and so it begins......

I'm back in Seattle.....visiting my favorite coffee shop...enjoying my favorite Chamomile tea........under dark grey skies. And so it begins........ winter! From now until oh I don't know June.....it will be grey, rainy and cloudy. It is such a double edged sword when I go home to AZ to visit.......I get to soak up the sun and on this trip the 72 degree weather ( yes pure heaven) but I have to come back and take in the adjustment of the Seattle winter weather. It always takes me a couple of days......... to get use to it but I always do.

This year traveling for the holidays took on a new meaning as Seattle got blasted with 10 inches of snow and brought the city to a complete stop. What it meant for me was spending my first Christmas away from home. It was really hard and lots of tears were shed.......but my wonderful friend Joanne rescued me and I was blessed to spend Christmas with her and her husband and their family. It was really wonderful of them to allow me to share such a special day with them. I did finally make it to AZ but not until the 26th. We had Christmas on the 27th ( thank you family for waiting for me!). Here are a few pics.....none of the girls....sister's rule no kid photo's on the blog!

My dad and Dalene

Ryan and Jennie

Ryan got Zoey and Charlyse a tattoo kit for xmas...... Charlyse was so excited she got right to work on applying them all over her body. She found this tattoo that matched her "Uncle Ryan's" she came up and whispered in my ear....."Can you take a picture of our matching tattoo's".......oh it was just too cute!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Holiday Season...........I am looking forward to a wonderful 2009!

Cabin Fever!

It is day 3 of no school........and I think cabin fever is beginning to set in. I have cleaned all the dishes, washed all the laundry, cleaned the bathroom, baked banana bread, have been reading Breaking Dawn ( almost finished), walked down to the market and local coffee shop 2 times.....oh yes all the while striking up conversation with complete strangers as we all try to get down the hill without falling. It really is funny how something like an icy hill and the lack of human contact can make you feel compelled to become friends with someone you don't even know. I have made several friends the past couple of days.....not only the fellow friends trying to get down the hill.....but my friends at the coffee shop,the market and oh yes my neighbor Tara. Thank god she came by last night and asked me to go with her to run some errands....all on foot of course. We even stopped into a local bar and had a drink. I actually have some shows to watch on Netflix....I have been saving them....who knows how long this will last. I did think about getting on the bus to go downtown today but the news was reporting that if you didn't have to leave the house you shouldn't....even buses were not doing well with the ice. So hopefully I will be able to take the bus tomorrow.

As I was leaving to head to the coffee shop today I watched a Jeep Cherokee go down my street and lose control.....OMG.......the damage it did not only to the car but the sign and tree it hit while it was spinning down the hill. At that moment it was confirmed I am not going anywhere in my car! As my good friend Velvet Brick knows.....I have a difficult time navigating up hills in the middle of summer....the passenger side of my car is proof of that! So it will stay safe in my garage where it has been since Tuesday. So I will embrace the season of winter and the hunkering down that comes with the snow and cold.........tis the season of rest. So i will make tea, wrap myself in a warm blanket and just be.

Let it Snow...Let it Snow.....Let it Snow

Saturday night Seattle received it's first snowfall of the season......... it was beautiful. Huge snowflakes came down it was such a sight. I always love it when it snows in Seattle....not only is it pretty but it doesn't stick around long! Hey a girl has got to be honest! I love the snow but on a superficial level......I am not good with digging out cars, shoveling sidewalks or deicing cars. So Seattle is perfect because not only does it not snow that much......we are not really a snow city ...so everything shuts down for the day! How did I get so lucky??

Unfortunately, we have school today....I was hoping for a snow day, who knows we still might get one this week. It is cold, cold, cold outside..... but the sun is shinning, making it seem so bright outside. Snow and sun mixture.....it is incredible....and to be quite honest incredible to be seeing the sun this time of year. I feel like I live somewhere else today!

If we get more snow.....I will post more pictures......... Have a Happy Monday!

Angels in the Dust.......

I watched this amazing documentary this weekend....... it is about this women Marion Cloete who has dedicated her life to helping children with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Currently she educates and shelters over 550 orphaned children.


It is said that by the year 2010...... 100 million people in Africa will have HIV/AIDS.......26 million children will be orphaned because of it.

Africa alone has 6 million adults and children are infected but the government has turned a blind eye to it.






If you get a chance....... you should watch this movie....it is truly amazing to see the devastation happening to children in Africa.

Thanksgiving Weekend!

I love Fall and I love the Holidays........even more I love living in a place where it is not 85 degrees during the Holidays. But......... it is this time of year where I really start to miss my family and miss having such a strong support group made up of friends that I have had for several years. So I was thrilled to hear that my friend Susan was going to come up and visit for the Thanksgiving weekend......and boy am I glad she did. At the very last minute all of my plans had fallen apart and I had come to realize that for the first time in my LIFE I was going to be eating my Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant! To make it even worse........I was going to Chandlers Crab house........YES you are reading that right....... a crab house for a turkey meal.

I picked Susan up from the airport on Wednesday. We woke up Thursday morning made breakfast, took a 6 mile walk and got ready to head out for dinner.

To my surprise.........it was WONDERFUL! Of course that is in part to the fabulous company...... but the dinner was delicious. We got to have a window table, looking out to Lake Union and all the very gorgeous boats. The dinner was 4 courses....I chose to have prime rib instead of turkey...... I know....I know.........truth be told I am not a huge fan of turkey.

After the 4 courses, along with a couple of yummy beverages......Susan and I had to practically be rolled out. We were stuffed.....and we had a nice box of leftovers to take with us. So the pros to eating out.... 1. don't have to cook 2. don't have to clean 3. still get to go home with leftovers! I just might be a convert to restaurant eating for Turkey day dinner!

Here are pictures of some highlights of the rest of our weekend. We did a ton of stuff.......and our weekend theme was: "Living the Life".........more on that in another post!

At Pike's Place Market

A band playing in front of the Original Starbucks

A couple getting a carriage ride downtown

The carousel....this is also downtown

Susan and I downtown right before the tree lighting ceremony

So this group was downtown on the street corners with their signs and passing out fliers. I had to laugh! I believe they were poking fun at Black Friday.......love this place!

and then the other protesters....... the religious freaks! Yes they are usually out every weekend in downtown Seattle......but were in larger quantities on Black Friday and with mega phones...... I love the sign...."Fear God"........that's America for you.....

The downtown Christmas tree and Macy's star......this is an annual holiday tradition here in Seattle..........you can see all the people .......

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday weekend as well!

Random thoughts .........

It is the week of Thanksgiving.......this means only a 3 day work week and I have to say I am so excited about that! Work has been crazy busy and of course with the end of November comes the start of cold and flu season........so I feel as though my body is beginning the battle....... I hope it wins.

I had an amazing weekend filled with an abundance of friend time.....which is always much needed this time of year when the feeling of missing loved ones back home starts to seep into my system.

Yesterday was the perfect day. It started with Meg and I meeting for breakfast.....my absolute all time favorite meal of the day. We went to this place called Portage Bay Cafe........oh my goodness........it is filled with yummy, organic, local food. It is like dying and going to heaven.......or what I would imagine it would be like! After breakfast I met up with Hope and we went for a walk around Greenlake. These are some pics from the lake........one of my favorite spots. It was one of those most perfect Fall days.......cool and crisp ( only 49 degrees) and sunny.........not hazing sunny which we get here in the NW quite a bit.......but clear, blue skies sunny. Get out your scarf and wool hat kind of days. One of the gifts about living in the NW and what I just love is that unpredictable weather.......you just never know what you are going to get. Well let me correct that starting in November and lasting until June.....we get rain and lots of it.........but we also gets those great gorgeous days......the kind of days that we don't tell visitors about.........because......well we want everyone to believe it is always rainy here. But that is just not true. The wonderful thing about Seattle is that when you have one of these wonderful days.......everyone come out to play. I don't know if you can see it in this picture but there are alot of people walking at Greenlake.

It is so energizing to see everyone out.....either walking, biking, running and even kayaking. I love living in a place where the motto is......when it is nice outside....ditch all previous plans and head outdoors!

You have to of course......because you are not sure when the next "nice day" is going to come. Keeps you living and thinking in the moment. Even on days when all you want to do is lay on the couch.....you find the energy to get up and do something active outside.

Here is my self-portrait! I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend...............

Morning Reflection........

The Universe works in perfect order and therefore......right now your life is unfolding exactly as it is meant to be........

I have believed in this phrase/philosophy since I was 19. It is what drives my choices and decisions. This weekend a dear friend called to say this to me....to tell me that she believes she is right where she is suppose to be. It was so nice to hear her say that.......to actually feel the belief behind it. It brought a smile to my face Saturday morning........and also a gentle reminder for myself......as just like everyone else I have my moments of doubt........my moments of "am I ever going to find someone" or "why do I live so far away from my family".......and once in a while the thought...."I have no friends here in Seattle". I try to push these thoughts away.......because according to Eckart Tolle ......this is your ego talking.....your ego trying to hold you back with negative thoughts. I believe that. It is our inner voice that can be our biggest enemy at the end of the day. It can hold us back from what we want or believe.

I saw this phrase this morning in an e-mail another friend sent to me......and I just stopped.....took a big deep breathe and really absorbed those words.....that meaning.........and took a moment to realize that yes indeed.....I am exactly where I am meant to be........and you know what it feels good!