Catch Up

So, it's been a while...new stuff since my last update include:

1. Girl's weekend in Oregon - an absolute blast! We shopped, enjoyed some great meals, had lots of good belly laughs, and fun time with the first baby of our generation, Ari. It was really nice to catch up with the women in my family - I'm so glad this has become an annual event again!

2. Cleaned out the Garage - MUCH needed, and quite refreshing once done. The burden of that huge mess of boxes, tools, and stuff we didn't need anymore was a very nice one to have lifted. We now have - and can use - a spacious garage with everything in it's space and/or place. This means fewer hiding places for the kitties, but we think they will adapt.

3. A week of work in Honolulu, Hawaii! I traded in the rainy CA weather for 80 degrees and sun last week. The work was very interesting and kept us busy, but we had one evening at the beach and stayed for dinner in North Shore, which was very fun.

I found out while in Hawaii that I passed the exam to become an Associate Value Specialist! This is the midway point to becoming a Certified Value Specialist (like Greg and all of the other team leads at VMS), and makes me more valuable to the company. I took my exam the Friday before and didn't expect the results so quickly. It is both a relief and source of pride - I am an AVS!

After an all-night flight from Hawaii, a long nap was in order when I arrived home on Saturday.

4. We cleaned and organized the last bedroom downstairs later that day, and yesterday we pruned, weeded and re-landscaped! Here is my favorite new little garden - a shade garden!! It was no wonder my vegetables didn't thrive here; it receives very little direct sun throughout the day. Transforming a sad plot of scraggly unproductive veggies into a lush, manicured garden with plants that should thrive there was hard work, but quite satisfying. Plants include an australian tree fern, two types of philodendron, a gardenia, and a few other shade-loving species. I have space to add a hydrangea and a few hostas, which I plan to do soon! There is something about the finished look of landscaping with barkdust that I love so much. Hopefully this will help keep the weeds down, and the moisture in!

We had more rain last night and this morning, but the forecast is all sun after today. Even with the intermitent light rain, I can't really complain because it's still in the mid-60s, and nearly November!

We are preparing for a houseful of guests this weekend - Greg's family is coming to visit! We are so happy that everyone is able to make it, and that we finally have comfortable spaces to accommodate guests :) Can't wait to see you guys!

One more thing......Before I left for Hawaii, our boss Terry asked for a picture of Greg for marketing materials, and to keep on file. We walked around our building looking for good lighting and backgrounds, and this one turned out especially well. Terry liked the picture so much he asked Greg if he could put it on our company website! The "visionary" look was apparently a big hit.

Magical Moment

Yesterday as Greg and I reached the peak of a very steep hill in our neighborhood during an evening run, we witnessed a little bit of mother nature's magic. Although the ocean is at least 10 miles west of where we live, and despite the fact that low clouds and fog typically hide the water from us completely, right at that moment we had a magnificent ocean view. A long, thin break in the low coastal cloud layer allowed dozens of beautiful sun rays through - my mom calls this "God Light" - which were reflecting brilliantly on the great Pacific ocean beneath. It almost made me cry! And if my breath hadn't already been taken away by the hill, that sight would have done it. I don't know if we'll ever be there at just the right moment again, but I will never forget that view.

Renovations and Rain!

I feel like I have little to say, but we've been extremely busy the past week....maybe I'm just sleepy. Last week, after carrying all of the upstairs furniture downstairs room by room, I painted two bedrooms a nice shade of green and a dusty blue color in the master. Greg then ripped out the flooring in preparation for new carpet, which was installed on Friday. Over the weekend we bought, cut, painted and installed new door casings and base trim for the bedrooms upstairs, and the hallway connecting them. Over 350 linear feet in total! Quite a few late nights and a lot of heavy lifting all in all; in addition to our continued P90X efforts, we're both feeling a little beat up. The work was worth the effort, and we are thrilled with the results. The door casing and base trim installation was probably one of the most technically challenging projects we've completed so far, but with the right tools, team work, and determination it came together beautifully. The new colors look better in real life...you'll have to use your imagination until you come to visit :)

Just in time for us to finish our project (our cutting and paint stations were set up in the front yard and driveway), it rained!! It hasn't rained here since May - can you believe it - so this is a refreshing bit of wet we are having now. After a few days of this misty rain however, it is already seeming dreary, reminiscent of the Willamette Valley November-April. Last week temperatures were over 100 degrees, and by Friday we had a soggy sunset like this:

Today we spent nearly 4 hours at the DMV getting our California licenses and vehicle registrations. What a hassle! Fortunately, we both passed our written exams on the first try, and somehow they managed to take a beautiful picture for my license. Why not look on the bright side, right?

This week will continue to be busy, both at work and at home. We are still moving back in to our upstairs - closets and guest rooms especially. Greg flies up to Fresno on Thursday for a meeting, and I leave for Oregon early Friday for a weekend with some of my favorite women in the world - my family! I can't wait to see everyone!!