Dulcet Blog Symmetry Finally Returns
Yes , it looks like my blog again. 
We returned home Wednesday afternoon .
The trip was thankfully a mere 4 1/2 hours.
My daughter rocks.
Just when I think she couldn't do more to get my respect, she does something even more spectacular !
I could not have made this trip at the wheel.
I learned many things.
I can make do , I can pack in a hurry and I can keep my cool.
My mother cannot.
She can do these "things" :
bitch, whine & moan while sitting in front of the TV saying " It could still change course...", then proceed to pack only her things at the very last minute.
Seems the parental units didn't like so much "togetherness" for 7 days.
Nothing like Tom & I , we loved time like that .
Sure we could annoy each other, but we still found common ground and held together when the going got tough.
Even when Steff ate my polish sausage kolache from the famous Round Rock Bakery, did I lose my cool ?
No, 'cause there are worse things in this world than the accidental purloining of a flaky/fluffy wrapped meat snack.
We had a home to return to and we survived the drive there and back.
Chased inland by a monster storm , several days of petrified fear as our home's fate lay in the hands of some supreme being ,all the while knowing full well that if not us -then someone else's life would be shattered or taken .
Life is still basically good ,albeit a little stinkier from the power being off for a week.
Another crisis survived without Tom .
I hope there aren't too many more in the books for us anytime soon...
Satiated Salutations From Fried Dough Central
Well, it's official:
Round Rock Donuts rule my world ! 
But ... I am going home tommorrow.
Tucked away in a sandwich bag are 2 delicious plain cake donuts , to savor in the morrow for our arduous journey to the metropolitan jungle that we call home.
I hope that we will be home in 5 hours minimum.
Supposedly Delectable Donuts !
These are supposedly the best fresh made donuts in the US , as told to us by some dude on the food channel the other day.
* Scared and bored makes a dangerous combo , I must say*
So we are off to give them a whirl with the old taste buds and put our stamp of approval on the establishment , as we only live 22 minutes away from the bakery this very moment .
So this leaves a burning question : fried disks of pleasure , or a greasy travesty of carbo laden monstrosities ?
We'll be the judge of that and will give you a full report on the savory details tommorrow.
I am in Hill Country !
Sunset in Taylor , Texas , Sept .2005
(off the balcony of the Econolodge - the neon Taco Bell sign on the lower right hand side had to be cut out ...)
Home Sweet Econolodge
*Soph chilling on our king size bed .*
After what feels like an exodus, we finally got here late Wednesday night after a 9 hour drive.
Now we are set up and are waiting to find out what will happen to our home in Galveston County.
This has been hard.
And it's not over yet.
Hugs and thanks to all who cared enough to think about us.
The Jig Is Up
We are evacuating as we are on the lower part of Houston about 40 minutes from Galveston..
We may have nothing to come back to.
We are driving to Taylor , on the outskirts of Austin tomorrow afternoon.
It's a 4 hour drive .
We have been packing and storing stuff for 8 hours now.
Wish us well.
The Core...
Of what I need in this life , as deemed by nature and nurture.
Don't quote me though, the exact line-up may change at any given moment .
1.H20. Never drink enough, but like the stuff.Especially fizzy.*Burp*
a) Coffee . Elixir of the gods, brain stimulant extraordinaire .Olfactory kidnapper and I am it's willing victim.
b).Tea. Lower caffeine ,smooth operator&nbs p;, good all around rep -still buzz worthy.
2. Food. In me and on me ( I am all over this current food substance in beauty products craze).Also my perfume tends to be foodie as well.*
a)CHOCOLATE. *swoon*Rapture , silken tongued passion and harbinger of all earthly pleasures.
b)CHEESE. * After the wheel and fire, I daresay this IS man's greatest accomplishment .*
* Forget about pheromones, get the guys goin with that homey smell of vanilla pudding or cinnamon buns. It's worth a try.Except I don't think you'll ever catch me sporting a crisp nacho scent behind each ear....:roll:
New Music For Me
The track "Love" by Rosey from "Bridget's Jones Diary ", has wrapped it's way around my brain with a chiffon grip.
Check out her sound on Amazon.com .
The album is called "Dirty Child".
On Any Given Day...
The Saddest Song We've Got
Darling are you feeling
The same thing that I'm seeing?
The troubles of the day
Took my breath away
Took my breath away
Now you're no longer talking
And I'm no longer hearing;
There's nothing left to say
Said it anyway
Said it anyway
And I want you...not
I need you...not
I'm dying
'Cause this is the saddest song I've got
The saddest song I've got
Darling are you healing
From all those scars appearing?
Don't it hurt a lot?
Don't know how to stop
Don't know how it stops
Now there's no sense in seeing
The colors of the morning,
Can't hold the clouds at bay
Chase them all away
Chase them all away
And I'm frozen still
Unspoken still
Heartbroken
Remembering something I forgot...
Something I forgot.
Annie Lennox "Bare" 2003
Yes, this probably means a broken up relationship between living partners.
But I still feel it can pertain to the context of Tom being gone.
His death was the saddest thing I ever experienced.
I am still emotionally "out of order" 3 years later .
I look normal ( well , as normal as that is with me ), but inside I am still a lost soul staggering around looking for a ray of hope to illuminate a key to why .
Heavy Clouds Lose Weight
In the form of rain.
Beautiful yard drenching liquid sunshine , nourishing every inch of soil and filling my pool and pond for zero bucks.
I wrote 3 poems about the weather today .
That's a record for me alright .
I am sitting here looking out my rain drop splotched living room windows ,while listening to Sarah Brightman melodically soak my soul in pure delight with every note.
The only downside will be that the solar lights won't be as intense due to the 24 hour cloud cover.
A small price to pay for today's soused landscape.
Purple Backpackin' Blues
Yesterday morning I hustled my way into the creative writing class at breakneck speed dragging my backpack with my yoga mat haphazardly protruding rather awkwardly, to read some of my scribblings to this semester's class ( my daughter 's in the class currently) .
The Good News:
the professor heard several poems he liked as I was reading.
So I get to submit 3 more poems for the fall issue of the lit mag.
*Yay*
The Bad News :
the classroom was quiet and fairly unresponsive as I read. Except the high wattage smile of my pigtailed daughter encouraging me .
A soldier had gone before me and had been talking about Iraq ( he had a letter home that had been printed in the magazine ) , and before him a gal in my class from last semester had read a wedding themed script.
I got a few isolated laughs during my reading , but mostly and jarringly for the first time ever I heard a yawn .
They looked quite glazed over ... like donuts in a greasy cardboard box...
Steff told me that it was circumstance ( I was at the end of a two hour class) and after war stories , the mood was just so down.
I tried to show a wide sampling of my work, how I take mental snapshots of my day , or use just a stray thought and turn it into words.
The different topics one can find to express oneself are staggering.
It doesn't have to be weighty thoughts , and universal themes .
Maybe I should have been first to read and set the tone ...
I am so spoiled, aren't I though?
I guess I have been so lucky in so far as I am fairly new at this writing gig and have met with so much success.
Not everyone will get "me".
Not everyone knows the pain I still live with plus the fight to keep myself laughing and not crying or hiding.
Oh, I promised myself I would never use Tom's death to excuse everything that's happened since, and there I go doing it.
After this mini-fiasco ,we hightailed it over to yoga class , and as I lay on the gym floor on my purple yoga mat in "corpse pose"for what seemed like an eon , while pondering the strange material that covers the gym ceiling , trying not to wiggle my freshly peach glittered toenails .
I thought about how I use to hate gyms. Horrific memories of gym classes and humiliation danced through my mind's eye.
My gluts & tummy are in a lot of pain today from repeated " chair" and "down dog", but I am slowly blasting my old hate of gyms to smithereens.
Steff and I have been doing yoga on and off for almost 2 years , and that helps alot.
The only things I dislike about the class are:
A) bare feet ( the consistency of the gym floor is *eew*)
B) the sheer amount of younger , firmer bodies with no real time trails
on them yet
C)The corny slogans & new agey buzz words she says to you as you get into various poses
My pulse was a nice 80 beats per minute afterwards , so maybe despite a few annoyances ...
I am onto to something here.
The afternoon was capped off by this lady I try to avoid , talking my ear off for nearly 2 hours.
I am too d*mn friendly looking .
She talks about my issues maybe 5% of the "conversation".
No reading, no music ,no philosophical thinking or writing for me just "jabber, jabber", smile ,frown , and get three words in edgewise .
She sucks my energy like a vampire.
This poor lady has a multitude of problems( medical issues, abusive boyfriend, weed smoking kids & boyfriend), and I get so depressed after a "session" with her , I realize I am very happy I never pursued counseling as a career.
She always says ,"I love talking to you. You are so nice."
I am a gutless wonder that can't bare to tell her to leave me alone .
I just know I will see her again tomorrow.
Moon Over Bourbon Street
I see faces as they pass beneath the pale lamplight
I’ve no choice but to follow that call
The bright lights, the people, and the moon and all
I pray everyday to be strong
For I know what I do must be wrong
Oh you’ll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet
While there’s a moon over bourbon street
It was many years ago that I became what I am
I was trapped in this life like an innocent lamb
Now I can only show my face at noon
And you’ll only see me walking by the light of the moon
The brim of my hat hides the eye of a beast
I’ve the face of a sinner but the hands of a priest
Oh you’ll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet
While there’s a moon over bourbon street
She walks everyday through the streets of new orleans
She’s innocent and young from a family of means
I have stood many times outside her window at night
To struggle with my instinct in the pale moon light
How could I be this way when I pray to God above
I must love what I destroy and destroy the thing I love
While there’s a moon over bourbon street
Leapin' Lizards
Ma's e-bay store is selling stuff like hot cakes !
Right now , I am being stalked & nbsp;by this highly glazed brightly colored ceramic psycho lizard perched next to my Dad's computer, which I am forced to use, as my internet is down upstairs on my computer.
Soon he will be gone , however, offered to the masses for sale and will no longer be a disturbing eye sore.
My Ma's friend brought it back from Mexico.
This was a strange gift to bring back...
that was the only thing this lady bought for us during her she stay at our house for nearly 3 weeks ( with 2 short trips to Louisiana and Mexico as well ).
The things people bring back as "gifts " sometimes are really something.
Our neighbor brought back Steff a back -scratcher made of a crocodile's foot.
*EEEEEEEEEEEEEEW*
I want to go out and give it a proper burial before Soph decides it's jerky for a quick nosh...
I Shaved My Legs For This ?
I have a fitness test in yoga today.
Could things get any worse for me ?
Well , maybe they could ... but let me moan about this a little more ,'K?
I could never do a push up,even when I was thin and young.
To make matters worse there are two young guys in the class.
I shaved my legs for the first time in months ( h*ll, I have no man, am blond and wear pants most of the time -so this isn't an essential thing for me).
I have varicose veins like a roadmap through the wine country , and now everyone will see them up close and personal.
* My day of reckoning is here*
I look like a German Palladin blue cheese for cripes sake.
I want to get some laser surgery for them, but have been too chicken so far...
Today I am very smooth, moist and smell faintly of tropical fruit salad ( due to slathering on assorted citrus and cinnamon body washes and creams).
I need this class , but so far the thought of just doing the fitness test is making my bp raise ...
I need to get to the yoga relaxation part pretty darn quick....