The mountain lions will eat you

As I posted earlier, we are really enjoying having our dad/husband home more often. The daughter has been asking almost every day for a couple weeks now to go to the 'big red forest', which translates to "redwood forest." She did well at a hike at Point Lobos about 2 weeks earlier so we packed up a picnic lunch and headed off to Big Basin Redwood Forest.

It was a gorgeous day. Cold in the shade of the trees and warm in the brilliant sun. No clouds. A gentle breeze. Not crowded as it was mid-week. Perfect. After exploring the ranger station and little museum we set off for a hike. The daughter was warned again about touching poison oak and staying on the trail. Things were going great, but about half-way through our little trek, she thought she knew the best way to go at a fork in the trail. She was insistent to go one way and us, the other. So.....

I ask, "You know how when we watched that show about the zebras and elephants and the lions attacked the baby elephants? Do you remember why?"

Daughter responds, "No." She is looking really perplexed here.

I calmly answer, "Well, animals like lions, wolves and tigers will attack the children of animals when they wander off from their parents. That is why we must stick together. The mountain lions in this forest could catch you and eat you if you wander off by yourself." Thank goodness we watched that show on Discovery "Planet Earth." It was filled with imagery of animals eating other animals.

Daughter says, "There are lions here? They like to eat kids?" She is looking really worried now.

"Yep."

So, she she sticks by us the rest of the hike. The husband is trying hard not to laugh. The rest of the hike is peppered with questions about why mountain lions eat kids and would you be dead if a tiger caught you, etc. Discussions about how parents protect their kids from things like tigers and wolves.

Yes, I am mean, but at least she is safe and will have a great story to tell her therapist or her friends someday.

Having a house husband

My husband has been unemployed since November, but it is not a bad thing at all. We have dates mid-week while the daughter is in pre-school. We have family day trips to fun local places, zoos, aquariums, etc on weekdays versus the crowded weekends. He was able to get in some fun vacation with his friends. We even took some family vacation.

Plus, I got a house husband. Everyone at work is so jealous. He cooks and cleans the kitchen and does laundry. And he does yard projects. Below are the pictures of what he was able to do so far. He dug up a patch of the back yard about 6 feet wide that starts at our back patio and continues all the way down to our side yard and paved it. He also organized a deck building party and got a deck built for the hot tub. We recently finished the stepping stones to the deck and planting the area near the deck. The grass looks a little shaggy because we are in the process of reseeding some areas.

Some before pictures would probably help you really see how much work he did. We have got to see if we can afford to live on one income. This is just soooooo nice!

I wanna live where it is spring all the time

We went to St Paul, Minnesota for the annual winter carnival. We also visited all the friends and family and had fun in the snow. As usual, it was a fun trip and I had a great time. We were actually testing the area out thinking we might move there since I am out of school and have almost 2 years work experience under my belt and the husband is unemployed looking for new work.

When we first arrived our stubborn California native 4 1/2 year old daughter just can't grasp the concept of true cold. She thinks she can go outside with practically no clothing on. To prove it, she puts on her cousins' cape and bathing suit with snow boots and says she is going out to play in the snow. It was probably 10 degrees out and snow was maybe a 1-2 feet deep in places. She went out and came back in within 2 minutes and didn't try that again.

She did discover the joys of snow such as, sledding, building stuff out of snow and eating snow and just running and sliding around in the icy stuff. However, she did struggle constantly with the whole mitten thing. Seems it is hard to find mittens to fit hands her size.

We started talking to the daughter about moving to Minnesota towards the end of our stay. We asked, "So, would you like to move here to Minnesota?" and she says, "No, I want to stay in California where it is spring." Ah, such genius.

In the meantime, the husband and I will keep our job searches open to Minnesota and see what happens.

The first picture above is the daughter at Grandpa's cabin. The ice sculptures were part of the winter carnival celebration and were in Rice Park. Below is one of the lions at Como Zoo. They said the lions were raised here so they have no problems with the snow.

Sunrises

When I am driving to work in the morning, it is that wonderful time just before the sun peeks over the hills. I am driving east and seeing the most spectacular sunrises and it just fills me with so much energy and hope. Something about the beauty of it, the newness of it . . . I keep thinking I should try to capture a picture of it with my cell phone or bring my camera, but I never do. I just soak it in and let the smile creep up my face and embrace the new day. The good feelings from it can sometimes last most of the shift at work and somedays I lose it and have to remember back to the images.

What is it about sunrises that have affect over me? I am feeling all relaxed right now, just remembering the last one.

Finally a new post for the new year

I can't believe it has been this long since a post, but I guess time flies when you stay busy. I just have had enough time in front of a computer to check emails and keep up with friends and family.

We had a wonderful time over the holidays. I saw my brothers which I hadn't seen in AGES! It was great reconnecting with them. I hope the connection lasts this time.

I spent Christmas enjoying a beautiful sunset with friends and family. The daughter was so happy, she nearly cried Christmas morning when she saw that Santa had brought the Princess Jasmine costume she wanted.

New Year's was spent with friends and we celebrated at 9pm (Midnight on the East Coast). It allowed us older folks a chance to get bed at a decent hour. Goodness, we are getting older.

I had some time to think and reflect a bit in the new year. I realized I have been in this current house for almost 10 years. It is the longest I have ever lived in one place by a long shot. I have known my husband for 15 years. We are definitely beating the odds on divorce and it looks like we'll be able to celebrate our 10th anniversary in Hawaii, which was something we planned before we were even married. I am getting closer to the 40 yr mark. My music from high school is starting to be "oldie" music. In the latest Veggie Tales movie, they do a version of the B52's song, "Rock Lobster." Painful and funny at the same time. That song was the anthem of our high school dances!

I have never been one for new year's resolutions, but I have started to think I should make some changes in my life that would be better for my health. I am tackling 1 habit at a time for now. The current habit I am trying to kick is diet sodas. I don't drink regular sodas and I drank diet sodas because I liked the bubbles. So, I have switched to seltzer water and club soda. Next, I'll try to stop eating when I get home from a long shift at work.

Last night, I got home and it was almost 9pm (I should be home by 8pm considering my shift should end at 7:30pm, but stuff happens). I had left the house at 6:30am. I had a lunch at 3pm and so when I get home at 9, I am not only exhausted but damn thirsty and hungry. I know if I eat that late at night, it is HORRIBLE for the waist line and I won't sleep well. However, if I don't eat something I'll be waking up in the middle of the night hungry. So, I have to settle for some water or herbal tea and a light snack. It always seems so hard to settle for a light snack, especially after a really bad day at work or when you are really hungry. Sometimes, all I want is a beer with my popcorn. Salt and beer. What a feast!

The next big thing is a trip to the frozen tundra that is Minnesota to vist friends and family and enjoy the Winter Carnival. I'm looking forward to it. It is another family vacation and the last one we had was in May, so we are past due.

Oh, and I finished some books and gave up one. I finished "Wicked." I borrowed it from a friend, but it is a book I think I would like to have as a keeper, maybe in hard back. It was much heavier book than I expected, filled with political debtates, religion and the constant debate over what is truly evil. I gave up on "A Heartbreaking work of Staggering Genius." Maybe, I'll try it again some day.

The book I am bringing for the trip is "The Other Bolelyn Girl." I also purchased "The Golden Compass" series so I may be trying that next. I have stack of Jennifer Wiener books borrowed from a friend that I have been advised or fun light reading. I may try that soon too.

Christmas decorations

I have loads of warm and fun memories around Christmas. I love most of the music, the decorations, the lights and the way the whole atmosphere just changes for a couple weeks. Watching my daughter this past week getting all excited about the Christmas music and decorations made me smile and realize another aspect I love about this time of year. It just brings out the kid in me. I think that is part of the appeal.

No one can really claim to the have the perfect family and I am no different, but there was something about the time from Thanksgiving to January 6, that just seemed to always bring out the best in the family. Thanksgiving dinner was a big deal that included way too much food as it had to cover both the traditional American cuisine and some of the elements the Filipino cuisine. So dinner would include a turkey, lumpia, punsit, stuffing, ambrosia, cranberry sauce, etc. Same thing would happen on New Year's Day. Both days would involve a game or two of street football or just some time running passes or playing catch.


In the days leading up to Christmas there was the tree hunt where we would go out to some local farm to cut our own tree. We would decorate it while listening to Mom's music collection such as the Osmond Family Christmas or Johnny Mathis. We'd have egg nog in our special cups. There would be the the critiques from Mom that we were hanging too many ornaments in place or clumping the tinsel.

Christmas Eve, my sibllings would camp out in my room because it was downstairs and closer to the Santa action. We'd tell stories and and try to stay up to hear when Santa came. We did this until I left the house for college.

So, now is the time to start some similiar traditions in our house.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was warm, cozy and simple. No stress. No muss. Friends and family gathered at my sister in law's home. The weather was perfect and we were able to take the girls to the park while dinner finished cooking. We played. We talked and relaxed.


There was a fun element to the dinner. The secret ingredient was corn. Yep, each person was assigned to bring a dish that used some element of corn in it . . . corn flour, corn meal, corn, corn nuts, corn syrup, etc. We brought turkey tamales as an appetizer. Others brought ChexMix with corn nuts in it, corn relish, corn bread stuffing, corn ice cream (apparently very popular in the Philippines) and pies made with corn meal crust. Yes, I tried the corn ice cream which was ok, but the texture kind of made it not something I would try again. There was also shredded carrot in it.


But, for the sentimental softy side of me, the best part of the day came the next day. My sister in law who hosted the dinner, bought a Promise Basket in all of the guests names from Heifer International. It was a wonderful reminder of all the things we have to be thankful for this year and that we have the ability to share our bounty with others.

There are lots of ways to give back to society. I have donated money and time to various charities over the years. I have purchased from places that have a cause they support such as Greatergood.com or the Breast Cancer site.

However, I was thinking that is even a simpler, cheaper way to give a little and that is to be polite and share a little kindness on a regular basis everyday. Be a courteous driver and maybe let someone merge in front of you once in awhile. Hold a door for someone. Smile more often. Get outside and meet your neighbors. Talk to your checker at the check-out line instead of gazing off into space as you are hypnotized by the drone of the scanner beeping your items. I am just thinking of some ways I have tried to be more polite and I usually feel better about it.

I think it is just a matter of taking a breath and a moment to realize we have so much to be grateful for and to be negative, closed in and impatient is just a waste of time and energy. I see examples everyday that there are far worse things in life than to be cut-off in traffic.