Mama Always ~ L.A. Brown, Author

Well, after three days of going, we are resting today. This is a good thing, my Little has a nasty cold and it will do her good to just lay around and sleep as much as she can. Good thing Stephen and I are around, we can take shifts taking care of the babies. Little Peanut is pretty much easy to take care of, Little Monkey is just that, a monkey; constantly going and getting into things and taking off. Earlier today, I have to admit that I had a major giggle going. Beth's kitten, Raja, whom we now believe to be a boy, is a running terror. Since he's just a kitten, that is pretty normal, but he's constantly going, constantly running. With her wooden floors, it sounds like a "turd of hurdles"....in other words, it sounds like a twenty five pound cat is running the halls. Until he passes out from total exhaustion, this is constant.....you get used to it, me, I'm pretty amused with the whole thing. Well, this morning, as Little Monkey was knocking about, talking...

Well, here we are, 1508 miles to Tokyo now, roughly about three hours more. It will be good to stretch my legs some apart from going to the bathroom. I see by the menu that we have breakfast (?) coming.  Hmm…at home its nine o’clock , hardly breakfast time. I think that we have the option of having a dinner-type meal, but I’m not sure of that. To me, it would seem appropriate, but then again, I think that I’d run out of appropriate once we crossed the International Date Line. I am officially in Wednesday late morning.  Perhaps, once I’m through customs and checked in for my Al Nippon flight that I will find something other than fruit to snack on. I brought fruit, but I am thinking that it won’t be allowed through customs, although I could be wrong. This customs thing is going to be interesting. Hopefully they speak good English as opposed to my severely lacking Japanese. So far, arigato, konishiwa……yeah, that’s all I’ve got so far. Praise God for a phrase book that speaks f...

So, here I am at 26808 feet…. I cannot believe how excited I am to be stuck on a flying metal tube for 13 hours! I have been blessed to be seated in Business First and let me tell you! WOW! I have my own personal video screen to watch whatever I want on…I can watch cartoons if I so desire! Hmmm…..I wonder if they have Bugs Bunny and Roadrunner. Lol! Anyway, right now I have the flight map cycling on my screen so that I can see where I’m going and how I’m getting there. It looks as if we are going to be heading west over the Pacific into Narita. With any luck at all I will be able to get a few shots of Tokyo itself and my biggest hope is to get some amazing shots of Mt. Fuji . Having been born into, brought up in, worked in and now married to the airline industry I rarely am surprised by anything that they come up with on these aircraft. The sheer fact that I am able to use my laptop, even if it is without wi-fi, is amazing. I remember when all you had to entertain you wa...

OK, I couldn't come up with anything clever today for my title because everything that came to mind was sound effects! I am absolutely abuzz with anticipation right now, my foot won't stop moving and this is even before one cup of coffee has been even halfway drank. Praise God that I only have my carry-on to pack now because I would probably forget half of what I want to take with me. Part of the problem, though, happens to be a hole in the eaves of my roof. Apparently, I want to think cats and not coons, found their way into my attic last night/this morning and were fighting and running into stuff and making a terrible noise up there. It woke me out of a (finally) sound sleep and I didn't sleep worth a hoot afterwards. I was even in my backyard with a flashlight at 430 this morning looking on the roof hoping that they were there instead of inside. When I walked back into the house, all eight cats were wide-eyed and staring at the access to the attic. Go figure. Chris, of...

I say that as I'm bouncing off of the ceiling at home! Tuesday morning cannot  get here fast enough! I went to church this morning, a little late, but I got there. There was a huge sigh of relief that came from my mouth as I pulled into the massively packed parking lot and saw that I was only one of at least a dozen cars that had not parked yet. Made me wonder if there was something more than the sermon going on and I had missed the email! Lol! Anyway, after parking in Northern Texas, I got out and decided to scold myself for wearing heels...what on earth was I thinking? Oh, yeah! I was thinking that I would get there on time (**rolls eyes** like that ever happens) and I would get Princess Parking...not! I am still shaking my head at wearing heels when my ankle is threatening my very balance by swelling ever so slightly. However, I did make it into the building, carefully avoiding any crack or seam in the sidewalks and to my seat, just slightly to the left of where I usually sit....

If you've been following, in three days I will be on a plane, by myself, to Japan and then Okinawa. It is there that I will see my Little, her husband and their two Littles! Its been a good six months since I saw my oldest Granddaughter, and since the littlest one was born on the 21st, then it will be my first visit with her! I am so stoked!!!  Of course, I'm sure you really can't tell that, now can you? I think I have everything done with the exception of packing the last minute things. I have all of the baby stuff in one of those vacuum bags and all of the air is sucked out of it. That hard piece of plastic is mighty heavy, let me tell you! Let's put it this way, when I come back, my suitcase is bound to be at least thirty pounds lighter. I'm not complaining, though, its worth it to see the looks on their faces when they see this stuff! I promise that I will have pictures of what it is once I get there, but because some of its a surprise, I'm going to have t...

So, I'm on the fast track for my trip to Japan. This is really not a leisure trip, but I do get to meet my brand spanking new granddaughter and my year old granddaughter, oh, and of course my daughter and her husband. They're just there to make sure that I don't abscond with the two itty-bitties. Lol! Anyway, I have been collecting a ton of stuff to take with me, but my problem right now is.... how the heck is this all going to fit??  Oh, and I have to have room for my clothes, too. I think I have the problem solved, I have a couple of those space bags, you know the ones that you take the sucker part of the vacuum hose to so that they shrink to a rock hard slab of plastic? Yeah, those. I have two of them and I'm afraid that I'm going to have to get more just to have room enough for my clothes. And  I have a big suitcase, too...one big enough to stuff me in. OK, no cracks here, if I fold myself in half and unzip the extension part, I'll fit. Happy? So, back to ...

I had to smile this morning as I looked outside at the pouring rain. At least I don't have to water today, or tomorrow, or possibly even the next day from the looks of things. Rain now, sends me a mixed bag of emotions. Sometimes I look out and I see a big old Australian Shepherd hunkered down on the couch or some remote corner of the house refusing to step foot outside. That boy was not afraid of anything, except getting his paws wet. We were convinced that he believed for all its worth that he would melt if he were to get his paws wet. On the off chance that it was one of those days that he chose to run from us instead of allowing gravity to assume the full brunt of his 45 pounds and sticking to the floor like Velcro, when he was caught, he would be dragged to the back door and unceremoniously tossed out into the rain where he gingerly tip-toed to the least wet place in the yard, did his business and high-tailed it back to the door and the safety of the step where he balanced him...

Ever have one of those days when you wonder why on earth you decided to stir from your bed in the first place? Yeah, I think we have all had those kinds of days and today, this is one of them. It all started with a call from my mom. Now, mind you, this is Saturday and at the time she called she would normally be getting ready for church. When she calls in the middle of getting ready for church, well, let's just say that one does not ignore the phone in such cases because it needs to be important for her to call at such a time. This was one of those times. Now for a bit of background. Thursday, a week ago, Andrea and I tried to get to my folks in Arizona. Not only was it the beginning of Spring Break, but is had been raining cats and dogs here, so when one flies standby in such situations, one does not get on board an airplane. After waiting around for a relatively small amount of time, in an over-crowded terminal area, we found that not only were we not getting on this airplane...

Don't get me wrong, the desert is a beautiful place. No where on earth are there so many things going on in so much dust and sagebrush and tumbleweeds as there are in the desert. I know, I not only grew up in one (Reno), but I lived in one (Tucson). I spent a day and a half in that dusty, dry place this week in preparation for my trip to Japan. I wished I could have stayed longer, but flights the way they are and babies as unpredictable as they are, it just wasn't a good idea. Besides, I need to get my last hep B shot before I go. I've got to tell you, though, where my parents live, in the middle of No-where Arizona, I don't think that I've seen clearer night skies than I do there. Ever. You go outside at night and there are no city lights to disrupt the glorious velvet background with shimmering, pulsating stars all around...and an occasional bat or owl tossed in the mix. Add in a couple of coyotes howling, a dog or two barking and it makes for some interesting a...

Actually, that title is a bit misleading! I have found a site that I love and will keep recommending as long as I possibly can....its called Coffee Fool     http://www.coffeefool.com/default.asp . They are a coffee company that roasts and packages coffee and let me tell you, this is one fantastic cup of coffee! Since I received my Mr. Coffee Keurig, I have sought out coffee that works in my maker. Of course, I can always use the old standby of Folgers with the option of a reusable filter that Keurig offers for sale. That's cool, it works, but sometimes I want variety, so I checked out the "K-cups" out there. The problem that I have found with those is that not only are they intended for one use, but usually they are pretty strong. That's OK if I want to have a dark roast, but the medium or light roasts tend to be stronger than what I have in mind at the time. That's where Coffee Fool comes in. Coffee Fool is a small, independent company in Minneapolis that is ...

Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: ' Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself' ( Matthew 22:36-39 ).  Throughout my Christian life I have read this verse over and over again. I have even striven to do what it commands, but, alas! too many times I fall so short of what I am supposed to do. Some time ago, while I was yet in my infancy in Christ, I had the opportunity to help someone in need and failed in that task. To this day, that woman's eyes haunt me and I will never forget the sorrow I felt at letting God down. I know that He has long since forgiven me and forgotten this lack of action, as they say, "as far as the east is from the west", but it will forever be a reminder to me as to what should have been the first of many times that I have helped when help was nee...