2014 Goals

Well, I failed at the daily gratitude for November, let's see if I do better with my 2014 goals!

I am not big on New Year's resolutions because, for me, they don't get much thought beyond January 2nd. So this year I decided to just make some 2014 "goals." I know, I know... It's just semantics, right? Isn't resolution just a fancy way of saying goal? Yes, yes it is... however, it's January 14th and I am still thinking about these goals so I am already way ahead of all my past resolutions!

In order to try and keep myself accountable, I thought I would share my goals on here. My intent is to blog my progress on them as I go along to help keep me motivated and interested! 

Here's what we're looking at:

This is something I have been wanting to do since my Pinterest infatuation. First, I must acquire a sewing machine. If you have one that's collecting dust in the back of you closet, I'd be happy to take it off your hands! :o)

I want to read 52 books in 2014. That's a book a week... I am already behind on this one, but I get on reading kicks where I read a book every few days so I am pretty sure I can make up lost time for this one. I will blog my progress and provide reviews. You can also check out what I'm up to in the book world on Goodreads.

I already volunteer a couple times a week walking rescue dogs at the shelter we got our cat from, but I want to do more. I really want to work with the elderly somehow. And maybe get back into Relay for Life. I just want to do more. I cant do much financially, but there's no reason I can't give my time. 

If you know me, you know I have a passion for Random Acts of Kindness. My goal this year is to do at least one a month. Obviously more is welcome, but one a month is my goal. Can be anything - send a card to a friend to brighten their day, pay for a stranger's coffee, leave change on a vending machine, feed a parking meter, take baked goods to a local fire house... You get the gist, big or small, just do something unexpected for someone. 

Multiply that by about 10 and that's my goal! I am tired of being unhealthy and feeling like a busted can of biscuits when I get dressed every day. If I can shed 50 lbs this year - even 30 - I'd feel sooo much better. And if I can actually make this happen by October, that'd be even better since I have to get into a dress for one of my best friend's weddings. :o)

Yoga isn't easy for a big chested girl. Especially one that has some extra rolls around the middle! LOL But I took yoga for one of my college PE credits and I remember my body just feeling better when I did it. I ached less, I moved more easily. Plus, with my career change, I could use a little stress relieving breathing and meditation. Whether it be yoga through the local college, at a studio, or at home in front of my TV, I want to give yoga another try. 

Idk if it just became over all trendy or if it's normal that when you hit your 30's you start running 5k's, but it seems like I hit my 30's and all of a sudden, running a 5k was the thing to do. All my friends were doing it. I kid, but at the same time, they all inspire me. Now, I despise running. I am not graceful when I do it and this is another one of those big chested girl issues. It's uncomfortable (and a little painful) to run with those things bouncing to and fro, but I want to give it a shot. If I don't make it to a 5k, I will be ok with being able to run just a mile. 

I think it would be fun for K & I to take a class together. Perhaps an art class would be fun. Although, I'm not going to lie - K is really talented in that department and I would be afraid I would get discouraged by her skills and my lack there of. I also think it would be fun to take a language class together. Spanish would be most beneficial considering where we live, but I have taken a semester of sign language and really enjoyed it. Such a beautiful way to communicate. Plus, if K likes it I think being an interpreter would be a perfect career change for her!

And last, but certainly not least... I want us to have special, meaningful dates at least once a month. It says date night, but with our funky schedules it's subject to change. Couples tend to get complacent in relationships and sometimes I think that we are getting there. We get so caught up in the daily grind and surviving, we forget to have fun. So my hope is that we get creative and think outside of the box so we can connect in love and laughter and not get stuck in the daily grind rut! 

So there you have it folks. Stay tuned for progress updates throughout the year!

Did you set any goals for 2014? If so, feel free to share them and share your progress too! 

Weight Watchers Confirmation

I have been seriously thinking about re-joining Weight Watchers (WW) lately.  While I am not at my biggest, I am probably just a couple pounds shy of my biggest. I told K the other day - I have to do something. I am uncomfortable in my own skin and I just want to be able to cross my legs without having to tuck or hold my foot! 

She had a point - we spend quite a bit of money every month to maintain her health, why shouldn't I be able to do the same for my health? Great point, K. So I have been thinking about joining WW and figuring out if it's even feasible with my weird hours and I will be out of town for two weeks... and can we really budget for it... you know, finding all the reasons to procrastinate or not do it at all. 

And then today happened. 

I was at the grocery store, picking some things up for the week. (I would like it noted that they were even healthier choices! More fruits and veggies, less chips and cookies.)

Anyway, I am in the yogurt section. 

Nearby is a perfectly skinny teenage girl and her perfectly skinny mother. 

As I grab the yogurt I need, I knock a couple packages of gold fish off the little kiosk that I would like to tell myself was set up to close to the yogurts anyway. (Although, I just realized that this is just another confirmation that I need to join WW.)

Me, being the courteous person I am, I squat down and pick them up. 

And I freeze. 

Did that really just happen? 

OMG

I reach back behind my leg and...

 

Yep, it happened. 

There is no Instagram filter to make this situation pretty.
It's as ugly as it gets. 

It's as real as it gets.

Humiliating at first, hysterical later.

Apparently, at some point, the perfectly skinny teenage girl saw what happened because I saw her quickly walk over to her mom and talk to her in hushed tones. 

I calmly removed my sweater and tied it around my waist and finished my shopping. 

A couple aisles later, in the rather drafty frozen food aisle, I run into this perfectly skinny mother daughter combo again and the daughter once again, quickly walks over to her mom to point me out and whisper about my mishap while the mother pretends to be (rather loudly) contemplating what ice cream treat they should get. 

 Go ahead, get your ice cream.... get 10 ice creams... and then when your pants split, you'll remember me and have compassion instead of judgement - skinny bitches. LOL

In my defense, these pants are probably a good 7-10 years old and worn rather thin. 

Needless to say though, thin pants or not, I will be joining WW next month.

Got any good WW recipes you want to share? 

;o)

Really? 20 Years?!

Donald Raymond Burch
March 13, 1929 - December 26, 1992

December 26, 1992.

That was the saddest day of my life, so far. It was the day I had to say my final good bye to my dad.

It's hard to believe it's been 20 years.

People always say when you lose a loved one, there will be good days and there will be bad days. And that you never really get over it. And that the grief will come out of no where. That was true in the beginning, for sure. Over the years, those bad days have been less, but I had no idea that 20 years later, grief would still sneak up on me.

This year, it has definitely snuck up on me. I don't know if it's because it's the 20 year mark or if it's because - now don't laugh - K and I watched the movie The Last Song around Thanksgiving. It was my second attempt trying to get through that movie because Miley Cyrus ruins it for me. (I don't think there is a worse actress out there that gets on my nerves quite like she does.)

If you haven't seen the movie, in a nutshell, she's a teenage girl that despises her parents and she finds out her dad has cancer. She gets the chance to spend time with him, get to know him and care for him as he's fighting his losing battle against cancer.

February 12, 1971

This made me sad as I reflected back on me losing my dad. When my dad was dying, it was just me and my mom at home. My siblings were adults and on their own or going to college so my mom and I were the ones there 24/7. I was just 14 years old. I say my mom and I were his primary care givers, but it was mostly my mom. (The strength she had during that time amazes me. She was strong for him, strong for us, and strong for herself. She deserves a medal of honor!)

Like I said, I was 14. I don't think I fully understood that my dad was dying and what that really meant. It meant that this was my last chance with him - and I wasted it. I mostly hid and ran from what was happening once he started going downhill. I remember trying to always be somewhere else - friends houses, neighbors houses, anywhere but home - and when I was home, I remember being locked in my room as much as possible.

Watching The Last Song, I realized how I cheated myself out of the last moments I would ever have with my dad. This broke me. All that time I spent in my room, I should have been at his side. Even if it was to just watch TV... to sit in silence. At least I was with him. Those times I escaped to friends and neighbors, I should have been hanging out with him.

Less than thrilled with my teenage shenanigans.
Possibly April of 1992

Should have, could have, would have... but didn't. I don't beat myself up for not handling it differently. I was just 14. I didn't know better. Sure, I knew about death - I had lost grandparents, but nothing can prepare you for the loss of a parent. Especially not at 14. So I am forgiving with myself that I didn't handle it then the way I would now, but that doesn't mean it doesn't still make me sad that it wasn't different.

Sometimes when people lose loved ones they have a hard time letting go of their grief because they believe that by letting go of their grief, they will somehow forget the one they're grieving. For me, that wasn't really an issue. I always thought - how could I ever forget my dad?! And then there was the day I realized that I had forgotten what my dad's voice sounded like. I just sobbed. It felt terrible. I had forgotten. My dad was a traveling salesman and every other week when he was out of town, we'd talk on the phone... and now I wouldn't even know his voice if he called me. It was a gut wrenching realization. I was sad for me. I was devastated for him - did he know I had forgotten and was he hurt that I could forget?! I felt almost like I had abandoned him somehow.

I wasn't just cheated out of his death, I was cheated out of his life, too. There were moments growing up that I wished he could have been there for - learning to drive, buying my first car, wrecking my first car, graduating high school, my wedding. You know, those big moments in life that parents are supposed to be a part of. (Thankfully, my mom was still a part of all those moments - I couldn't even fathom not having her to always depend on!)

1986

He got the opportunity to watch one out of three of his daughters graduate high school, graduate college, and walk her down the aisle. She got everything I didn't and I think how lucky she is to have had all that with him. However, she thinks I am the lucky one because she says I got more of him than any of the rest of the kids because he had a home office that he worked from when he was home so he was around more when I was growing up. Believe me, I cherish the memories I do have of that time... I just feel like I didn't value those moments back then like I would have later in my life. At the same time, I watched my other sister go through some very tough times with my dad in her teenage years - times I would not have wanted to go through with him.

I feel like I missed out on so much. He missed out on so much. We all missed out on so much! My dad died seven months before his first grandson was born. Oh, how I think he would have loved his grandkids and how they would have loved him!

It's hard to believe it's been 20 years. In my own mind, I guess I thought that after 20 years, his death wouldn't still haunt me. I was wrong. For whatever reason, the loss of my dad is weighing heavy in my heart this year. The grief doesn't cripple me like it did in the beginning, but it still lingers.

1979

Yesterday, on my way to work I was thinking about that last Christmas as I fought back the tears. That Christmas was a tough one, to say the least. He was too incoherent to partake in and Christmas activities - not that there were many that year - but it was the last time his whole family was all together under the same roof. (At least I think we were - for some reason, I think my one sister might not have been there on Christmas, but I cant imagine her not being there with how sick my dad was.) Although he wasn't coherent, I do believe that he somehow knew that it was Christmas and that his family was all there because he held on and made it through the day.

I know that my dad is still watching over us... I feel him the most when I am playing cards and people get pissed because I am relentless and kicking their butts (unless I am playing my mom - he's on her side then.) LOL But, what I wouldn't do for more time with him. A year, a month, a day, an hour, a moment... whatever it is, I would do just about anything for a direct connection to him again.

What advice would he give me? What life lessons would he want to teach me? What might he say to me? What would I say to him? Would he be proud? Is he proud?

So today, I will remember my dad. I will take the time to light a candle in his honor and think about the man he was - not perfect by any means, but at minimum, a good man, a good Dad. Some people don't ever get a chance to even meet their dad's. Some know them, but wish they didn't. While I feel the loss, I recognize the treasure I had in getting to have my dad for the time I did and knowing he was the best Dad he knew how to be!

November 1992

From Caltrans to California Highway Patrol

It's really starting to sink in that my days at my current job with Caltrans are limited. I am filled with gratitude and nostalgia, have a little sadness, and am bubbling with excitement.

I moved down to Southern California in November of 2009 and started working for Caltrans in January of 2010. It's really the only job I have known since moving down here and the people here are definitely the only work family I have had since leaving Sacramento.

Me and my boss at a 1960's themed meeting.

My first boss was and is amazing! He's like a big brother to me. It only took a few days for us to both realize we were going to work well together. We both fall under the Aquarius sign, our birthdays just days from each other. We love to eat... you want something from that guy? Give him food (preferably something chocolate) and you'll get what you need. We have a similar sense of humor and our minds work eerily the same - several thoughts going on at once, the mind rarely quiet. And we get each others sensitivity. He's a very sweet and sensitive guy, oblivious to most things, but pays attention when it's important (particularly when you'd prefer he not pay attention because you don't want to have to explain why it looks like you've been crying because that will just make you cry more.) He made my job joyful... When I worked for him, I didn't wake up every day dreading going to work and battling with myself to get up and go - I just got up and went without thinking about it because he was that great.

I'm not sure he knows what a gift he truly was to me. When I first started working for him, I had just spent the last three years in an extremely unhealthy relationship and had just left a supervisor that despised me and my work. My self confidence was nearly non-existent. He immediately saw my potential, entrusted me with important tasks, allowed me to make decisions, and slowly rebuilt my confidence. I am forever grateful to him for that and will definitely miss his charisma and his ability to smile no matter how high the shit is piled.

The Core Family

Don't worry, I wont bore you with mushy stories about each of those people, but Caltrans has been good to me. Sure, it wasn't rainbows and sunshine every day, but I enjoyed working here and the people were incredibly kind. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to work for Caltrans and the be a part of the Caltrans Family. I mean, how many people get to say they got to be Cone Kid for their job?

Now, it's time for me to leave the nest. I am sooooo excited for my next adventure. I am moving on to the California Highway Patrol and will be working as a 9-1-1 dispatcher. I have been wanting to get this position for several years and it's finally happened! I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am for this new adventure. I really hope that I will love it as much as I think I will. And who knows, maybe I will get to be Chipper one day!

UPDATE: I came into work today and this is why I will miss my Caltrans family so much.

Congratulations!

The whole view.

The best part!

Adventures in Cake Decorating

I learned something valuable about myself this weekend. I am not destined to be a cake decorator - or even a baker. 

Don't get me wrong, I love to bake. However, I learned Friday night that I prefer to bake only for those I know and not on a grand scale. It's a lot of pressure to bake for multiple strangers!

A friend of ours celebrated a 20 year anniversary and I committed to making the cake for the celebration. Her favorite cake is a Pepperidge Farm White Coconut Cake - a cake I have never made before and didn't really understand. Is it coconut cake with white frosting? Is it white cake with coconut frosting? I was unsure and either way, I should have definitely done a trial run before making a cake for 100 people. 

K said it was white cake with coconut frosting so I went on a mission to find a recipe for coconut frosting. Most of them were really lame... using just coconut flavoring and they sounded boring. I finally found a cream cheese coconut frosting and - HELLOOOO... I LOVE cream cheese frosting so I was sold. I know, I know... It wasn't my cake so I should have kept searching for a regular coconut frosting, but I was running out of time so I just went with it. 

On my way home from work, I went to the store and bought four boxes of white cake, a ton of powdered sugar, a ton of cream cheese, a ton of butter and some coconut. (I should have realized right then and there that the ratio of coconut to everything else was off, but I didn't.)

Let the disasters begin.

I put the first two 9 x 13 cakes in and they came out looking great. I was off to a good start! I let those two cakes cool and threw in two round cakes. When I thought the first two cakes were cool enough, I attempted to get them out of their baking dish. Uh oh. They weren't coming out as easily as I had hoped. &%$#! What did I do wrong?!

K worked in a bakery for a while so I left them to her to figure out how to get them out without crumbling them to pieces. It was a hopeless cause!

This was at about 10:30 PM. We took a moment to figure out a game plan. I certainly didn't have the time or energy to bake four more cakes, let them cool, then decorate them. I decided we'd do some cupcakes since it's pretty hard to mess those up and bake another 9 x 13 cake (K was able to piece a 9 x 13 back together.) If the cake fails again, at least we will have the cupcakes for our friend, and everyone else can eat a store bought cake!

See? It's hard to screw up cupcakes. They looked so good someone stole one before I could even take the picture. I felt really bad though because after I got back from the store, I was super frustrated and realized that these cupcakes weren't being baked with love. :o( I told that story to someone at the party and they said, "I feel that same way sometimes too. It's OK, angry cake tastes good too." That made me feel a little better.

So the cakes weren't the only disaster. While the cupcakes were baking, I thought I better start making the frosting so K can start frosting the cake she saved. I mixed all the ingredients together, stirred in the coconut and... It barely freaking tasted like coconut!!! The coconut was the whole point! GRRRRR! Well, it was too late now to change the recipe, so I just had to go with it and hope it worked. 

K had the brilliant idea that she would make a sand dollar to put on the cake because our friend as a sentimental connection to them and recently got a tattoo. That was kind of a nightmare too. The sand dollar started out much larger than it ended up, but I think K did a nice job and recovered nicely. 

Not bad, right? I mean, it's no Ace of Cakes or Cake Boss, but it worked. 

And for the final product we had a beach scene with a sand dollar:

 

I think it turned out pretty cute considering we were up until 3:30 am baking and getting the initial frosting done. We did the finishing touches the next morning before the party... We wont mention how we were almost an hour and a half late, but I guess better late than never. The guests seemed to really like the cake... Either that, or they were being nice. LOL 

When all else fails, cover the scraps left over in chocolate frosting and devour. At least that's what we did. :o)

Auntie Bear

We've all heard that saying about a momma bear protecting her cubs. Is there such a thing as an Auntie Bear?

Photo borrowed from internet.

I have no kids of my own. I would love to have them one day, but right now I just love everyone else's and then give them back to their rightful owners when I tire of them. I may just be an Aunt, but boy do I understand that Momma Bear instinct.

I'll never forget the first time my sister shared with me the story of my oldest nephew's first broken heart. I had tears streaming down my face and it even chokes me up thinking about it right now. I hate seeing loved ones hurt at any age, but there is something about watching someone you love have to learn those first lessons in heartbreak we've all learned at some point in our lives.

And now, my other nephew appears to be going through it. I don't like it. Not one bit! 

Here's how it went:

Sunday afternoon: I talk to my sister who tells me that my nephew has been "hanging out" with a girl, but they aren't dating. They want to take things slow. She's supposed to come over that night and take him out to dinner for a belated birthday dinner.

Sunday 5:48pm: Facebook post from my nephew - "When you cant wait for the moment to come and then it's cancelled a half hour before it happens." Dislike! 

Monday evening: I talk to my sister again. "She better have had a good excuse, I say." My sister tells me she did and she ended up coming over later that night with a present for him. Ok fine. We'll let this one slide.

Wednesday 7:44pm: Facebook post from my nephew - "High school relationships... Haha why do we even try?"  Dislike again, but I think... How wise of him. I'm pretty sure I never thought something like that in high school!

And then today, 2:27pm: Facebook post from my nephew - "Now you're just somebody that I used to know..." Did you hear it too? The breaking of his heart and the cracking of mine? Ugh!
I responded to him, ">:o( Dislike again! Do I need to come up there??"
His response? "Guess so...:(" Did you hear that again? That was my heart actually breaking! Not just cracking!

That Auntie Bear comes out in me! I just want to take all the kids I love into my "den", heal their sweet little hearts, and be able to promise them they'll never have to go through it again. But we all know that's not possible.

I don't know how all you parents are able to sit back and let your kids go through their life's lessons without over protecting them and more so - without kicking the asses of the people that hurt them!  The part of me that thinks I'm a bad ass comes out and wants to go find the person and.... and what? Give them dirty looks? Lord knows I could never physically hurt someone. Perhaps I could tear them down verbally, but then I would probably turn around and start crying because I felt so bad for saying the things I said. LOL I would never do anything of the sort, but man does it infuriate me!

I truly don't know how parents do it though! It makes me question my ability to be a parent. If I feel so passionately about it as an Auntie that I want to get in my car and drive 8 hours to get to my nephew, I can't imagine how his mom feels about it. Now I understand why my mom was the way she was when I had a bad friend or crappy partner.


I guess it's a good thing I live 8 hours away from my nephew. It gives the girl an 8 hour lead to either start running, or change her mind and make it right.

Introducing - CONE KID!!

"Slow for the Cone Zone"

Yep. That's me inside there!

Today was National Bring Your Kid to Work Day. My boss approached me about a month ago and asked if I would represent Caltrans as Cone Kid. I reluctantly agreed. (But was also secretly a little excited. LOL)

The events leading up to me becoming Cone Kid were nearly tragic, comical, and overall fun.

Yesterday, we were checking out the costume and being sure the pants and shirt fit before the big day. I took a look at Cone Kid himself and thought, "Oy. I hope I don't get claustrophobic in there." (I am not really sure why we didn't test out the whole outfit right then, but we didn't.)

So, today is the big day. I suit up five minutes before the event is to start. My boss slides Cone Kid over my head and..... INSTANT PANIC!!!! :o(

Oh, no! Am I going to be able to do this? I mean, come on! How irrational am I being? What could really happen to me in that suit? 

Well, let me tell you what could happen.

• What if I fall over? 
• What if there is an earthquake and I have to run and I cant get out? 
• What if I get nauseous and throw up inside Cone Kid? 
• What if my stomach hates me and I have to run to the bathroom? 
• What if I freak out inside that thing and scare the kids?
• What if I pass out?
• What if some kid bullies me?!

The catastrophic scenarios were racing through my head. Not only would I not be able to run, but I wouldn't going to be able to get that cone off my head without the help of someone else. What? I have to rely on someone else? This is NOT a comfortable feeling for me.

Thankfully, my boss found a great solution. Instead of being in the costume for the entire welcome session (about 30-45 minutes) she suggested I wait in a closet and at the end of her presentation, she would come get me. We'd have the kids just take pictures with Cone Kid and I would only have to be inside the cone body for about 10 minutes. I could do 10 minutes. Couldn't I?

I sat in that closet for about 20 minutes running all the scenarios through my head again. Then laughing at myself, I returned to my original rational thought: Really? What was the likelihood that any of those things would happen in 10 minutes? Sure. It could happen in some freak scenario, but the odds were pretty low. Plus... I LOVE kids. And the kids are going to LOVE Cone Kid. I wouldn't want to take Cone Kid away from them! So... I was able to sit in the closet, talk myself off the ledge, then (for not the first time in my life) I came out of the closet with a bang!

The kids ooh'd and aah'd and cheered and smiled. It was great. They each got their picture taken... even the big kids got their pictures with Cone Kid:

High Five!

He was so stoked! I guess some of us never fully lose our innocence!

I thought it was a little bizarre at the time, but when I saw these pictures I thought it was HILARIOUS! He's totally wearing the hats and safety jackets we gave out to the kids. I am pretty sure he was more excited to be getting high fives and pictures with Cone Kid than the actual kids were. He even had someone video tape it! LOL! I'm not even 100% sure this guy works with us!

Also hilarious about this day... instinctively, at every click of the camera, I would catch myself smiling from ear to ear inside Cone Kid as if my face was going to be in the picture! Every now and again, I would catch myself and chuckle wondering why the heck I was smiling. Never the less, the next click of the camera, there I was from inside of Cone Kid smiling and thinking, "Cheeeeeese".

So, it was nearly tragic in that I almost couldn't be Cone Kid. But thankfully, I was able to talk myself off the ledge. Find it comical. Laugh at myself. Get over my irrational fears and end up having a great time.

I might even consider doing it again next year. 

Cover and Pass

One thing you should know about me is I love almost all games. I say almost all because I don't really like the games I am not good at. LOL That's not true, even if I am not very good at a game, as long as it's fun and involves laughter, I will like it. I grew up in a card playing family, but I love a board game and LIVE for game nights with friends! 

I sound competitive, and I can be as long as it's fun competition. Once it gets serious, it's no longer fun. You should see my best friend's husband and I play the game of Sorry. It is cut throat and takes forever to finish a game, but it is FUN!

In my "A Week with Inez" post, I mentioned we played cards. One of the games we played was Cover and Pass. This game is one of my favorites, so I thought I would share the fun and give the directions. 

Players: 3+ or teams

You need three decks of cards with Jokers. (It is much easier to shuffle if all three decks are the same size.)

The game consists of 7 "rounds". Each round has a different goal and one more card than the last.

The rounds are:

1. Deal 6 cards, get 2 sets of 3
2. Deal 7 cards, get 1 set of 3, on set of 4
3. Deal 8 cards, get 2 runs of 4
4. Deal 9 cards, get 3 sets of 3
5. Deal 10 cards, get 2 sets of 3, 1 run of 4
6. Deal 11 cards, get 1 set of 7
7. Deal 12 cards, get 1 run of 8

Once the cards are dealt the dealer turns over the top card from the stock pile and the player to the left of the dealer starts play. If the player wants the card the dealer flips up, they pick up the card and discard a card from their hand. If they do not want that card, they "cover" it with the top card of the stock pile and "pass" it to the player on their left. They then pick up the top card of the stock pile and play as normal, discarding as they see fit. (There should never be more than on card in the discard pile at all times.) This continues until one person has gotten rid of all their cards.

You want to wait to play your cards when you have completed all the runs and sets required for the round, don't play your runs and sets as you get them. Once a player is down on the board, the goal is to then get rid of the remainder of their cards. They do this by playing additional runs and sets of 3 or playing on what other players have laid down. (It is easiest if you just play the cards on what other players have laid down, rather than starting your own additional piles -- Points are not determined by the cards played.)

Wilds: Jokers & 2's are wild. In rounds 1-5 you may play one wild per run or set unless the wild is played as a "natural" - in other words, a two is played as a two, not a wild. In rounds 7 & 8, you may use up to three wilds, unless the 4th wild is played as a natural.

Once a player gets rid of all the cards in their hand, the round is over. The cards left in the other player's hands will count against them.*

Scoring:

Wild (Jokers) = 50
Wild (2's) = 20
Aces = 20 (may be played as high or low)
K-10 = 10
9-2 = 5

*If playing partners/teams, the team members/partner of the player that goes out, does not count the points left in their hand.

The player/team with the least amount of points at the end of Round 7 wins.

I hope you'll play. It's a lot of fun and guarenteed to bring hours of entertainment. K was not a huge fan of this game at first. She said the cards almost went into the campfire, but after playing with my mom and sister this last week, she is now a fan.

Feel free to comment if you have any questions. One of my most favorite people to play cards with, Ronnie Blue, says when there's a rule dispute, "Your house, your rules." You make the call, just remember to stay consistent. Happy playing!

A Week with Inez

Who, you may ask, is Inez? Inez is my wonderful Mom who came out to get out of the cold Indiana weather and visit her daughter in beautiful, sunny California.

Here's how it went:

We took my mom home from the airport via the scenic route down Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). One of the most breath taking views is at Crystal Cove where they just so happen to have a Ruby's Diner that over looks the ocean. Of course we stopped there to grab a bite to eat as we oogled at the ocean views!

Ruby's Diner, Newport Beach Coast, Crystal Cove

We spent quite a bit of time at various beaches.

Heisler Park, Laguna Beach

Heisler Park

Two of my most favorite women.

My beautiful Mom, San Clemente Pier

Found cool trees.

Coolest tree ever, Heisler Park, Laguna Beach

Me & K, Heisler Park, Laguna Beach

Second coolest tree, Main Beach, Laguna Beach

Watched some sunsets.

Aliso Beach

Montage, Laguna Beach

Out on the whale watching boat.

 Celebrated my Birthday!

Had a picnic on the beach, San Clemente Pier

Went for a walk on the Pier

Got the most perfect Birthday card

Followed by the most perfect Rockstar Monkey Birthday cake.

And blew out candles, which people missed so I fake blew out candles. LOL

Then my sister Melissa came.

As her son pointed out, if you look closely, her eyes are closed. LOL

We went Whale Watching. (We did see whales and dolphins on the trip, but they're too quick to catch on camera so you get pics of us instead.)

Waiting to board our Whale Watching boat.

She thought we were whale watching in Antarctica.

My mom refused to smile because she said I had hate in my heart. And did I ever, that day! At least until we got on the boat.

Our first whale watching trip together.

Take 1 - Enjoying each other.

Take 2 - Mom?? Hello?

Take 3 - There we go! :o)

 Laughed a LOT.

For some reason my mom would talk during pictures. Yelling "NO TALKING" would result in laughter and a great pic.

I laugh like no other when I am with my mom.

We made fun of her Antarctica coat and later realized we all wished we had an Antarctica coat. Brrr it was COLD on that boat!

I am pretty sure this is another "NO TALKING" shot. LOL

Took silly pictures.

TA-DA

Messing with camera settings.

Showing some sass.

Played lots of cards. (Sorry no pictures.)

And finally, after breakfast at our favorite spot in Laguna, we had one last trip to the beach before everyone went home.

Main Beach, Laguna Beach

It was a wonderful visit with memories that will be forever cherished. So many little side stories I would love to chronicle, but don't want to overwhelm my loyal readers with "you-had-to-be-there" stories. Melissa has gone home, my mom has continued on her journey to Arizona before heading back to Indiana, and we have returned to the daily grind. I definitely went through the vacation blues once everyone left, but when I reflected back on the week we had, I realized my gratitude and decided I will have to make these memories get me through until we have the chance to make some more. Many, many more.