That would be 525,600 minutes (like in the song from Rent) multiplied by 89 – the number of years we celebrated for my G-Pa’s birthday last night. The man amazes me.

He is 89 going on 25 and truly lives life to the fullest. As much as my family jokes that he will be around longer than all of us, it still saddens me that there is no way to truly know how much longer we have with him. He is healthy and strong, but there’s no escaping the circle of life. Okay I need to stop with the depressing talk and instead focus on the good. Like the many things I have learned from watching my G-Pa and the vivaciousness with which he lives his life.

1. Stick to your beliefs - My G-Pa is pretty old school in some of his ways of thinking, but they are his beliefs and he will not change them. I admire that. He holds strongly to his ideals and consistently lives his life according to them. Many people can spout ways they think others should live or things people shouldn’t do…but not many will live them day to day in their own lives. We should all have something we feel strongly about and refuse to back down from.

2. Love- He lost his wife in 1996 a few months before his 50th wedding anniversary and as heartbroken as he was, he continued thriving. He even went on to find love in another woman a few years ago, but sadly she passed on too. He never lets what life gives him keep him from loving though. He loves to pour it out on others, including his family. What he has given and done for us over the years cannot be measured because he understands love is not something you tally, but that you simply give.

3. Laugh – My G-Pa has one of the best senses of humor I know. He is 89 but can crack jokes with the best of them. I remember for his 80th birthday some old women who persistently watch the closed circuit lobby video footage at the condos we stay in were nagging him saying he hired strippers to come see him. Those “strippers” we found out were my cousins & I coming home from a karaoke bar at around 11 at night in jean shorts and tank tops. This annoyed my G-Pa so he had to get back at those “old bitties”. His plan? To have us really dress as hookers, take us down in the lobby and in front of the video camera pass out a bunch of cash to each of us then tell every man he crossed by in the condo that he was a lucky man and that we all left smiling. That shut up those “old bitties” (who mind you were 20 years younger than him). It became a running joke and one year we even made Hank’s Hoes tshirts.

4. You don’t have to follow the rules and be “good” all the time – He will wake up and go walking for 3 or so miles every day. He will do what he can to care for his health, but he will also have a good time. Because after all, another one of his rules…is you have to have two martinis before you order your meal. 😉 Life just isn’t fun without any vices.

5. Don’t judge a restaurant only by their martinis – Okay this one is more by default. G-Pa loves his martinis and places he can get good ones. We went to his favorite restaurant last night for his birthday (chosen for the martini) and it was a disappointment. They had a veggie plate option where you could order 3 sides and a salad and it also came with dessert. Sounded good. Things started off fine with a decent enough salad.

Nothing special, but it was crisp and fresh tasting and had the dressing on the side so I didn’t have to eat swimming leaves. Then for my “entree” I opted for Pear + Cheese, Sweet Potato Soufflé, and Brussel Sprouts as my three chosen items.

In my mind the pear and cheese would be a fresh (not canned) pear with some sort of Brie or nice cheese. Not Kraft shredded cheddar sprinkled on top and with…get this…mayonnaise on the side!! Ewww! I tasted it and was like “what IS this???” When my sister tasted it too and said mayo I about gagged. Who does that?! The sprouts were overcooked and bland. The sweet potato was no souffle, but overly mashed sweet potato with some raisins tossed in for good measure. Blah. Blech. Ich. Ew. And I was craving a good veggie meal!

The stars were aligned against me though and determined a healthy meal was not in my future. Instead my dinner would consist of toasted coconut peanut butter pie to round out my salad and three bites of the disgusting sorry array above.

As you can imagine..even without a formal dinner, I still left that restaurant with a satisfied stomach. 😉

• What is the most disappointing meal you have ever had?
• Who is someone you look up to and admire?
• What is your favorite musical? I badly want to see either Rent, Hair, Wicked, or Chicago in NYC one day. I think that would be so cool.

Hello all! Especially the couple of new readers/commenters that have been popping up in the last post or two. I am happy to hear from everyone. Speaking of which – does it seem like there are crickets chirping around the blogosphere lately? It just doesn’t seem as lively with people posting and, especially, commenting on blogs lately. I didn’t know if it was just me or what. I think it’s because summer is in the air. Not a bad thing in my book.

Many things have kept me occupied this week, that’s for sure. It may only be Wednesday, but I feel as though I have done enough for the entire week. Today I started off with a Kick class at the gym. It felt so good to be back. Then, I spent the day with a friend at her house. We planned on taking a walk with our kiddos, but the 98 degree weather quickly squelched that idea. I don’t care to die of heat stroke today, thankyaverymuch. I instead savored every moment of A/C at her place before I had to head home and pretend I was on a tropical isle. Without a dang margarita.

Swoon. Oh, what I would do for a tequila laden, salt-rimmed, tangy glass right about now. Well, I won’t harm my baby so I guess it’s all a moot point. I will simply spice things up in my life a different way.

With Mexican food, Edward, and Hot Tamales. Triple swoon!

Last night, as I mentioned, I had a ladies’ night with my mom and sister. We hit up a few things I was craving. First off would be Mexican. I told you – Mexican, BBQ, and Chinese will never lose their appeal during pregnancy. They call to me like those pesky sirens call to the seamen. I even “forgot” to eat my afternoon snack so my appetite would be suitable for Cheeky.I’ve told you before I’m in love. Instead of saying it again I will just provide the proof that jaws drop and drool flows at the sight of the beauty.

I had a taco trio plate with one fish, one crabcake, and one pork mango taco. I ate about 3/4 of each taco and most of my beans. I didn’t touch the rice. It wasn’t worthy of room in my stomach like the chips + salsa.

After dinner we had a bit of time to kill before going to see our movie. My mom mentioned wanting to break movie law!!!! get some Hot Tamales to bring with us to the movie.

I’m down with that. It would only be my 2nd favorite candy and sometimes you must use the whole pregnant-so-eat-for-two reasoning. Not every day mind you, but once in awhile is good for the soul. It’s gotta be in the Bible somewhere I tell you. And after having to stop at three different stores to find some, I certainly swooned.Yes we stopped at 3 stores because a gas station and the Target were out. Um, if you’ve been pregnant you understand the logic behind this.

Now it was time. Time….for Edward er, Eclipse.

I got swept away in the books before the movies existed and eat up the movies simply because they do such a good job of portraying the books. I also believe there is something innately sexy about Edward. Not Robert Pattinson, but the vampire. Only the vampire. It’s 100% the crazy intense passion and I think that is what draws me into these stories so much, as well as the intriguing characters and plots. You can say I’m a preteen little girl, but I like the series. So there. *stamps foot and sticks out tongue* I’m so mature. I guess it runs in the family. I’m off to celebrate my grandfather’s 89th birthday and he is not mature by any means. Ciao!

• What is your favorite thing to snack on with a movie?
• Do you enjoy the Twilight series? What is your favorite (or least favorite) thing about it?
• Does the blog world seem quieter to you recently? I think we are all naturally taking breaks. I know I had mine!