Jennifer Apodaca's Blog, page 98

Friday Five

TGIF!! You all know the drill–it’s the day we share five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

I can brush my teeth without pain! My elbow has improved. It’s a work in progress, but much better and a huge relief.
The weather needs to STOP messing with people! Here in So Cal, yesterday was just depressing. Cold, dreary and drizzle-wet. It’s been raining off and on in a totally weird end-of-May weather pattern. But other parts of the country, like Oklahoma and Missouri have suffered severe weather spawning tornadoes and tragedies. Then I saw a headline predicting at least 4 major hurricanes this season. I didn’t even read the article…ENOUGH.
Wizard is going in a four-day outdoor Radio Control Car Race with his friends Thursday — Sunday, and the weather is really dampening his, and his friends, fun. I know this is minor in the scheme of weather problems facing others, but this is a big race he’s been looking forward to for months. Yesterday they a couple of rain delays and then had to call the race early. Come on weather–let the guys and gals play with their toys!
I’ve spent days staring at my book. This time, while it looks non-productive, what I’m really doing is mentally revising. All my writer friend’s excellent critiques are starting to take shape, and I see a path. Of course, it’s not an easy path, but I either write the best book I can, or why bother?
Saturday I’m meeting a friend for lunch and fun-shopping. I’m looking forward to that!

That’s my Friday Five. Now I’d love to hear yours!

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday Worthy

Apologies first: I’m sorry for not answering Monday’s blog. First thing Monday morning, I got the shot in my elbow tendonitis, and about an hour and half later, it was too sore to move. Even sitting still, that sucker ached. After 24 hours, it’s began steadily improving, but it was pretty bad, and therefore is probably going to take a few days to improve as much as I need it too. So, I’ve severely limited my time on the computer to rest it and let the cortisone work its medical magic. I really am sorry for not answering, but I read, and appreciate, each comment. And Silver, I’m glad you are safe from the tornadoes and weather, and hope you kick the crud soon.

I hope everyone out there is safe from the dangerous wild weather, and its aftermath.

Now for Wednesday Worthy. This shot is timely, as the hunk is moving…and my oldest son, CPA Boy and Special K just closed escrow on a new home! They bought a nicely remodeled existing house that is twice as big as their condo and has plenty of room their family This is the news I teased a couple of weeks ago, then I decided to wait until they got the keys to mention it.

So here’s the hunk:

What do you think, is he worthy?

Weekend Roundup

There was a weekend:

–Friday, I went to an appointment with my sister, Biker Witch. She’s been in pain for a while, and considering options. She and Biker Hubby are handling it, I was just there in the supportive sister role. Umm…sometimes I have trouble staying in the supportive role, but so far, I’m kinda-sorta managing it She’s fine, though. I’m concerned because she’s my sister and I wish she didn’t have to go through this, but she’s up to handling it.

–On Saturday, Special K graduated with her Master’s Degree in IT-Data Science. She rocks! You guys already know I’m so proud of her! Special K works hard to balance family with her goals and dreams. As a woman, I know just how hard that is. And as a mom, I’m proud of my son (all my sons!) for choosing wives who all do this in their own unique ways. They commit to family but also, to growing as women and human beings, and my sons, like their dad, support them.

–Saw all the family at a lunch for Special K! Got to sit by Middle Son and we swamped vacations stories. He and his wife went to Tahiti and we went to Hawaii and it was fun contrasting and comparing, and looking at pics and videos.

–Turbo was at the celebration for his mom too, and he comes right to Grandma most of the time these days

Friday Five

TGIF!!! This week feels incredibly short, like I woke up Monday, sneezed and suddenly it’s Friday. I guess maybe it’s just vacation hangover? I don’t know. So here’s five random things about my week:

Turbo was here on Wednesday. We had way too much fun with him. And Turbo is a smart little guy who knows how to get Grandpa to give him potato chips. It was too cute. Wizard is a total pushover with Turbo. Okay, yeah, so am I, LOL!
I will finally see my doctor Monday morning to get the shot for the tendonitis in my right elbow. It’s bugging the heck out of me right now. But the shot usually works within 24 hours.
We ate too much on vacation and I’m sure I came home with a couple extra pounds. Plus I won’t be able to get to the gym until Wednesday due to other commitments. I know what I need to do…I just don’t wanna.
Yesterday, I did a bunch of research for my book, and all I got for it is aggravation. To say that California sentencing laws are complex is a massive understatement. I could probably go to law school in less time than it’s taking me to sort this out.
And this weekend we are celebrating Special K (my daughter-in-law, and Turbo’s mom)! She is graduating with her master’s degree in an I.T. related field. I am incredibly proud of her. She was just about half way through when Turbo was born, and despite having a newborn, she kept at it until she finished!

So that’s my week, now I’d love to hear about yours!

I’m Back!

Aloha!!! That’s right, I now speak Hawaiian, LOL! It was an awesome trip. The island of Oahu is stunningly beautiful, and we took some great tours. Here’s a few shots:

The Arizona Memorial. This was the most somber, touching and humbling part of the trip. We honestly felt the weight of all those men ambushed and killed or injured, and the incredible heroics of those who risked their lives to try to save them. The dock to get onto the memorial has been closed for a year now because it needs repairs, but just riding by in a boat was an experience I won’t forget.

 

The Missouri, where the documents to end World War II were signed.

 

These are replicas of the documents that ended World War II

 

The castle that I believe the last king on the island built. We learned so much, it’s hard to keep it all straight. The island has an amazing history and culture!

 

Me and Wizard on the beach at our hotel. This is also where they had amazing fireworks on Friday night.

I have a lot of beautiful beach shots, but you guys have seen all those on TV, and FYI, it’s just as clear and pretty! I’m the one who really loves, and I mean LOVES, beaches so I soaked it all in. Wizard likes the beach, but enjoys time at the hotel pools even more. We did a lot of sightseeing, eating, drinking and laughing. We both relaxed, and enjoyed our one totally selfish moment in time This trip was just for us and we savored it.

But I couldn’t wait to get home to Maggie! I missed her more than I imagined I would! She did well at boarding, and after a few minutes of excitement when she got home, she settled right back into her routine. That tells me that boarding her for a week didn’t cause her any undo stress.

And finally, my friend Marianne, critiqued a large part of my manuscript from Savaged Devotion and gave me the most insightful and helpful feedback I could have asked for. I’m so pleased, and in many ways, relieved. I spent yesterday just thinking about her comments and suggestions. I need to do some revisions, but overall, I’m feeling much better and ready to finally get this book written!

So that was my week, now I’d love to hear how each of you have been!

Weekend Roundup

Before I get started, I have an important Blog Schedule Note: I won’t be posting for a week, and will return Wednesday, May 15th. 

Turbo Time was awesome on Saturday! Now that tax season is over, Turbo’s dad has more time, and they all hung out for the entire day. We went to breakfast, then played and played and played. When Turbo’s parents when to pick up lunch, Turbo wore out and fell asleep on me.

Being a Grandma is amazing

So here’s Turbo looking at his mom when she suggested Turbo NOT drink Grandpa’s tea. She warned Grandpa Wizard that Turbo slobbers.

Everyone knows that Grandpa Wizard is squeamish. He’ll barely eat after me! But here’s how much he adores Turbo:

LOLOL!! Trust me, Turbo can do no wrong.

Maggie and Turbo are doing great together too. Turbo has a super cool red car that we can push him in like a stroller. We took him out for a walk in it, and Maggie trotted along beside him. Here is Maggie after Turbo left:

She’s on an old ugly quilt that she loves to burrow in when I watch TV upstairs. She was totally zonked out. Normally she creates a really nice “bed” there but she was just too tired to do more than splat down and snore.

Sunday I had a nail appointment that didn’t work out. I ended up going to another place and spent two hours getting a manicure and pedicure. I like my baby blue nails, but I’m not a fan of sitting like that. We’ll see if I keep the gel nails and just go back to quick pedicures for summer because shoes are optional in my world

And I sent a chunk of my book off to a friend to see if she can wade through it to help me out. I only sent her 250 out of 568 pages. Some of the scenes after the 250 page mark have potential, and other stuff is just Word Soup that has no nutritional value. So…yeah…we won’t talk about that. Sigh.

That was my weekend, how was yours?

Friday Five

TGIF! Okay here are five random things about my week:

I’ve been making my gym goal every week, but today I have to skip because my arm and shoulder are cranky. Some of it is tendonitis that flared up in my elbow. I knew Monday I should make the doctor’s appointment to get the shot I need, and I didn’t follow through. Then yesterday afternoon I tried to get an appointment, but they were booked. Totally my fault for ignoring and procrastinating. I’ll take care of it after our vacation. It really won’t bother me much in Hawaii because I won’t be doing the repetitive motions, or lifting weights, that irritate it so I’m not worried about that.
This weekend, Turbo should be coming over to visit!
I’m so tired of not writing, or writing and not getting anywhere. But I’m focusing on Hawaii, then the book. I’m going to have to make some work-rules too, so that (1) I actually work, and (2) don’t get interrupted when I’m on a roll. I’m pretty sure Wizard will cooperate once I tell him, but Maggie…not so much, LOL! And I have to admit for the first time in my life, Writer’s Block is a thing. It’s a thing I’m conquering, but still–it’s a thing. There I said it.
Maggie looks so cute and peaceful sleeping while I write this quick blog after dinner on Thursday night. She’s been lizard-hunting all day in the backyard and worn herself out.
Mother’s Day is a week from Sunday. My rose-bush that my sister-in-law gave me when my mother passed many years ago is blooming, and it always makes me smile and think of my mom.  That single rose-bush has brought me years of memory-smiles. Interestingly, I went to my mom’s gravesite a couple of times but felt nothing. I look at a single bloom on that rose-bush and feel everything.

That’s my Friday Five, now I’d love to hear 5 random things about your week. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wednesday Worthy

Another oldie, but I think he stands the test of time.

What do you think, is he worthy?

Weekend Roundup

Yesterday, Youngest and his fiance came over to discuss the guest list for their wedding in November. I’m excited for them! We were talking about the rehearsal dinner too. It’s getting real

I’m also excited for CPA Boy, but I can’t talk about that yet. But here’s a hint, it’s NOT another baby. Right now, Turbo is still king.

And in other news, I was out picking up some shorts I ordered, and saw a very bright green and pink dress (on sale, of course!) that looked kind of, sort of tropical, so I bought it for Hawaii. Here’s a quick pic of it, but note that Wizard said, “It looks much better on.” Whatever. I was too lazy to put it back on, then take a picture, then write the blog

I’ve shopped more lately than I have in years. Most of it’s just necessity to retool a wardrobe to something slightly more appropriate, but this dress was just because the colors made me smile. I normally would never even put these colors together, LOL!

That was pretty much my weekend. How was yours?

Friday Five

TGIF. Time to share five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

Turbo (my grandson) is sick with a mild ear infection   He’ll be fine, of course. His parents take excellent care of him, but his grandma is sad for him. I wish I lived closer just so I pop over, hug him, then leave him to rest in his mom’s care.
It’s hot here, and it’s slowing Maggie down. She hasn’t really wanted to go on a second daily walk in the heat. Our girl is getting a little older now. But she drinks plenty of water, eats fine, and plays in the backyard patrolling for lizards. Since I had planned to stop the second daily walk when it got hot anyway, it works out. Now Wizard and I have to negotiate morning walks
I saw my surgeon for another follow-up on Wednesday. It was 90% a great visit. I’m so thrilled that my latest x-ray is showing excellent healing. He was able to put three x-rays I’ve had since the surgery up side by side, and they showed very clear progression of growing bone. I can continue with all that I’m doing now, including the gym, and I can swim if I want to. He said wait three more months for more intense activity, and an example of that would be going in my son’s dune buggy in the desert (I specifically asked that). Which also means I can’t go ziplining in Hawaii Okay I wasn’t going to, but one day, I’d like to try ziplining if my neck can take it. But back on topic: The one thing he’s not happy about is I still have some pain, probably about 30% of what I was having, which means I’ve had a 70% improvement on most days, which is pretty good, right? Of course, it’s his job to worry, and he wants to fix it perfectly. The problem is–my neck isn’t perfect. Two other disks have minor bulging (we knew this), I have some age-related arthritis, and in one place, my spine has a Z in it where it should be straight. All that, coupled with the two years of severely compressed nerves likely causing some permanent damage, is probably causing the pain. I can live with this. So the doctor and I negotiated–he agreed release me from further visits as long as I call him if I have any progression of symptoms. I happily agreed, and I will follow through if that happens. For now, I’m just pleased that my bones are healing so well and I’m living a better quality of life than I was.
We’ve booked two tours for Hawaii. One is a Pearl Harbor Remembered Tour. Unfortunately, the dock to the Arizona Memorial is under repairs, but they’ve replaced that with a boat ride tour of the harbor to see the area. We can still go on the USS Missouri, and a few other things. Since my dad was a fighter pilot in WWII, this is something I really want to do. The second tour is a North Shore tour and I’m really excited about that one. One part of it I’m weirdly thrilled about is going to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. I think it’s going to be a fun trip!
Wizard and I met a friend for dinner this week, which was really nice! Since it was happy hour, we ordered an appetizer and drinks. I tried a mint cucumber martini. I was a little hesitant at first, but the drink was small (yay–I’m a lightweight with mixed drinks, and super duper careful not to trigger a headache), and it was light and delicious. I was totally surprised. I also had a yummy steak salad. I only chose it because it was literally the lightest thing on the menu, and it turned out to be a fabulous choice. I’d go back just to eat that. Sometimes luck is on our side!

So that’s my long-winded five. Saturday we’re going on a secret mission having to do with one of our kids I’ll tell you more in a week or so, once things are more certain. And now I’d love to hear five things about your week!! I hope everyone has a great weekend!