Saturday, January 22, 2011

Winter Wonderland

So this man of mine is military ~ A Soldier ~ one of America's finest ~ a hero.  He's also my partner in crime ~ the one that if I have one minute in one day to spend, I want to spend it with him.  So, imagine my delight when we were able to take a 3 week R & R together in December, 2011 - He came from Afghanistan, I came from Texas ~ and there we met ~ at Ramstein Air Force Base ~ (he's Army National Guard ~ But the Air Base is an amazingly hospitable place to lay your weary head during your travels!) ~ After a couple of Honeymoon "Get Re-Acquainted after 6 months" Days ~ our travels began!  What an amazing trip!

We ended our trip by spending New Year's Eve in Paris!  OOMG ~ I am 100% TOTALLY smitten with the Eiffel Tower!

My family ~ from way back when ~ is from the Alsace Lorraine region of France ~ I was thrilled beyond measure to
 be able to drive the Alsace Wine Route with the love of my life, stop in for some wine tastings, and just BE THERE!!

My Sweet, Sweet Honey Bunch of a Husband ~ I was so happy that he was SAFE, WITH ME, AND ABLE TO  ENJOY
many, many glasses of wine ~ it was so great to see him smile and relax after where he had been! 
CHEERS my love!

So much fun to do wine tastings in FRANCE ~ dream come true -
 this was the sweetest little winery in the heart of the Alsace Wine Route

Don't you just HAVE TO drink beer while in Germany??  Of course you do!  And you have to go to the Hoffbrau House!
Where beer was invented!!  (not really!)  Great, fun, LOUD touristy place with lots of beer and atmostphere ~
 I just loved my little friend with him umpah hat!

Thrill of my life~~~ We found them!!!  We really found the STORKS that live in France~we saw their nests, their babies, and tons of them - I was so, so, so very excited!!!

When in France ~ you just have to have them!!  OF COURSE I had the Escargo ~ and they were absolutely fabulous!!

Honey and I did a Champagne River Cruise in Paris on New Year's Eve - doesn't that sound ROMANTIC!!!  Oh, to be in Paris again with him!  It was an AMAZING trip~

                                  Cheers on New Year's Eve ~ Paris, France ~ under the Eiffel Tower ~~ December 31, 2010 ~
               He said he'd show me the world!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

From there to here...........

As I get older, knocking on 50's door, I often look back at my life with awe ~ the seasons, the changes, the differences ~ the things that I look back on and wonder ~ why were they so important? The things that I feared ~ why? I look back at the days of my youth, some wasted days, some cherished days, some sorrowful days, some joyful days ~ these are the days of my life ~ as it once was. 13 years ago, I met a man. Not just any man. The man who was to become my husband, and then some. Richard, this man, was to become my best friend ~ shortly after we met, he said something to me that resounded in my heart ~ he said, "I'll show you the world" ~ now, I was intrigued by that statement, particularly since I feared. I feared everything. For years I had suffered from intense anxiety attacks. Restaurants were too noisy ~ couldn't go there. Malls, I would run from in tears ~ stiff with anxiety. Planes - no way! The irony of that was that I had grown up with a father who was a pilot ~ and who loved to fly. I grew up with Sunday afternoon airplane rides like some kids go for Sunday drives. Not us ~ it was dropping from the sky with zero gravity ~ M & M's floating in the cockpit! So, funny how life spins your head around ~ children came along, and the marriage began to fail. As it did, anxiety entered my life ~ and hung around for a while. It would be fitting then, as this new man entered my life, that it was time for anxiety to exit, and exit it did. With much patience, restaurants became a new friend! We could actually enjoy a meal out, over a nice bottle of wine. Shopping became pleasant. Opportunities came my way. My first opportunity came by way of a job offer ~ a job that I desperately wanted. The problem was, it involved travel. Alot of it. So, my man said ~ you can do this. Get on that plane and go. Scared? Absolutely. But ~ go I did! And so, with love, support, encouragement ~ it all started with a 45 minute plane ride to Amarillo, Texas~ Ironically, Amarillo was the home of my man, the place that we lived when we first married, and the start to breaking the bonds of fear that held me captive for years. Amarillo and that man ~ that man who has kept his promise to "show me the world" ~ Here is our show!