Lavender Asana

Lessons From Daddy

2012-02-11T08:57:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows anything about me knows how much I love, admire, respect and try to be like my daddy. He's amazing!

Well, I have this neighbor, Mark, that has lived up here for 10+ years. Mark and I have had quite a tumultous relationship over the years. Several years ago I was out in the park running with my dogs and encountered Mark with his dogs. One of my dogs attacked his dog (oh crap) and left a wound. Mark went to the veterinarian and had the dog tended to and arrived at my doorstep several days later with the bill. I, of course, quickly wrote him a check and blubbered all over myself with apologies.

Since then when we have crossed paths up here, he is very careful to avoid eye contact and make minimal effort to have any kind of communication with me (even though I choose not to bring my dogs running with me anymore).

A couple years later there was an accident up here on the hill and none of us residents were able to pass by to our homes so we were stuck there. I noticed a woman in a truck behind mine so I got out to chat (knowing damn well she was Mark's wife). I approached her with my usual sunshine smile and said, "Hey, so are you Mark's wife?" She responded with, "Yes, but please don't hold that against me." Oh my gosh!! I freaking LOVE this woman! That's right, girl. Call it just like it is!!

This morning, I slipped out early to head up to the park to go for a long walk (yeah, walk not run because that charming knee of mine is still talking to me and saying that it's not okay to pound away just yet) to clear my head. I was very deep in thought when I was suddenly aware of two dogs running full speed ahead for me. Mark's dogs! I bent down and started petting them and saying, "well, good morning guys!" Mark was quick to arrive after his trusty canines and said, "They like you!" Um, yeah Mark, I'm not that freaking bad!!

I took the opportunity to look Mark in the eye and say, "Good morning, Mark. I'm so glad you are out enjoying your run while the weather is still cooperating."

"Oh is it supposed to rain today?" he asked
"Nah, mid week or so I hear. Today is just cloudy. Well, enjoy your run and have a perfect day!"

He (wait for it. . . . wait for it . . ) smiled and said, "You too, Jody!" Slam and dunk!! Yes, the crazy blond lady with red streaks in her hair (I just got some radical color in yesterday and I'm pretty proud of it) scores one for the team! And the crowd goes wild!

Yep, my Daddy always said, "Smile at everyone you meet and look them in the eye if you can and say 'hi'". And I do!

Open for Business

2012-02-10T06:35:00.000-08:00

I finally did it!! I finally took that ginormous step that I have been avoiding for like freaking forever and got my business license, secured a spot to practice my zoning and have ordered my insurance! Yay yay yay!! Now, let the games begin.

As I have mentioned before (like a lot), I just got certified in back zonology. It's my favorite, I think. Although the feet are the most complete modality of zoning, the back is pretty amazing.

Yesterday I zoned a woman's feet and then her back. She left here saying that she felt like she was floating. Omg that makes my LIFE! Then, I went and zoned Doc (he's my chiropractor that I've been going to for like 12 years or so and we have a phenominal relationship) and he came out saying that he felt lighter. Like a whole boat load of stress had just been lifted off his back.

I'm telling you, this stuff is flipping amazing. I love it, I love putting all of myself into a zone and I love watching my clients change when they leave my chair or table.

So . . . this girl is just gonna put herself out there. I am open for business and I am ready to go!

Hand Talk

2012-02-07T06:45:00.001-08:00

The other day on Facebook, a dear friend of mine posted the following status which I found incredibly hilarious!

"You can tell a lot by a woman from her hands. For instance, if they're placed around your throat, you can bet she's probably slightly upset."

Actually, I/we all communicate a lot with our hands. I have spent years - a lot of years - perfecting the absolute most beautiful "bird". That would be positioning my middle finger in the air at a split seconds notice to signal that what I just perceived via sight, sound, thought, taste, feel or experienced in any other way was not pleasing to me. Sometimes this impulsive knee jerk reaction of mine has gotten me into a wee bit of trouble. Good times!

Actually, funny story about that . . . (sorry Mom). My Mom, who is a very proper British woman and I have NEVER EVER heard her swear outside of the occasional "Damn" (which I think is acceptable speech in England), told me of one time (only one time??) when she was driving and someone royally ticked her off. She said, "I just stuck my middle finger up at him!!" I think I must have almost rolled off my chair laughing so hard at that visual. My mom??? Are you joking??

When I was younger (in my 20's) and used to run every freaking day of my life, I used to get a lot of guys honking at me. Actually I had a running partner and we would flip people off for that. There was one guy in a big silver car that would honk at us every single day at the same exact spot and we flipped him off. I think he must have enjoyed the show. Now, when people honk at me they just want me to get out of their way, lol.

Now that I'm (ahem) more mature (well, my body is anyway - my brain? Not so much), I get to communicate with my hands in a different way. I get to zone peoples feet, face and back and allow energy to be balanced in them. I enjoy zoning so much. The miracles that I have seen happen at the other end of my fingertips is amazing. Just yesterday, I was zoning a client's feet. I felt some sadness and some other disturbances. Since I really enjoy this person so much, we chatted it up while I continued zoning and spending extra time on various areas. When the session was over, we were both blown away at the fact that I had just spent almost TWO HOURS zoning her. She said, "Oh my gosh! We were just lost in some kind of time warp!" It was such a pleasure to see her mood had changed dramatically when the zone was over.

Yep, the hands are amazing! I have learned some wonderful secrets about hands from Katri, my teacher. However, I think I will never give up my favorite mode of communication - the bird.

Patience, Jack Ass, Patience!!!!

2012-02-04T14:03:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine was reciting an experience of late that he had. He said that he was out selling things that he sells (cuz that's what some people do - sell things) and that he was in a position where he was ready to rush off to the next place. Then he felt the scripture from Luke 21:19 come into his head "In your patience possess ye your souls." He then felt impressed to be patient and wait for a certain person to get off the phone (which took like FOREVER!) and he ended up making an incredible sale! Yay!

Okay, then someone told me today on a text message to be patient. Um . . . .

THEN, we are out make-up shopping today - Danielle, Lex, Courtney and I - for Courtney's birthday. I was so lost. I so am NOT into the make-up thing. I chuck on some eyeliner, a bit of mascara and I'm good to go. Always been that way. Can't get into the painting scene. Anyway, while we were in Target getting some brushes or some other crap, I was saying, "Wait, what's that? Where's the _____? How are we going to do the blush or whatever?" Finally, Danielle turned to me and said, "PATIENCE!!!!" Lol.

So . . . is there a message here for me?

I was also talking to my Dad yesterday about a situation and he said this to me: Jody, I think you need to relax and allow things to happen the way they are supposed to. You need to sit with what is and allow what is coming. In other words . . . BE PATIENT!!!

The American Dream

2012-02-03T15:10:00.000-08:00

Warning: This post has the risk of becoming a wee bit heavy. Every once in awhile a girl just has to let go and let it out so here it is.

I had a chat with a good friend yesterday. The conversation opened my mind up to the possibility of what really is and what could or should be. I have since been pondering our conversation a lot.

Today I was in Pleasanton for a dental appointment. Afterward, I came outside and decided to lace up my shoes and go for my walk there since the day was sunny, warm and oh-so-inviting. As I was walking in this town that I used to live in such a seeming lifetime ago, I decided to see how many people I could make a connection with. I tried to make contact with every person that I encountered and only one would let me in.

I like to make eye contact, smile and say G'day (my walking greeting because I think it's funny when people do a double take at me and think I'm from Australia - which I'm SO not). Everyone else that I encountered on the walk avoided me at all costs. They pretended to be preoccupied with their dog or cell phone or whatever. Their shoulders were slumped over like the weight of the world was on board. Their eyes were dead. It made me sad for them. One woman was screaming at her child for messing up her perfectly laid out blanket for a picnic at the park or something.

So, here's the thoughts I came up with. Note: This is MY opinion and MY opinion only.

The American Dream should be less about chasing the almighty dollar and more about quality family life. Embracing those we love the most.

The American Dream should be less about Prozac and other prescription mind altering drugs and more about meditation to achieve that clarity that we all seem to be seeking.

The American Dream should be less about drugs and doctors and hospitals and more about connecting with the earth and taking advantage of the abundance of gifts that our Father in Heaven has provided for our use.

The American Dream should be less about acquiring more and more and more material possessions and more about simplicity and moderation and embracing what "is".

I see so much contrast in my family alone. There was me (ashamed to admit this, actually) who forced Brian to go to BYUI to get a degree. It backfired in the worst way and he was more miserable than if he had stayed here and continued his life of crime (lol). Now he is finally pursuing his passion and he is the happiest, I think, I have EVER seen him.

Right now I'm looking at my life the way it IS. I'm so ready to peel my white knuckles off of all these material possessions of ours and let them go. The only thing gained from wanting and getting the "thing" you want is the need and desire for more want. It's a ridiculous cycle that is actually a crazy addiction.

Thank you, my dear friend, for opening my eyes and helping me to see. I embraced that walk of mine today like I have never done before. I "saw" the people. I "saw" the trees. I "saw" the grass and the flowers and smelled the air (okay, it WAS nasty ass city air but you get the idea) and I heard the different sounds. It was a very spiritual walk and I will forever be grateful for all of it.

Joe Cool

2012-02-03T06:36:00.000-08:00

While I was up in Rexburg with Brandilyn just before I went to Montana, we decided to pop on over to Idaho Falls and see what's what at Target because it is our job to make sure that Target continues to be alive and well. I mean, Target depends on us, right? I swear, the two of us are like little kids in a candy shop when we walk into that dang store. Even though I have the convenience of living close enough to one that I can swoop in there every now and again, it still takes on a whole different meaning when I go with the Princess.

Well, anyway, I realized that I had only packed long sleeved shirts for my trip and that Katri keeps that classroom smokin hot. Dang, I was not going to do well with all this hot flash crap, right? Well, we wandered around and I finally happened upon a shirt that has Snoopy on it and it says . . . you guessed it . . . "Joe Cool" on the front.

I was instantly gravitated to this dog gone (lol, get it?) shirt because I have a quilt that my mom and sisters made me when I got married on January 5, 1980. On one of the corners is the same picture of Snoopy. My sister, Gail, put the words, "Good ol' Junk Food" on the bottom under him. It's funny because I mostly have always been a pretty healthy eater and I was marrying a body builder who was obsessed with how big and muscular and healthy his body could get. (wow, how things change). Anyway, over the years my kids have often looked at that and made a comment here and there about how I "used to be". Little do they know, it was just a joke! Humor!!

Anyway, Brandilyn has since comandeered the quilt because she loves that it reminds her of me. I now have my new Snoopy shirt to remember that wonderful gesture my family did for me when I decided (for whatever reason) that getting married was a good idea.

Walk This Way!

2012-02-02T06:59:00.000-08:00

Aerosmith. Yep, I used to dig on that song when I was younger. I think I still even have it on my ipod. Bad habits die hard, lol. However, as usual, that's now what my post is about (although I dig on all the hard rockers of my generation, don't get me wrong!)

I've been a runner since the beginning of time, I think. I competed in road races all through my 20's and trained at like 15 miles a day. I discovered (wisely) that it was the absolute perfect way to keep my ADHD (who, me?) in check and allow me to enjoy a fine, tight ass at the same time. I ate like a freaking cow and never gained an ounce. Yeah, smokin hot, I tell you!!!

Well, I quit competing when the children that needed to come out of my body started interfering with my good times. After almost bleeding to death after a run that I took a week after I gave birth to Brandilyn, I decided that my running shoes needed to take a bit of break. Well, kinda. I just didn't train as much or as hard. I still ran every day after I got better, though.

I guess somehow I tore my miniscus (don't know if I spelled that correctly but who gives a rip anyway, right?) recently and it hurts like a mofo. So, Doc says to walk. Wtf? I'm SO not a walker. I HATE walking! It sucks!

Well, while I was up in Montana, I got my happy arse out of bed at the butt crack of dawn each morning and walked 3-1/2 miles. It was colder than you can imagine (by California standards) but I did it nonetheless. I even tried to run a few steps and was quickly shut down by the screaming that was coming from that left knee. Damn! So, after the first day or so I discovered something . . . .

Wait for it, wait for it . . . . Miss Sunshine actually "likes" walking. I mean, I can walk uber fast and work up a sweat. I can actually enjoy the scenery (running, I find myself looking down a lot because I've experienced way too many face plants in the dirt from ignored obstacles). My brain kicks into a very beautiful place where I come up with all these fabulous ideas (just like running only I can kind of remember it better when I'm done). So, today I'm lacing up those running shoes of mine again and I'm heading out for my speed walk. Pretty excited!

Talk To Me

2012-02-01T06:31:00.001-08:00

I have renewed my love affair with Sigur Ros. They are an Icelandic group and I can't understand a word they are saying. The music stirs the depths of my soul and I feel ALIVE when I'm listening to their funky rhythm. I can't say enough about it. And . . . what's my deal with people who speak a different language anyway? I mean, these people can be doing Satanic chants (I'm sure they're not) for all I know and everytime the guy opens his mouth to sing a word I'm THERE!!

I'm not too into Asian and Spanish because I hear it ALL the time. There is no novelty there and, actually with Spanish, I'm able to sort of communicate what I want (especially when they are working up here on the compound). Funny story about that, actually. These guys came up to do some work for me and I was trying to ask them a question. Finally, one of the guys who spoke "some" English said to me in a very broken up way "You speak Spanish! This is wonderful!" Um ..... hello? If I spoke fluent Spanish would you be having the need to say that to me in English? Duh???

Well, I already blogged about my fascination with Swedes of late. What's THAT all about? Right? I was chatting with Brian on the phone last night and he was telling me how amazing the Swedes in his apartment are. They go out and hang out with Swedish girls and he's so hung up on their amazing accent and . . . get this . . . he asks them to say stuff in Swedish to him. Sounds like his mom. Crap.

Well, I am happy to announce that I own, I think, EVERY album Sigur Ros has made. I haven't listened to them in awhile because I wander into many different phases of my music likes or dislikes. Right now, today, I can hardly wait to get in my car and just blast my stereo as loud as I dare. Courtney absolutely HATES it because she likes that sugary sweet disgusting pop stuff that drives me batty. I love how she gives me the nastiest looks when I turn on my Deadbeat or Drum Sex or Sigur Ros or Explosions in the Sky. Dang I'm fun!!

Walking on Sunshine!

2012-01-31T13:14:00.000-08:00

My nickname that I've given myself (with the help of others) is "Sunshine." It makes me feel happy. When I say my name is Sunshine, I feel like smiling and living up to the name (and it makes me think people think that I was raised by hippie parents which couldn't be further from the truth, lol).

I went to Back Zoning class in Montana (like I haven't shut up about that class, right?) and when I introduced myself to the group of ladies (and Mowgli) that I hadn't met before, I said, "My name is Sunshine - or Jody - but I like Sunshine." Everybody, except Mowgli, called me Jody for the rest of the week. Mowgli, however, was quick to catch the hint and he referred to me as Sunshine. Go Mowgli!!

Well, today I walked into Peets to snag myself a little drinky poo before heading over to the studio to open it up. I walked up to the guy that takes the order and he says, "the usual, Sunshine?" Damn!! I'm like, "Wow, I feel special!" He said, "Well, with a name like Sunshine how could I EVER forget your order?" So, how's that for making my day? That guy just rocked a five-star all out high five, thumbs up and a pound!

So there it is . . . we are having a sunny day (60 degrees or so), I'm in a pretty spectacular mood and my name is SUNSHINE!!

Bad Company

2012-01-31T07:00:00.000-08:00

Actually, when I was younger this was one of my favorite music groups. Of course, that was when I was all about sex, drugs and rock and roll. However, that isn't what this post is about.

On my last night up in Montana I stayed up late with the girls and we were talking and laughing until all hours of the night (okay, I know I'm an early bird but really I DID stay up till like 12 or something). We were talking about Katri and how amazing she is. We talked about our homes and families and children. We showed each other pictures. We talked about the people that we had met while we were here. It was a really fun time for me. I love to laugh and I laughed so hard with these ladies. It was so good for my soul.

Anyway, I had to get up at 0'dark thirty Sunday morning so that I could drive down to Rexburg to spend some time with the Princess. I did but not before I had my handy dandy Yelp app on my iPhone tell me EXACTLY where the nearest Starbucks was (in a city called Bozeman about 30 miles away). I swooped in there and ordered up my fave with an extra shot. I was now amped up and blasted me some Drum Sex on the iPod. Good times.

Got to Rexburg and I was still pretty peppy. Chilled with the Princess in the store while she worked and then Dave came in and gave her a break so we could snag lunch. We shared a sandwich and came back to the store. As I was sitting behind the counter I felt myself fading. Pretty soon I'm saying, "Um, when do you close?" She informed me it was another hour. Grrr.

We finally walked up the stairs to their apartment and I asked if we could just put on our jams and kick it. Dave said, "Jody! We were planning on going bowling and then out for Mexican food! Sound good?" I think I must have given him the most evil look because he then laughed and said, "Just kidding." Brandilyn and I had pizza (I'm seriously rebelling from all the good food I got up in Montana) and she set about making some lemon blueberry cream cheese cookies (which were amazing, btw). I said, "I'm just gonna lay here and close my eyes for 10 minutes." Next thing I know Brandilyn is dangling a cookie in my face saying, "Mom! Wake up! I made you a cookie!" Wow. I guess I completely dozed off. They were laughing because I had just passed out.

Well, I did end up just passing out for the night uber early because I had to get up at 3:30 to head down to Salt Lake to catch my flight Sunday morning. I'm sorry I didn't have the mojo to go out and party like a rock star. I'm guessing those days are over. This old dog needs her rest. However, to her credit, the Princess did get up at 3:30 - pregnant and all - to say good bye to her Mom. I love you, Brandilyn! You ALWAYS make me feel special!

Home

2012-01-31T06:30:00.000-08:00

After being away for 9 days, sleeping on a pretty uncomfortable mattress, I must confess that coming home has been amazing. I got home late on Sunday night because when Rob picked me up from the airport I had to be whisked right over to my Yoga Teacher Training class which was already in session. That went till 8:30 and THEN and only then did I get to experience that sweetness called my home.

Yesterday I went to work at the studio and the clients made me feel loved. They were like, "Jody, it's good to see your smiling face again!" I came home and turned out the horses and they started running and bucking. So happy to be out of their paddocks. I just had to stand there for a bit and watch and smile to myself (standing there in the beautiful SUNNY WARM day).

Last night I showed up for my Yoga Teacher Training and I felt like Norm on Cheers (you know like whenever he walked into the bar everyone yells "Norm!"). Yeah, several people yelled "Jody!" It ALMOST gave me enough mojo to make it through the grueling 3 hour practice Suzanna put us through (admit it, Jode, you love it).

This morning I was trying to get things going and Marley just kept mauling me. Everytime I'd put him down he'd jump up and start rubbing me and purring (like who the flip can resist that, right?).

The twins have been clingy as well. I don't think they believe me when I tell them that, yes, their mother will be home with them tonight. Actually, I have to work at the studio till 5 but THEN I'll be home. Like dinner, laughing, joking around the kitchen counter, get your homework done, go take a shower and brush those teeth kind of home.

And . . . yep, Danielle is scoring a WELL DESERVED back zone tonight as well. Anybody who would willingly take over MY life while I go frolick around in the likes of Idaho and Montana deserves to be pampered. She probably should get her face zoned in the deal as well, right?

Mowgli

2012-01-28T14:40:00.000-08:00

Yep, you guessed it - another crazy story about my week in Montana. There might even be one more.

In our class there was a Mom and son combo. He was 14 years old. His name was Gray. I was weirded about this at first but went with it (like I really had a freaking choice). He seemed harmless enough but I was thinking that taking my clothes off and exposing my bum to a 14 year old boy was going to be awkward at best. He actually was pretty mature about it.

So there's a black cat that lives at the compound where we were staying. His name is Bagheera (like the panther on Jungle Book). The cat is so friendly and purrs and loves to be loved. Well, I just naturally made the connection and started calling Gray "Mowgli". Actually I thought I was pretty clever. Mowgli tolerated the situation.

Mowgli gave me some pretty good laughs. At one time, while he was doing his final on an outside client, he made eye contact with me and looked like he was miserable and bored with the deal. Of course, Katri quickly informed him that he needed to not be distracted with his zone. Hahaha! Mowgli got in trouble.

My point is that I'm pretty impressed with the fact that a 14 year old boy could stay on task all week and receive his diploma. In fact, when Katri was handing out diplomas, we all clapped the loudest for Mowgli. It was a pretty amazing accomplishment. Furthermore, he was able to handle more women's bums and breasts than a 14 year old boy should and he took it all in stride (not sure a grown man would have been so smooth about it).

And when we were all about to have our class photo taken he said, "Sunshine needs to wear her scarf (I wore a scarf around my head all week when I was walking back and forth to the classroom because I can't stand for my ears to get cold)." So, to appease my darling buddy, Mowgli, I did!

Swede-Dar!

2012-01-28T14:26:00.000-08:00

Yeah. I feel inundated with these amazing people lately.

When we went to Santa Barbara to get Brian signed up for school we spent an entire day out looking for housing for my boy. We finally decided on this place that was a straight up dump. I called my son to explain the sitch and he was disappointed but wants this school so bad that he said, "whatever Mom. I'll get by." As we were sitting by the beach contemplating life (actually Skip needed a nap or something), I felt compelled to check Craig's List one last time and, Woah!, there was a brand new post for an apartment that sounded PERFECT! I called and a young man with an accent that I knew I recognized answered the phone. We made arrangements and went right on over to check out the pad. Sure enough, the residents were here studying from Sweden. We ended up getting the place and now my boy resides with Swedes. He claims he's learning words. Hopefully, they're not BAD words.

Fast forward to now. My teacher for zoning, Katri, is from Sweden and has a pretty intense Swedish accent. It's pretty hard to understand her but I crave the learning so much that I will sit through ANYTHING to gain the knowledge this woman has.

So, I'm up there in Montana doing my thing and this man walks through the door during dinner one night. Cool. His name is Lars and, you guessed it, he's a freaking Swede (except his accent isn't quite as intense as Katri). He said he was a friend of Katri and Hans and ended up enjoying dinner with us. It was so fun because he put with all the banter going on with us girls.

The next day he came back (yesterday) for a back zone. You see, we need to zone an outside "client" for our final practical exam. Well, it ended up that I got to zone Lars. During the zone he was having a conversation with Katri and leaned over by his ear and said, "talk to her in Swedish because I think it's hot" so he DID! Lol. Well, I told him since he did that he got to have extra time on the aroma massage. I think he thought it was a pretty good deal.

My point is this. It seemed that there were Swedish friends that just kept popping in for a visit. What the heck? Do all these people just settle in one area (because Brian claims that there are GOBS of HOT Swedish girls that come over to the apartment) or are Brian and I just Swede magnets? No matter, these people are AMAZING!!

Guess what!!!

2012-01-28T14:16:00.000-08:00

I just finished another week up in Montana. This week I went to get certified in Back Zonolgy. I have to say, this just might be my favorite treatment I've gotten certified in. It's nothing short of amazing. It makes me happy to make others feel well.

It's also been good to be away from my life to clear my head and get redirected. I feel ready to go home and take charge of things. How long will my enthusiasm last? Yeah, probably by Tuesday I'll be screaming for a break! Lol.

What's also funny is that I just had a week of eating nuts, seeds, leaves and twigs (kidding on the last part). You'd think I'd be thrilled to continue because I feel so fabulous. Well, I DO feel fabulous but . . . old habits die hard. I'm spending the night at Dave and Brandilyn's and before I head out to Salt Lake tomorrow morning and we are having (gasp) pizza tonight! Please don't tell Katri.

Another fabby thing? I used my ipad all week to take notes and I was able to keep up with my wise teacher. Pretty proud of that one too. I made some awesome friends and hopefully we will have a long and lasting friendship. I'll blog more about that in the next couple of blogs so I'm sure the average reader will grow weary of reading about it but, hey, this IS my blog, right?

Anyway, I'm ready to take on clients starting, of course, with my own fam. They are gonna love love love this!

Brilliant, My Dear Watson!!

2012-01-16T15:31:00.000-08:00

About a month or so ago, for whatever reason, Jacob decided it sounded like a fun idea to grab a can of blue spray paint and spray graffitti on our black utility trailer. Thank heavens he didn't put any profanity on it. Anyway, to say the least, I was highly pissed off but haven't said much to Mr. Jacob because all I'm met with is the usual blank stare. No remorse. No emotion. Nothing.

Skip was home this weekend (you KNOW this is going to be good, right?) and saw the trailer as he was driving out the driveway. WTF??? I gently informed him that it was his youngest son's handy artwork. Omg! He was MORE pissed than I (and justifiably so!). Yesterday, on the way to take Skip to BART, he informed Jacob that he expected him to wash the trailer and scrub ALL of the paint off. No exceptions! Well, we all know how that will go. NOT!!!

Today the twins are out of school (dang it) and I informed Jacob that his father has given instructions and he gets to carry them out. So we supplied him with a bucket, soap and a rag. I gave Courtney some miscellaneous chores to keep her busy and I went about my own stuff. I walked into the kitchen as the twins are coming in "to get a new bucket of water" and ask Court what she's doing. "I'm going to help Jacob clean the trailer!" Oh, okaaaay.

Well, they are off busy and seemingly enjoying the journey and I get to have my day to do my thing after all. Awesome! Will we get a clean trailer out of deal? Probably not.

Killing It!!

2012-01-14T17:57:00.000-08:00

Back when I was young there was a commercial on TV (well, there were a LOT of commercials on TV, lol). Anyway, this one went something like this . . . there was a young mom playing with her new baby and laughing (and the announcer says, "this is life!" while beautiful music is playing in the background). Then, suddenly the announcer says as the screech of a record being stopped is heard, "and this kills it" as the young mom pulls a cigarette to her mouth. Another scene shows a happy couple walking out in a meadow of flowers and we hear the announcer say while the music is playing "this is life". Then, again, the sound of a record screech as the music stops and the man pulls a cigarette to his mouth "and this kills it."

At the time, I wasn't a smoker (that was later) but this commercial obviously had a lasting impression on me.

Fast forward to tonight. I was in the kitchen having the time of my life whipping up a (I think) delicious vegan meal. I made kale salad in peanut sauce and curried lentil soup. I was enjoying the fact that Skip is home and I get to show off my recent passion for good food that is so good for you. The twins and I are dairy free (Courtney and I), gluten free (the twins and I), sugar free (all three again) and pretty much meat free (me). However, that does leave still a lot of leaway for delicious meals.

Okay . . . dinner tonight. So, I'm serviing up this soup and salad (which, by the way, was nothing short of fabulous) and happy (envision the music playing in the background). Skip walks out, sees what I'm serving and (screech, music stops) he grabs WHITE bread and plops it in the toaster (2 pieces!!) and grabs (gasp) the bucket (okay, tub) of Country Crock margerine (aka plastic food). I tried to not looked alarmed or shocked but . . . . really????

"Special" Ham Loaf

2012-01-14T08:35:00.001-08:00

Bahahaha! I was just reading Brandilyn's blog ("princess" on the side tab of my blog) and read about her snafu with dinner the other night. She DID text me but it made me laugh just reading it again. She put 2 Tablespoons of red crushed pepper in some lettuce wraps she was making and they were over the top hot. When she looked at the recipe she realized that the recipe actually called for red BELL pepper. Alas, it was a live and learn moment. She then invited anyone else to talk about any similar experiences. (I think she just wanted to feel better about herself).

Well. . . in a little (big) house in the middle of town. Lol. I'll just get on with it. We bought the Weltz Family Reunion cookbook about 6 million years ago when all the extended members of the Weltz clan were invited to contribute recipes. At that particular time in my life I was a ham eater (gross, except I DID indulge this holiday when Danielle made a huge awesome one for Christmas then asked me to make bean soup with the leftovers). There was a recipe in the book for Ham Loaf. You take the ham and put it through a meat grinder (in the olden days we had such things that screw onto your counter and you can make hamburger from any type of meat - still have mine, btw).

Moving along . . . . the recipe called for several ingredients and, amongst them, was a cup of vinegar. SWEAR!!! It's still in the book right there in black and white (I've checked multiple times throughout the years to make sure I'm not daft). So, while this ham loaf was baking the smell of vinegar was permeating throughout our home. Whatever. Cory and Danielle were little and I think Brandilyn was newborn (she was saved from this event). I dished up the meal and went about dealing with my baby while they ate.

I noticed that Skip and the kids were just kind of staring across the table at each other and not saying much (you have to realize they are dealing with a post partum mother running on NO sleep because my little darling was extremely high need). I told them to eat and get on with it. Finally, Cory mustered up the nerve to say something. "Um, Jode, this doesn't taste good." Skip quickly chimed in with, "really, babe, something is wrong." I got WAY pissy.

I stormed over to the table and took a BIG bite of the ham loaf and almost gagged my guts out. Holy crap! Skip swiftly snatched up the phone and called for pizza (cuz in those days we lived in an area where that was possible).

I wanted to try to make it again leaving out the vinegar and I had three very adamant people yelling to me in unison, "NO STINKING WAY!!!"

Bendy People

2012-01-13T07:04:00.000-08:00

Tonight we have tickets to go see the Michael Jackson Cirque de Sole. There's a really funny story about this. Last year Skip gave me these tickets as a Christmas present. We were VERY excited. He flew into the San Jose airport and I met up with him and we checked into the motel. We got all dressed up and went out to dinner then proceeded to drive over to where the performance was. It was eerie quiet. The parking lot was empty. The center was dark as the Ace of Spades. Wtf? Skip then said to me, "Babe, check the tickets and make sure we are supposed to be here and not Oakland or something." Ok.

I read the tickets out loud to him, "Friday January 13, 2012'. Screeeeeech! Wait, WHAT did you just say? I read it again and then realized what it said. We both looked at each other and just started laughing hysterically. Wow. It's a freaking YEAR from tonight (I believe this was a Thursday night to boot).

So here we are. As a yogi I just can't appreciate the talent and gift these people have. It's amazing to say the least. Their bodies bend in ways that defy all logic.

Also, I have a yoga teacher that says what goes on on the mat is pretty much how your life is off the mat. I can only imagine how flexible these people are in their every day lives. My job is to not covet. Right?

Well, no problem. I'm going to absorb and relish every stinking second of the performance tonight. Skip even called me yesterday and said, "Ok. I checked and rechecked the tickets. Right venue. Right date. Right time. We are good to go!"

I mean, wow! Cirque de Sole to Michael Jackson's music? How perfect of a gift for this girl can that be? Furthermore, I got to snag an extra date night in on the deal, heeheeeheee.

Movin On

2011-12-24T15:38:00.000-08:00

If you don't live in my home and experience my life, please keep your judgements and comments to yourself. That's pretty much all I have to say about that.

Of course, your opinion about me is really none of my business. I only wish that I could live my life more with that train of thought on board. I want so bad for your comments to roll off my back without stabbing on their way down and remember that I am doing the best I can with what I know.

Okay, deep breath and it's off to experience the holidays with the fam.

The Spirit

2011-12-19T07:27:00.000-08:00

I couldn't sleep at all last night! (actually those are the lyrics to a song from my generation). I was tossing and turning and turning and tossing all night! Lol. Actually, that IS the truth. However, about 2:00 I decided that enough was enough and I got up.

I brewed myself a pretty awesome pot of lavender tea and settled in to wrap gifts (since that seems to be the tast at hand right about now). Of course, Danielle had the tape dispenser in her room so that ended that thought. Hmmm. Well, there's always Facebook, right? Of course. I logged on and here's what Brandilyn had posted for her status:

teaching our 4 year olds about the nativity, making treats for people we love, listening to first presidency christmas devotionals...'tis the season at our house and i'm loving it!

It made me sad. I haven't been to church in so long. I haven't experienced anything churchy for the holiday season. I ached for it suddenly. Well, (thank you technology) I had a brain child! I logged onto LDS.org and there it was bigger than life. I clicked on the First Presidency's devotional and was blessed with a wonderful spirit as I listened to each of the three talks and the beautiful choir singing Christmas songs.

So, yes, at 3:30 in the morning I crawled back to bed and finally drifted off to sleep around 4. I was back up at 6 to start my day but I can honestly say it was worth it. God knows what He's doing. He sometimes has to push us pretty hard to wake us up. I now have the Spirit with me throughout my day today and it feels pretty awesome.

Thank you, Brandilyn. Thank you, insomnia. Thank you, God.

Time Out

2011-12-18T18:35:00.001-08:00

I came home from taking my man (once again) to Bart so he can head back to his place in LA. On my way back home, I decided to swoop into Walmart and snag one of those jumbo size bags to wrap one of my offspring's gifts in. As I was there, I decided I was really hungry and decided that only cheddar cheese popcorn would do (wtf?). The only thing I could find was one of those ginormous cans with three different kinds. It was mine!

I got in my car and realized how disgusted I was with myself as I was tearing the seal off of that can so that I could pry it open and start snarfing the contents. Seriously, this popcorn was suddenly the best tasting thing I had ever eaten! Actually, it was stale but I didn't give a rip. I texted Danielle and said, "Omg. I'm very sick. I need help." I really meant it.

We both got a good laugh when she called (very concerned) and I explained the sitch. "Oh, okay, so you're mental not experiencing physical discomfort, right?" Righto, girlfriend! The evening has progressed in a very distorted and demented direction. I pretty much have completely lost it. At one point I said, "I think I'll excuse myself from this party. I'm not fit to be around right now."

So, to cap it off? Well, I've decided to watch Blazing Saddles with Danielle (who has never seen it) and Jeff. Tomorrow, I either wake up back to myself or I might need to be committed, lol. I think my kids and Christmas have finally gotten to me.

The Most UN-Perfect Gift

2011-12-11T20:29:00.000-08:00

I'm sure what I'm about to post will piss some people off. However, this IS my blog and hardly anybody reads it and I can say whatever I want because I'm entitled to my own opinion and I can write whatever I want on my blog.

Okay, gift certificates. Yeah, gift certificates + me = hatred. What the heck has happened to the spirit of giving? I have always been a stinker about giving gift certs for gifts. However, I feel that each year we reach new heights of ridiculousness. It appears as though Christmas has become a big cash call for a lot of people.

The merchants make out like freaking bandits. I once heard from someone who works for a UPS shipping store that very often when people bring in that packing foam to be recycled, there are gift certificates that have been overlooked. The people in the shipping stores just swoop on them and SCORE for them!! The ones that haven't been found end up being money in the pockets of the vendors. Peeps (like me) who receive them often forget to spend the silly things because they forget they have them.

I'm thinking we should just give out greenbacks if that's the way this holiday is going to shake out. Actually, I would like to return to the old fashioned way of doing things . . . I like you or I love you and I want to give you something that I picked out that I thought you would like. No, I don't have a gift receipt, so if you don't like it you can give it away to someone else who would want or need it. I'll never know the difference.

So, am I giving out gift certs this year? Unfortunately, there are some people on my list that won't accept anything else. I probably should just stand by my position and buy them the ugliest sweater I can find WITHOUT a gift receipt for them to return it and just smile sweetly when they open it with utter disgust on their face and say, "Oh, I so hope you like it. I totally thought of you when I saw it and I just HAD to get it for you. Merry Christmas, my dear."

Yay for Brian!

2011-12-10T07:02:00.000-08:00

Sometimes . . . okay a lot of times . . . .we get these random lessons in life that make us go "DUH"!!! Right now, I'm going through just that.

About five or so years ago Brian came to us and announced that he wanted to be an underwater dive welder. I baulked because of the danger of the job. No way. My boy was going to be a doctor or a lawyer or something prestigious like that. So, I proceeded with my "mom" stuff and insisted that he head out to BYUI. BIG MISTAKE!!!!!

My son did nothing but mess up his life there. Everything was all bad. He got asked to not return to school because of his poor academic performance (hello! My boy is NOT a "desk" kind of guy), his sweetheart and him ended their relationship, he spent quality time bonding with the law enforcement there and ended up (my bad) with the room mate from hell. Finally, Mom said "enough is enough" and Dad went up and fetched our boy to bring him home and regroup.

Okay, fast forward a couple of months. He's home. He's doing all of his stuff to satisfy the legal dudes in Idaho (and they are thinking he's all that), has enrolled in Santa Barbara to start school in January and has started taking his scuba diving classes to be ready to go. I'm so proud. Last night he called me and announced that he had just taken his written test and scored a 98%. Wtf? Brian? Really? Holy crap!

My chiropractor cited a story of his nephew that was a total screw up and then something clicked when he finally found a vocation that resonated with him. He soared to the top of his field and is now making bank. So there you have it.

My son hasn't been happier in like forever. He's excited to get up to go to classes. He's excited to have all of his legal woes behind him (and the way he's going, they're making noise about letting him off early! Yay!!) He's beyond amped to go out for his ocean dives and his Dad and I are down here to get his housing secured for his new start.

I love you, Brian. I'm sorry that I stifled you by forcing my desires for your life upon you. I'm proud of you and I know that you are going to be terrific! Lucky girl that finally gets this boy to settle down.

My Amazing Mom

2011-12-08T07:42:00.001-08:00

Yep, I'm mentioning my momma again. Well, what do you expect? I don't see her often and it's such a treat. Mothers and daughters should NOT be separated by miles. They need each other. Women have a different bond than men or than men and women do. Sisters and mothers and daughters have a unique bond as well. I'm grateful for my mom, sisters and daughters. I have a perfect relationship with all of them.

Okay, so like Jacob, I have been trying to see my mom through other people's eyes. Yeah, I know she has a British accent. I don't hear it but everyone tells me she does. And why wouldn't she? She was raised in England, duh! Anyway, that's a cool thing about her but there's more.

My mom is an artist. Yeah, I knew this too when when I was growing up. She didn't really paint much when I was a kid. Probably because she was a single mom working a very demanding job and trying to raise us kids. I'd like to say I was an easy kid but . . . well . . . I had a couple of bad days here and there (ahem). Anyway, my mom is a fabulous artist. I have been admiring her paintings of wild animals lately. Actually, Brandilyn asked if she could have a copy of a couple of them for her nursery. When she asked, it made me take a second look at my mom's gift. Wow! These really ARE beautiful!

My mom has a very giving heart. My mom used to work with hospice patients. Talk about giving a LOT of yourself. I don't know that I would have it in me to do that kind of thing. She helps my sister with her CSA and they spend hours upon hours upon hours out in the gardens doing busy gardening things. My sister really counts on my mom and my mom doesn't let her down - no matter how much her body is rebelling (Mom is 82 right now so she has a right to have a body that doesn't want to play nicely).

My mom used to ride horses. No, really, she rode very well. She rode jumpers in England when she was a child and was really talented. All of my childhood we had horses and she had me engaged in the very same activity when I was four years old. She bought me a pony named Patches aand I think once I climbed onboard, I was hooked. I haven't looked back. I thank my mom (and my husband probably curses my mom) for that gift.

I love my mom and I'm grateful that we are close. I try to call but really don't call as often as I should. She's always genuinely happy to hear from me and it always makes me happy (well, I tend to be pretty upbeat anyway but truly I feel my heart smile when she realizes it's me on the other end of the phone). I'm grateful for all the wonderful things she has shared with me throughout my life to allow me to be the woman I am today.

Peter Pan

2011-12-08T07:25:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I haven't blogged in awhile and so here I am just putting them out there in multiples. Not my favorite style but it's what I get for not making myself just sit down and do what I enjoy doing. I don't even have the weather to blame.

While I was visiting my mom (I just mentioned that visit in the last post), we were chatting about Jacob and the many adventures that boy sends me on. My mom said (and she's said this before but I never stopped to think about it) that "he will always be your Peter Pan." I laughed but then I started to really think about that statement (yes, Mom, I know you DO actually have intelligent things to say, lol).

Jacob gives me a run for my money. I often get notes from school citing some melt down he had or some other naughty thing that occurred. I get frustrated with him at home because he sneaks around and does things that are so not okay. I get annoyed at him because he acts like a five year old when he is approaching 14 at a rapid rate of speed. Wait, back up, back up, what was that?

Bingo! Jacob will always be a young boy at heart. His body may say that he is 14 or 20 or whatever comes in the future but he will always be a young boy. Here's where this has suddenly shifted for me. ACCEPT what is! Quit trying to force what "I" think on the young man. Now that this whole awakening has occurred in me I am so much more patient. So much more loving. So much more joyous with my little man.

Christmas is more fun watching him with his childlike wonder. I see him often by the Christmas tree shaking presents and rearranging them. He's excited about the advent calendar. He's excited about everything that comes with this fun holiday (which I have decided, finally, is going to be fun instead of a drudgery).

Thank you, Mom, for your enlightenment. Thank you, Me, for finally listening and accepting what IS!

Sisters to Friends

2011-12-08T07:14:00.000-08:00

I made my annual trip north this last weekend to spend holiday time with my momma and my sister. It's totally sad that I only see them twice a year. Distance can be a difficult concept to cope with - as I'm also finding out by having my daughter live a couple of states away.

Every December when I go visit we make pillow cases for my family and their's (a family tradition we started about 10-12 years or so ago), share recipes and talk about things in our lives. We just get to enjoy each other's company without the interruption of my children (which are SO delightful but they get to come up for my summer visit).

As we were visiting and laughing and spending quality time together, it dawned on me that my mom must feel the same way I do when I see my adult children interacting as best friends. I got to see a bit of that this Thanksgiving when Brandilyn was here. Her and Brian were laughing and having fun together, her and Danielle were visiting and enjoying each other and everyone seemed to genuinely enjoy each other. In fact, on the last night of Brandilyn's visit, the light from the kitchen was bothering me (my bedroom window and the kitchen window kind of face each other) and I looked at the time. It was the wee hours of the morning and there were my beautiful daughters sitting there just talking. It made me SO grateful.

When I was with my mom and sister, we shared recipes (well, mostly her sharing with me), books we were both into at the moment, ideas and we discussed some deep stuff as well - like the meaning of life or something.

I love my visits and I love my children's visits. Yes, this is truly a beautiful payoff for all the icky crap you go through when your children are going through their amazing teen years.

Lil Ol Granny

2011-11-16T19:46:00.000-08:00

At this moment and time I feel pretty blessed. My daughter is pregnant with our second grand baby, my boy is about to leave for college in Santa Barbara to pursue the career of his dreams, my other son is getting ready to move out and experience the joy of being on his own and I'm about to have a fairly quiet home. Just the twins, Danielle and Jeff and myself. Of course, there will be the occasional visit from Skip one or two weekends a month.

I think I'm going to enjoy this new change quite a bit. The boys will both be close enough (3 hours for one and 5 hours for the other) that they can come home and have Mom do laundry and make a bit of a fuss over them but yet they can live their life and reap the rewards of their choices.

As for that grand baby . . . well, I'm (yeah, the baby scrooge) actually beginning to get a bit excited. I LOVE to talk to Brandilyn and hear how she's doing. She's so dang cute about the changes her body is going through and I love to hear how her man is just as excited as her.

Yep, my babies are growing up and life is making a pretty sweet change. I'm looking forward to chillin in my rocking chair and waiting for the Sunday phone calls, gray hair and all!

Okay

2011-11-09T19:51:00.001-08:00

Everything is already okay.

That right there has been my mantra today. I went out visiting teaching and our instrucitons for the message of the month was to make up our own message. My companion informed me of that in a text message that I read as I was getting in my car to drive from my yoga practice to my first appointment. She then said, "Dang, I suck at that kind of thing." Well, my dear, you have me as a companion and I rock at that kind of thing. So I guess that's what makes us uber awesome companions.

So I shared with my peeps that our message of the month was about gratitude. Not necessarily gratitude about all the wonderful stuff that we always express gratitude about but that we should be grateful for the hard stuff in our life. The hard stuff is where we learn. How many times have you EVER learned from having stuff easy? Really? Yeah, so there's the rub. Because we are loved and looked after and "everything is already okay."

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and all we have is this moment in time. Be grateful for this moment and find the hidden nugget that is there for us to learn from. Each breath is a gift. Each moment is a gift. And . . .

EVERYTHING IS ALREADY OKAY!! :)

Dog (Not)Gone

2011-11-09T19:40:00.001-08:00

I took my dog to the vet today to be put down. I was dreading this for the last week or so. Last night I brought her in and made a big fuss over her. This morning I brushed her and loved on her. It was really odd that she had NO idea what was going on. All she knew was that I was extra loving and tender with her.

Holly was adopted by our family about 8 or 9 years ago. She's always been a bit odd but we've just accepted her as "Holly Bear". Robbie picked her out at the pet store where they were having their Pet Adoption Day thing because I had accidentally killed his other dog and felt horrible about my crimes. She was obviously older than they informed us because she has progressively gotten to the point where she just kind of hobbles around. I let her sleep in my room every night where it's warm so that her bones don't ache.

So, anything and everything went wrong on my way to the vet. My son took my truck and never came back so I had to take Old Blue. I ran out of gas half way down the hill and was fit to be tied (with two dogs in the truck). Fortunately, Robbie met me as he was headed up the hill and we traded vehicles (he can figure out the no gas thing). I made it to the vet about 10 minutes late. They took us anyway.

The vet came in and examined my poor old dog. She said that my dog was happy when I was around and wagged her tail. As long as she could get up and take herself outside to releive herself and seemed to be happy to be around me then she should just have some pain meds to ease the discomfort. Okay . . .

So I guess the emotional investment I made into having to put my dog down was for naught. She's snorning happily beside me as I write this. What will happen tomorrow, next week or even next year is still a mystery. Tonight my dog is still here. The end.

Cleanse Schmlense

2011-11-06T19:37:00.000-08:00

I think I'm really over it . . . finally!

I have done so many cleanses and I'm just down right sick to death of them! I started yet another one last night after our final performance (the drill team) and lasted until about 3:00 p.m. today. I was supposed to go until tomorrow night. I was feeling so sick and weak that I said, "to heck with this!" and went ahead and broke the fast.

So, does this make me a weenie? Do I just lack will power? I don't really think so. I actually did a cleanse where I ate nothing for 10 days straight and after the first 3-4 days I felt fine. I know that I CAN do it . . . I just don't WANT to do it.

Furthermore, I'm cranky and it's not fair to my family plus I have a client tomorrow and that just wouldn't be fair to her for me to show up not feeling 100%. Right? Never mind. I'm probably just trying to justify eating. Let's just face the truth, I just freaking LOVE food and I'm not designed to be skinny Barbie.

Cool, Clear Water

2011-11-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

Brian hosted a hot tub party with some friends the other night. No big deal. He asked. I said "no probs" and life was good.

Yesterday we had a hurricane of a wind storm. I'm pretty sure the winds topped 80+ mph. It was pretty wild. Actually, I was hanging laundry out on the line and it was drying in 20 minutes or less. Pretty amazing. By the end of the day, when the winds were at their worst, I had hung out two comforters and they had flown off the line and almost took me out.

Today, it was as calm as could be. Calm and warm. I had 45 minutes before the next event and went outside to sit in the sun and enjoy. As I was sitting, I couldn't help but notice the pool equipment was making a very peculiar noise. I tried to pretend I couldn't hear it for awhile then decided I needed to get up and investigate.

I stood up and walked toward the pool and could NOT believe what I saw. Brian, my darling son, had neglected to cover the pool and spa when he was finished. Our entire pool was completely covered in pine needles, tumble weed and various other large weeds. Holy cow!! Furthermore, the water level was so low that the pump was sucking air. As if all of that wasn't bad enough, the key that operates the automatic cover had been left in the key slot and had blown away. Right on.

I was hoppin mad! I had no idea how to turn on the pool water. I had no idea where the flipping key was and I had no idea how I was going to begin cleaning up this ginormous mess! I went downstairs and knocked on Brian's door and proceeded to say, "Some dip wad left the damn pool cover off and now it's full of weeds and the water level is low and I don't know how to turn it on and the key is gone!" He looked at me and said, "Sorry. That was me. I'll fix it." Right.

He went back into his cave and thought that was that. NOT!! We have a situation here, people! I searched and searched and found the flipping key. I got out that thingy that scoops up crud and cleaned up a LOT of crud. I twisted this and turned that and finally found the right knobule that made the magical water start flowing into my doomed pool. Things were happening!

Well, long story long, I kind of cleaned up the excessive mess. I filled the pool with water and the key is safely back in its spot where it belongs. My boy will have the lovely task of finishing the job and making our pool the thing of beauty it was designed to be tomorrow morning. Go me!

Passer Outer

2011-11-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

Forever and six days I have always known that my sister passes out when things get rough for her. I've stood behind her when she passed out while getting in trouble by Mom when we were younger. Actually, that was my first experience. We were both getting the what for and Tam was standing in front of me. My mom yelled, "Grab her she's passing out!" Sure enough my sister collapsed in my arms.

Over the years, there have been numerous other times where she has passed out on me. While I was taking a sliver out of her hand. While I was bandaging up a wound she had. Those kind of things.

It appears that I have a daughter with the same issue. One day, not that long ago, Courtney was pretty sick and throwing up. I was wiping her forehead with a cool cloth and holding her and suddenly her head went limp as a noodle and started falling toward the toilet. Fortunately, I caught it soon enough so that she didn't hit. Okay, Mom is on alert. We have a passer outer.

A couple of days ago on the way to school she mentioned something about a sliver in her hand. I told her I would help her with it when we were home. I couldn't deal with it on the way to school. I also reminded her that I forget most things so she would have to remind me later. She acknowledged that. This morning, as we were loading up in the car she mentioned the sliver again. Dang! I forgot to deal with that. We need to snag it when we get home. Of course, I forgot and she didn't remind me.

Tonight she's taking her shower. I'm preparing dinner. I call the kids and let them know it's dinner time and put the food out on the counter. Jacob, of course, is right on cue. "Where's your sister?" I inquire.

"She's sleeping in the shower." Right. I give him a dirty look and head to the bathroom to give Courtney a piece of my mind for taking so dog gone long in the shower. I mean, really? Come on, girl.

Sure enough, she's completely out cold on the floor of the shower. He face is a grayish color and I instantly launch into "Oh Shit" mode (sorry but that's the only phrase that describes my panic). I'm yelling, "Courtney! Courtney!" and slowly she opens her eyes and looks at me. "Get up! Are you okay? What's going on??"

She gets out and towels off and slowly gets dressed. She explains to me that while she was showering she was digging in her hand to get the pesky sliver out and everything started getting dizzy. She sat down and doesn't remember the rest. Holy crap!

So . . . yeah . . . another notch in my Mother-of-the-Year Award.

The Joy of Sox

2011-11-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

Jacob is a little odd. I accept that. It's just who he is and we all love him. Jacob also has OCD to the umpteenth degree. He can sit for hours and hours playing with matchbox cars. Organizing them by color, size, model, etc. He also can sit for hours and hours organizing his Pokeman cards. It kind of drives me crazy and I have to tell him to go outside and play after a bit.

Well, this weekend while I was down south visiting my man Jacob pulled a good one.

He came out in the morning for breakfast or whatever and Danielle took one look at his calves and was pretty sure that something pretty bad was wrong with the young lad. She was ready to whisk his happy bum to the ER for further evaluation (after she called me first of course, lol). So she summonsed the young man over for a closer look-see. She could NOT believe what she discovered . . .

Jacob had not 1, not 2, not 3 pairs of socks on but FOURTEEN!! Yes, there were fourteen pairs of socks on his feet. When Danielle inquired as to why in the flip he needed to have that many pairs of socks on the reply was, "My feet were cold."

Buckle up, Jody. This is going to be a long and bumpy ride, girl.

Food for Laughter

2011-11-02T19:46:00.000-07:00

Robbie often has friends over to spend the night. I guess it's a right of passage when you live in the Room of Doom. I pretty much just accept it because I'm at a point in my life that I just don't want to fight it anymore.

He has this one friend that always brings their little cute dog with a little cute bell on it's collar. Every morning, this individual lets the dog out of the bedroom when they know I'm in the kitchen doing my morning thing and I let the dog outside to do it's morning thing. No big deal . . . to me, at least.

Well, this weekend I guess this particular friend spent the night while I was away. Evidently Brian and Danielle were in the kitchen working away and the little doggie with the little bell was let out of the room. Danielle must have said something indicating that she thought this ritual was ridiculous so Brian decided to take action (oh-oh. You know this has to be good) . . . .

We own four dogs and Jeff and Danielle own one dog. That makes five dogs that live here full time. We also have three cats that reside here with us. With tinker bell doggie that makes a whopping SIX dogs!!! Well, Brian proceeded to load all six dogs and all three cats into Robbie's room and then quietly shut the door.

About 10 minutes later, out comes Robbie, in his boxers rubbing his eyes and sleepily stating the obvious, "All the dogs and cats are in my room." Right behind him, just like the Pied Piper, comes a parade of dogs and cats.

When this story was retold to me I was in hysterics. Later, when I was out on my run I was thinking about this visual again and just busted up laughing. I'm sure anyone that saw me running yesterday was pretty sure that I was completely daft. I probably am but this time I had a pretty good reason for the hysteria.

I/we can ALWAYS count on Brian to provide a lot of humor to counteract all the other turmoil that he creates in our home.

Trick or Sleep

2011-11-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

I informed the twins this year that they were too old to go out trick-or-treating for Halloween. They both reluctantly took the news rather well, I thought. I was so happy to be finished with this ridiculous ritual. I've always HATED Halloween from the very depths of my soul.

Well . . . enter Brian. Fresh home from Idaho. He tells the twins that he's excited to take them out trick-or-treating this year. They tell him that Mom said "no". He jumps in the middle of my business and says, "what's wrong with you? Of course they are going out on Halloween. I'm taking them and you don't have to do anything." Hmmmm . . . that sounds pretty sweet. Okay deal!

He holds true to his promise and I proceed to enjoy my lovely quiet evening home (because in 15 years we have NEVER had a single trick-or-treater and I LOVE it!). Evidently, the story goes a bit like this . . .

Jacob is running to beat feet from one house to another. Jeff (who also went with the group) overhears a mother tell her 4 year old to not run because he might trip and fall. Right on cue, Jacob is running full speed ahead across someone's lawn and trips and does a complete face plant in the grass. Nice. He pops right back up and just keeps on going.

Courtney, after about six houses starts complaining that she's tired and wants to go home. Brian will have none of this (you see, Brian is highly motivated. He knows like he knows like he knows that Mom isn't about to let the twins have the candy so that means that him and Jeff are splitting the loot 50/50 - he's right, for the most part). He shakes Courtney off of his arm where she's hanging and begging to stop and tells her to get right back to work. She does.

When they arrive home around 9:30 Courtney can't wait to get to bed. Jacob wants to tell me all about the haunted house they visited and all the fun they had. I listen for a couple of minutes then remind him that 6:00 a.m. comes pretty dang early so he'd best be getting to bed. Off he goes. As soon as they are in bed, Jeff makes a run out to the car and comes in carrying something that resembles Santa's bag. Holy mackerel! I don't think I've EVER seen this much candy in one place. It's beyond disgusting!

The following morning as soon as the twins are safely off to school, the two go through the candy and divide it up. They did pack a few baggies of candy that the twins can have upon occasion. The rest? Well, I just don't even want to know. I'm so grossed out by all of this. The candy they gave the twins will probably last until this time next year, or beyond.

Well, we ALL agreed that this is absolutely the last flipping year that those kids of mine are going out on Halloween. So, I'd like to say, "GOOD RIDDANCE TO YOU, HALLOWEEN!"

The Dating Game

2011-11-02T18:26:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before, Brian is home from Idaho. As I also mentioned before, he managed to get himself into a bit of trouble while he was there. One of the consequences of said trouble is that he has no driver's license for the span of about two years. Yikes! That's a heck long time for a young man. Another consequence is that his girl of 1-1/2 years kicked his bum to the curb. I'm pretty certain he deserved it, but his heart was broken nonetheless.

Well, these two things don't seem to be slowing my boy down at this point. The downside of being home is that we live a good half hour away from town way UP in the hills. It's not a drive for the faint of heart. Our road is really scary for those who aren't familiar with it. Brian has been in town interacting with the likes of a variety of females and they all seem to be more than willing to give him a ride home at the latest hours of the night. What the heck?!?

He told me he was hanging with this one girl so I thought, "Oh, I guess this is who he's going to be dating." Then within a day or two there was another girl and then another girl and so on. I asked him about it and his response? "Mom, I'm SO not into getting into another relationship. I just want to hang out and have fun." Well . . . um . . . . okay . . .

There is a part of me that is just an old fashioned girl. A guy asks you out on a date. If he can't pay or pick me up in his car and provide an enjoyable evening, well he just isn't someone I want to be associating with. Nowadays? Yeah, these girls are pretty aggressive. So so so glad I'm married (and happily at that) and don't have to figure out this new fangled dating thing out.

A Good Day's Work

2011-10-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

My boy is back living with me from Idaho. I've missed him terribly while he was away. Unfortunately, he found his way into a bit of trouble and now has . . . ahem . . . consequences. Not only does he had a lot of legal consequences (yuck), but he also has quite a bit of financial consequences. The majority of those financial obligations are payable to your's truly . . . me.

I've devised a plan. He can work for me at $10/hour and all the monies will go toward his debt to me. He actually went for the idea. We've had quite a few errands to run since he's been home so today was actually his second day of working for me. I came home from a rather busy morning and worked alongside him and my SIL. We shoveled horse poop, raked and loaded leaves, built compost bins, cleaned out and restocked my horse trailer and worked on several of my gardens. We got so much accomplished. I'm completely exhausted tonight but happy.

I do have to say this. I was pretty sure he was going to give me a LOT of grief and static about helping me out but he has been a pretty dang good sport. He has dove in really done a great job. Does this mean he is FINALLY growing up?

Perspective

2011-10-25T18:17:00.000-07:00

Today I was working at my sister's place on her books. We were uber busy because I was about four months behind (yikes!). Before I knew it, I realized that it was 1:00 and my daughter was going to be out of school before I could get her picked up today (I was about two hours away). I still had a good 1-1/2 hours left of work to do.
I began calling my son, my son-in-law, my son's friends and anyone else I could think of in hopes of finding someone to go pick up my kid. No phones were being answered anywhere. I was beginning to get a bit panicked. I finished doing my work thinking that very shortly someone would answer their phone. Nope.
Once I began driving back toward my town I, of course, encountered massive traffic congestion. Annoying!!! I was fit to be tied. Of course, I became more and more agitated and Brian (who was with me) got really quiet because he knew that at any minute, I was most likely going to snap.

And, as should be expected, Courtney was still standing out in front of the school waiting (I was 45 minutes late). She didn't have a care in the world and hardly noticed that I was late at all. Great.

The lesson learned here? EVERYTHING should be given the 10-year perspective which is; In 10 years, how important will this moment be? (Believe it or not, I was taught that by a 12 year old boy). Yeah, here we are 2 hours later and the whole incident is all but forgotten by the people involved. Whaddya know?

Not a Baby Fan

2011-10-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

When i was in high school I was a waitress. Everyone on my shift KNEW that you only put kids in my section if there was absolutely NO alternative. I really HATED children. I swore that the day would never arrive when I would have children. Some things change. Some things don't.

Fast forward a lot of years and here I am. A mom to a lot of children. Oh, I like my own, for the most part, but I'm still not a fan of other people's kids. Somehow, I'm guessing there is a lesson for me around this.

I am a volunteer at the yoga studio that I call my Mother Ship. I am a FRONT DESK worker and I've been doing this gig for about four months. I work once a week and there is a child care person that is in charge of watching the children of various clients that are taking classes. However, I can pretty much honestly say that the child care person on whatever shift I seem to be working usually doesn't show up. That leaves me tending the front desk AND the children.

The children in the childcare when I'm doing this are usually high need babies that have chosen this moment in time to scream their ever lovin guts out for the entire hour and a half that their moms are in class. Last night I walked up and down the sidewalk for over an hour with a screaming baby. This morning, here I am walking around bouncing another fussy baby. ENOUGH!! Right now I just wish God would tell me the lesson I'm supposed to learn from this madness. I promise, I'll be good and learn quickly. Lol.

And my girls wonder why I'm not into being a fun grandma.

The Good Life

2011-10-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

I have this new friend. Her name is Misti and I think she's a beautiful person. She has such wonderful energy and I LOVE being around her.

Funny story . . . when I met Misti I was pretty sure that her life was as perfect as it could get. I mean, this woman seemed to exude wonderfulness. She always seemed to have a smile on her face and she was always calm and she was just . . . perfect. I've since gotten to know her and I'm happy to report that her life is NOT perfect. Just like the rest of us. I'm not happy that she has problems, I just happy to see that you can maintain a happy, calm essence even when you are in the midst of a storm. And, baby, her storm was a doozy.

I had the privilege of zoning her feet about a month ago. It was a beautiful experience. I felt a wonderful energy when I was doing her feet and definitely picked up on some disturbances that she confirmed. Yay for foot zoning!

Anyway, today she is coming up to my house to be zoned and then we are bartering. She is going to be doing some energetic work on me. I'm so so so excited because it's something that I might want to explore and it'll be wonderful to see it totally in action on ME! It seems that the more I delve into this world of natural healing, the more I discover and the more I realize how perfect and wonderful our bodies are. They are so capable of healing themselves with just a little assistance from what God gave us. Awesome!

So today is a happy day. I'm feeling back to myself after weathering yet another horrendous storm and I just love my life. Beautiful music, spectacular sunrises and the serenity of my sanctuary make everything seem possible.

Tossing and Turning

2011-10-04T07:56:00.000-07:00

That was me last night. Tossing and turning and turning and tossing. Couldn't sleep at all last night! It was awful. I was irritated about something. Turned on the light at 1:00 to maybe read my book and fall asleep. As soon as I opened it I slammed it shut because it was so not what I wanted to read. Dang! I was a wreck. Of course, I must have fallen asleep somewhere in there because 5:00 was nudging me before I knew it!

When something like this happens, I usually get a phone call and one of my children (boys) are in trouble. It usually never fails. Oh, I have nights where I just can't sleep but when it's this kind of tumultuous stressful nervousness, it's my built-in indication that there's trouble knocking on my door.

Well, nobody has called. I'm patiently waiting for each of my children to check in to give me the thumbs up for the day. I've only seen three of them thus far - four to go.

Of course, we could just chock it up to too much caffeine (although I drank less green tea than normal yesterday) and make a mental note to lay off the stuff today. Yeah, let's go with that.

Okay, happy day! Oh . . . kids call your mother!

Martha Doesn't Live Here!

2011-10-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

The Relief Society is having a retreat at my house this weekend. Normally this kind of thing would send a girl into out and out panic. However, I seem to be pretty calm about the sitch at this moment (Key phrase: "this moment").

Saturday the kids and I completely cleaned out Skip's shop (which has absolutely NOTHING to do with the house or where the sisters will be congregating but we thought it was a cool gesture to surprise the man that's NOT about the house of late). The shop looks pretty amazing - considering that it IS a shop, after all. I had a hot date with my bestie to go see Keith Urban (which was nothing short of amazing) so we had to cut the cleaning experience short - something I'm sure my children were devasted over.

Sunday we attacked my house. We cleaned the refrigerator, under the kitchen sink (because women DO look there) and flitted about the other common areas of the house. The twins were marvelous at digging in and helping out. It's funny because up until about a month ago my house was on the market for the past year and we have kept it in absolute show shape the entire time, which is a good thing because there were so many people that did NOT come to see it. Their loss! It's a pretty stellar place to hang your hat, if I may say so myself.

So yesterday I came home and decided I was going to attack my office and bedroom area. Well . . . I got a fabulous start and then got distracted. The computer started calling and calling my name and I finally answered. Dang it! I DID get a stack of paperwork sorted out and filed away, though. Big woot.

The sad part of this tale is that yesterday was my LAST full available day before the forthcoming event. Gasp. So it looks like this cowgirl is going to have to pony up and pull some late nighters to get this place up to par. Darn!!

Actually, the event will come and the event will go and I'm sure hardly anyone will notice whether or not my house is tidy. But, sitting proudly in my entryway is a little sign that reads, "If you came to see me, come in. If you came to see my house, please make an appointment." My bestest friend, Terri, gave it to me a million years ago when we both had little children that were constantly making it their life dharma to destroy our homes. Today, the saying still holds true. I am who I am and my friends accept me just the way I am. Right?

Flashdance Bucket

2011-09-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

Today in yoga, for whatever reason (because I was late and didn't hear the beginning), my yoga teacher was honoring the Goddess of Destruction. I get that on some level. Everytime our lives meet with utter and complete destruction it devastates us at the time but later we can look back and see that the cleansing was a good thing. We were able to begin anew.

We reached a point in our practice and she said, "I'm going to play the chant for you honoring the Goddess of Destruction." From directly behind me I heard my dear friend whisper the word "no". I turned around and could see distress on her face. I stepped over to her mat and whispered to her, "What's wrong?"

She said, "I'm scared. I don't want to honor the Goddess of Destruction. I've had too much of that. I don't want to hear this."

Just then I felt divine inspiration. I said to her, "I'm going to dump my Flashdance bucket of white light from above all over you." I held my imaginary bucket over her head and dumped and then (without physically touching her) pretended to spread it all around her. I looked at her face and she looked peaceful with closed eyes and a beautiful smile. I felt spiritually charged. I then returned to my own mat.

As soon as I tuned back into what my teacher was doing/saying, I noticed that she was fussing with her ipod. She then said, "Huh. I can't get my ipod to play that song. It wants the one before it and the one after it but it won't play the song I want!" She then allowed her ipod to play and the song that came on was a chant praising God.

After class, my friend walked up to me and exclaimed, "Jody, I don't know what you did but the energy that charged my body when you did that Flashdance thing was amazing! Not only did the song not play but I felt so enveloped in love and goodness. Thank you SO much!"

I won't take credit for it. I can't say that "I" caused anything. I can say that I acted on impulse and was guided and directed. I, too, felt the spiritual energy. I'm grateful for what I know. I'm grateful for the knowledge that we are all spiritual beings on an earthly experience and that we are ALL able to tap into our higher power when we need to.

Thank you, God, for allowing me to serve you through my friend today.

That Pesky Red Baron!

2011-09-26T20:20:00.001-07:00

10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or more, that Bloody Red Baron was roaring up a score!

Yeah, those were some of the lyrics to a song that was popular when I was young. It was about a German warplane that was shooting down the enemy. Not really applicable here but the song came to mind this afternoon as I was out cleaning paddocks.

So here's a note to you, Mr. Red Baron:

I couldn't help but notice your crazy flying antics over the hills where I live. Your plane was loud and annoying. Furthermore, it was very frightening.

You see, I have witnessed a plane crash. I was in a front row seat, of sorts. The plane nose dived and crashed right before my eyes. It was extremely close to where my husband, children, some friends and I were. It was a horrific sight and the memory still haunts me to this day. Eight people were killed instantly right before our eyes.

Not only does that memory flip into my mind when I see you and others like you being reckless, but the fact that I have witnessed a mistake gone fatal makes you at even a higher risk. The energy I project is pretty potent, my friend. I don't mean to project such negative energy - it just happens.

Another thing. . . it is fall. The hills are dry and extremely flamable. Should you inadvertently make a wrong move and plant your lovely aircraft into our "neighborhood" the impact will undoubtedly create quite an explosion which will quickly ignite a wildfire that will endanger our homes, families, pets and livestock.

So, Mr. Crazy Pilot Dude, I would appreciate you taking your fun and games over to that large body of water that we call the Pacific Ocean. The likelihood of you traumatizing someone else there is much less. Thank you.

And that's pretty much all I have to say about that.

Growing Pains

2011-09-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

I need to preface this post by saying that I have been quite a bit more restrictive with Courtney and Jacob than I have been with the other children. Experience has taught me well that giving too much too soon has yielded a sense of entitlement that is, well, it's just downright unattractive and obnoxious.

Courtney has been hammering on me of late to get her a cell phone. I have not given in. Honestly, she has no outside interests that take her away during the afternoons. It's not that I don't let her have a hobby, she just has never expressed an interest in anything. She is easily distracted and struggles academically.

Okay, so on Thursday we are driving to school. Courtney strikes up the convo again - that one that brings on a fierce hot flash. "Mom, how come Robbie had a cell phone in 6th grade and I still don't have one?" (Oh crap, here we go again). I explain that Robbie was out at the ranch every day after school riding his horses and that he needed to contact me when he was ready to be picked up. Also, I wanted him to have it in case there was an emergency (we ARE dealing with kids riding jumping horses, after all). Robert also had a pretty active social life and I needed to know where he was when he was "hanging out" with his friends. She didn't like this answer and pouted all the way to school. When we arrived at school she jumped out of the car, without an "I love you" or a kiss, slammed the door and was gone. Nice.

Another area that has been a struggle is with her hair. She had long beautiful hair until early this summer. Day after day it was a matted mess. I would often take over and brush it out because it was such a disaster. Finally, one day I had had enough and took her to the beauty shop to get it cut. She was pretty ticked off at me at first but then when it came time to pick out a hair style that she would like, she was excited and was pretty happy about her new hair cut.

Okay, so we fast forward to this last Friday. We are, once again, on our way to school. I'm happy and in a good mood. I've enjoyed watching my sunrise and am happy that her and I are not arguing. Until . . . she says, "Mom, I want to get extensions put in my hair. I want long hair like all the popular girls at school have." (Oh crap). I try to gently explain and remind her of the struggle we went through just a few months ago with her long hair and how she wasn't able to wash, dry or take care of it when it was so long. I also revealed to her that the cost of such a procedure was pretty intense and that I didn't feel that that was a wise choice. I further informed her that she was so lucky and was blessed with great genes that allowed her hair to grow so fast and that her hair would be long on its own before she knew it. Well, this did not set well with my little girl. Once again, we were in a snit and pouted all the way to school. I was treated to the whole replay of the previous day when she departed from my vehicle. Sweet.

Well, I haven't seen her since that interaction. I've been in LA visiting with Skip. I'm heading home today to see how the climate is in my home. I'm hoping that she's had an opportunity to mull it all over and chill out about it. However, experience has taught me well that teenagers don't give up. They are like a dog with a bone when they want something. Heaven help me.

Gay Rodeo

2011-09-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

I love the Gay Rodeo. Have I mentioned that before? I mean, those people know how to have a good time. The other rodeos we go to the people are pretty uptight. They are intense and seemingly stressed out. The whole energy of the rodeo is very competitive (as I guess it should be) and . . . professional. Okay, yeah, I guess we are a professional team and should treat our performances as such. However, the Gay Rodeo has a more fun and enjoyable vibe. That's all I have to say about that, lol.

Anyway, I brought two of my horses to the performance. My team mate, Brooke, is borrowing Cowboy since her mare is having some challenges with her hip (she is in her mid twenties after all) and Cowboy is just a better option for now. Ellie, my mare, is a rockstar at performances. She just is "on" and shines and loves to lope around the ring with everyone applauding her. It's actually kind of comical to see her shine. I just love being her rider.

Cowboy, however, is young and was a bit fearful in the warm-up ring. He was spooking at the cows (it IS a rodeo, after all) and jumping at all the "new" scary things that were about. When we were lined up waiting to go into the show ring my coach was extremely concerned about him and a couple of other horses in our group that were acting up. As we sat there, I silently said a prayer and asked angels to surround the scared horses and comfort them and allow them to perform the way they have practiced. I closed my eyes and allowed the spirit to be strong with me and then projected the energy to the horses.

I'm here to tell you . . . we trotted into the ring and had one of the best performances EVER! I was so proud of our team and the crowd LOVED us! It was 9/11 and we were doing a very patriotic performance. I was proud to be a member of the Diablo Ladies Drill Team, proud to be part of the performance and so proud to be an American. As we trotted out of the ring I closed my eyes and sent a prayer of gratitude to my Heavenly Father. I knew and He knew EXACTLY why we had such a rockin performance.

Attracting Goodness

2011-09-24T09:34:00.001-07:00

I've been a bit of a lazy blogger of late. I wish I could blame it on any number of things but the truth of the matter is that I just have been . . . lazy. What's up with that? Right?

Okay, so I'm visiting Skip and I actually have down time. He's headed off to his office for a couple of hours and I have time to . . . meditate, blog, read, nap, yoga, journal . . . well, the possibilities are endless. However, I'm sure I'll not get to half of the list before he returns. I have decided to catch up on my blogging. So, I guess there will be several entries to make up for lost time.

I've been working on myself a lot lately and I'm happy to report that I've seen quite a bit of improvement. I am making a very big effort to get back into zoning. I have put the energy out to attract clients my way and, lo and behold, it's worked. People are calling to schedule appointments. I have been practicing on any of my willing friends and family for the face zoning and I'm ready to roll. I even made a purchase and bought myself a massage table. Yay me!

It's amazing how I'm learning about attracting opportunities into my life. I was really thinking a lot about my zoning mentor lately. I've been thinking, "I really need to call her. I would really love to get my feet zoned by her." Dang if she didn't call me yesterday to see how I was doing! I LOVE this stuff. I'm going to connect with her in the next week or so and touch bases.

I am a healer. That is what I was put on this earth to do. I have great energy and I love my work. All of this has made me a very happy girl.

Extreme Cop

2011-09-12T19:59:00.001-07:00

Today Brandilyn was flying in to Oakland to spend a couple of days with us (me). I dipped into 7-11 and scored some Vitamin Water drinks for the twins and off to the airport I flew. We got there a wee bit early (okay, like 1/2 hour) so I plopped my merry crew down in the park and call lot till it was time to swoop on my princess.

About 10 minutes before her plane was due to land Courtney broke into mass hysteria and claimed that she had to go to the restroom NOW!! I politely and calmly indicated that there was no facility nearby and that she would have to hold it. That was unacceptable to her. She continued to howl louder (okay, now you got my attention).

Brandilyn called and I put the car in gear and proceeded to drive up to the pick-up place. I texted her the emergency with her sister and asked her to be on the lookout for her. I sent the twins inside with directions to the restrooms and asked them to hold hands and stay together. Off they went. Off I went to circle around again.

When I came back around I was stopped at a traffic light. I was the second vehicle in line. The twins came bolting out of the airport and ran right out into the street to jump in my car (not waiting for me to pull to the curb). About as quick as I could blink a cop jumped out in front of my car, slamming his hand on my hood yelling, "That's a ticket! Do NOT move the vehicle, maam. You are receiving a ticket! Those were minor children running out into the street. Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"

Okay, really? I understand the situation but did he really see what happened? Did I motion my "minor" children to run out into the street? No. Brandilyn kept apologizing but it wasn't within her control either.

Needless to say, tonight I am the proud of owner of a ticket. Yep, just add my name to the LONG list of Weltz fugitives.

Leaving it Better!

2011-08-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

I recently pulled one of those angel cards that people have that said "How can I make the world a better place?" A perfect thought for me to ponder and I do. I was reflecting on that very thought this morning . . .

I arrived at Skip's apartment on Friday evening. As I walked in the place smelled divine. He had a candle on the warmer. Everything was meticulously put in its place and it looked 'sterile'.

Jody waltzed in and immediately grabbed a chair and plopped her suitcase on it. Within what seemed like minutes my stuff was all over the place. Makeup, essential oils, girly products and books, magazines and newspapers were EVERYWHERE!! I had to chuckle to myself at how quickly the place became "messy".

So this morning I'm packing up to go home (boo) and I'm noticing the cleaniness that is my husband is slowly emerging. I'm kind of jealous of his quiet existence here. I know that I could (well, maybe) keep my world in perfect order if I lived alone too. However, I think I'll take mi loco vida and learn to live with my own mess.

For now . . . I'm leaving his world a better place . . . I think. I gave him a foot zone, a little lovin, and we bought him a George Foreman grill. I think that qualifies. Right?

A Highly Unlikely Source

2011-08-27T09:21:00.001-07:00

I have been carrying this silly article around in my bag for quite awhile now. I cut it out from my People magazine several weeks ago wanting to save this quote. What's funny is that the article is an interview with Jennifer Aniston. I am so NOT a fan of her. I'm so not impressed with her acting and I think she's way over publicized. All that aside, she made a comment that i actually like.

"There are all sorts of things that are going to be happening in the near future, so I'm excited. I don't know what they are, but that's the fun part."

Holy cow! THAT came from HER? That right there is the Law of Attraction! That lady gets it! We should ALL be excited about the exciting and fun things that are going to be happening in our future. Of course we don't know what they are but that's the fun part. Right?

So there is the reason I've kept this article swooshing around in my bag for about a month now. I want to be excited about my future. I KNOW there are some way exciting things coming up. No, I'm not just talking about performing at rodeos and such I mean WAY exciting stuff. I have no idea what it is but I feel the excitement in my soul. I, most days, am bouncing around doing my job and feel real fun anticipation.

So, (with my tail between my legs) thank you Ms. Aniston for your quote. I'm glad to share in your excitement for the future. I think if we were all a little more optimistic there would be a lot more positive events taking place.

Zucchini World

2011-08-16T11:30:00.001-07:00

Wow! Like most people, we are having quite a bumper crop of the big Z this year. That's way awesome because last year it seemed that EVERYONE was struggling with the simplest of veggies to grow in the garden. I left on vacation on Saturday and, before I drove away, I was efficient in stashing several LARGE zucchini in my car to prepare while I was away. It seems that spending time researching recipes and such is something that I get to do while I'm on vacation.

So . . . I've so far made zucchini/carrot muffins THREE TIMES! They seem to be a fave and they go pretty quickly with my fam. Last night I made zucchini pizza which the twins and I thought was awesome! This morning I made chocolate zucchini cake which, by the way, is a vegan recipe. We haven't dove into it as of yet because it just popped out of the oven but it smells fabbie and is definitely beckoning us.

Check out my "naturally jode" blog for the recipes. I'll delete them if they don't meet the standards of my family (sorry, my twins and I eat a LOT of green things and we love them so sometimes we aren't the best ones to ask).

Oh, and yes, another thing we've been doing with the big Z is putting it in our green smoothies. YUM!! Our "go to" smoothies right now have blueberries, pear, 1/4 lemon, zucchini, cucumber, kale and spinach with a few squirts of flavored Stevia, some ice, some distilled water and Wahlaa!!! Magical, mystical perfection. Try it!

Whirlwind

2011-08-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

Lately, that's how it's been . . .

I went on a five day road trip with my dad up to see my sissy and momma in Washington. We worked hard cuz that's the way they roll up there on their CSA farm. There was food to harvest (yum) and things to be built (well, actually that was just to school me in the fine art of building raised beds) and dirt to dump (once again I was being schooled - this time in the fine art of driving a tractor). We also helped my sis rearrange her work area which took a full day of moving random stuff. The twins worked their bums off. I was proud.

So, I learned a lot from my sister. She's a great teacher. She taught me about screwguns (I didn't grasp that one very well, however), hammers and nails, driving the tractor as well as things having to do with growing stuff. We had a great visit and then there was the drive home. I was pretty tired when I finally got home.

Then there was the fundraiser for my drill team. I spent so much energy being annoyed by it that I forgot to sit back and enjoy the journey. Dang! I know better than that. It was a LOT of work to pull it together. It was funny because when I pulled into the ranch where we were having it with my truck and trailer loaded to the nines with tables, chairs, ice boxes, gas cooking stove and the like, one of my team members came up to me and said, "Jody, I guess I've never really asked what it is that you DO? Are you like an event planner or something?" Lol. I got a good chuckle out of that. I said, "Um, no, why do you ask?" She replied, "Well, you kind of put all this together and then you pull up with all the stuff. I guess I just didn't know what it is you do."

We got home around 1:30 a.m. from the fundraiser. I was completely wiped out. I got up at 6 the next morning, did my chores and got the fam packed and on the road by 2 for our vacation. I spent the first day just forcing myself from chair to chair and falling back to sleep. Today, I'm feeling back to myself. I'm enjoying the down time, wishing my princess and her man were here as well as Brian and Meg. It just feels empty without the rest of my family. I'm determined to indulge in a lot of reading, relaxing baths, meditation and long runs along the beach.

Kamikaze Son

2011-07-31T09:14:00.000-07:00

We are up in Washington visiting my sister and mom. We traveled up here on Friday and are staying at my sister's house. The weather here is so perfect for Brandilyn's liking but my Dad and I are such warm weather creatures we are having a bit of a challenge adapting. But other than that, the break from life and the opportunity to spend quality time with my parents and one of my sibs is awesome.

This morning I decided that I needed a run. I just get so keyed up and out of sorts that I just need to go run it out. Unfortunately, Jacob decided that waking up at 6:30 a.m. was a good idea . . . whatever. I asked him to go back to bed. My sister was leaving for work and then I thought about it. Um . . . Jacob awake loose in my sister's house while I'm out getting my zen on. Yeah, bad, bad idea. I went back into the room and asked him to get dressed and ride his bike with me. He was more than happy to oblige.

We took off and he seemed to be enjoying himself. He left me alone to think which is my favorite thing to do while I'm running. (I'm one of those that HATE listening to music. I LOVE my thoughts). At the half-way point, Jacob wiped out and did a total body plant on the asphalt. He started crying (howling) and I told him to buck up and get back on his bike. He pulled it together and complied (I noticed that he was doing a lot of checking out of his wounds - I, being the stellar mom, chose to ignore it).

A bit later, I noticed that Jacob was quite a bit behind me. I turned around to see if he was okay and noticed that he was picking some random berries and eating them. I yelled for him to stop and catch up. Now I was a bit concerned. I had NO idea what the flip these berries were. I called my sister when I got home and asked and she indicated that she was pretty sure they were Oregon Grapes (something I don't see where I'm from) and that they were okay. I'm supposed to identify the plant when I get over there in a bit.

Anyway, back here at my sister's house, I finally looked down at Jacob's leg and noticed that his shorts were really blood soaked. OMG! Yeah, I'm SO up for the mother-of-the-year award. I dug through Gail's stuff and found some spray and antiseptic stuff to hold him over. Gotta make a store run again and get some supplies to patch that boy of mine up. He's not dead or sick from eating the suspicious berries so I'm guessing they were the "good" berries.

What a way to start my day, lol. That BOY!!!!

Blue No Glue

2011-07-23T06:26:00.000-07:00

It's kind of ironic. I spent a lot of years standing on the side of the ring watching my children show their horses through the years. Brian, Brandilyn and Robbie have all been extremely talented riders. They have won a LOT of ribbons and awards and we have spent a LOT of money on horses, shows, lessons, training etc etc etc. It has been a lot of fun and I have enjoyed it immensely.

However, in the background, has been their mother. I have ridden since I was four (I think I've mentioned that before). My mom was an awesome teacher and she was way more patient with me than I have ever been with my children when it has come to teaching things of this nature. I decided, about 14 years ago, to take formal lessons just so that I could ride with my babies. I have continued taking lessons. I even competed in a schooling show that turned into a complete disaster about 12 years ago and vowed to NEVER show again.

We once had a gorgeous horse that we bought for Brandilyn. He was a complete neurotic horse and freaked out when a horse was coming in the opposite direction as he. We ended up trading him for this big black quarter horse. I was disappointed and didn't know what I would do with this other animal we had just acquired. I had trials with him (I got thrown off, he took off and removed one of my fingers which turned into a medical nightmare etc.) I hated him. One day, about four years ago, my trainer convinced me to take lessons on him and I reluctantly complied. That was and is my beloved Black Horse.

Last weekend my trainer talked me into showing . . . again. I was like, "IIIrrreeeeene, I'm scared of being embarrassed and doing awful!" She gently explained that a lot of years have passed and that I was much better and I should do fine. I was terrified but did it anyway.

I have to say the day was an incredible surprise! I competed in eight classes. I took home SEVEN blue ribbons and one red!! Are you kidding me? I was so proud of my big black wonder. Every time they announced the winner of a class I was completely caught off guard when they called my number.

The only thing missing in my wonderful experience was a member of my family standing at the gate and saying, "Good job. I'm so proud of you." I imagined it to be Brandilyn, though, and it made it all perfect.

We have all, over the years, had a funny saying at the horse shows: Blue or Glue (meaning he's off to the glue factory if he doesn't bring home the magic, lol). Well, my baby is DEFINITELY here to stay . . . for now.

Five and A Half Hours

2011-07-13T12:48:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday was a rough day - to say the least. I got woke up at 3:00 a.m. by my son requesting that I pick him up in town where he was visiting with the local peace officers (you know, kickin it and enjoying coffee and donuts) and taking a tour of the police station. Charming.

By the time I got home it was 5:00 a.m. and I decided that I should just stay up and start my wonderful day. I discovered we had no water at the house because of a broken pipe. Skip called the pipe fixing guy and that problem was solved sometime later. Turned out to be not the biggest train crash of my life.

My visiting teachers showed up around 1:30 ish and I was SO relieved (but in the back of my mind I KNEW that things in my life just seem to happen in 3's so I was on guard). We visited for quite awhile (I had a lot to say). The twins kept interupting so I asked them to please go outside and play. They did. My VT's left around 3:00 (like I said, I had a LOT to say, lol).

Courtney came in sometime later and announced that she couldn't find Jacob. I told her to go look again - dismissing her frustration (my bad). After another 1/2 hour she announced, once again, that she couldn't find Jacob. I decided to go out and help her out. After about two hours I started to panic a bit. I called my resourceful neighbor and she came over to help as well. She finally told me she was going to go saddle up a horse and we put in a call to 911.

I continued to search (we live in a wilderness area so the terrain is pretty rough in places and dangerous to say the least). The fire department showed up to get details, description etc. from me. Thank heavens Courtney was there. She was able to accurately describe what Jacob looked like, what he was wearing and where he was playing before she couldn't find him anymore. I was pretty impressed. My neighbor showed up on her horse and took off into the hills to search where vehicles can't access.

I came into the house and tried to call my bestie. I needed emotional support because I could feel myself slipping fast. She wasn't available so I called my VT, Brenda. She dropped everything and her and her husband quickly drove to our ranch.

After 5-1/2 hours of Jacob being gone, I heard the words I was desperately aching to hear, "I've got him!!" Jacob was alive and well. The search was terminated.

My neighbor had found him about two miles from our place, out in the hills wandering around lost. He had wandered out there (still don't even have a clue what went through his mind to motivate this activity), climbed up in a tree and had gotten stuck, heard me calling his name but chose not to respond, managed to get out of the tree without breaking anything and was standing in a clearing looking dazed and confused when she found him.

I am grateful that Jacob is ok. I'm grateful for all the people that rallied around to help me find my son. I am SO grateful that #3 came and passed and everyone is ok. I am really trying to find a place in my heart that can understand his random train of thought that led to all of this (just for the record, he didn't "run away" this time).

Right now, though, I'm glad to know that all is well.

Low, low, low

2011-07-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

Caution: I'm about to get a wee bit spiritual. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Actually, there's NOTHING wrong with it. It's pretty right. And, because it's Sunday, I guess it would make it pretty appropriate, lol.

In the Book of Mormon there is a spot where the people were exceedingly wicked - actually there is a LOT of spots where the people were exceedingly wicked. However, the part I was reading recently is in the actual book of Mormon. The people had continued to become more and more wicked and then they were getting their tails whooped by the Lamanites, they were humbled and started to listen, somewhat, to the prophets and repent. Mormon wrote these words . . .
"and it came to pass that when I, Mormon, saw their lamentation and their mourning and their sorrow before the Lord, my heart did begin to rejoice within me, knowing the mercies and the long-suffering of the Lord, therefore supposing that he would be merciful unto them that they would again become a righteous people." (Mormon 2:12)

I, as a mother, am feeling this same joy in my heart. It has been very difficult to watch one of my children in particular spiral downward rapidly. I have finally pulled away from helping him out of the difficult situations he gets himself into. He has hit a new low recently and called me sobbing. After a lot of conversation last night, I put his dad on the phone. My husband counseled our son to go to church today (which he did), meet with his bishop (which he did) and commence the repentance process (which he says he's going to).

I know my son has a very long road ahead of him. He has a lot of really difficult consequences to deal with for his rogue actions and we will love him through every minute of it - not fix the problem or pay his way - just love him (which is a new concept for me).

I am grateful that we have the church and that there is help for us. I'm grateful that my son has finally reached the point where he is open to help from above. I'm grateful that we have a loving, forgiving Heavenly Father who is there for us and loves us unconditionally. I feel a lot of joy in my heart right now and I'm grateful for that too.

EXTREME Pissedoffedness

2011-07-02T15:52:00.000-07:00

Courtney just got home from a week at Girl's Camp. Yay her! I'm guessing she had a great time although I'm not home to hear all her wonderful stories of her spiritual fun-filled week.

However, there is just one thing that has me so dang heated up that I'm having a bit of trouble getting passed it. Evidentaly Danielle (who picked up Courtney from the drop off point) was informed that Courtney had trouble breathing at camp and they gave her, not one, but TWO breathing treatments with Albuterol. Wtf?

The Health Form that I was required to fill out specifically asks what meds are allowed to be administered to my child and I indicated NONE. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a "no meds" mom. I prefer herbs and only really seek the medical community when there are broken bones or life threatening situations. Furthermore, NO attempt was made to contact me for permission or advice on my child.

I know that Courtney does NOT have asthma. She does have trouble breathing when she gets amped up or has a cold and we just have her sit calmly until it passes. It always does. No way would I EVER give her medication/poison to alter what her body can and does do all by itself. Why would ANYONE make the choice to medicate another person's child with no permission. Isn't that illegal? I'm dang sure it is and I fully intend to address the problem

As for next year? Yeah, sorry church. My child will NOT be attending camp unless I'm there and THAT is highly unlikely.

Bittersweet

2011-06-27T21:08:00.001-07:00

Going to Girl's Camp (the week-long camp that our church puts on for our teenage girls) has been part of my life since Brandilyn was 12 years old. I have gone every year with the exception of two (and one of those I was called but had to decline because Brandilyn chose to get married like a week after camp was over, YIKES!).

I LOVE camp! I have always worked so hard organizing hand-outs, preparing scripture study, getting ready for the overnight hike (because I've always been in charge of 3rd years) and bonding with the girls. It's been rewarding, fulfilling and FUN!

This year, however, I was not invited to be a leader at camp. I was asked to be the camp coordinator for our ward - which I accepted. I dutifully did all the tasks that a coordinator is supposed to do: collect the money, make sure all the forms are filled out and returned, keep the girls informed about meetings, coordinate (and teach) the CPR and first-aid before camp, coordinate the rides for the girls AND their gear etc., etc., etc. There's a lot that goes into camp!

We were three seats short so I decided to drive those three girls AND all the gear up to camp today. I had a lot of fun chatting and listening to music for the three hour ride with the girls. I laughed hard and enjoyed - really enjoyed - every minute of the journey. When I got to camp, I unloaded the gear and unhooked my trailer and had lunch before I headed home.

I must say that I got pretty choked up a few times. My bestie AND my daughter were staying and I was coming back and I wasn't taking it very well. Nope, not well at all. I felt like a spoiled brat who didn't get her way. I left and had quite a struggle with my emotions most of the way home.

Here I am at home tonight. I just had what I wanted for dinner (a protein shake) and I'm on my computer blogging and I am tossing a glance at my awesome comfortable bed. They are at camp with the bugs (actually I don't mind bugs), loud rowdy girls, long trips in the dark to the restroom and trying to be comfortable in that stupid mummy sleeping bag with a loud air mattress underneath.

Yes, I'm thinking being home isn't bad.

Scarecrow?

2011-06-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I came home from town after a quick appointment that I had. I gave the twins specific instructions on some chores that needed to be complete and they had their choice as to which one to work on. They chose to weed the compost area by my vegetable garden.

When I got home, I rushed up to the house, changed my clothes, grabbed my gloves and went down to help them. While we were working, I noticed four large eggs set beside one of the trailers. I knew instantly that they were peacock eggs. The peacocks are nesting (my neighbors have a LOT of peacocks) and there are a lot of hens laying on eggs around their property and neighboring properties (like ours).

When I asked the twins where they got the eggs they both pointed in a different direction and said in unison, "over there!"(you know, like the scarecrow on Wizard of Oz). It didn't take rocket science to know that one of them was fibbing. I KNEW Courtney knew where one of the hens was laying nearby (and that is EXACTLY where Jacob had pointed) and I called her on it. After a few attempts to convince me that she wasn't lying, she finally caved.

Yeah, she told Jacob (big mistake) where the nest was and Jacob decided that he needed the eggs (for whatever reason). Nice.

Doin the Beesness!

2011-06-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

Little boxes, on the hillside, little boxes made for little bees. There's a brown one and a white one and a square one and a tall one and they're all made of wood and they all look just the same.

Lol. Yeah, so I just changed the lyrics for the song, "Little Boxes" because it just seemed a bit appropriate for my new little friends that just arrived. BEES!!

The bee guys delivered these little darlings two nights ago. They had to bring them in the middle of the night (like stealth) because that's when the bees are asleep and unaware of what the flip is going on. However, when they awoke yesterday morning I'm going to venture to say that they were NOT happy bees. Their little worlds were rocked!!

We were swimming and the bees decided that the pool was a perfect water source. Sorry to say that the kids and I really didn't agree. We spent a lot of time scooping the little guys out of the water so they wouldn't drown. Of course, Jacob had to completely flip out twice when a bee was on him and consequently he got stung . . . twice.

I'm hoping things settle down a bit today. We are promised a LOT of honey and a bit of $$ for our trouble in fostering the bees. We'll see. I can say this, though. When I go for my morning walk along the trail that goes below this area, I really feel a surge of energy as I can hear the hum coming from the boxes up above. It's a good thing and it totally makes me smile and appreciate God's creations a bit more.

Bumpy Summer

2011-06-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

Summer vacation is off and running. It's been a rough first week, to say the least. First, for whatever reason, I thought it would be okay to go out in the mornings and do my "thing" (aka yoga and ride my horse and visiting teaching) and then come home and find the perfect twins dressed, fed and doing their minimal list of chores that I've left for them. NOT!!!

I came home to chaos on Monday and Tuesday and by Wednesday I decided to start waking the darlings up and taking them with me each morning. It sucks beyond all suckage but it's the way I have to roll. Courtney says this is the worst summer EVER. Amen! But really . . . look at this . Look at what Jacob did to my (Brandilyn's) cat!!! I know this is freaking hilarious but . . . really?

Okay, so there has been SOME fun. Like yesterday when I was watching Ava we opened up the pool and the kids all played. Of course, that's when I discovered that I've been a rather neglectful parent. Courtney's swimsuit is at least three years old. We scooted out today and snagged her a new one. She is most excited now to have something new to wear to camp in a week.

So, I think Jacob going back to summer school and me just learning to constantly have kids in tow is how this family is going to survive this summer. I've always been a mom that LOVES having the babies home from school but now I think I'm finally understanding how a lot of moms count down the days till school starts again.

Rockin Livermore!

2011-06-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

Our drill team rocked the house last Thursday night (the 9th). We actually all looked great and were in sync. This post is short and sweet but here's the link to our performance if you feel like taking about 8 minutes out of your life to watch. I'm one of the ones on a paint horse. See if you can figure out WHICH paint horse I'm riding, lol.

http://www.youtube.com/user/rpbandit

One of the coolest things was AFTER our performance. We went back to our trailers and a whole crowd of people flocked over to take our pictures and asked us to pose with their children. I felt like Britney Spears (almost)! It was a really fun evening. The only regret I have was that I had to dash off to do an airport pick up and wasn't allowed to stick around and celebrate with my girls. Of course, the prize at the airport was my princess and I wouldn't have missed that for all the glory in the world.

Wedding Bliss

2011-06-11T18:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Danielle and Jeffrey got married. Our family was all there (minus Jacob who was enjoying his last day of school). They got hitched at the courthouse and I was so impressed with how nice they made the event there. They had a little arch all decorated up and they had pews for all of us family to sit and . . . well, it was just as nice as it could be.

Today, we had the reception. We had originally planned to have the party up here at our place but experience has taught me that any event held at our place is almost certain to be ruined with the excessive winds that we tend to have. We moved the festivities to our church in town.

Hahaha! Mother Nature sure got the last laugh. The weather has been absolutely stunningly gorgeous of late and today, of all days, it was windy and nasty cold. Fortunately, most of the people and cetainly all of the family, didn't let a little wind and cold ruin the celebration. Everything turned out pretty well. We had food. We had cake (amazing cupcakes). We had dancing. We had a dj (THE Brian Paul Weltz). We had entertainment (Jacob and Brian displayed their break dancing skills). We had family and friends and felt lots of love and support.

When we got home, we were more than certain that we had made the right choice. The winds were absolutely howling (like a hurricane, as my BFF pointed out) and it was/is bitter cold. It was a relief to get the vehicles unloaded and bundled up in our cozy home. A few of us are venturing out in a bit to soak in the hot tub. Oooh lala!!

The bride and groom? Well, they are headed to Vegas tomorrow for a week honeymoon. Yay for Danielle and Jeff! We love you guys!

Today Just Rules!

2011-06-06T16:35:00.001-07:00

Hahaha. My drill leader texted me today and asked what the heck I was in such a great mood about. Well . . . I'll tell you:

I scored a cute pair of white jeans for just $11.99 at Kohls to wear for my drill performances (I thought I was going to pay upwards of $80 or more)

I got a pedicure and wax and I feel pretty

I get to spend some time at home (something I cherish)

The sun is trying to come out

I got trained for my new "job" today (working front desk at the Dog)

I have good friends and family that love me and allow me to have my "moments" without judgement

Yeah, that's a nice start for now. This is me soaring across the sky like a firework. I'm grasping for the positive and holding onto it. I'm happy for the little things that are right in my life right now. Could this day possibly get any better? You bet your bum it will (it's only 5:00 in the afternoon!).

Rock Bottom!

2011-06-05T19:46:00.000-07:00

It's been a rough few days. I keep thinking it's gonna get better and I just keep sinking deeper into the muck. I made the comment yesterday, "Well, the good news is that when you are finally as low as you can go there's only one place to go. UP!!"

Then I went and saw that movie that's out right now, Bridesmaids. Okay, okay, okay, I know it's rated R. Cut me some slack. That movie was downright fricking hilarious! Not only did it lighten my mood, but it just resonated with how I felt about my life right now. I laughed my fool head off!

Yes, there's a lot of crap to deal with today. A LOT, I tell you! However, I honestly feel that I've about hit the absolute bottom. I am rejoicing!! So, Baby, you'd better look out cuz this girl is gonna be flying like a firework on the freaking Fourth of July! Let the games begin!

A Wee Bit Edgy

2011-06-01T06:59:00.000-07:00

I feel like, once again, I have a LOT on my plate right now. Danielle and Jeff are getting married in about 10 days, I have three drill performances before that date and numerous (it seems) practices and I have an important court date with Robbie next Tuesday. I'm feeling stretched quite thin. In addition, I'm trying to get going on a couple of other "projects" that I'm feeling pretty good about - but they, too, require a large piece of me. Today, I'm on my way up to work on my sister's books for her business. Ahhhh!!!!

So, I was chatting with a friend on the phone last night and when I mentioned that my daughter was getting married next Saturday she had to say those words that I HATE!! "Oh, but this is Skip's daughter from his first marriage, right?" Like, that makes her null and void?

Wtf!?!?! I have been in Danielle's life since she was nine months old. I have had the privilege (or otherwise, lol) of raising her since she was about two. She was with Skip and I full time until she turned 18 and went off to BYU. So, how the heck does that make her any less valid as my daughter? It's like I mentioned before about people and their ridiculous comments about my "adopted" children. So, I will say it again . . . YES! She IS my daughter!!! Yes, she has someone else she calls "mom" as well (I have never asked or encouraged Cory or Danielle to call me "mom" because they have one already but Danielle does refer to me as her mom. And, oh for the record, I get along with her mom quite well. We are great friends). I love her the same as I do my other children.

So, there it is. I still have a lot to do to prepare for the reception. I still have a lot of emotions wrapped up in watching another one of my daughters take this big step in life. I still look forward to watching the years unfold and seeing what kind of wonderful life she and her husband will make together. I still am gaininig another "son". I'm still a proud mom and, yes, I DO have pictures. Here, I'll share one.

Sorry, D, but this IS my favorite one and this IS my blog so even though it is "Your Day, Your Way" I get the final say here, lol.

No! Not the Pizza!

2011-05-31T06:49:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had to make a trek up to Idaho to take care of some family business. Skip was in charge here at home with Robbie and the twins. Of course, when Dad is in charge things are always run a bit different. No probs, though, just different.

This morning, I walked into Jacob's room as he was getting ready for school to prod him along. This is what I saw:

Yeah, we've seen this kind of thing before crop up on Jake. At one point it was all over his body and we assumed he had chicken pox so we kept him from school for four days (what a nightmare THAT was!). The rash is itchy and looks like he's got the the plague.

Anyway, I asked him what he had different this weekend than when I'm in charge. He quickly (too quickly, lol) replied, "Peetha!" (you have to remember that Jacob has a lisp because of his lazy tongue).

Pizza? Could it be that he's allergic to pizza? Well, from the schooling that I've taken over the last three or four years that is a very real possibility. Dairy - check. Gluten - check. Processed meat - check. Since I don't give my children dairy I finally concluded that this might be the culprit. Of course, since Papa Murphy's probably has "secret" ingredients, it could be any number of problems. Answer? Keep the child away from pizza.

Sorry buddy. It's okay, we'll make your sister abstain as well.

Megsie!

2011-05-26T07:45:00.000-07:00

Can I just say how much I adore my son's girlfriend? Megan has been the best thing that has ever happened to my rogue son. She has pushed him to try to become the best he can be. Our whole family just LOVES this girl!

A cool thing about Megan (amongst millions of cool things) is that she is an animal lover like most of the rest of us (except my husband). More specifically, Megan loves dogs (that's okay, Brandilyn/cats, Jody/horses, Brian/reptiles etc.). Brian is always wanting to get Meg a dog but, like Brandilyn and Dave's situation, this is NOT the time in their lives to have a dog.

My resourceful son found an AWESOME alternative to the problem . . . volunteer at the animal shelter as a dog walker! Brilliant! Now, him and Meg go over there whenever they can and walk dogs. Bri took this gorgeous picture of Meg a couple of days ago and I just LOVE it!

Brian, all I have to say is that if you EVER break up with this girl, we are keeping her and tossing YOU back, lol!

On the Cover of the Rolling Stone!

2011-05-25T07:18:00.000-07:00

I'm a proud sister and daughter! My mommy sent me this in the mail. This is the CSA farm that my mom and my sister started together. My sister had a "vision" and has followed her dream with my mom by her side and they have built it up to this very successful business!

My sister actually called me about a week or so ago and told me how she called the paper and mentioned her farm to them. She sent them photos and they were so impressed with her and her photos that they featured them on the FRONT page and in FULL COLOR! Can you imagine that?

I have to say that a bit of envy is mingled in with the pride I have for them. You see, my sister and I both were starting our businesses together at the same time. Her's took off and mine flopped on it's face and died. We both approached with the same enthusiasm and drive. I'm happy for them, though. I truly am. I only wish I lived closer so that I could partake of the bounty of my family's business.

So . . . Yay Mom and Gail! I'm proud of you guys and I love you to bits!!

Lighten It Up!

2011-05-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

Today, I'm gonna change it up a bit. I'm gonna kick up my heels and be rogue. I'm just not gonna let the daunting schedule of the day get to me. Nope, not today!

I'm "supposed" to go take my lesson on Black Horse, leave my lesson early to go watch Ava's performance on her last day of school at her pre-school, have an hour of "wtf" (that would be an hour where there is nothing to do but I live too far away to go home), meet two of the sisters I visit teach for lunch (I hate doing lunch for VT - I hate the whole food world right now), take Ava to her riding lesson, leave early to pick up Courtney from school, go teach my Activity Day girls at the park (yum, we are making ice cream in a bag and playing volleyball) and then come home and try to be a mom with the whole dinner/homework/bedtime gig.

However . . . I've decided to blow off my lesson and see if my trainer can do it tomorrow and just go for a nice vigorous walk this morning to clear my head (I've got a bit on my mind right about now), go watch Ava's performance, spend that hour gathering supplies for later, go have lunch with the girls and enjoy the experience, blow off Ava's lesson till tomorrow when we can take it together, go play with Ava at a park somewhere, pick up Court from school and then go do my teaching gig at the park before I head home. Doesn't that sound more relaxed and sane? Yeah, I thought so too.

Now . . . to see if my trainer will be on board with the scheduling change.

I'm not into taking life too serious. I like to be light and enjoy (sometimes too much, lol). Lately, the burdens of a few things have just turned me into this ogre that I don't want to be. I think a walk, time playing with my grand daughter and having lunch with my friends might be a nice way to switch it all up. Right?

Backbone

2011-05-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

There arose a situation this weekend where someone, once again, took gross advantage of me. They broke my trust and hurt me and could have done grave damage to my family and our home.

I was hurt and venting to Danielle and she did another quick bum kicking to get me moving in the right direction. After hearing it from her, I bucked up and told this individual off. After I got going, I was unstoppable! I was insanely proud of myself. They kept coming back and trying to play on my sympathy but I wouldn't have any of it. My daughter stuck with me the whole evening coaching me and she even ended up getting a phone call from this person and she let him have it as well.

Today is a different day. I'm cooled off and I'm a bit softer again. Still, not allowing this person to walk all over me anymore, though. I'm trying to make some serious decisions and Skip and Danielle are on my side helping me through it.

This person endangered everything my hard-working husband has spent his entire life building up. They endangered the safety of one of my children - heck, all three of my children at home, for that matter. I need to be tough.

I remember, growing up, my mom always gave me heck about the fact that I NEVER stood up for myself. People have walked all over me my whole life. I've always tried to believe the absolute best in everyone and it always floors me when their ugly side is revealed to me. It hurts - always. I don't want to be this soft hearted person, but it's the way I was born. It's who I am.

I'm grateful for those in my life that give me the backbone I need. I'm grateful that they are there to be the part of me that I'm just not capable of being alone. I love you guys!!

Happy Rapture Day!

2011-05-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

Hahaha. I didn't even know about this little piece of information before yesterday afternoon. I was sitting with my peeps here in Grass Valley at the rodeo and they mentioned that we might not even be able to perform tonight because of the rapture. I'm all, "Wtf are you talking about?" That's when they told me. Man, am I EVER misinformed.

I mean, something this important shouldn't have been kept from me, right? How did I miss the fact that I'm going to be left here all alone while my family is transported to heaven? There is no freaking way that I'm going to be one of the 'chosen" ones. This is going to be a big day for me. I need to figure out how to transport seven horses back home from the rodeo and then I need to go start knocking on my friends' doors to seee if any of them are as evil as I so that we can kick it. Right?

Well, just for the record, I'm not a believer in this whole hype that is about today. So far it's 10:30 a.m. and nobody has been translated as of yet. Life appears to be going on as normal. I just wish people would quit putting out so much energy about apocalyptic events. If anything is going to happen, it will be in the Lord's time and when HE decides. It isn't a mathematical equation and it's not written in some secret book hidden somewhere.

So, today, I choose to go give the best performance of my life tonight and enjoy the day with my children, husband and my drill mates. It's sunshiny and has all the ingredients for a nothing short of fabulous day!

Happy Rapture Day Everyone!!

Rainbow

2011-05-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

Several days ago I posted my Facebook status as "after the hurricane comes a rainbow". This was a quote from Katy Perry's song, "Firework" (which, by the way, I LOVE that song). It has caused me to ponder the quote further, though.

Cory, Danielle, Brandilyn and (mostly) Brian were horrible, nasty, terrible teenagers. I spent a lot of their teenage-hood in tears and frustration. Actually, one funny story (there are a lot, I'm sure) was one day I was so mad at Brian - he was about 17 at the time - and I was yelling at him for something, which is highly unusual for me (lol). He was being belligerent and disrespectful (who, Brian?) and I finally walked up to him - all 5'11" muscular teenage him - and started pounding my fists on his chest as I was crying and yelling (yeah, I was in perfect control). He laughed and said repeatedly, "Mom, stop. Come on, Mom, stop it. Mom, really, stop." All the while I was just out and out losing it. Yeah, this would describe how most of the teenage years have gone with my offspring.

However, those four older children are now beautiful pieces of MY rainbow. All in their own special way. I'm proud of each and every one of them. Cory and his girl, Sarah, have a gorgeous little girl of their own that is the apple of my husband's eye. I get to tend her and she's just so fun and smart and . . . fun!

Danielle is getting married to her guy here in less than a month. I'm so proud of how she's worked so hard to get where she is. She holds down a full time job and babysits multiple times during the week AND is a consultant for moms with problem kids. She has managed to plan a wedding with a minimal budget which I find highly commendable. She has become the queen of bargains.

Brandilyn and her husband are awesome. They own a clothing store and she is about to graduate college in July. She is such a strong member of the Church (yes, BRANDILYN!) which gives me hope for the others. Her and Dave are so crazy in love. Brandilyn is so great at listening to my woes and she gives really great sound advice. I so cherish my visits up there to Idaho (the cold country) to visit and bond.

Brian - ah, yes my Brian . . . talk about the hurricane of all hurricanes! Yeah, that boy gave me the run of my life! Now, he is really trying hard to get his stuff together and go on a mission. He is madly in love with Megan (so are we) and wants to finish his mission and marry his love. He just scored a job at Winco and wants to pay his own way in life (YES!!). He calls me every day to tell me he loves me and misses me. It's reciprocal.

So, there it is. Four beautiful parts of my 7-part rainbow. I love them so much.

And here I am in the middle of yet another hurricane eagerly looking for that rainbow that I know is out there. It's what keeps me going.

Good Times

2011-05-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

Here's our spa deck outside our master bathroom. It's one of my most favoritist places about our home. I love to go sit out here and look up at the sky or that beautiful tree and just enjoy.

Today Marly, Brandilyn's kitty, was sitting outside the door asking to come back into the house. I opened up the door and he came waltzing in with a mouse in his mouth. After he dropped it for me to admire and praise him for, I grabbed a dustpan and scooped the little critter up and went back out on the deck to toss it over. As I walked out, the door slammed behind me. Usually, that would be no big deal (we NEVER lock it).

Well, today it appears that the door was locked (I finally concluded that the window washer that came up here last week to clean before the house showing must have locked it to be efficient). I was trapped out there on the deck and I was home ALONE!! I was trying to weigh my options. I'm not too fond of heights so climbing over the glass and trying to come up with a strategy there was pointless (although I DID climb over the glass and quickly back over as soon as I concluded that this was only going to end very badly). I knew that it could be a few more hours before anyone would be coming up the driveway. I was cold (very windy day) and decided that there could be worse fates that I could be faced with. Right?

As I settled in, it suddenly dawned on me that this had happened before to Skip and I in a much more UNfavorable circumstance. We were sitting in our hot tub with (ahem) nothing on enjoying a afternoon home alone. When we were finished we discovered that we were locked outside on the deck. We both looked at each other and started laughing. What the flip were we going to do? Well, my husband is NOT afraid of heights so he climbed over the edge (buck naked) and let himself drop to the ground. He went to the front door, it was locked. He finally had to run all the way around to the back of the house and let himself in then came and rescued the damsel in distress.

As I was pondering that comical situation, I remembered something! We had learned from this experience and my husband had very cleverly hidden a key. That's right!! I went to where I thought the key was and, alas, there it was!! Yay! I was safely back in the house!

Dang, I LOVE that deck. I think I'll go find a repair place to fix that spa so that I can go enjoy it again.

If you build it they will come

2011-05-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

Once again . . . no secret, our house is on the market and we are excited about our future move to Arizona for a fresh new start. Oh, we will really miss our mates here but it will be fun to start over somewhere new. That said, our house has been on the market for 8 months now and we really haven't had much activity - okay, we haven't had ANY activity. That is until last week . . . .

I got a call on Tuesday that an agent wanted to show our home on Thursday at 11. I was casual and said, "Sure, no problem!" Inside I was like, "OMG!! Wtf??" I mean, our house isn't a total wreck but we have become extremely slack in our, uh, housekeeping. And the yards! Holy crumb! They are/were stuffed up bad.

I called my sister (cuz that's what your supposed to do, righto?). She always knows what to say and do. First, she told me to calm down and breathe. It was going to be okay. She gave me some wonderful suggestions and I pulled myself together and formulated a plan. My bestie, Nan, and I went plant shopping and we came up with the most amount of foliage for the least amount of dough. I spent the whole day Wednesday (with the help of Ava) planting and working my bum off in the yards. I had drill that night so I had to take a couple of hours off to ride (yeah, real sacrifice there) and then got back home and went right back to it. I worked outside until 11:30 with the help of floodlights and caffeine. Of course, my best mate showed up in the middle of the night to help out and offer further encouragement (have I mentioned how much I love her?)

Thursday morning I attacked the inside of my house and went like a crazy woman. I scrubbed, hid miscellaneous things and organized as fast and neatly as I could. When I took Courtney to school, I stopped in Target and bought up massive quantities of air fresheners (cuz you never know what someone else is going to think of your "smell" right?) and plugged them in every room I could. Even Robbie participated in the game by cleaning up and making his environment look spiffy (go figure).

When the time arrived for the "showing" I was pleased with the result. I turned on all the lights, threw out all the cats and locked up my dogs in their run (they hated it). I left.

Two days later, my realtor called and said that the people were not interested in our property because they weren't horse people and they weren't looking for horse property (why would someone come view a horse facility if they weren't looking for horse property? Whatever). However, the agent was impressed with how well our place showed. She said that it was obvious that we took exquisite care of our place and she was going to keep it in mind for future clients. Yay me!

Well, here we are on the following week. With the Law of Attraction in force, I am busting my bum to keep my home the way it looked that day . . . well, almost. After all, we do have to live in it, right? All I need is about an hour heads up and I can have it ready to show to that perfect person that is supposed to own this dream home of ours. Bring it on!

The Rustler - Part II

2011-05-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

I just can't continue in fairy tale form. This story just doesn't conform to such . . .

As we drove up to pick up the pony, I was nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof. My comrades continued to attempt to calm me down by telling me there was nothing I was doing wrong. I just HATE confrontation. I know I've said it before but it's true.

When we arrived at the ranch, there was nobody in the office. We walked around until we saw a woman out doing something. We inquired as to whether or not she knew where the pony was and she asked if we had informed the trainer that we were picking her up. I said that I was the owner and that I had not informed him as of yet. She sent us on a wild goose chase while she went and snagged my pony and hid her in a random pasture.

While we were walking back toward where we had seen her, another woman rode by us on a horse and started whistling loudly (obviously alerting the first woman as to our whereabouts). About then, two different hispanic men arrived on their Gators and we, once again, inquired about my pony. They were vague (and spoke very little English, it appeared). When one of my mates suggested that we were going to call the police if we couldn't get our pony he said, "Uh, follow me" (yeah, that's right, buddy, suddenly your memory was jogged).

I found her stall. She was gone. We all knew we had been had at that moment. However, the two hispanic men materialized out in a pasture where we could see a pony galloping around at top speed. Yep, that was her all right. We waited until they had the pony and brought her to us. My mates loaded her up in the trailer and we were off.

I called Skip and asked him to please call the trainer since he had been texting and calling me like crazy. He did and they had a bit of a heated discussion before it calmed down and they both came to some kind of agreement.

I have to say that I was so shaking and stressed out. My teeth on the left side of my mouth hurt pretty bad right now from being clenched most of today. I didn't calm down until I had unhooked the trailer at my place, come up to the house and dove into a bag of Cheetos (okay, probably not the best decision of the day). I am now relieved and feel like a huge burden has been lifted off of my shoulders.

So now the exquisite pony is lounging in her stall in the castle stables. She is being hand fed grain and hay and many many specialty horse treats. The maiden has retired to her quarters with strict instructions to the castle occupants to not disturb her (yeah, I wish). The mates have done a good turn and will be vastly rewarded for their deeds. All is well in the kingdom this night and we know that now we can live happily ever after.

The Rustler

2011-05-09T07:46:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time, in a kingdom not too far from here there lived a fair maiden that had a most beautiful pony. The pony was so beautiful that she was the envy of all who saw her. The fair maiden knew her pony would draw attention from people far and near so she decided to place a price on the pony and see who, in all the kingdoms around, would be willing to pay such a fine price for such a fine animal.

Well, the pony was viewed by many in the maiden's own kingdom but none deemed themselves worthy to own such a fine animal. The maiden then decided to send the pony to a kingdom very far away where the weather is extremely cold because there are many there who would appreciate such a fine example of equine excellence. But, nay, it was not to be. The citizens of this kingdom, too, could not bring themselves to part with such a handsome amount of money to allow themselves the privilege of owning this pony.

One day, the maiden received a phone call from the fine trainer in the cold country. "Oh fine maiden, we have a knight who is traveling back toward your kingdom and has offered to transport your fine pony. Shall I enlist his service?"

"Oh yes! That would be fabulous!", quipped the maiden.

So, the man proceeded to transport the exquisite pony back to a kingdom closer to home. Enroute, however, the man called the maiden and suggested that possibly the pony could be sold for a fine price in his kingdom. Would the maiden be so kind as to consider such a proposition? She was enchanted by his seeming knowledge and by the many citizens he claimed would come to see this fabulous animal. She quickly, too quickly, agreed to the proposition and made arrangements for travel to visit his fine facility. And, what a fine facility it was. It was everything the maiden could possibly want for her pony.

Many days passed. Many weeks passed. Many months passed and there was no word from the man. The maiden became concerned and finally her closest confidants convinced her that the man was a bad man. That the pony needed to be collected immediately. Oh no! The maiden never engaged in conflict. What was she going to do?

Well, her mates agreed to travel with her to this foreign kingdom and assist her in reclaiming her fine pony and bringing the pony home.

So today, the journey begins. This maiden is very nervous and scared to interact with the bad man. This maiden is also relieved that she will no longer have to pay great quantities of money to have the pony in a far away land. This maiden will continue her documentation of this adventure tomorrow . . .

Extreme Yummification!

2011-04-27T20:17:00.000-07:00

I did a big naughty not too long ago (I just seem to be full of confessions on this blog of late, lol). I popped into a McDonald's and caved in and scored a Mocha Frappacino. It has been said to be all the rage and I just had to see what the all the fuss was about. I have to tell you, it was absolutely delish! I even enjoyed the accompanying brain freeze (not really but the drink was WAY awesome).

Okay, so I wanted a "Mormonized" version of the same drink. I happened into a health food store in Idaho Falls while I was waiting for Megs and Bri to get their groceries at the Winco across the street. The woman in there was beyond accomodating. When I told her what I wanted, she said, "Well, let me call my daughter. She works at the Starbucks just down the street." Her daughter delivered the recipe and the two of us went to work modifying the recipe to fit my needs. I have to say that this has become my new favorite indulgence (since I'm on such a restricted diet that any treat is welcome).

Here's what we do:

In the blender (my Vitamix works wonders) I put the following:

Ice
1 extremely heaping spoon of organic cocoa powder
3 extremely heaping spoons of Pero or Cafix
1-2 dropper fulls of flavored Stevia (I like chocolate, peppermint or vanilla creme so far)
1/2 teaspoon of guar gum (holds it together, I guess)
Rice milk (or today it was coconut water and rice milk)

I blend this up until it's smooth (I hate ice chunks) and I have to tell you, I'm a happy camper!

Zinger!

2011-04-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a good one that really shouldn't EVER be put in the Weltz history books. However, I'm just bold enough to write this one down anyway . . .

This morning while I was tacking up my horse to ride at the ranch along with my other ranch homies, I was chatting back and forth with my trainer. She was asking me about Brian and why I had to make a trip up to Idaho last week. I explained about his housing sitch and such and then made mention that we were kind of waiting to see what shakes out about his mission before we decide what the next step in his future was.

At that point one of my other fellow riders, Julie, popped up out of the blue and exclaimed, "Jody, are you a Mormon?"

I replied, "Um . . . yeah . . ."

My trainer then stated, "Well, Jody isn't just your mainstream Mormon. She's a bit rough around the edges."

Julie then came back with, "I am SHOCKED! I just am SHOCKED!!"

Holy crumb! I knew I slipped up every now and then but really? I mean, yeah, I let off a few words here and there when my ride isn't going the best but really? And, I WILL say that it IS the ranch and the talk there is rough at best anyway but really?

So then, my ride is going along. At one point I make a comment about how Black Horse is being a wee bit naughty. Julie then says . . . (drum roll, please, for the grand finale!) . . . "He just found out he has a Mormon on his back and really doesn't know what to do with that information!"

Bahahaha!! Good one!!!

Well, I did come away from that experience today a bit humbled. Also, I think I only let off one bad word when I totally biffed a course I was riding so that IS an improvement. Let me just say this . . . I'm a work in progress and I have quite a ways to go before I'm good to go!

One Pooped Pup

2011-04-25T20:48:00.001-07:00

Today was my first day back to my life. It's been like three weeks since I've done my life and, I have to say it kind of felt good to be back in control. Of course, that was until tonight. I'm sitting here at my desk just too dang tired to get up and go to bed. Go figure.

I watched Ava today and she was happy to see me. She ran up to me and gave me the biggest hug EVER! I guess it's right what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder.

Also, Jacob is out of school this week because it's his spring break (yeah, none of my children have the same spring break this year. Go figure). Jacob kind of tried to be helpful with Ava but actually they just argued like siblings. Lol

I hopped on my sister's horse this afternoon and got to use my new Aussie saddle for the first time. LOVED the sadde. The horse was a lazy boy and I had to nudge him along the whole time. It was good to be back in the saddle (literally) again, though. I missed riding.

Tomorrow brings a ride on my awesome Black Horse whom I have missed terribly since I've been away. Really looking forward to that.

Right now, I'm going to walk that long walk over there to my sink and brush my teeth, wash my face and settle down in my bed and watch my Aussie show that I love. I'm ready to call it a day. So, the accomplishment is going to be for me to lift myself out of this chair right about now! Lol.

Good night.

Country Mouse

2011-04-23T09:04:00.000-07:00

I grew up in the country setting. I lived a lot of my adult life in the city world but 14 years ago Skip and I decided to move to where we are now - out in the hills on 26 acres. I love love LOVE it there!

Well, as I have mentioned before, Skip's job has taken him to LA. He lives in a really nice apartment all by himself (jealousy inserted here). I get to go down and visit him once a month for the weekend. This is my weekend here (I'm only blogging cuz my hot man is getting himself ready for the day and I tend to be able to manage that chore a whole lot faster than he). Last night as I was laying in bed I was thinking about what is it that makes me want to be such a country mouse . . .

- Noise - here (in LA) the noise is people sitting on their deck outside drinking a talking loudly, planes flying over head and cars moving to and fro. At home the noise is the occasionally coyote in the distant hills, my horses snorting as they are eating their grass and my neighbor's wolves howling intermittedly - all sounds that I love.
- People - here there are people pushing and rushing everywhere. At home I seldom see any of my neighbors. The only peeps I really interact with are my family unless I go to town (which is WAY too much for my liking).
- Landscape - yesterday as my plane was circling over LA to land I was looking at the landscape (or lack thereof). I couldn't help but think that 200 years ago I bet this terrain was absolutely drop dead gorgeous. Now, it's just a wall of houses, asphalt and concrete sprinkled with the occasional golf course. At home, right now the hills are beautiful green and lush. Of course, in about a month they will be golden brown and there will be a whole new vibe there.
- Stress. Here (even though I'm not in my element and there is no stress for me, per say) there is a lot of stressful energy. I can feel it everywhere I go. People pushing and shoving and in a hurry. At home . . . well, uh . . . . yea there is hella stress but it is my own individual stress that I'm feeling - not necessarily other's.

So my conclusion? I'm jealous of the fact that Skip gets to live alone and that nobody and I mean NOBODY messes with his stuff. I haven't been alone in 26 years and I crave it something fierce. However, I would like to live alone up in the hills on my ranch if I had my drothers. This country mouse likes to be away from others and have the option to venture out on my own terms to interact with all the other mouses.

She's my BEST friend!

2011-04-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

Can I just tell you about my best friend? Oh, I know I've gushed about her before but I'm pretty amped up right now. Nancy is my bestest friend in the whole wide world. I can say that cuz my other bestest friend isn't in this world any more. She went home about 10 years ago and I miss her terribly but she still visits me from time to time. I don't really care if someone is creeped out that I just wrote that. It's true, though. As a matter of fact she visited me about two weeks ago. She appears in my dreams. I know it's a visit because the whole experience makes perfect sense, is in order as in real life (cuz you know how dreams are all scattered) and I remember all the details long enough to write them down in my journal. Her visit this last time was special to me because she came to express concern and love to and for ME. She has always come to ask for my help with her family in the past but this time it was about me.

Anyway, as I've written before, I'm up here in Rexburg helping my boy move out of his school approved housing and into a regular apartment since he won't be, ahem, going to school any more. So, while I was driving up here, my bestie called me to see what's up. When she heard that I left abruptly and she didn't know about it (cuz we tell each other EVERYTHING) she was bummed because she said she would have ridden up with me so that we could have fun together. I half heartedly said, "well, why don't I ask Skip if he can use a free ticket and fly you into Salt Lake and you can ride home with me. I know it sounds crazy but it would be hella fun!" She went for it!

I called Skip and groveled and he caved. I'm picking up my bud tomorrow morning so we can laugh, drink highly caffeinated beverages and pick up on guys (that last part is a joke between us because the only "guys" on the road are truckers and we would never do something really crazy like that - we just joke about it). Anyway, I'm more excited than I could be.

It just helps ease the pain of having to leave my babies. Bri and I had an insanely emotional good-bye tonight and then Megs and I were just as bad. I know that tonight when I say bye to the princess I'm gonna fall apart again (see, I'm already getting teared up - I'm such a whimp).

Boom Boom and Shut UP!!

2011-04-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

Two funny things (well, actually a LOT of funny things) happened on our vacation that I want to write about . . .

1. Brandilyn and I decided to rent cruiser bikes one last time to ride up and down the beach while the other ding dongs that we are related to decided to frolick in the waves of the sub zero temperature water (sorry, I like my water a bit on the warm side). Before we got going, I indicated that I needed to use the restroom so we rode our bikes to one of those public restrooms by the beach. Of course, there was a line that snaked out a bit because it was the women's room and that's just the way us women roll.

I was waiting and waiting and waiting behind this really cool looking woman with tattoos. When I got within earshot of the restroom I could hear what appeared to be a woman sitting in a stall just yaking away on her cell phone. This was a three hole restroom and the other two stalls were turning over just as fast as they could. I said to tattoo woman, "is she really just sitting in there gabbing on the phone while we are all waiting?" Tattoo (COOL tattoo) woman said to me, "yeah, she must be doing the boom boom in there, I guess."

Wait . . . . the 'boom boom'? I don't think I've ever heard of it called THAT before. I wanted to bust up laughing (because I find bodily function humor hilarious!) but I didn't. Tattoo hottie was next up in line and she had the stall next to boom boom and she yelled (of course boom boom was too busy gabbing to even have a hint of acknowledging her), "Hey, girlfriend in the handicap! Get off the phone and wrap it up in there. There's quite a few of us girls that need to relieve ourselves!"

Of course, when I left boom boom was still talking. Tattoo woman high fived me and said, "have a great day, girl" and I had a good chuckle.

2. Our family went into a yogurt shop for a treat on our last night of vacation. I got to chatting with another woman in line as we were serving up our yogurt and, for whatever reason, I spilled the story about how Robbie got into a fight with his girlfriend, dumped her and left her with our family while he drove home (8 hours away). I said, "it's a good thing we love his girlfriend, I guess." She turned to me and with all the seriousness she could muster said, "Shut UP! Are you kidding me? What a jerk!"

I found the whole exchange quite amusing. Yeah, my boy is a JERK! I'm so not kidding.

Vacation was fabulous and I'm so grateful that there were a lot of wonderful family moments blended with the random drama. I'll post more when I have time.

Sucky See Girl

2011-04-15T07:11:00.000-07:00

Next to Disneyland, See's has always been - to me, at least - the happiest place on earth. I mean, you walk in there with a hankerin and you walk out savoring heaven. Right? Well, that was my expectation yesterday . . .

I've been doing this diet and since the crash on Tuesday I've just not been on board. Still haven't gotten my medicine so I've just been kind of doing it. Well, actually I've been doing it pretty much most of the day and then fall apart somewhat in the evenings. Not ideal but it'll have to do for now until my medicine arrives and this vacation is pretty much written in the Jodelina History Book.

Okay, so us girls are out shopping because that's what we do. Brandilyn, Meg, Dani, Courtney and I. We were having a fabulous girl's day out while the guys (minus Robbie who stayed at the condo to pout) were out golfing. We happened upon See's Candy and Brandilyn said that she had an unquenchable urge to eat some English Toffee. In those doors we went. We were all savoring the delicious aroma of chocolate that assaults you the moment you walk into those stores and examining all of our options. I told all my girls that I would treat them to a treat.

We all walked up to the glass case in the front of the store and were all excitedly pointing out which pieces of candy we intended to indulge in. There was another customer up in the front of the store with the employee by the cash register and we barely noticed her since we were so preoccupied with ogling at all the tempestuous treats. Abruptly, the store employee walked over to us from behind the counter and said, "Would you please get behind the sign over there and wait so that my "customer" can look at the candy?"

Woah! Wait, what did she just say to us? Like did she really just indicate that we weren't customers? I turned to the girls and said, "I don't know about you guys, but I find that insanely offensive. I'm not thinking I need to spend my money here and I certainly don't think I need See's Candy right now." The girls agreed and we promptly walked out of the store.

As for me now? Yeah, I'm still craving that piece (or two or three) of chocolate that I didn't score on yesterday. However, I'm hoping we made a point and my bum is happy not to have to carry the extra load for the next 10 years. So I guess that would be considered a win/win.

Eff It Day

2011-04-13T07:01:00.000-07:00

As i may or may not have mentioned before (probably not because I just really don't want or need criticism from people who don't walk in my shoes), I have been doing the hcg diet. It's pretty radical and it's definitely the most difficult and restrictive diet I have ever done in my life. I have pretty much tried everything since I was 14 years old to control my weight. I've always had issues with feeling like I'm overweight (most of the time I so wasn't overweight but . . . whatever) and all the dieting and restriction I have imposed upon myself for most of my life has resulted in completely messing up my metabolism. Enough of that.

So enter the hcg diet. It's a 500 calorie a day diet but you take the hcg hormone and it really does help control the hunger. Oh, you still want and crave every possible morsel under the sun but the hunger is kept at bay. The hormone evidently programs your body to feed off of the blubber (abnormal fat) instead of depending on whatever crud you're shoving in your mouth. So far it's been fairly successful for me. Oh, I haven't lost nearly the amount of weight most people do and I don't get why but I've been moving somewhat in the right direction.

That is until last night. I'm on vacation in San Diego and have run out of hcg. My doctor assured me that it would arrive on Monday and here it is Wednesday and it just hasn't gotten here. Yesterday we took a road trip and finally by about 4:00 in the afternoon I couldn't take it anymore. I said, "EFF THIS! I'm eating whatever I want!!" And eat I did. I was like the hungry caterpillar. I gave the twins each a couple of cookies and I was grabbing their cookies like a mad animal snagging bites. I dove into some chips and then we went out to dinner with Skip and I ate a fat salad and then went out for frozen yogurt WITH candy toppings. Yes, I was an absolute hoglet. I enjoyed every freaking second of my craziness too.

What's funny is that when I declared it "Eff It Day" the whole car started laughing (Meg, Brian, the twins and I) and we all started just eating and laughing about how funny the whole sitch was. I mean, here I've been Miss Golden hcg Dieter for 23 days and now I'm out of medicine and I'm just going nuts! It's was hilarious!

Today? Yeah, well Miss Piggy is paying for her crimes. I'm up two pounds and there are no tears associated with this increase. I had a good time and I just simply don't regret a moment of my fun. I'm back on the wagon and I'll see this craziness to the bitter end (17 more days).

Obsessions

2011-04-12T07:19:00.000-07:00

I have a serious personality flaw (well, who doesn't, right?). When I get my mind fixated on something, I'm full throttle ahead on whatever idea I have in my mind. I actually think this is more of a curse than a blessing because then I burn out and the "passion" becomes something that I 'used' to be into. I don't think I'm alone in this, though. I'm pretty sure I have good company and lots of it.

Lately, I've become obsessed with getting Scrabble on my ipad so that I can play with the computer like Brandilyn has on her Kindle. I saw it, I want it and and I want it NOW! How funny is that? Well, I just can't have it and that's that. It sucks that that's the reality of the situation. However, I've somehow stumbled upon some Scrabble program that I'm playing with two different random people. It's kind of fun but takes like days to finish a game because you have to wait for each person to log on and take their turn. I'm losing but I'm still enjoying the ride. Now, if I can only get my scrabble game that I have right here in a box to play with me without having other peeps around that would be just he grooviest thing EVER!

So, what does this say about me? Well, I'm a loner maybe. If that was so, they why do I have all of these kids? Hmmm, maybe this could be yet another obsession of mine. Collecting children? Lol. Well, this vacation is giving me quite an eyeful of this blessing or curse that I have. I have enjoyed being with my children more than I could say. However, I have raised darlings with very strong personalities (and I'm not saying that is a bad thing - no, quite the opposite) and watching them interact this week has been interesting at best. It has been quite a balancing act. In my older age, I have mellowed quite a bit and am more able to sit back and watch the show instead of being a referee or feeling like I had to be in the middle of all the conflict. As for Skip? Well, he left and I think he was happy to do so. He went back up to his apartment in LA to go back to work.

Other obsessions I have would be exercise (although this one has stuck for over 30 years), drinking water, constantly finding the perfect balance of diet to keep my weight under control (it's an ongoing obsession because I never seem to find it), yoga and, of course, my darling horses. These ones have been hanging on for quite awhile and I actually enjoy them still.

So, I think I'll go back to obsessing about my Scrabble game now . . .

Miss It

2011-04-07T07:39:00.000-07:00

You know how it goes. You don't really miss something till you have to do without it for a bit. Then you realize how wonderful it was to have it. I take so much for granted. I really do. Here's a few things that I currently miss and didn't really appreciate their presence in my existence until I lost them:

* Money. I'm not saying I have NO money because that simply isn't true. I'm just saying that I'm like the majority of Americans right now who lost a lot during this economic challenge and is now having to tighten the belt like I haven't had to since I was single and struggling from paycheck to paycheck. Oh financial comfort, how I miss thee

* Being thin. I know this sounds funny but it's so true. I (like most women my age) have gained a bucket load of weight in my last few years and now I must say that all of those years of making fun of myself and calling myself "fat" was not only extremely self destructive but simply not true. I would give a lot to be that weight again. However, I am now working with my doctor on a diet that has me cruising back in that direction at a really sweet clip.

* Time. Wow, this is a biggie. When those weeks drone by that I just come home in the middle of the day and piddle away at my chores I find myself getting restless for something more. Something that would allow me to get out and be with people and laugh and feed off their energy. Well, this week has been anything but mundane. I have gone busted bullets like heck! Today, I have a few errands to run this morning and then I'm home the rest of the day to prepare for our vacation and get caught up. I find my whole body just going, "Ahhhh!" Yes, I do appreciate time. I need to be satisfied with where I am and what I do.

There are a lot of other things. Like when I broke my ankle I must say that I never really appreciated the use of my feet. I still can't do all that I did but I'm so grateful for what I do have. It's a shame that we can't stop and really have gratitude for all that we have. There is so dang much that we just don't notice that we have.

So today, I'm gong to embrace this day (sure wish the sun were out, though, lol) and make the most of it. I have a lot of ground to still cover but I'm going to be grateful that I have a car to do it in, gas in the car and the health to make it to where I have to be. Right?

Enchanted Trailer

2011-04-06T07:08:00.000-07:00

It seems that lately the challenge has been getting my sister's horse, Cowboy, loaded in the trailer. I decided that my beloved Ellie was just too witchy for drill practice. Oh, I still plan on using the little vixen for performances because she comes alive and wants everyone to notice that she is the princess of the show! Lol. She really does "turn on" when there is an audience and an energy. Anyway, back to Cowboy. So, he's five years old, very green broke and has been pretty much sitting in the pasture for the last couple of years. Between my broken ankle (now all healed) and various other elements that define my life, I just haven't gotten around to working with the guy.

If Cowboy were a human he would definitely be a "stoner". He just has that silly glazed over look about him. I have to laugh when I see him because he's so doofy that it just fits.

So, I kind of had a hunch that loading him "might" be a challenge so I enlisted the aid of my trusty assistants (the twins). Yeah, what the flip was I thinking? This has become quite a project for the three of us. It does, however, have a very happy ending with a castle, a prince and a magical life.

The first time I approached the trailer Cowboy (dum-de-dum-de-dum) kind of walked up like no big deal. In my head I was "YES! YES! YES!" But, alas, it was not to be. As soon as we got to the place to step up he was like, "Woah, Nellie! I don't freaking think so!" and he threw a hissy fit. A MASSIVE hissy fit. Rearing and pulling back and all kinds of crazy tantrum like behavior. After a few more attempts we decided to try other tactics. We had ropes pulled around bars for leverage and all kinds of stuff going on (because in he was going to go and there wasn't much to discuss about that issue).

Finally I had Jacob go up in the front section where Horse #1 would go (safely behind the barrier that separates the horses, fyi) and try tempting him with food (works for most stoners, I hear). I was on the halter pulling him in and Courtney was behind him with her "props" (a lunging whip and a poop fork) for reinforcement. After a lot of coaxing and flailing (on his part) he reluctantly leaped into the trailer. I yelled, "Court, get the door! Quick!"

She closed the door and I hooked up the horse and yelled for her to open the door to let me out. Whew! We made it. I turned to Courtney and said, "Good job, girl! That was awesome! We got that boy in! Now, let's get going before I'm late for drill practice."

Courtney (in her funny Courtney humor) says, "Um, that's great, Mom, except for one small thing."

"What?"

"Jacob is still in the trailer with Cowboy."

Holy crap! Right then Jacob squeals, "Hahaha. Mom! Did you really forget me? I can just ride in here. I don't mind." (Yeah, I bet you don't you little stinker!)

So, we slowly had to open the door and sneak Jacob out around and under that horse that still hadn't figured what the flip had just happened to him. It all ended well.

It's been three days since that series of unfortunate events. We have loaded Cowboy in the trailer every day since and have endured an enormous struggle each time (some of it actually very scary). I finally enlisted the advice of my trainer and she gave us some hints that worked great. I reinforced the situation by stopping at the feed store and buying some yum-yum candy treats.

Yesterday, he finally loaded six times without incident. After we were through and I had ridden him I took off his halter and proceeded to do some barn chores before we headed in to prepare our dinner. When all was finished, I looked around and inquired as to where the horse was. I noticed that Courtney had left the back door of the trailer open so went to close it. You'll never guess what, or I should say who I found standing in the trailer all by himself.

You go it . . . Mr. Stoner (the prince) himself cleaning up the tiny morsels that were left behind by our great adventure (inside the castle). And we all lived happily ever after The End.

Marco . . . Polo . . .

2011-03-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

I just had to post this although most everybody that reads my blog already heard the story today. I really want to put this down for journaling's sake. As I have mentioned before, I'm sure, I tend my four year old grand daughter four days a week during the day. Today, she was sick and stayed home with her momma. So when I picked the twins up from school one of them asked me where Ava was. I did the pretend shock thing and then said, "Oh no! I must have left her napping at home! We better get home quick before she discovers I'm not there!" I smiled and they were like, "Really?" I said, "Yeah!" We all got home and I went about my chores and Courtney went about homework (as usual) and I told Jacob to go pick up the lawn (dog logs) and we all dissipated. I didn't think any more about the incident. While I was coming up from the barn from feeding my horses I saw Jacob coming up the driveway looking pretty exhausted. I'm all, "What you been doing?" He says (with a VERY serious look on his face), "Mom! I've looked down at the creek and up by Boomer's grave (our dog that died) and everywhere. I can't find Ava. Do you know where else I should look?" OMG! We live on 26 acres of VERY rolling hills with a creek running through it and he covered quite a bit of it from the sounds of it. I almost felt bad if it hadn't been so dang funny. I said, "Why are you looking for Ava so bad?" He replied, "Well, I just wanted to play with her today. I haven't seen her in a long time and I miss her!"

Up Hill Both Ways in the Snow

2011-03-28T07:23:00.000-07:00

I know we've all heard those stories from our parents. How hard they worked and how easy we all have it. Right? Yeah, well I was just pondering just that scenario this morning as I watched my son balk at the fact that I wanted him to be out of bed by 10:00 a.m. each morning and get some school work complete. Where did he get this attitude anyway? BOTH of his parents are and always have been hard working individuals. No lie. Okay, to bore you to tears, here's my "up hill both ways in the snow" story.

My mom was a hard working single mom. She raised us kids and provided a wonderful ranch for us to grow up on complete with my beloved horses (which to this day I'm insanely addicted to). When I was ready to drive a car "your's truly" was going to have to get a job and support that new obsession of mine. So I got a job at a donut shop then later upgraded to the restaurant. So, if you know anything about me, you'll know that just working 20 hours a week or so was just not going to cut the mustard. Nope, no way! I ended up working 40 hours + per week on the graveyard shift, got to school by 8:00 am, finished school at 3 and was home for some chores, horse bonding time and then off to bed so that I could be up at 9:00 P.m. and back at work by 10. I typed for the school newspaper so I had to be at school at 8 and then classes began at like 8:45. IF I had everything in order, I could squeeze a wee bit of homework in before school or on my break at work.

When I was 18 and moved out on my own (yes, we did do that back then - nobody lived with the rents for like fricken for EVER!), I ended up landing a day shift at the restaurant and decided that I could now take on MORE! I took a swing shift job dispatching tow trucks and then picked up a grave shift dispatching ambulances. Fortunately, my jobs had different days off so that I could sleep some times when I had an off shift. There were times, however, that I worked 48 hours straight through. I was exhausted and really hated life (I regret all of this but it's just indicative of my personality).

Would I recommend this regimen for any of my children? Heck no! In fact, I've always said that I wanted my children to enjoy high school and focus on getting great grades. I discouraged them from working while they were in school. They all ended up getting part time jobs to have some "change to jingle in their jeans" (a saying my mom used).

My mom has often said over the years that there were some things that she would have done different if she could do the parenting gig over again. I'm sure discouraging me (or possible prohibiting me) from working so much would have been one of them. She has said in the years since my high school time, when I mentioned that I almost dropped out of high school because i was so overwhelmed, that she is surprised that I didn't. Boy am I glad that I stuck it out!

I do appreciate all the pushing my mom did when I was growing up. It has molded me into a hard working individual that doesn't expect a free ride. I enjoy knowing that what we have is the result of my husband (and myself) working our tails off.

Stress Free Me?

2011-03-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

Why does it always seem that when you get over one "stressor" in your life there's another one sitting right there on the horizon? It sometimes feels a bit defeating.

I was working on the family bills the other day and was elated that I was finally able to send off our last installment of property taxes for 2010. I've been stressing about it for months. It's been sitting in my "in" basket teasing and taunting me since like last October or so. Oh, I'd acknowledge it's presence and all and I would pick it up and give it a glare just to let it know that I completely disapprove of it's persistent nagging presence in my life, but then I'd put it back down and tuck it neatly at the bottom of the stack of other bills that seem to also be screaming for attention. It felt so good to send that little demon on it's way! Yay for me!

I was sitting back at my desk with my feet up congratulating myself when I noticed that there was an email from my realtor in my inbox of my email. My heart always gets giddy when she emails me because I'm hopeful that there is some good news and I could hardly wait the 2.3 seconds it took for my computer to open it. Well, there was good news and then there was . . . reality.

She suggested that she bring another realtor into the picture that is more savy with the horse world to help market out place (YES!). Then, she suggested that they come up to our place on Monday so the new realtor can have a "look see" and chat with me about some specific horse things pertaining to our place (OH NO!). Not "oh no" about meeting, no, that's a good thing. The "oh no" is that I've completely let the place go outside because it's been raining like a booger for EVER! The weeds have completely taken over and it truly looks like Sleeping Beauty's castle after the tenants had been asleep for 100 years! How the flip am I gonna hustle and make this place presentable when I've got church this afternoon and drill practice tonight?

Answer: I'm not.

There, stress over. I'm just going to hope and assume that they understand the weather "sitch" and will just give that nod and smile that says, "we know that you're going to get this dump cleaned up lickety split so we are not going to say anything at this time about your lack of attention to detail." Righto!

Leprechaun Trap

2011-03-17T06:58:00.000-07:00

I remember those rascally little things. Man how I hated them! I hated when the assignment came home from school that we needed to build yet another witty leprechaun trap. I remember my children really getting into the spirit of it and how, in my mind I was thinking, "this is the most stupid project EVER!!"

Eat your words, Jody Weltz. What I would give to have those days back. Those days when my children were carefree and innocent. Those days when they loved me and adored me and thought I was the best thing since sliced bread.

These days are quite different. These days I'm the bane of their (Well, just one in particular) existence. None of my children have gotten through the teen years gracefully. Right now, I'm dealing with the worst yet. Yeah, this one tops the charts as far as Weltz teenagers go. The rub? So far ALL of my children that are grown love me again and I think they, once again, think I'm the best thing since sliced bread (well at least that's the fantasy that I'm hanging onto). Because I think MY mom is the best thing since sliced bread (and why do we use that silly phrase anyway?)

I've been told that by many that the twins are going to be my greatest challenge and my greatest joy. I can see that. They are 13 yet still sweet and innocent. They still think I'm wonderful and they still hang onto childhood fantasies. Right now I think I'm going to just go with it and enjoy being someone's hero.

So, anyone who "has" to make a leprechaun trap for a school assignment . . . enjoy the moment because it will pass oh so quickly.

Family Business

2011-03-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Recently, I made a (not so smart) decision to take a class to learn something so that I could get a job. I won't mention what it was that I thought I was going to do but I will say that it went against everything that I and my family believe in (yeah, not so smart indeed). Skip was against the idea and balked quite loud about the $200 that I spent to take said class. Brandilyn was very unhappy with me and my best friend asked "why the heck would you do THAT?" My sister, Gail, was surprised and never discouraged (or encouraged, for that matter) me but said that I was a people person and would be pretty good at it.

Well, I took a week of the class and witnessed a lot of chaos in my heart, mind and home. Everything was in disarray and felt confusing. I hit my knees and prayed about my decision and clearly came up with the impression that this was NOT a path that I needed to be following. The next day I had an appointment with a client to zone her feet. Since I don't have an office anymore I go to my clients in their home. She had a cute little nook set up in her home that was her "office". I asked, "do you have a job that you work out of your home for?" She replied, "My family is my business. That is what I do. My family."

That hit me right in the heart. Yes, my family IS my business. It's the most important work that I will ever do. It is what Heavenly Father set me here to do. My family. I should not be pursuing anything that is not in harmony with that very important task.

My decision was made. My decision was reaffirmed by my bishop on Sunday (who felt "inspired" to have a chat with me - wow!) and now I suddenly feel free. It feels good to go about my day and do those tasks that I thought were mundane and annoying. I know that I won't feel this enthusiasm forever, but today it feels just right to be right here right now doing what I was ordained to do.

Oh, and that $200? Yeah, I guess that is a steep price to pay for a lesson well learned. Sorry babe.

Lately

2011-03-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

I'm just feeling groovier than groovy right now because I got our tax prep stuff finished yeterday and ready to send off to the accountant. It's one of those chores I put off and put off and then Skip calls me and tells me that he has an appointment with our accountant on Saturday and I'm like, "HOLY CRAP! I better get those bad boys in the bag!" Well, in the bag they are and I even sent them off in a little box along with newspapers and magazines and such to Mr. Weltz to review and see if little ol' me has missed anything (of course, I haven't but it's fun for him to feel like he has the power to say I did, lol).

Also, I went to drill practice last night and realized that my horse is an unruly brat. I got called on the carpet (well, the sand) numerous times and so I made a decision that starting today I need to climb on board that obnoxious equine of mine and ride the living crap out of her. I did and it did my heart good to see her calm when her "work out" was complete today. I even made her suffer by having to witness the other Weltz horses snacking on long luscious grass right outside the arena (tee hee). I'm feeling a wee bit evil.

Once again Courtney had to head off to school in her pajamas today. For whatever reason, an hour just isn't enough time for her to get up, make her bed, get dressed, eat breakfast and brush her hair and teeth. I kind of felt sorry for her but she wasn't even in the neighborhood of being ready to go when we were at that last possible minute we could wait before we were late. I let her be late on Friday thinking that would have an impact but no dice. Today was met with a lot of tears and her being angry at me. Once again. . . no Mother of the Year award for me. Sniff sniff.

Green Acres

2011-03-05T20:35:00.000-08:00

Remember that TV show forever ago called Green Acres? So do I. Zsa Zsa Gabor always dressed up in her finery wallowing around the swine. Lol. Loved it. It was funny in its day.

However, I feel like I'm living that show right now only in reverse. 14 years ago when we made a choice to move out in the country, Skip was going through his mid-life crisis, I guess. Men do that around 40 years (women 50 evidentaly). I was grateful that that was the "change" that he wanted at that point in his life in lieu of a younger, prettier, peppier girlfriend.

Now, he lives in LA at a posh little apartment where he gets to come home every night and do whatever he pleases. No one to answer to, no one to nag, no chores to do. Just a sweet little life. Once a month I saunter down and join (bother) him and a couple times a month he comes up and reckons order on the ranch.

We are making noise (well the ranch is for sale so I guess it's more than just noise) about moving. Our focus at the moment seems to be the Phoenix area - more specifically a sweet little area called Queen Creek where they have a lot of horse property. Now, however, my husband is gently suggesting that we get rid of the horses and move into a condo or a small house - say what?? Yeah, I'm having a little (lot) trouble with this concept.

I'm like "the chores!" and he's like "the stores!". What's a couple to do? My take on it is this: He has to live down in LA and work and he gets the perk of having his own bachelor pad. I'm the one that has to live full time with my miserable (lol) animals. Shouldn't I be the one to choose what kind of misery I get to live in? I think so, too.

Heel, Toe, Dosey, Doe

2011-03-05T12:59:00.000-08:00

Skip was chatting to me about his life here in his new apartment. It's quite different from our life out in the country where it's just us and we don't really see or hear anything from our neighbors much.

He was telling me how his upstairs neighbor (a woman, I guess) gets up about 15 minutes before he does in the morning. Evidentaly she wears heels and he can hear her walking around. He said, "She walks like you, heel first. I don't understand that because I walk on my toes first." Say what?????

Okay, so this morning I observed him walking around and, sure enough, he was walking around like he was sneaking up on someone. Lol. Yeah, tippy toe. I totally never noticed that about him before! So then when we were outside walking around by the pool, I noticed he was walking just normal (I will add here that it was most DEFINITELY heel first, btw). I didn't say anything because I didn't want to cause a stir, but what the heck is that all about?

Well, here's the conclusion I've come to. My husband doesn't want to disturb anyone so I'm sure he self consciencely walks around on his toes so as to not make any noise when things are quiet (I have busted him sneaking up on me and listening on my phone convos before so I know how quiet he can be). Me . . . I am who I am and I'm evidentaly not considerate of others. Well, I guess it could be said that I do have other strengths though, right?

Perfect Date

2011-03-04T23:47:00.001-08:00

It's funny because I was dreading today for quite awhile. I had to appear in court with one of my children and, quite frankly, the situation had the potential of going south pretty bad. Of course, the judge asked us to return in a couple of weeks to revisit the situation so I/we get to stress about the whole sitch for a bit more. Sigh.

Anyway . . . one of the reasons I was stressing about today was there was the possibility that my trip to LA to visit Skip was going to get cancelled because of this potential court outcome. By the judge putting the whole ordeal on "hold", I got to hop on that plane and fly the big birdie south. Yee!!

Skip promptly picked me up at the airport and we went back to his crib to "kick it". We watched a movie and then decided to get out and grab some grub. We went to an awesome restaurant called The Veggie Grill. OMG! I had the BEST dinner out EVER!!! We had like portabella mushroom burgers (no bread bun, here!) on steamed kale with miso sauce. There was a generous dollop of guacamole on top and the other "burger" (we shared everything) was a grilled veggie burger with sweet potato fries. This veggie girl was in hog heaven! So so so happy. I savored every morsel of my dinner.

We then went bowling (yeah, this square "home body" couple) and had a blast (Skip won). It was mega fun. While we were there, it became "midnight madness" and they turned the black lights on and played some pretty hip tunes. I dug on it - Skip . . . not so much. We then snagged some frozen yogurt and came back to the apartment to kick it some more.

In my opinion? Yeah, PERFECT date. Thank you babe for showing your girl an awesome time. I love you to bits!

Aussie Greatness

2011-02-26T16:52:00.000-08:00

I'm really enjoying watching a TV show that ran for apparently eight years in Australia. It's called McLeod's Daughters. It takes place on a huge station called Drover's Run. Two sisters own it (they inherited it from their dad when he died) and they have an all female staff.

I order the DVD from Netflix, copy it onto my ipad and then enjoy an episode each night while Skip is in LA. It's a fun little indulgence that I've started.

Anyway, the scenry, storylines and everything is fascinating for me. It's real - no fluffy stuff here. Just real life - real work. However, I made a BIG mistake and read ahead about something that is going to happen in an upcoming episode and now I'm kind of not wanting to watch (one of my favorite characters is going to die).

I guess there's a message here. Like . . . if you knew what was going to happen in your life would you want to continue? Lol. If I knew what I was going to be dealing with now like five years ago would I really want to be here now? Answer: NO!

The Jerk

2011-02-21T17:09:00.001-08:00

I just got home from Angel's Camp. The kids and I went up there for the weekend to visit with Demariea and to spend his day pass with him. We stayed at the condo that is in our time share.

I was pretty sick and, therefore, a wee bit cranky (okay, I was a witch!). It was Saturday night and the twins, Dani (Robbie's girlfriend) and I were sitting at the table playing a game. Next door it sounded like a 3-ring circus was going on. I could hear young kids running, pounding, screaming and slamming doors. It was out and out chaos (at least from my pounding headache perspective).

Finally, I had had enough. (This would surprise most peeps that know me because I am a notorious doormat). I went to the front door and ripped it open (I was gonna open a can of whoop ass on some kids, dog gone it!). About four little kids (around ages 4-6) froze and looked at me in horrified anticipation. Right then a mom popped her head out of the unit next door and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry. They are so excited to go to the pool and, really we were just leaving."

As I looked at these darling kids (one little girl had glasses on that reminded me of my Brian when he was little) my heart just melted in one big blob on the floor. I looked at the little girl and said, "Oooh, are you just so excited to go play?" She nodded her little head in the affirmative.

I looked at the mom and said, "No worries. I was just wondering if there was a party going on that I was missing out on. Have fun, guys!" They laughed and said, "Okay!"

I went back in feeling like the biggest jerk EVER! Dani and the twins just looked at me with a quizzical look and I said, "What can I say? They were just so dang cute and that little girl with her glasses on . . . how could I get mad?"

Dog Eats Homework and other news

2011-02-17T18:44:00.000-08:00

Three months ago Courtney was given a HUGE project to complete for science. At the time, I remember thinking, "wow, how is SHE going to pull this one off." Of course, I helped her with the start and she also got some input from her teacher. Life took off and I eventually didn't give it much thought (bad mistake).

Today, as I was picking her up from school, she comes walking out with a HUGE 3-part poster board. When she got into the car I asked, "what's the poster board for?"

She replied, "My science project."
Hmmm. "So . . . your teacher gave all the students poster board to do their project?"
"No, just me."
"Oh, what's that about? Why just you?"
"Well, I told the teacher that we didn't have enough money to buy poster board. That's why I haven't been able to finish my project."

Wait a minute . . . did I hear that right? You said WHAT???

Needless to say, I was overly mortified. Wow.

So fast forward to later this evening when I informed her that homework and that project was going to be her life for this four day weekend of hers. She started randomly writing stuff on this poster board and I casually asked her what the "plan" was. She gave me a blank look. Okay, let me rephrase this . . . where's your research and where have you drawn up your master plan for what you're putting on this poster board.

"Well, I did all the research but someone took it. It's gone. I'm trying to remember what was in it so I can put it on the poster."
Screech!!! Halt! Back up!!!! "Hello, Sister Bear, I wasn't born yesterday. I know what you have been doing on homework every night and this project certainly wasn't in the line up. Guess what!! You get all day tomorrow to research this topic, Saturday to plan and create your poster, Sunday to do church and then Monday to put the finishing touches on. So long to your sleepover and other plans. Sorry!"

Needless to say, I have a very unhappy child tonight. I do have to give her credit, however, for attempting to come up with a story - however lame it may be.

Also, today I discovered a wonderful world of gluten free products at Vans. I'm in heaven! I can have pasta and bread and cookies! Yee! There is life after being told you are gluten intolerant!!! Happy is me!