I didn't realize that you and the fabulous Michele had started new threads. You both sound so good. How cool.
Anyway, your trip to CA sounds deeply satisfying on many levels. I'm so glad because I know you had some concerns, but of course CA and your friends greeted you with open arms and hearts. (Wow, and what's UP with Mr. Wonderful saying that? That is a major "hmmmm," I'd say!) I'm only sorry that I missed you due to my own unforeseen trip. Hey! If you want to move back here, come move to my sweet neighborhood. We can go on all the hikes, golf trips, and scotch-tasting you want. I love hearing about all the new stuff you're doing and trying. You sound very full of life. Rock on, friend.
Hey, here's another idea to help you get ready to hike the Appalachian Trail -- Put all of your golf clubs in your bag and slug it on your shoulders. Throw your ball into the woods. Play it from there, avoiding the fairway completely.
It's a two-fer! Golf AND Hiking!!
Sounds like the way I play...
Which, BTW, I did today. Walked 18 and carried my bag. With a heat index hovering around 96 degrees. I will say that about the 16th hole I started having chills, which is not good.
Got myself indoors after holing out on 18 and hydrated, hydrated, hydrated. And we teed off at 8:15! Can you imagine how hot it was for folks who played later in the day?
Honey, you are such an Aries. You are making a new path -- your own path -- and a new life here at mid-life. If I sound like our friend, it's only because I am channeling his words to you.
I like you. Keep doing what you're doing. Keep being who you are. Because you are pretty terrific.
OMG, Michele, your training idea just cracks me up! That's definitely more my style! Ellie, thanks for the great training idea as well... yours is more serious and probable than Michele's. But I love it nonetheless. And Azure, I'm glad that you're back and ready to rock. I loved hearing about your trip!
Michele--I can just hear you-know-who's voice in your message! Man, you got me right in the solar plexus. You're absolutely right... this new path is being paved with complete joy and wonder. It's my Aries hallmark, just as it's yours.
I was telling my boss about the hike after I finished my grueling workout this afternoon. He just sat in his chair (we were in his office) as I noticed him grinning. I asked him what that was all about and he just said, "I can see you finding yourself, and you can't know how happy that makes me. You're smart... learning how to find things that make you happy." I just sat there like, "Yeah, I am!"
To my dearest who commented today that I might be on a job search in San Jose soon... I didn't get a chance to elaborate on the real reason why that won't happen. I attacked the financial reason as the primary reason, but it's actually not. I'm not allowing something as tangible as money get in my way, ya know.
My 3-year stint in California represented a very important and big transition for me. I left home for this lovely destination. I left all my friends and family to navigate the unknown that lay before me. I was 26 years old and starting my life for the very first time... that is, my life for myself. I began that quest to understand who I was and who I wanted to be.
It represents that period when I transformed into a woman from the girl I'd always been. There are so many happy memories of that time (not necessarily of my life with Mr. Wonderful), and they include people who helped me shed some of my childhood issues and don a more responsible, adult mask.
It was so special that words can't describe how I feel about it. That's why I was not as enthusiastic about leaving... though I'll say that as much as I didn't want to leave there, I was VERY happy to move here too. Moving to Colorado was another very important transition, as it marked a time when I left behind "self" and learned how to function as "we". At least now I see that I don't have to move geographically to get my sea legs back in the transition back to "me".
I realize that the past is best where I left it--behind. What I decide to do from here on out is going to be something new and equally exciting. I doubt it will bring me back to the Bay Area, but if it does, then so be it. I'm just trying to envision what the next step will be... and when that might be. As I mentioned earlier, I'll wait until D12 graduates high school and figure stuff out as I go.
Does this make sense?
I'm listening to my iPod at the moment, and a song that reminds me of a time when I lived there is on: Waiting for a Star to Fall. Yep, that's pretty representative of how I felt back then. And now too!
Off to beautify. My roots are showing!
Betsey
"There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
LOL. I just want to know what is with all the Scotch drinkers? I acquired a taste for it long ago due to a friend who liked Scotch and his dad owned a wholesale establishment....so, what's free is still free. However, I used to be able to totally shock people with a "woman" drinking Scotch. Guess that is the Sag in me...which there seems to be very little of. I am definitely not the gypsy my sign would allegedly indiate. I like roots (no not those...I get mine colored, too), family, and rules.
Try some Glenfiddish. I understand from one of my Scotch drinking buddies who lives in Denver that the single malts are pretty reasonable there. That would cost me almost a day's worth of work up here.
How are you, my friend? I had to chuckle....you were absent from the board for so long and now within a matter of days you have a brand spanky new thread with hoards of visitors and lots of stimulating conversation. You're a people magnet, Betsey! It's good to read your thoughts and insights again.
I am almost inspired to go update my own thread again....
Hugs to you, ~Alanah
"It seems to me that we often, almost sulkily, reject the good that God offers us because, at the moment, we expected some other good."
C.S. Lewis
Hello my old friend! I was so glad to see you here when I got here. Your thread as always is hearwarming and a comfort. Realizing how far you've come is inspiring.
It would appear I got too busy with distractions in my life and slipped into complacency. I'd forgotten a few things along the way. I need to come back round to DBing to keep myself standing straight and moving forward.
It's good to see some of the other long time Db'ers still around!! Hope you're having a fabulous weekend whatever you're up to!! Now, Cycler30
Holy mother! Some oldtimers have checked in and it's a very pleasant surprise!
Glenda--I like Glenfiddich just fine. But you know what I like more? The Glen Livet French Oak Finish and The Macallan. They are both my very favorites, and not cheap. Of late, I'm enjoying wine. I was reintroduced to a very pleasant habit back in CA... where the wine is as good as it is economical. And good single malt is NEVER economical. That's something you drink because you feel you deserve it... no such thing as a bargain, unless someone else is doing the buying!
I finished Moving On Friday night. Sarah's last chapters are the best--she discusses how preparing food is a sensual experience and how eating a variety of healthy foods appeals to the senses as well. She enjoys wine while preparing meals with her H, and I'm thinking that I'd like to get back into a healthy routine where there are rewards along the way. With D12's volleyball season, I pretty much got in the habit of preparing meals that were nutritious but easy for me to make--and I stuck with the familiar routines. I also got to the place where spending time in the kitchen was not so enjoyable. So I'm now recommitting myself to being a little more inventive and spending quality time with myself (and whoever is there to join me) while I cook. I enjoy life 10x more when I do. And that wine is going to be a must.
Alanah, I didn't mean to come back here as a habit. I try not to come here too often, because I see where it keeps me bound to constant improvement. But I also enjoy holding myself accountable and learning as I go... so I'll try to put stuff out there that might be relevant to others on this seemingly neverending journey to fulfillment.
Trish--How in the heck are you doing? It's been a very long time, my friend. What in particular ails you that you feel the need to come back? BTW, this was my first thread in quite some time... last fall? Do tell, and I don't mind if you need to squat here.
It's been a very busy weekend. I'm still trying to finish switching bedrooms around--with all the extraneous stuff that keeps seeming to need a new home. It's giving me the time to clean out more closets--throwing some stuff away and putting other stuff in a box for ARC. My garage is accumulating stuff by the hour. I've also been doing this in my backyard as well. I don't mind it much, except when the snakes slither out from stuff. It creeps me out.
The girls and I did manage to spend some QT at the pool yesterday. We really needed the time together to catch up and do something fun for all of us. It would have been more fun had we not had to sit out 1.5 hours... as some kid barfed in the pool. D12 was very annoyed and D9 angry as a hornet. D12 commented, "How hard is it to barf on the cement?" I honestly never thought about that.
The girls get out of school on Tuesday, though in reality, they got out on Friday. Lockers have been cleaned out and now they're just goofing off. I'm anxious for a change in routine again, and it will be a welcome one. Now I just hope summer doesn't fly by too quickly.
Time to go practice my golf swing. I might take out a kid with it!
Betsey
"There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
Cooking....hmmm, I do seem to remember what that is. Someone, I think Jill, asked me how I fit everything into my schedule and ya know, some things just have to go. Since S21 has been gone, I've lived on a variety of Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, and a few Boston Restaurant (really taste home made) meals that cook quickly in the microwave. S21 will be back Friday. I've lived here since March 26 and I still don't know that the stove works...except S21 said the house inspector turned it on to check. Maybe some nice ice wine would put me in a cooking mood...or some other kind of mood. Guess I better stay away from all of that stuff until I get the remodeling done and find homes for all the stuff still in boxes.
I love hearing about all the new stuff you're doing and trying. You sound very full of life. Rock on, friend. 
