Mom Things........

If you're a mom you know that Mom Things primarily rule your life. When the kids are tiny....no sleep, bottles, strollers, diapers rule your days. As your kids get older, then it becomes play dates, soccer, ballet, gymnastics,etc. that fill up your calendars. Teenagers...well....that's a whole different story.....little worries become gigantic...after all..they are out of your sight WAYYYYYYYYYYYYY TOO MUCH. Sirens can bring you to a dead standstill and have your fingers frantically calling cells. GPA's control your dreams. Curfews are broken more than your dishes. Who is that boy at the door? Does that girl in front of my TV really have plaid hair? Wait......is that a tongue ring I see in that mouth that I spent 6K worth of braces on???? Then college......tuition costs.....are you FREAKIN' kidding me? You want how much to educate my child? Ok...now we're educated and oops.....we can't find a job. Resumes, references, connections fill our days. Mom Things......draining, taxing, worrisome, but in the end, way too precious to miss. What are the Mom Things in your life you wouldn't trade?

A Talent Lost................

The loss of Nora Ephron is a huge one. She was a weaver of words, a woman with a talent to see life as it was and then portray it in a way that made us all laugh, cry and want to sop up each and every thing she did. She was an accomplished woman of our times....and all times. She will be missed.

Main Ingredients?

What makes a great book for you? Do you need to want to be best friends with the characters? Do you really have to move to the location of the book because it beckons you? Do you love unexpected twists and turns? Snappy dialogue? Lots of detailed descriptions? There is no doubt that readers are as diverse as writers. I wonder what makes your book a page turner?

Book Just Read

Just finished reading Things Left Unspoken by Eva Marie Everson. She is a totally new author for me. I enjoyed the book very much. I would classify it as Women's Fiction. The setting was the South which is one of my favorite locations. Characters were well established. A few good twists and turns to the plot. Pick it up.....and let me know how you like it!

Women's Fiction.....

I do enjoy several genres of fiction......but I have to say that Women's Fiction is my very favorite.  Authors like Elin Hildebrand, Mary Alice Monroe, Dorthea Benton Frank, Anne River Siddons......there are many many more.  Women's Fiction is a hard classification.  Not quite Romance....more Just Life.  Women dealing with life's issues.  Good , really good , Women's Fiction delves into the psyche of women.  How problems are handled.  Family dynamics are torn, mended, torn, mended.  Friends are salvation.  Kids are raised.  Husbands are divorced or strengthened.  Jobs are lost. Careers are started.  Each element ebbs and flows and becomes part of the plot.  I usually make new friends through these books.  And turning the last page makes me sad. 

And the Miserable Are........................

I am watching 12 kids try to recover some credit in summer school.  They are less than enthused.  There is no scale that will measure HOW un-enthused they are.  Summertime Summertime.......carefree days of doing whatever you feel the need to do.  I promise you these kid do NOT feel the need to be here.....they are sitting in front of their computers.....staring blankly, twirling their hair, shoulders slumping, eyes closing....you get the picture.  Why o Why does the great State of Texas expect this of them?  My answer?  The great State of Texas expected this of them during the fall and spring semester.  Maybe that fact slipped their minds.  God love their little hearts......Summertime.....Summertime.

In Case Your Wondering.....But Probably Not.

Why the Peacock?  That, my friends, is Mr. P.   He showed up at our back door about 4 years ago demanding Cheetos and Nilla Vanillas.  He gets them.  At 5 o'clock...much like a glass of wine or a cocktail, Mr. P. appears at our door for his afternoon 'pick me up'.  He fans the cats, he fans the dog, he fans the swallows, doves and an occasional grasshopper.  Clearly he needs a Mrs. P.  But not as much as his Nilla Vanillas.  I know I"ve mentioned him before...but don't you think he needs to be acknowledged now and again?  After all.....he is MAGNIFICENT!!

Happiness Is........

Happiness is many many things to different people.  Happiness comes in small or large packages....brightly wrapped or very plain.  Right now....one of my happy things is my TBR pile.  Huge...just huge.  Kid in a candy store kind of happiness.  What's your happiness today?

Souls Refreshed

There's just something about sitting around a pool with a group of women that replenishes ailing souls and refreshes hearts.  Actually sitting around a table, a patio or a living room has the same effect.  Conversations ebb and flow.  Participants change.  Good friends catch up.  New friends are made.  Laughter rings out and sometimes tears are shed.  It's healing.  Time passes and obligations are forgotten for a few minutes or hours.  Women talk...really talk.  They share.  They listen.  They care.  Really good women do these things.  I hope that you have this opportunity as a woman to at least every few weeks or months join in a great gathering of women.  Maybe your soul doesn't need healing, but I guarantee your heart always needs refreshing.  We know how to do this. Women need women.  I thank God everyday for my friends.  They are some of my finest treasures.  Do you have treasures in your life?  I sincerely hope so.