My Easter Day today was great! My son and his beautiful girlfriend (pictured below) spent the night and after a leisurely morning with coffee and internet time, I prepared some mushroom omelets and toast for breakfast. He’s really tall–like 6’9″–so he makes her look shorter than she is. We attended a new church today that’s very near our house and it was quite interesting. To give you some background. Although my family didn’t attend church, I attended church with a girlfriend when I was 12. And through the years have gone to a variety of churches…all different denominations…Presbyterian, Baptist, Church of God, Methodist, Catholic, Jewish, etc. I have my own personal beliefs, as everyone does. Anyway, the preacher at this particular church was quite loud and full of spirit. He was so loud on the microphone that I had to plug my ears with my fingers throughout much of the sermon (but I could still hear him). He would start off at a somewhat normal pitch and within a few sentences of each point would be almost screaming. He said that he knows that hell is real because on YouTube he saw a video showing a team of scientists drilling into the core of the earth and their drill bit began to wobble after they were deep into the ground. There are only two reasons a drill bit wobbles…either it is bent or you’ve reached an area without any matter…such as a cavern. They placed a microphone down into the hole and heard human voices screaming. Don’t get me wrong…I’m not poking fun at religion…merely repeating what I heard this morning. Enough about that.
Tag Archives: gratitude
Christmas Celebrations…a time for Friends, Family and Gratitude
I’m sure most of you have multiple Christmas celebrations…with all of the divorced families and grown children splitting their time between families. I enjoy being able to have lots of opportunities for spending time with family and friends! My first celebration was with my son and his girlfriend last weekend. He is spending Christmas with his father, step-mother and sister in Texas. He was excited about seeing his 14-year-old half-sister and I’m so happy that he’s happy!
I received a really special gift from him this year…one of my favorite photographs that I took in Namibia, Africa…framed!
Friday night we spent a wonderful evening with my long-time girlfriend from middle school and her husband. She prepared a delicious fish entrée and then we had game night…a couple games of pool and Wii bowling. Downstairs was decorated for a party their teenage daughter was having the following night.
The photo on the top right is after we arrived home…Randy bringing wood in for the wood burning stove. That’s how we heat the house in the winter!
Saturday night we had lots of fun at a friend’s (more like family) house, along with my brother, his wife, and my niece and nephew. Lynne…the hostess had decorated the table so festively…
We had a different wine with each course…
After the gift giving and white elephant…we sang songs…mostly Christmas songs using a Karaoke machine that hooks up to your I-pad, that Lynne received as a gift.
I was a bit obnoxious with my camera…snapping photos throughout the evening. But, hey…that’s my thing!
My husband was a bit melancholy because all of our parents have passed away. It can be a difficult time for people…but I read an interesting article recently that helps people control and redirect their thoughts. Basically…imagine there is a computer in your head along with a trash bin that you can drag negative thoughts into. I’m usually quite optimistic, so I don’t need to utilize the technique extensively, but it’s amazingly effective.
Christmas day we’ll go my cousin’s in the afternoon and then to the neighbors’! We’re blessed to have such good friends and family!!
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Thank you for your Recognition
In the past month or so, I’ve been nominated for a couple of awards and I’d like to say thank you very much for your support and recognition!

The first one is the Lovely Blog Award from Renee at the Positive Boomer blog. I love to read her posts because they are so “Positive” and inspirational!
The second is the Sweetest Blog Award from Pam at the MzZoomer blog. I enjoy her posts because she covers a large variety of topics….so you always learn something!
Anyway, thanks again ladies and I apologize for taking so long! Hope your weekend is great!
~Sherry~
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Hiking in Autumn
My dog Jake lives to hike with us! He knows when we put on our hiking or jogging shoes that soon he’ll be out running in the woods! He races in and out of the doggie door, unable to contain his excitement. If we take too long, he’ll stick his head through it to see what we’re doing…
I had to take a picture of some of the trees above the roof of the house before leaving for the woods…
And the front yard. We live on 5 acres (of which 4 acres is wooded) at the end of a lane and love the seclusion.
This spot is located right around the corner from my house. Definitely worth a stop!
We stopped along the way for a quick photo of a farm. I love the texture and color of the drying soy bean crop…
These photos are a combination of two different hikes we’ve taken this week. I am very grateful to have a park within five minutes of my home that is over 500 acres with hiking trails and that I usually have to myself!
The leaves are glittering like gold…
I couldn’t believe how beautiful the trees and reflection were when we arrived to the lake. If you’re a photographer, you know that almost giddy feeling of enthusiasm when you see something beautiful.
I recently realized that my camera has enabled me to appreciate and observe more of the beauty that surrounds me in people, nature and things.
This is from a hike a couple of days ago as dusk was settling…
Fog had descended upon us as we finished the hike…just in time for Halloween!
Get out and enjoy the beautiful outdoors! Some people aren’t able to!
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End of Summer
This weekend has been wonderful! Saturday we started the day with our usual three-mile trail jog at the nature center. There were beautiful wildflowers weeds everywhere, so I picked some to bring home. Breakfast was a yummy smoothie with strawberries, banana, Greek yogurt, coconut milk, oatmeal flakes, honey, 1 cup of ice, and some Chia Seeds. I discovered the Chia Seeds at Trader Joe’s and was impressed by the amount of fiber, Omega 3, and Protein in 1 tablespoon!
That afternoon we rode the Harley to the Milford Street Festival. We stopped along the way because Randy wanted a photo with this tank…
We stayed at the festival for about an hour and stopped by the booth of one of Randy’s friends…Steve Black…who makes cool jewelry out of spoons and forks. A lot of the pieces are Harley and breast cancer (ribbon) related.
There were a variety of booths including face painting…
This parrot was cool…
We stopped in a gun shop and I thought this would make an artsy photo…
And this wall looked cool. The three different colors and textures really popped!
We rushed home, changed clothes and left for our next adventure…Bob’s Pig Roast. It was in honor of his deceased wife who had died from cancer. Everyone donated $10 to the American Cancer Society…so $2700 was collected!
This is Bob…
I took about 150 photos, but picked out just a few to post. This is my friend Shari. I took 7 photos of her with my flash on and she blinked every single time. So I turned the flash off and…voila…
This was the beginning of the party…before most of the group arrived. The port-o-lets were for the guys and the inside restrooms were for the ladies.
Randy, Frank and I were toasting with three different beverages in a wine glass. Wine for me, beer for Randy and water for Frank!
It was a busy and FUN day! I’m grateful we have so many nice friends! We’ve had beautiful weather, but it is cooling off this week. Hope your weekend was great and wishing you a wonderful week!!
xoxoxo
Map My Run
I usually jog 4-5 times per week. This is the first winter I’ve chosen to jog outside. The weather has been mild, so it’s easier. I can’t seem to get motivated to jog on the treadmill anymore. I love the variety of things to look at outside…the houses, people, businesses, and nature. It’s fun jogging on new streets and finding your way back. Different memories are stirred up from the smells I encounter…the smell coming from people’s dryer vents…or food cooking. People smile at me or wave and it’s nice to interact.
I found this neat website…”Map My Run” that you can map out your route ahead of time or like me, after you’ve jogged it. It keeps track of your mileage and the dates you work out. It even shows the elevation changes. I’m so thankful that I enjoy working out… because it makes me feel good, makes me look good and keeps me healthy! Every time I put my jogging pants on…they have the inscription…”Just Do It” on the inside seam and I think…I Am!
I ran my first half marathon on Halloween and still can’t believe it sometimes. Here I am, in my 50′s and I can run farther than at any other time in my life!
“Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you’re young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don’t let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself.”
-John Bingham, running speaker and writer



























