skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Well, it's been a few weeks since my last post, so I thought I'd better update the ole blog! Lots of changes, activities and generally enjoying life and the last bit of summer.......... one of the newest and best changes is our newest family edition - Rustam!
As I've mentioned in previous posts, my brother Joe and his wife Jana just adopted a baby from Russia........ it was an interesting and winding road for them, but the gift of such a journey is their little boy..... and boy is he is the cutest thing!
They visited us, this Labor Day weekend, to help celebrate the holiday and generally have fun, relax and see family. They stayed with us Saturday night and about half a day on Sunday....... it was good to see them and just fun to hang out. We did lots of fun things while they were here, including swimming, walking the trail and seeing family for a barbecue Saturday evening....... all and all it was a really nice weekend.
Here's to new beginnings, enjoying life and good times ahead! Enjoy the movie clips and photos of the weekend!
Ciao!
Today is Saturday and we just got back from a week at sea (compliments of my generous parents who paid for a 5-day cruise for my siblings and I) with 22 other family members to help them celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary! What a great time we had........ but the best part was being with everyone we love and helping my parents ring in their special anniversary.
There were so many memorable moments, but one of the best was the cocktail/appetizer party we arranged to celebrate them. Given that this was their 50th, we wanted to do something really special, and special it was........ everyone attended and it turned out great. We had fun celebrating on the 14th deck overlooking San Diego......
The cruise itself was very fun. We sailed to San Diego, Catalina and Ensenada, Mexico. San Diego and Catalina were beautiful but I can't, for the life of me, figure out why Ensenada is a port of call. I didn't care for it so much. The best part was hanging out with my sister, her husband and their two kids........ we stopped at a cantina for cheap beer and chips!
I think one of the best ways to cruise is with a big group. That way, you are more inclined to do things you might not normally do. With so many people and personalities, we really had a ball - dinner shows, gambling, sight-seeing, all kinds of eating (seems like we did a lot of that), swimming, shuffle board, going to the spa, drinking, shopping, etc. There seems to just be an upbeat energy that followed us everywhere. I have to say that one of the best parts was the family dinners. We had the main seating at 5:30 p.m. I think everyone really looked forward to sharing the meal together. We'd laugh and joke - reminiscing about the days events. Everyone got to know each other just a little better..... 5 days together enables that.... and it was great. I got to know my nephew, Jeff a little better. Though I see him at home, I got to see him in a new light and he is one special kid (well, young man really). He is really a nice guy and funny too! I got a kick out of listening to him talk and laugh. He, of course, had a great time...... I think everyone did...... my niece, Stephanie, is so pretty and she of course, got lots of attention. My two littlest niece and nephew are just as cute and sweet as they can be and I loved hanging out with them too........
All and all it was a great vacation - we've decided we want to do something like this every year!!
Life is good. I have to say that I am happy most of the time. I'm re-reading a really good book that I think I've mentioned before...... it's by one of my favorite spiritual authors -Eckhart Tolle. The title is "A New Earth - Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. This book is transformational. The message is simple - stay in the present moment and let go of your ego. He says that ego is what will destroy your happiness and presence. Anyway, if you really want to move it to the next level and live a life of presence and purpose, I highly recommend this book............
Since we are finally settled into our new house, life is getting back to normal and we have been having lots of fun. Since I never had kids of my own (which I could have never imagined but understand everything happens for a reason), I love spending time with kids of all ages. I am really lucky to have lots of little kids in my life. My brother has two kids, 8 and 9, my sister has two kids, 19 (well, not really a kid) and 16...., we have three grand children, 4, 7 and 22 mos and tons of other kids who I just seem to know........ I think I really enjoy hanging out with kids because I'm really a big kid at heart. We get to do fun, silly things and it gives me great pleasure to be in the presence of their innocence and wonder for life. So, we recently had my brothers two kids over for a sleep over. We've done this many times in the old house, but not in the new house. Well, we had a blast! We have a really neat pool and the kids got to go for a swim, which seemed to be great fun for them. Since we live next to a natural preserve, they had a ball exploring and looking for butterflies as we did a morning walk on the backyard trail. We made dinner together and just had a great time.
We just got home from visiting our son Devin, his girlfriend Ananda and our littlest grandson, Kellan. They currently live is So. Lake Tahoe but will be moving soon........ we just found out that they are heading to Puerto Vallarta! Yes, you heard me right - they are going to be living in Mexico! Devin sells timeshares and is very good at it. He needs to go where the hottest properties are moving so since Tahoe is sold out - he decided that Mexico would be his next home. Ananda and Kellan are joining him there! So Dennis and I will need to make plans to visit soon! Life is certainly an adventure.........
So, we had a great time visiting with our littlest grand baby, Kellan. He is talking really good and remembered us! Given that they live in Tahoe, we don't see them as often as we'd like, but no matter, when we walked through the door, Kellan was very excited to see Vavu (grandpa in Portuguese) and Grandma (me)! We had the best time playing with him and taking him on a little hike through the Tahoe forest............ we'll sure miss him when he leaves but we'll just have to make plans to visit them in Puerto Vallarta.
This weekend is Mother's Day and just one of the many joys of the month of May. There are so many....... first comes my good friend Linda's birthday on May 4; then it's Mother's Day, Sunday, May 11; next is my little (well, maybe not so little anymore, but always "little" to me) brother's birthday on May 13. Moving right along, we have my Dad's birthday on May 26; my good friend's daughter birthday on May 27, and last but not least, my little niece, Julia's, birthday on May 30!
Wow, what a month to celebrate! And celebrate we do. This weekend my other brother Joe and his wife Jana are coming to visit. We love to spend time with them, as they are a fun couple and like to do new and different things........ on their suggestion, we're going on a bike ride. Now, mind you, I haven't ridden a bike in well, I don't know how long, but I tested my "driving" skills, and I'm good to go! Sometimes, it's kind of intimidating hanging out with these two.......given that I'm no athlete and my husband and the two of them definitely are...... well, things can get dicey from time to time......... I just hope today's ride is nothing like my horseback riding experience in Alaska! We don't need to go into any detail about that! We are definitely looking forward to seeing them....... they will spend the night and help celebrate Mother's Day with Mom and Dad.
So, happy May to everyone! Wishing all the the mothers out there a wonderful Mother's Day!
Well, we've been in our new home for about three weeks........ getting settled in and organized. In the process of settling in, I decided to call a feng shui consultant to come out, to not only feng shui the house and raise the existing chi, but to also bring in new chi, and to do a house clearing and blessing. Whether you believe in this practice or not, the truth is that if you aren't the first owners in a house or business, you need the energy cleared. So, that is what we decided to do.........
So, the gal came out and stayed about 2.5 hours. Now, I have a bit of knowledge about feng shui, but she didn't do the kind of consultation I was expecting - isn't that always the way......... you go in expecting something will happen the way you think it should, then bam - it doesn't. Seems life is just that way..............even though it was different in some ways than what I was expecting, it was still very interesting.......... the first thing she did was walk the entire property and look around....... we have two huge oaks in our backyard and she concluded that these trees are for Dennis...... he is to tend to them and keep care of them........ since Dennis is an Earth Rat (Chinese Astrology), tending and caring for these trees will help ground him and teach him to be a steward of the earth. We know that he already is, but how she said it was very comforting. I could see that Dennis connected with those trees right away.
Though she said lots of things and gave us suggestions for "cures", I was most impressed with the house clearing and blessing. I felt that the previous owners loved this house and the wife, especially had a hard time leaving, so we needed to clear that energy. After we cleared the space and did a blessing to bring in our new energy, I could feel an instant shift. I have a very good feeling about what Dennis and I will create in our new home.
I would recommend a house clearing/blessing for anyone. It is a good way to start fresh, no matter where you are in your life. It enables you to clear out any old, stagnet energy to make way for the new.
Blessings and love to all!
Aren't girlfriends the best? I think they are..... good girlfriends are one of life's greatest gifts. Friends in general are a very blessed thing, but there's something about a great girlfriend. I feel fortunate to have lots of great friends.........some I've known a few months, others a few years, and still others - a very long time. No matter the length of time, when you find a great gal that turns into a great friend, well, there's just nothing better.
Seems like I've been hanging out a lot with my friends. Since April is my birthday month, all my friends have come out to play! We've gone to lunch, we've gotten together for walks and talks, and whatever other reason we could think of to spend time together........
In fact, today I met with a group of friends that I've known for over 10 years.......... we met many years ago in the pursuit of a great relationship -Sterling Women's Weekend, anyone? Those days seems like a million years ago, but when you meet in a time when you're searching for something, sometimes you find just the perfect fit. This group of women is my perfect fit. We are all different, but the same. When we met, we were on the path to self-actualization and spiritual awareness......... though we each have our own beliefs and journey's, it has been quite a ride! One thing is for sure......... we all love and respect each other and though we each have very busy lives, we make it a priority to get together at least 4-5 times a years to celebrate each other. We catch up on what is happening, we support each other's passions and life purposes, we eat, we laugh and we generally spend a good amount of time re-connecting and having a really good time.
So, here's to my great girlfriends. Thank you for being who you are. You make my life richer by allowing me to walk with you............ blessings and love to all of you!
Cheers!
Well, we're finally in the new house! Yippee!! We LOVE it! We've just spent the past 10 days busting our a_ _es moving into this house and getting our other house (Audrey Way) ready for market. We accomplished both feats in record time and Audrey Way is now on the market, as of last Thursday. We are hoping for a quick, easy sale with a couple/family who love it and can't wait to move in. I'm already visualizing it sold to a happy couple!
We've officially been in the new house four days....... we've been working really hard to get everything unpacked and organized. Me, on the inside; Dennis, on the outside. I had the pleasure of unpacking ALL the boxes (think 30+) and organizing the content into their proper places. We have four good size bedrooms and all the closets have been utilized! Dennis has been getting the already beautiful backyard into a more beautiful oasis. He washed all the windows and weed-whacked the over-growth under the oaks trees. The weather has been warm the past two days so he took his first swim in the pool........ refreshing is an understatement!
So, now comes the fun of entertaining........ we can't wait to have friends and family over. We're planning a big housewarming party - probably in late June. Invitations will be sent~
In the meantime, we'll meet you by the pool - don't forget your swimsuit!
