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Yesterday I left the homestead well before daylight and drove to Mum’s.  My Uncle John, who is 84 years young, stayed the night before.  The three of us journeyed to the airport for a trip south.  This weekend, we are joining with family in the Deep South to celebrate the life of our dear Miss Willie!
Miss Willie was married to their brother, The Colonel.  Her birthday this year celebrates her 85th year of life.  Her children, my cousins, are throwing a birthday bash for her and that is why we are here. 

As I sit and watch out the window today, I am smiling.  Despite the frigid cold weather and blanket of fresh snow on the ground, I am warm and dry.  The birds are frequenting the feeders.  The dog is resting quietly.  Hubby is happily pushing snow with his four-wheeler.  All is well in my world.

I love to learn.  I am always feeding my head full of information.  I read books and blogs and articles.  I watch videos.  I take courses.  I ask questions of people whom I consider experts.  I consider my curiosity and quest for knowledge positive traits.  I enjoy the company of others who love to delve into deep thought.

I have always loved to learn. I take a part of each day to learn something new, or practice something already in process.  Some days I struggle with how to find enough time to do all I want to do.   Yesterday I took my camera for a three-mile walk along the beach to see the snowy owls that were nearby.  It was worth the walk.  I met new people.  I learned more about my camera.  It was a great day and I smiled the entire 3-mile walk back to my car.

I am sitting here on the weekend following Thanksgiving Thursday.  In reality, a holiday can linger for days after the event.   We all congregated at Mum’s for the event.  There were five adults and three kids.  Thanksgiving, like Christmas and Easter, is a “Three-Meat Holiday” in my family.   On the menu there is turkey, ham, and kielbasa.  Like every feast day celebrated by my family, there was enough food for a small village. 

I was a bit disgusted last night as I watched commercials flashing during the evening news.  Businesses were bragging about their doors being open on Thanksgiving Day, which to me meant that workers would not have an opportunity to be with family or friends, and people would be out shopping rather than taking time to stop and savor the day. Ah well… freedom.

Summer has come and gone and I have not told you anything about my beloved truck, Dixie.  After the fuel line replacement, Hubby and I decided to tackle refinishing the boards in the wooden bed.  It took a bit of time to remove them and clean the metal strips that hold each board down.  Hubby sanded the boards, removing the old varnish, and stained them with a medium wood stain.  Signs of weather remained on the boards, which only added character. 

Self-talk.  The topic keeps rolling around in my head.  Over the past week, I have been mulling thoughts about self-talk.  Why?  Our Strongest You mindset exercise for this week has been to think about the power of our words.

I have been on my personal journey of fitness for many years.  In that time, I have learned something that keeps ringing true.  There is strength in numbers.  Strongest You Coaching has a community component.  We have a private Facebook Group that allows Coach Jen to communicate with us, and vice versa.  Being actively involved with the other women of the group has been a great way to keep me tuned in to the work I am doing.

“Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of our Lives.”  Some of you are reading that thinking “What the heck is she talking about?”  Some of you are smiling.  Some of you just quit reading!  If you did not quit, journey back with me…