Five Things on the Fifth - from the Road

I'm a bit late in posting these five observations..I've been in Texas this past week, travelling and eating and scrapping and hanging out with friends..what could be better than that. I had a really fun fifth to report on:

1- Back in Texas - it's 95 degrees before 9 a.m. but the sun is shining, the Texas flag is flying and I love Texas!
2 - Shingles on the ground - oh yes and the 50 mile an hour winds are here too which means you feel like you are in the whirling inside of a convection oven. Tony and Amy lost about half the shingles on their house and Tony got stranded on the roof when the ladder got knocked down by flying shingles. You can't make this stuff up!
3- Scrapbooking Heaven - in our lives the word "scrapbooking" covers many kinds of evils - cards, stamping, paper, stencils, glue, glitter, embellishments, fabric, photography. Amy & I went to the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington and spent two and a half days walking up nine aisles, SHOPPING till we dropped, doing make and takes, stamping, stenciling, glittering, and then staying up till midnight working on pages and stuff. Utterly relaxing.
4- Chicken Burrito - the Chicken Burrito was actually part of the GASC experience but it deserves mention on it's own. A HUGE chicken (and actually steak too) burrito with chicken that was marinated and cooked in a special broth and had corn, onions, black beans, rice -- OMG. Not quite as good as a Freebird burrito but darn close and available in the Arlington Convention Center. Rock on!
5- "Heavenly" beds at the Arlington Sheraton -- huge, big, fluffy beds with tons of pillows and this amazing comforter which was great because my BFF friend Amy needs the air at 62...two glasses of wine and the comforter and I was out.

Who knew the Fifth could give us so much fun!

I finished

Today we got up -- literally -- before dawn and made our way to Lincoln Park where along with 3999 of my other best friends I did a 5k Run/Walk (some of the more enterprising souls did a 10K). Okay I belong to 2 gyms here but go to neither. I have not taught swim classes in three months. So I am not in shape. I started deliberately at the back of the pack....thinking "do not become absorbed by others...take your pace.....breathe...". A mile in I thought i would die. My ankles started burning. I thought,....there is no shame in doing a mile and turning back...no one knows or cares and you still have the (nice) Nike tshirt. Somehow, someTHING kept me moving forward. And....I FINISHED. Almost nothing in my life is finished right now. Lots of messy, untidy, out of control, unfinished things. (Job, home, life, etc.) So it is was truly validating and fulfilling to finish something. Tomorrow I will likely have difficulty walking. But today...I watched the lions bask in the sun, sipped coffee at dawn with a bus of United people, and ran/walked (much more walking) three miles. Not a bad way to start the week.

Has it really been that long?

I consider myself a writer by trade. So, how has a writer gone this long without writing in my journal?
Life is a whirlwind and maybe I am not interested in being introspective. One day I work on a program, the next day there is no program. One day I have project work, the next day the project is cancelled. I learn that everything I thought I knew about a friend was wrong. A friendship I thought was gone and no longer possible re-emerges as a real possibility.
Life has no guarantees, I know that. There are car accidents, train wrecks, missed stop lights, closing doors every day. The road not taken lingers on our minds. Almost a year ago I ran into this same train wreck, metaphorically speaking. I thought I had moved on beyond it and made a new life. Now it turns out the new life may be coming to an end.
It's not so much sad as ....unsure. i'm working to embrace the unknown ....yet it is still grey and gauzy and unsure and not quite metamorphisized. I guess we never finish growing.

Five on the Fifth

Once again....it's five observations on the fifth!! This on one of my favorite 5th days....May 5th which is also Cinco de Mayo. Arriba, arriba, hondle, hondle!!!

So...here's a few things from my 5th...

1. Sunshine....a new day of sunshine, warmth, and the start of new blooms..or the celebration of bright silk flowers against the evening sun!

2. Book...enjoying the southern-set novel among the others on my nightstand

3. Brownies for a birthday - happy one day away from his birthday (yesterday!) Mike Hughes!

4. Cinco de Mayo....a little margarita, a tequila shot and a teeny tiny sombero...what a way to celebrate with new friends!

5. A new toy.....all that scrapbooking isn't quite as fun without a new Revolution! May the revolution begin...

Happpy Monday and Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

It's Not All About the Weather ...it's also about the Scrapping!

I just realized most of my posts have been whining or photos about the weather. Admitedly that is a large topic in a city by the lake where it can be 68 and sunny at 5:00 p.m. and 44 and raining cats and dogs at 6:30 p.m.

It's definitely turning more springlike. It was sunny and sort of warm yesterday at 5:30 a.m. when Rita woke me up by jumping on my chest and licking my face. Rita is not a small dog, I might add. She weighs less than many other dogs but I can assure you 40 pounds on your chest in your face at 5:30 is something to wake up about ....maybe even stop breathing about. So out we went and it was not so bad.

Then I made coffee, dressed and ventured out because -- I know some of you are dying of laughter here -- it was national scrapbooking day. I wanted to go be creative before my coffee had even kicked in. Like Amy says, this force is bigger than the Taliban.

ANYWAY......by the time I drove the 15 minutes to sit in the parking lot of Archivers (arrived at 7:50 a.m. and was relieved and a tad embarassed by being the first one there..though several other crazy ladies had arrived by 8:30 and we even formed a small and cheerful line....which somehow I did NOT photograph...) ANYWAY...by then it was overcast, about 20 degrees cooler and the rain moved in while (thank goodness) I was in the store happily using die cuts, making cards and spending my hard earned money on even more stamps.....good grief!). So, because of the spring like weather I went and spent more of my hard earned money on gas (I got a bargain at $3.69, thank you very much!) and then went home and played in my studio all day. I made cards, read scrapping message boards and had a great time. No guilt whatsoever. So, I guess, the less than pleasant spring weather was worth something! Happy Spring, ya'll.

Spring is here..I swear !!!

I lhave ived a considerable part of my adult life in warmer climates: Tennessee, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas. Whatever part of me thought I would adjust well to the change in climate in Illinois fairly easily was not on all gears. Okay, it HAS been five years and I do well for the most part (because trust me it is god awful hot here many days....let's keep in mind someone died during the 95 plus heat index temperature of the Chicago Marathon last year plus the wonderful 105 plus days I tried to move in August...ARGHHH). What I really forgot was how long it is between the two very distinct seasons: winter and summer.

Two weeks ago I went to Charlotte where I drove to my show at 7 a.m. with the sunroof open!!! Birds chirping...green grass. My friend Chris reminded me to bring a jacket because it was going to get to 5oish at night!!! 50ish and she needs a jacket!!! And then I heard on the news that it has been since OCTOBER 2007 since a 70 degree day was registered here. GOOD GRIEF!!!!!!

This past week showed real promise...two actual 70 degree days (one was 80 if you believe News five). And then, just like a four year old, we regressed. Today the high is supposed to reach 48. I have not stuck my toes outdoors to see except to let Rita do her business. And it looks better than yesterday when the wind howled around us for six hours.....!!!!

I know there will be a blistering hot day in July when I will regret this but oh my lord. I am having serious conversations with the lord above about what I can trade for some mild weather....and wondering if that job in Texas is still a possibility. Sigh.....never content, are we?!?

Open Toe Season has Begun!!

Long time no blog...I have lots of catching up but am on my way to my dad's for today so the long posts will have to wait until later.

Quick and important note: I am officially announcing the opening of Open Toed Shoes season. Get those pedicures ready and bring those tootsies out!!!