It was just your typical Cinco de Mayo

Until these two came for a visit.  Texting and talking on the phone would have made them pretty boring visitors.

If it hadn't been for the exciting news they were spreading!
 




 





























Save the date:  September 17.  

 

Things I Heart

Can't stop thinkin' about tomorrow...and who and what I love.   

The beginnings of my list:







the smell of new books

red roses

warm sun on my back

little boys

little girls

funny people

little kids speaking Spanish

a good haircut

a warm shower

a comfortable bed

road trips

a clean car

my family

folded towels

shiny windows

the scent of carnations

bean and cheese burritos

clean sheets

ironed pillow cases

emails

blog comments

typing

the smell of leather

mint fields

a pine-scented forest after rain

dusk

sunrise

starry skies

kindness

thunder storms

grandkids

summer

falling snow

restful sleep

a good challenge

the smell of fresh-cut grass

my job

good neighbors

NPR

50's music

dark cherry chocolates

fancy restaurants you can wear jeans in

humor

new shoes

creativity developed and shared

homemade noodles

Italy

people's individualism

a good novel

warm feet

chewing gum

 Excedrin

learning new stuff

cute umbrellas

forgiveness

Mom

waking up at 6 a.m. to breathing in my face and "Gwamma, are you awake?"

fresh herbs and the smell of thyme

driving across the Blue Mountains

the ocean

train rides

getting off the airplane

pretty driver license pictures (never had one)

Costco

the end of a workout session

babies' smells and soft skin

clean teeth

cousins' dinners

family reunions

the end of a workout

bruschetta

watermelon

rosemary topiaries

fresh tomatoes

designer fabrics

a good cry

chips and salsa

hearty back scratches

Ground Hog's Day - 1987

Are you ready to celebrate another birthday on this blog already?
Alrighty, then.  Some tidbits for you.

She made lists to plan her parties.  Lists of invitees.  Lists of presents.  Lists of games to play.  Lists of party favors.  Weeks before the actual day.

But first.....May I re-turn (la, la, la, la) to the be-gin-ning?

IN the beginning,

while we awaited her entrance into the world, the OB/GYN called in the stork team:  about five specialists who stood waiting to take her away the minute her head peeked out.  The only positive sign she gave them was a heartbeat.  So for five extra days after her mother was discharged from the hospital, she had to stay.  And her mother made trips back and forth to feed her.

Hospital gown, fashionable IV and ankle bracelets = evidence that this girl was destined for future employment at... Nordstrom?

Her mother was especially good with a camera even back then.  

Who can find the baby?

 She potty trained herself when she was three.  She's five in this picture. 

I just threw that in.

 Watch her grow into her two front teeth. 

See?  Growing, growing. 

 Almost there.

 Ah.

 She has arrived.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MANDA SUZI!

You light up my life. 

She's a Woman Half My Age

January 31, 1980 at Kaiser-Permanente Hospital in Los Angeles.

Two months later, Nicea to Grandma Sue:  "She's such a good baby.  Is something wrong with her?

(Keep in mind that she followed her hyper older brother into this world.

So her mother was still trying to gain some perspective. 

And equalibrium.) 

Indeed, Annie was a good and nice little girl.

Who grew into a good and nice little teenager.

 

 

And a good and nice young woman after that.

This year and this year only, I'll be twice her age.

After that, the eternities move us closer together. 

I like it.

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY, Annie Lizzy!

Oh, my word!

Jamie taught me this game before she got married.  Before she finished midwifery school.  Before she even went on her first date with Kevin.

So, while it's not exactly an ancient relic, you might say it's been around for awhile.

There are some days when I play it for a couple of hours straight.

Because it's a good escape for me, and arguably more productive than watching TV.  Besides, I've already seen all the CSI's, all the Criminal Minds and all the Law and Order SVU's.

And I'm not really into The Bachelor or Desperate Housewives.  Though I did take a little spin with The Real Housewives of Orange County and their counterparts in New York City and New Jersey.

But that was just a flirtation.  I'm over it now.

But I may never, ever be over this again!  It may be my one laurel, the one I'm going to rest on. 

Three oh one, oh five oh.
I took pictures because I didn't think you'd believe me.

Fat Cheeks: The Prequel

For Jana. 

Forgot I Did This Post Last Week

I was looking through some photos from last winter. From 360 days ago, to be exact. Just shy of a whole year.

January 4, 2009 looks eerily the same as today*.

Pretty. But has anything changed?

I hope so.

I hope I'm a little smarter about some stuff.

I hope I'm a little wiser.

I hope I know how to love a little better, am a little more forgiving and a lot less judgmental.

I know I weigh 27 pounds less. Okay, 19. I put 8 back on since last June.

Backslider.

But the Oreos are all gone as is Ceri's fudge that Grandma sent. We all know the only way to dispose of that stuff is to eat it and I was dutiful. And now I'm a little less tempted.

BRING IT ON, 2010!

*Post actually written December 31, 2009.