The Kite Runner

My new book is The Kite Runner. If you've never heard about it look it up. It's made me feel a feeling I haven't had in long time.

It reminds me of a short story my sister read to me when I was a little girl of about 5 of a boy who was always sick and about his brother. One day the older brother and the little sick one were either running or doing something. The older brother didn't believe the little brother when he collapsed. The little brother died and the narrator describes the little coffin. That story impressed me so much and I cried so much that my mother actually got mad at my sister for reading it to me. The story haunted me. I often wonder what story that was and I always forget to ask my sister.

When I read this book I felt very similar. I felt some of the same pain and longing for the main character. I wanted to make him make a different decision. I wanted to change the story somehow but I couldn't. I can't that is. That moment in the novel is the whole point of the story. It's a haunting book.

We're Off

We were just told my our friends/travel agents that we have to take the tour in Ocho Rios. Not because we don't want to be with them and other friends that are on the same cruise, but because we're not big fans of tours. When I started really traveling, like to Europe, when I was seventeen I didn't do any tours. I also didn't do tours on any of my other trips. I've always planned my own itinerary and done my own thing. Then one year when my sister was stationed in Sicily my two friends and I went to visit her. She signed us up for a tour to Palermo. It was a great tour and the tour guide was great, but we were terrible at it. We just felt restricted. I guess we were already so accustomed to doing our own thing.

This is the itinerary for the stop:
DUNN RIVER FALLS
FERN GULLY (RAIN FORREST)
SHAW PARK GARDENS
STOP IN ROUTE AT KINGDOM HALL
SHOPPING OCHO RIOS

It sounds like fun. Hope it is! You'll hear about it later. Back to packing and washing. We leave the house tomorrow at 11. We're going to Galveston and we want to take our time without rushing, we want the kids used to the boat and we sail at 5. Our cabin will be our home for the next week.

Vacation's All I Ever Wanted

I think I've used that headline before but that's OK because I LIKE IT! I am so excited. It's 12:30 a.m. and I just got both kids down for the night and I need to go to bed too but I am so excited. Tomorrow is the beginning of my vacation. I'll be gone for 7 business days plus 2 weekends. That means that I do not have to set foot in that office for 11 whole days!!! That in itself is enough to get me excited.

"Why?" you may ask. Well, for starters I haven't had a whole week off from work in about 2 years. Even then, I didn't go out of town. In fact, I haven't been out of the country in FIVE years! That is a record for me. Ever since I started traveling abroad at 23 I have been going somewhere every year or every other year. It's the wanderlust in me! I love Houston but I love to travel. Maybe it's because I was born and raised here and lived here my entire life that I enjoy visiting other places.

So tomorrow I start my vacation and get my things ready, pack, last minute shopping for a couple of items, prescriptions filled, pedicure, etc... I am so excited!!

I am also very grateful for what I have, for my health, for my family, especially for my children. I’m grateful that I can take vacations like this one. I recently had a tragic death in my family and there was the man in New York. Those kind of incidents really make me question my life again and make me ask myself if I am really happy in life. I want to do what I want to do in life. I want to live out my dreams. This is just a means to an end, a bridge to my future..

Where Does Time Go?

When I was a little girl I remember asking my mom, while getting dressed for school, if time went by faster in the morning. It just seemed to me then, like it still does now, that time has a way of accelerating in the morning hours.

This morning I was greeted by Miranda around 5:30, I don't even know what time it was for sure. Then she came to me a few minutes later, in the Hello Kitty pajamas I bought her at Target last night, wanting to get into bed with me and Seth. (She fell asleep on the way home last night so she must have put the pajamas on when she woke up.) As soon as she got settled into the bed Seth popped up and laughed with her. That was it. I was up and it was around 5:50. By the time I got the cartoons turned on for her and went to make my coffee I was shocked to see it was 6:30!! Where did the time go?

This is another reason why I can't write in the morning. I've been so bad about that. And by bad I mean that I don't think it's ever going to happen. Ever since I started trying that approach a couple of months ago my book has been at a stand still. Every day I set the alarm for 5:50 and every day I wake up at 7:30 to slide into work at 9:15. Then I end up beating myself up about it. It's very frustrating.

The funny thing is that the very few times when I have gotten up really early it's just like today, the time flies! I don't feel like I have enough time to write. What I've decided to do is to take one evening a week, like Rey does basketball, to write. This morning would have been perfect if the children were asleep. Ha! If it weren't for the children I wouldn't be up at all.

New York is an inspiration to write. There is something so intoxicating about that city. I don't know what spell it weaves but it grabs people and pulls them in. Well not all people, but people like me and Rey. I told Rey that New York alone can be an inspiration to write my book so that I can have an excuse to go back.

It's 7:01 now and all I want to do is crawl back into bed and I can't. I'll go get my coffee instead.

Sorry! I've Missed You Too

I'm so sorry I've been so MIA for the past week and a half. After NYC I had a death in my family and family came in for the funeral, etc.. My sister and my cousin stayed at our house a couple of nights.

My weeks have been so hectic since Hurricane Rita. We came back on a Sunday and had to leave to NYC the following Wednesday. I came home and had one week of funeral activity and now I only have one week to get ready for the cruise. I never even had a chance to blog about my NY trip and all the other fun things Rey and I did. So those stories will have to wait for another day over coffee.

Great news! My very good childhood friend Vicki had her baby. A beautiful baby boy! He was born Friday. A big boy! 9 lbs, 4 oz (like my Miranda), 20 1/2 inches long.

Another nice thing that came from my NY trip was my new friendship with my cousin. She lives in NYC and has been there for 7 years. We had a really good visit when I was there. She took me to a super trendy place for lunch and we saw SUSAN SARANDON!! I was so excited to see someone when I least expected it and someone I like as much as I like her. The same cousin came and stayed with us for the weekend after the funeral and we got to know each other even better.

More news later about cruise adventures!