Saturday, December 31, 2005

Alaska



Alaska....it was so beautiful there! We spent time with his youngest son and his girlfriend. They were so cool. My kind of kids - into metal, wore concert t-shirts and shopped at Hot Topics! He's into skate boarding and is a very cool person. The drive from the airport to the hotel did not reveal the beauty that I was about to experience in the morning. Well......not quite morning...........it stays dark until around 10:30 am and doesn't get very light even at that. Here's a few pictures to show you what I mean.



The second day we were there it ended up being kind of sunny. I'll write more later, I just wanted to wish you a HAPPY NEW YEAR! I'll post pics and write more details on the trip!

God Bless!


Monday, December 26, 2005

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

Wow! it's been the most wonderful Christmas! I'm so happy that I had time with my kids last week and got to see my friends and family. That got the holidays off on a good foot and yesterday was more wonderful that I could even imagine. I received many, many gifts. I'll mention them later, but that's not the most important part. I spent time on the phone talking with my children alot, several of my cousins, nieces and nephews, friends and tried to reach several others.

We opened presents in the morning and boy, was it ever fun! The night before, we left the Christmas lights on in the house and the tree lit. It is one of his traditions that I've never done before. It was cool, made me feel like we were leaving the lights on for Santa :) Then in the morning, we made coffee, ate a cinnamon roll that we had made the night before and started opening presents. (I'll list them later)

Today we're leaving for Anchorage to spend Christmas with his kids. I'm nervous and excited to meet them. They are grown up, so whether they like me or not it won't matter in one way, but it sure would be nice for them to like me. We are not going to have alot of time with them, 2 days, but at least we will get to have Christmas with them. We're going to open presents tomorrow!

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a safe, prosperous and loving New Year!!

God Bless!

Friday, December 23, 2005

71 Degrees!

Its was cold out here in Fresno before I went to Cincinnati for a visit. Averaging around 40 to 50 in the day in 20 to 35 at night. Brrr! But we're having heat wave and today its beautiful out. 71 degrees! perfect for me!

Heading to the movies. Going to sea Narnia! Then do a little shopping for his kids. God love him, he hasn't seen then in about 10 years! I couldn't do it. I have to see mine every few months!

Merry Christmas to all!
Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Pray for my cousin

waiting to hear test results

My cousin is in Bethesda North Hospital in Montgomery. He's waiting to hear all the test results, but he's in the cardiac unit, working with a cardiac specialist and a pulmonary specialist. They have identified 2 masses in his chest, calling it Cancer, but waiting for the biopsy results.

Please pray for him. He's been through enough in his life. It would just be good for him to go home, spend Christmas with his family and live the rest of his life in peace. He's 80 years old, has a wonderful, loving family and is loved by his friends and ex-co-workers. He's a retired Cincinnati Homocide Detective.

Thanks for praying for him!!

Made it home safely


And preparing for Christmas and another trip!!

Thanks for the photos, Joe! I appreciate it sooo much!! Hey, everyone listen to Joe's radio show. I think he's only got a couple more to go then he's "retiring". So young to be retiring. I think that Clear Channel should hire you, pay you and give you a paid radio slot!!

My trip ended up being a very nice one. Planes on time, not too crowded, empty seats, in fact!! My presents made it home safely, afterall they were all glass and I packed them so carefully...My kids were great to me to give me such nice presents. We made Appletini's last night and used the special glasses (beautiful crystal with cobalt blue accents!) and the bar set with sugars, mixers and shaker. I loved it and he had never had an Appletini before. He didn't realize how strong they are, but also how good!! YUMMY!!

When I got home on Monday, I could tell how much he missed me! He had chinese food waiting for me, hugged and kissed me tighter and better than ever!! We had a great evening, talked and was really glad to see each other. I loved seeing my kids and spending time with them...and I loved coming home too. It's a mixed bag, living so far away.

I got a Christmas gift from my realtor --- AN ACCEPTED OFFER ON THE HOUSE!!!! Now it's just a matter of the inspection and any repairs requested. I PRAY IT WILL GO SMOOTHLY. If it does, we have a closing on Jan 26th. That would be GREAT!! PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!

Other BIG news: Planned the wedding! May 20th in Cincinnati. We'll have a small wedding and then a BIG bash afterwards!! I hope the wedding will be at the Gazebo in Eden Park by Mirror Lake. I always wanted to marry him there as a teen and now I have the opportunity! It would be beautiful. Then we are thinking of having the reception at Bechtold Park in Deer Park. We wanted to have it at my best friend's house, but realize it might rain, so we don't want to have a spoiled party due to weather. I still have lots of details to work out, but I will keep you posted.

I'm thinking a hippie theme for the wedding, flowers in my hair, flowing skirt, sexy top, he can wear jeans...very casual. But then, it could be a Luau theme, very casual, lots of fun, already have the decor - serve hawaiian foods and drinks. But you know me, I'll go round and round for a while until I am sure of what will be PERFECT!!!

Definitely having a DJ - not sure if it will be my cousin or my good friend. I
don't care which it is, it will be nice to dance, sing and even maybe karaoke!! That would be lots of fun. Oh well, there's time to work out the details and get invites out!! Hope you can make it.

We're going to Anchorage for a few days right after Christmas. I'm really excited, I've never been to Alaska!! I'll take lots of pictures and put them in my Flickr account. Going to meet my new sons!! yippee!! Hey, do you like my Flickr badge? It's cool, isn't it? I'm still updating the pictures - names and captions - but it's cool to have it posted. My blog is really turning into my personal website. I love it!!


I'm off to buy Christmas Dinner food, planning our cookie baking day, have 11 days off with my sweetheart! and am looking forward to the Merriest Christmas and Happiest New Year EVER!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!!

Monday, December 19, 2005

Flying home

Funny, home used to be where I am coming from and now I'm leaving to go to California, which is now home. I'm gonna miss my kids so much. It was great to see them. I woke them up this morning before I left to tell them I love them and already miss them!

I pray for them to be safe and sound. I hope they all keep jobs and have money to live on because I can't help them. No job no money!

The good thing is they are all 3 together. They will take care of each other. That comforts me. I taught them to look after each other and that family is number 1. They will be good to each other. Thanks kids. You're the greatest kids on earth!

So now I'm going home to my sweetheart. He loves me so much and I love him. Its fantastic to be with him. He treats me so good! We'll celebrate Christmas together, our first one in 30 years!! I don't think we ever have presents to each other way back then! But this year it is different. We'll take care of each other and give presents to show our love to each other.

We're getting ready to take presents to his kids for Christmas. It will be wonderful going to Alaska. We're baking cookies for them just like we did for mine. We're going to take them out and about and just have a nice time. 2 days then come home to relax.

Home is where the heart is so first time in my life I have MANY homes because my heart resides cost-to-coast!!!
Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

Sunday, December 18, 2005

My trip is over

Sun, Dec 18, 2005

I'm leaving in the morning to go back to California. I'm going to miss the kids again, especially my youngest daughter. I'm just not ready to let her go yet. She's not ready to be on her own. She's starting school in a few weeks and has to work, pay for school and some bills. Doesn't sound like much but then there's books, gas, food and more. I know she'll be fine but it would just be easier if I could help.

I had a great time. My kids are so much fun to be with. We laughed and laughed. Told stories and had fun. We went everywhere together for 4 days and talked a lot. I cooked a few meals for them and they loved that!

Today was Beka's birthday. We hung out, watched some movies, ate dinner, had some friends over, watched the Bengals WIN!! WHO-DEY!!!!! Very cool day, first Bengals game that I've gotten to see all season.

I'm going to bed. I have to get up very early to go to the airport. As much as I will miss them, I want to get home to my honey. I miss him too! Its been a tough decision to move to CA and now its tough leaving everyone behind. Maybe Beka will come to CA!! I can hope and pray for that!
Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Cincinnati

The visit is going great! I did not get to see as many people as I would like, but I am doing the most important thing - spending as much time as possible with my kids and family. We've had some BIG fun, lots of laughter, lots of serious fun. I have been cracking up with these guys. They are a trip.

It's great because we are all together. Eating together, seeing each other every day, staying at my oldest daughter's house. It's very satisfying seeing everyone interact. The only thing that could make the visit even better would have been that my honey could've been here with me. That would've made it a complete family Christmas!!

On my way in on the flight, I watch Polar Express. Of course, like all holiday films it was very sentimental, a story about an unbelieving boy, takes a trip on the Polar Express, experiences several events that change his mind and he becomes a believer. It was a very nice story. And I always cry at sentimental movies - this one was no different because the holidays are always a time for family and loved ones. A time to come together and share the spirit of Christmas - the love that Jesus had for us expressed to each other the best we know how. So, already on the plane, I was anxious to see the kids, to share the love.

And I would say that this trip was very successful at that!

We opened presents last night and boy, were they surprised! I didn't have much money to spend, since I'm still spending on the house. I only gave them a few gifts, all with a dollar spending limit on each person. Plus, I had to give birthday and Christmas presents to Jake & Beka. :) But, my honey came through and saved the day. He's a wonderful man!! Loves us very much!!



Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Flying today

My reassigned flights have been great! No problems at all. Got on my flight to SLC with my cookies! I have 3 big containers full of cookies, brownies and treats. Plus I have a muffin for me to eat, mags to read and the Christmas cards to hand out. And presents too! I feel like Santa Claus! Ho ho ho!!!

I met a nice woman on the flight. She lives in Merced, CA and was heading to Billings, MT. We talked about the Central Valley and SO CA, the FOG, Cars, jobs, our kids, the weather, elderly parents, vacations, and the holidays. We definitely bonded! Funny how people meet and just are comfortable with a stranger. It happens to me ALL the time.

Then the wait at SLC airport was quick. Now I'm on my Cinti flight. I love flying in and out of Salt Lake. The mountains are amazing! My flight is empty. Practically. I have a 3 seat row to myself. Yippee! I'm gonna stretch out, sleep, and try to watch the movie.

Can't wait to see everyone. I haven't seen them since October 3rd! I do miss them. But its a healthy missing them. Not neurotic, you know, like obsessing over missing them. Its good to let them grow up and miss them. They should have their own lives just as I should too.

Well I'm here! Merry Christmas! Let the celebrations begin!
Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

The Happy Couple



Merry Christmas!!

For those of you who want to see a better picture of my MAN, here it is.

We are sooooooooo happy! Our relationship is so fulfilling and has literally survived the test of time - 33 years - without even being together it lasted all these years. It's a strong love - true and eternal!!

Happy New Year!!

Happy Trails

Although I don't feel the snowy effects of winter as much as other parts of the country, I have learned of a new phenomenon first hand. FOG and I mean FOG as thick as PEA SOUP!! My friend, Joe, says it's called TULLEY FOG. I don't know why the heck it's named that, but he used to live in Sacramento and seems to know.

Anyway, the fog has an affect - like ZERO visibility on the ground. It rolls in from San Francisco Bay and gets stuck here in the San Jacquin Valley. It just lies here on the ground all day and all night. It is so dense that you can't even see the front of your car early in the morning. It seems to lighten up some during the day - but it hasn't totally gone away. It just "hangs" above the ground and when you are driving past the farms you can see it hovering the earth. Wierd!!

Today, it affected my travel back to Cincinnati. I had a 6:25am flight out of Fresno that was cancelled due to fog! So, instead of arriving at 3:30pm, hoping to beat any bad weather in Cincinnati, I'm arriving at 10 pm in the midst of a "wintry mix". Now for those of us from Cincinnati, we know what that means - it means snow, rain, freezing rain, below 32 degrees, icey roads, crappy weather!! Brrrrrrrrrr!

I know I'll get there and I'll have a great time once I'm there. I pray my bags get there at the same time as I do! And I pray that my planes arrive safely. And that all my driving back in town is safe driving.

So, now here's another glitch - Jake is coming into Cincinnati from the Nederlands tonight as well. However, he failed to provide any flight information, the time he thinks he's arriving doesn't match any flight schedule into Cincinnati and we now THINK he has another ride. :) It's gonna be a fun and interesting day!!

Happy Trails..............to you..........

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Ready to Go

The cookies are baked, the suitcases are being packed, my sleigh has gas in it, my wallet is "fat" NOT, and I'm on my way to see my kids. It will be so good to get to Cincinnat to them. I will be totally loaded down and I hope I just have an easy time of it getting on and off planes with all my stuff.

I wish you a very merrry Christmas and a blessed season with your friends and families.

God Bless You!! Merry Christmas!

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Planning a trip to Cincinnati

This is my week to go home and visit my family and friends! I won't have a long time there, about 5 nights, so I have to cram alot into each day. It will be good to see everyone. We're going to celebrate my 2 youngest kids' birthdays - Jake 21 and Beka 19 - then celebrate Christmas a little early this year. I have some of my bags already packed, one huge suitcase full of Christmas presents, one medium sized suitcase full of Beka's stuff and a small suitcase of clothes for me plus a shopping bag with cookies and more presents!! Wow! I FEEL LIKE SANTA CLAUS!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going out to sushi dinner with friends, will celebrate my best friend's birthday, then I'm going to a Christmas party, Krohn Conservatory with a friend, watch the Bengals game, go to a business meeting, check on my house, do a little shopping, try to land a winter coat for cheap to wear to Alaska, hang out with my kids, open presents and not sleep a bit! I'll save the sleeping for the flight home!! I will miss my honey, there is no doubt. I am already feeling the pangs of being away from him for 5 days. Funny, how things change.......now I live here and am visiting my home in Cincinnati. And to be honest, I miss the people there, I miss my job and stuff - but again it's all about the people, but I don't miss Cincinnati. I LOVE living here because he's so great to me.

You know, he does so many nice things for me. He does EVERYTHING nice for me! He is my everything! I wish the kids were able to come here to see me and him in our own environment. I wish they could see how wonderful he is to me every day. They would be so happy to see him in action. You know, our love has stood the test of time and we weren't even together! I'm so happy that this is how things worked out. There were many years of sadness, loneliness and bullshit but now, it's "normal". Or at least "normal" to me. It's a life of love and companionship and great intimacy and fun. Just a life of love, like it would have been if we had just stayed together. It's as if none of the other bullshit has happened. :-)

Well, I hope to see you next week! If I don't get to, I hope you understand. I have such a full schedule, it will just be hard to squeeze anything else in!!


Friday, December 09, 2005

Need Professional Carpet Cleaner

Any Recommendations??

I need to know of any specials, coupons, savings of any kind for carpet cleaning in Cincinnati. I need to have my carpets cleaned at my house. They were cleaned before, but need it one more time. I sort of suspected this, but the girls didn't really let me know. It's not that expensive and maybe that's a reason why the house is not moving too quickly. Or at least one of the reasons.

Please comment back or email me if you know.

Lots of snow at home

6 or 7 inches!!

Well, I for one am glad that I missed it, but my sweetie wishes he was there with the girls to enjoy snow! He is nuts!! I mean, it looks good for a few, until the dogs have at it or until the snow plows come through and throw the snow up the side of the road - it's dirty and looks terrible. Then there's the shoveling, scraping, cold hands, wet feet, and YIKES!!

It's cold here, but at least it's not snowy in the valley. But we're going to Yosemite tomorrow to take a drive through the mountains and enjoy the snow.

Enjoy the snow, I'll see you next week!

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

My utility bill

remember, no one lives here

I just got my cinergy bill. wow! I find it hard to believe, $121!!! No one lives there and the heat is set really low - like 58 degrees, maybe even 55 degrees, I'm not quite sure. When I go home for a visit, I will see what it is and what is causing it to be so much. They are reading the meter so I know it's accurate.

The only electric thing I have running is the dehumidifier. I'll check i it can run periodically or scheduled. If so, I'll change it. But there's no lights on, there's no appliances running. Only the furnace and the dehumidifier!!

Christmas Preparations

It’s been a week since I’ve written and that is a surprise even to me. I guess I’ve been busy getting things ready for Christmas. You know, since I’m not working, I am the one that has time to get everything done. And honestly, I love it!! This is the first time in years that I have had time to do all the errands, shopping, decorating, wrapping, card writing, all ahead of time. This makes the holidays more relaxing and fun! We have everything done! All presents wrapped and under the tree, all decorating done, all ornaments on the tree, I am even almost done with writing my cards!

This past Friday, we went to get our Christmas tree. We drove to a farm (didn’t have to go too far!) that raises trees and sells them freshly cut or you can cut your own. They were really nice there and had some beautiful trees. We bought a Douglas Fir, which is a kind that I have purchased for my home in the past. It’s a great tree, 8 feet tall, nice and full, smells so good. But there’s something different about it. It’s FLOCKED!! Have you ever seen a flocked tree? I have not until this year! For those of you that are like me and don’t know what flocking is – here’s what they do. They take the freshly cut tree, mount it to a stand, spray it with this glue and “stuff” mixture, like with a spray paint gun and this white stuff sticks to the tree and looks like snow. It’s beautiful. And it’s supposed to help keep the moisture in the tree and help it not dry out so quickly.

I’ve got all the presents ready to go, I just have to get everything packed now. I have some of my daughter’s things that she left here, so I’m going to pack up the clothes and bring them back with me. Her other things I will just pack them up today and send them off. I think I’ll UPS them just because UPS is more reliable than the post office. Besides, I have had problems with the post office here in Hanford. They are very, very slow to deliver mail. I don’t feel confident that they will get it sent out quick enough.

I’m going home next week to see my kids and our families!! I’m going to see a few friends, but I won’t be home long enough to see everyone that I would like to. It was hard getting return flights the closer it got to Christmas, so I had to cut my trip short – heading to Cincinnati on Wednesday, heading back home on Monday. But in that time, I have crammed quite a bit into it. It will be fun and I know it will go fast, too fast. But we are going to celebrate Christmas and Birthdays ( My son will be 21 and my youngest daughter will be 19. It will be great to have everyone together.

You may recall that my son has been in the Nederlands, meeting new Christians, celebrating life in Christ, learning more and becoming more prepared to do Missionary work. I’m not sure of his immediate plans. I think he’s planning on staying in Cincinnati for a while, then heading to Switzerland, then to the Philippines. Hopefully he will heed the political environment of the Philippines prior to going there. The other day the U.S. Embassy closed because of bomb threats. If he goes, I will just have to be a nervous Mom and pray a lot more than I do now for his safety. But anyway, for the moment, we will all be together next week! We haven’t been together in 2 ½ months.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Missing

Missing???

I started missing my house the other day or was I really missing it?

Thanksgiving evening, he pulled out the Christmas decorations and brought them up to the apartment. That’s when I started missing my decorations. I was getting all sentimental. You might recall that over the summer I had the yard sale but the Christmas decorations didn’t sell.  So, when I put all the donation stuff together, I gave away 15 boxes of Christmas decorations!!! yep, that’s right! 15 boxes!!  

I had everything in there from indoor/outdoor lights to ceramic decorations. I had probably 15 years of collecting things. Some of them were from my Mom, some from my kids, some from stores that I bought and loved, some from yard sales and thrift stores. I decided to sort through it and I kept only a little bit. I kept one nutcracker, the first one that was “real”; tree ornaments that my kids made or gave me and other favorites, and a couple small nick nacks that belonged to my Aunt and Mom. I kept the ones that had memories and sentimental value to me.

In the summer, when I sorted and decided what to keep, I was content with my decision. I still am. I mean it is just STUFF…..stuff that can be replaced if we need it or want it. Anyway, now they will become someone else’s memories and sentiment.

So, last week it started with the Christmas decorations. Then I started thinking about where I put the decorations: my mantel, my room, the family room, the window sills, outside the house, the bushes, the gardens…the basement. Yep, I started thinking about some years when I loved to decorate and others when I did but complained. I thought about how my house looked, how I loved it once it was decorated, how it would have been so much better if he had been there with me over the years. I would have LOVED if he had been with me my whole life. We would have had a great life …… fun together …… great kids ….. a lifetime of memories!!

So then I started feeling nostalgic, “what-if” and “what could have been”. In other words, I started feeling sorry for myself for all the crap that I went through in my life, all the years I was alone and the other years when I wasn’t. They were good and bad, but nothing like it is now with him. I missed the house……but it wasn’t the house exactly. But I don’t know what it was exactly.

As I told him how the house looked, how much I loved it. I started to get teary eyed. Funny. I think the tears were because I still haven’t sold the house and I have to keep paying for it even though no one is living in it. (you know, I used to think people that did that were CRAZY for leaving their house!!) Anyway, in a flash, the memories in the house came rushing at me: the kids, the birthdays, the Christmases, the parties, the cookouts, the dinners, my friends, my cars, my dumb boyfriends that were about useless, the dog, the cat, nights alone, conversations, bottles of wine, great meals, the joy I felt when I bought it! Even though, I was scared to death to buy the house all by myself, I realized I could do it. I could afford it and we were very happy there. At the time, I never thought I’d leave it. I thought I’d live there forever. SURPRISE!!

Anyway, all these memories came flying through my head, like a movie on fast forward. It evoked my emotions and “ta-da” tears came flowing. He asked me to share with him what was wrong, so I did. You know, one of two things could have happened. He could have told me I was silly and chances would be that I would never tell him how I felt again. OR he could have done exactly what he did – he listened to me!! He listened while I explained I missed the house, the decorations, the Christmases there. I sobbed and sniffled. He held me and listened.

The best part, he knew just what to do and what to say to me to make me feel better. He let me feel my feelings, he didn't discount my fears or apprehensions, he let me get it all out, and then he said some things that made me feel better.

The truth is I don't miss the house or my stuff. I miss making money and working. I don't like living on my savings, but at least I have it. I have lived so much of my life in debt and always scraping to get by, I thought that was behind me. We're not scraping but I am getting in debt and will get more in debt before I start working again.

But once it's all said and done, I know I'm making the right decision. For the first time in my life I am happy. My personal life is great. I'm satisfied with how things are. I am not making my "usual" list of things that are wrong with him and all the reasons why I should break up with him ALREADY!! I always knew what the others were about and all their short comings. I put up with them anyway. But this time is different. He doesn't offend me, he doesn't do things that are shady, he doesn't over indulge in alcohol, drugs or other crap. He puts me on a pedestal, he takes wonderful care of me, his words uplift me, he's good for my soul. That's more important than a house or stuff.

But I still have to ask myself what was I really missing???

The kids – the memories – the “romantic” idea of what my life was about. But the truth was I did the best I could to get by, but I was not really happy. I was maintaining, leaning on my friends (which is ok, we leaned on each other), wondering what’s wrong with me because I could only attract the WRONG guy.

I used to go see a psychic a few years back. She was pretty right on when we talked about relationships. Every time I met someone, I would ask her about him and she was basically always right. She told me once that I already knew my “man”, my soul mate and that he would come back to me. Well, strange isn’t it??

So, I don’t miss the house anymore, I wish someone would buy it and really enjoy it, like we did. I do miss my friends, but I can talk to them and it’s not bad.

had fun working today

It was a blast today, getting out, meeting some people, installing a computer at each site. The first one took the longest, mainly because the employees didn't know anything about the installation, where the computer was, who was getting it. The manager was out of the office so I had to wait for someone to get in that knew the "ins & outs".

I think I was the only "girl" installing because every time I called in there were only guys on the call. The set up was really cool, we just dialed into a conf call number all day long, checked in and out, got help if needed, etc. I didn't really need any help. Just a couple small things. I just followed the directions/script and off I went!

8 hrs., 3 locations and 3 computers later. :) Hope I get to do some more of these. It would be nice to have a "little" more money.

sorry, Deb! Had to talk a little more about being unemployed.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Working Tomorrow

Yippee

I won't make a ton of money, but I do get to work tomorrow. I'm doing a side job for Pomeroy and if it works out, I should get offered more of the same. I'll be upgrading some PCs at 3 business locations in the area. Piece of cake.

Still haven't heard on the other job and am still hoping that everything works out with SEI. All I can do is keep praying and hoping that the timing works.

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Saturdays

If you have been reading my blog, then you know what I mean by "Saturdays" and what they mean to me. We get to spend the morning in bed, cuddling and so on. It's great, we talk and laugh and kiss and well.....you know........for hours on end. Not bad for a middle aged man!! He's so affectionate, so attentive, so detail-oriented, if you know what I mean!! Oh MY!!

This morning was no different from any other Saturday. We got out of bed around 10, which is really late for us, remember we wake up at 4 am every day!! When we got up, I started turning on Christmas lights, it's so nice.......so cheery.......makes me feel excited about Christmas coming. All the presents are wrapped and in the closet, so I see them every day. I wonder what's in them. It will be great to open them and see what he thought I would like. After all of these years, he still knows me so well. He hasn't missed the mark yet.

We've had a wonderful day together, no different from other days. We cuddled on the couch, watched some old movies, The Big Sleep, the original Cape Fear, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and David Copperfield. Last night we watched Oliver Twist. Lots of fun. Lots of old movies. The best part is that he holds me, kisses me, hugs me, caresses me, squeezes me, and tells me he loves me. I LOVE THAT MAN!! How can I not??? He's absolutely wonderful.

Tonight he's playing his video game while I compose. You know, I am thinking of my book again. I am sure I have one in me. I'm not sure what it's about, but even if it's fiction, it will have something based on my life. So much has happened in my life. And my cousin even came up with a name for it. I won't tell the name right now. I'll just wait and see what happens. Maybe I'll start on it before the end of the year and just see how it comes out. Oh my...........I would so love to be a published author. Even if it stinks :) hehe!

Hope you're having a good weekend and had a great thanksgiving.

Friday, November 25, 2005

Ho Ho Ho!!

Will it ever seem like Christmas? It's warm enough here that it doesn't seem like Christmas. It reminds me of when I lived in Tucson way back when. But wait.......what is this???? I got up this morning and he was already putting up Christmas lights around the windows, we have decorations all over and don't even need the lamps, because of all the Christmas lights. It's wonderful! It really does feel like Christmas!!

We watched A Christmas Story and other Christmas movies. It was PERFECT!!

I have bought all my presents, I have to have them purchased and wrapped so I can take them home with me mid-December. Yep, I'm going home to visit my family, my friends and take care of a few things, like check on the house, see my gynecologist, get my hair done and get my surprise Christmas present for my honey. He will never guess!! I can't say right here either, because I don't know if he reads my blog or not. Wouldn't that suck if I told it here and he read it?? It would ruin the surprise.

Anyway, I will only be home for 5 days. I have alot to do in 5 days. Spend time with my kids - we are all staying with Tamara and Beka. Then I want to see Brian, Sherry, Mary Kay, Kim, Joe, and go to my cousin's to make ham salad. So, I will have to double up on my visiting and my schedule. I'm going to borrow Tamara's car, so I will probably have to drive her to work when I want to use it.

It will be hectic, but definitely FUN!!

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gooble Gooble Gooble!!

Yep, that's the theme of today, isn't it? Be thankful for the bounty that we have and then eat up the bounty!! Today was bittersweet. I loved cooking for us. He made dessert, pumpkin pie and fruit salad the night before and this morning when I got up, I started the dressing and turkey. I made the smallest turkey I could find, it was about 15 lbs. I always fix it in a bag, upside down so the juices will run through the breast. This year I did Nick Frohlich's trick he taught me oh so many eons ago - orange juice and whole fresh cranberries, simmer on the stove until the cranberries are cooked and the juice starts to thicken. Then pour the concoction into the turkey. If you are going to cook it in a roasting pan, then baste the turkey with it instead.

Anyway, I put the turkey in the oven, the dressing in the fridge to be cooked a little later, peeled the potatoes and parnips and put them on the stove in cold water. Everything was just waiting patiently for the turkey to finish. I guess by the time I got it all in the oven, etc. it was nearly noon. My plan was to have everything done around 2, so I was pretty much on schedule. We would be able to eat around 2:40 or 3 at this point.

We spent the day together, watching old movies, talking and enjoying each other's company. He played Oddworld for a while and I relaxed, waiting for the busyness to start when the turkey came out of the oven.

The dinner was fabulous!! He complimented my turkey, saying the white meat was not dry - nope, thanks to Nick Frohlich, it was wonderful. He helped me fix a turkey when Tamara was about 1, so 28 years ago!! OH MY!!

Speaking of Tamara, she and Beka cooked their own Thanksgiving Feast. They roasted a turkey, fixed mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, dressing, cheese ball, rolls, turtle brownies and enjoyed the day together. They video taped it for Darbi to see. I hope they save it for me. I would love to see it too!

I talked to my cousins, I miss them all. This is where the bittersweet comes in....I miss my family and the dinner, my girls, my son, my friends because I always cook the full dinner for my friends on Friday. But not this year, I'm committed to my new relationship and am cooking for him. But, you know what, my kids did good this year without me. They are growing up whether they want to or not. And it's really okay. They are fine with me and they are fine without me. One of these days, maybe Beka will come to live with us. Probably when we move to Southern California. But until then, she will live her life and learn to be responsible. And I love her, Tamara and Jake.

After dinner, my sweetheart pulled out all of the Christmas decorations and got them ready for the morning. Plus, we spent some time talking with his sister. She is so nice. Her daughter just had a baby at the end of October. So everyone is excited over the blessings that God has bestowed on them.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

The Bates Motel

The Bates Motel

AKA Motel6 in South San Francisco

After a busy day of driving, sight seeing and shopping, we were getting pretty tired. We still had a drive ahead of us to get to San Francisco. So we decided to grab a quick late lunch and head to our room.

We have simple tastes, so we don’t mind staying in motels. Besides, in San Francisco, just as any other big city, nice hotels in the city don’t include parking. I’ve paid as much as $100/day to park in NYC, about $50 in Chicago and the San Fran parking was about $30, so that’s pretty cheap. But still we decided to stay in a motel and the parking was included. Plus, we decided to stay in So. San Francisco to save a little ca$h. You know, without a second income, it’s a little more challenging!!

I booked this ahead of time on the internet. It allowed us to save some money. But, unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the building or the room except in “propaganda” pictures! Oops, I didn’t mean to say “propaganda”, I meant to say “marketing”. Well, anyway, we arrived after dark, there was no sign so we couldn’t find the motel. We didn’t get very good directions from the website, so I had to call the motel a couple of times. Good thing the man named Victor, was knowledgeable and helped us find the place. Then I checked in, went to the room and OH MY GOD!!

It was so bad, I took pictures!  I’ll post them later. Here’s what we found:
elevator that wasn’t working when he went to get our dinner
HUGE awful STAINS on the carpet.
sink that backed up
tub that backed up
bathroom door that was coming apart
noisy next door neighbors
and for the first time since I’ve been in California – REDNECKS in the lobby & halls!

Wow! it was so bad that I complained to Motel6. Still waiting to hear back. I hope they take me seriously, because it was terrible.

The bed was clean, clean sheets and towels. The bathtub was clean, so we stayed. But wow! it was different!! We stayed, had fun, enjoyed each other. It’s like always, we love being together and love each other so much.

Monday was a big day. So we got lots of rest!

San Fran weekend

What a great weekend!!

San Jose, San Francisco, Gilroy! Gilroy, you say?!? Where’s that and what’s that about?? Well, Gilroy is a small farming community that is famous for being the “Garlic Capital of the World!!” Chances are the garlic you have in your kitchen was grown and/or processes there. It’s so interesting because it’s a small community with large farms, then out of nowhere is Gilroy Premium Outlets. It’s 145 great stores at a major intersection on Rt. 101 and takes up 3 of the corners right off of the freeway. We had so much fun, going into all sorts of stores, looking around. Some had great prices and fantastic sales. Some were no different than going to Macy’s on a good sale day.


My daughter’s favorite store would be the Timberline outlet store. I have never seen one of those before and the prices were pretty good. If she had been with me, I would have been broke! She would have wanted tons of stuff!

When we move to southern California, we can visit other outlet malls. The Citadel in LA has about 90 stores. There’s not a Timberline outlet store at the Citadel Outlets in Los Angeles. Check out the webcam! You can see I-5 plus the access road to get to the outlet mall. The Carlsbad Premium Outlets is owned by the same management company as Gilroy and will be close to my house. They have about 90 stores, but no Timberline. Poor baby girl! I guess we’ll have to drive to San Jose to shop!!

But before we went shopping, we visited the Winchester House in San Jose. I wrote a little about the house before I went, but now that I’ve been there I can honestly say Sara Winchester was disturbed and had way too much money. Back around the turn of the 19th century she spent $5.5 MM to build, remodel, decorate, etc. the house. She believed that the carpenters had to work around the clock to keep the spirits of the people that were killed by Winchester Rifles away. She thought they killed her family and were going to kill her.

She was very superstitious – 13 was her favorite number and many things in her house were in increments of 13. Her favorite flower was a daisy and a perfect daisy has 13 petals. She loved leaded glass and tiffany stained glass. She had plenty of it and I loved that part. She had over 160 rooms, doors that go no where, windows that don’t go outside, buildings that were hodge-podged together. Really bizarre!! It was fun to tour it and walk through the gardens, see her fountains, beautiful plants imported from all over the world. She had good taste, but it was so inconsistently put together that it became strange.

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Roadtrip

We're heading out today on a roadtrip. When we leave for every roadtrip we always stop at Starbucks to get coffee and muffins. I love that except we have the slowest and worst Starbucks around in Hanford. Here's a picture of it!! Unreal! And remember this is the same store that turned me down to manage it! I was willing to take a HUGE pay cut and work there. This morning we beat the crowd so it was fast!

We're driving to San Francisco to spend the night. We're going to the Winchester house today. It's in San Jose. Now that's an interesting place. Check it out. http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com. Its interesting and weird. I mean she inherited millions and spent her whole life building this house because of what a psychic had to say! Gee, the power of bullshit!!!

Then we're heading into San Fran. Check into our hotel then head out into the city. Its gonna be fun.

On the way he stopped and bought me a Bonsai plant - a Japanese Juniper, I think. He's so great. He knows how much I love plants and how many I have away to move out here so he is replacing them. One at a time. So now I have 9 new plants. 2 roses, 2 orchids, 1. bromeliad, 3 philadendrums. (spelling?)

I love him! He's great! He's fun! He's so generous and loving! He loves spoiling me!

So here we are, driving to San Fran, listening to Marty Robbins on the cassette, yep, you read right - Marty Robbins! And we're having FUN!

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Everything is going great

My best friend pointed out that I have been obsessing on my blog about job hunting, so I apologize for letting it consume me. It is my way to obsess, but I also know that it doesn't help to be that way. So, that's all I'm gonna say about not working.

Life is great here. We have fun, travel all over the state on the weekends, visit cities and sitesee. I just love it. He wants to show me all the things that he has seen over the years of living here. I've been to San Diego a couple of times. Eaten at some great restaurants in San Diego. Visited the Midway Aircraft Carrier at the San Diego Pier/Bay. Saw Imperial Beach, Coronado (wow, what a rich area that is!), North Island Naval Air Base from outside the base. Bought doughnuts and bread from Dudley Bakery - a very famous bakery in the area. A quaint gold rush town, Julian, which is full of gift shops. We bought a few things there including "Mom's Apple Pie", the best Apple Cider I've ever tasted, and some Christmas ornaments. We love Christmas.

We've also been to San Francisco, San Jose, Gilroy and are going back tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to the Winchester House Tour in San Jose. We've been to the Hearst Castle and taken the tour. Then ate dinner at Morro Bay. We've driven through wine country. Been to LA a couple of times, and driven through Hollywood. Didn't stop just yet, have to make some plans to go places there too.

It's all very surreal and he makes it all very special. He's a great guy and I've never been happier.

And thanks, Deb, for pointing out that I've been too focused on what's NOT happening to appreciate what IS happening!!

Friday, November 18, 2005

3rd Interview

Will I get the job? Who knows? I've had 3 interviews now, I'm not sure how I did yesterday. It was a video conference interview with the management team. I've never done that type of interview, so I was self-conscious of being on their TV and how my mannerisms showed, how my hair looked, how my eye contact was, did I talk over them, did I interrupt? I don't know because I was nervous.

But, I have to say this: if I don't get this job, then it wasn't meant to be. I will find just the right thing. I am sure it will happen. In the meantime, I just want to enjoy my new life and be happy. And I AM!! wow!!

The good part about yesterday was driving to Irvine. yes, it was a haul, but it was fun. There's something enticing about driving through California for me. I know places are far, but it's a wonderful feeling, kind of freedom or something. I can't really describe it. Maybe it's a sort of romantic or even nostalgic feeling, based on novels and movies that I've seen growing up. There's excitement in going to the city. I know, maybe I'm being naive and you will read some day that I'm tired of it or tired of the traffic or I will be bitching about something. But don't we all! Overall, I am excited about moving to southern California and experiencing our life there.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

went to San Diego



over the weekend

we went to San Diego over the weekend. He wanted to take me around and show me the sites. We had a blast!! I got to meet an old friend of his. Then he took me to the Midway AirCraft Carrier and took the tour. We walked around down by the pier. He showed me the fish market, Coronado, North Island (where he will be working). We went to a Thai restaurant in Imperial Beach, a sushi restaurant in El Cajon (I think), stayed in a nice hotel.


Then we went to Julian in the morning and stopped at Dudley's Bakery in San Ysabel. Dudley's is a very famous bakery and people come from miles around to buy from them. It was delicious. Julian was very quaint, built around the gold rush time. The architecture of the buildings reminded me of the mid-west architecture. I could tell that the original founders were from the east and brought the style of houses and buildings to the west. It was very comforting in a way, kind of funny. It was very nice to walk around, look in the shops, in fact, he is totally fun to shop with. You don't find too many men that like to shop or you can have fun with shopping. He is both!!


He drove me the scenic route everywhere and I got to see some beautiful parts of southern California. He had stories of other times he had been there and they were fun to listen to. It's fun to go out and about with him. He loves to show me around. He loves to share with me. It's great!!

I drove us home from northern San Diego county. I drove all through the LA traffic on a Sat night. Can you believe it was bumper to bumper all through the city??? At least 1 1/2 hrs to drive through. I'm sure it's worse during rush hour. BOOKS ON TAPE will save the day!!

It's been a while

so much happens

I haven't written in a while, too busy job searching. Hoping to have another interview this week and get hired very soon. I need to get working, but I'm not going to stress over it. I did that last week and nearly got sick. Nope, no stress. I'll just work at working, diligently job search, that's all I can do.

And I think making the decision to move to the San Diego area has helped. More specifically, San Clemente or Oceanside. Oceanside is a little cheaper, so it will probably be an apartment there. I'm totally happy with the decision. Jobs are more plentiful and I have options: San Diego, Irvine, Orange County and LA, hopefully the south and west side of LA. The commute will be a little long, but hopefully I'll work somewhere where I can work from home sometimes.

Other than that, I still have to get a little Christmas shopping started and done. That's what I'm supposed to be doing right now, so as soon as I finish, I'm off. I'm going to go to the mall. The mall in Hanford is small, there's a Mervyn's, Penney's, Sears and Gottchalk's. Across the street is Target, Walmart and Marshall's. I should be able to get started there. Tomorrow I can head over to the outlet mall in Tulare and hopefully finish up. I don't have much money to spend since I haven't been working. Just a little something for my immediate family.

I found a new site today to upload pictures. If you have time, check it out. It's a Yahoo product: Flickr. Check 'em out. I had fun today putting these up. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pegs-pics/

I'll be travelling home for a visit mid-December as long as Delta is still in business. I hope to see as many of my friends as possible and still see my kids. They will all be in town!! What a fun 5 days that will be. Wonder what will happen if Delta goes out of business before then!! Hmmmm.. Any ideas?

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Oral Sex at the Synagogue - read on!!

Oral Sex at the Synagogue - Newsweek Society - MSNBC.com

Thank you Rabbi Marc Gellman for addressing this issue head on, no pun intended :) As parents, we have heard polls that teens and tweens have openly discussed how casual they see oral sex. We know that they consider it to be as casual as holding hands and kissing were during our youth. I can appreciate Rabbi Gellman's courage to speak out to his young congregation. This had to be one of the most difficult messages to deliver. Just think, how difficult is it to discuss sex with our children? It's kind of embarrassing, but discussing oral sex! Wow! Even harder to talk about! But if we (as adults and parents) think that teens don't think about it, talk about it, or do it, then we are sticking our heads in the sand!

The quote from the Talmud is the best! “Be very careful if you make a woman cry, because God counts her tears. The woman came out of a man’s rib: Not from his feet to be walked on. Not from his head to be superior, but from the side to be equal. Under the arm to be protected, and next to the heart to be loved.” Thank you, Rabbi Gellman, for reminding us of what God really wants for us: a beautiful, loving (marriage) relationship that includes a healthy and wonderfully satisfying sex life.

Sunday, November 06, 2005

The Hearst Castle and Morro Bay

The Hearst Castle and Morro Bay (Sat Nov 5)

A few weeks ago, my honey took me out for a day trip. We had the BEST time! We got up early in the morning, had a beautiful morning together as always. We love Saturdays, they are the best. We get to spend time together, no rush to get up out of bed, we get to hang out and cuddle, get to be alone with each other! It’s fantastic! So, we woke up really early and after we spent some time together we took off for the coast.

It was a nice ride, we drove through wine country. At 10 in the morning we stopped at a winery and he was going to buy me some wine to taste, but it was too early for me! I couldn’t believe that I turned it down, but I had too. I have to admit it sure did smell YUMMY!

We kept on our trip and before I knew it we were on the coast. It was beautiful, the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean is quite different from the Atlantic. The first thing that I noticed there was no “ocean” smell like on the Atlantic. You know, that fishy smell, the breeze blowing the smell in. Then there were more rocks than sand in the part we were in. But it was absolutely beautiful!!

There were several nice, quaint towns along the way. Mostly tourist towns, few stores, very cute. Then we saw a long, line of Corvettes driving down Highway 1. We continued up Highway 1 and then all of a sudden there we were, up on the hill, the Hearst Castle.

It was magnificent. Very majestic. Very rich!! This is a picture of the pool outside the castle.

We took a tour and it was the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. He and I walked through this house, held hands and gazed at everything inside. It was wonderful to be there with him. He makes everything special. He makes it fun for me. I love sharing these moments with him. I love sharing all the moments with him. I feel like he really wants to be with me and he really wants to share his life with me. I have never thought that anyone really wanted to be with me. I mean, they were with me, but it didn’t take very long for me to feel like they really didn’t want to be with me. Like they really didn’t want to go do the things I like to do. But it’s different with him. He makes me feel like I’m important, like the things I like to do are fun for him too. I am telling you, it’s like we were always supposed to be together. Like he thinks I am wonderful and wants me to be happy. My happiness is enough for him. It’s crazy!

The tour was wonderful, the house was gorgeous and the company was the best!! They saved the best for last – the indoor pool. I mean it was terrific…real gold inlay in the floor, the pool was huge, had some little alcoves, was 10 feet deep all over, dark blue Italian tiles or marble or something. It was breathtaking. Here's a picture of the pool.

After we went to the castle, we drove south on Highway 1 to Morro Bay. Oh my God, it was just like something out of a movie! I was so overwhelmed. It was not like anything that I have ever seen. Seagulls, sailboats, restaurants, nice beaches, it was very wonderful. I just loved it. We went to a seafood restaurant on the bay. Oh my, the food was out of this world. So delicious, nice atmosphere. He got fish & chips and shrimp cocktail and I got shrimp louie salad and a bowl of clam chowder. It was as if we were in New England. I just loved it.

Here’s something that we do every time we eat out – you know how you get seated in a restaurant and the hostess puts you at the table that could seat 4 but there’s only 2 of you. They generally put each person across from each other, but we like sitting next to each other. We ALWAYS sit like this, from the first mean that we ate together in June at Red Lobster. I love it, we sit next to each other, hold hands, we smile at each other. It’s nice to be with him.

After dinner we walked through the twon. They were having a street fair with booths, selling food, jewelry, fudge, arts & crafts things, clothing and so on! It was only a block long but we enjoyed just walking together, looking at all the booths and holding hands. We bought some fudge, some really exotic kinds. They will last us quite some time. We stayed until sunset. I drove home from the coast, it was a pretty nice drive. Very nice time to be with him.


I love everything about him! All the good and all the bad. We all have good and bad, I don’t think that I could do anything he wouldn’t like either. It’s pretty good you know.

Thursday, November 03, 2005

still looking

Need to relax, enjoy life, and have faith...

Yep, that's what I'm going to do. I definitely need a job, I will not be happy without one. I don't like paying minimums on credit cards, I don't like using all of my savings to pay bills for a house I'm not even living in, I definitely need a job. I spend the better part of each day looking. I get up extremely early, get started by 5:30 am. I hit job boards, read about the industry, try to find recruiters that actually recruit - what a novel idea. I apply and apply and apply. One of these will come through I'm sure.

But in the meantime, I also have to enjoy our life and our "renewed & regenerated" love. Maybe it's time to write my screenplay. Don't you think there's gotta be a romantic comedy in all of this somewhere? I'm sure there is. If I could only get in contact with a writer friend of mine from high school - he lives in LA, very famous, how do I find him if he's not listed in the book? How do I find him professionally???

Over the last few weeks, things have been great. He surprised me with flowers. But this time, not cut flowers that will die, although they are absolutely wonderful, but flowers that will continue to live and grow with love and nurturing. Alot like our relationship. So I have two Miltonia Orchids and one Bromeliad. I have never had these kinds of plants before, so I'm learning about them. Already the bromeliad has a "baby" plant growing and when it's half the size of the "parent", then it can be safely repotted and start a new one. Very very cool. He also bought me mini roses, which I've had before, but not grown successfully. Since he's an accomplished rose gardner, I'm learning how to take care of them. It's rather easy, really.

So, needless to say, I'm happy with the way things are going. The only thing that could improve would be the job thing. I want a job, even a temp assignment. Something I could do from home would be perfect. Got something????

Monday, October 31, 2005

Job interview results

still waiting to hear

Today's the day, I wish they would just call and let me know. Certainly by now they have made a decision. I guess I'm very anxious, I need to get working so I can quit worrying about running out of money. I did plan to live for a while on my savings, but I would prefer to not use it all. You never know what I'll need and when I'll need it. A job would be great.

I keep looking on the job boards and everything is on the west coast, quite a drive for me, at least 3 hrs each way. So I have to realize that I am not going to find exactly what I want, but if I can find a job that is decent - I will be satisfied for the time being. I'm contacting recruiters in the area and tomorrow am going to start hitting on the consulting firms around town. It would be so much easier if I knew someone out here in the industry. Someone that could point me in the right direction. I've tried all the things I know, now I guess I just have to wait.

I'm not good at the waiting. Especially when I don't have anything to do except think about not working and wanting a paycheck.

It's nice when he gets home from work, then I have something to do. We have a great time and I don't regret a thing - I don't regret moving here, I don't regret walking away from the familiar and safe. Now that I'm here, I'm glad. I just have to realize that to be successful, I have to plug away, consistently job seeking, asking, applying, interviewing, and the right position will come my way.

I wish I knew enough people to start my own web consulting firm. I don't have any contacts. Don't you think that I need to know SOMEONE??? Maybe I don't. I need advice..........please help me if you have ideas or can tell me that I can do it and how.

Friday, October 28, 2005

Changes in my life

Changes in my life

Change is good. I’ve been here 3 weeks now. Everything is wonderful between the two of us. We are loving our time together, getting along great. He does so many nice things for me every day. If I say, I like “this thing” or “that thing” or I want “something” then he comes home the next day with whatever I said I liked or wanted. He’s so sweet, he actually listens to me and I couldn’t be more ecstatic! AND SHOCKED. A guy who actually LISTENS!! IT MARVELOUS! Then we do this thing: he gives, I give, he gives, I give, we are both so happy. We are both glad to have each other again. The change is good.

There are some things that are different here. First off, I’ve moved from a market where we had several Gannett newspapers, 5 local TV stations all with their own versions of the news, weather and local programming., tons of local radio stations (mostly owned by Clear Channel) with radio shows that are syndicated nationally. I’ve left a competitive media market. There is no local newspaper, no local TV or radio. If I want to know what’s going on, see the weather or something like that I have to listen to Fresno stations. They rarely mention the town that we live in. It’s like living in a small town in Ohio – like maybe Fayetteville?

My entire life I thought that people in the Midwest really had issues driving. I mean if it rains, watch out! They either crawl on the highway or they drive way too fast. And when it snows………..EEEEEK!! Fender benders galore during rush hour. I know how that goes, I’m still paying with higher insurance premiums for one that wasn’t even my fault.

Anyway, simply put THEY CANNOT DRIVE HERE!! AT ALL!! I mean it, in parking lots I swear people drive incredibly slow. Not even 2 mph. I mean it. It’s amazing, I like to get away from them and get the hell out of the lot. On the street, they are just “dilly dally”, no cares for the speed limit, they just drive as slow as they want to. But on the highway – it’s like 80! They just can’t get it together.

and in the stores – geez, everyone is just slow. I guess I didn’t think of Cincinnati being on a fast track or people hurrying around in Cincinnati, but they do. I suppose there are enough type A individuals there that things go a little faster. But here……..wow………..get the picture!!?!!

One thing I don’t hear living in Hanford, CRIME. I don’t hear about murders, kidnapping, rapes, racial unrest, stuff like that. I heard about all of that all the time in Cincinnati. People here are friendly and seem to get along nicely. Everyone smiles. It’s laid back here, like the driving, that people are just happy people.

And the city is growing. New housing everywhere and the shopping area is really getting built up. I suspect that one of these days, Hanford will be a good size city. Maybe like Mason or West Chester. I wish we were ready to buy a house, but until I sell mine, we’re not. Besides, we have to be married in order to buy a house – my rule, not the bank rule. But that will be soon enough that we’ll be married. (

All in all, it’s good here. It’s a good life, quiet, sunny, warmer here than in Cincinnati right now. No yard work, no leaves to rake, I’m loving it. I wish a couple of things would happen – one is sell my house, the other is find a job. I really wish my house would sell, it would save me so much every month. I will still have to pay a little bit for garbage pick up, a little bit for gas and electric, and of course the house payment…..come ‘on! Someone walk thru it that is interested. please oh please !! And the other is find a job. I hope the job that I interviewed for on Tuesday comes through. I will know by this time on Monday, I suspect…..I hope I hope I hope!!

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Job Interview Results

Job Interview –

I believe it went well

I interviewed with the President of the company. I was very pleased with how the interview went, we seemed to get along quite well from the start. He explained more about the company to me. It’s a small company that is filling a need in the market and I’m excited to be considered to be part of this company. I believe that I can bring quite a bit to the table for them and help their clients as well as the company grow. I believe there is a lot of growth and earnings potential for myself in this company as well. California is a fairly new market for them and I could be instrumental in helping them get a foothold in the market.

I will know more by Friday or not later than Monday. I can only hope at this point that I am a fit for their organization.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Interview on Tuesday!

This would be a great job to have!

I have an interview on Tuesday!! I'm really excited about this one. I have already interviewed on the phone while I was still in Cincinnati. That went great, so I've been invited to interview with the President of the company. He's flying in from Pennsylvania, the home office, to interview me and a couple of software engineers for a different position. The office is in Irvine, however, they are ok with me working from home and the client site, then going into the office a couple times a month. So, that's totally cool with me.

It's 250 miles from my house, about 4 1/4 hrs to drive it. To get to Irvine, you have to drive through Los Angeles on I-5. I've been to Irvine earlier in the summer and it's a very beautiful area. Big trees, clean streets, upscale office buildings, very nice.

The company has an interesting product, it's a financial software package, geared to help companies with their P&L, Revenue Recognition, Forecasting, etc. If I'm hired, my responsibilities will be to work mainly with the client, help them define their project details and work with the engineering team to implement their project. It's an end-to-end solution and responsibility. I like that.

I originally spoke with one of the founders of the company and he was very sharp, very nice and thorough on the phone. We had a good interview and now I just need to shine in front of the president. This company is a growth company, office in Pittsburgh (go Steelers!!) and Philadelphia (go Eagles!!) and Irvine. They are considering expansion into more markets. Very nice!!

Well, I am open to advice, things that I should be prepared to answer, like the all dreaded TELL ME YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES - I need to have these answers prepared in advance and am open to suggestions, especially if you've worked with me in the past.......please send! I'm going to go prepared with notes on my projects, methodologies I use, familiarity with finance - Skip and Gerry where are you???? :)

I could use not only your inputs on my strengths and weaknesses, but I can use your prayers. If I get this position, then I can plan for my kids to visit us in December for birthdays and early Christmas. I really miss them and would love to see them NOW!! Plus working will give me something to sink myself into and even though I've loved the "housewife" thing, I'm ready for more.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

My time today :)


Kind of wasting time, but it's fun! Well, today seems to be a waste-day. I mean, I'm doing stuff like: laundry, cleaned a little, will cook dinner, am balancing checkbooks, paying bills, looking for and applying online for jobs, emailing my friends and playing on the internet; now, writing in my blog. I mean, it's Thursday, I don't have an interviews lined up, so I might as well, take a day to have fun! Do the stuff I want to do. Geez, I'm a housewife!! Did you ever think that I would like it? I like it so well, I wish we would win the lottery so I wouldn't have to do anything but!! SURPRISE!!

I was looking through some pictures and found this one of my son, Jake and I right before we left on our respective trips. He's in the Nederlands and I'm here in California.
We both left on the same day. We had dinner with a good friend of ours, famous, you might say - Brian, the developer of http://www.molinecourt.com. Check out these homes!! They are absolutely gorgeous and in a great old neighborhood in Cincinnati, historic! They are lovely homes!

Anyway, we went to Ambar in Clifton for dinner before we left. Ambar is one of the best Indian Restaurants that I've ever been to. We had a great time, took pictures, laughed and spent time with our good friend. Wow I really miss him! I miss them both!! My son and my wonderful friend, Brian!!



love you both!! They sure are happy aren't they??

When I go back to Cincy for a visit, we're all gonna have the time of our lives!! It will be great to see each other!!

Well, I'm off for now. I am going to take a walk, then get back to my domestic goddess duties!! hehe!!

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Do you have project work?

Still job hunting.

Well, it’s already happening. I got all settled in, have been out and about learning my way around and now I want to get working. I’m already getting bored. You know, I don’t do well with RELAXATION. I feel relaxed and ready to work. Well, maybe today, I’ll get a facial – and I could use a massage, but other than that, I’m relaxed enough.

I don’t need full time employment; I could easily do independent consulting and get paid hourly. I can handle working from my home office. I have everything set up and it’s a great environment to work in. But I do need something to do. Do you have any work that I can get done for you? Something that is not bound by physical presence, something that technology can answer? If so, I’m the right person for the job. I have connections to all sorts of designers, software engineers, database administrators. We can get the job done, no matter the size, from anywhere we are. (

Currently, I have a strong lead on a job. I’m a good fit, they allow working from home offices and also the client-sites. It will require some travel and that’s fine with me. I am a good fit for the position and have passed the phone interviews. Now I’m just waiting for the founder of the company to make it to California to interview me in person. I’m sure I would work out and love their product. The customer interaction is PERFECT for me!! I would sure love to give it a try.

However, in the meantime, got work? I’m your person to get it done!! I’ll manage your project and deliver on-time, on-budget!! Contact me!

where's the pics


I put pictures in my blog about the trip out here and they're not showing, so basically, I'm trying to experiment and find out why.

Here's the most recent picture of me outside of my house in Cincinnati, on the deck. It's still not sold!! Come 'on! It's a great house - somebody must want to buy it!!

OK - now I'm convinced I'm going crazy. I can see the pictures in preview mode, but not in my blog! And I even changed the template thinking something was amiss in the code. AAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

Now here's the WORST part - I can see the pics if I use IE instead of Firefox..........YIKES!! I love Firefox. Someone must have a suggestion!

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Cincinnati Advance Radio

new talk radio show in Cincinnati

This new radio show, Cincinnati Advance Radio on WAIF 88.3 FM in Cincinnati is hosted by my good friend, Joe Wessels. I listened to the premiere show yesterday on my iPod. I found the show to be very interesting, politically based, which is what I would expect with the current Cincinnati Mayoral race going on between Councilman David Pepper and Ohio State Senator Mark Mallory. Joe had two former Cincinnati mayors on the show - Roxanne Qualls mayor in the 90's noted for riverfront and neighborhood revitalization, responsible for the stadium tax and the building of two sports stadiums - Cincinnati Reds and Cincinnati Bengals. David Mann, former mayor under the old system where the council members appointed a mayor from their ranks. Mr. Mann depicted it much like a team lead. I like that description, it makes it sound like the council would then work together on initiatives with their appointed leader. Seems like more would be accomplished under that system.

Joe asked some compelling questions and got great responses from the former mayors. They expressed their opinion on what it takes to be the mayor, what it was like, how diverse Cincinnati really is and what the major reforms should be - it's still the same as for most cities - jobs, housing, neighborhood improvements, crime. I think for Cincinnati, especially crime. Just as Joe about crime in his neighborhood!! See Joe's Blog, dated October 12, 2005!!

Joe also did a promo for Carnivale D'Expose. And had Leslie Isaiah Gaines close the show with his new Bengals promo song!! Very fun!!

Thanks Joe for a great show!

Cincinnati Political Blogs

DISCLAIMER: Some are good and some are offensive

I've been doing a little blog reading myself and have found several Cincinnati blogs that are tightly integrated into the politic scene there. Here's several for your reading enjoyment or not, in some cases. I have a couple of favorites, and others are offensive. Sorry if they offend you, I didn't write them and I don't endorse them, I'm just listing them.
http://cincinnati.blogspot.com
http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/gov/
http://prblog.typepad.com/strategic_public_relation/
http://blackcincinnati.blogspot.com/
http://www.independenteye.net/
http://projectlogic.blogspot.com/
http://revart.blogs.com/minister_of_rants/

Monday, October 17, 2005

Working out

Apt Complex has Workout Equipment

Today, I'm going to start a workout routine. If I'm going to work from home, there will be times when I can take my "lunch hour" and go hit the workout room. They have some equipment that I will use and some that I am uncertain. They have steppers, treadmills, stationary bikes - all stuff I would use. Then they have weight machines and I"m not that good with knowing what to do on them, however, I do know what my orthopedist says NOT to do on those machines.

Either way, walking, stepping and riding can be enough for me for now. Of course, I have set a goal to lose some weight and I know the only way it will come off is to work it off.

I must be doing something right if I could by a size 14 blazer this past weekend!! Then yesterday, I tried on all my good work clothes just to see where I am in my weightloss trek. Wow! I have to find a tailor. I have some very expensive clothes and they all need to be shortened - skirts too long - and taken in - make them a bit more form fitting and shapely, not to mention 3 sizes too big in most cases. I'm so proud!!

So, I'm off to listen to my iPod, read my book and walk my ass off!! Or at least tighten it up and walk some of it off :)

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Happy Birthday Mom!!

If she was still alive she'd be 89 today!! I love you Mom!!

the California Adventure

This was a fun trip for both of us. You know, even when we dated before, we couldn't afford to take a road trip. I mentioned before that I worked hard to get to the point that I would be ready to leave. I had to have a yard sale, donate tons of clothes, household items, etc., then I had to have a moving sale - getting rid of everything else that I had left to live on from the yard sale. Then I had to have time to tell my friends goodbye, finish my project and leave in good standing. There was a lot of pressure on me to wrap up on time. Of course, then there's the packing. I really didn't bring that much, but it ended up being more than I thought. But now that I'm here, I'm glad I brought what I did and only have to buy a few things. The most important thing is that I am here, I am happy and we are ecstatic to be together!! It's wonderful!

So here's a brief recap of the trip, state by state:

Indiana - you would think that it would be fairly uneventful to drive through Indiana. I mean afterall, I've lived by Indiana my whole life. I've spent summers camping in Indiana instead of living with my ex-husband. Believe me, living in a camper in the woods by the river with no electricity and no running water was better than living with my ex!! When we were younger, my honey and I did take trips to Indy 500 race, so we've had to drive up to Indianapolis many times before. So, you would think...............but that's not the case. We actually had to turn around twice because we missed our exit!! But you know the good thing was he didn't get upset because we had to turn around and he noticed right away that we went the wrong way.

Illinois - Pretty much the same looking as Ohio and Indiana. Hills, trees, grass - lots of green. The leaves weren't changing yet, so I guess I won't see autumn this year. I certainly thought that I'd see the leaves changing, but I guess it's too early. Oh well. The nice thing about the trip so far is that we haven't run out of things to talk about and we don't seem to be strangers at all. That's a wonderful feeling. I know I'm doing the right thing. You know, we racked up about 400 hours on the phone over the last 4 months talking, so I am sure that we've discussed everything possible!! We certainly know each other very well, have built on the years that we got to know each other when we were younger. In fact, the one thing that we've learned is that we are basically the same as we were back then and that's a great feeling!! We are a "little" more mature, however, I refuse to be anything but "forever young"!

Iowa - BORING!!
There is a city there named NORMAL - I doubt that there is anything normal about NORMAL. Besides, normal is a state of mind and is relative!
Then there were the KUM & GO truck stops. Geez, what kind of a name is that? I guess our minds were in the gutter, because they were so funny!! Other than that - it was corn, manure, farms, more corn and YIKES.





Nebraska - Could I tell I ever left Iowa??
Who could live here? Corn, cows,wheat, wind and cold!! By the time we drove through, which took "forever", it was predicted to snow that night with freeze warnings. Shit, I was wearing sandles - my feet were freezing!! Besides, the winds never stop because there is nothing to stop it, I can't imagine living somewhere were it's always windy.


Wyoming - 29 degrees in Cheyenne!! That's was frickin' cold with strong wind warnings on the artimis system. Snow! Snow! Brrrrr! SO COLD THERE WERE NO BUGS ON THE WINDSHIELD!! Again, I am just not that into winter and certainly wasn't dressed for cold, so I was not thrilled to see snow! You know, in the past when I've had the chance to drive in Wyoming, I really loved it. I loved the fact that there was no cities, alot of just land. But now that I'm driving across the entire state, it's all the same, brown, no houses, no cities, a few cattle, and they have those snow fences up and ready to use. It does smell good and fresh and clean.

we stopped in Lyman, Wyoming to catch a bite to eat - I thought I heard the banjo music in the background and was ready for the Deliverance team to show up. We went to the bathroom when we first got there and then got seated in the restaurant. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE stared at us. You know, he has long hair and of course, all I could think about was they were staring because of that and because we were strangers. I wished he would have had on his military work jacket. It's obviously very patriotic and if we ever needed people to know that we were patriotic and conservative it was NOW!! I swear it was reminiscent of the 60s when we dated before! YIKES! I was more than ready to eat and run!!

One thing that was prevalent in NE and WY - the accents. They were similar to a Minnesota or Canadian accent. Hm. Didn't expect it to sound like that.

We did find gas in Wyoming for $2.67/gal. Little did we know then that that was the cheapest we would see it again.

Utah - All I could say was WOW!! I certainly can understand why people want to live here. It's absolutely beautiful. We drove in on I-80 and came into Salt Lake City. The 2002 Winter Olympic Park, mountains, resorts, canyons, chalets, apartments, if I was a skier this would be the place to live. I'm sure it's very expensive, but I'm also sure that they make enough money in the winter to support themselves all summer. It was cool driving through the city after flying into SLC so many times in the past. We went by the airport and drove through at rush hour, but there was no traffic jams. It was just a nice drive. We drove around the Great Salt Lake and then through the Salt Flats. It's very cool and to me it's an amazing natural phenomenon.

Nevada - Our last night on the trip we stayed in Winnemucci. I'm sure it's an Indian name and mean's something - probably "sucker" for all the people at the casinos. There were casinos everywhere, slot machines everywhere. The town itself was closed unless you were a casino, so we had to eat at one of the casinos. The food was pretty good, I guess. Then we went back to our room, relaxed and hit the sack. In the morning, we had the best breakfast at a place up the street from the hotel. very good and filling - in fact, our best meals on this trip were breakfast meals. I guess he's right, you can't screw up breakfast too bad, so it's safe to order!! :)

Anyway, driving though Nevada was pretty nice, especially when we got into the mountains. But, I'm a sucker for mountains. I guess just knowing this was our last day of driving was really important too. It made the drive even more fun knowing we'd be home and sleeping in our own bed before the day was over.

We drove through Reno, it was ok, looked pretty nice, big office buildings - more than just a city with casinos. That's pretty cool.

California - Well, everything was going along great. I mean we were in the mountains, lots of steep grades up and down, but the scenary was awesome. I was so glad to be here. And now I really got excited just knowing that we were in CA and would for sure be home soon. Then, we were heading up a steep grade and a truck came by and told us to pull over - and kept pointing at our trailer. So I pulled over, he got out and checked and DAMN! The door of the trailer opened up!! We were heading up a steep grade and THANK GOD, BUT NOTHING FELL
OUT! I mean, all kinds of things could have fallen out and there could have been wrecks and everything!! Wow! I was freaking out and he was so calm. He didn't get upset or anything, he just closed it and relocked it and drove the rest of the way home :) I love this man, nothing seems to get him riled. That's fantastic because we know I can't take being yelled at or scolded.

We got home around 5pm and emptied the trailer, returned it the same night, ate dinner and cuddled in our own bed. I'm home and I love it!!
"Now this is not the end.
It is not even the beginning of the end.
But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

--- Sir Winston Churchill, November 1942