The Wonder of a Tree

Our Christmas tree makes me happy.  I don't know what it is about it exactly that I like so much, the look of it or the idea of it, but it just makes things a little merrier in the house.

Maybe it's the simple idea of bring a little of the magic of the outdoors inside.  There is a TREE inside my house.  That in of itself is weird and wonderful.

On top of that, there are all these pretty colors and sparkly lights spread throughout its branches.

And finally, once you've taken in all the wonder of the tree itself your eyes slowly travel down to where mysterious boxes wrapped and tied in pretty bows are just waiting to be opened.

How fun is that?

Cowards Protecting Monsters

I cried myself to sleep last night.  Not because of anything that has happened to me or my family but because of something horrible that has happened to young kids by a monster and covered up by other monsters.

I can't stop thinking about the Penn State tragedy.  That's how I see it, a tragedy.  Kids being raped and molested, people knowing about it and pushing it under the rug because of they wanted to keep their money, their power, their reputation and their status quo.  It's just disgusting.

It's really scared me about people in general.  How people that you would expect to act like decent human beings, end up acting like cowards.

How am I going to trust anyone with my two children?  How can I protect them in a world where power and money corrupts people so much that they are willing to turn a blind eye when they see such disgusting behavior?

I can't stop thinking about those poor boys.  I can't.  I just want to cry all the time thinking about the years that this happened and the number of boys that could have been saved if someone had sacrificed their job or status at this school or in this town and fought for this monster to be exposed and punished.

He preyed on vulnerable little boys.  And was protected by a system that values money, power and fame over decency.

How are we going to protect our children?  Who can we trust?

Can we get to Bieber?

Here is a great post my friend Kate wrote about her efforts to show a little girl who has endured a kind of heart break and sadness that no little girl should have to endure that good things can happen even in the midst of tragedy.  


Kate is much better at explaining the whole thing than me so I have listed her post below but in short, Margaret lost her dear brother in the Virginia floods a short time ago and one night when making a grocery list for her dad she listed meeting Justin Bieber as one of her items as joke.  Now we're determined to make her wish come true!!!


Here's Kate with instructions on how we can do that:


I have to confess - I saw pictures of Justin Bieber in US Weekly magazine long before I ever heard any of his music. And the only opinion I've ever had on his fame is that people are CRAY-CRAY with all of that hate/death to Bieber stuff. He's just a kid! So weird...

But lately I've been thinking a lot about JB. 

I read this post last Friday on An Inch of Gray, and for the very first time wished that I had some Justin Bieber connections. Did you read that post? No? Do that now, then come back.

After reading that, I did something that took very little effort. I sent a few tweets to my small list of followers.

I'm going to be very honest. That was all I had planned to do. I generally assume that I'm not important enough to ask for special favors. From anyone really. I just thought I'd put it out there and someone else might make something happen.

And I'm going to be even more honest. I never really believed that anything would come of it. Because I don't believe in magic. I don't believe in miracles. I say I do - and I want to - but in the darkest places of my heart, I'm a pessimist. I don't believe that the impossible can happen. It can't right?  Isn't that what "impossible" means?

But then I kept reading the comments about people e-mailing Ellen and tweeting Usher. I saw people talking about it on Twitter. I saw FaceBook posts. So I thought I'd make one more weak gesture and e-mailed a list of friends and contacts that Anna and I share. I asked them to check out her post if they hadn't already seen it - and to work every contact they might have (since Anna and I know some well connected people...)

And strangely enough, they weren't nearly as pessimistic about the idea as I was. They were excited (actually using words like "exciting"). They really thought Justin Bieber reaching out to Margaret was possible.

This humbled me. I was ashamed to have made such a passive effort to help. To assume defeat before even trying. 

And as a just punishment, one of the Project Bieber enthusiasts (Loukia) sent me an e-mail address for Eric Alper, someone she knows in "the industry." Like she expected ME to make something happen. I don't think I've ever made anything happen in my entire life - life happens TO me.

This had me reeling. But what could I do? I sent him an e-mail. Here is what I wrote:

Hi Eric!

Thank you so much for forwarding your e-mail.

I've never actually tried to get in touch with a pop star on behalf of a ten year old girl before...so I'm not sure where to start... But here is a brief overview:

I made a dear friend through blogging over the past few years named Anna Donaldson. On September 8th, she lost her twelve year old son, Jack in the DC area floods. Here is a link to the Washington Post article.

While Anna's blog was semi-anonymous and had a small following, the media coverage (and social media coverage: blog posts and tweets linking the story to her blog) more or less outed her. This ended up being an unexpected blessing in that her family found great comfort in the outpouring of supportive comments and e-mails.

The main thing that has been keeping Anna and her husband alive over the past few weeks though, is their daughter Margaret. They want to do everything they can to help her through this horrible time and ensure a happy future for her.

I think they have every reason to expect that this is possible since Margaret has amazing strength of character. She's a fighter. And at only ten years old, she's managed to make her parents laugh every day - when all they really want to do is cry. Anna has shared a couple of these moments on her blog. And today she posted a picture of a list Margaret wrote for her father to take to the store. As you can see, she jokingly mentioned Justin Bieber.

But it made a lot of us think. Why not ask? Who knows - maybe if someone knew someone who knew someone... Maybe he really would do something to acknowledge Margaret and give her something to feel happy about during the absolute worst month of her life. It would be something for her to hold onto - proof that good things happen too. And while no celebrity in the world could possibly make up for this terrible loss, it's the unexpected moments of happiness that get them through the day. My guess is that any attention from Justin Bieber could get Margaret through the week...

She's an extraordinary little girl. But she's also just a little girl grieving the loss of her brother and best friend. She has plenty of spunk and the resilience of youth. But she is getting through this one day at a time, just like her parents.

I'd like to help. And if that means writing fan mail to Justin Bieber (I mean - I'm almost 40!) I'll do it. I'll follow up on any lead and e-mail any stranger - including you!

So thank you for taking the time to listen and help if you can. If you can't - I understand. I have no idea who knows who in this industry. But I so appreciate your willingness to listen.

Hope to hear from you soon,

-Kate Coveny Hood

Eric was lovely about it. He replied right away and was both kind and honest. He said he would make sure that JB's management and PR people would read my message, but "what happens after that is magic really."

Oh. Magic.

So this is where I typically call it a day. I don't believe in magic, right? But here's the thing - the fact that this e-mail exchange actually happened felt pretty extraordinary to me.

The fact that a friend e-mailed me to say she has a famous Twitter friend who might be able to help. 

The fact that another friend has connections to a babysitter as well as other possible contacts.

The fact that a non-blogging friend commented on my FaceBook post that she has a friend who knows Justin Bieber and will talk to him.

The fact that people are doing things. They're making things happen. It feels maybe just a little magical to me.

So I'm not giving up. Instead, I'm writing this. And not because I think it's enough (it's not) - but it's a start. Someone who reads it might know someone who knows someone...

And even if that's not you - you can still help. You can talk about it. Maybe if enough voices are out there... 

So here is what everyone who reads this should do:

1. Follow @JBLiftMargaret (J and M's Auntie: hoping to lift up Margaret. Her big brother died on Sept 8 in VA flooding. She'd love to meet Justin Bieber! Please help bring her a smile!! http://tinyurl.com/3bvr762)

2. Tell all of your Twitter contacts to do the same.

3. Tweet about it.

4. RT any other tweets you see about it

(okay - you get the idea...they need more followers)

5. Do whatever you can to get the word out on FaceBook. I'm somewhat FB challenged - so you will have to ask others for specific advice on this...

6. Blog about it (why not? I did)

7. E-mail Ellen (I haven't done that yet - but I will in a minute)

8. E-mail everyone you know. You never know who they know...

9. Anything else? Please leave suggestions in comments.

The reason I included the text of that e-mail I wrote above is that I'm now considering it an open letter to everyone who might possibly be able to help. A "Dear Sir or Madam." Like a letter to the universe (blogosphere?) 

I still feel the limitations of "impossible"...I don't believe in magic or miracles. But I do believe in people. And I believe in you. Us. We. And there's a lot of possibility there. 

I also believe in Margaret. For her sake alone I'll try to believe that nothing about this is impossible. So if you have any magic up your sleeve, please help. Add your voice. And you never know - maybe we really can make a difference.

Forever and ever

Last night, after I read my six-year-old son his bedtime story and tucked him into his bed, he said in a whisper, "mommy, is it better to be alive or dead?"  

I was taken aback by the question as I sat next to him in the dark.  I didn't want to say something that would scare him about death but also not something that would diminish how precious life is so I said "it's better to be alive because you get to be with your family."  He thought about it for a minute and then said "I have one wish that I really want to come true....I want to live forever."

I didn't know how to respond.  None of us will live forever my love, I wanted to say but instead I kissed his head and said "no matter where you are, mommy will always be with you, forever and ever."  He turned around and looked at me and said, "even in heaven?"  

"Yes, even in heaven."

The Unimaginable

I had just flown back into town and was excited about turning my iPhone on to get all the e-mails that I couldn't check while traveling for what seemed like an eternity.  I had been in Europe for a family wedding.  As I sat in the airport shuttle, I watched the pinwheel of my phone work hard to pull up the e-mails that had been waiting to come in to my inbox.  And finally there they were.  I scanned through and noticed one from a dear friend titled "our friend Anna's son."

I couldn't have imagined the tragedy that would be revealed inside.  I opened it.  Read it.  And then read it again and again as my heart sank and my breath held.  How could that happen?  Could my friend be wrong about what happened.  Then I read all the follow up e-mails wishing someone would say something about a mistake or that by some miracle Anna's 12 year-old son had actually survived.  But all the e-mails expressed the same thing...sorrow, sadness and heartbreak for this a wonderful woman and her dear family.

As the tears flowed I kept trying to make sense of why this would happen.  How this could happen.  But mostly I thought of the unimaginable grief that Anna and her family were going through right now.  That 's what it is, unimaginable, the kind of grief that a parent must feel when they lose a child.

Even the idea of it is terrifying let alone the reality.

I went to her blog to see if there was any information about how we in the blog community could help and I saw that her last post was about the kids first day of school and there he was, her beautiful son dressed for the 7th grade.  My heart stood still looking at his image.  What could I possibly do to help this amazing mother with her unimaginable grief?  There was nothing I could think of that could come to close to being appropriate or helpful.  So I said nothing.  I felt paralyzed by the tragedy.

Then I got an e-mail from my friend, Kate, that talked about using words.  The same way that we had come to know Anna and she us, through our blogs.  And it felt right and appropriate.

Sorry doesn't begin to express how much sorrow I feel for the tragedy that Anna and her family are enduring.

But that is what I am, sorry that they have to go through this madness, sorry that a beautiful life had to leave this earth so early, sorry that the waters of that creek were so strong that they could take him from his family and friends, sorry for the incredible pain that his friends and family will have to endure, and sorry that their life had to change forever.

The light around this darkness may be that this family is surrounded and loved by their community and friends, that this beautiful boy's soul will be in peace, and that life and love will help this family go on and be happy again.

UPDATED: Please visit the blog of our mutual friend Kate, to see others who have been moved to write for or about Anna. 

AND: If you would like to do something in the way of a donation, I have heard that the family has requested they be made to Samaritan's Purse.

Hello 40...I'm ready for you!

So tomorrow I'm turning 40.  No big parties.  No extravagant trip.  Just dinner with my family and a friend.  And a few outings with my girl friends here and there.  Which is so lovely.

But nothing anyone is doing for me is as exhilarating as what I've done for myself.  Three months ago I changed my life.  I started exercising at least five days a week and changed the way I ate - vegetables, fruit, lean proteins mostly but a little of the other stuff too.  I do six days of super healthy eating and one day of having some treats.  It sounds pretty simple but every single day was hard.  Every day I had to make a thousand good choices, a lot of which I struggled with and still do.  Most girls nights out, I drank water instead of indulging, on date nights we chose fun non-food events (movies, theatre, comedy shows etc. which we loved), BBQs, dinner parties, every special occasion you can think of...I chose the right thing instead of saying "but it's a special occasion, how can I really have a good time if I don't eat/drink this or that?"  The truth is that you can and if you look around you'll see that a lot of people are making the right choices at those events too.  Every morning, even when I was dead tiered, sore, or just cranky, I said "no excuses" when I walked out the door to work out - gym, running, walking, crunches, planks, push ups etc.

After 13 weeks, I've transformed my body, health and mind in many ways and have lost 22 pounds.  Three months ago if you told me that I had 13 weeks to lose 22 pounds I would have said that it was impossible and that I couldn't do it even if you promised me a million dollars (Ok, maybe not a million dollars).

I started with the hope of just getting back to my "regular" weight which was about 8 pounds less.  But something changed when I started the journey.   The more I got into it, the more I cared about my health and my body.  I started researching healthy eating and the benefits of exercise and became interested in expanding my life and health.

Don't get me wrong, I have no illusions of an easy road from here.  I know how easily I can slip back into bad habits and self-delusional justifications that we all use sometimes to make wrong choices for our life.  I know those are just around the corner.  But I'm taking this journey one day at a time and each day I'm going to make the choices it takes to be healthy and strong.

One day at a time.  That's my motto.  Just do the best you can today and worry about tomorrow when it comes.

I hope you are all having a fantastic day and are winning your own battles, whatever they might be.  :)

Being open to the world

There are times when while going about my daily life I encounter someone really nasty.  I'm not sure if they're nasty because they have issues going on at home or work that has nothing to do with me or because they just don't like me for some reason (and of course I always think it's the second one).

Whatever the reason, it makes me rethink my being open and friendly to everyone (or at least most people) policy.  Maybe I should be more guarded, like I used to be when I was younger?  Maybe I should draw back and only surround myself with the few people I really trust and know well?

The nastiness of a practical stranger can completely throw me for a loop and make me want to recoil into the safety of my own small circle.  But then something wonderful happens with a friend or acquaintance and I realize what a huge mistake that would be.

I look around at my life and realize that some of the best things in it are because of the great advice, support, kindness and help that I have been given by others.  

Being open to the world is scary.  The chance of being hurt at some point is almost certain but so is the chance of being loved, supported, helped and encouraged.  And I'll take that any day of the week, even if it comes with a little nasty here and there.

Doing It Together

Four years ago after the birth of my second son I decided that I needed some help losing weight.  When I walked into that first meeting I felt a flood of emotions including incredible sadness that I had to ask for help and couldn't do it by myself.  I never ask for help.  I'm all about being able to do things yourself.  Self sufficiency, strength and independence were my mottoes for most of my life.

But here I was in this meeting admitting that I needed help.  I cried through the entire first meeting.  It was something I had no control of, I couldn't stop.  It wasn't a blubbering cry, just slow hot tears running down my face as I thought about my life and were I had come to.  I stayed with Weight Watchers for six months and lost over 30 lbs.  I was so happy.  It was mostly the weekly meeting that helped me get to the place that I did.  The leader was just the right amount of knowledge, encouragement and guide.

The months following my departure, I lost a few more pounds which was evidence enough to me that I was "cured."  I could do it myself now.  And over the next four years anytime I felt bad about something I would think "at least I haven't gained the weight back" that's something I was really proud of.

Well, it didn't last forever.  Over the last six months I've gained a quarter of that weight back and every time I've tried to brush it off as "just a few pounds" it's gotten worse and worse.  And no amount of shame and effort has helped me get back to myself.

So today I went back to Weight Watchers.  The meeting leader recognized me as I was standing in line to register.  She came over to say hello.  I shook her hand and said "I'm back after four years."  With those words the tears weld up in my eyes and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't stop them from streaming down my face.  I cried through my entire registration process (can you say embarrassing?) and for the first few minutes of the meeting.  Again, not a blubbering cry but slow and constant tears.  Everyone was so nice about it and the meeting leader just said, "don't worry, it will be OK, you're home."  I had to admit that I couldn't keep the weight off and that I needed help again.  Man, was that hard!

So it's my first day back and I feel hopeful again and energized.  Now is when the hard work begins to get back to my good habits.  And make the sacrifices necessary to get to a good place again.

Wish me luck! And if there is anyone out there reading this that is struggling with this issue, I say find a good WW meeting, the people are so supportive and the program is reasonable.  It's OK to ask for help.  :)

Social Media Overload

I have to admit that I'm really enjoying being on twitter.  It's definitely goofy and strange but also so interesting in the way that it levels the communication playing field between all kinds of people.  I'm 'following' some really funny celebrities like Ellen (my favorite by far) and Conan and a few writers that I admire like Ayelet Waldman.  Twitter allows us to communicate with people that most of us would never have an opportunity to communicate with on any level.

In addition, it has helped connect me with other moms and women bloggers/writers that are interested in some of the same things I am.  And the icing on the cake is that a few of my close friends are now on twitter so I can stay in touch with them through a different medium, which is fun.  

Besides twitter, I spend most of my free non-mommy&wife-focused time on writing my friendship pieces for examiner.com (the last two about elevating the respect for friendships and what not to do when a friendship ends).  It's been so rewarding doing them.  I get paid in comments, "likes," and feedback and support from readers (mostly my friends, God love 'em!).  That's pretty much my payment and it's awesome.  But if by some miracle in the future I can actually make any real money from doing this I think I might burst into a thousand dream-come-true pieces.  

Getting in to twitter and the blogosphere has also shown me the incredible world of women/mom entrepreneurs.  It's incredible how much these amazing women are doing out there, blogging, writing, twitting, creating, connecting to try and learn, engage and create something substantial for themselves.

I'm in a little bit of a social media love fest!  It might not last long but I'm riding the wave for now.  :)

What do you love about social media?

The Second Guessing Game

It's been really scary for me to put myself out there every week for examiner.com.  Whenever I finish a piece, I post it on Facebook and send it out in a twitter message.  So I basically announce to my friends and anyone else willing to listen (and read) that I've written something that I think is worth reading.

And each time I put one out there I hold my breath hoping and wishing that someone will think it is worthwhile.  I guess that's what writing is about.  You share yourself (or more correctly your thoughts) with your readers and hope that it is of some meaning to them and that they connect with it or you in some way.

But each time I also second guess myself.   What if "they" don't like it?  Or think it's silly or trite?  Maybe this will be the one that turns them away.  Why didn't this person or that person comment on it?  They liked my last one!  Why didn't they like this one?  I could go on for days with my doubts.

I realized today, however, that if I'm going to continue doing this that I have to be a little more thick skinned and have more confidence in my pieces.  Are they all going to be great?  No.  But they might all have something interesting or new that I want to explore and share.

Just like blog posts, you write something that means something to you at the time you're sharing it and sometimes it gets a big response and sometimes it doesn't but it is the collective sharing that is meaningful.

I've been so grateful for the support that my friends have given me in this new adventure.  It's been a real gift.  And I'm working hard to make each piece I put out there meaningful and interesting.

Facebook Friendship Feedback

I'm too much of chicken to ask anyone else.  But I thought maybe you can be my sounding board and give it to me straight!  What did you think of this piece I did for examiner.com yesterday about Facebook friends?


Facebook Friendships: How to handle a hurtful status situation 

Like over 250 million others, you pull up your Facebook page sometime during the day and scroll through the newsfeed, checking out what your friends are up to.  Usually, this is a fun and light distraction from your work or household chores: a funny status update here, a link to a mildly interesting article there--it’s all pretty harmless.  But sometimes, pulling up your Facebook page can end up being much more than you bargained for emotionally. See more...


It's one of those that I enjoyed doing and thought was good (and it had the added benefit of a picture of the back of my friend Kate's head, which I love!) but didn't get as much response as the previous ones I've done and I was wondering if the subject matter of the piece was just not that relatable to most people.  What do you think?

Happy Love Day Y'All

Happy Valentine's day my dear blog family.  Love you lots!

I'm officially on twitter at contactrebecca and am starting to really play around with it.  I got some great tutelage from my dear friends Kate and Gwen yesterday.  Thanks ladies.  I'm still a little confused with all the #s and other non-letter/number codes that people use but for now it seems like something I'm going to use and enjoy.  I'm taking it a day at a time.

There a thousand more things I want to do and learn regarding the whole social media thing but first things first....Google Reader.  Can you believe I haven't had one?  I'm adding my favorite blogs on as soon as I get a good chunk of time and I'd love your suggestions on your FAVORITE God-I-Love-Her-Blog blogs.  I'm branching out girls.  :)

And regarding the writing...I did a short cutesie piece recently on feeling like a kid again on Valentine's Day...check it out here!

Hugs, hugs and even more hugs to you!

I've entered the twittersphere!

It's been an interesting time for me in the last few weeks.  I've missed writing on my blog but now that I'm doing articles for examiner.com I tend to do most of my creative writing over there.  I'm wondering how to do both and be creative but different for both.

As I mentioned two weeks ago, I started writing for examiner.com for my home city webpage doing pieces about friendship.  When they gave me the job they made it clear that it was for their local editorial and that I would need to make my pieces relevant and linked to the city I was writing for.  After two weeks of writing articles on friendship that were most general in nature and had no ties to my city, they switched me to the national editorial of examiner.com.  I was SO thrilled.  I love having the flexibility to write about any friendship related topic I want, how ever many times I want to write it and to also have a national audience....it's amazing.  Please come visit me when you can....I have a new examiner.com home here!  

I've written six pieces so far and I've enjoyed every minute.  The best part is when I get feedback from friends telling me what they think or when they share the piece with their friends.  It's super sweet and flattering.  I just love it.

Also, I've gone and done something crazy.  I've joined twitter.  My twitter name is @contactrebecca (is that how you do it?).  I have no idea what to do next.  I've twitted two things but I still don't understand what the whole thing means.  Is everything on twitter public?  I don't have any friends that are on twitter (that I know of) so no one to gab about and get advice from in terms of this medium.  I'd love any help or advice you might have!  :)

I'd love to get more connected with people but I'm so nervous about doing or revealing too much on twitter.

And for the blog, I'd love to keep doing it but not sure about the scope of stuff that I should write about here if I'm doing all my friendship writing on examiner.com.  I don't want to repeat the pieces here...or is that OK?

I'm kind of all over the place....

Friendship In The City

OK, here is my news...I'm going to be writing for Examiner.com about friendship.  I'm so excited, you can't even imagine.  I can't believe that it's actually happening.  I applied for the job as a lark not thinking that I'd be offered the opportunity to write about something I LOVE.  Instead of Carrie, they'll be Rebecca writing about friendship in the city!

I posted my first article earlier today and it was so fun.  :)

Here is my page on Examiner.com.

OMG, how fun is that?

Trying Different Things

The first few weeks of January were a little rocky as I was trying to figure out what I wanted to concentrate on for the coming year and my future.  But instead of getting stuck in the bigness of the decisions I just jumped on a few things that I enjoy and am really happy exploring them.

Kids and family are still first and I'm at home, which I love and I'm so grateful that I get to do, but I'm also trying a bunch of interesting things for me.  I'm doing the drawing class, I'm slowly (very slowly) teaching myself how to play the guitar, I'm doing a few hours here and there of legal consulting and.....something else totally exciting which I can't wait to tell you.  It's not set yet so I'm going to wait until it's finalized and then I'll share.  It should be in the next day or two.  It's something fun!

It can be so hard to try something new but I figure it's better to try and at least have the possibility of it working out.

Is there something you've wanted to try?

:)

Getting To Goals

I started another art class today.  This time it's figure drawing (I'd like to improve my drawing and then go back to painting figures).

There were points during the class that I had those familiar thoughts that I've had before in art class (what the hell are you doing here?  You're not an artist?  You're just fooling around, wasting your time).  And then as the class progresses and I see that maybe it is worth it or that I'm worthy of it, I feel a positive energy and get excited about the possibilities of making art.

Going after something you want feels like that sometimes.  In the beginning we wonder what we're doing trying, that it's so hard so improbable that we must be fooling ourselves but the further we go in the process the more we can see the possibilities of attaining our goals.

Here's some advice I got lately about reaching a goal, which I liked.

1. Have a vision of where you want to be.  See yourself there.  Doing or being what you want.
2. Know that you deserve that goal.  This is not always as easy as it sounds, especially when you have a big dream or goal.
3. Identify the barriers/issues that are holding you back - you don't want to go through the hard work, you don't want to give up something comfortable, etc. then make the tough decisions and come to terms with those decisions.
4. Put yourself first, or better said, get the support you need to get to your goals.  This is hard for moms, we tend to put our kids first.  But I think just as you need to put your oxygen mask on first and then help your kids, you need to be whole, healthy and centered before you can be the best mother to your kids.

I'll be thinking about these as I move forward with my art and other goals that I have in mind.  :)

How about you?  What are your goals/dreams?

Class Notes

I was just reading the class notes from my high school bulletin.  I started from the first class in 1956.  It was so much fun to see what these wonderful women are up to.  And then I thought, what would I want my class notes to read when I'm in my 70's?  Maybe that's one way I could figure out my direction, my passion, my goals for the next thirty years.  So here it goes.  Off the cuff and totally spontaneous with no real planning or thought.

Hi everyone.  I'm happy to report my boys are doing great.  My oldest is enjoying his career and is married to a lovely woman.  They're expecting their first child which is a thrill for my husband and me.  My youngest loves doing X and he and his wife are enjoying their new house (which is only a few hours drive from us).  We just spend the holidays together and it was so fun being surrounded by my boys and their families.  As for me, my garden is flourishing with tons of herbs and vegetables which I love cooking with and my painting studio is filled to brim like always with new projects.  I was lucky enough to have a small show at the local gallery a while back.  Lots of friends and family came which made for a warm and fun evening.  I'm still writing from time to time but no new books for now.  I was happy to see that my two books about my adventures were well received and more importantly that my husband, boys and other dear family loved them and were proud of what I put out in the world.  Health wise, I knock on wood every day and am thankful that I'm pretty healthy as are the rest of my family.  I try to walk at least three times a week.  Lastly, my husband and I spent some time in Italy this year to celebrate my 70th birthday.  It was just delightful.

:)

2011

Happy New Year my dear friends!  It's so wonderful being part of your blog life.  I'm excited to enter 2011 and do wonderful, creative and interesting new and old things. :)