Ice Skating

Well I think we were inspired after our Winter Wonderland adventure and were craving more. So the Tues before Christmas, on Jay's day off, we went Ice Skating. I'm embarrassed to say that it was more like standing on ice for me. My shins just didn't like it, and boy was it freezing! Way colder then in Wrightwood, in the snow! The only way I got around the rink, was by Jay pulling me! Jay would say, "she's not joking!" But we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless . . . I think.


Notice I'm at the door-safe zone


Jay gettin his moves on

Ghost(?) Jay (I think this is an awesome picture!)

Winter Wonderland- Snow Day in SoCal

It was a failed attempt on Wed Dec 17 to visit my dear friends who recently moved to Wrightwood, due to white outs and road closures. Here's the picture Danni sent me outside her house that morning we decided not to go.


But, we tried again On Fri Dec 19. Jay & I kidnapped his parents and took them on a snow adventure. We made it to the beautiful snow covered desert and mountains. Yes, the snow level was at a record breaking low. The snow was powder up at the Versluys house 2.5 to 3 feet deep and the temperature a 38 degrees. I felt like I was waiting in line at Disneyland as we sat in a line of cars waiting to get into the town of Wrightwood or what I call Winter Wonderland. Poor Danni had to help us push the car in her driveway right when we got there because the tire were spinning. Then we made the short walk to town where we enjoyed lunch. After that, we returned to the Versluys house where we played in their front yard. We warmed up to some homemade brownies (best I've ever had!) and coffee before we said goodbyes to go back down the mountain. I'm sorry to admit I didn't take any pictures of me holding Danni & Eric's newest daughter Quincy. And Eric sorry you had to work, we missed seeing you! We loaded a few coolers with snow and met Jay's brother Jim, his wife, & kids back at Jay's folks where we had an awesome snowball fight! For those concerned ones, Wrightwood is 6,200 feet. I can't explain how I felt, other then just feeling "off." But, it was tolerable enough I could enjoy a few hours in the snow and I didn't get a headache like I usually do. I felt better (as usual) once I was back at sea level. Here's the best of the pictures, and following this post is a sideshow with many more. Enjoy!


I'm in Heaven

I need help getting up

My beautiful Snow Angel

Snow Friends Forever- Danni & I

Little Quincy
Snow Fight

Merry Christmas!
and Happy New Year!

May it SNOW blessings in 2009!!!

Snow Day

Sleigh Ride

While up at Blackhawk Plaza, Jay & I noticed an empty Santa's Sleigh barricaded amongst Christmas trees and decorations. But would that stop us from hitching a ride on Santa's Sleigh? I think not! So Jay & I made are way through the barricade and got some great preChristmas pictures.

Now kids, you might ask where Santa is since it is his sleigh? Well he's at the North Pole, in his workshop, gathering all of your presents and napping to prepare for his long journey tonight. So be on your best behavior so you can make his "nice list". I think Jay & I are on Santa's "naughty list" this year.






click on the arrow to play some music.

bringing in the season

I feel like in a wink it went from Thanksgiving to Christmas. So, I'm sorry that I haven't kept up with the blog like I hoped to in my last post. To start the holiday season, and to start it of right I might add, began with a Woman's Christmas Supper at my home church. Proceeding that was a wonderful gift by my best friend Richelle & her daughter Roxie, to go for dinner and then attend Sattleback Church's annual Christmas musical entitled A Classic Christmas hosted by the hilarious Michael Burger. The musical was based off the old classic Christmas tv specials that featured artists like Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, and Perry Como. This musical featured Saddleback's own talented singers, orchestra, dancers, and actors. The talent was spectacular! My favorite was how they matched the voices of then to the voices of now; particularly Louis Armstrong. A guy came out playing trumpet and then began to sing just like Louis, who has a very unique voice. And then I couldn't help but get chills as the large choir surrounded the audience and sang. I thought to myself that this must be like the Angels singing in Heaven.


Roxie is spoiled because she knows Aunt Erica will always give her coins to throw into the fountains. The following week my bible study had a Christmas Brunch to end our study through Ephesians as we'll take a break and resume after the New Year.

We've also celebrated at work with all of the employees and significant others attending a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater show. Because this required participation from each attendee it made for a hilarious fun time. Jay got a big debut when he was called upon to act out the entire murder scene. My shy husband definitely and surprisingly gave the audience what they wanted. Here is our office Christmas Newsletter Photo.

And in between some of our seasonal happening, we've had a wonderful visit from Jay's aunt & uncle. I have never met them, and well, they hadn't seen Jay since he was 12, so as you can imagine we had a lot of catching up and reacquainting to do. We have more Canadians flocking to California so we'll post picts of our reunions soon. My guess is they're avoiding the winter weather!

Tis the season

Opprotunities
So, many of you already know while others of you have been left in the dark (I apologize for that), but yes, I still can't find an msw job! However, God continues to provide and has blessed us with a few side jobs. Jay was asked to be the drummer at a few local churches, but accepted the offer for a paid drumming gig at a church where an acquaintance of ours is now the worship leader. The church requires a bit of a commute so, I go between our home church and this new one. Jay is REALLY enjoying playing again and so far has been able to make the arrangements with work. He still is required to work one Sunday a month, and luckily the church is ok with that, and ironically a friend of ours from our home church is his back up drummer! God has been amazing with this and I am so happy to see Jay happy; he sure missed drumming.

Tis tax season
I've also been blessed to be helping my dear friends in their tax and insurance businesses. Many of you know I have worked for Traxler & Associates and Traxler Financial Services (husband & wife team) off and on since I was a freshman in high school. They are always glad to welcome me back each tax season and find ease in that I already know the ropes! We're getting prepared for what is to be perhaps one of the busiest seasons ever.

God has been a provider for us and we not only are grateful, but feel blessed. Thanks to all those who have been praying!

Girls just always have fun

Girls about town.

Fall is here including the five deer behind us up at the top of the hill.

Blackhawk

No it's not based off the 2001 movie Blackhawk Down. As we departed our trip up North we decided to pay a visit to view our friend's sculptures that were on display in a nearby shopping center. Brian Keith (click on the name to view his website) who is my former high school pastor and a very talented artist, recently completed a series of very detailed bronze sculptures at Blackhawk Plaza. Here's a few of the pictures we took.




Notice above that we added a feature; grandpa (the statue) should be wearing reading glasses!

giving thanks and enjoying leftovers

My parents and Jay joined me up in No. Cal. for Thanksgiving this year to celebrate with my aunt and uncle and my grandparents. Our gourmet menu consisted of a roasted grape and shallot arugula salad (pg 68), garlic mashed potatoes, Greek stuffing, traditional herb stuffing, Kibbah with a yoguart dill sauce, roasted acorn squash, green beans, and homemade pumpkin pie.


The following day we joined some friends of my aunt and uncle for a leftover dinner party. We had such a blast and I enjoyed the creativity with our leftovers. I think we have a new tradition to add for years to come. We brought to the dinner party a few more gourmet dishes; turkey, sweet potato and watercress salad, turkey croquettes (made with leftover mashed potatoes, turkey, and bread crumbs), and a pumpkin cheesecake.


If you click on the menu items that are in bold, it will send you to the recipe. Here's a few Thanksgiving quotes to remind you of gratitude and what this special day means.

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action. ~W.J. Cameron

O' Deer

As I mentioned in the post below, we've had some fearless deer this year. On one occasion, my aunt went down past the barn to see what the dogs were barking endlessly at, only to find a deer caught in her fence! It was freed of course, but still! During our long walk my aunt and I enjoyed watching a mother deer and her two children buck and kick and fight; major sibling rivalry! Mother quickly scolded them with a few disciplinary buck kicks to her children to get them to behave. I could just picture her saying "will you two stop it" and when they don't "that's enough!" Maybe she would say like my grandma used to, to her children, "go outside and don't come in until someone starts bleeding." My aunt and I were quite close and just watched this family in awe for several minutes until they pranced away.

I found it... Fall that is

I've only had a shiver once since I've been up in No. Cal. I've been soaking up the cool brisk fresh air. Much different weather then what I left behind. Late at night or early morning I find myself drawn to the outdoors. I am especially fond of the mornings here. The air is cold and still and the animals are out; they are fearless. Birds scurry across the porch as if being chased, squirrels explore in the trees, blue jays hop about, hummingbirds quickly move from flower to flower, and the deer wander into our driveway! I've enjoyed watching the tree outside the kitchen window change color with each passing day. In the afternoons I like to watch the fog roll in over the hills and engulf us. Crossing the Bay Bridge and watching the fog creep it's way over the city was a highlight of the trip grandma and I took to get the live crab for the traditional welcoming penne arrabiata pasta with crab dinner. I love it up here. It's like everything becomes alive here. I come alive here. I love how the big San Fran city is just a 45 min drive and yet, here I am in what seems like the wilderness. And the little town here is quaint; antique buildings, small boutiques and shops, each with unique treasures. It's like my senses become aroused here.

A blue jay outside the kitchen window.

where did Fall go?

The first day of fall was nearly three months ago, and you'd think it might fare cooler, but, guess again. We've been stuck indoors because it's ridiculously hot outside. The last few days have been 95 degrees with dry Santa Ana winds. Not only that, but there is tons of smoke and ash from various local fires. It sure would be nice to have true Fall weather. Here's a quote that I found which seems most fitting; granted it's a little morbid, but I found it funny too.

"Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees." David Letterman

trick or treat

Our annual Halloween party hosted by Jay's parents was full of tricks and treats! With nearly 30 in attendance including family, friends, and neighbors, my inlaws house was the place to be in the neighborhood. I can't tell you how many times I saw trick or treaters waiting at the door to be served because WE, were too busy having fun! Yes, we did get to them, but only after we put down our treats! Here are some costume highlights.

Ginger the Witch

the Fairy Grandmother


Arrr Pirates

President Palin (2nd term; and yes I realize this isn't possible now) and our Mad Scientist

the Fairy Grandmother and the Wicked Witch

Speech Therapist, Teenage Vampire, and those swatch bucklin' pirates