Plans... Are they overrated?

God's plan forever perplexes me. We thought we might be going somewhere or getting somewhere and that the timing was right. Alas, it has been made very clear that we are to stay put for awhile longer. I was certain that change was on the horizon, and it was, but this isn't what I meant. God has a sense of humor. God has a bigger better plan. We are living it every single day. The best part is that we are willing to wait and to listen and to roll with it... as it is revealed to us. Thank God that we are not in charge of our own plans! We obviously don't know where we are going or when.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Someday

Someday I want to have a place where I can have a few good quiet horses.  I want it to be a place where kids can come and interact with them and ride them.  Not a business intended to make money, but a ministry and a labor of love.  I have the vision.  I just need to find the place. 

 

Keith is afraid that I will fill it with too many horses and maybe some other animals too, like chickens and cows.  I told him that I CANNOT promise not to do that, but not to worry either.

 

For now we shall keep praying about it… and we’ll keep looking.   

Heart Walk Success

Thank you to all who donated to the AHA for the Heart Walk on October 22nd. It was a nice time with a great cause. I walked in memory of my Grandfather, Paul H. Blair.

More Seasonal Beauty

 

I note the changes each morning on my commute to work.  An abundance of yesterday’s gorgeous orange leaves have exhausted their efforts to hang on.  There are large piles of crisp leaves on the ground.  They crunch under my feet.  I fear that I am letting precious time pass by without making myself fully available to enjoy it. 

Here is my beautiful pony with the awesome backdrop of the season.  Love it!  I cannot wait to enjoy it while riding!

Seasonal Beauty

Yesterday’s hike revealed much of the seasonal beauty that surrounds us.  I did NOT wear my Bear-bell this time.  Even though there seems to be a steady slow flow of hikers and bikers out there, the wildlife is definitely THERE.  It was a joy to sneak through the woods fairly quiet so as to not disturb much.  While I was walking in the woods, I saw:

• A 6-point buck lounging just about 25 feet off the trail.  I had stopped to look at the leaves, when all of the sudden I heard a snort.  WHOA!!!! He was RIGHT THERE!  He didn’t even get up until I had lingered and took a bunch of pictures.  Oh what I would have given to have a GOOD camera on that hike.  He was not a large buck, but boy was he pretty.  His fur looked as though it is thickening in preparation for the winter months to come. 

 

• Chipmunks everywhere!  The leaves on the ground are getting crunchy, so you could really hear them scampering around.  They are obviously stockpiling nuts for the winter.  There were piles of acorn nuts here and there and many remnants of nut shells.  I also took note of an especially beautiful grey squirrel.  It’s tail was SO FULL.  I wish I had a super zoom camera to capture its beauty.  You just cannot get so close to them.  They are such nervous creatures.

 

• Vibrant colors galore.  My favorite picture below.  Leaves turning orange and yellow and red, mostly still on the trees, but there was definitely a covering of them on the ground in the woods.  Tis the season here.  I also took note of little red berries on a bush.  They were such a bright contrast to the yellow leaves surrounding it. 

 

 

I wonder what I will notice today.  There is just so much to see!

The Season’s Beauty

 

Today I walked about an hour at North Park.  The trail travels right through one of the old shelters. 

This lone leaf is so so so yellow. 

 

I just love the change of season and drinking in all the beautiful changes!

Don’t Miss It

Fall is here in full bloom.  The vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow surround us now.  It’s happening SO fast!  It will be gone before we know it.  Don’t let it pass by without a few lingering glances.  All part of the Lord’s awesome creation, everything has its time and season.  Make a date with the Creator.  Get out and drink in the details of the environment.  What do you see?  Notice it’s beauty and thank God for it.   

Random Morning Thoughts

• Good morning Lord.  Thank you for a new day, a new chance to bring you glory, a fresh start.  Ahhh… it’s refreshing.
• Mmmm… boy this coffee tastes good.  It’s probably the cream that makes it taste so good.  I tried changing to soy cream or non-fat cream.  It just doesn’t cut it.  I love real cream!
• Looks like the next few days we are expecting superb weather.  Yay!  I hope I can get out to enjoy some of it. 
• I enjoyed giggling with Keith last night.  He got home late, but it seems that we both had stories of silly things from yesterday’s work.  Thank goodness for some lighter moments.
• Our kitties are ultra-lovey in the morning.  I know it’s just because they are hungry, but I like it.  My Lovey-Kitler is perched beside me.  She loves me most of the time and usually more than the others.  She is SO soft and cuddly. 
• It’s still dark out.  It seems much earlier than it is. 
• BRRRRRRR… I love fall, but not the cold mornings.  I don’t like to get out from under the warm covers.  (wonder what got me out early today)

• I have a TON of coupons clipped, but haven’t used them this week.  What am I waiting for?

• I’m sad that my friends precious doggy has cancer.  She’s always such a happy dog.  In that regard, not looking forward to the weeks to come. 

• I am an active witness to the change of the season happening right before our eyes.  I long the fact that I’m missing much of it because I’m working behind closed doors most of the day.  It’s in progress though.  The vibrant colors are here, more and more every day.  It’s awesome.

• I wonder how much laundry I need to do.

• I miss my friend Ed and his cows.  It’s hard to believe he’s been gone for 11 years now. 

• I’m having dinner with an old friend this evening, my former boss.  I look forward to catching up with her and to having tacos for dinner!

• Keith is sound asleep.  God bless his precious heart. 

• My friend and her husband recently decided to pursue adoption.  What a wonderful thing! 

From the looks of this, I have entirely too much on my mind for a simple morning.  Hmmm…

The Least We Could Do

Check out AdoptaPlatoon.  I stumbled upon this by way of another blog last week.  I didn’t know this existed.  I had a notion, but had no idea that you can sign-up individually to support a soldier one on one, not just an entire platoon.  This is fantastic!  We signed up right away.  It took about 3 days to finalize the details. 

 

Keith and I are now proud supporters of a soldier named Daniel.  I cannot share much about his identity or location.  The notice came with a few details about him (age, marital status, where he’s deployed to and from).  We understand that he has limited access to the daily amenities that you and I likely take for granted.  His PX (supply store) closed a month ago, so I’m not sure where he gets his basic needs from at this point.  He needs a pillow.  That’s at the top of my list of things to send right away.  I don’t know if he doesn’t have one or if the one he has is spent.  I do know that having a pillow is important.  He also wants snacks, dvds, and toiletries. 

 

Our commitment includes sending letters and cards of encouragement and a care-package once per month.  I ordered a package of 12 flat-rate boxes from the post office.  It’s about $10 to mail the box and it can hold up to 70 pounds of goodies.  I wonder how anyone fits 70 pounds into a box 12x12x5.5?  I plan to use my stockpile items from coupon savings to fill the boxes.  This will be a minimal investment for us from the pocket, but is a huge investment of the heart. 

 

Our introductory letter is on it’s way along with a questionnaire for Daniel to complete and return to us letting us know his likes and more specific wish-list.  We should receive our boxes in a day or so, but we already have a pile of goodies ready to pack.  It’s great that Keith has some deployment experience.  He helps me understand what to get.  I really want to give this box a Halloween theme because that is likely when he will receive it. 

 

We are really excited about this!  It’s the least we could do for someone who is so selflessly serving our country.  Please pray for our soldiers… and for Daniel by name.  Thanks!

American Heart Association

My family history is rich with Heart Disease.  Keith and I are going to walk in the American Heart Association’s Heart 5K Walk at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on October 22, 2011. 

 

If you’d like to donate and or walk with us, click the “Sponsor Me” thermometer in my sidebar. 

 

We have all been touched by the effects of this oh so common disease.  Thank you for the support!

Crazy Anxiety!

My Lovey-Kitler… she’s MAD!!!!!!  She is easily over-stimulated and takes out her aggression on whatever is in her path.  Many times it is ME!  She bites and scratches.  She and I have weekly stare-downs to remind her who is boss.  I’m happy to say that she is making progress.  She is still rough when she plays, but is learning to keep her claws in more.  She still bites, but with less force.  Sometimes she just puts her teeth on me and then quickly retracts.  I wonder what made her be this way?  It’s been interesting to see her changing from a very frustrated nasty-girl to a more respectful and ultra-lovey girl. 

 

My life has seemed so CRAZY lately.  Lot’s of things going on…  Work has been especially trying lately.  There are SO MANY duties and not enough time.  I took a week of much needed vacation early in September and feel as though I have been paying for it ever since.  (I shouldn’t feel that way – right?) Nobody does my duties when I am not there.  Everyone I work with is stretched to the max.  The word from higher up is:  1) Customer Service is HUGE and 2) Do more with less. Great ideas! As a matter of fact, I am really big on the idea of “efficient” work.  You know… use your resources to their fullest.  Reduce waste.  Manage time and other resources effectively.  I’m always thinking “there has to be a better way” and “we are probably making things harder than necessary.”  The problem is, I cannot keep up with the volume of work AND do the same quality of work as I aspire for AND deliver spectacular customer service (which in my line of work means DO IT FAST!)!  My anxiety stems from the idea that I may have to lower my standard of work in order to keep up with the volume.  At whose expense???  (I’m not even going there today)

 

I’ve identified the issue.  Now how shall I respond?

 

1)  God knows my anxiety and will give me the strength to deal with it.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 

2)  Attitude is key.  I will be pleasant to work with.  I will be patient with others. 

3)  Focus.  I will prioritize, stay on-task, work hard, and put forth every effort to maintain the level of quality that is important.

4)  I will be realistic.  While I desire to be swift in performing my duties, there are limitations (time being a very important one).  I shall present realistic expectations to my customers. 

 

I also need to protect my personal life from being over-run by work and the stresses of it.  It’s sometimes difficult to leave work at work.  I often physically bring it home.  It often monopolizes my mind, attitude, and even my sleep.  Some things I can do to minimize the detriment of work-related stress at home…

1. I shall enjoy the peace of working with my horse and enjoying the outdoors. 
2. I shall experience the love of caring for my husband and keeping our home. 
3. I shall appreciate others and surround myself with positive influences. 
4. Most importantly, I shall protect the sweet time I set aside for Bible Study, ministry, and worship. 

Reality Bites

My kitty’s name is “Lovey” or “Kitler.”  YES – she bites!  She really does, and it HURTS.  But that’s NOT what I’m talking about here.  What I’m talking about is…  vacation is over.  Boo hoo!  We must return to the reality of our working lives. 

 

Keith returned to work today.  It’s quiet and boring and rather lonely without him.  Tomorrow I not only go back to work, but it will be a LONG day as we have the quarterly meetings in the evening for which I must attend.  Ugh.  Don’t get me wrong, I like what I do.  I enjoy the people I work with.  But there is just a peace about not having to be there that I love.  Plus, I really enjoy being with my husband.

 

I pondered today… is retirement like a never-ending vacation?  I never thought I’d get to the point where I’d be looking forward to retirement.  I’m almost there… not to retirement, but to looking forward to it.  I hope that when I’m finally retired that my husband will be as well and that we will enjoy one another’s company for the duration.  Hmmmm…

Friday Adventures 09-02-11

It started at Pymatuning State Park.  We dropped a travel bug in honor of our anniversary attached to a giant diamond ring.  We also picked up the geocoin that we earned on the AGT-Crawford County. 

 

Then we motored off to Clarion.  There was some monkey business as you see here.  Keith makes like a monkey and climbs all over the big rocks.  This is my favorite picture… I didn’t mean to step on him.  I just wanted to get a good picture of his efforts.  Too funny!

And he climbed the fire tower.  Now, I climbed the one in Gettysburg and didn’t think anything of it.  I may have been convinced to climb this one had I not fell down the stairs at home bruising my butt and pulling something in my leg.  I was (conveniently) convinced that I could not climb that many steps up and down.  I sent Keith up and kept yelling “Stop! Look out!” (so I could take a picture.)  He was NOT impressed.  He thought he needed to stop and look out because something was wrong.  Tee Hee. 

 

More rock climbing.  Looking for signs of the Seneca Indians that once inhabited these parts. 

 

What an AWESOME view at Seneca Point overlooking the Clarion river. 

 

And of course, a stop at Helen Furnace.  It’s really cool inside and SO BIG!!!

We finished half of the required geocaches on the Allegheny Geo Trail – Clarion.  We’ll have to return another time to finish it and get our prize. 

 

The more I hike the greater appreciation I have for the outdoors. 

11Years

11 years ago today, I married my sweetheart!  It was a beautiful day and all the right people were in attendance.  It was the most fun day of my entire life.  I still reminisce about it… hair/makeup at the salon, the flowers, the candelabras in the church, the music… boy can Tammy sing!, the silly shenanigans of the wedding party, the tongue tattoos, the food, the cake, the people, the pictures, the smiles and laughs, the video of Joyce peaking under the railing at the front of the church, the entrance at the reception, the chaotic photo shoot, the sour apple pucker, the special gift I opened at the reception from Ed and his paying a whole $20 for a dance with the bride, OH the dancing, the song my coworkers requested, the look on my Dad’s face as Keith danced to that song, the bridal dance, the father/daughter dance, and how my feet cramped like a charlie-horse the moment I sat down afterwards to pay the DJ.  It was a grand affair…

 

And now 11 years later we’ve been through many trials and triumphs but I can honestly say… I love him even more today than I did back then!  God is SO GOOD!!! 

Anniversary Week Vacation is a Tradition to Keep

Last year, we took vacation the week of our anniversary to celebrate 10 years.  The weather was superb… so we did it again.  This week the weather, again, is superb!!!!  It’s sunny, warm but not sticky, and just so entirely pleasant.  So we’ve spent the majority of it outside.

We happened upon the Allegheny Geo Trail and decided it would be fun to tackle this week.  Well… at least a portion of it.  Basically, you visit a specific county in PA and pick up a passport booklet.  County by county, you have to find at least 6 specially marked geocaches.  They have a special stamp in them that you use to mark your passport.  Then you take it to the passport headquarters for that county and they will give you a trackable commemorative geocoin.

We started in Venango County.  It was HARD.  The first cache find took hours because we kind of went the hard way.  Ooops!  It didn’t help that we forgot to mark the waypoint for the car and decided to just pick our way through the forest in the supposed right direction.  We were thankful to find another hiker out with his dog who pointed us to the right trail.  We would have eventually found it, but it may have taken a while longer.  All in all though… we got the required 6 and returned for our little prize.  We closed out the day with a quick stop at DAIRYQUEEN!!!  Oh ya!!!

 

Yesterday we hit Crawford County working on the same goal.  We found 5 out of 6 caches.  We would have had all 6, but we failed to read the fine print telling us that we had to find one of them during regular business hours.  UGH!!!  It was beautiful there though.  We loved the sky and the water.

 

The Covered Bridge cache was the first one yesterday.  It was so neat and quaint.  It’s near Seneca Hills Bible Camp.  We saw a chicken way out there in nowhereville… WEIRD!!! 

 

This sunflower field was in a conservation area near Polk, PA.  What a neat town in a really cool valley.  Very nice. 

I couldn’t resist this photo of the awesome sky reflecting off the pond.  So majestic!!!  God sure does know how to put together an awesome site!

 

Here we are… happy hikers! 

 

We ended the day with a DELICIOUS dinner at Rachel’s Roadhouse.  We had a gift card that cut our bill in half! I’m all about a bargain.  Today we think we’ll visit Red Robin… to get my free birthday sandwich.  The offer expires after today.  Mmmm…. chicken sandwich.  YUMMA!!!!

 

Today we are doing other things around home.  The car needs a little repair.  I think it’s not cut out to handle all the back country dirt roads of the north.  Hopefully it’s not an expensive repair.  It did, however, convince me that it would be good to have a AAA membership.  Thankfully, it didn’t leave us stranded.

 

We have plenty more exploring to tackle… we can’t wait!  AND… we are planning to drop a geocaching Travel-Bug on our anniversary, in honor of our anniversary that will be tasked with traveling to all the coolest honeymoon destinations in the world.  How fun!!!

Crouse Run Nature Reserve

Over coffee this morning, Keith says “What’s the plan for today?”  “Well” I reply, “I’d really like to hike, but I realize that you are really beat from working hard this week.”  “Sorry.  I really don’t feel like it today.” he says.  “I understand.  If you don’t want to go, I can go later without you.  No big deal.”  The conversation continues noting that we have a couple of travel bugs we need to move.  Maybe we could find somewhere close by to drop them.  That turned into agreeing to hit this little trail not far from home… The Crouse Run Nature Reserve. 

There were three caches along this trail that we were determined to find.  If we hoofed it a little farther, we could have had four, but we were on a race against the clock because he has to work today.  The photo above is the one called “Wildwood Boardwalk.”  There is a marshy area on the trail where they have basically built a boardwalk so you can continue on.  And then hidden not far off the beaten path was this box of goodies.  We snagged a small container of Playdoh, trading it for one of the travel bugs we needed to move. 

 

 

The trail was really neat.  It followed close to a creek bed.  We crossed the creek at least three times.  I guess that’s why the geocaching site warned to wear boots and prepare to get wet.  I wish we would have had time to play in the creek.  There was so much shale that its probably a fossil-gold-mine if you take the time to search.  As a matter of fact, if we had not had time constraints, we probably would have walked back IN the creek bed instead of on the trail. 

 

There were all kinds of interesting sites along the way.  Aside from water, rocks, trees, and foot bridges, there was an area with a bunch of odd structures around a fire pit.  I’m not sure what happened or happens here, but maybe some kind of Indian re-enactment?   There were a couple tent-like things made out of tree branches and leaves.  It was slightly creepy.  We did not linger long. 

 

So all in all… so much for NOT hiking today.  It was kind of short (hike-wise), but it was still really fun.  I enjoyed spending quality time with my Hubby.  

Weekend Adventures

Here is a photo from the wedding picnic on Saturday.

 

After church Sunday morning, we hooked up with my friend and her daughter and went hiking at North Park.  We found SIX caches in 2.5 hours.  We hiked up big hills and down steep valleys.  We saw a lovely doe in the woods.  We passed over some baby snakes and around creepy spider webs.  There was an observation deck, but there wasn’t much to see because of the overgrowth of vines in the area.  There were bird-boxes and houses galore.  There was a pond, wetlands, prairie, ants, birds, squirrels, and the like.  It was sunny, hot, and humid.  We stopped at a bridge to admire rather large trout and a school of baby bass.  Afterwards, we stopped for ice cream.  (that’s allowed on Sundays)

Overall… it was an AWESOME afternoon of hiking!  I cannot wait to go again!

Recap of Last Week

Monday:  work, haircut – nice and short

Tuesday: work, chores, cdentist

Wednesday:  work, chores, RIDE!!!

Thursday:  work, chores, Penny had her feet trimmed, spent hours chatting with friends and enjoying the evening

Friday:  work, chores, home early to do house-work and enjoy some peace.

Saturday:  WEDDING celebration!!!  My cousin married her high-school sweetheart.  It was hot, but just lovely.

Sunday:  Up early…. to be continued…

 

This weeks goals:

• Focus on intake
• HIKE!!!
• Clip Coupons
• Get Groceries
• Ride at least once

Canoe Trip Continued…

I just thought these were pretty pictures that Keith took with his cell phone.  Enjoy!

Am I Adventurous?

Ok. It’s gone beyond just trying a new food, turkey burgers.  Somehow I got the itch to try canoeing again.  I’m NOT a water sport kind of a gal.  Not by a mile!!!  We went once before, years ago, and I hated every minute of it!  When your feet are supposed to be dry… they are supposed to be dry!  Perhaps I didn’t really know what to expect?  Hmmm…  The thing is… we both hurt our ankles on Saturday, so we didn’t want to hike, but we definitely wanted to enjoy the day. 

I DID fall out of the boat.  We banked it here in the rocks.  I got out first.  I slipped on a slimy rock and fell right on my butt in about 6 inches of water!!!!  My other leg was stuck in the boat.  Ahhhhh!!!!  So then the people floating past on tubes wanted to know if I was ok, which I was, just embarrassed.  When I finally regained my composure I noticed a lobster-size crayfish in the water right beside where my butt was planted!  Ahhhhh!!!!!!!  Keith said he could see it from the back of the boat.  WOW!  

Oh well.  The water was warm and mostly calm.  It was a nice upper body workout, only 4 miles.  What a gorgeous day for it!  I would do that again in a heartbeat!  (don’t tell Keith!) 

 

So there you have it… perhaps an adventurous side of me does exist?  Hmmm… what next?  Fish for dinner???  Doubt it!!!