IT SNOWED! IT SNOWED! IT SNOWED!

Our neck of the woods hasn't seen snow in over 35 years.
Imagine our surprise when we saw this today! Woot!

And The Winner Is...

Meandering around the Monterey County Fair back in the 1990s, on a whim and with much prodding from my hubby, I entered an arm wrestling contest. I’m still surprised I did it, but even more surprised that I took home one of those tall trophies! That’s the gal I beat (on your left), she was really nice and we had a lot of fun up there. The next one put me down rather quickly, and that was the end of my arm wrestling career.

Crafting

I heart Making Stuff (by suzy tolen)

I fell in love with this crafty poster, so I added it to the que of our Craft Discoveries blog. Last night my daughter surprised me with the real deal…gah! Thank you, Titancia! It’s pretty dang awesome seeing something on-line that comes from the imagination of a crafter and then holding it in my hands.

One Year Ago Today

Letting go of the things that are weighing us down is key to recovering one's joy. I’ve been working on getting through a certain sadness for almost a year now and I believe I have made a breakthrough.

I’ve mentioned before that my daughters and I were in a pretty horrific accident. It was a year ago today, but it sometimes seems like yesterday, or even a moment ago. Reliving that man’s suicide when he walked in front of our car (while I was driving almost 65 mph, in the dark, on a major highway) is a difficult thing to NOT do, but I realized I have been making it worse by carrying around a constant reminder of it.

The other night I was cleaning out my big ol’ purse, and there they were, the photos of my car we took at the junk yard, wrapped in a copy of the police report. I’ve been lugging those things around for a year, everywhere I went. I rarely looked at them, but still, there they were, like the proverbial monkey on my back and I didn’t even realize it! *slaps forehead* I made the conscious decision right then and there, even announced to my daughters that it’s time I put them away, let it go now. So although my daughters and I are trying to move past the tragedy, we will never forget that night. Another person's choice to die will forever be a part of our lives, but we can't let it ruin it.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please, seek help, 1-800-SUICIDE, that's 1-800-784-2433. Killing yourself may end your pain, but it only creates more for those left behind.