For my nana on what would have been her 95th birthday....

One more cup of coffee

I know it has been forever since I have posted and I apologize. The original intent of this blog was to keep my children informed about the week's schedule. When I was working on my Master's and Doctorate, they wouldn't remember when I was traveling to campus. Sometimes I would tell one or two them and forget to tell the other, which often led to "You don't love me enough to tell me what you are doing???" hence, this blog. Since then, I have graduated and my children have moved off to the far sides of the universe. There did not seem to be much point in this medium any longer.

However, I think this may be a good way to still keep in contact with my family, even if they don't much read this any more!

Recently, I visited the great city of Chicago for training on Apple's iPad2 and MacBook. The university sent us for this training because the focus was on adaptive technologies for individuals with special needs. It was a wonderful training opportunity, with the additional benefit of an extended visit with my daughter, Mercedes. We had a wonderful time, but as I was preparing to leave, I kept thinking of my visits with Nana. As a child, my grandmother moved away to the exotic location of York, Pennsylvania. It was a 6 hour drive from our house in Rochester, N.Y. so we were only able to visit once or twice a year. Quite vividly, I remember the endings of those vacations more than any other memory. As we were getting ready to leave, Nana would always ask, "Are you sure you don't want one more cup of coffee, Joanie?" It was her way of holding us close for just a little longer.

Eight years have gone by since she passed away, and two years ago, my mother joined her. I do hope they are sharing one more cup of coffee together....

TOO CUTE!!!

D.C. in the Spring

Last week I went to Washington, D.C. for a conference about how to procure grants and monies for research. One constant message rang throughout, maybe there will be money for education, maybe not. Today the Senate agreed to extend funding for the federal government for two more weeks. Until then, more waiting and worrying.
D.C. is an interesting place. It's a very young city, and many of those young people are pretty and very well off financially. Across from our hotel was a large park where untold numbers of homeless were making their little campsites. Most of the time, the weather was frigid and rainy, not a time to be living outdoors. This dire poverty in the midst of extreme wealth and power was quite a startling dichotomy. Surrounded by classic architecture, gorgeous museums, and fine restaurants where I could only afford to eat once a day, was located a mere two blocks from the White House. A certain sad perspective in walking down the streets where our nation's founding fathers once walked and seeing desperation so close at hand.

On a much brighter note, the World War II memorial is almost finished and it's quite stunning. Makes a lovely compliment to the Korean Memorial, and the Vietnam Wall. Also, the Cherry Trees were beginning to bud! Always hope...

Phil! WTH????

What I learned in driver's ed Upstate New york edition....SLOW DOWN!

I am second guessing Punxatawny Phil because Wichita has been slammed once again. This is actually worse than the last snow storm, exactly one week ago today!

http://videos.kansas.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=61124131&item_index=&genre_id=00001423

Oh the weather outside is frightful.....

...but the kitties are warm! Yes, that is a heating pad that LeeLoo is laying on too! Wichita has had almost 7 inches of snow, which is nothing compared to what I hear Rick got at the house in Oklahoma, or better yet, what Katie is going to get in Chicago! The only child of mine sitting pretty is Beth. She said it's going to be in the 70's tomorrow. Too bad the airport is closed here or I would be on my way SOUTH!!!!

The LeeLoo workout

I guess I am a little slow getting into the New Year and my fitness goals! going to the doctor yesterday and finding out I weigh more than I ever have in my life, was an eye opener. Really sad for a person who has always believed in fitness and good nutrition. Heck, Jack LaLanne raised me! So enough of the excuse after excuse (again) and my new commitment to fitness. The best thing, I have a workout partner. LeeLoo thinks that the Biggest Loser workout video is awesome!

Hope you are all well.

Jamacian me crazy

With all of the snow, ice, and Arctic temperatures in Wichita, I was reminiscing about the tropics. The closest I could actually come to that fantasy was to change the template on my blog. Complaint is not appropriate, as The Huffington Post states that there is snow on the ground in 49 states with the lone exception....FLORIDA! Even Hawaii has snow.
Hope you are all staying warm and safe.

Hold on now....

I seem to remember moving out of New York in 1979, during a raging snow blizzard. I kept driving on even though the State police had closed the roads. Now, thirty some-odd years later, I still have to pounce down snowy stairs and shovel out my car!

It is pretty though, I just wish I didn't have to drive 7 miles to the university. I can hear lots of cars spinning their wheels.

Time keeps on ticking

Hello! I have not been online too much because I have been enjoying the time with my family. I actually was able to get a nice picture of all of us together. Seated on the couch, from left to right is Mike, my son-in-law, Rick, husband, and A.J. my son. Standing from left to right is Mary Beth, me, Amber and then Katie. I should have checked the glare on the pictures, but it's alright. Amber is back in New Mexico, Beth and Mike will leave for North Carolina tomorrow morning and Katie will fly back to Chicago tomorrow afternoon. Empty nest again! I will head back to Wichita on Sunday. It was been a special treasure not to have to worry about deadlines, preparing for class, writing papers, or transcribing research for a while. Happy New Years' to you all.

Beau

I know I haven't been posting very much, but this is a difficult season for me. I walked out of the mall a few days ago and have not been shopping because this time of year stirs up too much pain of my mom's passing.

This morning,our faithful dog, Beau, passed away. He lived a rich full 12 years and was a faithful companion.

A family tradition

As I was putzing around in the kitchen, I heard the familiar whistling theme to "The Andy Griffith Show". Katie was watching it and I was reminded of how much my mother loved that show! She even bought several seasons on DVD and watched them over and over again. All in all, a good family tradition to pass on.

Starbucked Strangers

All holidays must come to an end and the real world of work and hurry quickly takes over. While traveling back to Wichita this morning, I decided to stop at Starbuck's in Midwest City, OK for an Americano (with steamed soy milk). The parking lot was surprisingly busy and I remembered my mantra to be nice no matter what, so I allowed a red truck to take my parking space and I went around. When the man from the red truck entered the store he was greeted with shouts of admiration, and a young lady said that she had thought of him when she was in Wichita last week. Wichita? Another man said he was from there and on his way back home and my mouth volunteered the information that I, too was on my way back to Wichita. The cashier asked if we knew each other and indeed, we had never met before. The nice man in the red truck actually lives one block from me! What a truly small world. We all laughed and talked and then went our separate ways. After a 100 miles or so, I actually read the words on the cup..."I talked to a stranger once over coffee...we're not strangers anymore!" Normally, I stay within my safe little world of one and rarely talk to people I don't know. Perhaps this holiday season, one of the life lessons on which I need to focus is to become more friendly to strangers.

Black Friday

Amber is on her way to New Mexico in her shining new car leaving us with hearts full of love and pride for what a wonderful young lady she has become.It's her first big road trip alone and we are a little worried, but I know she will be safe. As she was leaving, I kept trying to offer her "one more cup of coffee" and was reminded that I am only emulating what my Nana used to do when we were ready to leave her after vacation. Years of guilt have haunted me because I moved away from my New York home when I was 19-years old, and with the exception of a few visits, really never went back. I thought I had abandoned my mother and started a cycle of kids growing up and leaving their parents far behind. In reality, it was Nana who embedded wanderlust in my soul. She married for the 5th and final time, James Forrest Plank, in the mid-1970's and left Rochester to the unheard of hinterlands of York, Pennsylvania. That represented a 6 hour drive to see my grandmother with whom I was so close. While the transfer of residence did afford us the opportunity of wonderful summer vacations in the picturesque mountains of Pennsylvania, it was so difficult to leave her after spending such great times together. She was the core of our little family unit. We had so many traditions and memories in which she was the focal point.

After she passed away, that sense of family togetherness also seemed to pass in my heart. Oh sure, doubts and questions nag as to whether I tried hard enough to maintain ties with my mom, sister, aunts, uncles and cousins. After all, it was I who moved so far away both geographically and emotionally.

With my mother's passing less than a year ago now, I have fallen into a black trench of "what could have been's" and "what should have's". Through the last few decades, I have attempted to create traditions and memories for my own three little chicklets, but it doesn't feel the same. Only two children were home for Thanksgiving and the other two didn't even call. Time is a great reminder of what we have and the lesson of holding dear to the here and now. In a minute, it is all gone and hopefully, if you are lucky, those precious memories and traditions will live on in the minds of those you have touched. So have that second cup of coffee;take time to enjoy each other and always be mindful of thanks.

Hope you are all well.

Peace, Love, and Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!!!! I have so much to be Thankful for this year. I earned my doctorate, obtained a job at a university, found a great apartment in a wonderful city....but a far more important event occurred over this past year. My mother passed away from this life and while that has been a most difficult experience, I have taken from tragedy the lesson to daily be thankful for the abundant blessings that surround me. I am thankful for my beautiful children, my husband, my fantastic in-laws and all of my friends. (and my darling kitties!). Hope you are all well and in peace.

Thanks full

Time goes by quickly enough, but in blog-land, it's even worse! Since I last posted, Amber has found a brand new car. It's a Mercury Milan so she will be driving to her new duty station on the Friday after Thanksgiving. (Beware anyone driving between Oklahoma and New Mexico ;p)

I am back in Oklahoma for the holiday week, but I miss my kitties. Luckily, I have the cutest grand-kittens in the world to keep my company. Projects for the week include writing a grant for a new research project I am considering. Sometimes it is so difficult to know where to start. Never having written a grant proposal for actual money, is a chore! My plans are to have it completed by the weekend by I am going to have to search for the Muse of grant writing to help me out.

Hope you are all well.

November, what?

Where has the month of November gone? Nana always warned me that time goes by so quickly when you are older and she was not exaggerating! Much has happened since I last posted. Amber came home from Japan on November 5th! She has been stationed at Misawa A.F.B. for the past 2 years and she is home for a little holiday before reporting to her new duty station in New Mexico.

I drove home to OKC to pick her up from the airport last weekend, and then this weekend, Rick and her came here to Wichita. A mandatory visit to the zoo was in order! Cold rain and bitter winds did not dampen our spirits! Some of the animals were off exhibit for the winter, but there is so much to see that we had a great time. As always, the Jungle is my favorite place to visit, made all the more exciting as we entered just in time for feeding. Evidently, macaws like to bully fruit bats and they were flying energetically above our heads. Amber also got to see the one month old baby lion that is still in his nursery, but there is a remote camera coverage of him and mommy. The lion she is sitting in front of in the pic is about two years old.

Next weekend, I will go down to Oklahoma and prepare for the Thanksgiving break. Inconceivable! Amber will be leaving soon after Thanksgiving to drive out to her new base, hopefully, in her new car.

I hope you are all well, love,

mommy

Thunder and Mac n' Cheese

Yet again, I had a wonderful weekend with my sweetie! Rick came up Friday night and I made a yummy eggplant Parmesan. Saturday, we putzed around in the morning and then went to dinner at the River City Brewery. I had the best macaroni and cheese that I have ever had in a restaurant. In order to walk off our gluttony, we ambled through Old Town to the Intrust Arena to watch the Wichita Thunder play hockey. It was the WSU jersey auction night and I sure wanted one! They were pretty. As hockey games go, this one was not memorable, but what was amazing happened at the auction tables. They had table set up with papers listing the players names and jersey size and then you could bid an amount for the auction. Five minutes prior to the close of the auction, Rick and I went down to the tables and the one I bid on was out bid. Three minutes to go before the close of the auction and Rick walks up to the table to write my name on the paper. He wrote SLOOOOOWLY! It took him a full three minutes to write my name and phone number! In the mean time, a guy came up behind him and said, "Alright buddy, you're done. Move it along!" He wanted to bid on the jersey too, and thought he could bully Rick away from the table and I thought, "Oh boy! here we go. Rick is going to cuss and yell." Instead, he politely said, "I am having trouble writing all the phone number." I was so proud of him! He was rewarded for his patience and calm and won the jersey! We paid the lowest price of any shirt there because of Rick's patience.

Today we went riding at Miller's Meadows, a mountain bike trail following a glorious breakfast buffet that included a nice prime rib for Rick! All in all, a wonderful, wonderful weekend. Thank you, honey.

Romance on a Birthday!

As I woke up this morning, the first thought I had was, "I need to call Mom because it's my birthday!" She always remembered my birthday but this is the first year she is gone and then the memory of her absence hurt so deeply. I wasn't prepared to miss her so much today.

Yesterday, my department head asked me to come to work today at noon for a meeting about this huge re-write we are doing on assessment protocols. Yeah... nothing could be more fun than that for a birthday gift, right? Well, maybe dental work would be equal, but at least they would give you drugs!

So at noon, she came to my door and said we had to go to the main office first. Okay...sure...whatever...But when I opened the door to the office, a whole gang of people were there singing "Happy Birthday" to me! There was a gorgeous cake and Linda told me there wasn't any meeting, instead it was a ruse set up by my husband...MY HUSBAND! He even ordered a dark chocolate birthday cake to be delivered to the school and e-mailed every one with the plans for the event! My husband??? This is quite an unexpected romantic and sweet gesture for him, but I won't question. Just enjoyed the cake! I didn't even wait to take a picture of the cake so I took a picture of the card Gail sent to me instead. I hope you all had a lovely day!

A basket of Birthday's

Today marks the birthday of two wonderful women! First my favorite mother-in-law, Gail Sayman, and Second, by best friend Dr. Donna Maynard! Happy Birthday to you both!!!
Here's wishing that you receive every blessing and happiness today and always.