Hiatus

Sorry.
I promised to write,
I know.

And I haven't.

But I will.
From now on.

Mean it.

I am at my mom's house, presently.
The internet is a little sluggish.
So there might not be as many photos as you're used to.

The airing of the grievances will happen tomorrow.
So be prepared.

For now,
all I have to offer are some photos
showcasing the view
from the hotel DRL and I stayed in
on Saturday night.

We Pricelined
for the first time ever
and as I typed in the price we wanted to pay
for a four star hotel
in downtown Minneapolis
I kept hearing
William Shatner
call me
"Namby Pamby."

So I went lower.
And we got an amazing deal.

Thanks, Bill.

Cheers,
A

Home

Later this afternoon                                                                                                  *photo courtesy of google images
I will head to the airport
and board a plane
headed for Minneapolis.

A few short hours later
I will crawl into bed
with Elena
and squeeze her.
Tightly.

Quietly.

In the morning
I will hold my baby.
Who is about to turn
one.

I will kiss her bald head.
And squeeze her, too.
Just not quite as tight.
She's still fragile, you know.

And I'll sit at the counter at my mother's house
..quiet, warm, comfortable...
and listen to my eldest tell stories of the past two weeks.

Two weeks in Minnesota.
With her cousins.
And her bff, Audrey.

The Children's Museum.
Gramma's house.
Snowstorms.
The YMC(me)A.

And I'll smile.

Bigger than I've smiled in the time
since they left Texas.

I can't wait to be home for the holidays.

To see snow.

And yes,
I am even excited to freeze
my tuckus
off.

I promise to blog while I'm on vacation.
I've packed the laptop.
And the camera.

There'll be plenty to read about,
friends.

I promise to write it.

And if you
are fortunate enough to be home
for your holidays
be warm.
And travel safely.

And if you cannot make it home
this year
remember
that home
is wherever in the world
you are.

Home,
you see,
will always come to you
at Christmastime.

That
is the magic of this season.

Cheers,
A

Ready for Takeoff.

I flew home on Friday.

From Austin to Minneapolis

via Delta airlines.

Stella flew with me.

It was her first time on a plane.

And my first time flying with a child.

Apprehensive is not strong enough a word.

I was nervous.

Skeptical.

Terrified.

But everything worked out fine.

The plane ride was uneventful.

Sure, there were a couple crying jags.

(One of which may have been brought on

by a certain baby

hitting her fragile little head

on the overhead compartment.)

The gentleman in the seat next to me was wonderful.

Having two small boys of his own

back home in Vancouver

he was more than gracious

and happy to help.

He even held Stella once or twice so I could make a bottle.

Or take a deep breath.

Maybe both, simultaneously.

(Thank you, Geoffrey Rutledge of Vancouver, B.C for your kindness!)

Stella enjoyed watching our plane taxi into the gate at ABIA.

And being the photographer momma that I am

I snapped a few photos.

Since I am blogging from my mom's computer

and have zero access to any photo software

this picture is SOOC.

And Stella looks just like my Grandpa Leonard.

Strange.

Cheers,

A

(P.S. DRL and Elena are in Aberdeen, South Dakota for a wedding. They endured softball sized hail and red iced cupcakes.  I'm not sure which was more dangerous. Also, I watched a wall cloud pass over my mom's front porch last night as the storms tumbled eastward. I managed to capture a photo of it before I scowered into the basement for cover.  It was pretty damn cool.  When I wasn't terrified that I was going to die or get mamed or something of the sort.  I'll upload it later.)