~ Counting My Blessings

Thanksgiving is the time of year when we all ‘give thanks’ for the blessings in our lives. As I sit here, I’m thinking that I hope I do this more than once a year. I hope that I let my friends and family know how much I appreciate the gift that they are. And trust me, friendship is a gift that we open over and over and over.

During the course of day to day living, our lives are touched again and again by the angels we call friends. I can’t count the number of times that my Ya Ya’s have shown me not only continuous support and love, but each of you have given me encouragment and strength at a time when I seemed to have needed it the most. You have all, in your own special way, held me up at some time or another, refusing to let me fall ~ spiritually or otherwise.

This Thanksgiving when I find myself enveloped in the love of my family, when the laughter of my children has me smiling from the inside out, I will give thanks to the many other blessings I have . . .

. . . my YaYa’s. May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving. May you be surrounded by friends and family, may laughter be the sounds you hear again and again and may love continually fill and warm your heart.

Happy Thanksgiving ~

~ The Continuing Floor Saga

Many of you have asked about the ongoing saga of our floor tile. After showing considerable restraint and patience since August, after agreeing time and time again with the company our builder used for the tile, including the installment of said tile, my patience has finally snapped.

I’m tired of seeing blue tape scattered throughout my house. I’m tired of the parade of so-called tile experts and their sorry excuses for what went wrong, none of which makes any sense whatsoever.

Today, KJ sat down and wrote a letter to the tile company informing them that the only option they now have is to pull up every tile in the house and replace it.

At this point in the game, I’m tired of being nice. I’m tired of being patient and agreeable. Now it’s time to get mean and demanding because being nice and agreeable obviously doesn't work with these people.

Basically, I’ve run out of middle fingers! Who has an extra middle finger (or two) I can use?

~ 36 Rules of Life

The 36 Rules of Life

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. Don’t worry about what people think, they don’t do it very often.

3. Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car.

4. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

5. If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you’ve never tried before.

6. My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.

7. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.

8. A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.

9. For every action, there is an equal and opposite government program.

10. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.

11. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.

12. A conscience is what hurts when all of your other parts feel so good.

13. Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.

1 4. Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.

15. No man has ever been shot while doing the dishes.

16. A balanced diet is a muffin in each hand.

17. Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.

18. Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.

19. Junk is something you’ve kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.

20. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.

21. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.

22. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.

23. Thou shalt not weigh more than thy refrigerator.

24. Someone who thinks logically provides nice contrast to the real world.

25. It ain’t the jeans that make your butt look fat.

26. If you had to identify in one word the reason why the human race has not achieved it’s full potential, that word would be ‘meetings’.

27. There is a very fine line between ‘hobby’ and ‘mental illness.’

28. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

29. You should not confuse your career with your life.

30. Nobody cares if you can’t dancewell. Just get up and dance.

31. Never lick a steak knife.

32. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.

33. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

34. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she’s pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

35. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that deep down inside we ALL believe we are good drivers.

36. Your friends love you anyway.

~ 'Tis The Season

'Tis The Season . . .

. . . and no, not the “Ho Ho Ho or Deck The Halls” kind, either.

The ‘season’ is when all the snowbirds flock back to the valley year after year, bringing with them bumper to bumper traffic, congestion, busy restaurants, crowded stores and full parking lots.

While this is all well and good for the valley and the economy, this time of year tends to drive the locals batshit crazy. And guess what? I’m a local now. Wow! I never thought I’d say that!!

As a local, I’m used to driving down the 111 and zipping right through all the green lights. Not now. Now, I sit through at least two red lights before I get to actually go through the intersection. That’s because the snowbird in front of me is driving at a high rate of speed of 20 mph, keeping at least three car lengths between him and the car in front of him. *sighs* This must be how they drive in Canada, eh?

I’ve gotten used to finding a parking spot under a tree or right up close. Not now. Now I drive around and around looking for any parking space I can find. A smart local takes the first one she comes to because she won’t find another one anytime soon.

I’ve gotten used to going to the grocery store, Target or Costco and being able to zip right through, get what I want and go. Not now. Now I get stuck with my cart behind a snowbird who is obviously out for a Sunday afternoon stroll. At Costno, no less. And when they shop, they shop in groups and fan out clear across the aisle, prohibiting you from even slipping by and passing them. *sighs* Again, must be a Canadian thing, eh?

I’ve gotten used to being able to be a ‘walk-in’ when I need a pedi and getting the same girl every time. Not now. Now I have to call and make an appointment in advance because if I just walk in, all the chairs are full...of snowbirds. A girl just can’t get a break. *sighs*

Maybe I’ll just spend the season on my couch with a good book, a big spoon, a jar of peanut butter and an even bigger jar of Nutella while waiting for my favorite snowbird to get back to the valley.

Oh hell, skip the Nutella . . . . where’s my cocktail??

~ A B C's of Me

Remember when you were younger and you would sometimes go through the alphabet and with each letter, you’d pick a word to describe yourself? Okay, so I’m a nerd and this is what I did....lol. It’s sometimes hard to do but I think I’ve covered each letter and have picked a word or two that pretty much describes me and who I am.

What words would describe you??

My ABC's ~

A ~ Alive & Affectionate

B ~ sees Beauty all around her, Bodacious, Beach lover, Book lover

C ~ the Coolest aunt ever, Coffee addict

D ~ Determined, Ditzy

E ~ Erotic & Empathetic

F ~ Fragile yet Feisty

G ~ Gentle & Giving, tending to be a little on the Gabby side,

H ~ Hopeful & at times, a little Hot-headed

I ~ Intriguing, Intense, Impatient

J ~ non-Judgemental & on my own Journey

K ~ Kind & Klutzy

L ~ Loving, loves to Laugh, a Lioness when protecting her cubs, Loner

M ~ Magical & Mischievous, Music lover, Mentor

N ~ Naughty yet Nice, Nerd

O ~ Observant & Organized

P ~ Passionate & Playful

Q ~ Quiet, at times can be quite Quarrelsome

R ~ Romantic & Reflective

S ~ Scared, sometimes Scatterbrained, Sassy

T ~ Temperamental,Tolerant of others

U ~ Understanding, sometimes Unconcerned about what others think, will always fight for the Underdog

V ~ Vivacious Virgo

W ~ Warm, a Warrior when it comes to her family

X ~ eXciting & eXtraordinary

Y ~ Young at heart

Z ~ full of Zest

~ Happy Monday!

Have a great Monday!!

(I know that you guys are now silently singing to yourselves . . . "I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt . . . ")

~ Tugging At My Heartstrings

Not too long ago, Lynsay and I were on the phone and during our conversation, she said to me, “Mom, sometimes I feel like I have 9 kids!” I had to laugh at that and then I reminded her of how her own dance team coach must have felt at one time.

It was an odd feeling on Saturday afternoon watching Lynsay in a totally different role. She went from the dancer who competes to the coach who not only makes her girls tow the line, but encourages them to reach for the stars . My role, however, pretty much stayed the same. I was still the mom, cheering her on from the sidelines. My stomach had the same butterflies, my eyes still got teary when I watched her and my heart was still full of unspeakable pride.

There’s a sense of awe mixed with an overwhelming feeling of love that rises to the surface when you watch your children go through the various stages of their lives. One morning they’re toddlers standing at your feet in their footie pajamas, their little arms outstretched wanting you to pick them up. The next afternoon they’ve graduated from high school and are now going through college, getting full-time jobs and experiencing life while at the same time, somehow managing to have the time of their lives. And just like when they were toddlers, anything they do or say still has the ability to tug at your heartstrings.

You know, not very long ago, someone told KJ that where our children were concerned, moving to California was the absolute worst thing we could ever do. The hurt that I saw on his face when he repeated that to me had that protective instinct kicking in and I wanted to rip that someone a new one.

This past weekend, when I looked at my children, this is what I saw....a son who graduated from college with a degree in Construction Management. He has a full-time job making more money than KJ and I put together when we were his age. He has his own aparment, pays his own bills, has a great group of friends, is pretty well-rounded and is having the time of his life.

I saw my daughter who has not one, but two majors and a minor. After graduation, she’ll go on to grad school to obtain a degree in International Business. She has a part-time job and is also the dance coach at a high school. Her time is spread thin but she also, is pretty well-rounded and still manages to have fun. I saw two kids who laughed and had fun and not once did they indicate that me moving away was in any way detrimental to them.

Don’t get me wrong; my kids aren’t perfect. They’re kids and I’m sure, like most kids, they’ve done things that I don’t know about. But when someone has the balls to make a statement like that, knowing what my kids have accomplished, I tend to get a little pissy.

This weekend I watched my daughter encourage nine teenage girls before they took to the mats to compete in their very first competition. Six teams and her girls took 2nd place.

See what I mean? Awe, pride and love all rolled together tugging at my heartstrings.

~ To The Moon & Back

There is no sound that is sweeter to my ears than that of my children’s laughter. No sight that I’d rather see than the smiles that literally light up their faces. Last night I had both and as you can probably guess, I was happier than an elf on Christmas Eve.

The abundance of joy that I get from being around my kids never ceases to amaze me. Their infectious laughter, watching their eyes light up as they share the details of their latest adventure or even just hearing about their day-to-day lives has the abilitly to make me feel as if I’m not always 2000 miles away. Listening to them banter back and forth with each other reminds me of the days when they were both much younger and bickering about one thing or another.

I watch them when they interact with each other and it’s plain to see the closeness they had when they were small has only become more pronounced as they’ve gotten older. Lyns is sometimes Ryan’s ‘I’m too tanked to drive home’ ride and Ryan is sometimes Lynsay’s ‘My heart is broken, I need my brother’s shoulder’. They don’t just love each other, they like each other and they like being around each other. The jokes, the laughter, the ‘Don’t tell mom’ secrets that I know they have, makes all those sleepless nights from when they were babies more than worth it. Knowing that they have each other and that they’re always ‘there’ for each other eases my mind when I think about how far away I am.

I know that there are a lot of things that I’m not. I’m not always a good friend, a good wife, a good sister or a good daughter. I’m stubborn, hard-headed and can get a little pissy when things don’t go my way. I’m impatient and am sometimes prone to being a bit of a potty mouth.

However, at the end of the day, I do know this . . . I can look at my kids and know that I’m not just a good mom, I’m a damn good mom. And if you don't believe me, just ask them. Ryan will grin and say, "Wellllll....." and Lynsay will laugh and say, "Yep but she made me say that."

Besides, who else besides a mom loves their kids to the moon and back?

~ Nutella Brownies

I have 2 jars of Nutella in my pantry. One is full and yet to be opened. The other one has a few more spoonfuls left and will probably be empty by the end of the day. After my blog the other day, I was on the hunt for recipes using Nutella. I believe I've found the perfect combination with these brownies ~ Nutella & Peanut Butter. I haven't made them yet because we're leaving Tuesday morning to go home to see the kids. If I don't make them for the kids, I'll be making them when I get home.

Nutella & Peanut Butter Brownies

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoons vanilla essence

2 eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

4 tbsp peanut butter (creamy or chunky)

4 tbsp Nutella

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease 8x8 inch pan (or line w/ parchment paper).

Melt butter then stir in sugar.

Beat in eggs one at a time.

Stir in all of the remaining dry ingredients.

Heat Nutella and peanut butter in microwave until runny ~ stir into brownie mix.

Pour into pan and bake for about 25 min until top forms a crust.