Re-Connecting People...One at A Time

As you can see from the title of this entry, I've yet been able to re-connect other people with the help of Yahoo Groups and my cousins overseas. It so happens in a few of these cases, these people are making a reconnection at a time when they REALLY need each other. Some have gone through some really bad times in the recent past-sickness, loss of loved ones. I always find it interesting as well as awesome how our souls tend to seek out the ones we care about, when the other person unknowingly knows or is thinking of the same person. It's like communication of the souls. I'm I getting a little too spiritual/freaky for you? Too hifi almost science fiction freaky?

Well, it never ceases to amaze me. I'm sure all of you have had an experience similar. For example, you'll be thinking of someone just out of the blue, and suddenly.. WHAM! You hear from them, get a phone call or a letter, or you'll get news of them. Or say, you find yourself walking down the street, and.. WHAM! You see someone who looks just like so and so, and then you hear about them. Or has this ever happened to you: You are caught off guard and see someone who looks like someone you have lost. Or this person talks a certain way, or combs their hair in a certain way, dresses, walks a certain way... It doesn't make you sad-rather it makes you happy inside. I confess this happens to me on a regular basis. Call me a weirdo, but it happens.

Then you have these people you know in your life who you hope never leave-they are the ones that seem to know you better than you want to, and you are vice versa with them. They come in and out of your life, and you know they can never stay around very long-you can only complete each other sentences for so long, and then reality sets in-your insecurities are revealed and you are done with them, until one of you dares to reach out to each other again. They may have hurt you deeply; but you will never tell them. May be they know, but why give them the benefit. You may have loved them-but you will never tell them that either. They may have known it-but you can't tell them. If you did, they may just well vanish forever.

Anyway, it's been reconnecting people.. Don't worry, Mary--I'm not going to give out your address-promise. :)



Patrick is out of the hospital! Thank God.. :)


It's finally Friday, but I must say that I'm very happy with my new schedule! I leave each day at 3:30, and I no longer deal with rush 5pm traffic on the way home. I can pick up my youngest from my mom's at daylight, and still make it at home before night falls. I can tidy the house and get dinner ready by 5:30-the time I usually got off of work. I see more of my kids--that's the best benefit of all. Last night I didn't have to stay up until midnight to get my Avon orders bagged either. What a difference a few hours make. Not to mention it's budget time at work, and it looks bad. I've been over-hearing stuff from multiple meetings. My job is not in jeopardy because I've been here forever and a day. Well, I cut my hours, so I did my part to help with the budget crisis. :) I hope it helps some one's job.

Today I plan to take a walk near the ocean at lunch time. We have been blessed with extremely beautiful weather. No cloud in the sky--just blue skies with temperatures in the 70's. It's January, but it feels like Spring! I'm going to try and push this California weather over to you guys up north and south.. I know some of you are freezing. :( I'm sorry!!

It's still winter, and Carnaval time is fastly approaching... Here are some pictures of some of the dances the Portuguese people in the Azores do...



These pictures were not taken by me---they were taken from the stage at the Soicidade of my mother's hometown in Vila Nova, Terceira last year. Blogger will not let me make the pictures bigger! Why?!



I hope to take some pictures from the dances here in San Jose.. Hopefully soon!

Small World....big coincidence!

A small world story..



I belong to a group at Yahoo Groups that is about people who are from, or people who have lived on the island of Terceira, Azores-it’s the island my family is from. A lot of the people in the group are from there, but most of the people are U.S. military people who were stationed at sometime there at the U.S. Air Force base in Lajes, like my father was, years ago. These people have good island memories of the island and the people who they lived and worked side by side with them.

I got an email the other day from a woman who was looking for a long time friend who worked at the base as a civilian. This person was one of the chief Portuguese phone operators on the base, who also used to baby sit her children, and was a housekeeper for her family. All she had was a name, “Manuela”. I forwarded the message to my cousins on the island, and to my surprise (I wasn’t really surprised-just happy—it’s a small island-people know each other!) I got an email from Manuela’s former supervisor. My cousin, Joe sent the message to his boss, and his boss sent me information on Manuela who had since retired. I was able to get back to the lady, who was looking for Manuela, and they are both very happy; they’ve reconnected after many years.


The story doesn’t stop there…


Later that night, I asked my cousin Tania if she knew of this Manuela person. It so happens that she does! Her fiancé, Ruben was very close to her son since a very early age, and his mother worked side by side with his mom. All of this talk about this Manuela person stirred up stuff in my own memory as well. I remember, after I had met my ex-husband, (a long time ago-I was 19 at the time) my parents had to install a telephone in my room. The reason why was because of all phone calls I would get at 1 and 2 a.m. in the morning from the boyfriend in the Azores. There is a seven hour difference between the Azores and California. I remember him telling me that he had a friend who worked at the telecommunications section of the base who would help him make free international calls to California. Her name was Manuela, and she was a very nice lady according to him. I thought she was awesome of course. There was a time that I lived for those phone calls from the boyfriend in the Azores. (Of course now, I don’t much care for any calls from him. Thank God my kids have cell phones so he can call them directly.) She would sometimes call him (he worked at the hotel on base) and ask him if he wanted to call his “girlfriend in California”.


It IS a small world after all. She did a big favor for me at one time, I’m just glad I was able to return the favor somehow.

Thanks, Bill!

This entry is for Bill.. I did not realize how my settings were set up until now!

Thank you, Bill! I have take my word verification down. Now anyone can leave a comment.. I was wondering why I wasn't getting comments from relatives! Now I know, thanks to Bill!

A Meme

This is an artsy picture my daughter took of herself. I really like it.

I got this one from Joann's journal! Copy and paste, and highlight the ones listed that you have done! :) Thanks, Joann-I miss doing these.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (only in my dreams)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (only in my dreams)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (only in my dreams)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (nope, I'm not atheltic at all...)
32. Been on a cruise (one day soon)
33 Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (pretend language only)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (sigh)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (only home movies)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching (tried too..will try again soon)
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma (I don't do needles)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (only in my dreams)
81. Visited the Vatican (see above)
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem (that would be awesome)
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (does a gold fish count?)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Hello Thursday...

Well, it's Thursday...

This week has been trudging away slowly-nearly not as fast as much as I would like. Of course the day just speeds up dramatically by the time I get home from work. It's the waking up EARLY part in the morning that I can do without. Oh well. The holidays are over, and it's back to the same ole' routine!

Suprisingly enough, Nicholas has had no problem getting up and going to school. Of course if I didn't wake him up he would be asleep until 9 at least. He missed school when it was out, and he is enjoying his regular routine again. He loves school and he missed his classmates. His schedule however is a little overwhelming. I've requested to have my hours cut temporarily-just a few hours a day. It will hopefully make a big difference in the long run. I'll be able to leave work at 3:30 pm, pick him up from my mom's and make it home before nightfall. I'll be also home early enough to see Andrew's basketball games. I got the okay from my supervisor today, so I'm just waiting to start this new schedule. Yay!

Lately there has been a lot stuff happening to this building. The owner is doing a major facelift to the outside of it, and lately, my co-workers have been greeted over off guard at their windows by the work men refacing the building. Luckily, I don't have a window, so I haven't be caught off guard. There is one guy who frequents Clara's (not real name) window quite often, and he isn't that bad looking. Clara is single, and this guy visits her window a lot--perhaps on purpose?! Who knows may be there will be some sort of love connection happening. Stranger things have happened.

She met her last boyfriend at work. During the mail runs, and her very frequent visits to the main building across the street, there was a guy who just admired her from afar. One day she got this message in her email from him that simply said, "I've seen you every day, and it would be nice to meet you over coffee." I don't know how I would have responded to that email; kind of creepy huh? Well, she did meet him over coffee, and they are still really good friends-sadly no love connection, but it was hot heavy for awhile.

There used to be another younger clerical person here who actually found love next door at the gas station. This was years ago when the cashier working there was a young, handsome guy. She would go in and get her candy every afternoon, (she was a big gal who never passed up an afternoon without her Reeses Peanut Butter Cups) and everyday they would exchange glances and flirt, until one day he actually asked for her phone #. It wasn't long until the two moved in together and got married-I think it all happened within a year or so. Sadly the aren't married anymore-but it was a cute story. The last time I saw her she had colored her hair from her natural black tresses to blonde, and she was hiding her dark eyes with blue contacts. (It was odd to say the least.) She moved down to southern California, and I never seen or heard from her again. Oh well, kind of sad, but at least they didn't have any kids together.

I've just booked a weekend getaway with hubby man.... YAY!

We got the house refinanced at a great rate... YAY!

I'm loving this new underwear by the way... YAY!

I'm looking forward to the weekend of course. I'm going to see some Carnaval dancing at the Portuguese Hall in town Saturday with my friend Angela-that shall be fun. I will try to bring my camera this time. It's only going to be one dance this time-kind of like a trial run or practice, but it should be entertaining. The real Carnaval going ons is going to take place at the end of the month. Clarification of what Carnaval a la Azorean is: It's watching a dance performed on stage-the performers are singing or speaking, as in a theatre performance. Usually all the phrases are done in rhyme--sort of like improvisional "rap". Many of the men on stage take characters of women (yes it can be quite entertaining), and it all involves very elaborate costumes, singing, live music, and dancing. It's not like the Carnaval you see or hear of in Brasil/Brazil. Everyone is fully clothed!


I watched bits and pieces of Patrick Swayze's interview with Barbara Walters last night. So good to see his strong willed atitude. It made me cry just the same however.

How is the first week of the year been treating you? It's been very cold lately, and rainy, but today the sky is blue--just too freaking cold for my liking!!! I'm a little behind on reading blogs..bear with me!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELVIS!!

New Year, New Underwear...

Yes, it's a new year..

Now, honestly--is there any better feeling than wearing new socks and new underwear?

I honestly don't think so! Today I went to Target and bought my self a new six pack of Hanes underwear briefs and I feel like a new woman! YAY!! It was so liberating to throw away all my old underwear out of the drawer. It's the little things in life that can just make the world such a brighter place.

I have not really made any new year resolutions, but I have some IDEAS to make life happier and better. Here are some of my ideas: Take more time do things alone, read more, take better of myself-including more dental and doctor visits, and more walks, spend quality time with the kids, take more weekends away with the husband, and yes-buy new underwear. Life is too short to spend it all in old, uncomfortable, faded underwear.

I bought myself a new pair of running shoes on the internet as well. Life is good!



Okay, Pooh bear doesn't wear underwear. Does he know something I don't?

Happy New Year!!

Welcome 2009!!

Did you do anything fun to send off the new year?

Rich and I and Nicholas just stayed up until midnight at home. Nicholas watched the movie Wall E for the 100th time, and Rich and I watched David Letterman. My daughter was out with her friends (one of her best friend's birthday happens to fall on New Years Day), Matt was at a friend's house (unknown to us, he was at the mall getting his ear pierced), and Andrew was at my mom's house with one of his best friends. My cousin Tania was out with her fiance dancing the night away. The three of us just forced ourselves to stay awake, and then after a few late night phone calls, went to bed like two old people.

Today Rich and I and Nicholas went to see Bedtime Stories, with Adam Sandler. It was pretty entertaining--I do recommend it. It held Nicholas' attention, and it was entertaining for the adults in the audience. Lots of laughs--no dull moments-just a fun movie.




Adam Sandler looks a lot like my ex-husband-but don't tell him that. He thinks he looks more like Sly Stalone, but I beg to differ.

Anyway, I want to wish you all a very happy and healthy new year! May 2009 be the best ever! I have more Christmas pictures to post, and Christmas decorations to put away-it will be a busy weekend. Meanwhile, I am still receiving Christmas cards. Some of my relatives like to send cards AFTER Christmas. I enjoy them anyway--it's so rare to get written anything in the mail nowadays. I got this following video from my good friend Maria:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qz0r_cALvw

It's a series of videos "Jeff" made of his Portuguese grandmother. Very hilarious..well to me it is.

Until next time, I have a night Avon delivery. I hope Arnold doesn't follow me with his calculator.

Hugs & kisses!!