Monday, May 30, 2011

Book signing at Barnes and Noble in Lahaina Maui went well!

Aloha to all of my friends and readers. Just got back from a trip to Hawaii. My daughter Keili graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and we were there cheering as she pranced down the aisle in her bare feet to receive her diploma holder. There was a huge crowd on hand for the 1500+ undergraduates. The lei ceremony afterwards was cool too! By the time it was over Keili was lei'd up to her chin. If I could figure out how to post photos I would show you but if you are a FB friend of mine you can check my photos there. Then, we went off to Maui for a week to see my other daughter Brie and her family. We had a baby shower...made wedding planning visits to bakeries and a fabulous florist. When I find the cards with their names I will update this post. Steve and I looked at real estate upcountry and found one we really liked a lot. Keep your fingers crossed people! I did a book signing at B&N, which is now the only bookstore left on the entire island! So sad the Borders in Kahului closed down. The people at Barnes and Noble were wonderful. I met so many nice people...customers and staff. They even invited me to come back and do another signing. I hope to get there in August...I will post the dates when I know. So, the really big news since I last posted is my upcoming surgery...tomorrow. The surgeon will be doing a lumpectomy. It is a day surgery so no worries. I just hope I can tolerate the anesthesia. Well, until later ALOHA!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

"The way you spend each day adds up to the way you spend your life."

I love this quote. I found it amongst my dear friend Phyllis' desk items when helping Lola pack up the condo after Phyllis left us. It is in her handwriting on a tiny scrap of an index card... and I taped it to my PC monitor stand. I look at it each day and it reminds me of my beautiful friend and her amazing spirit. I miss her and wish I could talk with her about breast cancer. She was extremely private and rarely even mentioned it. She relapsed several times and it finally mestastized to her brain. I feel so blessed that mine was caught EARLY and I have nothing to fear really. For me having a diagnosis of BC is just a blip and a pain in the okole timewise but I am truly lucky compared to my friend and others like her who have had to endure a much worse protocol. I choose to spend each day of my life living with the knowledge of how blessed I am and trying to spread positive energy in the world. Tomorrow is Mother's Day. For many it is a holiday where moms are celebrated. For me it is a sad day - a reminder that another year has passed since my little guy died. Don't get me wrong...I am grateful for the time we were given but even after all these years I still miss him...his smile...his sweet nature and his mischievous sense of humor. Even though he is gone and I miss Cory I choose gratitude and to acknowledge that being his mother was a privilege. Happy Mother's Day to all mamas!