Spring is HERE

There are so many beautiful blossoms right now the fragrance outdoors is positively intoxicating!

Quick update

Things have been moving full speed ahead with my new business "Tell Me Your Story". I feel very grateful to be working at something I love so much! I am passionate about helping people share their stories. I've started another website for the business and so this site is going to be a bit neglected while I get that one up and running.
I made a recent trip to Salt Lake City to surprise my daughter for her birthday. We had a wonderful time together. I love spending time with my children and seeing how their lives are developing, they are all such amazing individuals.  I also got to spend lots of time holding my beautiful grandson! (That was the icing on the cake!) Seriously, grandchildren are the  best part of being a parent:)

Glad to see January in the rear view mirror

I'm always happy when the month of January is over. I feel like I've survived my least favorite time of year and it is all an improvement from here on out.
I've been reflecting on how the beginning of a new year parallels my personal life as I experience many new beginnings:
- I still feel 'new' to southern Oregon as I have only lived here 8 months.
- Starting a new business writing and teaching Life Story workshops
- Recently started dating again after a long hiatus
- Turning 50 this year (feels like a new beginning as I turn that half century corner)

Thank God For a wonderful support network of friends and family to do a sanity check with occasionally. I know better than to do one of those stress tests that asks you questions and then rates your answers like, recently moved to a new area? High. Starting a new business? High.
In a new relationship? High. A lot of change in your life? Yes! High! Funny that I don't feel all that stressed out. Most definitely I feel the importance of taking care of myself, balancing my day with fresh air and exercise, healthy foods and meditative and quiet time so that I feel like moving forward to accomplish the tasks that need to be done. I also need to feel the human connectedness with other beings - this always brightens my days, my mind and lightens my spirit.
I enjoy being part of a local hiking group and have done some great hikes and met wonderful people while enjoying the outdoors! Here are a few photos of my favorite hiking spots in the last month:)

So happy to see blue skies and sunshine

Looking at grey cloudy skies for an extended period of time can make things feel gloomy no matter hard hard one tries to find the silver lining. 2012 was filled with major life changes for me. It was an exciting year as well as challenging. I sold my house, traveled to Oregon to find my new home, rolled and totaled my car and walked away unharmed, returned to Utah to pack all of my belongings and leave the place where most of my loved ones are to venture to a new land called southern Oregon. I spent many hours and days alone contemplating my new surroundings and this new phase of my life. Traveled back to visit Utah to welcome my new grandson. My employer eliminated my job, and I spent Thanksgiving and Christmas without any family (I've never done that before and hope it was the first and last time).

The majority of these changes were of my own doing. I must like living on the edge somewhat because I seem to stir things up for myself when life seems to get a bit regular. Overall I am thrilled with the way my life is at this point in time. As much as I miss my family, I feel that I belong here in Oregon - I really am in love with this place. The future looks bright for a new business I'm developing. This is pure synchronicity at work and not something I planned ahead of time - and I am really peaceful about how things are literally falling into place. That's how things are since I decided to move to Oregon - just seem to fall (or roll) into place. Of course there will always be days when the clouds come back and cover the sunshine and blue skies and I will start questioning myself but this is part of my being human. I do love it when I am no longer questioning and in the 'knowing' of life. I am learning to soak up these moments when they come around.

A new year is a good time to bookmark our stories and see just exactly where we stand and if we like the view. Mostly it is a good opportunity to be grateful for living, loving and knowing that kind of full life living will also come with some heartaches and heartbreaks. It's just how it is. I used to think that if I tried really hard to protect my heart it wouldn't hurt as much, I now know that kind of living is no kind of life - I want to know when my time is up that I lived my life to the fullest. I want to reach for my dreams and cherish the relationships that come my way. I want to laugh and dance and cry and not give a damn about what anyone else thinks of me. Something about experience that teaches us more compassion for others and ourselves. I know that fully creating and giving what we are here to contribute is the greatest way to find joy and happiness. My learning is to not over-think things and trust the 'knowing'. Bring on 2013!

May you have love to give and love to receive this time of year

I've been feeling really homesick the last few days. They say home is where your heart is... Right now my heart is with my children and grandchildren. I have never experienced a Christmas without family before this - it is not my preference, but it is the way things are this holiday. I keep having this wish in my heart that my family will surprise me and show up at my doorstep tonight for Christmas Eve. Rationally, I know this isn't going to happen, the weather isn't making travel likely or safe. But I can dream. Truthfully, I will be glad when the holidays are over because I don't like feeling especially lonely during this time of year that is filled with memories and unmet expectations. I am however, very grateful for the love and blessings that surround me. I have a beautiful and amazing family and even though we can't be physically together this season we are together in love. May you be blessed with love and light this season as well.

These are a few photos from the local Nativity performance a couple of weeks ago.

Gift from the Sea

The weatherman said yesterday we could expect good weather along the coast and in southern Oregon so I planned a day trip excursion. When I first moved here I was doing these discovery day trips regularly on weekends but I haven't ventured anywhere new in the last couple of months. My day yesterday was a pure treasure- you never know what you will find when you go exploring someplace new. The coastline and beach area in Bandon, OR proved to be a winner. There were miles of trails that led to the beaches and a quaint little Main Street a block from fresh fish eateries on the Bay. So much to see, taste and experience that I could've stayed much longer. I will definitely be back. But in the meantime here are some photos of my wonderful adventure. As you look at these photos just imagine the cool gentle ocean breeze in your hair, the salty smell of fresh ocean spray and the freedom of open endless ocean vistas and the sound of pounding waves.
I have thought many times of Anne Morrow-Lindbergh's book 'Gift from the Sea' since I moved to Oregon. I highly recommend it.

Holidays

Realizing it has been a couple of months since I posted anything, I thought I'd share some thoughts about the current holiday season. It has been fun for me to experience the changing of seasons here since I haven't lived here in fall or winter before. This town sure knows how to bring on the holidays with charm and nostalgia. Because Jacksonville is a historic town there is always an undertone of the 'old' or the history with the new decorations, parties and celebration. Last Friday night I attended the main-street Victorian Christmas parade here in town which included local marching bands and the fire truck but also many old cars, a choir dressed in Victorian dress and a town crier walking up and down the streets wearing a black suit and top hat and ringing a small bell. We've been receiving  a lot of rain the last couple of weeks but luckily the rain stopped during the parade and held off just until the large Christmas trees lights lit up for the first time. It was an event that caused me to stop and think about the fact that I've never liked going to parades and that I was actually enjoying this one at night with the town all lit up in Christmas lights and trimmed with greenery.
On Sunday there was a fundraising event I was thrilled to attend because it was a Christmas home tour. There were 5 beautiful homes to walk through which were all decorated for the holidays. Each home was a different architecture, one was a historic home, another a brand new multi million dollar home, another one was a very large log home on riverfront property and I enjoyed seeing each one and how they were decked out for the holidays. I wasn't sure if I was going to put up a tree and decorate at my house this year but felt inspired by all of the holiday cheer around me and purchased a fresh cut little tree and now enjoy having a the sights and smell of the season in my home as well.

We had a break in the rain today and Montana and I went for a long walk. I was reminded of how green everything is here even without leaves on the trees. I really enjoy the green that comes from the rain and also the fresh air and smell of pine trees (because they are everywhere here). This place is a beautiful spot to call home and I feel very blessed to have found it! Fortunately I have also met some wonderful people here. The majority of people I talk to have moved here from another state and are not originally from this area. A lot of people are from California and some from New York and everywhere in between. Everyone is so friendly and they don't seem too busy to stop and say hello- which has been very important to me as a new person here.

I recently invited a group of women over to my house for a book club planning session. By the way, most of the women don't know each other, rather I have met them in my different experiences one by one. We will be starting the actual book club in January but needed to meet and decide how to structure the book club and also plan the books to read for the first few months. I must say that I am in awe of the quality of women who came to my home who will participate in the group each month. Women whom I am grateful to call my friends and from whom I can learn from and laugh with. The group ranges in age from 36 to 67 and even though not everyone knew each other prior, there was a definite feeling of camaraderie and 'a meeting of souls' when we all got together. Good stuff in the making - I am starting to see the many synchronicities  in my meeting new people. I have been invited to a holiday party this next weekend and will meet many new people there so it will be fun to see what comes from those 'meetings' as well.