A Heart of Gold

When I was in the ninth grade, I began to spend some time with this crazy girl I met on the bus. I had no idea then the treasure of a friend she would be to me through out my life. At least until this point...so, let's be careful not to screw anything up now D.

I could write a book about what this girl means to me and all of the things she has taught me and a few of the things that I have taught her (wink, wink). But, today I find myself reminiscing about her sweet, precious mother.

Good memories of an endless supply of Little Debbie powdered donuts, sweet tea, antique pictures and sweet lullaby's of children's music being hummed or tinkering on the piano warm my heart when I think of her.

In what seemed like the wee hours of the morning to a teenage girl trying to get her beauty sleep and recover from the adventures of the night before, there would be the aroma of coffee in the air and a plop on the bed and a familiar voice saying..."girls. girls. wake up and talk to me." She would gently rouse us to somewhat of a conscience state and we would rehash our adventures as best we could and nearly always with limited details because she was a parent, of course. We discussed everything from our friends and boyfriends, church, our choice of hairspray and lipstick colors (which happen to be Rave and Coral Rust or Wild Berry lip pencil plus from Merle Norman) and the happenings of the neighborhood pool where we both lifegaurded, calculus homework and when the next occasion would be to hit Casa Ole for our fix of chips and salsa.



Doesn't she look like she has a heart of gold? and be an early riser? and want company to rise with her? Just wait Blake, your day is coming too. (Photo compliments of your facebook page Kathy...thanks for sharing.)
As I was saying though...Words really can not express how important these chats have become to me. Priceless is about the closest thing I could ever say to describe how I feel about them. Of course when I was 16, priceless was not the thought that crossed my mind.

So priceless in fact, that my own child gets the pleasure of early morning wake up calls and chats of his own. Too bad I don't keep the endless supply of Little Debbie powdered donuts to ease the pain of those early mornings. No matter to me, I cherish this time with him and I know one day he will too.

Today marks the beginning of a new journey for Martha Ladd. At this moment, she is in a hospital in Maryland about to undergo a most significant, open heart surgery. She has had a sick heart for as long as I have known her and had gradually been deteriorating over the years. Her case has been through countless diagnosis, treatments and even lack of treatments because Dr.'s have been at a complete and utter loss for her condition is so rare.

Please keep her in your prayers today and her family. They are hopeful that the Dr.'s will be able to repair and restore her heart to a condition that she has not known in a very long time.

You can keep up with updates on Martha's status and post messages for her and the family here.

Bacon with those Waffles?

Monday night about 9:30pm I am driving west on I-10 out of Beaumont.

It always seems somewhat bittersweet to leave my hometown, as visits are typically short and being the sentimental person that I am, every corner brings back a memory. Each short trip makes for a lot of re-living, which can get to be a little exhausting at times. But, before the exhaustion fully sets in this time I look into my rear view mirror and take one last glance at the glowing lights of hotels, restaurants, the new Ford park and baseball fields where used to stand nothing but a lonely hotel on the outskirts of town and a bunch of empty fields. As I have watched the changing landscape of this town I once called home over the years, I am ever amazed at how quickly and drastically things can be transformed.

I am deep in thought about the complexities of changes and the evolution of our lives when suddenly I hear my offspring in the backseat pipe up with a little of his own insight.

"Mom...you know how I know when we are in Beaumont? There is a Waffle House on every corner."




So true. So very, very true.

And as I raise my head to catch his eye in my rear view mirror and to catch a quick glimpse of the pride on his face as he realizes he has just made one huge observation, I see notne other than the soft yellow glow of the Waffle House sign.
In the town of Beaumont and the small surrounding communities, there are EIGHT Waffle House restaurants. Beaumont, population 110,000 needs 5 Waffle House alone to accommodate all those breakfast eatin' folks.
Dang, that's a lot of waffles and bacon. Because you can't hardly enjoy waffles without the side of bacon.

JORI!!!!

I know you like seeing your name up there. Can't imagine how excited you are to see it in all caps!

This post is especially for you. Enjoy!

And you are required to leave a comment.

Gotta Love that Guy...I Think?

Last night I watched as the media interviewed Lance Berkman about his latest injury; a type 2 calf strain. When asked how it felt he responded "it feels like a charlie horse...a perpetual charlie horse. For those of you who did not attend Rice, that means 'ongoing.'"

All right wise guy...I'm not sure whether to be entertained by your wit or offended. Was that comment directed at the idiot that asked the question or those of us watching the idiot that asked the question?

Scent of a Woman- Hoo Ah!

I love this movie.

I love Al Pacino.

I love the Tango.

I love sweet smells.

I love the complete elation on the Lieutenant's face in this clip as he whisks her around the dance floor. It's sensual and provocative and sexy.

All those things that happen to be missing in my life. I'm wondering if I should try a new fragrance.

One that draws a man in like this, preferably. Hoo-ah!

What's your favorite fragrance? How does it make you feel or what kind of response do you get from others when you are wearing your fragrance?

Share with me your thoughts and ideas, please.

How I Roll

For seven years you have been one my truest and most faithful companions. You have served to protect me, carry me and support me in many endeavors. You were a huge risk and investment and have proved to be absolutely worth every bit of blood, sweat and tears that I have poured into you. Your gentleness at times can be compared to none other and then...at times... it has been nearly obsolete which by all merits was completely warranted for my sheer stupidity and negligence. I have entrusted you with my most valuable possessions and I am not just talking about that gorgeous black dress or my favorite lamp, but my dearest friends and family. Together we have traveled many miles cross land and sea (I recall some unbelievable ferry trips) and made memories that will last an eternity. You have held me when I cried and when I have laughed. You listened to my disastrous renditions of everything from Merle Haggard to Madonna to Amy Grant. We have shared every Holiday for the last seven years together. Late nights and early morning, sunsets and sunrises, shopping trips, road trips, weddings, funerals.

Oh, my sweet, sweet truck....I am so glad to have you home!

Thanks to all of the hard work of the angels over at Circle D Transmission, I have been reunited with my truest of all loves.


And I vow never to complain about that rattle in the back or the window that has a mind of its own and only operates when the conditions are perfect or the CD player that eats my CD's. I will forever or at least for the next 12 months because we all know my track record with long term relationships or anything remotely close to the word "forever" love and cherish you, in the good times and the bad, and vow to have the tranny serviced as regularly as I get my hair cut and colored.


So, I'll crank up the tunes, roll down one window, position that object in the rear that rattles so loudly exactly right and keep on keepin' on in the Explorer. Because that's just how I roll.

Do you see what I see?

Guess what? I think those are rain clouds. OK, so they aren't the actual clouds I saw this morning as I rode in to downtown on the bus, but they pretty much looked like that (and much thanks to khou.com for the image). What a welcome sight?! Since I have cracks in the yard surrounding my house that look as if we have had some catastrophic earthquake that shook the ground open enough to swallow us all up, I would think everyone would be jumping for joy at this beautiful sight this morning.

I tell you, I was doing a happy dance right there in my seat on the bus. The thoughts crossing my mind were something along the lines of... "I might actually be able to go get my hair done now and stop throwing hundreds of dollars at the local MUD in effort to thwart off any ugly letters from the homeowners association declaring I was an unfit resident of the neighborhood because my grass had the least bit of a yellow tint." Because those cracks in the yard big enough to swallow us whole are really in my neighbors yard, but stretching pretty close to mine.

But, as I was deep in thought about coloring the gray roots that are nearly two inches long on my head right now, my bus seat companion leans across and with an exasperated sigh says, "uh...look at those clouds. (another exasperated sigh) I sure hope the bus gets into downtown before the sky opens up and we get all wet." Followed by many more exasperated sighs ever three minutes for the remainder of our ride into downtown.

Who are you lady? What planet have you been sent here from? How can you even be the least bit bothered by a few raindrops from the sky when we are all about to dry up, wither away or be swallowed up by the cracks in our yards?

There is something refreshing, renewing and cleansing about a good rain shower. In times when we are getting a plethora of rain, I think we loose sight of this and take for granted the sheer magnificence of cleansing our earth and environment.

Personally, I would forgo a good hair day for a little rain. In fact, I have forgone good hair days for a couple of months now in an effort to ward off the evil homeowners association.
After taking a moment to stare at this lady next to me as if she was dropped here from another planet this morning, I am pretty sure she has forgone good hair days for a while and a little sprinkle on her hair won't really hurt anything.