Life.

You never know just how fragile it is until either you have lost someone, come close to losing your own life, or that of a family member or until you witness a birth.  I have been very blessed in my life.  Yes, there have been many trials and bumps in the road, if you will, but all in all, it has been good.  I have had the chance to travel to places that I have only dreamt about, achieved things in my life that I honestly didn't think I could and became a grandma to the sweetest little pumpkin in the world.

Two events.

I had the chance to go to New York and witness the commissioning of the USS New York.  What a surreal moment in time for me.  I had the opportunity to sit with the families of the loved ones that were lost in  the 9-11 attack on the twin towers.  I cried right along with these families as Hilary Clinton, Rudy Giulini

Lily.

Lillian Beth Tinder made her debut on my late father's birthday on Jan 5, 2013.  My son, her daddy, and I live 1000 miles apart and I have only met her the week I went back to my hometown when she was 3 weeks old. What a bundle of happiness, that one!  Already she was smiling and cooing.  I never knew that I could love anyone so much~what is it about grandchildren??  My heart grew 10 times bigger the moment I had her in my arms and she made contact with me.

 In T-30 seconds we will be able to Skype with each other and bridge the distance that keeps us apart. She is my heart.  My pride and joy, and I must say, she has the BEST daddy ever.

My Hero

I have to say that I realize again what it was that made me decide to sell my business, leave my family and  hometown and move 1000 miles away to Louisiana.  Yeah..my husband of almost 3 months, Todd.  This selfless, wonderful man has the most pure of hearts of any human being I have ever known.  He will give money to the down trodden standing on the side of the street and most recently, even help out the 4 legged canine sort.  He had been complaining about  the pup down the street from us that has been tied up to a tree all year long.  Now, those of you from the south know that it gets pretty darned sweltering hot down here in the summer that even we don't like to be outside...can you imagine how the dog feels?  Todd wasn't going to stand for another summer of that so he decided to make it a dog house.  A big one at that. As wonderful as it sounds, I had to ask him how did he propose to take this over to the neighbors house? We don't know these people.  Was he going to go up to their door and say 'Hey, here's a house for your poor dog'..?  'No' he said...'I'm just going to drop it off in their back yard'.  Worry wort that I am, I asked all sorts of questions...what if they catch you in their yard and they have a gun? What if the dog attacks you? He just shrugged and said that he would be fine and he knew the dog was a nice dog. And would I like to help him?  Oh boy. Then I thought, this is my husband..he is doing something for this pup that it's owner hadn't managed to think of.  This is a good thing.  God would make sure it would be fine..right?  So, I helped him..sloshing around in the muddy back yard, praying to God to keep us safe from a possible disgruntled owner.  Oh, JOY!  You should have seen the recipient of such a nice dog house!  He was SMILING at us...teeth showing, tail wagging..excitement for some type of interaction clearly taking over.  Todd and I placed the house on some bricks that they had laid down for the dog..thank goodness they at least had that for him.  The pups leash was wrapped too many times around the tree so Todd coaxed him around so he could reach the house.  Sniff sniff..a wag of a tail and we left him to enjoy his new 'digs'. The owners never came out.  But clearly, Fido was a happy camper.
Later, driving down the street after having going out for the night, we saw that  he was enjoying his new home.  And that, my friends, is why I love my husband and why I would go to the ends of earth to be with him.  He makes me want to be a better person.

Introduction to FrenchGirlChic

Welcome to FrenchGirlChic. Let me introduce myself. I am a native of Wisconsin, having just moved to Louisiana to marry my high school crush.  I will be honest, I really had no desire to uproot myself, sell a day spa/salon that I have owned and operated for 15+ years to move almost a thousand miles away from my children, family and friends.  But, sometimes the heart wants what it wants and since my husband retired from the Air Force after 20 years and lived in Louisiana for the past 15 years with a good job under his belt, I felt the least I could do was bite the bullet and start anew.  How did I know that I would grow to actually LOVE this new environment of mine? It is truly a hidden gem.  How so?  The culture, my friend, is unlike anything I have ever experience in my rural midwest hometown. Let's just say that we don't have Mardi Gras in Wisconsin.  You know what is truly ironic?  It feels natural here for me. I AM a french girl, after all...my 8th cousin is Celine Dion herself..not that she knows or even cares for that matter..but, for me, it makes me feel like I belong.
So, what is this FrenchGirlChic blog all about?  Hopefully, it will be uplifting,  a place for inspiration, whether from a piece of art..a thought for the day...little ancedotes...style...recipes...Let your imagination go where it will. 
We are just getting started and I have tons of pictures of places to share with you and stories to tell you...so, if you could just be patient with me or if you feel you would like to give me some pointers..or thoughts, they are greatly appreciated.  After all, this is for YOU. :)
Until we meet again..