Bliss...wedded or otherwise

Went to the SB Zoo the other day. It sits practically ON the beach. You can see and smell the ocean from several of the exhibits. I like to photograph the birds because they are colorful and make for a good picture.

This is our long lost step sister from my Mom's previous marriage. We haven't seen her in over 25 years. My Mom found her on facebook. She and her husband and two kids fit right in with our crazy family. I got the pleasure of spending the weekend with her and her kids. The kids are the same age as Alex and Indy. They get along great. I'm so glad to have another sister to spend time with. Nina, thanks for a great weekend!!

One of several trips to the beach this weekend. The kids did a lot of body surfing and boogie boarding.

This is my Mom at the farmers market yesterday. All decked out in her "I'm a lady who lunches" spring outfit.

Lynne...this is for you!

The blueberries were superb. I recommend finding your local farmers market and buying your produce there instead of the super market. The flavor and freshness is amazing.

Yesterday I took the kids to the beach by myself. It seams that everyone else in my family has a "life" and can't be bothered. The kids had fun until Alex stepped on a bee and got stung on the bottom of his foot but was easily distracted when a bride and groom came down to the beach from the Four Seasons Hotel to do a little photo-op....

Only in California can you see a bride in a gorgeous dress and a super cute groom getting on their paddle boards and paddling into the sunset together. All I could think of was...

A: she'll never wear the dress again anyway,

B: Dear God I hope that dress isn't a Vera Wang!!

School Wise and Sunrise

Ari has just officially finished her third day of high school. The first day her algebra teacher went around the room and asked the kids where they saw themselves in 5 years. Ari said that as the teacher went around the class asking this simple question, the same answer came over and over "I don't know". When the teacher got that answer she would then ask..."Well, what are you good at?" or "what do you love?"

They still said the same answer..."I don't know"

When ahe got to Ari and asked the same question, Ari's reply was this,

"I plan to be in college studying to become a verterinarian."

There was only one other girl in the whole class that didn't give the lame "i don't know" answer.

She has volleyball every day after school until 5pm and is still recovering from "Mono". She keeps showing up with the love and support of Ted and I and her entire family. I think the lesson here is that with every hurdle that comes up we just keep validating and acknowledgeing her feelings and we try to make sure that she gets heard when she has something to say. I hope I remember how to do this when Alex is a teenager. And when Indy is a teenager.

I took the little kids to the Sea Center on Santa Barbara Pier today. It was a little hazy but I still managed to get some pictures.

went to Pinkberry after lunch.

Our 6am workout was a "recovery" walk on the boardwalk this morning. Yesterday Shell and i got our butts kicked with the trainer so we could barely walk. So sad!

This is this morning's sunrise.

Sunday Morning Happenings

This morning Mom , Shelley and I walked on the beach at 7:30. Well Mom walked ans Shell and I ran. It felt so good to run along the ocean. I picked up a few more pieces of sea glass on my run.

Mom has been bugging me to help her clean up her closet. It seams it has gotten a bit out of control and she needed some help. Ari was on hand for some comic relief and some help.

When doing a nasty chore like cleaning out someone else's closet, it's always a good idea to wear their shoes. it's so much more fun to clean and organize in high heels!!

Note me in the mirror behind Ari in my high heels.

Ta-Dahhhh

I took Ari to the grocery store. This is what she wore... she isn't allowed to wear a dress like this to school but If it weren't so revealing on top and she COULD , she still wouldn't, but she'll wear it to the grocery store.

This is Oprah's BACK gate to her enormous property by my Parents house. Nice huh?

This is Oprah's front gate. the actual gate is beyond the little security house on the right. It doesn't even do it justice, it's gorgeous. She has so much acreage that you don't even see one bit of the actual house because it's so nicely blocked by all of her beautiful trees. I like the cobblestone driveway.

Saturday Morning in Santa Barbara

This morning my Mom and I met her friend at the Farmers Market downtown Santa Barbara.

We purchased lots of farm fresh organic fruits and vegetables for the next few days. I of course took my camera because I love to take pictures of this kind of stuff so here is a feast for your eyes.

This is my Mom calling her friend because she was a couple of minutes late. Funny because my Mom is almost always late.

This lavender was so amazing. It smelled so wonderful and fragrant. I need to get smellavision.

After the market we went out for breakfast. I had the most amazing huevos rancheros with fresh avocado and fresh black beans. I loved every bight. So glad to be in California where you can have great Mexican food every meal of the day and every day of the week and not eat at the same place twice!! yay for me.

Ship and shape

While traveling through the US, Shelley and I decided that before we left New Hampshire that we needed to lose a few lb's. Yea I know it's a big shocker!! So we ate subway sandwiches every day for lunch and shared a dinner at night. A lite breakfast began our day and of course my coffee concoction was my daily start( won't give that up). Well it jump started our new way of life and before you now it we were on our way to a more svelte bod.

My mom has signed us up with a personal trainer. His name is Eric and he is very cute. Married with a 8 month old baby. Lucky for me he gets our sense of humor so when he did his initial assessment of Shell and I, I got away with throwing in a few zingers to amuse myself.

The smile got quickly wiped off my face when he put us on the treadmill to see what we could do. Shelley is a pack mule at heart so she out ran me up hill both ways in the snow with rocks in her pockets. I wasn't far behind but clearly she has NOT been sitting on her butt for the past 5 weeks as I must have been.

This morning we are dropping Ari off at her high school freshman orientation and the going down to the beach for our daily workout. We will be having weight training sessions with Eric on T/TH and M/W/F we will do whatever walking course he sets up for us on that day.

Last night my Mom and I took a long walk on the beach at around 5pm. It was absolutely beautiful so I took a few pictures to amuse myself and to give you a small taste of what I'm looking at.

Yesterday Shelley and I took the kids to the ceramic place to paint something and then out to lunch. I've included some pics of the kids too.

p.s. check out the blog Shelley wrote about me that is two below this one.