"Refueled" In Deed

This morning started out rough.

It had started to rain and my dogs don't like to "do their business" in the rain. Heaven forbid they should get wet (ha!). And one of our favorite pastors was kicking off a 3 week series; and it's always crowded at church when pastor Doug speaks.

So, it started to rain, and the dogs wouldn't go, and I came into the house soggy/cold & frustrated (knowing we were running late for church) and I took it out on my hubby (who was minding his own business, enjoying a cinnamon roll that I had baked earlier in the morning).

Which leads us to the drive to church and the argument that pursued; and by then I was not in a very "Christian like" mood and wanted to turn around and go home.

A littlle added info - we had flaked going to church the past 3 weeks. We would sit in the living room, with our coffee, in our PJs, and watch the services online; but we weren't "at" service. Watching it online is really a "cop out". It's a lazy way of saying "Yes - we went to church" (in our living room). Hmphf...

So, my husband said to me "No. We aren't turning around. I am dropping you off to save seats" (because as we inched our way into the parking lot at Saddleback they had closed the lot we usually park in and we would have to park in the "north forty" - and remember, it was raining).

Thank God Jim made us stay. Jim dropped me off. I found our friends from our small group (who got there early) and saved two seats for us (thanks Mark & Laura). I was greeted by hugs and smiles (much needed); and by the end of the service found myself "refueled".

By the end of the day I had apologized to my hubby for acting out my frustrations; and was forgiven.

A Beautiful Ugly

This evening as I sit here waiting - patiently (not!) - to back up my iTunes before shutting down my laptop, making certain to remove the battery and keeping the power cord before wrapping it up and sending it off to HP to be worked on - I have decided to blog.

I won't be blogging for at least 10 (ugly) days until my laptop finds its way back home. So I suppose this is the perfect time.

But what to blog about?

Today had clear blue skies (yes - blue). It's been windy the last few days and all the smog has blown out to sea. It was an unusually warm 86 degrees on this 11th day of January. Crazy...

This evening you can actually see small planets with your naked eye, along with brilliant stars. A rare thing in Mission Viejo. It has cooled down to a very comfortable 66 degrees. And tonight when the moon came up over the horizon it was a beautiful and breathtaking site.

It's quiet in the house. I can hear my laptop burning iTune songs to a DVD (the second DVD, actually so there must be an end in sight). I hear the refrigerator motor humming in the kitchen.

Bella is on the couch and Pru is sitting by the open door on a blanket on the floor. Which, by the way, has been traveling around the front room over the last few days. Yes - I said the blanket is traveling. I fold it up neatly and place it by the fireplace and then it ends up on the opposite side of the front room, unfolded with a dog lying on it. Go figure.

This weekend was a weekend of organizing (for both Jim and I). Jim preparing for tax time. And me tackling our bedroom. And can I tell you it is such a wonderful feeling to accomplish what a few days ago seemed like an unattainable goal.

I had a very ugly pile of items accumulating in the bedroom. We just don't have the space. That pile is almost completely gone (yay)! Just a little more organizing of the yarn I have. What a beautiful feeling.

We met with an electrician yesterday to get an estimate on some canned lighting we will have added to our front room. We will be meeting mid-week with a company to have them give us an estimate on a wall organizer for our master bedroom. I can't wait!!!

What else? I know -

I thought of this while taking the trash out this evening before heading off to dinner.

Jim goes to Utah each spring with his brother and dad. He likes to bring something back for me (which is very sweet) and last year he brought home a pair of slipper-like shoes. When he gave them to me I thought "Oh dear, I sure hope he doesn't want me to wear those ugly shoes." Yes - that's exactly what I thought.

Well, time went by and the slipper-like shoes sat in my closet. Jim told me that I could sell them on eBay if I wanted to and I said "Nah".

One day (not too long ago) I took the ugly shoes out of my closet and started to wear them. In the beginning I would wear them just downstairs when I took the dogs out to do their business. Then one day I found myself wearing these ugly shoes to the grocery store. And I thought, "I wonder what other's must think of my ugly shoes"?

Well the more I wore them they started to grow on me (not literally). But they are actually comfortable. And as I wore them, more and more, I thought - my husband picked these out just for me and I should be proud to wear these shoes.

Well, tonight I put them on again, this time to dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant. And as I looked down at my shoes, this time I thought "My shoes are a beautiful ugly". And I smiled.


Thanks husband for my shoes and for thinking of me and picking something out so special that I will never give up my beautiful ugly shoes. I love you!

And to those that read my blog; I'll be back when my laptop is back. Until then, keep on keepin' on.

Pretty in Pink

Meet Gabriella! What a BEAUTY and a CUTIE.

Smiling at her papa (aka Shane)

Smiling at me.

Well, we FINALLY got to meet our new little cousin (aka Niece) cuz' she'll call us Auntie & Uncle when she gets older.

This little girl's smile lights up the room. And she is pretty much content all the time. She only fusses when she needs the basics - changing, feeding, burping. Or when Jim is holding her (check out that POUT). Sorry for the blurry shot of Jim - but really, who are we focusing on in this blog? The baby - right!

We had a lovely visit with Shane, Brandie and Punky (as Brandie lovingly refers to her. Why? Because of her hair and the bow and the punk rock look - NO, seriously. Well... and because it's short for pumpkin.)

So "Thanks" guys for the delicious lunch. The great conversation and sharing your afternoon with us. It was great to see the three of you.

Let's not wait so long until our next get-together!

Travels in 2008 (Part 1) of a 3 part series
Revised (new Pictures found and added)

Well, here I sit. 95 degrees outside / 82 degrees inside (too lazy to turn on the air, I suppose); trying to think up some really cleaver title for our first of the year (2008) travels and simply can't think of a thing. So, I guess I'll just get started with what we've done so far.

FEBRUARY - Pismo Beach/Shell Beach/Arroyo Grande and Arizona

Valentines

Normally we start the first of each year off in Napa or San Francisco (wine country) for Jim's birthday in January. It's one of our favorite places to visit. This year we changed our plans. I can't really say why? Not that I don't want to say why. It just didn't seem to work into our plans.

We sort of made up for it (the wine tasting part of the trip, at least) when we visited one of my favorite wineries in Northern California (Arroyo Grande), "Laetitia Winery". I was introduced to Laetitia by a friend in our old bible study group. Laetitia produces some of the best reds I've ever had. And because I belong to the wine club, Jim surprised me by taking me the weekend before Valentine's to a Wine / Appetizers pairing for members.

It was a quick trip. Too quick, if you ask me. We drove up late Saturday morning. Checked into this amazing resort in Shell Beach "Dolphin Bay Resort". I would highly recommend it. Of course, off season prices are a little more realistic.

This view / photo reminded me of Hawaii and how soon we would be there.

Our room was bigger than our condo. It had full Ocean view. The evening event was enjoyable. We met some really nice folks and brought back some great bottles of wine.

Next time we plan on staying longer.

Arizona

A few weeks later we took a weekend (over the President's Day Holiday) to visit my girlfriend, Chris and her husband, Brian in Goodyear, Arizona. It's always nice to spend time with them.

The boys went golfing during the day and Chris and I managed to squeeze some shopping in (go figure).

Saturday evening found us at this (pretty impressive) multi-plex event center in Glendale; including theatre, restaurants/shops. And while the boys went to watch a Coyote's Hockey game, Chris and I went to the movies. This picture taken of a giant hockey player gives a whole new meaning to blow-up doll.

It was a fun weekend (almost a blur - it went by so fast). We're looking forward to our next visit (hopefully in May for Chris' birthday).

MARCH - Hawaii/Kauai

Our original plans were to fly out at 9 a.m. from LAX. I changed our flight to Sunday 9 a.m. out of OC.

Why? Because my dear husband, Jim went to MV Hospital ER on Friday night (9 p.m.) for his heart; he spent the night there and was released late Saturday morning (after his treadmill test ruled out his heart - thank goodness).

I got home Saturday morning around 2 a.m. from the hospital; woke up around 6 a.m., and started working on changing our travel rearrangements. Needless to say Hawaii was very nice but way too short. But on the plus side it could have been shorter; and Jim could have been sicker. So in retrospect, it was a perfect ending to our Friday night event.

We flew into Kona on Sunday (instead of Sat.) and got in around 2 p.m. We spent the afternoon with our friends driving up one side of the island towards Waimea. Stopping to visit the birthplace of King Kamehameha. And then back down to Kona where we had a nice dinner in town before heading to their home just outside of Captain Cook. They live about 45 mins from Kona.

If you've never been to the island of Hawaii, I've included maps of both islands so you can get a better idea of where we traveled.

Picture taken under a waterfall walkway with our friends - Karen & Marc

Monday our friends had to work so Jim and I relaxed down by the cove (at the bottom of their hill). It was a beautiful cove with mostly black rocks (not sand). I found this picture of the black rocks on the beach and one white rock. It was so pretty and just stood out from all the other rocks.

This little critter was outside Karen's home - usually they are inside (like that's not unusal).

This next video is of my girlfriend's lanai (view). It was so "relaxing" to sit and listen to the breeze blow the windchimes and just rest and take in the beauty.

We ended up going back down to Kona to meet our friends in the late afternoon and spent time shopping, etc.

Tuesday we woke up leisurely and flew out of Kona around 1 p.m. We had massages that I had scheduled as a surprise on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the resort we stayed at in Kauai and we relaxed the rest of the day.

Wednesday we drove the entire island of Kauai. Yes - I said entire. If you don't know it by now we Black's don't do anything half ass. And we do try to squeeze in as much as we can in as little time as we have.

We first drove down the northshore to Princeville (where we saw whales breaching all over the place) and Hanalei Bay; and then back up the other direction to Waimea Canyon (which resembles our Grand Canyon ), sort of.

It made for a long day of driving but it was fun nonetheless. Of course, it helped that it's not a very big island.

Historic Kilauea Lighthouse

At this lookout point we spent almost an hour at viewing the whales. I took this picture with my friend Chris in mind, because she likes lighthouses.

I then took this picture with my husband in mind - Ha! And to prove we were actually here. Have you ever seen vacation pictures without the vacationers in the pictures? How do you know if they were actually there?

There was so much whale activity. We saw whales breaching, slapping their tales and fins on the surface of the ocean. It was breathtaking. Even though our original plan was to go out on a boat to whale watch, this certainly made up for that. I've attached two videos links. Simply click on the blue underlined words above. Also, I believe if you click on the pictures, it will enlarge them so you can get a better view of the whales.

Lookout over Princeville Resort

Waimea Canyon

This picture doesn't do the canyon justice; but hopefully the videos will. Click on the word Canyon in green to view a video and also see the video below.

Why did the chicken cross the road? Who cares!!! What I want to know is why are there so many frickin' chickens and roosters in Kauai? It's like there's an epidemic there. Is it the state bird?!? Check out the birds in the video and pic. I suppose that will be something I remember most (besides the whales). We awoke each morning at 4:30 a.m. to the call of the wild rooster. Where's my earplugs when I need them!

Thursday we lounged around our resort until our flight out of Lihue at 2:45 p.m. (This is a view from our room.)

We got into OC at 10:20 p.m. (because of the time difference) So it was accurate to say that each day we flew/played/flew/played/flew (in that exact order).

\

We're going back to Hawaii (for my birthday) in July to spend more time with my friend, Karen and her husband (I can't wait!). If our plans don't change (Lord willing) I'll be in Hawaii for 5 days and Jim will be there for 4 days (as he'll follow a day later). Annually we go to Vegas for my birthday; but this year it changes. Yippee! Or should I say ALOHA!

APRIL - Orlando, Florida

So, here's our trip to Orlando in a nutshell. We flew into Orlando on Thursday.

Orlando Airport / Kennedy Air Force Base Store at the airport

This is as close to space as I could get. We didn't have time to go to the actual base, but I found this store and took a look around. An actual space suit used on one of the missions to the moon.



Friday we found ourselves at Disney World. I've never been and wouldn't have wanted to miss a chance at going. We drove our car into the parking area for the Magic Kingdom. We then took a tram to the ticket area. From there we took the monorail to the front of the park. Talk about a 1/2 hour process just to get to the gates. And though it was humid, we were able to ride every ride we'd hope to - Space Mountain (which is more fun there than here); Country Bear Jamboree (which really isn't a ride, but we don't have it here anymore and it's one of my faves); Splash Mountain (slightly different, but a lot of fun); ThunderMountain (about the same); Haunted Mansion (again slightly different, but fun); and Pirates (not nearly as good as ours). All in all it was a fun way to spend the day.

Friday - Front of Walt Disney World

Front of the Magic Kingdom

Cinderella's Castle

Entrance to Tomorrowland

Space Mountain

Country Bear Jamboree

Haunted Mansion

Splash Mountain

Pirates of the Caribbean

Saturday we had lots of time before the wedding at 6 p.m. that night; so we spent the day with Jim's brother, Jerry and his wife (our SIL) Jill. We drove to downtown Orlando and were hoping to find some cool shopping area; but couldn't find a whole lot going on.

We accidentally came across a street fair and that killed some time. It seemed more humid than Friday and it felt great when we found a restaurant with air conditioning.

Saturday - Downtown Orlando

If I ever get this bad with my dogs - SLAP ME!

We headed back to our hotel around 3:00 p.m. It was a good thing, because a few minutes after we arrived in our rooms there was a major down pour. Something I've never seen before. It was so bad, as we looked out onto the parking lot, we couldn't even see the cars. And that's not the worse part, it poured for almost 3:30 hours. You do the math.

The wedding was delayed half an hour. Poor Diana was not the happiest of brides. I couldn't even imagine not having a "back up" plan just in case it rained. I suppose the restaurant could stick all 37 of us in the kitchen and we could watch Diana & Pat get married next to the stove?

But "The blessing" came about 6:35 when the clouds parted, the rain stopped and if you look closely you can see the rainbow directly above the bride-to-be and father of the bride. We all ran down to the lake and watched the ceremony. They had just about enough time to have pictures taken and then the rain returned. Mostly off and on throughout the evening. But it was definitely a wedding we won't soon forget.






So there you have it. Our first quarter vacations in review. And it only took me one week to complete it. That's right. As I type this closing paragraph it now is Sunday, April 20 at 8:30 p.m. in the evening. And there is a chill in the air. Nothing like the heat wave we had last weekend.

And why do I tell you this? Because it will appear as if it took me a day to load all the picures and videos (NOT!).

Hey! I just thought of a title for this blog "Monkey OFF my back!"

Hope you enjoyed the journey as much as we did.

Oh heck! And while I'm at it; I've uploaded one last video that was taken with my cell phone while we drove in Thursday night from the airport to our hotel just outside of Orlando. It was the most amazing and nerve wracking drive as the lightening lit up the sky for miles. As soon as we got to the hotel I immediately ordered a bottle of wine!

The End (for now)

What a Girl Wants, What a Girl Needs!

Tiffany green is the new Valentine Red

(she says with a big grin on her face).

Go ahead...you can say it. SPOILED!!! I'm guessing this is part of my upcoming anniversary gift, too.

I mean, how many gift cards should one girl get on Valentines? Apparently for me, that would eight (8). Yup! That's what I said. Go ahead and countem' if you don't believe me.

I'm saving up for something pretty. I'm not sure what yet? But I've got the Tiffany catalog.

This is dedicated to the Two We Love

Jim's Brother married his best friend last weekend in Santa Barbara.

When we were dancing to a song I requested, I had no idea that Jerry (Jim's brother) new every single word to the song. And as I watched him dance with his new bride, Jill (our new sister-in-love) he sang this song to her.

My Best Friend

You can click on the link above to hear the music.

Now does that bring tears to your eyes or what!

Congratulations Jerry and Jill. May this union of marriage be blessed by God and your commitment to each other last a lifetime.

We love you both, very very much!