A Touching Story...

A picture is worth a thousand words.

No acts of kindness however small is ever wasted..

They say that pictures speak ore than words ever will.  When you see these 

pictures you will understand why words really are not necessary.

A great story unfolds without a word being said until the very end.

First picture as you can see doggie is already in the water struggling.

Being an animal lover this has touched me deeply.  I believe that people in general

are good.  I believe they are kind and caring.  In my life I have encountered

many of these people.  Be kind and the world is kind to you also.

Kindness starts from the heart and ends with extended arms.

I suffer every moment of every day that I am not with you.

 All I want is to be reunited with my baby.

I don't think you realize how easily you make me smile.

Said the lady whose dog was saved:

A German tourist jumped in the freezing water and saved my precious little dog.

Upon getting back on the bridge, he checked my puppy and told me,

"Ze dog is OK.  He vill be fine"

Due to his selfless heroic act, she asked him "are you a vet?"

He replied, "VET???? I'M  F....ING SOAKED"

Thank you for sharing this story with me.

I now share it with all of you.

When I was young, I admired clever people.

Now that I am old, I admire kind people...

~Nadiya~

Making Memories...

We don't realize we are making memories.

We just know we are having fun....

For the next few days we will be getting to know Aleah.  She is as I mentioned 

previously 8 months old.  Born in Norway and now on her first visit to the USA.

I speak very little (more like nothing) Norwegian so it might be a little

of a challenge trying to actually talk with her.  I do know baby language so in 

that sense I'm covered.  I have been practicing in the last few days on some 

Norwegian words so hope they come in handy.  She is after all only 8 months old.

Arvid and I have been busy rearranging our schedules making sure that there

is nothing much going on.  Usually when we have visitors we carry on and 

never take time out to really change anything much as far as work goes.  Well, 

Arvid never changes his schedule.  I try to make sure I am always available

when my family visit.  Everything changes now with the arrival of Aleah.  I have

heard the saying that says parents never had that much time to spend with their 

own kids, but when the grand kids come along they have all the time in the world.

Well...we have all the time in the world.  I always, always have time for my nieces,

nephews, sisters and parents.  Nothing has changed in that sense for me.
Day two with Aleah and Michelle was just perfect.  We spent all day with them.
Went grocery shopping together, strolled around with Aleah. lunch out and
of course shopping.  Shopping for Aleah is fun.  I can't seem to know when to
stop and even Arvid is caught up in an activity that is not usually to his liking.

An interesting little fact.  Aleah is one of the only kids I know who has
8 grandparents.  Yes!  That's 4 grandmothers and 4 grandfathers.
Talk about a luck little girl.  I see a lot of spoiling going on in her future.
I believe we can all deal with it and handle it as adults.  Me I can't wait to
continue spoiling her more.  Yep..still have many more days to do so.
Today if all goes well she gets to meet our Brutus.

We are having a great time.  Wishing you all the same.
Remember, life becomes less complex when you eliminate needless wants.

A moment lasts all of a second,
but the memory lives on forever...

~Nadiya~

She's Here.....

Cherish all your happy moments.

They make a fine cushion for old age...

For the next 13 days we will see this little face every day!

You better believe that we will make the most of every moment. I'm looking

forward to getting to know Aleah and to be able to speak to her in some Norwegian.

The language is very difficult, but I have been practicing.  Plus I have a few cheat

sheets that will be coming in pretty handy during the next few days.

all around us everyday.  we just have to look

I've always believed in savoring the moments.

In the end, they are the only things we will have...

~Nadiya~

Super Cautious...

If you reveal your secrets to the wind, 

you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees...

I will never stop saying that life with Arvid is never dull.  He sure knows

how to spice up things.  Not always good but like I said never dull.

I don't like surprises.  Arvid on the other hand loves to surprise people.

A few years ago, we went to visit my sister in Texas. We knocked on their door at 

midnight on New Year's Eve.  Rima almost died of shock.  Arvid to them, "SURPRISE"

Next thing you know we were all setting off fireworks and laughing.

Another year my parents were also visiting.  Arvid did not want me to tell them we were

 coming.  I of course wanted to let them know.  Anyway we made arrangements with Rima

and met at the mall in Texas.  Arvid casually approached my mom from behind and said

"how may I help you?"  Another close call, thank god my mom has a good heart.

We have also surprised my parents a few times in NC.  When we moved 

back to condo living Arvid did not want to tell anyone.  We lived almost a 

year in the unit before anyone knew.  Not sure what's the big deal anyway. 

I am not as good as he in keeping secrets.  I don't like them.  I always like to know. 

Sometimes I tend to forget what I can say and what I should not say,

because with Arvid even speaking about the mail in public is a big no no.

Seems he always believes that someone is listening in to us.  I guess I have not

yet become so paranoid as he is.  He always says to me, "it's no one's

business what we do, so we don't have to tell them anything"  As far as he 

goes I should also never subscribe to Facebook, I should not have an Iphone

or any other gadget that can "track" what you do and where you go.

Yeah, life is never dull.  Can become exhausting at times, but dull never!

With Arvid life is full of surprises and always interesting. I never know from one

 moment to another what will happen next. One year I visited my sister for a week.  When 

I came home he had bought himself a brand new SL500.  He said that's what happens 

when I leave him alone.  Says he gets bored.

Wishing you all a good day...

The cautious seldom err.

it requires as much caution to tell the truth as to conceal it...

~Nadiya~

A Little Bundle Of Joy...

Grandparents make the world a little softer, 

a little kinder, a little warmer...

A few rainy days here.  Nothing wrong with rain, but I really hope it goes away before 

Michelle and Aleah gets here.  Yes, finally we will be seeing Aleah.  She is already 8 months

 old and this will be our first time seeing her.  Just a few more days to go.

We have seen her grow up through Facebook.  Her mom and dad like all new

parents post pictures daily almost of her.  I save them all.  Sometimes FB is

a good thing.  Even when Arvid keeps telling me I should never post pictures.

I have no children of my own, so you can imagine how happy I am to be able to

share a grand-daughter with Arvid.  My sister's kids are the joy of my life and

now to add Aleah in the picture makes it even more special.  I don't ask for 

much all I want is to love her and to be loved by her.  I already love her.  

Arvid and I are happy....all Arvid keeps wondering is how will 

Brutus react to Aleah?  Guess we will find out soon enough.

For now have a good day and always remember to enjoy life's pleasures.

The most important thing is to enjoy your life,

to be happy.  It's all that matters....

~Nadiya~

Brutus Again...

Sometimes the best thing you can do is not think, not wonder, not imagine, not obsess. 

Just breathe, and have faith that everything will work out for the best...

Back from Mexico.  Like I have mentioned it was a good time.  Made more special 

of course because my sister and our nephew was there with us.  As Arvid said to them,

 "you are welcome anytime you want."  It made me happy because they all get along really well.

We made it home and Brutus as usual was over excited to see us as we were to see him.

All Arvid kept saying was, :I wonder if he will be waiting at the door for us?"

He was.  He always is.  He saw us and just got all excited running and running.

Then we saw his paw.  it looked BAD!  Still looks BAD.  Made both of us 

very sad to see this.  Seems that no matter what we do the paw just will not get 

better.  This is one of the things that stresses me more than anything.  Stresses

us both.  We looked at him, picked him up, carried him around like the baby he is,

and just baby talked him.  This Arvid did and he does it all  the time.

Before leaving for Mexico we had already decided that we would take him

to another vet.  Now for a third opinion.  Made us feel better knowing we were 

at least doing once again all we can for him, but after seeing the paw, we 

decided to go one step further.  Time to see a specialist.  This is not as easy as 

I thought.  Like humans, we had to call his vet.  get a referral and of course them 

make the appointment.  Like with people, the waiting "line"to see the specialist 

is also something we have to deal with.  No immediate appoints, but at least in two weeks

Brutus will be seen hopefully by someone who will be able to give us some 

answers.  Poor kitty just takes it and never complains.  I help out by always putting 

a cold damp clot with antibacterial soap as was recommended by another of his vets.

Breaks our hearts to see him this way.  I have no clue what else I can do.

It goes without saying that Brutus is our baby...my reason to smile and 

to be happy.  If he's not doing good, there is no way that I am happy.  With this

specialist in sight, we are hoping for the best and for an answer to why this is happening.

Arvid and I always are hoping for the best and for answers.  Maybe this time we will be rewarded.

Last night we went to see Bonnie Raitt in concert. Pretty disappointing

is all I can say.  Even so, Arvid and I managed to enjoy ourselves. 

There is no way yo can go to The Seminole Hard Rock Casino and no have a good time.

Wishing you all a good day.

Remember, sometimes when you lose you still win in the long run.

Where love is concerned, too much is not even enough...

~Nadiya~

I've Got It All...

Happiness is like jam.  You can't spread 

even a little without getting some on yourself,

so stop worry about what you have to lose and 

start focusing on what you have to gain....

We all have one life to live.  How we live it is all up to us.

Mistakes are always there to help us realize that we can improve.

If we do so it another matter all together.  Remember money and material things

does not necessarily buy  happiness.  Happiness comes from within and 

we are all capable of having it and of giving happiness.

For me happiness is seeing my family,  hearing the kids laugh and spending

time with them.  Happiness is soon being able to see Aleah for the first time

and to hold her and cover her with kisses.  My biggest happiness is Arvid and Brutus.

I think I know very much how to appreciate what we have and how to be happy.
 We may not have everything we want, but we have everything that makes us happy.

Wishing you days of laughter and happiness.  Just look and you will find it.
Remember life is too short to wait.

Let your dreams be bigger than your fears,
your actions louder than your words,
and your faith stronger than your feelings.
Life is not a matter of milestones, but of moments....

~Nadiya~

Happy Thanksgiving....

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," 

that would suffice...Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace,

 the celebration of work and the simple life... a true folk-festival 

that speaks the poetry of the turn of the seasons, the beauty 

of seedtime and harvest, the ripe product of the year - 

and the deep,  deep connection of all these things with God..

Today we return home to Florida, home to Brutus.  This has been a 

very good stay in Mexico and what made a good stay even better was

having my sister and nephew with us. For me it will always be one of the best

times ever in Mexico.  We did so many thing and we just bonded even more.

Thanksgiving is such a big celebration here in the USA.  It's one of the holidays where 

hundreds of thousands of travellers make their way back to home.  Everyone looks forward 

to being home with family and loved ones, and enjoying a very traditional Thanksgiving meal

 during this time of giving thanks.  Traditional Thanksgiving Meal.  Interesting tid bit, 

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare.  They are consumed in twelve

 minutes.  Half-times take twelve minutes.  This is not coincidence.

For us it's has already been a good Thanksgiving.  Though it would have been 

the best to be with the entire family, I will take what has been given as a special gift 

and for that I am grateful.  Will soon see Brutus and that will complete our day.

For now wishing you all a good day and don't forget, "as we express our gratitude, 

we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them"  

Happy Thanksgiving to all.  Be safe, enjoy and yes put on those few extra pounds...

Let us remember that, as much has been given us, 

much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes

 from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds...

~Nadiya~

It's Goodbye For Now...

Every goodbye makes the next hello closer.

We have had a great time here.  

Made much better by having my sister and nephew.

Hopefully on our next trip to Mexico another of my sisters will decide to visit.

Both Arvid and I happy to have them and we always have a good time.

Time to say goodbye and until the next time.

I have had some very special moments with my sister and together 

the four of us have had many good moments as well.  Makes me always 

happy to see my family get along so good with Arvid and he with them.

Last coffee here with her.  maybe one day she will come visiting again.

I can only hope so.  For now good morning everyone.  It's almost 7am 

here.  Time to have cafe and sit on the balcony a little with my sister.

It’s all said and done, it’s real, and it’s been fun...

~Nadiya~

One Of A Kind...

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter 

and those who matter don't mind...

Before leaving for Mexico I noticed that Arvid was wearing a watch.  This is

not unusual for most people, but being Arvid I found it very strange so I asked

him how come he was even taking a watch.  Usually when he has a watch I 

end up keeping it in my handbag.  Like Arvid, I do not use much jewelery or even

a watch anymore.  Too hot where we live and I do not like the tan lines they leave.

Back to why he was even taking a watch.  This is what Arvid said to me,

"this watch is to protect you against bad people."  Of course I look at him and

not having a clue as to where this was going or what he was saying I had to ask.

Answer, "should we get mugged or attacked, I can just give them the watch."

I looked at him again and first thing I said was,"but it's safe where we go, and

who the heck is going to attack us."  His answer, "you always have to plan

for the worse."  And with that he packed his watch in his backpack for use 

in Mexico.  Once in Mexico he wore the watch in the evenings.  I asked why

not during the daytime as well?  Answer, "nothing will happen during the day."

For two evenings he was good with the watch.  Wore it with out complaining,

but always halfway through the evenings it ends up in my handbag because, 

"I really think the watch is too heavy and it aches my entire arm."

So much for protection.  Guess if we get attacked I just have to pull the watch

out of my handbag and show it to the supposed mugger and hope it will

save our lives as Arvid seems to believe.

In the meantime, we are enjoying my sister and nephew's visit.
Though it rained quite a bit yesterday, Arvid still managed to watch the soccer
 game with JC while my sister and I enjoyed Pina Coladas and Margaritas on the
beach... in the middle of the rain.  It was just a lot of fun.

Being one of a kind makes you that much more special, 

being a copy of the next person make you even easier to replace..

~Nadiya~