Contemplating Change

I wanted to change some stuff on the look of Blogwyn today and was completely disappointed to see that Blogger hasn't added or updated any templates since the last time I was feeling restless. I changed some of my photos and picked a different template anyway and am dissatisfied. I can't figure out how to make the header picture smaller, the event counter that I added wouldn't work, so I had to remove that Gadget. My entire experience left me feeling like I had to settle for less. Sigh. . . .

So bring it on, Bloggers who are Better than Me at this Blog scene. Please save me from these doldrums. Is it time to abandon Blogger and move to a different server? Or is there any easy way to jazz this baby up? (I emphasize the easy part of that question. The beauty of Blogger is the simplicity. I am totally in to USER EASY software.)

SO . . . .

I am delighted to have the costume season behind me. There is a part of me that really loves the whole costume shop scene. The two days of vacation I always take after Halloween end up being days that I get a ton of yard work and house work finished. Every now and then I imagine how much I could get done around here if I didn't enjoy employment. My house would be cleaner (I didn't say completely clean), I would sew and weave more, I would engage in more cooking and canning and gardening. It would be a very different existence. Yet I would get restless and we wouldn't have the luxury of taking vacations or enjoying a boat or being able to stop and drop in on the occasional wedding of a friend, because money would simply be too tight.

So I feel very blessed to have employment that is stimulating, challenging, meaningful, and calls me to a growing edge of creativity and collaboration.

I also feel very blessed to have the means to indulge in the playful side of life in ways that my parents did not enjoy when my sister and I were young. Don't misunderstand me - we got to see amazing places in the US as we drove and camped our way across the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the Desert Southwest. But Dale and I have been able to do all of that and travel with our sons to Hawaii and Alaska. My sons don't remember a time before knowing the mountains of Montana. Thanks to my sister Wendy for making that happen! We've all been to Washington DC. Next family stop: Cozumel, Mexico.

We booked our family spring break vacation tonight. WOOOOOO HOOOOO!!!

Arthur our Oldest will turn 21 on March 21st. Yes, read "Golden Birthday." I trust Arthur, but I don't trust his friends. So we have lured him away from his peers to celebrate his Coming of Drinking Age on his Golden Birthday by booking an all-inclusive vacation in Cozumel. I'm not an idiot. He's been to college - a year in Missoula, Montana, yielded his first puking drunk episode without the benefit of parents to scream at him. I just don't want his pals to line up 21 shots on a bar somewhere in Minnesota and expect him to escape alcohol poisoning on March 21. So I took manipulative measures and booked a family vacation.

Cozumel is one of our favorite places in the world. Dale and I spent part of our honeymoon there and have been back twice since then. We can't wait to take the kids. It will be their first trip that requires a Passport - Canada didn't count when we camped our way around Lake Superior a few years back. I've also promised Scuba diving. I hope they like it.

And the frosting on the trip is that our friends Tom and Beth will be joining us. Tom will have just returned from his third tour of duty with the Army National Guard. Arthur wants to spend his 21st birthday drinking on a beach in Mexico with Tom. I can't argue with that! Now, to work on our Espanol.

Corona, Dos Equis, y Negro Modelo?

Tres Cervezas, por favor, mucha fria!

Donde esta el bano?

Two Brides

A close friend of the family married the love of her life this afternoon in the spectacular beauty of the mountains in northern Georgia.Katrina and Pollye made their vows today in front of God and their family and closest friends. It was a beautiful ceremony. I had the great honor of pronouncing a blessing in the ceremony. I'll add it to this post when I have access to a keyboard bigger than a Blackberry!

Halloween Season

Greetings faithful and infrequent Blogwyn followers and readers. It's Halloween season and I'm posting on my other Blog this month. Why don't you click on over to Dress Me Up? I'd love to see you there. You can get the full skinny on the shop at our web site, www.dressmeupcostumes.com. Have a great month!
Love,
B


P.S. The first entry of the year over at Dress Me Up is a pathetic excuse about pain and procrastination. Read at your own risk!