Monthly Archives: October 2015

Happy Halloween 2015

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We enjoyed another holiday shared with good friends, great food and lots of fun decorations and costumes.

I loved seeing the kids come to the door dressed up and excited, anticipating what kind of candy they would get.  I showed some kids  a bowl with broccoli and carrots and asked them if they wanted that or  some candy. They picked the right choice and their parents giggled along with me.

The kids are big now and invited their friends over for a dinner party before they all went off on their own.  I enjoyed the transition this year. I also loved my friends being here and helping me cook and set up and serve everyone! It was a great night.

Hope you had fun with your family and friends and trick-or-treaters in your neighborhood.

Happy Halloween 2015.

Halloween and Homecoming

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It was a very busy day with overlapping events and I am ready to be done. It was a great, full day and I am ready to relax.

Some days are just like that.

How was your day?

I made dinner at 7 am because I knew the day would be full. We got the kids off to school and I got to work so that I could sneak away to the afternoon homecoming parade. I’m so glad my kids got involved with their school spirit.

   
    
   
In the afternoon, we did some shopping and then dropped off one kid to homecoming and the little one and I went to set up for Trunk or Treat.

   
   
And if we weren’t busy enough,  we went to the homecoming football game to enjoy the experience with the kids after we packed up from trunk or treat. This made life fun!!

 

All is well, just ready for bed and to get ready for a big day again tomorrow. It’s Halloween and we change the clocks on Sunday, so we’ll enjoy that extra hour of sleep then.  

Have a good weekend!

Plays Like A Girl

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If all girls played like this, the world would be a better place!

THIS happened tonight.

The coach of one team got a red card at the beginning of the last game of the Polo season. The girls were devasted and still wanted to play their last game. While they waited for the officials to figure out what to do next, they decided to join together in the pool while they waited.

This made me so happy. They just wanted to play and have fun. They decided to have a short scrimmage and the coach for the other team acted as the ref so that the girls could have their last moment in the pool. 

The coach from the other team was filled with grace. She is a true leader and role model. And all the girls and fans benefited from her leadership tonight.

Look at us SHINE together!

Girls rising strong.

I love it!

Women vs. Men and Getting Ready

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Do you ever think about how much time you spend getting ready for the day or if you’re a girl, how much time guys spend getting ready compared to you?

I mean how much time do you spend picking out your clothes and shoes and accessories? And how much time do you spend shaving your legs, washing and conditioning your hair, putting on makeup and styling your hair? Probably a lot longer than men do. Men have a time advantage that women choose to give up to be “pretty.”

I tend to not care either way, but I definitely notice a difference in the way I feel and how others see me when I choose to invest time in myself. This is a conundrum to me.

I am perfectly content to go out with no makeup, hair up in a pony tail and work out clothes on. I’m happy to go out with makeup and curly, wild hair. I feel prettiest when I take the time to blow out my hair and straighten it and when I put on makeup and cute clothes and shoes. However, the latter takes me an hour whereas the not caring might take me 15 minutes. 5 out of 7 days I probably choose the quickest way out the door, little makeup and wet hair in a pony tail/bun twist. However, when I do take the time to take care of me, I do feel better, which makes me wonder. Is it worth it?

Today I took the time to get ready and felt really happy about that. Maybe that’s what people saw, or maybe they saw that I took time for myself and was happy on the inside and it shined on the outside. Or maybe I looked more put together than usual.  Who knows? i know that I liked the way it felt to have done the work to look “shined up” and I know that I don’t like the amount of time I spent getting to that state.

What are your thoughts? Do you take the time to get ready every day? Or do you skip a shower, go out with your workout clothes and don’t care?  I’m so curious.  I’m always trying to maximize all the things I can get done in a given day, and blow drying my hair isn’t high on my list. Except for today.

You’re beautiful just the way you are, with makeup or not. Don’t forget. And it’s okay to take time for yourself, if that’s what you wish for yourself.

  
Good night!!

Season of Transition

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October seems to begin the season of transition for us and I wonder if it’s just a coincidence or really true.

10 years ago today, Jeff’s mom passed away suddenly and shockingly at a young age.

3 years ago Dean and Lulu and Leo passed away, all tragically.

1 year ago Chase died before he could graduate from high school.

This weekend A passed away and it deeply troubled me. I just talked to her last week and was so happy that I took the time to not be in a hurry rushing here and there, and spent time talking to her and her husband as they walked past my house. I told them how much I enjoyed seeing them walk together over the years and that I looked forward to seeing them pass by, even when I didn’t stop to chat.  Now she’s gone and I’m really sad for J and the grief he is experiencing.

It’s a season of transition, in many ways. Water Polo will end this week and we’ll get more time back, at least for a little while. I’m working more hours now and learning how to transition and balance the juggling needs of a busy family, volunteer commitments and personal sanity. Tricia is too! And the holidays are coming, which I love and that also bring me anxiety!!  This year I’m going to focus on presence vs. presents. I told Charlie this when he kept interrupting me today to tell me about his Christmas list. What if we played like REI and took not only Black Friday off but the entire holiday madness off?  Bravo, REI – I’m liking your choice to put your money in alignment with your values.

There are also happy transitions this month like celebrating wedding anniversaries and birthdays, so some of this month’s transitions are good!  I like to focus on the positive, despite the bad, so I’ll end with this thought.

Wishing you love and peace through whatever transitions you’re experiencing and blessings to all the families transitioning through heartbreaking loss.

xoxo

You Can Change Your Mind

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I used to really dislike cats. I never wanted to be near them and always complained. I thought they were gross and smelly and irritating and they made me sneeze and made my eyes water and generally made me feel horrible.  If one came near me, I would move, which usually meant they would follow me. I think cats have a 6th sense.
My husband had cats when I first met him and I wondered how long they would last. I almost considered not dating him because of his feline friends and my extreme dislike for their presence.  When they passed away from old age, I never wished for cats again.

Flash forward ten years.

  
Look at me know. This cat loves me and wants affection all the time. As soon as I sit for a minute, he shows up. I actually enjoy his company and this surprises me. He loves to sit right on my chest and rub all over my chin and face, giving me kisses.  I allow this behavior and smile.

Who knew that a cat hater could become a cat lover?  This is very odd to me and makes me wonder what other things in my mind might change over time. I wonder if we should get a dog?

How have you changed your mind dramatically? 
Hmmm….

Are You Interesting?

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You were very interesting when you were born. We all were. We all had people interested in our coming to life and celebrated us. We were very interesting, probably for a very long time. But over the years, some of us become boring. Why is that? Are you boring or are you interesting and what makes you interesting? Hmm… I’m always interested in learning about other people and their interesting interests, even when I don’t share them. I find passionate people very interesting.

What are you passionate about? Are you afraid to share your interests? I think fear gets in the way for some people and they hide away instead of connecting and celebrating and living out loud.

Seth Godin just posed this question here -> Seth’s blog and he made me think of the most interesting person I know, who fascinates me.

This would be my husband. He is one of the most interesting people in the world to me and I love hearing his stories and being a part of his life.

Like right now, he’s making a slab of bacon on the smoker, which has been smoking for 6 hours. The smell of the apple wood chips burning in the smoker is drifting into my kitchen while I write. I’m smelling the sweet smells and hearing the hum of the smoker’s convection fan. He promised his friends at work that one day he’d bring them some home made bacon, but he didn’t tell them when he would bring it in. I bet they are going to be surprised this week.

  
I bought a pork belly at Costco last week, and it has been sitting in our refrigerator, rubbed in spices and curing, as he turned the slab from side to side every day, awaiting today’s smoking.  After it smokes, he will slice it and share it and fry it in a pan.  I can’t wait. I know his friends are anxiously waiting too for the day to arrive with bacon in hand. Who doesn’t love bacon?

  
And this is only one interesting fact about the man I married. He chooses to show up and to share his gifts and talents EVERY day. He is funny and kind, hard working and loving and I love how much others love him too. He sincerely cares about people and is always making this world a better place. I’m so happy he was born and that he chose to share his life with us. He is VERY interesting.

I could go on and on, but I’ll save that for another day.

What makes you interesting? Go out and SHINE!

Who is interesting to you? Share. Connect. Think about it. This is a fun one!

I hope you have a FaBuLoUs and iNteResTing week.

nAMaste BeLoveRs

xoxoxox

Go Stanford!      

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My favorite part of going to Stanford football games is the pre-party, tailgating with family and friends. It feels like we’re speed-camping without the sleepover part. I love watching the kids play in a safe environment outside near by the adults.  I love setting up tables with an abundance of food and sharing a communal table.

  
 

  
Being in the stadium is exciting too, watching all the action, cheering with friends, and just hanging out together, especially when Stanford wins.

   

Life is good. 

The Greatest Gift Is Love

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I am the luckiest girl in the world. 

My mama and pops came to see me again. I think we should make this an annual tradition.

They came for no special reason and just because they love me and because I was home sick and was having parent withdrawals! 

We shared a glass of wine before dinner and just chatted and caught up with our busy lives. I kept sitting on my mama and hugging her, and rubbing my toes on her feet, kissing her and soaking all of her in. 

I made a big pot of Thai yellow curry, jasmine rice and pickled cucumbers for dinner and served pumpkin pie and ice cream for dessert.  After dinner, we watched some baseball and snuggled on the couch. I am so thankful they are here with me to just sit and be.

These are my favorite days.

Life is good.

  

Swirling

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Swirling. 

Isn’t that a fun word?  

It has a great ring to it and is fun to say out loud.

I love to swirl through crowds and to swirl my hair. I love swirling around my kitchen and through my house.  I love it when Jeff comes up and quickly surprises me and swirls me around. Some days there is so much stuff in my head that it gets all swirled together and I feel like my head is spinning.  But in a good sort of way.  

Tonight I was at Juliana’s evening water polo game and captured this fun, swirling image after their exciting win:

  
What’s swirling around in your head this week?  I hope you enjoy the spin and wherever it takes you.

nAMaste