Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ode to my "Great Graham Cracker"

Two weeks ago my great grandma Alicia broke her hip. She had to go under for surgery Thursday before last. They ran into some complications during the procedure, but she has made it through, and seems to be doing o.k. now.  Please keep her in your prayers.  She was moved back from the hospital to the nursing home.  She sits at the nursing station answering phones, if the nurses don't answer them quick enough.  She is funny.  She says that she has been working at the nurses station answering phones for awhile and they "have not paid her yet!"  All that she has gone through lately has got me thinking about her a lot recently, and the times we have spent together. Here are some of my memories... 

We call her GGGG. (Great, Great, Grandma Gomez) She is my great grandma, Levi's great, great grandma. She was married and has two daughters. She was a preemie. Right now she is a mere 80 pounds. She built things, refinished furniture and drove up until her 90's. Even when she was in her 80's I remember her climbing up on top of furniture to clean or fix something.
She tells me I am beautiful or pretty every time she sees me. She tells me she loves me every time too. She says over and over that when she lived in Fallbrook near us was the happiest time of her whole life. She is 95 years old now- that is a lot of years of life. One time my sister and I got scared for her health because she smokes, so we hid all of her cigarettes in different spots all around her apartment.  My mom got a phone call later that day. I never fessed up to it, so Bec took the blame. I used to sneak donuts from her cupboards while she was in the bathroom. When she sees a man who she thinks is hot she tells him. She is not afraid. She tells Seth how handsome he is and that he looks like Brad Pitt. In the 90's she had a "shrine" of Brad Pitt magazine clippings on her wall. She would kiss his face. Other boys my sister or I liked over the years that she thought were cute she would tell them that if she were younger she would be "making eyes" at them. She might whack your butt with her cane.  She is full, 100% Mexican. One day I asked her if she thought in English or in Spanish. She said she thought in Spanish. I thought that was amazing. She ate a meal one time with Poncho Villa. Her grandfather rode with him. When I was very little I remember eating Mexican food for Thanksgiving. She is feisty. She has a bigger than life personality.  She would cuss out people under her breath in Spanish.  I worked with her at her thrift stores, several different ones, and remember spending hours there.  She taught me tap dance that she learned when she was little.  She would walk around the house in her bra on sweltering hot days even though I was there.  I learned the phrase "como se dice...." from her just because she used it so often trying to think of the English words. She doesn't like to write letters.  She likes to do crossword puzzles. She would take my sister and I roller skating outside. She took us swimming, she took us to Carl's Jr. and the liquor store. One time my mom never made it to pick me up after school. I think I was crying because I didn't know where she was. Great Gram came and drove us home.  Sometimes when she drove us I was not sure if we would make it safe or alive to our destination. I would stay at her house all day every Thursday while my mom was working. I got to watch cable, and she would cook me giant meals- and I mean GIANT. If I said I liked something one week, she would add it to the menu for next week, and there on after. My lunch every week kept growing and growing. I never could finish it. She likes ginger snaps.  She likes mango ice cream. She listened to the Mexican radio while cooking up a storm. She introduced me to menudo. I liked it. She didn't tell me what was in it. One day I found out, and I don't like it anymore. She sometimes danced and played the castinets for me. She is notorious for one time skateboarding on her grandsons skateboard.  She would tell people if they smelled bad or good.  She missed my grandfather after he died.  She would give me honey with lemon to make me feel better.  She laughs often. Sometimes she snorts by mistake, and that makes us all laugh even harder. She has a very, very funny sense of humor. She loves me so much. I love her so much. My great grandma is tough. She is loving. I look up to her, even though she is now very much shorter than me. She speaks her mind, doesn't get into too much trouble for it, and is loved by us all.

O.K. Guys...

O.k. guys.... I need your advice. Even though it has been beautiful and warm up here on the central coast these last few days, winter is slowly creeping up. The days are getting shorter, the air is getting chillier.

This summer Seth, Levi and I were pretty active. We went to amusement parks, swam in the ocean, hiked, kayaked, rode ATVs, etc. I think it really helps me to stay healthy when I have fun, athletic type activities to do and to look forward to. As soon as I sit my butt on the couch too much, I can almost visualize and feel the mucus taking over control of my lungs.

So, that's where you come in. I need help brainstorming of FUN, active, healthy ways for all three of us to get in some exercise in middle of winter. I let my gym membership go this year because I wasn't using it enough, and it is too expensive to hold onto if I am not taking advantage of it.

In winter it seems the only exercise I get is walking around the mall for Christmas shopping, and I don't think that's gonna cut it!

Maybe I'll crank up the music and dance in the living room every week!

So can you guys think of anything (besides walking around the mall) that is super fun for us to do?

{The darnedest things...}

The other day I was in the kitchen getting lunch for Levi and I. He was standing up on top of the chair by the counter watching everything I was doing. I was just about to sit down and eat, but decided to get a cup of iced tea first. I poured myself a glass and filled it to the very top. Then Levi exclaimed with much gusto and big round eyes,

"Whoa! That is a lot of tea for a little girl!"

I just love this kid. He cracks me up.