Reflections...

Reality Check:
As I have read through other friend's blogs, I realize that I should list some of the highlights of 2005, and also list things I would like to do for 2006...


Things that went right in 2005:

*Cut back on my work hours to reorganize and take care of my family.


*This little guy...


*Maintained working out, running, and eating properly for most of the year.

*Trained for and ran in the San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon for the first time on June 5th, 2005 with my brother, husband and thousands.


*Watched my son graduate from high school with wonderful grades.


*Struggled and fought to purchase the house my grandfather built, which is now in escrow.

Things to improve upon in 2006:

*Get back on track with serious weight training.

*Begin training for the next SDRNR marathon on June 4, 2006.

*Run in the Bay to Breakers 12K event in San Francisco with my brother.

*Organize and repair my current house so that we can rent it out.

*Repair the house we will be moving to.

*Spend more time with my family while I can. My kids are both at ages where they SHOULD be moving out and/or going away to school in the near future...

*Recheck career options.

*College, again...


HAPPY NEW YEAR! CHEERS!

Peace On Earth...

Christmas this year began with dinner at my sister-in-law's house on Christmas Eve. She put on a great dinner and it was quite special because we were all there for the first time in YEARS. We opted not to attend Christmas Eve services this year, but did attend the Mass on Christmas day, which was less hectic but just as special.

Michael surprised me with a new camera. My Olympus 5 mega pixel camera,
with all the bells and whistles on it broke in the most peculiar spot, which is where the batteries are stored. The latch that holds the batteries inside broke. Taking a photo with that camera is not impossible, just challenging because velcro and rubber bands are holding the batteries in, rendering some of the advanced camera features useless. The new camera is the same brand as my now "old" camera, but the battery enclosure has been redesigned. The new Olympus camera has 8 mega pixels and came with a dual lens kit(Zuiko Digital 17.5-45 F3.5-5.6 and 40-150mm F3.5-4.5) I really wasn't expecting anything that nice. I spent a good part of Christmas day playing with F stops, flash settings, and everything between the zoom and marco settings. I was stunned that Michael gave me such a wonderful camera. I had a good time experimenting... I even caught Evan, um, showing off.


The other big hit gift was the toy big rig truck filled with small Matchbox sized cars that Renee gave Evan. He spent a good part of the day lining up all the little cars, sorting them by color and counting them, and lying on the floor with the big rig so he could watch the wheels move... Evan received other wonderful gifts, but that big rig with the cars was his favorite.

Once the boxes and wrapping were cleared off the floor, we enjoyed macadamia nut pancakes for breakfast and maple sausage. This sounds like a small thing but it's a rare day when the 5 of us are able to sit together for a meal, even breakfast. The rest of the day was spent lounging around the house. Michael and I watched silly Christmas movies while the kids did their own thing. For dinner we barbecued steakes and also served potatoes and cucumber salad... (Keep in mind that Southern California had 75 degree weather for Christmas day.) We did put in an appearance at my in-law's house for dessert, which was pleasant, and they were happy to have us there. My in-laws are now in their mid 80's and the big Christmas Eve dinner is just too much for them to handle, so my sister-in-law hosts it now. My mother-in-law was stubborn about giving up hosting the dinner but she finally gave in, and I think she realizes that it is too much work for her and it's time that someone else take over.

I'd say we had "Peace On Earth," for a moment, well, at least at our house. I truly enjoyed the peace that was brought to our Christmas day this year.

Surf's Up, Way Up!

Surf photos from the San Diego Union tribune

Yesterday was the first day of winter, but it felt a lot like summer! It was 85 degrees in my neighborhood, and the beach was showing off some ginormous 20 foot waves! I have yet to take out my winter sweaters or fully utilize my fireplace. Oh, I'm not complaining one bit. Christmas isn't about the weather. It just seems odd to be at Christmas week and have very balmy weather here. I'm sure this will all change in a week or two. Hmmmmm... It might be a good idea to barbecue some steak on Christmas day. Oh, we do partake in the traditional Christmas dinner with family on Christmas Eve, so we're not missing out on ANYTHING...

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Parties

I feel as if I'm a week late in doing everything related to Christmas. Today Christmas cards and gifts to be mailed ARE going out. I still need to finish shopping for a few people, but that should be relatively easy.

I am finally feeling better and the coughing is finally diminishing, however so slowly. Energy levels are definitely up but not quite back normal. Working out has been very scaled back, but I am doing SOMETHING, and I suppose I should feel good about that.

Michael and I did the Christmas party rounds, and we did okay. The Thursday party was mostly family oriented and the cuisine was geared towards hyping up the kids. They had a "decorate your own cookie table" complete with plain sugar cookie cut-outs, frosting in a can, sprinkles and candies. Another table was an ice-cream Sundae table. My family asked "Where's the real food?" There was a table with fruits and vegetables. 2 year old Evan had a wonderful time. There was a train set up in the middle of the room and he enjoyed watching that and chasing around some of the other children. After this sugar filled event, we ended up at a Thai fusion restaurant for real food... Michael and I also attended my office Christmas party on Saturday, which was at my boss' house. I work on call so I don't see everyone as often as I would like. Turns out everyone came down with the same affliction I had. Pass the Robitussen! My coworkers are a lively bunch, which helped to contribute to a very fun filled evening. Pomegranate martinis are now dubbed "Princess Juice." Then, finally, another party on Sunday where I met a wide range of people who were quite interesting. I met a retired pro baseball player and a woman who makes quite a living at photographing animals and flowers. We also had learned that the party host ran the same marathon we were in, so we shared our gory details...

Whew! No more parties until this Friday, which is Michaels' office party. Yay!

Getting Ready For The Holidays

Just when I'm starting to get into the swing of things for the holidays, I've come down with strep-throat. This infection really slowed me down. I haven't worked out or run in about three weeks now. I have taken my full course of anti-biotics, and I am feeling and looking much better, but I am still wiped out. I am hoping, now that the antibiotics are finished, that I will begin to feel more energized. It bothers me that I haven't been very active. I hope to be doing some sort of work-out again by this Monday. Today I finally felt up to making a few batches of cookie dough (to be rolled and baked in a couple of days) and I did make one 5 pound batch of my grandma's fudge recipe, which is not an easy recipe but the results are worth the effort.

Michael and I celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary on December 11th. 23 years of marriage boggles my mind, especially since divorce is so prevalent. Some how we've made it work. We've gone through all kinds of life altering events and managed to come out okay. We had dated each other for four years prior to marriage, so we knew what we were getting into. We were (and still are) each other's best friends. I feel fortunate to have a life partner who I still enjoy being with.