And another thing....

I forgot the little diddy of getting 'maimed' by my lovable, huggable, kitty, Dani.
I don't know how I could forget such a joyful experience of being woke out of my slumber via cat landing on my face - cat realizing where it landed and promptly launching off said face getting good traction with back paw. *See picture (2 days post maiming.) Oh, I just hate this 'hold the camera arms length of bad angle and shoot!'

Also I wanted to give you a look see at how I've been wearing my hair lately. I swear I never thought the day would come when I would prefer darker hair over my California blond - I mean, I totally identified with my blond hair and blue eyes. That was me in a nutshell. No more. I love the darker color and I've let it grow since November. I like it this way. We'll see how long this lasts since I tend to change up my hair at least a few times a year. But I think I am going to get the extensions dyed to match my hair so I can wear them this Fall & Winter.

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Today I went to Michael's Crafts and got some stuff for Leah and I to do. I will take and post pics of our adventure. I only spent $20! So of course I had to go check out Old Navy while I was at the mall and bought a few things - pair of capris, pair of shorts and 3 shirts - for $66!!! Woooo hoooo!!!!! I love Old Navy even if I did have to buy a bigger size :( I can however end on an up note - I've started to lose all that weight I gained. 2lbs so far - not much but at least I stopped gaining!!!

Days and Weeks

So it's been awhile since I blogged. Not a whole heck of a lot going on. Last week my youngest daughter, Christina, was kind enough to drive her nephew (my grandson, Jared) from Escalon to San Jose and spend a few days with me. I was excited to have them here - but my excitement was soon tempered by my daughter's awful mood swings. OH MY GOD! I was tempted to send her home and keep Jared by him self. And then they bickered - ugh, why was I surprised? Why did I think that my now adult daughter would be so beyond bickering with a 10 yr old? In spite of her temperament we did manage to have some fun but it was way too much fun for me apparently because after spending all day at GREAT AMERICA with two teenage girls (my niece came also) and a 10 yr old boy in the very hot sun I was completely thrashed. Our plan was to go to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk the next day and I knew there was NO WAY I could do that. So after my very long Dr appointment we went to the movies. Luckily Christina was kind enough to take Jared down to the pool that evening to wear him out some more. I was ready to have them go home but after they left I missed them! Weird.

My kitties, Dash and Dani, have the strangest habit of finding things and then taking them. Things like shoes, dirty socks, clothes out of the hamper, stuff out of my purse and Dash has a real love affair with a Santa Hat he found in the spare room. I am not even sure how he got it - but he drags that sucker around the house. It is bigger than he is! I caught him with it in my bedroom one morning and then he jumped up on the bed with it -- mind you it is a lot bigger than he is and my bed is higher up than most beds. It took him a few tries only making it halfway before he half-fell half clawed his way down the bedding. Niiiiice. So I got a shot of his success! I simply must find a way of getting a shot and having it for Christmas cards this year.

The other pic is at Great America with the kiddos - starting from the back is Jared, then Christina and then my niece, Ashley.
I'm resting up this week because next week I'm getting Leah, my 4 yr old grand-daughter, and I can hardly wait. She's never spent the night with me alone before. I have some fun things planned for us. I'm glad it's only going to be her. I can concentrate all my energies into bonding and spoiling. YAY!

Another First for the Weeks

So, we've been visiting some of the Unitarian Churches in the area. It's summertime and nobody seems to be doing their normal gig but we've enjoyed going. My new sponsor, Vicky, turned me on to the Center For Spiritual Enlightenment. I was super excited about going because they focus a lot on the Eastern religions and philosophies. They teach Yoga, meditation, practicing mindfulness all the things that I'm really interested in. So I asked Dave if he would be willing to go check it out and he said 'sure'. Well, we both loved it. The grounds are beautiful and they have several buildings that are old and gorgeous. The have the sanctuary of course, Education center where they teach meditation and yoga, a bookstore, a labyrinth, and many other cool things. Here is the description off their website:

The ministry of the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment is focused on the essential truth and harmony found in the world's religions, the necessity for a global ethical and spiritual awakening to bring about world peace, and the importance of individual participation toward this goal. Our vision is individual and planetary awakening to the One Truth known by many names.

The Center is an oasis of peace in the community, the world, and in the hearts of individuals. It is through that peace that one may live an awakened life. The awakened life is our opportunity to live authentically and in harmony with divine plan and purpose. Through awakening, we experience true fulfillment and the soul's natural joy.

You can experience the spiritual teachings of the Center through many different avenues. The Center offers worship services, adult education classes in spiritual philosophy and practice, healthy living, hatha yoga, retreats, leadership training, spiritual direction and counseling, children's education, and a thriving spiritual community.

At CSE you will find the Temple of the Eternal Way (our sanctuary of worship), meditation gardens, adult education classrooms, a children's spiritual education center, the CSE Interfaith Seminary, rooms for hatha yoga practice, a meditation chapel, the Tree of Life Bookshop, and our administrative offices.

I was enthralled with the service - we had a time for prayer and meditation which I just loved. And the message was about waiting on answers and how everything is empty until we decide what it means to us. I was doubly excited to find out the love of my life loved it too. We will definitely be going back there! Thanks Vicky!

I can do this, I can do this...

Of course I gained even more weight on vacation but I told myself not to worry about it then. So here I am heavier than I've ever been :( I finally got it in gear and worked out yesterday in my little gym here at the apartments. That damn eliptical kicked my ass and then I did weight machines for my back, shoulders and arms. I am SO SORE today but I still went out and briskly walked the two mile loop at Campbell Park. This was the first time I've gone there and I really liked it even though I went later than I should have so it was a bit warm. I'm being really good with my eating too! Yay! I figure if I cut out the massive amounts of sugar and carbs that I have been consuming at continuing with the exercise I should lose all this weight by December.

Thanks to Noodle for inspiring me! The picture is the path. You cross the creek and walk one mile out and then cross back over the creek and come back on the other side. Very pretty.

10 Memorable Vacation Moments

I'm a home grown Cali girl and haven't been out of Cali much so mine is definitely tame comparatively. Here goes - not in any particular order.

1. Floating ALL day in a two man raft on Pinecrest Lake knocking back brewski's with my first husband. No trudging to outhouses! That was 27 years ago and I still think back on it fondly.

2. Taking a convertible by myself around Maui and going on a snorkeling trip by myself.

3. Flying off to Vegas by myself for 4 days. I wanted to see Mama Mia and walked up to the box office to order a tix for the next day - turns out they had a seat available 2nd row middle. Yahoo - it was fun. Then at the end of my trip waiting for my shuttle I won $500. Niiiiiice.

4. Spending a couple of crazy ass days up in Susanville with my best friend, Terri. We had a pool to lounge around in, tons of alcohol and laughed our asses off.

5. Taking my first two kids to Lake Tahoe for the first time. I fell so deeply in love with it and had a fantastic time with my kids which set the stage for many more summer vacations in Tahoe.

6. Taking Christina on her first trip to Tahoe and watching her eat a vanilla ice cream cone sitting outside at 10 months old. And then sitting on the beach playing in the water half naked. She was soooo cute.

7. When Dave and I got married in Vegas. It was a whirlwind romance and we ran off and got married by ourselves. He planned a romantic helicopter ride over the strip at night, dinner at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant, rented a BMW Z4 and trip to Hoover Dam. We had to stand in line for a long time to get the license - it was Veterans Day and there was a parade downtown. By the time we got our license and realized that we couldn't drive to the chapel I was pooped and my feet were killing me. We walked a few more blocks (it was hot) and we walked in the chapel and I said 'do you have someone who can marry us right now'?! LOL - I have no idea what the woman thought but they accommodated us and we were married by Jean Claude (masculine). It was great. I couldn't wait to get back to the hotel and get out of my hot clothes and high heels! During our romantic dinner poor Dave started feeling nauseous and ended up with a doozy of a flu!! So that's how we started out our marriage. That Sunday we went to the airport early and waiting for our plane with poor Dave so, so sick. Apparently we missed the announcement that our gate was changed and we ended up missing our flight home! What an adventure.

8. Last week in Tahoe playing a game with the grand kids and kids. We did what we always do - LAUGHED our asses off! The highlight was boating into Emerald Bay and hanging out there.

9. The last vacation that I spent with my grandmother. We were very, very close and we hit Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, and Busch Gardens. I have fond memories of that trip with my mother, father and grandparents. I was 16.

10. It's a toss up between another trip to Tahoe and/or Vegas. One year in Tahoe we went up to Squaw Valley with the kids and paid for an all day pass to spend up at the pools and ski lift. The pool was huge and heated and of course the view was to die for. We had a fab time.
And then there was last summer when Dave and I went to Vegas (alot) and we just had a great time going all over sight-seeing and getting room service, massages, and gambling.

Hmmmm, looks like my vacations have a theme - either booze or gambling is involved...Hee hee

Video

Christina and I were sitting on the swim platform relaxing when my son-in-law thought it would be funny to 'scare' us by swimming under the boat and grabbing our legs. Of course everyone was hip to what was going on and Steph took this video. A grand laugh at our expense. We didn't react as they expected though - heh heh.



I hope this works.

Photo journal (more of Tahoe)

This is the graveyard in Virginia City.
My lovies - Leah, Steph and Jared
Dave , me and Christina

Having fun at the beach - Leah and Jared

Boat fun - going out of Emerald Bay

Family Vacations

It was a wonderful week and I did not want to come home! Dave and I left a day early (last Sat) and went to Reno for a few days before meeting up with the kids on Monday in Lake Tahoe. It was really HOT last weekend and there was a lot of smoke from all the fires here in Cali. We basically just gambled while we were in Reno with the exception of a little trip to Virginia City to check out the old cemetery there. That was interesting. The first day in Reno I sat down at the Wheel of Fortune and played for just a minute before hitting $400 - that was cool! I was really pretty darn lucky but unfortunately Dave was not lucky in Reno. We were glad to leave Reno and head off to Lake Tahoe. Tahoe is one of my favorite places on Earth. We had lots of fun gambling and then meeting up with Stephanie, Jimmy & their kids and my youngest daughter, Christina.

Tuesday we met up and took their boat out on the lake and went to my favorite place there - Emerald Bay. I snapped some pics there and took a video (Dave is the guy at the end of the vid). Pictures just don't do the place justice though. It is gorgeous there. The water is so clear you can see several feet down to the bottom and it reflects the beautiful blue sky and green trees that surround the bay. Right in the middle of it is a little island called the Teahouse. One of the pictures is of the tea house. That was the only day we went out on the boat and it was also the only day that we had a fairly clear (of the smoke) day so it was the best day to go. I had a blast. That night we took Steph and Jimmy to a comedy show at the Improv and laughed and laughed. Afterwards we hung out and gambled. The picture of Steph and Jimmy is of that night.

Dave went home early Weds and I moved over to the house with Steph, Christina, Jared and Leah. Jimmy went home that afternoon. We stayed up way late playing a game and laughing our asses off. It really was the best time. I got to do exactly what I love to do and I laughed all week long. I want to go back....I miss the kids....I can't wait for the next vacation.

Enough already - updates

My beautiful friend, Chrissi, gave me the great idea to do an update ala bullet style. Thanks Chrissi!

*Tonight I am winding down from an intense week of 'self examination'. First by my 5 defining moments blog and then I completed a 4th step inventory & 5th step. For those that do not know what a 4th step inventory is - it's a 'fearless and moral inventory of ourselves' IE; exposing your every last character defect, flaw, mistakes and then dissecting them to see where you can improve and grow. You make a list of your defects. So for every person that I had any anger towards or resentments I had the happy task of putting down on paper what my part in it was. Fun. Oh, and then the 5th step is where I get to tell someone all my defects and faults that I have tried to hide from the world - more fun. But it is worth it. Above all I want to be sober, happy and content so if I have to be uncomfortable and humble myself or even dig latrines hey, I'll do it.

*Dave and I have been having some really good conversations these days. I've noticed that since I've been working on my stuff my self esteem has risen and I'm not near as afraid to speak my truth which in reality is a very respectful and loving thing to do for myself and my partner. In turn he has spoken a few of his truths too. This makes me happy. This makes us happy.

*Sunday we are leaving for Lake Tahoe (one of my favorite places on Earth) for a week with my 3 kids, son in law and my two grand kids. I am so looking forward to it. Dave and I are going up one day early so we'll have some good alone time in which to reconnect after his crazy work schedule. I am really looking forward to just the kicking back and laughter that always goes on when I'm with my kids. They are a funny group! We've been doing this Lake Tahoe gig since 1989 missing only a few years and we have always had fun.

*So enough of the heavy stuff I've been doing and on to the fun stuff. Hugs and kisses from the grand kiddos, fun on the lake, a little slot action (of course), and reconnecting with the people who mean the most in the world to me - what could be better than that?
Happy 4th to all my friends - stay safe.