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Patriotism

September 13, 2010 by Shanna Hatfield

Word of the Week: Patriotism

pa·tri·ot·ism

pey-tree-uh-tiz-uhm

– noun

love, support, and defense of one’s country; national loyalty

“The parade attendees offered a wonderful display of patriotism.”

This weekend, Hubby and I went to a parade. I have to say, it was one of the most organized I’ve ever attended.  There were floats, bands, old cars, more horse entries than I’ve ever witnessed in one parade, and lots of smiling, happy people. The parade began on a great note with the majority of the military entries leading the parade.

As a burst of fireworks signaled the beginning of the parade and the entrants started down the street, you could see wave after wave of the crowd rise to their feet, take off their hats and honor  the American flag as it passed by. Those carrying the flags – members of the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars, the National Guard, active service members, and police officers – all received the same respect and honor. It was one of those moments that squeezes your heart, brings a tear to your eye and makes you so grateful to be living in this great country.

I’m glad we were there to see not only the parade, but to be a part of the warm feeling of patriotism that filled the crowd.

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He

September 10, 2010 by Shanna Hatfield

He

Captain Cavedweller

My Hubby

The One who …

Makes me laugh

Keeps me grounded

Encourages my dreams

Likes me when I’m being ornery

Loves me unconditionally

Melts my heart almost daily

 

Especially when his Mom shares photos like this one. Nice haircut!

He is celebrating his birthday today. Birthdays, after all, are very special days. Ask my Aunt Robbie. She’ll tell you it is the one day out of the whole year that is yours. When everyone gets to celebrate you. So today, we are celebrating Captain Cavedweller.

You know, when you are young and goofy in love and just starting out in married life, you really have no idea the kind of person your chosen mate will be 10 or 15 years down the road. You hope for the best and live life one day at a time. Then you wake up one day and realize you are married to a pretty special person.

The kind of person who stands and listens patiently to little old ladies He’s never met before chatter on about their cats, cooking, or craft projects because they are lonesome and just want someone to talk to. The kind of person who stops to help a stranger change a flat tire even when He is bone-tired and rain-soaked. The kind of person who is a kid-magnet because He gets down on their level, doesn’t talk to them like babies and joins in their fun. The kind of person who can make just about anyone laugh but also knows when a strong shoulder to cry on is what is needed most. Or the kind of person who knows when you need a nudge to hurry along or a warm hand to hold while He brings your frenzied run down to a walk.

You don’t think about all those things when you are starting out marriage, but you think of them as the years go by and you feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for loving and being loved by such a special person. I  am so very blessed and grateful for my hubby. My Captain Cavedweller. He.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Babe! Love ya!

Your Girl

P.S. Hubby’s favorite cake on the planet is homemade carrot cake. We’ll be enjoying a slice tonight. Give it a try – you’ll be glad you did!

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Hubby, Musings | Tagged , , | 10 Comments »

Yard Sale

September 9, 2010 by Shanna Hatfield

I freely admit I took leave of all my sense and held a yard sale last Saturday. I positively hate doing yard sales. And, conveniently, Hubby had to work, so I did it by myself.

Boy, talk about a way to make sure you don’t have a fun weekend, that would be it.

Every three to five years, we find that we’ve accumulated enough junk that it has taken over not only our storage area, but also our home and nearly our lives. Something has to be done with it. So I decide to hold a yard  sale and clean things up. The reason they are few and far between is that it takes me that long to recover from the last one and forget entirely how much I dread doing them.

This one wasn’t any different. It starts with the pricing and sorting. How much should you charge for something you no longer want? Something that really is of no value to you anymore?  Then you have to make signs, place ads, acquire tables, and hope that it doesn’t rain because you are having a yard sale, not a garage sale.

The night before the yard sale, I woke up in the middle of the night to hear rain beating down and thunder ripping through what would otherwise have been the peaceful quiet of the night. Getting up at an hour no sane person would be out of bed, I remembered we had placed a few things out the night before. Sure enough, they were all soaked. That made for a great start to the day. Rushing around madly, we got everything set up, signs strategically placed around our neighborhood and Hubby on his way to work. Then I sat waiting for the customers to flock in.

Only they didn’t.

By 9:30 I think approximately 3.5 people had stopped by. My profit at that point wasn’t even going to cover the cost of the poster board I used to make the signs.

Then the floodgates opened and I had more people in my yard than I could handle and all of them were asking questions at the same time.

By 11 a.m. I was pretty sure I never wanted to hear the word yard sale again as long as I lived. By noon, the last shoppers were leaving and I quickly packed up the leftover loot and hauled it off to my favorite donation center.

By 4 p.m., the yard sale debris was completely contained and I was ready to collapse in a heap.

If you missed this one, watch for another in about 2014. I think by then I might be recovered enough to decide I can do this again.

Posted in Musings | Tagged , | 3 Comments »

Great Source for Books

September 8, 2010 by Shanna Hatfield

My Wednesday Shout-out this week goes to my friend Norita and an amazing company she works with as an independent consultant.

If you haven’t yet discovered Usborne Books, check them out here. You can get really nice quality books that your kids are going to love at a price that won’t make you bananas when they spill their juice box all over it.

There are books for all ages, from activity and learning books to books your youngsters can read just for fun.  They even offer books in Spanish and have seasonal selections as well.

Thanks, Norita, for introducing me to these wonderful books!

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