Sunday, August 28, 2011

San Diego, the last days


My friend Melissa and I in Spokane Airport getting ready for our trip to beautiful San Diego!
The trip was to our companies Celebration, but the pictures below are of the last day we spent in SD. We had a blast. I will write about Celebration at a later date. The pictures are courtesy of Melissa, I, gasp, didn't take my fancy camera, because I wanted to live this event, not photograph it.


The Weston Gaslamp. Our home for 5 days.


What I'd been waiting for...my feet in salt water. Does it get any better?


Tarra and I astern, see how I'm getting a hang of the pirate talk? Yar Matey!


Tarra, Melissa and I (I'm in the middle with the huge grin--I'm on water, woohoo!)


Landing at Coronado


The end of the US!


Sea Lions lounging.


Submarine


The boat used in the Pirates of the Caribbean


Star of India


Naval Museum in San Diego Harbor



The last stop on the trip, Salt Lake City and then we were home, again.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

What a difference a few months makes!





Pretty surprising what eating the best food on the planet can do for a gal, eh?


I can't believe the difference in, well everything, since i started my wellness program. I am happy ALL the time, and it's not because of the weight loss, it's because I feel so darned good. Something has happened on a cellular level and it feels AMAZING! I have energy every single day, my mind is clearer, my thoughts are brighter, it's like a big cloud had been hanging over my head and NOW IT IS GONE!



The "after 6 months" photo was taken a couple of months ago. More changes have happened since then. My skin is SO much nicer now, my hair is back to thick and healthy after the wild chemo ride, and my body is getting into a proper shape (I always said round is a shape, but I'm pretty sure it's not a proper shape for the human body). It feels like the real me had been on an extended vacation and now I'm back!


Anyway, more later! I'm off to enjoy this amazing weekend!

Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Daddy's Ashes







It's been over 2 years since Dad died. Not an hour has passed that I haven't thought of him. He was a great man. My mom was a great woman. They were fantastic parents. We were truly blessed in every way. In fact my brother and I often say we hit the parental jackpot.


Daddy was raised at Mystic Lake Power Plant. Dad, my brother and his crew often worked at the power plant facilities after dad moved to Absarokee and started his construction company. The picture above is of the power plant itself, which daddy and the crew re-roofed many years ago (that is copper roofing by the way). Dad loved doing jobs at Mystic, and he did a lot of them over the years. He loved it there more than anywhere, so that, of course, is where Mike and I decided to spread his ashes. We waited for over two years to do it...for many reasons, including the biggest one; we weren't ready to let go of him.


But finally, we were ready, and as we walked up the mountain today I remembered all the awesome times we had on the trail in years gone by. I could almost hear daddy asking if I needed a ride (when I was just a tot he would hoist me up on his backpack and I'd ride up there through the rough spots and on the switchbacks. I was utterly fearless because I knew my daddy wouldn't let anything happen to me). The memory was sad but more importantly, it was beautiful.

Mike and I at Fish Rock

Often during these trips, he told us stories about running up and down the steep trail to the lake. He and his siblings fished and hunted as often as possible during his childhood in the high mountains of Montana. He often mentioned a place he called Fish Rock, which was just up from the river on the trail where they would clean the day's catch of Rainbow Trout. He spoke with such joy of those days, and that is where we thought he should be.



Mike spreading daddy's ashes

It was hard to see daddy go, though I knew it wasn't really him. I always was daddy's girl and that hasn't changed in the 2 years he has been gone. But I know he is where he was meant to be. He loved that place with all of his heart and he shared that love with us and we will carry it with us always, just as he did. Thanks for everything, daddy. You may be gone, but you will never be forgotten.



Thanks, also, to my brother's college roommate and best friend through all these years. He and his family were there with us through this hard day. Fred was "adopted" by my family after college and my parents both loved him very much. I know daddy was happy today to have them there with us. I only wish Wolf had been there as well.