Life in the Middle Age Lane

It is the end of January and our calendar for the year is almost full.  How did that happen???  I promised John that we would not be doing many trips this year, all we had in the beginning of January was his trip to Alaska with the boys and a Vegas Birthday weekend in October.   More on our travels for the year at a later date. Valentines day is around the corner and if January's quick demise is any indication on how February will be, I jumped on my favorite blogs and websites to find something special for the special loved ones in my life. I did not want to be caught off guard this year! One of the blogs I enjoy is  Mommy By Day Crafter by Night . She had some great printable labels that I used to put this basket together for Shelby.  I won't see her for Valentine's Day since it's a Thursday, so I made a basket with 14 days of treats leading up to Valentine's Day. Shelby has been working really hard as the stage manager for a school play, so w...

Many of you may already know this but for those who don't I figured I would share.  There are many times when I text my friends or family only to find when I read it back I mistyped many a word.  I just could not read the small fonts on my phone. Last night we went out to dinner and the gentlemen sitting next to us had his phone out and I saw that his font's on his messaging menu were readable and big!  Oh, how excited I was that this could possibly be.  John searched the phone options and he changed my settings so I can now read and text without error. This is how you do it: Go to settings tap General scroll to bottom and tab on Accessibility Large Text and choose the size you want Your welcome!

My first home was this 1968 doll house, which apparently cost a pretty penny since I could not afford any clothes.  As is evident from this picture.  Our son is much more fortunate with his first new apartment.  He had us over for dinner last night, mind you the dinner was provided by us but we did raid his wine cabinet and made ourselves at home until he arrived from work. Chinese take out from our favorite chinese restaurant Oriental Garden.  They have the best wonton soup there. Emilio's complete living room.....tada!  He still needs a few wall hangings and a side table but all in all this is all the kid needs. Our first movie night and dinner at Emilio's, breaking in the couch. John left oatmeal cookie crumbs in his area, so he did his part.  I was there that morning to greet the movers since Emilio had to work.  Sometimes I feel I need to charge for my services.

When I attended high school it was only for half a day.  I was in the DECA program (which I can't tell you what it stands for anymore) and was employed at a bank for the rest of the day.  During my senior year I held two jobs, the one at UnitedBank and a store in the Galleria, so that I could afford the dress for prom (pictured above). The point I'm trying to make is that I really didn't get to enjoy a full day of school and all the fun that goes along with it.  Friday night football games (I attended a handful), homecoming (went once), or all the parties planned at the last minute during the last period of class.  Regardless of all this, I walked away with some pretty nice friendships that developed after the college years. Amanda, Richard, Renata, Tommy  The blonde guy (Tommy) in the picture is my best friend from high school.  Tommy and Gracie have been through thick and thin with me. Tommy & Gracie are the guys I see with us for a life ti...

photographer: Felice Boucher WOW!  When the Houston Chronicle phoned last week to request an interview with Shelby I had no clue it would be a 1/2 page article.  A big thank you to Chris Marshall who conducted the interview and spent time listening to my beautiful Shelby. When Emilio was also a junior in High School he volunteered his summer to teach children who were from an inner city school. I love that my kids are so compassionate and giving to their community. But this I say, He which sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver. – 2 Corinthians 9:6-7

This is my desk in my kitchen.  What you don't see is the kitchen table behind it that is inundated with papers, binders, bills, and files.  We live in a house that has plenty of living space yet for some reason, we spend the majority of our time in the kitchen/family room.   I spent the last couple of days organizing and thinking how best to use this space and the remainder of the 4000 sq ft. in my home.  This is what I have done...... Planning on adding something on the top *kid art* possibly from the craft room I removed all my binders of my organizations that I am involved with, that freed up an entire shelf.  I then organized my cook books, which believe it or not, I actually use.  I will begin using my craft room upstairs as my project room for girl scouts and national charity league.  I even have a tv being moved their so that I can actually work while catching up on shows or just having an old movie on for comfort while I...

One of my favorite things about Texas is the food and the people.  From the hill country to the shores of the gulf.  I have experienced some great eateries.  I compiled a list that I hope you will enjoy and explore this new year. Vinoteca  Poscol is a fabulous spot on Westheimer in a shopping strip.  Great atmosphere and wait staff.   Don't judge the quality of the food by the looks of the outside. For Mexican food, I love Meso Maya in Dallas.  Their mole enchiladas taste just like my moms! And I love when I order a Tecate beer and it comes with an ice cold mug and limes.  And their margaritas are fresh and light. Double yum! For my 45th birthday we did a pub crawl down Washington Avenue in Houston (we rented a mini bus for the crawl, so no one was drinking and driving).  Our second stop or perhaps it was our third stop, we went to Liberty Station , they serve fresh and unique libations.  They had a jalepeno and cucum...

Free Paperless Post invites  are being offered through the Crate and Barrel website.  They have the cutest designs and if you wish to print them out, the fee is reasonable. The Oscar nominations were announced this morning and Seth McFarland was doing stand up comedy more than announcing.  Some jokes were hits and others fell flat.  Regardless if you are planning on hosting an Oscar Party on February 26th.  Check out the website to send out your free paperless post! I must say I love their designs.

 1971 (5 yrs old and my little brother was 2) Well,  with all this rain going on and no motivation to finish any projects what else is there to do but start a new project and attempt to see it till the end. Therefore I have updated the look of my blog.  I have 71 postings, none which have any thread of consistency on subjects or topics. However, give you a complete look at my doings and my lovely family. I found the picture above in my craft room and thought it would look nice on my first blog with the new background. Love to all and thanks for reading!

Just a short note on what I wish to accomplish this year. 1.   Be quick to listen, slow to speak 2.   Remember only the good in people and let go their mistakes 3.   Forgive but not forget my own mistakes, so I don't repeat them 4.   Believe that I too am important and should take care of myself If I remember these things, I should lose the weight, have a happy relationship with all, and touch other's lives in a positive way. A shock collar might be needed to ensure that I do not deviate from my goals .............

Ringing in the New Year with family, friends, and lots of fireworks! We did a small impromptu party at our place Monday night.  Despite the weather, we had a good turn out.  No ones spirits were dampened by the rain.  It did warm up and I had to turn on the air conditioning, if it was a hot flash no one complained when I turned it on so I think it wasn't just me. The day before John gathered the neighborhood kids and a few friends to help assemble the fireworks. This was just a small sample of what John has in the garage.  It is literally full of boxes of fireworks. I wish I had taken pictures of that.  It's one of those fine lines of "are they pictures or evidence?" Luckily there were no accidents or damages.....this year.  There is always next year and we always hope for the same, fun, accident free explosions! Here is a scene from the Creamora bomb he did. Lucky for us everyone knows John's antics and when they hear the expl...

How exciting it has been the last few days of 2012 here.  We moved Emilio into his new apartment on the 28th. Mostly boxes since he sold his bed and desk prior to moving down to Houston.  He has been shopping on wayfair.com and overstock.com looking for bargains on furniture. Tomorrow he should expect his entertainment center and his new bed.   My lovely son gave us the speech on how he has responsibilities and we cannot expect him to be at our home everyday now that he is so close by.  So far we have seen him 4 days out of 5, mostly around meal times.  He even left a note one night, how he didn't want to impose on us.  We made sure he knew there was no such imposition.  It's nice having him home and I think he realizes how much he has missed us as well.  With the perk of when he tires of us, he can go to his room, his own room, in his own apartment.  Aside from "The Move" we have had our neighbors over almost every nigh...