Life

Holiday Cheer

Published on: by catballou24 3 Comments

Since we all could use a good pick-me-up every now and then, here are some photos to hopefully brighten your day. A longer post will be forthcoming, just not quite yet.

So enjoy!

Holiday Gnomes that we won from Wee Folk Art. They seem to like their new home, don’t you think?

Kids building a castle. These were last year’s Holiday gift to the girls from Grandma Martse and Papa Dennis. They love them!

Our holiday nature table.


One of the oaks just outside the dining room window.

Painting on a cool sunny day.

Color in the garden still, and a little visitor as well.






St. Nicholas left some treats for the girls on December 6th. They sure were excited.

Hope your day is bright!

Peace!

The Race, Part II

Published on: by catballou24 Comment

Just as I promised. More on the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot here in town. After Lola’s race we decided to walk around that part of town. It is down by the capital, just about the heart of downtown, and we never get out that way. So we had a little adventure of our own.

There is a path that runs down by the waterways under the streets of the city. I’m sure at one point they were just beautiful, but time and more people have made them less so. Although, I have heard that there is a plan to redo all these paths so they are more of an enjoyable riverwalk of sorts. But we had fun exploring anyway!


Some of the architecture along the waterway shows that it must have been a beautiful place to enjoy the water. This building was built in the 1800’s.


More bridges.

After our walk we went back to see more of the race. The 5 mile and 1 mile were both going on, so we found a spot a block up from the finish line and cheered them all on! Thousands of people were racing. And along with them were many characters. Including…

A fairy, or two:


The Incredibles:

Canines:

Crazy hats:


Turkeys and other costumes:

Dad’s and babies:

Hippies and babies:

Grandpa’s and babies:

And everyone in between:

I even saw 2 very, very pregnant women, but didn’t want to appear rude by taking their pictures. Same with the woman who I swear had to be close to 90! It was so much fun seeing everyone.

Great fun in Austin! Peace!

Good News, Bad News

Published on: by catballou24 3 Comments

Sorry I haven’t updated in a bit. It’s been crazy busy around now that I have the kids back that I take care of. They took the summer off but are back in full force. So with my own 2 girls, I have 5 kids running around. Adjusting has been busy to say the least. But it is good for the girls to have their friends back everyday, and we need the money right now too.

So good news, bad news time. Good news, I’m busy and working. Tomatoes are finally setting. Upside down tomatoes are doing great too. New cukes are on the vine and the animals are doing well. Bad news, Jason was laid off and there are just no jobs to be had right now. He’s finishing up a couple projects that will hopefully get us through the next couple months, but there is nothing on the horizon. He’s putting in his applications all over and we are definitely thinking outside the box at this point. It is so frightening to be honest. We are at the point where we are just focusing on our household bills and the rest are just going to have to wait. I can’t feel too sorry for ourselves however when I look around and see that we are not the only ones going through this. The firm he was working for is actually talking about disbanding, and most of the architects he’s applying to are answering with the same thing, “Like everyone else, we’ve had to put projects on hold and let people go. We are so sorry we cannot offer anything to you at this time.” When we see things like that, we know it’s bad. He’s applying to engineering firms, construction companies and even computer companies who might be able to capitalize on his networking skills. We know we’ll have to settle for less money, but at this point less is better than none. I just hope he can find something soon….

For everyone who are in this position, I empathize and all I can do is pray to the work gods that things turn around soon. Jason has been really good about keeping the stress levels low, and we’ve pretty much put a cap on what we are spending. Only the necessities and no extra driving at this point unless we need to.

I have to look at what we do have though, rather than what we are lacking. I have healthy children who are smart and the lights of my life. I have a healthy marriage and good friends and family who are here to offer so much emotional support. Alot of them are going through similar things, so we are leaning on each other. I do have to give a huge, and very public thank you to my dear dear friend Romy. Our air conditioning went out last week and we were doing our best with fans and all that. She showed up last Thursday with a brand new window unit that they weren’t using. Hadn’t even been open. It’s a little one, but it keeps the living room cool and between that and the fan in the kitchen/dining, the kids and I are not living in an oven. I can’t wait for summer to be over though..:) But it’s people like Romy who truly make this world more special and the selfless acts of kindness create a truly wonderful community. So thank you Romy and Roni, you are extraordinary friends and we very much appreciate your concern and support.

So there’s my good news, bad news post for now. I am praying to the gods that things get better soon for all of us going through this economic crisis of late. Hang in there and much peace to us all.

It’s So Hot!

Published on: by catballou24 2 Comments

Is it ever going to cool down? We are having record breaking heat here in our neck of the woods and it’s taking it’s toll on both our garden and energy bills. Today is finally a cool 95 degrees! It literally has been over 100 for days and days and days. The kids don’t even like the sprinkler because the water coming out is warm. I dream of Fall…it’s mid-August, so not much longer, right? right?!

Stay cool!

I Was Tagged!

Published on: by catballou24 3 Comments

My darling friend Michelle has tagged me! So here are 5 things about me that you didn’t know.

1. What I was doing 10 years ago?
Let’s see…10 years ago I was living in the forests of Humboldt County, California as a single mom. I worked in a record store – a real record store with real records and home-made bins to hold them in…hehe, and I had a music promotion business called Creep Productions. We’d book bands at local venues from all over the world really. Small band but were getting into bigger events before I finally gave up the business. It was so exciting, wonderful and stressful. And in order for it to really grow, we would have needed way more capital than a single mom could afford at the time. I was also waiting for my prince charming who arrived about a year later…;)

2. What 5 things are on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?
Take care of children.
Finish the price labels for the yard sale this weekend.
Feed the animals.
Water my tomatoes.
Continual cleaning up after children.

3. What snacks do I enjoy?
I like both salty and sweet, but am staying away from sweet lately. So right now, crunchy and salty are on the list. I am loving rice cakes with fake cream cheese right now actually. I use the Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese and it’s fabulous!

4. What would I do if I was a billionaire?
I would pay off my house, and then buy property in the Pacific Northwest and build a totally self sufficient home, complete with alpacas, chickens, goats and cows. I’d help out our parents with finances so they wouldn’t have to worry, as well as my siblings and sisters in law. I’d make sure to donate, as Michelle said she would, to politicians who I felt would really make a change in this country. I’d also donate to causes that help children, both in this country and overseas. I would set up trusts for my children for when they are adults and teach them about selfless money practices, but I’d also make them work the property and help them develop good work ethics as well. I’d buy a hydrogen fuel car for both Jason and myself and probably donate money toward alternative fuel research as well. I’d get out of debt…

5. Where have I lived?
I grew up all over Southern California, then lived in the Pacific Northwest (Humboldt County, California) where I attended Humboldt State University and also met Jason. We moved from there to Hawaii, living on both Oahu and The Big Island. We are currently living in Austin, Texas.

I’m returning the tag and giving it to Lelo, Nicole, Shell, Niki and Jill. Have fun kids!

So Sorry It’s Been Awhile

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We’ve had to weather a personal storm. I want to thank everyone who has been such a support to us during this time. Pregnancy loss is hard, but there are constant reminders to me that life keeps happening. I look forward to wading through these emotions and coming to a place of healing. Thank you everyone who has extended themselves and offered support. We truly appreciate each and every one of you…

Life really does continue:

This Lemon Cypress was sent to me by the most amazing group of mamas. We all had babies in the fall of 2005 and have stayed close ever since through the miracle of message boards and the internet. Some of us have met in person, some talk almost daily (hi Bridgette!), and all of us support each other emotionally. I received this tree yesterday with the most beautiful poem and words of love and support from these women. Thank you Tree Mamas!

My Amaranth…I didn’t think it was going to grow…but it did.

Jason’s Pride of Barbados that finally sprouted. This is very exciting as we now have 2 sprouts!

Our Confederate Jasmine that is growing up the post on our front porch. We planted this last year and are thrilled that it bloomed this year. It smells so heavenly.

Who can’t smile around kittens?

Lola’s drawing…she wanted to draw how she felt last week during the hardest part of it all. So first she was sad, then she was mad, now she is happy again. 5 year olds have such wisdom. I’m learning so much from this one right now.

Again, thank you everyone who has been there for us…many blessings and peace!