Rest in peace, Mr. Hill . . .

Last night I got a very sad phone call. It was my dad letting me know that one of his best friends, Phil Hill, had died.

Now, the news affected me with mixed emotions. I was very sad to hear a man who I associate so many happy childhood memories with, was gone. However, I knew he had been suffering from Parkinson's for quite a while and had been getting progressively worse these past 6 months or so.

The last time I spoke to him was about 6-8 months ago. I called my dad and the two of them were at lunch somewhere in LA. My dad handed me over to him so we could chat. My dad had told me he was having issues with his voice, but I hadn't realized the extent of it, until I hard him speak. Unfortunately the background noise from the restaurant made the soft tone of his voice even more difficult to understand.

Thankfully I was able to tell my dad to apologize for me to him if our conversation sounded off, but I came away from the phone call feeling so bad.

This was not the Mr. Hill I remember . . .

I remember make the trips up to Santa Monica with my dad to visit the Hills, Phil and Alma and their kids Vanessa and Derek. Vanessa and I had become friends, and I loved how Alma never minded us commandeering the living room area as our fort where we pulled off all the cushions and dedicated it as "our" area.

Then there was Phil's beloved cl umber spaniel, Chummly. The poor thing was old and blind by the time I got to spend time with him, but he always made the visits fun.

And of course there were his cars and the restoration business. When I was about 10, I decided the coolest car in the world was a 1920's era Packard that Mr. Hill had restored and given to his wife for their anniversary. The reason why it was so cool . . . it was purple!

The icing on the cake was when Phil was our personal chauffeur 15 years ago, taking Hubby and I from the church to our reception in a 1950's Bentley that was owned by another friend, Mr. Gil Nickels.

There are many, many more memories that will make up what was a pretty cool childhood and remind me just how lucky I was to have known Phil and his family.

So my thoughts are with Alma, Jennifer, Vanessa, Derek, and all the grand kids.

And to my dad, John. Thanks Dad!

I'm Addicted to Facebook . . .

And as much as I hate to admit it, I'm glad!

A few weeks ago, a good friend of mine told me about Facebook. We're having our 20th HS reunion in October and she was finding some people both from HS and her college days. So I thought, "What the hell. I'll give it a shot."

I have been having so much fun on it that it has taken over my blogging time (and one of the main reasons why I went a week and a half without posting until yesterday).

I've found a childhood friend who I haven't seen in at least 20 years!

I've also found a way to keep in contact with a number of my cousins. There is a special reason why I'm particularly thrilled about this . . . when I was growing up, my parents were the only family members who didn't live in Wisconsin. So all my extended family, including cousins, lived back there. Now, growing up during a time where the only way to keep in contact with someone was snail mail (because long-distance calls were TOO expensive), I didn't have much of an opportunity to get to know them.

In the past couple of weeks, I have visited with them more than I have in the past 5, maybe 10, years!

So I'm looking forward to more visits and deeper family ties . . .

And now, to bed . . . 'Cause tomorrow is another day!

WOW! What a week (and a half)!

It has been THE most insane week and a half of my life! There have been a lot of highs and lows. Right now though, the lows don't really matter because the highs have been AMAZING!

1 - My oldest niece, Jenna, is now a college freshman! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! I still can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday I was getting the call from my husband (then boyfriend) telling me his sister was pregnant . . . that was 1989. Not only is she at college but she 18!! SCARY!

2 - THE KIDS STARTED SCHOOL! I know you probably think I would have posted that first, but . . . NOPE! I now officially have a 7th, 5th & 1st grader. Time is going by TOO FAST! BTW Kids #2 & 3 love their teachers and Kid #1 is enjoying Jr High (and the fact he now has a cell phone to be used only in emergencies).

3 - I started my new job! So far, so good, but it's been so weird tapping into all of my teacher skill that I haven't used in 15 years! I'm surprised (and impressed) that I remember as much as I do. I still have quite a bit of work to do in the planning department, but it's hard since we're still in the first couple weeks of school. We won't have a routine until next week.

4 - AND THE BIGGEST ONE . . . . I AM OFFICIALLY A PUBLISHED WRITER!!!!!!
Last Monday, on my way to Starbucks I stopped to pick up the mail and found an envelope from GEMS, the group that publishes Shine Brightly inside were 2 copies of the September 2008 issue and a check. Turns out I was wrong . . . my story was published THIS year NOT NEXT year.

WHOO HOO!!!!!!!!!

So that in a nutshell has been my week . . . and what a roller coaster it has been!

Now hopefully I can pull myself away from Facebook long enough to keep this updated! :)

Why I love TIVO . . . reason #27

Finally! A chance to talk some baseball!

Ever since we got our TIVO a few years back, I have been loving it! Tonight was perfect example . . .

The Giants are in the middle of a road trip right now, and I'm so happy because this year the team has a better record on the road as opposed to be at home (but disregard the 4-game sweep we just went through in Houston). Tonight they started a 3 game stretch in Atlanta. I will preface this by saying I can't stand the Braves (almost as much as I can't stand the Yankees and Red Sox). I'm one of those people who hate teams who spend, or who have spent, ungodly amounts of money to buy penants and thus creating an unfair advantage.

This is why I'm ecstatic the Braves are going down in flames this year, and the Rays are on top of the AL East.

Anyway, I got the rare opportunity to watch the Giants game from the beginning. It was a great game, but because Hubby is gone and Kid #2 has a friend sleeping over, I had numerous interruptions.

Thanks to TIVO, I got to move things along in the game without missing much. I don't usually pause live tv and then watch it, but it sure made things easier for me tonight.

And like I said before I got to watch a great game . . . and Matt Cain got some run support, FINALLY!

Oh . . . and we signed Buster Posey today! This youth movement just keeps getting better and better!

WHOO HOO!!!

We have just crossed over into . . . The Braces Zone! And why I miss my kids' preschool . . .

It's official! Kid #2 now has braces . . .


If you can't tell . . . yes, those are baby blue and baby pink bands she has AND the brackets are in the shape of hearts. You heard me right, hearts!

I can't even begin to tell you how envious I am of kids nowadays and all the different choices they have. Bands, colors, designer brackets, and the big one . . . NO HEADGEAR!

When we started this process, my daughter was really nervous, but once I explained to her what I had to go through (starting braces at 13, 2 1/2 years of wires & metal, and did I mention the headgear?).

The more I told her what I had to go through, the easier she felt and she got through yesterday like a champ! I was so proud of her!

Now, about my preschool . . .

Today Kid #3 got the rare opportunity of a playdate (most of his friends have working parents so these were scarce during the last school year and into the summer), so I picked his friend up at our old preschool where all three of my kids went.

As I was driving over there, I realized that 10 years ago last month, was when I registered Kid #1 there for school (at that time they were taking kids starting at 18 months, and he was 20 months). I walked in and both the director and office manager greeted all of us very warmly.

They marveled at the all the kids' growth and how old they were getting, then the director tells me, "It's amazing how much they've all grown, but you look the same!"

The office manager agreed, "You do! You look exactly the same!"

I don't blush, but I'm guessing I turned at least a slight shade of pink and thanked them.

Now all I can do is hope that when I go to my 20th HS reunion in October, they'll think the same thing.

But if they don't . . . oh well . . . at least my preschool ladies, who have seen me through some pretty tough times with all three kids, still think I still look 27.

I'll take it! :)

Top four reasons I gained 5 pounds on vacation . . .

With everything going on with my poor dog and then my exciting news, and now getting prepared for the last week of summer vacation (with Hubby leaving for Oregon and fretting over my new job), I haven't talked at all about my trip to Wisconsin.

So to give a little overview, I prepared a list . . .

#4 - The Bear Trap restaurant!

Yes Virginia, there is fine dining in the great north woods! They have the BEST fried cheese curds in the whole state of Wisconsin, AND their best meal is a Garlic Stuffed Tenderloin that is so tender . . . my mouth is watering just thinking about it! Thankfully we only ate there once and that's why it's #4 on my list.

#3 - Trembley's

I think the picture speaks for itself . . .

#2 - My stupid head cold!

Thanks to my head cold I couldn't go on my daily nature walk (and it kept me out of the lake too - which really sucked!)

AND . . .

My #1 reason . . . DARI-MAID!

Land O'Lakes' answer to the local greasy spoon. There is no way you can pass by this place without having at least one soft-serve ice cream treat. And that's what I did . . . every day for a week! They also have wonderful Pizzaburgers (although I didn't partake in them this year).

So there you have it . . . and ever since then it's been fresh fruit, veggies and walking every day!

But isn't that what vacations are all about? :)

Somewhere my Grandma is smiling . . .

And for a very, very good reason. Last Thursday I received an email from the Senior Editor of Shine Brightly Magazine to let me know they would like to publish one of my short stories.

I know you can't see, but insert a vision on me doing a HAPPY DANCE right now!

The reason for this post's title is when I first decided to start writing 15 years ago, my Grandma was one of my biggest cheerleaders. One of her dreams was to be a writer. She even had a story published when she was a girl. But after she finished school, she got married and raised 7 children. She thought the opportunity for her to be a writer had passed her by.

I was always very close with my Grandma, mostly because we were so much alike.

But actions speak louder than words. She always talked about becoming a writer, but never pursued it.

Every time when I would get frustrated by a rejection, or suffer writer's block, I would think of my Grandma to remind myself that even if I never succeeded, at least I was trying.

Well that trying has given me my first publishing credit come September 2009.

Thanks Grandma! :)

We're home . . .

But it's been an emotional roller coaster ever since. Before the craziness of July started, I noticed our 7 yr old Black Lab had been chewing on her tail and hind quarters. I took her to the vet and found out her anal glands were abnormal and possibly cancerous.

On Monday I spent most of the day with the kids at UC Davis where they have a wonderful vet hospital. We have been taking Sadie there since last summer because of some other issues she had been having (this poor dog has been through so much this past year!).

After several tests, we got the bad news . . . she does have cancer.

Good news - we caught it pretty early so it hasn't spread to her lymph glands or her chest.
Bad news - She will die from this at some point, regardless of our efforts (surgery & chemo).

This is what I've been dealing with these past three days on top of trying to get back into the swing of things . . . including me going back to work at 4:15 AM tomorrow.

So, it's time for bed and hopefully I'll have time for a longer post tomorrow.

What I've read this summer . . . Vol. 4
The True Darcy Spirit - Elizabeth Aston

Yay! My first adult book for the summer!

Being the Anglophile and HUGE fan of Jane Austin that I am, I decided to read outside her realm and some of the "sequels" that have been written in her style. Originally I read the first book in this series, Mr. Darcy's Daughters a couple of years ago. When I saw this book last year, I tried to read it, but due to unexpected circumstances (a massively delayed flight in Chicago and the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) I didn't get a chance to finish it.

Well this summer I did.

It was difficult to get through the first 5 or so chapters due to the situations that come up for the heroine, Cassandra Darcy. I used to thrive on those types of situations when I was younger (part of the reason why I LOVED Jane Eyre when I read it in the 8th grade), but now they just make me drag my feet.

However, once I got through them, I breezed through the rest of the book.

It was truly fascinating to read more about this time period and the caste structure that determined British (and indeed many others) society.

What was also fun to read was the different take of the original story of Pride and Prejudice compared to another author who wrote a different "sequel" - Mr. Darcy's Diary which I read earlier this year. Which in itself was a wonderful book.

So, if you love Pride and Prejudice, this is for you. Although I would definitely suggest reading Mr. Darcy's Daughters first.

Now . . . onto my next book . . .