Merry Christmas 2009

http://hubpages.com/hub/Merry-Christmas-2009

My Christmas Story to you all   I hope you enjoy it.

Merry Christmas

Vicki

Christmas Village

There is no real snow in Phoenix. But snow lives in my heart. So I have my winter snow Christmas Village all over my house. I sometimes think it drops a good 10 degrees just walking past these little houses covered in snow with all the children and parents working together to get those snowmen carefully draped in their colorful woolen scarves. 

The children ice skating in the park and sledding on the snowbanks starts to cause me to become energetic and suddenly I am craving hot cocoa.

Sipping my cocoa ,I think about the simpler times and think that life for them must have been so nice and calm and just lovely.  To be able to see the lawns and  trees covered in snow in your neighborhood. To hear the carolers as they stroll from house to house spreading good cheer to all they encounter.

 So yes,  once a year I bring out my little village with the cozy villagers and let them enjoy 30 days out of their packages and out of the heat of the Phoenix closet.  I let these little happy people ice skate in their little pond inside my house and sled in my living room.

And me? I just live vicariously through them.

Christmas has come to 31st Ave.  I have all my exterior lights up and I think it looks charming. So I made some pictures and thought I would share them with you.

This is how I wanted to end my Thanksgiving weekend. All Decked for the holiday fa la la la la la la

Time to put up the Christmas decorations.  I have the 3 trees for the front lawn and my Christmas village ready to go out.  I will send up some pictures when everything is done. I hope to get it taken care of tomorrow, I would like for the weekend to show some amount of productivity.

Today I was car less and for the first time in months I thought about going out. Isn't that the way it always works? When I have the car sitting in the driveway I am reluctant to step outside. When the car is parked 27 miles away all day I get road trip happy.


Question of the day!!!!
When someone calls on the phone and asks to speak to you by name how do you respond?
This is she
It it I
or  do you have one I have not considered.
Just so you know I say "this is she".

Thanksgiving meaning

Thanksgiving is here.  What does that mean to me? Well it means that I grew up with the best thanksgivings ever known to man.  Grandparents that loved unconditionally and were willing to take on anything or anyone that life handed them. Not just take it on, but take it on with grace and the most wonderful spirit I have still to this day never seen matched in another human.
A family that when they came together greeted each other with genuine love and affection. Uncles and Aunts Cousins and Great Grandmothers alike.
 Family that truly were thankful to be there at the cozy small house in Fairview. Thankful for one day of normalcy and beauty and happiness.  That is what I strive for every year for my family now. Sometimes we get so close that it becomes a reflection of my childhood family Thanksgivings and nothing is nicer than knowing we got that close to perfection. It saddens me only when I realize that some of my children never got to see the original ultimate Thanksgiving. But I am not sad for long because I have a turkey to bake and a ham to cook and pies to get into the oven. Yes  I have one more year to make it the ultimate thanksgiving for my family, and so I need not dawdle. That is what Thanksgiving means to me.   Thankful for all these years of thanksgiving memories and my family to share them with.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sending Happy Thanksgiving wishes early.

As Thanksgiving gets close I just wanted to say how thankful I am for my family and my friends. For the little kindnesses you show and the huge things you do for me. For the large kindnesses you show and for the little  things you do as well.  Mainly I am thankful to have you all in my life.


Sometimes it seems that we have nothing to be thankful for, but that isn't the case and I wanted to say to you all. Happy Thanksgiving and I for one am thankful for you all.

It is cold here.  I mean 47 degree cold.  The firpit is lovely because it is warm and it is beautiful, but some times it is too chilly to go out and build a fire. Thank goodness for Kenn. He is willing to get a fire going anytime he steps outside. the cats and dogs love the cold. They get all bushy  and go prancing all over the back yard. The one cat is a little run away, she can even open the sliding glass door with her toe nails. She just scratches until it gives up and slides right open. Then the chase is on.  People and dogs racing along the back yard trying to cut her off. Her ears laid back like she is a horse in the Preakness galloping close to the ground and determined to win.
 So we have to be very careful with the doors here, or we are out trying to stop the steeplechase with our bare hands.

Lexi and Jessica head to Birmingham this morning. they are going to be there for 8 days. If you get a chance to see her you will not believe how much she has grown. Very hard to believe she is nine years old now.

Angie is getting close to delivering Miss Sarah Katherine and I know she is ready. I was going to go visit when the baby was born so that I could watch the boys for her, but it looks like I am not able to do that this time. So I will plan all of this as soon as possible,  But just know I will pass along pictures of the little bundle of joy as soon as she arrives.

Stay warm.  I know I  will be trying.

Enjoy some Christmas Music if you wish

Thank you blog

Writing this month has been such a refreshing time for me. I have written my entire life. I have novel after novel started and placed in my box of writings. I never had the nerve to attempt to show my work before. I appreciate everyone that has tolerated my putting these blogs out and allowing me to express myself this way.

Writing was my great love in grade and high school. I wrote my first play in the 3rd grade and I made my first comic book character in the 9th grade.  I have placed small characters on  paper since I could write.

No one knows how or why I lost my confidence when I was a teenager and no one ever will, but now at this age I have found enough to press on and present my own work out for people to see.  You that get the update on these writings are my most trusted friend and family and I do not intend to bore or brag only to share.
Thank you for allowing me to share these little simple writings with you.

I am back to writing and I hope you find the courage to do the one thing you love and do not make time for and make time for it.
I am almost 40,000 words into my book and I am so excited to finally have this story out. It has cleared up a lot of brain space for me
:)
Thank you all again dear family and friends, you have made all the difference in my life.

Christmas Blog

There is a fellow Mahalo writer that has started a Christmas blog. Check it out and see what you think. She is one of the best writers on Mahalo so I am sure it will be an amazing page. When I went over and looked at it she had some good ideas about how to have an economical Christmas.

FishVille has released on Facebook

November 6,2009 Zynga released FishVille   Their newest game on Facebook.  It was only 1 month after applying for the Trademark.

On November 9,2009 Zynga pulled FishVille due to a third party disagreement. It comes from the pay to play accusations that came to light this week.

It seems that Zynga wasn't letting people know that in order to get the offers you had to sign up for a monthly contract with the vendor. I believe this will start a moving away form the Doubleding and Offerpay companies that are on every application in order to get them more income.
So when you play these games on Facebook remember to read very carefully anything that provides you with an incentive.  Some of them come with monthly contracts and some come with offers that will cost you money through your cell phone.
Be careful with your facebook apps.

A Thanksgiving contest like no other

There is an amazing contest out at http://jaypeeonline.net/
Jaypee Habaradas of JaypeeOnline.net is giving away $1.500 worth of prizes that ranges from cash, to premium WordPress themes and web hosting.  It is an amazing prize package and totally worth checking out and taking the time to register.  What a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving, and as he said in the blog "Thanksgiving is the time to give thanks and express gratitude"  I am thankful someone was able to put an idea  like this together at a time when people are looking for a reason to be thankful. 


 This contest is sponsored by :
1. StudioPress
2. Pro Theme Design
3. Press75
4. WP Zoom
5. WP Now
6. Elegant Themes
7. WP WebHost
8. Jehzeel Laurente 

The Prizes are as follows:
1st Prize
Pro Plus All-Theme Package from StudioPress ($199.95)
Single Theme License from Pro Theme Design ($79)
Single Theme License from Press75 ($75)
Single Theme License from WP Zoom ($49)
1 Year Theme Club Membership from Elegant Themes ($19.95)
1 Year Hosting w/ Free Domain from DreamHost courtesy of Jehzeel Laurente
$50 Cash via PayPal from Jehzeel Laurente

2nd Prize
Single Theme License from Pro Theme Design ($79)
Single Theme License from Press75 ($75)
Single Theme Package from StudioPress ($59.95)
Single Theme License from WP Zoom ($49)
1 Year Freedom Plan Hosting from WP Web Host ($80)
$25 Cash via PayPal from JaypeeOnline

3rd Prize
Single Theme License from Pro Theme Design ($79)
Single Theme Package from StudioPress ($59.95)
Single Theme License from WP Zoom ($49)
Single Theme Licenses from WP Now ($29)
1 Year Freedom Plan Hosting from WP Web Host ($80)
$10 Cash via PayPal from JaypeeOnline

He is even offering Consolation Prizes
Single Theme Package from StudioPress ($59.95)
Single Theme Licenses from WP Now ($29)

If you sign up and are from the Philippines he will be rewarding 5 lucky people with a tee shirt.

Check out his site @  http://jaypeeonline.net/contests/thanksgiving-giveaway/ and register for the contest. It is a great prize package. 

NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month is here and I am 18000 words into my novel.http://www.nanowrimo.org/  The path has been fun so far, confusing yes of course, but fun and exciting. The first time I started writing I was not sure what the people in my story wanted to do. It seemed as if they wanted to just relax and not steer me in any logical  direction.

Finally one by one the characters started leading me into their private lives and their intentnios and after a bumpy start I was able to get a nice section started. Then lo and behold in walked a new character. I had not been warned that we were going to have such an awesome character drop in and make some changes and bring it all closer to my mind that I have basically 15 days to write until I get to my 50,000 words. Can I do it?  I think I can I think I can and with that I think I need to get back to writing. I have to get to 25000 words before the 15th. Don't worry I know I can do 25000. It is the other 25k I am a bit worried about.
So keep me in your thoughts and I will keep listening to the little quiet voices of the characters in my book and any unknown characters that have not show themselves to me.

This month is zooming past and I am trying to get as much written as possible so that I can do my final word count before the 30th of November.  this way if there is a discrepancy in the count I can address it.

Saturday was a good day

A very happy Birthday for me today. I received so many birthday wishes cards ( one from my work signed by all my co-workers) and letters (Ray) . It made me feel so loved and supported. I also was given a very wonderful gift from Gerry. I know you will all know how I feel about this gift. He gave me a fire pit. So  I have been out toasting my toes.  It is still hard to wear shoes when it is in this desert. So my toes were a bit nippy.

I did not pick up the logs.  Silly me.  So we burned some limbs I had cut from my shrubs last week that were all nicely dried and ready to be burned. Had a beautiful fire for about 40 minutes and that was just enough to christen the fireplace.

Next time you are in Phoenix come on over and get warm with my outdoor fireplace. I think you will love it as much as I do.

After I warmed my toes I came back in to write on my quest of 50 thousand words by November 30th and today I hit 10,516 and I still have a few more thoughts about my story. The writer of Ella Enchanted gave us our pep talk for the weekend and she is a very clever writer.

Lexi is here tonight and I can already see such an improvement in her teeth. She is really being responsible about the brushing of them and I am proud of her.

Today I wrote a page on Feng Shui and it was accepted on Mahalo and so if you have ever had any interest in  Feng Shui then I hope you will check it out. It turned out quite nicely I think.

I wish I cold have been in Birmingham for the service for Steve. I would have loved to be there to let the family know I love them all and am keeping them in my thoughts and prayers.

I will tell you all about my garden ( one hint is I bought some vegetable seeds today) tomorrow.

Vote here

Baby hit the buffet

Tonight was Raevyndaun's first visit to a buffet and she has it down cold.  She will take some of the bananas and some fish please. A little Chicken if you don't mind. Please hold the cantaloupe it is a bit yucky to her taste.

I will be remembering Julie in my thoughts and prayers, her Aunt has been given only a few months to live and that is so hard to accept and face.

I saw Darrell's tattoo and it is amazing. The pictures did not do it justice at all.  the blocks look like they are going to pop off the skin.

today it was cloudy and 90 degrees. But the sky was just beautiful. This is when I wish I had a swimming pool for fall days and summer weather. Would be fun to just hop in for Thanksgiving.

I talked with Angie today and she is having a lot of trouble sleeping due to the baby sitting on those leg nerves making rest very hard. At least the baby isn't knoicking the leg out from under her like Jacob liked to do. spealing of Jacob I wanted to share his picture on Halloween when he was Chuckie.  Nathan was Darth Vader and he looked awesome and also had a groovy light saber.  Sometimes it seems that the light saber is enough of a costume. Angie said she believes that was the purpose of the whole outfit lol.
I hope the day is good to everyone. It was an adventure for me. I actually got out of the car and took the baby up to my work and sat on a bench until Gerry came out then we all left. But I did see some of my co-workers.

Being a Grandmother

Being a Grandmother

Desert drabness can be changed one plant at a time

If you live as I do in the desert, then you have come to accept the little pebbles that they call the desert landscaping. Sometimes it is too dreary for words. Sometimes it makes you lose your sense of style and originality, or maybe that is just the Home owners association.  Sometimes it is just painful to run catch a fleeing cat before she leaves your yard.

So perhaps you remember that a month ago I decided that this year I would have a garden. I would not try to incorporate the plants form the East as I have tried and failed so many times before. No, this time would be the building of a winter friendly, summer surviving garden.

November has arrived and the flowers are surviving except where the pups are dining on the leaves and on one of the portulaca.  But no weather damage and they have survived thus far the strange dip in the temperature we encountered last week. It was into the 40's in the night and back only into the 60's during the day.

The next venture into the garden is adding in a pond for the Water element and a fire pit for the Fire element.  I already have the plants growing in Earth and my wind chimes celebrating the wind. This will give me all the elements that I have been looking to have in my garden area.

I truly believe this will be good for the feng shui chi of the family to have all four represented.

Countdown to the Hallowedding

2 Days from the hallowedding. Casey is a basket case from the last minute details, decisions and concerns.  She has little projects going on all over and she spent the day trying to get them all completed.   She has done an amazing job in less than 1 month.  Even with unexpected purchases she is still working on getting all the details like she wants.  I am really anxious to see the cake.  To know this lady has worked so hard to make this amazing gift for Casey and Kenn.  Just amazing. I will post pictures of the cake and the ceremony and the reception. I can not wait to show everyone her beautiful ceremony she has planned.

Sue Springer is going to officiate and this is her second wedding. She will do some of the original ring blessings and declaration and benediction. I know she is a bit nervous, but just know she will do fine. She is a little scared knowing that Channel 10 is now planning on coming and if possible doing a live remote during the wedding. I say possible because the Arizona Scream Park  arranged the media and they said that the reporter wanted to do a live remote so if it happens we will have that to save as well. What a fun time  we are expecting to have. Between the Ceremony and the reception Kenn and Casey have pilled out all the creative stops. No one knows what to expect and so I think...  everyone will be pleasantly surprised.
So if you haven't decided if you are coming or not, feel welcome to drop on over into Scottsdale and celebrate with us, or head over to my house for the reception. there is plenty of  Jello shots and cake for everyone.

Mama Kate, my grandmother always had copies of Arizona Highways on her coffee table and in her magazine racks.  It was one of those magazines that you never tossed out.  It was the magazine I could look through time and again.  The one thing that always stood out to  me was the Reds. The reds of the dirt, the red of the Grand Canyon and the reds of the sunsets. The towering white clouds edged in red, contrasting with the turquoise sky between.  Now I realize they took the pictures of those tall massive clouds because they were rare.

In my mind that was Arizona.  The Indian School on Indian School road. This was the place that my grandparents supported with financial donations all while I was growing up and we would receive little Indian dolls. This was the gift my grandmother received for her devotion to the little school that helped the Indian children learn English, math and science. As an adult I have learned that they were not all happy to be here, but my grandparents helped out of the goodness of their hearts and the faith in the beliefs of the times.
Again in my mind that was Arizona.

Today all that came flooding back when I saw a woman that had gotten out of her car on the side of the road and was taking pictures of the sky. The towering clouds with the little touches of turquoise between.  Oh did I mention the reds.  Because each white cloud had just the faintest hint of red and in my mind, I had just sat down on the floor with my back up against the cold marble coffee table with the Arizona Highways Magazine.

  Other than wishing I too could pull over on Indian School Road as that woman had, and watch the sunset melt into the ribbon of red that it would soon become  I realized I am living my own copy of Mama Kate's Arizona Highways Magazine.

Goodbye my friend

Steve I heard of your passing today. I was sad but I also was touched that you had reached out to me after all this time and we had one awesome day together. Chatting about the old days laughing and recalling things that were so important and so minute.  But it was a wonderful visit. A day full of hugs and laughter and happy thoughts about those that we shared a bond with all those years ago.  The neighbors that liked us and we had no clue why.  The people we talked about that had not been brought to mind in so long.  Silly times and fun times.  The fact that we were friends that went to the sweetheart banquet at your church because we both wanted to go.  The Performances in the basement of your church.  We talked for about 9 hours straight and it is 9 hours I will never forget.
I will share some of the things Steve told me.  He said that Nellie was the best mother and she was a beautiful person that had always accepted him with no hesitancy.  He loved her for that.  He loved Martha, Ruth and Libby and thought they were awesome sisters to have. He said he had no bad memories of them and  that when he thinks of them he always thinks of them happy and smiling. His family meant so much to him. He is proud of David and Terri and He told me about Eddie and Ken and had only nice things to say about each.
He was so proud of his dad. He said in a time when people would struggle with just a few kids his dad had provided very nicely for 8 children and his father was an amazing man. He told me he had made some mistakes but that the family always was there for him. 
I wanted to share in case anyone ever thinks people do not discuss their true feelings, they do. and Steve I will never forget you and I am so so thankful God gave us 1 day to forge a new memory that is helping me and hopefully others through this time.
You will be missed Steve.  I still look out the window every time I hear a motorcycle hoping it was you dropping in for a visit. My regret is at my missing your phone call when we could have had another day to make memories with our pups.
I am glad you greeted me with those hugs and kind words and that wonderful visit.
Farewell Steve. I will miss you!

Today is the birthday party for Bella. She is turning 1 tomorrow.  She is one of the most adorable babies out there. Reyes has been stressing over this party and I know it will be a blast. Raevyndaun woke up this morning ready to go to the party.  Cody spent the night Friday night but when he found out his mama was buying him the toy Bakugan he decided to head home.

Tyler got the phone and talked to me on it and he was so giggly He was running all over the place while he was chattering to me.  He is so adorable and he is finally wanting to hug and get kisses.  I have some little clothes for him and I can't wait to see him in them.  He is totally in his terrible 2's now but he is a cutie and not too bad at all.

I am working on a review for Smart E Bear. This cuddly bear can speak in 3 languages, English, Spanish and Chinese.  He learns the childs name and then sings to them.  It is similar to Teddy Ruxben from the 80's  but there is no hard batterypack all of his information is downloaded into a small packet of electronics and no matter how much you snuggle with these guys you can not feel the pack.
You download games songs and books and then the bear plays with the child. The music isn't electronic it is actually well known artists that have contracted with the Kids Preferred LLC. 
There is also a cat and a dog as well as the bear.
Yesterday I had 4 pages accepted. That was the most I have had accepted in one day.  I came in 9th place on a contest on Mahalo last week and that was from submitting 40 pages this month.  Between the swag and the prize money I have really been enjoying Mahalo. Getting positive feedback from people that have work I really respect is a nice feeling.  I know I talk about Mahalo alot but I find it such a positive release for me. A way to write and learn and grow and even get paid some.  How can I not be going on and on about it.
Angie and Kathy both reminded me not to be pulled in by the media frenzy on the H1N1.  I will resist getting the shot or worse the nasal spray vaccination.

Angie passed on some really good advice about the flu:
Wash hands often and stay clear of germ filled areas.
Then she reminded me not everyone that gets the flu is going to not survive it.  thank you both Angie and Kathy.

H1N1 Vaccinate or not to vaccinate

The news is over flowing with H1N1 news adn I am not sure what to do.  Do we all go and get the vaccination? The lines are full already this morning of people waiting for their shots.  They expect to run out before the day is over. What a scary time. But how bad is this?
According to the Washington Post,"the campaign aims to vaccinate at least half the country’s population within a few months, something never done before.
The first of the vaccines will begin arriving in October, after testing on human subjects as young as six months old to determine the drug’s safety.

they have arrived.  Desert Schools Federal Credit Union gave out free employee shots yesterday. This morning that is the top story.  
According to World Health Organization’s (WHO) global statistics, 2,185 people have died from the H1N1 virus, while another 209,438 are confirmed to have caught it, as of Aug. 23.

What this also means is that 207,253 people recovered from the virus—a recovery rate of 99 percent. Bear in mind that all of these recoveries were before an official vaccine for the H1N1 virus was released. The common, seasonal flu kills between 250,000 and 500,000 people each year, globally, while causing severe illness in between 3 million and 5 million people, according to the WHO. 
When the first cases broke out there were daily swine flu counts of the number of people world wide.  I believe that has caused a very real panic over something that is not as hazardous as the name first implied.  


As of today I have not had a vaccination and tomorrow.. who knows.  I will watch a little more news and see what they think is happening world wide and chose after that.

Friday slow and easy

I have a dress to wear to the wedding. YAY Thanks to Casey I have a dress.  It is beautiful and I love it.  I wouldn't have ever thought I could wear something like this but I love it.  I will have a picture in it.  Just to show how much I appreciate it.

they went tonight with Cody and when they came back they had Cody his outfit ( well most of it) and me a dress. What a wonderful family I have.

I am worried about Ellis he had a possible Basil Carcinoma on his arm removed. I am happy he had it removed, but not sure how someone his age could have one of those on his arm. I suppose it is because he is so fair and out in the sun all his life.

Casey is a little stressed and freaking out a tad since it is only 1 week before the wedding and she has plenty left to do.  But it is all coming together. I know she is nervous.  Cody is here tonight and he gets to go home with about 10 new shirts for school.  and for weekends since they wear uniforms 4 days a week.

Gerry got his flu shot today and so he is a little blah tonight . He is even a little feverish.

Wednesday and writing and wedding all W's

A long day. A full day. A day of wedding arrangements going on around me. Hair being planned and decorations being chosen and food being discussed.

The wedding is on Halloween and so that has certain implications on the decorations and the foods.  The cake is already being arranged so that is out of the loop and nothing for them to worry and stress about.

Lexi had her dental appointment and she has braces now.  they are pink and  she seems happy to have them ( as much as anyone can be happy to have them). One less life drama to face as a teenager. Braces on a teen are not a good thing.

My phone has changed and most of my numbers were not saved,so if I have not spoken to you in the last 3 weeks then I no longer have a current phone number so you can call me or write me and give me the number.

The poems are my way of building courage to wrote so I appreciate the chance to post them here.  I am working very hard on my confidence, so feel free to tell me when I stick a comma or other error in my writings.

Chrsitmas list

I can hear those sleigh bells ringing and all I want for christmas is an Apple Airport Express because when we have those gamers over here knocking out a few levels in WoW I want us all to be able to access the internet together on the patio. Now what would make that happen? An air bridge.
Merry Christmas!!!

The Pilgrimage

Warm sunshine falls gently to the ground

Rays warming the skin as It begins to brown

Sand and salt make the ground glisten

Waves send a message to those that listen.


Crashing waves cover the thoughts of the day

The slight undertow causes me to gently sway.

Unburdened from the daily world's weight

A moment to myself a moment of quiet.


A smile spreads across recently clinched lips

Memories flood of forgotten childhood trips.

Sinking into the sand, as if in a world all alone

peace, serenity, a sigh ah at last I am home.


Pulled to the present I feel a slight touch

I focus on the child that I love so much.

His newfound joy of this wonderful view

Impatient to try, taste and see everything new.


They seems so simple the lessons of childhood

Like the wonder and buoyancy of driftwood.

I watch him explore all the textures of the land

Shells are gathered, examined and placed in the sand.


The waves gently push and not so gentle pull

The sounds of the ocean trapped in this shell.

The memories are being formed and stored

Soon forgotten or perhaps just ignored.


The memories of this day will one day appear

Amazingly fresh and surprisingly clear.

Then suddenly there is this mysterious need

To find a special place to escape with great speed.


The need to escape returns every generation

This pilgrimage known as "the Family Vacation".

The Haunting

Boo… I plan on haunting you.

Boo… This warning is overdue.

Boo… Maybe I don’t mean you.

Boo… Then if not you, then who?

Boo… I mean it, I am going to haunt you.

Boo… I only say it because it is true.

Boo… Perhaps you think I can't mean you.

Boo… But if not you… Then who?

Boo…

Stepping out

This is the first evening of me trying a different approach to this Blog. I have been a little newsy I have tried to keep it positive and not too boring. I am going to continue to update my life here but I am also attempting to write some fiction. I am not sure I will put it on here until I am relatively happy with the product. If I find this too stressful then I write where no one can see. I have entered a competition and I will see how it goes.

It is going to be something I have never done before and there is no loosing. It is a learning experience.

So I hope you all will wish me luck as I learn and grow over the month of November. I used to write so much more than I do now and so this is like a step back into my youth. When I had the courage to write a little comic book and actually show it around my school. Or the poems I wrote and share with those that know me best. Maybe you even remember the audition for the Alabama School of Fine Arts. A very exciting time for me to go back into my youth. We shall see.

Lexi spa day

Today we had a spa day for Lexi, we curled her hair trying different looks so that she could see how beautiful she is. She took a few portfolio shots with her hair all up and curled. I also have a little movie of her reading to Raevyndaun.



I forgot her medicine so Kenn had to run out and get it over there. I was hoping to meet half way, these little fast paced runs from one place or another are hard on me. My memory is shoddy at best.

I am working on a Britney Spears page on Mahalo about how she is preparing for the release of her new collection album. The song 3 is a bit much but it sounds good. I love finding pages that I can work on and enjoy.

oh great I learned a new trick. I am learning to upload videos to you tube! Now all these little movies have a home! This is my test to see if the uploading and linking works.


thanks for sharing my experiments :) This way I can add some of the wedding video's after the ceremony.

Phoenix Zoowalk 2009

If I were Fred Rogers I would totally be singing it is a wonderful day in the neighborhood.

Today. We walked our 3 miles at the zoo and saw some awesome animals. Bella and Raevyndaun met and seemed to approve of each other. Our team name "Walking for Kids" showed up on the t-shirt for the Zoo walk

Lexi got her very own shirt as did Casey and Gerry and I.

Took Raevyndaun and had her ears pierced. She looks so cute..

Gerry got his ears pierced today too. I was way shocked by that. He got a really nice looking set of titanium balls. He almost went with a cartilage piercing but decided against it for his first piercing. now I expect him to be getting a tattoo.

Today continued when I checked the mail and I had 2 packages. One from Cheryl Anne, and it was a copy of her book. "Home Planet A Life in Four Seasons" It is awesome. I love it!! I love the dedication too. Beautiful sentiment.

The second package was from my beloved Mahalo. I had won what they call swag a week ago and I got the box today. I got a hat and coffee cup a beach towel and a Mahalo Tote. Plus a cover for my iTouch. an awesome day It was like the most surprised filled day ever. It was so awesome I even took my picture with some of the swag lol.

Now I am off to write some more on Mahalo.

Walking for Autism in the morning

Tomorrow morning at 6:15 we meet at the stadium in Tempe and shuttle over to the Phoenix Zoo for the walk. WE are walking to raise money for the Autism Foundation. Our team name is Walking for Kids and we have only raised 190.00 of the 1000.00 we pledged.

The baby is so excited she can't sleep.(I feel sure that is the reason she is still awake} Lexi is here for the zoo walk so she is sleeping. she has been so awesome today all happy and helpful and sweet, They found the perfect dress fro the wedding and she looks amazing in it. I can not wait to see how the wedding pictures turn out. Casey has gotten everyone's things together frothe walk so that we can just leave in the morning since it will be so early.

We went to the store and got some more items for the wedding. This is going to be the most unusual and amazing wedding. Thank you Angie for starting this off. what a great idea you had.

I have been in the back room with Kenn Casey and Raevyndaun. Seems tonight Raevyndaun decided that she would learn to pull herself up and walk along her dad holding onto his jeans. A totally mobile baby. I believe she isn't sleeping too well because she is chattering up a storm and is keeping herself awake. She has the cutest voice. I will make a video and add it this weekend. Everyone deserves to see her in action. Yes! The camera will be with us tomorrow at the walk.

Lexi has really been good on this visit and I think she is looking forward to the zoo trip tomorrow. She has been interacting with the baby and the animals so much this time. I can not believe she is already 9 years old. She is a great little girl.

I suppose I should try to sleep a little before the walk tomorrow.
If you want to check out the Mahalo writing then skip over to my MahaloVic blog

Thursday

This morning angie and Sarah Katherine met with the doctor and it seems she is going to have the birthday of December 1,2009.
Our first December grandchild. I hope hope hope I can make enough money to go out there and see the new baby and Jacob and Nathan too
Angie sounds happy and healthy and just a joy to talk to first thing in the morning. I need some Angie joy at my house for aobut a month, or 2 or 6.

Working on some breathing exercises and I think I finally have a notion of the breath in tummy goes out thing. I never learned to sing from my diaphram only my throat. This might even help that as well. Oh yeah I can see me as an opera singer afer all this practice with the tummy breathing.

So it seems the lungs are balloons and when you sleep you breath perfectly and correctly. When you breath with your shoulders you are not involving the lungs at all. I was even told, "your shoulders do not fill anything up with air" :) I like my breathing coach. He can make me laugh sometimes.
He is a good idea man. Milasia and Elyssa have their clothes for the wedding. WHEW.. Cody an outfit Tyler a cute little outfit and Lexi her bridesmaid dress. Looking for the perfect dress for Raevyndaun too. This is hard shopping this much. Poor Casey is having to shop...
Took Jessica out Monday and we got the outfits for the middle girls and I really think they are beautiful.
The Wedding invitations for Casey and Kenn went out, so if you did not get one, let me know. I will be happy to send one to you.
We did Email ones so they oculd get all the way across country in 1 minute. Since it is so far. I was hoping we could do a nice one like we did for Angie, but this was in such a short time frame. Seemed impossible.
The cake has been ordered and I will include pictures on the wedding blog. If it looks as she drew and designed it will be spectacular.

Kenn's brother is flying in from Michigan for the wedding. This was a bit of a surprise for Kenn but it really seemed to make him happy.

Sorry about some spam getting on my facebook page, I was clicking on things and turned on some spammer accidently and I wanted to say I am sorry about any annoyance.

Jessica said Lexi is willing to spend the night. She has been reluctant to stay all night anywhere in quite a few weeks. So I am very happy to say she is choosing to come here with me :). I can not wait to see her in the wedding. She will be so happy I know. She was smiling so much when Casey asked her to be in the wedding party. Now I have to run to an appointment.
Will blog later and keep you up to date.

Weekend

This weekend was a little more pressure than I needed but I made it through. A late sleepless night and an early start to help Casey put out the items for the yard sale. Casey chose the best weekend for this, because it is perfectly beautiful here today.

Gerry came in today at 12:40 but his plane landed at 12:20 and since I was still en route I was a bit nervous about being late to pick him up.

Tomorrow is the pups spa day, Rabies shots and the whole works. I am hoping to make enough on the yard sale to buy the items I need to work on my yard and garden. I can not even call it a lawn. It is not attractive as it is,but that is what I am here for. I am going to be the lawn whisperer.
I will have to resist being the lawn mumbler. I am sleepy so I am going to try to get me some sleep. I hope to sleep past the 4 houre

Wednesday night

Gerry is still in Oakland. It is quiet without him here. I think he will be happy with some of the changes we have made here this week. I miss him,
We are having a much needed (too much junk) yard sale Friday and Saturday. this way what is gone when he gets home he will not be remember ever owning it.

I would live to be able to hypnotize people to my way of thinking. We are 1 week end away from the Autism walk.

I was accepted on the Street Team on Mahalo it is a wee little paying position and when I say wee I mean tiny. the fact is I feel good about being chosen. There are published authors on this site just cranking out information Casey and I are. So it is a bit humbling.


for the first time ever I used a straightener on my hair and it was amazing. it totally made my hair feel good and healthy and shine. I think I will take the time to do it each morning and see how long that lasts. lol tomorrow I will probably be able to confess that I did not have time in the morning.

Filhinha and Irie are such little buddies. both female cats they share every chair in the house. not sure if it is love or jealousy that allows them to stay in the same chair for hours on end.
But they do and they bathe each other lol it is quite cute.

Raevyndaun is sitting up from a laying position now and she is quite quite good at it. She loves to be independent I noticed.

Jacob wrote me on Facebook Monday and he was so cute. he is like ok...I have to go I will call you later lol what a doll he is. Nathan came on and chatted a very few minutes with Casey and I as I cooked and he was maybe not happy that my attention was all over the place.

well I am goning to leave you with the most amazing little video clip of the most amazing little movie ever.. and I mean EVAH :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3W5GDkgf2w
enjoy the clip :)

3:17 and still awake

No dreaming no nodding off no rest of any kind, All day I ran from one place to another and still not sure what I need to do. I can not sleep and that is very stressful to me. Never to relax. Never to unwind. blech... this is a good for nothing, horrible very bad no good night. Thanks to Alexander I have that phrase to call my own.

Between appointments and errands today I made a few Mahalo pages and I am quite happy with them. I think I am getting the hang of them now and I still love it. Even when my fingers are lazy and want to type fake words... I think my fingers make typo's to catch me unaware and see if I always proofread. I sometimes think that proofreading gets forgotten by me. I realize Oh no.. I did not write that did i? Then I cringe and go on to the next exciting proofreading episode of The Isle of misspelled words.

The pups have their spa day Sunday and I think they will be bathed before that happens. I believe they need a bath.. In a pretty big way :)

I have been getting amazing pictures from Rio this week from Luis and oh it is a beautiful city. It does nothing to dissuade me from wanting to go there and be an English teacher. Imagine a while city learning to speak southern. At the 2016 Olympics they will be standing there torch in hand saying "y'all come back now ya heah"

The English teacher idea came from an ad online that said they are coming to my area to train English teachers to send to Brazil. Well well ... what an idea. But really. I have been seeing some beautiful pictures and I do think Brazil is such a spectacularly beautiful country. But I love America. It is my home and my heart.

My latest page that I am pretty proud of on Mahalo is all about Desert Gardening. I hope it is a success and people are interested in that subject. I admit I am all over the place with this topic choosing but every page I have done, I have a great love for the topic.
I also get to learn more and more about each subject.

Well I am going to try to sleep the next 2.5 hours until time to get up. I am not sure if I am able to relax enough to even close my eyes, but I think it is time for me to try. Otherwise I will be forced to crank out another page or 2 or 3 oh dear.... :)
Enjoy your night and we will go and do it all over again tomorrow.

Saturday

Good morning to a beautiful cool Saturday morning. It was about 60 this morning and considering a few days back it was 80 this time of the day it is Nice!

We walked down to a yard sale to see if they had anything irresistible. Found a shirt for Kenn. So when I got back Gerry was in the car with both pups. He was going to grab some breakfast and taking them with him. So I was invited and went with him .

Going to go get Milasia today to spend the night. Still working on wedding plans and still working on wedding details. We are trying to blend Halloween and wedding and so far there have been some realy nice ideas springing up.

Invitations today and then timing relaxes some.
Decided not to do the firepit until after the wedding. So no one gets burned.

Gerry just was notified that his grandmother passed away. :( I am very sorry to hear this. He has been trying to contact her for a while and wasn't able to get through to her. He is sad and I am sad for him.

So I am about to head out to work in the yard. I am loving the plants and the improvements. Pictures will be added soon.
Home improvement here I come.

Friday :)

Happy Friday! I guess sunce I only worked 1/2 day this week I shouldn't be celebrating, but I am . It is 4 am and I am awake and thinking about plans for building my fire pit this weekend. I know I need the river rock. I have the cement. My question at this time is.. do I put in a metal liner? Not sure if I put in a liner will it heat up and cause problems. I am going over to a how to site to see what I can find. I have found the one I want to build. It is an east DIY plan.
Casey got her invitations today for the wedding. She has to send them out tomorrow. Just dawned on me I am not sure I have everyone's correct address.

I found the dress I am going to wear at the wedding. This reminds me of helping Angie get her wedding together. It is fun and it is a bunch of work. But the end result is totally worth it.


Reyes and Darrell are in Disneyland this week. I am jealous. I have got to start working more. I am making us broke I think. Oh well... I will be back to work soon enough I think. At least the Doctor is realizing what is going on,

Tonight I got a How To page accepted on Mahalo. That was a nice bonus. I know everyone is tired of hearing how awesome Mahalo is. But it is.
Enjoy this Friday :)

Sunday

Last night Gerry came out to have dinner with all of us and then we all went out back for smores. It was fun and I had forgotten how lovely smores can be. A nice reward for being so good about our new diet change.
Today we found the perfect wedding dress for Casey. It absolutely fit like it was made for her. It was exactly what she had described. It called out to her and it was amazing to see it on her. That is one huge step we have taken.
Took Elissa home and visited with Jessica and the kids for a while. They are really making the house look amazing. You can see how much work they have done in this short time just to get it presentable. The red walls are now painted a toupe and it opened the house so much. It makes it look so beautiful. This house was built in 1921 and it has that old Phoenix look to it that is unmistakable. Flat roof, sand colored brick exterior, hard wood floor and huge airy rooms. I will take the camera next time and show it off. I think if they keep it up it will be invited to be a showcase in the historic district.
The children are settled and seem to love having their own spaces. I had hoped to see Ellis today but we spent too much time at the store looking at dresses and uniforms for the kids to wear to school. I was happy to find one pair for Elissa, Milasia and Cody. I still have to find something for Lexi. She is growing like a weed.
Now we are looking at tiera's for Casey's veil and invitations. It is alot of work for one day but Happily we have the minister and the dress these are 2 huge milestones.
Raevyndaun is trying to push up into a sitting position now. She twists her little bum when she is on her knees and will probably be sitting up in a few more days. It sounds like she says hi when you see her for the first time.
Cheryl is on a train to Vienna right now having just left Budapest. She said Hungary is beautiful and she is having a dream of a time. I hope she and Bruce and Jenna have a wonderful trip. What an adventure. Maybe next trip I will pull the little sister card and ask to tag along :) Just Maybe...
Beau has been working on his agility training with me. He is now able to jump over a trash can in the back yard, but only if he is on a leash. He is totally in training mode. I believe I told this before, but it is worth mentioning again because he looks so beautiful when he does it. once I have him trained I will pass along pictures of him in the air.
Well I will try to sleep and try to go into work tomorrow. I have missed so much and I feel so guilty about that. This feeling is just hard to handle all day and looking like I have seen a ghost is not acceptable in an office environment. Surely he can get this fixed soon. Surely he can.
Well Monday is looming and I hope it is a good one for everyone. I hope we can all get up and face the day like a trooper. I am going to try, that's for sure.

Elissa spent the night again last night. We are heavy into the planning of Casey's wedding. The Arizona Scream Park media guy wrote her back and he gave her an amazing price on the wedding. Sue Springer is going to perform the marriage forthem. She is a person I work with and Casey and Kenn will have to write their ceremony,vows and all.
So many plans going on in my head and this morning I woke up pretty over whelmed. We are going to look for dresses today.
Last night we made smores over the grill after Kenn Bar-b-qued.My big Mahalo news is that I made my first BIG how to page and it was accepted. It is the "How to Earn Experience points in Farmville".
Here is a little widget of that page.

How to Earn Experience Points on FarmVille

Embed this widget See full results for How to Earn Experience Points on FarmVille

So as you can see I was busy while I am all freaked out at the same time. I can totally get lost in the making of pages. To get paid is even better.
So feel free to go over and click around on the page and see what it is all about.
We are going to look for wedding dresses and so I am off.
thank you to Diane and everyone that sent ideas for the reception. You are all awesome. Keep sending the ideas. We need them!!

Friday was a rough one. but it is over.

Today was not a fun Friday in many respects but I will not dwell on that. I have spent the afternoon adding rocks to my garden to keep the water from washing away the soil. Shows how much I know about the desert, as little rain as we get, should it even be an issue?
I only know that when I had plants and flowers in the same bed before, they washed away on the first rain. So these rocks might be saving a portulaca's life. Elissa is here spending the night. Lexi was supposed to come but when Kenn arrived to pick her up she had changed her mind. WHEW she usually changes it at about midnight and then I have to make a run to her house. I wasn't up to it today.
I have been working on Mahalo Pages this evening, when the Internet wasn't down. Darn Cox Cable was being rude tonight. ok... poor Cox Cable.. it was the pups they ate through the cord.so Darn Pups...
But on the good side of the pups. I taught Beau to jump over things. He is beautiful when he leaps over the little basket and it is awesome. He will jump over and back and over and back as long as he is on a leash. he equates the leash with being in training. When he is off leash he thinks he is on his own time. Arrow only nips his heels when he does his tricks. When she realizes he gets alot of attention, she will start doing it too.

Casey got a phone call from her dad and he said An (angie) and els ( Ellis) and Ca ( Casey) she was so thrilled because that was the first time he had said more than Mama in over a year. She felt sad at the same time as happy. It is always a sad thing to know how he is now. She loves him of course and it is just sad.

So Ellis' shift started at 4:30 and he had to have his homework online and turned in by 11:31 pm so he sent it over here and I filled in his answers for him. How sad is it that I never learned enough math to understand what I was putting in. Maybe I should go back to school as well. How embarrassing would it be if I had to do remedial math lol.

Cheryl is in Europe. This made me want to get my passport even more. So now I am not going to procrastinate any longer. I am going to have a passport. I figure setting goals one step at a time is the only way I will get anything done. Casey and I had a long talk about that today. How if you don't do things one at a time you will end up over whelmed,and that is the last thing I need right now. So we are trying to get more organized and get our house, life and head more into the Fung Shue mode.

all good news :)

Casey is plannning her wedding. I am so excited for her because she is so thrilled. It will be a little untraditional as you would expect. She and Kenn are a pretty unconventional family.
Gerry is going to be involved in the wedding and I am so touched to know she asked him and he accepted to at her wedding. For them to get along means alot to me. So last night was pretty happy and emotional at the same time.
I earned over $200.00 with my Mahalo page creating and I am so excited. I can go as far as I want with them and make as much as I want. So this is becoming a dream come true for me.

Today Raevyndaun came to my work and she was perfectly awesome. She was happy and interested in everyone and everything. She is going to want to work in an office. I can tell already. She looked beautiful and smelled so good. Nothing smells better than a baby. She was creeping all over the table in the cafeteria. She was determined to get Gerry's hands. Her 2 teeth need something to be used on them at all times.

I went to sleep sleepy and I woke up sleepy. How strange a feeling that was. I have not felt sleepy in months. Not sure if this is a good or a bad thing. Just a different thing. Well that passed fast enough. I am wide awake now. I got a beautiful yet very sad letter from Julie, expressing her pain.

Julie is grieving for her cat Aspen. She woke up to find he had passed during the night. She and Timber and Sydney are all feeling out of sorts and sad for this little friend they loved so much. He was given an egyptian style burial and I am sure he was appreciative of that. I really liked Aspen alot!

Milasia has taught herself to read and now there is no stopping her. She loves homework and writing and reading, She is way too smart for having just started Kindergarten one month ago.

The outdoor space is coming together and calling me to be outside with Casey and Kenn. Picking up some rock to fill in the space in the garden where the rain falls off the roof. Yes on occasion we do have rain. Now to decide what type of tree I want. I do not want a massive tree only a small type tree. Like an oraange or a fig. the orange can get sun damage and the Fig brings birds. I think I would rather have trees with birds than trees with sunburns. Another step is finding the outdoor fireplace for winter.

If I had a boat like Luis has, then I would be always outside. but since I do not I will add water features and a fireplace to my oasis. Think about it the water feature the plants and the little Cessna's flying overhead and a nice crackling fire and marshmallows for the kids. Ahhhh this is a good place to be right now.

Work Work work work

Monday is not too bad today. Decent workload and since I had such a busy hectic physical weekend, it is a bit boring.
Lucky for me I have my pictures of my garden to keep me company. Casey woke up all enthused about how it looks and made a few Mahalo pages to celebrate.  Thanks Casey for all the hard work you did. 

Gerry is going to call the HOA today and see if we have permission to paint our trim. You have to get permission orr they fine you. How strange is that.  Ding you for making the house look nicer. Weird. I hope so it needs a freshening up, a little sprucing up as it were. I want to go with a color that will accent the beige stucco and not make it look too uniform. So I am thinking about a nice Sage green.  If I have to go with a blue shade then I am nnot sure what to do. Blue is a bit 80's & 90's isn't it?  So I am going to start checking out houses.  If you see me outside your house, fear not I am just checking out your paint colors.

Filhinha escaped into the yard yesterday a few times, but she never left the enclosed back yard. So that was a comfort.   Not sure if you have seen the mahalo blag I do, but you are welcome to go visit it and see the websites I have been making and since I am actually being paid some for them it is a total bonus. Here is the link to the blog http://mahalovic.blogspot.com/  and if you want to visit the pages, please let me know how you like them.  I would love your feedback. I am going to make it the best day I can. To help that along here is a picture from my albums.

Planting and wanted to update.   I just got back with 2 red tip photinia shrubs and 2 massive plantings of Portulaca and 1 container of my much missed Liriope Silver Dragon ( looks like monkey grass). While I was at Ellis' I got 2 cuttings from some cactus and now I am researching how to best plant them and have them survuve and thrive.
So once I cool down I am going to go finish planting them and then I will hopefully get a nice picture.  I am so ready to move outside for the next 2 seasons. I have more on my wish list but for only an $11.00 investment I am well on my way.

Went to Ellis' house and wow the changes he has made already.  He has gotten the Living room and Dining room painted a very nice sandy taupe. This painting job made those wall open right up.  I am not sure what color drapes she wants to get  but maybe she can find some nice colorful ones that will really pop in that room. His room is a nice blue and it looks so wonderful.  The entire house needed painting and they have done an excellent job on it.
Cody spent the night. I think he only comes over to play World of Warcraft. He is obsessed with making new characters more than actually playing.

Work is creeping up on me.. I am hoping for a great and calm week. If it can't be calm let it be entertaining.

Sunday

Diane is loving her retirement and wrote and funny that Kat and Diane both asked how much medicine I was talking.. LOL  Good thing I am not sensitive about it. 

I am still waiting on a picture of Angie while she is expecting.  Today we are moving some furniture around the house and I am feeling confident this will make the Living room feel larger.  

Actually found a solar skylight (DIY kit) for $169.00 instead of the $300.00 they said on Television. It is amazing that an 8 or 12 inch tube would let in such light. I will take a picture of my living room before I install it and after so I have it documented.  I am still very excited about the prospect.  

After watching the Wind Turbine DIY video and reading the instructions, Elllis thinks he will be able to help me with the wiring so that we can at least run the laptop while outside. Also run the pond pump.  The pond will be different from the 6x14x10 pond I dug in 1996. This pond will be totally above ground with rock surrounding. One step at a time.  

Solar tube 1st. 

Well back to the back yard to  help Casey. She has been working back there so hard and it is really satrting to take form.  We will be planting salad greens so that we can garnish our salads with them. Casey makes one mean chef salad.  They are simply  yummy :) 

Arrrghhhh me hearties!

A blasted good day to ye.  Well shiver me Timbers I woke to a red dawn which means we must take warning.  Avast batten the Hatches and pull her aft.

Whew  that was harder than it looked..  argh me parrot be wantin to speak with ya. "squawk"  "squawk" "avast me maties" 

There she spoke now I can finish  wishing you all a happy "Speak Like a Pirates Day" so that we never lose this tradition.

3D ultrasound day!!

Today we get to see Sarah Katherine even though she isn't even born. Today is 3D ultrasound day. So as soon as Angie gets back she will post the pictures so that we can see that cute little face.
Now how would I know it is cute? Have you seen her other to handsome ( grandmama's can't call big boys beautiful even though in my head I do) Sons? Eyes faces and noses all beautiful. I can't wait to see.

I have been talking about Kenn and to those that do not know him this is Casey's soon to be husband. Might be a Halloween wedding :) but dont' tell her I said anything in case it is a secret :).  He has been so amazing to help me with so many projects and he gave me my Tattoo.  He is going to help me go Green!! They are living with me for  a bit while they get a little ahead. I love it because I love being around them and having a baby at the house is awesome.
Casey helps me so much and that has been so important to me lately. I have been a bit lonely and so having a little happy family makes the days and nights so much brighter for me.

Thankfully we are at the weekend. I am so ready. My ability to stay focused has been amazing today and so I am all caught up with my work and then some.  So Come on Weekend!!
Today I brought my I-pod with me to work and so I have been less restless listening to music.  So it does calm the savage beast.

Tomorrow is Talk like a Pirate day. I will be gathering up phrases and terms so that I do this World wide Holiday justice. Just warning you there should be a bounty of Pirate speak if I blog tomorrow.
I am off to research :)  If you have a blog invite me I would love to read it.

little news from my ankle

Last night I got my first Tattoo. I love it. It is beautiful. It is a vine that wraps around my ankle with 3 heart charms dangling from it with Ellis', Angie's and Casesy's Birthstones.  The procedure was .... ummmm  different and a bit painful but not so painful that I forgot about wanting a tattoo toe ring.  All the Jewelry none of the allergies :)

At work no one has had anything but positive things to say about Kenn's talent.  He has talent and now everyone can see that!

I have pictures on facebook of the tattoo. As it goes all the way around my ankle it is impossible to show it all in it's entirety on one picture.  So let me know what you think. I will send pictures up here when I am home.

Back to work today

I found an attic Fan I am going to get. It is $199.00 on Ebay and one mail order place has it for 179.00(  the link http://cgi.ebay.com/Master-Flow-GAF-Solar-Powered-Gable-Attic-Fan-BNIB_W0QQitemZ110434370827QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item19b666c50b&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14)  so you can see it and maybe you know if it is any good. I would appreciate any help so that I do it right.
It will be my first step into a greener home.   It is great having Kenn around becasue he is willing to help me out with my green installations. I know Ellis will be coming over to help me too. It is good to have willing people to help me when I get ideas.

Angie is going to send a picture of her expecting this baby. I can't wait. I love her so much and think she is so so pretty.  I am all stoked. 
I have been still working on Mahalo and Ray sent me a note with a clapping audience.  Now that is encouragement!!   In case no one understood Cheryl had added me about my diet which is why I put it in the blog.  I am still very happy with the health part of it and that I am enjoying cooking and dreaming up recipes is a very nice past time for me. 

Reyes is going to town on the Mahalo site too.  She loves it and somehow thinks I am responsible for her addiction. Just look at her coach page when she has added to it.

The Zoo walk has started getting some donations and that is just awesome.  I know I have to wait till payday which is Friday. We have more people joining the actual walk every day.  Debra the Temp that worked with us for almost a year was our first donor and I appreciate her so much for that. Reyes and Darrell and Isabella
Eva Montelongo and her husband Johnny are going to sign up today. Kenn's cousin Dee and her family are walking.  Ellis' 5 kids are going to be walking. Casey and Raevyndaun will be there. We are walking for Autism so how can it not be an awesome thing!!!!!

My new food choices

It is simple. It is all the fruit and vegetables you want and all the fruit each meal.  Chicken fish and lean grilled beef.
 Spagetti is only made with whole wheat pasta and is not a regular thing.
Fresh Apples and celery and carrots. Raisins and nuts for protein and Iron.
Salads for dinner 
Casey makes an amazing Chef salad has been filling with cubed ham Sunflower seeds cheese boiled eggs.  It is very filling and delicious.

a nice broccoli salad made with grated broccoli grated carrots and cauliflower and Celery.  It needs no dressing  in my opinion but Casey uses low fat ranch.
With the salad we had a baked skinless boneless chicken marinated in low cal Italian dressing.
Each meal has taken less than an hour of actual preparation time which makes Casey happy.

We had Cabbage and corned beef 2 nights last week and it was delicious.To make the corned beef and  cabbage we filled with  densely cubed potatoes ,wedged cabbage, half inch carrots celery (or celery seed) at the very end of cooking let it boil about 90 minutes until the cabbage has separated and become tender add 2 cans of corned beef (from Brazil) and serve. No breads are needed as the potatoes provide the density you would want in there.

A tablespoon of low fat peanut butter a day for protein and just because it is so good.
breakfast bowl of eggs and crumbled bacon with fruit on the side.
Mixed fruit plate makes a wonderful breakfast.
Cottage cheese and 2 tablespoons of low fat peanut butter with a can of V-8 makes a great breakfast 

Well here are the basics, I hope you like it and think it is easy enough to try out.