Grace in Small Things: 03/365
1. yoga
2. Rick, my friend and yoga partner
3. Margaritas
4. A really, really good night's sleep
5. camping at the beach (just made reservations, yeah!)

Grace in Small Things: 02/365
1. Thanks to Janet for helping me discover Miss Capucine and Grace in Small Things
2. My bed (my new and incredibly comfortable mattress, actually)
3. My job(s)
4. My children
5. Flannel jammies

So, it's almost one year later. It's been a challenging and fulfilling year, with some H's:

HEART attack (my dad, last February), HAWAII (me, Kauai, in November)HELLUVA lot of work (my regular job as a counselor working with college students with disabilities as well as two part time stints as Learning Disabilities Specialist at two community colleges), HEARTFELT goodbyes (my oldest daughter is now living in Java, Indonesia, my other daughter moved back to So Cal to live in Santa Monica with Ryan, her boyfriend, and my son moved out on his own to an apartment he shares with a roommate in San Jose) and HELLO (my little brother came over from Hawaii in March and is now my new roommate) and finally, HERE, Kitty, kitty, kitty (we adopted a new tuxedo cat to keep Miss Kitty entertained, and goes by Gizmo or Marble).

I've decided to join the Grace in Small Things group. Each day of the year one is encouraged to list 5 things they are grateful for, enjoy, or just feel good about. So, here's my list for today:

GRACE IN SMALL THINGS: 01/365

1. The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
2. Coffee, strong, anytime
3. Obama's statement about "shameful" bonuses given to top Wall Street execs
4. My ability to have a really good cry (just had one this morning)
5. Miss Capucine's new bedroom

It's hard to believe two years have passed since I started this (well, really Janet started this for me). So much has happened. I moved from SoCal to NorCal, started a new job, bought a new car (not really new,a 2005 Mini Cooper S convertible) started dating, stopped dating, finished my certification process as a Learning Disability Specialist, and more. Hard to believe! I love the Bay area, and am having fun exploring all that it has to offer!

 

Here are pictures of my family:

Me and Flanny Face (this is how I look now).


This is my son, Taylor (he's helping me post this).

 

This is my daughter, Maeg, the one that sings opera.

This is my kitty, Miss Kitty. We're still discussing a name.

This is our dearly departed pooch, Otis, who has gone to the big dogbone in the sky. Sniff. Sniff.

 

That's all for now!

Hello there! Thanks for visiting me. I'm Leslie, and yes, I really do have green eyes. They're my best feature (well, really my only GOOD feature, besides my legs, but only from the knees down). Unfortunately, I've had to switch from contact lenses to glasses recently. Seems I suffer from some old fart thing called "Dry Eye Syndrome" (I just hate having a "syndrome"), making contacts extremely uncomfortable.

Anyway, I just turned 50 and I have three children: Maeg, my oldest daughter (21) who lives in Seattle and is studying classical music and opera at Cornish College of the Arts; Flannery, my younger daughter (almost 18) who is about to graduate from high school and works at a fancy schmancy hair salon in Valencia, and Taylor, my 16 year old son who is an aspiring writer (arts and entertainment editor for school newspaper). We also live with Miss Kitty (for lack of consensus on another name; I voted for "Frankie" (she has blue eyes), or "Scout" from the book To Kill A Mockingbird, but since we couldn't agree on a name, she is known as Kitty, or MISS Kitty to you. Our basset hound, Otis, died recently, and we are missing him very much. As a puppy raiser, we are expecting our Guide Dog in training hopefully in May, so that's exciting. (Guide Dogs of America, a wonderful organization).

I work in Lancaster as a counselor and instructor, but it is only part time, so I am feverishly searching for full time, gainful employment at another university or perhaps a community college. I work with students with disabilities and teach a general studies class. I like my work very much, but I am chomping at the bit to get FULL TIME work with FULL TIME pay.

Oh, excuse me, Miss Kitty is trying to type. She loves to sit ON the keyboard, or my lap, but for some reason, probably because she has something to say, she is more interested in the keyboard than my lap.

I am trying to decide what to drink tonight while I watch the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Italy. A red wine, perhaps? Maybe something a little stronger. Oops, no, because I have to drive to pick up my daughter at 9:00. Maybe just a teeny weenie glass of wine. Red wine goes well with the killer chocolate chip cookies I just made. So much more fun than dinner, don't you think? I'm off to the wine cellar. As soon as I figure out how to post some pix, I will.

Hello!