Princess

Louis and I have a new addition to our happy little family, a kitten we affectionately named Princess Samantha Snowpaw von Fluffykins. She is the cutest little kitten, but like any family pet, she is getting bigger and braver every day. Sammy, as we call now call her, has moved from being just a basement kitty to enjoying the evenings with us upstairs. We still don't trust Soze and her to be together during the day for a couple of reasons. 1) Sammy could figure out the doggy door at any time and be gone. At least when we are home, we can keep an eye out and see where she goes. 2) Even though Soze has never hurt Sammy, I don't trust her. Soze likes to "chase" Sammy and be near here every chance she gets. Sammy is learning to swat at Soze when she gets too close. I find it slightly amusing that this big Black Lab seems to be intimidated by this 2 pound kitten, but I figure they will learn to love each other. At least I hope this is the case. Isn't she just the cutest thing you've ever seen?

May = New beginnings

May usually means the end of something--the end of a school year, the end of spring, etc. This year's May, however, brought a something new to my life--Louis! After dating since October and spending time together every weekend, it was time. I know it may be "frowned upon" by some people, but I always knew I would want to live with him before we ever got truly, truly serious, especially after my divorce. I don't want to marry someone and not have any clue how to get along with him residing in the same house. It's a different relationship under the same roof than it is just seeing someone a couple days a week. So far, so good!!! We are taking our relationship one day at a time, being open and honest with each other, and just having a good time together. He loves Soze, and she LOVES Louis!

 When Louis moved in, he took over the old office room and turned it into his den, or Man-Cave. This is his spot to play video games, work on his guns and knives, etc. Just be a man. To keep my space, I took everything downstairs and created a little library down in the basement corner. I think it turned out fabulously!

 I still want to buy some kind of picture to hang over the electrical box. It's just too ugly to stick out on the wall by itself.

Louis had both fish and a cat at his old place but let his cat stay with his parents. He also had a problem moving his fish, so we just started over with new ones! I chose four of them--two Mickey Mouse Platies (hmmm...I wonder why) and two Black Mollies. Louis picked out three little bitty ones, but I don't really know what they are called. I do know all the fish are really good eaters and will come to the top when it's breakfast or dinner time.

Celebrating my birthday with Princess Diana!

 

Mom came up for my birthday weekend at the end of April, and we drove downtown to see the Princess Diana exhibit presented at Union Station. The Diana Foundation did an extraordinary job displaying her personal effects and giving those of us who never got the chance to meet her a little glimpse into her life.

 My nutritious lunch at Union Station consisted of Diet Coke and a Rice Krispie treat.

 Since we weren't able to take pictures at the actual exhibit (I don't blame them...), I bought a book and took pictures from that. Of course I'll have to scrapbook those! :)

 This trip to the exhibit was the week before William and Kate were married, and everyone was buzzing about their upcoming wedding. It was very cool to be able to see Diana's actual wedding dress and think of what Kate's might look like in comparison.

The most emotional part of the day was seeing and hearing moments of Diana's funeral. Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" song played over and over as we read Diana's brother's memorial to her. Needless to say, I was not the only one in tears that day!

 Mom took Louis and me out to lunch at my favorite birthday spot--the Cheesecake Factory at the Plaza. Since it was Easter Sunday, everyone was dressed in their Sunday best. Unfortunately, I had just bought new shoes to wear with my new dress, and the shoes didn't fit. I had to settle for my silver flip-flops instead. :/

 This is the best of best--our cheesecake desserts! Mom ordered her usual Strawberry cheesecake, Louis ordered a double or triple Chocolate, and I tried something new--Red Velvet/White Chocolate cheesecake. It was super duper rich, but it was soooooo worth it!

Driving me CRAZY!

I have no earthly idea how to get through to this woman. My mother crossed the line last night, and I literally don't know what to do about it. Screaming to her on the phone probably didn't help, but I was so upset over her actions that I couldn't think of anything else. I don't get angry very often, but I'd had it last night.

My mother has always been worried about me, that something bad will happen--getting kidnapped and raped/murdered, getting into a car accident and laying dead in a ditch somewhere along the road, etc. These are things she has NO control over. Mom usually calls me everyday, multiple times a day, and I don't know how to tell her to STOP. STOP. STOP. I've tried telling her, and it does no good.

Last night I went out with two friends for dinner and to see "Eat, Pray, Love." (Loved it by the way...) Apparently Mom called at 5 pm (eating dinner), then SIX--SIX--SIX MORE TIMES until she finally reached me in the theater restroom after the movie at 10:08 pm. She was completely over the top, worried, wondering where I was, etc. Mom even knew I was going to see a movie, but in her little world, the move would have been over by then. The kicker though????? She had left a message on my friend's cell phone, wondering where I was. How did she get my friend's cell phone number you ask? MOM CALLED MY EX-HUSBAND'S PARENTS AND GOT IT FROM THEM!!!!!!!!!!!! My EX-HUSBAND!?!?!?!?! I FREAKED out. I have NO IDEA what to do anymore. I REFUSE to call her every time I blink or take in a breath to let her know that I am still alive.

Somebody please help. Give me something. I love my mother dearly, as she probably really is my best friend, but this is NOT NORMAL. What can I do????

Mother's Day: Feliz Dia de la Madre

For Mother's Day, I had Arturo's ENTIRE family (well, those who are over here in the states...) over to my house for my first cookout with my new grill. We all had such a good time eating, laughing, eating some more, laughing some more, and just being with each other on this special day since Arturo's mom was here from Peru.

I made this strawberry cake and wrote Happy Mother's Day in Spanish using these cool icing markers. If Arturo had his way, though, the cake would have said something about blah blah blah la plata, or "Give me all your money" since that is what he told me Happy Mother's Day was in Spanish. His whole family, including his mother, thought that story was hysterical! I am just glad Arturo's 12-year-old nephew actually had the guts to tell me the truth! :)

Esperanza (sister), Primi (mother), and Arturo hanging out with the monkey man at the Plaza downtown

Primi likes me :) but I know she wishes she could have an actual conversation with me, not with a translator.

Regina (cousin) and the rest of Primi's family

The whole family, even with Soze's butt!

Now I'm just ready for the end of the school year--only 10 1/2 days left! :) Plus, my carpet is getting installed on Friday, so I should have basement pics shortly of the mostly-finished girl-cave.

Birthday weekend

I had a fantabulous time last weekend for my birthday. Mom came up and spent the weekend with me. We did our usual--ate breakfast at IHOP (yum!), shopped at Nebraska Furniture Mart (finally found some furniture for my new basement--pics to come when all is finished), and just had some old-fashioned mom/daughter bonding.

Mom was also able to spend more time with Arturo. The great part of that is how much my mom actually likes Arturo. She thinks he is very handsome (thanks Mom! :)), and she loves how mannered and polite he is. He definitely earned some bonus points with the gifts he brought me for my birthday--roses and a Barnes and Noble gift card.

The three of us sat in partial rain and dryness for the Royals loss to Minneapolis. Our seats were JUST in the right spot--our heads were dry while our laps soaked up the drizzle. (Please ignore my hair--it was raining!!)

I love this picture because it looks like these two players are dancing with each other. :)

Slugger flirted with Mom, alongside the man who sat in front of her. He even offered to buy my mom a beer! Now THAT was funny!

This was Mom's first game at Kauffman Stadium, so she cheered on her new team, even if they lost after like 12 innings. Needless to say, we didn't stay for the whole game. The Royals were losing (surprise!), the rain was still falling, and Arturo was VERY tired from working 12 hours that day. Poor baby...

It just wouldn't be a Mom/grand-dog weekend with a picture of the two of them. Soze loves her Grandma!!!

Awww...Thanks babe. :)

Omigod, omigod....snappies!

The annual "Mother/Daughter Weekend" was a big hit! Legally Blonde was better than I thought it would be. If fact, I would say Legally Blonde ranks up there with Wicked! Now that's a compliment!

(Who can go to a Legally Blonde broadway show and NOT come away with a hot pink feather boa?)

Becky Gulsvig played the part of Elle Woods. I was VERY excited to see both her and Rhiannon Hanson from MTV's "The Search for the Next Elle Woods". These girls were outstanding. I can't believe Becky didn't win. She was PERFECT as Elle!!!

The puppies were adorable as well. We all laughed and awwwwwed...when the pups "spoke" on cue. :)

Paulette had an incredible voice as well! When the UPS guy came sauntering across the stage, all the girls screamed and clapped. The music went along perfectly with him too...kind of a Chippendale or stripper song.

Elle and Emmett were too cute together. Even though we knew they would be together in the end, the audience cheered when they finally kissed and made it official. :)

**Show photos credit online. Thanks!

Christmas time is here...and gone again

I can't believe Christmas is already over. Like most, the season seemed to rush by in the midst of work, giving finals, grading, buying gifts, decorating the house, etc. At least I can say that I truly enjoyed myself this Christmas holiday and had so much to look forward to. (I know...improper English, but this is my blog...:)) For the first time, I decorated my table with my new-from-last-Christmas tableware. I love the look of white! I didn't want any red/green, which is incredibly difficult NOT to find, since my kitchen in red/white/black.This is also the second year I put up the smaller tree in the dining room. I love this tree! It totally reminds me of something my good friend Hayley would do. What do you think Hayley? :)

Of course, my "real" tree in the living room is full of anything and everything Disney. I'm afraid I scared Joon just a bit with my Christmas-y decor since neither he or his family have celebrated Christmas since they were kids. (I asked him about that, and he didn't really have an answer. They just don't make a big deal about it. Christmas is just another day to them. Well, I have news for him...) He did have fun putting together my new tree. He spent almost 3 hours (HOURS!) getting the tree out of the box and arranging each limb so it would look perfect. He said this tree business was an art form, and he wanted to get it right. Apparently, I've been just slapping my tree together for years now.

Before school let out for break, the teachers met at Diamond Bowl, a little funky modern bowling alley in downtown Independence for the annual Christmas party. Guess what? I WON a basket!! Each house donated items to be gathered for 5 or 6 different baskets, and if you wanted a chance to win one of the baskets, you bought tickets. (The money goes to our Benevolence Fund at school, which helps our homeless and needy kids.) I put in $20, and I WON! This is the basket--I figured there was about $150 worth of stuff. Not too shabby!

Let's see...2 bags of Twizzlers, 4 soup bowls, 1 soup mix, 1 brownie mix, 1 cupcake mix, 1 large tin of hot chocolate plus the cutest little whisk, a cookbook that will never get used, an Andrea Bocelli Christmas CD, 4 free movie tickets (I only can find 2 now for some reason.), 4 handmade coasters, 2 nice reed diffusers, the Apples to Apples game, 2 bottles of wine (1 white, 1 red), a giant bottle of Begium beer, and a gift set of Irish creme/2 small glasses. I made the soup last night, and it was delicious!

Joon and I had our Christmas the weekend before and exchanged gifts because he couldn't wait until Christmas. I think someone's Grinch-y heart is growing...

He gave me a 320 GB external hard drive for my laptop. I had asked for this b/c I don't want to use my laptop's drive for all my music and pictures. He also gave me a pair of gloves and a very nice dress coat. He received some cologne, the new Call of Duty game, and an electric razor. He really likes the game--he's playing it right now!

Soze loves her new much-needed big dog bed. It actually matches the rest of the living room decor and is so soft! Maybe now she won't spend so much time on the couch, but I wouldn't bet on it. She enjoys laying next to me too much!

Joon drove down with me on Wednesday to surprise my mother at her retirement party (another blog another day), so he was able to finally meet my family. They all loved him, as I knew they would. On the very first day at my mom's house, Joon came across this picture of me hanging on her wall, and he fell in love! He thought I was just the cutest little thing at 3-years-old, and I couldn't disagree.

Grandma spoiled her granddog, and Soze literally eats it all up...

One surprise that I had in store for Mom was a shadowbox of her baby clothes. After my grandmother passed away in February, Mom found several of her baby dresses. She knew she wanted to keep them, but she wasn't sure how to display or preserve them. I think I surprised her with this one!

My brother Cliff and his son Adam...it seems like just a few years ago that I found Adam sitting in his crib, diaperless, with poop smeared all over himself and flung on all the furniture in the room. Remember that one Mom?

One present that I actually asked for...don't laugh...was a Snuggie. My house gets cold, and I refuse to turn up the heat anymore than I absolutely have to. A Snuggie could be my solution! So here we are, my sister-in-law, Terri and me--Snuggie Sisters! :)

I know that even though I have such a good time with my family since I only see them all once a year, the time comes to say goodbye and come back home. This is what Joon and I returned home to--about 8 inches of snow! We couldn't even get in the driveway, and I didn't have a shovel! Joon borrowed one from my neighbor to get started, and I drove to both Home Depot and Sears in search of a much-needed snow shovel. Sears came to the rescue, and when I got back to the house, Joon was in shovel mode.

It has snowed about 2 more inches since this, but at least the main roads seem pretty clear. Joon and I were supposed to visit my stepfamily down in Memphis, but with the snow and ice, and even Memphis's bad weather, we decided to stay in and go sometime either this spring or summer. I can't wait for them to meet him, and I know they will love him just as much as the rest of my family does.

I've been working on catching up on my scrapbooks the past 2-3 days, and I hope to have some pics up on another post. Instead of being 2 years behind, now I'm only 7 months behind!