Time in a bottle

Gosh, today was one of those you wish you could freeze time somewhat or put it in a bottle, as the song goes. I had a day off and the best part was having my daughter hang out with me. Kayla will be attending college come Monday, so today was like sharing the last day of summer; the last day of being a kid to becoming a young responsible adult. I enjoyed my time with her, talking, eating, laughing. i just wanted to freeze certain moments from today and store them into my memory forever. I'm going to miss the "kid" inside of her, but I know it will peak out from time to time. I luv it when she reverts to this little girl voice and squeaks out "MUMMY!!!" as to when she is pleading for something she wants; or just to get my attention sorely on just her alone. Ok, is she a little demanding?? LOL.

We worked out at the gym this morning and we started off on the elliptical machines. After we built up a sweat, we climbed down and tried some of the weight machines. Gosh! My arms are so weak! Now they feel like rubber and a bit sore from trying to maneuver them with the smallest of weights. Yes. The smallest. She wanted a gym membership so she can go on her own. Perhaps we can build up our muscles over time in the fall; not that I want to make them look like the women in Muscle magazines. LOL. Just enough to build up strength.

Afterwards, we cruised through the college parking lot, looking for her buildings where her classes will take place. At least she is getting this done now and not in the panic of trying to get to class on time.

We also had stopped by her high school to pick up her graduation DVD and her last year book. We flipped through the pages and found she's in it at least three times. yay! And she also got to stop by her English teacher's classroom while she was inside and read a section to her new students. How interesting? Kayla doesn't realize it now, but high school days will certainly be a fond memory for her.. at some point.. but not now. She just laughed today, as she was under dress with a spaghetti top, holding a hall pass to get to the office where her yearbook was at; and teachers looking at her like she's late for class or for going after her for improper dress code. She said, "I wanted to shout out, "I'M NOT A STUDENT!" but she held up her pass to them. Yes, all the struggles of high school is definitely behind her. For me personally, I am just glad she's out of the TISD public school system.

Afterwards we grabbed lunch, ate Mexican food, and then came home to hang out. I got a swim in the backyard pool while she played on my computer inside, just like the kid she always was before: tongue sticking out as she writes poems; reads fan fiction, and then scampering to my fridge to raid it. I'm going to miss this kid. My baby girl. But I'm looking forward to the woman she will become. Hellooo Temple College!











Update on my weight loss project: This past Wednesday, I had my check up. I had lost five more pounds!Whippee! So I've lost almost ten pounds since I've started going to the gym. I still have a long way to go, but I'm not giving up yet. Every thirty days is a new challenge for me. My next appt will be on September 22nd. :)



Kaching! Kaching! Me and Brucie will be heading out Sunday to go to Marksville Lousianna. We will stay over night at a lovely hotel and casino. (No, the pic on the left isn't it; just a picture of a game table )

Of course it takes about seven hours to get there by bus and we will leave early Sunday morning and be back late on Monday. I can't wait to go. This is our second trip to this place and I've heard they have made some remodeling renovations since our last visit. I hope I have time to take a few pics. it's just nice to get away from it all sometimes and every year, near our September birthdays, we do this for ourselves; our own treat. I hope we come back with a little money in our pockets, so wish us luck. My son will stay home to housesit and take care of my babies (Tiny, Bella, and Chico; plus the two cats outside! :)

Wow! out of the blue I had an email from the director of our public library. they had some remodeling going on too. Their unveilment of this will be the first weekend in October and they wanted to invite local authors to do a book signing. I have two books on display there right now. i've got a third book co-written with authors from my writing group i could also showcase. And with any luck, perhaps the 3rd book of my series will finally be written. I need to hurry and get it done! And so I'm editing again! I sure hope I can pull this off. The good thing will be that my name will be in the local paper. Do I feel like a minor celebrity or what?


Well I hope those who follow this continue to stay well. Hugs to you and your families. I apologize for the late blogging, but the older I get, the more my time snowballs me away from the computer. LOL. Take care.

The ides of March

Author's Note: Ides can actually refer to any month because it simply means the middle of the month- and since I'm late posting this blog, it just made sense to use as a title, because it IS the middle of March.


Wow. I truly believe this year is flying by at a very rapid pace. Ok, I might say that all the time, but it's already mid-March and there is much up in the air.

The beginning of this year, my family was waiting for the birth of my newest granddaugther, Mackenzie, who was due in February. I flew up to Denver to assist my daughter and her family and had planned to stay for two weeks. On Feb. 3rd, I arrived, just in time to celebrate Morgan's birthday, who is Lori's first child. Got there in time as well to visit hubby Rick's new office and to pick up my other granddaughter, Preslee, at her school.

We dropped off birthday cupcakes for Morgan's class and I bet the treat was very much appreciated at the end of the day. The weather there was cool and breezy but very tolerable. After rounding up the family at the end of the day, we set off to eat at Olive Garden to do more celebrating of Morgan's birthday.

The whole time sitting there, Lori kept grimacing, as her tummy would tighten. Contractions were coming on but not staying long. So then we head home to get some sleep. Around 1:30 in the morning, the couple knocks on my door to let me know they are on their way to the hospital. I decide to stay behind with the girls and we sleep (or try to) the rest of the wee morning.

After breakfast, we trekked over to the hospital, which was a beautiful place. The nursing staff was terrific and very caring and gave Lori all the attention she needed to deliver the most beautiful little baby.

Mackenzie was born at 12:18 mountain time on February 4th.

Needless to say, the rest of the two weeks flew by too. I had a blast helping out as I could: walking Morgan to the bus stop and back after school. Attending the basketball games for both girls. (By the way, they are awesome players!) And just doing a lot of one to one woman bonding with my eldest girl and holding that new baby.



There is nothing in the world like holding a newborn close to you. (The softness of their heads, especially hers since she was born with lots of black hair!) Just feeling such soft skin upon your own and listening to them breathe. I truly appreciated watching Lori with her new baby, since I totally missed out the time she had spent with Morgan as a baby. In fact, I didn't "meet" Morgan for the first time until she was around 18 months old.
And Daddy Rick was very attentive, to both mom and new baby. He's an awesome dad and husband. It was a privilege to spend time with their family. So these moments were very special to me and will live on in my memory forever.

I got some exercise while I was there too. Lori's house has stairs, to the 2nd floor and to the basement. And those walks to the bus stop helped my legs tighten up. The altitude is a higher elevation in Colorado and that certainly made me breathe a bit more exuberantly as I burned up calories. Overall, I came home losing about 6 lbs. But it doesn't take long to get back into the swing of things again. And now we are into the Ides of March.....




Our co-written book, Our Written Voices, produced with a few members from my online writing group, The Written Voice, will be getting some publicity in the near future in New Hampshire. Paula Rockwell is a co-author and currently I am assisting with preparations for a book signing. It's important that these events come off looking professional and successful as Paula will be our greatest representative. One book signing will take place at her local library. The other will be one that the folks at David's House will do in July, to really publicize this book to the media and their guests.

Naturally, Paula is excited and nervous. I have volunteered to make up business cards and author posters. I have rallied up our Written Voice Members to donate books. Along displaying these at the table, she will also be raffling off a gift basket. All proceeds will go to David's House. Paula has first hand experience using their facility when her daughter was in the hospital. Her personal story will be a huge factor to draw in attention.

There are other things taking up my time, other than the usual routine. I have a family picnic coming up on April 10th, which will consist of the younger five siblings of my natural mother. I was adopted and there is so much to learn about myself from these two brothers and three sisters who plan to come, along with their children and grandchildren. We will attempt to give each a poster to jot down their family tree, beginning with Guadalupe, our natural mother. It will be interesting to see the result, but most importantly, it will be a way to trace out our next generations already in progress. Then the attempt will be, while we are gathered, to trace backwards the names of relatives before us. I have heard some of the history, but still there are questions and secrets. Sometimes conversations stir up cobwebs to bring those memories to the surface.

I never took an interest in genealogy before, but just listening to some family history does stir up the heart. My natural mother had several children; about 17 total, if my math is correct. I have learned there were twins born who died in infancy. They are in an unmarked grave at Hillcrest Cemetery here in Temple. My sister Mary told me that one uncle scratched the names on the blank nameplates indicating where they were laid to rest. Hillcrest is north of town and one weekend, Mary and I plan to take a walk about in a place she feels they may be buried. It would be wonderful to find it, although the chances are very slim. I found a website that listed all the buried folks in that particular cemetery and there were several infants listed with no names and no other indication of who they might be. I do know these sisters were named Dora and Ophelia. I'm unsure of their ages at the time of their demise, but my heart is stirred up that they are buried that way and we may never know where.

So with this picnic, stories are sure to surface and I will try my best to write it all down in notes. We will have a barbecue and all the 2nd cousins will have a chance to mingle, to know each other better. Which is always the intention whenever families reunite. When I was a kid and once attended something like this, I know my interest in it wasn't the greatest. I was too busy eating food and playing on nearby playgrounds. But now, as an older adult, I realize why these events are important. So much is passed on and the family is made stronger because of it. Obviously, my oldest daughter and her family will not be able to attend this, due to being out of state. Hopefully this is something we can set up annually and maybe one day, she and hubby can attend with the children.

So with all of this in the air, along with the past Saint Patrick's Day, which was my stepdad's birthday, there was/is a lot in the air. I've been busy getting things in order and getting prepared. And I know this is just the beginning: looking forward to other grandchildren's birthdays, Easter, anniversaries, and my youngest daughter's graduation party and grad day itself - but wait... that's all in the next three months! Whew! Yes, the Ides of March has hit my household and are going by way too fast. Certainly too, those warm spring breezes filtering in the windows are surfacing a lot of excitement.

So c/ya next time and as always, God bless. :)