T.G.I.F: In the pink

In the news today...

My writer-buddy Vaughn celebrated a birthday recently so I took him out today to induct him into the Death by Chocolate cult of which there are two members I know of, my friend D and me. (I neglected to take a photo of the DbC so I'll just say it's large, and there are lots of chocolate things in it, like chocolate ice-cream, chocolate sauce, chunks of brownies and more stuff that I can't recall. Then there's whipped cream and a cherry on top. And an umbrella; umbrellas are important.)

Vaughn seemed to have a slight problem first with the fact that, according to him, there were no men in the place. When I pointed out three of his gender he complained instead that the place was, ah, pink. He seemed to think that particular colour scheme indicated dire things about portion size. (Men are really hung up - no pun intended - on size.) He eventually looked at the menu and discovered there was actual food to be had, and not just dainty, pretty, small things, so he brightened up considerably. By the time the Death by Chocolate dessert came around he had settled down and was as close to normal as he gets, which ain't sayin' much. Here he is in the pink place, with the initial get-me-out-of-here expression on his mug:

I have another photo of him rolling his eyes and looking really freaked out, but I'll refrain from posting it as we don't want to scare the, ah, horses.

Verdict: the membership now stands at three. D, we've got a convert!

In other news... I read the Sandra Bullock-Jesse James revelations and could not help but feel sad for the woman. The timing well and truly sucks, for one thing, and for another, Ms. Bullock appears to be such a great person. I know from personal experience that many (most?) good people get effed over in matters of the heart. The hardass badasses, on the other hand, seem to thrive. But then that's probably my cynicism, always at war with my romanticism, kicking in.

And to round up the Friday bulletin: The school to which I applied requested a sample of my writing. I'm enclosing a copy of Café Au Lait but knowing how snobbish universities tend to be about the romance genre, I'm also enclosing a serious review I wrote a while ago that was published in newspapers in Trinidad, the Bahamas and Florida, as well as a short story and a personal essay. Hopefully the powers that be will forgive me for writing a romance novel - long enough to let me into their program, anyway. Wish me luck.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Update: Vaughn thinks I should refrain from enclosing a copy of the novel with my sample writing. You know what? He's right. Out it goes.

Happy Birthday, Kim!

Kim, my blog buddy from It's a Maze aaand a Maraca, is celebrating a birthday today. So what does she do? She creates the lovely tissue box above for me! Bee-yootiful! For a 360 degree view, go here.

Isn't she something? Giving gifts away on her birthday! I think this trend should catch on! Thank you, Kim. And look what I got you!

No? Are you sure? Well, then, I'll take him off your hands!

Happy Birthday!

Another lovely day

On this date last year my post title was Lovely Day and I embedded the Bill Withers song of the same name. Yes, folks, it's my birthday once again! Now, you can't ask me my age - you know girls don't tell - but I have to say that growing older isn't as bad as it's cracked up to be. Really, I feel wonderful, and blessed. I know too many good people who didn't make it this far, so I'm grateful for every year that I continue to have the gift of life; I try to remember that it's precious and should not be wasted. Writers... write!

The virgin orchid isn't putting on a special show for me like it did last year, and neither is the purple petrea which has just a couple flowers scattered here and there, but! Two orchids that have been sitting on the mango tree sulking for years are now in bloom.

So, how has my day been this far?

• A friend I love (and hate) dearly sent me a text message at 2-something AM to wish me a happy birthday. Cool!
• I woke (again) to sunshine and birdsong. Looks like the rains are giving us a breather.
• Happy Birthday wishes from my mom...
• Text message from my niece, the Chicken...
• Confirm after-work get together with Vaughn, my pesky writer friend...
• Phone greetings from brother and sister-in-law...
• Text from lovely son; he's coming by later, after his photo shoot. Yay! :)
  
• I trot over to Facebook and find birthday message from my son's friend in the UK. Shout outs to Hannah!
• Kim, lovely blog pal, wrote on my wall...
• Jared McCallister, columnist with the NY Daily News, posted this photo on my wall! Isn't it de-lovely? Isn't it de-lightful?
  

Not a bad start to the day! I'm off to get ready for work now - but first, my musical pick of the day... (Embedding music from YouTube seems to be a thing of the past so I'll have to settle for the link.)

Thank You, by Dido

Happy birthday Anti-Wife!

Anti-Wife is 60 today. I hope I look as good as she does when I get there, but I doubt I will! More than that, I hope I've acquired the degree of peace and wisdom that she has. I think I'm on track with that one...

Happy Birthday, Anti-Wife! Wishing you many, many happy, healthy, blogging years!

Birthday boy

The boy with his trusty surfboard. They're inseparable.

Last week my son turned 25. I'm still in recovery. Honestly, I don't know how it happened: doesn't seem that long ago since he was enchanting us with his baby ways, and now he's a man. Does that mean I'm old? How do parents deal with this growing up business? I think I need some kind of therapy.

It's been quite a journey, and throughout I've always been acutely aware that I'm a lucky mom. My friends tell me I did a great job raising him. I think he raised me as much as the other way around.

So, to one of the best people I know, one of the kindest, the gentlest, the wackiest, with that great big heart: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! May God continue to bless and protect you, to guide you through life's testing times, and to strengthen you to meet the challenges that always lie ahead. Luv ya, boy!

Lovely Day

It's my birthday today. No, you can't ask how old I am. It's a girl thing. I didn't intend to mention it on the blog, but so far it's been all good. Here's my birthmorning so far:

6.20 - I'm lying in bed, waiting for my mother to leave to take my brother's children, who are with us for the week, to school. The Chicken, my 13-year old niece, comes in to wish me Happy Birthday and smothers me with kisses.

6.25 - My mother comes to the door and sings the Happy Birthday song to me.

6.30 - I go to the window to wave them off and a strong, distinctive perfume assails - the orchid we call 'the virgin' is in bloom. This is a strange variety that blooms every three months or so, and the blooms last one day only, but for that day the plant is covered with the inch-and-a-half, pure white flowers with a dab of yellow in the centre. I go to the door, and there they are, hundreds of snowy blooms gleaming on the stalks as the plant sways gently in the morning breeze.

6.31 - I look over to the front wall, where the purple petrea is showing off, inflorescences of lavender blooms with purple centres covering the plant. It's a breathtaking sight. This is the first flowering since we transplanted it over Christmas. These blooms last a little longer than the virgin orchid - about a week.

6.32 - I glance down at my mother's potted bougainvillea. It is the most beautiful bougainvillea I've seen, white blooms edged with delicate pink. When the flowers fall they look like rose petals. This plant is showing off, too, the branches heavy with masses of the blooms. On my birthday!

6.35 - Vaughn sends me a Happy Birthday text message. He's one of those sweet friends who always remember. Thank you, Vaughn.

6.50 - My son texts me. Ahh. Blessings, blessings.

7.00 - The Happy Birthday reminder the Chicken programmed into my cellphone goes off. I hit postpone so it could pop up again in 10 minutes, and wonder whether I should do that all day, just for the fun of it.

7.05 - I go to the front door, cup of tea in hand, and look at the flowers again. The impatiens are covered with spots of pink, lilac and salmon. There's a hummingbird zinging around in the petrea flowers, the breeze is cool and celebratory, the valley sparkles as the sun peeps over the hill, sending bright rays across the grass.

That minuscule advance for Café au Lait, the one I'm going to blow on a Nikon D40 digital SLR camera, is yet to arrive. I need my camera! I want to record these flowers, this day! Ye gods of advances, please hurry!

I have to get dressed and leave for work. I pause to reflect. I've had my share of crap to deal with in this life, but I have so much to be thankful for. I'm alive. I'm healthy. I have a beautiful family, a few great friends, and wonderful writer/blogging buddies. I've got a publishing deal for my first book, and there's interest in another. I'm polishing a third. There are others in the works, one a complete first draft, one about 15% written. I've got a day job that allows me flexibility and is not so demanding that I have no time or energy left for my own pursuits.

Why do I complain sometimes? Why do I? So what if my life isn't perfect? Whose is, really? And how do I know that, imperfections and all, my life isn't exactly what it's supposed to be right now?

I really must get dressed and get to work. It's going to be a lovely day!