Don't you just love being a girl?

These are not your mom's 50s! Well, my mom, unfortunately, didn't make it past the age of 48, but I remember her referring to herself as "an old lady." Now that I'm a few years past her age, I realize she was anything but an old lady, with several good decades still left in her.

As for the "I'm an old lady" mentality, that's not what I'm seeing today from us young-at-heart chicks. We've hit and run right past "The Big 5-0," and yet many of us are even more fashionistas than when we were little 20- and 30-somethings.

Or maybe it's because it seems those ladies in my generation are cool with acting and dressing our age...but we're redefining exactly what that age looks like. Stylin'-wise, that is. Check out both a bracelet set, inspired by one worn by Susan on Desperate Housewives, who I'm sure didn't get it for $8 at Walmart's. Or maybe she did?? The Fossil watch, also below, was a gotta-spoil-myself-sometime splurge from Belk's.

So when I go out with my hubby for a coffee with his sister and her husband for a latte in Belmont, or even if I'm just headed for work, I'm not ready for the matronly look of the 50-somethings in those black-and-white sitcoms.

And as you can probably tell, I really love accessories! I actually got a compliment on the bracelet below, purchased at, of all places, a flea market. Flower jewelry has been my favorite for a long time, and the $3 bracelet above was handmade and sold at a flea market. In the "You'll never guess where I picked up this trinket" category is this fun piece below, which dangles from a long necklace, that I got from, of all places, Walmart! At $8, it's already gotten its share of compliments, too.

Speaking of flowery jewelry, this is one of my favorites, and it's from Charlotte Russe:

I guess the moral of the story is, even in your 50s, you can still be as girly-girl as ever!

I Live on Wisteria Lane

Or, sometimes I wish I did!

Lord, I love that show. Love, as in, love, love, LOVE.

Last week I had to make an emergency visit to the dentist, leaving work early to do it. With my mouth all numbed-up and getting over a couple of weeks of pain inflicted by a malevolent wisdom tooth, what could I do at home?

So Bill and I watched a 9-hour marathon--yes, NINE hours--of Desperate Housewives on Netflix. I can't believe eight seasons have gone by and we're only now discovering Susan Meyer, Bree Hodge (formerly Van de Camp), Lynette Scavo and Gabrielle Solis. Oh, and let's not forget Mike, Orson, Tom, Carlos, Edie, the Scavo kids, Andrew Van De Camp, Carl Meyer, and the rest of the wonderful, fictional people in fictional Fairview.

We can thank our daughter-in-law, Yesica, for getting us addicted--I mean, turned on to that show. As if I didn't have enough distractions as a writer. And as any writer can tell you, those of us who write stories as our life's work don't need any more distractions. Now, in addition to my Real Life, which includes being a wife, mom, grandma, working full-time, hitting the gym, checking e-mail fifty million times a day and making homemade pickles, I can look forward to my husband tempting me with these little words: "Wanna see what Bree and Orson are up to in Desperate Housewives?"

And of course, I'm a woman, so I don't just watch what is essentially a soap (albeit, a very well-written soap, with a terrific and talented cast that really makes you care about the characters) for its stories. I've also got to stop and wish there really was a Susan Meyer, so maybe I could figure out how best to raid her closet for her amazing clothes. (Not that Teri Hatcher's clothes would fit me, but again, this is fantasy!) Twice, I've paused while watching the show to look up on AllRecipes whatever scrumptious dessert one of the characters was whipping up. Can't wait to try that fruit tart! And watching Edie or Gabby set out for a morning run reminds me that I need to recharge my Ipod for my morning or evening workout.

Okay, so maybe I don't live on Wisteria Lane. But I applaud the writers of this awesome show, which makes me laugh about as often as if makes me shed a tear or sit on the edge of my seat from a suspenseful cliffhanger. And for making Wisteria Lane and its residents so real, because at heart, it's a story about families and friends and life and love and passion and dreams and forgiveness and death and living in the suburbs. One of my favorite shows so far was the one that starred Beau Bridges as a handyman who'd touched each of the housewives before he passed from this life to the next. This isn't just a TV show, but one with a lot of heart and soul.

If you've never caught the show, make a point to give it a try. But beware: It is addictive.

And don't say I didn't warn you!

My Very Own Master Gardener

Okay, full disclosure here: My husband, Bill (the handsome guy pictured below) is the master gardener in this household. This year we got REALLY adventurous and decided to try our hand at growing a variety of fruits and vegetables, with a focus on SALAD!

So what's out there getting watered, sunned & loved, then devoured before the main course each night? Well, we've got iceberg lettuce...Romaine...red and green field lettuce...tomatoes...green & sweet peppers. And, not tyically used for salad, but we've also got strawberries, blueberries, grapes, broccoli, cucumbers, and a variety of spices including cilantro.

Our berries aren't doing too well, though I'm told the garden lizards think they're utterly divine, and the grapes and the tomatoes aren't anywhere near ready, but the lettuce is making an appearance on our table DAILY! Obviously, lettuce alone does not a salad make, so we hit up the local farmers' market today for fresh mixings like chopped red onions, hothouse tomatoes and radishes.

And while I baked my first classic pound cake from scratch--a recipe that is delish, and you can find it right here--Bill fixed some homemade salsa, also from scratch. I happened to pick up the Mission tortilla chips on a recent trip to the supermarket, since we've always liked Mission's other products, and how better to enjoy them than with some salsa you whip up in your own kitchen? Did I mention our homegrown cilantro came in very handy? Yep. The hubby told me, "How'd we get into all this fresh, homemade stuff, anyway??? Is that what happens when you grow your own garden?"

Who knows? But it sure beats the processed stuff!

For Papi

JORGE VAZQUEZ, JULY 8, 1934 - APRIL 5, 2011

How I loved this man. My dad died at the age of 76 last week. During my life, I've made so many trips down to Miami, Florida where he lived. On the flight down last Friday evening, I remember thinking it was the saddest trek I'd ever make to Florida.

Between my sister Sandra and I, we were able to put together a memorial for him that was held at La Ermita de la Caridad del Cobre, a pretty little chapel in Miami named after the patron saint of Cuba. Papi loved that chapel, which is set by the sea, with its mural that included Cuba's history, and attended it often. Since there was no casket, we instead tossed roses into the sea in his honor. Afterwards we assembled at Sandy's house for an intimate gathering of friends and family to celebrate a man who was always filled with life and laughter.

Our relationship might not have been perfect--Mami and my dad divorced when I was about 3--but my father and I loved each other. More than anyone, Papi taught me that you don't have to have a perfect relationship with someone to love them with all your heart. As an adult, I shared many a heartfelt conversation with him. That's him in the picture above, taken at my 50th birthday party last year. My sister affectionately claims he was always eating! He was a father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He was part of that great generation belonging to my mom, Madrina, Padrino, Soledad and others.

There will never again be anyone like Jorge Vazquez. And when I tossed down that rose into the sea, that large part of my heart that belonged to him also disappeared into the waves.

My Classic Namesake

Kind of a spooky thing to hear, while you're doing a story that involves a car, to hear that you have one named after you! But that's exactly what happened to me. Meet Connie--my cousin's classic Nova!

Pep is my cousin only technically. He's more of a kid brother to me, since we were raised together by his mother (my Madrina, which means grandmother) and my mother. You can't talk about our childhood without also talking about his half-brother and half-sister, Danny and Solie, who were siblings-of-the-heart to me, too.

We're all older now, and it seems like everybody's life is so busy. In this entry, I wanted not only to show off my very cool namesake (the Nova has a big "C" on its hood!), but to make a tribute to Pep, Danny and Solie, as well as Pep's wife Marlene, who has also been like a sister to me. They're the reason that, when chatting with people who've said, "I'm an only child," I've responded with, "Oh, me, too! Well, actually no--my Padrino filled my life with two brothers and a sister." So, in addition to my half-sister Sandra and my stepsister, Tammy, I guess I come from a big, crazy, and loving brood of kids!

Slowdown on BIAM

What hasn't happened to slow me down?

Well, I had to exchange Red, for one thing. Got the very same PC, but hopefully one that doesn't do that "check disk" thing every single time I start up the laptop. Every. Single. Time. Y'all.

And...I got a Kindle! Love it, love it, love it!

Also slowed down reading OPERATION PRINCE CHARMING by Phyllis Bourne and I THINK I LOVE YOU by Allison Pearson. Two great books in a row--that's very unusual. Felt like one delicious meal after another! I THINK I LOVE YOU is about a young girl in the 1970s who was in love with...that cute guy in the pic above.

So now it's back to work on my latest project. I have a lot of catching up to do.

If I can stop browsing through Amazon, that is!

Me & Red

We've been spending a lot of time together lately. Me & Red.

Red is my new computer. It's an HP Pavilion dv5, or so it says on the lower righthand section of the screen. Red is--well, red, hence the not-so-clever name.

I'm one of those women that names things. My first car, a 1977 Rally Sport Camaro, was affectionally known to my mother and me as "Rally." After I got married, I got my husband and sons in on the act, too. We owned a Chevy Celebrity named "Joshua," a Jeep Cherokee known as "O'Neill," and we leased a Ford Explorer (we loved that car!) known as "Topanga"--named after the Boy Meets World character played by the lovely actress, Danielle Fishel. Currently, we still have O'Neill, but we've also added my Dodge Neon, "Candy," and our older son's car is "Naomi 2," since he traded in "Naomi 1."

Yes, we ARE a nutty family.

And this is the first time I've got a computer with a name. Kinda makes it harder to exchange it, even though the mouse on this laptop acts weird. I'm already attached to Red, and even more so since we started--uh, I started--doing Book in a Month.

We were off to a good start, though we had a couple rocky days. During one, I didn't get any writing done at all, and during the second day, I only wrote about 300 words. But now I'm right on target, with about 1,300 words to write for the day.

So who cares if Red's mouse disappears? He's helping me write my first YA novel--a paranormal--in many years. That'd be like ditching a friend...or a beloved car!