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April 30th, 2008 - Sound off
When I spotted this little candy shop in the Davenport Hotel in Spokane Washington I giggled with delight. It was so fussy, classy, and girly. And you could buy their signature soft peanut brittle in darling little striped boxes. This sweet treat was left on our pillows every night with turn down service—Yes!
Now girlfriends it’s your turn to sound off and tell me your favorite candy-treat!
Speaking of treats consider: Psalms 119:103…”How sweet are Thy words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth.” (NAS)
Do you have a “sweet verse”? What to share a tasty tidbit?
April 23rd, 2008 - Miles of Smiles
I have flown so many air miles for so many years I was thinking of having MY tires rotated. Honestly being a frequent flyer is exhausting. Don’t get me wrong I’m grateful that I can zip from Detroit to Dallas in the time it takes to go out for dinner, but I have been an air traveler for twenty five years. (Good grief I better have my wings waxed too.)
All that wing-flapping also means I have stayed in every kind of lodging known to man: cabins, motels, camps, homes, resorts, inns, bed and breakfasts, trailers, hotels, and once a castle. And last week for the third time I stayed in one of my favorite places: The Davenport Hotel in Spokane, WA.
I snapped a few pictures to show you why its a memory-maker…sorry I forgot to get pics of the room, which was lovely. If you like what you see and you’d like to go somewhere romantic and classy save your pennies (okay your dollars), it will be worth it.
The Davenport boasts a gift shop dripping dainties, as well as a custom flower shop, yummy candy store, and dreamy lobby the size of a European Gallery. From the moment you pull up into the circular drive full of tulips, to your entrance by the tiered lobby-fountain swimming in greenery and goldfish, to your posh bedroom accommodations with caved beds and armoires, you’ll know this is not your everyday hotel experience. And don’t get me started on the peanut brittle that comes with turn-down service or their restaurant bread pudding that lives on in my dreams.
Did I mention Nordstroms is two blocks away? Oh, heart be still. And fine dining is littered around the neighborhood like confetti. Let the party begin!
So when I want to whine about air flights, luggage carousels, lumpy beds, and gooey food, I remember the lavish visual of The Davenport and press on.
Do you have a favorite “place” that beckons you back? I’d love to hear about it.
April 19th, 2008 - Moving…again
I’m moving…again
I should be use to it. I mean I’ve been married 45 years (eek!) and we have moved over 35 times (yikes). I have now officially lost count–on purpose (denial helps endurance).
Now one would think with all those moves I would be an expert at packing a box and dealing with the dismantling of my world…but nay, and verily, I say, not so. In fact, in the last three weeks I have eaten my weight in Krispy Kremes. Prior to this move I had eaten maybe 3 of their donuts in my LIFE. Now I give new meaning to glazed as I sit staring at my debris with sticky fingers and a ring of crumbs between me and the boxes.
May I just say I got “stuff.” I’m not sure where it all came from. Valuable items like 3 sets of dominoes (no, we don’t play), 4 boxes of crayons (no, we don’t color), and 5 duffle bags ( no, we don’t, uh…duffle). And then there’s decorating magazines (yes, I decorate), but they dated back three years. What was I thinking? Now I need a tow truck just to dispose of them.
And I have uncovered enough dust to bunny-up Easter! Who knew. I mean I’m a tidy girl, but there are places I couldn’t reach easily. And who dusts their attic? I have attic-itus; the fear of boogey-bugs. But when one moves one must go into the bowels (ugh) of our homes and drag out crates of storage, usually things we haven’t used since we moved in, so we can dust (ah-choo) it off, and haul it to our next abode.
Here’s what I think…instead of lugging stuff from house to house we should make it part of the sale, crayons and all, and just take the Krispy Kremes.
Yours Truly, Chubby
April 16th, 2008 - What a Rush!
Nothing spells Spring like flowers!
I just unpacked from my trip to Fresno where thousands of women celebrated at the WOF conference. Nothing like a gazillion female hormones under one roof!
When we made our initial descent into the Fresno airport I snapped a few pictures of the snow capped mountains, but once we landed and headed outdoors the landscape yodeled Spring. Sweet fragrances wafted from colorful blossoms that seemed to be everywhere throughout Fresno.
Don’t you just love the rush that comes when Spring begins her sashay? I mean what’s lovelier than turning a corner and being captivated by sunlight on picket fences with choirs of pansies and snap dragons dancing down the path? Or a bush of blushing azaleas inviting one to stop and tip a teacup. Spring makes my old bones want to find a jump rope and start skipping.
Speaking of skipping Saturday night I watched Nicole C. Mullen’s troop of dancers play tag in the courtyard of the Inn we were staying at. I wanted to join them they were having so much fun romping about giggling and hiding. Their youthful vigor infused the air with life.
These girls ages 11-15 had already had an extensive workout during the concert with Nicole. I mean they dance really hard, song after song. Their routines are intricate and synchronized (like aerobics on steroids). I wondered where they were getting the surge of strength to run about with such abandon after an exceedingly full day. That night as they filled the courtyard with joy I leaned into the breeze of their laughter…
…and remembered.
Spring’s headiness and youth will do that…cause one to reflect on days gone by. So here’s my suggestion girlfriends; when you bump into a fresh bed of pansies take time to applaud them it was no easy task for them to open their countenance to the new season…also go buy a jumprope and give it away to the first child you meet, and then take time to allow the miracle of Spring to show across your countenance. I’m considering going face-first into the flower pot of early geraniums on my front porch just to stay inspired (they don’t call me a cracked pot for nothing)!
Happy Spring!
(I know I’m rushing it…I just can’t help myself.)
April 8th, 2008 - Rockin’
Just returned from the WOF in Little Rock and it rocked…and rolled! Tornado weather twirled about through the area sending all the guests to the hotel basement via a marble staircase. Threatening weather certainly has the potential to deepen ones prayer life. Once the sirens died down we made our way back to our rooms.
The next morning women gathered at the arena for the Pre Conference. I taught on our rubber band emotions, Jan Silvious taught on “do what you can and then leave the rest to the Lord”, and Anita exercised our laugh-lines with her comedic wit on our thyroids (a woman’s latest excuse for gaining weight).
Anita told me she saw a bumper sticker on the back of an old jalopy that she thought I should have printed on a T-Shirt…it said “Honk if any parts fall off!”
What I don’t get is how did she know? Honk!
What a delight for me to share the stage with two gals who love the Lord and prove it every week by showing up and shining bright. Jan’s insights and Anita’s humor keep me thinking, laughing, and even cause me to dab at my overflowing eyes.
I love the combination of laughing and crying. The spilling over of emotions through chuckles and tears offers stress relief. Actually Ecclesiastes tells us it’s better to cry than laugh because crying scours the heart. Have you experienced that? I have when I cried so hard that by the time I was all wrung out I felt relieved, clean, yes, even scoured. My situation may not have changed, but I did. Yet I admit I still lean toward preferring a deep guffaw rather than a drippy-nose bawl. I guess because one signifies happy and the other sad. But when I think about it some of my best “happy” followed on the heels of some of my hardest “sad.”
It really is challenging if not impossible to separate the two completely. They tend to graze in the same pasture.
Today dear lamb whether you are tittering or teary I wish you well and pray you find flourishing pasture land.
April 3rd, 2008 - Prepare to Be Impressed!
Prepare to be impressed! Not to mention have your heart melted. This gal definitely has speaker potential. Wouldn’t she be great on the WOF stage! God Bless her Mom well.
March 31st, 2008 - What a line-up!
Women of Faith Conferences are officially in gear. I just arrived home from Omaha, Nebraska draggin’ my wagon. Trust me the experience was aerobic…and exciting. It couldn’t help but be when you have Sandi Patty, Nicole C. Mullen, Jan Silvious, Marilyn Meberg, Sheila Walsh, Anita Renfroe, Nicole Johnson, and Luci Swindoll singing and speaking their hearts out. What a line-up!
Sandi hits notes that reverberate off the North Star. I’m not sure but from one of her songs there could be a new crack in the liberty bell. I personally cannot sing a lick. Notta. Zip. Zilch. Last year sweet Sandi bestowed upon me one of her “Female Vocalist of the Year” awards. It sits proudly in my office. Wasn’t that dear? I think she heard me sing a few notes and this was a bribe to never do that again.
Nicole C. Mullen knocks me out with her voice and dance. I keep thinking I should join her dance team and they’ve invited me to, but alas I can’t move fast enough. Most of them are around 14 years old (my Nikes are older than that). So I watch from the (sniff) sidelines rubbing the charlie horses out of my calves.
Anita is confetti in a windstorm…so much cotton pickin’ fun! God was definitely in a good mood when he thought this chic up. Don’t miss her thyroid video…(Hmm, thyroid seems to be the new buzz word.)
Well, you get the idea the weekend was an explosive way to kickoff the conference year. (28 more to go)
I hope some of you will be able to join us. The schedule is posted on my web page you may want to look it over and see if a location and dates works for you.
I know this smacks “advertisement,” but honest girls it’s so inspiring and uplifting. I can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend with girlfriends, church sisters, family, etc.
March 24th, 2008 - Ink Spot
Dip your pen in the inkwell girls I just came from the Mt. Hermon’s Writer’s Conference and I’m feeling inspired for us all.
I attended strictly as a student. First I packed all the important tools necessary to have a successful experience: my Mac Air, popcorn popper, hot pot, tea bags, and my zany friend Jan Silvious. (She was the hardest to get in the bag. Her foot kept popping out the zipper.) Jan and I laughed, learned, and schemed, I mean planned. When I say laugh it was the medicinal belly kind that makes you gasp and dash for the little girl’s facilities! What fun! (the laughing not the dashing)
Make sure you visit Jan’s site–she is one sassy sage. I love her bottom line tell-it-like-it- is style to all of life. No guess work with Jan as she encourages us to don our big girl lingerie and make a spectacular difference in our world.
The conference was staffed with a number of friends which added to my enjoyment. In fact, these are women you should know if you don’t. Janet Grant is the owner and president of Books & Such, a literary agency, and my long-time editor. Sally Stuart is a market expert, author (31 books), and influencer to many. Wendy Lawton is an author, agent, and is an award winning doll maker. Karen Ball is a fiction writer, editor, and outdoor enthusiast. Robin Jones Gunn author, speaker, spokesperson for Christian Writers Guild. Angela Hunt is a best selling fiction writer and a multi-gifted wonder.
Ever thought about writing a book? What would you write about? Your life, family, garden, pet, etc. Think about it…it may be time to give it a try. Visit my friends blogs and webs they have a lot of excellent helps on how to put ink to your story. My friend/mentor Florence Littauer always said, “Everyone has at least one book in them…their story.”
Who knows you may be the next Karen Kingsbury or Debbie Macomber on the NY bestseller list. Go Debbie! Go Karen!
March 16th, 2008 - It’s my thyroid! It’s my thyroid!
Somebody grab a pinata–party’s on me!
In my last blog-ette I told you about going on vacation and falling asleep every time I neared a sitting place, but when I dragged home there was a message on the phone to call my doctor’s office. I had blood work done before I left for Disney World and the results were in; I’m not Dopey or even Sleepy I’m Thyroid-y.
What a relief. Whew. I thought this fall-asleep jag meant I was just flat out old. But instead I’m a pill-carrying senior…which means my bones crackle when I walk, but I can still swing a stick and burst open that candy-laden paper donkey with the best of them. So watch out compadre! Thyroid woman packs a wallop!
Isn’t it something how a few words can change your perspective. Before the phone message I was mentally moving myself into an assisted living apartment, but now with pills in hand I’m considering a trip to Africa.
Maybe that’s what Proverbs means when it says “…a word spoken in due season, how good it is.” Pr 15:23b
March 8th, 2008 - Take Time
Last week I walked so long and so far until I was positively Goofy. And not only did I walk I whirled. Uh, huh, you read that right…whirled, until I was downright Dopey (as if I needed help). Yep, you guessed it, I was at Disney World.
Let me just say the last time I was at an amusement park my energy level was still in operation…and evidently without notice that plant had closed down for repairs. I mean I kept up, but as soon as we stopped I was fast friends with the sandman.
The first night I plunked my weary self down at a table in our hotel room with the intentions of answering emails and without realizing it was happening I became one with the table. I fell sound asleep on the table…I said “On the table,” (as in tablecloth). My daughter-in-law Danya found me draped over the butter dish, gently woke me up, and sent me to bed.
The next afternoon following a morning of activities we retreated back to our room to prepare for the pool. Ha! Like that’s going to happen. I don’t do swimming suits in public, it is part of my contribution to keeping America beautiful. Trust me.
Anyway the crew headed for the pool and asked as they left if I’d snap pictures and take video clips of the boys going down the huge twirling slide, which I could see perfectly from our balcony. I was delighted to do so…except after they left I noticed the couch. It was, how shall I say, enticing. So I decided to sit for a minute or two. I have never been good at math. The next thing I knew the kids were barreling back in the room finished with their pool dipping and slide twirling…and where was I? Yep, still on the couch with an unused video cam a foot a way. They found me at the end of the sofa, wound in a flabby circle, fast asleep. I’m sure curled up I looked positively primal. Speaking of…
Jason suggested I should join him and Justin on a ride I would later learn was called the Primal Whirl. I should have noted the gleam in Jason’s eyes and the slightly sinister twist at the edge of his mouth, but I was distracted by the funnel cake the person in front of me was gobbling down. (It is my belief that if you are in line and you are in possession of any lip-licking delicacy you should rip off chunks and spread the joy around.)
Let’s just say it was a good thing the funnel-fellow kept his joy because I would have shared it with everyone on the first wrenching whirl on this “kiddie” ride. This back-twisting, head-spinning ride should have been called Primal Hurl. By the time I staggered off weak-kneed and the shade of a shamrock I realized I should have allowed Jason more Twinkies when he was growing up. Perhaps that would have eased some of his need to get even today.
I had an amazing time, when I was awake, running, laughing, walking, playing, and eating…but honestly the most fun of all was being with people I love.
Take Time!