Thursday, February 20, 2014

Busy, Happy Life!

Life has been full and busy and wonderful around here!  I'd love to blog more about it but much of what's been going on has been busy-ness and preparations.  That's not always blog worthy.
However, some of the things we've been working on are definitely blog worthy.

One of those things occurred last weekend...my daughter's junior harp recital.
She's been working for over a year on some of the pieces she performed.
And, we've been working for months on the details.

It took place on Saturday evening in a recital hall of the university she attends.
She did a spectacular job!  Her many, many hours of hard work and practice made her shine.


I was so happy for her about how it turned out and so proud of her.
She's never performed better or looked more beautiful!


The event was recorded and she's hoping to post it on YouTube
for everyone to see who wasn't able to attend.  I'll be sure to post a link when it's up.

I've been keeping up on my minimum five days per week workouts of running.
It gets tough sometimes and I've thought about figuring out another short term incentive
but my pace time improved this week and that feels really good.
I'm trying to keep with regular weight workouts too of at least once or twice a week.
And, whenever possible, I like to break it up with something different and extra fun like a hike or
bike ride.  Hubby and I went mountain biking on Valentine's Day morning.  :-)

Speaking of Valentine's Day....look what my sweet hubby gave me....


I was so excited when I opened the box!  I fell in love with this belt at Boot Barn last November.
Hubby and I were doing some boot shopping there a few weeks ago and I showed it to him and oogled over it.  He went back a couple days later and got the very last one...
which happened to be my size.  I'm normally not a glitzy type of person but I love this!
I think it's so pretty!  Hubby and I go line dancing sometimes and I think it'll be perfect for that.
I can't wait to wear it out on the town!  :-D

For those of you who've been following my blog and wondering how my husband's grandparents are doing....they're doing great!  Grandpa was moved to a place that could assist in his care around the clock.  He celebrated his 94th birthday while he was there.  He told us that he had a gift for all of us...that he was going to walk.  And, he did!  Here he is walking down the hall to his party...


He had lost so much weight that his pants weren't staying up.
So, my father-in-law held them up for him and stayed close by in case he needed assistance.
Amazing!  He hadn't walked in at least a month and we almost lost him weeks earlier.

He hadn't been eating much for weeks and weeks.  It was amazing that he survived that!
He literally lived off very little bits of juice and "Muscle Milk".  He had refused to eat.
But, just before his party, he had started eating a little bit of real food.
Some of his favorite foods were brought to the party and he couldn't wait to dig in.
He had a piece of shrimp cocktail in his hand before he was completely scooted up to the table!
He had some of my mother-in-law/his daughter's famous marinated mushrooms too.
And, of course, he had to have a beer!  He was one happy Grandpa!


Here's Grandpa and Grandma together that day.
Such an inspiring couple.  Married about 72 years and still very much in love.


They decided they needed to move closer to the family and bought a house here.
We got grandma moved in and that inspired grandpa so much that within a week he improved enough to go home!  Since then, he's gained over 20 pounds back and is feeling better and better.

I accomplished something this week that's been on my to-do list for a while.
I studied the California handgun safety booklet on Monday and took the test.
I got every single answer right...100%...and now have my handgun safety certificate!  Woot!
I've shot rifles before...even did some biathlons years ago.  That was SO much fun!
They weren't the cross country skiing type...they were run, shoot, run shoot, run.
We live in Southern California and there's not a lot of snow around here.
I wish they still had those races!  Anyway, I've been thinking it's time to get a handgun.
So, now I'm legal to buy one.  I plan to learn a lot about it and start going to a local shooting range.

I've been doing more knitting and crocheting lately.  Yay!  I finally found some patterns that I like.
I posted the mohair shawl last week.  I started knitting a hat too.  I'll post more about it when it's big enough to get a good look at it (it's made with sock yarn and size 2 needles...so, it takes a while).

I've been working on some other exciting stuff and I'll post about it when I can.

Just one more week to enter my Grow Your Blog Party give-away.  How's the party been going for you?  My blog following grew a lot last year from the party but has hardly grown at all this year.
But, it's been fun to visit lots of blogs and hear from lots of new people.  :-)  The give-away is still on...every comment posted on my blog (comments left on Facebook don't count) for the month of February and every follower will be entered to win.  There's about a week left.
I'll pick a winner on March first!  :-)

17 comments:

Art and Sand said...

Your daughter looks beautiful posed by her harp. I really would love to watch the You Tube video. I love the sound of the harp and think I commented once that we know a wonderful young harpist in town and love to go listen to him when he has a local gig.

Susan said...

Your daughter is gorgeous! I'd love to watch the YouTube video. How wonderful that your husband's grandpa is back home! There is nothing like recuperating in your own home, surrounded by those you love.

Andrea Ostapovitch said...

What a wonderful post! You're daughter is stunning and I can't wait to see her performance.
What really made me smile is Grandma and Grandpa. It is such a beautiful thing to see a couple make it to that age and still be in love. Beautiful.

Cindie said...

Your daughter is stunning and I'll bet she played beautifully. Maybe you've posted before telling how she chose the harp - if so I'd love to know, such a beautiful instrument.

Delighted Hands said...

I can imagine how proud you are of your daughter; I'm sure she is as beautiful inside as out! So glad grandpa is doing better! That belt is very bling-ful!

Teresa Kasner said...

You should be very proud of your beautiful talented daughter.. I adore harp music and a lot of people hire harpists for weddings and such. It's a great skill! Your belt gift is so pretty.. what a romantic hubby you have! Congrats on your grandpa!
((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Shirley said...

Your daughter is so pretty and I know that you are proud of her. It is so encouraging when you see someone walking again that hasn't for a while. My hubby is in PT trying to walk again, but remains to be seen. Wonderful accomplishments in your exercising. Have a great day. Hugs and Prayers from Your Missouri Friend.

Sandy O' said...

What a wonderful time you are having! Enjoy every second. I'm starting to increase my bike mileage. And I've lost 5 lbs! There's some life left in this girl yet!

judith said...

WOW you weren't kidding about HAPPY. Can't wait to see the video of your beautiful daughter. I'm proud of you and your workout regime. Nice belt and dancing the night away is a great workout. And then there's the 'Grands'... that's awesome! Nothing like a nice beer to spark the appetite.
Keep it up girl!

Anonymous said...

Such an inspiring post about your husband's grandparents! We can learn so much from people who have endured for so long.
So glad you're doing so well!

Sarah and Dan said...

Love the harp!! What a talent!

Mereknits said...

Your daughter is stunning, absolutely beautiful. So glad she was happy with her performance, after all that hard work that is all you can ask. So glad about Grandpa getting better, hugs to you,
Meredith

Quinn said...

Congratulations to your daughter on this milestone accomplishment! And such an elegant visual "arrangement" - your photographs are perfect. I'll look forward to the link to the recording!
Also, congratulations to your Grandparents, on your Grandfather's improvement!!
Glad to read so much good news :)

simply bev said...

How wonderful that your daughter plays the harp! I had the opportunity to play with an Irish harpist recently and her beautiful sounds just blew me away!

benita said...

What a wonderful amount of news you have. I cannot wait to hear your daughter play and am looking forward to the Youtube link.

72 years married! Good for them. I wish them many more.

I've shot a pistol once in my life, and I'll stick with rifles.

Nice belt! Lucky you who has a hubby who actually pays attention to what you want.

September Violets said...

I've been doing a bit of catching up this morning. You have been one busy gal! Your daughter is stunning in that gorgeous dress & hair style ... a harp makes such a wonderful prop for a photo :) Congratulations to your grandfather's 94th birthday!! I think it's wonderful that he and his wife are still able to live on their own, and the fact that they're still together is such a gift. Your grandmother is beautiful and they make a handsome couple. Have a great week Cheryl! Wendy x

KarenB said...

It's so wonderful to hear that your husband's Grandpa is doing so much better! Incentive sure can make a difference! I'd love to check out Lauren's video. And gun? You are just full of diverse interests aren't you! So, I've decided I don't want to meet you for lunch if you are being so disciplined and running and all. I'm not. Boo.