Happy Day~

We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something

 we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have...

I realize that no matter what life throws at me, I am very fortunate.

I look back at days before life became "complicated"  "before Brutus died"  Life

was so easy going.  Not so much anymore, but still good.  For that I'm grateful.

No matter what day it is as long as we wake up to see it it is a special day. 

That's what counts.  Think of all those who are not fortunate to see tomorrow 

then we realize that whatever we think is a problem is just a little bump 

on the road, we will work on it to over come.  Life is not always

 a bed or roses, but what we put into it is what we receive.

Good morning everyone.  It's Monday.  It's time to rise and shine.

Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving,

make everyday a holiday and celebrate just living...

~Nadiya~

Happy Sunday ~

The most important thing is to enjoy your life and be happy...

Our "relax" day.  Sniff has "relax" days everyday.

He wakes up.  Hollers for food.  Plays a little and goes right

 back to sleep.  Lately he has been a little fussy about eating. 

 Guess he will eat when he's hungry.

The day is absolutely beautiful.  There are birds in the backyard and

 the sun is shining,yet it is not excessively hot.  The perfect day for sitting

 out by the water with a good meal.  Yes, Sundays no matter where we are 

is always our day.  After a long week we look forward to it very much.

There is nothing more attractive than a happy person.

To all a beautiful day.  Enjoy and rest up 

for the new week that soon begins.

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances,

but rather a person with a certain set of ATTITUDES...

~Nadiya~

Happy Day ~

Be happy with what you have, while working for what you want...

As one of my tenants would say, "just don't get any better."

Waking up to some much needed cooler temperatures.  Feels like

 another world right now.  Have to say that I can't wait for winter to be 

here and to have cold weather again.  I am not a fan of the heat.

Life in Branson has some very beautiful moments.  One of these

 special moments is when we come home and see the deers, and we see

 the neighbors kitties sitting on the road, one being Shadow.

I always try to get pictures and yesterday for a change I manged 

to capture mama deer and baby.  The Bambi family as I will call them. 

 They are beautiful.  A sight we will not see in Fort Lauderdale.

Saturday is looking up already.  To all a good day.

Trust that everything happens for a reason, 

even when you are not wise enough to see it...

~Nadiya~

Here Comes The Rain ~

Rain has healing powers.  I can wash 

away your worries and cleanse your soul...

Woke up to some rain yesterday.  Much needed right now in Branson.  

Brought with it a little freshness in the air and some cooler temperatures.  

Everyone talked about this change of weather.  I fully understand

 now why the weather is always such a main topic amongst people.

When we lived in Florida it was always the same.  WARM.  There was no

 need to talk about it.  At least not for those of us who live there all the time,

 but now that we don't...well we talk about the weather regularly.  

Now I really understand the Norwegians and why they always talk 

about the weather.  Because like us here in Branson, the weather is so 

unpredictable that it seems to always make "interesting" conversations.

Arvid and  I have lunch together just about everyday.  It's our "alone" 

time during the day and time we get to catch up on each others day.  

Sometimes when we get home it just gets hectic all over again 

and we don't have that much alone time.  We are both

 busy catching up with our own "stuff."

Summer is in full swing here, but I was informed that pool

 season usually ends in September.  Pretty early to me.  I plan on 

keeping  the pool at Almost Home open for as long as possible.

 Everyone is really enjoying it and it's so refreshing to jump 

in after a long days work.  That I was told by many.

The days go by fast.  August 8th will be 9 months we've been here in

 Branson.  So much has happened.  Our lives have changed forever.  

Yesterday Avid got a tenant from Florida.  I sent her to his hotel

 because mine is full and because he has a better location.  

She loved it there and told him that she left Florida because her kitty 

of 13 years died and she could not bear to be there right now.  She rented 

out her home and moved to Branson.  She did what we did.  If Brutus

 was still alive we would still be in Florida.  No questions about 

that.  If Brutus was alive we would never have left home.

This is an adventure really.  My family thinks it's the land where

 anything and everything can and does happen.  They are not wrong. 

 When I tell them stories of our days, they laugh so hard that I 

even end up doing the same.  Let's just say life here is ALWAYS

 interesting.  The days are NEVER boring.  Happy about that.

Cant believe it is already Friday.  To all a happy start of the 

weekend and live it up for you never know what tomorrow holds.

Love and marriage are like walking in the rain..together...

~Nadiya~

And The Heat Continues...

Life is a journey that must be travelled no 

matter how bad the roads or accommodations...

A heat wave is mild to what we are having here in Branson, but at the same 

time grateful that we do not have the humidity like we do in Florida right now.

  No matter what this heat is "better"  Arvid says that one day when we do

 go back to Florida we will be spending the summers here in Branson. 

 We have a house here in Branson, so makes sense to get away from 

the Florida humidity in summer.  At least that's the plan.  From Branson 

it is easy to get to many other places, more specifically Chicago.   

The hotel business is going very well.  No complaints there.  Business 

is booming and we are doing good.  It is hard work at times, but 

on the other hand, we are NEVER bored.  Can't remember what 

boredom feels like.  Guess that is also good.  Branson is busy. 

There are many new attractions for families with kids.  Summer vacation

 is soon over.  Kids will be back to school.  Come September there 

is a different crowd that comes to visit.  More grown up people and less

 kids.  The theaters will be full.  People always seen to like 

the shows.  We have not been to any as of yet, and being hotel

 owners we can actually see them for free.  Hmm.. 

Arvid has finally realized that is way too hot to wear long sleeves sweaters. 

 All of a sudden he says, "I need to go buy some shirts."  About time he realized that.

Finally yesterday one of our favorite TV shows started up again.  SUITS. 

 Pretty interesting and now that one of the characters is dating Prince Harry in 

real life it will be fun to see what happens.  Arvid loves his TV shows.  

I don't really care if I watch or not.  When I get home in the evenings 

the last thing I feel like doing is watching TV.  For Arvid it is his 

way to relax.  Everyone does what works best for them.  

Has been another HOT day here in Branson.

Happy Thursday all and may you always live in interesting times.

Television is an invention that permits you to be entertained 

in your living room by people you won't have in your home...

~Nadiya~

Tuesday ~

I'm not picky.  I just don't settle for less than I deserve...

Arvid says I am too rough sometimes with the tenants and the potentially

 new tenants.  Arvid is absolutely right.  I am upfront and direct

 before the person even steps foot into my hotel.  I would rather 

warn them of all that I will not tolerate, and everything that is

 unacceptable before I take them in as a new tenant, but like

with everything else, no matter how cautious one is there is

 always always someone who will slip through.  

I am picky to the point that most people are unacceptable in my hotel. 

 I am happy to say that maybe because of my rigid rules there is hardly 

ever problems.  What I face mostly at my place is petty stuff. 

 As Tony, our maintenance guy said, "this we can handle."

My week started out calm and peaceful.  Arvid's started with a bang.

We both love what we do and we both like the place we run.  Arvid is 

good at his and I am at mine.  Neither of us would switch with the other.

Sniff is being quiet.  Very quiet.  He does not want lots of mingling with us 

except when he is hungry.  Then he voices his needs.  Quite loudly.  Being

 so busy I think both Arvid and I have in many ways neglected Sniff. 

 I know we would have never done this with Brutus.  For that I am often guilty.

  I try to make up for it, but Sniff rejects just about everything.  He loves 

his cuddle time with Arvid in the evenings, and his sleep time with us on the 

bed in the mornings.  For that I am grateful and I look forward to everyday.

I remind myself quite often that there is always something to be grateful for.

I may not always have everything I want, but I sure have what I need.

Happiness isn't about getting what you want all the time.

It's about loving what you have and being grateful for it...

~Nadiya~

Monday.. Let's Do It ~

Behind us are memories, beside us are friends, before us are dreams...

The weekend came and went way too fast, but at least we got to relax, 

meet up with some friends from Florida and enjoy a long leisurely 

Skype morning with Michelle and our grand daughters.  

We are now ready for the new week.  Seeing the two little girls

 is always a pleasure and the best way to start the day.

Aleah and Vanessa.  Our granddaughters.  Their smile and laughter 

will be with me for the rest of the day.  I had Vanessa repeating some words

 in English.  She just picks it up right away and just laughs and laughs

 as she repeats them.  The best one was when I said to her, 

"say I love you."  I love you is what she said several times.  

I'm as happy as can be right now.  Can't stop smiling.

Once again a busy week awaits us.  Not sure what it holds, but whatever it is, 

I am ready.  Arvid always is ready even when he is tired.  Already my time in Canada 

seems so far away.  But just a week ago I was there.  Boy time sure is going by fast!

It has been a good weekend.  It's time to get busy here.

If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of.

We cannot start over, but we can begin now, and make a new ending...

~Nadiya~

Hot, Hot, Hot ~

Aw, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it...

Saturday morning.  Not as rushed as our weekdays are.  

A little leisurely breakfast and then time to head into "work" again.

Not bad at all.  Wishing you all a calm and peaceful day.

Fridays at Almost Home is always ice-cream time for some tenants,
compliments of yours truly.  On days as hot as these that we are having
 it is always refreshing with a sweet cold treat.  Any day actually
is a good day for a sweet treat as far as I'm concerned.

J lives in Boston.  He recently celebrated his 24th birthday with a weekend
 trip to NYC and sent his mama this picture.  Had to share because I'm
 proud of all my nieces and nephews and want them to know it.

Time to get busy here.  Sniff is doing good.  Arvid as
always busy, busy, but loving it.  He is a special breed.

To all a good day and have a great weekend.
Another VERY hot day here inn Branson awaits us.

I say, it's so hot!  The hens are picking up worms with potholders..

~Nadiya~

Happy Friday ~

A good life is a collection of happy moments...

If today is any indication of what the week has been so far, then I

will combust.  It has been scorching HOT all week and there is no slowing

 down the rising of the mercury.  Prediction is hot, hot, hot in our forecast.  Sure 

not missing Florida because we have the heat minus the humidity right now.

While everyone is out and about in shorts and tank tops, Arvid continues

 to use longs sleeves and long pants.  He says that he actually stays cooler this way. 

 Truth is the heat feels like as if you were being baked alive.  I want winter again.

After being on "vacation" for a few days I feel tired and am looking

 forward to our weekend.  Our weekend consists of mainly Sundays off, 

but truth is we always go in to check on things.  Guess we 

can't help it.  Just feels like the right thing to do.

On Saturday we have friends from Florida visiting and we plan to meet 

up with them.  We have known them for quite some time now.  At 

one time we lived in the same building by A1A in Fort Lauderdale. 

 They choose to vacation here in Branson and are having the

 time of their lives.  Something for everyone.

I;m tired.  Glad it's Friday.  For me hopefully a quiet day.  With Arvid you

 never know. He likes to create "work" and to be buzzing around finding chores. 

Happy Friday all.  I plan to take t easy and enjoy my Indian Buffet.

Fridays are after all ice cream day at Almost Home and Indian foodies for me.

It's all the Little moments that make life a BIG adventure.

Happy Friday.  Let the weekend begin...

~Nadiya~ 

My Canada Trip ~

Live for moments you can't put into words...

Canada.  What an unbelievable experience this was.  After 7 years I once

 again met up with immediate family, and friends.  I also made new friends

 and acquaintances.  Also met family I did not even know we had.  Overall it 

has been an experience that will forever hold everlasting memories.

The main event was of course my cousin Andrew's wedding to Aniq.  

They come from similar backgrounds, but at the same time so very different. 

 The combination of the two made for an amazing time.

The wedding consisted of approximately 500 people.  For the first time that I

 can remember, our side of the family was the smaller group.  Our family was 

only about 200 people.  The girl's side was 300.  Yes we were outnumbered 

for the first time.  It made for a wonderfully, beautiful, colorful wedding.

It was a sit down catered wedding for 500 people.  The  minute you 

entered the hall you were just floored at the details and the attention 

that was put into it. It was a stunning way to start the reception.

I got in on Thursday and was met at the airport by my sister and parents.

We all stayed at the same hotel together with a few cousins and 

some other aunts and uncles close by.  Let's just say that 

no one had much sleep at all, but no one complained either. 

 We were there to have a good time and boy did we.  

The evenings were special because after all the different functions, 

we would all gather in our parents' room, chat for hours and enjoy a 

little adult beverage and lattes.  No one wanted to go to bed, but of course 

we had to because the next day was also full of celebrations.

We did make time to visit our Grandmother.  That was a priority.  On 

Saturday morning after breakfast we all went to see her.  Just like when I 

visit Arvid's dad's cemetery in Norway, visiting our grandma was calming, 

emotional and peaceful.  We talked to her and I know she heard us. 

 We told stories about her and that made everyone smile and laugh.  

Our grandmother was and will always be SPECIAL!

One of the wedding celebration was a Holud Ceremony. 

 Check \out the dance on this you tube video

Holud Celebration

The girl and her side of the family had on amazing clothes.  My sisters and

 I and our parents also had on the special clothing for that evening as did

 many of my cousins, uncles and aunts.  Everyone looked BEAUTIFUL.

I come from a colorful culture.  Full of beauty.  On this occasion

 there was ample times this was witnessed.  It was a great celebration

 of two lives coming together and the future that awaits them is any

 and everything they want.  For now it is honeymoon is Italy.  

It s good to be back home also.  Here is where I belong, but for those few days

 I was transported into anther world.  Sometimes it was like a fairy tale.

Happy Thursday to all.  Make memories that will last forever.

At the end of the day all that matters is love and memories. 

 Make sure you give it, and make sure you make them...

~Nadiya~

Just Smile ~

Attitudes are contagious.  Are yours worth catching?

Smile, it does not cost anything and it can definitely brighten up
 your day and that of others.  It also confuses an approaching frown.

A smile can hide so many feelings, fear, sadness, heartbreak.
But it also shows one other thing, strength.  So go show the world 
what you are made of.  Always remember to be happy because
 you don't know who is falling in love with your smile.

Remember, the world always looks brighter from behind a smile. 

People seldom notice old clothes if you wear a big smile.
Remember life is short.  Smile while yo still have teeth.

Start every day with a smile and get it over with...

~Nadiya~

July 16th ~ The Big Day ~

I'm getting married because I'm in love with a girl and want to spend my life 

with her. You can't live your life doing what other people want you to

 or you'll be miserable. At some point you just have to be yourself...

Andrew and Aniq.  Wishing you a lifetime of happiness together and

 a love that grows stronger with each passing day.  May your 

married life be full of fun, love laughter and joy.

He stole my heart and I am planning revenge.  I am going to take

 his last name.  The adventure called marriage just begins.  Your future 

is any and everything you want it to be.  Congratulations to both on this new

 chapter in your lives.  Every once in a while right in the middle of

 ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale. Enjoy yours.

All because two people fell in love...

~Nadiya~

About Canada~

In Canada, nobody is ever overthrown
 because nobody gives a damn...

Canada is a North American country stretching from the U.S. in the south
 to the Arctic Circle in the north. Major cities include massive Toronto, 
west coast film centre Vancouver, French-speaking Montréal and Québec City, 
and capital city Ottawa. Canada's vast swaths of wilderness include 
lake-filled Banff National Park in the Rocky Mountains.

 It's also home to Niagara Falls, a famous group of massive waterfalls.
A must see.  Something to put on your bucket list.

When you think of Canada, you think of hockey
 and you think of Wayne Gretzky...

~Nadiya~

Canada ~

Here's to love and laughter and happily ever after...

The last time I was in Canada it was for my grandmothers funeral.  That was 

7 years ago.  Such a long time ago.  March 16th 2010.  It was one of the saddest

 times in our lives.  She was and will always be one of the best persons in our lives,

 and to top it all she was the best grand-mother anyone could ever ask for.

It was a very sad time, but at the same time it was also a feel good time.

Feel good because it just showed us what a great human being she was. 

 There were hundreds of people at her funeral and not one of them had a negative 

thing to say about her.  She was a one in a million kind of woman.  Not many 

of those left.  Of course there is my mom, but that's for another day.

After 7 years I am once again in Canada.  This time for my cousin's wedding.

I am super excited and happy because as everyone knows, the best family gatherings 

are at funerals and at weddings.  No one puts up a celebration like we do.

Yes, we come from a culture where when you say "party" you mean a minimum 

of 100 people.  This wedding will have a few hundred people.  In a way I am happy 

Arvid is at home.  He would probably be overwhelmed.  On the other hand he has been 

to quite a few of these "functions" as he likes to call them, and he blended right in.

The celebration will be going on for days.  Unfortunately I will only

 be able to attend four of the "functions"  Gotta get back home to Arvid and 

Sniff,  but while I am here I plan to really have a good time.  Meet friends 

and family I have not seen in years and form lasting memories.

This is some of the cousins many years ago back at my parents'

 home in North Carolina.  We have changed quite a bit, but the ties that keep 

us united is always there and when together they are stronger than ever.

Looking forward to some days piled with family stuff.  

Not for the weak of heart.  Everyday I am here there is a different activity. 

 Can't wait to get started.  Let the good times roll!

May your life together be full of love and your love be full of life...

~Nadiya~