When is "Some Day?"

Friday night - What a night - one of those moments in life when you realize things change in an instant. I asked Dave to turn the light off to go to sleep and he was not all there (I can usually tell when he is simply ignoring me), couldn't make words, not stable standing...off to the ER. A mini stroke or what is known as TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack). When a blood vessel in the brain becomes blocked for a short period of time, the blood flow to that area of the brain slows or stops. This lack of blood (and oxygen) often leads to temporary symptoms such as slurred speech or blurry vision. Time to get even more serious about what we eat and moving more.

Ultimately, the doctor was confident that it was not a stroke but a reaction to a medication. I hope he is right but the fact remains, the very nature of TIA is that it can come and go completely undetected. Dave was better within an hour of the symptoms and it was like nothing ever happened the next day. We stayed on schedule and went to the Auburn Stampede and then the rodeo dance on Saturday night. Sunday was relaxing and we were finally able to relax and catch up on our sleep.

I guess the message here is get to living those dreams! We spend all of our time making plans and talking about "some day" and then everything changes when it's time to turn the lights out to go to sleep. Some day is today!

What a Weekend!

RiverLights Originals - My Message for Today.

What a weekend, I was officially a paid wedding coordinator on Saturday and it was the hardest, most fun work I have ever done! Seriously, I rocked that job like none I have ever done. So many careers, so little time. Laughing! I showed up at 1 PM and didn't sit down until I ate a small plate of food at 7 PM, and was back on my feet until 10:30. I wore my most comfortable shoes and still had blisters. To say I was exhausted would be an understatement, but the fact is, it really was fun.

Sunday, we all slept in and then headed to the river. Mason had a friend sleep over so the boys and I played in the sun and painted rocks. The temps were in the 80s and by 2 PM we were ready to get out of the sun. Dave made some cherry mojitos that were to die for and we enjoyed the evening with an early dinner and bedtime. These first evenings that we can sleep comfortably with the windows open are just heavenly.

On the house-for-sale front, we have lots of people looking and one offer so far. Several people have come back for a second and third look and we will be going over offers on Monday. It's no surprise we have lots of interest, but it remains to be seen how quickly the bank with work with us. On one hand, we don't mind if they take their time, but on the other hand, we really need to close this sale by the end of the year. Not to mention, we would like to have buyers who love this place like we have and if people have to wait too long, well, they usually don't. One way or the other it will be fine, but rest assured, we will have one more backyard party before we move. Hopefully, we can plan it with enough notice that many of you can come.

Now I'm off to bed as tomorrow is a school day and I have to tidy up so the house is presentable for the people coming back for a second look. I wrote an article for News 10 regarding the housing crisis and short sales, you can see it here if you are interested. I hope you are well and life is good. I know these are trying times but the fact remains, I have an amazing husband and great kid - what more can I ask for? Happy Monday!

It Will All Be Fine...

Happy Monday, at least if you are on the west coast, we have another 9 minutes. Holy cow, I'm late!

Life has been moving full speed ahead and I am operating on 3/4 power. We listed the house and calls are coming in. Not so many that we under priced it, but enough to know we are in the game. I have started packing so that makes the house messier than if all our crap was still out and about. Hey, it will be what it will be and I believe it will be fine.

I have my first wedding at The Beda Place this Saturday and I am completely excited. School is challenging me more this semester but with only a year left, my last semester should be mostly electives and lots of fun. From there it will be time to plan to finish the BA but will it be at CSU or somewhere on the east coast? That remains to be seen. For now, I am doing my best to keep my head above water, get great grades (yeah, a few slips...), and keep the home fires burning.

What about you, is summer sunshine peeking in on your part of the world? We are looking at 70 degrees this week with no rain in sight, though we still could use some April showers. Have a great week and get out and enjoy some sunshine...if it's not sunny where you are, bake some cookies and enjoy the last bits of old man winter, after all, it really is all about the journey.

Fun!

It's Monday and the last day of spring break. I'm wondering if I jinxed myself with my post last week about so many things breaking...yet again, the water pump in the Durango needs replacing so we are back to juggling a single car. We are in that precarious situation of having to evaluate how much it is costing to continually repair a gas hog versus getting something newer (car payment) or something used that may need ongoing repairs as well. Big sigh.


Thursday and Friday I was in Santa Cruz with Mason and his cousins TJ and Dante. The kids had a great time at the beach boardwalk and I got to photograph the three of them with some amazing graffiti art. I'm still working on getting comfortable with my camera out of "automatic" mode and though I'm not there yet, I'm getting closer. I see many more hours of picture taking practice in my future!


Our Easter was blissfully uneventful except that Dave made an amazing dinner. He grilled a rack of pork, steamed some asparagus and made a delicious baked cheesy potatoes dish. Now it's time to figure out what to do with broken cars and back to school. Oh, and that reminds me, the philosophy exam I took just before spring break, I failed it! Yep, when I said I felt like I could not remember a thing, I was right. The only bright side to failing an exam is getting a score of 52, and again, that's only a bright side if you're me and the number 52 tickles you like it does me. The "F," not so much. I'll have to see what's available for the next 6 weeks to redeem myself and pull this grade out of the gutter.


Have a great week!!

Santa Cruz Photos

Its Spring "Break!"

It's Spring Break and "Break" seems to be the word of the week! I'm not going to bore you with the list of things that have broken but suffice it to say, we are up to our eyeballs in projects. Some will work in with spring cleaning while others we will send packing with spring decluttering. We are officially packing and preparing to list the house and move. The plan is to relocate to a rental house here in Auburn while I finish my schooling at Sierra College and then make the cross country move in the summer of 2013. Dave is working on his resume for the park service so where we are going specifically has yet to be determined, but we are sure we are going. The longer we wait to make the move, the harder it will be to make - for everyone involved. I'll keep you posted as we pull our plans together, or as we make them and God laughs!


The perfect quote for this week: “In a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.” -Warren Buffett


Have a wonderful Easter!