In All Different Directions!

As usual, our family is going 90 mph in all different directions these days.  Here's what we've been up to for the last 3 weeks...

Alyssa 

Alyssa has added more days to her work schedule at Milk + Honey. She's really enjoying her weekly Apprentice program - learning a lot and making a good impression.  This week, she has models coming in to get various styles, so she can be "checked off." When she completes all of this - probably in 3-4 months -  she anticipates being "given a chair" at the salon. Very exciting!!
We all had a lot of fun fishing and sailing at the end of last month at Lake Texoma - see more at A Long Line of Lake Lovers. And, then, a couple of weeks later, Alyssa had a wonderful trip to the beach with Josh's family. She LOVES the beach, so 4 days at a lovely condo in Corpus Christi was perfect! They caught quite a few fish, saw a few dolphins and maybe even a shark. It sounds like September, when the crowds have died down, is THE time to do a beach trip!
Alyssa's "Wedding Update" is that she found The Dress. Next stop...Invitations.
On a side note... Alyssa's fiancé, Josh, turned 21 since I last reported in.  After our fishing trip, we decided to get him a bow fishing kit.  With all the carp at the dock, I think he'll love using it there. He's already being practicing and is becoming quite good with the bow! He loves "outdoor stuff" so I'm glad we found something for him on his "Big Day."

Katie 

Katie finished her summer work at Cinemark. Luckily, she's been accumulating free passes (one of the perks of working there!) so I anticipate more movie watching for all of us!
We've been busy shopping for "L.A. Clothes" - since most of her NYC wardrobe is for much colder weather than she'll see in southern California. She is not sad to leave that New York weather!
She's been having a lot of fun with Zumba classes at the local 24 Hour Fitness.
We're working together on a cookbook, so she'll be able to make various dishes that she grew up enjoying.  She probably won't be home for Thanksgiving this year, so she wants to learn how to make all of our family specialties! :::sniff, sniff:::
Katie's been a huge help to me with getting Grandma to her multitude of dental appointments lately. (See below)
And... I just realized that the next time I "report in," I will probably be back from taking her to California. I'm going to miss her!!

Michael

Michael has been busy trekking across Nicaragua. He teaches in the eastern side of the country, but is often called back to Corazo area for Peace Corps training classes and workshops. It doesn't hurt that his girlfriend lives in La Paz and her family kindly allows him to stay there with them.  Considering his pay is about $100/month, and his food options are pretty bad where he lives, I'm happy that he has a family who feeds him whenever he's there!
Michael has had very little communication lately because his computer crashed. This is not an easy fix in a 3rd World country. Kathya thinks she knows someone that can fix it, but we'll see. In the meantime, she loaned him a computer from her family to take back to his house in Muelle de Los Bueyes (south central Nicaragua). Only problem was, he confused the 2 power cords and took the wrong one back. Considering mail is completely unreliable, he has to wait a couple of weeks to get back over there to get the right cord. All of these computer issues are troubling him because he and Kathya are trying to work on her Visa to come back to the USA with him for Alyssa's wedding next April.  Only about 10% of Nicaraguans who apply for visas are granted one, so we're a little worried. Cross your fingers!
On Wednesday, Michael experienced a 7.6 earthquake which occurred off the coast of Costa Rica but shook Nicaragua as well. He felt the tremor and said it lasted longer than any he remembered in Alaska or California. All day long, Nicaraguans anticipated a tsunami from the quake, but by the end of the day, the warning was lifted without any tsunami. He called to tell me about it, before I could hear about it from the computer or the news.  I'm glad because I would have been worried sick if I couldn't find out about him.

I found a different video and shared it at my earlier blogpost, "Mom! It's an Earthquake!" 
But here's CNN's report on this earthquake, with experts, maps and explanations:

Sue

After a couple of months of exercise (including weekly with Michelle, the trainer) and wishy washy dieting, I stuck with the Fuhrman Diet. And lost 7 lbs. in 2 weeks! For some reason, I fell off the wagon and ate all kinds of unhealthy stuff. So now I'm back on board. The diet is primarily plant-based. Crazy, seemingly excessive, amounts of leafy greens as well as 1 lb. of cooked veggies and 1 lb. of raw veggies, at least 4 fruit, and 1 cup of beans. That's the minimum! Really makes for a messy kitchen though. Oh well.
I offered to help my longtime friend, Linda Dobson, with her publication Parent at the Helm. The books she wrote really helped me tremendously when we first started homeschooling, so I am happy to help her out with PATH. I've written a few pieces and now I'm learning Wordpress, behind the scenes. I really like it so much better than Blogger, but I'm not sure about moving everything to a different blog. We'll see. If I can figure out the Wordpress "themes" down the road, I might do it.
And speaking of road... I'm looking forward to Katie and my road trip to California at the end of the month! Driving there, flying back.

Ron

Ron is still ordering parts and working on the motorcycle. Luckily, we have Grandma's Toyota Camry for him to drive to work.  He's had a couple of really great sailing weekends. He's doing different things with the sails, so he can control the speed and the ways the sails catch the wind. And, he bought the decal for the boat name change... O Susie Q.  We'll take a picture the next time we go up there (or he might go up while we're gone to California.)
I've never had a boat named after me! Kinda cool!

Grandma

I was sitting at my dining room table when my mom came up to me.
"Look at this," she said casually and placed a whitish almost plastic looking thing in my hand.
"What is it?" I asked.
"My tooth!"
Why this grossed me out, I have no idea. My kids have put far worse into my hands in years past. But this really bothered me.  Oh well.  I got over it.  Grandma's "chipped" tooth turned into 6 visits to the dentist and oral surgeon!  She needed a root canal, a crown lengthening, a post being added, a temporary tooth, and still a permanent one to go in there! Wow!
She's really enjoying all the activities that her apartment complex sets up. So, in spite of her forgetfulness and real need for a lot of help, I'd like her to stay there as long as possible. We're talking about how the next step is to move in with us - and she isn't resisting that. But, just like with the car, why resist until it actually comes to pass? Then, we'll see how she is with resistance. Hopefully, that's a little ways off.

"Mom! It's an Earthquake!"

Michael called at 9 a.m. to ask if I had been watching the news. I hadn't. I had barely poured my cup of coffee! He went on to tell me that he'd just felt an earthquake in Nicaragua and wanted to know what I could find out about it.  He said that reports were that it was 7.9 but some were coming in as only 7.6. He didn't have much more information than that. The strange thing, to him, was how long it lasted. How it just rolled and rolled. He said it was very odd to feel the earth move underfoot like that.  My friend Pam had just been telling me about a recent earthquake in southern California that actually made her nauseous. This was a new feeling for her too, and she's certainly felt her share of quakes. Michael said that no one near him, had been hurt. He was staying at Kathya's family's house in Carazo, on the Pacific side of Nicaragua. They were all acting fairly calm, but curious as to what information Michael could find out from me. I immediately began to comb the internet.

The earthquake was actually off the northern coast of Costa Rica, 87 miles west of their capital, San Jose. It was centered more than 282 miles deep. But you can see the close proximity between Carazo and Costa Rica! No wonder they felt it!

Tsunami warnings (meaning they are imminent) were in effect for the day. Michael was on higher ground - should I be reassured that he was on a side of a volcano?  Anyway, the tsunami warnings were eventually dropped with no occurrence striking any of the Central American coastline.

That night, my friend Lisa called to see if I had heard from Michael. She reminded me of the the earthquake that hit Nicaragua in the 1990's - 116 people killed, 68 missing, and 1350 homeless. I had forgotten! Luckily, this one wasn't nearly as devastating.

September 2, 1992 Masachapa Nicaragua earthquake

Considering the region is full of active and sleeping volcanoes, we'll see if this earthquake does anything to stir them up!

Busy Lives

Update Time....

Michael ~ We don't hear from Michael every week and this is one of those weeks where we didn't.  If you had asked me if 5 or 10 years ago if this could ever happen (the not talking to him part), I would have never been able to imagine it. I might have even burst into tears at the sheer THOUGHT of not speaking to him daily. I only say this because I still run into people who feel this way about their children. And somehow, Life just takes care of it. They grow and go off on adventures, and luckily, it doesn't usually happen all at once. And you just kind of ease into it. I feel a little sad, writing that now, but he's happily cavorting around on adventures, and that IS what he wants. So that's what i want for him. I'm still planning to spend a couple of weeks in Nicaragua in November/December, when he has a work break. And he'll be back here for Alyssa's wedding in April. There are moments when I miss him terribly - but it's not constant, like I always thought it would be. I guess this is just what having adult children is like. :::wistful sigh::::

Katie ~ Katie is firming up her apartment options for Los Angeles. She and two of her friends are doing the paperwork to get a really nice 3 bedroom gated community apartment. Plenty of room for Mom to come visit!! She's working a lot, trying to save as much as she can for the California Life!  She and I will probably drive out there around the 15th of September.  It will be here before I know it!
Tomorrow, our friend Ari is coming over to do new Head Shots for auditions out there. Ari does great work, so I'm sure her photos will look wonderful. Katie's also making it to lots of free Midnight Movies because of her job at Cinemark. Fun!!

Alyssa ~ Alyssa is in Wedding Mode - big time. This week, she tried on dresses, signed with a caterer, made all the food selections, did a second meeting with the florist for minor changes - and I'm sure there was something else, but it tires me just to write all that!  Wedding planning with the internet at your fingertips is an entire different ballgame than when I got married in 1987!  Pinterest pictures, blog suggestions, online registries - wow! It's pretty cool, really.  Alyssa's other big news is that Milk n' Honey offered her a position in their new Apprentice Program. She started this week. Lots of studying and hands on work. It's going to be hard, but it will be so great to learn even more.

Ron ~ Ron has had some motorcycle problems this week. He broke down on the side of the road. Bummer - especially when it's 100 degrees by 11 am! But all that is forgotten because he's heading up to Lake Texoma in the morning for 3 days! This is an exciting trip because Katie, Alyssa, Josh, and I are all going to go up there on Sunday. The kids are so excited to go fishing there. We're all going to sleep on the boat!! I'll let you know how that goes. :)

Tonight's dinner:
Lemon Pepper Tilapia
with a hearty veggie soup/stew
Delish!

Sue ~ I'm not really sure where my week went. I spent a lot of time taking my mom to dental appointments. She had a crown fall off, so she has quite an extensive "treatment plan" for it. She'd love to be driving herself to these appointments, but there's just no way she can manage it. She doesn't agree. It's a hard spot to be in - for both of us. I'm still working out and trying to figure out what to eat. It's hard to know what to do - high protein, low carb? plant-based, non-dairy? high veggie, nothing processed? What does "balanced diet" mean anyway? It certainly changes depending on who you're talking to! But the exercise seems to actually be changing the shape of my body, and I'm down a couple of sizes. That' a good thing! Ron got the ladder attached on the boat, so I'm looking forward to lots of swimming at the lake this weekend.
Oh! And I have been busy this week blogging daily for the NaBloPoMo challenge. Some of the days, I even wrote more than one blogpost! I'm sure my friends are getting tired of seeing my Facebook Updates! haha!


Forgot to mention, Grandma is going to stay at our house this weekend with all the dogs! I think it will be okay. I guess we'll see!

Related Blogposts:
Videos, Boxes, and Even a Wedding
Ron's "New" Boat
July Update: What? July is OVER?

Videos, Boxes, and even a Wedding!

Update Time....

Michael has the most news really. He just completed a camp in Nicaragua for 45 students from all over the country who were excelling in their English studies. His role there is to really help the teachers become more engaged with the students. Lots of that is done through modeling, but it has to stay in balance. He's run into a few who simply disappear or fade out to do other stuff - just letting him do his thing. But that's not really the point.  Anyway, he's done a couple of videos and I think he actually has a You Tube channel devoted to his Vlogs. I know he posts a lot of them there, and then links to them from Facebook.  Michael was really pleased with the success of the camps, so that's great!

He also shared a documentary trailer that he thinks is very good, called Dreaming Nicaragua. If you get the opportunity to see it any local film festivals, please do! He felt like it was accurately telling the story of life in Nicaragua. Here's the trailer:

Katie is sorting through boxes of her clothing - shifting from NYC clothes to LA clothes. We've been checking out the Southern California temperatures and wow! I'm so jealous! 103° here and a balmy 80° there. ahhhh. She's still working at Cinemark and we're all taking advantage of her free movie passes. Thanks, Katie!

Alyssa is still working 3 days per week which leaves her a good amount of time to hang out with Josh. His schedule is to work 24 hours, then be off for 2 days.  Alyssa and Josh have bought more fishing gear and are getting ready to go on a 2-day fishing trip at Lake Texoma, where Ron has promised that HUGE fish are just waiting for them! It will be nice for them to get a break, not have to spend any money - and FISH! (Who knew that Alyssa would love fishing so much, but she does!)

Grandma is still unpacking boxes at her house. Her progress is VERY slow. She's had a few adventures since she's been there. I might get the video camera out so we can record her telling some of these stories. Pretty funny stuff! She's still arguing with me about wanting to drive, and I feel terrible that she can't manage it. I feel even WORSE that she thinks I'm not right in my decision. :::sigh::::

Ron put the ladder on the sailboat so now I can get on and off the boat into the water. I'm thinking I need a fabulous raft or something! He also attached a grill to the back of the boat. I think he's anticipating a lot of success for Josh and Alyssa's fishing trip in mid-August!

I have been back to blogging more. And I really hope I'm not doing it as yet another way to procrastinate! I need to finish up the The Book. Light a couple candles, say a few prayers, that I can get back on track with that. I really want to finish that soon!
My workout/weight loss has been progressing along. I've lost 32 lbs. since I started walking in March.  My diets have changed over time, and currently I'm finding the most success with eliminating starches and sugars. I'm getting to the gym 4-5 days each week, but the weight loss seems more directly related to my food consumption. Surprise, surprise!






Other general family news is that Ron's brother Scott's son, Kelly Todd Copeland got married! It was a small wedding in Greenville Texas.
Hopefully, we'll be heading that way for the reception this weekend!
Don't you love their matching blue shoes?

June Update: Summer, A Circus, and Space!

Lots of changes at our house... anyone surprised by that? ha! But everyone is happy and healthy, so it's all good! Here's what's going on:

Katie

Katie on my New Couch!

Katie is settling in here at home for the summer. Josh had moved into her room with all of his furniture, so she was happy to move into the guest room.  She was never crazy about her bed, and the new "guest room" has a very comfy queen-sized bed. A definite upgrade! She started a part-time job as a waitress at Applebee's but that just wasn't for her. She got better at it, but the hours were too unpredictable. So she returned to Cinemark, and they gladly welcomed her back. I think this week she's scheduled for 56 hours!! That's what she wants - more hours, more money!  She and I have been to a couple of movies this month - Snow White and the Huntsman and Brave. She is able to see movies for free and take one person with her (also for free), so this is a nice perk.  We're looking at all kinds of things for her apartment this fall. She'll be going to Los Angeles for her second year with the New York Film Academy at their campus at Universal Studios. She is SO excited about this!

Alyssa

Alyssa is working at Milk & Honey Salon in the Arboretum. The unfortunate part is that the clientele at that salon is primarily suburban housewives, who are home with their kids on summer break right now, and not getting their hair done. This is the salon's explanation for a VERY slow work week. She's in their apprentice program and working as a Shampoo Tech, 3 days a week there. She's keeping up her skills by working on people's hair - cutting, coloring, etc. - in homes. The expectation is that she'll move into a Stylist position in the Fall, when business picks up.  The other big news is that Josh and Alyssa signed a lease for a new apartment about 5 minutes away. She spends a lot of time over there, feathering their nest and planning for their future. Wedding plans are foremost on Alyssa's mind these days. We're meeting with caterers, gathering addresses, and I think she plans to send out "Save the Date" cards very soon.

Michael

Michael's experiences in Nicaragua are going great. He stumbled upon a traveling circus and decided to put his Journalism degree to use. He went behind the scenes and got to know the performers. He wrote about the experience in Infiltrating the Tents of Circo Zuary and this article will be in the upcoming issue of the Peace Corps Magazine, La Pue.  Because he's been a regular contributor, they've asked him to be the Editor for La Pue! Peace Corps volunteers rotate out of the country after a couple of years, so these positions rollover periodically. I'm very excited for him because I think this will be great when he's done with this phase and ready to move on to something else. Who knows what THAT will be!?!?!

Ron

Ron is spending most weekends on Lake Texoma with the new boat. He's been bringing parts home and we've been working on it here - sanding, varnishing, sewing sail covers, seat cushions, etc.  And today, I'm happy to report, he finally got the boat out onto the water! He said it was great! At nearly 30 feet, this is the biggest sailboat Ron has sailed on his own.  He loved it.

Sue

I've been working out for a couple of hours at least 6 days a week. I'm actually getting to the point where I like it a lot more. Especially the swimming. I have a trainer that I meet weekly, and we work out together for an hour, and then make a plan for me for the week.  We have a membership at 24 Hour Fitness, and I take their Body Pump and Water Aerobics classes twice a week plus a weekly Aqua Zumba class - which is very fun! On alternate days, I'm on the treadmill and the bike. I've veered from my Vegan plan, lately. And while I think I'll be going back to it eventually, for now, I really feel I need to reset my metabolism and deal with my insulin/sugar balancing.  I'm reading 2 interesting books:

Why We Get Fat, by Gary Taub (The author of Good Calories/Bad Calories)

Flat Belly Diet, by Prevention Magazine
I've been spending a lot of time trying to adjust to the concept of kids growing up and leaving home. I think I'm finally getting to the point where I can see the Positives...like new furniture when they take away the old, more space to spread out MY stuff, more energy for my own projects.  Of course, some days I'm still teary, but I'm moving in the right direction.

New York, New Sailboats, New Beginnings!

We're busy. And recording it here, helps with my memory issues. When I'm old and have my house by the sea, like Miss Rumphius, I'll use these blog posts to write my memoirs.  Maybe.

So, since last we talked, a few things happened....
We'll start with ME!

Sue
I did fib a little, when I posted the last family update. I had written most of it before I made the last-minute decision to go see Katie in New York. She finally confided in me that she hadn't given a lot of thought to the idea of my coming for her end-of-the-year stuff, because she thought the flights would be too expensive. But the more I heard about it, the more I realized it was a real graduation. And, since she had never graduated from anything before - I needed to be there! I got online on Friday, the 11th, booked a flight, and flew to NYC - La Guardia at 7 a.m. the next day. I was happy that I didn't have to use my seat extender that Michael picked up on one of our last flights. When I got to Charlotte, NC, I decided I should probably tell Katie, in case she made other plans. She was pretty excited to hear I was only a couple of hours away! I met her at her dorm, and we went to lunch at our traditional restaurant, The Barking Dog. It was the first place we went to eat when she first moved there. Mother's Day was far from typical, as I spent it in NYC.
Healthwise, I'm still working on it. While we did lots of walking in New York, we did lots of eating too! It was so good! But now I'm back on track. Kinda.

Katie
Katie finished up her year at NYFA and graduated on May 12th. She was so surprised that I flew in. She had a lot of fun with her friends in their last days in NYC. She has a couple of friends who are going to move in with her in an apartment in Los Angeles - which is where she'll do her second year with NYFA. She really didn't enjoy the NY winters, so I'm sure LA will be better in that regard. Several of her instructors told me that she could stay in NY and start working right away - and who knows, maybe she'll go back and do that. It's good to know they think she's good enough for it! Lots of compliments as to how driven and passionate she is about acting. I wish I could have seen her Scene Study that her group did the night before I got there. They all said she was incredible in that. Sean, one of the tech people, said he will upload it so we can see it. Here's more about Katie's graduation.
After I helped her pack up her dorm, she came back to my hotel to sleep in comfy bed. Dorm beds aren't that great. We ate breakfast and parted ways at the airport. She got the rest of her stuff organized, hung out with friends, and hopped on the plane for Austin on Thursday. The layover in Orlando was too short, evidently, because Jet Blue lost her huge suitcase. Actually, this worked in our favor - we didn't have to lug it in the Prius - with Alyssa, Grandma, Katie and me. They delivered it to our door the next day. Katie's enjoying open skies and lots of room in the house. She'll be looking for a job this summer.
Katie wrote her own blogpost about the highlights of this past semester in Birthday, Sick, Final Performances, and Home for the Time Being. 

Alyssa 
While I was in NYC, Alyssa got her call back on one of the interviews: Milk + Honey Salon in the Arboretum. They're working on an Apprentice program and are willing to start her as a Shampoo Tech/Salon Assistant.  She'll move into the Stylist role as soon as possible. For now, she's happy to have a job at a really pretty new salon. She gives a great head massage during a shampoo, so I expect she'll make great tips! Since she's only working 3 days/week right now, she's spending a lot of time fishing with Josh - and having great luck! This will be the first summer that she isn't booked solid with classes since 2008! She is definitely relieved to be done with all that!

The Magazine Cover!

Michael

Kathya's Graduation Festivities!

Michael has several new blogposts up at his blog, In the Nica Time. His Tumblr blog was too unwieldy for him - especially with his limited internet access. But the articles are still up there until he can get them all moved over to the new blog. So now he's at Blogger.  One of the really cool things that has happened is that he's been published in the Peace Corps Magazine for Nicaragua. His articles, Motorboats, Mansions, and Monkeys: las Islets de Granada as well as The Great Volcan Masaya, were both in the March issue. And one of his pictures of Muelle de los Bueyes was published on the cover of that issue! Glad that degree in Journalism is getting some use!
His girlfriend, Kathya, graduated from college with a degree in Engineering. He was able to get back to La Paz for the graduation and did a little more sightseeing. I'll keep you posted as he puts up more articles/pictures.



Ron

Ron's still motorcycling over to the train station and catching the train to work. Most of the time, he likes this little trek - reading his Kindle while people get on and off the train. He's looking forward to UT's Spring semester finishing up - much fewer people on the bus, no bicycles squeezed into aisles, etc.

Ron's big news, though, is the sailboat he purchased on Mother's Day Weekend. Here's the update on Ron's "New" Boat. He's taking lots of trips up to Lake Texoma, 4.5 hours away. The boat is actually 44 years old - something great about that!! I'm happy to say that the air conditioner he ordered from Amazon just arrived today, so I might be able to brave the Texas heat overnight on the boat. I expect the cabin will cool down quickly with that!


Grandma
Did I tell you that after taking her car from her last Fall, my mom went out with a friend and bought another? A clunker with 130, 000 miles on it! She barely drove it, but desperately hated the idea that I was preventing her from driving. Last weekend, she threw her back out, so I ended up with the car keys. I've decided that much of this depends on the "presentation" of the info. So, for now, we are "sharing" the car.  She takes it for Mass on Saturday night when the parking lots aren't so crowded.  Going cold turkey on the car issue was just too much for her.

Family Updates

OK, somehow I fell way behind on Family Updates. I guess I was chatting with them a bit at Facebook, and didn't do it here. One of the reasons I prefer here though, is that it's recorded. Facebook just scrolls away.
So...since last we talked, a few things have happened....

Alyssa...
... GRADUATED from Avenue Five Institute (a Vidal Sassoon School). The way cosmetology schools work is that once you have done all the tasks on the list and completed 1500 hours, you're done. She completed the tasks in record time - she was driven! All she had to do was continue to work through her 1500 hours. Her attendance was 105% (she came in early, took short lunches, never skipped), so she was one of the first 4 to graduate that had started with her back in June '11. We're really proud of her! She graduated on Friday, April 27th and then took the licensure exam the following Monday. She's got a pretty good case of test anxiety, but she pushed through it and PASSED! She has the 2nd part, the practical hands-on part to do next week.

Alyssa has a couple of job interviews set up and she's waiting to hear back from some. So, hopefully, the next update will say where she's working. We're so proud of her and sure she's going to do great!

She and I made a little website for her future clients. You can subscribe to Alyssa's Salon and get notifications when she updates, has changes, or offers specials for clients.

OH! Alyssa and Josh had their Engagement Pictures done in the middle of the Texas Bluebonnets.
Here's more about Engagement Photos - they're pretty spectacular!





Katie...

Katie is wrapping up her year in New York City. She's had an incredible experience there - hanging out with her fellow actors, learning tons about the business, performing in a variety of shows, going to see shows on Broadway. She's grown up a lot too, having to manage her way through the big city, getting her subway passes, hailing cabs, rushing through rain - all of these were totally unfamiliar when she got there. Now she's a Pro!

She did have to figure out what to do when you have the Flu a long ways from home. That was awful for BOTH of us!! She had to walk to the nearest CVS to get some meds so she could work on a group film project. I know, encouraging a person to go be with OTHER people, when they're sick is never a good idea. But she had no choice. And she really felt like all of them had either been exposed or had it already, so she pressed on. She dosed up on meds and they could barely tell she was sick.

Afterwards, she was a wreck though. She couldn't really get out of bed to go get food, so I ordered some from a nearby deli for her. When she went down to get it in the lobby, she said, "I just remember not being able to see anything then suddenly, all I could see was vomit." Great. She passed out AND puked in the lobby. They even called EMS. But she told them she was just hungry and had the flu. The housing staff walked her back to her room and EMS was turned away when they arrived in the lobby. After a couple of days, she was better. Thank heavens for DayQuil. But it's really tough to not be able to help your baby when she's sick and far away!!

At first, I was going to go up to NYC to help her pack out of the dorm. But since we'll have to do a flight to L.A. to find a new place to live for next year, we need to save money. And Katie is perfectly capable of getting boxes and figuring out how to ship some stuff out of there. I DO love New York and I would absolutely LOVE to see her final work there, but I'm afraid it's just not meant to be this time.
So, Katie's flight is May 18th!  I'm ready to have her home for a few months so I can take care of her!

Michael...

Michael's been having a pretty exciting time in Nicaragua. Apart from his work, he's managed to get out and go exploring. Nicaraguans get the week before Easter off from school. So he and his girlfriend Kathya took a trip to the beautiful Corn Islands. They have a bunch of photos up on Facebook.

A few weeks ago, Michael sent me a cryptic text saying he had "been robbed." It took a little while to get more specifics. He had had a situation earlier, prior to the elections, where all of the people on the bus were told to get off on the side of the road. Then the politicos commandeered the bus. So my disaster brain went to work with all kinds of worst-case-scenarios. I was certainly being reminded that there was absolutely nothing I could do to help him. After a little bit, he texted that he had been pick-pocketed by 2 Nicaraguans who were half his height. They systematically bumped him, then exited the bus as quickly as they came on - with his wallet. Luckily, he didn't keep his passport on him, so he just lost a little money and his ID. That was remedied the following week. His response? "Well, you just have to pay a little more attention when the rodeo is in town!"
Michael has had 2 articles published in the Peace Corps Magazine. This is his photo that actually  landed on the cover!  Some of his articles are at Nica Time on Tumblr . He's having a little trouble uploading them, so I'll post when they're available.

I just love the colors in all the photos he takes there. It really is just a little bit of civilization plopped down in the middle of a rainforest.


Ron
Ron has the Boat Bug again. He's looking at retiring from Hospice Austin in a couple of years, and I think he's trying to visualize how he wants to spend his time.  He seems to be relegated to spectator with regards to his hockey passion. This makes him a little bummed, but the idea of owning another sailboat perks him right up! He took a sailing course in Corpus Christi a couple of weekends ago. I know! Crazy since he's been sailing for 40 years! But he had to take the course in order to take the more advanced courses. He'd really like to charter a boat. And, he was happy to sail on open water - any chance to be on a sailboat makes him happy. He looked at some boats up at Lake Texoma. And, while that's a great sailing lake, it's a 4-5 hour drive from our house. I'm pushing for Lake Belton, which is only about an hour away. That allows for some last minute back and forth that couldn't happen if he puts the boat at Texoma. We'll see what he decides. And as far as boats go, he's trying to decide between a Bristol 29, a Cal 27, and a Hunter 30.  I'll keep you posted what he ends up doing.

Sue
I'm mainly focusing on my health. I'd really like to get rid of some of these medical diagnoses, and I think that could happen if I got rid of some weight. So, that's been my big focus lately. The gardening is continuing, though I'd like it to look much better. And I've been having a lot of fun with a series I'm doing  with other women working on personal growth. Busy! Busy!

That about sums it up for us for now. Hopefully, I'll do better at keeping this updated in the future!

"Friday" Family Update

It's getting harder and harder to actually do these ON Fridays! Not sure why that is, but... oh well.


Michael had a great week in Nicaragua. He's really settling in there and doing well. Here's his most recent Video Blog. you can see any of the vlogs, he's done since he's been over there. He has a blog too, Nica Time, if you want to keep up.

Katie's show, Pillow Talk, opened at the Player's Club in NYC. Ron was able to go up there (for a whirlwind 36 hour trip. More about that below). Katie had the lead in her One Act play, and Ron reported back that the audience LOVED her!  He heard many glowing compliments of how well she is doing, what a hard worker she is, how great she is in class.  Yes!!!

One of Katie's friends at school found someone that Katie could room with in L.A. They met and chatted and it looks like it might work out.  She's having so much fun with her friends there - I'm glad several of them are going to go to LA for the Second Year of film acting with Katie.

Alyssa has moved to her final phase of her program. Students in "Avenue Four" are taking clients on the salon floor all week long. She's really good at cutting, and especially good at color - so if you need something done... :) Notice in the pic how all my gray is gone. Thanks to my own personal stylist, Alyssa!
Alyssa and Josh are getting excited with their wedding plans. We've firmed up the cake person: Krissy's Cakes. And they're trying to decide on different flavors for Groom's Cake. They're also furniture and apartment shopping this week. It's fun to watch them figure out what to choose!
Alyssa turns 18 this weekend. She'll be spending the day before with Josh (he works on the 26th), then his family is having a little party for her. She'll be with us for the actual day, and luckily, she doesn't have to go to school that day!

Ron is adapting to his new diabetic diet. He's not happy about how much time he has to dedicate to staying on top of his blood sugars, but he's doing fine with it. He added the laminate flooring to the new "Guest Room" this week. The new (old) bed moved in there. You can't really see the flooring in this pic, but at least the stained carpet is gone. We splurged and got a new bed. Just when the kids start moving out and we should be downsizing...we go the completely opposite direction! This is our queen sized one we've had since Michael was a baby, now in the Guest room.

Since we missed last week, you should know that Ron took his first trip to New York City! He actually had a great time - adored seeing Katie in her show, and had a great time with her as she showed him around NYC. They skated at Rockefeller Center, toured the Empire State Building, visited her dorm, wandered through Times Square, rode the subway, ate a little cafes.  Katie took more pictures and they have an adorable one at the Empire State building. I'll write a blog post next week about it and link it here. I'm so glad they got to spend that time together - just the two of them.


Sue: My birthday was this week! 51! We went to Mandola's for Italian food. It was delicious. Alyssa and I indulged in some yummy dessert.  This is the way (for me) to go! Often, I'm the only one who continues to munch on cake for the rest of the week. So just getting one really fabulous dessert (Zuccoto Cake!), I'm spared the bazillions of calories of HAVING to finish off an entire cake over the course of the week! Alyssa is a new gelato fan. She brought me a very sweet card (from Josh too) and some lovely purple tulips. Beautful! Michael and Katie both called, and we had long talks. That's really all I need for a perfect birthday. Still, Mom took me shopping for clothes. And many lovely comments on Facebook  and texting greeted me all day long.  

My friend Lillian shared this with me today:

Friday Family Update

even though I'm not getting around to it until the weekend!


Alyssa
Tonight was a Fashion Show at Avenue Five. Alyssa did one when she first started as an "Avenue 1", and now as she's finishing up "Avenue 3", she's did another. Ron, Josh, Grandma and I all went. It was loud and fun and the stylists did great work. At the end, the stylists walked the runway with their models.  Fun evening!
Another biggie for Alyssa this week is that her school held a Mock State Board Test.  They all had to go through various procedures with no assistance from teachers or communicating with each other. They worked on a mannequin for most of it, but had to use each other to be checked off on "Nails". They did a manicure, a facial, a chemical, a color, a cut. She was really nervous because they tried to make it as similar to the real State Boards as possible. All serious. No talking. She doesn't really like the First Run of anything. She prefers to sit back, take it all in, THEN take her turn. She didn't get to do it like that this week though.  But...she passed with a 90!! I'm impressed! And by the end of the week, she received a card in the mail saying she's eligible to go take her State Boards.

Katie

Katie's been super busy with classes this week. And she added in rehearsals for her show next week (Feb. 17th).  It sounds like it's going to be wonderful.
She learned how to make her first Pork Chops in the Crock Pot recipe! Success! I think she's going to try Spaghetti next.
We've decided that she can come home for Spring Break. All of her friends are going to be gone, so it will be better. She wants Alyssa to trim her hair, so that will work out too. We're going to postpone taking the trip to LA over spring break. We'll just wait to do it in May. Pam's friends have been checking out various places that Katie finds online. Then they give the Thumbs Up or Thumbs down signal.

Michael
Michael is learning why Nicaragua needs Peace Corps volunteers to help them teach English - the teachers there have a lot of resistance to it. They just don't think anything will work. The Peace Corps is starting to lean toward the concept of focusing on the Learner instead of the Teacher...so that's a good start. He is really enjoying his new living arrangements though. They stay up late asking questions about the program, his life, etc. All in Spanish - so he's going to get really good. The other house had several English speakers, so the others would often defer to them, and Michael wouldn't get much Spanish practice. Not here though! The only pitfall is that there is no meat in this house, they simply don't have the money for it. Nor is there much in the way of fruits and veggies - just rice and beans. So Michael is going to use his weekly money to help subsidize the food there.  He also told me that he and Kathya are getting very serious about each other. They are going to work on getting her Visa so she can come with him for Alyssa's wedding in April 2013.

Ron
The Sonogram showed no mass, no real structural problem to note. But why he's at 40% on his kidney function...? He has an appt. with the nephrologist on Monday. He's having no pain now. He's also thinking it could be from that really hard fall he had in a hockey game a month or so ago. Possible.

Sue
Nothing new this week for me other than the big Police Operation in our neighborhood on Friday night. Helicopters overhead shaking the walls. Police cars everywhere, talking over their loudspeakers - not that I could understand them. And then as quickly as they arrived, they left for the next neighborhood over. And within the hour, it was all silent again. A weird night in Suburbia!

Friday Family Update 2/3/12

What's up with everybody? Some of it's good, some not so good...so I'll just lay it out here.

Selva Negra Coffee Plantation

Michael packed it in this week. He completed his first youth group class on his own last week. He was supposed to have help, but his answer to why didn't you? "Well, it's Nicaragua." His class size was supposed to be about 15. He started with 36 and grew to 62 students! Since he teaches English, he had to figure out a way to do oral exams for all those kids! 51 passed, so he felt really good about that.

He just got back from a Peace Corps training at the famous and gorgeous Selva Negra coffee plantation and resort. It's located in the Matagalpa Highlands. Michael said it was really cold up in the mountains. After the training, he went to La Paz afterward and stayed with his Nicaraguan girlfriend, Kathya's, family. They are really nice to him (as is everyone in La Paz! It was his first town to live in and his host family was wonderful.)
Michael did get a new place to live. He hasn't spent much time there yet, but I'd imagine we'll hear more soon.
Oh! Michael has a blog with posts, pictures and videos called Nica Time. You might want to check it out!

Katie with NYFA students

Katie had a roller coaster of a week. She auditioned for a 4 man show (2 girls/2 guys), that the teachers were producing. It's going to run at The Players Club, which isn't a school location; so it seems like a big deal. She did her audition, and felt like it went well. They asked her to sing something (she always has something prepared for these things), and then she left. Callbacks were the next day. Well, that day came and went - no call back. I think *I* was more disappointed than she was. She reminded me that that's just how this goes and I was  struck by the idea that that is why SHE is doing this and I am not! But 3 days later, the director called her, offering her a part! It turns out he didn't need to see her a second time to make the decision - he knew on the 1st audition! So the show is going to play on February 17th, and Ron has decided he's going to go to brave New York and see it! We just made the flight reservations tonight!
Another rough part for Katie's week, she and her boyfriend (who lives here) broke up. When the phone rang at 11:30 p.m., all she could say is "Mom?" then sobbing and near hysterics. I had no idea what was wrong. My disaster mind took off and every possible scenario of what COULD have happened to Katie in NYC, flashed through my mind in those 3-4 seconds!! Not Fun. Finally, she was able to say what happened, we talked a for a while, and she decided to go to bed. The next morning, her friends at NYFA comforted her, took her to lunch and out shopping after class. When I talked to her around 3 p.m. the next day, she was all better.  And then, today, she was invited to audition for the part of Maureen in RENT! I'm not sure where this production will be, if it's a NYFA version or off- off- off- Broadway. We shall see!

Alyssa is snipping away her hours at Avenue Five Institute. She took the 900 hour test this week and passed. It's required to pass before you can move on to the last phase, Avenue 4. She worked on a friend of mine's hair this week, cutting off 10 inches for Locks of Love. My friend was very pleased with the results and her husband even sent Alyssa a text saying how fabulous the color was! Alyssa loves to do color, so she'll probably add that as a testimonial on her website she's building.
We spent more time planning the wedding, booking people for the date. We are going with an Italian food catering company, Mr. Tomato, which will go perfectly with the Tuscan Villa theme. What they lack in their name choice, they make up for it in taste. We tried a variety of really delicious options, and they were so great to work with!  We also spent an INORDINATE amount of time with a photographer, Lisa Shepard who owns AIMAGE Photography. She was wonderful and we hired her on the spot. Tomorrow we go to secure the venue, so I'll write more about that next week.

Ron is running into some health issues. He ignored his pre-diabetic diagnosis from the doctor, eschewed the Metformin, and opted to try to keep his sugars in check with diet. That didn't work. This week, his sugars climbed higher and landed him with a Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis.  Add to that, his lower back pain he's had for maybe a year now - something he attributed to playing hockey or hiking - turns out to be a some kind of kidney problem. His numbers look bad, so they are scheduling him for a sonogram next week.  He is not happy about the dietary change I have in store for him, but I will wait until we hear from the doctor next week. He's actually excited about going up to NYC to see Katie perform, and I think I'm going to find some cool sightseeing things for him to do while she's in class!

Sue met with a new women's group at Toci over the weekend. This group is going to meet a couple times per month and really help each other stick to our goals and plans. One of those plans is to increase the creativity in my life. This week, my friend Cydney and I resurrected the Unschooling Blog Carnival.  Here's a little more about Behind the Scenes.  Another project is that we're going to start moving toward meat and dairy-free diets. It's going to take a lot of effort - I have such a steep learning curve with this. But I'm going to make this work!

Friday Family Update - 1/27/12

I thought I was going to do this EVERY Friday - but that was during November when I was getting all organized about blogging with NaBloPoMo!   So it's time for another update, because quite a few things have changed.

Michael

Michael is still in Nicaragua but he is having to change host families. He was with a family that was very nice to him (most of them), and it was their first time to host a Peace Corps volunteer. Michael liked the people. I talked a little about them in our Christmas Eve blog post.  I don't want to write a lot about the specifics, but the Peace Corps is apologizing to Michael and he has had the opportunity to canvas the town for prospective host families. His host families receive a good amount of money, so there were several in the running. One family that he liked very much needed the money a lot. They were really friendly and wanted to involve Michael in all of their activities. They had no door on his room - only a blanket. And the Peace Corps requires that the volunteers have a lockable door on their room. Michael and the family were brainstorming on ways to afford to fix this when the Peace Corps supervisor decided that the home would not be acceptable. It seems that the family lives within 50 feet of a river and they are on the side of a mountain. Michael told me the P.C. Supervisor said that's the kind of home that gets wiped out in a mudslide! Yikes!
Family #2 were in much better shape financially. Nice home. Offered to cook for Michael daily. But the teens in the home have a lot of drama going on in the town. Probably not a good place to put a High School English teacher.
Family #3 was full of young adults. The parents are out of the country most of the time, and the teens at the house are cared for by aunts and uncles who are in their late 20's and early 30's. Michael thought this sounded like a LOT of fun. But their home is across the street from a pool hall that serves alcohol. Peace Corps Rule #something - not within 100 feet of a bar. And this counted as a bar.  Squash the party house. (whew!)
Family #4 is a Hostel. An older woman runs it and offered to feed him if he will bring home some beans or a chicken once a week. There are several people that live there permanently (her family members) and also passing visitors.  All criteria were met, Michael liked them. Voila! New home found.  Michael is off on some kind of learning trip to go on for 3-4 days in the mountains, so he plans to move out as soon as he returns. I hope that all goes well!

Katie

Katie is still having fun in NYC. She went back in time to watch the Ball Drop.  Temps are getting pretty chilly for her so we sent her an electric blanket. I love that she has a mail room IN her building. They even notify her if she has a package to pick up.  She's having fun in her classes and getting a lot of great compliments from her instructors.  So we were trying to think where she was going to live for her 2nd Year with the New York Film Academy. It seems that most of her class is going to take the 2nd Year at the Universal Studios campus.  And Katie would like to go! She said that she reads about great opportunities available for students, then reads it's at the LA Campus. So this looks like a good idea. Especially since she's really interested in film. I think she'd like to return to live in New York, but we'll see where the work is.  So. Now that we are all familiar with New York, we have to figure out how to do Los Angeles!  And she'll need a car.

Alyssa

Alyssa has only 500 hours left to complete her Cosmetology degree. That puts her graduation around the end of April/first of May.  I think she's getting a little Senioritis - she's been going non-stop since June. With no break over the holidays! But that's not her biggest news. She and Josh have decided they want to get married.  She plans to work for a year at a salon before the Big Day, so they're planning on an April 2013 wedding.  We went to the Bridal Extravaganza at the Palmer Auditorium and have been on the quest for venue and caterers ever since.



Ron & Me
Ron's still working his tail off and I'm working on my book. And hosting the Unschooling Blog Carnival.
But we did have a nice weekend at the Indian Lodge in the Davis Mountains. We even trekked over to the McDonald Observatory (read more about that) and got to look through the 36 inch telescope!

Never a dull moment! Right?