What Does "Gruntled" Mean?

The movie I watched.
The hurricane I'm keeping my eye on!

One of my favorite billboards which, unfortunately, is too small for you to read, so I'll explain it in this blog.

Chicago....one of my hands-down, all-time favorite places to be!!! On a recent visit, I looked out of my hotel window and saw this billboard. It was so good, I had to snap a picture of it. Unfortunately, I don't think you can read the big red sign unless you can enlarge the picture, but it says "Leave disgruntled. Arrive gruntled." That's clever, isn't it? That's how my weekend was...I went into it disgruntled...but now I'm gruntled and ready to take on the demands of a new week.

So why was I disgruntled? Basically because I've been sick. Nothing major, but enough to make me have the chills and want to sleep all day. I've had several headaches, and a low-grade fever. and now it's been passed on to my husband and son. They just got back from urgent care and have "twin" prescriptions.

And what better thing thing to do if you're feeling crummy? Watch movies! I wrapped up in my pink blanket, surrounded myself with ice water and carrots (I know! I'm on a diet!), stretched out in the recliner, and watched "Dan In Real Life". My daughter, Elise, kept telling me how much she enjoyed this movie. I did, too. It's not an action-packed adventure, but just a slow-paced plot about the life of an advice columnist named Dan Burns. At the very end of the movie he writes these words of wisdom in his newspaper column: Plans. We're always asking young people, "So, what are your plans?" Instead of telling our young people to plan ahead, we should tell them to plan to be surprised.

That's pretty good advise, isn't it! We just never know what's around the corner! But God does!

And speaking of right around the corner, have you been tracking Ike? Yikes! Can you see me on the map above? I'm the one in Houston frantically trying to fan this thing in another direction! We'll be keeping our eye on this one for most of the week, I'm sure.

The second movie that I watched (and don't tell anyone, but this time around I had iced tea and a fiber bar! I know...there's nothing like a walk on the wild side!) was "The Girl With the Pearl Earring" Another slow-paced, but beautifully told story about the famous Dutch painting. A lot of it I enjoyed merely for the setting. It takes place in Delft, Holland. I'm looking forward to the day when I can visit Holland, the birthplace of my husband and all my ancestors. I also want to see this work by Vermeer (the actual painting of the girl with the pearl earring) in person. So get ready, Alice, (my college roommate who lives in Amsterdam) 'cause I'm planning a visit soon!

And the last thing I did was to begin a book called "The Shack"...thanks for recommending it, Daryce! So far, so good! (Note to Daryce: I'll be in Chicago in two weeks and we can discuss the book then, ok?)

So that's my weekend, and I'm feeling very gruntled. And I'm wishing all of you a very gruntled week! Hugs!