Time Out For Me!!

After talking to several friends and some of our customers for the past few days I realized that we never take time for ourselves...to rest...to rejuvinate...and to be more than just honey or Mom!!! This was my first ever time away. I was in Mazatlan away on a cruise. The only contact I had with my family was texting a couple times to Don from Cabo San Lucas. I went with my sister-in-law and my niece and her friends and had the time of my life. I realized that soemtimes I need me time...wherever it may be. this year I took my me time in Girl's Camp. Yes, I was up when the generator started at 6am...yes I was in there until kris kicked us out so she could mop...but i cooked and cleaned and served. i have made lifelong friends and got away from the monotony of life. This trip i even went horseback riding in the jungles of Puerto Vallarta...well behind it anyway and even swam with and rode a dolphin. Tell me that was not cool!!! The dolphin thing was a dream come true for me. i will be forever grateful that my hubby understands my needs to escape and he gest his when he goes hunting for a week. We take turns so that one of us is always at the store...until we get enough help to go on a longer family vacation. Sounds great to me!!! Anyway, think of your time what you like to do to rejuvinate. i would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Where do you do? Right now I plug in my ipod and dive into my computer and drift off into another world with my dear sweet characters in the book I am working on. It helps me get away from normal life. What do you guys do? Where do you go? Where would be the best place to go on a girl's week away from kids and hubbies..just gal pals and no worries?

Rockin & A Rollin

Ok...so we had the earthquake last night and I have to say that I was a bit sad when Don accused me of causing it. Our bed began to sway a bit and he told me to knock it off. Now, I a have a cold and am feeling all achy and yucky and he accuses me of doing it. Thank you so much!!! Still...it was not as bad as the one in '89. Now that was an incredible one. That was the last "big one" that I ever really want to feel. My kids were asking me the other day what an earthquake feels like. Well, now you know!!!!

Slowing Down

If there is one thing that i noticed about California that truly drives me bananas is that people are running from one place to another always playing catch up. What would happen if everyone in California just slowed down? What would happen if we all just took a deep breath and slowed down. We used to rush rush rush from one place to another trying to fit everything in. We ran to the mall just to walk around, we would run to have dinner here, catch a movie there. I am so tired of running!!!!! So guess what we did?! We stopped. Seriously we stopped running from place to place. It had gotten so bad that I had to tell everyone to call my cell phone if they wanted to get in touch with me. That's pretty bad. Well, I am not so tired any longer. We are actually eating at home more...that used to be a rarity...i lost most of my cooking skills. Ugh!!! Anyway, I noticed that the kids were happier and we didn't get argumentative like we used to. We spend more time playing like we used to and it made things simpler. We have gotten so that we play more games like Bocce ball, Frisbee, volleyball...or whatever we feel like doing. Try simplifying your life and let me know what you think!!!

Exciting happenings!!!

We had an exciting night this past week. Molly graduated from DARE. It was even more exciting because it was our last time we would attend one of our kids' DARE graduations. It was fun because the kids are all excited...Officer Abs is the best DARE leader in the world!!! Molly was surprised as were Don and I to learn she had been picked for writing the best DARE essay in her class and received a special medallion. It was so fun to see her walking up front with her red face to get her award. It was also good because we saw Molly's friend Reese get the award in his class for role model. All in all it was a fun night...I am happy we are done!!!

15 years...WOW!!!!

I can barely believe that it has been 15 years that Don and I have been married. I remember our wedding day when two things were said. I drove from here in Tracy to our new apartment in which Don had moved in the previous week to pick up Don for our wedding...I never was a believer in all that superstition. I told him that morning: "This is your last chance to escape...I don't believe in divorce. If you love me enough to marry me now you had better be sure it is enough to last for eternity. Make your final choice now." He obviously decided to go through with it. We have had ups and downs like everyone. Some of our downs were lower than most peoples, but I have learned from it and it made us stronger. Did we ever give up? Sometimes yes. Doesn't everyone at some point in their life through their hands up and say I give up? However, we worked hard at it and now things are much easier. We still go through trials. We always will, but we now go through them together instead of alone...It makes it so much easier.

It's the simple things

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away I received the most wonderful gift from a dear dear Relief Society President. She brought to me for Valentine's Day a small roughly carved wooden heart painted on it the saying: "It's the simple things." That has often stuck with me as I have noticed with my kids the simple things have always been the best.
In California most of us have noticed just how fast the pace of living is. There is always something to do and somewhere to go. For me I am trying so hard to keep up when it always seems that I am lagging behind. Back in Oregon after a particularly good rain I brought the kids home from school and we put their backpacks in the house and I told them to take off their shoes and socks. We went out in the rain and jumped from puddle to puddle getting them all muddy from head to toe. It was one of my favorite memories of the kids when they were tiny. I am happy that they had the chance to live simply because it was great!!!

Fall Season

I am not sure how everyone else feels about the fall, but I am loving it. I am not overheated like the summertime and it is not as windy as the Spring here. Don and I went out to breakfast over at the Banta Inn, prefering the long- loved local haunts to the new ones, and as we drove back home through the back way we marveled at the sights. So much has changed just form when we went to high school here. I guess time always changes things, admittedly so, not always for the better. It was much quieter here back in the 80's. there was no mall, the theater was on eleventh street and it had only two screens. you never wore flip slops there as you would walk right out of them. Tracy high was the only high school in town and you knew it. We would whine that there was never enough to do in Tracy. Yes, there are always the bad things, but we made it through all of that garbage. I guess we can all say that, but it is true. Now I wish it hadn't gorwn and that it was back to the way it was before. I guess time changes everything...including us!!!