In The Moment: TiLT

Source:honestfare.com

1. On Monday I started a 30 day challenge of having one green smoothie a day. Motivated by simplegreensmoothies.com I have found a lot of great recipes that are hassle free and super yummy. My smoothie today was a variation of the Pumpkin Spice smoothie with apple instead of banana.

2. I also started taking Forskolin to aide in circulation and thyroid issues I've been having as of late.

3. My son is now a 3rd grader. He's so smart and growing so fast my heart aches.

4. My wonderful husband is working a new job that is great but kicking his butt with twelve hour days and six day work weeks. This is the hardest job he's had in the almost fifteen years we've been together. I am so proud of him, but I miss him a lot now.

5. Our beautiful new house is amazing. We had a great house-warming party last weekend with our wonderful friends. My best friends Petrina and Erin made a hashtag for our dog Barley's balls which they felt were more prominent than usual. And they ARE referring to the balls you're thinking of.

6. Dany dog is getting huge and is a trouble maker for sure.

7. My band is playing the House of Blues on Saturday as the freaking headliner. I am beyond stoked and just a little nervous.

No longer hating cardboard boxes...

There was a time when cardboard boxes frightened me. 

Not in an odd fear having type of way but in a way where I knew if my parents brought home cardboard boxes my life was about to be uprooted again.
By the time I was eight (my sons current age) I had moved at least four times that I am aware of.
By eighteen that number was up to twenty.
Different rooms, different schools, different friends every time. Never longer than three years sometimes as short as three months.

I've heard some people say "Kids are resilient. They become better adults by having those experiences." Which I say is bullshit. 
Most adults like me have a hard time making and keeping friends due to the social issues associated with constantly being thrown into situations as the new kid.
While I understand that some families don't have the luxury of staying put due to the type of jobs they have the parents of children in these situations need to be much more sympathetic to their kid's feelings and communication.

Since becoming a mom I have wanted more for my son than the constant upheaval of a moving lifestyle. This weekend we moved for the third time in eight years. The first was from Sacramento to Las Vegas for a fresh start after the economy drop kicked our butts in 2008. The second was because of an awful landlord foreclosing and then short selling the house out from underneath us while on a lease and this last one was for a bigger, better house with a pool.

While planning our move we discussed everything openly with our son. He got his feedback on the houses we looked at. We let him make the decision of switching schools or staying at his current one. We also let him upgrade his new bedroom with a few items he'd been wanting for a while.

We're all enjoying the new house and having our first pool. But most importantly Hayden loves it and has been raving about it every chance he gets. He enjoyed the move and will hopefully never hate cardboard boxes like I did.

Our trip to Big Bear, Ca

We needed a break from the grind. A refreshing visit to nature far from the neon lights, draining work days, and flashing electronic screens.
I planned a trip to Big Bear Lake. A short three and a half hour drive away from our bustling city, away from our jobs, our band, our television and computers.
We got in late Friday evening and didn't really get to see more than the cabin we were staying in. However bright and early Saturday morning we woke to the wonderful scent of pine trees and this view.

We brought the dogs along with us.  This being the longest road trip either had been on they were pleasantly surprised when they saw the view as well.

We took the dogs to the lake where they reveled in the beautiful waters and garnered attention from all who watched. 

After the lake time we headed to some stables to go horseback riding. Hayden had told me prior to the planning that he wanted to try a new adventure and do something he had never done before.

He was nervous at first with the horse being much larger in person than he imagined. However once on the horse and riding steady he enjoyed it. 

After our ride we drove back to the cabin and relaxed for the rest of the night.
The drive home on Sunday was also beautiful and relaxing. The kids all chilled in the back resting together.

It was a grand adventure and we all had a great time away from the grind.

Hiatus over

Blogging for me isn't just about putting a bunch of words onto the screen and hoping people read it. I write from my heart and try to share my experiences to better help those maybe dealing with the same type of stuff. So I took a break to deal with some stuff and in turn had sort of a writers block.
So now that the stuff has been dealt with I can clear away the blockage and share once again.

A few months ago new management came in at my job and started rearranging things, changing things, and in turn I started to not feel comfortable in my career there. Without getting into the dirty details I felt it necessary for me to move on.
This wasn't an easy decision for me. I am walking away from the newspaper industry that I have been in for 15 years. Switching jobs is nerve racking and has been giving me some pretty weird dreams.

Yesterday I accepted a position at a new company that I am super excited about. I start in a week and a half. I have a few days off so I am catching up on some needed ME time.

I also need to share our awesome new addition to the family. Our new puppy Daenerys.

She's the most awesome little puppy and she's getting spoiled by all of us. Its been nine years since we had a puppy in the house and I think the cuteness made us forget about the every four hours pooping, the little sharp puppy teeth and the shots. But it's definitely worth it in the overall.

I will be trying to post on a regular basis now that the smoke has cleared.

What I learned in 2013

Every year around this time I like to look back on what I learned in the past 365 days. Here's 2012's and 2011's lessons in review.

2013 has been a roller coaster year. A lot of ups and downs in our adventures.

January 2013. 

We learned that eventually the picky-ness displayed by our little man will end. Well, hopefully.

We made a list of foods Hayden would promise to try. Of these five  1. Bacon 2. Chicken Noodle Soup 

3. Scrambled Eggs 4. Rice 5. Spaghetti he's tried three but he did add more to the list and has broaden his palette. 

Here he is trying #1 on the list, almighty BACON.

We also got to attend NAMM again. We learned there that  Art Alexakis of Everclear thinks he knows Brian, Fieldy from Korn can be a douche and Hayden loves road trips.

February 2013

We learned Brian says hilarious things on anesthesia when he needs to have eight teeth removed, on Valentines Day. He was out of it and wrote me a note while out of it saying he now knows the secret to his life is taking care of me and his son. Which was super sweet and hilarious when he couldn't say it and drooled all over himself trying. 

I also learned that for once in my life I have a really awesome group of girlfriends who I love so much and who like to grab my boobs. 

March 2013

We were planning a trip to Florida to visit my Mom and Stepdad at the end of the month, however I learned that bad things happen even when you have a vacation planned. My maternal grandfather passed away and my mom had to tend to the details with her family in Northern California. We instead headed to Southern California for a weekend trip and had some fun with our good friends who then moved to Vegas the following week. I also learned that despite thirteen years of struggling with holidays, birthdays and the gift buying that those entail my husband finally learned how to rock it when he bought me a surprise spa day for my birthday. 

April 2013

In April we dealt with the loss of a fellow musician when Che Cheng slipped away. It was hard news but little did we know how much harder the next month would be.

May 2013

In May we learned that a new floor can do wonders for a kitchen. We learned that Mother's Day should not be taken lightly and you should make your trip to see someone sooner rather than later.
Brian's mother passed away on May 20th after years of battling with cancer. He was on the phone with his sister when it happened. We are still effected by it every day. The trip to Washington to be with his family and attend the memorial was a hard one in many ways. We miss her and think about her often.  

June 2013

In June we played a great show at LVCS with Fear Factory then a weird show at the Roxy in Hollywood where I scared a bunch of kids expecting us to sound like Paramore. I learned that my Land Rover was a good car, but when the transmission broke I bought a newer car. I love my Rav4. The highlight was that Hayden made the honor roll for his last semester of first grade.

July 2013

In July we were nominated for a Vegas Rocks Magazine award. We learned that we really do have a 2 year curse with guitar players. We celebrated Hayden's 7th Birthday and we celebrated Brian's birthday as well.

August 2013

In August we announced our new guitar player Brian Jackson. We played an awesome show with Hemlock which was Rob's last show with us. 

We learned that Florida is super hot and humid in August.

We had a great vacation and visited my mom and stepdad.

We attended the Vegas Rocks music awards and learned that we were definitely in the wrong category, but the experience was fun and we felt like stars. While everyone else was getting eye raped by Miley Cyrus, we were enjoying ourselves at the Hard Rock. 

Then Hayden started SECOND GRADE!!

September 2013

In September we took some awesome new band photos with Radiant Inc. We played a great show with some friends at the Dive Bar. We also celebrated our fifth year in Las Vegas.

October 2013

In October we learned that helping and giving back to a cause we are really passionate about can make a difference when we helped paint the Huntridge theater. I learned that a little health scare can freak me the f- out and I like my boobs.

Brian and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary and 14 years together. We took our first trip to Disneyland to celebrate the anniversary. We learned that Disneyland is super freaking awesome and we will now go broke making many more trips there.  

We played an amazing show at a new favorite club called Backstage Bar and Billards. 

We saw our first ever Slayer show. We celebrated Halloween with our friends and I learned some cute Halloween crafts off pinterest.

November 2013

Our highlight of November was heading to Nor-Cal to play a couple shows in our old stomping ground. It was a great experience reconnecting with old friends and really feeling appreciated for the ten years we've been a band. 

We played four shows that month including another awesome show with Fear Factory at LVCS.  We closed out November with a peaceful Thanksgiving with friends and are very very grateful for all the wonderful adventures.

December 2013

December started out rough with my dear husband getting let go at his job after five years of busting his ass there. We pushed through the wrenches in our gears and managed to have some great times anyhow. 

We attended a great party at Backstage Bar and Billiards and learned that I'm getting too old for weekday parties especially when the band we hoped to see didn't start till after 11pm. 

We played a last minute show at the Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood. Even though some parts were rough the show was a success and we had a way better experience than the trip to LA in June. 

We played an underwhelming show with Nonpoint at the LVCS where I learned that no touring band's tour manager will EVER push us around again. 

This past weekend we took a little family trip to San Diego to see the Raiders play the Chargers. We had such a great time even though our team lost. Hayden and Brian had the best time at the game and my early Christmas gift to them was a great one.

We had a sweet Christmas and look forward to New Years. 

2013 was a great year even though we had some very bittersweet moments and losses. Every day I am grateful for my boys, my amazing friends, my talented band members and the wonderful experiences I have been able to collect. 

I wish the best to you and yours for a great 2014!

Nor Cal Homecoming

This past weekend our band .bipolar. had an amazing mini-tour in Northern California. We hit the road Thursday evening around 10pm and drove 10 hours to Sacramento. Our friend Vincent from Mozzchopz Photography joined us and captured the trip with some amazing photos.

Once we got to Sacramento I was instantly home sick. The weather was beautiful so we headed downtown close to where Brian and I had rented our first apartment together. Some of the stores and restaurants may have changed names but overall the vibe and feel of it is the same as it was five years ago when we left. Walking around those streets just flooded us with so many awesome memories that seem like a lifetime ago.

Our friend let us crash on his floor for a while before we could check into our hotel which was totally needed after so long on the road.
The club we played at was Harlow's an awesome venue right in the heart of downtown Sacramento. We never had an opportunity to play there before and were super excited to finally get to do so. They treated us so well and the atmosphere was just great.

After arriving at the club for check in, the rest of the night was full of hugs, reminiscing and so many good times with friends we hadn't seen in forever.

We had such a great time. The show itself was wonderful. Our friends packed the house and we got to play 10 years worth of great music for everyone.

The next day we had a bit of time to kill before our next show so we headed to Old Sacramento for some fun.

We headed into the Bay Area to Vallejo and chilled at the hotel until check in time.
This night was full of our Bay friends and we had a great time hanging out with all of them. The bands we shared the stage with were all supportive and we sold a lot of merch which helped our cause. We made some new friends as well as getting friends who had never seen us before to come out.

The whole experience was pretty awesome and I am a little sad to return to reality with work and stuff. We were just amazed with the love and support from everyone who came out. My heart is completely overwhelmed and I can't wait to head back up there in maybe six months.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the shows.

For the entire gallery go here.