Here Comes the Sun

After 6 days of rain the sun finally came up this morning. I stood outside in my robe and slippers in 36 degrees for 1/2 an hour waiting to see it again this morning. When it rains like that for so long I feel like I am seeing a long lost friend and the world seems fresh and new again. We still have more rain and clouds in the forecast but for now "its all right". My words will be short on this but I am posting the lyrics to one of my favorite songs that sums it all up.

Here Comes the Sun ( the Beatles)

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say it's all right Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say it's all right Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say it's all right Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, and I say it's all right It's all right

Kind of brightens your day and gets you humming :)

Rain, Rain Go Away!

This is the entrance to the ranch, see how high the mud is.
This is the front area taken from ranch hands porch. The big puddle is the parking.

Well it is a couple of days before Christmas and in California it feels like God is flooding the earth again. It seems like it has been raining forever and my patience is being tried again and again. Last night we found out that we have a leak in the roof, of course it was dark, pouring and windy so there wasn't much we could do about it. We probably won't be able to get to it until Christmas Eve. The heater also decided it wasn't going to light and it is about 58 to 61 degrees in the house depending on which room you are in. I'm getting ready to do some baking just to warm up the house and the girls are curled up on the couch watching Goonies. What is funny is that I normally like this weather but it seems really inconvenient this time with all of the driving I have had to do in it, the heater and the leak in the roof I just can't wait to see the sun again, dry out and clean up. I am posting some pictures of Hidden River Ranch taken today. This is the ranch I ride at all the time and where my cousin's horses are boarded at. Of course my cousin is stuck in her house because the road is closed due to flooding and neither one of us can get into the ranch (see picture) but the ranch hand there assures us her horses are OK. These pictures were taken from his front porch and the front of the ranch, I can't wait to see what the back looks like since it backs and crosses the Mojave River which is flooded at this time. Looks like it will be a lot of work. We are hoping to be able to get in there Friday by foot, I don't think we will make Christmas Eve service this year. Well I think we get a break tomorrow & Friday I pray that we do because there is more rain in the weekend forecast. :) Tootles & Merry Christmas!

Flannel Sheets and Fantasy Football

Wow! What a weekend this was for our family. It really wasn't that exciting in a fireworks type of way but it was a really good weekend that was much needed. Friday of course was the last day of school for the girls for two whole weeks so it was kind of special anyways. Cheyanne went to the mall with two of her friends and her friends mom and went shopping for Christmas shoes by herself for the first time, Todd, Heather and I played Mario Cart on the Wii and they had a great time (I kind of suck). Saturday we dropped the girls off at my parents to go to the Candle Light Pavilion for the Christmas Show and Todd and I went to dinner at Outback (Yum!). I won't bore anyone with tales of the food & drink but it was good and we needed some time together by ourselves. It was really nice. We then went to our friends the Mes's and everyone showed up there we played pool, did karaoke to 80's songs and just generally got stupid and had a GREAT time. Of course all good things must come to an end and the hour drive home in rain, wind and bad fog in the pass wasn't so much fun but we made it home safely, slept in on Sunday and that is where the flannel sheets and fantasy football came in. Todd and I both are in a Fantasy Football League and the semi finals were last night, Todd won his and I am only behind by 1 point (thank you Vincent Jackson!) and I still have Jay Cutler to play tonight and the guy (Todd's big boss) I am playing is done. It is very likely that I am going to win tonight which means that Todd and I play each other for the $280.00 pot. Yippee, how cool is that? While all the Sunday games were taking place Todd and I did some last minute Christmas shopping and bought ourselves some flannel sheets. We wanted an electric blanket but at $70 for ours and then $40 a piece for the girls that was just too much money so we settled on flannel sheets for all of us. We also got the two of us new pillows and last night OMG I felt like I was sleeping surrounded by softness and we were so nice and warm. I can't even describe how nice it was to be so warm and cozy. Well that was it for my lovely weekend, tonight should be good and tomorrow Todd has a second interview with another company so things are looking up for next year if he gets this job. Here's hoping the luck of this week continues for next year. I am going to try to get back on here again before Christmas but if I don't have a Merry Christmas, may it be peaceful and filled with love and happiness! Love ya!

I Think of You

I think of you when I see the color purple
I think of you when I am out riding
I think of you when I see your face in your children
I think of you every holiday when you aren't there
I think of you when I just need a friend to talk to, laugh with, cry with
I still think of you, every day without fail and I miss you
CF 12-07-10
It was 4 years ago today that I lost my baby sister. It has gotten easier but I still miss her and wish she were here with us. I love you Brat.

Snow?

I woke up this morning to let the dogs out and I couldn't believe it we got snow last night a whole 1/32 of an inch of snow. I wasn't even sure if that was what it was because there was so little. I had to keep going around to all the windows looking. I finally decided that it was snow but not enough to bother waking up everyone in the house. We didn't get any more snow but it sure was cold and really windy which makes the 38 degree weather seem like 20 degrees. We bought a tree today and the girls got it all decorated, its beautiful. Todd and I were standing outside looking at it and he decided it was one of our best trees ever, I laughed because we feel that way every year. Todd's parents go home tomorrow, Todd goes back to work and the girls go back to school so I will be all by myself again until Christmas break. I haven't decided how I feel about it yet, I could use some alone time but I think it is going to feel really empty and quiet the first few days. I finally got a hold of my Dad today also he had been MIA since Thanksgiving due to a major storm and power outage wear he lives. I spoke with him Thanksgiving morning and he had been without power for 96 ours already and was hoping to be able to get out and into a hotel room that night which he did. Hopefully the storm that is supposed to hit tonight and tomorrow will be a little easier on them, I am keeping my fingers crossed and saying a prayer. Well got to spend some last few minutes with the in-laws before they leave tomorrow. Fisher out :)

Its a Work In Progress

I am bored with the look of my blog but have to cook dinner so I will get back to it again soon.

Winter is Here

Boy has it been cold up here! We woke up this Thanksgiving morning to frozen water in the dog bowls and our fish pond was frozen over with ice. Tonight the low is supposed to be 17 degrees ahhhhh! The last time I was that cold was on a vacation in Big Bear. I haven't made up my mind yet if I am going to enjoy winter up here in the high desert but I am feeling a little more optimistic about it since I finally got a coat. It arrived in the mail yesterday and I am soooo glad it is here. I can retire my hoodie and finally be warm or at least not freezing. It is supposed to warm up a little during the day and we are expecting rain on Saturday. Let me tell you 50 degrees sounds like a Hawaiian vacation right now. Well don't have too much else to say just wanted to complain about the weather a little.

What a Day

We have had quite the month so far and it isn't over. Todd's parents flew down on November 16th and are staying with us until November 29th. I won't lie and say it hasn't been challenging having 2 extra people in the house for over two weeks but it has also been nice getting to see them again. The girls are enjoying it immensely and Cheyanne has even given up her room for them to stay in. Today though was a very tiring day in which we spent about 4 hours at the VA hospital in Loma Linda to get my father in-law's medications filled. It was a lot of driving and waiting we left at 8 am and didn't get home until 5 pm. While I was at the hospital I had a lot of time to look around and I was pretty disappointed with the way some of these vets were treated. We watched one Vietnam Vet in a wheel chair pull himself along for awhile without any help until I watched him try to make it up a handicap ramp and roll back down. I asked if he needed help and ended up pushing him around the entire hospital. I didn't mind that at all, he needed help. What I minded is that before I asked him I watched two orderlies and a security guard walk right past him, look and keep on going. When I pushed him all the way around to the main entrance the concierge lady looked seriously surprised that I did this when I didn't even know who he was (I still don't). I am perplexed, I can't be the only one to of ever helped a guy out there or at least I sure hope not. Both of my grandfather's were vets, my father in-law, my step father, my step sister and brother from my dad's first marriage, my cousin in-law and some people I have been lucky enough to work with in the past and some of the guys and girls I went to school with are vets or are still in the military and if they would of been the one who needed a push I would hope someone would do it. These guys and girls gave up a lot for their country and I wish people would say thanks sometimes not only on Veteran's Day but everyday. When you see someone sporting their Navy, Army, Marine or Air force hat (vets love their hats :) take a good look and if they need a hand offer it or just smile say hello, say thanks. If I am not back on here Happy Thanksgiving! Take Care.

Gotta Love Them

Well it is starting again, the holidays are here. I hate holidays because it brings out the worst in my family. Every year since about 1985 I have bounced around from house to house on Thanksgiving and Christmas spending a few hours here, a few hours there, stuffing myself until I am sick on 2 or 3 different turkey dinners and coming home exhausted and not really happy. I have had to drag my own family around with me since I got married and had kids and I know it is hard on my poor hubby. Sometimes I wish I lived out of state like maybe Vermont or Florida because then it wouldn't be expected that I attend every bodies holiday function. It is just so frustrating. What frustrates me the most is that even though I spend my whole day in the car (especially now since we are an hour away from everyone) nobody is satisfied with the amount of time I spend with them. My mom has her dinner at noon so we will leave here at 10 am then visit, eat, help her clean up and leave to go to Grandma's. Then we eat again at Grandma's, visit and drive home because we need to get home reasonably early because it will be 27 degrees up here and the dogs will be left out while we are gone. Every year I do this it becomes more of an ordeal and every year I listen to someone tell me that next year they will just go out to eat because they want to have their dinner earlier and I can't be in two places at once I want to scream. Next year I think I will stay home and do my own thing, maybe if i have enough "balls", until then here goes another Thanksgiving whoopee oh and Christmas is coming to, I can't freaking wait.

Flags of Our Fathers

You know I read a lot and I do mean a lot of books. some of them good and some of them not so good but rarely do I read a book that that touched me the way Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley did. I know it is an old book and the movie has been out for years and this is a little late but since it did touch me I want to make sure that I acknowledged it.
Flags of Our Fathers is written by James Bradley the son of one of the flag raisers in the famous Iwo Jima photo and explores the truth behind the photo, the way the military and American public reacted to the photos and the men in it and also tells the story of the young men who fought for our young country and died for it. It takes something (the photo and statue) bigger than life and brings it down to a human level. I will admit I cried during part of the battle scenes and then at the end when John Bradley died. I could picture it all in my mind and truly felt like I had lost someone I knew at the end of the book.
My grandfather fought in WWII also, he was stationed in India and he never talked to us kids about the war. A few years before he died of Parkinson's disease he started having hallucinations caused by some of the medication he took. A lot of them were him reliving something from back then, he also had a very hard time watching Saving Private Ryan. It was so long ago and my grandpa was one of the strongest, smartest, kindest men ever and it was still affecting him. I can't imagine how these other young men felt watching your buddies die the way they did.
I have the movie here, I actually bought it a few years ago but it is still in the wrapper. I am thinking about watching it this weekend with Todd (he is not a reader). If you haven't read it I recommend it. If you had a grandparent or parent who was there or someplace like that it might give you a little insight.

When Your Babies Are Growing Up Too Fast

In less than 24 hours my baby will turn 8 years old. I am not sure why it sounds so old to me but I really feel like it is all happening so fast. She has changed so much in the last year and seems so much more grown up this year than last. I still call her Little One though and I am guessing I will when she is 20, but she just isn't so little anymore. This year she started soccer, has scored a goal and is this fastest one on her team. She is in the Third Grade Honor Chorus at her school, is taking a beginning music class at school and came in 17th place out of about 65 kids ages 1-12 at the annual Megan's Wings Run last Saturday. She calls people on the phone, can do most of her homework by herself and is getting good grades. She likes to cook, play with the dogs, draw and try everything, but she still holds my hand when we walk to school and sits on my lap.
My big baby has really changed this year too and is now 11 1/2 and beautiful. She tried out for the volleyball team this week at her middle school and had her first heartbreaking disappointment when she didn't make it. She started gymnastics last month and has been making all sorts of new friends. She keeps her room clean! She just seems so much more mature this year than last year and is working harder this year at school than ever before. I'm actually very proud of her and believe that she is growing into a wonderful young lady but I miss her needing me. It is such a fine balancing act that you have to do as a parent. You want them to be independent and confident but still protect them. You want them to be able to handle things on their own and are proud of them when they do but a little disappointed that you're not quite as important anymore. Oh well. Tomorrow is Heather's birthday and Cheyanne's will come up before I know it. My babies are growing up.

Fantastic Weekend!

Writewood from top of Park Ave.

This morning's sunrise

Things have been pretty busy here over the last month and Todd and I hadn't had to much time to ourselves until this weekend. Both of the girls had plans for the weekend Cheyanne went to Encinittas with her BFF Collette and Heather spent the weekend at Grandma & Papa's. Todd and I had a blast just getting to hang out together. Saturday we spent the day with our friends Harold and Laura and then went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner (yummy!). Then we came home and just sat out on the porch talking and listening to some old tunes. Sunday we woke up early and headed up to Writewood (only a 15 min. drive :)) and hit the shops, walked around, looked at the scenery and had a nice lunch. We came home and had a nice romantic walk up our dirt road picking up the big rocks that got uncovered by our last rain and getting them out of the road, then we BBQ's and played a few rounds of darts until about 11:30 and then hit the sack. I know it doesn't seem like to much of a weekend but between Todd's softball practice, band practice, Cheyanne's gymnastics, Heather's soccer practice and games, me going to the ranch and homework, housework, school and work it felt wonderful to just hang out with my BFF. Love you baby- had a great time.

School started, friends and a beautiful sunrise

Heather and Cheyanne 1st day of school 2010

Sunrise August 18, 2010

Well another school year is upon us and my babies are growing up. Cheyanne started middle school last week and Heather started 3rd grade. Tonight is my first back to school night at Pinon Hills Elementary and also Heather's first soccer practice. Cheyanne has started this year off in a positive way and I am excited and hopeful that this year will not be such a struggle.


We had some friends over this last weekend and enjoyed a full day of BBQ, dirt toy riding and pool playing at night. We had a blast and it was so good to see everyone.


This morning Todd had to be a Chaffey College for a meeting at 7:00 a.m. so I was up early and caught the sunrise. It was beautiful and the picture doesn't do it justice but I'm posting it anyways.


Hope all is well.

Not Much Going On

Well again I have been a little flaky and haven't written much this month but I really haven't been up to very much lately. The girls went to horse camp last week and spent a whole week at their Grandparent's house. they had a good time but are still recovering from all of the activity. I am recovering from not having the kids. I can't explain how empty the house feels when the kids aren't here. It just feels wrong, especially at bedtime when you go to check on them and they are not there where they are supposed to be. I am glad to have them back. We are still going out to the ranch to visit Melissa and her horses, she has decided to keep Jodie and is still going to sell Montana. Melissa was offered a wonderful opportunity to become the ranch's on site trainer and riding instructor and will be using Jodie as her lesson horse. If anyone is interested in horse back riding lessons please let me know and I will put you in touch with her. She has been working with my girls all summer and is great with kids.
The girls will be starting school on August 12th and Cheyanne is nervous and excited about going to the new middle school this year. I know she will do fine and all though I am nervous and feeling a little old I think it will be good for her. She has always struggled with math and reading and the middle school offers before school tutoring plus one of the periods is reserved for extra help in subjects that are needed. She also will be going out for track and she is excited about that. Heather on the other hand is not so excited, I think she finds school kind of boring. Everything comes easy for her and she can be kid of cocky about it. I've got a couple of applications in that I am hoping will be fruit full because my unemployment has gone bye bye.
Well that is about it, I got 2 posts in this month so I'm getting better.

Summer of the Horse

I haven't been on here much lately so hello to anyone who missed me. I have been enjoying summer vacation with the girls and a beautiful horse named Jodie. Jodie is a 9 year old, bay quarter horse mare who has given me one of the happiest summers of my life. Anyone who knows me knows I love horses, when I was a kid I asked for a pony every year from Santa, drew horses, painted horses, even had horse wall paper and always dreamed of going to horse camp, owning my own horse and riding off in the sunset so to speak. It never happened, we didn't have the money for a horse, riding lessons all that. My wonderful mother cleaned the dance studio on the weekends to keep me in dance lessons but I don't think she could of mucked a stall for horse lessons. Anyways 30 some odd years latter I am finally getting to live my dream (at least for the summer). My cousin Melissa recently moved up to the high desert and she has two horses Montana and Jodie. For the last few months the girls and I have driven out to Hidden River Ranch in Hesperia and received free horse care lessons and gotten to ride horses for free. It has been wonderful. I now know how to put the halter on, lead, groom, clean the feet, bathe (fun like washing a tall moving car), bridle, feed, saddle and ride around the ranch (nothing fancy). It is kind of like being a kid again and almost like having my own horse. The girls have learned how to groom and bathe the horses and have ridden a few times. Cheyanne is getting over her fear of horses and both the girls will be going to a week long horse camp this month where they can put their newly learned skills to the test. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and due to financial hardships Melissa is having she will be selling both of the horses at the end of this month. I can't put into words how heartbroken I am over the sale of Jodie. We have developed a relationship and it will be very hard to say goodbye for me (I can't even imagine how hard it will be for Melissa). BUT if I never get a horse of my own which is looking highly unlikely I am so thankful that God gave me this chance to realize my little girl fantasy and have this summer. Thanks Melissa, and thank you Jodie Girl I will miss you.

Still Happy For Fridays

I haven't worked in almost 2 years (since June 2, 2008) and yet I am still happy when Fridays roll around. I really don't know why. Is it because I worked for almost 20 years and it is now a habitual response to get happy on Friday or is it because I get to sleep in because there is no school or homework for the kids? Maybe it is because Todd usually comes home early on Fridays and I get 2 days with him afterwords. I don't really know the reason just that I am always happy that Friday finally got here. I also suffer from what I call my senioritis. Remember in school when summer vacation was rolling around y'all got really restless, couldn't wait for summer to arrive and school to be out? I still get that every year starting about the end of April. When I was working full time I would be so restless, stare out the window and not want to come back after lunch. I always did come back and I always got my work done because I really was a very good employee but God how I wanted to just skip out and head to the beach or up to Baldy to go hiking. I still get that senioritis thing which is my excuse for not finishing painting and being so frustrated with unpacking boxes. It was all fine and dandy when it was cold and rainy to be stuck in the house BUT right now I want to go somewhere, see something or do something. I want that last day of school feeling when anything is possible and you know it is going to be the best summer ever just because its summer.

The Floor is Done

Well after 3 weeks of bitching and cussing, aching backs, knees, arms and hands we finally finished. The floors are done and they look beautiful. No more cement but I think it will take another month to get all of the saw dust swept up. Next I have to finish painting the hallway, the kitchen, laundry, bathrooms, family room and 3 bedrooms and put all of the baseboards back on. That work will mostly be mine since I am in charge of paint and I will let Todd take all of the credit for the floors since he did most of it. Good job honey!!

Snow! Wind! Sunshine & 70?

Thursday morning we woke up to a pleasant surprise about 2 inches of snow. WOW! It is the end of April and we got snow. I woke the girls up at 6:00 am with a whisper of "look out the window" and they were dressed, brushed and fed by 6:30 and out the door. They were so excited to go play in the snow I couldn't really deny them the opportunity. Cheyanne and Heather played outside until 7:30 then went to school where believe it or not the kids are not allowed to play on the play ground when there is snow :(. The rest of the day was just windy and cold but not cold enough to keep the snow it had all melted away by 10:30 and sounded like a rain storm streaming off of the roof. It left quite the muddy mess. Today is was sunny and 70 I haven't even put a jacket on.

On other things the house is coming along nicely and I am sure it will look beautiful when it is done. We are almost done with the flooring and I am half way done with the painting. Last weekend I somehow turned 37 but I am not sure how it happened though. We didn't do too much celebrating because we were working on the house but Todd did take me out to dinner to King's Fish House in Rancho and I had the always yummy Parmesan crusted sand dabs and some shrimp cocktail. Tomorrow we are going to the Lemon Festival to hang out for awhile and hopefully see some friends then it will be back to working on the house for me again and back to work for Todd.

One Whole Month

Well we have been up here for a whole month now and still aren't fully settled in yet but we have made some progress. I have managed to paint the living room, Todd put up closet rods in the closets so we could hang up our clothes, took out the 3 dead trees right next to the house, trimmed some of the other trees, Todd hooked up the phones line so I could have a computer, put up a fence and we took down the Christmas lights. I still have to paint the whole rest of the house and will be working on that this week. I am hoping to do some of the flooring this weekend but we have another glitch so I don't know if that will happen.
We took a walk around here over the weekend and explored some of the dirt roads and "bunny trails" by our house. There are a million rocks out here so next time we go for a walk we will need to carry a backpack to carry the girls loot back in. They both have been interested in rocks since they could walk and I am thinking about getting some geology books so they can figure out what we have. I am a little rusty on my rock identification so I could use a brush up too. The other thing I need to get is a bug I.d. type book, there are so many bugs up here and as I found out Saturday even the harmless looking little caterpillar out here is really a demon in disguise. I thought that venomous caterpillars were only found in places like the Amazon or Florida but no they are here too. They fall out of the tree, land on you and you don't even know it until you brush up against it and your arm swells up, turns read and hurts. Crazy buggers, and I was worried about rattlesnakes.

My Mexican Food Addictiction

There I said it I am an addict, I love Mexican food and I can't live without it. I am not talking Taco Bell either I like pretty authentic stuff and they must have a good salsa. This has created a small problem for me since we moved. I'll admit I have been spoiled having grown up in and living next to Ontario all my life where there are numerous yummy little hole in the wall places on every corner. I also have been blessed with a Hispanic side of my family that really knows how to cook. So having moved up here to the sticks has had some drawbacks. There is a serious shortage of good Mexican food here. I have tried a couple of places and so far nothing compares to El Ranchero, Patty's, Los Monitos, Jarritos, King Taco or Taco King BUT I have found one place that so far is better than the rest. Casa de Ortega (just down the road on hwy. 138) has some pretty good enchilada's, salsa and guacamole. I also had a strawberry margarita and it was pretty scrumptious. The real test is going to be the carnitas, if that is good they will soon be tired of me there because so far nobody can make a decent carnitas taco up here. I am keeping my fingers crossed but I am still going to drive all the way to Ontario to get my carne asada from El Toro meat market on 4th and Grove.

Our First Snow

Well, we had our first snow at the new house today. Unfortunately it didn't last long enough to stick but we sure had some interesting weather today. The day started out cool and breezy (when I say breezy I mean a constant 30 mph wind with gusts of 50+ ) but it was only 51 degrees so it was still nice just chilly. At about 1:00 we had hard snow pellets, then lots of wind, more snow pellets and then huge gigantic snow flakes for about 2 hours. It is now almost 10 pm about 30 degrees with a wind chill factor of about 10 and clear as a bell out there. Hmmmmm. That is really all I have to say about that. It is freaking cold!!!! But you should see the stars and the mountains if you can stand to be outside long enough to look. :)

Out of the Stone Age

Well I am finally back, I had to take a few weeks off to get moved and then we had problems with the phones lines but I am back from the stone age yippie! We are mostly loving the new house but have had some issues that have made this a difficult move. Most of the issues have been with the plumbing, for the 1st week we had our keys we only had half of it working and hot water only in the bathrooms. We also didn't have any heat for the first week and although we have heat now we have a lot of breaks in the ducting so it isn't running as efficiently as it should. The guy is outside preparing an estimate right now for $2100.00 yikes. Pretty sure we can do that ourselves to. Todd says living here is like being on vacation and I agree but more like one of those vacations where you work like at a dude ranch or something. I haven't seen any cute guys bringing me fancy drinks and nobody has stepped up to give us a massage although I could sure use one. Anyways I am cutting this one short just wanted to let y'all know we were still here.

Down to the Wire

Well times flying and I am feeling like there is so much more left to do. We are getting to the end of this whole house fiasco and I can't wait. We should be closing and getting the keys around the 16th and then we can start with the hard part, moving. We have accumulated a lot of stuff over our almost 12 years of marriage like 3 cars, a motorcycle (torn apart), 4 bikes,pool table, 3 computers, lots of filing cabinets, knick knacks,and enough dishes to serve 16 people and still match and I don't even want to try to guess how many stuffed animals the girls have (its freaking ridiculous though). Honestly I am not sure if it will all fit in the new house. Some how we will have to get it all moved in 2 weeks.
On a whole totally different note Todd and I are going out to see The Zac Brown Band at the Gibson on March 12th. It has been awhile since we have gone to any concerts, this will be my first "country concert" and I am sooooo excited. I absolutely love The Zac Brown Band and I can't wait to see them live. Wells gotta go for now it is almost time to take the girls to school and then I gotta work on my packing again.

Mt. Baldy

I know that I have done quite a bit of whining about the weather lately saying it is too cold and won't stop raining but yesterday and today I was rewarded with an absolutely stunning site. Mt. Baldy is covered and I do mean covered in snow right now and so is Big Bear, San Juacinto and all of the other surrounding mountains so you are treated with that magical view that you get from this area. It is my favorite time of year. I love to see the mountains covered with snow. This morning we were up before the sun rose and got to see it rise over the snow covered peaks. That is always a special treat to see. I used to love watching the sunrise during winter from the gas station parking lot on my graveyard shift. I have hiked most of the hills around Baldy, eaten at the lodge, sled down the hills and picnicked by the San Antonio Creek. I know that road like the back of my hand because when I needed to that was where I headed to clear my head. Sometimes I would hike for hours by myself or with a friend and sometimes I would just drive up Baldy Rd. and pull out at the first turn out and sit and think. Other than the site of my family I don't think there is any other site in the world that can make me feel so at home and so at peace. At the end of next month we will be on the other side of Mt. Baldy. Talk about a shock to your system. I have spent my entire life in the inland empire and Mt. Baldy has always meant north. It will now be south, I can see myself getting pretty mixed up in my directions. The sun will set behind the mountains to the southwest and because of the elevation difference the mountains don't quite seem so tall. So here's to Mt. Baldy, my friend, my compass, my shoulder, my place. I will miss you.

Some People

I cut this from an article on MSN about our recent storms. Please read below and see if you can answer my question.

"Dog rescued Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said 82,000 Californians were still
without electricity.
Also Friday, crews made a dramatic helicopter rescue of
a dog stranded on a flooded ledge in the Los Angeles River.
Crews first
dangled a life vest and float ring down to the dog. The animal ignored the items
and began sloshing through the current before stopping on another section of the
flooded ledge.
A helicopter then lowered a rescuer, who scooped up the
frightened animal. The chopper transported the dog to safe ground.
It was
not immediately clear how the dog got in the river."

What the heck did they expect the dog to do with the life vest ? It just made me giggle, I mean duh.

January 22nd

Today is a special day to me because two wonderful things happened that I am forever thankful for. On January 22nd 1972 a little red headed, freckled boy was born who would grow up to be the wonderful man who would win my heart and make me the luckiest girl in the world. I am glad he persisted and went after me so that we could have the next special January 22nd. Our first real date happened this day in 1998. He took me to Disneyland because that is where I wanted to go and we had a wonderful time. That night started our relationship he stayed the night (NOTHING HAPPENED!) and never went home after that and six months and 3 days latter we were married. Now it is January 22nd all over again and I am so happy because today good things happen. Happy Birthday Baby! I Love You!

Use Your Imagination

View from house
Outside of house

Kitchen

Dining

Family

Living Room

Like the title says please use your imagination because I believe there is a lot of potential here. The view is beautiful and all of the windows face South towards Writewood so it will be beautiful when it snows. We will also get some snow up there but not too much. The other side has a desert view. There are plenty of trees planted on the site which I really like. I will post more pictures latter but wanted to give y'all an idea of what we are getting ourselves into. When we start working on it I will do a before and after photo comparison.

Pinon Hills

Oops I guess some people didn't know we were moving and want more information. We will be moving to Pinon Hills which is located on the other side of Mt. Baldy off the 138 by Phelan and Writewood. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath 1600+ square feet home on 2.4 acres. It is very close to the elementary school and bus stop for the Jr. High and High School. We will officially become rednecks as directions to our home will include the phrase "turn off of the paved road" and also "make a right at the lavender manufactured home". The house is zoned for horses so hopefully someday we will be in the financial position to get one as I have wanted a horse since I was a little girl. The house itself needs some work and is more like our first house in condition that our last house but that is half of the fun. Our first house was a HUD home and we learned a lot fixing it up in the 5 years that we were there. The 2nd house was much bigger and nicer but still needed work and our last house was absolutely beautiful but after a year we kind of missed having to work on the house. We have been renting a home now for a year and a half that is in some serious need of TLC and it is frustrating because it is not ours and therefore we cannot make the improvements and updates to this house that we would like to. So the new house will be fun. The big stuff is done we will just need to paint, put in new carpet and pergo flooring and do some other minor items to make it beautiful again. the great thing is we can and have done everything else on a house before except the carpet. So it will be a project for us to do. I hope that clears it all up. We are waiting for the appraisal to get worked out and should close before 02-15-10. I will keep you posted and post some "before" pictures of what the house looks like soon.

First Post of 2010

Happy New Year! Well it is 2 weeks into 2010 and I am just getting around to posting my first post of 2010. I am soooo glad for a new year and to start fresh and in some ways start over. I have been very busy with packing and trying to get things in order for our move which should happen in the middle of February this year. New year, new home, new puppy, new school for the girls and a new outlook. Like I said I have been packing these last couple of weeks which is no easy task considering we have ALOT of crap and we have the new puppy which is just like having a new baby in the house except I can put him in his pen and leave the house for awhile without child services showing up at my door. As anyone with a new baby or toddler can tell you it is almost impossible to get anything done unless he is taking a nap. When he is awake he insists on chewing up the bubble wrap, taking off with the tape and generally just causing me to go crazy all day. I am also trying to schedule all of the necessary inspections for the house which is hard because it is up the hill and we are not, so it is not just something we can do on a moments notice. I will be glad when it is all over and we can just be done with it. I want to start over and start fresh and I want a much smaller house payment, it would take a huge load off of us. So 2010 seems like it is starting out OK, busy and hectic but OK which is cool. Gotta go, gotta do some packing before Cash wakes up.