Wednesday Hodgepodge

How should success be measured? Using that as your standard, who is the most successful person you know? (Or one of the most successful?)

Like most people, that definition has definitely changed over the years. For me at this point in my life I would say the Cleaver family pretty much sums up success. Husband/Dad has a good, steady career and leaves every morning to go to his job after Wife/Mom hands him his lunch and kisses him on his cheek. Wife/Mom is happy at home and productive there, raising her children and keeping a peaceful home prepped and ready for Husband/Dad when he gets home. The family is all together, sits together at night in the family room watching television, reading, playing games, etc. Kids respect Dad and Mom, although are far from perfect, but love and discipline guides them in all they do. As a family we strive for this ideal, although we haven't gotten there yet. I don't think I know any family that has achieved it, but I still think we should strive for it. And I think it's possible.

Have you ever been to a hot air balloon launch/fest/party? Ever taken a ride in a hot air balloon? Is that on your bucket list? According to Frommers the ten best hot air balloon adventures in the world are: Loire Valley (France), the Serengeti  (Tanzania), Napa Valley (California), Lake Champlain (Vermont), Cappadocia (Turkey), Istria (Croatia), Gstaad (Switzerland), Yarra Valley (Australia), Muelle (Costa Rica), and Albuquerque (New Mexico). Which one on the list would you most like to experience?

When Kyndal and Dawson were little we went to a hot air balloon evening light up event where you could ride in the balloons tethered to the ground. We watched but did not ride. Honestly, I have no desire for that. Me being carried by a balloon ... nope. But I love to see them in the sky! And going to a launch would be pretty fun! I have always wanted to go to Napa for a wine tasting and B&B getaway, so planning that trip around a balloon launch would be awesome!

May 25th is National Brown Bag It Day. Did you/will you pack a lunch today? When did you last pack a lunch for someone and what are your go-to ingredients for a brown bag lunch?

No, I will not be packing any lunches today. But most of our days look like brown bag days. We usually eat sandwiches, apple sauce, chips, string cheese. That is what I would pack in a lunch if I was packing one.

What's one of your favorite dance scenes from a movie or television show?

Definitely the final dance in Dirty Dancing. Oh but the United Healthcare commercial featuring the dance is my absolute favorite! That's a brilliant piece of advertising!

John F. Kennedy made famous the line ... "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." So what can you do for your country?

Back to my success answer ... I can do all I can to help my family be the people and citizens of this country that our forefathers intended. I can't change the government. I can't stop the corruption or violence. I can't get our nationwide morals back on track. I can't get anyone to read the Bible and live its ways. But I can influence my immediate sphere of influence, and that is my family. It all starts at home, folks. Until we get that in our heads, nothing will change.

Weekends are made for ......

Sleeping in, getting some items crossed off the to-do list, relaxing, watching t.v., reading, having meals together, recharging for the next week.

On this last Wednesday of the month, bid farewell to the month of May in seven words or less.

Your last day will be my favorite  .... (because we will be in Puerto Vallarta by that afternoon!)

Insert your own random thought here.

Rick and I rode our bikes on the Katy Trail last weekend. We have lived here for almost four years and it's the first time we have done it. People come from all over the country to ride this trail. We really enjoyed it! I mean, really really. So much, in fact, that we are planning to do some short rides over the next year and then maybe, at some point, do the whole Katy Trail Ride which is 244 miles from St. Charles, Missouri, to Clinton, Missouri. It is a 5 day sponsored and supported ride. We have been married for 15 years next month, and it's fun to continue to find things we enjoy doing together.