Kid's Mass

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a churchy person. I was raised Catholic but no longer practice except at Christmas when I go with my parents to appease my Mom (sorry Mom). So we went to mass on Christmas Eve the other night. As usual the church is pretty full even though we got there 30 minutes early, so we ended up sitting in the "family room" - one of two rooms enclosed on either side of the altar where parents can sit with small children. This way they don't disturb the entire congregation if their child starts screaming but they can still hear the service.

I think it was one of the most entertaining masses I have ever attended! We also discovered that it was the mass where the choir was made up entirely of kids.....under ten I would estimate. I would venture to guess that they had practiced once together.....maybe more and they just didn't pick up on the different cues. Needless to say, there was one kid who happened to get right in front of the microphone for each song and just sang his heart out. His enthusiasm was wonderful....the singing was not. But it was great to hear anyway.

The other entertainment was watching all the kids in the room. We had a boy next to us who was about two and his big sister who was four, they both kept vying for their Grandma's attention. There were two girls in front of us as well.....about 6 and 9 years old. They kept climbing on their Grandfather during the service, which was cute. Then throughout the service the 9 year old kept whispering to her Grandfather but she would cup his ear with her hand and get her mouth right in his ear to whisper. It was so funny.

Of course we also had the variety of crying, screaming, whining, and temper tantrums going on. It made it challenging to listen to the mass, which was fine with me. My attention span isn't long enough to pay attention to mass the whole time anyway, so it was much more fun to watch the kids. There was one girl about three years old who had fallen asleep in her Grandfather's arms. It's always amazing to me what kids can sleep through.....she never stirred through all the off key singing, screaming, and crying.....she was completely gone! The only way I can sleep that deeply is if I take a sleeping pill.

Aside from the shenanigans of the kids, the only other part of the mass I found intriguing was that they had a guy dressed as Santa Claus come up to the front of the church at the end of the mass. Apparently he came in to get a blessing on his travels for the night.....cute idea for the kids. Surprising that the church would bring in Santa Claus but a nice touch for the kid's mass. It was great to be around all the kids and be entertained by their antics....good reminder of the innocence of youth on Christmas Eve!

I Matter

Every year our program (Cardiac Rehab) has a Holiday party for our patients so that they can get together to socialize. Not that they don't already do this on a regular basis when they are exercising (or supposed to be exercising), but apparently it's been a tradition to give them another chance to socialize with each other. This year I took charge of locating a venue and putting everything together. I loved it!! Anyone who knows me, knows that I love organizing social gatherings (I'm working on being less introverted, let me know if I'm succeeding....HA!).

The day of the party, everything went great and many of the patients let us know that they had a great time, the food was good, the games were fun, and the company was great! It was a great feeling to know that my first attempt at organizing this shindig worked out so well. The icing on the cake though was when one of our heart transplant patients (the one mentioned in a previous blog) stood up at the end of the luncheon and gave the staff a little speech of heartfelt thanks. She is an excellent speaker and with tears in her eyes, she proceeded to let us know how much we mean to her and the other patients. How much we help them in their struggle to improve their health, not only physically but also guiding them through their emotional upheavals and bringing a smile to their faces with our quirky personalities. You really play the role of psychologist when you work in Cardiac Rehab and there are many days when you are not sure if you've reached the person you're trying to help or not. It was wonderful to hear the gratitude in her voice and see the sincerity in her eyes...to know that our work is actually making a difference and that we DO matter!!

Replacing After Dinner Mints

I don't know about you, but when I was a kid and we took family vacations, I always LOVED checking out the bathroom in the hotel rooms! They always had cool stuff in there....I mean where else do you find a coffeemaker in a bathroom?! Or an iron and ironing board? To a six year old kid, that was really cool!

I haven't encountered anything in a bathroom in several years that took me back to that childhood memory until last night. I had dinner at a sushi place in the UTC area (Sushi Edo)...they had a very interesting AND USEFUL addition to their bathroom!! How many times have you finished dinner and wished you had a piece of gum or some kind of mint to counteract the aftereffects of your meal?

Here is your answer!! You may have seen this in your dentists office but this is the first time I've seen it in a restaurant!! It's a mouthwash dispenser!! There is a cylinder with mini cups on the side and you just push the lever to dispense the mouthwash into your cup. Genius, right?! WHY aren't all restaurants doing this?? Granted this was in a single person restroom versus one with eight stalls in it, but still...I think it's a fabulous idea! Don't you??

Now if only they had a floss dispenser....

Family

I was back in Kansas City, Missouri the first weekend in October (I know, this took me awhile to get out) - went there for a Wheeler family reunion. I haven't been there for six years...the last time was for my cousin Kristin's wedding. Since then she has had two kids! So I got to meet my second cousins, Maddie and Will, who are adorable!! (More pics to come) I also got to see my aunts (see pic to the left) from left to right, Judy, Marilyn, and Bev standing behind my Dad. He's the baby of the family and hasn't been back in several years himself.

It was wonderful to be able to catch up with everyone! My Aunt Marilyn doesn't look any different than she did six years ago when I saw her....great genes there! Bev and Judy look very similar as well. Judy still has her sarcastic sense of humor - it runs in the family.
For example, check out the welcome mat in her house:
















One of the highlights of my trip was going to a Farmstead with Kristin and her kids to pick out pumpkins! We had a great time playing various games, going on a hayride, and climbing hay bales.




The last full day I was there, we all went to a portrait studio to take pictures. My cousins and I had a picture taken together which we weren't all that crazy about so we took another one at Judy's house. We look like sisters! Well, Mehgan (left) and Kristin (right) are sisters....I'm just the cousin.Hopefully my next trip to see my family in Missouri will not be another six years!! I love you!!

Dating SNL Style

I feel like my dating life has become a Saturday Night Live skit. I went out with a guy from Match.com almost six weeks ago and the first date wasn't all that great. He's originally from Serbia and although we were able to carry on a conversation, it was somewhat awkward. His English is fine but he had a tendency to mumble a lot, so half the conversation was me asking him to repeat himself. The other quirk I noticed was that he would giggle after asking me a question....a nervous kind of giggle. It was somewhat annoying but I figured he was just nervous because it was a first date.

We went out again because I figured the second date might go better - maybe he wouldn't be as nervous. Maybe he wouldn't do the annoying giggle....maybe I would find myself attracted to him (I wasn't noticing that on the first date). He wanted to see a movie, so that's what we did for our second date. Not a good choice as far as I was concerned but whatever. He was 15 minutes late for the date (even though he picked which theater to go to) and the first thing he did was ask how my day was and then that nervous giggle came out! Yuck! We didn't talk during the movie and I was feeling uncomfortable.....I found myself angling away from him in the theater seat and holding my hands together and away from him so he wouldn't attempt to hold my hand.

After the movie he walked me to my truck (it was late, so we had no plans to do anything else). He asked me about going out again...followed by the nervous giggle. (Eeeww) I told him I didn't think there was any chemistry between us and he turned and walked away! I thought that was kind of funny but didn't think anything more of it. I didn't want to be too vague and give him the idea that I was interested.....I definitely was not.

Soooo......this past weekend (about six weeks after this movie date) he emailed me on the dating site! He wanted to know how I was doing and if I'd like to get together again. HUH?? Maybe he forgot who I was? Selective memory?? So, being the straightforward person I am, I emailed him back and reminded him that the last time we had gone out I told him there was no chemistry between us so why would we go out again....?? His response was: "I think you are attractive, I feel there is a connection. Can I call you?"

Seriously?? I thought I was pretty blunt in saying there was no chemistry. Apparently he thinks that he can sway me because HE felt there was a connection! HA! I appreciate persistence but that was just too much! My response: "I am not interested in getting together again and I do not feel a connection with you. Do not contact me."

Do you think maybe that will work?! Sheesh! Can I get a ruling on this? Crazy? Stalker? Language barrier??

Soy and Gluten and Dairy, oh my!!

As promised in my previous post, I wanted to give you the specifics of the cleansing diet I did and how it affected me. I started seeing an acupuncturist about two months ago to try to get some relief from my chronic back pain that I have had since I was in high school (car accident). I've tried chiropractors, massage, and even acupuncture before but nothing produced long term results. This particular doctor I am seeing now is not only an acupuncturist but also a certified nutritionist, doctor of oriental medicine, and a medical evaluator. Anyway, he doesn't just do treatments with needles...he puts his patients on an overall health program to improve their health. He doesn't look at problems you currently have and decide to just treat those...he looks at everything and tries to prevent a minor issue or nuisance from becoming a major health concern. For instance, if someone has blood pressure that is in the "normal" range but on the high side, he would work to get it lowered so that the blood pressure wouldn't even get into the high range.

I had a blood test done in the beginning and it showed that I was deficient in iron, B12, and my T3 was low - 21 (Thyroid hormone that controls metabolism - ideal is 28-38). On top of that my cholesterol numbers weren't the best - Total cholesterol 217, Triglycerides 126, HDL 65, and LDL 127. So he had me do a five day fast where I drank a mixture of green tea, lemon juice, and maple syrup. That's all you have for five days....if you feel lightheaded or dizzy you are allowed to have some vegetables but that's it. After that, I started a cleansing diet. For three weeks I couldn't have soy, dairy, gluten, caffeine, or alcohol (no wine tasting!). During this time he also had me taking supplements to improve my liver function, reduce cholesterol, increase my thyroid function, and increase my red blood cell production.

It wasn't as hard as I thought it might be and I did feel better. It wasn't a huge change that I felt though since I eat pretty healthy anyway. But I didn't have cravings for sweets like I had been and I have noticed that I do not get cold as easily as I did. So I had my blood work done last week and everything improved! What was very interesting was how much my cholesterol had changed. Total cholesterol went from 217 to 176, Triglycerides went from 126 to 63 (HUGE change!), HDL dropped from 65 to 51 but only because the total cholesterol went down, and LDL went from 127 to 112. My T3 went from 21 to 31, which put me right in the middle of the range for ideal functioning.

I also had a test done for my adrenals and discovered they were overworked (really? me stressed with the economy in a slump and working part time??). So now I am adjusting my eating so that I do not have any high carb meals, especially in the evening....apparently this adds to the stress on the adrenals. I am also taking new supplements to support adrenal function. We will see how this affects me in the coming weeks.



So far I've lost about seven pounds and I am beginning to notice an increase in my energy level. I've also noticed an increase in my libido which is not an unwelcome change by any means! Single woman on the prowl....watch out!!

John Hughes Flashback

As many of you know I have been doing a cleansing diet for the past few weeks (more to come on that). There were a few reasons for the diet but the result has been that I have lost a few pounds (woohoo!) in the last few weeks. My scale had noticed the difference and I had kind of noticed the change in how my clothes fit, but it wasn't a drastic weight loss. So it was nice to hear one of our cardiac patients telling another patient that she thought I looked thinner. After working at it for a few weeks it's nice that other people notice when you do get results, especially when the results don't seem that noticeable to yourself!

Later in the class, this same patient decided to come up and tell me that she thought I looked like I had lost weight and was looking good. I thanked her and told her a little bit about the diet I had been following. This particular patient likes to talk...and give more details than necessary. She also has a tendency to talk with her hands so she can embellish her story. She went back to complimenting me on how I looked (which was very nice of her) but this time pointing out the specific areas where she saw the changes. Apparently my bosom (yes, she used that word) is more noticeable because my torso has gotten thinner. She kept bringing her hands towards my torso as if she wanted to grab me to make her point. I immediately thought of that scene in Sixteen Candles when Molly Ringwald's grandmother exclaims how perky her "boobies" are and then proceeds to feel her up! Luckily I was able to avoid any groping from the patient....but it was a close call! Whew!!

Usually I like my job. Like most people there are days when I dread going into work, hearing patients complain about their various maladies (especially the "black holes" that suck all the life from the room), trying to be empathetic and patient without losing my mind. But then there are days when I love my job.


I work in Cardiac Rehabilitation and we recently started a new group of patients. There's always a little chaos trying to match a face with a name and diagnosis. But this particular group has a woman in it that has recently had a heart transplant. That in itself is not unusual.....neither is the fact that she is fairly young (early 40's). The unusual part is her medical history which I can't share here for privacy reasons. But let's just say she's been through quite a bit with her heart health for someone her age. She went through a couple years where she couldn't do much activity at all because of her health and this is after spending years as an active exerciser and weight lifter.

Anyway, she came in like most heart transplant patients do....with a mask on. They have to take so many anti-rejection drugs that catching a cold is serious business. I handled her first day of exercise and began by explaining the 12 minute walk test we were going to do to get a measure of her current fitness status. When I told her I'd be putting her on a treadmill she reacted like a kid being told they're going to Disneyland! She was SO excited!! She started crying happy tears and hugged me multiple times!! It was so cute and sweet!

Once we got started on the treadmill, she just couldn't get over the fact that she was actually exercising. She walked for about 20 minutes and I wasn't sure if I should put her on a bike or not - I didn't want to tire her too much. But she was gung ho for the next event! Having patients excited to exercise is something we almost NEVER see! It was great to see her excitement about the whole program and she is continuing to progress wonderfully!!

Sometimes I LOVE my job!

Date Much?

I have been using online personal for dating in San Diego on and off for several years now. It is always a different experience meeting people from online! Many times it ends up just being a first date that is pleasant but not memorable, therefore not requiring a second date. I recently ended a five month break from online dating and signed up on yahoo personals. I had a memorable date last week but memorable in a bad way.

I had been talking to this guy, we'll call him Ron, for a couple weeks over email and he came across as charismatic and nice. He is a swim coach that was living in L.A. but was laid off due to budget cuts. He came back to his native San Diego area and was lucky enough to get a job at a local high school in the North County area. We talked on the phone a couple times and agreed to meet up. He lives in North County (which is about a 45 minute drive from me) and had some great cafe that he wanted to show me. I had an appointment for a haircut and told him I'd call him around 3:30 when I thought I'd be done. The haircut took a little longer than I expected and he had called at 3:30 to find out if I was done. I called him back and mentioned that I needed to go home and change clothes before heading up to his area. We agreed that I would call him when I reached an exit on the freeway so that he would have a better idea of when I'd be at the cafe.


Ron ended up calling me before I left my place to find out if I had left....then called again about 20 minutes later when I reached the exit we were going to use as the calling point. Then he wanted me to call him when I got onto the other freeway that would take me to the exit for the cafe. Instead he called me right when I was getting onto the freeway and changed our meeting place. Apparently he decided that the cafe wasn't good enough and wanted to go to a better restaurant. That's fine but a little annoying after all the phone calls. As I pull into the parking lot for the new meeting place, I get yet another phone call from Ron stating that he had something come up and is running a little late.

So I went to the bar and got myself a beer, luckily I only waited about ten minutes before he showed up. He apologized again for being late and explained that his sister accidentally cut him on the arm with a knife (why they were playing with knives, I have no idea). At this point I also learned that he was currently living with his parents and his sister.....he's 36 years old. So we ordered appetizers and drinks, after which he told me he probably wasn't going to eat because he had a late lunch with a friend and he wasn't hungry (nice,huh?). So this was basically my dinner which I didn't eat much of because it's AWKWARD eating in front of someone who is NOT eating!

Aside from that, most of the conversation was good except that he kept jumping in with compliments. Normally that's fine...who doesn't like a compliment? But when he kept repeating the same compliment about five times throughout the night (my haircut looked really good), it gets a big insincere. That and he kept asking me why I was single...."why is such a beautiful, great woman like you single?!" Thanks for the compliment and for rubbing it in my face that I am still single after all this time......I ALWAYS appreciate that!

We ended up going to a different place and had a couple more drinks....at this point Ron is getting tipsy. Tipsy leading to loud and obnoxious....and more complimentary. Maybe he was nervous, maybe my beauty was just SO overwhelming!! HA! I don't think so.....it was annoying. So we walked back to the parking lot where he kissed me (once on the lips which I ended rather quickly). Ron wanted to know if we could talk in my truck. Seriously? I flat out told him there wasn't going to be a make-out session! Nice try buddy. I ended up driving him home because he was too drunk to drive! Yet another point for Ron.....doing great on this date! Upon dropping him off he gave me directions for getting back to the freeway, since I am unfamiliar with the area, and told me to call him if I got lost. Whew! Done with all that!! But then five minutes later, as I am getting on the freeway, he called to make sure I found it. Ok, that's nice and all.....thanks for that. Then about twenty minutes later he called AGAIN! This time I don't know why. I figured it was him and picked up my phone to check the caller ID. When I picked it up I accidentally answered it but still held the phone away from me. I hear him calling my name.....I've definitely had enough at this point, so I hung up the phone and then turned it off.

That was the end of a VERY long night!! I don't know if he had self esteem issues or was desperate to be with someone or what his deal was! He called me the next day and left a message saying he had a great time. Uh-huh....sorry I can't say the same! That was all a bit overwhelming!! Thankfully I have not heard from him again and interestingly enough, he deleted his profile on the personals site. Hmmm.....maybe it's time to deal with personal issues?

I am hoping the next date will go better!

Uncle Bill

My Uncle Bill passed away last week...he had been fighting lung cancer for awhile but it was still unexpected for me. It's still a bit surreal because I haven't seen them in about 5-6 years but that doesn't mean that I won't miss him! I thought I would post the obituary that was in the local paper (Kansas City, MO).

William L. "Bill" Tade, 70, of Lee's Summit, MO, passed away June 5, 2009. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Judy; his daughters Kristin (Mark) Harris with grandchildren Madison and Will and Mehgan (Brad) Rishmany with grandchildren Ella and Jack (born on Grand Dad's birthday!). Also surviving are sisters Louise Cohlmeyer and Margaret Miller and their families. Bill served honorably and with pride in the Army in the 82nd Airborne Division and then went on to teach in the Hickman Mills School District for 30 years. His retirement years were spent visiting every Mid-Continent Library in the area, keeping an immaculate yard and most of all thoroughly enjoying his grandchildren. His sense of humor will be greatly missed. Instead of a funeral, there will be a celebration visitation, a time to gather in Bill's honor and appreciate friends. This will be held Tuesday June 9th from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at Newcomer's Longview Funeral Home, 12700 S. Raytown Road, Kansas City, MO. (816-761- 6272) In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in honor of Bill are suggested to Village Hospice, 400 NW Murray Road, Lee's Summit, MO 64081, or to American Lung Association 2400 Troost Ave., STE 4300, Kansas city, MO 64108. Online condolences may be left at www.dwnewcomers.com.

Surprise! Well....not really....

My brother got married yesterday. I'm a little surprised and yet....not. He's been with his girlfriend for about five years or so. But it's not the length of their relationship that makes the marriage seem unsurprising. Meagan (Todd's girlfriend) is going into the Army in a couple months and IF she gets through boot camp and actually gets into the Army, then she will get more money for being married. This is their reason for getting married! This is why I am not surprised....it's typical of Todd to have a bad reason for making a big decision like this.

So apparently they went to Phoenix yesterday and had a civil ceremony. I don't even know if they had any friends there. My parents are visiting me right now, so they weren't at the ceremony. Todd has alienated most of the friends he used to have, so it wouldn't surprise me if there was no one there.

Many of you have heard my stories of my brother....he and I are NOT close. Well, that's an understatement. We aren't on speaking terms and haven't been for awhile now. It's a long story that I am not going to get into on here but this is just another item on the long list of bad decisions he has made (in my opinion).

....And that's about all I have to say about that!

Vain as a Peacock

Apparently that idiom has some justification! I was at the San Diego Zoo this past Sunday with my parents and we witnessed some interesting behavior from a peacock. There was a zookeeper trying to make a U-turn in his truck on one of the roads and this peacock was checking out his reflection in the front bumper.
The zookeeper would get out of the truck to chase the bird away but by the time he got back in the truck, the peacock was right back in front of the bumper again!! After watching this poor guy unsuccessfully chase the peacock for a few minutes, another zookeeper came on the scene and helped to get the peacock away from the truck long enough for the driver to make the U-turn.

That bird just couldn't get enough. The zookeepeer finally got his truck turned around and started driving down the road only to have the peacock CHASE the truck down the road! I have NEVER seen a peacock run and that was HILARIOUS!! Get that bird a mirror!

Sale Pending

I knew my parents were selling their house and I knew that they had received an offer after it being on the market for a mere four weeks, but I was not prepared to pull up to the house and see the For Sale sign in the front yard. This is the house that I have lived in since I was two months old! This has been my home for thirty-four years and I cannot imagine my parents not living there anymore. If I had a home of my own, maybe I wouldn’t feel as strongly about the loss but I’ve been a renter for awhile now, so this home in Phoenix was always my home. With thirty-four years invested in the home, it’s been the only home my parents have known for half their lives too!

It’s not just the home itself though, it’s the whole area. I grew up in that neighborhood and some of our neighbors have been there for forty years. I love the little park that is a few blocks away – the same park my Dad walks the dogs at almost every day. It’s the same park where we planted a tree in memory of our past family dog Brittany. I remember when there were horses kept next to the park (before they built homes there) and I remember learning how to ride my bike in that park. I had friends my age who lived in the neighboring streets and we all grew up together in that same neighborhood, we played at each other’s houses and went to the same schools from grade school to high school. I know the streets that have the best lighting displays at Christmas and I used to know the ones that gave out the best candy for Halloween.

The deal is currently in its final process and my parents are going to be out of our home by May 1^st. How they will get thirty-four years of furniture, knick-knacks, and memories out of the house in the next couple of weeks, I do not know. For me, I know there have already been many tears and I am sure next weekend will bring many more. I am going to Phoenix to help them move much of their furniture and belongings into a storage shed. It will be very hard to see the home empty. I was just back home in mid-March and documented our home as it is now so that I would have the photos – my own way of mourning. So I will share some of those photos with you…

This is the inside of the front door and a common sight – the dogs love lying on this tile, it’s nice and cool. Bailey is on the left and Sadie is on the right. Plus this allows them to constantly monitor the goings on of the street.

This shows more of the living room, the first room you walk into from the front, with my Dad’s lazy boy (now Sadie’s favorite chair) and my Grandmother’s player piano which will be mine once I have a place for it.

As you move from the living room, you enter into the kitchen which is also open to the family room (to the right) and the patio or Arizona room (towards the back of the house). The kitchen is the only room in the house that hasn’t been updated since my parents moved in thirty-some years ago – evidenced by the lovely orange counter, orange/yellow wallpaper, and very plain wooden cabinets….all of which I will miss!! That counter came in handy for holding all the cookies that my Mom and I would bake for Christmas! Many happy memories in this kitchen – where I learned to cook, bake, and used to keep my list of chores on the refrigerator.

This is our family room which also opens into the patio (or Arizona room). It’s a nice open room that we usually used to display our Christmas tree and open gifts with a fire going in the fireplace. Christmas is a big holiday for my Mom and I – our favorite holiday in fact and we usually go all out. My Mom has more Christmas decorations than she can put up in the house butit always looks wonderful! I can’t imagine not having Christmas in this room anymore. I used to use the brick area in front of the fireplace as my little stage when I was younger – I put on many concerts for my Mom while she was working in the kitchen.

This is our wall of family photos – the top left is a photo of my Mom’s parents when they were younger. Her Mom died when she was in her mid-twenties and her Dad died when I was just three, so unfortunately I never really knew them. Top right is a photo of my Dad’s parents –

Grandma died when I was 13 and Grandpa died the same year I graduated from college.

In the bottom left photo is my Aunt Carol and my Uncle Tony – both older siblings of my Mom’s. The bottom right photo is all the Wheeler relatives (my Dad’s side) when they came to visit us in the early 80’s. We went to the photo studio that used to be in

Metrocenter where you could dress up in old style clothing

and have photos taken (I am in the bottom

right corner of the photo).

This is our patio or Arizona room with many of my Mom’s knick-knacks and our well worn

bookcase.

My Mom’s

little fairy fountain that she loves! It’s very sweet.

This is my Dad’s office although you can’t see

all of it from the doorway – its part of the patio. He’s semi-retired now but still spends many hours in here on the computer.

This is a view of our backyard with our kidney shaped pool, navel orange tree, and bottle tree. We have two navel orange trees and they were already planted when we moved into the house, so the oranges are so sweet and so good!! They make great orange juice – especially for Christmas brunch!

This pool has many memories too – we actually have video of me “competing” in the pool swimming back and forth when I was about 11. We also used to have BBQ’s with family friends and played volleyball in the pool. It used to be 8 feet deep but with the parties we had, my parents decided to fill in the deep end so that it’s just five feet deep.

This is my Mom's

little garden in our back yard.

She has used this little plot of land to grow garlic, lettuces, bell peppers, squash, tomatoes, and eggplant. She also grows herbs

in other parts of the back yard.

This is my parents bedroom with their California king sized bed (which they share with the dogs) filling up most of the space. They have a nice sized window that overlooks the back yard.

This was

my brother’s bedroom – my parents had the loft built when he was younger so that he could have his desk underneath. The bedroom is set up with two beds now for showing to prospective buyers.

This is a little sign that has been hanging in our hallway bathroom for as long as I can

remember! I don’t know if it belonged to my Mom or my Dad but it was always a staple of our bathroom décor.

This was my bedroom – hard to see it all through the doorway. My bed is currently with me in San Diego; this was another single bed my parents had set up for showing the house. The dresser on the left was the one I used as I was growing up and the fan I got to pick out as a child (I remember thinking how great that was that I got to pick it out). The piece of furniture under the window is my Mom’s hope chest and the dresser on the right used to be in my Grandparents’ house in Missouri. I LOVED my room when I was growing up!! I’d spend hours in here playing with my Barbie’s, playing dress up with friends, or reading.

This shows the end of the kitchen cabinets where my parents kept the bills to be paid along with their knife set and my Mom’s kick-knacks. She had many of these little signs throughout the house with cute little sayings on them. This one reads “Pamper me, I know what goes in your food!”

This is just another shot of the front yard that shows most of our property. Our second navel orange tree is by the front door and there’s a lemon tree on the left side of the house. I spent many hours in this front yard practicing soccer,

playing catch with my Dad, practicing gymnastics,

doing flag routines for high school band, playing croquet and bocce ball as a family, and riding my bike up and down the street.

My parents by the front door – note the orange blossoms on the tree. There is nothing better than smelling that from your bedroom window! That smell will ALWAYS remind me of home!

This is the flower bed that my Mom always plants new flowers in each season – these are for spring/summer and in the fall she plants orange, red, and yellow flowers. The front window ledge is where I used to lay pine boughs, pinecones, and berries for decoration at Christmas.

I had to throw this last picture in here – my parents are trying to lighten up the mood as I’m taking photos. They’re both good at that but especially my Dad.

This has been a great home to have my childhood in and I can’t imagine a better one. I am still having trouble coming to terms with it being sold – it’s definitely like losing a member of the family.