The Art of watering the Lawn

Hello world-wide-web,
     
Thank you Heavenly Father for choosing me. It has made all the difference in the world. Prayers for all marriage, parents, children, healing in the gulf, singles, addicts and anyone else who needs a prayer said for them. In Your Name, Amen.

My Aunt Rosa, on my mother's side of the family, was my hero growing up in El Paso. My family moved around a lot when I was little, but no matter where we were, my Aunt Rosa came to visit. It was awesome. It meant new clothes, a new hair do and just pampering in general.
I cried for three days straight when she died.
She taught me about credit, have I told this story before? Well I'll stop now and tell you that I'm mentioning her b/c I 'invoke' her spirit sometimes when I have chores to do: she was an expert at wrapping gifts..and diplomacy. As Catholics, this is what I believe the "Communion of Saints," means to us; our connection to our ancestors, those who have passed. I was reminded of the times my Aunt Rosa used to water the front lawn at our house on Hawthorne Street. I used to sit on the magnificent, bricked, sturdy, front porch and watch her wave the magic wand that was the water hose. It was as if the elements were at her command. Immediately after turning on the water hose a cool breeze appeared and tousled the tall evergreen trees that were on either side of the path to the entrance of my grandmother's house. My Aunt took her time as she watered each and every plot of earth. It was an act of love.
So tonight as I turned on the water to the hose at my house, and the wind kicked up joyously, I thought of her and asked her to be with me as I watered each and every part of my yard. I could feel her presence as I am facing my house and beginning on the left hand side, by the front window. There are a few plants, but mostly dirt, which I drench because this land is important to the health of my foundation. I relax as the water flows out of the nozzle, thanking each and every plant for being in my yard and growing. I make sure I soak each area thoroughly, just like my tia (Spanish word for 'aunt') did. It's fun to watch the geckos run out from their hiding places, or the occasional surprised flutter of a butterfly as the water chases it. The neighbors to the right of my house are in their upper years so I water their bushes as well. I see no boundaries, really, between our two yards. I have a rather large fern plant growing towards the front of the lawn and all its spikes nod in agreement as the water pours over them lovingly. I notice that some of the water's muscles are creating a 'dark chocolate with Carmel in the middle' dirt affect, in the symbol of a "V". The darker section engulfing the lighter portion.This tells me I am not soaking enough, so I go over the same place until the affect is made no more. When I am on the other side of  my house, at the corner where my bedroom is, there is a precious, tiny, frog 'sitting' and watching me as I water the surface around him, careful not to flood him out of his wonderful perch. Whenever I come to a tree, I thank it's tough, thick bark and strong roots, sloshing the water as if I were washing a pet elephant. I love it's shade and how pretty it makes the front of my house appear. It took me about an hour to do the 'water ritual'. I thank Rosa for accompanying me around my house. A simple act of giving glory to God's creations appointed to my care. I hope I am doing them justice.

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa

Whimsical pictures

Hello world-wide-web,

      Lord, thank you for my family and friends, and their health, and all blessings you've bestowed on me. In Your Name. Amen.

I finally took pictures of these wondrous statues around Deep Ellum.

Strummin' on the ole banjo...

Just chillaxin'

Heart these cute chickies and they reflect their goodness everywhere.

...and also with you!

Peering through the musician. How often does one get a chance to do that?!

Hello from behind the arm of my robot. Yes, mine.

Bushy had to copy me!

A birdie landed on his arm.

Hmmm

I'm almost as tall!

Go John, go!...

John posturing.

This birdie is hopping through the photos!

Look at those delightful feet.

If you get a chance, go to Deep Ellum and check out these adorable images live. It's worth the look. 

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa

Photos of the World Cup Experience

Hello world-wide-web,
     Thank you Jesus for good friends and fun times! In Your Name. Amen.

As you look out from the giant HD screen, this is what you see...

It was Hell Hot, but worth it! USA!

Those crazy Body Painters! God Bless 'em! We were lucky to get seats next to these guys!

I could have used these later in an argument with Bushy.

U-S-A!

Crazy Body painters on one side, and this guy on the other! :)

Loved sharing the WC experience with these characters.

Look out now, you are on Candid Camera. We were trying to capture a photo of the flag.

This is what you saw from where we were sitting. I think this was taken shortly after Dempsey scored our goooooaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllll!

As were were leaving this guy was waving the US and Mexican flag, tied together. Nice.

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa

Rules to live by

Hello world-wide-web,
     Prayers for everyone I said I'd pray for and anyone else who needs some prayers and of course for healing in the Gulf. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Since I'm not working this summer - except in re-organizing my house - and I'm procrastinating on reading the text for my Ethics class, I have lots more time to post blogs. Aren't you a lucky reader!
This was sent in a email to me and I think it's worth sharing:
ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want. (!!!)
FOUR. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.
FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.
SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married .
SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.
EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.
TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.
THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'
FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.
SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.
EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone.

Twenty-one reminds me of something a good friend asked me when my mom was out of town, "Don't you miss not having your mom around? I don't like it when my roommates is gone." I did miss my mom, but I absolutely relish being by myself. Afterall, if I can't stand being with myself, why would anyone else want to be with me?

God bless!

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa

Kobe Bryant Dream

Hello world-wide-web,
     Heavenly Father please heal the Gulf. In Jesus' name. Amen.

I am disappointed the Celtics didn't win last night, and here's the dream I had about Kobe and Pau Gasol.
Kobe is teaching the class I'm taking. There are many pages of the exam he's created for us, and it is on paper that is cut in half. I happen to find his answer sheet and take it with me to my desk. I am sitting next to Pau Gasol, hoping he won't notice I'm cheating and tell his buddy Kobe. All of the sudden Kobe is sitting in front of me, also taking the test(!?). After taking the test, Kobe and I go to his house. I am checking my test on the car ride over to Kobe's and Kobe almost catches me with the answer sheet. I am making all kinds of corrections to my answers. Kobe did look over at me strangely a couple of times, but seemed disinterested in what I was doing, thankfully.
Kobe lives in the 'hood! There is no other way to describe his house; it's run down, with paint peeling from the walls. He also has three white kids: a girl and two boys. For some reason I decide to help the kids clean their rooms, which are a mess. I go to the girls room first and help her make her bed. The bedrooms are small and they are on either side of the kitchen. Then there's the tiny dining room area...Throughout this dream Kobe is in his basketball jersey and shorts.
Enjoy your dreams!

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa

Summer dreams

Hello world-wide-web,

     Thanks, Lord, for bringing Mom and Carlton home safely from EP. Thank you for all prayers answered, for the wonderful ending to a fantastic academic/school year - you blessed me with some great students this year, Lord - and for overall health and happiness in my life. Special intentions for the BP spill and healing in the gulf, for marriages, for all singles, any prayers I've been asked to pray for, for the troops, and in thanksgiving for the health of loved ones and my friends. In Jesus' name. Amen.

For the summer I'll be posting dreams I have, as I find them quite entertaining and hope you do as well.

A good friend of mine, Issa, is about to have a baby and here's a dream I had about this wonderful occurrence: she and her husband fly to Pakistan to have the baby there, so they invited me and a few other friends to join them. We arrive and Issa is immediately put in a huge room with other pregnant women. The room is the size of a small theatre, complete with comfortable theatre seats, which is where Issa, her husband, me, and the other friends sit to wait. We are waiting for Issa to begin her contractions in earnest and have her baby. Instead of facing a movie screen, though, we are looking through a huge window. We are on the second floor and if you  look down from this window you can see the Paki citizens running to and fro. I still have the distinct impression that Issa is having a girl, but she never delivers during the dream; women all around us are having babies though and they are quickly wheeled out of the room when they are in the middle of contractions.

The second dream I had  is about a costume shop. But this is no ordinary costume shop. It is a shop that rents Super Heroes. Not the actual Super Heroes, as they have more important things to do than attend a celebration of any sort, so this store rents the robots of Super Heroes. The Super Hero that was prominently featured in my dream was Iron Man. I'm watching a commercial of the Iron Man Robot at a kid's bday party. Everyone is standing around the robot as he does Iron Man stuff: flying around and making balloon animals for the kiddies.

Wishing you Super Summer Dreams - real, dreamed, or imagined.
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa