Because There Is Always Something Good ~ Friday August 13th ~

 Whenever you find yourself on the side of
 the majority, it is time to pause and reflect...

Relaxation times at home in Puerto Rico.  Sometimes 

I ask myself, why do we need anything else?  We have 

everything we need right here at home in Puerto Rico.

Just the simple things in life can bring so much

 pleasure.   The other day this rainbow captivated both 

Arvid and I for quite some time.  It was beautiful.

Everyday there is something wonderful 

waiting to happen.  You just have to look for it.

Today I bring Taino home.  Happy Happy.

The true secret of happiness lies in taking

 a genuine interest in all the details of daily life...

~Nadiya~

Monday December 14th ~

 A new day.  Be open enough to see opportunities. Be wise

 enough to be grateful.  Be courageous enough to be happy...

Here at home the sun is has risen already.  I woke up
 early to catch a glimpse of it.  It struggled a bit

 to get out of the clouds.  Eventually it did.

At Mala's there was a whole different kind of feeling.

  She was blanketed with snow.  Just in time for Christmas. 

 Yes, lucky them it might still be a white Christmas.

I also received a few pictures from Branson. 

 Almost Home is all the tenants were having a snow day

 yesterday.  I can actually picture my first snow in Branson.  

Was beautiful and unforgettable.  Yesterday's snow.

Here at home the grass is green, the skies are blue

 and kitties are being fed.  This one below, whom I call 

pooper was just fed.  He had shrimp and more shrimp.  

As the new week begins we all hope that with 

the approval of the Covid vaccine things begin to

 get better and better.  Yes, it will take some time, 

but one can always hope and be positive 🙏.

Monday already here.  Open doors

 and embrace new opportunities.

Opportunities are like sunrises.  

If you wait too long you miss them...

~Nadiya~

Just Because ~

Be silly.  Be fun.  Be different.  Be crazy. Be you, 

because life is too short to be anything but happy...

Every time we go driving and I drive my car seems to 

think I need a rest.  I always get the following warning:

Arvid of course says that i do sway too much.

  Hmmm.. maybe he has a point.  No matter what I do 

or how I do it, the warning keeps popping up.

Every so often I take time out to do a little facial. 

 My sister bought us all this mud mask and i love it. 

 After every use my face feels rejuvenated and so 

smooth and soft.  Arvid says I scare him and Sniff.

Did the swap Shop already for this week and you 

guessed it.  I had my coconut again. Growing up in the

tropics in South America and then in the island of Puerto Rico,

one learns to appreciate the finer things in life, like

 the taste of coconut water on a hot day.

Arvid works and Sniff is always next to him helping.

Like Brutus, Sniff is a little helper.  So so cute.

Yesterday's lunch with Liliana was good. 

 We had good food, lots of laughter, some tears,

 but most of all we had happy times.  Again.

A new day begins and it is already very warm,

 but I don't care anymore.  I love being home.  

I am really tired of moving around so much.

Never stop learning because life never stops 

teaching. Just because you have a bad day

 doesn't mean you have a bad life...

~Nadiya~

Saturday Vibes ~

When everything seems to be going against you, 

remember that the airplane takes off 

against the wind, not with it...

Sniff and I woke up early again.  Yesterday it

 rained all day and most of the night.  Sniff was scared

 so he slept in the curve of my back the entire night.

  Made it difficult to move and though I was a little

uncomfortable, I did my best to stay still.  I love when 

Sniff sleeps close to me.  His warm little body kept me

 nice and toasty and when he purrs I can feel it.  LOVE!

Woke up to a wet morning.  Hopefully today will

be better.  Arvid and I have plans of going to the 

movies, but if it rains I know Arvid will hesitate.  

He does not like going out at all in the rain.

Being indoors all day is pretty boring. 

 To make it better I was experimenting with 

different nail polishes.  Mainly glitter.  

In preparation for going back home to Fort Lauderdale, 

there is a mess everywhere.  Mainly my stuff.  I am 

choosing what to take and what to leave.  

Not an easy task because I want to take 

back all my clothes, but at the same time 

I know I can't.  What a conundrum.

Definitely going to miss waking up to this view, 

on the other hand our view back in Fort Lauderdale is

 also pretty nice.  I'm thankful and grateful.

Wishing everyone a Saturday filled with happiness,

 laughter and all things good.  Remember it's our

 attitude that dictates how our day goes by.

Never whine, never complain, never try to justify yourself.

A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart...

~Nadiya~

New Week Again ~

Be grateful for all you have,

but never settle for less than you can be...

On any given Sunday you can find us relaxing and enjoying ourselves at The Landings.  

Be it for a good meal or just browsing around, there is something for everyone.

Arvid never gets tired of checking out the cars.  He always buys

 the raffle tickets, so far we have not had any luck, but you never know 

what can happen.  It already tagged with Florida plates. 

 Would be sweet to win it and drive it home.

The Branson Fountain at sunset is always a favorite with me.  No matter 

how often we go there I always have to take pictures of it.  Always a beautiful sight.

The next few days we will be waking up to very cold temperatures.

Good thing is that as the day progresses it will get warmer and 

the sun will be shining. Could not be any better.  Loving it!

Sniff Sniff never wastes a chance to catch the rays.  He can fall asleep in the 

blink of the eye in just about any spot.  But his favorite is always to be as 

close as possible to me.  As soon as I sit Sniff makes himself comfy, 

closes his eyes and is once again in dreamy land.

Good morning everyone.  May this be the start of a great new week.

Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. 

 The time will pass anyway.  Mondays are for fresh starts...

~Nadiya~

Here's To A Good Day...

Ten years from now, make sure you can say

you chose your life, you didn't settle for it...

Arvid's birthday was on Sunday. We woke up to cool temperatures, 

but as the day progressed it just got warmer and warmer.  After a breakfast 

of bacon and eggs, it's our usual Sunday breakfast, Arvid watched a few 

soccer games on then we went to my hotel to check on a few things.

 After that it was the usual trip to Home Depot and Lowes.  Arvid bought tiles 

for his and I bought a few plants and planters for the outside of my hotel.  Everything

 was nice and quiet.  Such a good feeling especially after knowing that we

 have really worked hard these last 5 months to accomplish this.  Especially

 Arvid. His hotel has gone through a total transformation from 

what it was the day we took over  to what it is today.

 Arvid has worked hard towards that!

For Arvid's birthday I took him to a place called Chateau on the Lake. 

Very nice place and the view reminded us of being in the Eleuthera, Bahamas

.  The sun was shining and both he and I actually got a tan.  Was a beautiful day.

 Food was good and Arvid even enjoyed dessert.  He had the creme brûlée. 

 As Arvid keeps saying, "since coming here I eat more and I eat a lot of different 

foods."  True. His appetite is larger but at the same time he has lost 

quite a lot of weight. Same can't be said for me.

Weather is Missouri is strange we wake up to the 40's and in about 4

hours it goes to the high 70's.  Not complaining but still strange.

Sniff had a good day. He slept a lot had some extra treats and lots of love.

The work week is going by fast as usual.  Work keeps us very busy and

 having had a Sunday to just relax, enjoy a goof meal with a great

 view was a very special treat for us.  What we used to do as the 

norm back home in Florida is now a very rare thing for us.

Yesterday I had another go at gardening.  I bought 7 different kinds of seeds and

planted 6 of them in the same pot.  I planted the beans by themselves because 

I figure they need to climb on something.  Hopefully something will grow,

 and Arvid will go pick them.  They say that to plant a garden 

is to believe in tomorrow.  Guess that's me.

Hope everyone is having a great week so far.  Time to keep

 trucking away and making every moment count.

Be your own kind of beautiful.  Sometimes you win

sometimes you learn.  It's called life...

~ Nadiya~

And So Another Christmas Has Come And Gone...

May the good times and treasures of the present. become the golden 

memories of tomorrow.  Wishing you lots of joy, love and happiness...

It was a quiet Christmas at our home.  The day was warmer than usual which according

 to Arvid was a good time to do some work in the garage.  He just can't sit still no matter 

where we are.  Sniff and I were indoors just cuddled up under some warm covers.

  I was reading and Sniff was snoozing between my legs.  It was good.

On Christmas Eve Arvid and I were invited to a Pizza "party."  We actually did go, and

 it was not bad at all.  Of course Arvid was super happy because it was Papa John's pizza.  

He usually never eats when we go to any ones place, but that night he had a few slices.

There was quite a bit to eat and both him and I had a very good time.  Of course
someone brought chicken wings so I was also super happy.  Any one
who knows me knows that chicken is my favorite food.

Making the evening even better was our host and his Karaoke set up.
 Even Arvid participated.  Usually we would not be doing this, but somehow
here in Branson it just seemed fitting.  Reminds me of how I am
told it is in Norway a little. Made for a pleasant evening.

I missed my family very much.  We spoke several times during the day.
It was good, but not the same.  It was my mom's birthday and we should have have
been there.  Hopefully we will be there next year to celebrate with all of them.

All my nieces and nephews texted all day long, but the one that texted the most
was my youngest niece Lilly Vade.  Hers was the first text I saw when I woke up
this morning.   Made me just want to be there and be hugged by her.

  Lilly loves to hug and squeeze you tight.  It would have been good.
Yesterday I missed my Brutus very much.  Even Arvid said, "2 years now without
Brutus at Christmas?"  Yes Brutus and Shadow... how time goes by.  Sniff makes up a
lot for being loving and cuddly.  Sniff is a good good boy and we love him.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas, spent with friends and family.
May the coming year be better for all of us.  Happy Monday all.

Today is Danielle's birthday.  U. Arvid and I miss you and would
have loved having you spend it with us.  His words!!!

Today is next years Christmas memory.  Make it one that you will
 always cherish, and be sure to enjoy every single minute...

~Nadiya~