Mother-Daughter Outing #2

Tonight A. and I went on MD Outing #2. This time we went to the O'Reilly Auto Parts Autorama in Dallas Market Hall. We were joined by my BFF and her freespirited daughter. (That's a discreet way of saying that in addition to being as sweet and precious as can be, she's also amazingly energetic, with her own mind!) The cars were pretty and the time spent together was fun, but the show was not nearly as exciting as it normally is. There weren't too many people there, probably due to it being the Friday right before Valentine's Day. Usually when we do things like this we go on Saturday or Sunday afternoons, when there are lots of things to see and people to do. Or something like that.

Anyhow, A. took tons of pics of the cars and bikes. They were just gorgeous. It's inspiring to see how an old, junky car can be turned into a beautiful, sparkling showpiece. Amazing. It makes me want to go out and restore a car myself. Or... perhaps it would be better if I can just get my own car into driveable condition again. That would probably be a more sensible idea, right? :)

A New Camera

Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted. In the meantime, though, guess what?? My sweet baby, A., and my folks got together and got me a digital camera. It’s a cute little camera that takes great pics. Woohoo!! I’m so happy about this. Now I can start taking pictures of all the fun Mother-Daughter Outings that A. and I will be having.

Just the other week we had Mother-Daughter Outing #1. I enjoyed it, but she complained about standing. Yes, can you believe it? It was a rock concert at a local church, what do you expect? Okay, so maybe we won’t be doing many more rock concerts from now on. Or maybe we will, but I’ll just force her to wear comfy shoes! Hah! That will show her. :)

Video of the Day: Vive y Dejame Vivir

Banda Cuisillos is just great. This video is so funny. It's nice to see him going for a big girl, too! :)

Love and Laughter

“We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh.” – Agnes Repplier

How funny. As deeply as I loved my husband, we never really laughed together. He would seem to get annoyed by my joking and general silliness. He would also fuss whenever my daughter and I would be silly together. Can you believe that he would say that there should be less joking and more respect? Whatever. We used to call him Mr. Grumpy. I always wanted to get him a t-shirt with Mr. Grumpy on it, but could never find one. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough?

Oh, yeah, even though our relationship was not as close as it should have been, my beautiful A. and I could still always find something to laugh about. Whether it be a broken toe (a hallway race gone awry) or fart contests (not real ones, except for the one that started it all). Now she and I are much closer. We need to keep finding more reasons to laugh together. Hopefully more farting won't be involved.

99 Things!

I just saw this on Sweet Jessie. I was feeling kind of down, and bam! There it was. :) Anyhow, here goes...

Rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo - just not in public!
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - no, but I've watched one over a lake. It was beautiful.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch - is cross-stitching an art?
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked - I've had good experiences and one almost-bad one!
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - of course, when I was younger.
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted - does a caricature count?
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check - not intentionally. Really.
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job - I was 16-17!
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

So, I've done 32 out of 99. That's like 30%. Hmm. :)

She's (Got) A Pistol!

Several years ago, we lived in a not-too-good neighborhood. When some drug dealers moved in next door, I went out and got a pretty little 9mm at the neighborhood pawnshop. Nowadays, I've been thinking about actually learning to use that pretty little weapon. I wouldn't actually shoot it, of course. It would just be for educational purposes. A girl can never be too prepared.

“In today’s world, if a woman is assaulted, she cannot expect or depend on anyone to help or protect her but herself." Dr. Judith Fein, Feminist self-defense author

Smaller, but not Broken

It's been a while since I've posted on here. In the past few weeks, major drama has been happening to my family. Actually, major drama had been happening, I just wasn't aware of it. Anyhow, to make a long, heartbreaking story short and uncomplicated, for many, many years my loving husband had been loving where he shouldn't have been. He is now out of my life, pretty much. He's gone and hasn't called for a few days. Which is a good thing, but it makes me wonder what he's doing out there in this big, bad world.

So now daughter A. and I are living in blissful semi-bachelorettedom. I've already spoken to my folks and they'll be moving in with us pretty soon. We have plenty of room and it will help us out a bit with expenses.

The title of this blog? It refers to my family/home. It may be smaller, but it's definitely not broken. In fact, it's on the mend & is getting better every day.

What prompted this whole outpouring? I just figured out my expenses and am pleasantly surprised (to put it verly mildly) to see that, YES, I will be able to afford the bills all on my own. My daughter and I are blessed. We're making it out of this together. The going isn't and won't be easy, but we can do it.