Well, once again, Christmas has come and gone.  I get all grumpy before because of the stress it causes.  I hate spending the money on things, just because we are supposed to give presents.  There has to be a better way.  I am happy how it all turns out, and I love spending the time with my family.  I love the excitement I see in them.  I love making the memories with them.  I love the once a year family photo we manage to wrestle in when we are all together!  I am spoiled by my kiddos, they are so thoughtful.  And yet, through it all, why does it make me feel so negative?  I gotta work on this for 2018 and figure it out, because many years later, after I started Walk The Creek, for this very reason, I still haven't figured it out. 

Christmas' come and go, and we make memories, and we have fun, but I still feel it.  I don't get it.  My good friend read this poem about Christmas, in a talk she gave at a church meeting, and I want to share it here.  Perhaps it sums it up just a bit....

SEE MOTHER... FUNNY FUNNY MOTHER

See Mother, see mother laugh. Mother is happy.
Mother is happy about Christmas.
Mother has many plans. Mother has many plans for Christmas.
Mother is organized. Mother smiles all the time.
Funny, funny mother.

See Mother. See mother smile. Mother is happy.
The shopping is done. See the children watch TV. Watch children, watch.
See the children change their minds.
See them ask Santa for different toys.
Look. Look. Mother is not smiling.
Funny, funny mother.

See mother. See mother sew.
Mother will make dresses.
Mother will make robes.
Mother will make shirts.
See mother put the zipper in wrong.
See mother sew the dress on the wrong side.
See mother cut the skirt to short.
See mother put the material away until January.
Look. Look, see mother take a tranquilizer.
Funny, funny mother.

See mother. See mother buy raisins and nuts.
See mother buy candied pineapple and powdered sugar.
See mother buy flour, and dates, and pecans, and brown sugar, and
Bananas, and spices and vanilla.
Look. Look. Mother is mixing everything together.
See the children press out cookies
See the flour on their elbows.
See the cookies burn. See the cakes fall.
See the children pull taffy. See mother pull her hair.
See mother clean the kitchen with the garden hose.
Funny, funny mother.

See mother. See mother wrap presents. See mother look for the end on the tape roll.
See mother bite her finger nails.
See mother go. See mother go to the store 12 times in one hour.
Go mother go. See mother go faster. Run mother run.
See mother trim the tree. See mother have a party. See mother make pop corn.
See mother wash the walls. See mother scrub the rug.
See mother tear up her organized plan.
See mother forget a gift for Uncle Harry. See mother get hives.
Go mother go. See the far away look in mother's eyes.
Mother has become disorganized. Mother has become dis-oriented.
Funny, funny mother.

It is finally Christmas morning. See the happy family.
See father smile. Father is happy. Smile father smile.
Father loves the fruit cake. Father loves the Christmas pudding.
Father loves all his new neckties.
Look. Look. See the happy children. See the children's toys.
Santa was very good to the children. The children will remember this Christmas.

See mother. Mother is slumped in a chair. Mother is crying uncontrollably.
Mother does not look well. Mother has ugly dark circles under her blood shot eyes.

Everyone helps mother to her bed.
See mother sleep quietly under her heavy medication.
See mother smile.
Funny, funny mother.

Humorous yes, but sometimes I can't help feel like we do it to ourselves, to create this perfect atmosphere, the perfect picture, and in the end, it doesn't matter.  It all comes together and three days later it is over, taken down, and life goes on.  Memories are created is all we can hope for!!

What will 2018 bring?  Will it bring success?  Will it bring more trials?  What is in store?  2017 has been a challenging year in many regards.  I am glad it is over, and with cautious anticipation, I look forward to a new year to make a difference. Somewhere out there, I can muster up the courage to move forward.

I have plans, but again, am cautious, because life often gets in the way of the plans we make, and it takes us in different directions.  Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but I really hope for success in some of the other areas I struggle to bring forward.  My blogs, my books, my ambitions for my herbal products,  are all a part of what I hope to succeed, but each year, time keeps me from them.  Focus is something I have a hard time with.  Learning to say no is also up there on the list of difficult tasks. 

Blogs
Ideas
Books
Herbal

And definitely time out for camping and connecting with nature!

2018 will bring adventures, without a doubt, perhaps I can steer them to be good ones.  God bless us all in our adventures of 2018........

Creeks

CREEKS

Streams, rivers, and creeks, are the great sculptors of land, moving the rocks, the land,  eroding, transporting, changing courses, shaping and fine tuning the rocks and land masses into beautiful works of art.  

Similar to our own lives, it takes years of trials, challenges, pain, happiness, and moulding our lives into the people we are today, and the people we are to become.  Sometimes we have to be weathered a little bit more.  Sometimes we have to go through different trials which shape us into who we should be.

Sometimes when creek beds get eroded too much, and there is a possibility of collapse or destruction, we move in and restore them, reclaim them.  We do whatever is necessary to restore the natural state and function of the stream, in order to support the biodiversity, management and landscape.  

It is always important to keep the habitat healthy, to keep all of the different life forms happy.  There are many diverse species that depend on the healthy ecosystem a creek has to offer.  

Sometimes we also have to go in and improve the water ways.  We attempt to improve the water quality, the flow of the stream, the dams and so forth.  It is all a part of keeping the water flow healthy, so it can do it's job.

Again, similar in our own lives, often when we are weathered down, and about to collapse or

break apart, it is time for someone, including ourselves, to step in and take drastic measures to prevent ourselves from complete collapse. There are people in our lives who depend on us.  There is a complete ecosystem around us, and if we fail, it has ripple effects often far beyond that which we can see or understand.

We go through trials that shape us, mould us, and help us to grow.  I know sometimes these trials are horrible.  I often look at the world around, and am horrified at what I see, and that is only what is on the surface.  I know there are people suffering in silence everywhere.  Abuse, depression, poverty, disease, and so many other things are rampant in the world, and go unnoticed.  People suffer in silence.

I guarantee you are going through something.  Whether you personally, or someone you love.  I am here to tell you that you can rise above.  You can conquer this, and you can grow from it, enough even to stand up and make a change, make a difference in your own life, and quite possibility in the lives of others.  Will it be easy to do?  Honestly, not likely, but it will be worth it. If you are struggling with something, ask yourself this question.  What are my options?  There are always options.  We need to find those options and sort through them to be successful.  

Hopefully, Walking Your Creek, will help you do just that. 

What's Your Word?

I totally love reading stories with brilliant wisdom!  Stories like Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  Stories like 20 Wishes by Debbie Macomber. Stories like We Bought A Zoo, and Second Hand Lions.  They are all really great stories within themselves, but they offer such a great sense of wisdom.

They are stories that I love to read, but I either have to stop and write thoughts and quotes down as I am reading, or I read once just for the love of the book, and then a second time to get the thoughts and ideas I want down on paper.  Is that crazy?  Maybe, but do I care if it is crazy?  Nope!  I love to read, and I love quotes.  I love inspiration, and I love others inspiration that feeds into my own!

For example in Eat Pray Love - well let's just say I totally loved the book.  I can picture myself being this person, if life had turned out differently for me!  I could totally do what she did!  I loved it.  I loved the concept of finding a word that represents who you are -

"Maybe you're a woman in search of her word" 

and I often think - maybe I am a woman in search of my own word.  It isn't what I do for a living, or what I think of myself, but who I am.  What represents me?  If I can find my own word, then will I find who I am?  Will I find me?  I think that as time moves and we grow with it, perhaps the word we use to describe ourselves may change, but there has got to be one word, that is me, regardless of how much time changes who we are.  My word?  I haven't figured that out yet, but I am working on it.

Another example in 20 Wishes by Debbie Macomber, is a book about figuring out what you want most in life and setting goals / wishes that they may come true.   A group of ladies meet, and agree each to set their own set of 20 wishes.  Through their own experiences they find out that wishes can really come true, and often it isn't in the way you would expect it.  It leaves you with the desire to set your own 20 wishes, and see what happens.  It's really about starting over again, and making life better.  I really enjoyed it, and ended with a renewed desire to be "that" person who started over and succeeded. One of Debbie's quotes I love the best is:

“Be an encourager. Scatter sunshine. Who knows whose life you might touch with something as simple as a kind word.”

We Bought A Zoo:  I never read the book, but I totally loved the movie!  One of my all time favorite quotes and philosophies of life has come from this - by Benjamin Mee -

“You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.” 

Isn't that just perfect!!!  I have used this many times in my life when I have felt unsure, or like something might not be worth it, and it has gotten me through!  I totally love it!  

In Letters to Juliet,  “Claire: Dear Claire, "What" and "If" are two words as non-threatening as words can be. But put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life: What if? What if? What if? I don't know how your story ended but if what you felt then was true love, then it's never too late. If it was true then, why wouldn't it be true now? You need only the courage to follow your heart. I don't know what a love like Juliet's feels like - love to leave loved ones for, love to cross oceans for but I'd like to believe if I ever were to feel it, that I will have the courage to seize it. And, Claire, if you didn't, I hope one day that you will. All my love, Juliet”
― Lise Friedman

Have you ever asked yourself "what if?"  Those two words can be the toughest two words a person can ever utter, but the most profound as well.  I loved this story and what it stands for.  Those of us in life who are wondering the "what if's".

And finally - in the movie Second Hand Lions - again I have never read a book, but have watched the show many, many times, and I love it.  When Uncle Hub is giving the talk about what every boy needs to know to be a man, he says - 

"Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good; that honor, courage, and virtue mean everything; that power and money, money and power mean nothing; that good always triumphs over evil; and I want you to remember this, that love... true love never dies. You remember that, boy. You remember that. Doesn't matter if it's true or not. You see, a man should believe in those things, because those are the things worth believing in."

 I have said, and felt, on many occasions, that perhaps "so and so" needs to have this talk delivered to them.  Oh, how I love to find good messages in movies, books, and even songs.  There is just so much in life that is crap, we need to be able to see the good, pick it out from the piles of "stuff", and feed our souls happiness.  Wisdom can be found in goodness, and I love it!

On that note, there are stories within our own lives that contain brilliant wisdom as well.   Stories where we learn and grow.  Don't forget to write down the quotes and examples that contain brilliant wisdom from these stories, for they are ever as much a part of who we are, as the stories we read and learn from.  Stories from the lives of our loved ones, or stories from our daily experiences.  Quotes from our own lives can be just as memorable as a quote from a movie or a book.  Never overlook your life experiences and words as minimal for they are the most important ones YOU can learn from. 

Here is my question - What if, you wrote down your 20 wishes, and took that 20 seconds of insane courage, to find what you believe in, then moved forward 20 seconds at a time, would you be able to find your word, who you are, and what life means to you?  What if you did that?  What if something great came of it?  What if it gave you meaning in life? What if it shared a little bit of you, to create something better?  What if it found your true love?  What if it found YOU?  What if?

Christmas - Ohhhh

But seriously - we are creeping up on Christmas - less than 2 months away, and I again can feel the anxiety starting to build.  It is there in the pit of my stomach, making me not want to do Christmas again.  Why do I do that?  I remember all those years ago that I started this blog, it was just before Christmas, I was having anxiety attacks and feeling really depressed about Christmas.  I started Walk the Creek to help me talk my way through the Christmas anxiety, and to give myself an outlet.  Crazy how I am coming round to that again, some ten years later. 

Someone at work mentions how many Saturdays til Christmas; someone on Facebook has the nerve to post how excited they are for how many days til Christmas; someone in my house has the audacity to start watching Christmas movies, and ask where the Christmas tree is going to go this year; someone else has the audacity to ask what we do for Christmas every year, and I just want to say "survive", but I politely go on to tell them our weak traditions, hoping they will sound great!  Yes that is where I am at right now.  I start thinking of the list of things I want to do, or need to do, and the list of gifts I think they all might want or need, and pit in my stomach starts punching me from the inside out.  Why????  I really don't know.

I think each year that I want to buy less, or stress less, or focus more on the true meaning, but then as it comes closer, I start to think, I still need to buy everyone something, I still want to give them memory making opportunities, and I stress again.  Oh I don't love it at all...........

What am I going to do this year to make it different?  I have no freakin idea!  Stay tuned and see how it all turns out!.......

35 Years

12,775 days in 35 years.  If I live another 35 years, I have 12,775 days to do something extraordinary with my life.

My Next 30 Years - Tim McGraw

I think I'll take a moment celebrate my age
End of an era and the turning of a page
Now it's time to focus in on where I go from here
Lord have mercy on my next thirty years

In my next thirty years I'm gonna have some fun
Try to forget about all the crazy things I've done
Maybe now I've conquered all my adolescent fears
And I'll do it better in my next thirty years

My next thirty years I'm gonna settle all the scores
Cry a little less, laugh a little more
Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear
Figure out just what I'm doin' here in my next thirty years

For my next thirty years I'm gonna watch my weight
Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late
Drink a little lemonade and not so many beers
Maybe I'll remember my next thirty years

My next thirty years will be the best years of my life
Raise a little family and hang out with my wife
Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear
Make up for lost time here in my next thirty years
In my next thirty years

At my age, it is time to do some serious reflection on how I want to spend the next 35 - 40 years of my life, because that's about all there is.  I have turned many pages in my life, written many chapters, lots of great ones, and even a few that were not so great, but oh the memories that were made.  I added another thing to my bucket list for this year and that is to write a family history of sorts for my own family and our travels and memories through the years.

I only want to settle the scores where I can return good for the good that those have done to me.  I don't believe he meant settle scores by getting back at people who wronged us.  It really isn't worth wasting even one day on doing that. I don't have that many days to waste.  Only 12,775 in the next 35 years!  I don't want to cry any more, even though I know that will happen.  It is part of growing, but I do want to be remembered for the person who was always happy, who always smiled, was always kind, and always helped people.  To find a world of happiness without hate and fear, we have to create that in our own little world, because it isn't to be found out there in the big real world today.  But I can work really hard on creating that within my own home, my work place, my family, and surrounding me.

I definitely have to watch my own weight, you know when you turn 50, the body seems to start to fall apart, kind of like a car that has reached "lots" of miles and you now realize that you should have taken a bit better care of her.  So you start checking the oil regularly, as well as all the other fluids,  you get some new tires, and clean her up real good, and hope that she gives you another good run.  Well ya, that is where you get to at around the age of 50, when you realize if you want to live another 40 years or so, you had better start watching some things.  Health all of a sudden becomes important as you watch the older generation moving on and realize that you are the next generation.  Reality sets in and you start to maintain your body and soul a little bit better hoping to get another 30 or 40 years out of her.  Yep, that's where I am at.

You start to realize that precious moments and making memories are all that "really" matter in life.  You understand that "stuff" is really just taking up space in your world, and you really don't have time nor energy for it any  more, you only have time for those things that are important.  Priorities, family, making memories with them, being happy, your soul, spending time with those you love, that is all that really matters.  You put in time at work, because you have to, because the bills still need to be paid, and you give it your best at work, but when you leave there, you shut the door and return to your place where things in life "really" matter.  Don't get me wrong, I actually really enjoy my job, but in the end, is my job going to define me?  I hope not.  But the world I create around me will define the person I was, the memories I created, and the people I made smile, will - and yes it could very well include all the little rascals I deal with on a day to day basis!

So for my next 35 - 40 years, my next 12,775 days (plus), what am I going to do?  How am I going to spend those days?  At that point I will be a whopping 87 and holding fast, how am I going to spend those days?  Some food for thought and reflection, and I will get back to you on that one for sure.

How will you spend your next 12,775 days?  The clock is ticking.....

Conquer The Lonely

What a wild and crazy world we live in!  Things are not easy.  There are natural and man made disasters every where we look.  We are on the verge of war everywhere.  It is crazy!   These are some difficult times. 

At church yesterday, I was listening to the Sunday School lesson, in which the teacher, a surgeon, said that with all the different kinds of plagues out there, the studies are showing that the biggest plague the world is facing right now is loneliness!  I can see that.  I see it in school kids.  I see it in teenagers.  I see it in adults both young and old.  I see it all around me.  It is a very real thing.  Difficult times?  You bet. 

Loneliness.  I think of all of the things that can cause loneliness, because you see, I don't think it comes from just not having a friend, or being actually "alone".  You can be in a crowded room, and still feel extreme loneliness.  One of my little guys in my school classroom of kindergarden kiddos said a while back, he has no friends.  So even though he is in a class full of kids and teachers, he feels loneliness.  I think there are people who are alone, that are not lonely, because they keep themselves so busy involved in things.  But then, on the other hand, they can be extremely busy during the day and when they go home at the end of the day, they are probably lonely. 

I wish I had an answer, to help solve the problem of loneliness, but I don't.  There are just too many people I personally know, who are lonely, reaching out, and looking to fill the void of loneliness in their lives, and it hurts to watch.  Yet, I know I can't be the one to fill that void.  It must come from them.  You bet life is difficult, and lonely.  But I believe these things can be conquered if we really want.  Yuppers it sucks!  I see it.  I understand it.  I get it.  I choose not to embrace it, but to conquer it.  Conquer the lonely.  I don't have the answer, or the how, for you.  It will be different for everyone, yet I believe it can be done.  I believe it should be done.  And know that you are not alone in your loneliness.  Reach out and be that person to help someone else, and you just might find your answer.

On Life...

You know life is just soooo busy!  Walk The Creek, I miss you!  Whoever said life was supposed to slow down as your kids got older and moved out, well let me tell you "They were lying!"  There is no such thing as slowing down!

Don't get me wrong, I am happy with life, at least for the most part.  There are things I wish I could have done in this life, but yes, I have settled for the fact that they will never happen, and I am okay with that.  But, dang!  I do wish in some ways at least, that it would slow down a little and give me a few minutes to do some of the things I really would like to.

Alas, it is what it is, and I will be okay.  I really do miss writing on a couple of my old time favorite blogs.  Now I write, but mostly on my blog about preparedness, and honestly it is mostly out of duty, instead of love.  Love is a strange thing, in many different ways, and my writing isn't for love right now.  SAD! 

Why don't I just make the time to write, for love?  I know you are saying that, right?  You see in my mind, I should have at least 3 hours a day, where I should be able to sit down and write whatever I want.  There is a key word in there that says:  SHOULD!  Should - means dreaming!  It never really happens!  There is ALWAYS someone else who thinks my time needs to revolve around them!  And yes, my family is important, and yes, my church responsibilities are important, and yes I love my job, but - dang!!  I just want to do some things.

Okay my rant is over for the day.  It is a full moon and off to school I go!  It is going to be a wild and crazy day, I can just feel it!  Dang!

Virtual Fieldtrip of Paris

Date night to France!  Okay, so for part of Logan's Christmas gift, it included date nights around the world, one each month.  This month we are visiting Paris / France.  Join in our virtual fieldtrip with us, and then create your own date night ideas to go along with it!  Here goes....

This one is kind of a historical one, and is interesting - Virtual fieldtrip to Paris  


Another link to a video of the ten top attractions in Paris









There now we have visited Paris for the year!  Keep watch for more travels around the world as we visit one or two places each month for our date night!

Healing Comes From Nature

Sometimes I find a quote that just speaks to me.  I love herbal healing and learning everything about it.  Sometimes, I get so busy in life that I forget what my true passions are, or they get pushed to the side because life gets in the way.  Why is it that we need to get physically sick, before we remember what we know?  Did that make sense?

I was looking for some answers yesterday, due to some health problems, and the answer came to me, "remember what you have learned and put it to use!"  Healing comes from nature!

Got it!  Why is it?  So now I am committed to again get back to the beauty of natural and herbal healing.  I need to learn more, and I need to re-adjust my schedule, my life, to get back to what it is that is important to me.  Done!

I love all things herbal healing and essential oils! I love all things preparedness and helping people!  And I love all things about making memories and being happy!  Priorities - focus on these things!

Thus,  I have almost finished my Emergency Preparedness E-course, and I will turn your focus to that soon.

I am working on my Basic Herbal Healing E-course and it will be finished soon as well.

I am excited for both of these, and so much more!

In the mean time - remember all things started with nature - God put it here for our use!  Let's use it to heal our bodies and souls.

Love Davilyn

Habits of Happy People

February has been a tough month for me.  Lots of doctor appointments, lots of stress, really busy, and at school, the kiddos have been a little bit crazy!   I have been trying really hard to keep remembering that camping, spring, creeks, greenery, outdoors - it's all right around the corner!  Next week we get a break from work and the kiddos for a week and it is much needed for sure.  However, it doesn't mean a break from "work" so to speak, because that will be when a really good spring cleaning and de-cluttering comes into play here.  Ah the joys!

But all in all, life is great!  What would it be without a little stress now and then right?  We all have our happy places that we can go, when stress gets to us, when life hits us hard in the face, when we just feel like we want to cry a little.  Sometimes it is really hard though, to remember that happy place when you don't feel like being happy.  Here are some of the habits that happy people try to implement in their lives, and I promise, they likely don't do all of these, but perhaps next time you are feeling like you just got slapped in the face again, or you want to cry, perhaps you could try one or more of these things and see how it makes you feel.  Even better, work on one or two each month and make it a habit in your life, and before you know it, you will find - voila!  You are a Happy Person!

This post is filled with Og Mandino quotes.  They make me happy.  They help me to ground myself in what is good for me.  They offer incredible insight, so please take time to read,  ponder and apply them in your life, and you may find meaning and understanding on happiness and who you are meant to be!  All of the quotes in big colorful letters are from Og Mandino!  What a brillant, happy, grounded man.

Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.  Og Mandino

• First off, happiness is a choice, just like being angry, sad, or excited.  You can choose to be happy.

Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.

• Learn to be grateful for things.  Happy people recognize blessings in their lives and are grateful people
• Learn to forgive others.  Let's face it, people are never as smart as we think they should be, and as a general rule, we do stupid stuff.  Learn to forgive stupid, mean, things, because guess what?  They, more often than not, don't know they are even being stupid.  Perhaps they need this list.  Regardless, forgive them, and you will find a burden lifted off your heart.

The only certain means of success is to render more and better service than is expected of you, no matter what the task may be. This is a habit followed by all successful people since the beginning of time. Therefore I saith the surest way to doom yourself to mediocrity is to perform only the work for which you are paid.

• Be a positive thinker.  Take care of your thoughts - do a little spring cleaning of your own and get rid of the negative thoughts that keep you going in that circle of woe.  Negative feeds off negative, and nobody likes a negative person, so train yourself to look for the positive in people, in life, and soon that is what you will see.   You will be able to look beyond the negative and see happy, positive.
• Money isn't the end all, be all, and it really can't buy your happiness.  Ya, I will be the first one to admit that I would like a little more money in my life too, but I have learned through years and years of trials of money, that it doesn't buy happiness, in fact it usually does the opposite.  But..... learn to deal with your station in life, no matter what it is, you can be happy if you control it properly and accept it for what it is.  You can be happy with lots of money or with very little money, either way, you choose how you will be.  Learn to spend money on experiences and not things.  It is the things that will leave no lasting happiness, but experiences with family and friends, creating those happy memories, that is what will bring the lasting happiness.  Og Mandino said my all time favorite quote: 
  

  “I am convinced that the greatest legacy we can leave our children are happy memories: those precious moments so much like pebbles on the beach that are plucked from the white sand and placed in tiny boxes that lay undisturbed on tall shelves until one day they spill out and time repeats itself, with joy and sweet sadness, in the child now an adult.”

• Create some good friendships that you can trust and fall back on time and time again.  One good friend is better than a hundred that drag you down into their pit of misery and negativity.  Good friendships will encourage you.  You can laugh when you feel like crying.  You can cry when you are laughing.  A good friend, a really true good friend, is worth more than anything.

Sooner or later all mankind will realize that the greatest cure for all the ills and wrongs, the cares, the sorrow and crimes of humanity rests solely in acts of love. Love is the greatest gift from God. It is the divine spark that everywhere produces and restores life. To each and every one of us, love gives us the power to work miracles with your own life and those we touch.

• Make family your best friends.  Family will always be there when everyone else moves on, so fostering good family relationships, is a great habit happy people make.  Loving to be around your family, there really is nothing more satisfying, and joyful - real joy - than laughing and spending time with those you love.
• Get outside more - so true.  When you are feeling down, go for a walk.  Sit in your back yard and soak in some sun, reading a good book, or better yet pulling a weed, or planting a seed or two.  When I need a good therapy session, I get my hands dirty in my garden and, without a doubt, it helps me be happy.  The sun offers us all that great vitamin D, our happy pills from nature, and fresh air, always helps to clear the brain fog leaving us with clarity and understanding of what is truly important in life
• Serving others, doing things for others, always - always,  allows us to take our eyes off ourselves and see that others have problems too, and they are most often problems that make ours seem pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things.  Service, will make you happy, it will allow your heart to heal, and you may in the process, find a good friend.    

Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.

• Smile even if you feel like crap.  There is enough research out there to scientifically support this, but I promise if you try it yourself, you will be able to emotionally feel the difference in your own happiness.  If you don't feel like smiling, that is when you need to straighten your shoulders and put a smile on your face the most.  It will make others smile, and in turn make you much happier.  Kind of the fake it till you make it theory, but you are faking it - while you make it happen.  Count your blessings. Once you realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward the life that God intended for you with grace, strength, courage, and confidence.  Og Mandino
• Meditation can go a long way to helping you find that inner peace.  Regardless of what faith you have, everyone needs a happy place, a peace within their soul, and meditation can help you find it there.  There are many, many free apps, and videos on you tube, etc that will help you with any meditation that suits your feelings, and even your beliefs.  It will help your brain calm down, and center you in life, with more clarity and purpose, more compassion, and understand.  Give it a whirl, slow down and meditate.

How do I change? If I feel depressed I will sing. If I feel sad I will laugh. If I feel ill I will double my labor. If I feel fear I will plunge ahead. If I feel inferior I will wear new garments. If I feel uncertain I will raise my voice. If I feel poverty I will think of wealth to come. If I feel incompetent I will think of past success. If I feel insignificant I will remember my goals. Today I will be the master of my emotions.

I will greet this day with love in my heart. And how will I do this? Henceforth will I look on all things with love and be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness as it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge.

Meaningful Moments

Grandma’s Meaningful Moments

Jax eating berries on the bench

I am sure that all Grandma’s have meaningful moment’s with their grandchildren.  If for some reason, you don’t, then I strongly encourage you to make them happen.  Make ever moment count with them.  I want to share with you some of my meaningful moments with my grandson’s.

On the bridge in Paradise Creek

I can’t even tell you how much I love the moments when they wrap their little arms around my neck and give me a great big hug.  There is a very little time in their life, when they feel like this is okay to do.  You need to take advantage of every one of these little hugs when you can.  They love to snuggle up until they turn about two, and then if you are lucky you can catch one once in awhile.  Then a couple of years later, they will hug again, but only because they know they should, not because they really want to.  I am not sure yet when the time will come again when they will love to hug their Grandma, but I will take what I can get until that time.

Target Practise at the farm

I love when they love to have sleep overs.  I know that I probably spoil them a bit, and perhaps even bribe them to have sleep overs, but that’s okay, I am allowed to do that.  I figured I earned that right because I raised their parents. Those times when we stay up late watching movies, eat popcorn or other goodies, and sleep in, are lots of fun.  I look forward to more of these.  These are meaningful moments that hopefully they will remember as they grow up as good times.  I can't wait until I can take them camping with us.  You know the Grandma and Grandpa camping trips.  I look forward to that special time together, just us and nature, exploring and experiencing new things.  Creating special memories.

And yes, we zombify sometimes

When we all get together and the house is rockin’ and kids are playing, we are making memories.  Small moments in the grand scheme of things, but many meaningful moments make up the plethora of memories we keep with us.

More meaningful moments: d is for ddddrrrama (grandma) haha Xander you are so funny, bonfires with Wyatt, sleep overs with Wyatt, Jax building line ups of cars, smiles and coo’s from Logan, ,

Reading books

playing at the park, walks in Kin Coulee, wiener roasts at Kin Coulee, dressing up as super heroes, birthday parties, kisses on the cheek (my cheek), falling asleep with the little guys, reading stories and telling it wrong so they correct me, eating strawberries at Grandpa’s farm and stuffing our pockets, playing in my creek, playing in my sandbox, playing with the rocks, eating raspberries, swinging in the big tree, oh we have fun!

For all you Grandma’s out there, make as many of these little meaningful moments count as you can.  It will hopefully create bonds that will last forever.  Wyatt asked once, if one of my grandkids was 18 and being a problem, would I still let them come in my home any time?  I said absolutely, my door will never be closed to my grandkids,

Snuggles

and has never been closed to my own kids.  There will always be an open door policy for all of my kids and grandchildren.  There always has been. Nothing can change that.  Just because they might make some dumb choices, doesn’t mean we still can’t love each other and make more meaningful moments count.  We all make dumb choices sometimes, we get through it, and move on.
 
Make those moments count.

Only in Alberta!

Only in Alberta can it go from 30 below zero to 11 degrees above in less than a week!   Snow is almost completely gone, and there is hope for spring in the air.  However, it is far too early for that.  At least six more weeks before we should be warming up.  I guess "Groundhog Day" is only a couple of weeks away, and then we can know for sure if we will have an early spring.  Not that I believe in that theory, but hey, it is always fun to see what "they" say.  Whoever "they" are.

I am really looking forward to this new year of 2017.  Hubby and I have made a great list of ideas of things we want to do this year!  We called it our 2017 Bucket List!  I decided that each year just seems to pass us by so quickly, and we don't really plan things, we just kind of go with it, and next thing you know, it's gone.  So this year we have planned things.  I have 24 date nights planned.  Well some are date nights and some are date weekends.  I got many of the ideas from this site:  The Dating Divas  Love their site, their ideas and it actually made me look forward to many dates of strengthening my own marriage.  Yes we have been married for almost 29 years now, but who says we can't still have fun.  In fact, it is probably more fun now, and less stress because we don't have little kiddos and we have a little more money and time.  I totally would recommend their site and I purchased several of their products already. 

Reesor Ranch

I also have found this place and am totally stoked to head there for the May long weekend, and our 29th Anniversary!  Reesor Ranch.  I wish I could say this was only in Alberta, but it is in fact in Saskatchewan, in Cypress Hills.  The most beautiful scenery within an hour of where we live.  We have one of the cabins booked, and just being here, we will be able to knock off a few of the things on our bucket list.  We kind of have a realistic bucket list, and yes we even created a more personal, private bucket list as well.  Those

This is the cabin we have rented

ones, well we don't share!  Haha if you get my meaning?  We are not quite dead yet!

Of course our bucket list includes creating a small camper in the back of our truck so we can take off any time we want and it will always be ready for us.  I am totally stoked for that.  A topper on the truck, a bed, and some supplies and we can make camp pretty much anywhere!  I do love camping. 

I will keep posting more on our bucket lists as the year goes on.  In the mean time check out the dating divas site, and the Reesor Ranch.  Pretty sweet. 

Winter Blues

I can do anything, knowing camping is around the corner

Why do I get the winter blues?  And who named them that anyway?  I learned two days ago, that it is actually called Blue Monday, the day after Christmas and New Years when reality sets back in again.  The day when people have to pay bills and they realize they have over spent at Christmas, again.  The day when everyone who has had time off has to go back to work, back to school.  It is cold outside, and reality isn't so nice.  I never knew that was called Blue Monday.  I learned something new this week.  LOL. I can see why they call it that though. 

For me, it wasn't a Blue Monday.  It was just hard to get up early again after sleeping in for two weeks.  Otherwise, I enjoyed it.  Ya, money is a little tight after Christmas, but there is always hope at the end of that

Pick me!

tunnel, if you are willing to work for it.  I also am looking forward to 2017.  I have some great goals and plans already in the works.  I was able to finish quite a few of my renos over the holidays so I can worry less about my house being torn apart, and I am really looking forward to Spring, which is about six short weeks away! 

Winter blues, go away!  I really don't have them, other than I can't seem to warm up completely, and just when I feel like perhaps I am there, I have to go back outside again for something.  Man, it has been cold here for a month or so.  I don't know that we have ever had so many extreme cold warnings, and this much snow!  Where do I live?  Alberta.  So I shouldn't be surprised, I know, but I still am.  Chinook next week and I am a happy camper. Camping season is right around the corner! 

Winter blues, go away!  You really don't have to come another day!

Raising Adults

Why is it?  A question that I ask myself so many times a day.  Why?  Why this?  Why that?

Why is it that raising adults is so much more difficult than raising children?

I used to think raising little children was difficult, and it was, when I was going through it.  It was physically demanding, and exhausting.  There was very little time to do much but deal with children. I raised six of my own, and babysat for 17 years in my home.  Yes, I get it!  I get it that it is difficult, it is exhausting, it is down right emotionally draining.  At least as little children, we have some sort of control over their actions and decisions.  We can give them choices and consequences, and at the end of the day we may feel like we did some good.

Raising adult children, now that's a completely different ball game.  It isn't so much physically draining, but it

Choices, choices

is an emotional drain and exhaustion that never seems to end, and they don't get it.  We still "usually" know what is best for them, but we can't make them do it, and we can't enforce consequences.  They have to make their own choices, and reap their own consequences and we have to sit back and help pick up the pieces.  We can offer advice, but carefully, because if we are not very careful, we cause more hurt than necessary.  There are always consequences, and that sucks, but as parents we can no longer choose those consequences.  We can see from an outside looking in, when they are struggling with depression, anxiety, choices, girl or boy friends, or just friends.  We can see when there are financial struggles, school struggles, marital struggles, and all we can do is hug them and offer to be there for them if they need us.

All we can do is offer, and pray.  Pray they will be smart.  Pray they will listen.  Pray they will follow good examples and see those examples.

I wonder how our parents felt about the decisions we made.  I look back and see that we were pretty bull headed too.  We knew what was best for us, and we didn't really want to listen to them either.  I am sure they were frustrated with us at times.  But I also see that no matter what dumb choices we made, and there were many of them, they always stood by us and helped us pick up the pieces when we fell, and they always celebrated with us when we came out the victor.  I appreciate that!  They showed me how to do it right.

Now I watch, and pray, and hold my breath sometimes, because I see the learning curves certain kids / and / or spouses are going to have to go through, and realize that there isn't much I can do but to love them through it - and it is hard.  Far harder ever than raising little children.  Far harder at the end of the day, when all I can do is pray for them, and leave it in God's hands that the right thing will happen to teach them, and hope that it isn't a really difficult trial to learn.  Yes, it is far harder at the end of the day, with adult children, than it ever was with little children.

Yes, I remember well the physical and emotional exhaustion of raising six children and probably five times that many that were in my home at some point or other, and I feel for you.  All I can give you for advice, if you are reading this, is teach them right when they are little, and I promise it will make raising adult children much less painful.  Teach them to make good choices.  Teach them to be able to tell what are the good choices and the not so good ones.  Teach them to understand.  Teach them to be smart.  Teach them what it means to be a good person.  Just teach them when they are little.  It may seem tough, but so very worth it.  I don't see enough teaching going on in homes today.  Parents are shirking their duty of teaching, leaving it to the world, the school, the daycare, or whoever watches their children, and when these children turn adults, it is going to be so much harder to teach life lessons.

I feel like we taught our children well, and yet it is still difficult to sit back and watch their decisions as adults.  How much worse would it be, if we didn't teach them?  I shudder to think about it.

Looking Back to Look Ahead

2016!  A year that came and went so very fast, it seriously seems like kind of a blur............ and yet it brought many things learned, and many memories made.   All in all, what a good year!  And as I came to the close of the year, I put together a few things on my bucket list, that I want to accomplish for sure in 2017. 

I also did a search on my friend google and found some good articles and lists of bucket list ideas - here is one:

Bucket List 2017 - a great article with some sweet ideas!

Here goes mine - looking ahead!

I want to do some camping for sure.  I want to sleep under the stars.  I want to do some hiking and some nature trails, and I want to spend a weekend or two in a cabin.  I know that is a bunch of things all piled into one, but really one category encompasses them all - getting out in nature more.  Spending as much time as possible outside when the weather is warm, and the sun is shining.

I want to take a couple of weekend retreats for myself, to do some power writing.  Create my own writer's

retreats.  I just can't seem to get ahead and get accomplished what I want to with my writing, so I am planning a couple of times at least where I can just escape by myself and really focus. 

I want to go somewhere new.  Explore somewhere I have never been before.  Perhaps it might just be somewhere in Saskatchewan, or up North somewhere.  It doesn't have to be far from home, but I want to do it.  I need to start doing something adventurous once in awhile.

Create a vision board of my year and what I want to accomplish - create a vision board of my life and where I see it going.  I am a visual person, so I like this challenge, something I can look at and always be reminded of my goals.

 I need to get my daytimer planned for the year and remember to follow it carefully.

Plan my blog posts for the year, writing on each blog once a week, at least, make the check list and check it off as I schedule each post.  This is my form of journaling that I love to do, and just maybe - some day - I could do it full time.  It is in the goals and plans.....

Create my family memories packages I want to make for Noodles and Breadcrumbs blog


Wake up 1/2 hour earlier than I "need" to each day, and when that becomes easy enough, then do it 1/2 hour more.  Or stay up 1/2 hour later to work.  Either way, I need to create one more hour in my day to write.

Write and upload at least 6 eBooks

Write an eCourse and upload it and actually sell it to someone!

Finish Paradise Creek - gotta get it done.  It will soon be uploaded toParadise Creek if you want to check it out.

Read 6 new novels

Take a course or two - something to do with herbs or writing.  I love learning something new.  Always!

I did give dh a package for Christmas which includes 24 dates for this year.  I am pretty stoked about some of them.  I will share some of them as we go along, for we will be "traveling the world" for twelve of the dates.  I have always wanted to travel.  It is a dream of mine to actually get to go somewhere, and even though that may never happen, (for real), we can pretend right? 

Looking forward to our Houseman family reunion this year!  It always proves to be so much fun.  I am grateful I have a family who loves to have fun doing things together.  I want to make memories at this reunion.

Well that is enough of my bucket list to get me started on a great year!  If you have no idea what to put on your bucket list to get your year going, just give google a little search of 2017 bucket list ideas and you are sure to find something that will inspire you.

Good luck and best wishes for a great 2017!!!