Mason Made Desserts for Dutch Bros. Holiday Party

I couldn’t be more proud of Mason! He did the desserts for the Dutch Bros holiday party tonight, he did it completely on his own and did the Dutch gingerbread as a bonus gift to Heather. I love that she trusted him with something so important, I hope she was happy. It all looked great and though I’m not home to taste any of it, I know his truffle recipe because it's the one Dave uses that originated with our friend Theresa. Finally, the orange-cranberry cupcakes are my recipe so I know they are good. He even sugared fresh cranberries!

Though I'm sorry I'm not home to help Mason with his Dutch Bros order, I've had the time of my life on this trip with Dave, Lisa, David, and Lisa's mom and her husband. I'm so inspired to make 2020 crazy amazing along with Jennifer Smith Taggard. It's time to see some of those bright ideas to fruition. With that said, I am ready to be home with Mason and the dogs and enjoy the rest of the holiday season as we see 2019 off and ring in 2020. What about you, what are you looking forward to in the coming weeks?

Our Hawaiian Cruise

We made it on the ship and ready to set sail! I have worked so diligently and hard for the last two weeks leading up to set sail today. If I could work like that every day, can you even imagine what kind of life I could be living? LOL! Frankly, if I worked every day like I’ve been doing, I would have no time to enjoy my life and my people. Not to mention the pace I was keeping was grueling. I’m not sad to be through that almost impossible list of things to do. It did remind me however what I am actually capable of. In any case, we are here and I’m ready to have some fun and get to vacationing.

The first 4 days on the ocean, we were rocking & rolling pretty constantly since we left San Francisco and I'm not talking about music. Jules would have been in heaven while I would like a break from the Princess (Cruises) Ride! I didn’t get officially seasick, but I was eating Dramamine a bit like candy. I should have planned better and purchased it at less than $8 for 6 tablets. 

We did have plenty of fun participating in the activities and games on the ship. We not only played music trivia, but we also gambled in the casino, we both played in tournaments, Lisa and I played in a slot tournament and Dave played in a blackjack tournament, and of course, we saw some shows. We’ve won two of the music-trivia contests, the 80s and Country Music. There's more than one way to drink free on a cruise! #freechampagne #prizeisabottle The Anderson's have been our partners in crime winning the trivia games!

Coming into port early morning at sunrise, I was so ready to feel my land-legs! 

Most of the sunsets were spectacular! This photo from Oahu has no edits or filters. The iPhone 11 Max Pro is amazing! In fact, I tagged Princess Cruises on social media and they asked to use the photo on their social media, website, and marketing, how cool is that?! I’m loving the camera on my new iPhone 11 Pro Max, seriously it changes the phone-camera game. 

Then there was the fall that made my already “not pretty” legs, even more, “not pretty!” Talk about embarrassing... my pride hurt more than my leg. Oh, and for all of us parents that tell our kids peroxide doesn’t hurt, LIAR!! LOL! And yes, it’s been washed with soap twice and the dirt and gravel are ground in for now. I’ll wash, scrub, and disinfect several more times while drinking shots of tequila.

*Island hopping was the best part of the trip and frankly, 15 days was too long for the trip. The 5 days it took to travel from the mainland to the islands and back was just too much time at sea for me. Sailing is not my idea of the ultimate vacation and our Disney cruise was so different than the Princess trip. In any case, I loved the time with the Anderson’s and celebrating Lisa’s and my birthdays were epic. I love those people so very deeply and as some of our very best friends we just don’t get as much time together as I know Lisa and I would like to have. 

*Updated after returning home so the trip is documented in one place, for the most part

My People!

Last Tuesday was amazing! I spent the whole day just hanging out, talking, laughing, dreaming big, solving world problems, being grateful, looking at pictures, hugging, loving, and just being with Michael J. There was also time with Sari, & her mama, and daddy, some of my favorite people - my people. The 23rd was Michael's 29th birthday and he and his new bride are planning to move to Chile in just a few weeks so I made plans to fly to LA and spend a whole day with them. It's only a day, but it's all we can do for the moment. Can I just tell you, it really was an epic day!

Later in the week, we were preparing for Thanksgiving, which if you recall we celebrate on Saturday instead of the official turkey day which is Thursday. Diana arrived in Sacramento on the real turkey day and she, Jenn, and I went wine tasting on Friday. We had such a good time girl-talking, laughing, singing along with the radio, and of course, tasting wine at Runquist Winery in Amador County. We ended the day with a group of us having dinner in Grass Valley and then enjoying Cornish Christmas before calling it a super-fun-filled-night!

Happy Birthday Michael J.!

29 years ago this amazing man was born. I was not married, though I loved his father so deeply. It was not a good relationship and I knew he and I would never create a good place for a child so I placed him with people who I thought would provide him with the things we couldn't.
In April of this year, he called me and wanted to know our story, his story. There is nothing he can't know but what I wanted him to know more than anything else was that he was loved on 11/23/91 and every single day after that. When we met, I gave him a box I kept for him with our bracelets from the hospital, a baby bottle, and one Christmas ornament that was part of a set of 3. The other two hang on my tree every Christmas. Additional items in this box were letters from his adoptive mom to me while I was pregnant, photos and a stack of birthday cards that I wrote to him each year we were not together. 

Today I get to write him a birthday card with all new meaning. We've spent time together over the last 6 months, we talk on the phone frequently, and Dave, Mason and I got to attend his wedding. It's been the most wonderful reunion and I am validated every day, but especially today that I knew having him was the right thing to do. Happy Birthday Michael J, you are an amazing human being and I could not be more proud to call you my son!!

In other news, Sunday was a Partak sweep at the Mountain Mandarin Festival. Mason won Best sauce (Mandarin Pepper Sauce) and Best Breakfast (Mandarin Parfait). I won Best appetizer, which was the Mandarin Pepper taco, oh and the taco won the Snow's Citrus Court award. My cookie won best cookie and also won the Grand Prize, can you even believe it? Where were you Rachel Griffith?

This One's From Dave -

I just wanted to give a public shout out to my wife, Kathy Partak She is always saying complimentary things about me and rarely am I on Facebook so I wanted to return the gesture.

She has always been there for Mason and I and done good wifely and motherly things for the two of us, but I really noticed the other day that she is really busting her derriere helping others selling and buying their homes. Kathy doesn't want to be a top producer but wants to have her clients feel good about their transactions. She goes way beyond what usual realtors do. She tells her clients that they get "her." Getting "her" means that they deal with Kathy from start to finish and they are not fawned off to other processors that most realtors in big firms will do. She is also always available no matter the time of day or where she is. Many a time, dinner or vacations go on a temporary hold while she helps her clients and her laptop is with her whenever we travel. The great thing is that she gets a lot of her business from referrals which means she did a good enough job that her past clients are willing to recommend her.

I know this may sound like an endorsement or ad for Kathy, and it is not meant to be, but hey, as they always told us in business, "ask for the sale." She helped me get through to retirement when at times I wanted to just quit. I am glad she got me to the finish line. Now it's my turn to support her and her passion. To her, it's a passion and not just a job and that makes all the difference.

Thank you Kathy for all you are doing for us, we love you!

Happy 18th Wedding Anniversary Flower Dave

Saturday was our 18th Wedding Anniversary. I love this man and the life we have created together more than words could ever express.

I grew up in a home where my mom and dad never showed affection for each other, I wasn’t even sure they liked each other. The idea that I could have a storybook romance and live a life full of so much laughter and love with a man who shows me every day how much he loves me was inconceivable. I thought those relationships were only stories told on television or in the movies. In my 30s I met Lisa & David Anderson and Marsha Mercant & John Howard John Howard Swain and saw that truly happily married couples exist!

I Fell in love with my friend Flower Dave because he was kind, he considered how I felt and what I wanted in every decision he made pertaining to us and the things we would do. We were platonic friends for six years before we got married and I wouldn’t change a thing. In fact, Dave proposed to me on 12/14/01 and we were married on 12/17/01. Some might think, wow! That was fast. And for a marriage, it was but I will tell you it was the easiest decision I’ve ever made, the best decision I’ve ever made, and to this day, marriage has not been hard. Have there been a few bumps in the road? Yep, but as a whole being married is not work. Checking in with each other before making plans isn’t something we have to do, it’s something we want to do, it’s called being considerate. Respect plays a big role because when you respect somebody your decision making reflects that. I’ve always been called lucky because I win things, and winning the heart of my guy and living this life with him is the best prize ever. Happy anniversary Flower Dave, thank you for loving me!

I Love My People!

You know what? I want to see you succeed. Not just reach the goal, reach far beyond what you can even imagine is possible. You see, it's not you OR me, it's you AND me, there is more than enough for all of us.

Enough of what you ask? Enough jobs, enough opportunities, enough open doors, enough leading roles, enough first places, enough abundance, enough prosperity, enough money, enough friends, enough party invites, enough love.

It is not necessary to tear down those around you who are seeing success, stand up and cheer for them! Maybe if you stand up for them, you can stay on your feet and take the action you need to see what you want come to fruition. If you do, I'm already standing, and taking action, but I will cheer for you, I will cheer as loud as I can and say, "I'm so glad you are making this happen for yourself."

It's not only my close friends, but I have the most amazing clients as well, all of them! It's hard to believe that in a group of amazing humans some can manage to rise above such an already high bar. The last few weeks, Michael and Brieanne Weaver have gone above and beyond as sellers and today, Mike showed up with class and kindness in a way that just made me so proud and honored to be his friend. Thank you Shane and Jen for introducing me to your tribe and allowing me to do business, laugh, and play with all of you. I don't have a photo of all of us, so guess what needs to happen very soon?! GROUP PHOTO!!