Resolutions

I received an email from my SIL earlier in the week. It contained the following:

HANDBOOK 2010

(origin unknown)

HEALTH

-Drink plenty of water.

-Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

-Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

-Live with the 3 E's --- Energy. Enthusiasm. Empathy.

-Make time to pray.

-Play more games.

-Read more books than you did in 2009.

-Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

-Sleep for 7 hours.

-Take a 10 to 30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile!

PERSONALITY

-Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

-Don't have negative thoughts of things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.

-Don't over do it. Keep your limits.

-Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

-Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.

-Dream more while you are awake.

-Envy is a waste of time. You already have all that you need.

-Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner of his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.

-Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.

-Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

-No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

-Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply a part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like the algebra class.

-Smile and laugh more.

-You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

SOCIETY

-Call your family often.

-Each day, give something good to others.

-Forgive everyone for everything.

-Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

-Try to make at least three people smile each day.

-What other people think of you is none of your business.

-Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

LIFE

-Do the right thing!

-Get rid of anything that is not useful, beautiful or joyful.

-God heals everything.

-However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

-No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

-The best is yet to come.

-When you awake alive in the morning, thank God for it.

-Your innermost is always happy. So, be happy!

And finally,

ADVICE FROM BHE

-Hug the ones you love. Make peace with the ones you don't. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Oh, The Weather...

Well-endowed snow woman courtesy of Snow White. Circa 2009.

Looks like we are in for a snowy weekend.
My Christmas shopping is FAR from complete.
Did I mention that I am not a fan of snow?
I'm also not a fan of grocery shopping,
but I've made my list:

Wine
Snow Snacks
Wine
Ginger Ale
Wine

Most people stock up on milk and bread.
I have those at home already.
Is it June yet?

The First Of The Lasts

Last night was the last high school Christmas Concert in which Snow White will perform. It's the first of many "lasts" in her high school singing career. District Chorus, perhaps State Chorus **crosses fingers**, Show Choir Competitions, the Festival of Choirs and the Spring Concert are all on the horizon. It would be impossible to calculate the number of hours that child has devoted to the Choral Program in the past four years.....not to mention every year since fourth grade!!

The Christmas Concert, or Winter Concert, as it is now called, was beautiful. It always is. There is a Freshman Choir, a Jazz Choir, a Men's Choir, a Women's Chamber Choir, a Mixed Chamber Choir and a Women's Show Choir. The songs run the gamut from traditional Christian songs and Negro Spirituals, to German Folk Songs....which are, of course, sung in German!

The Mixed Chamber Choir performed a Hebrew song last night that brought the house down! The song is entitled Bashanah Haba'ah. The Choral Director was kind enough to include the translation in the program, and the lyrics are as follows:

Next Year

Next Year
we will sit on the porch
and count the migrating birds.
Children on vacation
will play tag
between the house and the fields.
You will see, you will see
how good it will be
next year.

Sounds perfect to me!

Menagerie

Animals, wild and domesticated, play a major role in life at Casa de Envy. The cooler temperatures discourage outdoor activities, and we find our pets spending more time indoors. Snuggling. We also find our wild "pets" foraging with a sense of urgency. Their groups become larger, and their pace quickens. It may have something to do with hunting season. It may also have something to do with finding a warm place to sleep before it gets dark at 3:00 p.m..



This year, my kitty has decided that the Christmas tree bores her. She would much rather sit on the window sill and watch for birds and visitors. I'm hopeful that all of the ornaments will make it through the season intact.







This is usually about the time of day that the deer venture into the field. When dusk arrives, they seem to move around a bit more. I'm alright with that, as long as they stay out of the road when I'm driving by!

I found this little guy asleep on my porch early Sunday morning. Poor thing! It was pouring down rain, and he couldn't find his owner. I went outside and fed him, called his owner to let him know where Buddy was, and let my dog out to play with him for a bit. While waiting for his owner to arrive, Buddy curled back up on that soft cushion and slept a bit longer:)

Our cat has been taking over our dog's bed for a couple of months now. Once in a while, he is able to get in there first and prevent her from inhabiting his space. Once in a while, she doesn't care if he's in there or not.....she's going to snuggle in right alongside him!!!

It's a good thing that our pets provide so much entertainment. Snow White will be off to college in less than a year, and the animals will be all we have left to comfort us in our time of grief keep us occupied.

Are you an animal lover?

Retraction

It has come to my attention that the abduction I blogged about a few days ago is being investigated as a false report. While I am THRILLED that there is not a psycho in our midst, I am saddened that a young woman with such promise would resort to something like this. So many questions, so few answers.

Please continue to keep this family in your prayers.

Abduction

I've been trying to decide whether or not to post this, and I've decided that it's too important to let it go untold. While I have grown accustomed to seeing news reports about children being abducted, I never think about the possibility that it could happen close to home. Those stories always seem so far removed from my daily life that I tend to gloss over them. It's easier that way, isn't it?

When Snow White was very small she used to wander off from time to time. I remember telling her once that she HAD to stay with me or a bad person would take her away and hurt her. She was scared, and from that point on she held my hand when we were out in public. As she has gotten older, I have continued to remind her of the dangers that may be lurking. I've gotten the obligatory teenage eye-roll more than once for reminding her for the hundredth time that she should never go to the mall alone, or that she should park in a well-lit area after dark. You get the idea.

I received a phone call from Snow White yesterday morning. She was crying, and bordering on hysteria. She had just been informed that one of her childhood friends had been abducted the night before. In an instant, all of my warnings became a horrible reality for my daughter.

To make matters worse, her friend was abducted from her own church parking lot. Yes, you read that correctly. The psycho took her from a CHURCH PARKING LOT!! I recognize the fact that we live in a mad, mad world right now, but I cannot fathom NOT feeling safe at church. Are we really that far gone?

Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. Snow White's friend is home safe. I'm not so sure about the sound part. Time will tell. Thank the good Lord she did not end up a mere statistic.

Despite the outcome, I have had cold chills ever since I received that call. We can't always be there to protect our children, but we CAN teach them to be more cautious. After a LONG conversation last night, I believe that my daughter will now be a lot more attentive to her surroundings. We also plan to take a self-defense class the next time it's offered at our gym.

PLEASE talk to your children over and over and over and over about stranger danger and about paying attention to their surroundings at ALL TIMES! Make this your topic of conversation over dinner tonight. I don't care how old we are, we can always use a gentle reminder to be careful out there in that cold, cruel world.

Thanksgiving de Envy

We started off with a nice hail storm.

Then family and friends arrived.

Photo by Chesapeake Bay Woman

Photo by Chesapeake Bay Woman

After dinner, the shooting began. Cool Breeze supervised.


Photo by Chesapeake Bay Woman

Photo by Chesapeake Bay Woman

The cleanup took a while.

Despite all of the mayhem, these bloggers managed to spend some quality time together. Wait. Perhaps they CAUSED the mayhem. Either way, a good time was had by all!

Photo by Chesapeake Bay Woman

Thanks to thoughtful friends, my enjoyment has continued well into this week.

From CBW

From Noe Noe Girl

We plan to do it again next year;)