itsawonderfilledlife

Archive for 2011

Hockey Doesn’t Matter

Posted in canada, GOD, life, WONDER, tagged Hockey, Missing Girl, NHL Pl, Pray on June 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I awoke this morning, like most mornings … brain cells shocked awake by either my alarm clock, or the coffee grinder (I have come to adore the heart-stopping action of the roar of my coffee grinder, because it leads me to my morning jo 🙂 ).

So, after the brain cells were alerted to … morning … my thoughts went to what this Monday was to hold … (including, primarily, the NHL playoff game).

Go to school for job #2 (and there was a head full of ‘stuff’ moving swirling around about this)

– come home

– make dinner

– watch the hockey game … game six! Will it be Boston or Vancouver?

– help son and friend with school video assignment

– take son’s friend to meeting place to deliver to his mom

– tidy house

– prepare for job #1, for tomorrow

– go to bed … after setting alarm and coffee maker …

After all the morning preparations were done (kids up, posts written, readied for the day), I left home, with the kids, to head to school/work.

Then I walked into the school, and the priorities of the day, and the priority of the NHL playoffs, disappeared …

A sixteen year old girl, from our school community is missing. Her parents saw her late Saturday night, and all was well. When she did not emerge from her room Sunday morning, they checked on her, to discover she was not there.

her parents do not know where she is …

her parents do not know why she’s gone …

her parents do not know how she left …

her parents …

Anyone who is a parent, and has heard the story of this girl’s disappearance (even if, like me, you do not know the girl or her family), is aching inside. We immediately hear this story, and every parental fiber of our being feels the fear those parents are feeling. We immediately put ourselves in their shoes, and want to help find a beautiful Hallmark ending for this story.

The hockey game …

… doesn’t matter anymore.

Finding Amanda …

that is everything!

Please pray for her, and her family.

http://bc.rcmp.ca/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=116&languageId=1&contentId=19931#.TfZ9U4gwn7g;email

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Mom Führer

Posted in The Kids, WONDER, tagged iTunes, Music, Objectionable Lyrics, Teaching my Kids on June 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »

The content of music is something I can be downright Nazi-like about. Until our kids are in Middle School, and ask to, they are not encouraged to listen to radio. And it’s not just the song lyrics that make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up straight … it’s the advertising, and the R-rated host comments that really make me blush, with children in the vehicle.

Once they desire to hear more of the music of their generation, I give them a task. They need to find the lyrics of the song, and check them out to see if I would okay them … most of the time, their own perusing eliminates their asking me about the song. But, when the lyrics have passed their eyes, they print the lyrics, and show me. Mom (aka Music Führer) then looks them over, with my kid, and we discuss any questionable content, together. Usually the questionable content is more to do with what is implied rather than the overt (ie. I HATE whining, and songs about women being used, and songs about men being put down).

Now, don’t go all gaga over this … there is very little that I nix. I am a lover of a huge variety of music from Christian, to Rock, to Instrumental, to Jazz, to Pop, to Indie, and, yes even a little … gulp Country. I am just NOT a lover of having my ears violated, or of having my kids think I condone that auditory violation.

In reality, it is a rare thing for ol’ Mom Führer to actually poo poo a song of their choice. I also put my money where my discerning mouth is. So as to encourage Huey, Dewey and Louie to not grow up thinking that I believe that all music of a certain genre is bad, or everything produced by a certain musician/group is bad, I not only allow them to buy what is okay or good, but I pay for it. From our family, iTunes has made a butt load of bucks. You see I figure there are some CD’s that have questionable content, but some of it is okay, so, this way our kids have had the freedom to have the okay or good, without the negative or bad … and to honor them for respecting my music rules, they get music at MY cost.

This is an arrangement that has worked well for our family. But the best part of it is when recently, my fourteen year old was listening to music with me, in the car. And I say to her, “I LOVE this song” (as I’m doing my ‘car dance’). And she replies, “Mom, do you know what the lyrics of that song are?” I am thrilled to have them teach me a thing or two, and to point out when I am not practicing what I preach! To me, that is the best!

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Wonder … Lost :(

Posted in Nature/Creation, WONDER, tagged Hubby, Life, NHL Playoffs, walk, Wonder Lost on June 7, 2011| 2 Comments »

A beautiful, sunny and warm Saturday … life just couldn’t get much better! Except maybe, if it included a long walk on my favorite trail …

So, before 9am, while fully enjoying my morning brew, I did a life-on the edge thing … I attempted to engage hubby in morning conversation (I am a morning person … Hubby … not so much). And, it went something like this …

“It’s a great day for a walk.”

“Um, hum.” (still staring at laptop screen) “When do you want to go?”

“Well, I’ll give you two options, and you choose the one that works best for you. We could go, say in an hour (I was pretty certain this would not be his choice … but it would have been mine). Or, if we went at four, we could do the two hour walk, and you would only miss the first hour of the game (okay, I did make this suggestion hoping his love of hockey would triumph over his not being a morning person, and he would choose door number one. After all it was game two of the NHL finals! What self-respecting Canadian would CHOOSE to miss the first half of that game? And, I digress …).

“Well, I honestly don’t want to go in an hour, so 4:00 sounds good for me.”

… there just are no words …

So, I spent the morning working 😦 in my PJ’s (wondering what I was thinking when I said I’d be willing to work on a big project with another lady … ), and hubby spent the morning doing odd jobs (did I mention that the sun was shining, as though it was summer, while we were working?). As the afternoon was wearing on, I was seeing that hubby was not happy with his progress on his ‘to do’ list. This caused me to fear that our walk was in danger of cancellation. So, I kindly, gently, pleasantly reminded hubby that it was 2:00. Then I asked, “are you still in for a walk?” His response was affirmative … I was doubtful.

His disappointingly slow progress continued … as the minutes ticked by.

Until almost 4:00, when I was sure that my highlight of the day, was doomed. This time I sat hubby down, and assured him that I would not be offended if he chose to not go for a walk with me, but that I wasn’t so keen on waiting much longer to go. And he said, he just needed fifteen minutes more …

So we drove, with our beast, to hit the trail! We walked for about 38 minutes, then turned around to head back. Just after turning back, (definitely after the hockey game began), my hubby did the unspeakable …

He turned the game on …on his phone … so he could hear it!

I love our walks …

I love the peacefulness of them …

I love the escape they provide from noises …

I love the wonder they bring to my day …

And he was playing the game … loudly …

… there just are no words …

Wonder …. LOST!

As the volcano within me was building to a near-cataclysmic point, I decided to just be forthright and tell it like I saw it …

“Um, how about you walk ahead … way ahead.”

“Are you in pain?” Says ‘sensitive, new age hubby.’

“Only my ears … ”

Silence …

(PS: I made him aware that he would pay for his faux pas, publicly … debt now paid, hubby )

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Just the way You Are

Posted in life, The Kids, WONDER, tagged Bruno Mars, Concert, Daughters, Just the Way You Are, Life on June 6, 2011| 2 Comments »

Tonight my daughters and I had a ‘girl date’ with Bruno Mars. This is the concert that has altered the schedule of the NHL playoffs 😀 Kind of increased our giggly enjoyment!

The tickets were purchased as birthday gifts to my now fourteen year old, and my ‘to be’ nineteen year old. The three of us have never gone to a concert … just us, so it was fun and exciting.

So to the concert we went.

The sun was shining (and, considering our wet and cold spring … that was a near miracle), and the traffic insane (but that is ALWAYS the case in the Lower Mainland of BC). We made a stop at Ikea for a cheap dinner 😀 (it always tastes better when it is cheap!), and for a bit of window shopping (something only a girl can understand … hubby writes a list, goes where he will find what he wants, pick it out, pays for it, and goes home … b o r i n g !).

We parked, walked along the shining waters of False Creek, laughing and giggling … mostly about ourselves and about boys … any boys … their brothers, their dad, boys at school, boys doing bike and skateboard ‘tricks’ in front of us as we walked.

We arrived as the first musician was performing … he was great! He sang mostly 80’s music … I loved it … the girls rolled their eyes.

The second opening act was Janelle Monae … you might have heard her song Tightrope on the Chevrolet Cruze advertisements. During her entire performance I felt as though I was at a Mardi Gras party in New Orleans! She is an amazing performer!

Then, Mr. BM (my daughters just DID NOT find my calling him a BM … bowel movement … funny at all) hit the stage! WOW! He was great! He wooed the crowd of many … not sold out, but many loud, fun-loving people. The age range of attendees was, from my vantage point, from about three years old to over seventy.

Bruno had a great stage performance, with fantastic and energetic musicians along with him.

The girls and I danced and sang along with Bruno … we clapped, we swayed they swooned (because he was, of course, singing only to them). We had a super evening of girl-time.

Mr. Mars (and, of course, we are Ms. Venus) had a great concert (which started at 7:30, and didn’t end until 11pm). That doesn’t mean I give him a thumbs up when it comes to all that he produces … but I also don’t choose to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Although his ‘Grenade’ song seems self sacrificial, it also seems he needs to get a grip on the reality that ‘his’ girl just isn’t his! And, although it might be quite tame (and nothing like some songs lyrics of terrible violations of others), ‘Our First Time’, is not the message I want my girls to fall for, in real life.

What these questionable messages do provide is ample opportunity to discuss how we each hear those lyrics, what we each believe about the messages, and the good, bad and the ugly of what many in our society believe to be ‘normal’, ‘common’ and ‘real.’ Those conversations can be worth the cost of admission!

So, today as I don’t feel like doing anything (I just want to lay in my bed) … I am just thankful that my two daughters, even at fourteen and eighteen, are willing to go have an evening with their out-of-date momma. It was more like a gift TO me.
“When I see your face, there’s not a thing that I would change
Cause you’re amazing
Just the way you are
And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for awhile
Cause girl(s) you’re amazing
Just the way you are”

Mr. BM

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Now Ascended

Posted in GOD, WONDER, tagged Ascension Day, GOD, Living He Loved Me, Oh Glorious Day, Wonder on June 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I am planning to do a little mountain trail climbing this summer. It’s a local trail called the Grouse Grind (http://grousemountain.com/Winter/vancouver-bc-hiking-trails-trips/). It is only 2.9km, but is rugged and steep. I, in contrast, am jiggly and archaic. I expect it will take much effort to do the trail, but even more effort just to get my sorry butt to the bottom of the hill, in commitment to the climb.

Today, around the world, many will celebrate Ascension Day. The day we remember that Jesus not only died (in our place), and rose (giving evidence of His defeat over death), but that He returned to the heavens to prepare for that day when He will come again, and receive us into His nail-scarred hands.

Climbing / ascending takes effort, but, once you have completed them, and you can look back on all you have accomplished … they are good … even … glorious!

I was driving down the road, one day a few months back, and a song came on the radio. It was a new song to me, but I knew every word. I was baffled! When I got home, I searched to find out it’s lyrics, it’s history. But, as I searched the song name, I found nothing in the hymn book in our piano bench.

That is because this song, this old hymn (written in the mid 1800’s) didn’t go by the name Casting Crowns uses (Oh Glorious Day), but by the first line of the song (Living he Loved Me). I remember it being sung in my grandmothers little country church frequently, when I was a child (and, as a side note, she had the voice of Lucille Ball … sadly, I have taken after her in this respect … we both sing with joy … but, I digress). And now, not only it’s beautifully crafted lyrics, but also it’s more singable music, are reintroduced into a new generation of worship songs.

When I first ‘re-heard’ these lyrics, months ago, I thought of how perfect they were for Ascension Sunday … they tell of how Christ was committed to the climb! They describe the entire climb that Christ made up the rugged, steep path through rejection, crucifixion, death, rising, and now ascending … and one day he’s coming … Oh glorious day!

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There Was a Little Girl …

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged Bad Girl, Consequences, Good Girl, Life, Longfellow on June 3, 2011| 5 Comments »

“There was a little girl, who had a little curl

Right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good, he was very good indeed,

But when she was bad, she was horrid.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

How did this man, this poet and story teller, who died one hundred and ten years before my daughter was born, know her so well, that he could write this piece of her?

Of course now she is nearly nineteen, and all that is left of the little girl, who I would quote this verse to, is … the little curl, right in the middle of her forehead (when it is humid).

How time has flown since then …

Although the verse, quoted above, is the entirety of what Longfellow wrote, Esther and Eloise Wilkin added an entire story (complete with delightful illustrations) to his little masterpiece. And this story was one of my favorite stories, as a child. Now her book “Good Little, Bad Little Girl” is out of print. But their story is one that, as a parent, should be a part of childhood learning.

What Longfellow knew, and wrote of, was:

– you cannot read a book by it’s cover

– outward beauty is not a reflection of inner beauty

– that bad actions and attitude can come, even from one so young

– that the good and bad actions and attitudes can switch, at a moments notice

– that all have the ability to be very, very good, and … very, very horrid

What the Wilkin sisters added to Longfellow’s verse, did not diminish what he wrote, but instead enhanced his verse into a story to learn from. Their story compared and contrasted these two little girls, the good one, and the bad one, who lived in the same house. Now, in reality, the two little girls were actually the same one little girl. The story told simply of how she could be delightfully good (and the positive consequences of that), as well as horribly bad (and the negative consequences of that). In the end, their story provided the reality that doing what is good, or doing what is bad is all about choices, and that we can choose our consequences by our choices.

My, now almost nineteen, daughter is famous in our house for teaching her younger brother ‘a positive attitude is the key to success’ … I think, at least theoretically, that she learned her lesson well. Because she not only caught on to the essence of what she’d had read, but she also realizes that there could be good consequences in teaching this to her brother.

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Money, Money, Money

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged $5, Life, Money, Savings on May 27, 2011| 1 Comment »

“All the things I could do, If I had a little money. It’s a rich man’s world.”

Now we will all be mentally singing along with ABBA for the rest of the day. So, while you are singing in the shower, in your car, and (heaven forbid … well, if you sing like me, heaven forbid) while at work or grocery shopping, I have a great money saving idea for you!

Saving money is quite a difficult thing. There are so many demands on all of our resources (and not just money), and saving seems to be near impossible when ’emergencies’ from auto repairs, to school field trips, to illness, to ‘needing’ a new pair of shoes are always popping up!

Back around mid-January, another mom, wife, and hard-working lady told me of a saving plan that she had heard of on a radio program. She had tried it out, and found it to be quite successful!

Okay now, don’t go planning your retirement on this idea, I am about to share! My name is not Donald Trump! And our ‘estate’ is something that even our kids have asked to not be ‘left’ in our will (they are aware, even at their ages, that there is more debt than wealth there). This plan is more like saving for vacation, or Christmas shopping, or new perfume (I do love expensive perfume), or a weekend getaway, or a new TV, or, or, or … (I can so easily spend it, before I save it).

So, here is THE PLAN … every time you get a five dollar bill … DO NOT SPEND IT! Put it away! Away, as in out of sight, out of mind, away.

It has amazed me how I do not miss those five dollar bills. As a matter of fact, after four months of putting them out of my sight (and wallet), I have amassed $245! If this trend continues throughout a year, I could save over $700! And did I mention this was effortless?! Oh baby, imagine what I could do with $700?! Maybe purchase a new cast iron (faux style) gate or two, for my backyard? Maybe tickets to an Elton John concert (I WILL get to one of his concerts before I die!), or maybe I could buy ONE ticket to an NHL game in Canada (hubby and the kids went to a game in Colorado, back in March, for only $24 each! … kind of makes a hockey-lovin’ Canadian wanna cry … but I digress).

This is easy peasy, people. Give it a try, for just a month … and you will be hooked …

Just make sure you remember where you put all those five dollar bills … you don’t want them to be found decades from now, in your mattress, down at your local thrift store!

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The World is Ending Tomorrow?!

Posted in GOD, WONDER, tagged GOD, Judgment Day, Life, Wonder on May 20, 2011| 12 Comments »

I’ve been humming R.E.M.’s ‘It’s the End of the World (as we Know it)’ for weeks … no, months. Ever since I first saw the signs on my way to Bellingham, Wa. (hum, but I haven’t seen any here, in Canada … maybe our part of the world is not going to end?).

So, only one day left! Tomorrow would appear to be it, the end, the day of judgment … according to a group who is very committed to numbers (my daughter, who hates math and numbers, would say … don’t trust the number people!). So, they are blowing their trumpets and warning the people! AND they guarantee it!

I love guarantees! That is why I shop at certain stores, like Costco and Walmart … they have always been there for me when a product that I have bought at their stores has failed to live up to my expectations. They greet me, as though they have been waiting all day, just to please me (and, other than my beast, there just ain’t another living creature whose goal in life is to please me). They smile, ask if they can help me, and I tell them my story … and they listen! To me! Then, they take my receipt, and open their cash register, and GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK! Because they have a money back guarantee! I love it! But … I digress.

I’m not sure exactly what the guarantee is, that they are offering, but they say it’s the Bible that is making the guarantee.

But I’ve got questions …

If Judgment Day is tomorrow …

-do I need to pay my bills, if they are due on May 22?

-should I get my tithing envelope ready for Sunday?

-do I need to eat my veggies today?

-do I need to shave my legs?

Okay, so I am being rather silly. And, really Judgment Day is a serious, sobering thing to consider. But, to declare a specific date? Is that … Biblical? Now, for me, and maybe you, a verse starts floating through your head about us (the angels, or even God’s Son) not knowing the hour or the day (Matthew 24:36).

And then there’s Revelation … the end of the Bible, considered to be apocalyptic writing. If there is one part of the Bible that can confuse me more than trying to remember what day it is, when my alarm clock goes off in the morning, it’s Revelation! How is it that something called Revelation, can be so … unclear in it’s revelation?

Here’s what I know, that I know … whether the world ends tomorrow, or not even in my lifetime …

– God is in control … I am not

– In the end, God wins! And, therefore, as his child, so do I

– I need to live today, as though I have many tomorrows … God didn’t put me here just to wait for Judgment Day, He put me here, because He has purpose in all of my days

^“Always be ready!

You don’t know when the Son of Man will come.”

Matthew 24:44

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The Walking Stripper

Posted in WONDER, tagged nature, walk, Women, Wonder on May 18, 2011| 4 Comments »

Hello, my name is Carole, and I am a stripper.

(now you say, ‘hello Carole’)

But, it is true. And the stage I strip on? It’s the pathway I walk. Now, don’t head to my local trail to see if it is true? (if you know what I look like, this will make you NEVER walk that trail again). I am a seasonal stripper … winter, spring and fall. And I am only a stripper under certain cool weather conditions (the monsoons of the ~~Wet~~ West Coast).

So, here is my repertoire …

I hate to be cold when I walk, and, as I’ve been aging I feel cold whenever I start a walk. So, I wear layers. There’s the under layer (the ‘unmentionables’), followed by a long sleeved breathable shirt, followed by a hoody, followed by a water-proof jacket, followed by a toque, followed by mitts or gloves. And that pretty much covers it … or me.

When I start walking I am cold. It doesn’t seem to matter what the temperature is, when I start out, I am cold. So, I am wearing all my duds, and am zippered up as high as the zipper will zip. And, I usually tuck my hands up, into the sleeves of my jacket.

After about 10-15 minutes, I am feeling my blood flowing! So my hands emerge from my sleeves, and my zipper get unzipped, but only a respectable amount … I don’t want to be thought of a some kind of loose, hussy, walking stripper.

Now, if it is raining I am limited to how much I can strip. After all the water-proof jacket is my only protection against the dreaded wet. But, if it is simply cool out, my whole attire has the possibility of being eliminated.

So the mitts get pocketed … as cold as my hands can be, they also warm up to toasty at a pretty quick speed. The toque gets pocketed at the same time … I do admit to rarely wearing the toque (as I am a ‘head sweater’), but thought it added to the story 🙂

After about 20-30 minutes of walking I am fully warmed up! My muscles have given up and started to work (without stiffness, pain, and crying out for mercy). It is now time to remove the jacket, and tie it firmly around my waist. Then the zipper on the hoody falls to that respectable place (just above my cleavage, well that’s what is was before I got old … now it’s more like the great divide … but I digress).

It doesn’t take long before I am over-heating again (this phase usually makes me think of mid-life hot flashes … and hope that a cure is discovered before they actually affect me). So, feeling less respectable, the hoody zipper gets lowered below ‘the girls’ (the ‘great divide’ is experiencing flooding with all this increase in body temperature).

By now, I am at the halfway point of my walk, and am sure I am leaving the sweat equivalent of a trail of breadcrumbs. So, as my beast is squatting to release her excess fluids, off goes the hoody! And, along with my water-proof jacket, it gets tied around my waste.

Now, despite all my stripping, I am a sweaty mess! And, I now look like a pack mule!

Definitely not what you think of when you hear the word stripper!

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Look out Rocky!

Posted in Nature/Creation, WONDER, tagged Fort to Fort, Inspiration, Rocky Balboa, walk, Wonder on May 11, 2011| 8 Comments »

Ya gotta play this song while reading this one … mood is so important!

No, seriously, play the video … it will put you into my brain … (and what an adventure that could be).

Everything was perfect! The sun was shining (a May miracle, after something like 26 days of rain in April), the temperature was just right, my beast was eager to go (she’s always eager to ‘go’), and not one bone or muscle in my body was turning on me. This was the day that I was going to conquer the Fort to Fort Trail … all of it … alone (despite the bear signs).

I smiled for the entire event (except when slow walking dog owners wanted to lollygag and let our dogs sniff and lick … they slowed me down), even at people who didn’t want to smile or exchange sunny pleasantries (seriously people, if the sun is shining in the Lower Mainland, we have something to smile about ).

There is something positively WRONG, with gray haired folks whose faces look like the prunes they ate for breakfast … wait! Maybe that is it … they forgot to eat their prunes! Anyway, there is no excuse for wearing your grumpy pants when you are old … heck, the way I feel at my semi-archaic age, if I can even get out of my bed, when my head is gray, I’ll be smiling. Wait, thanks to advances in hair color … I will never be gray … I love this reality! But I digress ….

So, it was a glorious day, and it was full of wonder (beyond my not having to call for an ambulance or a UHaul to carry my sorry butt home).When my walk began I simply marveled at the beauty of the sun, the sky, the beautiful houses along the Bedford Channel, the chirping birds, the rapidly blossoming trees and bushes.

Then at one point, a smile crossed my face, as I saw a trail of dandelions along the path, as a child might leave them as a reminder of which way to go when returning from a adventure … pure WONDER! Who has not, as a child, done that? Or watched, as your own child leaves such a trail? And it is not something that the child has to be taught to do, they just do it because it comes natural to their lovely little minds. It is beautiful, it is imagination, it is wonder … personified! Really it is amazing the delight I was taking in that trail of dandelions, considering how I seek their demise on my (moss covered) lawn.

Not long after that … another little wonder … a cute, fluffy, little brown bunny sitting on the side of the path … not for long though, as my beast noticed it too, and the only wonder going through her mind was which part to eat first! (at this point I was regretting that the girls and I had been teaching her tricks with … marshmallow … bunnies … she LOVES marshmallows, and the bunny ones were on sale, post Easter … now I felt the only trick she had really learned was that bunnies taste good). Again, I digress!

There were other moments of wonder too. The birds singing … I think they were the ones from Cinderella, definitely not the ones from Shrek, although, if I were to sing TO them … (this, my singing, could be a future blog entry) I also saw one robin, so heavy with the weight of her babies, she could barely fly over me.

Spring and wonder … they just go together!

And all of these beauties, all of the ‘awe’ in God’s creation ushered me through the trails, as I sweat, heart-racing, lungs pumping to my goal. After two hours, and (according to my pedometer ‘app’) about 7km, I had done it! I conquered the Fort to Fort, all alone.

Well alone, minus the beast, the nice people along the way (and the grumpy ones), the bunny, the birds, the dandelions … okay, not so alone.

I did my Rocky Balboa dance (thus the music I forced you to play in the beginning … you could … play it again, Sam). I grinned even bigger than before. And I REALLY needed a shower!

So, creation full of wonder, next stop, the Grouse Grind … and, again, my prayer will be … ‘please no bears’.