Sweet Girl

Weekend before last, we celebrated my niece Anna's 10th birthday. Her parents and I reminisced about the day she was born and how the decade has gone by so quickly. She is such a sweet, caring girl. She's super smart and creative in many ways. And she just has a radiance about her that makes it seem like the sun is shining when she smiles.

She debated over her party this year. Options abounded: a sleepover? a spa party? Olympic-theme? But she decided on a Mystery party, and as usual, her mom organized a great event. The games culminated in a mystery about "who stole the cake." Clues were hidden around the playground in a scavenger hunt style, and the clues pointed to one of the party guests. All the sleuths were in the dark until they began fingerprinting the guests to match the print with one recovered "at the scene." And then it came out: it was me! Anna took it so seriously, she asked me later, "Why did you steal the cake?" Of course, I hadn't really -- and it was always just at the house waiting for the proper unveiling -- but it was cute how she had gotten so wrapped up in the game.

And the cake! OMG, have we been feasting. Bro-in-law Anthony made the party cake -- in the shape of a magnifying glass. The actual day of Anna's birthday, I made cupcakes and took them to school. And that night, we had an INCREDIBLE chocolate cake that IS TO DIE FOR. (I'm actually craving it again tonight.) It's a good thing I'm in high gear with triathlon training, because it's been a lot of sugar!

A Few Halloween Pics

It's already late in the evening, and I still have to pack for a business trip, so apologies for just pics!

How to Look Happy

I got to spend most of my weekend with my happy-go-lucky niece Anna. She really is a ray of sunshine, and she was absolutely delighted to get to go to a rodeo event with me. (Some friends of mine were putting on a roping event.)

At the end of the night, one of my friends even let Anna ride his horse. She of course was on cloud nine!

A Catch-Up Post

I know, I know...sorry for my absence from the blogosphere. I've been keeping busy, both at work and personally, and I've also been avoiding a few blog stalkers. But as commenters may have noticed, I'm now moderating comments, and I've taken other steps to protect myself as well.

So what have I been up to? Let me start with last weekend...

I had a date on Friday night with a really cute, young guy who makes me laugh and is very affectionate. We even had a sleepover! (Relax, it's my 7-year-old nephew Colin.) His older sister Anna had gotten to spend a one-on-one evening with me a few weeks ago, and last weekend it was "finally" Colin's turn. We had a nice evening, and I enjoyed the way he talks and phrases things. He asked me lots of questions he'd never asked before, such as "What do you do for work?" And he bragged about his dad to me, almost as if I didn't already know him, and told me all the things his dad could do!

On Saturday, I spent most of my day with Colin, Anna and Jenn, and on Sunday morning, we four competed in an Adventure Race! Anna & I were a team -- Furry Friends -- and Jenn & Colin were the Star-Wars-themed Bounty Hunters. The race encourages participants to wear costumes, and in my opinion, Anna and I had some of the most practical costumes for the event. (Many people just wear them for the costume contest at the beginning and don't wear the costumes throughout.) Anna and I agreed to dress as kitty cats. I shopped around and found some cute lycra tops in a black-and-white stripe, waterproof ears and tails that we wore with black bike shorts. Oh, and then there was the waterproof makeup for our noses and whiskers!

We had a blast, and Anna enjoyed "meowing" at the spectators and race volunteers. And I was pleased that I had trained enough to more than keep up with Anna -- she admitted I was dragging her through portions of the run and hike.

And later on Sunday, Jenn and I attended our weekly Bollywood dance class! It was a fun and love-filled weekend.

Happy Faces

One of the big reasons for moving back to Texas was to be closer to my nieces and nephews. I am fortunate to have 5 total -- 2 living in the Austin area and 3 living in Houston.

The 2 here in Austin, Anna & Colin, visited my parents -- their grandparents -- for two weeks this month, and I caught these pictures as the joyfully returned to their parents: (sorry the first one is blurry)


And today, I got the opportunity to visit each of them at their school lunchtime, which is a quick 25-30 minutes. They were both beaming, and I got a couple snapshots. (Colin had to do one silly one in addition to a nice one.)



Tomorrow, I drive to Houston to see the other 3, and I'm going to take care of them for a few days while their parents are travelling! Should be good for some blog stories. :-)

Dinner Date + Sleepover

I have a special visitor tonight: my niece Anna came for a sleepover! We tried out my new grill with teriyaki chicken and vegetables, and she helped me make some rice. At 9-years-old, she's a great helper in the kitchen, although she prefers preparing the meal to cleaning up. :-)

We had a nice conversation during dinner, too. She asked me if it was lonely living by myself and said she couldn't imagine living without her family. I explained that it's a little different once you're an adult, and that there are benefits to living alone.

After dinner, Anna enjoyed a bubble bath. We strategically placed the bubbles so I could take a picture of her reclining in the suds:


She's such a sweet girl, and right in between being a child and being a teenager. It's great to talk to her one-on-one and hear her thoughts about the world around her.

And she told me at least three times tonight, "I'm so glad you live in Austin now." Me, too.

Swim Meet

When I was in Austin for the triathlon, I also got to see Anna and Colin at their swim meet. I saw them a year ago and could definitely see their progress this time. Colin even won a ribbon for winning his heat. Anna takes a ballerina approach to her strokes and executes them beautifully, if not quickly.



After the tri, Colin and I enjoyed taking it easy and reading. I was sitting in the chair with my book and he climbed in the space between me and the back of the chair. He's a cuddler. (I know the angle of this shot makes my knees look huge, but they aren't in reality and the picture captured a sweet moment.)

Enjoying the Simple Things

I was in Austin last weekend for my niece Anna's 9th birthday. The weather was glorious. Texas is in full-spring, and the bluebonnets are just beginning to carpet the fields. Some of my favorite moments from the weekend:

• Taking Anna to get her ears pierced. She was nervous about the potential pain but so excited. Fortunately, she found the pain wasn't that bad at all, and she was THRILLED with the results. She picked out some crystal blue flowers in her birthstone as her starter set. They sparkled almost as much as she did. She told me it was the best day of her life and that she wanted to run and shout for joy. (We were in the car at the time, so that exuberance wasn't able to be expressed.) She and I were both laughing, so happy -- she was excited to have braved the experience and at the opportunity to get to wear a new form of jewelry, and I was relieved she didn't have much pain and delighted at her excitement.
• Watching a movie with my nephew Colin on my lap. This is definitely one of my favorite ways to watch movies, with a snuggly little guy. Although Colin is getting very long-legged and not so little anymore. But he was freshly showered and pajama-ed and I could snuggle into his neck and kiss his cheek. During a scary scene in the movie, he picked up my hand and put it on top of his chest.
• Bollywood dance class with Jenn. Several months ago, I saw Jenn and her friend give an impromptu performance at her house after some liquid courage, and it looked like so much fun. I was excited to be able to join her for a class, although with it being my first class and in the middle of their season, I only got about 1/3 of the moves. But it was fun and good exercise.
• Screaming as a "Mandrake" at the Harry-Potter-themed birthday party. Anna's party was all about Harry Potter, and Jenn had planned the activities around the characters and story. We made root beer floats into potions and replanted flowers pretending they were the ear-splitting mandrakes. Several of us adults screamed as the mandrakes. One of the kids said, looking at us like we were crazy, "It's not really the plants, it's just them screaming." But we were laughing, and Anna's face was beaming.
  

Christmas Memories

Christmas was wonderful, although my visit went much too quickly! I had 2.5 days in Austin with Jenn, Anthony, Anna & Colin (and saw my uncle Tom, as seen in this pic) and then 2.5 days in Houston with my parents, Steph, Al, Paige, Graham and Evelyn.


Here's Jenn reading the Christmas story, with dog Francesca listening in. I took Francesca on a run -- or perhaps I should say she took me -- between the wind at my back and her energy, I ran much faster than I usually do on the treadmill!

Colin is still very snuggly, and one of my favorite moments was watching a movie with him on my lap. He's almost too big to do this, but I really love getting those snuggles! Anna is growing up FAST, and she got a lot of pleasure out of picking out gifts for me, including bright pink lipstick and a beautiful beaded necklace and earrings.

After church, the kids came over to Nana & Grandad's and we did crafts. I showed them how to make funny glasses out of pipe cleaners, although Evie didn't want to wear any. She's happy that the Christmas Chihuahua came out to sing "Feliz Navidad." After Evie went down for a nap, Nana and I went shopping with the twins. Paige was my buddy, staying close by and hugging on me or holding my hand almost constantly. :-)


Graham -- or Grahammie the Hammie -- tries on the blinking nose for the Rudolph model in the front yard.

Graham made me smile when he gave me a goodnight kiss and then ran to his mom blushing and saying, "I can't believe I gave Auntie Emily a kiss!"

And here Evelyn pretends to nap, watching her Grandad, who really was nodding off. As soon as he closed his eyes and started to relax, Evelyn would say, "Grandad!" and wake him up. :-) She also delighted me and Nana when we came to see her after her nap and she ran to us giving us tight hugs and saying, "I missed you!" So sweet.


Again, I come home with a full heart. I feel so fortunate to have so many wonderful people in my family, especially all the little dear ones.

Piano & Swimming

I've been too busy to post lately, so I've got some "stored material" here.

In addition to the tri, the days I was in Austin were filled with many activities the kids were doing. I was so pleased to get to attend their piano recital and swim meet.

Colin looked so dapper in his almost-suit outfit that Nana bought him for the cruise. And both kids did REALLY well on their performances. (Remember they've only been playing for a few months.)






At the swim meet, one of the parents draws elaborate artwork on the kids. He draws in permanent marker to last through the swimming (and a few more days), and his talent is really incredible. Anna and Colin's swim team is the Piranhas and they were competing against the Sharks, so Anna's design has the piranhas attacking the shark.

Here's Anna's last event, the breaststroke. Although she's last to finish in this heat, her technique looks good!

More Tri Pics

Just a few more pictures I received today from the Tri...

My niece Anna grabbed my hand at the end of the run and crossed the finish line with me. She looks much more exuberant than I do at that point!

5K

On Sunday, I ran a 5K with my sister Jenn, her husband Anthony and my 8-year-old niece Anna. It was an unusually cool morning in Austin, and the crisp air seemed to help us all pick up our feet.

Jenn blew us all away, as we knew she would, and finished first in our group. (Her sweet dog Francesca had no problem keeping up with her pace.)






I was thrilled with my time of 36 minutes, 25 seconds, but I've decided I don't look great running. :-)







And Anna and Anthony were right behind me.

Some Pictures from the Weekend

Last weekend, I went to Austin for my niece Anna's 8th birthday. I got to see both sisters and all my nieces and nephews, my parents, and later my uncle Tom. It was a nice boost of family time.

Since Anna and her brother Colin have been exposed to the Star Wars movies, it has become a part of their imaginative play and shown up in their artwork. Anna asked for a Star Wars themed party and an R2D2 cake.

My brother-in-law Anthony makes masterpiece cakes. He'll deny it and point out the defects, but every year, he creates a work of art. Plus, they actually taste good -- even the icing! Anthony's uncle Volker from Germany helped put some of the finishing touches on the cake.

















My sister Jenn researches online for theme games each year, and she did a great job of explaining the games to all the kids, even those who hadn't seen the movies. We made simple "Jedi" tunics out of muslin and added a brown sash. Each kid also got a blow-up light saber.




Jenn did Anna's hair like Padme Amidala, and I styled Colin's hair like Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen's version).











It was a fun party. Anna rated the day 10 out of 10, and it was great to see all my nieces and nephews and sisters!

Cruise Memories

I got back late last night after a fantastic 7-day cruise. I'm still a bit exhausted, as the first night back after being gone so long, my cat Sabrina insists on waking me several times through the night to give her attention.

The Caribbean was gorgeous and warm. Back in NYC, it still seems like winter. 

The cruise was especially fun because my niece Anna (soon-to-be-eight) and nephew Colin (5) were so excited about every little thing. It was all new to them, and it was fun seeing things through their eyes. Plus, they usually wanted to sit next to me or hold my hand. I love holding their sweet, soft little hands in mine.

Our first port of call was Cozumel, Me

xico. We adults had all been there before, and we had decided to spend the day snorkeling at the Chankanab park. The water was absolutely spectacular -- such beautiful blues and turquoise that were a feast for the eyes. Anna took to snorkeling easily, but Colin decided the mask wasn't for him. He said he likes to breathe out his nose. :-)

After several hours of viewing the many varieties of fish, and after consuming some beer and lime, we headed into town for a bite of lunch before returning to the boat. 

The next day, we were in George Town, Grand Cayman. Jenn, Anthony, the kids and I wanted to go to Sting Ray City, a sandbar just 20 minutes out on a boat that is shallow and

 frequented by many sting rays. Mom & Dad had been there before and decided to spend the day in town, walking and shopping. Sting Ray City was awesome. The beautiful green water was shallow enough that the kids could easily stand, and of course, the water was so clear, you could easily see through to the sandy floor and see the shadowy figures of the sting rays as they approached. Jenn, Anna and I each kissed a sting ray on its nose -- supposedly giving us each 7 years good luck -- and Jenn and I each took turns holding a female sting ray on our flattened forearms. She was at

 least three feet across and actually quite heavy.

 The sting rays are used to being touched and fed by the many tour guides, and as long as you kept their gills under the water, they were content to be held.

Our next port of call was Montego Bay, Jamaica, and when we docked, we were happy to see we didn't have to "tender" -- take a small boat -- to the island like we did at Grand Cayman. Also, where Grand Cayman is a very flat island, Jamaica has beautiful mountains that were covered in greenery. A reggae band played music as we disembarked, and Jenn found us a bus to the beach Doctors Cave. Of course, the tour guide on the bus tried to sell us on a city tour or at 

the very least a return ride to the boat, but we didn't want to be tied down to a particular time. After all, we're on vacation! We don't want to be on a time schedule, other than the one the cruise ship gave us for getting back before they depart. We rented umbrellas, and the kids loved this beach. The sand was soft and not too hot. Anna got her hair braided, and then Anthony and I rented jet skis and each took a kid. I first had Anna, then we switched and I got Colin. Each one just giggled with glee the whole time! It was great fun.

Jenn found us a cab driver that seemed trustworthy, and he turned out to be a great guy, not too sales-y and very helpful. He took us to a place we could get jerk chicken, and we ate that as well as buying a "young" coconut. We drank the coconut water, learning that it doesn't turn to milk until later in the aging process. Colin couldn't get enough of the water or the pulp.

Our last couple days were at sea, and there were many activities for the adults and the kids. There were many things I would have done if I'd had more time, but I also wanted to just lay on a recliner and read my book, enjoying the ocean views.

There's more to tell -- I met a guy! -- but that's enough for one post, don't ya think?