A Moment in History

Our President-elect...Barack Obama!

What a glorious moment in history. One I will remember for the rest of my life.

CB ran through the street carrying his Obama '08 sign and has been jumping up and down in the living room. My little democrat is very excited...and so am I.

I am now waiting for our President-elect to walk onto the stage in Chicago to speak to the country.

Now, we must pray for him, his family, and our country.

A Historic Day...A Historic Election

I don't know if this will be one of those moments in history when we reflect on where we were when the election results were finally declared and the President-elect is officially announced, but I would be willing to bet this is a night most of us will not soon forget.

Yes, I voted! In fact, I voted two weeks ago on the first day of early voting.

Will we elect the United States' first African American President or the first female Vice-President...my hope and prayer is the former. I am a strong Obama supporter, even before he announced his candidacy. I personally told him in 2005 that as the mother of a son, "WHEN he runs, not IF he runs he had my vote". I knew from the moment I heard him speak in 2004 he would run for President one day.

My eyes are overflowing with tears of joy watching the electoral votes add up on the screen. At this point, only 168 to go (compared to McCain's need for 236!).

We are watching history being made and I am more excited about this election than ever before.

Just a Birthday

It's just another day. I don't feel like celebrating today. You see, in just 14 minutes (I was born at 8:54 P.M. ... so I won't be 38 until then) I will be a year older.

To date, this has got to be the most difficult birthday I have ever had. You see, I have ALWAYS been the baby in the family. Well, in just a few minutes I will no longer be the baby. I know this sounds ridiculous, but in my mind and my heart this is a BIG deal.

You see Cynthia and I are five months apart, she was older. Now, she will forever be 37 in my mind. I will no longer be the baby. I know this sounds so very stupid...even typing it out I feel like a fool, but I can't get over the fact that something that has been a part of me for so long is no longer going to e the case because such an important person in my life is no longer here.

She always called me on my birthday, I really miss that.

A group of us walked in the Dallas Race for the Cure yesterday. It was a very emotional time. Sometimes I get so very depressed I can't breathe. I know she would not want me to be sad, but I miss her desperately.

Eight more minutes of being the baby.......

What am I reading now?

Well, to go along with the previous post, I thought I would let you know the books I am reading right now. (I say books because I have recently started reading more than one book at a time...something I have had a HARD time doing because of the similarities in the books...if the books are not similar it makes it A LOT easier).


Schuyler's Monster : A Father's Journey with His Wordless Daughter
by Robert Rummel-Hudson.

Robert is actually a friend. I met Robert when MSC and I were first dating. We were so surprised to hear about Robert's book (and family) when another UTA friend called us one night and told us to turn on the news.

The book is a heartwarming memoir and wonderful account of a parent's advocacy for special needs children. Robert's words, sometimes very blunt and overwhelming, convey never ceasing desire to have the very best for his daughter, no matter her abilities or disabilities.

Not only am I reading this book because Robert is a friend, but because of my invovlement in education. I do not have a background in special education. When I was a child my elementary school had inclusion students from the School for the Deaf and the special education school located next door. I was one of the students partnered with one of the inclusion students. I never saw the students as different, just from a different school. This idea continued on through my years as a classroom teacher, having inclusion students from this same School for the Deaf, and even now as a share time with the special needs students in my school. I love the way Robert advocates for his daughter, Schuyler. He fights for her on a daily basis.


The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

In this historical fiction account of the lives of Mary and Anne Boleyn, we learn how Mary was the first Boleyn to catch the eye of King Henry VIII. I have fallen in love with the writing style of Philippa Gregory (thanks Monica for the recommendation0 and want to read everything she has written.

My love of history combined with the fictionalized account of Henry VIII. I love this time period and I love historical fiction. A win, win for me!



Identical by Ellen Hopkins


I was introduced to this book through a blog (I don't remember which one). The synopsis intrigued me..."Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family -- on the surface. Behind the facade each sister has her own deark secret, and that's where their differences begin.


For Kaleigh, she's the misplaced focus of Daddy's love, intended for a mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. All the Raeanne sees is Daddy playing a game of favorites -- and she is losing. If she has to lose, she will do it on her own terms, so she chooses drugs, alcohol, and sex.



Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept -- from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it's obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other, but the question is -- who?" (Amazon.com)


Now, doesn't that sound intrigueing? I thought so. I have always been fascinated by twins. This book, however became something like a challenge...it is written in prose. This is something I did not expect. Not hard to read, rather easy actually, but very different from anything I have ever read. It is a Young Adult book, so something a middle school / high school student might read. I am intrigued by Hoplkins' writing style and plan to read some of her other books.





Frill Kill by Laura Childs

I just started this fifth book in Child's scrapbook mystery series. As a scrapbooker, I love reading these mysteries about the owner of a scrapbook store in New Orleans, Carmela and her best friend Ava, the owner of a voodoo magic shop. There have been times I have felt as if it would be fun to be Carmela, except for her involvement in murders. They are just fun to read...the next one in the series (on the table waiting for me to crack the cover) is Death Swatch.

Okay, here you go...yes, I am reading four books right now, but they are all different, so I don't get them confused too often, as if I could...Henry did not have a twin, Schuyler is not involved in murders, Carmela does not have a monster to slay, and Kaleigh is not having an affair with a king...I don't think!

October 2008 Read-a-thon

October 18th at 5:00 PM begins the October 2008 Read-a-thon. I am seriously thinking of joining the fun and read for 24 hours...okay, I seriously don't think I can do this...you know stay up all night, read through church, skip the Cowboy game, and pretty much bypass my birthday doing one of my favorite past times.

It sounds like such a great plan though. You know if it had only been THIS weekend. Next weekend is a little busy. Early Saturday morning I will be participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Dallas. This has always been an event I have enjoyed supporting, but now it has become a family event. This year CB, is going to join LJM, WWW, and my sweet aunt JG. We also have other family and friends coming to join us honor Cynthia's memory through this walk. I have to admit it was very emotional for all of us last year. We had only lost her two months before. We were still raw with emotion. Now, we are still mourning, but the pain is not as deep. We are in the coping stage of our loss. We still miss her tremendously that will not go away. I think about her all the time. I catch myself daydreaming. Going bakc and thinking of the last time we were together, or something we used to do. I still can't believe she is gone.

Well, even if I can't do the challenge, I will be reading. Today during the football games (even during the Cowboy game commercials and half time) I was reading.

Here is the link, if anyone out there wants to participate. What a great way to have fun, promote reading, and win prizes all at the same time.

The Sighting

YES, we do! Okay, read the previous post and you will see how we SMELLED we have a skunk running around the neighborhood (specifically MY backyard).

Well, I SAW the little pain in the butt when I was taking out the trash. It all started when I was walking back to the front door. I noticed our neighborhood cat Sammy walk from under MSC's car to the hedges by the front door. I then noticed two kittens run from under the car over to the fence. I wanted to see the kittens so I walked over to the fence and got a quickly glance before they squeezed under my neighbors fence. When I turned around I saw a black cat waddling out from under MSC's car. Okay, I saw waddling because that is exactly what this BLACK CAT was doing...it was only after the "cat" raised it big, furry tail that I realized it was NOT cat!!!! I had NEVER seen a skunk in my entire life (in real life...only in pictures and on TV). This skunk was NO Pepe le Pew. NOT cute at all! Just a little furry black thing that made my sweet dogs smell like last YEAR'S garbage. I chased it across the street and into my neighbors yard. FAR from my dogs.

Now, I have been calling every day in order to get a trap (that I have to go pick up and place in my yard) in order to capture this nasty critter. The city says they will come and pick it up when (and if) I catch it. They're darn tootin'. I'm not keepin' it for a pet! I don't want to catch it just so I can cuddle up to it at night. No way, I have had enough of little stinky kitties. So long Pepe!

Pretty kitty...uh, no!

Okay here is a GREAT story...and OH so true.

A few weeks ago, on a Wednesday, I let the dogs out (yes, it was me when they sing, "Who Let the Dogs Out?"). Now, you must understand they (the dogs) decided to sleep in this particular morning, so I was just about ready to walk out the door when they finally dragged themselves from MY comfortable bed...I have kept my spot warm all night, so they must enjoy that warm as soon as I get up (out of THEIR bed...not quite). I had no sooner let them out (less than a minute) and I smell this HORRIBLE stinch! It has alreay permeated my kitchen, so I'm thinking it is in my house, but NO, it is outside.

Okay, I run to the door and let the dogs in very quickly thinking surely they did not have enough time to be covered in smell. Boy was I wrong. Not only were they COVERED, they were rubbing everything they could in order to get the smell off.

Now remember, I was LEAVING for work. So, I left.

When I came back that afternoon, I searched and search and search for anything I could find on getting the smell of SKUNK (the pretty kitty) off of a dog! Okay let me tell you...tomato juice DOES NOT WORK!! What I finally found to use was a mixture baking soda (2/3 of a cup), shampoo, and hydrogen peroxide (about 3/4 of a bottle). Now, giving a shower to a 65 pound dog is NOT fun...but I did it TWICE.

Did the smell completely come off of Tex...NO. He was sprayed in his muzzle because he wanted to smell the pretty kitty...and BOY did he ever smell it...for days and days and days and days.

Angel, well she was not as curiuos, surprisingly. She is the one who always wants to smell the REAL kitties we have in the house. I guess Tex just beat her to it this time.

Okay, okay, okay

Here, I'm posting! Are you happy?!?

First Day of School

Well, I survived! I can't say it was an eventful day, but I can say that it is OVER!

I did my usual duty of helping with registration, not much fun, but you get to see a lot of people. MZ (my new clerk) and my mom sold school supplies out of the library so there was not much else going on in there. I will start having classes tomorrow so hopefully I can start some kind of routine going.

I think that is the thing I miss the most during the summer, routine. I guess you would say I am a creature of habit and I like to have a routine. I don't like when MY routine is messed up. Forget about everyone else, it is ALL about ME (yes, my only child is coming out!)!! I want things MY way, I want to do them MY way, on MY time, etc. etc. etc.! Maybe I am just really tired. Maybe the first day was much more eventful than I originally thought and now I should go take a short nap (or go take a time out) until I can be more sociable....just leave me alone and let me have my hissy fit!!

End of the Summer...Beginning of the School Year

I can't believe the summer is over. If you have been reading my blog, you know that for a while we were all go, go, go. For the past month we have slowed down...a little.

After the family reunion, I came home to a real mess! MSC had been cleaning...not a good sign. He decided that if we got the house all nice and clean we could get a maid. Well, I'm all over that! Two days after I returned, he left for L.A. (landing 30 minutes AFTER the earthquake). I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned! When he came home I think he thought he had returned to the wrong house! When I say I cleaned, I mean every cabinet, book shelf, closet, etc (downstairs) was gone through and if I didn't know what it was, when I used it last, who it belonged to, etc. it was gone! I made at least three trips to Half-Priced Books and at least that many trips up to the church to unload boxes for the October garage sale. Now, all I have to do is the upstairs. Maid, you say...probably not going to happen...I don't want anyone in my house! But you know it feels really great to come in and be able to find what I am looking for (unless I realize that it has already gone to HPB or the church).

Well, now that school is getting ready to start I wish I could say no more cleaning. Oh contrary now is the time to keep up with the cleaning so I don't get overwhelmed. My plan is to stay on top of things and keep them put away and cleaned...now you must remember I live with two boys, so as the old saying goes...best laid plans. We'll see.

The perils of shopping

We found that when you travel with two adults and four childen it is not the best of ideas to shop...a lot! We worked hard and we did successfully get this "bag" on top of the vehicle! You should see the video! AFV here we come!!
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Family Reunion

Our family reunion...we have one every year. I've been to most of them through the years, only missing because of circumstances beyond my control. I do love seeing everyone, and I get so excited I can hardly wait to get here (even though it typically marks the end of summer).



Now, I'm sitting here at the Clubhouse looking out at the playground seeing the five little kids (Charlotte, Cynthia, Kristi, Stoney@ & Scott) running around in my memory spraying water guns at each other and having the best of times. Now, we are all grown up with children of our own and who would have ever thought we would be down to four.



Our laughter won't fade, our memories will live on, our numbers will only decrease over time. The saving grace is that right now we have each other to lean on and get through today, building new memories along the way.



Hey and Cynthia made her presence known last night when we were having dinner at Clark's. We were talking about some of our fun times and all of a sudden my bracelet (the one with CG on it and the breast cancer ribbon) broke. Angie said, "Okay, we know you are here with us sit down and quit breaking stuff!"



It's comforting to think she is here with us. It is almost going to make today bearable.

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Memories

It seems that at every turn here on the coast I am struck be memories of the fun times we all had with Cynthia. Yesterday, on the way down here we stopped for lunch at The Smokehouse. Now, I don't remember ever eating there with her, but it seemed she was with me showing different signs of her presence, the most obvious was a pink hat that says, "Cancer Sucks" (I remember this one very well), but the very best sign was a little card at the very bottom of the card display ( I'm still not sure what made me look ALL he way down toward the floor). It said, "What if the stars were just openings into Heaven so our loved ones can tell us they are okay." It was the only one and I full believe Cynthia wanted me to see it and know that she is okay.

Believe me, there is no way I would ever want her to be back with us in all the pain she had to suffer, but my heart is so extremely heavy with grief right now I can hardly stand it. I'm sitting here by the pool that just two years ago we were running around taking pictures, pushing each other into the water and having the best of times as a family. This was before the "C" word! I was in such a dream world I never thought anything would happen to any of us. The three of us would be at the family reunion until we were the oldest...well, actually CRG would be the oldest...I'm the baby!

In my heart I know she would want us to carry on and have fun, but this weekend is going to be hard and we are going to have to make a conscience effort to honor her memory by having fun, carrying on.

She is having her own family reunion this weekend with all of the family members we knew and loved, and also the ones we never knew. Have fun up there Cynthia, give Granny and PaPa a big hug for me. We miss you all terribly.
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Dolphins at Clark's

We are having dinner at Clark's in Port O'Connor (on the Texas coast). We have a table right beside the channel and we have seen dolphins the entire time we have been here. CB's in heaven.

A little bit of rain coming down, but not bad. The wind is blowing pretty hard though. Keeping the temperature down, so it has been nice.
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Still in Austin...

Well, the A/C situation is not as bad as we initially thought...thank goodness! The repair will only cost $330 (happy for insurance)...CASH ONLY! Okay, we can handle that...we have only been in Florida for three weeks (Disney, Sea World, Islands of Adventure, and Universal Studios, not to mention Among the Flowers - Vera Bradley)!

I have been working on some online staff development called "23 Things". It is a playground of different web2.0 resources and we have been introduced to them all through this program. It has been a great deal of work, but also very informative and fun. I have learned about a number of different productivity tools, image generators (so much fun and very cool), and the one I have gotten the most use out of this summer...BLOGGING!

Back in Texas!

We are back inTexas, but MSC and I are not home. We had to leave early this morning to come to Austin for Annual Assembly for TLA. We will be attending meetings for the next few days, but having fun with friends in the evenings.

We enjoyed being home for the one day before coming down here, except for the heat...we have no A/C upstairs. Before we left our A/C and refrigerator were knocked out when our electricity were blown out by a huge wind storm. The repair guys are coming today for both. We just found out we have to have a new A/C unit...we're NOT excited about that! Oh well, what can you do?
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What I want from MSC

We saw these in a window display with Betty Boop. MSC said we could come back later and pick one out...yeah right!
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Never stops working...even at Universal Studios!

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Only two hours in ...

And we have already been on The Mummy (my favorite roller coaster) twice-once in the very first row AND the only people in the car, Men in Black twice, and CB's personal favorite (total sarcasm here, he HATES the Simpsons) the new Simpson's Ride. The park does not seem to be very crowded right now, but I'm sure this will not be the case for long.
We found Shaggy and Scooby, so it's a good day.
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NY Public Library

We made it all the way from Florida to New York in no time!
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MSC and CB at Universal gateway

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CB at Universal

We're at Universal!
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The Hulk

A most definite NO ride for any of us!!
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MSC and Bullwinkle

Look who MSC had his picture taken with today! Ah the memories!!
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The Spider Man ride

Well, I have heard for almost 20 years that MSC can not go on rides that spin. Now I can say that it is true. We were riding on the Spider Man ride and MSC passed out. He came to before the end of the ride, but I was very concerned during the ride. No more spinning for him. I guess he can not do the great mom ride...how convenient!! :-)
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Spider Man

I walked into the store and Spider Man started to move ... and talk to me. He almost made we wet my pants he scared me so bad! I guess that what I get for going shopping while at an amusement park!!
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Me

MSC told me this was the perfect place for my picture...I think he was right!
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MSC and CB getting ready to duel

MCS finally convinced CB it was a good idea to ride Dueling Dragons while the wait was only 10 minutes. CB was very reluctant, but finally got in line. Now, I'm waiting to see if they REALLY get on the ride!
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CB and MSC at Poseidon's Furry

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MSC at Cat in the Hat

We're at Islands of Adventure today! What an adventure.
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Me and my friends

TTFN
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Found more manatees

We had to go to The Sea at EPCOT in order to see more manatees. We even found Nemo and his dad...oh, and Bruce too. CB got eaten, but we got him back. We even found a pre-sushi eel for CB. Thank goodness this eel was safe behind the glass or he might have been eaten!
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Spaceshipe Earth

A late start today (thank goodness). We arrived at EPCOT about 3. This is our first ride ... The same one CB had to walk out of because the electricity went out the last time he was on it.

Tried the various sodas. Everyone was right...Italy's Beverly is NASTY!
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Beat

I am so tired I can hardly stand and keep my eyes open. I am waiting for MSC and CB to get off of the Hollywood Tower of Terror. I refused to ride it this year. I am just too scared of heights!

I didn't get to sleep until almost 3 this morning because we had to leave our condo and relocate to a new one when we got back this morning at 12:30. I was not happy at all, but the move was necessary. Everything is fine now...except the fact that I am BEYOND exhausted!!
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The show was AWESOME!

The SW characters danced to hits from the 80s. We had a blast!!
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Good sign?

Could this rainbow in the sky be a good sign that the show will go on? We hope so! ... Okay, I'm looking at this WAY after the fact...there REALLY is a rainbow in the sky. It started right in the middle of MSC's head and went down to about the break in the green walll....really, I promise there WAS a rainbow!!!
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CB standing in the rain

CB and I are curently standing in the rain (in the front row) waiting for the Star Wars Hoopla Show. It is the final show of the Star Wars events for the SW weekends here at Hollywood Studios. We were here for the Jedi training, but it was cancelled because of the storm. We're really hoping this show will go on. We're keeping our fingers crossed.
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Muppets 3-D

We are back at Hollywood Studios for the last Star Wars weekend for 2008.
We are in line to see one of MSC's favorites...the Muppets.
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Kungaloosh at the Adventurer's Club

MSC and I are enjoyinging the antics of the adventurers.
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Comedy Warehouse

We are having a BLAST watching the improv comedians!
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A Closer look

I guess this ended up being a REALLY bad picture, but CB LOVED it!

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CB and WP sushi

CB stopped playing virtual video games long enough to run into Wolfgang Puck's and have sushi. Broiled Eel Rolls and Unagi (Freshwater Eel) is what he ordered. He was in sushi heaven, all smiles!
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