Rollercoaster

Well, my blogging habits are poor but this month has been crazy so I guess you will just have to deal with it!

So much has happened and changed but first I have to come clean on something. Dave and I have cheated about four times since February 5th on the Lent of no drinking. I guess God has had to turn a blind eye. One cheat was after Dave's marathon. He did so great and he deserved that free beer...and the six pack of Abita that we split later. We have needed a little stress relief bottles of wine as well so that is the other three or four times. The good part is that we are drinking a lot less when we do drink. I have also lost about 5 pounds by changing nothing other than limiting alcohol. We also both feel a lot better. On a day to day basis we will probably never go back to daily drinking. It's cheaper, healthier, and when we do drink it takes a hell of a lot less to get a nice warm buzzy.

Other interesting facts that most of you know.
-I am moving to Los Angeles on Saturday. I will start a 3 month contract there. Dave will remain with the boat for now until it sells.
-We officially filed the 1023 which is the application for 501c3 non profit status for A Good Day Inc. As it is the government, we will hear something back anywhere between three weeks and 6 months. Check out
-I went back to work for a month contract in Franklinton, LA where I used to work. I learned you shouldn't always go back if you get the chance. Sometimes but not always.

Well, that is my random update of a blog. I will try to be better about having interesting things to report.

The following links are to two articles written about Dave. One is from the Daily Sentinel in GJ and the other is from the GJ Free Press. An article in MD Anderson's Network Newsletter will come out later this month. I will send it on!

A Week on the Wagon

This entry will be a little different from the wine-soaked entry I made on Mardi Gras day. That's right! Dave and I have made it 8 days without drinking a drop of alcohol.
This is actually turning out to be a very interesting study. First, I would guess in a week that we have saved somewhere between $80-100. That is mostly from eating out and not ordering $5 drinks and ordering a bottomless glass of iced tea instead for $1.50. Also, on the other nights that we drink wine at home, I imagine we would have gone through at least 4 bottles of wine. It sounds like a lot but 4 bottles in a week averages to about a glass a day each.

In my not drinking state, I have realized also how much alcohol works its way into my daily life. We have been through a weekend, a couple of stressful days back at work, and celebrating (Valentine's day would have always been a big drinking day for us). But just even that glass of wine after work seems oddly missing but not in a bad way. In some ways, not having to worry about the wine is just as nice as having it.

I do not consider us to be heavy drinkers by any stretch. We are mostly social, mild drinkers. It has just become more obvious to me how much it is present.

Overall, I miss it very little which is a surprise to me. Not that I wouldn't like a glass of wine on Friday night after a long week. But hey, we are in the south. Home of the sweet tea. I guess that will have to do for now!

Cheers!

Mardi Gras 2008

Well, long time no blog. Life has been one big transitional living out of a suitcase sort of month. I am pretty ready to get into a normal routine. Now, if I could only figure out what "normal" will consist of.

I know two things right now. First, I have had a great Mardi Gras. For those of you that are confused, Dave and I got to Louisiana about two weeks ago. Mardi Gras was early this year. Just about as early as it can be. I don't know how they figure out when Mardi Gras, Lent, and Easter is but I know it is something to do with the moon, Elvis, a wearing polka dot underwear. Anyway, everyone feared a frigid Mardi Gras. I have never seen a warm one where you could go without a jacket and this was my fourth carnival season. How awesome and welcomed was the 80 degree weather all weekend! No rain, mild temps, and the resurrection and improvement of the Mardi Bra. I don't have a pic but the Mardi Bra is so much fun because I can flash my you-know-whats without having to show a thing. It is so much fun. My uncle came for his first Mardi Gras season and has enjoyed it and also wondered at the freakiness that only Mardi Gras brings out in people. We have been to parades all weekend and went down to the Bourbon Street and the French Quarter.

Okay, now I said I know two things, and believe or not, that was only one. The other is this---I am sucking down the wine tonight. Every year I try to give up something for lent. I am not religious by any means so wipe that surprised look off your face! I just like the practice of lent. Usually I give something up that is pretty easy. This year, however, Dave and I are giving up alcohol. This may sound easy to some of you but for those of us in the habit of daily wine drinking, it is going to be a large adjustment. I am looking forward to it though and I think my parents are joining us on this tour. We want to see how much money we save and how much weight we all lose. Seems like a win-win to me as long as it works.

Well, that is about all you are going to get from me tonight. I am tired and I have a mild case of "bead neck" which makes writing even more difficult. Happy Mardi Gras everybody!

Home sweet home!

In my opinion, you can always go home again. To me, no matter where I live or for how long I am gone, Grand Junction is and will forever be "home" to me. With the amount of traveling that Dave and I do, we always say that wherever we are at the time is home. While this is true, GJ holds my roots and if you hear me talk about going home, this is where I am referring to.
We have had a fast week and a half. I finished work on the 27th of December and we flew from Honolulu to Los Angeles on the 31st. We spent New Year's with our cousins Tom and Jamie, their four-year-old John and their dog Guinness. We had a nice visit with them--very relaxing and not very cold. We even went running along the beach which we felt comfortable with since we just spent 9 months running around Hawaii. On the third we flew HOME. We have had a nice relaxing, yet busy time here. There is always a lot of visiting to do. We went to my Grandma's new house in Delta yesterday, saw my Uncle the day before and went to dinner at a friends house.
Our biggest ordeal, which is ALWAYS is, is unpacking, shrinking down the pile, and re-packing all our junk. We have finally obtained a storage unit which is going to make life a lot easier. My parents were starting to get a little over run with all of the Massey boxes labeled "keepsakes". My mom actually speerheaded the acquisition of the storage unit.
We will be hanging out here for a couple of weeks and then we will head over the hills to Denver and on down to Louisiana as weather permits. We are aiming to be down there by the 27th. Our goal at this time will be to sell the @#$%^& boat. It is true what they say....the two best days of your life is when you buy your boat and when you sell your boat.
That's about it from this end. Everyone in our crew is happy, healthy and basically complaint free. We almost don't know what to do with ourselves! Our biggest challenge is trying to find ice free areas to run. It has snowed just enough every day that we have been here to keep things slickened up.
Until next time!

Aloha Oe Hawaii!

Well, the time has come. End of the year, end of our time in Hawaii. I am happy, sad, nostalgic---but mostly I am scared of the single digit temperatures that await in Colorado!
On Thursday I said goodbye to my co-workers, on Friday we said goodbye again at happy hour and today we say goodbye to the island life for awhile. We have had an amazing time here. Of course spending hours out in the tropical sun is never bad but we have also used this time to renew our spirits. We have seen 793 rainbows, took 4 interisland trips, trained for and completed a marathon, went camping twice, saw some turtles, fed the fish, took a submarine ride, had 6 sets of visitors (although 2 sets were my sister), Dave turned 50, I turned 30, Dave formatted and published his book, gave talks/book signings at both cancer centers on Oahu, and we started our own company. We also spent two weeks in Colorado to celebrate my sister's graduation and help my mom after hip surgery. I gotta say it's been an amazing year. We are thankful that our friends and family are healthy and happy. We look forward to 2008 and hope our paths cross with each and every one of you soon!

Live the magic of Christmas

This is a sentence I pulled from my friend Chris' blog. In talking about her young nieces and nephews, she stated "they still live the magic of Christmas".
Before I went to her page, I was wondering, has all the magic gone out of Christmas?

I went to work today. I don't know one good reason why people need OT on Christmas Day but at time and a half, I wasn't going to argue. Having Christmas in Hawaii is like, well, basically any other day in Hawaii. It is warm, green, and sunny. No white Christmas here. We went to breakfast before Dave took me to work. I left about an hour early. Nothing too special.

When I got home, we went for a walk along the beach. Just like any other day in Hawaii. I called my family. They were playing cards together. I must admit, but you didn't hear it here, I am a wee bit homesick. Sounded like they were having fun but we will be there soon enough.

This morning as I got ready for work the Peanut's Christmas Song entered my head. You know the one....Christmas Time is Here....Lalalalala. SOmething something, and cheer. At work my friend Karen said she had the same song in her head because the child in us wakes up excited, saying "Christmas is here"!

But now at the end of the day, I am wondering, is it still magical? Was today like any other day? Is it what they all say? Are we too OLD for Christmas?

Then I realized this---you are my magic. Each and every one of you. You help me live the magic of Christmas by your friendship, excitement, and love. Christmas is still magical to me because you all live in me.

Mele Kalikimaka to everyone and thank you for the magic that you all brought to me this Christmas.

Our Christmas Wish

Mele Kalikimaka!

I hope that magic and wonder is finding all of you this holiday season.
Magic and wonder are filling me this evening. Dave and I got word today that our papers of incorporation for our non profit were filed successfully. To all of you that have asked me what Dave has been doing during this time in Hawaii, I have answers for you.

Dave and I basically started dating on Christmas 4 years ago. He invited me to dinner with his family which was being served at his brother's house. The drive was about 1.5 hours. During that time we talked the entire way. It became clear almost immediately that we both felt the same way about life. A common theme in that conversation and many conversations to follow is that we both felt we are here for a larger purpose. We have grown so much since that day. We are moving away from unfulfilling jobs and toward that dream. This non profit org that we are starting will be called A Good Day Inc. We will promote health, happiness and hope to cancer survivors across the country. This is such an important day for us as it leads us into that dream of becoming more. In many ways we are taking chances. It is scary sometimes but exhilirating at the same time. We ask for your support, prayers, and encouragement. Most likely, you will get to be a part of this movement at some point as well. We're gonna be big!
We also would like to thank our friends and family for always supporting our dreams. We will always be there for you in return if and when you need us.

So Merry Christmas and sweet dreams. May happiness find you my friend!