Bits & Pieces of Tranquility

Credit to Sazzy...a vision of tranquility..the way I felt a couple of blog entries ago while at the river....

Another tranquil moment, taken two years ago while Hubby & I were making a road trip from Seattle to San Diego. We camped all along the way down that famous highway...                                                One of my favorite "us" memories.

Here's the other pic I wanted to find & post of our other girlie grey, Krissy (aka Krystal). She's 4 yrs old. Krissy's also our tomboy...loves to race! Here she is at the doggy beach on Davis Islands, FL. Even after two years off the tracks, she still loves to find someone & race. If she can't find another doggy, she races herself, going full blast down the greenway, looking so beautiful & free of spirit that Hubby couldn't resist videotaping her.

Another "shot" of tranquility...the open water kind. Taken opposite from the last picture of Krissy, & off the doggy beach.

Kia. Note she has what's called a "black mask" around her nose. Krissy doesn't. Also, Kia is considered a "red fawn" color. Note hint of red. If you look at Krissy's pic above, you'll notice she is more tan...no hint of red. Just tawny. :-) I think Kia says it best with the tranquility here, don't you?

Although I don't mind this "hunk" shot of tranquility, either! Love ya, Baby! :-*

~sher

Playing Around

Trying to play around with the text & pictures here. So please bear with me. That's me up there with one of our older sons. He's now 20 yrs old. Taken before my haircut. That's my dad in the background. He's 70, but doesn't look it.

Here's our first greyhound sweetie we rescued. Her name is Kia. She just turned 5 yrs old. She's a "mama's girl", whereas Lenny in the previous blog is all "daddy's boy".

All three of my youngest boys, ages 15, 20, and 13. This was taken at Easter at my parents' home. We have four older children, also, and three new teenagers on the way via adoption.

 

Triathlon Man, aka Marathon Man, aka the Sexy Hubby......................................... (see what I mean, Jackie?? :-)  He's about to do a trial swim out in the Bay. He sure as heck can't balk at this pic.

More pics later ...gotta find some of our other beautiful grey, Krissy.

Later, folks! :-)

~sher

Class & Style

I had to post these pics of hubby after Jackie's (Hope Floats) comments on the guy with the tatoos. I had another pic of the hubby I wanted to post, but couldn't get it to work out. But here, Jackie, is a cute, classy kind of man. One who can relate to the little critters! ha! (That's our IG, Lenny...a pure "daddy's boy".) Now THAT'S sexy! :-)

~sher

*Posted: 1 picture of hubby in chair, 1 picture of hubby with dog...PRICELESS: "OMG! You posted the pic of me with the DOG?!?!"

Tags: Hope Floats

Summertime...and the Humidity is High!

Wow! I think I actually might've posted a pic of myself here for those of you who've been wondering who you've been talking to! This was taken a couple of summers ago while Hubby & I were on a cruise to Cozumel. I even ended up this week with the same haircut as the pic. I think it sums up what I'm feeling right now with school out!!! Just put another pina colada in that hand & ya got the perfect mood here.

Welcome, Summer!

It's been a week since I posted here. Actually a bit longer. Been feeling a bit lazy & unrushed here. I get that way at the end of each school year. I think it's a passive aggressive thingee.

Last Thursday...the last day of school, wouldn't ya know... Hubby & I had a meeting about our new children. I had to take a half day off work & sacrifice my last time with my classroom children. But the cool thing is...my students understood. When I started to tell them why I had to go, they interrupted me & said, "We know. You're going to find out about your new kids, Mrs. F. That's ok." Aren't kids amazing??!!

The short version of the meeting is that they (case managers/family therapist/GAL) liked us & gave us the green light! Now we have to have another meeting just like the last one, only this one is considered the "formal" one. They will make a recording of this formal meeting where they present all the facts to us again about our children. They'll also give us a hard copy of it. It is considered final & formal disclosure of all info we need to know or would like to know about our children. This formal meeting should happen within the next week or so.

In the meantime, the case manager, family therapist & Guardian Ad Litem who are working with our children are in charge of starting the transition visits. It's a combo of the following....(deep breath)....daily visits, overnight visits, weekend visits, one-on-one visits with each child separately with me & separately with Hubby, whole family visits, visits with us as a couple with just the new children without our bio children...and probably any other combo you can think of! I'm curious as to how this will all fit together & how long it will take. Our older son's best friend is a foster child now all grown up. He says the process is swift from here. We hope so. The only extra time we need is to be sure their rooms are ready. So that's what you'll probably hear about next. The whole cleaning & set-up process.

In the meantime, I've been trying to wind down. Had to return to my classroom yesterday. I only had the top of my desk to clear off. Then I finished packing the car & got the heck out of there.

On Memorial Day, Hubby & I bought a nice outdoor glass-top table, umbrella, and chairs for the deck. It was Hubby's idea. Our new daughter's room has French doors off the deck & pool. He felt the umbrella might shade the doors some, as well as offer a neat place to do homework & socialize. We found that the last two ideas work really great! We've already eaten breakfast out there just to give it a trial run. While the umbrella is tall, it doesn't do much to shade the door. But we love it anyway!

That same evening, we went to the park by our house. It was close to sundown. The park is near the Hillsborough River. It has been recently renovated with an improved walking area, picnic gazebo, and doggy baggy stations. It's attracting more people to the area for picnicing & exercising. We love it for the proximity of the river. Hubby & I started walking, but ended up sitting on one of the three wooden docks leading out over the river. A heron...we think...was sitting on the railing seemingly enjoying his view when we came up. He kept turning his head from side to side to keep an eye on us. I felt like we intruded on either his solitude or his dinnertime. Another bird finally called him away. Across the river were the remnants of a pool party. Everyone seemed to be winding down. Boats cruised & sped by, jockeying for the lead at times. The sun was going down to the west, and we were seated facing it. All the houses across the river were becoming silhouettes. It was one of those times where you just sit...and sit...and sit. You want to talk, but you don't want to break the spell. There was this serene beauty with the calm lapping of the waves (occasionally broken up by the boats), along with the pastel skies & this incredible breeze. One of those gentle ones that doesn't seem to stop. Not too cold, not at all hot. And here, amazingly, in Florida! No humidity. Rare this time of year. I asked Hubby when was the last time we'd done this. We couldn't remember, but we think it was LAST summer. I noted that it was a shame not to do it EVERY night. It was better than staying in or watching t.v. It was great for the soul & relaxation. Just what I needed.

Since that night, the humidity has returned, and I haven't been able to replicate that feeling of clearing the mind & soul of a year's worth of work & hassles. But I'm trying! By gosh, it's summer, so it HAS to feel as free as I wanna be!!!

So Happy Summer, All, and to All, a safe & fun time!

Tags: Hillsborough River, Tampa Florida

Countdown!

Giddy!!! Ecstatic!!! Yipeee-ki-yay!!!

It's almost here! Just 2 1/2 more days! Well, I don't really count the half day since it's so short & isn't that painful. ha!

School will be out for the kids for summer come Thursday. I'm soooo thankful! It's been a very long year with a lot of weird twists, turns, and loopdeloops. Let's just say you wouldn't believe me if I tried to explain, and the explanation is so long it will take another time to write about it.

Wednesday night we have a dinner with the Guardian Ad Litem volunteers. Thursday is the half day, which also happens to be the day we have to go to a "match meeting" about the children we are adopting. That means I don't even have to work the half day at school. Friday is a teacher work day, but for those of us who have compensatory time (times you end up working without pay, but they let you bank the time to use sometime when you don't have kids so you can leave early or have off...which is rare...maybe two days a year possible)....if you have comp time, you can use it to take Friday off. I doubt I will. I have filing to do. (Btw, I have over 3 weeks of comp time that never gets used up & I never get paid for.)

This year we have a new reading series & I like to start a file for every story or unit we do. I didn't get to do much of that this year with all the upheaval we've had. So I'll either take it home & start it, or do it that day. My parents are coming to visit & help, too, with packing up. They are retired teachers. They know what it's like when you want to get out the door. For those of you who say teachers have it easy with summers off, you just don't know that not only do we NOT get paid over the summer, but it takes the entire summer to unwind & gear up & prepare for the NEXT batch of students. At the end of the school year, we are drained emotionally, intellectually, and physically. And as we get older, it doesn't get any easier, especially with the stupid politics & testing. Everyone talks the talk, but no one ever fixes anything. So YES, I'm very ready for the much needed rest!

I missed last Thursday's 5 Things to be Thankful for...

so here goes...

1. The end of the school year

2. Our adoption "match meet"

3. The wonderful sunshine here in FL

4. Rest & Relaxation

5. Love...that comes from all & radiates through all.

~sher

 

A Breath of Fresh Air

Fantastically fun day today.

Hubby is training for a triathlon. Today he wanted to check out where the race is to be held. So we made an hour & a half trip up to Crystal River Beach Park, making only a short stop to pick up a McDonald's.

The beach looked like a relic of the '50s. It had an old block bathhouse, and a sprinkling of skinny picnic tables with the little upside-down V-shaped roofs. Both bathhouse & picnic tables were all painted a bold shade of blue. You couldn't miss them comin' 'round the corner. It was something out of Marguaritaville.

 The sun was out...fluffy clouds skimmed the sky, pushed around by a deliciously cool breeze, usually rare this time in Florida.

Then there was the brown water. According to my dad, this is due to the tanin in the water. All I can say is it didn't look very healthy. It wasn't a really DARK brown. But it still looked disgusting. Didn't detour the hubby, though. He dove in for his 16 minutes of practice...or what he feels is a good quarter mile timed practice. While he swam, I talked to my mom for about an hour & a half about things like what our teens should use to clear up their acne. I believe we spent something like fifteen minutes on that alone. On HER part. Seriously. By that time, hubby was out of the water & trying to save me by loudly proclaiming we ought to take a walk out to the pier. Didn't work, though. Moms are persistant like that. I continued to eye the Sunday paper at a distance, and Hubby teased by holding up my favorite part of the newspaper--the Parade magazine. Eventually, I got off. I love my mom DEARLY, but sometimes when she's on the phone...and at a distance...she talks like we're right there together in a room having a conversation. Please understand...I know it could be worse. Like, not even having your mom around to talk to. So I won't complain loudly. There just always seems to be some kind of comedic value to it, though I'm not sure which comedian would be up to it.

After we relaxed a bit, we decided to check out a restaurant my parents told us about. They spend time up there with their motor home, so they know the area pretty well. Mom insisted we go to Crackers, which she called by a totally different name. (Totally blonde!)  But we found it by her discription. Fortunately...because the food was really good & we happened upon a place to reserve for Keith's triathlon. Finally, we drove back home & took a nap.

Just what I had needed. School is closing down this week for the summer. Our adoption process is speeding up alongside all this. Life is hectic with packing, cleaning, and processing. So it was a perfectly wonderful day, getting away to somewhere DIFFERENT instead of my classroom or the house. No thinking involved. Just quiet time to reflect (yes, even while talking to Mom...) & moments to chat with the hubby on various topics.

A breath of fresh air...a bit of change...

It was good for the body & soul before gearing up again for Monday.

Tags: Crackers Bar & Grill Restaurant, Crystal River Beach Park

PLEASE HELP!!!!

Dear Friends in Jland,

PLEASE help out Bay Area Greyhound Adoption! It's FREE to you!

Please note in my favorite sites area to the right, there is a search engine listed called Goodsearch. PLEASE use it as your search engine, and please promote it to your friends. Its use is free to you & every time you look for something, BAGA gets a donation.

When you get to Goodsearch...

First, put in your favorite charity: Bay Area Greyhound Adoption, a neutral retired greyhound adoption organization. Then put the subject above it that you are searching.

Then VOILA!!! BAGA gets a penny for every search you do. It's THAT simple! It may seem like so little, but as the saying goes..."every little bit adds up."

Please help BAGA by using the search site, telling your friends, and adding it to your blog. We just want to help these gorgeous creatures! You can check out BAGA by clicking on it in my favorite sites, too.

A lot of homeless greys out there will thank you!

And so will I!!! :-)

Much appreciation,

~sher

Tags: Bay Area Greyhound Adoption, Goodsearch

It's Here!

Hi, all you moms out there! I hope you have a

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Thanks to all the moms who

take the sorrow & turn it into a story....

take the pain & turn it into a painting...

take the hurt & turn it into a heartsong...

take the joy & make it joyful...

take the peace & keep the peace...

give love...

and keep it growing.

~sher

Smokin'!

Hubby says he can't read my blogs as well with the colors I use. So here's a bit of a change.

Been a few weird days here in Florida. Tuesday the sun was totally blocked out over my school with an eerie brown-orange haze. Today it was so smokey again that you couldn't see the stadium of the high school behind us, nor the office buildings behind that.

 Florida is under seige by fire.

Tonight I went out to dinner with friends. It was dark when we left the restaurant to return home. In Florida during the hot summers, when it rains at night & the cooler water hits the hot asphalt, a steam rises & makes the night look like pancakes seared on a too-hot griddle. It was like that tonight...only without the pancakes & griddle. My hubby just returned from Ft.Myers. He said Alligator Alley was blocked off for a while. When you look at a map on the weather report, they use little flashing tags of flame to show where all the fires are in Florida. One map I saw looked so bad that I couldn't find any areas that weren't covered by a flame. It was like a maze. I'm just glad Hubby could find a way to GET home!

The smoke from all the fires has been so bad that our county told all schools to keep their kids indoors. No outside play on the playground or P.E. My kids with asthma were being affected. I ended up waking with a sore throat from the smoke the day before. Headaches abound among people you talk to. It's murder on contact lenses. Everyone walks around school (only as necessary) with their hands or shirts over their noses. Teachers in portables had a/c drawing the smoke IN to them.

We sure need some relief soon. I'm sure our fire fighters do, too!

So today was a bit of a hectic day at school, besides what the fires threw into it. Mother's Day is Sunday. My hubby sent me a beautiful arrangement of flowers at school for Mother's Day. He also sent one to each of our moms. (He's always  so thoughtful! See Dr. Love blog I wrote earlier!) But the hecticness was due to getting my Second graders ready for Mother's Day. We made the cutest coffee filter & fluffy pipe cleaner butterflies. (Made me think of you, Bea.) They also wrote a poem to put into their M.D. cards. On the front we used paint to create tulips. You have the child place their whole hand into paint that is squeezed out onto a foam plate. They keep their hand flat with the fingers & thumb closed against one another. Then they place their hand down onto the front of the card & on top of the stem they've already created. Next, they take their thumbs & dip them into green paint. Then they press them down onto the sides of the stem to create leaves. Once the flower is dry, you take the coffee filter butterflies, hot glue them to a clothespin, and then clip it onto the card just above the flower. It looks like the butterfly is flying over.

My kids were so tickled with their results! They couldn't wait to get them home. Kids are so spontaneous like that. They wonder why should they keep the cards until Sunday. Why not open them NOW??? And ya know...WHY NOT? We always hear of how much holidays have become commercialized. You hear it lamented all the time. And when is a mother's love limited to just one day a year, and a Sunday at that!? 

So I think they have the right idea...

Why waste time waiting to give??

Treat EVERY day like it is a special day... somewhere... for someone.

And while the rest of you are waiting...

An early Happy Mother's Day to you, and...

Please pass the oxygen mask!

 

Tags: Florida fires, asthma, Mother's Day, Dr. Love

A-B-C about ME!

Thanks, Jackie (Hope Floats)...this was a new & fun one....

A-Available or Single?  MARRIED! Not available OR single.

B-Best Friend:  Hubby...best girlfriends: Delia, Carol, Em

C-Cake or Pie: Molten Volcano Cake...oozes with chocolate & is great with vanilla ice cream!

D-Drink of Choice:  Sweet iced tea with lemon/Sangria, champagne (it's those tiny little bubbles...) or wine

E-Essential Item(s):  Cell phone, purse, sunglasses

F- Favorite Colour(s):   Yellow (sunny), Red (passion), Black (mysterious)

G- Gummy Bears or Worms?  BLECH! NEITHER! Try dark chocolate...

H- Hometown:  Born in Chattanooga, but grew up in a small town near Clearwater, FL

I- Indulgence:  Dark chocolate or Starbucks

J- January or February:   BOTH...January for beginnings, and February to celebrate loving someone.

K- Kids: 7 between us & 3 more on the way

L- Life is incomplete without:   Love, and friends and family. (Jackie got it right!)

M- Marriage Date:  We had a Spring wedding.

N- Number of Siblings: 1 brother...that's it!

O- Oranges or Apples?  Red delicious apples

P- Phobias/Fears:  Drowning/Cockroaches

Q- Favorite Quote: "Life is a learning curve...Lean into it." and  "It takes years to build trust, yet only a moment to tear it down."

R- Reasons to smile:  Being with the ones you love; Seeing something good happening to/for someone; Great comedy acts/movies; Seeing a young child finally learn something; Reading other peoples' comments here!

S- Season:  Fall -- the season of colors & a freshness in the  air

T-Tag Three:   Delia, Em, Bea

U- Unknown Fact about me:  I used to act in murder mysteries with my hubby's production company. My favorite parts were b*tchy women. (Gee...wonder why...) Not an unknown fact on either account, I guess, to most of my friends...

V – Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals?  I like both. Guess that makes me a vegoppressor??

W- Worst Habit(s):  I get my nails done & I can't stop tapping them or chewing at them. I also have a bad lip gloss habit I'm now trying to break cold turkey.

X – X-rays or Ultrasounds?:  I've only had ultrasounds due to pregnancies.

Y- Your Favorite Foods:  Lobster, shrimp, scallops, asparagas

Z- Zodiac: Virgo

 

 

 

 

Seize the Day

How do you wrap up a gorgeous day?

How do you even put it into words when it's a feeling in your heart?

Some things just can't be described. I'm horrible at descriptions. I sometimes think it's because I'm constantly thinking at a Second grade level due to teaching. The words, though, that come to mind are...calm, peaceful, sunny, balmy, quiet, private, golden, brilliant, loving...my own little world. Some would say I live in my own little world anyway. Can't be so bad if I enjoy being in it all the time, can it?     :->

I was exhausted this weekend. Hubby was out of town several days, but he also surprised me, coming back early by one day. But in the meantime I'd lost a lot of sleep...as usual. You'd think I'd get used to this by now, but I never do. His company became a worldwide joint venture with a "Big Gaming Company That I Won't Mention". This happened back in December, so since then his travel has increased from a possible once a month deal to just about every other week.

Suffice it to say, I slept in this morning. Hubby was probably already awake for several hours, but he hung out in bed with me anyway, getting up only to let the dogs out...I think. That's how out of it I was. We didn't get out of bed until 11a.m. He dislikes that since it means half the day is gone by then...but it DOES have it's advantages. ;->

Once up & going, we dressed for the Y & headed for our usual cafe con leche & Cuban toast at La Tropicana in Ybor City. It's a family tradition to do so every Saturday morning. Once in a while a festival is going on & then we go instead to First Watch. (Fantastic crepes!) I love the tradition of cuban toast & coffee, though. There's something about sitting in a place of history & knowing you are becoming a part of it. I like for the boys to have this tradition. I hope that one day they will be able to share it with their children...to be able to say, "Ya know, kids, this is where my mom & Grandpa Keith used to take us."

 I'mnot of Latin or Spanish ethnicity. Quite the opposite. I'm a natural blonde & a Scotch-Irish white-as-white-can-be girl. (Read "always sunburned" there.) But my step-grandfather was Hispanic. My mom & my grandmother used to make Spanish dishes. One of my favs is flan. Cuban sandwiches made at the Silver Ring were always a favorite, too, while growing up. This restaurant always seemed to have a line a block long coming out of it with people who were picking up the sandwiches. My dad would purposely park a block away, hidden around the corner. Then he'd send my mom...another fair blonde...to get sandwiches. Inevitably the men would always tell my mom she could go in front of them. It was rather comical in retrospect. She'd start at the end & one by one weave through the men to the front. In no time she'd have our sandwiches & be back in the car, ready to go. The Silver Ring used to be across from La Tropicana. It closed some time ago in Ybor, but I'm glad to say it just reopened this year a few blocks away from the original location. Same family owns it!

I used to love it when I had to go to my pediatrician. My dad would take off from school to drive us to Tampa to the dr's office. Afterwards, if I was the type of sick where I could keep food down, he'd take me to the Spanish Park restaurant (no longer in existance). We'd enjoy chicken & yellow rice, black beans, Spanish bean soup, and Cuban bread. The people would stop to talk with us there.

Maybe it's all those memories that make me feel like it's important to continue the tradition for our family...for the boys' sake...and for any future grandbabies' sakes. You sit in La Tropicana & the place reverberates with the sounds of people. My hubby doesn't like it when it's too "chatty". The onslaught of noise bothers him (noise sensitivity). But to me, it's a big social...a giant community coffee social. You hear Spanish & English. You see people who come in & instantly start kibitzing (is that the word, babe...). Hugs & laughter. There's a kind of casual social ladder. We're proud to say we sit on the rung that means all the wait staff know who you are. They know us well enough to often bring us our order without us asking. We know them by first name. And if you listen quietly enough, you'll get to hear history come 'round again. I heard one fellow say the other morning that some gentleman there was the only one left of his Ybor City generation. The last of a good thing. La Tropicana is the place where politics gets discussed & decided. It saw the birth of the local Spanish newspaper. The Bushes had to stop here to pick up some of the famous food. It is all about family...and what is happening around you. If you get this way, try it. Sit there & soak up the culture.

Do I digress? Not really. It's all a part of my gorgeous day & the feelings & memories that are created.

From La Tropicana, we headed to the Y. Hubby is workin' on his next triathlon which happens to be at the end of this month. So we worked out for about an hour...him in the pool & on the bikes. Me on the treadmill. Getting a workout just made me feel more wound up with energy. Much more talkative. We headed home with poor Hubby having to listen to me talk up a streak.

Oldest Son called home. He's in New Mexico. We had a fun time talking to him. I keep thinking he'll move back. It will be three years in July that he moved out there to be near his older brother from a different marriage. It always seems like he's just visiting out there. But we had fun talking. Somehow he & I always end up talking "fun trash". His 21st birthday is coming. One of his friends got him a banner for his truck. It says "Fuzzy" (his nickname...don't ask), and his friend ordered it in hot pink. When asked why hot pink & would HE ever have that in HIS car, the friend said, "uh..yeah". I told him to ask his friend what color of lace he was wearing. Broke Oldest Son out into hysterical laughter. But that's the kind of conversations we get into. He's a neat kid, really, even with all the calls home for money. :-D

So the day has gone on comfortably...peacefully. Wonderfully.

And the grand finale???

Hubby & I went out into the side yard where we have a pool. It's not caged in. We have a sort of tiered deck down to it. The yard is full of plants & flowers. Jasmine lines the front fence. A breeze wafts through(...amazing when you have a house in the way, right, honey?).The sun starts to set. The "golden moment" comes. Briefly the jasmine & the tree behind it are lit up in gold. We sat for a while & talked, drinking coffee & cola. We moved to the front yard & talked while Hubby watered a new garden section under our grapefruit tree. (I call it Terebithia.) The dogs wandered around sniffing, barking a hello to the dog across the street, and laid down in the cool mud just created by the hose. Hubby described a new idea for our house...adding a French door & deck from our bedroom just to the side of Terebithia.

And THIS is when you realize that... there's no place like home...no better love ever found...and no other day like today.

Tags: La Tropicana, First Watch Restaurant, Spanish Park Restaurant, The Silver Ring, Ybor City

Nite Nite Time

Tired. Been a long day. Even longer tomorrow. Middle Son has a field trip that requires him to be AT school by 6:30, which means getting everyone up by at least 5a.m. to be there on  time. And of course, this would be the week that Hubby was sent out of town. Darn...no great coffee in the morning! (Miss ya already, Love...) Anybehoova, I have to be at school at 6:30 (I teach at Son's school) & I have to be there to pick him up at 6:30pm. Sooooo...might as well just stay, huh? EXCEPT...the poor dogs will need to go out. I'll have to go home and THEN go back to work.

Such is life!

So what am I thankful for today?

1. Glad you're home from the hospital, Kimberleigh!

2. Glad Hubby called & said he made it safely to his destination.

3. Just 16 1/2 days left of school!!!! YAAAHOOOOO!!!

4. A roof over our heads.

5. Insurance rebates & the Hubby who worked hard to get it, right, Babe?? ;-> (Short story:Don't move to Florida right now. Insurance & taxes will eatcha up! Thank you, hurricanes!)

Be safe, Love. Come home soon..and most of all...safely.