It's Christmastime Again

My third and youngest son arrived home from his first semester of college last night.

The UK freshman is

Home for Christmas.

He's matured leaps and bounds.

His curly blonde hair is long and wavy and wild.

She likes it that way.

I'm still getting used to it.

But it's growing on me.

He's worked his butt off to make straight A's.

Finals were finished up yesterday.

We shall see.

He asked for brownies with red chocolate chips.

I sip a glass of red...

as the brownies bake

and the music plays

and my mind wanders

very,

very,

far.

Inescapably.

Empty Nest feels ...

.... no one way to describe how it feels.  I thought I'd be okay with this.  Was actually proud that I was handling his leaving for college pretty well.  All is good.  Just another chapter.

And then it hits me today, the day before he leaves for college.  Tomorrow is move-in day.  And Momma Bird says, "But wait...I need to be sure he's ready...because...what if he isn't ready, God?"  And after wiping the tears, she whispers one more prayer, "Father, if he isn't quite ready, will You help him...fly?  Can you please be the wind beneath his wings, Father, when I'm no longer there to watch over him....Let him fly, let him soar!"

Passion, Love and Madness

Passion, love and madness.

Strange Allure

An undeniable longing.

When it just feels right in your soul.

I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)

... that time of year when upon arriving home from work it's too hot and humid to go outside, to cook, to do anything productive.

I find myself wishing I was lying in the surf at Marco again...or on the lake in my kayak...

But I'm not.  I'm stuck here.

And so I sit inside, coiled up and lazy, and tend to stuff munchies in my face just because I THINK I'm hungry.

So when I do unhealthy things -- whether emotionally or physically unhealthy -- I seek out distractions.  Happy diversions.

Like good jazz.  And good wine.

And I drift...

My mind travels and winds and wanders with every little sip, every little smile.

Jazz is good for the soul.

As is wine.

Sweet Dreams

Finally...

some time at the lake.

Note to Self: Unplug

Relax in THIS room?

What a challenge...

If this were my bathroom, I'd never leave!

I'm making myself unplug.  After all, it IS Friday.  And I've worked my brain into oblivion this week -- practicing YET AGAIN for my realtime exam, to the point I'm pretty sure I dream in steno; not to mention working my butt off in the gym (combined with a clean diet, of course) to get off the ten pounds I gained from about the last week in December until two weeks ago when I finally said, "Enuf!."

Damn, why has it gotten even HARDER to get this crap off?  Damn menopause.  Evil, relentless, unforgiving, calculating, menacing menopause.  The scale won't move!  But I refuse to give up.

Just like I refuse to give up on passing my CRR exam.  My practice and effort has been doubly concentrated this time around.  I practiced for so long today I felt myself wanting to collapse onto my steno machine the last practice dictation.  My dutiful mind was willing, but the flesh was weak, pleading, stop this, please!

It's been a full day.  An hour at the gym at 6 a.m. this morning, a full day at work, followed by an hour plus of practice when I arrived home.  I finally did it.  I pulled the plug on GETTIN IT DONE.

And so I decided to make a wine cocktail of sorts, a recipe that a friend shared with me.  She wasn't specific on the type of wine to use, just said to use Moscato.  I'm not big on sweet wine, so I was a little reluctant to try this out.  So earlier this week I went browsing in the wine section of our local grocery and discovered this:

What caught my eye about THIS one ...

well, for starters, the label...

"Espuela"

which actually means "spur," I think.

But what did I know?

It had a mysterious and seductive ring to it, piquing my interest.

(insert raised eyebrow)

But more importantly, the label read:

"...reputedly rich in flavors of crisp apple and fresh peaches..."

That did it.

Well, because the recipe calls for peach sparkling water and fresh peaches.

Perfect!

And though I don't have fresh peaches 

-- not yet! --

I happily placed the bottle in my cart.

Let's give this one a go, T...

...and began launching the new concoction this evening...

And so I mixed the peach sparking water, a 1:3 ratio with 

Espuela Del Gaucho Torrontes,

and ohhhh, yes.

This is very good, okay?

And I'm not even a big white wine fan.

And then I added a little Johannes Linstead for good measure.

So, yes, this will be on the beach with me later this year

for Cocktail of the Day.

Adding fresh peaches, of course.

And how am I feeling now?

Just peachy.

Happy Friday.