Writing is always better with a latte

Back in the day, I'd jump out of bed and head to Paneras and blog away. Back further in the day I'd think about cross stitch and spend every spare moment on it. Then it was rubber stamping. Obsessed. Then blogging. Now? I have no clue. Time is elusive. I really don't spend much time on FB. Or e-mail. Or keeping up with blogs. Some days I don't turn on my computer. I've watched a bunch of shows on NatGeo (does the new name attract more viewers? The shows were already great). The History Channel has some fascinating programs. I watched The Event, Glee and Parenthood. I'm never caught up on TV, but it appears it's a new favorite thing to do with my time.

I'm at Panera's. Emily left at 7AM with her boyfriend and father to visit two colleges in PA. Yesterday they went to two private in-state colleges. Tomorrow it's another PA college. Same on Saturday. I know that she'll be visiting public in-state colleges too. This is field trip time at her private high school, and all the classes have field trips. The seniors are encouraged to use this time to visit colleges. Pretty great, huh? I wish I could be with them, but Emily's dad is retired and has the time and disposition to be good at this. Emily bought a dress for the occasion. She couldn't believe she saw kids with cut-offs and t-shirts on tours. She thinks it's a time to make an impression. She surprises me often. I'm excited for her, for this experience. The reality of what's available financially will have everything to do with what colleges they're able to attend. Their plan is to go to college together. Time will tell.

If you've seen my posts on FB you'll know my mother just got out of the hospital. She was walking without benefit of her best friend (her cane) which should be glued to her hand (if only there were a way) and fell when her non-skid slipper caught on the carpet. She didn't want to wake anyone to carry coffee to her favorite chair and TV. So, cup instead of cane. She almost made it. The cup made it to the table. Amazingly, she fell to the floor without hitting any furniture, but she fell onto her paralyzed arm. Again. She's had a bunch of falls lately. Each explained, which is great, but falls nonetheless, and all on the arm. Long story short, the arm is horribly swollen but amazingly not broken. For some reason she blacked out while getting X-rays at Kaiser, thus the trip to the ER. It took 2 days to complete all the tests. All negative. She came home yesterday and home PT starts today. I woke up from a dream in which my sister called to say that my mom had fallen again. You could say we're all living in fear. The only upside to the unfortunate event was that my out-of-town sister was visiting and we and we were able to spend a lot of time together, along with my brother.

I've had my cinnamon crunch bagel and caramel latte. It's time to hit Walmart, then go to the closing on my home refinance. I'll visit my parents afterward. Those are the definitive parts of my day. I hope for only good stuff for the rest of it.

The sky before last night's awesome lightning storm

Happy Day!