Ricardo Lost 70+ Lbs and Counting!

Ricardo Lost 70+ Lbs and Counting!
Originally uploaded by carlamarieweir

I haven't blogged in ages, sorry! Just wanted to check in with everyone, and show off Ricardo and how much weight he's lost. He's doing really well, exercising and eating well, and is really enjoying the progress!

Happy father's day to all the Dads out there!!! Today we woke up Ricardo with presents and one verse of Las Mananitas, and then went back to sleep!! Later we got up and got things together for a little father's day shindig we hosted. The food was "Daddy's Choice" ie lots of meat! Mahnaz and Sara came over and of course we had wonderful Persian rice (YUM), along with sausage, tbone, skirt steak and grilled veggies. Carlotta and her husband came and they brought some wonderful quesillo (Venezuelan flan). Hannah's boyfriend Alex was here, and brought some fun old vinyls that made for a festive mood. Sara's boyfriend Tim was here for a few minutes too. A good time was had by all!

End of the School Year

These three "happy campers" have a lot to celebrate! This pic was taken on TAG Prom Night, which only Sofia attended. Hannah played fairy godmother to Sofia and her friend Kim, putting on their makeup and reassuring them that they looked fabulous (which they did!). This has been a big school year for Hannah and even moreso for Sofia. Hannah got through some really tough classes (we're still waiting for the final grades but are hoping for the big finish!), think Advanced Placement Pre-Calculus as well as Advanced Placement Physics...yikes. This was Sofia's big 9th grade year. She discovered that she really likes computer science and that English is not so bad after all....As for Ricardo, really big news, his school "made it" to Recognized. This is HUGE, and has been 7 years in the making. So, as always, even though things often feel chaotic, out of control, and time slips out of my hands at an alarming rate....I do have a lot to feel thankful for.

Briefly a Pelican

Briefly a Pelican
Originally uploaded by carlamarieweir

Spring has definitely sprung. Lots of little blooms, and green popping up everywhere. It's been such a crazy March with alternating cold and hot weather. This year, we didn't do Spring Break together, or go camping. Ricardo and the girls went to Houston for a few days without me while I worked. I then joined them for a few days and stayed in Houston while they came on home to Dallas. I took this picture at White Rock lake during my bachelorette weekend alone at home. I've never stayed home by myself and it was very quiet! I did enjoy some time alone, which was much needed and refreshing. I missed the girls and was happy to see them when we did get together. Being a mom of teenagers has been difficult lately. This alone time can help me refocus on what's important, on keeping the peace, and enjoying what time I have left with them at home.

We met Hillary Clinton!

(that's Rob Reiner behind me under the no smoking sign!)

On Super Tuesday, after voting (I was number 117) I had a chance to meet Hillary Clinton! Ricardo told me that he was told she would be at Herrera's restaurant during the lunch hour. So, we went there and sure enough a bunch of supporters, photographers, camera crews and pols there there! We ate lunch, I had enchiladas, he had papas con huevos...and in she comes! It was fascinating to watch and feel the buzz of excitement in the room. It's amazing to think this is her day to day experience right now. She didn't eat, she walked in and worked the room, talking to each and every person who wanted to shake her hand, get her autograph or take a picture with her. That has to be exhausting! I saw her on the news later in the day, in the same red suit and silver necklace...in Houston in the morning and Ohio in the evening. I voted for Hillary but was really torn. I would be happy with either Hillary or Obama. I'm really curious to see who finally makes it! I'm proud to be able to choose between a woman and an African American. If either one of them won it would only be the second candidate I voted for who wins a presidential election.

Weeks 1-6

Weeks 1-6
Originally uploaded by carlamarieweir

Tomorrow (Monday) marks Ricardo's 6th week after surgery. This weekend he had his first arepa and a little bit of beef for the first time. He's already lost 50 pounds! He started going backwards in his wardrobe and is wearing things he hasn't worn in years. Every Sunday I take a picture of him and as you can see from the first to the last picture...his progress is obvious!

Alamo Plaza Courts

One day, trolling around in flickr, I found a picture of a postcard of the Alamo Plaza Courts! I just HAD to take this picture and show how it looks now. Aparently this was part of a 5 or 6 motel chain in the south/west. It's still a really cool building even though it's fallen into disrepair. The facade, and more importantly the sign is still in good condition. I'm hoping that someone will purchase and revive it since it's so close to the now plush Hotel Belmont.

A New Tune for Ricardo

Two weeks ago today Ricardo underwent bariatric surgery. He's recovered and adjusted amazingly rapidly in those two weeks! This weekend he got to eat solid foods for the first time and today he went back to work. It has been a life changing decision that has affected the whole family. We're supporting him all the way and are already seeing progress, 30 lbs as a matter of fact! We're taking a picture of him every Sunday to document his amazing changes. I'll post pictures in a few weeks so everyone can see! Thanks everyone who dropped by, called in or said a prayer for us.

Making Hallacas Alone is No Fun

Sofia and Shawna folding and tying

This year, against my better judgement, we decided to make Hallacas. I say against my better judgement because Ricardo's cousin was going to come and make them with us, we've only made them once, and when she canceled her plans to visit I felt it was too much for us to handle. Well, thanks to wonderful friends, the Anderson-Gilly family and the Ehrlicher family...we made Hallacas! Making them basically became the pre-party to the New Year celebration party. They came our very yummy, although we're going to have to tweak the masa recipe for the vegetarian version. Everyone seemed to have fun and we made over 70 hallacas!! Woo hoo!!! The next day was the 31st and we had a good little party. Smaller than in the past but a lot of fun because I actually got to sit down and visit with guests and really enjoy the party. Hannah and Sofia each invited some of their friends and a good time was had by all. Happy New Year!

Having to Keep it Simple

Christmas Lights, Thermopolis Wyoming

The last few years I've found myself yearning for a little more simplicity and meaning during the Christmas season. This year we're trying to....no, having to keep things simple. More than ever before Christmas has totally snuck up on me. And even beyond that, I'm just not in the mood. We haven't done anything, no tree, no cards. I JUST started the shopping, and whittled it down to three stores. I've made a couple of things, that's been the most fun.

Several friends have reported the same "grinchy" feelings this year. I think we're all just tired of the shopping frenzy, the pressure to get things done on a certain schedule, the commercialism, and basically rebelling against all that. I've been thinking a lot lately about what my ideal would be in terms of celebrating Christmas. I think I'd like to just have a big get together with whoever is around, have a meal together and just relax! Forget about the gifts!!!!! We don't need to be buying all this stuff anyway. Oh well, there's my grinchy moment. Even though that will probably never happen, I can at least work towards it!

This year I'm proud to announce we set ourselves a budget for Christmas gifts, and are buying things cash. I mentioned that at Crate and Barrel and the checkout lady said she's seen a lot of that this year. They've noticed because they have to change out the cash register more often. Interesting!

A Thanksgiving Table for Three

A Table for Three
Originally uploaded by carlamarieweir

I had long planned to go to Wyoming in October or November to close the cabin and bunkhouse down for the season. This summer I was in Wyoming for only a week and didn't have a chance to visit much with my Aunt Shirley because Sofia and I were so sick and weren't sure if we were contagious. Aunt Shirley was diagnosed with cancer in June and by the time my parents returned to Louisiana in October she had decided to enter the nursing home where she could get round the clock care if she needed it.

I am so glad I went to Wyoming in November because I got to visit her every day in her last week. She taught me so many life lessons in dignity and self awareness during that brief week. She died a few days before Thanksgiving, when my parents were on their second day of driving to Wyoming.

Her funeral wasn't until the Monday after Thanksgiving, to give family time to travel in during such a busy season. While Ricardo and Sofia went to Libbas, and Hannah traveled to St. Louis, for us, it was a quiet Thanksgiving, just three settings at the table. I have to say, it was also a gift, and a joy, and a pleasure to spend that time with my parents. I very rarely get them to myself, and I really loved cooking our little feast and spending the day together. It will always be a Thanksgiving to remember.

What does hometown mean?

I spent a few days in Hot Springs Arkansas for a meeting last week. Shawna came with me and we made a road trip out of it, staying an extra night at a lake house with Peggy. It's surprisingly close, only a 4 hour drive to mountains and the wonderful Hot Springs. Both Hope and Hot Springs claim Bill Clinton as their native son, he was born in Hope and grew up in Hot Springs. That gets me to reflecting on the idea of "home town" and what that means. The word hometown conjures Rockwell like images in my mind of walking down main street saying hello to everyone you know, 4th of July picnics and parades, and knowing the people you graduate with since first grade. I doubt most people have that experience any more though, and I never did have it. I have a couple of places I consider home towns. The first and earliest home town for me is Shell Wyoming, even though I've only spent a total of a few years there over the course of a lifetime of summers. Then comes Aberdeen Scotland, where I really gained my independence and got to know the city, riding all over on the buses, and made lifelong friends. Then comes Lafayette, LA, my college home town. Lafayette represents another phase of independence, it's where I learned to drive, went to college and got married (first time). And now Dallas, it's my home town now! I love my neighborhood (see Oak Cliff blog!), and this is where I've become a mom, bought a house and started my working life. For a while I really wanted to move away, but I'm glad we've stayed. It's given the girls the opportunity to really feel at home, establish a stable network of friends and really feel like they belong somewhere. I feel like eventually we'll move away from Dallas, but it will always be a special home base for us.

Eulogy for Lady Bird Johnson

1969 Whitehouse Portrait

Bill Moyers' eulogy for Lady Bird Johnson, She seemed to grow calmer as the world around her became more furious. Sunday, July 15, 2007

It is unthinkable to me that Lady Bird is gone.

She was so much a part of the landscape, so much a part of our lives and our times, so much a part of our country for so long that I began to imagine her with us always. Now, although the fields of purple, orange, and blue will long evoke her gifts to us, that vibrant presence has departed, and we are left to mourn our loss of her even as we celebrate her life.

Some people arriving earlier today were asked, "Are you sitting with the family?" I looked around at this throng and said to myself, "Everyone here is sitting with the family. That's how she would treat us." All of us.

When I arrived in Washington in 1954, to work in the LBJ mailroom between my sophomore and junior years, I didn't know a single person in town — not even the Johnsons, whom I only met that first week. She soon recognized the weekends were especially lonesome for me, and she called one day to ask me over for Sunday brunch.

I had never even heard of Sunday brunch, must less been to one; for all I knew, it was an Episcopalian sacrament. When I arrived at 30th Place the family was there — the little girls, Lady Bird and himself. But so were Richard Russell and Sam Rayburn and J. Edgar Hoover — didn't look like Episcopal priests to me. They were sitting around the smallish room reading the newspaper — except for LBJ, who was on the phone. If this is their idea of a sacrament, I thought, I'll just stay a Baptist. But Mrs. Johnson knew something about the bachelors she had invited there, including the kid fresh up from her native East Texas. On a Sunday morning they needed a family, and she had offered us communion at her table. In a way, it was a sacrament.

It was also very good politics. She told me something that summer that would make a difference in my life. She was shy, and in the presence of powerful men, she usually kept her counsel. Sensing that I was shy, too, and aware I had no experience to enforce any opinions, she said: Don't worry. If you are unsure of what to say, just ask questions, and I promise you that when they leave, they will think you were the smartest one on the room, just for listening to them. Word will get around, she said.

She knew the ways of the world, and how they could be made to work for you, even when you didn't fully understand what was going on. She told me once, years later, that she didn't even understand everything about the man she married — nor did she want to, she said, as long as he needed her.

Oh, he needed her, alright. You know the famous incident. Once, trying to locate her in a crowded room, he growled aloud: "Where's Lady Bird?" And she replied: "Right behind you, darling, where I've always been." "Whoever loves, believes the impossible," Elizabeth Browning wrote. Lady Bird truly loved this man she often found impossible. "I'm no more bewildered by Lyndon than he is bewildered by himself," she once told me.

Like everyone he loved, she often found herself in the path of his Vesuvian eruptions. During the campaign of 1960 I slept in the bed in their basement when we returned from the road for sessions of the Senate. She knew I was lonesome for Judith and our six-month-old son who were back in Texas. She would often come down the two flights of stairs to ask if I was doing alright. One night the Senator and I got home even later than usual. And he brought with him an unresolved dispute from the Senate cloakroom. At midnight I could still hear him upstairs, carrying on as if he were about to purge the Democratic caucus. Pretty soon I heard her footsteps on the stairs and I called out: "Mrs. Johnson, you don't need to check up on me. I'm alright." And she called back, "Well, I was coming down to tell you I'm alright, too."

She seemed to grow calmer as the world around her became more furious.

Thunderstorms struck in her life so often, you had to wonder why the Gods on Olympus kept testing her. She lost her mother in an accident when she was five. She was two cars behind JFK in Dallas. She was in the White House when Martin Luther King was shot and Washington burned. She grieved for the family of Robert Kennedy, and for the lives lost in Vietnam.

Early in the White House, a well-meaning editor up from Texas said, "You poor thing, having to follow Jackie Kennedy." Mrs. Johnson's mouth dropped open, in amazed disbelief. And she said, "Oh, no, don't pity for me. Weep for Mrs. Kennedy. She lost her husband. I still have my Lyndon."

She aimed for the consolation and comfort of others. It was not only her talent at negotiating the civil war waged in his nature. It was not just the way she remained unconscripted by the factions into which family, friends, and advisers inevitably divide around a powerful figure. She kept open all the roads to reconciliation.

Like her beloved flowers in the field, she was a woman of many hues. A strong manager, a canny investor, a shrewd judge of people, friend and foe — and she never confused the two. Deliberate in coming to judgment, she was sure in conclusion.

But let me speak especially of the one quality that most captured my admiration and affection, her courage.

It is the fall of 1960. We're in Dallas, where neither Kennedy nor Johnson are local heroes. We start across the street from the Adolphus to the Baker Hotel. The reactionary congressman from Dallas has organized a demonstration of women — pretty women, in costumes of red, white, and blue, waving little American flags above their cowboy hats. At first I take them to be cheerleaders having a good time. But suddenly they are an angry mob, snarling, salivating, spitting.

A roar — a primal terrifying roar swells around us — my first experience with collective hate roused to a fever pitch. I'm right behind the Johnsons. She's taken his arm and as she turns left and right, nodding to the mob, I can see she is smiling. And I see in the eyes of some of those women a confusion — what I take to be the realization that this is them at their most uncivil, confronting a woman who is the triumph of civility. So help me, her very demeanor creates a small zone of grace in the midst of that tumultuous throng. And they move back a little, and again a little, Mrs. Johnson continuing to nod and smile, until we're inside the Baker and upstairs in the suite.

Now LBJ is smiling — he knows that Texas was up for grabs until this moment, and the backlash will decide it for us. But Mrs. Johnson has pulled back the curtains and is looking down that street as the mob disperses. She has seen a dark and disturbing omen. Still holding the curtain back, as if she were peering into the future, she says, "Things will never be the same again."

*********

Now it is 1964. The disinherited descendents of slavery, still denied their rights as citizens after a century of segregation, have resolved to claim for themselves the American promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. President Johnson has thrown the full power of his office to their side, and he has just signed the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 — the greatest single sword of justice raised for equality since the Emancipation Proclamation. A few weeks later, both Johnsons plunge into his campaign for election in his own right. He has more or less given up on the South, after that legislation, but she will not. These were her people, here were her roots. And she is not ready to sever them. So she sets out on a whistlestop journey of nearly seventeen hundred miles through the heart of her past. She is on her own now — campaigning independently — across the Mason-Dixon line down the buckle of the Bible Belt all the way down to New Orleans. I cannot all these years later do justice to what she faced: The boos, the jeers, the hecklers, the crude signs and cruder gestures, the insults and the threats. This is the land still ruled by Jim Crow and John Birch, who controls the law with the cross and club to enforce it. 1964, and bathroom signs still read: "White Ladies" and Colored Women."

In Richmond, she is greeted with signs that read: "Fly away, Lady Bird." In Charleston, "Blackbird Go Home." Children planted in front rows hold up signs: "Johnson is a Nigger Lover." In Savannah they curse her daughter. The air has become so menacing we run a separate engine fifteen minutes ahead of her in case of a bomb; she later said, "People were concerned for me, but the engineer in the train ahead of us was in far greater danger." Rumors spread of snipers, and in the Panhandle of Florida the threats are so ominous the FBI orders a yard-by-yard sweep of a seven-mile bridge that her train would cross.

She never flinches. Up to forty times a day from the platform of the caboose she will speak, sometimes raising a single white-gloved hand to punctuate her words — always the lady. When the insults grew so raucous in South Carolina, she tells the crowd the ugly words were coming "not from the good people of South Carolina but from the state of confusion." In Columbia she answers hecklers with what one observer called "a maternal bark." And she says, "This is a country of many viewpoints. I respect your right to express your own. Now is my turn to express mine."

An advance man called me back at the White House from the pay phone at a local train depot. He was choking back the tears. "As long as I live," he said, in a voice breaking with emotion, "I will thank God I was here today, so that I can tell my children the difference courage makes."

Yes, she planted flowers, and wanted and worked for highways and parks and vistas that opened us to the Technicolor splendors of our world. Walk this weekend among the paths and trails and flowers and see the beauty she loved. But as you do, remember — she also loved democracy, and saw a beauty in it — rough though the ground may be, hard and stony, as tangled and as threatened with blight as nature itself. And remember that this shy little girl from Karnack, Texas — with eyes as wistful as cypress and manners as soft as the whispering pine — grew up to show us how to cultivate the beauty in democracy: The voice raised against the mob . . . the courage to overcome fear with convictions as true as steel. Claudia Alta Taylor — Lady Bird Johnson — served the beauty in nature and the beauty in us — and right down to the end of her long and bountiful life, she inspired us to serve them, too.

********

I thought this was the most beautiful eulogy ever, I just had to find and share, Carla.

Happy Father's Day

For the first time in a LOOOOONG time my dad is here on Father's Day, which this year is also his birthday! So, he kind of stole the show! We had a good day today, staying in the house and just hanging out for a change. Ricardo made his delicious baby back ribs and I made roasted potatoes and a cake for the birthday boy. Here are the dads opening presents, Ricardo got a gadget to open packages and three shirts, and dad got two books and a puzzle of a picture I took of Copeman's Tomb.

I'm really glad the girls were back for Father's Day, and my mom was back for dad's birthday, it just wouldn't have been the same without them!!! I will post a pic of their trip to Argentina, they had a really great time!

Argentine Adventure

Hannah, Sofia, my Mom at DFW airport before the flight to Argentina

Hannah and Sofia are in Argentina for 2 weeks with my mom. They left at 7.35pm on Tuesday, and arrived safely on Wednesday morning after a 10 hour flight. They were so excited about this trip, even though they didn't really have time to dwell too much. School finished on Thursday and by the next Tuesday they were on their way! It's been a whirlwind of last minute shopping, laundry and packing. We needed to buy some sweaters and warm clothes because it's winter over there, in fact one of the coldest winters ever!

I'm so happy for them, they are being treated to all sorts of outings, experiences, visits and travels within Argentina. I have 5 cousins there and several have country homes as well as city homes. There are tons of babies, toddlers and even a few teenagers--between my 5 cousins they have 17 children, including two newborns!!!! Buenos Aires is a beautiful, historic, cosmopolitan city and they are getting the whirlwind tour! I can't wait to hear the stories and see the pictures!

I had been showing them a fellow blogger's Buenos Aires site so they could get a taste of the city, you might want to check it out: http://www.akworld.net/webblog/

Is it summer yet?

Being a teenager's mom is so HARD! Today Hannah and I got into a big conflict, seemingly over nothing, but as always tempers flare between the two of us. She's soooooo ready for school to be over, which I totally understand. She only has this week left and needs to hang in there, but she's ready to shut it down. Last week she skipped school a day, yes, she skipped school...She got up early, took the bus to school and then turned right around and came home, first stopping at Bishop Arts to have a bite to eat (the cosmopolitan drop out....). It was NOT her lucky day though, our friend M saw her and called it in immediately....busted! This week is finals week and she wants to spend the night at a friend's house, go hang out, etc. Hello! It's finals week....

Well, it will be over soon enough, school that is. As soon as it is, she's off to Argentina though, and then to SEEK Camp, and THEN the long and lazy summer can truly begin....

Just when I get SO frustrated with her....something happens and I am reminded that she's such a good kid. She's at a very challenging school with lots of pressures and yet she's getting through it, she is so talented, she's funny. Her rebellions are more attitude than action, she's trying to do the best she can, she wants to do everything and be everywhere and is only human. I read a story about a 19 year old boy who just died of cancer...that was my reminder for today.

Wicked Weather

I know this is nothing compared to what's happened in Kansas, but we've been having some weather drama around here too. A few months ago we had that freaky red dust storm, and then it was unseasonably wet and cold for a long time. Even on Hannah's birthday in late April it was still cold-ish, unheard of! Then last week we had tornados again, there had been one in Fort Worth the week prior. While we didn't get one in Oak Cliff the winds were SO HIGH, it really scared me for the first time ever. We heard sirens and 'evacuated' to the hall bathroom for about 20 minutes. The electricity went out that night and for the next day. We ended up going to bed at 8pm! I drove around the next morning and snapped some pics, including the one above a few streets from my house. Our neighborhood has so many mature trees and they were snapping left and right. You still see a lot of chopping and piles of wood but at least the streets are cleared up again. I can only imagine what it must be like for the people in Kansas whose whole town was blown away.

She's In!

Sofia got her letter from TAG on Friday!!! Woo hoo! She's in! We're so happy for her and proud of the hard work she put into the application. Here she is when she won the award at the district level for her piano composition.

We're all looking forward to this summer, having some time off and taking a break especially from school! We need to recharge our batteries to come back and take on the new year, which will be Sofia's freshman year and Hannah's junior year! Yikes, next year is the year where Hannah starts seriously looking into the colleges and application process...

Happy Birthday Hannah

On Hannah and Sofia's birthdays I can't help but reflect, and yes, get sentimental. It seems like a lifetime ago, and yet only yesterday that I carried Hannah in me. As soon as I came home from the hospital I missed the feeling of having her inside me, sharing my day to day with her. She was now her own little person with her own life to lead. I remember crying the whole way home from the hospital because she had to stay there a few extra days to recover from jaundice. I felt so so sad and so empty. Ricardo would shuttle back and forth from home to the hospital taking her milk and bringing back the report of how she was doing. We were so happy when he brought her home, and soon overwhelmed. I remember that being the first time I felt awash with gratitude to my mom, not only for being there to help me with colicky Hannah but for just being my mother and everything I then understood that meant.

Sixteen years! When Hannah was little I would try to imagine what she would be like by taking her baby traits and projecting them into an imaginary 16 year old Hannah. Everything I see in her now, was in her then, and yet she's a constant surprise to me too. I love her creativity, her strength, intense loyalty and sensitivity. I never expected her to be so funny! In so many ways she still reminds me of myself, only smarter and more self-assured. Every trait that exasperates me about her--impulsive, dramatic, all-over-the-map, demanding...are carbon copies of my own flaws. In her they are rawer, yet to be polished. I know that she will struggle with them as I do, and yet each of these traits belies a strength and talent. She lives life fully (dramatic) and in the here and now (impulsive). She's visionary (all-over-the-map) and knows what she wants (demanding).

Happy Birthday Hannah, I can't wait to see what lessons you will teach me next.

Prom Night

Hannah went to prom with her friend Rebecca. They looked so pretty, and had a really good time. I'm so happy for them that they can make choices like going to Prom alone, with a date or with a friend. Waiting around for someone to ask you is so demoralizing! Girls are so lucky today!

Fashion report: both Rebecca and Hannah wore short dresses, and both were vintage inspired. Rebecca's looked a little like dresses in the 60's, except with an empire waist. Hannah's dress was very 50's, with swiss dots and lots of crinoline and layers.

They got ready at Rebecca's house because I was participating in the Oak Cliff Artisan's Studio Tour to raise money for their trip to Argentina (we made a dent in the ticket at least!). Ricardo picked them up and took them to Evie's house where they spent the night. All in all, a very busy weekend!

Spring Break

Sofia and Hannah outside the Devil's Den cave

A few weeks ago we went on Spring Break. I didn' t have my camera on me and our computer was virus infected so I never got around to putting up any pictures . So here goes!

We invited Daniel to come with us, and he had never camped before. We went to Devil's Den, near Rogers Arkansas and got to visit with other cousins (Alicia, Tom and Mercedes) on the way. The weather was really pretty but cold so we had fires going every night just to stay warm. The best part for me was the hike we went on one day through some crevices and even got to see some little bats. The girls had a great time with their cousin and overall it was a really nice trip.