Mountains to Climb

We climbed a mountain together this summer.

My husband Jeff and I literally climbed mountains in Colorado.

“It takes strength and courage to climb a mountain. It takes strength, courage, and wisdom to turn around,” Allison said. “It takes strength to look at our situation honestly and objectively. It takes courage to recognize that we need to change and actually to take steps toward that change. Wisdom is learning from our past—from our mistakes and from the things we did right.”  Stacy Allison

It was work.  

I got altitude sickness.  

We climbed from 9,000 feet above sea level to almost 11,200 feet and round trip was 7.1 miles, half of a half marathon.  

I wouldn't quit.  I had to get back to the car!

It was hard work.

If I can climb a mountain.... I can do (almost) anything!

What a view from the top!

It's All Greek to Me

When your kids get to a point in their lives... when you remember it like yesterday that you were experiencing similar situations, you know you've gotten to the next stage in your own life.... you're getting old.

It's not that I feel like I was 'just' in college, but I remember some of the old days.  I know my college experience was definitely NOT like the days my kids are experiencing in their universities.  I went to a small private Lutheran College, barely 1,000 students.... not some big university that has it's largest student population ever, over 30,000+(that's grad and undergrad)

 

I don't recall ever attending a football game or any other sporting event (I was a commuter student, so I'm sure I had something better to do off campus).... let alone plan an entire day of tailgating, socializing and drinking ... before filing into a stadium filled with over 71,000 current students, alumni, parents and friends. I don't think my parents ever owned a t-shirt, sweatshirt or a banner with my college name on it!!!!

 

But here we are, attending our 2nd college football game of the year.  The Missouri Tigers vs the Georgia Bulldogs.  The opposing team won BIG time.... 0 -37.  I didn't feel a great loss, since I'm not that vested a Mizzou fan.

 

We went to CoMo (short for Columbia Missouri) to visit Sissy for Dad's Weekend.  Her Sorority, Pi Beta Phi  (PiPhi for short) wanted to recognize their dads (the one's who assist in paying the tuition????).  They also celebrate parents weekend, mom's weekend, homecoming and whatever else when there are home football games.

 

It takes the best to raise the best.

 

Learning about Greek Life is an eye opener, at least to me. 

 

Jeff was a Lambda Chi Alpha when he attended Indiana State University. Not every University or College recognizes Greek Sororities and Fraternities as a major part of their campus organizations. At some schools it's a big deal, at other schools they hardly recognize it.

 

To many they say, what's the point?  It's snobby rich kids.  Or they exclude people.  It's a secret organization.  It's just plain weird.  I guess it can be all of the above ... but not every chapter's sole purpose is to have the best parties.  The friendships and camaraderie they establish is second behind what they stand for when it comes to volunteering for a cause or a philanthropy awareness.  Sissy's sorority has strict rules on academics and they need to maintain a high grade point average to participate and continue in the organization.  Alumni are a great support to the sororities often recommending 'sisters' for placement and employment and fundraising!

 

There are a lot of beautiful spots around campus to take pictures.  One place is in front of the 6 Iconic Columns.  These are the only remains left after a major fire in1892. Read about it here .

 

It was a nice fall weekend to drive the 7-1/2 hours to visit with our beautiful, smart and fun daughter.  We are so fortunate and blessed to have the opportunity to experience some of the college LIFE through our children.  Their POSSIBILITIES for their future are endless.

Me & BE in SLC

Hello Friends.... are you still out there???

I've been on a self-made sabbatical.

I'm working on my Year of Possibilities ... and I actually was able to make another one happen.

So, I could say my Year of Possibilities is a small 'bucket list' of things to do before???? 

I have a very special friendship with Becky.  It's a bit complicated to explain, but it is a real nice 'thing'.  We met over 23 years ago while working in the same company in Racine.

 

She has always lived in Utah, and me? Well, since that time I have lived in Wisconsin, Tennessee,Wisconsin again and now Illinois.

 

In Wisconsin for a sales meeting, she missed a plane home one day, and stayed in my house for the night ... and we became Pen Pals. 

 

We contacted each other through snail mail for years .... talking about our new marriages and our babies.  Becky has older children, but we both have a boy and girl who were the same grades growing up.  So it seemed, we had a lot in common.  Across the miles we began sharing ideas and our love for crafts and making people happy. Along the way were many trials and jubilations of being moms, and the milestones in our children's lives.... potty training, school, dance, sports, driving, dating, grades, graduations, college planning ....  we shared, we connected!

 

Over the years with new technology, we dropped our pen and stationary and found new ways of communicating... via the computer.  And now one of our most advanced ways of staying in touch is texting and sending each other videos over our iPhone.

 

And one day, because it's my Year of POSSIBILITIES.... she invited me to visit her in Salt Lake City, and I was able to make it happen.

 

Talk about Brightening Someone's Day!!!

 

Stay tuned, (it's a tease) more to follow.

 

Welcome Home

When you finally go back to your old home, you find it wasn't the old home you missed but your childhood ~ Sam Ewing

Echo Lane

 

If you are new to my blog, welcome! 

 

'Old' friends and family, thanks for taking the time to stop by!!!

 

I hope that you come back again.  I also hope that you will scroll down through my blog posts and see what I'm all about.  I'm a recent empty nester and am going through the changes and stages of this new twist on my LIFE.

 

In 2013 I set a goal for myself to find LIFE'S simple pleasures and to document them each of the 52 weeks of this year.  A simple pleasure is something that we tend to forget about and yet it is mostly free.  It is something that brings a smile to your face and good feelings of great memories to your heart.

 

Week #40 LIFE'S simple pleasure - home

 

Home is the place where it feels right to walk around without shoes.

 

As you can see, I can put a twist on my topic and I even have a creative greeting card for most every one of LIFE's simple pleasures.  I love pretty things and clever words!

 

Home:  It is generally a place to provide safety and is used as a center from which people or animals base their daily activities

 

The picture on the top of this post is my childhood home.  Isn't it cute? 

 

In discovering LIFE'S simple pleasures, I found that it is important to sprinkle these simple and favorite things throughout my day, and I try to almost EVERY day.  

 

LIFE is too short.

 

Shouldn't we all sip a favorite beverage, raise our face to the sun shine, look forward to a FuN MaiL day, smell the roses, honor our country, sit and swing a spell, go on an adventure, listen to the sounds that are around us, and enjoy our home?

 

When I was at home, I was in a better place

~ Wm Shakespeare

Found Any CACHE Lately?

There are some who can give you the exact date when they started. 

I would really have to search my memory banks to be that precise.  It was some time the summer of 2011. The year my first born was getting ready to go to college.  I can, however,  tell you exactly why we started.

In 2013 we will become full blown empty nesters!

Yikes, I forgot that it was a syndrome! 

Since a young adult moving out from his or her parents' house is generally a normal and healthy event, the symptoms of empty nest syndrome often go unrecognized. This can result in depression and a loss of purpose for parents, since the departure of their children from "the nest" leads to adjustments in parents' lives. Empty nest syndrome is especially common in full-time mothers.

Before I get all teary eyed and blubbery, again...I'm really writing about Geocaching.

Week # 18 - LIFE'S simple pleasures - Geocaching

My husband and I decided that since the kids were getting ready to fly the coop, we needed to find more things we could do together, just the two of us.  One thing we talked about was starting to hike.  Having two dogs that need to walk daily, we are used to the thought of walking, but we decided we wanted to make it more interesting while hiking outdoors. 

 

Somehow, somewhere.... we heard about Geocaching and thought it was the perfect activity for us!

Not long after that, our local newspaper had an article about Geocaching across our county through the conservations park district.  Everything seemed to fit!

What is it and why we're hooked.

 

Geocaching is a real world outdoor treasure hunt.  It's what happens when nerds go outdoors.  It is great fun and inexpensive entertainment that gets us outside.  It involves critical thinking and helps us to look at our surrounding differently. Once we got our first 'find'  it became the thrill of the hunt.  We were so amazed how many beautiful parks were in our county.

 

GEO - geography (EARTH)  CACHE (container ) pronounced like cash

Here's the hubster, at first we printed out all the details (coordinates and clues) thus the clipboard.

 

We used our car Garmin GPS (global positioning system) at first.  Then upgraded to an actual hand held GPS (looked like a walkie talkie). And now I have an application on my smart phone.

 

Last week I wrote about all things Earth.  In Week #18 I will continue with that topic, but change it up a bit, put twist on the twist....because there are is so much to write about.  Our EARTH has so much to offer us.

Instead of just taking a walk on this beautiful path before us, my husband and I are getting a chance to explore the next stage in our lives together!  Please join me and see where our adventures take us.

If you're NOT anonymous, please leave a comment.  And stay tuned this week to see what kind of hidden treasures we've discovered Geocaching!