Just Because I Love You

Merry Christmas!

As you all know, I am very happy to be at home with my family. It has been great spending quality time with them, as well as my hubby! We both work so much and are so busy that time together is tough, so it really has been a fun time. I wanted snow so bad and now that I have it, I am ready to head back to San Diego! The wind here has been terrible and we have already had a few blizzards. I really forgot how bad it sucks to drive in this stuff. Either way though, I am loving life. I hope you all had as great of Christmas as I have. Here are some pics. Enjoy!

Are we too old for this?

I say no. So, today Santa came to work. We took some funny pictures with antlers and blinking red noses, but of course, my camera died. When I get those from work, I'll have to post them. I'm sure they're great! Sometimes it's kind of fun acting like a kid again. How would it be? And to think, back then we thought life was SO hard (at least when we were teenagers).

I'm so excited. I will be going home in 4 more days! Woooo hooooooo! I really can't wait to see my family and get this....eat at La Frontera! Can you believe that? I live right next to Mexico and I am craving Utah Mexican. Ha ha .... go figure. Of course, I also can't wait to see the snow, the mountains, and sit by a fire. Ahhhhhhhhhh ... Cali is great, but I sure miss those things. Well, I'm off to bed. It's an early day tomorrow and if it's still raining like it has been, it will be a lot earlier than I'm planning. Until later, Ciao!

Random Pictures from the Weekend

What is it?

Aurora & me

Just me :)

San Diego, Temple More of the temple - so beautiful

So, there you have it. My weekend in a nutshell. Have I said how much I love this time of year? Well, I do. I can't wait to see my family and friends back in Utah. Tis the season for happiness, love, and good times!!!!

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Christmas Tag!

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both
Real tree or artificial? Artificial. Much easier, less mess.
When do you put up your tree? Day after Thanksgiving.
When do you take it down? Jan 1
Do you like eggnog? Yes, I do!
Favorite gift received as a child? Hmmmmmm...I think it was my huge Barbie house.
Worst christmas gift ever received? Wow-I can't think of one.
Hardest person to buy for? Seif.
Easiest person to buy for? Mom.
Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, I have a really pretty one that my great aunt made.
Mail or email christmas cards? This year, mail.
Favorite christmas movie? Oh - I love em' all!
When do you start christmas shopping? Too late. LOL
Have you ever recycled a christmas present? Guilty.
Favorite thing to eat at christmas? My mom's Turkey dinner!
Lights on the tree? Is it a Christmas tree without them?
Favorite christmas song? Oh' Holy Night.
Travel or stay home? Travel.
Can you name all of santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
Angel or star? Star. Star.
Open presents christmas morning or eve? Eve at mom's, morning everywhere else.
Favorite ornament theme or color? Mine is mixed .. I like it that way. It reminds me of my childhood.
Favorite place for christmas dinner? Mom's house.
Most annoying thing about this time of year? Rude people in the stores.
What do you want for christmas this year? Ha ha ... I have no idea. Whatever anyone wants to get me.;)

I tag anyone who wants to play!!

Cloverfield. I wasn't afraid.

My Little Hometown in the New York Times!

Who would have thought? Little ol' Tooele in the New York Times!

FROZEN squid was on the menu. Sardines, silver-skinned and dusted with frost, were already sliced up and on a plate. It was just after sunrise on a cool morning in late October, time to feed the fish at the Bonneville Seabase, an aquatic center in, of all places, the desert outside Grantsville, Utah.

Scuba Diving in Utah's Desert

Map

Bonneville Seabase

“Hope the sharks are hungry,” said Lynn Findlay, an employee, his hand outstretched and clenching raw meat. In the water below, from the pit of a saltwater spring called Habitat Bay, dark shapes were emerging from the deep.

Thousands of fish — from flitting minnows to a pair of nine-foot-long nurse sharks — live in the murky waters at Bonneville Seabase, an independent experiment in marine biology started 20 years ago by George Sanders and Linda Nelson, husband-and-wife scuba divers from Salt Lake City. After years of development costing them about a million dollars, they have created a private tropical-fish preserve off an empty road at 4,293 feet in a valley about 10 miles south of the Great Salt Lake.

It’s open to snorkelers and scuba divers four days a week, year round, for $15 a day.

“We call it an interactive aquarium,” said Ms. Nelson, 62, a Utah native who, with her husband, 68, also runs a dive shop in Salt Lake City. “The sharks won’t bite unless you pull their tails.”

Seabase is little known in the diving world, but Patric Douglas, a shark expert, guide and commercial diver in San Francisco, sees it as a pioneer in a movement to create artificial environments where divers can swim with big fish that are increasingly rare in the wild. Resorts, casinos and public aquariums have begun investigating Seabase-like facilities, he said.

For now, divers like Todd Gardner, 38, of Riverhead, N.Y., travel to Bonneville Seabase to swim with tropical species from around the world in an environment that can be fully explored in a couple of hours. “You forget where you are,” said Mr. Gardner, who works at Atlantis Marine World in Riverhead.

He described feeding tropical fish out of his hand at Seabase and then surfacing to winter weather. “It was snowing in the desert and I was scuba diving,” he said.

A former chemist, Ms. Nelson came up with the concept of stocking desert springs with ocean fish in the 1980s. After analyzing salinity levels, she and Mr. Sanders bought 60 acres from the town of Grantsville, including three warm-spring basins that receive water naturally from the ancient salt beds of prehistoric Lake Bonneville, which once covered the region.

“Our water doesn’t have enough magnesium or sulfate compared to the ocean, and the pH is too low, but the fish are doing fine,” Ms. Nelson said.

Living in the Seabase waters are snappers, several kinds of angelfish and butterflyfish, silver scats, mono argentus and more.

During the morning feeding, I watched aggressive Crevalle jacks swoop up to nab bits of chopped fish, whipping their tails and then disappearing back into the depths. But the sharks — two males adopted 10 years ago after outgrowing residential aquariums — never surfaced. “They don’t like the cold weather,” Mr. Findlay said.

To see the sharks, I’d have to jump in.

I suited up and popped a regulator in my mouth, waddling to the water’s edge in a seven-millimeter wet suit with weights around my ankles and waist.

“No squealing when you get in,” said Lori Fox, my instructor and guide. “You’ll feel a cold rush of water down your back.”

Coaxing aquatic life in an ersatz ocean didn’t come easy for Ms. Nelson and Mr. Sanders, world-traveling divers and self-taught ichthyologists. Coral couldn’t grow in the salty springs. Mussels died. Algae blooms, a constant problem, spread uncontrollably in the warm geothermic water, which is 90 degrees at the bottom but is cooled by the air at the surface.

Last winter, a stock of 10,000 shrimp were introduced to Habitat Bay, a half-acre pool that’s 24 feet deep. A flock of hundreds of ducks living in wetlands south of the Great Salt Lake soon discovered them. “They ate them all,” Ms. Nelson said.

But after years of experimentation, an equilibrium has been accomplished at Seabase, which keeps three pools open for diving, including the Abyss, a 62-foot-deep hole that required thousands of hours of work with industrial cranes to dredge out in the desert. Of the dozens of species introduced, a handful have adapted to this high-altitude home, growing, reproducing and living for years in an ocean ecosystem 600 miles from the Pacific Coast.

“It’s a vision from the future of diving,” said Mr. Douglas, the shark expert, alluding to environmental changes. “You used to be able to zip to the Florida Keys and see pristine reefs and stunning sea life, but it’s no longer that easy.”

Local residents make up most of Seabase’s 1,500 to 2,000 annual visitors, including regulars from area dive clubs and people seeking scuba certification before trips to Cozumel or the Caribbean. Masks, air tanks, fins and wet suits are for rent in the main building. Divers top off their tanks at a refilling station on a sidewalk next to the communal shower room.

Chris Westover, 37, a manager at a ski area near Ogden, Utah, snorkeled for an hour on the morning of my visit. He came with a friend to try something new. “It’s the last Sunday in October and I’m snorkeling in the desert,” he said. “This is a better idea than the breakfast buffet.”

Mr. Westover took a head of romaine lettuce with him underwater. He held it out and fed tropical fish. The water was murky and cold, but he said, “we saw an angelfish.”

Before suiting up for my dive, I walked out a few hundred feet into the desert for a wider perspective. Mountains rose up in the west. A pickup truck roared by a mile away on a country road.

Seabase — a mishmash of sheds, trailer homes, Quonset huts, construction equipment, camper trailers, ponds with polycarbonate covers, two telescope observatories and an airplane hangar — looked like a settlement on Mars. Wind kicked dust off the flat land. There was an end-of-the-earth feeling, with no noise and little life.

When I returned to Seabase, Mr. Sanders pointed to a hilltop and told me it was the home of a hermit who once loaded a truck with barrels of fuel in anticipation of the apocalypse. The hermit used dynamite to clear a road and now keeps large-caliber guns on the hill. “He’s an enterprising young fellow,” Mr. Sanders said.

Lew Ershler, who runs a powered-parachute flight program out of the airplane hangar on the site, mentioned a polygamist settlement in the hills across State Highway 138.

Underwater, things were even stranger. At 10 a.m. I climbed down a ladder, weighted with 50 pounds of scuba gear, following my guide into the murk. Bits of squid still floated on the surface, uneaten ringlets from the morning feed. “Swim with me out to the white pole,” Ms. Fox said, turning to glide away.

We paddled 50 feet, heads out of the water with dive masks on. The pool, called White Rocks Bay, was capped under a polycarbonate roof to retain warmth in the wintertime (the outside gets down to freezing temperatures), creating a claustrophobic cave.

“Keep close,” Ms. Fox said. “I’ll have a hand on you.”

She pressed a button on her buoyancy compensator, air wheezing out of the flotation lung. I did the same, and we sank down along the pole, my bare hand clutching white metal coated in slime.

At the bottom, 13 feet down, a rocky seabed stirred with dust. I kicked to swim and sediment mushroomed up, clouding the water to almost black. Small fish swam by, amorphous little blips. I saw dark shapes and shadows, but bubbles and dust confounded my view.

In two minutes, Ms. Fox tugged on my arm. She pointed skyward, and I followed her back to the surface by the white pole.

“You were right on top of the shark!” she said, spitting out her regulator to talk. “I had to almost pull you off of him.”

Unknowingly, I’d hovered a few inches over a shark’s back while scanning the bottom and following an angelfish. The shark was resting in the rocks, its blood sluggish in the 68-degree water.

Back in the depths, swimming gingerly to keep the dust storm down, I followed my guide to find our cartilaginous friend. Ms. Fox again tugged at my arm, signaling toward an underwater ledge.

I reached out to the black shape and touched a surface squishy and rough, like sandpaper waterlogged and coated in goo. I evened my breathing, the bubbles slowing down, and a spike appeared in focus, a triangle fin contrasting with the brown water. It was the dorsal fin of a nurse shark. The creature was dead still, seemingly asleep — a nine-foot-long fish fading away in algae and sediment, its head unseen.

Visibility is the Achilles’ heel at Seabase. Desert storms, wind, blooming algae and thousands of stirring fish make a mix that some days resembles pea soup. On my dive, visibility was about four and a half feet; the best days, according to Ms. Nelson, let sunlight cut 20 feet through the water.

I gave the shark a final touch and stroked away, kicking carefully.

I was carrying a stalk of romaine that Ms. Fox had given me to feed the fish. For the few minutes that I tried, nothing bit. The leafy head was deteriorating as I swam, and before we left the water, I dropped the lettuce into the depths.

“What do you think of this place?” Ms. Fox asked, smiling, as I stood dripping on concrete. The water stirred below me, a school of minnows pecking bits. I looked up and told Ms. Fox it was unlike any place I’d ever been before.

Outside, a group of Seabase regulars were grilling hot dogs. There was music and laughter as old friends talked scuba diving. Charcoal smoke seeped up to where I was standing, a smell of ash mixing with musty aquarium air.

A bit farther away, bubbles swirled in a pool, water upset with lines and ripples. The fish were stirring in their desert home. The sharks were quiet, still sleeping in the deep.

IF YOU GO

Bonneville Seabase (Highway 138, Grantsville, Utah; 435-884-3874; www.seabase.net) is about 45 minutes west of Salt Lake City. It is open Thursday through Sunday, and charges $15 a day to dive or snorkel.

Three warm spring-fed pools, from 13 to 62 feet deep, are open to divers and stocked with thousands of fish, including two nurse sharks. Equipment rentals, scuba lessons and certification are available. Children are allowed with adult supervision; the minimum age for scuba diving is 8.

Seabase has showers, changing rooms, a snack bar, indoor tables for dining and camper trailers ($18 a night for two).

At the same site, Bonneville Skybase (801-557-5657; www.bonnevilleskybase.com) offers powered-parachute flights starting at $75 for 20 minutes. A pilot and a passenger fly up to 1,000 feet for views of the dive ponds and the Great Salt Lake.

Just One of those Days

I don't even know why I am posting this, maybe just because I need to vent. Who cares. It was just one those days today where everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, got on my nerves. I am completely swamped at work. There are a lot of new programs rolling out next year and contracts are coming in like crazy. Because I am not yet savvy on most of the changes, I am screwing up contracts left and right. Grrrrrrrrrr ... On top of that, I have until the first week of January to study for my broker license and I caught yet, another virus. This is the second time in 3 months that I have had this bug and it knocks me on my butt.

I really think my body is having a hard time adjusting to the warm, cold, warm, cold weather of California. Either that, or my immune system is taking a kick because of stress. On the flip side, Seif and I received some really good news lately (no, I am not pregnant), so I have something to look forward to. Ha ha ... I know you are all dying to hear my news, but for now I get to keep quiet. Trust me, when it is a FOR SURE thing I will announce it to all. I just don't want to jinx myself if you catch my drift.

So yea, I have vented and I do feel a little bit better now. Usually when I do this, I will leave the post up for maybe a day and then delete it in an attempt to be positive. We'll see how long this one stays up. In the meantime, I am going to go listen to some Christmas music and sip some "Sleepytime" tea.

A Great Weekend Indeed!

Over Thanksgiving break, I met up with one of my dearest friends, Mardele and her family. We went to Disneyland. It was my first time being at Disneyland during the holidays and I have to say, IT WAS AMAZING! If anyone ever gets a chance to go during Christmas time, please take it. The decorations are amazing, the atmosphere is cheerful, and the whole park is beautiful. They also change up a couple of rides (the Haunted Mansion is The Nightmare Before Christmas and Small World is all Christmas carols). At night, fake snow falls on Main Street after the fireworks. The holiday parade was awesome. I loved it.

It really seemed like that was our day. We were the winners of the Disney Dream Pass and got a badge that fast passed us on all of the best rides. On top of that, somehow we always ended up in the front row. I posted a few of my favorite pics. The only thing missing was Seif, and I am determined to get him there before Christmas comes.

I said I wouldn't be caught dead in mouse ears, but the pirate ones were too cute to resist.

Mardele, me, and Carrie.

Happy Holidays!

Winter in Cali

I'm starting to love the winter here actually. At first I was wondering if I would ever get used to not having snow and freezing weather, but it has cooled down here enough to be comfortable, and it is nice to be able to enjoy the things we like to do without too much heat or freezing cold.

Today we went to the beach and saw some seals. It was a pretty cool experience. I've attached some pics. Enjoy!

La Jolla, CA

Awww ... I love him.Did I mention that I love this guy?

Bro in law, Firas.

This little guy finds the ocean as relaxing as we do!

It's time for Christmas!

It's that time again! I love, love, love this time of year. I actually braved it and went "Black Friday" shopping with some friends. It turned out to be a lot of fun and I got most of my Christmas shopping done. I am so excited to give Seif his presents. I did something different this year and can't wait to see his reaction. I love spending the holidays with him and his family because they never celebrated Christmas before me. This year, instead of Temple Square in Utah, we get to see the lights at the Temple here in San Diego ... decorated palm trees! I can't wait!

I also can't wait to go home and see my family. It has been almost a year and I just want to give my mom, dad, and grandparents huge hugs and spend time with them. My grandpa is all excited and told me to tell Seif that we are going to have a late night pow wow, sitting up and chatting about the good ol' days. Ha ha ... I love my grandpa. I'm also excited to see snow again! Although, I'm sure after my two weeks in Utah are up, I'll be ready to get back to the sunshine of Cali.

The spirit of Christmas is just beautiful, no matter what religion you are. It's a time to be close, grateful, and to give to others. The spirit of the Lord is there and it is felt worldwide. I just love it. So ... Happy Holidays to you all! I hope this year is as special for you as it will be for me.

Thanksgiving

So Thanksgiving this year was different. It was the first one I have spent away from home. It turned out to be pretty nice. We had some friends over, ate, watched movies, and talked. I'm glad that they turned out to be in the same boat we are, transplants who have to choose between going home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It really made for a good night.

Ha ha ... Jenae and Kelli look all tan while poor Carolyn and I are completely washed out. Cest la vie ... I guess we can't always be on the good side of the flash.

I thought I would write a list of some of the things I am thankful for. I've found that doing this as I go through life is a pretty good thing, even when it's not Thanksgiving. It helps me to forget about the things that may be bothering me and to realize that life truly is a gift.

* I am thankful for my family who loves me unconditionally.
* I am thankful for my husband who never fails to make me laugh.
* I am thankful for my many friends who stand by my side and inspire me to be the best I can be.
* I am thankful for pets. Need I say more?
* I am thankful for nature. I love nature.
* I am thankful for the roof over my head and the food on my table.
* I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given in life.
* Most of all, I am thankful to God for blessing me in this life. This list of mine could go on and on, but without faith and without his love, I would have nothing.

Attacks in Mumbai

Well, here it is Thanksgiving and my heart is breaking to know of what is currently happening over in Mumbai (Bombay) India. Let us pray for all who are in the midst of the violence that is taking place. It seems that the death toll just keeps rising.

I can't and I won't ever understand terrorism. I often wonder if some people ever truly stop and think about what they are doing. Terrorism will never put an end to what you feel is wrong, it will only cause people to fear and hate you more. It's a never ending cycle that only continues to hurt innocent people; the innocent victims that are hurt or killed and those who love them, the stereotypes that are placed on the innocent Muslim people who do not support terrorism ... it just keeps breeding hate and violence and it is the saddest thing I can think of.

I just read this article by Deepak Chopra, you may have heard of him, he is an author. I found what he had to say very interesting. Here it is, I bolded the parts that I really agree with:

CNN) -- The Indian city of Mumbai exploded into chaos early Thursday morning as gunmen launched a series of attacks across the country's commercial capital, killing scores of people and taking hostages in two luxury hotels frequented by Westerners.

Larry King: Let's go to Dr. Deepak Chopra, the physician, philosopher. His new book is "Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment."

Where were you born in India, Deepak?
Deepak Chopra: I was born in Delhi, but I have been in these hotels many, many times. I have stayed there, so I know the scene; I know the restaurants. I have been trying to get in touch with my friends and relatives, some of whom I have spoken to, some of whom I can't speak to. The lines are jammed. We're texting each other.
A friend of mine from Egypt was in the restaurant at the Taj hotel when the firing started, and somehow she managed to avoid the fray, hid in a basement and is now holed up in a room which is right next to the Taj hotel and is waiting to be told what to do.
The situation is complex, Larry, because it could inflame to proportions that we cannot even imagine. It has to be contained. We now recognize that this is a global problem, with only a global effort can solve this.
And you know, one of the things that I think is happening is that these militant terrorist groups are actually terrified that [President-elect Barack] Obama's gestures to the rest of the Muslim world may actually overturn the tables on them by alienating them from the rest of the Muslim world, so they're reacting to this.
You know, this is Obama's opportunity to actually harness the help of the Muslims.

You know, there's 1.8 billion Muslims in the world. That's 25 percent of the population of the world. It's the fastest-growing religion in the world. We cannot, if we do not appease and actually recruit the help of this Muslim world, we're going to have a problem on our hands.

And we cannot go after the wrong people, as we did after 9/11, because then the whole collateral damage that occurs actually aggravates the situation.

In India, this is particularly inflammatory, because there's a rise of Hindu fundamentalism. We saw what that did in Gujarat, where, you know, Muslims were scorched and they were killed, and there was almost a genocide of the Muslims.
India has 150 million Muslims. That's more Muslims in India than in Pakistan. So this is an opportunity right now for India and Pakistan to recognize this is their common problem. It's not a Muslim problem right now; it's a global problem.
...
King: Do you think that this is just the beginning, that there's a potential impact, or more?
Chopra: There is a potential impact of a lot more carnage. But it can be contained. And right now, one of the questions, you know, after I heard Barbara Starr talking about how coordinated this is, that there are militant groups that cross international boundaries, is who is financing this? Where is the money coming from? We have to ask very serious, honest questions. What role do we have in this? Are our petrodollars funding both sides of this war on terrorism? Why are we not asking the Saudis where that money is going that we give them? Is it going through this supply chain to Pakistan?
It's not enough for Pakistan to condemn it. Pakistan should cooperate with India in uprooting this. They should be part of the surgery that is going to happen.
It's not enough for Indians to blame Pakistanis. Indians should actually ask the Pakistanis to help them.
And it's not enough for us to worry about Westerners being killed and Americans being killed. Every life is precious over there. We have got to get rid of this idea that this is an American problem or a Western problem. It's a global problem, and we need a global solution, and we need the help of all the Muslims, 25 percent of the world's population, to help us uproot this problem.
King: What does India immediately do?
Chopra: India at this moment has to contain any reactive violence from the fundamentalist Hindus, which is very likely and possible. So India has to condemn that by not blaming local Muslims. They have to identify the exact groups.

And the world has to be very careful that they don't go after the wrong people. Because if you go after the wrong people, you convert moderates into extremists. It happens every time, and retribution against innocent people just because they have the same religion actually aggravates and perpetuates the problem.

King: Are you pessimistic?
Chopra: I think Mr. Obama has a real opportunity here, but a challenging opportunity, a creative opportunity.
Get rid of the phrase "war on terrorism." Ask for a creative solution in which we all participate.
King: Is it because the war on terrorism really can never be won because the terrorists (inaudible)?
Chopra: Because it's an oxymoron. It's an oxymoron, Larry, a war on war, a war on terrorism.
You know, terrorists call mechanized death from 35,000 feet above sea level with a press of a button also terror. We don't call it that, because our soldiers are wearing uniforms. They don't see what is happening, and innocent people are being killed. So, you know, terror is a term that you apply to the other.

King: Thanks, Deepak Chopra, as always, extraordinarily enlightening.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

I actually meant to write this yesterday, but it was a long day at work and I came home completely wiped out. I just wanted to wish my grandpa a happy birthday and tell him just how much he means to me. So ... here is grandpa! Enjoy!

Happy Birthday to one of the most important men in my life. You have taught me so many things and I would not trade you for the world. If there is one thing that I can say I was blessed with, it would be a great family. I love you so much and I miss you immensely.

Grandpa, you have been there for me through the tough times in my life. Your house was where I ran to when I was a kid and sick at school and your house is where I run to now when I just need to get away. You have encouraged me to be the best I can be, you support me in my decisions, and you love me unconditionally.

I love your kookiness and your laughter. It's hard to be in a bad mood around you and Bev, you are both a form of sunlight on a dark day. I love when we stay up at night, sipping wine and talking about the "good old days." One of my favorite stories is the one where your brother fell out of the truck and you thought you ran him over when you couldn't find him. HILARIOUS! I swear, you really should write a novel. I also like the one where you let all of the birds loose in that old man's house. Classic.

I treasure all of our fun times, fishing, staying up late talking, camping, I even remember our trip to Wyoming when I was a kid. I also treasure the paintings you have made me, they will be with me forever, but most of all ... I treasure you. You have touched Seif's heart the same way you have touched mine. He loves you like his own grandpa and this post is as much from him as it is me. Thank you so much for loving us the way you do. Thank you so much for being you. We love you with all of our hearts and can't wait until Christmas! Happy Birthday fellow Democrat! At least there are a few of us in the family!

California Sunset

I took this picture on my walk home from work. BEAUTIFUL.

Is it possible to get tired of sunshine?

So, it's my first winter in San Diego. I'm originally from Utah. Right now it is cold, rainy, and in some parts, snowy there. Last Monday, it was 100 degrees here!

I don't know what it is, but I am craving a good thunderstorm and dying to wear a sweater and a scarf. Dang it! I love winter clothes. I find it kind of funny that all of the stores here are selling sweaters. I was tricked in to believing that it actually cools down here. I mean, do they actually make money off of those things? I would think that they would be selling bathing suits all year round, but no... the stores transition by seasons here, just as they do in states that actually HAVE seasons. Finding bathing suits in stores here is virtually impossible right now! What the heck is up with that? It's 75 and sunny all year long and you can find sweaters, even boots and no bathing suits? All I can say is WOW. I guess Californians would be some of the few who would actually benefit from one of these:

Temperature Sweater will tell you when it's too hot to wear a sweater

Seriously, is this for real?

Random

Why is it that before I actually signed up for a blog, I had things to write about left and right. Now that I have one, nothing at all comes to mind. Bah!

I cut my hair!

I got sick of my long hair and chopped it all off. What do you think?

A perfect ending to a perfect day.

A Great Start to the Day

So, my husband has this thing about getting up early. He never sleeps in and says it's a waste of the day. On the other hand, I live for the weekends specifically, so I can sleep in. This is one of the quirks we had to get used to once we were married. However, it doesn't make it any less annoying.

Today started out like any other day. Seif woke up at 6:00 am, rolled over, started cuddling me and woke me up. I asked him to let me sleep. He got up and went in the kitchen, made as much noise as possible and I TRIED to go back to sleep. I think he came in and out of my room about 5 times this morning turning the light on every time. After about I'd say, an hour he disappeared. Next thing I knew, he walked in with a bunch of orange flowers and a Starbucks gift card (I love orange flowers). I was about ready to yell at him until I saw what was in his hands. How could I get angry after that?

Happy Halloween!

I love this holiday. I love watching the little kids in their costumes going door to door trying to outdo each other on the amount of candy they receive. I love the little ones that announce who they are the minute you answer the door, "Hi! I'm Snow White!" I can't wait to be a mom just so I can dress my little one up and take him or her out trick or treating.

Some of my fondest memories as a kid are on Halloween. On this crisp, cold, Utah night my grandma would always prepare us grandkids our own little bag of treats especially from her. They were always in these little white paper bags with black ghosts on them. She always had her house decorated and lived to see us kids. My grandpa could always be found sitting in his recliner pretending he wasn't interested, but the joy in seeing us was written all over his face, no matter how engrossed in his westerns he wanted us to think he was. He always came across as such an ornery old man, but he was one of the sweetest people I have ever known and he loved me. His birthday is today. Happy Birthday grandpa, I love and miss you. I wish you were here to celebrate, or to watch a western, whichever you prefer.

As I sit here writing this, I am being flooded with memories. I love when I start typing and the words just start to flow. Forgive me if I ramble, some of things I am writing are things that I never want to forget, like walking through my grandma's neighborhood, visiting all of her friends who knew my mom when she was young. After that, we would go to my great aunt Dorothy's and she would always have homemade suckers for us. My favorites were cinnamon and root beer. Those suckers were delicious! Every year trick or treating was like a family reunion, so full of love and good times. Sometimes small towns can bring you down, but in other ways, they bring things in to your life that those in the city could never imagine. Everything is a big deal in small towns, holidays always have parades, carnivals, etc., and everyone knows everyone. It's intimate and fun.

I remember one year my mom dressed me up as a present. She got a big box, wrapped it, cut holes in it for my arms, painted my face to match the wrapping paper, and put tons of bows in my hair. That costume was so cute, but the bruises I had on the backs of my legs after walking up and down stairs all night will never be forgotten! That box would hit the back of my legs nearly stopping me on the stairs, but I got so many compliments on that costume and my mom was so proud, what was I supposed to do? I wish I could post a picture here. I really need to move with the times and get a scanner. Old school pictures are the best!

Anyway ... I'm going to end this ramble. I hope you all are having a great Halloween. I envy those of you who have little ones. Maybe one day I will have some of my own. Until then, I will spoil yours!

I also want to make a shout out to my great grandma Alloween. That's right, her name is Alloween. I bet you can't guess why. Yup, she was also born today and was a wonderful, wonderful lady. She always told my mom that if she named any of her kids after her, she would come back to haunt us. It's all right grandma, mom has kept her word. We love and miss you. Happy Birthday to you too! xoxoxoxox

I'm a small town girl that doesn't fit in with the big city ...

Lucky me, my husband works rotational right now and has just transferred to another town until January. We have been car pooling all this time and it has been nice not having to worry about parking. I work in downtown San Diego, and it is hardly available and EXPENSIVE! Today I took public transportation for the first and LAST time. It was scary!!!!

First of all, when a man stands up screaming profanities at his wife and she is screaming back at him just as bad, you're in a pretty awkward situation. Then, when the guy raises a fist to hit her and she jumps up ready to fight him, it puts you in an even more awkward situation. I was sitting there with my pepper spray up my sleeve (thank god it was chilly here for once), ready to spray if things got out of hand. The sad thing is, I don't know who was worse, the woman or the man! Yes, folks this really happened.

I'm not a scared little girl by any means. Hell, I traveled to the Middle East 4 hours away from the war, but when a person sits across from me sipping vodka, obviously drunk out of his mind, with scratches all over his arm, and will not stop talking to me, I tend to get a little freaked out. At the same time, the compassion in me kicks in to play and I feel sad for what this person's life may have been like as a kid and what it is now. Damn, sometimes I hate that side of me.

Anyway, I've decided no more public transportation for me. After reading about that poor kid that was beheaded on a Greyhound bus, I've decided to car pool with my boss. That's scary in itself, but I don't think she has it in her to kill me. At least I hope not.;) Ciao!

Peace in all languages

Full link with all languages: http://www.columbia.edu/~fdc/pace/

English:

Say Peace in all languages! The people of the world prefer peace to war and they deserve to have it. Bombs are not needed to solve international problems when they can be solved just as well with respect and communication. The Internet Internationalization (I18N) community, which values diversity and human life everywhere, offers "Peace" in many languages as a small step in this direction.

Arabic:

أنطقوا سلام بكل اللغات! كل شععوب العالم تفصل السلام علي الحرب وكلها تستحق أن تنعم بع. إن القنابل لا تحل مشاكل العالم ويتم تحقيق ذلك فقط بالاحترام والتواصل. مجموعة تدويل الإنترنت (I18N) ، والتي تأخذ بعين التقدير الاختلافات الثقافية والعادات الحياتية بين الشعوب، فإنها تقدم "السلام" بلغات كثيرة، كخطوة متواضعة في هذا الاتجاه.

Hebrew:

אמרו "שלום" בכל השפות! אנשי העולם מעדיפים את השלום על-פני המלחמה והם ראויים לו. אין צורך בפצצות כדי לפתור בעיות בין-לאומיות, רק בכבוד ובהידברות. קהילת בינאום האינטרנט (I18N), אשר מוקירה רב-גוניות וחיי אדם בכל מקום, מושיטה יד ל"שלום" בשפות רבות כצעד קטן בכיוון זה.

The Awakening - BRILLIANT!

I love this poem. I have posted it several times on myspace. It seems that whenever life kicks me in the butt, this poem can bring me back to reality. I hope everyone here enjoys it as much as I do!

The Awakening - Sonny Carroll

There comes a time in your life when you finally get it... When in the midst of all your fears and insanity you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out- ENOUGH! Enough fighting and crying or struggling to hold on. And, like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum, your sobs begin to subside, you shudder once or twice, you blink back your tears and through a mantle of wet lashes you begin to look at the world from a new prospective. This is your awakening.

You realize that it is time to stop hoping and waiting for something, or someone, to change... or for happiness, safety and security to come galloping over the next horizon. You come to terms with the fact that there aren't always fairytale endings (or beginnings for that matter) and that any guarantee of "happily ever after" must begin with you. So, you begin making your way through the "reality of today" rather than holding out for the "promise of tomorrow." You realize that much of who you are, and the way you navigate through life is, in great part, a result of all the social conditioning you've received over the course of a lifetime. And you begin to sift through all the nonsense you were taught about:

• how you should look and how much you should weigh
• what you should wear and where you should shop
• where you should live or what type of car your should drive
• who you should sleep with and how you should behave
• who you should marry and why you should stay

Slowly you begin to open up to new worlds and different points of view. And you begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really believe in. And you begin to discard the doctrines you have outgrown, or should never have practiced to begin with.

You accept the fact that you are not perfect and that not everyone will love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are... and that's OK... they are entitled to their own views and opinions. And, you come to terms with the fact that you will never be a size 5 or a "perfect 10".... Or a perfect human being for that matter... and you stop trying to compete with the perfect image inside your head or agonizing over how you "stack up." And, you make peace with the woman in the mirror and you learn to give her the same unconditional love and support you give so freely to others.

And, you stop maneuvering through life merely as a "consumer" hungry for your next fix ....a new dress, another pair of shoes... or looks of approval and admiration from family, friends or even strangers who pass by. And you discover that ... "it is truly in giving that we receive "... and that the joy and abundance you seek grows out of the giving. And you recognize the importance of "creating" & "contributing" rather than "obtaining" & "accumulating."

And you begin to love and to honor yourself. And you stop engaging in self-destructive behavior including participating in dysfunctional relationships. And you begin eating a balanced diet, drinking more water and taking more time to rest and exercise.

Then you learn about love and relationships...how to love, how much to give in love, when to stop giving ...and when to walk away. And you allow only the hands of a lover who truly loves and respects you to glorify you with his touch. You learn that people don't always say what they mean or mean what they say, intentionally or unintentionally and that not everyone will always come through..., and interestingly enough, it's not always about you. So, you stop lashing out and pointing fingers or looking to place blame for the things that were done to you...or weren't done for you. And you learn to acknowledge and redirect the feelings of anger, jealousy and resentment you sometimes feel...least they suffocate your spirit and steal your soul.

You learn how to say I was wrong and to forgive people for their own human frailties and to build bridges instead of walls...and you learn about the healing power of love as it is expressed through a kind word, a warm smile or a friendly gesture... At the same time, you eliminate ANY relationships that are hurtful or fail to uplift and edify you. And you stop working so hard at smoothing things over and setting your needs aside. You learn that feelings of entitlement are perfectly OK and that it is your right to want or expect certain things. And you learn the importance of communicating your needs. You learn that the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry and that eventually martyrs are burned at the stake. Then you learn to distinguish between guilt, and responsibility and the importance of setting boundaries and learning to Say NO. You learn that you don't know all the answers, it's not your job to save the world and that sometimes you just need to Let Go.

And, you learn to look at people as they really are and not as you would have them be and you are careful not to project your neediness or insecurities onto a relationship. You learn that you will not be, more beautiful, more intelligent, more lovable or important because of the man on your arm or the child that bears your name. You learn that just as people grow and change so it is with love and relationships.... and that not everyone can always love you the way you would want them to or live life just to suit your needs, ease your insecurities or meet "your" standards and expectations. And, you learn the difference between wanting and needing and you stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes. And, you learn that "alone" does not mean "lonely" and you begin to discover the joy of spending time "with yourself" and "on yourself."

You avoid Toxic people and conversations. And you stop wasting time and energy rehashing your situation with family and friends because you've learned that talking about things doesn't change them. You learn that wishing for something is different from working to make it happen. And you begin to invest your time and energy to affect positive change. You take a personal inventory of the areas you need to improve in order to move ahead, you set your goals and map out a plan of action to see things through.

You learn that life isn't always fair and you don't always get what you think you deserve. You stop personalizing every loss or disappointment. You learn to accept that sometimes bad things happen to good people and that these things are not an act of God... but merely a random act of fate.

And you stop looking for guarantees because you've learned that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected ...and that whatever happens, you'll learn to handle it. And you learn that the only thing you must truly fear is the great robber baron of all time FEAR itself. So you learn to step right into and through your fears because to give into fear is to give away the right to live life on your terms. You learn that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophesy and you learn to go after what you want and not to squander your life living under a cloud of indecision or feelings of impending doom.

Then, YOU LEARN ABOUT MONEY... the personal power and independence it brings and the options it creates. And you recognize the necessity to create your own personal wealth. Slowly, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself and you make yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never ever settle for less than your heart's desire. And you live with honor and integrity... because you know that these principles are not the outdated ideals of a by-gone era but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build your life. And you make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting and to stay open to every wonderful opportunity and exciting possibility. Then you hang a wind chime outside your window to remind yourself what beauty there is in Simplicity.

Finally, with courage in your heart and with God by your side you take a stand, you FAKE a deep breath and you begin to design the life you want to live as best as you can.

A word about the Power of Prayer: In some of my darkest, most painful and frightening hours, I have prayed not for the answers to my prayers or for material things but for my "God" to help me find the strength,, confidence and courage to persevere; to face each day and to do what I must do.

Remember this: "You are an expression of the almighty. The spirit of God resides within you and moves through you. Open your heart, speak to that spirit and it will heal and empower you."

My "God" has never failed me.

I'm just a beginner

So ... all of my friends seem to be leaving me by myself in the good ol' world of myspace and moving here. I have never had a blog before, but I write on mine all of the time through myspace. I thought I would try this thing out and well, eventually sever the ties with myspace myself. Sniff, sniff ....

It turns out that I'm a lot more computer illiterate than I thought. I cannot figure out how to make this thing pretty, make a banner, get the kind of layout I want, etc. Because I am the kind of person that likes to get things done on the first try, this is frustrating me. I guess I need additional programs on my computer to make banners and those fun things. Sigh. But ... I am here! I'll do the best I can with what I have and go from there. So ... here's to the beginning of learning something new! Until next time, Ciao!