Happy New Year (well New Year's Eve)

Not sure about anyone else, but I am READY for 2009!  2008 was an amazing year, not necessarily in only a good way.  It was good for me personally, but we face so many challenges as a nation now. I'm ready to do my part, and I know many others who are as well.  

One thing I want to do in 2009 (aside from lose 25 pounds and get back to exercising regularly) is to do a much better job of staying in touch with family and friends. When I consider complaining about any relationships, I need to start by looking at my part in that. What have I done to stay in contact or to make a positive difference in others' lives?  How and where have I dropped the ball?  You get the idea.

Kory is in Santa Barbara this morning, helping the people that lost their homes in the recent fires. He left really early and will be back mid-afternoon, long before the "amateurs" get on the road.  (In AA, we have been known to call New Year's Eve "Amateur Night".  Kind of an inside joke, but you get the idea.)

Kyle is off to Huntington Beach to spend New Year's there.  We will undoubtedly be asleep by 9!!

Happy New Year!

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Sometimes I wonder if I'm bipolar. (Hint: when you diagnose people for a living, you're forever diagnosing yourself with everything!) But I really don't think I get hypomanic (unfortunately!). I FEEL good today, but it isn't an over-the-top kind of thing. I got all the laundry done, changed the sheets on the bed, did all the research for our 2008 taxes and prepared it for the CPA, balanced the checkbooks, networked with a local physician, emptied all the trash cans (yes, Karynn -- you know I did!), went through the mail, and am now blogging!  I like getting all this done.

My new pens arrived -- FINALLY!  They were on the UPS truck for delivery on Christmas Eve and kept getting delayed by weather.  Finally got them this morning.  They are AWESOME!  Worth waiting for.  

Kyle went to Snow Valley this morning to ski today and came back a few minutes ago saying there were WAY too many people there and that he had never seen it so crowded.  Oh well. At least he tried.

The snow on the roads is completely gone (except on the sides). The temperature is in the 50s at least, so things are warming up quite a bit.  All in all, life is beautiful, Lake Arrowhead is wonderful, and I am feeling good.  I hope you all are too!

Late Christmas Gift

We've been trying to figure out what happened to my black pearl earrings (with gold dolphins on them) that I last saw in the living room at the North Shore house months ago!  They were part of my 15th anniversary gift from Kory when we went to Tahiti in July.  WAAY too expensive and meaningful to lose. After we moved from the North Shore house to renovate, Kory had guys tearing out the kitchen and packing up all the stuff in the living room as a surprise to me. So I've always wondered if they were lost somewhere in all the debris, or if someone picked them up. 

When Kory asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year (after we'd already said we wouldn't exchange gifts), I told him I'd like to find my earrings.  Well... he had people help him look, including Kyle.  Didn't find them. Last night, though, the three of us were in the living room and something in my right shirt pocket was bugging me, so I reached in... and (you guessed it)... there they were!!  Whew!  WHAT A RELIEF!  That's a very strange feeling to lose something so meaningful and valuable and then to find it.

So... I guess I got a late Chrismas gift!

Still trying to figure this out...

I tried to upload some pictures yesterday, sent by e-mail, that are supposed to automatically publish to the blog. Only the captions posted. So I deleted the posts until I can figure that out.

Then I tried to upload a video, but only the tags posted, though I left it uploading all night (it's a big file) and it still is showing a gear wheel spinning as though it's working on it.  Might give up on that one soon, too.

Anyway, it seems that overall they've made this pretty easy. Now I just have to make it meaningful or fun or something so people don't get bored or fall asleep when they look at it.

If anyone has helpful hints or suggestions, I certainly welcome them!

Joinin' the bloggers...

Ducking church today, I'm sorry to say.  Just don't feel good.

I had nasal reconstructive surgery on October 10, 2008. Mostly, I think it has healed. But the last few days, I've felt this pressure on my sinuses that makes it hard to do much. It's kind of like having a constant feeling of being about to sneeze. Not fun. I've got to get down to Newport Beach to see the doctor who did the surgery for a follow-up visit. I've been trying to get past the snowy weather and the holidays before making an appointment. Now I'm thinking I'd better go no matter what.

An old friend of ours, Ralph Bobik, came by this morning for a visit. It's always nice to see him. He was up visiting family. The last time I saw Ralph was when he came to our hotel in Newport Beach and he and Kory gave me a blessing before surgery. That was nice. 

Kyle is here visiting, on vacation from Washington D.C. Erin's parents live here also; and they picked Kyle and Erin up at the airport on Christmas Eve.  They're both working in Washington D.C. now -- Erin just got a job working with their friend, Travis, who was here this morning. Ben was here too. Nice young men. Travis works for a conservative think tank in DC, and Ben is doing amazing work with children in South Africa. He is able to utilize his interest in art and his desire to help others with a literacy program in a tiny country that exists inside South Africa. I don't have the name of it in front of me but will post it another time. He said that when the nonprofit corporation is formed, he will publish a website that will allow donations and other support.  More on that later when I learn more about it.

Kyle continues to work for a real estate developer in D.C. -- apparently a much bigger firm than Kory and I realized. So far, Kyle is enjoying his job, making the most of life in the city and his independence.  

We had a nice, fairly quiet Christmas. Karynn came down with Jespen and Kiel. She's expecting a baby girl on May 16. We're oh-so-excited about that. She may be named Kjersten (pronounced keersten) and her middle name may be Avarell. We shall see!  The boys were a bundle of energy and got to use a lot of it on our dog, Pluto, who was happy to let them chase him around the sofa.  It was very fun. Karynn and the boys also stayed a couple of nights at Grandma and Grandpa Avarell's home in Crestline. Looks like they will be moving to Veterans' housing in Barstow as soon as February of 2009!  Kandi and Bryant will be buying their home and remodeling it for their family.  But I digress.

Kelly came on Monday, the 22nd and stayed until the day after Christmas. That was a nice chance for her to be at Gingerbread Day with the extended family and to be here when Kyle arrived on Christmas Eve. She got plenty of quality time with her Dad, and she shared some of her cooking talents with us, making a special dinner and a great breakfast.  It's amazing that she's so nice and slender when she has such an interest in and a gift for cooking. We also went out to dinner a few times, but the home cooking by Kelly was the best.

That's about it from Lake Arrowhead.  There's lots of snow on the sides of the road but the roads are blacktop and dry today. Blue skies, no wind. Very beautiful as always.

More later...