Finding Joy

I really enjoyed Sacrament meeting this past Sunday. One of the talks was about finding joy, or making the most of your circumstances. This idea really stuck with me, probably because I haven't really taken the time to appreciate what I have out here in California. I often find myself feeling homesick or just miss calling some place home, although California is getting close. So I have been thinking a lot about what I enjoy about California instead of what is missing.

First I have a job that has and is providing wonderful opportunities, not many people can say they supervise/run a department at my age (just in case you were wondering I am the microbiology supervisor for a laboratory). Second, there is so much beauty to be found in the mountains and the surrounding hills, I love watching them as they change between the wet and dry seasons, not to mention the ocean, and the mostly wonderful weather. Lastly I love that so many of Tucker's co-workers have citrus trees in their yards. Last week Tucker brought home 2 lemons the first we used to make lemonade the second I used to make 2 Lemon-Meringue Pies (my favorite actually I can't think of a pie I don't like). Yes one lemon, produced 1 whole cup of juice more than enough for 2 pies.


This is not me trying to make a lemon look larger than it is, I am just trying to put the lemon's size into perspective. My pies also look beautiful so far there has not been any weeping from the meringue, but I have to wait until to tomorrow to see if they taste as good as they look.


So all in all I am trying to make California feel more like home by just finding and doing what makes me happy.

Catching Up

So it has been awhile, mainly because nothing exciting has happening in the last couple of weeks. Now that Tucker has Mondays off it is a little harder to find time to blog on my days off and during the week I am usually to tired to even turn on the computer. The last couple of Mondays Tucker and I have been exploring the mountains that surround us. First we checked out the Cleveland National Forest and did some hiking below are some of the pictures we took.


The following week we stayed closer to home and hiked through the San Gabriel mountains, back towards Eaton Falls (pictured below). This hike was more adventurous we were continually walking back and forth across the creek. It started out as a dry bed but by the end we had to cross by stepping on the dry rocks. At one point I missed a rock and ended up with my leg in the water so I spent the rest of the hike when my pant leg wet up to my knee. I was freezing by the time we reached the falls it was only like 65 degrees outside.

Where do we go from here?

So Tucker and I are looking into different airports around the country and we are trying to decide where we should move. I am just curious if you had the opportunity to move anywhere where would you move and why? What do you look for in a city or location before you pack-up and head across the country? Please let me know your thoughts.

Weekends together again

Tucker and I finally share a day off together. Last year we only had about 2 months where we shared a day off. This means we get to take more day trips around California, and maybe we will get to see a few more Cubs game and ballparks out here in the west. Our big adventure this week was grocery shopping and a trip to the hardware store, although we should have gone to the beach. The weather was perfect today and it was in the mid-80s... not to bad for January! Hopefully we can do something more exciting next week.

Happy New Year

I know I am a little late with this post, but better late than never. I hope everyone had a great New Years! As with most people I am excited for the new year. I now it will be full of surprises and lots of adventures.

In the spirit of change I have a made a few New Years Resolutions and yes I am writing them down for the world or whoever reads this blog to read in the hope that I actually keep a few.

First I need to improve my attitude towards attending church with my current ward. Yes I go but I usually leave early because I feel unwanted, so I need to change that.

I also want to reread the Book of Mormon, I need to be better about reading my scriptures more regularly.

I want to stop biting my nails, I always seem to have this on my list. I did better last year, just not good enough to kick the habit. My nails would get long enough for me to consider a manicure but by the time I had the money the nails where gone. Oh well maybe this will be the year.

Lastly the big one, I want to lose 60lbs. by Jan. 1, 2010. Yes that seems like a lot but that is only 5lbs. a month so 1-2lbs. a week which is healthy.

So those are my goals for the year and hopefully with any luck I might actually keep a few of them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Las Vegas or Maybe Not

Tucker and I were suppose to go to Las Vegas this past Wednesday, however due to the snow here we were unable to go. Yes it finally snowed, just not close to me all I saw was rain, everything was packed, the car was loaded, traffic had been check (always wise when traveling in SoCal) and we were ready to enjoy a wonderful little vacation. We got on the road and not even ten minutes later the road was being closed right in front of us. So we headed back home to check for ways around the I-15. We would decide on one way than check the roads only to find that they to had been closed due to the snow. It is funny I grew up with snow and have driven in it several times and yet so many people haven't. There were reports of motorists sleeping in their cars on the interstate because it was ti slippery to get off. I just hope the had plenty of blankets and things to keep them warm. So sadly we had to cancel our trip to Vegas but we had a wonderful staycation instead.

Our Latest Adventure

Two weeks ago, Tucker had Monday off so we decided to go check out the local ghost town. By local I mean it was about an hour an a half away, which isn't to bad. So we got a few things to gether and headed out to Cailco, CA. In the late 1800s it was a very productive silver mine but as the prices of silver dropped it slowly became deserted and now it is a ghost town. It was nicely decorated for Christmas and it was interesting learning about the history and walking through the old mine at least the parts that were safe. After this trip I decided that I am very happy to be living now and not back then.