Painting with friends

Hey all, I hope wherever you're at- you're staying warm!!  My poor husband actually had to fly into Chicago yesterday for a business meeting this week. One of his meetings have already been cancelled for tomorrow so he's going to try to fly home tonight. I cant believe the crazy cold temps going on there.
So last weekend was a super busy one. I had a birthday party last Friday and she wanted a group of us to go paint at one of the Painting with a Twist locations. That means we can drink wine while painting. This was my second time to attend a painting party and they really are sooo fun. As long as you know your limits , you wont be too disappointed. HAHA! I am terrible. I just don't have the skills to pull it off but I had fun doing it so I didn't care. I have the painting in my Goodwill bag in the garage as we speak.

Saturday morning, we went on a close breakfast run on the Harley and it was 35 degrees. We met a new couple at church a few weeks ago that also ride so we invited them to go with us.  We just rode a few miles away to the closest Cracker Barrel  which is always a great idea in my mind. I love their French toast! 

Later in the day, I  volunteered at an event in Denton to represent Refuge for Women of North Texas that i'm a core volunteer for.  That was for a few hours and it was great! I want to talk more about that on separate post regarding Human Trafficking.  A guy was there who was a producer for an independent movie on that topic and it was being released that day. There was also a young lady there who spoke about being a survivor of Sex trafficking and how she was sold to the mob by her own father because he was a gambler.  It was heart breaking but also empowering to see her strength!

We had dinner with some friends later that evening who we haven't seen in a few months so that was nice. 

Sunday, we went to church and after lunch, Todd rode the bike some more because it was a beautiful day but I went home and finished a book I was reading and took a nap.  It was a great weekend. This week, just focusing on work and taking care of my pups while Todd is out of town.  Kinda boring post today. LOL 

I'll talk to ya soon!! 

I got a fever and the only prescription is Cali!!

Hey yall! I got back last night and had to be back at work today. It was a quick few days away but its exactly what was needed. In fact, I do believe I am starting a tradition from now on and I MUST head there every January!! That way i'll have something to look forward to since January's suck so badly for me.
We flew in Monday  and didn't land until after 2pm and picked up rental car. Our hotel happened to be a little over an hour away east in the valley. We stayed at Harrah's which is in Funner. A "fun fact" about Funner, David Hasselhoff is the Mayor.  yup, true story.  The roads were very winding and 2 lanes only .  Once we got to hotel and settled in, I didn't want to have go back into the city and then the drive back to hotel.  That would be hours just on the road and I was tired from 3 hr flight.  I ended up eating at Smashburger in the casino and I gambled a little. I lost 25$ and then called it quits for the night. I went back to room and read my book. Todd had first night of conference so he came back to room after his dinner meeting.
Tuesday was a day of me going down memory lane. I started off driving to Imperial Beach . That's where I lived in junior high and last place I lived before moving back to Texas. First I found our taco stand that has been there forever and Mom and I ate there every week. I was SO excited to see them still open and that it was just as tasty as ever. Then, I headed to the beach to walk along the water and found some pretty rocks. I like to bring home a few of my faves and put them in a jar of water in my bathroom.  I went by my old apartment but it was gated so I couldn't go by and see my favorite boulder and view of ocean I had.  I was Ok with that though, I have the memories in my head.
After driving around IB, I went to Coronado. I saw my old church and school that I went to and then parked to walk around. I walked to Hotel Del Coronado and went to inside café to get iced coffee and yummy pastries. Then walked along the beach there to take some pics. Another fun fact, Todd's great aunt used to a be a seamstress for Hotel Del many years ago.  I ate dinner there at little café while traffic wasn't at extreme rush hour and then drove back to hotel.
Wednesday was spent with a girlfriend Laura that I've known for several years in Dallas. She and her husband are currently living in a camper and driving across the US.  They get to work from wherever they are so it really works for them. I was lucky that I happened to catch them while they're still in San Diego.  She and I went straight to La Jolla which is where I wanted to spend my last day by the  beach. We ate tacos at a yummy taco stand and then walked along the coast with the seals. I thought my heart would burst from happiness!! The seals were everywhere and its pup season with baby seals everywhere. We literally got to walk among them . I didn't touch any of them though and some of the mama seals were pretty protective and barked at others who got too close.  I got a few souvenirs and stopped at a Harley shop for tshirts. Dropped her off at camper and then drove back to hotel and got packed.  So really only 2 full days to play but it was perfect!!
I am about to overload yall with pictures so there is your warning.  Believe me when I tell you that these pics are just a small percentage of all I took!!

surfer on waves

navy seals doing drills over the ocean

seals on the rocks

those are seals not rocks behind me

look closely in the rocks- seals among them

look closely for the baby about to swim out of water

It was hard to come back to the cold because it was so nice there but I really missed my bed and my dogs. Oh and you know get back to my job that helps pay for my souvenirs. :)

Have a great weekend yall!!  Hugs

Meant for me

Hey there, hope everyone had a great weekend. As mentioned last week, I knew this weekend would be hard and emotional and it was. I want to share something very special though that happened to me on Friday. I was working from home in my messy office and I was trying to clear some things that I knew had a place to go other than on top of the bed. My office bed is the Catch all for everything if I go shopping, thrifting, or crafting. It looked like a tornado hit my room during the holidays.
I had bought a leather bound journal a few months ago from either a thrift store or a garage sale. I don't remember where I got it. I do remember flipping through it to see if there were a lot of pages already used. I also clearly remember flipping through a few other times to just make sure I didn't miss anything and thinking to myself- this is brand new /never used.
So fast forward a few months, this journal has been laying on my bed under many layers of Christmas and Halloween stuff, etc.  On Friday afternoon, I picked up the journal and untied the leather piece and opened it from the beginning of the book. That's where I saw only one page written in it , from front to back and it was dated June 29, 2011.  I read the journal entry and began sobbing afterwards.
It appears to be written by a young boy who has also lost their father.
First of all, had I seen the entry first at garage sale or thrift store, I would have totally still bought it on the spot because it would have spoke to me!
I just really genuinely BELIEVE that it was meant for me to read at that random hour alone in my office while I was grieving the loss and anniversary of my Dad's death.  I didn't feel so alone . I know that so many have lost loved ones . My mind was blown to come across this during this time and it was so special.  I like to think that Dad had a hand in this and it was his way of reaching out to me...

I am better today. In fact, Saturday night after mass with stepmom, we went to have dinner at restaurant where I had not been back to since Dad passed. I had only been twice and each time was with his him so it was just hard to go into.  Now that I broke the ice, we can go again .  Thank you for the sweet comments and support. 

Sad sad January

So I have a confession, I kinda really hate January.  Its only been a few years since I've felt this way but I do.  Four years ago, on January 4 2015, I got the sad call you don't want to receive with news that my stepdad Don had passed away.  We had his funeral on January 10 in little town he grew up in West Texas.  Don was seriously the most amazing stepdad a girl could have asked for and it was a huge loss to me and even more so for my baby brother. They had the most incredible father/son relationship.
Then , a year later after losing Don, I lost my Dad.   Daddy went into the hospital on January 10 and was told he wouldn't be leaving the hospital.  He passed on the 12th.  I've not been the same since. I wont go into too much detail for one , I am at work and cant sob uncontrollably right now.  Basically, though I sunk into a deep depression and head in a hole for almost the whole year so that after counseling and climbing out of the hole, I had to face it again once the numbness wore off.   I've been able to get stronger little by little as time passes but on some days, its like a bandaid was ripped off and my skin came off with it.
I am on Facebook and one thing I love about Facebook is the memories and one thing I hate is the memories. They GUT me during this month. In fact, I wasn't even thinking when I accidentally remembered to look at the FB memories from today in past years. One was the day of funeral and the other was day I got news that Daddy wasn't going to make it.

I'm trying very hard to breathe and to realize that today is a different day and I need to break pattern of utter sadness . 

This Saturday is the 12th. My stepmom is avid Catholic and has a mass dedicated to Daddy on this day. I'll be joining her and we had discussed going to lunch or dinner to one of his fave places.  Last year, I worked from home and then went to bed as soon as I could log out. 

In a few weeks, Todd has a business conference in San Diego. I cant even join him for dinners because they're the kind of meetings where its a package deal with room , etc and meals are brought in per attendee. I used to live in San Diego when I was a kid and it's one of my happy places.  I am tagging along because I cant wait to buy a cheap beach towel, kick off my shoes and sit on Imperial Beach and journal , meditate and talk to Daddy all while waves come crashing down .  One of my friends was supposed to come down from LA to see me but she cant and Todd was worried about me being alone. He has no idea that that's what i'm counting on. I want to change my feeling about January. I want to have some peace in my heart. I cant think of a better way than to not be at work and to be in California to roam alone during the day with no agenda. 

Sorry for a depressing post but that's all I got today folks.  Have a great day and rest of your week. 

Dumplin and Dolly

Yall, have you seen Dumplin on Netflix?  It was recommended to me by a facebook group i'm a member of and i'm so glad they did.
Its set in Texas and Jennifer Aniston plays the mom of a young girl who's nickname is Dumplin ( which she hates).  Dumplin is HUGE fan of Dolly Parton which is so awesome because I also happen to be a huge fan!!
The movie is based off a book written by Julie Murphy in 2015.  It's a young adult book but I may look into because I like to see how different books and movies are of the same name.
I don't want to give too much away but the movie is so entertaining and it includes some Drag Queens which honestly how can you go wrong with that!!!
Many songs were written for the movie so they're original and of course it includes many of her classic hits.  I just really enjoyed the movie and wanted to see if any of yall liked it as much as I did?

There are some great collaborations like with Elle King, Miranda Lambert, Mavis Staples, even some cameos from Jennifer Aniston.

This is not a paid endorsement whatsoever- just a Texas girls opinion who loves Dolly!
I'm starting to feel better so thank you for the well wishes. Still congested a little and a lingering cough but manageable.  Have a great week yall!!

Happy New Year's!! 2019

Unfortunately a tradition I would very much like to break is getting sick over the holidays. I have an upper respiratory infection and on antibiotics for the next 7 days. I am at work but feel like Poo. 

So I am excited to get this year started in a week or so when I feel better. HAHA!

Hope everyone had a wonderful and special holiday season.  I have a few remnants of Christmas lingering but i'll have it all put up by end of week.  Got the tree down so that's a plus. 

Talk to ya soon.... off to take some cough medicine....