Eyes Forward

It's the last Tuesday, the last day of December 2013.  I'm down to the final hours of a year that was both good, bad, and ugly.........tomorrow I get to start all over again to think ahead, look ahead, be ahead of where I was this time last year...........

I do not make resolutions.  Resolutions are promises to yourself that you cannot keep.  If you are one of the special people that can keep resolutions, my hat is off to you and I salute you........good for you, keep up the great work.....make it worthwhile.......

My human soul makes no resolutions or promises that she cannot keep.  What she does is be a better person than she was the day before.  She'll hug a little harder and let you feel the warmth of her heart and the arms that surround you.  She'll hold her hand out, let you take it, to feel her strength and know she'll never let go.  Her shoulders are there to lean your head on, her ears ready to listen.......Her eyes will not judge you, nor will her lips pass judgement against you.  She's no saint by any means, but a lady who takes one day at a time and enjoys every moment.  If you cross her path, she'll open the gate for you, let you pass or stay awhile.

I'm leaving 2013 with memories of road trips, sunrises, sunsets and Mother Natures beauty.............these I leave for you.....the memories I've made that I've shared with you this past year.   Tomorrow will be the beginning of another adventure with more memories and more friends to be made.

I took a trip and saw life through the eyes of children.  I became a child myself all over again.  I left pieces of my heart scattered across sandy beaches that gave me some of the most beautiful sunsets I've seen.

Sunrises from a place that I will never tire of.  A place where my heart and my soul find their happy....

I said so long, farewell, adios....to a kid that still fascinates me and thousands of others to this day.  I had fun writing about you, 1 f Jef........you do and still make people feel special...............I will continue to watch you grow up, explore the world, spread your humble soul, your kind words.......you're the man!!!!

I give you the flowers from Mother Natures paint palette.......through my eyes I give these to you.......

So long, farewell 2013..................

Happy New Year............another journey begins......................


twitter@CotySimon
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Day 46

I'm trying really hard to embrace winter and get into the holiday season.   I had someone tell me recently to embrace winter and maybe doing that it would help get me through the long, cold winters.   I'm trying, I'm trying really hard to do that.........being sick is not part of the overall plan of embracing winter though.   It doesn't do a body any good to stand in  freezing temperatures with a wind chill of 2 degrees for 5 hours  cheering on a soccer cup final in Kansas City when you are sick and then losing on top of it.  Oh, well.  It was worth it, sick or not to watch the boys in claret play.

By the time the final click of my humans heels and the words "there is no place like home" were muttered, hibernation was sounding pretty good.  Not happening though.......construction  is alive and well.........to look at the mess, you'd think nothing was happening.  But plenty has.

There's no place like home.
Salt Lake City, Utah

It still looks the same.  A mess is a mess.  Plastic wrapped furniture, paint buckets, caulking containers....it's all still in place.  I've learned and my human is learning the word "patience'.....it is one of her virtues, but there comes a time when you want to say "enough already" and let it be done.  I wish I could just wiggle my nose and have it be done.  I'm trying to look at the end result, but frankly, pulling my hair out, is not part of the pretty picture..............

What's happening now is painting of the living room and dining room walls, the china cabinet and the fireplace.  A lot of prep work has gone into just being able to pick up a paint brush and slap some paint on the walls.  I'm on day 46 of a 30 day remodeling job...............hahahahahahahahaha..........

Pictures of the finished rooms will come later........it will be January 2014 before it's all done.  In the meantime, I'm headed to my partially deconstructed kitchen.  I'm whipping out the Kitchenaid and summing the help of my trusty Elf who seems to think that he's on vacay too along with the ornament fairy, to help me whip up some Christmas treats.  I have no tree up yet, so maybe the smell of something good baking in the oven will help revive a holiday spirit in my human that seems to be lost right now.

I made my human search through pictures of last years Christmas to help remind her that Christmas away from home was no cup of tea either.  She has to look at it this way, last year was fun, she was with her family, but waking up in a hotel room on Christmas morning is just not the same as waking up at home.  This year, the family will be here, hopefully the plastic is off the furniture at least in the living room, and a small, yet decorated Christmas tree will be set up on a table.  As long as there is family to celebrate this precious holiday with, what more could she ask for?  Construction can wait.  Family, friends, good food, and being alive to enjoy another holiday is all she wants.........

Reflections....Venetian Hotel
Las Vegas, NV

Atrium at the Belagio Hotel
A winter fantasy.

Merry Christmas my friends.  Enjoy what you have..........living in this mess is nothing compared to what some peoples living conditions are.  I may moan and groan, bitch and complain, but in all reality, I   am grateful for the small things life gives me............

Before and after pics are coming soon...........I've developed cabin fever and I'm hoping to get out soon and snap some pictures..............

Sugarhouse park -

The clouds parted, sun came out, and the snow
glistened........this was an 18 inch snowfall

Twitter@CotySimon
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