Arizona Turkey (Delayed)

"It has been so long  since my last post" .... I HATE when bloggers start with an apology for not keeping current, but here I am. Guilty! Below is something I meant to post last Thanksgiving.

 I KNOW!  It is January, and the END of January, at that!

Jeez, way to procrastinate ... regardless,  this is what was going on last November. 



Please take note that I wrote this basking in the Arizona sun, sipping a bloody Mary (with jalapenos) and eating like a Queen ... just three short months ago ...  Ahem!

Being away from home and "the grind" lends time to sit, think, and write. Aunt Debbie is taking such great care of us that, alas, Amigas, I can share some highlights of the past months.

 Unicycle Rose cruised Blanche  in a 5k to raise money for Camp Del Corazon.

Lucas even participated, walking with his friends from Camp. Cutie-Pie and Nephew Benson came along, as the event was held in Hollywood. Camp Del Corazon has blessed my family in so many positive ways. The sting of having congenital heart defects is transformed into a big, fat blessing with that group!



Daniel shot his first duck at Pt. Mugu and then Teckie and he BBQ'd the bird ... gross!



FYI: Duck tastes greasy and bad. That's my opinion, QUACK!



I entered a Survivor Football pool for the first time, along with fifty other people. Can you believe that I was one of the last three left, and also a winner? Needless to say, my Sundays have been filled with NFL games and  actually caring who wins. I followed stats, read predictions and put my heart and soul into picking my next week's winning team. I never thought I would become one of "those" annoying football people. But I was! The pool just ended last week and I await my windfall in the mail soon. It was so much fun. I'm hooked. Perhaps next year I will head a Survivor Pool of my own?

Teckie and I celebrated 19 years of marriage in October, and had a nice getaway in the mountains. I can't believe we are heading toward our 20th year, and, we still love and  LIKE each another (for the most part, LOL!). Soooo many friends have divorced, it makes me think miracles happen; thank God for those marriages that stick. It isn't easy, this marriage stuff. However, it's totally worth the ups and downs. As my older sister, Miss Piggy, said on our wedding DVD years ago ...  
"Never lose your sense of humor."
Amen, Sister

Here is Teckie, chilling with Uncle Matt in the "ZONE"



One of the perks of visiting family in AZ? It's seeing Lucas's Camp del Corazon friend,  Sweet Jenny

Can you tell I'm not a fan of Black
Friday? I am considering becoming a "minimalist"

Since we were heading to Arizona for Turkey, we celebrated Thanksgiving  early in Santa Barbara with my family.

Thanksgiving is such a great time of year. In America, with our "First World Problems", it's easy to think we don't have enough, or we deserve so much more. Honey, listen. Sometimes I can get  caught up asking God for situations and things,  that I forget to be thankful for  the little, unique blessings that surround me. And, those everyday things are the best ones ...

Food, True Friends, God's Grace, House Fires,
Wiener Doggies, Unicycles and Fourth Graders,
and Family (For example, Little Benson,  Aunt Debbie, my kids, sisters,  "etc , etc, etc "
 .... as Willy Wonka said),***

My conclusion?
I Thank the Lord that He is always present, He is always loving and He is always wanting the best for you and me ... and not just in November.
 ALL YEAR LONG!
 The End

***Who of you "out there" got the Willy Wonka quote? Hint:  It was from the scene when Mr. Willy Wonka is chewing out Charlie and Grandpa Joe for dirtying up the bubble room... I am just curious. That's all :)