Friday Fill Ins

1. Birthdays are ______.

MESSY

2. ____ is my favorite season because ______.

SUMMER, I DON"T HAVE TO WORK

3. I feel my best when _________.

I am exercising and don't overeat

4. ______ is my favorite food!

PIZZA

5. First impressions are _______.

are not always correct

6. The best piece of advice I ever received was ___________.

If you were perfect you wouldn't be here

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to _____, tomorrow my plans include _____ and Sunday, I want to _____!

the family invasion (Michael's family is coming for a week, we will have 12 people in the house,

picking up the family,

just hang out

Keeping the Past in the Present

Michael and I took a weekend get-a-way this past weekend (an early anniversary celebration). We went to the spa, and then we had dinner a TWIN PALMS.

This is a very unique restaurant since it is half outdoors and half indoors.

Why? because of the Twin Palms that were an icon is Old Town Pasadena. It seemed even the prior owners (a gas station) did not cut down these Twin Palms when they had it. Instead they kept them as part of the gas station. So when Kevin Costner decided to start a restaurant at this location the Twin Palms had to stay.

So the solution? Build the restaurant around the Palms- hense the reason there is a big tent over half the restaurant, with the palms popping out of it. It is a very fun & unique restaurant to go to and the food is very good, and not too pricey.

Trying Old Things

Once when we were hiking up a hill, an older couple (probably had 20 years on us) blew right past us (mainly me-since if it was up to Michael we would of been walking faster). After they were way ahead of us I said to Michael- I want to be like them when we are there age.



Michael laughed and said what makes you think you 'll be like that when your not that way now?



It is true as we get older we are less likely to get better in the sporting realm. But it is important not to lose at least what we once had.



So Sunday when we were swimming, I went off the high dive, something I hadn't done in ages. After I climbed all the way up there- it seemed pretty high. Now when I was a kid, I had no fear of the high dive and would do flips, and back dives off it. But I haven't been off the real high dive in over 25 years. So as I stood at the edge of it, gather my confindence, I thought I need to continue to challenge my self as I did when I was younger. So deep breathe and kerplop. Not one of my more graceful entries- but I did it!




(picture of the high dive the one on the left, although I had fun jumping off the one on the right too)


I know some of you think well she has over 1000 skydives, what is a high dive? But I haven't jumped in over 5 years and their is a different set of nerves to overcome.



Michael seeing my courage decided he too would do the high dive- this was his first time, seeing that he really only learned how to swim about 6 years ago- I was very proud of him :)



So today I am advising people to remember to do something old- something you used to love to do, but as an adult it has escaped you. :)



Have a good weekend

The Huck Finn's in my life

Ever since I have met him, Michael has had a way of getting people to do things for him, especially family members. Luckily I am on to him an rarely fall into his sneaky ways. Take for example one Thanksgiving when he got my nephew and niece to wash his car for him. And not only wash the car but shining the tires!

What made me think of that story is that I have spent the last couple days painting our bathroom. Now it is a very small bathroom so I thought no problem I can do it by myself.

However we had some mold, so I had to get the bleach out, and spray down the bathroom, then patch all the cracks, sand, then prime, and the window had sun damage so I had to strip the paint off it, so three days later I am ready to paint- so today I finally got two coats of paint on the cieling- and tomorrow the walls.

Well as the excitement of painting (or preparing to paint) has long gone, I thought, why was I so excited in the first place?

Well my dad (the wood shop teacher) was always doing projects around the house and making them look so easy and fun- especially the painting. However to be able to paint the fun stuff we first had to prove our selves. First we were allowed to paint the dog shed, then we got to paint the bottom stucco of the house--- so I guess when we decided to paint the bathroom - I'd must of channeled my younger days that I was tricked into thinking painting is fun- and being able to paint inside was a true prize.

Happy Fathers Day!!

So to all those fathers out there who read my blog (I think that would be you Thomas, and maybe my dad, if my mom makes him read my blog today) HAPPY FATHER's DAY!!

To the rest of you, hope you are remembering your Father fondly today.


The above is a picture of my dad and me in March 2001, just showing another example of how he supported me in all my endeavors (he went for an observer ride and watched me jump out of a plane)

Photo Hunt: Emotions

Well my nephew Ian would not be a great poker player, since in pictures his emotions are written on his face- I think this is one of my all time favorite pictures of him, as he first sees the fire truck in the Fourth of July parade in 2006.

Friday's Feast

I am using the Carribean picture of Friday's Feast since I started my summer vacation today, and I am in a very relaxed mood :)


Appetizer:
Do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist?

optimist





Soup
What is your favorite color of ink to write with?

Blue

Salad
How often do you get a manicure or pedicure? Do you do them yourself or go to a salon and pay for them?

I don't get them enough, since I am very hard on my hands and feet, I go barefoot most of the time (sometimes even at work) -- and I pay for them. I would say I get them everyother month, only because it cuts into my facial $

Main Course
Have you ever won anything online? If so, what was it?

No, but I usually don't enter anything because it leads to getting lots of spam

Dessert
In which room in your house do you keep your home computer?

I have a laptop so it is kept in the kitchen, Michael has a a non-lap top computer in his office- we both use each others- just depends on our mood.

Happy Friday!!!!

Coming Home

Well it is June, and with only 3 days left of school before summer vacation, I am finally catching my breath after a whirl wind of a year.

It is funny that when I was contemplating my return message there in Hallmark magazine in her Editor's note Lisa Benenson wrote about Heading for Home. She talked about how when she heads back home to visit her folks it is the seeing the circular red barn (home to Kentucky Derby Champ -Spokane) that makes her feel she is home.

Even after 10 years of living in California, and about 8 years after my parents sold the house I grew up in I still feel home to me is Newark, Delaware. No Special landmark makes it feel like home, just probably the memories. (the picture of the house I grew up in right before my parents sold it)

However in California, the mountains are what welcome me home everyday- it is funny how they can look different each day, and I have grown to appreciate their beauty. Unfortunately our mountains burned just a while back - but I guess soon there will be new life on them to continuing welcoming me home each day. (Picture of the fire in the mountains-taken from my kitch window)





So starting to blog again, is like coming home to old friends, I am looking forward to catching up with all the blogs I have missed.