Sunday, December 04, 2011

Me and the boy.






Dana Point Harbor. That's all it took. I feel rejuvenated and ready for the week.

Saturday, December 03, 2011

Every evening this is what I see.


I am so grateful for the view I have from my living room. I will savor every moment I have here.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Gloomy Love/The desert after rain







Nigel looks adorable in his snuggie, yes?

Sunday, October 02, 2011

My zen walk







Who needs a gym when you live at the beach?
I could have walked for hours inhaling the clean ocean air. Much better for my asthma too.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Buddhist Temple in Santa Ana






I love living in Orange County. The weather is so beautiful, and there is so much more to see and do here. Steveo and I went to see a Buddhist temple today after school. He has never been to one and I wanted him to see something beautiful today. So after going to Juice it up, we headed out and saw this one. I'm so glad he appreciates these little outings. We are only here for one year, so I want to live it up as much as possible.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

First 2 weeks in San Clemente





Steveo is adjusting well. He made one friend at his new school and I gave him the option to go back to the desert and he still wanted to stay. I'm extremely proud of him. The first thing I wanted to do was get his room organized. There is a lot of clutter in this house. In my father-in-laws defense, he is never home, so things pile up. So it took a week but I re-did the room so Steveo can have his own space. Here is the before and after. (I'm proud of this, hope Toms dad approves when he gets back from Afghanistan)

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Thursday, September 01, 2011

Moving to the beach




I finished enrolling Steveo in the elementary school in San Clemente. We walked around the school that overlooks the city, and we love it. Steveo is excited to start Sept 7th. I keep reminding Nick that this would be a great place to live (until next August)and a nice change of scenery. He still insists on staying down here. I love the fact that he has made friends and actually loves his high school, but even though this is a temporary move, I don't feel 100% okay with leaving him. I hope that he and Steveo will miss each other and enjoy the weekend visits together and maybe not fight as much. So now that this is the last week in the desert, I am trying to relax and be cautious about having unrealistic expectations about the move. I told Steveo we need to take this one day at a time and if he isn't okay with the change we can always go back. The door is also open for Nick to change his mind. I don't know how this will work out but I am looking forward to the change (and big trees and an ocean breeze)anyway.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Exploring Dana Point



Maybe it was pregnant, even though this squirrel did not look hungry, we gave him/her pieces of an energy bar.


Somewhere in Dana Point their is a squirrel bouncing around high on energy bars.


Our special family picture.


Monday, August 22, 2011

Profoundly UnBuddhist Rant Part tres







He and I stared at each other for a few minutes then he went back in his little hole. He was cute.

The cemetery where I hung out until the sun came up. (I believe this was the safest place, who would mess with you at a cemetery?)




Beautiful church by the cemetery.





I walked for a long time, (6 hours) my feet ached, I needed to just sit and relax and drink tons of water. My plan was to get my stuff from the hotel, unfortunately Christine left my suitcase at the front desk and changed her hotel room so I could not see her. I had no idea I could be this tired, thirsty, and angry. I rested on the lawn of the hotel, grabbed only what I needed and left my suitcase on the lawn (it was to heavy to walk with and my cell phone was dead, I was broke, I was planning on hitching a ride to Starbucks which was 2 miles away.) I put my belongings in my backpack and headed back up the road, Furious.)


I LOVED this suitcase, oh well...



Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse.... I still have no explanation for why she would call 911 and have the police look for me and BRING ME BACK TO HER? (glad I took a pic, hopefully this will be the only time I ride in the back of a police car)

After that incident, she left for the airport that night. I left the next day, exhausted, angry, and confused. I have no desire to speak to her. I cant even say right now that I will ever allow her back in my life, she has brought nothing but stress and chaos to my life for the last few years. All I know is I'm done with toxic people. My anger has softened slightly, but I still want nothing to do with ANYONE that brings pain and negativity in my life or the lives of my children.

Even though I had an awful experience, I still love Maui. I love the way of life, the scenery, and the best part is the people. They are so sincere and happy. This guy "George of the sea" was my shuttle driver that showed me around and dropped me off at the airport. We had the best conversation, and he was just one of many people who I met that were so wonderful and friendly. I can truthfully say, I have NO regrets.