Rebuttal to 1 year later

(Cabin in the woods where we are making new memories)

After my last pity-party post I felt I should quickly post a rebuttal.

I am thankful for my new neighbors here in Washington.


(Favorite row of trees this fall, but the picture doesn't quite do it justice)

Tonight we went trick or treating with our neighbors.
Neighbors from Russia, Brazil, Mexico, India, and L.A.



(Pea Patch Preschool class on Orange Day!)


It has taken some time to find our niche here in Redmond, but tonight actually made me feel like it is starting to happen.
Definition of Niche- " a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted b : a habitat supplying the factors necessary for the existence of an organism or species c : the ecological role of an organism in a community especially in regard to food consumption d : a specialized market"

It is an interesting thing meeting new people. We have been here in Washington a whole year now and this is just now starting to happen. There is just a glimmer of the beginnings of finding a niche here.

I am thankful for people who share their gift of hospitality with me and my family. There have been all kinds of gestures to welcome my family and I and for everyone of them I am thankful.
Whether it's a walk up my hill, a pie brought over, a free week pass at the gym, a birthday party, a night out , a night in, a book club, an invitation to anything cannot be overlooked when you are the new comer.



(Sol the cowboy, Friend Irene the Witch, and Isaiah The Hulk)

More now than ever I have realized that I want to cultivate my gifts of hospitality and make my home one that welcomes strangers.

Funny side-note, tonight while trick-or-treating I saw a welcome matt that said "GO- AWAY" it made me LOL :)
That matt would be the opposite of what I am trying to convey... still it is pretty dang funny!


(Pic of some branches on the Big Daddy Tree in our yard with some moss and just a speckle of sun)

I am thankful for new neighbors, second chances, new friends, new jobs, a new home, and a new lease on life.

Just Thoughts

Three weeks left of summer break. I need to get this family back to real life time instead of island time. We have successfully once again thrown away the clocks for the summer and I fear we will go into shock if we went cold-turkey back into school schedule time. So really, I am thinking we only have two weeks left of break and the week before school starts is always busy with school stuff and getting back into the groove.

Emma has really taken to baking and cooking things in the kitchen. Tonight it's cinnamon cupcakes with creme cheese frosting. Mmm...mmm good!!

Moses marinated a steak for this evenings dinner that I am pretty excited about.

I am not going with the first publishing company that offered to publish my book. There was some things in the contract that just didn't sit well with me and so I decided not only did I have no business looking at a 10 page legal document but that it was time to look for an agent. Looking for an agent has been interesting to say the least. More on that later.

My neighbors down the street are getting ready for the big Burn. They are coming into town at their usual speed for this time of year. Always provides for some free entertainment. They are all so nice and very excited that you can't help pick up on that energy. Hope they don't get rained out this year.

My other neighbors have been unusually nice lately. Bringing over all kinds of fruits and vegetations. These are not the usual nice neighbors.

We still haven't heard any news back from our bank lenders about getting "Help for Homeowners". They said it would be 30 to 90 days before we heard anything. It's been 37.5 days so there is still some time I guess before we have to start packing.

Picture of my Dad and Isaiah at Savy's 2nd b-day.

Checking In with some Random Thoughts

-I am almost finished with this semester of school and I have to say that I am so ready to be done. Not that you didn't already know that but just in case you didn't I thought I would let you know.

*Total Random note for the day- We have doves. They make strange noises but I kinda like the sound that comes from them at all hours of the day.

Okay back to school, I have decided to finish out the rest of my classes online except the one Math class that I need to graduate. Online works so well for me and is so easy. I also realized this semester that when I am in school I am not as focused here at home as I would like to be, that combined with working again is not a good combo for me. So as much as I would like to take a bunch of classes in the next few semester and be done..... I am not going to.

For the sake of my family I think this is a wise choice. I don't want to look back on this time when I could be playing with my kids and regret the time I was on the computer getting a piece of paper I can hang on a wall and that's about all it will change. I have made a decision about this degree thing. I think it's funny how since I graduated high school I have been taking classes. Some I have really enjoyed and have learned a lot from and some I could have done with out but all these classes and I still don't have what they think is a degree in Early Childhood Education. Come ON PEOPLE!! 

-On to another topic that has really been intriguing me lately. Men and Women, are we really that different or is it more our personalities that are so different in life? As I am watching my kids grow I am realizing that some of these things we deem man vs. woman differences really just are personality differences. It's interesting to me and I would like to investigate it further.

I was thinking about when Mo and I first got married we were reading through a book, Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus. I bought that book hook, line, and sinker. Now after having been married and with my hubby for coming on 14 years and 15 years together, I think I would like to take a second look at it.

- I can't wait to do two summertime things. Camp and read for pleasure. I am so looking forward to reading some great books that have been sitting on my self just calling my name and I think I start my book review again just for my own fun and entertainment.

-Finally there are some really entertaining things going on in my neighborhood these days.

 Aside from the burners who are generally low key and mellow now, the Adult group home that is literally just a few houses down has provided for some recent entertainment and has been quite interesting. They go out for a walk at least 4 to 5 times a day. The patients don't talk to strangers or so much as make eye contact and a while back one of them asked me for a ride. I gave her one. She just stared at me the whole time.  I think I might blog more about this later. We have a dog that comes and literally loves to get my dogs in a big tizzy. We have construction from every angle keeping me from parking in my driveway most days. Houses selling for less than dirt. Neighborhoods are interesting, don't ya think?

And now....I should be getting back to finishing up this semester.

Burning Man is Over, know how I can tell???

The burners down the street have made the migration home and are dirtying up my street once again. Can't wait to hear from my friends how this years events went down. At least they didn't have an early bird ruin their show this time like last year so that's good. You would not believe how many dirty RV's and cars, vans, and other modes of transportation were parked up and down our street this morning. When I brought the kids to school they said, "Looks like the burning man people have come back".  Ya think!!

This is what I found myself wondering , How do they clean everything? Seriously, the thought of how dirty everything comes back is reason enough for me not to ever want to go. I wonder how long it takes the burners to clean up all that stuff. 

So the Burning man youth hostile looks quite full right now and I do believe they must be having some kind of clean up after party going on over there because it is quite busy.

Maybe some outside yard pick up would be good??

Apparently, our house from the outside looks like it could be the Burning Man youth Hostel. Last night I saw a car circling around outside our house and I just had a feeling the guy was not only lost but a burner because he had a few bikes on the back of his Honda and his backseat was loaded up with rubbermaid tubs of camping stuff. So being a good neighbor I went over  to ask,before I could say anything, with a smile on his face like he was happy to arrived he said, "Is this the Burning Man place?" TO which I replied "Um no, that would be down the street a few houses on your right" He seemed disappointed. 

I began to wonder why he would think our house was the place he was looking for and quickly realized, hmm....

Could it be that there are a few VW's outside or that we have a tree house with pirate decor or that we have a lot of bikes all over our lawn? I could see why he would be confused and in my defense it was dark.

At any rate our friends Jason and Tasha stopped by Monday night on their way out and said that we should at least drive out there one of the nights to see all the lights. Maybe we will inch our way over, maybe not. I hope they have a great time.

I have talked about this topic a lot on here. To go or not to go? Here are my final thoughts, if there was a way that we could go see all the amazing art work without all the debauchery, drug use, naked people, free loaders, pagan rituals, etc... going on then it would be a no brainer. I love art work that is obvious, but sometimes the artists are scary and I don't really want to spend a week in the desert with them. The jury is still out on this one but once again this year, I was not sad that we were NOT going.

A few days in the life of ME

What a weekend. It started with a going away party for my friends David and Andre who are leaving for Oregon, well one already left , other half leaves next Monday. The party was so much fun that we didn't get home til 2 am. Debated spending the night right there on the lawn but then in the end we wanted our own beds. Dre's brother Leif is a party in a box. He brought bounce house, Wii, and a HUGE bounce house type screen to make this send off oh so special and it was. I love this family that has been in our lives in such a special way since I was a teen. Our parents are friends and the way God has intertwined our lives is really sometimes so strange and at the same time awesome to me. I will miss them. I know many people teased that they would be back but I have a feeling the permanence this time is going to be a bit more than in times past.
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After getting home at 2 am and getting up for worship practice that was at 9a I thought I would be tired but I wasn't. It was then time for niece Savy's first birthday party. What a treat. She almost fell asleep while eating her birthday cake poor thing. We saw an old friend of sister Gina's there, Camille and she said that our old neighbor Bob has passed away. Bob used to bring us vegetables all the time when we lived in Carson City in our very first home that we ever owned. He was a really neat old guy. Time is strange. Sometimes I wish it would stand still for a moment to take it all in. I can hardly believe that Savy is 1 year. To be an auntie is the coolest. It was so fun to buy birthday presents for her. Then it was time to head home for some much needed nappy time. Boy howdy, did I ever sleep good.
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Sunday morning, had a moment or two of reflection to say the least and almost lost it during worship but I knew more tears would come later. Feeling emotional about alot lately. God has been so good to me and my family and I can't thank Him enough. Truly He is my source of strength.
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Sunday afternoon Moses worked on our bikes all day and we finally took a bike trip all together. WOW, what a treat that was. At one point we were crossing a busy intersection and lil man Zed was slow goin' to say the least, cars were piling up and we were getting nervous, just then somebody shouted "Come on lil buddy you can do it!!" You should have seen the smile on his face. What a treat.
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Sunday evening was spent with great friends enjoying the finer things in life, good wine, great bbq steaks, and really good conversations. Again I serve an awesome God who has not only provided well in health and wealth but in friendships as well.
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I slept in this morning and then headed up to the Lake with kiddos and my friends kiddos. It was a beautiful day. The smoke cleared by mid afternoon and it was absolutely gorgeous by the end of the day.
Tomorrow it's off to Wallies Hot Springs for some swimming and more sun.
Man, I have a hard job!!

My Neighbors

I came home this morning from dropping all my kids off at school and my dog, Baxter was waiting ever so patiently for me on the front lawn. At first I thought thats wierd how did he get out and then I looked over to our side gate and realized that someone(a taller someone) had unlatched it. Now normally I don't think up conspiracy theories like this but my neighbors are quite the unfriendly people type who have literally avoided any social contact with all of us except for yelling at my son Sol when we first moved in to get off thier lawn. I have also literally seen them with my own eyes pick up leaves that are from our tree and by hand remove them from thier bushes and place them back over on our side of the property. These neighbors are older and never have visitors. THE only time I see them are when they are out trimming thier rose bushes and they don't speak to anyone so it's not like I have my feelings hurt or anything. I waffle back and forth all the time whether I should "kill em with kindness" as my grandmother used to always say or just go on ignoring them as they ignore me. It is hard to ignore though when they do such nasty things. I know what Jesus says so please don't go preachy on me anyone. I just needed a place to vent my frustrations about these old farts!!! Okay, I know that wasn't nice but seriously who does this kinda stuff other than farts or turkeys, maybe turkeys is a better word.

The Calvary has arrived

The burning man people have invaded the neighborhood once again and once again I am totally enjoying the people watching .
I wonder if I could stick a sign out and offer up all the junk I have in my backyard for thier creations. It just might save us a trip to the dump.
Tasha I don't think I ever need to go since half of the people that go come to me and a bonus to that is that I don't even have to pay the $300 ticket price to get in. All my entertainment is for free and from the comfort of my couch.

They're baaackk!!!

Yes , the burning man people have returned and quite dusty I might add. They actually have been trickling in this whole week and the returned product is more fun to watch then when they left.
So, my interest has been peeked. I checked out the website and low and behold you can actually bring children to this event. They have a whole section on how to make this into a fun, family trip. Whooaaa!!! I am really, really a bit perplexed and lil concerned now.
I thought about walking down there today and passing out tickets to the car wash but then I thought I better save those for myself cause they were given to ME from a very thoughtful friend, and my car that is lookin pretty shabby again should really be the benefactor of those.
Anyhew, I discovered from thier own advertisement on the back of one of the RV's that my nieghbors house is officially known as the Black Rock Sage Burning Man Hostile. Hmmm....and again I say Hmmmm.....
Does this mean that they might be there for months to come. COOL!! I am enjoying the free entertainment and who knows maybe I will get to figure out what all the hype is about from them.
I am trying to think of way to start up a conversation but then again maybe not. Dunno if I am brave or trained enough for this social event.
Any ideas???

Bust a move burnt man

Reporting back on the events of burning man nieghbors. Apparently, this caravan commune is something we have to look forward to every year in our neighborhood. The RV's keep coming and let me tell ya it is some good fun, people watchin.

Today some people dropped off a young man right in front of our house. He had about 4 very full bags, one with the willey coyote peekin out of it, bright taxi yellow hair with a small red patch in the front and a grin that wouldn't quit. As I smiled at the whole enterage he said "This is light packin" hmmm... my giant didn't even pack that much to go to a foreign country. Whateva!!

So, I think they move the RV's periodically throughout the day and our neighbors backyard must be first come, first serve. It's quite full . The outside of his house has couches for lawn furniture and signs directing all the traffic.
When I took my kids for a walk the other day they were all very friendly. They keep coming and I am wondering how many more can fit down our street. At night the ones not directly parked outside his house move to the local shopping parking lots . I guess they either are trying to be considerate of us or they don't want the ticket.
I no longer think I need to go to this event, not that I thought I needed to before but now every year I have the priveledge of burning man people coming to me.
If any of you are up for some good people watchin you should come check it out. I am thinking the caravan to the big shin-dig should be any day now cause it looks like they have quite a few cities to build and inventions to set up. Don't know what we will do when they are gone. Guess we will just have to go back to watchin regular ol' tv. BORING!!

Burning Man or Bust!!!

Ok so I feel compelled to write about the "goings on" down the street from me. I have a few sketchy neighbors but this one beats all!!

First things first, I have nothing against the occasional RV parked on the street especially in summertime. You don't think much of something like that ,but when there are about 4 to 5 of them and they are all old, run down, and painted very artistically ya start to think it might be time to walk on the other side of the street. Now, I have to mention that my neighbor I believe owns half of these and then the few extra have been showin up periodically throughout the week. I started to think that this might be a family's new living situation. Hey why not the city doesn't limit how many vehicles you can park all over your property(I adda know cause I have from time to time had quite a few VW's parked outside)But then today two indicators that this might be more than a new, cozy, humble home for my neighbor and all his friends and relations.
1. A sign that read "Burning man or Bust"
2. A nice (strange man) strollin down our street with a shoppin cart full of beer and toilet paper,that's all (first thing in the morning I might add)
3. Very interesting creations appearing around all these RV's
Ok so , I pretty much got it after #1's indicator but I thought I would add #2 and #3 for color and humor.
Well, I have been invited to go , but alas I think I might have to hold out and go to something a lil less strange(but not by much) BUG O RAMA in Sacremento.