Cabin Fever - The Good Kind

This Labor Day weekend, I spent a few days in the cutest cabin ever! Here's the view when you walk in the front door:
There's a futon and table in the front room with the little counters, fridge, etc. Through the right door is the bathroom and then a bedroom. Up the stairs on the left you go to the loft. And that's the whole thing! So cute!
This place was about 10 miles south of Santa Cruz, and the afternoon I got there it was sooo foggy! We decided it was the Twilight Zone episode at the Campground. :-)
They had these really cool "banana bikes" that you could rent. My kids and I raced around the campground for almost an hour on them... until my knees gave out.
The most exciting event of the trip was Friday night, when we were sitting around the campfire. I looked up the hill behind our firepit to see two little tails swishing around. Turns out they were skunks! They weren't a bit afraid of us... but we gave them a wide berth!

It was so nice to get away for just a few days and relax! Hope your weekend has been great!

Riding the Waves

I am in some serious workplace drama right now. The company I work for is in the throes of some major overhaul... or major collapse... and it keeps changing from day to day!

I was talking to a co-worker today who was commenting that I seemed remarkably calm for all the uncertainty in the company and my future. After reminding her that she was the one who introduced me to yoga-fication I had an image pop in my head that described my take on the situation.

I told her I kinda felt like being in the ocean. If you put your feet down, the waves just crash into you and you usually end up with salt water up your nose. But if you pick your feet up, you can just ride the waves.

That's what I'm doing right now. Just riding the waves. It's a bit bouncy, but eventually I will see whether the tide is coming in or going out. And that's just fine.

iPhones Trip Me Out

I know. I'm weird. I came to that conclusion about the time I was five.

But seriously, iPhones trip me out! Every time I see one I get this surreal feeling like I'm on a StarTrek episode. As if Captain Jean-Luc Picard just pulled one out of his Starfleet uniform in order to... uh... save an alien life form or get a topographical map of another planet. Seriously.

Every time I see one I am seriously dumbfounded that we (humans) have managed to create something SMALLER than a tricorder that can do just about darn near everything. Not to mention instant access to more information than I ever saw the Enterprise A, B, C, or D show on its readout screens.

Is it real? Moving stuff with your fingers, chatting with someone in Zimbabwe, taking photos, sending them to the guy in Zimbabwe.

It boggles my mind. And I'm just waiting for the mind-link attachment.

A bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils

I've always loved that line from "You've Got Mail" where Tom Hanks' character says how autumn makes him want to send a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils.

And here we are again... back to school! I'm sad that summer is over. I didn't get nearly enough hot weather. But I'm excited for my kids. They will both be at the same middle school this year (yay for me - only one place to drop off and pick up!) Here they go...

My daughter has already had a bit of excitement. Apparently in the middle of her history teacher's speech about what to expect in his class, one of the overhead lights proceded to pop, spark like fireworks, and go out! Way to start!

I sigh just a bit that I'm not going back to school (classroom or library) this year... but the right match just wasn't there. In the meantime, I'll follow this continually winding career path that I am on and will make more great plans for that library I'm going to be in someday.

What happens when you try to have fun.

Since my kids go back to school next week, we planned several fun activities for this Last Week of Summer. Today, after I finished work at 2 pm, we drove to Gilroy Gardens, a theme park about 45 min south of us. It's a fun place! There are so many trees, lakes, gardens, waterfalls, flowers, etc. that you can hardly see the rides. And of course the rides are like... giant banana swings, twirling artichokes, and spinning garlic!

However... in the midst of our bliss... my daughter began sniffing and sneezing and my son got sick to his stomach (not from the spinning garlic either). Headaches and fever soon followed and we were out to the car to head home. Now they are both sick! And with two different things... which is really weird considering they're around each other 24/7 right now.

Sigh. See what happens when you try to have fun? At least they're getting it out of their system this week so they can be good and healthy when they head back to school next week. I hope!

Almost a Librarian...

I had to turn down a job this week. It broke my heart. A little private school needed a part-time librarian in their little library. I fell in love with the job. But it wasn't to be. The salary wouldn't have even covered my rent. And though I could have tried to get another part-time job to go with it that was too much of an IF for me to try at this point. So this week I was almost a librarian.

I take solace in the fact that someday I will be a librarian. That's a given. It just won't be this fall. In the mean time, the company I am working for is having a corporate tsunami. Things are getting crazy, which opens up a lot of work for me to do, as long as I don't get swamped!

My New Favorite Place

A friend of mine has been trying to get me to go to her yoga center for a while now. I've wanted to go but there never seems to be the time. Well, my kids are visiting their grandparents for the week, so I had no excuse.

It's now my favorite place. Yoga there is not just about poses, it's about taking care of the real you. The man who founded the center is an unbelievable person. So intuitive and compassionate. I met with him Monday and came away a different person. No, not really different, just more the real me. I went today for a group yoga class and it was amazing. I remembered how to breathe - really breathe - the kind of breath that gives life. I felt every single corner of my body (I'm going to be sore tomorrow) and it felt so good! So much better than numbly sitting in a desk all day. I am more relaxed today than I've been in a year - and that's not an exaggeration.

It's been such a good reminder to me of how important it is to take care of my physical self. Everything else does better when your body feels better!

Summer Reading for July

Reading in the summer always takes me back to when I was a kid. Most parents try so hard to get their kids to read during the summer holiday... but reading was my summer holiday! One summer I tried to read as many Agatha Christie books as I could. One summer it was Jules Verne. One summer I read a bunch of classics. This summer it's been a hodge podge of fun and fantasy. Here's what I read...

The Secret of the Golden Pavilion - Carolyn Keene - I tried to get this one to take with me to Hawaii, but couldn't get it. Of course the first time I went back to the library when I got home, it was sitting right there on the shelf! Hooray for Nancy Drew!

Ophelia - Lisa Klein - Yes, it's the Ophelia of Hamlet fame. The story is told from her point of view and I like her story much better than Shakespeare's version. :-) My sister gave this to me and recommended I read/watch Hamlet again before I read it which was a great idea. I could then match up everything that happened in the book with the original play. A great book!

Parade of Shadows - Gloria Whelan - This was one I picked up off the new book shelf at the library. I really liked it! It's set in 1907 and follows a British young woman and her father through the middle east. The history behind the story is fascinating.

Paint the Wind - Pam Munoz Ryan - When I saw this new book by the author of Esperanza Rising I knew I wanted to read it. It's a wonderful girl/horse story! I liked it so much I gave it to my mom for her birthday.

General Winston's Daughter - Sharon Shinn - This was such a good book! It has a distinct British Imperialist feel but it's set in a made-up collection of countries. An 18-year old girl follows her military father to a far off (conquered) country. The political messages are thought-provoking.

The Magician (The Secrets of the Immoral Nicholas Flammel #2) - Michael Scott - Book two is just as good as book one! We continue to follow Nicholas and the twins on their wild adventure. And I've heard that book one has been optioned for a movie.

Life As We Knew It - Susan Beth Pfeffer - If an asteroid bumped the moon closer to Earth, what would happen? It does happen in this book and the gas, electricity, food, etc. start to run out. It's an interesting look at how fragile our society really is. I bought more food storage when I finished it!

Ever - Gail Carson Levine - The newest book by this fantastic author (Ella Enchanted). The story is interesting and makes you think. The style was a bit jumpy for my taste; it goes back and forth between two character's perspectives. A pretty good read.

Finally... I'm re-reading Eclipse right now... I have to finish it by tonight because tomorrow Breaking Dawn is out!! I can't wait!!