Being Grateful...

In church on Sunday we had a lesson on pride. Being proud vs. being prideful. One of the ways to combat pride is to be grateful.

I was thinking about the many uses of being grateful. I've never really struggled with pride that much, but I have struggled in other ways. For me, I often don't appreciate the moment I'm in and am always looking forward to the next moment. Sometimes that leads me to getting into little funks of depression. Not DEPRESSION, but not being as happy as I know I could be.

During a little self-analysis Sunday afternoon I realized that those little bouts can also be fought with being grateful. Usually they circle around missing California and my family. Sometimes it is just a matter of being a little bit lonely when Eric is working that long 12-hour day and I'm home with just me and the pets. Aside from Fred Meyer and walking the dog by the lake, there isn't a whole lot to do in this town. BUT...

If I work on being more grateful during those moments, I am reminded of how lucky I really am.

The most basic things to be grateful for lift me out of those cloudy moments. Some standards:

1. My wonderful husband. He's the most wonderful man I've ever known. He loves me 100% unconditionally, faults and all. He's smart, fun, sweet, Supportive, chivalrous, generous, musical, sensitive, spiritual, and extremely funny. He is truly my best friend.

2. My family. They may be far, they may be scattered, but they are still my foundation of life.

3. Our home. It is a quirky-looking house, but it suits us perfectly, and the location cannot be beat.

4. Church. The spiritual uplift, extended family, and understanding of my life's purpose, where I came from and where I'm going. To know that we are all part of something greater and that we're loved by Heavenly Father is a wonderful thing.

See? I feel better already.

Slook Karen Takes the Floor...

Karen, your comment was so good, I'm going to publish it as a blog entry. (For the confused ones, we called each other "Slook", rhymes with "spook", in college, I forget why, but it has lasted.)

In response to the challenge of parents in teaching their children the importance of modesty, Karen wrote:


As far as girls' clothing goes, it's definitely scary what people think is okay for little girls to wear, and there seems to be less and less difference between the styles in the juniors section and the girls section. Oy! All I can say is teach, teach, teach, and start talking when they are still very young. I remember doing an FHE lesson using Barbies years ago. We dressed them up in all kinds of outfits then talked about what was modest and why and what things we didn't want to wear. A few weeks later, we were at Olive Garden for dinner, and it was obviously prom nite somewhere. A bunch of girls in beautiful dresses strolled by with their dates, and Courtney leaned over and said, "Mom, that girl's dress isn't modest." =) They can recognize it just like we can. One other thought: I was at a stake YW activity last nite - in conjuction with the broadcast from Salt Lake - and the evening was all about being modest. Part of the program included a video with clips from different young men around the stake talking about how they view girls who dress immodestly. It was interesting to hear the two same points over and over again: 1) it actually makes them extremely uncomfortable and 2) their assumption is that the girl must not really care about herself very much. It's almost a feeling of urgency for me. Looking at the state of the world and its values and wanting to do everything I can for my daughters. I keep coming back to making sure I teach them well - not only about what's right and wrong but also about who they truly are and building their confidence so they can more easily rise above the filth all around them. Sometimes, those long-ago days of toddler tantrums look pretty good. =)

Great, response. I love the idea of using Barbies (or any doll--I wasn't allowed to have a Barbie when I was young) to illustrate modest vs. immodest dress. And, even though I don't have a daughter, I did teach school for 13 years and I still remember the feelings of protectiveness I had towards my little girls of all ages. Teaching in inner city neighborhoods, the girls seemed to grow up even faster, if you can imagine, and when I would sometimes see them at school events not wearing their uniforms I was just saddened and appalled at the things their parents would buy. Not all, but some. I think about those girls now and wonder where life has taken them. Part of me wants to know, and...part of me doesn't.

(By the way...the image above is something I found when Googling the search "modest vs. immodest." It took me to another blog by a mother facing the same challenges. The doll is one her daughter got as a gift. Mom felt the outfit was too suggestive and she modified it. Bravo! Her entry can be found HERE.)

40 'n Fabulous and Other News...

I'm tired! Must be because I'm 40 now. I'm slowing down.

My mom was with us for 8 days up here in the Evergreen State. Days were spent preparing for her arrival. She and I had a nice time, trying to get her to slow down from her usual busy pace in California with grandkids, church activities, and Tuesday night Weight Watcher meetings.

We walked the dog, went shopping, had a mani/pedi lunch date with my mother-in-law, and had company over the evening before she left. I love having company, bringing out the good plates and setting the table all pretty, but it is a lot of work. The dinner consisted of my mom, this lovely couple from church that lives a block away, Eric and me. My mom helped a lot, but I still cleaned and cooked and set the table and had the responsibility of being the hostess. We had a nice time and it was all worth it.

On Wednesday, Eric shaved off his goatee. I'm still getting used to seeing him all clean-shaven!

Yesterday I burned out the vacuum and we had to get a new one. We braved the local Walmart and came home with this Bissell heavy-duty monster that is picking up so much stuff I almost miss vacuuming in blissful ignorance. Ick!

This morning we had a repairman (who was a woman) come to the house and do the yearly inspection of the heating/cooling unit. That took over 2 hours. It was a beautiful day and I could not stay inside so I went out and got some groceries, went to the bank and the post office, and...(she said sheepishly...) went and picked up the ring I had on hold that went on sale today. A little birthday $$, a little extra to supplement, and you have what I call my "40 'n Fabulous ring."

I wish I didn't have such a weakness for bling, but I do. I'm the 3rd generation on my mother's side with such a condition, I'm afraid. Anyway, I know it is completely frivolous, but I love it and plan to make it my new right hand ring. The original plan was to get a ring with my birthstone (aquamarine) but I'm just not a fan of that stone. When I saw this one with its Ceylon Sapphire and the rim of cognac diamonds I fell in love with it. Getting husband's and mother's approval sealed the deal.

Isn't being a girl fun? Even a girl at 40, which, I'm told, is the decade where you really relax and become truly comfortable in your skin. I can see that.

Speaking of girls, I'm going to segue into something more serious. Lately I have run across a few different blogs, postings, and articles about the way the media and advertisers are targeting girls at younger and younger ages to act and dress older. Today Abercrombie & Fitch were highlighted on Facebook for coming out with a padded bikini top for 8-14 year olds. Are you freakin' kidding me? As fun as I think it would be to have a daughter, I would be worried about raising one in today's world. Gail, Karen, Andrea, Trish, Sal, and other friends with preteen and teen girls...I can only imagine the challenge to keep them from growing up too fast. Even without a daughter of my own, I shudder when I see some of the clothes in the girls' and juniors departments at stores.

The other day I was on Gail's site and she linked to a recent blog entry by a mother who had had enough and just had to vent on the way products and clothing are becoming more and more suggestive and the daily challenge for responsible parents to preserve their kids', especially daughters', innocence. It is a fantastic read. Bye for now! Click the title:

"What About Our Girls? Childhood Cut Short."

My Birthday Present...

For some time now, Eric has been wanting to get me a Kindle. I was reluctant because I wasn't sure if I would be able to easily transition from a tactile book to a digital screen simulating a book page. I had never even seen a Kindle in person before, and the only person I knew who had one was my cousin, Laura, and hers was new and she'd had it since we last saw each other.

I began to seriously consider Eric's Kindle offer on the plane home from Las Vegas. There were 2 women with eReaders sitting nearby. Meanwhile, I was traveling around with my thick copy of The Help, the current book club selection at the time, stuffed in my purse. It fit, but tightly, and it added plenty of extra weight.

Two days after returning from our trip I went to my book club meeting. Two of the ladies there had new eReader...the Nook, designed by Barnes & Noble. One was a fancy touch-screen color device, and the other was a black and white one without a touch-screen (except for the bottom part where you make your reading selection.) The idea of having a Kindle became even more appealing...I definitely knew that I did not want a Nook after seeing them in person.

After researching the kind of Kindle I wanted...6-inch screen or 9-inch? (There is an almost $200 difference.) Wi-fi + 3G (which allows you to download books from anywhere) or just Wi-fi (which requires you to be near your home network.) (A $50 difference in those 2 kinds...)

My research also led me to discover that there are thousands of free books and a few free games available for download. The highest quality free books are classic novels published before 1923. Other free books are those you would find in the discount bin or at a garage sale...not really high quality reading.

So I settled on a white 6-inch screen Kindle with Wi-fi+3G. I also got a Kindle case that is especially offered from Amazon that has a small LED light that feeds off of the Kindle's power. (The Kindle has 2 notches on the side which the case hooks into.)

I've had it for 9 days now and love it.

The screen is non-glare and really does look like you are looking at a page of paper, but no wrinkles, smudges, tears, or fading. It is very pleasing to the eye.

Right now we are reading Cold Sassy Tree (my suggestion) in the book club and it was available for download for only $4.95, which I did, and lent my book copy to another lady in the group who is always counting her pennies.

Eric likes the Kindle because he doesn't hear the shuffling of pages being turned when I'm reading in bed. See, something for everyone.

I was able to download all of the scriptures for church for only $9.99. Last Sunday I took only the Kindle to church for the first time, after practicing my "scripture navigation" skills for several days before. Thanks to the adjustable sizes of type-face, I was able to participate easily and find my way around the books quickly.

I am not seeing the Kindle as a replacement for books, which was my initial fear. I love books and always will, but there are definite advantages to owning a Kindle, starting with space. A Kindle can hold up to 3,500 books! I'm sure I'll never own that many in my lifetime, but it is a nice feature to have. It is light and eco-friendly. The books for download are less expensive than buying a book. New hardbacks that run $25-$30 are $10-$15 on the Kindle. The average price of all of the books I've seen is $9.99.

Think of it as an Mp3 player for books. It is light and easy to use. I'm looking forward to enjoying mine for many years to come!

The Big 4-0.....no!!!! No?

Please, can't I still be in my 30's?

The momentous occasion, in which my 30's will be a shadow of the past, arrives in 4 days. I can't believe it!

But I did accomplish something big--being single for such a long time, I prayed that I would be married before I was 40. See how the Lord answers prayers with a little bit of humor attached? I was nearly 39 1/2!

I will remember my 30's as a decade of growth, milestones, and major events. I felt a lot more comfortable in my skin throughout my 30's. I bought a house (which as a single person in Southern CA is no small feat,) I lost my dad and 2 grandparents and a step-grandpa and a stepsister, I became an auntie--twice--to the 2 most adorable children in the world, I loved and lost (as I dated a wonderful man for several months who passed away tragically at 42 back in 2006,) I changed school districts, I was laid off after 7 years in my new district, I got married, and I left my beloved home state of California to begin a whole new life with my husband in Washington State.

My goodness, I'm tired just reading this!

Let me focus on my first point though: I really have felt a lot more comfortable in my skin in my 30's. I am more accepting of myself as a person, recognizing my strengths as well as admitting my flaws. I feel like my personality has become more mellow, and yet stronger, without being abrasive. I've learned about tact in ways I never knew (a lot of tact was required in different situations as a teacher, especially in my most recent school district). And despite the bumps along the way, I know it has helped me grow. All of the "life bumps" I encountered in my 30's helped me to grow.

So what do I look forward to in my 40's? Well, one thing I have learned is that no matter how much you prepare, life often has other plans for you, which you can embrace, struggle against, or push aside. I would like to think that my 40's will be the decade where I'm no longer living for myself, but as half of a partnership that will last for many decades to come. I'm looking forward to growing together more and more with my wonderful husband. Perhaps we'll have a child, perhaps not (some current medication I'm on for my eczema is putting any efforts on hold,) but, whatever happens, I think will be for the best.

I look forward to meeting more people in my new neighborhood and church community. I look forward to enjoying life more at a slower pace. A lot of my 30's was lost to working as a teacher, and, noble as the profession is, it engulfs you, especially where I worked. My 40's will hopefully be the time where I can focus on old and new hobbies, my house (we do love our house here in WA,) and, again, supporting my husband in any ways he needs.

I feel very hopeful for this decade, and it is probably a good thing that I didn't get married until I was 39, because now I appreciate it so much more than I think I would have in my 20's or 30's.

So what do I say to the 40's? BRING 'EM ON!

My skin is dumb...

Really, there is no other way to say it. Ever since eczema decided to surface its genetic self on me back in college, my skin has been a source of frustration.

Now, living in the Pacific Northwest, I face a new challenge--lack of continuous sunlight, which healthy skin thrives on (in healthy doses.)

So today I had an appointment with the dermatologist. My 3rd time seeing him since moving to WA. I explained to him how I'm ALWAYS trying to stay one step ahead of the itch and the scratch, trying to figure out which combination of creams, ointments, and pills to take to ward off the itch of the day.

He almost seemed excited. Apparently he attended this dermatology conference in New Orleans last week where they discussed a new kind of eczema, and what I was describing seemed to be it. I'm now on an 8 week course of new pills. Great. Now I'm an itchy guinea pig.

Did I mention that my skin is DUMB? (Scratch, scratch, scratch...)

A Vegas Valentine...

Guess who just had their 6 month wedding anniversary? Can you believe it?

The week after I got back from California, Eric and I were talking about the neat opportunity I had to meet Marie Osmond and all of a sudden he started to get that "glint" in his eye. Next thing I knew, we had VIP tickets to see Donny and Marie in concert at the Flamingo, reservations on Alaskan Air, and a room booked at the Flamingo for 2 nights. We're not especially spontaneous people, but this was a little spontaneous! It was also our first trip together since our honeymoon and our first time riding an airplane together.

It took some thinking about how to handle the pet situation, but we ended up boarding Bailey for 3 nights and setting the kitties up on the house's main floor with plenty of kibble, water, and clean sand. We had to take our chances with the kitty who isn't supposed to get much kibble. We also had to take our chances with the kitties not destroying the house while we were gone. Luckily, it was a fast trip.

We arrived to Las Vegas safe and sound and checked into our very pink hotel room at the Flamingo. I should've taken a picture of it. It was like sleeping in a Baskin Robbins ice cream shoppe. We had a great view though, of the pools and gardens.

After dinner we decided to see if there was a karaoke place nearby. There was! Right next door at Bill's Gambling Hall & Casino. Now, I have never been to a karaoke bar before. This was more like a stage off to the side of the casino than a bar. There were all of the poker and blackjack tables, the air heavy with smoke (cough! cough!) and a stage off to the side with about 12 tables in front of it. The guy running it was a good singer and he got things going. They had big spiraled notebooks of songs and Eric and I each write down something to sing. I couldn't believe I was going to do that. I hadn't sung in public in so long I couldn't even remember!

We were there from 8pm until after 11pm. I got my chance around 9pm to sing up on stage for 100's of people to hear. I was so nervous at first, but I actually calmed down and did pretty well. Fortunately, we have a karaoke machine at home and I there are certain songs I've practiced.

I did HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU (click to hear) and Eric did YOU'RE AN OCEAN (click to hear). He did great. Then later on we did a duet of ALWAYS (click to hear). All of these we've sung on MySpace, but it was still fun. We left tired and drained, after a really fun time and had a midnight burger at the Flamingo's food court.

The next day was the concert! We had several hours to kill before getting all dressed up, which we did by visiting different hotels. Then we had a quick early dinner and went to get into our evening outfits. With VIP tickets we were able to go to a special line and we had front row seats.

The show was a lot of fun. It was a tight 90 minutes with no intermission. Donny and Marie both look great for being in their 50's. They did 10 minutes of duets, then Marie sang for 20 minutes, then Donny had his 20 minutes, then a 10 minute finale. During Marie's segment she kissed a few men on the forehead, including Eric, leaving a big red smooth behind. We imprinted it on a napkin and asked her to sign it later at the meet-and-greet we got to go to.

After the show the meet-and-greet took place at a room down a ramp near the theater. Our time was quick, but we did get to meet them. Donny is a lot shorter than I thought! We were given 8x10 pictures for them to sign, which they did. Eric also had Marie sign the napkin with the lipstick. We were a little bummed because it seemed especially rushed, compared to my experience meeting Marie in CA and Eric's experience at 2 previous concerts, but we still had a great time.

The next day we checked out of the hotel and headed over to Mandalay Bay to see the Shark Reef exhibit, since our flight wasn't until 4:30. The exhibit was great, as always. I hadn't seen it in about 10 years.

We arrived home, happy that the house was in one piece, happy that the kitties didn't leave any unauthorized "gifts" for us, and just happy to be home after the over-stimulation of Las Vegas. Still, we had a very fun time!

Here are some pictures:
This last picture is of the doll I bought at Disneyland. So cute!

Me 'n Marie

Just a quick post today. The lady who took my picture with Marie Osmond sent it today. I look weird and over-exposed, but it was a neat experience and she was very nice and personable.

Book Clubs and Blessings...

I have wanted to be part of a book club for ages, but it just never happened. The only one I knew of in my Southern CA neighborhood met during the day when I worked.

But now I'm part of one in Southern WA. Like the one in CA, it is comprised of ladies from church. I love to read, but I'm not voracious. I devour my magazines like People and Reader's Digest from cover to cover, but I'm especially picky about books. I love a good book, but I refuse to waste my time on a book that doesn't capture my interest from the beginning. Like everything else, my standards for books are high: I like good stories, I like to learn something, I like good writing and well-rounded characters. Those requirements are harder to find than you may think. I have started a lot of books and not finished them.

It is unfortunate that I began this book club with a selection that I simply could not get absorbed by and, apparently, I wasn't the only one.

The selection this time was Traveling With Pomegranates, by Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor. Sue Monk Kidd wrote the fantastic book The Secret Life of Bees, which I loved. I so wanted to like this book, which is a memoir of this mother and daughter's travels. Alas, I did not. I didn't find it to be interesting. I didn't care about where they went or what they were doing. It was like looking at someone's boring vacation slides. I just didn't care. After 85 pages and no sign of any improvement in the writing or my curiosity, I decided I'd had enough. Oh well, can't win them all. I found out last night that there were others who read even less, all feeling the way I did.

Despite the lack of enthusiasm about month's selection, we did have a nice time. At its maximum, the group has about 15 ladies, but only 5, including myself, attended last night's meeting. I hope that in the future more ladies attend.

The meeting ran longer than I expected, and it was 9:30pm when I arrived home to our menagerie of pets. Eric was working graveyard, so it was me and the four-footed creatures.


And, even though the most recent book was something of a bust, our little group mapped out a plan for the next few months. We each gave suggestions and I'm pretty excited about what is ahead:

FEBRUARY
I've heard great things about this book. I'm excited to read it!



















MARCH
This was my suggestion. I love this book and its characters. It will be fun to revisit it.



















APRIL
About a lady who forms an unlikely soccer team. Highly recommended...



















MAY
All I know about this book is that it takes place in Russia and one of the ladies loved it. It's historical fiction, one of my favorite genres.


















All in all it was an interesting night. Some things that I expected and some things I did not. I am glad to be involved in something extra curricular and intellectual, though. Now that I'm not teaching it has been a process getting used to using my time differently. But I like it!

Here are some other suggestions that we discussed last night:
The Hoarders by Stringham
Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Dear and Glorious Physician by Taylor Caldwell
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Christy by Catherine Marshall
A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
A Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg
Beyond Summer by Wingate
To Have Not by Frances Lefkowitz
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

Can you go home again?

3:30am and I'm awake. Funny, because I just saw that my friend, Gail, also posted a new blog entry during the 3am hour.

Here's what's happening...

I've just been to:
California. My first trip back since moving up to Washington in October. I was there from a Tuesday to a Tuesday and, boy, did it fly. It is amazing how the preparations and packing take so long and then the actual trip goes by so quickly.

Tuesday, Jan 11: flew into Ontario, CA airport, went to In n Out with my mom (yum!), went back to her house to unpack, got phone call from Eric saying that our tenant's check had bounced, spent the next few hours on phone with property manager, unpacking, trying to relax.

Wednesday, Jan 12: visited with my grandma, went to meet with the lady managing my house to plan strategy with tenant. Visited at my brother's house for an hour to see my niece and nephew.

Thursday, Jan 13: Went and wrestled with EDD (unemployment) from whom I still haven't seen a penny since suspending my claim 3 days before getting married. It still isn't resolved. The office is about a mile from my last school, so I went there around lunchtime and visited for about half an hour before having to get my mom's car back to her. Listening to the teachers talk about their current stresses with kids, parents, and administration, the words flashing through my head were "I don't miss this one bit!"

Friday, Jan 14: XANDER DAY! I have been missing my 3 year old nephew sooooo much it has almost hurt. Last Friday we had him all day. We took him to his baby music class, which I absolutely love visiting. The program is called Music Together (click for the link.) If you have a young pre-K child, I highly recommend this class. Babies go too! Then we went to have Japanese food and then we played and played at my mom's house. I love that kid so much! He is so fun! Xander quote of the day: "You got to buckle up otherwise you fly through the window!"

Saturday, Jan 15: Disneyland! Boy did this day turn out interesting! The original plan was to meet my friend, Tracey, at 9am and spend the day there. Instead, she was late and I walked into the entrance to see that Marie Osmond was having a signing event from 11am-1pm. I was so torn on what to do. You had to buy one of her products in order to get in line. If I wasn't married to Eric, who loves Donny & Marie, I probably would've passed by, but, I didn't. I quickly ran and got a locker for my jacket, called my mom to get her opinion (thumbs up,) bought one of the darn things, and got in line at 9:35am. I was about the 20th person. It was hot, there was no place to sit, and I had no camera. Even the camera on my Blackberry was malfunctioning. But I had to do it. Mainly because Eric had been pulled up onstage by Marie 2 years ago at their Vegas show, had made himself very memorable because he sings so well, and I wanted to see if she remembered him. I finally got to meet her at 12:30pm (3 hours in line!) and she was as nice as you would imagine. There was none of that star-struck nervousness that I've had before when meeting a famous person, it was like I knew her. The best part? She totally remembered Eric! And there was a lady there to take pictures. I'm still waiting for her to email mine. I hope she does!

Sunday, Jan 16: This was supposed to be a restful day, and I guess it kind of was, but not as much as I had hoped. In the afternoon, my mom and I went and saw The King's Speech, with Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh....what an incredible movie!!! A true story, a heartbreaking story in many ways. It is about King George VI, the current Queen Elizabeth's father, who reluctantly took the throne when his brother abdicated in order to marry the American divorcee', Wallis Simpson. George (Albert, nicknamed "Bertie") had a horrible stutter, exacerbated by years of verbal abuse by his father and nannies. Now forced to be the voice of the nation, his wife (the late Queen Mum) finds an unorthodox speech therapist and amateur actor named Lionel Logue to help after dozens of conventional methods have failed over the years. These 2 men form an unusual friendship that transcends rank and position as Bertie finally starts to relax and get comfortable in his own skin. It is an amazing journey to watch. The R rating is surprising and shouldn't prevent anyone from seeing it. There is one scene with some language and that's it. It is truly an incredible movie and I can't wait for it to be released on DVD/blu ray. See it! You can't help but love it.

Monday, Jan 17: Another Xander day! My sister in law knew that I wanted to spend time with Xander, so she let us have him for the day. We went to the park, although it was a pretty warm day, and then went and had Japanese food again. He loves miso soup and teriyaki salmon. Have I mentioned how much I love that kid?

Tuesday, Jan 18: Time to fly home to WA. My mom and I said our goodbyes. She wanted me to thank Eric for letting her borrow me for a week. I had a smooth flight home and Eric was at the Portland, OR airport to pick me up. We had lunch, went to Trader Joe's in Vancouver, WA (the nearest one to us) and drove home in the gray, rainy weather. Bailey was peeing himself with excitement that I was home, especially since he was boarded with the groomer for most of that week. The kitties came out and said hello and went back to their regularly scheduled programming.

The thing that has struck me the most since being back in our house in WA is how much at home I feel here. I knew that I would feel a little displaced in CA because I was no longer in my own house and didn't have my car there. I was amazed at how little emotional connection I felt with my house, which is right across the street from my mom's. I was also amazed at the wave of relaxation and tension release that swept over me when I stepped into our WA house. The fact that the tenant's new cashier's check was in the mail helped a lot too.

Yesterday was a slow, relaxing day at home. Slept in and did a bit of grocery shopping and laundry. That was it. We've been enjoying our new blu-ray player immensely, which lets us stream movies from Netflix and has YouTube. Awesome! We watched Endless Summer, a childhood favorite, and watched some hilarious YouTube videos by this creative guy named Nice Peter. SO funny!

It was a good trip. Yesterday was a good day. I'm happy to be HOME.

Our First Christmas...

Before I begin, I would just like to say that I hope that everyone had a nice Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

I would like to say that our first Christmas was shiny and perfect, but the truth is, I missed celebrating with my family in CA. I've never spent Christmas away from them in 38 years. I guess it wouldn't be normal if I wasn't a little homesick. I think that part of it is that we are all still mourning the loss of our traditional Christmases at my grandparents' house, which ended after they both passed away in 2008.

So, partly because of that, I think I came into the Christmas season a little on the emotional side this year. I am happy, though, that we were able to give a really nice Christmas Eve to Eric's family. My family decided to not do gifts this year, so Eric and I were able to focus our attention on his parents, nieces and nephew, who his parents have raised.

We went to Vancouver, the closest big city (about 40 miles away) about 2 weeks ago and did a marathon shopping day that turned out to be pretty productive and successful. I wrapped everything a few days before Christmas.

His family does things pretty informally, which is the complete opposite of my family. But, since we were hosting and because I have certain high expectations of myself as the hostess, I wanted to set a beautiful Christmas table for them. We used our wedding china for guests for the first time and my grandma's silver, which I'm so thrilled to have inherited.

The dinner was simple: some pizza, and I made BBQ chicken in the oven, Mexican rice, a salad, and my special chocolate chip sherry bundt cake, but we had a nice time. Eric's mom has been in a physical therapy rehab center with a broken foot and she just lost her sister about a week and a half ago, so knowing that we could give her a lovely evening away from the hospital for a few hours helped me to get out of my own pity party.

The evening was nice and comfortable and ended a bit earlier than what I'm used to simply because Eric's dad had to drive his mom back to the hospital (she had gotten leave for a few hours.) Eric and I cleaned up after the dinner and took Bailey for a walk in the rain, looking through windows and seeing other families celebrating their Christmas Eves and counting our own blessings.

Christmas Day was quiet. We only had one gift to open, from Eric's best friends, the Porters, which turned out to be a bean bag tic-tac-toe set up for the family room downstairs. It was a relief to see what was in that box, because we had been guessing for a week and had absolutely no idea what it was. We had fun setting it up and hurling the beanbags through the holes for about half an hour. Next came a quick phone call to my mom, who was at my brother's house, a nice Christmas breakfast, and a little more emotional tears from me followed.

But once again I had an opportunity to put things into perspective. We went and saw his mom at the hospital. If that doesn't make you count your blessings, nothing will. It was the proverbial scene with elderly people lining the hallways, looking a little lost. I tried to smile at the ones whose eyes I met, again counting my blessings, of which we have so, so many.

After the hospital and a quick trip to drop off an old TV/VCR to Eric's dad, we came home, grateful to have a nice warm home, grateful to have each other, and reminded of what Christmas is all about. We ended up snuggling downstairs watching A Christmas Story on TV and laughing uncontrollably at the funny jokes that never made sense when you watch that movie as a kid.

What a day! What lessons learned.

Christmas and its changes...

In this year of multiple life changes, I'll be spending Christmas in WA with Eric and his family this year. Maybe it is because this is the first year in my life that I will not be spending Christmas with my family, but I had the need to have reminders of Christmas all over the house. Fortunately, Eric and I each had trees from our previous houses. Instead of debating which one to use and where, we used them both:

Mine in the living room as the main tree.

Eric's little 5-footer in the kitchen. His mom used to work for Hallmark and every year she would pick one ornament for him and let him pick one himself. There is an interesting assortment of Santa and football-themed (her choices) and religious, Nativity-themed ones (his.) The size is just right for the room.

And, since we spend a lot of time downstairs in the subterranean family room, I thought we needed a tree down there. So we got a white tree and red and gold ornaments to match the crazy carpeting down there, which I admit, is beginning to grow on me. I'm still waiting for that to happen in our very orange kitchen. Although the kitchen itself is awesome.

We are still settling in and deciding which projects to tackle, so, unfortunately our fireplaces will not have any fires this year until a chimney sweep comes out and inspects them. Who knows when they were used last. I do miss the hearth at my house in San Gabriel's living room. It was so pretty. Maybe one day we'll build more of a mantle in this house. All in good time, though.

This nativity is one that I bought at my favorite antique shop down in San Juan Capistrano. My gut tells me that it is not an antique, but I love the figures and the serene looks on all of their faces. It is sitting on my grandparents' console (which I can finally use because of the size of this house) in the dining room.

I saved the best for last. I am thrilled to have inherited this item from my grandparents' house. No one else showed much interest in it. This is a Mexican nativity scene that my grandma bought. Together, she and my grandpa built the diorama around it. It is the blending of the best of their talents...my grandpa, the thinker, the builder, the engineer. My grandma, the artist, the organizer, the decorator. I was able to put all new lights in it and bring it back to its former glory. I love having it set up during this season. It brings back so many great family memories.

Not only will this Christmas be a change for me, but also for the rest of our family as we all continue to adjust to the changes in our lifelong holiday traditions now that my grandparents are gone. Last year we had Christmas Eve at my house, and this year it will be at my mom's. This will also be the smallest gathering, as 6 out of the 7 grandchildren will be unable to attend. 5 are now out of state and my brother as obligations with his in-laws. Happily, my mom and her siblings are determined to be flexible and continue the family Christmas Eve traditions. Next year Eric and I plan to attend.

Lastly, another change this year is that it seems my whole family is doing very little in the gift department. I'm OK with that as long as everyone is agreeable, but as the person who has been in charge of the Christmas Wish Lists for the last several years, it feels weird not to be scrambling around collecting them from everyone.

The great thing about that, though, is that none of us really NEED anything. We're all so fortunate, so blessed, and have such abundance, that Christmas gifts almost feel redundant this year. And, as much as my life has changed this year, so much of it has been changes for the better. Now really, what Christmas present can top that?

Hallelujah Chorus...Food Court Style...

This is great. Kudos to whoever organized this!

The Smell of Home...

This week I've been in a little bit of a funk. I think I've been a little homesick for CA, my mom, my nephew, decent shopping, etc. It's annoying how those moments of melancholy creep up on you.

I wanted to do something different with our meals, so I made Mexican rice--a staple in my home growing up--for the first time in about 20 years. It turned out OK, but not as flavorful as I would've liked. It tasted better the next day and with some added salt.

Today I made a second batch of Mexican rice. I used a shallower, but wider pot, more onion, and made it early enough so that it could sit even after it was cooked. It was better! Posting a picture of it on Facebook elicited all sorts of responses and suggestions from friends. There are a million and one ways to tweak the recipe.

And in an attempt to do something different, I wanted to try albondigas (Mexican meatballs) soup. I found a great recipe online, (click HERE for the recipe,) ran to the store to get the things I was missing, and did it. I knew it would be a success because I was making it in my grandma's pot. Anything made in that pot is going to turn out good because she was an amazing cook.

I was so happy that it turned out great! Eric got a great dinner and I got a good sense of satisfaction and a kitchen full of childhood aromas. They are comforting smells that made me feel less homesick. And now we have enough to last 2-3 more meals. Yum!

Bill Gates Speech: 11 Rules Your Kids Will Not Learn At School...

I love this! Enough with the spoon feeding attitude that some schools and adults have. The truth is that Life is tough, so best be prepared...

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

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A Lovely Little Thanksgiving...

In a year of many firsts, Eric and I celebrated our first Thanksgiving together yesterday. It was small, just the two of us, but very nice. Even if I had been in CA, our family is kind of scattered to the 4 winds this year at Thanksgiving...Jonathan with his in-laws and my mom at a family reunion in Mexico, and several cousins out of town.

I'm adjusting to a quieter life now in WA, free of the drama of being a schoolteacher and away from a faster pace of living that has been all I've known. For the most part, I like it, but I am aware that it is requiring adjustment. Still, I'm extremely thankful for the direction my life has taken this year.

Eric had to work from 5am-5pm yesterday, so I planned our dinner to be at 6:30. Enough time for him to come home, shower, and unwind a little. We got to use our wedding china for the first time. And, although Eric teases me about having 10 place settings and others these days are even foregoing having a set of wedding china altogether, to me, it is one of the little perks of getting married. By golly, I was going to have wedding china! Eric, who has great taste, is actually the one who found this pattern, Padova, by Waterford. We went to Portland a few weeks ago and ordered the balance of our set. I make no apologies, I love our wedding china!

I made out the menu for our dinner a few days ago, bought the groceries on Wednesday, and set the table early yesterday morning. Even though it was just the 2 of us, I wanted it to be memorable, so I dressed nice. And, although he usually changes into sweats after working 12 hours, Eric followed my lead when he got home, and was very good about steering clear of the kitchen and dining room until 6:30.

The result was a quiet, intimate, candlelight dinner of chicken thighs (no turkey for just the 2 of us,) stuffing, gravy, salad, asparagus, yams, rolls, cranberry sauce, sparking cider, and pumpkin pie. We said a blessing and dug in, thankful to have food on the table, a great house in which to live, our health, our families, Eric's income, and each other. It was lovely.

Tonight when he gets off work, we are heading over to his parents' house in Kelso, about 2.5 miles away (everything is VERY local here, unless you want to do some serious shopping, then you've got about a 40 mile drive ahead of you.) They are having their Thanksgiving today to accommodate his dad's work schedule. I may even meet his sister for the first time, who lives about 2 hours away, if she joins us.

Next is Christmas! I need to address my Christmas card envelopes, buy stamps, and send those babies off. We also have 3 Christmas trees this year, a large one for the front window, a white one with red decorations for the downstairs family room, and a small one for some extra flair in the dining room somewhere. For me, the music and lights and decorations of Christmas are my favorite part, much more than presents, which will be lean after this incredibly expensive year of wedding, honeymoon, and almost 15 round trip flights back and forth between CA and WA between the 2 of us.

Of course, the real reason for this time of year is to be thankful for all we have, to be extra mindful of others and to remember the blessed event of our Lord's birth. May you and yours have a wonderful holiday season.

Just livin' life...

Wow, time sure passes quickly. Just a quick update.

The house is done. All furnished. The boxes that were inside the house are all unpacked. Interestingly, the last pile of boxes were in the living in and dining room.

This area gets tons, and I mean TONS of trick or treaters, so I knew that I had until Halloween night to get through those boxes. I literally finished going through them and decorating the fron rooms at about 3pm on Halloween. The last 2 boxes were clothes, so I cheated and hid them in a different room out of sight.

On Halloween we were invited to go to a brief little get together with a few neighbors across the street. There was homemade soup, and they had a pool to see who could guess how many trick or treaters would come to the hosting house. We could only stay for about half an hour because Eric and I would look out the window and see kids go up to our door when we weren't there. So, home we went.

Very quickly, the trick or treating traffic began to pick up. We realized that we couldn't even leave the dining room before the doorbell would ring again. So, we set up our laptops at the dining room table and just camped out for about 3 1/2 hours. We kept a tally of how many kids came to the door and, at 8:30pm, we noticed that the whole neighborhood turned off their lights and stopped answering their doors. We decided to follow. Final tally....526 kids!!!!

That was one big excitement. The other is that my mom came for her first visit last week. She was here from a Monday to a Saturday. We had the guest room all ready, although the shower in the guest bathroom isn't quite ready for use. She loved having her own room and bathroom. She loved our house and, surprisingly, she loved this little city and the dreary weather. I knew that she would like the weather, she has always liked rain and overcast skies.

It was unfortunate that Eric had to work the day shifts when my mom was here, but we made the best of it and I showed her around myself. We stayed local. She loved, loved the lake that is within walking distance of our house.

The day after my mom left I got hit with a cold. My normal autumn cold that lasts about a week. Today is day 5. It is almost gone. I'm looking forward to it being ALL gone!

In the meantime, Eric and I are living a quiet life together as newlyweds. We love our house, we love being together and going on walks and going shopping and eating dinners that we make. We'll be hosting Christmas Eve for his family this year. It will be a small affair, maybe 6 of us all together. I'm used to a big to-do, so I'm still going to decorate the house to the nines. I love Christmastime and all that goes with it.

And that's what we're up to. Just livin' (and lovin') life.

It's our 2 week anniversary...

...together in our WA house!

Things are rolling right along, and the work just seems to be never ending.

Eric's 4 days off began on Tuesday, and it is so much nicer having him home. Those 4 12-hour days alone were not too fun, but I guess I'll have to get used to it. His 4 nights of graveyard begin on Saturday night.

On Tuesday we drove the 45 miles to Portland, OR. Just a field trip to spend the day together and get a change of scenery. The first thing we did was find the Portland location of my favorite sushi place: Todai Seafood Buffet. Well, that was a disappointment. They just don't get the huge influx of people as the one in Southern CA, so the food wasn't very fresh. Fortunately, we had a $50 American Express gift card to use that paid for our filling, but not very satisfying lunch. Eric does have a great little sushi place in Vancouver that we've gone to before, so all is not lost. But, we've eaten at home a lot since we've been here.

After that we walked around Pioneer Place mall, which is where Todai is. A lot of stores out of business and empty. But, they did have a nice Eddie Bauer store, which are getting harder and harder to find. When the lady who helped us discovered that I had worked for Eddie Bauer, she even offered me a job, which I would've been tempted to take if there wasn't a 45 mile commute.

Then we drove to the big mall in Portland, the Lloyd Center. With Macy's gift cards in hand, we ordered the remaining pieces of our china and stemware. Ten complete place settings altogether. I know it sounds weird and excessive to want to complete the china when I don't know anyone in our new city, but that won't last forever. And part of the fun of getting married is having wedding china. It's a one-time thing, and I like being the hostess when possible and setting a beautiful table. I never imagined I would even be getting wedding china, so I'm going to enjoy it without apology. =)

We did get held up for almost an hour during the china-ordering process though, because it turns out that one of our gift cards, which was just a card in the stack that had been sitting in the kitchen for weeks--had been used fraudulently. How scary is that? That someone can just somehow find a random gift card number and use it. It has been used about 2-3 days before, online. Thankfully, the Macy's lady took us at our word with no problem and sorted it out. It was time-consuming, but she did it and everything worked out. Our china and stemware should be arriving next week.

By that time, it was time to start heading home. Bailey had already been in the house waiting for us for several hours, and we were going to stop at Trader Joe's in Vancouver on the way back to Longview. We won't get there too often, but it is good to know that there are Trader Joe's up here. Fortunately, Fred Meyers (love that store!) carries a lot of things found at Trader Joe's, except for their store brand pet supplies, which I like.

Yesterday turned into a lazier day than expected. We bought some paint for the guest bedroom downstairs and some groceries, but Eric and I had a hard time getting going. We needed a slower day.

Today my sweet husband has spent the whole day painting, painting, painting. It is nice to have the "institutional green" color gone from that bedroom. My goal is to basically duplicate the colors and decor of my CA bedroom in that guest bedroom, all starting with the walls, which are the absolute lightest shade of pink. When Eric sleeps off his graveyard shifts this weekend, it will be a good time for me to work downstairs without disturbing him.

At noon I had my first haircut in WA. Scary! I think the lady did a good job, but until I style it myself it will be hard to tell. The rest of the afternoon has been spent unpacking boxes, cutting them down and putting them into the garage so that Eric can fill up the back up his truck tomorrow and run them to the dump. Ah, the glamors of unpacking.

Meanwhile, what started as an absolutely gorgeous sunny and blue-skied day has given way to clouds and a murky sky. Everyone keeps warning me that the rainy weather in only about a week away! Apparently the week before Halloween is when everything turns to full time rain for the next 3 months and all of the leaves will fall off the trees. I'm trying to prepare myself, although I really don't mind chilly, rainy weather. I'd rather be cold than hot. But, only time will tell. I'm more worried about the pets, who will not understand why they can't go outside as often as before.

All in all, we're slowly settling into life in our new house and new city (for me.) This morning I got to talk to my mom for the first time in over a week, so that was nice. She's been on a cruise to the eastern states and Canada and was calling me from Newfoundland. Technology is amazing, isn't it? Point A is Longview, WA and Point B is Corner Brook where my mom was calling me from. I'm glad we got to talk today.


So, happy 2 weeks in WA!

I'm now a Washingtonian...it has been a challenging week!

Hello tiny group of loyal blog readers! Before too much time passes before my next entry, I just wanted to check in and let you know that I've officially moved to WA now. Eric and I did a straight shot up here from CA last Thursday. We left at 6:15am with a car full of pets and luggage and pulled into our driveway in Longview, WA at about 12:45am. The kitties spent the day in a soft crate I had bought in the back of the car. They huddled together the entire day. Having them back there also meant that every time we stopped to let Bailey out, one of us had to stay with the car.

The next couple of days consisted of us getting groceries and helping the kitties acclimate to the new house. The 2 males have spent most of the days under the bed, especially the youngest, Ramius. He's used to sleeping all day and prowling around the neighborhood at night. Right now I'm letting them out one at a time with supervision for a few minutes. However, Ramius especially has enjoyed exploring the ledges and skylights that go across the 12 foot ceilings in our dining room and kitchen. We seem him waayyy up there, happy as can be. The next best thing to climbing a tree, really.

Unfortunately, our move has been overshadowed quite a bit by some major issues with my skin. For 3 weeks now I have had a red, seeping rash around my mouth that has made eating, sleeping, talking, and even kissing my husband painful and uncomfortable. I have been on 2 different antibiotics and have seen my doctor in CA 2 times. Nice lady, but she has done absolutely NOTHING. After $200 worth of visits, creams, and pills with no relief, I went online one night when I couldn't sleep (there have been a lot of sleepless nights lately) and Googled "seeping rash around mouth." I found something called Perioral Dermatitis, with pictures matching what I had been suffering from. I printed up a few articles, all of which determined that I was supposed to be on Tetracycline, then made a 3rd appointment with my doctor and brought her the articles. She thought it "could" be that condition and prescribed Tetracycline.

How scary is that?

She's supposed to be the doctor and I'm the one doing a self-diagnosis. She just prescribed what I asked her for. I asked for some extra refills since I was moving and she did that too. Our health care system is a mess.

2 days later I started to see some real improvement with the rash. Yay for Dr. Kristie and Google, right? (No, the thought still infuriates me.) Then the improvement started to taper off and stop. Plus, there was a rash developing on my chest that was very itchy and uncomfortable. Eric ran to the drug store one night in CA and came back with a buffet of itch relief products. I settled on topical Benedryl, since I was already taking an antibiotic and didn't want to ingest anything else. The relief was sporadic, but relief was relief, so I kept using it.

When we arrived in WA I made an appointment with a doctor at Kaiser, since I'm now on Eric's insurance. The only way to see a dermatologist was to see a general doctor first and get a referral. He prescribed a topical clindamycin with alcohol (OWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and a cream, which I used once and it did nothing. At least I got the derm referral and was impressed with the workings of Kaisers in house pharmacy. Wow, they are efficient!

On Tuesday the movers arrived at 8am with our stuff. Monday night I had had a HORRIBLE night's sleep because my chest was so itchy and my face was completely red and totally seeping from my nose to my chin. I looked like a freak and had to keep dabbing my face with Kleenex. it was getting worse and worse. I made an appointment with the derm at Kaiser for that afternoon. For 3 hours the movers unloaded their huge semi. I stood at the door checking off the box number or item number that they would bring in. Eric led them to different rooms and would take over clipboard duty every few minutes while I would go and splash cold water on my ever burning face.

When the movers left at 11:30, there was nothing to do then but wait for my appointment. Meanwhile, my face was getting WORSE. The right side was now getting swollen and numb. The redness was spreading. This was getting scary. My appointment was at 2:20, but at 1:30 Eric said enough was enough, we had to get this taken care of. We drove to Kaiser, he dragged me to the front of the line of people waiting to check in and demanded that we see the derm at once or we were going to the emergency room. I have to say, in my misery I was really proud of how he took control of that scary situation. The check in nurse could see that this was dire and led us back to a room. Everyone was very nice, the RN attempted to keep me calm, because I was crying at this point because I could not feel the right side of my face. It was like someone had given me a shot of Novocaine.

The derm came in very quickly. No 20 minute wait like in my clinic in CA. He looked at the redness, asked about the history of the rash and products, foods, detergents, soaps, lotions, etc--anything that I could've come in contact with. Because he was fairly certain that this was now a contact allergy. What I had around my mouth before was most likely the Perioral Dermatitis and the Tetracycline was working, but since then, I had developed something else. He actually thinks it is an allergic reaction to the topical Benedryl, which he says is quite common. He even got a little miffed at Eric for bringing it home and not mentioning it immediately when we discussed what the cause could be. Keep in mind that we were flying blind in CA because we were getting no help from the medical profession there.

The good news was that he acted like this was easily treatable. Time to bring in the big gun though: Prednisone. 4 in the morning for a week, then 3 in the morning for a week, then 2, then 1, until all 70 pills are gone. Side effects? Irritability, weight gain, and jitters. On the face I could use water and Vaseline only to help with the burning and dryness.

Thank goodness. Finally! Some answers! I took the first dose of Prednisone as soon as I got home. I took another shower and Eric ran and got a pizza for dinner. By the evening, the redness had gone down about 75% on my chest, and my face was no longer swollen and numb (that had been pretty scary.)

That night I slept for 10 1/2 hours. My poor body had been so, so tired. I had been awake from 2:30am the previous night. The seeping stopped, and the next day my face began to dry out and renew the skin. It got pretty dry, but there was no pain and no itching and burning. I felt human again. It still didn't look great, but at least I wasn't suffering the way I had been.

Yesterday was a little bit of a back slide. My chest and neck were incredibly itchy and parts of my face were kind of itchy. I was very uncomfortable all day, but the more unpacking and sweating I did, the more my skin became irritated. I would take breaks and just sit in front of the fan. When I went outside in the cool air to take out trash, my face felt better. In the evening we took Bailey for a nice long walk in the brisk WA cool air and my face felt the best it had felt all day.

Today it feels better, no itching, and on the mend. As long as I see progress, that is all that matters. I cannot expect miracles in just a few days when I'm supposed to be on Prednisone for a month.

Our challenge last night was insuring that Eric got a good night's sleep because he had to be back to work this morning. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to be the perfect wife and help him get his lunch readt, create a quiet house while he went to bed before me, and make sure the pets didn't hinder his sleep. Sadly, my pets can be pests sometimes, especially right now as we're all adjusting. Last night, my older male, Darcy, decided to be the pest, scratching on the closet door and waking Eric up at 2am. He was frustrated and when I tried to go back to sleep, I guess I was sighing a lot and rustling the covers and keeping him from nodding off and then I was frustrated. I slept from 11pm until 2am, then spent the next 2 hours in the kitchen making sure that nothing interrupted Eric's sleep. His alarm rang at 4am.

I've never shared the house with him before while he's been on day shift, so even though I know his routine, I didn't want to get in the way. It didn't help that I was very emotional and felt very guilty that anything me our my pets had done had hindered his sleep in anyway. We're a 1 income family right now, and I want to be as supportive as I can and pull my weight around the house as much as possible. It was hard not to be a little teary this morning. The lack of sleep didn't help.

I know that this is only the first week and we all have to adjust. I keep telling myself that. I think that what has thrown me is that some of the things I thought would be harder, have been the easier ones, and vice versa. Certainly, all of the problems with my skin have been at unexpected challenge that have really made each day difficult.

I am trying to focus on the positive, count my blessings, and take each day one at a time. My mom has missed me a lot, and I feel guilty every time she tells me this. But the good news is that she finally taking a long overdue vacation with some friends on a cruise around new England. she'll be spending her birthday there, of which I'm glad about. My house in CA is rented to a nice man who seems like he will be a low-maintenance tenant. Now that the movers have delivered my things, we won't have anymore groups of strangers traipsing through the house (2 days of packers and movers last week and one this week--that's a lot.) Our WA neighborhood is lovely and it is so great to be able to take Bailey on walks. This happy dog has gotten two long walks per day. We are 3 houses up from the city's man-made lake and the surrounding park. And, even though our house needs some updating, it is a great house, lots of charm and history, in a fabulous neighborhood with incredibly nice neighbors. I'll post some pictures when I can find my camera cord in one of the boxes.

See? I feel better already. OK, time to start my day. Let's see how my face does when I'm out of the shower. I want to give Eric his wife back. I haven't worn makeup all week and I miss getting all prettied up. Thanks to my new GPS, I'm going to go and get some groceries today and I promised Eric a spaghetti dinner would be waiting for him when he gets home tonight. His first day back to work, I want to do things extra nice.

I just have to keep telling myself, "I am blessed, I am blessed." I am. We are.

Hold your loved ones tight...

Yesterday was a draining day. Things are moving along as far as the house and the dishwasher, etc., but it was emotionally draining. The school I used to teach at was hit hard with the news that one of our teachers lost her husband in a tragic, senseless shooting. You can see the local news coverage HERE and an article HERE.

All over Facebook, former coworkers were mentioning it, and lamenting with the many losses that the school and city have suffered recently. One of our vice principals was killed last year in the drug violence in Mexico. Our principal lost her husband to cancer last year. We had more lay-offs than any other district in the San Gabriel Valley. It has been a lot for our staff to digest. This recent tragedy has hit the community very hard.

Sandra Saenz-Urias, the lovely teacher who lost her husband, is one of the nicest people I have ever met. She welcomed me to the school right from the beginning and always made an effort to say hello and give a smile. She teaches kindergarten, and I was always amazed at the way her little ones would behave for her without her ever having to raise her voice. She and her husband, Hector, were in the process of finalizing the adoption of their first child after trying unsuccessfully for 18 years to conceive one of their own.

It is one of those horrible events that just makes you ask WHY. Why did such a lovely couple have to be torn apart by something so violent and senseless?

As we keep Sandy and her family in our prayers, take a moment and think about the loved ones in your life. Make sure you tell them you love them, forgive the little imperfections, and hold them a little tighter. There's someone out there who wants to do the same thing and no longer can...