Looking Glass

 Cautiously optimistic is the phrase my daughter has used often of late. Her term is revolving around a pending meeting with her father, of whom she hasn't seen for about 15 years. She was a 14 year old sophomore the last time she saw him, my eldest was 15 1/2 and on the verge of learning to drive. My youngest son was in 8th grade at this time of the separation and divorce from my alcoholic husband. For whatever reason, since he couldn't have control of us anymore, he disappeared from our lives, his family's lives and the community, to pursue a life of hidden, who knows what.  Over the past few years, when my daughter Googled him, all that seemed to turn up was a rap sheet of him being jailed for "Possession of Illegal Drugs". She spent more time the year prior to her wedding searching for him as this was another milestone in her life he was going to miss, and she wanted to at least tell him so. She has gone through many emotions, as they all have, during ...

More Items 6. Help Brian with his Construction business. 18. 800+ credit score. 27.Learn photography as a craft. 38.Work on a TV show like: flipping real estate, remodeling projects, design show. 52. Own a Jack Russell Terrier. 67. Get a boob job. 91. Be more forgiving and not hold grudges.

I am conjuring up some posts, but for now, here are a few more of my Bucket List items. I've actually added some to that personal list; I'm up to having 97 items rather than just 77. 2. Real estate License 11. Buy a new car 22. Establish three legs of retirement income 31. Learn how to refinish furniture 49. Raft a wild river again. 56. Have an amazing outdoor kitchen and outdoor fireplace 60. Learn Excel like a whiz 77. Meet psychic Theresa Caputo (Long Island Medium) 85. Be a "Big Sister" or a Foster Parent. 94. Grow a beautiful herb garden.

Even though I feel like writing so early on this Thanksgiving Day of 2014, I couldn't think of what to write. So I will simply share some more of my bucket list items. 8. Sell my paintings 16.Non smoker 26. Skydive 37. Increase muscle tone/6 pack 48. Corrective eye surgery 54. Have a Rembrandt, Monet & Van Gogh 66. See the Northern Lights/Alaska 73. Get paid to create newsletters for small organizations/businesses

 I try to be grateful for good things as they come along and for what I have. I have thanked God and lucky stars many times for having a solution to a problem materialize when I felt at a loss. Of course, like most humans, I take things for granted and get lost in the everyday tasks of survival and get caught off guard when these surprises of life actually do happen. Then, these surprises become pleasant reminders of gratitude which reinforce themselves into your conscious. Surprises help you wipe your eyes of self involvement and freshen your view to your surroundings. Surprises help you see a community of diverse individuals and pay note to the hardships each person bears and how they carry themselves through the track of hurdles and obstacles.  Please, always help me be grateful.  My surprise behind Door #2 came in the form of a phone call about three weeks ago. This was about a week after my ...

 October has been an interesting month for me and I have had some surprises bring a smile to my face. I've had a smile brought to my face for many precious moments that were shared with good people, safe travels and special occasions.  For starters, my birthday was in early October and my friend, Little Di, came down from Everett for the weekend. Neither of us has had free flowing money to spend, so our time spent together is usually by frugal means. We don't mind. We actually enjoy hanging out with each other and don't need to patronage casinos, restaurants, shopping malls or movie theaters to have fun. We actually accomplished some errands, walked through downtown Olympia, the local farmer's market and as usual, played a lot of nickel anti poker with wine at our side. When I was at her place the last two visits, I think I walked away $3-5 richer. It always surprises me when I beat her. This time we b...