Bush 43

So after being a Debbie Downer in my last post, I thought I would update again and tell you about the great day we had the day after Christmas. We loaded up the car and headed to Dallas to George W. Bush’s Library and Museum.

And it did not disappoint.

I had the idea to make this post because it was such a fun day but when I looked through my pics, I realized I didn’t take very many. I don’t know what was wrong with me. It was a teensy bit crowded and sometimes that makes it hard to take pics of just what you want..without lots of other people ‘ruining’ the pic. I really regret not taking pics of a single one of Laura’s beautiful gowns. Trust me..stunning! She is such a classy lady though, she could wear a feed sack and make it look like couture.

One of the big reasons I wanted to go at Christmas was because of the special displays during the holiday. This is the tree filled with ornaments that hung in the White House… I’m thinking 2002. The year the theme was ‘home for the holidays’. The tree was beautiful.

A little snippet up close.

 

Mt Vernon. I took at pic of that one because we’ve visited that one, so it felt a bit more familiar than the other homes. They were all beautiful.

I especially loved this quote. Sadly the America that so many people have fought and died for seems to be slipping away. This line of thinking is unheard of in today’s White House. (stepping down from soap box now)

There is a walk through replica of the oval office. It was packed with people (walking around the edges of the room is allowed) so it was impossible to get a good pic. So this is all I got…

See what I mean.

They had a photographer taking pics of people sitting at the desk. My girl and her boyfriend got pics together there. So I’ve got that. : )

The ceiling.

We had a great day. It was beautiful out that day and we enjoyed our visit. Highly recommend it if you visit Big D. : )

And now for something completely different. This is the girl opening her Christmas presents. Christmas before last I made ‘hot dog’ pillowcases for several of her friends, but just made one for her from scraps I already had in my sewing box. It was cute but it wasn’t something I picked just for her. And I kinda felt like I owed her one since I did it for everybody she knows. So I found some cute and happy kitty fabric and made this for her. Since she’s a teen and sleeps like…A LOT…I was able to make this right under her nose without her being aware of it. : ) It was a fun surprise for her.

Have a great day, y’all. : )

in my rear view mirror

So thankful to be on the back side of the holidays. I am always glad when the tree and all the decorations are put away and with it, all the sadness and unfulfilled expectations of ‘the perfect holiday’ can go too.

I lost my mom a few months before Christmas, a few weeks after we found out Bub wasn’t going to make it. That was a somber holiday. We tried to be festive. We tried to keep things exactly the same. We picked out ornaments with each kid just like always. But we had Bub pose with his, because we knew it would go into the attic and the next time we pulled it out, he would be gone. It was hard to muddle through and not behave like all these things were going on. But we tried our best and I think we did ok.

We lost him in April, as most of you know.

So along with the thankfulness that Christmas with all it’s mixed emotions is behind, comes the little ache in my heart, knowing that spring is just around the corner. I love spring. And yet it’s when we lost our little fella. Everything is a mix these days. Joy to the world along with knowing my mom (and now dad too) and my little Bub are with Him for the holiday and every day.

A while back I had an epiphany. When I was growing up, Christmas was perfect and wonderful and my favorite time of the year. Because my parents made it so, while they missed long since gone family they remember from long ago. I don’t know why that realization was comforting (but sad) to me, but it was. It sort of clicked with me that they experienced the same things…love and loss and feeling like it’s not quite right. It’s not new. It’s been going on for generations.

And so it goes…

My newest obsession: NutriBullet

Not very long into my health journey, I bought a fancy pants ($$$) juicer. And I used is a good bit. But the problem was…it took forever to use and clean up. And there were a lot of days that it just wasn’t going to happen. Fast forward a good many months and it’s been a good many months since my juicer came out to play.

And that made me sad.

So I started eyeing all the food “extractors”…Ninja, Vitamix, Blendtek and the NutriBullet. I finally chose the NutriBullet. And I have tell you, I am IN LOVE! 

I bought it last week at Bed Bath and Beyond with a coupon. I got the newer model, the Pro that costs more, but I wanted to make sure it would liquify just about any veggie, so I went with the heavier duty model. But I think either one would make a great improvement to one’s health.

I got it and washed up all the pieces..and then went shopping for some of the ingredients I needed for it and got to work. I made my first ‘blast’ and they call it, and couldn’t believe how fast it was. I just plopped my ingredients into the wide mouth cup (compared to the tiny hole I had to shove all my fruits and veggies down for the juicer), screwed on the lid and in less than a minute, I had a tall glass of liquid nutrition that was tasty, and I could drink it knowing every last drop was healthy stuff made readily available to my body for health.

The NB comes with several cups and blades along with several lid styles and rings to go around the top, to make it more comfortable to drink from the ‘tall cup’ that I make my drink in. It also comes with two books with recipes and tips for success. Aaaaand a web site called NutriLiving (that purchasers get access to for 6 months free…don’t know the price yet for when my 6 months expires) which I am loving so far. Many  many recipes. And since they are a short list of raw foods, I have index cards handy to jot down new ideas for future ‘blasts’. 

I am hoping since it couldn’t be any easier (especially in light of just how long it took to juice ‘the old way’), that this becomes a habit that I can stick to. I am loving the variety and the idea that I can drink my greens and get them incorporated in my diet every day EASILY. Like I said, I’m loving it! : )

Disclaimer..I haven’t been compensated for my views bla bla bla and I bought my NutriBullet myself bla bla bla. Over and out, peeps. : )