Friday is Friendship Day

Well Friday is finally here! Time to look back at the week and see how things have gone. Ok house crisis settled now awaiting March 5th - check. Work moving along - check. This weekend looks like a crisis-free weekend all I have on the agenda is a Magic Show at the Elks Sunday night and that is about it.

So the wish subject for this week is:

Who do you wish to send love to?

I actually have so many people I wish to send love to. I guess right now it would be my parents.

Then I sit back and think about Friendships and how important they are in my life. I truly enjoy my friends and just as important is the aspect of having friends. So here are a few quotes about friendship I thought I would share:

"The only way to have a friend is to be one."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

"To have a good friend is one of the highest delights of life; to be a good friend is one of the noblest and most difficult undertakings."
Anonymous

"One who looks for a friend without faults will have none."
Hasidic Saying

"The most called-upon prerequisite of a friend is an accessible ear."
Maya Angelou

Ok so say you say to yourself gosh I want to do something what is going on in Miami? Well here are some stuff you can do.

Friday

Viernes Culturales Little Havana Southwest Eighth Street between I-95 and 27th Avenue 14th Avenue to 17th Avenue 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Free. (Word to the wise if you do not speak Spanish or generally dislike people speaking spanish then I would just not attend but otherwise it is a nice cultural event).

Saturday

16th Annual Caribbean Festival Bay Front Park 301 Biscayne Blvd. Miami, 33132
Globetrotters Bank Atlantic Center One Panther Pkwy Sunrise, 33323 @2 p.m. $19

Then there is always Schnelby Winery at the Redlands - during the weekend you can take a wine tasting for $7 and for an additional $7 you can also get a tour of the winery. Oh if you have been to the tasting before and you have their awesome wine glass the tasting is free for the holder of the glass. Not a bad deal heh?

Baby Loves Disco Revolution 200 W. Broward Blvd. Ft. Lauderdale, 333012 p.m. to 5 p.m. $15 at the door or $12 in advance www.babylovesdisco.com

Sunday

Miami's Longest and Hippest Open Mic Party Eleven Leprechauns Irish Restaurant & Pub 3120 Commodore Plaza Miami, 33133Noon to 10 p.m. Free

I am so tempted to go to the Hippest Open Mic Party oh yeah so tempted.

With that being said have a super fabulous weekend. I hope if you are ill you get and feel better if your spirits are down may they be lifted higher then ever before. Sing a song even if you suck at singing - sing- the laugh will do you good!

Stay Tune..

Wishes do come true

It has been quite a few days since my last post and there have been highs and lows and right now I think I am somewhere in the middle - I am not sure if this is good or bad. They say that in order to get what you want one needs to make a wish and put it out there in the universe. I tend to be for the most part a pretty private person and placing wishes out in the open is kind of scarey but arg desperate times call for desperate measures so here goes:

I wish to finally close and sell mom's house by March 5th.

Those that know me know this has been a struggle for a couple years now I get potential buyers and we start the process and then something happens and no sale. This last few weeks we had a potential buyer who was hot for the house, gave a decent down payment then the end date came and no funding. ARG ok here we go again. So my prayers came through our long time neighbor said he would purchase the house cash deal. Hey this is great! Ok lets do it! Then comes the buyer who had no funding asked for an extension to go find other financial fundings well we said no sorry we have another offer cash deal we will go with that one. This person got so angry! Not just mad and upset but down right angry. Ok hello this is a house why are you so angry? Lets just say he tried to make problems for us to the point where he and his wife did some trespassing on the property. Yeah I was like shocked. I think he did it to scare the new potential buyers and force us to sell it to him but lucky for us the neighbor knows us and is still hot for the house. So we were suppose to close tomorrow and now we have a March 5th date. Yes a week later which is not long but it's the frustration of it all. So there you have it the wish is cast and prayers will be answered.

So speaking of wishing...

Jamie has a very good question posted for wishcasting Wednesday

Where do you wish to go?

To know me is to know that the list could be endless infinity and beyond!

However, I will limit me to oh let's just go with five? Five is that enough? Yes let's start with 5.

1. I wish to go back to Wolverhampton and Wales and spend more time with friends.

2. I wish to go to Australia

3. I wish to go to a retreat filled with spirituality, love, readings, circles, and teachings.

4. I wish to go and create my sacred space where I can walk in and feel the presence immediately.

5. I wish to go to on a road trip up and down the California coast not knowing where I will stop in to spend the night.

So there you have it my wishes all laid out.

Oh wait one more wish

I wish to go to closing on the house on March 5th if not sooner.

Whew how can I forget.

Stay Tune/

Post Number 2

How rare is this actually I think this may be a first two count them two postings in one day. I found this and I thought this was pretty cool to post.

Art of Living course starts this week

The Art of Living Foundation is campaigning for a “Violence-Free Stress-Free America.” As part of this campaign, about 120 cities across the country will host the Art of Living Course from February 17 to 24, 2009. More than 3,000 Americans are expected to participate in the course that week. In Coconut Grove, the course will be held in at the Windisch-Hunt Gallery (2911 Grand Avenue) from February 19-22. For more details, please visit http://www.aolweek.org/.

The cornerstone of the course is the Sudarshan Kriya, an innovative breathing practice developed by renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The technique is based on the yogic principle that the breath possesses specific rhythms that can be used to naturally detoxify and energize the body. Independent studies of the Sudarshan Kriya show that it lowers cortisol (the "stress hormone") and bad cholesterol, and provides relief from depression and other symptoms of stress such as insomnia, fear, anxiety and grief.For more info, please contact Jennifer at the Art of Living at 305-951-6743 or to register, please go here:

http://secure.artofliving.org

Friends, Family and Fun

What a great long weekend. I have to say recently I have had a nice run of spending good times with friends and family. Sometimes in the past I just tend to take these things for granted but in my new view for this year was to be more aware and thankful for the moments I have with friends and family. So Daddy dearest came which totally thrilled me because once he arrived the 2 Leach men decided to do some cooking. Yeah I let them ha ha ha. First on the menu lets go to the grocery story and pick the perfect onion. Daddy made a great pot of French Onion soup oh it was oh so good. (Status on soup- None left over). This was followed by some chicken tereyaki subs. Then we rested for oh about an hour and half and headed to Kendall for some wine tasting. We had a nice time. This was at a liquor store in the mall and it was FREE so we tasted a few Italian wines. I even tried and liked a red. To know me is to know that I do not like reds. I just cannot take the taste of them but I found one that I actually liked. But as dad puts it "Honey you would like the very expensive one you have expensive taste." Ok just because the bottle was like $70 would that count as expensive? Yeah I guess it would. Sorry dad I will stick with my whites. But perhaps I will open myself "a little" and try some more reds. If I liked one then there has to be a less expensive one out there that I will also like.

Ok so we had this nice time at the tasting with Dad and the 3 other boys/men. Then we headed to Bangkok Bangkok for dinner. Yeah I know some of us were not starving but the wine helped. So we headed to dinner and had a fun time there too. We laughed and chilled out and just really had a nice time together. Ok the evening ended and it was time to go home and wait for the next day.

Saturday came and it was Valentine's Day! Oh was I in for a super nice surprise a very lovely breakfast! Eggs Benedict! Yes the whole works with some French brewed coffee oh boy it was just great! Best part of all I did not have to cook - again! I was not even allowed to clean up. Yeah I cried about that one too. So we sat there thinking ok what to do what to do during the day. Some of us would of been fine sitting doing not much but there were others outside the house who wanted to do something rather then sit and do nothing. So it was suggested we go see a movie. We eventually picked "Taken". We picked the movie and time and called the 2 other boys to come on out. One declined stating he was trapped in his condo because the Coconut Grove Arts Festival was going on and leaving the Grove is like going through a mine field. The 2nd one cancel at the last minute. Literally his movie ticket was already purchased. Oh well what can we say. The movie was good.

Oh but the day was not over yet. We then ventured out to Key Largo to this restaurant called BallyHoo's. We have been there before and knew it was good so the birthday boy decided that is where he wanted to go. What a great pick! We had platters, and stone crabs, and fish and oh yes wine and creme brulee. Oh it was truly a good night. Came home and crashed.

The next day...Dad was taking a 7 day cruise with our Aunt Joyce so we ventured to the airport to pick her up that morning. Then we took them to the Port to wish them well on their cruise. Afterwards we went to this great place in Historic Downtown Hollywood called Sage. This place was awesome. We went home and then that evening we are off again!

Yeah this time for a mystery shop at a restaurant called Dolores but you can call me Lolita. Yes that is the name. I know those of you who know me are totally laughing now I know. Well this place had great food. The service - well it could of been better. But the food was great. Finally home to rest.

Now we have Monday. Oh yes Monday no work for me on this day. One would think rest yeah right. 3 of my friends came down from Davie and Hialeah to spend the day out. They mentioned wanting to go to the Amish place and get some of the rolls oh yes the rolls. Ok twist my arm lets go. We went they totally loved it. We did what pretty much everyone does made the line to buy the buns and cheese bread and then outside the car decided to taste test them. Ok everybody needs to test the items they purchased. Then we ventured to Schnebly's Winery for a tour of the vineyard and test tasting. We each tested/tasted 5 different wines. Hey someone had to do it! Then it was time to return home. Sorry gang I still had to write a narrative report on the mystery shop, go to the grocery store and go to Lodge. Ok I actually did 3 of the 4 I will let you guess which one I did not do.

Oh yes Monday is over...what will Tuesday bring work...but..you can..

Stay Tune..

Tough Days

You know it is hard to believe that only a few short days ago it was so cold, plants were freezing there were even freeze warnings.. Now we are in the 80s hot as can be. I know that is what I get for living in paradise tis the price. Right now I am all for indoor activities restaurants that are indoor and cool. Daddy dearest is here now and so far we have had the pleasure of a home made onion soup and some chicken subs. Yeah and I did none of the cooking. Love it! I am told tomorrow will be a Valentines Day Brunch (in house). LOVE IT! I know it is the man's birthday I should be cooking at least one item instead of letting both men cook - ah no sorry they are insisting on it and I am not going to argue. Sarge the dog did not come on this trip. Dad leaves for an 8 day cruise Sunday so no doggie on this trip. Tonight we are going to some wine tasting in kendall I suppose one will have bear tasting several different wines. Yeah its a tough time.

Happy Thursday

Another day has come and gone and I am still remembering my little Paradise and her special personality. Totally cute.

On another note I suppose it is almost official - I will be Exalted Ruler for my Elks Lodge starting April 1st. Nominations were last night and as expected no one challenged my nominations which means next meeting I get automatically in. All I know is that all those Previous Exalted Rulers in the house were giggling and going "she has no idea what the first year will be like." At one point I said hello she has ears and she does understand English. If I didn't like them so much I would of slapped them silly. Ok I should of even though I like them ha ha ha.

Tonight I have a Gate Program Graduation I have to start going to those as "ER" and I do not mind the counselors are really nice and it makes me feel good that we are helping out today's youth.

I may not post until next week. Daddy Dearest will be arriving in town tomorrow and my full and undivided attention will be on him. Just love it when he comes!

Have a great week and weekend...

In memory of Paradise

Hump day begins on a sad note. This morning my oldest cat Paradise passed away. She passed during the night. It was sad. Paradise came to us in 1995 at just over 6 weeks old as a Valentines gift. I suppose as cats are concerned she lived a long time. She was a special little girl. She was what we would call the pampered princess. She was always calm cool and collective. When something bothered her (usually another cat or dog or her live in mate Max whom she also did not like) she would just give this look like she was saying "Can you give me a break please?" It was usually that I am so not amused look. Especially when certain members of the family decided she needed to do the YMCA dance and would proceed to help her do it. She would just be still and you could almost hear her saying "we are so not amused now stop it."

I remember Paradise when she first came to live with us she cried that first night all night long. Eventually she learned that being on mommy's lap was really the place to be. She did not like people, unless they were members of the family. She especially did not like kids because well they were kids and kids will be kids. She hated dogs heck for that matter she hated cats. In Paradise's world she was the only kitty in existence. OH the day we brought Max to live with us was a day I am sure she regretted. Mainly because she was already a few years as the queen of the castle and now here was an invader. Max was/is not a calm cool collective cat he is a wild in your face lets rock kind of cat and she did not appreciate such high spiritness. I was sure eventually they would get along once she saw Max was not going anywhere. No it did not happen. They learned to co-exist and on rare occasions I have witnessed the nose nudging and thought AHHH but then I guess when they saw I was looking came the hissing...LOL.

Paradise you will be missed. Mommy loves you and always will.

Spring is coming

It is no longer cold in Miami. The weather is changing back to Spring type weather which means low 70's. I suppose that is ok I was already starting to hear a few "this cold weather needs to go now I am sick of it enough." Yeah ok got it a week of 40-50's is more then one bargained for when you live in Paradise. I do appreciate it though. I have friends who live in parts of the world where their backyard lakes are frozen and the snow is so high they need to stay indoors. They have had no breaks in temperature so I think if that was me I would be a wee bit tired of the cold too so it allows me to appreciate what I have. Which always reminds me we are where we are at for a reason.

The weekend was rather nice. Friday went to my Elks Lodge for Cajun Night and it was good! I am not into spicy food however the volunteer cooks did not over spice it so it had flavor with a touch of heat. The flavor for me was what a hit. Then we hung out with some of the usual suspects of friends and one even decided he was going to play the piano to some of the Cajun background music. It was nice, there was laughter, singing and good people hanging together.

Saturday was my day on the run. Met 6 teenage girls at the local consignment shop to select some 60's gear for an upcoming fashion show. I loved the reaction of the girls when they walked into this consignment shop and looked at all the vintage clothing and accessories. This place has really nice authentic stuff. The girls loved it! I heard OMG I am so having my mom bring me here to shop. It appears they loved the 60's gear. Yeah remember those bell bottoms and tie dyed shirts and the other shirts with the flaps yeah they LOVED them! I know girls but if you remember having to wear them you would say differently. Regardless it was nice to see the excitement on their faces. We picked about 1 outfit each because the value was more then I was comfortable in taking. While the shop was very generous in loaning the clothing free of charge we did have to hold it on a Credit Card just in case they come back damaged. Which they won't because I have the clothing in my closet all wrapped up awaiting show day. So that killed a couple hours. Next stop on my Saturday was run to Kmart and purchase (quickly) some baby items, gift bag and tissue paper and run to Tony Romas to a baby shower. So the shower started at 1:00 and now its running close to 2:30 yeah I can still make it on time. I did warn my friend I would be late and she was ok with it. I arrived at the party gave the gift said a few ah ohhh how cute kiss kiss have to run and went home!

Oh you would think it was over of course not by this time it was the later part of the afternoon and ops I sort of kind of did not eat anything except for breakfast. Hum...yeah I am feeling it. So Paul suggested we go to Black Point Marina which is a fabulous restaurant/bar right on the water hence - Marina. This place during the summer is horrible to go to because well it's summer in Miami and with the heat comes those nasty bugs. But it was a cool night (60's) so it really was a great night for going out there. We had a really nice time. We ran into a couple friends, joked around with some people at the bar after we had dinner and generally had a really fun time. It was a nice way of ending a busy day.

Sunday was the day of rest. Hung out home all day. It was great.

So now what will this week bring...

Stay Tune..

End of work week...

Here we are at the end of the work week and I for one am very happy. Work has been busy or complex and some days those are good because they make the time go by fast. But what happens to me is I feel like - where did the time and did I really do anything I wanted to do so much more? But alas I do what I can with what I have.

I saw the kids last night and it was nice they are cute nice kids. I love spoiling them and then leaving them to deal with their parents. Yeah that part is good.

Tonight is Cajun night at the Elks oh boy! What will be nice is hanging with friends. Note to self "still missing an Inner Guard" yeah like I was ever going to forget.

Tomorrow will be a busy fun-filled day. 11:30 at a local consignment shop with 4 to 5 teenage girls so they can try on 60's -70's outfits for an upcoming Vintage Fashion Show I some how got roped into putting together. Yes I know Vintage for 60's and 70's is like far fetched but the person we are doing it for actually prefers this time period. Then once that is done go to the store and buy pretty baby stuff, gift wrap it, and go straight to a Baby Shower. Ah yes some how I will manage to pull all that together. The evening is free. Perhaps I can convince someone to take me to TGIF's. We shall see.

Stay tuned..

Not so Bad

Well Super Bowl Sunday has come and gone. It was a rather fun time I must admit. I spent time with some nice friends laughing and just joking around. I tend to like nights like those. Being mid way through the week I start to think ok what is this weekend holding for me. Not much I must say. This Friday I will most likely go to my Lodge it will be Cajun night which mean spicy - ok yeah not my cup of tea but I need to support the Lodge. Saturday early afternoon I have a Baby Shower to attend. Sunday not much (open for now).

As the Love Day get closer I thought it would be nice to post some stuff I found on Soul Mates and finding Love. So if you are searching for that Soul Mate here are some cool stuff I found:

Believe in Your Soul Mate
When you talk about soul mates, leave plenty of room for possibility.
Make a list of what “soul mate” means to you and the qualities you seek in your true love. Embrace your belief and find within yourself a place of trust and knowing that there is someone out there, somewhere, for you. If you can believe in love--even when life does not seem to be taking you in that direction--you are halfway there!

Make Your Life Love-Friendly
There is a magical aspect to finding your true love, a feeling that seems to permeate your very being as he or she comes into your life. But before you get to that point, there is work to do. We can get set in our ways and beliefs, and our lives might become a little too crowded for true love to find its way in. Some of us have healing to do. All of us need to make our lives “love-friendly.”

Clean up what you no longer need, get your life in the best order possible, and you will find yourself getting ready for a great relationship. This will open the doors and the windows to love and begin to truly open your heart as well.

Acknowledge and Slay the Dragons
Be brave now and name the things (dragons) that are keeping you from love. Are you immature in love relationships? Demanding? Needy? Obsessive? Do you love too much? Give yourself away too fast? Have a hard time accepting faults in yourself or others? Do you consistently choose the wrong kind of people, with the same kinds of issues? Are you stuck in a relationship with the wrong person? Begin to identify the things that get in your way and have burned you in the past . That is the first step toward healing and adjusting your behavior.

Appreciate the Path You’ve Traveled
Even the difficult aspects of romantic evolution can be considered “time served” in preparation for true love. Many of us get our best training in relationship boot camp. We may beat ourselves up for bad marriages, relationships, and dates--any time that seems wasted on Ms. or Mr. Wrong--but in truth, they are an important, instructive part of the journey. The grand awakening to what soul mate love is comes by discovering firsthand what it is not.How to Start: Appreciate the relationships that have taught you what you don’t want. Honor those loves. Express gratitude for the lessons you have learned, even the toughest ones. Send a spiritual message to your old flame’s angels saying, “I thank you, I bless you, I release you.”

Develop the Capacity to Identify True Love
By the time your soul mate stands before you, eyes searching into your own, heart connected to yours, you will have both done quite a lot of personal and spiritual development work. At any age, we need to work on developing the capacity and maturity to distinguish real love from “hope” created by fantasies you project on someone who has “potential.”How to Start: In order to recognize true love, you have to have a sense of what love looks like: you must learn to see through your spiritual eyes. Soul connection is tangible; there really is no guessing or wondering when the real thing comes along. There is usually a telltale sign that lets you know when true love has arrived--a deep sense of knowing, a “gut feeling," or even a still, small voice in your head that says this is someone special to you.

Hopefully some of this sounds good. It is time to take a moment and look around and say ok it is not so bad at all is it?

Stay Tune

Ups Down Reflections

Wow what a weekend and it is barely over. Friday I went to the family wake/viewing I lasted until midnight before I drove myself home. What was nice was seeing some family members that it sadly appears we only see each other during these sad times. It was nice to talk about the "old" days. We remembered family members that have passed. We spoke often of my mom who we realized in one month will be 4 years passing and at one point there was a "moment". I had the whole day the feeling I would get when mom was around and I found myself during the day wanting to pick up the phone and call her like I had to otherwise I would get the attitude. But I have had moments like that and I realize she is around and thats when I talk to her so I did. Well here I am at the wake and I am sitting there getting that feeling again and I looked at my cousin who was sitting next to me holding my hand and he started crying. Yeah a 40 something year old man crying there and he looked at me and I looked at him and he goes you know why I am crying and I just went yeah she is here and he agreed. It was nice.

The next morning was the burial. We all gathered there and it just hit everyone this was the final goodbye - at least for now. It is always harder when you have the younger kids because they do not understand heck we barely understand. But my 5 year old niece found some peace when I told her grandpa is around all you need to do is look up to the sky pick and cloud and talk to him. Then she proceeded to ask me to steal her brothers nose so she can have it. Yeah my little girl is funny that way.

Now we have the Elktone gig Saturday night. My oldest friends Patty, Arnie and Allison decided to come down and watch the band. They have always know my husband but never had seen him play in the band so this was a nice treat. It was nice. We had a nice steak dinner, played pool and while all that was going on listened to the band. Of course my other BFFs were there and I was feeling like this is a great night, my childhood friends together with my adult friends. You know guys sometimes we have to thank our blessings for those moments. I hope we have more good times. Ok let me rephrase that we will have more good times together. Good job Elktones.

Tomorrow err today is Super Bowl Party at my Elks Lodge. Yes this means more good times. A weekend of good friends and family you know sometimes we have to stop and look and good yeah this is alright.

So until next time

Stay tune..