I got married and had children I knew that I wanted to make our suppertime just as memorable. We bought a round table so the six of us…
The breaking point: After years of dealing with a clique of mean girls on and off again, my daughter Bee has finally reached the point of no return. She is a senior in high school and has had the unfortunate experience of being targeted and ostracized by this unpleasant group of girls. Why was my daughter…
Army brats, that is. Georgia, Hawaii, Virginia, Kansas, and New York are the states they have lived in. Some they’ve lived in twice. The girls have spent a lot of time throughout their childhoods being “the new kid.” They’ve waved their father off on deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq four times since 9/11. Worrying about…
This afternoon my daughter made me stop what I was doing to watch this video with her and I’m so glad I did. It is a beautiful stop-motion music video for ‘James’ by animator Ainslie Henderson made entirely of yellow yarn. The creativity is brilliant and the message is depicted in such a beautiful and…
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is known for rolling hills, sprawling farms, and most of all, a very large and thriving Amish population. Over Memorial Day weekend, my daughters and I booked a private buggy ride through Amish Country. Our ride was two hours long and included stops at an Amish farm, a roadside market and an Amish…
My husband had the pleasure of serving with the U.S. Army’s Old Guard on two separate occasions for a total of five years. Also known as the 3rd U.S. Infantry, it is the oldest active duty Infantry unit in the Army, dating back to 1784. The Old Guard is the Army’s official ceremonial unit…
greatsnaps, goodtimes and me 