Inhale, Exhale

Sooo, I haven't won the lottery yet which is why I am blogging again. If I had, I would be in Europe right now and YOU might have been with me!

But, back to reality. I DID read about some guy in the South that won a huge lottery couple of weeks back....and none too soon if you ask me. He is in desperate need of some teeth. Hey, as Muncy says, "I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin...." He even admitted he could buy himself some teeth now. All's well that ends well. ( As I'm watching International House Hunters whose clients have a budget of 3 million....reallllllly?)
For those of you who have been following my life and the drama that lives within, I am happy to report that I can breathe again. Hope and Joy have begun to creep back into Breanne's life .
She has moved on and looks forward now. As they say, "look thru the windshield, not in the rear view mirror". It's so hard to see how God intervenes and saves you from misery at the time. We see it now. Boy, do we see it now. Thank you God for saving us the heartache that was sure to hover over all our lives if that man had not been exposed for who he really is.
A new man in her life you say? Yes. How do I feel? I am cautious. I have been made that way by several men in my past. I put my trust and faith in them and they yank the rug out from under me. But, how can I not wish happiness for her? Believe it or not, there are some naysayers out there and I have little patience for them right now. I understand they do not want her to be devastated again. But, where were those people these last 8 weeks, with the exception of a FB post, or two at the most? Because if they were there, or with her at her home helping her through this, they could not possibly want anything but the smile she has on her face nowadays. Seriously people, she deserves nothing but happiness. Would be nice if you supported her in that. ( Thank you Muncy)
She has begun again. Me? Not so much. I am only human and boy, do I want revenge. I know, I know, ...get over being disapointed in me! I know "in God's time". Trouble is, I'm only human. And I want to see someone, just once, not walk away scott free from the turmoil they cause. Just once. (You with me Frances?) It's about accountability. Period.
So it might take me a bit to get over this . Not the person, mind you. But the broken promise and lack of integrity.
Because integrity is what I will be looking for in the future. Don't tell me, SHOW me.
Prove to me that I can trust you . And then it will be all good.

Mitchell will be graduating from Gonzaga University this coming Mother's Day. What a great gift for me! I am sooo looking forward to that milestone! Great job Mitch, I am so proud of you!
Ah yes, I can breathe again.

Spain and France, almost a year ago~

These days, I really don't need a reason to be grouchy, moody, melancholic, let's see, what other emotion can I type....?

They seem to dominate me lately.

Today I am in a melancholic mood. I am coming up on my one year anniversary of when Breanne and Mitchell and I toured Spain and France.

Ahhhhh, I remember it well. I actually went through withdrawl when I got home from that trip.

I used to live in Germany ( Army Brat) and I can recall, with great detail, every little thing about it. Go ahead, ask me. If you dare. Because I might ramble. Just be warned.

( ask me about the bakery van when your bored to tears and have nothing to do that day)

Say what you will about Europe. . . .I love it.

I don't know if it's because I have 50 % french blood in me or because I appreciate design and structures and era. Europe is , well, for lack of a better word, old.

The United States is a mere baby compared to it.

I miss the cobblestone streets, the hundreds of Sprees parked on the side of the road, the artwork for sale along the Notre Dame Cathedral. The sidewalk cafes, ( ok, I don't miss the outrageous prices for beverages)the river Sienne at night.

That was amazing to me. We took a river boat tour at the Eiffel tower at night and had the wonderful opportunity to watch people come to the riverbanks with their baquettes and bottles of wine and sit on the edge. Hundreds of people. So casual. So relaxed.

We can't do that here. I feel robbed.

We can't grab a bottle of wine and a loaf of bread and walk to the river and spread out a blanket and watch all the tourists go by on boats.

And all the bridges we went under were so cool. Each one different from the last. Gargoyles, Feur de Lis, scrollwork that was hundreds of years old. I can't even begin to describe how wonderful they looked all lit up at night.

Oh and the boulangeries! We had one right out our hotel door! *Picture me throwing my handsout to my side and singing " ahhhhh hahhhhhhh".* It was pure unadulterated joy for me to walk in and order something and know it was going to be like no other pastry you can get in the states. Because you just can't. No heavy crisco aftertaste, no grainy sugary residue, no imitation taste. Pure heaven.

Mitchell took us to the worlds oldest restaurant , Botin, in Spain. Originated in the late 16 hundreds , four floors and we ate in the cellar. . ( In the picture, that was our table, with the shrimp on it) I choose the roast suckling pig with roasted potatoes. I remember walking upstairs to the bathroom and as I passed the kitchen, I quickly glanced at all the pigs heads lined up on the counters. 20 or so. Which did nothing to squealch my appetite, because, well, I love pork. ( You HATE it compared to how much I love it!)

Afterwards, we walked the , again, cobblestone streets and found a place that sold hot chocolate.

Not the kind your thinking of. This was as thick as pudding and came with a churro to dip into.

One thing that took getting used to was that the night life in Spain did not die down until around 5-6 a.m. Dinner was usually around 9-11 p.m. and then it was party time afterwards.

And us tourists go to bed and listen to the parties below until the wee hours of the morning.

But I adapted and loved listening to the sounds of people below.

I want to go back. I would even endure the 10 hour plane ride to do it. Think about it, ten hours of me squishing the girls together and exiting the plane with one giangantic "girl".

We went to Madrid, Barcelona ( I was actually in Casa Battlo', my dream !) Paris, and Normandy.Normandy was a very humbling trip. The beaches on D-Day became real and not just a story and the cemetary brought me to tears as I walked up and down the rows of white crosses.

I could go on and on and on about every place we visited and what glorious food we ate. But I will not. Unless you want me to.

( please oh please oh please ask me)

And so yes, I miss it terribly. I need to win the lottery so I can take you with me. And experience it all over again.

I want to be a law abiding citizen

Freaking paragon of masculinity. Outrageous hotness. Call it what you will, I am describing, uh huh, Gerard Butler.
I watched the movie "Law Abiding Citizen" friday night. Oh, I should mention that I watched it through my slightly splayed apart fingers, while looking around a pillow that was plastered to my face.What?!? Was it tense you say?
A little.
Fine. It was very tense, to me at least. Now I am going to get all kinds of flack from all you hard core thriller watchers.
That's ok, bring it on.
Because I enjoyed every minute of it.
Now, keep in mind that one of my all time favorite scenes is a movie called"Man on Fire" with Denzel Washington. He plays Creasy, a personal bodyguard to Pita ( Dakota Fanning) in Mexico. Didn't see it? Oh, allow me.
Creasy has vowed to kill all the kidnappers involved with Pitas kidnapping.
He finds one.
He duct tapes the mans fingers to the steering wheel and one at a time, cuts them off for information.
I may have shouted "YES!!" out loud.
Worried yet? Oh come on, you KNOW I love to see someone get theirs!
Another movie outburst may have been while watching "Taken", another favorite. At the end, ( Alert! Disclosure!) when the Saudi bad guy is holding Liam's daughter with a gun and says:
" We can NEGO. . . . ." then Liam shot him dead.
What's that? What was the word you were looking for bad guy?
NEGOTIATE?
I don't think so. I actually Cheered out loud in the theatre. Which resulted in a few worried glances my way and scurrying of bodies to the exit.
Whatever..
Anyway, Law Abiding CItizen, The plot involves this man who witnesses his wifes murder and his small daughter being carried away by a rapist. Next scene is both are dead and it is now deal time with the prosecutor to get as much information as they can out of one of the low lifes.
The decision that is made is not a good one. Fast forward to Gerard's revenge 10 years later on all involved.
Thats all I will say.
It left me feeling slightly ashamed that I could be so calllus and side with the psycho.
But I got over it when we had cake.
It was a marvelous soother,
I have really been into seeing people get whats coming to them these days..wonder why that is?
You have nothing to fear form me, unless you cross me or mine.
Buwhahahahahhah.
Enough said.