Friday Favorites, This and That

"Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." Psalm 90:2

Happy Friday! Today I have some favorites to share with you and an update on what's been going on around here. The view above was taken from the beach at Pt Ruston. Looking at our Mt. Rainier is always a favorite of mine. Here are five other current favorites:

Worship Song:  I discovered  "My Feet are on the Rock" by I AM THEY while listening to Spirit 105.3 in the car. It's SO good!

Beauty product:
Don't judge, but before my daughter's wedding this Summer I discovered the "Tinkle" razor while watching a YouTube video. It is a very safe, gentle way to remove facial hair. They are sold on Amazon and come in a 6-pack. It's not just for eyebrows; use it for anyplace you want a smoother surface. (My Mama passed on her Norwegian furry cheeks.) Make-up applies easier on a smooth face. The name is goofy, but it's a really cheap, helpful item!

Healthy thought posted on a local fitness chalkboard:
"Don't diet and work out, nourish and train." Isn't that good?

A favorite funny moment on a recent flight:
I think my fight attendant forgot he was pouring me wine, not juice... What do you think?

Favorite gift-book for the expectant Mama:
I found The Very Hungry Pregnant Lady while roaming around "Aunties" bookstore in Spokane, but it's also available on Amazon. My daughter, who is almost 37 weeks pregnant could TOTALLY relate to this hilarious rendition of the classic story about The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This might become my go-to shower gift!

My husband has been traveling a LOT for work and a few weeks ago I finally got to tag along when he went to Scottsdale. Arizona is one of my favorite spots to go for sunshine. We stayed at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass. It was quite a Native American cultural experience. I filled up on as much Vitamin D as I could and hope it will keep with me through the rainy PNW winter season.

I've had a chance to see my Spokane kids this Fall and my baby girl has had two wonderful baby showers. Sarah has been "nesting" downstairs and at the same time, our kitchen is completely torn up for an island remodel. I will show before and after pics when it's finished!

Yesterday at our MOPS meeting we were focussing on friendship. (I love being a Mentor Mom and I have made SO many dear friends due to that ministry.) I am convinced that women of all ages need community! I don't know what I would do if I didn't have my tribe of girlfriends to get together with, do bible study with, and call for encouragement or prayer. I hope you have a small group of close girlfriends too! I highly recommend looking into mops.org or a local group called Village 253 if you are a young Mama.

If you are an empty-nester it can be difficult to make new friends if you've moved to a new location. Try to put yourself out there. I experienced being new in 2010 when we had to move back to Illinois for a time. I made a few acquaintances that really helped my loneliness by joining our village Newcomers club, a Bible study, and asking a neighbor to go on walks with me.  It only takes courage and a smile to begin a friendship.

The countdown to our grandbaby's due date is in 23 days!!! WE CAN'T WAIT!
Thank you for stopping by See Jane Learn. Wishing you a fun Fall weekend.

In His Grip,
xo Jane

What I Learned This Spring (2018)

The months of March, April and May were filled with all kinds of change and excitement.
I learned lots of things, about my family, myself and some random things as always:

1. Empty Nests don't always stay empty.
My youngest daughter who is getting married in a mere 35 days announced that she and her fiance' were expecting AND excited to take us up on our offer to let them bunk in our lower level after the wedding to save money for a few months. I certainly won't be lonely when my husband travels! After six years of being in Spokane, Sarah is ready to return to her childhood hometown as she starts her new life as a wife and mommy.

"In Christ's economy, if He ever sends you back, it's because he's sending you forward."             Beth Moore

2. I have more than one Hollywood connection.

Currently, my daughter-in-law Amy is working hard in L.A. to break into the entertainment business as a writer. Sometime soon you might see "Amy Brown Carver" in the credits.

Growing up, my claim to fame was my Uncle Jim. James Pande' Young was the executive producer of the Soap Opera "General Hospital" from 1963-1975. Before that, he had been an actor. He was in the 1951 movie, "The Thing From Another World" and several other movies. He's the good-looking actor on the left in the photo below.

Uncle Jim's ex-wife Judy, was the stepdaughter of a famous actor named Joseph Cotten. He was in lots of movies back in the day. Do you recognize him?

Photo source: Pinterest

Judy's biological mom was Lenore Kipp LaMont and Judy was two when they married. Lenore was a pianist and died at age 56 in Italy. Perhaps my Allie gets her talent for the piano from her! It took me a while to track down some of this information because I was spelling his last name Cotton instead of Cotten.

3. It's an honor and fun to be on a book launch team.
I was excited to be a part of the team getting the word out about Maria Furlough's book, Breaking the Fear Cycle. I  received the book and some extra surprises early, and we have an encouraging Facebook group. My bible study group is currently reading it together.
It never hurts to ask...you might get chosen!

4. It's never too late to take a road trip with your sisters.
My two older sisters, Ann and Jill, live in Indiana. Due to distance, jobs, kids, money, etc. we have never taken a trip together. Crazy right? So...they flew West to attend my daughter's Bridal showers since they can't be here for the wedding. We spent two and a half days in Oregon. We saw the Multnomah Falls, did Powell's bookstore in Portland, ate like Queens at McCormick and Schmick's at the Marina, hung out near the Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, hit a couple McMenamins (Edgefield and Sand Trap), some boutiques, and generally enjoyed just catching up.

                                                       Why do I always "pop" up my knee in photos?

5. My husband and baby Hazel both LOVE their music.
My husband adores the "Yacht Rock" station.  Baby Hazel loves the "Raffi" Pandora station. Young or old, music makes people calm and happy.

6. In my quest to become more of a minimalist, I am failing in certain areas:
I have never been a light packer for trips, I have a plethora of beauty products and make-up and then there are my dish sets: Fiestaware, plastic bird plates from Anthro, simple white and Dansk white with the blue rim that I received for my wedding. Oh, I also have Christmas Spode China...

7. I love the Ocean, but I prefer the warmer beaches.
I know I live on the rugged Pacific Coast and it's beautiful, but I'd much rather spend time on the beach in Florida or Southern California. 

 PNW-beautiful, but chilly

Anna Maria Island, Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico

8. I truly am blessed with the BEST friends
I hope all of you reading this have dear friends who will love your children whether they are still in school or are young adults. My daughter was given two bridal showers by my friends and they were so special!

Every day is an opportunity to learn... What did YOU learn this Spring? I'm linking up with Emily P. Freeman's blog.

In His Grip,
xo Jane

All the Things Lately

Just your typical Wednesday here in the Harbor. Thor spends his early morning hours outdoors, and then enjoys coming back inside to eat and warm up on our heated bathroom floors. I head out early to care for little baby Hazel, and Mike is on the East Coast this week. Yes! He is working!

It took five months of applying, interviewing and WAITING.  Finally, Human Resources completed their process, and my husband got a terrific job! Although the waiting wasn't easy, we are thankful and knew God was with us each step of the way.

The benefits for us: paychecks, a car allowance, and the ability to rack up some air miles. He now has a purpose and the satisfaction of providing for his family, and I got my laptop back because he now has his own computer! (I celebrated when the box was delivered.)

Mike has to get used to traveling again and I have to get used to him not being home all the time. The ONLY thing I like about having the house to myself is control of the remote and not having to listen to his music on Alexa all day. Oh, and I can have a Chicken Pot Pie for dinner.

My daughters and future son-in-law were able to be with us for Easter weekend. We enjoyed cozy couch time, a great Resurrection morning at church and a yummy dinner.

Did you try out the new way to color eggs?  Using vinegar, Cool Whip, and some food coloring, you can make really pretty tie-dyed eggs. I did a couple things different than the link. Instead of a muffin tin, we put parchment paper on a jelly pan-I think we could have done a variety of colors if we'd used a muffin tin. I put the eggs covered in the "goop" in an empty egg carton in the refrigerator and then accidentally forgot about them. They sat overnight. I rinsed the cool whip off the next day in lukewarm water and they actually turned out great! Sometimes the extra wait-time is beneficial.

Because both my daughters are teachers and were on their Spring Break,  they got to stay a couple extra days after Easter. We were all reminiscing about last Spring when we took a girl's trip to San Diego! If you missed our adventure last year you can read about it here: part one, part two, and part three!

Since it was cold and rainy here, we had a Gilmore Girls Marathon one afternoon, which always makes us feel like eating.  I baked my first Lemon Meringue Pie using a Southern Living recipe. (It should be included in the Eat Like a Gilmore unofficial cookbook!) One of my tips is substituting some almond flour for part of the white crust flour; it is lighter and quite tasty.

Somebody else in our family ALWAYS has his mind on food. One night Thor smelled the milk in my Cheerios all the way from the other room and proceeded to beg...

Sweet baby Hazel, whom I Nanny, is a girlie on the go! She is cruising ALL the furniture. She pulls herself up on couches, tables, and even kitchen cupboards. She is still waiting to cut her first tooth!

I am still getting used to being at Hazel's house without sweet Jake, the family dog, being there. He battled Cancer and is now in "Doggie Heaven." What a fabulous dog he was. I only knew him for two months and yet I fell in love...We had to "put down" our dog Sadie and cat Tigger and so I know how very hard it is!!

We headed to Spokane last Friday afternoon, and wow was it Friday the 13th for us! A crash on the Pass shut down the Eastbound lanes for over two hours. Our normal 4.5-5 hour drive took a total of eight! Ugh. We have certainly been given lots of waiting opportunities lately. That said, we had such a fun time hanging out with our youngest three. 

We ate a late dinner at a new-to-us pub called Saranac Public House the first night, and our daughter-in-law prepared a delicious meal for us Saturday evening. We hit our favorite coffee house, Rocket Bakery for the best bagels and cream cheese, did some consignment shopping, and just enjoyed being together. We stayed with our oldest daughter in her cute apartment Friday and went to the Davenport Tower Saturday. The Tower has a great Happy Hour every day of the week and we met and chatted with a wonderful couple who had lived all over the world.

Due to an unexpected upgrade, we ended up on the 20th floor in the swanky honeymoon suite. Very nice indeed! We will be celebrating our 35th anniversary in June. The kids took advantage of the jetted tub before we left on Sunday after lunch. Aren't they clever? Have I mentioned how much I love my four kids?! (And my two daughters-in-law and future son-in-law?)

That kind of sums up the last few weeks in my little corner of the world. It is well with my soul and God painted a gorgeous masterpiece in the sky tonight as another reminder of His goodness and faithfulness.

.

"The Lord your God is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and constantly loves those who love him and obey his commands." Deuteronomy 7:9

Thanks for reading See Jane Learn. Wishing you a joy-filled Spring.

In His Grip, 

xo Jane

Friday Favorites: Pink Trees, Beaches, and Other Things

Happy Spring! While we were in Florida last week, our town "bloomed!" The Harbor had warm, sunny weather and Florida had... WIND and chilly temps. The sun did come out all but two days though, and we bundled up and enjoyed the beach and private pool.

Around my town are gorgeous pink blossoms, yellow daffodils and other signs of new life. Even though the Northeast is being blasted by snowstorms and we've had chilly rain and sleet, we can be assured that Summer is coming.

While baby Hazel takes her afternoon nap, I gathered this week's list current favorites:

Favorite new worship song: 
"More Than Anything" by Natalie Grant. The lyrics hit home as I watch friends going through hard medical issues. "Help me want the healer more than the healing..."

Favorite new vacation spot:
Have you heard of Anna Maria, Florida? It's a bit South of Tampa on the Gulf side. Our friends invited us to escape the waiting, and so we flew five hours and discovered a BEAUTIFUL beach.
We stayed in a rental home called "Serendipity" and once you see the pictures below you'll agree with the name and why it's already booked out for the next year...

I wanted to move in! It was amazing and I was in love with the decorating. Four Master Suites, chandeliers in every room... worth about four million. Golf carts are allowed on the island roads, and we also enjoyed riding cruiser bicycles to the shops. What a blessing to share a week here with friends! Thanks again, Gardners!

Favorite Florida Food:

Perfectly-made sweet tea! Fried shrimp! Fries! Breakfast burritos! Cinnamon rolls as big as our faces and donuts! I ate shrimp twice~the last night I had Coconut Shrimp before toasting another perfect sunset with my favorite frozen vacation drink; a Miami Vice! (I still can't understand why those are basically the only things I enjoy that contain coconut.)

On our last morning in Florida, I had breakfast on the sunny front deck; coffee, bacon, and a Mimosa. Perfect! We may or may not have eaten LOTS of Oreo cookies also... because they were there and we never buy them at home. YUM!

Favorite Non-fiction Book:

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis, is fantastic! Make sure to buy the hard-copy because you are going to want to ear-mark pages and underline sentences. I KNOW I will be rereading this often and doing a lot more hi-lighting. There are so many good chapters and messages it's hard to pick one, but I was crying during the one about parenting. 

"Mom, you should parent in whatever way works for your family and spend less time worrying about other people's perceptions of how you're doing."

I've held onto guilt about mistakes I made raising my four children for years. It seems like my battle with self-confidence and people-pleasing has been going on for way too long. Time to let that go. I am 58 for goodness sakes!

Another favorite quote:
 “A confident woman doesn’t crave other people’s approval because she already has God’s. When we know we have His approval, our craving for other people’s approval decreases." Lynn Cowell Proverbs 31 Ministries

The waiting appears to be over! My guy received good news on the job front, and it will be official on Monday. Thank you for hanging with us during this time of uncertainty and unemployment. God's timing is perfect.

Easter is coming!

As always, thank you for stopping by my little corner of the world and reading, "See Jane Learn!" Enjoy your Palm Sunday and have a good weekend!

In His Grip and Choosing Joy,
xo Jane





SaveSave

Let's Talk Numbers and God's Timing

Back in the day, when I taught a two-year-old Sunday School class, one particular song stuck and often runs through my mind. 

"Tick, tock, goes the clock,

tell me what it's saying?

Time to ________

That is what it's saying."

The blank can be filled in with many options; pick up our toys, read a story, gather for circle time...

Right now I'm filling in the blank with~ HIRE MY HUSBAND PLEASE!

Yep. We're still waiting to hear our good news. We "pulled the trigger" despite NO news, and leave for a get-away to Florida on Saturday. We are looking forward to a change of scenery. Tuesday at my bible study we were discussing the Israelites wandering in the desert, feeling trapped and not being able to enter the "Promised Land." You can read more about that in the Bible Old Testament books from Exodus to Joshua. We want to honor God while we wait and stay grateful for his continued provision.

I am not a current fan of H.R. policies and procedures, but then I've never really been a part of the corporate world. It just takes sooooo long for companies to go through the process. Mike continues applying, connecting with SO MANY kind people on Linked In, and sends email follow-ups, but that doesn't take eight hours, five days a week. 

He has kept his daily routine of working out at the YMCA, devotions each morning, he cooks us dinner each evening, walks our puppy dog, Sydney, keeps our yard tidy when it's not raining, watches his shows or goes to the cheap Tuesday matinee. I finally realized it was time to buy him a new puzzle. Puzzling to him is like knitting is to me; therapeutic.

You'll notice a tiny puzzling-friend in the photo that is also a great distraction; baby Hazel. I care for her two days a week and bring her over to our home for a couple hours mid-day. It is hard to be impatient and bored when you're snuggling or attending to a sweet baby.

Mike also enjoyed being beat in Connect Four with one of my friend's Kindergartners. Since we have an empty-nest, it's nice to have the kid-distractions like we used to have when our four were in our nest. 

"While I was focusing on the speck of time I found myself in, God was busy writing a greater story than I could have ever imaged."
(Maria Furlough, Breaking the Fear Cycle, which just released on March 6th.)

God's timing is not like ours. Time marches on and the countdown we are excited about is the summer wedding of our youngest daughter. Yes, employment will help make PAYING for the wedding much easier.

120 days to go, Jane & Mike!

Sarah and Nick are really the engaged couple, but The Knot website thinks we're getting married because I signed up to get information. Ha! I get messages asking me when I'm going to start planning ... They think we haven't even begun to figure out the venue, website, budget, guest list, registry, dress, etc. We really DO have almost all the planning done. The dress drama might be cleared up at the end of the month. 

We've done weddings four times before; our two sons, our first "original" wedding back in 1983, and the tenth-anniversary renewing of our vows. The pastor who renewed our vows is part of the couple we're going on vacation with. It will be refreshing to be with friends who have known us for over 35 years with all the ups and downs that come with marriage. I wish I had a photo to show you, but they're still packed up in "we thought we were moving" boxes. Should I mention that our wedding album has gone MIA?!

Here are some other numbers in my world:

Three batches of cookies baked this week.

Six people including our daughter coming to stay overnight so they can attend the Chapel Hill Celebrate Recovery Ministry training conference.

Two bridal showers to help oversee.

Two sleeps until Florida.

23 Days until cake-tasting and dress try-on. 

24 Days until Easter!!

122 Days since my amazing husband has had a job and felt productive.

95 days until our 35th Wedding Anniversary.

10+ pounds gained back that need to disappear.

ONE LOVING GOD WHO IS ALWAYS GOOD AND TRUSTWORTHY.

"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Psalm 90:12

In His Grip,

xo Jane

Photo credit: http://www.1000thingsnyc.com/200-water-street-digital-clock/