Monday, September 8, 2014

Incoming Mail

Easiest way from mobile is just to list what the pics are of :)

1 & 2 A package that my cousin in Nashville sent me full of goodies :) Plus some new shotglasses for my ever growing collection! Apparently she found a bunch more right after sending this box, lol.

3. My Stationary of the Week order, fell in love with this one and had the extra cash, so I bought it :)

4. My first letter from new pal Ellen!

Hope everyone has a great week, I'm off to drop my parents at the airport, they are on their way to an Alaskan cruise...lucky ducks!

Friday, September 5, 2014

Outgoing Mail

Wait...what? Haha. Had some outgoing mail recently. That hasn't happened in awhile. I had some incoming as well, but it's really a pain to post photos and all that from my phone. I am hoping here soon that a new computer will be the next purchase...even though the hubby would rather have a new tv...but we don't NEED a tv.

Anyway, onto the mail!

Just a small package to my cousin and a good luck card to pur niece from David's side of the family that just went away to college...in Hawaii! 
An intro letter to a new penpal! 

If anyone else might be interested in being penpals send me an email...bethfinsterwald@gmail.com

I'm also thinking about writing a penpal ad and seeing how that goes. Lol.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Bay Day! 8-8-14

I've had this post saved in my drafts for a couple weeks and kept forgetting to borrow my Dad's computer so that I could type it up and post it. Life got a little busy.

On Aug 8th we celebrated my nephew Reese's 10th birthday a day earlier than his actual birthday by going down to Mission Bay for the day (about 30 minutes from where we live).  It was a beautiful day to be by the water, lots of kids running around playing and a lot of hanging out with friends and family.  My parents brought down their boat for the day, unfortunately at the end of the day the boat broke down. . . in the middle of the bay. Luckily we got towed in and it was at the end of the day, not the start of the day. 

Anyway, other than that it was a good day....here's some pictures!


Beautiful day!
Reese, the birthday boy!
Me and my silly niece, lol.
My nephew Joey.
My nephew Wyatt, he's a little goofy, I had begged him all day to take selfie with me, lol.

Before we left that evening there was a huge group of paddle boarders, they all had lights with them, it was pretty cool to see!



Saturday, August 2, 2014

Chargers Training Camp 2014

I make it no secret that I am a HUGE American Football fan and a diehard fan of my home town team, the San Diego Chargers.

On Thursday my husband and I did our annual tradition of heading to Chargers training camp/practice. It was a morning practice and silly me, I figured it would be a lot less crowded than the afternoon sessions we typically attend. Boy was I ever wrong! We had to park half a mile away! And we had to walk around the entire perimeter of the fields to find a spot to set up our chairs. It was packed! I have never seen that many people there before.

Other than that, it was a great morning! We had a ton of fun, the team looks great, and I was able to get more autographs on my Chargers hat. So, I leave you with a few pictures and I am off to bed!

Me and the hubby on our way!
Corey Luiget, I met him 3 years ago.
Dwight Freeney signing my hat, he was such a nice guy, this is his 15th season in the NFL, 2nd season with the Chargers.
Me and Reggie Walker.
Danny Woodhead, one of the Running Backs...I was cracking up at his neon socks!
The Defense was running drills right in front of us!

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Bit By The Genealogy Bug

But I habe no clue where to start with it all, so I've hit the books. Got a couple from the library and waiting for more that I requested...hopefully this will go smoothly and be a fun distraction for me.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

San Diego County Fair

My last post was kind of a downer...so I figured I would lighten this one with a few pics from our trip to the county fair this year.

Once again, posting from my phone, so I can't caption each individual pic...anyone have an old laptop they may be getting rid of? Haha. Just kidding.

Anyway...onto a few pics!

1. My inlaws were in town visiting from Las Vegas :)

2. Deep fried cheese curds.

3. Me & the hubby.

4. The midway...busiest place at the fair, lol.

5 & 6. The theme this year was "The Fab Fair" so they had a great 60's display all about the Beatles...it was a lot of fun to walk through. And yes, my hubby was too tall for the phone booth, lol.


Have a wonderful day every one! Oh...and I am trying to get back into penpalling...just need to find pals, lol.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Life and Death

When I was last posting I was going through a very difficult time. It ended up being the hardest two weeks of my life.

I don't discuss my family much other than being an Auntie (which I am slightly obsessed with, lol). So...a little background with my Dad's side of the family first and then details of what I went through the last two weeks of June.

My Dad is the oldest of 4 children. You have my Dad, my Aunt Mari, my Aunt Cathy, and my Uncle Bill. Their Dad ran out on them when they were fairly young and my Grandma Betty was a single parent the rest of her life (including raising my cousin Carrie). When I was a child, we were all fairly close, we had family gatherings and such, I have good memories of those times. Now what I didn't see were the underlying problems....

The last memory I have of my Aunt Mari was when I was about 8 years old. I found out as a teenager that she was a drug addict and that was why she wasn't around anymore. So I basically wrote her off as the Aunt I don't speak of.

Anyway, last month Aunt Cathy called and asked if she could come stay with us, that Aunt Mari was dying. Of course we said yes, she flew in from Tennessee the next day. Aunt Mari had lung cancer that had spread to her brain and there was nothing more that they could do.

I spent two days debating whether or not I could go see my Aunt Mari...I wasn't sure if she would even know who I was....I had never been around a dying person before. I finally decided I should go...if I couldn't handle it, I could leave and not go back. Simple as that. Aunt Mari didn't recognize me...but as soon as I said who I was she started crying and reached for me...so I sat next to her bed and she held my hand for an hour. She wasn't very lucid most of that first day...I was sitting there staring at this person I didn't recognize, holding her hand and thinking...I can't come back here, I'm not strong enough for this...I never had a relationship with this woman. And then she looked up at me and as she started crying asked: "Why won't my kids come see me?". Aunt Mari has three children...Kenn lives in Nashville and couldn't afford to come see her, we called him and let them talk several times. Nikki and Michael are both drug addicts...without jobs or money and didn't want to come see her....

I decided right then and there that I would see her every day that I could....and I did. When I went back the next day was very lucid and she was making jokes and making peace. Here I saw this woman that had wasted her life on drugs and was realizing the relationships she cost herself. She apologized to me...and I accepted...and I gave her the love she needed during her last days.

I went almost every day with my Aunt Cathy. Some days were better than others. Her last really lucid day was 4 days before she passed. The three of us had a good morning. Aunt Mari was cracking jokes, telling stories about her and Aunt Cathy as kids...and we all sang together. The music gene runs strong in our family tree. It was a wonderful Thursday morning...we didn't expect her to make it through the weekend...but she did. She went to sleep after our visit and was never fully awake again after that day, but she knew when we were around. She would smile in her sleep, laugh when we made a joke, squeeze our hands and not let go. It was comforting knowing that she knew we were with her.

The weekend went by quickly. Monday morning my cousin (Aunt Cathy's daughter) called me from Nashville, said Aunt Mari was going to pass soon and asked me to please go sit there to be with her Mom (Aunt Cathy). I was up there in 15 mins. My Aunt Cathy and I sat and held Mari's hands while she made her way to the end of her journey.  We talked her through it, listened to Elton John (one of her favorites) and sang to her. She held onto our hands until she passed. It really was a beautiful moment. And I was glad that I was there for my Aunt when she needed her family the most. And it was comforting to see her at peace...no more pain and suffering...it was a relief.

I still haven't been able to fully process everything. Aunt Cathy spent another two weeks with us and just went home a few days ago.

A week after Aunt Mari passed I was feeling pretty down and went to bed before my husband got home from work (I usually wait up for him). As I laid down, the last Elton John song that I sang to Aunt Mari on the day of her death started playing over and over in my head. I can't say which song it was, because I can't remember it anymore. It went on for over an hour, I couldn't get it to stop and I couldn't fall asleep until it finally did stop. I realized the next morning that it was Aunt Mari sending me a message. Letting me know that she made the journey to heaven, that she was with our relatives that had passed and, most importantly, that she was okay. I also feel it was her way of letting me know she heard me singing it to her and her way of saying thank you to me....thanking me for being there with her...for helping her finish the journey of her life with the love and support she needed.  And her way to say goodbye to me when she wasn't able to speak at the end.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Summer Reading

Picked this book up yesterday, love this series of books! I have all of them. They are a great quick read.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

And Life Happens...

It's been a long few months...and an even longer week and a half...but I won't get into that now, it's pretty depressing.

I'm still without a computer...and my digital camera officially died....so posting has been difficult. I really miss blogging amd penpalling. I am thinking about a penpal ad on a blog...we'll see what happens. I typically don't get many replies. Haha.

So...I guess I'll leave you with a few pictures from the last few months...hopefully they post right...this blogger app kinda stinks...lol.

Pics:
1. Fun little date with the hubby to Sonic for milk shakes...laughter and shenanigans insued.
2. Crazy dog.
3. My dog in my glasses...he's such a good sport! Lol
4. Strawberry Shortcake Trifle my Mom and I made for Mother's Day.
5. My nephew and I on his 7th bday.
6. My niece hijacked my phone and took her first selfie! Lol.

Take care everyone!

Thursday, March 20, 2014

4,000 Page Views!

Wow...never thought I would see that many. Thanks followers!

Sorry for not posting...I haven't been penpalling...and I'm without a computer...and so I just haven't posted.

Maybe things will turn around here and I can get back to everything.

Friday, February 7, 2014

As Usual...

So, I have gotten to the point where I refuse to celebrate my birthday. It's simple really...something bad always happens on my birthday. It never fails...I've been broken up with, car accident, people start arguments with me, someone in the family gets very ill, I plan my own party and no one shows up, I've even had a family member pass away. I've gotten hurt, sick, stranded, etc.

So, my husband always wants to do something special for me...he decided this year to switch work days with a coworker and plan a whole day together. We were going to have one long date...so what happens?? The coworker up and quits today, calls the boss and tells him he's done...so now my husband has to work a 12 hour day, 11am-11pm!! I'm not happy...but I warned him not to have his heart set on it working out because of my birthday curse...

This just proves that my birthday needs to be treated like any other day. It's already bad enough that my birthday is a Monday (this Monday) this year. Ugh.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Bowling Fun!

Decided on Thursday we wanted to try out the bowling alley by our house to see what it was like...never going there again! Haha.

The highlight was being able to take my youngest nephew and niece bowling for their first time ever! They had so much fun, and that made the afternoon great for me. I love their enjoyment. Here's a few pics from the day.