We Love New York!

We made it back and boy did we have a great trip! I’ve never taken a trip to New York that I didn’t have a great time, but this one was pretty cool. Mason and I did some things we haven’t done before. Oh, we did the usual stuff like visit Times Square to watch the crazy street performers, we went to my favorite bakery supply store where I bought supplies for Christmas cookies, and we shopped from a few of the street vendors. The new experiences were awesome, Mason got to go shopping at Dylan’s Candy Bar, otherwise known as, “The Ultimate Candy Store” and indeed, it is ultimate! It is three floors of everything candy and if you’ve ever wondered what the literal meaning of a kid in a candy store looks like, you should have seen Mason check out every square inch of that place. We also had a great time exploring Eataly, a mall-like shopping experience that is several restaurant and specialty shops all under one roof. The restaurants are sectioned off by displays of unique products specific to that restaurant or cafe. It is something that you must experience in NYC if you are a foodie. Finally, we can’t visit NY and not stop in Central Park. We rented bikes and rode through the whole park, it was gorgeous and the wether could not have been more beautiful. We stopped to play and it was so much fun to find that so many of the playground in the park have water features. It’s not as if they are water parks exactly, it is just that each play ground has some sort of fountain or water castle for the kids to play in and cool off - without actually swimming. And speaking of swimming, the north end of the park has a community pool that is ginormous!!! This pool is gorgeous and it is absolutely huge, and not only that, it’s free! The bike ride was worth every penny it cost to spend two hours exploring parts of the park I’ve never seen before. The only thing that could have made this trip any better was having Dave with us. Dave couldn’t come because he had to be in central California for work and there was no getting out of it. Hopefully next time we can all go together. 

So now that we are home, Mason is back to school - middle school! Can you believe that, he is in junior high school. As much as I see time just flying by, I am loving that he has the same sense of adventure that Dave and I do. He is an awesome traveler and is only getting better as he gets older. I hope he still wants to travel with me and us when he’s grown, and when he has a serious girlfriend or wife, I hope she loves us as much as Mason does. I’ll do my best to facilitate and foster the best relationships possible - yes, I’m setting my intention! Have a great week and make magic happen, you can do it, I know you can. 

On the Road Again!

Oh happy, happy Monday! Yes, I’m happy today as Mason and I are in New York for a few days. We had an opportunity to participate in a little cooking competition and decided to jump in with both feet. The details can’t be revealed just yet, but suffice it to say, we are having a blast and as soon as I can share all about it, I will!

We will be here until Thursday and then it will be back to reality, school will have started for Mason and my classes will start shortly after his. I’ve been working while I’ve been out of town, but hey, I’m a Realtor, we never stop working! I’ll share all the details of our trip next week.

Cecil the Lion

For those of you who want to say Cecil was "just" a lion and you don't understand the mass uproar, you are completely missing the mark. Cecil may have been "just" a lion, but he was also a majestic animal that many loved. He had a pride and 24 young cubs. He was a living creature who several humans shamelessly lured out of safety, shone a spotlight on for a man who paid two men $55,000 dollars to shoot with an arrow. I don't know a hunter alive who would let an animal suffer after being shot for 40 hours, do you? Then to behead and skin? When you hunt, do you pay someone to bring you an animal and shine a spotlight on it for you? That is not hunting.

This uproar is about serious lack of judgement and sensibility of some humans. If it weren't Cecil, it would have been any other animal who was tortured for no good reason whatsoever. Your dollars and or your ego do not entitle you to torture another living creature. I am glad there is an uproar and I would like nothing more than to see hunting for mere sport illegal worldwide. There, I said it. Love me or hate me, that lion did not deserve to die like that to be a prize on some piss ass dentist's wall. Tell me again that my sweet Riley Ro was "just" a dog.

Another Successful State Fair in the Books

We wrapped another successful year at the California State Fair. Mason did three demos instead of two as someone cancelled and they called to see if he could step in. It worked out! Mason did his first demo from the outdoor kitchen in the garden and the last two from the kitchen stage inside.  The impromoptu demo was especially fun because nothing about it was planned. Mason got to go into the State Fair kitchen and just find some ingredients to whip something up. He made a mixed berry and waffle parfait. His scheduled demo later that day was the same recipe he did for his very first cooking demo, Funky Spaghetti. All in all, it was a fun time.





On Saturday, Dave and I had the opportunity to go see the 1980s band 38 Special at the fair, it was really a fun date night. Sunday was a get-caught-up on all the stuff around the house day. It's almost time for Mason to go back to school, and not just any school, but the start of middle school. But before we get back to school, we have a few more summertime adventures coming up. I'll share more later! Have a great week.

When Things Settle Down a Bit...

Have you ever said that, "When things settle down a bit I'll be able to..." I don't know about you, but things rarely settle down enough for me to plan some whatever thing I think I can't do now. The fact of the matter is, if I want it to happen, I just need to put it on my calendar and there you are, that is why I'm so busy.

Mason asked me the other day what a mid-life crisis is, it went like this:
Mason: "Mom, what is a midlife crisis?"
Me: "When people get to the mid part of their lives, they start to feel like they didn't do what they wanted to do and maybe they feel like their time is running out to do what they dreamed they would do with their lives. Usually there is plenty of time if they would just get creative and take action."
Mason: "I think I am having a young life crisis."
Me: "Really, why?"
Mason: "It feels like 2015 just started and now it's half way over. I feel like I'm not doing enough to make my life the way I want it. What if I run out of time?"
Me: (laughing!) "Mason, you are only 11. Though none of us know when our time will come, just live life like you have your whole life ahead of you and I bet you will reach your dreams and far beyond."
Mason: "I don't know mom, 2016 is coming up fast."
Who the heck is this kid? I'm still shaking my head at how deep he is sometimes, because most of the time he his laughing about the word "erector" - you know, it sounds like...

My point to all of this is that Mason is so much like me, I want to say yes to everything, too. I want to learn new things, try stuff that looks like fun, go places I've never been and in general, I want to experience everything, well, almost everything - the fun stuff for sure! I'm glad he has that same sense of adventure but at the same time, I'm not sure feeling like you are running out of time at just 11 years old is so good either. Busy really is a choice, but for me, I choose to be involved, I choose to make a difference, and I choose to live every day to the fullest. So if we are overdue for a coffee, lunch or night out, let's get it on the calendar, there is no sense in waiting until things settle down a bit - they won't!

It's State Fair Time!

It's Monday again...not that that's a bad thing, it kind of just is what it is, right? Actually, us Partaks have a busy next couple of weeks coming up. Mason is cooking at the CA State Fair tomorrow and the following Tuesday, Dave is headed out of town to the east coast for vacation and I am busy with real estate and all of Mason's antics. In addition to a busy cooking demo season, Mason is wrapping up his swim team experience and football is starting practice tonight. I love the physical conditioning football provides so I told Mason I would train with him, while he is at practice from 6-8 each night, I will take my yoga mat and do sit ups, push ups, stretch and walk the pond. Maybe with can both get in better shape.

I had one of the best real estate experiences of my career yesterday. I have a couple who are retired and looking to relocate form S. CA to our neck of the woods. They have made it known that they do not text or have smart phones so we have been building an awesome relationship via the telephone. I have been looking at properties and sending them photos and I commented that I wished I had an extra phone that I could send them so we could video link via FaceTime. Not 2 hours later I got a call that the wife looked up how to do it on her Mac and in one more hour I was in Nevada City walking them through a prospect real time! They felt so empowered and I was tickled to show them how awesome technology can be. Now they can "see" the homes they want to look at all from the comfort of their living room. Isn't this the coolest story?

Now I'm off to set my week up so little to no tasks fall off my plate. Have a dynamite week and Happy Monday!

 

Happy 4th of July with Honors!

Happy Belated 4th of July! We had a really lovely holiday weekend, jam packed with good food, great friends, fireworks and fun! 

Dave had Friday off and we had a low key family day. On Saturday, Mason cooked at the Napa County Fair early in the day so we just made the trip there and back to get home in time to enjoy our small town 4th of July celebration. Steve and Ro were in town and Mason was set to receive the Auburn Chamber of Commerce Community Service Award for his work on his school kitchen. The presentation left a little to be desired, but holy cow, the awards he received were stellar! He received a Certificate of Recognition from Placer County Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery, two Certificates of Special Congressional Recognition signed by Doug LaMalfa (member of Congress) and Tom McClintock, a Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Auburn, a Certificate of Recognition from the State Assembly signed by Frank Bigelow and another from the Senate signed by Ted Gaines, and finally a plaque engraved with his name rom the Auburn Chamber of Commerce. I didn't even know what to say when I saw all of this, except, "Good for you Mason!" It made me think I need to start writing his resume now so I don't have to remember all of this when he tires to do it later. I think it will be interesting for his future employers to look at his resume and say, "Really? You started working when you were 8 years old?" The answer will be a resounding, "Yes!" Dave and I are very proud of him, but you all have to know, for all he's accomplished, he is still 11 years old and mostly a huge pain in our butts! Laughing!

It was a great holiday and now it's time to get back to work and school. Mason is still swimming and it looks like he may go back to playing football. We'll see. For now, I'm looking forward to seeing Julie and our high school friend who lives in Italy tomorrow for some fun in the sun with all of our kids. Additionally, Mason and I have two Park Pass and a Picnic episodes to edit and post - stay tuned!

My motivator for today is something I heard a fitness trainer say and it resonated with me, "If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you." Yep, I need to challenge myself physically as I feel a need to improve (change). Happy Monday!