Happy Monday: Mother’s Day and Spring Happenings

Hello and Happy Monday! Happy Belated Mother’s Day to all the mothers. We wait all year for the royal treatment on mother’s day. I think my favorite part is breakfast in bed while reading my books. It’s so nice to have someone else make your meal and just sit back and relax. My husband made this yummy breakfast of oatmeal, fresh fruit, an omelet and a cup of tea. My boys woke up later so they got out of helping.

We spent half the day home and the second half with my in-laws. Despite the gloomy weather, we had fun eating and playing games. Apollo gave me this sweet pot of marigolds he made in art class. He painted the container. He said that the red flower is a rose. Nick brought home a carnation for me. I love all the attention on Mother’s Day! 

This week I plan to work on some long overdue book reviews, coloring and of course some work. I love this time of year because the grass is so green and all of my perennials are rising from the soil. Today we hired my landscaper to aerate our yard and throw down some grass seed to especially fill patches that are bare. I have not begun any vegetable prep work but I plan on amending the soil in my three raised veggie beds this week in preparation for my plants. The weather has been truly wonky. Hot like late summer temps and then freezing. So I am cautiously waiting.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and that this week brings sweet surprises!

Belinda

Happy Monday! Comics, Books and Margaritas!!

Hello friends! Wow, what a fantastic weekend over here. The weather made it possible for us to spend a great deal of time outside. Apollo washed both cars (for a fee of course) but had fun getting wet so it was all good. He also spent time riding his bike!

Saturday was Free Comic Book Day so we did our annual run to a few of our local comic book stores and picked up some cool stuff. I pulled out some of the back issues I needed to catch up on and spent time reading on my deck. I began with some comics and then ended up on my current read (Dread Nation).

Leao made me a margarita and I celebrated Cinco de Mayo! Sunday we took the boys out for lunch and then headed over to spend the day at their grandparent’s home. I just hung out all weekend and it was enjoyable. Of course all the laundry I didn’t do is screaming at me today but the weekend was wonderful.

This week I plan on taking a trip to one of my favorite garden centers to see how things are in preparation for my annual flower haul with my father-in-law. I always pick up a gift certificate and present it to him as his father’s day gift. So we both go crazy filling our carts with plants. We don’t wait until father’s day because we miss the good stuff so right around Mother’s Day to make our trip. So I will start walking around my property and dream up some ideas to help me with my plant selections. The funny thing is I get there and I am like a kid in a candy store. I run to color and interesting and tuck away my list.  So this year, I will attempt to exercise a little self-control. More on that stuff soon.I hope you have been having a wonderful Monday. Don’t forget to stop and find some gratitude for the blessings throughout your day!

Belinda

Well Hello: Girl’s trip, New York and Spring break

Hello, my friends! I sat down on Monday with all intentions of writing this blog post to reconnect with you and realized we were having server issues. The last four almost five months of posts on this blog were gone.  So I talked with my husband who managed to sort out all the details and restore my data. Talk about a panic attack, it was a big reminder of how much I rely on technology and assume it will always be available and functioning properly. So for those of you who subscribe, you might have received a few old posts in your email. I apologize for the confusion.

Ok, let’s catch up! First, I want to thank my son Apollo for looking at my blog this past Sunday and turning to me and saying, “Mom, you haven’t been very good about your blog. You haven’t written any posts in a long time.” There’s nothing like your kids keeping it real. Thanks, my little man!

The first photo is of my desk with a surprise gift from my husband… an Ember tea mug. A friend of mine recently showed me hers and I fell in love. The tea person that I am just had to have one. It is a temperature controlled mug. My office is on the second floor in our home and as you all know, I drink tea year round.  But I spend a great deal of time reheating my teacup because it has gone cold while I work. So this lovely is temperature controlled by an app on my phone. How cool is that? I can select a temperature and every time I sip, I am in heavenly bliss. I don’t know how I lived without it. Oh, and the tiny daffodils are from Trader Joes. I picked them up on Monday to add some sunshine to my office.Now, let’s see, what have you missed? I started off this month attending my annual  4-day girlfriend getaway. This was our 9th year so next year we are thinking we need to do something special.

I rode with my friend Ashley as usual and it was so much fun. Our friend Kathryn followed us in her car and we stopped for a yummy lunch at an organic grocer. We left so early that we were the first to arrive from our group of 13! Kathryn decorated the tables and had a goodie bag for each of us.I overindulged at breakfast every morning with no shame. It’s so yummy and I typically have oatmeal or smoothie for breakfast so this was a marvelous treat. I spent each night before bed and an hour before heading to breakfast reading my book in bed with the fire going. Truly paradise. I took my usual daily selfie in my bedroom mirror to send to Leao and the boys. I started doing this a few years back and have continued the madness.The following weekend, Leao and I rented a car and headed to New York to attend a baptism. Leao was to be the godfather of his friend’s daughter. The weather was fantastic when we drove up but the rain came in for our return trip home. We listened to and completed an audiobook on our journey.

The ceremony was beautiful and what a pleasant surprise when baby Kasieobi who was meeting Leao for the first time went right into her new godfather’s arms. She eventually fell asleep. It was the sweetest thing to see. We all went out for lunch after the ceremony at the Cheesecake Factory and yummed it up. The ride home I wanted to catch this cool tunnel but the rain blurred the picture. Leao is my favorite person to travel with so if I was going to do this drive it would be with him. The conversation is always lively and also because I like being the passenger!!Last week was spring break for the boys so we staycationed it. No far away trips just hanging out at our home and visiting family. I love how they both will still squeeze into a chair with me. It fills my soul!!I believe we are all caught up and I will resume a “regular” posting schedule again.

Have a blessed day!

Belinda

Happy Monday!

Hello everyone! I am back to hang out a bit. It’s freezing outside but the sun is blasting so that makes it better.  Another storm is heading our way on Wednesday, hopefully, it doesn’t bring any significant amounts of snow.  Spring is tomorrow so I have no interest in seeing any more snowstorms.

Last week was a fun week despite the Nor’easter which dumped quite a bit of snow. So you can see why I might not be in the cheering section for another storm. The one thing I love about big storms is snow days and my boys get to stay home with us.  I love having my peeps around.

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Yesterday I took my boys to see, “A Wrinkle in Time” and wow it was fantastic. I liked the messages in the story and the visuals were amazing.  I was taken aback by the marketing that this movie was for “Father-daughter or mother-daughter dates”. My sons enjoyed it and the messages were important to everyone. So I am quite confused why anyone would wish to limit the exposure of this movie. I also found this lovely interview with the granddaughter of the late Madeleine L’Engle. She believes her grandmother would have loved the film.

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Lately, we have been picking winners to see at the theaters. The last movie we saw was Black Panther and I loved it. I rarely want to see a movie again on the big screen but this one gave me all the feels and I am so tempted to go see it again. My hope is that everyone gets to see this film because it isn’t just important for black people to see themselves portrayed as strong superheroes. It is important for everyone to gain more exposure and then maybe one day he will just be a celebrated superhero.

As you know, I still have reading sessions with my youngest son and our latest book is blowing my mind. It is called, “The Other Mozart: The Life of the famous Chevalier de Saint-George“. I first heard about him on an episode of The View in which they would feature a different person each for Black History Month. So I wrote it down and checked it out of the library. I listen to a variety of music including classical and I have never heard of Chevalier de Saint-George.

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (December 25, 1745 – June 10, 1799)[1] was a champion fencer, a virtuoso violinist, and conductor of the leading symphony orchestra in Paris. Born in Guadeloupe, he was the son of George Bologne de Saint-Georges, a wealthy planter, and Nanon, his African slave.[2] During the French Revolution, Saint-Georges was colonel of the ‘Légion St.-Georges,'[3] the first all-black regiment in Europe, fighting on the side of the Republic. Today the Chevalier de Saint-Georges is best remembered as the first classical composer of African ancestry.

We read half of the book on Saturday and then found his music to listen to online. We will finish the second half tonight. But what a pleasant surprise to learn of this man and his achievements. I love finding opportunities like this to expose to my boys so they are reminded what is possible.

Well, I am off and I hope you all have a blessed day!

Belinda

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