Happy Easter 2011!

First off, Happy Easter Everyone!

Today the weather is fabulous, the sun is out and shining with a few puffy clouds mixed in. The turkey is on the grill, and we will be going to my MIL's for dinner later this afternoon. It would be a great day to go for a ride in the 1956 Chevy, but sadly, the Pink Ride has gone to another home. We sold it yesterday to a nice man who was surprising his wife. I will miss the car shows and riding around in it, but things being what they are financially, it wasn't practical to keep it anymore. I had a good cry and I have a lot of great pictures and memories to look back on. It was a lot of fun while it lasted.

Spring is here and I'm looking forward to the flowers blooming, the grass growing and the time when I can sleep with the windows open at night. I'm also looking forward to my new job which starts Monday and learning new things. There is so much promise in the spring and at Easter, especially. It's the promise of a new chance at life, a rebirth,  and a resurrection. It's a season of hope. And we all need to remember that as cold and dark as the winter gets, the light and warmth of spring always follows.

Happy Easter and Welcome Spring!

Happy Easter!

I know I haven't posted in a while. My schedule is crazy and unpredictable right now. I went from having a bona fide job offer to no job to another job in a different place. But I'm still temporary help, so if it slows down, like it is now, I'm not making any money. I'm ok with that. For now. Eventually, I want to be someplace full-time, permanent hire, but I know right now the markets are still unsteady in every career field. I did take a positive step in that direction by applying for a full-time position where I've been temping at, so keep your fingers crossed that it all works out and I can stop whining about it. :) Much to the relief of those of you who commented to me off-blog about this subject matter. :)

I'm still a writer, and I still want to be a writer when I grow up. But a steady paycheck and a work routine keep me from falling back on bad habits. I want to continue moving forward, not backward. That's the plan and I'm sticking to it! :)

This Easter holiday snuck up on us. I'm used to Easter being in the second week of April, like closer to my Dad's birthday (April 12). This year I've been so busy with working nights, then days for 2 weeks and then nights, I didn't have a inkling the holiday was right around the corner. Whoosh, here it is! Wow. We are going to my parents house for fish and potato salad. I made my famous cherry cheescake bars and my 7-layer bars (aka, Naughty Bars). I had them done by 8:30 pm which is a record for me because in the not-so-distant-past, I was usually up cooking them until 2:00 am or 3:00 am, or the next day, just hours before we go to dinner. Now that I have my chemicals in balance, I don't want to put off anything anymore. That makes the Hubby very happy, because one of his biggest pet peeves with me has always been my procrastination. I'm not perfect yet, but I'm working on it. :)

The weather has been great, a little windy, but we are praying for rain. We had a bit of a sprinkling on Friday, but it was just enough to clean the dust off the birds and green the grass up. We need a couple of days of "Million Dollar Rain" the kind that will come down nice and gentle and just soak right on in. Fires are popping up all over, even close to home. I saw a huge black cloud of smoke north of us this afternoon and on the evening news, it turns out it was closer than I thought. Here's the story: Central Minnesota Grass Fire

Sadly, fires did more than just claim some acreage outside of Princeton. In Minneapolis, six people died in a devastating fire in Minneapolis. It's been the worst fire since 1986. Three of those who perished were children. Please pray for those who died and for their families this Easter holiday. Hug your kids a little closer and please be thankful for all the blessings you have and all the blessings you are receiving, not just in this life, but in the next. And remember Easter is about a lot more than just chocolate eggs and bunny rabbits. Remember why we celebrate it in the first place.

This will be another holiday passing without Alex home to help us celebrate, but I did receive an email that he is getting closer to home. He will be in San Diego, California, very soon and then shortly after that, he will be home. I can't wait to see him again, and I can't wait to have him home. My prayers and blessings to all of you who have loved ones in the military or who are far away from home. My prayers to all of you who have lost a loved one and miss them terribly.

Thanks to all of you for keeping me, Alex, and my family in your prayers since the deployment of the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). We truly appreciate all the kind and wonderful thoughts and those who have just said, "Thank your son for his service." I'm so proud to be a Navy Mom, and hearing that makes me even prouder of my son and this country.

Enjoy the weekend and the weather, and I'll post again soon. Until then, have a very Happy Easter!

Spring Is Here and...Happy Easter!

Spring arrived this week to the relief of the residents of Minnesota. We spent the first day of Spring in Duluth, driving all the way to Grand Marais, Minnesota, which was still covered in snow and Lake Superior still had ice and snow in some of the bays. But the snow and ice were melting, and with the warm temperatures (it was a balmy 30 degrees ABOVE zero), and the bright sunshine, it was the perfect time for QH and I to run away from home.

We left on Wednesday, and came home on Friday morning. Two days away up at the North Shore will renew your energy, recharge your batteries, and make it really hard to leave to go home. If you look at the picture above, you can see why. We daydream of when we will be able to retire and move up there. We scout out places to build a home or find homes for sale that we wouldn't mind moving into. Driving the Skyline Parkway which is way above the cliffs of Duluth at night, then watching the city and the harbor light up like Christmas is breathtaking, and not just because if your brakes fail on the car, you have a sheer drop to the bottom. Nothing like a little adrenaline to keep things exciting!

We stayed at the Black Bear Casino & Hotel in Cloquet, just a few miles outside of Duluth, which was a good thing since I had no idea the Women's Hockey NCAA Frozen Four Tournament was taking place this weekend! Thursday was the first set of games and Wisconsin beat Harvard (ranked #1), and the Bulldogs (University of Minnesota-Duluth), beat New Hampshire. I have no idea how the rest of the tournament is going, but I was happy to hear that much of it!

We aren't very good gamblers. I spent about $10 and QH spent about $4 on the slot machines. We got bored and went back to the room to watch TV. I found $50 lying on the ground in the entrance to the casino on Thursday night when we were returning from dinner, so we came out ahead anyway!

And of course, in true Minnesota fashion, we returned in the middle of a snow storm. I was wishing that I would have taken the day off when I came into work last night, and really wishing it when I left to go home and had to scrape the snow and ice off my car! Oh, well, Spring is here!

To everyone traveling (or not), I hope you have a safe and Happy Easter weekend. It snuck up on me this year, like the Daylight Savings Time, by coming early. I'm used to Easter being either on my Dad's birthday (April 12), or right around it, so for Easter to be in March really throws me off a bit. It also reminds me that time flys faster than we realize.

Everyone say a prayer for one of my dear loved ones. My great aunt, Aunt Mary Kerzmann, suffered a stroke earlier this week. Aunt Mary is the oldest sister of my grandmother, Ellen Crawford. They both live across the hall from each other in an apartment complex in Garrison, North Dakota.

Grandma was very upset when she called Wednesday morning before we left for Duluth, but the latest news is Mary still has her speech, some of her memory is still foggy, and she has been affected on her right side. Mary is 91 years young, but she is not completely out of the woods yet, so please, any prayers and blessings and good thoughts for her recovery will be greatly appreciated. I thank you all in advance.

For those of you who need a good laugh for Easter, stop on over at my friend, Sandy Lender's blog, Today the Dragon Wins and check out her Cadbury Creme Egg "Eggsperiement". It's a riot!

Have a great weekend!

Florida, Here We Come!!

The snow is now all gone. We had 80 degree weather a week ago, and it was just enough to kick me into high gear with my spring cleaning. This year I am brutal, throwing or donating anything that I haven't touched or used in a year's time. Painful, for a packrat like me, but necessary. I need to open up the pathways so more good things can come into my life. I feel like I lost 10 pounds this weekend!

I am doing this for another reason, not just yearly ritual. My family and I are going to Naples, Florida, for a vacation. We will be gone for 11 days! We really need a vacation right now, and since my son will be graduating high school this year, this would be our last chance to go as a family. I want to come home to a nice clean house, not be bummed out and overwhelmed by all the mess I left behind! So, if I have not been as "chatty" as usual online or offline, I apologize. I'm not being snotty, just getting my house in order! I will be back and will have a lot to write about when I get back!

Have a Happy Easter!