Software

I think they call it software because the more I use it the softer I become.
After my six week checkup I'm going to do something with myself. While our new little bundle was worth it, I'm glad to have my body back.

Ever been to a thriftstore?

I think someone travels the country with a grease pencil and actually has the job of pricing all the merchandise in thrift stores. All that stuff is priced exactly the same way, and often in a really bad spot.
Either that or there is a special class for thrift store employees where they learn things like "proper price script" and "symbols in pricing."

Life takes you places...

Or so I thought. My niece and I were riding around enjoying some spontaeous quality time the other day. It was hot and the radio alternated between good and lame music. We were on a mission to buy some needed items for my little girls transition to a "Big Girl Bed." Our conversation drifted around old and new friends then on to good food. Noel mentioned Turkish coffee- which is served at her friend's family's restaurant. Turkish coffee has a strong place in my memory. George would make Turkish coffee and we would sip it on the hour long trip to work. We were careful not to drink the sludge from the bottom of the cup. He introduced me to so many things. For a while I felt part of something- a community. One moment my life was headed in one direction and the next everything changed. George passed away and I had to eventually get on with life.
Noel and I talked about this and I know she completely understands... even though she is so young, she too has had to "eventually get on with life." And for anyone who has had to do that, you know what it means.
I casually mention that it's interesting how life takes you places. Noel then says "it's people, people take you places." She is so absolutely right.
I haven't been giving credit where it's due for so many years. My life so far has been a great journey... and it isn't because of that untetherable thing "life." It's the people. All the people that make my life what it is... and what it was. People have really taken me places and I'm so grateful.

Trip of a Lifetime

Flipping through Currents magazine by Carnival Cruise Lines I found a glittering image of the Sicilian Coast at Sunset. This picture made my heart sing and my soul hurt. I want so desperately to travel in Europe. I hope when the kids are older we'll be able to make the trip of a lifetime and see some of the historical places my heart longs for. At least once a month or so I catch myself scouring the internet planning a European dream vacation. Forget travel agents and packages as far as I'm concerned. There is no package to cover the trek I would like to plan: English cathedrals, Scottish countryside, French fields of lavender, historic Portuguese villages, The Guggenheim in Bilbao, Rome, Venice and in between, Athens and Mykonos, historic Red Square, and across Northern Europe to Amsterdam. That ought to take a coupla years to accomplish. Maybe one day, years from now we can spend a summer really seeing Europe.

Top Ten Reasons Why I Get Up Every Morning

10.Check my email and clean out all the member enlarging/boob enhancing spam.
9. There is a slim chance the world might actually collapse if I don't.
8. Elena's toys are in all the wrong bins.
7. If I don't get up to eat, morning sickness will kill me.
6. I still have a lot left to do.
5. It's a beautiful day no matter what the weather.
4. My mom wants me to call.
3. My daughter wants me to watch Little Bear with her.
2. My husband is a super sexy beef cake.
1. God loves us.

God might not hate Fred Phelps but I can't imagine that they're friends

What might you say if you ran across a website entitled "God hates women," or "God hates latinos," or "God hates blondes." You may or may not have your own prejudices but does God really hate? Anybody? He created us all. And what might you think if that sentiment was generated by a Baptist minister?
Well, here's what I think: Christ called the sinners, not the righteous. Christ actually said, let he who is without sin cast the first stone. After the expulsion from the garden of Eden, all people are sinners. Christ was not an advocate of conversion by force, he was an advocate of leading by example.
So I say to Pastor Fred Phelps, poor you. Poor pitiful you who suffers with such hate in your heart. I hope one day you actually do the work of God instead of making the world a more hateful, miserable place to be. I hope, beyond hope, that you will stop bastardizing Christianity.

Sea Monkeys

Shrimp Cocktail is not shrimp. It's sea monkeys. I just spent 15 minutes trying to open that jar and all I got were some sea monkeys. I used everything and anything I could find. The tool that finally worked to get that impossible lid off that little bitty jar? A staple remover. Who would have thought?

Motherhood

In my early twenties having a child meant the end of my life. Phil and I were so busy and we enjoyed spontaneity. College came and went. We moved out of the ghetto. I was nearing thirty and we had just been through a massive test to our marraige. At the moment we decided to have our first child I had never felt so full and so positive about any decision in my life. After all the worry and preparation we were given this amazingly agreeable little girl. I named her Elena. However, after the birth certificate forms were filled out and we were preparing to leave the hospital I looked at her and KNEW that her name should have been Katie. I did not change it... and even now I see the little Katie in her. But she also makes a beautiful Elena.
We found out we were pregnant with Elena on December 10th 2002. I enjoyed pregnancy, it was good to me. I enjoy my little girl. I enjoy my family. Last night we let Elena pretend that she was going to sleep in our bed. She threw the covers over her face and breathed heavily. She stood up and told us in a very authoritative voice, "Close your eyes!" We complied, then she would say "Big stretch!" because it was time to "wake up" again.
This morning Elena dressed herself as I dressed for work. She wore my house shoes, with my silver sequined scarf and her pink snow hat with tassels. It just doesn't get any better than that.
Last night we found out that we are pregnant again.It's appropriate we found out on Febrary 10th. With this one I will wait as long as I can to see if he/she 'tells' me their name.
In my early thirties, having a child means the completion of my family.

To Hell with Lewis and Clark!

We can have our own little Corps of Discovery... of course, William and Meriwether had significantly rougher terrain.
Our mission: Noel's Algebra project.
Our destination: Winn Dixie.

Noel had to compare the value of buying products in small portions or in bulk (All from one brand). She had a list of products to choose from and she chose vinegar. We fully examined the benefits and drawbacks of the various sizes; as you can see here.








During our vinegar investigation we were accosted by a native- rather grocery shopper who thought honey would be a more appropriate product. Some people just gotta put in their two cents!
We also suffered the misfortune of dead batteries and had to trek all the way to the registers where we met a slightly unpleasant woman that asked too many questions.
Once we finished the vinegar investigation we decided to take a little detour and see some sites while we were there.

We met Halle Berry.





We sampled some
merchandise.















And tried on some clothes.











The return trip was another adventure entirely. However, we made it back safe.

Giraffe

When I was little, around five, I enjoyed lying on the floor. It was comforting for whatever reason. I still have memories of watching TV sprawled out on the rough beige carpet. The NBC special logo would roll onto the screen and I would get all excited because I knew something was coming on just for me. It was usually Charlie Brown and I had the best seat in the house.
This is the kind of memory that often pops in. There really is no point to the memory, it's really just a cozy feeling. And now I'm left wondering how memory works. This is a mystery I'm sure to never solve but I enjoy thinking about.
For example, the other night I'm out on the carport. It's evening, just a hint of blue in the dark sky and it's cold. I am out there enjoying the cool and the smell of cedar mulch. Phil walks out and says "the laundry room has a draft..." or something like that. At that moment I am five, on the beige carpet, all the lamps are out, the TV is on, and my mother says "get off the floor honey, there is a draft." As chance would have it, I had never up to that point heard the word draft. I was five and therefore still had a limited vocabulary. Did I question the word? No. I just used what I had and understood my mother to say "get off the floor honey, there is a giraffe." At five, I had not read more than little golden books, but I had been to the zoo. Imagine my surprise. I looked for a little giraffe around the house for days.