Love

Love may be a word that some say is overused, but I am not sure I believe in that thinking when applied to me. There are many different types of love (or at least I believe). There is that love that you have a time and then get over (like a teenage crush) and then there is that love that consumes you at first and grows into something deep and keeps changing over time (like the love you have for your spouse). Love makes me happy and being happy is well GRAND right? Tonight when I had trouble sleeping I thought, "you are very happy what are the things you love?" Really I was measuring if it was things or THINGS, you know? Here is what I came up with and again it is in ABC order because I find that is the best way to rest when you are not sleeping and sometimes if you are lucky, you can fall asleep.

A-art...I can find art in almost anything...I love paintings the most...The Swing by Fragonard, The Scream by Edward Munch, Stary Night by Van Gogh, and the persistence of memory by dali

B-Books---books are fascinating! A book can take you anywhere, can make you be anything, can be terrible, or even intriguing. I am lucky that I can speed read (not like JFK, but I have a good track record)...I ready between 100 (my worst year) and 300 (my best year) books a year, not counting kids books! I will read just about anything and if I really love it I will read it over and over and over. Since 1993, I have read Gone with the Wind 37 times, my favorite book of all time. Since I started my reading log in 1996, I have read Song of the Siren 12 times (my second favorite book). This year alone I have read all the Twilight books 5 times each!

C-Cruise ships- even if I am not on them, I love to study them. It started with a love of the titanic when I was a child and has grown to my new obsession the Norwegian Epic. I like to look at the deck plans, study them, and maybe dream, even about ships I have never and will never sail. I believe I could draw the titanic from memory.

D-Dali..one of my favorite artists

E-eye sight...I love the gift of sight! I would rather lose all other senses and keep that one if I had to...you can't read with it, can't look at paintings, or enjoy a majestic mountain or even a Caribbean sea. I love my eyes!

F-Faith...it's the part that makes you who you are. Your believe in God and His awesome powers. The path He has steered in on is the most different than anything I had ever envisioned for my life. John was in the plans, but other than that, child care was never in the mix. I planned on doing something in art for my living, or maybe training for Cracker Barrel. However, He knew what best

G-gemstones...I don't have to own them (even though I like too), I just want to look at them. I love to look at the blue topaz, the tanzanite, tourmaline, opal, citrine, amethyst, ruby, emerald...I love them all!!!

H-Hannah...my first born...taller than I am daughter. Creative, goofy, with legs a mile and a half long. I love her so much!

I-Inside Passage...a place I never dreamed I would go to and when I did I sat in a chair for over 12 hours no bathroom and had my food delivered to me, because I was mesmerized by the beauty of it all. I have seen many lovely things in my time and questioned "how can people see _____and not believe in God?" but oh my, words cannot describe the time that I spent in the inside passage, especially Glacier Bay. I have never in my life been more inspired, more awed, and of course cold. I am grateful for every moment spent in that National Park.

J-John...my wonderful husband, whom I love dearly. Even when I am angry with him, I love him. My love for him grows as we age...we develop our own interests and get deeper with the ones that we have in common. He makes life's journey more fun I am sure. He is goofy, serious, sport fanatic, and a good dad. As he ages (and maybe the kids too), I see him doing more with the kids...like fixing Trevor's tv dinners when I am too tired to move. Or coaching Trevor on the football field in our yard, or bowling with Hannah on the wii...Those moments are etched in my brain. I only wish the kids would remember them as well as I do. He loves to travel and that is wonderful because I get to tag along on his adventures. Lucky for me, he likes the cruise ships too! He is my everything.

K-Kodak...my favorite most friendly user face camera. Honestly, on Kodak.com they are very affordable too. I have owned about 10 kodaks, and 1 nikon...and guess what my next camera will be? Yep, Kodak. They have a wonderful product.

L-Laughter...do I have to explain why I love laughter? REALLY? REALLY?

M-Mountains....since I was a small child traveling to Colorado or the Smokeys with my parents I have loved mountains. I will admit the rocky type makes me happier than the tree covered part, at least until I went to the Caribbean and saw those tree topped mountains...still the rocky type is the best. I love the tropical ones, and the ones in Alaska that start at sea level and jut immediately to 6,000 feet, and those fun mountains in New Mexico, Colorado, and what not, and I do have some favorites. At 14,110 feet Pikes Peak is a majesty. I love every inch of her. Every time I get to Colorado, I have to get up her in some way, by train or car....I MUST go to the Summit. I love the Summit...you can see the Continental divide, Cripple Creek, Denver...you can see why and where America the Beautiful was written, you can see wagon tracks that were made during the gold rush! Vegetation grows so slowly they are STILL there today! I have to eat a mile high donut, and drink lots of water, and if I am lucky I will get attitude sickness! (really that part is not fun) I love the Peak, but my all time favorite mountain is Mount St Helens. It is one of those strange quirks that I have. I LOVE love love volcanoes. I remember the first time that I ever heard of or saw MSH....May 18, 1980 from then I wanted to know about her, wanted to watch the movie, see the pictures, I remember asking my dad about the ash reaching our house in KY. I have studied volcanoes a lot and am fascinated about craters and how they grow and how fast the glacial ice builds, and lava domes! I will continue to study MSH, maybe you should ask me about Harry Truman and see what I know.

N-nighttime...cause I love to sleep.

O- I remember the first time I went to the ocean, November 23, 1991! I guess I went to Daytona as a child, but I don't remember it at all. What I remember is driving to Jacksonville Beach by myself just to see the ocean. I was in Jacksonville for Cracker Barrel, and thrilled that I was actually going to see the ocean. It was a dirty grayish color, not so pretty, but the waves were wonderful and started a love affair. In 1993, we went on a mini honeymoon to Daytona and stayed right on the beach...this was a little different colored water, it had a tad more green in it ...and then when I went on my first cruise in 1998 and saw the aqua color of the Caribbean...oh my! I have seen ultramarine, a topaz, aqua, and an ocean with a hint of purple too. I love to look at the water! The prettiest was off the coast of Barbados! It was the bluest topaz I have ever seen other than a stone (I have a ring the exact color). It was full of waves, actually there is nothing between you and Africa other than the water you are looking at right there on the Bathsheba beach. The waters are so dangerous it is illegal to swim in them. They are rocky, rough, and so lovely to look at.

P-Paper...I am Michelle and I am a paper junky. I collect solids, plaids, patterns, textured...whatever...the most I have paid for sheet is $4.00, can you believe that? But it was a wonderful piece with metal embedded.

Q-Quick and Brite...the world's most perfect cleaner. I have gotten mustard out of a white tshirt with this stuff. Cleans tennis shoes to a brand new white color, add to laundry for oil stains, clean your floor for a shine, clean floor mats for a like brand new look and gets rid of soap scum. The best stuff...worth every penny

R-rainbows...how could you not love a rainbow? Hello...the colors are wonderful, beautiful and purely inspiring.

S-Scissors...do you know the things I can create with a paper of scissors? I could do without a pencil way easier than without scissors...I have to have them pointy for the detail and prefer 2 or 3 different kinds with different abilities, that is just a little piece of wonderful

T-Trevor my sweet little boy, who stinks, but it very athletic...hates to read (we need to work on that)...what a wonderful child.

U-USA...God Bless the USA...I wish I could have a bigger part in the political system. I would love to run for a local office...just to prove that all are not corrupt and stand up for the average American! We need a Champion too!

V-Volcanoes...As I stated before, I am a tad obsessed with them. Love everything about them.

W-Whales...I know a lot about them...love them and in 2007 I saw my first one in the wild. That was one of the most amazing sights! A real live humpback whale 10 feet from the boat on which I was traveling. His skin was a wet, slick leather look. I wanted to grab onto him. I wish I could have seen his baleen plate, or his fin, that would have made it the most perfect thing. Definetly the best shore excursion that I have ever done. And the most expensive too, but worth every single penny!

X-Xyron...only the best adhesive out there. I have 2 machines a 5" and a 1.5" one for letters and one for small details. They are a little expensive, but when you have a 50% coupon (which is what you wait for) they are 6.00 and 3.00 respectively.

Y-Yellowstone...just a place that I have never been, want to go with, read about and love

Z-Zipper..they amuse me by the way that they work. I have always liked the mechanics of a zipper