To gulp or not to gulp? Is that the question?

As I make my way around Mexico, I don't really feel like a vacationer. I feel more like a visitor to someone's home, even though that "home" is a huge country. I feel comfortable there, and people everywhere in Mexico are always more than willing to take a break from their day to have a conversation with this 'extranjera' and answer all of my questions about their life and their country.

Even though I've been visiting and studying Mexico, her language (well, one of them), her people, and her cultures for over 10 years now, the more I visit there, it seems the less I know and the more I want to learn. There is truly so much to discover!

With each visit I learn a little bit more, like taking small sips of a drink. But I'm so impatient. I just want to down it all in one large gulp and know everything immediately.

Or.....maybe I don't. Perhaps it's comparable to drinking a fine tequila. You can't appreciate the taste unless you sip it slowly, savoring each sip, and feeling it work it's way from the taste buds on your tongue to the mild burn in your throat and finally that satisfying feeling in your stomach.

So, I will continue to appreciate and uncover the beauty of Mexico in small sips, to be thankful that I am able to keep on visiting, and to know that the glass is always full and waiting for me to return.

Cat

The eyes have it

Well, I always thought I should have been a proofreader. I catch mistakes in everything I read.

I finally have my big chance. ;) My stepdad has written his biography and has asked me to proofread and edit it for him. It's over 500 pages long! He has led quite an adventurous and exciting life, and it is very interesting reading about it. I cannot believe all the details he remembers from his youth; I sure don't remember that much. (But then again, I can hardly remember what happened yesterday, haha) Names, dates, places, everything. When it's finished, he is going to have it bound into a book and give a copy to each family member.

The work sure is hard on the eyes though. And I find myself going back and forth, and making changes to prior changes as I read on further. Should the chapter end here or there? Should that have been a comma or a period three paragraphs ago? Did he really mean to capitalize that word, or is it a mistake needing to be fixed? Should this word be which or that? And why is my computer picking tonight to be a pain in the ass and freeze up every 10 minutes?

Although it's been many hours of sometimes tedious work, I feel honored to be the first in the family to read it. It's been fun. And I hope that I fulfill his expectations and edit it correctly, without changing the meaning of anything he wrote or altering his unique style of telling a story.

OK, enough rest for the weary. Back to work now. I just pray it doesn't take me as long to edit it as it took him to write it.....two years.

Cat

Breaktime

I took a hiatus for two weeks, sorry I haven't written anything. I'll be back up and running in a couple of days.

Hi Jos!

Cat

Of fate and gates...

Poor little Ava suffered her first injury yesterday, and of course it was all my fault. Just call me Ms. Klutz.

We had re-arranged the bedrooms so that she had her own room, and I was putting a baby gate up in her doorway. Sounds simple, right? NOT!

I made sure I had it nice and tight so she couldn't push it over, then I was pushing the handle down to lock it in. Well, I didn't realize it, but she had crawled over and grabbed on to the gate, so while I'm pushing down on the handle as hard as I can, her fingers were stuck in between the two pieces of wood. Of course she starts screaming with a sound I never heard from her before. When I realized what I had done, I picked her up and her tiny fingers were all red and squished.

Tara comes running upstairs to find out what happened, and I'm trying to explain as calmly as possible while at the same time holding Ava and twirling around in a futile attempt to keep Ava's fingers out of Tara's sight. When she saw them, she starts screaming, crying, and yelling that we have to go to the doctor.

Tara grabbed Ava right out of my arms, as if I had done it on purpose. I finally got them both calmed down, we got some ice for Ava's fingers, and I gave her a popsicle (the magic medicine), even though I had to hold it for her because she wouldn't use her injured hand. After about 10 minutes I walked upstairs to see how they were doing, and Ava gave me the biggest smile and put out her arms to be held by me. That made me feel sooo good! At least she didn't blame me.

Her fingers are fine, no damage was really done, but I'm sure it hurt like hell when it happened. I'll have to be more aware from now on. I forgot how fast (and quietly!) those little kids can move.

Now Tara has asked me to babysit last night and tonight. Think she considers it some kind of penance? I don't mind, though. I even kind of like it when she wakes up in the middle of the night and we sit in the rocker together until she falls back to sleep. ;)

Cat

Earring, earring, on the floor

So, I lost one of my earrings here at Lori's house (no surprise there, I lose everything). I looked all over, and had finally given up hope of ever seeing it again.

Well, guess where I was sitting when I looked down on the floor, and THERE IT WAS!!! If you've been reading my blogs, you know exactly where I was situated. ;) Maybe I should spend more time situated there and I'd be struck with a bolt of inspiration for that novel I've always wanted to write...hah!

Hope your day is great, and also hoping that you too will come across an item you thought you lost! That's always such a nice surprise.

Cat

A little beer ditty for you

Sing to the tune of "Do, Re, Mi" (Doe, a deer, a female deer....)


Do..(dough)..the stuff I buy beer with

Re..(Ray)....the guy I buy beer from

Me..(me).....the one I buy beer for

Fa..(far)....the distance to the store

So...........I think I'll have a beer

La...........and then I'll have one more

Ti..(tea)....No thanks, I'll have a beer,

And that will bring us back to do, dough, doh, doh......


And that means another round for everybody!

Cute little song, isn't it? I forgot where I heard it, so I'm sorry I can't give credit to the original writer.

Cat

I'll keep this one neat, I promise!

Ahhhh, I just started a new checkbook register today. There is just such a good feeling about opening this completely blank, new, clean register book! Every time I start a new one I tell myself that I'm going to keep it nice. I'm going to write in neat, legible handwriting and keep everything in the row where it belongs.

That lasts about 2 days, and then I start writing fast and messily (at such places as the gas pump), forgetting to enter things when I use my checkcard, crossing things out and having to rewrite them, and generally just making a mess of the whole thing.

Oh, well, at least I always start with good intentions, and I get a new chance every time I fill one up. Wouldn't it be great if life were like that?

Cat

Jaywalking

No, not walking around the street asking people stupid questions (for those of you who are familiar with Jay Leno), although I do ask stupid questions at times also. Just some observations while walking around Seattle, where I happen to be visiting my sister right now.

Nobody jaywalks! In Florida we just cross the street whenever and wherever we want, hoping we don't get creamed by a senior citizen in a new cadillac. Here, everyone crosses at the corner and actually waits for the light to turn green. And turning cars actually stop for pedestrians! Amazing!

There really is a Starbucks on every corner.

They sell beers with 9% alcohol content! That's illegal in Florida. Florida even restricts the size of the bottle you can sell beer in. We have too many rules. But then that's our state motto - Things Are Different Here.

Every restaurant has at least one vegetarian and/or organic dish on the menu. The stores even sell organic dog food.

Speaking of dogs, the people here love their dogs with a passion. I'm sure some of these dogs live better than I do!

The people in Seattle are great! They are some of the nicest people I've come across.

Cat

Talk about multi-tasking!

I think it used to be called doing a thousand things at once, before we came up with this word that makes it sound like a goodd thing, multi-tasking.

Right now I'm trying to write my blog, check my e-mail, put on my make-up, and pay my bills, all while talking to my daughter on the phone.

Believe me, I'm not doing a good job at any of them, haha. Oh, well, at least they're getting done, because I want to get out of here and go for a walk!

Cat

Merv The Perv

I really believe that all men have a little bit of perv in them.

I was sitting in someone's driveway with them, getting ready to go Geo-Caching, and a little neighbor girl ran across the yard. He says, "She's going to be beautiful when she grows up", and I realized how many times I have heard grown men make that statement about little girls.

I mean, you don't hear women talking about little boys and saying, "Ooooh, he's going to be HOT when he grows up!". We do say kids are cute sometimes, but you can definitely tell that we are talking about a child.

It's just the way men say it, it's different somehow, I can't really put my finger on it. But I've come to the conclusion that all of them have a little perviness, or whatever you want to call it, in them.

Ah, well, I'll leave you with that thought. I'm off to Zephyrhills, Florida for three days. Yeeehaaaw!!!!

Cat