Two weeks of vacation is almost over..

Here I am kissing the Sphinx. 
Goodbye Egypt; it was fun.  What??  I didn't tell you I was going to Cairo??  Well, to tell you the truth, I wasn't even sure where I was going before I got on the boat.

So, we are back from our Mediterranean cruise.  We are still in Italy, as I am writing this.  But the internet was about a $100.00 an hour on the cruise ship, so I do not think I could budget internet time. 

In short, this is where we were:  Rome, Egypt (Alexandria, Cairo), Greek Isle (Khios), Turkey (Istanbul and Kudashi/ Ephesus, Greece: Athens, Corinth, and lastly: Italy again (Naples, Mt.  Vesuvius, Pompeii) 

So, now I have go and have some more fun in Italy.  I'll be writing a lot soon!! 

Thanks Jojo

My wonderful daughter made me a dress.  Here's her post form it. Jo-withits portfolio.

We are leaving tomorrow morning for our anniversary cruise.  Pray for safety and a good time!  thanks!

They love me here at Walmart..

My Grandpa Al, who currently lives in the nursing home, gets a little confused at times.  I guess that's why he's there.  Confusion.  Confusion between night-time and daytime.  and who his girlfriend is. and where he is.

"They love me here at Walmart!' he told my Uncle Rick when he went to visit him.  He has resolved himself to the idea that he lives at Walmart.

"I would move out, but I only have $3.00 to my name."
"All I need is a plot of land.  I think I could even live in my truck"

And my personal fave:

"You wouldn't believe how many girlfriends I have here!  I must have 12 girlfriends.."

Yes, Gramps, you have 12 girlfriends at your home, which is, as we all know, Walmart.

His current girlfriend was a gal, twice his size, who ran over him in her "poly-wagon".  Gramps called his little cart thing that keeps him on a buzzer a "polly-wagon" because it is made from polyuerethane.  Apparently, "Tish" has one also, and that is how they met.

Have you ever wondered where you think you'll be living some day?  How would you like to spend your final days at "Walmart"??  However you find yourself in the end of the earthly journey, I hope your heavenly journey begins with being in Him, all the days of earth and heaven.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.

I am so thankful for my MOM!  She is a great friend, mentor, therapist, and godly woman.

Sorry we can't be together for Mother's Day, but I'll be thinking about you all the same.  

Thanks for the great trip to San Francisco--where we had more fun torturing perfect strangers than anyone should be allowed to do.  

1. Are you a professional square dancer?  (I asked a lady right out of the blue) And she said, "yes, I square dance.  How did you know know?"   (To this day, I have no idea how I knew that she was a square dancer..

2. Are you a Newfi?  My Dad is a Newfi.  (Well, actually just when he's in Newfi-land.  )

3. And why are you hitting on my Mom? (to this guy who looked to be 46..) I mean she's hot and all, but..  

4. Could I knit on your scarf for a while?  I love to knit on the airplane.  (to another perfect stranger who graciously handed over her knitting to me.  I even spliced the yarn together for her and made some progress on her scarf)  

5. And (my personal fave) "So, you are living in sin, then?"  (to this couple who was acting rather guilty, and interestingly they both confessed to it...  I think I'll put up a booth..) 

So, those are just a few of the snapshots of the nonsense mom and I got into during our San-Fran trip.  Love you Mom!!  Look forward to many more crazy times with you, as the Lord allows. 

The "new" old 80's look..

And yes, my handsome barber cut my hair again.

I need a cat named Nimrod

Let's be honest here.  I'm treading on dangerous ground.  My husband hates cats.  So does my son, James.  But then again, he agrees with his father on everything, so that is not that unusual.

And then there's Than, who is allergic to cats.  I can't say if Jo, Emily or Hudson would graciously welcome a cat either, but I am willing to risk it.

Why?  Mouse infestation.  You walk down the steps and veer left.  Suddenly, a mouse waft arises into the air.  It's not a living mouse waft, either.  It's your basic dead mouse aroma.  So, here's my basic plan.

I buy or borrow a cat.  The cat will be named "Nimrod" as in "mighty hunter"--you know, from the Bible.

Somehow, I am going to have to train this cat to love to kill and eat mice.  And when he or she possesses the acquisition, it will be rewarded with a piece of salmon (which I will have stocked in abundance for this very purpose).

I am not even sure I will buy a lot of cat food, since the mice and salmon should do the trick for a while.

I hear that cats need litter boxes, so I'll probably have to get one of those also.  But this will be a no-thrills pet adventure.

And when mighty Nimrod catches his first mice, he will be given the royal robe and crown, paraded around on a white horse and given a glass of champagne with salmon.  And then we will gradually decrease his awards until the thrill of catching mice is its own reward.

So far, most of my children have threatened to move out if (and when) I ever do carry out this plan.  So, I may need to keep this in my hip pocket until the house becomes too crowded or something.

I'm also wondering if I can borrow a cat when Will is out on a business trip, and maybe I can get the whole thing done before he gets back?  But then I would be like the pied piper, attracting felines from all neighboring counties.

Once the word gets out that their is champagne and salmon offered at the Webbers, there will be a veritable caravan of cats, tigers, chihauhaus, and ambitious teenagers visiting us daily.

On second thought, perhaps a job offer in the local classifieds would do the trick.  Do cats normally read the paper?  I mean.. I know Garfield does and all, but...

Send me your tired, restless, homeless, yearning to be free.. (cats) and I will give them a job and a treat.  You can have them back in a few weeks.

One of my favorite remedies..

I'm not one of those herbalist mamas who knows every treatment for every ailment.  But I do love and cherish their advice.  But if I come across something, it is usually from an accidental conversation with a perfect stranger.  So, consider your source.  But this was something that really has been a good thing.

I was out sightseeing in Thailand.  There were a bunch of us ladies whose husbands were associated with the Airbus (A-320) symposium in Bangkok--2008, I think.  Anyway, maybe some of you have done this tour of the floating market?  You get on these fast boats and go through a million little villages until you reach a floating market. We found everything from alligator skinned ukeleles, to peacock feathers to mumu dresses.  And just when I thought I was done shopping, someone attacked me with this stuff.  Two tiny little bottles for only 4baht? or something like that.  This lady was rubbing it on my temples.  I think I officially went into a trance.  (As if Bangkok itself doesn't do that to you..) 

Nevertheless, the little bottles of "Tiger Balm" as they call it, really do work.  I use it to clear my sinuses.  

Now be careful, though.  You do NOT want to put this in your nose or too close to your eyes.  It is very powerful.  The closest I can get it to my nose is on the cheeks or forehead, and even that makes my eyes water.  It's just a very powerful ointment that they say helps muscle soreness.  I use it for colds.  I still have my two little bottles, and we haven't run out of them yet.  Although, someday I may have to either 1) go back to Thailand or 2) order some more. So, I put up a web address for ordering some.  I am also thinking about checking out my local Asian market. So, if you want to order your own, Tiger balm can be found here. 

Maybe I'll use the excuse of lack of Tiger balm to go back to Thailand.  And then, of course who is to stop me from the great massage, thai food, and thai silk? (and the lively taxi rides!)

20 years ago..

This year marks a few milestones for the Webber family.  And maybe that is why I've been such a non-existent blogger.

First milestone: Our oldest son, Jamie, just finished his first year of college and is home already.  As far as I can tell, he had a wonderful experience (away from home) and going to a school in a different state.  I know not every child is ready to leave the nest directly after high school (especially after being homeschooled the whole time), but our Jamie was ready times 36..  He was ready to go a year before he left home, but we kept our children on the traditional high school/ college schedule.

After weighing the strengths and weaknesses of sending a child off to college early, we just opted for the traditional time table.  I think he was capable of handling college level material at around the 8th or 9th grade, but it didn't make sense (for us) to do it that way.  We had wonderful resources through our homeschool co-op to challenge him academically, as well as socially.   So, his final G.P.A. has not hit the email inbox yet, but I am expecting he did pretty well overall.  He starts working next week at the same company Will works at--Hamilton Sundstrand.  I think we are all excited for his summer job opportunity.

Another milestone (for me) is--20 years ago, I graduated from college.  I went to Western Michigan University and got a degree in secondary English education.  Nothing special or fancy.  No earthquakes happened the day I graduated or anything too exciting, but it was nice to have it done.  I was a complete nerd in college, and my GPA reflected accordingly.  Nevertheless, graduating with honors did nothing for me in the workforce because I was more focused on my upcoming wedding than anything else.

And of course, the biggest milestone was getting married to Lieutenant William H. Webber--only five weeks after graduation.  I did some subbing at the local high school, but mainly, I just started preparing to be a wife.

Walking on a cloud is the only way to describe those days.  I could not imagine being married to a more honorable, respectable, godly, handsome, and faithful man.  By the way he handled our relationship (in honesty and purity), I knew I was in for a great life.  And everyone else knew it too!  My parents were really happy for me, and that meant a lot.

So, it's been 20 years.  I am assuming that most people at this stage of their lives are just as busy as we are with work, kids, home life, and ministry.  So, in order to celebrate the 20 years and reconnect as a couple, we are planning a Mediterranean cruise--leaving in about two weeks.  Will really enjoyed the convenience of the cruise, and we found something at a good price.

So, I have a feeling that this last minute cruise prep and these other things we have going on ( St. Louis for Robotics, last two weeks of Hallstrom, pilates teaching, kid home from college, previous trip to San Francisco, spring banquet, and various hospitality adventures and now a head cold!!) is keeping me from getting any sort of decent blogging done.

Here's for 20 years!  May another 20 be right on our heels.