August 2nd Daybook Thoughts

FOR TODAY - August 2, 2012

(want to participate? Visit the Simple Woman's Daybook!)

Outside my window...it's partly sunny and I've been enjoying the butterfly that has decided to show love to my Parade roses. I always feel like my mom is visiting when I get to see a butterfly.

I am thinking... why must people hold so much hate? Just treat others how you would like to be treated, people! It might sound childish, but it's as simple as that.

I am thankful... for all the loving, supportive people I am blessed to have in my life. You know who you are, and thank you. If you think it isn't you? You're probably wrong. Thank you (yes you) for being in my life.

In the kitchen... yummy gluten free chocolate cake is calling my name.

I am wearing... my favorite over sized, long sleeve t-shirt and cotton gauchos. Bumming it today!

I am creating... fanciful things in my head! I have a few projects I need to get rolling. Namely, a birthday card and a new painting.

I am going... to have to give in and have a piece of cake.

I am wondering... why we can't all just get along.

I am reading... The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, pretty much because I'd like to say I have read it when the movie comes out in December. It was one of my favorite cartoon movies when I was little. Right up there with The Last Unicorn!

I am hoping... I can just be the best me I can be, and that touches even one person at some point in a positive way.

I am looking forward to... oddly enough, that piece of cake. Haha!

I am learning... continually, patience and tolerance.

Around the house... I actually finished up my chores BEFORE sitting down! Somehow, dishes multiply while you are out of the kitchen. I think dishes are secretly like rabbits.

I am pondering... what to paint next. So many things in my brain!

A favorite quote for today... Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than just standing in a garage makes you a car.  This can go for any religion, and is right in line with Religion doesn't make you a better person, you actions make you a better person. Treat people the way you'd want them to treat you, people! You get what you give!

One of my favorite things... cat feet. My little Charlie Bug has the most precious jellybean-like toes. Squee!

A few plans for the rest of the week: I want to get a new painting started, I need to put my toes in the ocean, and I need to make time for meditation every day, no matter what!

A peek into my day... my sweet Charlie Bug didn't want to cooperate and share he toes today. But here's her favorite nap position!

Charlie Bug decided she didn't want to share he toes, but here's her belly!

My First Sea Turtle Nest!

I found my first sea turtle nest on our favorite beach! Ok, so I might not have actually discovered the crawl, or the nest for that matter, but I can still call it my first. I mean, I have never seen an actual sea turtle nest on the beach before...

It'd been a few weeks since I'd had my feet in the ocean, so we headed out to our favorite oceanfront park in Wilbur-by-the-Sea, just up the road from the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. Of course, Rob had to stop by the Little Boys' Room, so I made it to the beach first. It was a gloomy day, and we were there around 6 o'clock, so we pretty much had the beach to ourselves.

While I snapped some pictures and waited on Rob, I spotted a section of sand marked off with tape and cones. I'm sort of used to seeing cones on the beach, since you are allowed (in most places) in the Daytona area to park on the beach. The Winter Haven Park area is a no traffic beach, but there are still cones for the Beach Patrol areas. Anyway, these weren't Beach Patrol cones.  I ran down to see it it was really what I hoped.

Cha-ching! A marked sea turtle nest!! I couldn't contain myself, I ran halfway up the boardwalk to Rob and started jumping up and down and hyperventilating. I couldn't regain composure, so I just drug him down to the beach. This nest wasn't exactly in the dunes (mere steps from the public beach walkover actually) so they had extra cones for added warning.  See the little

Sea Turtle spray painted on the cone? I wish I knew the details, like if it was relocated or what type of turtle made the nest, but I'm just happy knowing there will be baby sea turtles on my beach soon!

We strolled the beach until rain drops began to chase us back to the walkover. I didn't think that trip to the beach could get much better...then on our way back, we spotted another nest! TWO sea turtle nests on our beach!

We noticed numbers on the markers and decided some of them were dates. One nest was found June 12th, the other June 20th. I hope we are lucky enough to see the babies when they hatch! Sea turtle nests can incubate for anywhere from 65 to 80 days, depending on the species, so I have some calculating to do! How exciting would it be to watch the babies make it to the ocean!!! I think I'd cry the whole time...I'm just like that.

According the the Volusia County Turtle Patrol, our county has 173 Loggerhead and 5 Leatherback nests so far! Woohoo! This ought to be an exciting season! I'm so glad we decided to hit the beach yesterday; I'm sure I'll annoy Rob every free day he has to return, especially since it's sea turtle season. At least it's the beach and not the mall, right babe? Right?

Act of Valor

February 25th was my husband's birthday. It was his day and I wanted us to celebrate exactly how he wanted. Well, he's sort of the home-body type, so we slept in and messed around the house for a while. We talked about mini golf, or maybe heading into Orlando for some touristy fun, but then he decided he wanted to see the new movie, Act of Valor.

Our favorite local theater had it, so we headed out to Port Orange and got two tickets for the 4 o'clock showing. If you haven't heard of this movie, the idea is pretty awesome. It took forever to film because they used actual Navy Seals, and filming had to be worked around their deployment. Wow, right? That's exactly what I thought. Now, I know a lot of people (especially most girls out there) will probably not go see this movie because you aren't action movie fans. I wasn't looking too forward to it myself, but I was sorely mistaken to think it wasn't something I'd like. Granted, it's definitely not a chick flick, but Act of Valor should be on everyone's must see list.

My immediate family isn't a military family. Growing up in an all female household, I didn't really have any experience with the military past knowing they protected our country, and that Fort Gordon was more than a highway in August, GA. It was also an army base. Sure, my high school had an NJ-ROTC program, and I even waited on soldiers at my family restaurant, but as for an intimate knowledge of anything military, forget it. I knew my maternal grandfather had served in the Navy in World War II, and I had friends that went into all branches of the service. I wholeheartedly respect anyone brave enough to commit to serve our great country. But like most Americans, I had no idea what that service entails.

Act of Valor has an intriguing plot, just like you'd expect any good action move to have. The difference? This one is based on actual missions. Actual people. Actual men and women putting themselves in harms way to protect my freedom, and yours. It's raw, real, and very graphic. You will follow a team of Navy Seals as they work to stop terrorists from harming Americans, on American soil. February 25th started out as a regular evening, but the simple act of catching a movie changed my life.

I won't reveal anything about the film; you have to watch if for yourself. But if you can watch that movie without being touched to your core, without gaining a whole new level of appreciation for your rights and freedoms, then my friend, you aren't human...much less American.

Everyone in that theater was speechless. Popcorn and candy was left uneaten, drinks remained untouched in their cup holders, and when the credits rolled? Well, they were few, and they ended with a list of soldiers that have given the ultimate sacrifice since 9/11 protecting the freedoms we as Americans take for granted every moment we breathe. People left the theater in silence. I didn't see a single person that hadn't wiped a tear away, or somehow looked deeply affected. It was the most reverent, orderly, respectful thing I've ever seen.

Of course, being my usual self, I had to sit there for a few minutes and get my sobbing under control. The swelling of pride I had (and still have) for our country's military is beyond words. The respect I had for our armed forces before that movie seemed small and insignificant as those credits rolled. I was at once overwhelmingly grateful for their sacrifices and just taken aback at the fact someone I don't know could ever put themselves in that much danger, just to protect me.

My mind couldn't stop spilling over the things people just don't get. Acts of valor like that go on so much more often than we civilians will ever know, and that is why we still have our freedoms. That is why I can say and do what I want. That is why I enjoy every single thing I enjoy, right down to the freedom to write this post unedited and uncensored. That movie shook me to my core.

I've always respected our soldiers...past, present, and future. But that respect has deepened to unbelievable levels since yesterday. I don't think there will be a day, probably not even a moment of my day that will pass that I don't think how blessed I am to live in the United States of America. To all our armed forces out there, and their families, thank you from the very depths of my being, and then some. You are all heroes.