WOW, 6:00am and nowone has said Good Morning

Monica,  I can't believe how little bruising you have!! Who was your surgeon and were is  she or he located?I can't get over how quickly you are recovering!!!And I think that has a lot to do with your running!

HUGS
JOY

Dr Brian Kent in Orange...and when I saw him today even he was impressed with how fast I was healing! I just took a new set of pictures without the bandages. They will be up soon!

Good Morning Michele and Cali Friends,

Disneyland, oh I'm so jealous.  I need a Disney fix.... soon!

Yesterday I went on a 3 mile hike around the Lafayette Resevoir, what a gorgeous day and I was SO happy with how well I did.  I had NO breathing issues (I have asthma and what a difference the weight loss has made).  OMG, I was up and down hills and inclines like they were straight roads! Yeehaw.  So, we'll be doing that again.  My calves are a little sore but nothing like they used to be.

Today I am meeting 6 of my laid off from the school district buddies for lunch.  They are such great folks and we seem to give each other support.  One of the guys will be going in for back surgery tomorrow (I know Diane can relate) so his job search will be halted while he recoups.

So that's all the news fit to print in my neck of the woods.  Hope everyone has a great day.

Hugs,
Barb

Good morning Michelle and California,

Mondays are the work of the devil as Darlene said.  Why can't we just start the week with Tuesday and forget about Monday. 

Had a nice weekend.  Got the new fridge on Saturday (hooray) and then yesterday went up to my sister's in Pasadena.  Unfortunately the smoke was too intense for us to sit outside or BBQ.  So we just visited inside the house. 

Last night around 10PM I was watching TV and saw police cars outside the house and a helicopter right over our house.  Frankly I didn't think much of it because the police are always chasing somebody down the wash behind our house.  Anyway, a few minutes pass and there is a knock at the door and it's the police telling us that we should prepare for possible evacuation as there is a fire right behind our house.  That's when I looked out the window and sure enough the hillside right behind the house was on fire.  That hill burns all the time, but never on our side of the wash.  Always on the other side.  Well this time it was right there.  It was very tense for a couple of hours, but I've got to hand it to our San Bernardino Fire Fighters.  They are the best.  They had that fire contained and knocked down completely by midnight and we never had to leave our house.  Bless them and their families for all they do. And let's not forget to keep the families of the two fallen firefighters from the other fire in our prayers.  So sad.

OK, I need to get busy here.  I have a 1:15 doctor appointment for this horrible sore throat I've had since last Thursday.  It does not want to go away and I'm going on vacation next week and do not want to be sick.

Everyone have a great day and remember, do something wonderful just for yourself.

Stephanie

Good morning California.

I'm off for a run before the heat gets any worse.  Then cleaning house and doing laundry.  I start work tomorrow, so I'm a little nervous about that.  Then I diving right into this move and going to start sorting and throwing things away or packing them on Wednesday.  It will probably take me the two months I have to get ready for this move

Michele: my youngest turned 21 this year and my oldest will turn 24 in November.  How does this happen??

Great to see Monica up and posting!

I'm saying prayers for everyone going through hard times.

If you have time, say a prayer for me as I'm going to have to tell some very unhappy people in my life that we're moving to Washington.  They're going to have to "grow up" real quick and this is going to be so difficult, for me and them.  I take care of everyone and I'm finally saying "Enough!".  

Have a GREAT Monday everyone!

Good Morning Michele and Cali Crew,

Yesterday, I did a lot of running around. I went down and met my brand new great niece, Audrey Lorraine. She was born on Friday. After a difficult birth, her and mom are doing fine. She weighed 7 lbs 4 oz 21 in long. She is so beautiful. Then I went to spend some time with mom, a couple of my sisters, and my youngest brother. Afterwards, it was back up the hill, to visit my other brother who is still in the hospital. He is doing a lot better. He isn't going to have surgery after all. The doctor just opted to pump him full of IV antibiotics.

I want to keep in mind all the brave firefighters, police officers, and emergency personnel who risk their lives just to ensure our safety. I am keeping the two fallen firefighters in my prayers. Diane, I don't know how you do it every day with Doug in this profession. I am keeping both of you in my prayers, too. I also am praying for the people who have lost their homes, pets, and everything they have to these devastating fires.

I am glad so many were able to attend the Long Beach Coffee and had such a good time. I hope I am able to attend in September. Please don't forget to drink your water today and for those in the fire areas, be extra careful and watch your breathing.

Hugs, love, & friendship always,

Good Morning all,

Michelle I am so glad you had a good time yesterday. I wish there was a way that maybe Disney could text us all and tell us, "we are not busy, come on down"  Twenty minutes compared to 2 hour wait, how great.

I am going to break down and get a heater for the pool.  After 15 years it went out, and it was well used, so hopefully by the end of the month I can get one in and then do my own therapy at home.  The doc said pool walking is the best thing for you.  To think I used to do an hour of that, but even back then 3 years ago my back would hurt.

Please do keep the firefighters in your prayers and thoughts.  What they do day in and day out on these long fires is a very difficult job.  Little sleep and what they do get is usually on the ground, in hose beds of their engines, anywhere they can collaspe.  The eat well on the fire lines because of some very dedicated people who work hard behind the scenes.  I spent time at a fire camp once, working hard as a dispatcher, keeping track of every piece of equipment on the scene, every man and woman out there.  Yes, I worry about Doug all the time Michelle, but I trust Doug to use his training and instinct to keep himself safe, and those of his men.   We trust in the Lord to keep him safe, and God has proven to us many times that he is watching over Doug.  The fire service is dealing with unpredictable fire patterns this year.  Last night on the fire in the Pasadena area fire, they had daytime conditions that caused the fire to double in size.  Fire behavior is not supposed to do that at night.  Gosh I could go on, but I won't heaven knows how long this is already.  Just keep everyone in your prayers.

I hope that everyone has a great day, as for me, it's me and my walker, up and down the hall all day.

Love to all, Diane

Good morning Michele and Cali Crew! I got home from Vegas at about 4am this morning. The weekend was fabulous! I got to hang with my cousin for a bit on saturday night. Then our part of the crusade was last night. We were on a rotating stage. There were two sides and as one of the bands was playing, we were getting set up on the risers, Then they hit a button and rotated the stage so that we were facing the audience. They really need a warning system because it gives new meaning to 'stop the world, I want to get off'...lol The choir started off with the Star-spangled Banner. Then there was a military tribute. One of the tributes was for a fallen soldier. He gave his life in Iraq in 2004. His parents were there and they were presented with a braonze and blue star for their son's service. They also had the unfolding and refolding of the American Flag. As the flag was being refolded, the story of the folds was being told. Thee were many tears shed during this part of the crusade. Then we did our other four songs and they rotated the stage again. We then went and sat in the audience for the remainder of the Crusade. It was awesome!!! When I left, there were almost 100 people accepting the Lord. Then it was back to the bus and head home.

Here is the link to view the Crusade: http://www.somebodylovesyou.org/las_vegas/2009/

Click the Webcast link

good morning all... praying for doug and for all of the fighfighters and their support teams...

yesterday was spent making a 10 minute video of last year's seniors, meant to inspire my current seniors today to think about graduation and to "keep their eye on the prize"....

of course, the REAL prize is KNOWLEDGE.... but they, along with most people, see GRADUATION as the prize...and i guess, to some extent it is.

A boy stayed after 4th period a few minutes ago, and told me "I am going to be the first person in my family to graduate from high school"..... I have heard that since I began teaching 30 years ago. I would have expected at some point that it would no longer be true of anyone in this community, that every family would have at least one high school graduate, but, no... not so..

i'm so happy for my air conditioned classroom and home. Grateful for no fires in my neck of the woods, but praying for those in harm's way...

love to all...

Lori

Is it NAP time yet?  OMG.  I was such a lounger this weekend, but just when I'd decided my hubby and renigged on all his promises of having fun this weekend and lay down for a nap, he decides he wants to go.  If I wasn't so damn bored, I would have ripped him a new one.  All weekend long he promised a trip to the lake and still the damn boat is in the back yard.  Next weekend I"M taking it out and he can go soak his head.  I'm not angry at him, just frustrated at his selfish caveman ways sometimes.  I think I need a vacation from him..............somebody send him BACK to work!!!! 

He takes 3 weeks starting September 24 and goes to Wyoming with a buddy.  I have 3 weeks where I only have to put up with me.  How cool is that?  I'm going to be redecorating my guest room.  I am painting the walls, going to spray paint the ceiling fan a darker contrasting color and am sewing the curtains.  When he gets back, he's installing new carpeting (I'm ripping out the old) and then we're setting up the bed and building corner shelves.  He's also going to do some barnwood work on the walls.

I have a trip to Santa Cruz  in 2 weeks and a trip to Burlingame 2 weeks after that.  I'm busy.  This week I'm going to Sacramento on Wed and taking my kid out to dinner because it's his birthday tomorrow.  I have a kid 26 years old............... how the hell did that happen??????