SHE SAID YES......

That's right, Adam proposed to Tristen !

Here are some pictures from over the years:

Adam turned 35 in January and Tristen turned 31 in March!

So recently when Adam was with us in Mammoth Lakes he shared with us that they were planning on getting married before their big move to Pittsburgh and had been ring shopping. He felt it was time and the right thing to do before their big move. 

For those of you who may not know this Tristen recently got her doctorate and landed an amazing job at the University of Pittsburgh. Adam of course has an amazing job running the Ethics Board at Cedars Sinai but is on board to join her in Pittsburgh. If that isn't love I don't know what is! She begins her job in January. 

There are no plans yet for the wedding but I know that it will be very small. They have been living together for a long time now and they don't feel the need for a big wedding. They bought a lovely condo together several years back and I believe they plan on renting it out when they move. It is in the Westwood area of Los Angeles just off Wilshire Blvd. and walking distance to UCLA.  

We couldn't be happier. We fell in love with Tristen the first time we meet her and their relationship has been so beautiful and sweet. Wishing them their happily ever after......

(7-25-14 engaged)

WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

Click on the button and join us!

 

1. Noah Webster was born this week back in 1758....besides the online version, do you own a dictionary? Do you ever use the hardback copy or is your hunt for a definition strictly online these days?

When I first starting blogging I would use one all the time. Now I pretty much look things up online. We do use one when we play Scrabble.

2. Should public schools ban Halloween celebrations? What about other holiday celebrations currently under fire?

No, I think these celebrations are fun for the children. All of them!

3. What's your favorite 'dog' movie?

Marley and Me, Must Love Dogs and Turner & Hooch to name a few.

4. When were you last somewhere you'd describe as 'too quiet'?

Nothing comes to mind except that our house was pretty quiet last week.

5. Are you a neat cook or a messy cook? In other words do you clean as you go or make a big mess and then deal with it later?
I clean as I go along.

6. Did you hear about Felix Baumgartner, the skydiver who broke the sound barrier via parachute? Was your first thought COOL! or was your first thought CRAZY! Are you adventurous?

Yes I heard about him, didn't watch it. My first thought would be crazy. I'm not as adventurous as I've wanted to be. If I had a guarantee of not getting hurt I would definitely try a lot of things, even at my current age!

7. What's not a word but should be?
Godincidences, I use it all the time!

 

JUST THE TRUTH, MA'AM

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 NIV
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Mountains on Thursday, loved how the sun was hitting the peak.

So I was a little upset with Mark that he was going to be out of town for Valentine's Day. I mean it's okay, I get the business aspect of it but why would they schedule a convention during Valentine's week. See the problem is that my poor hubby has to tread lightly around me. I've been hurt, I have learned to deal with jealousy most of the time but sometimes it shows it's evil little head. So he decided not to mention that this trip was during Valentine's Day.

So one day I was looking at the calendar and bingo there it was, his trip would make him out of town for that special day. Well Debby went into her pity party for one and made of point of asking him why he didn't tell me. I'm like it would have been nice if you had come to me and said "Honey, I will be out of town this year for Valentine's Day so do you want to celebrate before I go or when I come home?" Seems simple to me but he is never sure how I will react so being quiet is usually his plan. Doesn't always work for him!

So I was a little pi**ed off when he left. I made a point of telling him in my sweet voice "you better not send me flowers because they will sit by the front door and die!" Don't you just love me sweetness, my ability to be understanding. Sometimes I amaze myself. He left the Friday before and I got a card in the mail from him which was lovely. Then on Monday the flowers arrived. He sent them Monday because I go out to bowling on Tuesday's running errands afterwards. Well I took them in and opened them up. Honestly I was missing him and these little tokens were melting my heart.

Well we did have a good laugh the other night. See in all honesty I could not find the Valentin's card I bought for him. But since I was angry I decided to just put in a generic card that I was mailing out to the children in the family. It didn't say much and I didn't sign my normal "love always, Debby" no way, he just got a "love, Debby." You gotta love me, right? So I told him about the fact that I misplaced his card and how I was mad at the time. He said he was wondering why the card was so simple and we laughed about it. Isn't it nice that we can laugh about those things? (I had slipped the card into his packed suitcase before he left)

Needless to say I know how foolish I can be. As grown up as I can be I still act like a spoiled child often. Sometimes it amazes me that he actually came back to me after we divorced. Did he really think I had changed. I guess I fooled him. Anyway, I did miss him while he was gone and I am going to try to be a better wife because one thing I know for sure is that I love him with all my heart.

So I started a new medication for my COPD and I waited until I was home along with someone else to make sure I didn't have some adverse reaction. Do you think I am evil because for a moment I thought about laying on the floor to see what reaction I would get since I told them to check on me in my office? (Well it would have been my bad because they never checked anyway)

So while I am being truthful here I have never liked having to type word verification on blogs but I do it because I am a fan of the blog I am reading. For a person who read 50 posts a day it can be very time consuming for me. (By the way if you are with Blogger Spam mail will never show up in your comments) Anyway, have you noticed that verification has been changed. It's those ugly two word ones where one of them is very fuzzy. Actually I was directed to a blog that can say it better then me. Head on over to The Run*A*Round Ranch Report to read her view on this subject. I love leaving comments and talking with my blog friends but some days I think it would be fun if we could just hit "LIKE" like we do on Facebook! Now don't get me started on the ones that say my comment was too short or the ones where the verification doesn't go through because I typed it wrong and the long comment goes away!

SO MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE CALLED THIS POST WICKED!
(not to be confused with the musical)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Of course this next pictures is from my trip in Europe in June 2011. A trip I will never forget. There is a story that I wrote last year about how this trip came about. It involves a Valentine's Day gift I bought for Mark to give me and what happened on the same day I bought it. It was a sign, a Godincidence that only He does so well!

You can read about the Love Locks here.

Well my Valentine is in Dallas this week so I am going to make the best of the day without him. After bowling today I am going to head to a Casino and drown my sorrows in front of a Keno machine :) (Love you Mark)

So these are the treats I made for my friend's children at bowling. Amber & Dylan say they are pretty good, I did not taste them :) I found this treat on Pinterest and the recipe is from Betty Crocker. It's called Valentine Chex Mix. You can also find it here on my Pinterest page. I never did find the red sprinkles so I used rainbow ones!

Hope you have a wonderful day. ((HUGS)) from me!

I FEEL THIS WAY TOO!

Received this in an email and I thought I would share it with you.

Paul Harvey Writes:

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For my grandchildren, I'd like better.

I'd really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches. I really would.

I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated.

I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car. And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen.

It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.

I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.

I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister. And it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you let him.

When you want to see a movie and your little brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let him/her.

I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.

On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom.

If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one.

I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books.

When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.....

I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a boy/girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.

I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it. And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he is not your friend.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandma/Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle.

May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays.

I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbor's window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Hannukah/Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand.

These things I wish for you - tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it's the only way to appreciate life.

Written with a pen. Sealed with a kiss. I'm here for you. And if I die before you do, I'll go to heaven and wait for you.


IT'S FRIDAY SO I HAVE A NEW POST AT DEBBY'S TREE.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Speaking of deer, (like my little segue) I didn't take this picture until I was packing up my Christmas items. I have had these cute little S&P shakers for well over 35 years. Kristin at The Goat and Keetha at The Eclectic Company have posted their cute little vintage sets and wanted to show them these. These are not kissing ones like they have posted but I think they are really cute, don't you? (with their noses rubbed off maybe they have been kissing!)

If your not following Kristin or Keetha I suggest that you do.

Keetha was my very first follower!

I can't wait to go to dinner tonight.

To my family: I LOVE YOU ALWAYS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK

Today is my husbands birthday. He is out of town this week but we will be having a party on Saturday to celebrate his 59 years of life. This is the man I fell in love with in High School back in the late 60's. He is the man I married in 1972 38 years ago. He has always been a great provider for our family, keeps me laughing and loves his children with all his heart. He has had salt & pepper hair since his 20's and I adore him with grey hair. (I think his license still says brown!) Yes he is vain but am thankful he has never changed the color. He has the most beautiful blue eyes, I think they call them bedroom eyes!

We have had our ups and downs but I am thankful that he was brave enough to come back into my life after being divorced for six years 21 years ago. He really deserves a medal for that because I am not easy to live with! Thank you honey :)

Happy Birthday to the man I love.........

.....and will love for the rest of my life.

If you want to see some baby pictures of him you can go

here to last years post.

LIVING MY LIFE TO THE FULLEST

I was having a conversation with my husband on the eve before my 59th birthday. I was sharing with him how I fear turning 60. I don't like who I have become or how I look today. This isn't the person I wanted to be. I have not given much thought to other milestones I have passed. My mother passed away at 56 and I know that she was not happy at that point in her life. I had no intentions of following in her footsteps yet here I am feeling that I have learned nothing from her unhappiness. That makes me very sad.

My husband said that 60 is a number that he believes most people fear reaching. To many it means the ending of their career is about to take place in the future and a whole new part of life is nearing. The part that we always felt people are old at that age. I know it's not true but I never imagined myself at this age. Grandparents are this age and I can't even claim that one.

I told him that I have always heard so many good things about reaching 40 and even reaching 50. The time of your life when you are finally yourself and loving yourself. The news media talks about these ages frequently however I don't hear many stories that make 60 sound awesome.

I was reading a post today from Kelly at The Beauty of Sufficient Grace on the passing of time and that is what got me thinking about my life. The things that I hold onto that only have meaning to me and the time I put into loving these items when I should be putting my time into the importance of living in the here and now.

One of things that I have always felt grateful for is the knowledge that is available to us today. My mother suffered from depression for several reason but she didn't have the knowledge of them at the time. Not feeling loved from her parents was one reason, having a parent who was an alcoholic was another and the depression that can come from being overweight. It was very easy for her to fall into a pattern of drinking also. Seeking help pretty much came with a prescription to Valium or something along that line. I also felt that if my mother was around today she would be so much happier with the treatments that we have now. But would she?

I have the knowledge of today yet do I grasp at it and change my life for the better. I don't think so. High blood pressure runs in my family on both sides. So here I am on medication and we all know that is not good enough. Treating this is something that I can do with weight loss, exercise and a healthy diet. So what has this knowledge done for me? I can sit here a wallow in self pity which doesn't bring any change at all. Change is a difficult hurdle to get over while staying in the same routine is easy but not very smart.

I have had success with two different diet in my lifetime. Weight Down Workshop which I did through my church. Follow a simple plan and turn to your Bible for inspiration. Eat half of what you would normally eat and feed yourself like a baby does. Eat only when you feel stomach hunger and stop when you are full. In time this actually works and I was very successful, then you get lazy falling into your old routine in time. The second one was the South Beach Diet and I found it very easy to do. Stuck with it for a very long time and lost 47 pounds. Then you decide to order a pizza again because you haven't had one in a long time and you being to slip off the path you were one. It is very true that the more carbs you eat the more you desire and when you don't have them in your diet you do not crave them.

So why is it that with this knowledge I am currently letting myself continue down this path of weight gain again. I know better but change is not easy to come by yet I know in my heart that I am setting myself up for an early death. Just like smoking, why did I think that I could smoke and not have it effect my lungs. Hello Debby you do know that you have asthma don't you! I quit two years ago but I have to admit that I have a few from time to time with my daughter recently. Don't worry, I am not heading in that direction again.

In line with my point here I was reading through a recent People Magazine and they had an article called "Chic at every age" which is exactly what I was talking about in the first few paragraphs on this post. They start out with Taylor Swift (20) in the group of women in their 20's, listing woman in their 30's, 40's and 50's ending with Anjelica Huston (59). No they did not go into being chic in your 60's!!!!!

I know this isn't a fun post and I'm sorry about that but this is where my head is right now. I plan to make some changes because I want to be a hot 60 year old next year!

You don't need to comment, just getting some things off my chest. (Double D's)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY