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.