The story behind the picture # 18

Oregon Coast

This is one of my favorite pictures of the northern trip up the Pacific Coast Highway in 2004. While studying maps along the way, Larry and I saw a lot of lighthouses and we stopped at as many as we could. We had just finished touring the Umpqua River Lighthouse when I noticed the bay. I love the way the clouds are creeping into the hills. We did go down and walk on the beach a bit later.

There ya go... a nice little stroll down memory lane that brought back some great memories!

Random Question Wednesday

What was your favorite subject in school and what did you like about it?

I loved geography! I still love it.

I know all the states and their capitals. I'm not as good with countries and their capitals, but I love learning and knowing about other countries.

I love looking at an Atlas and Oh My God, don't get me started with Google Earth! I go "virtual" sightseeing on there a lot.

I think that because of my love of geography I love to travel. I have been in 47 states! If I ever won a lottery I would travel the world! I love to see how people live in other countries and see the scenery they see.


What is a subject you loved in school? And why?

Weekend update

It's weird how just one second in time can change the course of your day.

I was ready for a relaxing weekend. I had a few projects to finish up, like the painting of my kitchen. The tan I got from my staycation was fading so I knew I needed a little pool time too.

I left work on Friday later than usual and joined some coworkers for drinks. As soon as I arrived home (a little buzzed) I get a call from Youngest Sister. She and her youngest daughter were visiting friends of theirs in Nashville and they were now "stuck" in Houston. They missed all flights to Utah. I heard over the phone: "We got a flight into Dallas. Could you pick us up from the airport in two hours?" They arranged for my brother-in-law to drive down from Santa Fe where he is working to pick them up sometime during the weekend. "Um... sure! What time does your flight get in?" was my response.

I hurried to clean up the mess that was in the kitchen and pick up a few things around the house and was at the airport at 10:30PM. It's been three years since I've seen them, my niece is now a teenager and has really grown! WOW!!

We had a nice visit. The next curve ball was thrown at me in a few hours though... my brother-in-law was still working! He would leave Santa Fe at around 2PM. Would I drive my sister and niece to Wichita Falls, TX to cut some of his travel time? since he had to be back at work on Sunday! "OK! Sure, what time do we need to be there?" was my reply!

It was a nice trip. I visited a lot with my sister and got caught up on all the family news from everyone in Utah. We finally met up with the bro-in-law, had dinner and I was headed back to Dallas.... very late! I was back in Dallas well after 2AM.


Yesterday was catch up day for all my chores and projects!

I will try to blog more this week. Hopefully no curve balls will be thrown my way again. But even so... you just change your plans and enjoy the moment.

Have a great week y'all!

Simple Pleasure

Every Sunday I put clean sheets on the bed.

I love crawling into a bed that has fresh clean sheets! It's one of those simple pleasures in life. It's a nice way to start out a new week.


Staycation update:
I have been lazy and only gotten a few things done that I needed to do. I got a ceiling fan up (see Facebook photos) and plenty of gym and pool time in. I guess the best thing I've done is just relax! I'll go back to work tomorrow in a better frame of mind! I needed this....


What is one of your 'simple pleasures'?

Jim's Stuff around the house

Toy Edition
Y'all get you minds out of the gutter... not those kind of toys! These are the stuff I have at home to keep a smile on my face and the kid in me alive.



Volleyball man

Armadillo & Ferret

Knights

White Knights

Gumby & Pokey

Sock Monkey (that's his name)

Meerkats

What are some toys y'all have around your house?

Random stuff

Staycation
I finally decided, I'm staying put in Dallas instead of driving up to Colorado. I have stuff to do at home. I saw some national weather this morning and if I had gone I would be driving in some major storms today! Yikes!

Yesterday I slept in till after 10AM! This was rare for me as I am a morning person. I think my allergies were bothering me. The temperature had dropped in the last couple of days in Dallas and I spent more time sitting on my patio and walking outside.


Yard sale
My condo is on a dead-end street, a cul-de-sac of sorts. There are 3 different communities of condos and the tower which is apartments. They're planning a community yard sale in a few weekends. I'm going to participate, I have lots of extra stuff that I'd like to get rid of, so I might as well sell it! I need to use part of my staycation to clean out my closet and the storage room, but I have to be careful. The last time I had a yard sale I got carried away and sold some stuff I really shouldn't have. I liked the house cleaning and people giving me money for my old stuff!!


Pool Time
My sunburn is much better!! I have a nice tan base. And now that the temps are back in the mid 90s I'll go back and enjoy some more pool time! With sunscreen! And my phone... maybe I need to set a timer so I'll know when to turn over and get some color on my back and sides. The sunburn was very uneven... I had white stripes down my sides.


Hair cut
I got my hair cut yesterday. The girl asked me if I wanted my eyebrows trimmed; "sure" I said. I didn't give it a second thought until I looked in the mirror later. O.M.G!! I think she went a little too close! I look very 'plucked'! Eyebrows grow back don't they? Otherwise I'll have to resort to something else:

OCD

I was having a small snack this afternoon at work when I noticed something weird.

The last couple of times when I've gotten a handful of M&Ms from my co-worker's desk I realized I have this... thing. I have to sort them by color! I tried to leave them unorganized, but that felt even more weird!!!


I really try to be aware of all my OCD traits, but this was a new one that I never knew I had. UGH!

I should schedule a session with Dr. Spo! Do you think he could squeeze me in if I ask nicely?

Lobster

A friend used to say: "tan fat always looks better than white fat".

I'm feeling very pale lately. I used to go tanning several times a week in years past. I also called it the "easy bake oven" or the "electric beach". I know there is high risk of developing melanoma from tanning and that is partly why I stopped.

So since I've been feeling pasty white I decided to get a little color this weekend. I laid by the pool for a short while. Chatted with some neighbors, listened to the iPod and really tried to relax.

Well, I got some color. I just didn't want it to be bright red!!

UGH!!!

Now I'm nursing angry red skin! You'd think I would learn... I'm a few years from the half century mark, I should know better!

My skin is just soaking in the aloe vera. I'm applying lotion because I know that in a few days I will be dry and itchy.

Hope y'all had a great weekend. And remember...

USE SUNSCREEN!!

I'm still here...

I know I haven't posted anything in a while, I just haven't felt like it. Some days in the past week I've written a line or two and then nothing else came to mind to write about.

Lots of things going on in my life and in my head that I'm not ready to share yet.



I did indulge a little this last week and went to eat sushi!! Sushi prices are a little out of my budget range so I don't go as much as I would like. I need to find out the days when there are specials so I can satisfy my cravings.

My family in Utah thinks I'm crazy for liking sushi, but I understand. While I was growing up there the only fresh fish we got was trout and it stank up the house when mom fried it. And when we drove into Provo or Salt Lake City sushi would have been the last place they took us to eat. Dad was the steak and potatoes kind of guy.

It has only been in the last ten years that I tried sushi and now I love it! It makes me think of what else is out there that I haven't tried because I have this preconceived notion that I won't like it....



I'll try to blog more, well... after next weekend. I think I'll be going on a road trip to Colorado to visit some friends. I say "I think" because this is one of those things going on in my head that I haven't decided on for sure yet. I could just have a "staycation" and get some projects done around the house.

Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!