Twenty Four At Heart

Aaaand ... Tis The Season?

If you live in the US, I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving weekend.  Actually, I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving weekend wherever you live, and whether or not you celebrated.

My last guest leaves this afternoon.  I will then look around my thrashed house, freak out about The State Things Are In ... and begin the process of guest-recovery.  I'm sure I'll get everything back in order just in time for the return of family and guests in three weeks ....

Here's a look at what I've been doing the past several days:

•  Cooking, cooking, cooking.

•  Eating and drinking too much.  Stretchy pants have never felt so good!

•  Hanging out at the beach.  We've had 85F/29.4 C weather.  Crystal clear skies - so beautiful!

HDR photo of the beach last weekend.  And no, I don't like HDR photography but I was playing with it anyway.

•  Car shopping.  I hate car shopping.  Hate, hate, hate!  However, my current car is leased and the lease is up in a couple weeks.  I need to look at cars in spite of the fact I hate doing it.  (And no, I have no idea what I'll end up getting.)  What a waste of beautiful weather, don't you agree?

•  A little Christmas shopping ... primarily for/with my daughter while she was in town to try on clothes.

•  A little online shopping ... to avoid the malls as much as possible.  I'm a hermit at heart and I hate shopping in crowded malls.

•  Managing a really bad pain flare-up.  (Is there such thing as a good pain flare up?  I think not.)  I'll try not to bitch too much, but ....?  Whine, whine, whine!!  Also?  OUCH!  I think I'm on the downswing of it now ... thankfully.  It, quite honestly, knocked me on my ass for a couple days.

Unstable bluff area - stay clear!

I felt like I should walk around wearing the above sign, or something similar.  "Extreme pain flare-up, resulting in UNSTABLE moods, STAY CLEAR!"

•  On the positive side, all three of my kids were here for Thanksgiving.  It was so nice.

Sunset at the beach, pelicans flying.

Did I mention it has been absolutely spectacular here lately?

I love the fall in Southern California.

© Twenty Four At Heart

I'm as Normal as I'm Going to Get

I spent a good chunk of my weekend getting my computer set up the way I want.  It might not be 100% there yet, but I'm getting close.

I even managed to carve out some photography time this weekend.

I'm so happy to be getting my "life" back to normal now.  I'm sure a lot more efficient when I have a laptop - especially a speedy one.  (Any computer is speedy compared to the one I was working on these last few weeks!)

Unrelated aside: I've had several requests from people wishing to purchase photos.  I haven't uploaded any for awhile.

Why?

I'm in the process of working on a re-design for Twenty Four At Heart.  (Actually, I'm working with a web designer - she's doing the hard part!)  Part of the re-design involves streamlining the photo purchasing piece of this puzzle.  I'm making some big improvements.  I want things to be easier for you, and hopefully simpler for me.  

If you feel like you absolutely "must" have a particular photo right now, let me know and I'll make arrangements for you.  Otherwise, I'm holding off on uploads until the re-design is complete.  (Having no computer for a couple weeks slowed down everything.)

My son went to his high school homecoming dance over the weekend.  I was asked by a few of the kids to be "their" photographer.  I almost strangled an obnoxious OC mom in the process, but I used amazing restraint and didn't.  

Homecoming photo.

Pretty shoes.

The above photo is my son's date.  All the girls had really high heels on.  Ouch?!

As soon as I was done with homecoming photos, I drove straight to the beach.  I arrived with just moments to spare.

Tripod set up on the beach for sunset.

Two women approached me as I was taking photos of the sunset.

"Are you going to take a photo of the sunset?" one of them asked.

????

"Do you think I should?" asked my Smart-Ass Self.

"It's very beautiful tonight," nodded one of the women as she eyed my camera mounted on a tripod staring straight at the sunset.

I nodded back at her.

"Sounds like a good idea," I responded.  I continued clicking away then, ignoring her.  She hovered at my side for quite awhile.  Eventually, the two women wandered a few feet away, sat on some rocks, and watched me take photos until the sun set.  Once in awhile, they'd give me helpful tips like, "Did you get THAT?!"

Sunset at the beach on Saturday evening.  (Photo titled:  You reach for me; I melt into you.)

"Yes," I'd answer.

Yes, I did ....

© Twenty Four At Heart

Still in Boston, Still Have Effed Up Computer

My computer is still jacked up, and apparently will be at least until Tuesday afternoon.  (Assuming the nice Apple folks are able to fix it ...!)

It did let me upload a few iPhone photos, but none from my "real" camera.

Yesterday morning I had coffee and a brioche in a quaint little neighborhood bakery with my daughter.  After some decadent yumminess, we walked through Beacon Hill because it's the pure definition of CHARMING, and I can't get enough of the OLD and the CUTE.

(I'll have photos for you if I ever, ever, am able to upload photos again!)

Have I mentioned I've been walking 400 bazillion miles per day?  

(And blisters on top of blisters - have I mentioned that??)

From Beacon Hill, we took the T (subway) to MIT.  (Yes, I do have a Charlie card for the week - thank you very much Bostonians!)

I don't know WHY I asked to see MIT, but I'm so glad I did.

Self portrait.

The above is an uncropped, unedited, self portrait I took in the reflection of a really funky metal building at MIT yesterday.

I took a lot of photos at MIT.  The engineers there apparently pride themselves on designing funky architecture - a photographer's delight!

After MIT, I went on to Harvard Square for the primary purpose of visiting L.A. Burdick Chocolate.  It's my daughter's favorite chocolate shop and she was quite insistent I visit.

Cute!

Everything is cute here - bakeries, chocolate shops, florists, restaurants.  Boston exudes charm.

And coldness.

Brrr ...!

I caved in and bought a jacket yesterday after I returned downtown.

Oh, yes I did.

It isn't really a "coat."

It's a casual, short, black, sort of fleece (?) jacket - and it's warm, but not bulky.  It wouldn't be nearly warm enough for a Boston winter, but it will see me through the rest of my visit.  It wasn't expensive by coat/jacket standards.  I'll be able to use it in the evenings at home, and it's casual enough for cool weather high school baseball games too.

Jackets don't help the problem of a cold nose though.  I know it isn't that cold yet by east coast standards, but seriously people - don't your noses fall off?

Can I just add -

I've never seen so many jackets/coats in my entire life as I've seen during my first four days in Boston?  And boots!  Who knew there were so many kinds of boots?  There are thousands of different kinds of boots!  I'm just amazed by it.  I keep pointing jackets/coats and boots out to my daughter.  She nods patiently and says I know Mom.

Hmmmph!

I have so much more to tell you, but I'm going to attempt to publish this now.  

Have I mentioned I hate computer problems?

P.S.  My arm hurts like hell.  Teeth clenching *&%#$-ing pain.  I began my "emergency" course of steroids today.  I'd like to whine more about the intensity of my pain, but I'll spare you instead I'll pop another pain pill.

P.P.S.  I have one more full day here.  And then a red-eye flight.  Whose idea was the red-eye flight?  It's going to suck. 

© Twenty Four At Heart

Angeles Crest Highway, and More ...

I'm tired.

Tired as in ...

Exhausted.

Today I don't have to "do" anything.

Don't get me wrong -

I have a zillion billion things I need to do,

But I have nothing I HAVE to do.

I might doze on the couch for a few hours, but shhhh! don't tell anyone.

My daughter left on a red-eye flight last night.

Yesterday, she and I went to the small town(s) of La Crescenta/La Canada/Flintridge/Montrose where I grew up.

She had never visited there before.  It's about an hour and a half drive time from where I live now (when there isn't rush hour horrible traffic).  She was delighted with the cuteness and charm of the area.  By the way, all four of the above mentioned places are pretty much the same "town."

We had lunch outdoors at a little local bakery.

We walked around a lot.

We drove up in the hills mountains and I showed her where the local "make-out with your boyfriend" spot was.  (Is?)

Angeles Crest Highway as viewed from Make-Out Point.

I shared with her the story of my father almost dying when his car went off that same, treacherous, mountain road.  Many years later my cousin did die in a car accident on that very same road.  His dog was in the car with him when it went off a cliff.

The dog survived the accident and sat, unmoving, by my cousin's body for hours upon hours until the wreckage was discovered.

Even then, his dog refused to leave his side.

Eventually, someone had to physically pick the dog up and take it away.

It breaks my heart still.

I learned to drive a car on Angeles Crest Highway.

To this day, I consider myself an excellent mountain road driver.

Many people have died on that mountain road,

And yet, it's also a spectacularly beautiful place.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Confessions of a Horrible Blogger

Hello Internet ...!

I've been posting daily, but I haven't been a very attentive blogger.

My daughter is visiting from Boston right now and I've found myself doing the bare minimum to get by in the wild-world-of-the-web.  She's only here for a few more days, and then I'll resume a more normal routine.

Several of you have asked to buy photos I haven't yet posted to my photo site.  I apologize for the delay, and promise to get my more recent photos uploaded in just a few days.  I wanted to let you know she's visiting and that's why I've fallen so behind.

She and I have been busy doing girl things.

Monochrome photo of my daughter looking out at the (Pacific) ocean.

We've been shopping, and visiting, and walking along the beach(es).  She's been very homesick for our beaches.  

Oh, and "good Mexican food" also ....

(burp!)

In a few weeks I'll be making a trip to Boston to visit her.  It's a trip I planned nearly a year ago, long before she scheduled this trip to California.  I'm hoping to see some fall leaves when I go.  We don't get much in the way of fall leaves here.

My big concern is the fact I don't own a coat, and don't want to buy one for such a short visit to the east coast.  Will I freeze my ass off?  Probably.

I just bought some non-sandals in preparation for going east.  She tells me I'd "freeze" if I wore flip flops in Boston at the end of October.

Pffffft ....!

© Twenty Four At Heart

When Your Kid Gets His Driver's License

My son passed his driver's test and got his driver's license yesterday.

That's right his license to drive a car!

Now, you know I don't write about my kids on the Internet.  This is absolutely not a "mommy" blog.

But this situation?

This is really all about me!

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I left my husband in charge of the past few months of practice driving with my son.  It was his "job" to take my son out to get behind-the-wheel experience.

I did this because I'm not an idiot of my car accident.

And no, it had nothing to do with logic.

My disabling  life changing  car accident was caused by a man running through a four way stop.

I know, logically, it had nothing to do with an inexperienced driver.

There's not enough therapy in the world, however, to get me in the car with someone who doesn't know how to drive.

My kids have all understood,

It isn't that I don't have faith in them -

I just have some very deep emotional/psychological scars.

Anyway, I was in the grocery store yesterday when I got a call from my husband.

"Did he flunk?" I asked as I answered my phone.

"No," laughed my husband.  "He's driving us home right now - he passed!"

"That's great!" I said with genuine enthusiasm.

Then I hung up and freaked the hell out.

My baby!

My baby is now licensed to get behind the wheel of a weapon of mass destruction a car and DRIVE!

Not long after, I was giving my son a congratulatory hug.

Then?

Then my son smiled at me, grabbed the keys to the car, and announced he was going to a girl's house "to celebrate the last day of summer."  (School began here today.)

"But wait ...!" I said.

First, I reminded him not to even "glance" in the direction of his phone while driving.

Then I proceeded to ask him if he knew what to do if he was pulled over by the police.

Then I asked if he knew what to do if he got in a "fender bender."

Then I asked if he knew how to get to his friend's house.

Then I asked if ....

Well, you get the idea.

I was still talking as we he walked out to the car.

He opened the car door, looked up at me puzzled, and asked, "Now, which pedal is the brake again?"

I gasped!

He laughed ...

And laughed, and laughed!

(Aren't teen boys funny?)

I walked back into the house.

I hyperventilated for a few minutes.

I looked at my watch, then I looked at it again.

My son was under instructions to text me once he arrived at his friend's house so I would know he was safe.

Yes, I am THAT mom.

I waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

I had planned to head to the beach for some photography time, but I couldn't leave the house until I knew he had arrived safely.  (I know this makes no sense, but ...!)

Forty minutes went by.  It shouldn't have taken more than twenty five minutes for him to drive to his friend's house.

Finally, I texted him and asked, "Are you there yet?"

His reply?

"Just got here.  I parked successfully and I did not die."

(Aren't teen boys funny?)

I exhaled, and realized I'd been holding my breath for a good forty minutes.

Also?

I know "Just got here," is teen-speak for, "Whoops, I forgot to text you."

I think I need sedatives to get me through the next couple years.

My nerves are frayed, and he hasn't even had his license for 24 hours yet.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Hele Mei Hoohiwahiwa

* I'll be posting from San Diego tomorrow, unless a gathering of 3,000+ bloggers causes the hotel's Internet to crash! *

Hele mei hoohiwahiwa means come celebrate in Hawaiian.

I'm in the process of driving to a big conference today, so I'm going to share a few more glimpses of Hawaii with you.  If I share, it makes it exactly as if you were right there celebrating a Hawaiian vacation with me.

Maybe?

And yes, I am having trouble adjusting to the end of my vacation.

Is it obvious???

I took the above photo of coconuts right from "our" beach.  My son was sitting under the tree and I kept waiting for a coconut to fall on his head.  (It didn't, but one did fall later in the afternoon and he brought it to me as a "gift.")

This tree was right by our lanai.  Those are papayas you see up at the top.  (The yellow papayas are ripe; the green are not.)

This next photo was taken at Kaanapali Beach early in the day before it got crowded:

The water was so beautiful ... everything you'd imagine for Hawaii.

Can you stand another photo of a plant?

Hmmm ...

Which do you want to see - mangoes or bananas?

Okay, so the bananas won.  (They just seem more exciting than mangoes.  Also, I've got a weak spot for photos with lens flare.)

Here's something you'd never see in California:

It's illegal to ride in the back of a truck in California.

On Maui, we saw people riding around in the back of trucks all the time.  I couldn't get used to it.  By the way, the people in this particular photo found it very amusing I was taking their photo.  They probably thought my purpose in photographing them was to show friends Real Live Hawaiians vs. people riding in the back of a truck.

We also saw a lot of sea turtles.

(By a lot, I mean - too many to count, every.single.day.)

Of course, I now feel like I need to close with a sunset photo.  

Here's a shot I took of my daughter as she took a photo of the sunset with her iPhone.

I think she's caught the photography-bug.

Genetics are a funny thing! 

© Twenty Four At Heart 

Tuesday Transition

I have so much to blog about, but as I forewarned you - I'm doing a lot of traveling which is making it difficult to find time to write.

* Me (hair in ponytail!) in Lahaina on the island of Maui - photo taken by Briefcase. *

I know, I know ...

You feel terribly sorry for me ... travel stress going to and from Hawaii.

* Blurry iPhone photo from Maui *

What a catastrophe my life is, right?  

I have a really shocking travel story to share with you as soon as I get the chance.

I also have some interesting photos to post in upcoming days.

Today is a transition day as I unpack from Hawaii and prepare to leave for BlogHer11 (the world's biggest blogging conference) tomorrow.  

* Pre-Hawaii pedicure ... will it hold up for another week or two? *

Next week my life will (hopefully) begin to settle down into a more normal routine.

Hawaii was wonderful, of course.

How could it not be?

I'll be honest,

As of today, I'm not looking forward to attending BlogHer.

I signed up to attend the conference a year ago, and now I find myself less than enthused to go.

The reasons why are a soap opera unto themselves, and for the time being I'm going to keep them to myself.  I'm hoping, once I do arrive at the conference, I end up getting everything out of it I originally hoped for.  (Regardless, I'll let you know either way.)

The days in Hawaii were lazy.  

Every morning I sipped coffee on our lanai, listening to the waves crash just a few feet away.  

I spent my time walking, hiking, reading, swimming, taking photos, hanging out on the beaches, being amused by sea turtles, etc.  

(My Internet access was very sketchy which was probably a blessing.) 

Every evening we indulged in fresh sashimi and other appetizers, along with libations, out on our lanai.  

Most nights we barbequed dinner on the beach as the sun set.  

Have I mentioned how beautiful it is in Hawaii?

Occasionally, we treated ourselves to a meal out.

It was great to have some very concentrated "family time" with all three of my kids present.

I fell asleep each night with the large sliding glass window of my bedroom open.  The sea breeze and the crashing waves lulled me to sleep. 

Oh, how I wish I could live just feet from the ocean every day!

Now, instead, I'm doing a couple quick loads of laundry and heading down to San Diego.  I will be blogging as I continue my travels.  

I return to Orange County next Monday.

I appreciate your patience as I take you along on my journey!

© Twenty Four At Heart

Why My Head is Ready to Explode ...

* Due to excessive spam comments, I've temporarily activated comment moderation.  You can still leave a comment for me, it will just take a little longer to be visible. *

I'm feeling a little (!!) stressed.

I was staring at my blank laptop screen, trying to come up with something entertaining to share with you today.  

Instead items from my "to-do" list keep running through my brain at an alarming rate.

The good news?

Yesterday afternoon and evening was taken up by the LAST high school summer league baseball game.

Don't get me wrong, I love baseball and I love watching my son play.

But, it has been nonstop games since last fall.  We get a month (or so) off now.  I'm overjoyed.  (I think I just gained an extra 15+ hours in each week ... not that I'm counting or anything.) 

My daughter flies home from the east coast in a couple days.  I'm very excited to see her, but I'm also trying to get a lot done prior to her arrival.

Add in a hefty dose of pain from my bionic arm, some legal-stuff which needs attending to RIGHT NOW, a vacation on the horizon, and the world's largest blogging conference just two and a half weeks away ....

Well, I've got a lot on my plate at the moment.

I hope you'll hang in there with me even if my posts get a little half-assed as I'm dealing with it all.

I've got some really good stuff to share with you over the next few weeks ...

© Twenty Four At Heart

Weird, Weird, Weekend

I woke up in the middle of the night on Friday, with off-the-chart pain shooting through the back side of my shoulder, down my disabled arm, and also affecting the upper right quadrant of my back.  It felt like lightening bolts of jagged glass traveling through my body.

(Possibly an alien has taken up residence in my damaged parts?)

I don't know what caused this sudden onset of pain.

I didn't "do" anything unusual.

It's a new and horrible different type of pain than what I usually have and it hasn't let up since.  It's severe enough to make me feel sick to my stomach.  (And yes, severe pain CAN do that.)  It's also making me gasp/moan/wince out loud from time to time.  This is very unusual for me.  Those of you who know me, know I usually just get extremely quiet when I'm in a lot of pain.

Anyway, I tell you this not in a bid for sympathy but rather, as a preface to this post.  I'm on Dilaudid which is a very strong pain narcotic.  It makes my head spin this way and then that way, and then way over there too.  I don't take it often, so I'm not used to it.

In other words, who knows what I might misspell write today ....

I will try to provide a few snippets from my weekend anyway.

•  I listened to two OC women discussing their designer flip flops at length.  One was pro Vera Wang and the other was pro Tory Burch.  It was a pretty heated discussion and the entire time I was looking at their shoes and thinking, "Really??  They're just flip flops!"  I don't mean to question people's priorities, but ...?

•  I brought Mike's Hard Lemonade, in a thermos, to a high school baseball game.  (For my parent friends, not for the players.)  That's probably against some type of school rule, don't you think?  But it was hot and it was an extra long game.  Also, several parents appreciated the fact I brought it.  (And no, I didn't even have any myself because I'm on pain meds.)

•  I spent most of Saturday at the hospital emergency room with my youngest son.  We thought he had possibly broken his hand in his baseball game.  It was really (!!) swollen and sore after it got jammed when he was sliding.

After hours and hours waiting around, we learned it's NOT broken - just sprained.  

While we were at the ER, several high school football players (my son's friends) came in for treatment too.  There seems to be an epidemic of high school athletes getting hurt.

My son left looking like this:

We're glad it's a removable splint so he can shower, etc.  Casts in the summer are so uncomfortable. 

In better news, at least he scored a run when he did it - right? 

•  It's been really hot here ....

•  I'm now on Google +, which is Google's newest social marketing invention (designed to take over the world).  It's in a beta form right now, and you have to be invited to join.  I think Google introduced it by "invitation only" intentionally to make people really, really, want to be invited to join.

It worked! 

No one invited me the first ten days it was in existence and I felt sad.  (Ten whole days - !!)  It reminded me of being left out by The Mean Girls in high school.  Then, all in one day, I got several invitations to join.  

Thank you!  (You know who you are!)  

So far, I like Google + a lot.  (Also known as G+.)  I haven't had as much time as I'd like to become familiar with it yet, but I see a lot of potential already.  It's like facebook and twitter, but better in so many ways.  I'm looking forward to digging deeper, to learn more, over the next few days.  I do have a few invitations to give away, but I'm not quite sure how to do that.  (I'm sure it's not difficult, I just haven't had the time to explore yet.)  If you're a huge techy, and/or addicted to social networking, etc., let me know and if I can get you an invitation I will.  

•  I went for a five mile walk at the beach on Saturday afternoon.  I was in San Clemente again where the trains run right along the beach.

•  I had an "incident" regarding a BlogHer corporate sponsor over the weekend.  The story isn't worth telling here, but it did take up some of my weekend time.  By the way, if you will be at BlogHer11 (in San Diego/beginning of August) please let me know so I can meet you.  There will be 3,000 bloggers there and it will be difficult to find people without a little pre-planning and effort.  

• I made "Beer Can Chicken" for the first time this weekend.  I'll have more about that experience soon, in a separate post.

•  I watched The Holiday while drugged up on pain meds.  I can't say I recommend it, but Jack Black did a good job with his part.  On the other hand, I might laugh every time I see him regardless of what he's doing.

•  Lastly, I wanted to show you this photo.  I don't know why I love it so much, but it's definitely one of my favorite photos lately.

I hope you like it too!

© Twenty Four At Heart 

First Day of Summer

Yesterday was, officially, the first day of summer.

It was also the last day school was in session for my youngest son.

He needed to leave the house at 7 a.m. for his Spanish final exam.  (His last final before summer break.)

I needed to leave the house at 9:30 a.m. to pick him up afterwards.  (In case you're wondering, his exam schedule gave me enough time to take a shower, shampoo, and do a few chores before leaving to pick him up.)  We went out to breakfast to celebrate a good school year, and then he was off to a beach party with friends.

Of course, I had to drive him to the beach party.

(For some strange reason, I was not invited to stay.  Such a shame!  It was a beautiful day at the beach.  I don't know why a 16 year old boy would not want his mom lurking around a teen party with her telephoto lens?)

In fact, all I did yesterday was drive, drive, drive.

And I was eager for summer to arrive?

How quickly we moms forget ...!

There were other signs of summer yesterday too.

My car thermometer eventually got as high as 95.  

Summer has officially arrived.

In an effort to start the summer off right, I took my camera into a Canon service center yesterday for a professional cleaning.  It was way overdue.  I wanted to make sure the sensor was spotless (dustless?) before our Hawaii vacation in a few weeks.

You know what they told me?

I've, so far, taken almost 30,000 photos with my "new" camera.  (They "read" the shutter and it's so smart, it tells them.)

THIRTY THOUSAND!

Me!

The one armed, bionic woman!

(Speaking of, yesterday someone googled "one-armed photographer" and Google sent them to me.  Isn't that very smart of Google?)

The thought of taking thirty thousand photos is staggering.

And at the same time, quite a feat.

It made me think back to when Medical Professionals told me I would never be able to hold a full size camera again.  It brought back memories of their insistence I give up my passion.

In fact, in their minds it wasn't even up for debate ...

Photography was an impossibility for me.  

It's almost been five years since the accident, and I've taken 30,000 photos in the last year and a half.

I wonder how many more I will take just this summer?

I feel oddly proud.

And so very ... accomplished.

I feel like I've defied the odds.

Also?

Take THAT Medical Professionals!

It has been a fight every step of the way, but so worth it.

Thirty thousand photos and counting ...

Wow!

© Twenty Four At Heart

Father's Day

I hope you enjoy a wonderful, relaxing, Father's Day today.

(Briefcase, once upon a time, with our three rugrats.)

© Twenty Four At Heart

No Time to Pee

Seriously, have you ever needed to pee and three hours later you still haven't had time to go?

That's how my yesterday was, except I think it might have been "holding it" longer than three hours.

Most of the day, I felt like a hamster on one of those Very Fancy Hamster Wheels - running as fast as I could and getting nowhere.

Except, I did go somewhere ....

I went to a neighboring city (about a half hour away) FIVE SEPARATE TIMES in one day.  If I'm doing the math correctly, it's a one hour round trip and that means I spent five hours of my day driving back and forth to nearly the exact same place.

I win!

(And no, it couldn't be helped, for very boring reasons I won't go into.)

I also had the joy of asserting my parental rights/authority on a misguided high school guidance counselor.

A misguided guidance counselor ... OXYMORON!

I win again!

That was fun ....

Here's a mini rant:

It should be against the law for summer league high school baseball games (3 per week) to begin two days after the end of the spring season banquet.  In addition, it should be against the law for summer league games to begin before school is out.  (Most of the kids are in school for another couple weeks here in Orange County!)  Lastly, it should be against the law for summer league games to be going on just before and during high school final exams.

Just sayin' .....

Oh, one more thing on a completely different topic,

I got earth shattering news yesterday ...

If you google turgid nipples, Twenty Four At Heart will pop up as the top (as in, NUMBER ONE) resource of information.

Go ahead, try it - I'll wait.

I think this news officially qualifies me for The Blogger Hall of Fame (which is a new Hall of Fame I totally made up just this second, but which is an awesome concept).

Why can't I remember where periods and parentheses go today?

(.) ( ). .... (((  )))  ( )  (  )

Everything I type looks funny.

OMG, I have fried brain.

I'll be better tomorrow.

Maybe.

The End.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Scattered

I'm going with scattered thoughts today.  (Scattered because my brain is making adjustments to new pain meds and I feel very scatter-brained.)

•  I'm almost halfway through my Invisalign treatment.  At this point, I'm very happy with both the process and the results.

I warned you.  I'm on drugs!

Ha!

•  I sent a package to Boston (for my daughter's birthday) via UPS "two-day-air."  It was sent over a week ago and it still hasn't arrived.  UPS has the package, but can't seem to get it delivered.  I've never had bad UPS service before.  I'm beyond frustrated at this point.  I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall every time I try to get the damn package delivered.  

•  I ran into a woman I know at the mall a few days ago.  I didn't recognize her.  She had a facelift, but her face FELL.  I've never seen such a strange look.  I can't figure out HOW it happened.  I still can't get her face out of my head either.  

It's haunting me.  

She used to be so pretty.  Wrinkles would look better on her than the FaceFALL she got.  If she hadn't come up to me and started talking, I wouldn't have even realized it was her.

•  When/If you're having a bad day, get on the Damn You Auto Correct! website.  Click on the "Best of DYAC" tab.  You will find it impossible not to laugh.

•  Here's a recent photo I took in a public bathroom.

Why did I take that photo?

I don't even know ....

It gives you a good look at how I take photos with my bum arm though.  Left arm/hand holds the camera/phone up.  Right/damaged arm has a permanent slope down to it.  It works okay from my hand to my elbow so without any movement to the top part of my arm, I manage to click the shutter/press the button.

Magic.

•  Here's another.  This one I took so I could show you maternity clothes are back in style for non-pregnant women:

Please excuse PR's unmade bed, laundry basket, and general mess behind me.  (He's a teen - need I say more?) 

* Both of these photos were taken with a mirror.  One person commented it LOOKS like I'm holding the camera with my right hand, but everything is reversed.  It is truly my left hand holding the phone.  (Note the thicker ring on that hand?  That's my wedding ring - left hand!)

•  Did you read the recent Time magazine article?

I think Arnold was the pig-of-the-week when it published.

•  Several of you asked if the bike/flip flop photo is for sale.  It's on my website (Beach 2011) both in color and in black and white.

•  Speaking of photos, I've been using the PhotoCard app to send my daughter occasional (snail mail) postcards.  It's fun because the postcard arrives with one of my photos on it making it more meaningful to both of us.  So far, I've just sent her sunflower shots because they're her favorite flower.  She loves getting "real" mail and is planning to frame a few of the sunflower postcards together.   (They're big.  Around 8.5" x 5.5" I think.)

It's a fun, cheap, way to make someone's day.

OK, was that scattered enough for one day?

I think it was ....

© Twenty Four At Heart

Lost in Laziness

I'll be back tomorrow with a "real" post.

So far, my holiday weekend has consisted of a combination of family time and pure laziness.  It has been WONDERFUL.

Beach, pool, beach ....

Isn't the water so pretty in the above photo?

I'm so lucky to live here.

I went to see Hangover II yesterday.

I did a little summer clothes shopping for my two boys too.  They'd outgrown everything in their closets.

(Did you know shorts for guys have gone shorter and tighter?  Welcome back to the eighties!)

I've been reading, and enjoying, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  It's very appropriate subject matter for Memorial Day when so many of us are remembering, and feeling thankful for, those who have served our country.

I watched Gran Torino via Netflix one night.

Sometimes, it's so nice to turn off the real world and all the responsibilities that go with it.

I hope you're enjoying some down time too!

© Twenty Four At Heart

Faded Sunflowers

I was supposed to visit my daughter in Boston for Memorial Day weekend, but I had to cancel my plans.

Knowing I won't be making the trip has made me miss her more than usual.

I bought a few of her favorite flowers the other day just because.

It's nice to have them around, reminding me of her.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Random Moments From The Twenty Four Household

It was kind of a strange weekend.

•  On Friday night, Nike came for a visit and we hung out at my house drinking wine and getting caught up.  She helped me with a couple things which required more than one working arm to do.  (I knew if I got her drunk enough I could get some work out of her!)

It's nice to have a friend you can greet while wearing ten year old yoga pants and a t-shirt.  It's even nicer when that friend shows up for an evening of wine-time in her sweats.

•  We had gray weather on Saturday; I woke up on Sunday to rain.

Rain!

In The OC!

In May!

•  The mountains behind my house looked like this:

By noon the sun had come out and the day ended up being beautiful.

I know you've always wanted to see my chimney, haven't you?

•  Nothing evokes memories of my childhood summers more than the scent of star jasmine.  I have some planted near my patio and it makes me so happy to see it blooming.

I smell jasmine and I instantly think "summer on Catalina Island" because my family spent time there almost every summer when I was growing up.  We had jasmine in our own backyard when I was growing up too, but it doesn't seem to matter.  My brain associates jasmine with summers on the island.

•  RC is adjusting to summer vacation at home.  He landed a job with a prestigious company here in Orange County for the summer.  He's very excited.  The boss of the company told him the job was conditional on "his mom" not blogging about the company/the boss.  (I was floored, when RC informed me.)

It SO makes me want to blog about both.

But I won't, of course.

(For one thing, I have nothing to say about them.)

But really?

Ha ha ha ha!  (One of the odder/funnier moments since I began blogging!)

•  A bird flew into my kitchen, and then back out again on Sunday morning.  Our back door was open because the dogs were going in and out.  Someone on Twitter informed me it's good luck to have a bird fly into your house.  Personally, I was just glad the oven was closed.

•  Our canyon seems to be overflowing with wildlife this year, even more than usual.  There always seems to be a critter to watch when I find myself at home.  Of course, this also provides endless entertainment for our retrievers.

•  I've been finding myself self-censoring my writing lately on 24.  I think that's the problem with a larger readership.  No matter what I write, it seems I'm offending someone, somehow.  I'm tired of worrying about it.  I'm tired of feeling like I need to keep everything generic all the time.  I'm going back to being myself and (probably) offending people again.  

Get ready, get set ....

© Twenty Four At Heart

Random Frivolity

I have one or two more serious subjects I'll be blogging about soon, but today I'm going to keep it light.

Light and breezy ... just like a feminine hygiene commercial!

(Because none of us have enough of those in our lives, do we?)

I want to follow up on a few things from prior posts.

•  Thank you to one of my readers for suggesting I get a Saltwater Canvas beach bag for the summer.  I ordered one, and I'm eager to get my hands on it.  It should be arriving this week, and I can't wait to put it to use.

I'm particularly thrilled it's made out of mesh so it won't accumulate sand at the bottom.  Also, it has lots of pockets which will be just perfect for my wine opener suntan lotion.

•  Phoebe's babies are growing so fast!  She's gotten very protective of them, so I shot this photo with my 400mm lens instead of from inside the grotto:

And yes, I only see three babies.  I think, perhaps, the fourth didn't survive.  They're twelve days old now.  They're very crowded in their nest.  They have real wings and feathers.  I think they'll be learning to fly soon.  I'm still swimming in the pool each day, but I've been staying out of the grotto so Phoebe won't chirp like crazy stress out.

•  I recently read The Color of Water by James McBride.  I loved it and highly recommend it to those of you who haven't already read it.

•  Briefcase has been traveling nonstop, including weekends.  As a result, I've spent a few evenings getting caught up on movies via Netflix.  I'm always way behind everyone else on movies, but I've recently watched and enjoyed:

     1.  The King's Speech

     2.  The Illusionist

     3.  The Queen

     4.  Temple Grandin

     5.  Secretariat

•  My son, RC (the one in college), is home for the summer so I'm back to having two of my three kids in the house.  There's a lot of testosterone floating around my house.

•  Lastly, but most importantly - I want to thank all of you for being so supportive of me as I've worked my way through this recent pain flare-up.  I know I'm horrible about responding to comments, but I read every single one.  You are OFTEN the strength that gets me through my worst days ... 

Thank you!!

© Twenty Four At Heart 

Apologizing For My Worst Post Ever

* I will be hosting a photo giveaway tomorrow, make sure to stop by! *

My guests left on a redeye out of LAX last night.  (Translation:  I was up very, very, late seeing them off.)

I was expecting a well known blogger to be staying with me today, giving me one additional day of playing hostess, but plans changed and I'm now (sadly) famous blogger-less.

With all the guest commotion, I haven't had much writing time so I thought I'd give you a brief update on what I've been doing.

•  Spending way too much time on L.A. freeways.

•  Eating too much, drinking too much, getting too little sleep.

•  Logging several miles of walking/hiking in an effort to counter all of the above.

•  Snapping iPhone photos in my front yard:

•  Drinking a lot of Jasmine Oolong iced tea, which I might be addicted to.

•  Taking a few photos with my "real" camera.

•  Driving baseball carpool.  Baseball carpool involves hours upon hours in the car with smelly teenage baseball players who tell inappropriate jokes and then laugh uproariously.  

•  Helping PR make SIX posters for school.  It took HOURS of my weekend.  (Seriously!)

•  Booking a family trip to Hawaii for this upcoming summer.  Briefcase insisted on the trip, and I was *forced* to go along with his wishes.  I might have added a couple extra days when I made the reservation.  (Shhhhhhhhh!)

•  Omigod Hawaii - that means BATHING SUIT TIME!

•  Noticing funky, unusual, cloud formations in the early mornings.

(Taken while sipping my favorite coffee on my patio.)

Also?

Now that my guests are gone, I'm gearing up to photograph a high school baseball tournament.  There are, I think, seven games in the next nine day period.  I may have to skip photographing a few of them because even the thought of all those hours of photography makes me cringe in pain.  Baseball requires a BIG, HEAVY lens and the games usually run 2-3 hours long..  My monopod has helped my arm a lot, but there are limits to what I can handle pain-wise.

OK, this is the most boring post ever.  I'm sorry - I'm exhausted!

I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully refreshed, and with a great giveaway.

© Twenty Four At Heart 

Knock, Knock??

Are you still there?

Thank you for your patience while I'm completely out of my mind this week busy for a few days.

Today is PR's 16th birthday!

He's the little one on the right.

Except?

He's not little anymore.  In fact, he's bigger than me.  (*sob*) 

My house guests leave Friday afternoon.

By Monday, I will (hopefully) be back to my normal routine.

Yesterday, I took my guests out to lunch in Laguna.

We had beautiful, perfect visiting-from-the-east-coast (never-been-to-California-before) weather!

The above shot was of my car thermometer as I was driving around Laguna.  My guests were in heaven!  (It was in the low 30's back at their home.) 

Here are a few shots from my afternoon.

My car GPS:

I've lived in California my whole life and I STILL think it's awesome to see all the blue showing up on my GPS indicating OCEAN!

Remember the flooding I wrote about back in December?

It washed out a portion of the boardwalk at Laguna Main.  They're rebuilding the damaged section now.  Do you think it's marked clearly enough?  Maybe they need a few more caution signs?  How much do you want to bet someone will still manage to fall off the boardwalk?

I'm in love, love, love, with the above photo.  (I'm crazy about the lens flare.)

Yes, I AM a photo geek - why do you ask?

Here's what my arm looked like yesterday:

Those are Lidoderm pain patches wallpapering my body.  Pretty?

I think it's safe to say, I shouldn't be photographing baseball games.  The lens I need to use is big and heavy.  The games can easily last three hours.  My pain level is currently off the charts after taking, (very poor), photos of just one game.  

I have another game to shoot this afternoon.

What the hell was I thinking with this official team photographer stuff?  Maybe the monopod I ordered will save me.  It should arrive for next week's games.

Will I ever accept just because I want to use my arm, doesn't mean I'm able to use it?

Denial is really an art form, isn't it?  

I seem to have perfected it.

One last Laguna Beach photo, via my phone ......

Ahhh ... it was such a beautiful day yesterday!

* Yes, this post was written under the influence of pain meds.  Did I make sense?

© Twenty Four At Heart 

Campus Insecurity

I had a different topic planned for today, but I need to write about this for my sanity's sake and I know you'll have words of wisdom in return.

After yesterday's post published about my encounter with a frightening man on the beach, I was given a few tips by friends and readers.  For instance, Di informed me where I could buy pepper spray, and I promptly ordered some.  (Why have I never thought of having it in my purse or in my photog backpack before?)  

Sue told me about an awesome self defense course she recommends.  I'm not sure it's something I'd be able to do with my disability, but I forwarded the link to my daughter in Boston because they offer courses there too.  

Personal safety was weighing heavily on my mind yesterday.  

I was thinking about how much more vulnerable I am now, since the car accident.  I was pondering pepper spray and self defense classes.  I was thinking about how I "lose myself" when I'm in photographer mode and need to be more aware of my surroundings.

And then an email from the Dean of my son's college arrived.  The email sent all my concerns about safety through the roof.

If you were reading here last month, you're already aware of the nightmare my college-aged son went through.  May I add, it was also a parental nightmare?

If you're a new reader, I will sum it up like this.  A student, PK, had a psychotic break and was making death threats against my son.  He was also very focused on my son's female friend, Pretty.  After a harrowing week, PK broke into a dorm in an attempt to attack Pretty.  He was tackled before he hurt her, and a fight ensued.  The police were called and PK was taken to a psych ward where he was involuntarily committed.  (There's a lot more to this story, but that's it in a nutshell.)

The last I heard, PK's family had arrived from Brazil and it was my understanding they had taken him out of school on "medical leave" for the remainder of the school year.  I presumed he was back in Brazil with his family. 

Since that time, Pretty broke up with her boyfriend.  She's now dating my son.  (Anyone want soap opera rights?)  I think the whole PK ordeal brought them together as more than friends.

In turn, PK's parents took PK out of the psych ward and didn't take him home to Brazil.  Instead, they sent him to live with his adult brother in New York.  Did they not want to bring him home?  I have no idea if he's getting any type of psychiatric help.  The school can't give us any information due to "privacy concerns."

PK has recently begun emailing my son, Pretty, and one of their friends.  From the emails, it's very clear PK's mental illness has escalated rapidly.

The emails make no sense, are completely delusional, and are incredibly frightening.  In them, PK says he's going to come back to the campus for Pretty because he must "fulfill a prophecy" and marry her.  He hasn't threatened my son (this week) except to make a vague reference saying "he better watch it."  My son has blocked PK from Facebook, but PK knows a lot of students at the college and has seen photos of my son and Pretty arm in arm via other student's Facebook pages.

PK now talks openly about having divine powers and embracing Satanism.  He says his mental illness diagnosis is nothing more than an "evil tactic."  He proclaims he "must marry" Pretty soon and writes Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook) will be his best man at the wedding.  

PK is very focused on the following:  Pretty, my son, Mark Zuckerberg, the "conspiracy" against him, and "the brotherhood" of Satanism.

(By the way, Pretty has never dated PK and his relationship with her is entirely a figment of his illness/hallucinations/imagination.)

I could go on and on, but hopefully that gives you enough to realize how seriously ill PK is.  And yes, I do have sympathy for both PK and his family.  My sympathy, however, is secondary to my concern for the safety of everyone else involved.

I received multiple emails from the Dean of my son's college yesterday.  He, of course, can't release any contact information for PK's family to me.  He did contact PK's family, however, to make them aware of the latest flurry of emails.  (PK has repeatedly violated a "no contact order" from the school.)  PK's family has told the Dean PK will not make contact again.

His family has said that before, by the way.

The college has offered victim counseling for my son and Pretty.  I've urged my son to take them up on the offer of counseling.  He was hesitant initially.  I think he's now considering it.  The stress is weighing on him heavily, in part, because he feels he has to protect Pretty.  He's also trying to be a strong and calm "rock" for her because she's very scared.  (Who wouldn't be?)  I think my son is incredibly worried for her safety and very fearful for his own as well.

PK is over five hundred miles away from them, as of yesterday.  He's also expressing his determination to get back to them.

The scary thing is, we just don't know what PK's REAL situation is.  Does he have access to money?  His family is very wealthy, but does he (personally) have access to money right now?  Is his brother keeping close tabs on him?  Could he travel back to North Carolina where my son and Pretty are?  Could he get his hands on a weapon?  

Or perhaps, his family has taken away all access to cash - limiting his options to go anywhere?

Is he a danger, five hundred miles away - or is he not?

We just don't know and that is part of the fear -

The not knowing.

© Twenty Four At Heart

President's Day Weekend

Today is a holiday in the United States.  I know a lot of you don't live in the U.S., but I'm using it as an excuse to be a little bit lazy.

I had all sorts of interesting things happen over the weekend.  I can't wait to tell you all about them, but I'm going to hold off since I know a lot of people are off playing today and won't be here to visit.

Today, (out of the pure laziness I just mentioned), I'm just going to share a few miscellaneous photos I've taken in the last few days.  

In other words, it's just like any other day around here!

Storm clouds - taken with my iPhone.

(By the way, if you're on Instagram my user name is 24atHeart.  I have almost no followers yet, so pleeeeeeeaaaaaaase be my friend!)

The DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles for you non-U.S. people.)  It's sort of like a torture chamber.  Also, did I mention PR now has his official Driver's LEARNING permit?  (Not to be confused with his actual driver's license.)  I feel OLD!  And yes, the DMV photo was ALSO taken with my iPhone ... I'm having fun playing with my new toy.

 

Tulips blooming - possibly my favorite flower.  At least, they seem to be my favorite flower this week.

Very ominous clouds approaching!  This was taken from my backyard.  On the right hand side of the photo you can see the wrought iron spiral staircase which leads up to our deck.

The love note I left for Briefcase.  

Don't get me wrong, I've cleaned up a lot of dog barf over the years.  In this case, Briefcase let our golden retriever eat something he shouldn't have so I let him be in charge of clean-up duties.  I'm a loving wife like that!

The snow is a result of the ominous clouds I showed you in a previous photo.

We've had all sorts of craziness with our weather the last few days.  The above photo is of "my" mountain as seen from our backyard on Sunday morning.  I get so excited when our mountains get snow.  They're at a much lower elevation than the Los Angeles (San Gabriel) mountains so it doesn't happen very often.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Dancing In The Moonlight

I've recently realized I have almost no photos of my life growing up.  I'm sure a few photos must have been taken ... but where are they now?

It's as if I didn't exist until I reached my twenties.  And then, of course, once I hit 24 I became camera shy.

My son's girlfriend invited him to her high school's Winter Formal last weekend.  They had a great time.  I was honored to be selected as their photographer for the event.  (And yes, I did rouse myself out of my sick bed to perform photographer duties.)

Have I mentioned I love photography?

I don't share photos of my kids here, but I think the following photos all protect my son's privacy.  (You know, so he can post all the ones showing his face on Facebook instead of me posting them on Twenty Four At Heart.)  If you were following me on Twitter last weekend, you may have already seen some of these.

My son, of course, is the one who opted to wear sneakers with his tux.  He can't help himself, he inherited the casual gene from me.

Waiting for their friends to arrive for a photo session.

The flowers:

The wrist corsage, and my son's boutineer, were made by the same florist so they matched perfectly.  Very pretty!

I wish I had photos from the dances I went to as a teen.

At least I know my son will have these to look back on.

© Twenty Four At Heart

A Campus Threat, Part II

If you missed out on the first part of this saga, you can get caught up by reading this post. 

There have been more developments in the situation my college-aged son is facing with a student I've dubbed PK (Problem Kid).  In yesterday's post, I conveyed my frustration with university administrators who seem slow to respond to the threats made by a mentally unstable student against my son.  The Dean assured me the student, in his opinion, would not carry though on his threats and was just "seeking attention."

WRONG Dean!

On Wednesday night PK's erratic behavior became even more bizarre.  He began rambling about imaginary conversations he was having with Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook).  PK was, literally, hearing voices and completely delusional.

Later that evening, PK's roommate returned from studying at the library to find he was locked out of his own room.  When he knocked, PK refused to open the door and kept calling out, "Go away, xxxx."  (xxxx being my son's name).  The roommate said, repeatedly, "PK it's me, not xxxx - open the door!"  PK refused.  An RA was called to unlock the door so the roommate could sleep in his own room.

Why the students didn't call for help at that point, is beyond me.  I suppose they were confused and didn't know how to handle the situation.  If you've never seen mental illness up close before, I suppose it's very confusing.  (Let's be honest, it's very confusing and scary even when you do understand what's happening.)

At 3 a.m. on Thursday morning PK decided he needed to see Pretty, my son's friend.  He began texting her nonstop.  Her boyfriend was with her, in town, visiting.  Pretty's boyfriend texted PK and told him to stop communicating with Pretty NOW. 

PK didn't like that at all.

PK headed over to Pretty's dorm.  PK got into the dorm.  (No one is sure HOW yet, because it's locked after midnight.)  He sent a text to Pretty stating he was in the dorm and on his way to her room.  Pretty's boyfriend went to head him off before he got to Pretty.  A fight occurred.  Campus police were called.

The campus police, of course, were completely up to date on PK as a potential danger.  They commented to Pretty and her boyfriend they didn't understand why the school was moving so slowly on the PK "situation."

PK is now being held off campus as an in-patient in a psych ward.  His family is flying in from Brazil and will be arriving today.  They'll be meeting with school officials this afternoon.

The Dean tells me they're meeting to discuss "options."

Options?

In my opinion, the only option at this point is for PK to leave the university permanently and get the mental health care he needs.  He's only 20 years old.  I sincerely hope, with anti-psychotic medication and a lot of therapy, he's able to go on to lead a healthy, productive, SAFE life.  I don't think it's a good idea for him to be in the United States when his entire family is in South America.  I think he should go home, be treated, and receive the support of his family.

By the way, my heart does break for PK and his family.  I can't imagine what they're going through.  But, the safety of everyone else must come first.

I sent an email to the Dean which said:

Dean XXXXXX,
xxxx contacted me this morning with details of last night.
Clearly, PK presents an imminent threat of violence to my son and others.
My understanding is that he has been temporarily removed from campus.

I'm requesting to be notified if he is allowed back on campus.
We will need to remove our son from [University] either temporarily or permanently if he is permitted back.

The Dean has informed me that my son, Pretty, and a few other targeted individuals have been offered post-traumatic counseling if they wish to accept it.  (I'm wondering if they would offer this service to the parents of the targeted kids also?)  

Pretty and my son were the two primary "targets" for PK.

In a convoluted way, the attempted attack on Pretty is a good thing.  PK is somewhere where he can't hurt anyone now.  He is, hopefully, getting the treatment he needs.

I'm still amazed and frustrated at how slowly the university addressed this situation.  Apparently, the wheels of campus bureaucracy are not equipped to handle a campus threat swiftly unless there's a gun present.  (Or perhaps, at all until a violent act is committed?)

I'm hoping we hear soon that PK has returned to his home in South America.  I know he's in a secure facility right now, but honestly ...

I don't think I'll feel one hundred percent better until I know he's far away from my son.

© Twenty Four At Heart

A Parent's Perspective on a Campus Threat

If you've read my recent tweets and/or posts you know our family has been going through a nightmare situation.  A mentally unstable student at my son's college has been sending him email and text threats, including death threats.  It's a situation you never expect to find your kid in when you send him off to college.

My son is attending college on the other side of the country, over 3,000 miles from home, which makes everything about this situation more difficult.

Here's a little background:

•  My son and Problem Kid (PK) live on different floors in the same dorm.

•  PK is a foreign student from South America.  He has no family here, or nearby.

•  The threats to my son were unprovoked.  That's not just my (mom) perspective, but also what's been determined by the university.

•  PK has a history of psychiatric problems and erratic behavior.

•  PK has a substance abuse problem.

•  PK is currently on probation for threats he made against a teacher and administrator last semester.  This is not the first time he's exhibited this type of behavior.

•  My son has been staying off campus, with a friend, in an effort to stay safe.

•  PK posted a sign on his door that said "Don't RIP xxxx"  (xxxx being my son's name).  I wanted to vomit when I heard.

•  Shortly after posting the sign, PK had a Bible delivered to my son.  I got chills when I found out.  He's also alternated threatening my son with violence and inviting him to church.  Clearly, PK needs help NOW.

•  As a result of his recent behavior, PK is being ostracized by everyone in the dorm.  I don't imagine feeling isolated helps his mental state.

•  All emails/text messages, etc. from PK to my son have been forwarded to the Dean.

•  The Dean has informed university staff, teachers, and police of a potential threat/problem with PK.

•  It took three phone calls and two days for me to hear back from the Dean at the school.  For that, I give the school a big fat "F" on their parent report card.  (In fact, I didn't get a call back until I left a message mentioning we were considering transfering our son to another university.)

The Dean informed me they're working on moving PK to different housing on campus within the next 24 hours.  It didn't happen by last night as expected.  It will hopefully happen today.  I agree with the Dean, moving PK is an important first step.  It would be nice if my son could get back to his own room/environment as quickly as possible.  

The Dean also told me PK is being evaluated by both a substance abuse counselor and a psychiatrist over the course of the next two days.

The psychiatrist evaluating PK this week is the same one who evaluated him in prior incidents.  Maybe he/she will do a better job this time?

Once the substance abuse counselor and the psychiatrist have written their reports, the university "Threat Assessment Team" will make a decision as to what, if anything, the university is going to do about PK.

In the meantime, PK has been given a "No Contact Order" from the university which states he's not allowed to have any contact, whatsoever, with my son.  He didn't follow police orders over the weekend to stay away from him, leaving me unconvinced he'll follow the No Contact Order.

My son has been given the phone number of campus police to call "if anything happens."  

Somehow, that isn't very comforting.

The Dean told me he doesn't *think* PK will actually carry out his violent threats, but admitted he's not a psychiatrist and "no one can be sure."  He told me they're taking the threats "very seriously," but from my perspective - they're not taking them seriously enough.  The Dean has dealt with PK before due to prior incidents and said he believes PK "thrives on drama" and "creates situations so he can get a lot of attention."

He seems to believe that translates into violent threats but not violent action.

However, if PK wants drama and a lot of attention, wouldn't a violent act on campus give PK exactly what he wants?

How can anyone assume violent threats won't be backed up with violence?

Basically, it comes down to this:

PK is mentally unstable (everyone seems in agreement on this point) and has made threats to teachers, administrators and students on campus over the course of this school year.  The university feels the best way to deal with this is to keep evaluating him every time a new incident comes up.  The university doesn't, at this time, appear to be considering removing him from campus.  Apparently they want to wait until he actually physically harms/kills someone to take action.

Do they need PK's tuition that badly?  

I ask that question in all seriousness because I think tuition money for the university is one of the factors here.

Color me cynical.

I was surprised to hear the Dean had not yet talked to PK's parents.  He said he planned to call them within 24 hours.  "I've talked to them before, over other incidents" he said nonchalantly.

???

One thing is clear, the university is incapable of moving quickly.  Also, the university appears unable to act decisively until/unless someone is physically hurt or PK has a gun in his hands.

I've told my son he can come home until this is resolved.  I've told him he has our support if he wants to transfer to another school.  He's afraid for his safety, but at the same time he wants to stay where he is.  He doesn't want to "lose" a semester by quitting or transferring.  His friends and social life are there; he doesn't want to give up the college life and good friends he's established.

Shouldn't the student making threats to others be removed?  Isn't it totally backwards that the student receiving the threats must consider leaving for his own personal safety?

What's wrong with our universities?

And yes, I would love to hear from you if you work for a college and can shed some light on this for me.

My son told me he's concerned PK will come back and attack him at some point in the future.  "What happens if I think this has been resolved, and he comes after me a few months down the road?"

I think that's a very good question for the Dean, don't you?

* You can read what happened next in this saga by clicking here. *

© Twenty Four At Heart

When A Threat Is Made

There are certain calls a parent never wants to get.

A few days ago, I got a call from one of my college-aged kids.  It left me feeling physically ill and sent my world into a tailspin.

In an effort to be a little bit vague (in the name of safety), I'm going to refer to this child simply as "Kiddo" for today's post.  I'm also going to refer to Kiddo as a "he" for the sake of this writing - but that doesn't necessarily mean Kiddo is a he.

Kiddo called with a shaking voice and fear in his every word.  Kiddo is receiving threats (some of them death threats) from another student at his campus.  Let's call the kid who is doing the threatening Scary.  

Scary was almost kicked out of school last semester.  Scary was caught cheating and when he was caught he "lost it."  He made threats against a teacher and administrator, and sent them emails mentioning Hitler, destruction, and other ramblings which made no sense. 

Scary is mentally unstable, violent, and also very, very angry.  

The school required Scary to see a school psychiatrist a few times, but then ended up allowing Scary to stay on campus as a student.  I've been told Scary is a master at smooth talking his way out of any situation.

Scary has developed a crush on a girl I'll call Pretty.  Pretty has a boyfriend and has no interest in Scary.  In fact, Pretty finds Scary ... downright scary.  Pretty is also a good friend of Kiddo's.  

A few days ago Scary began sending threatening, text messages and emails to both Pretty and Kiddo.  Scary lives very close to Kiddo so Scary is hard to avoid.  Since they live close to each other, Kiddo is taking the brunt of Scary's anger and violent threats.  Pretty lives further away and is in semi-hiding.

The campus police were notified of Scary's threats and went to talk to him.  Scary stayed calm, turned on the charm, and convinced the officers there was some type of misunderstanding.  He was warned to stay away from Pretty and Kiddo.  The police left and Scary promptly threatened Kiddo with violence again.  

The new threat, after the police left, was promptly reported to campus police and they returned.  The police informed Scary they have a "three strike" policy.  They also told him threats are a serious matter, and that he would be "taken in" if there was another incident directed at Pretty or Kiddo.  

Since then, Scary has sent text and email messages to students in Kiddo's group of friends.  The messages are threatening, rambling, and a bit incoherent.  As of this writing, he hasn't sent a message to Kiddo during the last 12 hours.  He has, however, referred to plans for violence against Kiddo when rambling to other people.

Kiddo is afraid of Scary and he's not the only one.  Pretty and a lot of their friends are also afraid of him.

It was a three day, holiday, weekend here when most of this was going on.  That means the school offices were closed and we were unable to get in touch with campus administrators.

I have instructed Kiddo:

•  Not to be alone for a minute until this is resolved.

•  To keep doors/windows locked at all times.

•  To forward all threatening emails and text messages to the dean of the university.

•  To do everything possible to avoid running into Scary on campus.

•  To try and make arrangements to stay with a friend for a few days.

Briefcase and/or I will be calling the dean to discuss the matter this morning.  I'm afraid of what Scary will do in anger if he gets expelled.  I'm afraid of what Scary will do if he's allowed to remain on campus.  I've seen the text messages and emails from Scary and they make no sense.  It's clear Scary has a serious mental health issue.

I'd feel so much better if this was just about an argument between rational thinking students, but it's not.  I'd feel so much better if this wasn't taking place 3,000 miles away from me, but it is.

The most frustrating thing is waiting for the wheels to turn so this matter can be resolved.  Expulsion, suspension, restraining orders - whatever, all take time.  Also, Scary has already ignored police warnings to stay away from Kiddo.  I have no faith that he'll take a restraining order, or action by campus administrators, seriously.   

I'm trying to stay calm and not to overreact, but it's almost impossible.

Someone is making violent threats against my child.

An angry, mentally unstable, person is targeting my kid.

© Twenty Four At Heart 

When The Bedbugs BITE!

2011?

You aren't off to a very good start.

My son came home from college for the holidays.

Apparently, he brought bedbugs home with him.

Like most American college campuses, his school has been fighting against them valiantly.  As parents, we've gotten notifications of bedbug infestations in the dorms and steps the university has taken to eradicate them.  (By the way, those steps include bedbug sniffing dogs, temporarily closing dorms while they chemically and heat treat them, etc., etc.)

Bedbugs are a major problem on most college campuses right now.  They've made the cover of Time magazine and been on the national news too.

On Sunday night my son complained of a rash.

I took a look; I thought it looked like a rash too.  He had small red bumps on his leg in no particular pattern.  Because of the college warnings, I checked his sheets "just in case" and saw none of the telltale signs of bedbugs.  (By the way, the sheets in our house are changed weekly and always washed in hot water and dried in a hot dryer.)

On Monday my son went to a local doctor and was given a prescription for a cortisone cream.  The doctor did NOT think my son had been bitten by bedbugs; we asked.  (Apparently bedbug bites are most often in a pattern, but my son's were random.  Maybe he got bit by a confused bedbug?)

On Monday night my OTHER, younger, son woke up itchy.

On Tuesday my college-aged son said, "I got bit on the ass last night!"

All of this led up to yesterday afternoon, when I pulled out a giant magnifying glass to examine a couple small spots I saw on his mattress pad, and found - oh shit!  Bedbugs in my son's bed!

Or as I now call them, The Little Fuckers.

(By the way, we found no evidence of bedbugs in my younger son's bedroom.  However, since he said he felt itchy we're assuming at least one has found its way to his room.  The babies are translucent and the size of a grain of salt - easy to miss!)

I'm horrified, of course.

Horrified!

I don't have a single bite on me, but I can't stop my imaginary itches.

I'm also overwhelmed at what needs to be done to get them out of my house.  Don't The Little Fuckers know I only have one working arm?  Don't they know my husband is out of town and why, oh why, is he always out of town for every home crisis?  (Speaking of, I always figured if we got bedbugs we'd get them from one of Briefcase's many business trips - isn't life ironic?)

Let me tell you what I've done so far.

First, I freaked out.  (!!!)

Next, I told my son (who feels TERRIBLE) he did nothing wrong and it isn't his fault.  He had no idea a bedbug or two sneaked home in his suitcase.  It breaks my heart to see him feeling so badly about something he had no control over.  I did tell him I would need his help though, because now we have a lot of work to do and I only have one arm to do it with.

I also told Twitter about my discovery, because my friends on Twitter are VERY helpful and have a wealth of knowledge.  While Twitter advice was coming in, I called two pest control companies - both of which will be showing up today to do a home inspection and give me an estimate on their services.  I've been warned it will cost thousands of dollars and possibly involve a total fumigation/tenting of our house.

From my phone conversations with the two pest companies, I'm already finding one of them more helpful than the other.  Nonetheless, I'm going to get (at least) two opinions and two estimates on eradicating the The Little Fuckers from my house.

Next, I washed all of my son's bedding in hot water and put it in our dryer, on the hottest setting, for an hour.  While the laundry was going, I ran to Target and bought mattress covers specifically made for allergy protection.  (These covers provide excellent protection against bedbugs.)

I vacuumed my son's mattress and then pulled out my home steamer and steamed it.  Yes, I do have a home steamer although I've rarely used it since my car accident.  It takes arm power to operate it, but I have my son here to help.

High temperatures and steam are supposed to kill bedbugs.  If any of them survived the steaming, they will be "trapped" in the mattress by the new mattress cover and eventually die.

Or so I've been told.

It was right about then, a Twitter friend informed me she had battled bedbugs in her home for one year before getting rid of them.  She told me what she did right and what she did wrong in the process.  She also informed me I needed to put the same type of mattress cover I had just bought on all the box springs in the house also.  (What I learned most from her?  Treat the entire house as if it has bedbugs even if they're only in one room!)

Back to Target!

I spent over $1,000 yesterday and I'm just beginning this ordeal process.  I will probably end up having to replace a lot more bedding.  I've, so far, washed all the sheets and mattress pads in both of my boys' rooms.  I've also enclosed both of their mattresses and box springs with the protective covers.  Today I'll do the same in my daughter's room, and then my room.  (Neither of us have gotten any bites or seen any signs of bedbugs so I started with the boys first.)

I'm living in fear of the estimates from the pest control companies.

In the meantime, everyone should know the following:

•  There's a pandemic of bedbugs right now.  

•  Bedbugs have nothing to do with the cleanliness of your home or you personally.

•  There's no reason to feel "ashamed" of The Little Fuckers - they're not caused by anything you did. 

•  Bedbugs don't carry diseases.

•  Bedbugs don't live on people.  You don't need to avoid me, or my family members, because you won't catch them from us.  They aren't cooties and they aren't lice ... they like to live in beds, thus BEDBUGS.  I promise not to invite you for a sleepover until I'm 500% sure they're no longer in my home.  (As it appears right now, they've been contained to one or two rooms of my house.)

•  Bedbugs like to travel from bed to bed in suitcases.  You shouldn't ever rest your suitcase on a hotel bed.  Use the little luggage stand the hotel gives you.

•  Bedbugs can live for a YEAR without feeding.  That means if one sneaks into your luggage it may just stay there, quite content, for months until it decides to make its move.

•  I wish someone had told me, and so I'm telling you ....   Everyone, and I do mean everyone, should enclose their pillows, mattresses and box springs in allergy protective coverings.  This is especially true if anyone in your family travels AND/OR if you ever have house guests.  If you can't afford to do every bed in your house at once, do it gradually - but do it!

I feel (very!!!) stressed out.  I feel overwhelmed with the amount of work I need to do and the unexpected, astronomical, costs involved.   

A part of me wants to say, "Universe, I give up.  I'm waving a white flag - you win."  

A part of me also wants to run away from home forever, find a corner to hide in, and collapse into tears.

But I also feel angry.

I've been through way too much these past few years, and I'm pissed.

The Little Fuckers have shown up in the wrong house.  I'm going after them with a vengeance and I will win this battle ...

And quickly, too. 

© Twenty Four At Heart

Twas A Week Before Christmas

OK, so there's really only five days, not a week, left before Christmas.

It's raining here - and not just a little bit.  The meteorologists refer to our current weather condition as a "Pineapple Express."  That means, all the tropical moisture that is supposed to stay in the tropics is here instead, dumping copious amounts of rain.

On ME.

Thanks a lot, Hawaii.

Orange County (vs. Los Angeles or San Diego) is getting the worst of this particular set of storms.  Since I live by the mountains, I'm getting even more rain at my house than the rest of Orange County.

* Puddle and raindrops in my (very flooded) backyard *

I've got family in town and quite honestly, I don't know what to DO when it rains.

Rainy weather, when it lasts for more than a day, mystifies me.

What do you cold weather people do all day?

I'm restless and stir crazy.

I cook, I bake, I do some gift wrapping.

I get up and pace a lot.

I read for a few minutes and then feel a need to stretch my legs.

I pace again.

I look out the window and wonder at the fact there's still rain falling from the sky.

I grumble about my arm hurting more in the rain.

I do some arm stretches and exercises and then I sigh.

I play Angry Birds until it makes me angry.

I take a lot of bokeh photos because I'm surrounded by holiday lights, so why not?

(Some of you have asked for a post explaining how to create pretty bokeh and I'll try to have that for you soon!)

I pour a glass of wine, start a fire in the fireplace (even though it really isn't cold because it's a tropical storm), and stare at my computer screen while thinking I should be writing.

I consider opening a Netflix account but I realize I rarely sit still long enough to watch a movie except, once every several years, when a Pineapple Express comes to town.

I scratch the dog's ears.  She loves me for it and wags her tail.

I consider running out to pick up the last few stocking stuffers I need, but veto the idea because it's raining.

Orange County people hunker down in the rain.  We don't go out in it for God's sake.  Not unless we absolutely have to.  

We might get wet or something.

Also?

People here do not know how to drive in the rain.

You're taking your life in your hands if you get on the roads.  Literally.

On Saturday I took my youngest son to the mall to shop for his girlfriend.  We saw three car accidents on the way.  Once we got there we barely survived rabid OC women doing last minute shopping.  My son looked around in astonished fear as women pushed, and shoved, and elbowed him as they frantically bought everything in their path.

At one point, we sat down on a bench.

"Just watch them," I said.

And he did.

Nipped, and tucked, and frenzied in their quest for the perfect holiday gift, crazed shoppers scurried around us.

"They're ridiculous," I explained.

"Yes," he nodded.

And then we left and came home.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Aaaand The Holiday Season Begins

I've been cooking a lot the last few days in preparation for Thanksgiving.

My arm isn't in very good shape, three weeks out from Surgery #8, so I'm trying to make a few dishes ahead of time.  It will make Thursday a little easier on my arm.  (And easier on Briefcase, who isn't very comfortable in the kitchen, but IS willing to help out when asked.)

Yesterday, I made The World's Best Cranberries.

Today I'll be baking cornbread.

My oldest son is home from college this week.  When he's home, our house is also filled with all of his friends because our house has always been the "hang-out" house.  I love having a house filled with a lot of people, and my younger son loves having his older brother home.  

Our home is noisy and chaotic, but filled with laughter too.

For the first time ever, my daughter won't be here for Thanksgiving.  (She's coming home for three weeks at Christmas and it just didn't make sense with her class/work schedule to fly across country for Thanksgiving too.)  I'll be sad not to have her here, but she's been calling so often for recipe and cooking advice, it's ALMOST like she's here.

Here's what's on the menu at our house for Thanksgiving this year:

Turkey (fresh/free range/antibiotic free)

Oyster Stuffing  (the recipe dates back generations in my family and I'd be kicked out of the family if I made any other type!)

The World's Best Cranberries  (I'm very humble about this recipe, can you tell?)

Mashed Potatoes

Giblet Gravy

Green Beans Amandine

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage  (This is the German side of my family making an appearance on the plate.)

Sweet Potato Bake  I vary the ingredients of this recipe every year, depending on my mood the day I'm making it.  

Cornbread

Pumpkin Cheesecake (I don't like traditional pumpkin pie - gasp!)

Also, there's always a lot of wine involved on Thanksgiving.

Believe it or not, I'm actually cutting back on the number of dishes I'm serving this year.  Both of my boys, and Briefcase, have committed to helping with chopping/lifting/arm work in the kitchen.

Will you be cooking tomorrow?

What's your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

© Twenty Four At Heart

Waiting

Last Thursday, my chocolate lab seemed to be missing my son much more than usual when he took off for school.  Almost from the time he left, she was looking for him to return.  

This photo was snapped with four more hours to go until my son's expected arrival.

© Twenty Four At Heart

An Alternate Reality?

Since I began writing Twenty Four At Heart, I've had readers occasionally ask me what my life was like before the car accident, how it was changed by the accident, and/or what positives have come about in my life in the aftermath.

I haven't spent much time addressing my old life, or the life I thought I was going to have before the accident disrupted everything.  I haven't, because I can't change reality and for a long time it was just too difficult to think about.  Also, it almost seems to give The Accident more power than I'm willing to, by writing about the what ifs.

I got this comment a few days ago:

I'm glad you are starting to feel better -- and I hope this surgery brings better things. It sounds hopeful! I don't get much sense of your life before the accident, other than that you were an active, busy mother (and not in constant pain). Do you ever think about the person you might have been now if you hadn't had the accident? I get the feeling that in some ways it has not been all loss, despite the pain. For instance, do you think you would have become a writer and photographer? (Forgive me if you were already both -- I only "know" you post accident.  Duchess Omnium

It isn't the first time I've been asked these questions, but for some reason they are nagging at me now, wanting my attention.

My life before the accident was extremely busy.  I never seemed to have a free moment.  I'm married to a man who travels extensively for business.  Although I used to be a manager for a Fortune 500 company (yes - really!), dual high pressure careers were too difficult for us once we were onto our second and third child.  Let's be honest, one high-pressure career in a house is hard enough to maintain.

I was burnt out on the corporate world, hotels and airports.  I was ready for a change.

I embraced being a stay at home mom.  

Because Briefcase is gone so much, my life was more similar to that of a single mom of three than to that of most married, stay at home, mothers.  I did the mom stuff, I did the dad stuff, I did all the household stuff, paid the bills, maintained our lives.  We entertained a lot.

I had no help, paid or otherwise.  We have no family close by.  I did everything for everyone, all the time and rarely took time for myself.  I didn't mind - I liked being busy.

I loved the beach then, as I do now.

I loved photography too, and spent a lot more time with a camera than most people probably ever do.

I loved gardening and my house and yard were maintained beautifully.  I took a lot of pride in my planters and gardens and planted pots.  Our patio and deck overflowed with hanging baskets and pots of beautiful flowers.

Sometimes I would "work" for pay too.  I took on odd jobs, here and there, depending on my time and interests.

The plan was always for me to go back to a full-time career.

I'd be working, at this point, if the car accident hadn't happened.  Our family was counting on the income to offset college expenses, etc.  It's very expensive to raise three kids.  It's very expensive to live in Orange County.  

But then, there was the accident.

Life changed, literally, in the instant it took for one man to accelerate through a stop sign.

It has been four and a half years since that day.

Eight surgeries.

Thousands of hours spent at physical therapy.

Hundreds of doctors appointments.

Millions of tears.

Entertaining is rare now and friends have disappeared.  Seriously, if you ever want to watch your friends disappear - go through multiple surgeries and watch them run.

There's been no time to think about a career.

My days have been spent recovering, putting the pieces back together - trying to hold the lives of my family together while my husband continues to travel nonstop.

Who would hire me now?

I have one working arm and it isn't my dominant arm, which makes the simplest tasks slow and difficult.  I can type, but only with a laptop on my lap.  I wouldn't be able to work on a desktop computer or at a desk.

What am I qualified to do with only my left, uncoordinated, arm?

Nothing.

Or so it feels ....

At home, not one flower has been planted since the accident.

My planters and garden and pots remain empty and disheveled.

Every time I look at them I despair.

"You can only do what you can do," I whisper to myself in consolation.

But it's not enough, of course.

The feelings of failure and frustration haunt me. 

Some days are worse than others.

Some days the waves of pain and frustration overcome me and I feel like I'm sinking so far down, I may never rise to the top again.  Other days, I notice some small token of progress - an improvement that makes me hold my head high and feel triumphant.

What is my life like now?

I love my life.  

Of course, I don't love the situation with my damaged body and the pain I live in.  I don't love the disability and all the frustrations that come with it.

But I love what I'm doing with my, very imperfect, life.

My biggest post-car accident victory has been my return to photography.  For three and a half years I couldn't lift a camera.  Now I can, albeit sparingly.  I've had to re-learn photography-related things I forgot.  I've had to make adjustments and modifications so I can hold a camera with a near useless dominant arm.  I have a long ways to go, but oh - I have come so far!

Do I love photography now more than ever?

Yes, I do.

Losing photography made me realize just how much it means to me.  For years, I stared longingly at everyone who passed me with a camera in their hands.  The day I bought my DSLR camera, three and a half years after the accident, I wasn't even sure I'd be able to hold it. 

But I was determined to.

Photography brings me so much joy.  It also brings the challenge of wanting to constantly improve and learn more.  I like being challenged.  I thrive on challenging myself.  It also provides me with a creative outlet I crave.  Photography is my oxygen and I'm not exaggerating, in the least, when I say that.

On the other hand, I have always been a writer and I didn't lose my ability to inscribe as a result of the accident.

As a child I wrote, as a teen I wrote, and as an adult I wrote.

Some of my adult writing was public relations related, and some it consisted of boring things like press releases.  However, communicating through the written word has always been a part of who I am, and I hope it always will be.  

I'm very shy in person.  Writing is liberating for me.

I enjoy the writing I do now more than any other writing I've done in my adult life.  I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to combine both my writing and photography.  

Yes, the writing I do is different now, but I enjoy it more.

Now, most of the time, I write less formally than I did in my pre-car accident life.

Now, I write to you.

What could be better than that?

© Twenty Four At Heart

The Weekend

I just KNOW you're dying to hear about my weekend.

My life is SO exciting like that!

Remember last Friday when I said how badly I needed rest and recuperation time?

Well, that didn't happen.

In fact, the whole weekend ended up being a blur of ... blurriness.

My son and his girlfriend went to their homecoming football game Friday night.  

The next day ...

They went to their homecoming dance.

First love is very cute.

From a parent's perspective all the activities meant nonstop a lot of driving around all weekend.  There was also the standard parent photo opp which seemed to go on for hours.

The next day I got an email from some of the kids saying, "You are a phenominal [sic] photographer!"

It made me smile.

And then, there was the After Party.

(For those of you who are new to life with teens, the After Party is what happens after the big dances.)  

The After Party was at our house.

I'm not quite sure how I got suckered into the After Party, but I guess I should be glad my son and his friends were at our house where I could keep an eye on them.

It was rainy and drizzly on Sunday. 

I ended up spending the afternoon hosting a teen birthday party for someone who is not my teen.  No, I didn't volunteer to host it ... people just started showing up and it turned into another teen party.

Rest?

Recuperation?

Not a chance ...

But I did make soup while my house was filled with chaos and teenagers.

I was excited, because it was an excuse to use my immersion blender.  I haven't needed to use it for a few months.  

(We all know how much I like vibrating, whirling toys, right?)

I made butternut squash soup with just a touch of cayenne in it to add a little kick.

Except ... 

I may have accidentally spilled a bottle of little extra cayenne in by accident.

Oops!

Pass the water please ...

Also?

Always measure out your spices over the sink instead of over the pot in case you spill.

Your welcome!

The End ....

© Twenty Four At Heart

The Golden Hour

Those of us who are West Coast Beach Rats, refer to the hour before sunset as The Golden Hour at the beach.  

Given the right weather conditions, the beach just GLOWS.

I was thrilled to capture a glimpse of it with nothing but my pocket camera on me.

(PR and Nike playing paddle ball ... a long standing tradition they've had since PR was just a toddler.)

© Twenty Four At Heart

Family Portrait

I've mentioned before my family doesn't want me sharing photos of them on the Internet.  Never mind, they are all on Facebook sharing way more info than I would ever divulge about them here on 24.  I watch other bloggers share photo after photo of their family and, I admit, I sometimes want to do the same.

Nonetheless, I respect their wishes and I always ask permission before sharing any photos or information they might object to.  

When I first began blogging, I had a few glitches.  

I really didn't think anyone was reading anything I wrote.  I wrote only under the pen name of 24 so I didn't think anyone would ever really know who I was, etc., etc.  But ... somewhere along the way people began actually reading my words.  Also, there's the fact that this "column" is now linked to by our local paper (with a daily readership of 600 - 900,000.)  My anonymity went out the window a long time ago.

I even get the occasional troll or just plain off-his-rocker freak stopping by.

So?

I try to be careful.  I don't put many photos up of family members, I don't mention what schools my kids are at, blah, blah, blah.  

When four out of five of us were together in North Carolina a week ago, someone snapped an awesome family photo.  My daughter, TR, wasn't with us but it was easy enough to Photoshop her into the picture and pretend she had been with us the entire time.  I've blocked out the college names on our sweatshirts, but I couldn't resist sharing:

Aren't they charming?

They make me so proud!

© Twenty Four At Heart

What I Learned While In The South

I spent the last few days in the south visiting my son's college.  It was a whirlwind, extremely action-packed, trip.  I was even asked to be Frat Photographer for a busy weekend of fraternity events.  Who am I to say no to a bunch of Frat Boys decked out in collared shirts and ties?

As background, I've spent very little time in the south so everything there is a novelty to me.  In addition, when I was in college, I went to UC Santa Barbara.  My ex-campus sits on a cliff overlooking the ocean - a completely different type of campus life than my son's.  (As an example, UCSB has no football team, but they do have an exceptional surf team.)  The Greek life at UCSB was almost non-existent when I was a student there.  Fraternity life is, therefore, not something I've been exposed to.

The last few days, along with photographing campus and fraternity life, I was also busy experiencing as much of my surroundings as possible.  Here are some of my random thoughts and observations (some of them were jotted down as I had them):

•  Sitting next to a sick, sneezing, person is inevitable on an all day flight.  And yes, you will come home with a cold as a result.

•  I like collard greens, but do they always have so much salt on them?

•  I do NOT like grits - at all.

•  If you take a few college boys out to dinner you will be astonished at the amount of food consumed.

•  Four boys - TEN baskets of homemade rolls before dinner!

•  I have not outgrown beer pong, but I still don't care for beer bongs.

•  People in the south are SO nice!

•  I think I would have a lot more women friends if I lived in the South vs. The OC.

•  Frat boys are cute, and - very polite ... at least, to me.

•  I prefer my tea unsweetened.  I'm sorry.

•  Tailgating at college football games is a lot of fun.

•  Frat houses are disgusting even when they've been "cleaned up" just for your arrival.

•  There aren't a lot of botoxed and plastic people in the south.  People are so real.  So refreshing!

•  When a fraternity buys wine as a special treat, in anticipation of your arrival, you will force yourself to choke it down even though it's being poured from a bag.

•  With enough time, you won't care what the wine tastes like.

•  Your head WILL hurt from drinking bagged wine the next day.

•  Never use a bathroom in a fraternity.  (Not even the woman's bathroom.)

•  Hearing frat boys talk about their love/sex lives will make you giggle and giggle, because - really?

•  My body is not used to fried food and it makes me feel sick.

•  There are some damn smart people in college these days.  I was impressed!

•  Your toes will freeze at night if you wear flip flops to the football game.

•  You will be the only one in the entire, gigantic, football stadium wearing flip-flops.

•  College girls are wearing lots of short dresses/skirts and cowboy boots in the south.

•  College girls are AFTER the frat boys!

•  I could live on biscuits every morning for breakfast.  Yum!

•  Trees, trees, and MORE trees!  Beautiful!

•  I think it's "freezing" when the weather is in the 60's, but everyone there told me it was an amazing, warm, fall day.

•  I like the feeling of "brisk" evenings.  It feels very fall-ish.

•  Trees are beginning to "turn" in the south.  I wish I could come back in a couple weeks and see them at their prettiest.

•  Frat parties?  Are so ... frat party-ish.  And yes, I really DID attend one for several hours!

•  For the return flight home I was seated by an ahem-er.  Ahem!  Ahem!  Four and a half hours of ahem-ing!  It was BRUTAL.

•  On the other side of me, a man took his shoes off for the entire flight.  His feet stunk!

•  I hate flying!

•  It never gets easier to say good-bye to your kids. 

•  * Sob! *

© Twenty Four At Heart

An Emptier Nest

* I've been out of state for a few days and just returned last night.  In fact, I might still be sleeping as you read this.  I pre-scheduled this post to publish today.  It's a "guest post" I wrote for another website recently.  An online magazine contacted me after seeing this post and asked if I could write an "empty nest" post for their use.  I did.  It published last week, and today it's here for you. *

The other day I found myself alone in my house.

Alone.

I don't think I've been alone in over twenty one years.

There was quiet.  There was silence.  There was nothing but the soft sound of wind chimes singing outdoors.

I felt a moment of glee.  

"Finally!"

I felt a moment of despair.

"They're gone!"

In fact, I also felt a little puzzled.

"What do I do now?"

I suppose I'm an "emptier nester" now that two of my three children have left for college.  The nest isn't completely empty yet, but considering the busy schedule of my youngest teen - it almost is.

I thought back to the many busy, hectic, days when I had dreamed of just one moment to myself.  I remembered back to the "baby years" when an opportunity to take a shower, or use the bathroom with the door closed, was a triumph in my day.  There were years, and years, of kid activities filling my every waking moment.

I also reminisced about a house filled with laughter and noise.  Chubby fingers clinged to me and baby giggles filled the house.  Siblings argued, neighbor children seemed to be ringing the doorbell incessantly, and pancakes were made into shapes like dinosaurs.

"What is it I wanted to do?  What is it I never had time for?" I questioned.

My cell phone rang then.  It was a friend I hadn't seen in over a year.  She wanted to set up a time together.  "I have time!" I thought, excitedly.  We scheduled a date for the following week.  I smiled to myself, realizing I am at the verge of something new.  There will be time for my friends, there will be time for my interests and my activities.

I sat down and began The List.  

The List went on and on and, in fact - I will probably add on to The List endlessly in the future.

Written on The List are books I've been meaning to read.  

Written on The List are places I've been meaning to visit, or re-visit, for a long time.  Friends I've had little, or no, time for are itemized one by one.  There are exclamation points by some of their names ... I am THAT excited to reconnect with them.

There are neglected hobbies recorded too.  There's also an inventory of topics I'm interested in, but have had no time to delve into learning more about.  

"I'll have time for my BRAIN!" I thought, smiling, as I looked at some of the more intellectual pursuits on The List.

"I'll have time for my BODY!" I realized as I re-read some of the more athletic items on The List.

"I'll have time to be CREATIVE again!" I mused as I eyed my neglected moleskin journals and camera gear.

A flood of ideas began rushing to my mind.

"Concerts!  Classes!  Photography!  Travel!  I can, I can, I can ...."

The other day I found myself.

Alone in my house ....

© Twenty Four At Heart 

Love Means

I look back at my life, at the people and places I've loved, and it seems, time and time again, love means letting go.

I remember, vividly, letting go of my mother's hand, at age four, when I began kindergarten.  I still remember the bittersweet expectation of exciting things ahead of me, and the knowledge things would never again be the same.  The scent of crayons and play-doh hung in the air and I knew right then, by releasing her hand, I was letting go.

A few years later, a best friend moved hundreds of miles away.  We swore we'd stay in touch and be best friends forever.  Of course, we didn't.  I still think of her now and then, all these years later.  I wonder if she's led a happy life.  I wonder if she remembers me at all.  It was my first experience at letting go of a much loved friend.

Sadly - only a year later - one of my first school crushes died of a childhood disease.  He was nine.  I remember shedding tears over the loss of my "boyfriend."  Other children and parents cried with me.  Once again, I learned the very difficult, heartbreaking, lesson of loving and letting go.

Like everyone, I've had the heartbreak of lost friendships.  My best friend of several years got lost in a world of drugs and gangs in high school.  We parted ways and I watched helplessly as her life crumbled around her.  

And crumble it did ... ending with a suicide.

There was nothing I could do.

In my twenties, a time of transitions, there were good friends, and lovers, who eventually all moved on with their lives.  

As I moved on with mine.

Eventually I found myself with a husband, a family, and a new set of friends.

I gave birth to a little girl.  A few years later, I held her hand as I walked her to her first day of kindergarten.  She looked at me with the bittersweet expectation of exciting things ahead of her, and the knowledge things would never again be the same. The scent of crayons and play-doh hung in the air and I knew right then, by releasing her hand, I was letting go. 

Her first day of kindergarten was followed, eventually, by those of her two brothers.  Our family had grown.

The years went by in a blur of school, and sports, and activities, and busyness.

Time and again, throughout it all, I held their hands, hugged them, and encouraged them to chase their dreams.

This month my two oldest children left home for colleges over 3,000 miles away.  As they left, they looked at me with the bittersweet expectation of exciting things ahead of them and the knowledge things would never again be the same.  

As we said our good-byes, I hugged them once again.  I cried tears of pride, and sadness, and excitement for the lives they have ahead of them.

It seems to me ...

Love means letting go.

© Twenty Four At Heart

My Latest Project

Today's subject is outside the realm of my normal blogging material, but I'm going to share it anyway.

Wait ...

Do I ever have normal blogging material?

I think not.

In which case ... it doesn't really matter, does it?

I'm in the midst of an emotional two weeks right now.

We put my son on a plane for college last Saturday.  I bawled, and bawled, and bawled.

This is his second year in college.  You'd think I'd be used to saying good-bye, but if you're a parent who has ever sent your kid to live 3,000 miles away, you know there is no such thing as getting used to it.  My son stored most of his belongings with college friends prior to summer break so he didn't need us to fly back with him and help him get settled this year.

My daughter, however, will be departing this week to ALSO live 3,000 miles away for school.  Of course, she's going to be in an entirely different state than my son because they have to make things as difficult and as expensive for their parents as possible.  I will be taking my youngest son (still at home) back east later this week to help get her moved into her apartment.  I will do the supervising and my fifteen year old son will do the lifting.

What?

I only have one working arm.

Having two kids move to the other side of the country within a ten day time span has been emotional chaos, plain and simple.

Two years ago, with the best of intentions, I bought a family recipe book for my daughter.  She was in her first college apartment and the timing seemed appropriate for a gift related to cooking.

It's a beautiful book.  You're supposed to fill it up with family recipes to share with those you love.

Hmmm ... I see nothing in the above photo about eating a low-carb diet?

This particular book came with beautiful recipe cards, lined pages, and tab dividers to make it easy to compile.

My only complaint about the book I chose, is there are simply not enough pages in it.  Yesterday, I ordered a few sets of page refills so I'll be able to add more recipes in the future.

Many years ago, my mom gave me a similar book and I treasure it to this day.  I love that the recipes are in her handwriting.  I love the time she took to put the book together for me.  The book itself, makes me feel cherished.  I also use it more than any other cookbook I've ever owned.  The recipes are full of comfort and familiarity, warmth and love.

And yet ...

The book I bought for my own daughter has sat here, untouched, for two years.

Once I purchased the book, I quickly realized the amount of writing that would be involved.  I wanted to write the recipes in my own handwriting, as my mother did for me, not type them.  It's hard to explain, but seeing the recipes in my mom's handwriting is almost like hearing her speak.  I wanted to give the same gift to my daughter.

I quickly realized the project would involve more than my injured arm was capable of at the time.  I've learned to do many things left-handed since my accident, but writing is not one of them.  Although my right hand is not damaged, it takes arm-power to move my hand for any length of time.  I'm in very short supply of arm power.

In fact, I think it would be accurate to say I have NO arm power.

My daughter's cookbook has been left abandoned, filling me with the guilt of unfulfilled promises.

She leaves this week.

I decided I would get the book done prior to her departure come hell or high water.  I set a goal to work on the book every day until she leaves.  I even bought an archival quality, waterproof, fade proof, non-bleeding (all that!!) pen and I'm working diligently on her recipe book.  I'm slowly making progress, despite taking frequent breaks whenever my arm rebels.

I hope someday this cookbook will mean as much to her as the one from my mother now means to me.

This book is truly a labor of love.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Call Me Miss Glamour

In a futile attempt to keep my blonde hair from turning pure white in the summer I wear it on top of my head when I swim.  I don't even attempt to make it look nice; I just throw it into a ponytail holder.  I know it looks ridiculous.  (In case I don't know, my kids remind me of that very fact every time they see me like this.)

The sun and the salt water from our pool (and the ocean), are really tough on my hair so I try to keep it out of the water as much as possible.  Don't worry, when I'm not actually in the pool, I don't walk around like this ... I promise.

OK, I know you want to go back to admiring my beautiful hair style now ....

Wait ....

Did I just publish a photo of myself in a bathing suit?

© Twenty Four At Heart

Bits and Pieces

I thought I'd share with you bits and pieces from my fourth of July weekend.  I'll share more once I get a chance to edit the rest of my photos, unpack my suitcase, buy some groceries, and have an extended appointment with Dr. Painless To Look At, my pain management doc, today.

An Unrelated Aside:  How many of you saw the LA Times Health Section of the newspaper yesterday?  Thank you to the nice reader friend who brought it to my attention.  The entire section was devoted to PAIN.  I'm not sure it's a good thing people think of me first when the subject is living with pain?

Back on Topic:  Last Friday, I drove to Santa Barbara.  The holiday weekend began with a nice, leisurely, lunch while staring at the ocean.  I sat under one of the yellow umbrellas you see in the photo below.

After lunch, I went and got settled in my hotel.

This was the view from my hotel balcony:

Beautiful, isn't it?

Briefcase and I were still unpacking when an unexpected surprise was delivered to our room:

The champagne (and also a box of chocolates) arrived as an anniversary gift from Briefcase's boss.  Nice touch, don't ya think? 

We had a nice several days.  My daughter and the youngest of my two sons were able to join us.  Did you know 15 year old boys will order TWO breakfasts when you take them out?  And they will devour every bite of both breakfasts, remain extremely skinny, and be hungry again just a couple hours later?  It's expensive amazing!

A Second Unrelated Aside:  I need to take a minute here to gently suggest many of you who are wearing leggings out in public really should not be doing so.  This is a fact, so please check yourself in the mirror carefully (front and back) if you are venturing out in leggings.  Leggings are made for young people with long, thin, well toned, legs if, and only if, the young person with long, thin, well toned, legs also wears a long, billowy shirt with them.

The rest of us need to forget about leggings, okay?

Back on Topic:  I love cruising all the Santa Barbara shops.  Briefcase doesn't enjoy it at all.  He spent time with my son while my daughter and I shopped.  We mainly window shopped, but I did pick up this lightweight, summer, scarf:

 
 

I sure hate getting Hotel Hair.  

Do you get Hotel Hair when you travel?  

Do you know what Hotel Hair is?  

It's when you take your own shampoo and your own hair products with you while you travel, but the hotel softens the water so much that your hair looks like shit the whole time you're traveling anyway.

No?

Is it just me?

© Twenty Four At Heart

Homeward Bound

I thought you might want to see this photo of the house my daughter spent the last year living in.  Her senior year in college (at UC Santa Barbara) could not have been in a more beautiful spot.  It must have been difficult to move out and return to The OC for the summer.

We're returning from our four day mini-vacation in Santa Barbara this evening.   

© Twenty Four At Heart

The Beach Life

I had a friend from the Midwest ask me recently what my life is "really" like.

"Um, pretty boring," I answered.

"No, it's not," she countered.

???

While I pondered what to say to THAT, she went on and on about why my life is not boring.

It's always good to keep informed about one's own life.  

She concluded with, "You can even go to the beach whenever you want.  What do you do when you go to the beach?"

Oh ... the beach life .....

Well, first of all, I don't live in this house:

 

Nor do I live in any of these:

I live about twenty minutes from the beach in a little canyon.  My house is very modest by South Orange County standards.

But yes, I do spend a lot of time at the beach.

What I actually DO at the beach varies.

I like the beach in all of its seasons, and in all types of weather.

One thing I don't do is lay out in the sun tanning.

If I have to be at the beach during the hottest times of the day (something I try to avoid), you'll find me in the shade, with a hat on, protecting my skin from the sun.

(That is, unless I'm swimming, or in the water body surfing, boogie boarding, etc.) 

I'm a melanoma survivor.  Melanoma, for those of you who don't know, is the deadliest form of skin cancer.  In fact, melanoma is one of the most deadly forms of cancer period.  It has a nasty habit of striking down people in my family.  I do love the beach, but I'm not a sun woshiper.

I'm often at the beach shooting pictures.

Sometimes I'm at the beach walking ... and walking ... and walking even further.

I storm watch at the beach - I love the ocean during a good storm.  Unfortunately, we don't get many storms in Orange County.

I also love the beach when the fog is thick and the sand is deserted.

I like to explore tide pools, but I never, ever, remove anything from them.

Meeting friends on the sand around 5 p.m. for cocktails and a picnic while watching the sunset is also a favorite activity in the summer.

Our family activities at the beach vary also.

Briefcase is a runner.  He's usually either napping or running while he's at the beach.

My daughter is usually reading, or napping, or sunbathing, when she's at the beach.

My oldest son is most likely checking out the girls while he's at the beach.  (Or swimming, or running, or throwing a football with friends.)

My youngest son plays high school baseball.  He's an infielder and a pitcher.  

Last time he was with me at the beach, he made this tower of rocks:

 

A few minutes later I turned to find him "pitching" rocks at his rock tower, trying to knock it over.  He was much more successful at this "game" than the non-baseball player friend he was with.  I flashed back to when he was about three years old and would spend hours at the beach "pitching" a tennis ball to us.  He's been baseball-obsessed his entire life.

Some things never really change.

© Twenty Four At Heart

So, I've Been Thinking ...

It seems like I've been doing a lot of random assortment type of posts lately.  I think it might be because it's hard to put more than one, (1, o-n-e), thought together at a time on this medication.  (Be patient with me .....)

Here's a look inside my brain gone ADD-ish:

•  Today's the last day of school for my youngest son!  Woo Hoo!

•  Tomorrow morning I'm going to sleep in past 6 a.m.

•  This is the first time in three years, all 3 of my kids have been living (not just visiting) at home.

•  Kicking my way through several laps in the pool is much more difficult than when I also use my (one and a half) arms.

•  Where is the best pizza place in New York City?

•  My house is constantly messy with my kids all home.  We have a chaotic, but happy, household.

•  Why are my teeth, which have been perfectly straight since I had braces in 6th grade, suddenly getting crooked?  And does Invisalign work?

•  I hate summer league baseball.

•  Why am I all of a sudden craving carbs?

•  The aesthetician at my plastic surgeon/friends office has offered to do facial-ish stuff to me and I might let her.  Just call me a lab rat.

•  Will anyone else want to go visit B&H Photo in New York while I'm there?

•  Why haven't I done a blog contest lately?

•  I've never gone this long without chocolate.

•  What type of blog contest should I do?

•  I'm thinking about getting my first tattoo towards the end of the summer/fall.

•  Maybe I should have a contest to see who can design the best tattoo for me?

•  The (possible) tattoo might be indicative of a midlife crisis?????  I've never even remotely wanted a tattoo before and now I do.

•  I almost fell over from shock when uber-conservative Briefcase said he thought it would be sexy if his uber NOT conservative wife I got a tattoo.  

•  I've been sort-of planning the tattoo in my head for the last year but I had never mentioned it to anyone until about two weeks ago.

•  Maybe I should put the tattoo near my ankle?  Or my hoo haa?

•  My nipples are still bionic.

•  I'll be in Boston later this summer what should I do/see there?  I've never been.

•  Do you have any tattoos?  How much did they hurt?

•  My long-time next door neighbor (the very best neighbor in the entire world!) just moved.  I'm so sad.

•  I could wear my Gap workout/yoga-ish capris every day of the year and be happy.

•  Maybe I should have a big plate of carbs and see what happens?

•  There are way too many extremely expensive cars around here.

•  My (possible) (not-too-big) tattoo is going to be tied to my blog name.  Not because I want my blog name tattooed on me.  Instead, I chose the name Twenty Four At Heart because it's significant to me, and it will continue to be regardless of whether or not this blog ceases to exist tomorrow.

•  I'm not saying this blog WILL cease to exist tomorrow.

•  If you haven't tried Tuscan Cantaloupe you have no idea what you're missing.

•  I've been indulging in a little retail therapy lately.  I should feel guilty, but when life is shitty ... why not?

•  So what are YOU thinking?

© Twenty Four At Heart

Happy Father's Day

Wishing you a wonderful, enjoyable, and very relaxing day!

© Twenty Four At Heart

What I've Learned Lately

It's never too late to learn something new.  I've been reminded of this a lot lately, and I thought I'd take this opportunity to share with you some of my recent observations.

•  You will feel positively ancient when your child graduates from college even if you did give birth to her when you were only three.

•  All cottage cheese is not created equal.

•  A friend is not always the person they've pretended to be and it hurts deeply to come to this realization. 

•  Your air conditioning WILL break when the temperature exceeds 90 F and not a moment sooner.

•  Some drugs are not meant to be mixed with wine and you will, of course, realize this while in the company of your in-laws.

•  If you get a small, red, dry, itchy spot on your boob and you ask Twitter what it might be, you won't want to hear the (horrifying) responses.

•  You should never google images of diseases people on Twitter tell you about or the images you see will be burned into your brain cells for life.

•  No matter how long you live in The OC you will continue to be amazed at how many OC stereotypical people you encounter every single day.

•  Internet Trolls will continue to stalk you even though they say they hate you, will never read you again, and are going away forever.

•  Carbohydrates are highly addictive.

•  If you watch The Bachelorette you will wonder why you're wasting your time (and brain cells), but you will find it difficult to turn off anyway.

•  It will be highly disappointing to find out your son's employee discount at Nordstrom doesn't apply to you because you're not his "dependent."

•  Twitter will instantly be over capacity when there's a sizable earthquake nearby and you will not be able to respond to those inquiring about your safety.

•  There are, in all probability, more fake boobs and asses in Southern California than in the rest of the world combined.

•  If you purchase the new Miraclebody Jeans, you *might* decide they don't really make you look ten pounds thinner as promised.

•  When an old flame sees your new Twitter avatar/Facebook photo and remarks you still look hot, it will feel good even if you did photoshop your wrinkles away.

•  Summer league baseball should not be allowed to begin before the school year has ended.  I say this out of concern for the sanity of baseball parents everywhere.

•  One of the best things about returning home from a trip is seeing the joy and love your dog(s) bestow on you when you walk in the door.

•  Celery sticks and egg whites are not the least bit addictive.

•  When you return from a vacation it will take more days to get caught up than you were actually away for.  (This only applies to women and single dads - or should I just say this doesn't apply AT ALL to Briefcase?)

•  If a shallow OC woman comments on your wedding ring with the sole purpose of getting you to compliment her on the enormous rock on her finger, the best approach is to smile sweetly and ask her where she found such a big cubic zirconia.

© Twenty Four At Heart

In The Blink of an Eye

It seems like I just graduated from college.

I recently shared with you the above photo of my alma mater, University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB).

Yesterday morning, I sat by the UCSB campus lagoon (just feet from the ocean) and watched my daughter, my firstborn, graduate in the exact same location I did just a (short?) time ago. 

It was deja vu in the strongest sense of the word.

I know this is not a "mommy" blog and I rarely write about my kids/family here.  I don't write about my kids because they're old enough to share their own personal stories with who they want, when they want.  Also, I'm very protective of them and blasting their photos and personal information all over the world doesn't make me feel very secure about their safety.  (I know YOU are wonderful, but I do get an occasional nut-job visiting 24.)

I am, however, bursting with emotion over yesterday's event.

There is pride, and happiness, of course.  My daughter graduated from college which is something to be very proud of in the first place.  She put my college GPA to shame while getting her degree and, additionally, minored in a secondary field.  In addition, she was part of the University of California Honors Program, and graduated with the highest honors - all in only three years. 

So, excuse me for having a "mom moment" today, but I am just so proud of all she has accomplished!

She will be living with us here in The OC for a short while and, of course, I'm thrilled about that too.

But the moment was also bittersweet.  She was recently accepted, and given a scholarship, to a graduate school three thousand miles away.  In a few short weeks, she will be moving across the country, far from home.  *sniff*

I'm warning you in advance, I'll be a crazy mess and puddle of tears when the time comes to see her off.

For today, however, I need to finish unpacking, get caught up on chores, and begin editing the zillions of photos I took over the weekend.

© Twenty Four At Heart

The Holiday Weekend

If you are reading this on Tuesday morning, you might be interested to know I've parked myself at the Money Town Starbucks for a couple hours.  I'll be writing (and Tweeting) about what I observe while I'm there and hopefully have it published for tomorrow's post.  

If you live in South Orange County and are familiar with the Money Town Starbucks, please stop by and say hello if you have the chance.  I think I'll be arriving there sometime around 8 a.m. and staying for about two hours.

I really enjoyed my holiday weekend.  I hope you did too!

I had all three of my kids home for the first half of the long weekend.  For those of you who still have young kids, let me tell you it's quite a treat as they get older and you're able to have them all at home at the very same time.

I'm having a hard time believing this myself, but I'm now the mom of a 21 year old!

How the hell did THAT happen?

I gave birth as a three year old, that's how.

It's a miracle, plain and simple!

We spent the weekend celebrating my daughter's birthday.  Celebrating involved a lot of tequila.  Yes, I even did a few celebratory shots.  (And no, I did not take any pain meds while drinking!)

I asked my daughter, "How can you be 21 when I'm only 24?"

She asked, "Mom, aren't you supposed to embrace getting older?"

I replied, "I suppose I will once I DO get older, but I'm still 24!"

She might have rolled her eyes and laughed.

(It must be tough explaining to your friends that your mom is only three years older than you.)

So, this is what I did over the last few days.

Beach - San Clemente this time:

 

Lunch at Fisherman's:

Margaritas at our favorite Mexican restaurant:

(Sorry, I had to cut everyone else out of this photo - and yes, this was straight from the beach, hence I look terrible!)

Not pictured:  Tequila shots, dancing on table tops (you think I'm kidding?) and other forms of My Mom's Not a Great Role Model behavior.

Isn't it great when your kids get old enough so you can be an immature adult with them?  

Ice cream birthday cake (I've blurred her name out of the photo):

Sipping coffee on our deck staring at my mountains:

 

A lot of time poolside:

I was very excited because I found a low-carb margarita mix which I enjoyed over the weekend.  (So many people have asked me about this already on Twitter.  It's made by Finest Call and is available at BevMo.)  

I also made myself my own low-carb single serving cake which only had 6 carbs in it.  Tequila doesn't have any carbs, although it does have calories and like all alcohol, it slows weight loss substantially.  However, considering the weekend of partying and fun, I think I did quite well on my new low-carb style of eating.  I didn't lose an ounce, but I didn't gain an ounce either and I consider that a success.

(By the way, I made the BEST dinner on the grill for Memorial Day - I may have to share the two recipes I used sometime soon.  Nom nom nom!!!)

I also loved being back in the pool for the first time in months.  The pool is the one place where I can move my arm a little more freely.  It becomes weightless and the water lifts it for me.  I love being in the pool because I feel "normal" again.

My arm is really weak and I've lost a lot of ground in both my strength and my range of motion.  On Sunday I could only swim two laps (using a modified breaststroke) which is terrible, even for me.  I grabbed a kick-board so I could rest my arm, and kicked my way through several more laps.  

The good news?  I was only a little sore from my first attempt at swimming this year.  Maybe the new pain medication is beginning to kick in?!  Let's hope!

Yesterday, I tried round two of swimming.  I did quite a few more laps than the first day.  And yes, I'm hurting a little more now, but still - much less than what I would expect for that level of activity.

I know it's too soon to know for sure ....

I'm afraid to even say this ... but I'm cautiously - hopeful.  

Please, please, please let this medication work for me!  

Please, please, please let this be a new beginning!

I'll be in the pool nearly every day for the next several months so I will continue to work on re-building strength in my arm.

All in all, it was a great holiday weekend.  

Did you do anything fun and/or exciting for your weekend?  

I'm nosy - I want to hear all about it!

© Twenty Four At Heart

You've Been Dying to Know?

Ah yes, once again it's time to update you on the exciting tidbits I call my life with a mish-mash of unrelated topics all thrown together in one post.  I might will most likely regret writing this after I hit publish.

My oldest son is home from college for a few months.  That means I have two teen boys in the house again.  It also means I've been to the grocery store every single day since he got home.  I can't seem to buy enough food because, between the two boys, I'm convinced someone is eating every minute of the day at our house.  How else could they go through so much food?  Yesterday I bought THIRTY SIX eggs.  At one time.  I might add a button to my sidebar so you can donate food to the 24 household if the mood strikes you.  

Just kidding.  (For now!)

I've been falling asleep at odd times since I was put on my new pain meds.  I've never before slept during the day.  I'm not a napper.  I can't sleep on trains, planes or automobiles either.  

Except?  

All of a sudden I can.  In fact, just try to keep me awake.  

I am the new face of necrophilia narcolepsy.  

Damn!  I always get those two words confused.

Yesterday I managed to stay awake for the entire day for only the second time since my pain meds were changed.  I was so happy to see my body is adjusting to the new drugs.  Except, today?  Today is the day I increase my current dose.  That's right ... for the next week I will be taking twice the amount I took all of last week.  

Zzzzzzzzzzzz!  

What was I saying?

I've lost fourteen pounds.  Woo hoo!  I'm only losing about a pound a week now.  I've been told weight gain is a "common side effect" of the pain drugs.  If I gain weight the drugs will quickly become a part of my past.  I'm working far too hard to lose my post-car-accident weight to let any type of medication mess me up.  It's too bad ten five of the fourteen pounds I've lost were probably gained on a pre-diet bender.  

Have you ever gone on a pre-diet bender?

What?  Am I the only one?

My pre-diet bender involved my favorite Mexican restaurant, chips, salsa, and a few too many margaritas.

Guess where I've lost weight from?  

My fingers!  

That's right ... I had the skinniest fingers ever invented (are fingers invented?) and now they've gotten even skinnier.  I've always worn a very small ring size.  Now my wedding bands keep wanting to slip right off my fingers.  (And not just when Adam the pool boy stops by!)  

Have I told you about Adam the Pool Boy?  No?  

I told Twitter.  Hmmm!  

(Or did I mean, Mmmmmmmm!?)

* Do not click on the Mmmm link if you are easily offended or a virgin. *

Am I rambling today?  Even more than a random-catch-all type post would warrant?  Let's blame the new meds, okay?  I don't think they have a thing to do with it, but I can blame them for everything for a good six months or so.

Back to my skinny, and getting skinnier, fingers ...

My wedding rings are a style which can't be sized smaller (or larger for that matter).  I've got fat to spare everywhere else on my body, but my too thin fingers are now even thinner.  

Go figure.

I got another email from a "well endowed man" last week.  He asked if I'd like to set up a "personal interview" with him to verify his well endowed-ness and then he typed a winking smiley face at the end of his email.  Why are men so preoccupied with their dicks?  And how many women really want a well hung man who types little smiley faces in his emails anyway?

Speaking of phallic shapes ....

I have a million hot dogs left over from our party last weekend.  If you live in South Orange County and you love hot dogs, please let me know.  Our family doesn't eat them more than once a year.  Even my chow-hound teen boys don't care for them.  Free hot dogs to the first South OC family to contact me!  (Sandi?  I'm thinking of you!  But the hot dogs are first come, first serve - so to speak!)

I'm apologizing to those of you who were looking for some of the wave photos from yesterday's post on my photo site.  The requested photos are up now!  So sorry!  (Camera button on my sidebar.)

I've been crazy busy lately.  You know, between the daily grocery runs, the medical appointments, a bunch of family stuff I can't yet blog about, falling asleep at inappropriate times and places, etc.  

And yet, I'm hoping to write a post from inside the Money Town Starbucks sometime in the next ten days.  That's right, I'm going to park myself in the Money Town Starbucks and write about whatever goes on around me.  Let's hope I don't fall asleep while I'm there.  I'd probably get arrested if I did.

Maybe there won't be anything to write about in Money Town that day ...

But I sincerely doubt that will be the case.

There is ALWAYS something going on in Money Town.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Pool Party

 

While I was out of town for Mother's Day weekend, Briefcase volunteered our house for a pool party and barbecue this weekend.  

No, he didn't check with me first before volunteering us me to do all the work.

This isn't a small affair either.

We are hosting around 75 people from my son's baseball program this afternoon and evening.

Everyone we're expecting is very nice and I'm sure I'll enjoy myself once it begins.  On the other hand, I can't say throwing a large party is remotely exactly what I needed right now.

Someone pass me a margarita, please!

© Twenty Four At Heart

Eighties Flashback!

Prepare to smile BIG by the end of this post.

First, my apologies, I have no Photography Friday post for you this week.  I will definitely have one for you next Friday.

Why?

Well, the last 24 hours have been purely chaotic.  My oldest son returned home from his freshman year at college in North Carolina.  Doesn't it seem like I was just crying my eyes out as I dropped him off?  Summer break begins early for the southern schools and he arrived home last night.  I am, of course, thrilled.

Remind me of that when he leaves dirty dishes all over the house.

My youngest son caught the crud I had a week or two ago, was home sick from school, and needed to be run into the doctor.  (He's fine ... just needed some meds!)

Also, I'm on my way out of town early today for a long girl's weekend.  I'm sure you understand how crazy it sometimes gets as you're packing and preparing for a trip.  I'll be in Santa Barbara and neighboring vicinities until Tuesday.  I do plan to post while I'm gone, assuming I'm able to find decent Internet access at the dump hole in the wall I'm staying in.  I may, however, be posting when I can vs. my normal, fairly reliable, schedule.

(If you've emailed me in the last few days, forgive me for not yet responding.  See above craziness!)

Photography Friday posts take quite a bit of prep time on my part, and I just couldn't pull it off this week.  Instead, I thought I'd end the week by providing you with a smile.

Recently, I posted a photo of what I looked like in the 90's.

One of my readers and twitter friends (VanMacGuy on Twitter) asked me what I looked like in the 80's.  We agreed to swap photos.  Unfortunately, I have yet to find the right box with my photos from the 80's.  When I do, I'll post one of myself.

In the meantime, VanMacGuy was nice enough to allow me to share with you his photo from the eighties.

I love it!

If you'd like to send me a photo from your past too, along with permission to post it on 24, I'd love to see it.

In the meantime, a huge thank you to VanMacGuy for bringing a smile to my day!

© Twenty Four At Heart