~ My Morning Walk ~

So ... my morning walk usually involves this view. (Except that I rarely have these delightful 4 year old grandkids in the picture which is just the biggest shame of all!!) Not too shabby. Also keep in mind that while I'm walking it's in the mid 60's. Farenheit.

I have decided to change my route on Saturday mornings. It took me a couple of tries to find the perfect beach walking path, but I'm pretty certain that these views meet a certain standard of perfection.

I was quite enamored with this touch of green among the sea/sand/sky.

I'm just loving my Saturday morning walks. Want to join me??

~ June - Over the Moon ~

So ...

this just might be part of the reason that ...

I am happy to be here.

In California, one can not mention "June" without the mention of "June Gloom" which means that every (so far at least) June day starts out with a dreary, overcast sky which melts away to sunshine later in the day. I'm not gonna lie ... I'm less than fond of the gray morning skies, and totally surprised at how chilly those mornings are. This AZ girl was used to triple digits by ten.

However ... there is something to be said for the thrill of anticipation as the day grows. On Saturday, the sun was out before high noon, so I immediately headed to the beach. I really, really wish I had a scratch n' sniff blog so that I could share with you the heavenly scent of the waves. You will have to settle for these (unretouched) photos instead.

Gloom? I don't think so.

~ Just Beachy ~

So ... this picture is from a morning jaunt a couple weeks ago. Doheny State Beach at Dana Point, if you must know.

Sigh.

My Big Fat Brown Couch

So ... don't be confused ... the above pictured room is of my old family room from my AZ home. I show you this picture (again) because I want you to understand that it was a very large room with a very high ceiling and over the years I picked out furniture for it that was also very large ... one might even say ... massive.

When I first saw my current CA home, I knew the family room was smaller and that furniture placement would be tighter, but I somehow thought I would still fit all the pieces in until Mrs. Gee gently pointed out to me that I was certifiably crazy and that if I were to put all that furniture in the room, not one square inch of floor would show and I would have to step on the coffee table to get to the couch.

So ... I sold the coffee table and the love seat and innocently planned to place the rest of the furniture rather loosely in my new family room. Annnnnd ... that wasn't happening either. Mrs. Gee and I tried every option possible and could not ... I repeat could NOT ... get both of the large blue and white chairs in the room together. So now the very nice man who did all my painting is the proud owner of my other blue and white chair.

As time goes by, and I replace the couch, it will be something more appropriately proportioned for the room. In the meantime, when you look in the dictionary under the word "cozy", you will see these pictures. And if I were in the pictures, I'd be smiling because I love my new ... cozy ... family room.

In other non-furniture related news: I have California plates on my car!!

eek.

Finally !!

So ... the wait is finally over.

I am no longer ... home-less.

I am very excited about my new home.

However, my life's belongings and I will not be reunited until sometime next week.

At that point ...

I'll be burning these pants.

Don't Give Up on Me Yet!!

So ... I am alive and well and I am a Californian, but what I am not yet ... is a homeowner. My negotiations hit some snags (Short sale? I don't think so!) but in the meantime I am not home-less, due to the extremely pleasant hospitality of the Gees.

My things are safely stored in AZ still which means the suitcase I threw together to last me less than a week ... is having a difficult time lasting 3 weeks. If anyone wants to know, I just really, really like these pants.

The move itself went smooth as can be and my wicked head cold notwithstanding, I continue to feel very blessed. I sleep in a room with a delightful 3.5 year old and I get to cuddle the above pictured bundle of joy any old time I want.

And just in case you were wondering ... the above picture can be explained by one of the following options ... you guess which one.

a) The new homeowners bought several pieces of my furniture and I needed to make sure they didn't make the move.
b) My attachment to the above pictured remote knows no bounds.
c) Nobody puts L'il Miss Gee on a truck ... nobody!

~ I'm dreaming of a ... boxed ... Christmas ~

So ... it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas all right, but let's just say that the view is much better at the Gee's house than my own. I am considering stacking my boxes in a tree-like shape and draping a green blanket over them. What do you think?

I sure had fun being "roommates" with this Li'l Guy, who took his tree decorating duties very ... very ... seriously. ("Mom! Is it time to decoration the tree yet?!")

His Li'l Sis looked on and gave occasional critiques, utilizing her uber high fashion tastes.

And some spit-up.

I do plan to create a small, peaceful Christmas area amidst all the chaos. I do believe that was the purpose of the stable, was it not?

I wish you all a lovely season and the chance to decoration to your hearts content.

The Big Reveal

So ... I have hinted for sometime about a "project" in my life that has caused me a bit of anguish not to mention the inability to mess up my sewing room. My back has been sore but my faucets have nary a drop on them. Can you guess what my project is??

Yep.

I put my house up for sale.

After almost 20 years in this house, I am moving to something small and fun and cozy. Like ... half as small. Like ... "downsizing" has been the key word for over 4 months. Four long box-filling, charity-giving, trash-overflowing, paper-shredding months.

What this picture above doesn't reveal ... is the SOLD sign.

Yep ... it's a done deal. I will move in a couple of months.

"To where?" you innocently ask.

What you don't realize is that I have been giving you hints for some time now. Haven't you noticed a distinct increase in ocean -related posts? Haven't you noticed my obsession with all things blue and beachy? Do you know I'll be just a short hop from the Gees? Can you guess?

Sigh.

~A Fabulous Forecast ~

So ... I just got back from a week in Sunny Southern California. Can I tell you how much I love it there? Can you guess why? For starters ... Li'l Miss Gee is a precious, happy, beautiful, baby. I loved, loved, loved nuzzling her. She really smells go-ood. (It's also 30 degrees cooler there, but let's stick to the important stuff.)

I also loved hanging out with this boy and his dog, Ralphie.

I am in serious withdrawal. Do you blame me?

A Color Explosion

So ... please wake up long enough to view one more post from my trip, which frankly is just a blur to me at this point, let's be honest. One of my favorite days was our trip down to Santa Cruz. For starters we were mesmerized by the beautiful ocean vistas not to mention the lobster we had for lunch at a chichi restaurant on the pier. But this day was all about the color. Shockingly beautiful color.

Santa Cruz is home to a traditional boardwalk complete with rides, cotton candy and ... yep ... deep fried Twinkies.

All of this is right on the beach. And no, no, there is no entrance fee. Yes, you buy tickets for the rides and you pay for the cotton candy, but the eye candy is free for the taking.

So ... I took some and I am not giving it back.

Gee Whiz!!

So ... I haven't been the best of bloggers lately. (Oh reaaaaaallllly.) If you must know, my services were called upon to spend the week in delightful So Cal and take care of my precious Mr. Gee for half the week and then spend the rest of the week with all the Gees, soaking up the sun and celebrating motherhood.

And Grand Motherhood.

The top pic is from our day at the "small park". (Mr. Gee has many, many parks from which to choose, but on our first day alone, he chose the smallest one.) Several days later, I took him to Pretend City where he participated in several grown-up-type jobs and drove several grown-up-type vehicles. The picture above is of him driving his favorite truck. It was my favorite also because it allowed me some rest from hauling my gi-normous purse around. Some people might think this is an activity to be reported to those who enforce child labor laws ... but I beg to differ.

This last pic is from our Mother's Day FunFest. The water in this pool was heated and he was oh-so-tempted by it.

Thank you Gees for letting me be a part of the festivities and for trusting me to spend all that (exhausting) quality time with the Mister. Now that there will be two, two, two Gee children to look after (yep ... and the next one is pink!) I am definitely going to have to do some endurance training.

Starting ... tomorrow.

Easter in La La Land

So ... we headed west for the weekend.To the land O' Sand and Sun. Land of children (2) and grandchildren (1).

Friday: The OC. Saturday-Sunday: L.A. Sunday night: Back to the OC. These pics are from a post lunch stroll at Venice Beach. Mmmmmm .... good.

Here's the little guy in his bedtime finery. He's huge and he is too precious for words. And he's rather fond of me, if I do say so myself.

Here we are on Easter morning.

A fine, fine, Easter indeed.