Truckee in the Fall

Happy Fall!

 

Oh yes, fall is in full swing and it feels wonderful. I had the good fortune to spend the weekend in truckee with Lisa A. and Kristy P. We caught the aspens in full color, walked along the river, enjoyed some time at The River Inn, went to Tahoe City, tootled old town, enjoyed lazy mornings drinking coffee and inspiring each other with the dreams and goals we are all working on achieving. It was the rejuvenation that I have been longing for and now I'm ready to wrap up this semester at school (just 5 more weeks) and enjoy the coming holiday season. You can see the photo I took with my iPhone while we walked along the river, pretty, huh?

 

Last evening when I got home, Mason started asking questions about the Monday Motivator. We were looking at some pictures on my computer and one of him several years ago got us reminiscing about where and when. I told him I had the whole story written down in the MM and he looked surprised. We looked it up and that story led to another, that led to another until we were laughing out loud. Mason said, "So you just write about us and our stories? That's cool mom." Yeah, much like Seinfeld, I write about nothing or what seems like nothing at the time, when in fact, the everyday goings on in our life are the very things that we treasure later. Mason, at the ripe old age of 9 is connecting the dots and realizing what a gift this silly weekly blog will be for him when his mom is old and gray with no memory left. Can you imagine if you had something like this to reference back to your childhood and even before? What would you learn about your mom if you could read her writings as a teen, young woman, newlywed, and new mother? Today's nothings are tomorrows special memories and as long as you have today, you can start journaling and documenting your journey. I started writing this column (for lack of a better word) as a weekly e-mail back in early 1999 and I sincerely wish I had all of the early entries. I don't, unless one of you computer geeks kept those e-mails from 1999-2002, but I'm grateful for the ones I do have and I'm even more grateful that they are on line, I know they are safe and in the event of a disaster, Mason will always have a way to have our stories.

 

The Mandarin Festival is coming, just two short weeks away and Mason is doing a cooking demo. If you are interested in a really fun day trip, let me know and I will get you tickets. Enjoy the fall colors, warm days and cool nights, and take a moment each day to find things to be grateful for...there really is so much good all around each of us - focus on it, it just feels so darn good! Have a great week!

Halloween Photos

Our front door - a little fall with a little Halloween

More ghouls greeting our little trick-or-treaters!

The witch in her lair - skulls and bones tell the tale!

More lost souls! (This is Mason's display. He's very proud!)

The Pumpkin Patch - the sweeter of the displays.

Mason, Kyle and Evan doing the downtown trick-or-treat.

Robin's Nest Daycare! So cute!

Dave and Kathy as The Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood

Kathy and Lisa

Sweet!

Scary!

This Wolf stands alone! Oh yeah!

Lisa asked, "What would you pay for a look?"

And a Big Hunk? Oh, la-la!

Fall Is Finally Here!

Welcome Fall!

For real this time! Oh, I'm not fooled by this lovely rain we had yesterday, I know we have lots more warm, dare I say even hot days left this year, but the cool weather and rain was a welcome treat!

This weekend was a nice balance of "got lots done" and "did nothing." Don't you just love when things balance out like that? I do! Saturday was the annual Community Festival in Auburn. Mason and I had recipes entered in the contest and Mason won 1st place for his cookies. We also went to Mason's soccer game and yet again, the Pistol Pete's Pirates won! It's safe to say that Saturday was a winning day! We spent the afternoon decorating the house and enjoyed the evening visiting with Mike around the fire in the backyard. We made s'mores and the specialty for the night was the key lime pie s'more! It was really yummy, but still doesn't rank above the pumpkin pie s'more!

Sunday it rained! Dave split some wood and we put the lawn furniture in the garage. I did the grocery shopping while Mason played and Dave napped. Yep, while Dave napped - he never does that! We all ended up in our jammies early hanging out in the living room enjoying our first fire of the season. All in all, it was a lovely weekend.

Now we head into a new week and I have a proposition for you; how would you like to start making your dreams come true right now? Yes! I'm starting an Intentional Winning In Life group that will meet twice a month with e-mail updates the other two weeks. My plan is to work together to get the ball rolling on making your dreams come true and see some significant results within 90 days. If we start in November, that will have you well on your way by February 1st. How cool will it be to be two-thirds of the way to living your dreams instead of making a resolution to start on January 1st? Come on, I'll show you my plan and help you find a way to make your dream come true, no matter where you are in your life, you can do it! If you don't want to join my group, but would like my two cents, send me your dream and why you haven't pursued or achieved it and I may select your dream for my blog in 2011. You don't have to send some major essay, just what your dream is/was and why you didn't follow through. Dave's is that he has always dreamed of being a Park Ranger in a national park. He got detoured by marriage and military deployments. That simple!

Have a great week and if you're not already, find five things everyday to be grateful for. More is better and if you can just focus on what's right, it's safe to say you will barely notice that which is not. Happy Monday friends!

Weeknd In Lake Tahoe Pictures

The apples are all shades of green, yellow and red!

And then the get dressed up for the holiday season.

Everywhere there are pumpkins! Big, little, green and orange.

At the summit before dropping into Tahoe, I got to meet "Super Dave!"
I love that man!

We took a stroll on the beach before dinner.

After dinner we got a little schmoopy in front of Riva Bar & Grill.

We won! The money we started with plus $80! Not bad!

Saturday morning, very early, we walked along the Rainbow Trail to Taylor Creek. If you haven't been, go! It is a lovely little park with so much to see.

With the salmon spawning, the bears are feeding. I wish we could have been there in the late afternoon. Maybe next year.

Just pretty, pretty scenery.

The light from the start of our walk to the end of it (about 20 mins) was enough to go from dark on the water, to great light on the water.

See what I mean? Isn't this picture gorgeous? Can you imagine what it will look like in a week or two when the colors really come out? I can!

It was tough to get a shot of the fish, but I did my best with my Blackberry.

This is the name of the resort where the leadership training was held. Think 1950's resort where the wealthy vacationed for the summer. Think Dirty Dancing!

This is the patio off the dining hall at the resort.
The light when the sun was setting was just so soft.

Finally, having nothing to do with the weekend, this is THE BEST fall coffee ever If you like the the savory fall flavors of pumpkin, cinnamon, and cloves, you will love this Cup 'O Joe!

Struggling

I struggle with writing today as I'm still so sad. I'm crying less but just because the tears aren't falling doesn't mean I'm done grieving. Mason and Dave made Halloween so much fun. Mason was Darth Vader and Dave decorated like he always does. Sunday, the sun was out and the sky was a most gorgeous shade of blue. Mason and I walked to town, got a hot chocolate (I had decaf), and picked up a few groceries. The fall colors were so beautiful, yet my eyes were still wet.

Here's why I'm struggling; I don't want to be writing about my heart break and sadness incessantly, it's so personal and though you all love me, you're not feeling the loss like I am. I can hear you all telling me it's okay, that you understand, but do you really want to keep reading how sad I feel? I don't think so.

The flip side is that I am real, and that means real in joy and in grief. Many of you have commented over the years about how I paint my life picture so rosy and there's a hint of can it really be that good all the time? in your voice. My answer is, "Yes, it really is that good." Sure, I see the bright side so I don't always acknowledge the hiccups and when I do, I make light of them. I decided to write this because I am real, and I'm really soaked with sadness right now. I'm still crying, my chin quivers when I talk, my voice all but disappears when someone asks me how I am, and I miss biting my Riley every morning. I can't help but think this would be easier if he were 15 years old and his time had come. 7 was just too young.

With all that said, life is made up of so many things, one of them being sorrow. The cutting, uncontrollable emotions will get easier and the good will soon outweigh the sadness. Bear with me while I get through this. With love.

Fall Back = Extra Hour Of Sleep

Well, I don't know about all of you, but I got this extra hour of sleep this weekend and I am still tired! It is 9 PM and I still have so much to do before I can go to bed, the least exciting being reading and deciding my ballot to vote tomorrow. Now, I know friends are not supposed to discuss politics and religion. You all know from Dave's previous e-mails that he has cast a vote for John Kerry. I feel comfortable telling all of you I am not voting for George Bush. I am also not voting for John Kerry. So, Dave made a point to tell me that if I don't vote for one of the main parties my vote doesn't really count. In fact, I see it more as taking a vote away from one of the two big guys thus putting a slight ripple in the water. I just don't want to feel forced to vote for a candidate I don't believe in and I don't believe in either Bush or Kerry to do the job that needs to be done. Enough of that!

I have been quite busy. Mason had a wonderful Halloween. He and I dressed up on Friday to do the downtown Auburn trick or treating. I was Cruella and Mason was a dalmatian. Mason was supposed to be a crab and I fully intended to dress him and take him to our neighbors homes to trick or treat. Well, Saturday we went to a party and again he was a dalmatian and I went as "MOMMY: An Army Of One." I wore Dave's fatigues with a binky attached to my lapel and dirty burp cloth over my shoulder and butt paste in my pocket in addition to the baby on my hip and his bottle in my hand. Now, this was the first time Mason became Mr. Social! He was visiting with everyone, playing with the kids, eating cheese and crackers and dancing with the grown ups....laughing all the way! It was a hoot to witness. With all of this, by the time it was time for the real Halloween, we were plum tuckered out. He doesn't like the crab costume, the wind is blowing and I am ready to hunker down and pass out candy. This he liked! The kids coming to the door and us putting candy in their bags...again, all giggles and grins!

So here we are at November one and I am ready to roast a turkey, celebrate the holidays, ring in the new year and welcome my husband home! Mason and I went for a long walk today and took pictures of the turning leaves. Next week will be equally exciting when we spend the weekend with David and Lisa in the snow in Truckee. I will be sure to include pictures of Mason either loving or hating the white stuff his daddy longs for! With lots of love, welcome to November! Enjoy the changing season and embrace your changing life!

Love Kathy

Changes come

You cannot know precisely what tomorrow will bring. Yet there is one thing about tomorrow of which you can be certain. You can be sure that tomorrow will be, in many ways, different than today. Things will continue to change, as they always do.

Life itself is a process of change. Night follows day, spring follows winter. Some things grow, while others fade. Styles change, markets change, opinions change, and through it all, life moves forward, changing from day to day.

When the changes don't go your way, take heart. For even the changes are subject to change, and if you're down, the next change can bring you back up.

Learn to weather the changes, to roll with the punches and to run when the wind is at your back. And as the changes continue to come, you'll move surely and steadily ahead.
Ralph Marston from The Daily Motivator with permission www.thedailymotivator.com