Hello February! We've had some beautiful warm weather this winter so if we're in for another 6 weeks of this I'm okay with that Punxsutawney Phil.

This is a drawing of me....drawn by my 3 year old granddaughter.  She was very serious about her drawing and used me as her model (I was sitting at the table with her).  And no, I'm not that round.  LOL  I think that's pretty good for a three year old!  Her portrait of her dad I think was even better. 

I nanny two of my grandchildren and there are days that I wouldn't trade this job for anything and yes, they out number the days when I could just pull my hair out.  It's hard at times because I'm not as young as I used to be and overdo it often (like playing baseball with my grandson or give my granddaughter piggy-back rides) but when I see my little granddaughter take such joy in "drawing grandma" it's all worth it.  My grandson beat me at the card game Hand and Foot.  I was distracted of course while posing for my portrait so we have a rematch tomorrow.

I have another grandson in town and we get to see him every couple weeks when he does a sleep-over with grandma and grandpa.  We have fun together. We've been close since his birth and it's priceless when he comes bounding thru the door and running to give me a hug. 

There is an old Welsh Proverb that says: "Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild."  Its hard to explain that to someone who is not a grandparent but to me it's like the years of training up your own child in love to have it perfected when you have a grandchild.  My children will be terrific grandparents and it would be awesome to be able to live long enough to see one of them become a grandparent.

February 1

I am so incredibly tired today I can't really stay awake long enough to blog. I played baseball with my grandson a couple days ago and my body is screaming pain! And I think rain is on the horizon. I know I'm 62 years old, but inside I still feel like I'm in my 20's! Then reality strikes.

I hate starting my new month out this way.  I can think of lots of topics, like why doesn't the government have a balanced budget?  But I'm too tired to debate it!  I'll work on a better blog tomorrow.   

Goodnight.

Blogging

So as I was deciding my next month of blogs, I was curious to find out where and when the term "blog" came into existence and I found out that it emerged in the late 90's and as of  February 16, 2011, there were over 156 MILLION public blogs in existence! The term "blog" was coined by a guy named Peter Merholz who shortened the term "weblog" (coined by Jorn Barger in 1997). You can find anything you want to know on Wikipedia!

This has been a fun month of weblogging. ;)  Now, on to the next month of blogs.  This will be interesting so continue to follow me as I venture into February with new ideas, photos, stories, experiences and whatever else might come to mind.


Today's Quote:  "Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it." – Bruce Lee

Day 30: What changed this month and what you hope will happen next month.

I learned how therapeutic blogging can be this month. I think it was really good to challenge myself to do a blog every day consistently.  I hope to find something amazing next month to blog about and continue this new adventure of mine.

I started exercising more this month in an attempt to be in better health this year.  It's a slow start but I'm feeling good about it.

I started feeding the birds for the winter. I love feeding the birds and seeing how many I can draw to my feeder.  Now that we're in Virginia I want to get a hummingbird feeder too.  I'll probably do that next month.

This month was the first month of my 62nd year.  I don't like it so far.  Maybe next month I'll like it more.

So for now I'm excited to be starting something new and looking forward to more new adventures.
Today's Quote: "Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think."

Benjamin Disraeli

Day 29: A picture of yourself.

This is me, taken today 1/29/2012:

Day 28: The month you were happiest this year and why.

I think I would have to say last October, the month we moved into our own place.  When we left Alaska and moved to Virginia we were living in our RV until winter set in here in Virginia.  We were too far from an RV park to be continually dumping tanks and refilling propane tanks, so my daughter was gracious enough to let us (and our two dogs) move into her house with her and my grandson.  Then the search began to find us a place of our own.

I found a small cottage to rent in May, but the cottage wasn't available until October.  So, even though we shared some really good months with my daughter and grandson, I'd have to say that the month we moved into our own place was probably the happiest, for all of us! 

Thank you Becky for your hospitality and patience with us and Maggie and Gracie while we got "settled" in Virginia.

Today's Quote: "The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can't be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it." Elbert Hubbard 

 

Day 27: Talk about your siblings.

My siblings, what a nice topic. I have 3 brothers, all older than I. I was the “baby” of the family. They are terrific brothers, always have been. The oldest two used to babysit the youngest and me and I used to hate it because the “middle” brother would tease the living crap out of us. But we had fun too and he’s a wonderful, loving brother and I love him dearly. He used to teach us how to drive too and we were only about 10 years old at the time. My oldest brother was always there to watch over me and later in life to scrutinize my dates. My youngest brother is only 18 months older than me so we played a lot together. We had a good family life and made a lot of good memories.

All my brothers served in the military. Two remained living in Virginia, and one moved to North Carolina. All my brothers turned out to be good men, good citizens, good sons, brothers, fathers, and grandfathers. I am very proud of each one and glad that I was their little sister.

Today’s Quote: “There's no other love like the love for a brother. There's no other love like the love from a brother.” Astrid Alauda