God, Family and Friends

Sometimes I feel so blessed I feel that my buttons will burst! God, Family and Friends.....there is nothing more important and I feel I have received the best of all three. Take away everything that I possess and I would still remain the riches person alive.

God has given me the peace that only He can give....the promise of eternal life....and a close relationship with Him that I know without a doubt that he directs in every area of my life.

Family that I love dearly.....A daughter and son-in-law that live for the Lord and give from their hearts in all that they do. They have created a loving and stable home for my awesome grandsons, Rob and Ted. A son and daughter-in-law that are caring and loving. A beautiful and intelligent granddaughter, and most of all, a wonderful husband. Plus extended family that mean the world to me.

Friends....who are beyond description, both here and around the country. My days are filled with friends making me one wealthy woman! How I love daily visits and long chats!

I am posting a picture of our evening with Bud and Joyce Schiffler from Bellingham the other night. It was special to spend time with them and share dinner together. They will be doing a lot of camping before heading back to Bellingham. We wish them a fun and safe trip.

Last night was dinner with my friends to celebrate Paddi's birthday..... Unfortunately my camera decided not to work very well and pictures did not turn out. Think my flash was turned off. This is not a good picture of her, but the best I have.....she is one beautiful gal and an extremely talented Artist. Happy Birthday again, Paddi.

I have a project on my needles tonight, so think I will head to my comfortable chair and knit like crazy.
Take care....keep well and safe....and remember to count your blessings. Mary Ann

No Retirement For Me!

Retirement does not mean slowing down.....my days get busier and busier. Today was the Yarn Club meeting at my home.....we had a great time sharing patterns and helping each other with projects. I'll post a couple of pictures of what I have on my needles and my friends are busy working on their projects.

As we were knitting in the house, Wayne and the handyman were busy laying our new paver sidewalk and putting some finishing touches on the house paint. So far, everything looks great. I'll include a picture of the paver pattern.

I managed to spend time with Xango and talk to a few of my customers. This is my most favorite thing to do. To know that people are feeling results is the highlight of my day.

Tomorrow we are expecting former classmates, Bud and Joyce Schiffler from Bellingham for the afternoon and dinner. It will be special to have them here.


My Birthday Club Dinner is happening this Thursday evening, so I will definitely do a post on this.....we always have a fantastic time....... there is never a dull moment as laughter always seems to take over.

Each day is a blessing and sometimes a challenge, but what we do with each blessing and challenge is our choice. I am thankful that I have a faithful God who is always there to direct me.

Until next time stay safe and remember to count your blessings. Mary Ann

Valentine's Day '09

It is always special to wake up to the sunshine and today was the normal.....thank you Lord for the sun that brings warmth and brightness to our days.

Besides having a beautiful day......it was also Valentine's Day.  Wayne and I began our day with breakfast out....which is my favorite meal to enjoy eating out and we enjoyed the fellowship with special friends.    We would much rather stay home in the evenings and be cozy and comfortable.....is this part of growing old?

Well, we also had activity around our little home.  We are doing some work in our front yard and Lowes delivered pavers to be used in a nice wide sidewalk.....then the Rock Company (remember this is Arizona and lawns are rock) delivered our rocks.  Well, we had spent hours picking our house paint colors and then the paver colors to cooridinate with the new rock.....well the great big pile of rock  that was dumped in our front yard is totally not the rock that we ordered!!  Now.....we have to deal with the Company about this.....someone is not going to be happy and I hope it is not us!!  I guess it wouldn't be normal if things went smoothly.

The best and brightest spot in the day was Rob and Ted bringing us a Valentine.  It was one of the new musical cards that they could also record their message....and, they did this with real gusto.  This Gramma's heart was overflowing.  Of course, we had valentines and gifts waiting for them.

Because it was such a nice day, Wayne also spent a couple of hours rearranging our storage unit and getting rid of a few more things.  This is an on going project.

After enjoying homemade soup tonight, we are relaxing by reading and watching TV.  All in all a nice day - except for the rock - !!  Stay safe and well and don't forget to count your blessings.

Mary Ann

Bits and Pieces

I am amazed how many things can happen in a day, but I do know the days disappear waaay too fast.

This day began with my laser treatment to my back by the Doctor....bit by bit a little improvement happens. Just a long slow journey. I will be so happy to be able to return to my pool exercises.

I have thought deeply today about three very special boys and revised my prayer list to include my nephew, Mark, who is a Medic with the Navy. Mark has served three tours in Iraq and next month will be leaving for Afganistan. He is not too happy with this assignment, as fighting is on a totally different level and style. He has seen more than his share of blood shed. He will certainly need all of our prayers. Then, my great Nephew, Michael, just enlisted with the Army and will soon be leaving for Boot Camp in Missouri. Michael will be training to be a MP (Military Police). I can feel the tug on my Niece's heart, as she sends her first son off for the first time. Michael has a twin brother, Christopher. Then our close friend, Michael Treim, who was a friend of our Granddaughter Tiffany, enlisted in the Coast Guard and will be leaving soon.....Micheal T. is leaving behind a very neat Mercedes SUV!! Mike T. is an only son and again, we know how hard it is for parents to let go. We are so proud of these three boys, who are so willing to serve our Country and I want them to know that I will be on my knees praying for them.

I was busy calling and mailing out information to my Xango users today. Even here we can see how the economy is hurting many people......daily Wayne talks to Contractors and Builders who have had to close offices and projects.

I am also organizing a YARN CLUB here in the Park. It will be a fun time to just visit together a couple of hours a week, share patterns and help each other with projects. We are excited to begin. When I am better organized I will post some projects here.

I want to specifically use this blog to pray for any special needs that anyone has. This is a hard time for many people......and, I would like all of you to pray for the three above boys.

Stay well and safe and don't forget to count your many blessings. Mary Ann

Photo Credit: Google Images

My Home Business

I am so blessed to be able to stay at home....work in my home office....set my own hours....help people.....and make money. How cool is that?? I have talked before how this incredible product has helped me with my Parkinson's, so I won't blog about that again. But, I do want to share a little about these awesome products.

GLIMPSE: Do you know what is in your skin care? There is a website that you can go to www.safecosmetics.org....In most cosmetics there are chemicals that cause biological mutations - chemicals that cause reproductive complications - chemicals that cause acutre toxicity - chemicals that could cause cancer tumors and chemicals that cause skin and eye irritations. XANGO'S GLIMPSE Intuitive Skin Care, are free from harmful ingredients. CLEAN, GREEN AND SIMPLE SKIN NUTRITION. Glimpse reinforces your skin with the natural power from mangosteen and other pure and safe botanicals.

3SIXTY5 - WHOLE FOOD NUTRITION AT IT'S BEST. Vitamin & Mineral daily dietary supplements for either Men or Women....divided into individual packets for AM/PM use. Quality Vitamin and Mineral supplements cannot be found on the shelves of grocery stores or chain drugstores. If the supplements you are purchasing are not top quality, they are pointless and a basic waste of money. In order for the body to get what it needs out of supplements they need to be formulated precisely to give an optional result, if they are not the body does not absorb them correctly and leaves you in almost the same definient position in which it began.

MANGOSTEEN JUICE: This awesome product is beyond description. Xango has a patent on their juice.....no one, regardless of what they say, can duplicate this juice. This juice contains the complete mangosteen, including the entire rind and pulp....no extracts are used in this juice!! There is not room to list the many reasons for using, but it has the ability and may help to fight against Free Radicals and Inflammations.....AntiAging, Heart Health, Brain & Nerve Health (Parkinson's Alzheimer, Nerve damage...Gastrointestinal, and Musculoskeletal Health...Skin Health, Infections, on and on.....these are just the tip of the ice berg.

AND....to think I make money just sharing this with people!!

If you have any questions or know of anyone that could benefit from these products.....contact me or visit my website
www.mymangosteen.com/reserve
maryann3211@aol.com

Picking Oranges

I have been talking about our citrus and today I finally took some pictures of Wayne and our neighbor, Marlene, picking oranges. Let me tell you....there is noting like ripe oranges picked directly from the tree....oh my, they are as sweet as sugar. I have a nice big box that I will making into juice and freezing. Rob and Ted will like picking their own oranges, so I will let them do that on their next trip here.

Activity in the Park was brisk today.......friends stopping by, visiting and chatting.....we love every minute of those visits. Wayne and I worked in our offices in-between greeting and chatting with visitors.

Tomorrow morning we are meeting with our Gardener......we are planning to build a new paver sidewalk, remove existing rock and replacing with a small pebble brown rock. I'll take pictures when the project is completed.

I think I have solved the problem of compatibility with Mac, my blog and importing pictures. Be patient with me and I will continue to give this a try.

Our weather has been absolutely beautiful.....84 degrees, sunny and awesome. However, I think we are expecting a small winter storm to blow through and temperatures will be in the 60's.....that is cold for us.

Take care, count your blessings and I'll talk to you soon.

A Beautiful Sunny Day

Wow.....another beautiful warm sunny day. We have had a winter storm passing through for the past 4 days and daytime temperatures were only in the 60’s. Now it is nice to be back in the mid 70’s.

Wayne’s cousin, Joan Smith, has been here this week, so time has flown. It was nice to have here here and we shared many laughs together, plus we ran all over the town. Joan is driving by herself to the tip of Mexico.....crazy, huh? But, there was no changing her mind, so with prayers, we wished her a safe and happy trip this morning. I have talked to her once this morning and she was happy as a lark and cruising along.

Why do I never feel like cooking on Friday evenings? Not just today, but I feel this way every week. Think it is an evening for either going out or bringing in. Wayne had extensive dental work done on Monday and eating is still a little uncomfortable for him.....so, looks like I had better rethink this idea of mine. I do know we are taking our cart out for a ride early evening and we must pick more citrus. It is so awesome to see all of this ripe fruit hanging on the trees.

I have so many things I want to accomplish and there is never enough time to do everything.....it is not supposed to be like this in retirement!! I want to start knitting my Granddaught a few things.....perhaps I can complete them by next fall....at the rate I am going that is questionable. My Xango partner, Vicki Jo, and I are beginning to prepare for a Xango Exhibit and we have only made a dent in this. I have finally installed new software in my computer and I haven’t had time to have fun with it, but maybe....just maybe, I will be able to upload some pictures.

I am still doctoring my messed up spine, but gradually we are seeing improvement. I am getting tired of the constant Doctor appointments, but I know this is necessary and I feel blessed to have an excellent Doctor.

Hey.....this is Super Bowl Sunday, so I had better get a big pot of soup on the stove. Of course, we will be rooting for the ARIZONA CARDINALS!!

Enjoy your week-end.....don’t forget to count your blessings!
Mary Ann