Transcendence

Dear Mom,

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of your passing. The photo above, of your beloved Seddon-Boulet, is what I had printed on the front of the order of service from your prayer service. Totally unconventional. Just like you. :)

This time of year is especially hard for me because not only is it the date of your passing, but also advertisements for Mother’s Day are at an all time high. Sure, I’m a mother, but it’s not what comes to mind when I see it plastered everywhere. My thoughts go straight to you.

Most days, thoughts of you leave me with a grin and a warm feeling in my heart.

Other days are so unbearably lonely without your presence. The wound is healing, but it still hurts.
Some days, it really fucking hurts.

Some days I’m angry.

I’m angry because you died at a young age. I’m angry because my daughter will not grow up having known her maternal grandmother. I’m angry because you can't hear your Domi fill the house with beautiful music from his piano. Just like you used to do.

I’m trying to release, and accept.
But many times, all I do is suppress. And think, I’ll deal with these feelings later.

Many days, I’m saddened because your children are now all so disconnected from one another at a time when they should be tighter than ever.

Some days, I feel free from the pain.

I miss you more than you can imagine. I miss our daily emails. I miss the way we'd ‘charlar’. I can’t bring myself to delete your old yahoo group from my list even though it’s inactive because I can go back and read through years of your beautiful posts. When I’m ready.

Your granddaughter is beautiful. She’s 2 and a fireball, just like you, (but without the red hair).

I light a candle for you today mamá, to honor you, and to help light the way on my path to healing.

Con luz y amor me despido,

Your Turtlemoon

Best Shot Monday ~ Whimsy

There's just something about this photo that makes my heart skip a beat, which is why I chose it as my best shot Monday.
Only in Austin. And I love that.

Eeyore's Birthday Party

Spent this weekend with fun-filled events. On Saturday, we went to Eeyore's birthday party, a unique Austin festival and absolutely loved it. Enjoyed the huge drumming circle, watched kiddies (and grown ups) in costumes, there was face painting, games, henna, live music, and lots food...and all this benefits non-profit organizations. Definitely family friendly and a great time for all. Festivals like this make me thankful for being able to live in such an awesome city.



Mel and her little guy dancing to the drums.






















After some heavy dancing!








Drumming circle by late afternoon. Full!

Drumming on the Djembe!

Joined my Holistic Mamas group for a drumming session, and oh my goodness, it was FUN! The Djembe is a drum that originates from West Africa and our drumming group was led by the wonderful drumming intructor, Mae, in her gorgeous home. She promptly taught us the 3 base notes for the djembe-bass, tone, and slap. I couldn't get the slap quite down with my fingers, and after following Mae's lead (and us feeling like we were playing the old Simon, game that I played as a child, and one mama commented she had deja vu of Step class) within minutes, our hands were dancing on the drums and we were making music. Even Yvonne got to join in on the drumming fun! Since I didn't turn on my flash and there was tons of movement in low lighting conditions, my photos are blurry, but I think you can feel the energy. I am happy to have found this circle of women.

Another find!

Lookie how cool this is! I found these reusable produce bags on Green & Clean Mom. Although, I have converted the family over to reusable grocery bags, I hadn't figured out what to do about the plastic produce bags, but knew there was a way. I'm sure these are easy to make if one knows their way with a sewing machine, but how cute is that design!

Green & Clean Mom is also hosting a giveaway to win a Healthy Home Pack™ , a chance to win two BPA free sippy cups (Foogo and Boon) and more...

Growing Pains

Last night, my house was full of hustle and bustle, with assisting Domi in packing for his first spring Band trip at a beach resort. He will be gone for four days. Four! Without me. Why does this make me nervous? He's a freshman, there will be chaps monitoring, I should not feel nervous, yet, I am. The thought of a couple hundred teenagers at a beach resort, well, just makes this momma a wee bit anxious. Who will he room with? Will his roomie be nice?

So, these were the items on his packing checklist:

-Pack suit and dress shirt in garment bag
-Pack dress shoes and black socks
-Pack clothing for 4 days
-Pack Hawaiian shirt for Luau
-Don't forget swim suit!
-Flip Flops
-Sunscreen
-Toiletries (razor too)
-Cell phone and charger
-Pack lunch for the trip there.

So after checking his bags, I found the following missing:

No dress shirt
No black socks
No sunscreen
No razor

*sigh*

After more hustle and bustle, the rest of the items are packed in his bag. Except for the razor, which he declined to pack (I think he feels embarrassed that he is one of the few guys who has to shave.) So, I say that's fine, but to at least shave in the morning since he had some major facial hair goin' on. He agrees.

This morning:
The hubby and Domi leave for school and I notice several minutes later that Domi's lunch in still in the refrigerator.

*sigh*

They return to pick up the lunch bag.

While he is running in to grab his lunch, I notice the scary facial hair is still present. He says he forgot to shave, but doesn't have time now since he's running late. This momma sighs as she gives him a kiss goodbye.

15 minutes later, the hubby calls me because Domi has forgotten his music and asks me to meet him outside with it.

*sighs again*

So, the fact that, in 3 years, my teen will be graduating high school and probably leaving my nest, frightens me. Will he be ready? Will I be ready?? As is is, it took every ounce of my being to resist pinning his spending money to his shirt today.

A colorful day at Casa T.

Fun painting discovery. Self Applied.

Happy Earth Day

.

We celebrated with a picnic in the park, planting some seeds, and making nature bracelets.

Reggae Fest - Austin, TX

"Well reggae music is a music created by Rasta people. And it carry force of people riddum.
Ya know it's a riddum of people workin, people moving; ya know." -Bob Marley

















Definitely an interesting place for people watching. I discovered that I'm timid with my camera when trying to take pictures of people I don't know. I walked around shilly-shallying while holding my camera but not getting the courage up to snap away at what I REALLY wanted. So, I ended up with several photos of merchandise for sale and the backs of people's heads. There are more shots, but don't want to mix those up with this blog.
;)

Compost

With us starting our own garden, the hubby decided he wanted to go full force and begin composting.
So he rigged up his own concoction in only a few hours. He's good that way.
Now, comes the part of reminding ourselves to save scraps so we can turn them into gold for our garden!

Super Lens

Lookie what arrived via Priority Mail today! A 16-35mm Super Lens II.
I can pee in my pants from the excitement.



And before my hubby s**ts in his pants, I didn't buy this bad boy. When I saw the hefty price, I decided to rent it (one can buy a Canon 40D for less than this lens!).

Photos to come...

Best Shot Monday

I was lucky enough to capture a little *sunshine* this week.
There's no sound like the laughter that my daughter squeals while swinging in her hammock.

Ay Papi!

This is Javier.
I fell in love with this photo which my prima, Yvonne, just finished working on.



For those of you who have heard all the crazy stories about pranks Yvonne and I would pull growing up, this is the master we learned from. Javi spends most of his time traveling and working throughout Mexico doing maquillaje permanente, but resides in my border hometown. A visit from him always leaves us in fits of laughter and more wonderful memories.

Spanish for your Nanny

Spanish for your Nanny

With the recent posts on my blog on Spanish translations, I couldn't help but share this.

*Warning* Contains explicit language. And it's a joke, so I don't want any hate mail. If you can't take it, don't watch it.

Translating Services - Part II

So, I come inside from our morning outdoor play and see 10, yes, TEN! missed calls on my cell phone. I start panicking wondering who died or what kind of accident Domi has had at school. I look at the history and see that the ten missed calls are from only two people.

Mari and Mandy's husband.

First call-

Mari (in a stressed out voice)
"Señora Andrea, soy Mari. Hablo para preguntale si Doña Mandy quere que limpio la casa... me toca limpiar ahora, pero no me dejo la llave, no se que pasa...ay, por favor llama me...no me dejo la llave... habla a Dona Mandy para preguntale si es ahora or que, puedes hablar me, no se que pasa con la llave... ay, por favor llama me Senora Andrea."

Translation:
Señora Andrea. It's Mari. I'm calling to ask you if Miss Mandy wants me to clean her house. Today is my day, but she did not leave me the key...I don't know what happened...ay, please call me...she didn't leave the key... can you call Miss Mandy to ask her if today is the day or what....please call me...I don't know what happened with the key, ay, please call me Señora Andrea.

Mandy's husband (in a stressed out voice)
"Hi Andrea, this is Paul. I forgot to leave my key under the mat for Maria to come clean the house today. I came back to the house and left the key. I'm wondering if you could contact her to see if she can come back. Please call me."

So, I call Mari to let her know the hubby forgot to leave the key and if she can go back. Says she has already picked up her daughter from the babysitter, but she can go tomorrow if they want. I tell her to go ahead and do that.

I call Mandy's husband back to let him know that Mari is already back home but she will come tomorrow. Paul reminds me that they will be getting their carpet cleaned tomorrow. I ask what time. He does not know. I tell him to have Mandy call me when she gets off work.

I call Mari back and tell her they are getting their carpets cleaned tomorrow so it probably won't work if she's there, unless they are cleaning carpets in the afternoon, then she can go first thing in the morning, but to wait until she hears back from me for the go-ahead.

10 minutes pass...

Mari calls again.
Tells me that her husband is now back home and that he will be going with her help clean Mandy's house right now so it's done before the carpets are cleaned tomorrow. I tell her I will call Mandy's husband to let him know.

The End.

P.S. I'm going to start charging not only for my referral services, but also for my translating services. I was the token bilingual teacher at my school and was constantly pulled out of class to translate for someone in the office, or to make a phone call for the nurse.

When I worked in a docs office (infertility specialist, I might add), I was pulled in to translate for the doctor to the Spanish-speaking only couple. I'll never forget when I got stumped on the word, ovaries. I just ended up saying something to the effect of "cuando los huevos salen de aqui" (as I pointed to my groin area).

Hehe...

P.S. Love ya Mandy (even though I know you don't read my blog)

Bad Karma or Bad Sense of Humor?

So my friend Mandy calls me tonight and the dialogue goes like this:

Mandy: "I need your help!"

Me: "For what?"

Mandy: "I need Spanish help."

Me: "Translating?"

Mandy: "Yes, for Maria, the cleaning lady."

Me: "You mean, Mari?"

Mandy: "Yes. I need you to tell me how to tell Mari that there is going to be a man coming over tomorrow to look at our air conditioner and not to get scared when he lets himself in. I want to write it all down on a note for her."

Me: "Ok. Mañana va venir..."

Mandy: "M-a-n-a-n-a...with a tilde right?"

Me: "Yes, a tilde over the first N."

Mandy: "Ok."

Me: "...un hombre a la casa...."

Mandy: "-u-n h-o-m-b-r-e ....." [she continues sounding out the letters]

Me: "a ver...hmmm...I don't know how to say air conditioner. I just know conversational Spanish, slang, and all the curse words, and air conditioner just hasn't come up in my convo spanish. Ask your husband, he's Mexican."

Mandy: "How about Aire Conditionado?"

Me: "Sure. She'll figure it out. Or you can look it up on an english-spanish dictionary online and see what pulls up."

Mandy: "Ok, I want to finish with "Thank you for all you do."

Me: "Sure. Just sign it with "Muchas Gracias Pedorra."


Am I BAD or WHAT?

A Muddy Day at Casa T.

A fun mud discovery. Self Applied.

Los Pompis

Wanted to share this cool shot that my friend Mel snuck of yours truly.

Some Of The Many Places We Like in Austin

I'm all about supporting local business. Domi and I love these spots when we can make our way to Central Austin.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!

Made some Chia Caterpillars with the O'Mamas and their kiddies today, to finish off our caterpillar theme. The kiddies will be able to spray water their chia pets and see them grow. We had planned to finalize the theme with a butterfly release next week, but it looks like all our larvae succumbed before they could complete their metamorphosis. Oh well. Maybe next time.

Rábanos

Lookie what we pulled from our garden today.
Radishes!

I can't believe how quickly they went from seed to this.


The peppers are well on their way.


As well as the blackberries.


The fig tree is also showing signs of swelling buds. We are going to have tons of figs this year.
Anybody want to trade food this summer? A co-op from our own gardens!