TUESDAY TWO - ONE, TWO AND THREE

I took these photos from Zoo Atlanta and even though the theme was supposed to be Tuesday Two, I thought images of these prairie dogs would go together nicely for this post. That was me (above) standing, with a grouchy face, anxiously waiting and expecting something to happen, dreaming about "the big break", talking about all the big plans but never put forward the efforts to make the big dream happen. Only talk, no actions.

That was me, still standing and waiting for the big break. Laying in the sand would be my husband, happy-go-lucky, easy-going person. No desire to be part of the rat race or climbing high up the corporate ladder. CP admitted that he was not an ambitious man and would never sell his soul to the devil to get that corner office. He said he already got everything he needs to enjoy life, a loving supportive family, friends who care about him and faith that sustains him thru difficult times in life. Every day is a vacation day, CP said. I wish I could be more like CP, learning to relax and laying in the sand, watching the world go by!

These prairie dogs must have a secret about being happy, not a care in the world and definitely know how to enjoy life. A group of tourists pointing and laughing and nothing would disturb these guys. I realized that everything I need to know how to be happy and to enjoy life is from these prairie dogs!

EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A GLASS OF EGGNOG (BUT NOT WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING)

I made a big mistake by going to the local grocery store that has a $5 off on any purchase of $50 or more. It is a saving offered on the third Thursday of the month. To make it worse, it is the 3rd Thursday before Christmas. Everyone was there not only for the monthly savings but also to get as many items as they think they might need for Christmas dinners. Of course, everyone also wanted to get the closest parking spot and when one driver pulling out, three vehicles were waiting to take his space. That caused traffice jam which prompted one person to press her horn and then another and then another. Finally, someone who looked like he was an off-duty police officer told everyone to calm down, directed the cars and got traffic moving again!

After the grocery store (all I wanted was creamer - got to have them flavored creamer for my morning coffee), I drove to the post office to drop off a few more Christmas cards. Good thing I was already slowing down after pulling into the parking lot because a van almost hit me head-on. I had enough room to quickly moved over. The driver of the van realized that she was going the wrong way when the person behind me rolled down his window, yelled out while pointing at the sign "Enter Only". She tried to back up but could not. So we all moved over to let her out - the wrong way! I want to tell everyone to calm down, stay away from the stores if you could and after you get home safely, have a large glass of eggnog!

2011 LENTEN SEASON

The Lenten Season began on Ash Wednesday, March 9th. Lent is a time of conversion and spiritual renewal. All faithful Christians are called to seek repentance, fasting, almsgiving and turning away from practices that might be sinful. Lent is the time of preparation for the celebration of the Easter mysteries.

I went to 8:00 a.m. Mass on Wednesday because there was a work-related function in the evening. I had a few errands to take care of in the afternoon but no one pointed out that I had “something” on my forehead!

I did not know about the earthquake in Japan and tsunami until after the 8:00 a.m. Mass on Friday morning (March 11th) when the lector asked for prayers for those affected by the disaster. Later, as I watched the sea overtook the land, it made me feel as if the world was really coming to the end.

After dinner, we went to church for prayer of the Stations of the Cross.
These photos were taken during our Westward adventure on Route 66 in July 2010. This giant cross stands just south of I-40 Exit 112 on Highway 295. The newest religious monument, built in 1995, is located in Groom, Texas, and called the “Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ”. At 190 foot tall (19 stories), it is billed as the “Largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere”. The complex also includes statutes of the “Stations of the Cross”.

FIRST STATION – Jesus is condemned to death (Mark 14:61-64)

SECOND STATION – Jesus carries His cross (John 19:14-17)

IMPORTANT REMINDER

Last month I had my annual mammogram examination. Ten day later I got a phone call and then a letter informing me that the results was normal. This is one of those situations when the word "negative" being used means good news.
So this is my public service announcement - Ladies, remember to schedule your periodic mammogram, perform monthly self examination and annual examination by a physician. Gentlemen, remind the ladies in your family to practice these important examinations. Early detection saves lives.

PERHAPS HE FORGOT THE DEODORANT

Last October when we were driving along Glenstone Avenue in Springfield, Missouri looking for Route 66 Rail Haven, one of the few 66-era motels that are still in operation, I spotted the tin-man (above photo) sitting alone on the roof top of the buidling of the Sheet Metal Workers' Local Union 36 Apprenticeship Training Center. Five minutes later, down the road, we were so excited when we found a group of eleven "men" sitting on a steel beam at the edge of the Killian Group of Company building. I don't remember if there was a security gate but I was able to get close enough, zooming in and captured these photos below.

Finding these public sculptures is one of the fun things I enjoy when we go on our Route 66 adventure or weekend trips. I love to visit small towns, places that are tucked away, far from the superhighways, away from the madding crowd of rushing to their destinations while missing so much along the journey. Here is my humble suggestion for your next road trip, get off the interstate to experience the charm of small towns America, or even when you are walking in your city or within your neighborhood, be mindful of what is nearby and you might find the joy in spotting a tin-man sitting alone on the roof top because he forgot the "oil" can of deodorant!

MORE DEEP THOUGHTS - BE ANXIOUS OVER NOTHING

I see the above sign on my way to work, "To be Anxious over Nothing, Pray over Everything". This is not my parish and I could not tell you what this Taiwanese Presbyterian Church of Greater St. Louis looks inside. I am sure it is beautiful and anyone is welcome to worship there. I am not sure if the service is entirely in Taiwanese or with some English.

Early last year, my husband was among the workforce reduction (a nicer term for unemployed people who were laid-off by the company) for about six months. I tried to be encouraging and told my husband that I understood how hard it would be for someone who has over 25 years of experience in design and pre-production engineering quality controlled to find suitable employment. Potential employers would say that CP was over-qualified and that he would not stay long even if he was willing to accept cut-back on salary. We discussed and agreed that we did not wish to move, so re-location was not part of the game plan.

I also told CP not to worry even if I lost my job because so many people that were (are) in worse situation. We are not the only one suffering. Almost everyone in the country has been negatively impacted. I feel sorry for family with small children and only one parent working. With a few dollars saved, we should be able to weather the storm. I thought if we both were unemployed, even with limited budget, it would be an opportunity to enjoy our lives by travelling around the country. I tried to remember that when something bad happened, it might be a blessing because we never knew what would be waiting for us at the end of the road. If the Communists did not take over Sai Gon, if we did not get on that boat to escape from Viet Nam, we would never find freedom and liberty. If we did not live in the refugee camp, we would not appreciate all the blessings being in America. Whatever happens, nothing could compare to the boat journey, the refugee camp, the barriers we overcame the first few years in America.

After six months, CP went back to work on temporary assignments. It was anxious time because he was only informed each Thursday whether he would be working the following week. The company finally asked CP to work full time starting in mid-November. Fortunately, he would also have all his vacation and benefits back.

Whether you are a non-believer or a person of strong faith, I wish you peace and strength and I hope you will find a way to get over this difficult time.

A very strong wind came up on the lake. The waves came over the sides and into the boat so that is was already full of water. Jesus stood up and commanded the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind stopped and it became completely calm. Jesus said to his followers, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Mark 4:37-40.

YOUR PHOTO COULD FRONT FROMMER'S BOOK

Above - A sunny afternoon at the Pier in Grand Haven, Michigan. Below - A foggy morning along the lake in Muskegon, Michigan.

I saw the information below in USA Today and thought other bloggers might be interested (just in case you don't already know about this.)

"If your vacation shots are too good just to hang on your walls or share via Facebook or Flickr, you can enter the first cover photo contest from Frommer's guidebooks. Anyone - amateur or pro - can submit any number of photos at www.frommers.com/go/photocontest.

Top prize: $5,000 and a spot on the cover of a Frommer's guide. Four runners-up get guidebooks and travel accessories. Enter by March 31. Winners will be notified in mid-April."

Good luck to all who enter the contest. If you enter your photos after reading this post, remember to mention me, TOTA - the Hockey Junkie, in your acceptance speech :)

AN INVITATION TO QAPTAIN QWERTY

The League of American Bicyclists named St. Louis as one of the 14 cities that are bicycle-friendly. St. Louis offers more than 70 miles of on-street designated bicycle lanes, created by Bike St. Louis. We also have many bike trails, especially the famous Katy Trail, http://www.bikekatytrail.com/. Hey Qaptain Qwerty, how about bringing your bike to St. Louis to participate in Tour of Missouri http://www.tourofmissouri.com/, or see for yourself whether St. Louis is really a bicycle-friendly city or better yet, bring JL and make it father-and-son bike trip?

TOTA'S WISH LIST

Lately I have been entertaining an extreme, drastic life changing thought. Whether because I will be turning 49 years old in a few months or just a typical stage when like some "geezers" approaching the final threshold of life, I began to seriously question how I should truly live my life so when I stand before the gate of heaven (or the escalator to hell) there would be no regrets.
Here is my wish list. Please, no fighting among my adoring fans to decide who should buy which items. I would love to leave my job at the circus and let my hair flow in the wind riding the above motorcycle from New York to California and along Route 66, then to Canada to see the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens home games. On my flat chest, the Red Wings logo tattooed across ** OUCH! ** - New England Patriots logo on my right sagging upper arm and on the left, the Stanley Cup with the words "Hockey Mama" underneath.
Or I could shake off the dust of this town like George Bailey always dreamed of doing and travel the world, using these brand new luggages that a generous follower donated to me. Or I could take a slow train to Montana, find a little cabin in the wood, growing my own food, hunting, fishing and really living a simple life. Anyone cares to join me?

HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS (HUMOR OF THE WEEK)

With the holidays fast approaching, I am trying to provide helpful suggestions to my faithful readers (there had been a few comments about my blog turning into a meaningless blog filled with cheesy photos). Above photo was taken during our walk in the Diamond District in New York City in December 2007. I am sure your wife/girlfriends/mistresses/regular suppliers (I could not bring myself to say the traditional terms. I also try to keep this blog family-oriented.) would be pleased with either the necklaces, bracelets or earrings. I am not sure what the heck is shown in the window display below. I think it might be an expensive red sweater and a very long scarf. For the men, I am sure something from a store along Fifth Avenue such as Cartier or a nice Rolex watch would be appreciated. Well, some men might need a brand new vehicle and a set of golf clubs!

EARTH DAY

Happy Earth Day! Here are a few photos I have taken of the beautiful flowers and another precious bird nest, in my neighborhood. I am sure individually we are doing what we can, reuse, reduce and recyle, in our homes and community. Therefore, I will not be like those celebrities broadcasting about being Green, yet live in mansions that require heating/cooling that would cost more than my annual income, or politicians preaching about global warming, yet flying around in private jets or those self-appointed environmentalists who drive around in gas guzzling SUVs, or pushing the popular green agendas, these people do not work at regular jobs or have to earn a decent living and could afford to write books or share their wisdom on talk shows. Some even received awards, for their inflated excellent work on "telling the truth", nothing but the truth!

This weekend there will be an Earth Day Expo at Forest Park. I plan to attend and will share interesting information, and of course, photos in the next post. Hope it will be sunny wherever you are this weekend!

MARCH PROGRESS REPORT

I don't have much to report this month on my quest to be clutter-free and simple living. I still could not bring myself to give up any of my books. I managed to give away a few knick knacks and a bag of clothing. I usually dropped off my donations at collection box (bottom photo) that would benefit an organization such as the American Red Cross, a school or at a church. However, I only purchased one pair of shoes and one book, Hockey's Top 100 - The Game's Greatest Records. I would like to justify this purchase that I used a 40% coupon from Borders. I also did not buy any clothing since the new year, actually I have not been to the malls or done any shopping besides food and household essential items.

I guess to live a simple life, not only getting rid of things we already have but not making any new purchases would count as part of achieving the goals. The last time I purchased shoes was in July 2008 when the store had a sale buy 1 get half price off the 2nd pair. Currently, I need a new pair of shoes as the ones I have been wearing daily are worn out and there is a hole in the left shoe. As I looked at the above advertisement in the newspaper and the shoes in the stores, I envy the women who could walk in these skimpy high-heeled shoes. They looked more like torture device than footwear to me. Have you ever seen a woman walking around New York City wearing these shoes?

FEBRUARY PROGRESS REPORT

Following words of wisdom from Qaptain Qwerty, I gathered all the unused credit cards and cut them up into little pieces. I put the pieces in a ziplock bag and for a few weeks, scattered them all around town, one piece into each trash can, wherever I happened to be. I am keeping only two credit cards, a Discover Card to earn cash rewards and a Visa to earn points towards gift card at bookstore. This leads me to share a dilemma as I am having trouble letting go of my books. I love them all and though I have donated almost 100 books to the library for the book sales, I still have many books that I want to keep. Mind you, these are not collectors' items or special editions or even remotely by well-known authors. Just books that I enjoyed reading and could not bring myself to give away. If I have to choose between clothes and books, I would rather keep the books. I am planning to increase my clothing donation to make up for the books that I am unwilling to part. I also placed six pairs of shoes in the "Shoes for Kenya" collection (bottom photo). According to the newspaper article, the Shoeman (http://www.showman.org/) already collected over 100,000 shoes, enough for fund to drill one well. His ministry continues the collection with the goal of providing addition wells to many more villages.
I just learned the meaning of WEEDING from a little brochure at the library. Weeding is the continual process of reviewing, evaluating and removing outdated or physically dilapidated materials from library collections. The weeded material will be sold in library, book sales, recycled and given away to non-profit or educational organizations. I should do some weeding with the books I have on the bookshelves below too.

JANUARY PROGRESS REPORT

Here is an update on my quest to be clutter-free and not allowing useless stuff taking over our living space. This year, as it has been our tradition that the Sunday after Thanksgiving would be when we put up our Christmas tree and decorated the house, we sorted the ornaments into three groups, must-keep, maybe and to Good Will. The must-keep ornaments were those with our names, years and places we were on vacation. Of course, we also keep the Red Wings, Patriots and others that had family and personal attachment. The maybe ornaments were somewhat meaningful but not too sentimentals. We might consider donating these "maybe" next year. We took two banker boxes to Good Will and the lady there told me that they would put pricing on the items and on the shelves right away.
To keep myself from eating munchies all day, I decided to go thru the closets, gathered two large bags of clothing and dropped the items off a local Thrift Shop that supports group homes for mental & physical challenged adults. We also donated two boxes of things. I took the photos below to show the things we kept and it felt good to donate them, kind of letting go of the past and moving on to the clutter-free future. When my husband moved to Grand Haven from Detroit, he lived in an apartment and thought the porcelain dog and puppy would make him feel at home and less lonely being away from his family for the first time. That was in 1982, and CP said it was time to give the dogs away to someone else.
My sister CH and I used to go Pier 17, a multilevel dockside shopping mall at South Street Seaport, to hang out with sailors when the ships came into town during July 4th weekend and summer months. From Pier 17 you could have the view as far north as midtown Manhattan and as far south as the Verazzano-Narrows Bridge. There were also concerts, street performers and plenty of people-watching activities. We would wear light jean jackets with these silly looking pins (photo above). CH loved the sailors, their white uniform, and cool looking hats. We did not get drunk and had one-night stand or anything that would be shameful to our family, we just talked to the sailors, maybe flirt a little and when they got a little over-friendly, we got away by telling them we needed to use the wash room. The pins were popular back then in the late 80's. I put these pins in a box with other earrings and jewelries that no longer age appropriate for me to wear, and to Good Will they went. This handmade doll (photo below) was purchased at a craft show a few years ago. She looked cute in the rocker in the living room. Then we moved her to the guess room, sitting on the dresser. Maybe a child would spend more time playing with her instead of just being a decorated item in our house.

GIFT IDEAS

Photos taken of the Diamond District during our visit to NYC last year. We walked around looking for the NHL store and CP told me that it was the first time he actually in the famous Diamond District. He also said he would have purchased a big diamond engagement ring for me had I taken him there 20 years ago.

Here are a few suggestions for your last minute shopping. A $2.49 jeweled nail file that any practical women would appreciate. (Don't blame me if you followed this suggestion and found yourself outside the front door because your house key no longer worked.) Or a portable espresso maker comes with a travel case and two lightweight, unbreakable cups for his and hers, only $160. Feeling really generous? how about a delicate, handmade 18k yellow gold and diamong earrings, only $1,650. Dazzle the lady in your life with an 18k ring with 3.9 carat emerald and 130 diamonds. If you have to ask how this ring cost, then you don't have enough money to buy it, so forget it!

For the man in your life, you will enjoy seeing his excitement when you present him a $11,700 watch with Swiss-quartz movement and a mother-of-pearl face, gold and diamond. After that, you could get the whole family together to spend a month in Nice using the Marquis Jet Card which was loaded with 25-hour flight time on private aircrafts at a reasonable fee of $126,000 to $349,000. The cards are re-loadable for your convenience!

This Lamborghini/Bentley dealership is about 3 miles from my poor humble subdivision. I ask who has the money to buy these toys? I made a promise that one day I will drive up in a pick up truck, walk into the dealership wearing a clean but worn out Life is Good sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers and asked for a test drive! I would love to see the reactions of the saleperson and what the person would respond to my request. I probably won't even get thru the door or even get off my truck in the parking lot!