In the Cone

This is the time of year when Southerners suddenly become a lot more interested in the Weather Channel and sites like weather.com. This past week, we've been tuning in a bit more often. See the little red star in the cone of Hurricane Ike? That is where we live.

Before living in Florida, I would have never guessed that I would actually turn to the Weather Channel and watch for extended periods of time. That just seemed boring. I am guessing that if I hadn't lived there I would still not be able to have it on for more than a few minutes.

Should I even admit that when I lived in Miami I actually wished for hurricanes and tropical storms to come near? I guess since I wrote about it on my blog back then, it isn't a secret. I didn't want them to damage any homes or hurt anyone. I mainly wanted the county to be scared enough to shut down. That was my only chance for a day off of work due to weather. Some of those days turned out to be quite pleasant.

Now that we are living in Houston, have kids, own a place (that I still need to get home owner's insurane for the interior on), and don't have hurricane shutters; I have can't see any personal benefit of hurricanes. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that I am working at home? That means that as long we have power & internet, I must work. I am definitely NOT going to wish for the power to go out. The temperatures are still reaching the mid 90s here. We would melt!

I know I have a laid back attitude about the storms, which isn't a good thing. In my defense though, it is a good balance to my husband. The worst hurricane I have been through was Katrina & Rita (in Miami where they hit as a Cat 1). My husband was living in South Florida when Andrew hit (Cat 5). He helped with the clean-up and re-building. Because of that, these storms seem to cause a bit of fear for him. He wants to go out and buy a generator, plywood or shutters, and all of that. I just make sure we have gas, water, and food.

...So, it looks like over the next few days we will be tuning into the weather channel. I just hope we don't make the national news because of the damage it causes. Oh & Jim, you seem nice, but feel free to stay away.

Missing Miami?

This morning for the first time since we moved here, I miss Miami. Actually, I should clarify that I miss Miami Beach. I watched part of the Today Show on location there. The beautiful water, warm weather (it isn't exactly cold here), and happening scene all made me think about the great things there. I couldn't help but wonder if I would have taken the day off of work so we could take in the excitement.

What am I saying? I don't have to take the day off to have fun with my kids. We may not be hanging out on the beach, but we are going to the park. I would even drive them down to the beach here (Galveston is not nearly as pretty), but I have one kid that is 3 weeks into potty training and another breast feeding. That hour and a half drive each way would not be fun. Ok, part of me still misses it. The burbs just can't compete in some ways.

Advice for a Friend

Lately, I have had several friends contact me asking for advice on major life issues. While I am normally good at coming up with points they should consider, this is not exactly a good time to get my brain in gear. Months of very little sleep has created a fog around my brain, which in turn has depleted my IQ.

The first friend that called had a tricky scenario about whether or not she should marry someone. Given the fact that she is extremely bright (I’d say genius), I wasn’t too worried about helping her. She probably just needed someone to bounce ideas off of or just talk it through to. I can always half way listen.

Another friend (from Miami) sent me an e-mail that has really thrown me for a loop. The issue is SO huge that I am hesitant to step in because she will probably follow my advice. I am putting it out there so that we can come up with several ideas for her. As a little background, she has a teenage (15 or 16 years old) son that is quite shy and has always struggled in school. This is the e-mail she sent:

Things have been really hectic at my home. My son is going through a major depression (including hospitalization at Christmas). It is so stressful and hurtful when your kid is not happy. He is so "unsocial" that he just hangs out in his room. I feel so bad for him and I cannot fix him. He was on Prozac for a couple of months, but it made things worse. Now they are trying to get that out of his system so he is not taking anything. He goes back to the doctor on Wednesday and she is going to try him on another medication. It is worrying me so much because I cannot have him get worse again. He was talking about killing himself. I don’t know what to do anymore, Stephanie. Do you have any suggestions? He does not want to talk to me. He just tells me to leave him alone.

If it were me, I would call a family friend that is a very good therapist here in Houston. Whatever he said, I would do. I would also never leave the kid alone. We’d be stuck like glue so he would not have a chance to do anything horrible. I know that every teenager would hate to get that much attention from their mother, but that is what I’d do. Please leave comments with your advice, so that I can try to help her.

By the way, two very sad posts in a row does not mean that I am sad. Quite frankly, I am too tired to be depressed.

Sad Day

Today, the world lost a very lovely girl. I blogged about her in June shortly after she was diagnosed with brain cancer. I received news that my friend's fiancé passed away this morning. It is difficult to understand why a stunningly gorgeous, sweet, and fit girl in her mid-twenties would fall so quickly. Two years ago, everyone was shocked by how fast my seemingly healthy father deteriorated and died from the same thing. Cancer has no favorites.

Last Day in Miami

Today is an exciting day, not only is it my last day of work, but it is my last day in Miami. We are heading out tomorrow morning. At this point, I just feel like I am going on a strange vacation. The reality will probably set in within a week or two. Yipee!!!

I have been so busy lately, but I have wanted to say THANKS to one of my favorite bloggers, Lemon Blossom. Two weeks ago, I wrote a post about craving cinnamon bears and not finding them in Miami. I mentioned that I had ordered some online. After reading my post, she bought some, asked me for my address and shipped them to me all while juggling school, family, and summer fun. I was so touched. Beyond that, I was thrilled because the ones I got from Amazon.com were horrible. Apparently, Jelly Belly makes little cinnamon bears called "unbearably hot." They are tiny, have a sugar coating, and are hard-ish. Nothing like the larger gooey yummy ones that I was craving and that Lemon Blossom so kindly sent. THANK YOU LEMON BLOSSOM! Your kindness has made me whole again.

Anyway, I am wrapping things up in Miami and will probably not be back to the blogging world until we’ve unpacked and set up the internet in our new place. Considering the fact that I am a computer junkie, I’m guessing that will not take long. I already set up the service, but I have to pick up the modem once I get there. So...TA TA for now.

Geographical Experiences

I’ll never forget when I stepped off the plane in Doha, Qatar. The heat hit me like a blanket and I thought it must be the exhaust from jet engines. With a few steps, I quickly realized that it was simply in the hottest weather I had ever experienced. Never go to the Middle East in August. My flight arrived after 10pm, so at that moment I could only imagine what it would feel like in the day. It was worse (120 degrees +).

For the next few days, I explored the city and was mortified by the lack of color. Besides being a desert, all of the houses (actually palaces) were painted either white or light tan. There were very few plants, most of which were behind large walls in private gardens owned by Europeans. Even the clothing of locals was lacking in color. Men wore white and women wore black from head to toe. Everyone was extremely friendly and went out of their way to talk to me. They were often ridiculously accommodating. I was amused by small pick up trucks with large camels sitting in the back, falcons riding around on custom perches in luxury vehicles, and numerous other things.

When I came back to the States, I was bored. Everything seemed plain and ordinary. I moved from Houston to Denver and both were just so normal. I missed my experience in the Middle East terribly.

A year later, I moved to Miami and the visual was exactly opposite. As I drove down I-95 into Miami, I looked down on houses painted in millions of different shades of loud colors. The houses were clumped together with all kinds of plants growing up through the nooks and crannies. It was a bright sunny day and I remember thinking it looked hot, but it was January.

As I explored Miami, I discovered cultural flair, interesting little shops, insane drivers, and a lot of people who in general were overly defensive and proud. It is easy to say they are rude, but more accurately I think they just worry too much about defending their rights, when most of the time nobody was stepping on them. I have lived in several areas of Miami (near the zoo, by the Falls, in the Gables, and on the beach). I have become accustomed to the oddities in each location, but I am still fascinated by the strangeness.

As I prepare to go back to Houston, I am looking forward to that normal boring life. However, a part of me wonders if I will miss some of the craziness. Only time will tell.

Thinking about the Differences

Will Miss about Miami:
1. The Beach
2. The view from the MacArthur Causeway
3. Abundant amount of interesting/bizarre characters on the Beach
4. The idea of bumping into fellow Miami bloggers whose sites I read
5. The uniqueness and special cultural mix of Miami


Will Not Miss about Miami:
1. Rude/suicidal drivers
2. Going into work everyday
3. The stench of the alleys on Miami Beach (not exactly pleasant for a pregnant woman)
4. Blatantly corrupt politics (they should at least attempt to hide it from the public)
5. The high cost of living


Looking Forward to in Houston:
1. Spending more time with Lexi
2. Being around old friends that have little kids
3. Cooler Winters (hot chocolate appropriate weather)
4. More types of international cuisine
5. Living in a brand new place
6. Lower cost of living
7. Friendly drivers
8. Blue Bell Ice Cream
9. Jogging Trails
10. Life in Suburbia


Things that will not Change:
1. Steamy summers
2. Hot Rain

Pivotal Week Approaching

For several years, I have been talking about escaping the clutches of Miami. Eight and a half years ago, I moved here thinking I would be around ONLY for a couple of years. I have spent most of my life bouncing around from place to place with ease thinking I would continue on like that. My friends and family are shocked that I have lasted in one place this long. To be honest, I have tried to move many many many times, but there must be an invisible wall that has trapped me. Believe me, trapped is the right word for this.

Next week, we have a great shot at breaking those restrictive shackles. My excitement about the prospect is impossible to hide. Steve, my husband, is going to be in Houston all week. He has four very promising interviews set up and at least one company that has asked to meet with him, but has not set a time yet. He is also going to check out rental houses (for the first year).

If you know me, you’ll know that I am driving myself insane with the planning & scheming & crossing my fingers & holding my breath & so on & so forth. When I REALLY want something, I am just impossible to be around.

Rain Dance

It is time for South Florida to organize a huge Rain Dance. Besides being in a drought, the Everglades are on fire and the smoke is choking everyone. I doubt a regional rain dance has ever occurred, but something has to give. I, for one, would like to breathe again.

For those people who aren’t into dancing, protest signs and t-shirts will do. We all know just how experienced many people in South Florida are at staging protests. I am not saying they work either, but let’s try something.

If we figure this out, California can copy us.

Update On Baby

This morning, I heard that the baby was born but no details. I also found out that they had decided to keep this baby no matter what & avoided most of the tests/additional ultrasounds. That just broke my heart.

Soon after that, I got an e-mail with pictures of my cousin’s baby. He is a month old and was born with severe birth defects. The pictures caught me off guard. I had heard that my cousin was faced with the same decision (right before Thanksgiving) and decided to keep the baby. He is cute, but it is obvious that he will have a difficult life. I had to catch my breath and began to worry about the couple again and of course my cousin.

Finally, I heard the news that everything went well. She was born at 5:25pm last night. She weighed 7 lbs 13 oz and is 20.5 inches long (same weight & only 0.5 inch shorter than Lexi). Good News!

Remembering Child Birth

Today, someone I know is in the hospital trying to get a stubborn baby to emerge. It is practically all I can think about. We have talked in detail during several functions over the past few years, but we are not friends. Still, I feel a connection to her.

It started when I was in the hospital giving birth to Lexi (15 months ago). She was in a different hospital having an abortion. The fetus she was carrying had severe birth defects. The doctors told her that even if it made it the whole 9 months, it would surely die in the first week. After a lot of pondering and praying, she and her husband felt that an abortion was the right thing for them. The night after I gave birth to Lexi, I held her and cried for them. I couldn’t even begin to imagine having to face a decision like that.

A few weeks later, I received a card from her and spoke to her husband. I was completely blown away by how well they accepted the situation. They were absolutely positive that they would have a healthy baby in the future and that life turned out the way it was supposed to.

Today, their faith proves to be right. She is several days past her due date, so her doctors decided to induce her. I have heard that it has taken all day for her to get to 5 cm and the pain is unbearable. Fortunately, she gave in and got the epidural. I hope their dreams come true soon and she’ll be holding her own beautiful baby girl tonight.

I know I will be holding Lexi and be feeling extreme joy for them.

Knock Off Chic

Last week, a strange street chic walked into our office building. She was dragging a large bag on wheels. Her painted on jeans were paired with a red tank top that was too small, white tennis shoes, and a bright yellow leather purse. The moment she opened her mouth, her New Jersey accent came pouring out.

As she unzipped her bag, she announced that she had the best deals for us. To make herself more appealing, she actually called us “girlfriends” and handed us knock-off purses. I was told to take a whiff of the amazing Fendi Spy Bag (real one pictured above). It was difficult to hold in the laughter because she was trying too hard and I am just not that big into purses. In fact, I didn't even know that Fendi had a "Spy Bag."

Out of politeness, I told her that I just wasn't interested. Then she hit me with the price. I chuckled and thought, for a little more I would rather have a real Coach purse. I guess I am just not that trendy.

Passing of Loved Ones

There are so many crazy things going on in my life lately. Sometimes, it is easy to be mired down in all of the little distractions, but this week I had moments where I was able to step back and look at the big picture. It is all about relationships.

On Monday, I attended the opening and first burials of the South Florida National Cemetery. While I was extremely impressed with the new cemetery, I could not help but reflect on my father’s burial a year and a half ago, especially since he was buried in a National Cemetery. Re-experiencing the details of that day like the little outdoor pavilion, trumpets, flag folding, etc. brought back a flood of memories mostly good (being surrounded by my family).

At the Opening Ceremony, I guess I looked like I was there on official business because quite a few people approached me to ask questions. I talked to several of the family members about the passing of their uncle. I also spoke to a cute older couple that just wanted to see the cemetery because they planned on being buried there in the future. These conversations really made me think about life and appreciating the special moments and relationships. When I got back to Miami, I heard the news about the Virginia Tech shootings.

That isn't all, one of my favorite bloggers, Dayngr, is going through the death of her mother. Her posts and tributes have been so touching. I can not even begin to imagine what it is like to lose your mother. My husband lost his mom 10 months ago and every month without fail he falls into a slump that last several days. I don’t think a day goes by that he doesn’t miss her. I hear that the death of your mother is something that you never recover from even though you get better at living with it.

These moments force one to step back and realize that life is about enjoying the people around us and appreciating the time we have with them.

Mi Nina Bilingue / My Bilingual Girl

Living in Miami has enabled me to pick up a little Spanish. Ok, so I have been here over 8 years and "little" is a good description. I am not proud of this. I truly wish I was bilingual. However, I am getting better thanks to Lexi and her daycare. She spends all day with 2 teachers that only speak Spanish and then nights and weekend with us (English speakers). Because of that, she knows some words in Spanish, some in English, and some in both.

Bilingual Words:
Kiss (beso)
Nose (nariz)
Eye (ojo)
Hair (pelo)
Mouth (boca)
Ear (oreja)
Ball (bola)

Spanish Words:
Tirar (throw)
Agua (water)
Ven aca – ms? (come here)
Dado (dice)
Gato (cat)

The problem is that sometimes it takes me a while to figure out that her babbling is more than just baby talk, she is speaking a word in Spanish. For example, she has been saying dado (dice) for about 2 months. Finally, I asked someone at work what that meant. The daycare has some big play dice, so that makes sense.

At this stage, Lexi is bilingual. I don't know how long it will last. I know many people here whose parents are bilingual and they only speak a little Spanish. Her chances, of course, are less. Ideally, I would like her to be bilingual, but in the end I am hoping that she has an ear for languages and can roll her R's.

Becoming K-Smart

For household items, I usually shop at Target. Out of the three main places for this kind of shopping (Target, Wal-Mart & K-mart), I consider Target to be the more pleasant experience. Wal-Mart isn't bad, but there are no conveniently located ones in Miami. Of course at the bottom of the list is K-mart. I pretty much detest that place. I am completely convinced that the Miami stores actually go out of their way to hire employees that don't care, like messes, move slower than turtles, like to argue, and basically try to make the shopping experience a pain. As you would guess, I avoid them. I probably go once a year when I am looking for a particular item that I didn't find anywhere else (like a certain colored towel from their Martha Stewart collection).

Yesterday for some reason, I decided I should go there during my lunch break. There is one near my office. (Sorry, this isnt one of those posts where I have a witty story about how bad it was.) Actually, I was pleasantly surprised. They must have changed their recruiting strategy. The employees were actually helpful. I also stopped in their baby section to buy diapers & stuff and noticed that they had cute clothes. Yes, I buy cheap clothes for Lexi to wear to daycare. They come back messed up anyway and she gets nice ones for the weekend.

I guess my point is that next time I think about going to the old K-mart, I will not be dreading it. It didn't work its way to the top of the list though.

Full Blown MOM

Today, I did something that I probably would not have done if I was not a mom. I had to run an errand during lunch, so I ended up taking a late lunch. On the way back, I was driving next to/behind a school bus. Suddenly, the kids (Jr high aged) threw a sack out the window. It didn't hit my car, but I saw them all laughing and two things went through my mind:

1. YOU little Brats!
2. You could have caused a wreck

I caught the eye of a little blonde girl in the backseat. She was laughing with the rest of them, so I gave her the dirtiest Mom scolding look EVER! Then I decided that it wasn't enough. I picked up my cell phone & while she watched, I called the number on the side of the bus. I reported the bus number and location. The operator said she would contact the driver.

I realize that this matter is about more than just being a Mom for me. In the last week, I have seen blatant dirty politics. It has made me sick. I keep wondering when these people started selling their souls. Were they raised like this or did their morals get derailed somewhere along the way? I understand that all kids do things. You can bet I did BAD things while riding the bus, but when things are NOT ok, it should be pointed out. Therefore, I am just the mom to do it.

Show Your Green Support

Being raised by an Irish mother, means that St. Patrick's Day is always a big deal. Growing up, I always made sure to wear green pajamas to bed on March 16th. If I had forgotten, I would surely get pinched by my parents and brothers the next morning. My mom usually had us fend for ourselves for breakfast, but not on St Pat's. It was all about green pancakes, green eggs, and just about anything else she could put food coloring in.

It is fair to say that the greenness, shamrocks, and lucky leprechauns of the holiday were ingrained in me. In fact, I assumed that most people made a big deal of this holiday throughout the US. That was until I moved to Miami. Maybe it is the blonde in me or the Irish girl full of faith in those around her, but every year I am disappointed by their lack of festivities on St. Patrick's Day. Sure, Miami is full of people always wanting to celebrate and certainly the Irish pubs will be packed, but it isn't the goofy holiday kind of fun.

Tomorrow, you can bet that Lexi, Steve (yes I'll force it), and me will proudly wear our green clothes and eating green food. Happy St Patrick's day to EVERYONE! Those of you in Miami, please wear green for me... Besides, who couldn't use a little luck of the Irish?

SOBE Fire

We spent most of Sunday enjoying the sun at the beach and taking a LONG walk along the beach. On the way back, our feet were killing us and all we could think of was crashing on the couch. Things suddenly changed when we were almost home. That is when we noticed several fire trucks and stopped to see what was up. Yes, we were those annoying spectators at the scene. No - this is NOT our building.

This is a dilapidated building that rents rooms by the month (possibly by the week too) and always has interesting characters coming in and out of it. One of the more normal residents crossed the street to give us the inside scoop/gossip. Apparently, the room that smoke was barreling out of belongs to a mentally ill girl from Poland. She had recently been hanging around a crack-head, who got kicked out the building yesterday. We didn't see the girl, but the crack-head was pointed out to us. He was walking around in a fog, while talking on the phone. He should have been running away. We headed home right after finding out who the creep was. Later, we saw the police pull up and throw him in the car along with a bunch of baggies.

-Fun times in SOBE.

Days of Disappointment

Have you ever had a fabulous weekend planned, one that you had been looking forward to a while, just fall through?

We were supposed to go to Naples to meet up with some of Steve’s cousin & her family and see the art festival. I spent all of Friday working hard and thinking that we were going to be escaping Miami in the morning. I had no idea that our plans were even possibly going awry until I spoke to my husband at 5 pm. Apparently, he went home from work early with a HORRIBLE stomach thing. We aren’t quite sure if it was the stomach flu that is circulating or that fish sandwich he ate the night before. One thing is for certain though, he hasn’t been that sick in a LONG time. Hopefully, it will be a LONG time before it happens again.

Instead of enjoying the weekend, we all sat at home. Do you know how much MORE boring that is when you were expecting something fun? It is torturous. Life marches on even though we don’t have any future fun weekends planned for the time being. To be fair, I realize that people who live in a vacation destination shouldn’t complain. Now, if we could only get fun people to come and visit us.

Whoa Momma!

As I was dropping Lexi off at daycare yesterday, I noticed a new kid. When I walked out, I saw the back of a lady walking around to get into a large SUV. She had on trendy tight jeans, spike high heels, and a cute shirt. I could tell that she is all about image and sexiness. Then, I saw her bumper sticker. "Just ignore my magnificent tits." All I could do was laugh and think – You go girl! Embrace that shallowness and make it yours!