Author: My Crazy Graced Life

Wife, mother, Nana, daughter, sister, aunt but most importantly - child of God. I love adventures but I also love sitting around talking and laughing over a good meal and a great glass of wine. Philippians 4:13 - I can do anything because Christ strengthens me.

Confucius Temple and Huilongtan Park

On By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Daily Prompt, Photography, Summer, The Daily Post, Travel1 Comment

 

We are enjoying our time as guests of Jiading District – outside of Shanghai – and our sweet little hotel.  Having time to leisurely explore the area and appreciate the sights I’ve been especially taken with the abundance of parks and green space.

Confucian TempleWe saw the Confucian Temple of Jiading also known as the China Imperial Examination System Museum.  This is where philosophers spent much time studying and taking the exams to become scholars.  It was a high distinction to pass these tests.

Confucian Temple

On the other side of the park from the Temple was the Huilongtan Park.  A peaceful area with families, walking trails, a tea room, some amusements and a small lake.

Huilongtan ParkHuilongtan Park Huilongtan Park Huilongtan ParkI really love these gentle oasis’ amongst the hustle and bustle of a busy city.

 

Looking Up – Jiading, Shanghai

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Looking up to see Fahua Pagoda in the historical city of Jiading.

Originally constructed during the reign of Emperor Kaixi (1205-1207) during the Song Dynasty.  Seven Stories tall it has wooden stairs to the top which gives a birds-eye view of the city.

At night the lights make it even more special.

Jiading Fahua Pagoda

Life Around Jiading, Shanghai

On By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Daily Prompt, Photography, Summer, The Daily Post, Travel1 Comment

No desert to be found anywhere near here as we are smack dab in the middle of a very large city.  In other words – We made it to Shanghai!  Despite a setback on our original travel day we did finally arrive, without further incident, on the next flight to China.  Shanghai, being on the southeastern coast of China, is hot and sticky but we are having a good time.

My son, Joshua, who lives here, met us at the airport and got us to our respective accommodations before we crashed for the evening. After all, jet lag does take a toll. For this trip we are staying north of Shanghai in the Jiading district.  It’s kind of like a suburb of Shanghai. My teenage boys – Patrick and Ben are staying at the apartment with Joshua and his Japanese wife, Ema, while my mom (Granny) and I are tucked away in a quaint little hotel in a historic part of the city.   We have been keeping it low key since we arrived – soaking up the local culture and becoming familiar with our surroundings.  It’s been lovely.

Jiading Villa Garden Hotel
Our boutique hotel
Jiading Villa Garden Hotel
The view from our room
Granny waving from the window in our room
Granny waving from the window in our room
Our private patio
Our private patio

Scooters are a way of life and it is amazing how creative people can get with transporting things and extra people.

These children were so cute – following me and practicing their English “hellos”.  I couldn’t resist taking their picture and they couldn’t resist hamming it up.

Shanghai McDonaldsMcDonalds

 

 

Adventures in Traveling

On By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Daily Prompt, Photography, Summer, Teenagers, The Daily Post, Travel2 Comments

07 July 5 (3)

The sun is rising while I sit, looking out my hotel window, with a view of San Francisco Bay, watching as planes land and take-off.  It’s peaceful and I am relaxed and rested after a good night’s sleep. A far cry from the forbidden stress of a crazy travel day yesterday.

Ever heard that saying, “red in the morning, sailors take warning. Red at night, sailors delight.” For us yesterday it was fitting  except I would change ‘sailors’ to ‘travelers’.  When we left the house promptly at 6:00 am I commented on how intensely red the sky was and hoped it wasn’t a sign of the day to come.

It was.

Long story short – for the first leg of our travel we took two separate flights from Dallas to San Francisco.  Don’t ask – it’s just the way it was.  For me and my sixteen year old, Patrick, it was a breeze.  For my mom, aka Granny, and my fourteen year old, Ben, it wasn’t. While our flights were only 30 minutes apart for a variety of reasons we left right on time but they left 2 hours late.

Emma & PatrickIn the end, Patrick got to have a little adventure – taking an international flight all on his own while navigating security on this end and customs and immigration in China.  I can’t wait to hear the details when we finally catch up.

I stayed behind for Granny and Ben and the adrenaline flowed as we attempted to get them off quickly, claim their bags, run from the domestic terminal to the international and get bags rechecked for our next flight.

No such luck and we had to rebook to try again today.

While the day brought it’s fair share of stress we encountered a multitude of angels.  San Francisco peeps rock and we have met several wonderful people who did what they could to help us. It made the stress of the situation a little more bearable.

Ben and Teresa

Today is a new day and it will be a good one.  And, hopefully the next time I write it will be from our final destination in China!

安全旅行 和这一伟大的日子 safe travels and make it a great day in Mandarin (I think.) 🙂

Feel The Burn

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My gym has started putting motivational phrases on the bags we use to ‘hit it hard’.  It was thought provoking for me as I did spend time reflecting on why I began to exercise regularly.

06 June 28 Title

Originally, my motivation was simple. It wasn’t about losing weight or getting into shape.  I just could not run for 30-60 seconds without becoming completely winded.  And so, after setting a goal to run a mile without stopping, I began to look  at IPhone apps.  I found a couch-5K program and the rest, as they say, is history.

I mastered the mile.  Then, the first time I ran two miles – without stopping – I was in our neighborhood park. I scared the moms with their young children as I fist-bumped, high-fived and woohooed in mid-air.  Three months later I participated in my first official 5K race.

Lovejoy 5K

The best by-product of figuring out how to run? Dropping 25 pounds.  At that point it did become more about getting into shape and I wondered, “could I lose 50 lbs by my 50th birthday?”

Although I didn’t hit the 50 pound mark by birthday time, I got close.  An invitation to try a class at Title Boxing Club was the next step in toning up.  The trainers and the workouts helped me to reach my goal. And three years later I am still hitting it hard and feeling the burn with the amazing power hour classes.

IMG_4584

 

A Couple of Opposites

On By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Daily Prompt, Family, Grandchildren, Photo Challenges, Summer, Teenagers, The Daily Post, Weekly Photo Challenge, wpc3 Comments

Opposites:

Big – little

Younger – older

light (blonde) hair –  dark (red) hair

girl – boy

awake – asleep

Patrick and Therese

No matter though, both of them bring me so much pleasure.

 

Summer Water Fun

On By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Daily Prompt, Photo Challenges, Summer, The Daily Post2 Comments

Traveling is a favorite pastime and the beach always makes for a fun trip.

all copyrights belong to @terezpics 2012 and mycrazygracedlife.com
Folley Beach, SC waves

This summer I’ll be flying over the waves and not actually playing in them so, I will make my own water adventures in our swimming pool.

Making our own waves
Making our own waves
Playtime in the Pool
Playtime in the Pool
A moment of quiet
A moment of quiet

Countless Bluebonnets

On By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Daily Prompt, Nature, Photo Challenges, Photography, Seasons, Spring, The Daily Post5 Comments

Summer is around the corner and the countless bluebonnets of 2016 are past their peak.  Always a beautiful sight to see here is one more look before barbecues, beach parties and bug catching ( that is, lightning bugs) sets in.

Ennis, Tx Bluebonnets

See you next year Spring.  Hello Summer!

Eighth Gradeitis

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Senioritis: that time of year when seniors in high school or college are so close to finishing but aren’t there quite yet. When time slows to a crawl, and it seems like graduation day will never arrive.

Eighth Gradeitis: Senioritis for 8th graders.

The next generation of 9th-12th graders are finishing their middle school years and are on the cusp of that great big new exciting world called high school.

My own 8th grader, Ben, said to me a couple of weeks ago, “I am soooo ready to be in high school.”

“I know you are – but you still have to get through these next few weeks of school.”

Saying that also prompted me to remind him to slow down and live in the moment.  Don’t forget about today because you’re so focused on starting high school.

After all – as an 8th grader he is doing many things for the last time.  Like the sports in which he participates.  High school will be much more competitive, and chances are he won’t be able to play volleyball, basketball, soccer AND baseball.

Also, for now, he and his classmates are the BIG kids on campus.  Next year….it’s back to the bottom of the heap.

I told him, “Be excited about your future but don’t live just for tomorrow.  Enjoy today and relish all the things you have going on right now.”

Isn’t that a good lesson/reminder for all of us?

The 8th grade class of 2016 – blink and it will be 2020.  Just like that they’ll be graduating high school.

May 6 8th grade class
copyright and photo credit to Don Chamblee Photography

Reminder to self – enjoy this remarkable young man now.  The next four years will go by way faster than I think they will.

Joshua 29:11 For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.

 

Admiration for Pope Francis

On By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Catholic, Photo Challenges, Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge, wpc7 Comments

This weeks photo challenge was depicting admiration for either a person or a place.  After giving it a little thought I knew my choice had to be Pope Francis.

When he was elected on March 14, 2013 I had no idea who Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina was.  But from the moment he stepped out onto that balcony in Vatican Square saying, “let’s always pray for ourselves, one for the other, let’s pray for the whole world, for a great brotherhood.” And, “please pray for me” I was enamored.

A beautiful spring day and, in the middle of a school break, my family and I had taken a daytrip to Downtown Dallas to see the brand new Klyde Warren Park when the announcement was made.  It just so happens that the park is right down the street from Cathedral Guadalupe.  As ‘pope watch’ notifications started jamming up my phone the bells at the cathedral began tolling. We left the park and went back to the church where news crews were arriving on the scene to talk to faithful Catholics in the area.  As the bells kept up their ringing the church staff hung drapes to celebrate our new leadership.  The excitement was palpable and intense.  It was so much fun to be downtown with the bells and people – I’ll always remember that afternoon!

Last year, when he visited the U.S. I was so excited I could barely contain myself.  PatrickSitting at the doctor with my hurt son (turns out he ruptured ligaments in his foot – ouch) I watched his arrival on my phone and was hard-pressed not to jump up and down and call out updates. I came close to mortifying my 16 year-old who was terrified I would not actually be able to contain my enthusiasm.

Pope Francis 3

 

 

 

 

Our church happened to be doing our annual fundraiser/carnival during the same time as his visit.  We had a large cut-out of the Pope for photo ops. I may have looked for several opportunities to get my picture with ‘The Pope’.

I am a dork and I am okay with this because Pope Francis is wonderful.

He continues to encourage each of us to love and humbly serve one another.  He is the living action – not just saying the words but setting the example everyday.

I admire him immensely.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Admiration