Just popped in to say Hi

My camera's not working properly right now. I'm taking pictures but it's kind of a pain to download the new ones every day. I'll try to get all caught up by Monday night, that'll be Day 18.

Photo Challenge: Day 8

Ahh, the thermometer...

When we lived in Concho, it symbolized justification for me always being cold. Very often we had a hard time keeping our bedroom, kitchen, and living room above 60 degrees. Especially at night or first thing in the morning. Our main living area was at the back of the house where we went without the sun hitting our side of the walls for 6 months out of the year, so it never got a chance to warm up. We just spent half the year in the shade. I'd look at the thermometer to prove to myself I'm not crazy about being SO cold all the time.

Now in the Valley, it's a symbol of happiness for me. I don't care that I was born in New England where it's often very cold. My body "belongs" in the heat. I look at the thermometer when it says 100, or 108, or even 110 degrees - and it makes me happy. The heat really doesn't bother me. Thankfully, I don't have to work outside in it like so many people do, and for that, I'm truly appreciative. But there's something about the way my body feels when the heat hits my joints. The pain I experienced in the cold mountains is gone. My joints feel warm and pain-free here in the Valley of the Sun, even in spite of having rheumatoid arthritis in my neck and right hand.

Seeing so much red in that thermometer is a quick reminder to be thankful for days without pain, shivering, gloominess, and sadness. And this next winter, my body will be very thankful that we live here.

Photo Challenge: Day 7

Computers - What would our life be without them?

I've recently gotten to ask myself that very question. In November, our home computer died. Fortunately we could go to the library a mile from the house and use theirs for an hour at a time, but how different our lives have become without them. I know people use them for all kinds of things, but without ours, here's how our life was different:

1. I didn't have access to Google. I love information, reading, research, and being able to look up locations, recipes, and answers to my questions as they come up. I've become rather spoiled when it comes to getting answers right away.

2. No entertainment. We lived where cable didn't exist, and we didn't have money for satellite TV (not that we watch enough to warrant the cost anyway), but when our computer died, we lost ALL forms of entertainment. We lost browsing through websites like Pinterest.com, we lost communicating with our Facebook friends & family, we lost Netflix so we had hardly any movies we haven't already seen 100 times, and we lost the chance to play the games we used to fill our days while living in such a rural place with few attractions.

3. We lost the ability to Skype with my sister - something we rarely get the chance to do with her work & nursing school schedule plus a 2 to 3 hour time zone difference.

4. I lost the ability to blog. Sometimes I just HAVE to write. It has to come out through my fingers typing or I feel like I'll go crazy. Losing that was no fun. I spent too many hours losing sleep with no outlet to blog.

5. I couldn't print out photos to scrapbook. I love to scrapbook, and it helps me get out my creative urges - but without a computer to edit & print the pictures I had taken, I was a little wound up.

I didn't grow up with computers like my kids did. In fact, I think I was 30 when we got our first one and I barely knew what to do with it. In high school, it was so new that I had "keyboarding" the year after I took typing on an electric typewriter! We learned to cut & paste, edit & delete paragraphs, and not much else. Everything was still DOS back then, no such thing as Windows.

Fast forward to Christmas. I got a laptop from Tim for my gift. It was more expensive than anything we'd ever gotten each other before, but our desktop was barely alive and was dying any minute, holding on by just a temporary attempt to fix the problems. We got it to work long enough to transfer most of the stuff out we wanted - good thing, too - because it died again about 3 days after moving here in May. Had I not gotten my laptop, our home wouldn't have a computer right now. That makes it very hard to grow an internet-based business.

I'm sorry that we've become so dependent (and expectant) on our computers, but I'm also thankful that we have one that works.

What would you do without yours?

Photo Challenge: Day 6

A neighborhood, at last!

The last 2 years were spent living in a very rural area. It had many advantages and a lot of good things came from it, but for 3 teenagers, there wasn't much to do - especially for our "middle child" who needs new things, people to see, stuff to do, and a new adventure all the time. Boredom would have led him into trouble.

Before that, we were in a very congested condo complex in the city. Although there were lots of people and cars (and stray cats), it wasn't what I'd call a neighborhood. To me, that word conjures up images of houses, green lawns, private driveways, neighbors who spend time together on the weekends, kids that grow up together. We had that back in NH for 2 1/2 years before we decided to move permanently to Arizona. After 7 years in that complex and the 2 years in the mountains, we're finally in a neighborhood again.

We're still pretty new here, so most of our interaction with our neighbors is just waving for now, but we did get to talk to one family here in our cul-de-sac that were very friendly. I'd like to get to know them a little better. There's a few teens just a few doors down, but I don't think our kids have met them yet. It's summer here, and in the Phoenix area, it's hot. People leave for vacations and the teens try to get summer jobs, so I think we'll see more of our neighbors when the fall comes. Hopefully by winter, we'll be enjoying the beautiful weather outdoors with them.

To me, a neighborhood has a community feel to it, a sense of belonging, and we feel at-home here already. The palm trees, nearby park, birds of every type, quiet streets - it's a great place to live. Almost all the streets around us are cul-de-sacs and dead-end roads. That keeps us a little more protected from speeding cars, strangers that don't belong, and excessive road noise. I don't know how long we'll stay here, or if we'll end up buying a place in a new neighborhood in a year or two, hopefully if we do, it'll be our last move for a long time. But either way, we're thankful and happy to be in Carriage Lane, our neighborhood, our home.

Photo Challenge: Day 5

My quiet, early morning spot - I've had one for about 10 years now. It's been a chair on the patio, on back porch, and now on our new patio. There's something about those mornings when I can't sleep, and I wake up irritated or still tired but I can't get to sleep. I need to get re-centered. I take my bible, head outdoors, and spend about 15 to 30 minutes out there rebooting my day to start it right.

There's something very calming about reading God's Word in the cool morning air, seeing the hues of early morning sun on the treetops (especially on the palm trees, it's a pretty shade of golden pink), hearing the birds just waking up, and smelling the fresh flowers and grass. Even when we lived in a mostly cement, busy condo complex, watching the sky turn colors listening to the birds, it was enough to calm my spirit.

In those times, I've grown, learned, understood, appreciated, planned for, and looked forward to all the good in my world. In a world that's so fast-paced, time speeding by faster as the years go by, it's nice to have a small piece of space where it all stands still and waits for me to re-center my focus, my head, my heart, and my spirit - before starting the next day in this short breath we call life.

Photo Challenge: Day 4

I'd love to say this is about my son, but it's not. It's a given that my kids are a part of my everyday life...this is really about the Mexican blanket in the photo. No, I'm not kidding. Really. That particular blanket is a big part of my world. Even in the hot weather - but especially in the cold weather.

I found that Mexican blanket while shopping at Old Town Scottsdale a few years ago. There was a shop where they had these blankets for just $5! Best $5 item I ever bought. This blanket has been with me like a little kid's security blanket. It was there when I was watched movies snuggling with my husband or kids, there when I watched the kids' soccer and football games, there when I napped in the car on long drives with the family, and there when a nap could fix everything. The most amazing thing about that blanket is it magically senses what I need. No, not really, but hear me out. When I was in the mountains freezing in the winter with multiple layers of clothing, mittens, and shoes - I could get warm under that blanket. In the summer when I needed to rest, it would make me feel cozy but not too hot. And for some reason, every time I cover up with it lying down, I fall asleep almost instantly and awake refreshed.

Do you have that one item that acts like your "Linus Blanket"?

Photo Challenge: Day 3

Furlough - our cat

If I'm going to photograph our life, I can't really neglect putting in our cat. We're actually "dog" people, but no one left a dog out to die all those years ago, so we have a cat. Let me explain briefly. We bought our first real house, it was a duplex in NH. It was still very cold that fall. One day, I heard a strange scratching sound on the cellar door. I opened it, and in walked this cat. She must've found her way in through a broken basement window to keep warm. I put her outside after she walked around a bit, and she would repeat this for the next few days. The nights she didn't sneak into the cellar, she would spend them on our back porch meowing until you wished she'd lose her voice. She couldn't really be chased off, she'd just come back. We didn't feed her, but she begged anyway. I found out from the upstairs tenant that she was one of a neighbor's litter from St. Patrick's Day. She was only about 8 months old now, looked half-starved, and the family had moved and just left her behind. I hadn't seen any other cats that were from that litter, just her. When we let her in, she let the kids pet her, play with her, and since they were only 1, 3 and 5 - they were pretty rough sometimes, by accident. She never hissed, scratched them, or tried to bite them. She never hid under the furniture. She always sat with one of us, and was never any trouble, so Tim finally said, "Since she's good with the kids, why don't we just go ahead and keep her." I asked Adam what we should name her. Being only 5, I'm not sure where he came up with it, but he immediately said, "Furlough". I asked why and he told me it was because she was furry and low to the ground. 'Nuff Said.

Now it's time to move a few months later, and we didn't know that she was pregnant until just a few weeks before, she had been so starving we just figured she was "filling out". I think she had her kittens about a week before the move, maybe it was just a few days. We had Tim's grandmother watch her & her 3 kittens during the move, then brought her home. The kittens were given away but we kept her, had her fixed, but there was one drawback. The vet told us she was only about a year old, very young to have fixed, but we told him she'd already had kittens. To do this, he said because of her age, he'd have to cut the muscle that holds up her stomach for some reason, so she'd always look like her stomach was either dragging, or she'd look bigger than she really is under all the fur. I wasn't taking her bathing suit shopping, why would I care if she looked fat?

Over the years, almost everyone who's ever come to our house has either said, "Wow, you have a fat cat!" or "you're cat's pregnant?!". Ok, so the vet was right. You could feel that her hanging stomach was just empty skin, but unless you picked her up, yeah, she looked fatter than she was.

Today we still have her. It's odd now that she's older than Jordan. We never really gave it much thought until a few years ago. We've had her for 13 years this year. She still doesn't bite, or scratch people, or hiss, or hide. She's the quiet member of the family. I've never understood how people think of cats as members of the family, but she's always been more like a small dog. She sits on command, does tricks for her treats, chases off other animals from the property, licks Jordan's face when she gets up in the morning, and loves people.

We had a big realization how important she is to all of us when we almost lost her twice living in the mountains. The first time was after we first moved there. She got bit by a wind scorpion/sun spider (it's a spider that resembles a scorpion) in her water dish. It left a big, swollen lump on her neck, she couldn't eat for a week, and kept hiding under the woodpile. We though it was going to explode on her neck and she was hiding because she felt she was going to die and wanted to be alone. Well, we fed her Monavie juice from an eyedropper since she couldn't swallow much, and forced her to drink water, and maybe that helped. The mass did explode, she had almost no voice on the inside and was bleeding on the outside off and on for days. But she pulled through. That's when I realized how much we still wanted her around. She'd become Jordan's best friend.

The other time was just before this move away from the mountains. She couldn't keep anything down for days. We can only assume she ate something bad - maybe a mouse that had eaten d-con? or a bird that died of something other than old age? Not sure. We didn't think she'd pull through that - but again, we gave her Monavie for a few days on her food. She didn't keep much down, but she pulled through once we moved here and is doing just fine now.

She's old now, doesn't play much, has trouble jumping up or down from beds & the sofa, but she's still very loving to people. She licks you as you pat her - like a puppy.

I couldn't blog or photograph our life without including Furlough.

Photo Challenge: Day 2

Day 2: At the park on the next street over we've been watching both the turtles and the ducks, especially the baby ones. I got this photo because it seemed to carry the heading "But You're So Different". Every day we encounter people that are so different from us. Maybe they look different, or act culturally different, or have an opposite personality from us, or they dress different, or talk different, (you get the idea). We all have pre-conceived notions about those that are different, but do we ever stop and think how we appear to them? Maybe we seem too aggressive, or too loud, or too people-pleasing, or too old-fashioned, or too self-absorbed, etc. If we realize that WE'RE different to most people, maybe we can make a conscious effort to be more friendly, or to help out someone in need, or maybe just pass on a smile to someone who's hurting. Be encouraging to someone who needs it. You never know who's life you may touch for the better.

Photo Challenge: Day 1

Day 1: The tropical hibiscus flower that opened on the plant in my back yard. We've actually gotten about 5 of them since we moved here. They are so short lived. They bud with promise on one day, open fully by the next morning, then by the next day, they're purple and shriveled and fall off the plant. What a glimpse into life. We're here such a short time, too. It flies by before we know it. We have such a short window of time where we can bloom and be vibrant, then it's over. What will YOU do to be vibrant and come alive during your time here on earth? Don't waste it. Shine now while you can. Bring happiness to those around you and you'll be remembered fondly long after you're gone.

Reflecting on 20 years of marriage

Tim & I just celebrated being married 20 years. I spent a lot of the day reflecting on our struggles and our triumphs during that time. I thought of the lowest of lows, and the highest of highs. We've faced everything together and God has kept us protected and blessed just enough to keep us together and dependent on Him. Here's some of our high points in our marriage (for me, anyway):

Our wedding - the day was perfect, not too hot, not too cold, everything went smoothly.
Living in AZ the 1st time - our first 6 months we learned to live together w/o anyone around to tell us what to do.
Having a friend announce the coming of our first born in Canada during a function, from stage, surprising the new would-be grandparents.
The birth of our children - each was unique, Tim was wonderful in the delivery room.
Our first home - it was so inexpensive, the bank made us take out a personal loan rather than a mortgage.
Our first duplex - we lived free since the renters upstairs covered the cost of the mortgage.
Camping at Salisbury Beach, MA, watching the sun rise over the ocean and toasting marshmallows by campfire at night.
Moving to AZ the 2nd time w/our kids - it was like coming "home"
Tim breaking through some lifelong struggles to be free forever.
Utah trip through Zion national park - so beautiful!
Taking the stage together as we advanced in our business, and winning a free suite as the top winners of a contest in Las Vegas.
Tim changing careers to be a flatbed over the road driver. We miss him but it's the start of getting back on our feet, better than before.
Returning to the Valley after 2 years of living in the cold, snowy, too-windy climate of the high elevation, high desert area where everything hurt.
Starting our new adventure together, better than ever, looking forward to another 20+ years together.

Photo Challenge: 30 pictures in 30 days - June 2012

Hi Everyone! I've been thinking...the best way to start scrapbooking again is to make sure I have enough photos. To do that, I'm going to throw something out there. For the month of June, I'm going to take 30 pictures in 30 days. They'll be pictures that depict things in my world. Some may be big like Father's Day, or a special person's birthday. Other pictures will be my world around me...flowers, lizards, palm trees, the neighborhood park, elements of my new home that I love, etc.

If you've hit a rut in picture taking, this may be a good way to get you going again. You could take the challenge too. Maybe that's too aggressive for your schedule? Then agree to take 3 to 5 pictures on the weekends, or something like that.

What pictures should I capture? Any ideas?

Mother's Day Reflections

(Note: Sorry it reads like a big paragraph. I wrote it as bullet points and with spaces for quick reading, but the blog didn't format it the same way.) This Mother's Day is pulling out a whole range of emotions. Maybe it's because my kids are almost all grown, maybe because Tim's been gone for 3 weeks. Maybe because my mother and grandmother are thousands of miles away. Here's some random thoughts, good and bad, that I've been experiencing this week in regards to Mother's Day: The bad: - I wish he'd hurry up and move out, his selfishness is really bothering the other two. - Why is she so whiney! She's going into high school and still acts like she's 10. - What makes him think he knows everything when he's never attended public school, had a job, lived on his own, had a real relationship, or drove a car by himself yet? - It's so hard being a single parent while Tim's gone for so long - it was supposed to be 2 weeks and it'll actually be almost 4 full weeks! - I feel guilty when I know I'm doing or saying the right thing when disciplining my kids. The good: - I'm so proud of him. He's alcohol, smoke, and drug-free as a young man. He makes good decisions and recognizes the mistakes his peers are making. - I know she's almost in high school, but to see her swinging at the park makes me wish she were little all over again. - It's a good thing he's so smart and handy with Tim gone so much. I don't worry about what I'll do if the car breaks down, or I need computer help. - With Tim gone, it gives me a chance to establish a good routine for our family, and begin some new good habits before he gets back. - Stepping back and seeing how great my kids are, I'm glad I was more strict on them than they said their friends' parents have been. It's been a roller coaster of emotion. Mostly because we're all experiencing this move and changes differently. Part of us wants things to go back to how good they were before we moved from here 2 years ago. Part of us is excited to start a new life, with a new circle of friends, and happy that the bad things of the past are just that - in the past. So this Mother's Day, I have many mixed emotions going on, but I know one thing...I have great kids, it's not about flowers, candy, cards or gifts. It's about the relationships I have with each of my children. They're all unique, have their own strengths and weaknesses, are both so alike and so different from me in many ways, and no matter how much time I've spent with them, it still feels like it went too fast. To have one more day with Adam when he was about 5, one more with Logan when he was 3, and one more with Jordan when she was 2...those days are gone, I know, but at least I was there for them, and have great memories (and tons of scrapbooked pages) of those times. I am blessed. Happy Mother's Day.

It's all new and different...

Sometimes we have the opportunity to go back to where we came from, whether it's a town we lived in, a church or group we belonged to, a sport or activity we used to participate in, etc. Often we return expecting things to be like they used to be, but I've learned over the years, that rarely happens. Recently we moved back to the city where we lived 2 years ago. We even got to re-join the church where we'd been members for 7 years before we left. But I had no illusions that things would be the same as they were when we left. In fact, things changed so much just in the 6 months before we left that there's no way it could be "how it was". This economy has really changed the face of our country, even in the higher-end neighborhoods. Friends who were living above the normal standard have lost their homes, stay-at-home wives and moms have had to go to work, people have left the area to live less expensively, and with gas prices rising to almost $4 a gallon for so long, many have had to leave our church and groups because it became "just too far" of a commute. Now our family will be starting over in the city we came from, but it'll be all new. We did return to our church, even though it's 22 miles away. We'll cut expenses somewhere else to afford the 2 trips a week on Sundays and Tuesday morning (for my Ladies' Bible Study). We're in a new area of town, a much better neighborhood, but that means we'll need to make all new friends here. Also, the names on the stores are the same, but they're at different locations now so we'll meet new people that work there too. The church has lots of new faces (and unfortunately, many of the familiar ones are gone). The organizations we belonged to and places we used to frequent aren't going to be the same this time around. The kids are older. Adam's graduated (once he finishes Physics). Logan's 16, has his license, and Jordan's going into high school. I'm not sure the same field trips and homeschool groups would work now. We'll be finding new things we like to do, both individually and as a family. Even our household dynamic has changed. Adam's rarely home to eat dinner with us, both boys are looking for jobs, and Tim's on the road 2 weeks at a time with just 3 days off in-between. It's a new adventure but in familiar surroundings. It's a bit strange, I see the kids struggling to make things like they were, but they can't. Life changes, it goes on while we're doing other things. Two years has changed so much - and I think, so have we. I don't know exactly what's in store for us, but I know we're better prepared and have learned to appreciate what we have a lot more. It's a new adventure for sure. I'm looking forward to seeing what God's got in store for us with the new lessons we've learned.

The New Place is getting even better!!!

So here's a picture of our new place, but wait! Just when I couldn't think it could be any better, it does!

I got a call and a few messages from my friend who owns the house. Here's the gist of what we were told:

1. Since her husband and his regular contractors are all available to work for the next few weeks, they're going to totally remodel/renovate the home!

2. The master bath was pretty sad, so that's getting a total remodel.

3. The kitchen is in need of updating so it's all been ripped out, the ceilings raised, there'll be new, taller cabinets, new countertops, probably an L-shaped kitchen installed instead of the U-shape it was, and possibly even an island added!

4. Because the flooring is all mismatched and some looks bad from where carpets were ripped up, new tile is going in and all the cement floors (which we've always wanted) will stay, but be painted.

5. The funky island colors will all be painted a nice, neutral beige kind of color.

6. As if that's not enough - they even decided to bring in a landscaping company to clean the yard up before we get there.

7. Best news yet? - It's all scheduled to be completed, ready for us to move in, the Friday before the week we've rented our moving truck!

I'm just so grateful, thankful, and appreciative of such blessings. I consider it an honor to be trusted to care for their (now like-new) home for the next year or so. After that, we're hoping to buy and they're hoping to rent it for what it's worth, which will be so much more with all the work they're doing. I am truly blessed by God, through wonderful friends.

We found a home! An even BETTER home!

Normally, I keep my faith opinions & comments on my other blog, but I can't share this story without giving God full credit, so just bear with me, it's a great story!
I planned on checking out the apartment from my last post at 1 o'clock Tues. afternoon. Being in a hotel about an hour away, my plans were to leave the hotel no earlier than noontime, then run a few errands on the other side of town. That morning I couldn't stay put. I felt like I just had to get out of the hotel and head over towards the apartments. Maybe I'd stop into a few of the places on my list before the appointment instead of after? Anyway, I had to go.

That morning, my Facebook post was simple. Just that I was going to look at a place, wish me luck. I get a call from a friend I haven't talked to in 2 years. She's rarely on FB these days, but happen to be home recovering from surgery and was on there, and happened to see my post. She let me know she had a place for rent (since when did her family own rentals?) and it was becoming available in a matter of days. She called me during my drive but for some reason, I didn't hear my phone ring at that time. Instead, something made me take out my phone at a red light and see that I had a call from about 15 minutes earlier.

I called her and she mentioned a house, not a second floor, 1000 sf apartment, but a house for rent. I asked her where it was and she said it was off THE VERY STREET I WAS DRIVING BY!!! I couldn't missed her call. I could've called her back earlier or later. But the timing was absolutely perfect - that's how I know it had to be God's timing & plan and not my own. I've learned to pay attention to these things over the years.

Anyway, she and her husband were kind enough to allow us to move in for what we were going to pay for the apartment, which has to be anywhere from $200 - $600 below market value, depending on if they did work on it or not. In exchange, we'd move in with the understanding that it's "as is" and has some minor cosmetic issues - like funky paint colors, a few rugs that were removed but cement was never finished or painted, etc.

The house is perfect for us! It's only 2 to 3 blocks from everything and everywhere we need to be. It's got over 1600 sf. The Master has it's own bathroom, there's a good sized yard for entertaining and some beginning gardening space. It's at the end of a cul de sac. What more could we ask for?

Here's the best part - had I gone into the apartment interview without knowing about the house, I would've been devastated. It was the last place we could afford without being 30 miles from church in a very bad west-side neighborhood. I went in and within 5 minutes, they'd told me they had no 3 bedrooms in their mile-long complex and there was already a waiting list for them. We wouldn't have been able to move for another 6 to 12 months, if there at all. I would've spent the rest of the week compromising our family's safety and taking a place we hated, that was way too small, miserable. Instead, God gave me the confidence that it would all work out with the house, so when she said they had no vacancies, I smiled, got up, and left thinking, "it's okay because I don't want to live here anymore."

Life can be so good.

Finding a home

Here I am, bright and early on a Monday morning, ready to look for a new home for our family this week. Granted, the reason I'm up early is because I'm in the lobby of the hotel that messed up and I'm here waiting for their next available room to open up.

Anyway, on to better things...there's a place we hope to qualify for - it's a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment, in a complex that a lot nicer than where we used to be. It's got lots of grass, palm trees, 4 pools (2 heated), basketball courts, street hockey rinks, playgrounds, free bikes to borrow from the office, a fitness center, a beautiful clubhouse, and it's in a very convenient location for everything we could ever need.

So why am I still in the process of "finding" a home? Because we're not sure we'll qualify yet. My husband has just switched careers, he's in orientation & training for the next 3 1/2 weeks - then he'll be a solo truck driver. The pay is promising to be enough to qualify, but we had to declare bankruptcy and lost our home in a foreclosure 2 years ago. We're not sure if that will disqualify us or not. We also don't know if they'll need months of paystubs first, or accept the first few to see what a typical workweek pays.

Should we not get into this place, we have no real backup. That's why I'm here. By the time I leave in a few days, I'll know better where we stand, if I have to look for a new place or not, and I should have a better idea of when we should be able to plan our move.

We can also house-sit for friends here in mid-June for about a month at no cost - so if our move is delayed longer than we originally planned, that'll be okay because we'll still have a mini vacation to break up the tension.

Wish me luck this week!

Why I like the middle of the night...

5 Things I like about the middle of the night (when Tim's away):

1. I can get up, turn on my laptop, and have time to myself on the internet without interruptions. When Tim's home, I'd never dream of disturbing his sleep with the clicking away of the keyboard, but when I'm alone, every click sounds like a step forward, or an accomplishment. I'm actually getting things done without distractions.

2. The stars. I know in a few months I'll be moved back to the city (yeah!) and I won't be able to see anything but the brightest stars because of the light pollution, but you know what? In the two years we've lived here, it's almost always too cold or too windy to be out at night enjoying them anyway. With that said, there have been a few nights that I woke up between 2 and about 4 a.m. and was absolutely blown away at the number of stars in the sky here. I never gave any thought to the Old Testament when God tells Abraham that he'll have as many descendants as there are stars...until being out here. I saw literally millions of stars and though, "Wow. Seeing a sky like this, Abraham must've been totally blown away by that statement!"

3. The silence. I've never been big on noise. Maybe it's because I grew up in a loud house, with a loud family, and loud eventually led to an argument, then a fight. I also grew up as one of the older cousins and the oldest of my siblings, so I grew up treasuring peace and quiet. My happiest moments (before being married and having kids) were times when I was alone to enjoy the beach, a flower, a sunset, etc.

4. My head has a chance to clear up and "reboot". During the day, my head is constantly buzzing with things to do, things to plan, kids' demands, schedules, information to teach, and about a hundred other things. In the middle of the night, my head is clearer, fewer distractions, I can think out a complete thought, examine different possibilities, see new perspectives, and appreciate all I have to be thankful for.

5. Going back to sleep. I know that sounds strange, but there's something very satisfying knowing I'm going back to sleep with a problem solved, or after a relaxing time for just me, or with a song in my head, or even a prayer on my heart. It's a very peaceful, restful sleep once I fall back asleep. I wake up refreshed and relaxed and can ease into my day without things undone from the day before hanging over me. Those are the best mornings.

Zumba - the best addiction I've ever had!

I've had different addictions in the past, things I woke up thinking about, thought about all day, and obsessed over before bed - everything from drinking in my early 20s, to sugar in my 30s, to organics & coupons in the last few years - but this is the best one yet! Zumba Fitness! If you aren't familiar with Zumba, it's a dance & fitness program based on rhythms from all around the world (mostly Latino), combined with the mechanics of exercise. What you get is a fun, confidence-building, super-fat-burning workout that makes you want to do it again and again.

I started doing Zumba because I know it's huge all over the U.S., people love it, and those who I know that are involved have some of the healthiest, most sculpted body images, without crazy dieting, situps & pushups, nor heavy weight lifting. Not having the money right now to go out and buy a program, I started in my room with just my laptop and YouTube videos. I searched the basic and how-to videos to get started. I never felt so "white" and uncoordinated in all my life. I could sort of figure out what they were instructing me to do until they took it "to tempo". I watched in amazement thinking, "I don't think I'll ever be able to move as fast as they do, but if I do it half as quick, I'll still burn calories, right?"

After the first few times, I got the hang of it. I was moving more like they were, getting in 7 steps to their 8, quite an accomplishment for me. I was still awkward, but at least I was doing it, not hating it, and was starting to have fun.

After a couple of weeks, I was moving as fast as they were for most of it. I wasn't remembering to "keep my abs tight" through the whole workout, but my stalled weight loss was beginning to drop again. I was starting to believe I may have found something special in Zumba for me.

Now, it's been about a month since I started, but thanks to Tim's unusual schedule of CDL school 200 miles away, and working 3rd shift when he's home, I have our room to myself every single night to work on getting better (in private). Last night was the 12th night in a row and it's become an obsession...no, an addiction!

I wake up with the music in my head. Every time I walk or turn to do something in the house, I'm thinking about where my hips are, and if my core & abs are engaged. I keep moving my workout earlier and earlier by a few minutes because I can't wait to do it. I'm feeling that I'm using the right muscles as I work out. The steps are getting to where I don't have to think about it. I'm adding my own "flavor" as they call it in the videos. I'm dropping weight quickly. I'm happier, and eating less (since eating was very emotional for most of my life). I'm losing inches. I even have a renewed desire to learn to speak Spanish more than ever before.

The best part of Zumba for me is the mind transformation. I had so many doubts in the beginning, but now what I say in my head has changed. I'm twice as old as those on the video, doing this at 6300 feet elevation, and overweight to start - but I can do this! I really CAN move my body as fast as they do. My legs DO move as quick as theirs. I WILL hit every weight goal I set because I'm determined to keep at it.

I'm down 18 lbs in 60 days and have lost a few inches already! (Wish I measured those when I first got started). I'm healthy, happy, and love doing Zumba. Check out some of their online information and get started.

Hopefully, for my birthday, I'll get the first 4 DVD set until I can buy the newer 7 DVD program. Have fun!

10 Things I love about "the Valley of the Sun"

1. Palm trees (and other Phoenix area flowers)

I grew up in a family where everyone had gardens, fruit trees, and lots of flowers. I thought I knew more flowers than anyone else my age growing up, but when I moved to AZ in 2003, I saw hundreds of flowers & plants I'd never seen before. The colors, shapes, and oh, the palm trees I saw! I love lying by the pool on a hot day with a gently breeze blowing through the palm leaves making that distinct, crisp sound. There's nothing more soothing to me than watching palm trees blowing gently in the breeze.

2. Warm winters

After spending a lifetime hating the cold, days of rain, gray skies, and long, snowy winters of freezing temperatures - we finally moved to AZ. I enjoyed 7 years of warm winters. Almost 2 years ago, we were forced to live in the high desert, at high elevation, where it's cold and snowy and the winters are very long. I never realized how bad rheumatoid arthritis could hurt until I moved here. Now, I get to spend the next 4 winters in the Phoenix area again where it's warm. I know my time is limited there, so I'm going to take advantage of every single day there, appreciating it and being "one with my environment" until the very last day we're there. After that, we'll have to move back to the elevation & mountains & snowy, cold winters - but we'll at least be closer to town.

3. Swimming almost year-round

Last year for spring break we spent a week in the Valley in mid-March. My happiest memory was stepping into the pool and immediately being able to get right in because the water was so warm (and yes, it was unheated). Swimming from March until October/November is definitely something we miss.

4. Stores!

I'm not a shopper, really, but I know how to save money given the resources available. I've done a good job this year learning how to save as much as possible with only a handful of possible stores to shop from. I really look forward to using those skills when I have so many choices, Goodwill thrift stores, discount outlets, etc. I think I can double our standard of living for half what I'm spending now to live broke.

5. FRUIT

Up here, it's so cold and windy that no one can really grow fruit. The produce selection in the store is mainly apples, oranges & bananas. I can't wait to shop where local, organic fruits can be grown year-round. I miss the variety of tropical fruits available in Valley. It's no fun eating frozen fruit almost exclusively just to get a variety.

6. Organic vegetables

There's lots of people with gardens up here, but you find that if someone gives you some of what they've grown, it's usually the same thing you've got from your own garden - and you have more than you know what to do with already. Seriously, after you can the first 150 jars of pickles, how many more do you really need? I'm looking forward to the variety of INEXPENSIVE organic veggies I can buy for cheap money at places like Sprouts market.

7. Mountain Valley Church

I've gone to several churches in my lifetime, but MVC will always be "home" to me. When I come to the city, and walk through their front doors, I feel like I just walked through Grandma's house or something. I feel safe, loved, protected, and it's where people know the real me. That's the church where I truly had life-changing experiences with the one and only Holy God. It's where I learned to make my faith personal, and the center of everything I do. It's also home to my dearest and most-loved friends who have been through everything with me and my family.

8. My best friends

People are lucky to have 1 or 2 really close friends that you can trust, open up to, spend time with and "do life right" with. At MVC, I found dozens and dozens of friends for life. I can't wait to return to them. They've helped me learn, grow, be strong, let out a good cry, pray with and for our family, and so much more. I've missed them terribly and can't wait to come "home".

9. Activities for the kids

The Concho brochure (metaphorically) didn't tell the truth. I was told before moving here that it would be great: short winters, high temperatures in the 50s & 60s even in winter, sun almost every day, lots of space, pretty views, great wildlife all around, clean water, and friendly people. What I found was quite the opposite: long winters where the sun never hits the back of the house for 6 months a year, many days where the highs are in the 30s, lots of gray skies, so much space that you can't find friends for the kids because nothing is walking distance, lots of views...of dead, brown and yellow waist-high weeds all around and dead trees at least half the year, the wildlife here is snakes, huge beetles, rats & mice, and yes, there's deer or antelope but that's maybe 2 or 3 times a year you see that. Elk? sure, we have those, mostly when they come out near the road when you're driving at night for 30 miles to get home from town! And as for friendly people...most are retired or older, and the ONLY thing they talk about is the end of the world and how much they hate the city, and it's residents, and it's every man for himself when everything goes crazy. No one told us we were moving to the Meth capital and Polygamist capitol of the state! They left that out. When we move, our kids will have everything from sports, to art, to cultural events, to free events, classes for homeschoolers, lots of groups to join, church activities to do, and so much more. I can't count down the day fast enough.

10. Being near the airport & attractions

When we lived in the city, we were 7 minutes from the Southwest terminal. We had more friends & relatives visit from the east coast than I ever imagined we would. I even had visits from family I hadn't seen in 15 years! Once we moved to the middle of nowhere, not one friend or family member was willing to fly in to Phoenix, drive the 4 hours to here, just to sit at the house with nowhere to go and nothing to do. We don't even have television here. I've already been told some will come back when we're back in the city again.

So yeah, there's a lot of up-sides to moving back. I'll miss Tim's parents being close by, but other than that, I won't miss Concho one bit. We've met some wonderful, friendly people at our church in Show Low, and I'll stay in touch with them until we return in 4 years - but again, I won't miss anything else up here.

I'm so excited to move!

February Goals

Here's my list of 5 goals for February:

1. I've lost 14.9 pounds so far, I'm hoping to hit the 20 pound (loss) goal by the end of the month.

2. I'm hoping to find great deals on stuff for the boys' birthdays. Logan's was pretty inexpensive for what we got and he'll like them (can't share what they are just yet). Trying to find either a futon, a NICE tv stand/ent. center, or housewares for Adam (for when he gets his own place soon).

3. I really should get through the end of chapter 2 in my Genesis study, but I've struggled to find time to work on it. Between school, moving 200 miles away in a few months, hubby working nights and sleeping days, and in a few weeks, he'll be back in school for a month to change careers where he'll be gone for days at a time for a few months. Oh yeah, and I'm the Secretary for the Board of Directors for our local Farmer's Market so I've been busy rewriting contracts, applications, policy changes, procedures, and fee structures.

4. I hope to get Jan & Feb of 2011 scrapbooked, but I'm not sure about that one.

5. I'll continue to cook healthier meals for my family. I was very successful doing that in January, but the food costs more than cheaper, processed food choices, do our pantry, freezer, and cupboards are pretty bare right now. Hopefully I can build up a little here and there this month if I find great deals on frozen veggies, canned or dried beans, meats, etc.

What are you hoping to get done in February?