Zephaniah and Zombies

Finishing the A to Z challenge with 2 words for the letter Z.  First of all, thank you all who visited and those who faithfully commented on a lot of my posts throughout the month and a big thank you for those who commented on each and every one of them.

For those who have a faith, Z is for Zephaniah 3:17: 

The Lord your God is with you; the Mighty Warrior who saves.  He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.  

Remember, he is the Mighty Warrior and he will fight your battles.  You just need to be still and know he is God. 

For those who might have  a faith some day (and might not, and that is okay too), Z is for Zombies:  

One of the games grandson plays is called Plants Versus Zombies.  It is kind of a cool game, better than some other ones he plays.  The zombies are coming to attack and the plants have to kill them.  One of the weapons used is a pea shooter (shown on the left).  I found the definition for the pea shooter online:  The peashooter is a toy version of the blowgun or blowpipe. It is usually a tube that launches its projectiles via blowing. As the name suggests the normal ammunition is peas, though other seeds, fruits, improvised darts, or wadded up paper can also be used.

Of course they would make a pop-it toy with the characters (as well as plushies and so much more).  

Just be careful out there and avoid the zombies or if you can't, make sure you have your pea shooter with you.

And that is a wrap!! 

Yogurt

I like yogurt.  I usually didn't eat a lot of yogurt until recently because it had a higher amount of calories than I wanted to eat at the time or it didn't have much protein in it.  But one day at work when I was putting my lunch in the fridge, I saw a yogurt container and on the top of it I read "12 g of protein".  I picked it up and saw that it only had 80 calories in it.  I wrote the name down and asked my husband to get some for me the next time he went grocery shopping.  (He does 99.5% of our grocery shopping by himself; I love it).

The yogurt is Light + Fit Greek and Nonfat Yogurt by Danone.  It comes in a lot of flavors but not all the flavors are available at times at the store.  My absolute favorite is the salted caramel but their strawberry cheesecake is very good as is their peach.  Really, everyone I have tried I have liked.  

And true to form, they only are 80 calories each and have 12 g of protein in them.  Often I will have a container at breakfast with a hardboiled egg or a container at lunch with some crackers.  They are filling and tasty.  

Do you like yogurt? 

X

I will admit I was totally lost about what to post for X so this is a bit of poetic license for it.  Forgive me, okay?

I was Xcited to hear about Buzzed Bull Creamery coming to the Scottsdale area.  They offer ice cream that was infused with alcohol.  Or you could get plain ice cream without the alcohol in it.  Either way it sounded good to me and it was something I definitely wanted to try.  

It opened a few months ago but we had to wait until the weather was pleasant to have ice cream.  I love ice cream but not in the middle of winter when it is cold out (not that Phoenix ever really gets cold, but it does cool down a bit).

We went to the shop this past weekend.  Here is the Xtraordinary menu.  I got the Death by Chocolate that was infused with chocolate vodka.  Hubby got the Cherry Cordial infused with Brandy/Cognac. 

They use liquid nitrogen to make the desserts.  This video shows how it looks when the liquid nitrogen is turned on.  I think they begin with a liquid ice cream base and  they add what goes into the creation.  It goes into a metal bowl, then they attach it to a beater type thing that uses the liquid nitrogen to turn the liquid into ice cream.  You can get the finished product as a milkshake or ice cream consistency.  This video is about 25 seconds long showing the liquid nitrogen at work. 

The drinks were Xcellent!  Here is my Death by Chocolate as a milkshake.

And hubby's Cherry Cordial as a milkshake.

They were so, so, so, so very good! 

Took about 10 minutes from ordering to get the product made.  Worth every minute of waiting.

We definitely plan on going back and trying something else on the menu.  It was really pricey but definitely worth it.  

If you ever have the opportunity to try this, please do.  It is worth the effect to go the Xtra mile to do so!

Water

Here in Phoenix at the local parks (and some people do it at their houses), they water by a technique called flood irrigation.   Basically, they flood the area they want watered. 

This is how it looks at the park where those Easter eggs were chalked on the sidewalk in my Neighborhood post about 10 days ago.  

The ducks (and Canadian geese) like it when it is flooded.  You might be able to see a duck in the middle of this picture.

It looks like a lake in the middle of a park.  But it is just temporary.  

This is about a week later.  You can see the water in some placed has receded.

But not in all of the areas yet.  Usually takes about 2 weeks for it all to recede.

This one was taken Saturday April 23rd.  I kind of like the sky effect in this one.

And these last two from yesterday, April 26th.  Water all dried up.  

First time I saw the park covered with water (they do sections at a time), I thought a water pipe had broken.  It took me awhile to learn about flood irrigation.  A lot of new people to the area also are shocked when they first see it until they too learn about it.  From what I read, it is more effective for watering with less evaporation because of the heat we have here.  

They have been doing it for years so I guess it works.

I just found it odd when I first saw it.  

Vacations

What was your favorite place to go on vacation or your favorite vacation?

Growing up, we didn't take any vacations because we just didn't have money for them. We lived in Southern California so we would go to the beach or the zoo, occasionally Disneyland, but never more than a day trip and not far away.  We did go back to visit family in Pennsylvania one year when I was 13 years old.  My first plane trip.  I enjoyed it then.  I don't like flying now. 

When hubby and me were first married, before children, we took a vacation at least once a year.  It was always to places we could drive to.  We went to San Francisco and Napa Valley, Hearst Castle, Aspen Colorado, Carlsbad Cavern in New Mexico to name a few of the places we visited.  We usually vacationed in October around our anniversary.  The crowds were less and the weather usually pleasant.

Pretty much every year when we had kids we had a vacation. Usually always to places we could drive to.  Because we lived in a few different parts of the western states, we would see the tourist attractions in those areas.  When we lived in Montana of course we visited Yellowstone.  We also went to Rapid City South Dakota (that is a fun town with lots to see including Mount Rushmore).  When we lived in New Mexico we drove over to the Grand Canyon.  It was always an adventure traveling with kids, as anyone with children will attest to.

After we became empty nesters, we still took vacations.  Again always to places we could drive to.  The last time I flew, and it will be the last time I fly, was to my niece's wedding in Washington DC back in September 2018.  I do not like flying and I won't get on a plane again.

But my favorite vacation was the vacation we took back in 2005 to Washington DC.  It was my son, my husband and me.  We visited my sister and her family and my mom as they live right outside of Washington DC.  We had so much fun visiting all the usual "tourist traps" of the nation's capital.  We didn't tour the White House but of course we saw the White House.  We loved the Smithsonian museums we visited and we didn't realize it until we got there that they were free (at least at that time they were).  We especially enjoyed traveling around on their Metro system (like the subway).  We would park at a shopping center that had a Metro station, buy a pass for the day and use it to get all around to where we wanted to go.  Saved on trying to find a place to park in downtown DC and we just thought it was so cool to travel that way (doesn't take much to make us happy I guess).  It was the last time I saw my mom before she passed a year later.  We ate at great restaurants, we took a drive and saw where my husband had been born, Patuxent Naval Air Station.  We couldn't get on to the naval base, obviously, but we at least got to see the area where he had been born and had lived for his first several years of life.  We also visited Solomons Island  where I had the best crab cakes and my husband and son had the best key lime pie.  Just best trip ever!

Hubby and me are thinking about a vacation for this year.  I think we might have found where we will go, probably in September, but that is another post for another day :)

Ukraine

It is sad that the war in Ukraine has gone on for about 2 months now.  Many prayers continue to be said for the conflict to be resolved and for the fighting to cease.  So many innocent lives lost.  So much property destroyed.  Sadly, a brutal man committed a senseless act.  Sadly, he is not the first brutal man to commit a senseless act and he won't be the last brutal man to commit a senseless act.

Shortly after the war started, there was a local story here about a small business owner who had a store that sold products from both Russia and Ukraine.  He was worried that business would fall away as people would not want to come in to support products made in Russia or if people would not want to come into the store to support such a store.  He was also worried that he might not get the shipments he needed from those countries due to the conflict going on.  He was trying to make a living, supporting his family.  He had nothing to do with the decision of Putin to start the war.  We felt we should go and visit the store, as we didn't even know such a store existed in our area, and buy something in support of the man just trying to keep his business afloat.

The name of the store is called Yasha from Russia.  When we went there the first part of March, on a Saturday morning, it was doing a fair amount of business.  We looked around at everything in the store.  Of course a lot of stuff were items I wasn't familiar with and at that point I wasn't thinking of doing the A to Z challenge so I didn't take any pictures, lol.  So honestly, I can't remember all that we saw there except they did have some interesting looking sausage if people like sausage.  I saw this bag of little round rings that fascinated me.  I hadn't seen anything like that in other stores I had been in.  We decided to buy it.  .  

They are a product of Ukraine.  

This is what one looks like.  I think maybe you dip them in coffee?  I'm not 100% sure.  They kind of taste like a shortbread type biscuit.  Not super sweet, not salty.  Not bland.  Hard to describe their taste.  They were good.  If we go back to the store I may buy them again, but may try something different.

We also bought a bottle of Russian wine, but we drank that already.  It was a red wine and it tasted good.

Again, lots of prayers for Ukraine and its people.  And truly also for Russia and its people.  

Turkeys

Where I work, I think several years back they had a turkey decorating contest for the different departments.  I'm thinking it had to be probably for Thanksgiving 2019 because Thanksgiving 2020 was the first year of the pandemic and by Thanksgiving 2021 I was already working there and the turkeys were already on display.  

From what I can gather by looking at the turkeys, there was a wooden board that represented a turkey with its feathers out and then the different departments decorated them as they saw fit.  

Quite an assortment of creativity as you can see below. 

My favorite is Superman. 

 Do you have a favorite?

More importantly, do you like turkey on Thanksgiving? I like turkey pretty much any time of year.  Funny, we rarely have turkey on Thanksgiving and I haven't cooked a whole turkey in years.  We usually do a turkey breast sometime in the year when we have son/family over for dinner. 

Salad and Go

Salad and Go by far is my favorite fast food restaurant.  I think they are only available in Arizona and Texas, but if you like salads and they ever come to your "neck of the woods", try them out.

It is basically a drive through restaurant.  They serve salads which can also be made into wraps, drinks like lemonade, and breakfast burritos.  The salads they sell all day but the breakfast burritos only until 10:30 on weekday mornings and 11 a.m. on the weekends.  

Salads cost $5.74 (burritos 2.99).  As you can see from the picture below, it comes in a plastic container.  This happens to be the Thai salad (my husband's favorite), which is red peppers, carrots, cucumbers, red cabbage, romaine lettuce, chicken or tofu; served with a ginger-chili marinade.  Since we are watching how much sodium we eat, we get tofu now instead of chicken since there is less sodium in the tofu.  It tastes pretty good all mixed together in the salad.

Every season, they have a special salad.  I usually like to try them at least once.  This is this season's special, called The Market.  It has sweet potatoes, pickled red onions, croutons, blue cheese crumbles, bacon, romaine lettuce and chicken or tofu.  As stated above, I get it with tofu. The menu said it was served with a ginger-chili marinade also, but in reality it was a ranch dressing.  

The other types of salads they have are Cobb, BBQ Ranch, Caesar, Caprese, Greek, and Jalapeno Ranch.  I have tried the Cobb, Caesar and Caprese; all delicious! 

How to assemble it is written on the lid of the salad.  

You basically open the dressing, put it on the salad, then put the lid back on the salad; making sure it is completely on.  You then shake the salad, mixing everything together, including the dressing.  And it's done! 

So tasty too and it's a big portion.  I have never gone away hungry after eating one.  

Their hours are 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the weekends.  

You could stop there in the morning for a breakfast burrito and buy your lunch at the same time and be just at around $10 for 2 meals. 

Another reason I like it is we can buy the salads in the morning, store them in the fridge, and then eat them for dinner.  

Like I said, it is my favorite fast food restaurant.  

Do you like salads? 

Really

 Winslow is REALLY spoiled.

You may ask "Is he REALLY spoiled?"  Or perhaps "How is he REALLY spoiled?"

Let me tell you how REALLY spoiled he is.

These are squeaky toys he REALLY likes.  They are hard to find sometimes at Wal-Mart.  When my husband does find them, he will buy a couple of packs to have on hand.  For some reason, Winslow's favorite color of them is red. (I thought dogs were color blind but what do I know?)

Winslow REALLY likes to play fetch.  I wrote about it before on another blog.  He used to like to fetch tennis balls.  Now he REALLY enjoys fetching these squeakers.

But he doesn't like used squeakers.  He likes fresh new ones.  Yes, he REALLY can tell the difference between one that he has fetched before and is laying around on the grass outside as opposed to a new one that I freshly give him (like a new one every day, not every time I throw it to him).

When my husband cuts the grass, he has to pick up all the squeaky toys from the grass before he can mow it.  He puts them on the patio table.

And then eventually in this pitcher.

That is presently about halfway full of them......

I have on occasion taken some of the old ones and put them with the new ones (kept on top of the fridge in a box).  Sometimes he will be happy to fetch an old one if he sees me getting it from the box.  Yes, he is also REALLY smart.  My husband suggested I take some of the old ones and put them in a plastic bag with a new one.  Maybe the old ones will start smelling like a new one and maybe that is how Winslow can tell them apart. I'm going to give it a try.

Winslow is also REALLY a stinker.  If I am playing fetch with him, he will bring the toy back.  But if my husband is around, he will bring it to him and not to me although I throw the toys more often to him than my husband does.  He will just walk right by me and drop the toy in front of my husband.  As we often play fetch outside, sitting on our patio chairs next to each other, my husband will scoot the toy over with his foot and then I'll throw it again for Winslow.

So now do you believe me when I tell you Winslow is REALLY spoiled?  

But then, he is also  REALLY cute!

Quail

Long time readers of my blog will know that quail is my favorite bird.  I've used Quail for A/Z in the past but not on this blog.  Some of these pictures (and stories) will be familiar to those long time readers.  

When we lived in Prescott, Arizona, which is in the high country at 5500 feet elevation, we lived in a homeowner's association rental house.  There was a lot of open "wildlife" area around us and we did get the occasional wildlife like javelinas and snakes and quail.  Now quail can also live in a city like Phoenix, but because there were no brick walls and plenty of open space, it was a great place for them, especially with all the shrubs and bushes there.

I would see quail in my walks around the neighborhood but I had not seen any baby quail.  One day I was praying and at the end of the prayer, I said to God "I really wish I would see some baby quail but I know it is probably late in the season (it was July) so that's okay if I don't."  Then I started to clean the kitchen.  Our kitchen had a big window that looked out into an open area of rocks and bushes and the like.

I kid you not.  Something caught my eye as I was cleaning and I looked out the window.  On the rocks were baby quail.  Lots of baby quail.  

I went to grab my camera to take pictures and then they started walking towards the patio, right by the window where I was taking the pictures.  They stayed there for a few minutes then took off with their parents.  I was shaking because I was amazed at seeing them and knew it was definitely a gift from God.  

Crossing the street right in front of our house.  There were 17 babies in this family.  Mom and Dad Quail took really good care of them. 

This is not all of them, but these are the same quail family that came to visit when they were babies.  We fed the birds a lot when we lived there in Prescott and the quail would come often to feed.  You'll notice the lighter color one in the bunch.  That one always fascinated me when they came to visit. 

I shared a lot of pictures on  blog at that time of the quail.  I'm sure readers were getting tired of seeing them all.  I never got tired of watching the quail and always enjoyed when they came to visit.  They taught me a lesson about patience and waiting.  

If they sensed danger, they would all scuttle under a bush or shrub and just wait until the danger had passed.  They basically didn't move the entire time.  One time I watched for 45 minutes while they just waited until it was safe to move.  

It taught me I have to be patient and wait for God for his timing for prayers to be answered that I have prayed.  And sometimes I might just have to be still while I'm waiting for those prayers to be answered and not take matters into my own hands.

We stayed a total of 15 months in Prescott and I saw many a quail while there.  We moved to Phoenix and though I have seen quail here, it wasn't the same as having our own quail family come to visit.  However, we moved closer to family and to our grandson who was born 6 weeks before we moved here.  His birth was a great gift from God too.  

Psalms

If I was to list my favorite books of the Bible, Psalms would be in the top five, if not the top one as I enjoy them all so much.  There are 150 psalms.  This article gives a lot of great information about them if someone wants to read more about the psalms.  

A lot of people are familiar with Psalm 23:  

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall now want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  

Here are some of my favorite verses within the psalms.  I often pray the psalms when I'm praying, especially these two:

Psalm 16:8 I know the Lord is always with me.  I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

Psalm 74:16-17 The day is yours and yours also the night.  You established the sun and the moon.  It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth.  You made both summer and winter. 

This psalm really spoke to me when I was growing closer to God.

Psalm 9:9-10 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

And others I memorized:

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 121:1-2 I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 73:25-26 Whom have I in heaven but you, and earth has nothing I desire but you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 86:2 Guard my life for I am devoted to you.  Save your servant who trusts in you.

Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 25:4-5 Show me your ways O Lord, teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me for you are God, my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

And so many more that I could list.  I just love them all.  

I have written scripture that I want to memorize or have memorized on 3 x 5 index cards for memorization purposes.  A lot of times I'll take one of those index cards and tape it to my desk at work and just read it throughout the day and think about what the words say.  For me, it is very uplifting especially if having a rough day or rough time.  

I also enjoy the book of Proverbs, but that's another post for another day (and probably not in the A/Z challenge).

Old Maid

This is a silly one......

I like going to estate sales.  Mainly to look at the houses where the sales are being held.  I rarely buy something but I'm always on the lookout for perhaps toys or cute things to share with the grandson.

A few months back we went to an estate sale and I bought 2 card games.  Old Maid and Fish.  I tucked them away in the glove compartment after the sale and totally forgot about them until a few weeks ago.

I thought it would be fun to play both games with the grandson and his sister.  I figured she or me could help him until he caught on to the game.  He is pretty sharp in picking up age appropriate games.

While Old Maid may be an age appropriate game, this deck of characters certainly didn't seem age appropriate!  Take a look. 

Here is the box it came in . Looks pretty innocent with an elderly woman on it.

However, some of these characters are a little questionable in my opinion for a 6 year old as far as age appropriate.  I'm not sure he would know what a lecturer was or an aviator.

But what made me decide that perhaps this was not the right game at this time in his life was Nurse Rose.  She looks a little "loose" to me if you get what I'm saying.

What do you think?

Would you play this particular stack of cards with a 6 year old for Old Maid? I'm putting it away for a few years.  Thankfully it only cost 50 cents.  Lesson learned.  Look at the cards in a card game before purchasing the game.

Neighborhood

We have a lovely neighborhood park within walking distance to where we live.  It has a playground, basketball court, volleyball court, gazebos with some BBQ pits there, softball field and a lot of other open space fields for playing soccer or flag football.  There is ample grassy area for birthday parties and the like and there is even a group of musicians who come there on Saturday mornings and play music.  We're going to check that out some Saturday soon.  There is also a pool there which this summer will be opened for the first time in 2 years! I'm sure the neighborhood kids are thrilled about that.

We walk Winslow at this park.  Now we could walk to the park to walk Winslow at it but we drive to the park because it is just easier to avoid city streets and traffic when walking Winslow since he tends to bark at passing cars or people riding their bikes. 

This past week this sign was painted on the sidewalk

Here is one of the bigger eggs that is painted there. 

Winslow is standing right behind a smaller egg.

And a butterfly.

My husband who walks Winslow in the morning (I'll go on the afternoon walk, weather permitting) has found about 10 of the eggs and one butterfly.  I'm not sure how long they will be there on the ground, if they will be removed or allowed to fade away, but we are planning on taking our grandson next weekend to the park to see if we can find all 40 eggs and the 3 butterflies (he's out of town this weekend).

It is a lovely neighborhood park and gets a lot of activity in it with the various games played there, parties, etc.  

Happy Easter to all!  

He is risen! 

Marty and Misha

Marty Goetz is a Messianic Jew.  He is basically a Jewish person who believes that Jesus is the Messiah.  Marty is also a very talented piano player, singer, and composer of many a song.  I came to know of him back in the early 2000s when I received a CD of his Festival of Lights as a gift.  I really enjoyed the CD, listened to it a lot and then as life tends to do, promptly forget about it and Marty for years.  Back in September 2021 I was putting together a list of favorite song videos on YouTube to listen to at work and thought about songs I had liked in the past, one of which was Arise, Shine that had been on that CD, Festival of Lights.  I looked it up on YouTube, listened to it, added it to my list of favorites I was creating.  I also added a few other songs of his from that CD that I also liked.  

As I did some more research about him, I found some other songs I liked of his and also that he and his wife, Jennifer, were doing a twice weekly "service" streamed on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook called "House of Worship".  They were doing a live broadcast of Marty and Jennifer (at times) singing songs while Marty played the piano on Tuesday and Friday nights most weeks.  They started House of Worship at the beginning of the pandemic to basically support themselves during the pandemic since a lot of his livelihood involved playing concerts or at churches and you know how things got affected when the lockdown began and continued.

I started listening to House of Worship; not when it was live because I was usually busy doing other things those evenings but the following Monday for the Friday night "shows" and Wednesday for the Tuesday night "shows".  I like Marty's voice; my husband doesn't particularly care for it; that's okay.  I usually listen when I'm at work.

Misha Goetz-Hoyt is Marty's and Jennifer's only child.  She is a talented musician and songwriter like her parents.  She occasionally comes and stays with Marty and Jennifer with her 2 children, Caleb who is 6 years old and Samuel who is just shy of a year old, and her husband Josh.  She will join Marty at the piano and sing along with him.  

They all are so wonderful to listen to.  Marty will sing songs for about an hour and 20  minutes, give or take, along with quoting Scripture, telling stories, explaining Jewish holidays, talking about their friends, etc.  On Friday nights, they still observe the Sabbath and light the candles as well as bless the bread and wine (grape juice).  They make those of us listening feel like we are part of their family.

They are really genuine too, lol.  House of Worship is done live without any editing so what they do is what you see.  One time Caleb was sitting at the piano bench with Marty singing and Caleb fell off the bench.  Caleb's dad took him off the camera as of course he was crying a bit, but a few minutes later you could hear Caleb in the background saying "I'm okay everyone" and then a little bit later he rejoined his grandfather at the piano.  Another time when Marty was singing, he mentioned that Jennifer (Jenny as he calls her) was a little bit under the weather that night.  She yelled from the background "I'm having a colonoscopy tomorrow".  Again, really down to earth and genuine people.

I absolutely enjoy all their House of Worships.  The one day a few weeks ago when I was really upset about that pesky coworker, I put on House of Worship to listen to and just the wonderful praise songs sung and worship to God, I just felt such a calming in my soul.  I enjoyed their presentation that night so much I listened to it another time later in the week.

I'll leave you with a song Misha wrote a few years ago.  It is based on what is known as the Aaronic blessing from Numbers 6:24-26 which says:

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." 

Her rendition of it is beautiful.  This is Marty and Misha performing it together.  

In case the video doesn't work or you can't hear it well, here is the link for watching it on YouTube if interested.  

24 

Language

The only language I know is English.  It is my "native" language (the first language I learned).  My mom's native language was Polish, then she learned English when she went to school.  It was a Catholic school with Polish speaking nuns and Polish speaking priests for the church.  She did not teach us Polish.  I'm not sure why, but I think perhaps it was because then we would know what she was talking about to her sisters (my aunts) when they were together.  They always talked in Polish around us kids.  

My dad's native language was Polish, but he learned German and English in his life.  As many of you know, he was born in Poland.  During WW2 he was in the Polish army and was captured along with his entire regiment and kept in a German war camp for the majority of the war.  Because he knew English, in addition to German and Polish, he was of big help for the American soldiers for interpreting.  He died when I was 18 months old so I obviously didn't learn Polish or German from him.

I took Spanish for 1 year in high school (required for graduation).  I live where Spanish is a prominent language and it would help if I was bilingual, but I did not retain any Spanish learned all those years ago and I haven't attempted to relearn any of it (yet).  

I think the best way to learn a new language is perhaps when one is younger.  That is just my thought.  One of the permanent employees where I work has a 5 year old daughter who is in kindergarten.  She spends half day in an English classroom and half day in a Mandarin classroom, learning the Mandarin language.  She is excelling in both classrooms.  She speaks Mandarin at home, though of course her mom doesn't know what she is saying.  She had to do a 2 minute speech in Mandarin about her family.  Her mom had taped it and played it for us.  It was amazing watching her speak that language.  She will continue with the half day English/half day Mandarin for the rest of her time at that elementary school.  I think it is a wonderful concept and a great learning opportunity for her.

But if I was to learn a new language right now, it would be sign language.  At church one of the weekend services has ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation at it.  That service is also streamed live.  I have to admit sometimes I watch the interpreters as they are signing.  It amazes me how they can sign what has just been said and listen to the pastor speaking the next line they will be interpreting.  I know they are educated on how to do it but it is fascinating to watch.  There are two interpreters there and they switch in the middle of the sermon (sermons are about 45 minutes long).  There is a sign language school here in Phoenix and a few years back I looked into it.  It is a 3 year program for certification.  Maybe some day.  (Most likely not).

Do you speak more than one language? 

Kids

I have 2 children (kids).  What some of you know but new readers do not is that both of my kids are adopted.  We adopted our daughter when she was a year old back in 1986 and we adopted our son in 1989.  Our daughter was adopted in San Diego and our son in Oregon.  We worked with agencies for both adoptions  At that time open adoptions were becoming more popular (remaining in contact with the birth parents).  None of the birth parents were interested in remaining in contact.  

Our daughter was a special needs adoption.  She has a litany of medical problems which I won't go into now, perhaps another story for another day.  She lives in Montana and is married and has been married since 2009.  She still struggles with depression but is being monitored by social service agencies who keep an eye on her.  She has Asperger's (high functioning autism) as her husband does as well.  It is her choice but she has limited contact with us.  We did not know where she was for several years and always tried to find her but due to HIPAA it was virtually impossible to find any information out about her.  We were thankful when she made contact with us.  Again, she chooses how much contact she wants with us.  

Our son has a fascinating birth story and I would really love to share it with you all but I have to get his permission to do so.  I think he would give it but I can't assume that.  It truly has God written all over it and I truly believe he was meant to be in our family.  As many of you know, he lives here in Phoenix, got married back in 2015 and is the father of our adorable grandson.  Our son struggled for years figuring out what he might want to do when he "grows up" but he found his niche when he got a job at a fine Italian restaurant here in Scottsdale.  He bloomed there under the guidance of the chef/owner of the restaurant and he has grown so much in maturity and skill in the 3.5 years he has worked there.  He is a good hands on dad, which amazed me because I wasn't sure how he would "take" to parenthood but he "took" to it and excelled in it.  

One of the things I pray for is for my children to have a relationship with Jesus.  Both children "accepted" Jesus as their Lord and Savior when they were in their teens and each were baptized in their teens.  Both currently are not attending church and my daughter has gone down a road of "faith" that I wish she wouldn't have chosen but all I can do is pray and trust Jesus.  Daily my husband and I pray for them to come to know Jesus. 

My best friend from high school and me reconnected on Facebook a few years back.  We sometimes message back and forth.  She has a deep relationship with Jesus and she shared a few months back how she sees the young people she is associated with that there is a revival of faith in them.  I told her that was wonderful and that I was still praying for my kids for salvation.  She mentioned something that struck me and stuck with me.

She said "God placed them with you because He knew you would keep praying for them."  And that is what I will continue to do until I take my last breath this side of eternity.  

All have to come to their own faith in their own time.

My hope is my 2 kids will come to have a faith in Jesus in their own time. 

And for that I will keep praying.  

Jesus

I have been meaning to share my testimony (story) about how I came to have faith in Jesus and a personal relationship with Him.  

I was raised in a Catholic home.  We were practicing Catholics in that we went to church every week, confession when needed, observed no meat on Fridays during Lent, etc.  I went to a Catholic school up until the 9th grade. I knew who Jesus was but I didn't KNOW Him if that made sense.  Basically, I knew He was the Son of God and that He died for our sins and rose from the dead but that's about it.  

I chose to pursue a different course of church going after I got married for a variety of reasons but probably the main one was we wanted to agree on a church that we both felt comfortable with in the teachings and preachings and we knew we wanted to make going to church a priority for not only us but any children we might have down the road.  

We pretty much continued to go to church weekly throughout our marriage and young years of raising children and I would pray occasionally, mostly when I was in "trouble" about something and I wanted a "genie" to fix that trouble for me.  I rarely (never) read the Bible.  Again, I knew Jesus but I didn't KNOW Jesus.  When we lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico we had a terrible time finding a church that did not incorporate New Age into its services or mysticism so for that brief period of time (2 years) our church attendance was sporadic.  

Then we moved to Billings, Montana and one of our selling points for Billings (despite its wonderful weather) was we were going to find a church and we were going to get involved with it and make sure our children had the opportunity to learn who Jesus was for themselves and make their own commitment of faith.  I had made a commitment of faith to Jesus in my high school years but I'm not sure if I was going along with the crowd or really had a faith in Him at that time.

We found a great church in Billings and got involved with it, attending weekly, volunteering, kids going to the youth services, etc.  One Sunday, the associate pastor was talking about a situation he and his wife were going through.  She was a teacher and had not signed a contract yet for the upcoming school year.  He was panicking for her to do so for financial reasons but she was holding out for a job she thought God wanted her to have.  He related her prayers and what she felt God was saying to her and she remained steadfast not to commit to any job but the job she felt she was being led to have.  Literally the day before the school year began she got that job.  During this whole time while she was waiting for what she believed God wanted her to do, she was at peace, though her husband was stressing out wondering how they would manage if she didn't get a teaching job for that year.  In relating how his wife was interacting with God, something piqued my interest and I was like "I want that kind of relationship with Him."  

I knew to KNOW Jesus I had to spend time with Him.  So daily I would pray, read my Bible, started attending Bible study at church and would really think about what the Bible was saying.  I memorized scripture that I would call back up if I was having difficulty with this or that.

I started growing closer to Jesus and started having more faith in Him and more belief that He truly was who He said He was and that He truly would take care of me.  Now I have to tell you during this time my 2 kids were teenagers and they were "troubled teens."  My daughter was depressed, suicidal, psychotic, in and out of the "psych ward" at the local hospital, in residential treatment for 7 months.  I really never knew if she was going to attempt to take her life (that's another story for another day; she is alive to this day but.....).  It was very stressful dealing with those situations.  And then my son was involved in some trouble he had gotten into which was very stressful.  Yet praying and reading my Bible did give me less anxiety and worry and more peace (not completely gone but less so anxiety and worry)  and I was starting to trust in Him more.  Incredible answers to prayer were happening during this time too.  

From then on I just came to know and love Jesus so much more for who He is and what He did for me by giving His life for me and my sins and opening up heaven and eternal life for me.  

I realize everyone has to come to their own faith in whatever they choose to have faith in and can also choose not to have any faith.  

For me, I have faith in Jesus.  One thing I know about Him and I have mentioned it so many times.  He has never let me down and I know He will never let me down.  Even in the midst of the hardest of times (and there were LOTS of hard times) He has sustained me and guided me, protected and provided for me.  I've also said this many times.  I cannot do life without Jesus and I will not do life without Jesus.

He has restored a marriage (not ours but someone close to us).  He has kept my children alive (where basically honestly the things my son had done he should have been dead or in prison, but here he is 33 years old, a husband, a father and a successful cook).  And He has done so much more for me and my family every single minute of every single day.  It is a joy to walk with Him on a daily basis.  

I love reading my Bible and I love going to church to learn more about Him.  I will admit I've grown rusty on memorizing scripture but I do continue to work on it off and on.  

None of things that have happened in my life were a result of coincidence or luck.  I truly believe they were all God ordained and I give Him all the glory and honor.  

And I will continue to trust in Jesus every single day.  Even if sometimes it doesn't make sense because I know He knows what is best and that is good enough for me.  

Income

One of the permanent employees where I work is in charge of processing the returned payroll checks from employees who for some reason or another did not pick up their paycheck.  I guess there are several options on being paid for this organization.  Direct deposit, a check mailed to your residence, or the check mailed to the grocery store you work at.  Now for me, direct deposit would be the way to go.  Get your money in your account and you don't have the hassle of having to deposit the check at the bank, etc.  But apparently that is not the option or choice of a lot of the employees there.  

It is amazing how many checks get returned that this employee has to then process.  Checks come back as undeliverable from the post office.  Why you wouldn't give your employer your correct address, I don't know.  Or big stacks of checks will come back from the stores with notes on them saying "employee never came to pick up their check."

Now I don't know about you, but if I am going to put the effort in to going to work, getting up, getting ready, driving to work, I want to be rewarded for it.  And obviously the reward is the paycheck.  So why someone wouldn't pick up their check I just don't understand.

As part of my duties at work I open and sort the mail.  Every time I see a returned check or an envelope with checks being sent back from a store, I am utterly amazed; again wondering why someone doesn't put out the effort to get the rewards, literally, of their labor.  And these are not small checks.  These represent 40 hour work weeks at a nice hourly wage.  Again, I don't get it.

So, what the employee does to process them is this.  For returned checks from the post office, they try to see if there is an updated address in the computer.  If there is, they just send the check back out again.  (Checks are good for 180 days).  If they were returned by the store, the employee will send the checks to a home address if there is one listed in the computer.  Sometimes employees use the store address as their address, which again is a bit odd to me.  For every check that the employee cannot redirect to be sent somewhere else, they keep the check in a locked file drawer for 6 months.  If someone sends a letter or calls for their paycheck, the employee will then verify identity and send the check out.  If the check remains in the file drawer for 6 months, the employee then takes the checks to Accounting, who holds onto the check for 2 years.  Again, if someone asks for their check during that time then it gets sent out once identity is confirmed.  In the event the check remains unclaimed for 2 years, Accounting sends it to the State for holding.  Ever hear sometimes commercials "you may be owed money" and then it lists how to check if you do have unclaimed money?  That is some of the monies there that people may be entitled to.  

I just continually ponder why someone would not pick up their paycheck as I think they would need that income for living expenses.  

Do you think you might have unclaimed money out there waiting to be claimed by you?  I know I don't, lol, because I claim any money I can get when I can get it :)