Getaway to Sedona

The Family got together over the weekend in Sedona Arizona. It was a nice little getaway. Not like Jeff and I needed a vacation seeing as we were not working and felt like we were already on vacation.... But we took advantage of the opportunity and packed our bags. Chrissie, Amiri and "T" met up with us the next day. It was such a nice weekend! the weather was beautiful and there was everything you desired just in walking distance.

We went walking through the courtyards and looked through the shops which ranged from cafe's, brewery's, Art exhibits, bead shops, candy stores and everything else you could imagine. its such a relaxing place just to walk through and see the structure of some of the buildings that graced the shopping squares, there are a number of hidden courtyards and trees that grow as if they are holding some of the buildings erect.

and the view was amazing!! Seeing the Red Rocks in the not so distant landscape. The old bell tower...It was like I was traveling and site seeing much farther away than I actually was, like I was in a Mexican village but I didn't have the challenge of understanding another language, which is fine with me seeing as I am not bi-lingual.

and no...there were no animals harmed in the photographing for this blog.....

The rest of the trip consisted of playing cards, watching movies, enjoying the outside with the occasional game of putt-putt, life size chess, horse shoes, laying by the pool, or absolutely nothing at all! Relaxing right!?

Needles to say, we had fun and I can't wait
to go again!

Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday comes around fast and leaves even faster!! Every summer it seems the countdown begins.."Who's house will it be at?", "Who are you rooting for?", "What should the cake look like?"
Super Bowl has been a long lived and long Loved tradition in the Winslow area. An event with all the trimmings...There would be cookies the shape of footballs, guacamole dip made out to look like a football field with lines of sour cream posing as yard lines, going to the lengths of painting a 15x20 football field on the living room floor (they were replacing the carpet...its still there under the new carpet.) Even the older ladies are hip to the party decor bringing whatever they thought would suit a decent football party. I've been away for a long time so I have missed the dedicated spirit of Super Bowl. We've done well in California putting on some pretty good parties there but none are dearer to my heart then the parties I grew up with. I've yet only been able to tell the stories to Jeff about how great they were until now! He got to experience his very first Winslow Arizona Super Bowl!!! There were LOTS of friendly faces and GREAT food!



It was just as good as I had remembered them...However we were at a loss without Al. He was a great asset to the Winslow congregation as a friend and sports fan who sadly passed away last fall from a heart attack. He was missed and everyone there was thinking of him and how it was a little too quiet without him there..If you knew him you would know what I mean. That man could shake buildings with his laugh!! : ) But we partied like he would have wanted us too! : )

we watched 3D commercials..

and ate an AWESOME cake!!
I made it : )
Well....It has come and gone but they are always fun and this year was no exception. We had a great time and I do believe Jeff did as well.

Snowman!!

Well I was hoping that it would snow when we got here. I didn't think it would happen so soon though. Saturday night we went to Eric and Cicily Gutierrez's house for dinner. We had a very nice evening. When we left there was no sign that later that night we would get a few inches of snow but much to our delight I woke up to Jeff flinging the curtains open in excitement because all that you could see outside was covered in white. They day was still pretty gloomy because there was still a little bit more snow to come. It was beautiful........ of course I don't know if SO beautiful I wanted to be woken up with white glaring light shining at me jolting me out of a very nice sleep......Well later that day the sun came out enough to start melting the snow making it the perfect consistency for snowman making, before it was a little to dry and powdery.

And here is the fruit of our labor!!

Cute is he not?! Well he was, but that was short lived because much to his surprised Jeff thought it a great idea to destroy him all for the sake of a funny video. Yes it was funny but please.....
a few silent moments for the late snowman..............You will be missed.......
But somehow we will get on without you..............
somehow....

The Final Show

One of the hardest things for Jeff to say goodbye to was his band! Jeff LOVES playing music. He plays the drums, VERY well I might add. Jeff has been playing with Jared and Jason for years and Ryan came along and finished the group nicely. They have recorded a CD and were just about to go into the studio again when Jeff broke the news about us moving. Needless to say they were sad about it. But I'm excited to see what changes will come of the band after a new drummer is introduced. I hope the best for them and hope they have just as much fun as they did with Jeff. The last show was played at a families house. They were nice enough to allow all of us to invade there beautiful home. There were a few different bands that played before the boys, all of which played a piece of their music in honor of "Into The Ambiance". It was a nice tribute to the boys and made a little emotional knowing this was their "Goodbye" Show. There were a TON of people there!! Everywhere you turned (and you didn't have to turn far) there was another body, it was almost to the point of claustrophobia!! But it was great to see that many people there to show support to ALL of the bands. Its was a great show, I will miss seeing Jeff play! I was always so proud to see him up there. It wont be the same.....

We Made it....

Well, we are here in Winslow Arizona. It came up fast and I can hardly believe that I'm living here now. It feels like I'm on vacation and we should be going back to Cali. soon...I know Jeff is getting a little restless. Any opportunity he gets to get out of the house he takes it. I know its going to be a long road for him to get used to the live style here. Everything is sooooo laid back and a lot slower pace then Sacramento. Its nice though.. We have only been here for a week and we have already been to 2 dinner parties and another one coming up this Saturday. Everyone loves to entertain, since there is not a whole lot of other things going on. I know I'm going to love it, I just wish my family could be here! I miss all of them and love all of them very much!! And I don't even know what I'm going to do without seeing my little Maddy! Its breaks my heart just to think about it, I love that little girl sooooo very much! But I know we will be seeing them soon so I'll just keep focused on that! Its a BIG change and we still have a lot of work ahead of us before we get settled but we'll get there.

MMM Tea......

I'm in love with a tea!! If you have never tried the coconut chai tea from Gypsy Tea's you need to find the nearest Cost Plus World Market store and go to the tea section. First of all when you open the can its spells like every kind of wonderful spice you could imagine. Its a black tea and is wonderful with a light cream added to it. Oh MY!! and along with that I got the Tea Lovers Chocolates and they come in 3 different tins marked by the style of tea they are best pared with. They are in the shaped of little drops so you can enjoy a little at a time with each sip or why not just drop it in :) mmmm..... very good and with it colder outside its greatly soothing, joy in a cup!

Going home to the Desert

Well...... I can't believe it is really happening! If you asked me even 3 weeks ago if I ever thought I would ever being moving back to Arizona I could have told you positively NO. But Jeff continues to surprise me. We had our friend Marshal over for the weekend and while we were sitting outside talking he mentioned Jeff was seriously thinking about moving... "Huh" wow news to me! And Jeff joins us on the patio and continues the conversation... I still thinking in my head, "No way, I think its just a thought and in a couple weeks he'll forget about it". This was my first thought because Jeff has mentioned this before, I remember back in January of this year after a special assembly day that he was wanting to move if we could. We need some serious changes in our lives right now. The last year and a half or so has not been the greatest. We've come through many hardships together but for some reason the world has been mercilessly coming down onto us and we can't get ourselves out from under it. It's always been in the back of our mind to move to Arizona. The life is simple, the stress is slim, cost of living is cheap and we can start fresh. It all sounded so good yet we we're both so hesitant to actually be the one to say "YES, we are moving". So about 2 weekends ago Jeff and I sat down and had a serious, tearful and emotional talk....and our decision made. We will be moving to Arizona the week of December 22nd. It will allow our family an opportunity to come help us as it is the Christmas/New year holiday and everyone has some time off. So....For those here in California, I hope we can get together soon. And as for those in Arizona, I look forward to seeing you again. I love being here in California but we need a change and I think we will find a lot of joy and happiness in Arizona, Back Home.