Good-night Miss Moto...

Miss Moto was a good friend. She was with me for over 2 years and she did her job well as my trusted cell phone. It was hard for me to believe that she was coming to the end of her time here on earth. But once the screen went blank and I couldn't see my address book or caller id window, I knew it was imminent. It was just a matter of time.

Here she is at her final memorial today:


Notice the signs of her illness on her CID window? :::sigh:::

And here she is in open position... {{ blank screen, sniff }}


She is such a goner. I was bummed so bad...

But alas, a FedEx package arrived at my door today...


... hmmmmm ...

Could it be? A NEW COMPANION FOR ME?


Heeeelllllo, Miss Sami!

I'm hoping that this relationship will be as long and trusted as with Miss Moto.

What a beauty!

(now I'm off to fill up my address book!)

YOU CAN DO IT! (the merit badge handbook for grown-up girls)

This is my newest-found reading material and I'm completely taken by this book! It follows the Girl Scouts "recipe" for earning badges as you learn new things and try something you've always wanted to do. Except it's for "grown-up" girls like me who need a little support and guidance to get us to do new things! After all, don't most of us forget about all the things we used to dream of doing once we have families to take care of?

From the very beginning, it's so inspiring:

"Anytime you want you can leave behind the world as you know it and enter the world as you dream it..."

"The universe moves in mysterious ways when you truly commit to finding and following your bliss..."

This book is really making me think of things I haven't thought about in YEARS. It's gently pushing me to go there again, to dream for myself. I'm loving it. My first assignment is to write down all my dreams. The dream-jogging questions I have to ask myself are something like this:

1. What childhood pursuits or pastimes would you like to pick up again? {hmmm...}

2. What would you do if you won the lottery, and money were no object? {oooooh, I'm gonna like this one...}

3. What would your perfect day contain from sunup to sundown? {I'm thinking sandy beaches, children staying at home with the Nana, margaritas, shopping, massage, etc...}

and so on...

I'm thinking this would also make one heck of a journal/scrapbook... Yeah...

Belated Birthday Photos

What... not a single blog entry for October yet? That's a shame, as this may be my favorite month of the year. {{ Note to self: I must make a point of documenting how I spend this month... }}

Unfortunately, I have to back-track back into September. I don't know how it happened or why, but I totally forgot to post a picture of my daughter, Kimberley, on her 15th birthday! I know, BAD MOM! I think it just slipped my mind. I've been meaning to do it, so here she is:




She's a little cutie, isn't she? She's a good kid, too. She's got a temper, that's for sure, but a very good heart. I can't really believe she's 15 now because she was our baby for so long. She was 12 years old by the time the triplets came bursting into our lives. Poor kid, she had it made back then... Sometimes I wonder if this all has been too much for her because since the little ones arrived, she's kinda detached herself from her dad and I. I don't know, it could be the age, or the circumstances. I guess it's hard to go to being the middle child after being the baby for so long...

I look forward to when I can devote a lot of my time and attention to Kim. This year it's nuts with my husband being deployed and also being my oldest, Julia's, senior year in high school. I think Kim is just going to have to work with us this year. But once her sister is in college, I really want to focus my energy on Kim. Hey, I've only got a limited time with these kids, I've got to make the time count. Before I know it, they'll be grown adults and it will be too late!

Here are a couple more shots of the day, which by the way, was September 15:



Kaia with the plastic cake cover on her head...


... and Kim's mini-birthday cake and flowers from a friend ...