11 Years!

It has been a LONG time since I have written. So much has happened and yet much is still the same. Life, right? I've been thinking about starting this up again. I think I miss the process of documenting. Maybe I will start again. Maybe this is me starting again. Let's see.
They say that one should write everyday, even just a little to get in the habit and get better at it.  They say that about reading, cooking, exercising, baking, sewing, crocheting and just about everything else. And then they say to sleep 8 hours. Do they realize, we aren't all independently wealthy and have to you know work for the man for a living to be able to do a few of those other things on any type of regular basis? There never seem to be enough hours for it all. Let's see what rhythm I can get into.
There are also places to go and things to do and people to see. And don't forget those roses that we have to stop and smell.
My husband always shakes his head at me complaining that I want to do it all and can't. I need to pick and choose. I'm not convinced. I think it can all get done just not at the same time. The picking and choosing is about when and how not what. So let's see if I get back into blogging and documenting some of these things I am choosing to do in all this free time. Let's see.
The new year is just around the corner. My calendar isn't very blank. Let's see.

Time or Energy?

Wow, time flies when you're having fun. I have been busy and yet I have been finding time on my hands and still haven't been able to get things done. The list of things to do doesn't seem to shorten at all and I know I have been doing things.

I was having this conversation with my in-laws the other day about time. FIL was joking about when he worked full time and he had so much to do he could hardly get anything done and now he's semi-retired and still doesn't have time to do things. I argued that I think it has more to do with energy than time. There are days/weeks when I feel energized and I get more things done than I do in other months just because I seem to poop out and can't get to everything because I simply don't have the energy and need to rest and therefore find I don't have the time. He thought that had something to do with it but still thinks that time is the problem.

He also says that the more you have to do the more you get done. I do agree with that because I think you tend to organize yourself better and plan better to get it all done whereas when you only have a little to do then you feel you have all the time in the world to do it and postpone it and poof you run out of time to get it done or have to scramble at the last minute and complain you didn't have enough time to do it.

Whatever the real culprit is time or energy that's why I haven't posted lately. I will try to add more things to my list so I can organize myself better and blog more. Hmmm... that really doesn't even sound right, does it? *sigh*

I know one thing I have to do in the next couple of days is get into 20's room and clean it before he gets here and brings all his stuff home which could be any day now so that its all ready for him for the summer.

I obviously also need to figure out what's going on this Sunday for Father's Day and get ready for that. Those are the 2 big things on the horizon. There's lots of little stuff and I hope to get to some of that too. Crossing my fingers.

5 weeks!

I just finished telling you that April was nice and easy. I get home last night and do the required home things, the cooking and the picking up and sit to quietly make the birthday cards. I don't actually make the birthday cards because I get sidetracked with sorting and organizing scrap stuff that has been purchased and ordered and received and generally not put away. As I am calmly doing that my mind wanders to the multitude of projects I have going. That's when it hits me. 17 is graduating VERY soon. I stop everything and go look at a calendar. I have only 5 weekends and 2 SIS nights to do whatever I am going to do for this child's graduation. OMG! How did this get here so fast?

Much planning, much organizing needs to get done here and fast.

Hours, days, weeks...

I can't believe it's been over 2 weeks since I have posted. It seems that hour we lost while springing forward was the hour I used for blogging. I have been so busy.

20 was here for Spring Break. He is still the family Tazmanian devil. Remember, Taz, the cartoon? The whirling ball of energy. That's what the week is like when he's here. Lot's of goings and doings, it's all good. It's just lots.

A number of birthdays have gone by hubby's, BILs, and some young cousins turned 13 and 18. We all laughed when 20 said HE was getting old when told a cousin had just turned 13. He was quite shocked because in his words "she's the little girl of the family" and now she's a teenager.

I have been scrapping, and cooking, and still watching lots of movies some old and some new, and even reading again mostly magazines but at least I'm reading again.

I have been working on an expresso flan which is not coming out the way I want it to but I will keep working on it and let you know as soon as it's successful. I will get it right someday.

Today its gray and rainy outside but we had some good weather last week and over the weekend so the boys where able to enjoy the beach with their friends and BIL was able to go on his birthday boating expedition; an annual event.

I have one question to pose: Why is it that no matter how much cash I take out for the weekend it always seems to be exactly how much the boys need? If I take out only $20 then only one asks for cash. This weekend I took out $60, 17 asked for $20 for gas, then later $20 for parking at the beach and lunch, then 20 asked for $20 to be able to eat a little something at the airport. So again I end up with a Monday morning empty wallet. I tell you it doesn't matter how much I take out they seem to know and need just that much. Amazing....

TIME; where does it go?

Am I the only one who was oblivious to the fact that we are springing forward this weekend? i just read about it over at Second Effort. Why!? oh why? I hate the time changes. Hate. Hate. Hate. I always need more time never less time. Even when they give us the extra hour in the fall its really not enough is it?

I have some appointments tomorrow and so I decided to take the day off and see if I could squeeze in an errand to get it off the weekend list of things to do. I have no idea how necessary that was going to be in order to accomplish what I want. Now, I have to really organize my day tomorrow to try and get things done.

I'm feeling a little Mad Hatterish right now like I'm late for a very important date...and they haven't even taken the hour yet....

Thawing and other -ings

We are warming up into the 40's and 50's and it should be back in the 80's by the weekend with some rain. I am quite satisfied. South Florida weather is back on track!

I really should have taken pictures of the frost on the car windows and us seeing our breath INdoors and us all bundled up of the sofas. It would have made for a great scrapbook page. But alas, hindsight with a warm functioning brain is 20-20.

I have been filling my calendar with things to do and yet not doing them. There are many activities and events in my local area that I want to attend and I have never been able to for a variety of reasons in the past and realized it once the event is over. So, the new strategy this year is to actually put the items on my calendar so that I know ahead of time and attend. For some reason it's still not working. I haven't gone to the book reading or the farmer's market or the art exhibit that I wanted to go too. I need to do something now to actually go to the things I calendar but I don't know what. There is another exhibit in FTL that I think is still in town. I need to check. There's also a festival this weekend in South Beach that I think would be nice. Unfortunately, there are also things like laundry and groceries that keep getting in the way. I truly need to work on this.

The other thing I need to focus on is the gift making for February birthdays. They will be here in a minute and I haven't started! So, let me calendar planning time for Friday and hopefully I will stick to it.

30 years!

When did I become old enough to say "I haven't seen them in 30 years!"? I mean that means I am over 30 and over 30 by enough years to remember something happened before then. When the hell did that happen?

I had lunch the other day with a woman I hadn't seen in 30 years! We caught up on the entire family and I found out that her mother just turned 100! Holy Crap! 100 years old and still going strong with her memory intact. Her son is now an actor. Maybe you have seen him. Laz Alonso.

I just tried to insert a picture here but apparently I don't know how.



Anyway, it was a great lunch. She brought pictures of a red carpet movie opening she went to and it was great to see her hamming it up.



Then last night I found out that a girlfriend's second son is now driving! He has his learner's permit. OMG! He's too young for that. I'm getting too old too quickly! OMG! When did this happen?!



Last week they took an hour, this week 30 years! OMG! Gimme patience.

Long weekend

It's been a few days I know but I have been going through various levels of Dante's Inferno with my GM. She has taken things to a new level and pushed not only my last button but the last button of others who have been trying to assist her all along. Having said that I won't go into it because it exhausts me to even think about rehashing it. Suffice it to say that may get legal...

Meanwhile back at the ranch....have you ever gone to a Cross Country Meet? You know running 5k. Well, 16 has been training forever (read: a year) and we went to his 2nd race this past Sunday. It almost killed me. It is SO hard for me to watch the physical exertion that all those kids put out to finish. He ran a personal record, taking a little less than a minute off of his time. He finished 74th in a field of 198 runners and he scored points for his team by being the 5th man in the JV to come in. The JV placed 4th out of 27 schools. As he came around the last quarter mile to the finish line, he dug deep down and from out of no where kicked in some speed. His face showed all that effort being forced through his body. I cried. It's do hard to watch. Of course, everyone teased me and said but you have a son who plays football! That's so much easier than this, I told them. They have pads on to protect them, they wear helmets, they are down on a field where I can't see his face, playing with teammates that help him make his plays. Running is you and a pair of shoes on your own against everyone. You can share a tackle you can't share a finish in running. In football each play lasts a few seconds and then they regroup. In running you are on your own pounding it out for 15/20 minutes. The coach came over to me and just put his arm around me and said "Thanks for coming." We all laughed.

There's another meet today and then another one on Saturday. He has goals to PR each time.

I am going to try to schedule my life a little better. I know things come up and plans change but I have so many things that I want to do. I think I need better time management. I have to work on this. I am sure you will hear more about it. I am going to start with a list of stuff, broad idea of what I want to do. Then I will try to see how I parcel out time to do each of these things on a regular basis. I have to noodle this some more.

So, I'm freaking out a little

School is about to start. 16 starts in 2 1/2 weeks and there are only 3 weekends left before we take off for NY to take 18 to college. The summer is like over. What happened? Where'd it go? That is so little time to do all that I want to do. How'd that happen? I don't know!
So, I sent 18 to the store today with credit card in hand (yikes!) and a spending limit to get himself a backpack, underwear and some undershirts. He's also cleaning the pool because he wants to use it before he leaves. I figure by the time he has it clean, it will be time to go. I mean the thing is a science experiment waiting to be graded for an A+, it's so green.

Of course part of my freakout is because I have other things scheduled in my life. Tomorrow night I'm going to an Open House of sorts for this place where you make ahead and freeze your meals, Friday I have game night at a girlfriend's house, Saturday I have Cuban cooking lessons at my house which needs to get picked up before the people arrive, and Sunday another girlfriend is coming over to use my sewing machine and 16 will be back from the beach and we'll have loads and loads of laundry to do.

I know that MIL wants to have a big family party to send 18 off, he wants to be out with his friends. Last night they went to the Marlins baseball game and he has plans to go out on a friends boat the Saturday before he leaves. He has an appt to have his wisdom teeth pulled, he got an eye doc appt, 16 has his Driver's licence appt and we have to go buy his school shoes. PLUS we haven't finished the school loan stuff. That sounds like a lot of stuff in not so much time. OMG! How's it gonna get done? I need to win the lotto, so I don't have to work, so I have all day to do all this stuff! Gimme patience! lots of patience!

White space

There is very little white space on my calendar for like the next 3 weeks. It seems there's something to do every day and the days that there isn't I have to do something to get ready for one of the upcoming things.

This week last night was the empty night which I spent cutting up graduation pictures to hand out at the family brunch I am having. Designing and printing the invitations and addressing the graduation announcements. I also reviewed some college forms for my son for the housing and class selection that need to be mailed out and made hotel reservations for our trip up in August AND for Family Weekend in October because some of the hotels were already sold out!
I bagged some of the boys old clothes to give to SIL when I see her on Mother's Day for her boys and cleared out my emails that I hadn't read in a few days.

But in the nest 3 weeks we have: State Track Meet (of course in another city, thereby requiring travel), awards dinner, prom, graduation mass, graduation & grad lunch, family brunch, Mother's Day, MILs birthday, plus all the regular every day life stuff! Tonight it's coffee night. I can't wait to see my girlfriends, they always help recharge me.

What time is it?

I hate the changing of time from Standard to Daylight Savings and back to Standard. Alright, my momma taught me not to hate that's a strong word. So, I strongly dislike those few days (or weeks) that it takes to get adjusted to the new time. I vehemently begrudge having to get up earlier and be hungrier before noon for lunch etc. etc. etc.


Apparently, almost the whole world does this at some point of the year or another. I did not know this. I thought the US just thought they were better then everyone else and could decide for the world what time it was. I was wrong. Not a first. For enquiring minds, here's a link that explains it: http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/g.html

After perusing the link, I see that I either have to move to Hawaii, Arizona or a country on the equator. It seems those are the industrialized places that don't change their time. Hawaii; I am told is beautiful but uber expensive. Equatorial country; I think I'm close enough thank you. I miss the 4 seasons as it is here in Miami where I at least have a day of cold. Arizona; has strong possibilities. I have heard that Scottsdale is very nice. Of course, that would mean leaving hubby behind because I don't think he will live anywhere that's not here. ever! Some days that wouldn't hold me back. Today, I guess I'll stick the time change out here in Miami but at least I've done the research and know that there are viable options out there. Meanwhile, is it lunch yet?! ARGHHH, gimme patience.