Coincidence

Do you ever have one of those weird moments in life, when things seem to line up, or a repeating pattern or theme seems to be present? I love those moments, I don't know why, they are interesting and strange all in one, and they make me think and wonder. It's not like they happen often to me, but when they do, it just makes me smile. I don't know why they happen, if it's God, or Karma, or Destiny, or whatever it is that is pulling the strings at that moment (because I believe in all 3, lol), but it makes me feel reassured that there is something larger than life doing it, making things happen for a reason. I may not always know what the reason is, and maybe I miss the whole point of it in the process, but I think it is interesting all the same.

So anyways, I had one of those weird moments, not life-altering or anything, but just a srange coincidence, happen this weekend.

Alan had called Drivect TV about a month ago and was going to cancel our services, and they gave us 3 free months of Showtime to stay. We don't ever have any movie channels, they just aren't that important to us. But when we have them for free, we use them. So Wednesday evening I decided to go through the TV guide for showtime and see what was coming on in the coming week or so and set movies up to record. I had done this 2 times already since we had it, and we have several movies on our DVR just waiting to be watched. Most of the movies on showtime I've never even heard of, so I just read the info on it, and if it sounds interesting I set it up to record. One of the movies I came across that was coming on this weekend was a movie with Uma Thurman in it, called "The Life Before Her Eyes" and it sounded decent, so I set it up to record, not thinking much of it in the process. I had also set up several other movies.




So thursday we go to HHH for the weekend, and I realize I forgot to bring a book. Which is crazy, I ALWAYS have a book with me where ever I go! I usually keep one in my purse to read if I have a spare minute here or there while we are out and about. I had even thought about what book to bring, but for some reason I didn't pack it. So friday afternoon when my grandma & I went shopping, I was looking for a book to pick up so I could lounge in the pool and read. The thrift store we went to had all paperback books for $0.25, so I found 3 to get (I could have actually bought tons more, but I thought I better limit myself even though they were so darn cheap!) but what should I come across sitting on the shelf with a million other used paperback books......



I didn't even know it was a book before it was a movie, having never heard of it before, but I just thought, how strange that the same weekend I find the moviem I also find the book, in Bowie, Texas, in a thrift store. Like I was meant to read it. Which I know, sounds a bit hokey, but whatever, I like to think that way.

SO I read it all during my weekend, and actually finished it last night at about 10pm, and thought, hmmm, I think I'll watch the movie now. And I did. And it's kind of a weird book and movie, not weird in a bad way, but just weird. But it makes you think, and it makes you think about your life, and how short it really is in the grand scheme of things, which I had been doing anyway with the death of my grandpa, and missing out on opportunities to spend time with him and record his stories, because we live like we have all the time in the world. But we don't. And as cliche as it sounds, we really should live each day like it is our last, because who knows?

Anyways, I just thought it was a weird coincidence, and that I am supposed to take something from it, learn a lesson, or what have you. Life is interesting.

Grandma & Birthdays

I loved getting to spend so much time with my grandma over the weekend. She would tell stories of her past, or my grandpa, or older relatives that are already gone. I enjoyed listening to her, and I think she really needed the time to just talk about whatever she wanted, and having people to just listen. I enjoyed going to the antique stores, thrift shops and garage sales with her, knowing I was enjoying it as much as she was. And I love that she came home with me and stayed the night with us, so that the kids got time to spend with her as well. She taught Roman how to make jeychains and jewelry, and they spent some time doing it when she stayed the night, and it made me smile. We are going to go spend some more time with her next week, and I really should have made it a priority to go see her & grandpa more often, instead of always saying "I really need to go out there and visit" and then not doing it.









Monday was my grandma's 79th birthday, and my parents took us all out to lunch to celebrate.








This is a tea set I got in Bowie. It is sooo cute! It is the only set I bought, the rest I just bought individual pieces, because it's going to be a Mad Hatter's tea party, so it needs to be all mix-matched, but this was too cute to pass up. I love the colors, and the flowers.





Here is the mushroom canister set with other peices that Melissa bought me from a garage sale in Bowie for my birthday! I LOVE mushrooms, and old 70's looking decor, so this was perfect for me! I wish I could decorate my entire house in funky retro, whimsical stuff like this. :)



I think I pretty much have already gotten all my birthday presents this year, which is kinda funny how it worked out that way. Jamie bought me Cross Canadian Ragweed tickets last month because I wanted to see that show. My parents renewed our Omniplex pass last week so we could go and enjoy it a bit before school starts again. Alan's mom gave me this cute patchwork purse when I picked the kids up from Duncan. Melissa gave me the awesome mushroom set, and Alan & the kids bought me a new camera that I got in the mail tuesday night (well, I picked it out and ordered it and told them they got it for me for my birthday.... :P). I'm WAY excited about the camera, but it needed 4 batteries and they only sent me 2, which I thought was silly. They are rechargeable and they sent a charger, but only 2 batteries. So yesterday I went to wal-greens and got 2 more, but unlike the ones I got in the mail, they were not precharged, so I had to charge them for like 6 hours first. So I only got to play with the camera last night, but I didn't have must to take pics of yet, but soon, I will post pics from my new camera! :)

Bowie, Texas: Sunday

There are so many different kinds of critters hanging around HHH.


We had a giant dragonfly hanging out in the doorframe of the barn...




They have about 4-5 humming bird feeders around the house, which at any given time of the day you might see 4 or 5 hummingbirds around them!




They have about 4 of these birdhouses around the perimeter of the house




Lots of froggies, from tiny ones to GIANT ones!



They have 3 dogs




For breakfast Sunday I had coffee cake and a bagel with peanut butter.


After breakfast I spent some time reading and subathing in the pool with Melissa, Jamie and Michelle....



We had Brunch as our lunch, which was a breakfast casserole topped with homemade salsa, fruit salad and coffee cake (again, hee hee)



Annette & Grandma working hard.....





Michelle and her mom Carol




Jamie! We didn't get to spend much time together during this weekend, because she had a read for and write a paper for school.




Celeste, Me & Jamie at our table. Jamie was giving herself a pedicure. :) She deserved it after working all weekend on homework!!




Here's the Barn group! Our group name is "A Barn Divided" and we make a page each time we visit for the HHH guest scrapbook. We always find something that divides us and we each pick a side, and our names go on that side of the page. This time it was "fresh grapes" (those under 50) and "fine wine" (those 50 and older). So all the fresh grapes are on the right, and the fine wines are on the left in this pic.



Can't wait to go back, which is in January! :)

Bowie, Texas: Saturday

Saturday morning is a continental breakfast with various items to choose from. I had a a banana and a piece of banana bread!

Shortly after breakfast Melissa, my grandma & I went out shopping. We stopped at this AWESOME resell shop called the Red Barn, and then hit up 2 garage sales. We probably spent an hour or more in the Red Barn, it was cram packed with tons of old, fun treasures. I had such a great time looking at it all. I bought several teapots and tea cups for Starla's Mad Hatter tea party birthday party at really cheap prices!
And Melissa bought me this funky mushroom cannister set with other extras from one of the garage sales for my birthday, it was the coolest thing I've seen in a long time, and I will put pics in another post! Thanks Melissa! :)












We almost missed lunch while we were out shopping, but made it back just in time...




lunch was chicken salad on crossants, spinach salad w/ candied walnuts & mandarin oranges and a cranberry walnut jello salad (which I just wasn't in the mood for, which is why it isn't on my plate! It's good though, I've had it there a few times, but it's one of those things I can only eat if I'm in the mood for it, lol)





After lunch I spent about an hour or so floating in the pool, reading a book.

Here's Melissa hanging out in the pool....





After my "swim" (it was more lounging than swimming) I actually got some scrapbooking done....





My mom, her best friend annette and grandma






Melissa working on some curtains




Dinner time!




Dinner was BBQ brisket sandwiches, doritos, coleslaw, and baked beans.




Dessert was strawberry cake w/ strawberry frosting, and chocolate peanut butter ice cream pie..... (there is no choosing, I always get both desserts, lol)



After dinner Melissa, Grandma & I decided to go hit up a winery.

Melissa had passed a winery on her way in (she came a different way than we did since we came from Duncan) and she thought it wasn't very far away. But after driving about 20 miles, we decided to just turn around and go back and go to a different one. This windmill farm was on the side of the road. (When Melissa drove home, she did stop at the winery, and she said it was just a couple miles farther than what we drove, which is of course our luck, lol)But it was still a fun little adventure, and we got to sight see in the process!



So we went to another winery that HHH had an advertisement for, which was about 15 miles away from Bowie, in the opposite direction than we had gone the first time. :)





When we got there, no one was in the place. We went in and called them, and they said they would be right there. Their house was like 50 feet away from the winery. This guy came riding up on a golf cart, carrying bottles and carafes of wine, and his cheeks were all rosy and he had a jubliant smile, it was a pretty funny sight, so we snapped a pic of him walking up to the winery...



We got to do the wine tasting which was fun




We only tasted the sweet wines. I'm not a dry wine fan, and Melissa & Grandma weren't sure about wines in general, so we just stuck with the sweet stuff. :) We tried about 5 kinds I guess.








Hee hee, my grandma didn't like this wine, it was a port wine. She wasn't really keen on any of them really, but this one she really didn't like. I pretty much liked them all, although some types more than others. :)




Melissa & I with our brown paper sacks, we each bought a mini bottle of wine, which is about half a regular bottle.




My grandma asked the guy if we could pick some grapes and he said sure, that was what they were there for. So we each picked like 5 bunches, lol. They were SOOOO sweet and yummy, probably the best grapes I've ever had.









There was this cute little kiddie-land type place in Bowie that we decided to stop at on the way back home from the Winery. Melissa played the balloon dart game and won two little things for her boys....












This was the cutest little ride; ladybugs around a big mushroom. I love mushrooms.





After we got back from the winery we opened the little bottle of wine I bought and enjoyed a glass in the hot tub!









I love that my grandma, who is pretty conservative and reserved, has a sense of humor and played along with us. Since we had our wine glasses, she decided to grab the wine bottle and pose with it, even though it is empty and she wasn't really drinking with us, lol.




Melissa took this pic of us all hanging out in the living room right before we all went to bed.............