Watch for Flying Bullets

Don't really have time to compose a lengthy missive, but I thought throw some random things out so that you know what I still live and am paying attention.

• Thanks to all who voted for me in the recent photo contest.......I WON!
• I've been worshiping at the Hoops Temple, as have most of you, but, unlike most of you, I have a been engaged in very intense prayer. As if you didn't already know, MY BULLDOGS ARE PLAYING THE FINAL FOUR AT HOME IN INDY! Sorry for the shouting, but....you know....I'm just a bit excited. ;)
  

• My pal Bond over at Big Leather Couch has been, for a few weeks now, hosting a Blog Talk Radio show on Monday nights designed to showcase musicians who are making music without much mainstream exposure. I've come across some great new (to me) groups, and I thought I'd share one with you now. I've been starting my mornings of late, listening to this song from Shayna Zaid & the Catch:

• My son is testing for his primary black belt tonight. Can I have some crossed fingers, please?
  

That's all for now, friends. Kids had Spring Break, and now we're back into full swing, pushing full steam ahead towards the end of school on May 27th (May 26 for The Lass who is promoting out of 8th grade - YIKES!)

Later daze....

Crossing Paths

First, let met say thank you to everyone who voted for me in the photo contest. As of this writing, I do not know who won, but I am grateful to you all for kind words and support.

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I have always been a firm believer in the notion that friends come and go into your life whenever you most need them. For the most part, I have few close friends, and one of them has been a friend for nearly 40 years. I have other good people who have come and gone in my life, and whenever they come back across my path, for the most part, I'm grateful for their "re-entry" and enjoy them for whatever time they are around.

I've been having fitful dreams lately and not sleeping well, and one morning I realized that I had been having dreams about a friend with whom I had been close for about a year but who drifted away due to our having differing schedules and various situations. I chalked the dreams up to nothing, but then I remembered my black cat, twitchy feeling of last week.

Today was the first day back to school from spring break, and since our weather has been glorious, I drove home from picking up the kids with the windows down. The kids and I were laughing about this and that, when just a few houses down from our own, I spied someone standing on the side of the road talking to a neighbor. I got that twitchy feeling, as if I knew that person, but I shook it off. Just as we passed, my daughter turned to me and asked, "Hey, Mom, isn't that Mr. P?"

I quickly made a U-turn to confirm my suspicions because my daughter expressed aloud the very thought that had crossed my mind unspoken!

As I pulled up towards the two men standing by the side of the road, the man who I thought was my "long-lost" friend turned to face me, grinning from ear to ear. As I got out of the car, he walked across the street and embraced me in a crushing bear hug.

As it turns out, as of this week, he and his family will be my new neighbors just down the block. I suppose this was the reason for my black-cat feeling, but rather than it being a message of foreboding, it was one of foreshadowing. I look forward to greeting my new neighbors; he's already promised to put up a hoop and shoot baskets with The Lass. She's looking forward to it.

May you find new treasures, or rediscover lost ones, in your lives, my friends. Later daze.....

An Island Life March Photo Contest - "Springtime"

Once again, I'm entering a photo contest hosted by Kailani at An Island Life. The theme for the contest this month, as expected, is "springtime."

VOTING IS NOW OPEN! So, once again I am cajoling you, my faithful readers, into voting pour MOI. Here is my entry (morning dew on a springtime rose):

You have until March 22nd to vote; I'm not sure how often you can vote (it might be only once; it might be once a day). Regardless, please click HERE and VOTE for ME, The Ice Box.

Thank you!!!!!

Was That a Black Cat?

Starrlight calls it her black cat feeling. You know of what I speak? That feeling that makes you unsettled, that something, anything, is not quite right. That something is a bit......hinky. It makes you, again to quote the Celestial One, "twitchy."

This feeling bothers me. At the end of Day Two of Spring Break 2010, I take an assessment and feel as if I'm missing something. As if I've forgotten something or that something will happen.....something for which I am unprepared.

The weather has been glorious here, but I will refrain from gloating to spare the feelings of those of you wading through flood waters or lamenting the lack of solar relief. I've nearly recovered from the nasty "bad cold" (pharyngitis), save for some lingering ear and eye problems and a nagging cough (not to mention a lack of singing voice - NO!). I've been able to sleep in, watch movies with the kids, and catch up on relaxing after a hectic last two weeks of school. My daughter spent the afternoon at a friend's house this afternoon, and my son helped at a junior tae kwon do class, so I had some time alone today.

And that's when the twitchiness began. It started as a niggling feeling in the back of my mind. I looked over my checklist of things to do, and I realized that taxes needed to be paid, my daughter's retreat permission slip needed to be filled out and turned in (and accompanied by the requisite fee), and my son's martial arts testing application needed to be filled out and turned in (also accompanied by the requisite fee, which is somewhat atmospheric considering he is testing for his primary black belt - yikes!). For the record, yes, I'm very proud of my son, but you really DON'T want to know what the testing fee is. And it will be DOUBLE when he actually tests for his First Recommended Black Belt in November - oy vey.

So now, as I write this at 10:18 p.m., the twitchiness has not dissipated, and, in fact, has taken on a new life as I battle a rolling stomach and nurse a budding headache behind my eyes.

I wish someone would take this damn cat and drop kick it over the back fence into oncoming traffic, or at least put it in someone else yard.

Later daze............

Milestone March

The first week of March elicits so many emotions in me. March 3rd is the anniversary of my mother's passing, and this year marks 25 years since that day. It's also a week past my daughter's 14th birthday, and in some ways, I'm still struggling to comprehend that one.

March 7th is the anniversary of the day my parents and older sisters arrived in the United States. In 1961, the six of them arrived in Hoboken, NJ and began the process of becoming Americans. How ironic is it then that 49 years later, today, in fact, that my sister #4 was sworn in just moments ago in Orlando, FL as a United States citizen. I couldn't be there, but my heart is with her. I'm very proud of her and happy for her and her family. It's been a long and wonderful journey.

Speaking of milestones, today, March 5th, is also the six-month wedding anniversary of my friend Vinny over at Big Leather Couch and his lovely bride, Nancy. If you have the chance, pop over there and send him good wishes. Tell him I sent ya!

I've been home now for about two weeks or so, nursing what's left of this dumb cold that knocked me flat. Most of you know that my chronic health condition makes any illness a potential minefield, so we were lucky this one did not send me to the hospital. Still, not having a fully functioning mom the last two weeks means that the cupboards and refrigerator are bare, and the teen girl has cooked as many meals as I can eke out of her. A few more days of rest for me, and then it's back to the mommy grindstone. I've been getting e-mails from the school secretary with little frowny faces telling me that they miss me up there and to get better SOON! so I guess I can't dawdle too much longer. *grin*

Other milestones this week of note:

• Saturday is Tiggerprr's birthday. Be sure to click over here and send her some good wishes. She's had a rough year, so any good karma you can send her way would be appreciated.
• Sunday is Jay's birthday, he of the Cynical Bastard blog and the rockin' Viking horns. Be sure to click over here and send him some birthday wishes. Gratuitous cheesy shots of stacked bimbos are optional. *grin*

And so, with these random thoughts, I leave you. I hope to return to regular blogging very soon. Now that the Olympics are over, my cold has been beaten back, and my kids are in control, things might start calming down for me. Then again.....

Later daze.................