2 be Bliss, as I dance along the road to Nirvana...

The weekend with my beau thus far: Thursday night: dinner out then a few hours of telly at my place. Friday: shopping, lunch, dessert near me; visited his parents, had dinner, and watched a few hours of telly with them. We have a busy schedule for Saturday and my alarm is set for 8:30 a.m. It's off to bed with me! Sayonara y'all. Sweet dreams everyone.

The hokey pokey. That's what it's all about. So says the four-year-old, who claimed to not know how to do the dance and had me demonstrate it for him. He also had me cook him a passel of pancakes, most of which remain drowning in maple syrup on his plate. We're currently watching Curious George on telly (which is quite entertaining) while waiting for Baby Bliss to make an appearance in the living room. I think she's trying to recharge to 100% before she re-engages with the munchkin (as she so fondly calls him). He kept her busy yesterday too. She talks to him in a mommy voice, which freaks me out a tiny bit. I know she'll be a mom one day and I'm looking forward to grand babies but Baby Bliss remarks often that she doesn't like little children (commonly referred to as "contagion" by B.B. and her friends). Although the contagion absolutely love her and she seems to enjoy them well enough when they're well-mannered and well-behav...

Time... It's almost the weekend again and I'm still recuperating from the last one. Miz A and I had a fun and busy day on Monday as we continued celebrating her birthday. Our day included shopping, food, laughter, a movie, more shopping, more laughter... Finally we each hightailed it to our respective abodes with our goodie bags and sore feet. Tuesday morning I had a late breakfast with my beau during a lull in his work day. I'll see him again this weekend. After breakfast, I picked up Baby Bliss and we made a fro-yo run. Speaking of "weekends" (which seems to be the trending topic lately), this will be another busy one. A local venue sponsors a twice-yearly social gathering with drinking, dancing, food trucks, merchandise vendors, and more. The sista circle will be invading the place for an all-day outing on Saturday. We'll be celebrating another birthday (Miz S) and it will also likely be the day the other ladies meet my new suitor, as he...

One of these days I'm gonna take off for a two-week all-inclusive vacation to Fiji for some serious rest and relaxation. I wish it was today. The weekend was phenomenal and I'm grateful for all things converging to make it so. My new suitor took me to the beach. We went sightseeing, ate like pigs, walked the shore, smelled the ocean, watched the palm trees sway, and he introduced me to a few members of his family. When we arrived back in town, we hung out with Miz A (who is still celebrating her birthday) and several other friends for a couple of hours in the executive lounge of a local hotel. We had hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and scintillating conversation. By the time I got home, it was after 9 p.m. It was a long weekend... Yes, I am exhausted. The new beau is too. Problem solver that he is, he got us both vitamins. Mine are in my kitchen, patiently waiting for me to ingest their magical elixir and commence to energizing. This quest for fire shall begin...

My head needs to hit a pillow right now . The new beau is taking me on a weekend excursion that involves a four-hour drive, starting around noon. I should probably be up by 10 a.m., latest. Yeah, it's time to snore. Ku ku kachu y'all.

Prince. Dead at age 57. Shocking but some part of me expected it after seeing last week's news that his plane had to make an emergency stop so he could go to hospital. The flu... I dig most of his music but I wouldn't call myself a big fan. By that I mean I wouldn't have seen him in concert unless someone gave me the ticket as a gift. Still, he was a musical genius whose work I love and respect and I'll miss him. Sir, rest in peaceful purple majesty.

Not that I want to start out on a less-than-positive note but not only am I dog-tied, my feet hurt. And yes it's because we danced our butts off last night. When my brain re-sets itself, I'll post more details about Miz A's weekend birthday blowout. Until my return, I leave you with this:

I have been a busy, busy, busy bee for the past month. A great vacation at the beach with Baby Bliss, a good visit with my dad, a family baby shower... This past weekend I had three long dates with the same guy. Lots of food, laughter, walking, talking, hand-holding, arm-swinging. Tuesday evening my daughter and I made an impromptu fro-yo run. She choose a wild mixture of red grapefruit and pink lemonade sorbet, topped with mango boba pearls. My choice of fro-yo was (and is usually) the more sedate Greek, festooned with a medley of toppings. Sometimes I get healthy toppings like fruit and nuts. This time I went a bit wild: dry pecans, maraschino cherries, chocolate covered sunflower seeds, Heath Bar pieces, and Butterfinger pieces. It should be a while before I eat something so decadent again. Or maybe not. Miz A's birthday is in a few weeks but we're celebrating this weekend. The blowout starts Saturday afternoon with a meal and cake at our favorite loca...

I am so thankful for this life with its twists and turns, its peaks and valleys. Even the less-than-happy moments that I don't like have their rightful place in the landscape. For every sad moment that I've endured, there have been many more moments of bliss. The past two weeks have been interesting. The four-year anniversary of Mr. Bliss's transition was March 31. I cried a lot in the days leading up to it, the day of, the days after. In addition, there was that conversation with my dad... I'm crying now, thinking about it all. Crying is what I do. I'm sentimental, emotional, empathic, hormonal. I'm also a practical realist. So I shed my tears then get on with it as soon as possible. The past two weeks have been a time of reflections, revelation, and possibility. I can only be thankful for the experiences, regardless of the outcome. As I'm still learning, the journey is what makes life worth living. The destination happens even...