The Triple Threat Of June Is Done!

Happy Monday!

Whoo-Hoo! I'm here before Monday night this week. It seems like life is moving in warp-speed in some areas and at a snails pace in others. Summer is in full swing and my June triple-threat has past (thank goodness!). In June we have the Grand Poobah, Father's Day, and Dave's birthday, this equals three weeks in a row of something special...which I love, but also means a strain on our finances. Now it's back to work and the day-to-day life we love!

Last weekend was a whirlwind of activity. On Friday we met in Vacaville with my niece Heather and her family and my niece Tammy and her family. Heather lives in WA and I haven't seen her since she was a little girl. It was so great to reconnect and meet her family. Tammy and Jon were in town from UT for Tammy's high school reunion. It was like a mini family reunion for us girls and being married to great guys, they had fun seeing us catching up.

Saturday we headed south for Jim and Teresa Thompson's 50th birthday and as fate would have it, Saturday was Dave's birthday, too. We had a lovely time at Tres Pinos park in Hollister and then headed to San Jose to have birthday dinner with Dave's mom, sister, and her hubby Ric. It was a really nice time. The only exception to all of this is that Dave has been struggling with (what was diagnosed as) diverticulitis. I'm thinking this isn't right because he is still not feeling well four plus days into treatment. We were suppose to go out sailing with Mike on Sunday but with Dave having bouts of extreme abdominal pain and nausea, he just wasn't up for it. We ended up taking a driving tour through the neighborhood that he grew up in which was fun for all of us.

Today, I sent Dave back to the clinic as being doubled over on a hotel floor screaming in pain is not really improvement. I'm sure he will be fine if we can only figure out what is actually wrong and I am "that" wife who plays the, '"My husband is a veteran of foreign war. You WILL see him again and again until you come up with what is really wrong and he is well." Much to Dave's chagrin. Laughing.

So it's hot outside and I have Mason and Taylor waiting to go to the pool. I will post some pics from the weekend on my blog later tonight. I'll send the link just in case you want to see how much I Iook like my family. All beautiful we are! Big smiles!

Today's motivator comes from George Burns and might I say, "I agree!"

"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city."

Mini Family Reunion Pictures

Tammy, Kathy, and Heather

The Partak FamilyLexi, Tammy, Kathy, Heather, and TJ

Heather's Family

Tammy's Family

Just because I love this picture of Mason!

Happy Summer!

Hello friends,

Happy Summer Solstice! Summer is here and though I have been struggling with a cold, I'm happy it's warm. Over the weekend we had tons of fun.

On Saturday, we went to the Pirate Festival in Vallejo. Along the way, we visited Mare Island, some sort of war boat (Dave will correct me here), and the museum. After the pirates and wenches, we all went to Diana's house in Crockett and had the most lovely evening. We grilled, shared mojito's, but most of all, we laughed. It was so nice to lounge around food and be in such loving company.

On Sunday, Father's Day Dave wanted donuts in bed. I got up and ran to the store to get him donuts and a Sunday paper and served him in bed. Mason got up and climbed in bed with Dave while I baked a cake. Dave spent the day doing some homework, watching the race, eating crap food, and basically doing what ever he wanted! Per Dave's request, we had shish-kabobs for dinner and I'm sad to say, the cake turned out to be a delicious disaster! Laughing! Mason loved that he got to dig in with reckless abandon before the mess found it's way to the trash can. Hey, I'm not proud, I tried, I took a short cut, and the cake flopped!

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend and it made me aware, yet again, how fortunate we are to have such wonderful friends. I'm so grateful for having you (yes, you!) in my life and I hope to hear how your weekend was. Share with me, make me smile!

Late Again!

Happy Monday!

Yes it is! Laughing, okay, it's not Monday anymore, but I've had this motivator in my head since Sunday. What does any of this mean? Nothing, just a clever way to acknowledge that I know I'm late....again!

It was Poobah weekend so you all know I come home from Poobah pooped out. This year that holds especially true as I was hit with the triple-whammy. The pack it, set it up, sleep/cook/play outside, clean it up, pack it back up, unload it, wash it, repack the garage of camping is enough to exhaust you all by itself. Add to that the wind blew like a hurricane making those of us with allergies miserable and those of you who own stock in Benadryl, very happy. Additionally, Dave and I must have eaten something bad that had me in bed in my tent before sundown on Saturday night and Dave in the outhouse all through the night. Needless to say, by sunrise Sunday morning, we were ready to be home. As Murphy would have it, the wind didn't blow on Sunday and it was the perfect day to lounge on the beach and play in the water. The upsides to this Poobah were that I believe this was Mason's best ever. At six years old, he had more freedom to ride his bike, play with the other kids, and swim. I could see that he made memories this weekend that he will take with him through his life. That alone makes it all worth it, but as I always do, I see more bright sides than dark. Everyone is feeling the pinch of this tough economy and to get together with our friends, some of which we only see at Poobah, was worth all the work. To be together, laughing about Poobah's past, and sharing our struggles of today we are reminded that as cliche' as it sounds, as long as we have each other, we have everything we will ever need. We are truly blessed in the true, long-term friendships we have in each other.

As we all do, I hit the ground running on Monday only feeling a surge of energy to turn things around. I am looking for full time work. I plan to reach out to many of you in an effort to generate some universal energy and ask you if you know of an opportunity for me. I would like to send you my resume and ask that you look at it and keep me in mind if you should learn of a possibility in your daily travels. I know when I put my mind to something and gather the thoughts and energies of my groups of friends, well, good things happen!

I hope you are finding comfort in the friendships you have and know that my love is here for you, too! Have a great week and let's connect soon!

Monday Sucked!

Monday sucked! There was nothing in my world at that time that was worth writing about and my hands were full with nonsense that had me up in arms. Tuesday was better, but all the stuff I didn't do on Monday, I had to do yesterday including taking care of Mason who had a belly-bug. Here I am today, in much better spirits and feeling like I'm out of the woods and the barf!


Last weekend was a whirlwind of hard work and fun. I spent four days with Amilya who was speaking in Danville and our time was a mixed bag of goodies. Most of you don't know Amilya so let me share with you that I have never met anyone who works as hard and long as she does in a day. That woman gets more done in a day than many of us do in a whole work week. We took care of plenty of business and found time to meet with old friends and make many new ones. It was an eye opening experience for me on many levels but mostly to get a glimpse into a whole other world of entrepreneurs and their work. I enjoyed being pushed out of my comfort zone (Yes I did Amilya!), and seeing some behind the scenes action. I certainly can see how much more I have to learn and that I need to get really clear on what I want to do and where I want to go. My vision is too vague.


Now it's time to pack and grocery shop for Poobah. We have downsized and are looking at a much smaller group, the smallest ever, I think. It's going to be so fun to have less to pack, less to do all leaving more time to sit, visit, and laugh. I'll have pictures next week and I plan to have my Monday Motivator on Monday!



Happy Hump-Day!