God bless Rodney Johnson

Rest in peace Rodney Johnson. Our prayers are with your family.

Thank you to the family and friends that called last night before Rodney's name was released to make sure it wasn't Jaime or one of his brothers. It means so much to us.
People often ask me, how stressful it is to be the wife of a police officer. I tell them we can't go through life always worried that the worst will happen. You get up every day and smile and be happy to be alive and you thank god for every day you have together. Sometimes, though, the worst happens, and it shakes you to the core. It's a big reality check. I'm sure there were a lot of officer's wives holding on to their husbands as they slept last night, just thankful they were home safe. I know I was.
I hope Rodney's family finds the strength to get through this. They have a huge family in HPD that is ready and willing to support them through this difficult time. God bless Rodney and God bless his family.

A tribute to my ex's

I'd like to thank the following people:

Danny: Thank you for having such a huge crush on Danielle, that you never considered I might make a good girlfriend. That sounds better than admitting you had no interest in me.

Robert: Thank you for blowing me off the same way I did you before we went to college and not pursuing a 2nd try with me. I deserved it.

Marc: Thank you for being an inconsiderate, insecure, abusive, cheating inebriate. It took a while, but I finally broke out of the haze and ran for the horizon.

Mills: Thank you for boring the hell out of me. I've never watched so much TV with one person in such a short period of time.

Terry: Thank you for showing up at the bar with another girl. You didn't expect to see me there, did you? Anyway, I'm glad now that you did. It was probably a sign of my future if I ended up with you.

I sincerely hope all of you are happily married with a houseful of kids and living your ultimate dream. My point here is...it if wasnt for all of you frogs, I might never have found my prince!
I love you Jaime!

Adoption Update

First some background:

• Get our entire life together on paper, copy it and send it to the adoption agency - a
• Turn in pictures of our house, pets and all humans living in it - a
• Draw a detailed genogram showing EVERYONE in the family, what diseases everyone has, who isn't still alive and who's married/divorced - a
• 3 all day classes on 3 consecutive Saturdays - a
• 1 class on psychotropic medications after work in the evening - a
• 1 home study - check
• Take down the trampoline and have another follow up home study - a
• FINALLY - meet with the adoption specialist - a

We are so close baby! We are in the process of being matched. Our matching specialist (ms)compares our profile to the children available (sadly, new ones come in every day) and if there is a good match, she forwards our profile to CPS with our approval. They compare us to other families submitted and narrow it down to three families. At that time the matching specialists from the three families duke it out..just kidding...they meet up and sell us to CPS as to why we're the best family for that particular child. CPS makes the ultimate decision. It could happen today, tomorrow, next month, who knows. I'm just glad to finally be at this point.

Interestingly, the MS asked us if we'd consider 2. I'm like, "a child with 2 hands and 2 feet...of course! Apparently, she meant 2 kids. 2 KIDS!! This is a little too much to take in right now. I told her we'd consider it on a case by case basis. Geez! Two kids?!?! Can I handle that?

All about the girls ( & the boy on the way)

Don'tcha wich your girlfriend was hot like me?

I know these women are so excited about the fact that I put this picture up for the whole world to see. Don't hate, y'all! (Rest of the pics on flickr)

Party Hopping

From the beach, we went to Pops 80th birthday party. That is why I'm not in the pictures. (More pics here) My hair and beach weather don't mix. In fact, my hair doesn't mix well with any kind of weather.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Pops!

Beach Party!

Beer plus wine plus margaritas = singing and dancing in the living room with minimal hang overs the next day. Alright!

I think I heard this conversation five times:
Mom: Who sings this?
Aunt Donna, Van Morrison
Mom: Really?
Aunt Donna: Yeah!

I'm ashamed to admit I don't know who Van Morrison is. Apparently, I'm missing out, but it was fun listening to the seniors (Just kidding guys) go down memory lane with their music.

Notice the chic living room furniture in the background.

100 Things about me

A list I'm sure will perpetually be "in progress". Seriously, how am I supposed to come up with 100 things and even if I did, like you care to read it?

1. I am married to a police officer whom I am totally in love with.
2. I have two daughters; one on earth and one in heaven.
3. Most of the time, I can converse with you in Spanish if you don't have a heavy accent.
4. I have scars on the back of my head from being attacked by a dog.
5. I grew up in Miami, Florida.
6. I hate being interrupted.
7. I sing at the top of my lungs when I'm alone in the car.
8. I am in the process of adopting a child. (update: I have two adopted sons!)
9. I'm extremely shy until you get to know me well.
10. I played the cello in high school.
11. I could sell everything and be happy living in Costa Rica.
12. I get lost easily when going somewhere for the first time.
13. I'm very clutzy.
14. I love thunderstorms
15. I love bubblebaths with my favorite magazine.
16. Ice cream is my favorite food.
17. Margaritas are my favorite drink, but only the ones my husband makes.
18. I have several girlfriends who's friendship I value infinitely.
19. I don't enjoy cooking dinner unless it's on a Sunday.
20. I hate the materialism of Christmas. I vote for no presents at Christmas time.
21. I like watching NFL Football with hubby.
22. I graduated from college but hated every minute of college life.
23. I love the ocean.
24. I hate winter.
25. I love sunny days.
26. I love taking pictures. I only wish I was better at it.
27. As long as I lived in Florida, I didn't learn to water-ski until 5 years after I moved away.
28. My favorite physical part of me are my eyes. I pretty much despise everything else.
29. I'll never think I'm interesting enough to have 100 things to say about me.
30. I like to play darts.
31. I can't stand people that have to one-up everything you say.
32. I have no time for liars, backstabbers, passive-aggressive types or DEBBIE DOWNERS.
33. I want to throw up when I see someone chewing with their mouth open.
34. I'm always cold.
35. I have lots of really great girl-friends.
36. I like to walk barefoot on warm pavement.
37. My back is very sensitive after having my two daughters. If you pat me on the back with any force whatsoever, it feels to me like you have a million needles in your hands.
38. I'd like to be 20 lbs lighter.
39. I get extremely frustrated when I can't do something. Playing golf would probably make me commit suicide.
40. I love the sun, but I'm scared of getting skin cancer.
41. I've had one filling, one root canal and one cap...all on the same tooth. All my other teeth are healthy.
42. I had 13 teeth pulled before I got my braces.
43. I've almost drowned three times. Twice before I learned to swim and once when pulled into an under-tow.
44. I've been proposed to four times but only said yes once.
45. I love animals and I don't think it's gross when a dog licks your face.
46. I love the show, LOST.
47. I've learned the hard way that funerals bring out the ugliness/greediness in people.
48. Alcoholism runs strong in my family.
49. I was molested by my step-uncle. It doesn't define who I am today.
50. My first job was at McDonalds working the drive-thru. I was looovin' it!
51. I tend to stick my foot in my mouth.

Future Heartbreakers

Grace, Jessica and Lauren.

My daughter has a big heart.

Last night, not so methodical daughter, started crying in the middle of what I thought was a great evening we were having. When I asked her what was wrong, she said she was sad because Ms. Angel was no longer working in her school cafeteria. Ms. Angel was a really sweet lady who volunteered her time to help kids open juice boxes, chip bags, etc. She gets so attached. I remember when she used to try not to smile at the Dr's office because she didn't want everyone to know how happy she was to see him again. She would hold it inside until the sides of her lips curled up. One look at me and she knew she was totally busted. It was our little secret.
God bless and protect that big heart of hers.