Yippeeee! It's "Magic Mental Monday" time....

Gee! Another reason to hate Monday! This morning I started my day at 4:10 AM. Not by choice, and I will not bore you with the details, but since I had an entire morning ahead of me I thought I would get a head start on the quote and photo for the day. What a nice touch I thought to myself to have it all ready for the few of you who actually read my blog...first thing in the morning! But as Monday would have it....my Internet Explorer was having its own Monday meltdown and would not cooperate. Anyway, here we go!

"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So, get on your way!"



This photo was taken last year on our trip to Yosemite. It is a trip and a moment I will never forget. Prior to this photo being taken I had been shopping in the Ansel Adams Gallery. The tourist traffic was getting heavy during the lunch hour and the pushing and shoving was beginning to get the best of me. We stopped for a minute to regroup and as we chatted about lunch,shuttle schedules and the location of the nearest restroom, I gazed upward and there it was...the beautiful early afternoon clouds that Yosemite produces (if you are lucky)!
To some people these are just clouds, a momentary break from the sun, a quick bit of shade, but for some of us like myself, it can actually make me drool a little right from the corner of my mouth! Because most people don't realize just how difficult it can be to photograph something like Half Dome in a cloudless sky. You must have something there to give even a little perspective as to the size and scale of this landmark. It is enormous, and to be lucky enough to have a cloud form, was for me...just sheer magic! It was for me at that moment, at that time, a gift from the Heavens!

If you have not had the pleasure of visiting this beautiful National Park, my wish for you is to have that opportunity at least once in your lifetime. And remember, every once and a while stop and take a moment to look up, not everything worth seeing is right in front of you.

May your day be blessed with the chance to enjoy the beauty of nature around and above you.

Monday morning mayhem...

Gosh, I hate a Monday! I know I'm probably not alone, but I am having a me, me, me, moment and I feel the need to waller (is that a word?) around in it for a few moments.

First off let me say this...because I don't like Monday's and I'm going to assume that you don't either, lets start a new tradition! I will post a positive quote every Monday and try my best to find a photo to go along with that quote. Sound good? Maybe the quote and an accompanying photo will be enough to lift those feelings of dread and give them a swift kick in the rear!

Then when you have a weak moment and begin to reflect on things like...waking up to doggie poo (your Mom's dog's poo and it looks like your hubby may have stepped in it while maneuvering his way around in the dark) in your room, or doggie throw up (not your dogs either), or an immature co-worker, or that fact that summer is over and you are back at school, or you sat in traffic this AM because of the aforementioned, or your weekend went by too fast, or you need to go to the grocery, and, oh how I hate to go to the grocery, or you realize you will have your Mom's dog for 5 more days, or....

Well, you get the picture, right? We could all fill in the blanks with an endless amount of just plain bad Monday stuff. But, before I move on to that new idea I have, I've got a couple of things to clear up. This blog thing is new to me and so I am learning as I go along so to speak. Bearing that in mind, there are a couple of previous posts that I would like to correct. Not because of anything major, but because as you are writing (and learning)you realize just how hard it is to name a person in your post. Sometimes I want to scream in the wee hours of the morning and call someone for help, but I don't. What makes it easier is when a friend actually reads the post and is kind enough to make a suggestion for a name or you have a "light bulb" moment and realize...that was so obvious, I should have thought of that when I was posting the other night at 2 AM. So.....from now on the young woman in the previous post that I called Air Bear (we really did call her that a long time ago) will now be referred to as Ebee and my beloved Dodger will now be Ra-Ra. The Ra-Ra thing should have hit me square in the head, but I am much slower to respond these days, even to my own thoughts, and "light bulb" moments are few and far between. It just takes a little longer for me to flip the switch, OK? Enough said.

Drum roll (make drum roll sound in your head) please as I roll out the first "Magic Mental Monday" quote(this name can be changed too if something better is sent my direction). No ties here, I am open for anything!



"When you are reluctant to change, think of the beauty of autumn."



Well, there it is...feel better? I do. Just to let you know, on some Monday's there may be more than one photo. Today was tough, as I have many, many autumn photos, but I had to show some restraint.

A quick thanks to SQ and Scrabble for all of the kind words about what I am doing. I love you both (more than a new pair of shoes)! And if I have to be the Ya-Ya Historian....well....that's ok too. Look, somebody has to do it! After all, I am the youngest, so therefore, my mind is probably the sharpest.

She's leaving on a jet plane...to JAPAN!

We Ya-Ya gals have had a big week. Emotionally it ranks right up there with some of our most joyful and our toughest. SQ welcomed her first grandchild on August 2nd and Nurse Nancy says goodbye to her first born in less than 12 hours from this writing. But, just as life has a way of welcoming the new, it also has a way of forcing us to say goodbye...even when we are not ready. So I guess it is fitting that as we celebrate the arrival of our tres petite Ya-Ya, we say farewell with the heaviest of hearts to our Air Bear. What a beautiful young woman she grown to be...confident, kind, artistic and strong enough to board a plane in the morning for a move to Japan.



It's hard for all of us to look at these fabulous young adults and realize that they have grown up right before our very eyes. When and how did this happen? It is though it happened overnight while we were not watching. Maybe we were painting or quilting or mixing a batch of Margarita's??? Maybe Scrabble was doing a reading or an episode of "Thirtysomething" was on. The point is, I don't know when it happened, it just did! It is not conceivable to me that she is the very age I was when I met her Mom. Twenty three years has passed far too quickly and that makes me just a little sad. Why it was only yesterday we were car pooling to "Mom's Day Out", teaching them to swim at the neighborhood pool, cutting the crust off their sandwiches, adjusting the chin strap on their party hats, wiping their noses, reading them stories and crying with each other as they boarded the school bus for the first time.

In the last couple of years 8 of the 13 kids have walked down the aisle to begin their own families. They are all learning about risks, commitment, mortgages, school loans, job security and health insurance. True, those are all of the necessities of the real world, but don't be overwhelmed! I want them all to know this is the "good stuff". Right here, right now. Memories that last a lifetime, places to go, friends to meet, children to have, happiness to make and joy to embrace. You can and will have all life has to offer and it begins now this very moment. Make the most of each and every day and don't rush your life, it will move fast enough for you sooner rather than later. Believe me when I say that! Practice patience, for within it, you will find the strength and courage to face most any obstacle. Lastly, have Faith in something. Anything. Because you will need it in the darkest of moments when life throws a curve at you when you least expect it. But enough preachy sounding stuff...

Air Bear I am proud of you! We all are. It has been my privilege to watch you and the rest of these talented, fantastic, extraordinary kids grow up! Personally, I am a better person because I have had each one of them in my life. 10 of these kids are not my biological children, but who cares! I love them and would do anything in the world for them (except maybe hold something from the reptile family). I look forward with much anticipation toward the next 23 years....and remember we Ya-Ya's have set the bar pretty darn high.

Below are my dear friends Nurse Nancy and her hubby QBert with their petite Ya-Ya's....from the left K-Bug, Air Bear and GG.



Sisters. Each one special in her own way! Happy (almost) your Birthday GG!



So what farewell would be complete without a Texas Margarita (not pictured) or some kind of chocolate concoction? None that I know of...



Decadent chocolate chimichanga with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and cherries. Perfect. Chocolate makes even the saddest of times bearable and the Texas Margarita...well, I shouldn't have to explain that one. Really, I shouldn't.

So, now there is only one question to ponder.......

What do you think of a documentary entitled...."The Ya-Ya's Do Japan"?