Our New World

Change Will Do You Good

Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.~Keri Russell

Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.~Robert C. Gallagher

Change always comes bearing gifts.~Price Pritchett

If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it'll change. If you're in a good situation, don't worry it'll change.~John A. Simone, Sr.

We will be changing our residence once again after we pack out next week. We will be setting up a new home in Florida as my husband has retired with 27 years of service to the US military. Lots of changes coming our way over the next few weeks...

Time Keeps on Slippin'

Our time is slippin' by here pretty quickly now. Twenty days until we pack up our household to have it shipped down to Florida for good.

Time goes by so fast, people go in and out of your life. You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you. - Author Unknown

Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. - H. Jackson Brown, Jr. quotes (American best selling writer, author of Life's Little Instruction Book)

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
From The Holy Bible (King James Version)Attributed to King Solomon
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sow;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war; and a time of peace.

"Clean" Quotes for the Day

I am taking a (short) break from the cleaning and purging of our house for our upcoming move in June. In the process I found some humorous "clean" quotes; these are just a few of my favorites.

I believe you should live each day as if it is your last, which is why I don't have any clean laundry, because, come on, who wants to wash clothes on the last day of their life? - Author Unknown

Do you know what you call those who use towels and never wash them, eat meals and never do the dishes, sit in rooms they never clean, and are entertained till they drop? If you have just answered, "A house guest," you're wrong because I have just described my kids. - Erma Bombeck (U.S. humorist, 1927-1996)

She who waits for her knight must remember - she will have to clean up after his horse - Author Unknown

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. ~Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller's Housekeeping Hints, 1966

8 Things About Me

I like these getting-to-know-you type tags. I enjoy learning new things about old and new friends. Here are my 8 Things (by an indirect tag from my sil Shelley).

8 Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Moving to Florida this summer
2. Building our dream house
3. Living near family
4. Working again
5. Getting back into a work-out routine
6. Flip flop and shorts weather
7. Planting a rose garden
8. Moving to Florida :)

8 Things I did yesterday:
1. Ate crêpes for breakfast
2. Played on the Wii with my family
3. Went to lunch with my family
4. Watched a lacrosse match
5. Took a nap
6. Picked up my daughter from Girl Scout camp
7. Watched The Amazing Race
8. Talked with my mom on the phone

8 Things I wish I could do:
1. Have more patience
2. Have less fear when downhill skiing
3. Water ski
4. Whistle really loudly (the kind you can hear across a football field)
5. Speak in front of a group without fear
6. Have a green thumb
7. Get rid of my pregnancy stretch marks
8. Sing

8 Shows I watch:
1. Lost
2. The Amazing Race
3. Survivor
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. Desperate Housewives
6. What Not to Wear
7. American Idol
8. 24

8 Favorite Fruits:
1. Cherries
2. Pears
3. Apples
4. Grapes
5. Pineapples
6. Tangerines
7. Strawberries
8. Plums

8 Places I'd like to travel:
1. Greece
2. Alaska
3. Spain
4. British Columbia, Canada
5. Egypt
6. South America
7. Iceland
8. Neuschwanstein ("Cinderella Castle" in Germany)

8 Places I've lived:
1. Virginia (Norfolk & Chesapeake)
2. Paris, France
3. California (Imperial Beach, Coronado, & Seaside)
4. Guam
5. Sasebo, Japan
6. Florida (Gainesville & Fort White)
7. Florida (Gulf Breeze, Pensacola, & Milton)
8. Georgia (Atlanta)

A Mother's Love

A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path. -- Agatha Christie

I would never have truly known this myself if I had not become a mother. Have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!

Keep Well

I have been sick (actually 'in bed all weekend long' sick) for the past 5 days. I've been updating my main blog Life Experiences of a Southern Rose but just have not had the energy to come update Part Deux (sorry!). I have been reminiscing about our lazy (ha!) days on the little Pacific island we lived on from 2002-2005.

Enjoy the rest of your week... and keep well!

Happy May Day!

Now is the month of Maying,

When merry lads are playing.

Fa la la...

Each with his bonny lass,

Upon the greeny grass.

Fa la la...

The Spring clad all in gladness,

Doth laugh at winter's sadness.

Fa la la..." - Thomas Morley

Happy Chocolate Wishes

“Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.”
Guillaume Apollinaire (French poet, 1880-1918)

I have been cooking and baking up a storm this past week, breaking in new "clean" recipes for the family. I'm so happy that the kids have been liking the non-processed, non-HFCS meals and snacks. Most have been so good that it could be hard to lose weight.
One of my downfalls is chocolate. I began switching to dark chocolate treats a couple of years ago mainly because of all of the hype that it is better for you and of course has less sugar and fat than milk chocolate. Here's someone that is fighting the fat and is celebrating her recent weight loss with a give-away: http://happytexans.blogspot.com/2009/04/sweet-success-giveaway.html.

Summer Time

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. ~Russel Baker

We've been waiting for the a/c repairman for a couple of days now. Seems like when 90 degrees hit here, everyone's air conditioners broke. It hasn't been excruciating yet. I'm just happy it's shorts and flip-flop weather - finally!