Summer

Because it’s summer and the memories are just waiting to happen. -Unknown

Oh Summer, how I love you!   As much as I love each Season and the different weather, foods, and feeling each has to offer, nothing compares to Summer for me.  The main reason is the time off I have from work and being able to spend quality time with my girls.

Sitting on the beach relaxing...

My toes w/ new pedicure in the warm Lake Tahoe sand :)

A couple years after my separation and subsequent divorce, I started a tradition of going to Lake Tahoe every summer with my girls.  I have probably mentioned before, my Aunt and Uncle own a cute little house on the South shore and allow us to stay at no charge.  It is the perfect get-away for me after a long stressful school year at work.  This yearly trip, which over the years has ranged from a few nights to almost week, depending on what's going on in our lives, has become the only time all year I truly relax.  Even when I'm off work at home, I am still working around my house and yard and dealing with the day to day responsibilities of being a homeowner and single mom.  In Tahoe, I check out of the usual responsibilities and let it all go.  I cook and clean while I'm there, but it's at my leisure and if I don't feel like it, then I don't have to.

My girls in the backyard of "our" little cabin.

Since I love to cook, I don't really mind cooking most of our meals, so we plan ahead and do all of our grocery shopping before we leave, packing it all up and hauling it to "the cabin", as we fondly call it.

This Summer was our 8th visit to the cabin, and over the years we have brought along the girls' friends, boyfriend, and even got my sister and nieces to go with us a couple years ago.  This year, it was just the three of us all week.   I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this time with them.  This is my last summer with both girls living at home, so I truly cherished our time together.  When we are home, there are so many distractions for all of us, work, friends, boyfriend, all the stuff that keeps us so busy and coming and going in different directions.

We found a new shop that had hundreds of different sodas and candy.  Alyssa found her her friend Sheldon, lol.

We stayed up late watching movies, got pedicures, shopped, played cards, went out for sushi, hung out at the beach, drove around the entire lake, and just enjoyed being together without all the usual distractions.

We have decided to make a pact, that as long as we can, we will continue to go to Tahoe together every summer, just the 3 of us for at least a few days alone, even if there are boyfriends, husbands, etc. who enter our lives.  This is a trip I look forward to every year and it's always a little hard to say goodbye when we leave our beloved cabin in Lake Tahoe.

Two endings and new beginnings...

 "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail." 
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson


Helllooooo! Anyone out there?


I've been wanting to write a new post for the longest time, but mainly due to time constraints, I haven't managed to settle down long enough to do it.

The past few months have been a whirlwind of the usual end-of- the-year work responsibilities and graduation festivities. 

I am proud to say I am the parent of not one, but two recent graduates.  My youngest daughter graduated from high school in early June, and my eldest, from college just over a week later.  I am so proud of both of them, they are great kids and have worked hard in school and with extra-curricular activities.  My youngest will start college in September and my oldest plans to relocate back to where she went to school in the San Diego area.  It looks like my "nest" will be empty for the first time in my life.  Lots to think about and get used to for sure.

To celebrate both graduations, I hosted a dual grad party, it seemed the best way to commemorate the accomplishments of both girls with family and friends.  Although the weather turned out much hotter than I would have liked, we had a lovely evening. 

I spent the better part of almost two weeks planning and preparing, but throwing parties is definitely something I truly enjoy.  Being creative and fine tuning all the little details is something I am passionate about, so what may seem crazy and far too time-consuming to some, is something I relish.

Here are a few pictures of the party, even though most have been taken on my phone camera, you get the idea.

I made the majority of my decorations, and had some of them saved from my oldest daughter's party 4 years ago. I neatly packed it all away knowing I could use it again.  I have mostly white accessories in my house and garden so that whatever holiday or party it is, I can just add accents of color and it looks like more than what's really there.  I spent several days spray painting some old tables, and chairs that had been given to me and that I've had for years, it made it look like I had a bunch of "new" furniture, but it was all just transformed with paint.  

The beautiful buffet you see in the pictures was given to me by a friend a few weeks ago and I stayed up til 1:30am painting it before the party, I had a vision of it white and I just had to have it done. It probably need one more coat, but it looked fine for the party.

The day after the party, I took everything down, as much as I loved the yellow and white in my house and garden, to prepare for 4th of July which I've been decorating for the past 15 years.  We live downtown, so there is a fireworks display we can see from our front yard and every year we have friends over to eat dessert, snacks, and watch the fireworks.  Those pics will maybe be my  next post.

There is so much more I'd like to say, but for now this is enough for you all to read.