Mom's Birthday and April Updates

Written on 3-28-17.

     Happy birthday to my Mom today!  She was born in 1941, so I’ll let you do the math.  I am having dinner at the Artesian Restaurant at the Ojo Resort and Spa tonight.

Written on 4-18-17.

     I got busy eating at the restaurant last time I wrote, and I felt a bit embarrassed (yes, it’s me) to type away just after eating there (it is a fancy restaurant), so I just stopped and never got back to it.  Just like eating right and exercising are harder when I travel, finding time to write can be just as difficult.  I spent a large chunk of my time (1.5 hours) to attend a webinar for Time to Teach on my last trip, too.

     Let’s see.  What’s new?  Belinda and I hosted two new Up With People kiddos at our house earlier this month.  It was comparable to when Belinda was pregnant and just about ready to go to the hospital.  The time kept changing for the delivery/pick-up, and we didn’t know if we would end up with boys or girls.  We got two boys this time, Ryan and Jeremy.  They were excellent guests, entertainers, and people.  I got choked up again watching the show; it really brings out my emotions.  

     Why can’t we all just get along?  This show asks the same question.  If 100 young people...
from places all over the world, with different backgrounds and ethnicities, can get along and help out in every community, why can’t we all?  Anyway, it was a very successful visit and show again, and we would do it again without hesitation.  

     We are getting closer to going to New Zealand to see James.  Danielle put a countdown app on my phone, and it says we have XX days, XX hours, XX minutes, and XX seconds until we take our flight out there.  We fly out on May XX, and we are going through D.I.A., so we will get to visit Mom and Dad before and after the trip.  Belinda and I had a fun FaceTime chat with Joe and Tammy last night, and they gave us advice for our trip, because they had just gotten back from London and Edinboro.  One tip was to just have carry-on luggage, even though we will be gone for two weeks.  We shall see if that is something we actually do, but it does sound practical and efficient.  Carry-on luggage or no, we will have a grand time.  We also booked our hotel, a Hilton in Aukland, for our first night.  We will need the recovery time, according to Joe and Tammy.  

     What else is going on?  My job is going really well.  I head to El Rito tomorrow for my regular CORE visit.  I had a highly successful Time to Teach training there, receiving the best scores I have ever received since I started two years ago.  They were very kind with their comments, too.  My director even e-mailed me giving me high marks for my…high marks.  He said those scores were some of the best they have ever seen.  The webinar was about having Dr. Johnny Alvarado act as my agent.  I might go through with it this time.  Belinda and I are continuing to discuss it.