How Do You Celebrate the 4th of July?

You might think my favorite holiday is Christmas or Thanksgiving. But really, it's the 4th of July. It's not that I go anywhere or do anything. Actually, we stay home and usually BBQ with the neighbors, mix up a batch of Margaritas and watch the fireworks going off in neighboring cities. And I spend a moment remembering why this day is so important in our country's history. We must all remember that our soldiers fought and died for our country's independence and continue to do so to this day. If there is one day of the year to show that you have a Patriotic Pulse running through your veins, this is it. To be quite trite, Freedom isn't Free.

Walking down memory lane a bit, it seems like the first warm day in Southern California is always the 4th of July. The silky cool air is scented with night-blooming jasmines and forbidden fireworks. When I was a kid, they weren't forbidden at all, and I have a scar to prove it. Oh, the memories of my father lighting off a cannon and blowing out many of our neighbors windows, including our own, as well as the hubcaps off of a bunch of cars. If cars had alarms back then they would have all been screaming. Later, all the kids piled into the back of someone's pickup and headed over to Alondra Park to watch the fireworks show. Those are some of the memories I treasure as a child and tried to instill in my children as they were growing up. Of course, we buckled them securely into their 5 point harness car seat instead of piling them in the back of a pickup and they weren't allowed to even touch fire crackers, just sparklers. But the memories .... ahhh the memories.

For the 4th of July this year, don't get all caught up in the preparations and forget about making memories for your kids! Let them help make cupcakes or party hats! I found a website that has some great printable crafts, recipes and games for kids and so much more! You can Click Here if you'd like to see all the fun things you can do this year. It's a Disney Website of all things called Disney Family Fun! I found something called "Revolutionary Berries" that look good enough to eat.

For some reason, holidays always seem to be all about food, but if you can make it fun and healthy, why not I say!

Journey Inspired

I'm inspired. Inspired by my friends who are blogging. Inspired by people who are doing amazing things for others despite their own hardships. Inspired by the twists and turns life takes as we, all of us, journey towards an unknown future. I've come to realize we can embrace the journey or fear it. It's true, some days are harder than others to embrace everything life offers up, but I strive, or I should say I strive to strive, to accept what I can't change and change what I can't accept.

I've wanted to write a blog for a while but, truthfully, I didn't know what to blog about. Well the irony is, I still don't know exactly what I will write about. I suppose that's a good metaphor for life. We don't know what each day holds for us, but if we look, we can find the moments that fulfill our need to have purpose and value, ergo I will write about what about what fulfills me and hope others may find inspiration.

It's hard to believe, but I'll be celebrating my 31st Anniversary in a few months! I'm married to an unbelievably handsome man whom I've known since I was 15. Rick and I started dating when I was 16 and have been together ever since. He shows me every day, in little ways, how much he loves me. He fills my car up with gas so I don't have to. He cooks for me. Well, actually we have a deal. He cooks --- I clean so it's all fair and square. And if he forgets once in a while to pick up his socks or close the lid, I have found tolerance. After all these years, the little things just aren't worth fighting over.

We have two grown-up boys: Jason, who will turn 29 later this year, is an entrepreneur like his mom and dad and is handsome, wise, intelligent and sweet (but don't tell him I said that). He married a beautiful woman, Deanna, who is gorgeous both inside and out. She treats my son like a prince and for this and so many more reasons I love her like the daughter I never had. Jason and Deanna have given me two adorable grandchildren: Chloe who will turn 8 this August, and Mason who turned four in March. They moved to Tennessee just recently which fills me with an almost unbearable sadness.  I love them more than words can express and hold fast to the memory of their calls and letters, storing them in my mind and heart and bringing them out when I start to forget their smell or the sound of their laughter. It's true you know, Grandchildren are our heavenly reward right here on earth.

Casey, my youngest son, moved back home after living in Los Angeles. He's a rock star in every way - he's talented musically and artistically and has the California look going on! He's tall, thin, blond and gorgeous so naturally girls love him! He works hard and plays harder, and is a quiet, respectful roomy. Sometimes too quiet, but that is his artistic nature. C'est la vie.

Obviously, my first passion is my family! I also love wine tasting, reading classics, writing, crocheting and travel. Especially travel. Despite the fact that my travels haven't been North of Anchorage, South of the Tropic of Cancer, East of Miami Florida or West of Kauai Hawaii, I consider myself a World Traveler. My dream board (yes I have one) includes exotic and foreign locations such as Bali, Bora Bora and Ireland plus the 7 Wonders of the Modern World. And this is just to start. Journey I have and journey I will. 

Because I'm a Pisces I'm inspired by the sights, sounds and smells of nature, and seek peace and zen in the small, inconsequential moments of daily life. The sounds of pounding waves and seagulls feeds my soul, and the feel of sand between my toes takes me back to days spent frolicking (yes my sisters and I frolicked) on the shore looking for tiny crabs who burrrow as the tide rolls out, trying to escape small hands and plastic shovels that could only occasionally dig fast enough to imprison them in red plastic buckets. Soon, starving and thirsty, we would nestle in the shade behind my mother's beach chair eating egg-salad sandwiches and drinking Kool-aid from a thermos. To this day I still enjoy egg-salad sandwiches (sans bits of gritty sand) made with nothing more than a few crushed up hardboiled eggs mixed with mayonaisse overflowing between two pieces of Wonder bread. The Kool-aid I can live without. But ... but ...  give me an ice-cold Cadillac Margarita and an ocean breeze and if I close my eyes, I'm on a ship headed to a foreign port, listening to the sights, sounds and smells of a new journey.

So that's me. I hope to blog frequently about things that you might want to read. I hope I can harness the power of the written word to help you see what I envision, hear what I listen to and smell the sweet scents life has to offer. See you soon and I hope you find a journey inspired by life, each and every day.

Dori