Are You Ready To Grow?

comfort zone
— n
	a situation or position in which a person feels secure, comfortable,or in control:

We all have our comfort zone. We know what we do and we do it well. For some it's speaking to large groups of people.  For some it's organizing, whether it be for a large event or just our own little home. For some it's being with people. Doesn't matter what our comfort zone is. We are 'comfortable' in it and we don't want to venture outside our area of expertise. 

However, sometimes we are called to venture outside this area we deem acceptable. We are asked to do something that we think "No Way!  There is no way in the world that I can do that."  Doesn't matter what that 'that' is - we are pretty certain that it is beyond our capabilities. 

But, have you ever stopped to think that when you are called outside your comfort zone it may be God doing the calling?  Yes, that's right. God calls us to do things we may think we are not capable of doing. 

Are we capable? We must be if God is asking it of us. Does He expect us to be perfect the first time we attempt the new opportunity? No. He expects us to gain a little bit of confidence in our ability and to start to grow. The next time we are again asked to do this activity that is 'outside of our comfort zone' we will be a little more confident in ourselves. Thus our growth has started. And if God is calling you, He will prepare you. 

Sometimes the growth may lead us in a whole new path. Sometimes it may just be the opportunity to grow and share the Gospel in a new way. And every time you step outside that comfort zone you have set for yourself you will grow a little bit more. You will be more open or receptive to other areas outside your so-called comfort zone. And each new venture gives us new opportunities to open up and share. Each new opportunity gives us a new 'audience' if you will. Each audience is given to us by God.

Let's take advantage of these opportunities and audiences and use them to expand God's kingdom. And while we are expanding God's kingdom we will be growing ourselves. 

 How many opportunities for growing in Christ are passed up because we think 'No way!"  

Vacation Fun

Just got back from a beach weekend getaway.  I love the beach!!  

Gary and I were in need of a break - regroup and refresh.  So we headed to what has become one of our favorite places. Corpus Christi.  This is the third year we have spent a long weekend there. We invite all the kids and anyone who wants to join us does. Where we stay depends on the number of us going.  The last two years we rented a beach house just a block from the beach.

  Love that house.  Sleeps up to ten.  This year we didn't need as much room as only the Three Musketeers were going to be heading to Corpus.  That would be myself, Gary and daughter Charlie.  We call ourselves The Musketeers because for a period of about 18 months Charlie was the only child at home - thus making her an only child.  We Three Musketeers are the only ones who have made it to Corpus all three years.  

This year we rented a condo on the beach just the right size for us. Step through the gate and we are right on the beach!!  What could be better?  

Gary and I left a couple of days early and stopped in Austin and San Antonio on the way down. I had never been to the Alamo or the River Walk so we decided to tour both.  It was awesome!!  And we found totally fantastic restaurants in both cities. In Austin we discovered the Salt Grass Steak House.  Great steaks.  At the River Walk we ate a Mexican restaurant - actually the first restaurant on the River Walk.  

Then on to Corpus!   We stay in Corpus but always manage to drive over to Padre Island at least one day. We set up our cooler and chairs and hang out at the beach. There is just something about going out in the water and riding the waves.  This can be tricky for me though.  I am only 5 foot 3. Not real short but short enough to go under waves easily. Charlie is about 5 inches taller than me and Gary must be 9 inches or so taller. Needless to say - they can go out farther than I can and still touch bottom. 

The invariably talk me into going out farther and farther with the assurance that they will be there for me.  And their intentions are good.  But sometimes really big waves come along. And it is not uncommon for Gary to just throw me toward shore (and hopefully a little bit shallower water) when that extra big wave comes along and he knows he will have trouble keeping himself upright.  It only happened once this year I am happy to say.

Charlie and Gary both got sunburns. (I don't burn - just turn red then put lotion on and it tans). This led to a really fun time for us on Saturday night. We spent Saturday touring the USS Lexington which is right down from the area we stay at. Then after lunch we headed to the beach outside the condo. Charlie and I spent about 4 hours there enjoying the water and waves. Then after a late dinner at a really great steak/shrimp house we found we went back to the condo.

Remember me telling you about the sunburns that Gary and Charlie got?  Well, Charlie and I decided it would be fun to make a video on how to treat a sunburn. Watch the video so you will know what to do next time you have a sunburn. You can find it by going to the following link:  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10202399409607167

Just copy and paste the link above.  Hope you enjoy.  

Shortcomings

I read a lot of things regarding the issues that tall girls have. Let me tell you that short girls have similar issues.

I am in the 'short' category.  I'm 5 foot 3 inches tall.  I've been this height for most of my life. My twin grandsons used to call me "small grandma". Don't know where they got off thinking I was short - they are short for their age.  I've never thought of myself as overly short. My dad was like 6 foot 1 inch - why didn't I get some of that height?  I can relate to short people, though.  Let me give you a few examples of what we 'short' people have to deal with. 

We don't typically purchase anything that is on a high shelf. This can involve serious injury if you do. First off, you cannot actually read anything that might possibly be written on the packaging in regards to price or description. Should you decide that you might want to purchase it, you won't be able to reach it without standing on your tippy toes. Then you can only reach it if it is at the front of the shelf. If the item is not faced to the front of the shelf you are then required to purchase at your own risk. You might need to actually climb on the bottom shelf and reach as far back as you can with your fingertips to inch the can or box to the front of the shelf. Another option is to find something long (yardstick, flyswatter, anything) to try and inch the can or box forward until you can reach it. Another option, if the item is not to far back is the jump and scoot method. You jump up and reach back with your hand hoping to make contact and bring the item forward to a reachable area of the shelf. 

Jeans!!  It is impossible to find a pair of jeans (or pants or skirts, or basically anything) to fit. Let's just say that if you are short - you should become an expert at hemming. And yes, I know they have a section for 'petite'. Petite is typically for short women who weigh less than 120 pounds. So you either learn to hem your own clothes or become very good friends with someone who can do so for you. The other options would be to just cuff up your jeans (will not work for skirts or dresses) or just let them drag and walk on them.  

Storing items in your kitchen. You become very good friends with the bottom two shelves of your upper cabinets. Anything above that requires either stretching or climbing. Stretching will allow you to reach the third shelf possibly. After that you must climb. I recommend purchasing a step ladder and using it. If you are like me you will become an expert on climbing on top of the cabinet and walking along the counter top to reach items on the upper shelves. You must then decide on which option works best for you when it comes to dismounting from cabinet level. When I was younger I just hopped down. I am not as agile now as I used to be and actually have to contemplate the best way to leave cabinet level. 

The touch pads at check out lanes are also difficult to use. I have to stand on my tiptoes to read the screen and punch in my number or sign the box or whatever. They should design those things to move thus allowing people who might be under 5'5" the ability to tilt the thing down to a level that allows them to read it. I swear every time I use one of these I think of the time my dad remodeled our bathroom when I was a kid. He actually called me into the bathroom to check the height the sink should be at to make it easy for me to use. I'm sure the height I opted for was not convenient for him but I appreciated not having to stand on a stool to wash my hands. 

Shoes. Now being short does not affect your shoe size. But it is not uncommon for short women to wear heels. i used to and on occasion I still wear wedges.  I do this not to make myself taller but just because I love shoes and if I purchase a pair of heels or wedges it's because I really like the way they look.  Now, I recently purchased a pair of wedges. These were however, not just wedges at the heel but the entire shoe had a wedge of at least one inch with the heel of the shoe being probably two inches in height. 

I put the shoes on and wow!!!  I felt almost dizzy from the height!  And looking into the mirror was a whole different story. My face was not at the bottom of the mirror where I typically see myself. Weird!!  I've got to say though, that the weirdest part of wearing these shoes was picking something up off the floor. The floor was a loonnng way down. I don't know how tall people do this on a daily basis. I thought I was going to topple over just picking something up off the floor. 

I guess you get used to whatever you have to deal with whether you are short or tall. There are not to many people that make me feel 'tall' but there are a couple. Bottom line though as I like to say "my feet reach the ground just like yours.". 

Bittersweet Weekend

Let me tell you about my past weekend. I have Friday's off for the summer.  Remington and Lily of course were there. Gary was getting ready for work Friday morning and I asked if the kids were up yet. He replied no. Then he suggested I go crawl in bed with them and wake them up as that is what they like to do to me. So I did.  I crawled in - nudged them over - pulled the sheets up and lay down. They didn't budge.  LOL  

Finally Lily woke up. Looked at me - smiled and closed her eyes again.  I finally got them up and went to take my shower. Told them if they wanted doughnuts they better get around and get dressed. So we went and got our donuts and took some to Grampa at his store. They love the doughnut shop down the road from Grampa's store. Lily got a doughnut shaped and decorated like an ice cream cone. Remington got one decorated like Spider Man. He also got a bear claw. After eating our doughnuts with Grampa we went home and they watched TV while I did some housework. We spent some time in the pool that afternoon.

After bowling that night, Lily went to spend the night with her friend. Remington and I had a campout in the living room.  Grampa is an awesome fort builder. Check out the fort he made us.  It was awesome!  

Remington watched TV until about 11:30 or so then turned it off and after talking for a bit we went to sleep.  Saturday morning I made him his next favorite  breakfast - pancakes.  We spent a couple of hours in the pool again that afternoon.  Sunday afternoon Grampa was able to join us in the pool. So we spent another couple of hours in the pool.  Lots of sun, fun and games. We played Marco Polo. We swam - we had water splash fights. Just a fun time all afternoon.  So our weekend was spent with lots of laughter. love and fun. 

Here's where the bittersweet part comes in. We had a wonderful, fun-filled weekend then had to say good-bye.  K.C. and her family left today to move to Washington. While we are excited for them and the adventures they have ahead we are also sad. We wont' be having these fun weekends anytime soon. They are moving many many miles away - 30 hours to drive. Yes, we will still see them but not as frequently as we have become accustomed to.

We have been saying goodbye to our daughters and grandchildren for the past 18 years.  When our oldest grandson was not quite one Tarinda moved to Phoenix. That was hard - but we managed. We made visits, we made arrangements to meet in the middle and we remained a part of their live and have a great relationship with all our grandchildren in Arizona. 

It never is easy. We are happy for all our girls and their families and the lives they have. We know that each of them is living the life that is right for them but it doesn't make it any easier to say good-bye to them. So the tears always come with every good-bye. Today was no exception. 

Sometimes we already have a date in place when we know we will see them again and sometimes we don't. We do try to see them once a year if at all possible. In this case, we will be seeing K.C. and her family, as well as Charlie and Adam for a short short visit in late August when we fly into Seattle for our Alaska cruise. It will be a very short visit as no one lived in that area when we planned our cruise and activities for our time there. 

Interesting Pinterest

I will not get on Pinterest today.  

Wait, I just got a notification that someone sent me a pin!  How exciting!  and 3 people liked one of my pins and 2 new people started following me!  I'll just log in right quick to check out those notifications.  

Wait!  Where did the last hour and a half go?  I swear I wasn't going to get on there today but I was drawn in!  I could not help myself. And even though I was only going to look at notifications there was some really neat looking stuff on that first page when I logged in.  

I could not help myself.  And I really tried.  

It is amazing how much I have in common with my friends on Pinterest!  They know me so well!  They keep pinning things that they know I will like and in turn I send it to someone else and......  Well you know how it goes.  I find so many things for so many people - so I send them a Pin.  It's like sending out little gifts to people I like.

So I have just checked my Pinterest account.  I have 42 different boards to express my interests. I have pinned 2,748 pins.  I have 131 followers (some of them I don't even know but they obviously think I am pretty cool from what I pin and they want to be a part of it). 

I have boards ranging from Christmas, to Cooking, to Funny, to Sayings, to Want to Try. You can name your boards whatever you want, and, there is no limit to the number of boards you can have. 

According to my boards, I am extremely witty, very artistic, an amazing cook, extremely socialable , not very healthy or motivated though.  I have an amazing sense of decorating and my house looks like a magazine cover - at least my centerpieces and tablescapes are total masterpieces.  And the napkins I can fold rival a cruise ships.  Yep, I am truly amazing according to Pinterest. I could throw a Tea Party that the Queen of England would want to attend. 

My house at Christmas time should be featured on a show all by itself.  And don't you know that every one of my friends receive special gifts for the holidays that I have made myself. I even go so far as to create special soaps and scrubs for my lady friends for Mothers Day and Valentine's Day. Yes, indeed - I am the best!

Now for reality...

My house is fine. I do decorate over much at Christmas but I don't see any reporters beating at my door wanting to do an expose' on my decorating tips. And yes, I have some centerpieces I do that I think look quite nice but they have never been featured on a magazine cover.  

Those Household Hints I pinned? Well, I have tried some of them and they worked but I can never remember exactly what I'm supposed to do when I want to use the hint. So, I have to log into Pinterest to get the directions and ....  Well, you know what happens then.  

Cooking and Food -- 264 pins.  What do we eat? Not a new meal every single night that's for sure. (And that doesn't include my board for Crock pot Recipes or Pasta Dishes or Drinks or Appetizers). We have tried some of the recipes and the ones we have tried we have definitely enjoyed and they have been added to the rotation of meals we use.  Tried and true recipes. And while we do have pretty great Family Reunions - they are no where near as awesome as my board would lead you to believe. 

For all those people who, like me, get sucked in to Pinterest -- Enjoy!!!  

Nail-tastrophe

Saw this picture on Facebook and thought how cool these nails looked.  The description sounded pretty easy so I decided to try it out.  They said to put random drops of nail polish in water, swirl with a toothpick, coat your hands with Vaseline and dip hands in water.  Two things I learned right off the bat.

      THEY LIED!!!
     
      DO NOT TRY THIS ALONE!!

I got everything ready, bowl of water, nail polishes, toothpicks, paper towels Vaseline.   I was all ready to make my nails look totally awesome!

Polish in water, coated my hands with Vaseline and swirled the polish with a toothpick.  I should have known I was in trouble when most of the polish clung to the toothpick but no, I proceeded to dunk my nails in the water. I brought them out and thought, "Hmmmm, I may have a problem here."   

Yes, that is nail polish all over my fingers. I asked Gary to get me a paper towel as I had neglected to tear any off the roll prior to the start of this ordeal.  Gary looked up from TV and started laughing hysterically.  He did pick up the roll of paper towels but was laughing way to hard to tear me off one (or two or three). I finally told him to quit being a ding dong and give me a paper towel. That's when son-in-law Michael thought it would be real cute to pick up the Hostess Ding Dong off the coffee table and offer me a Ding Dong.  Thanks for being so helpful.  

I finally get my hands cleaned off but still want to try this. So I decided that maybe the water should be hotter to keep the polish from clumping together.  Made perfect sense when I thought it through.  Still not the best results (although this time I did have my paper towels tore off the roll and didn't have to ask Gary).  

By now, K.C. has come home and suggested maybe less water in the bowl.  Sure, I'm game, let's try it.  

Well, as you can see I still had a mess.Good thing K.C. was there. Now this is why you should not try this alone. K.C. took polish remover and started cleaning my fingers off. First she had to get all the polish off the back of my fingers, then she had to use Q-Tips and clean around my nails. 

All I can say is Thank goodness K.C. was there.  There is no way that Gary would have helped me with this.  

Now we get a picture of the finished product,

As you can see, not quite like the picture this blog started out with.  I have one nail that turned out like I wanted, a couple that are kinda okay but most are just blobs of polish.  

Now, let's get to the next day. K.C. and I had made plans to get pedicures.  We went to the usual place we use and was told that they would be right with us, "pick your polish".  As we are 'picking our polish' they tell us which two seats to go sit in.  We proceed to the appointed seats and sit down. Someone immediately starts the water in K.C.'s and she commences to soak her feet. 

I sit. And sit. And sit.

 They check K.C.'s water and adjust it. They come by and collect polishes, etc. I continue to sit. And sit.  After 10 minutes or more I tell K.C. 'let me get you a towel to dry your feet and we can go across the mall to that other spa place.'  

Well, that certainly got their attention.  "I be right with you. I'm coming."  K.C. tells them that I've been waiting and waiting. "I come now" the lady says. "You be next".  K.C. and I walk out and straight across to the next salon where we are immediately shown to our seats and receive prompt service.  

As my technician starts working on my feet she asks if I want my nails done.  Really?? Do they look bad?  LOL  I tell her no just my toes.  I just did my nails last night - tried something new. It wasn't quite what I wanted but that was okay.  

To give you an idea of how bad my nails must have looked the girl says "Do you at least want me to remove that polish for you?"   

Okay I admit it didn't turn out right. I have decided that I am going to do some Google research and find out the proper technique and try this again.  And next time I see something really cool on Facebook, I will research more before trying it out.

Reminiscing

My brothers and I are separated by many miles, unfortunately. However, we are able to share our lives with each other via phone calls and texts.  I LOVE texting.  Depending on what mood we are in we might just chat but sometimes, we reminisce.  I decided to share a few of the reminisces.  Now some of these are mine and some are my brothers but put them together and it's our childhood memories. What could be better?

If you knew my dad you know that he loved to work on things. We had a house that was built into a hillside. The entire south side of this house was a drive through garage. This was pretty neat to play in on days when it was to rainy to go outside. It was also a neat place for my dad to keep all kinds of tools and other 'fun' stuff.  I loved his tools. He had neat things.  I especially loved his wooden rulers that folded.  We weren't supposed to bother them but I broke several.  

Dad loved to work on things and it was not uncommon for him to be working on a car for one reason or another. Dad didn't like the cold and if it was even a little bit cold outside for him, he would take the engine out of the car and bring it inside to work on. Not sure how Mom felt about that but I don't really remember her complaining. 

 Now, as I said, we had a drive through garage, so you know it was pretty good sized. Did my dad park his car inside in the winter?   No. He was usually working on some sort of project involving carpentry. So the garage would have table saws and such set up in the middle. Back then cars could be plugged in to keep the engine charged up and ready to go when it was cold outside. I am sure he was the only person with a garage who parked his car outside and plugged it in to keep it running in the winter!  

I had an uncle, Harold, who served in the armed forces. I believe he did a stint in the Air Force then took some time off before re-enlisting in the Navy. Now during his time off, he drove for the Greyhound Bus Company. He would keep his car parked at Grandad Kern's when he was driving. One time Uncle Harold came in on the bus and called Dad to come and pick him up.

The bus station at that time was down town on the square and there was a bar either at the station or nearby.  It seems that they decided to have a beer before heading back home. Well, one beer turned into several and they decided it was not a good idea to drive home. So Dad called Mom to come and get them. Why he did this is beyond me as mom did NOT drive, which is probably a good thing for everyone. What did Mom do? She called the taxi to go pick them up. The taxi was run by Vic and Erma (I believe that is the correct name) Hendren.

Well, it seems they didn't want to go home with Erma so she had to go to our house to pick Mom up to take her to the bus station to fetch Dad and Uncle Harold home! Only in a small town would that happen.  LOL  

I also remember Dad always talking about Granny Lake's cooking.  Now Granny was a good cook. I loved her macaroni and cheese!!  She made excellent pies, too. Mom made a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and Dad made the comment, "good, but not as good as Lake's"  Probably wasn't a real smart thing for him to say as Mom did not make pumpkin pie for him again for a veeerrry long time. Unknown to him, Mom had Granny Lake make a pie and they tricked him and passed it off as one that Mom had made. So for Thanksgiving, Mom brings out the pumpkin pie. Dad again made the comment, "good, but not as good as Lake's".  He never again got pumpkin pie at our house.   

Yes, it's fun sharing these memories with my brothers and laughing together. I'm glad that we are able to share our childhood this way.  Hope you enjoyed the stories and keep checking my blog, you never know when I'll post more.