Today

Good morning!

It's always funny to go back and reread my old posts.

Andy managed to graduate from high school and decided to go to St. Mary's University in Winona, Minnesota. He is part of their music performance program playing the bass guitar. So far he has been accepted into the concert choir, the chamber choir and he is playing in a jazz ensemble. Our communication with him is based on grunts and one word answers - but, the words are: awesome, I love it (okay that's three words), fabulous...I'm just crossing my fingers and thinking good thoughts that he is getting his school work done and done well and timely!

Lesley leaves for Taiwan on Thursday - I am traveling with her to LA on Thursday, she actually leaves for Taiwan on Saturday, and I will return home on Saturday as well. She will be there for a year working for a Taiwanese company teaching English to Taiwanese kids. Her last day at work was Friday, September 12. She loved working at Starbucks - made some friends, some money and for the first time in her life, was able to pay for her own medical insurance benefits. For the last few days I have been helping her get ready to make the trip - buying a few items that she needed, clothes, shoes, a rolling duffle bag, getting all her prescriptions filled. All those kinds of things We had a going away party for her on Saturday night - it was a lot of fun. However, I didn't get to bed until about 2:00!!!! Way too late after way too much wine.

My Mom is stuck in Montgomery after Hurricane Ike with no power and with cousin Vicki and Bob's Mom and Dad. The power has been out since Saturday - but they sound like they have a little outpost kind of thing going on . They are all out working in the yard, have set up the kitchen on her porch and are taking turns with a neighbor running to get ice. Plus, they have the pool if it gets really unbearably hot. They are also lucky that they have running water and are able to shower and flush toilets. Mom is cooking every piece of meat in her freezer - a feast I'm sure. Hopefully they are getting close to the end. If they are still out of power next week, I'm going to ask them to come here. They could come this week but have chosen not to!

Tim is still commuting (now a year later) but is close to selling his company. I'm thrilled. However, it's the calm before the storm. Now it's going to be nuts. With all the information that is required, all the analysis of who's going to go where and do what. We're hoping for an executive office here in Atlanta. It's not that Atlanta is a place I can't leave, it's just convenient. I have good friends, good contacts and I'm not sure I'm really willing to leave all that. However, Tim is the one who supports us so I will do whatever needs to happen!

Me, I'm hanging around. Feeling a little discombobulated and a little scared and a little excited. I laugh that if I didn't have to get up for the dog in the morning I wouldn't get up at all. It's not quite that dramatic - I'm practicing yoga, no cardio lately except for tennis - which kills my feet which is why I'm not doing too much otherwise. Hot flashes are running rampant - but I bought a book about menopause written by Christine Northrup and it is fantastic. Some of the information is a little overboard - she used tarot cards to help her support her intuition development. I'm not sure that's for me but I laughed at the first four pages of the book because I felt like she had been in my house with me! Some of the same feelings and expressions of frustration. It's an interesting time. I'm supplementing my low calorie, low carb diet with fish oil, evening primrose oil, calcium with vitamin D and some menopause herbs in Estroven.

Mango Tree is also hanging around. We're waiting to hear from the IRS. I sent the 501(c)(3) form in August - got a letter that they had received it and am now just waiting, waiting, waiting...We are meeting tomorrow - I hope we get moving forward on things.

Today I am going to a new book club - The Tortilla Curtain was the book. Then I am having a facial. Tonight, maybe yoga! Tomorrow I'm getting my hair done and Mango Treeing...Thursday leaving for LA. Home Sunday.