Video Games Live

Ben and Veronica love video games, and both love music...so I was pretty excited to know the best of both of these things were being brought to life by the San Diego Pops concert series this summer. Check out the video! We have our tickets for July 23rd. This is the day after Ben and Greg are getting back from UCSC Fall freshman orientation and registration. His area of study is 'Video Game Development'. Put that together with his musical passion and you might just be humming a tune like 'Link' written by Ben sometime in the near future!

Humid weather today

Yesterday I spent most of the afternoon at a wonderful, resort-like setting in my own home town. It is Mission Beach and Belmont Park. Wow, San Diego really is a nice place and I am glad for moments that make me appreciate what’s in my own backyard. Ben and I headed down about 1pm. We just wanted to boogie-board. (Actually, I think the salt-water does wonders for his skin and the sand does wonders for my callus heels.) We just carried our boards out to the beach (YES! We found a parking spot!) and rode the waves for about an hour and a half. OK, so once I did have to take a break and get Ben’s belt and tie that around my swimming suit. (The bottoms had come off all the way to my heels once and I did not want to end up totally bottom-less.) The belt worked great. After that we gathered up our stuff and headed to the bay side. We carried out the little BBQ and the cooler and Ben changed his clothes and we both fell asleep there on the sand next to our prize find: a cement fire pit. We kept watch waiting for Greg and Veronica to meet us. Veronica had volunteered to cover someone’s 5 PM altar serving shift and couldn’t back out of it. (She went to Mass twice yesterday! Ha Ha!) Anyway, my friends Rhonda and Mike and their two daughters and 2 dogs joined us for hotdogs and marshmallows around 7pm. I love the kite I got! This is the 3^rd weekend in a row I have flown it! Last night, I tied a 2” glowstick to it and tried to see if I could fly it at night and watch it disappear into the night-time sky. It didn’t work very good—I need a brighter lite.

Wow, today it is humid and muggy as any ‘Louisiana’ afternoon. You can just feel the air hang in your lungs when you take a deep breath. The sky is rumbly-dark and the clouds look like they just want to open up with rain! I hope it does rain…that is such a fun, street-washing, earth-cleansing type of thing. I would enjoy that, especially since I am now pretty sunburned from yesterday. I’m doing a rain-dance, and watching the sky today!

Keep a Kite in your car

Father's Day

We had a 'shootin' good time in the ocotilla wells at our favorite washbed. I bought Greg a boomerang (a good one) and a glider plane - just for fun. I always keep a kite in my car in case there is a chance to fly it. I forgot how fun flying a kite was until recently.

I have 2 ladybug kites. One my mom bought for me. The first one, I just bought for myself. At the desert, the wind gets pretty strong - for the first half of the day we just tied it off on the truck. I hiked up a mesa a half mile away and took the photo. If you look close, you can see that white dot....that's my kite.

Remember, some of the most simple things in life can bring us the greatest joy - just like a good wind and a flying kite!

Thanks for Friends and for my son...a graduate!

This Monday, my son graduated from high school. I am so proud of him. I learned that he has a huge support system, family and friends. This was apparent at his party and the commencement. I can't tell you how wonderful, and how awesome and how frightening it is to be the parent of a newly graduated child. There is a lot in the future. I know he'll be just fine....

I got a phone call today from my co-worker. It was an apology for not being able to share personal information that caused a slight inconvenience for me. Truly, I don't understand why not having a ton of money is anything to apologize for or hide. We are all in this boat. Financial hardship is something we can all come together about and be strengthened by. It is a matter of trust, or at least that was what was shared with me during the call.

I drove up to Whittier today to have lunch with someone I really respect. I am honored to be included in this man's busy schedule and whenever we talk I feel energized and hopeful.

The drive is always a good thing too. I just get out of town for a while. I am hoping that I can spend the rest of this week, my week's vacation, emptying out all of my built up worries and exhale.

Never been to Torrey Pines

My sister Diane took me to Torrey Pines yesterday.
I had never been to the cliffs. We hiked the long stairway down and enjoyed the weather and made it back up for a quick visit to La Jolla Cove where this photo was taken.

The last 2 weeks have been filled with family and graduations and I must say while I am absolutely exhaused, I am also humbled by all of the wonderful people in my life and in my son, Benjamin's life!

Today is a Sunday for me...I plan to rest!