Re-connecting with Kay and Alan

Tom’s parents, actually it is his Mom and step-dad, met at La Septima for a good Cuban lunch today. It was so nice to see them again. They live in Sun City during the winter months but live in PA the rest of the year. They look great. I think they are getting younger rather than older. Bill and Alan went on to the car auction then and Kay and I visited a bit more before we left.
They are professional ball room dancers! They said they would teach us. I’ve always thought I’d like to learn. They are going on a cruise in June; they go on many cruises and teach dancing on board ship. What a gig that is, huh? Anyway, they are going in June to Amsterdam and Russia and a few other places and they asked us consider going with them. The cruise is two weeks! I don’t know if I could stand that. If we went, they would give us dance lessons each morning and each evening. I think that would be so neat to be able to dance. We went on the cruise from hell many years ago when Jeni and Brian were still at home. It was a nightmare, stormy seas, seasickness for just about everyone on board, no stops because of the storm. We were basically prisoners on board until the storm let up. sigh The storm never let up!
I went with a friend of mine a couple of years ago to Alaska on a cruise and that was different and even enjoyable. Of course we knew so many people on board because my friend was the head of a Red Hat group in New York. This was the red hat cruise and even the Queen Mother, Mary Ellen (herself) was on board. I felt sorry for anyone that wasn’t a red hatter on that trip because we really took over the ship! LOL Of course, my roommate, Zellies, was the funniest woman on earth I think and we laughed for seven days!
We had a good lunch and it was wonderful re-connecting with Kay and Alan who will soon be my daughter’s in-laws. I don’t know what that makes us (besides nothing) but they feel like family already to me.
The weather here is superb. A little too warm for complete happiness but I’ll take what I have. Nothing is perfect, but this is almost.

Women's Club Christmas Luncheon

I went to the Women’s Club luncheon today. Everything looked so festive and the food was delicious. The president talked about all the good we have done this past year and that gave me a real lift and made me feel good about being a part of it all.
I am still not crazy about the way things are handled and I may not remain a member but for the past two years it has been nice to see how much we have been able to accomplish in the community. Perhaps the ends support the means (I think I said that right) but I do think I will consider dropping out in the coming year. They are still after me to head up one of the committees but I thought I’d best not if I’m going to drop out. LOL
I have tried to figure out what doesn’t seem right about this club. They do so much good. Today I realized one big thing is that this organization was built up in a century that I think should be gone. We, the members, are listed as such: Mrs. Bill Roney (Judy). This is our club, our work, etc., why would our husbands be listed there and we are an aside? Just seems strange to me. I am one of the younger women in the club. I’ve been getting the senior discounts for many years now, but I’m the young one. I’ve heard more than a few times that I would bring new “blood” into the club. Well, for one thing I’d be listed as Judy Roney as a member of this club.
Wespend so much time and energy on preparing, cooking, eating, and cleaning up afterwards. I guess this is the way things are done and I know women’s faces dropped when I asked why we spend all that effort and time and money on the lunch when we could all go out to eat for less time and effort and money. I suppose its tradition but it doesn’t make sense to me. sigh I guess I’m a malcontent! LOL I enjoy the company of the women when I’m there but I keep getting the feeling that everything is so antiquated and when I question something I always get the answer “this is the way we’ve done it for 40 years.” Well, I’ve never bought that explanation for anything but that seems to sum it up for the women there and that’s the end of that.
Oh, well, I’ve thought about this for these two years now and I know its time to either stay with this or quit and stop thinking about it so much. I think things to death sometimes and this hardly qualifies for important life events.
I have been searching for ways to belong to the community and I do believe the Women’s Club is it for now.
I go to North Carolina and I’m going 24/7 with this group or that group. Here I find it so difficult to find any place to just enjoy being with other women my age. There’s no painting, writing, knitting, or neighborhood groups that get together. Its not that this town is smaller than the one in NC but it’s just different.
I did try a different church this past Sunday and though it wasn’t in my community I’m willing to stretch though boundaries now. LOL Maybe this will work out. I guess I’m just a joiner and I miss that.
Hmmmm, not sure how all this rambling happened here. I meant to come online and tell you what a nice time I had today at the Women’s Club Luncheon. LOL
I do think of this blog when I do things now because I took my camera with me ready to get a few shots of the way they “do” the club house for Christmas to shoe you. After taking several shots I got a message saying that I had no card in my camera. I had left it home in my computer so ..no pictures for me! I am forgetful on a good day but this month and last month ..forgetaboutit!
Oh, I also wanted to say that I decided not to join the Garden Club. When asked why it was pretty easy. I don’t garden. LOL Sometimes I think I’ve lost my mind! I did like the women there though and that would have been fun. So, I just kept trying to figure out a way to join a garden club. I’d also like to join a golf club (those women have so much fun!) but ..I don’t golf. LOL Marlene, my friend I met for lunch yesterday plays tennis maybe four times a week. Hmm, perhaps they are looking for a woman to join that doesn't play tennis. I'll have to check that out.

Monday, December 8, 2008

I met Marlene and Judy in Apollo Beach for lunch at Circles Restaurant, right on the gulf. The restaurant setting was lovely with all the boats and beach atmosphere. It was such a joy to see Marlene and Judy again. Although we live an hour away, our schedules never seem to coincide enough to get together as often as we want to. We did a lot of catching up over a wonderful lunch. We ate outside so we could enjoy this beautiful weather and the scenery. To say we had a LONG lunch would be an understatement.. but we had lots of catching up to do. Hopefully, when the holidays are over, we can meet again there at Circles and bring the men along to enjoy it with us. That area is about half an hour from all of us so I’m really glad that they knew about it and were able to find it again. I think our friend Jean was the first to find it and now we’ll pass it on. I felt so good when I left there because we finally got together after months of not meeting ,the food was very good, the weather perfect and it all made for a perfect time.

I made it home in time to do a few things around the house, take a quick nap, and then get ready for dinner. Its a hard life but someone's gotta do it! Bill and I went out to dinner with Wayne, Yamelis, Gabriella and Bettina. Gabriella and Bettina were all packed up and ready for their long journey home to Venezuela tomorrow morning. When we asked them what they enjoyed most while here they both said Disney World. LOL Of Course they said number 1 was spending time with their daughter/sister and meeting Wayne and Bill for the first time. I had met them in Mexico when I was there last year. They said they were glad to get to know me better and I took a phrase from Yamelis, "well, of course!" LOL I know Yamelis is going to miss them terribly and vise versa. It’s hard to say when they will get to visit again. With Chavez in power it is extremely hard for them to get Visa’s to visit the states. They had to jump through hoops for years to get this visa. They think they will move back to Mexico City because it is safer than Venezuela. Imagine that!

It’s been a wonderful day and one that makes me feel good about life in general. I’m glad I live here in the states and glad that I have family & friends close by..life is good.

Charlie-Paloosa

Charlie Daniels Charliepaloosa

We had an unexpected surprise from our future son-in-law. Tom called us with the news that he had a hotel room for us at the Hard Rock Hotel in Tampa where Charlie Daniel’s would be. We would have VIP tickets to events and the concert. We went not knowing exactly what it was but hey, if it’s free it’s for me especially if I can be a VIP. Well, it was really something. The hotel (actually casino) we had been to before, but hadn’t stayed. The room was wonderful..all the extras. Such modern decor and the beds were unbelieveable. Like sinking into feather beds! The hotel was dressed up royally for Christmas. Bill and I aren’t much at the gambling aspect but we both put in $20 to throw away. LOL Bill went home with $16 of his $20 but I gave mine all away to the hungry machines.
We went to the hospitality suite where we found dinner, steaks, chicken and every kind of food imaginable …FREE! OMG Drinks, desserts, candy bars, fruit..OMG FREE LOL
When we got to the concert we found out that it wasn’t just Charlie that was there. Confession: we have never been Charlie fans but also on the headliners were The Marshall Tucker Band, Confederate Railroad, and (drum roll here) Bo Bice (American Idol). Every one was really good but we were waiting for Bo Bice. We are American Idol fans, can you tell? He finally came on stage and we were shocked. He’s a little tiny guy…thin and short. I wouldn’t have recognized him in the hotel or anywhere I met him because I wouldn’t have expected him to be so slight plus he wore the strangest looking straw hat and also big sunglasses. It was good to see him though.
Strange thing is that we never saw Charlie Daniels. This concert went on for hours and we tried to wait it out but I went back up to the room finally and Bill stayed. He was going to report back about Charlie but he finally gave up, too. Charlie came on long after the concert was supposed to be over. Fans said you never really know when Charlie Daniels will show up. We figured he’d be the very last act, but then the much anticipated Florida-Alabama game came on.
We opted to see Tim Tebow over Charlie Daniels. LOL And what a game it was. It sure had us on the edge of our seats for most of the game but Florida beat the undefeated Alabama team. Hooray!
It was a great day all around, starting with that phone call from Tom. Wow, what a guy! Back to the real world again today and trying to get caught up. Our day of being VIP's is over. sigh

December 5, 2008

We had a lot of commotion and excitement today in our small town of Plant City, Florida. Too much.
A man shot and killed another guy last night and the police found killer today and they had a car chase. The man then ditched the car at the shopping center and took out his AKA? machine gun and started shooting.
He killed a 58 year old man who was out to the grocery with his grandson. The grandson was not hurt physically but he saw his grandfather get shot in the head out of no where. My heart goes out to that little boy and that man's family. What a senseless tragedy for this family. Breaks my heart.
Another man was seriously injured.
There was an extensive man hunt for quite some time, roads were blocked, and there were helicopters, dogs, and police from neighboring cities as well as ours. Everyone was encouraged to stay in their homes until this man was captured. The schools were all under lock down conditions but the parents were allowed to go to the schools and pick their children up. Finally he was captured and things are returning to normal.
I was in Brandon at the time and Bill called me and said (I know you won’t believe this one), stay out shopping, Judy, there’s a killer loose here and the roads are blocked. The Christmas parade was cancelled that was supposed to have happened today along with other activities. Our small town was under siege and it really was a scary feeling.
Since everything was OK and the man captured, I went ahead with my plans for picking Hanna (Little Sister) up. We went out to eat and went shopping for her Moms ( twin aunts who are raising her),her brother and her grandfather. She will wrap them here next week. I told her she has to keep the gifts a secret but there will be 0 hopes that she will keep that secret. I told her only if she could. I don’t want too much pressure on her.

True to form, I’m making an all out effort to get the tree up and house decorated for Christmas.
Bill and Michael got the tree up, lights lit, and garland on so the rest was up to me. Bill worked on the outside Sunday while I worked inside. Now that I have an indoor storage for Christmas items, I am delighted to actually see all that I have. We will be giving a lot to Good Will but there are things that I have not seen for years! When things were put up in the attic, some years some things came down, other years, other items but I doubt that I ever saw it all together like this and it’s been fun just seeing what I do have. Its also been melancholy as I had to relive each ornament and what was going on when we got it. sigh
Today, Monday, we are looking very festive indeed. I do have probably another month’s work sorting and deciding what stay and what goes. LOL (only kidding I hope)
Since Bill and I were married in 70 I’m realizing I am in possession of antiques (besides the obvious…Bill of course!). I have the first decorations that Bill and I had. Awwwww. I’m getting all sentimental again. LOL The things we had in 1970 are looking more than a little sad, yellow, and droopy. I guess we are all in this together, these ornament and me. I think I have a few years on them though ..that’s scary!
I wanted to show a photo of Lexi. Its almost time for Bill to get home from work and she has a built in clock. She wanted to watch me complete the tree decorations and take photos BUT..she just couldn’t. She had to keep an eye on the door in the hopes of hearing Bill drive up. She won’t leave her post until he arrives and its treat time. LOL Every day is Christmas for her when Bill gets home.

Nov 27, 2008 Happy Day

Happy Thanksgiving

My daughter and I have always believed that when Santa appears at the end of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, that Christmas was officially here. She was looking forward to getting back home to start decorating. LOL

We had such a wonderful time. Lots of warmth and time shared with family. We had the meal catered and that was so convenient but we all agreed afterward that cooking had its own merit on the holidays and we agreed we would cook on Christmas. We missed the turkey roasting and the pumpkin pie baking in the oven.

I can barely keep my eyes open right now. It’s been a long and perfect day. The only snag in the day was that Tom, Jeni’s fiancé, was unable to come. He is always on call on his job and he’s been in Ft. Myers for three days trying to correct a problem at their waste treatment center. Not a nice way to spend the holiday. He will get home about midnight tonight if all goes well. Jeni and he are getting used to him always being on call I think but its still disappointing, especially on a holiday and he has to be away.

We were delighted to have June's Mom, Cecelia, spend the day with us. I know June and Mike are worried about her because she has Alzeimers but for a 90 year old woman she looks great and she enjoys herself. I know we enjoyed her. We learned that she is outspoken and funny.

Lexi got her share of attention, as always. I don’t know what level you go to after spoiled isn’t strong enough word. LOL

The Wii was a hit. Michael stayed over after every one had left around 8pm just to get in a few more games. I heard Bill commandeering Michael to come help set up Christmas decorations as he left.

Yamelis, my sister in law from Venezuela, said her mother and sister were a bit perplexed over our Thanksgiving celebrations. In their country they eat Thanksgiving dinner and then leave. Here we eat, play, rest, eat dessert, rest, play, watch Christmas Vacation as we nap, then its dinner time, build a bon fire to sit by, the maybe eat a snack. LOL Maybe that’s why Yamelis weighs about 100 lbs and I don’t! LOL

Great memories here of another Thanksgiving Day and all we have to be thankful for.

Blessings on this day.
This year I’m thankful for my husband. I am so thankful that he takes care of himself so I don’t have to worry about him. He works out daily at the Y, is eating better (not a good subject for this day), and gets his checkups, etc, etc, etc, Thirty eight years of loving him is not enough… I want thirty-eight more.

Jeni, our beautiful daughter I adore and am so proud of. She’s such a hard worker and does so much. She has a wonderful heart and cares so deeply.

Family that keeps growing now instead of disappearing, which was my fear. Though we suffer losses,most notibly our Aunt Betty this past year, and people leave (Guillermo is in the Army now), our family can still gather and even grow. Tom's family has already become family to us and this Christmas we will even get to meet Tom's brother and sister in law and ..ta-da..the twins! We are looking forward to seeing all the family and meeting the ones we haven't met yet.

I’m thankful that Yamelis’ Mom and sister were able to come to America and they were able to be together after seven years of separation. I'm glad we have the opportunity to get to know them better.

I’m thankful for my four brothers and the family tie that we have, the love we share. I’m thankful for my sister in laws and how close I feel to each one of them. Loving your in-laws is not always a given so I know how blessed I am to have Brenda, Rita, Yamelis, and June in my life.

I’m thankful my mother is still alive and part of my life. It’s wonderful knowing she is still able to manage on her own and is vital. Al & Brenda take a load off all of us because she is in a house on their property and they do all the work, seeing that she gets to the store, Dr. and a million other things. I‘m very thankful for Alvin and Brenda!!

We are blessed with a handsome, wonderful, caring, future son in law, Tom. The love that he and Jeni share touches my heart every time I see them together. They will be married in April and I’m thankful that we will be on Antigua on April 11, for this occasion.

I’m so thankful for my family in Texas and for the blessing they are in my life. All of them love and care about us and keep in touch and keep that family tie with Bill.

I’m thankful for all the friends in my life. So many from HCC and Skywriters and here in Plant City and Maggie Valley. They enrich my life and make me more.

Oh, I can see this list could go on and on for eternity. Too many blessings to even list right now. I am so blessed and I am thankful. I will start to think of all the other blessings when I send this and I’ll be thankful for those but I’ll spare you all more words here. LOL

Holiday blessings to each and every one of you who read this.