Never overlook the joy of annual.....

I heard grown ups talk when I was a child about the days going by faster as you get older. I never believed them. Most of the time I just did not understand what they were discussing, but back in my day children were to be seen and not heard. Now? I TOTALLY understand what they were discussing! I didn't think getting old would go this fast!!!

This has been another tough year. (Like any year is not tough???) But this year has brought a lot of health issues and some battles against the Dragon of Depression. That Dragon has plagued me throughout the seasons, and although there have been victories, they have been scored through some major battles. I am about to cure myself of my depression.

The time has come to look forward to my annual trip to...DISNEYLAND!!! I am having a difficult time in the waiting aspect of this venture!!!

This year, I will do something I have never done before. I will go by myself. And while being alone has never before bothered me, I am curious as to how this will play out. For one thing, I am staying in a better motel then ever before. Usually, when I go with friends, I end up paying for everything, but this time, as I am by myself, I can afford to treat myself and so I am.

I am staying here. At the Anaheim Marriott Hotel.

The entrance is pretty dang spectacular.....

Here are some inside shots.....

Lobby

Front desk

Hallway to my room.....

 And my room looks like THIS.....

With my balcony.....

And my view....hopefully!

The hotel also has a Starbucks restaurant and marketplace...

Along with its signature restaurant and bar.....

And of course, the workout room for all of us who are SO inclined. (NOT me!)

And last but not least, the pool area.....which I will not be going in. Ever.

The last time I was in a bathing suit was back in 2002. My legs are blindingly white and I am afraid someone would call San Diego Sea World as one of their whales has shown up in the hotel pool.....

Now the big question. Can I actually afford to do this??? Well. No and yes. How you may ask??? By this little secret!

Get Away Today 

getawaytoday.com

I have been using this site for years to make my annual Disneyland trip magically go from a wish and a dream to a bonafide reality! And it is so much easier because they offer a layaway plan! If it were not for that layaway plan, believe me, I would not be able to do this.

So choose your desired time to go, type it in and get your deal! When you go to checkout, choose the "Set up layaway plan"  and pay a down payment of $125.00. A $50 set up fee will be added to the final cost, but BAM! There it is. The best thing is you do not have to make a monthly payment. You can pay whenever you want or can! The only stipulation is that the trip must be paid for 2 weeks in advance to your arrival. But if you are like me and plan your trip the day after you have left Disneyland from your previous trip, it gives you ELEVEN and 1/2 months, count 'em, 11 and 1/2  MONTHS to pay for your trip!

So what is included? Your hotel and your tickets to Disneyland! AND any other tickets you may want to purchase, such as, Sea World, Lego Land, Medieval Times, Universal Studios.....you name it, claim it and pay for it on a LAYAWAY PLAN!!!

Totally DOable! So I am totally DOING it!

My fav time of year at Disneyland has always been and will always be Christmas time. The decorations are simply mind boggling and spectacular! Many of the rides are fitted with a Christmas overlay, such as the Jungle Cruise becomes the Jingle Cruise. You have not lived until you see a HUGE elephant wearing a Santa Claus hat! The Haunted Mansion takes its cue from the movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and Jack Skellington, along with the entire cast can be found in the most popular ride!

I will be heading out for my Disneyland trip, certainly not soon enough for me! In the meantime, I will be using my blog here, to plan and dream and schedule each and every aspect of my adventure.

I hope you will come along with me!

In His love,
cate

On my Bucket List....

I have always had a fascination with the historical event of the Titanic.

Such a marvelous monstrosity of man's hubris! And such a sad outcome.

I loved all the movies I have ever seen on this tragedy. Try this link, you will be surpirsed!
Movies about the Titanic disaster

I cannot even imagine the horror of that night, but I think the Kate Winslet/Leonardo DiCaprio film allowed us a pretty realistic glimpse. When viewing all those people stranded in the water, it REALLY hit me. Up until then, it was just another story from a history book.

So THIS is my newest addition to my Bucket List.....

I can't wait to go!

Oh yeah. I'd totally do it.

Home today. 2nd day with my poor little body full of hives from who knows WHAT allergy. A trip to the Urgent Care because of breathing issues, steroid cocktail shot and still I look like some alien with bumpy skin. Not to mention the calamine lotion that makes me look pasty.

Yowza. I. Look. Great.

Guilty pleasures while itching myself to an early death.....

Chocolate.

Dr. Pepper.

Fabio.

Wait. What???

Yep. Young or old. I'll take him in any one of these fantasies!

I need more caffeine

Worship was SO great this morning. And then?????

Ever known someone whose voice simply lulls you to sleep? You are sitting there listening to that smooth as chocolate voice and suddenly you are dozing away.....hopefully not snoring.

He is a wonderful pastor. Such a tender heart and loves the Lord, a smiling, happy, smooth voiced man. Whose voice, unfortunately for me, lulls me to sleep each Sunday.

Know what I do for fun? I LISTEN to sermons by various preachers when I am in the house. Or in the truck for that matter. Where ever I am, I usually have that computer trained in to Charles Stanley, Dr. David Jeremiah, Kay Arthur, Jack Hibbs, Amir Tsarfati, Jon Courson, David McGee, David Hocking......I listen to them all when I am cleaning, sewing, gardening..... whatever I am doing!

I need to suck up the caffeine before I go to church..... I hope I didn't snore..... I hope I am not sleeping in church when the Rapture happens.....

Getting away with something WONDERFUL!

Such a beautiful Sunday!

I hope your Mother's Day Sunday has been as blessed as mine has been!

Just my luck...

A loooong time ago, I found a blog background that was just PERFECT. It had little girls in skirts and cowboy boots!

I am UNapologetically digitally scrapbookily challenged. Give me fabric and I can do whatever you want. Give me food ingredients and I can make you a meal that will make your mouth water. Give me an abused horse and I will give you a pocket-pony.

Give me a project of a blog background and you are in BIG trouble because I can't do diddly squat with it. And I am okay with that. Because God made people who can do that who LOVE to share their talent and I make great use of their lovely creativity.

So imagine my surprise when the blog background that I had gotten from Shabbyblogs.com simply disappeared from my blog. And of course, no matter how I try to get there, the site is unavailable, the facebook page message thingy is never answered. And I LOVED my blog background from them! It had little girls in cowboy boots! It was me! Totally me!

Alas! I had to go searching again. And I found a lovely blog background at The Cutest Blog on The Block. No little girls in cowgirl boots. But lovely roses on a barn background. Totally appropriate since I will soon start to put up a new shed row barn in these exact colors.

Pray for me.
I am praying for you.

"Think Romantical Thoughts"....Mike Wazowski

I love that movie. Monsters Inc, that is. They need to make more movies like that.

Good. Clean. Wholesome. Happy endings.

It has been some time since I have had time to write. Life moves so quickly these days and yet at times it seems to drag. I decided to write today for 2 reasons.

Today I witnessed "The MAJOR Drag".
Today I watched a most wonderful movie. (And NOT Monsters Inc.!)

So after church I changed, picked up my Buddy dog and headed for the feed store. And that is where I witnessed "The Major Drag".

Paying for my hay and layer crumbles, I then headed out to get loaded up in the hay yard and there were already 2 vehicles in front of me. That poor guy that was bucking hay had his hands full. As he was loading up the truck and trailer farthest from me, I had the UNpleasure of seeing and hearing what was going on at the other truck and trailer. And?

If looks could kill, that man would have been dead and he KNEW it once he looked at my face.

I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER thought I would be one who would stop believing in the magic and power of love, but let me tell you. My ex-husband killed that hope and magic in me and this guy just confirmed what I already reconciled myself to.

He is lucky I did not fly out of my truck and take him down. HOW DARE HE! If you take a person to spouse, you do NOT talk to them as though they were a dog. Holy snot. I don't even talk to my DOGS like that! Furthermore, why are YOU, the MAN, standing by the side of the trailer and watching, while your WIFE stacks the hay? And then you have the audacity to tell her she's doing it wrong? And make motions that you are going to slap her???

I pointed at him and said to my Buddy dog, quite clearly and loudly, I might add;

"And THAT is exactly why I choose NOT TO BE MARRIED."

He obviously heard me and looked up. And? He didn't even have the grace to blush. He just started yelling louder, as though that made what he was doing right. The man was a pig. Actually, scratch that. I don't want to insult pigs.

The little guy that was bucking hay came up to the window of my truck and told me he needed to finish loading this truck and trailer and get that guy out of here. I heartily concurred. Please. Get that creep out of here and do it quickly. Men like that need to get equal to what they are handing out.

Why is it people who are supposed to love you, feel they have the "RIGHT" to treat you like crap? Where is that written? Is it some sort of rule men learn in Man Class??? In all the years my parents were married, I NEVER heard my Daddy and my Ma talk like that to each other. Marriage is sacred, my Daddy always said, and women should be treated with respect and honor.

Good thing I was not that woman, because that man would have had a mouthful of my boot. She was in the perfect position to do so, but she never answered back. Just went on with what she was doing. By the time they were finally loaded and gone, the steam had stopped flowing out of my ears.

1 Peter 3:4 aside, while I held her in respect for not reacting in public to his treatment of her, after what I witnessed, I again reaffirmed that I will forever remain by myself. I think my Buddy dog and I do just fine together.

But this afternoon I turned on Hulu, (which is the only television I choose to have), and watched the most charming movie. Linda Hamilton in a 2006 movie called, "Home by Christmas". What started out as typical "Leave your wife for a younger woman" movie, turned out to be a "Testament to the resiliency, fortitude and creativity of a woman who was left for a younger and immoral bimbo" movie. They need to make more movies like this.

Good. Clean. Wholesome. Happy endings.
I loved it.

As strange as it may seem, this simple, predictable and silly movie, made me feel all the magic and hope that a relationship can bring to ones life. And how a man can either empower his woman or destroy her spirit, just as I witnessed in the Feed Store this day. I wonder why some men get it and others don't. It is the difference between  70 year marriages and a divorce before your 10th anniversary.

Marriage is hard work. It only takes one NOT working at it, to make it fail. I wonder if that guy will ever figure it out.

All I know is that if I am ever blessed enough to have another relationship, I would work for that magic. But at my age, meeting a nice guy holds the same odds as me being held as a bank hostage.

Think romantical thoughts y'all.