Blizzard!

A total of 14.5 inches of the white stuff fell in Erie! Woohoo! We needed the moisture! Enjoy!

Life on Mars

Life is full of twists and turns. Sometimes, it's exciting and exhilarating and sometimes it just wears you out and you want to take a nap. But, I'm a firm believer that God does not give us more than we can handle, so during those tough, tiring times, we buckle down and work through it, and surprisingly enough, we survive-- and usually come out in a better place than we started.

In early February, for the second time in a little over three years, I became part of a statistic--part of the 8.1% of Americans that are unemployed as I was downsized out of a job. While disappointing and frustrating, I can say with confidence that it was much easier the second time around.

I'm also a believer that things happen for a reason. Two years ago, when I first accepted the job here in Colorado (the one I just lost), I thought this was my big time career opportunity-- my big break. But 6 months into our adventure I realized it was just a means to get us to Colorado. The real reason we were here was to spend time with my husband's father, who passed away this past New Year's Eve.

But I also learned that my 2 year stint was preparing me for my next great adventure. I've worked with and for entrepreneurs for the last two years. My experiences, responsibilities and the environment have given me the know-how and the confidence to believe in myself and start my own business. What a revelation! I'm tired of working so hard and such long hours for someone else, and relying on them for my paycheck.

So, Writewell Media is about to be born! I'm excited, exhilarated and scared, all at the same time!

This would be one of those turns in the road!

Do you watch Life on Mars? Talk about your life being turned upside down! A cop from 2008 is hit by a car and wakes up in 1973. Can you imagine suddenly being thrust back to 1973, away from those you love and trying to adapt to life without the conveniences of today? It was the year of Roe vs Wade and the start of Watergate and an oil crisis. It was the year the World Trade Center in NYC became the tallest building in the world and the US withdrew troops from Vietnam. Inflation was over 6% and the unemployment rate hovered around 4.9%. Chrysler and other car makers closed plants and laid off more than 100,000 employees. In a tennis match billed as the battle of the sexes, Billy Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs. Elvis crooned to more than 1 billion viewers during his televised Aloha From Hawaii concert. Skylab, the United States' first space station, was launched.

Surfing online for these tidbits of history, it really emphasized to me that our country has been through tough times before and we made it through. We will again, just as I will live to work another day. What's the saying...'that which does not kill us, makes us stronger'...or something like that.

Well, I'm off to bed. It's supposed to start snowing in the wee hours of the morning and we're suppose to get 12-15 inches of snow-- which is badly needed as we've only had .29 inches of precipitation since Jan 1st. Woohoo! I'm ready!

Til next time...I hope the next turn in your road leads you to someplace wonderful!

Looking Through My Lens

Dad, why did you buy her that camera?

This is an often posed question from my 16 year old daughter, one of the main subjects of my lens and trigger finger. A year and a half ago, for our 22nd wedding anniversary (yes, I was married when I was twelve…lol) my wonderful husband bought me a new digital camera. My husband, being the electronics nut that he is, researched all the best sellers and settled on one he thought I would like and would do what I wanted it to do. So naturally, now, for every event, for every drive up in the mountains, holiday or just because, I’m snapping pictures right and left, up and down, and sideways. I’ve taken more photographs in the last year than I have in the previous five years, trying to capture that oh so perfect moment in time.

Today, my husband and I were going through my father-in-law’s photo books and keepsakes trying to find the perfect photos and momentos to tell the story of his nearly nine decades. My father-in-law passed away December 31st at the age of 88. His memorial service is next Monday. He lived with us for the last year and a half and while it wasn’t always easy, it was worth it. My husband was able to reconnect with his father, and my youngest daughter and I were all able to hear the many stories of his life, of his childhood and the years before we knew him.

My father-in-law had many photo books and loose photos he’d collected over the years. We have them spread out on the dining room table, black and white and faded color photos of the people he loved. We are creating vignettes to put on picture boards so we can share and celebrate his life through pictures.

I love photographs. They capture a moment in time that is otherwise easily set aside or forgotten. So, my daughter (and everyone else) will just have to live with my camera in their face.

Because I never want to forget.
originally posted January 10, 2009

Fill'er Up!

It’s late. I’m tired. I’m blogging!

I started this venture gung-ho and ready to rock the world with my thoughts and prose, fulfilling my dream of being a writer. But, alas, the joys, the demands, and the needs of those most important to me, in other words, life, has gotten in the way after my first post.

Springtime is one of my favorite, but most hectic times of the year, mostly because it brings the closure of another school year and the demands of end-of-the-school-year banquets, award ceremonies, parties and graduations. It also brings the excitement for my offspring that they’ve completed another year of education and are ‘off’ for the summer! Woohoo! As I get older, I suffer from a bit of jealousy when this annual ritual begins with the days growing hotter and the sun brighter.

When my kids were younger, my envy was driven by a yearning to be home with them for the summer months sharing quality and quantity family time instead of working in an office building. As I’ve grown older and my kids have become teenagers verging on young adults, there’s still a yearning and a need to share quality time, but my teens now have lives of their own and the days of wondering (and hoping, on those really demanding days) when I’d have some time for myself has finally arrived!

Sort of.

The last month has been a whirlwind. I blinked and the month of May came to a close. The days were filled with track practices and meets, academic and sports banquets, and a work schedule that has become a bit more frantic. But, it’s also been filled with a visit from my daughter who attends college in Minnesota, the only home she’s ever known, and a very old friend (we’re talking high school) and his wife, also from Minnesota. I was able to take time off from work for both visits and we spent our time traversing the Colorado roads, some well traveled, some off the beaten path, sharing the Rocky Mountains (God’s country), wonderful laughter and precious time (God’s gifts) with those most important in my life.

I’ve learned one important thing over the last 20 years (well, actually many things, but those aren’t the topic for this blog)– that you can’t put things off until tomorrow. No more “I’ll do that….when I have more money….when I lose 20 lbs….when my kids are older…”
I really didn’t let life get in the way, instead I let life fill my soul and dominate my time– my cup over floweth. It was filled with family, friends, memories and fresh Coors beer from the brewery in Golden, Colorado. Okay, you know I don’t drink the phenonmenon that is hops and grain, but the rest of the adults enjoyed it!

I encourage you to do the same– no, not drink the beer. It may not happen every minute of every day, but do it and do it often, ‘it’ being whatever that something is that fills you to overflowing.

I lied, I have a lot of philosophical thoughts to share!

Until next time…fill ‘er up!

originally posted June 9, 2008