JUST DO IT!

This is a sad one...

2007-04-13T17:33:00.000-07:00

This small post is just to inform that I have lost the baby, incase anyone wonders where my other preggy pics are or why there are no more pics. This has been quite an ordeal for Mitch and myself, but our families have been great. They have been there all the way supporting us. THANK YOU EVERYONE... for loving us and being there for us.

maria&mitch

My daughter...

2007-04-13T17:21:00.000-07:00

When we first moved to this town, we knew no one. So my children kept saying they were very bored and had nothing to do. This is only normal when you first move into a new town. Mitch and I could handle it quite well, but not the kids. So understanding Mitch asked them both to look into hobbies or sports they might like doing. My daughter had been watching a cheerleader movie for months now, so of course she said she wanted to cheer. We thought it'd be a good way for her to meet new friends and so I went and enrolled her in some tumbling classes to see if she'd like the gym and so on. She has loved it ever since. Char tried out for the team in May of '06 and has been cheering ever since. In the pics below you'll see my daughter and all her new friends... so she is happy... and so now are we. Her team had a great season too. They won 2 first places and 4 second places. Not bad for a bunch of novice kids!

kiskis

Senior Silver Team...

2007-03-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

Char and friends...

2007-03-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

Char's scale...

2007-03-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

Char's competition on St. Patrick's Day...

2007-03-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

Char at competition...

2007-03-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

13 wks LMP/ 11 wks gestation...

2007-03-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

So this is how I look at 3 mons of pregancy. I am going to blow up like a balloon this time around... god help me!

hugs and kisses

Tote bag finished...

2007-03-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

Thought everyone would like to see the finished product... This is the outside of the tote bag and here is the inside so you can see what a nice job was done. The ladies that taught me the class, taught me well. :)

kiskis

Pregnant and loving it!!!!

2007-02-18T20:55:00.000-08:00

hi everyone,

It's been a while and it seems I've up to no good, to me at least. I have a whole bunch of projects I've been wanting to do at home, to improve my home as well as for enjoyment. But ofcourse I can count the finish projects in one hand. It is a shame. But I have finished my tote bag, quite a bit ago actually. I have made jewelry for friends and family as gifts. They seem to have liked them. That makes me happy. I like to pls others if they truly are pleased and happy.

I have also found out that I am to be a mother once more in my life. It is quite exciting for me. I have a 13 yrs old daughter and an 11 yrs old son and I am kind of shocked to really truly be preggy. I just can't believe still. I am very happy though, and so is my fiancee. He has no children of his own and is really looking forward to being a daddy. I already know he will be a great daddy. He already does a pretty good job my children, and they are not even his!

So now I have so many things/projects running through my head. I hope to be able to finish them before the baby is born. At least I am not panicking about whether or not I know what to do when the baby comes and how to take care of him/her. Yes, we have names picked out already and I know in my heart its going to be a unique experience now that I am older and calmer. I think I am also to try and keep up with my blog, that's why I got it right? Here's a pic of what my baby looks like inside for now... I have 6 1/2 wks of gestation.

The front square of the tote bag...

2006-10-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

By the end of today's class we practically had the front of the Tote bag ready... I can't wait to see the final product. tataaaaaaaaaa lovely.

The beginning Tote Bag...

2006-10-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

This is pic show when we started v\cutting precise 5" & 4 1/2" squares and then sewing them together.

SOL CREATIONS :)

2006-10-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

So I've been creating quite a bit lately... from jewelry to throw pillows... and my latest...a tote bag in my beginners quilting class.

In this picture you see some of the tools I had to buy to use and make the quilt, tote bag.... :)

Sew What?

2006-10-03T04:02:00.000-07:00

Yes! That's right. Sew what? That is exactly what I said when my future husband said that he paid for a beginners' quilting class for me. I have always liked quilts, but I'd figure that it is too complex for me to learn to quilt. But then he took me to the Sewing Center, here in Winter Haven, FL (the little town we live in), and the minute I walked in the door I was in Heaven. It is a very nice store. All quilting supplies. The numerous fabrics they have SURPRISED ME! And the way they stack them on the shelves one next to the other, in similar colors. The place is full with beautiful fabrics, all colors & designs imaginable. I really thank my future hubby for doing such a thoughtful thing for me. He really is getting to know me well. He even got me an engagement ring, just how I wanted it! Amazing! After 4 yrs together, we really know our likes and dislikes well.

In the next 4 weeks I will be making a tote bag in the quilting class. I plan to take pics and let everyone see how my progress goes. Also I have some pics of jewelry that I have made that I'd like to post, but I was caught up with school stuff. So this week, maybe tonight I will post my SOL Creations.

lots of love,
kiskis

American Literature

2006-09-02T22:54:00.000-07:00

Well, none of you out there really know that I am currently going to a university to earn my AS & BS in Business Administration. The reason why I mention this is because I am currently taking American Literature for this semester and so I just had to write a 3 page paper on one of Emily Dickinson's poem. Which I previously posted. The thing that surprises me is that the more I read what the critics have had to say, the more I understand it, and read it, the more I like it. Here's my paper.... probably not so good, but here goes. This will help you to understand the poem.

Endured and praised as being one of Ms. Dickinsons' best work of poetry, this poem has touched the lives and thoughts of many in this lifetime. Ms. Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, some time in the year of 1830. She lived all her life in the same house she was born in. Her father, Edward Dickinson was a lawyer and the treasurer to the town's college, opened and founded by her grandfather. Her mother was Mrs. Emily Norcross Dickinson, a housewife. Emily had a sister named Lavinia and a brother named Austin. Due to her family being very close, Emily and her sister were never married and therefore never left home. Their brother Austin did wed, to a Ms. Susan Gilbert. The pair lived only a couple of houses away from them.

According to my research, it is said that Ms. Dickinson only received four years of primary school education before going to her grandfathers' academy for seven years. After that, she attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminar for a year. Afterward she received no more education. She was brought up under an Unitarian Church and Puritan beliefs; however, she herself was an agnostic and did not accept those teachings and beliefs. It is the opinion of some that Emily was once heartbroken and did not fare well in love, and therefore secluded herself from the rest of the world by choice. However, she did indeed communicate with her family, neighbors, and friends through mail, writing and sending poems to them, as well as other little gifts of love. There was even a time in her life, when she had a white period, basically she dressed all in white for a long time.

Furthermore, it is believed that because of her traumatized state of mind, she fell deeply into writing poetry even more constantly. When her father died unexpectedly in 1874, she became more so isolated. Years later, her mother's death followed in 1882, after she had suffered a stroke and was left invalid a few years prior. As a result of the stroke, Emily and Lavinia took care of their mother until her death. In 1886, Emily Dickinson was diagnosed with a kidney disease and as a result, passed away in May of 1886. At her death, she only had seven poems published, anonymously, and most without her permission. Her own sister Lavinia had no idea of how many poems had been written until she found piles and piles of these in her sister's room, close to 1,800 of them. Although Emily had told her sister to burn all of her papers upon her death, Lavinia ignored her wishes, having them published instead.

In this poem, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death", the main character gets picked up at home by Death itself. But not just Death, a personification of Death as an available gentleman of her times. When he picks her up, he is very prim, proper, polite, and takes his time riding her to the end of her life and to her grave. It's as if they're almost sight-seeing, and she is reminiscing about stages or things in life before saying her last good-byes. The main character herself gets caught unprepared and taken by surprise (in her thin gown), yet she is not afraid of Death. Truly, she is flattered by him, and fears him not.

Because this poem is one of Emily Dickinson's most famous and critiqued, it has been studied and interpreted by many. Through this poem, some say that Death became one of the greatest characters of literature. Some, tried to find events from her life that might provide understanding and insight into the poem itself. Others argued that it does not rank as one of the greatest because the end of the poem is unconvincing and fraudulent. Yet others compared death in the poem to a marriage.

For me, critiquing a story or a poem is not an easy task. Yet in this book "Poetry for Students", I think they do a fabulous job. It seems they really know the meanings behind each line or stanza. In the first stanza, they explain how a young lady is being picked up by a personification of Death, as a young gentleman. Because in those times young ladies did not go out on their own with young men on outings, they have Inmmortality, personified as a chaperon. It is also explained how the young lady is so caught up in her daily life that she forgets all about death, and so Death picks her up instead, as if it were a date. She in return, is flattered by Death instead of being scared.

In the second stanza, Death seems to take his time about the situation. The carriage is turned into a hearse of sorts, due to his slowness. He is not concerned with time, as that is of earthly concerns. Now the young lady is so seduced by this well-mannered young man, that she puts her busy daily life aside to go with him willingly. In general, Death seems to meet and exceed all of her expectations.

In the third stanza, the authors discuss how imaginative the poem is. They explain how the young girl is watching the world go by, without any concern. So it seems as if things grow more meaningful now in relation to her final journey from life. The stanza talks about children that play in a ring, and explains the meaning of a ring to a mortal (symbol of eternity). Another symbol is the setting sun as an universal clock, from which mortals measure their lives, but not Death. As they pass the sun, the young lady is going into a new dimension-away from life as she knew it.

In the fourth stanza, once again Death is not concerned with the clock, as the sun actually passes them instead, showing the passage of time. The carriage moves slower and night arrives, chilly with dew. Suggesting the young lady grows cold as she is not properly dressed. Plus it is another reminder that she is dead.

In the fifth stanza, the young lady is taken to a house. The house she sees is her grave, and describes it through means of an euphemism, instead of being offensive or blunt. The house described as a "Swelling of the Ground", clearly means a fresh burial plot. Yet she has really no idea at that point where her destination lies. It is a mystery without any light shed into it.

In the last stanza, a great example of hyperbole is included in the poem, "Since then - 'tis Centuries - and yet- Feels shorter than the Day". It is defined that a hyperbole is an intentional exaggeration or overstatement that is not meant to be taken literally. So that when a Day is compared to Centuries, it seems almost inconceivable, but it's not meant to be taken literally as the definition of hyperbole states. And so we realize, as these lines suggest, that there are times in our lives when we've experienced a moment, a situation, a day, a period in our lives when it might have felt as long as forever, though no one really knows how long forever is. In the two final lines of the poem, Ms. Dickinson tries to describe what no living human can possibly know: the truth and meaning of the moment in which "forever" becomes clear. The young lady in the end, just guesses and it seems like she comes to understand through intuition, the answer to the riddle of human existence as she arrives to the end of hers.

In conclusion, I would like to let you know that I really like this poem, even though I really am not a person that reads poetry regularly, (only when it is shoved in front of me). I find this poem not an easy read, but very thought provoking, in a good way. I also am a bit fascinated with death. Once, I started reading the critiquing in the "Poetry for Students" volumes, I began to really understand what this poem is about. I believe it's a very passive and thoughtful poem. The writer does not seem to be imposing her ideas on you. It's as if she were just shedding a bit of light and understanding, yet giving you the chance to run off with your own thoughts, ideas, and interpretations. The way the poem is written, sort of following steps in life, almost reminds me of when I watch on television people talking of their near-death experiences, and how they say that they see their whole life flash in front of their eyes. I love the fact that she brings out the meaning behind a ring, and how it symbolizes "eternity". In addition, she also brings out the cycle of life. I think she means to let people realize that they need to be grateful for the chance they are given by being born and being alive, yet not be sad nor uncomfortable with the thought and fact that the cycle of life will end for all of us. I think she means well, and for us not to fret about life and death, because in the end, no one really knows what will really happen when we come to pass, and what "eternity" will be and feel like.

Because I could Not Stop for Death

2006-09-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

Poem Written by: Emily Dickinson

Because I could not stop for Death -
He kindly stopped for me -
The Carriage held but just Ourselves -
And Immortality.

We slowly drove - He knew no haste -
And I had put away
My labor - and my leisure too.
For His Civility.

We passed the School where Children strove
At Recess - in the Ring -
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain -
We passed the Setting Sun -

Or rather - He passed Us -
The Dews drew quivering and chill -
For only Gossamer, my Gown -
My Tippet - only Tulle

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground -
The roof was scarcely visible -
The Cornice - in the Ground

Since then - 'tis Centuries - and yet
Feels shorter that the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity -

Karr

2006-08-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

So, I read that Karr is not being charged for the murder of the little girl JonBenet Ramsey! Only thing I can say is, "I saw it coming". It has been my opinion from the get go, that the sicko just wanted a free plane ride home, to escape going to a Thai. prison. Well, I guess he got what he wanted... now all I ask myself is how could the District attorney from Colorado, have been so stupid not to have first, been sure that he was the murderer, before sending her people to extract him from Thailand. He sure made a fool of the district attorney(Lacy), with his little games.

Now, he's probably not going to be charged for anything there, and has walked away a free man from any crimes he has committed in Thailand.

Now that is unfortunate!

Melbourne Beach Outing!

2006-08-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

Good morning,

I had a very short weekend. :( My fiancée decided for us to travel to Melbourne Beach this Saturday morning. We had a blast! It was our two kids and our doggie with us. The water was cold, but oh so good. The beach was just beautiful and clean. Not a lot of people there, and so that made it even better. We went swimming and even Marsh (our dog) got some good exercise. The waves were strong, but we just had such a good time. We are definitely going back for more, maybe next weekend. Though, Mitch and I have lots to do and fix or organize at our new house.

We bought this house about 8 months ago and because Mitch has not been working at all since January, we have not been able to do much to the house. There are so many things we'd like to do. We need to re-do our bathroom, put up fences, paint the house; buy a new range, etc... So we will try our best this month though, because I really want to try and have a get together for my birthday on the 25th of September. It is my big 30 birthday! This is exciting, yet I do not wish to get any older. I don't think I am going to be one of those people who just enjoy or that are ok with aging. I must get that from my mother. She hates to feel old.

Amidst, all of our plans are to make the house look decent, before my birthday and also Mitch is planning to take us all to Disney for a whole weekend. I guess it's because we have a vacation due for this year. But I think it's so sweet that he is planning this.

So this day so far, so good!

Storms

2006-08-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

I read once in a Dove chocolate wrapping that, "Every cloud doesn't mean a storm". I know that I am a pretty optimistic person. But there are people out there that are not as optimistic. It just doesn't come as easy to them. For whatever reason.

So lately I haven't been too cheery due to my job. I think it's because I have changed a lot since my early twenties. Or maybe it's just because of the type of people I work with. I am an extroverted person, but when someone negative is around me, they bring me down. I know, it's terrible to let them do that. I hate it when I pick up on others' mood.

In the office I work at, there are not a lot of people. Coming from MIA (I lived in Miami most of my life), working for big companies; I guess it's hard to adjust to little town daily living. Some things are great, don't get me wrong. Like when I go to stores and other places and there's no waiting at the registers when buying things, or waiting hours before you get any customer service. That sucked at MIA. So some things I like, some I don't. I actually know all my neighbors on my block! Amazing! Sadly, this doesn't happen in MIA. It's too transient now a days.

Rating for today's day-- not so happy.

Lots of love

My new blog.

2006-08-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

My new blog.... oh! and so I get writers block. This always happens, when I know that I have to write, I can't think of a thing to write about. But have a get together and I am a chatter box and you can't shut my mouth. I guess that I am not as creative when it comes to writing. Now my better half, he is a wiz at it. He doesn't think so, but I do. I think he is a writer in progress. Now, getting him to believe that, is a different story.

My life now is at it's peak in tranquility, I guess... I pretty much lead a boring life, but I am so happy with it. Coming from a very unstable childhood life, this time seems like heaven to me. But others judge me as boring. I really do plenty of things at this time in my life. It's just that others think it's all boring. To me it's great to be here at this point in my life and I know it will get better with the years. I hope. If for any reasons, it doesn't, I know that I am a strong person and therefore I'll just face the challenges life still has for me.

I am a full time mommy, full time university student, and yes I work full time as well... I gotta take care of my children. They did not ask to be born, and so I will do my best to shelter them, guide them, and feed them. They are little pieces of me and their dad. I like to think that they are from the best pieces of me.

On my time off, because I do get time off... sometimes by putting other things off, I like to read and do artsy fartsy stuff. I love arts & crafts.

Now when it comes to writing I welcome all critics, but I will say I am not the best writer, and when it comes to critical thinking, I may have the thought in the back of my mind, but I probably won't be able to write about it as well. I will try to keep up with this site and having a few postings now and then. I think I will even try to find other bloggers out there to communicate with...

much love to all....kiskis