I Hit The Goodwill Jackpot!

Hi Guys! Welcome to yet another Monday. Can you believe we are more than halfway through this year? I was in Michaels craft store over the last week and they have all of their Halloween stuff and some Christmas stuff out already. I stopped in my tracks and felt a wave of panic… you see, not only am I not ready to think about the holidays, but Halloween is "Blast Off!" for baby. You know once you see this stuff in the stores, it means the speed by which the seconds, minutes, hours, and days pass speeds up significantly! No, Really! Laughing… Oh my gosh, we really are going to have a baby.. that is the moment the realization hit home, in the doorway of Michaels Craft Store. 

So short of walking around a little more dazed than pregnancy usually dictates, we had a very eventful week with Colton. He saw 4 movies, Pirates, Finding Nemo, Bruce Almighty, and Johnny English. We went to the river to swim twice, went shopping at the Roseville Galleria, visited Denio's Farmers & Flea Market, and made stepping stones out of our feet for a little walkway we are working on. Oh, and the high point of Colton's visit, we saw the bear again on Saturday. Since this is the 3rd time since July 11th, we feel it is only right to name the Bear. He will now be referred to as Koda. 

For me, I won the lotto on Saturday… no, not the California State Lottery, the Goodwill shopping lottery. I went to the grand opening of a new Goodwill store in Citrus Heights and with Colton sniveling about the clothes being "used," therefore, not worthy of my money, I found 8 dresses (really pretty, colorful, dresses that fit!), 2 pair of pants and a pair of shorts all for $45! So through all my excitement, what does Dave have to say? "That's nice. You better hurry up and wear them, you only have 3 more months." ONLY? Did he really say ONLY? I had to just laugh out loud! Not ONLY, is 3 months in this awkward, blossoming body a long time, but maybe someone should tell him that only Shania Twain and Cindy Crawford wear their pre-pregnancy clothes home from the hospital after having a baby! If they even go to a hospital… I mean who has time when your labor starts and your baby is born in less than 60 minutes, effortlessly, “bloop,” here's baby, just like that, and now you are on your way to shoot your next sexy video or magazine cover in your most midriff-baring, cleavage-enhancing (Hey! Perk of pregnancy!) pre-pregnancy clothes! Laughing! 

Okay, enough of that, I hope you all had a great weekend. Drop me a note and let me know what kind of fun you had… staying at home, going swimming, I love to hear back! 

I like this motivator, I find it to be very true. I am expecting that with our recent challenges and discomforts, our nourishment and opportunity should be here any minute!! Have a great week!  

Life's Gift 

You cannot avoid effort, for avoiding effort is itself an effort. What you can do is to make your efforts count for something, something as grand and magnificent as you can imagine. Life will ask something of you each and every moment. The more willingly and graciously you give what life asks of you, the more positive value you'll receive as a result. That which life asks of you is also life's gift to you. Those places where you spend the most effort, where you give the most of yourself, are the places where you'll realize the most value. Sadly, too many people miss out on the best that life has to offer when they attempt to avoid challenge and discomfort. By so doing they end up making their lives even more challenging and even more uncomfortable. Life is persistent and generous in providing you with plenty of nourishment and opportunity. So the challenges will continue to come your way until you're ready to make something truly grand and meaningful out of them. Give what life asks, promptly and enthusiastically. And you'll experience the very best that life has to give.

Guess Who's Back?

Welcome to Monday! Maybe welcome to some and for others, not so much… laughing! We had quite the weekend. Colton is here with us this week so we mixed it up with some of the everyday stuff (unpacking, grocery shopping, a little TV time) and some of the fun, summertime stuff (playing in the river, catching a movie, a visit to the mall and a fast food dinner out). We saw Pirates of the Caribbean on Saturday and “WOW!” What a fun movie! The movie was good, the story was original, there was a little twist and Johnny Depp was Phenomenal! Definitely worth seeing on the big screen. 

So, we had our visitor back on Sunday.....yes, I am talking about the bear. Now, come on you guys, almost nobody commented last week about a bear in our back yard… do you often have bears in your back yard? The funny thing is that the bear was minding his own business, just walking through (on his way where I don't know), and it was the boys in the house who were being a nuisance! Going after him, Colton was making a racket in the weeds & ivy while Dave was “just trying to get a good picture,” and then in the car to see, "if we can find him!" Talk about the opportunity to get some of "America's Funniest Home Video.” In any case, it seemed to be a fluke that we have seen him twice in 8 days. Most people in the neighborhood said they have never seen a bear and have lived there for years. 

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and have plans for keeping cool this week. Enjoy this Motivator, I know I need to keep my energy levels up to keep walking & stretching (I am up to two miles each day at lunchtime) but I still seem to keep getting bigger and bigger! Laughing! Lots of love, Kath

Growing Stronger 

Your body’s muscles are made stronger by the resistance they encounter. And so are you. Use the strength you have, and as a result, you will have even more. Step up to the challenges, and you'll be preparing yourself to successfully meet even greater challenges. By being strong you become yet stronger. For it is always possible to go a little beyond where you've gone before, and you can do it again and again. Push steadily forward, and with each push, you'll grow stronger and more capable. Though you may start small, you'll soon begin to see big results. Those who are strong became that way, not through luck or magic or mysterious process. Those who are strong became strong by applying what strength they had, over and over. And so can you

We're Moved!

Hello! Today is a great day to be at work because it is time I can relax! We worked our behinds off this weekend finalizing our move out of Dutch Flat. I would like to say that being preggers excluded me from the dirty work…. Au contraire! Not only did I help load and unload up and downstairs, but it was my job to clean the Dutch Flat house and unpack the Auburn house. It actually worked out nicely, Dave did most of the actual moving of our things and any carrying I did was of the lighter sort. And on the flip side, Dave helped me with the cleaning in the DF house, shampooing carpets, vacuuming stairs and cleaning fireplaces. Needless to say, the job has only just begun! Let the unpacking begin! THANK YOU so much to Mary and Keith for spending Saturday with us helping move and clean. Saturday night was so much fun. I don't remember the last time we belly laughed for such extended periods of time!

So now we are in Auburn and after almost 10 months in the mountains and numerous deer sightings, Dave called me yesterday to inform me that he was looking at a bear in our backyard (Yes! In Auburn!). He called animal control and was informed that this is very common and we should secure our garbage cans. Eeaasshhh! 

On a final note, does anyone have a Southwest voucher they can't use or would be willing to donate to a good cause? This is the "I have to get my best friend to my red neck baby shower" fundraiser. OK, not really a fundraiser, I just thought, if someone has one that may be close to expiration or several that they wouldn't miss one and would be willing to part with it, I would ask. Julie needs to travel on Sept 21, 2003. 

I really like this motivator. It holds special meaning for me right now as I am working on getting back on track to making my life less stressful and more prosperous. Have a great week and I would love to hear from you. Love Kath

Your own special greatness Your life has a purpose, something uniquely suited to who you are. The more closely you align your day-to-day priorities with that purpose, the more fulfillment you'll know. When the priorities you've chosen stray away from your purpose, then life becomes filled with frustration. When you put your time and effort into things that don't really matter, it brings on a painful, gnawing emptiness. If something is truly important to the core of your being, then there is most certainly a way to make it happen. When you make the effort and spend the time on what really matters, the rewards will be great indeed. It will never be easy to follow your purpose. For by its very definition, your highest purpose demands the best that you have to offer. Yet following that purpose will fulfill you in a way that nothing else can. To every extent possible, align your priorities to who you truly are. Let your own special greatness light up this world

*Used with permission from Ralph Marston and The Daily Motivator.

Our Mutts Nursery

Welcome to the Monday after the long holiday weekend, I hope you had a really nice weekend and relaxed more than Dave and I did. As you all know, we are moving and as sucky as that is, we are fortunate enough to have access to the new house early so we can move over a little more time than having to do it all in one weekend. The downside is that long workdays that start while it is still dark outside, traffic, unloading a truck to the new location and arriving home to (pack &) load another truck full leaves little time for dinner, conversation and a shower before going to bed for another early rise. So this sounds like no matter how you season it, moving doesn't taste very good! Laughing!

We did paint the nursery though and I have to say, I am very proud of what we created. We have created a frame from our favorite comic strip Mutts that includes a big tree, green grass, a blue sky, and a vibrant sun. We will create several poses for each character that can be interchanged in the frame to change the story. The other walls are two-tone, pale colors, blue and yellow. Yellow for the upper half of the walls and blue from the floor up to the yellow. To blend where the colors meet, the yellow flows like fire from the sun and the blue blows like the wind around the room. It is really very nice. Here is one of my all-time favorite Mutts comic strips. 

On another note, our very dear friends Ken and Dahlynn were featured in the Sacramento Bee on Saturday in the home living section. More specifically, their back yard was featured. Go West - into a suburban back yard Published on July 5, 2003, Page CL6. It was very cool to be flipping through the paper and see Ken and Dahlynn. I guess this is something I should get used to as they have just completed their Chicken Soup for the Fisherman's Soul book scheduled for release in 2004. Keep your fingers crossed, Hotty Roddy submitted a story that has made it through many rounds of cuts to the final readers. I think I have that correct. There is a good possibility his story could be published. Congratulations!

Instead of a typical motivator, how about some food for thought........ask yourself this, ”How many more genuine friends would I have if we all met one another in the dark?” This just makes me think because no matter how aware we think we are, what prejudices do we have ingrained in us from our upbringing? From our culture? From society? The little things that we think before we even realize we have passed judgment. I know this is true for me and I want to take that little extra effort to realize that I can control what I think, and how I feel, and when I find my self passing judgment, to stop. Simply stop. I hope you have a great week and look forward to hearing from you very soon!