My REAL Journey

2017

2017-02-09T14:22:00.000-06:00

When we do away with values we find ourselves no longer sure of right and wrong. How does one establish wrong when the yardstick can no longer measure principles? In a society where no one gets measured, there are no giants.

Overcome

2016-11-17T11:02:00.002-06:00

The United States is the ONE place in the world where every person has a voice in the democratic process. Regardless if the candidate I voted for won or lost, I had a voice in the process.

I've never seen this type of hatred throughout America, whether it be on television, in conversations in our local communities and especially on social media. There has been racism and bigotry for centuries but it's different when you have people in leadership roles that empower people to think it's acceptable to have an intolerance against those who have differing beliefs than he does.

I believe in the good of the human race. And I truly believe there are so many incredibly good people in this world who are overlooked because of the antipathy that is spreading in our culture and even worse, this xenophobia mentality is becoming accepted. There seems to be a "good vs. bad" outlook in our nation.

We need to find our voices to speak out. We cannot be silent against the shift in our culture. This is not a game. This is our real life and we need to be a part of the change toward understanding, acceptance and benignity of other's differences from our own.

I refuse to let other's hate and ignorance stop me from doing what I know to be right.

Rain Rain Rain

2016-09-27T15:14:00.000-05:00

The final day of our sister trip was my favorite day. It rained all day. It was amazing.

There is something incredibly picturesque about people scurrying about with colorful umbrellas.

As if Venice needs more mystery about it, the steady rain changed the mood of the days before.

The morning found the streets less crowded which was a welcome sight after the throngs of people we'd seen to this point.
By afternoon however the tourists had realized the rain wasn't going to stop so the narrow streets became quite busy again.

Rain was the ultimate compliment to the last day of our adventure.

Work Break

2016-09-24T14:56:00.000-05:00

This is what a work break looks like in Venice.

Electricity

2016-09-23T17:15:00.000-05:00

Italy has strict regulations on electricity which means that you can't run two appliances at the same time.

We did laundry every evening - 1. because my sister loves to do laundry (true story) and 2. because after walking a million miles each day we were sweaty and stinky.

One night we had the washer going and Shell popped some pasta sauce in the microwave. Didn't even give it a second thought. A few seconds later all the lights went out and we were in total darkness. Shell found her phone and we trekked down two flights of stone steps by the light of the phone to find the breaker box to the apartment. Italian breaker boxes do not look like the ones we're used to, at least this one didn't. Thankfully each breaker box had the name of the owner on it so we knew which one to mess with.

Shell found her way back up to the apartment while I pushed buttons hoping the lights would come back on. It took us a few minutes to figure it out but we got the lights back on and went about the evening.

Memories!

Sister trip

2016-09-21T08:07:00.001-05:00

Take a sister trip - or a sibling trip.
Don't let those excuses delay you. 'When the kids leave home we will..' 'When I retire we will...' 'When it's better timing at work we will...'

Relationships take work, even relationships with your family. Maybe even more so because we tend to take those relationships for granted. Relationships evolve as we get older.

It can be something crazy fancy or a camping trip in the mountains or just lock yourself in your house for the weekend and talk.

Although the location was amazing, the truth is, the location wasn't what mattered when my sister and I took our trip. It was the experience of spending time with my sister as two adult women. As sisters one would think we know everything about each other but that's not the case. We each learned something new about the other. Spending time with your adult sister is so much different than growing up sisters as kids.

This is on the island of Torcello. It's only a few minutes from the island of Venice but has an entirely different atmosphere. Very few visitors and hauntingly quiet. In pre-Medieval times Torcello was a powerful trading center. In the 12th century malaria hit the island causing people to abandon the area. Currently there is a population of only 10 people.

Points!

2016-09-02T13:04:00.001-05:00

If your credit card doesn't have 'points' that build up, find one that does.

We are funding the flights to Venice on points!
Two round trip tickets to Venice for zero dollars. No cost. Just used points!

Never Underestimate Your Boss

2016-09-01T16:43:00.004-05:00

August is my favorite month. First of all (and most importantly) it's my birthday month. Actually my sister, Shell, and I share August birthdays. As kids there were many years where we would start school on one of our birthdays. I loved that.

Why is it that once you reach a certain age there are no more birthday parties and the birthday day seems to lose a bit of importance? I don't know either but that's just not right. Birthdays are a big deal! There's that ONE day in the year that belongs to YOU. That ONE day where your existence made the world a different place. That's worth a celebration! So this year I decided to do something a bit different for my sister (and myself) for our birthdays.

How does someone use vacation days without them knowing they'll be using vacation days?

That's the question I asked my sister's boss last May. 'Hmmmm..... well I'm not sure' was the answer.

I explained to her boss what I had in mind and after some fandangling of the vacation calendar, her boss was on board with 'the plan'. I wouldn't say a word about it to anyone. The fewer people that knew, the safer the secret would be. From May to August is a long time to keep a secret.

So...recently, without her knowing I was in town, I walked into my sister's office at work. (Of course her boss knew I was coming and was in Shell's office when I got there). Shell was more than surprised to see me there and was worried something was wrong.
No, nothing wrong. I just thought I'd stop in and give you a birthday card.

(I could tell Shell was thinking -what in the world?)

Inside the birthday card were two tea bags, which may seem strange to most people but my sister drinks gallons of hot tea with vinegar. (yes, it's as disgusting as it sounds). So she took the tea bags out and says, 'ok'. At this point she is completely at a loss for what is going on. :)

I told her to look inside one of the tea bags - where I had placed a 5 Euro bill and a post it note saying, "You and I are going back to Venice."

When I tell her we don't have long before we leave I thought she may pass out. ha! She immediately says she needs to check the vacation calendar to see if those days are available and I nonchalantly respond, "We already have that covered."

My sister looks at her boss and says," You knew? I can't believe you knew!" It was a great moment.

So, in just a short time we are headed back to Venice. Just Shell and I. We can hardly wait.

:)

2016-08-31T21:30:00.001-05:00

In Your Timing Lord

2016-08-14T21:23:00.001-05:00

Today we had lunch with friends we hadn't seen in over a year. It was so nice visiting with them and catching up on things.

In discussing a concern I have they shared their thoughts on the matter and at one point said it depended on 'who I want to be' as to how I would deal with it.

At that moment I knew exactly what I needed to do/or not do and how God wanted me to handle it.

Thank you Lord for placing these friends in our life and thank you for working out this lunch date in your perfect timing.

EXPERIENCES

2016-08-13T19:05:00.000-05:00

Whether you visit a foreign country or visit a neighboring state you can uncover the differences in people and places. Traveling changes you. You’re different when you return. You always learn something new when you travel even if it’s something as simple as tasting a new food.

Travel experiences feed the soul. I don’t think of myself as a travel enthusiast but I do find myself being a ‘mental’ travel enthusiast. By that I mean I’m always thinking, “I wonder what it would be like to go to….” People fascinate me. Cultures fascinate me. History fascinates me. Travel has broadened my mind and increased my awareness of just how small I am in this world.

Granny

2016-08-03T15:58:00.000-05:00

When I first found out I would be a grandma I was adamant about NOT being called grandma. Far too many stigmas of ‘old’ people associated with that word. I tried out several other non-stigmatic words so as not to place myself in the proverbial rocking chair.

In the end, I decided that Nana fit the bill. Try as we might, Nana simply didn’t sound right nor did it fit me. Next, we tried Granny, which I was comfortable with. (I know, Granny was ok, but Grandma was not. Geez.) So I called myself Granny…right up to the moment our first grandson said Grandma. And that was all it took. In an instant I was known as Grandma Nae. If that’s what it felt like to be called Grandma, then it was okay with me.

Having raised two daughters, it would have been hard to convince me that our first four grandchildren would be boys. And I will tell you right now that boys are certainly different than girls. Boys talk about farts (all the time) and they laugh about farts (all the time) and they cannot walk into the room and simply sit down. They have to run into the room, spin in a circle and hit their brother then dive onto the couch and throw a pillow on the floor. And all that is in the first 30 seconds of entering the house. (I’m guessing that our granddaughter is going to pick up on many of these things soon.) ha!

I will say however that many of the things that come out of their mouths are incredibly cute.

*The other day I told the 3 year old that I was going to take a shower and he leaned over and smelled my arm and said, “Why? You don’t stink.”

Good to know. ha!

*The same 3 year old grandson always tells me, “You’re my best friend.”

I just wish I could bottle up the feeling in my chest when I hear him say that.

Someone asked me once if being a grandma made me feel old. Well…it doesn’t make me feel young. Being a grandma can be hard work. All those kickball games, reading the same book 5 times in a row, dishing up ice cream for five grand kids and giving kisses faster than they can wipe them off. Whew! But somehow I manage.

Grateful 365

2016-08-03T12:08:00.000-05:00

This morning was cloudy and overcast and for one split second I thought Maybe they missed the forecast today so I opened up the window on the back door to let in a little cool air.

Window opened - window closed. Nope. They did not miss the forecast. Ugh... 90% humidity.

For all those who are longing for cooler temperatures..... *sigh*

Grateful 365

2016-07-21T15:49:00.000-05:00

We don't all believe the same but you can trust what you believe.

2016-07-08T16:54:00.000-05:00

We are not born knowing how to hate. Hate is learned.

That means that someone has to teach hate.

One only need watch the daily news to see how hate has taken a foothold in the fiber of our everyday lives.

In reality there will always be hate in the world. What I do not understand is why so many people continue to spread hate and negativity. Why do people ‘share’ unpleasant stories, hateful comments and hurtful words on social media?

Recently, on Facebook, people who I’ve always thought highly of have been posting condemning and denigrating remarks about the presidential candidates. I don’t understand the purpose in that.

It’s us, as Americans,that have put these people in the positions they are currently in. The democracy that makes the backbone of this nation permits us to voice our opinions and for that I’m grateful. I only wish we would voice our opinions in a more positive manner.

God Bless the U.S.A.

2016-06-30T06:59:00.000-05:00

We've added one more thing to our new home and it may be my favorite to date. We placed the American flag in our front yard and it is beautiful. There is something very special about this flag and what it stands for. On a minimal level it represents a great country. To a deeper degree it symbolizes the story and events that shaped our nation; along with the values and ideals that make America...America.
Most importantly to me, I see the history and dedication of the people who have come before me who have fought for the freedoms I have today. I don't take that lightly. I am, and will be, forever grateful to those who fight for the United States of America and allow me the privilege to celebrate in a free and democratic nation.

Over the next several days there will be numerous pictures of the American flag displayed on television and social media along with the sounds of fireworks in each of our neighborhoods. There will be neighborhoods lined with the colors of our nation. What a proud time for us all....

President Woodrow Wilson, 1917

This flag, which we honor and under which we serve, is the emblem of our unity, our power, our thought and purpose as a nation. It has no other character than that which we give it from generation to generation. The choices are ours. It floats in majestic silence above the hosts that execute those choices, whether in peace or in war. And yet, though silent, it speaks to us — speaks to us of the past, or the men and women who went before us, and of the records they wrote upon it.

NATURE'S BEAUTY

2016-06-27T10:54:00.002-05:00

EVERYONE HAS A STORY.....

2016-06-15T15:04:00.001-05:00

You may think your story is not 'worthy' of telling but it is.

Looks can be deceiving. I believe you are more than I see. I see you surrounded by your people...those with whom you laugh and joke. The outside world sees you as someone who smiles through adversity. But inside you feel faint and out of focus.

Strangers that you meet on the street or those who you follow in the check out line at the store. Each of them living with the complexity of their own charade. The charade so many of us uphold to meet the standards set by society. You plot the contours of your life but can't find the courage to color outside the lines.

How did society gain such a powerful grip on us?

It's strange how little of the real person we get to see. Strange how many excuses we can conjure up to explain the decisions we make...the decisions that will haunt us in the future.

It's strange how we envision the dreams of our future and yet the fantasies stay dormant inside your head.

JUNE??

2016-06-02T02:01:00.000-05:00

June? Really? Gosh, wasn't it January just yesterday?

Everywhere I look I see colorful summertime exploding. Peonies are blooming... Delicate iris clusters add texture to landscapes... Lilies are bursting open with hues only found in nature... Allium erupt in orbs of color....Isn't it wonderful?!

Last year I decided to put my own spin on the back yard so I pulled out an enormous amount of black-eyed susans and thousands of volunteer marigolds. It's going to look entirely different this summer but that was the whole idea. Every morning I can see changes in the yard with new flowers blooming and plants seemingly popping up overnight.
I've intentionally planted nearly all perennials in the yard simply for the ease of knowing they'll be back each year.

I find it fascinating that these beautiful plants can survive such cold Nebraska winters and then turn around and provide us with such beauty in the spring and summer.

Nature is a beautiful thing isn't she? :)

GRATEFUL 365 -- KNOWLEDGE

2016-04-30T16:10:00.000-05:00

It's 1:14 AM - My final paper on German Military History is Done and Submitted.
Whew! this one nearly did me in.

I spent most of the day yesterday working on my FINAL Holocaust paper. That one was much easier to write. I found the topic fascinating and I learned ten times more than I ever thought I would. There is so much more to the Holocaust than the concentration camps.

One book in particular was very disturbing for me. I read the first chapter and just had to stop. It was brutally graphic and although I know the topic is important to understand, I chose not to continue. The mental images I had of that time was more than I could handle.

This Holocaust class has taught me so many lessons on hate, love, fear, helplessness, desperation and how the 'ordinary' person is capable of the unimaginable.

German Military History, however, was a tough class for me. Maybe if I had taken it by itself I'd applied more time toward it but in this case it took a back seat to the Holocaust class. I did well in it, as far as grading goes, but I worked hard for that grade, let me tell you.

Today I met the morning with a bit of a skip in my step, knowing I'm d.o.n.e with all my papers.

Thanks to those who gave me a "pep talk" when I whined about all the books I had to read.
* And remember, M., you're next* :)

And thanks to my sister who vicariously lived through each week a paper was due, texting and calling to see how I was doing. She may be about as happy as I am that the semester is over. ha!

29 Books Later.....

Grateful 365

2016-04-13T16:28:00.000-05:00

Hi ~ My name is Renae and I'm a plant hoarder.

I have always loved plants but with this sun room on the new house I have lost complete control of my senses! There is no medical term for what ails me but I swear it gets worse every year. The difference now... I have more room for more plants. And now with the new plants and flowers coming out for Spring, I just cannot resist!

I told myself that the only way I'd get more plants is if I found a 'unique' or 'different' one.
Well, last week I visited a local nursery and of course I could not resist. It's like taking a kid to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory and telling her she can't taste the chocolate! It just can't be done.

Now who could resist this beauty?
Obviously not me!

One of my favorite finds at the nursery last week. A twisted celosia.

It looks like a brain to me.

I'm always looking for strange shapes or textures of leaves or maybe something that just catches my eye. (which is really any plant honestly.)

As always, I'm learning a lot about which plants you can cut off and stick in water to root or those whose roots can be broken apart to give to someone. It's crazy how some plants can drop a piece and you can just stick it in dirt and it grows! Which of course gives me more plants! Like I said...I have plant issues. ha!

Grateful 365 - bulbs

2016-04-10T21:38:00.002-05:00

Last fall I decided to try something new and planted a bunch of bulbs in the backyard. My idea is to have a little bit of color in my yard from early Spring through Fall.

This was my first experience with bulbs and I knew very little about them. I never messed with them before because I'd read about how people dig them up and lay them out on newspapers throughout the winter. No thanks... I know now that isn't the case with all bulbs. Basically, I received these dried up looking clumps in the mail and planted them. I did look at the projected heights of them and that was about all the "planning" I did.

Within the last few weeks I have all sorts of things popping up in the yard. Mother Nature is incredibly wonderful isn't she? I do know I have some tulips, some iris, lilies and some daffodils but I don't know the exact types. I had intended to write down each set of bulbs I planted but that didn't happen. Maybe I'll remember to jot it down as they bloom. :)

I am loving all the changes that are happening in my yard. It's remarkable how quickly these flowers are growing! There's so much change from one day to the next.

I can already tell it's going to be a learning process for me. The other day I was pulling weeds and dug up a bulb. Not sure what it was but it looks like a weed when it first comes up. ha!

Grateful for K.

2016-04-01T22:31:00.000-05:00

Friends are a rare thing.
I know.

I have two friends. Yes, exactly two friends that I can TRUST. Two people who I trust with my life.

Some might question, "Just two?"

To that I will answer, " The Best Two!"

I know that each of them will do anything for me - whatever it takes. Both just love me for me and they don't ask questions or make suggestions for change.They accept my quirky little rants on things I'm passionate about and they listen to the rants about my family.

Last week, I had a chance to share a quick get away with one of these sweet friends.
Thank you K. for listening to the stories that you've heard a million times before. And thank you for taking the time to simply spend time together.

K. had planned this adventure where we were going to spend a couple days in the mountains together to just have some girl time. Because I was heading to my daughter's following our 'adventure', we drove separately, which wasn't the ideal plan but in this case was necessary.

Because neither of us had been to this location before, K. downloaded driving directions. Oh gosh, this is where the laughs began. We followed those directions and unexpectedly ended up on numerous dirt roads. And these weren't just the ordinary dirt roads, these were red clay dirt roads with meteor-sized pot holes for miles.

I don't know how many times we pulled over to the side of the road to ask that proverbial question, "Is this right?" while revisiting those directions. Google maps sure does encourage the scenic route. :)

When we finally found the sign to our destination we both felt a bit of relief. Even when we met a guy on a snowmobile on the road we weren't too concerned.( that's not true, I was surprised to meet a snowmobile)

Did I mention the wind was howling and there was snow blowing across the road as we climbed the mountain? I just had to laugh because we could not have planned a better start to an adventure.

We pulled up to our final destination and couldn't find the office. Oh my gosh, it was so funny. K. wandered around a bit and finally knocked on a door that had a bear standing next to it, holding a "CLOSED" sign. The man pointed her in the right direction.
We checked in and were on our way...

We knew it might be a challenge when the gal told us, "You might want to get a running start to make it into the driveway to your cabin." But we did get to the cabin without getting stuck in the snow and lugged our bags through a couple deep drifts to the front door.

Blowing snow with gale force winds didn't stop us from bundling up and wandering around in God's lovely mountain design. We traipsed through some serious deep snow and enjoyed every single minute.What a wonderful day....

I've known K. for 26 years and yet I learned more about her. I discovered that she can play the piano and the guitar. I had no idea! And how in the world have I gone this long without knowing her middle name?

I can hardly wait until our summer adventure.

WOW

2016-03-16T22:10:00.000-05:00

Several weeks back my mom and sister were visiting. I had to run a few quick errands so mom decided to stay at the house. When we got back mom says, "Do you have anything in your garage that could explode?"

What? Well...not that I know of. Why?

Mom proceeds to tell us that she heard a big boom while we were gone.
I did go look in the garage in case there had been some type of explosion (ha), but thankfully I didn't find anything.

My sister and I guessed a bird had probably flown into the big window out front but mom didn't agree. Mom said, "Well that must of been one big bird!" *oh gosh, she makes us laugh*

Fast forward to a couple days ago when I was working in the office. I'm typing on one of my infamous German History papers, when I hear this 'BOOM'. I knew right away a bird had flown into a window. I looked out front fully expecting to see a bird that was seeing stars, but there wasn't one. Eventually I did spot a bird that had flown into the bathroom window. And the blind was closed so I have no idea why a bird would do that.

Well... this morning I opened the bathroom blind and this is what I see! OH...MY...GOODNESS... This is seriously the craziest thing ever!

A perfect imprint of the bird flying into the window!

It's kind of amazing but dang... poor bird.

GRATEFUL 365

2016-03-06T13:55:00.000-06:00

We have this amazing 'sun room' on the back side of our house which quickly became a selling point for me with my love of plants.
Recently, I planted some garden seeds and what a lovely surprise to see they are already sprouting!

Cucumbers are in the future!

And green beans are enjoying the warm sunshine as well.

At the end of last summer I had wanted to plant some tomato plants in the sun room but by the time I thought of it, I couldn't find any plants except a few yellow cherry tomatoes so I decided to try those. I've babied them along all winter and little by little they have shown some signs of growth. Once this sunshine began warming up the sun room though, those tomatoes have been happy happy happy. They are blooming!