I Miss Those Days

I am still trying to get over the jet lag, but for some reason I keep dreaming... or nightmaring... I am not sure which.  I keep thinking of the times growing up.  We went through some awfully tough times, but even so, we were a close knit family.  I don't know how we did it, and I don't know why we stayed so close, but we did.

Some days you just want to go back and revisit to see if it was really as bad as you remember.  I know it was, but I wish I could just try to change things.  Would we still be as close if things were different?  This morning, I woke up just wanting to go back to what I used to have - my family.  Good, bad or indifferent, it was my family.  I look back now and think 'if only I had done this differently... then' - but in the whole scheme of things, I didn't know how, they didn't know how and we were all a family.  

And we got through it and had families of our own.

Mom is gone now, but I miss her more than I would if my right arm was missing - still.  I still need to call and ask her stuff - silly stuff.  Some days I need to rant with her or listen to her fuss.  Others I need to call and tell her my pie dough is resting or that I need her recipe for...  I just need to just hear her voice.  But she is gone now and all I have is pictures...  So I am going to share some of the good times with you; when we were young, older and married.  

 Of all the things that went wrong, mom did one thing right - she kept us all together.  

Thanks mom.

This is mom.  Her name was Karen.

I think she was feeling pretty good here - and in her favorite color - cherry red.

She liked cherry red a lot.  

Here she is in 1966.

This is Steve, me and Liz (my sister) on mom's cherry red-ish sofa in  1977  ;-)
And Dusty our dorgie.  He was the brick carrier.  

If you knew what you can't see, in the divider, the paper along the side was Chinese cherry red.

This picture was taken before the last one - maybe in 1972-ish. 

 It is Liz (in a cherry red-ish coverhall), Me, Shari and Danny.   

They are my sisters and brother.

And even before that - about in 1968.  Me, my dad (Boyd) and Liz. 

Moving forward again... this is our daughter Stephenie, my step-dad David and Jeremy, our son.

David and mom (there is that color again) were wonderful together - I miss that couple:

I was married when they met, but he has always been so good to all of us.  

He is still blessing our lives.

In fact, my sisters might have been married when mom and dad met, too... hmmm... 

I am getting old - I can't remember.

This is Liz, Dad (what color do you see in his shirt?) and Shari.  Again, sisters and step-dad.

Liz and I comparing leg lengths next to dad... I am short.  
HONESTLY, that is what we were doing...

And Jeremy trying to convince me he was as tall as my brother Danny.

(See the color of the rose?)

It didn't work.  He was definitely shorter and I had proof.

Here are our two munchkins - Jeremy and Stephenie:

The picture on the right are Carole (step-mom) and dad.

And our kids again after they grew up:

They still like each other  :-)

This is mom holding Nate, our nephew.  He is Shari's son.

And here she is holding Hannah, our niece, Danny's daughter.

What a picture below  :-)

On the wall in the back is Liz (sister) & John (Shari's hubby)

Next is Steve (my hubby), Me, and Shari (sister)

Next is Jennifer and Carey (our nieces) (Steve's brother's daughters) on either side of our son Jeremy. 

Where is Stephenie?  I don't remember - it is that age thing again...  :-(

Family Portrait  :-)

This is when mom was not doing so well.

Back row is my brother Danny, sister Shari in the middle, and I.

Then Liz (sister) and moma

We convinced her not to wear cherry red - I wish she had now.

Here are all of us girls together... do you remember who everyone is yet?  

Oh wait...  I see that color again... I bet mom dressed her baby girl  ;-)

I wonder who we look like?  One is a blondie, but her face is still one of ours.

My sister, Liz, and her daughter Jacque:

And all four of her kids:

Jessica, Megan, John and Jacque

Cutie pies  :-)

And one last picture, the last picture of all four of us taken together.  It was taken the day of moma's funeral.

Great picture, but sad memories.

If I had thought ahead, I would have worn cherry red.  

Mom would have been tickled pink... err... cherry red.

Random pictures that just made me feel better and remember the good ol' days.

And I posted in red for ya ma.

Yes, I miss those days... 

I miss you ma!

Distant Seas

One does not 

discover new lands 

without consenting to lose sight

of the shore for a very long time.

Sail away from the safe harbor.  

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Dream.  Discover.  Explore.

This little saying has kept my sights on what is ahead so many times over the last few years.  I shared it on facebook a few days ago, but there are many who don't read my facebook that do look at my blog.  

Maybe it will help you in some way today.

Leave your safe harbor.

There are new places ready to be explored :-)

Go on an adventure!

Another Expat Movin' On...

Expat life is very different from life in the states.  Our friends in the states are usually like us, very grounded and only occasionally get transferred.  Even if they do, they are relatively easy to stay in contact with.  Expats are a friend of a different sort - usually in our lives for only a moment or maybe a bit more (some are lucky enough to be with us for a couple of years) but most of the time, one of us will be moving on soon.  Moving is one thing, but most expats go to other countries to start a new adventure.  Often it is not easy to stay in contact with each other.  It is one difficult part of our lifestyle as an expat.  

Short term friendships...

When I first moved to Singapore, Lynda was one of the first to welcome me.  She told me of great places to shop and those to stay away from - and I was comfortable asking her for more information.  If I am not mistaken, Lynda is Singaporean, so I thought she was here to stay.  

I was wrong.  

While on holiday, I received a message from one of the other girls that Lynda and her hubby David were moving on.  UGH!  I was sadly disappointed, not for Lynda, but selfishly for myself.  I really enjoy Lynda's company and advice - and I am sad to see her leave.  However, I know she is going someplace that she is looking forward to, so I shall be happy for her.

Here is a picture of Lynda sharing her knowledge of the food we were eating with a couple of other wives from the company.  Yes, if you will recall, it was THIS post about the food - in particular, the Malaysian rice with the dead fish laying over it - and I was not so game to try it.  However, I loved listening to her sharing about it and how to eat it.  I still have to work my way up to some things... she said it was good.

I have to believe her. 

Lynda is a go-getter, and so I know she will be fine.  It is the loss of another expat friend that makes me sad - not the news of her hubby's transfer.

We will miss you, Lynda!  
Good luck and have fun on your new adventure!    :-)

Remember This?

1.5 years ago (yes it has really been that long) I posted THIS and said it was going to expire in July 2010.  Guess what?!  July 2010 is coming upon us right around the corner.  The big question is do we get to stay or do we get to move on?  Who knows?  We have no real idea - and since our contract on our flat is also going to be running out at the same time - well, suffice it to say, there are a lot of questions up in the air right now.  Ones we have no answers for  :-(

Here is a huge statement:  this last few weeks break has given me time to really contemplate that question and be ok with what happens.  I am good in Singapore.  Yes, yes, of course we miss everyone at home and much about the good ol' USA, but Singapore is an awesome place to live all in the whole scheme of the world -if of course we can't live in the USofA.  We have friends over here that helps make our world twirl in the right directions, and our expat friends know what it means when we say our day sucks.  You can see or hear when an expat friend needs a shoulder to lean on.  Thank goodness those times are getting fewer and fewer, but they still do come.  And those friends simply know.  

Something I like about Singapore.

On our flight back this time, there were some things in my heart that I realized have changed over the last 18 months.  

One of them is that I have honestly come to terms that home is where this man is:

I used to say that, but it gets more and more obvious.  It has never been my idea to travel the world.  I never, ever, in my life cared about doing that.  My 'bucket list' from when I was 16 years old contains traveling the US - not the world.  I think God knows what we really need.  I needed to see how the rest of the world lives and how spoiled and ungrateful most American's can be.  Going back to the states reinforces that.  Most people don't have the opportunity to see what we have seen - the poverty.  No, not poverty - the destitution - we have seen.  Poverty doesn't even begin to cover what we have seen - and have yet to see.  

Now when I went back to the states and hear cashiers at THAT STORE complaining about someone not coming in and it reminds me of the lack of responsibility both parties have.  The one that did not come in not caring about the one that had to pull a double and the one complaining not being happy she had a job in a nice cozy store.  

In other countries, they realize how precious those jobs are.

Humble still lives here.

Something else I like about Singapore.

You see?  I am seeing the light.  God knew what he was doing sending us here.  I do like it, I like the consistency of the lifestyle here and I love the people that come through my life every single day.  They are what makes it worth being here.  It is because of them that I can make it.  

It is because of God that I have that opportunity to do so.  

If we can't live in the US, Singapore is good to us.

I have made great strides in a few weeks.  

Coming 'home' was much better this time - so far.  

Now on to the rest of the story.  Getting here.

The flight... lol...

Due to the fact we were leaving out early in the morning and Todd was not in, we spent the night at the hotel before we left so the girls would not have to be on the road in the middle of the night.  All comfy & rested, we got up and to the airport in a fair amount of time to catch our flight out.  

Laugh.  Laugh.  

It was late getting out to de-icing.  What?  We were leaving New Orleans!  

The week we were there was COLD!!  The week we were in Oklahoma was frigid!  No one was used to this kind of weather in the south.  

So I scooped up some of the cold to bring it back to Singapore.

Finally the plane leaves and it was obvious we were pushing it to get to the next flight.  

We needn't have worried.  The next flight was delayed "because it didn't get there" - whatever that means.  So, we waited hours for it to finally arrive to pick us up, which made us miss the next flight - of course.  

Japan (Narita airport) has a way of making everyone go with the flow as painlessly as possible.

That is something I like about Asia...  

We were put up in the ANA Hotel Nikko Narita for the night and given 2 food vouchers and a slew of other stuff for our delay.  We slept well, ate breakfast and went to the hotel lobby with this:

(Have I said lately how much I love this man?)

Those suitcases held our precious Velveeta, Miracle Whip, Pecans and Jane's Crazy Mixed-Up Salt... and whatever else we felt the need to bring.  

Our 4 suitcases always get full coming back to Singapore  :-)

And what do we find?

Sleet.

A fair amount of sleet was sheeting down.

So I scooped up the rest of the cold to bring as well:

Was the sleet going to delay our next flight?  Lucky for us it didn't - Japan was more prepared than New Orleans - they actually get cold weather there!  lol... Don't worry, I was not upset with New Orleans.  They never see cold like they had for that amount of time.  We got to catch our flight out uneventfully.

Unless.  You consider the food:

It smelled like smoked peanuts and looked like it had worms on it:

And... ?

They said it was sticky rice and tomato pork and beans.  Ugh.

We were hungry.  We both tried.  Somehow, I don't think the Asians even think this is yummy.  ?

We played Uno.  Connect 4.  And crossword puzzles.  And blocks.  And lots of music.  

But we didn't eat.

And it is a good thing we bought this Kensington Battery (Model K38021 or K33396 in case your are interested) for our iTouch.   (Thanks for the idea Steph - we love it)

(You are still going to be my new products girl when we open that retreat right?)

Anyway, the trek getting here was long, but even though it was long, it was pleasant.  We are home and our life continues to twirl.  We miss you at home though - never think we don't.  

We just have to make the best of our life and embrace the journey.

Oh!  Can you believe the flight lost our 'cold' between here and Japan?  Darn.  

Welcome back to Singapore.  

Our little dot on the equator on the other side of the world.

Good night all.  I will start my day saying a prayer of thanksgiving for you at home - 

and another prayer for you greeting me here.

We are here.  Safe and sound.

Leaving On A Jet Plane...

(file photo from my Seattle trip)

Don't know when I'll be back again...


We leave on Monday morning to go back to Singapore.  Are we ready?


As I sit here thinking about all that we need to do, all that we want to do, and all that we wish we could do, I have to calm the knot in my tummy.  I am not sure why I am always so torn with leaving here.  I enjoy it in Singapore, and I have a great time when I am there visiting places and friends.  It is actually leaving here that tears me up - makes me cringe at getting on a plane to go back.  While I cannot figure it out, I guess it is time again to start our final preparations and get the ball rolling.


While here, we have had consistently cold weather - teens, twenties and thirties - Fahrenheit of course.  You Celsius girls don't want to hear that temp... lol... suffice it to say it is freaking cold here.  I don't mind the cold - actually, I normally love it - but this time it is going right through me.  I may have gotten thin blood living there in the tropics.  I think we will have some adjustments to go through when we get there - but it will all be good and we will be back to our 'normal' routine again.  I have meetings scheduled already on that end, a welcome or two and I get to get back to our photography exploration.  What fun!


Now I can again start to refocus on the fun things we do there and look forward to our travels back.  No sense in looking forlornly at what we are leaving behind, is there?


Let's see... the fun stuff we did while we were here... 


I got to see my Christmas cactus bloom:

And my Easter cactus...  ?

The girls hung out and chatted about girl things:

We manicured silly colors on a funky dressed girl:

And she loved them:

We played games:

And concentrated on the Operation:

Drank yummy hot chocolate:

And enjoyed our conversation that was funny and heart warming  :-)

And we relaxed... 

And waited (and are still waiting) on pictures of our guys...

Or even a phone call... 

But we didn't talk to you enough or see you at all... 

We miss you... 

I guess I have answered my own question - how do we make it ok to leave this behind?

I promise to do my best... but darn!  I miss all of the good things here in our lives... 

And I have tried to figure out what this is all about - it is on our back computer and keeps popping up on the screen - I can't figure out how to fix it... any suggestions?  Every time it happens, I have to reboot the computer.  Odd... maybe I will just shut it off until I come back again - seems like a good solution.

Any other ideas?  Son?

Looking forward to the good things there in our lives... 

NORTH to Alaska!  (remember that song?)  

errrr... 

SOUTH!  To Singapore... goin' south the rush is on... 

I may not blog again until I have gotten turned around in Singapore.  

I have made myself take a break from blogging - but I gotta tell you, it was killin' me.  I will be back - is that a promise... or is it a threat?  

You decide... 

Back in Alaska...

Oh wait...  It appears the GPS says we are back in Louisiana - however, it feels like Alaska.  It is freaking cold here!  I thought we left the cold back in Oklahoma - but nope, we brought it right back with us to Louisiana.  Maybe Steve took a wrong turn and went north to Alaska?  lol... 


Enjoy it folks - you don't get to see it that often, right?

Our trip to Oklahoma was uneventful, much too short and heavenly cold.  Have I ever said I love cold weather?  Just wondering... do you know where we live?  I am going to enjoy this cold snap to its fullest!

Steve's mom plopped down about 2 dozen knives and told him she needed them sharpened... so this is what Steve got to do in western Oklahoma:

Then he got accused of making them too sharp - she immediately cut two fingers!  *gulp*  Thankfully she was ok - just a bit perturbed.  He told her to be careful with those knives - they were sharp!  Silly woman!

Anyway, I will be going fast and furious to get ready to go back to Singapore.  I already have dates lined up like soldiers on my calendar for fun things to do and people to see.  

Leone, are you ready?  Let's get back to clickin'!  How about Macro Monday?

Off to do a bit around the house.  I feel like that guy looks - a bit crazy - and I want him by the way.  I have looked and looked for him, so if you see him in one of your trash books can you let me know?  Mother said she got him in one of those catalogs that came in the mail... 

keep an eye out for me, will you?

Things to do... or maybe not.  Later gator... 

Happy New Year!

May you have a Happy New Year, darling!  I hope each of you have a wonderful and blessed New Year and may all your dreams come true.


Yes, indeed I am still here  :-)  We are still in western Oklahoma - where the wind is blowing like h-e double toothpicks and it is colder than... well, *really* cold.  It is freezing and supposed to get colder this next week.  Luckily we will be back in south Louisiana where it will just be cold - not frigid like it is here.


We did get snow and ice.  Ice first, then snow in Okmulgee, then it melted and iced over again for several more nights.  It was mighty nasty.  Slicker than heck, but I must say I am proud of Steve, he only got stuck a dozen times or so.  Between him, my brother and niece's boyfriend, they all got us unstuck at the lake - which could have been mighty dangerous had they not been able to accomplish that.  I never got worried - we had roofing shingles!  lol... however, they did tear them up getting us out.  We just stocked up on some more of them.  But with the 'mission unstick' accomplished, we were able to get back 'home' to eat and get toasty warm  :-)


Western Oklahoma (our next stop) didn't get as much snow and ice, but it has definitely been colder than heck. I always forget how that wind goes right through you here.  I love forgetting it - it is miserable.  Anyway, it dusted snow one day and then all melted, froze over and melted again.  Roads are fine here and will be ok for us to head back right ahead of the next storm.  


We went shopping one day for Steve's Christmas present.  Since his cowboy boots were all damaged in the great flood, I wanted him to buy some more.  We shopped and shopped for a pair of at least B width and couldn't find anything but work boots.  Finally, at one shop, we found a pair of AA width that fit him like a glove!  It was not what he was looking for, but it is so difficult to find boots (or shoes) to fit his narrow feet we decided to buy them and continue looking for the pair.  Geez he has narrow feet.  We both have problem finding shoes, his feet are narrow and mind are wide - square says he.  :-)


We went out to see Rod and family's new 'toy box' yesterday.  What a huge place!   Wouldn't our guys like to have a toy box like this?  You looking Todd?

Rod is trying to get all his vehicles in one place... can he do it?  Of course he can!  He just has to find them all and collect them.  This shop is definitely big enough to hold most of them anyway.  He is sharing it with Mike and Brad too, so I bet this baby is full in no time.  They are talking about building a house on the same piece of property he was born on.  How awesome would that be?  He is 79 years old - wouldn't it be amazing to leave this world on the same property you were born on?  I can't even imagine...  Start that house Rod - we can't wait to see it!


It has been too cold to do anything outside.  Usually the guys are always working when we come, but we have just been hunkering down, laying low waiting this cold spell out.  We might just have to go back to Louisiana to get away from it.  All the ponds are iced over and there is no end in sight.  I love the cold weather though, so I am not fussing.  Just enjoying it.  


Oh but we are sure enjoying the hot tub!  It was so steamed up last night that we could barely see each other... (get your head out of the gutter - steamed up from the HOT tub and the FRIGID temps in the air around it)   I love going in the hot tub in the winter - the best time to go, so we sure are enjoying that part of the cold.   :-)


Send more snow!  Not ice... SNOW!


I have taken a little break for blogging for a few days and will likely take a bit more time.  I have been re-evaluating my life and attitude.  I don't like what I am seeing, but I am working through it.  This life has been difficult on me but that is no reason to take it out on others.  So, with that being said, I am stepping back, taking a good look at myself, shaking off and redirecting.  I am sorry to those that have been in the path, and I promise to get headed in the right direction.  I have no excuse except that I need to get my head out of my last...


I am taking this time from the internet and really working to get everything headed in the right direction and find my good attitude again.  I am embarrassed that it got misplaced and I sounded off on here.  When, oh when, will I ever learn?  


In another week+ we will be on our way back to Singapore.  Am I ready?  I surely am ready to see my friends over there again and get on with the life we have been dealt on that end.  All other will fall into place around me - I know it.  I am counting on it.  Somehow this will all work out in the wash.  Today, I am putting it all aside and moving on, hopefully learning those lessons.  Missing home and friends in the states is the biggest obstacle to overcome...  and difficult to leave.  I have been awfully quiet the last few days.


Until then, may your days ahead be blessed and may 'twenty ten' be your year of good fortune.  See you again soon!