Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Farewell Debbie

I look at life as a gift of God. Now that he wants it back I have no right to complain.
---Joyce Cary


On October 10, 2007 at 2:30pm, my mom lost her battle with Scerosis. If you know me, you know that I have a blended family of people I have chosen to surround myself with.

Hey, there I go ending my sentence with a preposition again!
It's my blog, DEAL WITH IT!

Anyway, Debbie and I have not spoken in many years.
Thanks to my sister Katie, who made sure I was in the loop about the nature of her condition. I was given the opportunity to say goodbye. For two days, I tried not to be bitter, or angry, or sad and just remember the good times my mom and I shared.

Sometime after 2, the day she died, I finally got over myself, and I loved her and that I wished her "peace," just before she passed away.

What a month....

I feel like a month has passed since I added to my blog...no wait it's been 6 weeks! Thanks to those who still patiently check to see if I've added anything...

Let's go back as far as I can remember....

October 1st through the 5th, Xavier went to "AFLAC Flight School" in Las Vegas. From what I understand, this is somewhat like a rookie training, but there were some seasoned reps there as well, to brush up their selling skills.

That week, I took advantage of Xavier being out of town by driving his car, got his tires rotated, oil changed...broke the cd player, hey wait, I didn't break it, it broke itself...but that's another story. I also got the car washed and vacuumed, let's just say I was proud of myself for doing all the stuff he simply hasn't had the time to do. Friday night, I noticed that the carpets didn't look as clean as they could, there was this incident with a doughnut...so I took the car to the carwash for a quick vacuum. It was a brisk 40 degrees when I hopped out of the car, music jammin' unlocked the doors and went to the passenger side to tidy up the carpet. $1.00 in quarters later, and I was done. Imagine my surprise when I tried to get back in the car and my door was L-O-C-K-E-D.

As I chilled outside in the brisk weather and entertained Kai through the window, I wondered how I allowed myself to get into this predicament and WHY oh WHY did the doors lock themselves? Xavier says there is no way the car could do that and in fact, that is the very opposite of what should happen when the keys have been left in the ignition, and in any case, I couldn't get the phenomenon to repeat itself in front of him. Thankfully, there was a car was atttendant on duty (with a cell phone,) and I called one of the few numbers I have committed to memory and someone who lived about a block away, my friend Jeannette.

Jeannette called AAA and came to keep me company while we watched Kai try in vain to let himself out of his car seat, or unlock the door. Of course I've never taught him either of these things!!

So, about an hour later, the tow truck driver "saved me," in the words of Kai, and I was on my way. Thanks Jeannette and Mr. AAA. The best part is, whenever we pass that car wash (at least 5 times a week) Kai reminds me how he was rescued when I locked him in the car. Aahh, from the mouths of babes.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Daily blog?

It's interesting how a week can get away from me so quickly. In my first post, I noted my plan to blog daily. Woops, hope you weren't too dissapointed :) I guess I was just waiting for something interesting to happen.

Xavier is still busting his hump to get some commissions rolling in. It's Sunday and he has another follow up appointment. So, looks like the 8th day in a row he'll be getting dressed for work, what a drag. On a happier note, I tried my luck at garage saleing yesterday and found him some good as new dress shirts in his size and bought 10 of them!! That should keep him outfitted for a while.

We're eagerly anticipating our visit from Grandma at the end of the week. She'll be passing through on her way to a week-long visit with family in New Mexico. Kai keeps telling me about all of the things he's got to show her while she is here. I hope she's ready for a share fest.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Kai what a great kid!

Today, Kai and I went to the store to exchange a Thomas the Train Set, because he had received more than one for a gift. The thought of re-gifting something that had recently made headlines for lead poisoning children...even though this one is plastic, not painted wood, I wouldn't give that gift of fear to another mother. So, off to Wal-Mart we went to exchange this toy for another. Setting out, Kai knew that he wanted a helicopter. He loves the helicopter that his good friends Jacob and Joshua have.

The lady at Wal-Mart scowled when I said I didn't have a receipt, but what did I care, I was on a mission. Bad news, the bar code was not in their system so I was out of luck. Kai suggested that we go to Kohls, but I decided to drive across town to Toys R Us.

Confidently, I walked into Toys R Us to make my exchange. No receipt, no go! Seriously, not even a gift card. I guess I'll be posting that treasure on EBay!!

Do you think I could explain this to Kai? Do you think a kid should even have to understand something like this? Heck no, he's a kid, he should have no worries. So, off shopping we went.

I pointed him in the direction of several different helicopters, my efforts were in vain.
When it comes to toys in the store, he has a one track mind. Needless to say, we came home with yet ANOTHER Lightening McQueen!! OMG.

Fall is here...

Ok, so the calendar and my husband may not agree with me, but I believe there are several signs that fall is here. The first is the start of the NFL Season, the second is the fact that I am making choices which will make me healthier...? I don't understand it but every year, around labor day, I start excercising and eating better. Wish I would keep it up year round...maybe this is my year. The final fall indicator for me is seeing the beautiful balloons taking flight over the Truckee Meadows. This year, Xavier, Kai and I set out to see the dawn patrol. We missed the mass ascension by 10 or 15 minutes, but stuck around to see the beginning of the "fox and hound" race. Xavier took some awesome pictures. I've included one of my favorites here.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Finally, I am online!!

For someone who considers herself at least a 7.5 out of 10 when it comes to being computer saavy, I had another thing coming when I decided to try to create a family website. I asked around, took advice, and in the end was just plain FRUSTRATED. Thank goodness for my buddy Natalie (more on her later) and her suggestion to create a blog. Three easy steps, 3!!! What was I waiting for? Thanks Nat!

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