More Random Thoughts....

I love a good series, so here is part two of my random thoughts. For those people who may not like bullet points, I have done sub-headings. Don't get too used to it.


Things I Don't Want to Forget

It is happening. If you are older than 30 and read this blog, you know what I am talking about. Yes, I have forgotten most of my life stories. I try so hard to remember little, interesting tidbits and it won't come. Of course I can remember totally random and useless stuff. For example, J asked me tonight where we ate before he took the MCAT 3 years ago. I rattled that off without a problem. (It was Rudy's BBQ if you are just dying to know). But if you were to ask me about my senior prom, forget it. This is why I feel compelled to start writing little memories as they come to me, or include special little things the kids do. After all this blog is really a record for me, so I should use it.

First Thing I Don't Want to Forget

Summers. I was gardening tonight ( a fancy way to say pulling weeds) and I realized how much I love evenings in the summer. I know this is a favorite time of many people, but I am rarely outside between the hours of 7:30 and 9 due to baths and bedtimes. It made me think back to several summers growing up.

I remember one summer after the fifth grade my dad took a friend, Erin, and me down to see my great aunt and uncle. They lived in Harlingen, which was close enough for us to take a day trip to Mexico. I don't remember much about the town except for the restaurant we ate at. It seemed really dark and they played mariachi music. As a mature fifth grader I already knew a few things, like they served alcohol to anyone down there. Since we were with my dad I knew we weren't going to be getting any shots, so we thought a good way to make us feel hip was to order some fancy, dancy Shirley Temples. I will never forget those Temples as long as I live. They were the best I have ever had. Down in Mexico they make them a little different and add some fruit punch to the usual sprite and amaretto. My friend and I started acting goofier and goofier by the second after downing Temple after Temple. We started thinking that since we were in Mexico these drinks MUST have alcohol in them (it surely wasn't the sugar!). Driving back into town that night we sat in the back of my great-uncle's truck. He had a cab over the back but we were able to lay down and open the windows so the air would blow over us. I have never laughed so hard and felt so carefree. To this day, I prefer a good Shirley Temple over any other alcoholic beverage.

Words of Wisdom

Ashley turns five in two weeks and I feel as though she is suddenly maturing at a rate 100 times that. It is so hard to describe in words but every day I see her change in ways I never expected. She has always said the funniest things, but I haven't been so good about keeping track. Here a few things from the past couple of days.

"I am going to go stylish my hair."

"Mommy, do I look fashion?" (This is after she returned from stylishing her hair. She had about 10 hair clips of different colors all put in very nicely)

"I don't have a bow in my hair. I need a bow or I just don't look right." (This was before swim lessons after I had taken her bow out. I am just now realizing that most of the comments are related to her hair. Hmmm..... )

A: "I don't want to grow up, I always want to stay the same size I am"
Me: "Why?"
A: "I don't want to have a baby and have to get a shot."
Personally, I like this philosophy to remain in place until she is out of college and married. Then I will have to work on changing it one day to get a grandchild.

Tip of the Week

When I knew I was going to pull weeds tonight, I started thinking about what I could sit on. Last time I used a towel and that didn't work so well. I know they make all those fancy gardening pads and chairs, but I am way too cheap for that stuff. Finally, I decided to use one of Landen's vinyl diaper pads and it worked really well. You probably already have this tip all figured out, but for me this was a major a-ha moment. These don't come too often, so I choose to celebrate them.

One last thing......

In the next week or so, there will be a little change to my blog.