Life in the Middle Age Lane

Time is on our side, yes it is.  Unfortunately, that is farther from the truth.  I always had the thought in my head, "there is always tomorrow".  But the fact is, that it's not true for everyone.  We lie to ourselves on a daily basis that we have time to say the unspoken, to make amends, to care a little bit more next time, or see the sunrise another morning.  We honestly and realistically don't know if that is true but we keep the faith. My father in law was a big part of our lives and I did not realize just how much until he died.  He was my tagalong, my extra child, my responsibility.  That's how I saw him.  I never knew him prior to Parkinson's.  And the days he was healthy and self sufficient, those days were spent in his beloved home town of Lake Charles.  I inherited my dad towards the difficult years of his life.  I so wish I new him prior.  But the bittersweet part is that I loved him even more because he was mine a...

John and I just returned from honoring his father's life.  He was interred yesterday in Lake Charles, his beloved home town. A hero to us all. Castle “Buddy” Cohron, Jr. passed away June 3, 2015 in Spring, TX. He was born in Jennings, Louisiana to Castle Clarence Cohron and Lydia Guillory on March 8, 1942. He attended the all boys school, St. Charles Academy where he made lifelong friends. He was a member of the Lake Charles Civil Air Patrol in 1958, graduated from Landry High School in 1959 and received a bachelor’s degree at University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1965. Castle was part of the class that founded the Green Party at Kappa Sigma Fraternity.  He proudly served in the U.S. Air Force from November 1965 until his honorable discharge in March 1971. He completed over 200 missions in an F-4 Phantom during the Vietnam War and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters for extraordinary...

Some of you know that as of January 1, 2015 I have not bought any clothes for myself.  My goal is to TRY to go the entire year without purchasing clothes.  You can read about it here .  I know I stated that I would not buy shoes as well but I retracted that when I realized that I can't go an entire year with worn out shoes.  I'm pretty hard on my shoes and do not wish to look like a pauper or have aches and pains. I have focused on making my current wardrobe pop with costume jewelry, shoes, and accessories.  All within reason of course.  I held a Premier Jewelry party a few months ago and it was a huge success.  I was able to receive over $500 worth of free jewelry for hosting.  All because of the generosity of my friends who loved the jewelry just as much as I do. I love costume jewelry, specially since I love to wear jeans, t shirts and sandals.  Changing the jewelry or throwing on a scarf really dresses it up for me. Another of...

Certain conversations and opinions at times echo in my head when I least expect it.  I think it's a way my sub conscience "highlights" what I should be paying attention to.  I suffered from low self esteem/insecurities most of my life as I imagine most women have.   Trying to achieve the Barbie figure or wondering why no one has whisked me off my feet with grand romantic gestures, surely something is wrong with me.  Of course all this subtly lifted as I matured and realized that this was not the real world. Other insecurities took their place, my lack of higher education among my peers was a sore spot.  My lack in attention to expensive brands and fashion names, when it was all the rage among the PTO moms made me feel like I was missing something.  Which of course, I wasn't. Now a days, a few years short of turning 50, I listen to the positive words my friends say to me.  How easy it is for me to approach strangers and strike up a conversa...

This is a post that comes with serious consideration prior to typing it out.  This is why it's taking me a few days to get it out there.  That and an extremely bad case of food poisoning that ruined a beautiful Saturday and consequently Valentines day. That's another story in itself. I've always known deep in my heart that we are here to learn, teach, and improve ourselves.  That everything we encounter regardless of how insignificant is because we are in a constant change, a metamorphoses in a way.  Some lessons come easy and others very difficult.  It's my belief and whats in my core.  When things go astray in my plans I no longer get angry or upset, I just trudge forward.  When I missed my flight and the chain of events started unfolding I did not know what the lesson would be, if it was meant for me or someone else, nevertheless I had the best attitude possible and made it an adventure instead of a catastrophe.  Sometimes it is a fine l...

I enjoy keeping busy and learning new things.  I read a few blogs which showcase their projects and craft ideas.  One in particular looked like fun and I felt fairly confident that I could pull it off.  I found the finished result at Dixie Delights .  She has a fabulous home and does various projects throughout, room by room.  I then found the tutorial on Pinterest with step by step instructions at Pretty Handy Girl Blogspot . I was very happy with the end result: Original built in China Cabinet I chose this fabric to use as for the back. Here is my end result once I placed all my knick knacks on the shelves.  John did have to help with the glass shelves.  They were very heavy!! My father in law gave me some beautiful crystal from Germany. Instead of placing all the pieces out I only chose 4 of everything to display.  The beautiful little blue chevron bowl under the plant is a handmade gift given to my daughter by one...

It's 10:15 AM and I am finally home from a supposed five day trip to Gainesville.  I should have arrived last night at 8:30 pm but life had other plans for me. I arrived at the Gainesville airport with my huge red suitcase ready to check in and hand over this red box monstrosity along with the $25 fee that goes with it, first hiccup: the help desk is closed until 3:45 p.m. and I arrived at 2:30 p.m.  So I patiently sit and wait, bag in hand. I check in, they take my bag and fee and continue to wait but this time at the gate, having passed security (I highly recommend TSA pre check) and again patiently waiting.  All of a sudden I start getting bings on my phone from Expedia (delayed flight 20 minutes), wait a few more minutes (delayed flight 40 minutes), oh SNAP!  I then get up to check with the gate attendant and it is at this point that Expedia is desperately trying to get my attention by sending in bold text YOUR FLIGHT IS DELAYED 2 HOURS!!! It is now 4:...