Happy 4th!

RIP Grandpa

It's hard to believe that it's been six years - six - since I lost one of the most important men in my life. My grandfather passed away on June 11, 2007, and I think about him a lot... Especially now that I have a little girl. He would have loved his 20th great-grandchild.

My grandpa was the heart and soul of our family. He was one of those guys that you could sit around the kitchen table with (cuz that's where we did everything in his house) and just talk for hours. He had so many stories, and I loved hearing every single one of them. He was a war vet, wasn't afraid to tell you what he thought, and would do a lot for a lot of people. Most of all he loved his family. He adored my grandmother... he would drive her wherever she wanted to go, even if he didn't want to go. Like to the mall... grandma would shop, and grandpa would sit on a bench. He was the collector of packages. He was always so supportive of each of his nine grandchildren. I have fond memories of him traveling with my family... all over South America, Mexico, and Belize. We had tons of fun! And he came to each of my graduations... high school, undergrad, and grad. I was one lucky gal!

The best advice my grandpa ever gave me was, "No matter what, don't go to bed mad." It's great advice, and so much easier said than done. Every time I go to bed mad, I lay there thinking about that advice, and I can hear him saying it to me. And all I can do is apologize for doing it.

After Hurricane Ike hit in 2008 when we were cleaning out our house, I closed he door to the closet in the hallway. Stuck to the wall behind that door was his obituary. Needless to say, mom and I sat in the dirty, nasty house and had a good cry / laugh. There were so many times during that process that we thought about him, and he was watching over us the whole time!

Grandpa, I miss you tons. I know you're looking down on all of us. I talk to P about you all the time so that she knows the kind of person you were... Such a great influence on my life. Love you, grandpa!

Welcome to the 2013 hurricane season!

Yep, it's that time of year again... hurricane season. We have a plan, water, and plenty of food for P in case we need to evacuate. It's supposed to be an above average active season (isn't that what they always say?!), so take that for what it's worth. And in case you're wondering, here are the names for this season.

Andrea

Barry

Chantal

Dorian

Erin

Fernand

Gabrielle

Humberto

Ingrid

Jerry

Karen

Lorenzo

Melissa

Nestor

Olga

Pablo

Rebekah

Sebastien

Tanya

Van

Wendy

I. Hate. Mondays.

There, I said it. And yes, I used the word hate. A word I rarely use.

I. Hate. Mondays.

But who really likes them anyway? Not many people I know! And we all hate them for different reasons. Me? Because I miss my baby girl so much. Don't get me wrong... I miss her every day, but Mondays are especially hard. We spent the weekend together playing, giggling, and napping... and then WHAM! Monday strikes and I have to drop her off at grandma and grandpa's and go to work. I love the fact that she goes to grandma and grandpa's during the day... much better than having to drop her off with a stranger at day care (which is coming some day and I am terrified), but I miss her terribly. It makes coming home so worth it, though!

Happy Easter!

One of the high school kids on the island puts on our children's Easter party every year. I've never actually been (didn't have a reason to until this year), but I had always heard good things. I had, however, always tried to contribute in some way... donate plastic eggs, candy, or a cake for the cake walk. This year, I decided to do a cake. I saw this super cute and super easy recipe on a Facebook page that I follow (Texas Recipes... they also have a website). It came out pretty darn cute if I do say so myself!

Happy Easter!