Chasing Bluebirds

Olive

feisty little olive left us yesterday, it was a relief but still very sad. she will be missed.

april 2012

its like i need to just put the date up there because time is flying by and my blogging is lagging, geez! right now i am: swimming twice a week, riding my bike almost every day down the river to the beach (in crazy wind with these recent storms) and feeling so much better! when i was younger i could do three or four hard workouts in a week and be down a size no problem. well at 44, i guess it takes more than a few workouts to see a real change but at least i have swung that weight gain pendulum swinging in the other direction a bit. so on my bike ride today (the river runs right through the wetlands) i was surprised to see this at the end of the trail

the most beautiful, lovely sign dedicated to the wetlands we have been desperately trying to save!!! on the other side is a sign about the san gabriel river channel describing it's route and characteristics, also very well done. in other news, lizzie has been taking tae kwon do (sometimes 5 days a week she loves it so much) and she just had her first belt testing yesterday. it was really cool and i enjoyed watching the other kids too, especially the tiny kids getting really high level belts. this was exactly what this kid needed!!

(poor olive wants in) unfortunately we had a loss of a family member this week but the flip side was lots of visiting with extended family bringing us all closer and reminding us how important family is, how fast time flies. jump stated me planning an east coast visit to finally see all those cousins on the east coast and scout out my favorite state: north carolina. happy spring everyone!!
hanging out with aunt heather

xmas countdown

like everyone says, cant believe it's almost christmas again. i love the holidays but it does seem to come up fast each year. for once i started super early and am close to being done with all my shopping. i shopped almost exclusively online on amazon and etsy with my biggest purchase being some special commissioned paintings... can't wait to see them! 

i got a last minute invite to the tree lighting at the colorado lagoon so i rushed home from work and we headed out
it felt good to start our christmas season early this year. work has been slow for me so i have been relishing the time for cleaning the house and working on small projects. i need to get more regular with this blog or it may be time to call it quits. happy holidays!

christmas 2010

just a few snapshots of christmas... we had a nice quiet one, chilly weather and only a visit to my parents house on the schedule... today is chris' 39th birthday and we are all feeling a bit lazy. maybe a trip to see harry potter is in order? dinner out? we'll see.
merry merry!

autumn in the air

so this summer was odd indeed... i never thought i would complain we didnt have enough hot weather, never ever! my biggest fear is we will get a scorching october to christmas, i remember getting new warm clothes that i couldn't wear until january or february because of the "indian summers" in december. anyways, we'll take it as it comes. 
  the weather has been great up at the cabin, warm and breezy. i actually read a bit in our hammock for once, it was so nice out on the deck.
fishing
and lots of movie watching. something about the altitude puts us all in a stupor. not sure if i could live here year round, i fear i would never get out of bed! coming up on the calendar is a wetlands fundraiser (i am hosting the arts and crafts table), camp fire meetings start and we are off to england for about 12 days with my mom. we will be staying in the "isle of wight" for a week, i will post lots of pictures. this will be my first time there, so excited!

summertime at camp gvl

  we continue to focus on training miss maggie, turns out the cabin is a great place to do this. at home we have cats (who are pretty freaked out about sharing the backyard with a new puppy) so we have to limit the in and out activity which has been a bit confusing. we dont always know is she is asking to go out because she has to "go" or if she wants to chase the cats (or raccoons, possums, skunks etc). here at the cabin the door is always open to the deck and both dogs have relaxed and become part of our natural rhythm.
i was really looking forward to a few days of vacation, even though i had many "projects" to work on. it feels more fun and relaxing at this altitude, makes me sleepy and spacey in a good way.
i volunteered my two camp fire groups to host a craft table at the upcoming "tidal artwalk" at the colorado lagoon, two nights of crafts and games in a gorgeous location. the colorado lagoon is a part of the wetlands we are trying to save, it is just lucky enough to be right in the middle of a wealthy neighborhood so it's restoration has been less of a battle. the same people trying to save los cerritos, have been working on the lagoon restoration and we are all hoping to transfer the momentum for saving the lagoon on to the 400 acres of wetlands just a mile away.
we took a tour of the "childrens forest" up near our cabin between lots of sewing, painting and organizing of crafts. it really is a glorious place and i collected a whole bag of manzanita seeds, hope i can get some to sprout so i can plant them around the cabin.
i have been experimenting with a few photo apps on my iphone (since obviously i rely mostly on my phone as a camera now) i took a few last night while waiting for the fireworks to start and i think the results were interesting. here's one i liked:
i know its dark and weird...here is one of olive i like:
and the girls crafting
i use the "camera bag" app the most but the "hipstamatic" is growing on me! last on my "what am i up to" list is something inspired by this amazing chick who has got me adding even more to my plate. so excited to finally see a green movement starting up at my kids school and i hope to get an edible kitchen garden on the map... i can't get enough of all the books and resources on urban farms. finding some good out of this current economic mess we are in.

more puppy

  so we had a little scare with our new puppy, thought she might have been sick... but luckily she is feeling better today and a vet visit confirms she is 5 months old, not 3! craziness!! now we have to rush to get her spayed and the puppy 101 is desperately needed. i am enjoying most of this though.... she sure is fun!

lil doggy

so we did it, we got a new puppy and i have to tell you it's been a life changer!  the first dog i ever chose on my own as an adult was charlotte, an american pointer i found at the pound in virgina (who died last year at 16 years of age) then rudy then olive... two chihuahuas who were all impossible to train and difficult to live with too... all three were dogs i struggled to make pets and eventually gave up on, such a disappointment. i would say that olive being the last of the three has FINALLY come around and i am quite fond of her now. maybe the other two overshadowed her? not sure... growing up loving dogs and then having three extremely difficult dogs in a row put me in an "anti dog" mode for many years. i told chris i needed a major break from dogs since i saw them as just work and stress most of the time. when maggie came around i was hesitant...but only for a minute. she has won me over big time and is pretty much amazing if i do say so myself. i have always loved pitbulls, so smart and loyal...  a lab pit mix was a no brainer for me.so far so good!

 
 

the dog park is a must with this much energy!

time speeds up

well the year is winding down and summer is right around the corner, sure feels strange to be moving so fast. my plate is overflowing with events and i just keep adding more to it. need to slow down!! my two camp fire groups have final meetings soon, then we take a break until day camp in august. can't wait to get in to my garage and really gut it out, get organized for next year's meetings, so many ideas so much to do! i will be running both groups at day camp this  year, with lots of parental help. i want to make it fun and interesting for the girls who have been going for 4 years now. one idea i have is to make lip balm and bath salts using high quality ingredients, warming them over the fire and gathering flowers to decorate. maybe make candles too, using the flowers to decorate. we have a fabulous native california garden at the front of the council, i have been gathering seeds there for weeks now. the girls have taken a tour of it and the lady who takes care of it gives talks about how the indians used each plant. very interesting and i have been inspired to create a small native garden at my house. we have milkweed (to attract monarch butterflies) and white sage (which smells divine and is a gorgeous plant). the more i read up on native plants, the more interesting they become. i am completely addicted to california poppies. the seed bombs we made in our kinder group have been thrown all over town, hoping to see some of them blooming next year. i have heard that they need to be sown in the fall so i have held back a bunch to toss in sept-october. 

  

i am so happy to be able to continue our relationship with "the potential lunatics" and their "world tour" ha ha! what a refreshing fun family! the girls attended an acoustic concert at a local coffee shop, staying up until 10pm, what a treat.
i was happy that one of our camp fire families joined in as well
these images are all from chris' phone soooooo not so hot
but you get the idea. well today is my own guitar lesson, coming right along with that although it is HARD HARD HARD!! i suck so bad but would be really disappointed in myself if i didnt conquer this mountain. chipping away at it! happy sunday to you!

knotts berry farm

a quick trip to knotts berry farm, was proud i made it on a few of the roller coasters. the last time i did a really crazy roller coaster i became so sick i thought i would have to go home. it took hours to get over so i have been scared to even try for many years. i get car sick and sea sick easily (always have and so does lizzie) and have been working hard to not get sick on our cabin trips, mind over matter is most of it i find. there is something about motion sickness that sneaks up on you though, for me, if something is timed just right, whether it be the lighting or the movement or who knows, i get sick no matter what. there is no stopping it. sooooooo... i hope to keep working on getting better because that ghostrider was a fun ride!!!

 

 

some old fashioned fun at knotts, getting held up on the train (although some of the guests at knotts looked like they might fire back, yikes!)





I think Knotts is a great alternative to Disneyland, although I do love Disneyland. It is cheaper and less crowded and has an old fashioned feel. great way to spend a day1