Random Thoughts

My roses are growing beautifully. Well, twenty of the twenty-two, that is. Besides some fertilizer last week, and cutting on Good Friday, I haven't really done anything. I can't wait until I really get in there next week. They were beautiful last year, and I'm thinking this year will be even better. I'll have to take pictures.

I am being pulled in many different directions and it seems everything has suffered. I know I can do it all and do it well. It's just a matter of better organization.

Mr. and Mrs. Jovial had a terrible experience recently, due to their precious children having a traumatic experience while mom and dad were out of town. They never leave their kids, and this happens. I feel so bad for them, but I am also grateful, as they are, that their babies are okay. We are all thankful to God for that. I first found out about the incident from a MyS.pac.e bulletin posted by the oldest child.

I have been talking to someone with whom I have very little in common. We are clicking like you wouldn't believe. Story of my life.

I'm very happy I have family coming to visit. I hope the visit is enjoyable comfortable, relaxing, reflective, and everything else she wants it to be.

My car is acting funny.

My new bedroom is more beautiful than I anticipated, and I anticipated it to be beautiful. I am quite pleased.

I have a writing gig! Can't wait to get started.

Sometimes, your family will kick you in the ass worse than a stranger with ill intentions. Sometimes, you have to save yourself from your own family. That makes me sad, but not for one minute will I let it slow me down.

I have begun working out again. Pray for me.

FEMA sent me a letter saying they were removing all the trailers in Orleans Parish as of May 1. According to this letter, I cannot appeal this decision. I laughed at that for about a minute.

I saw a bottle of wine at the supermarket last week and decided to check it out. It's called Gewurztraminer. I enjoyed it thoroughly, with Thai food. I will be purchasing again.

I got the wood floor refinished in the very last room that needed it upstairs - the guest room. It is beautiful, and more shiny than the rest of the floors.

I am currently pleased with my legs. This is something I never say. Now that I'm working out again, they will go back to being the legs I don't like, but they'll be toned, healthy, and take me where I need to go as they always have.

I often think of Idris Elba in an impure manner. Ditto for Chiwetel Ejiofor, with some extra. There's just something about that African-English combo that turns out some beautiful people. Mm-mm-mmm!

Now, I need a glass of water.

I would say I need new people, but I fit right in just where I am:

I called a relative on Good Friday. She told me she watched The Ten Commandments earlier that day. I commented that she did that every Easter and it was a good tradition. There was a loooong pause. She then commented that the Hebrew slaves were very fine.

I found myself agreeing with her. Hey, I already asked you to pray.

Our group is having lunch at one of my favorite restaurants today in commemoration of Administrative Worker's Day.

One of our secretaries received a beautiful heather plant from her boss. I went to sniff it. Something went up my nose and hit the back of my throat. I started coughing and sneezing. Secretary nearly killed herself laughing. I may cut her when my respiratory passages are clear and I can think about it without laughing. This is the stuff that happens to me all the time.

I will be doing the "pieces of me" thing soon, with a little twist I stole from Mark.

I don't understand the desperate behavior of some women. Do you need a man so badly you'll take anything? This is what makes ugly men who don't have much on the ball act like their you-know-what doesn't stink. That burns me up. It makes me want to crush the berries of such "men". Think of your worth, ladies. If you're not treating yourself like a queen, he won't either.

Me? Sometimes I'm a queen, sometimes a princess. More often than not, I am a goddess.

Later,

More Music for My Cousin - Corinne Bailey Rae

This is Part II

Happy Birthday to My Cousin in Austin!!!! (Part 1)

Have a cocktail:


Some cake (It's yellow cake with chocolate frosting):



I found a group to sing for you:

Happy Birthday, JJ!

It's my nephew's 2nd birthday! It doesn't seem that long ago he was just born. He was not supposed to be born until March 24, but God had other plans. I remember that day there was terrible weather, with tornadoes blowing through the greater New Orleans area.

Maybe that's why he's such a mess, but he's so cute!

You know he has my lips, right?

Ruby and the Romantics - Our Day Will Come

Today is my parents' anniversary. Had they lived, they would have been married 42 years.

I believe they are together now, two overjoyed spirits not beleaguered by the cares of this earth.

My dad loved his music, and it seemed he played a little of everything. There are a few special songs that remind me of both my parents for different reasons. They played this song very often when I was a little girl. As I got older, it became part of that category of songs for me where the lyrics are simple, but intense. Like much of the music of days gone by, there's an innocence you no longer hear in today's music:

Our day will come, and we'll have everything

We'll share the joy falling in love can bring...

... Our dreams have magic because we'll always stay in love this way

Our Day Will come...

So, here's to you, Mama & Daddy. I know you didn't drink, but I will be toasting you tonight, and I'll do it up right. I imagine now you're looking at each other, shaking your heads and laughing.

I'm cool with that.

Little Precious is Here!!!

Congratulations to my BFF & Family, whom I shall call the Jovial family. In addition to Mr. & Mrs. Jovial, they have two beautiful daughters, Lilac and Lyric, and a sweet dog, Milo. Last week, the Jovial Family picked up a sister for Milo, and the Jovial Family will never be the same.

Meet Precious!

Milo checks out his new sister

Lilac holding Precious, while Milo looks on:


Mrs. Jovial and Lyric with Milo and Precious at sleepytime.


Being so very young, she's still adjusting, but everybody loves her, and Milo lets her have and do whatever she wants. I can't wait to meet her!

Political Families

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jmnVpq0nGcPOacLhEz0w_sLrSBiQD95RQ1IG0

Question:

Is it okay for the media to run pieces that reflect negatively on the children of political figures? What, or who should be off-limits?

Marty - 1955

The first time I saw this movie, I was in high school and it was at my dad's insistence. If he enjoyed something, it was a given that my siblings and I should enjoy it too. If you didn't enjoy it the way he did, there was something wrong with you. That's just the way he was. What he enjoyed most at that time was a new VCR and an expanding movie collection. We spent a greater part of that summer getting acquainted and reacquainted with the classics. Before we began watching Marty, Daddy explained this was a 'sleeper' hit, meaning it won critical acclaim despite great things not being expected at the time of the film's release. It was nominated for eight Oscars and won four, picked up two awards at Cannes, including the Golden Palm, won a Golden Globe, and many others. Even today, this is impressive.

If you haven't seen it let me set it up for you without spoiling it:

The story is of Marty Piletti (played excellently by Ernest Borgnine), a thirty-something bachelor who lives and works in the Bronx with his beloved, widowed mother. It's at her urging that Marty attends a dance at the famous Stardust Ballroom. While there, he witnesses a woman named Clara (again, excellent portrayal by Betsy Blair), being dumped about two minutes into a blind date. Marty comes to Clara's rescue, and they seem to hit it off. That's all I'll say.

I loved this movie for a few reasons. First, the entire movie was well acted. Mrs. Piletti, played by Esther Minciotti, was the typical overbearing mother who wants her son to settle down, yet isn't quite ready to let him go. What I liked most is the honesty of this movie. It deals with feeling 'not good/smart/pretty enough' and the emotions that come with it, in a raw, sincere manner. In a time when movies swept many of life's unpleasantries under the rug, Marty took its issues head on and put the hurt front and center. There's also a "wait a minute - what am I thinking!" moment that merits mentioning.

If you've seen it, let me know what you think. If you haven't, I believe you'll be pleased when you do. If you don't love it, my daddy was right - there is something wrong with you!