Holiday Cash WINNER!

A week or so ago at our early morning sculpt class Vanessa 

announced that she had brought our Christmas gifts.

What?

Wow!

But it is so early in the month.....

pause.

Wow!

This is super fun and exciting,

Why not?!

So we all openend our gift bags, she had gotten each of us 

a personalized mug from 

"Antropologie" oooolaaalaaa!

I have never set foot in that store, 

but I have heard it is pretty excellent.

So that knowledge made my mug even more delightful.

I have been enjoying it everyday since.

Thanks V!

 Yesterday morning several of us met for a 

Causeway to Causeway "fun run".

As we begin, Christi pipes up and says she has our Christmas 

gifts in the car for after.....

this gives us motivation to get back to the car faster!

When we arrive we gather round,

pretty pumped to be getting a surprise.....it could be anything!

She announces that part of the gift was inspired

by ME!

Sweet....
I am assuming it is obviously workout related....

bring it on.

We open our gift sacks....we find delicious Bath and Body works

hand soap, I got Mint Bliss, Love it!

AND a Holiday Cash Lotto Ticket.

(The other day while driving, and then again while listening to the radio

at home I heard that the "Power Ball Lotto" was up to 

$500,000, 000 (is that 500 million?)

I never pay that stuff a second thought,

but this time....I thought about it just for a second.

Man, 500 mil. , 500 MIL!, wow!!!

Someone has to win it!

Why not me?

Why not one of us?

I mentioned it at a workout class the next day.

Christi is a good listener....and truth be told, 

lately we have been discussing meaningful gifts.

She nailed it IMO.)

So we are all standing around holding our lotto cards.

Thank you Christi, wow, these are great.

Now what?

Well scratch them off weirdos!

oh....ok, even cooler.

So I scratch off a $1,000 candle...what does this mean??

nothing...
you only win if you scratch off a picture of a gift box,

then you win whatever is below it.

Awwwww...... got it.

scratch, scratch....

no way!

I just won $2!

scratch, scratch, scratch.....
we are all doing it at the same time,

Oh my gosh.....I just won $4!!!

now scratching with shaky fingers.....

NO! I seriously just won 4 more dollars!

(Tina admitted that she just thought I didn't know what I was doing)

scrape, scrape......$1!!!!

No lie!  I see another gift and I just won
!!!$4!!!

I am celebrating as if I have just won a cool mil.

because that is what it felt like.

It was a fantastic thrill ride.....what a rush!

Unfortunately,

no one else had a gift on their card....

sorry guys....

but I won $15 dollars in Holiday Cash!!

Apparently you can walk into any high class gas station 

and just hand over your card.

They will hand back the cash.

I still find that hard to believe, but on Monday I will give it a go.

Sooooo much fun!!!

Thanks C.
(It was a foggy day, we were covered in mist from head to toe)

A few other tidbits:

McCauley and her two friends Iza, and Claire we over this week,

they were totally pumped because they pierced 

M's look alike American Girl "type" doll's ears.

M came in with the doll to show me,

she was so excited,

Mom! Look at what we did....for FREE!!

Some girls pay thousands $$$$$ of dollars to get their real 

American Girl doll's ears pierced!

But we did it for free,

we just took a needle and pushed it through and then put in the earrings.

Mom, now she really does look JUST LIKE ME!!

well, if it wasn't for the freckles.....but still!

Love, love, love that girl and her excitement.

The Soft soap in the kids bath has been lasting for a long time.

Finally the other day I picked it up and could 

immediately tell that water had been added.

Huh?

Who would do that?

.....do the kids think we are out of soap?

The closet is stocked with hand soap right now,

and honestly, I have decided to never buy soft soap again,

because I like getting "designer" hand soap with way cooler

bottles at Ross.

So I kinda want the kids to use this stuff up.

Anyway, I ask around, and find that Lawson has taken it upon

himself to help us stretch our dollar a bit more,

He says, oh yeah mom, I am the one adding the water,

it works just as well and it lasts way longer.

Am I rubbing off on these kids or what!!?

I love that guy for even thinking of it.

 Lastly, a few days back I noticed that the boys had a body wash 

bottle that was almost empty in the shower....

just like the hand soap one.

I guess I notice this stuff a lot because I really 

like throwing away empty bottles....

it makes me feel like I have accomplished something.

Get this trash out of here....and let us start a brand new full beautiful 

container of product.

Where I may even use a little excess to finish off an item,

the kids stuff seems to linger on FOREVER.

So I start asking around again,

Ethan, what body wash are you using every day?

The one that is in there!

What do you think!?!

What one?

The one I see has been standing upside down for

what seems like weeks with the same amount in it.

I use the Head and Shoulders!!!!

Geeeeze.

The Head and Shoulders?
That is not a body wash....it is only shampoo.

OH YEAH!?

Then why does it say Head AND Shoulders???

Wake up mom.

In my mind I am seeing those long forgotten commercials

where the people are brushing off their shoulders.

Well, he got me there.

I was silenced.

Life is so good..... what a ride.  

2 YEARS gone ... Already??

Ethan got his braces off yesterday.
Amazing.
I remember when he got them put on.
I felt so bad for him.
I knew he would never be able to eat or speak normally
over the next two years.
He was going to waste away into a waif.
Nope.
Didn't happen.
He survived, and grew like five inches or something crazy like that.
All I know is that when he got his braces on, he was a
scrawny young boy.
Now he is a towering (handsome) young man.
I have the footage to prove it at the end of my post...
Eth is back to eating and chewing whatever he wants!!
Welcome back buddy.
But now he talks funny again because he has his new retainers in.

Thanksgiving was a fun filled day.
We ran the annual Suntree Turkey Trot.
Gooooood Times!
I love that we do this together every November.
Our gang is getting stronger and more skilled.
There was no barfing along the trail at all this year,
and every ones race time improved!

We had two families over for dinner.
That was fun and interesting.
I also realized how exhausting and how much pressure that is.
It is a LOT of work, dang it.
Kev was a great partner in the kitchen.
Honey hurry,
please slice that log of butter and stuff it up
under the turkeys skin.
Yes, yes, just use your fingers.
K, now, please take this pan of stuffing and gently
pack it into every open cavity you can find in the turkey.
Yes, not too hard though because it will expand.
Good, now......
take this stick of butter and....
I need another stick of butter....
where is the butter?
More butter please!
Get in the freezer and get another Sams pack of butter out.
BUTTER!!
Good Grief.
Ryker and McCauley were also big helpers.
My pumpkin pie was superb.....made my own crust for once.
I am sure you have all been doing it for years,
I was really nervous, but it worked great.
My gravy got RAVE reviews!
Even Ethan went on about it more than once.
That made me very happy,

The day after.

Black Friday....I partook of shopping at Dillards.

I had such a wonderful, and successful shopping trip.

I was Gleeful!!

Why can't money grow on trees?

Why is it such a rush to get items at 

50 - 65% off 

+

an additional 50% off

+

an additional 10% off

+ 

$10 back on every $50 spent?

Just typing that out gets me excited all over again!!

I splurged on new curtains for McCauley's room.

I have hated her old ones since the day I made them out of some

 hodgepodge fabric I scrounged up.

I AM IN LOVE WITH THESE NEW ONES.

Sometimes I just go in her room and sit and look at them.

These are very expensive, lined, heavy fabric.

Beautiful.

The pictures DO NOT do them justice.

Plus.....shhhhhhh....I purchased her a new bedding set!

The old set has served us very well for the past 13 years.

I am pretty sure I paid top dollar at Walmart.

They still are not too bad on the eyes,

but I could not resist....

who would even try at those prices?

The dominant color of the new spread is sage green,

with dark brown accent swirls.

I can't wait to bring it out at Christmas for her.

I snatched up throw pillows for her bed as well as our couches. 

You can get a little peak at the couch pillows here.
They are yum.
I don't usually partake in black Friday...
but this was a lot of fun.
It was not jam packed and crowded at all at Dillards.
It's too classy for all that nonsense. 

Last Collage: Random Wrap up.

Vanessa and I made a recent temple trip.

There she is getting her makeup bag from her sister's vehicle....

whose alarm went off in the Target parking lot.

M got her retainer removed, her cross bite is fixed.

Doesn't that look sore?

When she opened her mouth to show me chills and 

shivers shot down my spine.

YIKES.

It looked red and raw....I tried not to show emotion.

Believe me when I tell you again....this picture is not giving the full effect.

Our new insurance cards came.....hefty new higher co-pays.

yippie.

not really even sure how that ended up in here.

The blood bath.....

V's daughter Claire was here playing the 

other day,

they were playing a game where they were walking around w/

blankets over their heads,

and what do you know?

someones head hit her nose,

which caused a MASSIVE nose bleed.

I kid you not when I say the bathroom was spattered from

sink to mirror.

It was a crime scene in there.....

this pic is just a sampling.

She was and is fine, thank goodness.

Why not take a minute and re-enjoy the hamburger shake video.

Bye - Bye..... see you next time : )

ps - guess what???

I just had to PURCHASE a photo storage plan on Picasa.

No matter what I did, it would not let me add one more photo,

not even to a new post.

Boo.

So I am finally a paying customer...

I don't like that much.

: (

It is 2:33 a.m. 

I just got a text from K....

Sorry for us, and may God bless America!

Of course I cannot go back to sleep.

I am so very sad.

I am stupified.

I am dreading telling our kids in the morning.

I don't know what there is to say.

I saw a few things on fb that I guess sum up how I feel.

 Emily:

"Prepare to be humbled America"

and this from Kathleen:

DROWN YOUR SORROW PARTY at my house tomorrow. 

Here's the happening agenda: 

1)- 72 hour kit assembly with a special segment on grinding your own wheat, 

2)-Gun Storage and Cleaning, 

3)-Melt your jewelry into gold bars, 

4)-Obamacare :Do's and Don'ts 

5)-Chinese 101 

6) Book of Mormon prophesies being fulfilled 

7)Alternate fuel sources (try manpower, cuz you'll be riding a bike soon)

I laughed at first,

until the reality of it hit me.

My mind can't get around this loss.

I was so excited to be able to support a president I feel

 respect and admiration for.

I spent twelve hours yesterday working at the polls.

I was mostly with elderly people.

I enjoyed their company very much.

It is amazing the relationships you can forge just 

being shut in together

for three meals.

What good people.

Wonderful...

full lives and interesting stories.

I enjoyed seeing Americans come in to cast their vote.

It was a wide span of individuals.

From the tatooted from chin to shin, to 

bakers, nurses, doctors, businessmen and women,

lots of first time voters.

Many families.

That was the best part.

The last thing the gentleman next to me would always ask

as he was checking voters out to get their ballot was,

Would you like to have an absentee ballet sent to you next time 

so you don't have to come do this?

99% of the people were like no way,

I like coming here in person.

I want my vote to count.

(not sure the current system is set up for that to happen.)

Some people came in and were very pumped,

some nervous and scared.

One of my favorite ladies that came through was happy and 

excited, and asked who I was voting her,

I said I was not allowed to say.

Well, I can tell you who I am voting for....

sure, go ahead.

Mitt!

It is never a good idea to be 

forced to be humbled.

I feel like America is going to be forced to our knees....

I hope we will make good use of 

our time down there.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Now is the time.

The boys and Kev will be home tonight from their week long 

hunting trip.

They were passing through Georgia the last time we spoke.

My dad met up with them this time,

it sounded like they all had a very good trip.

These are the photos they took.

That is a bummer.....I guess there was a "malfunction" with the camera.

Awwwww....I see.

McCauley and I made good use of our girl time.

We used several "Free Kid Meal" coupons I had saved up.

These photos are from Friendly's.  

Yum!

We also hit Texas Roadhouse one night.

M always got right to work on her kid assignment or "fun page".

Looks exactly like her school work to me, 

I'm happy she likes them so much.

We watched our shows.

We kept the house fairly tidy.

Got tons of books from the library, and read them all.

On Halloween, I took M, Izzy, and Claire to Mimi's,

a little ceramic painting place and they each painted a cat.

I will take after pictures when we get them back, these have not been 

baked yet.

Then the girls went trick or treating w/ the Quigley crew.

(M is a Secret Agent, by the way.)

 Here are our hot Red Neck photos we took today.

I will not miss driving the truck....

mostly because it is just sooooooo loud.

I always park in one of the farthest stalls so I am not so in peoples faces,

and so it is easier to get out when I want to leave.

If you turn the wheel too far one direction or the other it makes 

a horrible grinding sound....

I take measures to avoid doing that.

No drive ups in this big boy.

I was very happy to have wheels for the week though,

so it worked out great.

(besides.....we make pretty hot red necks!)

 The week was relaxing, quiet, and easy.....

almost too easy.

You know what I mean?

It gets old after a while.

I went to pick M up last night,

 and Vanessa had made a real meal.

A meal she had put effort and care into creating for her family.

She invited us to stay.

I was like no way, we don't want to intrude...

we stayed, who am I kidding?

It was magnificent....mana from heaven.

Home cooked food made with love.

It was delicious.

I am ready to get back to work and get our boys back.

I will also say I was really looking forward to heading 

off to church this morning.

Got all fancied up, and was getting ready to take off for an early 

meeting w/ M when she told me she had just thrown up in the toilet.

Then a second time a little later...

dang it.

So I turned my sharing time prep over to Tina and we 

stayed home.

I did attend my short meeting as M rested on the couch and watched a 

few Sunday videos.

She had my phone, and it was A.ok.

The meeting was a spiritual feast.

The adult interaction a delight.

One of the topics discussed was the new curriculum for the 

youth of the church.

It was exciting, 

and I am happy our youth will be partakers

of this inspired program.

On the way home I got thinking....

I can't remember what got me thinking about our future and 

where we would be,

and what it will look like, etc.

As usual my mind landed on our current home,

and wondering how long we will continue to live there,

and so forth....

When for the first time in all my wondering I received a very 

direct answer to my query. 

My impression was quite clear.

You have not done the missionary work that needs to be done

while you are in that house,

on that street,

at this time.

Period.

You are not done there.

Oh!

OK.

Wow.

It was less than a month ago that I made a comment on 

my sister's blog when she mentioned making future goals.

Where do you see yourself in one year,

in five years....etc.

I said, here is my exact quote:

I really like your ideas about clarity. Each time I try and picture our life, my life in 1, 5 or 10 years.....I can't figure it out, certain aspects are solid and in place, but I can never figure out where we will be. It is still foggy.....would love to clear that view.

Maybe I finally understand why we don't leave,

can't leave, wouldn't even know where to go because

of the dumb stuper that exists.

We aren't going anywhere.

We will be right here.

But you know what....we are going to be here with a purpose.

We need to get doing something more than nothing.

Apparently, that is not cutting it.

We will be here until we get the job done.

This I can deal with.

I like it.

I am just happy to know the plan.

I say we have done nothing,

but truth be told over the past twelve years I (we) have,

I hope, laid a foundation on our little street.

I am not prepared to call it a solid one,

definitely not stone, or brick,

but for sure stronger than straw....

I am going with fairly sturdy sticks, and a whole bunch of twigs piled up.

If the time is right.....

and I have a really good feeling that it is.

Especially now that 

I know the Lord is backing us up,

 and in fact waiting.

I have a bit more confidence in the fragile relationships we have fostered.

Several families faces are in my thoughts and mind.

Two days ago,

before this thought process began.

I drove up and saw one of our neighbors across the street setting a few items

out for a garage sale.

She was hanging around out on the drive way.

I knew this was my chance to go and visit with her.

I was nervous and scared, 

their twenty one year old son recently overdosed 

on drugs and died.  

Their family has had many stuggles, 

ups and downs,

but no worse than this.

I do not know her well, and have only had opportunity to express 

my condolences to her daughter up to this point.

I ran inside the house and started scrounging around for 

something to take with me.

(nothing worse then walking up empty handed)

hmmmmmm.....

all I had that seemed decent was a hot cup of Choffy.

Luckily I had purchased some really nice  

disposable cups with lids. 

I headed over with my offering.

I stammered around, uh hi, I am so, sorry about Tyler.

(hug)

I um, thought you might like a cup of Choffy,

it's like coffee, but it's not,

there's no coffee in it,

it's brewed chocolate,

but not hot chocolate....

point being I sounded like a complete IDIOT.

ok, thanks.

um, so how are you?

well.....

are you still working at....?

no, I am currently out of work.

Did Brad find a job?

no, just random jobs here and there.

So your daughter moved?

yes, it is just the three of us here now.

 Well, so you are alone and in the house a lot.

yes.

Is that what you prefer?

that is the just the way it is.

Well, would you ever want to go on a walk?....

now that the weather is cooling down a little?

sure, if you'd like, I'd go.

ok.

I think I know who could use some blessings.

I have some ideas on where I will start tomorrow.

I love that the Lord lets us in on His plan,

on His time,

when He is ready,

He will let us know.

Not when we want it.

I am grateful for patience....

for waiting and seeing.

Sometimes it feels like we aren't able to receive inspiration

or answers to our questions.

We hear of other peoples answers.

We wish we could be like them and get direction.

We know we could be doing more.

Maybe we don't want it as bad as they did.

Maybe we have lost the touch.

Maybe we aren't spiritual enough.

Or.

maybe it is not the time.

Be patient.

Na, Na, Na, Naaaaa, Na, Na, Na, Naaaaa,

Hey, Hay, Hay.... Goooooood Bye!

We love you boys dearly....we will miss you sorely...

but sianara senors. 

The girls only club is back in town. 

On our last night together I made us all go to a mandatory Fall Fest

that I agreed to volunteer my mad face painting skills at.

It was a lot of fun....

at least M and I thought.

It was two towns over from us in Indialantic.

Everything was free....

hotdogs, all the soda you could gluten down, Wendy's frostys,

popcorn, treats galore, and prizes for the games the likes

of which I have never seen before!!

Plus a scary haunted house, water tattoo table, hay ride,

and of course the highly sought after 

face painting table.

ha! 

We had to wait for Kev to get back into town anyway....

it was a great way to pass the time and enjoy the blustery out doors for a while.

 A sample of my skills.

This girl requested a rainbow across her face.

I delivered the goods.

Last night around 9:30 pm the boys headed off into the night in the van.

They are driving for the first time to their annual hunting trip 

in South Dakota.

They are almost two days behind schedule....

Kev was surprisingly delayed on his recent trip.

But no worries...it will work out and they will have a 

wonderful time.

M and I gave lots of hugs,

blew kisses,

M ran after the van to the corner and we waved together until 

they were out of sight.

Then we turned and high tailed it back into the house and shut 

the garage.

As we were walking in holding hands M says,

Finally, now the real fun can begin.

A mother, a wife may think this....but only a little sister can get 

away with actually saying it out loud.

Pretty funny.

This was the last picture in a little Sabbath Day book M made at 

church today.

This is the two of us on the couch watching 

whatever we want!!!!

This is an accurate depiction of us...

we always sit huddled up on the far right hand side of the couch

sharing a blankie.

This way I can utilize the little end table and put my water there and reach

my floss, nail file, chap stick, lotion, and both remotes.

The second we walked back in the door last night we switched off

"The game"

Good riddance.

We put on our DVRd X Factor,

after we watched a quick house show that we never get to view

while the boys are home.

We stayed up until 11:00!! 

CUZ WE CAN.

 We are tracking the boys progress on the computer.

We can know where they are at all times.

It is pretty cool and fun.

They are making very good progress.

M is building legos....has been for 2 hours.....

she is singing her made up songs while she builds.....

no boys here to tell her not to sing.

I just finished writing in my gratitude journal......

Sacrament was on gratitude today.

It was a wonderful reminder.

Now I am doing this.

Next....hmmmmm.....we'll see.

Sandy's comin to town....

No School Day.

Perfect.

I wonder if the kids would rather be in school, 

than scrubbing tile grout?

School was canceled yesterday due to a category two

hurricane, Sandy, (locals like to call her)

 coming our way.

Thankfully it has not been to bad.

We also had to cancel our Trunk or Treat Fall Fest

The Primary has been planning and preparing for 

over the past several months....

but eh...

it is only a party, 

there will be others, 

and our big assignment is taken care of for the year.

(even though sadly it did not even happen).

So, 

here is how the kids and I spent the better part of our day.

We went all out,

moved the fridge, took out the oven drawer, got everything

off the floor in the pantry, 

etc.

 We scrubbed our brains out....

but the truth of the matter is that our work does not stack up 

to Kevin's grout.

Ours does not look "like new".

I don't get it.

It is something I will never get,

because I am willing to live with this mystery.

I plan on never doing this again.

But I am really happy K inspired us to do it once.

If feels soooooo clean and sparkly....

and for once, 

It actually is.

 Last night I was worried about the flag being whipped

 so hard in the wind.

  It was getting shredded to pieces.

I asked the boys to take it down when they got home.

Ryker came in and said they couldn't get it down because it had 

wrapped all around and knotted onto the pole.

Great.

I wondered how we would eventually get it down.

Problem solved.

When we went out this morning I thought I saw a dead bird 

on our lawn, 

R went to inspect,

it was actually the eagle off the top of our flag pole.

The pole had been blown down in the night.

huh.

Be careful what you wish for : )

Eye of the Sparrow.

I had to put this up on my blog.

(mom and dad, this ones for you)

It came to my mind this morning, 

I had just gotten up and 

was reading my sister's comments on a recent blog post.

A few of her comments seemed so random and confusing,

(at the moment, before I fully woke up I guess)

She asked in her p.s. if I was "holding a turkey?",

I thought, now that is random,

and it reminded me of this debate recap that is also very random,

and I love it!

p.s. yes, as a matter of fact HB, 

I was holding a cousin to a turkey, a really giant chicken I believe.

It was a beauty.

Not smart with my white shirt.

Goooooo Mitt!!!

Keep Trying that Thing.....

I just found out that we are not getting up to 

run at 5:15 in the morning.....

Sooooo, 

I choose to stay up late and put a yummy post together.

K is out of town, so I have time to kill and stuff to catch up on.

First let me admit that since it became "Fall", 

I have been eating pumpkin pie

every day.

I have made two pies since October started.

Keep in mind, 

no one but me likes pumpkin pie in our home.

I did however just discover that our next door neighbor,

Charlie,

(Herbie's dad) LOVES it!

I sent M over yesterday with a large, slightly warm, piece of pie.

It was heaped with a giant mound of home made whipping cream.

Nothing is better in the fall.

I usually heat it up for breakfast, 

and then top with the cold whip cream.

I also eat it for snacks during the day.

I find it very comforting and enjoyable....

plus

I consider it fairly healthy because of the pumpkin....

lots of fiber.

The picture does not do my pie justice.

The lighting was poor, and the piece was ill formed.....

I am working my way through the last half of the second pie now.

Kevin has been on my case for ever about scrubbing the grout of our tile.

I have always been like,

why?

what's the point....it is just going to get dark again.

besides, no one knows it is supposed to be white,

it looks grey, plus it adds personality to our boring white tile.

(what was I thinking when I chose that 13 years ago????

I have a feeling it had something to do with money, and the idea that I 

was probably not going to have to live with it very long to begin with.....

moron.)

Anyway, Kev would not give it up.

I finally said, if you want it done so bad.....

go for it my friend.

So he and the boys did.

?

I came home from some half day volunteering event at the school this past 

Saturday and found 1/2 of the kitchen floor completely 

amazingly, startling white.

It literally looked like new.

They spent several hours on their hands and knees scrubbing their brains out.

Then Kev mopped it 3 times....

Take a gander at the mop he came home from the pawn-shop with.

Pawnshop?....for a mop?

I asked Ryker why they didn't just use our normal mop....

they couldn't find it.

I said, well how did you get the water wrung out?

Oh, dad would just hang it in the sink (in the garage) and grip the head tight,

then I would twist the handle.

?

whoa.

That is very interesting.

I admire K's dedication, and drive.

I plan on assisting the kids with the remainder of the floor this Saturday.

question: Do you prefer the dark or light grout?....just checkin.

K and all the boys recently went on another late night shark fishing trip.

L's friend Aiden joined them on the adventure.

They have been on other grand fishing adventures.....

but this one was different, in that it was a bit on the windy side,

so the water was rough,

which made the ship rock,

which made many, many, men and women loose their supper.

It was a vomit fest extraordinaire.

I really thought they would be cured of these trips with that 

miserable experience.

nope.

I have heard talk of the next one.

All righty.

I am excited to report that I will be working the polls on election day.

I have been trained, 3 hours worth, and am ready to go.

This may be the only picture I get to represent the actual event....

camera's, and pictures are strictly prohibited.  

I will tell you a lot more about this later.

 McCauley had a fun field trip to Green Meadows last week.

Here are a few cute highlights.

 We attended a wonderful reception last week.

Everything was beautiful,

delicious, and enjoyable.

It is fun to dress up and go out and enjoy the company of good friends.

Did I mention it was fun to dress up???

I went to my "mandatory" Choffy meeting tonight...

just kidding....I wouldn't miss them.

Tina runs these fantastic meetings for our little band 

of local Choffy soldiers.

She tries so hard and does so much.

She deserves every scrap of fantastic success that comes her way.

She motivated us tonight by challenging us to get out of our comfort zone.

She gave us a little poem to take home,

here are my favorite pieces of it....

 I used to have a comfort zone where I knew I couldn't fail.

The same four walls of busy work were really more like jail.

I longed so much to do the things I'd never done before.

But I stayed inside my comfort zone and paced the same old floor.

I said it didn't matter that I wasn't doing much.

But I could't let my life go by just watching others win.

I held my breath and stepped outside to let the change begin.

I kissed my comfort zone good-bye and closed and locked the door.

HOLD IT.

No WAY do I want to leave my comfort zone for good.

I am leaving that door wide open.

I want to come and go as I please.....

I definitely want to leave,

but how would I ever relax and unwind after being 

"out of my comfort zone" all day?

NO THANK YOU.

My comfort zone is my home.

A place to come back to.

You know what I mean?

Yes,

Leave.

but I need a place to catch my breath,

to regroup.

Celebrate my successes and failures in peace.

Gather supplies and muster courage for my next outing 

"outside the zone".

....... I think that is what makes it possible to leave our

zone in the first place,

the knowledge that we get to return.

Sometimes it only takes 20 seconds of outrageous courage.

just 20 seconds...

way less than a minute of bravery.

or 10 minutes to decide now is the time to make just 5 of those 

uncomfortable phone calls.

or 1 short hour to hold it together to teach 

or take a brand new class.

what ever it is for you,

keep trying that thing.