These were taken at a Luau the last time I was in Hawaii.

I'm coming home today - tired and happy (I hope)!!

Pearl Harbor

These were taken when Ashley and I were in Hawaii in 2006. Moving, aren't they?

Sunset in Hawaii

I'm thinking about you!!

Hawaii Flowers

Aren't they gorgeous?

Hawaii picture

These are pictures from the last time I was in Hawaii!!

Hawaii Bound

I am on my way to Hawaii as you are reading this!! My daughter is presenting a paper at a medical conference in Honolul and invited her Dad and I to join us. Doesn't take much to convince me to go anywhere, but especially to Hawaii!! My hubbie didn't want to go (I know, crazy, huh?) He says he has no desire to see Hawaii. That's ok with me - more girl time! He'll be ok though. My brother-in-law will be coming from Texas on Sunday to hang out with him. Don't want to think about the trouble they could get into! This will be good for both of them, though. My sister died in November and this is the first time he has come to see us since we moved to NC. They were both scheduled to come visit us for Thanksgiving, but she didn't make it that long.

Here's the hotel where we are staying. Pretty cool!

I won't return home until May 8 (Thursday) so no posts for a while!! I'll be thinking of you as I'm sipping my Mai Tai and soaking up the rays.

Sharon

The Power of Positive Thinking

My day started rather slow - woke up with a headache - but things sure got better! Today was my day to read to my first graders. Once a month, I visit South Elementary in Mooresville and read a new book to them. The Newcomer's Club that I am involved with has a Literacy Group that I belong to. The club buys books for all the first grade classes at South and we volunteers read the book to the children and then leave it for them in their library. Since I don't get to see my grandchildren as much as I'd like and do the fun things with them that most grandparents do, this sorta makes up for it, even though it is only for an hour each month. Today's book is called "A Frog Thing" and it is so cute! I love frogs anyway, but ...this book was just delightful. It is about a frog (named Fred!!) who wants to fly but everyone tells him frogs just can't fly. He is determined though and won't give up. After he rescues a baby bird that falls into the pond, its mother is so grateful of Frank's swimming skills that she takes him for the ride of his life. Frank clings to a twig as the bird and one of her friends lift it and him into the air to fly. When he returns to the ground, the young frog tells his parents that he realizes he should be proud of his own special talents. The book delivers a powerful message about how you can do anything you put your mind to, no matter who or in this case "what" you are. I think we can all learn something from Fred, the frog! I think that I taught my children those lessons as they were growing up. They both strived for great things and did not give up. My son wanted to go to West Point - that was his dream and he worked hard for it. He graduated from West Point in 2001!! My daughter wanted to be a doctor and knew how expensive medical school was (not to mention the grades you needed to get in). So, after graduating from Trinity University with high honors, she joined the Army and they payed her way through medical school. She graduated from University of Texas Medical School in 2003!

After I read the book to the children, they were excited to share something with me. In their classroom, they had one of those collapsible mesh laundry baskets hanging from the ceiling full of cocoons and butterflies that had hatched! It was incredible and such a great idea. Not all the butterflies have hatched yet but when they do, there will be one for everyone. They will set the butterlies free sometime this month. I don't know about you, but way back in the dark ages when I was in first grade, we sure didn't do anything as cool as that!!

Here's a picture of the children with me. You can see the butterflies hanging above our heads!

Sharon

Welcome to Spring!

I woke up yesterday and looked out the window at the beautiful yellow finches having breakfast in our back yard. Sonny & I love to feed the birds - as you can tell from the picture! But, we get really irritated at the squirrels who try to eat all the bird's food and destroy our feeders. So, we have tried to outwit them! Sonny strung wire between the trees and hung the feeders on the wire. The squirrels still manage to jump on some of the feeders but we have also bought "squirrel proof" feeders. When they land on the perch, it shuts the feeder so they can't get any of the food out!! When that doesn't work, Sonny keeps a BB Gun by the backdoor and has fun shooting the little fellas! We have really been having a lot of finches, woodpeckers and cardinals this week.

Another springtime view in our area are the beautiful dogwoods that are in bloom as well as the other fruit trees. I pulled off the road yesterday to get a shot of this beautiful tree near our house. We have so much shade in our yard, we don't have any dogwoods. I told Sonny I wanted him to go in the woods & dig up a dogwood for me. Of course, that is not possible because it is against the law here - the dogwood is our state tree!! So, I'll just enjoy them from afar.

What was I saying??? Test your memory!

Well, yesterday found me trying something new. I joined a Mahjong group to learn how to play the game. Lucily, all 12 of us except for 4 had never played before. So the 4 "experts" had the job of teaching us. If you aren't familiar with this game, Mahjong is a game for four players that originated in China. It involves skill, strategy , and calculation, as well as a certain degree of chance. In the game, you are given thirteen tiles for a hand (depending on the variation being played). When your turn comes, you draw a tile and discard one. Your goal is to create a Mahjong which is too hard to explain!! One of the gals who was teaching us said that as she aged, she was starting to lose her short term memory. Her doctor recommended she learn Mahjong to stretch her mind. Hopefully, it will have that effect of me because my memory is .... what was I saying???? Here's a good article on memory tricks - give it a read! http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/10/09/healthmag.memory.tricks/index.html

After playing Mahjong all day, I had a quick 2 hours at home before going to Stampers Alley for a PrintWorks card class. We made some really cute cards and I got to visit with friends and my sister, Marianne. I'm so glad she is enjoying card making and has joined me at many of the classes! Plus, we got a rubber stamp for the price of the class!! Here is a picture of the cards I made last night.

Enjoy your day!!

Sharon

Bridge day

Well, day #2 on my blogging! So far, so good!

Today was my bridge day. I play bridge twice a month with my Newcomer's group. I had great cards and actually got the highest score today!! First time in about a year for that and I came home a whole $6 richer!! Sonny & I took bridge lessons at the "Y" when we were dating (35 years ago!!). We used to play a lot when we were younger - then kids and other commitments came along and bridge went along the wayside. I started playing again about 10 years ago when we lived in Texas. Sonny tried it a couple of times and decided it was just too boring for him!! It has been a good way for me to get together with other ladies and meet friends when we've moved. I join a Newcomers group and find a bridge group. I used to be so nervous playing that I would just sweat when it came my time to bid or especially if I got the bid & had to play the hand. I remember once in my early days of playing that Sonny & I were partners and were bidding a slam hand. I had a few too many drinks I think & ended up bidding really high in Clubs when actually the suit I should have been bidding was Spades because I didn't have Clubs!! But, over the years, my skills have improved and I can hold my own.

On Wednesday, I am going to a ladies house to learn to play Mah Jong. I have heard of groups playing Mah Jong & just loving it so thought I'd give it a try. I've played it before on the computer but I think this will be a little different. I'll let you know how it goes!

I participate in a Monday Mailer Stampin' Up group. We get different people each month to send a card to with a different theme. This month the card has to use Designer paper. I decided to try a Double Pocket Card and I really like it!! Here is a tutorial that will show you how to make one. And here is my card using Stampin' Up's Western Sky paper and the Wanted stamp set. I'm loving this paper!

Sharon