This One Is Very Family Newslettery-ish - Warning

We managed to get a family photo just before Writer Son and Sassy Bride moved to Texas. They are the cozy couple in the upper left, been married just over one year! I love both shots and feel like they truly portray who we are. 

Miss Tattoo Girl, Rocker Son's girlfriend now has black hair. I have a suspicion that if Tattoo Girl ever officially joins our family, it will be difficult to keep the photos up to date due to her constant hair changes! Ha! That is one of the things I love about her, very artistic! I sincerely hope that she will be making our family photos colorful for many years to come. (C'mon Rocker Son, don't do anything stupid ok?)

Hubs and I are missing our eldest and his wife but our hearts have been totally gratified to see and hear the good things that are happening for them since making the move. It was the right thing to do and they are happy and thriving with lots of people around them who love and appreciate who they are. What more could a mom want? (...well...to be in the same state when grandkids arrive!....but whatever!)

Oh I remember what I came to tell you! Writer Son has finally created his own blog! I am so excited that he is following the urge to write again as he used to years ago. His writing voice is exactly how he talks, very funny, self-depreciating and clever with words and cultural phrases. He plays with words in a way that people love and find engaging. You'll see when you go to his site cause I know you will, won't you? 

Warning...His passions are very nerdy; movies, comics, and God. Name any superhero and he knows its entire history, name a movie and he knows not only the director but which actors were considered before they chose the ones we see.  And, yes, name a book of the Bible or a question about God and he has good, deep and often funny thoughts and stories to tell.

Ok, enough of the bragging mom, go check his blog out....BUT do not give him this blog address in your comments ok?

This is my secret blog that they do not read!!

Otherwise how could I post family pics and talk about possible future daughter-in-laws, etc? 

Got it?

ok thanks! I am trusting you.

Writer Son's blog is called Last Action Arnold.  You will love it, especially my younger readers, well I love it and I'm not young, but I'm his mom so......the rambling has begun so this is a good place to say good-night I think.

Blessings,

Rich Text & Touch Tone

It seems to be getting tougher and tougher to KEEP UP with technology and social networking etc.. Is this true for you also? I am in my mid fifties and simply not ready to curl up in a rocker and learn to knit (not that there 's anything wrong with knitting or rocking!). 

But wow, I don't know if I can keep up with all the new-fangled (oops, there's another OLD word!) tech things that seem to change and UPGRADE faster than I can figure them out! 

My problems with my job proposal email that I told you about yesterday have been solved, thanx to my DIL. She patiently went with me to the email to see what went wrong and was truly aghast that I could function with a very old JUNO email account. She had never even heard of it! The big roadblock was that my juno account does not have "Rich Text". There is no bar at the top of my message box that allows me to underline, bold, italicize, etc. So when I used those things on my Word Doc and pasted them over, it went coo-coo because the old site could not use those fun and essential things.

So we are sitting side-by-side on the couch, and she shows me another way to get around my problem that involved writing my letter in TextEdit first, blah blah blah........."until you feel ready to upgrade to something more up to date." :) 

This morning I updated to a gmail account!!! And I sent the beautiful letter and all attachments off to the potential employer! 

Tomorrow I am getting a new phone that does not have a data plan because we can save $$ if I don't have Internet on my phone. I am excited because it has a Touch Screen instead of a roller ball like my Blackberry.

 But I keep giving away my age when I keep calling it "Touch Tone!" Ha! Oh well.

Do Your Dishes Talk?

Have said it before but I am saying it again! I LOVE my empty nest. But it does get kind of quiet and boring every once in a while. ...I know that those of you who are currently chasing little munchkins around your house and yard are wanting to cuss at me after that statement.....Sorry, but your quiet, boring moments will come, they will.

As I was saying, it does happen around here, but not so often that I wish they'd move back home! Nope, that is not happening (knock on wood). But I really do love it when they come spend the evening or day with us. I never knew how fun it would be to be around my sons and their Loves as adults.

For a small peek at one of the best things about their visits, hop on over to my latest post at GoodBlogs, called I Think My Dishes Are Talking To Each Other and help vote it to the Top Posts for me won't you?

Thanks friends!,

Had A Great M Day!!I

I love gifts so much! This sat around ALL day without a mention, drove me craaazy!

Any moments with Rocker Son are a treasure to me. He is creative and hilarious!

I adore these people! My men and their ladies.

Hubs calls Writer Son his "Giant leprechaun" since sporting this beard. He is over 6 feet.

Sweet Sassy Bride made us some wonderful chicken tacos with homemade guacamole! Delish!

At last Writer Son handed me the gift bag! Wonderful scarf and a charm necklace that
 I cannot wait to wear!

I also love Rocker Son's, Tattoo Girlfriend, she is so funny and strong!

Amazing dessert of yogurt, fruit, sweet granola and honey! So good!

Not sure why Hubs took a pic of these guys, but we laughed a lot at them
on our fav show, The Amazing Race Finale!

Sassy Bride even insisted on cleaning my kitchen after all that hard work!

Hubs "helping" Sassy Bride at the stove.

Yay for a great Mother's Day 2011.

I hope yours was a good one too! 

Not A Kitchen Lady....

Today is going to be a great day, full of loved ones and food! My parents are here from out of state. My new daughter-in-law's parents are here from out of state also and they have never met my parents. So tonight both my sons and there lady-loves will be here along with my folks and Sassy Bride's folks! Big crowd for me.

We will get to see the wedding pics finally, maybe play some board games and eat a yummy dinner.

As some of you know, I HATE TO COOK, so why will the dinner be yummy and why am I so sure of that?

We are getting TAKE-OUT from Tahoe Joe's!! Yeehaw!

PS......And thank you thank you for voting for me at GoodBlogs, I truly appreciate it!

ME Day!

Thank you again everyone for getting me up to 200 Followers for my birthday this last Sunday! I appreciate and love to visit each and everyone of you. I have some fun pics of my 56th birthday of Feb 13th. I did what wise women have been doing for centuries; I set it up myself!

Sassy Bride (Left) and Girlfriend are so cute, I love them both so much!

When Hubs asked what I'd like to do for my special day, I told him I love going out to eat with both my sons and their ladies but we end up paying for it and they all go home once the meal is done. As we talked I got the best idea ever. I asked them all to come to our house and cook me a birthday dinner! My new DIL and Rocker Son's girlfriend both love to cook and they jumped on the plan with great enthusiasm. That made me feel good!

They worked together really well and enjoyed putting my Birthday meal together.

I am yakking away as usual. Rocker Son's Girlfriend (left) Writer Son (right).

Action shot!

I love, love, love having them all here together!

Amazing Dark Choc cake with choc cream cheese frosting.
Made from SCRATCH by Sassy Bride!

Procrastination At It's Finest!

It is now 10:24 am on my Writing Wednesday when I purposely stay home from work to give a whole day to my writing venture. Have I written anything so far today? What do you think? I am sitting here in my dirty hair and bathrobe with an empty coffee cup and cereal bowl next to me. The only way this could appear to be a productive writing morning would be to allow Facebook comments and talking on the phone about writing to count.

Oh and I also spent a ridiculous amount of time searching for these fun pics to illustrate some good news for you!

Maybe if I did my hair like that....

My specialty!

If I smile they'll think it was done on purpose.

The opposite of Bree is me.

My fun news is that this Sunday is my birthday and instead of going out for an expensive dinner with my sons and their ladies, I have asked them to come to my house and cook a meal for us. I HATE TO COOK, and my DIL and Rocker Son's Girlfriend LOVE TO COOK, so it all works out wonderfully for me!!

They all love the idea and are brimming over with enthusiastic ideas!! 

It's a total WIN - WIN! Happy Birthday to me. If we went to a restaurant it would be over too soon and we'd all go our separate ways. This way they will come over all day! Yay me!

Okay, I think I will go shower and then write. I will! I promise!

From Son To Husband

Was I eating something? Was I cleaning my teeth???

I mean really? I'm not mad at her, what is wrong with me??

I guess that some of us are just not meant to be photogenic. I can browse through my friend's Facebook photo albums and sure enough if I'm there, it looks like I am sleeping, or eating or wish I was somewhere else. And if I KNOW my pic is being taken, it looks even worse.

As you look at the photos above you may be able to understand why I am not really begging my son and his new wife to hurry up with the OFFICIAL wedding pics. I want very much to see their loveliness but I am dreading what will be put online with my name under it.

♥ ★ ♥

In other news, Hubs and I had our first dinner at my son and daughter-in-law's little newlywed apartment last night! As Hubs hung up the phone, we just grinned at each other and I said, "I can't believe our son just invited us to dinner at his home!". Even as we drove there it felt surreal and sweet.

We walked in to a crazy mess of a place because the moving company had delivered all their belongings from Texas the previous evening. They have been here since January 1st, just camping out in an empty apartment! So Writer Son and Sassy Bride were thrilled to finally have their wedding gifts and furniture around them. 

But they had been busy and most things were put away as they proudly opened cupboards and closets to show us. I helped Writer Son clear the dining room table off and set it for our first dinner in their own home. Sassy Bride was spinning around the tiny kitchen whipping up a delicious meal. 

It was so cute to hear them work together.

"Hey we can use the bamboo place mats!"

"Where is the box of silverware?"

"No, here let me chop the onions."

W.S. kept opening boxes and telling me how much he loved the bowls or the dish towels inside. He held up a dish scrub brush that looked like a colorful daisy and commented on how great it was! This is a whole different side of my first born that I have never experienced before!

As we ate the yummy meal he said he never knew that getting practical house stuff could be so fun. Hubs shook his head and said, "Wow, you really took a sharp turn from buying comic books to buying a couch huh?" Ha! I pretty much just sat there and smiled a lot.

I did not really know how to help or to sit and be served. When I began to take my dirty dish to the sink, they both jumped  up and said, "No, it's our turn, you guys sit and be company ok?" So cute.

Writer Son and Sassy Bride really do compliment one another. Where one is weak the other is strong and they seem to be very aware of their differences and how they complete each other. I loved watching them together in that little cozy place. 

Hubs and I drove home in silence as we wondered about this new place we are in with our kids. It's a strange and unknown land and hopefully we will figure out how to be what they need without being more than they need.

And This Little Chair Is Juuust Right!

Today I get home from work and immediately see signs that someone has been in our home while we were gone all day.

• The TV cabinet is wide open.
• There is an open newspaper on our kitchen table.
• There are crumbs on the kitchen counter.
• My tablet has been fiddled with.
• The bathroom toilet seat is up.

Have we been burgled? Has some random stranger broken in and enjoyed a snack while watching TV and reading the news?

Nope.

Our empty nest, described so gaily a while ago has had a visitor. 

Writer Son, so cheerfully anticipated and welcomed has spent part of his morning doing their newlywed laundry at the nice comfy home he grew up in rather than the gross apartment laundromat. 

Hmmm.

How do I feel about this? It did make Hubs and me smile and chuckle at each other knowingly when we realized who the intruder had been. Hubs called Writer Son, saying " Someone's been sitting in my chair. Someone's been eating my food!" Hubs tried to sound all gruff and angry but ended up laughing and telling Son that he is welcome to do laundry here anytime. 

And yes, he is welcome.....but....I'm not crazy about the messes he left. I know, they are small and I could sound petty, but if you go back and read my list of the perks of being an empty nester you will see that I really like coming home to a house as clean as I left it. Would he leave those crumbs in someone else's kitchen? (Maybe, because it does seem that men have an eyesight disfunction on these kinds of things.)

Hmmm, still pondering this weird season. Parenting an adult is a road that is full of twists and turns, delights and frustrations. My kids and their loves are adults. Hubs and I are still parents to them. Interesting new place we find ourselves.

We are watching the newlyweds gets stressed about finding the right furniture and fridge. The need for perfection is difficult to watch. They look at us like we are speaking Hebrew when we laughingly tell them about our apple crate side tables and curtained doors. Sassy Bride actually said, "I can't figure out why everyone smiles as they tell about how poor they were when they first got married!" haha! Oh dear!

This is gonna be interesting.

Writer Son in either Fiji or the Philippines a few years ago. Funny guy!

Hello 2011, I'm Ready For You!

Rocker Son and his sweetheart! So cute! 

Writer Son and his sweetheart of a new wife!

We enjoyed a fun and laughter filled
dinner together at our favorite chinese restaurant
to celebrate New Year's Eve!

My sons are both in love
and I had no idea
how much that would make
my heart happy!

Happy 2011
my wonderful blog friends.
I also had no idea how
many amazing, warm, funny and loving
friends I would find by blogging!

I pray you all jump into this new year
all the way without reserve.
That's what I plan to do.
I am sick of caution,
it's time
to
FLY!

Good-Bye 2010

It is time to pack away the last of year 2010.

Tucking Rosemary Clooney (White Christmas movie) safely 

away into the Christmas chest,

along side the family ornaments.

One Christmas card is staying on the mantel however.

 It makes me smile every time I walk by it!

Speaking of my son and daughter-in-love....

oh you weren't speaking of them?

Well, they are my main attraction right now as they

travel ever closer to California.

They were at the Grand Canyon yesterday......

Writer Son's caption under this photo of his new bride:

"The Grand Canyon just got 10 times more beautiful!"

 I know! Sweetness to usher us into a brand new year!

Two-thousand-ten was not a great year for me personally.

Seeing my two sons in good relationships 

are the bright spots in an otherwise tough last 8 months.

And that is worth a lot isn't it?

I look at my men

and I smile 

with thankfulness.

Now as I enter two-thousand-eleven

it is time for me to look ahead

and

remind myself of what is behind me.

No, not the year that is behind me....

but the WINGS that are behind me.

Walking Butterfly is about using those big gorgeous wings

to fly

rather than dragging them

like a walking butterfly.

It is time to fly.

I am sick of

CAUTION.

Ready, set, go........