Real Love?

Real love cannot be explained, it can only be felt…but I will still try to define it somehow.
Love is the highest emotion there is, a deep feeling of belonging so much with someone that when you see her/him you feel at home…your heart is beating 100 times per second and you cannot explain it. You have a sensation that you know this person on Soul level, that your Soul knows her/him Soul, that your Heart knows her/him Heart.

Real love never ends; in fact, you never stop loving the person, even though you might not be physically together.

You feel each others moods, thoughts and emotions, even though you are apart.
Probably two people who have this feeling about each other have been together in many lifetimes before, not necessarily as a couple. I believe we change relationships with the same people, in order to learn different lessons.

However, love is not enough to keep a romantic relationship. There has to be respect, trust, intimacy, communication, sharing, and forgiveness…All of this is connected under the umbrella of love.
To be able to truly welcome love into our life we have to be strong, we need to have the fighter spirit. To keep a relationship flowing is hard work, every day. Nothing is free. However, the award is amazing. The award is Paradise on Earth, true happiness…

Many people never experience this overwhelming, overpowering sensation of losing yourself into deep love. To love with an open-heart means you have to open up totally to another person. This is scary, because you are vulnerable and might get hurt, so even though true love knocks at your door you might never have the balls to open you prefer to run and hide under your blanket, pretending you do not hear.

“The little Town of Edina”

Ahh! the little town of Edina with it’s cobble stone streets, and trendy stores.  Read   “Moving to Edina”
 
Main Street

 
Scott and his father enjoying the little water falls on main street.

Where  every other SUV is a land rover.

Every other car is a BMW or Mercedes Bends.

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With it’s great library's

Parks

 
 
  Heart warming homes.


 
  I must not forget the coffee drinkers that walk the streets.
 
Even though we did not drive a land rover, or a BMW, or did we shop you're trendy stores, or drink coffee on your streets.
 You have always made us feel welcome Edina, for ten years we have enjoyed you're libraries, you're beautiful parks, and your rich culture.
We have always felt safe and wanted here. Now the time has come for us to let go of this part of our life, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
We would like to thank you Edina.. for making this page of our life a warm and happy story.
“We will miss you Edina”

My Final Steps – March

My Final Step!

So close I can almost touch it!

With retirement just 20 working days away, things are starting to heat up for me at work.

I am working madly to transition my thirty three years of knowledge into a working documents. I know that no one is irreplaceable and that they will get along just fine without me. I still worry that I will run out of time before everything on my transition list is marked off.


I plan to kick off my retirement with a week long trip to Florida then on to Arizona for 10 more day of hiking and enjoying time in the sun with my husband Scott.


March 3rd

I give my notice in writing to my boss today!

Read below:

After great thought and with a lot of mixed emotions, I have decided it is time for me to retire my position as work flow - coordinator at CGDMS. 

My last day will be March 30 2012 

My years at CGDMS have been some of the best of my working life.

I have had many positive experiences here, both professional and personal, that I  will always remembered fondly. 

I would like everyone at this wonderful company to know how pleased I am to have had the opportunity to serve everyone for the past 10 years. Thanks to all of you again. It has been a privilege to work and serve you.

Sincerely, Margaret Curry.



The president of the company announced my retirement  to the company today  Read below:

From: Braddock, Tommie, S (CGDMS)

Subject: Retirement Announcement - Margaret Curry

To All CGDMS Employees,

After 33+ years of service, Margaret Curry has announced that she will be retiring on March 30, 2012. Margaret began her career with Taylor Corporation back on June 14, 1978 as a printer working for Carlson Craft, located in Mankato, MN. Through her hard work and spirit of cooperation, Margaret was then promoted to Group Leader. As the Group Leader, Margaret would coordinate the work flow of approximately 100 team members, ensuring accuracy and on time delivery.

In 1998, Margaret moved to Holland with her husband Scott, to start a new business for Taylor Corporation called PII BV. Margaret took on the role of Production Manager and managed a staff of about 30 employees.

Then in 2000, both Margaret and Scott were asked to move back to the United States and help with a newly acquired business located in Colorado. Margaret’s role with Current was Office Supervisor.

Given an opportunity to return to Minnesota in 2002, Margaret was offered a position with CGDMS as the Work Flow Coordinator. Margaret welcomed the opportunity and we have enjoyed working with her the past few years. We will miss her dearly and wish her a very happy retirement. Margaret will be moving back to the Mankato area and is looking forward to life’s next adventure.

Please join me in congratulating Margaret and wishing her the best in her new endeavors.

Tommie Braddock | President

Corporate Graphics Direct Marketing Solutions



Then came a surprising e-mail from the man that owns all of the corporation that I have worked for for 33 years   Read below: 

Margaret,

Tommie dropped me a note indicating that you would be retiring on March 30th. First of all, congratulations to you and I hope that retirement provides you with all of the opportunities you deserve.

I have been so fortunate over the years to work with such great people like you. You have provided leadership and a standard for other employees to watch and try to match. Your ability to take on so many different positions over the years has hopefully provided a career that has been educational and very interesting.

I wish you and your loved ones the very best.

Glen Taylor



This e-mail is from my boss.

From: Paap, Frances, M (CGDMS)

Subject: Never Say Good-Bye

Hi Margaret,

I was holding out writing you a note hoping your retirement date would not come, but as I look at the calendar I see the date is fast approaching. I can still remember the day you came into LTS to talk with me about working with our company. I look back on that day as one of the best days of my life as I got to meet you and start a long time relationship.

I have really enjoyed working with you and seeing that big smile on your face. You have dedicated so much to Corporate Graphics and to Taylor Corporation we are so lucky. You have given so much of yourself and your time. Thank you so much for being you, and giving all you’ve got.

I have learned many things from you during our time together. The most important thing I learned was how you give of yourself and don’t expect anything back in return. You have been serving the company for years instead of expecting the company or its employees to serve you.

I will miss you each and every day,

Love Frances



I Thanked My Co-Workers!

Dear All,

I am writing to thank you all for your support, friendship, good wishes and generous gifts, since I announced my retirement. I would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, but my heart has no bottom for you.

I would also like to thank Margie, and her social committee for organizing such a brilliant going away party for me. It felt more like a reunion than a going away party. Seeing so many of you come out to wish me well, will be a memory that I will treasure forever.

I look forward to seeing you all again sometime in the future.

Kinds regards,

Margaret. 

 

My last  paycheck from CGDMS.

 March 30th 2012 at 4pm, I punched out for the last time at CGDMS!

 

A few picture from my retirement Party! 

March 31th

After 50 + years of living at work, today I begin working at living!

Making Creekside A Home

Update: on Creekside January 2012.

October 28th 2011 Scott and I became home owners again for the first time in four years. If you have not read my blog on our change of plans  Read -  Plan on Hold

Pat our realtor saying thanks Scott, on closing day!

Scott’s mother and father were our first visitors to CreekSide!
 

Even though we will not officially move into Creekside until after I retire, March 30th 2012, we can been seen  most weekend on the road moving some of our stuff.
 
 

Or at our local Lowe’s store.

Our new townhome is around 1600 square feet on the main level. It was mostly finished when we bought it. What Scott and I had to finish… Ok I should have said, what Scott had to finish, was to put shelving in all the closets, blinds on all the windows,a washer and dryer in the laundry room, and a shower door on our shower stall in the master bath.

Scotts first priority was to get shelving in the closet. 

Next on his list was the blinds We did a wooden blind.

Our shower door was a special order item we had it made of all clear glass. It was not cheap to buy, or easy to install. Scott did a great job installing the door on our shower.It works great, and is very easy to keep clean.






With all the black Friday sales going on at Best Buy, we got an OK deal on a washer and dryer that we originally could not have afforded if it wasn't on sale. Even thought we did not need it until March we got it anyway because of the price. We just could not take the chance of getting the same deal then.
I might add that we did not even have to stand in line at the store. Scott was in China when the washer and dryer went on sale. Scott went on line ordered them, set up a free delivery for the next weekend in Mankato. Best Buy delivered them like promised on time Great Service!



The stainless steel matches all the other appliance in our townhouse. They are a tad bit big for our small laundry room, but they do work good and look great!  
   

We also had to buy some furniture since I had spent most of the past ten years downsizing . Some pieces we bought I just love. They have the “IT” factor and they add so much to the room they are in. Other pieces not as much.
One of the pieces of furniture that we bought I just love is our desk. It has beautiful clean lines and is so sleek, and modern. It fits beautiful in our study and is very functional as well.
 


Next on my list of favorite pieces is a big clock.There is several big open walls in our townhome. I
thought why not cover one of the walls up with a beautiful large clock. Large wall clocks are generally less expenses than a large painting. Why not have a wall decoration that is beautiful to look at, that also has a function. So I just bought one of the largest ones I could find with the money that Scott’s mother and father gave us for Christmas. “Thanks Enie and Neil”.
 

Scott has wanted a bigger TV for a few years now. Since we had planned on living in a 300 square feet motor home it was out of the question. Now that Scott had planned to work a few more years we decided to buy it. We bought a 55 inch Sony. Scott also bought it on line at Best Buy for what “Scott calls” a great price.

This was the first TV that Scott had installed on the wall. It was no easy task. It took all afternoon, but like always he did it and I think it looks great on this long wall. 

 

Scott gets all the credit for the bar stools. Scott wanted bar stools with a high back and they had to be very comfortable. Even though they were not the style I wanted they do look good along the bar, they are also very comfortable. 


Now this brings me to the leather set. The leather set is a  a beautiful comfortable davenport and chair, but they just (I don’t think)  have the IT factor in this room.
This room is more of a conversation room that I think needs more of a chair arrangement, not a davenport and chair.



Wait!  There is a home for this comfortable leather set, we also have a lower level walk out in our town-home that is unfinished. Guess what? Now that Scott has finished what he had to do on the main level, he is already downstairs working on our plans for the lower level. 
Let’s go down to the lower level and see what Scott is doing down there. We will have to hurry if we want to see what it looked like when we bought this place three months ago… because Scott is a fast worker when he works I should say.


Now with the walls up, and the wiring done, it is time to move on to that nasty job of plumbing.We kicked off our plumbing adventure at our local Lowe’s store.

Several hundred dollars later we had an enough parts to get us started.

The pluming begins!

 Now that the walls are up, wiring done, and the plumbing done. It is time to call in the inspectors.

that were are we at now at making Creekside a home?

I need to see a few more sunrise before Creekside can become a home

  little Creek behind our town-home before Creeks 

“A Plan On Hold“

For the past ten years Scott and I have been working on a plan to retire from our day jobs. After retiring, our plan was to live and travel in our motor home. We had hoped to explore all of America and to find a special place to nest in this wonderful journey called life!
Now that plan is on hold. Well the living, and traveling in the motor home part… for a few years anyway.

With everything that is going on in the financial world over the past few months or years, Scott has decided that it would not be in our best interest for him to take early retirement at this time.
“Scott is our financial adviser.”
We have decided to keep my retirement on track for March 2012.  :) 


The Plan Today.

Scott will work a few more years to help get us  through these times of uncertainty. After all that is what I did in 2008 to help get us thru the 2008 - 2009 crisis.

“Yes We Are A Team”

 Scott and I also feel very lucky that we can still make these kind of choices.
With the cost of renting apartments sky-high, home value at an all time low, Scott staying on at his job for a few more years, and YES I am retiring we decided to buy a townhouse.
With that decision made… it did not take Scott and I long to start looking.
With no real reason to live in the big city of Minneapolis, or eat it’s expenses after I retire, we started looking for a place to live in Mankato. Mankato is a very scenic smaller version of a bigger city. Scott and I lived in Mankato for 20 years before we took an assignment to work in Europe. We have already made many great memories while we lived there. Read: Introducing Mankato Minnesota.

We did find a new townhouse in Mankato that was built in 2009 but it had not sold yet. We really liked the location which is very important to us. It is just a mile or two from everything we need doctors, the mall, restaurants, and the groceries store. It also is close to our family, friends, and is only about 15 minutes from Scott's office. Guess what? “We just did it” other than the waiting game the deal is done.
We will move in officially in April 2012 after we return from my retirement party in Arizona
Hoot! Hoot!

Creekside Court. 
 
Lets take a walk around Creekside..

From front to the back, of the Creekside Court town home.

Will this be our final nesting place?
No.

Will this be the end of traveling in our Motor-home? Absolutely not.
The way we travel might change, but not the travel.

More coming soon on - Making Creekside a home

My Final Steps - June

Seven Steps To The Party!

Trust me - I am not actually counting the days until I retire. That would be to much like getting out of a jail sentence, even though there is days lately that it feels like that I am so anxious to be as the book say… Retired Wild and Free! I know that there is a limit to the number of days in this final year, but I would rather look at the year more in terms of the month-long chunks.

So why am I doing this? Why am I writing of my last year! Partly I'm writing this because writing is one of the things that I possibly might enjoy doing in my next chapter! I'm also thinking that "if it's in the paper, it must be true." If I see it in print, I must mean it. Not that I have any questions as to whether I mean it or not. Rather I have questions as to how I will react on than final day, :) :( or when I find myself somewhere else on the first day after retirement.

I am sure there is a few family members and friends that question, whether I am really ready to retire this time. I know, I know you have heard me saying I was going to retire many time over the last three years!  “Read this e-mail I just received from a friend”

Hi  Margaret,
I hear you are retiring Margaret, I don't believe that until I see it. When is the happy last day?

Yes there was a nagging thought, in the back of my mind, that I should stay here. It is warm, it is dry, and most of all it is safe. Yes I was afraid to leave in the past." Now I am neither afraid to leave or do I have that nagging thought that I should stay here. I know I will miss it, but I will not dwell on that. It is time to move on to my next chapter, the one I have been preparing for over the last three years.  “This time belongs to me”



I will close these June Final Steps with these words!
The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes. - Frank Lloyd Wright
 

June 2011

Saturday 4th
What a beautiful spring day we are finally having here in Minnesota!





Scott and I went for a long walk around our favorite lake here in Minneapolis early- morning. Then after lunch in the afternoon we went for a MINI Cooper S road trip.The main reason for the road trip was to enjoy the sunshine and the trees. The trees are such a delightful bright green color when they get their new leaves in spring. I know that color will not last long so  “Yeah let’s party!”

Tuesday 7th      

OMG! We are having a Heat Wave In Minnesota, I love it. We broke all kinds of records today in Edina Minnesota. It was fabulous out. blue sky, sunshine, and warm winds.
Friday10th  Saturday11th Sunday12th
We had a fabulous weekend! We left our day jobs at noon on Friday to head up north to our lake lot. This weekend was special we drove our MINI Cooper S up there for the first time. The MINI had a great time while there, it got to sleep in the garage at night and got a personal bath from it owner. 

“Spoiled MINI”



The early- morning quietness is my most favorite time of the day. Up north on our lake lot, I look
 forward to starting my day with a cup of coffee at our cute little table in our Dutch Star!



It was a beautiful Saturday morning. I had just got out of bed ready to sit down at my little table for breakfast when I saw two eyes looking in my window. I creep a little closer to the window with my
 camera in hand and guess what? It was… a “peeping deer”


After lunch we took our MINI Cooper for a joy ride into the little town of Walker. In the afternoon we took a nap, read our books, and of course we had happy hour by our first bonfire of this year 2011. 


33 Years at the same corporation!
Today 14th June I celebrated my 33 year service anniversary at the same corporation! I  feel very honored to have played my part in what we all believe is a successful company!  I find it a tad strange when someone says to me 33 years? “That is a long time!”  Overall I have been treated well in this company! I feel very honored to be leaving this company with the same mutual respect that I started with… 33 year ago!


Weekend come, and weekend go they sure aren't long enough or so it seems… even when your doing nothing.

Monday 20th 
Yep, it’s Monday once again I am back at work ready to accomplish some more goals that I want to keep accomplishing before my final step! 
Tuesday 21
The first day of summer has finally arrived here in Minnesota! It is also the longest day of the year. Believe me… it sure did feel like the longest day of the year today? With tornado sirens blasting off and on all afternoon and our safety team rushing us in and out of our tornado shelter. When we finally got the all clear from our weather man I got the heck out of there and went home. If I am going have to sit in a tornado shelter, or get blown off the face of the earth, I want to have a glass of wine with me on the way out!

Saturday 25th

Summer is the season of the year we like to kick back, relax and enjoy time at our lakes here in Minnesota. That's just what Scott and I are doing this weekend at our lake lot.


We did add a few more pieces of decor to our landscape this weekend. A hammock stand and a bright
 new umbrella! “Come on sunshine we are so ready for you!”


It took Scott less that five minute to put his new hammock stand together. Scott returned to the hammock in the afternoon with his book for a peaceful afternoon of reading from his I pad II.


Today I am saying a sad good bye to my little Sony Cyber- Shot camera. She has captured many special memories in my life for many years. Sunrises, sunsets, family get together, rivers, lakes, and mountains. She took two trips to my homeland Ireland with me and has been a constant companion in my pocket where ever I have been. Even though I have had other cameras with me.. Cyber-Shot was always the one that was there for a picture that was worth a thousands words to me. Even though she has not died yet she has lost her focus. You're shot will be replaced cyber, but never the memories you give me.

Thanks Cyber-Shot you have treated me well!