Feb 5, 2009 | Uncategorized
I’m trying to get going here! I have to make a cake for my mother in law’s birthday (Feb.11th) and not sure what to make…She loves my carrot cake and cream cheese icing, so I was going to do a basketweave cake with fresh flowers, but saw this pink one and thought it was adorable. Of course I should have done the bow yesterday if I wanted this one… I did one similar in white and gold for my grandad’s 90th birthday/Grandparents 65th anniversary in September. It turned out really cute and I had their initials on top and all their kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids initials on a star each. It was carrot with cream cheese insides and fondant on the outside (stars were gumpaste.) I am going to try and put together an album with some of my cakes, but not sure how soon! Scott and I keep talking about opening a restaurant. I want to have Jac potty trained first though! I’ll post photos after the cake is done. Jac has told me how dumb I’m being writing on here. I try to do this before he’s awake and it looks like time’s up. My goal is to have a good Worldfest booth tomorrow for Girl Scouts, make a cake, and try to make yoga next week! (I’ve been so bad and my body’s letting me know it!)
Feb 5, 2009 | Uncategorized
I’m not sure if it’s the February Blues or just Spring Fever… We have been passing bugs around here it seems. I had a nasty stomach bug on Tuesday and still feeling weak. Emily and Scott had it last week, and my niece and nephew came down with it at our Super Bowl “party” last Sunday. Then yesterday the baby and my sis and law got it! Yik. I hope we’ve seen the last of it! That on top of the busy schedule that this next few weeks is bringing just has gotten me down and I really am not usually like this! Let’s see- We have a 100’s day celebration at school tomorrow, had Staff Appreciation birthday gifts on Monday (THANK YOU MOM!,) trying to finish translating a website for Scott’s work, potty training a 3 yr old (YES, 3 YR OLD!) and 4 month old puppy, Thinking Day booth to plan for Saturday, cake to bake, Powder Puff Derby cars to build, Chinese New Year party at school on Tuesday, Valentine’s day parties in both kids room’s next week… I’m sure I’m forgetting something. I told myself I would have so much more free time this year since the kids would be in school, but somehow the opposite has happened. I have tried not to take on as much, but I think I’ve failed at that for the semester. Anyone else NOT have this problem? How can we avoid it? I keep thinking about next year and the probability that I’ll have kids in 2 (or 3) schools is making me go crazy. We’re having to apply for MIDDLE SCHOOLS for Emily this week and I am terrified! My baby girl is going to 6th grade next year! We have choices in Central AR, but which one is right? We looked at our neighborhood (city) school, Poplar Street– which is where all 6th graders in NLR go. I think most of Emily’s friends from town are going there, but I just don’t get the warm and fuzzies from it. We looked at Horace Mann, an arts and science Magnet in LRSD, which is neat but so big. Also, if she gets chosen for the Arts side she can’t take the science classes and she likes both. We also looked at LISA academy, a charter school, which is very nice but seems very academic, (a mini MIT as I describe it) and not sure if that is right for her and her creative self. And also at Academics Plus Charter school in Maumelle. In the end I’ve put in a lottery application for all and will just see where that takes us. We have talked about homeschooling too, so our options are open. It is just so scary to think of your baby girl in a school with big 8th grade boys! We’ve had such a wonderful year at Gibbs so far. I really wasn’t sure how school would be for us after being at home but it has been great. Everyone there really cares about the kids. Well, I guess I’ve moaned and groaned enough for awhile! (SORRY!) It is a sunny, gorgeously chilly day outside and maybe Jac and I will walk the pup! 🙂
Feb 5, 2009 | Uncategorized
Marjorie Scarborough 1918-2008 (With her 4 oldest grandkids- Steve, Meme holding me, Ginna, and Margaret in front.)
My grandmother, Marjorie Jean Mann Scarborough passed away on Saturday night. She was a strong woman, and even at 89, and having been ill awhile her passing seems a bit unexpected somehow. Maybe because hers is the first death in our family since my father I think, which was in 1977. (How fortunate we’ve been.) Meme was a great grandma and I looked forward to our Saturday phone calls or visits for a long time.She taught me so much about unexpected things. She loved to tell funny stories and poems or sing little ditties like her great-grandpa did.
“I’ll tell you a story about Annie Laurie
and now my story’s begun, I’ll tell you another about her brother and now my story is done.”
Meme could get anything she wanted out of life I think. I saw her talk us onto a nuclear sub onetime because my little brother wanted to see what it looked like. It was NOT a ship open to the public, but somehow she managed to get us on and we even got to look through the periscope to find our car. She made friends in every walk of life. She told me how she’d nursed in Vancouver on the docks- even helped prostitutes in the floating opium dens deliver their babies. She had friends in Panama that had houses on every continent, and friends who sold molas on the streets.
I’m grateful that I had her for a grandma, even if she did switch my legs a time or two. I’m grateful I got to hold her hand one last time (thank you Maradee.) I know she is on a wonderful journey now- “Going to Carolina” as she would have said.
I love you Meme.
Feb 5, 2009 | Uncategorized
I had a surprise visit from an old college buddy on Thursday! He was in town for work and stopped by for a quick visit. I hadn’t seen him in 15 years, since his wedding I think! There were not many latinos in Fayetteville when I was at U of A (ya really!) and there were only five kids from Panama- Me, Casey Wharry, Larry Tartaglia, and two guys whose parents owned Estrella Azul milk company (who weren’t very friendly.) My Spanish prof introduced me to Casey and we were fast friends from then on. He introduced me to Juan Luis Guerra y 4:40, and other such music I hadn’t found yet (Atlantic siders stick to reggae mostly) and I showed him and his friends the best places for surf and sand on the Atlantic side. His wife, Celeste, is a gorgeous girl who was in many art classes with Scott (who was an art major at the time.) I haven’t seen her since their second son was born (what is it, 12 yrs now?) It’s funny how much has changed since then: *Now there is an internet! *We each have three kids! *Grey hair (for me anyway) *We actually can go see Hog games if we want to! but it seems like we picked up in the same place as if we weren’t 15 years older! I really hope we get to see more of them soon!
Feb 5, 2009 | Uncategorized
Cole 10 weeks old
We have a new baby! His name is Cole, and he is a gorgeous black lab. We found him on www.freecycle.org a wonderful site/community that I highly recommend. It’s a system where if you have something to give away you can post it and people just come get it. We even had our garage/lean-to torn down through freecycle! It always reminds me of that 60’s movie about the IRS collector who goes to this family’s house and tries to audit them (where he ends up marrying the daughter.) What is the name of that movie… We’ve given away most of our baby things via the site too. Also have gotten some neat things (roller blades for Emily, African thumb piano.) Speaking of baby things, I forgot what it was like to have a puppy! He is really bad about eating things he finds around. As I write I’m saying “Cole- don’t eat that plant!” “Cole don’t knock over that 20lb bag of dog food!” Our last dog, Matty didn’t even weigh 20 lbs. “COLE, get out of the plant!” Uh, oh, I think I need to read up on dog training…
