Autumn

You know I used to love fall the changing of the colors of the leaves. Not the raking of the leaves but the awesome colors. And the smell. No matter what anyone says there is a special smell to fall. The changing of the closets from the summer light to the winter warm. The expectation of the late warm Indian Summer before the cold. ..... That magical time where everything is beautiful and colorful. I know what am I talking about. But this is how I remember fall in the East.
Well someone forgot to tell my Valley of the Sun it was fall. Because this week we averaged around 105 degrees. I mean fall here is supposed to be in the two digits not the three. So if anyone out there has gotten the message please tell my valley as I am ready for the fall breeze and cooler temps. .... And yes it does hit freezing in the desert.

birthday weekend

I love my family... their quirky sides and not so quirky sides. But was it most fun is planning to surprise or scare them. Which in some ways I did to my mother this weekend. Forgetting my mother has an instant panic button whenever it comes to my sister or I. I decided to call her as I walked into the rehab clinic where she is currently residing. She surprisingly answered the phone (it was after all 7:30 am) and immediately said it's 4:30 what's wrong. Which if I was home in Arizona it would have been but as I was currently walking into her room it was 7:30. So I conveniently kept my voice calm while trying to communicate with my sister which room I was to enter. Time perfectly to say it is not 4:30 but 6:30 (okay my timeline was off) and peeked around the corner of the curtain in my mother's room. Who immediately put down the phone, started yelling my name and hugging me. Not believing I was standing in the room.... So I would say my sister and I successfully surprised my mother this past weekend. Not to mention the party my sister pulled off in surprising my mother. Which could have been ruined by friends spilling the beans, shopping with the boss, all the cars outside the home or best friends entering as we were pulling up but for all the problems my ever successful and planning sister had an answer for everything that could go wrong and was ready to rationalize everything. But she did not have to and the surprises went off without a hitch. It was wonderful to see my mother with her friends and see how much people truly adore and love her. Who are willing to accept her issues and personality. Because in the end we are all just works in progress.

Surprises

Ever since I have moved to the southwest I have always wanted to surprise a family member. Well now I get to do it.

For those that do not know. Since July 2007 I have lost a grandmother and almost lost my mother. On April 4, 2008 Kiersten woke me up to tell me she could not wake our mother up. She tried everything and nothing was working. Now for those of you who do not know. My mother has been disabled recently and is on much pain killers to ease the pain from a degenerative spinal disease. So the not being able to wake her up did not concern me as much as the disorientation of my mother. (she thought she still lived in philly). 911 was called and in 7 hours my mother went from dehydration from the flu to septic renal failure and me getting on a plane as fast as I could soaring back to the east coast. After a month of many tests, two hospitals and rehab my mother finally got the correct diagnosis of c-diff bacteria. She is on the mend and doing much better.

So in August I was trying to figure out what I could get my mother for her birthday. When I checked the prices for flights and saw how cheap the plane flight was. YES! Cheap. I bought a plane ticket and on September 3rd I am on the red eye to surprise my mother for her birthday......


Of all the people that know we were most afraid of me ruining the surprise. Since, I am the worst when I have the perfect gift for someone keeping it to myself. So three more days and I will have made it and not spoiled the surprise YEAH !!!!!!

My new phone

Now you have to understand in all the years of cell phones and plans I have always bought the cheapest feeling like what do I need all the bells and whistles for. But then on June 5, 2008 I entered the verizon store and was introduced to the envy2. This phone had all the bells and whitles was beautiful, included chatting, texting and camera, internet oh and gps. However, sadly I could not buy it that day. The reason for this my german polish stubborn frugal mind and ethics would not allow me. Because if I waited a measly two months August 10, 2008 I would be saving 20.00 and the phone would be 100.00 rather then over 100.00. So I patiently waited for the day when my phone and I would be reunited and I could possess this new technology. So on August 10 I proudly walked back into the verizon store and bought my phone. Not a day has gone by I have not enjoyed being able to take pictures, talk online to my friends and text. Because lets face it when you spend 8 hours on the phone at work the last thing you want to do is talk on it when home. LOL.

Oh do not get me wrong special people (family) and I talk but for the most part yahoo messenger and texting is how my friends contact me. :)

Not only was I able to purchase this modern miracle but my best friend and sister both have the same phone. This made it fun when my sister was looking a furniture to send me a picture, looking for her apartment and of course visiting my nana. So being so far away having these new phones brings us closer together. Ain't technology grand.