Cousins and family

My brother Tim, sister in law FaDonn (who was my very best friend as soon as she married my brother), my niece Mariah, and nephew Andre came to visit for Mother's Day. Six of my mother's children were in one place with her. Amazingly, the earth did not crack open and swallow us, no one was arrested, and only a few people got drunk. Tim and fam stayed for a few days. We went to dinner, play putt putt, hung out. It was fun to spend that much time with family. By Wednesday I was exhausted. I learned an important lesson- there really are aspects that I love of each person, and I can be with them and observe the craziness without taking part in it. Woohoo! It took me about thirty years to figure out. I love my grown up nieces and nephews the most. They are hilarious! I like to listen to their wild stories and their experiences with my brothers and sisters as parents. My nephew Andre has my brother Tim's sense of humor- quick and sarcastic. Mariah has her mother's voice and my sense of synicism.

I am enjoying being a part of a big family for the first time in a long time (if ever). We are not calling each other every day and seeing each other every other week. However, I wish good things for all of them. That's a wonderful start.

Above there are pics of my mother and her six children- (back row) David, Tim, Davena, Howard. (front row) Sherri, Mom- Twila Faye, and me. The next picture includes all of the beautiful cousins in attendance. 10 cousins are missing from the photo. The next photo shows me and my little family.

More to share later.

Grateful

My friend posted this and it hit me right in the gut. Truth....


There are moments in life where one can only stand amazed at the good fortune that surrounds us, and say thank you to the Powers that Be. I'm at one of those times. Yesterday, I almost lost one of my very good friends. But I didn't. Yesterday, I had forgotten to look at the clouds and see what a blessing they are because they hold rain. Today, I am thankful for their shade. Yesterday, blue purple green insert your favorite color- looked different than today. Yesterday, life meant cleaning the house and doing laundry to get ready for graduation, and even though I believe the world is always a beautiful place, today there is a gentleness and fragility to the whole thing that makes me profoundly grateful to have the opportunity to be here.

In the past month, I have seen amazing music with the most incredible group of friends I could ever imagine having; finished my Master's degree; gotten a whole new hair thing going on; eaten chocolate; hooped in the rain; cooked tacos. I have hugged my children, my Sistah's, the people dancing across the aisles at the Dead whose names I don't even know... and I have been hugged back. I have made love, gotten pissed off and gotten over it, been nervous, been confident, been graceful, been clumsy, been exhausted, been energetic... I HAVE BEEN ALIVE.

It's not about the big things. It's not about the little things. It's about everything. It all matters. Love, vision, wisdom, beauty, grace, strength, and fierce compassion... these things carry me on my journey, and I wish them all to you on yours. May you wallow in the ecstacy of being alive.

Okay, so I am back from my wonderful vacation with my fantastic husband. This is one of the few pictures we took. We just weren't in the mood to take pictures this trip. This picture is with one of the waitresses at the minus 5 degrees club we went to. It is literally made of ice (bar, tables, walls, etc.) and is less that -5 degrees inside. We wore coats and drank from glasses made of ice. It was hilarious. You know I don't like to be cold but we had so much fun. We had a picture taken inside- I will post that later. Anyways, before you get mad at George, I asked for this picture. She was so cute in her little fur outfit. The customer service we experienced during our entire trip was fanastic!! I love good customer service, and am a good tipper. My mother raised us on tips from bartending and waitressing- both very hard jobs. I like to remember that when I tip people. They may have nine hungry mouths to feed at home. So... the customer service was wonderful on Frontier airlines ( I wholeheartedly recommend them!), at our hotel the MGM. We also spent time in the Bellagio, Caesar's Palace (HUGE), New York New York, Excalibur, Luxor and this picture was taken at the Mandalay Bay. We walked our feet off and lost some weight in the process. It was great!

All in all, I won about $90 playing my little slot machines. We also viewed a new television show scheduled to start this fall and gave our feedback. We were paid for our time and had fun being 'tv critics'. We are wierd and had nerdy fun doing this.

I will post more later- I need another nap to try to adjust to the time and lifestyle change.

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stay in the moment

I like to look forward to things: events, birthdays, new challenges. In doing so, I often miss the opportunity to enjoy today. So, today I enjoy my laptop, bringing out the summer clothes and shoes for the wardrobe shift, listening to Anna, and folding warm and clean laundry. I am so thankful for good friends that listen and do not judge, for big squeezing hugs, and the card I received from a client on Friday reminding me that my work makes a difference.

Today, Anna told me that her foot hurt. I said, 'Whaaaat?' mock surprised because something always hurts on that girl. She said, "I know, right?" She kills me.

KJ is looking forward to graduation. He completed his FAFSA and sent it to the correct school. About to put the grad announcements in the mail, and am planning his graduation party for May 30. I am enjoying my last days of mothering a minor.

Duct tape

A sight like this is not such an unusual occurrence where I work, but this cracked me up. Sometimes all you need is some duct tape to fix almost anything that is broken. In this instance, it was the whole side of this person's car. Or it could be the window to your house, or hold you computer chair together. You just never know. Maybe duct tape will be our generation's "aluminum foil". Probably not. I am in Wichita KS today at a training. Packing for this trip reminded me that I have way too many things that plug in. My phone needs to be charged, as does my Kindle, IPOD, and laptop. Sheesh. Of course I don't 'need' all of these things. But I sure like them a lot.

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Bowling

This is a picture of me and my siblings: Davena, David, and Sherri. It is a rare, one of a kind occurence. Anna wanted to do something with her cousins for her birthday. We went bowling. So, my little brother David (not so little anymore) came with his daughter and two sons, my little sister Davena (not so little) came with her five children, and my older sister Sherri can with her daughter Shania. Mia and Terrance are grown and making their own babies now. I have pictures of all of the 'cousins' on my other phone. To take the picture Anna yelled out "Cousins! Everyone say cheese!" It wasn't so bad. My brother Howard has been up to visit a few times. My brother Tim is coming up from North Carolina next month. You never know, you might see a picture of six out of seven remaining siblings soon. Oh! and my mother. But she is not talking to me much these days. Loooooooooonnnnngggg story, for later. FYI: All three of them beat me at bowling.

twit

I don't get the twitter thing. I am usually all over the latest electronic device/technology. However, I do not want to know what other people are thinking via instant message all day long. I have a job people! Nevertheless, I am experimenting with twitter. We will see if I become smitten with it. I check into facebook about every other day, and I always see something that makes me smile. I love checking in with friends from far away or friends from long ago.