Dear ones,
Linking-up with Deena at Shoes to Shiraz and Christy at r-Squared + G + C = Our Family today for a quick post about some of our spring activities. Actually, on Wednesday I’ll be sharing some new spring clothes and Thursday I will be posting an update on my “spring bucket list” so this whole week will be spring-ified on the blog.
For today, let’s take a look at a couple of my favorite annual spring activities.
Going Topless
My PC has a Ford Mustang convertible which was a little retirement present he bought for himself after serving 23+ years in the Army. Today we took it out for the season’s first topless ride. The weather was in the low-8os and we drove ‘cross the mountain for dinner at Souper Salad.
My hair looks about the same whether I ride topless or top up. In fact, I have had people ask if it was windy outside on a perfectly still day just because of my wind blown looking hair. To be honest, I forget to comb it some days. Like at TLA (Texas Library Association) the whole of last week. Which provides a great segue to my next spring activity.
Texas Library Association Annual Conference
For the past half-dozen springs or more, my sister and I have attended TLA together. It has been held in Austin, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston and San Antonio. Never El Paso because no one from the rest of the state will travel here. So unfair. But I digress.
Valerie and I have a great time attending programs during the four-day conference and have even presented twice. We take about everything we own to wear. And we always pack loads of scrapbooking projects to work on in the evenings while drinking wine and giggling. I just arrived home today from this year’s conference in San Antonio. Stayed at Hotel Indigo, a smaller but very comfortable establishment slightly off the beaten path. Which is usually the case for us. This hotel was so far off the beaten path that we walked 19,000+ steps one day just traveling between our room and the convention center.
Here are a couple of pictures from TLA over the years.
Next year’s conference is in Dallas again. We are already making plans. And talking about presenting. So glad my sister and I have this special week to share each year.
Which brings me to the last of my recent spring activities.
Relay for Life
Coincidentally…except nothing is really coincidental…Northwest Houston’s Relay for Life almost always coincides with TLA on either the weekend before or after the conference. So I try to stay to participate in Relay when ever possible. My sister has been very active in Relay for close to a decade, beginning a few years after the death of her three year-old son Andrew to Wilm’s Tumor. Please click here to read more about Andrew’s very brave fight against cancer.
Relay is part carnival, part charitable walk, part tribute to survivors and those who have lost their battle against cancer. My nephew Andrew loved Batman and Spiderman so my sister named our relay team “Andrew’s Superheroes”. Some years Relay has gone from dusk to dawn, other times it has gone from mid-day to mid-night, and this year’s relay was the shortest since I have participated. We were there from noon until nine pm.
Here are a few pictures of several Relay events over the years.
The last lap of each Relay is walked in memory of those who have passed. The track is monitored for complete silence by little children wearing wings, the hush angels. Our way is lit only by luminarias dedicated to those we have lost to cancer.
I am so thankful that the stars align, year after year, so that we can be together to celebrate the all-too-short life of our angel baby Andrew. So grateful to my friends for donating to my Relay event. I met my goal with YOUR help. Thank you.
Your Turn
So tell me, dear friends, what spring activities are you enjoying lately? Do you have some kind of annual festivity? Maybe something you do annually at Easter or for spring break. Won’t you share in a comment below. And then be sure to run by to see how Deena and Christy are spending these first warm days of the season.
Please come back Wednesday to see some cute, cute tops I picked up at the library conference. Yeah, the library conference! And you thought it was just about books. And then again on Thursday to check the progress I’ve made on my “spring bucket list”.
Happy Monday, girlsies!
Hugs and kisses,
What a great annual tradition to do with your Sister, both the conference and the walk. So happy to hear you reached your goal!
Thank you, Christy. So glad my sister followed my lead and became a librarian.
Love this Leslie! Laughed at the “going topless” LOL That’s a fun spring activity. Love you traditions with Valerie! What fun at the conference and a wonderful way to honor Andrew! Have a great week! Why didn’t I do this one??
Thanks, Katie. Have you ever been to a library or technology conference? I used to go to the International Reading Association conferences, too. They were always good and not necessarily in Texas!
How fun for you to have the librarian convention to do with your sister every year! Can’t wait to see the tops you got!
So glad Valerie became a librarian. And she is a darn good one. We have fun even when we talk shop.
LOVE driving in a convertible… now I just need to find myself someone that owns one!
The relay is such a great way to commemorate your nephews memory and raise money for such a great cause xo
Oh, so glad to have you come by. I have had several convertibles in my life and always loved going topless. My next car has to have a sunroof at the very least because I don’t get to enjoy PC’s convertible enough.
You sound like my mom in the fact that you went shopping at a conference—ha ha!!!
I can’t wait to see the top!
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
They had the tops for sale at a booth IN the convention!! Crazy! It was doing a brisk business, too. But we also hit up the mall (across the street from the convention center) between conference sessions. I usually wind up buying some little ‘reading’ or ‘library’ tee with bling and sequins but this year I skipped the tees completely. Thank you, Jodie, for coming by.
My brother used to have a convertible and I would always bring a hat along! Haha! It looks like you’ve done a lot of fun things this Spring. I have always wished I had a sister, love that you got to attend the conference with her. Glad you got to do the relay this year, such an important cause… esp. for your family!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
When it comes time for another car, I want a convertible or at the very least something with a sunroof. El Paso is THE place for driving topless!! Sunny almost every day. I need to dust off my bucket list to see what I still need to do. Seems like I have been busy this spring but not sure I have done a single thing I planned to do. Thank you for your support, Carrie. It means so much.
I’ll have to get back to you on spring activities, since spring refuses to arrive here :)! How fun that you had a weekend away with your sister!
My kids in Albuquerque are forecast to have snow this weekend. That is just unheard of! I guess maybe you guys and they will just jump straight into summer and skip spring altogether.
Going Topless…I was very intrigued by that title. Haha Afraid its too chilly to go topless here in SK right now.
Relay for Life – I love those events. Make me tear up every time.
Conferences – library conference sounds cool. I got to go to a teacher tech conference once. Unfortunately money is tight in Education in SK at the moment, so not many teachers are getting approved for PD anywhere. 🙁 Not that I am working yet. I go back in 4 months. AHHH.
I had forgotten you were on maternity leave! So different in Canada than here in the U.S. I am doing my third long-term sub job for a librarian out of maternity leave. How do they handle covering your class when you are out for a year? Would love to know what a long-term sub is paid in SK. I am getting $164 a day US because I have a Master’s. But otherwise would just make $80 a day. Not much more than minimum wage.