Home Again

As much as I love vacations and travel, I also like coming home.

SO, here we are, back on the plane; an amazing invention!

Have I mentioned that I love flying, I always have.

I find it so thrilling.

The feeling of taking off, going above the clouds. 

Being between Heaven and Earth.

You can be anywhere in the world in a mater of hours, in what would otherwise take days.

I love the excitement of discovering new places and also, I love going to old cherished places too.

Places where loved ones, family & friends reside.

And where part of my life was spent.

Going home was a long long long retour.

We got on 4 planes.

We left Monday morning Hawaii time and arrived Tuesday morning Houston time.

Honolulu to LA, to Seattle, to Minneapolis to Houston.

Crazy, I know.

 But Happy to be Home!

Enjoying our Quiet Neighborhood

Our traditional Sunday walk. 

We grab the dog, bikes, longboard, razer-scooter and go around our neighborhood.

This was Mother's day!

I love where we live!
I find it so relaxing and peacefull...
Well exept when you encounter some loud, abnoxious family taking a strole...
Yeah, you know who you are!

Ramdom Pictures form My Yard & Patio

Taken with my Rebel XTi 50mm 1.4

My Favorite Herbs to Grow - Year Round.

It's Awesome!

My herbs don't die here during the winters!

J'aime les fraises...

We like strawberries.

The squirrels like strawberries.

We don't like squirrels who eat our strawberries.

As soon as a strawberry is almost ready, they pick it, they eat the red part 

and leave the stem and the unripened part next to the pot!

Just so we know... 

They are taunting creatures, just ask the dog Chloe, or the cat Tiny.

Sarah was going to outsmart the little devils.

After a couple of hours searching on the web 

&

All kinds of interesting ideas 

&

Some good laughs

Ta... Da!

Sarah's invention!

She made a squirrel scare mobile with sticks, string, glue 

and Mike's new-outdated-obsolete cd's (don't ask me why we are still keeping these?)

We were so proud when the evening came and the ripe strawberry was still intact.

Then night came.

Then morning. 

The strawberry: 

Half eaten next to the pot!! 

URG!!!

We were beaten! 

By the little tauting creature!

Here is Chloe wondering why this dumb invention was even created!

She obviously thinks, she can keep the squirrels away...

With all the countless hours of guarding the back yard she does!

We had to reassure her that she is very competent and it's only for when she is gone...

Boy, can her feelings get hurt sometimes!

Dog Poop as Fertilizer???

So today, Mike was very helpful picking up the poop in the back yard.

But then I found out he had buried Chloe's caca in my newly planted hostas!!!!

He thinks it will be a great fertilizer! You know, like horse or cow manure...

After a little research, well it's not such a good idea.

Mike. Really?

Saturday Happenings Backwards

 Late evening
I threatened some neighbor kids at Emric's friend's birthday party
that were being very loud, so obnoxious and rude,
 We came to pick him up but waited until the movie they were watching on the patio under a giant parachute adorned with strings of colorful lights, was over.
(So fun, creative and cute!)
I threatened to call the police, after Mike tried to talk to them with no success...
My man is too nice.
I asked for a parent to come out and talk to me.
All she did was peak her head out her back door and told the kids to leave the teens alone...
Really?
They calmed down after I was done with them, though.

Dinner time
 Love sushi. Good for the belly.

Late afternoon
Grocery Shopping in my flip-flops. Love Texas winters! 
Love my reusable shopping bags. Hate it when I forget them!
Why doesn't everyone use them? I hate flimsy plastic bags!

Afternoon
Siblings not fighting. Playing together for 2 hours. Love it. Heaven at home!
I might even sing "Love at home" ? hummmm, never mind. I'm not quite there yet.

Noon
Cutting and freezing French Raclette cheese, bought  in Cincinnati, for when Justine comes home.
I love, adore, cook, crave, and miss french food. 

Morning
Walk in the forest with my man and dog.
Nature. Good for the soul.
Life is good.

My Not 'New Year Resolutions'

A few lot of things I want to continue doing,
do better, accomplish, become and/or see this year.
I see most of these as daily, weekly and monthly living
rather than the well-meaning-but-quickly-abandoned 'new year resolutions'.
This works better for me. I feel less presure and I do more
because I reevalute them daily, weekly and monthly.
 A Year is too long. I prefere "Baby Steps".
It's more managable.

Relationship with God  
Daily sincere prayers and scripture pondering.
Weekly recording on my spiritual/gratitude blog.
Listen to 1 or 2 General Conference talk every week on my walks.
Monthly Temple attendance/service; once with a girl friend, once with Mike.
Fulfill my callings in my Church Ward 100%
Find more opportunities to serve others.

Fitness and Well Being
 Zumba class 3 times a week.
 Yoga at home 2 times a week for 30mn.
Brisk daily walks for 1h. Do a few HITT workouts on yoga days.
Make breakfast a priority. Big healthy lunch. Afternoon snack and light dinner.
Learn about and do more sprouting. (Almonds, wheat, walnuts, rice)
Lap swim 30mn during the summer months once or twice a week.
Maybe pick up more cycling with Mike and Amelie?
Go to sleep before 10:30pm

Family
Be a better mom and wife.
Read Marley and me with Amelie
Get Emric to finally finish his Eagle. This is the year!
Teach Emric to drive! I'm not your best teacher for driving lessons.
I'm afraid, I freak out more than I help!!! Mike is better than I in that erea.
Better/more peaceful daily family prayers and scripture reading (before 9pm).
Go to all the meets I can to watch Emric and Amelie compete and/or practice....
Make my man a priority. Weekly dates. Week-end walks.Words of Affirmations.
(I need  to stop telling him he is getting pudgy and policing his eating habits)
Work on my Family history. Sort through years of digital photos.
Edit Photos and post years 2004, 2003, 2002 and 2001
Stay updated with my weekly blog posts.
Finish my England Blog

Visits
San Antonio.
Not miss the Texas Blue bonnet flowers, again!
I would love to go to France and see my family?
Maybe Hawaii to see Justine?

Home
Paint Amelie's bedroom
Keep up with the yard work!
Succeed in growing tomatoes in Texas?
2 years with no success! Maybe the 3rd time will be the one?
Go through more than one junk draw/cupboard a year!
How about one draw/cupboard once a month?
(Especially my Tupperware cupboard mess!)
Tackle the half bath remodeling.

Well, now that this is all in writing, I should be more accountable...

Justine is Home...

She got home around midnight last night, after 33 hours of travel, airports and flights.

(She has been trying to get home since last Friday.)

We are so happy she is here, especially since we are hitting the road for Ohio tomorrow.

She brought home lots of stuff for gifts.

Ukuleles, jewelry, Hawaiian hand fans, tee-shirts, and my very very favorite;

Some homemade pottery she made in her Beginning Ceramics Class.

I LOVE it! She is really good at it! 

More will be coming in a month, she shipped it from Hawaii.

One of my favorite pieces will be posted after Christmas,

 cause it's going to be a surprise gift for someone.

I am now going to bed after a very busy day of laundry, 

pulling out winter clothes and shoes from the garage storage bins, 

packing, a dentist apt for Justine and cleaning up the house, 

basically getting ready for our trip.

we are so excited to see our friends in Ohio and our boy Alexi!

So goodnight...

Airport Boredom, Puppy Joy & Guilt or Lack Thereof

Got rid of the 'beer' Aruba Tee-shirt
Traded it with a more appropriate Aruba one.
I got bored; thus the many picture of my man!

What joy to get our Chloe back!
10 days in a kennel!
She seemed fine though as if we had just dropped her of the day before.
They say dogs have no sense of time?
Or is it just a saying to appease a dog owner's guilt?

Kids had fun. No guilt there!
They understand and they are used to Mom and Dad's together time.
They are all the better for it.
Parents are still together, still working, still striving to nurture forever love.
When so many have broken homes.
Our little 9 year old girl notices friend's broken homes.

Declutering - Part 1

There is nothing like going through old stuff, 

and getting rid of junk for a couple's togetherness! 

We don't do it often enough! 

I especially like it when Mike does it. 

He is more of a pack rat than I am.

Today, if we survive this, we can survive anything!

My 3 Questions for what GOES:

1. Is it/will it be meaningful for our family and kids 10, 20, 30 years from now? 

2. Do you want to be buried with it? 

(if not, might as well get rid of it now)

3. Have you used it in the last 2 years? 

(I'm too nice it's really 1year)

*****

Mike had to go through his dad's stuff when he passed away. 

He spent 3 days cleaning out just 1 room!

I remind him of that and how fun it was. Not!

And that we don't want to do that to our kids or each other...

It helps him let go of stuff!

It's hard though, he doesn't much like these questions, 

but they are of utmost importance to me!

He is such a trouper, the stuff I put him through! :)

It's less painful to him when I do this by myself 

and either throw things away when he's out of town, 

or sell it on the net!

Oups!!! I'm in trouble!

Today he found out I sold one of his 5 ladders for $50 

(it got used twice, and it's heavy!) 

*****

Oh... how I love this happy little French girl!

We found this newspaper article of yours truly when I was 8 years old living in Australia!

 ***** 

Awesome Find!

I saw something like this on Pinterest. 

And really liked it.

When I went to the Esty Website, they were too expensive!

So when I stumbled one this one at Ross for $25, I bought it and hang it up!

Love it!

Update and things I miss

We are heading home tomorrow.

I am ready.

We have a very busy day today.

(LDS Humanitarian center, 7 peaks water-park, "Ha: Breath of Life" at the Polynesian cultural center) Oh and we need to find time to pack the car!

I will blog all our adventures (good and bad) when I get home.

To my home sweet home...

I miss

My Man

My dog

My landry soap

My bed
My Man

My kitchen

Watching Doc Martin my Man before bed
Zumba

Cuddles with my Man

My flowers

(Hope they survived my absence)

And so much more...

Oh, did I mention my Man?
I so wish he could come and drive us home...

Photo Update

I found some 'before' pictures of our downstairs. 

I just uploaded them here 

Back Yard Snapshots

I'm so happy; most of my ferns and flowers survived our mild winter. 

The boy scouts (including Emric) came to mulch our beds for a fundraiser. 

Emric is working hard mulching almost every weekend

to fund his SeaBase adventure trip this summer.

Anyway, our back yard is starting to look so good. 

I still have a few planters to fill with flowers. 

I have some great looking herbs, parsley, rosemary, basil, oregano and thyme.

I also have a tomato plant. 

I have to put everything in planters for now because my Chloe likes to dig
freshly turned around dirt!

Je suis super contente; la plupart de mes fleurs et plantes on survécu cet hiver doux.
Les scouts (Emric comprit) sont venu couvrir de paillis nos parterre de fleurs et plantes.
Emric travaille dur pour collecter des fonts pour son voyage cette été.
Bref, notre jardin commence a bie donner.
J'ai encore quelques pots de fleurs a rempli.
J'ai des belles herbes, persil, basil, rosemarie, oregano et thym.
J'ai aussi de la tomate.
Je dois tout mètre dans des pots pour l'instant car ma Chloe
aime bien creuser la terre fraîchement retournée!

I Love a Fresh Coat of Paint

 This is what we did 'here' during Spring Break

It was a dark green khakish on the main floor and the stairs were dark red.

Too much dark for me!!!

Before

The pictures do not quite reflect the true colors, but it's close. 

The 2 walls without windows are a beige/gray

The satires are those 2 colors too

I love the Sherwood Williams Super Paint

The blue/gray paint is Upward 25% lighter

The gray paint is Versatile gray 50% lighter 

I always get my paint a shade lighter because I love it when it is goes on, 

but I get disappointed when it dries darker. 

I repainted some walls in my bedroom like 2/3 times before I was pleased with the shade!!

So from now on I just get lighter off the bat!

Result of our hard work:

* LOVE * LOVE * LOVE *

Even Mike Loves it! 

He always puts up a stink when I want to change big things like that. 

He said it makes the place look Bigger, Fresher and more Inviting.

He is also very confident now in my painting skills! I'm good! :)

I haven't put all my deco/frames back on yet. 

I also want to maybe wallpaper the tall thingy in the corner like I saw in pinterest, 

or paint where the red is, it doesn't match anymore. 

I want some Oranges and/or Mustard Yellows!

I also want to get a nice rug for the sitting room and 2 colorful chairs.