Stream of rambles...

So it's been a little while since I've blogged. I figure that getting back into the groove will most likely take the form of a "stream of rambles" my version of the popular "stream of consciousness".

Hopefully everyone is having a great summer vacation! The girls have been busy with all sorts of activities that their Papa arranged for them...art camp, VBS, swimming lessons. Next week they will be visiting Tennessee with their Mammie and Papa. We are definitely blessed to have my parents. Mr. H is estranged from his family so my parents also fill that void. Very thankful for them! I must admit that I am jealous of not joining them on their upcoming trip. I've never been to Tennessee and not only do I imagine beautiful mountains but have met several great friends in an online group who live there. Tennessee has long been on my list of places I'd love to move to.

Meanwhile down here in Florida it has been oppressively hot and humid. It's awful. Lots of people think they would love to live here. It is true that there are lots of great locations like beaches, Disney World and all of the theme parks nearby. But honestly, I think Florida is great for a vacation destination. When you live here, and aren't on "vacation" it's not so exciting. It's just very hot and humid. Fortunately it's our "rainy season" and most afternoons are blessed with a thunderstorm. It is such a relief when the clouds cover the sun and the rain pours down. A little trivia...some say Florida is the lightning capital of the world but according to NASA, Rwanda takes the top place. Perhaps Florida is the lightning capital of the country then? Maybe. Though I love our afternoon storms, I prefer to watch from the safety of our porch!

Another blessing of relief from the heat is the pool. Mr. H got it all set up a while ago and the girls have turned into fish. Well little wrinkled prune like fish. Actually they are a lot cuter than fish or prunes. They have perfectly tanned skin (despite high powered sunscreen) and lots of sun-brightened blond highlights. I haven't been brave enough to don a bathing suit, so no pool time for me yet. I have a nice pool float waiting for me. All in all though, the pool has been worth every cent.

Kelley and I had our birthday. It is hard to believe that Kelley is now ELEVEN. Middle school is less than a month away. I have no idea why Kelley insists on growing up so fast. I have kindly asked her to remain in a state of little girlhood. But nope, she and Bethany are growing up fast. As for me-I'm just old. In fact, I would prefer to not acknowledge the ever increasing numbers. Do you all have the same shock when you actually realize how old you are or is it just me?

Back to our birthdays...we both had a great party. Kelley opted for a brownie cake, while I chose a yummy Carvel ice cream cake. It worked out well-cake and ice cream! Kelley's gifts were kind of ridiculous-not that she got too much, not at all. It's just the high tech gadgetry. It's pretty amazing! My baby girl is more technology advanced than her mom (and dad). And that is what's ridiculous! Do you remember the original Nintendo system, Super Mario Brothers and saving the princess? That was the coolest.thing.ever. Now? Not so much.

Mr. H is still without a job. There are some complicating issues that make getting a new job in his field a bit difficult. I hope there will be resolution to this soon. In the meantime, he's being resourceful and things are OK. He's also taking classes at the local college. Depending on the outcome of the complicating issues, he may have to change his course of study. I'd like to see that not happen, but all in all I'm trying to not get overly worked up about it. I've had to cut back on shopping which is good thing on many levels. But I do love to shop.

We had quite a traumatic event a week or so ago. Bethany's kitty got scared and literally flew through the screened porch leaving a huge hole and disappeared into the night. The whole thing was bizarre. I spent a lot of time out searching for him and cried many, many tears. He's a year old but very tiny and not at all prepared to deal with life on the street. I was reassured by friends that he was likely hiding some place close and would be home sooner rather than later. The lot behind our house is empty and overgrown Florida scrub and that's where he was hiding. I called and called for him, shaking a container of food and after 24 hours he appeared...absolutely terrified. He wouldn't come to me. Mr. H has a way with animals, I call him Dr. Dolittle, and he went to catch the cat. Took him a little while, but now the little guy is home safe and sound. The other cats are none too pleased that they can no longer hang out on the porch.

I'm sure there's been more that's happened and more to share. I'll save that for future blog posts. This has been quite the stream of rambles.