The Bird of Freedom

I am an avid Eagle lover! There is just something about these amazing creatures that move my spirit! While it is rare for me to have an opportunity to view Eagles...I take advantage of each opportunity I am blessed with.

While enjoying Spring Break recently in Florida I managed to find a lovely Bald Eagle sitting on a nest filled with two young ones. The nest was located in the Everglades. I was mesmerized by the beauty that surrounded me.

While I did not physically take the photo which I am posting, I was there when the photo was taken...and the Eagle was as beautiful as the photograph! Enjoy!!!

Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie.....and Spring!!!

Well, Florida was great! It was warm, sunshine was in abundance, the ocean was incredible....and I was sooooo ready for BASEBALL!!!!!!!!!

I had never been to spring training before, even though I love going to the Reds game. This year I decided to make it happen and it was awesome!!! For all those who love baseball I highly recommend it. The atmosphere was just great, you have greater access to the players and lots of older players are there and you have the opportunity to meet them, players like Johnny Bench, Eric Davis, Todd Benzinger and Dave Concepcion.

I posted a photo above that a friend of mine took of Ken Griffey, Jr. at bat. Thought I would share it to get everyone excited for the season! Go Reds!!!

I will be posting a few other photos later in the week. I have some great variety of the wildlife in Florida, the ocean, the sunset and of course the Reds!!!!

The Best Part of Life

As I look back and reflect over my life I realize I have so much to be grateful for. My two children are certainly my greatest blessings. The good news is once they are married, which my son is, they reproduce!!! Then you get to have grandchildren and the gratefulness increases.

Anyway, in December I graduated from NKU with an associates degree in Business Administration. Both my children got to attend the ceremony...which made me happy. Below is a photo of our happy day. The smile on my face illustrates how grateful I was...not only to graduate but to have my children and friends surround me.

My daughter-in-law was missing from the photo. She is a wonderful young lady and my son is extremely lucky to have her in his life. She too blesses my life on a daily basis!

I would say I am the luckiest woman alive!

Blizzard 2008!!! It's an Emergency

Wow! I really am snowed in...what a day! Let's see I've showered, cleaned, cooked, done laundry, watched tv, read...doesn't sound like too bad of a day now does it?

My daughter and I decided to take a couple of videos from the door in front of our home and the patio door at the back....just for kicks. They are posted below for your viewing pleasure.

Finding Spring!!!

Well, we are currently under a "blizzard warning" here in the Midwest. The snow is coming down unbelievably hard and by morning we are expecting to have at least a foot of snow!! What in the world is going on??? Who's idea was this? It is March...and we should be enjoying sunshine and bird's chirping and warmer temperatures!!!

Since I am a proactive person with a lot of energy and spring seems to be having a problem finding me I think I will make my way to Florida...and find spring. Anyone that would like to come with me...leave me a comment and we will go on the hunt together. Once I find spring I will see if I can convince it to come home with me me. Of course, I will have to wait until the blizzard is over to do so...but that's ok. How does Thursday sound? Ok...flight is booked and I am not joking. I am heading to Sarasota on Thursday...warm weather, spring baseball...I am so excited. I will post pictues from my trip! See you there!!!

Lost-Vivor

As you most likely already know, due to some of my previous posts, I am a LOST fan. In my personal opinion, Thursday is the best day of the week because of this show. This year's episodes are some of the finest that the show has produced. I wait with excitement each week to see what the latest twist will be.

Last year I discovered a great website that I would like to share with you. On this website, Jess, who is the website's owner, runs through the previous night's episode and then ranks each character based on their abilities, for lack of a better word, during the show. The game is called "Lost-vivor" and runs from the beginning episode of each season until the last episode of the season. At the end of each season the character with the most point is crowned "Lost-vivor" for the season. This contest is hilarious and Jess's sense of humor will crack you up.

For my fellow lost fans I encourage you to check this site out every Friday morning. The website is as follows:

http://wiw.org/~jess/

Spring....We Are Waiting with Anticipation!!!

The month of February has proven to be a tough month weather wise in our little town. We have had hardly any sunshine, which makes me sad! We have had some snow...but nothing that couldn't be handled, with the exception of the ice storm, but just dreary days absent of sunshine. I love the sunshine and I love beautiful weather, probably why I could never live in a place that has six months or more of cold weather.

This week the sun actually shined a couple of days, which made me feel excited for spring. One of the sunny days, I decided to spend my lunch hour in my car, as it was too cold to be outdoors. While I was eating my lunch I pushed the fabric section of my sunroof back so the sun could actually shine down on me. The warmth and brightness made me happy and I could actually feel a difference in how I felt and my attitude.

So why does the sun make us feel happy? I asked my daughter and she said because dark and dreary is a good way to describe depression and the brightness of the sun is a good way to describe happiness. A good answer indeed...but is there a scientific explanation for this? I decided to use my googling skills to see if I could find an answer...and of course I did. This very question was actually posed on yahoo and one of the responders to the question (bazsmudge) had a great answer. He said:

"Sunlight stimulates the pineal gland in the brain. This produces certain chemicals called 'tryptamines' which improve our mood! Also, Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is our main source of vitamin D, important for your bones, muscles and immune system, so get out there, but be careful!

I loved that explanation...so now it makes perfect sense...in a scientific sort of way.

I am looking forward to spring and the sunshine and happiness it brings to me. In the meantime I have planned a trip to Sarasota, Florida (in two weeks) to see my beloved Reds Team in spring training! I can't tell you how excited that makes me feel. Seeing the Reds and the opportunity to be in warm, bright, sunny weather is definitely a priceless, anticipated event!