My New Favorite Food

I must admit that I'm trying new things everyday in my new hometown of Grapevine. And of course, food is high my list of things to try.

Sue and I went grocery shopping the other day when I picked up one of my usual refrigerator staples - yogurt. I am partial to Yoplait and usually go for strawberry. Sue suggested that I try the key lime flavor. I'm glad that I did because it has become my favorite Yoplait flavor. I've been eating it with my home made granola that I brought back from NY (thank you Jodelle). It reminds me of eating key lime pie and the combination sure tastes great with a good cup of hazelnut coffee.

Another favorite of mine is fried pickles. Yes, you read right - fried pickles. I'm not sure of the recipe that the local restaurants use, but you can visit here to find many. They are crispy, salty, and sure taste great!

It is approaching dinner time and I must go cook a fabulous dinner for myself. Bon appetit!

Lakeside Dreams

On Saturday evening, Sue and I sat on the beach at Grapevine Lake drinking coffee after a long day of watching her grandchildren play baseball. It was a perfect ending to the day.

As I sat there, my mind kept wandering back to a lifelong dream that I've always had since childhood: to run along a beach as the sun rises. It didn't take me long to decide that Monday morning would be the morning of fulfilling this dream.

I promptly got up at 6:30 AM and was at the beach by 7:00 AM. It was just beginning to get daylight. I began my journey westward on the beach with the daylight appearing behind me. I made it to the dock just in time to turn around and begin my journey back as the sun rose.

It was beautiful!! The fresh breeze coming off the lake, blue herons looking for their first catch of the day, and me walking with the Lord; it couldn't get much better than this. Little did I know,though, that God would give me an opportunity to fulfill another lifelong lake experience later in the day.

It was Columbus Day and this meant that Sue and I were in charge of watching her three grandchildren: two twin 9 year old boys and one 13 year old young lady. We decided to spend part of the time at the lake cooking hot dogs, making smores, eating and having fun. It was after all of the cooking and eating was done that the real fun began.

The three ladies were sitting lakeside in our cozy lawn chairs. The boys were in the water looking for lake treasures. Their grandmother gave them specific instructions about not going deeper than ankle deep water. As I watched them, I couldn't help to think about fulfilling my other lifelong dream: racing through ankle high deep water along a beach. I thought "it would be okay with grandma since the boys would still only be in ankle high deep water, what could it hurt to have a race." Of course, I didn't consult grandma prior to ripping my sneakers and socks off my feet. And then, I was gone too fast for her to have a word with me. Before I knew it, the boys and I were racing through the water having a "bucket full" of fun. Yes, what fun it was, especially when the boys tripped and fell face first in the water. Oops...so much for keeping the upper part of the body dry. By the end, none of us were dry. We were wet head to toe. The boys' grandmother and sister couldn't resist and joined us. I think the grandmother was the only wise one, though, because she didn't get wet head to toe. Come to think about it, she barely got her toe wet. Anyways, the four children ran up and down the lake shore in ankle deep water until they were breathless.

On the way home, the boys' grandmother promptly declared that we reminded her of the "Chariots of Fire Movie". I'm not sure we looked like the runners in the picture, but I sure felt like one.

This past Columbus Day was about fulfilling lakeside dreams for me. Thank you, Lord. Your timing is always perfect.

Home

As I spent the past month in NY working, many people greeted me with "welcome home". With every greeting, I found myself asking am I home? My answer was a resounding no!

One of Webster's definitions for home is:

a familiar or usual setting : congenial environment ; also : the focus of one's domestic attention

Yes, home is where the heart is. As I spent the past month in NY, one thing that was confirmed to me is that my heart is in Texas now. This is the place for the focus of my domestic attention and for me to walk out this season of life that God has me in. Yes, there are things that I miss about my previous home (northern NY), but I know in my heart that Grapevine is my home now.

As Sue took me back to my apartment Sunday night, she said "welcome home, Laura." Yes, I am home and am happy to be here.