Catching Up

Its been a busy week or two...This is some of the insanity that has kept me busy and away from the blog lately:

• My uncle visiting from out of town
• Holding a family memorial gathering to grieve with my uncle and aunt
• Spreading my grandmother's ashes at sea
• Helping to clean out my grandmother's house
• The first day of 7th grade for my daughter
• Picking up a friend at the airport at 1 am
• One of my best friend's birthday, for which we partied for 3 solid days
• Baking extravaganza for said birthday celebration

Its been fun, its been stressful, its been tiring, its been exhilarating.

I spent more time with my friends in the past three days than I have in the past three months. I slept less in the past three days combined than I did last night. Arriving home at 3 am one morning, 5 am the next, and 4 am the following...I collapsed into my warm, welcoming, coma-inducing bed last night at an early bird's time of 8:30 pm. I slept like a baby.

So I haven't blogged much lately.

Tending to my grandmother's ashes last week was emotional, as to be expected. It was beautiful. We went to the local Blackpoint Marina, where there is a large jetty that takes you out into the Atlantic Ocean. We gathered my grandmother's favorite wooden roses from a floral arrangement she created a while back and we each held a flower with some of her ashes in it and threw them into the water to be carried away. My cousin sang Amazing Grace, my uncle and father read bible verses and said a few prayers...she wanted to be buried at sea, and as they don't allow that anymore, spreading her ashes was the closest we could come to accommodating her wishes.

The first day of school came and went without drama, which is unusual in my household. Angeline loves her classes, she loves her school, she loves her friends. Her only issue this year is that she really wanted to take a PE class and they were all full. She got stuck in Chorus instead, which I think is a blessing. The kid has a great singing voice and I would love to see her pursue using it more. She is still in her Zoological Magnet Program, which is centered around taking classes at Zoo Miami. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, they will not be at the zoo Monday through Friday, as they were last year. She will only have three classes a week at the zoo this year and the remaining classes will be held at the school. Luckily, she somehow wound up in the same Zoo Science teacher's class as last year. The man is wonderful, full of passion and excitement for the Zoo Science program, and he passes that onto his students through amazing zoo walks and creative lesson plans. I am looking forward to becoming involved in the program this year as a volunteer, as I now have the free time to visit the classroom as a SAHM. (Just one more benefit of being able to stay at home...its truly an amazing thing that has happened to my family!)

One of my best friends celebrated his 32nd birthday this past weekend. As his surprise gift, his girlfriend (my bestie) flew in his lifelong best friend Thursday evening. I offered to pick him up at the airport so the surprise wouldn't be spoiled. The look on his face when he realized his friend was standing on his front porch was priceless! I was so thrilled to be able to help with the surprise and be there when he received it!

We partied it up Friday night at a local bar and continued the festivities Saturday night at a local wine bar. Sunday was spent at our great friend's house in Fort Lauderdale, lounging by the pool and barbecue. The perfect end to a perfectly fun weekend!